Posts Tagged ‘Graphic Design’

Just in case you were wondering, I have not abandoned the Gate this week.  In fact, I have been working harder on this joint this week than I have in months.  Unfortunately, all of that work has been behind the scenes…

…for the moment.

Let’s just say that I am taking advantage of the current off-season lull to make a few changes around here and to do a bit of remodeling.  Let’s just call it “Gate 21 — 2.0.”  Hopefully, all of this work will not be for naught.  Hopefully, I’ll be done with this marathon soon.  Hopefully, there will still be more than three people around to read once I bring the changes live.  Who knew this whole “blogging thing” would be so much work?

In the meantime, I’ll just leave you with this little visual representation of where this ship is headed.  Trust me, this is but one very small part of what I have in store for everyone in the near future:

The Changing Face of the Gate…

November 2007	February 2008	?? July 2009 ?? (I sure hope so)

Hopefully, I will actually get a little chance to write a few things here this weekend which I have had to put off a bit.  Yeah, yeah … excuses, excuses.  At any rate, please bear with us—there are exciting things to come in the near future.

In the meantime, just try to remember that Gate 21 does exist, and check back with us soon…

– So it goes…

Not to toot my own horn, but for the past little while I’ve been working with the folks over at 3rd Saturday in Blogtober to develop some new header graphics as part of a facelift going on over there. Today, their new header went live.

Make sure to stop on by and let “Ghost of Neyland” and “Crimson Daddy” know what you think. Also be sure to check out the rest of their blog — dedicated to both the Tennessee Volunteers and the Alabama Crimson Tide (which seemingly defies explanation). They have some great stuff over there and are a real asset to the SEC blogging community.

Oh yeah, and if you don’t like the new header, then … ummm … I had nothing to do with it.

– Go Figure …

Since there hasn’t been a whole lot going on lately (or at least I haven’t been dutiful enough to write about what has) I thought I’d take the opportunity to give a few shout outs to various people around the internet and beyond who I think do a great job of … well … whatever it is that they do. These are not solicited, and I am not compensated for these — this is just my opinion (for what that’s worth) and nothing more.

To kick off this love-in, I want to give a great big shout to a guy who has become a friend of mine and has just finished completely redesigning his blog. The infamous “MoonDog” hails from The World According to MoonDog (MoonDogSports.com) and has a really great site for fans of just about anything related to sports arising from the Volunteer State.

He focuses — as best I can tell — on the Tennessee Volunteers but also gives strong coverage to the Memphis Tigers, the Dallas Cowboys, and the St. Louis Cardinals. In between these he has been known to post some exceedingly … ummm … “pleasant” photos of lovely ladies which are safe for work as part of his regular feature “Chick Pic of the Day.” He also posts some really well written articles on various other subjects including Copyright Law for Bloggers, the Battle between the Mainstream Media and the Blogosphere, and the occasional political rant.

Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I must admit that I was involved in helping the MoonDog make the jump from his old Blog setup to his new Wordpress driven blog, and that I designed some of his graphics, but I make this endorsement of my own free will, and I was never asked to promote The World According to MoonDog — so you have my word that this is my own opinion, and not part of a quid pro quo. (only a lawyer would ever tell you to take their word for something and use the phrase “quid pro quo” on a sports blog, ugh!)

Seriously, the posts over at The World According to Moon Dog have greater analysis and detail than a whole lot of the blogs out there. If you are at all interested in Tennessee Sports, you should give his blog a look.

– Go Figure …

For those of you who care (which is probably nobody …) Gate 21 Graphics now has its own page here at Gate 21 — The Cultural Center of the Universe. So if you need any graphic design help, want to leave a comment to tell me how much you hate the color orange, or want to threaten me with a lawsuit because Gate 21 is so ugly that you puked on your keyboard, slide on over to the new page for Gate 21 Graphics.

– Go Figure …

As my profile mentions, in addition to running Gate 21 (and practicing law in real life) I also do graphic design, layout and web design. I also do all my own graphics, logos, and banners.  If you are in need of some graphic content (no I don’t mean “explicit”) for your website, organization, blog, company, or just for the hell of it, I work cheap and can do just about anything you need.  I can provide press ready graphics, website logos and art, and most any other type of graphics in .jpg, .pdf, .tif, .bmp, .svg, and numerous other formats. In addition to the silly pictures I post on this blog, I also do farks (photoshop re-touching for the technologically impaired) of photos for people. So if you want a photo with Granny’s head on some porn star’s body… hey, that’s your call.  Like I said, I work cheap (oftentimes for a trade).

In addition to purely graphic design-based offerings, I also do full scale website / blog design based upon customized versions of pre-existing templates.  All blog designs are based exclusively on the Wordpress blog publishing system (but I am happy to do graphics for any format).

Below are a few samples of my design work in this arena for your viewing pleasure — my “fark” work can be viewed in my museum of farks “The Tennessee Home for the Visually Offensive.”  If you are interested in having me design some graphics for your site, blog, company, organization, or for yourself, feel free to email me.  I have a list of rates at the bottom of this page, but these are not set in stone, so feel free to give me a shout if there is something you need.

Logo Design (Graphics Only):

• 3rd Saturday in Blogtober:  Perhaps the single most intriguing concept in sports-blogging in a long time — take fans of two arch-rivals (Tennessee and Alabama) and put them together in a sports-blog which covers everything about the fortunes of their favorite team, and rags on the other.  Designed new logo and blog header (with badges and banners to come).

• MeanPC.com: A great technology blog with an eye toward blogging and web-based applications. Designed logos and web banners.

• SEC Football Blogger / SECFB.com: A sports blog covering anything related to SEC Football. Designed new headers, web banners, and logo set.

• NESW Sports.com: A site dedicated to sports videos.  Designed primary logo as well as “Blogscars” badging.

• Uncoached.com: A sports blog covering anything and everything in the world of sports, with a focus on “raw talent” in all of its forms. Designed new header / web banners using client selected images.

Website/Blog Design:

• Gate 21 – Life, the Universe, and the Bounce of the Ball: The home of lawvol, and of Gate 21 Graphics.  All the logos, art, headers,  widgets, and other graphic content on this site was designed by lawvol, (unless otherwise noted).  Wordpress based site theme customized from pre-existing design template, including substantial re-coding of various parts of site.  Also home of the budding museum of sports farks, “The Tennessee Home for the Visually Offensive.“

One of my favorite things to do here at the Gate is to modify the header (the main graphic at the top of site) from time to time based upon whatever is going on in the world around us.

Here are a few headers that have appeared at Gate 21 over time:

Construction here at the Gate

Gate 21 Turns 1 Year Old

Merry Christmas from Gate 21

Happy New Year from Gate 21

Gate 21 Salutes the Armed Forces

Counting down to kickoff

Getting Ready for Florida 2008

Yeah, that Florida game went well...

Saying Goodbye to a Legend

Welcoming our New Leader

1000 Wins, 1 Coach

• The World According to MoonDog / MoonDogSports.com: A sports blog covering the Tennessee Volunteers, Memphis Tigers, and a variety of other teams hailing from Memphis — The Pyramid City. Completely re-designed every part of website, implemented switch to Wordpress blog platform in 2008. Designed all new graphics including headers, banners, widgets, logos. Deployed a custom-modified version of an existing theme with major changes from original template. Served in advisory role after deployment during transition to Wordpress driven blog system.  Assisted with re-design in 2009, including change over to CMS-style format.

• Bears Necessity: A long-running high quality football blog dedicated to the fortunes of the California Golden Bears.  Re-designed entire website from the ground up in 2008.  Designed new headers, web banners, and other logos.  Deployed a custom-modified version of an existing theme, completely re-vamping the look of the site, and giving it an overall facelift.

Print and Mixed Media:

• Williams College Men’s Soccer Program — Media Guides: Designed 2006, 2007, and 2008 Soccer Media Guides from start to finish.  Services included design of all graphics (with the exception of official Williams College Logos and photographs), page layout and design, copy placement, photo editing, and all other aspects of graphic layout and design.  Also assisted in the drafting of copy and text throughout the media guides.  Ultimately printed with color cover, and black and white interior (as required by NCAA regulations) and posted to internet as downloadable Adobe .PDF.

2008 Williams Soccer Media Guide (PDF)

2007 Williams Soccer Media Guide (PDF)

• Advertising and Marketing: Have designed newspaper and web-ready advertisements in a variety of shapes and sizes in both color and black and white. Can be tailored to meet the needs of a particular medium. Final format can be made press or web-ready depending on needs.

• Invitations, Announcements, and other Stationery Items: Design of various invitations and announcements for weddings, showers, parties, and other events. Have designed in one, multi, and full color. Have designed for press ready production, Color Printer Production, and “do-it-yourself” home printing. Formats have included: Microsoft Publisher, Adobe .PDF, .JPG, .PNG, and various other formats.

• CDs, DVDs, and Related Media: Design of CD covers, disc and liner art, and related materials for musical acts and business / corporate use. Can be tailored to meet your visual and production needs in a variety of formats.

Rates & Charges:

The following are basic prices and rates for graphic design services, these are subject to change and are negotiable depending upon your needs and/or particulars. Furthermore, all services can be provided of a negotiated flat-fee. All services are also available for trade / services exchange / or other means of payment.

For graphics to be used on websites and/or web design, all graphics become the intellectual property of the purchaser, with the exception that Gate 21 Graphics retains the right to use all designed logos for promotional / portfolio purposes.

• Standard Logo Set Design: Basic Design Fee of $50.00 for basic logo design set including logo concept used in up to 4 different graphic elements (Ex: Web Header, Sidebar Banner, Avatar, and Button) || Additional graphic elements priced depending upon the complexity and size || Additional fees may apply depending upon size, complexity, and/or need for additional graphic design services
• Website Design: Basic Design Fee of $50.00 or $100.00 (depending on size and complexity) with additional fees based upon size, complexity, and/or need for additional graphic design services at an hourly rate of $45.00 per hour or negotiated flat fee.
• Print Products:
  • Invitations, Announcements, and Stationery: Basic Design Fee $50.00 for initial design and layout || Additional per-item fee for each additional related item (Save the Date Cards, Thank You Notes, etc.) || Plus any additional fees due to size, complexity, and/or need for additional graphic design services at an hourly rate of $45.00 per hour or negotiated flat fee.
  • Advertising Materials: Basic Design Fee of $35.00 || Additional fees may apply depending upon size, complexity, and/or need for additional graphic design services at an hourly rate of $45.00 per hour or negotiated flat fee.
  • CDs, DVDs, and Related Media: Basic Design Fee of $35.00 for initial design and layout || Additional fees may apply depending upon size, complexity, and/or need for additional graphic design services at an hourly rate of $45.00 per hour or negotiated flat fee.
  • Books, Guides, Pamphlets, Brochures, and Other Print Media: Basic Design Fee of $50.00 || Additional fees may apply depending upon size, complexity, and/or need for additional graphic design services at an hourly rate of $45.00 per hour or negotiated flat fee.

Additional Terms and Legal Talk:

These additional terms and conditions apply to all services provided by Gate 21 Graphics and “lawvol” (collectively “Gate 21 Graphics“) to a design services client (“Client“) for graphic design services (“Services“) and or graphic designs (“Graphic(s)“):

– Under Construction — Coming Soon –