Design

Aug

2022

Clients clamoring for custom communication templates

The top three graphic design deliverables my clients request are new or updated brands, brand guidelines, and custom presentation templates.

PowerPoint has been around for more than 35 years. It still rules the roost as the leading slide presentation tool, despite the emergence of tools like Google Slides, Keynote, ZOHO Show, Canva, and Prezi. Organizations large, mid-sized and small use it to communicate all sorts of messages–sometimes well done, and other times not so well done.

With hundreds of free and paid templates available, many of my clients request custom, branded slide templates. Why? Because custom templates do a better job of communicating your brand.

Showcase your brand and ditch boring bullet slides

A custom template allows you to showcase your brand. Your brand is more than a logo; it is your company’s personality. Your brand is how others perceive, interact with, and build trust in your company.

Your organization’s personality really shines when you ditch a deck of boring “bullet” slides for a mix of text and graphics. Use a custom template to consistently communicate your brand. See the template above, created for The Venture Mentoring Team. This template fits the organization’s mission, vision, and values, and takes advantage of their logo style and colors. It is a complete package that truly changes how they can communicate from now on.

Primo presentation pointers

Use the template throughout your organization for a consistent message.
Provide guidance on usage of your logo, color palette, typefaces, and fonts (bold, italics, regular, etc.).
Find a style that works for your organization, whether playful or serious, bold or subdued, geometric, minimal or corporate.
Use a single style for graphics and illustrations; don’t use cheap clip art with a first-rate template.
Provide a variety of infographics, photo, and text layouts for different purposes.
Make it easy for others to use the template, providing instructions and training as needed.

If online presentation tools don’t meet your needs, if you want more than the built-in templates that come with your software, or have trouble finding a template you like, then a custom template may be for you.

I have designed dozens (hundreds?) of templates for PowerPoint, Google Slides, and Keynote (for Mac users). If you need a custom, branded presentation template and don’t have the know-how to do it yourself, then consult a pro!

Jul

2022

How we helped the Wisconsin Association of Free & Charitable Clinics upgrade their branding

The Wisconsin Association of Free & Charitable Clinics (WAFCC) is an advocate for the State’s ninety free & charitable clinics. The organization provides state advocacy, education opportunities, consulting services, and telehealth services to clinics. WAFCC fosters collaboration, networking, and resource-sharing. They selected Jill B Gilbert for two branding initiatives–brand guidelines and a custom presentation template consistent with these new guidelines.

Brand Guidelines

Brand guidelines are the rules an organization–large or small–follows to ensure their brand is consistent across various digital and print communications. These guidelines typically communicate the organization’s voice, style, logo, type, and colors.

They show the accepted use of the logo, any color variations, and placement, including very important “Do’s and Don’ts.” If an organization uses specific graphic styles, icons, or illustrations, the guidelines contain these, too.

Brand Guidelines are meant to be flexible, changing as the organization grows and changes. The WAFCC Brand Guidelines are a living document, soon to be updated with examples from the new slide presentation template.

"I HIGHLY RECOMMEND ANYONE TO WORK WITH JILL. SHE HAS A WEALTH OF KNOWLEDGE, IS VERY KIND, RESPONSIVE, AND DID A WONDERFUL JOB ON OUR VISUAL BRAND GUIDE."

Heather Ule

WAFCC

Presentation Template

The most common methods of communication are email, PowerPoint (/Google Slides/Keynote/Other) presentations, and social media.

Branding is important in slide presentations, because it sets the tone for your organization’s message. Consistent style and message are key!

Jill B Gilbert designed a template that was a great match for WAFCC’s message and style needs.

"This was my second project with WAFCC. I enjoyed working with Heather and building a relationship. We plan to work together on more projects in the future."

Jill B Gilbert Graphic Designer

Jun

2022

Jill B Gilbert selected to advise Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety on Learning Management System

The physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety (PPAHS), a New Jersey non-profit organization, provides Continuing Medical Education (CME) to nurses, doctors, respiratory therapists, and other medical professionals. Over 30,000 individuals subscribe to their service.

PPAHS needed advice on a new learning management system they plan to launch later in 2022 and selected Jill B Gilbert to help.

Jill pulled several tools out of her tool kit to help–experience designing and building websites, expertise in graphic design and typography, and, most important, the ability to assess PPAHS’s needs and create a plan for the new LMS website.

PPAHS was thrilled with the results, and plans to use Jill for future projects.

Jill is an absolute delight to work with. Truly a guru of design! In addition to help with this project, we learned so much from her about fonts, colors, headings, etc.

Michael Wong

Executive Director, PPAHS

May

2022

The Eclectic Menagerie is full of whimsical, larger-than-life sculptures

e•clec’•tic men•a’•ger•ie
: site south of Houston with an eclectic collection of concrete and metal sculptures

: sculpture garden curated by Texas Pipe & Supply with larger-than-life rusted steel and stainless steel sculptures by local artists

Driving south of Houston on Texas 288 over the years, I have marveled at the giant animal sculptures along the freeway. I was excited to see new additions as I drove by, but never stopped to look. Then I researched The Eclectic Menagerie Park, located on a narrow strip of the Texas Pipe & Supply property. I made it my mission to stop and smell the (metal) roses.

Jerry Rubenstein, Chairman of the Board of Texas Pipe & Supply, started the outdoor sculpture museum decades ago with a couple of concrete animal statues. He commissioned local artists Ron Lee and Mark Rankin to create about two dozen metal sculptures, from a giant dinosaur and armadillo to a fishing rod and reel with Jerry's old red pickup truck caught on the lure. A stealth bomber stands at attention as Snoopy flies his Sopwith Camel. A semi truck cab is stuck in the dirt, waiting to be towed out. King Kong hangs menacingly on a crane and colorful cows stand on a surfboard up in the sky.

Enjoy a sample of the Eclectic Menagerie images below.

Eclectic Menagerie Gallery

: Stegosaurus

: Stegosaurus plates

: Roadrunner

: Dragon

: Armadillo

: Armadillo armor

: Mariachis

: Three Amigos

: Alligator and rebar man

: King Kong

: Stealth bomber

: Rod and reel

: Lure and pickup truck

: Pitchfork and flowers

: Pitchfork handle detail

: Owl talons

: Cowabunga!

: Eclectic Menagerie Park | Truck cab

: Texas Pipe & Supply sign

May

2022

Entropy. The Beauty in dirt, rust and decay.

en’•tro•py
: a process of degradation or running down or a trend to disorder

life’•cycle
: the series of stages in form and functional activity through which an organism passes between successive recurrences of a specified primary stage

I took a series of random walks through manmade and natural settings—in search of interesting lines, forms, colors and textures—and found beauty in rusty, dirty and decayed things.

Some observations from these walks:

colorful moss and lichens on rocks improve with time.
rust patterns on manhole covers, sewer grates and checker plate metal are attractive.
usually overlooked, thistles other weeds have exquisite forms and colors.
fungi on decaying trees have unusual shapes and rich textures.
earth cracked after months of drought reveals beautiful, random patterns.
dirt splashed on a fire hydrant or squashed by giant tires creates uniform patterns.

Enjoy these things while you can; they are temporary. At the end of their life cycles, they crumble into the earth or wash away, only to start the cycle again. That’s entropy, returning things to an orderly state. Enjoy my photos below.

Entropy image gallery

: Storm sewer grate

: Electric manhole cover

: CLC manhole cover

: Sewer manhole cover

: Water valve cover

: Muddy hydrant

: Decaying pumpkin

: Felled tree

: Thistle

: Wildflower

: Spanish moss

: Lichen and moss

: Rusty bin

: Rusty checkerplate

: Cracked earth

: Tire tracks

: Asphalt

: Tree fungus

: White fungus

: Hollow tree

: Woodpecker work

: Rotten log

Apr

2022

Old, rusty, abandoned equipment provides great photographic subject matter

Old, rusty, and abandoned equipment fascinates me. It has rich lines, angles, and textures, even though its colors are faded. A large property south of Houston, Texas provides a backdrop for a recent photo session. Perhaps a farm in its former life, the City has walled off the property with a six-foot fence and planted vines along this fence that, eventually, will obscure the view of what some feel is unsightly. Suburban progress encroaching on this old, rusty aesthetic.

Rusted steel drums, corrugated metal and giant tires rest peacefully next to a barbed wire fence. A Corvette body sits on the ground, a shell of its former sleek design. A rusty axle reminds me of an old plow. A couple of Case excavators and an old John Deere Tractor sit idle, as if their operators took a lunch break and never returned. But there is life, as Black Angus cows and their petite newborn calves graze near a once-colorful dump truck. They look at me as I snap photos.

I want to go inside and get a closer look at these interesting items, but the electric fence warns me to stay out. I enjoy what I see from the road…

Abandoned farm Photos

Jan

2022

Jill B Gilbert delivers stylish slide templates for The Justice Hub School

Custom slide template and presentation for The Justice Hub School

The Justice Hub School provides underserved youth in Houston’s Third Ward with academic and leadership skills to succeed in life. Jill B Gilbert was pleased to create a colorful new brand and a stylish custom presentation templates for this public charter school.

Our graphic design team created two templates aimed at different audiences–prospective donors and board members, and prospective students. Both templates employ Justice Hub’s new brand and color scheme. The image above shows the second, less formal, template on an iPad Pro.

Oct

2021

The 2021 Halloween Comic Book Cover Challenge

When I studied Art & Design, we had a Photoshop project due just before Halloween. I now call it “The Pumpkin Challenge.” Our assignment was to take a digital coloring book page of a Jack O’ Lantern–just black lines–and use different Photoshop brushes to color the drawing. My pumpkin that year used red, yellow, blue and black halftone dots to create shades of orange and blue. I added a few bats, and it was done!

Last year, I created a special Halloween comic book cover with the same pumpkin outline, elevating the project with other illustration and typography work. This was the first edition of Iconic Comics. I sent it to my former professor, and he was excited to show it to the class.

This year, I continued the tradition with a 2021 version of the Iconic Comics Special Halloween edition. I drew the pumpkin outlines, the green “goo” and the purple blob using the Adobe Illustrator Pen Tool (my former nemesis). I must admit that these days, I use Illustrator more than Photoshop for graphics. I created a Halloween color palette of orange, purple, green and black. The pumpkin uses gradients and three different halftone effects for shading and highlights. I found vector drawings of the spider webs and bats on Vecteezy, and modified them to fit my theme.

I sent a copy of the latest comic book cover to my professor, who was happy to share it with his class. Enjoy!

Oct

2021

Halloween Thanks to CLHS Teachers and Staff: “No Tricks, Just Treats!”

The Clear Lake High School PTSA wanted a Halloween poster to show appreciation to the school’s teachers and staff.

Jill B Gilbert created a 20- x 30-inch poster with a black cat and pumpkins, a haunted house on a hill, and spider webs. The poster, created in Adobe Illustrator, uses various tints of purple for the background, with oranges and yellows for the pumpkins and a hint of glowing green.

Thanks to the amazing CLHS teachers and staff from the PTSA! Enjoy your treats!

Jul

2021

Questions to ask if you want a new or refreshed brand

A couple of weeks ago, a client selected my design firm to help with getting their brand on merchandise to sell at events and in their online store. I asked if they had their brand in various layouts and file formats for digital and print purposes. If the answer was, “Yes,” they were ready to go.

It turns out that what they really wanted was a new or refreshed brand, as they felt the current one was outdated.

If you want a new or refreshed brand, find answers to the following eleven questions before you speak with your graphic designer.

Arm yourself with plenty of information before you start the design process. If you don’t know where to start, seek advice from a graphic designer in knowledgeable in design, business and marketing issues and trends.

1. What are your business goals?

Believe it or not, a brand is more than a logo or graphic design; it is about your organization’s message, and how you communicate that message verbally and visually. So, it follows that business goals are connected to your brand. What is your organization’s “big picture?” Are you expanding into new markets? Are you planning new products, services, locations, or methods of reaching out to current or prospective clients?

2. What do you want this Brand to accomplish?

Think about how the graphic design of your brand fits into your marketing plans. If you have an established brand, you might want to update it to capture new markets. If you plan to launch a new brand, how will you generate brand awareness in the marketplace?

3. Who is your target audience?

Do/will you use digital marketing–social media, email, blogs to communicate with current and prospective clients– or traditional print, TV, radio and merchandise marketing methods? Where and how will you display your brand?

4. What marketing channels will you use?

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

5. How Do you want your brand perceived?

What 3-5 adjectives describe your brand’s personality? For example, “youthful, urban, and edgy,” “corporate, seasoned, and traditional,” or something else? Do you see your brand as casual or formal; modern or traditional? Where do you see your product or service positioned in the market?

6. What are your brand/company values and mission?

If you closely tie your business model to your values and mission, then your brand design may reflect them. A preschool might want to incorporate a school or students. An environmental organization might want to use a tree, a leaf, something green, or something related to the earth.

7. Do you want to avoid certain topics, themes, imagery or colors?

Images and colors mean different things in different cultures. You may think that all firms that cater to your target audience have brands with similar elements, and you want your brand to stand out. Or, you simply might not like the color orange or purple.

8. Who are your key competitors?

What do you like or dislike about your competitors’ brands? Your graphic designer should create a brand that stands out from the competition, at the same time keeping in mind that you are going after the same audience.

9. Which existing brands do you admire or want to emulate?

If you are a tech startup, do you admire the designs of Apple, Dell, or Microsoft?All of these are quite different, yet recognizable worldwide–and each has gone through a transformation over the decades. What do you specifically like about the brands you admire?

10. What do you like and dislike about your current brand?

Knowing what you like and dislike is valuable information that will help you to launch your new or refreshed brand. You may think the colors or typeface are outdated, or you may think you want to start over with a new design. Either way, this is a great opportunity to enhance your overall brand strategy.

11. What is your decision making style?

When you embark on a branding initiative, your graphic designer will ask you to make a series of decisions, from design choices like brand style, images, color and typography (fonts) to technical choices like file formats, resolution, and the size your brand will be displayed. Where you are on the scale from Decisive to Indecisive will impact your ability to meet project objectives, scope, schedule, budget, and timeline.

Do you make decisions quickly? Do you make decisions based on feelings or facts? Do you get bogged down in “analysis paralysis?” For a description of business decision making types, read more here.

When I say, “You,” I really mean “you and your key stakeholders in this branding effort.” I recommend that you seek input from your key stakeholders before reaching key project milestones, but I do not recommend building your brand “by committee.”

Spending time to answer these eleven questions–including input from key stakeholders–can better position you for success in your branding initiative. Credit to 99 Designs for their original post; I added my perspective to their eleven questions.

Is all this effort worth it? Clients who understand the importance of branding say it is. If branding is new to you, So You Think You Need a New Brand might provide some insight.

As always, if you lack the internal resources to do a branding project, seek outside help. And, if you don’t know where to start, seek advice from a graphic design professional that also understands business and marketing issues. You will be glad you did.

Showcase your brand and ditch boring bullet slides

Primo presentation pointers

Brand Guidelines

Presentation Template

Eclectic Menagerie Gallery

Entropy image gallery

Abandoned farm Photos

1. What are your business goals?

2. What do you want this Brand to accomplish?

3. Who is your target audience?

4. What marketing channels will you use?

5. How Do you want your brand perceived?

6. What are your brand/company values and mission?

7. Do you want to avoid certain topics, themes, imagery or colors?

8. Who are your key competitors?

9. Which existing brands do you admire or want to emulate?

10. What do you like and dislike about your current brand?

11. What is your decision making style?

Latest Posts