Designing the message ~ teknologi

Posted on Tue - June 24, 2008

Designing the message

Grabbing attention in a hurry UPDATED to fix iPhoto bug.

One of the things that has been taking my time lately is a small design business I have on the side. It doesn't pay much, barely enough to meet expenses, but it does let create every once in a while. One of the things that grew out of my business card designs is a MemeCard. MemeCards get attention in three to five seconds and sell the message is twenty to thirty seconds.

They actually started as motivational tools. I used a couple of ideas from Disney's "Meet the Robinsons" on one as a combination sample/ad giveaway and it just took off from there.

Here's one that I put together for Pagan Vigil, my mainstream political blog.

I just one to touch on a couple of points in the design. Up at the top, green and gold suggest money. That is why many upscale banks used to use green marble. By using the "engraving" font and keeping a sharp line of separation, I encourage this association. The "bearer" bit at the bottom is carefully worded to build on this idea, and the font I used there reinforces that. There's also this subtle thing about a Gadsden being a unit of currency.

The red letters on the pale blue are in stark contrast to the "banker" bit at the top. With the handwritten font, there is just a touch of "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore!" Notice that this is the second mention of KYFHO.

My version of the Gadsden flag comes next. Of course, the "Don't tread on me" stands out, but by using this particular design, I've worked KYFHO in yet again.

By making the web address small with gray letters, it becomes secondary to the message on the card. In other MemeCards, I have the name of my design business and an email address.

All in all, the card gives the impression that it is as much a public service message as a advertisement.

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