I Need Your Design Feedback ASAP
I’m currently having a website designed for the various things I do under the basic header JR Woodward – Dream Awakener. There will be 8 main sections to the website, each focusing on different roles that I have, including Catalyst, Activist, Writer, Speaker, Consultant….
As far as the homepage, it will reflect the idea of a Dream Awakener, one who awakens people to join God in the renewal of all things. Here three ideas that my design team has put together. I would love your thoughts on them. I have my own thoughts about these, but I would love to get your input as soon as possible. Thanks for your help. These are just there very first round of ideas that they are shooting at me. I would love to know if you an idea that would express the dream awakener with a more urban gritty feel.
IDEA 1
We are inspiring from one of your papers on calling and these ideas:
“First I need to realize that I have a calling. Just as God as a
worker had wonderful things to do, so God has created you in his
image to work and to do very good things.”
“Everybody has a calling. Every human being on this earth has a
calling. You have a calling. There are no un-called human
beings.”
“You are as essential to God’s dream for the human
community as any other human being.”
“…God does not make spare parts”
By reading this, we realize that the idea is that every human
being is an important piece on a larger system, which is God’s
design to fulfill his dreams to the human race in general.
Based on this, the image that comes to our minds is a machine
gear system. Every human been is a gear, with a purpose. We
would have a system of gears, but in the middle one missing.
Over this system we would add a hand holding this gear, the one
that is missing to make the system work. This would be your
hand, since you are the Dream Awakener, the person that helps
others to find their purpose, helping this huge divine plan to
work.
IDEA 2 and 3
Based on the concept that we all have a purpose, were called to fulfill it, and that we need to be `awakened’ to understand this path and then live it intensely, we thought of 2 other images that could work to represent the “awakening” process:
1- A flower button, that starts closed and then opens. People
that are not `awake’ to their purpose would be represented by
the closed button. We would have middle image of the button
opening, and then a third image of a flower full opened, that
represents the person that understands his or her calling.
2- The image of a butterfly getting out of its cocoon. Just like
a caterpillar isn’t meant to be a caterpillar forever, but it’s
`calling’ is to rise as a beautiful butterfly, the same should
happen to us, human beings: we should rise and live the calling
God has set for us.
I’m not too keen on any of these ideas, but do they spark an idea that you could share with me? I will respond to them tomorrow on these ideas and we will probably go back and forth during the week. So let me know if you have an idea for me or feedback on these ideas. I’m going to give them some initial feedback tomorrow. Thanks a bunch.
The calling stuff is good baseline to generate key image. The gears too mechanistic that is not what you r about Cocoon image is good and biblical(metamorphsis) but overused. Where does progressive awakening and discovery fit? T hat to me is awakening to something. My 2 cents bro. Be well.
Scott,
I’m with you on the gears being too mechantistic. I was looking for a more organic, urban, gritty feel. Thank you for your feedback.
okay here are my thoughts (and daves too) we dont like the gears thing for same reasons as scotts. the flower and butterfly images are overused and dont really fit an “urban, gritty feel”. when we think of those words in light of the word awakening we both saw a tall building with a bunch of windows. i got the image of nightime with lights coming on in certain rooms. dave thought it would be cool to have the image of morning with the reflection of an awesome sunrise mirrored off the windows.
hope that is helpful…
thats what we have so far
Esther and Dave,
I really like those ideas, because it has an urban element and the lights coming on or a new dawn coming gives a great sense of awakening. Maybe it starts out at night and moves to the sunrise, and a sense of awakening. Great thoughts. Let me know if other ideas come to your mind. These are really helpful.
Sorry, but the only two “urban and gritty” images I can think of are fire and graffiti. Besides, as Dream Awakener, aren’t you really just pointing people toward Christ, the Light? It’s He who shines into our souls and makes us aware of how we’re made to reflect his glory, right? I don’t see you as being as gentle as a butterfly, or even a sunrise. I see you as a Molotov cocktail thrown down a greasy black alley. If I had to put a soundtrack to if, I’d put Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence”. That’s the environment that needs a Dream Awakener.
John,
You are the man. You definitely picked up on the gritty part well. Thanks a bunch for your input. You guys have sparked some more ideas in my mind to give to them.
Ha. I was thinking that the “dream awakener” is hard if the the “city never sleeps”
But another angle could be eyes open and shut. Eyes are powerful, personal, and potentially visionary.
Not necessarily gritty, but if you pair shut eyes with other scenes (imagine someone staring at a city alley and not really seeing it–eyes shut), you might have a huge amount of flexibility.
ps – from Colorado. Sad only Virginia gets you this year, but we’re enjoying a little LA ambassadorship from Shalom today.
I’ll admit I’m not the master creative type…
Urban, gritty though…? Maybe an old car from the 1980s, large land-boat style vehicle stopped on a city street that’s not busy but not empty either. Gently out of focus background shows old brick building, perhaps an old school or apartment building with basketball court and some kids playing behind a chain link fence. The car is parked though with the shot from the drivers side of the car… the front left tire is gone, but up on the jack with a new tire (not the spare, but a new one) ready to be put on… and when it’s put on this car, seemingly old and perhaps worn down, will then be able to travel and commit itself back to the journey in the environment it’s in. “Something (tire) is missing, yet the pieces are there, and when assembled, the broken (car) will fulfil it’s intended purpose.”
Also, the type of car can lend toward the “retro” or modern as well.
With a long car, the shot might lend itself to a panoramic style that would stretch across the top of a web page in context (or partially across a page).
Chris,
Thanks for the idea,I like all the connection to the eye, vision, open, shut etc. And as I was reading closer the ideas they sent me were more for the log, so it might be something they could reflect on.
Rob,
The car idea certainly works well with LA. Thanks for your idea. I was thinking about a car moving toward the city with my different roles popping up, one on a mural, one on a billboard, sign etc. So I will throw a few of these ideas their way and see what they throw back. Thanks for your thoughts.
I like the organic image of the flower but I don’t feel like that suits you, I like the urban element of the machine but that also doesn’t suit you. And butterflies, well that doesn’t suit you either.
What about a tree growing in a sea of concrete. Harkening back to psalm 1 it is like the streams of living water have been covered with concrete so they are no longer visible but they are still there. The roots go down and the branches go out. The shade provided by the tree invites people to sleep and dream (ala Jonah) and the branches bear fruit and invite birds to make their nest in them. (you could even put your twitter icon in the tree).
I also like the car idea, it could drive past people, murals, graffiti etc. cars always give a good sense of being on a journey and if there is interesting scenery it doesn’t have to be about the destination. My only problem is how isolating driving in LA can be, so maybe an open top car would be more community oriented.
jr,
here i’ll try to join in…didn’t like the gear either.
Actually i thought of a bridge and one man like a teacher look alike with the shoulder bag started slowly to walk across the bridge,through the smog or fog you the view blurred not knowing what was at the other side and a butterflies (art) rested on the top of the bridge.,there was one bench so the man stopped and sat down for a little while.
The other image i had was a fence with roses, where a garderner either an older lady or man had to cut their branches, watered and there was an old ruine monastic wreck at a place near the city..
I might be to late,but i tried to combine what was already there
Chris and Sonja,
I had to send in my stuff already, but for sure your thoughts are helpful and as I get back some actual pieces, I will be able to get more input.
Chris, I like the tree idea and I’m glad you enjoyed the car idea, maybe there could be a few people in the car (unlike LA – just dreaming here) in a convertible or something like you said. Great idea.
Sonja, I like the fog smog idea and maybe things become clearer. Nice pictures. Thanks for jumping in.
Just so everyone knows. This phase of the design feedback is over. I will be sharing some logos that the design team puts together in the near future. I can still take any feedback that you have, because it could be a great idea for the homepage itself, so please feel free to still leave comments. Also, I will probably send some possible logos this week, so stay tuned. Thanks again for all who helped me out, both here and on facebook. Much love.
Sorry I’m late to the party, but here’s my 2 cents if it’s useful.
I feel like you’re running into trouble by mixing your metaphors. If Dream Awakener is your calling, then I would encourage you to be highly adventurous in exploring whimsical, even surrealistic imagery that evokes the intensely creative and strangely juxtaposed elements of dreams. Maybe a cityscape whose buildings have roots and branches, airplanes with feathered birds wings, etc.
Jason,
You are late to the party, but hopefully not too late. I do like your idea quite a bit, and I will pass on the idea to the design team. Hopefully they get it enough time to consider at least one logo in this vein. If not, it it a great idea to consider for the homepage. So thanks a bunch for taking the time to chime in. Love it!