Do try this at home

If you’re a development person, you’ve probably been called upon to do graphic design, despite the fact that you may never have even taken a graphic design class.

I’ve been asked to do t-shirts, pens, posters, postcards, flyers, invitations, business cards, letterhead, websites, presentations, annual reports, newsletters, and more. Why? Because there’s usually no money to hire outside people.

I love art, but I’ve never taken a graphic design class. So, if you’re like me, you may be sitting at your job, scratching your head, wondering what makes good design, and what to put on the front cover of your newsletter. Reading books is well and good, but so is knowing what speaks to YOU.

This is why I’m so excited to share this resource with you. Take a look on the righthand side of the page. http://enjoythin.gs is a website where you can keep track of art and photos that inspire you all over the web. FFFFOUND is a particularly good place to find things, but so is Treehugger.

If you’re in Development, you’re a storyteller. If you’re in a human services nonprofit, can you tell the story of how someone’s situation fell apart, and how your organization helped put them back together again?

Can you tell the story of how you mended the heart of a place?

What conventions can you turn on their heads with your design? Can you tell the story of how you helped get teens to love music, or healed relationships?

You may say, “Look, aren’t grants/events/major gifts more important than what goes on the front of the newsletter?” And I would say, “YES” and I would say, “Your image is also pretty important. It’s important for you to look professional, and it will have an effect on how people see your organization.” It’s subtle, but it’s true, if you’ve got a newsletter riddled with typos, chock full of text but no pictures, or just badly designed, it’s going to reflect badly on your nonprofit, and you’ll end up with 5,000 copies of something that no one wants to read.

You may wail, “But I have NO TIME to do good design!” Good design doesn’t have to take a long time, or a lot of resources. It can be as simple as a fingerprint. Good design is personal. You know it when you see it. That’s why it’s important to keep track of when you see it, so you know what elements appeal to you, and what you want to incorporate into your next piece.

What are your favorite examples of good design? Email me, and I’ll put them on my enjoythin.gs feed here.

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