I don’t consider myself a very creative person most of the time, and in fact much of the things that people think are innovative are actually poor and cheap imitations of applications that either failed or worked in the marketplace.
(Now that I’ve fully disclosed my deepest darkest secret to success and publicly diss’d myself…)
Finding the right “Creative” for your church ministry, design, or web work can be a challenge.
Barton Damer has recently written a great article titled “Hiring the Wrong Creative Person for the Right Creative Job” and is definitely worth a read. The full article is found on Collide Magazine’s site here. In it he discusses 4 categories:
1) Volunteer—“This designer is not great at design but I have no other leads and he/she has a great heart for ministry.”
2) Beginner Professional—“This designer is good but will hopefully improve.”
3) Skilled Professional—“This designer is very good but will need some direction.”
4) Expert Professional—“This creative is great and will lead our church visually.”
Sound familiar? Go check it out. Thanks Barton for the resource!
Scott Fillmer says
there is a lot in picking the right company or person… we first went with a large (Christian) company to later get screwed by said company and went with an individual who did exactly what we needed for less, it is a tricky business (finding a good designer/developer).
AdrianRodriguez says
Hmm. I wonder what category some people would consider me in, I like the thought of beginner, because I still feel like I am.
human3rror says
it's all relative, isn't it? to some you're an expert…
human3rror says
that it is that it is… a lot of “said” companies out there.
Jim says
i know when i'm over my head and i am building an arsenal of folks that I can refer the bigger fish to.
Ben Cotten says
We are blessed to have what I would consider and expert professional that volunteers his time. We don't deserve what he gives us. A church of our size could never produce the quality design that we put out.
http://www.trendsettingonline.com – least I can do for him is give him a shameless plug!
human3rror says
;)! rocking.
Stuart says
We're just entering this dilemma. We need a website (or three) designed and I as resident tech head have been tasked as the project lead on this. I know we have creatives in our Church but we don't have the right skills to do what we need so my big fear is – what if I muss up by picking the wrong person / company – so I need to think (and pray) carefully about how I do this.
So any guidance would be welcome 🙂
Ben Cotten says
my advice is to start with your church vision and work your way out from there to a logo and overall graphic identity. Hire someone who will take who you are as a church and where you are going and try to translate that into a digital medium.
Your logo, bus. cards, signage, website, etc should (IMO) be a cohesive whole that shows in a visual language who you are. I think it's a mistake to sink money into creating a unique website design before you get a real logo, for example.
Find a designer that can design like an artist, but think like a marketer.
Not to be a shill (and I really hope I'm not coming across that way, it's not my intent), but you should contact our guy. He does this all the time.
http://www.trendsettingonline.com
Stuart says
Apologies Ben – been meaning to reply but a family holiday got in the way 🙂
Thanks for the pointers and even the link.
andry says
UGk0kz comment1 ,
Joseph says
Hey guys, Ben told me he had mentioned me here. I hope you all are finding success in your search for a professional, creative designer. Ben did a series of blog posts called "A Pastor's Guide to the Web", and had me close out the series with a post re: the relationship between Designer and Pastor. I think it would prove enlightening for you as you work through this issue.
http://www.bencotten.net/2009/05/01/a-pastors-gui…
human3rror says
thanks for this!