As some of you may know, before I came on the World Race, I worked as a Graphic Designer. When I was 14 I found out about a design company called Soldier Design (soldierdesign.com) which blew my mind with their incredible work, and first got me interested in design. Then I became a part of the Graphic Arts program at my first high school which set a foundation of learning the elements and principles of design and basic program knowledge. At my second high school I took almost every art class they had available and learned about painting, drawing, photography, and of course, design. After high school I went to the New England Institute of Art where I majored in Graphic Design. I loved learning about design stuff like branding, product design, typography, composition, and color theory and gaining program knowledge in programs like Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign (amongst many others). After college I worked with bands and venues, as well as working for Studio 24 graphics in Boston, where I got real design experience working for churches, restaurants, rappers, nightclubs, promoters, clothing companies, and a world of other clients.
Pretty much what that all means is that I am a huge graphic design NERD. I love everything about it. Other than Jesus there might not be anything in my life that I am more passionate about than design. I see everything through the eyes of a graphic designer. Every product on a shelf, every logo, every business card, flyer, poster, billboard, and street sign. I think of how the designer made it, which program he/she used, the composition, use of typography, color schemes, what they did right, what they did wrong, and how I would have done the job differently or better. Basically graphic design is my passion, it is engrained in my life, and it’s a part of who I am.
I thought when I came on the World Race that I would never get to design because I would be too busy doing ministry to design anything, and that I wouldn’t have any clients being out on the field anyway. So I was sad because I wouldn’t get to do what I love to do. Boy was i WRONG.
First month, in South Africa, our ministry contact at Beam Africa needed a fire escape plan to pass some inspection that was happening. They had no idea how they were gonna get that done, but God just so happened to drop a designer in their lap right when they needed it. So I ran around the building figuring out the floor plan and got it done for them.
Month 2 in Swaziland, our squad was at El Shaddai Children’s Home, and we made a website for the ministry (www.elshaddaiswazi.org). I helped design the website, made font and color choices, and designed them a sweet new logo. Now they have an awesome new brand identity and web presence.
Month 3 we were in Ethiopia, with a ministry called Win Souls For God, and our contact’s name was Mickey. Mickey had a vision to make an organization called Light Ethiopia, which would give battery powered book lights and house lights to people in the rural areas of Ethiopia which have no electricity. He was very passionate about this vision, and wanted so badly to bring light into this extremely dark place. So I went all out. I did research, did concept development, found some Ethiopian style patterns, did a few sketches, and came up with an idea I decided to use as the final design.
Then it was just a matter of creating the design in Illustrator, which is a vector program that makes resolution independent images…pretty much you could put this logo on a business card or a billboard and it would look just as good on either one (no pesky pixels to be found). It was a pretty challenging design, but that just made it SO MUCH FUN TO MAKE!
The Final Logo:
I had so much fun doing this logo! It was a chance for me to really dive into why I was making this logo, what it was for, and how I can make the best logo possible for an awesome cause. I also realized while making this that God got glorified when I did all these designs. These organizations are making a difference in people’s lives and I got the opportunity to help them out by doing what I am passionate about, and using the gift that God gave me. God wants us to use our passions and gifts for His glory and His work. I thought i would have no chance to design on the race, but God turned that around and put my skills and passion to use for His glory, and I’m SOOO happy He did!
So what I want to ask you is, what are you passionate about? What is it that you love to do? And will you let God use that for His kingdom and His glory?
At this point. I’m still about $4,600 away from being fully funded for the World Race! If you would like to help me stay on the field and finish the race, please consider donating. Pray about it (if you’re one of my non-christian friends “think about it”) and consider helping me out! If you like my design work I can even work on something for you in exchange. Thanks for your support! I love you all!
-Evan
