This is an exciting time for Dim-Light Graphics because we've finally created a website that accurately reflects the work that we're capable of. We've been so busy designing great websites for other clients that sadly we neglected to pay attention to our own. One of the inherit problems of creating a new website was settling on a corporate image for Dim-Light Graphics. Dim-Light Graphics was primarily a catch all for David Branstetter's pursuits and interests. It became readily apparent that mixing those interests would lead to confusion among potential clients.
This was the first logo for Dim-Light Graphics created sometime around 2006. Initially we were very pleased with the results. It had many elements to it that represented the company. It worked with illustration and design in a way that reflected the themes of Dim-Light graphics. But as we would discover over time, this logo presented a few problems. 1. It didn't translate to color very well. 2. It was hard to place the logo in various media, like envelopes and letterheads and still convey the same look and feel. 3. It relied too much on the illustration to sell the design, rather than allowing the whole design to sell the idea. 4. It relied too much on this poster design:
We also felt at the time that since we were primarily publishing Straw Man that the logo should reflect that reality. So the idea was formed that instead of using a big torch like the previous logo we would use a smaller light source to represent Dim-Light Graphics (as opposed to the obvious light bulb idea that anyone could think of). 
As the business side of things began to take off we felt it was necessary to remind people of the things we did well, that being photo realistic illustrations. We had already established an identity with the Straw Man character. We felt that if we lost the character completely our brand recognition would be lost. So instead of completely abandoning the Straw Man concept we tied together with an image of Dim-Light Graphics founder, David Branstetter. 
As nice as the new logo was it became increasingly apparent that the Straw Man character had nothing to do with the image of the brand. The character was hard to let go of because it was emblematic of many years' work. It became important to establish Dim-Light Graphics with it's own unique personality. There was one more attempt at creating a new logo before settling on the final design. In an effort to create a logo that represented our illustration work we created a hand lettered font that was intended to be the new logo. 
But the more we thought about it the less it represented the better qualities of the company. We want to emphasize our ability to make clean and user friendly designs. We want those designs to stand out and we wanted to emphasize that our small little light could stand out among other design firms.
After careful consideration we finally settled on this design.
We hope you like it.
We recently had the privilege of creating a business card for VanDyk Mortgage's Susan Neill. It's always fun working with an established logo because all the "hard" work is already figured out. In this case we wanted to take the traditional logo and give it a more modern spin.
It's a great example of an elegant design that works well on it's own. While Star Mortgage was transitioning to VanDyk Mortgage we had designed a few temporary cards that were cast in green. Once they completed the transition the color scheme became maroon. When that was established we quickly put together the card you see below. We'd like to say that we went through 20 designs to find the perfect modern look for the card, but in the end the client was very happy with the first design we put together.
But that's not always where the design work ends. When you think about printing anything you must consider the type of paper that it will be printed on. We've seen many nice 4-color designs printed on glaring glossy paper that destroys the subtlety of the design. In this case we chose to print the business card on a 16 point Dull Cover Stock with a Matte Finish. This gave the finished product a gracious and serious tone that conveys the professionalism of VanDyk Mortgage. If you're looking into getting a reverse mortgage VanDyk Mortgage would be the people to talk to.
One of the unique services that Dim-Light Graphics offers is our custom illustration work. In the case of Jim and Nancy it was a pleasure to reproduce a photograph from their days in the military. What's great about this couple is that they've been married for nearly 50 years. I'd say it's an excellent reminder and testimony of their dedication to each other. Jim and Nancy chose to celebrate that by commissioning this piece from Dim-Light Graphics. Dim-Light Graphics donated the sales of the work to the West Kentucky Youth Camp.
Liventre.com is the creation of Daniel Little, entrepreneur extraordinaire. Mr.Little started designing the website on his own through godaddy.com's "website overnight" program. When he proudly displayed the new website on facebook, a few of his friends told him they couldn't read the links at the top of the page. Wanting to achieve a viable solution on a shoestring budget, Mr. Little contacted Dim-Light Graphics to produce a flexible website that could handle all his needs. We created at Content Management based website that would allow him to upload any material without knowing HTML. With the click of a few buttons he is able to post videos and content in a matter of minutes.