I was reminded during some recent discussions of my fondness for the British graphic designer Neville Brody. Brody runs Research Studios, a London based firm with offices in several other major cities. My fondness is based less on his work (which I love, don’t misunderstand me), but based more on his thoughts about graphic design. The title of this post is a reference to a quote from a 2004 interview in Typo magazine in which he said:

“If you are manipulating people to think in a certain way, you must be aware of it. Graphic design is very manipulative. And most people (designers) don’t think about it. They are just thinking about what the client is buying. I am not judging it but you need to know that you are persuading someone to buy a product or persuading someone to think in a certain way. You must be aware of the effect your work has.”

Check out the whole interview here.

His ideas about graphic design as a public service and creative sincerity have been influential on how I approach my job as a designer and in Bedouins. I’m not naive enough to think that every little project I start has the ability to change the world, but I do think that more designers need to consider the implications of the work they do. As a Christian I want to be about redeeming the culture around me not just adding to the noise. I don’t mean that as a slam on advertising or the commercial side of design. I mean that I want to be intentional with the work that I create as well as the interactions I have with people everyday. Life is too short to be too caught up in yourself.

Hello all! My name is Alex Kranzusch, and I put the “intern” in Bedouins International. I also put the “cheese” in cheese pizza, and the lame cliches into the Bedouins International Blogosphere. With that being said, I would like to introduce myself beyond the minor cranial damage I just inflicted on the loyal readers of this blog.

I am currently a student at the University of Alabama at Birmingham studying Graphic Design and Film. I’m a former roomate of Stephen, Roger, and Paul, sharing the original Bedouins office location and bathroom. Almost a year has passed and I can hardly waste another day away from these dudes and dudet. I will be assisting Josh and Stephen on some of the many design adventures that frequent the Bedouins loft. Essentially, my goal is to ease any of the stress that these guys and gal might undergo in the great work they are doing for the global missions community and beyond.

This may come as a surprise to you, but I’m not the most experienced or coherent blogger out there. My grammar skills are  sub par at best, and I might tend to ramble useless information. For the sake of not cheating the Bedouins blogging commune, I’m  introducing myself and my duties with Bedouins. So, hello and goodbye for now.

God Bless,

Alex

Hello this is me.

If you’ve checked out the projects section of our site you might have seen a shirt design I created for and organization called She Dances. She Dances, for those unfamiliar with the name, is an organization started by our friends Jeremy and Nedra that is dedicated to raising awareness and action on the topic of sex trafficking. The “wings” t-shirt was designed to be sold at shows by Jeremy’s band Thalon and to be a means of support for the organization. Since its original printing the shirt has sold very well, and has become a primary source of income for She Dances. In fact this simple symbol has become iconic of their organization and its purpose, a logo of sorts even.

This is something that excites me, because it means to me that my work was successful. Not just successful in creating a cool shirt, but in creating a symbol that transcends its original format. That’s something I strive for in everything I create and something I encourage you to think about. Don’t just think about the here and now of even the smallest of projects; think about the big picture. A solid piece of design i more than just a cute image; its an icon, communicating a message that is timeless and transcendent.

I say all that to brag on just one of the amazing things God is doing through Bedouins, and to encourage you to visit She Dances’ new website. They just launched it earlier this month at shedances.org. Check it out and you just might see those wings again.

My name is Josh Farneman. I am the other guy on staff with Bedouins. For those of you who don’t know me, I’m the guy who handles all the graphic design (web design/interactive work is my favorite part of the discipline though). I’m directly responsible for what either what you see in those areas of our projects or at least managing those projects when one of our great volunteers is helping out. I also get paid to work full time for an ad/design agency called Mindvolt in Athens, AL, whose website I’m in the process of redesigning right now.

And I’m sure some of you out there are wonder why the web/interactive guy is the last one to start blogging. Well you can probably chalk that up to being to busy sometimes, and just laziness a lot of times. But now I’m here and determined to change that: call it a late new year’s resolution, a change of heart, whatever. I’m currently in the midst of some fun work with a company called GI inc. in Nashville and a project with our great friend and board chairman Biscuet. More about those projects soon as well as some other goings on.

I’ve never in my life experienced something like the digging of the well in Meto.  Not only was it just a beautiful sight…the water shooting 60 + feet into the air and catching the reflection of the early afternoon sun…but it was a powerful sight…watching water erupt from a parched land…a place that’s been in drought for 15 months.  A population that’s lost 50% of it’s cattle in under 2 years.  But the thing is…they didn’t even cheer.  There was no excitement, no jumping up and down or running in the mist.  At first I was a little dissapointed to be completley honest.  The most we got from them was a quick shuffle away from the direct stream.  But as I talked to people I began to realze that what I mistook for lack of concern was sheer and total awe.  These people stood there in silence as they realized that for the past 2 years their cows had been dying…they’d been walking miles upon miles for water…trying to nurse dehydrated babies when they were dehydrated themselves…and it was right below them the whole time.  They stood there not knowing what to do…now…finally…they can drink in their village.  Whenever they want.  They don’t have to rely on water from across the Tanzania border that comes and goes…they don’t have to send donkey water trains to the river miles away…they don’t have to collect the run off from their homes in cysterns.  They can walk to the well in their own village.  Fresh, cold, clear and clean…they have water.  It was an amazing day for us…and a historical day for Meto.