Arends Hogan Walker: Some of our favorite projects to work on involve working with a brand as a whole. After a merger of three Illinois agriculture dealerships, AHW was one of the largest and best equipped John Deere dealerships in the Midwest. They needed a full identity to help carry their brand. Over the [...]
Browsing the internet recently I discovered a website that combines two of my favorite things, well designed interactive websites and True Crime narratives. I am one of those people who spends (probably) an unhealthy amount of time listening to true crime podcasts, watching documentaries and reality shows about true crime, and reading true crime books. [...]
We helped Sparrowhawk tell their story through a clean brand identity and online presence Sparrowhawk Technology is a technology security company based in Illinois. Founder Matthew Jones, came to us give his brand a visual Identity and a website. Visually, we knew we wanted to portray a strong sense of security and tie-in Matthew's [...]
Often times in graphic design, we need to look outside of our industry to find inspiration. I was doing some reading recently and stumbled across the words of Dieter Ram. Dieter Ram is an industrial designer and has spent most of his life creating some truly iconic designs for electronics, furniture, and other household items, but [...]
As Thunderstruck's resident Web Designer and giant Harry Potter nerd, I thought I would take my blog this month to give a shout out to the beauty that is the Pottermore website. Pottermore, for those of you out there who aren't as obsessed with the magical world created by J. K. Rowling as I, is a [...]
Recently I had the chance to see the new documentary "Graphic Means" that explores the evolution of graphic design production from 1950s through the 1990s. The Documentary focuses mainly on the drastic transition in the design and printing industry, as new machinery and technology made way for the digital processes we use now. As someone who [...]
Logos are some of our favorite projects to work on. They allow us to learn about our clients, build a visual identity for their message and cater their website and additional materials around that identity so that they all mesh together as a consistent idea. I thought it might be helpful to go over a [...]
We all know when it comes to design... Typography is important. Like REALLY important. Whether you are designing for print or web, figuring out your typographic aesthetic and hierarchy is one of the most important steps to any design. One typographic tool that has been making life easier for designers and developers for as long as I have [...]
Being creative means feeling like none of your ideas are creative. Seriously, it’s like a rule. Here’s the thing, being creative is harder than one might think. Actually, no… being creative isn’t the hard part; convincing yourself that your idea is creative and good enough is what’s difficult. It’s like no matter what we [...]
Every year I like to participate in a local program called Pens to Lens. What is Pens to Lens? Pens to Lens is a program in the Champaign-Urbana area that brings students, film-makers, and designers together. Students from grades K-12 submit screenplays to a screenwriting competition. Professionals then donate their time and some of [...]
Ever wonder what it takes to get a website up and running? Since we just launched our own new website, we thought it would be a great idea to explain the general website design process here at Thunderstruck Design: Initial Consultation At Thunderstruck, all of our projects start with an free [...]
Working here at Thunderstruck Design, I love when a branding project comes through the door. Sometimes when I meet with a client, they think that their brand begins and ends with their logo. Although the logo is our first step in visually presenting the brand, it is just one piece of a much larger puzzle. [...]
When I was kid, I was obsessed with 2 things; monkeys and space. Since I couldn’t become a monkey, I figured an astronaut was the next best thing. Luckily I found common ground for both interests in NASA. Obviously the astronaut plan didn’t pan out, but I still have an appreciation for their logo, which [...]
