Twitter explained in plain english

Date April 16, 2008

I hear from my friends all the day, “Why would I want to Twitter?, Whats the point?”. Well my friends, here is a simple explanation from the folks at Common Craft of why I find Twitter so useful. Enjoy. :)

Plant a tree….or a billion

Date April 10, 2008

Plant a billion TreesThe Nature Conservancy created this simple Plant a Billion Trees campaign, that uses inspirational design and nice attention to details. This flash based site has great calls to action and a interesting flash intro. Not to mention being for a great cause, worth checking out.

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How To Brand Twitter

Date April 1, 2008

I’ve been playing around with branding many of my social media sites, but I have to say Twitter has been one of the easiest to dress up. So here is the simple low down on how to brand your own Twitter account.

  • Create a header graphic that is at least 1800 pixels wide to support monitor stretching.
  • Place your logo off to the left side of the header, this will keep it clear of the Twitter logo and content.
  • Go to your Twitter setting, select the new graphic as the background image (don’t tile), match you background color to the bottom of your header graphic
  • Choose text and link color that match your palette
  • Finally add a slick avatar for the finishing touch

The magority of my design work is done in Adobe Illustrator. I’ll build the design, outline the crop area with a box, , then I do a “save for the web” export.

Here are a few Twitter accounts I’ve branded

Detroit Red Wings
Detroit Red Wings Twitter

Detroit Pistons
Detroit Pistons Twitter

University of Michigan Bighouse
University of Michigan Bighouse Twitter

Enjoy Ann Arbor
Enjoy Ann Arbor Twitter

Twinspired
Twinspired Twitter

Welcome to Dave Brenner Studio!

Date December 22, 2007

I’ve been working in the graphic design industry since I was thirteen, silkscreening t-shirts and cutting rubylyth. Over the years I’ve been fortunate enough to make this great art my lively-hood. This site will be a voice for my thoughts and inspiration. Please feel free to share you comments and ask any questions. Thanks for your support!

Dave