Five Minute Friday :: Design

• Five Minute Friday • Design linkup

With design as the prompt, how could I not FMF this week? Borrowing from my mid-January reflection on John 1:43-51:

John's gospel refers to Jesus' actions as signs instead of miracles. We talked about sign, symbol, and meaning almost as much in design classes as we did in cultural anthropology classes. Words printed on a page, spoken out loud, or communicated silently using hands, arms, face, and body – "sign"– language symbolize realities beyond and other than themselves.

Street signs, freeway signs; a product label. None of those is the actual thing, but point to something else. In short, signs and symbols lead to substance. … Jesus instinctively "knew" Nathanael because in his religious and cultural tradition, anyone studying Torah underneath a fig tree would be a Jewish son of the Sinai Covenant.Jesus knew how to interpret that sign!

I've done some art and design for hire almost since the dawn of time; for a while now, I've mostly earned my keep as a graphic artist-designer, with an occasional side of liturgical art. With its goal of presenting and promoting a product, concept, or style, communication design is another term for graphic (from the Greek word for writing/scripture) art. Like spoken and written language, design conveys message and meaning.

I'd love you to visit my website suntreeriver design. Sun, tree, and river are persistent biblical images. Almost everywhere I've used this FMF post's sun header as my avatar; a tiny version is the favicon for my websites. # # #