The KGA and My Position

The Korthals Griffon Association is a club dedicated to the promotion and protection of the Korthals Griffon. As a committee member of the KGA my main function is in Media and Events; I have helped design and create the KGA logo, website and social media pages as well as participating and photographing events that the KGA have attended. If you are interested in finding out more information in regards to the KGA please visit the website at www.korthalsgriffonassociation.org.

The making of the KGA logo

When I was first asked to design the logo for the KGA I had a discussion with the founder/president of the club, Colleen Porter. We discussed ideas for the colouring, shape and the initial idea of the logo which was to display an image of a Korthals Griffon on top of the world.

I went away with many ideas of what I could potentially do that would help make the logo stand out and be fun, yet remain professional. I then put together three rough drafts and sent them to Colleen for feedback which helped influence the beginnings of the logo. She then sent me images of the American Korthals Griffon champion ‘Z’ and asked if I could use one of the images for the logo, that would also be accompanied with the colour navy/blue. The choice of colours were used a method to make the logo stand out against the common creams/greens and other earthly colours usually used by clubs. I then went onto the website http://www.freeimages.com to find free images of globes that I could use as a base for the KGA logo.

My next step was to decide on the software that I would use to create the logo, I decided on Photoshop CS6 as I am experienced with this software through editing photographs and creating creative media content. Firstly, I decided to work on the globe image as this was to be my base/background. I decided to darken the image and add blue tones to meet the requirements I was given from the client. Once happy with the background, I moved onto the image of ‘Z’ by firstly flipping the image, I then softened the grass area and removed the original background so that the new logo background could be seen. I later decided to sharpen the image of ‘Z’ but then came across problems of the image becoming too pixelated and so decided to experiment with the editing tools; I soon discovered that by making the image of ‘Z’ black and white it would improve the quality. I was finally happy with how the photo of ‘Z’ on the logo worked well against the navy background. My last task was to add a boarder as the logo needed to be printed on merchandise, banners, letters, stickers and more. I decided to use basic black Georgia font with a white background and a black circular outline around both the image and text.

I finally sent my final draft to Colleen Porter, who then approved the logo and collected a high quality digital copy.

The making of the KGA website

I was asked to create and maintain the KGA website as I photograph events, training days and grooming days resulting in it being much easier for myself to update and document what the club has achieved. The KGA committee held a meeting to discuss club matters and how the website should be displayed in terms of pages, information and other content. The website was created on one.com, which is not too complicated to navigate and personalise, having been asked to keep the website simple both creatively and for use purposes I decided to focus on how easy the mobile view settings where, and based the desktop layout on the phone and tablet settings. I am currently working on a training day video for the website which includes a seminar from Korthals Griffon trainer and AKC approved hunt test judge, Carol Ptak. A video featuring Carol Ptak demonstrating the specific grooming techniques and requirements of the Korthals Griffon will be available for purchase in the near future. Photo’s are also available on the KGA website from all previous events.

The making of the KGA social media pages

Once the KGA website was published my next task was to create social media pages for the Korthals Griffon Association, and link them to the website. I firstly began by creating an Instagram page where I post images of the Korthals Griffons and events that the KGA has attended as well as promoting future events. I then decided to create a Facebook group for KGA members and those who are interested in the club, as a way of promoting future events and documenting everything that the KGA has done for all to see. The Facebook group also allows members to post images of their own experiences and join in discussions with members of the committee.

Please follow the Korthals Griffon Association on Instagram @korthalsgriffonassociation and join the KGA Facebook group – Korthals Griffon Association.