Sometimes the Finished Product isn't Perfect, it's Just Much Better

Memories like this should be preserved. Today it is easier than ever to digitally do the work. The kids in the photo above were 7 years old and the picture was originally a Polaroid. (60 years old) The owner snapped a picture of it with her cell phone. Occasionally, a photo is in really poor condition, and the end result might not be perfect, but it's a lot better than the original. 

Add eBook Design to My Resume!

This past week I completed a project with author Jeff Gottesfeld and illustrator Jonah Cohen. It's a free downloadable eBook. Jeff is an accomplished, award-winning author who graciously agreed to do a guest post on this blog:

All the way in March, the children's book publisher Candlewick Press (full disclosure: that company is publishing my next picture book, TWENTY-ONE STEPS: GUARDING THE TOMB OF THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER in March, 2021, with illustrations by the immensely talented Matt Tavares) brought out a free, downloadable picture book for kids, explaining the Covid-19 crisis to them. I was impressed by how quickly it must have come together, and the good that could be done with a PDF download.

And it got me thinking. 

I have a pretty active Jewish life. Between my synagogue, family, and study, it was a big anchor for me. Then came COVID-19. And I realized that as much as my Jewish life was disrupted, it was worse for children in Jewish homes. So much of Jewish life is communal. The holidays, observances, festivals, events...it's always the more the merrier. The pandemic made the more the merrier the more the super-spreadering, or something. In any case, kids all over the world were stuck at home, including Jewish kids. They couldn't even mask up and go for a walk on their own. I figured it had to feel pretty joyless.

But the thing is, there is plenty of Jewish joy at home. It just has to be made. So I decided to see if I could enlist some talented Jewish friends and create a free, downloadable PDF book of our own. A coloring book, that would be positive and upbeat, whimsical and inspired. I talked to young artist Jonah Cohen, who went to high school with my de facto stepdaughter and is now at Rhode Island School of Design. Would you be interested, Jonah, in joining in a volunteer chesed project?  He said yes. I talked to my old Teaneck NJ junior high school chum Julie Greller, who's my webmaster. Would be you interested, Julie, in joining a volunteer chesed project, and design this book?  Julie said yes. 

Of course, everything takes longer than expected. Jonah had school, I had my writing life, and Julie had her designing life. But longer doesn't mean never.  And maybe it is a besherit that just as America and much of the world is mired in this December wave of COVID-19 that's got so many of us on lockdown again, and Hanukkah is starting on Thursday night, that When We Can't Go Out: Jewish Joy at Home is ready.

It's free to download here. Go and enjoy.

Restoration is not always about the photo!

Every now and then, I come across a client who would like a child's drawing restored. You can see that the original example was done on loose-leaf paper and is on the dark side. The restored drawing shows a clean white background minus the lines etc. It's not expensive to do, so drop me a line if you have a similar request and I will give you a quote.
jgrellerdigital7 (at) gmail (dot) com .

Giving Back is the Greatest Reward

The majority of my design work has been done as a volunteer. Since retiring four years ago, I get the most pleasure from donating my skills to local organizations, like the Palisades Virtuosi, where I also sit on the Board of Directors. You've already seen a sample of my poster work in an earlier blog post in 2016. For the second year, I have been doing design work for The Teaneck International Film Festival, which will be taking place this weekend in Teaneck, N.J. Below is the updated schedule which I spent many hours designing and updating, as well as the ads which were placed in local newspapers. Oh, the updating. If you live in the NY-NJ-PA area, please join us this weekend. Sunday's 2 pm movie at Temple Emeth will be featuring a talkback with Academy Award Actress and Director Jodie Foster!

A Theatre Group Gets a Redesign

I'm proud of the work I just finished for the Little Fig Stage.  When you click on the name, you will notice that this minimalist site opens with a slide show on the home page. The owner said she liked the color purple, and on her previous site had used a special font for the name of the group.

I matched the font and paired the purple with black to create a classy, easy to navigate site.

If you are interested in using my services, please email me at jgrellerdigital7@gmail.com.

Clean Website Designs

I've been involved in website design, photo restoration and graphic design since I began my teaching career as a media specialist. Now that I am in the next chapter of my life, I am devoting all of my time to design work. If you don't wish to spend a load of money on designing your website, I'm sure I will be able to help you out. From minimalist to complex, I'm certain you will be happy with my work.  Email me: jgreller@gmail.com

Let's talk about what you would like! Here's a sampling of my work for author Jeff Gottesfeld:

Customize Your Own Magazine Cover!

We are able to design your custom magazine cover as simple or complicated as you like. Here is one which is a touch more than simple. Prices range fro $35.00-$150.00, based on the complexity and time needed to complete. Size is 8.5 x 11. Email us if you are interested: jgreller@gmail.com