The genesis of this project was the need for Diocesan to update its local folder of outdated clipart, which was both a challenge for internal use and an untapped opportunity as a marketable product. The Marketing Manager had attempted to gradually replace the outdated clipart by working with junior designers, but the results were inconsistent, disjointed, and inefficient.
Recognizing the need for improvement, the director tasked me with developing a more efficient and systematic approach to the whole endeavor. My role was to create a streamlined system that would improve both the quality and speed of content creation while also ensuring the library was well-organized and easy to access. By establishing a more structured process, I aimed to not only improve internal operations but also create a foundation for turning the library into a valuable and marketable product for the company.
We began by putting ourselves in the shoes of the potential users, envisioning this as more than just clip art for Diocesan; it would act as a stock image site for parishes, where users could access ready-made, relevant content for their publications. This perspective guided both research and execution.
From there, we categorized the graphics and assets into distinct "buckets" to cover a wide range of needs: public domain paintings and images, clipart, headers, graphics with social media potential, and quotes from scripture and saints. Further, we recognized stock photos as a future expansion.
With this framework in place, a formula for production was created. I establish a set of guiding principles from which every designer would work:
Every asset had to be high-resolution to ensure that the materials would always look professional and crisp, no matter how they were used.
Through this process, I was able to create a replicable formula that allowed for consistent, high-quality design outcomes, helping to streamline content creation and ensure that a large volume of material could be produced quickly.
For Ordinary Time, we didn't want designers spending time reinventing the wheel for every Sunday. Instead, we thought of each of the four seasons as split in two, creating eight aesthetics to work within. Furthermore, we recognized that different parishes have different needs and desires for their communications. We made parallel tracts of the assets: one with a more traditional approach, the other with a more modern lean.
For more notable days in the calendar, we took the same methodical approach but allowed room for more creativity and imagination. Each day (i.e. All Saints, Priesthood Sunday, and Independence Day) would have its own theme where designers could explore unique aesthetics.
Organization was crucial to the success of this project because it allowed us to meet two key objectives: providing parishes with a wide variety of fresh, relevant content while ensuring that all assets, no matter where they were used, felt cohesive and consistent—almost as though they were created by the same source or artist.
Given the large volume of assets being created, it was essential that they be categorized in a way that was intuitive and simple to navigate. The goal was to develop a system that felt like a stock image site—a user-friendly platform where anyone, regardless of technical skill or experience, could quickly find the materials they needed without feeling overwhelmed.
