David C. Lannan is a former photojournalist who wrote for a variety of small weekly and biweekly newspapers. Over the years he also wrote reviews, served as editor and helped one newspaper win industry awards for page layout and design. He assisted two publications in their transition to computer pagination. Additionally he helped with ad design for newspapers and shoppers (magazines which combined localized advertising with calendars of events and lifestyle articles). He was brought aboard as graphic designer for a zoned shopper which was discontinued after a few years of low revenue. This began a transition into direct mail marketing and expanded into digital printing.

Other projects included editing copy and cleaning up photos for a couple of auto racing books for a racing memorabilia company. He also helped design the Pitstop Books logo and website. He assisted a friend's daughter with marketing materials for her country/gospel shows including business cards, flyers and posters, a media kit, website, CD covers and apparel - creating logos and developing her brand. He also photographed her concerts, sent out media releases and helped find performance opportunities.

EDUCATION

A graduate of the University of Indianapolis with a degree in journalism, Lannan worked on student publications as writer, photographer and co-editor. It was here that he initiated his interest in publication design.

“It seems like I've always had an interest in writing,” Lannan says. “From my start on the student newspaper in high school through college I never changed my mind. But adding to my desire to write was my interest in design which made me more marketable.” He prefers feature stories over news but he has also covered high school sports. He even briefly worked in broadcast media as his high school may have been one of the first to have their own TV studio in Indiana. He gained some experience working part-time at a local cable access station.

ADDITIONAL PROJECTS

He worked on two church newsletters as a volunteer, doing the photography, writing and layout. He designed a logo for one church which was used on a website, social media, church apparel and Bible covers. He helped promote a friend's church using photography and social media which proved beneficial during the pandemic.

BRANDING & LOGO DESIGN 

“One of my favorite things is to be given the opportunity to help companies with their logos and branding,” Lannan said. “I haven't done as much as I would like in those areas but even in my down time I play around with logos I hope will be used.”

In addition to a church logo he created logos for two rising music stars, another for a plumbing company, a painting company, two restaurant logos and collaborated with a co-worker on the design of a company logo for a direct mail company. When he was brought projects for the direct mail company and the clients didn't have logos he occasionally helped with their branding. He is playing around with logos for two performers, an Olympic hopeful and a young chef. “It may be a gift to them as my way of supporting them, plus it gives me something creative to do and add to my portfolio.”

WRITING, PHOTOGRAPHY AND PAGE DESIGN

“Over the years I have met some interesting people, starting with interviews for my high school newspaper,” Lannan said. “I interviewed a prosecutor who would become mayor, a well known Indian artist, a guest speaker who addressed drug awareness. Then professionally I met an author and founder of The Crystal Cathedral and a baseball pitcher for the Reds.” He has enjoyed meeting a wide variety of people during his career.

Among his favorite stories? Interviewing a Zionsville man who hoped to build and fly a Fokker airplane. Interviewing people working with non-profits like Big Sisters, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and Jaycees. Being part of the group initially promoting White River Park as well as developers for the revitalization of Union Station in Indianapolis.

“I also enjoyed creating feature packages from start to finish - the writing, photography and page layout,” Lannan said. “At least one of those won an award through the Hoosier State Press Association Newspaper Competition.”

He launched a music blog last year at 

https://stargazing-bullfrog.webador.com. The blog features profiles he wrote, gleaning information from artist websites, articles and social media mixed with his opinion. 

His career has taken some interesting twists. “I worked with a former boss and his partners on several occasions, including helping them launch a zoned tabloid lifestyle publication. I learned a lot from them.” His first professional job after college was working at a weekly newspaper in Greenwood where he eventually became editor. Years later he found himself working with his former boss on a series of shoppers in Hamilton County then again for a series of zoned feature oriented tabloid newspapers called Image.

“The industry has changed a lot since my first job after high school. We were manually pasting up copy and advertising. By the time I finished with newspaper design we were computer paginating everything,” Lannan said. “I'm so glad. I got tired of nicking myself as we put borders on ads and cut acetone sheets for color blocks.”

PUBLICATIONS

• Southside Challenger
• Perry Township Weekly
• Greenwood Gazette
• Hendricks County Guide-Gazette
• Highflyer (zoned shoppers)
• Zionsville Times Sentinel
• Image Newspapers
• Employment Weekly
• Hendricks County Flyer
• Wise Buys (zoned shopper)

BOOKS - I helped with proofreading, editing and photo correction/repair

• The Floyd “Pop” Dreyer Story by Mike Dreyer
• Wooden Rails and Rooster Tails by Earl C. Fabritz; Allan G. Krause
• A Date with Destiny by Crocky Wright
• Pool and Billiards Yearbook

LOGOS

• Shooting Star Shonda Sue, country and gospel singer
• LaShonda Sue Moore, contemporary Christian singer
• Lindsey Danielle Anderson, country singer
• Nelson Plumbing
• Pitstop Books
• Faris Mailing, Inc.
• Mother's Table Pancake House
• Mother's Table Family Restaurant
• Plastic Recycling Inc.
• Simply Fine Gifts
• ACT, LLC
• Speedway General Baptist Church
• Ariel Franz, country singer

PROJECTS

• Indiana Girls AAU Basketball programs

Indianapolis ICE trifold brochure
GWHS Continental Press (50 Year Club newsletter)
The Surveyor (GWCHS alumni newsletter)
BGBC Sponsorship packets
Lathrop marketing materials
Branding for Shonda Sue including logo design, website, CD covers and labels, media kit, posters and flyers
SGBC Beacon, church newsletter

Website for Ariel Franz

FUTURE GOALS

Lannan is trying to organize a portfolio of his work but the examples from his days as a photojournalist are not digital. “I'm trying to find digital versions but they don't seem to be readily available so I may have to photograph or scan them directly from the publications.”

Another aspiration is to someday become a published author. “I had several books started when I was in high school but never finished them. Then I lost my notebooks so I kind of tabled that idea for awhile.”

One of his biggest inspirations was a columnist from the Indianapolis Star, Tom Keating. “I really enjoyed reading his columns. He introduced us to some interesting people and covered important issues. I was saddened when he passed away.”

Another inspiration was Dr. Robert Schuller, author and founder of the Crystal Cathedral in California. “I actually have an autographed copy of his book, ‘The Be-happy Attitudes’. I enjoyed watching his services (The Hour of Power). He was charismatic and motivational in his preaching and his writing.” Lannan was most impressed by Schuller's determination - from starting church services at a drive-in theater to the development of one of the most recognized early TV ministries.

“One area I am really interested in pursuing is getting back into photography. Both as a hobby and as a supplement to my writing and design. I'm saving up and researching digital cameras,” Lannan said. He first learned film processing and printing at a local Boys Club in Indianapolis. He entered and won a photography competition co-sponsored by Kodak and the Boys Club. “I really liked being able to control the print process in the darkroom but it is so expensive now.”

His favorite photographers included Ansel Adams, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Edward Weston, Imogene Cunningham and Margaret Bourke-White. “Now that I have rediscovered my interest in photography I find myself driving or walking around looking at everything as possible photo opportunities,” Lannan said. Two uncles were professional photographers. His mother, another uncle, aunt and cousins all have been involved in photography in some way.

“One of the most interesting photographic opportunities I've had was being present at two different controlled burns where someone donated the use of an abandoned home to help firefighters train,” Lannan said. “You get a whole new respect for these men and women. I was close enough to get great shots and feel the heat. Without all the gear they have to wear for their protection. As hot as I was, they had to be miserable. And they have to look out for each other.”

TYPE OF WORK 

Lannan's least favorite projects involve creating forms and designing websites. "I have helped with a handful of websites using programs that helped with the coding but I was never happy with the end results. On a Macintosh computer it would display one way, then in different browsers the layout would change," he said. "I know with CSS and other options I could have eventually fixed it." So he will help build websites using website builders offered through hosting companies, modifying templates someone else created if he has need. "Until I started using templates I was creating home pages in PhotoShop just so there was consistency across browsers."

His ideal projects would be designing logos and marketing materials, creating a consistent branding as well as publication design. Other projects he would like to do include writing copy for company bios and feature stories for publications. "It's not like I won't consider other projects, but these are the ones I would most enjoy and where I feel I could offer my creative best," Lannan concluded.

Most recently Lannan designed a website for an Arizona teen country singer, designed a logo and wrote her bio for the site. He has been helping promote radio interviews, single releases and sponsorship using reels on Facebook and Instagram. Her website can be found here.