Memphis graphics designer now a double Dove Award nominee

By Bill Ellis, The Commercial Appeal

April 5, 2003

A local graphic design company will be among the nominees at the 34th Dove Awards on Thursday in Nashville.

Downtown company Disciple Design has two nominations in the leading gospel music event, both in the Recorded Music Package category for the albums “Cover Me” by Brother’s Keeper and “Unusual” by All Together Separate. The albums are on local modern Christian label Ardent Records.

“Getting two out of the six finalists was great,” says Disciple Design president Craig Thompson, 41, listed among the category’s nominee names. “I fully do not expect to win. … But getting nominated and having our name out there is great because we’re wanting to do some more work out of Nashville. We’re kind of hoping this will be a catalyst for more credibility.”

Thompson, who will be attending the Doves, joins several other regional nominees including Kirk Whalum, who matches his two Grammy nominations this year with Dove bids, both in the Instrumental Album of the Year category for “in the Spirit” and “The Gospel According to Jazz Chapter II.”

Ardent act Skillet is in the Hard Music Recorded Song of the Year category as is Little Rock band Living Sacrifice, whose record, “Conceived in Fire,” is also u for Hard Music Album of the Year.

Founded nearly 10 years ago, Disciple Design is a full-service graphic design studio that Thompson started to service Christian organizations, churches and non-profits. The company began doing CD art about five years ago and has done work for both the ForeFront and the Sparrow record labels.

Most of the business’s two-dozen or so CD designs have been for Ardent however, including records by Big Tent Revival, Skillet and Disciple Design’s other Dove nominations in 1999 for the Smalltown Poets album, “Listen Closely.”

“We’ve used them forever,” says Ardent Records legal manager Christine Mundie. “I know that they’re always excited about doing a music-related project. And if I give them the photo shoot of an artist like Big Tent Revival, two weeks later they’ll bring me like 15 concepts of album design. With any design, you usually get maybe three, tops. But they’re so professional. I know if I give them something and it’s due in three hours, they’ll get it done for me.”

Thompson, who became a Christian at a concert 20 years ago by Memphis act DeGarmo & Key, says he wanted a way to be involved in the music though he isn’t a musician himself. He now finds it fitting that his main client, Ardent, is a label whose co-owner is duo member Dana Key.

- Bill Ellis: 529-2517