Graphic Design Articles

Change? Or Just Refresh Your Branding

It is fairly common for companies to re-brand every once a while. Especially if there is a new marketing person or executive. But...there are a couple of things that need to be considered when deciding how far you want the re-branding to go.

• Is everyone on board with changing your look?
  This one might seem simple, but if a new logo and materials have to be run by Board Members, Managers, or Employees, and they are perfectly fine with current stuff, there is a good chance they will have a hard time approving a new one. They will find lots of reasons or fault to shoot down a design comp and the project typically stalls.
• What is the budget?
  Decide if you have a couple hundred dollars or a couple thousand to spend. The more you know about your budget, the easier it is for a graphic designer to tailor you a package that fits your needs and makes that budget. This may be the biggest factor in deciding to change or refresh.
• What all needs to be updated if you do a full change?
  It's very easy to say "We're getting a new look", but make sure you think about all it implies. For instance, if you decide to get a new logo then you need to think, what all is our logo on? Signs, trucks, buildings, advertisements, business cards, brochures, website, and so on. Are you willing to get all these items re-done? Are you ok with some stuff having the old logo and some stuff the new? How does changing this one branding item effect my whole company?

After you answer these questions, you should have a good idea if your in the change category or refresh category. I have worked with many clients who thought they wanted to do the full change, but once we were getting into it, and it came down to making decisions on designs, it was clear they were still quite attached their old brand, so a lot of time and money could have been saved had they decided to just refresh.

What is the primary difference between change and refresh?

• Changing typically means that your scrapping the old and going completely new. New ideas, new colors, new style.
• Refreshing means that your keeping most (if not all) of the current brands fundamentals but maybe changing the colors, or giving it a face-lift into a more modern look.

With either you have lots of options to play around with!

Sparkle, Cutouts, Raised Areas, Shapes - Fun is in!

In business there are fads, just like there are in fashion. There's the minimalist fad, where everyone starts using lots of white, the large fad where everything is over-sized, the bright fad and so on.

Well, now we're in the fun fad! Be adventurous, be zany! Have business cards printed on pearl sparkly paper, have your business card cut to a fun odd ball shape, have a brochure that's been custom cut so it's not plain old trifold.

There are sooooooooo many options these days when it comes to design and print. Be creative and you'll most likely be rewarded because everyone has had a plain card or brochure handed to them, but not everyone has has a business card handed to them that was made of a thin slice of wood and hot poker branded.

Be fun, get noticed!

Photo/Video/Music Resource for your Projects

A common issue for clients when getting marketing materials or websites created is lack of pictures. Unfortunately we can't all be blessed with high end camera's and the eye of a professional! So, when you need professional photos for just about any event or thing you can think of, try iStock.com.

iStock is a place where photographers and designers from around the globe upload there photos for others to purchase. Depending on the size you need depicts the cost. You can get an image for less than $10.00. Considering the price to hire a photographer...it's a steal!

But, like all things there are strings so be prepared! iStock, like all stock image websites, has a licensing agreement that extends to all of their purchasable files. In fact, iStock has two agreements...one for regular folk using photos and files for their own personal stuff and promotions...one for designers and professionals using photos and files for reselling and in client projects. Each License Agreement has its own Terms of Service outlining what you can do and don't, so I highly recommend reading the terms at least once. The terms let you know how many times you print the image, if you can use it on brochures, websites, mugs, commercials and so on. When you purchase something from iStock, be sure to buy the appropriate License for your needed. VERY important!

Whatever your need, iStock probably has a photo, video, or audio file for it!

What you need to know about Photo Copyright

As a designer I commonly have to ask clients for images to work with. Eight times out of ten, they hand over photos that are copyrighted. When I ask them if they have a copyright release, I get a blank stare and a "what"? Unfortunately for the millions of photographers out there, not many consumers know about the copyright laws. Or worse, they don't take it seriously.

It should be taken seriously. Average people get slapped with copyright infringement lawsuits all the time, and usually loose. Even in our local community, last year, a designer and one of his clients had to split a $10,000 suit from a well known stock image repository because the designer used an image provided by the client that turned out it was taken from the repository's website and not properly purchased to obtain the copyright release. There was another case where a person went into a department store's photo department, scanned and printed copies of their kids school photo, and the store was sued from the photographer, and the store lost. People think they're not doing anything wrong, but if you get caught, be prepared to pay. The answer "I didn't know" is not going to get you out of it.

Here are some common things people do that is copyright infringement...

1. Scan & use photos of themselves that were taken by a professional.
Even though you paid to have the photo taken, and it's of yourself, the copyright is still owned by the professional who took it. *Unless they give you a written copyright release.

2. Scan & use photos of their family or their kids school photos that were taken by a professional.
Same explanation as # 1.

3. Use or print photos found online in Google (or any search engine) searches.
Images on the web are not free domain, unless the specifically state so, which is not common. You do not have the right to pull a photo off the web and reuse it in any capacity.

4. Use or print photos from a website.
Same explanation as # 3.

If you have a photo you would like to use, be sure you ask permission and get it in writing. It's worth it!

Successful Meetings Between Clients & Designers

There is a common frustration between designers and customers...communication! On average, clients think in one way and designers another. And they don't often match up!

A designer's goal is to take what a client needs and transform into a creation that is functional and great to look at. A client's goal is to get something that fit's their needs, looks good, fits a budget, and a timeline.

When a designer and client have their first design meeting, on average clients do not come prepared. I emphasize "on average" because there are those clients who are very prepared and make the designer's job quite easy. But that is not the norm. Most clients don't know anything about the fundamentals of design. Which they shouldn't! It's not their forte, that's why designers are here. But this is where it can get sticky. A designer can have all the great ideas in the world, but they don't mean much if we don't know how to apply them to your project if the client has a hard time concisely communicating what they are looking for. It's very frustrating as a designer to make mock-up after mock-up only to have them not meet the approval of the client. I want to preface that not all blame is on the client. Designers can easily miss the mark on their own! That's why it's important to have meetings with a clear purpose and clear communications.

Here are a few common questions and examples that if a client knows the answers or brings to a design meeting that will greatly improve the success rate of their project.

• Know exactly what you need; logo; business cards; advertisement...ext.
• If your project is something like an ad or specialty item, know what the physical dimensions need to be. For example, if you need an add for a catalog, is it a quarter page, a half page, or a full page? The catalog your putting the ad in should have specs for you that you can bring to the designer. If the exact dimensions are not available at the time of the meeting, at least a ballpark gets it going in the right direction.
• If you want the design to match excising collateral you already have, bring them in so the designer can see the complexity and knows what they need to match.
• If you don't have excising collateral that your trying to match, bring examples from elsewhere that you like. The designer isn't going to want to copy any one design, that's copyright infringement, but the more examples you bring in, the better an idea the designer will have what you like.

Once the initial designs are completed, next comes the reviews and critiques. This is another area where communication can become a problem. Clients often have a hard time expressing what it is that is not working for them. Try to avoid using phrases like "make it pop", "make it happier" or "make it jazzy". Everyone has a different idea of what these terms mean. If there is something in a design that is not working for you, explain what it is in phrases like, "it's too dark", "it's too blue", "it's too small". The more specific you are in your critiques, the faster your project will be completed.

Lastly, not so much related to the design meetings, but more on timelines. If you have a specific due date, this means you the client are as responsible for the project being done on-time as the designer. If the designer sends you things to review, or asks you questions needing clarifications or opinions, the longer you take to respond, the higher the chances of missing your deadline. If a designer sends a review, and you respond with changes a week later, two days before deadline, the designer may be forced to miss the deadline. Designers are usually juggling multiple clients projects, and it can be very stressful to have the timeline crunched. Some designers will charge rush fees to help combat this. Designers should do their best to mindful of the deadline as well as the client. The more designers and clients work in partnership, the more successful the project and relationship.

Graphic Designers & Website Designers are Different

I myself am both a graphic designer and a website designer. I am a design geek and a code geek. This is rarer than you think. It is usually thought that all graphic designers are web designers and vise versa. Incorrect! And to add even more to that, not all website coders are website designers!

The requirements and specs for a graphic design to be printed are extremely different than those for a web designer. Unfortunately a lot of designers don't realize the differences and they think they can do both. What ends up happening is a graphic designer creates a design that is not search engine friendly and is difficult to build because they didn't keep in mind that the web world works in boxes, and a web designer creates print materials lacking the correct much higher resolutions, doesn't know about bleeds and usually uses a none print friendly program for the design.

If you are in the market for both printed materials and website materials, and you want them done by the same company to keep your materials as cohesive as possible, interview your prospective company choices for both. Also, feel free to get references. A past/present client is the best way to get the dirt! If you don't want to ask directly, they should have a portfolio on their website that you can pull from.

Things you can ask a graphic designer...

Where did you get you graphic design degree?
The college they name doesn't really matter. Design talent comes from within and there are plenty of top notch designers that came from little colleges, as well as plenty of crap designers that came from high profile colleges. The main thing that matters with this question is that they have a degree IN graphic design. There are thousands of people who call themselves designers but they are not. They want to work from home, or they did a flier once and now they think their a designer. To date in my experience have never seen a good graphic designer without a degree. But I have seen tons of crap designers with no degree.

What local print shop have you worked with?
If they can't quickly tell you at least one print shop, there may be an issue of lack of experience. Only when you've worked with printers do get to know the ins and outs of what they need.

What is the standard size of a business card?
2 x 3.5 - Business cards are one of the most common designs created, any graphic designer should know the dimensions by heart.

What is a bleed?
A bleed is when you want the color of a design to go all the way to the edges, so you add color past the edges of the design. A print machine has to cut the edges of the paper to size after printing. Most print machines have a small margin of movement between cuts. In order to be sure that the color goes to the edge with no gaps due to the movement, we add extra color around the edges.

If a designer can answer these questions quickly without having to look it up, your probably on the right path!

Things you can ask a website designer...

What is the resolution for a website?
72 or 96 dpi. To date, most computer screens can only see 72 dpi (dots per inch). (Print on the other hand is 300 dpi.)

Can you code in html, css, php, or asp?
Website's can be a combo of one or multiple coding languages. The point of this question isn't which they do, there all acceptable, plus many more, it's just that they do it. Any web designer should be able to code in something. It's the only way to effectively know the ins and outs, dos and don'ts of what you can create.

What is the standard computer monitor size?
1024. Today's monitors are on average 1024 or higher. Websites can be built in any size, it's important that a web designer know what website width will fit on the majority of monitors.

What browsers do you code for?
There are 5 most common browsers and a few more minor browsers. Unfortunately for coders, they don't all interpret code the exact same. It's important that when building a website, the coder checks how it looks in the most common browsers to make sure it's coming across as it's intended. The 5 most common browsers are; Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Chrome and Opera.

If a designer can answer these questions quickly without having to look it up, your probably on the right path!

If a designer can answer one set of questions easier than the other, they may be better suited for the one they did well in.

Customized Invoices - They can be good looking!

Did you know that you can customize your invoices more than just adding your logo?

These days, a lot of businesses use Quickbooks or some other accounting software to do their accounting themselves. Now, in all honesty, I can't speak to the other programs, I use Quickbooks, but I highly suspect that the customizing feature is available in most all of them.

In Quickbooks, there is an item called templates. In the templates area is where you can customize the columns and rows, the totals, add notes to clients, add your logo and so on...but what most people don't realize is that in the templates area you can add background images, color, move the columns and rows in almost any way you like.

Your invoices don't have to be black and white and boring. Your invoices can be cleanly colorful, matched to your other print materials, and just plain good looking!

There is no reason your invoices can't show your personality!

Business Cards: Graphic Designer vs. Office Depot/Staples/Fed Ex/Kinkos

As a business owner, the first thing you probably get are business cards. It's all about promotion. This is when a pivotal question pops up...where to get them?

There are quite a few options. For the first round of cards, most new businesses who have no prior experience working with a designer usually go to their local office supply or copy shop. The pro, they usually get done same or next day. The con, they are plain plain plain, or a template that a hundred other people have. The super con, your card will not stand out.

Fix! Have your cards done by a graphic designer! It's a bit more dough, and a bit more time, but the end result is fantastic! A graphic designer will be able to take your information, wants and needs and whip them into a beautiful, creative, UNIQUE card. A card that when handed out people look at it and go, wow, nice! A card that when in a clients wallet beckons them to call you because it catches their eye every time they open the wallet. A card that when handed out at a convention or gathering, stands out against the others.

So, the next time your ready to order business cards, weigh your options, and you may find that to stand out against the crowd, a graphic designer is your best bet.