Poll results: People want more optimism

Friday’s Creative Review for Graphic Designers

This week, I was reading about a poll asking readers whether we would like to see more optimism in design. Especially in this crappy economy.

The results were overwhelming.

• 83% said they would like to see more optimism.
• 17% said no.

CONCLUSION:

I wonder who would actually say they wouldn’t want more optimism… I mean who doesn’t? And 17% is a little high.

Perhaps there should have been a third alternative of “I don’t really care”

For the record, I’m all for more optimism.

Personal side note: I won’t be blogging for the next 2 weeks, but will be back in June.

Technorati Tags: Marketing, Personally Maria, Print Design

Always design with the final in mind

Wednesday’s Production Tip for Graphic Designers

It never ceases to amaze me. I received an email from a fellow graphic designer. He wanted my opinion and critique for a project he was doing.

He sent me a proof of a flyer he was working on. It had to be 8.5″ x 5.5″ and printed in 2 colors (blue and black).

And what was the proof he sent me? It was a PDF of a full color flyer. FULL 4 COLOR flyer.

So, I told him “Isn’t it supposed to be a 2-color job? ”

And his response was “Yes ” Undoubtedly surprised I would ask.

I was baffled. Why would you design something in 4 color (granted, only the picture was 4 color which took up 1/2 the flyer), if it’s going to be printed in only 2?

And worse, this was the proof he’d sent a client!!!

C O N C L U S I O N :

How can someone critique something like a flyer (or anything for that matter) when you are not getting an actual representation of what it will actually look like when printed?

And what about the approval from the client? They are approving something that ultimately won’t look like that when printed.

Still scratching my head…

Technorati Tags: Print Design, Production

End of newspaper and print?

Friday’s Creative Review for Graphic Designers

Every so often, I always hear or read that the end of newspaper and print is near.

This has been going on since the internet exploded and people thought for sure that it was over for print.

Well, over at least 10 years later, print is still here.

Predictions that have been made:

1. The end of books: The e-book was going to replace it. (Hmm at least books don’t crash!)
2. The death of the Encyclopedia: One word, Wikipedia
3. The end of journalism: Blogs

Is print dead?

I don’t think so. There’s nothing more satisfying than holding a book in your hands. It’s just not the same feeling reading from a screen (besides the fact that it strains your eyes).

It may be that more and more people are going to be printing out their books from e-books.

The thing that really I wonder is whether e-books (which are usually more expensive than their print counterparts) should be better-designed to be printed.

Should they have a decent cover and be laid out as a classic book?

C O N C L U S I O N :

How come no one ever asks whether it will be the end of TV now that most shows are online?

Technorati Tags: Print Design

Always color separate your document

Wednesday’s Production Tip for Graphic Designers

I used to work in a printing company, and while I really hated the job, I was happy I had that job.

Why? Because what you design might not be printable or will print incorrectly. Most designers, I have found, think that just because they design something, it will reproduce the way they see it onscreen.

DEFINITELY NOT SO! There are all sorts of things that can go wrong in printing, and most often, it’s because the designer did not set up the document correctly.

Things that designers need to know:

1. Press needs margins too! When you are printing on the press, even the press needs a margin for the gripper. So, if you are using bleeds, it will have to be printed on bigger sized paper and then trimmed down. So, it will cost more.
2. Colors will not look as they do on your screen: When printed, colors will look different — even Pantone colors!
3. Bindery considerations: Set up your document with how it will end up bound. If there are folds, these should be taken into account when setting up your document.
4. Use the right images: Always include the images in their FINAL size and in the color spectrum that the document will be printed in.

C O N C L U S I O N :

If you are getting your layouts professionally printed, always create a PDF with the color separations. That can avoid many problems and make sure that your document separates properly.

Any problems you have in printing will incur additional costs and delays. You definitely want to avoid these as much as possible.

FURTHER READING:

• If you want to know what other things can go wrong in printing, check out this post.

Technorati Tags: Print Design, Production

How to choose the typeface for your headlines

Tuesday’s Design Tip for Graphic Designers

The headline is the first thing that your readers see when they glance at your piece and choosing the typeface is one of the most important decisions you will have in your document.

You want a font that is appropriate and that speaks to your audience. After all, its goal is to entice your readers into reading your copy.

Choosing the right font for your headline

Choosing the right font is really about what is appropriate for your piece and the overall look of your layout. Ask yourself “What is the overall tone of your piece?”

Then choose the font that best represents this.

How to make your headlines stand out:

You can use any of the following tricks to make sure that your headline pops out and grabs hold of your reader. You may have only seconds before you reader moves on to something else.

1. Color: Make your headlines a different color than your body copy.
2. Size: Headlines should be much bigger than your body copy size.
3. Contrast: You can use radically different fonts than the body copy.
4. Weight: Choose very bold or even black headlines.
5. Style: If your body type is a serif font, then you can choose a sans serif for your headline.

C O N C L U S I O N :

Because of the big size your headlines will have, don’t forget to kern them!!! It’s very obvious in headlines when there’s extra spaces between the letters. It can be really distracting and just doesn’t look right.

And please, don’t ever hyphenate a headline!

Also remember: never capitalize a headline unless it’s in a sans serif font (NEVER have a headline in ALL CAPS that is in a script or decorative font).

Technorati Tags: Design, Design Theory, Print Design, Typography

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