Thursday, December 13, 2012
A Study in Color Correction - Answer
Printing Mystery:
I received an art print to color correct for the press recently. I took a full morning to adjust, print and re-adjust over and over again, until I had the press proof looking exactly like the oil painting that had been photographed to print from. 8 different color corrections later, I was ready to show my final version to the customer. I moved the painting and the proof to our conference room, where I was to meet with the customer. Once the press proof and the oil painting were compared to each other in the conference room, it was clear that my proof was not anywhere near the color of the original oil painting. My proof matched the painting in one room but then appeared to be too green in another room. Where was my mistake made? Stay tuned for the nail biting conclusion to "A Study in Color Correction"!
My 2 followers: If you can figure out where I went wrong, please post a comment. You won't win a prize if you get it right, but you can live with the satisfaction of knowing that you were right.
Answer: The lights present in the room I was using to make the color adjustments were standard fluorescent lights. The lights in the conference room were "Daytime" fluorescent lights which shows a more true-to-life color than the standard fluorescent lights.
Lesson learned: Always make color adjustments in a room that has Daytime fluorescent lights!
Friday, November 30, 2012
A Study in Color Correction
Printing Mystery:
I received an art print to color correct for the press recently. I took a full morning to adjust, print and re-adjust over and over again, until I had the press proof looking exactly like the oil painting that had been photographed to print from. 8 different color corrections later, I was ready to show my final version to the customer. I moved the painting and the proof to our conference room, where I was to meet with the customer. Once the press proof and the oil painting were compared to each other in the conference room, it was clear that my proof was not anywhere near the color of the original oil painting. My proof matched the painting in one room but then appeared to be too green in another room. Where was my mistake made? Stay tuned for the nail biting conclusion to "A Study in Color Correction"!
My 2 followers: If you can figure out where I went wrong, please post a comment. You won't win a prize if you get it right, but you can live with the satisfaction of knowing that you were right.
I received an art print to color correct for the press recently. I took a full morning to adjust, print and re-adjust over and over again, until I had the press proof looking exactly like the oil painting that had been photographed to print from. 8 different color corrections later, I was ready to show my final version to the customer. I moved the painting and the proof to our conference room, where I was to meet with the customer. Once the press proof and the oil painting were compared to each other in the conference room, it was clear that my proof was not anywhere near the color of the original oil painting. My proof matched the painting in one room but then appeared to be too green in another room. Where was my mistake made? Stay tuned for the nail biting conclusion to "A Study in Color Correction"!
My 2 followers: If you can figure out where I went wrong, please post a comment. You won't win a prize if you get it right, but you can live with the satisfaction of knowing that you were right.
Friday, October 12, 2012
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Easy Tilt Shift Effect in Photoshop
Working on the printing side of graphic design has forced me to come in contact with images of varying quality. Most designers prefer to use high quality images taken by professional photographers. I have received so many files from customers who either can't afford high quality professional photographs, or believe that they can take photographs that are just as good as the professionals'. I have learned to get very creative with images that are fuzzy, out of focus, or grainy in order to be able to use them in a professional looking design. 
For example, I received the photograph above to use on a brochure and business card design. The image was high resolution, however the camera used was not a professional grade digital camera, resulting in a very grainy image. In order to be able to use the image, I took the following steps. First I erased the clouds to make the sky more uniform. Making the sky uniform enabled me to use a blur effect (under filters in Photoshop) to lose the graininess in the photograph. I then wanted to make the photo "pop". A while back, I stumbled upon a very cool technique called tilt shift photography used to make photographs appear to be images of miniature items. Below is a link to give you an idea of what tilt shift photography is
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/11/16/beautiful-examples-of-tilt-shift-photography/
I learned that by attempting to recreate the tilt shift effect on low quality photos, the finished image gave the illusion of being a high quality professional image.
Below is the photograph after I added the effects.
Some photographs do not look good with this effect applied. The photograph should be taken from a long distance, and should be taken from a high angle in order to achieve the miniature effect that the tilt shift technique is so famous for. The photograph I used above was not taken from a high angle which made the effect subtle, but the use of the effect covered up the grainy quality of the photograph allowing me use it in a professional looking design.
For example, I received the photograph above to use on a brochure and business card design. The image was high resolution, however the camera used was not a professional grade digital camera, resulting in a very grainy image. In order to be able to use the image, I took the following steps. First I erased the clouds to make the sky more uniform. Making the sky uniform enabled me to use a blur effect (under filters in Photoshop) to lose the graininess in the photograph. I then wanted to make the photo "pop". A while back, I stumbled upon a very cool technique called tilt shift photography used to make photographs appear to be images of miniature items. Below is a link to give you an idea of what tilt shift photography is
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/11/16/beautiful-examples-of-tilt-shift-photography/
I learned that by attempting to recreate the tilt shift effect on low quality photos, the finished image gave the illusion of being a high quality professional image.
Below is the photograph after I added the effects.
Easy Tilt Shift Effect - Photoshop CS5
Step 1 - Use the box selector or ellipse selector to select 60 to 80% of the image
The shape you use is entirely up to you. I prefer the rectangle, but some photos might require the use of the elliptical selector.Step 2 - Feather the selection.
This step is taken to ensure the selection area does not have a straight edge to it. Usually with a high resolution photo I choose to feather by 100-200 pixels, sometimes more.
Step 3 - Inverse your selection
Only the outer edges of the image should be selected.
Step 4 - Apply a Lens Blur
Select the "Filter" option in Photoshop, then "Lens Blur". Adjust the blur to any settings that you prefer, the image will preview using the settings that are selected making it easy for you to choose the blur that is right for you.
Voila... you have added a quick tilt shift effect to a photograph in 4 simple steps!
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
CARTA New Dorchester Rd. Express Route on the Behance Network
One of my latest designs as posted on Behance Network:
CARTA New Dorchester Rd. Express Route on the Behance Network
CARTA New Dorchester Rd. Express Route on the Behance Network
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
The Difference Between Web Design and Search Engine Optimization
I recently ran into an issue with a customer that I believe many web designers have run into. I offered them a website design that I had previously designed for another customer that was live for about a year. I offered it to them at a very low cost since they are a very small start-up business, and all I had to do was change the name and logo for the company. Once the site went live, the customer has incessantly called me about why their page is not ranked higher in Google, and why they are not getting phone calls and emails from the website yet. I am having a hard time explaining to them that search engine optimization is a completely different field from website design and that they will have to pay extra for the extra work that it involves. Most people don't realize just how time consuming SEO really is. Search engine optimization requires least 30 minutes a day dedicated to each website that you administer to.
Why is search engine optimization so time consuming? Each search engine that you use such as Google, Yahoo and Bing have their own algorithm (an algorithm is a very complicated math equation) to rank each website according to the search term that a person types into the search box. For example, when someone goes to Google.com looking for a printing company in Charleston, South Carolina, they type in the terms that make the most sense to them, such as "color printing company in Charleston SC". What most people don't realize is that the search term they think is the most logical, is not the same term that the person sitting next to them would choose. The person sitting next to them may use a more specific search, such as "booklet printers in Charleston SC" or "Where can I send a booklet for printing in Charleston SC?". With so many word combinations available, how do the search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing, rank each website for each set of keywords? Google, Yahoo , Bing and other search engines crawl each website and log every word that is on every page of every website. Using specified standards calculated using their algorithm, they rank the page for each search that is typed into the search box on their home page according to keyword density, correct page coding, page load time, etc. There are thousands of variables that each search engine tracks for every website. The algorithms are not public information and each search engine is very secretive about out what the right combination of design elements and content will achieve a high ranking. That is where search engine optimization comes in and why it is such a time consuming job. Since key word combinations vary from person to person and search to search, it is not effective to target only one set of keywords on your website. Search engine optimization should target multiple key word searches.
Keywords are not the only factor taken into consideration by search engines. Below are a few other factors that some search engines look at when ranking your website
SEO is a delicate balancing act of trial an error, and for every search engine that you achieve a top ranking, your ranking may drop on other search engines since each one looks for different criteria. There are thousands of criteria to pay attention to when trying to optimize your website for search engines.
Any search engine optimization specialist will try to tell you that they know exactly the right word combinations to use, that it is easy and that they can get you new business in a matter of days. Don't let them fool you. None of the search engines available today have given us a straight answer as to what the key is to writing the perfect website for high ranking, so it is still trial and error. There are some general rules you can stick to that usually work, but each search engine is constantly updating and changing their algorithm and criteria to keep designers from monopolizing specific searches, which is the main reason why search engine optimization is so time consuming. It can also take up to a month or more to get your website ranking changed or even recognized by the search engines.
Update 7-13-2012:
I just found this site that explains everything I wrote above in much easier terms! www.stepforth.com Common Seo Questions
Why is search engine optimization so time consuming? Each search engine that you use such as Google, Yahoo and Bing have their own algorithm (an algorithm is a very complicated math equation) to rank each website according to the search term that a person types into the search box. For example, when someone goes to Google.com looking for a printing company in Charleston, South Carolina, they type in the terms that make the most sense to them, such as "color printing company in Charleston SC". What most people don't realize is that the search term they think is the most logical, is not the same term that the person sitting next to them would choose. The person sitting next to them may use a more specific search, such as "booklet printers in Charleston SC" or "Where can I send a booklet for printing in Charleston SC?". With so many word combinations available, how do the search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing, rank each website for each set of keywords? Google, Yahoo , Bing and other search engines crawl each website and log every word that is on every page of every website. Using specified standards calculated using their algorithm, they rank the page for each search that is typed into the search box on their home page according to keyword density, correct page coding, page load time, etc. There are thousands of variables that each search engine tracks for every website. The algorithms are not public information and each search engine is very secretive about out what the right combination of design elements and content will achieve a high ranking. That is where search engine optimization comes in and why it is such a time consuming job. Since key word combinations vary from person to person and search to search, it is not effective to target only one set of keywords on your website. Search engine optimization should target multiple key word searches.
Keywords are not the only factor taken into consideration by search engines. Below are a few other factors that some search engines look at when ranking your website
- Ensure that your website is built with correct code.
- Minimize heavy design elements that take a long time to load.
- Update your site on a regular basis.
SEO is a delicate balancing act of trial an error, and for every search engine that you achieve a top ranking, your ranking may drop on other search engines since each one looks for different criteria. There are thousands of criteria to pay attention to when trying to optimize your website for search engines.
Any search engine optimization specialist will try to tell you that they know exactly the right word combinations to use, that it is easy and that they can get you new business in a matter of days. Don't let them fool you. None of the search engines available today have given us a straight answer as to what the key is to writing the perfect website for high ranking, so it is still trial and error. There are some general rules you can stick to that usually work, but each search engine is constantly updating and changing their algorithm and criteria to keep designers from monopolizing specific searches, which is the main reason why search engine optimization is so time consuming. It can also take up to a month or more to get your website ranking changed or even recognized by the search engines.
Update 7-13-2012:
I just found this site that explains everything I wrote above in much easier terms! www.stepforth.com Common Seo Questions
Friday, April 13, 2012
CONVERT COREL DRAW FILES ONLINE - Free Online File Conversion Services | Filespazz.com
CONVERT COREL DRAW FILES ONLINE - Free Online File Conversion Services | Filespazz.com
Just helped out a friend with this handy tool. It will convert Corel Draw files to just about any file type you want. I converted to a Photoshop file. It came back at 300dpi, the only issue was that the margins seemed to be missing, but that was an easy fix!
Just helped out a friend with this handy tool. It will convert Corel Draw files to just about any file type you want. I converted to a Photoshop file. It came back at 300dpi, the only issue was that the margins seemed to be missing, but that was an easy fix!
Thursday, March 15, 2012
What is a "Bleed"?
Have you ever been completely baffled when your printer asks you to re-send your
artwork with a “bleed” included? I was confused the first time that I
sent a file to a printing company too. Luckily, I was working with a
company that took the time to explain what a bleed is to me so that I
wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. I know that most printers won’t
take the time to explain it to you, so here is my attempt at changing
the pre-press attitudes that have prevailed in the past. Whenever you
have a page that has images you want to “fall off the edge of the page”
you must include a bleed on your document. A bleed is an extra 1/8” or
1/4” added on the outside of your main document in which those pictures
“bleed” onto. The extra space will ultimately be trimmed off, however
adding the extra room allows for a wider margin of error for when your printer
attempts to trim your printed piece. Why do they need this extra margin of
error? I know, they should be masters at cutting by now, but what most
people don’t understand is that we stack all of the documents on top of
each other after they are printed, and cut them all at once to ensure
that the pieces are trimmed to the same size. This is an excellent
practice, however there is a margin of error that is created by cutting
them all at once. The bottom and top of the pile, even though we clamp it down as
hard as we can, sometimes stretches and moves during the cutting
process. Having the images bleed over the edge of where you want us to
trim the piece, means that if those pages stretch and move even just the
slightest bit, you and your end user of your printed piece will not
notice. If the image did not bleed and we attempted to trim the piece to
the size you requested, the top one may look great, but once you got to
the bottom piece, there would be a bit of white paper showing on the
edge making your document look un-professional.
Including the proper bleed on your document is easy in most instances. With InDesign you can set your bleed in the “Document Setup” dialog box. With Quark you just have to click on >Window >Guides >Create Bleed and Safety Guides. With Illustrator, Publisher, and Photoshop you will have to do some fancy footwork. With all 3 of those programs you will have to set your page size to be larger than the actual trim size that you want. So for an 8.5x11” letter size page, if you want to add a 1/8” bleed to it you will have to set your page size to 8.75”x 11.25”. 1/8” bleed on both sides adds up to adding an extra .25” to both dimensions of your page. If you are using any other programs to design your documents, then good luck I can’t help! I hope this explains why we ask for a bleed to be included on the documents you send to your printer. Oh and don't forget to set your bleeds in the "Marks and Bleeds" dialog box when you create your press ready .pdf file!
Including the proper bleed on your document is easy in most instances. With InDesign you can set your bleed in the “Document Setup” dialog box. With Quark you just have to click on >Window >Guides >Create Bleed and Safety Guides. With Illustrator, Publisher, and Photoshop you will have to do some fancy footwork. With all 3 of those programs you will have to set your page size to be larger than the actual trim size that you want. So for an 8.5x11” letter size page, if you want to add a 1/8” bleed to it you will have to set your page size to 8.75”x 11.25”. 1/8” bleed on both sides adds up to adding an extra .25” to both dimensions of your page. If you are using any other programs to design your documents, then good luck I can’t help! I hope this explains why we ask for a bleed to be included on the documents you send to your printer. Oh and don't forget to set your bleeds in the "Marks and Bleeds" dialog box when you create your press ready .pdf file!
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Picas, Inches or Ciceros?
I only recently realized that there are more measurement systems for the design industry than there are types of design software. Picas, Points, Pixels, Agate, Inches, Metrics and of course the most random of all in my opinion, Ciceros. I have attempted to make a complete picture of all measurements used in design and when/if to use them.
I have paraphrased www.Wikipedia.org and would like to thank them for creating an incredible outlet for sharing information. Please visit their website for more detailed definitions of each of the measurements:
Pixel as defined on Wikipedia.org In digital imaging, a pixel is a single point in a raster image, or the smallest addressable screen element in a display device; it is the smallest unit of picture that can be represented or controlled.
Pixels are primarily used for website design since websites are entirely dependent on the display device or in other words the computer screen that the end user uses to view the website. Pixels are very difficult to use for print design and I do not recommend it.
Picas as defined on Wikipedia.org A pica is a typographic unit of measure corresponding to 1/72 of its respective foot, and therefore to 1/6 of an inch. The pica contains 12 point units of measure. A measurement in picas is usually represented by placing a lower case p after the number, such as "10p" meaning "10 picas." Points are represented by placing the number of points after the p, such as 0p5 for "5 points," 6p2 for "6 picas and 2 points". An 8.5"x11" sheet of paper is measured as 51p x 66p.
I have never used Picas in the past and thought at one time that they were the standard for print design. However I couldn't find anything definitive that said I should be using them. I have seen designs created using Picas and Points, but have yet to attempt a design using that unit of measure. I really haven't found a use for it since most print design depends on the sheet size you are designing for and in the U.S. sheets are measured in inches. In the rest of the world sheets are measured in metrics. Since the sheets are not measured in Picas then why should I use them for design? If you have the answer as to why I should be using Picas, please send me a comment and let me know!
Points as defined on Wikipedia.org In typography, a point is the smallest unit of measure, being a subdivision of the larger pica. It is commonly abbreviated as pt. The point has long been the usual unit for measuring font size and is used in both print and web design. The general math comparison to inches and milimeters is below.
1 point = 1⁄72 inches = 25.4⁄72 mm = 0.3527 mm.
Points have become the standard for type in both web and print design. It is almost impossible to avoid creating any kind of computer document without choosing what point size the font should be.
Below are two units of measure that I was completely ignorant of until I noticed in InDesign that they were options for measure:
Ciceros as defined on Wikipedia.com A cicero is 1⁄6 of the historical French inch (I can't believe there is something called a French inch), and is divided into 12 points. The measure-term cicero is thus used similarly to an English pica, although the French inch was slightly larger than the English inch; there are about 1.063 picas to a cicero. Cicero = 4.5 mm. Pica = 4.23333333 mm. So really, does anyone use this system of measurement? Please write to me if you do!
Agate as defined on Wikipedia.com An agate is a unit of typographical measure. It is 5.5 typographical points, or about 1/14 of an inch. It can refer to either the height of a line of type or a font that is 5.5 points. An agate font was commonly used to display statistical data or legal notices in newspapers. It is considered the smallest point size that can be printed on newsprint and remain legible. My co-worker mentioned that he used to use agates when he worked for a newspaper printing company, but he hasn't seen anything in years that required the use of the agate.
Metrics vs. Inches. I would love to switch to the metric system, however it is not possible in the United States printing industry as it is today. Paper is always measured in inches in the U.S. Inches can be extremely frustrating, for example try to properly tri-fold an 8.5"x11" sheet of paper. The decimal points given after completing the math is unbelievable since one panel has to be .1" smaller than the other two panels. Metrics seem so clean, so easily divisible and it has my vote.
I realize I wrote a lot of words for one simple conclusion about Units of Measure: What to use When. Design in the measurement system that your printer would prefer. I use the inch system since all of our equipment and paper supplies rely upon the inch system, if I were designing for an international printer, I would use the metric system.
I have paraphrased www.Wikipedia.org and would like to thank them for creating an incredible outlet for sharing information. Please visit their website for more detailed definitions of each of the measurements:
Pixel as defined on Wikipedia.org In digital imaging, a pixel is a single point in a raster image, or the smallest addressable screen element in a display device; it is the smallest unit of picture that can be represented or controlled.
Pixels are primarily used for website design since websites are entirely dependent on the display device or in other words the computer screen that the end user uses to view the website. Pixels are very difficult to use for print design and I do not recommend it.
Picas as defined on Wikipedia.org A pica is a typographic unit of measure corresponding to 1/72 of its respective foot, and therefore to 1/6 of an inch. The pica contains 12 point units of measure. A measurement in picas is usually represented by placing a lower case p after the number, such as "10p" meaning "10 picas." Points are represented by placing the number of points after the p, such as 0p5 for "5 points," 6p2 for "6 picas and 2 points". An 8.5"x11" sheet of paper is measured as 51p x 66p.
I have never used Picas in the past and thought at one time that they were the standard for print design. However I couldn't find anything definitive that said I should be using them. I have seen designs created using Picas and Points, but have yet to attempt a design using that unit of measure. I really haven't found a use for it since most print design depends on the sheet size you are designing for and in the U.S. sheets are measured in inches. In the rest of the world sheets are measured in metrics. Since the sheets are not measured in Picas then why should I use them for design? If you have the answer as to why I should be using Picas, please send me a comment and let me know!
Points as defined on Wikipedia.org In typography, a point is the smallest unit of measure, being a subdivision of the larger pica. It is commonly abbreviated as pt. The point has long been the usual unit for measuring font size and is used in both print and web design. The general math comparison to inches and milimeters is below.
1 point = 1⁄72 inches = 25.4⁄72 mm = 0.3527 mm.
Points have become the standard for type in both web and print design. It is almost impossible to avoid creating any kind of computer document without choosing what point size the font should be.
Below are two units of measure that I was completely ignorant of until I noticed in InDesign that they were options for measure:
Ciceros as defined on Wikipedia.com A cicero is 1⁄6 of the historical French inch (I can't believe there is something called a French inch), and is divided into 12 points. The measure-term cicero is thus used similarly to an English pica, although the French inch was slightly larger than the English inch; there are about 1.063 picas to a cicero. Cicero = 4.5 mm. Pica = 4.23333333 mm. So really, does anyone use this system of measurement? Please write to me if you do!
Agate as defined on Wikipedia.com An agate is a unit of typographical measure. It is 5.5 typographical points, or about 1/14 of an inch. It can refer to either the height of a line of type or a font that is 5.5 points. An agate font was commonly used to display statistical data or legal notices in newspapers. It is considered the smallest point size that can be printed on newsprint and remain legible. My co-worker mentioned that he used to use agates when he worked for a newspaper printing company, but he hasn't seen anything in years that required the use of the agate.
Metrics vs. Inches. I would love to switch to the metric system, however it is not possible in the United States printing industry as it is today. Paper is always measured in inches in the U.S. Inches can be extremely frustrating, for example try to properly tri-fold an 8.5"x11" sheet of paper. The decimal points given after completing the math is unbelievable since one panel has to be .1" smaller than the other two panels. Metrics seem so clean, so easily divisible and it has my vote.
I realize I wrote a lot of words for one simple conclusion about Units of Measure: What to use When. Design in the measurement system that your printer would prefer. I use the inch system since all of our equipment and paper supplies rely upon the inch system, if I were designing for an international printer, I would use the metric system.
Monday, February 6, 2012
Thursday, January 12, 2012
The Essence of Time
Having worked in very time restrictive mediums (live television and pre-press design) My first years were spent wasting a lot of my time on elements of design that I thought were well worth the extra time but turned out not to pay off in the end. Over the years I have learned to eliminate wasted time by following a few simple design recommendations.
1. Do not throw any designs away. In the beginning of my career I felt like nothing I designed looked good and sometimes I would scrap a design completely. On one of my very first important design jobs, I had run out of time. I had nothing to show my customer but the designs that I all but threw out the window. I was sweating before that meeting thinking I was going to hear the worst comments about the garbage I thought I was giving them. However, to my instant surprise my customer loved them all and picked one to move forward with. They've been a very loyal customer ever since. That was when I started to keep all of my designs and realized that I wasn't designing for my likes and dislikes, but what my customer likes. I may not know what they like right away so a design that I despise, might be the one that they love. Not throwing any designs away keeps me from having to start over, lessening the time spent on the concept creation process. This keeps my customers happy about the time and the cost of the project.
2. Never push a customer into a design that you want them to pick. This will cost you precious time if they decide in the future that the design was not what they were looking for. You will probably lose the customer if you push them into something they aren't crazy about. Most customers want to be part of the design process and if you flat out tell them that their ideas won't work and only your idea will, it will keep them from keeping you. Make them part of the process. Listen to your customer and even if they say they want something that won't work in the format you are designing for, find a comparable design that will work in the medium requested. You will lose time and money if you try to bully your customers into liking something they don't.
3. Find your own style. I used to find inspiration from anywhere and everywhere, but mimicking the design style of someone else can take up time that you can not afford. There are set effects and tricks that I use on just about every one of my designs. This is mostly for rush jobs that have a tight deadline. The main design element is original but there are some simple effects that I use on almost everything else. I guess you could call it my own style. Once I figured out the simple elements that make my designs work every time, my time spent on projects has dramatically shifted, allowing me to concentrate on really making the main design element unique. I try to change these set elements on the jobs that I have more time to work with. This opens new opportunity for my own set style to change. Give this one some time though. It takes a thorough understanding of your design programs and it takes trial and error to find the right base design elements for you.
4. Initial design concepts do not have to be perfect. I spent years figuring out that the initial design concept does not have the be the finished product. You can save yourself a lot of time when proposing a design concept to a customer if you don't completely finish the design. I am not telling you to hand them something that is stick figures, but the little touches that need to be added, can be added later. Explain ahead of time to your customer that the initial design is intended to get an idea of what direction they want to go in, and that once they decide the direction, the finishing touches and real eye popping elements will knock them over when they see the final product. This also keeps you from wasting too much time on the finishing touches on a design that they may not chose. This trick may not work for everyone, you have to be able to convince the customer that the best is yet to come. You have to sell your designs. If you are not eloquent and don't have the confidence to talk them through to the next step, then you will have to take the extra time with a work that will speak for itself.
I consider myself an extremely quick and efficient designer. I have never missed a deadline, and never will miss a deadline. Turn around time might be only one element to keeping a customer happy in this competitive world of graphic design, but I find that if you can create effective designs more quickly than the guy next to you, you will win over the customer every time.
1. Do not throw any designs away. In the beginning of my career I felt like nothing I designed looked good and sometimes I would scrap a design completely. On one of my very first important design jobs, I had run out of time. I had nothing to show my customer but the designs that I all but threw out the window. I was sweating before that meeting thinking I was going to hear the worst comments about the garbage I thought I was giving them. However, to my instant surprise my customer loved them all and picked one to move forward with. They've been a very loyal customer ever since. That was when I started to keep all of my designs and realized that I wasn't designing for my likes and dislikes, but what my customer likes. I may not know what they like right away so a design that I despise, might be the one that they love. Not throwing any designs away keeps me from having to start over, lessening the time spent on the concept creation process. This keeps my customers happy about the time and the cost of the project.
2. Never push a customer into a design that you want them to pick. This will cost you precious time if they decide in the future that the design was not what they were looking for. You will probably lose the customer if you push them into something they aren't crazy about. Most customers want to be part of the design process and if you flat out tell them that their ideas won't work and only your idea will, it will keep them from keeping you. Make them part of the process. Listen to your customer and even if they say they want something that won't work in the format you are designing for, find a comparable design that will work in the medium requested. You will lose time and money if you try to bully your customers into liking something they don't.
3. Find your own style. I used to find inspiration from anywhere and everywhere, but mimicking the design style of someone else can take up time that you can not afford. There are set effects and tricks that I use on just about every one of my designs. This is mostly for rush jobs that have a tight deadline. The main design element is original but there are some simple effects that I use on almost everything else. I guess you could call it my own style. Once I figured out the simple elements that make my designs work every time, my time spent on projects has dramatically shifted, allowing me to concentrate on really making the main design element unique. I try to change these set elements on the jobs that I have more time to work with. This opens new opportunity for my own set style to change. Give this one some time though. It takes a thorough understanding of your design programs and it takes trial and error to find the right base design elements for you.
4. Initial design concepts do not have to be perfect. I spent years figuring out that the initial design concept does not have the be the finished product. You can save yourself a lot of time when proposing a design concept to a customer if you don't completely finish the design. I am not telling you to hand them something that is stick figures, but the little touches that need to be added, can be added later. Explain ahead of time to your customer that the initial design is intended to get an idea of what direction they want to go in, and that once they decide the direction, the finishing touches and real eye popping elements will knock them over when they see the final product. This also keeps you from wasting too much time on the finishing touches on a design that they may not chose. This trick may not work for everyone, you have to be able to convince the customer that the best is yet to come. You have to sell your designs. If you are not eloquent and don't have the confidence to talk them through to the next step, then you will have to take the extra time with a work that will speak for itself.
I consider myself an extremely quick and efficient designer. I have never missed a deadline, and never will miss a deadline. Turn around time might be only one element to keeping a customer happy in this competitive world of graphic design, but I find that if you can create effective designs more quickly than the guy next to you, you will win over the customer every time.
Monday, January 9, 2012
The Trouble with Color Matching
What is a Pantone Color? Pantone colors seem like a miracle for designers when they
first start designing for print.
It is a color selection system that should print exactly the color that
they see in their swatch books. Designing everything using Pantone inks may not
be the best idea. What most designers have never been told is that the Pantone
Color matching system is great if your customer wants to pay for the specific
Pantone inks to be ordered from Pantone and used in the press in place of the
traditional Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and black inks that make up standard full
color press printing. Once you
design something that contains more than 2 pantone inks, the price is
considerably higher than standard 4-color printing (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and
Black ink) due to the cost of ordering the specific Pantone Inks. The combination of Cyan, Magenta,
Yellow and Black inks can create just about any color that you are looking for…
with some major exceptions. The
problems arise when designers go overboard picking multiple pantone colors for
their designs. For example I
recently had a customer send us a postcard from a design agency in which the
agency had chosen 5 different Pantone or PMS colors as the “brand” colors. This seems like the right thing to do to
ensure the color will not vary from one printed piece to another, but one of those colors was Pantone Orange
21. If you view Pantone Orange 21
on your monitor and in a Pantone Swatch book it is a very bright orange. It was what seemed to be a very nice color
choice. However since we had priced the postcard as our standard full color
printing, CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black ink) printing, we had to
convert the PMS Orange 021 in the design into the following color breakdown: 0%
Cyan ink, 68% Magenta ink, 100% yellow ink, and 0% Black ink. This color breakdown, which is the
recommended color breakdown by Pantone, creates a much different orange color.
Why? Since Pantone creates the Pantone Orange 021 ink using unique pigments
that are completely different from Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black, the final
color is a color that can not be achieved using mixes of Cyan, Magenta, Yellow
and Black ink. The best we can do
is to attempt to get it as close as possible. Here is an image with Pantone 021 ink next to the suggested
CMYK combination to show you the difference.
What you are viewing is not a correct and absolute
representation of the inks since you are viewing these colors on a monitor that
combines Red, Green and Blue to create the colors you see.
Although the difference may not seem like much to you on
your monitor, the difference can mean a lot to your customer.
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