Monthly Archives: March 2010

The Risk of Over Designing

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Simplicity is often seen, but it s a concept that is not easily explained. For some graphic designers, it’s second nature. For others, it involves much forethought. Today’s designers are trending toward more simple, clutter-free designs, as they return to simplicity. Here are some examples of how the traditional theme of less is more is used:
Advertising
  • Not only can simple ads grab attention, but their short and to the point messages are also easier to comprehend. The concept of “less is more” is especially effective when writing ad copy.
Catalogs and Brochures
  • Catalogs and brochures are expected to be a vast source of information, yet readers appreciate when they are simplified, organized, and easy to read and comprehend. Simplicity is often its own reward since it encourages increased use.
Packaging
  • Like a poster, a package needs to attract the eye within seconds of its initial viewing. In recent years, shelves have been jammed with products whose designers have attempted to out-design one another. This gives simple package designs featuring primary colors, bold copy, white space, and clean design the ability to effectively break through the clutter.
Identity
  • Not only do logos convey the personality of a company, but they also offer a memorable impression. Simple designs that incorporate a company’s complex ideas are the root of a logo’s power.
One of the perks of being a designer is the ability to develop a personality or character for a company or product. For designers, simplicity means a return to basics, but not at the expense of creative design.

http://www.ParagonPress.net – #1 in Shreveport, LA for printing, direct mail, graphic design, marketing – 318.868.3351

Designing Successful Newsletters

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Newsletters have become a great way for businesses to spread information, “tell their story,” solidify customer loyalty, and increase sales.
Here are a few tips to keep in mind while designing your company newsletter:
  • Content Is Important – Successful newsletters provide interesting content for their readers, in addition to product information from the newsletter provider.
  • Color Draws the Eye – Use multiple colors of ink to draw attention to important articles and information. Two-color newsletters are very effective, and full-color newsletters are gaining popularity.
  • Pull Quotes Create Interest – Pull quotes create interest and increase the likelihood that an article will be read. These quotes are taken directly from the article and focus on interesting, key points.
  • Good Design Provides More Room for Copy – A well-planned and designed newsletter can contain 20% to 30% more content than a casually designed newsletter. Seeking advice from professional graphic artists is often profitable. They can help design an effective template for your future use.
  • Good Back Page Design Is Important – An estimated 15% of readers start reading at the back page of a newsletter and work their way to the front page.

http://www.ParagonPress.net – #1 in Shreveport, LA for printing, direct mail, graphic design, marketing – 318.868.3351

Breakthrough Brochures

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  • Use color to focus attention on your main selling features and to improve the perception of quality. Two colors are better than one, and full-color printing is better yet.
  • Using a glossy paper will often make your brochure look more professional.
  • Avoid the temptation to try to jam too much information into a small space. In good brochure design, less is more.
  • Don’t overlook the value of white space to bring a clean look to your design and to help accentuate key selling points.
  • For readability, consider using a serif type for body copy. Studies have shown that serif type is easier to read. Sans serif type is good for headlines and subheads.
Other Good Ideas:
  • If you will be mailing your brochure as a self-mailer, consider applying a coated finish (varnish) to the printing. The coating will help prevent scuffing — ink being rubbed off by the post office’s mail-sorting equipment.
  • For the best impression, consider mailing your brochure in a matching envelope.
  • For a unique sales and marketing twist, consider applying a small label somewhere on the brochure to draw attention to a special feature, special pricing, a sales rep’s name, or a toll-free number.

http://www.ParagonPress.net – #1 in Shreveport, LA for printing, direct mail, graphic design, marketing – 318.868.3351

Creative in Black & White

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With the extreme popularity of high resolution computer screens on the desktops of designers everywhere, it is easy to forget that simple black ink on white paper still provides an economical and extremely creative approach to design.
If you’re on a limited budget, need something printed fast, or need an alternative idea, why not design your next project in black and white?
  • Consider the following ideas from Give Five, an outreach organization that unites adults with children in need:
  • Consider creating an ad with screens (gray shades) — these are easy and inexpensive to reproduce in a variety of media.
  • Strive to create a layout that draws attention to the ad and also helps it stand apart from the (inevitable) crowd.
  • Cheap art: The hands featured in these ads were photographed using a desktop scanner and then manipulated in Adobe Photoshop. Keep ideas like this in mind when looking for budget solutions for a project.
  • This spread: Ads that call for attention through a variety of easily produced black-against-white illustrations and graphic styles.
There are endless ways to display an ad’s content, even when restricted to a single color of ink. Explore.
Explore and Consider:
  • Hand-drawn elements
  • Cartoons
  • Unusual border treatments
  • Linework around and/or inside the ad
  • Interesting, bold typography
  • Sideways elements
  • Reversed text/graphics

http://www.ParagonPress.net – #1 in Shreveport, LA for printing, direct mail, graphic design, marketing – 318.868.3351

Communicating with Color

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Next time you want to make a bold statement, try saying it with color!
Depending on what type of message or meaning you wish to convey, the color combinations you choose can support, emphasize, or contradict your message. Color stimulates the senses, symbolizes abstract concepts and thoughts, expresses fantasy or wish fulfillment, and produces an aesthetic or emotional response.
According to the Institute for Color Research, humans make a subconscious judgment about a person, environment, or item within 90 seconds of initial viewing, and the majority of that assessment is based on color alone. Because color delivers an instant impression that is generally understood universally, color is very important in conveying a mood or idea where verbiage is not used or understood.
The power of color combinations can also be seen on many levels of marketing communication, including corporate identification and logos, signage, television ads, billboards, print media and packaging, online web sites, and on point-of-purchase displays.
Here is a small sampling of dominant colors and the responses they elicit:
  • Red: Exciting, energizing, sexy, hot, dynamic, stimulating, provocative, aggressive, powerful
  • Bright Pink: Happy, attention-getting, youthful, spirited, fun, wild
  • Light Pink: Romantic, soft, sweet, tender, cute, babies
  • Orange: Fun, childlike, harvest, juicy, friendly, loud
  • Beige: Classic, sandy, earthy, natural, soft
  • Brown: Wholesome, warm, woodsy, rustic, durable, masculine
  • Purple: Royalty, powerful, expensive
  • Light Blue: Calm, quiet, peaceful, cool, water, clean
  • Bright Blue: Electric, vibrant, stirring, dramatic
  • Bright Yellow: Enlightening, sunshine, cheerful, friendly, energy, happy
  • Black: Powerful, elegant, mysterious, bold, classic, magical, nighttime
  • Silver: Classic, cool, money, valuable, futuristic
  • Gold: Warm, opulent, expensive, radiant, valuable, prestigious

http://www.ParagonPress.net – #1 in Shreveport, LA for printing, direct mail, graphic design, marketing – 318.868.3351

Paper Potential

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Paper is often taken for granted. Even by designers.
Older than Jesus
The first sheets of paper were made in China in about 200 BC. Since then, it has become indispensable. Paper was originally intended to be purely a carrier of images and scripts, but because of its natural properties — strength, flexibility, and durability — and its low costs, it has subsequently been developed and exploited to produce a vast variety of items from disposable clothing to loudspeaker cones. However, the main use of paper continues to be as a surface on which to print information.
It Doesn’t Have to Be White
In recent years, there has been an encouraging increase in experimentation with different sorts of papers and in the diversity of techniques, both traditional and new, which designers apply to them. Whereas in the past there may have been some resistance to this, both printers and manufacturers are now becoming increasingly accommodating.
The Choice
For designers, choosing the right paper for a job should be just as important as choosing the right typeface — both decisions are part of the designer’s creative input. However tight the brief, however demanding or restricting the client, the choice of paper is generally made by the designer.
At our print shop, we specialize in searching out beautiful, alternative papers. Would you believe we have over 463 different papers available, over 86 different kinds of white paper, 200 different colors, and 31 different textures?
We care, because paper matters.

http://www.ParagonPress.net – #1 in Shreveport, LA for printing, direct mail, graphic design, marketing – 318.868.3351

THINK

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Thomas Watson, who founded IBM in 1924, placed on the wall behind his desk a single framed word: THINK. It became the corporate motto of one of the most influential companies of the century.

Think. The handiest source of new product ideas is your mind, if for no other reason than that you are always carrying it around with you. You have a mind. The next step is to open it and keep it open. What you want is to be open to change.
Management guru Peter Drucker has made the observation that most successful innovations exploit change. In his 1985 Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Drucker defined seven specific kinds of change that are sources of innovative opportunity:
  • The unexpected, including unexpected success, unexpected failure, and unexpected events.
  • Incongruity between reality as it actually is and reality as it is assumed to be.
  • Innovation based on process need.
  • Changes in industry structure and market structure — especially those that catch everyone unaware.
  • Demographic shifts.
  • Changes in perception, mood, and meaning.
  • New knowledge, including the scientific and the nonscientific.
We are keenly aware of the effect of change in the graphics and arts industry. Few industries have undergone as much change during the last few years as printing. While two of our heroes are Johannes Gutenberg and Benjamin Franklin, we also deeply admire Steven Jobs, Michael Dell, and Bill Gates. We anxiously embrace new technologies and see the changes as opportunities — not something to fear or dread. We just thought you needed to know.

http://www.ParagonPress.net – #1 in Shreveport, LA for printing, direct mail, graphic design, marketing – 318.868.3351

Creative, Low Budget Design Tips

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The low-budget project can be the bane of a designer’s existence, or it can be an exciting challenge. With a low-budget project, the client usually has everything to lose. This letterhead project is probably all he or she can afford, perhaps for months or even years. It has to do the job right, or there may never be a second chance.
You will find that it is possible to do a lot with a little.
  • Make a low budget into an asset by producing a package that’s stylishly down-at-the-heels.
  • Spend the bulk of a client’s budget on one expensive but attention-getting element: a heavy paper, a die cut, engraving, or embossing.
  • Rely on a strong design in one or two colors, with ordinary offset printing on common paper stocks.
Producing nice layouts and stunning graphics is only half the battle. Solving your client’s design problems is the other half. As a designer, you must try to create practical and aesthetic designs targeted to your client (and your client’s clients). Here are a few tips for achieving those goals:
  • Printing
Most letterhead is printed with offset lithography, which offers more options than most people use. Die cuts, foil-stamping (a specialty printing service), varnishes, and a variety of other printing tricks can help make a piece stand out.
  • Logos
Most established companies have corporate logos that must be included in their printed products. While corporate identity design goes far beyond the scope of this article, even an outdated or downright ugly logo can, if used creatively, be part of a fresh, new design.
  • Artwork
Artwork gives a piece personality. It communicates without words and targets the emotions. Using scanners and laser printers, even clients with small budgets can reproduce personal photos and copyright-free images for their printed pieces.
Use these tips, and represent your client, not as you think they ought to be, but as they are. Your work is sure to do its job. Then you will, indeed, be a great designer.

http://www.ParagonPress.net – #1 in Shreveport, LA for printing, direct mail, graphic design, direct marketing – 318.868.3351

Choosing a Readable Type

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You’ve worked hard to create just the right look for your client’s newsletter. But will your masterpiece also be easy to read? Balancing beauty with readability can be challenging. Here are some areas to keep in mind as you choose a typeface and layout the text on your next project:
X-height. X-height refers to the size of a lowercase x in a given typeface. The larger the x-height, the denser the type will appear on the page, and the less readable it will tend to be.
Tracking. Tracking refers to character spacing. Any variation from normal tracking (narrowed or expanded text) can have an adverse effect on readability.
Serif vs. sans serif. Research shows that serif fonts are more readable than sans serif fonts for large areas of body text. This may be due to the serifs’ ability to lead the eye from one character to the next. On the other hand, typefaces with serifs that are too pronounced can have the opposite effect. Also, sans serif fonts tend to be more readable than their serif counterparts in smaller point sizes, such as those used for footnotes or fine print.
Line length. Shorter lines of text tend to be more readable than longer lines. However, lines that are too short may also prove difficult to read. Experts suggest setting line length at approximately 39 characters, or two times your point size, converted into picas (e.g. 2 x 10pt =20 picas or 3 1/3 inches). Experiment with both of these options to see which works better for you.
Leading. The leading, or space between each line of text, can also affect readability. In general, leading that is 2-3 points larger than the typeface enhances readability. Leading that is too much larger or smaller than that, however, can make the type more difficult to read.
Widows and orphans. Widows occur when the final line of a paragraph contains just a single word. Orphans are paragraphs that carry over just a single line from one column to the next. Both are visually distracting, unattractive, and reduce the readability of a page.
Point size. Body text is generally set at 9-12 points in size. This can vary, however, depending on the typeface and purpose involved, so make adjustments accordingly.

http://www.ParagonPress.net – #1 in Shreveport, LA for printing, direct mail, graphic design, marketing – 318.868.3351l

Effective Use of Varnish

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Just as varnish on a dresser or table protects the wood and gives it a nice finished look, the varnish used on printed pieces enhances their look and durability. If you are interested in using varnish on your next printing project, here are a few things you should know:
In-line press varnish, where the varnish is applied to the complete surface of the printed piece, is a relatively inexpensive way to add a lush finish, and may be less expensive than printing on glossier, cast-coated paper.

Spot varnish is a great way to maximize the contrast between matte and gloss surfaces. It allows you to apply varnish to a certain image or graphic on your printed piece, such as a logo or photo, while leaving the rest of the piece unvarnished.
While you may think of varnish as a glossy coating, a matte varnish can be used to protect your project from scuff marks without adding the shine of a glossy varnish.
Certain varnishes may yellow over time. If you have a project with a long shelf life, be sure to let our print shop know and we can help you find an appropriate varnish.
A UV varnish is applied off-line and is cured with ultraviolet light. This process gives the surface an exceptional gloss and rub resistance.
If you would like to use a varnish to polish off your printed pieces, it is important that you work closely with our print shop staff to ensure that your project will be completed to your specifications. It is our pleasure to help you navigate this process.

http://www.ParagonPress.net – #1 in Shreveport, LA for printing, direct mail, graphic design, marketing – 318.868.3351