Tag Archives: budget

Color on Color

Leave a reply
Two-color printing adds life to a printed piece without draining the budget. Now you can make those two colors work a little harder by using a technique called overprinting. Overprinting involves the layering of two ink colors to create a unique third color. By doing this you can create many new possibilities for creative design. Not only will this process intensify the colors you are already using, you can often achieve a third color at no additional printing costs to you.
A quick glance at how to overprint:
Shown here is an example of how you might use overprinting to achieve the effect of a third color. The color PMS 299 and PMS 233 overlap, producing a third color similar to PMS 268.

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

Creative, Low Budget Design Tips

Leave a reply
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 While corporate identity design goes far beyond the scope of this article, even an outdated or downright ugly logo can, if used creatively, be part of a fresh, new design.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