Sick brand? Perk it up!

Branding is not fixed, it's a fluid thing that needs constant maintenance. We're sure you've invested a lot of time in your logo, corporate identity and branding but when did you last look at all the material you've produced? You need to check on a regular basis that everything is lined up with your target market, mission statement and market position.

This needn't be an onerous task but it needs to be done regularly. It's like client contact which you, as a good marketeer of course, allocate a fixed length of time to every day - don't you?

Regular reviewing of your brand is just as important. You almost certainly won't have to invest in a massive re-branding exercise but you will probably spot smaller items that you can tweak and adjust to more accurately reflect the philosophy behind the brand promise.

One of the main things to watch is the reality of what you're saying. Genuine messages speak to your audience and engage them on an emotional level. If you come across as too "businessy" and politically correct your audience won't warm to you as readily as they might otherwise.

You don't have to be overly trendy or edgy but you should be real and authentic. And this comes from liking what you do. If the only point of your brand is to make money then it will become obvious to your audience and sales will inevitably fall. You really have to like what you're doing.

If you can, try being friendlier and sociable. Make special offers for visitors to the web site. Give your customers vouchers and coupons whenever you can see a real reason and they'll respond because, if they're interested, people like to be involved with anything that's genuine and driven by the passion we were talking about a little earlier and driven by the fact that you do actually like what you're doing.

And, sorry to say this but it's necessary, ensure that you have a branding guidelines manual. Your brand profile is a unique presentation of your company and as such becomes part of your roi - return on investment.

There are some things about your brand that are cast in stone but there could well be other rules in the manual that can be broken to achieve good results - because branding is a fluid thing (where have I heard that before?) and the only really important thing is that you communicate the right message to the right audience. If you're not, it doesn't matter at all that your branding is consistent.

Same image, different job. FAQs

During our working week we get many requests from clients as to format requirements for images.

"I've grabbed this picture from our web site is it OK to use for my print job?"

So... Here's a guide, hopefully simply explained, as to how to get your pixels purring.


When preparing graphics for a web or print job there are key requirements that must be considered. 

• Is the image large enough in pixels - dots per inch (DPI)?
• What's the colour spec for the image...  Spot PMS, RGB or CMYK?
• What's the final production size of the image when used (pixels for screen, millimetres/inches for print)?

OK, deep breath, here we go....

COLOUR MODEL:
RGB. This is a colour gamut made up of three colours, Red, Green and Blue. Web or on-screen graphics are a combination of these three building blocks. This is because you are looking at the finished product through your monitor/tv which is displaying RGB pixels.
CMYK.  This is how litho print is reproduced by printing four colours, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and blacK.  The arrangement of the litho printers screen 'dots' in these four colours give the impression of almost any specific colour combination.  Next time your at your local bus stop sporting a large display poster (the bus stop, not you!), take a closer look, you'll be able to see the small CMYK dots which make this up (just make sure the other bus travellers don't spot you!).  
Be aware though that certain colours lose integrity when reproduced in CMYK mode as opposed to RGB, blues and oranges are particularly prone to this.  See these examples below...

Sometimes to overcome this the best option is to print a 'fifth' colour - a spot PMS.
SPOT PMS. This is a second colour option that can be used with or without CMYK for print.  It's a prepriority colour system by Pantone (Pantone Matching System) for printing flat pre-defined mixed colours.  Great for specific branding colours and guaranteeing an exact colour match... but use with caution, this adds to your printing price if used with CMYK (4colour printing) adding an extra colour 'plate' for each PMS used.

IMAGE RESOLUTION:
Image resolution relates to the amount of detail in an image.

Image resolution for digital images is measured using pixels per inch (ppi) or dots per inch (dpi). The more pixels/dots there are in a given square inch, the more detail the image has... the higher its resolution.

If it's a print job you need images at the finished size it appears in the design at 300dpi, CMYK.

For Web/on-screen you don't need such a high resolution, monitors just don't need that amount of detail information, you'll need to dig out images at just 72dpi RGB at the viewers pixel size.

If it's going to be run out internally on the in-house office printer, you rarely need anything over 150dpi (most modern printers can handle CMYK or RGB)

So... What happens if you've only got RGB web graphics for your printed prospectus?
Well, no need to panic just yet, your designer has all the tools to convert the file to CMYK for print, RGB would not give a good colour reproduction when the printer prints out for a CMYK destination.  But you must be aware that it can only be used at the finished size it's required at 300dpi.
So if your image is 100mm at 72dpi when you increase that to 300dpi the actual reproduction size reduces to around 24mm

We always create our graphic elements at the highest resolution possible. Experience has told us that once a client has approved the lower resolution web version they invariably decide that they'd like to produce a leaflet or advertisement utilising the same graphic - it's then an easy job to go back to the high res original and re-save for the new project saving time and money.

The problem comes when you scale your web grabbed 72dpi graphic up to beyond the 300dpi interpolated conversion size for print.  The 'bit map' image will start to degrade and pixelate.  Not a pretty look.

Here' an example of a web-resolution image being scaled up beyond it's limit for print.  Note the 'blurryness' of the enlarged shot.

VECTOR GRAPHICS
The vector file format has none of these scalability issues because of it's mathematically calculated colour, rather than pixel based bit map, any size can be enlarged without any degradation in quality.  Great for illustrations, logos and flatter colour formats. Not so good for detailed photography.

We design a logo to work in it's simplest mono form first, vector format is ideal for this.  If it maintains visual impact in black & white it will generally work in any colour situation.

If your not sure...

The ideal scenario would be for the designer to originate your artwork requirements from scratch.  Supplying your logo and graphics in the correct colour and size options in a variety of formats for web, internal use (Word, PPT presentations etc) and print.  They would originate any photography or images to the correct size and resolution.

Final warning.
Printers proofs are always recommend before biting the bullet and going with the final print run.  Variables like paper stock absorbency, brightness and ink coverage could all make a difference to it's final look.

Hopefully all this helps and doesn't confuse too much, but don't worry your designers know what they're doing!

Mark Fletcher
Graphic Designer

Lead with your brand guidelines!

In the past 'Brand' was perceived as your logo, your colour, your 'look'.  The word  'Brand' has now come to mean the manifestation of the company's 'emotive essence'.

Everyone's aware of the importance of getting the 'brand' right, but far to often the easy option is taken. Sure it's quicker (and in the short term, cheaper) but developing your brand on the fly, and not establishing the up-front core brand definitions, will lead in the long term to a dysfunctional and over crowded consumer message.  This is particularly relevant if your business is stretched around the world, many markets mean many local permutations. A solid structured brand is essential to bind these all together and communicate a single message with clarity.

A good, well structured branding guidelines document will define and established your brand position. Enabling your message to rise above the competition.

It should not only define your products logo, colour palette, fonts etc. but extend beyond that into the attitude and ethos of your company. It's philosophy, it's aims, even the way it answers the phone or how it structures emails.  

It should take into account online social profile, and offer up a solid insight into public perceptions and trends, backed up with interviews and research.  

We find, if time and budget allows, it's helpful to carefully dissect your customers views about your existing profile through qualified research. This can be painful for the company but will provide a real world starting point to identify opportunities to create a more successful brand that focuses towards the point of sale.
The answers will develop into options for your brand enabling it to separate and surpass your competition.

It should examine the company internally as we'll as externally - look at your competitors, how you react to competition and how you compete.

Considered answers that enforce the brand definition are a tremendous asset to your creative and marketing team. Your brand profile is a unique presentation of your company and as such becomes part of your company's worth.  A brand definition document will aid execution of your strategies and answer definite problems that arise or will arise in the future.

It will add confidence to your suppliers, create structure for your employees, and add a 'value' asset to your market worth.

"But can't I develop materials without this background work?" 
Yes, of course you can, and we often do... But you must be aware that your team is missing out on a critical outlined structure to define you.  It can make the difference between branding that hits the target and branding that falls short.  

Mark Fletcher

Graphic Designer

Browser search mishtakes and spellink faux pairs

Whilst trawling the world wide web (anyone else noticed that the so called abbreviation 'www' has more syllables than 'world wide web'!) we came across this collection of crazy typos and browser search slip ups.
I hope this list provides some insight for your own search adventures, if any, or at least some insight into human nature and how people use search.
Our thanks to www.bonfx.com for these:

freelace graphic design portfolio

Might want to check near your shoelace for that…

how to get graphic design work over 50


Pretend you are 30 and see what happens.

+”freelance” + ”graphic design” + ”what to charge”


Could you be more specific?

21th graphic design


That’s easy. Just look for the 22th and back up one.

best grapich designer


Talk to the best lgoo desginre and I’m sure he or she kowns someneo.

best typohraphy fonts loho


I hreatly suhhest hetting a new keyboard to avoid this ehrehious error.

can i draw graphics like google analytics


I don’t know, can you?

can you get a fifth color in cymk printing


Let’s see. CMYK = 4 color process. The answer is no (unless you mean spot color).

can you print a 72 dpi image


Test: hit print and see what happens.

can you print online images at 300dpi?


This question will never, ever go away.

converting from 72 dpi to 300 dpi to print


No, you can’t. Please stop.

does it take longer to scan 300 dpi or 72 dpi


I’ll give you one guess.

effect on project when changing project hourly rate


You lose the client, that’s all.

font combonations


“I’ll have the Helvetica burger with a side of Futura fries.”

four thing u have to do in graphic design


R u asking me 2 du this 4 u?

how to draw simple easy amazing things on a blank sheet of white


Just get a pencil and paper and draw like Leonardo – how else would you do this? Silly question…

how to fix a fifth color in cmyk


Your problem is due in large part to a lack of a fifth color being present to be able to fix.

how to print on 300 dpi


How to print on 300 dpi what? Hmmm. Go to Staples and ask for 300 dpi paper, maybe.

i just got my degree in graphic design and i dont have a portfolio


You may have gotten ripped off at your college.

i’m a graphic designer where do i get printed?


It’s kind of a chicken-and-egg thing now, isn’t it!

i’m i to old to be a graphic designer


Yes, the heavy lifting does exclude certain age groups from this physically demanding line of work.

if the web is 72 dpi why are higher res images better quality


Because higher res images are better quality, which has nothing to do with the web.

jpg is 300 dpi but opens at 72 dpi


Then your jpg is not 300 dpi.

like father like son spelled in all fonts


Most things are spelled in all fonts, unless you are using sign language.

logos of a house sketches


Lost me on that one…

many graphic designers are leave why?


leave cuz can’t communicating client bill to financial pays.

pdf font like verdana


What is a PDF font? And why do you want one like Verdana? Don’t we already have enough Verdana in the world?

photoshop resolution 72 dpi to 300 dpi


NO!

photoshop resulution 72-dpi to 300-dpi


N-O-!

prefered font for email
 Use

Helvetica, which is faster than Times Roman because it has no serifs. Also, studies have shown 6pt Helvetica to be faster than 12pt Helvetica because it’s smaller.

printing higher than 72 dpi on web pages


No. Stop it.

printing web resolution higher than 72 dpi


You really need to stop it.

some things graphic designer would design for a client


Like maybe a logo, a website, a mug, a book, a poster. Let me think of a few more when I get some time.

tips til pdf print


When waiting for the PDF to print, you can 1) surf the web, 2) get coffee, 3) check out twitter.

unpaid freelance graphic design work in photoshop


Who told you I did that?

what are the four things that we can draw


We can draw 1) a potato, 2) a cow, 3) a car and 4) a vase. Other than those, we don’t know if we can draw anything else.

why should i be a graphic designer


Nobody says you have to be a graphic designer…

will the role of the graphic designer and design have changed in any way?


I can’t tell if this question is going to happen or if it will have happenend.

top 10 fints


I know the top 3 are Hilvitici, Girimind, and Fitiri.

what is a one color print job


It’s a print job with…one color. But it could also be a four color job, as long as all four colors are the same.

It's all about you!

Logos with hidden meaning

Logos often use conceptual and abstract graphic design tricks. A cleverly designed logo often appears to be extremely simple, but look a little deeper and other elements can become obvious.

Whilst browsing the internet we came across some well known (and not so well known) brands that aren't all they appear.

You see logos every day, but are you aware that some of them contain elements that can be easily missed. Have a go and see if you can spot the hidden symbolism - off you go!

This logo is designed with a font where every letter is a variation of the number 8.

This simple picture of a young girl doing her yoga exercise contains a hidden element. The body pose is creating a map of Australia.

Has anyone ever noticed the logo while enjoying the bar. It clearly shows the Swiss Alps but …Toblerone originated in Bern, Switzerland - a city whose name means, “City of bears”. Look at the logo again you'll find the bear in the logo. Got it?

The swirl at first looks quite arbitrary but look closer and you can make out abstract letters representing SGG.

A packaging company, with the logo showing a broken down box in the shape of the letter “P”

The designer has integrated a bed with the letter “M”.

Notice that its logo represents Paris with the joined "tt"s of Lafayette forming the shape of the Eiffel Tower.

A standard film reel turned to look like a spooky ghost.

Two musical notes are bent in a way to make a heart and headphones.

An Online Food Delivery service, emphasising its online'ness. The logo shows a fork formed into an @ symbol

You've seen it thousand times but have you ever noticed the arrow formed between the letters “E” and “X”?

A company which designs tractors. The letters “E” and “H” make up a graphic representation of a tractor.

This Home Appliance company has used the negative space to indicate the “E” and “D” making the logo look like an electric plug.

Apparently the Big Ten College Group has eleven schools but they didn’t want to change their name. So they used their logo to hide the number “11”.

Hands up all you who just saw the smily face. The original concept behind this was that amazon.com has everything from a to z.

Sexy Typography

Believe it or not type can be sexy. A rampant descender or a frolicking ampersand makes our toes curl. Good, creative, typography is one of those things that gets us designers all weak at the knees.

Whilst browsing the web we came across some of these fine examples for you to drool over. Enjoy.