Do I need to use a Graphic Designer? - by Neil Aplin

It has been said that graphic designers are increasingly
unnecessary - companies know what they want, they have a
member of staff able to do the work, and companies are
unwilling to pay for outside graphic design services that
they deem expensive when costs are being squeezed.

But is this really so? Companies may be saving on costs, but
maybe at the expense of what experienced graphic designers
add to the profitability of the company.

Many companies understand the importance of how they project
themselves through their printed materials. The
effectiveness of the messages they want to get across to
their customers are vital to their commercial success. They
must be consistent in the way they present themselves; in
the way they express their corporate identity. And they must
forever steal a march on their competitors in exciting their
existing and potential customers.

In recent years the software for graphic design (CorelDraw,
Illustrator, Quark, Photoshop etc.) has become freely
available on the High Street and compatible for PC’s. This
has brought the creation of the files to print from within
the scope of anyone within a company confident enough to put
together company leaflets, brochures and stationery.

In major corporations this task has been assigned to
qualified graphic designers brought in house, or to existing
staff with an interest in design and some appropriate
training. In SME’s staff have had to train themselves
through trial and error (with the help of patient print
studios!).

In the former the resultant files for print have been good
enough to print from, and depending on the level of training
invested, the design work has been fit for purpose.

In the SME’s the quality of files has been frustrating
sometimes for the ever patient printer to work from, and the
design often done a disservice to the company concerned.

The printer receiving files that need work on to make ready
for print suffers additional costs in his studio sorting the
files out (which he is often hesitant to charge for), and
time delays achieving delivery deadlines which his client
invariably attributes to the printer.

The qualified graphic designer however has an advantage on
both categories of in-house designer. He will be experienced
in the software programmes so avoiding delays and mistakes.
And whether he works alone or within a major design agency
he will understand all the graphic design tricks of the
trade that achieves effective design.

Whilst the non-qualified company designer will be fighting
with the programme, trying to implement in the design work
at all, the qualified designer will be concentrating on how
to get a complicated brand message across in a simple visual
way.

Even in-house design studios with excellent designers
struggle with one basic problem. How do we create the next
printed piece that moves the company forward into new
territory when their imaginations and creativity has been
stifled for so long within the same stories and visual
solutions?

Again, the outside graphic designer has the advantage. He
works on a range of different briefs from a range of
different clients within different industry sectors. He is
exposed to the on-going evolution of design ideas through
colleagues, different client interactions, and the design
media - as well as drawing on all the years of training he
endured that covered the history of design development and
the understanding of what designs work in each and every
design scenario. He can think outside the box that the
in-house designer is trapped in!

Perhaps you are beginning to suspect that your competitors
are biting at your heels because your customers are being
lured away by more exciting design; by design that they feel
more able to trust and identify with. Perhaps effective
design is more important than short-term cost-cutting.

Perhaps you do need to use a graphic designer?

To Discover How to Get More Out Of Your Graphic Design:

Visit: www.pxlpig.com

Copyright 2006 - Neil Aplin (neilaplin@excite.com)

You are free to reproduce this article as long as no changes
are made, the author’s name is retained and the link to our
website URL remains active.

Neil Aplin has been working in marketing and sales for more than 22 years, including representing the Field Marketing industry on the ISP Codes of Practice Committee. He has worked on both sides of the fence; for both client companies as the design and print buyer, as well as for design agencies and printers.

Designing a graphic design portfolio - by Vincent

Graphic design is the art of combining design principles, technology and ingenuity to arrive at solutions for a variety of visual communication needs. It is used in making business cards, logos, movie title graphics, websites, user manuals and signage. An attractive graphic design enhances visibility of the product and generates revenue for the client. Therefore, the graphic designer is an important member of the core team working on the campaign.

Most clients would need proof of one’s designing abilities. It is not as much about the list of former clients or award-winning work done before. It is about what the designer is capable of. Hence, every designer needs to compile his design solutions into a portfolio. The portfolio should be put together with care. It is like the business card for a designer.

The potential client is more interested in knowing whether you have the skill to translate his design needs into an effective campaign rather than your list of qualifications. The portfolio should, therefore, reflect the type of work you are comfortable in doing. A beginner or a person who does not work with many clients may not have much to show. In such a case, it is better to include most of the designs, which the person has done in the past.

The most important aspect of compiling the portfolio is to decide the pieces that would go into it. If you do not have many products to show, then it is better to include work, which you had done for friends. As we said before, clients are not concerned about who hired you before. They are just interested in knowing what kind of design capabilities you possess. For a newcomer or a freelancer, there could be possibilities of work done for close family, community organizations and friends. It is wise to accommodate such pieces in your portfolio. They reveal the ability to come up with acceptable solutions within budgetary constraints.

The portfolio should contain actual samples. For example, include brochures, fliers, book covers etc. On every project, obtain one or two copies for sample or portfolio use. File it away neatly. If your work was part of a larger design, such as illustrations in a book, include only those pages, by tearing them off. In case, you are not able to obtain originals, take printouts from your digital files or photocopies. More and more designers work in the area of web design. Include screen shots and high-resolution print outs from the website.

Once the pieces are chosen, one has to assemble them in a portfolio case. The case should accentuate the work rather than distract from it. Size of the case depends on the size of the materials. Place your best work at the beginning and at the end. You can also arrange according to clients or skill types. Always update your portfolio as you complete new projects.

A well-thought out and neatly presented portfolio is the first step towards establishing your business credentials. It indicates your methodical approach and makes you dependable in the eyes of prospective clients.

Visit Graphic Design

Vincent Platania
We have a professional team of graphic designers that possess artistic ability and creative thinking for designing eye catching graphic design. Visit Graphic Design

Designers Learn Powerful Photoshop Techniques for Direct Mail Graphic Design - by Mike Klassen

Designers find that a little knowledge of Photoshop goes a long way in direct mail design. (PRWEB) October 17, 2005 — A group of about 30 up-and-coming direct mail graphic designers gathered in Florida this month to study direct mail layout and design techniques and how to take their design business to the next level. The attendees had gathered as part of American Writers & Artists Inc.’;s annual Graphic Design Bootcamp. Sessions included marketing techniques, pricing fundamentals and tips on how to use Photoshop to achieve powerful effects for direct mail design. The Photoshop session was presented by Mike Klassen, the president of Klassen Communications, a direct mail layout and design studio based in Everett, Washington. Klassen said that despite the power and intimidation factor of Photoshop, the techniques he presented were actually quite simple. “We examined six techniques that are used in direct mail on a regular basis. In some cases, it doesn’;t take more than 10 or 15 minutes to create a subtle, yet powerful effect,” said Klassen. One technique demonstrated during the session was creating a duotone for the cover photo of a direct market premium, an easy technique that only takes a couple of clicks of the mouse. However, Klassen went further, explaining how the choice of color can impact the choices a direct mail designer has throughout the rest of the design, and demonstrated tricks for using certain colors that might not appear obvious at first glance. Lighter colors work well on photos, but can’;t easily be used for text highlights throughout the design of a two-color piece. Dark colors work well for text, but not that well on a photo. But a simple technique allowed attendees to see how to work with virtually any color. Graphic designers often have to change their mindset when moving into the direct mail design field. According to Klassen, “Direct mail design is a lot different than what people traditionally think of when they hear the words graphic design. For direct mail graphic design, simple techniques are required to enhance the marketing message. Going crazy with the power of Photoshop, which newcomers to the field often do, is a quick way to destroy an otherwise strong direct marketing piece.” About Klassen Communications Klassen Communications is a direct mail layout and design studio. The company handles the layout and design of sales letters, newsletters, eBooks and more. Visit http://www.mikeklassen.com or call 1-425-337-3593.

Design Talkboard - Graphic Design News and Talk Forum - by Richard Shadbolt

Design Talkboard is a new graphic design, web design and pre-press web site for designers, design students and pre-press professionals. (PRWEB) March 19, 2005 — Providing news and comment on issues relevant to graphic designers and students of design, Design Talkboard aims to become one of the leading sources of graphic design information on the web. Design : Talkboard is a design resources, web design, design software and pre-press web site for professional graphic designers, design students and pre-press professionals. As well as design industry news, Design : Talkboard has an active and friendly user talk forum, where members can comment and exchange information about graphic design, web design and design software related issues. Some members ask for feedback on their portfolios or web site projects - whilst others are happy simply asking for, or giving, advice on technical issues or sharing their experience with useful career advice. Design : Talkboard also provides sections devoted to other design resources on the web and provides reviews of many useful tools for creatives - such as a recent primer of 3D graphics software. There are links to design software tutorial web sites, Apple Mac resources and many other useful sources of creative information. Design : Talkboard also provides an extensive Creative Directory of useful design links. This ranges from design education, to film, to photography, personal portfolios, to web and usability design. Recommendations for inclusion in the Creative Directory for relevant design sites are always welcome.

Design Software Recommended by Top Design Professional - by Katrina Rauch

For Graphic Print Design:
All serious graphic designers know that the industry standard for graphic design software is Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator and QuarkXpress or Adobe InDesign. If you are not familiar with these products here is a quick overview. Adobe Photoshop is photographic image manipulation software. Photoshop is where you will manipulate, clean up, re-touch, or re-color all the bitmap photographic images for your design project. Adobe Illustrator is vector art software and you will use it to create vector images such as logos and illustrations for you design project. QuarkXpress and Adobe InDesign are graphic layout programs. This is where you will literally combine all the pieces for a design project and lay them out. You will add your text, manipulated Adobe Photoshop images, and created Adobe Illustrator vectors images to this program and layout the finished product, which may be a brochure, flyer, etc.

For Graphic Web Design:
Graphic web design has more options for software. Web design is not quite as specific with their software requirements as print design. As far as industry standard, the industry has really left it up to the designer to decide. I prefer to use Adobe Photoshop to create most of my imagery and then use Adobe ImageReady (which comes with Photoshop) to make my files optimized for the web and then use Adobe GoLive for my web site layout. Adobe GoLive is a great software product for designers who are not as skilled with HTML coding because GoLive does the coding for you, but if you prefer to do the coding yourself you are given the option of doing this as well. Another fun software program for web design is Macromedia Flash. Flash creates very fun animation and mini movies that give your site movement, but is not recommended that you design your entire site in Flash because of poor search engine optimization. Macromedia also has a product called DreamWeaver that is a web site creation and layout program.

Katrina Rauch is the President/Creative Director of KaTasidy. KaTasidy was founded in 2002 and is operated out of Denver, Colorado. Visit www.KaTasidy.com and sign up for our FREE monthly eZine, Solutions, at www.KaTasidy.com.

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