bloghive

CASE

Now the print job is over; but my first impression after seeing the prints was not satisfactory. I realized that I have invested $250 to get 1000 pieces of junk that I can not even approve for my studio promotion! Because I didn’t find the same what I expected. Here I have two options and one obvious action-

1. blame the printer or
2. get a lesson to be learned - “the opportunity to improvise my knowledge to work with offset printers in future” and
3. Action: re-print the brochure in another printer after implementing the must improvements (from lessons learned)

CMYK plates

Following is the brochure properties/preferences (set when sent to the printer):

• layout - 20.5”x17.5” (print area) with 0.5” bleed (in Adobe Photoshop CS3)
• mode - CMYK color, 16-bits/channel (printer acceptance level - 8-bits/channel)
• proof setup - working CMYK
• color profile - ICCProfile: U.S. Web Coated (SWOP) v2
• file - multi-layered (printer accepts PDF or TIFF files only)
• paper - matte, 170gsm

@ Printer: One of the best printers in our city

• preferences - unknown to the any of the personnel who handles the printer. Also it is not documented anywhere!
• paper - feed size 21”x19” (coated/uncoated OR glossy/matte). Not sure about high-quality paper available in the market.
• color - 4 color process (offset printing)
• appointed designers: work with more than 4-5 editing softwares and highly complex print machines hardly know what happens when/if fonts get rasterized OR the difference between 8 and 16-bits/channel mode!!
• final check - no personnel appointed
• printer age: 20+ years

Let me analyze the whole process and find out - what went wrong and why I faced the following issues with the final printouts:

1. color - no true colors, inflated and cyan overly exposed in places
2. paper - broke where creased spoiling the back poster
3. design - minute lines/patterns blurred

contd…

In these days, I was not so active in social media because to be very frank, I think I am not quite there where I should be! I am not feeling positive to handle different projects till I learn how I should convey the right message and in which way? Not that I am feeling incapable or overly biased by something - rather I have become more receptive and open to make my skills more stronger. So may be the reason why I decided to hibernate from social media for some time.

I am learning and gaining experience to get to know how design communicates visually and that to effectively? It all started with my design studio branding about six months ago and I am still in the middle of that project!! Initially, I was quite unsure - what should I do? and where should I start? And at the same time, I thought that I should continue with logo and brochure design. Despite of the hurdles like budget constraints and less-experienced printers in my town - I decided to have my brochure printed, at first.

Huum, this is not it - I had to go with several iterations and modules to get the final design -that of course, forced me to read a lot and sit with my clients to understand what would influence them and how they want me to approach them or vise-verse?

Nevertheless, I have sent my design to the printer and waiting for the prints. But my experience with the printer is still obscure! Why? What am I afraid of?

Just like this, there are many questions in mind- still the answer is same, i.e., go-get the knowledge :) It is always a designer should seek is what he learned today! And that makes him confluent with the ever changing standards of design. Well, design is science and few theories are constant but still few are new and unknown to most who struggle to know how design influences and communicates with prospects mind?

contd…

I really enjoyed reading “Brands as Patterns” by Marc Shillum. He describes how smaller ideas can be executed as patterns to make a brand speaks. After all, a brand is what you perceive and find concurrently affecting your level of emotion, which is of course - “what you see is what you get” and that continues with your experience to get more and more out of it, where brands preferring more agility to stand-out.

In respect to that, branding is not anymore considered static because it is not anymore confined to a specific sphere to speak that agility and dynamism. Rather it has gone beyond. Specifically, versatility is considered more while making the logo or the identity that goes under stellar process, in fact! Designers spend much hours to get the exact inspiration for their ideas on products, services, graphics, colours, textures, patterns and above all, types!

I have observed that most need their brands to talk with people and about their culture and languages! Thus, they prefer their brands to associate with consumers daily-life. For that they have embraced the ever changing fashion to tingle with their brands [example: Google (more of Google) ].

I feel this is good because designers get the liberty to explore the infinite possibilities to get the ideas and have the horizon in front of them to develop effective brands!!

1. How many designers and design agencies you can recall by their name and logo?
2. How many of them have actually branded? - No, I am not only talking about their logo, business-card or letterhead designs but also I am curious to know how many of them successfully positioned themselves in their target market !
3. How many of them use a single name in social media like Facebook,Twitter and so on?
4. How many have uniquely identified themselves?
5. How many have a tagline? In other words, how many have their mission statement in a written form?
6. How many have their Unique Selling Proposition (USP) listed?

After the success of my previous identity project, TRACCOR - I am aiming to work further with the clients who contact me to get a new name for their company. Recently, I have been approached by a newly forming Ad-agency for a name.

They are also excited to have me designing a Brand for them. I have been offered to work with them for their next projects too. Most design projects their organization handles is about eco-packaging and social welfare advertisements. Nevertheless, I’m hoping that I would be starting their branding at the mid of this month.