I’ve got a confession to make. Of all the pieces that make up an identity package, my favorite by FAR is the business card. Why? The sheer flexibility it offers. There are NO limitations to what you can DESIGN with a business card. Any style, any shape, any color, and outlandish thing you can imagine can actually WORK as a business card.

There is no other single design piece I’ve found that offer’s so much flexibility. We’ve talked before about fake finishes design tricks and cheap ways to make a big difference, but let’s look at some ideas that you can use to display your text.

Text. We know that a business card HAS to contain information, and more often than not, it has to contain LOTS of information. Information that is ESSENTIAL to a strong business card. This alone, may sound like an overwhelming task, but what it REALLY is, is an overwhelming opportunity to do something great.

Let’s look at some inspiration for just such an occassion:

Orientation. Dare to be different. Change the orientation of your business card from horizontal to vertical. And don’t forget the front AND the back.

Right Alignment. Contact information right aligned is probably the most common of ANY alignment style for a business card. However, you can still pull it off with class:

Left Align. While the alignment may be common, this design is anything but. When you “create” a business card every detail is important.

Diagonal. These cards show a different kind of alignment– go DIAGONAL. Arrange the content and the text in such a way that it creates a design itself.

For more inspirational business cards visit Daily Poetics Flickr stream.

Bookmark This!

Recently, where I work, we went through a major server upgrade, which meant for a large window of time, we were having to save duplicates of our work. One copy would be on the server, another on our hard-drive, etc. If you’re a designer, I’m sure you already know where this is going, with multiple versions, multiple revisions and multiple files, I did the unthinkable. Yep. I sent the wrong file to the printer.
 

To make matters worse, the printer changed his postcard template and had me make adjustments to match. So I did. With all the confusion on that end, we never received a proof of the final piece, which hopefully, would have meant that myself of the project manager would have see and noticed that the version was incorrect. In all likelyhood, I probably wouldn’t have noticed, since it was my files that I had sent.

The good news is the client was very understanding and we’re getting a reprint done immediately. Other than that the postcards turned out great!

It just all goes to show that DETAILS matter for a designer. Unless we are careful, organized and consistent, we can find ourselves with egg on our face. On the other hand, it happens. As long as we own up to our mistakes, correct the situation as much as possible and never leave the client holding the bag, we’ll be successful.

Bookmark This!

I recently read an article in HOW magazine that dealt with being successful at Freelance. While I agree with the tips they shared, I think I would venture to suggest a different set of keys. Based on the experience I’ve had with almost 9 years of freelancing, there have been plenty of things I’ve had to learn the hard way.  To keep you from having to learn those same lessons, I want to outline my 5 keys to being a successful freelancer.
 

1. Work with integrity. If you make a mistake, eat it. If the client requests something, do it. And if you’re faced with a deadline, meet it.
 

2. Learn from your mistakes. As a freelancer mistakes can be costly, especially when working on a tight budget. If you make one, be sure to avoid repeating it.

3. Develop a network. Nothing is more important to a freelancer than the network they develop. Important key players in this network are professionals in the printing industry, paper suppliers, hardware and software experts.

4. Find free alternatives. As designers it’s easy to get sucked into the vast expanse of expenses known as SOFTWARE! And when it comes to design software, a successful designer should endeavor to have nothing but the best. For the best, I suggest Adobe software. It’s really the only option. However, when it comes to Microsoft products, specifically Office. I don’t use them. I use free alternatives such as Open Office, NeoOffice (for mac) and Google Docs.

5. Work hard. No successful freelance designer has made it to the top without putting in a lot of late nights and early mornings. On average I’ve worked 18 hour days. Sounds grueling? Not if you love what you do!

6. Keep your day job. One of the most important factors in avoiding bankruptcy as a freelancer is making sure you are ready to take the plunge. Before you jump out on your own two feet, keep a steady income to "fund" your venture. Once you have enough clients to offer you a sustainable income, take the plunge.

Bookmark This!

What does it take to design a breath-taking magazine? We all know a magazine generally consists of certain "standards" that will be seen in each issue. For instance, chances are you will have some type of table of contents, main articles, advertisements and editorials.

Throughout the years I’ve had the opportunity to learn some great guidelines (some by example and some by trial and error) to creating a magazine spread that really "pops."

Column layout: Articles/Features should not be strictly subject to a standard "template" spread with set column widths and layouts.  Each issue should feel fresh even in the typeset design. By breaking free of those columns and creating interest with our typeset, we will deliver our message more effectively as readers will be drawn into an article that appears to be above the standard.

If we do this consistently, we can keep our readers looking forward to our magazine because they will not always know what to expect. As they flip through and look for subjects of interest the “fresh” look will also draw them in. Currently on the market, magazines are boasting a split column design, meaning the columns are not equal in width. This typeset has an interesting effect on the reader giving a feeling of newness as they peruse the article. Similarly it’s like driving down a road with constantly changing scenery. That’s what the reader needs to stay connected with the subject. When the columns are so strict and rigid, it’s easier to “drift” away from the subject and get distracted.

I recently ran across this magazine as a design resource. I loved the way they had tilted the layout just to add a little visual interest to the page.

Graphics/Photos: Big is better? Less is more? We have to find the balance and keep it constantly changing. For some articles a full page photo is the way to go, however, we cannot get stuck in that rut and never change it up. By making the photo horizontally span across the spreads occasionally we can maintain a fresh look. Thin horizontal pictures, wide vertical pictures and combinations of the two will help the reader stay interested in the magazine.
 

Here’s another great example of a spread.

 The better your magazine layout, the more likely your readers are to pick your magazine up again. And that’s the bottom line, we want to produce a piece that will be picked up and read, re-read and passed along to others. Mazda accomplished this with their Winter 2008 magazine. We can accomplish it too!

Bookmark This!

In an interesting article today in Before and After magazine. The discussion was of the price contraints and budget limitations of adding a bleed to your piece.

Just to make sure everyone is up to speed, adding a "bleed" to a page means the ink will run off the edge of the page. This normally means you include anywhere from an 1/8" to 1/4" larger than the actual page. Now, unfortunately this means for most printers that your work will be trimmed down to the crop marks.

Now, let’s suppose you are on a tight budget. How can you achieve a "bleed" feel without a bleed budget?

Before and After had a great alternative. Pull your background in to create a nice white margin. Once this is done, you can arrange one of your elements to expand beyond the image, this not only creates a classic feel to your piece, but also gives you a nice "popping" element.

Try this out on your next budget piece! I think you’ll be pleased with the results.

Bookmark This!

Recently in my mailbox I was delighted to find the newest issue of Creativity. Now, sometimes the initial delight can be devasted by a few flips of the pages. This time, however, that was not the case.

I was so excited to see a new page following closely behind the Table of Contents page that contained a dozen printed, colorful and graphic "tabs" that were sticky on one end and could be removed to tag your issue for your favorite articles.

The idea is ingenious! Not only does it allow the magazine to showcase some graphic designers through the designed tabs, it also gives them the opportunity to showcase a print company, while providing a valuable service to the readers (Which are the creative audience) and then it also opens up a new realm of design for the artists.

I’m already trying to come up with a project that I need specialized designed tabs for!

If you don’t subscribe to Creativity, I definitely reccommend it, it’s a great resource to keep your finger on the pulse of design, printing and video.  Best of all, it’s a free resource! You can click here to check them out!

Bookmark This!