Golf Example

We all learn from one another. Sometimes watching what someone else does can change the way we approach things ourselves. As designers we are no different. Often we get inspiration from the work of a fellow artist. Unfortunately, this same principle works in the negative as well! We can easily see what NOT to do by learning from the mistakes of others.

If you’ve been designing any length of time, chances are you’re familiar with 3 basic terms of post-production that have to be accounted for in any advertising design. Got ‘em?

The concepts I’m referring to are, Live Area, Trim Line and Bleed Area.

Live Area refers to the “safe-zone”, this area is close enough to the inside of the page that any text or images that are imperative to the design will not be cut off when the edges are cut off or bound in a magazine or other publication.

Trim Line is the actual “cut-line” where the trim is SUPPOSED to happen. Clearly if that were always precise there would be no need for the Live Area or Bleed Area, but alas, machines are not perfect. When a 100,000 magazines are being mass-produced I’m sure you can understand that a little shifting can occur and the cut will not always be EXACTLY on that line.

Bleed Area is the space on the outside of the Trim Line that accounts for any trim shifting that may occur to the outer edge of the ad. This eliminates the likelihood of there being an awkward white line that is not covered by the advertisement or unintentional edges to the piece.

Recently, I learned an important lesson that really made me chuckle on this particular topic. Now, what made it even funnier this particular time is that the mistake was made by an internationally known brand. They had sent a print-ready ad to be placed in a booklet.

Going what they thought was the extra mile they had added a series of dotted and dashed lines to the ad to indicate the Live Area, Trim Line and Bleed Area, each line was accompanied by a corresponding Word and Arrow. It looked great, until I opened the file in Photoshop and realized that the image they had actually sent me was flattened into a JPEG and their “template” was flattened on top of the ad.

To protect the guilty party here and save any embarassment I have recreated the effect on a generica ‘dummy ad’. The moral of the story? Make sure you remove your templates before sending in your artwork, or send layers. We can all learn from others—the good and the mistakes!

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Are billboards really worth the effort?

I think so. But there are a few rules to remember:

1. Cut the words. Remember that the people reading your billboard will likely be moving. Depending upon where your billboard will be placed they can be moving anywhere from 30 mph to 70 mph. So how can you possibly reach anyone with your message?

Start by brainstorming your message. What is it that you want to say? Write out your message. Now, cut the words in half. Good billboard design has to be readable. To avoid being responsible for a 4 car pile up, limit your words to roughly 8-10 if possible. 

2. Get Contacted. Don’t forget to add at least one mode of contact. If your business is done primarily on the web, add your web address prominently. If phones are your thing, put your number. Likewise you can include a  physical address.

Should you add all 3? Not if actually WANT to be contacted. Chances are a driver flying by, will not remember your phone number, address and Web site. However, if only one is prominently displayed, they are much more likely to retain it.

3. Images speak. Don’t forget that the images you use also must be easy to understand and should carry a clear message. Simple images will get better results. You’ll notice in some of the examples on this site that most "good" billboards only contain one main image. That’s about all a person traveling down the road can digest.

I love this snippet that I found on a site determined to keep billboards under control. While I think billboards are a great and viable option for advertising, I love the thought behind this: keep it simple:

While some signs are necessary to provide direction and index our surroundings, most billboards merely contribute to visual clutter.  Fore example, on one section of road in Hampton, Virginia, there were so many signs that a driver going 45 miles per hour would need to read 1,363 words per minutes just to understand all the information.  That is five times the normal reading speed of a stationary person!  To read the rest of this article click here.

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One such example is the EYES test. Think with me for a moment. If you enter a room and suddenly everyone turns and looks to the left, what are the chances that you too will look left? I think if you’ve got an ounce of human curiousity within you the answer is 100%. You WILL look left to see what everyone is looking at. Whether this derives froum our human desire to go "with the herd" or whether it’s simply a defense mechanism to alert of us to danger or be aware of our surroundings. . . YOU WILL LOOK.

So let’s take that principle and apply it to some other areas. In a design piece (especially a double page spread) It’s important that my subjects are "looking" the right way. If my images seem to be staring off the advertisement, chances are the reader will look off too. And that means, I’ve lost them. They have moved on, flipped the page, or set down my flyer. However, if the subjects are looking inward to the inside of the spread, or in the direction of my most important headline or information, then subliminaly it tells the reader that they should look there to. And to be one of the crowd, chances are they will do just that.

Let’s take it a step farther. In most countries, people expect to read from Left to Right. So if my primary target audience are english speaking, then I do not want to place anything on the left side of the page that will hinder the flow of their eyes. If, on the left side of the page, I have an image that is facing to the left, I have created a continual loop that will keep the reader from seeing the rest of my advertisement. If they do see it, they will feel very uncomfortable looking at the piece.

However, take the same piece and let the subject of the image be facing to the right, and suddenly there is a natural flow created for the reader to let their eyes follow the path of the images and read the rest of  the advertisement.

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Hmmm… we discussed it and brainstormed a bit. My lunch party was made up of an interesting crowd. A female designer/writer, a male writer, a male web designer and a male systems administrator and then myself (another female designer).  This being the case 2 of the 3 guys said they didn’t consider the vector designs "girly" if done correctly. One was a little less than positive about it.

I’ve noticed that the trend has be very popular among some large scale restaruants on menus and promotional pieces. One which immediately comes to mind is the artwork at McAlister’s Deli. Which was where we were today.

I recently finished a project that I did with a heavy vector scroll pattern. The piece was entirely done by hand, but the look of it is definitely more on the "dark" side as far as design goes. It’s not got the light/white imagery that is normally associated with such scroll work.

See what you think .. . .

 Well? Is vector swirly images just for girls?  Cast your vote, but be sure to give some good reasoning to back it up!

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