How consistent is your public face?

Many businesses have graphic identity guides. Some guides can fill up entire binders going into minute detail on every possible design scenario. These guides are an important piece in consistent branding, however, there can be a gap when it comes to individual ad campaigns.

I’ve recently been noticing inconsistencies in what I’ll call spin-off pieces created by clients (not just my clients, but many businesses). Spin-off pieces are created in-house by client teams and, with the best intentions, are designed to fit with the current ad campaign. These could be things like newsletters, email marketing or employee communications to name a few.

The problem is that without a clear guide for the current campaign, small changes can creep into the designs. Sometimes the wrong weight type is used in the headline or a photo is reversed to better fit a particular application. These initially seem like minor details but soon you have half a dozen pieces that are all slightly different from eachother. These projects typically happen away from the eyes of the agency and the small variations can leave the original campaign diluted.

Will the client notice the problem? Maybe, maybe not. Will the consumer notice? They probably won’t put a finger on the details but I believe that it does make a difference in brand perception.

The solution isn’t difficult but it does require deliberate action. Agencies and designers need to talk to the client about possible in-house spin-off projects that may borrow from the campaign. If such projects are a possibility then the creative team can develop a simple one page guide that covers basics such as type weights used in copy, tagline placement, color palettes (with color values for print and screen) and any other details specific to the campaign. A brief guide will be simple to follow and will actually make things easier on the client.

However, the responsibility can’t all be left to the creative team. Clients need to be aware that design choices are made for a reason and it’s important to remain consistent throughout communications. Without client buy-in the guides will be ineffective.

As an art director I’d love to be able to sign off on every single piece of communication that a client puts out. Unfortunately that’s not realistic. The next best thing is developing a clear set of guides that can be followed so that future pieces can build on the work of the initial campaign and create a stronger brand.

Graphic Design Referenced Review

I don't typically post book reviews here but I really wanted to let people know about a book that I picked up at the HOW Conference this summer. Graphic Design Referenced comes from Bryony Gomez-Palacio and Armin Vit of Under Consideration (a great resource in itself).

The book first piqued my interest because of the numerous case studies throughout the latter section of the book. Without much time to look through the rest of the book thoroughly I purchased it and shipped it back to my office with a few other books from the conference. I hadn't really opened it up until this week while I was researching a new campaign but I quickly realized that it was far more useful than I'd first thought.

Graphic Design Referenced calls itself "A Visual Guide to the Language, Applications, and History of Graphic Design" and starts out almost like a textbook. I don't mean that in a bad way, this is the way design textbooks should be written. Among the subjects discussed are typography, print production and grid structure. The information is so well organized with so many examples that it really makes everything easy to understand and easy to remember.

The design samples and case studies continue on through the remainder of the book. In the final "Practice" section, there are numerous examples of logo design, brochure design, poster design, publication design and so on. Not only does the book provide great inspiration for future projects but the back stories provided on each one really give a lot of insight into the thoughts behinds the designs.

The massive amount of information in this book could almost be overwhelming but the authors and designers did a great job of structuring everything so it feels manageable.

There are a ton of books out there on graphic design and it can be tough to decide where to spend you're hard-earned money. I love this book because of the great content but also because I feel like I really got a lot for my $50. If you're a designer, design student or have an interest in advertising and marketing I would highly recommend this book.

A Discussion of Crowdsourcing Graphic Design

Yesterday I noticed a tweet from Chris Brogan telling designers that he had just put a logo design contest up on a popular crowdsourcing website. If you've heard me discuss crowdsourcing then you know I'm not a fan so I sent a quick reply letting him know that most reputable designers are against this type of design "contest."

Considering that Chris has over 135,000 followers on Twitter I thought that would be the last I heard of the issue. I was pleasantly surprised when Chris replied back asking me why. I responded with a link to NO!SPEC and a quick summary of my point of view that, "designers deserve to get paid for work they do and businesses deserve full attention from their designer."

It was clear from his discussion with me and others on Twitter that Chris was attempting to educate himself. He also asked if anyone had written any blog posts on the issue and said he might link to some in a future post of his. I happily sent him links to the two posts I'd made about crowdsourcing graphic design last year.

Soon Chris had a blog post up about his project and the strong reactions he'd been getting from Twitter, he also linked to one of my posts. There has been a great discussion in the comments on his blog about crowdsourcing benefits and why it might hurt designers and businesses. I'd recommend taking a few minutes to read his post and his decision to pursue a $300 logo over the $20,000 logo he had previously had done.

Of course I made my opinion clear although I don't particularly expect it to change many minds. What I do appreciate is someone taking the time to educate themselves and others about both sides of the debate. It's understandable that a business might just see crowdsourcing as a way to get a cheap logo but hopefully discussions like these will educate those people so that at the very least they are aware of what they are asking of designers.

Graphic Design Workspaces

I came across a great website on Twitter today. Where We Design showcases design spaces from studios and agencies around the world.

I've been having a lot of fun browsing the photos of where other graphic designers work. Stuff like this really gets me motivated to make my own space more creative (still need to get around to hanging a couple things on the wall).

One of my favorites is this one in Tulsa, OK. I love the way the conference room is placed in the middle of everything and even raised up off of the floor a little.

In my design work, I've found that the state of my work area affects both my productivity and my creativity. For creativity I keep a lot of inspirational products, mailers, magazines, etc. around that I can browse when I need inspiration. I've also found that keeping my desk free from too much clutter helps me stay calm and productive. The messier my desk is the more stressed out I become.

What's important to you in your workspace?

Graphic Design Basics

As much as I'd like to say that everyone should hire a graphic designer for any and all visual projects, there are times when it's not necessary or simply not in the budget. For those times, I've compiled a list of basic design rules that can help anyone improve their design projects. As with most rules there are appropriate times to break them, however, most projects will be improved if these rules are followed.

Fonts — People love fonts. They love to cram as many different, unique fonts into their designs as possible. The problem is that this can overwhelm the reader. So what fonts should you choose? Believe it or not, it's typically not the crazy, unique fonts that many are tempted to use when designing. Simple, tasteful fonts will make your design easier to read and help keep clutter to a minimum. Novelty fonts have their place but it's typically a safer bet to stick to the classics.It's far better to pick one or two fonts for the entire design.
*Bonus Tip — Choosing a serif font for large blocks of text will make your copy easier to read. The little "legs" on serif letters actually help guide the readers eye along and ease strain. (learn about serifs here)

Emphasis — Too often people want to emphasize everything. The problem is that if everything is emphasized then nothing is really emphasized. Picture a flyer that has all of the text in bold bright colors. What will stand out? Nothing and the reader will most likely be overwhelmed by all of the "screaming". It's far better to choose a headline and a few key points that stand out from the rest.
*Bonus Tip — Don't use all caps. Words are much harder to read when written in all caps because all of the letters are the same height. Size, color and bold fonts are all ways to draw attention without hurting readability.

White Space — White space is simply an area on the page that has nothing in it. This is a tough one for a lot of people. When we see an empty space we naturally want to fill it. The problem is that our eyes need to "breathe" or else we begin to feel overwhelmed. A good way to avoid overwhelming your reader is to make sure that there are places on the page with no information. That's right, nothing. Leave large margins inside the edge of the page, leave space between the lines of copy and don't run your text and photos right up against each other. We're all overwhelmed with too much information. Give your readers a little break and you'll increase comprehension and interest.
*Bonus Tip — White space doesn't have to be white. The term white space simply refers to areas that are devoid of information or strong design elements.

Colors — No matter what else is on the page, your color choices will set the mood. Color is often the first impression that the reader will get, even if they aren't actually thinking about the colors. Your color palette should emphasize the message and fit the mood of the piece. For example, if you're creating an ad for a law firm you'll want to use colors that inspire confidence, not the same bright pastel colors you might see in an ad aimed at kids.
*Bonus Tip — There are lots of websites that can help you develop your own color palettes or use ones that others have created. My favorite is kuler from Adobe.

These tips may not make up for a design degree but hopefully they'll help you out the next time you're putting together a new project (or you could just call me).