Design Blog
Design Blog
Thoughts and professional design and marketing advice from Resolution Creative.
Folds and Bleeds
Use a Brochure Template For Printing
You want to print a standard size tri-fold brochure. The paper dimensions are 11″ wide x 8.5″ high. The paper just folds in three, right? Just divide 11″ by 3 to determine where the panels fold.
Actually that’s not correct. Professional designers know that the fold needs to accommodate the thickness of the paper. The panel that folds on the inside would be a bit shorter.
What if your brochure has a color background. Do you create your 8.5″ x 11″ brochure with a background area that is 8.5″ x 11″? No, actually it needs to be larger. In printing, this is called a bleed. (more…)
Fundraising on a Shoestring
Old Fat Guy Idol puts the FUN in Fundraising
It’s October 1, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It seems a timely blog post would be about Old Fat Guy Idol, a fundraiser for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day I founded with some old high school friends, and the marketing created for this event.
Let me start the story by mentioning that I had not been in touch with my old friends for decades. In 2009 we had reconnected through Facebook, and had a class reunion. We were from a small high school, only 37 in our graduating class. I convinced my husband’s band to play, and one of my classmates, Chuck, sang a few songs with the band. I later posted a video of this on Facebook.
Another old friend, Larry, who had not attended the reunion, happened to see the video on Facebook and commented that he had always been a better singer than Chuck. This ignited a friendly argument and it was decided to be settled by holding a public competition. Larry had walked in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day the prior three years. We decided to hold a contest, and raise money for his participation fee. A third classmate, Bobby, was recruited, and Old Fat Guy Idol was born. (more…)
Print Marketing Idea #1
Paper airplane created as a monthly promotion by designer Michelle Yao.
Paper Airplane Print Marketing Idea
Looking for an effective promotion piece to hand out at the next networking event or trade show?
Something inexpensive, fun and customized with your logo, tagline and contact information? What is more fun, or less expensive, than a paper airplane?
If you remember the last time you made a paper airplane, you’ll remember that all you needed was a sheet of paper. Once folded, it’s a fun item to toss around a room, or compete with others. Better yet, it will help you stand out from your competition. (more…)
Bauhaus Graphic Design
The Bauhaus Impact on Graphic Design
Last week I visited an exhibition at the Ukrainian Museum of Modern Art in Chicago on the Chicago Bauhaus Legacy. Perhaps, if you are not a designer, you don’t know what the Bauhaus is. Even if you do, you might not understand the connection to Chicago.
In brief, the Bauhaus was a revolutionary design school founded in Germany after World War I. Before the Bauhaus, applied arts such as graphic design, photography, architecture were not recognized as “Art.” The Bauhaus believed that fine arts and the applied arts could work together to improve everyday life. (more…)
Should You Edit Your Own Website?
Making Edits to Your Website
I just finished a new website for a local nonprofit. A case study of the project will be in an upcoming newsletter. The site was created in WordPress, a popular content management system used by bloggers and growing in popularity because it is easy to learn and edit your website without knowing code.
As I was preparing a training document to review with my client, which is part of the website package I offer, I wondered how my client would edit images to the correct size for the homepage slide show. As a professional designer, I use Adobe Photoshop. My client would not have this software. How could this be accomplished? I had heard of Picasa, a free program offered by Google. Perhaps that would work. I downloaded the software and tried it. While I could crop and image, I could not specify the size. I decided to consult with some of my fellow designers in a LinkedIn group.
“…they could royally mess it up” (more…)
Marketing for Next Year
Want to Grow Your Business?
Start Planning Now.
I’ve been spending the last few weeks moving dirt around.
Due to a recent construction project, I’ve had to replant a portion of my yard. I’ve been hauling wheelbarrows of dirt, relocating plants, sowing grass seed, and planting bulbs. It’s the end of summer, and I’m planting in preparation for next year.
As I was shoveling dirt yesterday, a thought occurred to me, “This is a bit like marketing.”
“Market today for next year’s business”
Understanding icons and symbols
From Architectural Signs Associates quiz on healthcare symbols.
Keeping it Simple
Almost every day we rely upon universal symbols; to enter the correct bathroom, to find an elevator, to be aware of what is and is not allowed. Online and in mobile design, we look for icons for email links, to download a file, to print information.
Creating a simple symbol that can communicate information at a glance takes skill and the ability to reduce an illustration to basic shapes and elements. Your eye quickly scans a basic shape, and your brain then processes the meaning. The more weight in an icon, the easier it is to recognize. A recent blog post by Aubrey Johnson discusses how “hollow” icons, or line drawings, are more work for the user and take longer to understand.
If your symbols are used within a specific industry, there may be greater difficulty communicating Architectural Signs Associates have put together an online quiz to test your knowledge of what healthcare symbols represent. When you take the quiz, determine if these icons communicated effectively.
Telling Your Non-Profit Story
You’ve heard the expression “A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words.” Or, to quote Rod Stewart, “Every Picture Tells a Story.” Then why do so many non-profits prominantly feature photos of their volunteers or fundraiser attendees instead of photos of those they help?
Your audience, whether through print or web, needs to be engaged immediately when viewing your communications. You need to communicate quickly what you need from them, and why. This needs to be obvious, at a quick glance. The text can provide the details of your mission, but the imagery should compel the viewer to read your text. (more…)