[caption id="attachment_226" align="alignleft" width="214" caption="Golf Example"][/caption]

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 embarrassment I have recreated the effect on a generic a '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!

If your a designer, whether working at an agency or off on your own freelancing chances are at some time or another you've found yourself working under incredibly intense pressure. The kind where you feel that if one more task or problem comes your way, you'll burst from the sheer weight of it all.

If this describes a recent day you've had, don't despair, tomorrow is a new day, but there are things you can do TODAY to keep the pressure under control and keep your sanity.

1. Stop Checking Your Email: If you're actively working on a project, complete it before checking your email again. Often, checking in to many times, will not only stop your production, but seeing the list of jobs piling up will only serve to weigh you down.
2. Make Lists: When you do check your email make a To-Do list. Committing your work to a list will get it off your mind and allow you to concentrate on the task at hand. There are tons of easy to use Web apps for list keeping and organization. Find the system that works for you.
   
   Remember the Milk
   BackPackIt
   Toodledo
   TaDa List
   Intuit Task Manager
3. Stay Organized: The more you organize your files and folders when you have time, the less stress you'll have in the crunch times. Being able to quickly and efficiently find the files you're looking for is one of the first steps to managing your workflow.

I'm sure everybody will have tips and tricks that work for them, but on a basic level and across the board, following these three basic principles will help to keep you sane!

Recently a friend of the family approached my mom with a photo he had saved from his childhood. He was hoping to have the photo restored so to present a copy to his sister for her upcoming birthday.

 

When I received the original photo, taken in the 60s, it had definitely seen it's better day. The photo itself was literally torn in 2 pieces and curled around the edges.

 

After some careful taping, flattening and some significant time in Photoshop the results are in! Check out the before and afters!

 

Thank God for the Clone Tool!

 

Before:

After:

 


What is a picture worth nowadays? Does it still hold as much value as it once did? If we are talking about online marketing, the answer is yes! Tabloid photos are a different story.

 

A good photo can make up for thousands of words, and we know from studying Web user's habits, that if your pages are too wordy, they won't be read anyway. So save your breath and take photos. 

Photos of what?

 

Everything. Depending on your market, your needs may be different. To get your product/name or service out there, it's imperative that you have photos your target audience can easily access. Here are some ideas to get you started:



 

1. Intinerary Photos: Have you spoken at a conference? Attended a Seminar or class? Take a few pictures and document your trip or speaking experience. Not only will these photos help to establish you as an expert, they also show your audience that you are still learning or active in the field. 



 

 

2. Product Photos: Do you offer a tangible product? Take pictures of it. If the product is something that moves or is "used" take photos of it in action. Make sure the pictures are clear and crisp though. It's better to have NO photo that one that is sub-quality. A poor photos simply harms your product's crediblity and makes you look like an amateur. Digital photos are fairly cheap these days and basic photo composition is easy to master, we'll talk about that a little later. 



 

3. Portfolio Photos: If you are a designer/writer or other professional that requires a portfolio, upload your best work in snapshot form. Be sure to create "sets" to organize your work i.e., logos, Web sites, manuscripts, etc.



 

4. Awards and Trophies: If your business or firm has won awards in it's field, be sure to post some "humble" photos of those as well. Remember the golden rule, that photos are more believable than type. (In today's society that is an oxymoron due to the wonders of Photoshop, but nevertheless we have a innate human desire to believe what our eyes tell us).



 

5. Staff Photos: Regardless of your size, I'd suggest uploading some staff photos with a short "bio" of each employee, their talents and specialties. This will also allow your customers to feel a connection with your business.

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 likelihood, 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.

One of the most exciting discoveries I've made recently is the availability of LIVE PREFLIGHT in InDesign CS4. That in itself is well worth the fee to purchase an upgrade. Now, whether or not I will upgrade BEFORE the end of the year for tax purposes, well, that will depend.

 

I recently read an article that outlining some of the new features of Adobe's InDesign re-vamp and compared them to features of the new Quark 8. As a die-hard InDesign fan, I wouldn't be caught dead voluntarily using Quark. In fact, I've purchased Marksware's Quark to InDesign converter for the sole purpose of avoiding the product.

 

Interestingly enough, reading up on this list of "features" released in Quark 8 it was apparent that many of the "new additions" have been in InDesign for several years! Go Figure!

 

Back to Live Preflight, in InDesign CS4 with the "Live Preflight" option selected, you have the opportunity to have errors flagged in real time as they occur. Import a RGB photo? Live preflight will tell you. Is the font you're using missing a stroke? Live preflight will tell you.

 

Since I don't have my hands on it yet, I'm anxious to use this in a real production environment. Shoot me your feedback, I'd love to hear your experiences with InDesign CS4 vs. CS3.

 

Ever wished for a visual "cheat sheet" of blending options and their effects in Photoshop?

Wanna save the time of having to click through all the effects to find the right combination? Look no further! At the end of this post, you can download a handy PDF of these images that will show you an at-a-glance reference of blending options and their effects.

Enjoy!

 

For the sake of this example we'll be using to different images to clearly illustrate the blending options!

 

Image 1: A simple tree!

 

Image 2: A Hot Air Balloon.

One by one, we will go through each blending option. Without moving the images or changing the placement. Some results may be hideous, but the purpose of this exercise is to provide you with a visual example of each of the blending options located in this palette.

 

 

Darken: Darkens the areas that overlap.

 

Multiply: Combines the hues of the overlapping images.

 

 

Color Burn: Accentuates the brighter areas of the photos.

 

Linear Burn: Accentuates and darkens the lighter areas.

 

Darker Color: Shows the darkest common color in both images.

 

Lighten: Overlaying parts of the images are lightened and washed-out.

Screen: Similar to the "Lighten" mode, but creates a brighter sheen.

 

Color Dodge: Still brighter than the "Screen" mode.

 

Lindear Dodge: Washed out further.

 

Lighter Color: Removes the darker images within the composition.

 

Overlay: The top image is lightly displayed over the image.

 

Soft Light: Similar to the "Overlay" mode except lighter.

 

Hard Light: Shows the drastic difference between the top layer images.

 

Vivid LIght: Colors are show in their brightest hues.

 

Linear Light: Brighter lights colors on the top layer.

 

Pin Light: Removes and combines similiar colors between the layers.

 

 

Hard Mix: Colors are combined and then exagerated.

 

 

Difference: Great for creating mystifying night scenes.

 

Exclusion: The inverse of the difference mode.

 

Hue: Breaks the composition down into basic colors.

 

Saturation: Determines the vividness of the composition's colors.

 

Color: Changes color below the top image to reflect the image's hues.

 

Luminosity: Creates a dark, yet vibrant color layer on the bottom image.

 

If you want a downloadable copy of this cheat sheet, click here.

 

So how realistic are these blending options? Well, here's a recent project I did for an upcoming book that will be released in January. You may notice the iStockWatermarks on this copy as I haven't yet converted this to finished product with the purchased images. However, in this piece alone, I have 10 images and I have utilized a variety of blending options in the piece.

 

Before starting on your next design project, ask and answer the following questions. As important as the design itself, is the planning that goes behind it.

 

1. Why? What is the purpose of the design? To sell? To preform? To advertise? Determine the objective. You must know the "why" before you can measure the results of the piece.

 

2. What is the essential information for the piece? Contact information, product, sales, etc.

3. Who is your intended audience? Male dominated audience it's more critical to put the important stuff in the middle of the page. Female audiences are more likely to look everywhere. Male audiences can determine fewer colors than women can. Likewise they have less peripheral vision. Know who your audience is and how to reach them.

 

4. What is the image of the organization? Your design MUST reflect the branding and dynamics of your company.

 

5. Who are the competition? Your competition IS not just in YOUR field. Anyone else who is trying to reach your audience is your competition.

 

6. Do you have the necessary tools for the job? If your dictionary is more than 5 years old, throw it out and get a new one. The dictionary is not about what's correct, it's about what's CURRENT. Likewise, make sure your software, resources and equipment are up to the task.

 

7. Can you delegate some of the tasks? Find someone to do the jobs you are not good at.

 

We all want to be faster. We look for the shortest check out lane, the quickest restaurant and the fastest cars. Unfortunately, when it comes to our design work, there are few areas we can "fly" through.

 

Thankfully, thanks to automation, masks, and layer comps we can save a lot of time, by simply thinking "speed" when we design.

 

One of my goals as a designer is to offer good quality at an affordable price. The way I do this best is by working quickly and allowing the computer to "work for me".  You will often finding me in my office "using" two machines!

 

How? I set one up on an automated task and do manual work on the other and vice-versa.

 

Automation. What is it and how can it work for you?  You may not realize how many things you can easily automate in photoshop, but before I discuss that, let's talk briefly about what it is and how you use it. Automation in Photoshop is done efficiently by creating "Actions". An action is a sequence of events that you "record" and play back to apply to an image or graphic. This sequence can be something as easy as changing the color mode, to a detailed series of color mode, sizing, saving and closing.

 

In case you're not familiar with actions, here's the palette you're looking for in Photoshop:

There are any number of tutorials on creating an action out there, so rather than re-iterate that information, here are some links:

http://blog.paranoidferret.com/?p=18
http://www.dpandi.com/actions/
http://www.photoshopcafe.com/tutorials/actions/actions.htm
http://www.tutorialsroom.com/tutorials/graphics/photoshop_actions.html

 

Now that you know HOW to create an action, let's discuss some great uses for them. I recently was asked to create a series of Flag icons for a Ministry with a large international reach. Needing over 65 countries I found it difficult to find an icon set that had all the flags I needed. Rather than purchasing an incomplete set, I decided to create my own.

 

Once the initial flags had been created, I opened all the files in Photoshop and set up actions to save them into a variety of sizes and file formats. By the time I had finished I had over 2000 different icons. Guess how long it took to convert and save them? About 2 hours of hands-free work. Photoshop did it all for me.

 

Learn to work smarter, not harder.

As a designer a great portfolio can be the difference between landing a job and just  being interviewed. The good news is, having a great portfolio isn't rocket science. You must also be ready to talk about it, and remember your presentation goes a long way.

1. Keep it Fresh. If you portfolio is the same as it was last month, then you're letting it get stagnate. Keep in mind as a designer, you should always be growing. Rarely do I look at a piece that I designed last year without seeing a million ways it could be done better if I was doing it today.  That's what it's all about!

2. Go Digital AND Paper. We are living in a digital society but that doesn't mean you should "force" your prospective boss or clients to go digital as well. In the busy grasp for time, many may rely on a paper they can easily look at on the go rather than a digital CD or Web version of your work. My suggestion? Show your versatility and do both.

3. Include Awards and Recommendations. Any prospective employer will be impressed by the number of awards and recommendations you have collected. Allow your work to speak for itself through these commendations. Don't have any awards? There's no excuse! Look online for design competitions. Yes, the entry fee my be a little pricey but the results and prestige are well worth it!

4. Focus on the Details. If you include a cover letter be sure it's addressed to the right company. When looking over applicant's for a new designer at the ministry, I received a resume and cover letter addressed to another company in town. What did this tell me? The designer didn't have much of an eye for detail, meaning, they weren't somebody I even interviewed. Don't let a careless mistake make you look bad!

5. Include a Memorable Resume. An integral part of any solid portfolio is an up-to-date resume. Your resume should include a brief summary of your most recent positions and your overall skills. Limit this item to 1 page, front only. You may want to consider printing it on speciality paper or something noticeable, like a metallic card stock.

6. Show Variety, but Start with Your Greatest Strength. If you specialize in Logo development don't start your portfolio out with a Web design. Start with your strengths to "wow" your prospect, then follow up with your other work to show your versatility.

7. Be Ready to Answer Questions. One of the first questions I ask a prospective designer that wants to work for me is to tell me what their favorite piece in their portfolio is. This is always very insightful for me to see what the designer truly deems their most important piece.

8. Include "Real" Samples. If you do book typesets and business cards, don't just "show" the printed pages in sleeves, include real books, cards or brochures. Allow the employer or client to "touch" and "feel" the pieces. This will brand the images into their mind, and cause your name to be remembered.

9. Have Professional Contact Information. One of the biggest turn-offs for someone looking to hire a freelancer or new staff member is contacting them via an email address like This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Don't do this. Make sure you have an email address that is fed through your web site and sounds professional. If you leave your cell phone number make sure your voicemail message is also professional. Change it if you need to. Remember, the first key to selling yourself is presentation!

10. Use Your Creativity. It's cliche, but you must think outside the box. Don't go overboard and in so doing, overwhelm your client. Professionalism will get you a lot farther than flamboyance, but be impressive. Show them you mean business and can think creatively.