Contrary to the rules for traditional billboard design designing for an LED billboard is now a totally different endeavor. Much like a designing for print varies from designing for web.

Whereas with a traditional billboard you might battle the speed of travelers, when you go digital, suddenly there is a new element at play: your ad is now also only showing for 6 – 10 seconds. This means the rules just got tighter.

Clients who want to maximize the ROI on their billboard budget will often opt to create a campaign. That’s to digital technology you can now create a series of billboards showcasing a single concept. Each billboard would contain a new piece of info.

Experts suggest that serious marketers take advantage of "day parting". Day parting refers to scheduling ads at their prime time-times most likely to hit their chosen demographic.

In addition to the overall organization of your billboard ads, it’s also very important to consider the actual design elements you are using on your pieces. Among these are to the number of elements, the typography you select and your choice of color.

Simple is Better

When it comes to a fast moving a digital billboard design one of the biggest considerations is keeping the billboard simple. Fewer elements larger, larger elements and simple arrangements are required to fully showcase work.

Brighter is Better

Unlike the traditional print where brightly saturated colors may appear gaudy or tacky-design for LED requires just that. Keep your colors fully saturated and create strong contrasts to create eye-popping designs.

The biggest rule of Digital Billboards is to avoid white backgrounds. White backgrounds not only require more energy and more light to produce but they also show imperfections and are generally frowned upon. Black on the other hand is your best friend and should be used liberally.

Title Case is Better

When it comes to Digital Billboard typography your basic web rules will apply. Choose sans- serif and bold formatting whenever you can. Beyond that you want to stick to title case lettering. Avoid using all CAPS at all cost.

Now that we’ve covered the rules lets check out some recent digital advertising:

A perfect example of the opportunity presented to change the message throughout the day is this campaign from McDonald's. This billboard changes depending on the time of day to represent the food you'd be wanting at that time:

Photo Courtesy: http://www.clearchanneloutdoor.com/products/digital/don/

Great Design in Digital:

Photo Credits: Lamar Outdoor Advertising

Ok, the title may throw you a bit, but as a participant in the annual "Blog Action Day", I am bound to break out of the norms of our topics here on ISOD and explore something a little more 'political' and a little more 'environmentally friendly'.

At first, honestly, I was at a loss as to HOW to connect this year's topic: "Climate Change" back to design. But as I researched and read other articles on the topic I realized that this past year's GREEN movement has really affected the way most companies look at their waste management and the products they are buying.

Each day it seems technology changes. For the professional designer these changes must be embraced or your profession will soon move on without you. Lets think for a moment about the eight track tape. Depending on your age you may not even know what I'm talking about. and let me assure you they were before my lifetime as well.

Chances are you've at least heard of the over-sized cassette tapes. Cassette tapes? Oh yeah. That was next and finally in my lifetime. I remember as an elementary student when those flat Frisbee looking discs came out for music looking proudly at my cassette collection and thinking happily, "No, those things will never catch on. I'll be fine."

How wrong could I be? Now years after CDs finally became popular our newer way to listen to music are intangible MP3 files. We buy them, but we can see them. We can't feel them. And yet we think nothing of it.

Hopefully by now you catch my drift. As a designer a lot of the mediums we're used to are being replaced. Direct mail is often substituted by email campaigns. Newspapers are replaced by interactive and user driven Web content. And now with the introduction of Amazons Kindle and Apples iPad devices we know that traditional books will soon be going the way of the buffalo.

So what do we do about it? How do you handle seeing pieces of your job security being transferred to intangible prices of technology?

the answer is simple. You LEARN and EVOLVE or head for home. There really isn't another option. While I'm not preaching doom on those of us that love the smell of a new ream of paper I do think it's important to learn WITH the changes rather than struggling against them. As such I have embarked on becoming an expert at eBook conversion.

For the past six months I have read every article, every trend forecast and every bit of information I could grasp to be ready for the revolution.

In the next few weeks as my busy work and client schedule allows I will begin to write yips for ebook and typeset beginners that I've picked up along the way! See you on the other side of technology!

Got ideas for a clever 3-Dimensional design? Want to create something that will cause your customers or clients to do a double take at your piece rather than just tossing it in the trash? Afraid these ideas are going to empty your pocket book? They don’t have to.

Thanks to the remarkable design software we have available today and the sheer limits of  imagination there is very little you can’t accomplish with a simple postcard design. If you have a great idea, don’t write it off simply because it would cost too much money. Instead look for alternative design tricks to accomplish the same thing. Let’s look at my favorite 3 approaches for ‘faking’ an expensive die-cut or 3-D design:

1. Layer. For that 3-D design you want to create but don’t have the budget, all you need is some creativity to create a 3-D design that will be looked at and then looked at again.

An example of this was a recent client that approached me about designing a  “invitation” for an upcoming event.   She wanted something that would be noticed and reminiscent of a traditional invitation. The catch? She wanted it to be a mail-ready postcard.

No problem? As you can see, I created a layered effect to simulate the the actual postcard was peeking out of an envelope.  The client loved it! And the campaign has been very well received.

2. Add Texture. This may seem like a no-brainer and it is indeed one of the oldest tricks in the book, but adding nice textures and grains to your design pieces will create the illusion of either a linen type of stock or perhaps something more earthy like these wood grained business cards for a woodworking shop I designed recently.  There are no ends to the types of textures you can use, to jumpstart your creativity, here are some ideas to get you started:

Rust
Metal
Wood
Fur
Grunge
Dirt
Aged Paper

3.Think Outside the Proverbial Box. As we mentioned earlier, when your client approaches you with big ideas and a small budget help them think outside the box. Sometimes creating even “traditional” pieces with a twist can be huge attention grabbers. This happened with a project I worked on for some friends that were getting married. They wanted to be ‘different’ and sent out their invitations as postcards.

So we did. After a photo shoot in a rose garden we had everything we needed to make a striking invitation that kept them under budget. Rather than the traditional light flowery colors, we went with bright and bold blacks, reds and whites.

The guests loved them. And these ‘wedding’ postcards received a lot of attention with other clients.

The bottom line is, regardless of your budget, a simple printed piece with the right design techniques can be astounding. Don’t be afraid to try something new (or something old!) and explore your options. Remember that you do not have to be confined to the 4 straight sides of a postcard, business card or other flat piece, you can use these sides as a platform  to boost your design to the next level.

Translating a design from print to web is often a daunting task for designers. It's the age old question. Which came first: The chicken or the egg? Similarly, chances are your web design will be running behind a print design or pre-established branding. Interestingly enough often this can prove baffling to new designers.

Logos. Unfortunately some things will translate better than others. Lets think logos online. We already know that simplicity in logo design is fundamental. Now we will see why. Think for a minute about sites you see all the time. In most cases, the logo will be at the top left corner. Because "above the fold" issues are a big concern with many web designs a horizontal logo will often work better than a vertical logo that might actually take-up to much space.

Typography. The font that a company has established in print are often null and void when applied to sites online. Often a client will email me with “we only use such n such font” often I have to tell them that frankly that won’t be possible on the content area of their sites. Granted, strides are being made to improve the typography options available online in many cases. But we aren’t there yet. Web typography is still limited to your mist basic fonts. And this is something you might find yourself having to explain to a client.

Images. An image that might work at 5×7 on a print layout will not always translate good to a 72dpi 200pixel wide web image. In theses cases images may have to be simplified or replaced for a less detailed and simpler compositions. A web image must be able to pop and grab attention faster than it’s printed counterpart.

Layout. Quite possibly the biggest difference in translating a design from orient to web is trying to control the layout as you would on a page. Just stop. It can’t be done. The web has to be a fluid creature. With cross browser compatibility trying to achieve pixel perfection is just a oneway ticket to the nut house. It will drive you insane. You never know when a browser upgrade will totally wreck what you worked so hard to perfect. Ultimately web design is the process of controlling chaos. Think of it as changing the flow of a river.

As you approach your next print to web design challenge realize your not alone and that the techniques and decisions you make will likely have to be adjusted for optimization of your site design.

Rarely do I use this blog to air my own personal opinions. But today a truly disturbing email came through my inbox. While I will refrain from naming any names this particular company has now decided to jump on the stock logo bandwagon that was recently stirring the design community thanks to iStockPhoto's attempts to open a logo branch of their royalty free images and graphics.

Unfortunately, today's company took it a step farther telling me that "The best part is you can sell the same logo many times over, so a single design could earn you income for years to come!" I was already disgusted by their email but when I got to that point I knew they had NO concept of what a LOGO even was, to think that a designer would  think it's OK to resell a logo to multiple companies by simply changing the name.

The most important part of the creative process? Is it proper training? Innate creativity? A pleasant attitude? Those are all important, but I've found that the single most important tip for keeping creative juices flowing is having enough discipline to take a break

Discipline? Yes, if you are a work-a-holic like me, you may feel guilty for sitting and doing nothing. Knowing that work is piling up around you and clients are waiting with baited breath to see what you are going to come up with. Often it takes shear willpower on my part to get up and walk away from a project. Sometimes something as simple as moving to another room for a few minutes will inspire creativity.

I had a similar situation occur last night. I had been working on a particular project for several hours. The longer I stared at the piece, the bigger the project seemed to get. I was nearing despair, trying to get water from a well that seemed to be dry. Finally, realizing that I needed to walk away from the work for a bit, I decided to go take a quick shower to relax a bit. While away, I purposed NOT to think about the dilemma I was facing. Instead I sang, made some notes for a party I'm planning and focused on my blessings. Suddenly with soap in hand, the answer I had been seeking flooded my mind.

I jumped out and hurriedly dressed so I could return to my computer and implement the idea. It worked! And was a perfect fit for the piece!

Now, that's not to say you need to shower every time you hit a creative wall. There are lots of things you can do. I'll share some of my favorites:

1. Work out: walk, run, jog, anything to get your endorphins flowing.
2. Hand wash your car: a physical activity will require a different part of your brain.
3. Take time out to devote to a pet: play fetch with fido or spend a few qualities moments with your cat.
4. Get out the crayons: for those of us that work our magic with computers everyday, creative drawing is a great release
5. Make a fun snack: go to the kitchen and see what you can concoct from no more than 3 ingredients.
6. Mow the grass: though it sounds like a chore, getting out in the sunlight will rejuvenate you.
7. Call a friend: never have time to catch up? Call and old friend and chat for a few minutes.
8. Work a crossword puzzle or suduko: Using a different side of your brain will prove very relaxing.
9. Read a "real" book: Real vs. Online PDF. Grab a book and sit outside under a tree.
10. Take a drive: if you want to connect this with work, drive down an interstate or in an area that has lots of billboards.

Remember that a "break" doesn't need to be several hours. Sometimes, all you need is 10 minutes to get refreshed. Taking a break occasionally and you will see a difference in the work you produce and your quality of life!

Several months ago, I posed a question regarding the use of the ever-popular swirly effects that are seen "growing" into many modern designs (such as this blog!).  Click here to read that article.

Well, the piece in question was entered into a design competition held by Graphic Design USA. . .  and. . . .  (drumroll please) . . . the results are in!

The catalog that I designed for iBelieveDoYou.com will be appearing in the December Design Annual showcasing the "best of the best" in 2008.  GDUSA, whom I've mentioned on this blog before as an outstanding source for graphic designers and creative professionals recieved over 10,000 entries and chose less than 15% to appear in the annual.

As you might imagine, I'm very excited at the prospect of being included in this year's annual.

Recently while mulling over a new design for a magazine layout, I once again found myself going through stacks and stacks of periodicals. I was looking at the current trends, what works and what doesn't. What I discovered was a growing popularity with split column design.

This new trend actually features columns set it different widths. Let's face it, symmetry is BORING. By creating a two column layout of varying widths, you can add visual interest to otherwise stuffy content.

Look at these examples below:

[caption id="attachment_217" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Equal Column Layout"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_218" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Split Columns"][/caption]