Monday, January 28, 2008

What Should you Look for When Hiring a Graphic Design Agency?

So, what should you look for when considering hiring a Graphic Design Agency? The most important thing is trust. As the Client, you are entrusting this Agency with your name or brand, something perhaps that has taken many years to build up. Your reputation can be ruined in days if the Agency make a mistake or simply don't put in the time and effort required. You have to be sure that they can deliver what they promise and fulfil your expectations.

Some key things to look for are:
Make sure they put you first . . . always. The Agency must believe that YOU are their number one priority and not just a number on their order book. They should always keep you in the loop with regards to communication, even if they have to admit to making a mistake and regardless of the size of the Agency, they should also always know who you are when you call.
They should be prepared to take the time required to gain some knowledge of your business and requirements so that they are more aware of the challenges you face. It's unrealistic to expect an Agency to know everything they need to know about any one specific business sector, but a willingness to do what is required to find out should be clearly shown.
They should place significant value on what you know about your business and never dismiss or undermine the fact they you are closer to it than they are. After all, it's YOUR business . . . you know it better than they do.
They should be completely transparent with their business practices in terms of quoting and billing, and being clear what is and is not included in any project they work on for you. Make sure they have comprehensive Terms and Conditions of service and that YOU are happy with them. If you have any concerns, talk to the Agency about them and make sure you BOTH understand what is expected.
They should love what they do and you should be able to see it. You should be able to see that it's not just a job to them and that you are not just another client and they should show you that they will go above and beyond to get things right for you.
They should be completely loyal to you and consistent in their dealings with you. Telephone calls and emails should be answered promptly and queries or complaints responded to immediately.
Finally and most importantly, they should leave you with the conviction that they CAN do what they promise and that you can trust them with your business.
If all these key points have been satisfied then you may well have found the right Design Agency for you. Good luck!

View this and other articles here . . .


Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/graphic-design-articles/what-should-you-look-for-when-hiring-a-graphic-design-agency-317134.html
Online Marketing

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Logo Design for Non-designers

The main purpose of this article is to help non-designers understand the logo design process, general terms, requirements and things to remember when ordering a logo.

When you decided that your company needs a logo you need to think if you need a completely new logo or redesign the old one (of course, if you have it) before searching for a designer. Redesign of the existing logo is often cheaper than design of a new logo.

There are a huge number of companies which offer logo design services. All of them have different prices, number of concepts and revisions offered. Some of them can design business stationery for you. Let?s talk about every point in detail:

Price is important factor; it is very unusual to receive high quality at low price. But Internet is the place where designers work from all over the world and logos are going down in price. You can buy logo of satisfactory quality for $100 (yes, one hundred dollars). One of the very important factors affecting the price is whether design company uses clip-art (premade pictures or graphic elements) or creates unique logos. Be sure to find out this. Custom logos are much better because you will have exclusive logo nobody has.

Number of concepts is a number of ideas for logos which you will be offered after answering the logo design questionnaire. It is good to have more than one idea for logo because you will be able to choose. Usually, you will receive a couple of ideas in different styles. When you choose a concept for your logo you will be able to change it using revisions.

Number of revisions is a number of possible changes which you can request for a chosen logo design concept free of charge. You can change everything including color, font, graphic element, arrangement of the elements. The more revisions you have the more chances you receive a logo of your dream.

Turnaround time is an amount of time needed for work on your logo. Usually design process takes from 3 to 10 days. There are companies, which can do urgent orders but the cost of logo will be higher.

Number of designers ? recently design companies started to indicate number of designers working on your project. Big number of designers should guarantee diversity of the concepts, but this factor is difficult to control and it is difficult to find out how many designers really worked on your project.

Stationery design ? it is good if your logo design company will design business cards, letterhead and envelope for you. Usually, you will receive a couple of concepts of business stationery to choose from.

Things to remember during the communications with logo design company:
1. Number of colors of your logo. The more colors you have the more expensive will be cost of printing services.
2. Files optimized for print. Be sure to request files optimized for home and professional printing (tif, pdf, jpg, eps).
3. Source files of your logo (ai, cdr). Be sure to request source files of your logo; you may need them in future.
4. Use of photos in logo. It is very bad idea to use photos in your logo. Such logos are overloaded with graphic elements and have non-professional look.
5. Logotype with abbreviation or without company name. It is very difficult to advertise and promote your company with such logo. Logos with acronyms are good for very big companies which have a lot of money for marketing.

Logo is very important for each company and serves the crucial role of successful marketing. It is vitally important to have good logo from the beginning because redesign of logo will cost you a lot because of need to inform you clients about rebranding, change business stationery and logos on signs, cars, etc.


Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/graphic-design-articles/logo-design-for-nondesigners-314062.html
Home Gardening

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Avoid 6 Common Logo Design Mistakes

A logo is the ever-present face of your company. Words, type, colors and shapes ?these attributes help a logo to communicate a message to potential customers about what your company does and how your company is different from the competition.

Many logos fail to communicate, which eventually creates barriers to successful marketing and advertising. For brand messaging, a company should have cohesive marketing approach of all points - logo, website, brochures, advertising, promotions, etc. If something as seemingly small as a logo lacks the communicative punch, you?re your company is surely missing a huge opportunity to reach out to your customers.

A poor quality logo suggests inferior products and it puts a bad impression in the minds of your customers. Find out if your logo is suffering from any of the six common logo mistakes mentioned below. If you can successfully avoid these common logo blunders, then you are on your way to a successful logo.

1. The Clipart Logo

Many clipart images are widely distributed. Most of us are familiar with the software providing the clipart and will instantly recognize your 'borrowed' logo. This is one way to loose credibility of your business.

2. Special Effects Logo

First, strip off all the special effects to get at the heart of the design. A great logo should be able to stand its ground in black and white, without any effects. Draft your concept on paper first. Think about what to present before you decide how to present. After you are pleased with a one-color concept, then produce it digitally. At this point you may not like to add any effect to enhance your logo for web use. Eliminate any effect that does not add value to your design.

3. The Banner Logo

A logo is not your web banner advertisement. You are doing your company more harm than good by forcing your logo into a banner shape, especially if your logo is crammed to fit the entire rectangle.

4. The Text-Only Logo

These types of logos restrict the ability to express your company's uniqueness. A large established company can pull off text-only logos with exorbitant marketing budgets. Test of your logo's effectiveness by altering the letters and see if your logo is still recognizable. If not, then you need to seriously consider the visual element of your logo.

5. Monogram

Monograms (company initials) are very difficult to use effectively. It will take a long time to build credibility with a monogram logo. Also, logos consisting of several overlapping letters generally do not do well, and very often they speak too little about your company and the products.

6. The Complex Logo

Logos with complex photos and layouts make poor logos. If you insert any additional information, then it becomes an extra detail for your customers to remember. A simple logo design with solid shades and minimal lines will definitely have greater impact and memorability.


Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/graphic-design-articles/avoid-6-common-logo-design-mistakes-302090.html
Mens Health

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Hot Tips to Hot Free Myspace Layout

No doubt, you can choose your Myspace layout of any of the categories as Girly, Jazz, layout MySpace animal. But there are a few points that you need to mind. The code for the layout of your choice myspace may be available everywhere, but the installation of a new layout MySpace is not so easy. So, to consider other "MySpace Layout" obviously helps a lot. First, a layout MySpace is a pre-coded, pre-designed layout of your profile with the holders of the place for your profile, contacts, friends and advertisements. You can choose to have one big backdrop, but the main effect of the substance is more than high time to download. By default, the layout MySpace is pretty boring, which is why users are taking to spice things up. Remember, extensive experience can mean many things on the fold and are left out of sight. A pre-made MySpace Layout is a model for your home page. Use it as an easy way to introduce your friends and individuality rocking in addition to using it as a platform for marketing. However, a problem with the default layout is it hides most of your home page in the background. Unfortunately, this type of layout code is cropping up everywhere. Even if you are willing to have free hot MySpace layouts, you are not in a state of mind to all pick-up free Myspace Layout Cute or simply because they are free. The truth, however, are not all free MySpace Layout codes available for pandering tracks have never been so easy to use. So what does this mean to you, that this is not a big deal at all? Browsing through a myriad of free layouts, getting lost on the selection, because they are not always categorized for ease of use and visualization. The next factor in a beautiful layout is its positioning. Tour codes are easy to change your layout by pressing a few keys on your keyboard. Another easier way to customize your profile page is to pick your favorite song to play as your profile loads. Remember to take care of the default configuration which is not exactly in the center. To spice up your MySpace warm and easy backgrounds not asking you to compromise on integrities and privacies because some are free MySpace atrocious layout and location of spamming espionage and codes that fires when you page loads.
General Insurance

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

The Importance of Graphic Designs

Graphics are necessary in our daily lives? S life. The strong sense of graphic stimulates a person to arrive at the same time. Everywhere in the world, are being designed by graphic designers million to attract people and increase the turnover of a company activity.To make an attractive graphic and so cute, good layout graphics must be done. A graph becomes significant when it defines the text below correctly and images to produce a coherent and interesting work, depending on the final goal. The purpose of graphic design is not confined to this one, but it has a special role in improving the sale of a company.Also, web design help improve the appearance of the layout d 'a website to attract viewers, the message of the company and stimulate their senses effectively. As simple as it may seem, this is a lot of effort work.Things to take into consideration when designing a graphicGraphic design is a difficult process. While preparing for a design, a graphic designer looks at several factors, including the public, the purpose of the message and media (such as print, online, book or poster). Once the designer removes all its basic needs in the design of a chart, he needs to organize text and graphics on some layouts and formats. Fonts, colour, size and arrangement of text and graphics are re-viewed and sent for proofreading. Conceptions graphics also need to take care of things, including his balance, color, contrast, emphasis, movement, a model, the proportion, proximity, the repetition, rhythm, texture, 'Unity and white space.In this world more and more, the scope of the design changed a lot. Latest technologies have created new ways in this area and new developments can be seen. Now, with the use of new software and printing technologies, graphic design has become more flexible and convenient. Conceptions graphics have become an essential element of any designing.So site, if you want to design a website which provides customized to your needs, be sure to keep the graphics than by the requirements so that it will benefit your business needs.
Babies in Family