We’re working on the latest piece in our client, Naukabout’s, marketing mix. This being the largest piece the lifestyle apparel company has produced, we’re planning the multi-page booklet to be as resource-efficient as possible.
The image above shows resources used and saved for the 16 interior pages of the brochure we’re designing.
We use the tools at re-nourish for all client projects so that we can make responsible decisions at the design level and plan accordingly.
While your business’ website surely has more tasteful content than what you’d find in the tabloids at the checkout line, there is something to be learned from their covers.
Magazine covers aren’t meant to tell the whole story, they’re meant to pique your interest enough that you part with $4.99 to read the contents.
When planning out your website – particularly the home page – take some cues from the magazines:
Please, take one: I just wrote a short article called “5 Things Your Small Business Website Needs to Engage Your Customers“.
Well said, Mr. Bass.
For the non-designers out there, Saul Bass is an icon of American graphic design who created the well-known logos for Dixie, Continental Airlines and the United Way (just to name a few). You may have also seen his work in the titling sequences for the movies Psycho, Spartacus and Casino, among many others.
I came across some snippets of a documentary about his career on the web and was enlightened to hear him say,
“It costs every designer money to make it beautiful, because you have to spend more time, you have to futz with it, you have to noodle, you have to push…You’re eating up your budget.”
We’ve been asked many times if we could shorten our schedule for a logo design, or if we can reduce our price if the client promises one round of revisions instead of two. The answer is usually, “No.” Not because we like to be difficult or don’t like to commit to a delivery date, but for the reason Saul Bass stated above.
It costs time (and time = money) to make beautiful things. Things that are not beautiful don’t leave our shop. If you’re a client of ours, chances are good that our attention to detail and craftsmanship are why you arrived at Studio 22 HQ—and are also why you’ve stayed!
By now, most of us are familiar with word clouds. Right? Okay, maybe not, but there is a site on the web where you can create and customize your own in a few minutes. It’s called Wordle and you should check it out. I played around with text from our home page today for a mid-afternoon visual break and some inspiration.
Here are a few favorites:
Imagine using this to come up with word combinations for product names; or entering your brainstorming notes to see new combinations of phrases for a marketing campaign; or for creating a tagline. Anything that helps you look at something from a new perspective can give you a creative charge.
There aren’t many jobs out there where you not only earn a living by performing your duties, but that you have opportunities to win awards, too. Graphic design offers both!
Studio 22 has been honored in the American Graphic Design Awards for the fourth consecutive year. This year’s winning entries are all in the 2008 report category: Diesel Technology Forum Annual Report, Desert Glory Sustainability Report and Strategic Sustainability Consulting Sustainability Report.
While not a sustainability report, Diesel Technology Forum‘s report was reconfigured to be dimensionally smaller and contain fewer pages than in years past. We printed less hard copies and sourced a green certified printer, using vegetable-based inks and FSC-certified 100% recycled/50% PCW paper.
Desert Glory‘s inaugural sustainability report was not printed, and was instead created specifically for web download. We maintained print-quality standards and page count, however, in the event the company wishes to print any reports commercially.
Strategic Sustainability Consulting‘s report – their third with us – was also a web-based report. Creating a digital report was a first for SSC, as we’ve produced printed reports for them from the start. However, with this more flexible medium, we were able to go bold with color, graphic elements and page shape with the knowledge that they would look great on-screen.
This recognition wouldn’t be possible without our incredible clients and the trust they place in us to create these pieces. We thank you!
We are a proud member of the Designers Accord. The following guidelines were inspired by a recent Designers Accord gathering where maintaining sustainable design practices in an (ugh) ailing economy was the topic of discussion. For the record, Studio 22′s stance is that these actions are “baked in” to our process.
1. Analyze what is in your control, such as paper selection, bindings, or packaging/containment method. Make choices as part of the design exploration process.
2. Make it as easy as possible to disassemble the piece (if bound or packaged) for recycling at the end of its life cycle.
3. Estimate quantities based on past usage of similar projects as closely as possible so that you don’t over-produce. Even if you recycle your leftovers, it’s still waste.
4. Cut back on unnecessary wordiness in your text to reduce page count – not only does this help save on production costs, it saves paper and reduces postage expenses.
5. Evaluate how your audience will use your communications piece. Do they want to read an 8-page product brochure, or would they rather have a line sheet with highlights? Making it convenient for the end user can result in reduced materials consumption.
“Mimosa,” a “warm, engaging yellow” is the Pantone Color Institute’s choice for 2009′s color of the year.
Image courtesy Pantone.com
Not only is the institute endorsing the color as a great choice for print as well as men’s and women’s apparel, but the color is also available from Pantone’s line of eco-friendly interior paint.
“The color yellow exemplifies the warmth and nurturing quality of the sun, properties we as humans are naturally drawn to for reassurance,” said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, as quoted on Pantone’s site.
OIWC‘s logo uses a very similar color for their sun icon – imagine! As their Graphics & Materials Manager (I’m also a member), I am currently updating the group’s logo and identity package. Interesting to apply the color qualities above to the mission of the organization: “…equip, educate and support women in the outdoor industries to recognize their professional goals.”
While we’re not fans of using exact complements on the color wheel to create clients’ color palettes, deep blue-green and rusty orange would look hot (excuse the pun) with “Mimosa.” Stay tuned. Maybe we’ll be able to work the color of the year into an upcoming piece.
Three pieces have been chosen to appear in Crescent Hill Books’ “Big Book of Green Design” due out this fall, and we are quite excited!
From Amazon: “This book is very much a ‘see what your colleagues are doing’, idea-sharing, inspiration-generating compilation for agencies, freelance designers, printers and other creative professionals. With a foreword by Eric Benson, creator of website named re-nourish and an expert on sustainable procedures within graphic design, the book will be comprised of eight chapters, all fully illustrated with graphic design ideas, drawings, and photographs: Recycled and FSC Papers; Vegetable-Based Inks; Green Clients; Repurposed Design; Natural Elements; Biodegradable; Anti-Packaging; and, Sharing the Word.”
The following sustainably-produced pieces will be featured:
Naukabout brand introduction brochure
Evolution Markets sustainability report
LEROS Point to Point driving guide and informational brochure
The ’22 crew at this year’s ADDY Awards. (l-r, Erin, Eryn & Elizabeth)
Maybe you read our recent post about the clean design on some new Ad Council ads. Quaker has caught on with its new “Go humans go” campaign.
The television spots are cute, with people propelling themselves into their day wearing jet packs fueled with two Quaker Oats canisters.
We like the billboards much better, though:
A little mysterious, and definitely engaging as you’re flying by at 70 55 mph.
What’s also cool is that Quaker is relying on its brand recognition for the success of the ad. No extra logo placement, no web address, no commercial call to action – just the assumption that most viewing the ad will recognize their iconic figure.
