By definition, a business card is a small card on which is printed, typically, a person’s name, job title, firm, business address, and telephone number. Seems simple right? But how exactly should you place that information on the card so it is comes across easily for the person receiving the card? There is a lot that goes into designing business cards and I am going to give you a list of topics to consider for your own card.

Color and Images! We all love picking out our favorite colors to represent us and we love picking out pictures even more. When designing a business card, pick out colors that are of interest to you and represent your logo. It is important to match color tones because you do not one some crazy color scheme going on that is going to distract people from really knowing what you are about. Also, it is nice to include a professional photo of yourself on the business card.

Type! There are only about a million different fonts out there in the world right? How do you pick one? First off, I know this may be hard but limit yourself to two fonts and do not use the crazy decorative fonts for the important information on your card such as name & contact. Pay attention to your alignment as well, left alignment is always easy reading. The size of your font is important too, use the same font size throughout and stick to the 8 pt – 10 pt range.

Composition & Format- The format and composition of your business card should be clean and simple. Also, if you have too much information, two sided business cards are an option! Isn’t that great? Most importantly, be sure to strive for that good contrast, good balance and professional look.

Texture! In today’s world, there are many different types of paper. When making your business card, select a thicker paper than your everyday paper. You do not want thin paper because that can give off an impression that your services are thin and crappy. Match the coating of your business card to the type of business. For example, glossy represents beautiful but non-glossy is easy to write on!

So many choices, so many options for just your business card but I hope that the previous tips will help you design that professional business card you have been wanting!

Written By: Lauren Schaefer

1. Become a collector

• Whenever you see some kind of design that inspires you or looks good, collect it, bring it home, and file it away. These can be a great source of inspiration whenever needed. Heck, even Starbucks gives out weekly creative mini-newspapers.

1. Buy books

   • Having a large collection of various books, whether inspirational, educational, or technical, is always essential to learning.

2. Read design-related blogs

   • You would be surprised how much you can learn reading through various design blogs on the web. While also a haven for memes and cat videos, the web is an invaluable resource of information, so take advantage of it and use it!

3. Start a design blog

   • Having a blog can be very useful and educational, as it will make you more aware of the design community at large, but also be more analytical of your own work.

4. Join and be active in the design community

   • A must especially for any freelance designers, not only will this help you stay up-to-date on the design community, but it is also a great way to get feedback and critiques of your work. Of course, since you’re a freelancer, you do not have anyone to answer to, but at the same time, you never really have someone to criticize your work and help you improve.

5. Take lots of photos

   • Especially useful for designs you like but can’t take home, having a simple camera phone can help you get pictures of things like building designs, textures, shapes of shadows on walls, and pretty much anything else that interests you from a design standpoint.

6. Create fake projects

   • Whenever you have some free time, which depending on your schedule might be a lot or little to none, create some fake projects. Work on a fake brand for a company, i.e., designing a logo, stationary, brochure, website, etc. It’s important to keep design fun and go all-out with your creativity without limitations. It can be easy to get caught in a rut when clients dictate what you do and your work is no longer “yours”.

7. Redo other people’s design

   • If you don’t feel like doing a fake project, simply redo someone else’s work. This can help you see what “they” did wrong and what you can do to improve.

8. Redo your old designs

   • While most people want to get rid of their old work, mostly cause they do not think their work is great, it’s better that you hang on to it. Try to redo your older work. It’ll help you to see if you’re improving your skills and getting better at your work.

9. Attend lectures

   • You can always learn something new by attending lectures of other designers speaking at local schools and universities.

10. Network with other designers

    • Another benefit to attending lectures is getting to meet other designers, especially ones with more experience and, possibly, more talent. It can be hard to admit that someone else is better than you are, but if you surround yourself with designers with higher skill will push you to work harder and learn more.

11. Take classes

    • Several colleges will let you attend classes with enrolling full-time. In addition to getting to be in a classroom with your peers again, you can also learn some new things about current design technologies.

12. Interview other designers and studios

    • Back in 2007, a friend of the author of this article held a national studio tour, wherein he toured and interviewed with 100 different design studios. He later said it was an amazing experience and he learned more from touring than he ever did from design school. Plus, he got a few useful contacts.

13. Travel

    • Going to another country can help inspire you. Whenever you find yourself designing all day long for several weeks straight, it can be a good idea to go to a new country. You can experience new cultures and see artwork from those country, opening your mind to a whole new world.

14. Learn something new

    • If you ever find yourself in a creative slump, sometimes it’s a good idea to try something new or do something unrelated to design. It can help you get your mind off of things and into something new.

15. Grab a sketchbook

    • Without the limitations of design software, having a sketchbook handy can help you work through ideas quickly. In addition to the author, who says it has helped with his designs significantly, you can read up on other designers who will say the same thing.

Written By: Matthew Lowery

Magazines are everywhere and if you are a designer, you probably have thought about designing them! Here are some tips on Magazine Design.

Get Inspired: The first thing you need to do to get inspired is go out and actually buy magazines. Then decide on WHY you chose the ones you chose. Was it because you like the layout? color? pictures? fonts? Use those elements to start the inspiration of your own magazine.

Use a great masthead: A masthead is your magazine’s logo. It should always be at the top of the cover so it is first to be seen. Your logo should be legible and able to tell you about your magazine. Another thing to consider is that unless your magazine is in the first row, the readers are only going to see the top two inches of the magazine.

Cover Photo: Whatever you do, do not try to save money on the cover. A well designed cover is more likely to be picked up than a cheap one. It is important to use high quality photos. Choose photos your reader will recognize. Remember that a magazine only gets one good first impression! Make it good!

Fonts: It is important to choose professional looking fonts. Also, if you use too many different fonts, it will be confusing to the user. With that in mind, it is important to keep to one or two font families! Also, beginners in design may think it is better THAT IF YOU WANT TO MAKE A STATEMENT IMPORTANT TO USE ALL CAPS! Now wasn’t that a little overwhelming? Try bolding your font instead of coming across like you’re yelling. Lets try this again! Also, beginners in design may think it is better that if you want to make a statement important to use all caps! Now, isn’t that a little easier on the reader than seeming like you are screaming?

Finally, do not forget contact information. What are your readers suppose to do if they love your magazine and want more! Be sure to leave your contact information including: your physical address, web and email addresses, subscription price, and how to subscribe.

Written By: Lauren Schaefer

Zanola Company

The Challenge

Many companies have charts or presentations that they use on an everyday basis or at least weekly basis. This was the case for the Zanola Company. They have what are called Visio Charts. These charts are use to help Joe, the owner explain the packages that his company offers about growth and building/development studies. Typically, these are created within the office, which works well as you can change them fairly easy and have access to them. But what people don’t think about is the impact that those have on the clients. Zanola realized after working with clients that these were not working as great sales pieces for Joe.

Take a look at what Zanola Company was using. 

As you can see the information is some what hard to follow, doesn’t flow with their current branding identity, and is not visually appealing. When Zanola Company approached us with these charts, they told us they wanted them to be more like an infographic and be more visually appealing. From talking to Joe and Rachel we figured out the best way to use these pieces to help Joe be more efficient at this job.

The Solution

What we decided to do was create an icon for each type of development that was available. This would bring more recognition as well as add a visual element. The residential was created based off Zanola’s current logo with the additional of the family. The same brand color was taken into the next icons with the same elements of design. These icons were then used within the charts to make them more visually appealing. The icons added more interested while giving visual examples of the type of development on each chart making them more easily recognizable.

The Need to Know charts, as you can see are more paragraph/text heavy. The originals had even more text but after looking over them Joe decided he was explaining a lot of that information in more detail anyway so for cleanliness we could cut down on the text some. The same layouts for all the need to know charts are used throughout to again spread the brand recognition. 

Moving onto the Focus Chart. These charts were harder to layout as all the information was important, needed to be easily readable, as well as needed to include the new icons. We tried several variations of charts, one of which was more like a line graph. This particular design was the easiest to read, had a great flow, and allowed the use of other colors to spread the Zanola Brand. It also stayed with the horizontal layout of the Need to Know Charts.

The Results

As you can see the designs now have more brand recognition using Zanola’s colors as well as more recognition within each development area. Zanola asked not only for the charts, but for us to give them each icon separately so they could use them on other materials that were related to each development. By creating these icons, and updating these charts TriLeaf added to Zanola’s brand identity. These are now marketing pieces that are recognizable as Zanola Charts instead of a chart that could be created anywhere.

Overall, Joe said he has found many uses for the new icons and has found that his clients are having an easier time following his charts.

Written by: Kim Tomiser

You want your color to represent what your trying to say. Here are some things to think about when choosing colors for your design. If you still aren’t sure about what color to use, tell your designer what your trying to convey.

 As described in more detail in Smashing Magazine here is the major breakdown of color feelings.

• Red: Passion, Love, Anger

• Orange: Energy, Happiness, Vitality

• Yellow: Happiness, Hope, Deceit

• Green: New Beginnings, Abundance, Nature

• Blue: Calm, Responsible, Sadness

• Purple: Creativity, Royalty, Wealth

• Black: Mystery, Elegance, Evil

• Gray: Moody, Conservative, Formality

• White: Purity, Cleanliness, Virtue

• Brown: Nature, Wholesomeness, Dependability

• Tan or Beige: Conservative, Piety, Dull

• Cream or Ivory: Calm, Elegant, Purity

 It’s just some food for thought the next time your working with your graphic designer. 

Written by: Kim Tomiser

In todayʼs world, the graphic design field is very competitive. A key to being a good designer is having clients.. all the time. A lot of businesses tend to fall off the face of the earth after opening because they are not receiving enough business. Here are a few helpful tips for finding new clients.

1. Having family and friends spread the news about your company 2. Send out an email or a letter to everyone you know 3. Ask customers for referrals 4. Always keep in touch with previous clients, especially when you have a new service

to offer 5. Star some kind of newsletter that can be sent out to customers. 6. Send promotions with all invoices. 7. Go to events that focus around your industry 8. Sponsor events for your clients 9. Socialize with everybody and have your business card handy 10. List yourself in the yellow pages 11. Place an ad in the local newspaper 12. Promote a free first consultation service 13. Get your portfolio listed 14. Design a website 15. Start a blog

Overall, the key to a successful business is really your clients. Keep those clients happy and in return they will give you their business.

Written by: Lauren Schaefer

Setting your files up correctly for printing is important to protect against costly mistakes.

Understanding the Different parts of the Artboard.

Live Area:The area that is considered safe to keep any important information within. The area within this space should be safe from the trimming process.

Bleed Area:Bleed is crucial to any design in which the pictures and/or color run to the edge of the page. The more bleed you can offer, the better. Shifting can occur during the trimming process. If images and colors are not extended into the bleed area, there might be gaps between the image/color and the edge of the page

Crop Marks:Indicate where to cut the paper.

Properly Setting up Colors.

It is always best to create your document from the start in CMYK color mode. A lot of the colors created in RGB mode are not achievable using standard four-color process printing. Files should also contain ONLY the colors needed for printing. This means you should remove any default colors from the swatches palette so that the colors needed for final output is clear.

For large areas of black use a rich black. Rich black mixes in some cyan, magenta, and/or yellow to darken the 100% Key. There are basically two kinds; warm and cool. Generally accepted values (in order of CMY) are 70, 50, 30 (known as “designer black”), 60, 40, 40 (cool black) and 40, 60, 40, (warm black). All of these are mixed with k=100.

Do NOT use rich black for smaller text; registration problems (where one CMYK ink prints slightly in the wrong place) will make your text unreadable.

If you are using spot colors, make sure all objects and type that are in the same color are on the same layer and named with the spot color they should be printed in

Fonts

Fonts should be either embedded into a PDF or collected into a file and provided to the printer.

Images

Images need to be at least 300dpi at the size they will be printed. They also need to be composed of CMYK or spot colors. Images should also be either embedded into a PDF or linked to and provided in a folder.

Do you have any more tips for getting the best results when printing?

Written by Erica Schramek

Etsy is an online marketplace specializing in the sale of artistic and crafty goods. It is a great resource for designers looking for a way to sell some of their designs.

Getting started on Etsy is easy. It cost 20¢ to list one item for four months. Etsy also takes 3.5% from every sale you make.

Here are some tips to get you started

Tip #1: Keep Your Customers Happy

Etsy has a feedback system where customers can leave reviews of their transactions with you. If you are ripping people off or providing sub-par work, it will quickly show up in your feedback, which will then bring your sales down. On the other hand, if you go out of your way to make and keep your customers happy, then you will receive great reviews and more customers will feel comfortable shopping with you.

Tip #2: Offer Custom Versions

The driving force behind Etsy is the availability of custom products. When they’re not completely custom, they have a unique look that won’t be easy to find anywhere else. Offer your customers the opportunity to personalize their designs, making them unique.

Tip #3: Make Test Prints of Your Designs

Make test prints of your designs before listing them. The way a color looks once it is printed is often different from the way it appeared on screen. Make sure you design will still work once it is printed. If you are not satisfied with the printed design then your customer will not be either.

Tip #4: Write Out a FAQ Tutorial of How to Print the Designs You Sell

Let your customers know that colors can vary from printer to printer and monitor to monitor. Provide basic how to print instructions and suggestions of what paper could be used and where they can get the items printed.

Tip #5: Tag Strategically

Tagging is one of the most important steps when uploading your designs. One of the main ways customers find your designs is through the search engine. If you aren’t tagging your designs properly customers will never see them.

Are you selling on Etsy? What are your thoughts?

Written by: Erica Schramek

Attention Iphone users, this blog is for you! If you are an iphone owner, you are probably aware of the endless capabilities of an IPhone and you are also aware of the poor battery life. I own the Iphone 4 and if I do not charge it overnight while I am sleeping, it is guaranteed to be dead by morning. I have always wondered why is not the Apple IPhone battery life better? Unfortunately, I can not recreate the Iphone with longer lasting battery, but I can use simple steps to help conserve the battery life. Here are some ways to conserve battery life:

1. The Brightness- In your settings on the Iphone, there is a section called Brightness & Wallpaper. If you go into that section, you will see a knob used to adjust the brightness and a selection of Auto-Brightness. First, with the knob used to adjust brightness, it is good to have this knob less than 50% of the way over. Secondly, the Auto Brightness is a great feature. The IPhone is sensitive to light. Believe it or not the iPhone can actually tell when you are in a dark or light room. The Auto Brightness should be turned on because it will adjust to the right brightness for your screen.
   • Settings > Brightness & Wallpaper
2. Turn Bluetooth off- Just like everything else TV, Video Game Systems, light switches, etc. you are always turning them off when you are done using them. Same goes for switches on the Iphone. First, the bluetooth on your phone is not always being used unless you have a wireless headset or you may be like me and not even use your Bluetooth. So just like the brightness option, Bluetooth has an option as well located inside the settings. Turn Bluetooth off if you are not using it!
   • Settings > Bluetooth
3. Turn Wifi off- Iphones have a capability to connect to wifi if it is available. Connecting with wifi has pros and cons to going green. A pro of Wifi is that if you connect to wifi, you do not use your own data up which in the end will save you money on your bill. A con of Wifi is that is takes battery life if it is on. So with that in mind, if you are in a hotspot, turn on your wifi. But, if you are no where near a hotspot, keep that Wifi off!
   • Settings > Wi-Fi
4. Turn off Location Services- If you are like me and have no sense of direction, the location service on the Iphone is your right hand man. IPhone has a built in GPS that allows your phone to know exactly where you are! It also give you directions and find locations for you. Neat huh? But like all the other features, it takes battery life. If you are needing directions to anywhere, turn your location services off.
   • Settings > Privacy > Location Services
5. Turn your apps off when you are not using them- After you are done using apps like Facebook or Twitter, you need to remember to turn them off! When you exit your apps and return to the homescreen, that doesn’t turn them off. To turn them off you must double click on the home button until a rectangle across the bottom appears. In the rectangle you will see all the apps that you have recently opened, hold down your finger on top of one until it starts moving. Then just x out of the icon. This will not delete your app but turn it off completely.

Overall, if you follow these steps you will come to recognize the battery life lasting a little bit longer than it did before! In return you will not have to use electricity as often to charge your phone.

Written By: Lauren Schaefer

Switch to post-consumer waste (PCW) paper, paper products, and packaging.Whenever possible, skip paper entirely, but if you have to print, make sure you are using eco-friendly paper.Only PCWpaper is made entirely from the paper we place in our recycling bins each day. Making PCW recycled paperuses 45% less energy and creates half the waste of the traditional paper-making process. If 100% is not available, look for options with as much PCW content as possible, and don’t forget to recycle all of your paper scraps .

Use biodegradable cleaners.Using natural, biodegradable cleaning products reduces your exposure to harsh toxins and other chemicals, and reduces the introduction of these substances into the environment.

Use compact-fluorescent (CFL) or LED lights. Though CFL and LED lights cost more initially than standard incandescent bulbs, they last significantly longer and use less energy. CFL and LED bulbs can replace standard bulbs in most fixtures and can save you up to $200 per bulb over time. Also, use motion sensors or timers on overhead lighting to avoid lighting empty rooms.

Use the energy-saver settings on all electronics and turn them off when you leave for the day. Have the computers set to go into sleep mode if untouched for 10 to 15 minutes. Power down printers, fax machines and computers at the end of each day to save electricity and lower the power bill.

Run the air conditioning and heating a little less. During the winter, set the temperature to no higher than 68 degrees Fahrenheit and no lower than 78 degrees Fahrenheit during the summer. This act alone will save most offices hundreds of dollars over the course of a year. With these thermostat settings, employees can dress more to the weather instead of how hot or cold the office will be.

Change your commuting habits. Use public transportation, drive alternative fuel or hybrid vehicles, or bike to work. Any of these three methods of transportation will reduce the carbon footprint of your business and highlight your environmental commitment.

Replace disposable paper cups with washable, reusable mugs. Have everyone in the office bring their own mug from home instead of using paper cups for water, tea and coffee every day. This step saves the company money and space in the local landfill.

Offer recycling options in the office. Have bins set up to hold paper, plastic, metal, ink cartridges and even batteries. Recycling helps conserve natural resources by reusing materials from broken, worn and discarded items.

By following these simple tips you can cut thousands of dollars off your bills and make yourself more attractive to eco-conscious clients. No matter which of these steps you have taken, make sure to tell your clients about what you are doing by creating an environmental mission statement or green practices section of your website. What steps have you taken to make your office greener?

Written by: Erica Schramek