Get your adverts to sing!

A client of mind proudly showed me one of her advertisements which had been placed in a magazine. This was relevant to me because I had designed that advert for her. Her comments were that the quality of her ad seemed to be much better than the other ads, why did her colours ’sing out’ more, and what caused the 3D effect?

Very simple, I had converted the images in the artwork into CMYK before I created the pdf and sent it to the magazine editors. CMYK stands for cyan, magenta, yellow and black, and these are the colours printers use for their inks. By combining these colours together in a myriad of ways, they can create every colour under the sun.

The other ads looked flat and uninteresting because they were still in RGB, which stands for red, green and blue, the ‘light’ colours used on television screens and, of course, computers. If a publisher has to print a piece of artwork still in RGB, it appears flat is because the printer’s machines have to convert RGB into something more usable, and the colours aren’t compatible with CMYK. You don’t get a sense of ‘depth’, vibrancy and trueness of colour if the pdf is not properly prepared for printing.

Another factor was that the ad was exactly the right size for the space so there was no distortion, and suitable margins were allocated to navigate the eye into the ad, not away from it. I have written before about allowing sufficient white space in artwork, and my client also noticed that as her ad had a white background the content was therefore much easier to read. The ad was not cluttered by trying to fit everything in at once, and as she had booked a series of ads over a number of months, she had maintained the interest of her readers (and hopefully potential customers) with something different in every issue.

Another technique I had used for the copy or words of the ad was AIDA, the marketing method which means ‘attention, interest, desire and action’. Her advert began with a question which marked out her customer’s pain, and the sub-headline stated the solution which her company provided. Bullet points highlighted the benefits she could offer, and a call to action combined with clear, obvious contact details finished everything off nicely.

If you are thinking of placing an advertisement in a magazine or journal, and want it to stand out above the rest, then all you need to do is go ask Alice!

The importance of margins

Margins and white space

A colleague recently showed me her portfolio, which I admired appropriately, but something didn’t seem quite right – and then I got it – there was an inconsistency of edge space, the space around the outside of each piece of work. This lack of awareness within this area of design can be disturbing, as its purpose is to draw the eye inwards and navigate it where it needs to go. This breathing space, created by the margins (or borders) surrounding the page, provide a sense of both protection and presentation within its frame.

Let’s consider an example of cordon bleu served on a large white plate. Typically served in small portions, the food is aesthetically placed to unconsciously please the eye and draw attention to itself. The presentation revels in the juxtaposition of colour, shape and flavour, culminating in gourmet gratification.

Alternatively, if the meal was just slumped in the middle of your plate, unceremoniously swimming in gravy, would you be encouraged to eat it? Potatoes don’t appreciate balancing precariously close to the rim, rubbing shoulders with a steak that looms menacingly over vegetables cowering in a corner somewhere.

Design should not suffer the same consequences, and this was brought home when some leaflets I had designed were termed ‘crowded’. In spite of containing a lot of information, this was no excuse for clutter. I had adhered to my principles of allowing plenty of margin around the outside, but had neglected what was in the middle.

The answer was to adjust the font to a thinner, cleaner version, only slightly reducing the size of the words, adjust the leading to rearrange line positioning and enlarge the margins while preventing the words becoming crammed up to the edge. The overall effect was clean and crisp, creating more space while not overpowering the design.

If you would like to know more about how margins can affect your work, go ask Alice!

Introducing new marketing relations

Some of you would have heard of Auntie AIDA, a marketing term which translated means

A is for Attention

I is for Interest

D is for Desire

A is for Action

But now I want to introduce to you Auntie ALICE:

A stands for Attractive graphic design with Attention to detail

L stands for Leading the way in designing Leaflets and other Literature

I stands for Interested in your business to Improve your marketing material

C stands for Clear, Concise and unCluttered graphic design, managed from Conception to Completion

E stands for Efficient and Effective products that are Economically good value

A good referral for me would be someone who wants to know more about both Auntie AIDA and ALICE, because “if writing for your leaflets seems too big a task, scintillating copywriting from Alice you must ask”!

See me describe my business!

I wanted to put my video on my blog, but I can’t do it! You’ll have to visit my website and view it there.

Or try this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv2PM_1zFcA

Acknowledgements go to Gillian Gee of Oceanwake Services – excellent video producers who take time to create the best possible outcome for you.

Desktop publishing versus graphic design

What is Desktop Publishing?

Desktop Publishing (DTP) is the placing and positioning of text and graphics on the page to produce paper publications such as newsletters, magazines, brochures, books, etc.  It can be adapted to create other paper publicity such as leaflets, flyers, postcards, networking material, business stationery, adverts, cards, posters, signs and other visual communication.

How is it different from graphic design?

Graphic design uses art and creative forces to combine shapes, colours, text, pictures, imagination, fashion and other images to produce new graphics and art, such as graphics, logos, illustration, concepts and design. It conjures up something new specifically for the client. The design is then used to create paper or web marketing material.

Whereas DTP takes the designed graphics, logos, illustrations and concepts to combine it with text, layout and other materials onto the page.  Desktop publishers excel in arranging the material available in the most efficient, effective and attractive method ready for the printing process.  It is mainly paper based, but other media can be used and explored, such as plastics, clothing or whatever.

So in a nutshell, graphic design creates design, desktop publishing takes that design and puts it into a paper format!