2011年4月29日星期五

2011年4月21日星期四

RGB vs CMYK

RGB

Red, Green, and Blue are "additive colors". If we combine red, green and blue light you will get white light. This is the principal behind the T.V. set in your living room and the monitor you are staring at now.
Additive color, or RGB mode, is optimized for display on computer monitors and peripherals, most notably scanning devices.


CMYK

Cyan, Magenta and Yellow are "subtractive colors". If we print cyan, magenta and yellow inks on white paper, they absorb the light shining on the page. Since our eyes receive no reflected light from the paper, we perceive black... in a perfect world!
The printing world operates in subtractive color, or CMYK mode.
In practice, printing subtractive inks may contain impurities that prevent them from absorbing light perfectly. They do a pretty good job with light colors, but when we add them all together, they produce a murky brown rather than black. In order to get decent dark colors, black ink is added in increasing proportions, as the color gets darker and darker. This is the "K" component in CMYK printing. "K" is used to indicate black instead of a "B" to avoid possible confusion over Blue ink.

source: http://www.copy-cd.biz/dtp-area/RGB-vs-CMYK.jsp

16 creative ideas to make your business card unique

1. Size or Shape – Rectangle, schmectangle. I’ve seen squares, circles, ovals and triangles. Each shape made a connection to the brand, and each shape stood out amidst the endless regression of the same old rectangles.

2. Chocolate Business Cards (yes, these DO exist) – Several companies have online catalogues for personalized chocolate cards. Expensive? Yes. Delicious? Probably. Memorable? You better believe it.

3. Trading Cards – If your company is team oriented, get trading cards with your “players” pictures and stats. Then encourage your customers and prospects to “collect all 12!”

4. Cartoons – Get a custom cartoon commissioned for the back of your card. It’s cheap, royalty free and absolutely unique to your business.

5. Table/Chart – Include a mortgage loan interest table or some staggering statistics on the back. These are helpful reminders for the mathematically challenged and effective methods to position yourself as a resource.

6. Pop-Ups – Just like kid’s books, some business cards can be printed as folded, pop-up cards. Talk about thinking three-dimensionally!

7. Credibility – The smartest thing I ever did to my business card was add color images of my two books. Instant credibility. And, I noticed an immediate change in the reactions from the people to whom I gave cards. One lady even said, “Scott, this is the coolest business card I’ve ever seen!” Money well spent.

8. Rubber Stamps – Buy 10 different customized rubber stamps for the backs of your cards. When someone asks for one just say “Pick a card, any card!”

9. Die Cutting – My friend Lisa works for the Rock Island Fire Dept. Her business card has a charred hole burnt right through the middle of every card! It looks incredibly real. And most printers offer this feature for a nominal feel. You can also specify various shapes, bite marks or hole sizes.

10. Recipe – If you work in an industry connected to food, kitchens or homes; include one of your favorite recipes on the back!

11. Material – Use leather, blinking or brail business cards (yes, these actually exist too!)

12. Language – If your business requires international travel, consider offering multiple languages, or print the phonetic spelling of a difficult to pronounce name.

13. Motivation – If you’re the motivational type, include a famous quotation, bible verse or movie line that connects to your brand. And be sure to read it aloud when you give someone your card, it might just make their day!

14. Stickers – Print one side of your cards on adhesive label paper. This gives the recipient a peel off sticker for reminders, appointments or phone numbers.

15. Non-Cards – Who says a card has to be a card? After all, the first rule of creativity is “break all the rules!” I’ve seen million dollar bill cards, coin cards, even a banker in Boston who uses business cards that are actually miniature checks he tears off of a pad each time he gives one out! The possibilities are endless.

16. Double Up – Make your card “double” as something other than a card. For example, mine doubles as a business card AND a nametag. As a result, people stick it on their shirts all the time. Thanks for the free promotion!

source: http://www.businessknowhow.com/marketing/bcunforg.htm




Top 10 Outdoor Billboard Advertising Tips

Top 10 Outdoor Billboard Advertising Tips


1. Visibility - Can the message be easily read? Where will it be displayed? Consider the landscape and lighting. Use colors and images that will contrast with the surroundings. Use ample spacing between words and lines. Keep the message and design simple.

2. Viewing Time - Outdoor advertising usually requires your message to be communicated in a very short time. An effective message can be communicated in ten seconds or less.

3. Font Size - Can the message be easily read from a distance? Most billboard outdoor advertising is viewed from passing vehicles and should be in clear, large fonts that can be read from a distance of at least 1,000 feet. Leave spaces between the letters to avoid a crowded appearance.

4. Short Copy - Less is more! By using fewer words and keeping the message simple, the copy will be retained and more easily understood by the viewer.

5. Contrasting Colors - Does the billboard stand out from the surroundings? Does the copy stand out from the background? Are you using contrasting colors on all of the elements? Using appealing colors and contrasting elements can make your message stand out.

6. Intrigue - Does the message or image draw attention? Will a glance at the advertisement demand further investigation? Use provoking words and imagery to draw the readers attention to your advertisement

7. Single-Message Focus - Pinpoint your message and focus the advertisement on getting it to the reader. Do not try to force multiple messages on one billboard as that may create confusion.

8. Attractive Ads - Using imagery along with the copy will help to attract the readers eye to the billboard. The use of images also helps to retain the message in the reader's memory by creating an association between the image and the message. Using extensions to create unusual designs and shapes will make your billboard stand out from others around it. It will help to retain the message in the reader's memory.

9. Simple Layout - Keep the layout simple. If the layout is cluttered the message may be confusing or simply ignored.

10. Call to Action - Is the call to action clearly found in the advertisement? Do the readers have all of the necessary information to make them want to respond to the advertisement?




Source: http://postersitesuk.co.uk/billboard-design

2011年4月19日星期二

Logo Design New Trend

1) Conceptual
The conceptual logo design trend is one of the most creative styles of logo design ever to have originated. Hiding messages within a logo design is an art in itself.


2) Signature

The signature or handmade logo design has fast grown into a popular trend. The sketchy and handy logo designs are in style nowadays. With consumers becoming brand conscious, top designers are turning attention to signature logos.


3) 3D


Popularly acclaimed as a trendsetter, the 3D logo design is quickly emerging into the one of the hottest new logo design trends in the business. As we move into the world of 3D and animations, the call for for 3D logos is rapidly on the rise.



4) Minimalism

The art of minimalism, which was introduced back in the 1960s, is back in observation. Minimalism trend in logo design calls for minimal use of graphic and visuals and making the logo design as simple and easily comprehensible as possible.



5) Sequential

Sequential logo design is a recent addition to the trends and is one to look out for. Showing motion in sequential steps projects a company’s progress and determination for growth. Sequential logos will be hard to miss in the coming months as the world comes out of the global recession.


6) Eco Smart

This is the trendiest logo designs as far as global awareness is concerned. With the climate awareness increasing, companies are nowadays shifting to Eco-smart logo designs to show corporate social responsibility. A recent adoption of this trend was McDonald’s hunter green logo in Europe.


7) Emotional

Logo designs with emotions is an emerging trend. This is because customers nowadays deem products as a valuable possession. Emerging corporate brands are trying to bond with their customers on an emotional level through emotional and expressive logo designs.


8) Gradient

Although this trend is a controversial one, it is gaining popularity. Gradient in the past was criticized for the excessive cost of printing and difficulty in executing. But nowadays, logo designers are accepting the fact that gradient gives the logo design a modern and well-groomed appearance.


Source: http://www.logoblog.org/wordpress/logo-design-trend-predictions/

Pixel vs Vector

Ok, i am going to explain in a very simple way.
All image files can be categorized into two kinds, bitmap-based (pixel) and vector-based (vector) files.

Pixel
Adobe Photoshop is a pixel based photo application. basically all of the images are going to be in pixels. the more pixels per inch or dots per inch the higher the resolution, and when you enlarge a pixel image you will get a grainy image.

Vector
This is opposed to a vector based application like Adobe Illustrator, where there are vectors defining shapes and since those outlines are in essence formulas you can enlarge them to any size with out getting that pixelated loss of quality you have with pixel images. When you print a vector image it rasterizes to what ever size and resolution.