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Making a Design Request/Design 101

Making a Design Request/Design 101

I adapted my Design 101 talk to include more information for coworkers who are making design requests.

What should they consider before making their request? How do certain decisions impact the timeline of a design deliverable?

Glynnis Ritchie

January 19, 2018
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  1. What is the final deliverable? • Examples: social media, title

    cards for a video, printed materials (posters, post cards, book), tri-fold card, vinyl sticker, RSVP card and envelope, table tent, t-shirt • Knowing the final deliverable(s) helps me determine: • what program I need to use when I make the design • what file type I need to export • what dimensions or aspect ratio I need to make the design • If dimensions change mid-way through design, that can increase the amount of time it takes me to make something because I need to adjust the design
  2. Who is the audience? • Parents? Educators? Students only? Young

    students? Teens? Donors? • Communicating the audience can inform the design aesthetic.
  3. What size is appropriate? • How much copy or content

    you have may help determine what size the deliverable is. • Conversely, if you know the final size that may tell you something about how much copy you can write. • Example: if you have a lot of copy, it may not fit legibly on a 2-sided 4x5 post card (text can only be so small), so we may need to opt for a 2-sided 5x7 card or a folded card • It’s helpful to have copy ready and mostly finalized before design begins
  4. Do I have copy or content ready? • Amount of

    copy helps determine design. With more copy I may need to use a smaller type size, less decorative type faces, etc. • It’s ideal if copy is finalized before design begins. Starting a design without the content is kind of like constructing a building before you know how many rooms will be inside. • Copy can be tweaked and design can be revised, but the larger the tweaks the more I may need to modify the design, which will take time.
  5. Does the media I want to include already exist? •

    If you want to include a photo of a student, do we have a photo of the student you have in mind? Is it a photo taken in good lighting with a high enough resolution? • Photos used for print have to be higher quality (minimum 300dpi) so they don’t look blurry or pixelated when they print. • We can take photos or video of people or objects to fit your vision, just be aware that scheduling a photoshoot (especially a specific person or group of people) can add time to a project.
  6. What is the timeline? • If you have a rush

    timeline, I can make a simpler/less custom design. For rush jobs, have your copy totally finalized and plan for fewer revision cycles. • The more notice you can give me for big events, special or unusual requests, or things that need a marketing campaign, the better. • Even if I’m recycling designs, different sizes, formats, and deliverables still take time to prepare. If I know all deliverables in advance, I can design something more flexible that will take less time to translate across mediums.
  7. What budget or materials need to be considered? • This

    is usually only relevant for printed materials outside of our usual postcards, fliers, posters, and books. • Is this a special event or item that needs something extra? • We may need to order paper in advance. • We may need to research price or shop around and consider how large the print run will be.
  8. Printing Turnaround Time • Posters, fliers, and postcards: 24h from

    sending to print • Saddle stitch/staple bound books (max 60 pages): 24h from sending to print (additional 24h added if full bleed) • Glue bound books (80+ pages): At least a week with Paper Machine from sending to print, longer for larger print run, 10 days with MPress, non-negotiable • Lamination & Embossing: adds a week of time to printing, decision needs to be made early in design process.
  9. Who needs to be involved in review? • It’s not

    always clear who needs to be involved in review. • Just you? You + Doug? All staff? The board? • Helps me know who to send proofs or keep updated on progress.
  10. Are there examples of what I have in mind that

    I can gather or share? • Sharing examples of books you like, invitations you’ve received, a social media post you saw, or anything else that you have in mind helps me understand your vision. • We can use dimensions of your example as a guide or to identify materials we need to order. • Your examples can help communicate your design and aesthetic preferences for a project quickly and concretely.
  11. • Raster images (don’t scale well) • Good for photo

    composites, including photographic elements • Harder to recycle work in the future because it does scale Common file outputs: .psd, .jpg, .png
  12. • Vector images (infinite scaling of mathematical points) • Great

    for illustration • Easy to recycle or resize work in the future because it scales Common file outputs: .ai, .svg, .pdf, .eps
  13. • Type-centric, perfect for multi-page documents • Easy to deal

    with “masters” or repeating elements and change lots of styles at once • Great for print projects Common file outputs: .indd, .pdf
  14. • Keep your drafts/revisions as separate files • Keep all

    assets or images you’re incorporating into your design • Keep original design files (not just output) • Create a folder structure that helps you find old things (I start file names with dates) • Don’t be afraid to recycle work or elements • Be aware of software versions or file types depending on who you’re sharing with If you’re designing:
  15. 1. Understand requirements, size, budget, materials, etc. 2. Look at

    similar work, find inspiration 3. Decide what’s been overdone (exercise taste) 4. Gather inspiration in one place (Pinterest or mood board) 5. Artfully steal (colors, themes, typeface combos, materials) 6. Sketch ideas, thumbnails, make notes 7. Refine sketches and ideas 8. Photograph sketches or find assets 9. Vectorize 10. Layout 11. Prototype for approval
  16. A spirited evening of cocktails & ghost stories benefitting Big

    Class’s free writing programs for New Orleans youth ages 6-18. Big Class is a nonprofit organization dedicated to cultivating and supporting the voices of New Orleans’ writers ages 6-18 through creative collaborations with schools and communities. Learn more at bigclass.org. 532 Louisa St., New Orleans, LA 70117 504.308.1423 Jeremy Blum Mary Carlton Alvin David Jayeesha Dutta Natalie Girard Sarah Grainer José Guadarrama Kelly Harris-Deberry Nicole Hershey Jez Luckett Nora McConnell-Johnson Kurston Melton Heather Muntzer Sam Randolph Glynnis Ritchie Josie Scanlan Emma Schain Cherie Teamer Kathleen Whalen Emily Wilkerson Hosts & Ghostwriters Hosted by Wayne Amedee and Julie & Ted George Special thanks to our media sponsor The New Orleans Advocate and a A spirited evening of cocktails & ghost stories benefitting Big Class’s free writing programs for New Orleans youth ages 6-18. Big Class is a nonprofit organization dedicated to cultivating and supporting the voices of New Orleans’ writers ages 6-18 through creative collaborations with schools and communities. Learn more at bigclass.org. 532 Louisa St., New Orleans, LA 70117 504.308.1423 Jeremy Blum Mary Carlton Alvin David Jayeesha Dutta Natalie Girard Sarah Grainer José Guadarrama Kelly Harris-DeBerry Nicole Hershey Jez Luckett Nora McConnell-Johnson Kurston Melton Heather Muntzer Sam Randolph Glynnis Ritchie Josie Scanlan Emma Schain Cherie Teamer Kathleen Whalen Emily Wilkerson Hosts & Ghostwriters Hosted by Wayne Amedee and Julie & Ted George Special thanks to our media sponsor The New Orleans Advocate and a Revisions
  17. Alignment creates order. Aligning elements allows them to create a

    visual connection with each other, and makes it easier for the eye to know where to look next.
  18. “A typographic hierarchy expresses the organization of content, emphasizing some

    elements and subordinating others. A visual hierarchy helps readers scan a text, knowing where to enter and exit and how to pick and choose among its offerings.” –Ellen Lupton, Thinking With Type
  19. Contrast can help direct attention, call out differences in meaning

    or information, or make a design more interesting.
  20. “Combining typefaces is like making a salad. Start with a

    small number of elements representing different colors, tastes, and textures. Strive for contrast rather than harmony, looking for emphatic differences rather than mushy transitions. Give each ingredient a role to play: sweet tomatoes, crunchy cucumbers, and the pungent shock of an occasional anchovy.” –Ellen Lupton, Thinking With Type
  21. The principle of repetition simply means the reusing of the

    same or similar elements throughout your design. Repetition of elements in a design will bring a clear sense of unity, consistency, and cohesiveness. https://visscom.wordpress.com/2013/04/16/principle-of-repetition-pattern/
  22. Objects or shapes that are close to one another appear

    to form groups. Even if the shapes, sizes, and objects are radically different, they will appear as a group if they are close together. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principles_of_grouping
  23. The law of proximity states that humans perceive stimuli that

    are close to each other by grouping them and recognizing them as part of the same object. Meanwhile, stimuli that stand far from one another are parts of two or more different objects. https://visscom.wordpress.com/2013/04/16/principle-of-repetition-pattern/ –Gestalt Principle of Proximity