Lowering Our Standards – Part, the Last

If you haven’t figured it out by now, my theory is that we’ve been deluged with poor quality photos, low-res graphics and “haven’t got a budget” copy writing, which we’ve come to accept as a permanent change, however needlessly. It’s understandable how all this has come about. The advent of digital cameras made everyone a photographer. Tightening budgets put pressure on marketing people to do more with less, so they started pushing low-res graphics, and writing their own copy. Since we’re just starting to climb out of a recession (we are, aren’t we?) this situation isn’t likely to change soon, but I’d like to propose that it could start to change, if we help it along. This benefits everyone, especially our clients, and as a designer, I believe I have a vested interest in seeing my clients succeed. So raise the question – “could we get some better shots” or “are you okay with soft graphics”, and “could we explore some options?” There’s a case to be made for higher quality, if we’ll just stand up and make it.

Lowering Our Standards – Part 3

If we improve the photography and the graphic illustration by asserting that the designed piece will be more effective with better art, is there anything else we could do to improve the piece even more? Yes, of course! The copy writing can be improved. Bringing this up at the beginning of a project is ideal. All too often though, the answer is that there isn’t enough money in the budget, or that so-and-so will be handling copy – they’re really good.

I don’t know, but I’d be willing to guess that your experience is a lot like mine, in that most of my clients supply copy and most of that copy could be improved. Unless you’re working for a larger company, who has the luxury of being able to afford copy writing or technical writing in-house, you will probably have to use copy written by someone whose primary job is something other than writing. Some of those people will be able to write some pretty good copy, but many won’t, so what do you do and how do you do it without offending anyone? (Feel free to chime in here anytime.)

My first step is usually to jump in as the copy editor, unofficially of course. Suggesting a change here, punctuation there, a word, a phrase, even a question like, “is that really what you mean?” can lead to improvements. But since this is acting in an unofficial capacity (and taking away from design time), naturally, I’m not getting paid for it. In the interest of helping my client and improving the effectiveness of the design, I do this and many of you probably do too. But I’d like to discover a better way. Particularly about ways to bring in professional copy writing. Any thoughts?

Lowering Our Standards – Part 2

So how does this lowering of standards manifest itself and what can we do about it? With the coming of digital photography, we’re being asked to use photography that truthfully isn’t very good. Of course, the upside of this is that our Photoshop skills are getting better out of necessity, but even so, it’s not the same as quality, professional photography. Not to mention those PowerPoint graphics that our clients want to use at 300%. In addition to our skills as designers we’re having to become digital repair-people. Is there no limit to the lack of quality art we’ll agree to use? I’ve come to the conclusion that unlike a pendulum that has swung too far to the “poor quality” side and will eventually swing back the other way, the “swing back” isn’t going to happen without a little help. Just say no? Well … it’s a start. Realistically, we probably can’t “just say no”, but maybe we can push back a bit for better quality. This could mean using stock photos, illustration or better yet bringing in a pro photographer once in a while or improving our Illustration skills by recreating graphics. It comes down to value and I think it’s up to us to help build it again. Show your clients what good photography looks like. I know, it won’t work all the time, but the “quality sells” argument is a good one, with lot’s of examples out there, so what do you say? Are we pros or not?

Lowering Our Standards

“I remember when …” , ever heard that in reference to the way we used to do things in design? I used to think this dated me, to be able to say yes to this question, but it doesn’t, as this can be said today equally as it was fifteen years ago when I started working in a small design shop headed by an “experienced” designer. Then, the reference was to “mechanicals” or mock-ups made with exacting precision. To me at the time, I didn’t really understand all the fuss, as with the advent of computers, mechanicals were becoming a thing of the past, replaced by our equally meticulously crafted computer files. A change yes, but not a loss of quality and still something one could take pride in. So where am I going with this? I submit that our quality standards are lowering these days and that rather than the response being, “duh!”, it should be cause for concern, as this lowering of standards is a key reason our craft is being commoditized, affecting not just the quality of our work, but also our futures.

So, I’d like to open this up for discussion for any who care to chime in and I’ll also be making more contributions to this topic over the coming weeks.

We’ll just get the software!

“Times are tough and money’s tight. And since business is slow and “Sally” in the front office has time on her hands, we thought we’d just get the software, so that she can make those changes, or set up that brochure, or design our new logo and while she’s at it, set up our new stationery too. I mean, she is pretty artistic, right?”

Sound familiar? Well, considering the pressures to save money and keep people busy if possible, I guess we can’t really blame them for trying to save some money. Of course we designers face those same pressures and are struggling to keep ourselves busy too, but there’s more to the story, like maybe they’re not going to save as much as they thought. So the next time one of your clients asks about the software you used to create their brochure, maybe, in addition to answering their question, you also give them the whole story. Something like this:

Yes, Ms. Client, I just used InDesign to layout your brochure, but I also used Illustrator to create those interesting little graphics and I used Photoshop to modify your photos and of course, those fonts that you like so much had to be purchased too. You can also tell her about the amount of time you’ve spent learning how to use these applications, how many years you’ve spent in school learning theory, art history, and effective writing skills. If they really want to work on those files you created for them, they should really get the whole Creative Suite and of course, they’ll need to keep that software up-to-date down the road, so there’s another expense. Probably should get “Sally” a little training too, or at least a month or two subscription to Lynda.com. You could also mention that even though the color palettes are built into the applications, there are some issues that may come up related to colors. Like using colors that work well together, knowing the difference between spot and process colors and how that can make a difference in what the final printed piece looks like.  Perhaps you should also explain why the actual printed brochure may not look anything like the “proof” they printed out on their inkjet printer – so they’re not surprised. Has she heard of the Pantone Color Matching system?

I know. It’s hard to explain all this without sounding like you’re whining. Even if you have the best of intentions and are sincerely just trying to be helpful, it won’t sound that way. And if you do give it a try and things don’t work out so well – they probably won’t come back to you for help, for fear you’ll tell them, “I told you so”. So what’s a person to do? I guess I’m still trying to work that one out. In the meantime I’ll continue doing what I’ve done before and say, “Yep, just InDesign.”

A Great Logo – Except When It’s Not

When it comes to shopping for logo design you can literally pick a price to match your budget these days. But is that the right way to go about it? Maybe, if that’s all your budget can afford AND you don’t need a logo that will be a rock upon which to build your enterprise, but if you do need that rock, you’ll need to consider a few other things beyond budget.

Paying a few hundred dollars for a logo may seem like a good deal at first, but rather than talk about what you won’t be getting, let me talk about what you get when you hire me or a professional to design your logo.

• Experience – and the knowledge that goes with it
• Guidance – on how or how not to use the new logo
• Service – both during and after the sale
• Confidence – that your logo will be original, not a copy
• Trust – an ongoing relationship that will develop

Clients have come to me many times to have something designed and when asked if they have their logo in different file formats, they simply don’t. They only received one file format when they had it designed and unfortunately, it was a format that was only usable for one purpose. Now they have another need or purpose and a logo that won’t work.

Use a professional and you will get those extra file formats, you will be able to go back to them anytime, you will not have to worry about your new logo looking remarkably like some other companies logo and you will not have to worry about these and other things going wrong at the worst possible time.

Your Most Important Touchpoint?

Foot massage? Sorry. It’s probably your website. I say probably because it does vary from company to company due to unique characteristics, but increasingly, it’s your website. So what!, you may be wondering. Well, if your number one method of being seen is your website, then it really should be kept up to date. Of course, that means the content on your site should be up to date, but it also means that your site should be technologically current as well. Why? Keeping it up to date tells your prospective and current clientelle many things about you, like that it’s important to you how you present yourself to the world. Or that since the content of your site may be important to them, you care enough about their time and experience to keep your site up to date and therefore give them the best experience possible of what you have to offer.

So why am I making such a big point of this? Because a lot has changed in the recent past that effects how your site functions, especially compared to how sites are built and functioning today. Chances are that your site was built during the first wave of “must have a web presence”, which would make it years old and therefore not compliant with today’s standards and bottom line, not functioning for you and your clients as well as it should. The good news is that if you get your site updated now, it will be much easier and less expensive to keep it up to date, even to the extent of giving it a whole new look, due to the fundamental changes that have been adopted in today’s web standards.

Why Update Your Website?

Wednesday, 11 February 2009

You’ve had your website up and running for a while and it’s working fine (though it’s probably getting a little dated), but lately you may have heard that updating your site could be a good idea. Budgets are tight, the economy’s in the tank and you may be wondering if this is really something you need to do or not. Well, I don’t intend to tell you how to allocate your marketing budget, but I can tell you what you may gain by doing that update now.

The reason you’re hearing so much about updating websites is due to the numerous changes that have taken place in how websites are built over the past few years. You may not see or understand the difference, but it’s huge and it matters. Short history lesson. When the first wave of web development happened, the tools available for building those sites were pretty limited and so designers and developers created “ways of doing things” that often worked, but on the technical side, wasn’t very efficient. Fast forward to the present. Web standards have come a long way making it possible to design and develop sites much more efficiently. All the complaining about not being able to do “this or that” and companies who have resisted adopting web standards is now fading into the past. I’m not saying things are perfect, but they’ve gotten way better.

So here’s what a new site will do for you. Thanks to CSS and XHTML, content and design are now separate. This means that if your content is still good, you can quickly and easily (read less expensively) update your design. Freshen your look without going through a complete redo. This can be as simple as just changing your color scheme. Another benefit is that your file sizes will be smaller, due to less code and therefore your site will be a lot more zippy, making your visitors happier. Future updates will be easier and faster because the code is based on standards, not some convoluted mess that someone hacked together. Also with standards comes better accessibility to different platforms and browsers, including be those used by the disabled. Lastly, search engine optimization (SEO) is naturally enhanced, because standards based code is easier for search engines to read. This will make you site easier to find automatically.

Clearly, there are advantages to catching the second wave of web design and development. Is it the right time for you? Only you can decide, but keep in mind that while everyone else is waiting out the storm, it could be an excellent time to get ahead of your competition.

Intro

To start things off, here’s a link to my website. Check it out

Hello!

David + Company is a graphic design company that helps people tell their stories. Whether related to services, products or dreams, I try to capture that unique essence that my clients want to share. Isn’t that what it’s all about? Our stories, who we are, what we do and possibly, how we can help each other out. That’s what I intend to write about here. Hope you’ll join me!