Logos are powerful tools in your visual arsenal. How many of these logo fragments can you identify? The example below contains fragments of 18 well-known corporate logos. Jay Doblin, who is a theorist and principal at Doblin Group, along with Charlie Roberston, the founder of Red Spider, state that “brands have become paramount to corporate identity to consumers.” Testing this theory in 1984 they devised a quiz out of fragments of national and global logos, which were flashed on a screen a few seconds. Here is an updated version of the quiz.
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Friday, June 12, 2009 - 08:10
Last year I attended the How Conference where I heard Joe Duffy speak. Duffy, a creative director and expert in branding and design, has worked with clients such as Coca-Cola, Jim Beam, Starbucks and Aveda. To my surprise, the cornerstone of his design process is to start by making a mood board. Yes, a mood board. It seems that he doesn’t limit the use of a mood board to design projects.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009 - 03:05
What did I ever do before I had an iPhone? Here’s my list of the applications that I wouldn’t be without: 1. Job-Time Tracking $2.99 2. Color Expert $9.99 3. Video Photoshop CS4 New Features Tutorial $1.99 4. HTML Cheat Sheet $.99 5. CSS Cheat Sheet $.99 6. What the Font $.00 Job-Time Tracking 
To use Job-Time Tracking select a job and your time is tracked until you press stop.
Sunday, June 7, 2009 - 13:00
Starting your design project right can help you finish in front of the pack. We designer are notoriously right brained, creativity dominates and defines our lives. We are good at making connections, bringing together elements, but not so good at organization. Details. Details. One of the marks of a successful graphic artist is not only their ability to handle type (which I will write about in a later post), but their ability to organize their businesses. It simply saves time and aggravation if you have a good system of organizing your files.
Thursday, June 4, 2009 - 12:57
Have you ever received a direct-mail piece that was so different that you saved it and put it in your “I wish I’d thought of that” file? My files are filled with an abundance of great designs. The ones that literally stand out from the crowd are of the pop-up variety. Just like when I was a child, some of my favorite books were the pop-ups or the ones with the pull tabs.
Monday, June 1, 2009 - 07:30
SWOT is an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. It’s used to measure a product or organization and its environment. Many times this is the first step that marketers take to get a good picture of a product’s situation in the marketplace.
Some rules for a successful SWOT analysis include: • Keep it simple.
Thursday, April 23, 2009 - 11:54
When creating a duotone in Photoshop, the first thing you need to do is convert the image into greyscale.
Under the image menu, go to mode and then greyscale. You will get a pop-up window that asks if you want to discard the color information.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009 - 11:52
What is brainstorming? According to Merriam-Webster.com, it’s a problem-solving technique that involves the spontaneous contribution of ideas from all members of the group. So what we are talking about is coming up with as many ideas as possible in a short amount of time. Working as a group will allow for the free association within the group. I like to think of it as stacking.
Sunday, April 19, 2009 - 11:46
How do you hang punctuation outside the text box in Quark? Here’s how you do it: If you are using display type (larger point sizes) you will want to take the time to tighten up the space between letters. As type size gets bigger, the spacing tends to look a little loose. You can make the change in the measurement pallet or with a keyboard command. Highlight your type with the curser. Hold down command, option and shift and use the end bracket — [, you will find this next to the “p” — to tighten the tracking. Tracking is the adjusting of space between three or more consecutive characters.
Thursday, April 16, 2009 - 11:43
With the seemingly ever-changing software that graphic designer use, sometimes it’s hard to stay current. Every time Adobe or Quark come out with a new version we spend days playing hide and seek with menus and tools. We wonder where they’ve put our favorites and why they got rid of that tool that we used all the time. Don’t despair, because I have found a solution. Learn everything you need to know — and a few things you don’t — at Lynda.com. If this sounds like blatant promotion, it’s not intended that way.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009 - 11:41
Congratulations! So you’ve decided to do it at last. You are finally going to start your own design studio. You’ve been quietly getting freelance clients while still working full time at the agency or printer, whatever the case may be. You’ve upgraded all of you hardware and software and have set a date to quit your job and become your own boss. You are ready to design your logo and company identity, if only you could decide on a name. Please don’t name the company Bob Smith’s Design. Don’t name your design studio after yourself. Here are a four good reasons as to why you shouldn’t: 1.
Sunday, April 12, 2009 - 11:37
Part of being a good designer is having the ability to understand your client’s wants, needs and limitations. It’s very important to gather as much information as possible before jumping into a project.
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What is the PsPrint Blog??
The PsPrint Blog is a resource for graphic designers, freelancers, small business owners and fans of print marketing. You'll find helpful techniques on printing everything there is to print, including business cards, postcards, brochures, stickers, invitations, greeting cards, door hangers, magnets and more. The PsPrint Blog shares creative ways to improve your design and layout skills, and useful tips for marketing your business in any medium. We also like to have a little fun, sharing design inspiration and spotlighting some our favorite customers' printed pieces in our "Hot Off the Press" series.
