Highlight Blog: This post was originally written for Jim Schembri’s blog, “On Target with Jim” August 13, 2009.
If consistency is key in a brand, then it makes sense to know where all your identity and brand files are. Many companies don’t know where their identity files are or which fonts to use in what format. If this all seems like a foreign language to you, here are some basics from the RBKartworks archives to make sure you have what you need to represent your business effectively.
Logo Files
Logo files can come in a variety of formats. Here are the ones you need.
- Vector File: Usually ends with .ai or .eps.
This file is the essential file. No matter how small or large it’s resized its edges will always remain crisp.
- Large JPEG or Tiff format for placement in Office documents. I only include this because many people have a hard time placing the vectors in Office or other business applications. Having a large version of your logo to size down to fit will give you some flexibility while retaining quality.
- One colour version: If your logo has more than one colour you need to have a one-colour version on file. These one colour logos Back were once used mostly for fax cover sheets, but now the biggest reason to have this on file is for promotional products. Stitching, etching, or stamps often come in just the one colour. Avoid delays by having this version on hand.
Colours
Ever look at your materials and wonder why one green isn’t the same as the other one that was printed 6 months ago? It’s hard to keep print colours consistent, but with an established colour palette and formulas you can keep the variance to a minimum. Here’s what you should have:
- Pantone colours: The granddaddy of colour consistency, this colour system is like walking into a paint store and handing them the paint swatch. A can mixed at one location will be the same at another granted you’ve bought the same brand. Pantone is no different. They have swatch books that shows you what each of their colours look like on glossy coated paper or matte paper.
Find your colours, and have their swatch number on hand. Printers all use the same ink mix so the colour is the same.
- CMYK formulas: This stands for the 4 colours of plates in a regular printing process. (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black) Once you have your Pantone colour you can then find out its CMYK equivalent. The colours will not be the same, printing in CMYK reduces the vibrancy of the colour. But having the formulas will keep fluctuations to a minimum.
- RGB equivalents: If you are online or you send out PDF documents to be viewed on a screen, you need your RGB (Monitor colour) equivalents.
Benefit to having swatches and formulas: Both formulas for 2 & 3 can be entered into Office documents and saved for use in word documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. Pantone swatches can also make a promotional products suppliers job easier by matching up your colour for custom branded materials.
Fonts
The vast majority of companies have two fonts that they use. It’s not a hard and fast rule, but most have one for headlines, and one for content text. Any more than that and your typography can begin to look cluttered. If your company doesn’t have standard fonts, consider looking at your logo and then your documents to choosing 2 that work well together. Keeping one font consistent with your logo will help your materials tie in with your company identity. Have the names on hand and copies of the fonts saved in your identity folder. Once you have this, ensuring that anyone with a company computer has them installed will be much simpler.
Signature
Standardize your signature. Every employee should have the same font format, colours, and order of content used in their email signature. If you use your logo or a graphic ensure that everyone has the same file sized to fit the format.
The Logo Outline
This is a great addition to any identity folder. It’s a simple one or two pager with all of the above information. In one simple reference place it’s a great thing to attach to any files sent to designers, printers, and promotional product people currently handling parts of your brand. The quick reference can save a great deal of time and avoid errors along the way.
Your brand is your key to optically building trust with your clients. Having these key pieces on hand will ensure that you and anyone working for you will have the necessary tools to preserve and promote your brand.
Categories: Branding · Business · Graphic Design · Information · Tips
Tagged: rbkartworks, business branding, logo, font, eps, ai, brand colours, colors, business brand basics
Clients are researching, pricing, and asking how they can keep their costs within a budget. Often it’s a tight budget. So, the following series of blogs are meant to help businesses understand the design process and find ways to stay within the mark.
This Week: Understanding the Logo
Logo: a distinctive symbol of a company, object, publication, person service, or idea. It’s a simple definition for something complex. This mark when, done right, should do the following:
- Position you with your target audience/industry/market.
- Convey your company personality and philosophy.
- Work as the foundation of your brand identity system. (colours, typography and graphics can be pulled from your logo to build a system for consistency in all your company materials, this is called an Identity.)
- Work in multiple media applications (business cards, wearables, signage, promotional products) as your company expands. This means it needs to work as a 1-colour design first since some things are printed in only 1 colour.
- Needs to last. Trends can be dangerous, if used in your logo they can date it within 5 years prompting you to need a refresher.
Finding the Right Designer
You can find a number of companies and designers who offer logo design services. The prices can vary widely, how do you know which is the right one for you and your company? Consider the following:
- Know your budget and buy the best design you can afford. Whether small or large, this is the cardinal rule.
- Were they recommended? Did the referrer work with the designer or service? Word of mouth is a powerful thing when trust is concerned. If you know someone who recently had a logo done ask them about it.
- Look at their portfolios. Even if referred, these things can be subjective so ask to see samples. If they do good work they won’t mind showing it.
- When looking at their logo work see how they expand it to the company’s other materials. A logo doesn’t work alone, see how it works and interacts with the other pieces.
Process and Pricing
As a graphic designer I go through the following process in all of my logo design work.
- Initial concept brainstorming in sketchbook (3 concepts, 5 concepts, or 10 concepts)
- Send ideas to the client, have a meeting. (depending on the budget these ideas can be pencil sketches that are scanned or full concepts done digitally.)
- Client chooses concept of choice. (in large budgets there is often 2 or 3 concepts chosen for development.)
- In small budgets, I do font research and develop digital versions. In large budgets I begin developing the system (# of concepts depends on budget)
- Client chooses favorite
- Final design is refined and final file set is created. (1-colour design, full colour design, and reversed provided)
- Guideline sheet: small clients get a single sheet that shows their logo samples, their colour formulas, and their typography. In larger companies a standard guidebook is created with all the collateral applications and printing specifications.
Here’s my rough time estimate:
- 1-2 concepts: 5-10 hours
- 2-3 concepts: 10-15 hours
- 3-4 concepts: 15-20 hours
Note: Rates vary from designer to designer, the range among design professionals however tends to be between $80.00 – 125.00/hr.
If your budget is very basic, and you feel you’d like to develop it on your own, I have a facebook group page that enables people to post pictures of what they’ve developed and request feedback. Here you can use the forum as a sounding board for ideas and feedback.
Ways to Save Money
- Be upfront with the designer at the beginning, tell them your budget.
Together you can tailor a plan that meets your needs, you are then both responsible to follow it through.
- Keep your review team small .
Many people like to show their budding logo designs to staff, friends and family for feedback, but the more people you involve the longer and more costly the process can be. I recommend choosing 2 people, each with a different view from your own. (ex: you are social, they are an introvert. risktaker vs. cautious) Make sure they understand your company message/promise and what you are trying to convey. Write down their feedback whether or not you agree. Later sit down and digest it before communicating it to the designer.
- When communicating changes to the designer, keep it simple and infrequent
With tight budget clients the amount of changes tends to be very limited. Be sure you know your mind before you contact the designer. When you get the concepts take the time to simply sit and review them. Write down your first impressions on both a emotional level and a technical level, both good and bad. For example, you may not respond well or even like the logo, but you liked the font or colours. Do the same with the feedback you receive from others. Then after, and only after, call/email the designer with your combined feedback.
I recommend this because, many make the mistake of calling in their changes first, then after others have given them feedback they change their minds again. This is very frustrating to the designer, logo design takes up a great deal of brain space, so changing tracks midway is a sure fire way to go over budget on time.
A logo project is an investment of time and money, by understanding the process in advance hopefully you can save more of the later.
Categories: 1
I’ve noticed that business is picking up, cautiously. Clients are researching, pricing, and asking how they can keep their costs within a budget. Often it’s a tight budget. So, the following series of blogs are meant to help businesses understand the design process and find ways to stay within the mark.
This Week: Understanding the Brochure
I routinely tell clients who call for an estimate that the first brochure takes 8-12 hours. It never fails to surprise people. Most brochures generally fall between 8-10, but I always add the extra couple of hours to account for clients who make a large number of changes.
But that estimate is for the first brochure. And the first one only. All others aren’t even half of that time if the same layout is used, especially if I’m not doing the image research.
The Upfront Investment: The Brand Template.
The identity/brand template work is done on the first brochure. The layout and ratio guides created, fonts and paragraph styles defined, colour formulas entered, and company standards studied. This stage alone takes 3-4 hours. With this system I simply use all the styles and colours in future templates avoiding the hassle on my end and billable hours on the client end. I think of this portion as the client’s identity/brand investment. A cost up front that saves a good deal of money for ALL future projects. (Brochures after take 3-4 hours without image research. )
Budget Tip: If you are considering doing a series of brochures, discuss this with your designer and work out a deal. A guaranteed amount of work in exchange for a discount or payment plan is worth discussing.
The 6 Considerations
The brochure on the surface is a simple item. Clients usually think of a brochure as written content combined with images, the logo and contact information. Place them in a trifold layout and off you go.
When I look at a brochure, as a designer I think:
- Does this client have an established brand?
If so, I need to get access to their brand standards (fonts, colours, logos, layouts, etc)
If not, have they produced brochures before, or do they have current materials I need to mimic? Do they have all their logo files and colours used previously?
Timer Saver Tip: Compile in a folder your identity material. Your logos (in ai. or eps.), your standards if you have them, your packaged fonts, any affiliate logos, disclaimers, etc)
- Do they have their brochure content written, proofed, and if applicable – approved by marketing? This stage can double the budget and timeline if you haven’t completed it and make numerous changes, and/or if you need a copywriter.
Budget Tip: If you hire a copywriter, discuss your budget in advance. They will be able to give you a clear outline of what would be included. If you don’t use a copywriter, make sure you keep your content clear, to the point and have at least three people proof read it. Make sure one of them is a picky person who enjoys finding all those tiny spelling and grammar errors to save you costly changes later.
- Do they have their images and do they fit their brand? Searching through stock images takes time, billable time. Stock or a photographer add to the budget. There are a number of affordable online options, take the time to surf them and see what’s available. Time Saver Tip: Sites like Photos.com allow you to create a lightbox of images you choose and then send them to the designer. They then have a number of choices and they can work with you to chose the best image for your message. Doing this saves them time and you money.
- Do they need custom graphics? Creating custom graphs, diagrams, illustrations adds to the final invoice.
Time Saver Tip : If you have a graph, provide the excel file with the numbers. The designer can import this file into their software saving time. If it’s a diagram or illustration provide clear direction on the aim or goal of the graphic. If the designer knows what it’s supposed to convey, they have a better chance of hitting the mark faster.
- What layout will best suit their needs and message? Many consider only a traditional trifold, but there are alternatives that don’t cost a great deal more to print that can offer a very different feel and unique presentation. For example, perhaps a client would benefit from an additional panel that tears away. Keep an open mind.
- How will it be printed? Budgets and designs can be easily broken if this isn’t considered from the start.
Budget Tip: Source your printing costs ahead of time and ask the designer for recommended printers. Designers often have good relationships with various printers. If the designer knows your budget they’ll be able to direct you to the appropriate one and often provide the specs to quote at. If you do the leg work you can save yourself money.
A brochure project isn’t one to take lightly, as you can see there is a fair number of things to consider. Going in educated and being honest about your budget saves everyone a great deal of time and frustration while providing you with a marketing piece worth displaying.
Categories: Branding · Business · Graphic Design · Information · Tips
Tagged: Branding, brochure quotes, brochure template, business marketing, custom illustration, design brochures, photography, printing quotes, stock images
If I need to find a company that offers a “Y” service and I stand in front of a long virtual building lined with “Y” office doors, which do I enter? On the surface, many look the same. What makes one door different from the rest?
When a potential client is looking for a business to suit their needs, the aim is to get them to first stop at your door and look in your window. Ultimately though, you’d want them to eventually look at that building and think “Hey, I haven’t stopped by “Y” this week, I wonder what they have new”… essentially by-passing all the other doors.
Here are a few tips to get them knocking on your door:
- Don’t try to appeal to the masses. Who specifically do you want? Go after them. Make all decisions, design and otherwise with them in mind. It’s not about what colour you like, what look and style you like, or even what you want to hear – it’s always about them.
If you are selling purple polka-dot dresses for little green ladies, don’t display striped ties in your window for their husbands. (don’t ask me where that came from, it just came to me) Normally, in this section I tell clients to look professional, but that may not be what your target is looking for…your target will dictate what your message is and what your presentation needs to be.
- Make sure you are consistent. In everything. Your message, target audience, design execution, even delivery of marketing materials. If you are using social media – keep our presence up, if you send out direct mailers – send them at regular intervals. Design is crucial to being consistent, if you don’t have the budget to hire someone there are a number of good resources online.
The point is, people need to see you. By being consistent you build recognition, and when you have a special event sending out something out of the order has greater impact and gets a stronger response.
- Encourage them to brows around and make them want to come back. When you want people to routinely visit, you need to give them a reason. Offer value, something they can use. Consider: What is your true value to your clients? Build on that.
I used to be a teacher. I have clients who need to save money by doing steps on their own. I began to provide advice and tips online for those who wanted to know how to plan a project, organize identity files, or most recently how to expand your brand to social media. You have something that makes you different from the other door, explore it and use it.
- Listen. What do they say when looking in your window? What do they like about your product? What do they think needs improvement and better yet do they have ideas on how to do it? Staying connected and listening to what your audience is saying will keep you fresh and innovative in meeting their needs.
- Anticipate. One of my favorite quotes by Steve Jobs (Apple) is “You can’t just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they’ll want something new.” It’s not enough to react, get to know your audience. Listen to their pain, their needs. It need not be ground breaking technology. Is there something you can offer that isn’t out there?
Do you have tips of your own? How do you get people to your door?
Categories: 1 · Branding · Business · Graphic Design · Information · Social Media Information · Tips
September 20, 2009 · 2 Comments
Overall Stats Before Experiment
Average views per day : 2
Top traffic day: 22 views
At the end of the Experiment
Average views per day: 33
Top traffic day: 259
Okay, this insane experiment worked. Following Brian Hoff’s 14 tips to Drive Traffic to Your New (Design) Blog gave a really good base to build with.
Today’s Activities:
- Tip 11, 13, and 14: I’m currently working on 2 sets of articles. A link love of blogs recommended by readers, and specific ways to give back in different social media communities.
Thoughts out Loud
I recently read a quote on Chris Pirello’s Blog about how any increase in numbers can look impressive if you start at nothing. I didn’t exactly start at nothing, but my numbers surely weren’t impressive. Even now, in comparison to most my numbers still aren’t much, but I like to think that the growth and momentum that’s been built is something to consider.
Here’s a few things I learned:
- Committing to blogging everyday is nuts.
Brian himself actually said something close to that when we spoke, and now 28 days later I get it. I TOTALLY get it! It took me no less than 2 hours on average to collect links, data, and compose and post my blogs every night. I see now why most bloggers have a set schedule. A post at the start of the week (I found sunday night ideal) for readers helps gather momentum, and post mid week keeps interest up. I found link love articles were received well on fridays and saturdays. People have time to sit and enjoy surfing around.
- Capitalize on your existing groups of contacts.
Whether in LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or a face-to-face networking groups people who know you (or visibly see you often) are more apt to interact with you. These people are a wealth of information, ask them questions, engage them in conversation, and let them know about what you’ve got going on. It’s important to note that these activities should always provide a way for the giving to go both ways. Provide opportunity and you may be surprised at the response.
- Commenting on Others Blogs Pays off
Not just in traffic but in experience. The more you write, the more you interact, the better you get at it. The added incoming traffic from your blog link left behind is just the bonus.
- People Seriously Appreciate Link Love
We all like to be recognized. When you link to another’s site you are recognizing that their material is good and worth reading. Bloggers in general tend to be an appreciative lot. Emails of thanks, comments posted, and sometimes endorsements on voting sites are some of the ways you may find a little kudos sent your way.
- If in doubt on Search Engine Optomization, get help.
I’m a designer and a creative, the code aspect of SEO was difficult. Not impossible but difficult and frustrating. It’s a very important part of traffic and being found, so I came to realize that even though I may have gotten the ball rolling I need to consult people who know what they are doing to add to what I’ve done. I need help, and there’s no shame in it.
- Not Everything You Write is a Gem
How’s that for a humility lesson? But numbers just don’t lie. Sometimes the title is wrong, sometimes the content is too long, you never really know what posts will resonate with readers. When it does though, you feel like you won the lottery.
- Consistency is Key (It also makes managing accounts much easier)
Within days of this experiment I had my avatar picture saved in an easy to access file along with my basic bio. It was so simple once I had organized these two things, I saved a good 10 minutes every time. With the growing number of accounts I’m signing into it’s become essential.
Synopsis
Doing all 14 tips in 1 month just wasn’t realistic for me. I don’t know about another person, I can’t say if it would be the same for them. With my schedule, business, family, and commitments I find myself bone and brain tired after 28 days of blogging. There were some tips I just couldn’t get to. It’s not to say they won’t get done, but spreading them out a little and getting them all done in the next two months is a little more manageable.
There is no question that Brian Hoff’s 14 Tips to Drive Traffic to Your (Design) Blog worked. I am taking a good number of lessons out of this experiment and I have a long list of blog topic ideas to follow it up. The momentum gathered is motivating me to keep it going, I will stick to my newly developed schedule and look forward to what the next two months will bring.
Note: Many thanks to Brian Hoff for writing the original article. I also seriously appreciated the chat on week 2. For any of you who don’t follow Brian ( @behoff ) on Twitter, I highly recommend checking out his tweets, he’s a real resource.
Categories: Branding · Business · Information · Social Media Information · Tips
Tagged: Blog Traffic Experiment, branding yourself, brian hoff, linkedin, social media, tips to drive traffic, twitter, using social media for business
Day 26/30 of Experiment: views 57
Main Referring Sites: 9 StumbleUpon, 23 BlogSurfer.us, 3 from blogs I’ve commented on.
Today’s Activities:
- Tip 7: Commented on blogs posted links to posts on Twitter
- Tip 1 & 2: Taught a social media introduction workshop followed by face-to-face networking
Thoughts out Loud
Today was a day completely booked with work and networking. I had little time off hours since I was at an event until well after 9 p.m. so tonight’s post is a brief one.
Looking at the stats today, I saw that at least 3 originating links came from other blogs I’ve commented on. I have been doing this tip on a small scale, and seeing this becoming consistent, I need to make the time to do more commenting.
The traffic from StumbleUpon dropped off significantly today, I can only guess that the link has moved down further on the list as the time passed today. With work, I didn’t have the time to look into the campaign information or find a way to insert their link button, but it’s now on my list of goals.
Tonight’s I spoke at the PowerNet Executive networking group for people in career transitions. In an economy like ours this has become so common, and when a friend asked me to speak I was happy for the opportunity to help while working on my presentation skills. A win-win. Being a freelancer, I haven’t had the opportunity to network with the executive community. I appreciated their kind words, warm welcome and enjoyed the event a great deal. The evening gave me the opportunity to share what I’ve been doing, offer the resources I have while expanding my current network. I made a good number of contacts and I hope to connect them in turn to people I know. All-in-all a very positive night.
Categories: Social Media Information
Day 24/30 of Experiment: views 54
Main Referring Sites: 28 StumbleUpon (linkedIn group posts), 1 BlogSurfer.us, 1 Facebook, 1 RBKartworks.com, 1 Twitter
Today’s Activities:
- Work work, networking, work. Reading Blogs, messages, and reading even more blogs.
Thoughts out Loud
A freelancer’s day is never really done. I wish I could report lots of activity today, but I simply didn’t have the time. Last night I’d posted a number of discussions in LinkedIn asking people what Blogs they follow. My inbox was flooded with over 50 messages within a matter of a few hours. I surfed the links, responded to the messages, and added a good number of the recommended blogs. Once I get through them all, I will assemble the highlights in a blog to follow next week. It will be a great “Link Love” article hopefully giving some people some more exposure.
It’s late, I must sleep. T’ill tomorrow.
Categories: Social Media Information
Tagged: blog reading, blog tra, Blog Traffic Experiment, social media
September 14, 2009 · 2 Comments
Day 23/30 of Experiment: views 4
Main Referring Sites: 1 StumbleUpon, 1 RBKartworks.com, 1 WordPress/LinkedIn
Today’s Activities:
- Tip 2, 7, 8, 13: Surfed the web for some more blogs to add to my RSS reader. Found a whole host of new sites for added resources and inspirations. See Links below for my favorite subscriptions.
Thoughts out Loud
I’ve been asked a number of times this week why I use an RSS reader, and if I really get any value from it. The answer is, ABSOLUTELY YES!
For anyone new to blogging or following blogs, a RSS (Really Simple Syndication) reader is a handy free software (shareware) you can install on your computer that allows you to read all the blogs you subscribe to in one simple place. By simply adding a chosen blog to your list, you will be alerted to any new posts they publish. It saves an incredible amount of time. I call it my personalized electronic newspaper.
I organize my blog subscriptions into category folders. Branding, marketing, design, web, social media, and even inspiration. I continually add new ones so my list over the last few months has really grown. On any given day I can have 50-70 articles posted to my reader, so I always have resources at my disposal.
As a blogger, I’m always looking for new links to provide as resources in my articles. I skim through headlines to see what’s new in my industry and I often get inspiration from popular topics posted. It’s constant brain food and inspiration. As a freelancer, it’s vital to staying connected. I’d be lost without my reader.
Below is a list of some of my favorites, feel free to check them out and recommend some of your own in the comments section. I’m always looking. Enjoy!
- Branding: Brand Freeze, Design & Branding Delight
- Copywriting: CopyBlogger, Copywriting tips for online marketing success
- Graphic Design: The Design Cubicle, graphic designer Brian Hoff shares design tips, tutorials, and links. Viget Inspire, a design house who’s whole team contributes. Great variety. Blog.SpoonGraphics, Chris Spooner is a designer who often posts techniques and a number of good creativity links.
- Freelancing: Freelance Folder: Community for all types of freelancers
- Illustration: VetorTuts+, Everything vector, great tutorials
- Inspiration: Inspiredlog: the official tumblelog of Inspired Magazine. Design Finds Me, a mish mash of good random stuff.
- Marketing: Online Marketing Connect, Social Media Marketing. Duct Tape Marketing, small business marketing
- Social Media: E-Commerce Experiment, a work in progress much like this experiment, they keep posting all their resources. Great link source and relevent information to a new growing media.
- Web Design: TripWire Magazine, goodies for web developers and designers. Webitect, resource for webmasters
Categories: Business · Graphic Design · Information · Social Media Information
Tagged: blog links, blog traffic experiement, Branding, how to use a rss reader, newsgator, praghic design, rss reader, social media
Logo files can come in a variety of formats. Here are the ones you need.
Ever look at your materials and wonder why one green isn’t the same as the other one that was printed 6 months ago? It’s hard to keep print colours consistent, but with an established colour palette and formulas you can keep the variance to a minimum. Here’s what you should have:
