Marketing Manner

Obviously, every graphic designer would love to create the perfectly original design for every client, and in a perfect world, this would be possible. Designers would have unlimited freedom in their creations, clients would love to be original, and advertisements would be appreciated for the art form they are. Unfortunately, we don’t live in a perfect world and designers very often have to forgo unique designs and their creative flair for a canned design that their client desires. In all reality, commercial design just is not the place for showing off artistic talents.

With this in mind, the question arises, how do you as a designer keep each project from looking like the last one? When you get an amazing idea, it’s hard not to want to keep using it for every client, but for your future clients’ and your career’s sakes, you cannot just copy the best idea you’ve ever had into every project. Keep your work original for each new client by following these tips below:

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A designer’s portfolio is like an audition for the job. You have to show your best work. In the design world, instead of submitting a cover letter and resume, you submit a cover letter and show examples from your portfolio. When you go in for an interview, your portfolio is basically the star, the focus.

You need to review your portfolio multiple times, carefully scrutinizing which samples best show your ability. You need a mix of media if possible – Web site designs, magazine designs, advertising design (which can be broken down into further subcategories, such as direct mail, billboards, posters), and anything else you’ve designed. I’ve looked at plenty of portfolios – to hire people, to get ideas and just to admire a designer’s work. Here’s what I’ve noticed will help you and your portfolio to stand out – in a good way.

Do’s
Sign your cover letter. No one is going to look at your portfolio unless you write them a nice, personalized cover letter. I could write a whole blog, or even a whole book, about cover letter mistakes. But for designers, the important thing to remember is to sign the cover letter. That space between “Sincerely” and your typed name is the place for your signature – not your logo or some design element. Save that for the portfolio.

Organize your portfolio. It doesn’t matter if you organize by genre, by media or by project, just make sure there is some method to your madness that is apparent to the interviewer’s eyes. There’s nothing worse than looking at samples that have nothing to do with one another and try to make sense of them.

Include some sketches or scribbles to show the progression of a piece. Head designers like to see how your design mind works, so don’t throw away that old scrap of paper that holds the progression of your magazine ad. Include these items in the back folder of your portfolio case for when the interviewer asks how you came up with a piece.

Don’ts
Don’t lie. This seems obvious, but seriously, don’t do it. When asked if you designed a piece in its entirety, including the photo shoot, the lighting, everything – if you didn’t do it all, don’t say you did. Taking credit for everything in a piece doesn’t show that you’re a team player. It also makes you look like a liar since most designers work in teams on every item they create.

Don’t ask for critique. Some interviewers might offer some critique, and you should take it if offered, but don’t ask for it. The interviewer doesn’t have the time and you’ll be seen as someone who needs direction – never good for any kind of designer.

Don’t forget about the online portion. Your portfolio should be for your best, best and absolute best work. Your online portfolio has much more room for those “okay” projects that shows your variety, but aren’t quite the cream of your crop. Be sure to create an online portfolio of which you can direct interviewers to in case they want to see more. This way, they can also review what they saw in your portfolio and remember you better.

I’ve got well over 100 printed business cards. And looking them over, I thought I should create some tips from the ones that stand out from the rest. Here’s what the best business cards of the bunch do differently from the others.

1. They have colors or use colored card stock. This isn’t too hard to do. I can see the merit of a black-and-white card – as long as the black overshadows the white. What I mean is that nearly everyone has a white business card with black lettering. The ones that stand out don’t have neon colors – a simple change of cardstock to cream or light gray could do the trick. The one I like the best is black on the front and white on the back. The back is matte, so I can write on it if I choose. The black makes it stand out from the rest.

2. The simple designs win out over the complicated and cluttered. Some have crammed so much text, along with a logo and tagline, that I just gloss over them when I’m looking at them along with the hundred others in my handy business card holder book. The ones with the most white space, or empty space, look the neatest, cleanest and most professional.

3. The best ones are free from typos. Proofread before you print. Please. Just do it. It can’t take more than a few minutes for the longest business card. Give your proof or your contact info to someone else to look over. Typos and spelling errors make the few who do it unprofessional. If these people can’t or won’t take the time to get their business cards right, there’s no way I’m trusting them with my business!

4. Have a professional email address. This is just a small pet peeve of mine. These people took the time to create a business card, but they don’t have a professional email address. My opinion of someone with a Hotmail or Yahoo account, or even Gmail account is that he isn’t professional. He doesn’t have the resources to even get an email account at his Web site address? I think a lot of domain names come with email space as well, so if you have a Web site, you should have an email address at that site. For me, when I’m comparing two real estate agents, the one with the address at her real estate company’s site seems more reliable and long-term than the one with an email address at Yahoo.

5. Write a personal note on your business card as you hand it to someone. Whether this is your cell phone number, a date or a product name, the cards with enough room to jot something down (and that did have something down) stand out to me. Handwriting looks weird on a business card, so those with writing stand out. Writing your cell phone number or some other number that isn’t printed on your business card makes the recipient feel special.

I’m sure you know these days that to compete in the marketplace, you need a Web site. And not just any Web site, but one that is simple to navigate and visually appealing. Although there are some DIY Web sites that let you build your own, those are made of templates that about a thousand other businesses probably use too. Plus, they can be hard to customize.

If you don’t want to learn Web design, then you’ll need to hire a Web designer. Here are some hints and tips to help in your search.

What Do You Need?
This is the first question to ask. You need to know what you need or want out of your Web site so that you know how much help you’ll need. This will affect your budget because you might be able to hire just one person to do it all, or you might need to hire a team. To figure this out, ask yourself what kind of info you need on your site and how big you need your site to be. Also consider the size of your budget – that will be a big determining factor in who you choose.

Now It’s Time to Search
Referrals are a great way to get a good Web designer. If you don’t know of anyone who can give you a referral, be sure to do a thorough Web search. Obviously, if a Web designer doesn’t have a Web site, you don’t want that designer! So I wouldn’t go with anyone I couldn’t find on the ’Net! Be sure to check out forums and blogs for any bad reviews of a designer you are considering.

Don’t limit yourself to only local designers – they can work virtually and communicate to you through email and phone, if you don’t mind doing it that way.

Ask to see samples of Web sites or evaluate the design of the designer’s Web site, asking these questions:

1. Is info easy to find and do you know how to get back to the homepage?
2. Do you like the navigation system?
3. Are there any broken links?
4. Is the design consistent from page to page?
5. Is the text easy to read?
6. How fast do the pages load? (Slow loads will drive away potential customers at your Web site.)
7. Do the colors work well together? Are you generally pleased with the whole design scheme?

If you don’t like the designer’s Web site, you probably won’t like anything she creates for you. Check out the designer’s portfolio as well, to see his different styles. Pay attention to what kind of client the designer has in her portfolio – are any in your industry? If so, how well does the Web design reflect the industry and the company?

Ask for references and check out how the designer works – is she on time? Does she communicate well? Did she stay within budget?

Ask the designer what services are included in his Web design packaging. You want someone who will help you with Web design and development, graphics creation, Web hosting, database creation, content and maintenance at the very least. Many are also knowledgeable about online marketing and will help you get started with that.

Individual or Design Firm?
After you’ve narrowed down your choices of Web sites you like, you’ll probably need to choose between a freelance individual and a big design firm. Generally, an individual won’t charge as much as a design firm to create a Web site. Freelancers will probably be more flexible and it will be easier to achieve consistency with just one person designing the site. But working with a firm will give you more ideas because more people will be working on your project. Also, big firms probably have people that specialized in different technologies that an individual freelancer doesn’t specialize in. If you need fancy graphics or a shopping cart, a firm might be the way to go if your freelance candidate doesn’t know how to create these.

As long as you check references and feel comfortable with your designer, it doesn’t matter if you hire an individual or a design firm. Pick whoever can give you what you want at the price you want.

When it comes to brands, logos and marketing materials, how much does the design affect the appeal? Obviously, the message itself is a factor, but what about the type font, the images, the graphics?

For instance, Obama’s success has a lot to do with his message, but essentially his message was about the same as Hillary’s – change. So why did Obama have more success than Hillary if their messages were the same? According to Newsweek and other source opinions, Obama’s success has just as much to do with his message as it does his brand.

Yes, Obama’s campaign is a brand. He uses fonts, logos, slogans and a Web site design that are reminiscent of a good consumer brand. Past presidents since Richard Nixon in 1968 have “marketed” themselves to the public, but so far no one has done it with the level of sophistication as Obama. Obama’s campaign has the brand markings of that of a modern company.

Obama’s brand elements
Obama has his name in Gotham font everywhere – there were no variations at recent campaign rallies except for signs that were homemade. That’s brand consistency with the font. He also uses a logo – the “O” that’s made out of half of a blue ring and has red and white stripes to finish out the “O.” This is reminiscent of the flag, of course, but also of a rising sun – meaning a new day is coming. A great logo. He also has a main slogan – “Change we can believe in” along with variations that emphasize change.

His logo has been likened to that of the Nike swoosh – you see that red, white and blue “O” and you know what it stands for.

Brand consistency
Again, I want to mention the Gotham typeface. Notice the next time you see an Obama sign that the letters and words are perfectly spaced. Someone has taken the time to ensure that those signs and banners are perfect. They’ve never run out of signs and had to print some in a different font at the last minute, which is unheard of according to graphic designers. It’s been carefully planned. Some large companies can’t even keep consistency in their own signage.

Gotham was actually created for GQ magazine, so it was made to exude a purposeful, sleek, straightforward feeling. The typeface was created in America, unlike many typefaces, and it looks pleasant and conversational, not like it represents someone yelling, which many typefaces set in all caps do.

According to one graphic designer, this consistency of typeface in Obama’s signs is extraordinary. Obama’s managed to keep his campaign’s look and feel consistent, no matter where he is in the country – east or west it doesn’t matter. Many large companies that pay advertising and marketing agencies big bucks don’t even have that kind of consistency.

There are many different programs that you can use to design brochures on your computer.  There are some high profile (and expensive) programs, and then there are some lesser programs, some of which can do the job just as well.

Here is a rundown of three relatively popular desktop design programs.

Microsoft Publisher
This is the program that has come with most versions of Microsoft Windows for the past 15 years.  It has become one of the most widely recognized desktop publishing programs in the world, mostly because of its association with the OS giant.

Publisher is a relatively simple program that is ideal for someone who does not have extensive experience in designing brochures.  It comes with a wide variety of pre built templates that give you a great place to start.  It also includes a great deal of clipart with a very easy search engine. 

If you buy Publisher as a standalone program, it can be quite expensive.  That makes it a little less attractive for anyone who does not already have it on their computer.  But for someone who does not plan on doing a lot of designing, and has Windows, Publisher can do the job.

Adobe PhotoShop
This program is probably the most powerful design software available, with the possible exception of QuarkXPress. 

PhotoShop has an incredible number of features and options available to the desktop publisher.  Almost anything you can imagine doing, you can make a reality with this software.  It has a vast variety of tools that can make your brochures more attractive and more effective.

For a beginning designer, however, the power of this program can be a bit overwhelming.  There are so many options and features available that an inexperienced designer can get completely lost in a hurry.  The price can also be prohibitive.  The newest version of this software costs upwards of $700, making it inaccessible to many people.

Corel Draw
For designers who have some experience in making brochures, Corel Draw could be a good option.  It is best used by someone who can hold their own with a relatively complicated desktop publishing program.
This software is great for creating brochures from scratch, with no pre built templates.  If you are an accomplished designer with a really good idea of how you want your brochures to look, you may want to give Corel Draw a chance.  It is more powerful than Publisher, but cheaper than PhotoShop.

However, if you think you may need more assistance as you design your brochures, you will probably want to stay away from this product.  Stick with Publisher instead.