Brands. Recognizable even upsidedown and backwards.

The name of your company is or should be a unique tie-in to the heritage, identity or other meaning of your business. It is the very first identifying mark of your company. In other words, our name establishes not only a brand identity but a corporate vision as well.

Why Brands are Important

A brand is a set of attributes that—in the minds of customers—distinguish one company’s offerings from those of its competitors. A brand identity is the visual and verbal expression of that set of attributes. A cohesive, distinctive and relevant brand identity is an enormous asset in the marketplace. The very name provides added value and—in many cases—can command a price premium. It is necessary to establish a direct and unbreakable linkage between the attributes of the brand and the way they are expressed. A strong brand is one with immediately recognizable characteristics that set it apart from the crowd. When current or potential customers see or hear that brand name, they form a positive mental picture, based on its well-established attributes.

Why Consistency is Important

The consistent display of your brand enables your company to benefit from the success of itself. You will also realize savings, in terms of both time and costs, in the development of communication materials, products and services, not to mention the increase in professionalism your business with take.

Growth Demands Discipline

As your company expands, your communications needs to become more complex. We will be introducing yourselves to many new audiences, and first impressions are very important. The consistent use of your brand identity will enable us to establish your company as a forward looking, professional provider of products and services. That is why each and every communication describing those offerings must bear the unmistakable mark of your brand identity.

Building Your Company’s Brand

It is important to understand that your guidelines provide for considerable flexibility. You shouldn’t want all your communications to look exactly alike. That would destroy their effectiveness. Instead, the main goal is to present a consistent “look and feel” that is unique to your company. This will enable you to continue to build your masterbrand, which will, in turn, enhance public recognition of every part of your company.

My two cents

Well then. It’s great you are interested in this field! There is lots for a graphic designer to do out there and it ranges quite widely. Basically, I’ve found there are just a few basic forms of graphic design and the consist of either working exclusively in-house for a company/institution, for an advertising agency, or for a print shop. You can also work for yourself, but that is a little difficult and you are always working. I specialize in print design and make a lot of different things ranging from Annual Reports and magazines to big displays and complex brochures. We also do branding and even web work.

As far as education goes, I wish I had more of an artistic background with a degree in art. But, I have almost 7 years of experience now, so that trades off as comparable. It is a major asset to know how to solve problems in different ways.

There are lots of great things about this, though! If you do a good job, you can get a result you can be very proud of! This is my favorite part. I love doing a good job and seeing a great end-result that is both stimulating and impressive. It’s also great when you win awards for your work.

There are lots of different preferences when it comes to text and how it is used. You may be familiar with how some of the tools are used because simple word processors may use them. Sometimes you want to justify the text to make the columns appear nicer and remove the raggedy edge (this is called the rag), and other times you want to edit the spaces in between the words, lines and even the letters. This is where InDesign stands out in comparison to other word processors.

Here are a couple tips on how to wrangle all that stray text for your next project.

Read the rest of this entry »

What is it like? Want to break into this field? What do I need to succeed? Is it fun?

A lot of people ask me these things hoping to get a better glimpse into this industry. Some want to start their career as a designer while others are just curious. Now I am going to share these questions and answers with you.

How did you get your start in the industry?

I started way back in high school telling everyone I knew that I would be a ‘Digital Artist’. They all smiled and said “Good for you!”. I then proceeded to take a high school class called Comm Media which introduced me to the tools of the trade such as the various Adobe products, Bryce 3D, video editing, and photography.

From there I went to SAIT to take a program called “New Media Production and Design” for two years. This diploma program further touched on a lot more of the industry including how the business side of things worked as well as the design and more tool training aspects. I learned a lot from the instructors and even more from the qide variety of classmates I met.

Jumping from school, I landed face first into the workforce, getting my hands dirty with a private college doing their in-house design and production. This is where I learned most of the business. I was very lucky to have a boss who taught me most of the actual hands on stuff and not let me go right away. They knew they were getting a greenhorn and that’s exactly what I was. I thought I knew a fair share, but after my first 3 months of work, I realized I knew nothing at all!

And that’s it…this was back in 2005 and I’ve moved on from them since.

What exactly can you do as a Designer?

I can make pretty much anything print related (see my website for more examples), websites, DVDs, and photography, all of which I am proud of.

What was the most difficult thing to learn about this industry?

This would have to be something they did not teach me in school. How to deal with difficult clients, bosses and even other designers. They all can drive you completely mad and make you tear your hair out. Ironically, this is also pretty much the core of the business. If you do not have good communication and understanding with your clientele or your colleagues, I can pretty much tell you right now that you will struggle. I struggled with that, and sometimes I still do…but that’s the bad side of my job.

Ok, now how about the best part of your job?

The result. Being proud of your finished creation and saying “Wow! I made that!” I also love stepping back and marvelling at the sight of a happy customer as well. I just get so much satisfaction from seeing this that it motivates me even more to do it all over again!

The second best part of the job is being inspired. As a creative, you live for this moment. Nothing else clouding your mind, being focused and you are driven to know exactly what to do. If it doesn’t come right away, and sometimes it is so illusive that it seems to never come, this may be one of the worst parts of the job.

Without inspiration, we are just running around in circles. This is definately a time where I pull out my hair.

Now that you have moved up from being a junior designer, what advice can you pass on to other newcomers?

When I was first starting out, I wish I had a mentor to tell me a few things.

1. Dont take criticism personally. I know that you put your heart and soul into your work and you seem very attached to it (I definitely was!), you need to maintain profesionalism and flexibility. A good designer is passionate but can also adapt and improve their work to cater to the client.
2. Your job is being a perfectionist. Let your work show this. As a Graphic Designer, details are what sets us apart from the guy down the street who happens to have a copy of Photoshop and charges $20/hr for his work. He is not trained and definitely does not have your eye. Make your work show how great you are!
3. Dealing with clients is hard. Learn to communicate and understand their needs. Don’t necessarily design what you like, you are there for their needs.

Well, that’s it. Email me if you have any other questions you want answered. Thanks!