So, below are my choices of spring color palettes (which you’ll see all include a shade of green):

What are some of your go to colors? And how do you make sure that they aren’t dominant in all of your color palettes?

In my next blog I’ll explore how to get out of a design rut.

Free Holiday Gift Tags!

Hopefully these will motivate you to get out there and start shopping.

These designs fit on Avery 2″ x 4″ labels. Happy holidays!

Click here to download. (1.2 MB PDF)

Below are the steps that I use when prepping files for print:

1. Run spell check.
2. Proofread.
3. Have someone else proofread. I suggest having someone who hasn’t been working on the project do this. Fresh eyes can usually catch things that you overlooked or thought were obvious.
4. Create a 1/8″ bleed on all objects extending off the page. It’s an industry standard and helps guarantee that you won’t have plain paper showing at the edge of your print piece.
5. Convert all images and colors to CMYK, grayscale or spot colors depending on the specs of the job.
6. Color correct all images and save in the correct print format. TIFF and PSD formats are best for high resolution photos. EPS format is best for all vector images.
7. Check the resolution of all images. Print resolution is 300 DPI for photos. I realize it’s not always possible to have high resolution photos when you depend on others to submit them, but 300 DPI is the goal. You can still use lower resolutions for printing, they just won’t appear as crisp.
8. Make a mock-up for the printer. This is especially important for complicated pieces. It helps give them a visual for what they’re working on.
9. Collect for print. Most layout programs have a setting for this. What it does is collect your main document and any fonts and images used in the document and puts them in an organized folder.
10. Zip the files and upload to the printer’s FTP site.

Those are my steps for prepping files for print. Are there any other steps that you’d add?

1. What makes a good designer?
N: Creative, willing to try something new – take it to the next level. Doesn’t take themselves too seriously.
C: A passion for problem solving. You have to love the challenge of creating the perfect look or feel for every project.
B: Being a thoughtful, creative problem solver who has a lot of ambition and a competitive spirit.

2. When did you know you wanted to be a designer?
N: I liked art but did not have the focus to be a fine artist. I needed a reason to design and a deadline to finish a job.
C: I don’t remember a time when I didn’t have a fascination with color schemes and art projects. Plus, I failed Chem class in high school so that ruled out a lot of options.
B: In college, I wanted to be an illustrator up until then.

3. Where do you look for inspiration?
N: Other designer’s work, colleagues, nature.
C: Everywhere. I start with design magazines and Web sites but usually end up finding inspiration in nature, in a great piece of fabric, or even at the farmer’s market.
B: I’ve got a list of Web sites that I frequent, but I also really love going back to old design annuals or history of advertising books. Also, the real world and nature.

4. What is your favorite thing about being a designer?
N: There’s a lot of different things to do every day – it never gets boring.
C: The fact that you can have multiple people working on the same project and get completely different looks.
B: My favorite thing is when I’m handed a pile of very very complicated information and have to organize it and style it so that it is at once beautiful to look at and easy to understand.

5. What is your least favorite thing about being a designer?
N: Deadlines that are too short and jobs that never get finished.
C: People think that I play with colors all day. I do, but there’s a deeper thought process than “that one looks pretty!”
B: Any kind of paper work or reporting.

6. What makes an ideal client?
N: Someone who respects your talent and lets you create, giving guidance but not designing for you.
C: Someone who is open to other’s opinions and is not afraid to be honest.
B: Someone who is passionate about what they’re doing usually helps get me excited about it. Also, when they appreciate good design or at least are trusting enough to follow my judgement.

7. Would you rather critique or be critiqued?
N: Neither, but since I don’t take criticism well, I guess I’d rather critique. It gets easier as I get older.
C: Be critiqued. It always makes my work better when someone who hasn’t been staring at my project 24-7 comes in and gives me a new way to view it.
B: I would much rather be critiqued. It’s the only way to get better. I hate critiquing because I’m usually not very good at softening my comments.

8. What are the top 3 design related sites that you recommend?
N: LogoLounge.com • Shutterstock.com • gdusa.com
C: LogoPond.com • WebDesignerDepot.com • HowDesign.com
B: SmashingMagazine.com • Behance.net • PrintMag.com

9. Describe your ideal work environment.
N: O’Neill Communications. Actually, one that allows enough time to do a good job and allows for innovation but keeps me busy.  I like to work with people who have a sense of humor.
C: I’m a night owl, so working late at night in my home office with some loud music would be ideal.
B: I work the absolute best in my home studio with long stretches of isolation and no interruptions followed by a flurry of meetings and one-on-one’s.

10. What is your favorite color and why?
N: Blue – It just gives me a lift – it reminds me of summer and blue sky.
C: Green – in almost every shade (Not a fan of pastels). I can’t explain it, but I’m drawn to this color.
B: Probably PMS295.  It’s dark, rich and bold and can be quiet and classy or loud and exciting.

Have any more questions for us? Please ask!

Here are some thoughts to keep in mind when the inevitable question “How does this look?” comes up:

1. All feedback is meant to help the overall project. So think of yourself as a helper rather than the bearer of bad news.

2. Put yourself in the other person’s shoes. At some point we’ve all had our work critiqued. What would make it easier to hear the criticism? I always start with a positive comment that leads into the constructive criticism. Some suggestions are:

1. I like your idea, but what about…
2. These colors look great, but…
3. This is a great starting point, but have you tried….

3. Be honest. There’s nothing more frustrating than putting a lot of time into a project and then finding out that you went down the wrong path because someone wasn’t comfortable telling you that they didn’t like the concept in the first place.

4. Give specifics. Say why you don’t care for something and why you don’t think it will work for this project. Just saying that you don’t like something without giving a reason is only going to make the person feel like you’re attacking their work.

5. Just leave it. Say what you need to say and then move on. Trust the person to do their job – there’s no need to be a nag!

Following these tips the next time you hear “How does this look?” will help to ensure that the project you critique will be a better product for the client.

How do you hand out constructive criticism?

1. How do you describe your company/product?
This gives designers a little insight into your company and how you view it. Nothing is better than seeing someone talk passionately about their company/product – it gets us excited to start designing!

2. Who are your customers?
Just knowing the average age range of your target audience is incredibly important. It can dictate the ways you communicate with the audience (i.e. printed materials vs. social media), the colors, and even the size of type and fonts that you use. Of course, there are many more factors than just age that you’ll want to know about your customers. Those can include include: income, location, and education.

3. Who are your competitors?
Yes, we do actually check them out. We need to see what they’re doing so we can determine what’s going to set you apart from them.

4.  How are you different from the competition?
Maybe you pride yourself on excellent customer service, are open more days of the week, or have a great discount program for repeat customers.

5. What have you tried before?
This can help the designer stay away from previous flops or maybe there was a successful design that just needs some creative updating.

6. What’s your budget?
Any designer should realize that not every project can have an endless budget. I personally like the lower budget projects sometimes because they force me to be more creative and think of alternative ways to get your company/product into the eyes of your audience. Although, I would never turn away a high budget project! They can be equally as challenging as the lower budget ones because the project may be more complex.

7. What do you need?
Not that you need to know everything that you possibly need upfront, but it helps to know what you’re expecting. A good designer will always suggest other options when necessary.

8. What’s your deadline?
Always, always ask about the timeframe! This helps the designer create a schedule for all of the materials needed. And if there’s a tight deadline, it can help determine what needs to be done first and what can be scheduled for a later date.

9. What are some companies that stand out to you? Anything that you dislike?
Even if your favorite example is from a completely different industry, it still helps to get a feel for what you like. You might not think that this is an important question, but I have personal experience with presenting a logo to a client and getting it denied because it was in their favorite football team’s rival colors. Yes, it was random, but it didn’t help my logo presentation any!

10. What feeling or message do you want to convey?
This helps determine the overall look of your work. If you say that you’d like a playful look with a kid-friendly feel, the designer would probably focus on bright colors and photos of happy kids and stay away from neutral color palettes.

Being a designer means doing more than just playing with pretty colors! We’re here to help solve your problems and increase your company’s customer base.

What are some questions that you ask your clients before starting a project?

Here are the steps that I take when creating a logo for a business or brand:
1. Probe the Customer. Find out exactly what the company does. What do they stand for? What are they trying to communicate to their customers? Are there any colors or shapes that they love or would like to stay away from? Are there any company logos that they really like? How will they be using their logo?

2. Check out the Competition. What do their logos look like? Is there a symbol or color that seems overused by the competition? Remember, you want your logo to stand out.

3. Sketch. I like to get my ideas out on paper before turning to the computer. I always say that I have to flush out the trite ideas first, so my first few pages of sketches are usually burn worthy. But that’s okay, that’s just the starting point.

4. Review Design Sites. Think of it as a form of window-shopping. You have to know what you like in order to move forward. And I’m not suggesting to just review logos that are in the same industry as the company that you’re creating the logo for. Look at everything and see what stands out. Most of the time it’s a look or overall feeling that a logo gives that can be the inspiration for your new logo.

There are plenty of logo sites to go to for inspiration, but my favorite is logopond.com. I don’t think I’ve ever seen all of the logos in their gallery. You can also post your logo to this site and get feedback from others, which is great because you know exactly what you’re trying to communicate but a perfect stranger might see something completely different.

5. Get Feedback. Don’t be afraid to show your concepts to your co-workers and friends. Just because someone isn’t a designer, doesn’t mean that their feedback isn’t valuable. They might see something (or not) that you thought was obvious.

6. Narrow Down the Options. I suggest picking out your top 3-5 logos and working to finalize those. Make sure to test what each logo looks like when it’s large and when it’s shrunk down to business card size. You want to make sure that the logo works well in all sizes.

Getting started is the hardest part but once you find the logo that says it all, it’s the most rewarding feeling.

Do you have a favorite or least-favorite company logo? Share with us!