Beyond graphic design 2

BEYOND graphic design s p e t S d n a s p i T

Building better client communication Cake decoratingfillers & icing Tape painting Budget makeover for a child’s room Create your own DYI website

Articles The Style guide File extensions demystified

Angela Mitchell

Residing in Sydney. Angela is a mature age Woman with 2 Daughters, one Grandson and one on the way.

After completing a fine arts course with an associate diploma in 1988, the creative bug that had been laying dormant started to make itself known Got started in the design field when she had a Balloon Decorating Business she tells us she ran it from home with: ‘Not a lot of capital,’ wanted a website, bought html for dummies.Built a flaky website, decided to do a web design course”and off she went! Decided her preference lay in design field, so got herself a diploma in Commercial Arts (Graphic Design.) with CATC Angela’s passion extends to Illustration & small biz branding with a view to expand into photography.

As a result, with a little help from my friends (inspiration- Designer Chicks) and general feel from Bethany, BEYOND graphic design is born. There is so much talent out there and issuu is such a great vehicle for sharing information, and showcasing talent!

If you would like to know more about Angela & MeamDesign check out her website, face book page, behance and portfolio

Bethany Yates-Slater

http://www.meamdesign.com.au |http:// www.facebook.com/MeamDesign?ref=hl http://www.behance.net/portfolio/projects | http://issuu.com/meamdesign/docs/portfolio_iissu_7

Bethany is from the Queensland Gold Coast where she freelances as an Illustrator and Graphic Artist & Designer.

She has worked in print media for over a decade with a focus on advertising and marketing material. Bethany is committed to good communication and client satisfaction with no project being too large or too small.

She has a special interest in popular culture and in the traditional arts.

From logo creation to installation and book illustration, Bethany’s approach and application is both professional and creative.

If you would like to know more about Bethany & BYS Graphic Design check out her website and facebook page

http://www.bethanyyatesart.com | http://www.bysgraphicdesign.com.au

Louise Raadgever My love of art, design and all things creative inspired me to start Radge Design with the aim to produce funky original Graphic Design, Art and Jewellery for all.

Radge Design is the creation of myself, Louise mother to two little monsters who keep me on my toes. I am passionate about art, design and all things creative. I enjoy thinking outside the square and pushing the boundaries with my designs. For me design and creativity don’t start or end on a computer screen; digital design is simply a cleaner way of expressing my artistic ability than drawing, painting or printing. Studying graphic design has enabled me to learn a complete new set of skills in design that are continually evolving.

I have completed a Diploma of Commercial Arts (Graphic Design) through CATC. If you would like to know more about Louise & Radge Design, check out her website and face book page

http://www.radgedesign.com.au www.facebook.com/radgedesign

Leona Ryan “I grew up on the Sunshine Coast enjoying the sun and the sand. Though never officially studying art at school I have always been a little arty and crafty. I enjoyed drawing when I was younger and discovered canvas painting when I was older and have only recently found an interest in graphic design. I am building my own creative business using my arts and crafts to make handmade things for family, friends and clients and my graphic design to provide professional design services. I am facinated with technology and how creative it allows us to be, I am really excited about the design industry for the future.”

If you would like to know more about Leona & Emily Jade Creative, check out her website and face book page

www.emilyjadecreative.com www.facebook.com/emilyjadecreative

Lesley Davies Award winning Artist Lesley Davies, has been painting and drawing since early childhood. She went to East Sydney Tech College and studied Commercial Art. Worked as a Commercial Artist until she had her two children.

She exhibited in School Exhibitions for several years, and then went on to create a range of Australiana prints, cards and other merchandise, from her watercolours of Australian birds and animals in a unique “Cute” style, these have been extremely successful.

In 1998 went to Hornsby Tafe and studied Fine Arts specialising in Sculpture.

She paints a wide range of subjects, in several different Medias, her favourite being pencil (Graphite) She does workshops in Watercolour and drawing.

If you would like to know more about Lesley & 2Bee Creative, check out her website.

www.2beecreative.com.au

Shakthi Oke Shakthi is a Program Manager by day, and a cake decorator by night.

She has been a creative soul since she was a child, often making her own toys out of household material and helping her mum create magical cakes for family and friends.

Shakthi studied communication and media, progressing into Project and Program Management and whilst still in a creative culture, found herself managing creative delivery, not doing the creative, and as such found her creative outlet in cake decorating. She has spent years developing her technique for friends and family, but admits, it’s not an easy job and requires days of effort and loads of prep, but the reward of the final product always makes it worthwhile.

r o f

Tips BUILDING BETTER CLIENT COMMUNICATION

expanded to reflect the desired result.

In a world where ideas are exchanged, reproduced, expanded and recycled as quickly as a good broadband network, a positive client/ designer relationship is more important than ever.

So much of what we see, do and how we behave is influenced by design.

Design provokes thought and feeling, has its own personality and character.

When a good client/ designer relationship is built, time is used more effectively to achieve the desired results. No one form of communication holds out best over others but a combination can provide a solid, stable foundation for your relationship.

As with any business relationship, the client wants what the client wants and if that is hanging upside down from a rafter, we’d better find a way to get it done. That is unless, you can show a better way to achieve the same result. As trust builds, ideas can be built upon and

T he m os t used m ethod s of communication between client and designer are face to face, email and telephone. Sometimes meeting face to face isn’t practical for geographical or time frame reasons and that can not be helped. A combination of the three usually works best but isn’t essential if you work at excelling at the other two or even one of the above methods. These days where there is the added option of applications like Skype, we are better equipped than ever to stay in touch. However, nothing will get in the way of a healthy client relationship quicker than a hurried word or a misread email. Emails often cannot convey mood or environment and the subtle clues we receive from re assuring body language and tone are missing.

Miscommunication can easily occur when people have different expectations about the e-mails that they send and receive. If the sender is excited and the receiver is overloaded at that particular time for example, the sender may come across as pushy or domineering and the receiver short or inattentive.

It can be really hard to gauge the mood in an email so it is always best to leave ego and expectation at the door when either sending or receiving one and always remain professional. Remember, you can never take an email back. It is always a good idea to stop and think and then take a breath ..

‘Nothing will get in the way of a healthy client relationship quicker than a hurried word or a misread email’

The Client Brief

Before your project begins and possibly before the first meeting or phone discussion, a great resource for better communication to introduce is the client brief. The client brief is a series of questions designed to get to the core of the project and to unearth tastes and expectations. Once an outline is developed it is a lot easier to navigate where to start from. The client brief is an excellent way to kick-off good client communication for both parties. As a client your ideas will emerge and come to life as you answer the questions provided.

The hardest thing for a client can be putting ideas into words and for the designer to ‘get’ where the client is coming from. The designer can get a much clearer picture of the clients needs by breaking things down into pieces.

Some questions you might find in the client brief are: • What is the main purpose for your design?

• What is your target market?

• H ow d o yo u w i s h t o b e perceived by your client base?

• What are the best key words to describe your business (or book)?

• What are other designs/styles you like or have been drawn to?

• Do you have any particular dislikes?

• Do you have any preferred colour schemes?

• Are there any colours you have a particular aversion to?

• What is your budget?

• What is your time frame?

These questions can be expanded on or tailored to suit on a serviceto-service basis.

“The designer can get a much clearer picture of the clients needs by breaking things down into pieces”

Cost Guide or Outline Now the topic of having a price list is a controversial one and many a valid point can be made for either side of the argument. Some say that a price list that is perceived as too high can scare potential clients off or leave designers open to be under-cut by other designers.

By stating that a cost outline or price-list is a ‘guide only’ and to make a more precise quote, co ntact ca n be m ade w ith requirements or fill out the client questionnai re fo r a detai led estimate.

Clients need to be made aware of the time and personal service that needs to be committed to developing the best designs for them. If they see how the process works a respect develops for the wor k done. Di recting acquaintances who ask “how much for you to just...” to the price guide or to the website will show them that this is a professional service and how a living is made.

AND also that designers and creatives don’t ‘just’ sit at home doodling or scribbling all day ( well not ALL day anyway).

The Website Anothe r g reat too l ag a i n s t m i s co m m u n i cat i o n b et we e n designer & client is the website.

The website should be the ‘go to’ on just about any matter that comes up between you.

Any important information needs to be available on the Website so both parties can refer back to it. Clearly stated ‘Terms and conditions’ with all potential issues covered including payment terms, deposit amount, copyright outlines, cancellation fees etc.

Any website is the voice of a business and should reflect the professional image and relationship wanted. People use websites and need to be used.

Make yours user friendly.

Your own voice Lastly on the topic of good communication between designer and client, you have your words.

Nothing makes a person feel better or more at ease than to have someone listen to them and be interested in what they have to say. People will always be drawn to those who build good rapport and who are genuine.

Bethany Yates-Sclater BYS Graphic Design & Illustration www.bysgraphicdesign.com.au

r o f s p

i T 6 CAKE DECORATING

Tip 1 – B a ck t o b a s i c s--- a n d mastering buttercream.

There are many variations to buttercream, some involving egg whites and others with shortening.

I prefer the basics and so do those I taste test with. Cream your butter until it’s smooth and fluffy, this acts as a great base for both your cakes and your buttercream icing. Leave your butter on the counter overnight so that it comes to room temperature and is soft to the touch (if cooler climate, zap in the microwave for 5-10 second bursts making sure to not melt the butter), then cut into small cubes and beat on low for 5-10mins using your stand-mixer.

If making buttercream, add your sifted icing sugar one cup at a time, and balance with small splashes of milk and flavoured essence (e.g. Vanilla). You will need to adjust the butter to icing sugar ratio depending on whether you will use it as a filling versus a topping (for filling, you’ll need a higher icing sugar ratio so that the buttercream holds the weight of the layered cakes, fondant and embellishments). I star t with a 1:1 ratio (500g butter : 500g icing sugar) and often go to 1:2.

- FILLERS & ICING

Tip 2 -Ganache is the p refe r red base for fondant covered cakes, especially if you’re attempting to achieve the sharp edge look when applying fondant on your cake.

Ganache coupled with a few inexpensive tools such as a metal ruler, metal right-angled ruler and a turntable, will have you creating professionally finished cakes.

Make your ganache ahead of time (2:1 chocolate to cream ratio – see recipes online), and let it cool to a peanut-butter consistency.

Using a cranked-angled spatula, spread ganache evenly onto your cake top and sides approximately 1-2cm thick and scrape off the top excess first with your ruler (levelling with your eye), then using the right angled ruler and the turntable, scrape excess off the sides until you achieve a smooth finish. There’s a real art to this and plenty of free tutorials on YouTube that go into detail and extend on the tools and techniques you can use to master ganaching. The key tip is to take your time and get it as close to perfect as fondant is not very forgiving and will certainly show flaws.

Tip 3 – Add colour to your vanilla based cakes to add delight, surprise and align to an event theme. Kids adore a colourful cake, and rainbow and ombre themed cakes are very popular. Use a gel based food colour (e.g AmeriColor or Wilton), as a little goes a very long way. I often make up my cake batter and evenly distribute into 4-6 bowls (depending on layers needed), and colour in one hit so that I can achieve the right colour graduation, especially if going for an ombre theme.

Tip 4 – Fondant versus Gum paste, what’s the difference? Fondant is for rolling and covering cakes, cupcakes and cookies and often firms up on the outer shell but remains softer on the inside and is generally nice to eat. Gum paste is used for modelling figurines, flowers, bows and embellishments that need to dry hard and hold their shape, it is often tasteless. If you are only going to make small flowers and embellishments, then it’s cheaper to invest in some Tylose or CMC powder which can be added to your fondant to act as a hardening agent. If making larger figurines, I’d invest in Satin Ice gum paste as you won’t need to play around with ratios and it’s guaranteed to harden up. Both fondant and gum paste can be coloured with gel paste.

Tip 5 – The must have tools for cake decorating.

A turntable, cranked angled spatula, right angled ruler or large metal scraper for icing your cakes.

Large rolling pin, cake smoothers x 2, acupuncture pins and acetate squares for rolling out your fondant and applying to your iced cake (the acupuncture pins are used to release trapped air without leaving noticeable damage to your cake and acetate is for smoothing the fondant). And lastly ,an assortment of plungers, cutters and food grade silicone moulds to add depth and character to your cake. These really do range in price, from inexpensive butterfly, circles and small flower cutters to intr icate lace and patterned moulds. Start with the basics and add to your collection.

I also recommend an alphabet cutter to personalise your cakes with messages. Always coat your cutters with shortening for an easy release.

Tip 6 – Use the wonderful resources online f rom dedicated cake decorators who are ever so willing to share their tips and techniques.

There are thousands of step-by-step tutorials online, both free and paid.

Cake decorating is quite the art but is so rewarding.

4

r o f s

TAPE PAINTING p e t S

What you will need Canvas (board or stretched) Acrylic paint (2-3 colours) Masking Tape Brushes, sponges, rollers (anything you can paint with) Container for paint (ice-cream container lids work well or egg cartons to keep colours separate)

Step 1 – Masking Tape Put strips of masking tape across the canvas, each piece of tape needs to overhang the edge of the canvas.

Have the strips of tape going in

Step 2 different directions, crossing each other, creating an abstract pattern.

(When the painting is finished removing the tape will leave white lines forming an abstract pattern in the artwork)

– Painting the Canvas Put paint onto the canvas anyway you like – brushes, rollers, sponges, fingers etc.

You can try to paint within the shapes created by the tape or all

over the canvas mixing the colours.

Make sure any sections of canvas not covered in tape are covered in paint.

Leave to dry (with the tape still on)

Step 3 – Painting the Canvas Put paint onto the canvas anyway you like – brushes, rollers, sponges, fingers etc.

You can try to paint within the shapes created by the tape or all over the canvas mixing the colours.

Make sure any sections of canvas not covered in tape are covered in paint.

Leave to dry (with the tape still on)

Step 4 – Remove the Tape When the paint is dry, carefully remove the masking tape to unveil the completed artwork. Any sections covered by tape will now be white lines.

Sign your work and hang it on the wall.

Artworks pictured were painted by my daughter age 4.5 years, I helped with the tape both putting it on and taking it off she did all the painting.

Worksheet written by Louise Addison 2013 © Radge Design

5

a o t

BUDGET MAKEOVER s p e t s

Spring is the perfect time to throw out excess ‘stuff’, wash the curtains, re-decorate and generally freshen up a room or your whole home.

Why not give your child a fresh start to the warmer season by doing a mini makeover for their bedroom or playroom. Here are some easy, affordable ideas for turning a drab room into a fab room!

Sort through toy boxes -

Kids accumulate a lot of toys that they no longer play with, the toys and games at the bottom of the toy box are usually broken, missing parts, have been outgrown or just plain forgotten about. Get three boxes marked KEEP, DONATE & THROW and sort the toys into these boxes. You can then give the toy box a thorough clean and neatly stack the toys from the KEEP box back in.

Next is the wardrobe and drawers – pull out all the shoes and clothes, sort through them again throw them into your three boxes. When you have the ones you would like to keep you can then neatly arrange them in the wardrobe in order of season, so everything is easy to find.

Go through any cupboards – these can fill up fast! They are great hiding places when you do a quick clean

FOR A CHILD’S ROOM

up so they are usually full of DVD’s, CD’s and odds and ends of toys.

Again sort them into the three boxes and only put back what you know your child will use.

The aim here is to clear the clutter!! Donate anything that is still in good working order, or clothes that are in reasonable co n d i t i o n, t h e re i s a l wa y s someone out there that will be able to use it.

Now that everything is cleared out, choose a colour scheme or a theme for your room. You can then purchase some key items for the room, such as a new quilt cover and sheets, a bedside

lamp and if needed repaint the walls to reflect the theme you have decided on.

To add that extra element of design and creativity, choose some removable decals (stickers) to apply to the walls. They look fantastic, are easy to apply and there are some very affordable ones on the market.

Some can be removed multiple times without damaging the wall surface, so they are great for kids who can fast outgrow a particular theme. They are also the perfect decorating tool for those who rent, as there is no need to put holes in the walls to hang things. make a range of exclusively

designed Removable Wall Stickers.

They are made from a superior fabric/vinyl and is removable up to 30 times, without damage to walls.

They are not only very affordable but they are all designed and printed here in Australia and come in many different designs and themes. Plus they can also custom make a sticker to your specific requirements.

Follow these simple steps and your child’s room will become not only a great place to sleep, but a space that will encourage imagination, creativity and most of all FUN!

2 Bee Creative make a range of exclusively designed Removable Wall Stickers. They are made from a

superior fabric/vinyl and is removable up to 30 times, without damage to walls. They are not only very affordable but they are all designed and printed here in Australia and come in many different designs and themes. Plus they can also custom make a sticker to your specific requirements.

8e

o t s p e t s asy

CREATE YOUR OWN DIY WEBSITE

Do you have an Australian Business Number?

Have you registered a business name with Asic or Fair Trading?

Step 1 - Choose a domain name, then decide if your site is for Commercial or Personal use. If you do have an ABN-then chances are you have your business name so your domain name should reflect that.

Step 2 - Register that name, the initial cost to that is fairly reasonable, for a .com.au it can be as little as $12 for a year, minimum 2 years . Be aware that when you renew the price rises substantially, I just renewed for $59 for 2 years, still not too bad.

To re-new my business name through ASIC it cost me a further $76 for 3 years.

Step 3 - Buy hosting space. I would not recommend building a ‘free site with hosting’ as sometimes is on offer, you may find that your Domain name is not owned by you!

And you don’t have control with your content management system.

‘Google’, ‘hosting and domain names,’ if you would prefer an Australian host, Crazy Domains offer some very reasonable hosting especially if you elect to pay for 3 or 4 yrs up front ( relates to around $2 a month) Take a bit of time and do your own research!

Step 4 - Build your site, there are a few free options out there available!

Once you have a host then you can easily access and build a free site from within Cpanel.

Your host will send you a welcome email, keep it in a safe place as it will hold vital information and instructions on how to use all the options available to you. (Usually, tutorials for each option.)

Step 5 - Check out Wordpress, gives you a free, robust website, where you are in control of writing your content. There is a huge community of Wordpress buffs who offer you FREE templates for the look and feel of your site.

Step 6 If you like what you see, you can now go ahead and ‘download’ Wordpress. There are a few ways to do this, but by far the easiest way is through Cpanel. Just follow the prompts and it will automatically set up a database etc.

Once you have done all this you will receive an email that you need to keep if you ever want to uninstall wordpress.

You should now be able to access your ‘Dashboard’. Here is where you control the information that you will display on your website!.

There are turorials available on the internet on how to use the dashboard. as well as on how to create a full bodied web site.

Wordpress does not have to be just a blog, Here is a link to some excellent tutorials

http://www.wp101.com/videos/

Step 7 - Plug-ins (php scripts written to give you lots of little extras) Such as email that asks for the user to supply you with their address, complete with captcha code to try to stop those nasty spam email address harvesters. Plug-ins to enable cool features for displaying images, that allow connection to your Social Media pages, as well as Search Engine Optimization (SEO) the lists go on.

When searching for Plugins Go with the popular ones not the untried, most are free but you can pay for some if you want tech help and more features.

Step 8 - There a re also Wo rdpress templates that you can purchase, some that provide a template and tech support and advice.

You can change the Face and style of your Website with the click of a button!

www.meamdesign.com.au

STYLE GUIDE

The

You have spent hours designing your client’s logo, the last thing you want to for them to use it in a manner that is inconsistent with what you envisaged for the company’s branding. It is important your client understands that the use of their logo must maintain consistency in order for branding to be effective and to strengthen the company’s ambience.

A style guide allows the designer to inform the client on the best uses for their logo on all printed material and online uses. The logo presentation outlines all the elements of the logo including colours and font types and the style guide explains how the logo is to be used and not used. The guide will give the designer’s work added professionalism and credibility, as it ensures the client understands the importance of branding consistency.

First of all in the logo presentation outline the branding including the company’s details and

The guide will give the designer’s work added professionalism and credibility.

It may also risk your work looking amateurish if instances of your work were found altered and inconsistent. So with your logo presentation, the designer should also include a style guide to ensure all parties are safe from a branding mishap.

THE

Black on White

THE

OLD CRA

C 0 M 90 Y 85 K 0 C 15 M 100 Y 90 K 39

THE

OLD CRA

B

Reversed White on Black

B

THE

OLD CRA

B

Pantone Red 032 C Pantone 195 C

EmilyJadeCreative www.emilyjadecreative.com.au

your details and what you’ve included in your presentation.

Include the date. Briefly explain how you came to your design and that it will be most effective if they follow your intensions outlined in the style guide. This does not have to be in detail, just a couple of brief sentences as an introduction. This could be on the first page of your document as title page. This will help the company and the designer if any changes are made in the future.

B OLD CRA

Leona Ryan m 0414 308633 e leona@emilyjadecreative.com.au

In the presentation it is important to outline all font types and colours used. Give details of the font types used and give a sample of the entire font type if possible. You may want to include any copyright or license information if necessary (or this may already be added in the copyright agreement). It’s a good idea to display the colour as well as list the RGB and CMYK elements. There are no rules in presentation however, consider keeping the colours separated so they are very clear and cannot be confused. It makes it easier for future reference if there are ever any changes to be made.

Next explain how the logo is to be used in print or online and if any changes to its appearance can be made. Remember branding extends through various promotional material, you need to assess how your logo can maintain its authenticity through its various uses while maintaining its consistency for the company and branding. Consider addressing the following acceptable alterations: Can any elements of the logo be separated in any way?

Can it be presented vertically and horizontally?

Can any elements be altered?

Can the colours be changed?

Can it be used in black and white?

Can any elements be partially used?

Does the logo have to stay in proportion or can it be resized to fit a specific area?

Can it be used on a different background colour?

OLD

STYLE GUIDE The logo will have best impact if the text and image are kept together. However, enlarging and cropping the crab image on its own, would be easily recognised and can be used for decoration purposes on a publication where the original logo is also used, as seen on this page.

The font type cannot be changed at any time. Consistent application of the logo is important to reinforce the brand.

CRAB

For all other instances the logo must remain in original form for all advertising purposes including web use and print. The colour must remain in original CMYK, however black on white is permitted in newspapers. The original logo must not be altered in any other way, including font, colour, logo proportion and symmetry.

The logo orientation is not to be altered. Do not place the logo over a busy photograph, pattern or behind text. Do not add styling or texture effects to the logo. Logo cannot be altered or recreated in any way.

Minimum dimensions for web use is 300px x 300px and scaled no smaller than 170pxx170px. Minimum dimensions for print use is 300mm x 300mm.

THE

OLD CRA

B

Black on White

EmilyJadeCreative www.emilyjadecreative.com.au

THE

OLD CRA

C 0 M 90 Y 85 K 0 C 15 M 100 Y 90 K 39

THE

OLD CRA

B

Reversed White on Black

B

THE

OLD CRA

B

Pantone Red 032 C Pantone 195 C Leona Ryan m 0414 308633 e leona@emilyjadecreative.com.au

It’s a good idea to give samples of what are acceptable uses and those that are not advised.

If your logo branding extends to full print material for advertising including a stationary range and other promotional items, examples of these can also be included also.

With your logo design, one of the most important things to submit is a copyright agreement. Outline all the terms and conditions of the ownership of the logo. Submit your terms and conditions prior to submitting the logo and have the client sign the agreement before they accept the logo. You may want to have the style guide referenced in the terms and conditions of your copyright agreement if need be.

Leona Ryan EmilyJade CREATIVE

www.emilyjadecreative.com

FILE EXTENSIONS DE-MYSTIFIED Understanding extensions (and I am not talking about adding on to your house!) and their correct usage can cause much angst amongst many of us. When you are asked to provide images to your graphic or website designer does this send you into a panic and leave you with so many questions?

Which file extension should be used, what size images will I need and why do they have to be specific formats?

In order to explain file extensions, and how to understand what they mean, it’s necessary to give a little bit of the history of file extensions.

What is a file extension? Well, it’s those extra characters, normally 3 of them, that come at the very end of a file name, after the period (.) e.g. FileExtension.jpg Here are a few of the more common file extensions and their uses that you may come across when developing your on-line and printed business materials:

Extensions Used For On Line Joint Photographic Exper ts Group (.jpg) - Named after the committee that developed this format: This is the ext usually used for photographs or multi coloured images. A .jpg can

be compressed down to a size that can be downloaded or uploaded to the internet quickly.

You can reduce the size of a .jpg by cropping or reducing the dpi (dots per inch) For instance if you wanted to print a photograph, for your own use, then the more dpi the better the clarity. You can also reduce the height and width of the image, but do this after you have reduced the dpi and cropped.

Graphics Interchange Format (.gif):

Copyright is another reason you may wish to compress your images before sharing them online. If you are concerned about people using your images for commercial purposes and therefore making income from your intellectual property, the smaller the image the better! The maximum size recommended would be 500 pixels in width Tip: You can reduce or enlarge any picture, without distortion if you hold down the ‘shift key’ while dragging on the corner.

Usually reserved for solid colours i.e. clip art or cartoons and perhaps logos that consists of 2 or 3 colours.

One advantage with using a .gif on a website is that it can have a transparent background, meaning that you can place it anywhere on any background and it won’t have a border.

Po r table Net wo rk G raphic (.png): Kind of the middle man, between .jpgs and .gifs. These are for images that involve the use of more colours.

They can have a transparent background, the files produced will be larger and therefore a bit slower for downloading but they are usually a better quality than .gif. and very versatile!

Extensions used for Print Tagged Image File Format(.tif): Scanners used to save images with this file ext. most scanners now give you format choices. A .tif can be suitable for print, if the artwork is created with CMYK (this is the colour regime used by printers)

Encapsulated PostScript (.eps): This is very powerful and perfect for print. If you want an excellent outcome for your print needs: posters, magazine ads etc, then your large format photo’s need to be converted to an .eps. This is not a simple “save as” selection but your designer should know how to do this, or – if you are up for a challenge and have Photoshop, you can google “how to ready photo’s for print”.

Por table Document Format (.pdf): Adobe’s native file format that is read by Adobe Acrobat which is a free downloadable program if it is not already installed on your system. The .pdf format is used for exchange of information and allows people using different systems and versions of software to open and view a single document.

The .pdf has a wide variety of uses, for the web or interactive forms. The Adobe software gives a designer the ability to choose if the document is for print, it also shows the printer crop marks and document information including: instructions, bleeds etc.

Some printers are happy if you provide them with a .pdf, just keep in mind that any images or articles should use the CMYK colour profile!

The above photo was prepared for print, in photoshop, for use on a postcard.

Below: the original file supplied, can you spot the difference?

Postcard_for_print_Lily.pdf

C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K

1

31/07/13

9:39 AM

Postcard_for_print_Dave.pdf

1

31/07/13

9:40 AM

C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K

Pictured are the print ready postcards, saved as a PDF , that show the printer trim marks, colour guides etc.

When working on your next business project selecting the correct file format should no longer be a mystery!

Angela Mitchell

C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K

Meam Design

Wha

t wor

ks be

st for

you?

H&L, T/H, U

nit

With Robyn Atkins

Who is on your team?

If you want to build a successful property portfolio, this is the event for you!

Too busy, need a buyer’s agent?

Buying investment or home?

FHB, SMSF

Land tax Income tax Local vs interstate Phone Robyn for dates, venues & times 0418 447 815

erty vs 2nd hand Refurb vs new prop ith to Pyrmont

lly Penr

Meetings held loca