I. Survey Results Are IN
For the past two years, Kaua`i Design Graphics clients have received a follow-up survey asking, among other things, "What's most important to you in choosing and working with a graphic designer?" Participants were asked to rate the following twelve factors in importance on a scale of 1-5, 5 being very important. The ranking, in order of importance, from twenty completed surveys was as follows:
1. COMMUNICATION THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS Clients appreciate my proactive approach to our project collaborations. I keep them informed and involved from start to finish. Experience has taught me that it's generally better to over-communicate than under.
2. UNDERSTANDING OF CLIENT OBJECTIVES Clients are heard. They are asked about positioning, communication goals and their ideas for possible approaches. I strive to capture the personality and vision of an organization while crystalizing its intended message.
3. QUALITY CRAFTSMANSHIP Clients look good in print. With ten years experience working with solid design principles and an eye trained for detail, crafting of high quality logos, ads, brochures, rack cards, mailings, etc. is assured. If it’s going out under the Kaua`i Design Graphics name, it has to shine.
4. PERSONAL SERVICE/ACCESSIBILITY OF DESIGNER Clients benefit from my strong service ethic. Developing mutually rewarding, long-lasting relationships with my clients is important to me. I am a demanding consumer and hold myself to the same high standard for service that I expect from other providers.
5. CREATIVITY/DESIGN EXPERTISE Clients get a one-of-a-kind design. Besides being consistently clean, clear and reader-friendly, no two projects are alike. Ideally, even the concept itself, developed in collaboration with the client, will be original and distinctive.
II. How Can A Brochure Benefit You?
There's a good chance both you AND your customers can benefit from
a well-designed brochure. In this high tech world, high touch has
more value than ever. The predicted
paperless society is not happening. We love the sensual comforts of print. Even
eBay®
puts out a printed holiday catalog!
When your organization’s information is available in print, your customer can...
• touch it and be reassured by its substance• consider your message when and where it’s convenient• highlight it, make notes in the margins and keep it for future reference• review your offer before your phone call or meeting• re-consider your offer after they've spoken with you• keep your contact infomation handy and packaged with your offerHaving a brochure in your marketing tool kit gives you the luxury of going into detail. You can inform potential customers about...
• how you stand apart from your competition• how you work• who your clients are and why they do business with you• the people behind the business (photos, bios and/or a mission statement)• the benefits of your product or service (pictures, charts and other visual aids)• the quality of your work (samples, customer testimonials)• technical information (illustrations, diagrams, in-depth explanations)• your policies, prices and guarantees
The Pantone Color Institute® tracks color trends and produces semiannual forecasts for fashion and home. Here, Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Institute, recounts the major color trends of the last four decades, along with the cultural influences that impacted them.
Youth culture erupted in the ‘60s, and sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll were the (dis)order of the day. From Swinging London to Haight-Ashbury, Mod to Mondrian, and Jimi Hendrix to Janis Joplin, music and psychedelic drugs turned people onto color. Timothy Leary influenced the fashion scene as much as Mary Quant. Fashion models and photographers were becoming as important as designers, and Twiggy emerged as the face of 1966.
The recession of the 1970s brought a retreat
into safe, sober earth colors, and the dreaded "A" word of both fashion and
interior designers -avocado- had the American consumer in a full nelson,
especially in the kitchen. African-Americans became more aware of their heritage
and adopted native African patterns and colors, which were, again, earth tones.
Disco was crowned king, and in the fashion world, no one was hotter than
Halston, with his luxurious Ultrasuede® pantsuits and decadent Studio 54
lifestyle.
The economic upturn of the ‘80s heralded a return to vibrant color. Christian Lacroix and Jean-Paul Gaultier’s extravagant fashion cacophonies validated flamboyant color at the highest taste level, and women flooded the workforce with glamour, sporting big Dynasty-inspired shoulders and hair.
With the advent of MTV, kids saw
and mimicked what pop stars like Michael Jackson and Madonna were wearing.
Following Brooke Shields’s provocative commercial for Calvin Klein jeans,
supermodels like Cindy Crawford and Linda Evangelista emerged as the seraphim of
fashion. Nancy Reagan’s signature red became popular, later giving way to
Barbara Bush blue. Toward the end of the decade, Giorgio Armani’s sophisticated
neutrals provided Yuppies with a quieter alternative to all-out glitz.Meanwhile,
in the home, designers flipped the color chart for consumers who had OD’d on
avocado and spice tones, and America became mad for mauve. 
The economic downturn at the end of the ‘80s became an opening for the dirtied colors of Seattle’s "grunge" movement in the early 1990s. In the middle of the decade, the digital revolution with its promise of outrageous amounts of money was reflected in the eye-popping colors of the iMac®. Urban street styles, body piercing and tattooing became mainstream among young culture. Green, a color that became important with the environmental movement of the ‘60s, hit its vibrant zenith in the ‘90s with lime green and chartreuse.
Minimalism became a strong influence at the end of the ‘90s, as evidenced by Jil Sander’s fashions and Calvin Klein’s Zen-influenced home collections. As the dotcoms began to crumble and the Millennium Bug threatened, people were feeling the need to stop and escape. Spas boomed and designer water abounded. These influences led Pantone® to pronounce Cerulean Blue, the color of sea and sky, "the Color of the Millennium."
The minimalist influence continued into the new century. Today, big ticket items have retreated into neutral or deeper colors, but it is the perfect time to bring touches of color into the home with accessories and small appliances, allowing consumers to enjoy color without spending a great deal. Yet neutral does not equal boring - all grays, beiges and taupes are not created equal, and even white has hundreds of subtle variations.
Full article and PANTONE® equivalents of the sample colors above are available at http://www.pantone.com/products/products.asp?idArticle=541&idSubArea=0&idArea=4
Leatrice Eiseman is the author of Colors for Your Every Mood, The PANTONE® Guide to Communicating Color and The Color Answer Book
IV. Virgin vs. Recycled Paper: Environmental Defense Calculator Does the Math
Despite a boom in electronic gadgets, they have yet to wipe out paper. Five hundred fifty years after Gutenberg, print is still big, and Americans are at the top of the consumption pile. We use about 10,000 sheets or 700 pounds of paper per person annually -- enough to make any of us search for the paper equivalent to Weight Watchers. Enter the Paper Calculator.
This interactive tool shows the enormous environmental edge of recycled paper. The web-based Paper Calculator helps organizations see that increasing recycled content reduces energy and water use, demand for wood, and pollution. The Calculator does all the math: Plug in 700 pounds of virgin paper (the average American’s annual use) and compare it to the same amount of 30% post-consumer recycled, and the Calculator kicks out eye-opening numbers.
That small switch means nearly 3 trees unfelled in the name of making paper. Multiply that by 100 staffers in an office, and you can see how switching to recycled paper adds up: more than 250 trees are left standing, one car’s worth of heat-trapping pollution is avoided, and one household’s worth of power is saved. Obviously, the bigger the organization, the larger the resource reductions.
"Using less paper and switching to recycled paper conserves wood, water and energy, and helps reduce pollution and waste," explains Environmental Defense paper guru, Victoria Mills. "And it can be done without increasing costs, so it’s a win-win situation."
Small changes mean big differences. When Environmental Defense teamed up with Citigroup in 2003 to help the financial giant improve its paper choices, the partnership made great environmental strides. In just one year, Citigroup’s switch saved:
• 43.8 billion BTUs of energy (or enough energy to power nearly 420 households for a year)• 2,800 tons of greenhouse gases (or as much emissions as 495 cars release in a year)• 26.3 million gallons of wastewater (or enough water to fill 34 olympic swimming pools)• 8,900 tons of wood (or about 61,500 typical trees)• 1,450 tons of solid waste (or enough waste to fill over 100 average garbage trucks)
The Paper Calculator has helped scores of companies, communities, schools, and paper merchants calculate the benefits of better paper choices for over a decade. Now, it’s easier to use and has additional functions. Use it to help your organization track its progress in trimming paper waste and impact on the planet. Or see for yourself just how many trees you and your school, office or family can save by buying recycled.
Excerpted from Environmental Defense online news, November 29, 2005. Access full article and paper calculator at http://www.environmentaldefense.org/article.cfm?contentID=4852
V. Back Issues Online
Past editions of The Graphics Grapevine are posted on my website: www.kauaidesign.com
Vol. 1 No. 1, January 2004: I. What IS Graphic Design? II. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly III. Your Graphic Identity IV. Why Choose Print?
Vol. 1 No. 2, April, 2004: I. Postcard Promotions II. Type Tips: One Space Betweeen Sentences III. Type Tips: Underlining IV. White Space
Vol. 1 No. 3, July 2004: I. Making Headlines II. Type Talk III. Break Up Text With Graphic Elements IV. The Mission of Kaua`i Design Graphics
Vol. 1 No. 4, October 2004: The COLOR Issue: I. A Color Wheel Refresher Course II. The Impacts of Color III. RGB and CMYK Color
Vol. 2 No. 1, January 2005: I. One- and Two-Color Printing II. Proofreading: Tools of the Trade III. Type Families IV. Calling All Questions!
Vol. 2 No. 2, April 2005: The DIGITAL PHOTO Issue: I. De-mystifying Resolution II. "Photo Quality" Printing III. Adding Type to Photos IV. Photo File Formats
Vol. 2 No. 3, July 2005: I. Hawaiian Punctuation: `okinas and kahakōs II. Identifying & Finding Fonts III. Design Basics: Contrast and Consistency?
Vol. 2 No. 4, October 2005: I. Branding Your Organization II. Stoking the Creative Fires III. Text Alignment: Ragged Right vs. Justified
VI. Do You Want to ReceiveiThe Graphics Grapevine?
Future editions of The Graphics Grapevine will be
sent to you by e-mail each quarter only if you want to receive
them. If you’d like to remove your
name or add your name to the mailing
list, please e-mail linda@kauaidesign.com with "graphics grapevine" in the subject line
and your request in the body.
Owner of Kaua`i-based Kaua`i Design Graphics, Linda Pizzitola specializes in ads and print promotions, logos and business identity packages. See samples of her work, a client list and more at http://www.kauaidesign.com. Linda can be reached by phone at (808) 822-0055 or 635-3703.