One thing that I had noticed that I do differently is how I figure printer spreads for books. I call it “The Ladder” and just recently had to show some fellow designers how to place single page pdfs into printer spreads. They picked up on it quickly and I thought I would share it here as well.
It’s a bad year for birthdays. My daughter was turning 10, I was laid off due to a 40% workforce reduction because of COVID-19, no large gatherings, and our basement had flooded weeks earlier. Like all parents, we want our kid to have memorable birthdays. We usually make a theme to work around: Mario Kart, Camp, Pokemon, Cowboys, whatever our daughter is into that year. We try to do as much as possible ourselves, making homemade pinatas and painting photo booths for the kids. With all of the uncertainty swirling around us, we couldn’t go as big as we usually would. The guest list was, well, exclusive; just one friend over for a sleep over. My wife and I brainstormed about what we could do to make it memorable.
When I was young, few things held my fascination like billboards. I still remember the campaigns around my hometown growing up, now embedded in the psyche of my childhood. Starting out, they seemed like the “End Boss” of design to me. They are essential Americana marketing: they are big, they are everywhere, they are daunting. But, in real life, they are not nearly as intimidating as one might think. Let’s talk through what you need to know when designing a billboard.
Understanding User Experience is implicit in the design field. If you haven’t been thinking about how the user sees your designs then we got bigger fish to fry. Everything from accessibility, to visual hierarchy, falls under this umbrella of UX (User Experience). Usability test are the norm in UX, and all other facets of business could stand to learn a thing or two.
I want to talk about something that people in nearly every business will run across from time to time but might know nothing about, Offset Printing.
Nick Folz 