Design and Other Important Stuff For MktgMediaComm, Fall ‘13 Eric J. Schiff

“A clever headline that’s short enough to read at a glance may be able to captivate a reader, but it’s usually the power of design, or the visual, that stops someone long enough to read the headline.” ~Robin Williams

Display Ads are tricky to create, typically because of space limitations. Think of Flyers as large display ads, as many of the same design constructs apply… Moving on to large format displays - Posters, while having more space to work with, also have many of the same design considerations of display ads and flyers.

Create CONTRAST – the purpose is to quickly draw someone’s attention, and provide important and timely information… make sure dates, times, places, are easy to find. Vary type, point size, and alignment. Simplicity in design is good. One (spot) or two colors may be plenty. Paper color also counts and can help contain costs. Paper type can also help the design succeed, or not. Avoid Text Heavy layout, emphasize key words.

Stick to 2 fonts, use type styles to enhance font appearance… sometimes breaking Typography rules works! Give importance to the titles, headings, subheads, names, locations, dates, etc., by using contrasting fonts, varied point size and stroke weights… using color screens behind text and artwork to stand it out or off from other elements works, and can help balance the overall piece. Make room for SPONSORS, and be deliberate with their fit to the overall design.

CREATE A FOCAL POINT Use an image or other visual, a text block.

Use enhancement art to draw attention to your piece – caution to not overwhelm the key elements or message. Treat component parts as elements that need to be balanced and aligned, maintain good proximity to each other for readability and clarity. Use of white space appropriately is very important. C.R.A.P. Rules! Bleeds, borders, screens, and rules can help keep elements “contained” on the piece, and add style to the overall design.

Display Ad Sizes (Print) – Typically these range in size depending on the publication - measures are usually inches and columns; magazines and newspapers will have display ads specs available on their websites. Color in ads cost. Web Ad Space - sizing is based on screen real estate, much like print ad space, but use pixel measures, fixed and relative placement, click through and other analytics for advertisers. Many of the same design constructs hold true, but carry new variables including embeds, animation, etc.

Flyer size typically is based on standard paper sizes that can be quick copied, 8.5 x 11 or 8.5 x 14 inches. They are timely announcements and/or reminders about upcoming events or activities. In most cases design, is tied directly to keeping production costs at a minimum. Where to Print? Quick copy shops, wherever you can get the best price.

Posters sizes run the gambit of large format display. Size, paper, and quality, is typically are based on intent and budget. 8.5" x 11" - Poster Flyer Poster flyers are common in street advertising and bulletin boards. They fit perfectly in most binders and notebooks. 11" x 17" - Small Poster Size The ledger sized posters are actually 2 US Letter sized papers combined. Because of their small size, 11" x 17" posters are very versatile in their uses.

18" x 24" and 19" x 27" - Medium Poster Sizes These posters are medium sized posters used with charts and photographs. 24" x 36" and 27" x 39" - Large Poster Size Most commonly used in marketing, 24" x 36" and 27x39” standard size posters are best for outdoor advertising. These can also be found in a lot of trade shows and exhibits as well as for retail music posters.

27" x 40" - One Sheet Also known as the "one sheet", 27" x 40" is the standard movie poster size in the US. One sheet posters are commonly used to advertise upcoming movies and can be found often in theaters, phone booths, commercial areas, and bus stops. Where to Print? Up to 11 x 17 inches depending on the quality needed, quick copy shops or full service printer. All other sizes consult full service printers.

Necessary equipment includes computers, digital cameras, scanners, printers for proofs Recommended software: Adobe Illustrator for file creation, composition, and artwork manipulation; Adobe Photoshop for photo imaging, enhancement artwork manipulation; Adobe InDesign for file creation and manipulation File formats: Save all files in native file format, save/export final output as a PDF to hand off to printers. Color Space – All work should be in CMYK

All images should be prepared in Adobe Photoshop at high resolution – 300 dpi, and at the physical size they are going to be used. Images need to be saved as.TIF files and placed into Illustrator. Physical size means the larger the size, the higher the pixel size must be to accommodate the high resolution output. Example: 3300 x 2475 pixels = 8.5 x dpi Artwork (Photoshop) should be CMYK color and can be placed as.JPGs or.TIFs as long as it isn’t scaled up in size, or made too much smaller.

DIIGO lists are on the mktgmediacomm.com blog, but here are the direct links: Display Ads Poster Design Design Tips Clean Design