Design Tips for Business

Introduction Christine Hennigan, owner/creative director of 1-Stop Design Shop, Inc. Full service design studio providing print and web design for over 25 years. 1-Stop Design has been doing design work for Project Bread for over 10 years

First Impressions Matter You might have a great story to tell, but no one's going to want to read it if you don't present people with strong visuals right off the bat.

Branding Keep it simple; the clearer the message the better the chances it will get noticed and gain results.

Mistake #1: Too many typefaces Using too many typefaces in a brochure, logo, website, etc. can make a design appear busy, non-cohesive, and unprofessional. Play it safe and keep it simple; settle on 1-2 (3 MAX).

Mistake #2: Lack of hierarchy Hierarchy determines which items you see first in a piece. Pay attention to hierarchy and use it to your advantage by varying the size of your fonts titles and headers should always be more prominent than body text using color wisely (pops of color draw attention to text and images that should stand out paying attention to shapes (which give a design movement and lead your eyes around the design). If you highlight everything – NOTHING is highlighted!

Poor Hierarchy Without hierarchy it’s hard to lead the eye to what’s important...your message! Well Planned Hierarchy

Mistake #3: Dizzy color pairings Stick to 3 or 4 colors: Unless you’re going for a deliberate, full-on rainbow look, avoid combining an excessive amount of colors. Match color to your topic’s mood. Consider the topic that you are trying to portray in your design piece. Directed towards Children or Adults? From there, think about a specific mood that you would like to associate with the activity. Is it cheerful, serious or elegant?

Poor Color Combos

Well Planned Color Combos

Mistake #4: Lack of negative space You don’t need to fill every empty spot in your brochure The negative space around an object is often just as important as the object itself; it provides a cushion and a place for your eye to rest. Avoid cramming objects and text into a design and be aware of the entire composition, not just the main components.

Mistake #5: Readability Issues Centered Paragraphs of Text: Large amounts of text should never be center aligned. It alters legibility, making text harder and more frustrating to read. All Caps is not intended to be used in anything longer than a title or subhead. It’s difficult to read. Using display fonts as text fonts — legibility issue. Script, hand-drawn type, and other display fonts should be used for headers and small amounts of text. Use a simple font for large groups of text. Upside-down text. It's hard to read. Don't do it.

What’s a display font?

Recap You only have one shot to make a first impression, make it count. Create a focal point and hierarchy of importance using different type sizes and color. Keep it simple – limit colors to 3 or 4 colors and typefaces 1 or 2 (3 MAX). Be consistent, if you use a set of colors and fonts once, stay with it and use it again so people start to recognize your brand. Most importantly, BE CREATIVE!!!

Working on the Portal Using a web browser go to: Browsers include: Firefox Mozilla Chrome Internet Explorer

Personalization Area

Click in the variable areas to customize. Customizing text, a dialog box will appear with your options

What are those lines??? Red dashed line shows the “trim”, where the paper will be cut when printed. The blue dashed line is the “safe zone”. Make sure everything important is within the “safe zone” or it might be cut off the paper.

Buttons View PDF Add Image Add Text Area You Approve the layout, after clicking this moves you to the final stages of process. You want to cancel personalization. This will return you to page with product selection.

Once you have the item you approved in your cart, click “Free Shipping via Download” and “Proceed to Checkout”

Complete the billing information (product is FREE but we need to know who you are) and where to send artwork! Click box for terms & conditions then click “Place order”

You’re all done! We will your finished high resolution artwork to you to send to your printer.