Standing out from the crowd is a great way to get noticed. I often work with small businesses, many of whom start out their marketing efforts by producing traditional tri-fold brochures. Those who are game to try something different have an advantage, for if they offer a different style, they may create a “user experience” that is memorable enough for the recipient to be more likely to become a prospect.
Sometimes all that’s needed to be different is to use a different size, weight, texture, or finish for the paper you use.
Sometimes simply changing the orientation from vertical to horizontal can be a good step in a new direction.
One of the more popular folding alternatives is the “accordion” fold with folds on alternating sides, zigzagging first forward, then backward. Another alternative is the “gatefold” where two side panels are folded in toward the center before a final vertical fold is made. A “roll” or “barrel” fold opens one edge again and again in the same directional sequence. Each of these three examples can all use the same size paper; they just take different planning for using the panels.
The most interesting folds are those that fold in more than one direction in the same piece, or that make use of “die cuts” that cut an edge into a particular shape or angle, rather than the traditional 90-degree corner angles. The die-cut edges may have an interesting look about them when used with a folding pattern, even a traditional folding pattern, so that the piece looks much different—and therefore more interesting.
As enthusiastic as I am about alternate folding patterns, I must mention that it’s very important to have a chat early on in the design process with your printer about what you’re planning. If your piece uses custom paper sizes, or folds must be scored, or there are die-cuts, or it requires hand assembly instead of machine automation, there can be increases in cost. Your printer will know how to guide you or make suggestions to help you keep costs down. But if the piece does indeed get more attention because of inspired design—and therefore brings you or your client more business—the investment can certainly be worth it. And you’ll be a hero!
Attention-Getting Folding Patterns for Business Collateral
Graphic Designer or Decorator?
I have a friend who is an Interior Designer. She has mentioned her frustration with people who call her an Interior Decorator. Many people don’t know the difference. After all, don’t both labels have to do with such things as paint, lighting, furniture and the like?
Well, yes. But there IS a difference.
A decorator is someone who decorates. And the definition of decorate is to bedeck, trim, garnish, festoon, furnish, adorn or embellish with something ornamental or becoming.
A designer is someone who designs. The definition of design (as a verb) is to make plans, drawings, or preliminary sketches to fashion the form and structure of an object, artistically or skillfully. The execution of the design is part of the definition.
In my friend’s profession, her skills include moving walls, installing plumbing and electrical wiring, and understanding the underlying architectural structure. She may add decoration as the final step in her design, but if she were only a decorator, she’d only be adding those final bits of trim and adornment.
Other designers make a related distinction. Graphic designers are sometimes seen as people who add the color, photography, and fancy fonts to the layout of an advertisement. The usual intent of those is “brand identity” or “brand awareness”—to make the brand of the item being offered more identifiable and memorable to the consumer.
But graphic designers are so much more than just people who decorate or embellish a print piece. We deal knowledgably with images and layout, yes, but we also understand much more. We learn about our client’s business and their intent or underlying purpose with the piece. When we design, we use our understanding about how a reader’s eye must flow across pages, and ways to make text more readable, and how to project the overall psychological “tone” behind the piece.
This understanding is even more important in designing Direct Mail lead generations and product promotions, since the graphic designer works closely with the copywriter to make the piece as persuasive as possible, so that the “call to action” is not lost, and the client gets the highest possible response with the piece. I’ve said it in a previous blog post that the design in this case “supports the copy” and is not the main event. It should not call attention to itself—it is not design for design’s sake.
All this is done using complex software that gives us far greater control over every tiny variable in the “look” of the piece. That’s worlds apart from only knowing how to make a colored border or insert a photo in Word or Publisher. Good graphic designers use Quark XPress, Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator. And their output is not just for print anymore; these days, it is also for the web.
So think beyond pretty pictures to the “next level” of talent for completing a promotional piece. I’d be happy to discuss your next project with you, whether for print or for the web.
File Properties Data is Important
Today’s article is more of a tip than an opinion piece or a product review.
I often create documents in Word, Publisher, InDesign, Photoshop, etc. But I also use a feature of those programs that many folks don’t think much about. I make sure to identify myself as the creator of that document.
That’s important, because many of these documents are either passed along to others “as is”, or they are exported as PDF files first before passing to other folks. And I want my own “intellectual property” to be identified as such.
When you sit down at the computer to create a document in these programs, some documents will automatically pick up some of this data. For example, a new document in Word picks up my name “Nancy Pickering” as the author. That information lives elsewhere on my computer, but Word finds it and includes it for me.
But here’s a situation that’s even more important: what if I’m working on the layout of a document for a client? They created a draft document and sent it to me for adding design elements. Let’s say I create a new blank document with all the design elements in place, and then pour in the text from the draft. That new version will show my name as the author – but the client doesn’t want to have my name as the author, they want to have their own name as the author. And if I finish the file with those properties unedited, and it’s exported as a PDF and sent to the client, they will not be able to edit that information themselves after the fact.
Therefore, it’s important you know where and how to declare or edit the information that should be saved with the file. In Microsoft products, depending on which version you have and assuming your file is open, go to the File menu and click the Properties item. Or go to the Office button and click Prepare, and then Properties. In Adobe products, go to the File Menu and click on the File Info item. In either case, you’ll be presented with a dialog box where you can enter such information as Title, Subject, Author, Company, Keywords, Comments, Category, and Status. Fill in as much as is appropriate, at the very least the first three. Then save the file. Now when you export the file as a PDF, that data will be picked up and included with that file. And your client will properly get the credit they deserve as the author of the piece. Ditto if the author really is you and you want to ensure the credit goes to you.
One more hint. If you plan on distributing your PDF as a downloaded eBook from your web site, don’t forget to fill in the “keywords” field in the Properties area. Doing so just may boost your search engine rankings for your web site for that topic.
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