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Pack Extra Meaning into Your Message with Strategic Color Combinations

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Of all the elements of design, color is probably the most challenging to understand.

Color originates from a light source that is viewed directly or seen as reflected light. While colors can be displayed in spectrums, prisms, or contrasts, the power of colors is not only in their arrangement, but in the way we perceive them.

Want to add depth to your message? The colors you choose can add an extra layer of meaning.

Colors Prompt a Specific Response

According to Sally Augustin from Psychology Today, research shows that particular colors can prompt measurable responses.

Here are the impacts of five particular colors, and how you can use them to your advantage:

Green

Seeing the color green has been linked to more creative thinking—so greens are good options for pieces featuring innovation, creativity, artistic specialties, or proactive growth.

Red

People featured in front of red backgrounds are generally seen as more attractive when silhouetted against other colors, so reds are great for photo backdrops, booklet covers, headshots, and more.

Having a red surface in view also gives people a burst of strength, so reds are good choices for concepts related to fitness, acceleration, competition, and courage.

Violet

People tend to link greyish violet with sophistication, so these hues can be a good selection for places where you’re trying to make a stylish impression.

Try subtle violet/grey hues in designs for home apparel, personal products, product labels, and more.

Yellow

Yellow is associated with joy, happiness, optimism, and energy.

This color stimulates mental activity and generates muscle energy. Yellows are great for stimulating appetite, implying freshness, or for conveying warmth. Yellow also screams for attention, so you can use it to grab interest. Avoid overdoing it by adding yellow in contrast with another color.

Blue

Did you know that people are more likely to tell you that blue is their favorite color than any other shade?

Blue is a great choice for design, especially with so many shades to choose from! Nature-themed blues can call forth feelings of calmness or serenity, and are perfect for striking a tranquil tone. Turquoise or royal blues can project stability and reliability, which is strategic for brands that want to communicate productivity or security.

One caution about blue: it is not very appetizing. In the world of cuisine, humans are geared toward avoiding blue as it is often a sign of poison or spoilage. Some weight loss plans even recommend eating your food off a blue plate to squelch hunger!

Color Your Communication

Color is a powerful communication tool and can be used to signal action, sway emotions, and even influence physiological reactions.

The right use of colors can play an important role in conveying information, creating moods, and influencing the decisions people make. Be strategic and add extra meaning to your message with dynamic, powerful color combinations.

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Top Five Pre-press Tips for Designers

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Straight Outta Pre-press graphicLast week, we shared some of the most important pre-press tips for designers. These were culled from the most common issues and pain points that we see come across our desks. Below you’ll find the tips consolidated in one place with a bit more expansion.

 

 

 

 

 

1) reverse-copy-01Double-check spelling and grammar

Reduce typos by proofreading your your copy…in reverse. This doesn’t mean read your copy with a mirror. This means start reading the last word on the page and move left and up. This forces your brain to look at the words without automatically filling in the between words and letters that you otherwise may have missed.

 

outline-fonts_rectangle2) Convert text to paths

Outlining fonts is usually a good idea before sending art to print. Outlining your font ensures that the pre-press specialist or printer operator doesn’t need to have all your fonts loaded onto their machine just to set the file up for production. Unless we need to edit your copy before producing it, we prefer that the fonts already be outlined when you send your print-ready file. The Mac shortcut is CMD+A (to select all copy on page), SHIFT+CMD+O (outline fonts). Save this version with a new name so your original file is still editable in the future.

 

Embed links and package files in Illustrator and InDesign3) Include linked images

Any time you are sending your native art files (Illustrator, InDesign, etc.) it’s a good idea to make sure any linked graphics are included. Both Illustrator and InDesign now have the ability to package files. Packaging a file puts the native file, fonts and any linked images into one folder. You can then zip the folder and email or upload the file. Illustrator also has the option of embedding links, which simply makes any placed graphics a native part of the AI file.

 

Image courtesy of 99designs
Image courtesy of 99designs

4) Different apps for different uses

Many of us can tend to have tunnel vision when it comes to designing in our favorite applications. However, what’s good in Photoshop isn’t always good in Illustrator and vice versa. This chart helps provide an overview of which Adobe Creative Cloud application is best for different types of work. Following these general guidelines can make your work easier and make for a smoother process when it’s time to print your graphics.

 

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5) CMYK vs. RGB

Although we print the CMYK color space here at High Resolutions, vibrant RGB mixes aren’t entirely out of the question for your project. Whenever you have specific color concerns about a project, ask us how to achieve those specialty colors. This applies to super-vibrant colors like fluorescents, RGB colors, and color-book specifics like those from Pantone.

We hope these tips are helpful to your design process. Remember to follow us on social media for real-time tips and responses to your questions.

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Banner Stitching

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Some of the greatest banner designs can be ruined by the finishings.
It’s not to say that the banner is mishandled or that their was a lack of craftsmanship. It’s simply a lack of foresight.
As designers and artists, we are compelled to design first. Ask questions later.
In an effort to avoid the unexpected, here are some specs for your reference:

Stitch and Grommet Defaults:

What you may not know, is that we have “Defaults” for how we handle banners.
These are our recommendations, thus our “Defaults”:

  1. We use 13oz. Matte Banner stock (Much better than the “Cheap glossy look”).
  2. 1″ double-stitched reinforced hem. This helps to minimize tear-outs due to stress.
  3. 32″ Grommet (eyelet) spacing (Spacing varies but will not exceed 36″). Placed in-line with stitches.

Problems to avoid during file setup/design:


The example above illustrates how your artwork could be affected by poor planning.
Remember to allow for the stitches and keep your art away!
Below, we’ll move the artwork around to avoid interference with the stitching.

After a few simple adjustments to the art, we’ve balanced out the art to avoid the stitches.

Clearances:

To be safe, whenever you’re designing your banner, add 1″ to the size of the hem or pocket, and use that as your safety margin. (Grommets, or eyelets, will be placed in-line with the stitching.)
See the table below for examples:

Hem/Pocket Size Live-Area Clearances
1″ Hem 2″ Margin from the finished edge.
2″ Pocket 3″ Margin from the folded edge.
3″ Pocket 4″ Margin from the folded edge.

What Comes First? Width or Height?

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I had a conversation with a fellow sign-maker recently that turned into a battle of wits. It was fun. No harm, no foul. We were both trying to convince the other of whether width or height comes first in the world of 2D measurements.

Thus, the inspiration for this article.

Whether you’re into a building project and ordering windows, or designing the perfect tradeshow exhibit, providing accurate measurements is mandatory.

However, the one thing that plagues the world of measurements is orientation.

Let’s take an 8 foot by 4 foot banner. Which way is it oriented? Landscape or Portrait? Tall or wide? Is that measured east to west, or north to south? There are many approaches to resolving references to orientation. But what indicators are there that will set your perspective in stone? What is the standard?

What comes first?

The Graphics’ industry standard is width by height (width x height). Meaning that when you write your measurements, you write them from your point of view, beginning with the width.

That’s important. When you give us instructions to create an 8×4 foot banner, we’ll design a banner for you that is wide, not tall.

So, who says width by height is “The Standard”? I can break it out by layout programs such as Quark, Photoshop, Illustrator, or Indesign. They all use the width by height in order to determine orientation. But, let’s take it down to a more natural level. Which way do you read (assuming you read English literature)? Left to right, first, then down the length of the page.

Not proof enough? Leave a comment. Let’s hear your opinion.

Optimized File Transfers.

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Files can be transfered in many ways.

  • Email: Convenient, but limited when it comes to large file sizes.
  • FTP: Traditional large-file transfer method.
  • HTTP: Web based uploads are becoming the latest. Implementing forms and additional data fields, etc.

Regardless of your preference, you have to take care that your files get there in good time and in an orderly fashion.

Generally, you’ll want to collect, document, and compress.

  1. Collect. Gather all your files together, in one folder.
  2. Document. Take note of your filenames and document the filenames with their corresponding job specs.
  3. Compress. Streamline the whole process by compressing (zip, sit, gzip, etc) your files into one neat package. This protects your files, and makes the upload quicker.

If you follow these steps, you can be confident that your files will arrive in style.

Our file uploads are handled via HTTP. You can go there with your web browser (files.highresolutions.com).