Autistry Studios – ABC 7 Profiles of Excellence
As a follow up to our October blog about SLM’s partnership with Autistry Studios, I wanted to share this wonderful story that ABC7’s Profiles of Excellence did on Autistry. We are very honored to have the opportunity as a company to participate in this program.
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Have you been thinking about gifting art for the Holidays? You will get 25% OFF your holiday order on any 11″ X 14″ framed and matted print from today through November 15th.
SLM Creative Design in partnership with Autistry Studios
Click here to see a brief video about our work with Autistry Studios and our talented student, Owen!!
Did You Know about the Artistic Side of SLM?
When I started telling people that I was going to have my photographic work on display at an art show last month, I got a lot of surprised looks. Since I’ve been doing it for over 20 years, I didn’t realize how many people didn’t know that I have a side passion in artistic photography.
For my first show, I consider it a big success. My work was part of a larger show supporting the Wings Learning Center, a school for kids with autism in Redwood City.
There was a great response to my work, which is thrilling. So thrilling, that I’m willing to do it again.
The next show will be on November 17th at Henley Photography Studios in San Rafael. This show will also feature several wonderful artists, including 3 other photographers and at least one painter. Please save the date, and stay tuned for more details.
In the meantime, you can preview my work in person at Arts Desire Gallery (in Pacheco Plaza, Ignacio, near Paradise Foods). My best pieces are also posted at slmphotoart.com.
The Partnership that Makes Coming to Work Exciting
As an independent graphic designer, I feel fortunate to have developed a unique partnership with Autistry Studios, a local organization that helps teens and adults with Autism, Asperger’s and other learning challenges develop skills for independence. It’s a cause close to my heart that has also made for a surprising and inspiring business relationship.
Autistry was a creation of necessity. Janet Lawson, CEO and Executive Director of Autistry, was troubled by the lack of services and opportunity for her autistic son, as he became a teenager and adult. Janet and her husband, Dan Swearingen, responded by creating a community that could address the need for work choices, special services, and living situations for people like their son.
I already knew Janet from the board of Dedication to Special Education (which I’ve served on since 2003), and Janet asked for my input early in the process of forming Autistry. In addition to doing some early pro bono work, Janet asked me to take on a very special project: helping her very talented student, Owen, publish the children’s books he had written. (You can purchase Owen’s books here.)
As I re-opened my graphic design business a couple of years ago, Janet honored me by asking me to partner with Autistry and work with some of their students.
I agreed to work with Autistry because I have a passion for their mission. They make a real difference for the students they serve, and it makes coming to work very special.
Since basing my office in Autistry Studios, I still work with Owen as he writes and illustrates more books. I also benefit from the administrative help of one of her students, who learns job skills that can help him become successfully independent. Janet has made me her graphic design professional for promoting the organization, and we are currently working on a fundraising event on October 28th.
3 steps to success when working with your graphic designer
1. Work backwards to plan for success
The best way to guarantee the success of your design project is to look to the end with your designer before you start. Ask yourself… What do you want to accomplish? What is the most important goal to reach? Who is your audience? What are the final uses for the files you will produce? If you’re printing your design project, look to the printing process with your graphic designer. Who is going to print your project? Is there a specific size and type of press sheet (paper) that will allow for the look you want? Can you save money by making minor adjustments in your design to best suit the printing process? There are so many ways in which you can save time and money by practicing good planning before you even begin to design your piece. An experienced graphic designer will be able to work with you to look at your project and plan to best fit your needs and budget.
2. Complete a design brief with your designer
One of the most effective ways, in my opinion, to successfully work backwards is to create a design brief. In its simplest format, a design brief is a form you fill out with your designer. Ideally, the brief will discuss any special requirements that effect your project at the outset. The brief will make clear any logo and color requirements and any important information that must be included in your marketing materials. It will also help to confirm that you and your graphic designer are both “on the same page” in relation to your project and assist in managing expectations between you. If you to take the time to discuss all of the details on the brief form, you’ll leave feeling confident that both you and your designer are in sync and working towards the same goals.
3. Don’t be afraid to Talk about your budget
It’s of the utmost importance that your designer understands your budgetary needs at the beginning of your project. Not only do you need to discuss budget with your designer in regards to paying for graphic design services, but your designer needs to be certain that she is not designing a piece for you that you cannot afford to produce once it’s complete. Printing can be expensive, especially when not planned well. A good designer will understand ways to look at your project in the big picture and see if there are any ways to save you money. Is there a way to design your project to make your end production less expensive, but still give you the outcome you desire? Will your files work for all of the applications you’d like to use them for? It’s part of your designer’s job to look at these and other issues on your behalf. You can assist your designer to be a partner in your success by taking the time to discuss your budget up front.
Please feel free to contact us for more information! We’d welcome the opportunity to hear your questions and feedback.
White Space is Your Friend
There’s a hidden design element that gets opposite reactions from different clients. Every design has it, and it’s often the thing you just can’t put your finger on that makes you like one design over another.
It’s white space, those areas of a design that are unencumbered with text or images. And just like the humble zero revolutionized math, negative space (since it’s not always white) can transform your designs.
As an easy comparison, check out the front pages of Yahoo! and Google. They’re both massive search engines, and Google now does almost everything possible on the web, but consider the contrast between the designs. Google feels minimalistic and sleek, while Yahoo! is busy at best. Yes, Yahoo! offers more information, but the use of white space was a conscious design choice by both companies.
For many small businesses, more white space is beneficial. It does more than just balance the layout of your marketing and brand collateral. More white space can help you get noticed and get more business.
There are several ways that white space is your friend.
First, it makes your content more readable and scannable.
It also gives you the ability to highlight and emphasize your most important features and selling points.
Creative use of white space can help direct the eye in a certain direction or along a specific path. You can use it to make a graphic or picture more prominent.
Perhaps more importantly, the use of white space tends to position your brand in the marketplace. Advertising standards have conditioned us to view brands that use more white space as high-end luxury brands, while brands that have less white space are for the broader market. For example, compare the websites of Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom.
If you want to position your brand in the high-end, luxury market, then more white space can help customers accept that brand image.
Take a look at your current marketing collateral and see if you could use more white space.
One more post on Pinterest…
This from my friend Ann at A.Point.Marketing. Worth one more mention.
Are your files clean enough to print?
A conversation last week with a colleague reminded me of the value of providing clean graphic design files to a print house. Many business owners who hire a graphic designer may not realize it, but good printers are very particular about how graphics are submitted. And different printing processes and companies require different parameters.
It can get technical, but a clean file essentially has all of the parameters aligned with the specific printing process that you plan on using. Why should you care?
If the file isn’t properly prepared, that beautiful design you paid for might not look like what you expected when it gets printed. Or important images or text could be cropped because measurements weren’t precise. Or your text could reflow and you could lose part of your message. A good printer will catch problems before going to print, but they can charge you by the hour to fix it, or send the files back to your designer for changes.
Bottom line: Poorly prepared files can increase the cost of your project, and you could loose valuable turnaround time.
You might assume that this is something your designer automatically does. It would make sense for “Clean Files 101” to be part of every designer’s education—but it’s not. Many designers haven’t had the experience with all the ways printing can be done to make files consistently accurate. When I worked as the designer for a printing house, we would frequently receive great designs that weren’t ready for the press.
The next time you’re hiring a graphic designer for your marketing, consider asking them about their experience with printing, and if they can guarantee clean files. You’ll end up with a better product, and you might save some time and money.
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