Readying your design files to send to a print vendor is one of the last and most important steps of the design process. How prepare your files and what you send to the vendor can mean the difference between a smooth printing process and a printing disaster.

Since every print vendor is a little different, their standards may vary, creating confusion and frustration for you. Remember this though: Printers are our friends! Designers need to develop a good relationship with their print vendors. That’s how we get them to help us out of a pickle, fix something that was our fault, and generally anything above and beyond the normal. In order to make this happen, the designer needs to do everything in their power to be sure that the files are ready for printing. Here are a few generic guidelines to help you along the way:

1. Read The Vendor’s Instructions
   Most print vendors will send you some of their guidelines in a document. If they haven’t sent you one, request it. Read through the entire document and make sure your files meet the guidelines.
2. Make A Mockup
   By creating a mockup, or folding dummy as they are sometimes called, you eliminate any guesswork on the vendor’s part as to what the design is supposed to look like when it’s finished. This doesn’t have to be a perfect mockup, and it doesn’t even have to be to scale (of course, if you’ve shrunk the piece down be sure to write on the mockup the percentage it has been reduced.), as long as it demonstrates the basics of the piece.
3. Use High Res Images
   Using the package file menu, make sure all of your images are at least 260 DPI, or preferably 300 DPI. Try not to stretch any of them beyond their original size.
4. Fix Your Color Space
   Make sure that all of your swatches are either spot colors, CMYK, or in some circumstances, RGB. Just make sure you follow the printer’s guidelines for color space and adjust your document accordingly.
5. Organize Your Layers
   Put any die lines and FPO (for placement only) objects on one layer. Label this clearly so the vendor knows this will be a non-printing layer. Do the same with any subsequent layers to avoid confusion.
6. Outline Display Typefaces
   Some display typefaces don’t translate very well onto other platforms, so it can be helpful, if you’ve used an obscure display typeface, to outline all instances of that font to protect your design from font substitution.
7. Adjust Your Bleeds
   Even out all of your bleeds and margins to match the print vendor’s specifications. Usually .125” bleed or margin area is enough, but your print vendor will specify if they have their own requirements.
8. Make A PDF
   It can be helpful to include a high resolution PDF of the piece to send to the vendor, just so they have a record of how the design looked when they received it.
9. Check Your Packaged Files
   Of course all InDesign files must be packaged before they go to the vendor, but it can be helpful to check through the fonts and links folders to make sure that everything is in the folders before you send the files off to your vendor.

In the flurry to create, we can easily get carried away with our Photoshop files … extra layers, unlabeled objects, effects on top of effects, and copies, copies, copies. All of this can add up to create another person’s nightmare when they open it. Frequently, more than one set of hands touches a Photoshop file before it goes to it’s final destination, and a crazy, disorganized mess can make the process more frustrating than it needs to be. Follow our seven easy tips to organize and label your Photoshop files and you’ll save time, frustration and irritation for everyone on your team.

1. Labels!
   Label every folder, every layer, and every object in a logical way. Try to delete the “copy” extension, and instead number duplicate layers.
2. Organize Your Layers
   Keep your layers and groups in an order that is easy to follow and understand. For instance, organize layers in order from the top of the document to the bottom, or from left to right. Group logical sections such as sidebars, headers and footers.
3. Watch The Blending Modes
   Especially if your document will be programmed at the end, be very careful when using transparency and blending modes. Some of these don’t easily translate into code, and are much more easily flattened than giving your programmer a headache.
4. Delete What You Don’t Need
   When working fast and making lots of changes, there are bound to be extra layers and groups that you don’t necessarily want to throw away, and some that you don’t need at all anymore. Figure out what you do and don’t want to hang on to for further use, and delete what you don’t need. As for the parts that you really don’t want to throw away, simply make a copy of the file for your personal use and delete them from the main file.
5. Keep Your Document Trim
   Nothing is worse than opening a Photoshop file and waiting a decade for it to open. Be aware of how large your file is getting, and if it starts to get too big, make some decisions. Whether it’s splitting your file into more than one piece, or lowering the resolution of some bloated layers, there are always ways to trim the fat.
6. Don’t Forget About Your Guides!
   Guides can get messy. Make sure that before you’re done working on your document you delete all the guides that are no longer relevant to your grid. There’s nothing more annoying than opening a document that’s more guides than it is design.
7. Rollover States And Interactive
   It can be very helpful to highlight your rollover states and interactive graphics so other people are alerted. For example, highlight all groups that have rollover states in yellow, and everyone will know what to do when they see that color.

All of these little things can add up to a tidy, standardized Photoshop document, and much happier production artists, designers, and programmers. Follow this, and everyone will sigh with relief when they see your name on a project. Got any more great Photoshop tips you want to share? Let us know your tricks in the comments below!

It’s no secret that there are tons of design awards and contests out there, in fact your inbox probably receives regular invites to enter these contests. Ever done it? You should! Not only will entering contests get your work out there for other creative professionals to see and be impressed by, but winning one of these things can be a great boost to your resume and portfolio. I mean, come on — who doesn’t want to add “award winning” to their work and results pages? Below we’ve provided links to some great design contests for you to ponder:

HOW Design :: Promotion & Marketing Design Competition & Awards
HOW’s longest running design competition, winning this award gets your work in HOW’s October issue 2013 issue, best in show gets a trip to the 2014 HOW Design Live Conference.
Deadline: March 25, 2013
Entry Fees: Between $70-$95 depending on entry

HOW Design :: InHowse Design Awards & Competition
In this HOW’s corporate design competition, and can win you a two page spread in HOW’s January 2014 issue, your work in their online gallery, a press release to the design community and a trip to the 2014 HOW Design Live Conference.
Deadline: Early Bird Deadline must be in by May 1, 2013
Entry Fees: Between $100-$125 depending on entry

Logo Lounge
This competition is to get your best logo designs in the eighth edition of Logolounge, a highly rated book and database of great logos for inspiration.
Deadline: April 5, 2013
Entry Fee: $100 plus a membership to Logolounge’s website

Print Magazine :: Regional Design Annual
Print Magazine’s premier design competition, this one can get you a feature in the December 2013 issue of Print magazine, and a place on Print’s website.
Deadline: Extended to April 1, 2013
Entry Fee: Between $25-$110 depending on entry

Print Magazine :: Portfolio Review
This contest not only gives you a place to pit your portfolio against hundreds of others, but you’ll get the opportunity to meet some of the best designers in the industry, including Mirko Ilić, Natasha Jen, Debbie Millman, Scott Stowell or Jessica Walsh. Winners receive a trip to San Francisco, a free pass to the 2013 HOW Design Live Conference, a one-on-one meeting with the judges, and a profile in the June 2013 issue of Print Magazine

Communication Arts
This award has so many categories it’ll make your head spin! And you’ll be sure to find something within your body of work to enter here. Winners receive a beautiful trophy to display, made of solid aluminum. Collect them all!
Deadline: Deadlines vary depending on category
Entry Fee: None, unless you’re late. That’s $10

Designboom
This company, like Communication Arts, puts on many design competitions. Winning can get your work displayed at showroom openings in Europe.
Deadline: Deadlines vary depending on contest
Entry fee: Most are free!

Creativity International
Again, Creativity International hosts many many competitions in many categories. You’re sure to find one that fits your best work here.
Deadline: April 11, 2013
Entry Fee: Between $95-$125 depending on entry

So here you have it: No excuse! Get entering today, and we’ll you at the competitions. Do you have a favorite design competition you like to enter? Did you have an interesting experience with one of these things? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

In the design industry, it’s highly likely that you will work with or for a copywriter in some way, shape or form. Whether it’s working directly with a copywriter to create the perfect piece of visual communication, interpreting copy that was written previously from a client, or having a writer edit existing copy, the relationship between designer and copywriter is essential to the success of a design. We’ve asked one of Jennergy’s most trusted copywriters to share her insights on what “She” looks for in a designer. Read on for our interview with Elizabeth, a high level, agency copywriter/owner who hires many designers on multiple projects:

Jennergy: What initial qualities do you look for in a designer? Is there anything in particular that turns you on/off to a person or company?

Elizabeth: When interviewing new designers, we look at their portfolio, of course.  But we also want an in-person meeting — personality and work style are almost as important as the kind of work a designer has done. We want artists who stay on top of trends and are willing to work with our concepts and copy to give them an extra punch. Ideally, the relationship is very collaborative – and we benefit from designers who can push us as well.

Jennergy: Does a designer’s past experience outweigh the work they have in their portfolio? Do you overlook a lack of experience?

Elizabeth: We’ve been willing to work with new designers or those that haven’t had experience in our industries. Portfolios are only a slice of the consideration we give when bringing in new members to our team. A solid eye, good instincts and a willingness to work long and odd hours are the edge in our business.

Jennergy: In an art direction situation, would you rather the designer lead or you?

Elizabeth: Because we have a deep understanding of the people or issues we’re working with, we often come up with the concept.  But there are times when our ideas don’t work, or we’re just out of good ones. That’s when we look to our designers to help us break through, try a new style or suggest an element that can get us on track.

Jennergy: How do you handle it when your designer makes a choice that you disagree with, and they push back with an explanation or defense of their decision?

Elizabeth: This definitely happens and our response depends on the amount of time we have to spend on a project.  In our busy season, when we’re churning through mail and producing dozens of a pieces in a few short weeks, we often overrule a designer for the sake of expediency.  If we have the luxury of more time, I like to hear a designer out.  They have the training and experience to make choices that I might not initially see the value of.  I also need to understand their decision in order to defend it to the client.

Jennergy: When working with a designer, in which order would you put the following elements? Elements being: quality, timeliness, project management and creativity
.

Elizabeth: My ranking of these changes with the time of year and our workload, but generally we value creativity above all else.  Timeliness is often next, then quality and project management.

Jennergy: What are some of the worst traits you find in a designer?

Elizabeth: One of my pet peeve is getting a color change when I ask for another stab at a design. When I ask for something new, I want a fresh approach — not just a change of font.

Jennergy: Is there anything you would like to share with the designers out there who are reading this article?

Elizabeth: As much as I manage designers, I would love them to help manage and provide feedback to our team. Let’s face it, there are ways we can all work better together and a designer should never be afraid to offer suggestions to their clients about what they need or styles they’ve seen be effective with others.

So here you have it: From the horse’s mouth, the honest truth from an agency copywriter to a designer. The more we can learn about the people we collaborate with, the easier it is to work with them, and a good work environment breeds great work. We hope this candid interview helps you as much as it did us! What do you look for in a writer? How does your relationship with your copywriter(s) relate to what Elizabeth has said? We’d love to hear your opinions! Thank you!

We’ve been busy bees at Jennergy. Here was a recent logo that we designed for a local Bainbridge Island company.

“The Jennergy team did an amazing job converting a loose collection of thoughts and ideas into a great and professional looking logo for our company. Driven by very creative energy and by using a fresh perspective at our company’s industry we received a wealth of very attractive design options during the initial project phase. We are very happy with the end result and can highly recommend this business to others for their graphic design needs.” 

- Rene Hackl, Managing Director

Everyone in the world is exposed to the same marketing. The same advertising. The same commercials. There are — really — no new ideas. Most just take different shapes of what we’ve already witnessed. In the creative world, we’re always pulling ideas from other people’s great work — it’s only natural to borrow ideas that resonate with you and can improve your projects. Most of the time, you would never notice, but every once in awhile, it’s obvious that someone was a little too inspired by your work.

This happened to us a few weeks back when it was brought to our attention by MER. We designed MER’s website about five years ago. MER recently notified us one of their competitor’s sites all of a sudden became eerily similar to theirs. They asked us to check it out, and, sure enough, the website was a direct marriage of the MER site we created and another website we created for another client. We were then faced with the difficult decision of what to do. Do we pursue it legally? Ignore it? Bash the people who created the design? We did a little research, and we thought we’d share what we found with you.

Where Is The Line?

The difference between plagiarism and inspiration can be tricky, however, the law is pretty straightforward. Technically, you can copyright the expression of an idea, but not the idea itself. What does this mean? Well, basically it means that unless the actual code or images are directly copied, it’s not plagiarism. So, if someone sees an idea they like on the web and re-creates it from scratch without grabbing anything from the actual site, it’s technically alright by the letter of the law.

What Can You Do?

Since the design wasn’t directly taken from our servers, while this other web designer (who we will not mention) was clearly heavily inspired by our work, we really cannot do much about it. Unless the client, who owns the copyright to our design, wants to pursue a long shot, there’s no legal action to be taken. Really all that we can do in this situation is bring it to light and help others learn from our experiences. After all, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery …

Conclusion

This situation is a difficult moral dilemma for sure. One that most of us will be faced with at one time or another, whether we like it or not. It’s a reality we must be prepared to face in the creative industry, especially on the web, and we must deal with it gracefully and tactfully. It’s easy to slam a competitor because we’re upset that they borrowed our ideas, but it’s always better to take the high road. As was previously stated, the most productive way of dealing with issues like this is to learn from it — and tell others what we learned. So, here it is, another learning experience from Jennergy.

Links

Here are links to the three sites in question. Feel free to take a look and tell us what you think. MER and Transpac Marinas are ours, the third is from our inspired competition:

http://www.merequipment.com/
http://www.transpacmarinas.com/
http://www.hattonmarine.com/

A New Year has begun and of course that means New Year Resolutions! Check out Jennergy’s top seven resolutions for 2013. They might even give you some ideas for your own resolutions, just in case you were searching for some business/office goals for the new year.

1. Less Blog Posts
   This year we thought we’d trim the fat a little and reduce our blog posting to twice a month. You’ll still get your fill of Jennergy’s thoughts and ideas only it will be every other week starting in 2013. We’re hoping it will help us to add relevance, post more consistently and at the same time still give you something to look forward to.
2. We’re Getting Organized!
   Last year was crazy, and crazy means things can get a little out of hand organizationally, so here at Jennergy we’re working on cleaning out our hard drives, our servers, and most importantly our desks! There’s nothing like a beautifully clean desktop to light your creative fire.
3. New, Bigger Business
   We are going to kick it into high gear on client acquisition, and we’re gunning for the big ones. Our priorities are to get more clients than we’ve ever had before, and attract bigger clients to our business. Know of anyone who can use our services in graphic design, website design and development, or videography? We would love to know how we can help. Please don’t hesitate to give us a call to see what we can do for them. We work with a variety of firms and individuals, and enjoy meeting all potential prospects.
4. Stay Healthy
   This year we vow to evade illness! By hitting the gym, playing sports (namely soccer!), enjoying our hobbies (some here enjoy fishing, others hunting, others jewelry making) and taking our vitamins, the Jennergy crew is planning on a healthier and happier 2013.
5. Equipment Evaluation
   With every new year comes new technology — and new technology must replace the old. This year we’re upgrading our Quickbooks, getting new cameras, installing new servers, and evaluating our entire arsenal of creative and business management tools.
6. Maintenance, Maintenance, Maintenance!
   In the last few weeks our office has undergone a makeover. We’ve patched the dings, slapped a fresh coat of paint on the walls, and cleaned like demons. There’s nothing like a fresh, clean office to inspire the creative mind. Appearance is everything. And that includes the environment that surrounds your creativity.
7. Prioritizing Our Work
   We’ve got lots of projects in the works, and our last resolution in 2013 is to prioritize our projects better than ever — starting now!

What are your resolutions for 2013? How do you plan on making them happen? Share your thoughts with us!

We love sharing new work. In fact, we don’t seem to do it often enough. We are always busy working on something, often many things, and we don’t take the time to share with our fans some of the most recent projects we have designed. Today we are taking five minutes to share a new website we just released for Poulsbo Dental Care.

We have worked with Dr. Dan Peck for years, and Jennergy created his original branding, marketing collateral and website when he first opened his practice. But, as time has slipped by, it became apparent it was time to update his website to keep up with today’s trends. Luckily, Dr. Peck appreciates savvy technology, and asked Jennergy to help him freshen up his website.

Websites are the most challenging — they are 24/7 marketing tool for every business. Often a website is in production several months (and sometimes up to a year) before it is ever seen by the public. By the time it’s released, it’s usually several months old. The web is constantly changing, growing, and allowing designers and developers to use different techniques to keep websites looking fresh. Today’s technology is extremely hard to keep up with — as soon as you release a website, it’s shortly outdated, often within months. That being said, websites are usually a critical marketing piece that needs immediate attention.

At Jennergy, we work with our clients very closely and try to push them to keep up with the new features and options on the web. Dr. Peck is one client who always strives to keep things current, and his new website reflects just that.

You can visit his new website at: www.poulsbodentalcare.com.

Enjoy!

Wow, where has 2012 gone? It’s almost 2013, and with a new year come new trends in design and visual aesthetics. Today we’ve gathered some interesting predictions on what will be hot in the coming year.

Responsive Web Design

With the development of mobile web, smart phones and tablets are increasingly becoming the tool of choice for internet surfing. With all of these formats, traditional web design dictates that separate coding would be needed for every different screen size and device. That means lots of extra time for web developers and designers, and much less flexibility. With responsive web design, a single set of code can adapt to any environment, cutting down on time and cost, and allowing the designers and developers to focus on more important things like user-interface and visual layout.

Here are some responsive web design examples, to see the screen difference just resize your browser:

Maryland Craft Beer Festival
Clean Air Challenge

Minimalist Design

In 2012, many large corporations such as Microsoft and ebay re-vamped their logos to be much simpler and cleaner than before. In 2013, we expect many other companies to follow suit with these clean and simple logo designs. Also, a trend in geometric digital illustration has been on the rise, and is gaining popularity over its analog cousin. Simple and striking illustration styles are expected to become popular in the new year and usher in a new appreciation for Bauhaus-like minimalist design.

Here are some Jennergy minimalist logo design examples:

Kyle Kincaid :: Certified Public Accountant
Cocker Fennessy
Lund Consulting

Print Publications Going Digital

With more and more people opting to read materials from an e-reader or tablet, it only makes sense that they would rather purchase their magazines in the same digital format. Digital magazines and catalogs are expected to skyrocket in popularity as the prices of tablets come down and more people purchase them. Interactive ads and animated photographs and illustrations add interest and attraction to e-publications for both the consumer and the magazine companies and adds an extra layer of interest to this new format.

Pantone’s Color Predictions

In the new year, muted and rich colors such as brick red, desaturated fuschia and deep purple are at the forefront of the new color palettes, in heavy contrast to the bright neons that were popular in 2012.

Here are some Pantone color examples:
http://www.homerenovationguide.com/articles/1590-pantone-s-2013-colour-trends

Single Page Website Layouts

Increased implementation of HTML5 is making it more easy to create single-page website designs with very little processing power and very consistent results. We expect to see this trend become very popular in 2013, along with full page animated background images that load in no time. Sites such as format.com, a website-building and hosting application, plan on releasing some of these options to their customers at the start of 2013.

Big Buttons

Since touch-screen devices are becoming more and more popular, so are big and easy-to-tap buttons that save frustration and make identification much easier. Before, the use of oversize buttons was less desirable, and only used for aesthetic purposes, but in 2013 will become more of a necessity than an option.

Luxury Printing

Since everyday materials are going the way of digital, printing is expected to take a turn for the higher-end market, with experimental printing processes and high quality papers and inks. Swanky, avant-garde designs are expected to rule the printed magazine world, with an emphasis on tactile qualities. While printing may not be popular for the average magazine or newspaper, the people who really appreciate printed materials (ahem, us), are in for a real treat.

While there are hundreds, perhaps thousands of inventions that aided in the development of visual communication, the invention of movable type and the printing press was one of the most significant. It led to the invention of many other machines and devices that allow us to mass-produce literature and advertising, many of which are in use today — and made printed materials available to the masses.

The term “movable type” refers to the process of creating individual characters out of metal, clay or wood and arranging them into words to make up pages and layouts. This is then printed on a press and can be re-used many times over and disassembled and reassembled into different pages as desired. It is thought that the originator of movable type was a Chinese alchemist by the name of  Pi Sheng in the Ch’ing-li period (1041-1048), but is commonly attributed to Johannes Gutenberg, who developed movable type in the West much later (1449), an invention that changed printing in the Western world forever.

When Pi Sheng invented movable type it wasn’t thought of as such a great invention, but rather used as an alternative to block printing, a printing process where every character on every page had to be painstakingly carved and could only be used to print one book or story. Perhaps the reason movable type wasn’t such a hot idea in the minds of Chinese printers was the fact that their alphabet has thousands of characters, some of which are very rarely used and had to be carved on-demand. In fact, in 1313 a Chinese magistrate commissioned a craftsman to carve more than 60,000 characters on movable wooden type for a book he was making.

To the contrary, when Johannes Gutenberg, a German goldsmith, introduced movable type to the West in the form of individual characters carved from wood or cast in metal was a hit. Because the Roman style alphabet is made up of only 26 characters it saved scribes from having to essentially rewrite an entire book every time a copy was to be made, and the process of reproducing books was significantly shortened.

The first book ever printed by Gutenberg was — you guessed it — The Bible. The Gutenberg Bible is touted as the most important book in history, not because of what is written in it, but because it represents a revolution in bookmaking, the reproduction of printed materials, and the beginning of a new era for literacy. Because books could be reproduced in a matter of days rather than painstakingly rewritten over the course of years by a scribe, the price dropped significantly, allowing the masses access to literature of all kinds.

Inventions such as this are so important to the history of design because they made things like typewriters and computer keyboards possible. They’re the reason that typography has the rich history and influence in design that it does. Without movable type, there wouldn’t be newspapers, books, signs, and any number of printed materials with words. Without Pi Sheng, Gutenberg, and all of the other people who probably contributed to the invention of movable type, the world of advertising and design might not exist as we know it.