Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.

I recently noticed a retail location that was struggling with merchandising their brand. They transitioned away from professional graphics and started self-designing. The brand appeared very different than what had been done previously and presented a much less exciting visual sizzle. A trained professional design includes many elements such as balance, texture, shape, line, type, and color. Be aware of what you want your brand to represent and be conscious of the perception your designs communicate. Whether it is graphic design or photography there’s a difference between amateur and professional execution and the results achieved.

– Rachel

You most likely have a favorite color (or even several), but have you ever thought about what it is that makes you like that color SO much?

In the world of marketing, color is one of the most important ingredients there is. The colors you choose for your logo, website, etc. are vital to expressing your brand story because colors play a HUGE role in human cognition – larger than most people even realize!

Colors can influence decisions, evoke emotions, and be associated with certain experiences.

Many of them also have universal correspondences. For example, yellows are commonly associated with happiness. Green is often attached to luck, prosperity, and abundance. Red is used for strength, passion, and power.

You have your neutrals – blacks, whites, tans – that draw focus. Your warm colors like orange and pink that promote confidence and playfulness. Cool colors like blue and purple that can elicit feelings of harmony and sophistication.

Colors have the ability to subconsciously and psychologically influence a potential consumer’s decision to engage with your brand or move onto the next. Therefore, they’re not just a preference, but a stimulus that creates instinctual reactions. How cool is that?!

The combination of colors that represent your business deserve serious consideration! How do you want to be perceived? What feelings do you want to instill in your target audience? If your business was a person, what characteristics would they have?

Let us conduct a color study of your brand and take it to the next level!

814-944-5678

– Angel

As a fine artist & designer at DiAndrea Media, my eye is very sensitive to seeing textures whether in a pattern repetition or in an uneven surface.  Texture can be associated with the way things look or feel.  Softness, shininess, or even jagged textures offer up interpretation for the viewer in design.  I have come to understand the importance of texture in my own artwork and graphic design.  Texture can add an element of curiosity, intensity, and interest.  It can also add smoothness, gracefulness, and serenity.

Everything has some type of texture either physical or implied.   

– Rachel

Choosing the right paper…it may seem like a small detail, but it makes a huge impact!

We recently updated our DiAndrea Media logo…that’s also means creating a new business card.  As designers, we strive to be unique and different. I found an incredible paper stock like no other!  It felt, looked and oozed creativity!

I had a friend tell me how he could get his business cards printed for $4.99.  I have no problem sticking to a budget, but his printing was poor, the paper was flimsy, and the design didn’t at all represent the quality services his business represents.  Budget is always a concern and should be managed properly, but with some minimal dollars, a different stock would increase the wow factor.

 – Rachel 

Why do some people feel they have the right to utilize photos or images downloaded from the internet – even images with copyright marks?  I see this often when businesses unprofessionally attempt to make internal marketing materials. It makes me cringe.  Artists make their living being creative, just a song composer makes money selling recorded songs.

As an illustrator, I include a very bold statement protecting my artwork.  Copyright is a form of intellectual property applicable to many types of creative work.   Quality Designers and Agencies value the creative rights of designers. In fact, we have seen posters, rugs, and many other amateur company marketing materials using copyrighted images illegally.  Yes! It is illegal to do this. Respect the rights of other and understand the rights of all creative.

– Rachel

Design isn’t just a quick and easy process.

The definition of design is as follows:

1. to work out the structure or form of (something), as by making a sketch, outline, pattern, or plans
2. to plan and make (something) artistically or skillfully
3. to form or conceive in the mind; invent
4. to intend, as for a specific purpose; plan

Creating a great design takes time to mindfully uncover skillful concepts that’ll communicate a message, form or plan.  It isn’t a five-minute process. It’s a thinking exercise combined with an intentional format – most often digitally. A professional designer’s minds always stay in motion and fluid to the creative process.

– Rachel

Consider the Sources

Eyes see photography very differently.  We receive photos files often taken with cell phones or iPads that clients want to use in their graphics.  Resolution is very important. Low Res files do not look good on printed material.  They may be good for cell phone browsing and social media, but print graphics require a minimum of 300dpi to be considered for printability.  Consider the sources of your photography, resolution, and subject matter.  Using a good camera is key in any corporate photos.

– Rachel