Graphic Design and the real world

When in school studying graphic design, we learned all the standard graphic design programs, including; Photoshop, Illustrator, Quark, and some Corel Draw.  Please remember, it was about ten years ago when we were in school so we understand some of these programs have changed, and some are obsolete.  The point is, in two years you can only learn so much.  It would be safe to say that a college graphic design program is a brief introduction to these programs, and becoming a real designer. 

So why are we really saying all this?

We are not bashing on school we believe that schooling IS very important; however we feel it is also very important to find a job working for a company after school.  Many students are eager to begin working for themselves immediately following school, and from what we’ve learned, this would be a mistake.  If you get a job working for a company, you as a designer can continue to grow.  We learned more in the first 3 months of working, than we did in the 2 years of school. If you can, find a company that has a broad range of clients.  It will help you grow in more than one style of design.

Over the years the project diversity continued as did the growth of our skills.  We continued to work with some of the biggest and smallest clients in Toronto. Teaching us how to manage projects and cater to every client.  Every client is unique and has their own sets of demands and challenges for the graphic designer to navigate. You can imagine how different designing the Legend’s Hockey Hall of Fame book was from a toilet puck ad. 

These few reasons and more are why Dragon Creative is the best solution for your business.  We will provide you with the best service possible and guarantee your satisfaction with our work. Dragon Creative Graphic Design and Print would love to hear from you. Give us a call!

Dragon Creative Graphic Design we make your infographics

Dragon Creative was surprised last week when we learned that some people don’t know that graphic designers make infographics.   We are the people who take that three page word document and make it something easy and convenient for people to understand what you’re saying with just a glance.  Did you know that 40% of people respond to visual information better than plain text, additionally that 90% of information processed by the brain is visual.   So what does this all mean?

Let us do your infographics!

We have been designing for almost ten years now and know how to make your marketing material interesting. Here are a few questions you should ask yourself to help determine if you should be using infographics.

• How do you know if you should be using infographics?
• Do we have more than a few sentences of facts we want to convey?
• Are we trying to capture people’s attention quickly?
• Is your marketing information in need of an update?

These are just a few good examples of questions you should ask yourself, or at least bring up at the next meeting.

Dragon Creative would like talk about to some online communities that are providing free infographics services to the public.  We are elated that this type of marketing tool has become more recognized, to the point where Google is even offering it for free, but a free web application or service will never compare to a designers skill and craftsmanship.   It is sort of like saying I own a camera and now I can do wedding photography.  It’s not likely a bride is going to let you capture her big day with your brand new Sony SLR 8 megapixel.

Next time you are thinking of conveying a lot of information why not try Dragon Creative Graphic Design and print for your first infographic.   Below is an infographic we really like for you to enjoy.  tell us what you think!

What should your Graphic Designer be asking you

What should your Graphic Design Company be asking you before they start work on your project?  This week we are would like to cover some of the various questions you should be able to answer for the best possible outcome of your creative work.  

Well, truth is there are lots of questions to properly qualify exactly what you (the customer) are looking for from your creative.  One that seems extremely simple but often not asked is what the purpose of the project is.  Obviously we would drastically change the layout of an ad if it is for let’s say a direct mailing vs. a conference pamphlet.  

Another simple one would be the timeline you would like your project completed by.  Are there time restraints that you need your material for?  This way if there is a rush perhaps your designer can work on some of your material for you in a timelier manner or even bump you up in the lineup.

 

Other less obvious but very important questions would be things like, Have they asked for a creative brief, or a sample of similar work done in the past.  These types of things can really help your graphic designer know the direction you want the material to go based on past work.  Of course assuming that is what you’re looking for. 

Finally one major thing we believe at Dragon Creative is repeating or paraphrasing what our customers has just finished telling us.   We are not robots and neither are our customers but repeating back to them so that everyone has a clear and decisive idea of exactly what is expected goes a long way. 

These few things (and more) are exactly why Dragon Creative Graphic Design and Print is the only standard.  The Dragon Standard.  Give us a call today to make your marketing materials stand out from the rest!

Dragon Creative Graphic Design and Print-what you buy from us.

When you hire Dragon Creative Graphic Design and Print you’re getting a lot more than what you think you are.  In previous posts we have talked about the Dragon Standard.  Well, we got a call based on our blog from a customer who actually requested/mentioned the Dragon Standard.  You can imagine our delight!  Not only is our blog generating customers, but the Dragon Standard is the above bar service they know they will get.

 The Dragon Standard is far more than just a phrase or some attempt at SEO (Search Engine Optimization). It is our culture and a MAJOR part of our brand.  It is our believe and mission that every customer has to be more than just happy when doing business with us. 

We are committed to make every possible accommodation we can. We will get your work done in the most timely and efficient manner possible. We promise that your ideas will be listened to and valued.  We dedicate our time to making your brand the most important thing in our day when you hire us to help you.  We will never put out material that we would not want to represent us.  Because our customers are the most important people to us.

We feel our customer’s brands also represent us and we are always proud of our finished product.  We promise you will be too!  So now you know that when you hire Dragon Creative Graphic Design and Print you ARE getting a lot more than just a graphic design company, you are getting the Dragon Standard.

Graphic Designers and how to choose one, and some Dragon Creative specialities.

Finding the right Graphic Design company to create your marketing material can be somewhat challenging. There are many things you should consider. Many companies put price and quality at the top of their must have list, as they should, but they should also consider;

How fast they turnaround on your job, great service, the relationship between you and your designer.  (We call it the Dragon Standard).

As we mentioned in our last post there are a lot of companies who are “jacks of all trades” which may work in some cases, but you often get a better job done with someone who specializes in a certain type of product. Dragon creative specializes in print design. We have designed everything from large scale trade show booths to small 2x2 ads, Packaging to 100+ page magazine.

Graphic designers are artists. You wouldn’t want to ask a sculptor to create an acrylic painting.  Know your niche, remember!

Good Graphic Designers have distinct purposes. One is they can make your brand stand apart from the rest. Second, they help enhance the appearance of marking material like we mentioned above. And ultimately, they provide us with information – influencing how people think and feel about your product - sometimes subliminally.  We know how to do all of these things really well.  Just tell us what you want.

So now you know how to find a Graphic Designer to suit your needs, we hope it’s Dragon Creative.  But if we are not give us a call anyway we would love to hear from you.

Know Your Niche

In today’s competitive world it can be very tempting to want to cover all bases of your entire market.  When it comes to Graphic Design this temptation is no less.  It can easily be seen with a Google search how many companies trying to do it all.  We are not knocking the full service agencies, however we do believe in specialization.  All too often small business attempt to be jacks of all trades. Need a web site? “No problem we can do that.”. Need a new logo for your start up business? “No problem we can do that.”.  Need a new marketing campaign? “No problem we can do that.”.   So on and so on, you get the picture. 

Being a jack of all trades is not going to provide customers service they deserve.  The great thing about Dragon Creative is we KNOW what we are good at.  You will know what you’re going to get from us when you hiring us.  Yes I am going to say it, the Dragon Standard.  We are very proud to be specialists in rolling up our sleeves and getting dirty for you!  We know what areas we are strong in and will make sure that you’re always happy with our Graphic Design and print services.

We are excellent at your marketing brochures, direct mail pamphlets, conference booth design and posters, infographics, logo design, business card design, web banners, ads, and multiple page booklets (catalogues).

If you need any of the above Graphic Design or print services there is no reason to call anyone else!  We offer the Dragon Standard and are eager to hear from you.

Sincerely,

The Dragon family.

Top 7 Print tips

Most people who are not in the design/marketing business think printing is no big deal. We all have a printer at home right? How different can it be from that? Well, it’s quite different.  And here are some things you should consider.

The first step when getting your marketing materials printed is to talk to your printer. Tell them what you're hoping the final product to look like, let them know your budget, quantity and timeline. Often printers will have some ideas to help you, whether it's cost saving measures, different paper types, sizes, quality, coatings to name a few. They usually have a lot of great ideas. Once you've done this, let the fun part begin! Design it.

Once your material is designed there are a few things you should do before you send it to print. Here are some tips that may seem obvious, but very valid. 

1. Make sure you are not the only one looking it over. Get a 2nd (3rd or 4th) pair of eyes on it. Many people are blind to their own mistakes, and 9 times out of 10 that second person will find something wrong.
2. When you check it over make sure you zoom in. Sometimes objects/text gets shifted slightly. You're spending the money on printing, you want it to look perfect.
3. Print it out. For some reason it is easier to spot mistakes on paper rather than on screen. But know that your home printer colours will not exactly match the professional printers. If you think colour may be an issue, make sure you get a printer proof.
4. USE SPELL CHECK. You'd be surprised how many spelling/grammar mistakes go un-noticed
5. Read it aloud. This will also help with spelling/grammar, and how it flows
6. Most of all, don't rush it. That's when mistakes happen. You want to give yourself some extra time to find those errors. You also have to remember that your printer may need extra time for cutting, ink drying, etc.  They are also working with many customers, so your job will most likely be in a printer queue, or line up. Depending on how big of a project (and how much you're paying them) they may be able to bump you up a couple spots. Be your printers friend, and work with them like it’s a partnership, it will get you further, believe us!
7. Always remember if you approve it and there is a mistake, it is your fault.

Insert clever title here. This is about colours

When starting a project colour is a major influence in the design.  It conveys a lot more than the average consumer thinks about.  For example when designing a movie poster for an action or horror movie you would not likely use pastels or lighter colours, but deeper darker colours like red. Colours like font can create a feeling as we wrote about last time.  Here is a movie poster Dragon Creative did for a documentary about heath and diet.

So let’s talk about what some colours can make you feel unconsciously.  Warm colours are like orange, red and yellow are stimulating and positive.  Remember that big red SALE signs when you were at the mall?  That was no coincidence.  The retailer is trying to get your senses going and make you stimulated about their sale.  Red is a colour that has the quickest understanding of all colours.  This means that you can read and understand a red sign quicker than any other colour.

Blue is a favourite colour of men and represents security and trust that companies want you to see in them. Blue is used often with banks and companies where there is a high level of trust involved.  There are several Canadian banks that use blue as their primary colour

All the above being said some colours evoke more than one feeling.  For example Black (the absence of colour) can be sophisticated, elegant or mysterious, but it can also symbolize death.

If you use black combined with gold it can provide an exclusive, expensive feeling, but if you use black with orange or lime green than it creates a Halloween, or spoke feeling.

Can you think of an example where a colour has influenced you?

Dragon Creative works hard to know our colours and we will make sure to create an image and positioning logo or design right for your business. 

Give us a call!

Lets Talk About Fonts Baby..

So as promised we are going to talk about fonts in today’s blog.  After over 9 years of design work we have learned a thing or two about fonts and we are going to share some of those insights with you here today.

People can read simple type faced fonts faster than stylized type face. When trying to drive traffic to a web page this type of info can come in handy.  Fact people look at a web page on average for 3 seconds to see if it is what they are looking for.

Another thing that helps people read quicker is the spacing; a lot of people do not realize that a little extra space between letters can really help the reader.

However a fancy type face can really convey to your customers you’re positioning.  Fancy font should in our opinion be used sparingly not as body text.  Knowing this if two fonts of different feels are paired together the end result can be something very special.

Below is a good example of how to mix fonts.

In this example we see light and bold fonts, compact fonts, and wide, as well as one stylized font.  If we used the stylized font “Amazing” the body would be much more difficult to read.

When using these different fonts they help to draw the eye to different areas of text using this technique is great for points you wish to emphasize.

Where have you seen some examples of mixed fonts?

New Logo For You

This week on at Dragon Creative we did some design work for a local entrepreneur opening a chain of Greek restaurants. We got a lot of artistic freedom from our customer at the start of the process and we were very happy about that!

The gentleman informed us of a few things he would like on his logo and we were off!  Rachel started off with some great drawings that had tons of personally.  The cartoons really jumped out at you and made you want to go in and grab some delicious chicken. 

We wanted to find a font that really was bold and represented the logo well.  Sounds simple right?  Well it did take some time and it was more challenging than even we originally anticipated.  After searching through and screening we found the font that really complemented the logo well.

Now as stated earlier the customer gave us a lot of artistic freedom to create the logo for him.  This actually presented its own set of challenges.  We had to actually ask quite a few qualifying questions so that we did not design in the totally wrong direction with the new logo.  No big deal here at Dragon Creative we were happy to do it.  (It is after all the Dragon Standard).

So we have told you about two entirely different customers, one that was very hands on though the creative process and one that was very hands off. 

What one would you prefer?

Next week we are going to talk about different fonts and where they work well and why.  Below is the logo we created for the Greek restaurant.  

Tell us what you think!

  

Business card creativity

So we here at Dragon Creative have had an interesting week.  Hang on to your hats because we are going to talk about business cards again.

We received a call early January asking if Jon could meet up with a client to discuss designing a business card for him.  In the meeting the client had the usual things to say “my card has to be different” and “I really want it to stand out” were two of the phrases covered in the meeting. 

While this is not very hard for the creative end of our team to develop a new logo and/or feel for the customer there are some decisions that the customer will always end up making for the creative.  These are the true challenges to a designer. 

When the designers at Dragon Creative are given free range to develop, we are able to produce bar none the best product (design work) available.  We pride ourselves with this.  It is called “The Dragon Standard”.  However the customer is always right we believe that, and firmly and stand by it.  So when our customer is very hands on throughout the creative process the product can sometimes suffer.  So is the customer always right? 

Perhaps this is a conundrum that will not be solved here on this blog but it is defiantly an ongoing issue for any graphic design company.  The design team after some lengthy conversations was able to persuade the customer to go with the design that was cleaner and sharper rather than their own bar napkin sketches, and the day was saved.  The final product has been approved and the cards are going to print this week.  Another satisfied Dragon Creative customer

Business Card Anyone?

What do you think about business cards today? Well we have been designing and printing a lot of cards for businesses lately, and would love to hear what you think!  The business card trend has had its cycles just like everything else.  Right now at Dragon Creative we are finding that our customers really want their cards to stand out.  Our customers are requesting special papers, higher point ( thicker ) and are spending more money on having creative cards.  One trend we are also seeing is the use of velvet and raised ink cards.  The uses of these cards are increasing in popularity we believe because they help differentiate our customers from their competition.  In today’s competitive market people want to stand out from the crowd. Do you think a more extravagant business card is how to help do it?  We think so, and with the help of our creative team your we can make your card one of a kind no one will throw away.