Monday 31 January 2011
Friday 28 January 2011
Thursday 27 January 2011
27-1-11 Late Lunch
Wednesday 26 January 2011
Type Matters: Bigger isn't always better
We all know how important it is to get your message across, but there are means and ways to achieve that in the best way possible.
It can be tempting to opt for the 'big' approach and assume that by using block capitals that your message will be more noticeable.
If you have a piece of well written text, why shout it, so it results in an illegible cacophony? A barrage of block capitals is difficult to read and jars on the eye. Dense panels of body text benefit from being set in upper and lower case and your readers will feel more comfortable.
It can be tempting to opt for the 'big' approach and assume that by using block capitals that your message will be more noticeable.
If you have a piece of well written text, why shout it, so it results in an illegible cacophony? A barrage of block capitals is difficult to read and jars on the eye. Dense panels of body text benefit from being set in upper and lower case and your readers will feel more comfortable.
Tuesday 25 January 2011
25-1-11 Late Breakfast
Monday 24 January 2011
24-1-11 Bacon Sandwich
As it's Farmhouse Breakfast Week, lets start the day with a bacon sandwich (other breakfast are available)
Friday 21 January 2011
21-1-11 It's Friday again...
This one is actually a vegan chocolate cake with red currants and blueberries - it was delicious, feel free to virtually tuck in!
Thursday 20 January 2011
Wednesday 19 January 2011
Type Matters: Tidy punctuation please
Avoid having odd little floating commas.
Tuesday 18 January 2011
Monday 17 January 2011
Saturday 15 January 2011
10 Things to Consider for your Brochure
There's a lot to think about when creating your company brochure.
So we at childsdesign thought that we'd give you a few pointers to help you along the way...
1. LOOK AT EVERYONE ELSE
What's everyone else in your market place producing? What makes one better than another?
Study other brochures (in and out of your marketplace).
Look at what stands out to you and question that it's the right message that's standing out - is it the information that you need to make you use their services or products.
2. SIMPLE MESSAGE
Keep your message simple. Any image that you use to illustrate your message should be questioned -
does it enforce your message?
does it confuse your message?
Just because you understand the relevance of an image, doesn't
mean that your audience will.
3. MORE OR LESS
Or less is more. Decide what information is necessary and ensure that there is a story and flow of importance when laying out the pages.
The clearer you are about your message, the better your brochure
will be.
4. AUDIENCE AND TONE
Who are you trying to reach and how do you want to come across to them?
Think about your tone of voice in an copy you produce.
Choose the right fonts and keep your message clear.
Don't use more than 2-3 font styles.
Use size and weight as part of the design to highlight, seperate and enforce information.
Avoid underlining at all costs.
5. PANELS, BOXES AND BORDERS
Use sparingly. Anything ornate will distract. Anything too big and bold will distract. Importance is the important thing - use these elements to create flow and to enforce only what needs to be enforced.
6. WHITE SPACE
Space helps your information to breathe.
By using space you can draw the reader to something important, move their eye from one point to another and move them around the page stopping at information that you want them to see.
White space affects the overall tone of your layout -
heavy, light, balanced.
7. COLOUR
Can be applied as ink as well as using the colour of the paper itself. Some of the best brochures have been produced in one or two colours.
Just remember that you're designing an eye catching, information selling brochure - you are not making a coat for Joseph!
8. BIG AND BOLD
Consider how to treat each element of your design. The most important elements should be easily read, but should they really always be bigger and bolder or is there another way to make them stand out?
9. STOCK (or paper)
Paper comes in all colours and textures. Using a recycled paper can say something about your company's environmental policies,
on the other hand recycled paper can increase your costs because it is generally more expensive than regular paper.
10. READ IT!
Proofread your brochure more than one or twice, and then get someone else to read it too. Don't rush this, spend some time and remember - "Once it's printed, it’s too late".
Always double check contact details - especially telephone numbers and email addresses.
If you're selling and including prices, always, always check these -
a £500 item is a cheap bargain at £50 and hugely over priced
at £5000!
This is only the start, there really is a whole lot more to producing brochures than this. Hopefully there have been a few things here that will give you food for thought when you produce your next one.
So we at childsdesign thought that we'd give you a few pointers to help you along the way...
1. LOOK AT EVERYONE ELSE
What's everyone else in your market place producing? What makes one better than another?
Study other brochures (in and out of your marketplace).
Look at what stands out to you and question that it's the right message that's standing out - is it the information that you need to make you use their services or products.
2. SIMPLE MESSAGE
Keep your message simple. Any image that you use to illustrate your message should be questioned -
does it enforce your message?
does it confuse your message?
Just because you understand the relevance of an image, doesn't
mean that your audience will.
3. MORE OR LESS
Or less is more. Decide what information is necessary and ensure that there is a story and flow of importance when laying out the pages.
The clearer you are about your message, the better your brochure
will be.
4. AUDIENCE AND TONE
Who are you trying to reach and how do you want to come across to them?
Think about your tone of voice in an copy you produce.
Choose the right fonts and keep your message clear.
Don't use more than 2-3 font styles.
Use size and weight as part of the design to highlight, seperate and enforce information.
Avoid underlining at all costs.
5. PANELS, BOXES AND BORDERS
Use sparingly. Anything ornate will distract. Anything too big and bold will distract. Importance is the important thing - use these elements to create flow and to enforce only what needs to be enforced.
6. WHITE SPACE
Space helps your information to breathe.
By using space you can draw the reader to something important, move their eye from one point to another and move them around the page stopping at information that you want them to see.
White space affects the overall tone of your layout -
heavy, light, balanced.
7. COLOUR
Can be applied as ink as well as using the colour of the paper itself. Some of the best brochures have been produced in one or two colours.
Just remember that you're designing an eye catching, information selling brochure - you are not making a coat for Joseph!
8. BIG AND BOLD
Consider how to treat each element of your design. The most important elements should be easily read, but should they really always be bigger and bolder or is there another way to make them stand out?
9. STOCK (or paper)
Paper comes in all colours and textures. Using a recycled paper can say something about your company's environmental policies,
on the other hand recycled paper can increase your costs because it is generally more expensive than regular paper.
10. READ IT!
Proofread your brochure more than one or twice, and then get someone else to read it too. Don't rush this, spend some time and remember - "Once it's printed, it’s too late".
Always double check contact details - especially telephone numbers and email addresses.
If you're selling and including prices, always, always check these -
a £500 item is a cheap bargain at £50 and hugely over priced
at £5000!
This is only the start, there really is a whole lot more to producing brochures than this. Hopefully there have been a few things here that will give you food for thought when you produce your next one.
Friday 14 January 2011
14-1-11 Have your cake and eat it
We thought we'd finish the week with a nice slice of cake to see you into the weekend
Thursday 13 January 2011
Wednesday 12 January 2011
Tuesday 11 January 2011
Monday 10 January 2011
10-1-11 Books
Are paper books as we know them today becoming something of an age past? Will the electronic device take over and those wonderfully tactile items with their unique smell be lost to time?
Saturday 8 January 2011
An image a day
Starting from Monday we'll be adding an image a day from childsdesign.
The image will be of something we've worked on, be it design, photography, retouching or just an image of something during the day.
Random images at random times. Lets see how the mood takes us.
The image will be of something we've worked on, be it design, photography, retouching or just an image of something during the day.
Random images at random times. Lets see how the mood takes us.
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