March 21st, 2008
by Wm Brimer
in
Uncategorized |
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Everyone has their individual idea of a great vacation. One person may want to veg out and read a book, while another prefers to enter a triathlon, just to push their limits. Weather it is relaxation or acomplishment you look for in a vacation, the ultimate goal is satisfaction.
That is exactly what we found this summer, satisfaction as a family. As with many families today, we live apart from those we love in separate areas of these united states. That changed for a brief week, this past summer. During the dog days of summer we all set our sites on a brief retreat, in beautiful Destin, Florida. After a few days, all had arrived and settled in for a little R&R as well as family chatter. That’s when we all get caught-up with what is exciting, new, old and is going on in the lives of one another. At the end of the chatter was a challenge. My brother-in-law, an avid hunter, had seen an ad for the Browning company. “Show your Buckmark” So, he asked if I could come up with a way to impress Browning. After some thought as to the medium we had to work with (sand), I decided size is what was needed. And that is where family came in.
From New York, South Carolina and Georgia, we all pitched in for over four back breaking, sun baking, sand shaping hours of fun in the sun. At the end of the day, we had a sand sculpture over 25 feet long, 12 feet wide and almost 3 feet deep. Now that’s what I call a vacation.
January 28th, 2008
by Wm Brimer
in
Video upload, pitfall, questions, video |
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If a picture is worth a thousand words… a one minute video can deliver an encyclopedia of information to your prospective clients via the web. We are going to cover some Pre-Design topics and three main pitfalls to producing a video for delivery on the web?
Who Gets the Information?
Consider how much information you truly want to broadcast to everyone before you start developing your video. If you decide you need to limit the information to only people that have paid for it you can set up a password system. If there are specifics that you want to enphisis yet details you need to keep close to the vest, usually you can discuss that with the art director and achieve your goal through the shots you choose and the editing process.
Decide Before You Design
This is a subheading that appears in most every article. The reason is that if you do not have a clear understanding of your ultimate goal for the project, no matter what medium it involves, you will not be able to achieve a satisfactory result. So, start by asking yourself a series of questions.
Ask Questions
Who is my target market. What about my product or service would appeal to them. Is there a call to action. Read the rest of this entry »
January 10th, 2008
by Wm Brimer
in
Design, Training |
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Slides
The business standard for many years. The upside is slides are relatively inexpensive to produce by almost anyone in your organization using off the shelf software. However if your slides are just text or non-descriptive photos with clip art, it may take five to ten minutes to explain a key point or process. If the person presenting the material is not a polished speaker he may quickly lose the audience. So, what would be an alternative?
Training with Video - DVD
A simple 15 second video clip can relay a complex concept without losing your audience. The clip can be presented on VHS or DVD. Because DVD’s are menu driven they are a more efficient delivery of video than standard VHS. And with the drop in price of a basic DVD player to $40 the market is quickly catching up with VHS players. As of March 2003 there was an estimated 58 million units sold and the rate of units sold per month was estimated at 3 million.
Online Training
A rapidly growing segment of training is now being done using the internet as a pipeline for delivery. Why? Cost. After development cost, there is virtually no difference in the cost of training 5,000 people as opposed to training five. Additionally, the people you are training can be in almost any part of the world. This form of training also allows for feedback and interaction. Another way to use the internet for training is to post for download PDF files (Adobe Acrobats - Portable Document File - format) with built in indexing and search capabilities for text books and research materials. This makes research convenient so your employee or student does not have to continue going online to find answers. Also they can print out any single portion of text or illustrations needed. As with most technology there a few pitfall and precautions that you should be careful to avoid, such as making sure you set permissions and passwords on documents you post online.
Visual Aids
If the service, product or training you need to do is more visual than technical, this too can be accomplished via DVD, CD or online. A good format for online delivery of illustrations and how-to-information is Flash. Most all browsers now come with this plug-in pre installed. The stats from Adobe, the owners of the Flash player, say it is on 96% of all computers. One caveat to using Flash is to make sure the version you publish in, is the version everyone has or you will need to provide a link to Adobes website. Not only is it visual, it also allows sound, so adding voice over can strengthen your presentation. All of this at a relatively low bit rate for downloading.
Bottom Line
With the new avenues for delivering compelling sales, training and marketing materials it makes sense to take your company to the next level.
January 10th, 2008
by Wm Brimer
in
Design, Gang Printing, Printing |
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Should I use a “Gang Printer”?
We would first like to state that there is a place in the market for all levels of print quality and delivery. This article is going to focus primarily on “Gang Printers”. So, what is a gang printer and what should be considered in balancing the cost of such a printer?
What is a “Gang Printer”?
A “Gang Printer” is a printer that has a large printing press that handles a large sheet size of paper, possibly 22″ x 26″ or larger. The printer will take on print projects from as many as 20 different customers, all with the same print project - such as post card. Then once he has enough to fill the print sheet he will run 1,000 sheets or more of paper with all 20 customers on the same sheet. This makes economical since, however it doesn’t leave the press operator with much leeway to make corrections in color density to any one of the post cards.Decide Before You DesignWhether you are the marketing director or the designer, a few basic decisions need to be made before ANY concepts or designs are put to paper.
Consider Your Time
First is, how long of a lead time do you have. This is critical due to the fact that “gang printers” wait until they have enough projects to put on press to make it profitable. Thus their lead times are usually longer. So if you are not pressed for time you can consider saving money.
Consider Your Content
Second, is color a critical criteria on this particular project. There are a few inherent pitfall that should be considered in the concept and design process that will either improve or reduce the quality of the finish piece if you choose to use a gang printer. If possible do not use models or show people in the deice, as skin tones are more difficult to reproduce accurately if the press mans hands are tied. Very small tones and hues in skin color can make a big difference in the final quality of the printing.
Consider Your Layout
An additional pitfall you should be aware of is where you place large areas of solid colors on the final design. This can lead to a ghosting of a color across an area that should have no ink on it at all.
There are additional factors you should keep in mind before considering using a “gang printer”. Gang printing can make good economical sense if you approach it with all the facts. If not you could get burned.
BeOriginal is an Atlanta, GA Design Company. We've been doing graphic design and multimedia for over 25 years.
