Kern Type checks your skills on letter spacing. Might look simple but you may be surprised where some letters actually sit in line with each other. They leave the hardest letters to kern until the end – the last word even caught us out, and we do typesetting almost every day.

Shape Type provides you with a number of letters whose curves have been set incorrectly, and it’s your role to move the curves into their right position. Easy if you know the fonts the letters come from – a bit of a guessing game if you don’t.

Color is the only timed challenge, and it can get stressful when you’re looking for the colour match, you know you’re close but you’re watching the clock too much! It’s good training for your eyes, but it’s a bit quick if you’re trying to learn what really makes up a tetrad other than just four colours (it was so quick I can’t even tell you what the last colour combination in the test was, and I consider myself a colour nut).

And these aren’t just being developed as games to pass the time – they’re actually being implemented into a training course for programmers to learn and understand design. Try them for yourself (designer or not!) and see how you score!

A logo is meant to be a consistent image, like a stamp. No element of your logo should change from document to document. It should also be the same on your business cards, website, flyers, vehicles, and signage.

A logo can be made up of text, an icon, or both. An icon is normally a symbol representing the business that can be still understandable whether in colour or black and white.

Logos do not include photos or large graphic elements. These are supporting items that can be used with your logo, but not in place of. Photos are often limited in their size and colour, making it difficult to use them successfully in a logo. They also can’t be enlarged the same way a normal logo is, so a photo will lose quality much faster than a text-and-symbol logo.

The text in your logo should also always remain in the same place, size and font in relation to any icons/symbols used. Treat your logo as one complete object, not a collection of separate elements, which will help present your business confidently each time someone sees your logo.

Logos often use a small palette of colours – 2, 3 or 4 colours are often popular. They create a colour scheme that is used across all of your business branding: brochures, website, business cards, signage and more.

If you’re concerned that your current logo isn’t really set up like a logo should be, give us a call and we’ll catch up for a coffee to have a look.

What’s the difference between a Facebook page, group and profile?

Pages were originally set up to connect with bands and celebrities who wanted a public profile to share information on. This then turned into a tool to promote businesses, brands, events, products and more. Pages allow all visitors to view information on the page, and all of the updates you put into the page go into each fan’s news feed. A page is also not connected to any particular person, unlike a profile. People can “like” a page and they are instantly connected. Pages come up under a person’s “Likes” on their profile page.

Groups were set up to share information between a group of people – good for people collaborating on a project, organising an event together, etc. These are often private, or if they are public you need to request to be added. Any member of a group can add updates, and these are published to all members of the group. Groups are not listed publicly on any member profiles.

Profiles are set up for individuals to share news with their friends and family. People have to request to be added, same as groups. Profiles show up in a person’s friend list, and show a first name and surname; it’s not set up for business names.

So, why are Facebook pages best for businesses?

• Anyone can follow your updates without needing to confirm them.
• Your business updates on the page show up in your fans’ news feeds.
• People can search for your Facebook page on both Facebook and search engines.
• Pages are public, making it easier for yourself and fans to promote content on the page.
• You can add customised pages and applications to add extra content to your page.
• Your individual profile can be disconnected from the page, ensuring your privacy.
• Fans will have your page linked on their profile, helping promote your business.

If you’ve read this and are feeling a bit stuck with the Facebook presence of your business, comment or call us and we’ll help you out.

“Please send me the artwork in Word
so I can make some changes to it.

By normal practice, artwork is not created in Word – with the one exception of letterhead templates for clients to use. If you have changes that need to be made to the artwork, it’s usually best to print out the artwork and write in the changes and then discuss them.

“Let’s do the changes now – your computer is already on,
and I get to watch how you work.

As above, we find it’s better to write down the changes (away from the computer), discuss them and then hop onto the computer to complete the changes. If you start by getting on the computer and making changes ad-hoc, it often takes much longer because decisions haven’t been made and have to be thought about as you go – and in the end, this can cost a fortune for something that should only incur a minor fee.

“Please design it in black & white
because it’s cheaper to print.

You might get to save a few dollars, but colour printing is priced quite competitively these days. Colour not only improves the visual appeal of a document or publication, but can also help communicate ideas across without the use of words. Never underestimate the power of colour!

“My printer/signwriter has asked for a

• PDF
• EPS, or
• AI file…

HELP?

Don’t stress – if you’re ever asked for an artwork file you don’t know, give us a call or send us an email and we’ll help. What might be causing you hours of stress we might be able to fix in a matter of minutes.

“I’ve got an idea!
Can you make it?

Of course! We love when clients have started to think about what they’d like to achieve. This doesn’t mean having a design all planned out, it just may be a thought of something you want to promote, a heading, pictures you want to use, and so on – and that’s okay. Not all projects are started entirely from scratch and it’s exciting when a client is as motivated about design as we are!

“What is Malvolio?

This is probably the most asked question we hear. It is a rather unique name, and we’re lucky that it’s got a story behind it. The name has a personal connection to our childhood, but many know Malvolio as the character from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. However, closer to home, Malvolio was also the 1891 Melbourne Cup winning racehorse in Caulfield.

“My niece/family friend/a student I know
said they can do it for free.

While it is a kind gesture that you know someone who can do something for you for free, you need to think about whether it will be a good business decision. Being “free” can mean that the proper research isn’t completed, the project may not be completed in an adequate timeframe (it may only be done in the person’s free time), which can lead to the outcome not being professional (or in some cases, not completed at all).

“I found this picture on Google
that I want you to use.

All the images you find on Google search are owned by the website that comes up in the search – so sadly, you’re not allowed to use them just because you found it. If it’s a picture you’re very fond of, you may be able to ask the website owner for permission to use it, but it’s always best to purchase images through stock photo libraries or have your own photos taken. The other issue with photos found online is that they are usually too small to use in print.

“Can’t you just Photoshop it?

Photoshop is a program, not a verb! It never ceases to amaze us how people talk about Photoshop as if it were akin to eating, running and drawing.

“My computer is broken.
Can you fix it?

While us designers use computers every day, we’re not computer engineers. We can help you with your website not working correctly, or editing your email options, but not if your computer hardware has stopped working (eg. your screen or your hard drive). In those cases it’s best to talk to your local computer shop for help – or we can refer you to a computer specialist who can make it work again!

From www.informationdesign.net.au

There were a few non-surprising answers, such as 75% of students use a Mac (while the other 25% are fussing about with their PCs), Facebook is the most-used social media outlet, changing uni course content to be more industry-related and that Andy Warhol made it to the top 5 of inspirations for the students (to the outsider, that may make no sense as he’s an artist, but his thinking and achievements seem to inspire students – it was the same when I was at uni, some things don’t change).

But there were some answers that made us stop and ask, “what?”. Firstly, there were no Australian designers in the top 5 inspirational people. We have some amazing designers and artists in Australia, although they aren’t famously known which may explain the lack of local inspiration.

We found it amusing that “living in the wrong town” counts as a factor that will impact on the students’ ability to design, however are concerned that students feel it is difficult to be original and that “most ideas are taken or done already”. Please guys and girls, have some optimism! Original work comes out of more than just putting your thinking cap on.

We’re also surprised that students believe they won’t be designing business cards, books, annual reports or forms in 25 years time. This makes us feel old already – forms are a big part of our business and I can’t see them going anywhere soon (and we’re a relatively young studio!). They may transform into exclusively electronic forms, but we won’t be without forms for as long as services and government departments require our information to function.

It’s also interesting to note that students don’t see economics as a driving force behind design. We can understand that, as it wasn’t taught at uni, however out in the industry it’s as obvious as a smack in the face – we need a healthy economy to have a healthy design industry, and it completely affects how clients use design services. Depending on how the economy is going, businesses decide to change how they present themselves, their information and how they advertise to move with the times. While environment, technology and society form how we consider and produce our design outcomes, it is the economy that drives what design outcomes are completed.

“
According to Design Victoria, the design sector contributes $7 billion to Victoria’s economy, and businesses that use design are more likely to show profit growth, as well as higher rates of profit growth.

- Five Years On: Victoria’s Design Sector 2003-2008

We are happy to hear that the students do believe that design will improve the economy, and that design will one day become a part of our general society – everyone can live and breathe design, it doesn’t need to be elite or unknown, and we look forward to the upcoming designers to help make that a reality in Australia.

Here are the colours chosen from previous years; the “Colour of the Year” began back in 2000.

Can you see any trends, or remember these colours being particularly popular in their chosen year?

I don’t pay too much attention to search engine websites – after all, they need to be simple. But I never tire of Google changing their logo to pay homage to something special from time to time.

Today’s Google logo stood out to me, enough to write an entry: origami.

This logo is a celebration of Akira Yoshizawa, referred to as the “grand master of origami”. He didn’t just fold paper planes and party hats, but all sorts of intricate creatures and objects; almost sculptural. Paper is an amazing material to work with, and not necessarily the easiest – but he really showed you can do beautiful dimensional artwork starting with a flat sheet.

Google change their logo quite often for various celebrations. Which has been your favourite Google logo?