For the Graphic Designer, prepress means the procedure to prepare digital graphic design files for printers and vendors. These steps of preparation can include proofreading, revisions, checking size, fonts and color, and output of the file in correct format. Prepress at a printer can include making separations, platemaking, creating blue lines and color proofs. The steps stay basically the same on each job and when you do them professionally for several years you may notice signs of how they affect your life. Below are the top ten signs you may be a prepress pro:

1. Double spacing after periods in body copy REALLY bothers you.

2. While driving home after a long day using Illustrator – you imagine creating bezier curves with your car on the highway.

3. You get called nicknames like Genius, Design Darlin’, Design Dumplin’, Graphics Guru or Speedy Spice (from way back – Spice Girls).

4. You really wish you could do a “Command Z” on some actions in life.

5. You are fatigued explaining “Bleed” has nothing to do with losing precious bodily fluids.

6. Continuous tone is not about the car alarm that went on for hours in the neighborhood last night.

7. You feel nausea when you see the font Comic Sans or any True Type font or encounter a Microsoft Word file or Illustrator file used as desktop publishing software.

8. Dummy means an example of design work. You have a lot of other words for stupid people and dingbat is not one of them either.

9. Acid free paper is not about being completely bummed at a Rave.

10.Eating a meal is a major distraction. When you do get out to a restaurant and look at the menu, you recognize the fonts, typos and double spaces after periods instead of the food. Besides, fonts are considered a food group.

What signs have you noticed?

One of Bailey Gardiner’s company values is creativity. We even have the word in our logo treatment. Clients rely on us to be creative, but sometimes our ideas don’t come as easily or are blocked. What do we do when our creativity seems to dry up? How do we fill our creative wells?

Although human beings are naturally creative, American culture does not nurture the creative process. We are born with the ability to learn, experiment and cope with life, yet by the time we are 10 to 12 years old – parents, peers, and certain education systems have had a negative impact on our creativity.

As it turns out, there is a process to being creative. For a work environment to be creative, it must allow for this process and empower employees to think, feel and contribute ideas. Here are some of the typical steps you’ll see people take to keep creativity flowing

Preparation – This is where we focus the mind on the project to explore the project’s scope and do research and development. Creative briefs and brainstorms at Bailey Gardiner are essential to get projects started.
Incubation – This is where we allow the unconscious mind to process the research and development. This can make those who are not involved in the process be nervous because it looks as though nothing is getting done. It also takes time, which is often in short supply in the marketing and advertising industry.
Insight – This is where ideas bubble up from the unconscious into conscious awareness. This is the “Ah Hah!” moment and can happen spontaneously while driving, taking a shower or even in a dream.
Verification – The idea is consciously acknowledged, developed and put into action.

On a personal level, filling the creative well is about self-care and inner and outer exploration. I need to take care of myself, eat right, get a decent amount of sleep and exercise. Inner exploration is drawing and painting, journaling, sewing, listening to music and mediation. Outer exploration is taking myself on an “Artist Date” which is all about answering the question, “If you were a child what would you want to do for fun?”

How do you keep your creativity flowing?

What the heck are raster and vector graphics and why are they different?

Computer graphics are produced in two ways. Raster graphics are created with pixels and are referred to as bitmap images. Raster files are best for photography and continuous tone images. When a raster graphic is scaled up on a computer screen the pixels can be seen as squares each with their own color and value (dark to light).  They cannot be scaled up in size without losing image quality. In a public relations campaign photographs may be sent out to print publications. It is best to know the magazines’ technical print information. An image will print blurry in the magazine if the photo is sent out with a dpi that is too low.

Vectors, on the other hand, are resolution independent. They are created with paths (points, lines, and bezier curves) which are based in mathematical equations. Use of vector graphics is much more flexible. They can be scaled up and down without losing their crispness. Line art (illustrations), type, and page layout programs all use the vector format. Logos are best when created in the vector format because the art will always be clean and not bitmapped. Vector graphics are used in both print and web design.

Have you ever gotten a call from your print rep saying there is something wrong with your output files? With deadline pressures and a budget to stick to, it can be a truly stomach-turning experience. Print publishing software such as InDesign has excellent pre-flight tools which help graphic designers to check/prep a document to print correctly. But sometimes there are problems pre-flight doesn’t catch.

For instance: a rogue color is left over in a linked Illustrator file when the project started out as PMS colors then was switched to CMYK mid-project. Pre-flight will tell you how many channels of color that are in the document but it won’t tell you where those colors are. That PMS color is probably underneath another layer and invisible. The graphic design document should only be four color, but you still see an extra PMS color listed in the colors used palette. That additional PMS color will mess with the print plate production.

If you can’t see the extra PMS color in a regular printout then try this neat trick I discovered:

Print out the project in question directly from InDesign with separations turned on. You will get black and white print outs of each channel or “plate” of color so 4 pages for the CMYK colors and additional pages for each PMS color. From the print out you can pinpoint the location of the rogue PMS color. You can then go back into your graphic design documents and eliminate that color. Simple solution for a major headache.

Press checks are an important part of any print advertising job. Press checks also require many steps to ensure that everything is printed exactly as it is supposed to look.

Before starting a graphic design project that will be printed by conventional or digital methods, establish a good relationship with your printer. Discuss the project, budget, expectations and deadlines. The printer will probably have some great input that will enhance the design and cut down on cost.
1. For the press check bring the final proofs, dummies, ink and paper swatches and any other paperwork to confirm paper and color specifications.
2. Check overall appearance of the press sheets.
3. Number the press sheets as you receive them to keep track of color changes.
4. Check the typography for shifts in copy flow, broken type, and type that may have defaulted.
5. Verify that the last proofreading edits are done.
6. Check color registration and/or color matches. Check color trapping and ink coverage.
7. Check photography and/or illustrations for placement, scaling and cropping.
8. Verify bleeds and the finishing elements; such as foilstamping, diecutting, embossing, drilling and perforations are properly indicated.
9. Mark any imperfections, hickeys or blemishes. (If you go into a press check and do this first, the pressmen know you are an amateur).
10. Finally, sign and date the approved press sheet and thank the pressmen (and presswomen) that worked on your project. It wouldn’t happen without them.

Doing a press check on a graphic design project is part of the service we provide. Using this checklist will help ensure your project turns out beautifully.

The Art Alive invitation package for The San Diego Museum of Art is printed and will drop in the mail this Thursday. The Museum and patrons loved last year’s award-winning design so much – they wanted to use the same concept. Since repeating a design is boring both for the designer and the viewers, our challenge was to improve on the idea. Last year, Kelly shot the brush parts as giant, macro pieces. This year we shot the brush parts close-up to get a different look and feel. This project was started with a sketch of a full page ad (see Image 1.) with three brushes. Once we had an idea of the three brush shapes to be produced, we then did photography of the paintbrush parts.

Here are some of the steps to producing the red brush. Images 2., 3., and 4. show the raw photographs of what were used for the paintbrush handle, brush tip and petals. In Photoshop, I made selections of the elements using paths to drop out the backgrounds. Image 5. shows the five pieces that make up the entire brush. Image 6. is the composite of all the parts with a little more work done on the handle to make it fuller through the center like a real paintbrush. All the elements are on separate layers in Photoshop and work together to create the paint stroke and the brush. This modular approach to the paintbrush production allows the art to be manipulated to fit the many different layouts (image 7.) required during the Art Alive show at The San Diego Museum of Art. What do you think of the results?

Every so often, we have projects where an envelope needs to be designed to match a letterhead or an invitation. Other parts of a design project can be free from rules and regulations, but the design space on an envelope is much more rigid. The Post Office is very particular about the layout of envelopes due to machines doing most of the processing and sorting these days. There are certain areas on an envelope that needs to be clear of background color, graphics and type. This can be a real challenge for a designer.

The envelope is the first piece that is seen and needs to compel a person to open it, yet space is so limited to convey a message other than a logo and return address. The San Diego Museum of Art Art Alive invitation envelope is a great example of keeping the branded look and feel of this years’ Art Alive, yet still meeting postal regulations. The pink area indicates the space that is off-limits for type and design.

For information and templates on envelopes, go to USPS.com. You can also find the Mailpiece Design Analyst contact information where you can send an envelope design to see if it meets mailing regulations. Do this before the job is printed and rejected by the post office. It will save you lots of time and money.

We are served advertising continuously in so many forms. But whether advertising gets our attention or not can depend on an undervalued element: white space. This is the areas between type and images in a magazine ad or web page, etc., that is blank.  And when it is used well, white space can automatically increase the design aesthetic.

White space provides a balance in the design, a place for the eyes to rest, and accentuates the product and messaging in the layout.

This VW campaign was launched in 1959 by ad agency Doyle Dane Bernbach and uses white space brilliantly. Some advertisers want to fill every square inch of purchased space with type and graphics because they have the inaccurate idea they are getting the most bang for their buck. Trying to wedge too much content into a layout can lead to advertising that gets little or no attention, basically a waste of ad dollars, since building brand awareness and moving people to buy products is the goal in advertising.

We’ve seen that it takes creativity and courage to say yes to white space but that it can pay off. Sometimes less is more.

Creative work has begun on The San Diego Museum of Art’s primary fundraiser Art Alive, which will be held April 29 through May 2. We are revamping last year’s ideas while staying within the tight, non-profit budget. Below are a few tips for producing something wonderful when financial resources are low.

Tips for a low-budget photo shoot

• Keep the ideas simple. Extravagant ideas are usually expensive ideas. To make it simple, go with a clear concept and minimal props.

• Plan ahead and be very organized. This will help you be efficient with your time, which can be costly to your client as well.

• Use the heck out of interns (they live for it and an intern with their own camera is a big advantage). Interns often have fresh ideas, are hungry for the experience and best of all, cost little to nothing to the client. With the direction of an art director or designer, they can be a huge asset to the photo shoot process.

• Go with wholesale purchases of props. For this shoot, we went to a wholesale florist to get all of our props. It will save you a bundle.

• Do the photo shoot outdoors. We chose to shoot in my front yard where we could use the plants and flowers already there as additional props.

• Take an abundance of photographs (more than you think you’ll need) so there are plenty of options at the end.

• Do most of the creative production in Photoshop. This is where you have the opportunity to make a low-budget photoshoot look like a multi-million dollar production.

Some of my co-workers were not even born when I first picked up an exacto knife and started doing pasteup on my Junior High year book in 8th grade. I have a boat load of traditional, old school, graphic design experience which comes in handy, even in this era of computer/internet everything.

Here, at Bailey Gardiner, a San Diego advertising agency, it seems we are focused primarily on everything internet, however, not all of the work we do is about cutting edge social media and advertising on the web. There are creative projects we produce for clients that are more traditional in nature. The technology to produce them has changed, but it still takes time and experience. One of these projects is the Membership Magazine for The San Diego Museum of Art. Here’s the process I used for designing the magazine:

The magazine is 22 pages plus a 4 to 8 page Program Guide insert. The content is written, edited and provided by the Museum. I take the copy and images and design each page. I have a certain amount of graphic content and room to arrange it on each page. This part of the process is like working on a very large jigsaw puzzle and takes about 30 hours to complete. I also make design suggestions for the background colors of each issue. As I am creating the design, I set up the magazine mechanicals to be printer ready. This includes:

• Working within short- and long-term deadlines
• Building mechanicals in InDesign to correct size with bleeds
• Formatting the type to follow the design format
• Eliminating True Type fonts
• Sizing, cropping, color correcting and retouching photographs
• Formatting all content from RGB to CMYK
• Deleting all extraneous colors
• Proofreading. (The magazine mechanicals go back to the Museum for at least 4 rounds of proofreading by over 20 people)
• Making revisions which sometimes includes redesigning pages
• Making print outs and actual dummies of the magazine to check design consistency
• And, finally, after a sign-off from the client, I output the job by doing final proofreading checks, pre-flight checks, gathering files and delivering to the printer

The entire production process takes about 10 weeks from start of writing to the mail house delivering the final pieces to the 12,000 members of The San Diego Museum of Art.

I use a computer instead of an exacto knife these days and it still takes skill and dedication to produce a traditional graphic design print project.