The April 2012 Tutorial Discussion

[Gare]

Well done, except you need to run a spell check, Tabian.

"Saturday".

Actually, everyone should consider always running a spell check on work to be published. I make misteaks all the time, and a second opinion on grammar never hurts, either.

My Best,

Gary

[Tabian]

I really will have to get a new pair of glasses or learn to touch type. Thanks Gary for pointing it out...

[Tabian]

Sorry I couldn’t leave it like that just had to change it....
“Sine riters wont mor pay”

[Gare]

Much betttur, Tabian.

Now, quick question: if your client won't pay for a second color, do you think a percentage of black would do the same trick?

I'm curious and there's no right or wrong answer.

-g-

[Tabian]

I personally would prefer to see two colours.
I would make the sign out of fluted PVC the kind of board that I use for estate agents and at say 2’ x 1’6” I would charge £25.00 and for the extra cost in materials to me I would throw the extra colour in free of charge (it adds to your reputation). A job like that would take me about half hour from start to finish, so making £50.00 an hour is OK by me. If the client wanted to see a proof first the price would go up considerably because then you start to get into the grounds of consultation (not good for small jobs)

[Gare]

Ah!

There we go!

Bravo! You're thinking "production" in addition to "design", which was the point of my tutorial.

Good one, Tabian, well done.

Now, here in the US, we'd not consider a 2C print, because we'd be talking "scale" and perhaps 20 signs for our suburban neighborhood, tops.

-g-

[Tabian]

Now then if there is going to be 20 signs I would do them as a full colour digital print so there would be no difference in the cost even if there was ten colours and at that quantity the price per copy would indeed be considerably less.

[Gare]

...and these digital prints are weather-resistant?

Often, I'll see a sale posted that will be held in a fortnight, and the water-based inks become illegible a week before the sale.

I'm not fighting with you, understand, Tabian.

My workflow for the tutorial presumed output would be one color laserjet, and that also gave me the chance to clue people in that Acrobat has a tiling feature.

I'm not sure how I'd teach how to design a 4/C sign, but teaching design work appears to be on my agenda in the near-future. Members are asking for core design tips, which is good because 1.) I've been an art director for almost 40 years, and 2.) the new digital science of computer drawing doesn't have the rich backlog of lessons and books that traditional drawing does.

So we start somewhere. And this month, it's the humble Yard Sale sign.

My Best,

Gary

[stygg2003]

Sorry I couldn’t leave it like that just had to change it....
“Sine riters wont mor pay”

Great poster Tabian, like the red for more effect, so much so, I had to add some in my poster

Stygg

[Gare]

Color is very, very important.

It's the way we see the world, at least the fortunate ones.

But again, we need to keep a discussion alive on design, and those once in a while occasions when something isn't posted on the web and needs to be printed with impact...and sometimes on a budget.

Don't be casual with color. You have a two color ad going there. Do you know what you could hypothetically do with two colors?

You could print a duotone poster. Here's a full color poster and a version using only two colors:



I did this with a specialized piece of software, using only a green and a red plate, so imagine how effective 2 colors could be in a printed advertisement, not just sport color for the 2nd color.

______________________________

None of this is the Big Idea, however. What I'm trying to teach is good design, and I'd like to tie one of your hands behind your back and see if you can generate something that generates commerce while not using color.

Hmmm?

-g-