Design Up!
Design plays a key role in any successful printing project.
Some common sense and cost saving design tips:
- The logo represents the most visible expression of any organization's image, and is at the heart of any corporate identity program.
- Everyday documents should share a family resemblance: consistent placement of logo and masthead, with matching typefaces, colours, and formats.
- Documents should be designed with both electronic and print applications in mind.
- Documents designed in a logical and systematic manner improve information flow and reduce processing costs.
- Advanced security features and design discourage fraudulent abuse of vital corporate documents.
- Review your rivals' printed brochures and documents; this may inspire some new thinking about the design of your own printed material.
- Men and women absorb printed information differently, so design accordingly.
- Studies have shown that custom-printed product packaging will attract attention in a crowded retail environment. Adept marketers out-sell their competitors by using a superior combination of package colour, shape, visual icons and finally, printed text.
- Direct mail containing both graphics and white space is generally more enticing and likely to be read.
- Ongoing costs can be reduced when print documents are designed to standard sizes and ordered at the same time as other identically-sized documents.
- Though direct mail packages designed to standard envelope configurations have lower postal costs, the response rate for oversized pieces is actually higher, so consider costs and benefits carefully.
- Use screens and reverse type sparingly on manually faxed documents, to minimize transmission time and to avoid obscuring information.