Clayton Krueger

Our Brain Interoperates Images & Text Differently

Not only are images processed faster (way faster as a point of fact) but they trigger emotions ▪ Emotions drive behaviors (including purchasing behaviors)

When used together well, images help us decipher text faster

What We’ll Cover

Digital Brand Elements

Design Software

Designing

Exporting

Consistency is Important with Logos, Colors & Fonts

Colors – Be mindful of the psychology of colors and the affect they have on influencing behaviors ▪ There’s a reason McDonalds uses red and yellow in their logo

▪ http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/233843

Fonts – Don’t underestimate the power of font selection ▪ I had to be taught about fonts to realize how important they are

▪ Serifs vs. Sans Serifs for titling and copy

Serif fonts are great for copy, the feet (serifs) on the letters help our brain process text fast where

the brain doesn’t need to translate them quickly

Decide what those are and create a Style Guide ▪ The Style Guide should outline when you use what font and colors

▪ http://www.ninkasibrewing.com/documents/01-Ninkasi-Brand-Guidlines.pdf

Be Specific and stick to it

Paid Software Microsoft Publisher

▪ Capable and low cost but also slightly limited

▪ Good enough for most projects and easy to learn for novices

▪ Comes with Microsoft Office, so most of you probably already have it on your computer

Adobe Creative Suite ▪ Adobe Illustrator is the professional industry standard that is most comparable to

Publisher

▪ Very capable, virtually no limitations

I almost exclusively use Illustrator when designing

▪ Can be pricey and need to learn the navigation

YouTube is your best friend

▪ Photoshop and InDesign are other programs in the Creative Suite

▪ Each serve a unique purpose

Photoshop is better at working with individual images

InDesign is great for designing publications such as menus

FREE Software

There are online tools you can use for FREE that mirror the features of some of the software above ▪ Editor by PIXLR is an example of an online Photoshop

▪ http://apps.pixlr.com/editor/

▪ Canva is another one that has lots of different poster

templates already pre-designed where you just plug and

play your own text

▪ https://www.canva.com/

The trick is getting them to match your brand

Quality Design starts with Quality images

I was told early in my career, “Sh@t in = Sh@t out.” In other words, don’t start with crap (i.e. pixilated imagery)

Invest in a good camera and some lighting ▪ Perhaps you can get a photography intern from a local university

▪ Perhaps you have an amateur photographer working for you already that you can utilize

You can never have too many quality images of your products, environments, business, etc. ▪ You never know when they’ll come in handy and it’s nice to have

them as opposed to having to get them

Raster vs. Vector

Art Size/Dimensions (Pixels/Inches)

What are you designing for?

▪ Web, Poster, Email, All of the above?

Choose the right size first

11” x 17” is a great poster size and you can get cheap frames in this size

▪ It also works great for email & social media

4” x 4” is great for a Facebook timeline or Instagram pic

For Social Media see included Info Graphic for Sizing

Import your main image

Crop it to fit the size of the artboard

Select Text Areas and Add Copy Create Text Box Select a Heading Font (Sans Serif) and a Copy Font (Serif)

▪ Font point should be larger for headings and subheadings to grab attention

Font Color choice is really important when typing on top of images ▪ Make sure the color is contrasting to the image in the background but also

complimentary ▪ Keep your brand colors front and center

Remember the “Reverse Pyramid” Technique ▪ Grab them with the important information first (i.e. FREE PIZZA)

▪ Then cascade from there to the details ▪ Avoid too much text, leave plenty of whitespace!

Tweak it until you are happy with it ▪ Remember that most design software do not have a spell check. Consider

copying and pasting your text from an Office based program to check for any spelling or grammatical errors. ▪ Have a trustworthy proof reader

Effects

Try to avoid too many affects.

Subtle is best ▪ Drop Shadows on images or text can create depth

▪ Outlines on all of your text can be really distracting

Avoid clip-art when possible ▪ When you use it, use it sparingly

▪ Try creating the image you need by tracing it in Adobe

Advertisements, Posters, Online Content require

different formats

Be sure to look at the export requirements before designing to determine and other requirements

PNG is best for when you need an image to have a

transparent background

JPG is good for anything Office based

PDF is sufficient for all other design purposes

EPS or AI might be required for some ads