How to use rules and borders

The catalog designer has several special effects at their disposal. There are laws we always follow, reversals, border line weights, reverses, fancy borders, inverts, cartouches, etc. What we need to determine is usually when and where (or whether) to utilize the technique. With a good eye for aesthetics, it is up to you if you are to use them at all, if you elect to the employment should be subtle, systematically and thoughtfully fulfilled.

How do Rules and Borders Effect your Design?

Borders and rules, to further explain, may help to tie in the elements of a busy spread. It can actually help to curb the art in collaboration. If a page spread has many of tokens to be depicted, light weight line rules or thin borders might render the visual unity needed. But, if the border chosen is hard and heavy, it may just compete with the focal point and further confuse the issue.

Cartouche Accent Treatment

Cartouche treatment is a way to detonate editorial text, or to keep away from using reversals of type out of photography. A cartouche is a bordered or ruled box that supplies a fresh, classy border for editorial copy content, usually with the photographic background dropped out. Too much reverse copy can be hard to read, and can create confusion and frustration on the part of the customer. Reverse copy can be dramatic if used sparingly, but it should not be overdone.

Fonts also carry emotional baggage with them

Special typography treatments can be attention-getting and can enhance a themed spread. Sometimes a hand-lettered or specific calligraphic headline can be just the ticket to punctuate the graphic format. Or perhaps wrap-around copy is selected to use with silhouette product depictions. There is an infinite variety of choices at our design disposal, but we should caution ourselves when making use of these graphic gymnastics. Are they really necessary? Do they add to the impact of the visuals without taking away from the merchandise offerings? Does their use accomplish continuity? Have we used them consistently or inconsistently?

Just as merchandise is measured by selection criteria for inclusion in a catalog, so should these special design techniques be considered? Analyze their use during the conceptualization stage. That way, if you plan to include them, they will have a role to play from the beginning, and your development plan will have a place for them.

 

Do I rely solely on my eyes while making concept decisions?
Models had better be practiced to help capturing the subscribers attention in the spread. If they are placed on the far outside margins of the reader's spread, they should be manoeuvring into the center of the booklet, at least with the position of their body and with their glimpse. When the models are heading out of the brochure instead of toward the gutter or even directly ahead, focus is guided off of the reader's spread. With brief boost, intended or not, the consumer is flying to flick to the next page, and the chance of a sale on the former pages was lost. More

Project Type: Business Card
Purpose: This very small organic skin care products company wants to freshen up their business card design with an eye toward adapting the layout for other print materials.(This profile, although based in part on an actual project, uses a fictitious name, logo, and other details.) Source or More

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When Your Graphic Designer Costs You Money…
 by: Granny's Mettle

So how do you know when your graphic designer costs you financially and emotionally?

When a file is not prepared correctly… When you go to press and have your media material produced in prints, and find out that the file was built incorrectly, then that's the time when your graphic designer will cost you money.

Many pre-press operators have complained about having to correct graphic designers work. To have a file prepared incorrectly can have drastic financial and emotional consequences to the owner. The time needed to rectify the problem can cause major delays and additional expense. This is due to the graphic designer's understanding that his job is done when he produces the design that you require.

It is therefore necessary for a graphic designer to understand the basic principle of what you see on screen may not be the same when it comes off the press. A designer should know how to correctly build a bleed; check that the panels fold correctly; and that color separation is well understood. The list goes on an on. If these issues are not properly addressed, the customer will most likely pay for additional costs because a print house or service provider will definitely charge extra for fixing the problem.

When no press check is done… Not only that the customer would be paying dearly, he or she will also suffer emotionally when no press check is done. The job would definitely come out less or even worse than what the owner is expecting. The customer will be left with the frustration of having no alternative but to accept additional job for the revision of the graphic designer's output. This is particularly stressful and definitely teeth-grinding when it is a last-minute job for a presentation or a trade show. The customer is left with nothing.

When your graphic designer make more than a few major mistakes… Especially with regards to a website, a designer must be able to understand that it is not just optimizing images or putting text on a page and uploading it to a remote site. The graphic designer must understand how search engine optimization and basic HTML work. If not, well, the website may just be something for the drawing boards. And that would be another expense for the customer because he or she has to go back and re-design another website.

So when times like these do occur, and your graphic designer cost you much money and emotional stress, it's time for you to hit the high road and look for another. There are a lot of people working as graphic designers for the web and print. Many of them are well trained and understand what it takes to create a great and working media material. You just have to discern and look a little further for the designer that will give you your money's worth.

About The Author
Granny's Mettle is a 30-something, professional web content writer. She has created various web content on a diverse range of topics, which includes digital printing topics, medical news, as well as legal issues. Her articles are composed of reviews, suggestions, tips and more for the printing and designing industry.
Her thoughts on writing: "Writing gives me pleasure… pleasure and excitement that you have created something to share with others. And with the wide world of the Internet, it gives me great satisfaction that my articles reach more people in the quickest time you could imagine
For comments and inquiries about the article visit http://www.graphicdesignsunlimited.com