Design Basics Index by Jim Krause has always given me food for thought regarding the fundamentals of effective publication design, including anything from posters to brochures. Since I’ve always considered it valuable to constantly practice the fundamentals of any craft, I get a lot of pleasure just dipping into this print book periodically, just to learn “one more thing.” (more…)

Have you ever seen a printed photograph of a sunset, perhaps in a wall calendar, and wondered just how the printer got the sun to appear so bright? (more…)

Throughout most of my 36-year career in graphic design, Apple Macintosh has been the gold standard for publication design. I have always been pleased with the software, from PageMaker to Quark to InDesign. But recent changes in pricing structure for Adobe applications such as Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign have potentially put these applications out of reach financially for a lot of people. They have gone from a one-time charge per application purchase (or for multiple applications in Creative Suite) to a subscription basis (per month/per year) of approximately $20 per month for one application or $50 per month for the entire design suite. (more…)

I’ve written a number of PIE Blog articles referencing Design Basics Index, an easy to use print book written for designers by Jim Krause. I find it a useful guide in my own creative work.

One topic that I noticed recently is how to emphasize various design elements on a page, or how to lead the reader’s eye through the design, clarifying which items are more important and which are less. Although this sounds controlling, it actually eases the reader’s anxiety, since he or she will know exactly what to read, in what order, to grasp the meaning of the piece, without needing to think. (more…)

Color choice is a major tool in design for any printed or virtual image. Colors elicit emotion and give subtle clues as to the meaning of an ad, print book cover, poster, or website. (more…)

Since the house fire, I’ve been scouring thrift stores to rebuild my business library. Today I found a great print book for $2.00, used: Design Basics Index by Jim Krause.

I’ve always been a firm believer in fundamentals, the building blocks of any discipline, and this book delivers in spades on this front. You can jump in and out of the print book and learn something new or remember something you’d forgotten each time you open the cover. (more…)

Here are some things to think about when designing commercial printing products in black and white and color:

Designing with Black and White Type on a Gray Screen

Picture two lines of type on a gray screen. Let’s say you’re designing a promotional flyer for an art museum. The first line of type is the name of the artist printed in a sans serif typeface. Let’s say you want to reverse it out of a 20 percent gray screen. The second line of type is the same size. Perhaps it is the title of the art exhibit. Let’s say you want to surprint it (print it in black) in a light serif face, for contrast, on the 20 percent gray screen. Above the name of the artist, you set some type in a much smaller type size (in black ink), and below the name, in white type (i.e., reverse type), you set a subtitle referring to the title of the art exhibit. (more…)

A colleague of mine designs books for the World Bank on a freelance basis. They are essentially text books, reports, and such, but they do require a good amount of design acumen to make the print books attractive and to make them look consistent within a series. (more…)

I read an article today called “Designing Your Email Around the Letter ‘F’” in the 5/16 MailerMailer Email Marketing Blog (a post written by Jean). (more…)