Vector Art | Corporate Identity | Advanced Animation

Vectors in Corporate Design

The concept of commercial art varies with each person you ask. The general consensus however, is that commercial art is art for the sake of selling a product. William Morris, a school of arts and crafts founder, was but one of those who believed in and practiced the art of beautifying common things. Why run a newspaper ad featuring nothing but words? How about putting flowers on that tissue box? Wouldn't it be great if everything from magazines and brochures to food packages and road signs looked terrific while offering information? This thinking, a reflection of the world's growing desire to consume, formed the base of the movement known as commercial art.

Typical applications of commercial art are numerous, some include: print ads, website designs, product packaging, book illustrations, billboard layouts, TV storyboards, commercial signs, dust jackets, CD and DVD case and disk art, magazine covers, newspaper display ads, logos, catalogs, posters, bottles, cans, boxes, shopping bags, electronic displays, bus, cab and airplane ads, flyers, brochures, booklets, pamphlets, business letterhead, tickets, programs, marketing and sales presentation materials.

Reasons to go into commercial art include excitement, the love of creative challenges, you adore working with other artsy types and you exhibit great stamina during crises. Stay away from commercial art if you are prone to ulcers, can't cope with quick project turnarounds and compromise isn't in your vocabulary. Commercial artists work closely with sales and marketing teams in a corporate environment. As a rule, ad agencies and design studios offer the best salaries because clients are demanding and the work is intense. The biggest educational requirement for a commercial artist is keeping up-to-date on emerging softwares.

Designers should understand the psychology of colors and the effect that typeface has on the design of a great logo. For example, green usually reflects growth, health, and the environment. It promotes relaxing and refreshing emotions. On the other hand, red may evoke danger and passionate emotions. Similarly for typefaces, Garamond, Helvetica, and Comic Sans all elicit very different sentiments. Serif fonts like Garamond promote the idea of respect and tradition, and are hence more suitable for an environment that demands integrity such as a university or a news publisher. Sans Serif fonts like Helvetica are clean and modern, and are well suited for high tech businesses such as computer or media companies. Casual script fonts like Comic Sans are probably best left for fun and animated companies such as toy companies. A good understanding of the psychology of colors, typefaces, and shapes is an important part of making a great logo. The fun styling of the Disney logo is appropriate for a design that aims to be fun, but such a style would not be appropriate for a sales platform company.

2. What's the meaning behind the logo?

Behind every great logo is a story.

A great logo is not about slapping your business name on a generic shape, which is why choosing from ready-made logos is a poor idea. An excellent way to make sure that a logo is not generic is when the logo has a meaningful story behind it. A good designer first understands the culture of the company, the tone of the product, and the vision of the business, much before embarking on ideas for the logo. The end result of a quality logo is reflective of the philosophy and values of the company. The arrow in the Amazon logo represents that Amazon sells everything from a to z and the smile on the customer's face when they buy a product.

3. Will the logo stand the test of time?

How will the logo look in 2, 10, 20 years' time? Designers should avoid getting sucked into flavor-of the-month trends. Trends like ultra-thin fonts and flat shadows are design styles that will probably not stand the test of time. Simple is far better than complex. A simple yet memorable logo can be used in 20 years' time without being outdated.

A good way to test the logo is to let it 'sit' with you for a while before releasing it. Some logos grow with you - the more you look at it, the more you like it. Some logos start to feel nauseating after a while - the more you look at it, the more you hate it. If after a couple of weeks with the logo you find it boring, the logo is probably not strong or timeless enough.

The simplistic outline and shape of the Apple Inc. logo allows it to endure the test of time. The first prototype of the logo would definitely not be suitable today.

4. Is it unique? Can it be instantly recognizable?

A great logo is distinctive, memorable, and recognizable. Even if you have only seen it once, you should still be able to remember what it looks like after a period of time. A good way to test this is to show your logo to a friend, then cover it up and have your friend describe the logo in a week's time. A fresh pair of eyes can be very effective in figuring out the most memorable components of a logo.

In addition, if the logo reminds you of others you have seen, it is not distinct enough and probably a sign to make the logo more recognizable.

The logos of Path and Pinterest are very similar.

5. How does it look in black and white?

When I begin designing a logo, I always start in black and white. Designing with this limitation first forces you to make sure that the logo is recognizable purely by its shape and outline, and not by its color. A strong logo is one that is still memorable just by its contours.

A one color logo also provides the benefit of using your brand easily in multiple mediums with different backgrounds and textures.

It is much harder to recognize the National Geography symbol once we remove its signature yellow color.

6. Is it clear and distinct in small dimensions?

Another way to make sure logos are simple and recognizable is to scale it down dramatically. Even at tiny resolutions, a strong logo should still be recognizable at a glance. This is also a good test to make sure that the logo is not overtly complicated with unnecessary design flourishes.

All these logos are sized to fit in 16 x 16 pixels (FavIco size). The Nike, McDonalds, Twitter, and WWF logos are still very distinct at small sizes. The GE and Starbucks logos are far more cluttered, and hence less recognizable when they are small.

These are not hard-and-fast rules, but good guidelines to make an effective logo. It is still possible to make a strong logo even if it is complicated, but understand the trade-offs of such a decision. So, the next time you find yourself designing or picking a new logo, ask yourself these questions. They may be helpful in deciding the right logo - and thus create the right corporate identity which includes everything from letterhead to business cards.

Graphic Design Principles

What makes a good design a good design is the adherence to basic graphic design principles namely Contrast, Repetition, Alignment and Proximity (CRAP).

1. Contrast

1. The principle of contrast states that if two items are not exactly the same, then make them different. In order for contrast to be effective, it must be strong.

2. Strong contrast adds visual interest to a page and makes it more attractive to the reader's eye.

3. Contrast helps to organize your information. Use contrast in your titles, heads, and subheads and page segments to make it easier for the reader to glance at the page and understand what is going on.

4. The easiest way to add interesting contrast is with typeface. But you can also add contrast with rules, colors, spacing between elements, textures, shapes, etc.

5. Use contrast to help create a focal point for a page. In addition to contrast, also use strong alignment and the use of proximity to reinforce your focal point.

6. Don't be afraid to make some items small to create a contrast with the larger items and to allow blank space. Once you pull the reader in with your focal point, they will read the smaller print if they are interested.

7. Avoid using typefaces, colors, rules, images, graphics that are too similar. Make them different to add contrast and visual interest to your page.

2. Repetition

1. The principle of repetition states that you repeat some aspect of the design throughout the entire piece.

2. Repetitive elements may be a bold font, a thick rule (line), a certain bullet, color, design elements, particular format, shapes, spatial relationships, etc.

3. Repetition works to unify all parts of a design. Repeating elements across pages creates consistency and visual unity. Because of repetition, you know you are still on the same website.

4. Repeating certain elements in a page is a visual trick designers use to control a reader's eye and how the reader's attention moves down or across the page.

5. Strong, repetitive elements help to organize the page into visual units.

6. Repetition helps to organize, unify, and add visual interest to a page. If a piece looks interesting, it is more likely to be read.

3. Alignment

1. Nothing should be placed on the page arbitrarily. Every item should have a visual connection with something else on the page.

2. Be conscious of where you place the elements on a page. Always find something else on the page to align with, even if the two objects are physically far away from each other.

3. Align elements along "hard vertical edges." If instead of centering your text, you align the text on the left or the right, the invisible line that connects the text is much stronger because it has a hard vertical edge to follow.

4. A centered alignment creates a more formal look, a more sedate look, a more ordinary and oftentimes dull look.

5. Combine a strong flush left or right with good use of of proximity and you will be amazed at how strong your work looks.

6. Don't combine a flush left and flush right alignment on the same page. Try to do one or the other.

7. Don't center or justify lines of text. Centering and justifying lines of text creates ragged vertical edges, which makes it harder to read the text.

8. Never center headlines over flush left body copy or text that has an indent.

9. Find a strong alignment and stick to it. If the text is flush left, set the heads, subheads, and paragraphs flush left.

10. If there are photographs or graphic images, align them with a text edge and/or baseline.

11. Align image caption stories with the strong line of the photograph, which makes each stronger because of the stronger vertical edges this creates.

12. Lack of alignments is probably the biggest cause of unpleasant-looking documents. Our eyes like to see order; it creates a calm, secure feeling.

13. Alignment helps create unity on the page. Alignment helps connect and unify all the elements on a page, which creates an ordered, clean look.

14. Breaking the principle of alignment can be a nice design trick by breaking the reader's expectations.

4. Proximity

1. Should also be known as "Don't Fear White Space". Group related items together so that related items are seen as one cohesive group rather than a bunch of unrelated elements.

2. Items or elements that are not related to each other should not be in close proximity to each other.

3. How do you know if a group of elements are related to each other?

4. By grouping non-related elements you either confuse or intrigue the reader.

5. By grouping several elements in close proximity to each other they become one visual unit.

6. If there are more than three to five items on the page, see which of the separate elements can be grouped together into close proximity to become one visual unit.

7. Try to avoid too many separate elements on a page. And don't stick elements in the corners and in the middle. Try to group elements together.

8. You can tell whether a page has too many separate elements by being conscious of where your eye is going as it reads down the page. Does your eye have to jump around the page to read it.

9. Once you have grouped elements into visual units make sure that you have sufficient white space between these groups. White space helps separate and announce each of these visual units.

10. Violating the principle of proximity can be a design tool.

Summary of the CRAP Principles

1. Don't be afraid to create your Design with plenty of blank space. Also make sure you have plenty of white space between elements and visual units.

2. Don't be afraid to make words very large or very small. Don't be afraid to speak loudly or to whisper. Contrast is an essential element of good design.

3. Don't be afraid to be asymmetrical, to un-center your format--it often makes the effect stronger. It's okay to do the unexpected. Try to break out of the box.

4. Don't be afraid to make your graphics very bold or very minimal, as long as the result complements and reinforces your design.

5. Vary the space between the elements on a page to indicate the closeness or importance of the relationship between elements. Proximity is a central tool in design.

6. To keep an entire page unified, align every object with an edge of some other object.

7. Avoid using all Capitals in your titles, heads, and subheads. Also avoid using italics, which are harder to read on the web.

8. Remember the Computer is not a Typewriter. Don't use two spaces after periods, or underline a lot of text, or just use open quotation marks. Use both open and closed quotation marks to look professional.

9. Remember that horizontal alignment is as important as vertical alignment. So make sure your text and images are both horizontally and vertically aligned.

10. It takes a very self-assured designer to recognize and act on the power of simplicity. Many great websites are created simply, quietly, and with grace.

11. Good design doesn't have to shout. Beware of getting too fancy and colorful. Try for restraint and simplicity in your designs.

12. Any good design must have a strong focal point. You can create focal points using contrast and visual hierarchy.

13. Make your message as easy to understand as possible. Organize and chunk your information into segments and sections introduced with catchy headings and subheadings.

14. Try to develop a consistent, unified design that has a focal point and creates visual interest

But why are these BAD?

Let’s take a look at how each principle applies to these business cards:

• Alignment — Death to center-aligned text! By aligning all the text the reader’s eye now flows smoothly over each point of copy. The problem with center alignment is that there is no consistent edge for the eye to follow, making quick reading difficult. Always think twice before using center-aligned text for any reason.

• Contrast —The type looks blandly identical. By using contrasting type weights and styles to distinguish various types of information you can increase attractiveness in card-design. A consistent look is maintained by using varying weights and styles of the same typeface. This effect can also be achieve through varying color, typeface, size, or texture.

• Repetition—By using a repeating theme (color, font, line, pattern etc...) you can create visual reference points for information and cause the eye to follow repeating themes to get the necessary information. There's nothing but text to focus on in both cases above - nothing clever that makes the company memorable.

• Proximity—The horrible designs of the business cards force the eye to move all around looking for relevant data. In the card at bottom, at least the related information is grouped together so the reader can more quickly understand the organization of the layout, but as a photographer don't you think he would include something about his profession like one of his shots as a background, or one of his tools of the trade like the fellow below?

The standard dimensions for a printed business card are 3.5 x 2 inches. That's the finished card size. Many printed designs include bleed. The "bleed area" is an extra 1/8 inch of space for design elements or backgrounds that extend beyond the finished size of your piece. A business card design with bleed is printed slightly oversized and then cut down to size, giving the appearance that the printing "bleeds" off the edge of the card, rather than having white borders.

When creating your business card design file, use these tips:

• Make the document page size equal to the card size plus the bleed area, or 3.75" wide x 2.25" high, to be trimmed down to the finished size after printing. If you aren't planning to include bleeds, the bleed area isn't necessary, so set the document size to the finished size, 3.5 x 2 inches.

• If you're designing a vertical card with the long size up, simply switch the page width and height so you won't have to rotate the card to see the design the way you intend it.

Play it Safe near the Borders:

Because cutting may vary ever so slightly, it's a good idea to keep all of your valuable text and logo information within the safe design zone. This zone is the 1/8 inch around the margin of your card. Make sure your text is within the 3.25 x 1.75 inch area of your card. You wouldn't want to have the last digit of your phone number trimmed off! Designing with borders can be tricky. Thin borders outside the safe zone that are less than 1/8th inch thick may not trim evenly. To avoid an "off-center" look, keep border lines or other thin lines away from the edge of your business card, within the safe zone.