Greyboard

Primarily used for inconspicuous packaging material, graphic designers have been turning to greyboard as a substrate on which to print for some time now, in a table-turning celebration of its rough-edged qualities. Despite its unglamorous origins (it is produced from waste paper) greyboard has a tactile quality which feels satisfying in the hands. High contrasts between coarseness and precision may be achieved by combining this gravelly favourite with a lavish printing finish such as foil-blocking (see images below).

Greyboard postcards with cyan foil printed on front, black foil on reverse for artist-led organisation Interval. Designed by © Graham Jones.

PVC

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is a cheap, durable and easy-to-assemble material often used for signage and report covers. Type and imagery can be transferred onto PVC through screen printing, die-cutting and transfers. Widely produced in myriad colours and weights, PVC is an appealing substrate which graphic designers should (and do) take advantage of to produce objects most often printed on more predictable stocks. The results can be dramatic and unpredictable, turning easily-forgotten or disposable printed matter, like invitations and business cards, into memorable objects of permanence.

These business cards were printed on a translucent PVC substrate which is refreshing and unexpected. The black and silver inks used lend them an expensive feel. From © Pinkograf.

Fabric

The use of fabric for graphic design purposes has obvious uses when one considers clothing label clients and the like, but can also be used to suggest any number of meanings, as the various fabrics themselves do. Tweed has become a symbol of the countryside, and silk connotes expensiveness. Fabrics can be screen printed and hand-drawn onto. They lend actual weight to objects and are inevitably tactile.

To suggest “vibrant modernity as well as solid City tradition” in a piece designed for investment bank Lehman Brothers, London-based graphic design studio The Design Conspiracy produced 5 handmade pin stripe boxes, with material sourced from Savile Row. When the box was opened it revealed an explosion of bright colours.

Translucent Stock

Transparency and translucence have an intrinsically enchanting value that children are fascinated by and graphic designers have been clever to exploit. Thin stocks are often susceptible to showthrough, which is generally seen as a defect, but transparency may also be used by designers deliberately and creatively to great effect. With translucent objects compositions change depending on what happens to be beneath the stock.

Striking posters designed for a series of talks held by LongLunch. Printed on Transcolour Leaf and Transcolour Red Roses, both by GF Smith. Image used with kind permission of © Proud Creative.

Specialist East Yorkshire-based paper merchants GF Smith offer customers a tremendous selection of tactile and unusual substrates.

Newsprint

Composed of mechanically-ground wood pulp, newsprint has a short lifespan and is cheap to produce, hence its principal use for newspapers and comic books. Perhaps due to its cheap and ephemeral nature however, graphic designers sometimes use it as a substrate on which to print work of high caliber, which might arguably be better suited to a stock offering more longevity or a higher quality finish. This knowingly perverse design decision can add novelty to a project; to view a publication with high design standards printed on newsprint can be a bemusingly pleasurable experience.

The cheap and ephemeral nature of newsprint hasn’t stopped many designers choosing it as a substrate on which to print great work. Image supplied by © Jennifer Daniel.

Flock

If ever there was a substrate candidate intended to add a tactile quality to printed material it must be flock. Flock was originally intended to simulate tapestry and Italian velvet brocade. These days, designers use it to add a decorative, tactile and luxurious feel to printed materials. As with fabrics, flock naturally recommends itself to projects for clients such as clothing companies and textiles merchants, and its luxurious, almost baroque, character makes it ideally suited to wedding materials. The robust nature of flock means it can be embossed, debossed and foil-blocked.

For those intending their project to connote luxury teetering on the decadent, few substrates can match flock. Image used with permission of © CraftyKat.

Astrolux Mirror Board

Astrolux is a highly reflective, high-gloss card available in a wide range of colours. When combined with embossing, the results can be beautiful. Luxury, again, is a look which can be achieved, especially when hues of gold or silver are used, although astrolux board offers a more contemporary and less traditional experience than, say, flock does. Precision, seriousness, fun (think grown-up tinsel and baubles) and cool futuristicness are all values attainable with the versatile astrolux board.

Why limit yourself to one intriguing substrate? To evoke the feeling of opening a tin for his ‘Pilchards’ project book arts enthusiast Simon Goode has used astrolux mirror board, kraft, tracing and graph papers in an audacious blend of materials.

Top Tips

• Choose a substrate which can ‘take’ a printed design and is appropriate for your intended message
• Research the substrates available from paper mills and specialist suppliers
• Familiarize yourself with the costs of materials. Prices of substrates can fluctuate, and it pays to keep your knowledge topped up.
• If you’re sure of a particular substrate’s powers to connote luxury/spontaneity/hand-craftedness (delete as appropriate) but are worried about costs, obtain printers’ quotes on both standard stock and your special choice. Present both to your client and argue your case.

In Sum

Choosing a substrate is an integral part of the design process, and should be carried out at the start of each project. Luckily for creatives, the number of substrates available to us is now greater than ever before, giving us unprecedented choice over the materials we select for our jobs. Few other elements of the design process work so hard at buttressing, connoting and amplifying the messages we communicate, or so persuasively at cajoling our audiences into “feeling” these messages. The death of print has been heralded regularly for a decade now, and whilst evidently an overblown claim, designers must continue to do all they can to explore, fathom and utilize the frontiers of the Printed Object. In this unprecedented era of glorious substrates, you’ll be in with a head start.

If a surface will take a printed impression, it’s fair game! Image used with kind permission of © Dave Kirby.

Debossing & Embossing

Debossing and embossing are the processes whereby an element of a design is stamped into the substrate with ink or foil, giving printed medium a 3-dimensional, textural quality. Debossing occurs when the design has been pressed into the surface of the substrate, producing a recessed effect on the page. Embossing yields the opposite result; a raised design component on the printed object. Great impact can be achieved through an emboss or deboss, especially when combined with a striking foil or special colour. In aiming to communicate a more subtle effect, designers might also want to consider blind debossing and embossing. The processes are identical, save the fact that no ink or foil is used (see below right).

(L>R): A subtle deboss combined with what appears to be a white spot varnish. Image courtesy of © SeptemberIndustry; Debossed gold card. The emboss was achieved by operating a “curious industrial machine with a ‘single button”, explains © Kariann Burleson.

Foil Blocking

Few finishes can rival foil blocking for sheer razzle-dazzle. The process (also interchangeably known as foil stamp, heat stamp, hot stamp, block print and foil emboss) is achieved by pressing coloured foil onto a substrate with a heated die, which causes the foil to separate from its backing. Foil blocking can be used to great decorative and memorable effect. It is also versatile, and may be used to signify an array of signs and meanings, such as luxury, futuristic-ness, modernism and metallic-ness.

London-based graphic design studio North are famous for not having a website. They instead show a single page of logotypes they have designed, which segue randomly from grey to colour in a delicate array of cadences. Shown above is a striking foil-blocked rendering of the same concept. Image courtesy of © SeptemberIndustry.

Die Cutting

With die cutting, a steel die is used to cut out a defined area of a design. This finish is often used with decorative intentions, and can create pleasing results on printed pieces, which resonate with recipients. Many printers stock a range of popular dies like circles and radiussed-cornered ingots, but you can also have them designed to your own specifications. Die cutting may also be used creatively as a functional element of the overall design; apertures in the covers of printed material allowing show-through to the content within being a good example.

From the simple to the complex. (i). Many printers stock a range of circular dies due to high demand for them. Their popularity does nothing to diminish the impact a well-designed circular die cut business card can make. (ii). This coaster was letterpress-printed and die cut in the shape of the state of Ohio. Images courtesy of (from L>R) © Malota and © Cranky Pressman. “Don’t Lose Heart” coaster designed by © Mikey Burton.

Varnishes

In addition to the practical uses varnishes offer, such as protecting substrates from smudging and wear (their primary purpose), the different types available can also be used decoratively by graphic designers to embellish printed material. As with foil blocking, different messages can be communicated through different uses of this finish, though having stated this, it should be added that this is perhaps natural, given the wide selection of varnishes available. Gloss, matt and satin are all commonly used and explain themselves. Two lustrous varnishes which merit a line or two of their own are

• PEARLESCENT
  Pearlescent varnish, when used, delicately reflects a whole gamut of colours, giving a subtle, luxurious effect
• SPOT UV
  Perhaps the most “designery” of the varnishes available, spot UV can be applied discretely to areas of a printed page so that when turned toward the light, these areas become highlighted

Devilishly versatile, and there to lend weight to the meanings you wish to communicate, from muted and delicate to glossy and whorish. (from L>R) images supplied by © Kariann Burleson and © SeptemberIndustry.

Deckled Edge

Perhaps not strictly a print finish, as a deckled edge on a paper stock will either be present when selecting a substrate or not, a deckled edge is nevertheless a visually arresting design component when used cleverly and appropriately. The name refers to paper that has a soft, raggedy edge to it. There are two types of deckles; natural and tear. Natural deckles occur (obviously enough) naturally at the point the paper is made. During paper manufacture, the slurry of wood pulp fibres which make up the paper are drained of water, and what is left sits atop a screen in a frame called a deckle, and it’s this frame that causes the uneven edge of paper made in this way. Tear deckles are achieved on purpose, by tearing, after the paper has been made.

Deckled edge paper seems to connote integrity and hand-craftedness. More often than not natural, they betray the very old and esteemed origins of the process used to create them. It’s perhaps no surprise that deckled edge papers are popular with letterpress printers and bookbinders all over the world.

(L>R): Charming letterpress-printed book by © Webb & Webb; Intriguing business card by Koichi Sato using a blind impression on the printing press. Both pieces are printed on deckle-edged paper. Koichi Sato image courtesy of © Kariann Burleson.

Perforation

Perforation is a process that generates rows of small holes through a substrate which weaken it along their axis and make tearing easy. Often used for practical purposes like tearing sections off forms, in recent years graphic designers have awoken to the tactile potential of perforation and began to introduce them into their designs. The process is there to serve a single, obvious function; for the paper to be torn apart or open, and this seductive proposition means the human compulsion to interact with perforations is always in attendance.

Shown below are pictures from “Drentse Bodemweek 2008″, a book designed for a Dutch environmental convention by Jelmar Geertsma of Netherlands-based design studio Typehigh and illustrator Lieslot Moed at Art Academy Minerva. The book is bound French-folded with illustrations to the insides of the pages and perforations running down their edges, inviting readers to tear them open and reveal the imagery within.

Few print finishes get recipients interacting with printed medium more than perforation does. It’s the curiosity-barren person who doesn’t experience the desire to tear. Images supplied by © Typehigh, designed in collaboration with Lieselot Moed.

Special Colours

Most full-colour printing is achieved through the four-colour CMYK process, and while myriad colours can be reproduced using this method, CMYK cannot cover everything, and sometimes more striking results can be achieved through the use of a spot (or special) colour. A spot colour is a specially made ink all of its own, and usually requires its own plate when passing on press. During printing, the special colour is not mixed with any of the other inks, hence its dense, flat quality. Fluorescent colours are special, as are metallics, both unachievable through the four-colour process. The vibrancy attainable through the use of special colours need not be stated.

Additional special “spot” colours can be added to the four-colour CMYK process at any pass on press. Eye-catching effects can be achieved through the use of carefully chosen special colours. Image supplied by © SeptemberIndustry.

In Sum

The print finishes outlined above, and more besides, are all at the creative’s disposal for adding a special final touch to a project; the graphic designer’s icing on the cake, if you will. As with substrates, finishes can be used to enhance messages and communicate meanings to audiences. Whilst typically carried out at the end of the production process, for best success print finishes should not be applied to a project merely as an afterthought, but built in to the design from the start.

Practical factors such as costs, budgets and print runs are ever-present in the designer’s life, and it can take some hefty persuasion to convince a client of the benefits of spending funds on a brilliant finish, a task compounded by global recession. However, with such a dazzling array of finishes there to be used, it has to be worth a try now and again, surely? Many of the projects photographed included in this article were printed in the past two years, so we can infer that some clients are budgeting for lavish print finishes. Given this, would it be overly optimistic of me to cry: “Profligacy is dead. Long live profligacy!”?

The words above may be a strapline for UK-based graphic design studio Golden, but they might equally apply to us creatives who tirelessly strive to explore the bounds of print finishes! Image supplied by © SeptemberIndustry.

Case Binding

Also known as edition binding, case binding is often used in the binding of hardback books, owing to the sturdy, robust qualities inherent in its process. As with perfect binding, pages are gathered and folded into sections, or signatures. These are then sewn together, the spine glued and the book block pressed and trimmed. Covers are prepared with buckram or other hardy material and, once dried, the book block is ‘cased in’ to the covers. If we rewind a few steps to just before the book block is glued and pressed, designers can embellish their books by specifying coloured headbands and ribbon bookmarks to creative effect (see images below).

A commission for four A3-sized, quarter-bound case bindings from London-based bookbinder © Simon Goode.

Japanese or Stab Stitch Binding

Interchangeably known as Japanese, stab and traditional Chinese binding, pages are here sewn together with a single, continuous thread. There are many variations, far too many to cover here, but in recent years Western designers have helped bring some of them back into people’s consciousness. Gift and children’s books are often to be found stab stitch bound, and increasingly design-conscious clients like Onitsuka Tiger, who produced a superb stab stitch-bound 2004-05 trade brochure (an image of which your normally resourceful writer was, alas, unable to obtain) are turning to the process. Best used to bind publications on the thinner side and when wishing to add a tactile dimension to a publication’s design, the effect can look pleasingly delicate, yet is a robust enough binding method.

A stab stitch-bound notebook and journal, both of which demonstrate the, by turns, innocent and intricate qualities of the method. Images courtesy of © Ruth Bleakley and © Michelle Clement.

Z-binds

The z-bind, so-called because of the distinctive ‘Z’ shape a z-bound piece forms when viewed from above, is a visually arresting method of binding two publications (or two parts of a single publication) together into one. This can be achieved either with permanence in mind by stitching the two together end-to-end, or as a temporary device, through the use of an elastic band or perforation. Lots of interactivity or ‘relational aesthetics’ as French art curator Nicolas Bourriaud has termed it, can ensue through an encounter with a z-bound project; the publication flipped and turned, separated and re-put back together.

Beautiful z-bound MA Project ‘Warnings From The Past’ by © Leanne Mallinder. She explains: “‘Warnings From The Past’ is a small collection of five purely typographic speeches each coming with a corresponding poster of a quote from that speech.”

Bellybands

A bellyband looks much like a portion or strip of a book’s dust jacket, and performs in much the same way. Reasonably versatile, the bellyband can be used functionally to hold a collection of loose leaf pages together or decoratively and as an added layer of protection. When used decoratively as part of a well-designed publication, bellybands seem to lend an air of importance to things and manage to connote the idea of a certain graphical luxury.

Two examples of well-designed and –integrated bellybands. Both carry important publication information, the first printed from handset type and the second featuring a subtle black spot varnish. Images supplied by (L>R) © Trip Print Press and © Oliver Rone-Clarke.

Elastic Bands

The humble elastic band is another innovative method of binding both loose leaf sheets (usually with notches die cut into their tops and bottoms) and for making more permanent binds. When not used for holding loose leaf sheet together they are best used for devices like flip-books, less good for binding thicker publications, as the elasticity makes for poor page fall. The intrinsically ephemeral nature of the elastic band can help signify a feel of happy ingenuity and immediacy.

Charming and intricately bound ‘album to store feathers in’ for a bird-watching friend of © Ruth Bleakley. An exposed spine is visible, over which diagonal, coptic stitching sits housed. Elastic bands at the opposite end act as a clasp to keep it all together.

Exposed Spine

A largely recent phenomenon driven by designers and more visionary patrons that has had traditional book binders scratching their heads in befuddlement, exposed spines have become an increasingly common sight on design bookshelves in recent years. Perhaps the most openly decorative entry in this article, an exposed spine is not a method of binding per se, as all that has happened is a publication has been produced, usually perfect-bound and as per usual, and then its covers (and hence spine) left out of things, permitting a view of the exposed signatures and stitching which would typically be hidden away. The effect can be both cheerful and utilitarian, cheerful in that colourful signatures are often used in order to wring the most out of the finish (see project below), and utilitarian in the same way Renzo Piano’s Centre George’s Pompidou in Paris is, with its “exoskeleton” of escalators and scaffolding.

As featured in these articles elsewhere, Typehigh and Lieselot Moed’s ‘Bodemweek book’ is a graphic banquet of format design and printed finish. In addition to containing gatefolds and perforations, the publication is also bound sans cover, revealing the colourful spine within.

Loose Leaf with Slipcase

There are several ways of collecting loose-leaf pages and holding them together (see ‘Bellybands’ and ‘Elastic Bands’ above) but few feel as luxurious as a bespoke slipcase. These die cut, quickly assembled gems can be designed to fit the pages within as snugly as a book’s covers. From a functional perspective, nothing can beat loose leaf for pages falling and staying open, as the whole point of them is that they aren’t bound, although the process does imply a certain artisanal decadence; a motorcycle maintenance manual, loose leaf, would be an inappropriate choice due to risks of pages becoming lost, discarded or rearranged out of order.

Stunning self-promotional piece by Leicestershire-based graphic design studio Six. Six, ‘Made by Six 08/09’ is composed of loose leaf sheets that feature credentials, recent client work and selected studio projects, all housed in a subtly embossed slipcase/box. Image courtesy of © SeptemberIndustry.

In Sum…

An important, and at times fascinating, design component then, no? As with print finishes and substrates, for best results a method of binding should be decided upon at the start of a project and not at the end. Functional considerations should always be heeded, as the diverse array of binding methods available offer up an equally diverse breadth of differences in longevity and robustness. How easily a publication’s pages fall open should be a prime consideration for the thoughtful graphic designer. From a formal and aesthetic perspective, the myriad materials and sundry levels of intricacy available mean that several of the binding methods covered above may be used as signifiers for all kinds of messages, and, as I hope has been demonstrated, even act as the distinct finishing touch to a project.

…and it’s not just paper-based substrates that can be bound in visually compelling ways! Image courtesy of © Kate Black.

Tools & Perparation

Do create and edit your text in a word processing application such as Microsoft Word and then import the text to a desktop publishing application such as QuarkXPress, InDesign, Pagemaker or Corel Ventura where you can create your page layout, format the text with graphics, etc.

Do use QuarkXPress or Adobe InDesign for desktop publishing. QuarkXPress was the print industry standard page layout program for decades, designed and perfected for commercial print output. Adobe InDesign, however, has given Quark a run for its money. InDesign not only costs half as much as Quark, but it is fully-integrated with its sister apps, Photoshop and Illustrator. Another page layout program is Adobe Pagemaker—now discontinued but still around. However, I find that Pagemaker is nicknamed “Ragemaker” for a very good reason. It is fine for small projects—newsletters and whatnot—but for large projects, books in particular, you’ll save yourself a lot of time and trouble in the long run if you use Quark or InDesign. Also, if you are lucky enough to have a choice as to what platform you can use, go Macintosh. PC/Windows desktop publishing files are far more likely to cause problems when it comes to graphics, fonts and printing. If you do decide to stick with a PC/Windows platform, make sure that the commercial printer you select has ample experience with that platform.

Don’t use Microsoft Word as a desktop publishing application. Word does have many of the same layout features as desktop publishing apps such as Quark and InDesign (i.e., it can create columns, import graphics, create nice laser prints, etc.) but when it comes to commercial printing, Word is not going to get you very far. Microsoft Word, WordPerfect, etc. are word processing applications, NOT desktop publishing/layout programs. They handle font replacement differently and often cause reflow.

Don’t create your page layout for multi-page documents in draw programs such as Illustrator or Freehand. Use desktop publishing apps like Quark or InDesign.

Do provide the printer with a hard copy laser printout of your project, as well as all of your layout files (in Quark, InDesign, etc.), graphics and fonts. Inkjet printers are fine for initial proofing and printing, but always get a final printout (and proof it) from a PostScript laser printer.

Don’t assume that what you have printed out and submitted as hard copy or see on your monitor is what you will get. Take a good long look at proofs and bluelines supplied by the printer.

Do take your printer’s advice.

Don’t assume that you know more than the printer.

Fonts

Do supply the printer with ALL of the fonts used to create your project (even the symbol, fraction and dingbat fonts). Try not to use TrueType fonts, and for PostScript fonts, make sure you supply the printer with both the screen and the printer font parts. Remember to include fonts used to create EPS graphics, and fonts that the printer probably already has (i.e. like Helvetica, etc.). There are many different versions of some fonts and a “wrong” version can cause reflow/repagination problems.

Don’t use Bold or Italic in the style menu or hit the Bold or Italic button when you want to bold or italicize text in your page layout program. Use the actual font. For example, in Quark, if you want to create text that is Helvetica Bold, don’t select some Helvetica text and then bold it. Instead, select the text and change the font itself (not the style) from Helvetica to Helvetica Bold:

Do

Don’t

Don’t use TrueType fonts. Period. Always use PostScript or OpenType and Adobe fonts (Macintosh or PC/ Windows) are always a safe bet. TrueType is fine for printing to a laser or inkjet printer, but TrueType fonts can cause severe problems when it comes to commercial printing. Many commercial printers won’t even print a project that contains TrueType fonts. Often, they pop.

Don’t use 20 different fonts for a 4-page newsletter. It makes you look like you don’t know what you’re doing. In desktop publishing, consistency is everything. Use one font for your main body text, another for your main heads, another for photo captions, another for sidebars, etc., but don’t mix and match fonts for your main body text or make every headline a different font unless you’re trying to create some sort of chaotic effect and it is your intention to confuse the reader. Too many fonts is not only considered to be bad design, but it also slows printing to a crawl.

Graphics

Do supply ALL of the graphics used to create your project. Desktop publishing applications like Quark and InDesign link to your graphics; they do not embed them in the document. If you don’t supply the graphics along with your Quark or InDesign documents, the printer will get a missing picture error, and won’t be able to continue until you supply the graphics.

Do use TIFF and EPS graphic file formats:

• Use TIFF for halftones: graphics that are not just black and white, but rather, have many shades of gray or color gradation (i.e. scanned photos that were created or edited in Photoshop or an image editing application).
• B&W clip art (no shades of gray—just 100% black and 100% white) looks best if scanned in and saved in 1200 dpi Bitmap TIFF format.
• Use EPS for line art, illustrations, charts, clipart, etc.—graphics that are basically black and white and were created or edited in vector applications such as Illustrator or Freehand. Resolution should be at least 600 dpi, 1200 dpi is the standard and creates the best print quality.

Don’t use other graphic file formats like PICT, JPEG, GIF. Just because you can import them into your desktop publishing application doesn’t mean that you should. Stick with TIFF and EPS. If your graphics are in any other format, convert them. This is especially true of the PICT format. Quark hates PICTs; imagesetters hate PICTs. Steer clear of PICT.

Do most, if not all, of your image editing and graphic manipulation (i.e. lightening, darkening, resizing, etc.) in the original program that the graphic was first created or edited in, rather than the desktop publishing application. For instance, if a Photoshop TIFF needs to be lightened or darkened, lighten or darken it in Photoshop, not in Quark. Even though Quark will lighten or darken an image, adjust contrast, etc., you may get different results once you project goes to press and is printed.

Do name your graphics with the appropriate file extension: filename.tif, filename.eps.

Don’t rename graphics once you have placed them in your desktop publishing/page layout document(s). If you do, make sure to go back into your document and re-link the graphics

Do check your mode for color TIFFs. Save color TIFFs as CMYK (not RGB, never RGB). Save black & white TIFFs as Grayscale.

Do check with your printer to see if they charge extra for breaking any of these “rules.”

Design & Page Layout

Do use a document setup size (i.e. your page dimensions) that is the same as your trim size. For instance, if you are creating a 6 by 9-inch book, set up your initial page size in the document setup for 6 by 9-inches.

Don’t create 6 by 9-inch text frames in a 81/2 by 11-inch document setup and manually add registration marks.

Do make page elements that bleed extend at least 8th of an inch beyond the page boundary.

Don’t use your page layout/desktop publishing program’s predetermined “hairline” rule. The width varies from program to program, and prints out differently on a laser printer than on an imagesetter, if it prints at all. Don’t create rules that are less than .25 pt.

Do watch for widows, orphans, rivers, bad kerning and other desktop publishing no-nos that will make you look like an amateur. Get rid of double-spaces after periods, don’t use spaces to align columns (use tabs) or to create paragraph indents. Know your en dash (–) from your em dash (—).

Editing & Formating

Now on to some tips for editing and formatting those wonderful design and publications in Illustrator and Photoshop

Illustrator vs. Photoshop

This is not about what program is better but more of what program to use for what. You can not say that one is better than the other because they have completely different uses but work closely together.

Photoshop This program is great. It is the best application for editing images and works primarily with pixels. A limitation with pixels is that the pixel-based image is not to be scaled since all you are doing is enlarging the squares/pixels which lose quality and clarity.

If you are a web designer you will work very closely with Photoshop for different elements and graphics of your website… even for Flash. If you are working to produce print you will only use Photoshop to create images that will be imbedded into Illustrator or a layout program such as Quark. Photoshop should not be used to produce text for print.

Illustrator This is not about what program is better but more of what program to use for what. You can not say that one is better than the other because they have completely different uses but work closely together.

This program is also great but is not a pixel-based image editor. Illustrator works mostly with vector graphics. This allows the image to be able to be scaled to just about any size and keep its integrity. As a result logos should always be produced/finalised in Illustrator. You will be able to scale them to just about any size you like.

You can even produce graphics for the web using Illustrator and a lot of the time I have found myself doing this. Since you can output to many pixel-based files, you can make extremely smooth looking graphics and convert them to a JPEG or other raster files.

For print this can act as a layout program. You would take your images edited in Photoshop (most of the time high resolution TIFF files) and place/embed them inside your document. In Illustrator you would then create all your text and shape designs as well as add your logos and other things like that.

Just follow this simple rule: in print use Photoshop for your image editing and then do everything else in Illustrator.

The Graphic Design School has reviewed and chosen the best logo trends and galleries of 2009. We would love your feedback… Do you think that 6 months into the year they still apply? Can you find any other trends that have emerged?

Logo Lounge

Gossamer

Circulate

Dandelion

Recycle

Sequential

Mosaic

Flip Flop

Doily

Monologue

Encrust

Texting

Candy Stripes

Vari Dot

Concealed

Photo Fill

Logo Trends for 2009 from Logo Orange

Logo Orange

Puzzle Patterns

Street Art

80’s Geometry Lesson

Typographic Logos

Pictograms

Classic Modernism

Arabesque

Tactile Logos

Psychedelic Pop Backgrounds

Origami

Logo Trends for 2009 from Abduzeedo

Abduzeedo

Amazing One Element Logos

Logo Trends for 2009 from Graphic Design Blog

Graphic Design Blog

Classic Modernism

Typographic Logos

Psychedelic Pop Backgrounds

Puzzle Patterns

Arabesque

Pictograms

Tactile

80’s Geometry

Origami

Street Art

Arguments Against Trends in Logos

Not all designers believe that trends in logo design are such a good thing… checkout these three articles.

Im Just Creative

Im Just Creative

David Airey

David Airey

Design Bay

Design Bay

Logo Galleries

Logo Designer Blog

Logo Designer Blog

Logo Faves

Logo Faves

Creattica

Creattica

Creative Pro

Creative Pro

Brand New

Brand New/UnderConsideration

Logo Pond

Logo Pond

Logo Bee

Logo Bee

eBoy

Los Angeles Times Magazine spread Located in Germany eBoy is Steffen Sauerteig, Svend Smital and Kai Vermehr. They create re-usable pixel objects and take them to build complex and extensible artwork. Prestigious clients such as Adidas, Adobe, Amazon, Arena Magazine, Diesel, Kellogs, DKNY, Nike and Pepsi are proof that eBoy have caught the big boys, with their little toys.

hello.eboy.com

Studio Punkat

Nancy Fine Art & Music Museum Hugo Roussel is based in Nancy, France, He has a wonderful collection of printed works that he produces with ‘communication’ at the forefront of his designs, the result is clean and creative works that respond perfectly to his brief.

www.punkat.com

Prada

Summer Catalogue mmmm…Prada. Need an Italian fix? Check out Prada. Summer 09 catalogue out now and no where near as yummy as the 08 one featured here. Eccezionale!

prada.com

Royal Mail England

Best in British design stamp set Those loveable poms bring us the best in British design on a stamp… just a little something to lick and send to all your Italian mates. Subtle!

www.royalmail.com

Rampazzo & Associes

New ‘M’ magazine liftout with the “Le Monde” newspaper. Parisian editorial graphic design firm ‘R & A’ have shown their talents in this artful magazine edition. Their blog is definitely worth the look see.

blog.rampazzo.com

Jung von Matt

International Watch Co. Schaffhausen ad campaign ‘Passion for detail’ Hamburg Graphic Design Agency Jung von Matt definitely know how to break the rules. This campaign certainly does convey an eye for detail… and so cute! We love it! Check out their awesome site, their print works are a great inspiration for original thinkers.

www.jvm.de

Digital Template

Magazine Digital Template is a French magazine (translated into English for us mono-linguals) for graphic designers, photographers and fashion enthusiasts. The Graphic Design School students will find the last few issues in their schoolyard e-library.

www.digital-temple.com

Malota Projects

Postcard sets Mar Hernandez is based in Valencia, Spain. Mar’s original designs and illustrations will leave you wanting more. A clean artful site with a range of projects that will make you want to explore every brush tool in your palette!

malota.bigcartel.com/

La Perla

Autumn Winter 09–10 Catalogue Print doesn’t get any more glamorous (or sexy) than Italian lingerie brand La Perla. La Perla have been a cut above (up there with Wolford in their Helmut Newton years) the rest of the lingerie industry in terms of print and internet graphic design for years. The photography is sublime, the models gorgeous and their layouts always communicate ‘stile classico’. With prices around 150&#20AC; for a pair of knickers… your graphic design team are worth their weight in gold! (or knickers)

www.laperla.com

Bitsch +Lundquist

To Let Danish geniuses Bitsch + Luidquist designed this giant billboard for Oskar Jensen placed in two different locations. One on ‘Strandboulevarden’ (in Copenhagen) and the second at ‘Str&#00F8;get’ (also in Copenhagen). This version has been photoshopped to read in English. To see the original sign in Danish visit their site

bplusl.dk

Leagas Delany

Maglite ‘worlds smallest light’ Hamburg based Graphic Design agency Leagas Delany certainly have a funny sence of humor. Consensus around The Graphic Design School is that its not terribly responsible to promote sticking battery operated equipment up your nose. Still made us laugh though!

www.leagasdelaney.de

Squid Spot

Periodic Table of Typefaces Designed by Cam from Squid Spot The Periodic Table of Typefaces is obviously in the style of all the thousands of over-sized Periodic Table of Elements posters hanging in schools and labs around the world. This particular table lists 100 of today’s most popular, influential and notorious typefaces. Genius. Thanks Cam. To download Cam’s Periodic Table visit Squid Spot site.

www.squidspot.com

Periodic Table of Typefaces