Getting the News Out

Every company faces the same challenges when it comes to putting their own news out. Everyone seems to want regular news out but few get organized to achieve that goal. 

Sales departments want to get a regular newsletter started, but there is internal staff member who can pull it all together. Who is going to come up with the topics, write the stories, get company or customer sign-offs, design the template and execute the distribution?

FAQs and You

What does high-res mean? PMS, EPS, CMYK, RGB, PDF? With all the acronyms flying around how can we make it easier to understand these design terms? At least twice a week, we have to explain that a photo or logo just pulled from a website isn't usable in a printed piece. 72 vs 300 dpi is hard to grasp for more. What about domain names versus hosting accounts? This is another common one. Or EPS files versus jpegs?

Here are basic answers to some of these frequently asked questions:

High-Res or High-Resolution is required for anything printed. Any image needs to be 300dpi or dots per inch. Most images used on the web or on screen are 72 dpi, which will result in a low quality print (even though it looks fine on screen!). If you don’t have Photoshop to check the resolution, here is a quick way to tell if the image is print quality. Check the file size. A print-ready file is usually 1 megabyte or more, while a low-res image is usually under 1MB.

EPS or Encapsulated PostScript is a file format used for illustrations and vector-based graphics. What does vector mean? Vector is an image or graphic that is made up of points and lines. This is how a designer creates shapes and fonts. The difference between vector and raster is that the shapes can still be manipulated when they are vector through a program like Adobe Illustrator. Raster is more like a Photoshop image. EPS files are preferred for working with logo files because they can be placed over a background color or image and are already ‘outlined’. A rasterized logo as a default would be on a white background. An EPS image can also be blown up to whatever size necessary – like for a large sign on a building, without losing resolution because the file is all based on vector points and not pixels.

CMYK/RGB/PMS are all color terms. CMYK refers to cyan, magenta, yellow and black which is how most printers output color. RGB refers to red, green and blue – these colors are used to make up a digital display. When working with images for print, they should be switched to a CMYK file format for accurate printing but web images should stay at RGB. PMS refers to the Pantone Matching System. This color system is widely used as the standard for printing colors. Each color can be ordered as straight ink but formulas are also provided to make the same color using CMYK inks. Graphic programs use the Pantone library of colors so the print outputs already have the color break formulas in them.

Domain Names vs. Hosting are both web-related terms. In order to have a website, a domain name or URL is needed. Domain names can be purchased through companies like GoDaddy, Network Solutions and myriad of others for 1 year or more. But purchasing a domain name is just the first step. A hosting account is still needed. Hosting is usually charged monthly. This charge is for the server space the website files will reside on. Web hosting can be purchased through numerous companies and often web developers prefer to host the sites they work on. After hosting is set-up, the domain name can be pointed to the hosting company so the web files show up on the right web address.

Most people don’t need to know all these terms which is why they choose to work with a professional designer or web developer. But it seems like more and more people are taking things into their own hands. Many people have Photoshop now and have company logos or product images that need to be managed. Websites are not just for business anymore as many people have personal sites, side projects, hobby or family sites. With the world becoming more and more digital everyday, some basic knowledge of color, resolution and file formats is necessary. This is just the tip of the iceberg!

Monogramming Madness

From iPad covers to dishes, everything has a monogram lately. Pottery Barn features a whole online monogram shop with towels, table linens, glasses, picture frames and jewelry boxes. Etsy.com features baby clothes, linens, wall art, hats, soaps and even decorative pillows. Home décor catalogs are showing headboards, lampshades and bedspreads with monograms.

Giving newly married couple monogrammed gifts isn’t a new idea, but decorating our homes and offices with our initials is a current trend. Since when do we need to have our initials on everything we own? I doubt it is because we think we might lose our belongings. In this mass-produced world we live in, it just might give us a sense of having something uniquely hand-made and exclusively “ours” as it incorporates our own personal flair.

Monogrammed or personalized stationery has been popular for a while, but using an initial as a personal trademark is a trend that looks like is here to stay. It gives something a personal touch – a kind of human ‘territory marking’.

Back in the Victorian era, monograms symbolized the upper class. Those in higher classes adapted the monogram as a symbol of their place in society. Today, corporations often shorten their names to initials and then use the monogram as a design element. Law, engineering, consulting and architecture firms often go for this approach as their firm names are commonly made up of three last names and one is sure to be too many syllables!

For instance, it is much easier to use the shortened ‘PWC’ instead of ‘Price Waterhouse Coopers’. The space that the full three-word name takes up for a logo or design element is quiet long. But do big scrolling initial letters as a design element really say anything about what service or product a company offers? An embroidered ‘LK’ on a golf shirt doesn’t immediately read top-rated law firm or a brochure with a BKV doesn’t necessarily say ‘award-winning architecture firm’. Just like an appliquéd pink “M” on my briefcase doesn’t mean anything if you don’t know my name. But people are drawn to monograms because they give a sense of personal pride. My briefcase screams, “I am ‘M’!” A monogram then becomes a personal logo of sorts.

When it comes to this monogramming madness craze, less is more. One article of clothing or an accessory works but embracing this trend throughout our home décor becomes overkill. Linens are one thing but soaps, pillows, lamps AND a bathmat? What’s happens when you want to donate that “W” pillow to Goodwill? These items become harder to reuse for sure. Using company monograms as a design element can work too but used in the right instance. A simple watermark on a letterhead done correctly can be beautiful but using initials in a direct mail piece probably isn’t the best marketing idea. Let’s remember that not everyone always knows what those letters stand for!

Long Live Handwriting!

What will happen when the world no longer knows how to sign their names? Will everyone use printed block letters to sign legal forms or checks or even credit card receipts at a restaurant?


There is a great debate going around not teaching cursive in schools. Many schools have already shifted from less penmanship to more keyboarding. Supposedly, there is not enough time in the day for all the subjects kids must learn today and handwriting is one of those getting cut.

While keyboarding is ever important in our digital world, what will happen to the lost art of cursive? And if script writing it isn’t taught, will our children know how to read it? Many historical documents are in cursive including The Declaration of Independence. Formal wedding invitations with lots of loops and curls could be a thing of the past. Script fonts could go away entirely. Those fonts designed to look like handwriting will lose their relevancy for sure.

What happens to our personal brands if we no longer have signatures? A signature is a direct link into a person’s identity. The long curves of our capital letters and way we scribble our middle initial is unique. A slanted signature can show that the signer is left or right-handed. Handwriting experts have said that Barack Obama’s signature shows “intelligence, fluidity and fast thinking.”

No one will collect souvenirs with famous people’s autographs anymore without unique signatures. Trying to sell that foul ball you got signed by the baseball star on eBay won’t be worth as much when the name is spelled out in 3^rd grade all caps letters. Will there be such a thing as ‘book signings’? I can’t imagine authors sitting at a table printing their names.

When future generations grow up to sign away their life on their student loan forms, they will block print their names. When they write a thank you note it will be in print – WAIT – they will never send a handwritten thank you note. They will type it or just send a text, right? Maybe this is why children don’t need to learn how to write in cursive because everything is being done electronically. Some students can even use computers for standardized tests now.

A signature is something that is supposed to be ‘one of a kind,’ similar to our fingerprints. Used on everything from mortgage papers to driver’s licenses, our signatures are even used by banks it to verify deposits. Forgery would be more common if everyone printed his or her names. In the future, will our signatures become some form of electronic signature using fingerprints or microchips?

Formal letters from CEOs and Presidents are signed to show importance as well as give a personal touch. It looks like they took the time to sign that formal letter. Our signatures say something about each of us. It’s sad to think that a ‘#’ or ‘@ ‘before our name will be the new signature. The “new handwriting” will be designated by the font style in our emails. Is script doomed to be forever dead?