Category Archives: Graphic Design

The Typofiles #122: Jan V. White Books at Your Fingertips!

December 18, 2012

Jan V. White Books Graphic & Publication Design


An outtake from a Jan V. White post, 2008

I’ve been posting about magazine guru and design consultant Jan V. White since the beginning of this blog, ever since I discovered his best known title, the Graphic Idea Notebook.

He’s a hero of mine because he has spent the majority of his life making a whole world of design techniques and ideas accessible through his many titles, all painstakingly thorough. These books were groundbreaking at the time because most were released before designers had widespread access to the internet and the world’s collective inspiration at their fingertips. Books like this were the gateway to learning about great design.

To this day, I still use his his titles like Editing By Design and Designing for Magazines when I’m working on publication-based projects like the Rock N Roll Bride Magazine from earlier this year — they’re timeless and are a great way to jog your memory when you’re trying to come up with unique, original page layouts.

Jan V. White Books Graphic & Publication Design

The big news is that Jan V White’s books are now all available under the public domain in their entirety, completely free on his website! This is amazing because a lot of these titles are no longer readily available.

Upon the completion of the digitization of his books, Jan wrote, “This 84-year-old thanks you for your gift of remaining extant forever.” His works now have the chance to become cultural artifacts, not just design relics. And for that, I’m very grateful. A whole new generation of designer can now access his books with ease. I hope you love his content as much as I do!

Jan V. White Books Graphic & Publication Design

You can view all of The Typofiles right here.

Media Kit Insights: The Who, What & Why!

December 13, 2012

The Blogcademy Media Kit

I just wrapped up a digital media kit for The Blogcademy (we’ve been super busy this month between putting this together and launching our updated website!) and I’d like to shed a bit more light on media kits overall.

One of my most popular articles ever on this blog was a press kit how-to. It’s very out of date at this point but that’s okay because since that article was written, we’ve become increasingly more digitally savvy and these days, for the most part I wouldn’t recommend a press kit for most people to use. Over the last three years, I’ve switched over to digital media kits and my clients have found huge success using them. With sharp editorial-style layouts and clickable links all in a PDF format that’s email-friendly, it’s easy to get the word out in a quick, professional manner whether you’re a blogger or small business.

The Blogcademy Media Kit

The Blogcademy Media Kit

Historically, digital media kits have been most commonly used by large magazines to provide information including circulation rates and stats of their target audience for advertisers. Often, they also include a brief bio, testimonials and contact information.

The Blogcademy Media Kit

After designing my first media kit for a print magazine in 2008, I had the realization that they would be ideal for bloggers too. Sometimes a one-sheet just isn’t enough information if you’re trying to land bigger gigs and advertisers. I’ve designed a lot of media kits over the last few years — my two personal favorites are for Rock N Roll Bride (this is her older version — we just wrapped a 2013 refresh that more closely matches her magazine) and Veronica Varlow.

At The Blogcademy, we’ve had a one sheet since the beginning to send out to sponsors but realized that while that was perfect for filling goodie bags, we needed something more robust for larger corporate partnerships that may pop up. It’s important to always be prepared for those potentially huge moments! 14 pages later, we’re feeling much more prepared for what 2013 holds.

The Blogcademy Media Kit

In the media kits I put together, especially for bloggers, I usually start by suggesting the following:

• Front and back covers with a visible URL and logo
• An introduction with key accomplishments
• Testimonials from readers and clients
• Stats including traffic and social media numbers
• Rates / packages / availability
• Suggestions for how to make the most out of your partnership (recommendations for achieving the best results)
• Professional images of your brand / blog / yourself throughout
• Contact page with clickable links

From this list, we add and subtract content until the balance feels right. Each media kit should be very specific to that brand. There are some crossover design elements I’ve used but for the most part, every media kit is a clean slate.

The Blogcademy Media Kit

If you’re attending The Blogcademy London, I do a much more in-depth media kit overview during my branding segment. I hope this glimpse inside media kits makes them feel less mysterious!

*All photos in the media kit are by Devlin Photos and Made U Look Photography.

The Blogcademy Website 2.0!

December 10, 2012

The Blogcademy Website

Today we have a very special announcement: The Blogcademy has a new and improved website!

Our workshop has come a long way since its launch back in August! To say that there was a time crunch when we were getting ready to launch doesn’t quite sum it all up…it was more of a mad dash. The workback schedule was nearly nonexistent — I had one day to design the site design and Kat’s husband coded the entire thing in a weekend. And even better, the night before our big launch, I headed across state lines to a Mötley Crüe & Kiss concert, promising Kat & Gala I’d finish up any final assets that night when I got home.

The Blogcademy Website

I made it back from the concert in one piece and the next morning, the launch went better than any of us could have imagined. Since that time, our first workshop in New York has came and went and London is now on the horizon.

Beyond all the excitement, each of us had the nagging feeling that our website could be a lot better. Truth be told, it just didn’t feel complete — post New York, we had a video, amazing testimonials and a one-sheet but nowhere to really put them. I didn’t want to just tack on more content to the existing pages. We needed an overhaul.

The Blogcademy Website

Over Thanksgiving weekend, I got to work on the redesign. Kat’s coding whiz husband Gareth quietly worked away and surprised us with the finished product this morning and we couldn’t be more happy to share this next chapter of The Blogcademy with you!

Take a look around (we have lots of new content, including Testimonials and Sponsors pages)and let us know what you think! And if you’re interested in joining us in London, there’s a few spots left.

Computer Arts Collection: Photography

October 23, 2012

Computer Arts Branding

As you know, I am a huge fan of the Computer Arts Collection, a series of themed guides for creatives. The one reason I keep going back to these issues is that while they are beautifully designed and overflowing with amazing inspiration (much of which I’ve never seen online), there’s never a case of all style and no substance. They dig in deep and always manage to provide glimpses into current industry trends, studio tours, peeks inside real campaigns, suggestions for processes and even a talent directory in the back. In the age of Pinterest, I want more than just pretty pictures. I want to understand how those pretty pictures were created and that’s where Computer Arts delivers.

Computer Arts Branding

Today I wanted to give you a peek inside of Issue 5, which focuses completely on photography. Though I don’t consider myself to be a photographer (I know how to get what I want out of my basic DSLR but I’m very point-and-shoot in my process) I feel that it’s so important to be aware of what other industries are doing since there’s more crossover than ever these days. This weekend, we had a guest speaker at The Blogcademy named Lisa Devlin — she’s been a professional photographer for 20+ years and listening to her share her tips made me want to step up my game. Flipping through this issue, I’m now paying more attention to lighting and composition. Sometimes we just need that little push.

Computer Arts Branding

While I have loved all the issues I’ve managed to get ahold of, this release is perhaps the most visually stunning. With photography, it’s just easier to push boundaries sometimes. As I’ve mentioned before, these issues aren’t cheap but they’re so worth it — with very few ads, they’re less of a magazine and more along the lines of a softcover book. It feels good to learn about how folks outside of my industry take in the world through their cameras. I believe that we all have something to teach and in return, there’s always something new we can learn.

Computer Arts Branding

To get your hands on the Computer Arts Collection, go here for further information.

Sneak Peek: The Blogcademy Magazine

October 10, 2012

Blogcademy Magazine

We wanted to give the attendees of the upcoming Blogcademy workshop a memento that contained jump-starts to making their weekend a success: an exclusive print magazine. Kat, Gala and I each wrote articles pertaining to the topics we will be covering and also developed four activities inside. Additionally, we included the class schedule, room for notes, our contact information and a personal letter welcoming attendees to the course. Beyond that, we compiled a list of our favorite books and quotes.

Blogcademy Magazine

This first edition is 36 pages of content we believe in and we hope it will serve as a reminder to our Blogcademy class that this is just the beginning of their blogging journeys. The print copies will be arriving this week and we couldn’t be more excited!

Advice #50: 11 Tips For Acing Your Next Design Interview

September 26, 2012

Advice


Hello! I graduated about 2 years ago from college and landed a couple of jobs where I’ve been able to pick up new skills. Now, the printing company I currently work at has been doing layoffs and this has set up a red flag for me. I am applying to new jobs and have gone on interviews, but I can’t seem to close the deal! What am I doing wrong? Do you have any tips?

Advice

Source.

You’ve come to the right person! I’ve been on a lot of interviews during my career. Some went exceptionally well and I was handed the job on the spot. Others were so embarrassing and weird that I walked out wondering what had just happened — was I secretly being interrogated for a crime I’d unknowingly committed?

Today, I’m going to share some rapid-fire advice for what has worked for me and how to make the most of your limited time during an interview.

Here are 11 tips to help you ace your next interview:

1. Always do your research.

You can never be too prepared. Search the prospective company’s site for as much information about their clients and corporate culture as possible. Make sure you have their phone number and address tucked away in the event of a total catastrophe. Make sure you know exactly where you’re going. Know your interviewer’s name so you can ask for them at the front desk (and write this down as well).

2. Revise, revise, revise.

Make sure you have a pristine copy of your resumé on hand. Even if it’s a fairly generic design resumé, tailor your overall objective statement to align with a potential opening they may have or an ideal skill they seem to admire. Going above and beyond shows that you care and that you have an attention to detail.

3. Be on time.

This is common sense but it bears repeating. Design studios are busy. They don’t have time to wait around for you. On the other hand, they’ll often keep you waiting! This is your chance to take Instagram photos of their lobby, which is most likely filled with amazing modern furniture and rad design books.

4. Dress the part. But, don’t overdo it.

Stay true to your personal style but also keep the look accessible. Lean towards what’s both polished and pulled together but also in line with the overall industry. If you’re perusing the company’s blog and everyone seems to wear t-shirts and flip-flops, common sense would tell you to avoid a suit and tie at all costs. After all, you want to make them feel like you already belong there!

5. Be attentive.

At the end of almost every interview, you’ll get asked if you have any questions. This is your opportunity to first provide an overall complement of the company and its work and secondly, to hopefully have at least one question. It shows that you are inquisitive, interested in their work and engaged.

6. Be enthusiastic but not creepy.

Smile and demonstrate that you’re a real person. I can tell you from experience that even if your portfolio is the absolute best and you can run the full Adobe Creative Suite in your sleep, if you come across as a cold-hearted, soulless serial killer that doesn’t make eye contact and can’t carry on a conversation to save your life, you’ll probably get passed up for someone who is a little less experienced but a complete joy to be around.

I worked at many places where I was far from the most experienced but I did everything I could to make up for this in other areas. I’ve grabbed coffee for my art directors, gone out of my way to stay late to wrap up presentations, worked as well as I possibly could in team atmospheres, came in on the on the occasional weekend and so on. Make yourself absolutely indispensable, act like you want to be there and most likely, they’ll keep you around.

7. Have your portfolio ready to go.

Even though the world around us is increasingly going digital, a lot of top agency folks still appreciate old school touches. I know a lot of designers that bring in their portfolios now on laptops and iPads but I still go out of my way to carry a print portfolio.

Have a strategy. Mine has gone like this: I save my absolute best 10 to 15 projects for my print portfolio. It’s hardcover with custom foil embossed logo — yes, it cost me a fortune to have made but it shows my level of commitment. As a backup, I have my portfolio also saved onto my iPad with a few additional projects just in case the interviewer shows an interest in viewing more work. This is also your opportunity to share some recent works in progress that you may have not had a chance to add into your book yet.

8. Always ask your interviewer for a business card on the way out.

After all, they may not be the person who contacted you originally and if you don’t have a way to thank them, you’ve just shot yourself in the foot.

9. Say thank you and have your business card ready.

Always thank the interviewer for their time on your way out. Make sure they have your resumé and business card in hand. Every day, I hear that people don’t care about business cards any more but I completely disagree with that. Also, they’re a prime opportunity to show off your design skills. These are my cards and I carry them absolutely everywhere.

10. Always follow up with a brief but enthusiastic email.

Studios don’t have the spare time to mull through rambling messages. Get to the point, address your interviewer by their first name and thank them for their time. Yes, you can send snail mail but I suggest firing off an email because they’ll receive it faster and it won’t get lost in a pile on someone’s desk!

11. Be persistent but not annoying.

There is a fine line here, as we all know. If you don’t hear from your interviewer right away, follow up within a week. When I was trying to line up my first-ever internship while still in college, I spent about 2 months emailing and calling two contacts at a design studio. I had a recommendation email from my instructor but it still took awhile to get through. Finally, the week before I went back to school, I landed my first interview and got the internship. Instead of lasting a quarter, it lasted a full year and resulted in my first full-time job in the industry. If I had given up after that first email, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Once again, studios are busy. Sometimes, it just takes a few times to get through.

In closing: Be yourself. Be prepared. Do your research. We’re all human — interviews are rarely easy. Just do your best, follow up and keep your head up. And, go to every interview you possibly can. With practice, it does get easier.

Readers: Do you have any more tips on how to seal the deal?

Computer Arts Collection: Branding

September 26, 2012

Computer Arts Branding

“Branding is about driving a big idea. It’s not about telling untruths — it’s about honing in on a brand’s core truth, and amplifying it.” — Steven Owen, Creative Director of Heavenly

By now, you’ve probably gathered that I’m a huge fan of the Computer Arts Collection, a series of six in-depth guides jam-packed with information from key areas of the global design industry. Topics covered include graphic design, typography, illustration, branding, photography and advertising.

Any of us can hop online and spend hours online doing endless image searches (and I often do), but what makes this branding issue so valuable is that it digs deeper, way beyond the surface level of aesthetically stunning graphics and delves into the design process and strategy. Since my main focus is as a brand designer, this issue was especially insightful — I particularly enjoyed the breakdown of micro branding trends (Branding Influences) because although I’ve come across a lot of the images before, seeing them distilled into specific movements gave me a focused sense of what’s striking a chord in the industry.

Computer Arts Branding

And at a larger scale, I found the macro trend of simplicity in branding to be fascinating. Over the last few years, there’s been a real sense of cutting out the excess visual noise and distilling a brand down to its core elements in an effort to relieve consumers of the completely overwhelming number of choices and social influences they’re constantly inundated with. Think about it: when we’re feeling overwhelmed, we often reach for what seems the most simple, honest and familiar.

Perhaps the most important area this issue touched upon is the current state of the branding industry. With brands now needing to work seamlessly across multiple platforms, it’s imperative for designers to be more informed than ever about how these pieces work together to create a solid, unified experience.

Finally, the real standout of this series is that each issue features a studio project. A leading design studio reveals their full creative process behind a project and you get to follow along, from the brief to the outcome, including video diaries. I thought this would be especially helpful for design students who are wondering what it’s like to work in a studio environment. Having worked in many, I know how different each studio can be depending on the size of the team, the size of the client and the overall corporate culture so getting glimpses of how different studios handle a project can really help all of us hone our process further.

To get your hands on the Computer Arts Collection, go here.