Design Tips

Design Tips to Clients

Knowing basic design process and terms helps you to get the best results. Below, I list some of the questions I am often asked by my clients. If you have a specific question, please send it to info@nagatadesign.com. I will either answer your question by email, or post the answer on the web site, whichever is appropriate.

Design professionals often assume that their clients know the basic terms of design. Though some marketing managers accustomed to communicating with art directors and design firms may, others don't. If you need information about the design process or don't understand design terms, ask questions. Good communication between a client and a designer is the first step to success.

Get Your Logo for Just $99!

Cheap logo design is a big business. You must have seen the ads for logos at $300 or even as low as $99 on the Internet. Why do some vendors design logos for a couple hundred dollars, but others charge well over $1,000? As the saying goes, you get what you pay for and the economy here is a false one.

A cheap logo design often uses free or low cost downloadable logo templates; while others are designed abroad, sometimes without the client’s knowledge. A low cost vendor can simply type in your company name, and it’s done. It takes just a few minutes, including the time to choose a template. It’s not a bad business if someone can make $99 in 10 minutes. A logo designed abroad may cost less than in the United States, but problems with quality control, communications, and accountably for errors could result in an absolute failure. Further, esthetics varies from one country to another, because of the different cultural background. Also, low cost logo vendors often don’t provide a vector (resolution independent) format logo. If you don’t have a vector format logo you will be out of luck, for instance, when you create a large banner of your company logo and it will look blurred or pixilated.

Your logo is your company’s unique image, adding value to your business. If you are using a template, that a vendor simply shares, that image is nothing more than a cheap copy of everybody else’s. Your image should set you apart.

Creating a visual identity is a time consuming and carefully considered process. When I design a logo, research comes first. I ask questions of my client to get as much information as possible. These questions include color preferences, targeted audiences, impressions to be conveyed, etc. I also study the client’s industry, its customs and accompanying expectations, in order to get an idea of the design parameters. Only after understanding my client and doing research, do I create several initial logo designs to present to my client. The client chooses one, and this selected logo design is then modified for their approval. This intensive design process takes effort. In order to present 3 design drafts to a client, I may initially create 10 logo design drafts.

When I first started my business, I signed up with a design project bidding site. It was not easy to win, because my competitors bidding prices were amazingly low. Still, I managed to win several projects. I soon withdrew myself from the bidding site. After spending 20 hours of designing and modifying a logo, receiving $200 compensation didn’t make sense and I could not continue to provide competent high quality designs for my clients that would make their businesses shine.

A bad logo costs much more then you initially save. Changing a logo after establishing a business costs you not only the new logo design fee, but also the cost of redesigning your business card, product design, signage, brochures, website, etc. A logo is a valuable asset and plays a central role in visual branding.

Yukiyo Nagata Design is committed to your success by providing a unique value added, professionally crafted visual identity that helps your business thrive.

Logo File Format

If you are going to create a logo for your organization, make sure that you receive logo(s) in vector-oriented graphic file(s) at the end of the process. Industry standard vector-oriented file extensions are either .ai or .eps. Unlike other pixel-oriented graphic file formats, such as .jpg, .tif, .gif, psd, vector-oriented graphic files draw graphics based on mathematical calculation, so that the files are pixel independent, scalable, and easily editable. It means that whether the file is enlarged or shrunk, it doesn't lose any visual integrity. This will assure that your logo will look good either on a 100" x 100" trade show banner or business cards.

One important note, unless you have a special graphic design application installed in your computer, you cannot open such vector-oriented files. But don't delete them, because they are master files. Burn them on a CD and keep them in a safe place. When you hire a design firm for another graphic design project, you will be asked to provide vector-oriented logo file(s).

Copyright

Some people wrongfully believe that the images on the Internet are free to download and use. All images, articles, and music pieces are copyright protected, even if it's not stated clearly. Some images are free to download and use, but in that case, the terms are clearly stated.

If you find an image or article you would like to use on your web site, you should contact the owner to get permission for the use.

If you would like to register your valuable intellectual property, such as your organization's logo and website, to protect your investment, you can find detailed information at United States Copyright Office.

Choosing a Rental Web Server

There are numerous rental web servers. Each one of them offers slightly different services, and the choice depends on your specific needs. I advise clients to choose one, which has a person available at the end of the line. I personally prefer making a phone call and speaking directly with someone when I experience any problems. On-line chat may work, if you are comfortable with it. However, by having a 24/7 help, you will be less frustrated.

Whether creating a web site or brochure, contents are central. Without persuasive and well thought out contents, beautiful design is just an empty container. Needless to say, developing good contents takes time. Before contacting a design firm, make sure that you have finalized text into concrete sentences.

It is not advisable to develop contents while the design process is going on, because design largely depends on the contents. If the length or contents of your text changes drastically in the middle of the project, a designer may have to redo the whole process from the beginning. It delays the schedule, and is likely to incur extra charges.

If you are having difficulties developing contents on your own, we can help. Please contact us at 212-729-9506, or info@nagatadesign.com.

What Do You Need

When you bring a project to a design firm, you will need to provide a finalized text, logo (.ai or .eps file), and other materials. You should be prepared to discuss your budget, schedule, and any ideas you want to convey to your (prospect) clients.

Resolution

Resolution in design refers to image resolution in digital format. The more resolution the image has, the more detail of the image is described. There are several different methods to measure resolution, but in general, the image resolution in a website is far lower than the image resolution on printed media. That's why a picture or logo downloaded from the Internet often looks ugly when printed.

If you are planning to use your photos in your organization’s next newsletter, for example, make sure to maximize the camera's resolution setting high enough. In my experience, snapshots provided from clients often are not usable for print, because the resolution is too low.