DISTINGUISHING GRAPHIC DESIGN AND BRANDING

Graphic Design and Branding, the two professions and business terms that often we hear and talk about, especially if we are practitioners in the world of business. In addition to the many possible interpretations of the term equation, which is not necessarily all true or false, whether we've made time to see and understand the difference? In this paper the author will use the perspective of the users of graphic design and branding services (businesses). 

The following explanation has been described vividly by Sakti Makki, in his article published in Concept Magazine, Issue 7, 2005.

In accordance with the development of the world of graphic design in Indonesia, and from the author's own experience, is relatively difficult to meet business people (in general) who have never heard of or use the services of graphic design in building their business, either directly to those who sell these services as well as through such as ad agencies, ranging from logo creation, packaging design, posters to annual reports. Everything is the end result of a challenge given the job of the client based on a series of requirements that must be considered in the project in question.

We must question whether all of the work of graphic design is already answered all the essence of the requirements desired by the client and whether a logo (or other relevant form of graphic design) that was born because the job (with its very unique and distinctive) is a comprehensive answer and includes all explicit and implicit context of the work in question?

Often the writer heard a businessman say "I've got a new branding", pointing to the logo on his card and asked my opinion about "branding" new. Whether in the context of this "logo" (graphic design) the same intent and meaning of "branding"? Similarly, the example of "brief" from a client that outlines the need for "branding" new "brand" its (product / company), whether the new branding with new logo? Is if the brand Nike to "rebranding" or "brand rejuvenation" is synonymous with changing its logo? Is it only the logo needs to be in "rebrand" or the "Rejuvenate"? Let us see what follows that will better explain the differences of graphic design and branding.

Branding is a professional discipline that basic task is to transform and manifest an "entity" (product, corporate and otherwise) as a "man" is multi-dimensional. Divided into three basic elements: identity, expression and communication that are tri-single (3 to one and inseparable).

A new entity can be categorized as a "brand" if it has, and support "to the transcendent" (proclaim) the third matter to the "viewers" it. For example, Nike is a "brand champion" (identity) that visually express herself with a "swoosh" (expression) and communicate intensively and aggressively using the brand slogan "Just Do It" (communication) to viewers who want or has become a champion in sports.

Based on the description above can be seen further that the discipline of "branding" is a profession that required discipline to handle, describe and develop three basic components of an entity as a whole without being able to be separated. In the discipline of graphic design profession whose main focus is the development of creative visualization is based on the elaboration of identity which is usually prepared in advance by the client or other parties (marketing practitioners in the entity in question).

The next question is whether it is possible an "entity" to develop "brand" or "branding" his (rebrand, rejuvenation or otherwise) without having to change the expression? Of course. Garuda Indonesia is one concrete example where the entity is trying to change the image of "brand" without changing its "identity" of an eagle as we see today. The problems faced by the "brand" Garuda is his image, instead of visual expression. In this case a role is a program of "branding" that tries to answer and find the solution of the problem of "image" (identity).

In other words, branding should look at the problem from all angles while not graphic design. How about a politician who wants to "branding" his "brand" it (himself)? Should he have a "logo" which typically may represent his true identity, vision and mission or personality? Do make a "logo" of a politician is a necessity for the existence of portions of graphic design jobs? The author is very difficult to imagine what kind of "logo" of a Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. A politician would be more easy to "branding" herself (by relying on public communication) through the construction of the name, image, reputation, role in society as well as strategy and long-term thinking for the sake of the nation. Communities will be more familiar with him through "proven track record" that was built through a strategy of "branding" a good and proven.

Both branding and graphic design are both very different professional discipline but related and very closely related. Every practitioner in the field of this profession has its own expertise and also the different business fields. The authors hope this paper can help readers and practitioners of other businesses to more clearly see the similarities and differences so that no longer occurs confusion in the interpretation and selection of services that are actually more needed by businesspeople as well as "entities" place of business is working.

Graphic design and business may be similar, certainly they are not the same. By this author would like to close this paper with the quote "We are Spiritual Beings on a human journey, not Human Beings in a spiritual journey"

HOW TO MAKE A GOOD NAME CARDS

The most efficient print media marketing is a business card than a brochure. Size that fits in your pocket and wallet allows it to be brought everywhere. The function of a business card into the main tool to support your introduction to others, contact numbers affixed on your business card in order to communicate further at a later time. So wherever you go, bring a few sheets of business cards and leave the seboks if not to attend an event that can meet a lot of people, such as seminars or meetings. Create business cards with good design, worthy and interesting! So that people can be easy to contact you.

 
Good Business Card Design

A good business card is a card that is informative and professional. Remember to what cards you made. Give the power of information effectively and efficiently in your business card.

 

1. Logo Use

Have a professional designer to create your company logo. Logo design do not carelessly, although 'small' shape but 'big' reciprocal. Your logo should represent the will the image of a product or service or company is run. The logo can be displayed in harmony in a variety of media such as websites other than business cards, brochures, letterhead, and other promotional media. Contact Logo + Brand Identity Designer as AgusRidwanSopari.com online to start investing with your company logo.

2. Create A line Slogan

If what you are doing is not very obvious from the name of your company, create one line slogan will help people remember what you sell. Like the "ARIDH" glimpse ARIDH name will not immediately understand what it is selling, but by giving the slogan or tagline Logo Design + Brand Identity sure people will better understand.

3. List the Email and Website Also

In addition to the address and name of your company, customers and prospects want to know the website address and your email address. If you're worried about spam, you must set up two email addresses for you - one to put on your business card and give to the public and one private email address that you only give a few trusted business associates and friends. Treat also for your mobile phone number.

4. Take advantage of Momentum

Ceramic momentum of your encounter with potential friends and business associates on special occasions that you will follow such as seminars, training, exhibitions, and even your school reunion. You do this by pinning signs or phrase on your card for someone to easily recall the early meet. For example, wrote: "Fellow Participants in Bandung IT Training 2011". If you have time and budget, can also create a special name card design for the show alone.

 
Name Card Design-worthy

Business card is a card-worthy or worthy of the name of useful and interesting. How do I make business cards we respected others aliases are stored either in their name card holders.

 

1. The letter is easy and readable

Make sure the text color has good contrast with its background color. If you read the text you're trying to add a background rectangle measuring a contrasting color to enhance its readability. Make sure you use fonts designed for print. The smallest font size at least 6 points to Arial. At the same size, some fonts tend to be smaller than Arial printout. So be sure to test the design of your business card before sending it to print.

2. Create eye catching

Design an eye catching business cards are of color and composition. But remember to keep in line with the character of your company logo so that brand building was not interrupted. Normally one would expect to deal with a small company if you use thin paper and printed with a cheap printer. Card size version of the east there is a 9 x 5 cm and 3.5 x 2 inches west, or out of the standard size for the sake of creativity. Create your name card is unique and fantastic!

3. Use a picture of yourself or not?

Wearing a photo of himself is not a requirement, nor is it to be trivialized. Business cards are also a tool for your personal branding. Notary, presenter / MC, administrators of social organizations, brokerage houses or masseuse even need business cards. If you are a professional or work as self employe would be inappropriate to use the photos on your card. Suitability of clothing and facial expressions in photographs could help you describe what you sell. For photos did not rule out all areas of work will be needed, especially for distributed disebuah event that you follow-I've never spread a business card, but sorry Agus which yes, forgot! (True story).

Business cards you can just make your own prints in the office using business card templates premises variety of models that can be taken from the Internet such as in masbadar.com, or kartunama.asia

Although some of the printed paper you can buy to create your own business cards, but heavy enough to pass for so-called business cards that is worth scatterplot, most people will get better results by having business cards with setting it in a professional and printed.

4. Printed with quality

Concerning the quality of the print, depending on the initial design your business card. It does not matter if you use photoshop, illustrator, or draw good use as a vector software. Due to photoshop RBG color output, even though he is black but not black prints with 100% there are elements of C, M, and Y so that the bleed will be printed. Name card design resolution of not less than 300 dpi. So get to know the machine that will print your business cards: whether offset printing, digital printing, inkjet / laser, embossed, foil, or engraving.

STEP BY STEP TO DESIGNING WEBSITE

To compensate for the popularity of the field of website design in 2010, so it's good preparation for me to write about whatever we need to do before designing a website. Maybe a lot of friends loyal readers Kick The graphics are not that familiar with the workings of designing the website, because it used to print designs (as I did). 

In website design, we as designers are not required can program design we have created. But of course it would be better if we could at the same time to design our own program, but if in a sense to program a website is hard work, we better focus on the interface and design concepts first. We ought to know is how to think of programmers, so we created a design that makes sense for embodied in code. For example, one way programmers work is to make the background first, because it's the design that we make must be arranged neatly in a folder (Photoshop) specific. 

1 goal

Each design must have clear objectives and goals achieved what he wanted in through the website. If that website portfolio, determine its purpose, whether to get a new project? , Doing personal branding or to become a kind of online catalog results of our work?
With a clear goal then we will easily find the concept and design style that fits. Avoid the aim of 'cool' at the beginning of thought, because the design which we think is cool it may only survive within a month, so in a short time we feel the need to redesign our website. "Cool" is just a "skin" her, the most important is the function and purpose of the website. 

2. Sitemap

Sitemap is a very vital, because it would be a clear picture of the flow of information about the websites that we will create. Define the navigation and features that need at this stage and remove features that are not effective. If the purpose of the website is clear, then we can focus on that goal and not incorporate features that are less important, such as the chat box or banner advertising space for example (it's odd that in the web portfolio of no banner ads). 

3. Sketch / Wireframe

In order not to get lost in a blank Photoshop canvas, the better we are designing on paper first. This step is necessary to avoid double work in Photoshop. Can imagine the time wasted when making a background or button looks luminous and web 2.0 really!, But it was less precise location and size. This stage is very necessary, especially if we deal with websites that have a complex flow of information. With the sketch we can create a variety of possible layouts quickly. And if we work with clients, they are more happy when we start the project and show the results of our sketches before moving to the stage finishing in Photoshop. This could be a way to involve clients actively in the project without making us upset (due to change only need to remove the sketch only). 

4. Resolution 72 dpi RGB & Color

72 dpi is the standard resolution for display on the monitor (do not ever make a website design at a resolution of 100 dpi though, because its original size would be great too). And use the RGB color that was to specialize in the monitor. Well, this step is a basic step that should not be broken, so do not forget your friends:) 

5. Maximum Width 960 Pixel Website Content

all the designs you create, keep the area of ​​content (text, photos, etc.) not to exceed 960 pixels wide. This is because the standard monitor is a layman is still around in 1024 x 768. For the background image might need to exceed 960 pixels wide with the goal so that the background looks neat and not cut off if the monitor is wide open at like 1360 x 768 pixels or more. so adjust the field of working with a wide-screen monitor that you have

6. Use the Grid System

Grid is not a restriction of creativity to the design. Grid created to facilitate us to maintain consistency from page one layout to another page. In addition gird also helps programmers who will design our menslicing in photoshop. I used to use the 960 Grid System, because it is standard in today. If you do not want to use the existing grid, please use your own grid. The most important content area width should not exceed 960 pixels. 

7. Folder Management & Layers in Photoshop

Get used to create a folder on the important parts of a website, for example, the folder header, body folder, folders sidebar, footer folder. Actually its folder name can be up to you, which is important in the call and each layer included in a section / section united into one folder.
Do not forget to name each layer, so it will be easy if we want our design to edit it later and of course this is very helpful programmers who work with us. 

Conclusion

7 steps above are initial steps that we are accustomed to designing in a state-organized (especially website design). Because we know that sometimes we can not finish a project alone, in which case maybe we need a programmer friend, so that code that is generated is also neat, we as designers must also provide the "raw files" is neat.

Typography IN WEB DESIGN

Typography Typography is a science or in selecting and arranging the letters by setting its spread in the available spaces, to create a certain impression, so it can help the reader to get comfortable reading as much as possible.

So also in the world of Web Design. Typography is also very important that the visitors could feel at home and linger in front of the monitor and feel comfortable in reading the letter by letter contained in the website. For the selection of letters in each manufacturing site to consider several aspects. For example, how complete a font that exists in the target client computer system, the age of the audience of the website to be created, font color, font type etc..

Broadly speaking, the letters are classified into the following:

Sans Serif: with characteristics without fins / serif, and has a thickness of the letters of the same or nearly the same. The impression created by the letter of this type is a modern, contemporary and efficient.
Roman: the trait has fins / foot / serif-shaped taper at the ends. The impression created is a classic, elegant, graceful and feminine.
Egyptian: with characteristic foot / fin / serif square shaped like a board with a thickness equal or nearly equal. The impression created is sturdy, strong, sturdy and stable.
Script: a hand scratches done with pen, brush or pencil sharp and usually skewed to the right. Sifast the resulting impression is personal and intimate.
Miscellaneous: a development of the forms that already exist. Plus decorations and ornaments, or decorative lines. Owned impression is decorative and ornamental.

Next live explored more letters which are compatible with web design and target audience of the website which will be made