Shell Graphix

The amount of poorly designed billboards on display throughout Brisbane is utterly amazing. At between $10,000 – $30,000 (or more) depending on the location and duration it seems like it should be a job requiring much attention to detail. Obviously not…

I so often see billboard designs which have the following misjudgements:

1. Text so small you would need to scale the post and borrow some reading glasses just so you can read what it says. This is a hazard for drivers (maybe even pedestrians!), and the company who invested an amount equivalent to a new family automobile. Neither will witness a positive outcome.

2. Clashing colours. It was only yesterday I drove down the M1 towards Brisbane and noticed a new billboard up with a bright orange, yellow and silver colour scheme. With a delightful mix of bright sunshine, commercial buildings and nature surrounding this fixture there is no way they had an on-location mock up so they could test run the design PRIOR to printing and public display.

3. Advertising and event co-ordination. When you book a billboard you are aware that it has a life span of usually around 4 weeks. With this in mind, you would think that a bit of pre-planning would come into it making the end date of the display right before the date of the advertised event. Apparently not everyone believes in such logic as I have seen countless billboards where the event had occurred a week or more prior. What a waste of advertising.

4. Location, Location. It would seem some advertisers dont visit the site prior to their selection, ones covered with over grown trees or other visibility issues always tend to be full, even if their target audience cant even see the ad at all.

In the end a great deal of research should always go into a successful billboard advertising campaign. Reaching a mass market will bring in a lot of new business and the more attention to detail, the better the results. Remember to request a mock up of your design super imposed into the destined location. This gives you a perfect understanding of what it will look like and how visible it is. Many billboard companies supply you with sample photos of their sites plus they have a tool that will display the visibility of your design at a variety of distances – ideal for judging the impact timeframe your ad will have. The higher the visibility the more involved the message can be. If you are only capturing minimal attention on a stretch of freeway that is 110km the message should be short and powerful. If you select an area that is in the CBD, destined for a peak-hour audience twice a day you can increase the length of the message knowing it is a captive audience who has the time to figure it out.

One of the best designs i have seen in the CBD were the crossword and sudoku billboards. Clever and engaging. The perfect combination and a sign it was well thought out, designed to scale and it reached the target audience. A clever design keeps people talking days after seeing it, and that is true success.

It is not a cheap investment to create such a large scale advertising campaign – it is worth doing properly.

Thank you for taking the time to visit the new and improved Shell Graphix website. This design concept was actually started in July 2008 and has taken this long due to a severe lack of spare time. This is not something we can complain about because it means we were busy making everyone else look amazing which is NEVER a bad thing. Like all good things that come to those who wait, it has resulted in a far more evolved production than we had even dreamed of.

All going to plan this will become quite an informative area full of graphic design and web design tips, tricks, thoughts and best of all inspiration! As we learn new things, take on new projects, discover new methods we want to be able to share them with you.

We hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Common paper sizes

 

A0 – 841 x 1189
A1 – 594 x 841

A2 – 420 x 594

A3 – 297 x 420

A4 – 210 x 297

A5 – 148 x 210

A6 – 105 x 148

 

Measurements are in mm.

 

Spot and Full Colour Printing

 

A common misconception is that spot colour printing is more cost effective than full colour printing. These days full colour printing is just as economical (sometimes more so) as most printers are setup primarily for full colour printing. Full colour allows your design to really grab attention and reach its full potential. Spot colour is perfect for projects that require a specific colour set but many clients still think that they should purposefully restrict their colour selection to gain a cost advantage. This is just not the case anymore. That aside, if you are going to do something you might as well do it right the first time and not cut corners! You will be glad you did.

 

Resolution and Colour

 

When printing you should always ensure your images are high resolution. The difference between print quality and web quality is that web is designed to load quickly and is usually reduced in quality and/or size. The common website image resolution used is 72dpi. When it comes to printing you need to ensure images are at 300dpi in the full size you want to print in. Anything smaller results in blurry or unclear images and spoils the print project. Printing also relies on the CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow and black) combination whilst computer viewing uses RGB (red, green, blue). Ensure you convert your images to suit the platform you are working with.

 

Paper Stock

 

Paper comes with different finishes which can be divided into glossy/shiny or matte. They also come in different weights. To top these elements off you can also add a gloss or matte cello glaze to finish off. This can act as a level of protection and add life to a print project. It also adds to the end finish and quality. To give you some examples that you may have seen previously – business cards are often printed on a 300 – 350gsm stock, this is quite a firm card stock and are at times finished off with a gloss or matt cello which adds a super-glossy/shiny finish or smooth texture. You will also find if a cello glazed business card goes through the washing machine that it will still be in tact at the end (maybe in two halves but not in a million pieces like a tissue or piece of paper)! Standard promotional brochures are typically printed on a 130gsm standard glossy paper stock. This is the most economical option and most commercial printers have bulk quantities in stock for generic runs.

 

For those with larger budgets there is the option of specialized paper stocks. Companies like Doggett, Raleigh and various other paper stockists supply a comprehensive range of options including textured, environmental and coloured. This is a wonderful idea for pieces that have a long life span or need to make a huge impact and demand attention.

 

Digital V’s Offset Printing

Generally digital is the cost effective option for print runs of 500 or less. You do not need such a high resolution for digital and it has a faster turn-around. Offset is the way to go if you want a high quality finish, print more than 500 copies and usually takes around 5 business days to produce. Offset printing does require correct file setup, high resolution and CMYK setup.

Shell Graphix would like to welcome Sids and Kids who have been selected as one of our 2009 pro bono clients. We are very much looking forward to our first project together and to a year of creative adventures.

Each year Shell Graphix selects up to two not for profit organisations to donate time and expertise to. This includes up to ten hours per month of free graphic and web design services and heavily discounted rates for projects that require further time. Without effective marketing materials and a consistent branding approach not for profit organisations are not taken seriously which makes a design and marketing budget essential.  We aim to relieve this budget so the funds can go towards an even better use . This is our way of giving back to our community and making a difference.

If you are from a not for profit organisation and would like to be considered for future pro bono projects please contact us. 2009 applicants have been selected and our last position will be announced soon.

 

 

You don’t necessarily need a logo that is “better” than your competition but you do need to be more memorable. Remember, the objective is that your logo will be around for a very long time, you want to look at something you love!

 

1. Practicality

If you cant use it large, small, in colour, in mono, for web or for print it is just not going to work. A multi-purpose logo is the key to long-term use.

 

2. Recognition

If your audience cant tell what you do or who you are at a quick glance you have missed the mark. Make it relative and integrate what you do within your image. You attract more wanted attention.

 

3. Distinctive

Thorough industry research is a must. You don’t want to accidentally look like your no.1 competitor. Nor do you want to look totally different. You want to nail the areas they have missed thereby taking their spot in first place.

 

4. Simplistic

Less is more when it comes to a logo. If it is too busy no one will look twice or remember it. Think McDonalds, coca cola, BP, nike… they know what works.

 

5. Longevity

A good logo needs to look past current trends and remain flexible enough to live through the next 20 years. This window of time should be adequate to burn the icon into millions of memories.

 

Whether it is a logo re-design or a fresh new corporate branding you need to keep these 5 elements in mind when making your final decisions. It is always worth the heartache to get it right the FIRST time. You want your logo to be around for a long time and to be taken as seriously as any of the other huge corporate brands orbiting the business world.

 

More samples of before and after: