Who do graphic designers work with? Choose typefaces that are easy to read at any size

Communication plays a huge role in design. It is very important to create a strong connection between the website and the user himself and then help him achieve his goals. When we talk about communication in the context of web design, we're usually talking about text. Typography is an integral part of this process:

More than 95% of information on the Internet is stored in written form.

Good typography makes information easily accessible, while poor typography requires effort to understand the text. As Oliver Reichenstein notes in the article “Web design is 95% typography”:

Optimizing typography is about optimizing readability, accessibility, usability (!) and achieving overall graphical balance.

1. Use a minimum number of fonts

When you use more than 3 different fonts, your website will lose structure and look unprofessional. Remember that overusing font size and style can ruin any layout.

To prevent this situation, try to keep the number of fonts used to a minimum.

In general, keep the number of fonts to a minimum (two is more than enough, one is often enough) and stick to using the same ones throughout your website. If you decide to work with more than one font, make sure the font families match each other in terms of letter width. Take a look at the example below. The Georgia and Verdana combination (left) share characteristics that allow them to work harmoniously together. Let's take the combination of Baskerville and Impact (right) for comparison. The “heavy” Impact suppresses its “notch” partner.

Make sure font families match each other in terms of letter widths

2. Try to use standard fonts

In font services (for example, Google Web Fonts or Typekit) you can find many interesting ones that will add something new and unusual to your design. Plus, they are very easy to use. Take Google for example:

1. Choose any font. Let's say Open Sans.

2. Generate the code and paste it into

Your HTML. 

3. Done!


But what could go wrong?

In fact, this method has one serious problem - users are accustomed to standard fonts and read text written in such fonts faster.

Usually the best way out will be used system fonts(Arial, Calibri, Trebuchet, etc.). An exception may be the need to stick to some fonts that the client himself specified: for example, for branding or to create something memorable. Remember that good typography affects the reading of the text, not the visual perception of the font.

3. Limit line length

The correct number of characters on one line is the key to making your text easy to read. When choosing the width of the text, you should focus not on your design, but on the clarity and precision of the written text. Consider this advice from the Baymard Institute:

“If you want your reader to be comfortable, each line should contain no more than 60 characters. Having the right number of characters on one line is the key to making your text easy to read.”

If the line is too short, your eyes will have to change focus frequently, which will disrupt your reading pace. If the line is too long, the reader’s eyes, on the contrary, will have to focus on what is written for a long time. Photo: Material Design

For mobile devices, stick to 30-40 characters per line. Below is an example of two sites opened on mobile devices. On one line contains from 50 to 75 characters ( best quantity characters per line for printed text and computer resolution), and on the second we see the optimal 30-40 characters.

In web design you can achieve required quantity characters by reducing the width of text blocks using ems or pixels.

4. Choose typefaces that are easy to read at any size

Users will access your site from different devices, which, accordingly, have different sizes and resolutions. Majority user interfaces use text elements of various sizes (copy button, field labels, section headings, etc.). You need to choose a typeface that will look good and remain readable at any size.

Roboto by Google

Make sure the typeface you choose is easy to read on small screens! Avoid using cursive fonts such as Vivaldi (pictured below): although they look beautiful, they can sometimes be difficult to understand.

Using the Vivaldi font will make text difficult to read on a small screen

5. Use fonts with clear lettering

Many typefaces are designed in such a way that it can sometimes be very easy to confuse similar letters, especially “I” and “L” written in Latin script (as in the image below). In some, the letters are located so close to each other that the combination of “r” and “n” can be mistaken for the letter “m”. Therefore, when choosing a font, test it in different contexts. This way you can make sure that the reader will not have problems understanding the text due to the font typeface.

6. Avoid caps

Text written in caps—or all caps—is suitable for situations where the user is not involved in the reading process (for example, in abbreviations or logos). But in other cases, don't force your readers with all-caps text. As Miles Tinker points out in his famous work Legibility of Print, such text is read much slower than text written in lowercase.

7. Keep line spacing to a minimum.

In typography, there is a special term for the distance between lines - leading (or line spacing). By increasing leading, you increase the vertical space between lines, thereby improving the readability of text on the screen. According to the rules, to ensure readability of the text, leading should be approximately 30% greater than the height of the character.

Correct line spacing contributes to better readability of the text. Photo: Microsoft

According to Dmitry Fadeev, correctly selected distance between paragraphs increases reading comprehension by 20%. The designer's ability to work with white space allows users to absorb the entire content of the text without missing any details.

Left: The text is written almost flush. Right: Proper line spacing improves readability of text. Photo: Apple

8. Make sure you have good color contrast

Do not use the same or similar colors for text and background. The more visible the text, the faster users will be able to read it and catch the main points. Consortium World Wide Web recommends using the following ratio for body text and image text:

• Small texts should have a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 relative to the background.

• Large texts (from size 14 in bold font / from size 18 and above in standard font) must have a contrast ratio of at least 3:1 in relation to the background. 


This text does not meet the standard color contrast, so it is difficult to distinguish against the background.

This text follows the color contrast standard so it is easy to read.

When you have chosen the color scheme, you need to give your text to be read by real users and preferably on several different devices. If testing reveals any difficulties with text recognition, you can be sure that many users may encounter the same problem in the future.

9. Avoid using red or green in your text.

Colorblindness is a fairly common phenomenon, especially among men (8% of the male population is colorblind). Therefore, in addition to color, it is advisable to use some other signs to highlight important information. Also try to avoid using red and green, as these are the colors most often not recognized by colorblind people.

10. Avoid using flickering text

Information that flashes or flickers may cause discomfort to susceptible users. In addition to making you feel sick, this can also cause irritation for many readers, as it will distract them from the reading process.

Don't use flickering text!

Conclusion

Typography is a very important thing. By making the right choices, you endow your website with clarity and clarity. In the same time, incorrect choice can lead to inattentive reading of the text, as it distracts all attention to itself. Typography should be readable, clear and understandable.

Typography should be respectful of the content

This implies that the reader should never feel uncomfortable while reading the text.

Typography is the skill, the art of making text not only beautiful, but also easy to read. It is important that the lettering reflects the nature of the publication or a certain information message. Typography is the ability to bring visual harmony to printed text or website page. It is not limited to just choosing the content font and alignment. Typography is the art of expressing the meaning of writing not only through words, but also through their display. This is a very interesting, deep and complex discipline. In this article we will tell you exactly about it.

What is typography?

To create a website, the designer uses text, photographs and graphics that are made by others. This division of labor allows us to achieve the best possible result due to the fact that the work is carried out with high quality materials. A designer is not a photographer or a text writer. In addition, he does not even need to understand computer or HTML coding.

Universal specialists - do they exist?

It’s a completely different matter that during complete computerization, it is simply unthinkable to engage even directly in design without knowledge of such a tool as a computer, especially considering that both the website and printed materials are initially created using programs.

If you want to create something using a computer, you need to know how that “something” can be created. In addition, modern computer software is being improved every day and provides a wider and wider range of possibilities. And if you are not familiar with this spectrum, then you are unlikely to be able to design at a high level, since you will not be able to create a product that can compete with the best samples.

Of course, the level of proficiency computer programs a graphic designer will significantly exceed the level of an ordinary user. A graphic designer is first and foremost an artist. However, the connection between the artist and the “computer scientist” is more than tangible: for example, the basics of style in typography and design solutions, which are created using certain software.

Who do graphic designers work with?

To create a full-fledged website, a graphic designer needs to collaborate with at least a programmer. Especially if you are creating a multi-level resource that will contain many interactive functions. However, a small average website can be completed by just one designer, without needing the help of a webmaster or programmer.

In life, you almost never encounter an ideal chain consisting of a creative person, a designer and a layout designer. Often, all these three functions are performed by one single person who has a higher art education, knows most of the necessary graphic programs, access to the Internet and computer, and also produces original ideas without spending a lot of effort. In addition, such a universal person will imagine the design of the future magazine, all the controls for a new, not yet created site page, and what kind of advertising will be located there.

Where are graphic designers trained?

In the profession of graphic and web designer, more than in any other, it is not even desire that is extremely important, but the constant desire to bring your ideas to life - and this can be said with confidence.

In this profession, much knowledge is acquired through constant practice in the workplace. I need to draw just such a button on a website page - I’ll hurt myself, but I’ll do it. Perhaps that's why graphic designers Often they quickly stop studying in the classical sense of the word, that is, attending an institute or college every day. Their learning takes place for the rest of their lives in the workplace, while solving everyday problems.

It is believed that you can become a graphic designer without studying at a higher or secondary specialized educational institution. It is enough to constantly engage in crafts and art for many years (such examples are also known). At the same time, a person works hard and analyzes his own and others’ work.

True, graphic designers who have extensive experience in complete absence specialized education exist only in Russia. In other conditions, people who want to work in this specialty need a higher art education, as well as knowledge of software and hardware.

Of course, basic skills in working with graphic programs It is entirely possible to obtain it on your own or through short-term courses, but this will only help to patch up the hole and will not provide the thorough knowledge that can be obtained at a university.

We, as designers, must not only understand and grasp the meaning of the text, but must see it. That is, to recognize what typeface the text was typed in and what style was used. To choose the right fonts for websites or mobile applications, you need to understand typography at least at an elementary level. In this article, I will explain the basic principles and concepts of typography, which will help a novice web designer if this is your first time hearing about the concept of typography.

Let's start with typography examples.

Typography is the use correct fonts not only in the design of books and magazines, but also for websites or applications for a mobile device.

There's no need to do that

You can often find this type of typography in advertisements on poles or in the subway.
To understand the difference between the first examples and the second, you need to know the basic principles and definitions, you need to understand and feel the fonts. Theory is important if you want to quickly and effectively start in the web design niche.

Try to read this text in 20 seconds.

There is a mistake in every word in this text. Since we are literate people, we are used to seeing what we want to see. We can easily read even such a text, without reading into the symbols, and understand it. This is normal, most literate people do this, that is, they do not notice typos, because they want to see what is written here (understand the meaning of the text), and not see the abra-kadabra. Therefore, when the fonts are chosen correctly, it will not be difficult for you to read even text with big amount typos.

Typography

The definition of typography is the design of text using typing and layout tools. The concept of “typography” comes from printing.
In the picture, the letter is a metal block on which there are printed space elements that make an imprint on the paper and the corresponding letter is obtained. Therefore, in the definition of “typography” there are words such as “typing” and “layout”; they came from printing.

Basic Definitions in Typography

Calligraphy example

Calligraphy- the art of beautiful writing. Take a wide pen, a brush or a piece of a ruler and use these tools to create such works.

Creation of decorative fonts. Usually a sketch is drawn in a notepad, then transferred to Illustrator, the font is outlined using Bezier curves, after which a neat inscription is obtained.

Lettering for the logo

Difference between calligraphy and lettering. Calligraphy is when you take a pen, marker or whatever and draw anywhere. Lettering - when you draw a sketch, transfer it to a graphic editor, trace it and get beautiful letters, which can be used in a logo or anywhere else.

Basic rules of typography

Lowercase and capital letters font

Lower case- letters accepted for continuous typing.
Uppercase(capital letters, popularly “big”) letters are used for uppercase characters; a sentence or proper name begins with them.

Hyphen and dash
An important feature that beginners miss. A hyphen and a dash are different characters, this is important to know.
Hyphen- a short dash to separate words and hyphens. Nothing beats the words. Spaces are NOT placed before or after it.
En dash is used to indicate numeric ranges, usually also not separated by spaces.
Em dash- This is a punctuation mark, used in sentences and separated by spaces.
Hyphen, en dash and em dash differ in the length of the sign itself. There is also a minus sign, it is the shortest of all. Here's a little hint. Save the picture for yourself to remember what's what.


To type an em dash on a PC, hold down alt key and on additional numeric keypad(you have a block on the right) dial 0151, you get an em dash. En dash: alt + 0150.
If you forget the combination, then type “em dash” in a search engine, find the Wikipedia article and copy the dash from there.

Quotes
It is important to remember that in Russia it is customary to use Christmas tree quotes"". To type them use alt + 0187. Some people use the double minute sign “ as quotation marks, but it is better to use quotes“ ”: alt + 0147.
Combination Shift keys+ 2 in the Cyrillic keyboard layout brings up the familiar “sign” on the screen. It does not denote quotes at all (as is commonly believed), but seconds: 68° 13′ 22″ or inches: a 17″ diagonal monitor.
The publication must use one quotation pattern, except in “cases of “quote within a quotation.”

Fonts

We've sorted out the signs, now about the concept of font. Here I will give only basic definitions of how to use fonts correctly, read in.
Font- a set of letters intended for typing text. A letter is the thing I talked about above, a metal block with a letter. Roughly speaking, a font is a set of metal letters designed for text.

Headset- a set of fonts that have a uniform style and design. Naturally, they should have a similar style. For example, the PT Sans typeface consists of different font styles: Bold, Italic and others. All styles together give us the PT Sans typeface.

Font styles is a graphic type of font within the same typeface. For example, PT Sans has thin, bold, bold and other styles. Usually in Photoshop it is written in English.

- the distance between the baselines of adjacent lines.

Alignment (alignment in life)- the method of positioning an incomplete typed line relative to the vertical boundaries of the dialing bar. You've probably seen buttons like this in MS Word (find picture, align). It’s called a switch, because when it was necessary to correctly arrange the metal letters, space metal blocks were placed in them to turn them off. That’s why it’s called “turn off”.

Text alignment or justification

Kerning and tracking
Kerning- selective change in the spacing between letters depending on their shape. When multiple (different) characters are aligned. Visually, some combinations of letters are very close; if there were the same distance between all characters, then visually it would look different. Therefore, when creating fonts, they use tables in which the combination of letters and the distance between them are strictly written. IN good headsets this is already specified by default, but can be adjusted in the graphic editor you use (for example Photoshop).

Tracking- the distance between characters in a word or sentence.
It makes sense to use tracking, if you use capital letters, it makes sense to track so that the distance between them is greater, they will be easier and better read.

If you use Photoshop to create a website design layout, then I advise you to set the kerning to “auto” and don’t bother with tracking at all. Sometimes, in order for the fonts in the final result to look the same as in the layout, you need to communicate with the layout designer.

Antiqua- serif fonts. Serifs are horizontal stripes at the top and bottom of letters. They came from old fonts that date back to the days of writing on stone. It's easier to read serifs in books; serifs create horizontal lines, which seem to support the font on the baseline and make it easier for us to run our eyes to read sentences.
Grotesque, or sans-serif font, appeared recently, in connection with the so-called font revolution, when serifs were no longer needed. Grotesque is often used in web fonts and screen things (on phones, for example). It is simpler due to the lack of serifs, it is good to use for continuous typesetting on the Internet. You can use any option in projects; there is no right or wrong option. You need to look at the situation, what kind of project you are doing and what is more relevant for it.
This completes the introductory course on typography for a web designer :)
By remembering only Antiqua and Grotesque, you will already be ahead of many designers in terms of knowledge. Don't stand still, study typography, it's interesting and will help you create cool and neat projects.
Write in the comments what new you learned from this article.

1. Don't use fancy fonts

If you don't have enough experience and knowledge, don't even try to use unusual, fancy fonts. Keep it simple.

2. Forget Comic Sans

Imagine that you have never seen him at all.

3. Don't avoid standard, default fonts

Seriously, if someone tells you that standard fonts- it's boring, he just doesn't understand typography. How the font will look depends on how it is typed. Times New Roman can look really cool. And most importantly: let better text will be boring than ugly or unreadable.

OmegaTransFer / Depositphotos

Mixing fonts

4. Don't use more than two fonts at the same time

It’s not worth experimenting with a large number of fonts at the initial stage. Two is enough. You don't want to turn the text into miscellaneous nonsense, do you?

5. Mix only contrasting fonts

Serif sans serif, handwritten with art nouveau. It is important to maintain contrast. Two similar fonts next to each other look sloppy.

6. Choose fonts with uniform letter heights

The height of lowercase letters without descenders is the distance from the base to the top line of the font, in other words, the point value of the lowercase letters. When choosing the fonts you want to use together, you need to make sure that the height of their lowercase letters is the same. This will help maintain the same level of paragraph saturation. In addition, such text will be easier to read.

Typing text

7. Font size

The text size on the web should not be less than 13 pixels. In my opinion, the best choice- within 14–18 px. Not too big and at the same time readable.

8. Choose the right line length

Don't be fooled by rumors that you can get the correct line length by multiplying the font size by two. This is bullshit. Just try to keep your line length between 45-75 characters. GOST for printed publications recommends a length of 60 characters, but this, of course, is a difficult ideal to achieve on the web. And yet it is worth striving for. Use your eye to see if a line is too long or too short.

9. Leading should match the font size

To achieve a balance between text and air, make the line spacing approximately one and a half times the height of the lowercase letters. There is another simpler method: set the leading to 125% of the font size.

Paragraph

10. Align Left

If you are not sure which justification to choose, choose the left justification: the “Right” and “Justified” options on the web rarely pay off. There's nothing wrong with a jagged edge. Left-facing text is easier to read because the eye sees a clear visual ending to each line. But in Russian such text is convenient to read if the line is not too long. Therefore, if your string is more than 60 characters, try disabled typing. Just remember to hyphenate and check that everything looks good: several hyphens in a row will definitely make it difficult to read.

11. Avoid too many hyphens

In general, hyphenation on the web should be avoided whenever possible. Try moving the word to new line or change it a little letter spacing. If there are too many hyphens, change the font size or spacing. And when switching to the left, do not use word wrapping at all.

12. No indentation

Do not indent the first paragraph from the title. If you break paragraphs with blank lines, do not use paragraph indents. It's redundant and tasteless. On the other hand, text without any indents or spaces at all will be more difficult to perceive. In general, choose one of the methods: either a red line or a spacer - and use it throughout the entire text.

13. Narrow column

If you need to type a small column of text, try using a narrow font. This way the text will not only look better, but also be easier to read, since more characters will fit into the line.

14. Hanging punctuation

You should place quotation marks, brackets, hyphens, periods, and commas outside the typing line. This always looks elegant and helps keep the paragraph in proper shape.

15. “Widows” and “orphans”

We are talking about hanging lines. "Widow" is one word on a whole line at the end of a paragraph, or a very short line at the end of a text or page. "Orphan" is a dangling line that hits the beginning new page or columns. They must be avoided. Try reducing the letter spacing, moving lines, or adjusting the font size - in general, don't let "widows" and "orphans" sneak into your text.

16. Don't overuse spaces

To start a new line, press Shift+Enter. To start a new paragraph, press Enter. It's that simple.

Words

17. Kerning

If you are an inexperienced designer and do not have a trained eye for the smallest details, do not kernel text manually.

18. Tracking

Remember: when you increase the font size, the space between characters also increases. Therefore, if you set a large heading in the text, we recommend proportionally adjusting the distance between characters and words.

19. Highlights in the text

You can highlight an important idea or word that you need to pay attention to in a variety of ways. Don't overdo them. You should not highlight an entire sentence with capital letters alone - a beginner cannot always do this appropriately. Just use bold font style.

20. Lowercase without space

You should not increase the space between lowercase letters. The reason is simple: readability is reduced.

21. Capitals with space

Increase the space between capital letters. In this case, readability increases. Increasing letter space by 10% usually works well.

22. Don't write everything in capitals.

Do not overuse capitalization. The length of such a set should not exceed one line.

23. Don’t use small caps unnecessarily

If a font doesn't include a special small caps style, don't use it at all.

Letters

24. Don't change the width of letters

Just don't do it. Please.

In contact with

Classmates

From this article you will learn

• What is print design
• What are the basics of poly graphic design
• What are the forms of print design?
• What are the stages of design development? printing products

Print design is a broad field of knowledge about the methods and principles of illustrating printed products. Of course, its importance is undeniable. Technologies, techniques and rules created during the existence of printing make it possible to present products in a favorable light, accurately influencing the emotions of the consumer. Although print design has many positive aspects, it has one serious disadvantage: this field of knowledge is so broad that it is not entirely clear where to begin to create some kind of understanding about it. This article is aimed at eliminating this barrier and will introduce the reader to basic principles and rules of printing design.

What does print design look like?

Design of advertising and printing products– a subtype of graphic design, whose main task is to create materials for a future product. In most cases, the finished product is presented on paper. In addition to advertising purposes, printing design is widely used in printed publications, so there are four areas of its use:

• mass advertising;
• advertising printed materials;
• multi-page products;
• periodicals.

Print design as a company style with a winning design

New companies and industries emerge every year, which increases competition in sales. Any company dreams of standing out from the crowd, gaining a big name, popularity among clients, and introducing them to its offers. For this reason in Lately This is how the importance of promotion, especially printed products, in this area has grown. Print media has become almost the most widely used method of advertising, as it has low cost and proven effectiveness. All this makes it possible to quickly transfer necessary information a large number potential consumers.

To attract the attention of a potential client, a variety of print advertising options are used: booklets, leaflets, brochures, catalogs, calendars, etc. Each person has great amount printing design products, and they all claim that their offer is better and of higher quality. How not to get confused in this amount of information?

It is obvious that a person who comes to an exhibition or presentation will notice, first of all, the catalog that looks attractive in appearance. And only after that he may have a desire to study in more detail what is contained inside. As the example shows, key role when creating a printed product, they have two equivalent characteristics: an unusual design that can capture a person’s attention, and printing of an appropriate level.

Bright design And layout in combination with high quality printing, they are generally recognized as the main method of attracting the eyes of visitors towards advertising printing objects. They occupy key positions in the production of business cards, leaflets, booklets, catalogs, brochures, as well as in the creation of emblems and other details of corporate culture. A well-chosen design will be the key to a successful marketing campaign.

The functioning of any company cannot be imagined without printed handouts. Leaflets and other options that talk about your activities occupy key positions in the formation of the company’s image, development, sustainability of the entire business, and its popularity among other companies. Therefore, during the development of an advertising product project, it is impossible to do without printing designers. Believe me, proper design is capable of incredible things. An experienced, out-of-the-box specialist will make a simple booklet so functional, colorful and attractive that you won’t even raise your hand to throw it in the trash.

For printing design, the following main tasks are envisaged: creating the appearance of an advertising printed product, creating a corporate style for the company.

Professional design plays an incredibly important role in creating a company’s corporate style. Think for yourself: a letter that arrives in an envelope with the organization’s logo is first examined and only then opened. Myself appearance allows you to create such an important first impression of the entire company. The design of the image component requires the same serious approach as the creation of advertising printing. In some cases, it is precisely this that influences the growth of popularity.

Printing design includes the development of a company sign or the entire style of the company, creative printing design with a professional selection of fonts, tones, composition, arrangement of blocks in a future product, and a harmonious combination of the latter. It necessarily provides for additional operations: photography, scanning, layout, collages, color correction, retouching, etc.

Only when using a thoughtful design will your printed products look in such a way that every possible consumer will be pleased to hold it in their hands and find out what’s inside. The likelihood of a successful first communication with a potential buyer is largely related to a successful, catchy design. The technical side of the issue is also significant. Thus, the level of quality of catalog production can influence interest in the product and the client’s desire to purchase your product.

When creating a printing design, many questions come to mind: “What comes first – text or picture? In what case will advertising be more useful? Unfortunately, it is impossible to give an exact answer: different people opinions differ. But as studies by psychologists show, we receive up to 80% of data using vision. Therefore, a picture can often be more effective than a large amount of text. But we must not forget that professionally designed text advertising can be imaginative, attractive and very effective.

Basics of Print Design

The concept of “printing design” includes all the variety of products made on paper or its derivatives. The image of each company is greatly influenced by the level of the printed product. The booklets, leaflets, calendars, and magazines offered by the printing house are able to emphasize the importance of the organization among other companies in its sector, present products and offers from a more advantageous angle, and convey all the necessary information to potential buyers.

It is no secret that when creating printed products, considerable attention is paid to design, since a design that is too restrained, nondescript, and boring will not be able to attract people and gain a foothold in their minds. A printing project is a kind of synthesis of competent creation of images and presentation of text. Print design today is used in a wide variety of areas: from printing advertising materials to designing books and periodicals.

Its main difference from other types is that the developed images and text messages are only the initial step in the printing process. For this reason, the creation of a design project in this situation must meet the requirements of all stages of production. Consequently, a specialist is expected to have quite specific knowledge of printing technology and the ability to correctly present information on paper. When each stage of production goes on its own, for example, the studio carries out the design, and the printing house transfers the finished material to the medium, the customer’s expectations are often not met.

In our example, the designer works in the applied industry, that is, he is a direct link production process. He always has to remember seemingly insignificant details. This includes the fact that those prepared on different techniques materials may vary significantly due to specific features the machines themselves or selected consumables. In other words, the final printing result and the color performance of the final product are necessarily under the control of the printing designer.

Any professional, having received an order for the development of a printing design, asks the printing house where, for example, brochures will be produced, technical requirements for the products. This step allows the result to best match the plans of the specialist and the customer. Unlike the design of Internet resources, where the result cannot be touched, in printing the printing methods used in the production of materials are of key importance. Masters of their craft are well aware of the different methods of applying an image, the intricacies of the printing house, they are well aware of the printing process - all this is necessary in order to ensure the planned end result.

Print Design Forms

To date, incredible things have been developed variety of forms of printing design. Let's name the most common ones:

• forms;
• leaflets;
• booklets;
• brochures;
• calendars;
• business cards;
• folders;
• notepads;
• envelopes;
• labels;
• labels;
• books;
• magazines;
• newspapers;
• posters;
• catalogues;
• postcards;
• package;
• stickers;
• stickers.

Despite the fact that we have named the most popular printing design services, the list doesn’t end there. Customers also love non-standard forms of advertising media.

Design of printed products in the photo

Stages of developing the design of printed products

Print design development consists of creating a visual design of a layout that can meet the individual needs of the client and fits the technical standards dictated by the printing house.

Stage 1. At this step, a general idea of ​​the future appearance of the product is created.

Stage 2. Designers select colors, develop general style and agree on the fonts, after which they prepare sketches showing how the elements will roughly be arranged.

Stage 3. Held computer modelling with the elaboration of even the most insignificant details and the creation of a layout of the printed publication.

Stage 4. The layout is transferred to the media selected for printing. It can be paper, modern plastic, plastic film. But this is not the final step.

Stage 5. Post-printing processing takes place, that is, stitching, binding, gluing, laminating or other manipulations necessary to achieve the required result. The designer can also actively participate in these processes, tracking the progress of the creation of materials until they take on a completed form.

The basis of layout in printing design in most cases are techniques that are widespread in other areas of design.

• Choice of product shape. It is a known fact that people prefer to look at rectangular and square shapes, preferably in a vertical rather than horizontal placement. When arranging images over a large area (poster, magazine page), it is advisable for the designer to follow the rule of the “golden ratio”. It is universal and is used in almost all types of design. In any case, a specialist must know the compositional basics of layout.
• Selecting the optimal font for printing materials. The font, on the one hand, should make the text readable, and on the other, attract the attention of the person looking at the product. In addition, the information presented in the printed publication must have a proper structure.
• Choice of colors. Viewers' attention is better attracted by rich and colorful tones in advertising, while excesses can provoke irritation and rejection. Therefore, the colors selected, on the one hand, must be bright, and on the other, harmonious, so that potential clients didn’t feel any strain on your eyes while looking at your brochure. Of course, a variety of pictures and photographs are used in printing design. They perfectly attract attention and contribute to a more trusting atmosphere, as they confirm the reality of the product or the popularity of the offer. For this reason the status professional designer printing is directly related to creativity, since readers always choose original design with eye-catching details and non-standard solutions.

In addition to the listed techniques inherent in many subtypes of design, technologies characteristic of creating printed products are used in the formation of printing materials. This includes varnishing of products that improves the appearance and influences the attractiveness, which is so important for promotion. This process involves applying a special solution to the printed image, forming a transparent, uniform film. It gives pictures a well-known shine, and also increases contrast and color saturation.

In addition, varnish contributes to greater strength and increased service life of printing materials. Another design option is foil stamping. In this case, foil is placed between the cliche and the paper and pressing is carried out. In the production of postcards, pocket calendars and other small printed products, specialists may also prefer die-cutting technology. It involves cutting out figures of unusual shapes from a sheet of paper.

Nowadays, printing and post-printing techniques are changing rapidly, and designers are getting the most interesting techniques for additional decoration of printing materials. The main goal of the specialist is to achieve a harmonious combination of all visual elements. This is always associated with serious responsibility, since most post-printing processes are not cheap, and with large print runs, any error will result in significant financial losses.

How color influences modern print design

We are constantly surrounded by nature with an abundance of colors and shades: green grass, blue sky, bright flowers, pink sunset, snow-white mountains. Color is everywhere. Its significance in our life is very great. It has long been no secret that color can influence a person’s emotional state. Scientists have proven that we perceive 80% of color and light through the nervous system and only 20% through the organs of vision. For this reason, the role of the right choice of color in the development of printing design is so important. It can both attract, helping to perceive information, and cause negativity, repel and irritate.

Unfortunately, it often happens that when paying for the design of printed products, customers do not think about it at all. In the meantime, the choice of color will seriously affect the perception of your promotional items by potential consumers. During psychological experiments Scientists have concluded that color can influence people's assessment of a particular object. So-called warm colors (red, yellow, orange) visually make the object closer, increasing its size. Cool colors (blue, indigo, violet) help the subject appear smaller and more distant. Therefore, when giving preference to one color or another for creating your printed products, consider it within these parameters. Perception is also significantly influenced by a person’s mood at the moment of contact with color. Depending on your emotional state, some tones may be pleasant, while others may be stressful. Since color works with feelings, and not with the mind, you have to be very careful when choosing a color solution for any type of printing design, and even more so aimed at promotion.

In the middle of the last century, questions about the influence of color on people excited the scientist Max Luscher. In his research, he started from the assertion that human perception of color was formed over a long period of historical development and is associated with lifestyle and contact with the outside world. The day was fraught with activity: it was necessary to arrange housing and search for food. Night is a time of rest and tranquility. For this reason, shades of dark blue were reminiscent of the peace of the night, and yellow tones were reminiscent of a sunny day and its troubles. Red spoke of blood and flame, actions requiring great concentration and speed.

Luscher came to a very important conclusion for graphic printing design that color not only causes a certain reaction depending on the emotional state of the beholder, but also shapes his mood.

So, red inspires determination and encourages you to take one or another action, for example, to buy a promoted product. It attracts eyes well to the object of advertising, but it should be used in moderation - in large quantities it can provoke negativity. One block of a catalog or brochure in this color will be appropriate and will attract attention, while its excess can cause irritation and rejection of the product offered to the buyer. Red is often used in political and propaganda campaigns for its properties. It is also well suited for advertising products for men.

Blue color helps you focus and concentrate. The blue detail will immediately attract attention in your booklet, but, unlike the red one, it will not provoke negative emotions. This is the color of seriousness, which is why large companies love it very much.

Orange causes a surge of energy, lifts the mood, even provokes a feeling of happiness and peace. It fills you with strength and gently pushes you to make a choice. This is the color of health and creativity, so it is good to use in print design and layout of advertising for medicines, products for children, services in the field of medicine and education.

Yellow– the color of sociability and openness. It helps to calm down, improves emotional state, and encourages talkativeness. Maybe it's because of this yellow V last years has become so widely used. True, it is not recommended to choose it to fill large areas, since the effect can be completely opposite. Yellow color is suitable for advertising children's products, advertising and PR agencies, and for the design of travel agency catalogs, since in our minds it is associated with the sun, sea and sand.

Green the color reminds of nature, freshness, healthy life. It calms, relaxes and heals, which is why they like to include it in the design of office premises, hospitals, sanatoriums, veterinary clinics. This color is also common in advertising and packaging of medical products, water purification systems, detergents and cleaning products, dental salons and pharmacies, animal hospitals, health and conservation centers. But be careful - in large quantities it can cause lethargy and relaxation. Therefore, it is better to combine green with other colors: white, red, yellow and blue.

Violet– the color of inner concentration, which promotes solving creative problems and inspires. Therefore, if it is important to hint at the creativity and originality of the product, a purple detail is well suited for printing design. This color is usually used when decorating exclusive and original things. If your printing product is produced for the creative elite, we strongly advise you not to abandon purple.

Pink the color is formed by combining red and white, therefore it has the positive properties of both colors, while the negative features of red are destroyed by the influence of white. As a result, pink helps create a romantic, upbeat mood. This color is common in the design of various women's perfumes, cosmetics, children's and family products. It makes us more attentive, gentle and caring. Use pink color everywhere: from perfume advertising to the services of marriage agencies and family centers.

Blue the color echoes the sky and reminds of peace and friendship. It evokes a feeling of trust in a person, which is why it is often used in logos. WITH blue are associated with coolness, freshness, and cleanliness, which are widely used by manufacturers of perfumery, cosmetics and hygiene products.

Black– the color of isolation. It makes it possible to isolate yourself from everything, concentrate and concentrate on a particular task. But this color is dangerous, as it can induce melancholy and despondency, cause a feeling of heaviness, sorrow, and loneliness. Therefore, it is better not to use it in its pure form in advertising printing design (we are not talking about fonts and tables). It is usually combined with other, warmer and brighter colors.

White– the color of complete openness to the beautiful and diverse world. It is good because it is not associated with any unpleasant sensations. In printing, it is better to use it together with other colors, since white alone can create a neutral effect, in which the consumer simply receives information about the product, without accents or advantages.

What is the best print design program?

Over the past ten years, the leading position in the market of design software for printing has been held by Adobe Creative Cloud. Today, this package is a complete set of software products for working in almost any area of ​​design. Besides this option, there are several other platforms developed for print design that remain widely used. It is impossible to objectively name the best of them - each specialist must choose for himself, based on what functionality he most needs.

• Adobe Photoshop.

This graphic editor became the basis of all standards raster graphics and gained popularity in version 3.0. It provided a method of working with layers that was unique at that time. Initially, Adobe Photoshop was developed for the Mac platform and was considered as a program for printing design, but over time it began to receive more and more new capabilities and moved into the areas of web design, photography, video production, and animation. Now it is a multi-platform environment that includes a huge number of tools for working with raster graphics. Latest versions are equipped with tools for editing vector images, and also allow you to create videos. However, according to many experts, other software specifically designed for these purposes would be more suitable for such tasks.

• Adobe Illustrator.

This is a well-known vector graphics editor of any complexity, which has become incredibly popular thanks to its convenient intuitive interface and wide possibilities. Designers use it as a universal tool for creating vector elements. Big set tools makes it possible to prepare almost any print design product. Some specialists design entire catalogs in Adobe Illustrator. Of course, the program is not intended for this, but if necessary, it can cope with a similar task.

• Adobe Indesign.

In this simple and at the same time complex program Both printing and interactive layout are possible. For a designer in any field - from a printer to a 3D animator - owning this product will be equally useful. The fact is that he has an extensive set of tools necessary in all branches of computer, including printing, design. Adobe Indesign is a desktop publishing system that combines all the capabilities of printing and interactive layout. Here you can easily arrange everything - from a tiny booklet to a book. The program includes pre-press preparation tools to meet the technical requirements of any printing house. Since they became popular electronic versions magazines for iPad and Android, Adobe Indesign received all the capabilities to create and post such material. Electronic presentations This software can also handle interactive elements and multimedia inclusions, as well as simple business cards and booklets.

• Adobe Acrobat.

A software product designed to create and modify files PDF format. This universal format, which is used for secure transmission of documents. It is not affected by the platform and hardware used. PDF will look everywhere the way the author intended it, regardless of the fonts, images, interactive elements.

Adobe Acrobat is considered a very important designer tool. It allows you to both create and edit files. This software has wide functionality for preflight testing and preparation, includes all the tools for creating forms, introducing interactive elements, and works with electronic signature. The program has a built-in fairly correct OCR engine that can recognize text from both text and graphic files. In addition, Adobe Acrobat allows you to implement different levels of security into your documents.

• CorelDRAW.

Very convenient software, which combines a layout program and a vector image editor. Characterized intuitively clear interface, convenient arrangement of elements. It is used both in preparing designs for the printing production of small brochures and for drawing in vector. In addition, CorelDRAW has a huge variety of plugins.

• Corel Photo-Paint.

Analogue of Adobe Photoshop only from Corel. This is an easy to learn and quite functional program for designers and artists. It allows you to bring to life, if not all, then many ideas that are limited only by the capabilities of two-dimensional graphics. There is a set of tools for retouching, creating collages, and color correction.

• Corel PowerTRACE.

Professional program for tracing images. Tracing is the conversion of images from raster to vector. Unlike Adobe Illustrator, where such tools are included in the program itself, Corel has this feature included in separate application with many settings and additional options.

The package also includes web design software, a screen capture tool, a content search tool and many other interesting things.

• Corel Painter.

A software product created specifically for artists. The program is designed to create computer drawing and painting and is recognized as the undoubted leader in this field. Has powerful tools and user-friendly interface, remains the recommended application for use with Wacom tablets Cintiq.

Three Common Mistakes That Will Ruin Any Print Design

Mistake 1. Ignoring the shape of the product.

We must not forget that a book, catalog and brochure are designed differently, so take into account the types of products when developing print design.

Mistake 2. Incorrect use of black.

This is a popular mistake due to a lack of understanding of the features of print design. There are many subtleties with the conversion and use of black, which any specialist must know. But it wouldn’t hurt for the customer to check whether the designer took into account the nuances of processing black, and whether the technique will produce a transparent picture instead of the expected result.

Mistake 3. Implementation of stages by different performers.

This situation is usually associated with a desire to save money. Some promise cheaper layout, while others have less expensive printing. But a high-quality product can only be obtained from printing houses that work with a full cycle.

What are the prices for design of printed products?

The cost of the product depends on the amount of work, its shape, selected materials and large quantity other factors. Therefore, prices for printing design are calculated individually in each individual case.

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