What do I need, what should I do?

[InFocus]

Hi everyone! I just found this forum a couple days ago through a post at WHT and I'm so glad that I did. The talent here is amazing and it seems to be the perfect place for what I need. I'm in the process of starting a small business and I'll need a logo for a website, business card, letterhead, and envelope. I understand the guidelines, but I'd like to get some advice on how to organize this "larger" scale project and what I should be asking for in terms of files, etc. First off, would it be better to separate the logo design of the contest apart from the business card/letter head/envelope design portions? I saw that hotelaficiandos did that and I think he got a little more suggestions to work with (and a great final product too). If so, about what percent of the my total graphic design budget should go into this contest? (Does it take a lot longer time to design a logo than to apply it with small alterations in order to get the other products? Or would 50% be reasonable with the remaining 50% going to the business card/letterhead/envelope designer?) :huh:

Also, I've read that I should get the logo in vector (not even sure what that means) with 300dpi. What files would I need to utilize that logo in future applications without going through much hassle (not a computer graphics person if you haven't noticed :rolleyes: )?

Would it be too much to ask to have the business card/letterhead/envelope designs delivered formatted to be applied immediately by a decent printer? Is that a lot of extra work? What types of files would I need there?

Lastly, I read that article posted by ElKootcho (thanks!) and I'm concerned about the cost of gradients and such on the paper products. Any ideas here?

Thanks in advance for all the suggestions and I really look forward to submitting a contest/contests in the very near future. :D

[Palmer]

Hello InFocus, welcome to Design Outpost. :) I'll let ElKootcho fill in the blanks of my reply. You sound like you have a pretty good handle on what you need. Any time you have work done at a printer they base their price on how many colors you'll need. The more colors the higher the price. Obviously if you have a gradient in your logo you will have dozens of colors to reproduce.

Since we cater to small business owners like yourself, it's pretty much standard around here that logos are used on business cards and other print material. Just let them know that in your request and the designers will provide a 300dpi high re****ion version to give to your printer.

I do believe the best results happen in stages. The first stage would be a logo, the second would be a combination business card/letterhead request. You could also simply have a logo contest and then the winning designer can make the other designs you need for an extra fee.

Having a logo designed in vector format means that it can be resized without losing any quality. This also is a pretty standard request.

I'm sure I missed something, let me know if I did :)

[Zoe]

One good tip is to find a printer before having your logo/stationery designed.

That way you can have the designer work from the printers specifications. Some printers have different measurements for bleeding (where any background colour goes right to the edge) and positioning of text and graphical elements that you don't want cut off.

You will also be able to get pricing on the stationery in different colour formats which will help you decide how many colours can be used in both the design of your logo and stationery.

I am not really a print designer so I don't know all the specs off hand but I am sure the others here will be able to assist you further. :)

[ElKootcho]

First off, would it be better to separate the logo design of the contest apart from the business card/letter head/envelope design portions?

I think this is definately the way to do it. This way you can concentrate on the most important part first: your logo. Once that is settled you can run the business stationary part of it. Also if you have a single logo, you will get a better variety of stationary designs.

If so, about what percent of the my total graphic design budget should go into this contest? (Does it take a lot longer time to design a logo than to apply it with small alterations in order to get the other products? Or would 50% be reasonable with the remaining 50% going to the business card/letterhead/envelope designer?)

That really a rather tough question. The difficulty of designing the stationary can depend on the logo so it's hard to nail the percentages down. I think a higher percentage should go towards the logo since that will be seen everywhere: not only business cards and letterhead but also car signs, yellow pages ads, shirts, hat, mugs, etc depending on your business.

Also, I've read that I should get the logo in vector (not even sure what that means) with 300dpi.

Vector files and 300 dpi are actually two completely different things. Vector graphics are resolution independent. This means that a vector file can be enlarged by 500% or more and it will keep it's original clarity. This happens because the image paths are actually defined mathematically so when the image is resized the math is reapplied and viola!, it remains looking good. This is the ideal format a logo should be delivered as. (In most cases)

Raster files (ie Photoshop) are typically photograph type images and yes if you had a logo designed in Photoshop you should get it delivered at 300 dpi (This is considered hi-resolution. Suitable for magazine quality printing yet overkill for newspaper). The problem is that if you had a logo designed in Photoshop and have to enlarge it greatly. Let's say you decided to have a truck or car graphic made and had to enlarge the image 300% to get the size you want. Now the image is really only printing at 100 dpi which is poor quality. Just to give you an idea consider this; web images are saved at 72 dpi. Notice when you print web pages that quite often the images get all blocky? This is what begins to happen when you enlarge raster files beyond their intended size. (I hope that made sense :blink: )

What files would I need to utilize that logo in future applications without going through much hassle

In most cases a vector EPS and a hi-rez (300 dpi) JPG will suffice. The EPS is what you would provide to your vendors whenever you have any professional work done. The JPG imports nicely into Microsoft programs on Mac and PC so you can use it at home or the office to insert into invoices, memos, etc.


Would it be too much to ask to have the business card/letterhead/envelope designs delivered formatted to be applied immediately by a decent printer? Is that a lot of extra work? What types of files would I need there?

For this I suggest that you follow Demex's advice. Find a printer first. All printers have different requirements. If you can provide their specs from the beginning you can be assured of receiving print ready files that you can pass on to your printer with no trouble.


Lastly, I read that article posted by ElKootcho (thanks!) and I'm concerned about the cost of gradients and such on the paper products. Any ideas here?

Again, talk to your printer. Sometimes gradients can be a hassle and extra cost, sometimes not. The more your communicate with your printer and other vendors the easier the process will be with less surprises. Gradients can be a problem for screenprinters and embroiders as well. It's very important that you figure out how you plan on using your logo and go from there.

Many people use logos with gradients very successfully but in my opinion that can be limiting. I would suggest your logo NOT include gradients. I'm sure some people would disagree with me on that. A logo should work firstly in pure black & white and then in 2 or 3 spot colors (again based on your printer's equipment and suggestions). Gradients have their place but I think they should be used in more specialized instances.

Sorry for being so long winded. I hope I helped and didn't just confuse things more. Feel free to post more questions.

[Palmer]

Thanks Kootch :tup:

[ElKootcho]

Originally posted by Palmer@Aug 26 2003, 10:04 AM
Thanks Kootch :tup:
no prob.

Quick question: what's WHT? I'm always interested on how the word is spreading about Design Outpost.

[Mike]

WebHostingTalk

A forum for webhosts and customers. Albeit it, many many flame wars :P

[InFocus]

:tup:

Wow, thanks for all the great info and advice. Looks like I should go find a printer first. Kinko comes to mind first, but they're probably a bit more expensive. And experiences with their work or should I just look elsewhere? Thanks again!

[Shap]

amazing... He just asked almost everything I was wondering, and I need everything he's doing! Thanks for the detailed response. As soon as I resolve my domain issue, I'll be posting some contests. ;)