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    Before&After

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    XiBAmagazine.com U

    Tiny budget, evocative card 0644

    Tiny budget,

    evocatvecardTurn a one-color business cardinto a visual statement.

    Continued

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    Tiny budget, evocative card 0644

    Its just one ink color

    on matte-finish paper

    Designed and printed on atiny budget, this card fea-

    tures a lot of sophisticated

    techniques. Key is that one

    ink on white paper yields

    three levels of tonal depth

    dark, medium and light.

    This allowed the designer

    to get extreme with scale;

    the illustration is huge

    without overpowering the

    card. Thin type is modern

    and understated in size, yet

    holds its own in white. The

    rough brush stroke conveys

    the evocative lines of the

    instrument without appear-

    ing feminine. Similarly, the

    matte paper texture is mas-

    culine and earthy.

    Jim Cole is busy. Between his chamber

    quartet, jazz band and six students, hes

    a musician on the move. He makes hismusic on the cello and the double bass,

    instruments as versatile as they are

    beautiful. Whats cool about his business

    card is its visual economynot just

    thats its printed inexpensively in one color, but that

    it gets a lot of visual atmosphere out of just a

    few elements. Set in faint tonal contrasts, theillustration dominates the space but does

    not overpower the card. It conveys the air of

    classical musicianship without being stuffy;

    its simple and masculine. To achieve all

    this, the designer had many decisions to

    make. Lets see what we can learn:

    Tiny budget, evocative cardHeres how to turn a one-color business card into a visual statement.

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    Start with key words

    The place to start is to determine what you want your design to say. This is especiallyimportant on a small job where every nuance counts. Begin by creatingkey words.

    Key words

    Open a dictionary or thesaurus and find

    words that fit Mr. Coles character and

    work. For example, to convey a sense ofclassicalmusic as well as a fine instru-

    ment: formal, artistic, handmade,

    professional, masculine, crafts-

    manship. To expressjazz and that Mr.

    Cole is personable, mobile and easy to

    work with: friendly, informal, upbeat,

    light. You can see in these lists some

    opposites: formal/informal, classical/

    upbeat. This is what you want; opposites

    create tension that almost always yields

    better designs.

    Because cost is a limiting factor, we

    wont be using a photograph. Instead,

    well develop a style concept based

    on the traditional-ness ofline. Well look

    next at how properties ofline, together

    with size, colorand value, work

    together to express the design goal.

    Which line looks more

    masculine?

    Design: Every nuance conveys meaning

    Which size looks

    more upbeat?

    Which colors look

    more classical?

    Which values look

    more formal?

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    Drawn lines

    Flat-nib pen line (A) flows

    like a ribbon, which conveys

    a sense of motion, water, air.

    Its associations are emo-

    tional, casual, feminine. A

    curving, single-width line (B)

    is gender neutral. By itself,

    the line has little character,

    but as a drawing it is light,

    casual, approachable.

    Violins, violas, cellos and

    basses have some of the

    worlds most beautiful lines.

    Look carefully, and writedown what you see.

    (Above)

    Converging lines

    create motion; spiral is

    the focal point. Intricate

    detailing reveals hand

    craftsmanship; suggests

    skill, care, love, attentive-

    ness to detail.

    Curvy lines

    duck and weave.

    Spritely, playful,

    joyous.

    Sweeping line

    suggests airiness,

    grandeur, majesty.

    What kind of line?

    Lines are very expressive. Look carefully at your image. What do its lines say?

    Straight line

    Upright centerline suggests power,

    formality, dignity, stateliness.

    The edge can be seen as a sweep

    or a series of detailed curves.

    (Above)

    Graceful lines appear when the

    instrument is viewed from an angle.

    Smooth, sensuous, feminine.

    BA

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    Unlike the graceful, feminine

    lines of the instrument, a

    charcoal line is rough, bold

    and guy-like. Adobe Illustra-

    tor will create a rough stroke

    with a single click. Its easy:

    (1 ) Open Illustrator, Place your

    photo for reference (low resolu-

    tion is all you need), then with the

    Pen or Pencil tool trace its lines.There is no need for precision.

    Hide or delete the photo.

    Draw it

    Our card needs a masculine line, one that follows the familiar, feminine silhouette butin a way thats bold, gritty, less flowing. To get it, well trade our pen for a brush.

    1 2 3

    (2) Adjust the line widths. (You

    may find this easier to do once

    the charcoal is applied.)

    (3) Select the lines, then in the

    Brushes palette click Rough Charcoal.

    Edit your lines to suit.

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    How big, where does it go, and which way?

    Size, position and orientation are key factors in how an image is perceived. As youcreate your layout, strive first to achieve clarity of message, then beauty.

    (D) Get vertical Rotating the card upright matches

    format to instrument and gets all the lines working

    together. Now the image is big and still fits the card.

    Note, however, that the tall neck leaves an unappealing

    hollow near the top and the weight near the bottom.

    (E) Zooming closer bisects the space, distributes the

    weight evenly and shows off the rough, artistic line.

    A

    B

    C

    (A) Small Reduce the image to fit

    the space, and have a look. It fits, but

    what message does it send? It looks

    insignificant, doesnt it? A double bassis BIG, and it BOOMS; this instrument

    looks delicate, distant, incidental. Pay

    attention here; such impressions are

    real. Size, position and orientation

    really communicate.

    (B) Big Super size can have dramatic

    effect. In this case, however, the hori-

    zontal format crops too closely, and

    the key line of the instruments body

    is lost. The result is spotty and unclear.

    (C) Sideways Turn the image hori-

    zontally. It now flows with the space

    but again sends the wrong message;

    it looks like a guitar.

    E

    Hollow

    Heavy

    Bisected space

    Evenly

    distributed

    weight

    D

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    What color?

    Color is key to this job. We need not a palette full but a single color that can convey ourmood and message in dark, medium and light values. Key to this is saturation.

    The color wheel shows color relation-ships. In this case, it also reveals that

    saturatedcolorsreally redreds and blue

    bluesare too bright for classical music or

    even jazz. What we need are desaturated

    colors, muted and sophisticated.

    Desaturated colorhas some of its color

    drained out and replaced by gray. As colors

    are desaturated, their values (dark/light)

    become more alike. To desaturate color in

    Photoshop, select any color, then in the

    Hue/Saturation dialog (left) move the Satu-

    ration slider a negative distance; here its

    60. Because for this job our color must be

    dark, move the Lightness slider to, in this

    case, 40.

    Saturated colorsthe colors of

    kindergartenare too bright for

    classical music.

    The same colors, desaturated and

    darkened, are soft and rich and con-

    vey age, tradition, professionalism.

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    5815 50%

    What values?

    Because desaturated colors are mostly gray, they can be fully lightened or darkened withoutchanging their essential color. This allows us to use all the values of our one color!

    Even darker

    (Above) Because one color will

    do all the work, it must begin very

    dark, so well darken our desatu-rated colors further, all the way

    to 60. Note that heavily darkened,

    desaturated colors look almost

    alike. As a result, all will function

    pretty much the same; the gray

    does the real work, and the hint

    of color provides the flavor.

    Convert to Pantone So far, the color wheel has been a helpful reference to get us into the color ballpark.

    But now we must convert from itsprocess colors, which are used for four-color printing, to a single spot color.

    For that well use the Pantone Matching System. Pantone is accessible in the color libraries* of Photoshop,

    InDesign and Illustrator. Just select your choice from the list, and add it to the color palette.

    Our card uses Pantone 5815 at full strength and tinted 50%. On white paper that yields our three values

    dark, medium and light. Note above the different expressive character of four combinations.

    *Pantone is also available in printed swatch books (above). The Pantone colors shown here are simulations.

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    Ratty

    Graceful

    What type?

    Type has a dual role to play as image maker and message maker. What face to use?Because lineis dominant, base your selection on the line of the typeface.

    Matches

    Things of one kindusually go well

    together, and Lettres Eclatees has

    a lot in common with the brush

    stroke; its bold, erratic and rough.But thats only its edge. Problem

    is that while the instruments lines

    are long and snaky, the letters are

    short and spotty; overlaid, these

    differences will clash. Also, the

    typeface looks like graffiti, which

    is not one of Mr. Coles key words.

    If that werent enough, the cards

    brush stroke is so assertive that a

    matching typeface would simply

    be too much of a good thing.

    Clashes

    Youd think that Palatino would

    be a good choice; its a Roman

    typeface from the visual era of the

    instrument. It conveys the airof its subjectdignified, formal,

    classical. And its a masculine face,

    boxy and chiseled. So why doesnt

    it work? Because its details are the

    same size as the brush but a com-

    pletely different kind. Its graceful,

    thick-thin strokes and finely craft-

    ed serifs clash with the splats, jags,

    crannies and backtracks of the

    brush. Such similar (size) but differ-

    ent (style) properties rarely coexistwell in close proximity.

    Complements

    Ultra-sleek Helvetica Neue Thin

    Extended has nothing in common

    with the brush stroke. Its lines are

    minimal, pure, unadorned. Wherethe brush is wide and rough,

    the type is thin and smooth.

    This allows the brush stroke to

    dominate the card, while the type

    sends a crystal clear verbal mes-

    sage, beautifully understated.

    Name and descriptor are set in

    uppercase in the strong center of

    the card (right), everything else

    is in lowercase, each text block

    aligned left.

    Our finished card

    Simple, clear, handsome, cheap.

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    Typefaces

    1 (ac) Helvetica Neue 33 Thin Ext

    a) 12 pt, b) 7 pt, +40 letterspacing,

    c) 8/11 pt, +20 letterspacing

    Images

    2 (ae) iStockphoto.coma b c d e

    3 pantone.com | Pantone formula guide

    Program

    adobe.com | Adobe Illustrator

    Article resources

    Colors

    PMS 5815

    PMS 5815/50%

    4

    5

    2c

    2a

    1c

    2e

    1a

    2b

    3

    2d

    1b

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    Before & After magazine

    Before & After has been sharing its practical approach

    to graphic design since 1990. Because our modern world

    has made designers of us all (ready or not), Before &

    After is dedicated to making graphic design understand-

    able, useful and even fun for everyone.

    John McWade Publisher and creative director

    Gaye McWade Associate publisher

    Vincent Pascual Staff designer

    Dexter Mark Abellera Staff designer

    Before & After magazine

    323 Lincoln Street, Roseville, CA 95678

    Telephone 916-784-3880

    Fax 916-784-3995

    E-mail [email protected]

    www http://www.bamagazine.com

    Copyright 2006 Before & After magazine

    ISSN 1049-0035. All rights reserved

    You may pass along a free copy of this article to others

    by clicking here. You may not alter this article, and you

    may not charge for it. You may quote brief sections

    for review; please credit Before & After magazine, and

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    For all other permissions, please contact us.

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    1of6

    Tinybudget,evocati

    vecard0644

    0644Tinybudget,ev

    ocativecard

    Itsjustoneinkcolor

    onmatte-finishpap

    er

    Designedandprinted

    ona

    tinybudget,thiscardfea-

    turesalotofsophistic

    ated

    techniques.Keyisthatone

    inkonwhitepaperyie

    lds

    threelevelsoftonaldepth

    dark,mediumandligh

    t.

    Thisallowedthedesig

    ner

    togetextremewithscale;

    theillustrationishuge

    withoutoverpowering

    the

    card.Thintypeismod

    ern

    andunderstatedinsiz

    e,yet

    holdsitsowninwhite.The

    roughbrushstrokeco

    nveys

    theevocativelinesof

    the

    instrumentwithoutap

    pear-

    ingfeminine.Similarly,the

    mattepapertextureis

    mas-

    culineandearthy.

    JimColeisbus

    y.Betweenhischamber

    quartet,jazzbandandsixstudents,he

    s

    amusicianon

    themove.Hemakeshis

    musiconthec

    elloandthedoublebass,

    instrumentsasversatileastheyare

    beautiful.Wha

    tscoolabouthisbusine

    ss

    cardisitsvisualeconom

    ynotjust

    thats

    itsprintedinexpensive

    lyinonecolor,butthat

    itgetsalotofvisualatmosph

    ereoutof

    justa

    fewe

    lements.Setinfaintton

    alcontrasts,the

    illustrationdominatesthespacebutdoes

    notoverpowerthecard.Itconveystheairof

    classicalmusicianshipwithoutbeingstuffy;

    itssimpleandmasculine.To

    achieveall

    this,thedesignerhadman

    yd

    ecisionsto

    make

    .Letsseewhatwecanlearn:

    Tinybudget,

    evo

    catve

    c

    ard

    Turnaon

    e-colorbus

    inesscard

    intoavisual

    statement.

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    Tinybudget,evocativecard0644

    0644Tinybudget,ev

    ocativecard

    Startwithkeywo

    rds

    Theplacetostartistodeterminewhatyou

    wantyourdesigntosa

    y.Thisisespecially

    importantonasmalljobwhereeverynuan

    cecounts.Beginbycreatingkeywords.

    Keyw

    ords

    Opena

    dictionaryorthesaurusandfind

    wordsthatfitMr.Colescharacterand

    work.F

    orexample,toconveyasenseof

    classicalmusicaswellasafineinstru-

    ment:formal,artistic,handmade,

    profes

    sional,masculine,crafts-

    mansh

    ip.ToexpressjazzandthatMr.

    Coleis

    personable,mobileandeasyto

    workw

    ith:friendly,informal,upbeat,

    light.Youcanseeintheselistssome

    opposites:formal/informal,classical/

    upbeat.Thisiswhatyouwant;opposites

    createtensionthatalmostalwaysyields

    betterdesigns.

    Beca

    usecostisalimitingfactor,we

    wontb

    eusingaphotograph.Instead,

    welldevelopastyleconceptbased

    onthetraditional-nessofline.Welllook

    nextat

    howpropertiesofline,together

    withsize,colorandvalue,work

    togethe

    rtoexpressthedesigngoal.

    Whichlinelooksmor

    e

    masculine?

    Design:Everynuance

    conveysmeaning

    Whichsizelooks

    moreupbeat?

    Whichcolorslook

    moreclassical?

    Whichvalueslook

    moreformal?

    Drawnlines

    Flat-nibpenline(A

    )flows

    likearibbon,whic

    hconveys

    asenseofmotion,water,air.

    Itsassociationsareemo-

    tional,casual,feminine.A

    curving,single-wid

    thline(B)

    isgenderneutral.Byitself,

    thelinehaslittlec

    haracter,

    butasadrawingitislight,

    casual,approachable.

    Violins,violas,cellosand

    basseshave

    someofthe

    worldsmost

    beautifullines.

    Lookcarefully,andwrite

    downwhaty

    ousee.

    (Above)

    Converginglines

    createmotion;spiralis

    thefocalpoint

    .Intricate

    detailingrevea

    lshand

    craftsmanship;suggests

    skill,care,love

    ,attentive-

    nesstodetail.

    Curv

    ylines

    duck

    andweave.

    Spritely,playful,

    joyou

    s.

    Sweepingline

    suggestsairines

    s,

    grandeur,majesty.

    Whatkindofline?

    Linesareveryexpr

    essive.Lookcarefullyat

    yourimage.Whatdoits

    linessay?

    Straightline

    Uprightcenterlinesuggestspower,

    formality,dignit

    y,stateliness.

    Theedgecanbe

    seenasasweep

    oraseriesofde

    tailedcurves.

    (Above)

    Gracefullinesappearwhenthe

    instrumentisviewedfro

    manangle.

    Smooth,sensuous,feminine.

    B

    A

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    Tinybudget,evocativecard0644

    0644Tinybudget,ev

    ocativecard

    Unliketh

    egraceful,feminine

    linesoftheinstrument,a

    charcoal

    lineisrough,bold

    andguy-like.AdobeIllustra-

    torwillcreatearoughstroke

    withasingleclick.Itseasy:

    (1)OpenIllustrator,Place

    your

    photoforreference(lowresolu-

    tionisally

    ouneed),thenwiththe

    PenorPen

    ciltooltraceitslines.

    Thereisno

    needforprecision.

    Hideorde

    letethephoto.

    Drawit

    Ourcardneedsam

    asculineline,onethatfollowsthefamiliar,femininesilhouettebut

    inawaythatsbold

    ,gritty,lessflowin

    g.Togetit,welltradeour

    pen

    forabrush.

    1

    2

    3

    (2)Adjustthelinewidths.(You

    mayfindthiseasiertodoonce

    thecharcoalisapplied.)

    (3)Selectthelines,theninthe

    BrushespaletteclickRough

    Charcoal.

    Edityourlinestosuit.

    Howbig,whered

    oesitgo,andwhichw

    ay?

    Size,positionandorientationarekeyfacto

    rsinhowanimageis

    pe

    rceived.Asyou

    createyourla

    yout,

    strivefirsttoachieveclarityofmessage,thenbeauty.

    (D)GetverticalRotatingthecarduprightmatches

    formattoinstrume

    ntandgetsallthelinesworking

    together.Nowthe

    imageisbigandstillfitsthecard.

    Note,however,tha

    tthetallneckleavesanunappealing

    hollowneartheto

    pandtheweightnearthebottom.

    (E)Zoomingcloserbisectsthespace,distributesthe

    weightevenlyand

    showsofftherough,artisticline.

    ABC

    (A)Sma

    llReducetheimagetofit

    thespac

    e,andhavealook.Itfits,but

    whatme

    ssagedoesitsend?Itlooks

    insignific

    ant,doesntit?Adoublebass

    isBIG,an

    ditBOOMS;thisinstrument

    looksdelicate,distant,incidental.Pay

    attention

    here;suchimpressionsare

    real.Size

    ,positionandorientation

    reallycommunicate.

    (B)BigSupersizecanhavedramatic

    effect.In

    thiscase,however,thehori-

    zontalfo

    rmatcropstooclosely,and

    thekeylineoftheinstrumentsbody

    islost.Theresultisspottyandunclear.

    (C)Side

    waysTurntheimagehori-

    zontally.

    Itnowflowswiththespace

    butagainsendsthewrongmessage;

    itlookslikeaguitar.

    E

    Hollow

    Heavy

    BisectedspaceEve

    nly

    distributed

    weight

    D

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    Tinybudget,evocativecard0644

    0644Tinybudget,ev

    ocativecard

    Whatcolor?

    Coloriskeytothis

    job.Weneednotapalet

    tefullbutasinglecolor

    thatcanconveyour

    moodandmessageindark,mediumandli

    ghtvalues.Keytothisis

    saturation.

    Thecolorwheelshowscolorrelation-

    ships.Inthiscase,italso

    revealsthat

    saturatedcolorsreallyredredsandblue

    bluesaretoobrightfor

    classicalmusicor

    evenjazz.Whatweneed

    aredesaturated

    colors,mutedandsophisticated.

    Desaturatedcolorhas

    someofitscolor

    drainedoutandreplaced

    bygray.Ascolors

    aredesaturated,theirvalues(dark/light)

    becomemorealike.Todesaturatecolorin

    Photoshop,selectanyco

    lor,theninthe

    Hue/Saturationdialog(left)movetheSatu-

    rationslideranegativedistance;hereits

    60.Becauseforthisjobourcolormustbe

    dark,movetheLightness

    sliderto,inthis

    case,40.

    Saturatedcolorsthecolorsof

    kindergartenaretoobrigh

    tfor

    classicalmusic.

    Thesamecolors,desaturatedand

    darkened,aresoftandrich

    andcon-

    veyage,tradition,professio

    nalism.

    5815

    50%

    Whatvalues?

    Becausedesaturatedcolorsaremostlygra

    y,theycanbefullylighte

    nedordarkenedwithou

    t

    chan

    gin

    gtheiressentialcolor.Thisallowsustouseallthevaluesofouronecolor!

    Evenda

    rker

    (Above)Becauseonecolorwill

    doallthework,itmustbeginvery

    dark,sowelldarkenourdesatu-

    ratedcolorsfurther,alltheway

    to60.N

    otethatheavilydarkened,

    desatura

    tedcolorslookalmost

    alike.As

    aresult,allwillfunction

    prettym

    uchthesame;thegray

    doesthe

    realwork,andthehint

    ofcolorprovidestheflavor.

    ConverttoPantoneSofar,thec

    olorwheelhasbeenahelpfulrefe

    rencetogetusintothecolorballpark.

    Butnowwemustconvertfromitsp

    rocess

    colors,whichareusedforfour-colorprinting,toasinglespotcolor.

    ForthatwellusethePantoneMat

    chingSystem.Pantoneisaccessib

    leinthecolorlibraries*ofPhotoshop,

    InDesignandIllustrator.Justselect

    yourchoicefromthelist,andadd

    ittothecolorpalette.

    OurcardusesPantone5815atfullstrengthandtinted50%.Onwh

    itepaperthatyieldsourthreevalues

    dark,mediumandlight.Noteabovethedifferentexpressivecharacteroffourcombinations.

    *Pantoneisalsoavailableinprinted

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    Clashes

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