One Big Elevated Poster: Stage Design Tips

Its been a while I wrote something graphic design related. Currently majority of my work consists of designing structural stuff like an event stage. One of the most important factor of an event is where the host will do the emcee work, particularly a stage. Even if it is just a little raised area in the middle of the venue it is still considered as a stage. Here are some tips, rules and ideas before designing the stage, both simple and complex ones.

1. Initially, you should already have the idea of the area where the stage stands. A stage always consist of the backdrop (main background) and the platform (where the hosts and the event itself placed).
2. Get the width size of the area and importantly the size of the “floor to ceiling height”. The height will be your basis of the backdrop area of the stage. In all, the backdrop size consists of width and height.
3. The  height of the backdrop should not reach the ceiling. Try using at least 2 feet down from the floor to ceiling height. For example if you have 10 feet floor to ceiling height of the area, you may consider a 7-8 feet (height) backdrop size.
4. The platform’s width is the same with the width size of the backdrop unless the client wants a longer platform.
5. If necessary, work with stage and floorplan layout back to back at the same time for consistency of the size.
6. Once you got the basic sizes (Platform: Width, Depth, Height and backdrop: Width, Height) you may start designing the design itself.
7. Lastly, always check on the limits (like will the backdrop be using tarpaulin or bunch of die cutting all over the stage) before engaging on the real design.

Thats it, some tips before submerging yourself to the stage design. Design it with a mindset of thinking you are just creating a poster. Now go create that one big elevated poster.

Essential & Very, Very, Very Basic Graphic Design Tips

I am doing graphic design work, professionally of course, since 2004. Still, like what I always say, there are a lot of things I need to learn, like feeding myself some new awesome stuff from newly updated design software to improving our manual skills like cutting a clean curvy shape from a paper, which I still have problem doing it because my hands can’t stay still.

Here are some basic and essential graphic design tips I learned both the hard way, which being verbally spanked by my superiors and the easy way, through the power of self-learning.

Logos and icons creation

1. Always create your logo using vector software (Adobe Illustrator, etc/) for easy manipulation of size and color.
2. In designing the real logo, listen to your client demands, and extract all the keywords from the demands. Write the logo name in a piece of paper and put all the keywords beside it. This way, you can visualize easily what he wants based from the keywords. Try blending the keywords with the logo name for the design.
3. Consider the target market of your client, write it also next to the keywords and try blending it
4. Learn from your client on what he or the company itself doesn’t want. Some clients are anally strict with designs.
5. Use 1 to 3 basic colors for the logo for easy brand identification. Take a look at McDonalds, it’s always yellow and red, and we know they are McDonalds due to their color scheme.
6. Be strict and consistent with the color Pantone.
7. 100% of time we create logos in white background, but you must also create the logo placed in a dark background. There is a possibility the logo you create be placed in a black background, like in a dark shirt or a leather bag.
8. Make more than 1 logo studies, make sure the design is different and not a simple font change.
9. If you have time or budget, try simulating the logo by placing it in other related collaterals, like in a shirt or in a book cover for presentation purposes.

General layout design

1. Have your computer color calibrated with the supplier for consistent color output.
2. Be strict with the measurements and margins in your documents.
3. Speaking of measurements, if you have history of short-term memory loss, especially with numbers, always write down in a notebook or a notepad all the important measurements of your document. One mistake of measurement with the supplier can cost a lot of money.
4. Always set your document mode in CMYK unless the bosses want RGB color.
5. Probably my preference but always uses Photoshop for images and photos, not as the main layout-authoring tool.
6. Make sure the image resolution is right for the print output. If viewed closer, like a booklet, the resolution is at least 220 – 300 dpi above. If seen afar, like a big billboard, 72-75 dpi will do.
7. Speaking of resolutions, the original photo should have a very high-resolution; raw format is highly encouraged for easy DPI manipulation.
8. Always use common fonts for the main copy, like Arial, Times New Roman, Verdana and Helvetica. This way, if there a quick correction, the supplier can do the editing for you, unless they are assholes and wants you to send them new files with 1 correction.
9. Proofread the document thoroughly; let your copywriter help with your proofreading.
10. Always give the supplier a printout of the document aside from the FA (Final Artwork – the file you give to the suppliers for printing) for comparison purposes.
11. Convert to curves all the text with fancy fonts. The supplier sometimes has problems reading special fonts even if it is part of the FA file.
12. Organize the FA files  properly, have separate folders for linked images and fonts. The last working file or PDF is alone in the main directory.

Basically that’s it, some tips you can adapt in your creative mindset. Good luck on your next design.