Inside Freelance Design

Issue #55
July 12, 2007

Welcome to Inside Freelance Design (IFD), your free, bi-weekly e-letter from American Writers & Artists Inc. Every other week, you can receive this special alert with secrets, tips, and insights from AWAI's graphic design pros to help you improve your skills and reach your goal of becoming a professional graphic designer in the fastest time possible.

IN THIS ISSUE:

How to Design a Super-Simple Tear-Off Flap
Quick Tip: Designing for Visual Impact
EXTRA! EXTRA! News and Job Opportunities

How to Design a Super-Simple Tear-Off Flap
by Kammy Thurman

Tear-off flaps are good alternatives for clients who want to save money on order devices while optimizing their effectiveness. So, today, I’m going to show you how to incorporate an inexpensive tear-off form that won’t interfere with the rest of your design.

Let’s say your client wants a 4-page catalog supplement of “hot” products that includes an order device. Though this technique can be adapted to other page sizes, let’s say the catalog supplement is to be printed on both sides of an 11” x 17” sheet that will eventually be folded twice to make a small self-mailer.

To make it easier to understand what I’m about to describe, follow along with a piece of 11” x 17” paper. (Or tape two 8.5” x 11” pages together on the long side to make a page that length.) Once you’ve gone through the process with this physical sample, transfer it to your design software.

Lay your 11” x 17” sheet in front of you horizontally (in landscape mode). Make a perforated line, top to bottom, on the right-hand page of the inside spread, about 3” in from the right-hand edge. (In the final production, this section will be folded on the perforation line toward the inside of the spread to make a tear-off order flap.)

Do that now.

With the flap folded over, the spread will be 11” x 14”.

Now, fold the piece in half, left edge over the new right edge so they line up. This brings the size down to 11” x 7”, with the tear-off flap tucked in on the right side.

This size – 11” x 7” – doesn’t meet standard mail requirements for “letter” size. And if it were mailed at the “flat” rate, postage would be a LOT more expensive. But don’t worry. Fold the piece in half one more time, top to bottom. It then becomes a 5 ½” x 7” self-mailer that’s in the proper size range and under the 3.3 oz. weight limit to mail at the “letter” rate.

Now, let’s design the mailing label area.

Flip the piece upside-down and backward, so the side fold ends up on the right and the middle fold is underneath the recipient’s address.

After orienting your sample self-mailer this way, draw a rectangular box where the address would go, and write the word “Address” inside the box. When the self-mailer is opened, all the catalog copy should be laid out in one direction with the address upside-down.

Do that now, and you’ll see what I mean.

Remember that the open sides of a self-mailer need to be tabbed for USPS automation. So if your client wants to include a return envelope, it could be inserted into the self-mailer, and the folds and tabs will keep it from falling out. Then the customer would simply tear off the order form, fill it out, fold it in half, and stuff it into the return envelope.

A tear-off flap works great for other designs, too.

In a brochure, for example, it could be used to list important dates, office hours, and contact numbers that the reader could remove to keep handy.

In a newsletter, it could provide information to be posted on a bulletin board or the family’s refrigerator.

In a discount mailer, it could be a group of coupons to lure the customer into your client’s store.

Best of all, the flap can be torn or cut off and used without ruining the rest of the publication.

* * * * * * * * Highly Recommended * * * * * * * *

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Designing for Visual Impact
by Kammy Thurman

Keeping designs interesting can seem like a daunting task, but it is easier than you might think. Here are a few treatments that will make yours pop off the page.

1. Use text as a design element that calls attention to what’s being said and helps readers focus on what’s important. Mix it up with different font sizes, bolding, italics, and colors to lead readers where you want them to go – and help them enjoy the journey.

2. Sidebars don’t have to be in a box. You can put them in a circle, half-circle, oval, octagon, or a free-form shape. You can also add color to the shape to grab attention.

3. Captions don’t have to be placed under pictures. They can be placed around an oval, on top of a square, or running up the side of a rectangular image. The unusual placement will draw attention to the caption – which is a great place to state another benefit rather than using it as a run-of-the-mill label.

4. Pull-quotes don’t have to be square paragraphs in the middle of a page. Add a wavy shape to them, and extend them the width of the page. Rotate them so they sit on a diagonal to the copy. Place them in the margin of the page, or use them to separate two paragraphs in a column of copy. Like sidebars, you can put pull-quotes in boxes with unusual shapes and colors.

Let your imagination run wild, and you’ll find all kinds of ways to keep your designs visually appealing, while keeping them readable too.

* * * * * * * * Advertisement * * * * * * * *

How to Avoid Expensive Graphic Design Software Mistakes

You already know:

You need it to produce top quality, top paying work.

Once you open it, you can't get your money back.

But do you know the 8 questions you should ask BEFORE you buy?

Find out: http://www.thedesignerslife.com/buyingsoftware/

EXTRA! EXTRA! News and Job Opportunities

PART-TIME GRAPHIC DESIGNER – The CEO of Xiosoft is looking for a part-time designer to translate his new product ideas into spec-documents & screenshots. You do not have to be an artist, but you do need to be good at layout and making feature decisions – which means that the right person for the job needs to be able to use art tools (like Photoshop) and/or other prototyping/layout tools (maybe Visio), even if they can’t draw. Xiosoft’s customers are all small-business owners and marketers. So familiarity with their needs would be helpful. This is a part-time, as-needed “contract” position – i.e., whenever he gets a new idea, you would start working on a spec. If you think this job is for you – or if you know someone who fits the bill – send a resume and cover letter to Work@Xiosoft.com with “Product Designer” in the subject line.
GRAPHIC DESIGNER – FarHeap Solutions, a forward-thinking technology company in Irvine, CA, needs a graphic designer with Web experience. You’ll develop designs for both print and online marketing and communication efforts. You must know HTML, CSS, and Java, along with Photoshop and Illustrator. Send your resume and cover letter to Rose Zollo at hr@farheap.com. (A portfolio will be requested at your interview.)
GRAPHIC DESIGNER – PCC Natural Markets, a leading natural food cooperative based in Seattle, has an opening for a talented designer who’s skilled in the Adobe Creative Suite and Web-development programs. You’ll serve as the lead Web designer, and have the opportunity to implement many new marketing technologies (like podcasts and streaming video). You’ll also work on print designs for brochures, newsletters, advertisements, and more. Send your resume and work samples (both print and Web) to jobs@pccsea.com.
GRAPHIC DESIGNER – William O’Neil and Company, an investment information company based near Marina del Rey in California, needs a skilled designer to develop new designs for both print and the Web, and to maintain and update existing materials. You must have good verbal skills and experience using the Adobe Creative Suite and Web-development programs. Send your resume and cover letter with a link to your portfolio to jobs@williamoneil.com.

COMING NEXT ISSUE:

Creating a Community for Creative Professionals
Quick Tip: How to Remove Unwanted Type From Clipart

* ABOUT INSIDE FREELANCE DESIGN *

Inside Freelance Design is a FREE bi-weekly newsletter from American Writers & Artists Inc., available to AWAI members and friends.

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Issue #55 July 12, 2007