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As a professional sign company, we see a lot of things that don’t follow general design ‘rules’. Sadly, some of those people that break the rules are from other sign shops.

 

But rules are made to be broken, right?

 

Well, no. Rules are there to keep everything on an even keel. Rules are guidelines that have been largely conceived from a lot of trial and error. Rules are, well…. rules.

 

Speed limits are a prime example. If a road has above average road accidents, the first thing authorities will do is lower the limit. The new speed limit is essentially a new rule for that piece of road. The second thing the authorities do is hide a radar trap in the area to catch those drivers that don’t think rules apply to them… but that is another subject entirely for another day.

 

Rules are in everything. Parents have rules for children (You can’t watch TV until you’ve done your homework). Employers have rules for employees (You can’t smoke in the canteen). Governments have rules for their citizens ( You can’t disobey a rule without paying a penalty).

 

But what has that got to do with design errors I hear you ask somewhat impatiently.

 

It is important to realise that good readable design also has rules. Tried and tested rules that define a good design against a poor design. If you ignore the rules, your message will probably be totally lost because people are more likely to concentrate on the confusing design more than the message.

 

Some DIY design errors are more common than others.

 

One design rule that is often ignored is the use of many fonts in each sign or poster.

http://www.creativebloq.com/industry-insight/how-not-design-biggest-mistakes-1131613

Craig Minchington, in his article for Creative Blog, points out correctly that too many fonts just clutters the page and makes it harder to read. Two fonts and several weights are the general rule in poster and sign design.

 

Another rule often broken is coloured fonts on a coloured background.

badchoice

Simone Sala points out in her blog ‘Typography cheat sheet’ that a general mistake is to use two tonalities that are too much similar to the point that distinguishing the words from the surrounding becomes very difficult. While this is irritating for most users, it’s generally a show-stopper for anyone with vision problems.

 

By far the most common mistake we see is the wrong font choice. This would be the rule that is broken on a daily basis when producing a DIY poster or certificate in-house by most DIY designers.

 

So what is the rule?

 

The rule is simply this – Never use a script style font in all capitals. With few exceptions, a script style font should only be used in an upper (Capital) and lower case format. It not only looks untidy but the spacing is nearly always wrong, especially when a flowery or feminine style is used.

 

There are some beautiful scripted fonts available, but they were never, by definition, designed to work as all capital letters in headings or definitive text.

 

Another problem with most scripted fonts is that some ethnic groups that don’t speak English as their first language, find these styles much harder to read. If you are doing a poster with an important message and the headings are all scripted capital letters, it is a fairly safe bet that the message will be lost on any reader who has poor eyesight or who has a poor grasp of the English language.

typoSo next time you are entrusted with using Word, Illustrator or Coreldraw to produce that certificate congratulating someone for a job well done, spare a thought for the readers who will have to see the thing week in and week out on the staff room wall. At least make it easy to read and not an assault on the eyes.

 

Lets all make sure that, if we are the person given the weighty responsibility to design a well deserved award certificate, we take that very seriously and we think of the reader as well as the recipient.

 

One is no less important than the other. More importantly, think of the poor sign person who has to look at the all capital script. They often lose the will to live just a little bit every time they see it. It’s not something that we’d want to be responsible for I’m sure.

 

There are many generous people in society, many just doing what they do without worrying about what financial costs or burdens, they just do what they think is right and hopefully the recipients appreciate the generosity in which it was given.

 

One such person is Carol M. Highsmith  , probably one of America’s best loved and most iconic documentary photographers. She has been documenting american lifestyle and iconic images for decades. She is at the very top of her field.

 

She is also a very generous soul, donating thousands of images to the United States Library of Congress at no charge since 1988, so the general public can have free access to her documented images. Congress calls the donation “one of the greatest acts of generosity in the history of the library”

 

Carey Dunne, in her article for the online publication Hyperallergic, tells us how it was discovered:

 

“Carol Highsmith received a letter from Getty Images accusing her of copyright infringement for featuring one of her own photographs on her own website. It demanded payment of $120. …. Highsmith came to learn that stock photo agencies Getty and Alamy had been sending similar threat letters and charging fees to users of her images, which she had donated to the Library of Congress for use by the general public at no charge. ”

 

It wasn’t just one or two photographs either. Over 18,700 of her photos have been claimed by Getty and Alamy as their own. Some included false watermarks and gave no credit to the original photographer at all.

 

The article goes on ….. “Highsmith has filed a $1 billion copyright infringement suit against both Alamy and Getty for “gross misuse” of 18,755 of her photographs. “The defendants [Getty Images] have apparently misappropriated Ms. Highsmith’s generous gift to the American people,” the complaint reads. “[They] are not only unlawfully charging licensing fees … but are falsely and fraudulently holding themselves out as the exclusive copyright owner.” According to the lawsuit, Getty and Alamy, on their websites, have been selling licenses for thousands of Highsmith’s photographs, many without her name attached to them and stamped with “false watermarks.”

 

Its not the first time Getty have been caught doing something illegal with other peoples images. They seem to feel they are beyond reproach.

 

It makes for an interesting read here .

 

The issue for those of us that use social media is, how do we know that Getty, Alamy or whoever aren’t stealing our photos and selling them as stock photo’s to unsuspecting buyers.

 

The truth is, we don’t.

 

The two instances that they have been caught fraudulently selling others images as their own is most likely the tip of the iceberg in what is out there illegally.

 

Can we do anything about it? We certainly need to be vigilant and be alert, but unless we are a high end photographer who would watermark their photo’s anyway, there is probably little we need to worry about.

 

The real issue is if we buy a Getty image and find out later they didn’t have the royalty free rights to the photo. We may find ourselves involved in an expensive and time consuming legal battle we are ill prepared for or can not afford.

 

When Getty Images bought Istockphoto, they paid $50m and that included all photos on their database. The assumption was that Getty own the contributors photos and that is what they’d like to imply, but the truth is, they don’t own contributors photo’s at all, they just own the rights to sell them for a commission.

 

Without doubt Getty are very aggressive in the photo markets they dominate. They have 200 million images available, are forming partnerships with many companies that own smaller competitors, opening their markets up to Asian centers that are basically untapped to this american giant.

 

With nearly 2000 employees around the world, clearly their thirst for dominance has landed them is some serious hot water. The case of Mrs Highsmith is a perfect example of that. Will they get away with this for less than a billion dollars? Time will tell.

 

Interesting times.

 

The Psychology of Colour

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Colour choice is an important step in designing everything from signage to point of sale advertising.

It has been the subject of many blogs and industry articles over many years, yet DIY designers often make fundamental errors in the getting their marketing message across to the buying public successfully.

In this day and age where everyone has a PC and a design program, some simply ignore the basics in colour compatibility. It’s a science that many don’t take the time to study.

A good resource worth reading is “The Psychology of Colours, a guide for beginners.”

Grab a cup of coffee, settle into a comfy chair, then have a read.

Recently I was met by a traditional sign writer that found it very hard to hide his contempt for me, and those like me, that practice the ‘digital new age’ concept of his traditional trade.

I hasten to add that no one is more in awe of our traditional sign guys and girls, whether it be in the brush, airbrushed or pastel applications, than me.

But I was more than a little amused when he labelled ‘my type’ as wannabe’s and impostors.

Strong words that I found rather confronting.

I’m the first to admit that there are plenty of my Digital colleagues out there way better than me. Just as there are plenty of Traditional sign people who are better than our digital colleagues as well.

Clearly, some traditional signies have embraced the digital age and use both forms to ply their trade. Some, though, have not.

As a wholesale print supplier, most of my own regular clients are traditional screen printers or old school sign painters that either have no intention of going digital, or don’t understand the software to make the machine sing. Some of my clients willingly admit that they are technologically challenged, some just have no interest in the art form that is the digital realm.

Whilst most have vinyl cutters, the growth of the digital print industry has clearly overrun them and some are not happy.

Then you get the shops that buy a machine because they can afford it, but find after a few months it is just too hard or the industry was more competitive than they had first anticipated.

I was talking to several reps recently and they all told me the same thing – a fair percentage of units purchased will be back on the market within 12 to 18 months.

As an example; several years ago I was doing small print jobs for a computer cut sign company out west. It was nothing stunning in terms of turnover, but my client developed a niche business in the farming industry and used me to produce the prints quickly, and his clients were none-the-wiser.

All went well until he rang me one day, thanking me for my support, telling me he was going to buy his own machine.

I was a bit concerned as, unless he wasn’t telling me something, the business I did for him was not going to be enough to support a machine on its own.

He dismissed my concerns and asked who I’d suggest he approach to buy a printer. He wanted the same setup as me, so everything would be the same. I suggested the company I purchased from.

I heard back later that he rang that company, and his order was for ‘everything that Shane had’. To his credit, the sales rep looked at his business, his turnover and his position, and advised him that he wouldn’t have enough business to warrant buying a machine. The sales rep actually declined to sell him one.

The sign guy, not to be deterred, went to an opposition supplier and purchased one from them. Interestingly, that supplier has since gone bankrupt.

To make matters worse, the sales person stitched him up good and proper by supplying all his ancillary materials on the same 5 year lease as his machine. This effectively increased his monthly lease payments by a significant amount.

Eight months later, I get a call asking if I would takeover the lease of the printer he’d purchased. As I had two already I declined. He then admitted he was about to go bankrupt. He realised having his own printer was a bigger burden on his cash flow, than if he just purchased what he needed when he needed it, and made a mark-up on each sale. It was an expensive lesson to learn. He was very upset that I didn’t try and talk him out of the idea originally. I reminded him of our conversation, and suggested I was not his keeper. He couldn’t, and shouldn’t, blame me.

But I digress.

After my rather confronting conversation with my new traditional sign painter friend, I did actually have a reality check some weeks later. I understood the lesson the traditional sign writer was trying to teach me.

You see, I am a mad keen photographer. Not weddings or anything like that, but landscape and animal photography mainly.

Having had my own dark room years ago, I’m more a traditional photographer. I like to think my best shots are through the lens without software manipulation.

It totally frustrates me to see photos that are heavily photo shopped for instance, winning awards for photographic excellence. It drives me to distraction. It is clearly not a photographic talent, but a Photoshop talent. There is a difference.

In my humble opinion, a good ‘traditional’ through-the-lens photo is infinitely better than an ‘average’ photo that has been enhanced electronically.

But like my new friend, the traditional sign writer said, these digital new age people are impostors. In this instance they are photographers that rely of software enhancement when it comes to ‘real’ photography.

It was only after this, my own experience, did I truly understand my ‘traditional’ colleagues pain.

Lesson learned.

Google isn’t everyone’s friend

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I think any business owner would have to agree that the recovery from the recent GFC has played havoc with many small businesses and it is still playing a part in business strategy.

It is no secret that most small and large customers have, since emerging from the most recent fiscal nightmare, reduced discretionary spending. This was made worse in Australia, as we’d also had political elections on state and federal levels. The associated negative publicity and media circus that ensued stopped any positivity in the market. Consumers lost confidence in their future. Spending stopped..

As we emerged from the negative and pessimistic outlook, clients, buyers and vendors felt the need look for what they perceived, rightly or wrongly, more affordable methods to get services and goods they wanted to purchase.

The internet became the method of choice. The big winner has been China. Alibaba, Amazon and Ebay have been instrumental in changing people’s buying habits. But Alibaba has been the main success story in the last 5 years, making the very humble founder a Billionaire overnight, once the company went public recently.

Their low prices could soon change though. Going public may well curb their growth as prices will probably rise as shareholders are now in the mix. Investors will want increased profits to maximize their investment, and resellers will probably be expected to cut them a bigger piece of the pie in terms of %’s paid for each sale.

But I digress.

Because of the ease of access to the web, finding alternate sources and comparing prices and reviews is amazingly easy and fast to do. But for every positive, there are a few negatives. It is also easier to be ripped off. It seems that every shonk in any business has a Gmail, Yahoo or Hotmail account.

Businesses are finding it increasingly difficult competing with a sluggish market. Add Google to the mix and it is making it more difficult to compete on a level playing field.

How many of us now shop online? If we are honest, we are all doing it. I’m not even sure why they produce telephone books any more. I haven’t opened one in 7 years.

Consumers are working longer hours and simply do not have time to window shop as much now. Shopping online during the nighttime when we have time to sit back and relax is becoming the norm. No phone, no kids, no chores… just a relaxing time to browse without some sales assistant pestering us for a sale.

What about or own industry? Do we find our business prospects who looked excited about our product last month are procrastinating this month? It can be a telltale sign of a Google shopper.

So what is the answer?

It’s pretty simplistic; we need to maintain a presence in cyberspace.

How?

The obvious answer is Social Media. For a long time I assumed this form of interaction was a phase. I learnt quickly that it wasn’t. My Facebook business page generates a lot of interest and it does help people recognize me when I’m out and about. Yes, I have got work directly from my social media pages.

But, it is not just a case of having a page and hoping for the best. For social media to work, you have to be regular with your interaction. You need to post every day. You also need to keep up to speed with the way social media works. Remember, it is a money making concern so if you opt for only the free choices, you will make little impact. Sometimes you have to invest in promotion. Social media is still one of the cheapest forms of business promotion on the World Wide Web.

Look around. How many people, either clients or prospective clients, are Android or iPhone savvy? Consumers and business people are increasingly reachable electronically via smart phone, computer or tablet for a large part of the day.

The demographic using electronic communication is huge – everyone from teens to retirees. The Internet is not limited to their home or work computer. Now, they have access to data 24/7. If you want their attention, you have to be available 24/7 too. So a good website is a must.

That has become the nature of business accessibility now. The humble web site has become a valuable tool that needs to be updated constantly. A web site gets dated. It needs to be kept relevant or consumers will overlook your site for a fresher look. The internet is constantly evolving and we need to keep that in mind with our yearly marketing budgets.

Another way to combat losing customers to the internet is communication. We need to show the existing clients that they have a real value to our business.

In the ‘Spoken Communications’ blog, the author researched the cost of acquiring a new customer as opposed to retaining an existing client.

Their research found that it was 6 to 7 times more costly to acquire a new customer against retaining an old customer. The research also found that if a customer is left dormant for over 5 years, you have a 50% chance of losing them forever. Personally, I would have thought you’d have 100% chance but I didn’t do the research so what do I know.

The author also found that a business can increase their profits by up to 95% simply by boosting their customer retention rates by as low as 5%.

That is a pretty good argument for better communication, don’t you think?

We also shouldn’t assume a former customer who hasn’t purchased from you for a while will never buy from you again. Some businesses continually monitor their direction. Someone that let you go a year ago may realise that you offered a better service, were easier to deal with, or that you were a better proposition than the company they changed to. Your old client may ask you to come back. It does happen. It has happened to me. If you haven’t kept in contact with them, they are less likely to remember you. Out of sight, out of mind.

Then you have those that move over to a franchise only to realize that they have systems in place that perhaps don’t fit in with their needs, like faster turnaround. They may also turn over staff regularly. There is no bond, trust or relationship forming between the client and the supplier. This bond or trust will often be enough to keep customers coming back.

Statistics show people will probably switch jobs seven to 10 times within their careers. Just as it is expensive to find new clients, it is equally expensive to keep training new staff. We can have a better prospect of retaining business if our clients feel comfortable with our staff. Regular turnover of staff often prevents clients from building up a bond with our business. That’s why small businesses often have an easier job at retaining clients than larger ones do.

The business owner of a successful business should know his/her clients too. Taking an interest builds that bond. It also makes communications with the client base much more worthwhile.

The real secret to success is to treat all your clients as partners in your business growth – whether they spend $200 a month or $5000 a month.

I’ll give you an example. Back in 1996 I went in to business for myself after my family sold off our large sign shop. I struggled to get regular work and frankly I would have cleaned an elephant with a toothbrush if it helped me pay my rent.

One day I got a reply from a letterbox drop I had done in an industrial area. A small motorhome manufacturer wanted a small job done every month putting pin stripes on motorhomes. The previous contractor doing the job had been sacked for abusing the management.

The job was a bit of a pain, always last minute, always changing colours and always working in a dusty environment. But I appreciated the work. It was an average of $400 a month every month. It paid some bills.

Over time, I got larger clients, bigger contracts and my business took off. I no longer needed the small motorhome manufacturer but, I had built up a good relationship with the staff, their business was growing and I felt obliged to stay.

Then out of the blue, the owner died and his ‘silent’ partner put the business in to administration to keep creditors at bay and give him time to work out the businesses viability. I was out of pocket a few thousand dollars.

The administrators cleaned out the bank account of $500,000 in fees and charges. They took every last cent and the motorhome company was put up for sale. I think I got 10c in the dollar back.

The business was quickly sold to an American multinational. All the staff was kept on and I was retained.

They told me latter that I was retained as my relationship with the management was always good and communication was always free and open.

When the new company took over they ramped up the business immediately and my income went from $400 – $600 a month to $5,000 a month within a very short period of time. They became one of my biggest clients and remained like that for many years.

The lesson I learned was this: don’t ever pidgeon hole a client as a dollar value. You just never know how they will grow.

But again, I digress.

Running any business is never easy. It can feel like you are caught between the proverbial rock and hard place. So what can you do to soften the prospect of tough times? Communicate.

It can be as simple as Direct mail, Email, Social Media, Loyalty cards or a simple phone call. Whatever you do, do it sincerely.

It is all about being proactive rather than reactive. Become a partner with your client base. If they are struggling, find a way that you can help them. Value their business and they will value yours. It will lessen the need for them to try and google someone else.

Google is often touted as being our friend, but when you are in business, it can also be enemy #1.

It all comes down to our own attitude to our client base. The rest is up to you