There's quite a few rules to stick to when designing a logo. A few examples here is to not mix real images with the design, try to limit the amount of fonts used, if you use more than one, make sure they compliment each other (and try to limit the amounts of fonts to two), and don't outline one word and not the other!

Here is the logo when received by the client, and the result from after we fixed it up:

All the elements in the logo clash and don't work well together. As requested by the client, I kept the overall look of the ‪‎logo‬ the same, but fixed all the mishaps to make it a successful design for the store to proudly display.

Think your logo needs an update or could be better? Contact us for a quote, be sure to send us your logo so we could take a look at it.

Besides designing logos, we also offer other services. For example, do you have a logo on file but it's not large enough to print clearly? We could recreate your logo into a high resolution/vector format so you'll have no issues when going to print.

Let us know, we're here to help!

Printing presses, desktop printers and monitors produce colors in different ways. Screens and presses are NOT made to match each other, even if they sometimes do. Monitors use the RGB (red, green, blue) color model, which usually supports a wider spectrum of colors. Printers use the CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black) color model, which can reproduce most—but not all—of the colors in the RGB color model. Depending on the equipment used, CMYK generally matches 85–90% of the colors in the RGB model. When a color is selected from the RGB model that is out of the range of the CMYK model, the application chooses what it thinks is the closest color that will match. Programs like Adobe Photoshop will allow you to choose which color will be replaced. Others may not.

Need help? Contact KrissArt Marketing Design.

Art Lab is a grassroots non-profit art school located on the property of Snug Harbor Cultural Center in Staten Island, New York. Art Lab offers four semesters of classes and workshops throughout the year. These classes provide art instruction and appreciation for students of all ages, beginners to advanced levels. Today it is a valued member of New York's arts and educational community and is a vital part of the cultural life of Staten Island.

KrissArt Marketing Design is a Staten Island based company, helping businesses and organizations throughout New York City and all across America, establish a professional brand identity by providing creative graphic design, website solutions, social media marketing and high-quality printing, all at competitive rates.

Let KrissArt Marketing Design assist in developing a professional image and attractive material to advance your marketing strategy. Contact us today.

When you are choosing a paper for your project, what do all the paper terms mean? We are going to try and sort that out for you.

Coated Paper
Coated paper has been coated with a surface sealant, typically clay, to impart certain qualities to the paper, including weight, surface gloss, smoothness or reduced ink absorbency. The coating on the paper reduces dot gain by not allowing the ink to absorb into the paper. This allows for cleaner crisper printing, especially in photos, blends and fine details. Coated papers come in numerous options: gloss, matte, dull and satin finish.

Gloss — gloss coated paper has a high sheen. Gloss papers have less bulk and opacity and are typically less expensive than dull & matte paper of equal thickness. Gloss coatings reduce ink absorption, which give the sheet an excellent color definition.

Satin — a satin coating is a less shiny coated finish. It has a lower gloss level than gloss finish, yet a higher gloss level than matte finish. Colors are sharp and vivid.

Matte — a matte coated paper is a non-glossy, flat looking paper with very little sheen. Matte papers are more opaque, contain greater bulk, and are higher in cost. The coating still keeps much of the ink from being absorbed by the paper, which produces excellent, vibrant color.

Dull — a dull finish coated paper is a smooth surface paper that is low in gloss. Dull coated paper can fall between matte and glossy paper depending on the manufacturer.

Uncoated Paper
Uncoated paper stock is paper that has not been coated with a surface sealant. Inks dry by absorbing into the paper. This paper type can dull the colors that are printed. Uncoated papers comprise a vast number of paper types and are available in a variety of surfaces, both smooth and textured. Some of the common types are wove or smooth, laid and linen.

Wove or Smooth — this has a very smooth surface.

Laid — laid paper is created with textured lines on its surface. This finish is used mostly for business stationery elements, like letterhead, envelopes and business cards.

Linen — similar to a laid finish, this paper has textured lines on the surface of the sheet, but they are finer and more regular than those that appear on a laid finish stock. This paper is also used frequently for business stationery.

Coated One Side and Coated Two Sides
This paper is commonly referred to as C1S (coated one side) or C2S (coated two sides). In a C1S paper the coating has been applied to only one side of the paper. C2S the coating is on both sides. Typically the coated side is glossy. You will find this type of paper used primarily on postcards. It gives a glossy feel to the front of the card while using the back uncoated side for addressing.

Weight
The weight of a paper refers to its thickness and is typically measured in pounds (such as 20#) and points (such as 10 PT). The higher the number, the thicker the paper for that “type” of paper. Paper weights in commercial printing can be very confusing. For example, a sheet of 20# bond (probably what you use on your inkjet printer) is about the same thickness as a sheet of 50# offset.

There are three general paper categories used to describe the basis weight of a paper: writing, text and cover.

Writing — a letterhead-weight stock, typically 24# or 28# writing, and often has a watermark.

Text — is thicker than a writing paper, but not as thick as a cover paper (card stock). Text-weight paper is usually a 70#, 80# or 100# text.

Cover — Cover stocks are heavy in weight, rigid and not easily folded. Common weights for cover stocks include: 65#, 80#, 100#, 120#, and 12pt.

If you have any questions, please contact KrissArt Marketing Design. We are happy to help.

If you are looking to build an online presence, brick and mortar presence, or both for your small business, you should consider flyer printing as one of your advertising tools. Even if you don’t intend to produce immediate sales, promotional flyers, advertising flyers, and other hard copy advertising will really help boost the local interest and send more customers to your business website.

In order to complete a fully comprehensive marketing strategy you need to develop both online and offline advertising strategies and the most effective of which next to paid online adverts is flyer printing. A stunning flyer design that accurately reflects your business needs, image and goals, will display an understanding of your target audience. If you have the appropriate flyer in your arsenal your offline marketing can be the most effective advertising your business experiences.

With a bulk flyer printing service you can also save money and avoid high-cost smaller print shops. You can obtain high quality flyer printing without straining the business budget which is especially important for small businesses that are just starting out or do not yet have enough money in their advertising budget.

Flyer printing is your small business advertising solution that will enhance your presence at promotional events, enable mass awareness for special offers and seasonal sales, and help you better communicate with little to no effort. Handing these flyers out at shopping centers, music venues, outside clubs or just on the street will help expose your business to as many people as possible.

Flyer printing also adds value to your business from the customer perspective. A professional and well made high quality flyer will attract customers to your business when they might otherwise be unsure of your business online. Flyer printing helps bring offline customers online or even just round the corner to your business location because it targets local customers and let’s them know you have something they may be interested in.

You may even be able to target existing customers of your small business through flyer printing. With a database of existing customers, you can alert them to new offers they may be interested in based on past purchases by sending them a flyer through the mail.

- written by taradel.com

Article by Mili of Schnauz Design

I thought it would be useful to solve the mystery and frustration around image sizes and formats once and for all. Clients often feel stumped when asked for high res images for marketing materials because the original designer or photographer cannot be located (an indication of their work ethic most times).
So, let’s see what all these formats and sizes mean, and how to eliminate the source file issue altogether. When dealing with file formats and sizes, one size does NOT fit all.

Requirements for Online – websites, facebook, twitter, pinterest etc:
- Anytime you are going to put artwork or imagery on an online outlet like facebook, a website, blogs, pinterest, twitter etc. you will require 1 of 3 formats – jpeg, png or gif.

- When you need to insert an image into a “template” of some kind (for example, a background for your twitter page, or the cover photo of your facebook page), you will need a particular height and width pixel size. But how do you know what the pixel size is? That information can be found on the support page of facebook or twitter, or simply google it.

- The image must be created according to that size in 72 dpi. For example, facebook’s cover photo is 851px wide x 315px tall in 72 dpi. If this is built in a different dpi, it will become larger or smaller in width and height. Sometimes the website you are posting to is programmed to overcome this by cropping or downsizing the image, but it may not always happen proportionately, so it can look awful! Ever seen a website where the images are squished and look terrible? That’s because it is not programmed to proportionately size images. In this case, you have to size it correctly first and then upload the images. It’s a little bit like trying to squeeze and fit a large square shape into a small rectangle shape. Doesn’t work.

- So how does one size images correctly?
I personally use photoshop (which is an intense and expensive software to purchase if you are not using it a lot). Photoshop Elements is the simpler version for the general consumer.

Requirements for Printing:
- While images online are required to be 72 dpi, images and artwork that is printed needs to be 300 dpi. So if your designer tells you an image is too small for printing and they need a high res image, it means the image u have provided is likely pulled off a website, and they would need a much higher resolution image (possibly the source file). This is especially the case when logos are needed for an invitation design or something, clients send me logos pulled off company websites.

- Photos should only be in jpeg, psd or tiff formats when used in marketing materials/printed materials. Png or gif cannot be used in print. Those are strictly web formats.

- Sometimes a logo pulled off a website MAY be large enough to use in printed materials, if you only need it to be a small logo like .5″ x .5″. BUT, if that same logo needs to be blown up and printed on a large banner and need to be 10″ x 10″ it will be very pixelated when printed. Ever seen an image or logo look really fuzzy and pixelated when printed? It’s because of this. To ENSURE logos or other design elements besides photos print crystal clear, an .eps, .pdf, or .ai VECTOR format file is needed. This allows elements to be blown up as large as needed without becoming pixelated.

I hope this helps clear some basic frustrations with sizes and formats. It is not easy to explain all of it in a blog post, as even some of these basics can have exceptions.

By Mili of Schnauz Design

QR codes are a bit of a ‘buzz word’ right now. As well as being hugely effective on your printed business literature, including a quick-response code on your business cards is a great way to get more bang for your buck.

Including a QR code allows the recipient of your card to receive extra information. Whether it directs them to a specific page on your website or encourages them to sign up to your newsletter; they are one of the best ways to get something more out of a simple marketing tool.

They add an air of mystery. What exactly will scanning it reveal? They encourage your prospects, peers, and customers to delve a little deeper into your business.

Space is limited on a business card. By including this simple design element, you can offer a wealth of information in a flash. In terms of making an impression and standing out from the crowd, this is one of the most simple but effective tactics you can use.

                                                                         - Courtesy of www.inspirationfeed.com. Written by Clare Evans for Charterprint.

Want a QR Code created for you business?
Want it incorporated onto your new marketing materials?
Contact us today!