These tips will help newbie designers get better at printing design. These tips can be used for all types of print design, no matter what medium it is: a brochure, a poster, or an identity. In no particular order.
1 Don’t forget to bleed
The bleed is the portion of your document that allows your printer to maneuver paper and make design mistakes. The printer will accept whatever you give it, regardless of what their guidelines are. InDesign’s new file dialog hides the settings. Before they are visible, you will need to click the “more options” button. You can locate them in the file > dialog if you have an open document. Learn more about bleed in the article
2 Overprint is great
Are you limited by your budget to 2 Pantone(PMS), colors? You don’t have to limit yourself to just 2 Pantone(PMS) colors. To achieve a more detailed look, experiment with overprint options. Even if you have only two Pantone’s in your photos, you can still work with them. Just make sure to do them in monotone or duotone.
3 Think beyond the paper
Humans are able to fill in the gaps. They can see bigger pictures if they aim for them. The border of your paper can be a great tool and fun way to have fun. This is not the end all of your design problems. This should show you that your work does not end at the paper’s edge.
These 4 paper size standards are fantastic, but they shouldn’t be your only choice.
For example, square booklets are more engaging to read than smaller ones (A5 for instance). However, they are easier to carry around with you. Take a chance on the A4 standard and fly away.
Five People Read
Contrary to some designers over the past five years, I believe form follows function. Print design is based on this principle. If your project contains textual content, focus on the content. While typography should be used in your design, you should still aim for maximum readability.
6 Content: Less is more
You may feel that your page is too full if you think so. Make sure you know what is essential and get rid of any visual clutter. Although it may sound cliché, the truth is that less is more. Tell the client if you are being forced to put too much content on one webpage.
7 Stick to the grid
Good design is achieved by using grids. It is a good idea to use composition guidelines as the base of your design. You don’t have to stick with the 3-column layout. There are many combinations possible with a 7-column setup. For example, you can have 2 columns overlapped or a 3/3/1 setup with sidebar.
8 Typography is the king
No amount of lines and other elements can fix a bad typographical layout. You choose the fonts that you use most often in your project. This is how your project will feel. Don’t just pick the font that you like. Think about the tone it should have and how you can communicate this to your target audience. The basic fonts are simple and can be fun. It can take some time to learn a font. It is a good idea to make a list of five to eight fonts that you feel could work well for you, and then focus on them. This is a great way to discover which fonts work well together and which ones don’t.
9 Invert
Do you need to make a logo or quote have a greater impact? You can invert it. Your design or typography will always look stronger when you use white on black (or any other dark color). Avoid smaller font sizes (8pt. These will cause problems for your printer, as the ink can move around when it is printed. This is known as trapping. This depends on the type of paper and speed you use to print. Ask your printer for exceptions.
10 Demand the best in photographic content
Always demand only the best quality material for your work. For photographic content, the rule of “trash in and trash out” applies. A great photo can elevate your work, but a poorly lit or low-resolution photo can ruin it. Many clients will give you whatever they have, but they often don’t know much about quality and image resolutions. Ask them to help you find better material.
