Earth Day Event Marketing Ideas for Small Biz | PrintFirm.com

Earth Day Event Marketing

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Earth Day presents an excellent opportunity for small businesses to get involved in the community. While the larger chains focus on driving sales, independent merchants may use Earth Day to make a hands on contribution to the neighborhood instead. Remember, customers choose your business over bigger brands because they appreciate your personal touch. There are probably plenty of local events to attend through schools and charitable organizations, but consider hosting your own eco-friendly affair.

Before we start tossing out event ideas, it’s important to remember that your customers want to engage with companies who share their values. I’m bringing this point up because a lot of multi-nationals exploit Earth Day, and consumers are getting sick of their insincerity. You certainly don’t want your good intentions to come off as just another gimmick or meaningless marketing ploy. That’s why I recommend going the extra mile with face to face interaction. When you take the time to create a well-rounded campaign, your customers will notice your effort and reward you with their loyalty.

Ways to Go Green for Earth Day

 

Short on event inspiration? This list should get the gears in your head turning:

  • Plant a tree in your parking lot or a nearby park
  • Organize a fundraiser for your local Green Peace Chapter
  • Volunteer for a beach cleanup, roadside beautification, or trash pickup at a national forest.
  • Enlist your expertise at an Earth Day rally or other speaking engagement.
  • Challenge your employees and customers to use alternative transportation on April 22nd, such as bicycles or the subway.
  • Host a picinic/BBQ and serve locally grown meats as well as produce only.

How to Advertise Your Eco-Event

Your event will only be as good as your marketing campaign, so you’ll want to use a multi-channel approach. When you’re planning your strategy, don’t forget that your main goal is to stick to the environmental message on all fronts. That means printing on recycled paper, using eco-friendly inks, etc. to demonstrate your commitment to the sustainable lifestyle.

  • Promotional Fliers for Earth Day– Flyers and postcards are the best way to target people in your immediate area. Design an event invitation they can’t pass up!
  • Earth Day Event Tickets – Printing event tickets gives even the smallest get-togethers a professional feel. Encourage participants to either hang on to the ticket as a keepsake item or recycle it with other paper products.
  • Educational Email Blast– No ad campaign is complete without an email blast. After you invite everyone on your list, include some educational articles that will appeal to your audience.
  • Make Re-useable Shopping Bags– This isn’t right for every business, but stores who put purchases in plastic bags might want to make re-useable bags. But don’t just reserve them for Earth day; instead, make the holiday your inspiration for making the switch to green packaging.
  • Local Media Outreach – Depending on your location, you may be able to get a few news spots for PR purposes simply by throwing an eco-event. It never hurts to contact newspapers and TV stations to pitch them on your green initiatives.
  • Create Social Media Graphics for the Campaign– We can’t stress this enough—connect your campaign with online and offline channels for maximum impact. A cool Facebook cover photo lets your fans know about the event, and allows for easy sharing to their friends and families.

Foldable Lead Generators: Design Tips Behind Successful Brochures | PrintFirm.com

Guest Post by Jillian Hailey

Brochure-Design-Mini-Infographic-by-Jillian-Hailey

A recent client of mine employed me to create an alluring brochure that would drive an immense amount of traffic towards their business within a very short timeline. Before employing me, he asked me a question that really caught my attention:

“You do realize that brochure design is an art form, right?”

As an experienced designer, it had never occurred to me that creating a brochure had a specific skill set behind it. But as I begun to research, I quickly learned just what he was referring to.

Effective Brochure Design for 2013

Luckily, not only do I have a background in design but also have extensive experience with marketing techniques. Bound and determined to refine this area of print design, I began to gather what information I needed to impress my client. So what makes a strong brochure? There are a few strategies that will not only catch consumer attention, but keep it.

It all begins with good design.

This is the one factor that will encourage a person to really look at the piece of advertising they are handed. First impressions definitely count in this situation, so make sure the design you choose lives up to your business’ potential. Depending on your company culture and overall design aesthetic, this is the perfect area to step outside of the box and do something new while still staying in the confines of your branding. Examples of this might be situating text and photos in a unique way or hiring an illustrator to create interesting visual effects. Inspirations can be found in the latest fashion magazines or online blogs. A great source I’ve found for unique brochure design is SmashingHub.com. However you determine to present yourself, I highly recommend hiring a well-qualified graphic designer who is up-to-date on the latest trends and has a broad skill set.

Communicate with Typography

The next strategy to employ involves delving into the messaging presented by the brochure. Make text short and to the point as no one likes to be bombarded with a wide array of reading material when it comes to finding a business to utilize. Use the art of typography to highlight the most important information. A particular technique I like to execute incorporates pulling potential clients in with an eye-opening statistic. Many businesses place the logo solo on the front of the brochure, so why not stand out by taking it a step further and placing a stat that presents an issue you can solve? A reliable and easy place to discover stats is at Visual.ly. Visual.ly is an online directory of infographics. By typing in keywords that relate to your industry, you can find related infographics. The wide majority of these infographics contain statistics that were well researched before being generated. Pulling one of these statistics encourages your readers to move forward and beyond the front cover so that the inside of the brochure receives the attention it deserves.

Incorporate Compelling CTAs

The last, but certainly not least, technique is extremely important and cannot be forgotten– Calls to Action. I recommend placing these throughout the brochure. I like to feature a discount related teaser on the front to draw people in. Once inside, they are able to discover what the promo contains. If nothing else, make sure a call to action is featured on the back with contact information close by so that the brochure ends with a bang. Successful calls to action include promos and discounts that drive traffic towards your website. You can also include calls to action that lead people towards your social media profiles and blog to continue building customer loyalty through your content marketing campaigns. A great place to look at strong call to action techniques can be viewed at the end of HubSpot’s blog posts. If you’re having trouble, try to place yourself in the consumer’s shoes and see what call to action would encourage you to go with a service or buy a product.

Brochure Design Roundup

Implementing these simple techniques will ensure your well invested dollars go a long way generating leads and gaining brand advocates. You can easily see how important treating a brochure layout as an art form can make or break your marketing efforts. What other efforts have you stumbled upon that you feel help make a brochure successful? Share with us in the comments section below!

About the Author
Jillian Hailey Graphic DesignerJillian is a professional Graphic Designer and Social Media Manager for the number one crowdfunding affiliated public relations firm, Leverage PR. In addition, she is also building her quickly growing freelancing business Jillian Hailey Designs. Her experience with high-tech startups, financial institutions and crowdfunding platforms has defined her skills in a unique and rare marriage of marketing and design. Jillian earned her Computer Graphics Design degree from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor with an emphasis in Film and Art. In her free time, Jillian plans the next steps for her business and relaxes with her husband, dachshund Melvin and kitten Mozart. Connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Customer of the Week: Cuong Tran, Animator | PrintFirm.com

Cuong Tran City Inside A Space Station Illustration

PrintFirm.com is pleased to announce our customer of the week, Cuong Tran ! Cuong, otherwise known as Animator Tran, is a gifted illustrator, animator, and designer originally from Saigon, Vietnam. Tran left his native Vietnam at age 5, and proudly earned his U.S. citizenship in 2011. Tran also holds the distinction of being the first in his family to achieve the American dream of a college education. An imaginative prodigy, he received his B.A. in Media Arts and Animation from the prestigious Art Institute of Indianapolis at age 22.

Spida Logo by Cuong TranAfter graduation, Tran secured employment as a digital media designer with the Gannett Company, which happens to be the largest newspaper publisher in the nation. Although the name Gannett might not ring a bell, this mass media giant owns the USA Today among other trusted news outlets. At the ripe age of 24, Tran currently serves as an Adjunct Professor of Animation at ITT Tech, Indianapolis. He instructs students in animation, web design, graphic design, and video editing. Of course, he also finds time for his fortunate freelance clients, including The Villain Music Group, Guttamind.com, and the Eldora Speedway.

Tran’s website features tons of impressive designs, but our favorite pieces are from his video collection. Tran’s videos reveal the true depth of his talents as he is responsible for most of the animation as well as the accompanying soundtracks. Here’s a little taste of his 3D graphic capabilities :

Tran’s professional interest in design stems from his passion for all things anime. He regularly attends conventions and expos to showcase his work while mingling with his fellow creatives. We’re excited to see what’s in store for Cuong, but we already know there are wedding bells ringing in the not so distant future. Cuong plans to marry his fiancé Megan in May of this year! We wish the happy couple all the best, although it’s probably too late for us to do the honor of printing the wedding invitations. We’re not worried about missing out on the wedding because we’re sure these two have plenty of anniversary parties ahead of them.

Interested in hiring Tran for a freelance design project? Get in touch, and don’t forget to tell him PrintFirm sent you:

Cuong Tran Graphic ArtistEmail: [email protected]
Phone: 502-291-5987
Website: http://kiareri.com/contact.html
LinkedIN

250 Round Sticker Giveaway Winner Announcement | PrintFirm.com

Attention StickerHeads! Our 250 Round Sticker giveaway ended at 12pm PST today! We want to take a moment to thank each and everyone one of you for participating in this free event. We saw a lot of enthusiasm from a few of our participants, so we wish to honor them with a special shout out:

Big Thanks To These Sticker Giveaway Contestants

Andrew Conweezie Lindsay

K Renee Davis

Megan McFarland

Connie Obee

Cuong Tran

Kaycie Freedman


PrintFirm Online Sticker Contest Winner

We’re pleased to announce our lucky (and furry) winner:

PrintFirm Sticker Giveaway Winner

Congratulations Pricilla and Patty Woodland from the PrintFirm team! Pricilla is the official SpokesGoat for her mom Patty’s homemade soap business, Happy Goats Soap. Patty also sells handmade jewelry online from her home in Montana. She plans to put Pricilla’s picture on stickers as part of her soap product packaging. We hope she’ll share a picture or two on Pricilla’s blog, Pricilla Speaks. We’ve never put a goat on a sticker before, so we’re very excited to see Pricilla’s smiling face in print.

Since the community showed so much interest in this giveaway, we decided to give all the participants a conciliation prize. For our fans who didn’t win their own custom stickers, we’re emailing you a coupon code for 20% off your next sticker order! We also hope you noticed our surprise giveaway on Facebook yesterday morning—you never know when we’ll make these announcements, so be sure to add our page to your Newsfeed and select “Get Notifications” so you don’t miss out. Look for our next commercial printing giveaway sometime next week.

Band Stickers Design Inspiration | Music Marketing | PrintFirm.com

Musicians, get stickers printed for your band. Seriously. Music and stickers go together like punk rock and power chords. Stickers are a lot cheaper than printing flyers, although you should probably do that, too. But flyers usually promote a specific show or festival, not your brand in general. Stickers are something your fans will instantly devour, and spread like wildfire. Before you know it, you’ll be seeing your band’s artwork on instruments, guitar cases, gear bags, amps, cars, and sign posts. If you’ve already got your logo, then you may be good to go. Keep in mind that you can also use stickers to get your fans excited about an upcoming album, follow you on SoundCloud, or visit your website.

Iconic Rock Band Sticker Designs

You don’t have to be a marketing genius or a design expert to come up with a band sticker that will resonate with your audience. As mentioned above, a music sticker marketing campaign may have a broad purpose or a singular scope. I tracked down some examples by well-known artists to show how to design stickers for specific purposes:


 

Nirvana Band Circle Sticker
Logo Sticker Design by Nirvana

Nirvana’s logo needs no introduction. There are tons of variations of this image, and many include the band name along with the famous drunken smiley face. It’s up to you whether or not you include your band name for recognition. Ambiguity might work well with your brand image if you’re in the indie circuit.


 

Tool Circle Sticker
Album Art Sticker Design by Tool

Tool made a name for themselves with intricate album covers as much as moody melodies. This sticker features an illustration from the album “10,000 Days.” Printing stickers for an album is a great way to build hype or commemorate a fan favorite release.


 

Social Distortion Band Sticker Printing
Single Song Sticker Design by Social Distortion

Speaking of diehard fans, Social Distortion’s Mommy’s Little Monster made a lot of waves for a debut album. The title track became a kind of alternative anthem; what better way to capitalize on a single song’s popularity than by memorializing the track through a special sticker.


 

Rolling Stone Sticker Design with Tagline
Branding Sticker with Tagline by The Rolling Stones

Whether you’re a classic rock fan or not, you’ve probably seen the Rolling Stones logo a thousand times over. The sticker above includes the tagline “established in 1962,” which sounds similar to a company slogan. This example illustrates an effective use to text to enhance the sticker’s branding impact.


 

Ramones Sticker Design with Bandmembers
Band Members The Ramones

The Ramones were pop punk energy personified. This sticker cleverly incorporates the band member’s names into their logo. In this case, the sticker helps fans associate the music with its makers. You can borrow this techqnie to spotlight one or all of your band mates.


Fresh Hip Hop Artist Stickers

 

WuTang-Hip-Hop-white-n
Message Marketing Sticker by Wu Tang Clan

We’re not sure whether or not this is an official Wu-Tang release; either way, the design demonstrates creative branding. The Wu-Tang logo in place of a heart will confuse those who aren’t already down with the killer bees, which makes the graphic ideal for the group’s diehard following.


 

Biggie Smalls Sticker Design
Lyrics Sticker by Biggie Smalls (Notorious B.I.G.)

The Notorious One earned his street cred by hustling and spitting incredible freestyles. Anyone with strong lyrical content should put the best one liners on a sticker. Again, this strategy appeals to people who already learned your songs by heart, but it could easily spark curiosity in outsiders.


 

BET_hip_hop_awards_sticker
Hip Hop Awards Event Marketing Sticker by BET

Ok, so this isn’t that different from a flyer accept for the fact that it will last a lot longer. BET obviously isn’t a rap artist; nevertheless, this sticker applied to an important event. For smaller acts, this is a smart way to reach a larger audience. If you’re going to play a remote side stage at the Paid Dues festival or Rock the Bells, find a way to attach your name to this PR goldmine. Just make sure you get permission from the copyright holder before you print.


Design Community Soundoff

Musicians: are you using promotional stickers to build a buzz around your band? Graphic Designers: have you worked on music related stickers? Do you have any tips to share with the musicians among us? Tell us in the comments below!

Baseball Team Stickers | Sport Stickers Ideas | PrintFirm.com

Baseball Team Stickers Printing Company

Last week we posted a lot about sticker printing and design for commercial purposes. As the giveaway comes to a close (contest ends on Wednesday, April 10th! Hurry up and enter!), we want to get away from the straight business angles and discuss other uses for promotional circle stickers. We get a lot of sticker orders related to athletics; whether it’s a little league team, college football brand, or a rabid fan, sports stickers are in demand.

Sports Stickers for Kids

Baseball team stickers usually top the request list because, well, kids go crazy over personalized stuff. The same goes for pop warner football, school track teams, after school soccer leagues, etc. Put the team name or mascot on a sticker and you’re guaranteed to get a smile. The best part about making stickers is that the kids can put them anywhere and everywhere— on the backs of their folders, lockers, bicycles, you name it. Another idea for youth sports would be to use round stickers as nametags for events, such as an end of the seasons pizza party. Let the kids put stickers on their shirts or hats! For this purpose, you will probably want to go with a larger circle that’s easy to read from a distance. Speaking of the end of the season, you can print awards stickers to go along with the trophies at your awards ceremony. Stickers are also perfect additions to fundraisers. Hand out stickers as a way of thanking people for their generous support. It goes without saying that stickers make excellent keepsakes down the road when you’re little slugger is all grown up.

Sports Stickers for Grown Ups

Stickers may sound like child’s play, but you’re never too old for physical activity in the form of team sports. Adults typically compete through social or professional groups, including church softball leagues, amateur leagues, and company sponsored get-togethers. With the exception of paid membership clubs, most of the organizations mentioned probably don’t have the resources to spend on team uniforms. In these cases, stickers will save the day by boosting the spirit of camaraderie. Of course, the ideas mentioned in the youth section certainly apply as far as fundraising, events, and awards. Since we’re talking about grownups, don’t forget to slap a couple of stickers on your car or company van.

Business teams sometimes have a hard time getting non-participating staff members involved. One way to get the bench warmers to participate would be to print special stickers for the people sitting on the sidelines. Design something that says “official cheerleader” or “#1 Fan!” so no one feels left out. For small companies, these gestures help instill a lasting bond in your employees.

Custom Sports Fan Stickers

Sure, you can buy decals for any professional sports team, but where’s the fun in that? True fans show their loyalty by designing a sticker tribute to their favorite organization or player. Custom fan stickers make excellent Father’s Day gifts; we here that holiday is just around the corner (hint, hint)….

Designing Tips for Creating Social Media Graphics | PrintFirm.com

Guest Post by

Social Media Graphic Design Tips by Mandy Edwards

When working in social media, there are a lot of bases to cover – engaging the community, content creation, writing strategies, managing Facebook or Google ads, keeping up with the latest… the list could go on. One important element in social media is the content creation.

Content creation is creating the content that will be posted – it could be quotes, article links, promotional posts about the business, or various graphics.


Social Media Marketing Design Basics

Social media is becoming graphic-heavy. Look at Pinterest or Google+. Both are graphic-driven platforms. Facebook is catching up too with the announcement of the new newsfeed with larger graphics.

Most businesses create their own graphics with an in-house designer or they outsource to a graphic design company. Either way, different elements need to be kept in mind when you are planning and creating those graphics.

Here are a few basics you want to keep in mind… and they are not in any particular order of importance:

  • SizingKnow the sizes for what you are posting whether it be a Facebook cover photo or a Twitter background. Too small and you won’t be able to see it. Too large and part of it will get cut off.
  • Rules – Keep in mind Facebook’s 20% text rule on cover photos or promoted posts. Know what can or cannot be said.
  • Content – Are you staying on topic to your business or is it another countless cat meme just to get “likes” or retweets? You want content people want to engage with and that brings value to the table.
  • Colors – You want something that will stand-out. Blues evoke calm while reds bring excitement & attention.
  • Your logo – Stealing graphics is unfortunately popular in digital/online marketing. People will snap up copyrighted graphics from Google Images or Pinterest without thinking twice. Placing your logo in the bottom corner or somewhere it cannot be cropped out will help keep you from having it stolen.
  • Pictures – Using original pictures will help to create that emotional connection; not to mention they are also the most shared type of content on Facebook. These can be pictures you’ve taken with a camera or smartphone.
  • Know your audience – What you create should really resonate with your target audience. Are they college kids who can relate to eating ramen noodles or moms who can relate to the stresses of everyday life?
  • Fonts – You do not want something so scripty someone can’t read it. Also, stay away from the most over-used fonts, such as Papyrus, Comic Sans, and Cooper. Do we really need another quote written in Curlz?

Small Biz Community Soundoff

I am sure there are more tips out in the web about designing. I design my own graphics and these are things I keep in mind while I’m in the creating process.

What tip(s) would you add to this list? Share with us!

Mandy Edwards

About Mandy

Mandy is the founder of ME Marketing Services, a social media marketing company located in Statesboro, Georgia. A proud graduate of the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia, she has a thorough marketing background of over 10 years covering sales, event planning, local store marketing, advertising, and now social media. In the fall you can find Mandy and her family at Sanford Stadium cheering on their beloved Georgia Bulldogs. Mandy was recently named to the Statesboro Herald’s Top 20 Under 40 for 2013.

Custom Circle Stickers: Where to Stick’em | PrintFirm.com

Custom Circle Sticker Printing Ideas

Ok, let’s say you’re ready to create your own round stickers. Your designer set you up with amazing artwork, you selected the perfect background color for high contrast, and everything’s configured to the appropriate print specs. Now all that’s missing is the main marketing game plan. In our experiment, we’re going to break down several advertising areas, and show you how to integrate stickers to accomplish your goals.

Stickers For Commercial Branding Campaigns

Just so we’re clear on the terminology, branding refers to identifying a company in a broad sense using the business name, associated symbols i.e. logos, and graphic designs across various media channels. Stickers are ideal for this purpose because you’re basically after impressions instead of instant conversions. If this sounds like a strange goal for a brick and mortar business, remember that impressions will eventually lead to sales (pun heavily intended). Since your goal is to generate awareness, here are some unusual places to put your stickers to quickly increase brand recognition :

  • Envelopes– Can’t afford to design professional letterhead or stationary? No worries—seal your snail mail with stickers!
  • Boxes or Product Packaging – We’ve mentioned this before, but it’s worth repeating. When you’re shipping items or gift wrapping in-store purchases, include a sticker on the outside for branding with another inside as a fun freebie.
  • Gift Baskets – White collar professionals, such as lawyers, accountants, etc. often send gift baskets as thank yous to new clients. A sticker gives the present a more personal feel. Bonus points for putting your sticker on one of the items, such as a wine bottle.
  • Gift Cards – You’re already selling gift certificates to your customers to buy for themselves or their friends. Show your appreciation for the gesture with a sticker!
  • Email Campaign and Social Media Profiles– This may be beyond those at the startup stage, but don’t forget to synch your online and offline campaigns. After you’ve printed stickers, offer free stickers to your email subscribers for distribution, and incorporate the sticker into your Facebook cover photo, Twitter header, website, etc. You can even make a special board on Pinterest for photos of your stickers in real life settings.

Sticker Campaigns for Personal Branding

Personal branding is a bit different because individuals rarely pass out gift cards good for a $200 photo shoot or private solo concert. Entrepreneurs usually don’t have a lot of boxes to ship or storefront windows to utilize for promotional purposes. Nevertheless, personal brands have plenty of options that play up the networking potential in everyday objects through stickers.

  • Cellphone case – Your cellphone never leaves your sight. Slap a sticker with your company logo on the back of your PDA, and your phone acts as a mini billboard for your brand.
  • Laptop or Tablet – Same principle as above for heavy laptop or tablet users.
  • Car Window– Forget your bumper; go for the element of surprise by decorating your car windows with stickers.
  • Water Bottle/Coffee Cup – Got a reusable water bottle and coffee cup you’re always lugging around? Brand that bad boy!
  • Bicycle Helmet – For outdoor sporting enthusiasts, such as cyclists, skateboarders, rock climbers, snowboarders, etc. your helmet is prime sticker real estate. The same goes for the rest of your equipment; nothing you wear on a regular basis should be off limits.

5 Free Photoshop Templates for Sticker Design | PrintFirm.com

The round sticker giveaway is in full swing, and we’ve already received a few fan photos on our Facebook page. Thanks to everyone who’s going all out in this fun giveaway! Since you guys seem stuck on this theme, we figured you could use some easy design inspiration. While it’s generally best to start designs from scratch, stickers might be an exception. The actual graphic you put on a sticker will probably be a standalone project, unless you’re just going to use your company logo. Either way, putting the artwork on a print ready template gives you a better idea of how the finished product should look. I tracked down a few PSDs to save you time when you’re working on your next promo project. Warning: you might have to format them into CMYK color mode beforehand if you actually plan on printing your creation.


 

Round Sticker Templates PhotoShop

Glossy Red Sticker

Basic Glossy Red Sticker

Ladies and gentleman, here we have the basic round sticker. This simple design includes a smidgen of gloss, unlike the thousands of completely unrealistic pieces floating around. Unless you plan on placing the sticker next to a radioactive device, too much gloss in your mockup may distract from the actual design.


PrintFirm Round Sticker Design Template

PrintFirm Sticker Template

In case you didn’t know, we’ve got tons of free prepress templates waiting for you on our site. End shameless plug.


Sticker PSD Variety Pack Download

Sticker Variety Pack

From round to ribbon-esque this sweet package might solve your sticker woes in a single download. The set contains 4 different colors, but you can always modify the color in Photoshop by selecting the area you want to change while pressing Control + U. This PSD comes with the layers still in tact, which makes customization that much more precise.


 

Square Shaped Sticker Templates

Elgant Sticker Design Template

Elegant Square Stickers

There’s one circle sticker thrown into the mix, but the rest of these pieces feature square shapes. We’re especially fond of the 3 with web inspired sleek round corners. These beat boring rectangular bumper stickers any day of the week.


Simple Square Sticker PSD Pack

Simple Modern Squares

These cute little squares also add discrete gloss along with an almost tangible texture. They come in a set along with similar circles and diamond shapes. In case you’re concerned about copyright issues, Premium Coding allows for commercial as well as personal use. Thanks guys!


 

Sticker Soundoff

Now that you’ve got the right tools at your fingertips, let’s hear your sticker design stories. Are you designing stickers for a client or creating marketing materials for your small business? Tell us why you’re stopping by in the comments below!

Customer of the Week: Patrick Hedgecoth Graphic Designer | PrintFirm.com

Patrick Hedgecoth Graphic Designer

PrintFirm.com is pleased to present our customer of the week, graphic artist Patrick Hedgecoth of Riverview, Florida! Instead of simply introducing Patrick to the community, we conducted an interview with this talented artist to get a view of the creative process from the artist’s perspective. All the artwork included in this post comes from Patrick’s portfolio; he is available on a freelance basis for print and logo design projects.

Graphic Design Interview with Patrick Hedgecoth

Q1: How did you get involved in graphic design?
A) From an early age, I was that kid who loved doing school projects, weird, I know. From dioramas to papier-mache creatures I loved it all. So I have always had a thing for the creative process. However around 1995 was when my family got our first desktop, I discovered the internet, anime and comics pretty much all at the same time. The first thing I did on that desktop was figure out how to make my own wallpapers. We got our hands on a version of Photoshop, from there I taught myself; following tutorials I located online, playing around with the program for hours upon hours upon hours. Eventually my skills evolved enough to actually create decent artwork. In high school I worked a bit with Pagemaker in a journalism class, just some basic layout, nothing fancy. After high school, I went through numerous odd jobs, some technical schooling but nothing was panning out. Eventually I got married, started a family and by happenstance met a man in my wife’s church who was looking for someone who was skilled in digital design and could help with a county wide newspaper style publication. Seven years later I’m still at it, and enjoy every minute of it.

Immeccable Smile Branding by Patrick HedgeforthQ2: What are your biggest challenges in terms of client relations?
A 2)I believe the biggest challenge for any designer is to come to an understanding on what it is your client wants. Most clients who hire a designer, understand themselves that they are not in a position to do the designing themselves, which is a big plus. However that doesn’t mean they can actually articulate in words what they really want. As a designer it’s your job to help the client figure that out and produce something that will benefit both of you. When I go see a mechanic about my car I may have a vague idea concerning the problem of my car, but I have NO idea on how to fix it. I give the mechanic my two cents and hope that it helps them diagnose the problem and can fix it without breaking my wallet. Same goes for design, you don’t want to rip people off and give them a crappy design that even though they may like, will not help them in the long run. It’s a difficult recipe.

Q3) What is your favorite design software program?
A 3)In my current position with a publication, I use multiple programs all Adobe products. The largest portion of my job is advertisement design and page layout; for this I prefer using Indesign. Sometimes I get to have a little fun designing logos for new businesses and Illustrator is what I use, for photo manipulation that’s Photoshop. Everyone has their preferences but I feel Adobe has the best GUI out there, it is extremely complicated at first which after familiarizing yourself with it makes it that much easier to handle.

Q4) PC or Mac?
A 4)Well now this is where the readers are going to get divided right down the middle. I personally work with both. At work I have a G5 Apple desktop, which I have come to love dearly; at home my wife and I share a large Toshiba laptop. If anyone wants to really know it’s her, I just borrow it. There is a quote that goes something like “a man is only as good as his tools.” In my opinion this is false. If any man/woman is worth anything they will make due with what they have and they will make the best of it, and vise versa. Even if you have the best tools, if you don’t nurture your talent, you will fall short.

The White Owls Poster Design by Patrick HedgecothQ5) Do you prefer designing for print or the web?
A 5)I guarantee my choice is not going to be the popular one, I prefer print. Though I enjoy a good web design and appreciate the skill that goes into it, there is nothing like holding a freshly printed business card in your fingers. The aroma of the paper and ink, the feel of the gloss or the raised type, it’s the power of creating. It just is not the same with the web.

Q6) What do you consider the peak of your career thus far?
A 6)I don’t think I’ve reached my peak. In this line of work you are always studying, always learning new things. I feel like my journey has just begun and I have a lot to show the world yet before I reach the summit. My mind is a vast cavern with tons of ideas and dreams. The best is yet to come.

Q7) Do you have any advice for aspiring graphic artists?
A 7)The only advice I can give is, never stop trying. Don’t brake or slow down, truck on through adversity and difficulty. Everyday is an experience and you have to use it to make tomorrow different, not necessarily better just different because when everyday’s the same you become complacent, you become lethargic and eventually you forget what life is all about.

Q8) What’s your least favorite design trend of 2013?
A 8)I have to admit this one was difficult; and I can honestly say from what I have seen and heard I don’t have a least favorite trend this year. I think design is evolving to a point where even some retro aspects that would have made people gasp 4 or 5 years ago are gaining appreciation. Memes are on the list for design trends this year; which I’m looking forward to. Humor really does sell.

Country Mile Cookoff Design by Patrick HedgecothQ9) Who is your dream client?
A 9)A client that listens. A client that understands they hired you for a reason, your expertise. My dream client is someone who considers my opinion about what will work for them, and how it has to be executed. Remember I said considers; collaboration, brainstorming is the best way to get a fantastic design, especially when two people who think on different ends of the creative spectrum are working together.

Bad clients will treat their designer like an extension of the mouse and just dictate where things should be moved to. There are times where it’s alright and essential to fire the client.

Q10) Do you have plans to start your own design firm?
A 10)To open my own design firm would definitely be my biggest dream come true. This is something I have been trying to get moving for some time, however life doesn’t always work out as planned. My brother, Terance, who is good with web design and myself having a background in print and logo design make a well-rounded team. I also have to give credit to my wife, Kristine as well. She makes for a good copywriter. Though geographically speaking we are not in the perfect spot to get a large physical client base, people are still iffy about the whole remote or telecommuting work environment.

Thank you Patrick for taking the time to share your thoughts with our community! To learn more about Patrick, please see his beautiful resume below!

Patrick Hedgecoth Graphic Design Resume