Graphic Design | Clover Road – branding + graphic design

Tag Archive: Graphic Design

Recycled papers.

Written on January 25, 2010 by Robert Scozzari in Environment, Graphic Design, Print, Resources

Something that's important to Clover Road and I know is important to my clients is creating brands and specifically design collateral that is at peace with the environment. Now, I'm not going to start a debate on global warming, but I am going to talk about providing products and marketing collateral that does not pollute the Earth even further and uses as few chemicals as possible.

I love paper products. I love receiving and holding a well designed promotional item. I especially love designing them. I believe it leaves a lasting impression. While digital is great, and it has it's place. Good old fashioned analogue printed collateral goes a long way. Paper selection is a vital component to the impact of your printed item. It also has a huge impact on your brand positioning. Different papers say different things.

A part of the paper selection is choosing a paper content with the right amount of recycled fibers. When you select paper for your print collateral, if you are interested in making sure that you are choosing the right paper, I have created a little guide to let you know what is what.

Two types of fibers.

There are two types of paper fibers, virgin fibers and recycled fibers. Virgin fibers are paper fibers that come from wood chips that have been chemically treated and reduced to fibers. Papers made from virgin fibers use the most resources and cut down the most trees. Recycled Fibers on the other hand are created from recycled papers. There are two types of recycled fibers.

Two types of recycled fibers.

Recycled fibers can be broken down into two categories as well. Pre-consumer waste and Post-consumer waste. Pre-consumer is paper fibers which have not made it to the consumer. Often times this is paper that is on the cutting floor of the paper mill. Post-consumer waste is paper that has been delivered to the consumer and then recycled in a typical recycling program that you would have in your neighborhood with your blue box.

Finding the right balance.

Now the key to selection of the recycled content is finding the right balance that gives the look and feel that you are looking for, that reduces the impact of your business on the environment. If you are interested in ensuring that your next round of print collateral is as light on the environment as possible, let me know. I can show you different paper samples and swatches. We can work out a plan that fits in with your organization's eco-policies.

Ciao,

Robert Scozzari RGD

Tags: eco, Graphic Design, paper, Print, recycled

Quality of design is an indicator of credibility

Written on December 2, 2009 by admin in Resources

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Great article published in Smashing Magazine.

Pay particular attention to item #3. Quality of design is an indicator of credibility.

Various studies have been conducted to find out just what influences people’s perception of a website’s credibility:

Stanford-Makovsy Web Credibility Study 2002: Investigating What Makes Web Sites Credible Today
What Makes A Web Site Credible? A Report on a Large Quantitative Study
The Elements of Computer Credibility
Elements that Affect Web Credibility: Early Results from a Self-Report Study (Proceedings of ACM CHI 2000 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, v.2, New York: ACM Press)

We don’t know if Fever app is any good, but the sleek user interface and website make a great first impression.

One interesting finding of these studies is that users really do judge a book by its cover… or rather, a website by its design. Elements such as layout, consistency, typography, color and style all affect how users perceive your website and what kind of image you project. Your website should project not only a good image but also the right one for your audience.

Other factors that influence credibility are: the quality of the website’s content, amount of errors, rate of updates, ease of use and trustworthiness of authors.

Check out the full article here.

Ciao,
Robert Scozzari

Tags: credibility, Graphic Design, quality

Google made the search box bigger

Written on September 10, 2009 by admin in Branding, User Interface

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Something happened today, OMG! Google made the search box bigger. What!

The search box is bigger?

But why?

First take a look at the old Google search box on their main search page…

Google search box old

And now the new and improved bigger Google search box…

New bigger Google search box

Let's take a look at them overlapping…

Google search box - Old and new overlay

What the…!!! But why?

To most people, this may seem like an insignificant change, but it's a huge user interface design modification, especially because Google is used by millions and millions of Earthlings (and possible non-earthlings too) every day.

There are a few reasons on the change that I'd like to comment on here. Here is what Google had to say about it on their official blog…

For us, search has always been our focus. And, starting today, you'll notice on our homepage and on our search results pages, our search box is growing in size. Although this is a very simple idea and an even simpler change, we're excited about it — because it symbolizes our focus on search and because it makes our clean, minimalist homepage even easier and more fun to use. The new, larger Google search box features larger text when you type so you can see your query more clearly. It also uses a larger text size for the suggestions below the search box, making it easier to select one of the possible refinements. Over the past 11 years, we've made a number of changes to our homepage. Some are small and some are large. In this case, it's a small change that makes search more prominent.

Google has always been first and foremost about search, and we're committed to building and powering the best search on the web — now available through a supersized search box.

Larger Monitors: One reason this change is possible and needed is that you and I are most likely surfing the web on much larger monitors. The original smaller search box was designed to fit in a 640 x 480 pixel resolution monitor. That's not necessary anymore. What comes along with the larger monitors, is smaller pixel size and much more competition for real estate with the hundreds of other windows any of us have open at any given moment. A larger search box makes it much easier to see and read on today's monitors.

Focus: Like the Google blog said, they are emphasizing what they do best. With the infinite amount of Google applications now available, much of the focus has been going away from what they are known for. Users are thinking less of Google as a search engine and more as just another conglomerate high tech business. I think they need to reign in the focus of the brand a bit and remind everyone that they are a search engine, first and foremost.

So what does it mean for you, the business owner or marketer?

The user interface of your website is an essential part of your brand and marketing strategy. A well designed user interface guides the user through the site and emphasizes the strengths and benefits of working with your company. When was the last time you watched a prospect surf your website? Ever? You should so that soon. Watch someone who is a potential client surf your site and see what they look at or how they find information that they may be looking for. What may seem obvious to you may be a challenge to a prospect. And sometimes, subtle changes to sizes, colours, shapes may make the world of difference.

If you are interested in setting up a formal review of your site to determine the effectiveness of the interface, I'd be glad to help you out. Just let me know.

Ciao,

Robert Scozzari
Stand out from your competitors. Stand out to your prospects.

Tags: Branding, google, graphic design, Graphic Design, logo, user interface