Why Your Artwork Is Garbage

Why Your Artwork Is Garbage!

You’ve heard the phrase “garbage in, garbage out!” It’s also true when they say “What You See Is What You Get!” The acronym is WYSIWYG!

Having been in the digitizing logo business now for some twenty plus years, I’ve seen virtually all kinds and types of artwork. We all want and hope for the “camera ready” artwork to show up on our desk or computer files. Fact is, we rarely see a “picture perfect” image and are usually expected to perform miracles on the fuzzy or pixilated design. Even with the latest software, some artwork can present a challenge to make ready for certain applications.

Most of our clients (and I suspect yours too) don’t realize that you may not be able to achieve the same “look”, as compared to what they see on a print out. Depending upon the application an image may need to be altered to allow for a better representation. Of course we shouldn’t expect our customers to understand this matter, after all … that’s why they come to us.

One of the most helpful tips I received early on in my career was to suggest my customer return to their “printer” (person or company who created their business cards or letterhead) for crisp, sharp artwork. Knowing that if they had a business card in hand, someone would have to have the original artwork on file somewhere within their means. By suggesting to my customer to have their printer forward me the design, it would usually eliminate us having to “clean up” the image unnecessarily.

Of course there are the times when your customer brings in a paper sack or napkin, in which they have scribbled an idea for you to emboss or engrave. These are the situations when it’s nice to have an artist on call or someone available to “redraw” the logo for production purposes. Most small shops do not have the luxury of having such talent in house but once again, early on in my venture I learned to tap into other sources.

When we first started out in the logo business, the only “artist” was myself. Telling it like it is … the best drawing I ever did was in my first dot-to-dot coloring book! When it comes to free hand drawing, I look to others with the God given talent. The solution? I paid a visit to our local college and also phoned the high schools in our area, looking for artists. There were several individuals I met through this process and I still use two of them in my existing business today! Talk about a gold mine!! These two individuals have spurred on numerous projects and helped grow our company to many different levels, developing thousands of clip art images and logos for the trade.

What I learned was, if I wanted to supply my customer with a top quality logo. I needed to start with something of value. Even if it meant having to hire an artist to recreate the drawing, it was worth the effort. Having a quality image to work from made all the difference in the world when digitizing the design.

I suggest to you, by starting with optimal quality in your artwork, you’ll avoid putting out the garbage!

See ya sometime ...

Aubrey Richardson
LogoFax

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How To Lock In Your Customers For Life

How To Lock In Your Customer For Life!

Wouldn’t you like to keep all your customers coming back to you, for the life of your business? Of course you would! There are numerous ideas for maintaining and keeping your customer a “happy camper” but undoubtedly the top three would have to be concerning matters of price, service and delivery!

Aside from those three, once you gain a customer’s loyalty and have them returning to you for more products and services, what else might keep them “locked in” to your business. I suggest to you, offer to “personalize” their item(s). That’s right, make it unique in a way that promotes them to their audience and shows recognition.

A great way to do this is to place their logo or signature, on the items they are receiving from your company. It’s been reported that once you have a customer’s logo on file, it makes matters a lot simpler for them to return to you for their next order. As long as you a doing a good job on the top three issues, it’s common sense for them to keep coming back to you for their future purchases.

It’s been said a zillion times, “A picture paints a thousand words”! You know, most people buy a magazine and review the pictures first and then read the captions. We’ve all heard the cliché “Never judge a book by its cover” but we’ve all been guilty of it at one time or another. Our eyes are naturally drawn to the image that’s on the paper, card, television, computer screen or any other medium for showing illustrations.

So, picture this (pun intended), you are an Awards & Engraving company and you offer Laser Engraving on a walnut plaque with a nice black brass finish. Your customer wants to offer their customer, a recognition plaque. Showing appreciation for their outstanding contribution to the organizations fundraiser program. (Remember, you want to “lock in” their business and have them wanting to return to you, time and time again).

Ask them for their logo! They may already have one or you may need to facilitate creating them a special design, all their own. If you need help in this area you’ll find numerous aids online right at your fingertips. A great source to search for most any logo or design is LogoFax.com once you register as a member (which is free), you can search for any image by typing in a keyword of your choice.

Example: United Way, once you enter in the words and click search, several renditions of logos matching your keyword entry will appear on screen for your viewing. Make your selection and proceed to download the image for use with your product line.

Think about it! If you were the recipient of an award or the presenter of the award, wouldn’t you have a higher perceived value if it were “trademarked” with a certain insignia? Sure you would, even if it were subliminal your subconscious mind would tell you it’s a special item and cause you to want to show it off.

Now that you have their logo on file it’s much easier for them to email or phone you with their next order. You’ve virtually “locked in” their future business! They know you already have their digital image ready to go, making it unnecessary for them to shop around with any of your competitors. After all, if you’re supplying them with great service, good delivery at a competitive price. They have every reason to return to you and get that special touch, personalizing their items!

See ya sometime ...

Aubrey Richardson
LogoFax
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