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Dever Blog

Got the Budgeting Blues?

January 7, 2019 by

budget-planning

 

As you begin to think about institutional goals and initiatives for the year ahead, pay special attention to those large, looming projects on the not-so-distant horizon. In times of transition, shifting priorities may impact funding levels and sources. Allocating your organization’s resources wisely becomes more important than ever during these periods of change.

Just as big-ticket household items make a big dent in your personal finances, large projects such as membership drives, conferences, and annual reports may require a significant portion of your organization’s annual budget. By engaging outside partners or vendors now, you can take advantage of their expertise to help you develop preliminary budgetary figures for those substantial and critical initiatives.

A truly collaborative creative partner is invested in your success and serves as an ally during the budgeting phase. Putting their knowledge and network of resources to work for you early in the process, an experienced designer can propose innovative solutions and estimate these approaches to arm you with realistic figures to share with boards, committees, or other decision-makers within your organization. These initial discussions not only help you understand and plan for the real-world costs involved, but may also energize your team and ignite interest and buy-in for specific initiatives.

Experienced design studios can help you maximize ROI by:

  • Facilitating candid conversation among key leadership to define objectives, outline strategies, and build consensus to move forward;
  • Assessing current materials and resources to see where and how existing elements may be reused or repurposed to meet future needs;
  • Thinking creatively to generate cost savings and get the biggest bang for your buck.

Depending on the project, there are numerous ways to stretch your dollars. Producing postcards to advertise an event? Consider developing both a save-the-date and reminder mailing now and gang printing both cards at once. Need furnishings for a large-scale exhibit? Get an accurate count as quickly as possible and order in advance to get the best selection and avoid rush fees. Trust your design partner to tailor their cost-saving suggestions to meet your needs.

Let Dever Designs estimate, design, and produce your next large project—and shake off your budgeting blues. Get in touch to start the conversation.

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Annual Reports: A Marketer’s Swiss Army Knife

June 26, 2018 by

For most of our association and non-profit clients, their annual report is their most valuable marketing initiative of the year. It serves not only as a statement of fiscal health but also as the culmination of a year’s worth of effort, investment, and achievement. Thoughtful design can transform this data into the multi-tasking tool your organization needs. Make your annual report as special as you know it is.

Define goals
What do you want your report to do? Spark membership renewal? Introduce your organization to a broader audience? Position it as a thought leader, or influence legislative agendas? Defining your organization’s niche in a crowded marketplace can help determine the content, structure, and presentation of your report.

Show Me The Money
Most public companies are required to provide their operational revenue and expenditures to shareholders; associations and nonprofits may not have to disclose this kind of data in their annual reports, but doing so may be beneficial. Financial transparency can build trust and inspire investment. If your organization is fortunate to be running a surplus, how does it plan to use those dollars? Sharing your future plans for expanding operations, benefiting communities, or making much-needed improvements to existing facilities, products, or services can energize existing members and intrigue potential ones.

Presentation
We’ve talked before about how digital adoption has influenced the delivery of messaging to customers and members. Early adopters were often perceived as being ‘cutting edge’—clearly advantageous in crowded fields. Technology, social media, and digital devices made electronic communications a cost-effective way to disseminate information; eliminating printing, paper, or postal costs was very attractive to budget-conscious organizations struggling to serve members.

Digital delivery remains a great option as part of an overall communications strategy, but as most organizations have fully embraced technology, the playing field has leveled again—leaving everyone to find some way to distinguish themselves from the rest of the pack. Now that our inboxes are crammed with competing messages 24/7, there are indicators that people want to be less connected electronically and more connected tangibly. For targeted, strategic communications, print now provides a ‘new again’ opportunity to stand out.

When you consider reintegrating print into your marketing initiatives, plan ahead—from the standpoint of both budget and design. Printing and writing paper costs have been rising and are forecast to increase further into 2019. This doesn’t mean you should forgo print, but you should be aware of the trend. It may be the perfect time to explore printing on atypical substrates, such as paperboard, newsprint, sustainable wood, or metal products for truly unique and memorable pieces. The key is to make your choices based on who your organization is and what it stands for, who your audience is, and what you’re trying to achieve with your report.

Ready to get the most from your annual report? Get in touch with Dever Designs to start the conversation.

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Color Me Consistent

January 8, 2018 by

Color Me Consistent

Once upon a time, there was a wonderful organization that did great things. To get noticed, they spent a lot of money with a world-renowned design firm that rebranded them and gave them pretty, new colors to use on all their identity and marketing materials. The organization wanted to spread the word, so they planned a large event and invited everyone to attend. But on the big day, not a single item they produced for the event matched! Everywhere they looked, their brand colors were different, and their celebration was ruined….

This sad tale may sound dramatic, but it’s true. Frustrated with vendors who, in their minds, reproduced their new brand identity “incorrectly”, this group contacted us for a brand audit to determine what went wrong. Our conclusion? The problem wasn’t the vendors; it was the colors. Specifically, no one had considered:
• in what applications the colors would be used;
• how and on what substrates the colors would be reproduced; or
• the client’s expectations for color consistency.

Recently, we discussed color modes and how they are used in graphic design. Attention to these basic principles would have prevented this costly error, so let’s take a closer look at how to choose and use color palettes.

Problem Palettes
At one time, designers were also production artists who had a fundamental understanding of how color was reproduced in print. As our deliverables have moved toward onscreen solutions, traditional means of color selection have given way to some extent to “pins” and online “themes”. More designers seem to be both relying on their software tools to define color and assuming that the resulting formula is the right one for whatever use is required; after all, Photoshop says so. While there is nothing wrong with finding inspiration beyond our Pantone® guides, depending solely on software-generated RGB or Hex formulas is a recipe for disaster when designing for cross-channel applications.

In our example, the new brand colors had to be reproduced in numerous applications: e.g., corporate stationery; direct mail; conference guides; promotional giveaways; exhibits; signage; email marketing; microsites; etc. Unfortunately, the colors seem to have been chosen based on how they performed online only; the client’s former designer did not take into account how each color would translate when:

  • printed on coated vs. uncoated stock;
  • printed on materials other than paper, such as fabric or vinyl;
  • printed with pre-mixed “spot” inks vs. four-color process ink builds;
  • output in RGB vs. CMYK color mode;
  • output via multiple devices utilizing different technologies;
  • viewed on backlit monitors vs. read as a printed piece.

The colors performed exactly as predicted—with dramatic differences in appearance in each of these scenarios—but because no one showed them actual color swatches or other visual samples of what to expect, the client was completely blindsided by the overall lack of consistency and the amount of variation in reproduction.

Spot and Process Inks Shown on Coated and Uncoated Paper

A single green color may look quite different when printed in spot ink vs. an equivalent build of process inks. Moreover, color also performs differently on coated and uncoated paper.

 

Too often, a palette is composed of too many colors. In the spectrum, these may be extremely similar to one another, so they become difficult to distinguish when used together—particularly at small scale. For example, a palette of green and blue may work fine, but an additional teal may be very close to either the green or the blue; when a palette like this is used in an actual project, it can look like a printing error or present additional challenges for audiences with color vision deficiencies.

Sample Palette of Green, Blue, and Teal

 

Dever Designs’ Palette Solution
When developing brand palettes for our clients, we make a narrow selection of colors based on all the ways they will be used. This basic palette is fleshed out with a range of values for each hue. Then, we provide 1–2 accent colors for situations that require extra “pop”. In this way, we can achieve greater depth and variety in application without producing a busy, circus-like effect and ensure that the brand will be consistent across all forms of media.
Do you need a truly functional rebrand or brand audit? Call us at 301-776-2812 to start the conversation.

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Benefiting From A Collaborative Team

December 14, 2017 by

Team members' stacked hands

 

When you’ve been in business as long as we have, you develop a keen awareness of market trends: current design aesthetics, popular colors, technology adoption, preferred workflows…and much, much more. Everything is in flux, and many societal preferences are cyclical in nature. Not long ago, numerous organizations sought out “one-stop shops” that promised to handle all of their creative needs—from promotional writing and graphic design to data management and media buys. But the pendulum seems to be swinging the other way, with associations showing greater acceptance of—and even embracing—a collaborative team approach to achieve their goals.

What’s A Collaborative Team?
Individual experts in different fields working together in service of a common objective make up a collaborative team. An organization holding its annual convention might employ one trusted vendor to assemble and oversee a team consisting of a project manager, copywriter, graphic designer, printer, exhibit fabricator, web developer, etc.; each of these team members would be cherry-picked for their superior knowledge and skill to provide the best overall outcome.

Why Teams Work
Bringing together the right people from various disciplines generates multiple points of view on a given project. Assessing challenges from different perspectives creates a dynamic synergy among peers that leads to more effective solutions.

At Dever Designs, we recognize that we can’t be all things to all people…but we’re very good at what we do. Beyond providing thoughtful graphic design, we assemble and manage teams to execute large, complex projects ranging from websites to custom exhibit spaces. By partnering when appropriate with experts in other fields who share our passion for creative solutions that work and outstanding customer service, each party is empowered to focus on their strengths and be inspired by fresh ideas. Not only does this provide our clients with a first-string performance for every job, it also maximizes efficiencies of process that yield more bang for your buck.

Utilizing teams may offer benefits beyond working with the best and brightest. The large-scale retirement of baby boomers has led to many leadership positions being filled by much younger staff. These tech-savvy professionals can invigorate organizations but may lack experience or institutional knowledge of the design and production process. The resulting learning curves may make hiring a one-stop shop appealing…until you get their estimates. While larger agencies can command higher fees, smaller firms or niche specialists typically have lower overhead expenses than their “do-everything” counterparts. If your organization doesn’t have the resources to engage a mega-agency, teams can be a cost-effective alternative.

When offered to clients in complete transparency, forming a team of external partners can provide an effective, value-added experience for you and your audience.

Is a team-based approach right for you? Give us a call at 301-776-2812 to explore the possibilities and start the conversation.

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Getting A Partner Who Gets You

August 22, 2017 by

Getting A Partner Who Gets You

 

In recent months, we have noticed a trend in RFPs that warrants some consideration. These calls for proposals, detailing how a vendor would approach and perform a certain job, increasingly are requiring applicants to practice in the exact field as that of the prospective client.

On the surface, this makes sense; if I ding the fender of my car and want to have it repaired, I’m going to get an estimate from a body shop, not a plastic surgeon, right? So, of course, companies needing graphic design services would want to work with providers who have experience with their specific industry…wouldn’t they? Not necessarily.

We suggest that it’s more important to engage a firm that demonstrates the skills you need and a proven track record of successful outcomes. They should be expert communicators, not specialists in your particular discipline. A good design studio will ask the right questions of you to understand what you want to accomplish, who your target audience is, and how best to resonate with that audience. No matter how frequently a vendor has worked with “other companies in your field,” there are no organizations exactly the same as yours; there will always be details about your business, your audience, or your members that only you know through your personal experience. The best design firms will do their homework; they will know how to communicate with and listen to you to gather the information they need to complete your project successfully. These qualities—along with exceptional customer service, diligent project management, and thoughtful attention to detail—are greater assets to your project than being an expert in your industry; after all, the industry expert is you, and if that credential was the key to creating your next annual report or conceiving your next conference, you wouldn’t be hiring a design studio.

So, should you be casting a broader net when you send your RFP? The phrase, “thinking outside of the box” may be overused, but it’s certainly true that approaching a problem from a different angle can make all the difference. A fresh perspective can lead to imaginative solutions to projects that have languished or problems that have persisted over time. You actually could be limiting your options for achieving a positive outcome by focusing solely on design firms operating in your niche market. By widening your search beyond your industry, you may find more creative thinking and unique solutions tailored to you—and not to all those other organizations “just like” yours.

Forge a true, creative partnership. Get in touch with Dever Designs to start the conversation.

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What’s Up with Colors? Color modes explained.

August 8, 2017 by

Your company just got a new brand standards guide. The brand color page lists several complex numeric formulas for each color swatch — CMYK, Pantone®, RGB, and HEX. What are these formulas for, and how do you use them?

These formulas are a set of numbers used to create a desired color. Each color mode renders very differently and is set up for a specific use. CMYK and Pantone® are for print, RGB and HEX are for onscreen.

 

Colors In Print

CMYK is used for printed materials. CMYK (aka, 4-color process) is short for Cyan ♦, Magenta ♦, Yellow ♦ and Black ♦ — the four process inks used in color printing. In CMYK, colors are built one printing plate at a time using dots of these inks. Each of the four plates prints one color. A build-up of dots of these four ink colors achieves a wide variety of colors.

Why is Black a K? At one time, the plate with the black ink was referred to as the “Key” plate because it carried the key information and details of the printed piece. This is why black is referred to as K and not B. B could also be confused as “blue”, as in RGB.

Print is subtractive and deals with the absorption and reflection of light. When all the colors are subtracted from each other the outcome is no ink. Printing has a more limited color range than the web. This is why printed color performs differently on paper (reflective) than what is on your computer monitor (back light).

CMYK does not have white ink, because it is assumed that it will be printed on white paper. Therefore, colors will perform differently on colored stock.

How is a CMYK formula built? Every print color is built using a percentage from 0-100% of each of the four process inks. Combining these four inks in different percentages will result in a multitude of different colors. The following formula is a simple example: C=100% M=0% Y=100% K=0% is 100% cyan, no magenta, 100% yellow, and no black. Building ink colors uses the same technique you learned painting in elementary school: blue + yellow = green. So, the CMYK formula above is a primary green. If you use a smaller percentage of each ink, a lighter green will result.

Pantone® Colors are an industry standard color matching system used for accurate color reproduction. Pantone® has created standardized formula guides with thousands of premixed inks for printers and designers to reference. If you provide a Pantone® color formula number to any printer, they can refer to the color guide and know the exact ink color you are requesting. This keeps your brand color consistent. For example, if you provide the vendor creating your brochures and the vendor producing your t-shirts the same Pantone® ink color 355, both vendors will use the same formula­ ­— and your final produced pieces will be the same primary green.

 

Color Modes Onscreen

RGB is used for any application on a screen. RGB refers to Red ♦, Green ♦, and Blue ♦—the three colors of light used digitally on your computer screen, scanners, or digital cameras. RGB is additive color. All colors on your screen are built from a combination of these three colors. If you add all three colors together you will see white light.

Computers can display millions of colors, resulting in a larger color range than printing. Like CMYK, RGB uses numbers to build its formulas as well but since it has a wider color range, those numbers run from 0 to 255. So, the primary green we built above in CMYK would be Red =0 Green= 166 Blue=81 in RGB mode.

Hexadecimal (HEX) values are used in code by web programmers. HEX is based on RGB colors but converts the formula to a more compact format for the computer to understand. HEX uses a set of 16 symbols: 0-9 and A-F; colors are built by combining any 6 numbers or characters from that set. The HEX code for the green above is #00a651.

When we produce brand standard guidelines for our clients, we pay extra attention choosing color. We make sure the palette is an aesthetically complementary selection of colors which also includes a range of values that will accommodate a variety of usages. Therefore, our clients’ brand colors will be consistent across ALL forms of media.

Are you ready to create a new brand standard guide for your company? Contact us at Dever Designs today to start the conversation.

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Templates Can Make Life Easier

June 22, 2017 by

Spencerville Adventist Academy (SAA) is a college preparatory school serving grades Pre-K through 12 in the greater Baltimore-Washington area. We created a new identity for them a couple years ago including a logo, a detailed brand style guide, signage, banners, e-newsletters, and photo display areas. Since then, we have partnered with SAA on various projects.

Recently, SAA asked us to create large banners for display in their gym celebrating their sports’ team championships. They want the banners to add school spirit and show students and visiting teams their legacy of success.

At Dever Designs, we always keep the clients’ needs in mind. We know that educational organizations have limited budgets, so we suggested a few options to help keep SAA’s costs down.

Always anticipate. We prompted the client to think ahead and carefully consider how these banners will be used in future years. The process began with a start-up meeting that included all the decision-makers to ensure that we understood the parameters of the project. We asked SAA many detailed questions, such as how these banners would integrate with existing banners in the school, what sports they would commemorate, where they would be placed, and how they would be hung to accommodate future championship victories. Taking time to think ahead ultimately saves time and money.

Set up a template. We created a template that SAA can use to build additional banners in-house. We suggested they utilize the resources available to them and enlist their student body and/or parents familiar with the software to volunteer their time to set up any future banners. To ensure consistent application, we developed a detailed set of guidelines and instructions on how to use the template to prepare the files for output. The banner template was designed to adjust easily depending on the amount of information on the banner. SAA has several athletic teams, so we designated a different color to each sports category. For example, all banners for the soccer tournament championships will be green, while those for the gymnastic championships will be purple. Over time, this will allow the client to minimize expenditures because they can layout subsequent pieces on their own.

Direct them to a vendor. To produce the banners, we introduced SAA to one of our trusted long-term vendors. This allows SAA to deal directly with the manufacturer on all future banners without having to go through us.

At Dever Designs, we work with our clients as a collaborative partner. If you have a project you need help with, please give us a call at 301-776-2812 to start the conversation.

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Process to the Rescue

May 15, 2017 by

 

 

Over our past 30+ year history Dever Designs has been called to the rescue numerous times—hired by a diverse range of clients to resolve design problems where others had failed. From logo development and brand standards, to magazine designs and exhibits, we’ve successfully saved projects for numerous clients. The primary reason we were successful where others were not is, in a word, PROCESS. The best creative teams in the world may miss the mark and create inappropriate solutions if they don’t have a well-defined, focused target they’re working toward. Our mantra is, the better you define the problem, the clearer the solution becomes.

 

Collaborative Creativity

Our process is designed to make every project a success, with ongoing communication from start to finish. Working directly with our designer/project managers, you will have the opportunity to define, give feedback, and provide valuable input at key stages throughout the creative process.

Listen. We start by actively listening to your needs, asking the important questions to facilitate a discussion that reviews all your project’s parameters and goals. We involve all the key stakeholders and decision-makers up front to build a consensus point of view early in the process and avoid surprises later. Often, we create a problem/solution statement and distribute it for review by your team to ensure that we accurately understand and define the project. Next, we outline a schedule with your deadline in mind, to guarantee your project will be delivered on time and budget.

Design. Now, with the focused information gained from actively listening to your team in the discovery phase, our team works to conceive, then design, a solution that is right for your project. A solution that promotes your brand, highlights your messaging and targets your audience. Then through a cycle(s) of concept presentations and review, we solicit your candid feedback and consult on revisions to help us refine a final solution for your approval before we go into production.

Deliver. Next, with the approved design, your personal designer/project manager leads our team to produce your project, while managing the logistics, schedule, and budget. Whether it’s a simple brochure or a complex exhibit, we always remember the big picture while focusing on the details to ensure that every project exceeds your expectations.

If you’d like to explore how our team can serve you to ensure your success, give call us at 301-776-2812 to start the conversation.

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A Conference Brand at Work

April 24, 2017 by

Dever Designs has been fortunate to work with Psychotherapy Networker for over 20 years, designing and producing their magazine and creating unique branding for their annual Psychotherapy Networker Symposium. Each year, thousands of therapists gather at the Omni Shoreham in Washington, D.C. to get the opportunity to recharge, reconnect, and learn from the masters in their field.

We start the process of branding the next symposium almost immediately after the previous one ends. Consulting with our clients, we establish a theme and create the appropriate graphic elements to build a brand for the event. Next, the look gets applied cohesively to pieces including ads, brochures, web elements, banner ads, promotional items such as tote bags and t-shirts, and a variety of event signage. We also help with other needs—from creating new exhibit hall displays, to finding a new photographer to document the event.

I work as a senior designer and project manager on our team. One of the perks of working with a client on their conference is getting to attend the event once all the planning and production work is complete. As a team, we get to experience the event for ourselves, see the crowds, spend time with our client, and see the impact of the various components we helped create.

Branding long before the event results in larger attendance. This year’s symposium had a record-breaking crowd of 4,500 attendees. As I walked into the magnificent lobby of the hotel, the amount of people overwhelmed me. All of the effort we put into this event was now live and in action. I scanned the lobby to see how the pieces we designed for the conference fit into the space. The bright teal and gold colors of this year’s brand stood out in the large, ornate lobby. Several covers of the Onsite Guide in the same vivid colors were noticeable in attendee’s hands. The way-finding signage had the same bright appeal and was easily spotted in the expansive space.

The Symposium is kicked off with a large gathering to welcome the attendees. This session sets the tone for the rest of the symposium. Rich Simon, Editor of Psychotherapy Networker magazine, welcomed everyone to the 40th Anniversary Symposium with his customary wit and warmth. Drummers and dancers encouraged audience participation and sent us towards our different courses in high spirits.

The positive energy of the event continued in the workshops. I checked out a number of workshops to get a broad overview of the event and gain insight on how to help our client in the planning of next year’s symposium. I attended courses with captivating presenters who encouraged audience participation and interaction. More first-time attendees then ever before participated this year. I spoke to one new attendee who went to a local college and was excited to learn from all the amazing presenters. This energetic event is very important to therapists because they mostly work alone. A break from their practice to collaborate and learn from one another in such a positive environment is one of the many benefits of this conference.

I visited the Exhibit Hall, which was sold out and packed with people. A few years ago the exhibit hall wasn’t getting enough foot traffic to keep the booth vendors busy because the location in the hotel is difficult to find. Last year, we helped solve that problem by creating way-finding signage to direct traffic through the complicated hallways. This year, more floor graphics were added. Judging from the long line of attendees waiting for the exhibit hall to open, it didn’t appear that finding the exhibit hall was a problem any more. The hall felt much more open than last year, even though it had more booths then in previous years. We designed a number of signs and displays in the Exhibit Hall. Our array of signage provided a consistent look and feel and gave the expansive space some synergy.

The large crowd and positive energy of the event really shined throughout the long weekend. Everyone seemed so excited, ready to learn and experience what the Symposium had to offer. I think the bright and playful branding we did helped support the mood of the event.

A few days after the event, we attend a debriefing meeting with the client. We talk about successes, problem areas and what we can do to improve the event for the coming years to better serve the attendees. Our client was extremely happy with this year’s event. In fact, the Exhibit Hall was already sold out for next year before the event even ended. We can’t wait to get started on next year’s conference.

Call us today at 301-776-2812 to start the conversation about how we can help you with your upcoming conference.

 

 

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Brand It, and They Will Come

February 23, 2017 by

Conference Branding

 

When you’re hosting a conference, you want to make an impact on your community of attendees and members. You focus on making your workshops educational and helpful. You pull out all the stops to book keynote speakers who draw crowds and inspire. You look at both the big picture and the details when it comes to the content of your conference, but what about its design and branding?

One way to make a big impact on both your marketing effort and attendee experience is to develop and implement a conference brand that is clear, unique, and instantly recognizable. Using consistent brand applications from the first point of contact—such as a save-the-date post card and email—through the on-site experience…to post-event surveys means that you’re building awareness, generating excitement, and fostering institutional pride and credibility at every step of the communication process.

So, what makes a successful conference brand? For starters, it’s more than a logo. The best conference brands are packages that include flexible graphics that can be applied across every medium. From direct mail to t-shirts, on-site signage to slide decks, consistent and expertly applied graphics, colors, and type treatments go a long way to build recognition and set a professional tone for your conference.

Next, your theme language is every bit as important as the graphics but is often overlooked and undervalued. While some go for a clever turn of phrase, it’s important to think about how your language addresses your audience’s pain points. Help them see the benefits that your conference provides and give them a sense of the atmosphere of the event through the tone and choice of your words.

Call us today at 301-776-2812 to start the conversation about how we can develop a conference brand that makes your organization stand out in the crowd.

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Recent Posts

Got the Budgeting Blues?

Annual Reports: A Marketer’s Swiss Army Knife

White Paper: Print, Thy Name is…Green?

Color Me Consistent

Benefiting From A Collaborative Team

Getting A Partner Who Gets You

What’s Up with Colors? Color modes explained.

Templates Can Make Life Easier

Process to the Rescue

A Conference Brand at Work