Author Archives: Nicole Dahmen
Don’t use “I have no talent” as an excuse.
Effective design is not about being creative or having talent.
Ethics of image manipulation
JOURNALISM:
“Never deliberately distort facts or context, including visual information. ”(Society of Professional Journalists, CODE of ETHICS) http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp
“Editing should maintain the integrity of the photographic images’ content and context. Do not manipulate images or add or alter sound in any way that can mislead viewers or misrepresent subjects.”
(National Press Photographs Association, CODE of ETHICS) https://nppa.org/code_of_ethics
PUBLIC RELATIONS:
HONESTY : We adhere to the highest standards of accuracy and truth in advancing the interests of those we represent and in communicating with the public.
(Public Relations Society of America, CODE of ETHICS) https://www.prsa.org/aboutprsa/ethics/codeenglish/#.VkUbA-m_e7M
ADVERTISING:
Advertising, public relations, marketing communications, news, and editorial all share a common objective of truth and high ethical standards in serving the public.
(Advertising Federation, PRINCIPLES and PRACTICES for ADVERTISING ETHICS)
S http://aaftl.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Principles-and-Practices-with-Commentary.pdf
Writing photo captions
Writing photo captions (also called cutlines)
Photos can’t give us everything; need captions for more detail. Words and photos work together to give us a complete picture.
Caption should engage reader. Pulls reader into story.
Captions get higher readership than body copy.
Short and easy to read; two to three lines
Good captions have two parts:
1) Describes the action; written in present tense
2) Something extra past the action; gives context, develop idea, extra information; usually written in past tense
Should answer the questions that the photo brings up for the viewer. Should provide information that is not visible in the photograph.
Think about Who What When Where Why How
Be careful about inferring emotions or moods; be careful about making assumptions (say what happened; don’t infer emotions, feelings or mood).
Be cautious about the truth of the image. Try to avoid stating the obvious. Explain what we don’t know.
Words of Wisdom
Art brochure examples
Raster vs. Vector
Photos are raster-based images (rasters are small squares called pixels)
Photos
- Measured in resolution
- refers to the number of pixels that describe an image and establish its detail
- determined by number of pixels along the width and height of an image
- Think of resolution as depth of image quality
- The higher the resolution the better the image quality
Resolution and size are inversely related
- If physical size increases, resolution (quality) decreases
- If physical size decreases, resolution (quality) increases
- Resolution measured in ppi or dpi
- Images on the Web should be 72 dpi
- High-quality print images should be at least 300 dpi
Vectors
- Vectors are mathematic (made of lines based on x-y coordinates)
- No dots!!!
- No matter how big you make a vector image, quality will not change!
- Images can be made using vectors, but don’t have the same “true to life” quality as pixels
- Although text can be made using pixels, text should always be made with vectors!!!!
Photoshop
- Raster-based
- Alter or create photos
InDesign and Illustrator
- Vector based
- Place photos & add text
Visual identity
What is visual identity?
- Visual standards (“look” and “feel”)
- More than just a logo
- Visual mark of image (goals and values)
- Vital aspect of relationship building (often job of PR team)
Design elements
- Color
- Form
- Typography
Review the University of Oregon visual style guide.
File types
AI: Adobe Illustrator
AI files are vector files used by designers and commercial printers to generate files of different file formats and sizes. AI files can only be opened using Adobe Illustrator and may be created in layers. An AI file is one of the most preferred formats by printers, promotional product companies, silk screeners, banner and sign companies, and other third party creatives.
INDD: Adobe InDesign
Vector based source files created in the layout program.
EPS: Encapsulated Postscript
EPS files are most commonly used by designers to transfer an image or artwork, generally a vector file into another application. Vector-based EPS files are scalable to any size. EPS files can be opened using Adobe Illustrator, Freehand, or Adobe Photoshop. A vector EPS file is one of the most preferred formats by printers, promotional product companies, silk screeners, banner and sign companies, and other third party creatives.
PDF: Portable Document Format
A PDF is a universal file format that preserves/embeds the fonts, images, layout and graphics of any source document, regardless of the application used to create it. PDF files can be shared, viewed and printed by anyone with the free Adobe Reader software. Some PDF files can be used for commercial, digital, and/or desktop printing.
PSD: Photoshop Document
The PSD file format, usually a raster format, contains graphics and photos created in Adobe Photoshop image editing software. Most commonly used by designer and printers. PSD files can only be opened using Photoshop and may be created in layers.
JPG: Joint Photographic Experts Group
A JPG file is a compressed image file that does not support a transparent background. The level of compression in JPG files can vary in resolution with high quality for desktop printing, medium quality for web viewing and low quality for email. When compressed repeatedly the overall quality of a JPG image is reduced.
GIF: Graphics Interchange Format
GIF files are low resolution files most commonly used for web and email purposes. Almost all browsers can support the use of GIF files, which use a compression scheme to keep the file size small. GIF files can be created with a transparent background.
TIF: Tagged Image File Format
The TIF/TIFF file format is most commonly used for storing images, photography, or art. TIF files are most commonly used in professional environments and commercial printing. The TIF format is the most widely supported format across all platforms. It is the standard format for high quality images. Though large in size, TIF formats are considered to be the most reliable format for high quality images.
PNG: Portable Network Graphics
The PNG file format is most commonly used for use online and on websites due to their low resolution. PNG files are bitmap images that employ lossless data compression, and like GIF files, PNG files can be created with a transparent background.
BMP: Bitmap
BMP is a standard image format on DOS and Windows–compatible computers. BMP format supports RGB, Indexed Color, Grayscale, and Bitmap color modes. You can specify either Windows or Mac format and a bit depth for the image. For 4–bit and 8–bit images using Windows format, you can also specify RLE compression.
Information adapted from: http://www.bourncreative.com/common-graphic-design-file-formats-explained/
Color collage examples
Image credit to Matthew Sorensen
Image credit to Dallas Carnahan
Image credit to Erin Hampton
Image credit to Hannah Giardina
Image credit to Madelyn Engel
Image credit to Alex Lianopoulos