The Computer Revolution/Computer Graphics/Soft Copy Proofs

Presenting Soft Copy Proofs

Presentation of art is very important. To all the graphic Designers reading, don’t just send customers or clients that you are billing by the hour just a pdf of how the business card looks. Some of the methods that I use of presenting proofs are listed below.

1. If a customer wants some ideas or you notice that his previous design lacks a brand identity, corporate image and so forth, customers or clients could be educated or suggested. Hence never hesitate to suggest ideas to improve their existing art. What I do is instead of designing some thing the exact size I make the page bigger. And make red arrows to point outside the page where I add comments. If I make a change from what the customer desired I will state the reason behind the change and explain the customer what the other thing would do.
2. In addition add the colors and fonts used in the bottom, this helps the customer to form his/her brand. For example if the client has to write a letter or make a quick proposal for their client then they can use the same colors and fonts the graphic designer used to create the identity in Microsoft Word ( assuming they have the fonts and similar colors). This helps to differentiate from other designers and gives the client something more than required - a subliminal Corporate Identity.
3. In addition, If you are creating a logo for your client, understand the meaning of shapes and ideas and underneath the logo write a short paragraph explain the reason behind the design of the logo, for example smooth curves along fonts and shapes suggest vulnerability, adaptability, solution oriented artistic approach to the corporate look, Example CNN logo incorporates flow of information smoothness, etc. Be wise to mention these details to the client so he/she understands that symbols and graphic creations hold more validity then its just appearance.
4. Sending PDFs is important if you are asking the client to check out layout accuracy make sure you tell the client to print the pdf and check and make sure to uncheck “shrink large pages”
5. Name pages, other then page 1 or page 2, for example front of brochure, back, show where the folds are or where the perfs are, make a legend or a key in the bottom.

All the details mentioned above don’t take more then 10 minutes, moreover you can make templates of business cards and brochures, etc to incorporate these additional details to save yourself time. It is these tiny details that distinguish your computer design to other designers and adds more credibility and understanding of the design work.