The studio’s gone hip hop

Well here’s the latest piece of creative to come out of the studio. It’s been a while since I had a spare bit of time to have a play and create something new for myself so it’s been a refreshing experience.

The image has been worked up using a range of images from istockphoto and some vectors from Go Media’s arsenal site.

I wanted to create a piece with an urban, hip hop style feel but not to make the image too dark and use loads of bling to get the effect, the image is actually a panoramic which encompases the Brooklyn bridge lit up in twighlight.

Photoshop tutorial (gold text effect)

So I’m going to be a bit cheeky and rather than write a tutorial simply post a link to one, not because I’m lazy but because this is one of the best tutorials I’ve come across in a long time.

Gold text effects can often look pretty cheap and tacky but Fabio over at psdtuts has written a great little tutorial on how to create a gorgeous gold text effect that oozes class and sophistication as you can see from the end result below which I achieved following his step by step guide.

The best thing is that effect is achieved using gradient overlays which allows you to edit the text even once the effect is applied, which makes it a handy little file to have in your arsnol of design resources.

Also if you’re feeling lazy, you can download my PSD source file and just amend the text as you wish.

Avoid multiple design concepts

Recently I’ve been asked quite a lot by freelance clients and managers of the agency I work for to produce 3 design concepts for the client to pick from, usually a safe design which they’d expect to see, a design which makes them think a little and consider some new ideas and to finish off the collection a really zaney slightly wacky take on the brief that they will have never thought of. When these are put in front of the client they will usually say, ‘oh well we’d like a bit of number 1, a lot of number 2 and perhaps a sprinkling of number 3.’

Now as Paul Boag rightly points out in his 10 steps to getting design approval article, clients like this approach but it can cause confusion and delay in getting a design signed off and I think can be detriment to the projects integrity as an overall package.

I’m not suggesting that anyone should only think of one design concept for each project, whether its web, print or brand projects there should always be an initial creative session that results in a whole host of ideas but I am suggesting that the best concept is cherry picked from the rest designed and worked up and it is only that concept is pitched/presented to the client.

I believe that showing multiple design concepts to a client can display a lack of confidence in the work, and suggests the brief either hasn’t been understood or hasn’t been thought through properly.

Many clients have come to expect the 3 design concept approach, so it is a tough one to talk them out of, but when you explain to them how the time they are paying for will be far better spent developing and refining one concept that has been cherry picked from all the original ideas, they should come round to the idea relatively easily.

Ultimately: Read the brief, understand the brief, emerse yourself in the project, be confident in your designs.

What makes a good HTML email newsletter

Whether you like them or not HTML emails and newsletters are here to stay, most of them you receive you will hopefully have subscribed to, so the chances are you have some interest in the content they contain, but what do you think of the design of them?

I receive some pretty lame looking emails so thought I’d write an article with some advice on designing a good HTML email.

Step 1: Old School

Firstly imagine you’re designing back in the day, email clients don’t handle html in the same way as web browsers, so forget flash, javascript, animated gif’s and video, you’re going to have to rely on good old traditional design values and basic HTML using tables to lay out your mails. Use a pure HTML editor to build it, BBEdit is a pretty good example, primarily you need a package that wont bloat your code with rubbish which will just break the email somewhere down the line. Unfortunately you’ll also have to leave most of your CSS skills at home too as email clients tend to strip out any CSS.

Step 2: The 500px rule

Bear in mind everyones email client will be set up differently, some users preview pane will display to the right of the screen, some at the top some at the bottom, either way the chances are that your email wont be displayed full screen like a website would. There is much debate about how wide a fully accessible email should be, personally I usually play it safe and stick to a width of 500 pixels, but anywhere between 500-600 pixels is a safe bet, don’t be afraid of the white space!!!

Step 3: Think about what they’ll see

Whilst users are pretty used to scrolling emails, think about what they’ll be able to see on first glance, the page fold will lie a lot higher than a standard website so make sure any important branding or information is right at the top, so the recipient knows who you are.

Step 4: High quality images

Spam is an ever increasing issue, and bad quality images used on your emails could lead recipients to believe your mail is junk without even reading it. Subscribe to the newsletter at www.splendia.com to see beautiful imagery put to use in an email, there’s no mistaking these newsletters for junk when they arrive in your inbox.

Step 5: There’s no need to tell them everyting

Avoid the temptation of telling the whole story or putting a whole campaign message into an email, entice them to find out more with a leading headline and a snippet of information to grab their attention, they can then click through to a landing page to find out more, this will leave your email feeling less cluttered and not too daunting to read.

Step 6: Be on brand

The chances are your newsletter will contain a link to your website, now this sounds blindingly obvious but I’m amazed at how many emails I receive where I click through to the site and they look like two different companies, ensure you carry your brand values consistently through all of your marketing material and don’t forget this includes your emails.

Step 7: Good house keeping

A few things EVERY html newsletter sent should contain.

- A link to view the email online

- An opt out facility

- A link to a privacy statement (if you don’t have one try the DMA’s privacy policy generator)

- A recognisable From address

- A relevant subject

Step 8: Create a template

There are a lot of bulk email sending providers out there Dot Mailer and Mail Chimp to name but a few, these services will allow you to create an HTML template which will then enable you to simply go online and refresh images and content for your next mail using the same template as you did before. Using a consistent template for your mails will save you time with each mail sent and also create a brand recognition.

Well there’s a few thoughts to help create well designed HTML emails, and that only just really touches the surface, Mail Chimp have produced a PDF which looks into this issue a little deeper and is well worth a read if you are designing marketing emails. I guess the main thing to consider is:

WOULD I WANT THIS ARRIVING IN MY INBOX?