Some thoughts on signage when in a building project

1. BUILDING
A BRAND
AND OTHER ART KNOWLEDGE YOU NEED
DURING A BUILDING PROJECT

2. WE WILL DO A BRIEF
OVERVIEW OF…
What is Branding?
Fonts
Colors
File Types
Picking a Graphic Designer
(if you don’t already have one)

3. WHAT IS BRANDING?
Simply put, your brand is your promise to
your customer.

4. BUT WHAT IS IT
REALLY…
A name, symbol or
design that identifies
and differentiates you
from everyone else.
(Its how you know which
eye liner to pick up)

5. HUH?
A visual
representation of
your reputation.
Which car
company would
you trust more…

6. CONSISTENCY
Its beyond your logo, its the experience
and customer service people expect from
you – and that needs to be consistent.

7. WHAT
COMPANY’S
CAFETERIA IS
THIS?
LETS PLAY A GAME!

9. PEPSI!
NO… COCA-COLA

13. WHAT IS THE
NAME OF THIS
STORE?

15. THE APPLE STORE!

17. WHOSE CORPORATE
OFFICES ARE THESE?

20. YOU HAVE
TO GET THIS
ONE…

25. NOW…
THE HARD
ONES…

32. THINGS TO TAKE INTO
CONSIDERATION WITH BRANDING
FONTS…
Whatever you choose (or are using),
keep it consistent in your signage.
A A A A
San Serif Serif Script/Cursive Decorative

33. DOES YOUR
FONT MATCH
YOUR
BUILDING?

34. MODERN, CLEAN,
MINIMALIST, ANGULAR
A
San Serif

35. CLASSICAL, ROMAN,
HISTORY, PERMANENCE
A
Serif

36. WHIMSICAL,
COUNTRY, PERSONAL
A
Script/Cursive

37. HAS FLAIR, CHARACTER,
PERSONALITY
A
Decorative

38. HOW DOES IT WORK IN YOUR
SIGNAGE?

40. THINGS TO TAKE INTO
CONSIDERATION WITH BRANDING
COLORS…
Do you have a set color
palette?
If the colors are consistent
in your website and
marketing, why not bring it
through your building?

43. On a screen
RGB
Printed on Paper
CMYK
Printed on Other
PMS
WHAT KIND OF COLORS DO
YOU USE?
#00a79d
For Making Graphics
HEX code

44. PMS –
PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM
http://www.ginifab.c
om/feeds/pms/
#00a79d

45. FILE TYPES
.JPG (Joint Photographic Experts Group)
.TIFF (Tagged Image File Format)
.PNG (Portable Network Group)
.PDF (Portable Document File)
.PSD (Photoshop Document)
.AI (Adobe Illustrator)
.EPS (Encapsulated PostScript)
.ZIP

46. A WHAT?
.JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group)
As the quality of a JPEG file increases (resolution), so does the file size
and the file download time. Does not support transparency.
.TIFF (Tagged Image File Format)
The ability to store image data
in a lossless format makes a TIFF
file a useful image archive, because,
unlike standard JPEG files, a TIFF
file using lossless compression
(or none) may be edited and re-saved
without losing image quality.

47. THEY DO THAT?
.PNG (Portable Network Group)
File format that supports transparency. PNG was designed for
transferring images on the Internet, not for professional-quality
print graphics, and therefore does not support non-RGB color
spaces such as CMYK.
.PDF (Portable Document File)
Adobe document reader that allows portability. Often used on the
Web for better control of page layout.

48. LAYERS OF A PDF…

49. PRINTING THE LAYERS…

50. PRINTING THE LAYERS…

51. YOU SHOULD NEVER
SEE THESE!
.PSD (Photoshop Document)*
Native bitmap file format of the Adobe Photoshop graphical
editing application.
.AI (Adobe Illustrator)*
File format of the
Adobe illustrator
graphical editing application.

52. OH REALLY?
.EPS (Encapsulated PostScript)
Simply, an EPS file is a PostScript program, saved as a single file
that includes a low-resolution preview "encapsulated" inside of it,
allowing some programs to display a preview on the screen.
.ZIP
Compressed files take up less
storage space and can be
transferred to other computers
more quickly than uncompressed
files. You can also combine
several files into a single
compressed folder.

53. OPENING A .ZIP FILE

54. WHAT IS RESOLUTION?
Image resolution is the detail
an image holds. The term
applies to raster digital
images, film images, and
other types of images. Higher
resolution means more image
detail. Resolution units can be
tied to physical sizes or to the
overall size of a picture.

55. RASTER VS VECTOR?
AND WHY DO I CARE?
Raster graphics image is a dot matrix data structure representing
a generally rectangular grid of pixels, or points of color, viewable
via a monitor, paper, or other display medium. (jpg, psd)

56. AND VECTOR…?
Vector graphics is the use of
geometrical primitives such as
points, lines, curves, and
shapes or polygons—all of
which are based on
mathematical expressions—to
represent images in computer
graphics. (png, pdf, ai, eps)
Breathe – that’s the end of the
boring stuff.

57. WHY DO YOU NEED THIS INFO?
Well, you actually
don’t… if you
have a designer.

58. WHAT ARE SOME THINGS YOU
LOOK FOR IN A DESIGNER?
Portfolio
Previous Experience
Clear Communication
Skills
Plus some other stuff

59. PORTFOLIO
Look at their
portfolio to make
sure their ‘style’
matches what your
library wants.
(e.g. don’t hire a
death
metal/motorcycle
illustrator)

60. PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE
It helps if they have
been though this
process before. Not
all artists can do
the same type of
project, so make
sure this isn’t their
first rodeo.

61. CLEAR COMMUNICATION
SKILLS
Are they
professional?
Do they hit
deadlines?
What is the best
form of
communication for
both of you?

62. CONTRACTS
Do they make sure
everyone is on the
same page as far
as expectations,
needs, and
timelines?
Did you review
everything?
Would you buy a
house without a
contract?

63. HINTS
You can have the designer and the printer/sign maker email
directly so you don’t have to play middle man.
Ask your builder if they have any recommendations -- they
also might have one on staff!
Do you have any community partners that recently went
through the building process? Do they have
recommendations?

64. QUESTIONS?
Thanks for sitting
through this!
Feel free to
contact me with
any questions…
Kacey@esrl.org