F.A.Q.'s (Frequently Asked Questions)

A: What we offer is a way for you to be involved in the part that really counts
- the thought process.

Imagine you get five logos from a great designer, but all of those ideas are based around the same basic concepts - and you just plain don't like the idea of using a duck, a car, or a whatever in your logo. Well, how many revisions does it take to turn a bad idea into a good one? That duck or car might be a great logo for someone else. But if it’s not great for you no amount of revision will make it right.

That's why I get YOU involved early on. This keeps the hard work to a minimum and gives you a broader selection of designs to choose from.

Our first batch of preliminary thumbnails is usually six to ten ideas (though we create about a hundred of 'em on paper!) and well keep throwing thumbs at you till we get an idea that YOU are excited about. Then it's simply a matter of fine tuning. Keep in touch during the project and I can address your needs right away.

The other part of my process is that I act as both provider and guide - helping you to make the right decisions. I don't just do as you say. I put myself in your position and examine the good and the bad parts of my own work. This helps you weigh your business objectives against what I have provided.

There is an old saying in design school that you should never show a layperson more than three designs at a time. I used to teach this concept to my students when I taught - that lay people cannot make a visual decision given too many choices. But if you are willing to be led to the right decision, and you will accept some guidance, giving you the freedom to choose early on eliminates the indecision that often happens later in the process. That way the designer's final presentation is less of a surprise – but you know what you're getting.

Not really, within the bounds of reason. I start out providing simple, preliminary work as opposed to "worked up" material. These concepts take very little time to make.

A: Not in the finals. We do sometimes look to clip art as references for maybe 5% of the elements in the thumbs. Unless you ask us not to. But in the final everything is 100% original work. Clip art parts are redrawn from scratch.

A: I ask for a minimum of a 50% deposit before beginning all work. This deposit is payable through Paypal or by check, and is refundable at my discretion should we have any unresolvable problems. Our buy now options in our services and prices section are set up to pay 100% up front.

The balance is due upon satisfactory approval and delivery. If you terminate early, I would be glad to issue you a refund, less the time we have invested in the job.

A: Inspiration takes a little time. Usually we have the first round of thumbs to our clients within three days of getting all the info we need and the deposit.

After that I send revisions within 48 hours of getting your feedback - assuming the feedback is clear and unambiguous!

A: I provide limited lifetime support, meaning that if you or you contractors cannot use a file in the delivered format I will provide a different format at no charge.

A: You own all rights to the final work. We retain the right to show the work as ours in our portfolio, the right to submit it for design award. Anything other than that would need to be discussed.

A: I will deliver via download, email or on CD by regular mail. I can send CDs by courier if necessary. I will also communicate with your staff or contractors (printers, web designers) to establish the best method of delivery for all printed materials.

A: Mostly, JPG files are used in websites and are also included in your logo or/and Corporate Identity Package. JPG is a low-res file format (72 dpi) and suited for internet use only. We don't recommend you use them for quality printing.

A: Vector files contain data described as mathematical equations and are typically used to store line art and CAD (computer aided design) information. Keep in mind that a vector format logo can be resized without any loss of quality - a bitmapped image (GIF, JPG, TIF) loses quality when resized. Essentially this is a scalable file that can be reduced to the size of a shirt button or blown up and put on the side of a building. Either way, it will maintain its integrity at nearly any size. Vector graphics are created in programs such as: Adobe Illustrator, Macromedia Freehand, and Corel Draw.

A: Bitmaps (GIF, JPG, TIF) store information about an image pixel by pixel. A GIF file, say, might contain information on ten thousand pixels. When read, the file says to the computer, 'OK, pixel 1 is gray, pixel 2 is a slightly darker gray, pixel 3 is...' and so on. Only much quicker. The problem is that any bitmapped file can only contain information about the number of pixels it was originally designed to contain when you put it together in Photoshop or Paint. So if you try to make it bigger, the pixels have to get bigger and your image begins to look chunky and jagged.

A: Please note first that the colors you see on the screen may look different according to the monitor used. Meanwhile there's always a difference between the printed colors and the ones you see on your screen because the colors you see on the screen are RGB colors while the colors of the printed copy are CMYK colors. In other words, the colors you see on the screen are obtained used light beams while the colors on paper are made of ink.

RGB stands for the three colors used in this system - Red, Green and Blue.

This color model works like natural light. Imagine three different spotlights, red, blue and green, directed at the same spot on a white screen. Because each spotlight adds more light, the resulting color of two spots will be brighter than just one. Where all three spots meet, the color is at maximum brightness - white.

The RGB model is used in a television or computer monitor. The colored spots of a TV screen emit three colors, and the sum of these colors determines the impression to the eye. If the color spots shine with equal strength, the visual impression is white or gray. This is called an additive color model. Each color in the RGB system has a value for Red, Green and Blue. This value goes from 0 to 255, where 0 for all three colors equals black, and 255 for all equals white.

Thinking of the spotlights this is quite logical - no light, or weak light means black or dark color, and full light from all three must result in a strong white light. This means that you can get more than 16 million colors (TrueColor) because 256x256x256 = 16 777 216, but you can only get 256 shades of gray.

The other important color model is called CMYK.

CMYK stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black (K for blacK so you don't confuse it with Blue).These colors are sometimes called process colors, because you use them in four-color process printing. If you have a color printer, you’ll know that the toner in the machine consist of these primary colors. All other colors can be created by mixing these colors together. Cyan, magenta and yellow are theoretically all you need, but to make a print look sharp and crisp you also use a black plate in the printing press. This is called a subtractive color model, because the process ink pigments "subtract" or absorb certain colors and reflect others (for your eye to see).

A: Please note that existing browsers cannot display all the colors of the spectrum accurately. A browser tries to match the colors found on the web page with a color chart held in its memory. If it can't you get the grainy result professionals call 'dithering'. This grainy look appears only on the screen. Please refer to question six for more information.

A: The formats usually required by the embroidery companies are: tif, jpg, gif and eps. We provide these formats in the final Logo Package.

A: We recommend using us or going to your local printshop. It will be faster and you can view the pre-print samples immediately. Any PIP Printer or Sir Speedy will suffice, but please, don’t go to Kinko’s! You’ve paid to have work done professionally by us, and for that work to look its best you should get it printed by someone that knows what they’re doing.

A: Ask them to show you a Pantone chart selector. This way you can easily identify the colors we suggest or select new ones.

A: Your Packages includes your logo and the stationery in .eps format. These files can be opened on any Mac using the program Adobe Illustrator.

A: Pantone Matching Systems, often referred to as PMS, are the most widely used color matching systems in the printing industry. A true PMS color is defined by a mixture of inks that will provide a specific color (e.g. PMS 185 is a very common bright red color). Pantone also provides a matching system that allows process printers (using only CMYK inks) to closely, but not exactly, match any of the PMS standard ink colors.

A: We match the colors you see on the screen with the Pantone colors we have specified in a Pantone Chart Selector. We then send you the color codes for each color - e.g. Pantone 493U. Write down these codes and visit any Printshop. Ask them to show you a Pantone Chart Selector and you will be able to select your preferred colors or see our suggestions.

A: We can also create your stationery for you in Word format for $40.

A: We suggest having it done by a graphic design expert. We can provide this service at a reasonable rate. You can also select different Pantone inks for your spot color version of the logo at the printers.

A: These packages include all the necessary files of your material for internet use, printing, fax sheets, brochures and for any printed or electronic media use. The packages can be sent to you on the CD-ROM by FedEx ($40 additional fee).

A: You will get your logo in the following formats: .ai (adobe illustrator), .cdr (corel draw), .gif (graphic interfile format), .jpg (joint professional experts group), .bmp (bitmapped), .tif and png. We also will fulfill any specific formatting requests you may have as well.

A: The list is included in Logo Package or/and Corporate Identity Package. The file name is named logo.txt or/and cip.txt.

A: Here are a few suggestions:

Files in AI, EPS format can be opened and edited by Adobe Illustrator or Corel Draw. They are mainly used by pros.

Files in GIF, JPG, BMP, TIF format can be opened by any Internet browser, and edited in Adobe Photoshop, or Paint.

PNG and BMP files are best imported in MS applications such as Word, Powerpoint or Publisher.