TasteBuds! April 16, 2009

We have come to the end of this long journey called TasteBuds. It was a wonderful experience to be able to work with an actually client. Although the workload was very demanding at times I believe my classmates and I handled it professionally. We all had to exercise a great amount of teamwork, patience, and sacrifice. Everyone gave a fair contribution to his or her team, which made the project come together as a whole.

April 17, 2009 will mark the original birth date of TasteBuds. I am excited to see something me and my classmates spent so many sleepless nights and stressful days working on actually come to life. I am also pride to work on a project as beneficial as this one. TasteBuds purpose is to inform and help build the local food community. As the community grows and the more people become active in this effort, TasteBuds we grow right a long with it. My classmates and I can be proud that we are a part of something great!

Last Field Trip April 15, 2009

As this spring semester comes close to an end the Processes and Materials class of 2009 took their last of many field trips. Personally this is one of my favorites! Allegra Printing and Imaging is of smaller scale compared to the previous prints we have visited. The smallness of this company may be reason I enjoying the trip. We were able to spend a great deal of time in each area of the building. The graphic department had one full-time designer that was responsible for proofing and designing files for clients before going to print. The designer workload usually demands at least 8 hours a day. Sometimes a part-time designer in brought in to assist in this workload.

The digital printing department consist of one color and one black & white machine. They were currently completing a number of short run jobs. One of the services they offer is book production. Clients submit a InDesign file to be printed in a small pamphlet format. The largest area of the building is the production area. Here they would binder these pamphlets: perfect binding or spiral binding. Other techniques of assembling such as: paper folding and gluing tablets are also completed here. In addition, to creating larger format posters and other signage.

The most informative part of the whole tour was the lithography printing department. The man in charge of the machinery in this department has been employed at Allegra for 16 years. Needless to say he was very knowledge. The explained almost every aspect of what his job entailed. He was extremely details about how the machine worked, ink was applied, etc.

To end this wonderful tour we are given a couple of handy gifts. A coffee mug, 2bg thumb drive, some note pads, a pen and a sharpie. We are all quite grateful for this items and for Leo and the other great people at Allegra for taking the time out of their busy day to share they knowledge with us!

www.allegrachat.com

Cindy Li April 13, 2009

April 9, Cindy Li came to Chattanooga to present a presentation she entitled “Design Your Future: Networking without the ‘Ick’ &; Creating Opportunity”. Cindy Li wears many hats. She is a graphic artist, web designer, and illustrator but prides herself on being a networking expert. As well as a Flicker fan that loves to take pictures of food. She was born in Taiwan, but currently lives in San Francisco. She attended the University of Florida where she received her BFA in graphic design. After receiving her degree she went onto work with many big companies including AOL and Yahoo!.

UTC was luck to host Cindy Li presentations at green|spaces at 8am. My class and I were fortunate to spend majority of the day with Ms. Li. We had a question and answer session followed by a wonderful lunch at East Bistro sponsored by Medium, formally know as Coptix. We later joined Cindy Li that night at Create Here for an additional presentation and it was just as interesting as the first. The presentation was then followed by a reception where students got a chance to talk with many art and web professionals.

In summary, Cindy Li shared many good habits to practice when using these online networks. Having the proper privacy settings, monitor your friends list, and limiting personal information are some of points she expressed. She stressed the importance of practicing proper networking behavior because future employers may Google you. In this search you don’t want the information found to be damaging to your brand.

These were useful points that I had never though about. I have been a active member of the Facebook and Myspace community around three years. When I first registered to these networks I was excited that I would be able to communicate with old friends, former classmates, distance relatives, and new associates. My friends list begin to grow into the hundreds. I accepted anyone’s friend request. Quantity was more important to me than quality. I shared with my friends images of holidays with family, outings with friend, and multiple pictures of myself. I quickly took her advise and made the adjustment to my various accounts.

This was truly a fun and informational event.

Sponsored by the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Meduim (Coptix), AIGA Chattanooga and CreateHere.

Chattanooga Is Part of Big Business April 7, 2009

April 2, 2009 my classmates and I was able to travel to the National Printer Group, Inc. I was surprised to discover that this is one of the largest POP printer in the US, located right in the heart of Chattanooga, Tennessee. This company is responsible for creating large format printing for many large corporations worldwide. Our tour guides, Michael and Nick were great. They tried their best to share every aspect of what goes on in every department within the company. Unfortunately after hours of touring and questions we did not get to complete our tour but still let with a quite bit of information. In addition to being one of the world largest and successful printer, the company offers the services of creating branding and identities for companies. My class has been recently working on a project where we are responsible for creating branding and setting identity standards. Michael and Nick were nice enough to let us take one of the identity guide written for one of customer as a example.

Of course most of the customer have their own team  that is responsible for branding and design. NPG has a pre-press staff that focuses mainly on dealing with the work these clients submit. This talented team is responsible for verifying that these files are ready for print. CYMK colors, prepare bleeds and margins, and other common mistake are converted and corrected before the teams sends the files off to print. Every people we meet was very knowledge about their job position and seemed excited to be working there.

As I stated earlier we did not get to complete the tour. NPG promise we could come and finish the tour on a later date. I am looking forward to it. It was a great place to visit and I am pretty sure it will be just as fun the next time around!

www.nationalposters.com

My First Publication April 1, 2009

A graphic designer should always have close business relationships with a hand full of respectable printers. From t-shirt design to business cards, designers are often asked to take on various tasks. Different printers may be required for different projects. For instead, some printers specialize in printing on certain materials. In addition, some printers offer finishing technique such as: embossing, debossing, gold stamp, spot varnish, etc. Having a knowledge of which printer would be best for the job will save a designer a lot of trouble in the long run.

My classmates and I have researched several small and large, web based and commercial, local and national printers. We combined our knowledge to construct a reference guide. We all included brief summaries of the different printers and the services their offer.  This guide will save some of the hassle of having to research printers in the future.

I approached this book’s design and layout as if it was going to be national published. I wanted to create interesting and unique layouts that would grab the reader’s attention while still maintaining its sole purpose of being informative. I made sure to consider legibility and hierarchy while arranging the texts.

The title of my printer guide is “Roloc”, which is color spelled backwards. Clever, right?  Color plays a very important part in both printing and design. I designed my cover with a composition of the primary colors in both print and design. I blended colors until I came up with sets of RGB (red, green, blue) and CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, and key). I continued this theme on my title page and index to give the book a cohesive feel.

This book is a keepsake. I have spent a lot of my college life with the art students whom work is also included in this guide. Each artist is very talented and has they own unique styles. I have enjoyed my experience with these students and know they will go on to become successful designers. When they become rich and famous I can open this guide and say I know them when.

www.lulu.com

Finishing Options March 24, 2009

VANISH

A clear varnish can be applied to a print that may need to be protected from constant moisture. It gives the piece a shine while protecting from scuffing and smearing. This needed to be applied to a heavy stock of paper.

A flood vanish is applied to the entire surface of the print. Flood varnish was applied to the front of this basketball card to help enhance the photograph. It helps the silver and metallic inks become more vibrant. The card has a more professional look and feel. The glossy finish help reflect more light, therefore making the images more shape and saturated.

Vanish can also be applied to selected areas of the print. Printers call this technique spot vanish. Instead of printing the Virgina Slim logo with ink a spot varnish was used. It gives the design a suddle and elegant look. Since it was used on a envelope this was a careful approach to not overwhelmed consumers with distracting elements.

DIE-CUT

Die-cutting is the process of cut into paper so that it takes the shape of the printed image. This can give the one-dimensional print a three-dimensional feel. This finishing options requires a heavy stock of paper to allow for the cut.

The flower printed against a navy background appears flat and dull. The die-cut helps to give the flower life by showing the details and outlines of the individuals petals.

The Vans brand is notoriously known for they line of skateboarding shoes. The die-cut in the shape of a skateboard is ideal for this product. Similar cutting alone the curves of the board and wheels help add life to the object.

EMBOSS/DEBOSS

The embossing process applies heat and pressure to paper in order to create a impression of the print. Debossing is the same technique as embossing. The only difference between these two processes is embossing is raised from the surface and debossing is indented into the surface. These techniques help to accent specific elements of a print.

Virgina Slim created an advertisement promoting they new Purse Pack packaging. The decision to emboss the image of this packaging was a clever ideal. It gives consumers a chance to interact with the product.

The Yno Jean brand include this stylish tag with each of their jeans. It is well crafted with heavy-duty leather and thick stitching. Although it is not a printed item, the deboss technique was successfully used in this design.

THERMOGRAPHY

Thermography adds a special powder to the ink. Once heated the powder and ink mixture dries and forms a raised effect. Common used on wedding invitations, business cards, and letterheads.

Although I feel this business card is extremely simple and poorly designed using thermography printing help give the card some life.

SCORING/PERFORATING

Scoring was added to this packaging to allow for easy binding for the insert images.

The perforating process is generally used in brochures and flyers that required a reply. The brochures intensions are to educate about the Simultaneous Membership Program. A perforating session is included in the brochure to allow viewers to submit a mailable card if they seek more information.

FOIL STAMPING

P dot O dot P March 24, 2009

The print teams has been placed in charge of creating the guide, a companion, a postercard, and all other printed materials for the TasteBuds. I have been placed in charge of researching and designing a Point of Purchase. This POP with house the guide in various locations such as groceries, markets, and retails.

Let you know what I discover….

Williams Print Group March 17, 2009

March 12, after a following a set confusing directions for Google maps:) me and my classmate finally arrived at the  the Williams Print Group. Even in our tardiness we were greeted by facing and friendly faces. Bubba Williams headed up the tour. I never really realized how complex the print business is. Williams has several builds and they use every inch of each. They most have a least 100 people on staff and everyone was important to they department. The department that interest me the most was of course the graphic department. The gentlemen we talk to was a self taught graphic design. He has been designing over 10 years and can remember when all he had was a pencil and a t-square. He had had a successful transition to the digital through reading and enroll himself in classes as much as purpose. It was also reassuring to see a former intern for UTC now a full time employee working in the design department.

Bubba and his partner gave us a very detailed tour. The information was a little to much to take in. We learned about everything from paper to color registration.

www.wmsco.com

Go Team Print March 17, 2009

The wonderful individuals of the print team consist of myself, Michelle Oliver, Jessica Bailey, Matt Adams, and Elizabeth Elrod Keltner. I really enjoy working with these groups of people. Each person is beneficial to the team. We are all pulling our weight and assisting each other when needed. We have done a fair amount of research to develop concepts and ideas.

More to come….

Chattanooga Times Free Press March 3, 2009

February 26, 2009 a few of my lucky classmates and I took a field trip to the Chattanooga Times Free Press. We were fortunate to be guided through our tour by the very well dressed Vice President of Operations, Frank Anthony. Mr. Anthony is a New York native. He began his journalism career at The New York Times, which I was surprised to learn was birthed from The Chattanooga Times, predecessor to the The Chattanooga Times Free Press.

Adolp Oochs established The Chattanooga Times in 1896 and later purchased and gain control of The New York Times. At that time The New York Times was not doing that well. Under Mr. Oochs leadership it became one of the most successful publications.

The building that houses the CTFP is rich in history. We were first introduced to old typesetting machinery and techniques. Apprentice typesetter were once referred to as “printer’s devil”. These techniques and equipments allowed several pages to be duplicated but was a extremely slow and tedious process compared to today’s technologies.

The CTFP currently uses a huge offset press. Its weighs tons, stands several stories high, and operations up to 100 mph. Unlike most newspapers CTFP uses water-based ink, which produces a better quality print. The ink doesn’t smudge and dries instant.

www.timesfreepress.com

Photo credited to Melinda Owens