Pretty and precise:

Art and science in

perfect harmony

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Being a graphic designer is not all about making things look arty and pretty. As well as creativity, we need to be able to do lots of calculations to ensure layouts are accurate, fit precisely and can present the right information in a logical and coherent way.

That’s why we often talk about grids, mirroring, flipping, rotating, balancing, measuring and checking. These are just some of the ways in which we can arrange the elements required on a page, so that the key message to your target audience is correctly positioned and conveyed correctly

Here are some examples of three recent projects we have completed for clients where precision was essential.

We regularly design a monthly business magazine called Business Bulletin. For efficient magazine production and to avoid duplication of effort from edition to edition, we set up a grid structure and style sheets so that content layout, headings, body text, quotes and captions look consistent and important elements are highlighted where necessary.

We recently recreated several school crests as vector files from low resolution jpegs and by looking at their website. To do this, we had to accurately position one source image overlapping the other, and then very carefully redraw the crests ensuring a uniform look and line weight. Mirroring, flipping and rotating elements reduced the amount of drawing and ensured that they look consistent.

We have just finished designing some packaging boxes for PPE masks. We had to be very precise with the graphics, especially the areas where they will join when they are made into a box. Once again, we had to check, measure, rotate and mirror sections to test the positioning.

When you look at a poster, flyer, logo, package, website, newsletter or website, take a minute to appreciate the time and effort that someone has taken to do the right calculations and measurements.

So, the next time you look at a poster, flyer, logo, package, website, newsletter or website, take a minute to appreciate the time and effort that someone has taken to do the right calculations and measurements.

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