Tips and Tricks Archives - Page 3 of 6

How Color Psychology Impacts Your Printed Materials

Marketing, Print Marketing, Tips and Tricks, Uncategorized

Have you ever wondered what colors tend to have customers reaching for one product over another? Or how the palette of your reception area leaves your guests feeling? Color impacts perception, both visual and emotional, and can be used to your brand’s advantage. Here’s a list of how your palette may influence your audience:

Red

Red has been shown to both speed up and intensify our reactions, making it ideal for fast and energetic visual communication. Positive traits associated are power, passion, energy, and excitement. It is often used in advertising for clearance sale tags, and stop signs to capture attention quickly.

Orange

The color of autumn leaves and pumpkins, orange is often associated with feelings of warmth and food. Its balance of red and yellow also lend use to drawing attention, but invoking a feeling of value with customers – making it a great choice for vouchers or coupons.

Yellow

Yellow, like red, is a color with a long wavelength and is often used as an attention-grabbing hue – such as for traffic signs or post-it notes. It is linked to feelings of optimism, happiness, and creativity.

Green

Green is the easiest on our eyes due to wavelength on the light spectrum, and thus it is associated with rest and calmness. We also associate it with nature and growth – brands that are eco-conscious could also be simply be referred to as being “green”.

Blue

Blue is another color associated with nature (think clear sky and calm waters), but it also evokes customer perception of trustworthiness. It’s no wonder that 33% of brands use it as a primary color in their branding packages!

Purple

Due to its uncommon appearance in nature and the historical rarity of natural purple pigments – like Tyrian purple—purple is a color associated with royalty, luxury, and sophistication.

Do the colors in your printed marketing materials convey the message you want to communicate to your customers? Contact our Launchpad design team today to perfect your palette!

Shapes in Sign Design

Marketing, Signs, Tips and Tricks, Uncategorized

Signs above all else are visual communication tools. This means that a sign can convey a multitude of messages, simply from the way that it is designed and created. Aspects of sign design that convey messages include color, size, font style, complexity, and overall shape. These aspects of signage convey more than just a practical message, and allow signs to become a canvas for expression and representation. Specifically, because humans are exposed to shapes throughout our entire lives, shapes can embody deep psychological meaning or connections.

Circle

Because of their symmetry in all directions, circles carry with them an inherent symbolism of unity, community, and interconnectedness. Because circle and oval shapes lack hard edges or sharp corners, signage created in these shapes offer the viewer a feeling of an open embrace. Creating signage in circular shapes offers companies and organizations the ability to connect with their intended audience and convey that they are open and welcoming to all.

Square

Squares have four equal sides, which creates a feeling of stability and balance for the viewer. Psychologically, this shape conveys a sense of trustworthiness, strength, and reliability. Square-shaped signage and logos can create a balance between a logo, brand name, and tagline, by allotting each of these elements a similar spacing and weight within the sign design. For companies intending to communicate dependability and expertise, square shaped signage is a great choice.

Triangle

Triangles give a sign a sense of dynamic direction. This shape can symbolize to the viewer a sense of progression, purpose, and upward movement. Companies looking to convey to their audience that they are innovative, purposeful, and engaged can rely on triangle-shaped signage to embody these properties.

Looking for custom-shaped signage to convey messages about your company to your audience? Reach out to us to share more about your project and allow Cascade Print Media to bring your branding and design ideas to life!

Source: https://houseofsignsco.com/2024/01/03/the-psychology-of-shapes-in-sign-design/

Image Source: https://images.rawpixel.com/image_800/cHJpdmF0ZS9sci9pbWFnZXMvd2Vic2l0ZS8yMDIzLTAxL3JtNDI0LXBmLXVrMS1iYjAxLW1vY2t1cC5qcGc.jpg

Choosing the Right Image for Your Print Job

Marketing, Print Marketing, Signs, Tips and Tricks

How will you know if the logo image you have placed on your business card file is going to print clearly, rather than blurred or grainy around the edges?

The first thing you can check is the DPI, or Dots Per Inch. This is a measurement of how tightly the printer lays down ink in a 1 inch square. With a high DPI, details are sharp and colors are rich in contrast. 300 DPI is considered the standard for most print jobs, but can be higher the larger the format is.

Resolution also plays a major role in how well an image will appear in print. This is the pixel dimensions of an image on-screen. The closer it is in size to your project’s cut size, the more accurately it will print. It is always better to start with a large image and scale it down for print than it is to start with a small image and blow it up for print!

When choosing an image file type for your print job, there are many factors at play! Should it be a .jpeg or .png? Whether it’s a logo, photograph, or other digital asset, our team of experts can help you make a selection tailored to your specific print needs.

Marketing, Tips and Tricks

Ways to Maximize Business Cards

Business cards are an excellent tool to have at your disposal. Having all your important information in one easy to share format is fantastic. However their shape and size make them perfect for a wide variety of uses that go beyond just a contact card and we are going to show just a few of the many ways the shape can be utilized to grow your brand.

Membership and Loyalty Cards

If your business has a membership program then having exclusive cards is an excellent way to make your clients feel special and help you stand out from the competition. With a slight tweak to the graphics and these same cards can be used as loyalty cards encouraging repeat business by allowing employees to stamp or punch the cards as needed. Standard sized cards are the perfect shape to easily slip into a wallet or purse and Cascade Print Media offers a range of heavier paper stocks to help them last longer along with different finishes and stock choices depending on their use.

photo of person putting thank you card in a product marketing box

Product Inserts

If your product has special instructions or care needs, using a custom card to create an insert is an excellent way to go. QR codes are easy to add, taking your customers directly to the respective product page. Whether tucked inside an online order, added to a bag during checkout or simply handed out as needed, these cards are a perfect way to keep your clients informed about their new purchases.

More Choices Still

Other great uses for cards include appointment reminders for businesses such as dentists or salons. The shape and size also lend themselves well for use as custom jewelry display cards or pin backers.

photo of person holding various printed materials

You can of course mix and match any of the above options. Maybe a thank you card on the front side with back side containing care instructions and a QR code linking to a webpage. With custom art the possibilities are endless. Contact Cascade Print Media today and let us show you some of the many options to help fit your vision and business needs.

Book Binding Options

FAQ, Marketing, Tips and Tricks

Book binding comes in many shapes and forms. Choosing the right kind is usually determined by it’s intended use, page count and desired look. Depending on your needs Cascade offers a variety of choices to help bring your next project together.

Saddle Stitched

The most affordable option, Saddle Stitching, is bound together using industrial staples resulting in an inexpensive yet durable binding solution. An excellent choice for mid-sized books. Cascade can accommodate books ranging from 8 to 80 pages. Books on the smaller side will naturally lie flat. This makes it a great option for books where people need to write information or add notes. It is one of the most commonly used binding methods for booklets in use.

Wire-O Binding

Another sturdy option is Wire-O binding. This involves gathering the pages in order, punching square holes along the spine and then securing them with a loop of metal wire that is closed binding everything together. When bound this way the pages can be opened and will lay flat. They can even be folded fully back around to the rear cover. This works great for higher end notepads, recipe books or notebook style projects.

Perfect Binding

Photo of person reading a book that is perfect bound

Perfect Binding is a method commonly seen in magazines or books. This is where a strong glue is used to hold the gathered pages against the spine of the cover. This is the most expensive of the three options but results in the most professional and high-impact appearance. Usually reserved for a thicker booklet, this style of binding can be unsuitable for thinner, smaller booklets.

Inside Pages

photo of "tunnel" of magazines and papers

Cascade offers a range of internal stock choices that can best suite your needs. Whether you need gloss options to help your color images pop or are after affordable uncoated stock that allows users to write in your products. Cascade Print Media can help guide you through the rabbit hole of choices that best serve your needs and budget.

Check out our other post on binding options - then contact us so we can help you with your next project!