Watch the whole process from start to finish below.

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1. If it’s on the internet, it’s not copyrighted. Wrong. Every picture, article, song, video, and design is protected by copyright law. As a rule of thumb, if you would like to use an image you found on the internet, contact the author and get permission. If permission is not received, don’t use it.

2. If I can’t find the author of an article, I can use it. Nope. Anything that is created has an original author. In the digital age where people think anything on the net is fair game, it can be exceedingly difficult to track down where the article originated if it has been re-posted multiple times but, again, that doesn’t mean that the original author has given up his rights. Don’t publish anything that you don’t have permission to use.

3. If it doesn’t have a copyright notice, it’s not copyrighted. You guessed it….wrong. As I stated above if it was created, it has an author and it is by default copyrighted. While it is good practice to watermark your photos and designs or include the standard ‘Copyright [dates] by [author/owner]’ on written pieces, leaving it off does not relinquish your rights as copyright holder.

4. If it’s an old photograph, the copyright has expired. Maybe, but probably not. The shortest Copyright Term is the lifespan of the author plus 70 years. Photographers, for example, might transfer the copyright to another member of the family prior to his/her death thereby ‘renewing’ the copyright. Once again, ask for permission from the copyright holder.

5. If I change it 10%, it’s a new work and I am the copyright holder. This is just ridiculous and completely wrong. I’d like to ask: what exactly constitutes 10%? Changing the font? Reversing the photo? Applying special effects? Replacing one name throughout an entire story? This is hands-down the biggest, most widely held, completely incorrect copyright myth out there. The notion that a photograph can be scanned and reversed and is now no longer the original work of the photographer is simply stupid. If you cannot use the photograph without the permission of the author, why would be be allowed to use it for manipulation to create your own work? The same principle holds for design. Derivative works can actually be considered property of the owner of the original work with the major exception of parody which is a super gray area for which I am not properly educated to elaborate on.

6. Ideas cannot be copyrighted. True. An idea cannot be copyrighted but the work based on that idea can be. This is where copyright law starts to get confusing. I understand it to mean, in a story for example, a woman’s husband is having an affair, she finds out, the story unfolds. This is an idea. VS. Jane, a high powered attorney, finds her husband Curt, a car salesman, cheating on her. Jane and Curt’s characters are copyrighted as are the actual words used to tell the story and what actually happens in the story.

7. If I don’t make money off of it, it’s not infringement. Wrong. It’s like saying, if I don’t get caught, I never committed a crime. I believe this idea stems from misinterpretation of ‘Fair Use’. Each case determining fair use is different and takes into consideration many aspects of the alleged infringement so don’t assume that you can use whatever you like just because you don’t make a profit by using it. I write this blog without profit, that doesn’t mean that I can simply hunt around the internet for articles I find interesting and paste them here as if I came up with them myself. In fact, even if I gave the original author full credit without gaining his or her permission to reproduce the work, I’d be in violation of copyright laws.

This is, of course, not a comprehensive explanation of copyright laws and I am by no means a lawyer (so don’t take the above as legal advise). The myths listed above are simply the one’s I encounter most frequently in my day-to-day life as a designer. There are many more out there so when in doubt if you didn’t create the work, you shouldn’t use it. If you’d like more information regarding copyright and intellectual property laws, visit http://www.copyright.gov/. For more information on copyright infringement, visit http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap5.html.

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Page Layout And Setup

Live Area: The live area is the area within an ad space where all important text, pictures and information must be contained.

Trim/Page Size: the trim size is the dimension at which the printer will cut the page. No text should be within 0.375″ of this size.

Margins: Margins are the space from the trim size to the live area. Usually, margins are0.375 – 0.5 inches all the way around a page. Bad margins will separate the amateurs from the professionals.

Bleed: The bleed is the part of the page that will get trimmed off in the printing process. If an ad is a full-page bleed, the graphics and art must extend 0.125 inches from the trim size on all sides.

Gutter: The gutter is the space created by the binding of a book or magazine. Depending on how large (how many pages) the book or magazine will have, the gutter will be larger or smaller to account for the parts of the page that will descend into the bind. Gutters are particularly important when working with spreads that cross the bind.

Slug: The slug is an optional space that a designer can add to a document that can be displayed but is not intended to be printed. Slugs can be a very good tool for a designer in the print business as it can be used for notes, suggestions, copyright information, and/or an infinite number of other things while proofing clients or supplying additional information to printers.

Color & DPI

Resolution: In simple terms, resolution is how clearly a picture, graphic or text will appear. Standard print resolution is 300dpi (some publications and printers will even demand 350dpi for the sharpest results). Screen resolution is usually 96dpi or 144dpi.

CMYK/RGB: These are the 2 basic types of color space used in design. CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black) is the standard for most traditional printing processes resulting in a tangible piece. RGB (red,green,blue) is how your computer and TV display color.

Resample: This is a function accessible in image editing programs which allows the user to change the resolution of the image while keeping its pixel count in tact. It is especially important when up-sizing a 72dpi image to a printable 300dpi image to NOT resample the image. By not resampling, you are permitting the program to adjust the final size of an image in accordance to the radio you are increasing the resolution. This ensures that the re-sized image will not print pixilated.

Typesetting

Kerning: Kerning is a typography process by which the space between the characters of text are squeezed or stretched. To kern something -10 would shrink the space between each letter. Conversely, kerning something +10 would create more space between each letter.

Leading: Leading is similar to kerning but in the opposite direction. Leading doesn’t effect the space between letters but instead controls the spacing between lines of text. So to lead something -10 would bring each line of text closer to the lines above and below it. Leading +10 would space the lines further apart.

Alignment: Alignment is the positioning/arrangement of lines of text or an image. Alignment can be left, right, centered or justified.

Printing

Offset Printing: Also called Lithography, this is the most common printing process. It involves the transfer of ink from a plate to a blanket to paper instead of directly from plate to paper.

Digital Printing: This is often a cheaper alternative to offset printing and is essentially printing directly from a digital file to the page by skipping the plate making step.

Screen Printing: A design is burned onto a screen through an emulsion and exposure process. Ink is then pressed through the resulting ‘negative’ image left on the mesh, transferring it to the material of your choice.

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I am sure you’ve noticed, as I have, that every person, business and place has a website, email and Social Media page. While I am by no means discounting the need for such marketing tools as Facebook (Breakaway Graphics has one), I have noticed that many people are committing some very serious social no-no’s in an effort to get their business on the top of everyone’s think-list. Let me start by revealing a very important tip about marketing:telling everybody everything about your company or product is NOT an effective form of advertising, knowing and targeting your market is. Although there is much validity to the concept of Brand Awareness, being a constant annoyance to your Facebook fans or every person who’s email address is in your address book achieves Brand Awareness…but not in a good way. Which leads me to our recommendations for proper Email and Social Media Etiquette:

1. Do not hold hostage people’s email addresses. In my line of work, I send hundreds of emails including proofs, proposals and questionnaires every day. Many times, I am sending proofs to advertisers on behalf of the magazines I work for, other times I am sending out a design questionnaire for a prospective client. In either case I am not soliciting the services or products of the email recipient, I am simply doing my job. Yet by virtue of my having sent an email (even just one email), I am now on that recipient’s Email Marketing list. This is the World Wide Web equivalent of the junk mail that arrives in the mailbox outside your house. What to you do with that junk mail? You toss it out without even a glance. For me, the same is true with unsolicited and unwanted ‘junk email’. Email provides us with a certain amount of anonymity, let’s keep it that way. Don’t add anyone and everyone to your e-marketing list, it’s unprofessional.

2. Resist the urge to ‘spray and pray’. Maybe I’m ‘old school’ but Facebook is for reconnecting with friends and family first and brand awareness second. Facebook has quickly become a welcome addition to small businesses  whose marketing budget is small and has made it to the top of marketing plans, but it should not be used to bombard your ‘friends’ and ‘fans’ with useless information. A Facebook page for your business is now as important as having a website, however people who are in search of your product or service, actively seek out  your website or go to your store front. On Facebook, it’s the other way around and posting ‘updates’ ten times a day can have  an opposite effect than the one you are intending. When I log onto Facebook and see twenty-one posts in a row featuring every house a Real Estate Agent has for sale (this actually happened!), I either ‘dislike’, ‘de-friend’, or ‘hide’ that person. It’s just annoying. Keep your business updates to a maximum of two or three a day, no more or you risk alienating potential customers.

3. Keep it relevant. If you have successfully implemented the above guidelines to your email and Social marketing, it’s time to think about what you’re putting out there and when. Once a customer has realized that you are not sending out updates and emails everyday (and have stopped associating your name with ‘spam’ or ‘junk’), they are more likely to pay attention to the emails and updates you do send. Make sure that the update you’re posting or the email you’re sending is current and relevant. Are you having a 50% off sale this weekend? Great, but don’t send it out on the Monday before. People are busy and will forget about your sale by the end of the day. Email an announcement on Friday morning, then post that announcement throughout the day for your Facebook friends (remember, no more than three times! Maybe in the morning, around lunchtime, and in the evening…TOPS!). Then post it again the day-of but change it up with adding something new like ‘What a turn out! Stop by now before all the good stuff is gone!’. Any more than that and you’re that friend that calls your phone four times in a row without leaving a message, you know the one.

4. Have a purpose and solicit a response. If we break it down to basics, what is the reason for placing an ad, sending out a marketing email or posting on Facebook: what is the response you want? If you find yourself sending out those mass email updates, make sure you have a clear reason for doing so. Is it to get people into your store? To generate more business with a discount? Perhaps it’s to give your customers some relevant news or tips. Whatever the reason, make sure it’s clear and simple. This goes back to guideline #2: no one wants to know every item you carry in inventory or every little service you do. Just pick one or two things to feature and run with it. Remember, less is more.

5. Utilize the science of advertising. All of the above suggestions bring me to what you should do with email marketing and social media. Facebook has a wonderful way to advertise your business on a budget. Their advertising options make it easy to really target your market and get your product right in front of the people who are interested in it. Think of it like this: if you were a pediatric dentist, would you advertise in a photography magazine? Or would it be a better use of advertising dollars to place an ad with a parenting magazine? The same is true for Facebook. Rather than committing social crimes #1 and #2, why not spend a little bit of money and have them place your ad in front of all the right people? As for your mass marketing emails, instead of assuming everyone who sends you an email must want to get your updates, ask them if they are interested or have a sign up sheet in your store front. Please don’t put that person in a position where they will have to spend their time trying to get removed from a list for something they were not interested in in the first place.

I know that we’re just a little design firm in Austin, TX and are not likely to change the bad habits of an entire generation. I do believe that I can, at the very least, reach the people reading this blog. With any luck, some people will agree with this post and feel the need to join the movement by re-posting (yes, on Facebook) or linking to this site. Who knows, maybe just one person really can correct the crimes of many…

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