Imagine your blank InDesign® document as a clean white ceramic plate; a plate that needs some personality, sauciness, and something delicious. You are about to invest a good part of your day into making the most scrumptious meal so you might as well make it worth it… dig through your immense spice rack for the best fonts to start with.

What are the staples of a designer’s font collection? Of course this can vary from one designer to another but my collection starts with a little Akzidenz Grotesk and Avenir. Two very lovely and distinct san serif fonts. Each was created for their own purposes in the graphic industry. Akzidenz was developed in 1896 for scientific publications of the Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin. While Avenir, which in French means future, was created to fulfill what Adrian Frutiger called a need for “handwriting movement [to be incorporated] with a modern typographical independence [from Futura and Gill Sans]”.1

Avenir is typeset in magenta, or pink.

Akzidenz is typeset in cyan, or blue.

Now we move onto another area of the spice rack that consists of spicy slab serifs or in layman’s terms, serif fonts with really fat bars that protrude off the ends of the letterforms. Take for instance the classic font Clarendon. In 1845, it was recorded as the first font to have been patented. A characteristic that really defines this typeface is the very large, organic curves in the slab serif.

A few shakes later you’ll find Cholla Slab… a techy yet quirky typeface. The typeface is named after a group of cactus species indigenous to the Mojave desert. Perhaps one would consider this font for a headline on Wired magazine or the movie poster for TRON® due to its techy qualities.

How could you forget the ever so reliable font, the go-to, and most popular san serif in both hemispheres, Helvetica. This font is the salt and pepper of graphic design. This adaptable typeface is integrated into some of the largest worldwide brands such as 3M, American Airlines, American Apparel, BMW, Jeep, JCPenney, Kawasaki, Lufthansa, Microsoft, Mitsubishi Electric, Motorola, Panasonic, Philippine Airlines, Target, and Verizon. The Swiss font, developed in 1957 by Max Miedinger and Eduard Hoffmann changed the course of typography as we know it.

Dig around in your font pantry and you’ll find a font known for its beautiful serifs, spurs, ascenders, descenders, counters, and more. Yes, all of those words describe the anatomy of a letterform(s). Garamond, created around 1540, is the oldest serif typeface still in use today. Upon the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984, Apple adopted a new corporate font called [Apple] Garamond. It was a variation of the classic Garamond typeface.2 To further show the beauty of Garamond and explain the anatomy of a typeface, see the graphic below:

*Resource: http://zpirnottyp.blogspot.com/2010/08/type-anatomy-chart.html

While designers will continue to expand their font cupboards to broaden their palette and design skill sets, they will always have a handful of classics that will remain close to their hearts. Maybe designers learned from typography professors to always respect and cherish some select fonts. Or perhaps we obtain an acquired taste for some fonts from the typographic successes we’ve experienced throughout our design careers.

Either way, it’s good practice to keep your font pantry full of the classic staples while also adding some new ones here and there to spice things up a bit.

Other Resources:

1] http://www.davidairey.com/13-typefaces-every-graphic-designer-needs/

2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typography_of_Apple_Inc.

1. It’s a visual metaphor – Your logo (and possible tagline) is a doorway to a bigger idea. It invites the audience to learn more by telling a quick story through the mark. Nike’s famous swoosh is based on Nike, the winged goddess of victory, and the curve could be wings or the path of her flight. You see how that concept dovetails nicely into what Nike the company is all about. And remember how the Obama Campaign logo looked like a sunrise? Like Nike this logo used an illustration of a concept to introduce the big part of an overall brand – in this case, the idea of “hope”. Every logo should work this way.

2. Keep it simple - A logo is not a mission statement, a mission statement is not an ad, an ad is not a brochure, and a brochure is not a website. Oftentimes a company will try to cram its whole brand story and benefit statement into its identity – there’s a wordy tagline, lengthy name, and complex illustration. All this does is clutter up the mark and reduce its effectiveness across media. Try to keep the logo simple and clean so its “read” is immediate. Additionally, it will scale well (meaning it will work well small on a business card or large on a billboard) and it will compete better against other brand marks.

3. Best in black and white – A good litmus test for any brand mark is to see if it works in black and in white. If the logo loses its punch because it doesn’t have the right colors, or if the line quality or gradients don’t pop in black and in white, it needs to be retooled. The mark should work first as one color or “a knockout,” simply because sometime, somewhere, it will be used that way. Also, if it is strong monochromatically, it likely will be strong no matter what (whereas the reverse is not true).

4. Do your homework - This exercise should actually precede design development, continue during the name and tagline process, and be finalized through the design phase. The identity design process should always include formal trademark and copyright conflict research. You don’t want to go through all the work of developing a name, tagline and design, then fall in love with it and get buy in from your board of directors only to find that it conflicts with a registered mark for someone else. Just ask the former World Wrestling Federation. They marketed themselves as the WWF for several years until the World Wildlife Fund tapped them on the shoulder and said, “Umm…no.” Sure enough, WWF became WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) after a lengthy and expensive court battle. Avoid a mess like this by investing in conflict research before launch.

5. Works in all media – We touched on this in some of the examples above, but it should be underlined. The mark should work on all media. Of course this includes print and digital, but what about silk screening? Embroidery? Flexographic printing? Fax? (Yes, people still fax things.) Macaroni glued to a paper plate? Ok, maybe not that last one, but you get the idea. A successful logo needs to take all of these output forms into consideration.

Identity work is fascinating because we’re trying to tell so much with so little. When it works, it’s like a sculpture; it stands the test of time. For example, the Bass Ale brand mark has been around since 1777 and was the UK’s first registered trademark. Think about how much the logos for Coke, McDonalds, Ford, and General Electric inform our American visual landscape. Good stuff, and great identity design.

I’ve had a few conversations with clients of late about developing a “big idea” for their brand.

And one of the concerns I’ve heard to this thinking (and it’s a valid concern) from clients is that a large number of customers engage their company with a specific product or service in mind, and that their selection or deselection decision may be negatively influenced by a brand that doesn’t immediately deliver on this need, or communication that seems too conceptual.

My answer to this is threefold:

1. There’s a reason that global, wildly successful brands like McDonald’s and Coke don’t stand on “We make cheap, yummy, nutritionally-challenged food” or “We make the best sugar water on earth” respectively. Both these brands are built around an idea, something larger and inspirational, and it works. (McD – it’s about the experience as well as the food “I’m lovin’ it.” Coke – we sell happiness “Have a Coke and a smile” or “Open happiness.”)

2. Which is not to say that these brands don’t spotlight a particular product – they run promotions and develop new directions or products (McRib Sandwich, Diet Coke) but everything falls neatly under the overall brand idea, and when it doesn’t, it shows (hello New Coke).

3. If you don’t have a big idea, you may keep short term sales but you’re losing something else – long term growth. Each of us have an idea of what McDonalds or Coke is all about, and that idea encourages us to try something unexpected from each company – such as a line of fruit smoothies or gourmet coffee from McD’s, or a line of apparel from Coke. This kind of innovation is crucial to growth, and a solid brand is a big step toward making that happen.

This last point has to be underlined. Your customer may walk in the door with a particular need or product in mind and your company needs to answer that need. But where to go from there? A solid brand, a solid brand idea, opens the door to solving the customer’s problem, to educating them about your host of services, to changing the interaction from a simple in-and-out transaction to a relationship. It can take your company or organization out of the “drive thru window” space to a sit down restaurant – this is a good thing. A good thing that starts with an idea, a concept, that people remember, and more importantly, trade with peers.

The balance then is making sure your brand is flexible enough to address immediate, specific needs from your customer while introducing a memorable, guiding idea that can grow and evolve as your company grows and evolves.

Simple right? Ok then go do it. If you get stuck, call us.

Design is not hot trends and pretty pictures. Design starts trends, uses trends and craves the next trend—  it should never be defined by trends.

Designers strive to produce creative, dynamic and cutting-edge work. To do this, many study and attempt to emulate the trends used by their favorite designers or focus on fads seen throughout the pages of popular magazines and websites. Of course this ambition is to be admired, but should also be carefully approached in order to avoid producing work that just looks like an imitation of the pros.

A word to designers: make your work appear contemporary and unique by not cheating the design process. This is one instance where the old school way of doing things has yet to be proven wrong. No matter what techniques or trends you plan on using, the following steps should be practiced on every project to build a properly targeted, strategic design:

Research – start every project by pin pointing your client’s audience, memorizing their goals for the project and uncovering their inspiration for change.

Word Lists – reading through content first allows you to pull out key words. This is a great way to gain inspiration for a creative art direction, theme or concept.

Sketches – begin concepting with several sketches. Starting this process in a notebook rather than on a computer allows for greater diversity in ideas, which ultimately helps narrow your art direction.

The following explains how to successfully embrace the most common print media trends while still creating original work:

TEXTURE

The best way to use texture is to think of it as an accessory— something that compliments and emphasizes the most important pieces, and balances the design as a whole. The most common way to use texture incorrectly is by over-using it. Too much texture begins to muddy a design, causes the reader’s eye to jump around and makes finding the focal point on the page nearly impossible. Try not to place aesthetic appeal or personal design preferences before your client’s main goal.

DROP SHADOWS

When applying drop shadows, designers always need to be aware of where the light source is coming from, as this will change how your colors appear and where they appear (according to how the item would look in reality). Referencing black and white photography for accurate drop shadow technique is a great way to check your color values. When in doubt, refer to actual objects.

Overall, drop shadows can be a time consuming technique, but absolutely worth it if you’re attempting to take your work to the next level.

GRADIENTS

In order to use gradients correctly, designers must know which colors relate and transmit well together. We all know that gradients are used to add depth, feeling, or an atmosphere (such as 3D shapes or illusions) to designs. However, when poorly matched colors are used within a gradient scale, they usually look like bars and appear dull, muddy or dirty and appear this way more so after being printed.

I recommend using Adobe Illustrator’s palette called “color guide” to create a palette based on one color. It also gives you a breakdown of tints and values that can assist in a better gradient transition.

While they are some of the most over-used and incorrectly applied design trends, texture, drop shadows and gradients (when used appropriately) are also what sets skilled designers apart from the rest. To ensure this shines through in your professional portfolio, remember to tie in the old school techniques with the flavor of the day design trend.

Stay tuned for more advice and cautionary suggestions for using popular web design trends.

Check out the following links to learn more about texture, drop shadows and gradients:

http://dribbble.com/
http://designrfix.com/
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/
http://psd.tutsplus.com/
http://vector.tutsplus.com/

Within seconds of visiting a website, we can usually get a sense of whether the site was designed well, or designed poorly. Thanks to the tireless efforts of web designers and front-end developers everywhere, the general quality of website design is improving — but it could be even better with just a little attention to the basics.

Will a website that’s just “good enough” work in an online landscape where competition for attention is everything? Probably not. Businesses want to stand out from competitors, entrepreneurs want to make a big splash with their new product or service, and every organization wants a website that is visually fantastic and ridiculously easy to navigate.

Designing a great website isn’t a secret, it’s a process that requires attention to detail and an understanding of how specific design elements work together. When evaluating your own website, use the following tips to help you discover which core design elements to enhance, add or delete to transform your website from passable to notably impressive.

Essentials of Great Websites:

• A clear theme or idea is communicated throughout
• Visual and conceptual clutter is kept to a minimum
• The theme or idea is sincere and appeals so to users

Back to Basics:

Line – Lines are one of the strongest and most influential design elements because they help to establish mood (energetic, streamlined, structured, etc.), and when used repeatedly, they can establish a specific visual rhythm.

Example: http://benthebodyguard.com/

Shape – Pay particular attention to shapes used in a website design, as they are the primary identifiers of content areas. Recognize the shapes a site uses, and how they fit together – not just from an aesthetic standpoint, but from a strategic one as well.

Example: http://unfold.no/#/people

Form – Although a website’s form begins with two-dimensional shapes, the subtle application of light and shadow can convey depth. When implemented correctly, form complements the site’s texture for a more tactile experience.

Example: http://foundationsix.com/

Texture – People respond to texture in an immediate, visceral way. Even more so than shape or form, the skillful application light and shadow is essential element to texture. Don’t be afraid to experiment with combining different textures as a way to make a flat site vibrant and dynamic.

Example: http://www.tnvacation.com/

Pattern – Repeating lines and shapes establish patterns, and provide a sense of visual rhythm to a website design. Patterns inherently build a sense of expectation; strategically interrupting a pattern can add a sense of dynamism.

Example: http://wingcheng.com/

Color – Although the use of color is an essential way to instantly communicate a range of emotional meanings and messages, consider initially designing in grayscale. This keeps the previously discussed design elements consistently at the forefront of your design, and can ultimately result in a stronger layout. Once your layout is ready, then add color for an additional emotional punch.

Example: http://www.polyesterstudio.com/

Recognizing the basic elements of design, and using them thoughtfully can transform basic websites into energetic and vibrant ones. When taking an in-depth look at your own website, take a step back and consider its individual elements; skillful execution of basic design elements can come together in a way that elicits greater emotional response and enhance the user experience.

If you decide you need additional assistance with your “good to great” web transition, give us a call, exceptional designers are standing by…

Ever since the birth of the iPad, or similar tablet devices, publishers have been struggling to adapt to this new medium. Recently we’ve seen too many poorly designed apps hit the market, and we’d like to make sure your publication doesn’t fall into this unfortunate category.

Here are a few strategy and design tips to consider before diving into the exclusive tablet magazine publishing community:

Strategy

Gather your writers, editors, and publishing staff to discuss your magazine app strategy before entering production – make sure the following items are discussed in detail:

• Budget is the first element to consider. Depending on number of pages and which publishing option you choose, prices vary and generally fall on the expensive side. Once you know how much you can spend, shop around (see Creating Digital Publications for the iPad article for details) and choose the best solution for your budget and your magazine.

• Exclusive content is another major consideration that some have overlooked, and their tablet magazines have failed because of it. Most tablet owners will not pay for magazine subscriptions when the content is identical to the printed publication, which they can generally get for free on the Web.

• New angle – consider whether or not your editorial team can find a way to share similar information in a new and unique approach. For example, online content is usually written in a shorter, more succinct style than its printed counterparts because people go to the Web to get information quickly. The same rule applies to the tablet; consumers use this device differently than any other publishing medium. Editorial teams first need to understand how and why this consumer group is using their tablets in order to provide the content they want and, more importantly, will pay for.

Design

• Include Tablet-Exclusive Multimedia Elements – This device is enormously popular because of its unique features. You can surf the web, check out pictures and video in super high-resolution, and learn more about just about anything with the tap of your finger. Do not overlook these multimedia elements or under estimate their significance when building content and design. You’re doing your magazine app and your readers a huge disservice if you don’t include these elite features; that’s why they bought it right? So create your product accordingly!

• Sharing to Social Networks – The ability to share content through social networks is a sought after option for most readers, however this should be a smooth transition without annoying those who are not so “social.” When designing social networking elements, be sure they don’t add clutter. Provide the option, but don’t make it in your face.

Stay at the top of your game and in the hands of your favorite audiences by planning ahead, offering extraordinary content found nowhere else, and by infusing the newest technology into your design techniques. If you’re thinking of taking your publication from print to pad, and may need some assistance along the way, we’d love to hear from you!

It’s funny to think back about how our parents or grandparents had envisioned the future of communications. Vintage advertising and sci-fi movies depicted the evolution of the telephone to include a camera/television monitor so we could not only hear but also see our friends and family. It seemed like such a spectacular and logical development. And now here we are: The Future! Being inundated with so many types of personal-use technologies (think: laptops, cell phones, mp3 players, tablets, etc.) has in a way diminished our marveling at webcams and applications such as Skype, that have helped to bridge people in distant locations. However, it has not reduced their usefulness.

“Hi Care-Bear.”
“Hello, darlin’ – I can hear you but not see… Oh there you are!”
“Technology!” I sing in a patronizing tone, and we laugh.

Karen “Care-Bear” is my eagle-eyed friend living in San Francisco, and is also my on-location stand-in for the press check of a very important postcard being printed just outside of San Francisco. Karen is armed with her laptop (with built-in webcam) and a list of criteria that I have provided, for which she is to inspect in my physical absence. I am sitting in front of an iMac in Silver Spring, Maryland. We are using Skype to allow me to have virtual presence.

“Hi fellas,” I greet the account reps and pressmen standing behind Karen.
“Do you ever age?” jokes one of them. This is the third year we’ve used a virtual press check, so we’ve all become familiar.
“Hey, you’ve already been awarded the job! Or are you working an angle for next year?” I laugh back to them.

It’s great to have the process well-established, and to be comfortable with the present company. After the final postcard files were handed off via FTP to the printer a week prior, I had requested two sets of Contract Color Proofs: one for me to keep in-hand to reference, and the other for me to sign-off and return to Karen for comparison during the press check.

Karen and I catch up a little more before we jump into the business at hand. She has an acute eye for color and recommends a “bee’s breath” adjustment (a very slight tweak) and the pressmen are off to fine-tune the color. Karen’s vast experience in the art industry dealing with photo shoots to the sale of fine art solidifies my trust in her judgment, and I would not recommend using just anybody for this type of detail work. Karen confirms the rest of my provided specs are correct: dimensions, paper stock, text, the FSC logo has been added – and then we log-off to await for the pressmen to return with the revised press sheets.

About 45 minutes later, I hear the Skype video ring, and pop back on to see Karen and the pressmen again. We confirm the postcard color is now top-notch and give the okay to begin printing. I’m thankful Karen is able to help with this project. The client is able to cut in half the typical budget of travel and lodging for a cross-country press check; a friend of mine is able offer and charge for her consulting services; and I can remain on the East Coast with minimal disruption to my everyday life and work (which my boss appreciates, too). To throw in the time saved and “green” factor for good measure validates the win-win of a virtual press check.

“So are you heading home now, Care-Bear?” I ask.
“No, they’re taking me to lunch! Where’s a good steakhouse?” Karen winks to the account rep.
We laugh, exchange good-byes, and log-off from The Future.

Five ways to tell if your magazine needs a facelift

Here are a few questions we’ve found to be helpful while in a redesign critique:

1. Are the mission and identity clearly defined? Is it clear whose magazine this is, what it does and whom it serves?

It’s easy to answer these questions when you see the magazine everyday. Try grabbing a fresh pair of eyes and ask these same questions. If the answers are unclear, core elements of communication and design are off point and need some refreshing.

If a first-time reader picks up your magazine and cannot distinguish whose magazine it is, and to whom it serves within the first three to five seconds, you may have lost a potential customer. Tell readers what the magazine it is, whose it is, why it is, and what they can get from it—as fast and as clearly as possible.

2. How would you describe the appearance of the magazine’s cover and how can it be improved?

Does it catch your eye? When sitting on a crowded magazine rack, does it stand out from competitors? If not, consider using expert artist illustrations, professional photography and more innovative fonts. Note that the top two inches of the cover is a critical design space because this is generally all that a consumer can view when a magazine is sold on a rack.

3. How impactful is the magazine’s logo?

A logo is the face of a brand. It’s found everywhere, from the website to the stationery. Therefore, it must be easily identified, easy to read, memorable, and functionally designed—carefully considering strategic placement on all marketing materials.

4. How are the features and departments differentiated within the magazine?

Great magazines apply visual hierarchy throughout their departments. The layout design should be organized to naturally direct readers to the articles and information they’re hunting. If they can’t find what they’re looking for quickly, you’ve probably lost them forever. Speed and ease-of-use are critical elements of organization that should be reflected in each layout design.

5. What is the most important call to action and where is it located?

Engage your audience! People want to feel involved and want their opinions to matter. Ask them to leave reviews, to subscribe for another year, to donate to your organization, or to share information with their friends. All readers, even those who just scan through quickly before putting it down, should see the call to action immediately. It should be totally unambiguous and appropriately placed. If not, it’s lost—along with the reaction you were hoping to collect.

The decision to redesign a magazine is a big endeavor and should be founded upon more than just a few unhappy editors wanting to make the transition happen. We recommend requesting a professional critique and considering all budgetary influences before committing to a full facelift.

An important, yet often overlooked, aspect of being an innovative and successful designer is maintaining an awareness of global design trends. Exposure to design movements overseas can jumpstart and redirect creative flow, while offering fresh perspectives and cultivating a curiosity for the exotic or unexplored.

Design styles vary dramatically from country to country, as diverse political and cultural environments foster the emergence of new design trends. Observing the way foreign alphabets are utilized in layouts may be unique sources of typographic inspiration for designers dealing strictly with the English language. Noting how ethnic color palettes and textile prints are integrated into design pieces can spark ideas, or encourage a designer to explore new patterns and color schemes. It is beneficial to study these seemingly trivial cultural fragments of daily life because they profoundly affect the development of art and design.

The culture we grow up in shapes the way we perceive our surroundings. Colors and motifs take on specific meanings that become ingrained in our minds after years of exposure. For example, in the United States, the holiday season is heavily associated with reds, greens, gold and holly. However, in other parts of the world, winter holiday decorations have a wide array of colors, and decorative themes vary according to regional plants, customs, mythology and history. As designers and creative thinkers, we need to overcome any definitions assigned to holidays, festivals, seasons, emotions and any other tangible object or intangible concept that may require representation via design. A designer well-versed in global iconography is less likely to be constrained by a narrow visual vocabulary. In its most potent form, design transcends geographic boundaries and has the ability to unify people with its universal language.

Design movements from around the world have made a huge impact on the global design community. The propaganda art used in Soviet Russia generated much admiration and is emulated in modern-day advertisements by companies such as Smirnoff Vodka. Swiss International Style, initiated in Switzerland in the 1950’s, emphasized readability and ultimately produced two world-renowned typefaces, Akzidenz-Grotesk and Helvetica. When these regional movements intersect, ideas intermingle, giving birth to unique, hybrid design styles. An old example of this occurred in the 16th and 17th centuries, when Iran and Turkey delivered gifts to the Moscow Kremlin to preserve diplomatic relations and keep lucrative trade routes open. Persian, Ottoman and Russian crafting techniques fused into a spectacular new form of artisanship. These days, we don’t need to travel across the ocean to see the world’s incredible variety of design. Fortunately, all we need to do is go online and, with a few clicks, we have a wealth of design inspiration at our fingertips.

Locating these indispensable sources of inspiration can be slightly tricky, especially when sifting through design sites written in a foreign language. Fortunately, some overseas Web sites, such as domusweb.it, an Italian magazine, offer English translations, making navigation infinitely easier. Other sites, such as netdiver.net and icograda.org, aim to foster a global design community by recognizing outstanding work from all corners of the world, and forge cross-continental connections. Certain design magazines printed overseas offer membership to US residents, with free shipping in some cases. It is wise to tap into these amazing global resources and pay attention to the constant evolution of design.

Just as a muscle in the body needs resistance from multiple angles to achieve maximum strength, creativity needs stimulation from multiple sources to flourish. In today’s competitive arts industry, introducing overseas design into your daily dose of design inspiration may have a tremendous payoff and give you an edge on competition.

“This is brick red. I wanted RED-red.”

Color is in the eye of the beholder. This is especially true when it comes to setting color expectations in printing. While saying “I want the cover to be red” sounds simple enough – “red” means many things to many people. The red car that just drove around the corner is a different red than the apple you just bit into; just as the red of  a sunset is different than the red of a stop sign. This article will provide information for your print piece as it relates to color selection, and insight to help meet your final color desires.

It may seem that the design and color selection process for your printed piece starts when the designer sits down at the computer to begin working. However, if your piece is color-critical, it is a good idea to meet with the designer prior to discuss your color needs. If the company logo is mandated to be a specified color, the designer will be able to ensure this happens. Early consultation will reduce the need to make adjustments further into the process that could hinder overall timing or result in unexpected design modifications.

As a print consumer, it is important to be informed of the fundamentals when printing with color.  Without getting into the depth of color theory, here are some terms and definitions that will aid in your understanding.

RGB: the acronym for Red Green Blue. This is what you see on your monitor or TV. Every color you see is made of a combination of these three colors. Not every RGB combination is able to be produced in print, which is why things on your screen won’t look exactly the same when printed, and your monitor is not a reliable indicator of what will be your final color output.

CMYK: the acronym for Cyan Magenta Yellow Black. These four colors and combinations of these colors are what you see on printed pieces. The visual range of CMYK color combinations is more limited than combinations of RGB.

PMS or spot colors: PMS is the acronym for the Pantone Matching System, the most recognized international color reference system. In short, they set the standard of color definition with a numbered system (for example, a dark brick red would be PMS 187). Pantone creates a consistency where there would otherwise be ambiguity. Each one of the PMS-numbered colors is referred to as a spot color (a standardized, pre-mixed ink).

Once the designer has been informed of your color requirements, he or she will communicate with the printer to guarantee the anticipated final colors. A printer can provide a Contract Color Proof to give the best color representation (but not exact) before going to press. Finally, you can arrange to meet with the printer to view the piece while it’s on the press, referred to as a “press check.” This allows you to give your final approval before giving the green-light (PMS 354) to finish the print run.