Little and large

Designing for print means different things to different people. If book publishing is your life, then you’ll naturally think small format and your horizon will be limited to your experience. Think advertising, however, and your horizon is almost limitless, because every billboard, building side and backcloth suddenly becomes a possible canvas for your message. It’s an interesting dichotomy, and the fact is that all designers worth their salt have to be able to shift mental gear to be able to design not just for any size but for all purposes. Designing for the side of a bus presents different challenges to designing, for instance, an exhibition stand. Which raises another interesting point. Designing graphics for a 3D display or something that is constantly moving such as a bus is very different to designing for 2D. Suddenly you have to consider sight lines and the possibility of cars and vans getting in the way, of only half your message being visible for most of the time, of having, therefore, to make sure that your branding remains clear and recognizable in all circumstances. And to achieve all of this you need to be sure that the design team you trust have the experience to get all this right.