"Creative Thoughts"

Jaclyn Strain, Graphic Designer | 7-11-2016

It’s summer time and that means that we here at American Printing and Copying are busy little bees. Every time we sit down to work on one project, the phone rings or the door opens and a new customer walks in. That’s just the way we like it though. Despite the constant thrum of excitement around the place, we are keeping on top of things and finding enjoyment in the projects walking in our doors. Every time I sit down to work on a new project as I can only imagine where it will take me.

Last week I had a customer come in and ask for a business card to be made. He had never had his own business card and had no ideas on what he wanted for a design. While he was standing at the counter I sat and talked over prices and designs. I showed him some sample pieces of cards I had done as well as cards done by the company. Finally we were able to get a rough idea of what he wanted and I sat down at my desk. Without going into much detail I will just say I looked at what we talked about and then started designing. Before I knew it, a design had blossomed on the screen in front of me. I thought it was a well put together piece but there was just something missing. My solution? I created a second layout but with one major difference. Instead of the traditional horizontal layout, I turned it into a vertical layout.

I sent both proofs to the client to look at and my shot in the dark paid off. He liked the vertical layout! It always fills me with pride when I send a client a piece and have them approve it in one go. It means I understand what they want and can achieve it without him-hawing the results. Not only does that make for a happy client, but it leaves me more free time to work with other clients.