Here are worthwhile qualities designer Jerry Kuyper tries to achieve when creating identity standards.

Strategic
Focus on why it is important and what the company is trying to achieve, not just how to do it.

Visual
Demonstrations are often more effective than lengthy text.

Easy-to-understand
Develop content that is engaging and avoid unnecessary jargon.

Short
20 pages of useful information may be more effective than 50 pages. Don’t include filler, such as unnecessary information on how to create a business card, when templates are more effective.

Respectful
Understand who will be using the standards and don’t insult their intelligence.

Balanced
Identify the appropriate balance between structure and flexibility. Too much flexibility results in complete chaos, too much structure results in lifeless communications.

Digital
For interim standards, create pdf files that can viewed online, emailed or downloaded and printed the standards can eventually be established as an online identity resource. Most printed sets of guidelines are expensive, become outdated and out of print. (GE printed up 2,000 copies of their 400 page standards in 1987, none were available after the first year)

Scalable
Digital files that can be expanded or revised help to establish that identity management isn’t a static or one time event.

Good advice.

The qualities were originally published on Tony Spaeth’s excellent Identity Works. I recommend a visit for numerous examples of guidelines and standards manuals. A few more links here.

I lifted the colour variations image at the top from one of my favourite guideline manuals — Christopher Doyle Identity Guidelines 2008 (the link downloads a PDF file approximately 1MB in size). Doyle was worthy winner of a yellow pencil at the 2009 D&AD Awards for his efforts.

Is there anything you’d add?

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The idea’s simple.

1. Take a photo of a run-down or unused shop-front where you live.
2. Give it a digital refurb.
3. Present to shop owner, potential developers, or local council.

From the what if? website:

“If one shop, business, bench or sign is improved due to the work we are showing in here, then we will consider it a success.”

(before) Craft Shoe Repairs

(after) Billings Quality Fishmonger & Butcher

(before) Sydenham cinema

(after) Sydenham Picture Palace

It’s a lot better than doing nothing, one way to improve your local neighbourhood, and something I plan to do for my hometown Bangor.

what if: sydenham, designed by Good People.

Great idea.

——

Update:

“I did the same thing for a local park with an idea to improve it. The local council listened and gave us funding. We now have an outdoor gym, outdoor classroom, community garden, updated adventure playground and people are using it again.”
— LEE NEWHAM, GOOD PEOPLE

——

Excerpt image courtesy of Thinkstock.

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(Updated with reader favourites.)

View UK commerical printers in a larger map

Click the blue pins in the map above for company info, or read on and see who recommended who.

Recommendations from Helen Jones of The Partners.

Orchid Print
London — 020 8986 8969

Screaming Colour
London — 020 7549 3400

Beacon Press
Uckfield, East Sussex — 01825 768611

Recommendation from Katie Morgan of 300million.

Gavin Martin Associates
London — 020 7729 0091
“Not only do they provide an excellent, consultative service, but they also have a great resource called the ‘Print Lounge’ where you can go and browse through all the print they have done — a fantastic source of inspiration.”

Recommendations from Steven Willis, creative director at B&W Studio.

Harrogate Print
Harrogate, North Yorkshire — 01423 523449

Teamprint
Littleborough, Lancashire — 01706 370092
“Simon at Team helped us out when we first established B&W Studio nearly six years ago. We still enjoy a great relationship with them today and they’re always up to the task whatever ridiculous specification or timeframe we throw at them. Their quality and attention to detail is exceptional.”

Recommendations from Blair Thomson, creative director at Believe In.

Generation Press
Brighton — 01273 857449
“Proper printers who understand print and know no boundaries. Attention to detail at every level. The designer’s printer. Tip-top environmental credentials.”

Kingfisher Print
Totnes, Devon — 01803 867087
“Local printers with great value and a high-quality service. These guys know their stuff and print some great work.”

Recommendation from Paul Ellerker, director at Branch.

Wellington Press
London — 020 8558 9290
“They’re really responsive, competitively priced, and generally very nice people.”

Recommendations from David Hyde of Studio Hyde.

Dayfold Print
Verwood, Dorset — 01202 812203
“For high-quality printing from a company that specialises in working with and for designers.”

Chromatec
Fleet, Hampshire — 01252 851911
“For good, general commercial print.”

Park lane Press
Corsham, Wiltshire — 01225 815010
“For high-quality environmental (waterless) printing.”

Indigo Press
Southampton, Hampshire — 0800 652 7299
“For ‘package price’ print (good for stationery).”

Imagewise
Eastleigh, Hampshire — 02380 650151
“For digital printing.”

Recommendation from Tom Lancaster, creative director at Stylo Design.

Dayfold Print
Verwood, Dorset — 01202 812203
“They’ve been super reliable and produce quality results.”

A second thumbs-up for Dayfold.

Recommendations from Lee Newham of Good People.

Beacon Press
Uckfield, East Sussex — 01825 768611
“They are eco-friendly, recycle the water they use, are FSC certified and are brilliant digital printers. A very high quality of print and they are carbon neutral. Highly recommended.”

A second thumbs-up for Beacon Press.

Hot Metal Press
Barnsley, South Yorkshire — 01226 740498
“They print hot metal as the name suggests, they are incredibly helpful and good at what they do. They are also very reasonable.”

Recommendations from Jamie Wieck of Airside.

Principal Colour
Paddock Wood, Kent — 01892 835005
“I can’t recommend them highly enough. They are competitive, inventive, and above all recognise that what they produce ultimately impacts the environment.”

Calverts Co-operative
London — 020 7739 1474
“The quality of their work is legendary, so they tend to be a tad more expensive than other printers — but remember — you get what you pay for.”

Jigsaw Colour Printers
London — 020 7394 2799
“Jigsaw are excellent at handling massive quantities of print work and are set up to take on your biggest projects without batting an eye lid.”

Updates from the comment thread

Recommendation from Alan Anderson of Blue Tube Design.

Minprint Ltd
Belfast, Northern Ireland — 028 90705205
“Always a high standard of work, accurate and competitively priced.”

Recommendation from Simon Hutchings of Visualise Graphics.

Wincanton Print
Wincanton, Somerset — 01963 33643
“They’re a wealth of knowledge, great value and offer a superb service — highly recommended.”

Recommendation from James Greenfield of Proud Creative.

Push Print
London — 020 7231 1166
“Great print and quality service.”

Generation Press
Brighton — 01273 857449

A second vouch for Generation Press.

Recommendation from Steve Bell of Zavial Design.

Remous
Sherborne, Dorset — 01963 250920
“We’ve been using Remous for seven years. High quality and reliable.”

Recommendation from Andrew Kelsall.

RCS
Retford, Notts — 0800 328 5064
“Not only do they have all the latest printing technology, they also have a smashing print catalogue that is reprinted and updated every year. If you go to their site, you can get a free copy if you’re in the design trade.”

Recommendations from Ebi Atawodi.

ist printing
Beith, Ayrshire — 01505 500 000
“I’ve just done some foil blocking with Ian. Very cheerful/friendly and a great quality printer.”

Copytech Digital Print Solutions
Tunbridge Wells, Kent — 01892 538280
“Highly recommended, especially for short run bespoke work.”

Recommendation from Chris Skelton of What Creative.

Team Impression
Leeds — 0113 272 4800
“Amazing service. Top quality.”

Recommendation from Simon C Page.

Ripe Digital
Corsham, Wiltshire — 01225 815033
“Highly recommended.”

Recommendations from Morag Malloy of Fission Creative.

CCB
Glasgow — 0141 891 4700

Hay Nisbet Press
Glasgow — 0141 959 3325

J Thompson Colour Printers
Glasgow — 0141 429 1094

Recommendations from Rebecca Owen of Nathaniel Lichfield and Partners.

Face Creative Services
London — 020 7713 9797

Pearl Print Management
London — 020 8875 9160

Additional print resources

Here’s a print resource I’ve featured before, Lovely as a Tree. Worth a second mention.

“It’s a fantastic resource that collects together the finest printers and paper in one place, but it’s killer application is that it rates everything by how environmentally friendly it is. Airside is committed to creating eco-friendly design and this website plays a significant role in allowing the studio to achieve this.”
— JAMIE WIECK, AIRSIDE

And here are a few money-saving questions to ask your printer.

Your help

If you have any additional UK printer recommendations, or if you can endorse the printers above, please leave details in the comment thread or send me an email. It’d be great to get some recommendations for companies in Scotland, Wales, and across the Irish Sea.

Post image credit.

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1. Good design is innovative.
2. Good design makes a product useful.
3. Good design is aesthetic.
4. Good design makes a product understandable.
5. Good design is unobtrusive.
6. Good design is honest.
7. Good design is long-lasting.
8. Good design is thorough down to the last detail.
9. Good design is environmentally friendly.
10. Good design is as little design as possible.

— Dieter Rams (1985)

Read a ten-part series based on Dieter Rams’ ten principles for good design. The Inksie brand asked writers and illustrators to contribute to the project. Each writer wrote on one of Rams’ principles; each illustrator reacted to a writer’s essay.

— Interview with Dieter Rams on designboom.
— Dieter Rams on Wikipedia.
— Dieter Rams on the Design Museum.

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The above video is from an AIGA Metro North event titled reSPECt, “A civilized dialog between advocates and opponents of speculative branding and design work.”

The video can also be viewed here on Vimeo.

Moderated by New York State Supreme Court Justice Colleen D. Duffy, the panel included:

• Ric Grefé, Executive Director, AIGA
• Brendán Murphy, Senior Partner, Lippincott
• Jerry Kathman, President & CEO, LPK
• John Gleason, Founder & President, A Better View

Some of the questions raised include:

Haven’t other professions been similarly squeezed? For instance, accountants and lawyers package and sell their time. Are they going through these spec issues? If not, why? Is it because of certification? Should there be a design certification? Is it because designers allow it to happen by undervaluing their skills. Is it through necessity, with too many designers competing for less work?

One thing’s for sure, how you brand yourself as a designer plays a huge role in your success. Are you just another “crank a logo out for £50″ production worker, or are you a brand identity specialist providing immeasurably more value to your clients?

As John Gleason asks in the panel discussion, “Are you a BMW or a Hyundai?”

It’s a shame AIGA President Debbie Millman wasn’t a speaker. Here’s her take on spec work.

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Fair play to Bloomsberry & Co for a light-hearted approach to chocolate branding.

Made me look. Made me buy.

Remember, though, a balanced diet is also essential.

More chocolate packaging ideas on the Bloomsberry website. Hats off.

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“People should feel that goTeach, whilst being a newcomer in this sector, is a professional service that is encouraging and strong and ambitious (for them) and safe (for schools to advertise and for job seekers to explore opportunities).”
— GOTEACH

It was a requirement that the domain extension be clearly shown in the logotype.

From the notebook

Read how these very simplistic mind-maps benefit my design process in this free chapter from my book — Logo Design Love: From Pencil to PDF (1MB download size).

Logo

The accompanying symbol identifies the career ladder that goTeach users are actively climbing.

Colour codes

Logo adaptability

Client comments

“Thank you for all your good work in creating and refining the goTea.ch logo/brand identity. It has a ‘presence’ which feels right.

“You have shaken up my thinking for which I am grateful. I had not thought of applying different themes to the logo symbol. It certainly creates a uniqueness that stands out. I would appreciate it if I could come back to you in the future to have some further themes developed.

“Thank you also for guiding me throughout the design process. It was educational and illuminating and I do appreciate the care you took very much.”
— MICHAEL BRENNAN, GOTEACH

It was a real pleasure working with Michael, and I very much look forward to seeing what Andy Clarke (of Malarkey) does for the web side of the project.

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To follow-up on the reader comments theme, here’s some good advice from Leanne Le, who recently left her thoughts on an old post of mine, Are freelancer designers really suckers?

“You can begin to call yourself a consultant when you have elevated yourself to be able to persuade and advise the client professionally.

“To be a consultant, you must also be a professional. Whether you’re a sales professional or a project manager, simply being a designer with little understanding of business along with limited training or experience in sales and marketing won’t qualify you as a consultant. Don’t label yourself as a consultant because you believe it will give you more prestige and respect. They are indeed different from one another.”
— LEANNE LE

Well said. Titles can matter to those who hire you, but you’ve got to make sure you walk the walk.

Photo credit

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I’ve had my MacBook Pro overheating (almost too hot to touch on the bottom surface), and the whirring of the internal fans was a distraction. I worried the heat would damage the components.

It wasn’t that hot indoors, and my machine was propped on a Griffin Elevator to help keep things cool.

The MacBook CPU temperature should be around 30-40C, or 50-60C under stress, so I installed the freely available smcFanControl to check what temperature mine was running at (the app also lets you manually adjust the speed of the fans to help with cooling).

Turned out the temperature inside my machine hovered around the 82C level (180F). Not good. So I opened Activity Monitor (located in the Utilities folder) and selected “All Processes.” That’s when I saw 99.5% of the CPU being punished by a process called PrintJobMgr. Apparently this process comes into play when a print job doesn’t complete, and when the job’s left in the print queue waiting for action.

I went ahead and “force quit” the process, and after just a few minutes my MacBook temperature dropped to around 50C (120F) — much healthier.

This bug has been around for a few years. A Google search for “printjobmgr cpu” attests to that.

Should you find your internal fans spinning faster than normal, or if the bottom of your notebook is hot enough to fry an egg, it’s worth checking the Activity Monitor. If you see PrintJobMgr, either select “force quit” or clear the print queue (which I’ve read can do the same job).

Photo credit

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With 17,116 comments on 452 blog posts, it’s good to step back from time-to-time and republish what you’re saying. Here’s another quick round of reader comments.

Ewan of edu.blogs.com, on The myth of constructive criticism?

“In education, we use the analogy of “two stars and a wish” – tell me two things you like about what you’ve seen and the one thing that would make an immediate, important improvement.

“Often on a second draft looking at just one piece of work needing retouched, you’ll hit on several others yourself, without the need for a client (or teacher) to come out with masses of red ink.”
— EWAN MCINTOSH

Rob, on The “I Love New York” logo:

“One of the reasons this logo has lasted so long and remained as popular as it has, is that the New York tourism board had the good sense not to change it, add things, make it look “more contemporary” etc. How many logos don’t change AT ALL in 30 years? Someone in this thread mentioned Paul Rand’s brilliant UPS logo… which the company has recently thrown in the trash and replaced with a generic, meaningless shield/gradient/bevel-thing that looks like the “Raid” insecticide package.

“It’s not all up to the designers… a great design results from a collaboration with clients who are not idiots. Which seems to be more and more rare.”
— ROB

Lee of Designed by Good People, on What makes a good logo?

“Do not use free fonts.

“You can’t use them commercially. They are for private use only (most of the time). This means you can’t use them for a client, paid or otherwise, which renders them useless.

“They are a pain and often don’t work or are corrupt.”
— LEE NEWHAM

Duane of Logobird, on Self-employment advice for designers:

“Not only will you make mistakes, making mistakes (and learning from them) early on is absolutely vital to your growth and potential for future success.”
— DUANE KINSEY

Mark of Mark McCorkell, on Improve your portfolio with pro bono design:

“When I was in my final year [of formal education] I wanted to learn a bit more about the print process so I managed to get a job in a local printers. I was in there a day or two a week helping out, and was getting paid, with some really good perks for coursework printing too, as you can imagine. Even If I wasn’t getting paid though, I reckon I would have at least put in some time there to learn the stuff you don’t get taught in class.

“Most students aren’t aware of opportunities that are out there for them, but if you look hard enough there are always some options to better yourself – you just need to have that spark and itch to want to work.”
— MARK MCCORKELL

Thanks for the continued chat. It helps keep me motivated.

Microphone photo credit.

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