Watch
for these Designer Danger Signs!
Does your graphic designer always seem to pull back from the computer monitor and/or squint to view his or her design? (Then he or she is looking at the design in terms of design blocks, trying to eliminate that pesky type or turn it into DESIGN chunks.) Does your designer put thin tissue over the print outs to view the design? (Same reason as above.) Does your designer or typesetter say, "You will be able to read it better on the final printing"? (Shows that your typesetter or designer is probably not concerned about readability. In fact, the finer dots of the final printed piece may make the type even less legible.) Does your designer say, "This way, the type won't stand out so much"? (Shows that your designer is viewing the type as not so important, or is getting in the way of his or her images.) Does your designer say, "Nobody reads that stuff anyway"? Does your designer insist on carrying the montages or images over every surface, even if it makes the type illegible? Does your designer insist on using script or fancy type for small type, even the lyrics? Does your designer think it's cool to run type every which way, even following spirals, or to run shaded type BEHIND the actual type? Does your designer think he or she has the right to "claim" a free surface just to express him/herself? Do not let it be the CD label surface. This NEEDS to have the play list, numbers, times CLEARLY marked. If the designer insists on this, then throw him/her the panel under the CD. I'd even go a bit extra...if they want this then specify that their design work, art/photo costs, and all related costs are on their nickel: negs, plates, 4-color printing, and proportional costs of assembly. (Otherwise, YOU pay for it.)
These days, designers are not trained in DESIGN and TYPOGRAPHY; they are trained mostly in using the computer to get graphic effects. Read KD Holland's article, "The Root of the Problem"
on the Communication Arts magazine website. DANG! The page has been updated with new articles. Will try to get access to that article...still an interesting page.