Expert: Amy - 5/7/2009

Question
Hi Amy,

First off, thanks for helping people out!

I am an marketing&communications student with self-taught knowledge of graphic design software. So i get around but obviously I am missing some basic fundamentals. One of them is document/grid set up.

What is the best document/grid setup for designing corporate identity? I am also a bit puzzled with the whole points/pixels issue.. (came across this article http://lowendmac.com/tech/pixels.html)

Then I have a question about the use of pantone colours in gradients. Is it possible to have a gradient made up from two different pms colours?

Hope you can help me out. Thanks in advance!

Kind Regards from the Netherlands!

Tim

Is it posible to  

Answer
Hi Tim,

1 - Grid setup is more of a design choice. Josef Müller-Brockmann's book is a great resource but there are many books on setting up and breaking grids in graphic design. Here's also a nice template: http://www.thegridsystem.org/2009/templates/illustrator-974px-grid-system-12/

2 - Pixels/points. Don't worry too much about it. All you need to take away from that article is that what you see on the screen is different than the printed product. Monitors used to be about 72dpi as a rule... but now there's a great deal of variation.  When you display something at "100%" it is almost always different from what you'll see on your printed copy. Until you are comfortable with gauging your results based on what you see on your monitor, you should print drafts and make sure your fonts are large enough, your layouts are solid, etc. It factors into web design, too. Avoid defining your type in points for a website - it will display differently on different monitors because of their pixel ratios.

3 - Yes, you can. The method you use depends on the particular colors and what format you are giving your printer, somewhat. Just making a gradient that goes from 123 to 272, for example, might produce mud in the middle. Generally, I try to make my gradients by creating a 100% to 0% of the lighter spot color and layering a 100% to 0% gradient of the darker spot color on top of it using blending modes/transparency. Spots need to have different screen angles when you print. I think they'll all be set to 45 degrees to start. Talk to your printer about what angles to use or ask them to set the angles for you to eliminate any moire that might occur. I'd be happy to advise you on your gradient if you have particular colors in mind.

Good luck!
Amy