Sunday, March 20, 2022

What is the difference between clipping path mask and retouching?

 What is the difference between clipping path mask and retouching?

These are terms used in digital image editing but they were practiced before desktop computers and applications like Adobe Photoshop were in use..

Clipping path is also a mask. Mask are used many ways in graphic arts and image creation and editing. Mask can be opaque or have transparency, they can have a hard edge or soft edge. Mask can isolate parts of an image. Clipping path mask is typically used to isolate a desired part of an image or object in an image. Mask can reveal or hide(mask).

Retouching is done for many reasons. Repairs in photo images of different causes, stains scratches, then retouching is done for removal or replacement of image elements, these are some applications.

The image project workflow may include both techniques or one. These can be applied destructively or used in a non-destructive manor.

Masking and retouching are practices of image editing used by graphic designer, photographers and other professional visual communicators. Image compositing, portraiture refinement are example of some deliverables.

You have been looking at the result of masking and retouching since you first looked at a book, magazine an advertisement with images or watched TV or a film.

Monday, January 10, 2022

Indicating Italics; Proofreader's Marks

 01.10.2022

Владислав Артюхов asked,

How italics were indicated for printing in manuscripts before computers have appeared?

Proofreader marks were and are used still to indicate the use of italic type in typesetting for printing.

Before computers a manuscript produced on a typewriter destined to be published, those pages were edited, proofed and marked-up using proofreaders marks.

Indicating italics is done by hand-writing in cursive in the margin the word ital on the same line level, and underlining the word or words to be typeset in italics. This is one application of one of many proofreader’s marks.

Proofreader marks are hand-written in the margin and on the typed page copy. The standard symbols (Proofreader’s Marks) are used to convey instructions to the person typesetting, along with other copy correction mark-up to instruct typesetting of the type-written copy. Mark-up instructions included; alignment, typeface family fonts or font selection, font size and leading, the word spacing and letter spacing and whether to hyphenate were typical instruction for typesetting that are hand written on a manuscript produced with a type-writer.

Although typed pages are not as common today graphic designers performed the process of proofreading, editing, marking up, and copyfitting pages based on typewritten manuscript pages destined for typesetting and print publishing. The designer using proofreading mark’s and indicating copy mark-up instruction is the industry process and functions often called specifying type. 

Specifying type on typewritten pages was a common occurrence in print publishing workflows from the 1880′s to the 1980's.

Below you can see explanation and list of Proofreader’s Marks:

Wednesday, September 29, 2021

Q&A How do you make a JPEG or PNG a vector in Photoshop?

Originally Answered Jul 11, 2019

How do you make a JPEG or PNG a vector in Photoshop?

JPEG or PNG files are Pixels!

Pixels also called Raster Graphics are a digital image that is composed of tiny square or rectangular pictorial elements know as pixels. These pixel files all have fixed resolutions

Photoshop program can work with pixels files of many origins, and it has a native pixel file format .PSD, working with pixels that is Photoshop’s forte.

Vector files are made of postscript code that defines lines, and bézier curves, triangles, squares, rectangles, and other shapes and all these elements line weights or line thickness and the color of lines and the color of fills inside the many shapes. Vector files are resolution independent, you can make them scale up in size and not loose clarity of image.

These are completely separate file types Pixel and Vector.

A Vector file can be translated or converted to a Pixel file and a fixed resolution.

To go the other direction Pixel to Vector the outcome is often a very different looking image result. To make a vector file from a pixel file requires redrawing the pixel file as lines, and bézier curves, triangles, squares, rectangles, and then determining all these elements line weights or line thickness and the color of lines and the color of fills inside the many shapes. You are redrawing the original pixel image.

An application related to Photoshop called Illustrator in the hands of a practice and skilled artist can sometimes do this, however image results are going to vary when any pixel image file is reinterpreted or recreated as a vector file. Without the knowledge built from practice and training along with real world project experience a DIY or novice user of Illustrator might not get the image results they want or need when redrawing images starting from a pixel image file going to a vector image file. 

The industry demos supported by marketing materials lead the inexperienced, novice and DIY and unskilled to believe software can be used by them as an inexperienced user to achieve a "perfect" vector image copy from a pixel image. This is not so.

What is so; is that choosing to work with a professional visual communicator this need to make a vector file from a pixel file is not typically going to be done.

The professional art director, graphic designer plan the visual communication project and this results in creating the correct visual communication project deliverable. 

Wednesday, April 28, 2021

How do you install the Helvetica font on Word? Do you need to purchase the font?

Originally answered on November 28, 2016 using a different platform and site. I am updating and reposting the answer with active links.

Word & Fonts

To be clear you are not installing the font into Word. You install a font onto your computer, then programs such as Word will show the font as a choice. 

If properly installed on your computer, then you can see Helvetica as a choice in your Word menu and that installed font can also be used in other computer applications that have the capability to specify fonts. 

Lots of resources exist to learn about your computer operating system and how to add and install fonts. If you have gotten this far, try the help menu on your computer, use the Microsoft, Apple, Linux website or use google to search for how to install a font.

On a graphic design computer graphics work-station installed fonts are carefully organized and managed beyond the out of the box computer typical setup. Many advertising agency, graphic design firms and studios work have complex needs some work with a computer support business to set up and maintain the computer graphics work-station. With only a few full typeface families, having a couple hundred fonts on a typical computer the modern OS's are engineered to handle these numbers of fonts, and programs such as Word can also show the added font choices in its font menu.

Font purchase

Purchase a new computer and it will likely have its operating system installed. That operating system will have some fonts too. The new computer might include some Helvetica fonts from the Helvetica typeface family. In purchase of a new computer you agree to the licensing of the computer operating system and the licensing of any applications, fonts or typeface families when you turn on that computer and go through the set up. During the the set steps, included is end user licensing agreements or EULA. These EULA contain the information about how you can use the applications and fonts on the computer hardware you paid for. You do not own any of the computers OS, applications or fonts, you have licensed the use of these tools and resources, this licensing is detailed in each EULA.

Yes you can purchase (license for use) the Helvetica Complete Family Pack, then install this on your computer. If you choose to add Helvetica fonts or other fonts to your computer look for the Open Type version of Helvetica to purchase (license). If you don’t require all 37 styles in the Helvetica Complete Family Pack, then you can purchase just a few of the Helvetica weights to start out. Good basic choice is Helvetica Roman, Helvetica Oblique, Helvetica Bold, Helvetica Bold Oblique.

Lots of online resources exist to learn about your computer operating system and how to add and install fonts. A number of good places exist to purchase fonts and to obtain programs to manage large font collections too.

These are some url's that have font information for you to learn more.

Reputable places to license Open Type fonts used for commercial use.

fonts.com; https://www.fonts.com

Adobe; https://fonts.adobe.com/about

MyFonts; https://www.myfonts.com

Emigre; https://www.emigre.com

Font Bureau; https://store.typenetwork.com/foundry/fontbureau/fonts/

T26; https://www.t26.com

FontHaus; https://www.fonthaus.com

FontSpring; https://www.fontspring.com


Reputable places with software to organize and maintain a font library.

Extensis; https://www.extensis.com

Fontgear; https://fontgear.com


Reputable places with information about OpenType fonts.

Prepressure; https://www.prepressure.com/fonts/basics/opentype

Microsoft; https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/typography/

Microsoft; https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/typography/opentype/

Apple; https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211240

Apple; https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201749

Adobe: https://fonts.adobe.com/?locale=en-US


 

Monday, November 18, 2019

What do the ® and ™ beside logos mean?


What do the ® and ™ beside logos mean?

I am not an attorney. I am an art director. What follows is a very simplified explanation of these ™ ® marks in the USA based on my understanding from my professional work career.

As a professional graphic designer any logo I create has copyrights. This is one form of protection of art work. As that logo art is licensed by me to a business, and as the business grows, it may want additional legal protection for the logo asset.

Logos and Trademarks Confusion ™ ® 

A logo is a form of a Trademark.

Today there are at least seven recognized categories of trademarks and logos:
1. Name only logos (BRAUN, Scripto, XEROX, Kellogg’s, FedEx)
2. Name symbol logos (Ford, Bayer, Hertz, Nike)
3. Initial letter logos (IBM, NBC,)
4. Pictorial name logos (Apple Computer’s apple, Jaguar’ leaping Jaguar, NBC colored peacock)
5. Associative logos (Elmers-cow, Michelin-man, Geico-geeko)
6. Allusive logos (flickr, Yahoo, Corollla)
7. Abstract logos (Olympics five intersecting circles, Nike swoosh, addidas stripes)

These seven categories are frequently simplified when presented by professional graphic designers to clients into:

1. Wordmarks
2. Device marks
3. Composite mark–both a wordmark and a device mark. 

A trademark is a device which can take almost any form, as long as it is capable of identifying and distinguishing specific goods or services. Historically, or traditionally, the term “trademark” described only marks designating products or “goods”.
Often the word today is used to describe both goods and services type of marks. Another type of a trademark, a services mark, indicates the source or origin of services. Examples are plumbers or movers with service marks on delivery vehicles.

A ® means registered trademark. The symbol ™ means trademark. Trademark registration occurs at different levels; state level and federal level.

Before a logo has ™ status at the state level it is first registered at the state level and can carry the ® once legally registered. The business goes through the legal gauntlet of the trademark registration process to use the ® next to its logo art . Eventually the legal paperwork gauntlet gets a business logo to the ™ status. To gain federal level protection the paperwork gauntlet is repeated at a greater expense.

This is part of what a good attorney that specializes in intellectual property rights does for a client.

To learn more on your own read;
1. The Copyright Guide; a Friendly Handbook To Protecting and Profiting From Copyrights. By Lee Wilson.
Another book is:
2. Graphic Artists Guild Handbook Pricing & Ethical Guidelines (currently 15th ed).
These reads lead to other books, articles, and people on  ™ ® topics, as well as other associated topics.

Saturday, November 2, 2019

What typeface is Coke or Coca-Cola?



The Coca-Cola logo art is possibly rooted in the character forms of a popular business correspondence cursive script style writing know as Spencerian script.

Historical Context

In the mid 1880s typewriters started to be common in offices. Business communications were hand written prior to this. A business used business scripts, carefully penned and written by hand with a fountain pen. 
The ease of writing with a ball point pen did not exist until after the typewriter was in place. The ball point pen was improved and was commercially available and sold by the early 20th century.

What Typeface is Coke or Coca-Cola?

Coca-Cola lore has it that the script style logo art was penned by the company bookkeeper, Frank Robinson. The 1900 version is his interpretation of Spencerian script. The Coca-Cola logo has evolved and it has been redesigned several times to what looks like the script classification typeface you see now.
link to TMI on history of logo follows:
Spencerian Script
Logo brand images
After reading all this wouldn't you like to drink an ice cold refreshing coke?

Which font should I use that will match my logo?


“Which font should I use that will match my logo?”
This is a question answered by the graphic design professional in the graphic design process and methodology work flow used when working the problem of creating a logo and identity for a clients' business.
Designing a company or product logo and designing how the logo works and interacts with other graphic elements is part of the value created by working with a professional graphic designer.
A logo and then associated identity guidelines can be set up as part of the logo and identity system that supports the logo and its use in advertising, marketing communications and general customer communications for a company. Choice of typography, or which fonts to use is part of business identity. This graphic design thinking and planning is what becomes identity and brand strategy that establishes the base and results in cohesive communications for the business .
This is one of the services offered when you work with a professional graphic designer to create a logo and its visual systems such as: business cards, letterheads, envelopes, emails, newsletters, presentations, web sites…
Logo and associated identity guidelines are of value in the time saving start of every business communication conducted. The business colors, the tone of writing, the photo visuals, how design elements relate in 2d space, the paper for stationery or other printed marketing communications has all been strategically determined, prepared and so that new projects have many hurdles cleared.
What does your logo look like? What logo category is it in? Many questions and discussions about your business position, business target audience, business competitors activities are some of the information needed and used to answer, to design and guide you with answering “Which font should I use that will match my logo?” 
Just one benefit of a business relationship when working with graphic design professionals at Ted Baker Design.