IT'S HERE!!!!

If you like these metal business cards, give us a call or visit the website and put an order in for your laser etched metal business cards today!

Ladies and gentlemen today I would like to talk to you about something that is important not only to me, but to you too. Design.

Luice Design Full Colour Printing wants to help all you graphic designers get the best printing for your designs, whether we are the ones who designed or not. You'd be amazed at how many very very talented designers out there who have sent us some great stuff to have printed in various formats. What I want to talk about today is the foil stamp. When designing something you'd like to have foil stamped you have to remember that very fine detail isn't the best idea. You have to remember that a foil stamp is literally a stamp that is pressed into the card using a metal die. Any very fine detail in your design will be lost during this process and probably not look all that good. Unfortunate but true.

If you have a design you want to be foil stamped and it's a very involved design, I'd suggest that you try the full colour printing foil process instead. It's still foil, just done in a different way. The foil is printed onto the card in the shape of your design and then the inks are printed on top of everything so anything that doesn't have foil below it will just be normal printed ink and the foil will stand out quite nicely. Finish it off with a glossy UV coating and you're all set!

Another suggestion would be to check out the full color metallic ink printing. It's not as shiny and sparkly as the foil process but it's very very cool looking. It's a little more tasteful and reserved than the full color foil process if you ask me. You can have it done in full color or as just a spot color depending on your design needs. The metallic ink is only offered with a matte finish and on nice thick 14PT or 16PT stock.

Hey check out what Jack and I did this morning!  The outside of our Creative Printing Design Studio is looking sweet! Florida is hot bed for Creative Services!

Luice Design - Creative Printing Studio

I was just looking over Luice Design Full Colour Printing web site traffic reports and it seems we've gotten some hits (and sign ups) from France and England. Nice!! I think they're lured by the ultra fancy full colour printing foil process we offer, and of course the awesome prices!

Maybe it's the laser etched metal cards. I looked at some prices for some of those out of England and my god were they expensive. No joke, they were 5 times more expensive! Even with the shipping, we wouldn't be that expensive.

Granted, if someone from ANY country in Europe wanted to order from Luice Design Full Colour Printing, we'd want to make it worth it. None of that 12PT uv coated stuff. If we're sending something "over the pond" it's going to be high class! Silk coated business cards with gold or silver foil stamping, full colour foil process business cards, full colour plastic business cards, and any of the other high end business cards we offer.

You gotta love it. You just gotta!

Here at Luice Design Full Color Printing, we work hard. Yes we do. BUT we also like to have a good time. A damn good time.

For instance. Check out Nikki in her Trans Am Turbo (Grand National Motor) cruising the streets of her home town, Ephrata PA. She ran a 13.4 in the 1/4 mile!!!

Or, you could be like Chris and go lounge around on the beach all day.

Yours truly just played a killer show at a local bar last Friday. 85 degrees with 75% humidity. What a nightmare. Still a great time though!

Once the weekend is over, naturally it's back to work on Monday. Waiting patiently for your call. 561.429.6131

Here are some basic rules to follow that will help you develop the skills of a good graphic designer with a solid technical foundation. These rules are to help you avoid some simple fundamental mistakes that many inexperienced designers make. Keep in mind that no rule is absolute in the world of design, so the rules can always be bent for the sake of better design. The intent here is to simply help elevate your fundamental level of design knowledge and to encourage you to go beyond the rules when it is the right decision.

Audience

Be aware the age group that your design is going to target is an important factor. Younger readers need larger print because it is difficult for them to distinguish the characters and comprehend words. As a guideline:

Kindergarten-First Grade 24 pt. bold
Second Grade 24 pt. plain
Third-Fourth Grade 18 pt. plain
Fifth Grade 14pt. Plain

Also, readers over 40 may have vision problems, so you should use a minimum of 14 point type that will help them read your copy with less difficulty.
Be sure that you use a good visual separation between the words and the background. Avoid light or bright colors and avoid complicated or busy backgrounds.
A great design and great content make a for great product.
Remember to always know your audience. It sounds simple, but if we don't know what our audience wants or how they best will receive the message, we can't create a design that will appeal to them effectively.

Make note that your target market's reading skills can influence design. It is especially important that the page layout is not intimidating for people who can't read well or who don't enjoy reading. You can achieve this by using plenty of white space that helps to narrow columns (39 to 52 character — 8 to 12 words) and remove redundant copy that paraphrases or summarizes the content. Use color to categorize content. Most importantly, treat similar information similarly. Understand the importance of consistency for the reader and ways to create a consistent and balanced look through different types of repetition.

Remember, you are not designing for yourself, you are designing to communicate to others. Take the audience's needs, skills, and abilities into account when developing your design. Consider the culture of your audience. Western cultures read from the upper left across to the right and then down. Asian cultures read from the upper right down and then across. The habits and orientations of the culture are difficult to override, so always keep these in mind when designing.

Balance

Symmetrical, radial, formal, and informal ways of arranging elements on a page to achieve visual balance is an important element of your design process. Also covers the 'rule of thirds' and other structural elements. Our bodies need a balance of nutrients to keep us healthy but every now and then it's OK to pig out on junk. Balance in design is much the same. For most of our reading our eyes and minds are most comfortable with evenly balanced layouts where the graphics don't overpower the text and the page doesn't seem to tilt to one side or the other.

Proximity

Learn how to arrange elements on the page through proximity by keeping like items together and creating unity by how close or far apart elements are from each other. Observe a group of people in a room. You can often learn a lot about who is listening intently to another person, which are strangers, or who is ignoring who by how close together they sit or stand. In design, proximity or closeness creates a bond between people and between elements on a page. How close together or far apart elements are placed suggests a relationship (or lack of) between otherwise disparate parts. Unity is also achieved by using a third element to connect distant parts..

White Space

The art of nothing is another description for this principle. White space is an important principle of design missing from the page layouts of many novices. White space is nothing. White space is the absence of text and graphics. It breaks up text and graphics. It provides visual breathing room for the eye. Add white space to make a page less cramped, confusing, or overwhelming. Leave plenty of white space around type and graphic elements (an eighth to a quarter inch depending on size relative to the layout).
Leave a little more white space at the bottom of a page relative to the top of the page (e.g., 0.75 inch at the top and 1 inch at the bottom). This will optically balance the page so it won't look like it is slipping off at the bottom. Create a wide margin to direct the reader's attention into the copy or image area. Use at least a quarter-inch gutter between columns. Use left aligned (unjustified) text to create visual relief for your audience. Be careful that the "rag" indents on the right are not too big.
Increase leading (white space between lines) to lighten the look of the page. Invite the reader into the page by leaving open space at the top and along the left margin.

Alignment

While centered text has its place it is often the mark of a novice designer. Learn how to align text and graphics to create more interesting, dynamic, or appropriate layouts. Lack of alignment creates a sloppy, unorganized look. Mixing too many alignments can have a similiar effect. However, it's also OK to break alignment when it serves a specific purpose such as to intentionally create tension or draw attention to a specific element on the page.
For simple arrangements, items can be aligned using the automatic align options in your software. For more complicated layouts the use of guidelines and grids aid in the precise placement of elements. Try to limit the number of fonts used in a design to a minimum-less is more when it comes to fonts in graphic design. Most importantly, have another set of eyes look at your work. So many foolish, careless errors can pass by your eyes after staring at a piece of work for too long. Use the buddy system, it's a lifesaver.

Contrast

Big vs. small, black vs. white. These are some ways to create contrast and visual interest. Learn a variety of ways to use contrast. Contrast is one the principles of design. Contrast occurs when two elements are different. The greater the difference the greater the contrast. The key to working with contrast is to make sure the differences are obvious. Four common methods of creating contrast are by using differences in size, value, color, and type.

Contrast adds interest to the page and provides a means of emphasizing what is important or directing the reader's eye. On a page without contrast, the reader doesn't know where to look first or what is important. Contrast makes a page more interesting so the reader is more apt to pay attention to what is on the page. Contrast aids in readability by making headlines and subheadings stand out. Contrast shows what is important by making smaller or lighter elements recede on the page to allow other elements to take center stage.

Color

Color is symbolism and association. It is fundamental to the mechanics of color reproduction on the Web and in print. Color is not essential to a good design, but great design makes good use of color theory. Black and white and shades of gray can create 'color' that is just as effective as reds, blues, and greens. However, color is an added dimension that can evoke moods and make powerful statements when used wisely.

Remember, like anything in life, you will get better at graphic design by doing it. Most people learn more from their mistakes than their successes in life, so try to take something away from every design experience your have. Always observe your surroundings and the objects you encounter in everyday life. Study the design of these things and decide what, in your opinion, works and doesn't work and why. Inspiration can come from anywhere, so keep your eyes as well as your mind open.

I was recently talking to a couple of friends about promoting by putting flyers on cars etc. and I mentioned that when I see a flyer on my car I don't even register what it is, just that it's a foreign object on my window that must be removed immediately and deposited onto the ground without even looking at it. Why? Because they were crappy uninteresting flyers. Some generic party club flyer. You've seen hundreds of them and so have I.

Maybe if there was something shiny on the flyers….just maybe…they wouldn't get thrown to the ground as quickly. full color foil process can be just as easily applied to a post card as it can to a business card. They would at least get looked at and possibly saved just because they look cool. At least try to make it flashy, or original. Don't just put the same generic stock photos of people at a club or holding drinks on your flyer. Make your event stand out from the other 300 events in the same town offering the same things.

Better yet, let Luice Design Full Color Printing design your event flyer for you! It's what we're here for!

Call today! 561.429.6131

Luice Design Full Color Printing recently was contracted by an attorney. But in a good way!

This gentleman was intrigued by our foil process business cards and wanted to get some. We did what we do best and hooked him up with a business card that perfectly fits our customer.

Nice subtle coloring, silver foil. How many times have I said the full color process business cards are awesome? NOT ENOUGH!!!!

Check out his cards and the letter he sent us.

"Thank you so much for the business cards. It was a pleasant surprise to return to the office and find them displayed on my desk. They are very stylish, and immediately caught my eye. I look forward to recommending you in response to the numerous inquiries I am sure to receive upon offering these business cards to colleagues and clients.

Sincerely,
Tom Graner"

Man did I get some cool stuff in the mail yesterday!! WOW!

I'm not even going to bother talking about these I'm just going to post pictures and let these bad ass cards do their own talking.

Keep in mind we didn't design these, they're just samples, but hot damn they're bad ass man!

The metal cards aren't etched like the ones we've been featuring. They're embossed and printed on! NICE!

Call Luice Design Full Color Printing today to ask about these. 561.429.6131

Metal card with mirror finish!

Metal card with embossing and INK!!!!

Check this noise out! THIS would be the thickest business card I've seen yet. WITH foil stamping!

I'm going to let you in on a little secret. I…am covered in tattoos. That's not to say I just run out and get tattoos from any random idiot with the right equipment. I've only had about 4 or 5 people tattoo me in the past 10 years. It's the whole 'permanent' thing.

Recently here at Luice Design Full Color Printing we've done some business cards for a couple different artists. One who has done a lot of my work, and others who work with him. I have to say, I'm definitely considering checking these guys out.
I've posted about this before with that hot ass spot UV card with the skull girl on it and I really can't say enough about how important these business cards can be.

It's quite refreshing to see a tattoo artist with a business card that isn't the same format as all the others. Shop logo on the front with the artist's info under it and on the back side is a few pictures of tattoos they've done. It's a good concept but when you're making photos of tattoos small enough to fit onto a business card, what's the point really? You can't see any detail in the tattoo itself. It's a waste.

One card we just did was a nice full color foil process business card. One side featured all the artist and shop info in a cool font with certain parts accented with the foil and the whole back side was completely foiled out with a hand drawn self portrait of the artist as a zombie. It's killer. Before I hadn't really ever considered a tattoo from him but he's on my list to get something from. Know why? His card caught my eye! Like I've been saying for 2 months now! FLASHY AND EYE CATCHING!!!