Colour Your Worlde

Pricing your art can be tricky at best. Many of our customers struggle to find their place in the market, and not price themselves out of business before they even get started. Until you are an well known photographer with celebrity clientele, like Peter Lik, commanding and actually selling your work for a hefty price may be hard to achieve. That doesn't mean you have to sell your work at rock bottom Costco prices either. So, where do you fall in between?

The Photoshelter blog has some advise for you. In their article - The Price of Prints: Part 2: How to Avoid Pricing Yourself Out of Business - they interviewed professional photographer Dean Oros who lists what to consider when pricing your prints.

1. Always, our cost of doing business.
2. Proof or a polished image.
3. Media: type of paper, canvas, greeting card etc.
4. Type of photo session / event that was the cause of the image to be produced in the first place. Or, for example, is it a stock image we created at our expense where we offer generic prints, or a limited edition fine art print.
5. We often do not include high-res digital files (for consumer clients). Unless they're well-versed in color profiles, etc., most consumers will take those digital files to a local consumer lab to have inexpensive prints made which they in turn will share with their friends and family. Your image will never look as you intended by doing this. Handling the printing yourself will ensure you have control over the print process, and will ensure your client receives the best quality for the type of print they've ordered.

As printers, we couldn't agree with #5 enough. When selecting a print company it is important to make sure they keep up with calibrating their equipment and quality assure output for consistent color. Setting the right price for your prints also means that you can proudly put your name on that print. Maintaining control of your work from start to finish will reinforce that confidence.

With Black Friday upon us many people are poised to do some serious power shopping. The increased traffic is a perfect opportunity for retailers to use in-store signs to their advantage.

Signware manufacture, Rose Displays, wrote some great tips on things to consider about your store environment before installing your next campaign. Some of them may sound like common sense, like #1 'Know your space', but each store can hold their own unique set of challenges. They offer some suggestions about areas in your store that can be utilized for signage, like ceilings and floors, that can keep the shoppers engaged at all levels. As well as things you may not have considered, like making sure you large graphic is not placed in front of a door or air conditioning vent where it will blow over. At the end of the article they also provide a check list to help in planning.

Environments and Understanding Your Space

Planning a great signware program starts with understanding the particular demands of your store’s environment — everything from its location, to its size and shape. Use this environment guide and checklist to plan ahead, and ensure your signage works with, and not against, your space.

 Rule #1: Know your space.

The first step in the process is to consider the layout and general environment of your store. For instance, are you dealing with warehouse-like space that will require large, oversized graphics, or is your store an intimate boutique where signage will be much
smaller? If you are working with a chain of stores, are all of the stores similar in size or do they vary? If some stores are much larger than others, you may need to consider more graphics for those stores, and they may need to be larger and/or in bolder colors to increase their visibility.

We love printing big graphics for customers here at Artisan Colour. We also want to make sure that the graphics we produce are effective. If the letters used for the text are too small, created with a font that is not readable, or a color that is hard to differentiate from the background, then the sign is not going to have the desired impact. This article by Signs & Digital Graphics Magazine offers some helpful tips and things to watch out for when designing your sign so that it is able to be seen and easily read from long distances. The formula for how large your graphic letters should be to be read at a certain distance is particularly helpful.

Designing Award-Winning Signs: View from the Road - by Matt Charboneau

In discussing the effectiveness of a sign, we must address three factors that dominate the design process: visibility, legibility and readability.


Optimum legibility: Letter style, size, color, spacing

COLOURlovers recently compared the predominate colors chosen for brand identification out of the top 100 most popular websites. Blue and red with their various shades and hues top the list. Sometimes the color is chosen after many hours of market research, and other times the arbitrary can turn out to be poignant. I didn't know before reading this article that Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, chose the now iconic blue shade because he is color blind and blue is one of the few colors he can see.

Since your brand extends beyond the web to all identification and marketing material, when creating a new company or rebranding your current one, think about how your brand colors will represent across all media. Maybe the web popular blue will not work as well for you in print.


The Most Powerful Colors in the World - Darius A Monsef for COLOURlovers

When we released our report on the colors of the social web, based on data analyzed by our Twitter theme tool, we were surprised that blue was such a dominant color in people's profile designs. Was Twitter's default color influencing their design decisions? Or is blue really THE most popular and dominant color online? ...We decided to look at the colors in the brands from the top 100 sites in the world to see if we could paint a more colorful picture.

Turns out the blue-berry doesn't fall far from the bush. The web landscape is dominated by a large number of blue brands... but Red occupies a large amount of space as well. What's driving this? You might want to say that carefully organized branding research and market tests were done to choose the perfect colors to make you spend your money, but a lot of the brands that have grown to be global web powerhouses, started as small web startups... and while large corporate giants with branding departments spend quite a lot on market research, user testing, branding, etc. Lots of the sites listed above got started with brands created by the founders themselves with little to no research into the impact their color choice would have. I once asked Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook why he chose blue for his site design... "I'm color blind, it's the only color I can see." ...and now 500 Million people around the world stare at a mostly blue website for hours each week.

Our photography studio is often employed to aid in product shots that are used in catalog or online sales. The perfect image that highlights the product attributes and represents the product accurately is imperative, and part of our specialty at Artisan Colour. How the resulting images are ultimately used in print or website placement can be equally as important. A picture can literally be worth a thousand words. The way that photos are utilized to promote a product or brand can express much more than lines of copy when used properly.

This article by Smashing Magazine offers several suggestions on how to use photography effectively and in turn enhance the consumer experience driving more sales online. Concepts like promoting company brand through imagery, telling a story, evoking an emotional response, and good old fashion demonstrating the attributes of your product in a stylish way are discussed. One topic that maybe can not be stated enough, is to avoid using static stock photography. Investing in quality images that perfectly communicate your product or company image will be duly rewarded with larger sales. Although this article focuses on web commerce, the same concepts apply to traditional print campaigns as well.

How To Use Photos to Sell More Online - James Chudley for Smashing Magazine

As a photographer and UX designer, I pay particular attention to the effectiveness of photography when I’m testing with users. Regardless of the context, users rarely fail to comment on or be influenced by photography when shopping online.

This article pulls together principles from psychology, marketing, UX design and photographic theory. It provides a set of principles to follow when commissioning and editing photography and when planning and designing profitable e-commerce user experiences.

Show Off Product Benefits

The best way to sell products is to let them sell themselves. Consider the Gorilla Pod shown below. The photo demonstrates brilliantly the benefits of the product. The copy is supplementary; the image does the heavy lifting. Let photography do the selling for you as much as possible.

You have your mission statement written, and the perfect tag line all picked out. Most people's first step to building your company's visual identity and brand is the selection of your company logo. This important visual image projects to the world what your company represents, and needs to function well in different contexts; website, letterhead, business cards, signage & advertising. A well designed logo can establish the first crucial impression of your business and even build customer loyalty.

Last week the local ASMP chapter had a meeting about how to protect your images under the new copyright laws. The most significant change came with the establishment of the Orphan Works law. This law makes the image public domain if it is difficult or impossible to contact the copyright holder. With the proliferation of unlicensed usage of images on the web, it is very important to copyright your images and be diligent about where they are published. Without taking those protective steps, you may have a hard time proving your case, should your image get used improperly. The ASMP website has a step by step guide to the definitions and best practices of the current copyright laws, how to register your images, and what to do if your work has been infringed.

Only a small percentage of photographers register their images with the Copyright Office. ASMP is working to change this, but ultimately it is up to you, as the creator of your work, to take action and register. Our power defending copyright law for the independent working artist is increased with each copyright registration you file.

Posted via email from Artisan Colour

Tony Blei has a background as a photojournalist working for the Associated Press, and has the opportunity to shoot multiple seated presidents - with his camera, I should say. He now adds that 'in the moment' style to his portrait and location photography. Tony has been in the photography business long enough to forge through the many changes the industry has experienced over the past several years; from the switch from film to digital, to the ebb and flow of our economy.

Tony recently posted an article on his blog that offered some shrewd marketing advise that can be applied to not only photography, but any one who is trying to attract attention to their business. Tony draws the correlation between successful dating techniques and successful marketing techniques. A funny and insightful article, the post has also brought Tony some national attention, he has been asked to speak at the next PMA conference.

Wisdom of the Single's Saloon

Here’s the deal: My friend wrote me on Friday and told me he was depressed and getting ready to crawl inside of a bottle of hard liquor. He was down in the dumps over some personal issues that are compounded by declining business during a depressed economy.

...He said that he had “tried to strike up a conversation with some ad designers at the coffee shop today and got the major stiff arm.” He also said, “Got a contact I was given on [fill in your own blank here] and got brushed off.” Captain Morgan and I are old friends, but he’s a solution, not psychologist. The only thing found at the bottom of a bottle is a worm. It is not your friend.

I seem to be seeing things like this more than I like. I, and several of my friends are displaced photojournalists who are reinventing their careers. Some have never had to deal with marketing and generating business. My friend, trying to attract clients, is the proverbial fat kid tryin’ to pick up chicks at the singles bar. Of course he got “the major stiff arm.” What I’ve learned is that it’s all about relationship. You need to be in this for the long haul.

...Just because you’ve got a nice portfolio doesn’t mean the art directors at the coffee shop are automatically interested — You’re a stranger. Besides, I doubt they were thinking, “I think I’ll go down to the coffee shop and meet a new photographer today. I wonder if Bob wants to go too.” They’re there because they want coffee — maybe to have an informal meeting. Few people will POSITIVELY react to you saying, “Hey babe, why don’t we jump in the back of your Gremlin and get our rocks off.”

Several years and lonely nights later, I became known at my little singles bar. I played pool, danced and had fun and bought drinks when appropriate. And then one day it was as if I had been sprinkled with magic dust. I had the ability to talk to every girl in the joint. Suddenly I could dance and laugh and carry-on all night long. People were buyin’ me drinks! I think because the girls knew who I was they were able to see that I wasn’t there to take advantage of them. I just wanted to have fun. In the end, I had to learn how to be interesting.

...So why am I talking to photographers about past nights of debauchery? Because I see parallels. You and I both know that your talent is the very reason why you should be hired to shoot a project, but you and I also know that “birds of a feather flock together.” People want to work with people with similar interests and personalities; people they know and like. It makes things flow better. It’s fun to work with your friends.

Here is what I suggest: stop chasing. Go to the coffee shops and social gathering places. Be cool and casual. Be interesting as you meet the people who will eventually hire you. Hand them a card, talk to them, be genuinely friendly. Let them lead the conversation and don’t talk about the day you photographed Keith Richards unless it’s a natural part of the conversation. Leave your agenda in the car (it’s probably not working for you anyway). As you take their card, ask if you could call in a couple of days. Tell them that have a new portfolio that I’d like to show. Chances are, they’ll agree to a phone call.