How,Design,for,the,Web,Print,D marketing How to Design for the Web vs Print
Awhile ago, I got an email from one of the "gurus" I follow and it shocked me. The gist of it was this person wanted to trade services for a household item.To say it floored me would be an understatement.What was worse was a few days later t Automation technologies represent a fundamental aspect of any modern industry. The major types of industrial automation solutions, such as DCS, PLC, SCADA, and MES, are used on a large-scale in process and discrete industries.DCS technologie
Designing for the web can be a totallydifferent ball game to designing for print. I have worked with both areas ofdesign for over 10 years and have never stopped learning how to better myselfas a graphic designer.Its my intention to share what I havelearned via this article, so I can help aspiring graphic designers with thebasics and explain to businesses owners a few things to consider when selectinga graphic designer.If you wish to become a serious graphicdesigner, then you must understand the difference between working on a websiteor print design. The same is true when selecting a designer to work with.Consider the differences in variousareas of design include the colour, the resolution, the file size, themeasurement units and the ability to transfer files from one medium to theother.ColourThe primary difference you need to knowbetween web and print graphic design is the colour profile used for both media.Basically, when working on the web youmust use RGB (Red, Green, Blue) colour profile while for print you will useCMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black).Although there are some printingcompanies that will convert RGB colours on your behalf, it is best if youconvert your files to CMYK yourself. Often when printers convert colours itdoesnt print as you would expect for example colours may appear washed out ormuddy.When designing for web, the fundamentalthing you must keep an eye on is the appearance of your colours on variouscomputer monitors. One colour can appear a multitude of ways on variousmonitors depending on if they are using an LCD or CRT screen, and theconfiguration of that monitor.Unfortunately its not a perfectscience so you just need to bear that in mind.ResolutionThe next big stumbling block graphicdesigners will experience if they are not familiar with both mediums is theresolution of your project. Ideally, you will use 300dpi for print, while 72dpiis the maximum resolution used for the web. Thats why printing a design madespecifically for the web will print poorly.If you are designing something for bothmedia, design it for print quality first and then resize it for web. You canalways downsize a file but trying to scale something up results in a loss ofquality.FileSizeAlthough you need not worry about filesize if you are primarily designing for print, this is a big concern if you aredesigning for the web.As a web designer, you must make sureyour design is free from excessive file sizes so it loads as quickly aspossible. Most people are on fast broadband these days so you dont need tocompromise on quality however you should keep the file size to a minimum.MeasurementUnitIf you were to put a ruler up against amonitor and measure a website you would find the measurements vary according tothe monitor being used. Thats because the size unit utilised for both web andprint design differs.A design for the web is measured usingpixels, while any print design is measured using millimetres, centimetres orinches.MediumLimitationsPrint based design obviously haslimitations and requirements based on the materials and the printing techniqueused. An understanding of the print process used for a particular project willbe a great advantage when designing for print.For example, if you were designing aproject that will be screenprinted on t-shirts, you may need to ensure coloursare loose register meaning colours dont touch. This allows for a littlemovement that may occur in some forms of printing. Meanwhile, if you aredesigning for the web, you need to consider the resolution, the interactivityand designing a layout suitable for various lengths of content.This article really is only scratchingthe surface of what it means to design for print or for web.The important thing for graphicdesigners is to understand the medium you are using. The important thing forbusiness owners is to select a graphic designer with experience and expertisein the medium you are using.
How,Design,for,the,Web,Print,D