As companies compete for attention in an oversaturated market, a strong brand identity can make a big difference. This means spot-on color is a must for print campaigns.
Brands seek differentiation
According to Shopify’s Future of Commerce 2022 report, the first quarter of 2020 saw a decade’s worth of incredible e-commerce growth. In the wake of this pandemic-induced boom, businesses are now tasked with investing in their brands to stand out from their competitors. , acquire new customers and keep them coming back for more.
Another big trend highlighted in the report is that “digital advertising is more costly and less profitable than ever.” With digital margins dwindling, print is now a cost-effective way for brands to get in front of customers.
Use color to stand out
What hasn’t changed is that color remains an important aspect of a brand’s visual identity. Chris Javate, a creative design director in New York City, says color is “a detail that makes a big difference in branding.”
Today, as design trends reflect the competitive field, marketers are using brighter colors, or alternatively unique and subtle hues, to leave a lasting impression. Logo design and brand identity platform Looka reports a trend toward “bolder neon colors,” citing a 2021 update to the Baskin-Robbins logo. The analysis states that “as the online market becomes increasingly saturated with competition (thanks to COVID-19), smaller brands are also opting for bigger colors.”
Bright colors abound on packaging, magazines and catalogs, but muted shades are also on trend. designers are turning to earth tones, pastels, and slightly faded colors to give their images a retro appeal. Delicate gradations are also all the rage.
consistency is key
No matter what palette your design team chooses to convey your brand’s personality, how it’s expressed across different mediums is critical.
Javate said: “Consistency is key when it comes to branding. You always want to make sure your brand is represented the way you want it to be. It comes down to the simplest elements like placement, size, and color. From Branding If you get a call and the color is even slightly different, the brand risks losing capital.”
In-house proofreading saves time for creativity
Printed proofs are an important tool to ensure the integrity of a given palette.
Javate says, “If you send a red design to print without a proof, everything might look orange. We send direct mailers, catalogs, and print ads to a variety of printers, and each The color proofing from your side says, ‘This has to match,’ so everyone has the same standard.”
designers often send their work to a print provider, wait for proofs to come back to ensure it looks the way they intended, and then send it off to production, such as publications or packaging manufacturers. This can take several rounds in some cases and is a time-consuming process.
Having a properly sized, production-level printer like the RICOH Pro C5300 in the office gives designers back time and gives them more freedom to consider their options. “Being able to print proofs in-house means we don’t have to wait for someone else to print them before checking them,” explains Javate.
In a colored house
Any interior designer will tell you that before they knew it, they had been booked for the past two years. With people spending more time at home, domestic art has seen a resurgence and sectors such as home retailing have become big business.
Home goods store catalogs use colors that evoke a sense of peace and calm. By creating proofs on the RICOH Pro C5300 before production, designers were able to ensure that the aesthetic subtleties were accurately conveyed.
light, color, action
Live entertainment hasn’t fared so well lately, but the industry is expected to make a strong recovery.
Lou Capone, who leads Ricoh’s color management project, emphasizes the importance of accurate color for entertainment clients. “It’s all about getting the right reaction from the end consumer. When they see a poster of a celebrity or athlete, they have a genuine, visceral reaction. That’s how you build a connection with them. That’s why it’s so important to make skin tones, eye colors, halftones, etc. look realistic.”
Quick in-office proofing allows creators to ensure their photos have the right tone.
Ricoh Graphic Communications is committed to supporting the vitality of the graphic arts community. Your brilliance keeps us and the products we make moving. This series explores the role of paper, its resurgence, and its retro appeal for creators in today’s digital age.
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