We can spend hours designing the perfect direct mail postcard, getting the copy just right, adding our company logo or photos, choosing the right font and so on.  But, here are a few tips to help enhance your message and captivate your audience.

< (LAYOUT 1) A BIT BORING

Now it’s time to consider adding color to our typography.  When used sparingly, color can create contrast and accents that will bring the viewer in to the important details of your message, making your advertising campaign a huge success.

<(LAYOUT 2) TOTAL OVERKILL

But beware...too much color may make your layout confusing. Avoid the Christmas tree look and keep your color choices simple.  If your layout saturated with color, all of the areas left black will come forward in the layout and become the dominant element.

<(LAYOUT 3) MUCH BETTER!

In most cases, simply leaving the bulk of your copy in a neutral tone of gray or black, then highlighting important areas with a hint of color will  work the best.  When highlighting a word, consider choosing the bold version of the font, to accommodate color.

Add tone behind areas of your layout for a little extra design elements.  But for background color, keep the percentage value and intensity of your color choices a wide distance apart or your copy will begin to visually “vibrate” and scare the reader away because of poor legibility (take a look at the pink type on the green promo circle in the middle layout!  Also the green type on the light green background…not working!).

Tone it down and you will end up with a great layout… lots of color, making the layout fun and interesting, yet still focusing on what is important in the message.

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One of the most important things you can do when you are setting up typography is to use good spacing – between your letters, your words and between each line of type.  Typographers, layout artists and graphic designers have special terms for this:

Kerning: this is the spacing between each letter.

Tracking: the space between each word.

Leading: the space between each line.

The grid layout:

The Another important element of great design for print products is the basic grid underlying your layout.  It helps to create structure and focal points that will get your information across in an effective way.  It can consist of columns and rows, or it may be as simple as a hierarchy of importance that moves from left to right across the page.

Your main objective… present your content clearly and make your message memorable.  If you make your viewer struggle through each word, they may be inclined to give up, and throw away the piece.  So, keep it clean and airy.  However, remember that too much white space can also be a distraction and feel unimportant or sparse in nature.

If your marketing piece has more copy in it than what will fit on a postcard, consider a flier or data sheet as an option.  Perhaps you might want to consider editing your copy a bit, direct them to your website for more information,  or better yet, bring them to the door with a great promotional offer.

If you would like to try your layout skills, visit sharpercards.com and try out our online customizable products:

(Here is an example from our general line of customizable postcards.)

15-0316 Postcard (Modern Purple Flowers)

Build patient or client loyalty with standard format customizable postcards created exclusively for Sharper Cards.  We have a wide variety of designs for many business markets, and our talented team of designers are adding new designs every day.  These cards are printed on premium glossy paper, with a durable coating for protection in the mail.  Just select your design and customize as many elements as you need!  Include your logo and contact information on the front of the design to brand your practice or business.  Add a promo or map to the back to keep your patients or clients coming in.  And, if you don’t see what you are looking for, give us a call and we can create something special for you with our Custom Creations process.

• Personalization is FREE!
• Full color on both the front and back.
• Ships in 48 hours.
• 100% satisfaction guaranteed.

Make an order for customizable postcards today and quote promo code SD50FREE to get 50 postcards FREE!  Shop online at sharpercards.com.

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Tip of the Week:

What font best suits your company? Not sure? Then try Helvetica.

Don’t over think it. Simplicity can mean success to your layout. It doesn’t have to be a complicated process to find the right font for your company’s business cards, letterhead, advertising materials, website and anything else that you might have on the go in the marketing department.

Many people feel that they need something decorative.  After all, Helvetica is just plain boring and it’s used over and over so often.  But, there is a reason why it has been around for over 50 years.  It works!  It is easy to read, has a simple elegance and is very business-like in it’s appearance.  It fits in with any design or logo, plus, it works well at a small or large size.  The Helvetica font was originally created by Max Miedinger with Eduard Hoffmann in 1957 in Switzerland and was originally called Neue Hass Grotesk.  In 1960 it was renamed the more internationally-friendly, Helvetica – the Latin name for Switzerland.  Many very successful companies have embraced Helvetica as the font of choice for their logo designs.

Many successful corporate communications have been designed with Helvetica as the font of choice.  Check out Sharper Cards Design Your Own Stationery products and experiment with the Helvetica font in our online editing tool.  If you don’t have your own logo, we have a large selection of Sharper Logos that you can add to your layout at no charge.

You may decide that Helvetica is not for you, especially if your company is looking for a more upbeat font style.  Well, we hear you!  Sharper Cards offers a great selection of fonts to create the perfect layout.  Below are just a few font choices.  The sky’s the limit!  And, if you don’t feel comfortable doing it online yourself, we’re here to help.  Give us a call and you can tell us what you like and we’ll send you a proof.  We want your company personality to shine through with every promotional and communication materials you hand out.

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It is never too early to plan ahead for any advertising and marketing you are thinking of doing for next year.  Moreover, by building a strong relationship with your existing patients before the new year starts, you can ensure their return  and a full appointment book in 2012.

If you’re thinking of sending out calendars, Sharper’s 2012 Tri-Fold Calendars are an economical year-round reminder.  Envelopes are included free with your order.  Ask us how you can easily customize designs.  Here’s a great idea…try having a few New Year’s resolutions for improved Oral Health printed on the back.

NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS THAT ARE SURE TO PUT A BEAUTIFUL SMILE ON YOUR FACE IN 2012.

1. FLOSS DAILY. Brushing with a toothbrush just won’t completely do the job of removing plaque.
2. CHANGE YOUR TOOTHBRUSH AT LEAST EVERY COUPLE MONTHS.
   A new toothbrush will help build a beautiful new smile.
3. INCLUDE HEALTHY SNACKS IN YOUR DIET EVERY DAY. Choose fruit and veggies over sweets and soda.
4. VISIT YOUR DENTIST FOR REGULAR CLEANINGS AND CHECKUPS. Give us a call. We will be happy to set up appointments for you all at once or throughout the year.

Choose from a wide variety of designs, and if you see something that you would like to change slightly…let use know.  Our very talented Creative Services Team will be happy to set up your artwork just the way you want it.  You can take any of the Sharper™ Designs and add your own copy (front or back)

C-5059 Smile Waterfall

C-5075 Every Smile Is Beautiful

C-5060 Cosmetic - Seasons

And, if you want to remind them of their appointments, we have matching appointment cards for many of our designs.

Get ready for a great 2012. Plan ahead.

Calendars are a great way to keep your practice top-of-mind with patients all year-round.  Check out our Seasonal Collection for more great ideas.

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It’s time to have a little Thanksgiving holiday creative fun with
Sharper™ Thanksgiving cards!

Thanksgiving is the time of year when we get to see our family and friends, eat great food and celebrate all that we are thankful for.  Whether you host a dinner for 20 or cook a turkey breast for two, here are some fun Thanksgiving craft ideas to use your new or old Sharper™ Thanksgiving cards.

Idea 1: Share a favorite recipe inside your Thanksgiving cards you send out.  You can print the recipe directly inside the folding card with a fun Thanksgiving Sharper logo as an accent.  Or print it on a postcard that will go inside the folding card so the intended recipient can put it directly in their recipe box for future use.

Idea 2: Hang Thanksgiving cards from your chandelier or light fixture above your table to add some fun to your dining room decor!

Idea 3: Cut a paper leaf out of brown, red, orange or yellow construction paper, put your guests name on it and paste it to the corner of a Thanksgiving card.  Place the card on the plate or just behind it to create a unique and tasteful name card.  For an extra special touch, write a personal Thanksgiving message to each guest inside their place card.

Name Place Card

Idea 4: Line the bottom of a gift box with the fronts of Thanksgiving cards for a fun surprise at the bottom of your Thanksgiving baking handouts.

Idea 5: Create a door hanging decoration by tying Sharper™ Thanksgiving cards together with festive thanksgiving ribbon in a flowing line.  Glue on some wheat or leaves to add to the overall look.  And, putting a bell on the bottom will give it a little jingle of fun as your guests pass through your door.

Door Hang Decoration

Have fun with these crafty creative ideas! They are a great way to do something different with your Sharper™ Thanksgiving cards and will have your guests saying  “Oh how fun!” when they sit down to enjoy your yummy Thanksgiving dinner!

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I love this idea!

It makes sense…thank your patients, clients and colleagues and include the gift of a calendar that they can use throughout the year.  It’s a holiday card and 2012 calendar all rolled into one beautiful package.  Perforated down the center, these cards can be personalized on the inside.  The calendar can be separated and your practice or business name will be visible all year round.   Ask us how you can easily customize designs!  Free envelopes are included with your order and personalization is free as well.

Check out Sharper’s Seasonal Collection Store for other great ideas to grow your practice or business.

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At Sharper™, we greatly value the feedback we receive from our customers when they complete our “Would You Recommend Us” survey.  Our customers tell us the things they love about our business, but most importantly they tell us the things that create customer service issues for them.  We also receive a ton of recommendations on how we can improve our business processes to better support our customers and their goals of growing their practice or business successfully.

An important trend with our customers has been the migration of ordering products online at our website www.e-sharper.com.  Since the majority of our products are personalized with contact information and branding like custom logos, we have heard a lot of feedback about how our site did not allow customers to quickly see how their products would look when printed.  They would have to request a proof, which would be sent by email or fax.  Way too labor intensive in this day and age of technology.

So we challenged our IT team to find an easy to use application for our website where customers could enter in the information they wanted to have printed on their product, change fonts, ink colors, logos, etc.  And boy, what they found for us was great!  If you have not been to the Sharper™ site recently, please visit www.e-sharper.com.  Boasting some exciting new features including a revamped look, our website will now allow you to easily search for your products and personalize it with our online personalization tool.

Furthermore, if you create a web account, your name and address information will auto-populate…saving time from manually keying it in.  All of this information is then stored in your account for easy retrieval when you reorder.  You will also see a digital proof which represents how your products will look when printed.  Don’t like the look – then quickly change it.

Needless to say, we love technology and I know our customers will too!  Happy shopping…

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Create your own design with Custom Creations™!

It’s quick, easy and affordable.

To get started:

Call us at 1-800-561-6677 and ask for a Custom Creations consultant.  Choose one of the three ways you would like us to proceed with your design.  We’ll ask you a few questions and then provide you with a quote.

Here are 3 ways we can help you create the design of your choice.

1) Existing design makeover
You can choose one of our existing designs and we will customize it based on your needs.

2) Full concept design
Provide us with an idea of what you’re envisioning, the text you want to include, and we will do all the work to create your fully customized design.

3) Send us your own artwork
If you already have an existing design, we will provide you with the proper templates and print specifications.  All that will be left to do is prepare the files for press.

For more information on our Custom Creations services, please click here.

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Let’s get social with Sharper™!

Follow us on Twitter or become a Facebook fan to receive great promotions, news, marketing tips and industry updates that only social media subscribers will receive.

At this time of year it’s hard to think of anything other than the upcoming holidays and the stresses we may be dealing with.

Something to think about though, is possibly re-vamping your office with a new business card design!  If you are currently using a design that matches your office colors and logo then you could always spice things up with our colorful peel & stick appointment cards.

If you are thinking of changing your business cards or starting to order them for the first time, here are some ideas of our beautiful designs…

Please visit our website at www.e-sharper.com for a complete list of all of our designs.

If there is anything that you may want to change about the designs you see, please call our Call Center at 1-800-561-6677 and our Custom Creations representative would be happy to assist you.

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Let’s get social with Sharper™!

Follow us on Twitter or become a Facebook fan to receive great promotions, news, marketing tips and industry updates that only social media subscribers will receive.

It has been a busy past few weeks in the Creative Services Department at Sharper™.  Orders for 2011 calendars, holiday cards, business cards and stationery and appointment cards have been flowing in as everyone prepares for a hopeful and positive year ahead.  But there was one job that went across my desk the other day that I thought was a really nice spin on the  holiday gift certificate idea.

Sharper™ has a great selection of existing gift certificates to choose from, but perhaps you have a special holiday card from our Holiday and Calendar Store in mind that you would like to combine with a gift giving message? This was what one of our customers decided to do and it worked beautifully!  With Sharper™’s Custom Creations process, you can take any design that we offer and simply change the copy on the front for a minimal cost.  Next, you can add copy to the inside of the greeting card, offering a discount in the new year or a special gift to claim the next time they come in.  Here are a few copy change ideas to show you just how easy it can be:

A Holiday Gift for you from your Veterinarian team. Season’s Greetings.

A Bright and Shiny gift to you and your family from your Dentist.

A Sweet Gift of Health and Happiness from your Chiropractor.

A gift for you this holiday season from your Audiologist.

ABC Clinic would like to take the time to say Thank You.

These are just a few possibilities.
Make your holiday greeting special this year.  The Sharper™ Creative Services team will customize a gift giving design, just for you.  By putting that extra special touch into your Holiday messages this year, you can show your colleagues, patients or clients how important they are to you and the success of your business.  Happy gift giving! We will be watching for your special request.  I always love to see a creative touch

With everyone ordering their Holiday cards, calendars, business stationery, client communication products and giveaways for next year, we are seeing so many customer logo files coming into our design and production team for approval.  If you are considering putting your logo on your personalized giveaways and cards, remember that anything you are handing over to your patients or clients is a continuous reminder of who you are.  Having your logo showcased in the cleanest and most effective way possible is of the utmost importance.

It is also a great idea to keep your communication products with one supplier, printer or designer. Find a reliable source, and stick with them.  Consistency in the look and quality is so important.  At Sharper™ we pride ourselves in the handling of your logo files.  We want you to have the best end product possible and so we ask that you send us the best quality logo you have, and hopefully at the highest resolution possible.

The preferred file type would be vector (refer to a great Sharper article from June – So What’s a “vector graphic anyway?” for more information). Designers love them! They are fully editable, versatile and infinitely scalable – the edges stay smooth and clean regardless of how much you blow it up.  They may come as an AI, EPS, CDR, DRW, SVG file type.

If you can’t track down the original source of your logo design, we’d be happy to help you out.  If you have a good quality tiff or jpeg, our talented team of designers will redraw the image for you for a one-time fee.  Or if you don’t have a logo at all, we can custom design one for you.  Also check out our incredible selection of free logos that may work for you.

Put on your game face this year with a great logo image to support your company brand.

So earlier in the year my manager cracks out the whip and says “WE NEED NEW LOGOS TO OFFER OUR CUSTOMERS!! GET DESIGNING!”. Okay, maybe my recollection of events is a bit hazy, but, that doesn’t mean we didn’t go into a design frenzy in our project codenamed Sharper™ Logo Revitalization-2010.  It took a few months as we juggled the project with our regular work but the results, in my opinion, were worth the extra workload.

We hit just about every market, trying to come up with new designs to reflect the growing business types that Sharper™ attracts – and in as many styles that we could come up with – everything from the fun and humorous to the professional and elegant.  With almost 600 Sharper™ logos, you are bound to find something that suits your needs and style.  These logos can be printed for FREE on just about any product Sharper™ carries.  I’m just glad I wasn’t part of the selection team!  There were so many great designs, how are you supposed to “X” any of them?

Here are just a few of the new designs that survived the cut…

What is the Pawstastic world you may ask? Well it’s the world of Sharper’s Pet Care license Pawstastic! Where real life meets fun, funky illustration.

As a designer here at Sharper I was asked to design a new internal license and since I’m a proud pug mommy and animal lover, Marketing naturally assigned me the Pet Care market. With Sharper’s large selection of licenses I wanted to create something different that had not been seen before in the veterinary promotional market. So through research and the use of my own wacky creative brain I came up with Pawstastic.

I loved creating this license. Being able to hand draw the environment and elements around the animals is a real joy in our world of computers. Each element is drawn separately like the doctor’s coat, the couch the animals are sitting on or the backgrounds. Once completed I create the colors with Pantone markers, ink the black lines and scan everything separately and compose the images of the animals and illustrations in Photoshop. It’s a long process but a fun one!

Pawstastic Pet Care cards are a great way to put a smile on a pet owner’s face. Along with the co-ordinating line of Pawstastic veterinary tote bags, magnets and folding cards it’s a super way to brand your practice or business with these veterinary promotional items. Enter the world of Pawstastic and I’m sure you won’t be disappointed!