Imagine a world where Adobe Photoshop and photo editing don't exist—where the photos in your print marketing collateral have the same visual impact as your driver’s license photo. A world where you can’t tell the difference between a professional direct mail campaign and your Aunt Judy’s tacky holiday greeting card. Pretty scary, huh? Fortunately, Photoshop exists (along with many free Photoshop alternatives), allowing print media designers to transform photographs into really cool works of … [Read more...]
How to Use Our Die Cut Templates
December 10, 2013 By 1 Comment
When you order a Company Folders product, our die-cut templates act as your canvas when you construct your artwork. If you've download your desired template but need help editing it or applying your design, let this handy tutorial be your guide. Step 1: Open or place the die-cut template in the program of your choice. If you are using Adobe Illustrator, you can simply open the template file directly. However, when saving your project, make sure you do not overwrite the original … [Read more...]
Celebrating 10 Years With a Blast From the Past
December 2, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Company Folders is proud to announce our 10th anniversary! Don't worry, you don't have to get us a present. In fact, to celebrate our tenth year in business, our gift to you is a 10% site-wide discount plus free shipping on all orders placed before 6 PM EST on December 6, 2013. For those of you who have worked with us over the years, we decided to take a trip down memory lane and chart the evolution of Company Folders from our humble beginnings to exciting recent … [Read more...]
10 Tips for a First-Class Printed Design Portfolio (with Examples)
November 19, 2013 By 20 Comments
You've already posted all of your graphic design work online, so who really needs a print portfolio, anyway? As a matter of fact, investing the time to create an outstanding printed portfolio can pay off in a big way—even if your work is strictly digital. Unlike online portfolios, physical portfolios cannot be clicked away. Since they're physical objects that take up space, clients can rediscover them even after putting them in storage (long after they've deleted your web portfolio from their … [Read more...]
Are These 6 Social Media Mistakes Ruining Your Print Ads?
November 5, 2013 By 6 Comments
Why do so many graphic artists still fumble horribly when it comes to promoting social media with print ads? It's not like they haven't had plenty of time to get on the ball. Social media's been around for over a decade now, and you'll be hard pressed to find a company that doesn't have some sort of presence on Facebook, Google Plus, or Twitter. There's really no giant, hidden secret to learning how to advertise social media, nothing that makes it more difficult to work with than a website … [Read more...]
13 Popular Print Design Trends (That Make Us Cringe)
October 22, 2013 By 4 Comments
Nobody wants to be the one person to miss out on the latest trends, but keeping up with fads isn't always an indication of quality. If it were, people would still be dancing the Macarena and playing pogs. Likewise, many of the popular print design trends of the past just end up making artwork look dated and unprofessional by modern standards. But not every printing trend is a relic from the Clinton era. Some are relatively new fads that are so widespread and standard that nobody really stops to … [Read more...]
The 16 Best Free Adobe Photoshop Alternatives for Mac & Windows
October 8, 2013 By 5 Comments
We recently took a look at the Adobe Creative Suite, breaking down when to use Photoshop vs. Illustrator vs. InDesgin, but there's one glaring fact we didn't mention: not every designer has access to these programs. For designers who are just starting out, still in school or operating on a tight budget, Adobe Photoshop might be a luxury that you just can't afford. But if you find yourself in one of these categories, breathe easy; there are several free photo editing programs out there that can … [Read more...]
Adobe Illustrator vs. Photoshop vs. InDesign – Print Design Guide
September 24, 2013 By 115 Comments
Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign represent the “big three” of the Adobe Creative Suite—but never assume that one is interchangeable with another. Use the wrong design program to create a certain element of your artwork, and you might end up with blurry text, sloppy layouts, or a logo that you can never resize without turning it into a pixelated nightmare. Using all three programs together, however, turns them into the ultimate dream team. You can maximize the strengths of each Adobe product … [Read more...]
The 5 Different Logo Design Styles: Which Type Fits Your Brand?
September 10, 2013 By 10 Comments
Where would McDonald's be without their golden arches, UPS without their brown shield emblem, or Coca-Cola without their iconic cursive script? Each of these logos perfectly encapsulates the associated brand, and yet, each is an entirely different type of logo design. The same way that food falls into basic food groups, logos fall into 5 basic styles, each with their own unique strengths and weaknesses. Here's a definition of each logo type, along with some tips on how to choose one that … [Read more...]
Folder Case Study: Portsmouth Peace Treaty Forum
September 5, 2013 By Leave a Comment
When you're dealing with one of the most significant symbols of peace in the Northern Pacific region, it deserves the proper package. Several years ago, the Japan-America Society of New Hampshire needed presentation folders in which to insert copies of the Governor's Proclamation of the Portsmouth Peace Treaty, which formally ended the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05. These illustrious documents would be presented by hand to visitors from Nichinan, Japan (both political officials and … [Read more...]