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Graphic Design blog

Print ready file

A print ready file is a digital file containing your artwork. The widely acceptable print ready file types vary, from PDF (Portable Document Format), EPS (Encapsulated Post Script file), PSD (Adobe Photoshop Document), (Joint Photographic Experts Read more

 

Film title design

Film titles are so important in these days of multiple film channels and the ability to browse before you buy. Film titles are difficult; so many studios are involved in the production of even the lowest budget offering and so the viewer has to sit through Read more

 

Paper sizes

Everyone is familiar with the most common of paper sizes, A4, but not everyone knows where the term comes from or what it means. As you work through the sizes, each one is half the size of the one before. Paper in the ‘A’ range is calculated from Read more

 

& (ampersand)

The ampersand symbol that is used in contemporary typography, design and writing is a glyph based on the Latin word et which translates as and.  The symbol is created by joining the letters E and T together into what is known as a ligature.
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Business rebranding

It is sometimes difficult to tell when your business needs rebranding and important to get it right. If you go to the expense and upheaval of a rebrand and subsequently find that it hasn't worked, it is often more trouble and less successful to try to go back Read more

 

Adobe Illustrator versus CorelDraw

Users of both of these famous software packages can be staunchly biased in their approval of one over the other, but with any comparison, it is important to find out precisely what the user will be using the application for.
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K in CMYK

CMYK are the four inks used in colour printing; cyan, magenta, yellow and key. Not only does the ‘K’ differentiate black from blue in RGB (red, green, blue) and avoids any confusion with brown, it describes the alignment of the cyan, magenta and
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Vector graphics

Vector graphics use mathematics to store the data on shapes, by breaking them down into a series of lines, shapes and colours. These can then be manipulated by stretching, twisting and adjusting the colour with no loss of quality. A computer
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Logos / logotypes

A logo / logotype is a unique characteristic mark or image projecting a corporate identity onto your company. A company's logo is often synonymous with its trademark or brand. These are specifically designed to project a particular concept
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Pantone Colour Matching System

The Pantone Matching System is a formula guide of 1,114 pre-defined spot colours. The system is a universally accepted and recognised colour classification directory for print and other industries where colour control is a necessity.
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Malware (adware, spyware, Trojan horses, viruses and worms)

Malware is created to cause damage to graphic designers (amongst others) and associates' computers. If designers do not operate an effective malware defence protocol, they will spread malware to clients and suppliers' computer systems,
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Supplementary Raw (SR)

Where a brochure, leaflet, poster etc is designed with full bleed (print right up to the edge of the document) the printer will use SR sized paper and card. SR is the abbreviation for ‘supplementary raw’. SR is larger than the A series e.g. SRA4
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Lorem Ipsum

Lorem Ipsum is the text used in Graphic Design to display where copy is to be placed, without the reader being distracted by the content. It has a realistic distribution of words and although at first glance it appears as readable text; it is
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Portable document format (Adobe PDF)

From our experience within the print and design industry Minuteman Press Bristol have come to rely upon  and recommend the Adobe PDF system for receiving print ready artwork files and emailing design proofs to clients. Not only have we found
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Stock image resources

At Minuteman Press Bristol we use a number of Internet sources to search and acquire graphics and images for our design projects; from logo design and corporate identity to calendars and business cards. All sources provide categories
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The Prisoner

In the view of Minuteman Press Bristol one of the most iconic fonts ever created is Village. The font was developed for use in the 1967 (now cult) television series The Prisoner, which was co-created by and starred Patrick McGoohan (1928 - 2009).
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Architecture of Clifton Village

The architecture of Clifton Village in the Clifton area of Bristol is fundamentally Georgian in design and gives an elegant overall feel to this vibrant part of an exciting city. In general, Georgian architecture is simple and understated, giving the
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Nipper the dog

Not everyone would be able to name him, but Nipper the dog is one of the most widely recognised advertising images worldwide. With various modifications to the precise image as fashions have changed, Nipper has been used in advertising
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How Brunel shaped Bristol

Despite being born in Portsmouth, Isambard Kingdom Brunel left his most innovative and striking works in the city of Bristol. Born in 1806 to father Marc, a fellow engineer, Brunel was a man who found success and reputation at a very
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Banksy

Writing a biography of the phenomenon, which we have all learned to call ‘Banksy’, is always going to be a difficult task, as no one except presumably Banksy himself is certain who he is. In various ‘unmaskings’ of the past, he has been named as either
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Brief history of Bristol

Bristol is a city in the South West of England with a population of approximately 450,000 and over one million in the surrounding urban zone. Bristol has been a highly influential city in the history of England and its motto “Virtue and Industry” is Read more

 

Fonts

Everyone who uses a computer has a favourite font.  The choice of a font you use is very important in how your output is viewed. Times New Roman is one of the fonts, which many are comfortable with but a number of data input systems, for example Read more

 

New Bristol City stadium

Since plans were first proposed in February 2009 for the new Bristol City Stadium, it has been a story of ups and downs. Bristol City Football Club has been based at Ashton Gate stadium for over one hundred years and it was felt by many that for Read more

 

Paul Dirac and Bristol

Paul Dirac, Nobel Prize winner and famous theoretical physicist was born in 1902 in Bishopston, Bristol. His father was Swiss and his mother was from Cornwall; they had met in Bristol when he was there teaching French and she was working as a Read more

 

Architecture of St Mary Redcliffe church, Bristol

The first thing that strikes anyone approaching St Mary Redcliffe church in Bristol is that the whole building seems to soar to the sky, with light fairy tale like buttresses and beautiful tracery in a pale stone. There has been a church on the spot since Read more

 

Importance of fonts

It goes without saying that everywhere you look there are fonts and despite the fact that many popular fonts turn up time and time again such as Times New Roman, Arial and Calibri, graphic designers and marketers understand the importance of Read more

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