There are those who are bored to tears by the thought of designing a form and those who love the fussy challenge of creating a good, clear, usable document. Forms are seriously underrated in the world of graphic design.

Of the four basic design principles (contrast, repetition, alignment, and proximity), the secret to a good-looking form is alignment. Lack of alignment is the single biggest failure that makes a form appear unclear to the user. The other principles are also very important, as in any design, particularly contrast to help direct the user through the form, proximity to keep groups of related pieces of information together, and repetition to tie it all together. But alignment is the key.

The top example uses interesting typefaces and calls out the major features in bold for clarity in communication and visual contrast and repetition, but it doesn’t look as clean and clear as it could.

In the lower example, elements are aligned, which naturally presents a cleaner look. Cleaner (usually) communicates better. Also, the spacing was adjusted so that the elements that belong together (like those two lines of “suggested donations”) are closer together, and the separate elements have a wee bit of extra space between them (following the principle of proximity).

Filed Under: Portland Printing Solutions

What is “print collateral”? Print collateral is a term that includes business marketing items such as business cards, letterhead, capability brochures, fliers, postcards, folders, direct mail, signage, and more.

In today’s online, paperless world one could make the case that printed material is unnecessary and a low priority for a small business. They could try to argue that point—but they’re flat out wrong. I am basing this on fairly solid experience, because I’ve been in the SEO business for roughly ten years and I have watched customers pull all of their budget from print marketing materials and dump it into Digital Marketing only to slash a major referral/lead (and revenue) stream.

Here’s a takeaway for you: You just cannot rely solely on Digital Marketing as your only strategy. It won’t work. Want proof?

Have you ever received one of those postcards in the mail from Google? Maybe something offering $100 credit to advertise on AdWords? Do you know what Google, Comcast, MSN, Facebook, Intel and eBay all have in common (besides the obvious)? They all order print marketing collateral in the form of direct mail, business cards, forms, brochures, postcards, letterhead, and so on. Why? The short answer is because it still works. Like crazy.

You and I both know that the personal referral—word of mouth—is one of the best ways to build your business. If I’m looking for a house painter, an attorney, or a mechanic, I’m going to ask my friends and colleagues who they recommend. If a friend tells me about a new restaurant, product, or service they’ve tried, I’m more likely to check it out, too.

I’ll concede that referrals can take place entirely over the Internet, especially through Social Media. But when someone takes your business card or brochure, you’re communicating more than just your contact information. The look, feel, and detail of a high-quality printed marketing piece says that you are a professional. You offer quality work, quality service, and can be trusted.

So take a look at your print collateral. What do your business cards communicate? “You can trust me”? Or, “Yeah, I printed these at home on my old ink jet”? If someone asks you for more information about your services, what do you hand them? A sticky note with your web address? Or an attractive capabilities brochure?

If you’re ready to take your print collateral to the next level, contact Printing Solutions today. Because having a custom-printed business card is way better than scribbling your website on the back of a napkin…

We offer full service printing (think everything from golf balls to car wraps, invoices or other forms, check printing, custom boxes and packaging) at direct from factory prices. Skip the middle man. Pay less by working directly with a printing manufacturer.

Give us the opportunity to quote you on your existing print collateral and you’ll see what I mean.