Inspiration for a graphic solution in a layout
It was one of those times when I was at a loss as to what to do. I had been told to create a mailer to send out to clients. It had to be interesting. It had to be inexpensive. It had to be informative. And it had to be done. We didn’t have time to hire a professional graphic artist to lay it out, so I got the job.
Well, I love a challenge and learning new things, so I jumped into the process. I put in text blocks and titles to convey the necessary information, but I tried several layout options and it just looked dull. The stark background made it seem sterile, but how could I give it some depth, some interest, without making it look overly complex?
I was staring at my computer screen, tired and worried about getting the job done. It was late in the afternoon and inspiration was slow in coming. I think my eyes glazed over a bit as a looked at the computer monitor and my desktop wallpaper, with the various icons hovering over it when I got an idea.
I am a geologist. In studying rocks and going around looking for interesting outcrops, I had taken many pictures of rocks in the field. My computer background was a close up image of travertine tiles, tiles made from the carbonate deposition of minerals from around hot springs. The color and texture of the travertine was interesting, organic, and neutral, which is why I put it on my computer. If it worked as a background on the computer why not use it in the mailer?
That was the key. I took the image, screened it down to less than 10%, and placed it behind the other graphic elements, text, and logos that were already in the layout. The graphic gave it just a bit of texture, almost as if the paper that we printed the mailer on was more expensive than it was, and I think most never knew that they were looking at rock. It worked well, and I used the trick many times over the years. When you need just a little something in the background, give a rock a try.
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