Favicon, a noun, is short for “favorites icon.”  The easiest way to define favicon is simply to show an example.  Check out the image below:

The favicon is the little icon that is displayed in web browsers to identify the website or webpage.  We based the J Sherman Studio favicon on the little red square of our logo.  Favicon display varies per browser but typically displays next to the url address and sometimes in the browser tab (like the Firefox screencapture above).  Favicon design, like any small icon design, can be tricky since everything is reduced to a tiny size.

Next time you surf the web take a peek and check out which sites have favicons and which do not.  I think of favicons as an elegant finishing touch on a website.  It is surprising to see how many websites don’t bother with this tiny touch.

Please share your favorite favicon designs? Or let us know if you need help designing this tiny graphic for your site.

Check out this cool little program, IO Graphica, that actually tracks mouse movements into a picture.  Jenny and I both tested it out for nearly six hours and our mouse movements are captured below. Why are the images so wide?  Well, we are both using two monitors that are side-by-side, so we have a lot of horizontal space.  We both tend to design work on the left and keep reference files open on the right.

Apparently we have very active mice!

What is Jenny doing with that big circle on the left?  We think that is her web browser where we use Google Docs for nearly everything.  And all those lines in the upper left corner are likely the tool bars in the Adobe programs.

What do I do in the lower corner of my screen?  I am ashamed to admit that is the email application… it seems like there are always emails to respond to!  And the big blob in the upper left is probably the tool bar for most Adobe applications.

An update to the post… since I couldn’t resist tracking my mouse activity again today.  Slight different patterns after 8 hours of work.

And look at a close up view:

This carpet is for Studio B, the ship’s ice skating rink.  What was the inspiration?  Fire and ice (can’t you tell?)

On the deck above Studio B you will find the On Air bar.

The Diamond Club is a lounge area for frequent cruisers.  The space feels like a tropical retreat and the carpet reflects this with overlapping foliage.

Put your dancing shoes on when you visit Dazzles, a two-deck high, upscale dance club with a spectacular view and illuminated dance floor.  The pattern shimmers like a classy disco mirror ball.

The Concierge Lounge reflects vintage luggage design combined with Royal Caribbean International’s corporate branding.

Please check out our first Oasis of the Seas posting to see images from the nightclub Blaze and the Opal Theater.

Considering print options before starting design helps inform design decisions and often can help you save money.  The printer should not be detached from the design process: the printer is an important part of the design process.

Plan for print early and get your printer involved before the design is finalized.

Here are print-related questions we typically ask our clients:

• What quantities will you be printing?
• Should your materials be designed in full color? or 1-color? or 2-color?
• Do you prefer coated or uncoated paper?
• Will you mail this piece? if so, is it a self-mailer? Or if it needs an envelope, what size envelope? (we always work backwards from the envelope size for something that will be mailed!)
• If this is a multi-page document, what is your estimated page count?

Other questions: (not specifically print questions, but the answers usually inform print decisions)

• What is the purpose for this project?
  
• Who is the audience?
• How will people use the printed materials? (will they put it in a bookcase? in their pocket? in their briefcase?)
• What kind of “shelf life” will your materials have?
• What are other people in your industry doing? (not so we can mimic your competition, but rather so we can differentiate!)

And behind the scenes we think about some of these things:

• The average age of your audience for font-size determination.
• How many items can we fit per sheet? (both to control costs and to avoid paper waste)
• How can we make print-related decisions that make your project stand out without being impractical or expensive?

What other print-related questions do you have?  Please share!

What else can I make with this paper? Ideas and suggestions are welcome.

• The Small Object cake toppers: (is it okay that I want to have another wedding just so we could have an excuse to order these?) http://www.thesmallobject.com/products/weddingTopper.html#

• The Pomodoro Technique (we have been trying this all week but having silly timer malfunctions… maybe next week!): http://www.pomodorotechnique.com/

• Julia Rothman (I would like to wallpaper the studio with her patterns, stunning and playful!): http://www.juliarothman.com/

Ascenders and descenders help make type more readable.

Newsflash: most of us don’t read read, we scan.  When someone scans a line of text, the ascenders and descenders help make the words stand out and become more recognizable.  This is why it generally is not recommended to write body copy in all-caps.  All-cap letterforms are less differentiated, so larger amounts of text are not very easy to read in all-caps (and it also looks like you are YELLING at someone in all caps!).

HOW MUCH HARDER IS IT TO READ THIS TEXT IN ALL CAPS?  IT MAKES IT LOOK LIKE I AM YELLING AT YOU, AND YOU HAVE TO READ IT CAREFULLY TO SEE WHAT IT IS THAT I AM YELLING ABOUT!

Instead be kind and write body copy in lowercase.  Save all caps for things like titles or highlighting a single word in a sentence.  Let the happy and attractive ascenders and descenders help you to identify each word.

Besides helping readability, ascenders and descenders can be quite attractive.  My favorite descender, not surprisingly, is j.

We designed the branch-like screens that you can see in this photo below:

And check out the carpet pattern:

What do you think? Are you ready to pack your bags and go on this ship?

Person A says: “I hate blue.”   Person B declares: “this is for business, so we should make everything blue.”  Person C says: “I’m just not loving it.”  Person D says: “This is perfect.”  Person E chimes in: “I showed it to my wife, and she thinks we use illustration instead of photography.”  And so on, and so on…

Try to avoid these situations by managing the feedback process.

For a new project:

• Ask who the key stakeholders are
• Determine when they will be involved
• Let them know they will be involved
• Let them know how their feedback will be used
• Gather opinions early on

Get quality feedback:

• Listen to each other: if possible, plan a meeting or schedule a conference call
• Get people to elaborate on their feedback:  “It just isn’t working for me” is not constructive feedback
• Ask people to consider their feedback after they hear each other
• Gather and batch the feedback.  Do not let it trickle in randomly as the design is being revised

Ask good questions:

• Is the design appropriate for the purpose and target audience?
• Does it match the specifications you need?
• Will this design work with your final content?
• What is working? What do you like best about each design? and why?
• What is not working? and why? (the “why” is the most crucial part)

Every design project is different, and gathering feedback is a unique process for every client.  We would love to hear your thoughts about group feedback and any tips or suggestions that you have.  Please share!