Tuesday Tidbits :: On Quality

The term "Quality" is quite broad. It can refer to a "Quality" education, "Quality time" and "Quality" of work, that latter of which is the inspiration for this Tuesday Tidbit.

As a Graphic Designer, I'm hyper-attuned to printed material, both mine and the work that is produced by others.

When I produce jobs for my clients, it's very important to me that I give them the very best Quality of design and print. A very memorable advertising slogan proclaimed by hair entrepreneur, Vidal Sassoon, in the 1980's proclaimed "If you don't look good, we don't look good." He staked his reputation on the hair care products his company produced and, as a wise businessman, he recognized that his reputation would suffer if his hair care products left clients looking like Cabbage Patch dolls rather than Barbies. The same can be said for my line of work.

I recently was handed a postcard by an acquaintance at a networking event and it was obvious to me that it had been produced without a Graphic Designer's assistance. The clues were that the colors were off and the print and pictures were fuzzy. It was apparent that the graphics were printed with the wrong resolution in the wrong color space. This lack of attention to detail overpowered the message this acquaintance wished to convey. I honestly don't even remember the product on the card because all I could focus on was the poor image Quality. That's not something I think this person wanted potential clients to notice.

Had this businessperson spent a little up front to guarantee a good Quality postcard would be designed and printed properly, the design would have enhanced the message rather than detracted from it. Author Nicholas Sparks said, "Over time, quality work will lead to an audience for your work."

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