Picture this: Your daughter (who from here out is going to be called Cindy.) is graduating this year, and you want to have a montage ready for her upcoming graduation party. You call Generation-X Albums, order your montage, and then start searching for photos. While searching for photos to put in your montage, you find a photograph of your daughter’s favorite pet. You think “Oh, Cindy loves this cat, I better add this to the montage.”

- STOP -

Although we at Generation-X Albums will certainly make your montage however you want, in my experience, if a photograph does not have the topic of the montage in it, why add it? All this does is confuse people, and break the flow of the montage. You can add as many effects, and cool transitions to a montage that you want, but in reality, the most important thing about a montage is the photographs. Making good photographic choices will make your montage much better. If you really want something in the montage, try to find a photo of that thing with the topic in the photo. (In other words, find a photo of Cindy, and her favorite cat together.)  You could even request that Generation-X Albums modifies a photo of Cindy to make it look like her pet is in the photo.

Now that you have your photos chosen, it’s time to think of what songs you want in Cindy’s montage. Suddenly, you remember that Cindy’s favorite song is Master of Puppets by Metallica. (Apparently, Cindy is quite the metal-head.) You Immediately write it down, to be played for the montage.

-STOP-

Once again, although we at Generation-X Albums will certainly make your montage however you want, but Master of Puppets is probably not the best choice for a Graduation montage. Although you should pick music that Cindy does know, and enjoy, try to find music that matches the feel of the montage. Listen closely to the lyrics of the songs, too. There are several songs that sound like one thing, but in reality is singing about something totally different. For example, take Green Day’s “Good Riddance (Time of your Life),” Its chorus says “I hope you had the time of your life,” and although you may think that as a sincere statement, listening to the rest of the song makes it quite clear that Green Day was very sarcastic in this song, and the song is, in fact, very negative.

In conclusion, always think about what you’re adding to the montage, and ask yourself “should I put this in the montage?”  If you ever need advice on choosing your photos, and songs, you can always ask us at Generation-X Albums.  We can help you.

Tags: Design, DVD Montage, generation-x albums
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I was speaking to my Brother recently about making a billboard for Generation-X Albums.  He and I have begun to toss some ideas around.  As we do this, I have quickly come to find just how ineffective most billboards are.

I would like to challenge you for a moment.  Do a Google search for “Billboard.”  Next, click on each image, and look at it for two seconds, and then quickly look away from it.  Ask yourself “Did this billboard portray a message within the two second time span?  Did I understand what this billboard was trying to advertise?”  You may shocked to find how infrequently you will say yes to those questions.  It saddens me to see how many people not only pay to have a billboard, but also pay to have a billboard designed, when it does not do it’s job.  As you are driving down the road, you will have no more then two seconds before the driver will have to avert their eyes back to the road.  That makes for a short time span to portray your message.

There are two things that you want to push for when you design a billboard, simplicity, and hierarchy.

Simplicity (Keep it simple, stupid):
When it comes to billboards, generally a simple design is the best design.  The viewer only has two seconds before they quit looking at the billboard.  You need to ensure that whatever you want to convey, is conveyed with the least amount of things on the billboard as possible.

Hierarchy:
In conjunction with simplicity, hierarchy can ensure the view makes sense of the image as quickly as possible.  If you direct the person’s eyes with your design, you can ensure they viewer is seeing the image in the way you intend it to be viewed, therefore helping them understand the message quicker.  When doing your design, try going to people, flashing the image at them, and ask them “What was the first thing you looked at when you seen this image?”  If they answer the question with an object you did not want to be seen first, then make some changes, and try again.

In conclusion, Simplicity and Hierarchy are the two most important things to keep in mind when you’re designing.  If you consistently push to design at this high of a profile not only for billboards, but advertisements, brochures, or any other form of advertising, you will find that your work consistently will become more effective.

Tags: Billboards, Design, generation-x albums, Graphic, Signs
Posted in Personals | No Comments »