"Garbage in, garbage out!" is a common saying. The saying "What You See Is What You Get!" is also true. What You See Is What You Get! ...
"Garbage in, garbage out!" is a common saying. The saying "What You See Is What You Get!" is also true. What You See Is What You Get!
I've been in the business of digitising logos for more than twenty years, so I've seen almost every kind of art. We all want and hope that the artwork that is "camera ready" will end up on our desks or in our computer files. The truth is that we rarely see a "picture-perfect" image, and most of the time we are expected to do miracles with a blurry or pixelated design. Even with the most up-to-date software, some art can be hard to get ready for certain uses.
Most of our clients (and I'm guessing yours, too) don't know that you might not be able to get the same "look" as what they see on paper. Depending on the use, an image may need to be changed so that it can be shown better. We shouldn't expect our customers to understand this, since that's why they come to us in the first place.
Early in my career, one of the best pieces of advice I got was to tell my customers to go back to their "printer" (the person or company that made their business cards or letterhead) for crisp, clear artwork. Knowing that if they had a business card, someone had to have the original artwork on file somewhere. Most of the time, we wouldn't have to "clean up" the image unnecessarily if I told my customer to have their printer send me the design.
Occasionally, a customer will bring you a paper bag or napkin on which they have written an idea for you to emboss or engrave. In situations like these, it's helpful to have an artist on call or someone who can "redraw" the logo for production. Most small shops don't have this kind of talent on staff, but I learned early on in my business to reach out to other people.
When we first got into the business of making logos, I was the only "artist." To tell you the truth, the best picture I've ever made was in my first dot-to-dot colouring book. When it comes to drawing by hand, I look to those who were born with the skill. How to fix it? I went to our local college and called the local high schools to ask about artists. During this process, I met a number of people, and I still work with two of them in my business today. What a treasure trove! These two people started a lot of projects and helped our company grow in many ways, making thousands of clip art images and logos for the business world.
I learned that if I wanted to give my customer a high-quality logo, I had to do the following: I had to start off with something important. Even if I had to pay an artist to make the drawing again, it was worth it. When digitising the design, having a good image to work from made all the difference in the world.
I think you won't have to throw out any of your art if you start with the best quality possible.
