This month’s email features an article on tips to tweak
those less than perfect Photo shop files, and some grammar
tips from Tria’s Grammar Guru, Linda Brennan. Finally, we
start with an article on learning good vacationing skills.
Refreshing your Creativity: Why vacations are essential for
productivity
By Ann Siegle
Every month when I sit down to do research on our upcoming
articles, invariably I find two or three other publications’ editors
have had the very same idea. So if you want to read more,
check out Self Magazine’s current issue, for reasons
why people who vacation annually live years longer than
those who don’t!
And our own industry publication Creative Business, published
an ‘avoiding burnout’ article, some information
of which ended up in this newsletter.
All of our clients work at the peak of their performance
(otherwise you wouldn’t be our clients, we only work with the best).
So we know that you push yourself. Long hours, deadlines, many
responsibilities. Taking a vacation seems like something that
would set you BACK, not help you get ahead.
Yet, burnout is the leading cause of poor productivity.
Worse yet, it virtually shuts down the brain’s creative center.
According to Timothy J. Hantula Burnout can be defined
as the loss of one’s ability to..
* ...generate novel and/or useful ideas and solutions
to everyday problems.
* ...function confidently as a contributing member
of a creative team.
* ...maintain faith in the creative process and yourself.
(http://www.schubert.com/pressroom/publish ed_articles/articles/1998/creative_burnout.html)
Further,
Dr. Tony Alessandra (www.alessandra.com) points out that not
scheduling some time to refuel your brain
kills off
all of your passion, making you unreceptive to new
ideas, even really brilliant new ideas that could
have far reaching
impact
on your business. He says the classic burnout victim
works long hours 6-7 days per week, and even thinks
about work
on their off time. Is that you?
.
"
Time Away is not a luxury; it is essential for clear thinking.
Don’t wait for weariness to do you in" –Cam
Foote, Creative Business, Boston-based business advisory consultancy.
But you can’t just take any vacation – you have
to take one that engages you completely. That means,
leave the computer at home If you have children, go on a vacation
that involves the whole family. If you’re
active, take a sporting vacation – cycling
in Vermont for a long weekend, or hiking the Grand
Canyon for a week. If you’re looking
for creative inspiration, visit a world class city
with superb museums and cultural events, and spend
ample time people-watching,
to soak up environmental ambiance. Vacationing
doesn't have to be expensive - camping with the
kids, visiting a nearby museum, going cycling in
your town, being a tourist in your city for a week
are all local, cheap alternatives with the same
result.
Here are five tips for recharging your batteries
with better vacationing skills:
1) Take Five. You might try a long weekend to
ease into the idea of vacations. That’s only 3 days off work. Leave
home if you can. Tony Alessandra says to start with three days
off if five seems too tough.
2) Unplug to Unwind. Leave your computer at home,
get away from electric powered distractions.
Tina’s family enjoys
camping – there’s no generator powering her computer
for email.
3) Change Perspective. Visit a museum in another
town – even
if it’s the next city over When was the
last time you went to the Detroit Institute of
Arts or the Grand Rapids Art
Museum or Meijer Gardens?
4) Be active. Exercise stimulates brain activity.
Plan an active vacation. For the BEST outdoor
catalog (and
maybe even best-designed
catalog we have ever seen), request a full catalog
from Backroads.com.
It’s the Sears Catalog of vacation ideas.
5) Plan your getaway a day early. You don’t think we
all actually leave the first day we’re ‘on vacation’ do
you? Oops! Probably shouldn’t have let THAT cat out of
the bag. Having a buffer day helps you cope with last minute
stress. But don’t go to the office on your buffer day.
Armed with
these skills, you'll soon learn the power of vacations to recharge
your life!
Photo shop tips by Tina Block
Any project that will be produced using high-quality
offset printing requires 300 dpi (hi-res) images.
However, there
are times when all you have is a 72-dpi (lo-res)
photo. There are
some things you can do to make the most of
a lo-res photo, although the end result will still
not be
as good as
a photo that was hi-res in the first place.
This method should
only
be utilized on a photo that will be used at
100% or less of its actual beginnning size. To convert
a lo-res
jpeg
into a
hi-res tiff suitable for offset printing:
1. Open the jpeg file in Photo shop: save as
Photo shop file immediately (never use the
jpeg as a "working" file).
2. Change the resolution to 300 dpi, letting
Photo shop resample the image.
3. Apply the "Dust & Scratches" filter: move
slider to the right slightly.
4. Convert to "LAB Color" mode: in the channels palette,
choose the "Lightness" channel and apply unsharp
mask to sharpen the image.
5. Convert to CMYK mode.
6. Finally, make the normal adjustments in
curves and levels, resize (we only recommend
resizing
down, not
up), and do
the final sharpening.
7. If the image still isn’t up to par, you could consider
applying an "artsy" effect, like posterization, or
the watercolor filter.
8. Save the image as a tiff.
Grammar
Guru – Linda
Brennan
Want to show how savvy you are in your
conversation and in your writing? Learn
the proper use
of some very trendy,
but
often misused words.
Take the word "comprise." You will hear it used incorrectly
much of the time. It actually means "include, contain" or "to
be made up of." You just need to remember that the "whole" comprises
the "parts."
Examples of correct usage:
o The United States comprises 50
states.
o In 1776, the U.S. comprised the
13 original colonies.
o Some think Washington D.C. should
be made a state; if that happens,
the U.S.
would
comprise 51 states.
Incorrect usage:
You will hear many people use this
word in place of "composed" and
add an "of" after it. "Comprised of" is
ALWAYS wrong. If you feel compelled to add the "of," you’re
using the wrong word. Stick to "composed of." Why
is it wrong? Well, since "comprise," in effect, means "composed
of," if you add an "of," it’s like saying "composed
of of." Not so cool.
Already know this? You’re hot! If not, use the above
examples to find several other ways you could use the word
properly. Like, "Our company comprises 12 people." Or, "Entertainment
tonight will comprise dinner and a movie." Or, "The
NBA comprises 29 teams." And as you’re
watching the news tonight, see who
says it right.
It takes a little practice, but
you’ll
master it!
Thinking of design & marketing night & day,
Your friends at Tria,
Linda, Ann and Tina
If you want more information on these articles or anything else
related to design or marketing, please e-mail us at info@triadesignfirm.com
