astrid wehling – designer notes from a large island

Art and Photography

For almost 10 years I'm designing catalogues and invitations for art exhibitions, mainly ceramics. The quality of photos sent in by the artists has improved immensely over the time as most artists now use the services of professional photographers.

But for those who are still taking their own photos or who want to improve their skills: here are a few things you should know if you want your photo being published:

• Use a tripod.

• Leave enough space around the object - include more background. If the object on the photo sits too close to the edge of the photo, the image can't be used for full page images if you want to show the complete object. A full page image always requires extra space around the edges for bleed and you don't want two or three millimetres being cut off your artwork.

• Watch out for weird looking shadows, they might distract from the object and kill the whole image.

• The same goes for too many and too strong reflections. Try to avoid flash.

• Avoid busy backgrounds, even if your studio or kitchen looks interesting. But a busy background will distract from the main focus in the photo.

• Should your photo include a 'horizon' e.g. a table's edge or a floor edge, make sure it's straight.

• Centre your object unless you are using an interesting angle for artistic purposes.

• If you are using a paper background, make sure it's not dirty or ripped (photoshop can fix a lot, but that would lead to higher pre-press costs)

• If you are taking photos of your art in an exhibition, focus on your object, unless showing blurry people in the background is intentional and part of the arrangement.

• Make sure the digital file is large enough for printing. I often see images that look great on screen but turn out only as big as a stamp when printed in the correct resolution. Offset printing requires 250 ppi* or 300 ppi* photoshop files. An A5 .psd file can easily end up being 12 MB large.

• When you save your .psd file into a jpg to send it off, try to save it only once as each re-saving will compress the image more, which affects the quality.

Happy Snapping!


• ppi = pixels per inch; very often wrongly called dpi (dots per inch).

10 years of designing the Journal of Australian Ceramics

Designing the Journal of Australian Ceramics (formerly known as 'Pottery in Australia') has been one of my first big jobs after arriving in Australia. Little did I know about the world of ceramics back then.

10 years, 3 offices, a magazine title and and an editor change later and I'm still loving it.
Every 3 to 4 month a big folder of photos and stories is waiting to go into the next magazine. 3 weeks of layouting and relayouting, discussing, discarding and developing new ideas end up in the big last question: "And what goes on the cover?" Sometimes you have a hero shot straightaway, sometimes it's a last minute Eureka moment.

Today we work with the best photographers, writers and proofreader from Australia to bring the most exiting and inspiring stories about ceramics to the large community of ceramicists and art lovers worldwide.

2001

2011

Oh, and did I mention the great coffee, pastries and curries that come with working with that wonderful team? Thanks for 10 amazing years!

 

 

The Journal of Australian Ceramics - fresh off the press

I had the most recent magazine in the mail today - it's always exciting to see it in print after working on it for full 10 days. It's magazine No 25 or 26 for me, I've somehow lost track.

It's still a lot of fun to work with the editor and artists, writers and photographers on topics as various as exhibitions, current ceramic work or special techniques. The magazine is a 128 pages, full colour publication, more a book than a magazine, in the handy format of 170 mm x 245 mm. Purse perfect.

We've updated the design a couple of times, the magazine is on the market now for 49 years, it's quite interesting to see all covers from all those decades next to each other.

I'm looking forward to the next 25 mags.

The Journal of Australian Ceramics

Is print in advertising a dying thing?

No. Not at all.

Of course, we can't deny that newspaper numbers are in decline, that online advertising is the 'must have' at the moment. But the magazine market is still big and surveys show that people still love to read a magazine or a newspaper in bed, at the beach or in the bathroom. Not so pleasant and cosy with a laptop, I would say.

Apart from advertising in magazines – there is much more to print. I am thinking more of all the collaterals in marketing – company profiles, sales brochures, presentation folders, product brochures or outdoor advertising. Print collaterals are powerful tools which can't be neglected just because of the powerful presence and buzz of online advertising.

Bodo Peters Telecommunication, Company Profile

Don't underestimate the benefits of a positive tactile and visual experience that comes with paperquality and format, colours and the finishing (think varnishing, embossing, die-cutting, to name a few). A monitor can't give that. You won't even get the guarantee that your e-brochure looks the same on two different monitors.

There is a lot of noise out there in the world wide web, but I don't want to say that online advertising is overrated. Not at all, it's an exciting time right now. I only say that well-designed brochures or annual reports, business cards or sales material give a company extra prestige that lasts and is not gone with one click.

Presentationfolder Inset Interior, Interior Designers; c/o Pakka Marketing

How to write a book

... is not something I can help you with. There are much more professional people on the web who can direct you towards becoming the next bestseller author.

But what I can help you with is designing your book and dealing with all the harsh realities of the printing  process. It doesn't matter if it's a 300+ page book or a small booklet like the one shown here:

Milton Moon, born in 1926 and a well known potter in Australia, wrote a small but impressive book about the Chawan, the Japanese Tea Bowl and its traditional role in Chado, the Way of Tea.
This booklet is part of the Australian Ceramics Publication Series.

A long and inspiring relationship

Since 2001 I am designing the Journal of Australian Ceramics - formerly known as Pottery in Australia.
A 128pages publication, The Journal of Australian Ceramics is published three times a year. It's always lots of fun to sit together with the editor and sort through all the material (ok, most of the sorting is done by her) and to finally end up again with an issue full of inspiring articles and brilliant photos.