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Image videos, commercial spots or how-to-videos: graphic design plays an important role in videos. I always find this very exciting as I normally don’t have anything to do with videos. And I’m not talking about animations here, but about text and logo positions for example. How is a text or a symbol being faded in/out, where is it placed, when and how long is it visible? In the past years I did the graphics for many videos. Here you see a few examples: #video

The design relaunch for Austria's no. 1 transport magazine is finished: logo, editorial design (print + app) and the responsive website. The biggest challenge: Placing as much text as possible on as little space as necessary - despite having enough white space on the pages. How did that work in the end? I was inspired by enging pistons going up and down. How shall that influence the overall look of the magazine? You can discover the answers to these questions and all the details about this complex project in my portfolio. #magazine #editorialdesign #logo

Have you ever heard of BNI? BNI stands for Business Network International and it's all about professional business contacts, result-oriented networking and commission free business recommendations. There are thousands of such BNI groups (also called "chapter") worldwide, that meet for breakfast once a week. The new chapter "Nordkette" was officially founded on July 7, 2017 in Innsbruck. This event was accompanied by a lot of press and media representatives. I designed the logo and the 3 fold flyer, including QR codes for contact data. The logo shows the shape of the "Nordkette" mountain chain that Innsbruck is famous for. You can find out more about our networking group here . #bni #flyer #logo

(This blog article was updated on 2 January 2018.) When you start your own business, there comes a point when you say "I need a logo". In most cases, what you mean is: you need a professional look for your business. (See my video titled "Logo vs. Corporate Design" .) But what do you really get, when you order a "professional look for your business"? After finalising a corporate design for my clients, they receive a whole bunch of design assets, put together in a nice folder structure: I Logo pixel : for the uncomplicated usage by non-graphic-designers and for social media platforms I 4c (colour) in print colour mode CMYK and in screen colour mode RGB or HEX I 1c white (white) in print colour mode CMYK and in screen colour mode RGB or HEX I 1c black (blacm) in print colour mode CMYK and in screen colour mode RGB or HEX I Logo vector : for the professional usage and unlimited scalability without quality loss I 4c (colour) in print colour mode CMYK and in screen colour mode RGB or HEX I 1c white (white) in print colour mode CMYK and in screen colour mode RGB or HEX I 1c black (blacm) in print colour mode CMYK and in screen colour mode RGB or HEX I Fonts : Files incl. license of the fonts defined in the design concept, for installing on the client’s computer. I Colour codes : The exact codes in CMYK and RGB or HEX of the colours defined in the corporate design. I Secondary style elements : These can be different things that are necessary to perfectly implement the branding into practice (i.e. graphic shapes, background layers for brochures, design elements for social media etc.). Secondary style elements are often derived from the logo and can repeatedly be found in many communication materials. An example is the vertical line in my logo that you see in my social media posts, in my whitepapers or videos. I Print data : Print-ready PDF files for letterhead, business cards, envelopes, poster etc. (depending on what the client orders). I Social media : All design assets for Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Youtube can be provided on demand (like profile pictures, banner pictures, templates for social media posts). I Website : Design assets needed for the website can be found in this sub-folder: special buttons, bars or other design elements. I Picture language – examples : If the client works with a lot of picture material, it can make sense to use a certain pre-defined picture language or also a pre-set colour layer on top of the photos. This sub-folder contains examples. In addition to this folder structure, my clients also get a corporate design manual as a PDF file. This brand style guide has about 10 to 25 pages, depending on how complex the branding is. This brand guide explains the entire design concept in an easy language, so that clients can work with all design assets correctly. This allows for a flexible, thus correct usage of the corporate design and the design can grow with the business. Apart from that, my clients stay independent from me in future; this way, all clients stay independent from branding agencies. Even though, almost all corporate design clients come back to me when they need something (what I appreciate of course), they can work with other graphic designers or with their own in-house graphic department too, because they are provided with the brand style guide. By the way: I was awarded with the quality seal "Qualitätsstandards Corporate Design" by the initiative corporate design , which is only given to branding agencies that work in compliance with pre-defined minimum standards in terms of branding quality. Find out more about how I create a corporate design here . #corporatedesign #logo #font #branding #webdesign #color

In this blog post I present two fonts that I got to know in the course of re-designing Austria’s biggest transport magazine "Blickpunkt LKW + BUS". And now I am in absolute love with them. Let me tell you why ... AKKO Akko has a slightly technical feel, but comes with a likable, almost smiling and humanistic twist. Nevertheless, Akko is strong and present, has a dominant letter width. What caught my eye from the start was the capital letter K. That funky dash in the centre which holds together the left and right halves of the letter. That was something special and somehow reminded me of a truck’s axle. Perfect for a transport magazine, I thought. After thoroughly checking all elements of that font, I was totally convinced. By the way, Akko was created by Akira Kobayashi in 2011, but got a great update and a rounded font in 2015. You can buy Akko at Fontshop . MARBACH As Akko would be used mainly for headers and captions (in the light cut), I of course needed to look out for a great font for the main copy too. The font would need to embody journalistic authority, but have a modern touch at the same time, that supports the magazine’s leading market position and carries it into an even more successful future. The big challenge here was also to put as much text as possible into as little space as necessary, because every page costs extra money in the print process and with regards to postage. This turned out to be a little mammoth task, considering I wanted to introduce more white space into the layout in order to better steer the reading flow and to improve the overall reading experience. It took me several days to check out many different fonts and test them for readability (in print and on screens!), grey tone, x height, letter width and usage of space of course. I kept going back to Marbach again and again and could not imagine a better font for the main copy for this project. Despite a beautiful letter width and x height, Marbach turned out to use up less space compared to many other fonts. Marbach was created by Dieter Hofrichter in 2015 and is available on Fontshop . FONT MIXING Mixing the fonts turned out to be without complications. A -5 spacing of Akko was enough to include it into the Marbach text body nicely. In this example: Header (Akko) in the main copy (Marbach). The blue line shows the same x height and the red square shows the letter width of "e". I can’t wait for the readers to hold the newly designed magazine in their hands in autumn. #typography #font #fonts #magazine #editorialdesign

A design relaunch is always something quite delicate: If it’s for a product established for many years, a magazine, a logo or a complete corporate design that people know – and love (?) – since they were children. The thing is: People as such are lazy. Saying good-bye to an established design means that you have to get used to something new which is causing effort. Us humans are trapped in our habits and we do not like to lose things that we are used to. You probably know this from yourself: If you see the relaunched logo of a company, your first reaction might be "Why did they do this? Looks stupid, completely useless.". Do you recognise yourself here? Once you got over the first confrontation with the (still) unfamiliar, it’s only half as "bad" and as time goes on, you are getting used to it. After a few weeks, you will very likely say something like "That really looks much better, it fits in today’s world. I’m happy they did that.". Taking a look at the old look/logo would probably make you shake your head. The design relaunch for a magazine is such a challenge too – especially when it’s been on the market for over three decades and is established as the magazine with the highest circulation in its niche. However, market leaders in particular must defend their strong position on the market again and again; firstly of course with their product – but also a good design relaunch can contribute to that. I’m responsible for the relaunch of such a market leading magazine and have already been working on it for a few weeks: new paper, new colours, new font scheme, new grid, new topics etc. A very important point was the font for the main copy not taking up too much space. (You can read more on fonts for this project in a separate blog post in a couple of weeks, by the way.) The new design will be launched in autumn 2017. Here you see first insights into the development of the new design: #magazine #fonts #font #editorialdesign #relaunch

In the first week of May, I went to Cyprus to relax, enjoy myself and just fuel myself up with energy again. Here are some photos for day-dreaming: Copyright: Helene Clara Gamper #cyprus #holiday

(This blog article was updated on 2 January 2018.) „For publishers, the tablet magazine opportunity is game-changing, but the last thing they should do is simply shovel their printed titles on to tablets. Consumers demand more, and the rich new interaction paradigm means amazing engagement and storytelling opportunities for editors and marketers alike.“ The Guardian The past years in the digital publishing business have taught me a lot and I could make some valuable experiences for my clients and myself. In this blog article I will write about some core facts about app magazines that are offered in addition to print magazines. And about five mistakes publishers stumble upon too often. It doesn’t have to be like that. Background: In August 2011, the e-magazine for my client "Blickpunkt LKW & BUS" went online – first only for iPhone and iPad, a few years later also for smart phones and tablets with Android. The topic of the magazine (commercial vehicles in Austria) targets quite a narrow niche. By December 2016 the app counted over 10,000 unique (!) downloads. A big success that is linked to avoiding these five mistakes: MISTAKE # 1: Print content = app content Imagine this scenario: A magazine lies in front of you, you like reading it. You know that this magazine is also available digitally as an app for the iPad – with the exact same content. Would you download the app and maybe even pay extra for it? Most probably not. Hence: Offering the exact same content in the e-magazine like in print, does not offer any (obvious) additional value to the reader. A smart content concept is needed here: Which topics are better suited for digital publishing, which ones are better suited for the print magazine? Which topics offer additional content that can be offered in the app and doesn’t have enough space in the print magazine? Is it maybe worth having specific magazine categories for the app version only? And so on. The editorial team is in demand here. – And if that seems difficult at first glance: Just think – how many times does the editor say "we have so much great material, especially photos, that will never fit on a double page". You see where I’m getting to? ;-) Apart from content, there can also be a totally different additional value: Time. The e-magazine can be published a day before the print magazine, for example. Weekly newspapers would definitely benefit from that. Bottom line: The reader needs a clearly visible additional value why he/she needs to download the app. MISTAKE # 2: Not promoting the app Just because you’re offering an app, doesn’t mean that it will be downloaded a lot. The times of apps being something completely innovative that you simply have to try out, are definitely over. So, you need to promote your app. The easiest and free method to do this, is in the equivalent print magazine. You get to the right people at no extra cost, which is perfect. Another tip here: Don’t only have one advertisement in the print magazine, but place several eye-catchers across the entire print magazine and promote the additional value of the app ("see the full photo coverage for this story in our app", "watch the full fashion show video in the app", "a fully interactive, exclusive interview with the CEO in our app" etc.). Several eye-catchers in the print magazine remind your readers about the additional value of your app again and again. More contact points + clearly visible additional value = rising download numbers. MISTAKE # 3: Take over print advertisements It is recommended to take out the print advertisements altogether in the e-magazine, unless your advertising clients are willing to pay extra for that. Otherwise, advertising clients don’t have a feeling for the value of your app. And if you place advertisements in your digital publication, please make them interactive. Actively approach your advertising clients with different options and pricing models. In this video you see a few great examples for interactive advertisements in tablet magazines: MISTAKE # 4: PDF files in the app The worst publishers can do is to simply shift the print PDF file into the app. Usability and additional value: zero. I as a reader would feel fooled. MISTAKE # 5: Bad usability The reading flow on an iPhone differs a lot from the reading flow on a tablet which again differs a lot from the reading flow in a print magazine. The usability has a big impact on the success of your e-publishing efforts. Font size, navigation, size of interactive buttons etc. contribute to a great user experience. This example shows what I mean: --- Another tip for you: If you want to offer your magazine as an app, I recommend to download this free whitepaper in which you find out what you simply have to know before going on the app stores. #app #magazine #digitalpublishing

In every Tirol Box and Tirol Box basic, customers find a beautiful little booklet in zigzag-fold, which describes the products further. Printed in 1 colour on the paper Woodstock betulla 285 g, this booklet transports a feel of nature and quality. The illustrated St. John’s wort buds to the left and right of headers are part of the corporate design of Tirol Box . The products of Tirol Box were illustrated with a coal feather stroke. Here you see a few snapshots. #tirolbox #tirol #tirolbox #booklet

Being self-employed requires you to be very well organised. When Ashley Wiggins and I decided to set up Tirol Box in the beginning of 2016, we knew that a very big challenge was waiting for us. Setting up a completely new business "on the side" looked almost impossible. And even though it was a huge amount of effort and blood, sweat and tears, we made it. Perfect time management was crucial especially for me. From February to December 2016 (almost the whole year), I worked about 16 to 18 hours per day on average – yes, pure (!) working time. In these eleven months I had no more than ten days off. I had to run HCG corporate designs as normal and "on the side" Tirol Box had to be set up. You maybe can imagine how hard this time was for me... This is why time management is so important. Here I give you my personal 5 tips for great time management: 1. Prioritise correctly Make a list of jobs. This already gives you a good overview. Such an overview is really important. Time-sensitive things should always be completed first, in the order of their deadline – in consideration of how long these To Do’s take. Pieces of work that are required from you by your colleagues for them to continue working on it, and give it back to you for continuing working on it, should rank quite high on your priority list, too. Consider that your colleagues are not always available when you think they should be. You can reduce the time pressure of regular jobs by pre-working on them. An example is this blog: I post a blog article every two weeks. But as I don’t have time to write a new blog article every two weeks, I pre-write them several weeks in advance, sometimes even two to three months in advance. This reduces time pressure and blog writing can climb down the priority list a bit. I book in three days to pre-write blog articles in a week where my calender is not full. This is how I make use of work-downtime. 2. Plan in buffer times Even if you think, project X will take up only two hours out of your busy schedule today. Trust me, it will more probably be like three hours. This is why I find it extremely important to plan in approx. 30 to 50 % buffer time. Buffer times I do not use for work, I can use for breaks or administrative work. 3. Analyse and reflect yourself Ask yourself at what time of the day you are most productive. Most people are mentally fit in the morning. Other people are fitter in the evening. Some people even at night. Analyse yourself and find out when you are most productive and plan your workdays accordingly. Difficult jobs should always be done when you are most productive. 4. Multi-tasking Some people are better, some people are worse at multi-tasking. But if you have a lot on, you sometimes have no choice rather than doing several things at once. For example, I often read e-books or newsletters all at once while working out on the crosstrainer. 5. Eliminate time killers A clear mind, full concentration and focus are essential requirements in order to do your work well, without mistakes and in time. Especially in times like these, smart phones, Facebook & Co. are omnipresent time killers that destroy our concentration and make it much more difficult to work well. The best thing to do is to have two separate smart phones, one for private which is in another room, and one for business which is on your desk. Also WhatsApp is a huge time killer. I excluded myself from a WhatsApp group for example because it cost me 45 minutes per day. You have to make a decision: Either use WhatsApp and surf on Facebook now or work, thus finish work sooner and enjoy more nice free time in the evening. How does that sound to you? ;-) I hope my 5 tips for great time management were helpful for you and you can take some of that advice into practise. #freelance #freelancer #selfemployment #organisation #timemanagement

In the course of the digital editorial design for the tablet magazine "connecting comPETence" , issue ONE:17, I implemented in-app purchases for new issues in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store in order to generate further monetization possibilities for the publisher PETnology/tecPET GmbH. #app #apple #digitalpublishing

In the course of designing the print and app magazine for "Blickpunkt LKW+BUS" , I also created an interesting 3D effect with text and photo for the Truck Race Trophy 2017 that can be seen in the tablet app. You can pull the text up behind the woods. Many anchor points perfectly adjust the text frame to the tree tops. #tablet #app #3d #editorialdesign