The Non-Profit Toolbox » Janel Kesten http://thenon-profittoolbox.com Helping those who help Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:16:55 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 Successful Design Tips – Janel Kesten http://thenon-profittoolbox.com/2009/11/successful-design-tips-janel-kesten/ http://thenon-profittoolbox.com/2009/11/successful-design-tips-janel-kesten/#comments Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:11:58 +0000 Reikob http://thenon-profittoolbox.com/?p=533 Written by: Tom Beach, Executive Director & Vice President of The Toolbox, Inc. and Video Director at the October 22 Non-profit Toolbox event.

Janel Kesten from The Non-Profit Toolbox and New England Repographics presented Successful Design Tips at our October 22, 2009 event. The presentation was extremely well received and we received several request for her [...]]]>

Written by: Tom Beach, Executive Director & Vice President of The Toolbox, Inc. and Video Director at the October 22 Non-profit Toolbox event.

Janel Kesten from The Non-Profit Toolbox and New England Repographics presented Successful Design Tips at our October 22, 2009 event. The presentation was extremely well received and we received several request for her slide show. Posted below is her slide show presentation from the event.

Successful Design Tips – Janel Kesten

We will post the video of her presentation soon.

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]]> http://thenon-profittoolbox.com/2009/11/successful-design-tips-janel-kesten/feed/ 0 Design: Does it really matter? http://thenon-profittoolbox.com/2009/10/design-does-it-really-matter/ http://thenon-profittoolbox.com/2009/10/design-does-it-really-matter/#comments Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:55:02 +0000 Reikob http://thenon-profittoolbox.com/?p=369 Written by: Janel Kesten, Creative Director and Trustee Director of The Toolbox, Inc. and Speaker at the October 22 Non-profit Toolbox event.

Design: Does it really matter?

Sure your organization has received some donations. You’ve managed to convince some people of the good you’re doing. So why spend money on design when your goal is to [...]]]>

Written by: Janel Kesten, Creative Director and Trustee Director of The Toolbox, Inc. and Speaker at the October 22 Non-profit Toolbox event.

Design: Does it really matter?TNPT_sm

Sure your organization has received some donations. You’ve managed to convince some people of the good you’re doing. So why spend money on design when your goal is to be give every penny to your cause?

The simple fact is image affects our decisions every day, where to go for dinner, which pair of shoes to buy and even who to trust. It’s those little judgments we all make in an instant that can affect so much. People even judge which organization is worthy to receive their hard-earned dollars.
Now think to your brochure or website, did you assume others would see the cause for itself and want to donate? Consider the hundreds of other non-profit organizations helping kids, animals, or securing housing for the homeless. How does your image compete with theirs? Does it convey a trustworthy and stable organization? Does your brochure and website illustrate what donations provide for its recipients?

designStart with a logo. This is a visual representation of your organization and through marketing will become the identity of your brand. When space is limited, your logo will remind people of your cause when you’re not there to do so. A logo shouldn’t be a mini illustration of everything you do, rather it should come to represent who you are.M

Make a plan and invest a good design foundation. A well-executed brochure can often be translated to the web and to other marketing material, saving money on entirely new concepts. Consistent design gives confidence to donors that it’s a cause worth supporting.

You don’t have to do everything at once; take baby steps by making a plan for what you really need first. A good design should last decades with minor alterations, however a poor design could cost your more to fix in the long run.

OCTOBER 22 SEMINAR

Thursday 10.22.09 /8:00AM-12:30PM

The Non-Profit Toolbox’ Seminar
has all of the tools you need!

Holiday Inn / 929 Hingham St / Rockland, MA 02370

$129 Registration [Early Bird $99] → LEARN MORE

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]]> http://thenon-profittoolbox.com/2009/10/design-does-it-really-matter/feed/ 0 Logos and digital files http://thenon-profittoolbox.com/2009/09/logos-and-digital-files/ http://thenon-profittoolbox.com/2009/09/logos-and-digital-files/#comments Fri, 18 Sep 2009 21:46:10 +0000 Reikob http://thenon-profittoolbox.com/?p=173

Written by: Janel Kesten, Creative Director and Trustee Director of The Toolbox, Inc. and Speaker at the October 22 Non-profit Toolbox event.

Understanding digital files to preserve your organization’s logo identity.

Your organization’s logo as part of your brand, it’s how the world recognizes you. Similarly, people recognize you by your name and face so like me, you try to look your best, especially for business. You’d never show up to a meeting with wrinkled clothes and bedhead, right? In the same vein, you never want your logo looking poor on the web or in print. It’s the equivalent of not wearing a clean shirt.

Here’s what you need to know:
Raster files are made of pixels like JPEG, BMP, TIFF and are limited by the number of pixels in the file. Generally, the more pixels, the bigger and better the image will print.

1-Toolbox_Pixels500percent

Vector files are comprised of points and lines like EPS files and can be sized exponentially without loss of quality. That’s why it’s the ideal format for logo files. A raster file (jpeg) can be created from a vector file, but you can’t make a vector file from a raster file without a lot more work. Essentially the file has to be recreated, whereas you just save the vector file as jpeg with two clicks. I recommend sending eps vector files to anyone using your logo so it prints clearly! If they request a jpeg, be sure it’s the correct resolution. (see below)

2-Toolbox_vectorsample

So what type of file do you have?
Most everyone has JPEG files, some have EPS files and some have PDF files. But I didn’t mention PDF yet. Why? PDF files can contain both vector and raster information. Most often your PDF logo is solely vector art, but it gets tricky when someone saves a JPEG as PDF.

3-EPS-PDF-JPG-Logos

How much resolution do you need?
If you only have a jpeg file then resolution is very important. Here’s an example of TNPT logo at three different sizes. All logos are 2 x .75 inches, but at different resolutions. The resolution is defined by the number of pixels per inch:

• 300ppi is used for photographic printing or press
• 150-200ppi is used for general desktop printing
• 72 ppi is used for web

Below is an example of TNPT logo at three different sizes. Each shows the resolution in pixels, dimensions at web resolution of 72ppi and equivalent size if printed at size for optimum quality and clarity. This shows that your logo on screen should be as large as the top example to print clearly at the size of the third example.

4-LogoSizes

Trying to print a low resolution file like the third example at 2x.75 inches would result in a soft blurry image like the last example.

What can you do??
Check your file properties to see the pixel dimensions of the jpeg file. The largest file (ex: 800x1200px) will allow you do print a crisp image at a larger size. If you don’t have a vector file, hire a someone to recreate your artwork as vector. Pricing will vary depending on the complexity of your artwork. A designer or your local printer should offer this service. Like a good suit, this investment will pay off for your organization quickly.

OCTOBER 22 SEMINAR

Thursday 10.22.09 /8:00AM-12:30PM

The Non-Profit Toolbox’ Seminar
has all of the tools you need!

Holiday Inn / 929 Hingham St / Rockland, MA 02370

$129 Registration [Early Bird $99] → LEARN MORE

]]> http://thenon-profittoolbox.com/2009/09/logos-and-digital-files/feed/ 0 The Non-Profit Toolbox-What We Do http://thenon-profittoolbox.com/2009/09/the-non-profit-toolbox-what-we-do/ http://thenon-profittoolbox.com/2009/09/the-non-profit-toolbox-what-we-do/#comments Wed, 16 Sep 2009 13:47:39 +0000 Reikob http://thenon-profittoolbox.com/?p=157 Written by: Reiko Beach, President of The Toolbox, Inc. and Web/Social Media Speaker at the October 22 Non-profit Toolbox event.

Since this blog is new, we thought we would work on highlighting the founders of The Toolbox, Inc. and the speakers at our first event. In the weeks leading up to our event on October 22, there [...]]]>

The-non-profit-toolbox-SusaWritten by: Reiko Beach, President of The Toolbox, Inc. and Web/Social Media Speaker at the October 22 Non-profit Toolbox event.

Since this blog is new, we thought we would work on highlighting the founders of The Toolbox, Inc. and the speakers at our first event. In the weeks leading up to our event on October 22, there will be posts from all the speakers, Lisa Morrissey, Janel Kesten, Elizabeth Pineault, Kathleen Kingsbury, Jane Ford, Susan Hammond, and from our video person and Executive Director, Tom Beach.

Even if you cannot attend our event, we want to get you great information from all areas of non-profit. (other events are being planned as I write). Our plans are to cover areas that we each work in, and give you our business perspectives.  We will also be out interviewing you, the non-profits to see what some of your concerns are.

After the event we will continue to provide information, so please subscribe to our blog.

If you have any questions, if you would like to be considered as a speaker, be a guest blogger, please contact us, and of course, comment on our blog.  We hope you will join in the conversation!

OCTOBER 22 SEMINAR

Thursday 10.22.09 /8:00AM-12:30PM

The Non-Profit Toolbox’ Seminar
has all of the tools you need!

Holiday Inn / 929 Hingham St / Rockland, MA 02370

$129 Registration [Early Bird $99] → LEARN MORE

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