FAQ
What kinds of services do you provide?
Our graphic design services are varied and comprehensive. We provide a one stop shop for web sites, search engine optimisation, email stationery, email newsletters, corporate identity, logo design, graphic design (including brochures, folders, envelopes, letterheads, compliment slips, business cards, printed catalogues, labels and stickers and large format digital printing), adverts, CD design, signage, wedding and other invitations, photo editing, aerial photos, maps and charts, and artists impressions.
Do you have examples of your work that I can see?
Absolutely! Click here to view our portfolio of recent work.
What does the web design process involve?
Depending on the size and complexity of the project, we may meet or talk by telephone to discuss your needs, whereafter I will send you a proposal for the website. We offer two rounds of changes at no cost; thereafter all changes will be billed at the agreed hourly rate.
Skeleton building stage
Once you are happy with the look and feel of the website and have accepted my cost estimate, we will invoice you for a non-refundable 50% deposit. Once the quote and design have been accepted and signed off, and deposit has been paid, we create the skeleton of your site (coding the design, style sheets and framework) on a test server and email you the address. This means you can check the progress of your site during all stages. The database and basic dynamic functionality are then added, if necessary. This stage usually takes about two working weeks.
Content population stage
We add the content and photographs that you have provided us, and ask you to check that everything is correct. This takes approximately a working week from you having provided us with all material.
Debugging and testing
I allow one working week for our team to test and debug your site, then we will ask you to “stress test” your site – log in and out; manage content and news etc. This should not take you longer than a few days.
Going live
Then your site goes live – we transfer it to your webserver on your domain and your new site will now be live on the Internet.
What does web or graphic design cost?
This is a question that gets asked a lot. The answer depends largely on what you want to get out of your new website. We offer solutions from a couple of thousand Rands, to very large and complicated websites. Don’t be alarmed at a large initial cost estimate – it could be that we did not completely understand the brief, or that you were unaware of how much work would go into your request. A solution could be to split the website into phases, or redo it at a later stage to meet your needs and budget constraints.
What kind of web sites do you produce?
We produce sites coded in HTML, PHP and CSS. The code that we write requires PHP version 5 on your webserver to work correctly. Any need to fix loss of functionality (if the site is transferred to a host that does not support PHP5) arising from platform version conflicts will be for your account.
Why don’t you recommend Flash based sites?
Flash is a future technology. I believe that HTML and PHP is still the best choice for new sites, as the search engines don’t understand Flash. A Flash based site is a blank page for the search engines and it is normal that they will not index it. There is really no point to a website that looks great, and no one can find it.
I have a small budget, or require a small site. Can you help?
Without a doubt! We offer a variety of solutions, from template based websites from a few thousand Rand to large turnkey projects that include rebranding of a corporate image, logo design, large websites and stationery.
What browsers are you optimizing sites for?
Our sites are tested to work on the latest versions of Internet Explorer, Firefox and Google Chrome.
Do you offer search engines optimization?
Yes we can. Search Engine Optimisation is very important if you want to get maximum traffic from search engines. We, together with a copywriters, optimize not only META tags, but the entire site content and structure to get higher ranking in search engines.
Do you design E-mail Stationery?
Indeed we do. Click here to see examples of this can on our Portfolio page.
How do I check on the progress of my job during the design process?
You will be kept abreast of the progress of the job through the approval process. We present the project to you (in the case of a website, it is uploaded to a test website where you can test the site as it would be live on the internet) at certain stages, or milestones, and wait for approval before we continue work. We find that this process keeps the client involved and prevents any breakdowns in communication.
What graphic software are you working with?
We work with Notepad to write some of the code, Abobe Photoshop for raster images and CorelDraw or Adobe Illustrator for vector images. Most of the time we use a combination of it all.
What are your preferred output file formats?
This depends on the project. For larger print jobs, the printers will require a print-ready PDF documents. For logo design, we will provide you with a high resolution JPEG image.
Which file formats can you open, and do you have support for?
We can open and work with CorelDraw and Corel PhotoPaint (up to version 13), Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator (up to version CS3), and have converters for most other graphics formats, like AutoCad, Freehand and Quark Express. If we cannot open it ourselves, we will find someone to assist us.
What information do you require to prepare my logo?
During the brief, we will ask questions like
- What would you like your logo to represent?
- Preferred style? (Corporate, contemporary, elegant etc.)
- Preferred colours or current corporate colours.
- Text only, image only or both?
- Do you have a tag line to be included?
- Do you require a specific typeface?
- Where will your logo be displayed?
The more information that you can provide us with ensures that your logo meets all your needs.
In what format will my logo be supplied to me?
In most cases, we will provide you with a high resolution JPEG image. If you require a vector image, please be sure to mention this to us.
Can I use my logo in other applications, like Word or Powerpoint?
Yes you can. The JPG file format has become the image standard for the internet, digital cameras, cellphones and software and many other devices. It works equally well on MAC and PC.
What is the difference between a print logo and a web logo?
Print logos require a high resolution to maintain quality and the most common formats are tiff, eps or press quality pdf. Mainly designed in cmyk for four colour process printing ,these files can be reproduced successfully in print and are usually very large files best sent via CD.
Web logos require a low resolution for viewing on screen and the most common formats are gifs or jpegs. Designed using RGB, web logos are small file sizes that can be emailed and should never be used in print as their quality is too poor to reproduce successfully and their colour profile is not compatible with pre-press software.
I need something designed yesterday. Can you help me?
The answer is maybe. Please call me immediately to see if we can rework our obligations to our other clients. If we can take on your rush job, please don’t be shocked — we’re going to add a 20 to 25% rush charge to our usual rates. We don’t want to leave anyone in the lurch. If we can’t help you, we’ll try to put you in touch with someone who can.
Who owns the copyright for work that you did for me?
Copyright of any work is yours upon receipt of final payment. We do, however, reserve the right to use any work for promotional purposes, and to add to our portfolio.
I don’t know where to start. Can you help me?
Give us a call, or send us your enquiry. We’re happy to meet with you to discuss your needs and give you a professional opinion. A project may seem overwhelming until you have the right experts helping you out. We’re here to put things into perspective and take the pressure off your hands.
