Mid-Hudson Marketing

During the life of this company, graphic design has been one of the most important aspects of our success, dating back to a time when computers were not a factor and everything was done with manual tools, stat cameras and wax machines. While the technology has changed, the basic rudiments of graphic design remain the same: To serve the purpose of attracting attention, illustrating or enhancing an otherwise plain palate of information presented in a variety of formats for a variety of goals.

A History of Graphic Design at Mid-Hudson Marketing

Years ago, when graphic design work was done on a project, it was usually done by an art director who came up with an overall concept of presentation, incorporating text from a copywriter, and art or photos from respective sources. It was often done with markers on vellum or paper as thumbnails or as a full "comp." This design specified where headlines, subheads, body copy, captions, callouts and art/photos would be placed on a layout for jobs such as ads, brochures or posters, for example. This work was then passed along to a number of other "artists" who would contribute their talents to the project. A typesetter would follow this design to set type using specified styles and sizes which would then need to be processed with chemicals before being ready for use. At that time, fine artists were frequently called upon to produce a piece of original art which was needed as part of the graphic design. We also commissioned professional photographers for the same purpose if a suitable photo did not exist. Our staff mechanical artists worked at drafting tables where they used razor blades to cut pieces of text and art, sometimes after having enlarged them or reduced them using a stat camera which produced images only in black and white and required another chemical development process. These elements would also need to be waxed (run through a waxing machine) so they would stick to a mechanical board where they were "squared up" and "squeegeed down." If a piece of art or a photograph were to appear in color, we would need to send it out to a separations house, a vendor who charged dearly for the production of four films at the proper size that would be provided to a printer or the media for four color printing. The mechanical artists would accommodate such films by sometimes cutting traps of rubylith, with acetate overlays for precise registration, processes which could take many tedious days of backbreaking work bending over the art table. This entire complicated time-consuming routine was labor-intensive, required the input of many skilled workers, and was very expensive.

Times have certainly changed. With the advent of the computer, most of this process has been reduced in time, work and expense. What has not been replaced is the artistic talent, the marketing intelligence, the industry knowledge and the aesthetic taste needed to produce graphic design that fulfills its goal.

Above: An animated piece of graphic design for a facetious dog-themed website promoting the sale of birthday party products.

What is the goal of Graphic Design?

Graphic design is everywhere in today's world. Everywhere we look, graphic design is used or needed to sell products, present entertainment, illustrate reading matter, establish branding. So, too, are the levels of excellence of this art which requires a knowledge of color and balance, form and function. At Mid-Hudson Marketing, graphic design never has existed solely for the purpose of mere decoration; it has always served the purpose of providing the necessary means of attracting the right attention of the right markets to achieve the grand purpose of business success.

Graphic Design must be a Complete Package

While it may seem like graphic design focuses on art alone, truly successful graphic design is the skillful combination of what is being communicated (the text) and how it is embellished (the art). Successful graphic design is that which presents information so that it is understood by all within the framework of a pleasing presentation. For the sake of discussing this subject further, let's assume that we are working with the English language within a mostly business environment. It becomes the responsibility of the graphic designer to represent the language correctly and to organize the information for complete clarity. How art is used to enhance this presentation must serve to reinforce clarity and comprehension, rather than confuse the issue. The elements of color, size, shape, and style of both text and art can be combined in an infinite number of ways to arrive at a brilliant conclusion, or a complete mess. This is what separates the men from the boys, the amateurs from the professionals. Some of the stumbling blocks within the industry include inexperience in choosing and combining type styles, lack of understanding of sizing, failure to utilize color to lead the reader in desired directions, and perhaps worst of all, inability to recognize and purge the presentation of grammatical, organizational and typographical errors.

A real estate promotion to showcase a new property relied on graphic design to present this pre-construction opportunity.

Mid-Hudson Marketing's Excellent Graphic Design

Whether your need is for advertising, trade show display, website, direct mail, email marketing or other avenue of marketing, Mid-Hudson Marketing incorporates scintillating graphic design to assure outstanding results. This means that every aspect of your marketing effort will resonate with creativity, professionalism, innovation, intelligence and quality delivered expertly through the subliminal envelope of inspired graphic design.

A law firm in the NY metro area was thrilled with our creative approach to their website.

A client's trade show display needed inspired graphics to promote its specialized technology.