Well, I've now created well over 50 new Photo Cards and have been re-doing my existing to the new process, so I'm beginning to feel quite the expert at this nifty new tool
I wanted to mention a few things I've noticed and some things that would make life a dream for the designers. I'm also going to include the iStock images here again so everything is in a tidy package for review and consideration.
ISSUES:
1) It seems the image only auto-centers if you Preview before adding a Text box. This certainly would be an issue for cards that have no text box, only a photo and for customers. I've found that if I resize and place an image where I want it, then go on to create the text before Preview, the image remains where I placed it. If I hit Preview after placing the image, which is what most people would do, it inconsistently auto-centers.
2) The text boxes must always allow for NUDGING with the arrows on the keyboard in order to get proper centering and alignment. I find this to work perfectly when first placing the text box in position, but if you go back to move it, using this nudging causes it to reselect an area much bigger and you have to cancel and go back to the edit text mode using only a mouse to attempt to move it. A mouse is not a good way gain perfect placement, especially when you need to nudge small text under larger text. The 'nudging' method should be a sure-fire way to get exact placement.
ENHANCEMENTS:
1) I plead for the ability for the artist's portion of this tool to allow us to somehow Save As New Card so we can use an existing layout (some are VERY time consuming), change the image and create a new card without having to start from scratch again. At the very least, it would help to have the software remember and offer the previous text and layout like our keywords and titles do now in Create a Card.
With cards like this one below where we have them in various animal and genders for babies, it's horribly time consuming to have to start from scratch with the layout every time.
http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/-Baby+Boy+Announcement+Photo+Card+Dalmatian+
Dog+and+Blue+Balloons-greeting+card-709600?aid=137017 2) Adding a Horizontal alignment for text box placement would be a great addition. It's really never a good idea to expect people to eye-ball a horizontal alignment
3) Anxious for some or all of these iStock selections to be considered
Here is the list:
Quote from Mindy on Aug 5th, 2011, 3:27pm:
An update on the stock placeholder photos. If there are areas or subject matter that we have not addressed we are willing to consider additions.
Find what you'd like us to consider on iStockphoto.com and post a link on this thread to the image(s) and please state why. (ie: would like some multicultural families in the spring)
A future feature of the stock placeholder images will be the ability to upload and use your own images.
MY SELECTIONS:
First may I offer my opinion (when don't I
) that I think allowing us to upload our own images as placeholders is not a good idea. Here's why for what its worth: I think when customers see all the same faces and pet mugs on photo cards it is a much more professional display then having a menagerie of both good and poor quality 'none stock photo style' photo cards to rummage through. If some of us have photos that we are currently using as placeholders and have the right to offer them, perhaps we could offer them to GCU to add to this nice collection for this purpose, otherwise my vote is we grow the iStock offering into something that suits all needs and keep these cards looking slick and professional.
With that said, I had some needs and thoughts so I went to iStock and hunted. Just food for thought of course:
I'd like to see more business for Business/Corporate Holiday cards and a variety of 'professionalism': #12074329, #12107860,#214466, #11537092
I’d like to see a few with a bit of a western flair for ranchers, farmers and general cowpoke that send out annual greetings:
#13602201 , #4579476, #6500099, #914648
I would like to see portraits a little more suited to Hanukah and Bar Mitzvahs:
#15013583, #663141
We do need a few more pets, I found a couple to use for the occasional bird, fish, hamster photo cards which encompass a variety of pets and then we should have a few with more than one cat or dog. I know I've done a few custom cards here that had more than one pet in the photo. #8936112, #13749801, #6612079, #2921053, #16032311
I’d love to see more black and white; they can really make a design desirable and entice sales…that’s been my experience anyway. I found them hard to come by on iStock, any chance we can turn some of what you have into BW for a 2nd option of the same image? Here are a few I found.
#416223, #863513, #8938350 #691639 #13750297 #5974393
Something New Year appropriate for those cards would be nice #9255440, #14754635,
We need some twins for our baby announcements, christening/baptism and graduation cards:
#17114882, #13731350, #16427716, #13852703, #15293585, #5886693, #10557941, #10557634, #9850564, #7927953
Triplets: #14765735, #3160222
I’d like to see a couple more Halloween portraits if we have any chance in selling Halloween Photo Cards the image inside has to inspire the buyer by fitting the theme: #9309944, #14167854, #10682951, #6925762, #11035705
There was a call for more multi-cultural and I found these I though were wonderful additions:
#10374949, #16830576, #6870753
Generally my feeling is that more 'theme related' the placeholder is, the better the design looks, the bigger the sales.
Probably just made you wince with this list didn't I? Grin
Oh and...we need a square and rectangle logo placeholder! PLEASE! Even just something that says Your Logo Here is cool with me for the Business Greetings.
THANKS for LISTENING
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