In this article, we’re going to cover when and why you would use environmental graphics, we’ll dig into the design process and then talk about managing your relationship with your print service bureau to make sure you get the product you want!

When and Why Use Environmental Graphics?

The best times to use Environmental Graphics (EGs) is when you know your target audience will be in a certain environment! When does this occur? Corporate events/parties, trade shows, transit stations (ex: subways), and other concentrations of your audience provide the ideal times to reach your target when they are receptive to your communication.

So, assuming you’ve identified the right time and place to reach your audience, why would you use EGs? Well, first there are a few big reasons not to use EGs: they are expensive, installation can be tricky, and setting up your mechanicals can be a nightmare if you aren’t prepared. Even after factoring those cons into the equation, I still think environmental graphics are great because the messaging they provide has the chance to be so high-impact; the visual impacts of a little postcard versus an entire bar covered in your simple message are almost incomparable! The bar placement is huge and will be seen every time someone moves into the bar’s visual range, while the postcard’s impact is much more limited.

Environmental graphics are also great for marketing because they force you to distill your message. Much like out-of-home placements such as highway billboards (30-sheets, 8-sheets) and street furniture force a clarity of message, environmental graphics require that same clarity from the designer. While your environment and execution will determine exactly what you have on the piece, the central idea of environmental graphics requires a unifying message to shout at the audience.

The Design Process

Environmental Graphics require an inordinate amount of preparation time when compared with your everyday sell-sheet or poster design. This longer timeline is very important and needs to be respected by designers and our clients.

In my own work, I find that the longer timeline actually helps everyone involved: clients – especially those new to EG – get comfortable with the idea through mock-ups and site visits. Print vendors – who should be involved very early – are familiar with the site and can help you save your clients some money with clever substrate suggestions and other ideas. And for designers, longer timelines really allow you to let the environment inform your message and design.

To illustrate the design process, here is a sample execution I did for an old employer where I worked in-house in marketing/design.

The company was throwing a party for all of its clients to launch a new product at a bar on the Lower East Side of NYC and the venue already had an infrastructure of poster placements that we were able to take advantage of for the party. After visiting the venue, we realized that the poster placements were great, but on their own they weren’t enough to surround our audience the way we wanted to.

It was here that the conversation of EGs first came up. What could we do? How could we execute? Did we have enough time? Was the budget there?

So, here is how it all went down:

I did a site visit with a camera and took multiple hi-res photos of the venue from different angles, focusing on the areas that I thought would be successful placement points for the EGs.

Back at the office, I took the venue photos and did some digital mock-ups to show placement and sample messaging. Management loved the idea, because it was relevant and engaging. Approved.

After “client” approval, I did another site visit with a very long tape measure, sketch pad, and a Sharpie (I am partial to the black ones, but feel free to use your own color). At this point, I had a confirmed list of executions we were interested in pursuing and set about measuring the surfaces in question being especially mindful of intrusions. Intrusions are when parts of the environment enter the space you want your design to occupy; they are a sort of architectural die-cut. For my bar wrap, the biggest intrusion was the beer taps in the middle.

With the measurements completed, I put together a blueprint-style schematic of all the placements I wanted and along with the mock-ups I had shown to management, wrote an RFP (Request For Proposal) for several of my print vendors. Be as specific as possible in your RFP, it will help you avoid additional charges later on from the Service Bureau or their installation vendor (if not in-house).

I received the RFP answer and chose my print vendor. The budget was then approved – and that’s no small shakes when you have your hand out for a few thousand dollars/pounds/euros.

I did a site visit with the print vendor. I visited with my very capable account executive* (AE), but if you have someone new to the print game, you might want to ask for either a pre-pressman or more senior sales person accompanies your AE on the site visit. My site visit actually lowered the final production cost of this job, because the AE was able to spec me a cheaper substrate that would function exactly as I needed! (What do we always say about talking to your printer??) This was probably the most important step in the whole process for me the first time I did environmental work.

TIME FOR DESIGN! We’ve already been at work on this project for at least a week and we’re just now getting to the mechanical stage. Hopefully you have your sketches, so this should be an assembly phase that goes relatively fast. Then there’s file submission and proofing and installation!

*If you have a good print account manager, they will be taking notes during your site visit and they will provide your “blueprint schematic” to their installation team BEFORE the installation. As a rule, I always find it to be good practice to be onsite during installation to avoid potential pitfalls.

Managing the Print Experience

Having a good relationship with your printer is a best practice for ANY design job, especially “non-traditional” jobs like environmental graphics.

As designers, it is important to realize that for 99% of us, the printer knows more than we do about printing. Wouldn’t you expect him/her to know more than us? So, take advantage of all that knowledge. Showing printers your schematics and any mock-ups you have done can help them present alternative options to increase impact or help save you money. Plus, I think everybody likes the chance to get out of the office for an hour or two — and that goes for printers, too!

Some things to know about printing on large/grande-format (LF/GF) presses (always check with your printer for their exact specs, these are just generalizations):

Some printers request LF/GF creative be submitted in the RGB color space because their RIPs (Rastor Image Processor) have a more sophisticated color conversion method.

Depending on how close your viewers will be to the creative, your DPI needs can be shockingly low and your printer should be the one advising you of the optimal output resolution.

Send your printer two mechanical files: one with the fonts live ([including source files!) and one with the fonts converted to outlines … it can save you time later on and the pre-press people will love you.

I have never worked with a vendor that was able to render spot colors in large/grande-format. I have no doubt there are some who can execute these creatives, but they are the exception, not the rule. If you have need of a spot color, check with your vendor and see what they can do to help you get the results you are looking for.

And that’s all! Happy designing!

This was a guest post from Vinney (Twitter: @VinneyT), a graphic designer and marketer living in New York City and is currently on the prowl for attractive employment opportunities. If you know of any, drop him a line. He’ll be your best friend!

P.S. from Lauren: if you want more tips about printing large-format graphics, check out Printing Large Format? Read This First and 6 Design Tips for Large Format Printing.