A critical distinction: Pixels vs Vectors
Clients generally have an abysmal understanding of what constitutes "usable art" for their various graphic design projects (like web sites and printed brochures). Most people tend to think of digital versions of logos, photos, drawings, and illustrations as an undifferentiated category of 'visual stuff' without a great deal of thought about how different kinds of digital images can be functionally different from each other, or how those differences apply to their particular graphic design projects.
"Why can't we use a logo from my web site on my business card? How can a single graphic look great on the web, and look completely terrible on a printed page? What's going on here? Clients are understandably mystified by things like this.
Designers, on the other hand, know full well that their success in bringing a project to completion will depend critically on their ability to sort through the various image type and quality issues and secure the right digital image type, with sufficient digital resolution, for each application. The catch is that clients are often the gatekeepers to the required image assets, so, for designers, educating clients about fundamental image quality issues will often be a prerequisite to acquiring the 'best' art for the job.
Here's a great little video that explores, in layman's terms, the difference between Pixels and Vectors. You've probably heard of pixels, but what are vectors? This is a major area of public misunderstanding about digital graphics. The bottom line: understanding the difference between Pixels and Vectors will make conversations with your designer a lot easier, and it could easily save you time and money on your next graphic design project.
