General

What do you need to do before we start?

Do you have examples that I can see?

How do I order?

How do I pay you?

How do I cancel my project?

How much will my design project or website cost?

Why don't you have fancy animations on your website? Most web design companies use a lot of animations on their sites.

I cannot open the file you produced on my computer. Why?

Why do you ask for a budget?

Graphic Design

What kind of graphic design services do you provide?

What graphic software are you working with?

Are you running CorelDraw and have you support for CorelDraw files?

What are your preferred output file formats?

What is the client's involvement in the design process?

How will I receive my design project once it is finished?

Who owns the copyright for work 4G Designs has done for me?

How does your logo design process work?

I need something designed yesterday. Can you help me?

I want to order new flyers for our business every 3 months with only a few minor changes each time. Will I receive any kind of discount since most of the file will be unchanged?

Can you produce a high resolution CMYK PDF file that is suitable for color separating and offset printing?

Do I have to send you the font used in my artwork?

Is there a chance for the file you produce to have font mismatching

Is there a chance the file you produce to have color representation problems?

I tried to order promotional products from company X, but they don't accept word documents for artwork. Can you convert my artwork to a form they will accept?

Vector Design

What is a Vector?

What is Vector Conversion?

What are the advantages of Vector Art?

Web Design

Do you use CSS?

How long does it take to launch a website?

What kind of web sites do you produce?

Why don't you recommend FLASH based sites?

How will I receive my ready to upload web site?

Will you upload my site?

I have a website template, can you create my site with it?

Do you provide website content authoring?

What is hosting and why do I need it?

General

What do you need to do before we start?

If you already have an idea of what you want your item to look like, let us know, and we will attempt to make it as close as you want to your idea. If you would like your existing item redesigned, or you have seen someone else's item and you like that style, it is a good idea to send a copy if you can (scanned and through email is fine). We won't make your item exactly like the example unless you specifically request it, as the graphics may be copyright, but seeing a copy of what you like is the best way for us to understand what you are after. If you do not have a copy of what you want, that's fine! Just describe what sort of look you are after.

We will also need the file specifications of your printer, if you are not printing in-house. If you are not sure what they are, you can usually find out by calling the printing company you are using, and if you could let us know their name and phone number just in case I need any extra specification details that would be great too.

Do you have examples that I can see?

Yes. The Services tab in the navigation bar has a drop down for the categories Logos, Print, Motion Graphics, Converstions, and Website. Each page has a variety of samples. We do not display samples on our site if the client requests us not to.

How do I order?

For orders, we prefer that you use our Free Consultation form, however, you can also send us an email with what you would like designed and we will get back to you A.S.A.P. Please include as much information as you can about your design (either through description or example).

How do I pay you?

We accept cash (if you live locally), business checks, personal checks, money orders, or PayPal. You will be sent invoice/statement once the details of your design project are thoroughly reviewed. A deposit of at least 50% is required before your design project is started, however, you can pay it all upfront if you wish. Once the work is completed you will be required to pay any amount left on the invoice. Once the full payment has been received, your design project will be released and sent to you.

How do I cancel my project?

For cancellations after the design work has started, any payments that have been made will be refunded, minus the 50% deposit. However, once a proof has been approved by you, the designing has been completed and cannot be cancelled and the full cost will apply.

How much will my design project or website cost?

On our Prices Page you can view the starting rates for all design work, including web design. However, every client has different requirements, so prices vary depending on the complexity each project.

Why don't you have fancy animations on your website? Most web design companies use a lot of animations on their sites.

Our goal is to reach as many internet users as possible. We love using animations when they can enhance our websites, but there are still a great number of people using dialup connections to access the internet, as well as a lot of folks who don't have flash player installed. Also, leading search engines cannot read flash files as well as they read properly coded html files.

I cannot open the file you produced on my computer. Why?

In 95% of the cases we make EPS or PDF files. To open an EPS you need a special program - Adobe Illustrator, CorelDraw (may be a problem) or some other. For PREVIEW ONLY you can rasterize the EPS in Photoshop.

Why do you ask for a budget?

Having a budget in mind will help us to determine the time we can spend on your project, and the types of features that are realistic to provide within that framework. You wouldn’t expect an architect to design a home for you without providing a price range for the eventual project. The same applies to a website. Realistic planning leads to realistic outcomes and prevents disappointment!

Graphic Design

What kind of graphic design services do you provide?

Our graphic design services are varied and comprehensive. Feel free to view our Services Page for more information. If what you need is not listed, give us a call to see what we can do for you.

What graphic software are you working with?

We are mainly use Adobe Creative Suite 4 under Windows XP. We will, "save down", to an older version upon request.

Are you running CorelDraw and have you support for CorelDraw files?

Yes. However, we prefer to use Adobe products. But we can open SINGLE page CorelDraw files WITHOUT special effects in Illustrator. All Corel effects are ignored by Illustrator. We can also convert your CorelDraw files to Adobe.

What are your preferred output file formats?

We can produce any of the most popular file formats - EPS, PDF, AI, PSD, DCS, TIFF, JPG, GIF. We will produce your design project in the format you or your printing house prefers.

What is the client's involvement in the design process?

We thoroughly discuss the project at hand with our client from the beginning. We encourage the client to send in any samples, color combinations/swatches, and ideas they may have. During the design process, the client may be asked to approve certain milestones before work continues. At the conclusion of a project, the client may request the artwork in various formats.

How will I receive my design project once it is finished?

A finished project is yours upon receipt of final payment. At your request, we will supply the electronic files to you on CD, DVD, or through e-mail. We also keep a copy of your project on file, (for a limited time), for later updates or should you lose your copy.

Who owns the copyright for work 4G Designs has done for me?

Copyright is yours upon receipt of final payment. We do, however, reserve the right to use any work for promotional purposes.

How does your logo design process work?

We first discuss the client's needs, target market, and uses for this logo. We then ask for samples of existing logos that the client likes or dislikes to get an idea of their taste. Sometimes the client already has a design concept in mind. Other times, they have no idea what they want. Either way, we make sure that we have collected enough information before we begin working on the design. Our logo design service is very flexible. If you'd like to see only a few concepts or if you need many, our service can be priced according to your needs.

I need something designed yesterday. Can you help me?

We can usually accommodate your rush job depending on how full our production schedule is. To be fair to other clients, if a job already in production is interrupted by a rush job, we reserve the right to add an additional 25%-50% on top of the normal price. If we are unable to adjust our schedule, we will refer you one of our partners that may be able to assist you.

I want to order new flyers for our business every 3 months with only a few minor changes each time. Will I receive any kind of discount since most of the file will be unchanged?

Yes. We keep all artwork on file and charge considerably less for minor changes such as type-setting and swapping pictures. Please contact us for detailed information regarding your files.

Can you produce a high resolution CMYK PDF file that is suitable for color separating and offset printing?

Yes. We recommend all our customers to use PDF files. PDF is the most portable and platform independent file format. We achieve excellent results using PDF files. It is small sized and color accurate, but you will need PostScript Level 3 output device to color separate directly a PDF. The other option is to import the PDF in InDesign or Illustrator and color separate it there.

Do I have to send you the font used in my artwork?

Ideally sending us your preferred font will hasten the design process as well as reduce the cost. If we don't have the correct font(s) then we can substitute it with a similar one. In the case of vector based designs, such as a logo, we may can trace the font by hand and that will increase production time significantly.

Is there a chance for the file you produce to have font mismatching problems?

No. We convert all fonts to outlines (vectors) to assure correct output. Large documents (books, catalogues etc.) are exported as PDF with fonts included. We often export pages as separate EPS files with font included or converted to outlines.

Is there a chance the file you produce to have color representation problems?

It is possible, especially if you were ordered a CMYK TIFF file. CMYK TIFFs frequently make color problems when changing platform (Windows->Mac or the reverse). If you really need CMYK file, we recommend you a color managed DCS (desktop color separation) file which is much more accurate - in fact it is a ready color-separated file. In all cases we will stay in contact with you and make the appropriate changes, if needed.

I tried to order promotional products from company X, but they don't accept word documents for artwork. Can you convert my artwork to a form they will accept?

Absolutely. Please send your file(s) to artwork@4gdesigns.com for a free estimate.

Vector Design

What is a Vector?

Images can be of two types, raster based and vector based. Raster based or pixel based file formats (.GIF, .TIF, .BMP, .JPG) are made up of pixels. VECTOR images on the other hand are comprised of lines (wireframe) that represent the objects.

What is Vector Conversion?

Vector conversion is when a raster image is manually traced, to produce artwork of the highest quality. In order to convert your image (logo or sketch/ illustration) to all the correct formats, our designers first have to convert your image into a VECTOR based format. This is done by literally tracing the outlines of each shape using a professional VECTOR based drawing program such as Adobe Illustrator. This is a fairly time consuming process and requires a highly skilled designer.

What are the advantages of Vector Art?

Other than using a raster image on the web and printing, there is not much that can be done with it. We can't even enlarge it, the image pixelates rather badly. Vector images can be:

Web Design

Do you use CSS?

Of course! It is the most powerful web design instrument with HTML sites. Cascading Style Sheets technology offers the opportunity to make complicated layouts without increasing the files size.

How long does it take to launch a website?

Typically it takes 4G Designs 3-9 weeks to build, test, and launch your website, however some sites may take longer depending on the complexity involved.

What kind of web sites do you produce?

We produce HTML, DHTML, and Drupal CMS sites.

Why don't you recommend FLASH based sites?

The FLASH is a future technology. For now HTML/CSS is still the best choice. Why? Because 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.

How will I receive my ready to upload web site?

If the entire size of the web site is under 5Mb (95% of the cases) we will send it by e-mail as an attached ZIP archive. If your site is oversized, we will send it on CD by ordinary mail.

Will you upload my site?

Yes, to upload your site we will need your server (FTP) username and password that must be acceptable for you. We recommend you use a temporary login and password for the transfer process, and that you change it once the process is completed. There is a fee for uploading your site which varies depending on the tye of site you have.

I have a website template, can you create my site with it?

Yes, we can take your template and add your content. We can also customize it to make it more unique by changing colors and other elements ... to a point.

Do you provide website content authoring?

No. Our fees are based on you providing your content to us in electronic format. Written materials may be provided to us in the body of an email, Microsoft Word, WordPad or Notepad format only.

If you provide your content in the form of existing manuscripts, brochures, literature, etc. and you wish to have us process the information, additional fees shall be incurred. Please note that we will not rewrite and/or edit your existing materials/information. Your editing, etc. must be done prior to your submission of your materials. Additional fees shall apply if we must convert printed materials into electronic format.

What is hosting and why do I need it?

Your Web site needs a home on the Internet - a place for your domain name, Web page files and graphics to reside. You buy or rent Web space through a hosting company. We do not provide hosting at this time, but would be happy to assist you in choosing the right host for your new site.

Hosting fees vary greatly depending on your needs. Your hosting package will need special features if you plan to have a storefront on your Web site, if you will be connected to a database, or if you have special programming requirements.