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STUDIO
HISTORY David
Lynch opened his own graphic design studio over twenty years ago. Seven years
ago, David Lynch Graphic Design became Lynch Graphics, Inc. The studio, previously located in the historic Helms Bakery Building in Los Angeles, California has moved to the equally historic Flatiron Building in Asheville, North Carolina, and finally to an Arts-and-Crafts bungalow in Western North Carolina.
WESTERN US
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THE DESIGN PROCESS Planning
I am well schooled in art history, psychology of color and shapes, and other marketing techniques. However, the more information clients can provide about their competition and customers, the better we can arrive at effective design that will target customers' interests and increase their response. Biltmore Estate has done extensive marketing and knows the exact profiles of their visitors. This makes my job easy by letting me know what style of graphics will evoke the best response. If you want to explore marketing techniques for your business, I can recommend and work closely with some very talented marketing professionals.
It's just as important that the client listens to a designer's input. During my 16 years of professional design experience, I've seen firsthand which design solutions work and which don't. However, a client must live with a design long after it leaves my desk, so it's just as important that the client be comfortable with the results. A good designer will arrive at a balance that both satisfies a client's personal tastes as well as conveys an image that encourages customer response. Once a client requested I include a unicorn in her corporate logo. When I asked why, she stated that she really liked unicorns. I explained that though the unicorn might be pleasing to her personally, it would not be an effective image in the aircraft parts industry, nor would it help meet her goal of increased sales. However, in requesting the unicorn, she succeeded in conveying her personal tastes to me and with further discussion, we discovered that what she really wanted was to create a slightly-softened technical, industrial look. Other considerations that will affect the final design are budget and deadline. One of the most common challenges for a designer is to create a lavish looking design that's also cost-effective. A talented designer can produce a two-color brochure that's just as appealing as a full-color version. Timing is everything, so it's important to provide prompt, reliable turnaround to keep a client's marketing plan in motion. When a project is on a tight schedule, choosing the appropriate printing and production options can save days, even weeks. .Execution
For printed projects, results may vary somewhat from its representation on a computer screen. I recommend my clients keep a Pantone Color Guide on hand so that I can provide the a legend of Pantone colors and give them an accurate idea of how the final printed product will look. Other options include printing color laser or dye sublimation proofs, depending on time and budget. It's always best to spend a little extra time and money to review accurate proofs at the comping stage and avoid expensive alterations during the pre-press and printing phases.
HOME | ABOUT THE DESIGN | ABOUT DAVID LYNCH | PORTFOLIOS: PRINT WEB | CONTACT INFO LYNCH GRAPHICS,
INC. - 38 MERCHANT STREET, ASHEVILLE, NC 28803-1323
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The
"hand in leaf" logo is a symbol of the Lynch Graphics design
philosophy: use natural elements and craft them with human
talent to create something fresh and new. Nature can be both simple
and complex - it's important to know when to keep a project simple and
clean, and when to include all the fine details.
The
designer's first duty is to listen. The more a designer can glean
from a client about his needs, goals and personal tastes, the easier and
more cost-effective in will be to arrive at the appropriate design solution.
This listening phase should be ongoing through the duration of the project!
At
this stage it's often challenging to convey visual ideas through verbal
communication. What I think of as aqua might be a drastically different
color than a clients imagine in his mind's eye. I've found that building
a "client scrapbook" helps clarify our communication.
Before meeting, I ask my clients to build a small scrapbook, which can
consist of magazine clippings, web URLs, and any other tangible elements
that help illustrate the look and feel they want to achieve. These scrapbooks
ensure that we are communicating the same visual ideas before work begins.
After
discussions and thumbnail sketches are approved, the "comping"
stage commences. A "comprehensive" or "comp" is
a proof which roughly illustrates what the final product will look like.
To expedite this phase, I often post comps on the web, or email Acrobat
(pdf) files to my clients for review. This method is best suited for web
design. 
Once
the comps have been reviewed, it's time to enter the alteration stage.
Alterations cost time and money, so it's best to minimize this stage as
best possible. As you might expect, extra effort during the planning stage
will help save effort during the alteration stage. For certain projects,
numerous alterations are unavoidable. If this is the case, I make every
effort to expedite the changes in order to keep the project on track.
On occasion, the amount of alterations will exceed the original agreement.
When it's obvious this is going to happen, I contact my clients immediately
to discuss the situation. I believe in frequent communication to
keep my clients continually informed of their project's status.
After
final approval, the production phase brings the project to its
finish. For web design, this entails publishing the website on the client's
server and double checking to make sure it's functioning correctly. For
print work, technical preparations are made to hand the completed design
over to a pre-press shop, printer, or other fabricator. After the design
work has left my desk, my work is not done until the vendor's production
has been overseen and the project is completed to the client's satisfaction.