Things We Overlook InDesign - An Editorial by Pluginz.com Art Director, Zak Akin

December 7 2005

Anyone who has stepped forth on the path of the digital artist can likely recount any number of odd assignments that vary from the obscure to the downright ludicrous. In the tenure of my career there have certainly been a few projects that fit in these categories. I did an album cover for a band called “The Fabulous Hedgehogs,” a cutesy set of low-poly frogs for “Leap Frog Toys,” a website for a Native American documentary production company called “Spirit Ranch Productions,” and a logo for a slot-machine called, “Hot Reels,” complete with flaming tire. The point is this - we as artists are given the opportunity to practice our craft in a great variety of manners and often without any contiguous connections. It is perhaps for these reasons that we often overlook certain design elements and file them in the category of, “that’s just how it has always been done.” I brush my teeth twice a day but I don’t think I’m any better at it now than I was 20 years ago because I’ve become complacent about the activity. All this leads me of course to bar codes, where until recently, options for creative design have been pretty much non-existent.

Here's an example of bar code integration at its worst. Notice it's freely placed in front of a portion of the image. Here at Pluginz I am exposed to latest offerings from plugin developers. Some have inordinate uses while others… well, I’d be surprised if the designers themselves really knew what to do with them. A plugin of the former type is Teacup Software’s, “Bar Code Maker 1.0,” for Adobe InDesign and it got me thinking: The UPC bar code on the back of most packaging is somewhat like that old oak tree growing in a strip mall parking lot that they just had to build around because it was already rooted. For those of you that still buy CD’s you’ll know what I’m talking about. Just take a look at the back of any number of CD’s in your library and you’ll see that sometimes it’s in its own little block and sometimes it’s situated in a corner over the imagery. Either way, it rarely to never ties in with the overall packaging design. “BarcodeMaker” in conjunction with “Pattern Maker” is interesting because it gives you the ability to customize the fonts within the barcode thus integrating it a bit more into your packaging design, rather than just posthumously slapping it in, but why stop there? The bar code is not a trademarked logo so there’s no need to treat it as such.

I do understand that there are rules for bar codes but most laser readers these days are pretty lenient. The scanner only reads in 1 dimension so the barcode can be as thin as .25” inches. Typically the contrast ratio needs to be 70% or above, it needs to have a “quiet zone” of about .25” on either side, and it can be safely scaled between 70% and 200%. There are hundreds of different types, about 9 that make up the majority, but I’m only talking about the UPC (Universal Product Code) here. (Keep in mind these are simply averages and you’ll want to do research on the exact specifications for your project.) With all this in mind you are still left with quite a bit of room for design. I’m not suggesting you to over overboard, as we are all aware of the cerebral capacities of the checkers at your local Target and the last thing we want is a “Where’s Waldo” search for the UPC at the checkout… not to mention the repercussion from publishers if the bar code is not readable. However, if you are given the option, why not make it tie in with the overall design? If OCR text is not necessary, why use the same fonts from the rest of the packaging? In addition you’ve got your scanner readable space in the center, have fun with the top and bottom or framing… make it look like tools, flowers, building columns, skull teeth, road-kill, whatever, the iconography potential is limitless.

The whole intent of this diatribe is that the barcode has to be there so you might as well work with it. Make it another element for expression and consequently a detail that will likely set you and your product apart from the commonalty. As with everything, there’s a new technology, and a better way of doing things evolving on a daily basis. Remember not to overlook the little things because that’s where you’ll find your greatest inspiration… now let’s talk about the “registered” & ”trademark” symbols.

by Zak Akin, Art Director
Pluginz.com