The infographic also lists the Top 10 US cities for creative jobs as of iStockphoto’s last survey, as well as tips for how to create a successful photographic portfolio.

What do you think?

 The future of the creative jobs industry in the US seems safe, at least for the foreseeable future. Play your cards right and have enough determination, and your dream job in the creative industry is closer to reality than its ever been.

Sources cited:

United States Department of Labor – Bureau of Labor Statistics

Indeed.com

Love/Hate this article? Questions? Insights? Just head over to the comment section below. We’d love to hear from you!

As these catalogs are short runs (25-150 copies) they are printed digitally for faster printing turnaround times (2-3 business days) compared to larger orders, which are run on offset printers for better cost-efficiency.

Picking the right options for multipage print products such as catalogs involves a bit more input than a flyer or a poster, but is still simple enough for any novice to master. We put together this how-to guide to help you choose the right options for your Short-run catalogs.

Stocks

Not all catalogs are made for the same purpose. catalogs intended for regular use (such as manuals, for example), should be designed differently catalogs that will only see occasional use, such as catalogs intended as direct sales materials.

For most intents, thicker stocks might be not be at all necessary. Choosing thinner stocks  will allow more catalogs to be printed for the same price. Another advantage of thinner stocks is that you may be able to carry more catalogs for a given space, which can be a consideration for some businesses.

Thicker stock however, will feel nicer and may be a better choice for things such as reports and presentations.

Size

Smaller sizes tend to be easier to take around. Now this might not seem to be a huge deal, but in certain situations, smaller sizes may work better. Catalogs intended for some kinds of promotional use for instance, might work better in smaller sizes, so that they will be less of a hassle to carry around.

Larger sizes however, allow for more visual variety. To use other types of print products as an example, vinyl record album covers tend to have more of a visual impact over CD or (if you remember them) cassette covers. However, you will be able to print fewer copies with larger sizes.

Stitching/Binding

Saddle Stitching and Wire-O both allow for a cost-effective yet durable way to bind your pages together. The price difference between saddle-stitching and Wire-O is minimal. However, saddle stitching makes for  a permanent, neater-looking catalogs, while Wire-O allows pages to be detached more easily. This makes Wire-O preferable for manuals or other applications where you might want want to detach pages occasionally.

Resolution

As catalogs are read at arm’s length, we recommend a PPI/DPI value of around 300 or better. This is especially important for foreground text and images. This will allow most images to come out without pixelation.

For less important details such as background images, you may be able to get by fine on 250 PPI/DPI, so long as important elements have better resolution. UPrinting’s offset and digital printers are capable of photo quality resolution values of  up to 600 PPI/DPI, so having better than 300 PPI/DPI won’t hurt at all.

Readability

Catalogs are of course, meant to be read. Make sure to use appropriate background images and colors to contrast your text appropriately. It would be important to keep to only one or two colors for your main text to maintain unity.

Serifed fonts (font styles with small lines trailing from the edges of letters and other characters, such as Georgia, Palatino, and Times New Roman) tend to be more comfortable to read as small text. Sans serif fonts (without those lines we mentioned, such a as Arial, Futura, and Helvetica) tend to look better as headers. Please note however, that this isn’t a hard and fast rule.

Proofing

Regardless of design and regardless of who you print with, it’s best to have your design manually proofed before actual printing. Compared to other print products, catalogs are a bit more complex since you’ll need the pages and their content aligned properly for a better-looking end-result.

Automated proofing may sometimes lead to important parts of images going over page borders, and critical text being trimmed off during the cutting process. We offer manual proofing as standard for all our products to ensure better fewer avoidable errors.

Catalogs representing a fairly large investment for most people, so it makes sense to take extra precautions to ensure that your catalog designs come out the way you intend. Take all the time you need  and match your designs with  what you intend to acheive, and you’re well on your way to better, more effective catalogs.

Image Credits

All images from UPrinting.com, Behance, and PhotoPin

PatrickS via photopin cc

brendan wilkinson via photopin cc

tanakawho via photopin cc

Pete Fletch via photopin cc

Additional Reading

7 Amazing Full Color Catalog Design Ideas

UPrinting.com – Short-run Catalog Printing -For a more in-depth look at available short-run catalog specs

Other Posts In The UPrinting Design How-To Series:

Making Better Stickers and Labels

Effective Promotional Door Hangers 

Designing USPS-Friendly Postcards

Vinyl Banner Design Checklist

Choosing Booklet Design Options

Choosing Poster Sizes, Stocks, and Finishes

Run a Better Marketing Campaign With Flyers

Love/Hate this article? Questions? Insights? Just head over to the comment section below. We’d love to hear from you!

Whether you hate or love this movie, it’s hard to argue that Star Wars as an epic would disappear from collective memory, even if society were to collapse. It’s really such an ingrained part of world culture.

Whatever you might think of the upcoming Disney-helmed Star Wars sequel, the impact George Lucas’s universe has had on popular culture is difficult to exaggerate. You’ll have a hard time finding a graphic designer anywhere in the world who is not at least a bit familiar with the visual aesthetics of the Star Wars universe or find an entrepreneur that wouldn’t be able to learn something behind  how the world’ most popular space epic franchise started.

While Disney now owns the official rights to the Star Wars, the way countless artists have adapted the saga’s characters and visual aesthetics prove that the franchise is truly  a part of our collective consciousness. To celebrate May the Fourth- and in case you’re in a creative rut- we’ve compiled a few Star Wars and May the Fourth images to help inspire you.

50 Star Wars-inspired Images To Brighten Up Your May The Fourth!

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May the Force be with you. Always!

Additional reading:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_4
starwars.wikia.com/wiki/May_4
May The Fourth Be With You! – Entrepreneurial Lessons Behind Star Wars (That You’d Probably Want To Rip Off!)

Standard or Roll?

Standard sheet stickers and labels are a more economical choice for a variety of applications, especially where fewer or larger prints are required. However, they may be tedious to dispense when a large quantity are needed. Roll stickers and labels can be far more convenient in these cases.

Location (e.g. what you’re sticking them on)

You don’t want to spend unnecessary hours designing a sticker or a product label only to find out that it’s a poor match for whatever you’re sticking them to. For instance, beer bottles may come in brown, green, or clear varieties, and you’ll want your label’s colors and materials to match them appropriately.

Materials and Finishes

Different materials are more suited for certain applications. For example, white Biaxially-Oriented Polypropylene (BOPP) film may be great for promotional stickers, but may not be the best material to use for wine bottles. Likewise, paper labels might not be the best choice in outdoor applications or situations where they would be constantly exposed to water.

Transparent BOPP might also be a better choice for situations where you’d want some part of your design to be transparent. It’s also an appropriate material when you want to better show the contents in transparent vessels such as beverage bottles.

Standard stickers and labels  use 70 lb label stock in your choice of matte or UV (high gloss) finishes. Some customers prefer matte for a classier look that doesn’t easily show fingerprints. Others prefer a high gloss finish for making text and images look brighter and sharper, making for a potentially more eye-catching sticker.

Resolution

Stickers and labels are meant to be read at a relatively close distance. We recommend a PPI/DPI value of around 300 or better, for this reason. This helps keep your stickers and label’s images and text clear and legibile.

Less important details such as background images, may look fine at 250 PPI/DPI, so long as important foreground elements have better resolution. UPrinting’s offset and digital printers are capable of photo quality resolution values of  up to 600 PPI/DPI, so having better than 300 PPI/DPI won’t hurt at all.

Shape

Square or rectangle? Oval or circle? There’s no right or wrong answer -it all really depends on the type of application you’d want your stickers for. Circle and oval shapes however, are much less common than square or rectangle stickers, and you might want to go with these and sacrifice just a small bit of available space for a more memorable sticker or label.

However, if you want to go with a rectangular or square-shaped design, you may want it to have rounded corners to avoid unsightly fraying as usually happens with stickers with sharp points. UPrinting offers rounded corners for both square and rectangle stickers as a standard option for roll labels.

Colors

It goes without saying that you’ll want to match colors with your brand, among other things. However, it’s important to consider the type of material you’ll be using for your stickers. Colors for stickers on clear BOPP for instance, may have to be handled differently from paper wine labels.

It also helps to properly calibrate your monitor settings to ensure better color fidelity and to give our prepress specialists a better idea of the colors you need.

Proofing

Regardless of design and regardless of who you print with, it’s best to have your design manually proofed before actual printing. Automated proofing may sometimes lead to important parts of images going over borders, and critical text being trimmed off during the cutting process. We offer manual proofing as standard for all our products to ensure better fewer avoidable errors.

Stickers and labels are versatile tools that in many cases, may be at the very forefront of your branding and promotions efforts. Taking a little time to look over what needs to be done before submitting a design for printing can go a long way towards creating a more coherent and effective brand.

Other Posts In The UPrinting Design How-To Series:

Effective Promotional Door Hangers 

Designing USPS-Friendly Postcards

Vinyl Banner Design Checklist

Choosing Booklet Design Options

Choosing Poster Sizes, Stocks, and Finishes

Run a Better Marketing Campaign With Flyers

Love/Hate this article? Questions? Insights? Just head over to the comment section below. We’d love to hear from you!

I personally feel giving well-designed business cards to clients not only assures them, but makes it simpler for them to get in touch with you. Plus they save everyone the trouble of fiddling around with their smart phones, allowing them to contact you at their leisure.

Personally I love minimal style. It gives an impression of stylish, modern, and classic approach that lets people know exactly what you mean.

Here are 30 Minimalist Business Cards for your inspiration:

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*All images are from Behance and Deviantart

Additional resources

How to Design Your Business Card With Psychology in Mind-[Infographic]

Is Your Business Card Social Media Friendly? [Infographic]

Business Card Design Video Tutorials The Basics

The Psychology Of Business Cards

26 Sample Business Card Designs With Awesome Typography

30 Pretty-and Wicked Square Business Card Designs

Love/Hate this article? Questions? Insights? Just head over to the comment section below. We’d love to hear from you!

11 Tips for Designing Effective Promotional Brochures

11.) Design for a specific purpose

As the saying goes, “a jack-of-all-trades is a master of none”. Trying to do everything all at once will only muddle the focus of your brochures. At best, they would be mildly confusing. At worst, they could negatively affect your return on investment. Fonts, choice of content, colors, and all design elements should ideally follow the intended purpose.

10.) Use images least 300 DPI/PPI or better

Brochures will be read at arm’s length. This makes it important to use image files that won’t look fuzzy upon printing. Using better quality image files ensures you have better looking images, but also helps your brand look better as well.

9.) Include content that adds value

Take-out Menu Brochures 11 x 17″ Accordion Fold (4 Panels)

As a rule of thumb, you’ll want to have images and copy that people will be willing to share. What that is depends on the context. Perhaps your promos or discounts are enough to make your brochure share-worthy. Other things you may want to add include graphs, simple comics, maps, relevant images, how-to’s or other kinds of exclusive content to make them interesting.

Valuable content not only keeps your brochures from being thrown away, you also increase the chances they will be shared with another reader.

8.) Avoid mass distribution

While brochures can be affordable, they are best suited for very specific audiences. Make sure that when you only distribute brochures to audiences who are likely to be interested in what you might offer. Flyers and other single-page prints are a more economical medium for mass distribution.

7.) Use brochures with other promotional approaches

Rarely will a brochure alone be enough to close a sale. They can however, be an important tool for helping educate an audience. Brochures for example, can help a sales force better illustrate points to potential customers. They can also be bundled with business cards at events and trade shows to help delineate a pitch and to encourage prospects to call or message back.

You can also try drawing people in with a vinyl banner or a booth, and hand out brochures to people who signal interest. Be careful though – if you bother people and they ask for a brochure, they might ask for them as a polite way out. Make sure to only give them away to people you feel are strong leads.

6.) Integrate social media channels

If you have a website, or a related blog, the URL should always be on your brochures. Depending on the situation, you may also want to include your Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, or G+ pages as well. QR Codes are another thing to look at if you want to add a level of exclusivity to an offer.

It costs nothing to include these, and you might be missing out on opportunities to interact with your audience if you skip this part.

5.) Do not change business or org policies too soon after printing

If important info on your brochures becomes outdated, you might risk confusing or even alienating customers. Let an acceptable amount of time pass after a promotional campaign before making major changes to policies if you can help it. To avoid problems, place disclaimers in your brochures and specify campaign periods when applicable.

4.) Avoid walls of text

Use bullets, images, and smaller paragraphs to make your brochure easier to read.

3.) PROOFREAD!

Realistically, it will be impossible to remove each and every error you’ll find on copy. However, try to reread everything before you distribute. Don’t just focus on typos either. Look out for fact and logic errors, as these can totally ruin your brochure’s credibility.

2.) Always choose manual print proofing

Brochures are folded multi-page products printed back to back. This means alignment issues can be more obvious and are compounded as folds are applied. Improper proofing can result in brochures with completely misaligned pages.

Complex designs with specific color combinations will also benefit from being proofed by an experienced prepress expert, as this keeps colors truer to how they appear on a properly calibrated monitor. For any print product that requires precision folding and color fidelity, manual proofing is still the way to go.

1.) Design for typical brochure racks

The top third of your brochure – the part visible on a brochure rack – should have your tagline or whatever information you think your target audience will be interested in. Of course, this isn’t as important for direct mail brochures.

Brochures are an indispensable part of many promotions strategies. Their many uses has made them a favorite of salesforces and promoters all over the world. However, despite their versatility, it pays to know how to effectively design and use them for a given purpose.

The First of This Series:

5 Popular Brochure Applications (Part 1)

Sources:

ianrpubs.unl.edu/live/g2028/build/g2028.pdf
cerqa.com/blog/index.php/2012/12/3-advantages-brochure-marketing-offers-business/
morningstarmultimedia.com/benefits-of-brochures/
outsource.net.au/blog/expert-tips-brochure-marketing/
allencrawley.com/how-to-use-brochures-to-grow-your-business-part1/
powerhomebiz.com/marketing-tips/direct-marketing/use-brochures-effectively.html
outsource.net.au/blog/expert-tips-brochure-marketing/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brochure
allencrawley.com/how-to-use-brochures-to-grow-your-business-part1/
cerqa.com/blog/index.php/2012/12/3-advantages-brochure-marketing-offers-business/
morningstarmultimedia.com/benefits-of-brochures/

Images taken from UPrinting.com and UPrinting’s Facebook Page

Love/Hate this article? Questions? Insights? Just head over to the comment section below. We’d love to hear from you!

Before you can actually create an effective promotional brochure, it’s best to understand how they’re used. Different applications require very different approaches to promotion.

5 Most Popular Brochures Applications and Their Basic Promotions Approaches

5.) FAQs/ Informational

Program Brochures 12 x 6″ Half Fold (2 Panels)

While they are often used for promotions, brochures can also have non-promotional uses as well. As they are a multi-page product, brochures are a great medium for outlining and answering some of the most common questions on  products, services, causes, and events. They can be used as supplemental tour materials, simple instruction manuals, programs, primers, comics, mini-magazines, and much more.

If you want to distribute them with racks, make sure that your titles and taglines are on the exposed top third of the cover page.

4.) Point-of-sale info

Point-of-Sale Brochures 8.5 x 11″ Trifold (3 Panels)

While you might need to keep details to the bare essentials on single-sheet print materials like posters, flyers, and business cards, brochures offer enough space to offer a more detailed description of whatever you are promoting. This makes them useful in product displays areas, trade booths, and kiosks.

Sales Sheet Brochures 8.5 x 11″ Trifold (3 Panels)

They are especially handy for products or services that have more complex details, such as insurance, investments, specialized technical products, and goods and services for the B2B market.

Point-of-sale doesn’t necessarily mean there has to be business transactions either. The same principles apply for civic groups and non-profit organizations that wish to educate the public.

3.) Specialized Promotions materials

Product Catalog Brochures 8.5 x 5.5″ Folded

Brochures can be designed and written for specific campaigns.  Brochures allow you to flesh out a lot more detail than you normally could, compared to a single-page promotional products. Discounts, promos, and specific product lines can all be explained in much more detail than would be possible with flyers or postcards.

2.) Direct mail

Mailer Insert Brochures 8.5 x 11 Trifold (3 Panels)

While postcards are the most common medium for direct mail campaigns, brochures can be a great alternative – provided that your mailing list is well targeted. All other things being equal, brochures are more expensive than postcards, but allow you to provide very specific details that wouldn’t be possible to fit on single-sheet materials.

Self-Mailer Brochures 8.5 x 11 Trifold (3 Panels)

This makes brochures ideal for follow-ups to people who have already expressed interest in receiving your direct mail. Please note that unlike postcards, brochures will have to be either self-mailers, or inserted into envelopes and fit USPS specifications to qualify for reduced USPS rates.

1.) Handouts 

Most of us have received brochures handed out at public spaces. In these cases, you will generally want to give a more general idea about the product or idea that you’re promoting, rather than a more specific rundown as you would for direct mail, or for point-of-sale purposes. It helps if you have an understanding of the types of people that frequent that area.

Handout Brochures 8.5 x 11 Flat

As your audience will not be at all interested when they receive the brochure, your copy and images should help draw them in. Overly-technical copy and images with a narrow appeal may turn off potential customers. This is especially important in the cover page. However,  please remember that brochures are best suited for a targeted audience, and not for mass distribution.

Brochures handed out at events on the other hand, should be designed and written specifically for the demographics the event is supposed to attract. In this way, they should be similar to direct mail brochures.

Because you can distribute them without the need for customer contact details, handouts can be used for lead generation. Contrast this with brochures used for direct mail, which require an existing mailing list. Handing out brochures to specific clients or vendors with your business card can make things easier for them, allowing them better access to your contact details.

Now that you know the different basic approaches, here are more general tips for creating effective promotional brochures:

The Second Part of this Series:

11 Tips for Effective Promotional Brochures (Part 2)

Sources:

ianrpubs.unl.edu/live/g2028/build/g2028.pdf
cerqa.com/blog/index.php/2012/12/3-advantages-brochure-marketing-offers-business/
morningstarmultimedia.com/benefits-of-brochures/
outsource.net.au/blog/expert-tips-brochure-marketing/
allencrawley.com/how-to-use-brochures-to-grow-your-business-part1/
powerhomebiz.com/marketing-tips/direct-marketing/use-brochures-effectively.html
outsource.net.au/blog/expert-tips-brochure-marketing/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brochure
allencrawley.com/how-to-use-brochures-to-grow-your-business-part1/
cerqa.com/blog/index.php/2012/12/3-advantages-brochure-marketing-offers-business/
morningstarmultimedia.com/benefits-of-brochures/

Images taken from UPrinting.com and UPrinting’s Facebook Page

Love/Hate this article? Questions? Insights? Just head over to the comment section below. We’d love to hear from you!

You never seem to have a bookmark around when you actually need one. We sometimes end up using a motley assortment of paper clips,  fast food receipts, and Post-its. Bookmarks are under-appreciated. Not just as a way to mark books and magazines without folding the pages over -but also as a way to promote or strengthen a message.

Unlike most other print products made from the same materials, such as business cards, bookmarks will often see repeated use and are unlikely to be thrown away-  especially when targeted at the right demographic. This repeat usage will also put your message right in your audience’s line of sight – nearly each time they turn a page.

Here are 7 pointers to keep in mind before you send your bookmark designs in for printing:

7.) Include Social Media Contact Info

Social media pages and relevant websites  should now be included in the back part of your bookmarks as a rule of thumb. QR Codes are a nice thing to have as well. Not including these can seriously limit your reach and keep your audience from learning more about what you’re all about. Remember, print isn’t dead – it just got married to social media.

6.) Keep Designs Relevant

As with any promotional medium, bookmarks work a lot better if they’re designed with a specific audience in mind. If you’re able to distribute to a specific group of people – say for example, Dr. Who fans at a convention – a design involving a red British telephone booth or a quote from the series will work a lot better and likely get better retention than one that is just generally popular (for now)- such as a take on the grumpy cat meme.

Likewise, less specific distribution will likely benefit from designs that are less esoteric and are more popular in general. Knowing who you’re targeting and knowing what “weapon” you’ll need to use goes a long way to a better run promotional campaign.

5.) Don’t Place Your Logo in Front – Unless You Have To

Schools, non-profits, social clubs, and other similar groups are exempt from this, as an association with these is usually seen as something to be desired. Many businesses (and political campaigners) on the other hand, might find the total opposite applies to them. People tend to be cynical about blatant advertising from companies and politicians. Hardly surprising now that audiences are now more knowledgeable about marketing and public relations techniques.

Keeping number 6 in mind, other things you could try for a main design on the front portion would be interesting graphic designs, relevant works of art. Other things you might try are photos of scenes, objects, people, animals – anything that that your chosen audience will find interesting.

4.) Use At Least 300 PPI/DPI for all Images Files

Your bookmarks will be read at very close distances. This makes it especially important for your images and text to be as crisp and clear as possible. While you could get away with lower quality background images on larger prints made to be viewed from a distance such as banners or posters, lower quality images are much too distracting on something meant to be read at close distance, even as backdrops.

Better quality images and text are not only easier on the eyes, they also help make your entire brand and message look better overall as well.

3.) Make Sure They’re Manually Proofed

A lot of online printers automate proofing – the step where print accuracy is verified. Proofing is an inexact science- it’s much closer to an art, given that expert proofers require hundreds of hours of experience to be able to consistently create prints that look the same in real life as they do on screen.

Automation in this process often leads to mistakes where important text or portions of images are cut off at the edges, bad design alignment, or colors on screen not matching what they should look like on print. If you choose to add a perforation to your bookmarks (we offer 3/16″ and 1/4″ perforations) you will have to design your bookmarks to take these into account. Automated proofing removes one step where errors can be caught and remedied.

Mistakes like these can be very expensive for the customer. Online printers that use automated proofing will rarely take responsibility for  proofing errors and often include that in their disclaimers. For bookmark designs that require precision cutting and superior color and design reproduction, a human prepress specialist is still the way to go.

2.) Use The Best Quality Stock

While you might want to get cheaper stocks in the name of economic expedience, that would probably be the worst way to go for bookmarks. Cheaper paper and card stocks are often much less durable. Bookmarks, especially ones intended to promote a message, will have to be durable enough to be handled hundreds, if not thousands of times.

If they’re too “bendy” or don’t have enough heft, they can send a subconscious message about your brand and subtly influence how recipients interpret your message. Multiple studies have demonstrated that tactile feedback has a profound influence on how we perceive things.

Well-designed promotional bookmarks will not feel cheap, and will reflect nicely on your brand.

1.) Keep It Simple – But Make It Special

When you design a bookmark, it should be something your chosen audience will not want to throw away. It shouldn’t feel like it’s something you got for free.

There are dozens of awesome bookmark designs out there – that your audience will actually have to buy.  Novelty bookmarks conceptualized by the top names in industrial design and made of different materials such as wood, metal, and silicon can be found at just about any large bookstore. One thing you will notice is they tend to have very strong yet simple designs – which is what you’ll likely want to follow in your own bookmarks if you’re new to designing yourself.

As we pointed out, many of us choose to make do with receipts, unused credit cards, or just about anything other than an actual bookmark because a lot of people don’t see them as an actual need. Few people actually want to buy expensive bookmarks.

When you distribute bookmarks, you’re not only giving your audience your message, you are likely supplying them with a need they have not addressed.

You don’t have to create bookmarks that top the pricey ones you see in stores or on Etsy. If your message is clear yet unobtrusive and your bookmarks look and feel like they’re worth keeping, you’re well on your way to the hearts and minds of book readers everywhere.

For more detailed info, check out Rick McCleary’s “CMYK 2.0, A Cooperative Workflow for Photographers, Designers, and Printers“, © 2009, Peachpit Press ISBN 978-0-321-57346-9

Photos from theodmgroup.com, creativebloq.futurecdn.net, DeviantArt, ColourGen.com and Creative Commons

Other Posts In The UPrinting Design How-To Series:

Effective Promotional Door Hangers 

Designing USPS-Friendly Postcards

Vinyl Banner Design Checklist

Choosing Booklet Design Options

Choosing Poster Sizes, Stocks, and Finishes

Run a Better Marketing Campaign With Flyers

Love/Hate this article? Questions? Insights? Just head over to the comment section below. We’d love to hear from you!

Whatever  you feel about Kinkaide’s visual style, the way he developed and marketed his work was almost unparalleled. He was undoubtedly a technically gifted artist – but he was an even better businessman. He didn’t make art pieces with the intent of having them put up on display in some fancy gallery or private collection.

Instead, he made most of his pieces with the intent of mass-producing copies for popular consumption. With his knack for understanding what people wanted, he was not only able to become immensely successful as an entrepreneur- he helped visually define the early 2000′s. In a 2001 60 Minutes interview on CBS, Kinkade said “There’s been million-seller books and million-seller CDs. But there hasn’t been, until now, million-seller art. We have found a way to bring to millions of people, an art that they can understand”.

He created a business model that brought art to the masses. Now anyone can do it. With online printing, everyone has a shot at more easily following his path- even without using any actual paint. You won’t even need to make the frames yourself like you once needed to.  And you really don’t have to follow his style either.

Here are few samples of Thomas Kinkade’s work

Indy Excitement, 100 Years of Racing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Christmas in New York

Dinosaurs

Grand Village Shops

Along the Lighted Path

Almost Heaven

Hometown Christmas

Kinkade has had many imitators, many of whom produced work similar, if not impossible to tell apart from the real thing. The negative backlash to his work has also inspired thousands to imitate his style in a tongue-in-cheek – especially online.

Thomas Kinkade Parodies

Kinkade Meets Cthulu via democraticunderground.com

Kinkade Goes Back To The Future  via SomethingAwful.com

Kinkade Meets Star Wars – via Worth1000.com

Kinkade Pop Culture Parody by Blanchard via SomethingAwful.com

Kinkaid – Robot via Reddit.com

Kinkade Road  by Akadajet

Godzilla Meets Kinkade - Ron Lemen

Whatever you think about Kinkade, he was undoubtedly different. While critics might argue that he represents art like fast food represents cuisine, we personally don’t think that’s such a bad thing at all. Fast food is something many of us crave for, even if we don’t admit. After just a year, really is too soon to say if his artistic and entrepreneurial legacy will be looked at favorably or otherwise.

In any case, canvas printing now makes it much simpler to follow Kinkade’s legacy, even without a workshop full of apprentices. Or paint. Check our custom canvas printing services and have any design or picture on your computer printed on high quality canvases. Visit this page for a free sample kit.

Images belong to their respective artists and are for inspiration purposes only.

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