Don’t make it complicated. Refine your customer’s vision into the simplest form. Learn to use the Pen tool well in all of these programs – it makes selection easier when working with a graphic. Be patient and organize your layers.
When personalizing awards with custom graphics, I recommend honing in on the small things that make up the whole of the event or person. Recently, our co-worker, Tom, retired and we wanted to get him something better than a gift card to a local restaurant chain. He likes wine, travel, grandkids, and fishing (and not necessarily in that order); so we took all those things into account, and we came up with a fishing net with a plaque that read, “Tom, The one that got away, Your team at Gyford.” And we chose a font that was elegant and playful at the same time.
-Brad Wass, Gyford StandOff Systems
