California packaging design firm with broad range and experience understands branding for business.
Led by a highly professional and experienced senior level graphic designer and copywriter with the skill set normally found only in a leading international design firm, Cummings Design is a graphic design firm that can offer across the board design solutions with everything considered – in print, packaging and new media.
Rob Cummings is a professional Orange County Southern California graphic designer, writer, business consultant, trademark consultant – and more – in all media.
Rob Cummings and those he recommends bring broad experience that results in far more consideration than a typical ad agency, graphic design firm, or public relations firm.
Short list of graphic design firm services:
Logo and brand development
Corporate Identity systems
Trademarks, company, and product naming
Packaging
Sell sheets
Promotion
Direct mail
Web Site design and development
Exhibit and trade show graphics
Printing, vendor selection, follow-through
Rob and those he recommends provide design firm, advertising agency services (and more) for clients everywhere – most not in Orange County, and many not even in California or the United States.
Through extensive use of the Internet to expedite processes and procedures, Rob and those he recommends work as effectively for clients around the country and world as for those in Orange County, Southern California.
The work is delivered faster and more efficiently, with greater focus towards objectives, and without wasted time in meetings, without driving in Southern California traffic, without travel expenses, airports or hotels, and, via email, without toll charges.
Working on an ongoing month-to-month or on a per project basis, Rob and those he recommends can single-handedly provide an extensive range or services that encompass the normal job descriptions of Creative Director, Art Director, Marketing Communications Director, Graphic Designer, Copywriter, Business Consultant or Advisor.
What you don’t know about graphic design can hurt you.
Graphic design involves creative, legal, and technical aspects.
Many are falling short, and clients fail to understand why.
Creative should involve research and analysis to define the problem and develop the best and most effective solution based on numerous criteria.
Legal should help avoid or limit any risks or liabilities in relation to trademarks, copyrights, and industry-specific laws regarding claims and other aspects.
Technical skills, knowledge and experience (or lack of) are the reason that printed pieces do not print well. This is most often not the fault of the printer.
Graphic designers today do much of the pre-press work, yet few graphic designers have any technical knowledge. The result?
Photos print soft and out of focus, colors are off, print quality is poor, papers for packaging are incorrectly chosen and fall apart. Though the printer is often blamed, it is the lack of knowledge of the printing process on the part of the graphic designer that is to blame. Don’t settle for second rate.
Rob Cummings as virtual Creative Director, a brief case history:
In the Internet age, it’s more possible and cost-effective than ever to have an off-site Creative Director, Art Director, Marketing Communications Director, Graphic Designer, Copywriter, and Business Consultant do everything a company needs – or at least help in areas needed.
For 2 1/2 years, Rob personally provided 40 hours/ month for Benwin, a reasonably well funded start-up. As a start-up from scratch, Benwin required a lot of work in a very short time frame. Rob created and/or managed all of the work.
40 hours/ month covered everything the startup needed to launch and perpetuate the momentum:
advertising, marketing, promotion
packaging, owner’s manuals, collateral
trade show exhibits, building banners
copywriting and high-level marketing strategy
business consulting
vendor selection, management, negotiation
The reason it worked, (and Rob still had time for other clients), is that clients rarely see Rob – except maybe for lunch.
The work is done almost exclusively via the Internet, faster, at reduced cost, with greater accuracy, and without the need for face to face meetings, presentations, and other aspects that are difficult to schedule and generally waste time.
Pop up the story to see and read about how this began and how it might work for you, or click here to buy a month now.
An excellent fit to any team’s efforts, all your graphic design needs are met on a near-immediate basis from a single source. This means no need to manage multiple vendors or graphic designers in a variety of media which often wastes time and money.
Rob’s work extends far beyond the typical graphic designer.
A combination of graphic designer, copywriter, business consultant, and marketing strategist, Rob works in all media related to graphic design including web design, logo design, identity, brand creation and brand development, video & tv, retail packaging design, promotional design, sell sheet copywriting and design, exhibit design, product design, business development and presentations.
Rob also helps source vendors including printers and large format digital photographers in Orange County Southern California and around the world. He negotiates prices, can provide pre-press and on-press approvals for print and packaging (for clients in Orange County Southern California), and offers numerous other services that relate to graphic design including company and product naming, trademarks, and much more.
The right training, background, and approach.
Fortunate to have been raised in Northern Westchester County (50 miles north of NYC), fortunate to have been trained by some of the world’s leading graphic designers, and fortunate to have received a full scholarship from the leading design and marketing school on the east coast, Rob is a graphic designer who understands business, psychology and people.
The work of those by whom Rob was trained is timeless and outstanding and includes the branding for Mobil Oil, NBC, and American Airlines, in addition to numerous others. These leading world-renowned designers as well as others helped Rob develop his professional approach to problem solving.
Rob was trained and influenced by graphic designers who changed the world of graphic design including Massimo Vignelli, Lou Dorfsman (then VP/CBS), Herb Lubalin, Tom Geismar & Ivan Chermayeff. These are the graphic designers who created the logos, images, and brands above, and who taught Rob how to think about and develop graphic solutions that are memorable, translate in all media, and which are timeless. Click here to see some of the great achievements of other renowned graphic designers in a timeline of modern graphic design history.
Knowing how to develop and judge creative solutions.
From these leading graphic designers and others, Rob learned a method he uses to create, arrive at, and judge solutions.
Rob’s approach and methodology has little to do with personal taste or preference and a great deal to do with thorough research, analysis, exploration, marketing and competitive strategy, positioning and branding. The best solution is often the simplest solution, yet to edit thoughts and concepts down to their essence requires extremely careful thought and an analytically creative mind.
A marriage of copy and design.
A typical of many graphic designers today, Rob is equally adept at copywriting as well as design, production and much more.
To successfully create a brand image, position a company, and communicate with an audience, a graphic designer must also be an excellent communicator. Realizing this, Rob does the work of a copywriter and graphic designer at the same time.
By doing the work of a copywriter and graphic designer at the same time, Rob is able to make all the pieces fit together seamlessly, create better campaigns with greater focus, avoid errors, and produce better outcomes.
A surprising number of graphic designers are not also copywriters, many are not good at spelling, some get caught up in trends or fads, and a disturbing number are unaware of the history of graphic design and/or what separates a poor or proficient graphic designer from a great graphic designer. While computers have been a boon to the graphic design business, they have also helped erode the credibility of the professional graphic designer. Without any certification program, it has become easy for many to perform the duties of a graphic designer (on a technical level), yet only a select few have the sensibility, training, and experience required to create solutions that are timeless and of greatest value to the client.
Knowledge and experience in all media.
Knowing the technical aspects of all media is important to being able to develop solutions that cost-effectively translate across all media. Rob is sure to factor these in to save money and insure his results can easily be reproduced in any media. Many graphic designers today do not understand all media and therefore do not account for this in their design solutions.
A professional graphic designer who is finished building his portfolio is much better for your business.
After more than 27 years, Rob is no longer building his portfolio.
While the less experienced graphic designer often focuses more on building a ‘pretty’ portfolio than achieving a positive result and outcome for the client, Rob’s entire focus is on client goals and objectives.
If all you seek is a ‘pretty’ design, without strategy and without a great deal of thought, you should not contact Rob. Though Rob’s rate remains at $95/hour, you will likely be satisfied with a less costly alternative.