Myths, Magic Bullets and Easy Buttons

We get a lot of questions and posts here looking for answers and solutions that are neat, tried and true, cure-alls for whatever ails ya.

This post is to address the myth that such things exist.

The software, hardware, materials, machines, techniques, tools and what-not asked about and discussed here are resources ... Tools of the trade. There is no "best" anything.

There is no

• best printer
• best plotter
• best sign program
• best vinyl
• best way to apply vinyl
• best way to autotrace

There are lots of better and worse solutions to the various needs we face in designing and producing commercial projects in an efficient and professional manner. Learning the differences and the possibilities is what is important and takes the most effort and the most time.

Each project we are presented with is unique in some way. The solutions to completing the project are as varied as our talent and understanding of our available resources and which is a more appropriate choice to use at any given time.

There is no "easy button" or simple solution, neither is there a best anything except as to how well any solution satisfies a need FOR YOU as an individual. Signmaking, design and professional graphic arts is first and foremost a craft and an art. It is learned over time.

We are presented with continuously changing and evolving technology on a daily basis. The tendency exists to think the technology is the solution. But technology is just another resource. The individual who utilizes the various resources is the solution. That will never change.