Suggestion Design Tips / Guidelines / Rules

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OzFramer

CGF, Certified Grumble Framer
Joined
May 14, 2008
Posts
167
Loc
Perth, Western Australia
I know that Design technique is an art and not a science, but I just thought that it would be interesting and useful if we could get a thread going to list Design Tips, Guidelines or Rules ?

Even if you state the "Bleeding Obvious", someone may pick up something from your thoughts that they never new about.

Moderator - Please move this thread if its not in the appropriate place :)
 
You said it. That's a good one.

And make sure that your designs always enhance the art
rather than pulling the eye away from it. Getting too gimmicky
results in a mat and frame that compete with the art, which
is the opposite of what they should do.

For framing mirrors, it's a good idea to send a piece of Kraft paper
home with the person so they can find exactly the size of the
outside they want. Then using that size, take the back width of the
chosen moulding subtract two of that width, plus an extra 1/8 inch.
Do this both ways and it gives the mirror size to order. I know
this sounds so basic as to seem not worth mentioning, but for
someone who doesn't know it, it's helpful. Also, if it's going in
a bathroom ask about clearances, or any nearby fixtures. You don't want to have a frame with security hangers on the back and then find out the wrench key won't fit because of a backsplash.
 
when designing a triple or more mat, don't let the ''steps" be the same size. My favorite is 5/16 and 3/16.

All except for the rainbow mat I did... 8 layers (neutral on top) and all 1/4 ... Looked very cool.
 
If a piece is 'boring', think diplomas, certificates; I'd like to float the mat to give it a bit of a 3D look.
Also, unless someone wants the 'certificate' moulding; be creative in your moulding choice. It doesn't always have to be plain black / walnut / mahogany.
If someone wants the plain black, maybe show an enhancer or fillet with it.

As for mat width, I don't really have a standard rule, not too narrow though. Depends on the piece, color of the mat/moulding.
 
Tip : I keep a set of "special" corner samples available to help clients understand and consider some of the different design concepts. Helps show the client many variations to keep the design juices flowing as well as helps ME remember to upsell the features (only it they are appropriate of course).

They include :-
* Single Mats with Various V-Groove combinations
* Single Mats with Various D-Boss
* Double Mats with Various different reveal spacings
* Double Mats foam spacer (Floating the top mat)
* Tripple Mats
* Spliced Mats
* Bevel Accents
* Fabric Wraps
* Coloured Bevels
* Reverse Bevels

You get the idea !
 
Tip : Consider the Colouring and Brightness relationships between each layer of your design.
Taking each layer starting from the artwork, work you way outwards to the moulding using an alternate brightness combination i.e. Dark/Light/Dark/Light or Light/Dark/Light/Dark.

For example, if you have a Dark Photograph, you can mat it with a Light Mat and then a dark frame... or... the Dark Photo with a light inner mat, followed by a dark outer mat and then finished with a light frame.

This doesn't always work, but is a really good basic rule-of-thumb.
 
Tip : When choosing a mat colour for a piece of artwork, pick a secondary colour within the piece and mat using this colour.
 
TIP Make up several rabbit depth gages using 4in x 4in glass, foam core backing (1/8 & 3/16) and mat 1,2, 3 layers (also a couple with spacers) taped together so client can visulize what will fit in the rabbit if the moulding might not deep enough.
 
OzFramer said:
Tip : I keep a set of "special" corner samples available to help clients understand and consider some of the different design concepts. Helps show the client many variations to keep the design juices flowing as well as helps ME remember to upsell the features (only it they are appropriate of course).

They include :-
* Single Mats with Various V-Groove combinations
* Single Mats with Various D-Boss
* Double Mats with Various different reveal spacings
* Double Mats foam spacer (Floating the top mat)
* Tripple Mats
* Spliced Mats
* Bevel Accents
* Fabric Wraps
* Coloured Bevels
* Reverse Bevels

You get the idea !
Click to expand...

That's a very good idea and nothing beats a visual example.

I actually have the above in 7 frames hanging on my wall in a nice grouping. Many times a customer would point to one and say "just like that one!"
 
Tip

If you look down a concertina the folds get smaller & smaller, or appear to, as they get further away.

Make lines in a French Mat do the same, to lead your eye in to the artwork.
 
Robo, please forgive me for seeming a bit obtuse, but
the only thing that the word 'concertina' brings to mind
is some sort of musical organ that one might play
as one's pet monkey begs for coins. It's a pretty safe
bet that this is not the item to which you refer.

Would you mind letting me know what the concertina
is that you have in mind?
 
Yes - a squeeze box. If you looked down the centre of it, or a long Chinese lantern.

Sorry - let's just say 'Lines in French mats should get further apart as they move out from the aperture - generally'

Oh, and they should be all over and done with within 40% of the mat width - generally.
 
Ylva said:
If a piece is 'boring', think diplomas, certificates; . . . be creative in your moulding choice.
Click to expand...

Boring?? Diplomas?? You are kidding right? What did they get their degree in..... and then take it from there.

Law degree in the Pacific North West? Vertical Grain Fir and a little Justice.
EJD01.jpg


a "poop" engineer? Think "waste water treatment" design
EACopperframe.jpg


MFA in Film.... and they love the old horror films....
[sorry, can't show who it was for]
EFranky.jpg


Electrical Engineering for computer design
E%20Elec%2001.jpg


Diploma's are anything you want to make them besides boring.

Rule 1) Never get in the box.
Rule 2) Never go near the box
Rule 3) If you find yourself in the box, refer back to #1

:D
 
Baer cool Electrical Engineering for Computer design presentation.
Whew, big mouthful for such a small sentence. Fantastic work none the less....
 
I usually try to make sure top mats are not lighter than the lightest lights nor darker than the darkest darks in the artwork. Also, I help unlock the customer's notions about mat choices by explaining that the goal is not to match colors found in the art (or the room's furnishings), but rather to create a comfortable field in which to appreciate the colors and other elements in the art.
:cool: Rick
 
What Rick said. :)
 
I could post a million. Many come from the days of working for a designer who never put her own pieces together.

Don't design glass, triple mats, a foamcore spacer and backing into a 1/2" frame. Use deeper frames or use an extender. Sometimes you can get away with rabbet space.

Don't put museum glass and suede on the same planet.

Don't go with matting that's color of the the largest mass in the piece. Oh gosh, especially if its trees and grass.

Color wheels were invented for a reason.

Keep your moulding widths in proportion to your frame size.

<sigh>

There are so many more, but I'll let someone else type a while...
 
Take all moulding samples on your wall that have less than 9/16" under the lip.. an fill the trash bin. Glass, two mats, FC is 1/2" allow a space for the framer points.... 9/16.
 
First off, let me tell you that I am allergic to rules. *achoo*
But if I had any gentle guidelines, they would be:
-Let your framing have a signature look and let it be in demand!
-but don't let that look become a rut.

I try take in an overall view of framing. I notice in a shop if every picture has a double mat, light color on top, 1/4" of a darker color underneath. I admit: it bores me. Oh, and a generic wood frame. ZZZZZ. I like to see things 'mixed' up a bit. What's wrong with the look I call mat-as-a-liner- that is a narrowish mat with a chunky frame?

I like framing that is just this side of exciting. This is a challenge to not let it become "All About The Frame." I get in the mood to get a little wild with my framing, but I will do it with subtlety! I try. I find that I can use outlandish colors in french lines (a lot of them) and get away with it. A busy, but appropriate, fillet on a frame rather than on the mat gives you a bit of 'room' shall we say. Sometimes just painting bright white bevels the color of the face paper means you can get away with a louder mat color. Stuff like that.

It's the details that add up to an unusual, fresh, original, yet classic design.

Oh, also, I try to weed out the trends. I don't like when my stepdaughter looks at something (not even just framing) and says (with contempt) "That's SO eighties!"

I try not to make antique art/prints looks brand spanking new. I strive to frame them in a way to talks nicely to their age. No white bevels!

edie the babbling goddess
 
I really like this thread.
 
The only guideline I follow everytime is I never let the piece touch the glass. Tennessee is a fairly humiditous state, so whether its through matting or glass spacers, and piece always has room to breathe.
 
Baer,

I love the diploma! I'll have to have you frame Ian's law school diploma when he graduates next year.:)
 
Framing Goddess said:
I find that I can use outlandish colors in french lines (a lot of them) and get away with it.

Sometimes just painting bright white bevels the color of the face paper means you can get away with a louder mat color. Stuff like that.


edie the babbling goddess
Click to expand...

Edie,
I've just started playing with french lines but I only have the Vivian Kistler kit as a guide and that's pretty traditional. If you have pictures, I'd love to see how you do your french lines for more inspiration.

I'd also like to see a picture of your painted bevels. I'm imagining from your description that you mean it has an effect similar to the bevel on a colored rag mat.

Thanks!
~FF
 
I thought of something else.

When floating between mat layers, I always position the top mat so that it shows a tad bit less of the inner mat margin at the bottom than on the top and sides. If it's got 1/8 of an inch or more between the layers, making it exactly the same will result in the lower inner mat reveal looking way too wide and the upper one too narrow. By making it just a bit narrower when it's flat on the table, when you lift it upright, it will look even.
 
And another one. When you start learning how to make hinges with rice or wheat paste, don't mix up three quarters of a cup for a job that needs one teaspoon. I did and then wondered what in the world I had been thinking.

Unless, that is, you're prepared to follow Hugh's ingenius method of making little packets to contain it. I don't know how to post the link, but it's in his PFM article on preservation hinging. The whole article is a great read, and I'd post the link right now if it wasn't 12:32 in the middle of the night. I'm not up to make the packets yet, but have found both Hugh's article and the hinging tips on the Frametek website to be illuminating.
 
I try to have several *extra* samples underneath the design counter:

One of each type of glazing we use, taped on edges with artist or framer's tape and labelled.
Corner samples of foam cor in one, two, and three layers to slip under mats when selling floats.
A corner sample of spacers, although I have yet to fabricate a good workable method
A few sizes of foam cor in each type and thickness. I use them to slip under the art when presenting a float mount at the corner.

Having all of these on hand help me to show the customer how all the layers will fit in the frame, and especially with glazing, helps to choose how it will look with the art when using spacers. I tend to design with a lot of plexi, especially in photography since it has so much less tint than glass.

I also use the golden ratio a lot to explain away to the customer why the mat they want is too narrow.

I also ask a lot of questions about where they got the art, who it's for, where it will go, etc. It gives me a reall good idea what teh customer is looking for, or at least where to start (or what to avoid) and I think it puts them at ease a bit. After all, if you want them to come back again and again, you have to build a relationship. Why wait until the second or third time?
 
I thought of something else.

For people who use ATG tape to fasten their mats together, this
might come in handy. I had a long, flimsy double mat to put together
yesterday. The outside was about 15 x 53, and it's so hard to be
sure you're getting it down right. On the outer mat, I put ATG tape straight
from the roll, with the protective cover still on it. Then took the paper off
the tape that covered one half of the mat, but left it on the other half.

It worked great. I was able to position the whole thing, but didn't have
to worry about the far end sticking down and having the mat margin
too narrow there. Was able to wiggle it to the right position better and
stick the first half down, then reach under, remove the paper strips,
and fasten the second half down.
 
Here's a new one to keep the thread alive... I know its obvious for most, but someone may learn something from it.

GUIDELINE : When designing an object frame, it may not be a good idea to use non-reflective glass. The further away from the glass the object gets, the more blurred the item will become.

TEST: I have a small frame with both clear and non-reflective glass in it to test or show the customer the difference between the two types of glass. I use this to show the effect of different items under the glass.
 
Museum Glass (or AR, without UV filtering) or their acrylic equivalents would be the only reflection control glazings suitable for object framing. I know that MG is extremely expensive and only available in limited sizes down there in OZ, however, so it may be a pretty tough sell, not to mention a big expense for the framer relative to its frequency of use.
:cool: Rick
 
Rick Granick said:
I know that MG is extremely expensive and only available in limited sizes down there in OZ, however, so it may be a pretty tough sell, not to mention a big expense for the framer relative to its frequency of use.
:cool: Rick
Click to expand...

Soooo Expensive in fact - When we sell it, we recommend that the MG is put behind another sheet of MG to protect it ! ;)
 
A decorator I work with wanted a pair of old portrait photos (copies blown up) matted with the slubbed silk wallpaper used in the room.

Rather than mount the wallpaper and cut a mat with horizontal slubs, I wanted the slubs to all track toward the photos.

To cover the mitred corners I stripped the silk off the paper backing and created pleated corners to cover each mitre. I used a narrow strip of Frame Space to keep the glass from mashing the pleats.

I have since used this look with silk wrapped mats some wedding invitations and sometimes added a bit of shadowboxing to a floating invitation.
 
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