ARRLSTX Graphic Design Guidelines
Thank you for contributing to the STX Amateur Radio public news and blog feed as a Graphic Designer! To maintain the consistent, professional, and community-driven visual identity that our readers expect, please adhere to the following guidelines when creating your artwork:
1. Visual Tone and Style
Clean and Professional: Our visuals should reflect the professionalism of our organization. Use clear typography, balanced layouts, and avoid overly busy or cluttered elements. Ensure your designs are welcoming and community-focused.
2. Image Sourcing and Originality
Copyright Compliance: Never use copyrighted images or assets without explicit permission. Please use high-quality, royalty-free stock imagery (e.g., Unsplash, Pexels), public domain images, or your own original artwork and photographs.
Do NOT use images from the internet. Do not download from Google. Use of AI generated images is 100% acceptable, the use of images found on the internet is not acceptable.
3. Dimensions and Formats
Featured Images: All primary featured images should be formatted to a standard 100:67 aspect ratio, optimally 1000 x 670 pixels or 100:67 aspect ratio, to ensure they display perfectly on our site and across social media.
Optimization: Please save your graphics in JPEG, PNG, or WebP format. Always compress your images before uploading to keep file sizes as small as possible (ideally under 300KB) to ensure fast page loading times.
4. Watermarking Images
Applying the Watermark: All featured images will need our watermark placed in the lower right corner of the image being used. The easiest way this can be done for free and online is through the use of the website www.photopea.com.
After resizing the image to the proper aspect ratio (100:67) and dimensions (max width 800 pixels), you will then add the watermark as an additional layer on top of the image. The image will then be exported and downloaded to your device. Once you have the final production-ready image downloaded, that is the exact image you will upload to the media manager and set as the Featured Image for the post.
5. Understanding the Content Workflow
As a graphic designer, you are a crucial piece of a much larger content engine. Understanding where your article comes from and where it goes next will help you design better graphics and collaborate effectively with the rest of the team:
- Phase 1: Contributors (The Spark)
Our Contributors scour the internet for interesting news and updates, submitting the best links via the Submit Inspiration module. - Phase 2: Writers (The Storytellers)
Our writers take the raw inspiration provided by Contributors and craft it into a compelling, locally relevant article. - Phase 3: Graphic Designers (The Visuals)
This is you! Once the draft is complete, you will read the writer’s work and create tailored, high-quality feature artwork and graphics designed specifically to elevate their message and draw the reader in visually. - Phase 4: Publishers (The Polish)
Finally, your completed artwork and the article move to the Publishers. They handle the final polish—optimizing for SEO, tweaking formatting, assigning categories, and ultimately scheduling the article to go live for the public to enjoy.
6. The Designers Widget
As a final note, all graphic designers will have exclusive access to a pool of completed written drafts waiting for artwork. You can easily browse these pending articles by using the Designers Widget, which is conveniently located in the bottom footer section of the website. Through this widget, you can choose to accept or decline the various design tasks that come in. This means there will almost always be an article waiting for your creative touch when you are ready to tackle the task!