Dynamic Poster Project

Our web site will offer consumers the ability to incorporate selected texts (such as famous quotations, poems, and motivational/inspirational slogans) and images into a wide range of quote-imprinted?? products See <[login to view URL]> for the details of this project. ## Deliverables ## Dynamic Poster Project: Preliminary Design Concepts *This initial “design concepts?? document is intended to identify our general goals and requirements. Many specific design decisions will not be made until we understand the available options and the cost of each decision or option. (In other words, we know there are a number of existing “tools?? and “packages?? which might be used to implement this project more quickly, if we accept the capabilities and limitations of that product, and we don’t want to define restrictions now that would unreasonably escalate the cost.)* *We are seeking “preliminary proposals,?? including general cost estimates (non-binding), from individuals and firms which have suitable experience. With your input, we can move forward with a more detailed requirements document and solicit bids. Note that this “project?? is just one component of the web site project.* Our web site will offer consumers the ability to incorporate selected texts (such as famous quotations, poems, and motivational/inspirational slogans) and images into a wide range of quote-imprinted?? products, including: * **Paper Products:** Posters and prints, calendars, greeting cards, postcards, bookmarks, playing cards * **Fabric Products:** T-shirts, tote bags, caps; silk-screen or embroidered * **Other Products:** Mugs, mouse pads, magnets, pens, key rings, and more We have the equipment and resources to do the poster-printing and product-imprinting. Each product type has different imaging requirements and design considerations. **The Dynamic Poster web application would receive inputs that include text(s) and image(s), and after user manipulation of the product design, will output either (1) a high-resolution image file or (2) a set of specifications that enable exact reproduce the image.** (Option 2 would substantially reduce our storage requirements.) We will offer *tens of thousands* of texts (quotes, poems, etc.) and *tens of thousands of high-resolution images.* The site design will reflect some type of “cart,?? “folder,?? or “favorites?? system so that consumers can “collect?? (within the site) texts and images they may wish to use on products. The Dynamic Poster web application will allow consumers to manipulate **elements** of the image (see list of elements below). We’ve seen a number of web sites that include *some* similar functionality: * [Motivational Poster Generator][1] * [[login to view URL]][2] * [[login to view URL]][3] * [[login to view URL]][4] **Important Note**: Many graphic tools which are adequate for dynamic generation of “web site banners and buttons?? or “product information images?? _will not scale_ to larger sizes. When very large fonts are merged onto an image, using some tools, the fonts appear “jaggy??; other tools create odd effects in the background image when the text is superimposed (such as “blurring?? or altering the color of image pixels adjacent to the inserted text). It is _crucial_ that images be “scalable?? ??" consumers would be working with lower-resolution images in the user interface (in full-image mode, they might see an image 5.4x8 inches, at 72dpi (or about 400x600 or 600x900 pixels), but the actual print resolution would be much higher (at least 2025 x 3000, perhaps 4050 x 6000 or larger). **Zoom and Pan:** While consumers would manipulate and edit a “low-resolution image,?? they must also have the ability to “zoom and pan?? to view the entire final high-resolution image. They must *not* be able to download or view the entire high-resolution image at once, but instead would view the larger image through a relatively small “window,?? to prevent local storage and printing of the high-resolution image. **Implementation of Design Rules and Guidelines:**We anticipate having sets of “design rules?? and “design guidelines.?? For example, for a 27x40 poster, we might set a “design rule?? barring any text size below 12 points, and a “guideline?? that discourages the use of fonts smaller than 18 points. We should have the ability to define “product designs?? (such as “27x40-inch poster?? or “Polo shirt with 1x3-inch 2-color embroidery??) which are associated with a specific set of design rules and guidelines. It is important that the system allow the creation and definition of new “products?? and new “design rules and guidelines?? without requiring complex reprogramming. **Drag and Drop:** Ideally, the web interface will allow users to “drag and drop?? each element within the poster. Warnings would be generated if the user’s action does not comply with a “design guideline,?? and consumers cannot be permitted to position items in violation of any “design rule.?? We are aware that the sheer number of “elements?? will require substantial creativity and “compactness?? in designing the user interface. ## Design Elements **Text Elements:** * Multiple text components (keyword, quote, author, citation, etc.) * Can quote include multiple text sizes and colors? Or will we impose a single set of attributes on each text element? * For each text component: * Font (e.g. Helvetica) * Style (bold, italic, underline, outline) * Size (point size on final product) * Color (could color include patterns, such as rainbow, stripes, dots, etc.?) * Text zone size and shape * Position ### Image Attributes (included in our database): * Overall darkness/density (pre-set or dynamic?) * “Text zones?? ??" blank/solid areas identified for default text placement * Minimum and Maximum print resolutions * (e.g. can’t use 8-megapixel image on a keychain, can’t use a 2K image on a poster) ### Poster Design (Layout ??" templates) * Image edge-to-edge, text over image * Image with border, text over image * Image with border, text outside image * Border color, width(s) * Credit/tagline (position options) ### All-Product Design Rules and Guidelines * Text must adequately contrast with background ??" no black-on-black or white-on-light-yellow * Relative text sizes cannot differ too much ??" within quote, quote-to-author, etc. (maybe 40%) ### Product-Specific Design Rules and Guidelines * Minimum font size * Limit number of different fonts used * Limit number of text colors * Number of colors (for embroidery or other limited-color products) * Minimum distance between text elements and edge of print area * Required minimum-border size (where applicable) ### Design Templates * Design template contains a “package of decisions?? about placement and formatting of elements. (Each image and each text will be associated with one or more design templates so that consumers see a “default?? product when they start the process.) * Not all design templates can be used with all images, nor with all quotes * Some design templates may be OK for “quotes under NN characters?? * Some might work only with “images having a blank-zone in the top 25%?? * Consumer must be able to “break?? (depart from) the template design. **To discuss this project in more detail, contact**: Mark Welch <MarkWelch@[login to view URL]> 510-862-6987 ## Platform We are currently flexible; we have a slight bias toward "Windows/ASP.net/SQL Server" but we will certainly be open to other platform options (we know we will need to add servers specific to this new site -- but we must be able to pass transactions forward to our existing Windows/ASP e-commerce back end). We assume that some kind of scripting language (such as Flash) may be required for some aspects of the user interface. We absolutely need to know if any proposal will require licensing a specific third-party technology with additional licensing costs (such as a graphics engine from Adobe, Equilibrium, etc.).