Photoshop for Funeral Directors: Memorial Folders – The Subtle Logo

Normal Logo

You need to leave your mark on every folder, but you do not want it to have more prominence than the deceased. This tutorial will go through the steps of how to leave your mark – your brand – subtly. The three options that we will review today are:

The Foggy Logo

The Precise Logo

The Invisible Embossed Logo

The choice of which logo type you want to use will depend on other elements of the memorial folder, so it is advisable to try all of these effects, even customize them to your liking and then stick with 2 to 3 of them for consistency.

Want to Be More Progressive?

Use your URL (your domain name – www.YourFuneralChapel.com) instead of your logo. Using your URL has a three-fold benefit:

• Letting attendees know that you have a web presence
• Letting them know how to find your website
• Still promoting your brand identity

Nowadays, even people who do not use the Internet understand what “.com” means so why not take advantage of letting 50 – 500 people know how to find out where they can find everything they could want to know about your funeral home.

The Initial Steps

The first steps are the same whether using your graphic logo or typing out your domain name.

1. Open the “Memorial Folder 2 Up Template.psd”
2. Place your brand identity near the bottom of the Outside Back quadrant
• Logo: Open your logo file, copy it and paste it in your Memorial Folder Template, then size it and place in the desired location
• URL Text: Select the Horizontal Type tool (Shift + T), drag a text box and type your domain name using a font similar to your logo and select Black as the text colour
3. Name this Layer Brand Identity : Layer > Layer Style > Blending Options (Right-click over desired layer in the Layer Pallet and click on Blending Options)
4. For all three of these styles you need to change the main Blending Options. This is accomplished by clicking on the top box in the left column titled Blending Options: Default (immediately above the Drop Shadow box)
• Change the Advanced Blending, Fill Opacity to 0% (from 100%)

The Foggy Logo

1. Select the Brand Identity layer in the Layer Pallet
2. Go to Blending Options

• Note: This style will use Drop Shadow, Inner Glow, & Color Overlay

Drop Shadow: change the default settings to:

· Opacity: 35%

· Distance: 20 px

· Spread: 15%

· Size: 55 px

Inner Glow: change the default settings to (see graphic):

· Opacity: 100%

· Color Palette: White

· Choke: 25%

· Size: 50 px

Color Overlay: change the default settings to:

· Blend Mode: Normal

· Color Pallet: Black

· Opacity: 100%

The Precise Logo

1. Go to Blending Options

• Note: The Inner Glow, & Color Overlay settings are the same as the Foggy Logo, only the Drop Shadow settings change

Drop Shadow: change the default settings to:

· Opacity: 35%

· Distance: 10 px

· Spread: 5%

· Size: 10 px

The Invisible Logo

This style of logo works best when you have a colour image that covers the entire panel.

1. Go to Blending Options

Bevel and Emboss (not the sub categories of Contour or Texture): change the default settings to:

· Style: Outer Bevel

· Depth: 500%

· Size: 5 px

· Soften: 15 px

2. Optional: If due to the background image your logo cannot be seen, try adding a very fine outline (Stroke)

Stroke: change the default settings to:

· Size: 1 px

· Position: Outside

· Opacity: 50%

· Fill Type: Color

· Color: Black (or other desired color)

As with the Polaroid Effect tutorial, you should experiment with the various calibrations in the Blending Options to achieve your desired results. Once you have the styles that you like, you can save them by opening the Blending Options and click the New Style… button. Give this new style a name and check off both Include Layer Effects and Include Layer Blending Options. It should then appear at the bottom of your Styles pallet (Menu Bar > Window > Styles).

Remember, Memorial Folders are keepsakes for all who attend your services and although you cannot have it look like an advertisement for your funeral home, this subtle approach will let them know where the it came from.

You can download the working Photoshop (.psd) file named: “Your_Funeral_Chapel_logo.psd” by going to www.funeralfuturist.com > Resources > Tutorials

Note: If you have not used Photoshop for creating memorial folder before, please see the first tutorial, Memorial Folders – The Basics. It can be downloaded at:

www.funeralfuturist.com > Resources > Tutorials

Photoshop for Funeral Directors: Memorial Folders - The Polaroid Effect

More than any other effect, I get asked, “How do you make a photo look like a Polaroid?” In this tutorial we will walk through the steps to accomplish this. If you have not used Photoshop for creating memorial folder before, please see the first tutorial, Memorial Folders – The Basics. It can be downloaded at: www.funeralfuturist.com > Resources > Tutorials

The Polaroid Effect

In an effort to get away from the dreaded feathered, oval vignettes that appear on so many memorial folders, this is one effect that will be very hard for the do-it-yourself families to emulate.

Note:

· Photoshop terms are Bold and titles are Bold Italics

· Menu Bar items and their paths are separated by “>” and keystrokes are in (brackets) – just use either the Menu Bar items or the keystrokes even though both are shown

1. Open the desired photo of the deceased in Photoshop.
2. You will need to resize the photo so the end result is a 2.5 X 2.5 inch square at 150 pixels / inch. Tip: When using the Rectangle Marque Tool – a.k.a. Selection Tool (Shift + M), drag the selection and hold the Shift key so that it will make a perfect square as the Shift key keeps the selection in proportion. Name this layer: Polaroid Photo: Layer > Layer Properties > Name (Right-click over the layer, click on Layer Properties > Name)
3. Go to Blending Options for this layer, click on Stroke, change the settings to:

• Size: 1 px
• Opacity: 50%
• Color: Black

4. Expand your Canvas Size: Image > Canvas Size > Width: 4 inches; Height: 5 inches – make sure that the Relative box is unchecked
5. Create a New Layer: Layer > New > Layer (Shift + Ctrl + N), place it under the Polaroid Photo layer and name the new layer Polaroid Background
6. In this new layer, using the Rectangle Marque Tool (Shift + V), drag the selection so that it is 3 x 3.5 inches. Tip: Start dragging at the top-left and watch the dotted lines in the Ruler until they get to the desired size or you can watch the size measurement grow in the in the bottom-right of the Info Pallet.
7. Fill the selection with the colour white using the Paint Bucket Tool (Shift + G)
8. With the Move Tool (Shift + V) position the Polaroid Background layer so that it is centred behind the Polaroid Photo layer at the top, left, and right, leaving the extra ¾ inch white portion hanging under the photo
9. With the Horizontal Type Tool (Shift + T) make a rectangle over the white area under the photo and type the deceased’s name and years of birth and death – use a font that resembles handwriting such as “Brush Script”
10. We will now merge these 3 layers together so that they become one layer. Make sure that you have hidden any other layers, especially the Background layer if there is one. Also double-check the spelling since you will not be able to change it after this step. Layer > Merge Visible (Shift + Ctrl + E)
11. Now copy this image and paste it into your Memorial Folder Template and then position it in the Outside Front quadrant
12. Rotate this Layer approximately 2° clockwise to give it a “placed-on-the-table” look. Select the Move Tool (Shift + V), place your mouse near the top-right corner of the Polaroid image and when the cursor changes to a curved, double arrow, click and hold the mouse and move it to the desired rotation. If you cannot see the double arrow cursor, go to: View > Extras (Ctrl + H). Press Enter to accept the Transformation.
13. Go to Blending Options for this layer and change the settings for Drop Shadow, Bevel and Emboss, and Gradient Overlay

Drop Shadow

Bevel & Emboss

Gradient Overlay

Feel free to tinker with the settings if you wish. The Polaroid Effect is just an example of continually raising the bar for your personalization offerings. Please check future issues for more Photoshop tutorials. The next tutorial is Memorial Folders - The Subtle Logo.

Photoshop for Funeral Directors: Memorial Folders - The Basics

Photoshop for Funeral Directors: Memorial Folders - The Basics

As funeral professionals continue to try to improve their personalization offerings, this series will help equip them with the basic skills and techniques to stay ahead of the do-it-yourselfers. This means that we have to break away from Oval Vignettes and Times New Roman fonts! In this segment, we will go through the architecture of the 2-Up, 8.5 X 11 memorial folder using Adobe’s Photoshop. I favour the 8.5 X 5.5 (2 up) folders for a variety of reasons:

• It reduces your printing costs by 50% over the full 8.5 X 11 landscape folders
• The smaller ones easily fit in suit pockets and purses and hence more likely to be taken from the service
• Larger folders invite more service details which in turn invites more headaches for you as you know these details can change right up to service time
• Also from my experience attendees would prefer an additional photo or a personal letter or poem from a family member over a list of hymns and scripture readings
• I now encourage that the order of service be on a separate piece of paper that can be photocopied
• The bigger the canvas the more things the family may want to be included, so your production time will be reduced with the smaller folders – if they insist on the larger ones, then double your production fee and double your printing fee.

In creating the memorial folders with Photoshop, we will now need to make some basic assumptions:

• This is not your first time using Photoshop (if it is, there are many tutorials on the Internet and it may be worth while to purchase an instructional book or video)
• You are aware of how Layers work in Photoshop
• That your printer has margins of ¼ inch for the top, bottom, left and right, giving you a Canvas Size of 8 X 10.5 (if your printer only gives you a print area of 7.5 X 10 with ½ inch margins you will need to make some additional adjustments as we work through this demonstration)
• Note: For Photoshop commands, I will display the Menu Path after the bullet and then show the keyboard shortcut in brackets.

Create a New Document

• File > New (Ctrl + N)

Copy the settings in the following screenshot. Make sure that you choose a Resolution of at least 150 pixels/inch. Most printers will not give you a higher quality output if you use a higher resolution and by using 150 it keeps the document at a reasonable size - anything lower than 150 will result in a poorer final output. If you wish to save this New Document as a Preset, in the Name field type Memorial Folder Template - 2 Up (or something similar), then click on the Save Preset button and following the prompts in the new window. Then click on the OK button to accept the new document.

Setting Up Your Work Space

When creating documents such as memorial folders, it is helpful to use Guides and see the Rulers so that you can centre photos and text.

• View > Rulers (Ctrl + R)

To make the four quadrants of the folder use the Guides feature which is a visible line on the screen but does not print.

• View > New Guide: Vertical, 4.0 in
• View > New Guide: Horizontal, 5.25 in

You can also create guides by placing your mouse in the Ruler area (white), left click and hold, then drag the Guide into place. Now to take into account the printer margins, add two more Guides on each axis ¼ inch away from the centre Guides: Vertical, 3.75 & 4.25 and Horizontal, 5.0 & 5.5 Your work space should look similar to this, (but without the text):

Adding Text Layers
For each quadrant create a Text Layer by clicking on the Horizontal Type Tool in the Tool Palette or (Shift + T). Left-click in the top-left of each quadrant and then drag the mouse to the bottom-right. For now type in the labels that I have as place holders; eventually you will replace them with the appropriate text for the deceased. Depending on how you like your folders formatted, you can add text to the various quadrants. Please note that the following is just a standard layout that has been used for many years. The following is not a mandatory layout, but at least a starting point. Please feel free to change the location of the text and pictures. I would encourage you to slowly push away from the old and be more creative with your memorial folders. Just like services themselves, the more personalized the folders are, the more meaningful they are for the attendees.

Standard Layout for Text and Images

Outside Back: Obituary Notice or Poem with funeral home logo at bottom

• Alternative: add a photo at the side of the text or have a faded image under the text, or if you have used the obituary on the inside maybe create a collage of 3 or 4 photos

Outside Front: “In Loving Memory” or “Honouring the Life of” followed by a photo of the person, and then add their name and dates

• Alternative: use the “Polaroid” look of the deceased for the front cover instead of the feathered, oval vignette or the stock image that matches the memorial register.

Inside Left: Statistical Information (Name, place and date of birth, place and date of death, service location, date, and time, clergy, disposition and location, reception information).

• Alternative: include another photo of the decease or an image depicting their hobbies / activities.

Inside Right: Order of Service, list of pallbearers, etc.

• Alternative: have the order of service on a separate piece of paper, insert an additional photo, scripture, poem, family letter or obituary notice
• Leave in the pallbearers names as this makes the folder more personal, or move them to the other side if there is room

Text Effects

Once you have laid out all of the necessary textual information, you can now add various effects to the text. In Photoshop these are called Blending Options and are applied to the individual layers. Once highlighting the desired layer in the Layers Pallet:

• Layer > Layer Style > Blending Options (Right-click over the layer in the pallet and click on Blending Options)

I will list my default selections here but feel free to play with the various settings.

In Loving Memory, Name, and Years select (check box) Drop Shadow and Bevel and Emboss – the default settings are fine or adjust them to your liking.

Text over top of photo select either Stroke or Outer Glow. Stroke will give you a crisp outline of the text – best when over top of image consisting of predominately one colour. Outer Glow give a faded or cloudy haze over the image – best used when there are multiple colours or a lot of contrast such as a black and white collage. For either Layer Style choose the colour that looks the best

We will cover more advance text options in upcoming tutorials.

Ready to Print

Once all of the text and images have been added and you have applied the desired effects you will want to print the folders. As the document looks right now, it is not going to help you so we can do a couple of things here, but I will walk you through the easiest way and then in later tutorials we will look at other methods.

1. Save the document: File > Save (Ctrl + S) eg. Heppell-folder.psd
2. Save it again: File > Save As (Shift + Ctrl + S) eg. Heppell-folder-flat.psd

· This gives you a backup in case you need to make any changes because you will not be able to edit the new document

3. Hide all of the inside layers by clicking on the “Eye” so that it does not appear – do this to the Background Layer too
4. Merge all visible layers: Layer > Merge Visible (Shift + Ctrl + E)
5. Select > All (Ctrl + A)
6. Edit > Copy (Ctrl + C)
7. Edit > Paste (Ctrl + V)
8. Select the Move Tool (Shift + V) and move the copy down to the bottom half of the template
9. Once in place you can print the outside of the folders: File > Print (Ctrl + P)
10. Hide the two Outside layers by clicking on the “Eye” so that it does not appear
11. Unhide all of the Inside layers then repeat steps 4–9

Download Templates

Since there are so many functions to Photoshop, it may be beneficial to download the .psd document so that you can examine the various layers. If the Guides are not visible, press (Ctrl + H).

The document can be downloaded at: www.heppellfuneralsolutions.com > Resources > Tutorials

Then select “Memorial-Folder-Template–2-Up.psd”

Next Tutorial: The Polaroid Effect