Choosing the right frame

A frame is just a frame right? Something that simply holds your photo or artwork? So choosing the right frame should be easy?

Well in the case of GREAT custom framing results, it’s really not just a frame and choosing the right one needs exceptional design skills from a highly skilled framer.

Custom designed framing is an entirely different beast to simply ‘putting a frame around something’.

In this blog post I’m going to outline one of the first mistakes people make when starting their custom framing projects with a framer. This is also relates to the misconception around costs and value of your custom framing job. It’s important from the outset to understand that you always get what you pay for.

Choosing a frame that doesn’t work at all

Choosing a frame that DOESN’T relate, match, or blend with the artwork results in the framing not connecting with the artwork. To be blunt it’s akin to throwing your money down the drain because the finished frame is one you will never be happy with, never enjoy looking at and it will turn you off custom framing for life… and worse still you won’t see the value in the money you’ve already spent.

What’s the solution?

A great frame needs to either be a natural extension of the artwork or a complimenting presentation package. Just as the painter used colours in a paint palette to create the painting, great framers must use the artwork as their palette. The frame needs to be in complete balance with the artwork.

Here’s what you need to remember when choosing a suitable frame: remember that all of these are dictated from the artwork itself!

• COLOUR – Pick out the dominant colour and find a frame that compliments this or consider a contrasting frame that ensures the artwork is dominant and the first thing you see.
• PROPORTION – Ensure that the total amount of frame colour ends up the same (or a little less) as what appears in the artwork.
• STYLE – Choose frames that are in keeping with the style of the artwork. E.g. sometimes an ultra modern style frame won’t work very well with a traditional 19^th century style artwork print.
• TEXTURE – If there is a dominant texture in your artwork, see if you can match or blend with it using a frame that has a similar texture. E.g. a beach scene with waves may look great with a frame that has a similar wavy texture.