Robert Sugar is the president and creative director of AURAS Design. A graduate of American University,he taught publication design there for nine years. Early positions working with printers and typesetters gave him an expanded perspective on the designer’s role in producing print publications. Typography and prepress skills—plus a geek’s interest in computers—helped AURAS become a pioneer in electronic design and prepress. He committed the studio completely to digital design by 1992,and has constantly expanded the technology,skills and capabilities of the studio. He has cultivated a strong staff of seasoned designers who are encouraged to work beyond scope and bring innovative alternative solutions to the table.
As head of AURAS,Sugar brings a strong preference for editorial clarity and narrative engagement to all the design projects in the studio. He believes design serves an editorial purpose beyond ornamentation,improving comprehension of complex messages and drawing focus to crucial elements that help readers understand and appreciate the value of the content. Publication design has been a natural application for these preferences and Sugar has helped design or redesign over 80 publications,bringing a unique combination of editorial,design and production skills to clients,making the most of available resources,and finding practical solutions to contemporary challenges that face the publishing industry.
The latest technology is only as useful as the skills of the people who use it. We use the latest versions of the core professional publishing programs for print and web. And we know how to use all their powerful features. We are as proud of the files we produce as the actual products.
AURAS uses Adobe InDesign for all of its print projects,but we are fluent in QuarkXPress too. The rest of the Adobe CS suite: Photoshop,Flash,Illustrator,Dreamweaver and Fireworks are important elements in our arsenal. Of course we use the latest Apple computers and calibrate our monitors so what we see is really what you get.
AURAS keeps data safe with triple backed-up servers and constant archiving. We have a photo studio available for complicated set ups and product shots. We can edit audio and video,and produce complex Flash presentations.
We have expert skills in typography,image color correction and manipulation,and a respect for the value of how traditional craft applied with modern digital tools can produce a superior product.