13 Signs You're A Bad Graphic Designer Posted on 06'07 Dec Posted on December 6, 2007 along with 90 JUST™ Creative Comments Yes, this is a controversial topic, however I hope to raise awareness of some mistakes you may be making in your graphic design pieces that are making you look like an amateur, but please keep in mind that none of these are hard and fast rules, this is only a general guide of things you should be aware of. Please forgive me for the graphic and bad grammar / spelling in the picture above as I’m sure you can see it is a joke :) (rainbow gradients, comic sans, bevel emboss, 13 not 15, bad grammar, off centered type – yuk) Anyway, I have compiled 15 tell tale signs that you may still be considered a (don’t quote me) bad graphic designer. 1. Do you use Helvetica in everything? Ok, yes I know, it is the most popular font of all time – but that is the downfall of Helvetica. 2. Do you use straight quotes still? Straight quotes were for typewriters, times have changed! 3. Do you NOT hang your quotation marks? 4. 5.
Genius By Design C.R.A.P.:The Four Principles of Sound Design by Daniel Scocco This is a guest blog by Jacob Cass. Be sure to check out his $5000 prize giveaway. As a graphic designer, I could tell you if your website design is C.R.A.P. Not crap as in crap crap, but I mean C.R.A.P as in the underlying principles of good design. C.R.A.P stands for contrast, repeitition, alignment and proximity and these are the four principles of design that a blog design should adhere to. The Joshua Tree To get your head around the c.ra.p. principles let me tell you a true story aptly named The Joshua Tree from Robin Williams book, the Non Designers Type Book. Once upon a time, Robin received a tree identifying book where you could match a tree up with its name by looking at its picture. Now the Joshua tree is a really weird-looking tree and she looked at that picture and said to herself "Oh, we don’t have that kind of tree in Northern California. So she took the book and went outside. The moral of the story? The four basic principles 1. 2. 3. 4.
Fast Company | French Hours 99 Graphic Design Resources Below is a list of 99+ graphic design resources, in English and (and a few other languages), that all designers must know about. It is sorted by category (click to go to category): For more resources you can check out the 101 Places To Get Design Inspiration. Also don’t forget to subscribe for more graphic design resources. 1 Spunk United An excellent magazine with a selection of the worlds best artists providing inspiration, interviews, articles and more. 2 FreeLance Switch (No longer active) The community site of reference for all freelances. 3 Computer Arts The site of the excellent international magazine Computer Arts. 4 David Airey A graphic and logo designer who shares his knowledge on these areas. 5 Behance A site gathering the portfolios of the artists of the whole world, a true inspiration. 6 Pdf Mags References all the PDF mags out there! 7 Graphic Design Forum (no longer running). The most active of the graphic design forums out there. 8 Design Is Kinky 9 Freelance Folder 10 Bittbox
Header Backgrounds - Another Step-by-step Tutorial by Veerle Header Backgrounds Another Step-by-step Tutorial by Veerle > next © Copyright by Veerle Pieters of Duoh! n.v. all rights reserved Computer Graphics DESIGN PRINCIPLES What is the purpose of graphics? 1) To support content, 2) Create visual appeal, 3) Aid organization, 4) Aid eyeflow A good article about Design Principles: Principles_of_design Another great ad: Why Bad Ads Happen to Good Causes Hierarchy The tools you use to prioritize your content; how you organize your design. Victorianferndale | www.scion.com Good navigation with the use of color: | www.lacountyarts.org | Learningresources Focal Point Every design needs one of these - it will attract your viewer and draw them in. How to make a Focal Point | Good example | Genesis Box | Hautmanwebdesign | Bodyandsoul A good example of a site that NEEDS a focal point: Soccer Box A focal point can be text too: Bandwmag Eyeflow Painting by Seurat What guides your eyes on these sites? FINE ART PRINCIPLES Relationships, Scale, Synergy Relationship is the connecting force between elements and synergy is all elements working together to create a cohesive whole.
Seth's Blog: The Curse of Great Expectations I can benchmark everything now. I can benchmark my morning workout. The rowing machine tells me if today’s workout was a personal best. On my way to work, I can track my mileage. The problem with benchmarking is that nothing but continuous improvement (except maybe spectacular results) satisfies very much. Our interconnected, 500-channel world lets us be picky. In the old days, data was a lot harder to come by. Yes, benchmarking is terrific. But it stresses us out. Of course, the boomers have this problem even worse (and we’re all boomers, aren’t we? In addition to the stress, benchmarking against the universe actually encourages us to be mediocre, to be average, to just do what everyone else is doing. So, I’m officially letting go. Was this my best blog entry ever, or what?
Graphic Design Course Curriculum: Software, Typography, Colour, Illustration, Photography, Logotype, Design Systems, Portfolio Skills The government accredited Certificate IV in Design CUV40311 qualification is recognised by employers and industry groups Australia wide. This qualification is part of the national vocational education and training (VET) system, competency based and based on Training Packages. There are no pre-requisites of entry into this course. We teach you from the ground up. The course ethos More than just software learning We teach a mixture of what we call ‘OLD SCHOOL meets NEW SCHOOL’ techniques that get to the core of what it means to be a real designer: an understanding of the culture of design combined with the techniques of a solid design process, from design brief to idea generation, sketching, layout, comp and finishing in the Adobe suite. Online but Intensive Yes intensive. Design training designed by industry experts We have designed our Certificate IV in Design course to be a comprehensive qualification in graphic design. Portfolio plus qualification Why choose the qualification? Self Paced
Get Mentally Fit with an Idea Quota The first step to have great ideas is to adopt an attitude of having lots of ideas. Going further, there are some strategies we can use to dramatically increase the amount of ideas we generate. The Idea Quota is one of the simplest and most effective of them. The Idea Quota I first learned about the Idea Quota through Michael Michalko’s excellent book Thinkertoys. The point of committing to a quota is that it forces you to actively pursue new ideas. Although you can use quotas without specifying a central theme for your ideas, the technique works best when you direct it to very specific needs, such as: a challenge you’re working on, either in your personal life or at work;an improvement you want to make in your life or business;finding answers to specific questions you have, either practical or more abstract. Pump Some (Mental) Iron Just like in a physical workout, to grow your creativity muscles you have to constantly push your limits, even if just a little bit. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Top 50 graphic design blogs :: David Airey :: Graphic and Logo D Update: 02 November 2010 I published this collection back in 2007, albeit with a few minor updates here and there. Today I shared a new post showing the design blogs on my subscription list. That’s a more up-to-date selection. It’s not easy finding talented graphic designers, but it’s fair to say the best have a healthy online presence. Design Observer: writings about design & culture Smashing Magazine – a weblog dedicated to web-developers and designers Core77 / design magazine + resource / Authentic Boredom – by graphic designer, Cameron Moll Coudal Partners: a forum for creativity and experimentation CR Blog – News and views on visual communications from the writers of Creative Review Dexigner – popular design portal featuring the latest design news Hicksdesign – Journal of a small creative agency based in Witney, Oxfordshire, UK, authored by Jon Hicks I Love Typography, devoted to fonts, typefaces and all things typographical. Mark Boulton: Design Thinking. Speak Up > Design Dialog
10 Revealing Infographics about the Web The use of graphics as a tool for educating viewers is a great approach to sharing information. It’s an effective way of composing otherwise boring information and data into an easy-to-consume and fascinating way. In this article, you’ll discover a variety of infographics and visualizations associated with the internet. You might just learn a thing or two about the web by looking at these awesome artworks! Click on the image to go to the larger version of each graphic. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Related Content About the Author Jacob Gube is the Founder and Chief Editor of Six Revisions.