What Does It Take To Become A Graphic Designer?
Lina Smith asked:
Being a graphic designer is a career that is ideal for anyone who loves to use words and pictures to communicate ideas and messages to other people. Graphic designers are used for a whole variety of different jobs in lots of different fields which can include things like:
• Advertising on posters and in magazines.
• Designing the layout of websites for companies.
• Creating CD-ROM pages.
• Designing logos, letterheads and other branded material for companies.
• Creating brochures.
• Designing leaflets and handouts.
• Designing effects and credits for movies and television.
A graphic designer can do all of these and more as it is such a wide ranging and challenging job, but many people choose to focus on one or two specific areas and make them their speciality. Being a graphic designer is also very rewarding for anyone who has a keen interest in advertising and the way that design can influence people.
So what does it take to become a graphic designer? Firstly it is a good idea to take art and design related courses whilst at school, as this will give you a good grounding as you start on the route to becoming a graphic designer. If you have not done this you might be able to get on a college course which will help you to learn more about being a graphic designer and will help you to further your education. To be really successful as a graphic designer you should really have a bachelor’s degree and this is one of the most basic requirements for many of the graphic design jobs that are advertised.
During your bachelor’s degree to become a graphic designer you will cover a great deal of difference mediums and types of design. This will help you to gain an understanding of a wide range of different areas and it will also help you to decide what you would like to specialise your bachelor’s degree in. Subsequent years will then be spent in more specific areas in which you would like to work. There are so many different disciplines that are involved in graphic design that you might want to pick two or three and then in your final year focus on just one.
If you are already a graphic designer and would like to pursue your career in a different direction you will be able to get onto an associate degree or a certificate program. These are designed to help graphic designers to branch out into different disciplines and increase their knowledge of these disciplines. However you must be aware that you must also have a bachelor’s degree in graphic design before you can start on a different graphic designer course.
Becoming a graphic designer does mean a lot of hard work and a lot of determination, but it will be more than worth it when you are in your chosen profession. So even if you have not taken are or design school, you still have a chance to become a graphic designer.
Corporate Graphic Design and Its Need for Your Business
May 14, 2011 by admin
Filed under Web Design
The best bakers and pastry chefs come out with products that are not only mouthwatering but delectable visually as well. Similarly, graphic design is the art of presenting information in a visually appealing way. For companies to stand out from the crowd, it’s critical to have an outstanding and instantly recognizable logo that represents the company.That’s where corporate graphic design comes into the picture.
Every entrepreneur’s dream is to have a company and a logo that’s as instantly recognizable around the world as a Nike or a Coca Cola. The job of a professional graphic designer is to try to convert these dreams into reality. The graphic designer takes the brief from the client and comes up with a graphic design that reflects the values of the client.
Professional graphic design is a skill that is a combination of both art and science. While a design needs to be catchy, the graphic designer has to keep in mind the different media that will be used to promote an identity for which the logo is created. A logo needs to look good – be it from an outdoor advertising panel, on computer/TV screen, or on to a mobile device.
The role of the print media continues to decline as the primary mode of advertising for companies. As people are beginning to spend more and more time online, the share of online advertising from the total branding remuneration pie will continue to grow for online and internet advertising. With ubiquitous broadband internet and 3G mobile services, advertising will change from something that is simply static to one highly dynamic; and encourage greater interaction amongst the user.
The corporate graphic design of the future has to bear in mind these changing dynamics. The winning graphic design will be the one that best understands the mindset of its target audience and is able to entice and influence its target geography and the people living there.
Graphic Designing for All and Sundry
May 14, 2011 by admin
Filed under Uncategorized
Graphics are basically pictures and drawings, which are either created by computer or entered into the computer through scans or photographs–vector graphics, raster graphics and bit map. The form of communicating through computerized drawings and representations is called graphic designing. Traditionally a poor man’s tool—applied to books and magazines but now with the advent of computers it’s now applied to both print media as well as interactive media. The designing process is a complex step-by-step process, which starts with taking requirements from the client and ends with final designed product.
Graphic designing can be applied to the following:
1. Animated logos
2. Booklets
3. Brochures
4. Business Cards
5. Greeting cards
6. Letterheads
7. Newsletters
8. Posters
9. Postcards
10. Flyers
Graphics are used for visualization purposes. For example wall, typography, symbols, lines and other images.
Animation and graphics
The computer animation industry is the major punter of graphics. With use of 3D computer graphics and 2D computer graphics, this industry stands tall above all. The 3D computer graphics are not only limited to computers but also used in films and other 3D animation.
Computer Games
A computer game is generally categorized under 3D computer graphics. 3D is a great source of entertainment for both young and old. Computer games can be referred to as video games and personal computer games.
How to?
How to acquire graphics that you need? It’s simple-create it yourself! Really, it’s easy to create graphics yourself; one just needs to have a little knowledge about software for creating graphics.
Another great way is to outsource. There are freelancers available online, which do the work for you, charging you for some amount.
Still not aware where to get your work done?
Find more here at http://www.designpresentation.com
Choosing A Computer For Freelance Graphic Design
May 14, 2011 by admin
Filed under Communication
For many years, when a freelance graphic designer chose a new computer, Macintosh was the automatic choice. Macintosh computers provided the memory, processing speed and storage necessary for large design files. Most graphic design firms and printing companies used only Macintosh computers. Today, that trend continues but PCs are making inroads in what used to be territory exclusive to Macintosh. Therefore, the decision on what computer to purchase is not as clear cut as it once was for graphic designers.
Hardware is the first consideration of most freelance designers. While PCs have been proven to rival Macs in terms of processing speed, some people claim that Macs still process large graphic files more efficiently. Also, Macintosh computers have a better maintenance record than most PCs. However, when a hardware problem does arise a Mac can cost more to repair.
Software is where the Macintosh shines compared to the PC. All the major graphic design applications are available for both platforms and run with similar speed. However, the Macintosh operating system has historically been much more stable than the Windows operating system and much easier for the end user to troubleshoot. Additionally, Macintosh computers are far less susceptible to viruses, adware and spyware than PCs, which are notorious for their security flaws.
There are considerations beyond the hardware and software that a freelance designer needs to consider. For example, Macintosh computers typically cost more than PCs. However, once a PC is equipped with the appropriate memory, processor and graphics card to efficiently process graphic files, the cost is fairly similar. If a designer decides to switch platforms any graphic design software already owned must be repurchased under a new license which leads many designers to stick with one platform.
Aesthetics are often a consideration of many designers. Macintosh computers are designed to look sleek and creative while PCs are typically more standard looking. However, some of Macintosh’s most originally designed computers are not suitable for graphic design work, leaving a designer with the standard CPU tower, monitor and peripherals, though perhaps in interesting colors.
Finally, careful consideration must be given to interactions with outside vendors and clients. Many printing companies and graphic design firms still have a strong pro-Macintosh bias and may reject native files created with PC software. However, if you are submitting EPS, TIFF or PDF files, the difference in platform will be negligible.
Graphic Design for Better Looking Website
May 14, 2011 by admin
Filed under Web Design
Graphic design can be a boon for your website or curse if done wrongly. Visual pleasure is the strongest asset and quality of any website which makes them a visitor attracting medium. No matter how good your online content and information is useful for the end user, if it is not presented well and have unattractive graphic design, visitors would not devote enough time to see your website and would exit it quickly. Graphic designing is an art it is the designer’s job of combining art with technology for better functionality. A website has only few seconds to impress the site visitor, an image conveys thoughts and can be a substitute for thousands of words too. Therefore graphics on the home page has to be eye-catching and sensible enough to keep the potential customers hooked to your website for long. For better website speed try to stick to graphics of lower resolution, you can have high-resolution graphics if it’s necessary for the website. In case your graphic image is too big, it can be broken down to small modules so that loading is faster. The graphic that is being used should be related to the website and its content and should not look out of place. Not all computers of the target customers are equipped with faster downloading speed and better connectivity, so keep the graphic design simple that can be assessed by simple connection as well. Before designing the final graphic, consider the dimension of the graphic images, and then these images are assigned sizes by specified width and height during the process of tagging. This procedure makes sure that exact position of the graphic image placement is known to the browser. It helps in instantaneous displaying of text along with graphics that is being loaded. So that the site visitors can read the text and see the graphic image simultaneously. Assigning all images description is essential which can be done by alt-tag function for each image separately. This option is extremely useful in times when a visitor is not able to view the graphic image for some reason, here they can at least have a short description about the graphic design. Good content and graphic design go hand-in-hand for website success, putting up images where content is required would not serve the purpose. Well-designed graphic design can form long lasting positive impression on the visitors motivating them to come to your website again and again. The home page is the most important page of your website, so make it attractive and information source giving a gist about what your website is all about.
Copyright © 2008
Anti-aliasing for a Smoother Corporate Graphic Design
May 14, 2011 by admin
Filed under Website Visibility
When vying for a commercial successful website, one cannot really afford to ignore the need for a professional graphic design powered by custom web development and overall search engine friendliness. Per se, there are various facets to a good looking corporate graphic design and one of them is called anti-aliasing.
A term often used in connection with graphic cards and computer games; Anti-aliasing is integral to a nice and smooth professional graphic design across digital media. The method is used to discernibly smooth the rough edged texts and images in any online game, graphic card or website to give it a more corporate look.
A deeper look into how anti-aliasing works, reveals that it involves no magic but purely smarter handling of the graphics at hand. Anti-aliasing achieves a smoother look for the texts and graphics by rendering the edges less obvious for the human eyes, thus only fooling the viewer’s eyes that the image is now minus a jagged look. The finer texts and graphics in turn reinforce a corporate graphic design impression in the psyche of the audience at large and win better response for the game/ graphic card/ website etc.
The secret behind anti-aliasing can be easily realized by magnifying the text before and after anti-aliasing. An analytical eye would take no time in understanding what anti-aliasing does to any text/ graphic. The method when implemented simply blurs the edges of the text, which looks neat and corporate like for any professional graphic design when reduced manifolds in size within the template. It naturally increases the calculations to be done on the computer monitor to achieve the professional look for the graphic design, and hence a bit slower uploading time.
While the jagged look is an outcome of the basic limitation of a computer screen, which is made up of multitude of pixels and draws any subject using horizontal and vertical lines, Anti-aliasing basically incorporates gentle color changes around the edges to give them a blended look.
The Importance of Graphic Designs
May 14, 2011 by admin
Filed under Company Logo
Graphics are required in our everyday’s life. The strong meaning of graphic stimulates a person to reach at the same moment. All over the world, graphic are being designed by the millions of graphic designers to attract people and increase the sales of a business activity.
To make a graphic really attractive and adorable, proper arrangement of graphics needs to be done. A graphic becomes meaningful when it defines the text given below properly and images to produce a coherent and interesting piece of work, according to the end goal. The purpose of graphic designing is not limited to that only but it plays a special role in improving sales of a company.
Also, the web graphic designs help in improving the look of the layout of a website, attract the viewers, convey the message of the company and stimulate their senses effectively. As simple it may seem, it is lot of hard work.
Things to be taken in consideration while designing a graphic
Graphic designing is a difficult process. While preparing for a design, a graphic designer looks into several factors including audience status, aim of the message, and medium (such as print, online, book or poster).
Once a designer clears all his basic requirements to design a graphic, he needs to organize text and graphics on selected formats and layouts. Fonts, color, size and arrangement of text and graphics are re-looked at and sent for proofreading. Graphic designs also need to take care of the things including its balance, color, contrast, emphasis, movement, pattern, proportion, proximity, repetition, rhythm, texture, unity, and white space.
In this growing world, the scope of graphic designing has changed a lot. Latest technologies have created new means in this area and new developments can be seen. Now, with the usage of new software and printing technologies, graphic designing has become more flexible and practical. Graphic designs have become an essential part of any website designing.
So, if you want to design a customized website that states your needs and requirements, make sure you keep the graphics as per the demands so that it will benefit your business needs.
Graphic Design Outsourcing
May 14, 2011 by admin
Filed under Outsourcing
Graphic design outsourcing helps in obtaining good graphic designs at affordable rates and in a timely manner. Companies with a strong marketing background are an added advantage for graphic designers. This fact holds true for all mediums of promotion and sales.
Firms that are among the best graphic design companies would primarily analyze details about your company, like the marketing channels, the competitors, target customers, etc. These companies offer graphic design outsourcing services for websites and also printed mediums. You can request to see their graphic design portfolio to see the range of work they have successfully completed.
Graphic design outsourcing is a far cheaper option in comparison to appointing a staff for graphic designing. The number of people preferring outsourcing for their web projects is increasing. These graphic design companies are far more specialized in their respective fields and have expertise in handling online projects.
Look out for any discount schemes or promotional offers by these companies. They typically charge a fixed amount of fees for certain time duration or for an overall project.
The reasons for outsourcing differ from company to company. Some might opt for it as they don’t have the required qualifications and resources. Some need additional time for business core issues, whereas some people might be short of time and so on. Outsourcing helps in focusing on other business goals. Think about the benefit that outsourcing would free you from the stress of creating appropriate designs and logos for your company. Apart from qualified professionals handling your graphic design project, they even give you the choice of selecting the logo from many options designed by them.
The chances of getting the maximum ROI can be expected with outsourcing. For a premium, you can even hire a graphic designer to work exclusively on your project on a part-time or full-time basis as needed. If you want to make any changes in existing designs, it becomes easy and can be done in less time.
Imagine if you have to complete all the small changes in your graphic design on your own. Firstly you have to install new software which would cost you hundreds of dollars. Then you’d have to learn how to use it, thus costing you time as well as energy. These shortcomings are overcome by graphic design outsourcing. It’s worth a try for any project, large or small.
Copyright © 2008
Graphic Design Suggestions for Error-free Designing
May 14, 2011 by admin
Filed under Web Design
All computer wizards have accepted the power of graphic designing as one of the strongest marketing tool. The designs procured through graphics have great value in the market giving the much needed right kind of public exposure to the website. Consult with your graphic designer, let them know what your design expectations are so that the outcome is very close to your requirements.
Graphic designs are very versatile in nature that can be applied to both print as well as websites. It can turn imaginations into reality, giving your dreams wings and achieve the height of business expansion. Taking professional help gives designing professional touch and handling.
The concept of graphic designing also requires some basic factors to be considered. Creating strong visual appeal is important, so due consideration has to be given to color selection. Image has to match with your website business strong enough to exert positive impression on the site visitors. Message that you want to convey through the graphic has to be thought about and then formed. Customers see and hear exactly what you are trying to communicate to them.
Stepwise and rigorous research and planning goes into choosing most specific graphic design for a website. Right from the graphic design creation to its application, it can be divided into three process categories namely:
Design process
Grid application
Technology application
Every graphic design is produced in a stepwise manner, giving right kind of design solutions. Grid application is used to improvise the quality and look of the graphic images for that perfect online look. Integrating latest technology in the graphic designs is essential to give modern and attractive look to them.
Web design and graphic design are inter-related with each other, as both have significance for any creatively designed website. They influence the overall look of a site comprising of typography and layout. Graphic design has extended scope not just confining to the internet, several other media use graphics.
After an image is designed, the next step will be its apt placement on the website and the size of the image. Do not overlook the importance of arrangement of visuals and content on the web page. Graphics ones created does not solve the purpose forever, they have to be maintained, edited or changed after some interval of time.
Copyright © 2009
Airbrush Tool of Photoshop: A Graphic Designer’s Favorite
May 14, 2011 by admin
Filed under Web Design
Adobe Photoshop and graphic designing spell almost synonymous. The contribution of Photoshop to a graphic design firm has been manifold –right from designing to editing. A graphics designer who works on Photoshop is well-aware of the advantages of Photoshop over other designing tools.
Photoshop’s Paint Tools consist of four tools – Airbrush is one among them (Pencil Tool, the Paintbrush and the Paint Bucket are the rest). The Airbrush Tool of Photoshop stimulates an airbrush and it’s ideal for soft, delicate and subtle editing. A creative graphic designer even uses this function for removing dark circles from under eyes while merging or incorporating images onto their projects to make the graphics look for stunning, more vibrant.
The Airbrush Tool of Photoshop is similar to the Paintbrush only difference being its softer edge. Using the function is quite easy. You just need to click on the tool and then select the desired options from the Option Bar that includes brush size, shape and pattern. The Brush pull-down menu on the Option Bar helps you select a new brush. You can also load more brushes by clicking the circle button with the black arrow. Create brushes, save modified brushes, delete brushes, rename brushes and reset brushes are the other functions which can be initiated using the button. You need to select the layer on which you want to paint in the Layers palette. Then dragging the mouse you are all set to draw.
A graphic design company can harvest the maximum in designing using the Airbrush Tool of Photoshop. The tool comes with a Pressure slider function that modifies how much paint is sprayed when the mouse is down. The spraying of paint using the function is pretty easy and interesting. You just need to choose the airbrush tool and then click on the canvas holding the mouse down while dragging. In a custom graphic design firm, this function is frequently used. And results have been just terrific!











