Horatio Farquaar asked:


Ever wondered how some graphic designers always manage to produce beautiful looking designs for their brochures, website designs, logo designs? Talent…yes, it helps but there are a handful of more important things you can do that will have even complete beginners producing award winning design.

Forget everything you’ve ever been told about Graphic Design

There are some hard and fast things that graphic designers will insist are to be obeyed. Only use limited fonts on a design for example or never use green on a magazine or book cover as people will not buy it. Stuff and nonsense. You can pretty much do whatever you like but you must apply these STRICT GRAPHIC DESIGN RULES and you will soon be walking away with graphic design silverware.

Somewhere on the page you MUST put in a subliminal message

This can be done in a multitude of ways for example if you are producing a brochure selling wellington boots then start every paragraph spelling out ‘buy our wellington boots’ or better still ‘you have no choice but to buy our wellington boots now get out your cheque book and buy them – NOW!’ Another crafty method is to doctor images in photoshop so that on an innocent picture of a tree for example carved into the bark is a message along the lines of ‘U Luv Wellington boots’ You get the idea. just make sure it’s hidden away on a subliminal level and watch your sales go through the roof, quite literally

You MUST include a picture of a pretty girl smiling on your document or webpage

This works for 95% of products. Put simply would you rather read and look at pictures of industrial machinery or would you rather look at a pretty girl? It’s a no brainer right? Research has proven that mens brains are wired up to focus on girls smiles and of course their ******* and backsides. If you can somehow convince your client to put a ***** girl on there somewhere you can pretty much laugh yourself down to the bank. However, never ever put a muscle bound hunk on any design thinking it will work conversely for womens products. Research has shown that womens brains are only wired to think of shopping for clothes and chocolate, so putting a bare chested chippendale on the cover is going to see your business go down the dumper. Unless your product is for ********** merchandise in which case go ahead.

Shock and Awe – the guaranteed way to get your design work noticed and talked about

Perhaps the best example of this trick can be found widely used in the modern art world. Sharks in formaldahyde, unmade beds and plastic dolls melted together to sodomise each other. All these pieces of art have been much talked about and whether you find them to your taste or not are widely percieved as being breath takingly original. The same principal can and should be applied to your graphic design work or website design. Add a blood splattered severed willy in the centre of the page for example or how about using an excrement smear as a backdrop. Remember the important thing is to get people talking about your design work. Bad taste soon becomes acceptable once commonplace so be the first to do something outrageous and reap the rewards.

If you remember to apply at least one or two and ideally all 3 of these golden graphic design rules there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be a millionaire/billionaire within one or two months. Now get creative!

Maricar Cadavicio asked:


It can be seen everywhere. It is on the face of a high school textbook. It is the sign on the street. It is on the CD cover of the latest album your have purchased. It is on the t-shirt that you are wearing or your friend is wearing. And yes, you see it as you browse through the pages of your favorite gossip magazine.

Graphic design can be found in the most simplest of places and surfaces. It can be seen from high profile venues to the most nondescript ones. Graphic design is simply the process of creating or combining visual elements, such as text and images to communicate to its viewers or readers.

It one of the most valuable and creative ways to send a message to the consumers, patrons, clients and everyone else that comprises the huge market. It is used to effectively bring a message, a concept or an idea through the audience.

While graphic design may be viewed as an all too common tool used in advertising, it actually requires a much more sophisticated level of understanding. Graphic design requires able comprehension and manipulation of information, combined with cognitive skills, aesthetics, and the like to wield an effective design.

Many businesses acquire the services of graphic design. It needs to stand out from the rest of the companies out there. And it does just this by getting acquainted with a graphic designer that can translate the company’s philosophy and values into an encompassing and identifiable image.

Graphic design can ably capture a company’s identity or vision into a complete image, both literally and figuratively. By harnessing all the visual elements of text, colors, symbols and the like, the graphic designer works to fulfill your desired goals or objectives.

Many people, whether in private practice or small enterprise, find themselves needing the services of a graphic designer at one point or another. To this, you will need to observe or remember this practical step by step guide:

1. The first thing you need to accomplish is to find a suitable graphic designer for your project. Find one that you think would fit well with your company’s taste or desired goals. A graphic designer’s portfolio can show you the range of work he or she has done and specializes in.

2. After which, set up a meeting and fully communicate your proposed ideas.

3. Specify your allocated budget

4. Give a time frame.

It would do better to have a time frame if you really want to oversee and regulate the graphic designer’s progress.

There should be submission dates for drafts, revisions and the like before the final artwork is submitted.

5. A deadline is important and you must discuss it and the terms necessary to complete the project.

6. As to prevent any possible fallout, your company should procure a well written and clear contract that states precisely how you would handle the affair. It should also cover the all too common conflicts that can arise in this type of transaction or service. It could also include the proposed schedule as to when and how often the meetings will take place.

With that accomplished, the designer would carefully study your proposed ideas and he or she will in turn do the needed research and find the best possible design that will both fit and outdo any existing designs or projects.

Graphic designs may be used for different purposes. It can be used for clothing, for internet sites and for various print materials where it is all too common. Graphic design and printing should unequivocally work together. The final artwork to be sent to production should be finalized, taking note of all the final decisions on the colors, styling, layout and materials.

Graphic designers must especially have a background on printing is the desired artwork is to be printed. An artwork or design as it appears on screen can appear different once it is on paper. Therefore, a graphic designer has to calibrate everything and know the best means how the design can be printed as precisely as possible.

The printer too, must in turn, demonstrate expertise in handling and supervising graphic designs. By carefully choosing the colors, papers and using a variety of techniques to achieve the final effect of the design, the printer can skillfully breathe life into the graphic design.

Graphic design can definitely and dramatically boost your company’s name and image overall. It will distinguish your company from others and make a lasting impression for your audiences.

graphic design Melbourne asked:

A thoroughly prepared client brief is half the success of a rebranding or design project. Attaining all the necessary and relevant information from the client and a comprehensive insight into the client’s brand provides you with a great foundation for the right brand identity and design solution.

As a designer or brand consultant, a properly prepared client brief gives multiple sources of ideas to work with. Unless you have a clear understanding of what the client wants and needs you waste your time trying to design something out of nothing and the client ends up spending more money than budgeted for as a result of the required modifications…which naturally makes both parties very happy….

Depending on the particular project you will need a specific design brief. That means if you are developing a website or creating a business card, the client design brief will be different. However, there is some general information about your company and what you want to achieve, which should give a good idea in any design situation. Here are some general questions that will help me and fellow designers and consultants:

1. Title 2. What is the nature of your business? What does your business do? 3. What is your target market? a. Age b. *** c. Income d. Occupation e. Location 4. What is unique about your business or product? 5. Who is your competition? 6. What is your aim? What are your goals? 7. How do you want your clients to feel about the brand? What is the message you want to communicate? 8. What is your budget? Range? a. Providing a rough guide enables the consultant/designer with an idea of the type of marketing and design solution that can be provided to you. 9. What is your deadline? 10. Provide the designer with current and past design and marketing materials.

To see how you can improve the image of your brand click here: graphic design Melbourne

Website Design Weston asked:

If you run a business and you have any form of corporate identity then you should care very much. How you present your company to your chosen market is fundamental to its success.

The graphic design process is crucial to any business, making it stand out head and shoulders from the competition. Whether it is the design of an entire corporate campaign or the creation of a simple company logo it still has to work effectively for you. There are four critical elements that should be seen in every logo design:

• It must be describable

• It must be memorable

• It must be effective without colour

• It must be scalable

Fairly obvious really but how does your logo stand up to these criteria? How does your company identity stand out from the competition?

Ask yourself why something is designed in a certain way. Consider why a particular colour is chosen instead of its opposite. Why use this font? Why include this particular graphic here? A good designer will think through every detail of a design and only include elements that will add to the design and re-enforce the brand.

Once your business is up and running you may think that any form of corporate identity will act to represent the company, visually creating a brand by default. Think again. If you look at the large corporations you will notice that their brand strategy stands the test of time for many years.

Many companies never change their logo design dramatically but only make the smallest of changes to keep the design looking modern and refreshed.

Benefits:

• Professional image

• Considered and long-lasting design strategy

• Make your company look bigger

• Stand out from your competition

• More effective

By Ben Smith

- Website design somerset- Professional Website Design Weston-Super-Mare

spinxwebdesign asked:


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

Karen Saunders asked:


When you own your own business, there’s never a dull moment. That’s why I wrote ‘Turn Eye Appeal Into Buy Appeal’. It’s the do-it-yourself graphic design handbook that makes marketing your business as easy as 1-2-3. There are some projects, though, where it pays to hire a graphic designer. When it’s time to hire a graphic designer, these 5 essential tips can save you a lot of time and money:

1) Figure out if you can do it yourself. If you are not a professional graphic designer, you could spend days – even weeks – to make a brochure or flyer that a professional designer could do in a matter of hours. For major projects that will be a big part of your marketing campaign, you’ll want to take advantage of the experience a graphic designer can offer. Once you find the right designer, you will have access to a consistent style of graphics for all your marketing pieces.

2) Check out their samples. Do you like what you see? If their portfolio includes the design elements that you are looking for, then you’ll know if their style is going to mesh with your style. And of course, you’ll want to see how their style will work for your type of product or service.

3) Get references. Your best place to start would be by asking friends and colleagues if they can recommend someone. Also, many graphic designers will include testimonials either on their website or correspondence. Don’t be shy to call… it’s why they’re there! You can also check with local printers. They usually know firsthand what the designers working style is. The website for the American Institute of Graphic Artists (AIGA.com) has a free listing of designers all over the country.

4) Interview your prospective designer. Talk about the size and scope of the project, what your expectations are, and any deadlines you may have. You can get a sense of their work ethic, and see if you will work well together. This gives the designer the chance to ask you questions, too. You’ll know upfront if they have the time and skill to take on your project.

5) Get it in writing. Once you’ve found the right designer, make sure all the details are outlined in the proposal or contract. Get it in writing and make sure you know what it does (and doesn’t) include. Don’t forget to read any terms and conditions (such as a deposit) and make sure you’re comfortable with them before you start the project.

Now you can go out and hire the graphic designer that’s going to make your marketing campaign come to life!

Gotham Graphic Design Sydney asked:


A design brief is something that is vital to any design project, as it will provide the designer(s) with all the information needed to create a great visual design solution.

There is no single, off-the-shelf format for a design brief but there are a number of key points the agency MUST understand. The project team should create the brief focusing on the results and the business objectives of the design project. All stakeholders should unanimously agree on the content prior to starting the design process. This ensures an effective design solution as well as keeps the expected changes to a minimum.

What are the specifications?

What is the finished size of the completed design?

How is it going to be printed or used?

What other information should the designer know in regards to finished specifications?

Company profile

• What your business does

• What is you USP (Unique Selling Proposition)

• How you fit into your industry sector

Project overview and background

• What are you trying to communicate and why?

• What is the ‘call to action’ or business objective

• Who are your competitors and how do you differ from them?

• Does it need to match existing material, conform to Brand guidelines or is it a new direction for your company?

Benchmark

It is just as important to provide us with what you DON’T want to see along with what you DO want to see in the designs. Provide us with some examples of what you consider to be effective or relevant design even if it is from your main competitors. This will set a benchmark for your project.

This will give the designer an idea of what to steer clear of and will avoid disappointment on your behalf.

Target audience

Provide demographic figures about your audience (in order of importance) that may be useful to the designer. These may include: age, gender, income, tastes, views, attitudes, employment, lifestyle.

Business objectives and strategy

• Generate sales?

• Encourage enquiries?

• Gain newsletter subscribers?

• Obtain information from your audience?

• Encourage them to tell a friend?

What is the time scale / deadline?

Provide a ball-park figure, a budget expectation will give the designer a good idea of the type of solution they will realistically be able to provide. Providing a budget prevents designers wasting valuable time and resources when trying to maximise your budget.

Give the designer a detailed schedule of the project and agree on a realistic deadline for the completion of the work. You should take into account the various stages of the design project such as brief, concept approvals, development, production and delivery.

What copy (text) and pictures are needed?

Tip: The copy and pictures used in a design are as crucial as the design itself and you should clearly state who is going to be providing the copy and pictures if needed. You may need to look into getting a professional copywriter / photographer – ask your designer for some recommendations.

• What copy needs to be included in the design? Who is providing the copy?

• What pictures / photographs / diagrams etc need to be used?

• Who is providing these?

Mchilly asked:


Can you imagine life without graphic designs? Today’s world is full of designs which you might not aware of it. In every aspects of our lives from the moment we wake up till the time we goes home, we see graphics everywhere. It has became a part of our lives and businesses too.

Businesses use Graphic Design in a various of ways for their products and services promotion such as poster, newsletter design, banners, flyers, logos, brochure design, business cards, letterheads, websites and etc.

What is Graphic Design Anyway?

Graphic design is the use of graphic elements and text to communicate ideas or information to specific audiences. It refers to a numer of artistic and professional disciplines which focus on visual communication and presentation. Various methods are used to create and combine symbols, images or words to create a visual presentation. Typically, graphic design is most commonly-used to create marketing materials in businesses such as magazines, advertisements, logo, web design and more so.

Graphic designers or graphic artist as sometimes called are the one resposible in creating unique and amazing graphic designs. They mainly plan, analyze and create visual solutions to communicate people. I would say that they are the one mostly needed in most businesses today because they find effective ways to get messages across in print, electronic and film media using a variety of methods they know. It may be through photography, animation, color, illustration and other various techniques.

Graphic design when done successfully by graphic designers, it attracts attention, enhances the message you are sending and adds credibility to your business.

Characteristics of a Good Graphic Designers?

A good graphic designers can communicate a message through design.

A good graphic designers build trust and confidence in companies and helps in brand development..

A good graphic designers can enhance the image of advertising.

A good graphic designer welds artistic concepts.

A good graphic designer is legible.

A good graphic designer creates appealing and attractive design.

A good graphic designer is unique.

A good Graphic designers consider cognitive, cultural, physical, and social factors in planning and executing designs for the target audience

A good Graphic Designers gather relevant information by meeting with clients, creative or art directors, and by performing their own research.

Communications done by visual effect is far more effective than written communication; even the unspoken significance of emotion and importance are conveyed. Is the topic serious or playful? Has the viewer to be soothed, stimulated, and urged to action? Graphic Designers control the message and so there cannot be any compromise in the world of graphic designs. Graphic Design is important wether like it or not, it simply create balance between design and technology.

Though this is the age of computers, even prior to this computer revolutionized production designing was a part of everyone’s life. Graphic Design has always kept a position of cutting edge. Communications done by visual effect is far more effective than written communication; even the unspoken nuances of emotion and importance are conveyed. Is the topic serious or playful? Has the viewer to be soothed, stimulated, and urged to action? Graphic Designers control the message and so there cannot be any compromise in the world of graphic designs.

John Morris asked:

A successful future in the new media industry (and specifically, graphic design) depends on choosing the right school. As a graduate student in this field myself, I will be able to provide you with the absolute best advice one can get in regards to this topic.

1. Area of Focus

The first thing that you need to know about schools of this nature is that they are designed with everyone in mind, and that means people going into the program may have absolutely no experience. In my case, they asked for a portfolio of work as part of the admission process. So, if you are self-taught and eager to solidify your already existing knowledge, or a total beginner, this is a good choice for you. If, however, you have already completed a similar program, you may wish to take a new program merely to upgrade your skills (because the field of new media is always changing). If you can, it really, really, really helps if you take a freehand drawing course prior to learning how to draw using a computer.

2. Recognition

- Does the school participate in any graphical arts competitions? – Have students accomplished anything of reknown in the industry?

3. Teachers

Trust me, this doesn’t go without saying. The quality of your education will be directly related to the instructors. I have never encountered an instructor that wasn’t immensely knowledgeable about the subject area. Of course, there is a big difference between knowing the subject area and being able to teach (that is, to convey that information, and manage students, answer questions, etc).

4. Job Placement

100% make sure that you get into a program that incorporates on-the-job experience. Or at least a practicum. This usually is 100 hours of real on-the-job experience and it is absolutely invaluable to your career.

5. Curriculum And Tools

You must assess whether the curriculum is relevant to you field of study. You may want to compare the curricula of different schools to see which offers the best form of education. As it so happens in my case, the administration did something they have never done before: changed the curriculum halfway through the program. The reasoning behind this was that the software we were scheduled to be instructed in would soon be discontinued on the Mac. It really pays off if you can see the facilities beforehand so you know what tools they are using. Don’t just oogle at the computers, snoop around and see the programs directory and make note of what programs are installed, and if they are the latest versions.

6. Student to Teacher Ratio

Graphic design is kind of an industry that more or less demands personal contributions on every project. For this reason, you can’t just be known as the photoshop guy, it is your responsibility to be well versed in a lot of different programs and techniques for creating stunning graphics and illustrations. And that means you will definately need one-on-one instruction, or at least the ability to stop the class in case you get lost. These programs are very fast-paced and if you don’t make sure you fully understand concepts in the first semester you will get hopelessly lost – fast.

7. Accreditation

Accreditation means the school has passed a certain standards of educational quality. If you can, ask for literally one minute of the head departments time and find out a listing of companies that students have been hired into.

8. Cost

A full education in graphic design can cost anywhere from 13,000 to 16,000 dollars for an intensive one-year program (120 credits). The goal here is to find a university, college, or technical institute that is recognized internationally for excellence. Let’s face it, Harvard University will look a lot better on your resume than Texas Community College. Three great recognized schools in are BCIT located in Vancouver Canada (Vancouver is the equivalent of Hollywood for graphic designers, web designers, and all new media experts), the Art Institute (with locations worldwide), and the Vancouver Film School (VFS) that has graphic design programs that are very specialized.

9. Scholarships

You might want to consider whether the design school you are looking at offers any scholarships. You also might want to know the terms to them too. Some schools offer scholarships based on academic performance. Some offer them based on art competitions they hold regularly. You should qualify for a national student loan either way, and repayment is extremely affordable.

spinxwebdesign asked:


Graphic design has become inevitable part of our day-to-day life and we come across it in some form or other. The way advertising is done and things have changed, major chunk of credit goes to graphic designing.

There are different methods of doing graphic designing that varies from web page layouts to screen printing. Creativity knows no bound here and many different ways can be used to do designing.

Graphic designs are good source of information and excellent platform for communication by using numbers, images and letters. It can help in conveying messages across the target audience by means of different sources like images, visual presentations, sound, etc.

The creativity level of the graphic designer is dependent on their mind and how do they go about doing designing. A good designer should know and have idea as to what is needed to be illustrated through graphics. The next step is to choose the right kind template or computer program for constructing the graphics.

You can find different types of software programs in the market that can accomplish designing of website layouts and graphics. Due to availability of software, graphic designer can now carry out their job in much easier and hassle-free manner leading to much better quality of output in lesser time.

Graphics is a form of carrying out advertising of products or services to the target customers. The medium through which advertising is done is also significant depending upon your business type and budget.

Graphics on internet is closely related to the website design. Vital aim here is to communicate with images and visual text for better interaction. A static web page that does not have any room for conveying information would surely lag behind in success. These graphic designers work in a manner that can fulfill company’s intentions and gives better online experience to the visitors.

Advertising through graphics is indeed a challenging task as they not only have to promote but also sell the products/services. Many aspects like customers, their behavior pattern, range of products, company profile, etc have to be kept in mind while doing the designing work.

The increasing use of graphics is also seen in the field of education. Experts have discovered that kids experience better learning when text is combines with suitable visual illustrations. Many educational institutions are using animation that are in motion rather than static graphics for better course explanation and interest generation.

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