A guide to effective design project planning Promising the execs a new product catalog or brochure is one thing, but making that a reality takes more than saying to your designer, “Make it so.” You might as well try to rub a magic lamp. Designers work on production deadline schedules, so throwing a very nebulous project at them is a very inefficient use of their time and yours. Initiating a design project requires some serious consideration of what you’d like your end result to be, and providing your designer the tools he or she needs to make your dream a reality. If you’re not ...
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We’ve all got to deal with criticism, but those of us who put our work out there for public display for our jobs deal with it every single day – often several times a day. The only difference is that we designers call such criticism “critique,” but no matter how you sugar coat the name it doesn’t lessen the sting of peoples’ opinion of your hard work. How do you cope with the daily abuse? There are several techniques and schools of thought on this one, but before you go out and buy a Zen garden for your desk to help ease the stress, ...
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How many times have you heard, “You’ve got to think outside the box to come up with good design”? It sounds great – revolutionary, in fact – and it sounds as if you are getting a leg up on everyone else, but beware; don’t step outside the box too soon before you’ve defined what “the box” is. I don’t believe that there is a bona-fide definition for “outside the box” thinking, but I’ve always come to assume that this jargon originated from those who weren’t satisfied with the current status of things and wanted to improve the thinking to develop better ideas – something ...
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Invest Time in Graphic Design If you really want to learn great graphic design skills you have to invest the time. Even though the tutorials you will find on the web are great, you need to spend time playing with programs such as Photoshop. I started out editing and creating images through tutorials. I would play around with the options and settings, which helped me to learn new things. Just because a tutorial tells you to do it one way, doesn't mean you have to.
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There are so many graphic designers out there but only a few can really say that they are successful in what they do. A lot are still struggling to have the clients they need to grow their business. Even with years of being graphic designers, just a few can really say that they are getting bigger and better. So what is the problem for those who cannot make the cut? For many designers, failing to get their business off the ground comes from three major mistakes made by them. If you are a budding graphic designer, it would be to your benefit if you ...
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