Understanding and Working With Aspect Ratio
Every image, every canvas, every frame has a shape. And often that shape is a rectangle. Even more common is a rectangle of a particular proportion based on medium.
From cameras to television to movies to computer screens, every medium has an almost distinct shape on to itself. That can be a challenge for designers, especially when you have to crop and convert content and information to fit a variety of mediums. Because of all these different shapes, understanding aspect ratios can help you easily move images and designs from one medium to another.
February 17th, 2015 Posted in Layouts
6 Tips for Designing Signs and Billboards
Your next project assignment: designing a sign for an upcoming event. It will be displayed on billboards around town and printed on smaller yard signs as well. If you are already panicking at the idea, don’t worry — designing a sign is not much different than any other project.
The big difference is scale. It’s going to be a lot larger in size than what you might be used to. Other things to think about when designing signage are location, color, typography, contrast and material the sign will be printed on. Thinking about each of these factors in advance can make for a better sign design experience.
February 16th, 2015 Posted in Graphics
How Color, Type and Space Can Impact Mood
Do you ever think about mood when you are designing? Mood has impact in two ways – the mood of the project itself and the mood of users. Together they create an experience that connects each user to the project.
While you can’t always account for the mood of users, or their good and bad days, you can create an aesthetic that emphasizes the right mood for your project. Three basic design techniques – color, typography and space – are key components for establishing the mood of a project.
February 12th, 2015 Posted in Graphics, Inspiration
Infinite Scrolling: Pros and Cons
One-page websites are a major design trend. Especially when it comes to one-page designs packed with content, thanks to infinite scrolling techniques that allow designers to continue a webpage indefinitely.
This technique is great for some sites and content types, while for others it can be cumbersome and frustrating. Like any other design technique, you shouldn’t do it just because you want to try something new; it should be a strategic part of your design framework. So how can you decide? Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of infinite scrolling websites.
February 10th, 2015 Posted in Layouts
Looking at Images: Phi Grid vs. Rule of Thirds
When you are thinking about images, do you consider framing and the shape of the crop? The answer does not lie in the shape of the box you just created on a design canvas. It has a lot to do with the content of the image itself.
How you frame and crop images can impact engagement and even how a person looking at the image feels about it (whether they know it or not). Here, we’re going to look at two different ways of thinking about images – using the phi grid and rule of thirds — and how you can apply them to your work.
February 9th, 2015 Posted in Layouts
This Week in Design: Feb. 6, 2015
Design for many of us is a job. It requires long hours, plenty of stress and dealing with plenty of challenges. But design should also be fun. Sometimes it can be easy to forget that; this week in design is a reminder of all the joy that comes with being a designer.
Every week, we plan to a look at major product releases and upgrades, tools and tricks and even some of the most popular things you are talking about on social media. And we’d love to hear what’s going on in your world as well. Have we missed anything? Drop me a line at carrie@designshack.net.
February 6th, 2015 Posted in This Week in Design
Boost Your Creativity With BundleHunt’s Creativity Bundle
BundleHunt have partnered with the world’s finest web designers and developers to bring you the creativity design bundle. Don’t miss out on this visually stunning creativity Bundle. With Udemy Courses, Themify WordPress Themes, Iconsets, vector design elements, eBooks, Bootstrap Templates, Font Families and more…you can create virtually anything you put your mind to.
We don’t know what you fellow designer think of this bundle, but for us, We love it! You’ll have so much fun with these files, and they’re bound to come in handy on projects.
February 5th, 2015 Posted in Deals
10 Ways Designers Solve Problems
Designers, by nature, are problem-solvers. Every project is a problem or challenge that involves helping other people understand something. Designers have to see through all the fog and clutter to create a solution.
This creative type of problem solving comes naturally in part, but some of the actions are learned. Have you ever stopped to think about how you work to solve problems? Here we will examine 10 ways that designers do just that with a collection of abstract images to inspire some of that problem-solving thinking.
February 2nd, 2015 Posted in Business
This Week in Design: Jan. 30, 2015
A typography algorithm, the Super Bowl, key performance indicators, “normal” design and neon lights – what do they all have in common? Each seemingly different element is part of a design trend that you should be thinking about. And this week in design we’ll take a look at each one.
Every week, we plan to a look at major product releases and upgrades, tools and tricks and even some of the most popular things you are talking about on social media. And we’d love to hear what’s going on in your world as well. Have we missed anything? Drop me a line at carrie@designshack.net.
January 30th, 2015 Posted in This Week in DesignDesign Dilemma: What Constitutes A “Rush Design Job”?
A recent article of mine on why you should charge more for those last minute calls that demand you work overnight, all weekend, or on holidays, brought up several questions from readers. One of them became a back-and-forth Twitter conversation. While the article pointed out that requests for rush jobs with quick deadlines were an opportunity to demand higher rates, one designer asked the definitive question… sort of.
Apparently the concept of “rush” was questionable to one designer. So, join us as we delve into another shocking explanation to a Design Dilemma, helping to answer your questions, queries and concerns about the murky world of design.
January 28th, 2015 Posted in Design Dilemma