Graphics - Page 25

Graphics / 12 Nov 2010

Unlikely Inspiration: A Sushi Menu From Norman Rockwell?

Today I’ll attempt to demonstrate one way (of many) that you can use inspiration to create your own truly unique designs. This method allows designers to maintain integrity while still getting a little creativity boost when they need it.

To find our catalyst we’ll travel outside the world of commercial design into the world of art. Want to see how you can use Norman Rockwell to create an interesting design for a sushi restaurant? Read on!

Graphics / 10 Nov 2010

20 Rockstar 3D Modelers You Should Hire for Product Mockups

Whether you’re trying to land that huge account or you want to make a good impression for a new client, there are few ways to stand out from the competition better than a few stellar 3D product mockups. The quality of 3D rendered products far surpasses anything most people can accomplish in Photoshop and though the work comes with a high price tag, it’s in high demand.

As a graphic designer, I highly recommend that you try your hand at 3D modeling just for the fun and experience, but realistically it takes a lot of time, effort and money (the applications are extremely expensive) to learn. However, just because you don’t personally possess the skill set doesn’t mean you should be turning down 3D work. You can easily find tons of talented 3D artists online willing to partner up with you on various projects.

Below you’ll find 20+ amazing 3D modelers from Coroflot, a popular portfolio site for designers looking for work. Bookmark this page and be sure to start here the next time you think you could use some 3D work!

Graphics / 9 Nov 2010

Trends in Professionalism: Modern Business Website Designs

The Internet has always been a great means of communication for businesses worldwide. It allows us to connect like never before and create amazing applications for easy usability. As design trends have evolved over the years we’ve seen a huge transition between many differing styles of design. Modern corporate websites are no exception and have seen massive growth over the past decade.

More business owners small and large are looking to own a powerful web presence. This helps to retain new business leads and spread the word about company’s products. The bonus here is the massive marketing and branding potential afforded to such a large audience.

I’ve outlined a few common trends for corporate site designs below. Not all corporations require cookie-cutter solutions and these are just some design concepts to include in the creative process. Keep the juices flowing by checking out some of the hundreds of thousands of professional layouts already available today.

Graphics / 4 Nov 2010

10 Design Lessons From HTML Email Templates That Actually Sell

In the past we and several other blogs have outlined some useful technical information for how to code and structure your HTML emails from a developer point of view. But much less discussion has been given to how to actually undertake the design component of email newsletters.

Today we’ll take a look at some of the top-selling email templates from Themeforest and see if we can decipher what their designers did right so you can mimic these basic principles in your own designs.

Graphics / 29 Oct 2010

Design an Edgy Flyer Using Your Own Photography

Today we’re going to take on a design project from start to finish using primarily resources that we create ourselves. We’ll walk through taking the photo, editing it in Adobe Lightroom, and using it as the main element of a flyer design that we’ll take on in Photoshop.

Along the way you’ll learn some great and practical techniques that you can apply immediately to your own work. Let’s get started!

Graphics / 27 Oct 2010

Photoshop Blending Modes: Beginner’s Tips and Tricks

Photoshop’s blending modes are a source of constant confusion for many designers. There aren’t really any sort of built-in examples for you to see and the blending mode names are no where near intuitive suggestions of what the effect actually does to the appearance of your document.

Today we’ll help remove a little of the mystery by discussing how a few key blending modes work in addition to some hints for how to use them effectively.

Graphics / 19 Oct 2010

Applying the Golden Ratio to Your Web Designs

As web designers we have to take a lot into consideration when starting a project. One of the biggest segments working with layouts and systems to order spacing. Commonly designers will work with a grid-spaced CSS library but there are many ways to implement creative layouts.

Today we’ll be going over the Golden Ratio and how you can apply simple lessons into your design work. Most of the techniques discussed are applicable to a wide range of arts and design but we’ll be focusing on the digital aspect. Along with the Golden Ratio consider some other useful tools which can aid in the development of site layouts.

Graphics / 14 Oct 2010

5 Super Easy Illustrator Typography Tricks

Beautiful typography goes much further than finding the right font.

Today’s post will help you break out of the nasty habit of simply typing out a headline and calling it a day by showing you how to craft standard text in Illustrator into something more interesting and unique.

Below you’ll find a fairly random collection of tricks that I’ve picked up in the last few years. Each method is highly open to interpretation and you should definitely try to tweak and customize them to your own preferences.

Graphics / 11 Oct 2010

The Science Behind Design Color Theory

Color Theory has been a subject of interest for years in the art community. The rules and guidelines hold true when working on digital projects just as much as physical items.

There is a lot to learn in the subject of color so I’m going to cover just some of the key points. Terminology is something many designers get caught up on which really shouldn’t scare you or hold you back. The science behind color theory is brilliant yet elegant. It should be a topic of interest to every digital artist.

Graphics / 7 Oct 2010

Designing With Strong Simple Focal Points

In design, we tend to think of simplicity in terms of recent trends towards minimalism. A simple design by this definition is one with lots of literal whitespace and very little on the page outside of what is absolutely necessary.

However, instead of blindly following this trend, it’s important to understand the ideas behind it so that we don’t find ourselves trapped in a minimalist box with obvious grid-based layouts, white backgrounds and newspaper-style typography (not that this is bad, it’s just not good to be stuck in this idea). When you consider the principles of design that are at work in minimalism, you can successfully break out of the box and create clean designs that aren’t bound by an obvious and strict visual style.

Graphics / 28 Sep 2010

6 Tips for Designing With Lines

Today we’re going to look at one of the simplest possible design elements: a line. We’ll learn how to wield lines properly as well as what to avoid when implementing them.

Adding a few simple lines to a design can bring structure and graphical flair to an otherwise boring design. It’s a dead simple trick that, when used effectively, has the effect of adding a layer of finish your design.

Graphics / 24 Sep 2010

How to Make Your Spreadsheets Less Lame

Spreadsheets are lame. There’s no two ways about it. We designers hate spreadsheets because they’re a shining example of boring data presented in a boring manner.

Unfortunately for designers, spreadsheets are a necessary evil and could even be called a great and essential tool in the business world. Today we’re going to see how to improve both the aesthetics and readability of your spreadsheets with a few super basic design principles that literally anyone can follow. Let’s get started!