How to Research for a design project

When you are designing for a client or taking photographs this should be done. There is really no reason why you should immediately pick up a pencil and start sketching or pick up a camera and start taking photos. The vast amounts of information that we have available is unbelievable. The process I take when starting a project is well let me show you the steps I take.

I find out what type of industry it is
I research the current businesses,people in the industry
I then research the history of the industry
Look at what others have done in the industry
Find current trends from the past and see if they are being used currently

The importance of doing research before sketching shows that you are actually investing yourself into the project. As well as showing you want to make the project as best as possible. Which should always be a goal for anyone whom is a designer,developer or whatever profession your in. So remember you can never do enough research.

My First Real Graphic Design Job Interview and Tips

This past week I had my first real Graphic Design interview. The position was for a graphic design/web designer position. I will admit I was a little nervous and happy at first to even have an interview. The workspace was great and I could have really seen myself working with those guys.

What I learned was that I need to have more web experience. As you all know I am doing Code Academy classes. You have to remember that now everyone who has a computer and downloads photoshop or another editing program believes they can be a designer. So learn more then just being a graphic designer.

I was told my Design work is very strong now I just have to focus on learning web design. Also to grow my portfolio with more pieces. Which both are things I have started to do with more intensity. Now let me tell you some tips to have a great presentation for your Graphic design Job interview.

Its ok to be nervous that is human nature and you should be worried when you are not nervous
Use the bathroom before you go into your interview
Dress to impress meaning wear dress clothes ( I wore a dress shirt with a Tie and dress shoes) and remember you never get a second chance to make a first impression
Be yourself
Present your work with confidence and show it in use
Have business cards to give and bring at least 5 or more
Shake their hand and give a firm squeeze and introduce yourself (when you introduce each other)
Arrive at least 15 minutes early
If you wear cologne/perfume make sure its a light version and no more then 2 sprays.
After the interview is over thank them for taking the time to interview with you and hand them your business card and ask them for theirs.
Send them a thank you email and say thank you for taking the time to interview me for the position (add more then just a thank you) and be honest in the email.
If you get the position then congratulations and if you did not ask them what you could improve on and what would’ve given you a better chance.

Well I hope these tips will help you get the Graphic Design position that you have been always wanting to have. So keep designing and thanks for reading.

What are some interview tips you can give for going for Graphic Design Job interview?

How to make typography

Developing typography is really pretty simple. The difficult part is the details of the letters and many other things. Depending upon what you plan to do with the typography will determine the type design. Then you will want to figure out what is the most important part of your typography.

For one you want to determine what type of typography you were going to be making. The different types are hand drawn typography and digital type to keep it simple. Which honestly hand drawn typography which is normally what the digital typography comes from. Which will depend upon whether or not its going to be used as a font.

The steps to take to make typography

Determine what the font will be used for
Determine whether or not this will be a hand drawn quote or font
Fix the details
Fix the details some more
Fix the details even more
Digitize (scan onto your computer) or outline with microns or fineliners to give it a finished look
Clean up everything and smooth out your typography
Go back over each little detail
Finish

Making typography is such a fun and relaxing thing. But you may or not understand the amount of detail that is involved with creating a font. Also hand lettering can be such a time consuming task. Which will utterly depend on you if you are wanting to make it look beautiful or just to finish it. So go and have fun with typography.

Tutorial: How to Create Custom Typography

This is a great tutorial that I stumbled upon. I definitely will be using these tips for a lettering project that I am working on at the moment. Also he explains how to add the 3D effect to your custom typography.

How to take better instagram photos

I’ll be the first to admit that I had no idea how to take photos for instagram. One of the many things that I did was to learn how to take pictures that I would like to see. For example if its interesting to me then out of the hundreds of millions people on instagram, i’m sure someone would find it interesting. Another thing is to be you in your photos.

You have to remember what you post is what people are going to base you on. If you are posting pictures wearing ton’s of jewelry, luxury clothes and etc people are going to expect you are well of. So be careful with doing that. Honestly there is a lot of good people on instagram and a looottt of bots on there. But that could be the same for ton’s of other social networks.

So here are the steps I take when shooting an instagram photo

Stop and ask yourself is this interesting to me
Would this be worth sharing to others
Would this be worth remembering
What would happen if someone close to me seen this
Is this going to be detrimental to my image as a person
Am I sharing to much personal information

Now after those steps now its time to set up your shot

You can either use your built in camera or instagram (prefer to use either one)
Hold your camera straight as possible either landscape or portrait (looking at sideways photos on instagram is really annoying to look at and people don’t really shoot photos like that)
Have fun taking photos
Experiment with what looks right
Use hashtags #
Use filters (really only certain ones get used often on instagram)
Leave comments on peoples photos (its more of a connection then just a like and people seem to appreciate them more)
Like peoples photos

What are some ways you use instagram?

Learn how to Budget Your money properly While in Art school

When you start art school it can become a bit overwhelming. Then after that happens you do not realize the amount things start costing. You may have to buy sketchbooks more often. Then buying textbooks and supplies which will start to add up really quick.

Now there are ways for you to avoid having to buy textbooks simply because you can download ebooks for free. Honestly there’s ton’s of resources that are free and one that I use for ebooks is booksos.org . They also have a good amount of design books as well for free download.

What I did to budget my money properly while in school was to not buy the most expensive supplies I could. Sure I did once or twice. But honestly the supplies you use does not matter with the quality of work you do. Because for example you could own a ferrari and still not know how to drive properly. The main thing to remember is your skill and work quality depends on you.

The second thing is to be very frugal with eating out. This can make or break your bank account depending on where you go to school. Sometimes you can be tempted to go and eat at the delicious pizza place or get a coffee or brownie every morning. After you realize how much money you’ve spent you start to realize that “hey I could be using that money for something else”.

One main thing for you to remember is the difference between needs and wants. You can want to do a thing but in actuality to you need it. Learning how to say no is a struggle for some and easy for others. When you say no do not be afraid, you are simply demonstrating self control.

Also if possible get a part time job while in school to keep some cash in your pocket. There is nothing worse then going through college struggling to pay for supplies and etc. There’s 168 hours in a week what you do with those hours depends on how your current circumstance in all aspects of your life will improve.