Graphic Design Tips
The tires are turning but you are going nowhere
By Robert Kennedy
Sound like a familiar story?
So you've got a great concept or idea but you just can't seem
to get it down. You have been working on your computer for hours,
days, weeks but just can't seem to accomplish anything concrete.
STOP. Think about it! How can you realistically create an effective
graphic design if you don't know what you are trying to create?
Take a breather and think about what I am about to suggest to
you. Let’s suppose for a minute you want to open an importing
company that will sell ‘Red Shoes from China’. Fire up your browser
and Google this term. Learn what you can about manufacturers,
distributors and competition. Now you have something to go on.
Try to quickly digest and figure out how you can make all of this
information work for you.
Now let’s start to design your company’s corporate ID. I know
you really want to get critical design project completed now,
but a wise man once said to me ‘Slow down you’ll go faster’ here
are a few links worth checking out before we begin your design:
OK, now you have a mental picture in your mind, look, feel, type
paper you want to print on. What colors shall I use? What typography
(fonts) should I go with? What graphic message am I trying to
communicate? These are the basic questions you need to address
before you can begin your graphic design.
Here is an idea for you, in the infancy stage of creating your
great concept, pickup a pencil and piece of paper and sketch your
ideas before you go near your computer.
Programs like Corel Draw, Adobe Photo Shop, Quark Xpress, Adobe
Illustrator, Adobe Pagemaker, etc. are the greatest programs for
designers on the market. But these great desktop publishing programs
need to be told what you want, they cannot conceptualize. These
programs cannot dream for you. So it really does come down to
you, your pencil and paper as any graphic designer will tell you...
conceptualize, sketch, render, create.
Follow these steps for all of your creative graphic designs.
Whether you're designing a colorful website, a full color multi
panel brochure, an annual report, an NCR form, a power point presentation,
a full color business card or stationery, keep these guidelines
in mind you'll find you start getting better mileage on one set
of tires.
Listed below are some links that will help you make more educated
discussions on the fundamentals of graphic design:
Did you know... A quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
Contains every letter of the alphabet? •
About the Author:
Robert Kennedy is the marketing director of a leading online printing and
design firm www.weprintcolor.com.
Robert believes in an educated customer and has
created a personal blog, online to help achieve this goal. Learn commercial
printing and design tips from the pros at www.weprintcolors.com.
02/14/05
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