the graphic design blog that speaks the truth.
Being a design student can be tough but at the same time one of the most important periods in a designers career. Entering formal design education can allow you to decide upon which area you would like to specialise in whilst also learning the skills which will serve you well for years to come. My design education was a bit frustrating as I always felt that I wasn’t properly prepared for the huge jump from being a student to working...
We all use stock photography, there is no point in denying it, it’s the cheapest and most accessible means of obtaining images that would normally only be made available by commissioning a professional photographer. However, now that stock photography is used in abundance, especially in web design, there are certain images that have become widely regarded as cliches. I have compiled a list of the 10 Biggest Stock Photography Cliches which you should avoid if you are to create a...
I was lucky enough to take part in a branding experiment organised by Nathan of www.cobaltcow.com. 12 designers were asked, at random, to rebrand one of the other participants. I was asked to redesign the logo for Yossi Belki of www.yossigraphicdesign.com. Each designer was given the answers to the following questions in order to form a design frief: 1. What name should be in the logo? 2. Is there a tagline that should be used? 3. Pick 4 words that...
Below I present my favourite and most useful design articles for both designers and clients for the month of June 2009: 10.Take Your Design To The Next Level With CSS3 by Smashing Magazine A great look at how the latest CSS elements can change the way you code websites forever 9.Interview With Nelson Balaban by PSD Tuts The young talented designer Nelson Balaban offers a great insight into his creative career so far 8.60 Most Stunning Typography Inspiration Of All...
Recently I was asked by the popular design resource website, Smashing Magazine, to give my opinion on the 10 most common mistakes in logo design. It was a great honour and I am currently working on some more articles which will hopefully be published in the near future. The most common mistakes read as follows: 1. Designed By An Amateur 2. Relies on Trends 3. Uses Raster Images 4. Contains Stock Art 5. Designing For Yourself Rather Than The Client...
I am pleased to announce that the new website for Wyrley Juniors Football Club is now in the beta stage. With still a few bugs to fix the site provides an online community for the club, whoo are registered charity and one of the biggest junior football clubs in the UK. Visit the site: www.wyrleyjuniors.net I was als commissioned to design the official programme for the club’s annual tournament. This was an A5 24 page brochure that was handed out...
Twitter is an invaluable resource for any designer. Below I have compiled 15 top design twitterers I feel are more than worth following: @smashingmag – the twitter account for the popular Smashing Magazine site. @psdtuts – useful tutorials for all things Photoshop. @VECTORTUTS – The web’s #1 vector tutorials site. @Behance – on a mission to organise the creative world. @abduzeedo – from the popular design inspiration website. @boogiesbc – from owner of Design Your Way. @ComputerArts – the official...
What is a BOLD FROG you’re wondering, right? The name stands for Band Of Logo Designers For Rights Of Generations. The initiative was set up by a group of logo designers in order to raise some awareness of good causes. Each affiliate is asked to link to a charity organisation. Down With Design would like to support Action For Children. Action For Children is a registered charity that helps and speaks out for some of the most vulnerable children in...
The question of “What is Graphic Design” is probably asked every day, somewhere. There is even a book with the same title. I think of this question everytime somebody asks me what I do for a living, and it can be sometimes complicated trying to explain not just what a designer does, but also their role within the economy. A suitable, and perhaps a surprising comparison I came to was that graphic design is very much like being a comedian....
There are currently hundreds of sites/blogs dedicated to logo design inspiration, the most popular ones being Logopond & Logolounge. However, this is not a pretty list of useful sites for inspiring logos, no, this a warning to all identity designers that your works may well be being used for more than pretty eye candy. It has recently been brought to my attention that www.logos.am (shown below) is simply plucking images from the Logopond gallery to use for their own content,...
What I’m about to do is, for some, the equivalent to running down a busy high street naked. The sketchbook is a very personal possesion for every artist & designer as its contents are a visual representation of the owners thoughts. There are no rules in the sketchbook, anything goes, you are allowed complete freedom of expression without someone telling you to change it. Plus, it’s a great way of analysing how you have improved (or not) over the years....
What I love about design and working within a creative industry the most is that it is constantly changing. From trends, software, clients to working practices, the design world in which we, as designers, live is a great place to be. But is everything really that peachy? Or are we at the peak, waiting to fall? Competition (literally) Graphic design is an over-saturated market, no doubt about it. The lure of what seems (from the outside at least), an attractive...
