If You Were Not A Designer, What Would You Be?
“You have finished your tertiary education; what’s next? You find yourself at the crossroads between being a full time student and a working adult. It’s time to take the plunge and find a job. What job do you choose? The choice of one’s career can be determined by various factors. However, two push factors stand out above the rest – Money and Passion.”
Am I Really Any Good at this Design Thing?
“The design community is a wonderful thing. I really mean it. Despite the fact that some aspects of it can occasionally seem a little repetitive with the reams and reams of pointless lists that I have seen over and over again, the community endures. Despite the fact that there are literally hundreds, and probably even thousands of sites and blogs screaming out for our attention, most of us still manage to forge relationships.”
“If you’re a web designer and own an iPad, I’ve got great news. There are apps out there that will actually help you be productive. So while you’re away from your desk or office, take a break from playing Angy Birds and get some work done. Here are 10 of our favorite iPad apps to help you do just that.”
10 tips for nailing any design brief
“Get straight to the core of any creative brief with these simple but effective tips
“In a perfect world, all design briefs would be clear, concise and deliver all the information and assets you need for the job. Unfortunately, identifying the main elements of a brief can be the most challenging part of a project, with clients often confusing a request for proposal (RFP) with a comprehensive creative brief.
“In order to pin-point a brief’s exact requirements, consider the following 10 tips and ensure you nail your brief first time, every time.”
A Designer and Developer’s Dilemma: 9 Detestable “Requests”
“Today, the web industry has blossomed and grown so rapidly that more and more people have noticed this niche trade. This rapid growth and progression have further shown the important role the web has in each individual’s lives today. The Internet is the new cash on card; you can’t leave home without it.
“When the Internet was still new and young, upcoming designers and developers would often have to work for free just to have the opportunity to gain more experience, build your professional portfolio, and to exercise the skills you’ve picked up. Each opportunity to “work with clients” was a golden ticket to Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory.
“As the industry stabilized and you’ve gained more experience in the field you decide to take the leap of faith and go down this career path as a long term decision. By this time, you would have already felt the toil of slogging in trenches. However, once you’ve decided that this is your passion, don’t let yourself throw in the towel and give up without a good fight.
“All decisions we make have consequences; good or bad, you must face the consequences and know that every bump in the road will only make you stronger and you will come out of it a stronger and wiser person. Don’t make mistakes in vain, learn from them and march on!”
Ten Graphic Design Paradoxes
“I’ve just finished writing a book about graphic design. Yep, just what the world needs — another graphic design book. In my defence, the book is about the stuff that doesn’t get written about much. It deals with subjects like rejection, envy, and plagiarism. There are also entries on kerning, the wisdom of using only lowercase letters, and the merits of Univers. But mostly it’s a book about the soft stuff — the stuff that we deal with every day and tend to take for granted.
“In writing this book I discovered that many aspects of graphic design are paradoxical. I’m using the word paradox here to mean an opinion or statement contrary to commonly accepted wisdom. And while there are many others, here are my top ten everyday graphic design paradoxes.”
The Principles of Great Design
“As a designer or lover of design you might find yourself asking not what is design, but what makes a design great? How often have you gone through a gallery and looked at some great designs and told yourself that you are going to open up Photoshop or a browser and do the same thing right now only to find that when you are done the end result simply doesn’t match what you were expecting?”
What Every Designer Should Do Right Now
“While trying to balance the different areas of our life, there are things that we often forget and neglect to do. With today’s fast-paced society and the busyness of our every day, we tend to overlook some important things. I would like to remind every designer today about some of these tasks that we often put-off but are so important and necessary to get done.”
Bad Design Vs Good Design: What You Should Be Doing (Part 1)
“Today we present Part 1 of a two part post, identifying common mistakes in design, and showing you the right way to do things. For each example we will present case-studies, in order for you to understand the principles of design first hand.”
Aim for a Job in Graphic Design/Art by S. Neil FujitaThe book that changed Michael Beirut’s life:
This book changed my life.
I discovered it in the “Career Resources” section of my high school library in Parma, Ohio, in 1974. I loved art but I wasn’t interested in just making paintings. I wanted to do album covers and movie posters. I had no idea who did this kind of work.
Thanks to Neil Fujita, and no one else, I found out that this aspiration had a name: graphic design. I went to the Parma Regional Library on Snow Road and looked up “graphic design” in the card catalog. There was one book in the stacks: Graphic Design Manual by Armin Hoffman. How Armin Hoffman came to mid-seventies suburban Cleveland I have no idea. I asked my parents to get me a copy of my own for Christmas. They splurged and bought me the wrong book. It was Graphic Design by Milton Glaser. Mr Hoffman and Mr. Glaser have Neil Fujita to thank for the introduction. And so, of course, do I.It’s funny how when we have those “ah-ha!” moments in our lives, a lot of it has to do with naming.
As a boy from small town Ohio, I didn’t even know there was such a thing as a “designer” until I got out of college, for crying out loud. I had no clue you could put pictures and words together for a living. I knew of no adults that did that kind of thing.
Sometimes you’re on the right track, but you need to know the names for things.
Thanks to Darby for pointing to the comment.
