Design Advice of the Day

Being an Intern can help you a lot more than you think it can....

Thu, 31 May 2012 08:28:00 -0400

Being an Intern can help you a lot more than you think it can. Not only does it allow you to take the opportunity to work in the industry, but you might get some networking done as well. You learn how proper file structures are done, workflows, deadlines and much more. As your DAD I would advise to look into one before you get a real job in the industry. Or even while going to school. It may be a lot of work to juggle, however it shows you can handle it. If you didn’t know the people you may be interning for might even hire you if they like you enough; or if you ask! If not, there is no doubt if you did a good job they would recommend you somewhere else. All in all it’s not the end of the world if you don’t get one. However, it is a big plus. Just make sure you’re not getting everyone’s coffee.

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The Law of Prägnanz is the form of being able to interpret...

Wed, 30 May 2012 14:19:00 -0400

The Law of Prägnanz is the form of being able to interpret complex images as simple and complete as possible. The opposite of being complex and incomplete. Instead of the audience being confused trying to figure out the complex shape they would figure it out faster if it was broken down. This is used to let people interpret the elements easier. It lends itself to swiss design mostly. However, it can be used for other things such as logos, characters, abstract shapes, etc. The most iconic logo that we know does this is the Olympics logo.

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The Gutenberg Diagram describes the movement of the human eye...

Tue, 29 May 2012 17:13:00 -0400

The Gutenberg Diagram describes the movement of the human eye when looking at a well balanced composition. It splits them into a grid of four. The first place people look is the area at the top left. Following that path leads the eye to the bottom right, then up to the top right. The weakest of the four is the bottom left. It is the spot where the eye goes last. Now surely this is not the way all things work. However, if you keep this slightly in mind while designing it may lend itself to benefit you.

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You’re not the Best. I’m not the best. Even the...

Mon, 28 May 2012 22:37:00 -0400

You’re not the Best. I’m not the best. Even the person who is the best will never be the best. You have to learn to accept that. I’ve met quite a few people who start to get arrogant about their knowledge. They are never fun to work with. Consequently, I usually tend to avoid them. However, there are people who are better than you and I. It’s alright for it to be like that. If you have people you look up to good. Eventually by doing what you’re doing you will get to their level. Once you are there you will realize it and seek for new people to look up to. There will always be a person ahead and behind you. The best way to go about solving that problem to get ahead of that person in front of you is to keep on designing. That’s all there is to it.

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It’s okay to Fail. You never thought your DAD would be...

Sun, 27 May 2012 23:57:23 -0400

It’s okay to Fail. You never thought your DAD would be saying that would you? Now I don’t mean in school. However, fail whenever you can. You learn much more from failing than you do anything else. How does this work? Well failing shows that you tried and you did not succeed. Not only by going back and doing it over will you better at it, you will get it done with much better results. Don’t be afraid to fail. The only time you should fail is if you didn’t give it your all. If you did there is no reason you should fail. That leads me to say that don’t fake yourself out to think you’re going to fail. Push through it, you’d be surprised in what I know you can do. -Grin-

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Are you tired of working on the same thing? Start Something New....

Sat, 26 May 2012 08:21:00 -0400

Are you tired of working on the same thing? Start Something New. Why in the world would I start something new if I am already doing something DAD? Well it can change the way you look at stuff for one. It also gives your mind a mental break from looking at the same thing over and over. It’s good to do this instead of taking a break sometimes since you can get more stuff done. Reminder that the second project doesn’t have to be anything work related. It can be tutorials, messing around, or a favor. Anything really.

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If you’re not Passionate about your work it will show. Not...

Fri, 25 May 2012 11:01:00 -0400

If you’re not Passionate about your work it will show. Not only that but it will show to others. If you make something great but you are not passionate about it people will discredit you a little bit. It gives off the impression that you don’t care about what you do. If you like your work and really put in the time and just overall care it will show. Furthermore, when people ask you about it and they see that passion in you they know you care. In return that might mean that you will care about them and their work. It works both ways.

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Being Productive seems very basic. What you don’t know is...

Thu, 24 May 2012 10:21:00 -0400

Being Productive seems very basic. What you don’t know is that being productive is hard. There are so many distractions. That being said, our work is on the computer. That makes it so much harder. We have access to the internet anytime while designing. The temptation is right there. A long time ago I used to start working on stuff in 30-minute intervals. If it turned 4:01 I did not start. I waited till 4:30. If I missed that I just waited for the next gap. I slowly decreased it to every 15 minutes. Now I just start whenever I want. That was a bad habit I got rid of. Being more productive helps you greatly. You get your work down faster and you can even put in a little more.

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Be Diverse. It’s that simple. Maybe not. To be diverse is...

Wed, 23 May 2012 14:51:00 -0400

Be Diverse. It’s that simple. Maybe not. To be diverse is very good especially as a designer. Try and picture it this way. If you know Photoshop and InDesign very well great. However, if someone else knows that plus After Effects, Illustrator, etc. They are essentially more valuable than you. Even if they don’t know it as well as you. They must know it enough to be proficient at it. The more you learn the better. Don’t put a cap on what you can learn. If you don’t know Cinema 4D or 3dsMax or even Maya, go out and learn it. You know why? Because it will set you apart from someone who doesn’t if you put that in your resume.

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Style is something that cannot be taught. Stick to your style no...

Tue, 22 May 2012 14:02:00 -0400

Style is something that cannot be taught. Stick to your style no matter what. Don’t let people change your style of things. Now don’t think your style is the best, because there is no definition of the best style. You also might want to forget about doing everything in your style. Chances are you won’t get that freedom so often as you would like. Unless you can prove your style is a better choice than another. You might have to copy a style sometimes because that’s what the client wants. It’s also a cool little challenge to make your own piece of work that can follow another person’s style. It really shows perspective on how that style is done, and who knows you might incorporate some of it into your own.

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There should be only one question when tasked with something....

Mon, 21 May 2012 11:21:00 -0400

There should be only one question when tasked with something. That question should be Why Not? You should try everything you want to do. Don’t let anything hold you back because in the end you’re holding back your creativity. That’s something you never want to do. Sure the client might not want to do what you want to do. Understandable. However, take the project and make it your won afterwards. Do what you thought looked best. Don’t suppress your creativity; express it.

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Think a little in the Future and in the Past. “Learning to...

Sun, 20 May 2012 10:21:00 -0400

Think a little in the Future and in the Past. “Learning to think a little ahead is much better than to have thought in the future.” (Personal Quote right there.) If you think about stuff in the future you can prepare yourself on what’s to come. If you think a little in the past you can gain from your experience or what others have done, or even yourself. Plan accordingly and you will see how much time you save.

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All designers are Problem Solvers. Believe it or not. We all...

Sat, 19 May 2012 19:42:00 -0400

All designers are Problem Solvers. Believe it or not. We all solve visual problems that others cannot. With that being said solve problems yourself. Challenge yourself to puzzles, riddles, question, anything really that makes your mind solve problems. Alternatively, you can just think of a design problem and solve that. Without problems in the world we will have no work. Now think to yourself. How many designers are out there? My guess more than we can fathom. That must be a lot of problems. You are correct. So go out and solve a few small ones, and tackle big ones as well.

My significant other always says she hates when I am right. Why do I always have to be right? I love to tell her that I always have to be right because I’m a designer. As a designer if my answer is wrong to a problem I have failed. Thus, I am always right. -Laugh-

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Taking Notes is almost a lost art. People tend to think that...

Fri, 18 May 2012 17:21:00 -0400

Taking Notes is almost a lost art. People tend to think that they are just going to take everything in. This is almost never the case. You most likely will forget what is being said. Or doze off. We’ve all had those moments where we are reading and have to go back to the beginning because we don’t know what we just read. -Laugh- During lectures, seminars, or other events take some notes. Not only you benefit from taking notes, others might as well. You never know when you might need to recall those things in the future, or even hand them off to someone else. Not only that, it also helps you pay attention.

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How many Tutorials have you done in your life? I know I’ve...

Thu, 17 May 2012 15:35:00 -0400

How many Tutorials have you done in your life? I know I’ve done quite a bit. It seems like there is a tutorial for everything out there. No matter what question you have. It’s good to do tutorials once in awhile. You can see how other people achieve their final result. It might vary from your own. You can even learn a thing or two. A very good goal is to finish about 30 tutorials a week. If you can do that you will learn quite a bit. Not only that, but maybe you can start making your own tutorials. Something to think about.

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How in the world would I ever be able to do that? Your answer?...

Wed, 16 May 2012 17:31:00 -0400

How in the world would I ever be able to do that? Your answer? Take It On. Tackle it in the best way you know how. It’s fine to be intimidated by things. However, to let it get to you is something you should not let happen. I personally have this problem. I’m trying to get much better by breaking it down. If you break stuff down it never seems to hard. You just have to take it one step at a time. After you walk that mile you will see that you are right there along that piece of work that intimidated you. You will then realize that it wasn’t so bad after all. Just give it your all.

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Now this isn’t your typical Break. It’s not a summer...

Tue, 15 May 2012 15:35:00 -0400

Now this isn’t your typical Break. It’s not a summer vacation, or 10 minutes every 3 hours of work. This type of break is a break from work in total. Now you might be thinking this is just like a regular summer break, or weekend. However, this is not. What type of break I’m talking about this time is one after a big project. After every big project you might want to take a break for a day or two. Why? Well because then you will be burning yourself out. The day after a big project I try to not do anything design related. It will be hard. However, instead of craving to do work, tutorials, or anything you want instead write it down. Most people catch up on sleep. Don’t forget though, this day is for you to do whatever you want. (That’s not design related.) -Grin-

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Collaborating is one of the best ways to do something great....

Mon, 14 May 2012 13:00:00 -0400

Collaborating is one of the best ways to do something great. Sure it is great if you can manage to do something alone that a whole group of people can. However the experience is not the same. If you collaborate with people that chances success of almost all factors are multiplied. You should think about this. Let’s say you have 5 people. That’s 4 more other people checking for mistakes, giving out great concepts, helping each other, and much more. If you have yet to do a collaboration project with other people. I suggest you try one. Even if you are all unfamiliar with what you’re doing. That other person might know what you might not, and together you can all learn from each other.

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Well as designer you should be able to Reach out to other...

Sun, 13 May 2012 16:01:00 -0400

Well as designer you should be able to Reach out to other people. Many people reach out to other people for various reasons. I now this is a very vague topic. I shall try my best to explain it. What exactly do I mean? Well basically when you don’t reach out to other people you are always stuck in the same place. They only way it can change are if people reach out to you. You will get a much more positive result if you reach out to others instead. Not only that, but you’re building your networking. That is always a plus.

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Watch what happens in the Industry. Industry news is important...

Sat, 12 May 2012 11:00:00 -0400

Watch what happens in the Industry. Industry news is important since it shows you what the leading stuff is. Do you want to still be doing what was done 20 years ago? If you keep a close eye on the Industry and see where it is heading you have a huge leverage. It allows for you to think in the present for the future. So with the leverage you might even be able to be one of the pioneers that drive the industry to that new state. You most likely won’t be alone. However, you can be one of the selected few that are very well versed in what it may be. This sets you apart from other people that are still years behind.

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