Weekly Post #18

13 Characteristics for Outstanding Blog Design

1. Readability

- Short Paragraphs

- List

- Bold Text

- Line Spacing

- Sub Headers

2. Useful Sidebars

- Popular Posts

- Recent Posts

- Blog-roll/Friends List

- Categories

3. Unique

- Simply Unique

4. Comment Design

- Once again: Unique

5. Integration of Ads

- Integrating Ads Effectively and Cleanly

6. Effective, Usable Navigation

- Make sure it is easy to navigate

7. Images in Posts

- Images are fun, and fun is good!

8. Footer Design

- Make it effective

9. Color Scheme

- Have an attractive color scheme

10. Icons

- Icons are always nice to have

11. High Content

- Have good content, not garbage

12. Subscription Areas

- Make them clear so you can get as many people to subscribe

- Look at "facebook" as an excellent example

13. Social Media Integration

- Integrate Social Media such as polls

Source: http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2008/12/13-characteristics-of-outstanding-blog-design/

Weekly Post #17

Video Game Design Between 1990 - 2009

Being someone that loves video games, I wanted to show how video games have changed

over nearly two decades.

1990

Wing Commander

1991

The Legend of Zelda

1992

Mortal Kombat

1993

Doom

1994

Tekken

1995

The Need for Speed

1996

Quake

1997

Grand Theft Auto

1998

Half Life

1999

Heroes of Might and Magic III

2000

The Sims

2001

Grand Theft Auto 3

2002

Mafia

2003

Max Payne 2

2004

Far Cry 2

2005

Age of Empires 3

2006

Gears of War

2007

Halo 3

2008

Fallout 3

2009

Alan Wake

Source: http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2008/12/video-game-design-between-1990-2008/

Weekly Post #16

How to Design a Logo

1. Learn what a logo is and what it represents

Before you design a logo you must learn what a logo is, and

the purpose for it is. A logo is an inspiring trust of a company,

it an image, and it is an icon. It reflects the company.

Have you ever seen a good company with a bad logo?

2. Know the Rules and Principles of Logo Design

1. A logo must be describable

2. A logo must be memorable

3. A logo must be effective without colour

4. A logo must be scalable i.e. effective when just an inch in size

3. Learn off other's Successes and Mistakes

Simply Research

This step takes us back to the

question: Have you ever seen a big successful company with a bad logo?

4. Establish your Own Logo Design Process

The Design Brief

Research & Brainstorming

Sketching

Prototyping & Conceptualizing

Send To Client For Review

Revise & Add Finishing Touches

Supply Files To Client and Give Customer Service

5. Learn the Software and Complete the Logo

After you finish your planning, try to master out the software.

Programs such as Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop are great

for Logo Design.

Source: http://justcreativedesign.com/2008/01/08/how-to-design-a-logo/

Weekly Post #15

15 Signs You're a Bad Graphic Designer

1. Helvetica

Do you use Helvetica all the time?

If so then stop. Even though it is one of the most famous

fonts, being a designer means trying new things and experimenting.

2. Straight Quotes and Wrong Quotes

Do you use straight quotes?

If so then stop. They were for type writers back in the day.

Not anymore, times have changed.

3. Quotations not Hung

SIMPLY DO NOT HANG YOUR QUOTATION MARKS

4. Double Returns

5. Two Spaces after Punctuation

Very bad. Very Ugly. Very Wrong.

One word: FAIL

6. Using Boxes Behind Text

Do not use colored boxes behind text.

Only because you can, doesn't mean you have to.

It is ugly!

7. Centered Layouts

Dull and boring.

8. Borders

Using borders with everything indicates a beginners insecurity with his/hers design.

DO NOT USE BORDERS WITH EVERYTHING!

9. Indents

Do not use 1 inch indents. This is what they used back in the day.

With typewriters. Use 1 em which is a space as wide as the point of the type.

10. Hyphens for Bullets

This is a typewriter habit and it unprofessional!!!

11. Embossing and Drop Shadow Type

Do you use the drop shadow feature and the emboss feature?

Stop...

This is one of the easiest ways to indicate a complete beginner.

12. Twelve Point Type

Try not to use the 12 point type for everything.

While it is the default size for most types

it is usually a bit too big. Try going a little smaller.

13. Underline

NEVER use the underline feature. It is a design law.

It is such a bad feature they did not even include it on this site.

14. ALL CAPS!!!

Do not use all caps, because it is harder to read, and seems as if

you are trying to scream at your audience.

15. Baad Grammmmar n' spallin'

Bad Grammar and Spelling, is possibly the most annoying thing

to witness in a design. Make sure to check your work all the time.

Source: http://justcreativedesign.com/2007/12/06/bad-graphic-design/

Weekly Post #14

How to be Creative!

There are many ways to become creative. Some people are considered more creative than others, however we all are unique and we all contain our own ideas. So how can you unleash those ideas?

Here are a few procedures you can follow to begin with.

First of all...

Mind-mapping

Do you use keywords? Images? Both?

Do you use a variety of colours?

Do you use a hierarchy system? A number system? Outlines? Circles?

Do you use random words for inspiration or do you relate words? Both?

Are all lines & thoughts connected? Or do you loiter off into new mind maps?

Look through these questions and decide which bests suites you.

The second thing you can do is...

Find Inspiration

Try to find something that really inspired you.

Read a book

Watch a movie

Listen to a song

all of these things can greatly affect your creativeness

the world is filled with so much creativeness

These are the two most effective ways, however, fear not, there are some more.

List

Get Relaxed

Give Gratitude

Tickle your Imagination

Be in the Moment

Be inspired

Draw

See Alternatives

Be Open

Think on Paper

Source: http://justcreativedesign.com/2007/11/26/how-to-be-creative/

Weekly Post #13

The Secret Logo Design Process of the Top Graphic Designers

Step #1: The Brief

The first step you need to take as a designer, is establishing and coming up with the correct concept that fits your client's brief. You must sit with your client and discuss different options.

Step #2: Research

The second step into designing your logo, is beginning the research. You must look into your client's company, store, etc. and begin to understand its purpose. Your design needs to fit with the company itself.

Step #3: Visual Research

Visual Research is the third step you must take. It isn't like research in step #2. Here you must gather the information you already have, and look for inspiring logos that other designers have made. Note: many designer copy and change small parts. It is normal.

Step #4: Sketching and Conceptualizing

The fourth step, is actually beginning to build your logo. You should start with an actual solid paper sketch, and then move to the digital form. This is because, you can freely create any obstacle with your hands in seconds. After you have you sketch finished, begin working on the a better draft.

Step #5: Reflection

It is good to take breaks once in a while. You don't want to get bored of your assignment. You must take a break, go to the beach, and reflect on your work.

Step #6: Positioning

The sixth step is positioning. Here you must go to your client and ask him/her what they think. take their feedback, and go and fix. Make sure all of the design concepts are followed (alignment, Proximity, etc.).

Step #7: Presentation

In this step you must go and present you logo to your client. You may choose to bring several different logos that you designed and let them choose.

Step #8: Celebration

The final step is the celebration. If your design is chosen then go out, drink some beer, open a bottle of wine, and enjoy your paycheck.

Source: http://justcreativedesign.com/2008/02/01/logo-design-process-of-top-graphic-designers/

Weekly Post #12

30 Fonts that all designers must know and own

Here are 15 Serif and 15 Sans-Serif fonts that will last you through-out your design career.

15 Serif Fonts

1. Adobe Caslon - Magazines, journals, text books, corporate communication.

2. Adobe Garamond - Textbooks and magazines

3. Bembo - Posters, packaging, textbooks.

4. Bodoni - Headlines, text, logos. (I couldn’t get big preview for this font.)

5. Clarendon - Dictionaries and headlines.

6. Courier - Tabular materials, technical documentation, word processing.

7. Excelsior - Newsletters, Reports, Proposals.

8. Lucida - Low resolution printing, small point sizes, reversed out half tones.

9. Minion - Limited edition books, newsletters, packaging.

10. Perpetua - For displays with fine lettering, long pages of text, chiseled text.

11. Sabon - Books and corporate communication.

12. Stempel Schneidler - For displays and fine publications that need a legible text type.

13. Times New Roman - Newspapers, magazines, corporate communication.

14. Trajan - Books, magazines, posters, billboards, anything to do with the ages or religion.

15. Walbaum - Magazines, journals, text books, corporate communication.

15 Sans-Serif

1. Akzidenz Grotesk - Large Signage, all purpose for print media.

2. Avenir - For books with large amounts of text

3. Bell Centennial - For listings and very poor printing conditions.

4. Bell Gothic - For very small amounts of text that contains large amounts of information.

5. DIN - For signage, posters and displays.

6. Franklin Gothic - Newspapers and where available space is limited.

7. Frutiger - Large signage, all purpose font for print media.

8. Futura - Large displays, small text in books.

9. Gill Sans - Signage, all purpose font for print media.

10. Helvetica - Large or small text, all purpose type figure.

11. Meta - Large or small text, all purpose type figure.

12. Myriad - Large displays, all purpose media.

13. Trade Gothic - Newspapers and classified ads, advertising, multimedia.

14. Univers - Packaging, signage, text books.

15. Vag Rounded - Instruction manuals and print advertising.