10Steps.SG

Johnson Koh is a graphic and web designer in Singapore who founded 10Steps.SG with the purpose to share his experiments and interesting design.
It s a web site rich of tutorial and interesting articles.

http://10steps.sg/

orange sprocket

Look at the portfolio and the blog section.

http://www.orangesprocket.com/

Mac Operators, Artworkers and Graphic Artists?what's the difference?

Once upon a time, graphic designers and art directors conceptualised and produced design concepts. They then briefed specialists, who went ahead and used highly expensive hot-metal machinery, chemicals and cameras to produce the type and graphics - artwork. These people came to be known as artworkers or graphic artists and typesetters. Fast forward to the present day, wheel in some computers and some of these roles still exist.

The term Mac Operator is such a relative one, that it is hard to give a specific description of the role. A Mac Operator will often do much of the less creative work in a design studio, or publishing house. This can include marked-up text corrections, spell checks and formatting documents to pre-arranged templates. However, in a pre-press or print environment, the role can be a much more technical one.

Either way, it is generally true to say that being a Mac Operator is rarely a route to becoming a graphic designer. In fact, many job advertisements even display warnings such as 'This is Not a Creative Position'. On the other hand, it can be a way in to becoming an 'Artworker' or 'Finished Artist'. It can also be a good money earner for those returning to employment, temps and part time workers. If you fit into that category and have fast QuarkXpress or InDesign skills, it may be worth a punt.

Artworkers, graphic artists (or Finished Artists as they are called in some countries) would generally have a high level of skill in the basic graphic design software products, such as Photoshop, Illustrator, QuarkXpress, Indesign, Freehand and so on. Traditionally, Artworkers would not be expected to have much creative input, but would implement a concept, based on a designer's or Art Director's brief. High-end Photoshop skills, in particular, are a much sought after skill.

Art workers would also, generally, be expected to take a designer's layout and make sure that it is ready for pre-press or print. Since the advent of desktop publishing(DTP), many people have questioned the need for such a distinction between 'creative' and 'artworker'. Indeed, many design companies are beginning to despair at the number of graphic design students that continue to leave university without the ability to set up a job for print. There are, however, other design agencies that continue to function on the old system. Whether they will still be able to afford to do so in the future, is questionable.

There is, of course, the whole graphics industry based around pre-press, reproduction and printing. And many Artworkers and Mac Operators work in that sector. These highly skilled jobs require a high-end knowledge of the usual graphcis software, such as Adobe Photoshop, QuarkXpress and Adobe Illustrator. But it also requires a knowledge of print production issues such as colour reproduction theory, trapping and ink density. It is here that graphic designer's concepts are actually turned into a reality.

from: http://www.designtalkboard.com/design-articles/artworkers.php

design newz

http://design-newz.com/

snapshots!

A blog where you can see how an idea can start from a sckecth to the final product.

http://originalspaperart.blogspot.com/search/label/graphic%20design

youthdesigner.com

http://www.youthedesigner.com/

Should designers draw more?

Legendary graphic designer Milton Glaser once said, “Computers are to design as microwaves are to cooking.” Now while one or two designers might want to argue that point, is it possible that we rely on the computer too much these days? Are the core skills of the designer slowly beginning to evaporate? In short, is it time to dust down the old sketchbook?

Let’s go back a few years. Not that long ago the practice of design would begin, not with the startup chord of a Macbook Pro, but with the sound of the sharpening of pencil.

Armed with a trusted 2HB, eraser and layout pad, the old school designer would explore his ideas and allow concepts to form without the security of Photoshop or photo library. He or she would simply put pencil to paper and then wait and see what happened.

It wasn’t about being a great illustrator. These designers knew that their doodles and sketches were an important part of the creative process. Drawing sparked visual thinking and allowed them to go back to basics and express thoughts without getting lost in technique and effects.

Whether you have the skills to be a full-blown illustrator or not isn’t the point. Improving your drawing skills makes you a better designer. You’ll be able to take the intangible idea in your head and flesh it out on paper, it’s that simple.

As one self proclaimed old schooler puts it, “The computer is arguably the most useful tool to designers nowadays, but in contrast, we’ve managed to design beautiful things for thousands of years without them. Unplug from time to time. Get away from the computer and draw, paint, or make something. It keeps you sharp.”

Another believes that computers have had a detrimental effect on the reputation of designers. “Early in my career (pre-computer) people would ask me what I did for a living and I’d say “I’m a graphic designer.” and the usual response was something like “You get paid to draw? I can’t draw a stick figure….”and they’d proceed to admire, recognize and clearly associate my core skill and craft with what I did for a living.

But now (post-computer) when I tell people what I do the normal response tends to be something like this“That’s cool. I have a computer too. I printed some ink jet business cards for…” and they proceed to associate what they do on a hack PC in their spare time using Microsoft Paint, prefab templates, Comic Sans font, and clip-art with what I do as a professional for a living. Gone is the appreciation or even recognition of a skill or craft I possess to do my job. For the most part they don’t view themselves as lacking any core ability because the computer in their mind has replaced the skill and craft they once associated with my ability.”

In an interview for MacWorld, Milton Glaser explained why he disapproves of the computer as a primary design tool, “The idea of drawing as a discipline that is necessary for the practice of design has just about vanished. I’ve found that students have absolutely no idea, or any ability of any kind to represent their ideas through drawing . . . the imperative to draw has vanished. The problem with the computer is that when you go on the computer, everything has to be made clear too quickly,” he says. “And so the essential part of the developmental dialectic disappears. The greatest liability to the computer is that a lot of weak ideas are very well developed. The computer clarifies things too quickly.”

This video of Milton explaining his thoughts on drawing is worth a few minutes of your time.

Milton Glaser Draws & Lectures - A Short Film by C. Coy

INSPIREDology

This web sit is worth to visit. You will find... "inspiration"! :)

http://inspiredology.com/

Good example of Typography

Good examples of Business Card

japanese bar codedesign

This is fun! :)
from

Typography

some good articles about typography : The Art & Sc
ience of Communicating through Type
http://www.mightyfinegraphics.com/cg/typography.html

by Mrs Robin Williams

Text

Background does not interrupt the text

Text is big enough to read, but not too big

The hierarchy of information is perfectly clear

Columns of text are narrower than in a book to make reading easier on the screen

 

Navigation

Navigation buttons and bars are easy to understand and use

Navigation is consistent throughout web site

Navigation buttons and bars provide the visitor with a clue as to where they are, what page of the site they are currently on

Frames, if used, are not obtrusive

A large site has an index or site map

 

Links

Link colors coordinate with page colors

Links are underlined so they are instantly clear to the visitor

 

Graphics

Buttons are not big and dorky

Every graphic has an alt label

Every graphic link has a matching text link

Graphics and backgrounds use browser-safe colors

Animated graphics turn off by themselves

 

General Design

Pages download quickly

First page and home page fit into 800 x 600 pixel space

All of the other pages have the immediate visual impact within 800 x 600 pixels

Good use of graphic elements (photos, subheads, pull quotes) to break up large areas of text

Every web page in the site looks like it belongs to the same site; there are repetitive elements that carry throughout the pages

from

by Mrs Robin Williams 

Backgrounds

Default gray color

Color combinations of text and background that make the text hard to read

Busy, distracting backgrounds that make the text hard to read

Text

Text that is too small to read

Text crowding against the left edge

Text that stretches all the way across the page

Centered type over flush left body copy

Paragraphs of type in all caps

Paragraphs of type in bold

Paragraphs of type in italic

Paragraphs of type in all caps, bold, and italic all at once

Underlined text that is not a link

Links

Default blue links

Blue link borders around graphics

Links that are not clear about where they will take you

Links in body copy that distract readers and lead them off to remote, useless pages

Text links that are not underlined so you don't know they are links ..(If you're not going to underline your links, please make darned sure ..that each link is perfectly clearly a link! Don't make me wander around ..with my mouse checking to see if randomly colored text is a link!)

Dead links (links that don't work anymore)

Graphics

Large graphic files that take forever to load

Meaningless or useless graphics

Thumbnail images that are nearly as large as the full-sized images they link to

Graphics with no alt labels

Missing graphics, especially missing graphics with no alt labels

Graphics that don't fit on the screen (assuming a screen of 800 x 600 pixels)

Tables

Borders turned on in tables

Tables used as design elements, especially with extra large (dorky) borders

Blinking and animations

Anything that blinks, especially text

Multiple things that blink

Rainbow rules (lines)

Rainbow rules that blink or animate

"Under construction" signs, especially of little men working

Animated "under construction" signs

Animated pictures for email

Animations that never stop

Multiple animations that never stop

Junk

Counters on pages -- who cares

Junky advertising

Having to scroll sideways (800 x 600 pixels)

Too many little pictures of meaningless awards on the first page

Frame scroll bars in the middle of a page

Multiple frame scroll bars in the middle of a page

Navigation

Unclear navigation; over complex navigation

Complicated frames, too many frames, unnecessary scroll bars in frames

Orphan pages (no links back to where they came from, no identification)

Useless page titles that don't explain what the page is about

General Design

Entry page or home page that does not fit within standard browser window (800 x 600 pixels)

Frames that make you scroll sideways

No focal point on the page

Too many focal points on the page

Navigation buttons as the only visual interest, especially when they're large (and dorky)

Cluttered, not enough alignment of elements

Lack of contrast (in color, text, to create hierarchy of information, etc.)

Pages that look okay in one browser but not in another from

GDA

A comprehensive collection of primary resources on the history and practice of 20th - century American graphic Design.

GDA

graphic design articles

resources and articles about graphic design

design-bookshelf

Basic Principles of graphic design: Proximity - Alignement - Repetition - Contrast

Proximity

Related items should be grouped together.

Likewise, items that are not related should not be close to each other. The process of grouping related information creates visual cues. Williams also suggests never having the same amount of white space between elements that aren't a part of a list.

Alignment

Everything on a page should be visually connected to something else on the page.

Nothing should be placed arbitrarily. When elements are aligned they are connected to each other, even if they are separated on the page.

Repetition
Repeat design elements throughout the entire piece.

The element can be a font style, graphic, line, icons, colors, the list is endless.

Contrast

If two items aren't the same, make them very different.

Contrast adds visual interest to your page. You can create visual interest by using color, size and weight or any other property of an element.

from

Basic Principles of graphic design

Several links about "Basic principles of graphic design"

1) Very simple - just a quick read would be enough

http://www.math.duke.edu/education/ccp/resources/write/design/graphicindex.html

Welcome!