Observations from the life of a graphic designer.
I’m realizing today, more than ever, how my education will never be complete. I started in graphic design during the pre-digital age, and so had no idea at the beginning of my career that I’d end up working in such a technical field. Sometimes I think about how much of an advantage I might’ve had […]
Reading through old journal entries to see if any might be appropriate to include in this blog, I found “Five Minutes,” which describes a harried workday morning in 2004. I was struck by the differences between the circumstances of my life then and now, and realized how much I take for granted these days. Such […]
My Pledge to Uphold the Code of Conduct of The Academy of Design Professionals Whereas design professionals have certain fundamental obligations to society, to clients, to the profession, and to peers and colleagues, and… Whereas in order to meet these obligations, design professionals should conform their practice according to specific moral ideals and ethical practices, […]
If I had a basket of kittens, I would name them Ajax, Java, Div, Cache, Flash, and Mouseover. ************* Paying attention to feedback from “average customers” isn’t as valuable as listening to those who are truly passionate about your brand. Paying attention to feedback from those who dislike your brand and have had bad impressions […]
Radio around here is rather pathetic. We get a lot of music stations that I never listen to (Spanish-language, Country-Western, Gospel) and I find myself longing for a Metal station, or any modern pop/rock that isn’t Hip-Hop or generic Top 40. But this morning, driving to work, 91.9 Radio Stevenson was back on the air. […]
Whenever a graphic designer finds themselves working on a team with other creative types, there’s a likelihood that some individuals will stand out by having superior skills, knowledge and/or abilities. Having been in the business for over 20 years myself, I often realize that I’m that person in the group who has the chance to […]
A few months ago I took on a project as an independent design professional – assisting the owner of a startup vitamin company in developing their brand identity by creating a logo design. The project has grown with the company’s efforts at establishing a presence in the market, and at this point I’m running the […]
Today I completed a graphic design project which: fulfills the stated objectives of the marketing campaign strategy, is an innovative, creative approach to the project specifications, contains elements known to appeal to the target demographic, ties in well with other brand-identity statements, looks as if it’s designed by a competent professional, is eye-catching and dynamic, […]
I’m increasingly aware, through articles online and in magazines, interviews on TV and such, that many people have turned the activities and interests they love, their “passions”, into a career. From time to time I have wondered if trying to make art, design & hands-on creativity be the skills by which I earn a living is […]
So what’s the image resolution, the scan quality, the output requirements? Are we talking about megabytes or megapixels? What’s the difference between dots-per-inch and pixels-per-inch? Jpeg, bitmap, tiff, gif, png or eps? Raster or vector? What are RGB and CMYK, and why should I care? The terminology and process of digital imaging is frequently […]