Is it possible to design sophisticated magazine covers that communicate and sell in the virtual newsstand when all we can show are low-resolution thumbnails? “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover.” We all know the saying, but do we pay any attention? Of course not. And that’s why we also say that first impressions matter….
Don’t be afraid to play around with established production methods. If you know enough about them you’ll find creative ways to subvert them. When you look at designers today you see people who are faced with massive multi-skill requirements. Photographer? Check. (Everyone has a digital camera these days, even if they’re not actually good at…
We tend to take things such as book formats for granted, never really thinking about them as we read them and make content for them. There has been essentially no serious change, no innovation in the core standard design of books for centuries, unless you count the development of perfect binding and the paperback. Not…
When you need to see how a typeface works you use dummy copy. But there’s more to life than lorem ipsum, as pangrams can be fun, too. If you need to fill a text box with words but you don’t have final approved copy or you just want to see how different type settings look,…
Designers aren’t known for their project management skills, but they’re vital if you’re to finish a commission on time and on budget. Graphic design is about creative problem solving. This is a simple statement, but this is what sets graphic design apart from fine art, and it is what makes it actually more of a…
Color plays a crucial part in how we perceive things, so understanding its emotive effects is fundamental to creating effective designs. How do you react to colour? The hue of things has a surprisingly strong affect on how we perceive things and even on how we feel, both physically and emotionally. It is thought that…
