All graphic designers and people trying to create eye-catching imagery for print or web with have at some point used stock photography. Stock photography negates the need for hiring expensive photographers can license individual photos for specific uses. The two largest traditional stock photography agencies are Getty Images and Corbis. They offer mostly photographs that [...]
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London time: This is now the day of the inauguration of Barack Obama as the President of the United States of America. Here is a couple of interesting quotes, first from Martin Luther King Jr. in 1964 talking to the BBC: Frankly, I have seen certain changes in the United States over the last two [...]
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Do you ever wish you didn’t use stock photography so much? Recently I’ve found myself trawling through pages of stock images from sites such as Shutterstock, iStock and Fotolia, usually looking for a well-presented young professional smiling to camera. These sites contain some good photography but I’m always worried that the stock approach lacks creativity [...]
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A while ago I did an article explaining how to create a country’s flag inside its map outline and I used as an example the Australian map and flag. I’ve since had a lot of interest from Australians who wanted to use the image so I thought I’d do one for Americans as I get [...]
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Keep it simple Steal Keep your designs simple OK! This is easier said than done but this is paramount. If you want to live a happy life, keep it as simple as possible. If you want to do a good design… you get the picture! Take this photograph of 60s fashion model Twiggy by Barry [...]
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Quite often I’m looking for a simple iconic device to represent a country without having to just reproduce the flag alone. So, as you can see above, why not put the flag inside the country’s shape. Also, it’s free! It’s relatively easy to find a country’s flag and shape on the internet and tracing the [...]
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Remember Adobe Streamline? Adobe stopped upgrading its vector conversion application some time ago. But with the advent of CS2, Illustrator’s old Trace Tool became the new super Live Trace and opened up a new world of possibilities! As soon as you place or paste a photo into Illustrator a button on the Control Palette offers [...]
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Finding a graphic element to illustrate an abstract or dry subject is a creative challenge. You find yourself being pulled in one direction to beautify your work and in the other to explain the subject in hand. I am continually searching around for images, illustrations or graphics that will compliment articles with heavy corporate or [...]
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Here’s my top tips for saving money whilst running a graphic design business or as a freelance graphic designer. Work from home. Use of house as business means that you can put some of the cost of home improvements and numerous other things to offset your profit and therefore pay less tax. Meet clients in [...]
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Meeting the client Spend a little money on your clothes and briefcase or portfolio-type bag to create a good impression. People may deny it but they will always think: expensive clothes, lots of money, doing well, good designer. Dress smartish, but not trendy – no one likes trendy designers. When you meet the client, I [...]
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