Senior pictures often look a lot alike, so it's fun to try and look at them from a different perspective while still capturing the essence of senior photos. This was some of the most fun I've had during a photo shoot. Bonnie was so fun and easy to work with and it shows. She looks beautiful! We ran around a local park for a couple of hours and ended up with 30 or so absolutely gorgeous pictures. Take a look at some of the photos below.
This is one of the trickiest questions to answer for anyone trying to break into the design industry. Initially, most people will excitedly go out and try to find new clients, but when that first customer comes along they have no clue how to go about establishing the project requirements and beginning a design. This is where the whole project can quickly turn ugly and even make you reconsider your lifelong dream as a graphic designer.
One of the keys to getting a design project moving in the right direction comes before you sit down to begin work on your computer, and is known in the industry as a design brief. Simply put, a design brief is a list of questions to ask your client to find out what their needs are for any given project.
The more thorough you are in asking your client about what they want, the more specifically they will respond. This prevents you from developing unnecessary design concepts since you will already have a focused description of their needs.
Note: This is not Vistaprint's real tagline, but it should be.
Anything of value will not be free. Period. Everything is an investment, and it is the return on that investment that makes something worth buying. You can get free business cards with a VistaPrint logo on the back, making you look like an ignorant chump, or you can spend $20 on something that will actually begin brand your company positively.
A hurried real estate agent needs some last minute photos for a new listing, a construction company with a limited advertising budget saves some money by taking their own pictures for their website, a desperate developer finds a friend of a friend to capture a new development in time to have brochures made for the grand opening, and the list goes on and on.
Millions of pictures exist online that are the result of situations like these, but the reality is that a great first impression is the most powerful tool you can use to your advantage when presenting a property.
I first heard of the Hope For Haiti Now telethon on the radio. George Clooney was putting together a who's who of the entertainment world to take calls and raise money for earthquake victims in Haiti. Just the money (and time) donated by the celebrities that participated is substantial.
So I have a question. With all the social, financial, and political clout these people have, why does the design of the campaign contain so many basic flaws that greatly reduce the affectiveness of its main goal of raising money?
Long ago in a galaxy far, far away (a few years ago when I shared a house with some roommates) I started a blog, similar to this one. Back then I was in the midst of school and did not have much experience. The premise of the blog was the same, to share what knowledge I did have with the community to do my part in the sharing of information, however, with my busy schedule and lack of committment, the blog faded away after a few articles.
Since then I have learned a lot and gained valuable experience. The previous articles were good, but my mindset was not. I have decided to resurrect and update a few "oldies but goodies" from the previous blog. This tutorial did not need any updates other than a few grammatical errors, but has been revived to teach young designers once again.
I am going to show you how I created a nice looking clipboard using a single photograph as well as blending modes within Photoshop.
One thing that has always bothered me is lack of proper use in typography. This is simply because to most people, it is easier to use the default fonts, sizes, margins, and colors. What if I were to tell you that you could instantly, well maybe with 5 minutes of work, get more professional looking documents or designs by following some very simple steps in regards to your typography? You had better be excited, because with this 10 minute typography lesson, the world will become a better looking place to live.
The general plan for the Shaver Studios Blog is simply to have a positive impact on the overall design community. We will be posting walkthroughs of projects we have done, links to other great design related articles, tips for other designers, as well as information applicable to non-designers as well, all with the purpose of sharing our experience knowledge and learning a thing or two ourselves.
We are excited to get into the full swing of things and already have a few great ideas for some posts to get us started. Be sure to check back soon because we are just getting started!