While, as a freelancer, you absolutely must focus on your business and develop killer business skills, you also need to guard and…
If you're a designer or artist trying to wrap your head around what balance is all about, you're not alone. Balance is…
An Eye Level reader wrote: What would be the forward steps to draw realistically, in correct proportions, from imagination? Especially imaginary (though…
I want to preface this by saying that as you learn and apply design principles, and gain experience with organizing elements within…
Light logic is a system of using value pattern to create the illusion of real space and form. It is simply the idea…
Whenever we create design and art we are composing. Composition is the make up, arrangement or structure of a work, whether it's…
How to create space… specifically, how to create the illusion of volume in 2-dimensional art and design. In this tutorial I…
[themeone_drop_cap letter="T" color="accent-color2" /]here are, of course, more than 5 ways to create a focal point in an image or design. The…
There is a phrase: ex nihilo nihil fit. It roughly translates from the Latin as from nothing, nothing comes. Generally, this is a…
Color schemes work best when the amounts of the colors used in the design are not equal. A variety of proportions creates…
There are two ways in which we mix color: Additively, using direct light from an original source, and Subtractively, using light reflected from…
To answer the question, “How much will it cost?”, the question, “What do you want to accomplish?” needs to be asked first. Clients are often…
branding influence reputation
typographic illustration in reds for Design and Conquer blog post
Of Influence, Time and Trust Branding is a popular discussion in my circles, and in the course of those conversations I gain…
Are you more concerned about aesthetics or your bottom line when contracting design services? Designers - good ones - always care about how…
A significant percentage of my clients are non-profit enterprises. I have had many opportunities to design campaign materials, annual reports, and graphic…
Working with clients can be likened to a downhill race: The designer moves along in her process and picks up momentum as she heads toward the finish…
Like me, you've probably received email with a "Think of the forests before you print this." appeal in the footer. We're encouraged…
Identity is the facts - the indisputable reality - of who or what something is. Without getting into an existential discussion, let's…
Start-up businesses and organizations tend to hold themselves back in terms of establishing reputation and solidity by under-budgeting and under-investing in the…
Whether you’re a business owner, executive or staff member, business cards continue to play a leading role at events, in business and…
I am a full-time graphic designer/illustrator and part-time design educator, so design thinking is a familiar and routine part of my life.…
Like any design, websites are experienced. Your goal should be to provide the best experience to the largest percentage of people who…
Listening is related to empathy. Empathy is valuing another's experience, and keeps the designer from creating something that is self-expressive.
Before working with a designer, a client should prepare for that relationship. Often, businesses will request a web site or a logo…
There 's a book in my library titled, 101 Things to Learn in Art School by Kit White. It's full of truths…
As I prepare to teach my next course in Design History at UCLA Extension, I gave some thought to why designers should study…
Inspiration is not copying or creating a deviate work (both of these activities constitute copyright infringement), but a stimulation or motivation to do something.
Since color is a fundamental design element, designers should have a well-rounded knowledge of color theory that addresses color perception, psychology and symbolism in order to make intelligent design decisions.
The element of beauty is assumed in any design.
Some ideas look really good in your head but when you get them down on paper and begin to develop a strategy, the flaws become apparent.
How many people set goals and never achieve them? How many creatives start a business and then watch it fizzle out Are…
Does it matter if a design is good or not? Before we can deal with that question let's ask a more basic…
Let's make the distinction between beauty and pretty.
Being effective involves doing the right thing at the right time in the right place.
Design your time. Time is wasted when we do the wrong thing at the wrong time. It's easier to keep your time boundaries and your well-being intact if you plan ahead.
If we approach a design solution as an opportunity for self-expression, we'll miss the point and risk not solving the problem.
Setting and maintaining boundaries will help you avoid relationships and circumstances that are potentially harmful.
Practically every business, organization and government has a banner. These are raised in the form of logos, motifs, icons and flags. We wear them and put them on our car bumpers and on signs and travel mugs. Every banner represents something—an identity, a set of values, a reputation, a history.
To be promoted in our design-driven culture, a product must be packaged in such a way that it becomes meaningful to the person using it, so that they become an evangelist for it. This requires thoughtful planning and execution of a design strategy
Empty space in a design is useful. Think of it in this way: If there was a room in your home where…
It is the responsibility of design professionals, teachers and school administrators to value the next generation of designers so that the profession is respected, appreciated and thrives. Unpaid internships won't accomplish that.
Where an artist can begin with a blank canvas and pursue a serendipitous route to an end result, a designer begins with a set of criterion and remains within set boundaries from concept through completion.
From the client's point of view, there are two crucial criteria in deciding what designer is awarded the project: 1. Does the…
I was asked by a client to re-design a print ad laid out by someone else. The original layout (above, left) was…
I teach a course at UCLA Extension called Elements of Design. It deals with the stuff design is made of. Things like…
Graphic design represents ideas and values. A design is not in itself the idea, but the expression of it. Design points to…
Setting up for a critique session in one of my classes at UCLA Extension. Being a designer is perceived by many as…
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