THE 411 ON WIREFRAMES Comparable to the blueprint of a home, wireframes are the foundation of building a website. Wireframes should be the first step in the process of designing and developing a new website, and are important for numerous reasons. So, what’s the 411 on wireframes? WHAT IS A WIREFRAME? A wireframe is the blueprint, outline, or rough draft of a web page. Here are some characteristics of wireframes: Typically in black and white, or grayscale. [...]
Get Verified on Instagram Getting verified on Instagram anytime before August 2018 was highly unattainable, unless you were a well-known brand, celebrity, or some sort of public figure. Or, if you had an “in” with someone who worked at Instagram, they had the power to give your profile the admirable blue check mark. Now, anyone can apply for verification. However, this does not mean everyone receives the badge. Instagram is still quite selective of who can and cannot [...]
PRINT LOCALLY, OR PRINT ONLINE? So, you’re ready to get a piece printed for your business, and now all that’s left to do is pick a printer. This decision can make or break the outcome of your finalized, tangible print piece… no pressure! You need to decide if you’re going to use an online source, or stay local and use a nearby print shop. How do you decide which is best for your project? Weigh the pros and cons [...]
TRICKS & TREATS FOR YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA THIS HALLOWEEN Halloween is the perfect time to amp up your social media in preparation for the holidays ahead. Save the last-minute decisions for your Halloween costume this season, and try some of these tricks and treats on your social media platforms this year. Come Up With Relevant Posts Come up with eye-catching creative for Halloween that relates back to your company. Is your company in the food industry? Create [...]
WHEN IN DOUBT – BE ABLE TO TAKE GOOD PHOTOS ON YOUR PHONE. Photos can sometimes tell a story better than words can, especially in today’s social media culture. Yes, our last blog post was about hiring professional photographers for branding, and we still stand by that. However, if your brand relies heavily on social posts and will spend a lot of time using social media on a daily basis, your budget could quickly run out using a professional [...]
STARTING A NEW BRAND? INVEST IN GOOD PHOTOGRAPHY. Yes, logos are one of the most important elements of a brand; however, one element of branding that often gets pushed to the side is the photography that will be used to portray the brand. It is so important to get the right photography for your brand. We have a few tips for getting the right photographer, the right shots, what it may cost, and everything in between. WHY INVESTING [...]
WHY DESIGN FIRMS LOVE CLIENTS WITH GRANT FUNDING When a small business comes to a firm ready to get started on design material, often times the small business is just starting out and does not have a large budget. However, there are ways for start-ups to get the funding their company deserves – with grant funding. WHAT IS A GRANT? A grant is a government funded project. If your business has an idea, or needs to complete an [...]
CREATING YOUR OWN CUSTOM FONT: PART 2 Now that you’ve gone through the design process of creating your font characters, it’s time to make them fully functioning fonts! There are a few different sources you can use to finalize your fonts… FONTSELF Fontself is a purchasable software that works seamlessly with Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop. Once you download and install the script, Fontself becomes an extension of Adobe Illustrator and/or Photoshop (depending on which package you purchase). [...]
CREATING YOUR OWN CUSTOM FONT: PART 1 Ever wonder how designers make custom fonts, or ever dreamed of making your own font? You’ve come to the right place! Our tutorial is in-depth, so we’ve broken it into two separate blogs. 1.START ON PAPER Like any other creative project, it’s always best to generate ideas by starting from scratch with a pencil and a blank sheet of paper. Sketch out different variations of letters, see how letters look next [...]
NEWSPRINT DESIGN GUIDELINES As a designer, you have to be able to design for a variety of materials, one being newsprint. Though many newspapers are going digital, a lot of businesses continue to rely on ad space in printed newspapers. Newsprint paper is a tricky material to work with, and prints differently than regular copy paper. As a designer, there are certain specifications and limitations to what you should and should not do when designing for a newspaper ad. [...]
