Every Project is an Opportunity to LEARN

As a Graphic Designer, you will be handed some small, small projects. Handouts, flyers, brochures, etc.

Remember, every project is an opportunity to learn and design. So don't look down your nose at those "small projects". Rise to challenge and do your best, no matter what.

1. Know your measurements and keep all your subject matter within your margins.

2. Be clean and concise and open. Even if you have lots of product or text. Try to keep as much "open space" or "white space" as possible. This allows the eye to "rest". So your design will not look cluttered or too busy, making it difficult to read and unattractive.

Even the smallest project is a good opportunity to work on your use of fonts and colors. This is a good time for you to see how quickly you can work up an eye catching layout. Also, you can reuse some backgrounds just by changing the Hue andSaturation in Photoshop.

So this can save you some time

Sometimes you will have to deliver a LOT of information...and I mean a LOT!

Take care that you try to make this as attractive and clean as possible. Often times using poor resolution photos and logos. This is just part of the package. I will talk this later.

Remember, this same flyer layout might be used over and over. You don't want to see an ugly flyer, getting printed over and over, because mark my words, in Graphic Design, if you HATE IT. You WILL see it OVER and OVER and OVER again!

So take your time and do your best.

C'est Horrible! WILL I EVER GET THE DESIGN RIGHT?

You better WORK!

Sometimes you will have to make MULTIPLE designs for a project.

Meaning: YOU ARE NOT HITTIN' that SWEET SPOT with your Client.

This can occur if your project is:

A. Being designed, "BY COMMITTEE". Basically a group of people who have a variety of tastes, conflicting ideas.

or

B. Your Client is VERY PICKY and has specific ideas about how their product needs to look.

Before you go off your nut about this remember, this is THEIR PRODUCT and THEIR WORK. Of course they will have ideas about how it should look. You have to incorporate their ideas into your work. That is just the way it goes.

The "NOT HITTIN" THE SWEET SPOT" scenario is unfortunately a part of a Graphic Design life. You just have to keep listening and trying to combine all the data into a good design. It is all about really listening and communicating visually.

I will now show you the multiple covers for a single project. Get ready! I am only going to show you just a portion of the covers I designed for just ONE client!

Whether you or I like any of these designs, is not the point. The client did not, so I had to keep trying.

I started off simple. Just text and fonts and 3 colors. Simple and elegant.

I also wanted to make a cover that would give a feeling of an elegant evening at the theater.

I also thought the cover look might look like an old opera or theater program.

My boss said, "try to be more sophisticated, add an actual photo of the opera". So I found this photo from an english opera company (Not sure which one) I am sure this is a copyrighted photo so I need to find my old notes. 

This photo I felt was perfect, and the muted colors and composition was pretty sophisticated looking. I felt sure the client would love this design.

But they said NO! and wanted more color and action on the cover. 

So I made this

Even more action and color. Can you tell I am starting to loose it?

Really starting to go now. 

Once they picked a photo they wanted on the cover. That kinda killed it for me. 

Trying to work with that photo and my original idea, that was one bad combination!

This is spiraling out of control now. Even with the bland colored background. Too many fonts, too much type, too many colors. Of course I think the photo really kills it. But it is what the client wants. It is my job to make it work.

Now I think this black thing might make an interested poster, but not a book cover. 

Still too much and over the top. By now we all give up, even the client!

Weeks later, I thought about trying another simpler approach. 

I wanted a classic egyptian image. So I picked the bust of Nefertiti.

Her silhouette is simple and elegant, feminine and nobel. 

These were the last two covers I made for them. I have not heard anything back as of yet. 

But I am pretty happy with my last two attempts. However, if the client is not.. Here we go again!

C'EST HORRIBLE! DESIGNING A CD COVER

Sure you can download music off the internet, and CD's (as a physical product) may become a thing of the past. But designing a CD package is a good project for new designers.

Even if you download an song off the internet, the artist and album still is represented by an image. So graphic designers will continue to work with musicians to visually represent their products.

THE CD SLEEVE TEMPLATE

A cd cover is typically 4.75 inches by 4.75 inches. This is the area where you will put your design. but you will need a "bleed" so you have to let your design spill over to actually at around 5.25 inches.

Giving yourself a .25 or quarter inch "bleed" off of the paper for "trimming".

You also need to give yourself a good quarter inch or half inch border all around the edges of your cover. You never want a design elements or text to be too close to the edge of the actual cover.

COLOR REQUIREMENTS:

• If you are making a piece for PRINT, you must use CMYK.
• if you are making an image for the INTERNET, it must be RGB.

FILE SIZE REQUIREMENTS:

• If you are making an image for print, it must be at least 300 dpi.
• If you are making an image for the web, then it must be 72 dpi.

If you are making an actual printed CD Sleeve, you will have a back cover. So leave room for a logo, address and a barcode as well as the title and list of songs.

CREATING YOUR CD DESIGN:


Keeping with the ideals of "Good Design" as presented by Dieter Rams, speak with the Creator of the music about their visual thoughts and feelings about the music.

1. Make sure you ask about the "Target Market" for this CD; meaning "who" will be most likely to purchase the CD. Meaning; what is the sex, and the age of the people most likely to be purchasing this CD. This is called, "identifying the Target Market". Once you have identified your, "Target Market" get some input from the musician. Discuss a few ideas with them.

2. Do they want to use a photo of themselves or any other photo on the cover?

3. Do they have an existing image that represents their music? (if so make sure the dpi and the color requirements are met with this image. Open it up in Photoshop).

4. Is this going to be the first cd in a series? Will the design have to be repeated with slight changes? Does the image lend itself to multiple changes? Or will it run out after 2 - 3?

5. What will be the overall tone they want to communicate:

• Do they want something dark and dramatic? 
• Light and airy? 
• Colorful? 
• Or sedate and calm?

See if they are receptive to any of these ideas. Based on the Creators input, and your knowledge of the "Target Market" begin your design.

Don't be afraid to look online at other examples of cds that are aimed at your target market. Sometimes you have to consider a popular design to quickly sell a project to a certain market.

CREATING YOUR 3 DESIGN PROOFs for a CLIENT:

You need to make as many different CD Cover Designs as possible and then present your best 3 to the client.

Being "FAST" is what is good in this business. Being able to interpert what a client wants and what a target audience might find interesting is your real challange.

Here are some CD design examples that I created based on my knowledge of a Target Market and what the artist wanted.

His requirements were:

Deep/Dark Blue and something Celtic.
Also, something that reflected how the music might be used, for church mass, spiritual reflection or artistic interpretation.

Make sure your image is RGB for the Web, or CMYK for Print. 

All of these images are 72 dpi and RGB for viewing on the internet.

FYI - make sure you get the TITLE CORRECT or you will be WASTING YOUR TIME!!!

I showed these to my boss and he said, "You know, the actual title is, "IN BEAUTY WE WALK" and his name is IAN CALLANAN."

(See- I MAKE ALL THE MISTAKES FIRST. SO YOU DON'T HAVE TOO!)

Okay - Make sure you write down the title and double check the spelling of those names!

Besides the obvious mistakes, we also decided my first designs were pretty uninspired. I also needed to try something deep blue and celtic, instead of just interpreting the music and the market.

So I came up with these two images. These got the approval of the artist and my boss.

Now notice how simple these designs are. How clear and clean. They are also very easy to read. Customers will not have problems reading the text.

Both of these images were made in photoshop with simple effects and fonts.

After some discussion my Boss and the Artist wondered if I could combine the cross image with the light image. So I gave them this:

And this is what he chose.

I strengthened the cross and made it more symetrical. But everything else is basically the same. Except I took the slant out of the dimond/dot of the i in the title. It still bothers me so I may work on it further.

So, I am just showing you, how you cannot become emotionally attached to any design. And every project is a great opportunity to actually make 3 - 5 different designs!

C'est horrible! Chair Designs

I demanded that you try to design a chair. So I decided to do one myself!

Introducing the BEAR CHAIR! Made of FOAMY FOAM!

uh oh, Bear Chair does NOT promote good posture!

But it does offer a nice light for book reading in the roof of its mouf!

Let's Talk Design!

Following the rules of GOOD DESIGN my little GDM's is a GOOD THING!

You think art is about "BREAKING THE RULES!". But at the root of any fine work of art, is good design.

I want to tell all my little GDMonsters that no matter which way you go; fine artist, crafts person, graphic design, interior designer, architect or engineer, you need to understand and be able to create a good design.

Now in each of these fields, the greater your understanding of the principals of design, the greater the impact of your work. And you want your work to have impact, right!

You can draw. You LOVE to draw, but can you design?

There are a few projects that I have worked on in my life, that I feel are truly inspired and worthy of being branded, "Good Design". Sad but True.

Because Good design is tough, but when it is right, it seems simple and natural.

So let's focus on one thing: Keeping it SIMPLE.

It is normal for a artist who is just learning to create, to experiment with overloading a design with lots of florid details. And sometimes that works with art. But when you are designing a product for sale, you are trying to communicate something.

You are trying to communicate the essence of the product. Whether it be a CD, a Book, A Tool, a Building, or a piece of Furniture or Clothing.

So you have about 2 - 3 seconds to get someone's attention and communicate this "essence", to get their interest. So florid, overwrought and cluttered designs (typically) will not work.

You need to be crisp, clean and simple. You want to be visually inviting. Be OPEN. Invite the eye in.

My goal was to omit everything superfluous 
so that the essential is shown 

to the best possible advantage.

Dieter Rams - architect, engineer, industrial designer. 

One of the most influential designers of the 20th century

Vitsœ’s designer, Dieter Rams.
Photograph by Abisag Tüllmann

Dieter Rams 10 Principals of Good design* 
(from Wikipedia)

*Good design:^[1]

• Is innovative - The possibilities for innovation are not, by any means, exhausted. Technological development is always offering new opportunities for innovative design. But innovative design always develops in tandem with innovative technology, and can never be an end in itself.

• Makes a product useful - A product is bought to be used. It has to satisfy certain criteria, not only functional, but also psychological and aesthetic. Good design emphasizes the usefulness of a product whilst disregarding anything that could possibly detract from it.

• Is aesthetic - The aesthetic quality of a product is integral to its usefulness because products are used every day and have an effect on people and their well-being. Only well-executed objects can be beautiful.

• Makes a product understandable - It clarifies the product’s structure. Better still, it can make the product clearly express its function by making use of the user's intuition. At best, it is self-explanatory.

• Is unobtrusive - Products fulfilling a purpose are like tools. They are neither decorative objects nor works of art. Their design should therefore be both neutral and restrained, to leave room for the user's self-expression.

• Is honest - It does not make a product more innovative, powerful or valuable than it really is. It does not attempt to manipulate the consumer with promises that cannot be kept.

• Is long-lasting - It avoids being fashionable and therefore never appears antiquated. Unlike fashionable design, it lasts many years – even in today's throwaway society.

• Is thorough down to the last detail - Nothing must be arbitrary or left to chance. Care and accuracy in the design process show respect towards the consumer.

• Is environmentally friendly - Design makes an important contribution to the preservation of the environment. It conserves resources and minimizes physical and visual pollution throughout the life-cycle of the product.

• Is as little design as possible - Less, but better – because it concentrates on the essential aspects, and the products are not burdened with non-essentials. Back to purity, back to simplicity

I want you to think about these principals next time you have an art project at school. Don't let them overwhelm you. Consider at least a few of them the next time you want to create something with a "purpose".

In the spirt of Dieter Rams 10 Principals of good design, here is a wee project for my GDM's.

Design a chair using these principals. Draw it in pencil, pen, as a sketch, just start thinking about a different type of chair.

But KEEP IT SIMPLE.

Email them to me: Belkwinith@gmail.com and I will put them up on this blog for review!

REJECTION, GDM's EAT THAT STUFF for BREAKFAST!

Ola my little Graphic Design Monsters!

You want to be an Artist and make Money? Then you are in the right place.

Welcome to C'est Horrible Graphic Design Monster. The blog created to enlighten wee artistic and creative minds to what they can expect on their quest for an actual pay check.

I don't plan on sugar coating ANYTHING.

I just want to drop some knowledge on y'all, so let's get STARTED:

You want to be creative, make "ART" and Make MONEY.

Then, you need to be ready for a lot of REJECTION.

To illustrate my point, here are some of my favorite REJECTED works.

REJECTED!!

REJECTED!

REJECTED!

REJECTED!

REJECTED!

REJECTED!

I am using these few images to illustrate a point. A lot of thought, time and effort went into each one of these images and they were ultimately rejected. 


At times, I have created at least 10-20 different covers for a client before they were happy with the result. Nothing I really want to brag about. But I survived and continued on to the next project.

So if you can't take criticism, you are looking at the wrong profession.

So my little GDMonsters, not only will your work be rejected. It will also be analyzed, discussed, trashed, picked at, ripped apart, flayed and eviserated and have its nose rubbed into the dirt.

FYI - not only will your work be critiqued, you have actually listen to this criticism and make changes.


If you think I am mistaken, let me confess that I have been a "paid graphic designer" since 1994. I don't like to admit this, not because of my age, but because it illustrates my stubborn streak. 

Through recessions, depressions, platform and computer program changes, layoffs and firings, I have stayed gainfully employed. 

Why, because, Dang it, I loves to make art and get paid!


Now I am going to share my "experiance" with you. Through this blog I will try to discuss the trials and tribulations of being an "Artist" and actually making a "Living".