I think you’ll agree with me when I say: creating a WordPress site is a challenging feat for a beginner. Where to start; what to do? Should you choose WordPress.com or WordPress.org, and what’s the difference between the two?
How much does creating a WordPress site cost? Is it $50 bucks, $100 bucks or $10,000 bucks? You have no idea. But still, you yearn to create a WordPress site and that’s good.
A great design brief is a roadmap that guides creatives in the right direction and ensures that deliverables are in sync with the project expectations. Having your goals and expectations clearly defined on a sheet will help you not only be on the same page as your client but will also let you form a structure for the project. A good design brief will contain everything you need to complete the project on time. So start your research before you hop on that call with your client. Read up about their business, websites, blogs and try to understand what they offering is all about. When a client approaches you with a project, they are usually looking to solve a problem. As a designer, your task is to understand this problem and understanding a brand will enable you to respond to their needs in a systematic and methodical way.
We have gathered a list of 10 questions to ask yourself and the client when taking on a new project. This should help you gain a better understanding of your client and their business.
What is a brand identity? How do you create one? Why is it important? These are some topics we will be exploring in this article. Let us begin by finding out what a brand identity system is and how branding design can be used to influence and shape the perception of a user. Brand identity is a collection of all the representations of a brand — its logo, trademark, mascot, infographic, brand collateral, signage, and other company collateral. Basically, anything that communicates the message of a brand to its audience. It is not only the sum total of visual imagery and representations but also the experiences it creates when interacting with its product and services.
How do you build great relationships with your customers? Ideally you would want to get to know your subscribers so you can tailor emails specifically for them. But if your user finds themselves on this page, then there is a good chance that you didn’t spend enough time understanding their wants and pain points. People don’t really want to be bombarded with emails and information they don’t really care about. So the key is to not only craft a carefully curated message but also take the time to engage and inform your subscribers by giving them what they want.
Adobe Photoshop is now offering an amazing set of enhancements and new features with its new release. When you launch the software, you are met with a home screen that lists a set of tutorials and presets that will help guide you through each step of your design process. Other additional features include advanced content aware fill tool, frame tool for easy image making, new multiple undo modes and lot more. Besides adding new features, Adobe has also worked on enhancing their existing toolsets. Let us take a look at them in detail.
Typography can be divided into two areas – macro and micro typography. The relevance of typography on a web page cannot be stressed enough. It is important to consider its nuances and use it in a way to enhance the overall readability and legibility of a web page. Before crafting a page, it is important to understand the difference between micro and macro typography. This will help the designer focus on the readability and legibility of the overall design.
User experience design (UI design) quite simply stands for what it is – the whole experience of the user. It is a collection of interactions between the user and the company, its services, and products. In comparison, UX design measures or identifies the pain points of the user and uses this information to build a rough prototype to test these ideas from where the information is validated. UX focuses on the usability aspect of a product and there are many ways to build one that meets a need that is not currently being met in the market.
Developing and maintaining a UI design library/system for your product will help the user intuitively navigate through your web page. This systematic approach to building an interface library will bring in a visual and functional consistency to the overall design. This, in essence, helps brand your UI/UX and creates a sense of trust for the user.
As graphic designers, we have to communicate the brand’s message across to its consumers. There are many ways to do this – banners, postcards, stationery design, logos, mascots, brochures, and information packs are a few nameable mediums. To create an effective design, you have to understand the nuances of the sales message and use this information to create a visual design that is able to engage the viewer with the design and call to action buttons. Rather than focusing on immediate sales, it is important to focus on building a long-term strategy that would bring value and high return on investment. People tend to buy products from a trusted source so being able to build a relationship with the brand collateral is as important as bringing in immediate sales.Marketing your designs effectively is a skill that can be honed with time, patience and effort.
When you are starting out your career in the creative industry, it is important to showcase work that not only shows your talent and technical skills as a designer but also emphasizes your thought process and who you are as a person. A good portfolio often tells a story about design and your relationship with it. Employers come across a variety of portfolios on a daily basis, how are you going to make yours unique?
