You should make sure you follow certain procedures when capturing or downloading images to avoid future problems, such as copyright laws. For example, you don't want to download and use an image that is copyrighted, such as a logo or character. This could potentially have a massive backlash if the owner finds out your using it. To avoid this make sure you have permission to use whatever your going to use and don't just take images freely.
Secondly you want to make sure the formatting is correct. There are tons of different file types and formatting but there are a lot which are considered industry standard. Most commonly used being JPEG, PNG and GIF formatted.
JPEG - The JPEG filename extension is in nearly every digital camera, as they can save images directly into JPEG format. JPEG supports 8 bits per colour (red, green, blue) for a 24bit total, being relatively small in size. JPEGs tent to suffer a loss in quality if they get edited and re-saved. JPEGS are also used as the image compression algorithm in many PDF files.
PNG - PNG was created with the intention of being the free, open source successor to the GIF. PNG supports truecolor which has 16 million different colours, where as the GIF only supports 256 colours. PNG looks best when the image has large, uniformly coloured areas. The PNG is best suited for editing pictures, where as JPEGs are better suited for final distribution of photographic images or high quality pictures.
GIF - Limited to only an 8-bit palette (256 colours) it makes the GIF best suited for storing graphics with relatively less colour such as shapes, logos, diagrams or cartoon style images. GIF supports animation and is best used in that line of work. It is widely used in the animation industry.
Staying organised is important, you should structure your folders so everything can be found easily. You want to make sure every folder branches out to the appropriate file locations. For example, inside your portfolio folder it would divide into folders such as pages, images and style sheets. Overtime you want to try and archive your older work for later use as you never know when you might need it again.
Backing up your images is vital, you never know when your computer might erase or break your hard drive. To make sure all your work stays safe you should back it up, there are a variety of different ways you can do this. You can have a hard copy such as a CD, DVD or floppy back up. Alternatively you can put it onto a USB memory stick to protect them. You can also upload it to dropbox which is an online storage website for on the go access.
Using alt tags plays a part in opening your images to a wider audience range. For example, if someone who is visually impaired is viewing your images, they will not be able to tell what it is. Therefore if there are alt tags on an image, which are a written description of what is in the image, their audible software would be able to read it out to them so they can understand what the image contains.
This can also work both ways, you do not want to put flashing or rapid moving images, if someone from your audience is epileptic you could potentially harm them. It is important to keep all of this in mind when creating or using an image as it could potentially harm your audience.
Thursday, 22 March 2012
Tuesday, 20 March 2012
Unit 35
Technically adjusting images serves many different purposes. Whether you want to improve the ratio, resolution, quality or even just colour you can easily do so using Photoshop. Its important to know how image editing works and what your projected outcome is with the image. There are two different colour modes; RGB and CMYK.
A lot of monitors, screens and computer screens tend to be RGB and is considered the standard. RGB stands for Red Green Blue and when mixed can make over 16 million different colour combinations. All the colours have a value of 255, which when adjusted, will change the colour slightly.
On the other hand you have CMYK, which is used mainly in large scale printing. It is made up of 4 colours; Cyan Magenta Yellow and Key (Black). When placed onto of each other help process together different colours. If you designed something using RGB, then it was printed onto CMYK, it would not look the same and colours would be different once printed.
If you find some of your pictures are blurry or pixelated, you may be using bad images, this is because they are bitmap. To avoid this make sure all the images you use are both copyright free and large scale. As you can decrease the size of an image and it will not loose effect, but in reverse, if you try to make a small image larger it will struggle to find the pixels and look pixelated.
There are images called Vector Images, which can be pulled apart, resized and edited without loosing quality over time. The pixels do not stretch in vector images therefore they can be resized without having to worry about quality loss. Ideally, all of your images would be vector, this is why a lot of designers use illustrator which is a vector based program, where as photoshop is not.
Image editing is important, you can give a photo or image more life by undergoing some minor changes to the picture. For example, you can increase/decrease contrast and brightness, this could make the image look better if there is bad lighting or shadows. You could also edit the colour mode, change some of the colours to make them stronger or more vibrant. Or you could just simply sharpen the image to make it more dense and clear.
If you would like a transparent image, for example, something you can lie on top of another image so they look layered. You would first have to remove the background, which can be done by using the lasso tool and going around the edges and removing the background. Alternatively you could just highly the background and remove it but this tends to have a jittery outline. Once cut out, all you have to do is save the image as a transparent friendly file type such as .GIF or .PNG then place it where you want it to go.
Make sure you do not violate copyright laws when using images. A lot of companies or businesses like to make sure their own images, are their own, and will not be reused. To do this they copyright their images and if you use them without their permission it could potentially violate copyright laws and may be taken to court. To avoid this, make sure you use copyright free images or source your own images, instead of others.
A lot of monitors, screens and computer screens tend to be RGB and is considered the standard. RGB stands for Red Green Blue and when mixed can make over 16 million different colour combinations. All the colours have a value of 255, which when adjusted, will change the colour slightly.
On the other hand you have CMYK, which is used mainly in large scale printing. It is made up of 4 colours; Cyan Magenta Yellow and Key (Black). When placed onto of each other help process together different colours. If you designed something using RGB, then it was printed onto CMYK, it would not look the same and colours would be different once printed.
If you find some of your pictures are blurry or pixelated, you may be using bad images, this is because they are bitmap. To avoid this make sure all the images you use are both copyright free and large scale. As you can decrease the size of an image and it will not loose effect, but in reverse, if you try to make a small image larger it will struggle to find the pixels and look pixelated.
There are images called Vector Images, which can be pulled apart, resized and edited without loosing quality over time. The pixels do not stretch in vector images therefore they can be resized without having to worry about quality loss. Ideally, all of your images would be vector, this is why a lot of designers use illustrator which is a vector based program, where as photoshop is not.
Image editing is important, you can give a photo or image more life by undergoing some minor changes to the picture. For example, you can increase/decrease contrast and brightness, this could make the image look better if there is bad lighting or shadows. You could also edit the colour mode, change some of the colours to make them stronger or more vibrant. Or you could just simply sharpen the image to make it more dense and clear.
If you would like a transparent image, for example, something you can lie on top of another image so they look layered. You would first have to remove the background, which can be done by using the lasso tool and going around the edges and removing the background. Alternatively you could just highly the background and remove it but this tends to have a jittery outline. Once cut out, all you have to do is save the image as a transparent friendly file type such as .GIF or .PNG then place it where you want it to go.
Make sure you do not violate copyright laws when using images. A lot of companies or businesses like to make sure their own images, are their own, and will not be reused. To do this they copyright their images and if you use them without their permission it could potentially violate copyright laws and may be taken to court. To avoid this, make sure you use copyright free images or source your own images, instead of others.
Friday, 16 March 2012
Unit 27
Computer animation plays a part in website creation, although most people won't want anything too complex its a good skill to know when it comes to web design. For example you could have a flash banner, image slideshow or even just a rollover effect button.
The main purpose of flash is to make the change from a still / static website and put a bit of life into it. This makes the website more user friendly and they are more likely to keep looking if they see something moving. The may make the difference on whether or not someone will stay on your website or just browse past it.
Animations are built up from frames, putting together still images which will be tweened together to make something move. You want the effect to look smooth therefore each still image would only have a minor change or difference, this would make the final look more realistic and smooth. You can increase/decrease the speed of an animation by changing the frames per second, which could help push the animation in place so it didn't look too fast or too slow.
The opinion on flash is ever changing and fast growing. The expectations have increased over the years and since technology is improving all the time - people expect more. Websites are becoming more and more interactive and flash-friendly. This means it plays a vital role in anyone wishing to peruse web design as it plays a part in the day to day work of a web designer.
The output file for flash depends on the purpose of the animation, but since i was using mine for my website i just exported it as a flash file. Therefore i could insert it on my website and use it there. If i needed to change it i could just go back into the original edit file and do so, then re save it and put it back onto the website.
The main purpose of flash is to make the change from a still / static website and put a bit of life into it. This makes the website more user friendly and they are more likely to keep looking if they see something moving. The may make the difference on whether or not someone will stay on your website or just browse past it.
Animations are built up from frames, putting together still images which will be tweened together to make something move. You want the effect to look smooth therefore each still image would only have a minor change or difference, this would make the final look more realistic and smooth. You can increase/decrease the speed of an animation by changing the frames per second, which could help push the animation in place so it didn't look too fast or too slow.
The opinion on flash is ever changing and fast growing. The expectations have increased over the years and since technology is improving all the time - people expect more. Websites are becoming more and more interactive and flash-friendly. This means it plays a vital role in anyone wishing to peruse web design as it plays a part in the day to day work of a web designer.
The output file for flash depends on the purpose of the animation, but since i was using mine for my website i just exported it as a flash file. Therefore i could insert it on my website and use it there. If i needed to change it i could just go back into the original edit file and do so, then re save it and put it back onto the website.
Unit 25
Constraints depend on the audience, depending on who your projected target audience are. For example if your making a website that is targeted towards girls, it would be more girl friendly and girly coloured. Where as if you were making a professional website for a business it would be more modern and smart. You need to have the ability to design appropriate to the audience.
Content Management Systems (CMS) are a method of managing a website in a more user friendly manner instead of going back into the coding or design phase and redoing it. You would normally intricate a CMS into a website once it is finished, so people with less experience in web design can update it themselves in a user friendly manner.
Consistency is vital to a website success, for example you don't want to go from page to page and experience a completely different web page, as it would get confusing. People need to know they are on the same website. Structuring your webpages with templates would best suit consistency. You would design a template which has a certain layout which would be the same on every page, just the content would change from page to page such as text, images or even video.
Content Management Systems (CMS) are a method of managing a website in a more user friendly manner instead of going back into the coding or design phase and redoing it. You would normally intricate a CMS into a website once it is finished, so people with less experience in web design can update it themselves in a user friendly manner.
Consistency is vital to a website success, for example you don't want to go from page to page and experience a completely different web page, as it would get confusing. People need to know they are on the same website. Structuring your webpages with templates would best suit consistency. You would design a template which has a certain layout which would be the same on every page, just the content would change from page to page such as text, images or even video.
Thursday, 15 March 2012
Unit 24
It is important to keep track of costs and finances. Therefore it is recommended as a freelance designer you keep on top of all your finances. Therefore i have made a spreadsheet which would help me keep track of all expenses.
Luckily i wont need to pay out much in order to freelance. As i already have the hardware and software and wont be doing any printing. Therefore i dont have to worry about it too much and can just freelance without having to worry about it too much, but it is important to maintain finances.
Design crowd is a great medium for finding freelancing jobs and creating a portfolio of work to present. It has a large collection of jobs and you can approach jobs you would feel comfortable doing. For example;
I decided to go for this as it did not have many quotes, making it more likely they would choose me. It was also a T-Shirt design which i quite enjoy doing and is quite a quick and simple creative process. I submitted a quote of $40 which i think is a decent rate. As i would like to spend a couple of hours on the design (2-3 hours) that puts me at $15-$20 per hour which is good.
It is important to identify people in the Graphic Design industry who can help you succeed. A lot of times it is not about how good you are, but who you know. Having good contacts within the industry can open up opportunities and keep you in the know. This leads on to maintaining a working business relationship with them so you can further develop yourself and your company.
Keep yourself involved and up to date is also very important. In this day and age, new technologies are being developed all the time and it is important to keep on top of them. For example if there are new design softwares being released, you would like to know as much as you can about them as they could be the new medium for design.
Enhancing your professional reputation is always a good source to promoting yourself. The more people who know about your business and have good things to say about it, the more work you will pull in. You can maintain a good reputation by being fair, polite and work to a good standard. This can have a rollover effect where people tell their friends, who could be potential customers.
Staying in the public eye is a great way to get more recognition. Although a lot of people use flyers, banners or small ads to promote themselves, I think the best way to promote yourself is through social networks. As a lot of people use social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr you have a huge platform to promote yourself on, knowing people will see it.
Being able to bring in work is important to any business, if theres no work then theres no money, which will ultimately be the downfall to your business. You have to know platforms which you can generate work when you need it. A lot of people may come to you to have something designed but as a graphic designer you also need to go find work for yourself.
You can do this by identifying potential work, look at businesses that need help or support and contact them. Sell yourself and tell them what you can offer them. This helps build not only a name for yourself but a list of contacts.
You always want to be in a work stage where you take in some constructive criticism, for example, although you may love the work you have designed for someone, they may not. The creative industry relies a lot on personal preference and it is important to make sure people are pleased with your work.
To avoid any problems, you would normally have a few stages when it comes to designing something for a client. You would first throw up different designs and see what the client prefers and how they like it laid out, take feedback and work from there. Constantly checking back and fourth what the client wants, so it can be designed to their needs or intention.
Set yourself objectives and goals, for example, how many jobs you would like to do in a month. Where you would like to be in a year, or even five years. This helps base a rate on your time and how much your going to charge, per hour, for your services. For example if you spend 4 - 5 hours designing logos for a company, you want to make sure your paid the right amount for your hours spent.
Try to remain sensible when it comes to your time spent designing. Treat it like a normal full time job, don't spend too much time designing. Make sure you have work to do and plan ahead so you can go from design job to design job. It is also important to make sure you spend antiquate time per job. You don't want to spend all day doing a logo which would normally take you 2 - 3 hours.
Plan ahead, in an ideal situation, you would have enough jobs to cover you for the next 2 weeks. Taking in new jobs as they arise and putting them on the to do list. This would ensure a constant work flow and mean you had less down time. You could go from job to job whilst taking new jobs in. Make sure you have a constant stream of work and cash flow.
When dealing with contract based work make sure all criteria is met to avoid problems in the future. Meet all the legal and industry requirements and work to meet all the criteria. Contract work is always a good cash flow as you know you have work guaranteed when work flow is slow.
Unit 7
There are a variety of different sectors of the creative industry. These sectors include Advertising, Architecture, Arts and Antique, Crafts, Design, Fashion, Film, Video, Photography, Software and Computer Games, Music, Publishing and Television.
In the creative industry, there is something called the project life cycle. This refers to a logical sequence that takes place in the process of a project in order to complete its goals or objectives. For example, you would not start a project before first wanting to know how you would complete it. Therefore the process is split up into 4 different phases.
1) Founding Initiation - In the first stage, the project is defined. Working out which approach to take and how to deliver the desired outputs. The project manager is appointed and in turn he chooses the team members based on their skills and abilities.
2) Planning - Secondly, the team outlines and plans the assignment of each task. This means people determine exactly what will be carried out, how long it will take and who will do it. This lets the team have a greater understanding of how it will pan out and know how to develop their role.
3) Execution and controlling - The most important stage, which is making sure everyone acts out their role and everything is executed to a good standard. During the execution phase the planning solution is implemented to solve the problem specific in the project requirements. The final product is the end result and everyone works towards it.
4) Closure - The final stage where the project manager makes sure all the criteria has been met and the product or final result is complete.
Brainstorming plays a massive role in completing the final product. It helps the creators mind plan out how the project will unfold and what is good/bad. Brainstorming is best done in doodles, spider diagrams or even just writing down thoughts.
In the creative industry, there is something called the project life cycle. This refers to a logical sequence that takes place in the process of a project in order to complete its goals or objectives. For example, you would not start a project before first wanting to know how you would complete it. Therefore the process is split up into 4 different phases.
1) Founding Initiation - In the first stage, the project is defined. Working out which approach to take and how to deliver the desired outputs. The project manager is appointed and in turn he chooses the team members based on their skills and abilities.
2) Planning - Secondly, the team outlines and plans the assignment of each task. This means people determine exactly what will be carried out, how long it will take and who will do it. This lets the team have a greater understanding of how it will pan out and know how to develop their role.
3) Execution and controlling - The most important stage, which is making sure everyone acts out their role and everything is executed to a good standard. During the execution phase the planning solution is implemented to solve the problem specific in the project requirements. The final product is the end result and everyone works towards it.
4) Closure - The final stage where the project manager makes sure all the criteria has been met and the product or final result is complete.
Brainstorming plays a massive role in completing the final product. It helps the creators mind plan out how the project will unfold and what is good/bad. Brainstorming is best done in doodles, spider diagrams or even just writing down thoughts.
Unit 6
Although some may think an office is a safe work environment, it is important to make sure all risks are took into precaution and how to avoid hurting yourself.
Sharp Object/Glass - This can cause cuts or punctures to the skin, body or eyes. Make sure sharp objects are not sticking out anywhere or can cause harm. If you break glass or smash something make sure to clean it up and notify somebody about it.
Slipping - if a liquid substance has been spilled or dropped it can be dangerous if not cleaned up. Somebody could slip and hurt themselves. Therefore it is vital to make sure you clean it up and let somebody know you spilt something.
Trip Hazards - If there is a loose wire or flooring board people could trip up and hurt themselves. To avoid injury all wires should be tucked in and out of the way. Also make sure there are no other tripping hazards to avoid people hurting themselves, such as bags.
Faulty Equipment - If equipment is faulty, such as the chairs or the computers. Somebody could hurt themselves by either falling of the chairs or hurting themselves on the computer.
It is your job to make sure you look after yourself. As an employee you should know exactly what to do to keep yourself safe. This means that precautions must be took. For example, if there is a fire alarm you should know exactly where to go and what to do.
A lot of people bring their own drinks to work. When working around computers it is vital to make sure that people keep their drinks away from computers as they could spill. This would not only damaged the equipment but could cause harm to anyone close. If there is an open socket for example the liquid could leak in.
Risk assessments should be in place, this helps people identify hazards before they happen. If everybody knows the risk then everybody can avoid it. A risk assessment is just a list of hazard and risks and how to handle them if they occur.
If there is an accident, it should be immediately reported to a key member of staff, such as your boss. Once notified they can make sure it is still safe for other people. Often, people would have a book where all the accidents would be reported too.
Sharp Object/Glass - This can cause cuts or punctures to the skin, body or eyes. Make sure sharp objects are not sticking out anywhere or can cause harm. If you break glass or smash something make sure to clean it up and notify somebody about it.
Slipping - if a liquid substance has been spilled or dropped it can be dangerous if not cleaned up. Somebody could slip and hurt themselves. Therefore it is vital to make sure you clean it up and let somebody know you spilt something.
Trip Hazards - If there is a loose wire or flooring board people could trip up and hurt themselves. To avoid injury all wires should be tucked in and out of the way. Also make sure there are no other tripping hazards to avoid people hurting themselves, such as bags.
Faulty Equipment - If equipment is faulty, such as the chairs or the computers. Somebody could hurt themselves by either falling of the chairs or hurting themselves on the computer.
It is your job to make sure you look after yourself. As an employee you should know exactly what to do to keep yourself safe. This means that precautions must be took. For example, if there is a fire alarm you should know exactly where to go and what to do.
A lot of people bring their own drinks to work. When working around computers it is vital to make sure that people keep their drinks away from computers as they could spill. This would not only damaged the equipment but could cause harm to anyone close. If there is an open socket for example the liquid could leak in.
Risk assessments should be in place, this helps people identify hazards before they happen. If everybody knows the risk then everybody can avoid it. A risk assessment is just a list of hazard and risks and how to handle them if they occur.
If there is an accident, it should be immediately reported to a key member of staff, such as your boss. Once notified they can make sure it is still safe for other people. Often, people would have a book where all the accidents would be reported too.
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