Businesses are slowly moving away from brick and mortar stores to more robust solutions, such as online stores.

One of the main reasons of this is because they are easier to run and also have the potential of doing business globally.

Etsy is one solution and gives people the ability to run online stores at the comfort of their living rooms.

But even for the online stores, the basic concepts of branding and marketing remains.

If you want to attract more clients to come to your online stores, you have to stand out from the crowd with effective branding strategies.

Below are the various tips and tricks you can employ to design a logo for your Etsy store and bring you all the benefits you need.

Simplicity rules

A glance at the world’s leading eCommerce store will be a clear testament to the fact that simple logos work well for online stores.

Amazon’s logo is nicely designed and it has been a major driving force behind the company’s branding success.

Etsy store owners can be pick few tips from this logo and implement them in their designs.

For instance, the logo is largely text-based and it is clearly formatted and well organized.

If such a design is adopted, the logo will be memorable to the current store users and potential customers will also notice it quite easily.

Optimize for mobile

It is no longer a convenience but rather a necessity for online stores to be mobile friendly so that mobile users can also have a chance to access the stores online.

It will interest you to know that the number of mobile users has grown so immensely, thus making mobile traffic a major source for most of the eCommerce stores.

In regards to logo design for Etsy stores, the logo should have the versatility to render in mobile devices as well, so that mobile users don’t miss a chance to recognize the store simply because the logo is not mobile friendly.

But the logo shouldn’t be just optimized for mobile alone.

The versatility should also be depicted when you need to scale it up or down.

For instance, you may be interested in creating various marketing materials such as posters, flyers, business cards, email signatures etc.

In putting the logo in such materials, it is imperative for it to maintain its legibility and not lose any of its qualities.

Use images or tagline to reveal your unique selling points

To run a successful Etsy store or any other eCommerce store, it is imperative to distinguish yourself from the competition by providing a truly unique selling point.

Since there are several stores competing for the same audiences in the internet, your logo should inform your target audience of the kind of value they will get when they purchase from your store.

The best way to do this is to use images or your tagline to reveal your unique selling points to the target audiences.

Because the potential customers may not have time to go through your website in detail, by revealing your USP in the logo, they will feel compelled to check out your store.

Consider horizontal designs

When designing a logo for your Etsy store, it may be tempting to keep the design to just one corner of the website, usually the top left corner.

Whereas this is the norm and almost every store is doing it that way, to attract more attention, you should consider using as much as possible the horizontal length of the web page.

If you minimize the vertical space and instead stretch the text and the graphics of the logo to cover the horizontal plane, the logo will be easily recognizable, thus contributing to the branding efforts of your Etsy store.

Additionally, such an alignment will give you the chance to showcase more of your products on the store.

Use images properly

Finally, you should make good use of the images.

From well performing online stores like Amazon, it is not possible to think about the logo without the upward pointing arrow coming to mind.

Again, such logos use art minimally, hence it is important to use images that are unquestionably related to the kinds of goods you are selling on your Etsy store.

Look for a clean and a minimalist image that is simple enough and will have the ability to stick in the minds of your customers or potential clients who visit the website.

These tips, if used religiously, will enable you to create an outstanding logo for your Etsy store.

Remember, the competition among fellow Etsy stores is very high and you need to do everything necessary to stand out.

One of these ways is to have a nicely designed, unique, and original logo.

Use these color tools with your logo!

The post Etsy Logo Design appeared first on LogoMaven | Easy Logo Design Software & Logo Maker.

For your brand to stand out amongst the millions in the site, it is imperative to provide real value to the followers and give them a reason to believe that you have a solution to their needs. Additionally, your branding must be spot on and this calls for the creation of a well suited logo to distinguish your brand from the rest. It should be noted, however, that when creating a logo for the social media such as Instagram, there are a few subtle aspects you need to have in mind to make the logo more effective. Presented here are cool tips one can use to create logos designed to be used in the social media, and especially in Instagram.

Consider the aspect ratio

Most of the marketing gurus will bring to your attention that your logos ought to be proportionate, in the sense that they should not be too wide or too short. If the logo is meant to be used in the social media such as Instagram, then there is another reason why the height and the width of the logo need to be in harmony.

Most of the social media websites, including Instagram, will display your logo or icons in a square or circular shape as is usually seen in profile displays in Facebook and Instagram respectively. In as much as your logo doesn’t have to be a perfect square or circle, it should have an aspect ratio that will enable it to display just perfectly well when should placed for display in the social media profiles.

Detach text from graphics

Since it is not possible to foresee all the applications of your logos in the future, it is highly encouraged you be versatile with the design, especially if you ever think that the logo will be used in the social media websites such as Instagram. You may be faced with a situation where you will be compelled to rearrange or use certain section of your logo if it doesn’t fit properly in certain shapes or sizes. If, perhaps, you needed to have very small icons, then it may be possible to include the entire logo. Due to this, most companies have adopted the use graphical elements or a single letter for their logos in the social media. It implies that if your graphics and texts are intertwined in the logo, then it may not be possible for you to separate the elements and use the logo in Instagram without confusing your followers. Therefore, consider detaching text from graphics when you are designing a logo for use in Instagram or any other social media platform.

Remember to keep it simple

Gone are the days when the quality of a logo would be determined by the total number of graphical elements and colors it had. Presently, minimalism and simplicity rules in the world of logo design. When designing your logo for use in Instagram or any other social media platform for that matter, avoid using too many words, thin lines, and very detailed graphical elements in the design. If the logo becomes too detailed, it will not just appear confusing to many people, but also resizing it may be difficult and this may work against your brand. Again, avoid using all the colors of the rainbow in the logo hoping that you will make it more beautiful and more conspicuous. This will create unnecessary noise and may not deliver you very good results in the social media, where there is already a lot of distractions from the followers.

Be consistent

In as much as you are creating the logo to be used in Instagram, it should be consistent with the logo being used in other social media sites. Through consistency, people will see the same image in the different platforms and this will work strongly for your social media branding needs. If you are keen, you will notice that most of the successful brands have a simplified variation of their designs being used across all their social media outlets. Without consistency, you will miss an opportunity to connect with your audiences throughout the social channels and in the process miss an incredible opportunity to achieve effective social media branding.

Learn how to build a social media strategy here!

The post How To Create Instagram Logos appeared first on LogoMaven | Easy Logo Design Software & Logo Maker.

The creation of this visual representation of a brand goes beyond just possessing graphic design skills. Presented below are certain essential rules which should be applied in the design of logo meant for the web or print. If followed correctly, the result will be a stunning logo with the ability to spearhead the success of the company’s branding efforts.

You must do preliminary work

The first step towards designing an effective logo is to do a thorough preliminary work. It is out of the preliminary sketches where you will get the initial design sketches and move forward with the rest of the process. For the preliminary work, you can simply use paper and pen drawings or you can make drafts using a vector program such as Adobe Illustrator.

It is recommended you create between twenty and thirty sketches or ideas to give you variations to use for the final logo. This process may sound a bit difficult, but it is a very fundamental one and skipping it might end up compromising your final results. Remember, that the more time a graphics designer spends on the preliminary sketches, the higher the chances of coming up with a great design.

Always create balance

The next essential rule in designing a logo for both web and print is to ensure balance in the design. The importance of having balance in the design is because the human mind has a way of equation balance to nice visual appeal. It implies that without a good balance in the design, the logo won’t appear as beautiful as it would have appeared with the right balance.

In this regard, therefore, you should keep the weight of the fonts, colors, sizes and graphics equal on each side. In certain occasions, you may be allowed to break the rule on balance, but just have in mind that the logo will be seen by multitudes, and not just those who have a keen eye for design, therefore, you will be safer by creating a balanced logo.

Never ignore the sizes

The next important rule for creating logos for web and print is the rule on size. This matters so much because all the components must look good and readable in all sizes. A logo ceases to be effective if it loses its definition when scaled down to fit into letterheads or small promotional items. It is important for the logo to appear the same whether displayed on a billboard, a television ad, and email signature or on the website. The best way to test if the logo is of the right size it test manually to see its behaviour on different mediums.

Wise use of colors

The color theory may sound complex, but to a designer keen on creating killer logos for web and print, there is no other way but to understand the theory and be proficient in its application. The basic rule when it comes to using color in logo design is as follows-:

• Use colors that are near each other on the color wheel
• Avoid very bright colors which may make the eyes strain while looking at them
• The logo must also look good in black and white or grayscale or in just two colors
• You are free to break the rules, but you must have a good reason for that.

It also pays to understand how different colors evoke various emotions or feelings. For instance, the color red might evoke feelings of love, passion, aggression, and strength while white on the other hand might evoke feelings of cleanliness, purity or simplicity.

Adopt a design style that suits the company

There are various design styles at the disposal of every graphics designer. When working on other graphics, any other style which suits the needs of the designer can be preferred. However, when working on logos, whether for the web or for print, the style adopted must be in tandem with the needs of the company. To get the style right, it is recommended to do a background check about the company so that you have a good understanding their operation and the nature of the businesses they do. You should also do a research about the target audience of the company then identify the best style that will give greater results. Preferably, you should identify the right style when working on the preliminary sketches.

Learn how to create a consultancy logo here!

The post Essential Logo Design Tips to Follow for Web and Print appeared first on LogoMaven | Easy Logo Design Software & Logo Maker.

PNG: Portable Network Graphics

This is one of the most common graphic design formats you will ever come across. Files in this format will have the extension .png and it is majorly used when dealing with photos. Its use is also rampant when working on projects destined for websites and other online uses because of its low resolution. The files in PNG format are mostly bitmap images which use lossless data compression. It is also important to point out the fact that files in this format can have a transparent background.

TIF: Tagged Image File Format

Tagged Image Format is used for the storage of images, art or photography. Files in this format are predominantly used in commercial printing or professional environments. The TIFF graphics design format also happens to be the most widely supported format across most of the platforms. If you want high quality images, then this is the format you will have to work with. Though it is considered as large in size, it offers superior reliability when dealing with high quality images compared to the other formats you will ever come across.

GIF: Graphics Interchange Format

GIF is another common graphic design format you have probably come across multiple times. GIF formats are known to have low resolutions and are majorly used for website and email purposes. Almost all browsers support this format, and it employs the use of compression scheme to keep all the files small. Just like the PNG files, GIF files can also be created with transparent backgrounds.

JPEG: Joint Photographic Experts Group

You have probably heard of the JPEG graphics design format and maybe used it for a couple of times. JPEG refers to a compressed image file which offers no support for transparent backgrounds. The levels of compression in such files, however, vary with regards to resolution, and also depending on the quality of the printing. Repeated compression will compromise the final quality of JPEG files.

PSD: Photoshop Document

PSD graphics design format is probably known to every graphic designer, especially those who use Photoshop in their designs. This format is usually a raster format, and it is found in graphics and photos created using the Adobe Photoshop image editing software. It is commonly used by designers and printers and files in this format can only be opened using the software program. It is also worth noting that files in PSD file format can be created in separate and distinct layers thus making it one of the most robust graphic design formats available for the designers.

AI: Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Illustrator is a common graphics design tool used by millions of designers across the globe. The AI graphics design format comprises of vector files that designers and commercial printers can use to produce files in other different file formats as well as sizes. Just like the PSD files, AI files can only be opened using Adobe Illustrator, and they also allow for the creation of files in layers. It is the AI graphics file format that is most preferred by promotional product companies, printers, sign and banner companies as well as other third-party creatives.

PDF: Portable Document Format

PDF is considered a universal graphics design format that embeds and preserver the fonts, layout, graphics and images for all source documents irrespective of the application that was used in creating them. It is thus possible to share and view these files as well as print them with any free Adobe Reader software program. Some of the files in this format are also suitable for use in digital, commercial or desktop printing.

EPS: Encapsulated Post Script

The EPS graphics design format is mostly used in the transfer of artwork or images by designers, from vector files into other applications. EPS files can be scaled to any size and can also be opened with various applications such as Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop or Freehand. EPS graphic design format is another preferred format by printers, sign and banner companies, silk screeners and other third-party creatives due to its versatility when it comes to printing.

These are some of the common graphics design formats which will give you the flexibility when working with various files meant for various applications.

Learn about the basics of branding for designers here!

The post Common Graphic Design Formats Every Designer Should Know appeared first on LogoMaven | Easy Logo Design Software & Logo Maker.

It is also disgusting to see some half-baked designers overprice their services. Yet, they don’t have the competency to give quality work. As a professional designer, it pays to understand the dynamics of pricing design works so that you are adequately remunerated for your skills and expertise.

Pricing design work features two components: Costing and then the actual price that you will charge your customers. On costing, you will have to consider all the financial facts such as the actual costs you incur in completing the design project.

Pricing, on the other hand, is more of an art than a science. You may have to play around with the figures before you finally settle on one that works best for your services. Presented here are some of the strategies you can employ when pricing design work-:

The Cost Price

As mentioned earlier, the cost price refers to the expenses you incur to produce the work, and this is the foundation of your business. You need to identify the “break-even” point where your expenses will equal your income.

Once you identify this point, you can mark up the price with a couple of dollars so that when pricing your design work, you don’t end up making losses. If everything goes wrong, you should never price your design work below the breakeven point. It won’t make any sense, and you will only be making losses.

The Market Rate

The other method of pricing design work is to use the market rate or the going rate. This is simply by evaluating what you competitors are asking for when offering the same services as you. Using the market rate in pricing design work is very common if you are in a competitive market with lots of designers competing for the same number of clients.

Sometimes you may be compelled to go slightly below the market rate to attract clients, especially if you are a new designer, and you need to build your portfolio and start getting the initial clients. This method of pricing design work will be common if you decide to offer you services as a freelancer in the freelancing marketplaces.

Value-Based Pricing

Value-based pricing is another approach you may want to consider when pricing design work. With this approach, you price you design work based on the value that it will add to your clients. When you use this method to price your design work, you won’t just give a quote for any design work that comes your way. Instead, you will set up a meeting with the clients and find out the particular things they are looking for. This includes the design, the challenges they are currently facing, and how you services are going to improve their operations as a business.

After evaluating these and many other factors, you will present the client with a proposal that will create high value for your business. Since you will be providing them with a high-value solution, you can then go ahead and quote more for your design services.

Credibility Building Price

There are certain occasions when you may want to work with some high profile clients with limited budgets. In such a situation, pricing your design work may not be guided by your need to make a profit. Instead, by a desire to build good credibility with such clients for a future working relationship.

You can decide to work for a slightly lower fee. This way can you build trust with them and make them have you as the go-to designer in case they will need your services in the future. You must, however, refrain from working for such clients for free unless you have decided to volunteer your services. If you work for them for free, there are no guarantees that they will pay for your services in the future.

Discounted Pricing

Discounted pricing is very rampant in the creative industry. When pricing design work using the discounted pricing method, all you are doing is offering discounts so that your prices are slightly lower that what the rest are offering in the market. This is especially important during low seasons when designs works are hard to come by. With your discounted rates, you will be in a position to attract a few of the customers available at that moment.

Retainer Pricing

Pricing design work can also be done on a retainer basis. This refers to a recurring fee that is charged for standardized work. Pricing design work on retainer basis is useful if you are working with large clients who supply you with regular work and you don’t need to have a confirmation for each and every project you do. It leads to a steady supply of work and income, only that it can stop at any time if you didn’t sign any binding contract in the beginning.

Keep your pricing in mind looking at the world’s most expensive logos!

The post How to Price Design Services: Pricing Design Work appeared first on LogoMaven | Easy Logo Design Software & Logo Maker.

The attention you give to elements like color, shape, typography, symbols, space and texture should be the same attention you give to scale.

Without checking on the scale as you design, you stand to compromise the entire work since it will have a direct impact on the final output.

As a matter of fact, scale will dictate the position and the spacing of every element of your design.

It guides and forms the visual coherence needed to emphasize on the aspects of design.

Therefore, ignoring scale in design is as well as not having any design.

It will not just be a betrayal of your professionalism.

But, also it is the fastest way to drive away clients due to less proportionate designs that will be of no use to them.

Graphic Design Scale creates relativity in graphic design

One of the considerations in graphics design is the relativity in sizes of the objects included in the design.

Relativity this aspect refers to how small or how big an element is when compared to other elements in the same design.

By using the right scale, designers have the ability to influence the relativity by making objects appear smaller or bigger when compared to others.

As a result, scale in design makes it possible to create a pecking order of the design elements.

Also, it gives a clear pictorial representation of the bigger elements which needs more attention to the smaller ones which might not need to a lot of attention.

When scaling is used in this manner, it allows for the creation of depth of field which makes the object seem either close or far away from one another.

Scale helps in creating motion effects in graphic design

With the current advancements in graphics design, there are powerful design tools such as LogoMaven, that make it possible to achieve a wide variety of effects in the design.

This is especially true when it comes to web designs where designers can use several technologies to create motion effects, including the use of animations.

But for print designs or designs that are not meant for the internet, applying such options may not be an easy task.

However, it is still possible to create motion effects through the proper application of scale in design.

To create motion effects in design using scales, all you have to do is alter the sizes of the various objects in the design then rotate them.

In this way, the objects will appear to be in a circular motion thus making the design look more dynamic.

Additionally, such dynamism can be added by varying the linear composition of elements used in the design.

Enhance variation in graphic design

There is one beautiful thing about graphic design and design, in general.

It is that you have the liberty to experiment with various elements to see their effects on the final output.

In the same manner, the use of scale in design gives designers the flexibility to try out elements of different sizes and to create a rich variation in the designs.

With such versatility, designers can use the Graphic Design Scale to apply unexpected sizes to certain elements in the design.

Designers can have a fun way of mixing up various aspects of the design.

For instance, scale in design can be used to enlarge a small object so as to make it conspicuous and change the entire looks and feel of the design.

Get some tips and tricks about graphic design here

Creating hierarchy in graphic design scale

Without the use of scale in design, it will never be possible to create any sense of hierarchy in graphics design.

You can use scale in design to give emphasis on the most important to the least important items in the design.

In addition to this, you can also use scale in design to create typographical hierarchy in your design projects.

This will help the people who read the design to know and understand the order in which they are to read the text.

It is possible that you could achieve the same through the use of colors.

But scale is a perfect choice in this case because it gives relativity in the sizes and thus acts as a better guide for the viewer’s eyes as compared to colors.

Scale to emphasize the message

When designers want to emphasize in the message of their design, they normally like to use a conspicuous color.

These colors will draw attention and make people read the message.

But the other way to get such attention in the designs is simply to make the message bigger than every other element on the page.

There is no better way to make things bigger other than using scale in design.

The good thing about using scale in design in this manner is that you won’t have to worry about changing other components such as color and typography.

Check out the best places to find new design clients here!

The post Why Scale Is So Important In Graphic Design appeared first on LogoMaven | Easy Logo Design Software & Logo Maker.

Where to get WordPress

WordPress is free and available for free download from the official website of WordPress – www.wordpress.org. Certainly, there are other third party websites and sources where you can still download WordPress for free, but the best source remains the official website of the developers.

WordPress Hosting

For you to have a live WordPress website on the internet, you must have a hosting account. Currently, there are two primary options which you use to host your WordPress website. The first option is the free method where you let WordPress host the website on your behalf. In this case, your website will appear as a sub-domain within the root of the official WordPress URL. This can be a good choice when you are just starting out with WordPress, and you don’t intend to do serious stuff like e-commerce with the site. It is ideal if you are new to the CMS and you want a great way to learn more and practice with the software.

The second option is to self-host the WordPress website. With this option, you will have to purchase a hosting package from of the numerous providers and use it to host your website. This method allows you more flexibility than you would ever have if the site were hosted by WordPress. You will have the pleasure to run the site on your domain, and you will have the ability to use premium themes and plugins without any problems.

Installing WordPress

Once you have downloaded WordPress and secured a hosting account, either free or you have purchased a package of the hosting company, you have to install it before you can start to upload various content to it. The installation process can also be done in two different ways. The first is the manual way, in which you will have to create the database on the hosting account then upload WordPress to that account manually through ftp or other similar methods. This is quite advanced and may not be recommended for beginners.

The second method is the automatic installation done directly from your hosting account. Most of the hosting companies will provide WordPress installation scripts which offer one-click installation of the software. The installation scripts do everything for you and all you to click and follow the instructions.

WordPress Themes

WordPress themes are responsible for the aesthetic appearance of the WordPress websites. With just a simple click, you can overhaul the entire appearance of the website and give it more professional looks. It is because of the existence of thousands of WordPress themes that  anyone can have the ability to make dazzling websites without any knowledge or advanced web design skills.

WordPress themes also exist in two categories. There are the free themes and the premium themes. The free themes are available for free download, but you may find that they have limited capabilities with regards to robustness. Premium themes, on the other hand, are available for purchase. They come with extensive functionalities that make it possible to have any kind of website you want. The prices of the free theme range, with the most advanced ones costing a little higher than the rest.

WordPress Plugins

Whereas themes affect the aesthetics of WordPress sites, plugins affect the effectiveness and the functionalities of the WordPress websites. With the use of plugins, WordPress is turbo-charged to perform more advanced tasks that would not have been possible with the basic WordPress installation. Just like with the themes, there are thousands upon thousands of WordPress plugins, some available for free while other available for purchase.

WordPress security

WordPress is an open source application. By being open source, it means that its source code is accessible to the public to investigate and modify if necessary to make it suit their needs. As such, there is a vibrant community of WordPress developers trying their best to ensure that the CMS offers the best performance.

However, by being open source, even hackers and other people with malicious intents have access to the code and are always trying means and ways of hacking into the sites to cause havoc. The CMS is fairly secure but, there are instances when hackers managed to hack some of the websites. The best way to avert these kinds of dangers is to use the recent version of WordPress, make regular backups of the websites and install relevant plugins for additional security.

Here is how to protect your designs! 

The post Beginners Guide to WordPress Site Design appeared first on LogoMaven | Easy Logo Design Software & Logo Maker.

The best they can do is to wait for other people to come up with designs then they steal concepts or simply become copycats. Such individuals are an accident in this noble profession, and you need to protect your designs from them through all possible means. Discussed below are various ways you can employ to ensure that all your designs are protected from the copycats in the world-:

Watermark

Watermarking is the first and the most basic method you can use to protect your design from the copycats. Suppose you are working on a design project, and you need to present to your client some design inspirations, all you have to do to protect the design so that no one else can copy it is to simply watermark it.

Additionally, you can watermark the various designs you showcase in your portfolio online. Remember, with the world of internet, a simple Google search can make your designs vulnerable hence uploading onto your portfolio without any watermarks will make it a breeze for the copycats to take it away.

Small Size Design

There are unscrupulous clients who will try to get your design service for free or very cheaply. What these people do is request you to make for them design samples, and if you fail to watermark the samples, they will simply take them and trace them before sending them off to cheap designers in the freelance sites. The cheap designers will thus use your inspiration and concept to continue with the design.

This can be a very tricky situation, and you can only hope that you don’t land such clients. The best to protect your design in such a case is to send very small design samples that the client can’t copy and pass on to another designer.

Always stick to quality designs

Most of the designs which are easily copied are the ones of poor quality or those that have been presented in a reckless manner. If you can make unique and quality designs, sometimes it can be very hard for the copycats to steal it. This is because though they will see the entire design on the internet, they will not know how to make a similar one since most of them are less skilled, anyway. Therefore, strive as much as possible to create quality and distinct designs to give the copycats a run for their time and skills.

Only share your designs after selling them

Another way to protect your design is to avoid sharing them with others, either offline or online before you finally sell them or pass the rights to the client. You can wait until you have sold the designs before sharing them and indicating clearly while sharing that the design is already sold to another person. In this manner, the world gets to know about your designs after they have already been sold, and this makes them less prone to theft by the copycats.

Be careful with the sites you use

There has been a proliferation of websites where people share their designs and other kinds of inspirations. But these sites have become the favorite abodes for a lot of copycats in the world. They go to these sites to check if they can find something to copy or to steal. However, not all such sites are that vulnerable.

There are a few genuine ones who take adequate measure to ensure that user’s works are not copied or downloaded in any way. To protect your design when using such sites, therefore, it is imperative that you be selective and use only the legit ones. Check out their ratings and read their privacy policy to see if you designs will be safe should you decide to use the website. If you feel you will be vulnerable, and you won’t protect your design in the right manner, simply avoid such sites.

Get Copyrights

Getting trademarks or copyrights is another sure way to ensure that you protect your design from thieves and potential copycats. If you do this, you will have an option for legal redress should you discover that somebody somewhere is using your designs without your permission. The process of getting a trademark or copyrights for your design work may be long and tedious, but if you have a design you think is worth protecting at all costs, and then this would be the method.

Learn top lessons that you should take from the big brands in this article!

The post How to Protect Your Design from Copycats appeared first on LogoMaven | Easy Logo Design Software & Logo Maker.

This is because your graphics design resume is the first thing the potential employer will look at before asking you anything. If they don’t feel impressed by the presentation of your resume, they may not invite you for an interview to give you a chance prove yourself and your skills in design. Therefore, be very vigilant when working on your resume to increase your chances of being hired. Here are a few tips to help you polish up your graphic design resume-:

Use the correct verb when writing about your skills

It is recommended that you use action verbs rather than using personal pronoun, “I” when writing about your skills in your graphic design resume. Preferably, you should use active verbs and tenses when making reference to your skills, duties and accomplishments.

Short but to the point bullet points

If you use bullet points in the graphic design resume, they should be short and precise. There is always a temptation to use lofty and redundant language hoping to fill up space so that your resume looks packed. Unfortunately, this will work against you. Those who will be going through your resume will have dozens others to go through and if they are unable to find what they are looking for in yours, it will find its way into the recycle bin faster than you can spell your mother’s maiden name. Therefore, ensure that the bullet points are used clearly and concisely as it will also show your ability to communicate effectively.

Format your graphic design resume chronologically

Some people seeking graphic design jobs are fond of stating their experience by grouping them or listing them according the job functions. This is ill advised since managers would like to see a progression on your development from the time you started out as a graphic designer to the present.  The best method would be to format your graphic design resume in a reverse chronological order, starting with your most recent jobs as you work backwards to your earlier assignments.

Customize your resume for each application

Have something like a template graphic design resume upon which you will tailor each resume according to the specific applications you will be making. This is so that you find it easy to give highlights to the particular qualifications that are directly related to the positions you are applying for. Sometimes, this might mean that you will have to reorder the bullet points or you do away with certain skills which might not be very relevant to position you are applying for.

Additionally, it is advisable that you mention the specific terms you find in the job description and for which you are making application. These might include terms like “project manager, lead graphic designer etc”. The reason for doing so is because with the current digital age, there are some companies who will scan applications for such keywords and if you used them, you shall have increased visibility to your graphic design resume.

Send resume by mail

Most applicants have been crippled by the digital age such that they can only send their graphic design resumes to recruiters via online only. The applicants who send such applications by mail usually end up standing out from their online counterparts. For increased chances of your resume getting noticed therefore, it would be a good idea to also send your resume by mail. But while doing so, you have to careful about certain things like ensuring that you use high quality, 100% bond stationery and with appropriate colors.

Also, if you are sending your resume to an advertising agency, consider using a shade different from the traditional ivory. If the application is going to a conservative organization, however, it would be okay to use the normal ivory. Additionally, remember to use a typography that is simple and easy to read, irrespective of where you are sending your graphic design resume.

Using these tips and of course giving clear references in your graphic design resume should be sufficient enough to land you an interview where you will have a chance to show the employer that you are the right fit for the job. But ignoring them won’t give you any competitive edge amongst your fellow applicants and your resume will never be recognized by any serious employers.

Learn how to give a brand personality!

The post How to Improve Your Resume as a Designer appeared first on LogoMaven | Easy Logo Design Software & Logo Maker.

This simply implies that computers are used to hasten the graphics design process just as microwaves are used to warm up food quickly. In essence, graphics design would still be possible even in the absence of computers and this is how life used to be back in the days when the world was still asleep as far as technology is concerned. So how exactly did graphic designers work without computers?

Manual and laborious

Before the computers, graphic design was rather a laborious and manual exercise that took several hours to complete even for very small projects. At the beginning of every job, the designer had to sit down and figure out what the client wants and think of the best way to start from scratch. It involved a lot of iterations since you first had to come up with sketches that would be shown to the client before you had the opportunity to proceed with the final design.

You may argue that the same process still applies to today. This is true but back in the olden days, you had to start the process of preparing each sketch from scratch unlike today when after you have the layouts right, all you have to do is make a few clicks of the mouse and you have different layouts.

A single design would be worked by different people

With the advent of the computers, only one person is needed to start and complete a design project. But before the computers came, there was what was known as division of labor in the design process. With division of labor, each person did only what they were good at during the process. For instance, if a designer were good in rapidography, their duty would be to wait and draw a line of the required size on the boards.

If somebody else was good with the Photostat camera, their main duty would be to position stats and show indications of where the cropping was to be done as well as the exact sizes and position of the photos on the page. Again someone else would be proficient with the mechanical boards, and their duty would be to help with the pasting and using the rubber cement to paste the Photostats on the correct positions where they are needed.

With the use of computers, division of labor is no longer relevant because most of the processes have been integrated into a software making graphics design to be an easy exercises. It is possible to draw a perfect line, resize the images, change the position of the image and do pretty anything you want with the layout without the need of external assistance.

How Printing was done

With the computers, printing graphics after you are done with the design is not much of a hassle. But before the computers, it was an exercise that required the expertise of highly experienced experts. The printers in graphics designs before computers and the advent of the modern printers used what was known as a mechanical. Each mechanical represented a page with the correct size of what was supposed to be printed.

For instance, if you wanted to print a page measuring 11.75 inches by 9.25 inches, then the mechanical would be adjusted to reflect these measurements either on a stiffer paper or cardboard. You were actually required to use the Photostats pasted on the mechanicals to show the separator the exact placement, size and position of every image. If there was a rule reproduced on a page, that rule had to be drawn by hand on the mechanical around the Photostat. You can thus imagine how hectic printing was back in the days.

How long it took to prepare the layout of a book

Preparing the layout for a book takes approximately fifteen minutes currently. However, before the computers, before anything was sent to the printer, it could take a couple of hours to get the materials ready for printing. It involved a lot of processes which included taking the Photostats to the studio to have them pasted down then sending them to the typesetting house before you could finally have them ready for printing.

Evidently, computers have made the process of graphic design to be simpler, faster and more efficient. By looking at the history of graphics design, designers come to appreciate the strides taken to make the industry what it is at the moment. One thing however remains unchanged. It is the design tools that have changed but not the core design principles. This is why Milton Glaser made the comparison of computers being to design what microwaves are for food.

Check out how to build a personal brand here!

The post Design History 101: How Designers Worked Before Computers appeared first on LogoMaven | Easy Logo Design Software & Logo Maker.