5 Little Known Ways to Improve Your Web Design
Web designing in itself is a very vast subject to learn and to use a number of tools, creative tactics, designing principles and lot more. A web designer uses a good number of tweaks and methods to bring attractiveness to a website designed by him. He uses all possible method to dress a design in a way to have nice interface as well as capacity to attract traffic online. But there are also many lesser known tricks which can do miracle for a designer we will discuss them below.
- Optimization of Images: As a web designer if you have good collection of images and photos then you can use them to be optimized on your website for a variety of reasons and purposes. The optimization of images help you in a greater way as it would reduce download time of website for visitors, reduce bandwidth usage, etc.
- Cleaning Website Navigation: One of the worst things that kill a website is numerous unnecessary links even on the homepage of the website. A visitor found this to be the most confusing aspect of a website. In order to ease out a visitor use those links under header, use drop down menus navigation, use limited sub navigation on the internal pages of a website. This will make your website easier to navigate and would make cross links to each others and be search engine friendly.
- Use Web Savvy Fonts: As a general rule, web friendly fonts are those which are can be shown on all browser and all operating systems. Using a web font that is not savvy to be used on internet can make it be not displayed to a visitor as it ought to be and be exchanged by a default font and would make it very difficult for your reader to read it out. Other problem in designing is using unnecessary images in places where heading should be used as it let your website to not to be indexed by search engines.
- Enhancing readability of the Text: As much web friendly fonts are used while designing a website as much it would help out to a visitor to read out content. Reading content online is not as easier and simpler like reading it on a printed magazine. Online reader scan content, therefore one should use content with short paragraphs, headlines, bullet lists and subheads.
- Appending the size of Website: As contrary to older time the contemporary period is of 19 inch or bigger monitors. Therefore, if a website is anyway is older than five years than it is very necessary for you to increase the width of the website. By increasing website size, the images on the website would appear and look more clear and apparent and a visitor too would have to do less scrolling.
7 Awesome Social Media Sites for Graphic Designers
As with span of time and progression of environment related to social media sites, it has been found that social media sites have made an immeasurable impact on every area of life and especially over the professionals working in at different areas and dimensions. Social media sites have provided professionals chance to explore with and meet with other professionals related to their field. Apart from meeting and having conversation with those professionals social media sites are place to share thoughts and ideas on issues and topics on related to their field. In such a scenario, a graphic designer too cannot be remained unattached from the impact and influence of social media sites. Below are some of the most noted social media sites for Graphic Designers
Good Tutorials: This is a must website for every web designer that uses a wide variety of programs and design tools as here is provided a good number of tutorials on updated and state of the art web designing tools. It is one of the largest online tutorial websites on graphic and web designing.
Graphic Design Links: Developed to aid out graphic designers, photographers and web designers this site is linked to a number of design blogs, design links and design tutorial. And as a user of this website you can rate the best link or tool provided on the website.
CSS Leak: Featured with its best part that is a gallery site which provides opportunity to look out for some of the best layout and designs for web and graphic designers. Here a graphic designer can review some of the latest designs and web articles and blogs related from the field.
Dotnetkicks: This one the another social media site for graphic designing is based upon the concept of wikipedia and is devoted to web designers and programmers providing them with interesting articles on web and graphic.
Design-newz: Comparatively, a new website for graphic designer with information and tutorials. At the site you can have all the latest and best information on graphic designing and web graphic designing. Here tutorials about a good number of programs are provided with best tips to use them in graphic design piece or in a web template.
Hacker News: It is a very simple and useful website on web designing as it provides the quickest access to the articles and designs related to web design that are still under progress to be published. The index or home page of this web site contains a good number of articles on web designing. In matter of a second a graphic designer can have access to a good number of articles related to his area of interest.
Tweako: Site with a very good volume of traffic is recognized among graphic and web designers for the best and the latest information. Here a good number of articles are provided to help out web designers and programmers and computing enthusiasts.
The Ultimate Guide to Becoming a Graphic Designer – Salary, Career and More
A graphic designer deals into a number of good and specific tasks related to creative and visual appeal of commercial or promotional campaign. The skills of a web designer are prominently needed in promotional campaigns like packaging, displays and logos and are used in a number of mediums to achieve artistic and decorative results. He can work under a varied number of job titles like graphic designer, graphic artist, designer, art director, artists, composing room supervisor, desktop publisher and online producer.
Work of a Graphic Designer: The job of a graphic designer involves creating designs, concepts and sample layouts based upon knowledge of layout principles and esthetic design concepts. He estimates size and design of promotional campaign, material and copy and select style and size of type. For the purposes of bringing designing layout he uses computer software to produce new images. His work also involves printing charts, graphs, illustrations and other layout for printers. He finalizes layouts and provides suggestions as required by the concept and theme of the project. As a part of his job he also develops graphics, layouts for product illustrations, company logos and internet websites. It also prepares illustrations or rough sketches of material, discussing them with clients and supervisors and making necessary changes.
Qualification and Training: Among all the qualifications that a graphic designer possesses the most important is the knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment and computer hardware and software involving applications and programming. He also should have a primary knowledge of English language involving meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar. Next of his qualification includes knowledge of media production, communication and dissemination techniques and methods. He should also have knowledge of principles of production, designing tools, precision. This is only an aspect of his qualification more he should have knowledge of various aspects of customer and personal service and knowledge of principle and methods for showing, promoting, selling products and services. And most essentially he should have understanding and knowledge of various theory and techniques of fine arts.
Skills: Creativity only is an aspect of graphic designing more he needs to have skills of time management hence he could learn tips to manage his as well as other’s time. He should also be an active listener so he attentively could pay proper attention to what has been asked him to accomplish in the limited time and framework. He should also be a critical thinker and decision maker so he could identify complex problems during a project and shall sort out them appropriately. And he should be a socially aware guy so he should percept the occurring changes around him and convert them into his designs.
Salary: Average salary of a graphic designer in the United States is $46, 095
Online Graphic Design Degrees
Graphic design involves the study of pictorial arts using two dimension forms. Graphic arts are also a branch of visual arts that involves aesthetics and production of design layouts and typography. There is a wide range of courses offered in the design school including interactive media, graphic design multi media design web design, interior design, digital arts, marketing design, business marketing design and typography.
Any graphic designer uses graphic elements and text to deliver his or her idea to the audience or people. A graphic designer comes up with artistic representations under the tutelage of the creative director. And due to advanced technology most of designers use the computer to generate all visual elements of a page especially the background, spot imagery, layout, color scheme, navigation buttons and other forms of visual elements.
These courses include brand identity, advanced web, flash designs, digital photography, illustration; digital imaging, game art multimedia arts, print design and web business are some of the core courses that may be considered by the aspiring student when taking graphic design.
The various careers involved in graphic design include but are not limited to graphic designers, web designers, animators, interior designers, photographers and others. Some of the well known accredited online graphic design colleges and universities include:
American International University
This is a well established virtual campus where students can enroll for and take their respective courses, access their services, graduation and eventually find jobs placements once they have finished. The most established online graphic designs courses offered include bachelors in Visual Communication.
Westwood College of Technology
It offers custom made courses and they are instructor led and you can finish them in less than 3 years. The courses on offer include animation, game art and design, interior design, web and multimedia visual communications and graphic design
The Arts Institute Online
This is part of the Art Institute Pittsburgh and has been in existence since 1921. Besides online classes a student has access to lecture projects, group discussions and industrial experience, to create a good learning experience. The bachelors offered online are graphic design, game art and design, interior design, media arts and animation whereas associates are offered in interactive media design and graphic design. They also offer masters in computer animation and graphic design. It is accredited by the Accrediting Council for independent Colleges and Schools (A.C.I.C.S.).
Capella University
This is an accredited university by the Higher Learning Commission with over twenty eight thousand students and it offers bachelors degrees in both multimedia and B.S.I.T. It also has masters and doctoral in the graphic design online programs whose courses are affordable and suits professional needs.
Ashford University
This is a well established university that was set up in 1918 and offers courses in liberal arts especially in the field of bachelors of Arts in visual communications and computer graphic design. It is accredited by the Higher Commission of Learning of North Central Association of Colleges and Schools