I discovered this today whenever my fiance and I decided to purchase a twin set of Motorola Droids with the New Every 2 and Verizon’s current “Buy One get One Free” marketing campaign; the guy even threw in some accessories for 20% off.

At first I was very critical about smart phones and could not imagine that they actually had the impact on small business as they would, until I began to discover the worth of my Droid.

Is this post Droid-specific?

In a sense, yes, but in a sense no. The only point I wish to stress is that freelance designers will find life much easier once they have acquired a smart phone of some sort for themselves. I chose a Droid phone because I prefer Verizon’s coverage, but one could always go designer and get an iPhone, or perhaps purchase one of many Blackberries or Palm Pres. Any intelligent design will do, provided it offers simple tasks for email and web browsing. However, this post is going to be written from the point of view from a person using a Droid.

Point One: Email, email, email.

I cannot stress how important it is to stay on top of emails, especially work-related emails (yes, personal emails are great, too, but this is a work-centric post.) Sometimes, I might find myself being emailed by a client needing something urgent – someone somehow managed to bypass security and hack their server, or they wish to move their site to another server and need me to configure the site again. Whatever the reason, the Droid (depending upon the model you get) allows you to manage around five email addresses, and you can customize your main email address to have a different ringtone from your others. I chose to customize my personal email address to have a one ringtone while my business account has another one – it’s all a matter of preference. And because you can have more than two accounts, this is great for freelancers who work more than one job or manage more than one site’s address; you can either have them all forwarded to one address, or set up one account for your day job and another for your freelance job, and then a third for personal. Cool!

Point Two: Social Networking

Networking is very, very important for freelancers, though I’m sure they know that. Clients tend to be drawn to your business through networking, so why wouldn’t you want to be able to keep in touch with your network while on the go? I’m personally using Facebook’s app as well as Twidroid (free version currently) in order to keep in contact with mine.

Point Three: Web Browsing

Yes, in many cases this can be better for wasting time while waiting for some appointment or for wasting time when one should be working, but I think that web browsing has its own place as well in productivity. When I need to look something up on the go I can just grab my phone and look it up – this can be great for looking at my latest feeds on Reader (my way of keeping up with the design industry) or for my last point with social networking.

Point Four: Contact

A phone is supposed to be your way of keeping in contact with people, and I have found that your average phone may or may not have issues with it. Note in my anecdote earlier how I stated that my original phone would “loose” voice mails or other messages. This is usually because the technology for this phone is nowhere near as decent as the technology for some of the current smart phones, plus it has far fewer options – oh, not to mention the nasty hardware issues that can come with these phones. In addition, many smartphones allow for IM – while this can be bad if one were to abuse it for personal uses, I have found IM to be a great tool in speaking with clients when it comes to current projects and quickly relaying ideas. Perhaps its not as great as a phone call, but it has its place somewhere between your average call and an email.

Point Five: WordPress

I say WordPress, but what I really mean is your blog and site in general. You may have it called to your attention that something is going on in your site and needs attention immediately, in which moment you can whip out your phone, pull up your site, and immediately see what needs to be done and speak to the appropriate people – all while finishing up in the grocery line at the local store.

Or, in my case, I found it to be worth it through WordPress’s blog application. It allows you to update your blog as well as moderate comments, as well as a wealth of other things – definitely worth checking it out for either Droid or iPhone.

However, danger! danger! danger!

The only issue I can see with your average smart phone would lie in the use of the phone as a distraction tool through the use of personal accounts. While the personal accounts can really be taken advantage of through the phone’s bells and whistles, I think that with a little bit of discipline, a smart phone can make your freelancing experience that much more efficient.

I held back from getting my own phone due to the restraints of the cost; most smart phones go for upwards of five hundred USD, a hefty price. However, by taking advantage of special offers such as New Every Two or discounts offered through the signing of new contracts, you will find the price of the phone reduced dramatically – in addition, yes, the data plans can be expensive (I am paying $90 for Verizon’s personal use plan with 450 anytime minutes, unlimited texts, and unlimited email and web use), but they are very much worth.

So, if you are the type of freelancer who is constantly on the go with a busy small business, then I strongly advise the purchase of one of these phones, especially the Droid. You will find that not only are these phones absolutely COOL!, they will definitely help you find that great value of keeping in touch with your network and freedom to go where you choose!

By definition, Illustrator’s output files are vectors, meaning that they are saved differently than Photoshop’s. When resized, they lose less of their value because they are saved as points and curves, whereas a Photoshop file would lose much of its value as its resolution became bigger as it would become more and more pixellated or “fuzzy”. For more information (and probably a better definition of what vector artwork is), please view this page.

Of course, you can use any range of image editing software that you wish, whether GIMP or your choice of vector program, but as a designer I have found Adobe’s programs more intuitive and thus have continued to use them for years. As such, I will focus on these two programs by name.

I want to edit this great image of my family, and…

Photoshop! Images which involve photographs or other bitmap-type images are best edited in Photoshop. Note the “photo” in Photoshop – originally, Photoshop was not created in order to do digital painting or create web graphics; it was originally for photographers to edit their work digitally.

I want to create web graphics such as a logo.

Logos are often resized several times – bigger for that banner, or made to be itty-bitty for that business card. As such, they are a project for Illustrator. Illustrator allows a large variety of tools for working with fonts and especially shapes – which certainly comes in handy for logo design or making shiny buttons for your contact form!

I want to design the wireframe and mockup for a site before coding it.

Admittedly, there was one point in time in which I used Photoshop in order to create web design mockups. However, as time went by, I began to migrate to Illustrator. I found that I could vector out the graphics for the main site on the side, and then add them to the design as I went. Additionally, I found that Illustrator’s various tools made the process intuitive whereas Photoshop’s added more and more time to the wireframe process. So, I am definitely going to recommend Illustrator for this.

I want to do digital illustration.

Depending upon the type of illustration you do, this question can be for either program. If you wish for it to have a more “web 2.0″ look or a cartoony look, I would recommend Illustrator, whereas if you wish to go for a realistic and painted look, I’m going to suggest either Photoshop or another digital painting program.

This post is a brief overview of the features of both programs, and I purposely chose to not go into great detail. Instead, the point is to clarify where each program should be used by newer designers. For more information on the importance of Illustrator in design, please view this post.

Many newer designers are constantly complaining to me that they don’t understand Illustrator or find it difficult to adapt to. I understand this complaint; there is certainly a learning curve to each of Adobe’s programs, but I think that the quality of a designer’s work will definitely skyrocket once they begin to learn which program works for which project.

Raster-based graphics are not meant to go in the Web, unless of course they are of photograph quality. Likewise, having an inflexible canvas is helpful when designing beyond the “fold” – that is, designing more than just the initial screen of a design. Additionally, I’ve found the flexible canvas of Illustrator to be helpful in designing entire sites. With multiple artboards (CS4 only), I’m able to select one artboard or another and design on them in order to keep every single page of a design in one single file or document.

Meaning, Photoshop certainly has its place in the digital world, but Illustrator, I think, has a much stronger place in website media

The rule of thumb has always been “practice makes perfect.” Then we’re told that we will never be “perfect,” but our imperfections are our true perfections – we just need to find a way to bring out our best.

Stage One: Unconscious Incompetence

Before a person begins to learn a new skill, whether it is design or mathematics, or really anything, they don’t realize that they really aren’t that great at it. I’m not going to elaborate too much on this step, mostly because the only way to get past this stage into the next is to realize one’s incompetence.

Stage Two: Conscious Incompetence

This is where the person at Stage One was hit by a jolt and realized that they really aren’t that great at this skill, and need to improve. So what can they do to improve?

• Practice! This seems like a no-brainer, but the more a person performs a skill or a set series of tasks, the better they get at them. For a designer, I would say practice making sites for mock clients, and for a developer I’d recommend creating applications for various things you might use during your daily life. In other disciplines, practicing for a while every day is always the best way.

• Look at what everyone else is doing. This is especially important for designers and developers. Young designers are often told to “copy” other designs; this isn’t necessarily a “bad” thing to do, as it takes on a form of practice. The more you make great designs, whether or not they are yours, the more natural great design will come to you. Developers would see this as taking other programs written by other people, and dissecting them; looking at how example code is written, and writing and rewriting it themselves. In other disciplines, taking lessons or looking at other examples is the way to go.
• Read books Books are great things. Not ebooks, and not online tutorials – actual books. Being able to highlight certain ideas helps the brain remember them (especially if you use more than one color of highlighter). If you don’t have the money to buy a full library of new books for every skill you wish to pick up, then definitely buy a spiral notebook and take notes. Read over your notes before each sitting, highlighting in different colors different terms and concepts and rules. Taking notes and making annotations and highlighting are proven methods for learning and remembering new things.

Stage Three: Conscious Competence

At this step, you aren’t quite there, but you’re beginning to really get the hang of your new skill. You have worked to improve this skill, and are consciously working on your performance. It’s not quite natural to you yet, but you still do a great job.

At this point, definitely keep working on the parts outlined in the list on Stage Two, but go beyond copying other people’s examples. In order to really get past this step into really knowing your new skill, you need to push the boundaries. How can you make this technique better? How can you improve this code or illustration here? Take more time on your practice examples or work, and push it to see how you can make it better. Remember that you can’t improve if you don’t challenge yourself!

Stage Four: Unconscious Competence

Your skill comes naturally at this point. Every time you do it, it seems almost effortless. You’re also able to integrate the skill you learned into other things; you apply the principals of good development or great design in what you do with your life (this really isn’t as crazy as it sounds).

This is the final stage, though remember that there are always ways in which to improve. Always keep looking for other points of view on any problem. There are always three or more sides to every coin!

Some Other Tips

• Get plenty of sleep. This is very important. Your memory retention decreases for every hour of sleep you lack. I always shoot for 8-10 hours of sleep at night; daytime sleep only counts for half! (That is, keep in mind that going to bed at three in the morning and waking up at noon is not restful sleep, and therefore does not count as nine hours of rest.)
• Read blogs. Often times, a blog will have recommendations to other texts or books for you to read. If they don’t, you can always get in touch with the blog’s writer through comments or email (if that is provided) requesting recommendations for further reading. Not only that, but they may offer new insights or perspectives, or may simplify an idea you are having a hard time – not to mention networking!
• Network with other people interested in your new skill. This kind of goes hand-in-hand with the blog; through reading blogs and forums, you can network with people interested in the same thing, and also grow off of their advice. Also, many people recommend that you partner with another person as interested as you are in a new skill. For example, people trying to exercise more are often urged to have an exercise partner; this allows them to make a new friend which keeps them motivated in their exercise program, and gives a person another person they can turn to while working on a difficult problem.

So, go forth, and learn new skills! This list is very generalized to match most disciplines, but I have found these steps to be an excellent program for learning new things.

Suddenly nothing.

We find ourselves scrambling to try and make ends meet, and worry and fret that perhaps going into freelance design wasn’t that great of an idea. Our savings begin to burn up, and we panic.

What can be done?

Don’t Panic

Don’t go out and find a full time job just because clients appear to have dried up. Perhaps in some cases this is the only solution, but before you dive into the 9 to 5 grind, open your eyes and look back on why you began freelancing in the first place. Was it for money? In part. Was it for a greater amount of control and freedom of your schedule? Whatever the reason, if it’s a good enough one to keep you as a freelancer, then stick with it! Remember, however, that right now we are in an economic crises. Things may take a while to turn around – years, even. But all hope is not lost!

Always Remember Your Towel

I don’t mean a literal towel. I mean a figurative one – your address book. Pick it up. Thumb through it. Anyone in the network you haven’t contacted lately? Then contact them. Tell them about any changes you’ve done with your site, or with your business. Politely request referrals, or send along your new business card.

Work On Side Projects

You’re a designer. A creator. Or even a developer, a thinker and an engineer of web applications and sites. So put it to good use. Create a side project, or mockups for mock clients that emphasis your abilities, and feature them in your portfolio. This not only keeps your skills up-to-date, but allows you to work on your portfolio – your main marketing tool.

Clean Your Portfolio

This should be a no-brainer. Get rid of older designs that don’t display your current skillset, and use the step above to add new projects to it. Don’t allow your portfolio to become completely overrun with mock clients, but make sure that it displays you at your best. Pull your best designs to the top, and the not-as-good designs you wish to keep toward the bottom. Make sure all of the URLs in your portfolio work, whether they are to live sites or to screenshots of your designs, and if you are a developer, troubleshoot and bugfix any applications you might be featuring.

Go Back to School

Technology is an industry that changes at a very fast pace. And sometimes, we even might forget something we learned years ago that’s important. Going back to school and taking a few classes, design-related or otherwise, helps us grow as a person, and may inspire you. Also, it will allow you to network, a very important thing for the freelance designer.

Chin up! Oh, and Prepare in Advance

We all know that sometimes there are hard times for every business. The best thing you can do is always prepare in advance. I personally save at least 50% of my income from clients in the possibility of having a downturn in business; while you don’t necessarily need to go to this extreme or might not be able to afford it, it is still good practice to have a savings account that reflects what you would need to live on for a month or two, perhaps even three for extreme cases. Daddy always did say that if you take care of your money, your money will take care of you.

But have hope! Get out a little bit with your free time, and take a walk. Sometimes clearing your head a little bit is exactly what you need to get back to work on the search for clients.

Now, I like the name of the device, and initially I was very impressed with the surface, just like I am with all of Apple’s products. I’ve always had a huge amount of respect for Apple’s interface design team (considering that it’s their interface I’m most rabid about), but as I dug into the technical specifications… I kind of took a step back. It certainly wasn’t what I expected, which was exactly what Apple had promised, but I don’t think they really meant it in the sense that I found it to be “unexpected.”

A little background on this designer.

I use Verizon, and I am one of many people on one of Verizon’s plans which is hoping and dreaming of being able to use one of Apple’s products on our map. Well, to be honest, the Wifi capability isn’t bad, but the fact that it can once again only be used on ATT is a bummer.

No multitasking?

Speaking to other developers and Apple fans, the multi-tasking is really a large letdown. It was a huge letdown on the iPhone, and iPad is no different, at least from others which I have spoken with. So I have to watch the web in silence? I have to read books without background music? Or I just have to stare at iTunes to listen to music? Perhaps I’m oversimplifying the issue, but it does underscore the fact that multitasking is one thing I’ve always taken for granted on my iMac.

I have to synch it? That’s bad for design!

Unless Apple gives the iPad a way in which to access a filesystem, or some sort of filesystem, it is absolutely useless to me. I see it as an expensive toy due to needing to constantly having to synch to iTunes, and only running iPhone apps as far as I can tell. Without the ability to plug in a flash drive or a simple hard drive, I don’t think I could really use it.

My major disappointment with the iPad.

It’s a giant toy, basically. And I think that was the point – to create a leisure device. Other Apple products, outside of iPod, are normally productivity tools, which was my hope for this one. I wanted to be able to use it to intuitively edit images or code on the fly if needed without having to lug around a laptop and a tablet to do that, or have something light that wasn’t too expensive if I needed to give a presentation to a client. This isn’t it. Apparently I still need to purchase a Macbook to do that – something which, isn’t necessarily out of my budget range, but is too much for what I need it for. Frankly, I have what the iPad offers through my mobile, and I just don’t see the point of purchasing what I already have.

What are your thoughts on the iPad?

I began first by checking out Apple’s Reference Library and Cocoa tutorials, found here, which gave me a decent understanding of how Objective-C in particular works and gave me a real preview of XCode. Truth be told, however, I’ve already learned a fairly decent amount of programing (having have started learning C at some point around 2005). So, to be fair, this tutorial is not for beginners; if you lack this amount of experience, however, This PDF tutorial (PDF linked) will get you started – it’s one I’m currently browsing, mostly because, while I have programming experience, I’m honestly no expert.

To be fair, the major amount of programming knowledge I have is a spotty knowledge of Java, some JavaScript (though I tend to prefer jQuery), and I’m about mid-level as far as scripting PHP goes (though I can hack the advanced techniques). Web development is something I’ve kind of learned as I feel my way around design; it’s damn hard to be a web designer and not learn some development, at least for a person with tastes such as myself.

The tool I’m working on… well, let’s just say that it’s aimed more at the freelancers out there. There’s an app very similar to the one I’m brewing up, but I’ve found it to be inefficient and decided it doesn’t quite do what I’d like it to do. It’s more my way of experimenting and learning; I feel that the best way to learn anything is to simply do it. So, once I finish beginner and intermediate tutorials, and once I feel confident in myself, most likely I will begin the work on this application. I don’t think I’ll release it, however; first I need to check with the legal agreements concerning the application that does something similar so as to not step on somebody’s toes (though to be fair, it seems that the application I’m looking at is no longer in development, and I’d be writing the code myself and looking at methods of implementation on my own).

Either way, I’ve found I much prefer using XCode and Mac’s development tools than Visual Studio or any of the Microsoft ones I’ve used in the past, and I definitely prefer it well above Java (though to be fair, I’ve done a very minimal amount of interface with Java, but I’ve helped friends with it and we all decided it was a pain in the ass, pardon my brazen statements). I feel that developing an interface for a simple application such as this should be fast, user-friendly, and flexible like this. The major issue I had (and perhaps my version was outdated) with Visual Studio is (well, other than it doesn’t work on my Mac and I have to use my laptop) that it didn’t feel like it had as strong of a flexible interface as Interface Builder.

But enough of that. However, some points I’d like to convey to Apple if I could:

• A lot of your products need updates. For example, iTunes has become a hunk of crap. I like it and all, but you really need to figure out why it’s creating multiple files whenever it indexes a library and fix it.
• Get Safari caught up. I really like many things about it; however, it really needs to be able to open the tabs I had open last session, especially if I magically manage to crash it. Also, figure out a way that users can more easily implement addons to it the way that Mozilla did; one of the reasons Firefox is so popular is because of the different addons that can be used with Gecko (and personally I dislike Firefox). Please, PLEASE open this venue with Safari the way you did with iPhone and iPod. It really can’t hurt.
• Check over your tutorials. You don’t even really mention how to export the application a user creates when they follow it; if you really wish for it to be a thorough tutorial, then you need to make sure that every step is covered with a fine-tooth comb. Further, it feels to me like the interface you use in XCode for your images either is not the default user interface, or is not the interface of 3.2.1, which is the current version of XCode upon the writing of this post. Please edit it; there were moments when I became confused because I was not sure I was following everything properly.
• While I’m discussing that tutorial, allow me to also point out that whenever you add your icon to your Currency Converter application in XCode, you also need to change the icon in info.plist, otherwise it doesn’t work. Just to let you know.

Either way, if you’re looking to become an XCoder, you can find some great materials in MacApper’s blog post, here.

Let’s take a step away from music now. Go to your favorite design and look at it. Is your eye pulled to particular areas on the page? Do you feel drawn more to one area or another? How is it accomplished? Perhaps through the use of arrows, curves, or other design elements.

This is flow. Ya’ve either got it or ya don’t! This is how we’re going to make a design really sing.

Move it to the inside..

Most times, the desired effect is to move the user’s eye to the inside of a design. Let’s look at some ways we can do this. Feel free to click on images for a larger view.

The flow for this image is directed toward the center. The flowers appear to be “looking up” to where the first line of text is, while the strip of green calls attention to the eye.

You can either use a star in order to make the flow of the design radiate outwards, or perhaps curves in order to give it a more central focus.

Whatever your choice to make a form of visual flow, make sure it keeps the eye comfortable. Making elements agree with one another is the best way to do this.

This particular choice is bad. Why? The points of the star radiate outwards, creating a feeling of “fun”. The text below it, however, is flushed to the left, while the star points down to it. This gives the overall design a feeling of unprofessionalism and makes the overall design feel disjointed and unfinished.

The previous design can be fixed by centering the text under the pointing star. This fixes the flow in that it allows the eye to fall to the center of the design, and makes the overall “look” of it more comfortable.

Notice, too, the placement of images in this post and the flow they create.

The Visual Bridge

The placement of objects in a design creates a certain visual bridge that leads from one aspect of the design to another. For example, let’s look at one of the pieces from my portfolio.

This design would generally be bad because it pulls the user’s eye off of the page (not to mention the fact that staggered text is another “bad” thing). Nevertheless, it was done in order to convey the message of standing (thus the upward flow of the design). Always keep in mind that sometimes it is okay to break the rules of good design; a good designer knows how to push the limits properly, while a great designer knows when its best to destroy them.

But this is a typography poster. It is not made to be a page or any other shape or form of print design. Web and print are two similar and different mediums, giving them similar and different rules.

A circulating design such as the one in this post is perhaps the best way in which to arrange objects in order to keep the energy of the page’s design to continue flowing cyclically. This odd placement to both the left and the right, and perhaps to the center in print media, achieves the effect of keeping the focus inward rather than distracting it off of the page or to the side.

However, note that it is not always bad to flush all of the elements to one side. A good designer will know how to effectively align elements in order to continue the flow of a designer, and a great one will know when to flush to one side or when to make a cyclical arrangement.

Spatial Flow

Both of these designs would be great for a magazine or a pamphlet. The first design is perhaps inferior to the second one; the fronds of the palm pull the energy in different ways, but the central frond points the user’s eye toward the header. The second one works well with the first in creating a visual unity, and cuts to the bottom of the fronds, where the palm “curls” downward and back into the page. The major change that would be made to this particular design is to fix the ragged edges of the text in order to prevent trapped space.

This particular design demonstrates the concept of trapped space.

Why is trapped space bad? Because humans don’t like the feeling of no escape! Keep this in mind when placing objects in your design. Having a ton of space in the center of your design is disconcerting; generally, the eye prefers to lay in the center of a piece. Trapping it there and framing the center will push a user’s preference away from your design rather than drawing them in.

So, our summary:

• Stars will radiate energy outward. Curves and swirls radiate their energy in a certain direction, but most often inwardly.
• Naturally, the energy of a design will flow inwardly. Often, this is the desired effect.
• Making elements agree with one another keeps the flow of a design moving naturally.
• The placement of objects creates a visual bridge. While it is okay to break the rules here for certain designs (as with anywhere), often the best practice is to keep the placement of objects cyclical rather than allowing energy to fly off of the page.
• When working on the spatial flow of a piece, keep in mind the appearance of trapped space.
• The energy of a piece flows naturally from its center.
]]> http://www.riverscapewebstudios.com/2010/01/flow/feed/ 0 http://www.riverscapewebstudios.com/2010/01/home/ http://www.riverscapewebstudios.com/2010/01/home/#comments Tue, 05 Jan 2010 02:54:29 +0000 Kim H http://www.belinkddesign.com/?p=188 I’m at home now. Well, not “home” home, but with family. I suppose after moving to Sacramento, I found myself making a new “home” home for myself.

It feels strangely, mostly because it feels as though I never left in the first place. I suppose that’s what “home” should feel like – a place you return to that feels familiar. Home base, home page, whatever – the word “home” I suppose has become synonymous with familiarity.

For designers, coming “home” might be revisiting familiar, older designs. It’s always refreshing to look back at what’s historical and past. When I see my old designs, I realize that in some ways I have come a very long way as far as aesthetics and coding go (the theme I’m currently working on is far more technically advanced than any other theme I’ve worked on in the past, but it’s definitely less minimalistic in design than many of my older ones.

However, I suppose while sloughing through lines of code and troubleshooting, there are moments in which a depression comes over me. Things begin to feel hard, and I wonder how am I going to improve? How am I going to keep going on if I get stuck in a standstill?

I spoke to a friend of mine not too long ago; they were going through something similar. I told them to look back on some of their old projects; it did for them what it does for me. Looking back on history gives a person a small boost of ego; a person sees that such and such work wasn’t half as bad looking, or maybe sees how much they really have improved. Normally I don’t advocate looking back like this, but in a sense, I think it really makes a person feel better when they see their own improvement.

]]> http://www.riverscapewebstudios.com/2010/01/home/feed/ 0 http://www.riverscapewebstudios.com/2009/12/web-designers-arent-superman/ http://www.riverscapewebstudios.com/2009/12/web-designers-arent-superman/#comments Sat, 12 Dec 2009 22:38:23 +0000 Kim H http://www.belinkddesign.com/?p=186 There, I said it. Web designer’s aren’t Superman.

WANTED: Graphic designer who can make beautiful graphics, code front-end designs, knows PHP, can make coffee..

Graphic design and front-end design ends at design. As it is, it takes four years to get a degree in this field, and back-end and front-end development use two completely different areas of the brain. This is why it irritates me so much when people post advertisements wanting a person who can do anything; there is a very limited amount of people who can both code and design, and I am lucky to be one of those few..

The man who does your front end can’t necessarily do your backend (pun intended)

The theories and psychology behind design are actually quite fascinating and take years to develop. It takes a certain kind of thinking to be able to do front-end design and nail these theories. Remember in grade school when they had you do those “mind maps” that were supposed to determine whether you were a mathematical thinker or if you were more of an artist? Designers, typically, fall into the realms of “artist” rather than the more logical “mathematical” types. There are maybe a handful of designers who can do both, but these are few and far between.

When hiring, please educate yourself.

So many people think that a developer and a designer are inter-changeable. Unfortunately, most times they are not. Most of the developers I know haven’t got a clue about how to do an aesthetically pleasing design that will deliver the message it needs to, and I know many designers who don’t have the capacity or time to go and learn the finer things of development, such as PHP or MySQL.

So as a final word…

Stop trying to hire both! Get one, and then another.

]]> http://www.riverscapewebstudios.com/2009/12/web-designers-arent-superman/feed/ 4 http://www.riverscapewebstudios.com/2009/12/what-you-probably-didnt-know-about-spacing/ http://www.riverscapewebstudios.com/2009/12/what-you-probably-didnt-know-about-spacing/#comments Sat, 05 Dec 2009 09:50:26 +0000 Kim H http://www.belinkddesign.com/?p=177

The essential energy of a design is created through the spacing. Spacing is not only important for defining elements and setting them apart, but also for creating the overall tone and energy of a piece; unequal spacing catches the eye, and adds the general flare to a design. With this in mind, it is essential that even the most novice designer learn the importance behind placement in a design, and through practice, develop an understanding that placement cannot just simply happen, just like good design doesn’t simply happen. Through nature and experimentation, the novice can best learn to use the placement and division of a piece in order to convey a proper message, and understand how it is used in the media around them.

The Principle of Unequal Spacing

Those which took classes based around Gestalt’s theorems will already have a familiarity for this idea. For those without this finer training, the Principle of Unequal spacing is as follows:

Varied measurements on the x and y axis around a point of interest increases the visual energy and interest of a piece and creates a sense of charisma.

The novice must consciously make this rule a practice until it has become second nature to them; an understanding of the effects of the proximity (or lack of proximity) between elements is essential in order to have a savvy comprehension of composition. Spacing does not simply happen in good design; it is done for a reason.

Lines

Lines are one of the most important aspects of a design when it comes to division and placement. Oddly placed lines in a graphic creates a visual energy and interest; changing where a line is on the X or Y axis can change the very meaning behind a line. For example, take a horizon line. More specifically, take the horizon line on one of Nickelback’s albums, found here. The horizon line is tilted, and we see an emphasis placed upon the road.

Now, had this horizon remained in the dead center of the page, without any sort of alteration, what would we have seen? Probably a very boring picture, with no focus. If we had shifted the horizon a little to the bottom, we would have seen an emphasis of the sky (which to me would have created one of those motivational posters, but that’s for another post ). Instead, we see that the artist chose to tilt it and place an emphasis on the road; this gave the feeling of a high amount of energy on the road, such as flying across the road in a fast car.

To grow on this point, when many lines are used, we must also vary their placement. This prevents a piece from becoming stale and boring. Take the image I made specifically for this entry; I didn’t simply just place the colors (we’ll call them “lines” for now). I chose to not place the division between the orange and the green in the dead middle, and I chose to make the horizontal division in the word “Division” a little bit closer to the center (it’s actually slightly above the center of the actual word, believe it or not).

That’s another thing: Did you know that elements placed slightly above the X axis look more centered than if they were dead center?Just a nifty tip!

So how are we to take this idea and apply it to our designs, illustrations or web sites, or otherwise? Well, let’s take a look at nature. Anyone who has pursued an education in mathematics or design (I was privileged with having pursued both) will be familiar with the Fibonacci Sequence found in the shell of the nautilus. It is a ratio often found in nature; the proportions of the “perfect” human body draw closer and closer to the Golden Ratio. Take for example this series of numbers:

0 1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21..

The sequence goes on and on (I was actually nerdy enough to memorize it into the triple-digits at one point in time, but I am not sure I should be admitting this publicly). It was developed based upon the first number added to the one behind it; for example, 0 + 1 = 1, and then 1 + 1 = 2, and then 2 + 1 = 3, and so fourth.

While I was learning drawing, I especially had to memorize this sequence and its meaning. Often, a drawing will center around a certain measure, and all other measurements and proportions in the piece will be based off of one specific part of the piece; for example, while drawing a horse, the proportions of the horse will be dependent upon the size of its head. The neck will be as high as the head and a half, and the body will be as long as two and a half heads.

This is how grids came to be popular initially. That is, they take a single measurement of the whole page, and divide it into parts. It makes the site more aesthetically pleasing, and allows the user to more easily follow its format. While I no longer use a grid system in every design (I develop my own), it is better for a novice designer to begin using a grid system until they become more accustomed to having a compositional competence which makes creating their own grid system per design second nature. Nature already does this in design – so why don’t we?!

]]> http://www.riverscapewebstudios.com/2009/12/what-you-probably-didnt-know-about-spacing/feed/ 0