29 Ways to Stay Creative

{1} Make Lists

{2} Carry a notebook everywhere

{3} Try free writing

{4} Get away from the computer

{5} quit beating yourself up

{6} take breaks

{7} sing in the shower

{8} drink coffee

{9} listen to new music

{10} be open

{11} surround yourself with creative people

{12} get feedback

{13} collaborate

{14} don’t give up, don’t give up, don’t give up

{15} practice, practice, practice

{16} allow yourself to make mistakes

{17} go somewhere new

{18} count your blessing

{19} get lots of rest

{20} take risks

{21} break the rules

{22} don’t force it

{23} read a page of the dictionary

{24} create a framework

{25} stop trying to be someone else’s perfect

{26} got an idea? Write it down

{27} clean your workplace

{28} have fun

{29} finish something

Way to Push the Creative Boundaries

Here are some simple ways to push your creative boundaries. These steps can help you figure out what helps the mind tick tock and keep the ideas flowing. Follow the steps and the ideas will follow.

{1} Share Your Work

If you don't know where to start, it's here. Whatever creative projects you want to undertake, start by sharing your work and pointing yourself in the direction of others who share your interests, says Austin Kleon, 2014's SXSW keynote speaker and author of Show Your Work! 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered. It can be small, it can be incremental—just get it out there.

"The technology is really important, and we all have tools that turn us into media producers now," says Kleon. "But what's more important is attitude and spirit, that attitude of jumping into the world you want to join and making your own thing."

{2} Take a Road Trip

Earlier this year, a group of Pinterest employees pitched their bosses the idea of taking Pinterest on the road, largely to promote a new location-based Pinterest feature called Place Pins. Their boss responded with a simple image: a classic Winnebago, only with the Pinterest logo where the iconic "W" would be. They called it the "Pinnebago," a name that stuck. And while the trip was a great marketing move, it also unlocked new ideas within the team.

{3} Create a Surprise Journal

Julia Galef, president of the Center for Applied Rationality, runs courses for individuals and companies like Facebook and the Thiel Foundation about the science of decision-making, so it makes sense that she is keen to understand her own personal thoughts. Her technique? The Surprise Journal. She keeps this journal with her at all times, writing down when something surprises her and why.

For example, she noticed she was surprised that both older and younger people were attending her workshops, because she assumed people would self-segregate by age. She was surprised that her students would mention a concept from one of her colleague’s classes, because she didn’t expect that idea to be very memorable. "I started thinking about surprise as a cue that my expectations were wrong," she says. Once you start to understand your own faulty assumptions, it creates a space to generate new ideas that address things as they actually are.

{4} Get a Weird Side Gig

For the past seven years, editor and designer Brian McMullen had a dream creative job as the senior art director and one of the senior editors at literary and humor publisher McSweeney's. He founded and ran the company's award-winning kids' book department, McSweeney's McMullens, helped to launch food magazine Lucky Peach, and oversaw much of the creative direction of a brand known for its unique and dynamic visuals. And in his spare time, he's a Lyft driver.

"Lyft has offered me a drastic change of pace and scenery," says McMullen. "I think it's probably useful for all creative people to put themselves into new and strange situations from time to time."

{5} Learn How to Brainstorm the Right Way

Stumped for ideas? You might just not know how to brainstorm.

"As sexy as brainstorming is, with people popping like champagne with ideas, what actually happens is when one person is talking you're not thinking of your own ideas," Leigh Thompson, a management professor at the Kellogg School, told Fast Company. "Sub-consciously you're already assimilating to my ideas." To avoid these problems, Thompson suggests another, quieter process: brainwriting, or having everyone write down their ideas beforehand and share them in an orderly way.

{6} Don't Try So Hard

Forcing yourself to be creative backfires every time, says Karin Hibma, one half of the legendary design firm CRONAN, founded in the early '80s and known for naming products like TiVo and Kindle. Learn her unique approach to getting away from the everyday and letting ideas flow.

{7} Get Serious About Your Coffee

It may sound frivolous, but Circa CEO Matt Galligan devotes a good chunk of his mornings to making coffee. It's a routine that's paid off in helping him intensely focus. So whether caffeine is your muse, or something else, take it to the next level.

{8} Hire Other People With Outside Passions

FiftyThree has a one-to-one engineer-to-designer ratio, and an interestingly holistic approach to hiring: Every employee should excel at something outside of their job responsibilities. This model helps light people on fire about their own ideas and collaborate more effectively to make them happen. When creativity is institutional, everyone is better off.

{9} Plan a Field Trip

Three times a year, management at The Via Agency surprises their employees with "go dos," shorthand for "get out, do things," and they're part of a larger effort to promote creativity. The ad agency operates under the theory that creativity comes from having a life outside of the office. "We have found some of our most productive afternoons are after we've done a spontaneous go do," says president Leeann Leahy. "The energy level is raised for the rest of the day."

{10} Don't Get Caught Up in Perfectionism

Legendary animated filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki can't stand to see his own creations, lest he get caught up in his own mistakes. His solution? Move onto the next project. "Making films is all about—as soon as you're finished—continually regretting what you've done. When we look at films we've made, all we can see are the flaws; we can't even watch them in a normal way. I never feel like watching my own films again. So unless I start working on a new one, I'll never be free from the curse of the last one."

{11} When All Else fails, Drink

Back in 2012, when Bespoke Post was just a startup with handful of people, it began as many new businesses do: with conversations around beer. The gang met for a weekly happy hour at Lolita Bar on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, which offered pints of better-than-average brews for $3. Like at a lot of companies founded by young folks—like a lot of companies, period—booze found its way into Bespoke Post’s DNA early.

http://m.fastcompany.com/3040037/most-creative-people/11-simple-ways-to-push-your-creative-boundaries

{ HTML Cheat Sheet }

When it comes to remembering HTML codes it can be hard to get it all straight. I have recently started my advanced web design class and my professor handed out a HTML cheat sheet to keep with us for reference. So why not share it with you guys on my blog, so it can help you the next time that HTML coding gets you in over your head. Sorry that the codes may seem small on screen but with a simple click of the Ctrl and the + sign you can make it appear bigger on the screen. Happy Coding!!!!

{ How to Fix a Bad Design }

When it comes to designing, we all have created things that we may not have been so happy about. So here are some tips to fix a bad design.

{1} Scrap Bad Photography

This single step can have a huge impact on a design. Modern, on-trend photography is the only kind of photography that should be included on a website. If it isn't good, it's better not to use images at all. Cheap and tacky imagery makes the website look cheap and tacky. Unless you can replace your photographs with a professional's work, scrap them all and rely on your font choices.

{2} Make Navigation Simpler

Your users won't stick around unless your website is easy to browse and navigate. Surfing the Internet is all about doing something fast and getting it done without obstacles. Clever, easy-to-use bars, straightforward menus and clearly demonstrated buttons ensure that site navigation isn't a problem.

{3} Choose Better Fonts

Fonts can present all kinds of problems in your site's design. Is the font size consistent with the site as a whole? Does the color of the font clash with the background or other text? It is almost always best to go for a unified appearance. It is a novice's mistake to choose more than is absolutely necessary. Use no more than two font sizes and one, or at most two, font styles.

{4} Declutter

Your site's layout can always get better by getting rid of the clutter: minimalist design wins in most cases. Try to eliminate anything that stands out in a distasteful way. You don't want your users to be overwhelmed. Eliminate badges, links and networks, and if you absolutely must include them, put them on the About page.

{5} Fix Bad Call-to-Action Buttons

Call-to-action buttons are a tricky business. They're needed, but when used badly, they can make the site look more like a cheap advertising setup than a classy service. Be discreet. Make them evident but not overwhelming. Camouflage them subtly. Find appropriate positions for them and make sure they work correctly and don't lead the user anywhere irrelevant.

{6} Use a Grid

You make think alignment issues have gone the way of the dinosaur because of grid systems, but amateur site designs almost always suffer from this problem. Sometimes a seemingly cluttered site design can be drastically improved by imposing a much-needed grid layout. Also, if the client's site isn't responsive or at least optimized for mobile, there's a serious discussion to be had on that front.

{7} Correct Broken Links

If a client hands you an aging site and is looking for a refresh, you can bet good money that you'll find some ancient links floating around that no longer work. Checking all the links on a site can be a dull, tedious task, so be sure to use a tool like the W3C's Link Checker.

{8} Coordinate Colors

Another mistake amateur web designers make is choosing terrible color schemes. If the site your client hands you makes your eyes bleed, your first task should be to update the colors. Like everything else, the rule here is to simplify. Like removing ugly wallpaper from an old house, you might find something decent under that bad color scheme!

{9} Harmonize the Text-Background Relationship

Don't let the background harm the readability of your content. This kind of mistake is considered the ultimate crime by professional website designers. Browse your site and pay close attention to any background choices that don't complement the text entirely. Your best bet when it comes to your website's background is almost always white.

{10} Is It Worth The Effort?

The most important consideration to put forth when attempting to fix a bad design is whether or not it's worth the trouble. Always give your honest opinion to a client and let them know when starting from scratch will be faster, easier, and/or better than putting a band-aid on an ultimately doomed project.

https://creativemarket.com/blog/2015/01/09/how-to-fix-a-bad-

{ Printing 101 }

When it comes to graphic design, many people are unaware that printing is actually a form of design. So here are some terms and tips on Printing and the different types of printing. So buckle up because here we go.

Thermographic Printing 

This beautiful method of printing creates a raised or embossed look to the words, which makes it ideal for special occasions like weddings or important business letterheads. Thermographic printing, as the name suggests, uses heat to lift the words off the paper, either using a ribbon or a special dye coating on the sheet, though sometimes a powder is used.

Offset Lithography 

Inexpensive, high quality and fast, this is a popular method of printing for publishers. Roller plates, which are readily available, are run first through water and then through ink. The ink sticks to the letters and images that are raised, while the water coats the flat recessed areas around the images and words. The rollers run across a rubber plate and that plate presses against a paper. Although fast and cheap, there’s no room for changes once the plates have been made.

Letterpress

The original and most famous type of printing, as invented by Gutenberg, is letterpress printing. Like offset lithography, the ink adheres to the raised images and not to the recessed areas. The plate is then pressed against the paper. Though it’s the original style, the many improvements now available have made it a relatively obsolete process in the modern world.

Electrostatic Printing

Eschewing inks and plates entirely, the electrostatic printing process sounds futuristic, but it was in fact developed back in 1778. It’s essentially a dry photocopying style where the zinc oxide-coated paper acts as a conductor when exposed to light (and an insulator in the dark). Popular with cartographers, this style isn’t used for much besides mapmaking, though it is faster than an inkjet!

Engraving

Slow and pricey but with a certain undeniable gravitas, engraving is the go-to option for respectable institutions and Fortune 500 companies who want to impress. Images are printed and carved to form raised areas and recesses, and each one is individually made. The result is extraordinarily beautiful, which makes it nice for logos and invitations.

Screen Printing

You may think of this as the last bastion of t-shirt graphics, but screen printing works for printed paper as well as fabrics, metals, plastic and glass. Screen printing is extremely versatile, the ink is squeezed through a mesh film to form an image, and it isn’t limited to any specific size. Modern improvements make it possible to do large runs that have incredibly accurate colors and sharp lines. It’s a great option for art prints, flyers and, of course, t-shirts.

http://ctv.mk/1xkRezd

{ Branching Out as a Graphic Designer }

When it comes to be a graphic designer their are alot of steps you can do to branch out, here are some things you can do to do just that. Follow these steps and you may do just that.

The Essential Abilities of a Graphic Designer

{1} Organized- must be organized in order to keep deadlines.
{2} Time Management - should be able to work on multiple projects without hassle
{3} Up To Date- keep up to date with latest software and design trends
{4} Creative Imagination- to think out of the box and create artistic designs
{5} Communication Skills- to be able to communicate with clients and other designers
{6} Computer Skills- should specialize in necessary software skills
{7} Team Work - to be able to work as part of a team and coordinate on projects

Should Have a Good Understanding Of

{1} Typography
{2} Color Theory
{3} Print Basics
{4} Grid Basics
{5} Web Design Basics

Additional Skills to Have a Good Understanding Of

{1} Illustration
{2} Programming
{3} Photography
{4} Animation and 3D
{5} Video Editing
{6} SEO
{7} App Development
{8} Marketing
{9} Social Media
{10} Writing



http://visual.ly/branching-out-graphic-designer?utm_source=CMblog&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=funnydesigninfographics

{ Overcoming a Bad Mood in Design }

It's widely accepted that your state of mind can greatly impact your productivity and overall performance at work. If you're in a lousy mood, chances are it'll carry over to the office. On the flip side, if you're feeling great on your way into work, it will only improve your performance.

The key is to manage your state of mind so that it doesn't negatively impact your work, three leadership experts write in Harvard Business Review.  Alexander Caillet, Jeremy Hirshberg, and Stefano Petti have been surveying leaders for two years--they've interviewed more than 740 leaders to date--and have found that your state of mind may have an even larger impact on your performance than you might think.

More than 90 percent of the respondents said that feeling calm, happy, and energized drives the greatest performance at work. On the other hand, many felt that being frustrated, anxious, tired, and stressed may be helpful in the short term but can be detrimental in the long term. Unfortunately, they also struggled to get out of those mindsets while at work.

{1} Acknowledge your thoughts and feelings, and then let them be transient. Try generating positive feelings by visualizing positive images, and refocus your attention on happier thoughts. It might be helpful to journal or engage in meaningful conversations.

    {2} Get up and move. "Stretch to loosen muscles, stimulate blood flow, and improve cognitive function," they write. Make sure to take breaks and breath deeply to reduce stress.

    {3}  Adjust the externals. Change the lighting and background noise to make yourself calmer. That may mean listening to happy or calming music, or buying a new desk lamp. Declutter your desk to improve your focus.

    {4}   Be healthy. Eat a well-balanced diet, exercise frequently, and get enough sleep.

http://bit.ly/1z0tq1U

{ Spot the Designer }

When it comes to finding a graphic designer it can be like finding Waldo, so here are some ways to find a graphic designer out in the real world. Good Luck!!!

{1} In a restaurant - the one analyzing everything except what is on the menu. You may even hear the following words such as " The layout is all wrong" or "Why would they use that font."

{2} In a cafeteria - the one buying the weird drink only because they like the packaging. You may hear them say the following, " I don't like red wine but this bottle is to well designed to put down."

{3} Up close - the one with circles under the eye due to the lack of sleep. Cutter cuts or paint stains on almost every finger. You may hear about how long their last design took, or even the color scheme they have under their nails.

{4} In a library -  the one judging a book by its cover design. You may hear something around these lines "I love the artwork, so I'm reading it".

{5} At the mall - uncontrollable excitement when Apple store is spotted. You may see the same reaction when a new Apple product comes out. You may hear the following "Sorry guys, I'm going to the Apple store to wander around for hours and buy nothing".

{6} On the street - the one looking through the garbage certain that something can be used. You may heat them say " This is just what I've been looking for".

{7} Anywhere - the one doodling on any surface available, tables, napkins, cups, bodies, walls and really anywhere we can find a place. You may hear them talking to themselves



http://visual.ly/spot-designer?utm_source=CMblog&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=funnydesigninfographics

{ Gift Ideas For Web Designers }

Much like graphic designers, web designers can be hard to shop for. With Christmas just days away here are some simple gift ideas for web designers.

{1} Lifta Desk Organiser-  You can find it on Made By Cardinal for around $155. Click here to find out more.

{2} Floppy Disk Coaster - You can find it on Etsy for around $16.36. Click here to find out more.

{3} UI Stencils - You can find it on UI Stencils for around $29. Click here to find out more.

{4} Typodarium 2015 - You can find it on Amazon for around $13.33. Click here to find out more.

{5} Cascading Style Sheet Tee - You can find it on The Unrefinery for around $20. Click here to find out more.

{6} Pixel Mouse- You can find it on Amazon for around $14.85. Click here to find out more.

{7} Cosmonaut Wide Grip Stylus- You can find it on Amazon for around $22.99. Click here to find out more.

{8} Cooking for Geeks- You can find it on Amazon for around $15.30. Click here to find our more.

{9} Foldable - You can find it on Foldable.me for around $11.99. Click here to find out more.

{10} EcoDIY Elephant Speaker - You can find it on Area+ for around $22.50. Click here to find out more.

{11} Balcony Desk - You can find it on Reformhaus for around $128.Click here to find out more.

{12} net Magazine Subscription - You can find it on My Favorite Magazine. Click here to find out more.

{13}  Build On Brick Mug- You can find it on ThinkGeek for around $14.99. Click here to find out more.

{14} Letterpress Cookie Cutters - You can find it on Amazon for around $12.17. Click here to find out more.

{15} Tian White and Walnut - You can find it on Mikili for around $385. Click here to find out more.

{16} Day Ruining Invoices - You can find it on Jessica Hische for around $25. Click here to find out more.

{17} Smart Wall Paint - You can find it on Smart Wall Paint for around $99. Click here to find out more.

{18} HTML Necklace - You can find it on Etsy for around $26.18. Click here to find out more.

{19} Wall Notebook- You can find it on Wall Notebook for around $16.95. Click here to find out more.

{20} Responsive Sketch Pad - You can find it on UI Stencils for around $16. Click here to find out more.

http://www.creativebloq.com/netmag/20-great-gift-ideas-web-designers-121310032

{ Cheats for Writing Headlines}

When it comes to create headlines it can be somewhat of a challenge, so here's a helpful way to create the perfect headline. To create a great headline just remember the word H.E.A.D.L.I.N.E.S

H = Helpful- deliver value by being helpful. Make it obvious the reward for reading further is you will gather helpful information.

E = Emotion- evoke emotion by appealing to the two most prevalent drivers of behavior, achieving pleasure and avoiding pain

A = Ask - the question headlines is enormously effective. Find and ask questions your target market wants answered

D = Do's and Don'ts - education is central to effective content marketing. Offer "do" and "don'ts" lessons your audience will find valuable

L = Lists- we're wired to love lists. They're great for article teasers, blog post titles and any type of headline

I = Inspire- write headlines that speak to your readers' desires. Inspire them and you'll have the ultimate hook

N = Nightmare- speak to a problem that keeps readers up at night to write a killer headline.

E = Empathy- earn the trust you need with headlines that demonstrate you understand and care about your readers

S = Success- the proven approach to headline nirvana is to make a promise you'll deliver a little success package

{ How to Become a Creative Director by 25 }

For many designer the ultimate job is to be a creative director, its all about achieving your dreams. Here are ten tips on how to become a creative director by the time you're 25.


{1} Observe all the details around you. Observation is the most important method of information acquisition. As human we do it instinctually, but we are rarely mindful enough to catalog what we observe, especially seemingly drab details of everyday life.

{2} Get Really Good at Math, it's not a joke. Have a mathematical background comes in handy on your journey to become a creative director. The corners of your brain that are used to solve complex equations and study structure, shapes and change, are forever re-wired. For the better you can never unlearn a method for solving a problem

{3} Study Science, don't just study it, understand it. For all the same reasons mentioned above. Physics is the most essentially science to study. It's essentially the application of mathematics to study of how everything around you works. As a Creative Director you will be creating beautiful things for the physical world. Understanding the world around you and how it works provides you with an unparalleled foundation for you to build upon.

{4} Study Art, learn from the greats and about the rules they broke and how they broke them. Learn how they viewed society and how they responded to society so you can better equip yourself to do the same for the present day. Familiarize yourself with contemporary conceptual artist who are pushing bounties, because art has no rules, it is always new, changing, mutating, evolving while acting as a mirror to individuals' minds and our society as a whole.

{5} Be Mindful and Kind, this one is obvious. You will not make it in this world if your not kind to yourself and others. Especially in this industry beginning kind is paramount. To help yourself get there, practice mindfulness, loving yourself will allow you to love others and to have that love flourish. Loving yourself will allow you to be honest with yourself and to be down to the very little details you hate.

{6} Be Confident, But Lean on Others, your option is important. That does not give you the right to be cocky. Young designers will teach you some of your most important lessons. You will need to lean on others almost every step of the way, ask for help when you need it. There is no such thing as truly creating something by yourself, no idea is yours alone. Your entire future will be collaborative, get use to it now. When your in this type of relationship it good to remember that you should trust yourself and trust your past, trust your intuitions, listen to your gut feeling, know that your entire life's experience is relevant and affects every aspect of the choices that you are making today

{7} Speaking of Young Designers, Manage Up, managing up doesn't necessarily imply that your bosses are bad. Your relationship with your boss is like any other relationship, it's symbiotic. Your boss is a human, you want to treat them the way you want to be treated. Make sure they are happy. Be responsible, be responsive, be adaptive, flexible, open-hearted, empathetic, and kind. Your relationship with your boss is like a marriage, just a informative marriage. That type of support is hard to come by, but once you have achieved it, you'll be more than happy.

{8} Work For Free the first benefit you'll see is a passion that will surround you. You can learn so much from other freelances who share your same passion. You can think of them a mentors. We'll also have created a space for experimentation and become self-educated. Working for free creates a space with very little expectation, allowing your creativity to run wild. You will be able to make mistakes with a fear of repercussion.

{9} Stop Reading This Blog Post, there is no right path to becoming a creative director. Dedicate your time to what you love and do it well. You may not be a Creative Director at 25 but that's okay you'll get there in time

{10} Quit , if your chasing the title, stop. You're going to be unhappy, do what makes you happy with the people who make you happy. Know that you can quit and take time for yourself. Find people who share your passions and share with them your views. Look for your people, the people who love you and your passion. That much more important than have a fancy title.

{ How to Create a Powerful PowerPoint }

PowerPoint presentations can be either beautiful and thought-provoking assets or an audience's worst nightmare. Here's how to create a presentation that will keep your audience engaged, rather than counting the seconds till it's over.

Here are just some facts to keep in mind when you create your PowerPoint

• 500 million PowerPoint users worldwide 
• 30 million PowerPoint presentations made around the world each day
• A great PowerPoint presentation should shine in three areas, Content, Design, and Delivery 

Content

• Once you iron out your great idea it's time to start generating content
• Be clear and concise as possible 
• If your already a writer, great. Start putting the pen to the paper 
• Even the best scribes benefit from extra word smithing
• Get other peoples feedback or have a freelancer work on it with you

Design

• Look for visuals that are simple yet evocative and able to easily express a complicated concept
• Color palates and any other visuals should integrate with overall message 
• When in doubt K.I.S.S { keep it simple, silly }. That goes for slide transitions and animation
• Follow the 10/20/30 rule, 10 slides, 20 minutes, 30 point font or larger

Delivery 

• Differ the content you deliver verbally and onscreen so people don't get bored listening 
• Add variety and excitement to your delivery by talking directly to the audience
• Practice makes perfect. Whether you do a practice run in front of your dog or your coworkers, the more comfortable you are with your content, the better your presentation will turn out

{ Type Tuesday-3 }

This is the third installment of Type Tuesday. For this week I thought we would focus on just one typeface. This typeface has a mix of reviews in the design community. Mainly because it has been so over used in the last year. The font I'm talking about it Lobster, it a script font created by Impallari Type in May of 2010.

This font is perfect for the handwritten vibe that your design may need. This font is perfect for logos, titles and headlines. With this font you maybe able to add that special touch that your logo or party invitation has been missing.


You can download Lobster by clicking here.

{ 10 Commandments of Typography }

When you ask someone about the Ten Commandants, people go right for the Ten Commandants of a biblical sense. The Ten Commandants relating to ethics and worship that play a huge role in Judaism and Christianity. If you ask a designer they may give you a different Ten Commandants, the Ten Commandants of Typography.

Commandment 1 : Thou Shalt Show Restraint
It can be easy to get carried away when it comes to trying several different types of fonts. Some people like the look of several typefaces within a text or page, but it usually a sign of an amateurs work. The golden rule is to pick two fonts, and sometimes you can get away with three. Just make sure its suitable to the message your trying to send. This can make the text not only readable, but it can give the reader a better indication of who you are as designer.

Commandment 2 : Thou Shalt Space Words Properly 
You may love the look of a certain font, but if there are a large section of text and the words are clustered too closely together it can make it hard to read. Compare the spacing of several fonts you like to see how they read, and don't be afraid to ask a fellow designer for help.

Commandment 3 : Thou Shalt Align
Working on a grid is the easiest way to ensure your paragraphs are lined up correctly. You don't want to have oddly spaced type as you read down the page. Choosing center alignment is always a poor choice, because it can create unwanted rivers that can ruin the way your type is read. Do yourself a favor and take the time to organize the text so it looks professional from start to finish.

Commandment 4 : Thou Shalt Not Over- Decorate
Decorative, ornamental fonts are fun and often quite pretty at times, but they are often difficult to read and don't further the message than your design maybe trying to say. You'll want to use
fancy fonts sparingly, perhaps only as headers or titles. Using a fancy font in regular paragraphs
is frustrating to read and the flourishes seem less thrilling when you have no one looking at
your designs.

Commandment 6 : Thou Shalt Make it Readable
Readability is something very important and has been mentioned several times in this post so far.Make all your hard work worth it by ensuring that your type is readable. The design is important but less is generally more when it comes to type.

Commandment 7 : Thou Shalt Choose Color Wisely
Fancy fonts and pretty colors are fun, but not all colors work well for reading a design. The brighter the color the harder it is to read. So while you don't have to stick to black and white, muted tones and neutrals are the best choices. And remember, some people are partially or totally color blind, so try to avoid red/green combos and other commonly problematic combinations.

Commandment 8 : Thou Shalt Group Similar Information
Don't scatter your info all over the page, logo or flyer. Keep the essentials where they are east to find and grouped together by related category. For instance, location, phone number and event time should be listed together.

Commandment 9 : Thou Shalt Space Words Properly, Again
The actual act of spacing individual words is very important. While every font has different spacing, and that should help you pick a typeface, there's also the option to change the spacing manually.

Commandment 10 : Thou Shalt Kern
Another dictate on spacing, kerning is how much space is between each individual letter, as opposed to each word. Squished together letters are difficult to read, for obvious reasons, and sometimes two overly close letters can seem to be a different letter entirely. Just don't change the aspect of the actual letters in Photoshop, that's a big designer no-no.

So now use these commandments wisely, and you'll never suffer a typography embarrassment again.


https://creativemarket.com/blog/2014/02/10/10-commandments-of-typography?utm_content=buffer595e2&utm_medium=social&utm_source=CMfacebook&utm_campaign=buffer

{ Web Design Mistakes to Avoid }

A website is the first thing a visitor sees, it should be clean, easily navigated  and readable website will keep visitors come back for more. Unfortunately their are some things to avoid when designing a website and here are what they are.

• Unclear Content - nothing is more confusing to a web visitor then when the site is hard to understand what the content is. You should be able to understand the site's purpose within seconds of arriving on the site. If the homepage is misleading or confusing the visitor may not find what they came to your site for. Clean, simple text on the homepage in a visible, central area will tell the visitors what they need to know and how to use the site

• Advertising-  ads irritate visitors, and they make your site look alot less professional. Depending on who you use for the ads, competitor ads might be placed on your site. The extra cash isn't worth losing a customer.

• Complicated Graphics- it might be tempting to have flashing animation or a bunch of cute gifs on your page, but try to avoid them. Cluttered design can take away from the content on your site and it can even annoy visitors. The cleaner the website the easier for the visitor to understand the sites purpose. Plus if the site has to much on it, it could take some time to load and may not even work on some platforms.

• Unreadable Text - avoid fancy fonts. lots of bolding and underlining, and bad color choices. A traditional font in a dark color on a light background may seem simple, but it works because it's readable. Always avoid using too small or too large or text that changes sizes often or too severely. 

• Spelling and Grammar Errors- you should always proofread everything posted onto your site, That means no spelling, grammatical, or punctuation errors. Simple errors can make you look very unprofessional. Always proofread and double check.

• Pop Ups -  are annoying, unnecessary and force visitors to juggle multiple windows and pages rather than simply hitting the back button to return to where they were. Many people keep the pop blocker feature turned on in their browsers, which means they either have to approve each pop up a site throws at them, or they miss content. Plus, we tend to associate advertisements and dangerous spam with pop ups. Avoid using them at all costs. 

• Irrelevant Content - producing new content is important for SEO and to drive traffic, but make sire your content is always relevant to your site. Otherwise the purpose of your website will become less clear and you may lose traffic, or attract people who aren't interested in your site's actual purpose. 

• Complicated Navigation- whether it's menus within menus, drop down menus or absolutely no menus at all, avoid making your visitors work to find the content they're looking for. Navigating your site should be easy and intuitive. You need a single, simple menu with all navigation options obvious. Similarly, don't shove everything onto the homepage and forego navigation all together, Huge blocks of text and long pages that aren't scalable will send site visitors running to hit the back button 

Steering clear of these web design mistakes will create a clean, user friendly experience for your websites visitors. Making the content obvious, readable and accessible gives visitors an incentive to return. Plus they'll focus on the purpose of your website ans not on any design flaws.

{ Design Tips for Everyone }

Here are ten tips for designing effective visual communication

{1} Typography- all fonts should be legible and appropriate for what you are communicating

{2} Color- use no more than five colors in a single layout. You can use different shades of a single color to distinguish

{3} Iconography- icons should be simple, easy to understand and universal. They're meant to enhance comprehension, never distract

{4} Callouts - use callouts sparingly to highlight only key information

{5} Negative Space- keep significant negative space. When too much information is in a layout messaging becomes cluttered and incoherent

{6} Illustration- should match tone and subject matter. Only include if it enhances the content

{7} Layout - present content in a way that guides readers through in a logical hierarchy. Aligning the elements in a layout with each other will help maintain consistency

{8} Comparison- visualize data in a way that is easy for the viewer to compare values

{9} Simplicity- avoid unnecessary design, including 3D charts, ornamental illustration or extraneous elements

{10} Accuracy- visualization should represent their values proportionately.Inaccurate representations can deceive viewers

{ Type Tuesday-1 }

Recently I have decided to start something called Throwback Thursday where I showcase past work. After thinking about it for a couple days I decided to do two weekly events so I'm proud to announce that Rkaye Designs will now have Type Tuesday. With Type Tuesday I will showcase some of my favorite fonts, give you some downloadable fonts, and even help with some simple type questions. So with out further or do here is the first Type Tuesday post.

I have always believed you should start something off with a bang, so here we go. These are five fonts that every designer needs.

Serif- the original typeface, serif features small lines attached to the end points of a letter. These typefaces are mostly used for print material because they are easy to read and recognize visually. Here are some serif fonts I recommend, Garamond, Sprout Serif and Ninfa.

San Serif- San comes from the French word meaning "without". This refers to fonts that don't have the dash of the serif. They are much simpler and are great looking as outlines and also online. They are easy to read on mobile devices on the computer. Here are some san serif fonts I recommend, Brixton, Nanami, and Cyntho Pro.

Slab Serif- sometimes also know as Egyptian it has bold, thick serifs with little variation between the letter and the serif. They have a clean and finished look to them making them great for making an argument, emphasizing something important or even using for titles and headlines. Here are some slab serif fonts I recommend, Letro, Lunchbox Slab, and Zona Black Slab.

Script- this font appears more like natural handwriting, often with a cursive style, script fonts are approachable while having a distinctively elegant air. They are used for more dramatic elements, such as logo, title, or even headlines. They are highly ornamental can add that need touch to special occasions such as party and wedding invitations. Here are some script fonts I recommend, Matchmaker, Moonface Script, and Charcuterie Cursive.

Decorative-  these fonts are meant for short, impactful statements or names that have their own category. This font is perfect for logos because of its eye catching like qualities that are catchy to the consumer. But you have to remember that decorative fonts most be used carefully because they send a strong message. Here are some decorative fonts that I recommend, Seebad Grado, Griba, and Sping Decorative.

Every designer needs to have a collection of typefaces and with Type Tuesday hopeful you'll be able to keep filling your collection to the brim with amazing typefaces. So keep check every Tuesday for Type Tuesday.


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