Design Informer

Category: Community

This category aims to advance a professional discussion on Web design and development. It features the opinions of active members of the community, and it explores the design process and the meaning of design and its various facets. Curated by Jad Limcaco.

Popular tags in this category: Opinion Column, Discussions, Workflow, Creativity, Skills, Design.

CSS Posters

By Jad Limcaco
May 6th, 2010
CSS
56 Comments

I've always stressed the importance of practice and experimentation. If you want to get better at something or if you want to learn something, you have to keep on doing it over and over again. This is very true with web design as well. We've even published an article here on Design Informer about the benefits of experimentation.

I'm very busy as I work a full-time 9-6 job as a web designer, then I go home and work on Design Informer, soon to be Coding Informer, and I also do a variety of freelance work. With all these on my plate, it's very hard to find time to relax, open up Photoshop and design, or open up Dreamweaver (code view of course) and just mess around with some code.

Seven Tips for Your Design Job Interview

By Jad Limcaco
May 4th, 2010
Skills, Workflow
86 Comments

I'm not the best web designer or graphic designer out there and I don't claim to be, but I do have experience in getting jobs in the industry. I've worked for all kinds of companies since graduating from high school. I've worked as a web designer, graphic designer, and also a front-end developer. In this article, I'd like to share with you some pointers that have helped me in my job interviews.

I've noticed that a lot of people struggle with this area of the job interview. Considering you have the experience and the skill for the job, then the job interview should be something that you look forward to. It should be something that you are confident in, and it should be something that you don't shy away from. You can be the most talented web designer out there, but if you don't do well in your job interview, it can cause you to lose out on that excellent position that you have always wanted. So let's get started. I'd like to give you 7 important pointers to help you on your next job interview.

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Grid-Based Web Design, Simplified

A grid at its barest is nothing more than a series of intersecting horizontal and vertical lines spaced at regular intervals, but its innate propensity for creating order out of chaos makes it one of the most powerful tools at a designer’s disposal. If you want to reap their benefits of grids on your next project but are unsure of the specifics, this article is for you.

Grids are everywhere in our society, and have been for centuries, as this city plan for Washington, DC drawn in 1792 by Charles L’Enfant demonstrates. If you’re even vaguely acquainted with the fundamentals of graphic design, you’ve probably worked on some kind of a grid or at the very least seen examples of grid-based layouts. Grids are an established design tool, and a wealth of knowledge exists in the literature discussing the theory of grids and extolling their benefits. I will make no attempt to summarize them here (if you want a good primer on grid theory, have a look at this piece by Mark Boulton).

Ask the Expert – Design Discussion with Chuck Anderson of NoPattern

We have another Ask the Expert interview for all of you. I will be interviewing one of my favorite graphic designers, Chuck Anderson.

Chuck Anderson is a graphic designer who has achieved much success at an early age due to determination and hard work. Freelancing straight out of high school, he has managed to work with brands such as Nike, Reebok, Pepsi, Sony and even Google and Microsoft. He is also the author of a book called Wandering Off Into Space. Go ahead and view his portfolio here and check out his amazing work.

Choosing Your First Full Time Position Wisely

By Nick Burd
April 22nd, 2010
Skills, Workflow
38 Comments

Being a web developer or designer is a great job. Working full-time doing the things you love and having the ability to work freelance on the side is a plus. But being a college student looking for placement, or fresh out of school and looking for your first full time job can be stressful. Not knowing exactly what to look for can cause some problems, and potentially even hamper your future in some cases working for others. So what do you look for when you are searching for a placement or your first full-time job?

Having went through this in the past, I had no guidance of what to look for. Applying for several jobs over the internet job boards, I found a small company hiring developers with little to no experience, and offering the job through a local internship program. I thought this was a great opportunity so I took it. In the beginning, it was great. I learned quite a few things while working at this small company.

Meeting Your Client for the First Time

By Mel Ndiweni
April 13th, 2010
Skills, Workflow
59 Comments

When I first started out as a freelancer and got my first client – the prospect of meeting him was daunting to say the least. Over time, my confidence grew which led me to write a short overview of points related to that first crucial introduction here.

However, meeting a client as I have learned is much more than just remembering to bring a pen and a spare laptop battery! There are many dos, and don'ts as well as pitfalls to avoid.

The Basics of Business Card Design

By Brett Davis
April 8th, 2010
Design, Workflow
91 Comments

A business card in some cases is the most important marketing piece that a company will have. It has the potential to make or break business deals, and is just as important as the way you present yourself during a first impression. In this post, we will cover some of the basics such as typography, layout, object placement and printing standards when designing a business card.

Before you move too far into a fresh design, printing standards should always be considered. Most printing companies now require files to have appropriate bleeds and margins or your might get an email to upload new files and in some cases, incur extra fees. To correctly set up your design, you need to download or create a template. There are two ways to establish what type of template you are going to use, and that is whether you are going to have image bleed or not. Bleed is the area in which an image runs off the edge of your design. If your image doesn't bleed then your job just got a little easier. Use a 3.5×2 document. If you are using bleeds, then make sure your template is set up with a 1/8" margin outside the printable area. You can download a sample template here.

What I Wish Someone Had Told Me About Freelancing

By Elizabeth Gast
April 5th, 2010
Skills
85 Comments

I've been freelancing as a brand identity artist for about a year now and there are some things I have learned along the way. I researched a lot of articles about freelancing but all of them tended to say the same things, like don't quit your day job until you have a solid plan in place, be prepared to market yourself, get to know your tax laws, etc etc etc. While this is all great advice, there are still some things that I feel people should have told me.