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Freelancing

https://www.melyssagriffin.com/10-tips-new-freelance-designers/

Graphic designers tend to do freelance projects on the side and some even have their own small businesses.  So if you are considering becoming a freelancer begin with your name; if you are working on your own then use your last name followed by design or customs. It’s important to define yourself from the competition; what makes your work better and what’s your target audience? Here is ten tips for graphic designers new to freelancing.

https://www.melyssagriffin.com/10-tips-new-freelance-designers/

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Target Audience

With the digital age social media is in the hands of the masses; so whether you are a freelancer or a business it’s important to understand the world of social media.  Platforms like MySpace may have been popular in the day but now it seems like everyone is looking at instagram.  So depending on who you want your audience to be or if you have a particular preference it’s important to understand that LinkedIn may not be as powerful as Instagram.  It’s important to create a work profile or page instead of using your personal one so that you set a level of professionalism and credibility with your audience.  

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Outer World

When taking a picture it can be biased toward the photographer because it’s what they want to shoot and they are trying to convey the message to you. However there is outer world photography where it is focused on real life, no editing just point and shoot because in life things are black and white.  It can be difficult not to go back and edit the image but in life the only filter there is, is how we see it.  Instead life is emotional, it’s interesting and unexpected which tends to make for the best photography so go out and capture the world around you.  

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What is Real?

Before you is the work, “One and Three Chairs,” by Joseph Kosuth in 1965 and is currently on display at the Museum of Modern Art.  In this work there is the definition of a chair, a chair, and a picture of the same chair.  So this is an exercise that can help anyone regardless of their hobbies, jobs, etc.  The question is posed which is a chair, well some may say one while others say three.  There is only one chair in this picture, the picture is only a, well, picture and the other is the definition of a chair.  This is about how we see the world around us; what is and what is not, and in our visual based society it’s important to step back and ask these questions. 

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Film

In the beginning there was no LSR camera or taking a selfie using your phone but instead the classic point and shoot film cameras.  While many makes and models were created (some waterproof, others more vivid colors) they all used 35mm film.  Many people have experience with these “ancient” machines but newer generations are left clueless.  It’s a learning experience as you can experiment with your pictures but you learn the patience of the perfect picture and that you cannot simply delete a picture.  Today film cameras and rolls are difficult to find and having them processed can be pricy but it’s a experience that lasts.  

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Trends and History

While deciding what to create it can be tempting to follow popular trends however it is important to remember the history behind the art.  While it may be cool to put your own spin on a old work it’s never good to repeat the past. It may be easier but it’s more rewarding to create your own work.  For example Star Wars may seem like an idea from the galaxy far far away but picture Han Solo as a western gunslinger or Anakin as a samurai.  One of the most known works in film came from knowledge of the past to create a better future.  

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When to Post

With St. Patrick’s Day tomorrow some may forget the unsaid rules about what to post on social media and what should remain to oneself.  Either going for your first job or being up for a promotion with the corner office they first consider the candidates.  In today’s society everyone has social media and so does your employer; they look through this with the question, “is this the person we want working for us.”  Schools sometimes even look through social media in order to make sure that their students are focused on academics and not partying like in every college movie.  There are two options, the first is to have a account for work/school and one for family and friends On the other hand you could take a second before clicking post to think, “what could happen if I post this” because reactions are more than just emoji’s on a screen.  

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Vacation Photography

With winter slowly coming to an end it’s time to look forward to spring flowers and summer retreats.  These are the memories that we remember for the rest of our lives, that kiss as the sunset over the horizon or the kids first Easter.  It’s important to know how to preserve those moments and there are so many ways of doing so.  Follow the link below for the top 10 vacation picture tips and ideas: 

https://photography.tutsplus.com/articles/10-tips-for-taking-your-best-ever-vacation-photos--photo-3597

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Social Awareness

In graphic design, photography or really industry it’s important to be aware of what is going in the world because it could help or hurt you in the long run.  For example if it’s Margarita Day then maybe make a celebratory shirt to get an increase in attention and sales.  However the same ideas apply to a social media post regardless of it’s personal or professional; don’t talk about anything controversial like religion, politics, or anything like it.  So before you press submit or post that new advertisement take a minute and think what it can do to help or what it could do to help.  

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Framing

When it comes to setting up the perfection composition in photography it’s important to utilize your camera’s grid, to enable it simply go to your settings and turn it on.  It’s important to know that when first setting up your composition have the horizon lined up in the middle of the frame.  Normally if you take it this way it’s thought to be “cookie cutter” which means it is unoriginal.  However if you tilt the camera lower or higher placing the horizon above or below the middle grid you will get some interesting compositions showcasing certain aspects of the composition. 

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Science of Color

In any form of creative expression colors often catches our eye for anything else; more vibrant colors tend to catch us eye than others.  Why does someone consider a color warm or cold; that’s because the wavelength of the color is the same as the object we associate it with.  So for fire we think of orange which means in our eyes we read them at the same wavelength.  Color can be affiliated with emotions (happiness = yellow), food (meat is red), religion and other aspects of our lives.  That’s why if you are trying to convey an emotion in a picture or get your viewer to associate with your company’s logo think about color.  

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The Art of Words

Have you ever looked at a poster or a book and picked it up not because the title or what it was about but that it looked appealing to you.  Was it the font or the way that the words looked? If so then what drew your attention is typography which is a fancy way of simply saying word art; it’s been around for centuries.  It doesn’t have to be a word it could be one letter, a designer if they have the skill can create an entire image based off a single letter.  So the dying medium of text is actually a form of art that the world never knew existed.  

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Color

During the creative process regardless of the medium the color is the most important, it’s normally a good rule of thumb to keep your palette limited to either two or three colors.  To help with this it’s important to understand color relationships (basically which work the best together) and if you will work in CMYK or RGB.  It’s important understand your client and keep the viewer in mind because as humans we associate colors differently.  For example a vegetarian may think of food when they see the color green while we see that in the color red.  So before you sit down to work browse color relationships, look at the color wheel or just ask the question, “what do I think about with this color.”  

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Photographic Community

n photography there is a sense of community; when you are out shooting generally people understand what you are doing but it’s all about the situation.  Without exploiting it you can have them help you by either posing in the image or you could have them help you set up the perfect composition.  Visual arts have become popular in our technologically based society, so photography has become a widespread medium; while one picture is not “better” than the other it is about the photographer themselves.  Filters are assumed to be the standard but to stand out in the crowd try posting an image without editing it first.  The community is vast so become part of it and make your presence  today.  

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Photographic Meaning

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Work in Perspective

In the creative world there are a lot of aspects that one must consider in their work; what’s my message, what’s the inspiration, how to convey this or that.  While important, there is one even far greater which is how your work is conveyed by the viewer because since we are all different what one person sees the other may not.  To put all of this into perspective you need to put yourself in the viewers shoes; during the design process stand up from your chair walk around the room and view the work from different angles and distances.  This allows you to see new possibilities and ideas that could be helpful during your process which could make the end result even better for the viewer.  

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Best Picture

Have you ever found yourself with numerous pictures but you can’t decide what your strongest ones are? Well in the world of graphic design and photography, Adobe Creative Suites stand as the industry standard with applications perfect for any use.  Inside Photoshop you can create what’s known as a contact sheet which you can upload how ever many pictures you want and press play.  The software will organize the selected pictures into a chart letting you go through and pick out the best with ease.  

If you want to know how to create a contact sheet use this link: 

https://helpx.adobe.com/nz/photoshop/how-to/create-contact-sheets.html