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HSL (for hue, saturation, lightness) and HSV (for hue, saturation, value; also known as HSB, for hue, saturation, brightness) are alternative representations of the RGB color model, designed in the 1970s by computer graphics researchers to more closely align with the way human vision perceives color-making attributes. HSL is part of color model in graphic designing and image editing. Adjusting Hue, Saturation and Lightness of an image is easy to do with just simple dialing of values. HSL is like a tool which comes pre-installed in the image adjustment menu of any image and graphic design software. HSL is user-friendly because even with basic knowledge, you can imagine how specific color looks like. It is very easy to change entire color of any type of graphic file and designs like logo, vector art or even an entire image. Also Read: RGB, CMYK AND Image Resolution: Explained What is HSL and what does it mean? HSL stands for Hue, Saturation, and Lightness. When humans view an object it's color is described by its hue, saturation, and brightness. The HSL representation models the way different paints mix together to create color in the real world, with the lightness dimension resembling the varying amounts of black or white paint in the mixture. Fully saturated colors are placed around a circle at a lightness value of ½, with a lightness value of 0 or 1 corresponding to fully black or white, respectively. The HSL color space was invented for television in 1938 by Georges Valensi as a method to add color encoding to existing monochrome broadcasts, allowing existing receivers to receive new color broadcasts (in black and white) without modification as the luminance (black and white) signal is broadcast unmodified. It has been used in all major analog broadcast television encoding including NTSC, PAL and SECAM and all major digital broadcast systems and is the basis for composite video. 1. HUE So what exactly is Hue? Hue literally means color. Hue is a degree on the color wheel from 0 to 360. 0 is red, 120 is green, 240 is blue. When it is used in a color name, it indicates that a modern pigment has been used instead of the traditional one. For example, Cadmium Red Pale Hue is a “color of cadmium red pale”. It is important to note that a hue color is not necessarily inferior. 2. SATURATION So what exactly is Saturation? Saturation is the intensity, or richness, of that color. Saturation is a percentage value; 0% means a shade of gray and 100% is the full color. Also Read: Primary, Secondary And Tertiary Colors In Designing The higher the saturation of a color, the more vivid it is. The lower the saturation of a color, the closer it is to gray. Lowering the saturation of a photo can have a “muting” or calming effect, while increasing it can increase the feel of the vividness of the scene. 3. LIGHTNESS / BRIGHTNESS So what is Lightness or Brightness? Lightness (or brightness) is the amount of white or black mixed in with the color. It's also calculated as a percentage value between 0% and 100%. 0% lightness will also always be black. Lightness (which is sometimes referred to as ‘value’ or ‘tone’) relates to the amplitude of the color – or its proximity to the white or black end of the tonal scale. A color with low value is close to black, while one with high value is close to white. KEY POINTS: HSL vs HSB: HSL & HSB are same where L stands for Lightness and B stands for Brightness. In designing terms both Lightness and Brightness are same. HSL HSB in Color System: These are values to determine Hue, Saturation and Lightness/Brightness in a system where these values when adjusted change the color tone of the selected layer. HSL vs RGB: The HSL color model is used in numerical color specifications. The advantage of HSL over RGB is that it is far more intuitive. you can tweak colors whenever you want. HSL is meant to be more easy to understand. Formats like RGB and Hex are more machine readable than human readable. HSL Colors: For Web style sheets, there are 360×99×98 = 3.49 million possible HSL color choices. Articles Related To Color Grading, Digital Art & Designing: • Primary, Secondary And Tertiary Colors In Designing • RGB, CMYK AND Image Resolution: Explained • Graphic Designing And Its 8 Elements: Explained • Best Laptops for Designing Work in 2021 • Raster Vs Vector Graphics • 8 Free Online Tools To Boost Your Graphic Design Work • Top 5 Video Editing Software To Choose From • 16 Types Of Blur In Photoshop In Details: Gaussian, Motion, Lens, Surface, Radial Etc. UP NEXT: 5 Tips For A Great Logo Design

In the current time of designing and styling, Logo plays a key role in giving your design a unique feel. When it comes to selecting a good Logo Design Style, we do spend a lot of time researching and finding some relatable Design to not just make our Logo look unique but also modern. Here is our 6 top picks of Logo Styles which you can use to enhance your designs in 2022. Also Read: FACTORS THAT MAKES A PERFECT LOGO #1 1. Simplistic Geometric Shapes are the building blocks of imagery. But while primitive shapes such as triangles, squares and circles are often phased out once they have laid the groundwork, there is power in their pure simplicity. 2. Perspective Drawing As iconic logo designer Lindon Leader once put it, great design is born from simplicity and clarity. These two virtues are what allow logo designs to effectively communicate the complex identity of a brand to a viewer. It is why so many past logo trends have focused on minimalism and flat design. 3. Stained Glass Logo design, as a relatively modern invention, often seeks inspiration in the techniques and limitations of the past. In 2021’s case, many logo designers are finding enlightenment in the stained glass windows of the Dark Ages. 4. Abstract An abstract mark is a specific type of pictorial logo. Instead of being a recognizable image like an apple or a bird it's an abstract geometric form that represents your business. Like all logo symbols, abstract marks work really well because they condense your brand into a single image. 5. Golden Ratio You can find the Golden Ratio when you divide a line into two parts and the longer part (a) divided by the smaller part (b) is equal to the sum of (a) + (b) divided by (a), which both equal 1.618. This formula can help you when creating shapes, logos, layouts, and more. 6. Mascot Logo Mascot logos are often exaggerated, like caricatures. They use simple shapes to convey the personality of the brand or team. But mascot logos are still logos. They need to be legible, simplified, and unique. They may need to include the full team or business name within the logo. Articles Related To Logo Design & Designing: • Factors That Makes A Perfect Logo #1 • 5 Tips For A Great Logo Design • 7 Process To Master Logo Designing In 2022 • 6 Common Types of Logo Designs For Beginners • 7 Digital Art & Portrait Style To Learn And Start In 2022 • Raster Vs Vector Graphics • Graphic Designing And Its 8 Elements: Explained • Difference Between GUI And CUI UP NEXT: 8 Free Online Tools To Boost Your Graphic Designing Work

In the current time of designing and styling, Logo plays a key role in giving your design a unique feel. When it comes to selecting a good Logo Design Style, we do spend a lot of time researching and finding some relatable Design to not just make our Logo look unique but also modern. Beginners face many obstacles on where to start with their logo design. Having no experience in logo designing can lead to doubts and the researching part too can become time consuming. One should always begin by deciding what style of logo they want for their brand/design. There are many different styles to make a logo. Some of them are very common and only requires basic shape & text, but there are also some type of logo styles which takes some efforts to make. Beginners have no experience in logo designing and they get confused about where to begin and what type of logo to design first. There are many software you can use to make vector and raster logo designs like Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, CorelDraw Graphics Suite, Xara Designer Pro, Affinity Designer, Inkscape and Gravit Designer. Read: Complete Graphic Design Software Breakdown What Are The Basic logo Types? Logo styles can be divided into many basic types such as Abstract, Wordmarks, Lettermarks, Brandmarks, Combination marks, Pictorial marks, 3D and Emblems. All the major companies and brands around the world uses one of these types of logo style to make a remarkable impact among their customers. In this post, we will breakdown some basic logo types in details with some famous examples. Also Read: 5 Tips For A Great Logo Design Here is our pick of Common Logo Styles which you can use to enhance your designs. 1. ABSTRACT An abstract mark is a specific type of pictorial logo. Instead of being a recognizable image like an apple or a bird it's an abstract geometric form that represents your business. Like all logo symbols, abstract marks work really well because they condense your brand into a single image. Abstract logos are preferred for their ability to give a unique look to a brand. Abstract logos best portray feelings and concepts rather than a real image. They are very influential and such logo establishes a new identity for a business that showcase the goals and ideas of the business. Some great examples that best represents Abstract logo are Pepsi, Twitter, Spotify, NBC, Nike, Mitsubishi, BP Petroleum, Adidas, MasterCard and Shell. 2. MASCOT Mascot logos are often exaggerated, like caricatures. They use simple shapes to convey the personality of the brand or team. But mascot logos are still logos. They need to be legible, simplified, and unique. They may need to include the full team or business name within the logo. A mascot logo is one that bears an image of an identifiable brand ambassador, often in the form of a cartoon. Mascot logos are designed to be relatable, Some great examples of Mascot logo are KFC, Pringles, Mr. Clean, Wendy's, Boomer, Monopoly, Starbucks and Amul. 3. GOLDEN RATIO Golden Ratio isn't actually a logo style but rather a method which designers use. to create a complex logo using different types of shapes. This method isn't very difficult and the final result it give is pretty satisfying. You can find the Golden Ratio when you divide a line into two parts and the longer part (a) divided by the smaller part (b) is equal to the sum of (a) + (b) divided by (a), which both equal 1.618. This formula can help you when creating shapes, logos, layouts, and more. There are many well established famous brands who used Golden Ratio method on their logo design. Some of these brand are Twitter, Toyota, BP Petroleum, MasterCard, Pepsi, Google. Apple and National Geographic. 4. EMBLEM An emblem logo is made as a symbol that conveys your participation in a certain industry and the ideas you stand for. These logo consists of font inside a symbol or an icon and tend to have a traditional appearance about them that can make a huge visual impact. Such logo style is the go-to choice for many schools, organizations or government agencies. Also Read: Factors That Makes A Perfect Logo #1 Also Read: Factors That Makes A Perfect Logo #2 Also Read: Factors That Makes A Perfect Logo #3 Emblem style logos can appear anywhere because they're designed to represent powerful universal concepts. Emblem logos take the concept of a combination mark and incorporate it within a frame which perfectly give a visual that's worth remembering. There are many schools and companies who use Emblem logo to make a striking impact. Some great examples of Mascot Logo are WB (Warner Bros.), Harley Davidson, Starbucks, FBI, BMW, Lamborghini, Ferrari, DPS (Delhi Public School) and NFL. 5. WORDMARK A wordmark or logotype is a font-based logo that focuses on a business' name alone. Wordmark logos are basically a text of the company which then turned into some stylized text design. Such logo design looks simple but are very effective. Wordmark logos work really well when a company has a short and distinct name. Take an example of Visa and Coca-Cola, where Visa has a really simple font type and Coca-Cola has quite a unique looking font. They both represent their brand just by using a text rather than a shape. The best examples of Workmark Logos are Google, Facebook, Netflix, Calvin Clein, Disney, Subway, Coca-Cola, Visa, FedEx, Dell, Yahoo, Sony, Canon, Sega, Logitech and Oracle. 6. LETTERMARK A lettermark is a typography based logo design made only of text. This logo style is based on company or brand's initials, rather than using its full name. It's also known as a monogram. Lettermark logo types are good choice for a company whose name is hard to pronounce, or too long. Lettermark logos are all about simplicity and generally range from two to three letters. Lettermark logos are visual representations of what your business is all about. Shortening a long company name to its initials just makes it easier for audience to remember the logo and name in global markets. The challenge with both lettermarks and wordmarks, however, is to make them distinctive enough visually that they become instantly recognizable. If your company's name is a mouthful, you should definitely consider using a lettermark logo. The best examples of Lettermark Logos are Cartoon Network (CN), Hewlett Packard (HP), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Hennes & Mauritz (H&M), Comedy Central (CC), Procter & Gamble (P&G), International Business Machines (IBM), Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Electronic Arts (EA), McDonald's (M) Home Box Office (HBO), Cable News Network (CNN), Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) and Warner Bros (WB). 7. COMBINATION MARK Combination mark is a type of logo design which involves both company's name and visual representation of the brand. In Combination mark, text and image or icons are combined to make a recognizable logo to helps clarify what a business is all about. It is simply a logotype and logomark combined into one logo to enhance the branding message. Combination mark logos consists wordmark and symbol, which makes complexity and thus easier to trademark. Adding a catchy name alongside a symbolic image of what your brand is going to offer creates direct connection to the customer. This means your logo is more distinctive, quickly recognizable and less likely to be confused with other brands’ logos. Some examples of Combination Mark Logos are Burger King, Pizza Hut, Doritos, Walmart, Adidas, Taco Bell, Dunkin Donuts, Domino's Pizza, Swarovski, McDonald’s, Airbnb, Puma, Jaguar, Amazon, Lacoste, Xbox, Microsoft and Lay's 8. 3D Three-dimensional or 3D logo design give a modern and futuristic look to a brand image. 3D logo also attract more eyes and provides a unique opportunity that will have your company's motto jumping off the page. 3D logos add an extra dimension and create an impression of depth for getting noticed. Such logo work extremely well on apps, games and online platforms. Compared to traditional 2D logos, 3D logo design stands out way easier. Mockups of 3D logo looks astonishing and not to mention, it's a great starting point for animation. The list of famous 3D Logo is short. Some of the greatest 3D logos are Xbox, Mozilla Firefox, Sony Ericsson, Superman Logo, Audi, Mercedes, Autodesk Maya and Universal Pictures. Articles Related To Logo, Graphic Design & Photoshop: • How Do Graphic Designers Stay Inspired | 10 Ways Of Inspiration • 7 Process To Master Logo Designing In 2022 • 12 Difficulties Every Freelancer Faces and Tips To Overcome These Problems • 10 Best Photoshop Plugins To Use In 2022 • 8 Free Online Tools To Boost Your Graphic Design Work • Where To Hire Great Designers? Advantages of Hiring a Designer • 10 Must Have Plugins To Use In Photoshop • 7 Digital Art & Portrait Style To Learn And Start In 2022 UP NEXT: Trendy Logo Design Styles in 2021

The Blur Tool is used to paint a blur effect. Each stroke made using the Blur Tool will lower the contrast between affected pixels, making them appear blurred. A harder blur brush will alter pixels at the given strength so that all affected pixels are blurred to the same degree. Blurs can be beautiful things. They can hide imperfections or soften an image. They can help in the background to draw attention to what you want your viewer to see. Or, they can help you blur a background to see some text. Once you decide to add a blur, you'll quickly realize that there are a bunch of different kinds blurs in Photoshop. Also Read: 8 Free Online Tools To Boost Your Graphic Design Work Blurs can be beautiful. Just by using this one tool, you can accomplish a lot since a simple blur can help improve your image by: Simulating depth of field Hiding imperfections Softening an image Smoothing skin tones Drawing attention to what the viewer sees Making text stand out Masking bad cuts Before experimenting with any blur, read these important notes. Always make a duplicate of your image to work on so you don’t mess up the original. Add the blur filter to a new layer while still keeping the old layers intact. Unless you convert your image to a smart object, you won’t be able to edit the blur once it’s applied. Even though the Blur gallery looks very similar to the regular Photoshop interface, it’s not quite the same. You have to click OK before you can move anything or switch to a different tab. You have 16 types of blur in Photoshop from which to choose. 1. AVERAGE BLUR The Average Blur filter gives a more correct color in your image by removing a color cast. It does this by creating a color that’s the average of all the colors in the neighboring pixels. The ways to use this blur: To color correct an entire image, simply select Average Blur. Your image will end up being one averaged color of the entire image. To color correct a specific area on the image, select one spot before choosing Average Blur. The area’s color will become an average of the colors inside that selection. This allows you to smooth out one area of color. 2. BLUR The Blur Filter looks for significant transitions or edges and then blurs them together to create a softer image. To Blur: Select the Blur tool. Choose a brush tip and options for blending and strength. Select Sample All Layers to blur all visible layers, or deselect this option to blur only the active layer. Drag over the area of the image that you want to blur. 3. BLUR MORE The Blur More filter creates an even more blurry image after you’ve already used the general Blur filter. Every time you select Blur More, it blurs the image three to four times more than it was originally blurred. You may find yourself clicking Blur More up to 10 times to get the look you want. Use this filter when working with a high-resolution image to achieve a more hazy look. You can also use it on a lower-resolution image, but the effect will be much more pronounced. 4. BOX BLUR The Box Blur filter uses the average of nearby colors to blur an image. Because of this, it gives you more control than the Blur filter. The Box Blur looks for edges within an image (two contrasting colors right next to each other) to retain more definition in an image. A word of warning—this filter can create a weird distortion, so it’s often only used for special effects. 5. GAUSSIAN BLUR The Gaussian Blur filter gives a hazy effect by blurring the image or selected area by an adjustable amount. This amount is based on a weighted average, also called The Gaussian Function. You’re able to implement the Gaussian Blur using either Radius or Threshold. The smaller the area you select, the less blur you’ll get. This is a great way to bring focus to a specific part of an image. As good as it is, the Gaussian Blur can still give the image a hazy look. 6. LENS BLUR The Lens Blur is used to give the image the effect of having a narrower depth of field. This means some objects in an image stay in focus while others are blurred. Here’s how you use this filter: Select the depth map to determine where the pixels are positioned. Alternatively, use the crosshair cursor to set the blur’s starting point. Choose an iris shape and change the curves of the blades of the iris as desired. Select Lens Blur and preview the image. To add more blur, drag the Radius slider. Click OK. 7. MOTION BLUR The Motion Blur filter applies a specific blur in a specific direction with a specific intensity. This gives the illusion of movement to a subject in your image. Select a part of the image to blur. When you select this filter, a dialog box will open. Rotate the wheel around to choose the direction of the blur, then choose the distance that you’d like the image to be blurred and by what amount. 8. RADIAL BLUR The Radial Blur filter will simulate either zooming in or rotating a camera. When you select Radial Blur, a dialog box will appear. Change the center of the blur to the place you want and set the amount of grain by using the quality setting controls. A lower amount equals a lower blur. Unfortunately, you’ll have to make your selections without seeing them previewed on your image, but you can guess how they will look by examining the white part of the dialog box. Once you hit Apply you’ll see the final result. 9. SHAPE BLUR The Shape Blur filter is best to use on a part of your image with a simple shape, like the circle shape at the bottom of a tulip. Create a blur by choosing one of the vector shapes that is already included in the dialog box (or custom-shape your own). 10. SMART BLUR The Smart Blur filter smooths out grain and noise patterns between edges. You have a lot of control of this blur in its dialog box. The Threshold setting determines how different the pixels need to be before they’re blurred. If you want a very minimal change, choose the lowest setting. The Quality setting will change the quality of the blur. The Mode setting shows where Photoshop is detecting edges. 11. SURFACE BLUR The Surface Blur filter blurs the entire image except for the edges. Using a high radius will cause you to lose a lot of detail in your image, but the Threshold will allow Photoshop to look at the pixels in the radius and figure out how they should be blurred. This filter is a great way to smooth out skin. However, without taking some additional steps, the filter can smooth out too much detail and texture, making the image look fake. If you add a layer mask to your layer and use your brush tool with the mask selected, you can get back some of the detail you want. Or, you can brush over with black in the areas where you want more detail. 12. FIELD BLUR The Field Blur can help you blur part of a portrait while still being able to see the subject’s eyes or even their entire face. Once you select Field Blur, you’ll see the Blur Gallery open. Also, your entire image will be blurred, and you’ll see a little circle in the middle. The circle is called a “pin” which can be moved or duplicated. Alternatively, you can drag the slider located in the top left corner of the Blur Gallery. 13. IRIS BLUR The Iris Blur filter uses a lot of the same technology and techniques as the Field Blur, but it gives you more control over the blurring of a subject’s eyes. The differences are that with Iris Blur, you: Can change the shape of the ellipse to be more circular or flat by manipulating any of the four points around the ellipse. You can even drag the ellipse outside of the image to blur just the corners. Control the transition or gradient of the blur in the transition area. The space between the center of the iris (where the pin would be) to the edge of the four transition points will have no blur. But, a gradual blur can be applied from the transition point to the 100% blur line. Control the line curve by manipulating the little diamond that’s on the 100% blur line. Dragging the diamond changes the shape of the ellipse to a rectangle with rounded corners. Change the transition of just one part of the ellipse by holding Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows). Change the focus in the transition area by adjusting the Focus slider in the Blur Gallery. 14. TILT SHIFT The Tilt-Shift filter prevents perspective distortion by controlling the plane of focus. Sometimes it’s also used as a way to make an image look as though it was shot up close with a macro lens, rendering the subjects look like mini versions of themselves. The different components of Tilt-Shift are similar to the Iris Blur, except the solid lines create a protected area without a blur (unless the Focus is adjusted). The dotted lines represent the 100% blur line. Between the solid and dotted lines is where the blur will transition or form a gradient. 15. PATH BLUR Path Blur is the fourth of five blur filters in the Blur Gallery available in Photoshop CC and later. It enables you to add motion effects along a path to images. ... A path with two end points is automatically added to the image. Notice the arrow at one end of the path. The arrow determines the direction of the blur. 16. SPIN BLUR The Spin Blur is the last of the five blur filters in the Blur Gallery available in Photoshop CC and later. It enables you to create circular motion effects that emulate an object's rotation. This tutorial will show you how to use the Spin Blur filter to add a spinning motion effect to a car's wheels. You'll get to modify the different values, duplicate the effect, then clean it up using a smart filter mask. Now that you’ve gone over how to blur an image in Photoshop using the 16 different types of blurs in Photoshop, it’s finally time to take the next step. Articles Related To Photoshop & Designing: • 10 Must Have Plugins To Use In Photoshop • 7 Digital Art & Portrait Style To Learn And Start In 2022 • How To Choose Colors And Fonts For Your Design/Brand? • File Types In Graphic Design: Complete Breakdown UP NEXT: 10 Best Photoshop Plugins To Use In 2022

In the digital world of social media where basically anything from videography, photography, digital marketing, writing, shopping & selling can be done online. People are inclining more towards learning digital skills and working online full time. After the 2019 Covid-19 pandemic, many employees lost their job due to the lockdown. On the other side, that gave birth to a modern name Work From Home for those who were continued to work during the pandemic. Working from home is basically as same as a regular job but with some added comfort of staying at home. Also Read: 8 Free Online Tools To Boost Your Graphic Design Work There are many designers, writers and coders who believe in self employment and does not want to work in any typical job. This is the situation where Freelancing comes in. Freelancing is basically working whenever you want and however you want. Freelancers make their own time schedules and habits for work which makes them their own boss. It means they can earn full commission out of a project. As we talked earlier about Covid-19 lockdown when some lost their jobs, this was the time when freelancing became a life savior alternative for those who are willing to work irrespective of getting paid less. Freelancing could be done both online and locally and more companies are hiring freelancers than ever before. One could argue that being a freelancer comes with perks and freedom from all the burden that comes up with working in a regular job. Some might think that freelancers charge a hefty amount for their work and get paid very well. All these statements are somehow true but we all can agree on the fact that nothing is perfect and flawless, same applies for freelancing. Like every other job out there, freelancers also face some difficulties in the beginning of their freelancing career. These problems could be varies from delivering quality work to financial problems or client management. Even experienced workers who turned into freelancing faces some issues in this field. Here are some of the difficulties every freelancer faces: Getting First Project Getting Good Ratings/Reviews Project Pricing Personal Expanses Finding Work Regularly Client's Trust Tight Deadlines Client's Expectations Time Management Keeping Productivity Competition Low Freelancing Benefits Read 12 Difficulties Every Freelancer Faces and Tips To Overcome These Problems to learn in details about these 12 points. 1. Finding Next Project There are many factors that can demotivate a freelancer to continue working on this line of field, but one of the major difficulty a freelancer faces is that they have to Keep on looking for the next work/project even while working on an ongoing project. This situation is quite bad for those who fully rely on earning from freelancing work. Such freelancers continuously bids for project on various freelancing sites in the hope of getting selected. TIP: Building client's trust is a great way of getting future projects. Freelancers must work on building a network of clients based on types of project they requires. 2. Project's Pricing Another difficult part being a freelancer is to work on Project's pricing. Freelancers are clueless and desperate in the beginning, thus make efforts of getting a project by pricing their services cheap in order to stand up against the competitors. This trick will work as a local freelancing, but this trick backfires in the online selling as the client's psychology is exact opposite and they prefers service with great quality and above average pricing. Convincing online clients is much more difficult than convincing one in front of you. TIP: Freelancers must price their services based on what they are capable of making and what their competitors are offering. 3. Personal Finances Freelancing can provide a good income with some reputed client base, but this field is unpredictable and a client can change his mind whenever he wants. Not everyone is financially stable and some goes to full time freelancers. Personal finances is an issue which affects them mentally and force them to make mistakes in a desperate attempt. They have to pick a project on daily basis in order to sustain their personal finances. Thus freelancing makes them vulnerable if their regular clients somehow stop taking their services. TIP: Freelancers should always have some spare money and must not always rely on freelance earning. This applies to both beginner and reputed professional freelancers. Freelancing is fun when you have no time constraints and have freedom to pick whatever project you like. Yes there are some factors which can make someone think twice before entering into this field, but what you receive in return will definitely overshadows their negative aspects. It's never been too late to start something new. Start selling your services online by adding your portfolio on various freelancing websites. Articles Related To Career & Designing: • 8 Free Online Tools To Boost Your Graphic Design Work • Where To Hire Great Designers? Advantages of Hiring a Designer • 10 Tips To Finish Project On Time UP NEXT: 10 Best Photoshop Plugins To Use In 2022

Have you ever had a wave of confusion over when a designer asks, “Can you please supply your company logo as a vector file?” Or maybe they need a .PNG file for your website’s header image. What is a vector file? And why does Papua New Guinea have a file-type? As a graphic designer, it is extremely important to use the correct file-types for specific applications. Having the incorrect file-type could potentially lessen the desired look you were hoping for. To help prevent confusion we have put together a go-to list of design file-types that will fill you with confidence and help you understand the difference between a vector and Papua New Guinea file, I mean .PNG file. File types are also known as file extension. Table Of Contents RASTER FILE VS VECTOR FILE RASTER FILES 1. Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPG) 2. Portable Network Graphics (PNG) 3. Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) 4. Tagged Image File Format (TIFF) 5. RAW - Unprocessed data from digital camera 6. Bitmap Image File (BMP) 7. Photoshop Document (PSD) VECTOR FILES 1. Adobe Illustrator File (AI) 2. Encapsulated Postscript (EPS) 3. Portable Document Format (PDF) 4. Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) 5. Corel Draw File (CDR) Also Read: 7 Process To Master Logo Designing In 2022 Also Read: What Is The Most Difficult Part About Being A Freelancer? Also Read: How Do Graphic Designers Stay Inspired | 10 Tips For Inspiration Understanding the distinctions among different file types will help you correctly save, send, and manage every digital project you work on. Unless you’re a designer, you’ve probably never worked with a .PSD or an .INDD file, but that doesn’t mean you never will. This guide will help clear up the misunderstandings you might have about file types and maybe introduce you to a brand new one along the way. RASTER FILE VS VECTOR FILE Before diving into the different file types you might encounter, it’s important to know the distinction between a vector and a raster. Raster images are made up of pixels, or blocks of colors, to form an image. The pixels have a defined size depending on the resolution of your image. If you try to make an image with a very low resolution into a very high resolution, the pixels will stretch and become distorted. It is impossible to resize raster images without compromising their resolution as they are already compressed. To prevent this, save your raster files at the exact same dimensions needed for your project. JPEGs, GIFs, and PNGs are all raster-supporting file types. Vector images resolve this issue. Also Read: Why Branding Is So Important In 2022? Also Read: 10 Common Mistakes Designers Make #1 They are far more flexible and are constructed with proportional formulas instead of pixels. Your logo was most likely created in a vector program, like Adobe Illustrator or CorelDraw. A vector image can be stretched or shrunk as much as you like—without looking pixelated and without compromising the resolution. EPS, AI, and PDF are all vector-supporting file types. RASTER FILES Raster Image files are compressed, these files are ‘Pixel based’ meaning the resolution and the quality of the file is limited. Using a JPEG or PNG logo image will not be able to be scaled to huge billboards or posters. This is because they are built up in pixels, meaning once you begin to stretch these images to larger scales the pixels are stretched themselves. This results in a pixelated image. 1. Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPG) Used For: File choice for banner ad publishers Medium and low resolution web-use Proofing and sharing work-in-progress design work with clients Handy To Know: Quick load time for web Photos are compressed and smaller in size Constraints: Does not support background transparency Does not retain its quality when rescaled Flat image that is non-editable 2. Portable Network Graphics (PNG) Used For: Transferring images on the internet High quality web images Handy To Know: Files can be created with transparent backgrounds (great for company logos and icons) Compressed file sizes allow for quick load times Displays crisp and clean on digital applications Constraints: Not ideal for printing Cannot be scaled over its pixel width Flat image that is not easily editable 3. Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) Used For: Web animations Social Media Memes Short inaudible clips Handy To Know: Files can be created with transparent backgrounds Perfect for emails and web graphics File size is small Constraints: GIF files are low resolution Support only 256 colors 4. Tagged Image File Format (TIFF) Used For: Commonly used in the photography sector If you’re printing large photos – use this format Storing large documents Handy To know: Largest raster file type Reliable and never lose quality Use them for saving photographs for print Scans high quality documents Constraints: Never use this file type for saving web graphics Take more time to load Takes more space 5. RAW - Unprocessed data from digital camera Used For: Used by photographers and design professionals. Store all the unprocessed and processed data from an image captured with a digital camera RAW file allows the image to be in the absolute most highest quality Handy To Know: They are high quality and have high resolution They are very large Best used when shooting and editing photos Make sure to save as a JPEG or TIFF when exporting Constraints: Most print companies won’t accept RAW files to send to print. 6. Bitmap Image File (BMP) Used For: Contains uncompressed data and displaying high-quality digital images Store bitmap digital images and independently of the display device Best for creating 3D UV texture maps Handy To Know: Creates lossless image quality Allows open and re-save the image without degrading the integrity Constraints: Does not support background transparency Not recommended for photographs, static graphics and animated graphics Lack of compression generally creates larger file sizes 7. Photoshop Document (PSD) Used For: Primarily used to create and edit raster images not vectors PSD Files are purely the original editable photoshop files PSD files can be created and opened only with Adobe Photoshop Handy To Know: This file type allows for transparency and multiple layers Photoshop is able to export a PSD file into a wide range of file types, including JPGs, PNGs, and PDFs Can resize any image to fit whichever project you’re working on. Vector layers can be contained in a Photoshop file All Photoshop files can be exported in all the above raster formats. You should use PSD files when retouching photos, editing digital artwork, creating web images and creating frame animations or videos. Constraints: Photoshop is a prerequisite Large storage capacity due to layers VECTOR FILES All the logos we create are vectors, this is because they are made up of points, lines and curves that are based on mathematical equations rather than pixels like raster images. This means that no matter how large or small you make the vector or how close you zoom in all them lines, curves and points stay pristine and smooth. Logos need to be in a vector format purely so it can be scaled to large shop signs, window graphics, billboards or scaled smaller to a T-Shirt embroidery or for any print work. Also Read: 10 Tips To Finish Your Project On Time Also Read: 10 Best Plugins To Use In Photoshop #1 1. Adobe Illustrator File (AI) Used For: Logo and illustration design Creating multi-layered/multi-paged artwork Prototyping websites Handy To Know: Scalable to any size without losing image quality Supports transparency Full editing capabilities within Adobe Illustrator Vector-based working file for digital artists and web developers Constraints: Can only be edited in Adobe Illustrator 2. Encapsulated Postscript (EPS) Used For: Logos and illustrations Infographics Icon design Handy To Know: One of the most preferred formats by digital designers and other third-party creatives Single page vector-based drawing that can be scaled to any size Supports transparent backgrounds Fully editable artwork Retains image quality Can be exported to various file types Constraints: Can only be edited using design software such as Adobe Illustrator 3. Portable Document Format (PDF) Used For: Digital versions of hard copy documents or publications Sharing previews of work without losing image quality Universally viewable by computers Emailing documents Both print and digital Digital downloads Handy To Know: Can be opened and edited in Adobe Illustrator Illustrator and Photoshop files can be saved as PDF PDFs can contain both raster and vector images Constraints: Not always suitable for viewing on smaller mobile devices Can only be edited using design software 4. Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) Used For: It is a standard graphics file type used for rendering two-dimensional images on the internet. SVG has become an essential web design format Even better than JPEG, PNG, and GIF Handy To Know: SVG can be scaled to any dimension without losing quality SVG files are also easily editable just like changing a word in a text document SVG can be altered using JavaScript or CSS SVG can be bring back into Illustrator to edit SVGs are scalable they can be saved at a minimal file size. Constraints: Cannot support as much detail SVG doesn't work on legacy browsers 5. Corel Draw File (CDR) Used For: Logo, banners and UX designs Creating multi-layered/multi-paged artwork Vector graphic images and drawings Handy To Know: Scalable to any size without losing image quality Supports transparency Contains text, lines, shapes, images, colors and effects Best for client and printing work Constraints: Does not work with Adobe apps Can only be edited in CorelDraw and Inkscape Now that we have covered the ins and outs of common design file types, their uses and the differences between them, you can supply and share with confidence! Articles Related To Designing & Career: • 5 Tips For A Great Logo Design • Graphic Designing And Its 8 Elements: Explained • Hue, Saturation and Lightness (HSL) in Color System: Explained • Trendy Logo Design Styles in 2021 • 6 Common Types of Logo Design For Beginners UP NEXT: Top 5 Video Editing Software To Choose From

The aesthetics of a design is an integral part of your business image. It is, after all, what people see when looking at your website, social media, and anything else associated with your business. Your audience can judge your company, product, or service in just a few seconds. Most of that judgment is based on color alone. Table Of Contents WHY COLORS AND FONTS ARE IMPORTANT? • WHY ARE COLORS IMPORTANT? • WHY ARE FONTS IMPORTANT? HOW TO CHOOSE COLOR FOR YOUR DESIGN/ BRAND? • COLOR TERMINOLOGY CHOOSING THE RIGHT COLOR 1. EMOTIONAL RESPONSE 2. COLOR PALETTES 3. INDUSTRY STANDARDS 4. TRENDS 5. COMBINATIONS HOW TO CHOOSE FONT FOR YOUR DESIGN/ BRAND? • FONT TERMINOLOGY CHOOSING THE RIGHT FONT 1. FONT PSYCHOLOGY 2. CATEGORY 3. HEADINGS 4. TIMELESSNESS 5. FREE AND SAFE FONTS 6. COMBINATIONS TOOLS TOOLS You can influence what your audience feels and sees with the typography and different colors you use. Colors are essential in marketing, and it’s about color palettes, emotions, complementary colors, and more. Any good color palette you incorporate into your aesthetics will change how your audience feels about you. Nailing the color and typography you use is essential, and we’ll look at how you can do that in this article. Also Read: 7 Digital Art & Portrait Style To Learn And Start In 2022 Also Read: What Are LUTs And How To Use Them In Premiere Pro | Complete Guide Also Read: How To Install And Use Presets Into Your Premiere Pro Project WHY COLORS AND FONTS ARE IMPORTANT? Your design can affect user experience and your brand identity. It gives your branding a specific style that can be recognized by your audience no matter where it’s used. It should complement your company emblem and the structure of your Brand. It would be best to create websites and designs tailored to your audience type, so don’t forget to put yourself in their shoes. If you use it right, your website and business can stand out from the competition and gain better brand recognition. Fonts and typefaces are part of typography, and they can affect people’s moods. Some fonts are whimsical and fun, while others are more serious or sophisticated. WHY ARE COLORS IMPORTANT? Color plays a vitally important role in the world in which we live. Color can sway thinking, change actions, and cause reactions. It can irritate or soothe your eyes, raise your blood pressure or suppress your appetite. When used in the right ways, color can even save on energy consumption. Effects on Emotions: When we’re exposed to a particular color, it can evoke an emotional response in us. For example, bubblegum pink has been found to have a relaxing effect on people. So much so that some sports teams have been rumored to paint their visitor locker rooms in this soothing palette in hopes of messing with their opponents’ psyches. So, give some thought to the feelings that you want your brand to emote from the public. We have listed some emotions generally associated with each primary color. Keep in mind that the specific opacity and tone will affect emotions differently. So while bubblegum pink calms, hot pink tends to excite. The lower the opacity the more soothing the color becomes. Colors And Emotions: PINK : Feminine, youth, romance, sweet. RED : Passion, aggression, violence, adventure. ORANGE : Excitement, inexpensive, youth, autumn. YELLOW : Happy, friendly, cautious. GREEN : Natural, prosperity, money, stability. BLUE : Tranquil, trustworthy, professional, authoritative. PURPLE : Royal, luxurious, romantic, creative. BROWN : Dependable, natural, simple, sturdy. BLACK : Authoritative, strong, refined, mysterious. The popularity of each color varies from year to year. Thus, it’s important to pick one that appears current to your audience. Since colors used in branding a company don’t typically match the colors used in fashion, it’s important to consult trends that are appropriate. Companies have been built on predicting which colors will be popular each year. Branding usually identifies a family of colors that may be used depending on the circumstances. Two colors might potentially be selected for the brand logo. Two other colors may be optioned for use in collateral or supporting art. All these colors need to play well together. WHY ARE FONTS IMPORTANT? Fonts are universally used by writers and designers on both digital and paper formats to show different actions, situations, speech, emotions, and emphasis. It is especially helpful for the viewer when they are looking at anything. Category: There are probably just as many fonts as colors. Fortunately, many of these can be found on organized and user-friendly websites. Since your color brainstorm already revealed the top emotions inherent in your brand, perform a search based on those results. You can also perform a search based upon your industry or subject matter. Here are some top websites to help you get the right response out of your brand’s font. Myfonts.com — This site’s useful and robust interface allows you to type in the text used for the font preview as well as some other good visuals. Dafont.com — Here, the mixture of amateur and professional fonts available will vary from free to pricey. But the menu of categories will help narrow down the list from thousands upon thousands to a more manageable hundreds (or less). Note: Be sure you have proper usage rights; these are notated on each font summary. Fonts.com – The site boast great font previews and visuals, combined with powerful search and category functions. Once you make a design, you may not want to have to redesign it every couple years. So, consider a classic, tried-and-true font. Some fonts have endured decades without too many signs of aging. For example, the typeface Helvetica has been around since 1957. Yet, it continues to be one of the most popular and classic fonts available. HOW TO CHOOSE COLOR FOR YOUR DESIGN/ BRAND? There are several factors that must be considered when trying to pick the right color for your brand. These include, Emotional Response, the Trends, Industry Standards, and Combinations. But before choosing the right color for our design we have to understand color terminology. So, lets take a short brief on color terminology. COLOR TERMINOLOGY: The Color Wheel: This is a visual representation of color hues arranged by the chromatic relationship between them. You’ll find that a good color wheel always shows 12 hues. Warm and Cool Colors: The color wheel is divided into warm and cool colors. Red, yellow, and orange are warm colors because we associate them with warmth. Green, blue, and purple are cooler because we associate these colors with things like water and grass. Hue: Hue is often used in color to mean the same thing, but it’s more specific than that. Color can refer to tint, shade, hue, or tone. Hue refers to the pure primary colors on the color wheel, the ‘dominant color family,’ and is particular. Red, blue, yellow, etc., are all hues. Note that we don’t refer to white, grey, or black as hues. Value: The value of a color is how light (tint) or dark (shade) it is. Chroma: Chroma, also known as saturation, is how intense a color is. Tint, Shade, Tone: These three are all part of how we can change and adjust the appearance of colors. You can make them darker or more intense by adding white or black to the primary color. CHOOSING THE RIGHT COLOR 1. EMOTIONAL RESPONSE You always hear about how first impressions last. This is true when it comes to colors so you might want to think really hard before picking one. Colors draw out emotions and feelings. According to a study, up to 90% of customers are able to make an initial impression just by looking at brand colors. In short, they are powerful in making the customers decide whether to engage or not with your brand. Understanding what colors mean is the first step in choosing the perfect color scheme. (Click To See): Colors And Emotions Psychologists have spent many years just to learn about the feelings that are invoked by colors. You might want to make use of their research findings in figuring out which colors will work best in translating your brand message. 2. COLOR PALETTES Color schemes are the colors that you use in your designs. They are also called color palettes and will be made up of all the colors used to make your design and brand relevant. Your color scheme must take into consideration your font and font colors, so they don’t clash. Typically, you will have one or two dominant colors in your chosen scheme. They are the colors chosen to attract the most attention. You create your moods and bring forth emotions with them. If you don’t have the time or energy to choose your own color scheme or color palette, you can consider using a color palette generator. You will still get a beautiful and pleasing color scheme without doing too much thinking. There is awesome graphic design software out there, like color palette generators to choose from, all with great features. Adobe Color is an excellent choice and will come up with a complementary color scheme for you. Also Read: Top 5 Video Editing Software To Choose From Also Read: 10 Tips To Finish Your Project On Time On the other hand, if you want to reduce your digital dependence and minimize the time you spend on such tools yourself, you can hire a trained graphic designer to do this for you. Color palettes are often used for specific purposes, and complementary colors are put together to get a particular effect. Similarly, designs and brands dedicated to food won’t use the same color palettes because they don’t require the same emotions and associations. Think carefully about what your design and brand are all about and build a few color palettes around that. It’s good to have a few options to choose from. 3. INDUSTRY STANDARDS You must also consider picking colors that are already established to be associated with specific industries. Anything related with technology, for example, uses blue, black, and their variations. Delivery services, on the other hand, favor the brown color. Although it might do good to be different and stand out, incorporating colors from within your industry might stir some familiar feelings in the audience. This would count as the first step to building brand recognition. 4. TRENDS You might have observed that for the past few years, many industries are waiting about what the next “color of the year”. It is usually determined before the year ends. Products and designs with the new color will start to come out right after the New Year. Since the trend changes unpredictably, it can be difficult to pick one trendy color for your brand because it might not be cool to have it when the hype is gone. What you can do with trendy colors is to use them for your campaigns. This is very essential if you want to make your brand look updated and fresh every year. Anything related to fashion and styling can benefit the most out of following the color trends. 5. COMBINATIONS Colors also interact with each other. Putting two colors that complement each other may be enough to make heads turn. You can pick a main color for your brand then match it with other colors to achieve the best combination. You can always refer to the color meanings for guidance so that the meanings do not collide. HOW TO CHOOSE FONT FOR YOUR DESIGN/ BRAND? One of the key players in building brand identity is the font. It must come together with your design and colors in order to tell your brand story. In picking the perfect font, it should be unique, legible, works in every platform, and can effectively communicate your brand personality. But before choosing the right font for our design we have to understand font terminology. So, lets take a short brief on font terminology. FONT TERMINOLOGY: Typography: This is the technique of making written language visually attractive and appealing. Typography can refer to the letters’ size, the way they’re displayed, letter-spacing, and line-spacing. Typeface: Typeface is sometimes used interchangeably with font, but doing so is incorrect. This term refers to a group of characters with the same design, such as Calibri, Helvetica, Georgia, and Arial. Font: A font is a part of the typeface you’re using and is in a specific style. For example, Calibri Bold and Helvetica Bold are fonts. Fonts have specific styling elements like width, height, and point size. Font Family: A font family is a group of fonts that have been designed to be used together. Arial is an example of a font family – it has Arial Regular, Arial Bold, Arial Narrow, Arial Italic, and more to choose from. Kerning: The horizontal space between two characters is known as the kerning. It is helpful because it lets you set different spaces between the letters of a word if you need to. Weight: Font weight refers to the thickness of a character’s strokes. Typically, weights are variants of thin, bold, black, or regular. Point :Point refers to a font’s size and the vertical distance from the top to the letter’s bottom. Note that it’s the size of the whole font and not just one letter. Tracking: This is also known as letter-spacing. Tracking will adjust spaces for a whole block of text. If you need to change only the spaces between two characters, you’ll adjust the kerning. Leading: Leading refers to the spacing between lines of type. It affects the readability and visual appeal. Serif: This is a styling element and refers to a small line added to printed letters’ tops and bottoms in certain typefaces. Sans Serif: Sans Serif is the opposite of Serif; Sans is French and means ‘without,’ so the typeface doesn’t have the small lines added. Slab Serif: Related to the already mentioned Serif fonts, this one is thick and more block-like than Serif and Sans Serif. Script Typeface: These are supposed to look like actual handwriting and add a touch of authenticity to writing. Blackletter: Also known as Gothic minuscule, Old English, and Gothic script, an ornamental appearance can identify this typeface. CHOOSING THE RIGHT FONT 1. FONT PSYCHOLOGY Typography has a complex relationship with emotion. Emotion from any typographic experience is a complex system of the person's prior cultural context, their environment, formal design principles and psychology. Designers navigate this through visual communication. By changing the style of font, choosing a more emotional font or a powerful font, a designer can make the viewer feel and respond differently towards a brand. A transitional serif font like Baskerville will help readers to feel that the text has more authority and intellect. Good designers know the value of using a good font. Much thought goes into fonts and the emotions they can make people feel. If you use a font like Times New Roman, different feelings and associations are present than if you use Comic Sans. Examine the fonts you like and try to determine what exactly they make you feel and think. Use your reactions to determine the best font for your business. 2. CATEGORY Just like colors, you can also base your font choice based on the feelings that they bring about. You can actually make a search on some websites to see which fonts are available for your industry or according to a specific subject matter. Serif fonts: Originated from the 15th century and they are associated with being traditional, classic, and trustworthy. Brands who want to convey respectability and tradition favor these fonts a lot. Script fonts: They are perfect for brands who want to evoke elegance and uniqueness. The cursive handwriting design gives that distinctive impression which explains why some brands remained recognizable for decades. Lucida Script, Allura, Satisfy, and Pacifico are trendy Script fonts that are popular today. Handwritten fonts: They are perfect if you want to appear approachable and artistic. They give an approachable and playful aura which may work on specific audiences. Knewave, Just Another Hand, Permanent Marker, and Patrick Hand are all good-looking handwritten fonts. Decorative fonts: They are diverse as they come in different shapes, forms, and proportions to create a dramatic, distinct, and highly stylized look. It makes a brand instantly memorable.. Decorative fonts that look dun and trendy include Bangers, Lobster Two, Fredericka, and Fredoka One. 3. HEADINGS Not many people realize, but their fonts look different when used in headings. When you’re working on your brand tag lines, your headings might look different than the font you chose for your overall written content. As your headings get smaller, so do your letters, and the words may become difficult to read. Headings play an essential role in your website’s SEO, so you can’t just make your words bigger; they need heading tags. As such, you can’t always get the same effect with your fonts that you would have without the headings. Always consider how your font will look in the various heading sizes. 4. TIMELESSNESS A classic font may help establish your branding and will not need a redesign in the next couple of years. You need to consider having one that will still be popular and recognizable across seasons. Helvetica, for example, has endured plenty of years and yet it is still used by many brands today. Once you make a design, you may not want to have to redesign it every couple years. So, consider a classic, tried-and-true font. Some fonts have endured decades without too many signs of aging. For example, the typeface Helvetica has been around since 1957. Yet, it continues to be one of the most popular and classic fonts available. 5. FREE AND SAFE FONTS You can use many free and safe fonts if you’re not too sure how to proceed. Google Fonts has a library with more than 1,000 free fonts to choose from. If you want something bespoke and unique, you may find that you’ll have to buy a font or get someone to design it for you. In most cases, however, you should be able to find a nice free font that you can use. You should consider using a safe font, even if it means a little less creativity. Most devices your audience uses to visit your website come with fonts pre-installed. If you use a unique font, it might not be compatible with all devices. Fonts that are considered safe include Times New Roman, Georgia, Courier, Arial, Times, Verdana, and Helvetica. 6. COMBINATIONS Some brands use multiple fonts and this is fine. One font can be used for the logo and other prominent details and another one or two fonts can be chosen for body copy in articles. What you must consider though is that the fonts should not clash with each other. They must complement visually in order to not cause confusion and headaches to the viewer. TOOLS Here are few tools you can use to generate and identify which colors and fonts suits your brand best: Color Palette Generators: Coolors Paletton Colormind Color Hunt ColorSpace Font Pairing Tools: Font Joy Font Combinations Library Font Pair Mixfont Typ.io Font Pairing Lists Both colors and fonts are key components in increasing brand awareness. They should align with and communicate your brand personality effectively. Failure to do it right could hurt your chances of achieving the full potential of your brand. Knowing about color psychology helps in learning about how people’s perceptions and behaviors are affected by colors. It would be such an advantage to know which colors will benefit your marketing efforts. Fonts, on the other hand, help create a well-defined brand personality that is identifiable to the audience. Whatever you choose, use the same colors and fonts across all your marketing strategies so that customers easily recognize you. It’s estimated that color increases brand recognition by 80 percent. The font you choose can be vital for attracting your intended target audience while communicating meaning and tone. When you consider the items above, you will find the right colors and fonts to fit your brand. Note: All the images used in this article are taken from Pexels.com and are completely free to use. May this article point you in the right direction upon choosing the color schemes and fonts that will lead your branding efforts to success. Articles Related To Designing & Career: • 10 Signs Of A High Quality Designer • 7 Process To Master Logo Designing In 2022 • What Is The Most Difficult Part About Being A Freelancer? • 8 Free Online Tools To Boost Your Graphic Design Work • What Is Rebranding And Why It Is So Important? • Stock Photography And Footage Selling: A Complete Guide • A Guide To Google Adsense Approval Of Your Website In 2022 • File Types In Graphic Design: Complete Breakdown • 10 Common Mistakes Designers Make #2 • 10 Common Mistakes Designers Make #1 UP NEXT: 10 Must Have Plugins To Use In Photoshop

Hiring someone for your work can play an important part in completion of your project and a risky thing to do. There's a time limitation to look at someone's potential and wasting further time is only going to delay the project. The process of hiring a designer is quite simple and can be done by just looking at their previous workflow and portfolio, but still there are some risks involved. Also Read: 10 Signs Of A High Quality Designer Professionally designed graphics and images can help in creating a positive impression and effective communication of the message. Graphic designing helps to create a professional brand image. This professional image helps in building trust and credibility in the minds of the consumers. A great designer use any kind of designing software that suits their expertise to deliver your work. TABLE OF CONTENTS Top Advantages To Entrusting Your Design Work To A Professional: 1. 99 DESIGNS 2. DESIGNCROWD 3. DRIBBBLE 4. FIVERR 5. BEHANCE 6. UPWORK 7. CROWDSPRING 8. DESIGNHILL As a small business owner, it can be tempting to cut corners. Quality graphic design requires a trained creative professional. A good designer will know the best approach for communicating your message to customers. They will know who your competitors are, because they will have researched them. And most importantly, they will develop quality designs using professional software so that your marketing materials can easily be printed. Also Read: What Is The Most Difficult Part About Being A Freelancer? Top Advantages To Entrusting Your Design Work To A Professional: 1. Strengthen Your Brand High quality graphic design will strengthen your brand and help you stand out from the competition. Graphic designers can help you create a logo or other marketing materials that make your company’s products instantly recognizable. 2. Attract Prospective Customers Advertising is everywhere your look, from your smartphone to the billboards you pass on your morning commute. With an oversaturation of advertising, it’s important to invest in high-quality graphic design just to stand out and stay relevant. You only have a few seconds to grab someone’s attention and convince them to buy your products or services. Professional graphic designers can help you accomplish that more effectively. 3. Be Memorable What is your brand’s personality? What is your company’s unique selling point? You’ll need to answer these questions and more if you want to target a specific type of customer or expand your reach. Most customers buy the same products and services because they identify with the brand’s personality. Graphic designers can help you create designs that communicate a lot about your company’s values and target audience in something as small as a logo. 4. Save Money Graphic design is an investment in your company. While we understand you may have a limited budget for marketing, you’re actually much better off hiring a professional graphic designer than asking an amateur or hobbyist to design a new logo for free or for cheap. Poor-quality design can leave a bad impression on prospective customers, affecting your profits in the long run. By hiring a professional graphic designer, you can ensure you’ll receive high-quality results at a fair price. 5. Save Time Imagine spending the money to print a thousand copies of your company newsletter, only to realize that the colors of your logo are wrong. Hiring our graphic designers means you won’t have to worry about unwelcome surprises once you print or publish your content. Graphic designers know when to use RGB vs. CMYK and how to use color contrast to improve readability. Instead of doing things on your own and potentially having to redo projects to fix simple mistakes, save your time, energy, and resources by hiring one of our graphic design experts. Graphic designers have experience working with clients just like you, which means you can count on your new designs to be done right the first time. We’ll help you save time and meet your internal deadlines. Here is the list of 8 most Popular and Effective sites where you can find great designers: 1. 99 DESIGNS One of the best places to find designers, 99designs, helps you find the perfect professional based on your requirements. They have a global community of excellent designers to whom you can talk and explain your projects. Here, you can find designers experienced in 90+ design skills who are ranging from beginners to experts. They will help you create designs for: Logos Website and app Advertisements and branding Clothing and merchandise for your eCommerce store Arts and illustrations Book and magazine designs Packaging and labels To select designers who are vetted for great quality, you can easily review portfolios, request quotes, and hire them quickly. All you have to do is start a contest and open your briefing to the community, and the designers would submit their unique ideas, which helps you pick the best. 2. DESIGNCROWD To get started with hiring freelancers on DesignCrowd, you need to submit your design requirements to a contest where freelance designers can participate with their coolest ideas. Once you get a deserving candidate, you can select them and proceed further by asking them for revisions if you may need them. The platform is already buzzing with more than 882k freelance designers and over 378k completed projects so far and still counting. The design services it provides are divided into more than 50 categories, including designs for email campaigns, business cards, advertisements, product catalogs, calendars, blog designs, car wraps, CD covers, cups and mugs, eBooks, and YouTube videos, and more. 3. DRIBBBLE Having 10,000+ professional designs on board, Dribbble is a good option you can try out. It was founded in the year 2019; it has helped more than 40,000 innovative brands worldwide. It showcases the designer’s name, their location, pricing per hour, and their design samples. Furthermore, you can also see their core specialties, experience in the field, work history, etc. which will help you shortlist them quickly. Dribbble is highly selective with their freelancer membership, which is based purely on an invite-only basis. Its built-in communication channel also helps you interact with freelancers easily regarding your projects. 4. FIVERR Who does not know this name – Fiverr when it comes to searching for freelancers! It is a hub of millions of freelancers with creative talents in various fields, including design. You can browse through profiles of designers to know more about them. Fiverr also has a star rating system that previous buyers give to the designers based on their performance and how much they were satisfied with the work. Hence, you can compare the ratings, prices, and other aspects that match your needs. Here, you may get designers at affordable rates in fast turnaround times as well. The platform is also available in 6 languages for your convenience. 5. BEHANCE Behance is developed by Adobe, which you might be using on an everyday basis. This portfolio platform allows you to hire designers via memberships from its massive pool of more than 15 million profiles. You will get to see the design and artworks of all sorts, while the membership also helps you post a job or explore an unending portfolio to help you find the exact match. The unique thing about Behance is that the designers can upload video or animated presentations of their works. It gives you custom recommendations of your job posts by taking your specific criteria into account and searches for the right candidates for you. If you like any of them, you can save their profiles and manage jobs using Adobe Talent through apps designed exclusively for iPad and iPhone. 6. UPWORK Formerly called Elance oDesk, Upwork is one of the most popular platforms for freelancers across the globe. They have over 300,000 web and graphic designers available that you can find with varying talents and pricing. To search for designers, you need to post your job and let designers respond to the same. You can also browse through individual profiles manually, followed by communicating them directly through chats and video calls. Also Read: 10 Must Have Plugins To Use In Photoshop Similar to Behance, Upwork also has an amazing collaboration workspace so that you could get quality services. You can also track project status and share files using your PC or mobiles. To enable the same, Upwork goes the extra mile by providing mobile apps for iOS in addition to Android, which helps you manage everything with your fingertips. 7. CROWDSPRING With a community of over 220k vetted designers, CrowdSpring can be your next destination to hire a design professional. They never let you compromise on quality, price, or choice. CrowdSpring uses industry-standard IP protections to provide complete ownership of the designs you pay for, so you can use it anywhere you like. You can choose from over 30 categories of designs, complete your project brief, choose a package within your budget, and start your hunt. After getting the work done, you can also give your suggestions, score the designers, and avail revised designs as well when needed. However, if you are not sure about things, you can even take design consultation from CrowdSpring via phone call, chat, or email. 8. DESIGNHILL The creative marketplace, Designhill, can be your best bet if you are looking for affordable services and great quality. It offers three ways to hire a designer. You can run contests for designers to choose the best candidate. Browse its in-built Graphic Design Services to get custom designs from the designers of the platform itself You can opt for One-to-One Projects and contact a freelance designer directly for your project Designhill also features an AI logo-making tool, capable of creating dozens of interesting logos instantly. Just ask simple questions, follow a few steps, and get the work done even with no design skills. I hope you now have a clear understanding of the significance of a powerful design for a brand. It not only creates a strong impression to attract customers but also helps you increase conversion rates. Thus, hire a professional designer who can justify your requirements from any of these platforms I just discussed. May you get an excellent designer for your upcoming projects! 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Do you have a habit of starting projects, but not finishing them? In our busy lifestyle we encounter a lot of things. We give priorities to some things more than they deserve and that's where we start to neglect our previous pending work. These projects could be of Graphic designing, Video Editing, Freelancing, Coding, School/College work or personal work. Completing a project successfully takes proper planning and conscious action. If you have ever embarked on a project, you’d know that every goal/project comes with its own set of challenges which are not visible when you first start. Finishing a project on a right time is must and it's also a specialty of a high quality designer. Also Read: 10 Common Mistakes Designers Make #1 Either its a client's work or a personal one, finishing a project gives a meaning to why you started it in the first place. When we left a project in progress and start to work on other things, then there's a low possibility that we are ever going to finish it or even work on it again. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. BE SELECTIVE IN WHAT YOU BEGIN WITH 2. IDENTIFY ALL RELEVANT TASKS 3. BUDGET YOUR TIME AND ENERGY 4. CREATE A PROJECT COMPLETION PROCESS 5. FOCUS ON A SINGLE TASK AT A TIME 6. SELECT GOALS WITH REALISTIC TIMELINES 7. QUIT BEING A PERFECTIONIST 8. USE PRODUCTIVE SOFTWARE 9. TRACK YOUR PROGRESS 10. BLOCK OUT DISTRACTIONS Here are 10 best tips on how to finish the projects you start: 1. BE SELECTIVE IN WHAT YOU BEGIN WITH When you start on a project, make sure it is something you are passionate about and you want to see through. You should embarked on things which was half-interested in in the past. This resulted in waste of time and resources which could have been better utilized elsewhere. Because of that, you'll be more conscious of how you utilize your time and energy. If you set a high threshold on what you want to do, the completion rate is also higher. If you aren’t sure that this is something you really want to do, dip your feet into the pool first – try it out on a small scale and see if it’s what you’re interested in. Also Read: Why Branding Is So Important In 2022? When you start a project, you’re tempted to start working right away. It could be because you’re overflowing with ideas, or maybe because the project is already familiar to you. In the long run, though, taking your time to prepare first can be far more efficient. It makes it easier to: Establish priorities Avoid missing deadlines Prioritize key tasks Minimize the risk Achieve the desired results Before starting a new project, you should prepare by making a list of all the steps you will need to take to get to the desired result. Organize the tasks by priority and type Make sure that you have a good understanding of your final goal Break down what needs to be accomplished to reach those targets Define the desired goals and objectives 2. IDENTIFY ALL RELEVANT TASKS You must identify all the work items, tasks, and processes that are going to be a part of the project. This can be easy to do for repeat or simple projects where activities are straightforward or clear to you because they have been performed previously. For new and complex projects, identifying all the necessary work items can be more difficult. In this case, you must forecast the requirements on the normal and worst-case scenarios so that they can be prepared for environmental risks with contingencies. In companies they do resource planning, where they estimate how much resources is needed for a project. After which, they plan out the manpower and investment accordingly. For us, that means doing a quick plan on how much time and effort this idea will take, so we can have a bird’s eye view. It doesn’t have to be exhaustive. Just a quick outline will help. The point is to have something that guides you 3. BUDGET YOUR TIME AND ENERGY After you create your outline, you should have a realistic idea of how much time and effort is needed to complete it. Plan out your time and resources accordingly and integrate them into your schedule. Block out time in your calendar for the project. Give yourself some buffer as well. A big reason for loss of enthusiasm or energy is when people underestimate the amount of work needed to bring the goal to life. Good planning of resources help you plan out your energy and expectations. Also Read: Best Laptops for Designing Work in 2021 Also Read: 5 Tips For A Great Logo Design You know you have to put in hours and work to get the final output, so you’ll manage yourself appropriately to achieve your desired outcome. This’ll lead to a higher project success rate. 4. CREATE A PROJECT COMPLETION PROCESS There should be a robust monitoring process for each project task to ensure work is progressing according to schedule. The review can be carried out on a daily basis for short-term projects or on a specific day each week for tasks that can take months to complete. Once an activity has been finished, it should be checked for accuracy of completion and quality review before proceeding to the next task. You should assign some time for reviewing progress on each activity and must not neglect the review process in favor of pursuing other tasks. The continuous review process will ensure that you are on top of the different activities for the project. 5. FOCUS ON A SINGLE TASK AT A TIME The Pomodoro technique was invented by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s, as a time management method. The rules are simple: you break down your work into cycles and then take a quick, timed break. The technique is based on a feeling of urgency manifested in the timer. Instead of feeling like you’ve got countless hours to get things done and inevitably squander those precious work hours on distractions, you know you’ve just got 25 minutes to do as much work as you can. Once four Pomodoro sessions have passed, take a 15-20 minute break. Steps to implement this technique: Find out how much work your activity requires and split it into small tasks Turn off all internal and external distractions Activate a 25-minute timer set Only focus on that one task before the timer is over Put a checkmark on your list of tasks that show that you have completed one Pomodoro Take a five-minute break Start over 6. SELECT GOALS WITH REALISTIC TIMELINES As a project manager, you want to strive for high goals while leveraging a realistic timeline so your team has enough time to be excited about the project and generate great ideas. If your project team views the project as just one huge goal, it can be overwhelming and disheartening. If you break down the project into smaller, more manageable tasks with due dates attached to each one, it will seem more doable, thus your team will be more productive, moving the project along on schedule. 7. QUIT BEING A PERFECTIONIST A lot of people have very high standards. Seeking perfection can be good because it means that you appreciate quality, but the anxiety of failing to deliver something less than ideal can be paralyzing. You end up spending too much time on some minor details, and eventually, you don’t have time to work on the most important parts. Also Read: 7 Digital Art & Portrait Style To Learn And Start In 2022 Try these two tips: First, break the task into many little steps, then focus on one part at the time. If you still put it off after breaking it down, then break it down even further into mini pieces. Soon, you’ll be left with such a simple task that you’ll be wondering what was keeping you from doing it from before! The second tip is to give yourself the permission to do a draft version. Meaning, there’s no need to get it done right the first time. Creating a draft, even if it’s a crappy one, is better than if you didn’t do anything at all. Get started and things will roll on from there. 8. USE PRODUCTIVE SOFTWARE Technology can have a significant impact on your ability to be productive and manage your time. By incorporating the right software into your stack, you’ll find it a lot easier to concentrate, manage your time and no longer feel like you’re trying to keep your head above the water. Given the important role of time management for both people and businesses, unsurprisingly there are a number of software companies out there that build software to make peoples’ lives easier & more productive. So, you should review some of the best software available to help you manage your time when working on a project. 9. TRACK YOUR PROGRESS Tracking your progress helps you understand how you’re doing and gives you a target to reach. This makes it easier to keep up with your momentum. Create a project sheet that records your targets and your current status. Specify your goals that you want to achieve. If your goal is to make logo, your KPIs will be your logos, type of logos, and perhaps your performance during making logos. Then every week, review your progress. What % of your end goal have you achieved? Is it on track against your target? What is your target for the next week? Tracking makes you accountable to your goal and helps you to stay on track. 10. BLOCK OUT DISTRACTIONS Even the most productive workers know that it takes time to build focus and a second to lose it. When you need to work for hours, staying concentrated on tasks is far from easy. Sources of distractions: Mobile phone and internet Noise Overthinking Tips for avoiding distractions: Focus on your main priorities first Turn your mobile data off Find ways to prepare your mind for work and control internal distractions (you can try meditating before work, for example) Get away from things around you that make you distracted No project is perfect. Variables and conditions change along the way, and as a project manager, you need to adapt accordingly and proactively. The best way to ensure your project fails is to not have a contingency plan for each phase and milestone. Be prepared. When people look at someone who’s really productive, it sometimes doesn’t seem like they’re working that hard. The point is that productive people know when to work and when to take a break. Working 10 hours straight is alright, especially when you’re working hard for a goal, a dream, or even a deadline. But it’s hard for anyone to concentrate and produce high-quality work without giving themselves a chance to relax and take a break. If it’s hard for you to stop working, I find it can help to schedule midday breaks away from a screen so that when you come back you’re really able to focus. You need to take breaks if you want to be able to do great work. Over to you – what’s your best practice for finishing projects faster & managing your time? Feel free to let us know in the comments below. Articles Related To Career & Designing: • 7 Process To Master Logo Designing In 2022 • How Do Graphic Designers Stay Inspired | 10 Tips For Inspiration • 12 Difficulties Every Freelancer Faces and Tips To Overcome These Problems • Where To Hire Great Designers? Advantages of Hiring a Designer UP NEXT: 10 Best Tutorials To Learn Digital Portrait Painting As A Beginner

There are so many laptops in the market to choose from. The laptop range from an individual's requirements and work expertise. There are different laptops for Graphic designing, Video Editing, and 3D modeling & animation. But new users always get confused in the beginning while choosing the best laptop that suits their work field. Best always comes at a price tag. If you are looking for the best laptop for a long run, then you would have to do a little more research than what you typically do. There are many brands of laptop you can pick. Some of the major laptop brands are Dell, Apple (MacBook), Acer, Asus, HP, MSI and Lenovo. Looking for a laptop to use for graphic design can be a challenge, and different than purchasing a laptop for general use or gaming. You want a laptop that's light enough to be portable but powerful enough to do complicated work. Also Read: 7 Digital Art & Portrait Style To Learn And Start In 2022 Before getting too far in the decision-making process, consider the kind of work you do and your budget. If you do complex 3D work you will need to be on the upper end of all the specifications. If your work is mostly 2D, you can be at the mid to low end of the range. The most important specs to look at for graphic design are the operating system, CPU, the memory or RAM, the storage drive, the display type and size, and color accuracy. Here are 5 laptops to buy in 2021 for graphic designing. Also Read: Top 5 Video Editing Software To Choose From 1. 2020 HP ENVY x360 13.3” HP Envy x360 13 (2020) is a Windows 10 Home laptop with a 13.30-inch display that has a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels. The HP Envy x360 13 (2020) packs 512GB of SSD storage. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth and it comes with Headphone and Mic Combo Jack ports. Processor: 11th Gen Intel Core i7-1165G7 ((up to 4.7 GHz with Intel Turbo Boost Technology, 12 MB L3 cache, 4 cores) | Memory: 16 GB DDR4-3200 MHz RAM (2 x 8 GB) | Storage: 512 GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD Operating System & Pre-installed Software: Pre-loaded Windows 10 Home with lifetime validity, FREE Upgrade to Windows 11* (when available, refer product description for more details) | Microsoft Office Home & Student 2019 Display & Graphics: 35.6 cm (14") diagonal, FHD (1920 x 1080), multitouch-enabled, IPS, edge-to-edge glass, micro-edge, 250 nits, 45% NTSC | Intel Iris Xe Graphics Ports: 1 SuperSpeed USB Type-C 10Gbps (USB Power Delivery, DisplayPort 1.4, HP Sleep and Charge), 2 SuperSpeed USB Type-A 5Gbps, 1 headphone/microphone combo, 1 AC smart pin, 1 HDMI 2.0 | 3-cell, 43 Wh Li-ion Battery, Supports battery fast charge: approximately 50% in 30 minutes Features: Camera: HP Wide Vision 720p HD camera | Microphone: Integrated Dual array digital microphones| Fingerprint Reader | Audio: Dual Speakers, Audio by B&O | Keyboard: Full-size backlit keyboard | Alexa Built In | Networking: Intel Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6 AX201 (2x2), Bluetooth 5 combo 2. ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 is an impressive 14-inch gaming laptop that delivers on several fronts, with great performance, incredible battery life and unbeatable portability. Dynamic and ready to travel, the pioneering ROG Zephyrus G14 is the world's most powerful 35.56cm(14-inch) Windows 10 Home gaming laptop. Processor: AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS Processor, 3.0 GHz (8MB Cache, up to 4.3 GHz, 8 Cores, 16 Threads) Memory: 32GB (2x 16GB) DDR4 3200MHz Dual-Channel RAM with | Storage: 1TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0 SSD Graphics: Dedicated NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q GDDR6 6GB VRAM Display: 14-inch (16:9) Quad HD (2560 x 1440), 300 nits Brightness, Anti-Glare IPS-level panel, 60Hz Refresh Rate, 100% sRGB, Pantone Validated, Adaptive sync, 85% screen-to-body ratio Software Included: Pre-installed MS Office Home and Student 2019 | Operating System: Pre-loaded Windows 10 Home (64bit) with lifetime validity 3. DELL XPS 15 9500 15.6” Dell XPS 15 9500 is a Windows 10 Home laptop with a 15.60-inch display that has a resolution of 1920x1200 pixels. It is powered by a Core i7 processor and it comes with 16GB of RAM. The Dell XPS 17 10750H packs 512GB of SSD storage. Processor:10th Generation Intel Core i7-10750H Processor (12MB Cache, up to 5GHz,6 cores) Memory & Storage: 16 GB DDR4 at 2933 MHz (2 x 8 GB), dual channel | 512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe Solid State Drive Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Ti 4GB GDDR6 Display: 15.6” UHD (3840 x 2400) InfinityEdge Anti-Reflecitve 500-Nit Display I Eyesafe technology Operating System: Windows 10 Home Plus Single Language & Microsoft Office Home and Student 2019 Design: CNC machined aluminum in platinum silver with carbon fiber composite palm rest in black | Laptop weight 1.83Kg | 18 mm thin Keyboard & Battery: Backlit chiclet keyboard | 6-Cell Lithium Ion Battery | 6 cell 86 Whr | 21 hrs battery life 4. Acer 15.6" ConceptD 3 Ezel Multi-Touch 2-in-1 The ConceptD 3 Ezel is the creative toolbox designed for creators on the go with its slim and lightweight design and up to 15.6” FHD touchscreen display. Sketch, finalize, and present on one device, with the 15.6" ConceptD 3 Ezel Multi-Touch 2-in-1 Laptop from Acer. Alongside the included Active Stylus Pen, Acer's patented 360° Ezel Hinge gives users six different modes to choose from, allowing them to easily collaborate with others in Share Mode, create efficiently in Float Mode, work on the move with Stand Features: 360° Hinge | Active Stylus Pen Processor: 2.6 GHz Intel Core i7 6-Core (10th Gen) Memory & Storage:16GB DDR4 RAM | 1TB NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD Display: 15.6" 1920 x 1080 IPS Matte Touchscreen 5. LENOVO ThinkPad P1 Gen 3 Premium design. Powerful computing The ThinkPad P1 Gen 3 is the perfect combination of form and function. This stylish mobile workstation is built with rugged, thin, and light carbon fiber. The stunning design hints at what’s inside: an amazingly powerful system that offers a choice of 10th Gen Intel® Core™ or the latest Xeon® processors and professional NVIDIA® Quadro® graphics. Features: Processor: 10th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-10750H Processor (6 Cores / 12 Threads, 2.60 GHz, up to 5.00 GHz with Turbo Boost, 12 MB Cache) Operating System: DOS Memory: 8 GB SO-DIMM DDR4 3200MHz Hard Drive: 256 GB M.2 2280 SSD Display Type: 39.62cms (15.6) FHD (1920x1080) IPS Anti-glare 300nits Non-Touch Graphics: NVIDIA® Quadro® T1000 Max-Q 4GB GDDR6 AC Adapter: 135W Warranty: 3 Years Onsite Camera: 720P HD with Microphone Wireless: 11AX (2x2) & Bluetooth® 5.0 vPro Fingerprint Reader: Yes Keyboard: Backlit, English (India) Battery: 4 cell, 80Wh, Upto 9 hours Doing a little bit of research before buying a laptop can benefit you on a long run. Always choose a laptop that suits your work field even if its not a designing or video editing related work. Laptops aren't cheap to buy and wasting a good sum of money isn't worth it. You can check laptop websites, compare them on online platforms or simply visit a local seller for a better idea. Articles Related To Career & Designing: • 10 Signs Of A High Quality Designer • Where To Hire Great Designers? Advantages of Hiring a Designer • How Do Graphic Designers Stay Inspired | 10 Tips For Inspiration • What Is The Most Difficult Part About Being A Freelancer? UP NEXT: 10 TIPS TO FINISH PROJECT ON TIME

In the world full of technology and social media, everyone is trying their hand in learning skills from different field of Designing, Coding, Web Development, Video Editing and Digital Marketing. Sooner or later, all these fields are going to become more and more competitive as these types of work field is providing comfortable environment in the current 'Work From Home' scenario. People are earning a handsome amount of money from a stable job as well as by simply freelancing. There was a time when traditional art was a big thing, it still is but the modern approach where people are inclining more is going to overshadow traditional way of painting in some way, if not completely. Now there are a tons of Digital Artists who make professional Digital arts and Digital Paintings. Digital Artworks are also been selling as a NFT online and have a potential to surpass every other designing field out there. Also Read: 8 Free Online Tools To Boost Your Graphic Design Work Digital Art is not a new thing in the market and people even started creating artworks digitally in early 80's. If a question arises about What Digital art actually is, then there shouldn't even be a confusion as the answer lies in the question itself. Digital Art is an artwork which is made digitally using virtual tools. These tools could be the software, tablet device or mouse, virtual pen and brush tool or a even an applied filter. There are a lots of Digital Painting and Digital art tutorials available on YouTube where you can get in depth explanation of the design process. First you select your preferred digital art program or software then you can either choose a digital art tablet for drawing purpose or mouse depending on what suits best for you. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Line Art 2. Color Selection and Blending 3. Light Direction 4. Brush Selection 5. Skin/Face Shading 6. Eyes 7. Lips 8. Hair 9. Complete Painting Process 10. Final Retouching & Effects Digital Paintings aren't easy to make and may require some traditional painting skills. If you are a beginner and really want to enter into this field, then it might take around 5-6 months to make above average artworks and around 3-4 years to master it in your own way. The best way to learn digital painting is to pick a course whether it's online or a designing school. Also Read: 7 Digital Art & Portrait Style To Learn And Start In 2022 We aren't offering any courses this time around but can provide some tutorials we pick from YouTube that could help you in learning digital painting's basics. There is no particular software that we are focusing on as that part comes later. This article will cover 10 aspects from line art to skin shading to overall painting process. Note: Some tutorials may show tablet used as a device to draw but it works as same as a mouse. Digital tablets mainly provides accuracy and pressure sensitivity 1. Line Art Line art is the foundation of your artwork which defines and separates different parts of the artwork. Line art stays on the top of layers. There are two main types of Line art i.e. Rough sketch and Line art (Actual line art). Even if you don't want line art to be use in your artwork, it's essential to make a rough sketch to define the edges as it will later help you while coloring and shading. Line art requires practice and precision and one should definitely practice working on their line work both on paper and software. 2. Color Selection and Blending Color selection is another aspect of digital painting in creating shades out of a base color. These shades are one or more than one value of highlights and shadows depending on how detailed you want your artwork to be. Color Palette is the best way to contain these shades. Simple method is to apply base color on a layer and adjust values using LEVELS tool from Image Adjustments (In Photoshop) and copy those values in your palette using eyedropper tool. Another method is by simply using color picker and adjusting the saturation & lightness values of your base color layer to create a proper shade. This method is easy and quite reliable. Color palette has to be done manually depending on your project. You can also find pre made palettes for skin shading and different schemes online which you can use if they match your work flow and found them helpful. Also Read: 9 Best Graphic Design Software To Use In 2022 | Complete Breakdown This Tutorial teach some methods of blending two shades into one and also some basic shading tips of digital painting. 3. Light Direction When it comes to coloring an artwork, the biggest mistake we all do as a beginner is to not figuring out the light source and direction to work at. A pre defined light source could help you in map out the ambient light scattered in different directions. This will help in defining light and dark tones, intensity of highlight projected at skin or overall character. This Tutorial is a lengthy breakthrough and covers the topics on theory of light source and direction, color picking & blending and skin/face shading. 4. Brush Selection Selecting a brush type is essential but shouldn't be complicated. Professional Digital artists use different brush type for different painting layer. There are brushes available for hair, skin, clothing, strokes and texture to download. What kind of brush and how many brushes should a beginner use to start working on a digital painting artwork? Well there is no simple explanation for this and it depends on experience of a user, but the default hard edge brush with a few adjustments can do the work. 5. Skin/Face Shading Skin painting is fun to do with base colors and single tones of shadow & highlight. But when it comes to achieve some level of depth and detailing using light source and all, it gets a bit tricky. Face shading part not only covers majority of your artwork area, it also gives different signs to the artwork of being cartoony, semi realistic or an amazing piece of art. Also Read: 7 Process To Master Logo Designing In 2022 This shading must be done right because taking a slightly different approach while coloring could result in a flat looking face. This Tutorial from LIGHT DIRECTION section is a must watch. It provides the complete breakthrough and explanation of facial shading. This Tutorial doesn't show an actual painting process, but just a demonstration on importance of layering of different shading type. 6. Eyes Eyes contributes just a small portion in an artwork which beginners may take lightly to work on. But even with their small size, they can make a whole artwork stand out with a good selection of vivid color and shiny highlights. Eye shape could vary depending on the approach and end result. So it's better to start practicing and working on eye portion roughly and digitally. This Tutorial covers topics on lighting direction, eye color, eyelashes, eyebrow and the facial area surrounded by the eyes. 7. Lips Lips shading have the same key points that were applied to eyes painting. Both are small in size compared to the rest of the artwork, but both lip shading and designing is a sensitive thing to do. The use of light tone and glittery highlights must be done accordingly. This Tutorial shows design process and shading of lips using simple brush techniques including specular highlights and color picking. 8. Hair Hair Shading can be done by many methods and you can find hundreds of different shading tutorials Shading a hair is be done by defining the direction of hair flow and adding some hard edged hair strands. A good shading of hair adds another layer of charm into the artwork. This Tutorial teaches the depth of both hair direction and shading of hair strand. You may find some useful tips on hair designing. 9. Complete Painting Process This section is not for any particular painting area but an overall process of painting from scratch. A well explained walkthrough of drawing and coloring that focused on complete painting process. This Tutorial shows a character painting process using Procreate but these same techniques can be applied in painting on any other application. 10. Final Retouching & Effects Final retouching is important in enhancing the finalized final output by adding some bits of overlays, effects and elements. This process is fun to do where highlights part can be adjusted and an added layer of color dodge could give an astonishing result. You can find overlays and elements online to experiment them on your artwork. But always remember, Less is more. So try to keep everything minimal and relevant. This Tutorial is from Ross Tran, which points out 5 simple tips to enhance your artwork. Finalizing your artwork ain't easy, but a lot of fun. Digital Art is becoming so popular in designing community that many are starting to try their hands on defining their own style. It's never been too late to learn something new and even if you don't want to make a career out of digital art, then simply learning it can be a lot of fun. All the tutorial links provided above are not promotional, but a relevant pick of tutorial for each and every aspect in the process of digital painting. Hope you find this helpful in any way possible. Articles Related To Digital Art & Designing: • How Do Graphic Designers Stay Inspired | 10 Tips For Inspiration • 6 Common Types of Logo Design For Beginners • Where To Hire Great Designers? Advantages of Hiring a Designer • 10 Signs Of A High Quality Designer UP NEXT: 8 Free Online Tools To Boost Your Graphic Designing Work

There is a huge demand of graphic designers in today's world of digital media. Designing is everywhere you can think of. From promotions to advertisements, banner, logo, branding to marketing and the list goes on. Scope in designing field is at it's peak and the competition is tough with new trends coming every day or two. TABLE OF CONTENTS WHAT IS INSPIRATION HOW DO GRAPHIC DESIGNERS STAY INSPIRED 1. Trying New Things 2. Keeping A Sketchbook 3. Taking Short Break 4. Traveling 5. Keeping A Personal Diary 6. Learning From Mistakes 7. Following Trends 8. Learning From Competitors 9. Reading Books 10. Consistency SOME POINTS TO REMEMBER Designing is a mixture of your creativity and the tool you use to make your designs. If you are creative but doesn't know how to use a tool (software/simple tool), then you may get somewhere even if using only basic tools. But if you know how to use a tool but doesn't have the creativity to continue on, then your knowledge can go to a waste. Creativity is what push you to start thinking and keeps you inspired. Without creativity you will be clueless about what you are going to design. Also Read: Where To Hire Great Designers? Advantages of Hiring a Designer Inspiration is everywhere you go. You can get inspired from small and little things you see on a daily basis. We do not give importance to the things we see on a daily basis, but a little shift of our perspective can make us look quite differently on these things. WHAT IS INSPIRATION There are many ways a designer seeks inspiration but before we discuss about the the topic in detail, we must understand the real meaning of inspiration. Inspiration has many definitions. One might say that inspiration is basically creativity, but that's not true. In simple words, inspiration means to copy the basic idea of a work without actually copying the work. That idea could be a photograph, a drawing, an object or a person. The idea you taken will make you apply the same on your work and try to bring a better result. The creativity that goes on during this process to bring something different is what inspiration is. Inspiration motivates us to do something creative. HOW DO GRAPHIC DESIGNERS STAY INSPIRED Designers always stay creative and ready to learn something different. The idea of keep on trying something new on daily basis is what helps them in staying inspirational. A graphic designer usually spends around 36 hours a week working which is an average of 5 hours a day. Even a designer who gets around 1 project a day have to keep his productivity. To do so, they have to keep on getting inspirations Inspiration can come from anywhere, from your room, from an existing art, from a game or from a website. Ideas do come and go but staying inspirational is Designing trends do change a lot. To stay updated and following these trends is a challenging thing to do. Here are some ways which designers follow to stay inspirational: 1. Trying New Things Doing the same thing over and over again does makes you perfect. You can become an expert doing same thing multiple times over but sticking up to the same typical stuff can limit your creativity and make you run out of ideas. Designers do try new things to test their limits and that makes them open to achieve something new that they never before did. Keep on trying new different things continuously feed them ideas, inspires them to explore more and apply the same in their designs. 2. Keeping A Sketchbook A great concept art comes from a creative mind. Designers who does sketching and drawing spends a lot of time on a sketchbook. All of the final art they make comes from the basic study they does in their sketchbook. Chances of forgetting something in mind is high and that could be a huge loss. So whenever an artist find some ideas, they draw them on a piece of paper. Having a sketchbook is good for designers to keep track of their work and storing concept arts. A sketchbook is an artist's best friend. So if you are an designer, then always Keep a sketchbook in your backpack to never miss a chance of unleashing what's in your mind. 3. Taking Short Break Having a busy schedule is good. Getting projects and finishing them on time must be a designer's first priority. Even though taking some free time from a work schedule is not easy, but sometimes it's the best thing to do. Continuously working puts pressure on your eyes and a little break from your work can be the best option. This step applies to every worker who involves their mind too much in their work. A break can boost your thought process and feed you new ideas. Drink some water in the meantime. This little break could be a short walk, a small nap or a simple rest. 4. Traveling Everyone loves to travel. Travelling is fun, relaxing and can be full of new experience but taking time out from a strict work schedule is very difficult. Plans for Traveling doesn't always made on spot and sometimes take months and months before actually going. Traveling is good for opening your mind for something new. A good trip is worth remembering. Designers who takes time for traveling from their busy schedule do comes up with great ideas from the experience they gain on their journey. 5. Keeping A Personal Diary There are a lot of things a designer have to do in order to stay organized. Keeping track of everything is not always possible and forgetting a great idea isn't a good thing. Ideas do come suddenly and writing them down in a diary is the most smart thing to do. Those written ideas can later become an inspiration for your next design. Great designs are the result of managing your ideas in the beginning. Always keep a pocket sized diary so that you can write down anything on the go. A diary plays 6. Learning From Mistakes We all make mistakes in our daily life. Sometimes we ignore them, sometimes we overcome them. Making some mistakes is a part of life but learning from them give them a meaning. Being stubborn and keep on repeating the same mistake over and over again is just a waste of time. All your efforts will go to a waste and can affect some future opportunities. When we find flaws in our designs, that helps us in improving them. This same process keeps a designer to stay inspired and helps in tackling the future mistakes. 7. Following Trends Designing trend changes a lot. Keeping up to date and following these trends can be both challenging and fun. Missing out on annually trends like Spring, Autumn, Halloween, Holi, Eid, Diwali, Christmas and New Year is not a good idea. Trends do comes up with opportunities where demands of these designs are at it's peak. Designers should focus on creating Stock Images, Stock Footages, Templates, Logos and Posters related to these trends long before they arrive. Designers who do follow trends are more likely to boost their sales. Such Trends have healthy competition and inspires a designer to do more. 8. Learning From Competitors Designing is a process of creating something unique and brand new. Everyone wants to showcase their work at it's best. Competition is getting more tough every year and looks like designers are more likely to run out of ideas. Well, running out of ideas is not a possibility but copying out of ideas definitely is. Learning from your mistakes is good but there's nothing wrong on looking at what your competitors are doing. A competition is what make designers to come up with new ideas using their creativity. A Good competition is must in order to test your limits. But one thing a designer should also focus on is to learn from competitors and not to underestimate them. They can be inspirational too. 9. Reading Books Internet is filled with a lots of ideas and inspirations. There are tons of resources, e-books and courses available online that designers find quite useful. One mistake that most people make is that they don't read very often. Reading Improves the functioning of the brain and helps you focus. Books are full of knowledge and it gives you a whole new perspective to look at things. Designers do read a lot and take inspirations from them. A good book has the power to change your entire thought process and if you are struggling in your work field, then reading might be the answer to your problem. It's never been too late to start reading again. 10. Consistency If you talk about what's the best practice one can do in order to always stay inspired, then there will be hundreds of different answers. But to give an honest opinion on such topic, then consistency would be an accurate answer for it. Consistency is the key to your success. The consistency you show on learning and practicing never go unnoticed and can later become the main reason for your success. Your own consistency towards the work will boost your confidence on the long run. Time is the most powerful thing one could ever think of and using it the right way is what many people struggles to do. Keep on repeating the same formula on daily basis no matter what and you'll see yourself achieving something that was never before possible. SOME POINTS TO REMEMBER All these above 10 points applies to not just for designers, but for every other field out there. Practicing, Consistency, Reading, Thinking and Repeating. Whatever you do and whatever you see, always try to lake few lessons out of them. Even though Inspiration is everywhere, but somehow somewhere it's rare. Not always go out to seek inspiration, instead if possible, take some time and inspire others in need. Share your ideas to others if that's fine for you. Be a good listener and always stay open for critics. Articles Related To Career & Designing: • Where To Hire Great Designers? Advantages of Hiring a Designer • Why Branding Is So Important? • 10 Common Mistakes Designers Make #1 UP NEXT: 7 Digital Art & Portrait Style To Learn And Start In 2022