Adobe CS4 for Design

With so many designers using Adobe for their designs it is no surprise that the new version, Adobe Creative Suite 4  available in four package bands from Design Premium to Master Collection is being released. Is it worth the upgrade and is it still the preferred favorite?  With these packages you receive Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Flash and more.

Photoshop is still the preferred choice for me, I like the functionality and the colour correction capabilities this version has to offer making it better than ever before.  The interface has been slightly updated but nothing that really confused me, one of the big changes that I can really appreciate is the new workspace switcher which has a range of preset workspaces which is really handy for selecting window layouts.  A few of the other benefits that I think are a vast improvement include Bridge CS4 which is for asset management which has been significantly improved and is great – I really recommend having a look.  It is useful for me because I enjoy the better functionality you can achieve with altering photos with the powerful colour correction tools from Camera Raw 5.  For me the added benefits from Photoshop alone make this a worthwhile package.

Dreamweaver again is the industry recognised html editor of choice.  With this version they have continued to make working with related files easier and instantly accessible through the related files toolbar.  The new live view command makes layout view a full on browser, even more useful is the feature that allows you to see the code the browser is rendering as you interact with page.  Dreamweaver never ceases to impress me and has continued to make itself accessible for all levels of designers with its simple interface and design.  Dreamweaver has delivered again being miles ahead of its competitor.

Although I use Flash I don’t use it to its full capabilities, having only a little knowledge of ActionScript I can only really comment on the basic interface which only gets better having moved the properties panel to appear vertically this opens up much needed space for the handy timeline panel at the bottom which I always felt was cluttered and lost, they have also tried to encourage simple animation which I think can only benefit new Flash users.

All in all I think CS4 is great and well worth the investment it is not only new and improved, it opens doors for better integrated design for all levels.

Google Chrome Review

It’s been 2 months since the launch of Google Chrome, Firefox 3.1 is on the way with IE8 hot on the heels – So what’s the difference? Which is the one for you? Will it finally get the remaining 20% of IE6 users to drag themselves into the 21st century and stop annoying our designers? Well after 2 weeks of posting about pretty gorgeous websites I thought it was time I sunk my teeth into something a little more substantial.

Ok so first things first – why should I use this newfangled Google Chrome? Google’s a search engine, what on earth makes them think they can develop a browser?!? Well they can, and they have, and not done a bad job of it to be honest. So what are the main plus points of Chrome that I miss when using the other browsers?

• Installation is both quick and easy and with the quick start videos you’ll be ready to go within minutes.
• Transfer both your IE and Firefox bookmarks, passwords and history with one click. Better than erasing/overwriting them like Firefox did last time I ran an update.
• Much more than an address bar – Google calls this the ‘Omnibar’ it doubles as a search box and gives intellegent autocomplete search suggestions.
• Multiprocess Architecture – Nothing’s more annoying than when you have loads of tabs open then one tab crashes and takes down the whole browser – This is no longer an issue when using Chrome as all of the tabs have their own ‘sandbox’ meaning that they cannot share information between tabs – so if one goes down you can close that within Chrome and leave your other tabs running. This is also benificial when it come to security – if one tab gets attacked by malware for instance, it will only affect that tab.
• Speed – Initially I didn’t find much to shout about with regards to the speed of Chrome – definitely not as noticable as the difference between FF and IE – until I tried running a heavey java script site on one tab and my hotmail on the other. Ordinarilly the java would slow down both tabs but not in Chrome thanks to the Sandbox.

Awesome Fantasy Art from Jacek Yerka

Hello again everyone,

Here is some excellent artwork that caught my eye, not strictly graphic design but it could give you some excellent inspiration.

Loads of clients request fantasy themed advertisements and such these days so taking a leaf out of this guys book could really get you noticed.

by Jacek Yerka

by Jacek Yerka

It’s by an artist called Jacek Yerka and you can buy prints if you like them enough

You can find his website gallery here if you want to see some more examples. His site could do with a little work though, maybe we could do it for him.

We are still organising our logo competiiton but if you have any ideas drop us an email or comment and we’ll take them on board!.

Logo Design

As this week we have covered inspirational and innovative web design from Chloe and graphic design from Sophie I thought we should take a look at logo design.  Logo design is an important area of graphic design that sometimes doesn’t get the care and attention it requires.  Logos should represent a company’s brand and gain immediate recognition.  We are looking forward to designing our own logo for “DDA”.  I think we each may design one and decide whose is best from that – like our own design competition.

An example of a great logo is the Apple logo which is simple in colour and design but recognised worldwide.  Establishing a recognised brand logo is the best way to get your company brand out there.

The Design Cubicle have invited designers to submit their logo design work, the top 40 have been showcased on their site. I would recommend that you take a look for yourself as there is a great range of inspirational ideas and concepts.

I have a few favorites for different reasons,

I like the Tiny Mouse Design as I like what it has achieved you get the impression that the text is big with the mouse illustration being a good contrast, it is clever and works.

I also was impressed by the quality of design of Arron Lock with his logo for Mountain View, with such warm colours and catching design with a clean concept it will work well to promote the Ozark Folk Center.

Sean Farrell also did an interesting take on a restaurant which specialises in drinks.  The simple design works well to promote the not only the name of the bar but also establishes what Exclusive Lounge are about.  This design follows the basic rules of great logo design, its rememberable, simple and represents the brand.

What do you like about logos and which out of their top 40 is your favorite?

I think we should have a best and worst logo design competition, name the best logo design and worst, I have just searched the internet for bad logo design but I think there must be some big brands that have made mistakes with logo design.

Showcase and Showreel Websites

SciFi channel mini series TinMan kicks off their promotional campaign with an amazing flash based graphic journey though Infinite OZ. You can control the speed with which you fly through this beatifully designed landscape, pause on a scene to find out more information about that place, and if you wanted to find out more about the program just got to the main TinMan website. Airing on the SciFi chanel on December 2nd at 9pm – I will be interested to see if they can translate the backdrops to the small screen.

Portfolio sites – how do you get noticed and stand out from the competition? How can you give yourself the edge in the world of new media agencies? Well single-page design could work for you if you don’t have much content, but want to showcase just your work. If you’re a designer then using a single page design can save you time and cost as it doesn’t require much coding. Below are some of the best examples of single page web design I’ve found. Hopefully, they can give you some inspiration.

Graphic Design at DDA

Hey Everyone!

My name is Sophie and I have been recruited by Chole to help post on DDA.

I work as a graphic designer for a fairly big company based in Nottinghamshire. We have around 45 employees (including me!) and we work on advertising, web design and print design.

I am going to be going out and finding you the best examples of graphic design on the web along with recommened links tools for you to try out, if you have a site or an exmaple of your work you would like featured please email us, check out the contact page for more!

I got a starting example of what we like to see here!

This Polish designer really is something, his portfolio contains a whole host of stunning graphic and web design examples and I am sure we will soon see him working on bigger projects for higher status companies.

Stunning Jan Stanko Graphic Design

Jan Stanko Graphic Design

Inspirational & Innovative Interactive Marketing

Hello my name’s Chloe. I’m a graphic designer who has been working in the field of web design for the past 6 years. Over the coming months I will be bringing you a selection of sites that keep my creative fire burning, please feel free to leave your comments or queries about any of the sites I post and I will endevour to respond.

SAIZEN MEDIA STUDIOS is an internationally acclaimed and award winning Design Firm that specializes in highly cinematic and detail oriented imagery.

Well known in the industry, for its meticulous approach to graphics creation and attention to detail, Saizen Media Studios consits of a team of internationally acclaimed artists, engineers, programmers and animators, and provides services in the fields of Web Design, Graphic Design, Motion Graphics, Packaging and Music Production.

As expected with such a talented team, their own company website is truely a credit to their craft with attention to detail and creative use of flash animation, no matter how many times you look at the site you are guaranteed to see something you didn’t last time.

TVM Studio is a collaboration between Trevor Van Meter (hence the name) and his partner Ferg.

Between them they have a variety of sites including VanBeater, Jamungo, Pixelperson and my personal favorite… CrappyCat. This site includes a flash game of said CrappyCat which is completely pointless and utterly brilliant and I would highly recommend a walk around CrappyCats world!

The next in my list proves that single product information brochure sites most definitely don’t have to be dull, boring and text heavy. In 1993 11 milk processors in California agreed to allocate 3 cents of each gallon of milk sold to fund efforts to promote the consumption of milk and the GotMilk? brand was born. (I’m sure you all remember the ‘milk mustaches’ campaign – with over 200 celebrities representing the brand – In 2002, the ad was named one of the ten best commercials of all time by a USA Today poll)

In 2006 the the campaign diversified and began targeting the Spanish speaking demograph. Now the brand is back with not one but two interactive websites (one in english one in spanish) and the campaign to get nations drinking milk has begun once again.

I included my next selection to illustrate that, although good navigation is critical to a well designed website, breaking away from the industry standards doesn’t necessarily mean that the site will be inoperable. After a few seconds to get my head around the pencil/zoom function of the site I found that it was, in fact, quite easy to find my way around. Mind you I would expect no less from a 73 year old brand development agency that’s been responsible for campaigns such as Tony the Tiger, Pilsbury Dough Poppin Fresh and Earth Hour, and representing companies such as Kellogs, McDonalds and Levis.

Last but not least I have included the following site on recommendation from a colleague. With all of the DIY and DIC (do it cheap!) ecommerce websites floating around on the web nowerdays, it’s nice to come across a site that takes pride in the customer journey as well as the end result in making a sale. Although the loading times are understandably longer than a run of the mill ecommerce site, the graphics and functionality more than make up for the wait. Couple the smooth navigation and clean design with the vast amount of content (including learn to ride tutorials, news and events and even it’s own community!) Burtons is one of the most comprehensive ecommerce sites on the web today – and they redesign it EVERY year!!

Hello

I would just like to introduce myself and let you know what this blog is all about. My name is LucyP and I am a web designer working for a digital design agency who create websites, logo designs, digital marketing, interactive media solutions for its range of clients. I have worked as a graphic designer for a few years now and this year I am thinking about submitting my work to design competitions and building a portfolio of my designs.

In this blog we are going to talk about design reviews, helpful sites and good sites.  Any new sites that we find that have good designs – talk about how they achieve their site and the effects.  Any helpful sites including tutorials or advice on graphics and design.  Also, we will be looking at any sites that are just good sites, they can be good because of a certain thing or just good because we like them.

With so many sites out there to choose between for the reviews it will be tough so if you have seen any designs or anything you think is just great post a comment and I will have a look even if it is your own site – post a link to your portfolio and we will have a look.