Posts Tagged ‘design’

The True History of Graphic Design

Sunday, July 17th, 2011

The actual terminology surrounding graphic designers has come into being in the twentieth century. However, there are many events that led up to graphic design that could be considered a part of the history of graphic design itself.

Graphic design has its roots in the same rich cultural history of all art. Art has been a part of cultures since before the written word. The history of graphic design stems from these ancient beginnings. The history of graphic design is, in a sense, the history of art and its applications and methods, as well as a history of graphic design reproduction techniques and technology.

Like all recreational and applied arts, graphic design got its real beginning with the invention of the printing press. Previously in the history of graphic design, art and other creative works had to be hand copied. The ability to print copies of art and other creative works was a huge step toward the graphic design that exists today.

Another large step in graphic design history was the development of photography, and later film making. These important steps at the end of the nineteenth century were the stepping stones to creating the graphic designs that we have today. This era also marks the beginning of the separation of creative art, or art for entertainment, from applied art, or art that was used for a purpose such as conveying a message, advertising, and other graphic design purposes.

The next largest step in graphic design history was the development of the computer, and more significantly, the technological wave that led to a personal computer in every home as we have today. Graphic design would not be as popular, nor would it be as effective, creative, and reproducible without the invention of computers. Therefore, the history of graphic design is closely tied with the history of computers, computer software, computer imaging software, computer scanners, computer printers, and digital photography. The internet and graphic design software are perhaps the most important of these technological advances that are a large role in the history of graphic design. Without all of these important technological advances, graphic design would not be what it is today.

There are many other important landmarks in graphic design history. In 1919 the first union of art and industry was put into place. In 1929 commercial artists, advertising designers, and illustrators became common place. In 1970 mega computers allowed for more advances in graphic design with companies like IBM. The development of the micro processor, allowing for personal office and home computers, came in 1980 and was marketed with Apple computers in 1984. Finally, the now common place technology of internet access in 1993 tops off the graphic design history that has lead to the graphic design industry we know and recognize today.

To learn more about the history of graphic design, you can search the internet or your local library. Many colleges and universities offer arts classes and history of graphic design courses. Community education programs also often offer summer classes or work shops on topics of interest such as the history of graphic design.

If you’re planning to start a career in graphic design, be sure to perfect your graphic design resume first!

Graphic Design that Sparkles

Friday, July 15th, 2011

Sparkle! Shine! Be noticed! Attract customers! That’s what you want for your product or service. But how do you attain that?

Great graphic design is the key! Graphic design that creates sparkle and pizazz and magnetizes your target clients to you is what you are looking for. When you begin to look for the right graphic designer, it can seem that there are way too many to choose from. Most will have a graphic design portfolio on line. This is the place to start.

What is it that sets one apart from another? How do you judge graphic design for yourself? It’s not an easy task, because it also involves personal taste, but here are some basic design elements that will help as you look at their portfolios.

Emotional Response. Take the time to look at their work and see how it affects you. Do you like it? Does it make you want to know more, buy more? Do you respond in some way? It is usually an effective emotional response that make us want to act or buy. In the graphic design you are reviewing you want to assess the degree to which the pieces initiate an emotional response.

Use of White Space. Probably the first and foremost consideration is the use of white space in the graphic design. Is the message presented simply with lots of surrounding space, or is the space cluttered and you don’t know where to look next. Examine a number of the graphic design pieces in the designer’s portfolio. Knowing how and when to use white space is a talent and an art. Does this designer have it?

Simple Easy to Understand Message. Just like white space, the message should be simple and easy to understand. Competing messages don’t make for sparkle and notice in graphic design.

Meaningful Unique Bold Graphics. Our brains process visually, so the visual message is very important, often more important than the words. How clear and bold are the graphics in the work of the design you are considering. Do you get the message immediately? Are the visuals different and unique or do you have the feeling that you’ve seen them before. Is the designer using the same “stock” images as everybody else or do they find new and unique ways to present their message.

Effective use of Type or Fonts. Does the type style match the emotional feel of the piece? Does is help the message to stand out. Is it readable?

Benefits. While benefits are a selling point and not really a part of the design itself, they are a very important part of what makes a piece sizzle and sparkle, because it’s the benefits that magnetize clients to you. So be sure your designer has included benefits in their design pieces.

Drama. Does their graphic design work have drama? Drama engages the reader, involves the reader, keeps them looking and then remembering long after they’ve seen the piece. This is another part of what creates magnetism.

Spend some time with each online portfolio. Talk to the graphic designer. As for references and then, talk to their clients to get a feel for how well their work has produced results. How happy were they with the graphic design services they received. Would they use the designer again?

With all this information, finding the right graphic design firm to create sparkle, sizzle and magnetism for your product or service should be a cinch.

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Country Home Decorating

Thursday, July 14th, 2011

When choosing a theme or style for decorating your home, there are many to choose from. One of the most popular decorating themes today is country home decorating. Perhaps it is the most popular because it provides an inviting atmosphere and overall friendly feeling. Country home decorating, because of its warm environment, is enjoyed by the people who live there as well as all those who visit.

As with any home decorating project, a homeowner must first decide where they want to use country home decorating. Some people choose to use this theme throughout their entire home while other decide to use country home decorating focusing on just one or two rooms, for example the kitchen and the living room. Because this style is meant for people who enjoy simplicity and the nature, some homeowners may decide to carry the country decorating theme through the entire living space.

Country home decorating combines colors which are clean and bright with country furniture and accessories. When choosing colors for country home decorating, light to medium shades of white, yellow, pink, green or brown are good choices. Colors should reflect a rustic feeling. To add to the painted walls, a homeowner or decorator may decide to use stencils with country character such as flowers or plants, fruits or vegetables. Wallpaper boarders are also often used in country home decorating. It is fine to use these additions but the rule of thumb is - to make sure the patterns do not clash.

In keeping with a rustic and simple theme, country home decorating uses wood - natural wood. When deciding on a material for a country floor, natural wood is a nice choice. Of course using natural wood throughout a large area can be costly. If looking for a less-expensive way to give floors a country look, a light shade of carpet might be considered or laminate flooring. These options would also work well with the country home decorating theme. Other suggestions for country floors are flagstone or tile. Some homeowners, if they’re really creative, decorate their floors with stencils and create patterns. Another great way to jazz up a space is to use area rugs. In keeping with the country home decorating theme, those with an authentic look create a warm and cozy feeling. Hooked, quilted and braided rugs make beautiful additions to a country floor.

When choosing furniture to compliment country home decorating, light wood or wicker is suggested. Again, these materials reflect the beauty of nature. If a homeowner or decorator decides fabric would accent their furniture, such as cushions or slip covers, floral patterns or checkered fabrics add to the authentic look.

Accessorizing a space always adds to its beauty. When buying accessories to fit in with a country home decorating theme, it is good to keep in mind the type of atmosphere you are trying to create, a warm and inviting space. Simplicity goes a long way in country home decorating. It is recommended to never use too many decorations and choose accessories that family and friends will enjoy. Photos in simple wooden frames, plain mirrors, plants and scented candles dress up country home decorating. Window treatments should also be simple. Lace or shutters give a cozy country feel. Country home decorating can be interesting and fun. Perhaps the main detail to keep in mind is simplicity. Try not to over-decorate, remember too many patterns will clash. Too many decorations will eliminate the amount of space in a room. Country home decorating creates a relaxing and friendly environment, meant to be warm and cozy.

Do you want the best in country home decorating? Install a custom wall mural to bring the outdoors inside and create the ultimate country experience!

How To Pick The Best Material For Your Sewing Project

Saturday, July 2nd, 2011

Up until fifty years ago, the vast majority of women knew how to sew. All the women that I knew as a child sewed and knitted and manufactured some of the clothes for me and my four brothers. When I was eight or nine, I and each other child in my class was taught the fundamentals of knitting and before I went off to college, my mother taught me how to take up my jeans, sew on patches and repair my clothes.

Unfortunately, sewing, knitting and repairing clothes has largely died out in the United Kingdom. I now live in Thailand and I do not see much evidence of sewing or knitting here, so I assume that these arts are dying out all over the world among the masses, although I am certain that there are individuals everywhere who still knit and sew.

It is a real shame. If you are going to make your own clothes or furnishings like cushions, pillows or soft toys, it is quite essential that you select the right fabric for the job. Using the wrong fabric will make your job harder and may even render your work pointless. So here are a couple of tips on choosing the correct cloth for the job in hand.

The first and most obvious thing to do is look at the suggestions on the pattern you are using and if you are a novice take that advice until you know what you are doing. Regrettably, a lot of people do not read the directions anymore. I can not remember the number of times I have seen someone struggling to assemble something and discovered the directions in the bin with the packaging.

Get to know textiles by examining the textiles in the shop. Ask questions about textiles and look at the fabric on the bolt or roll. If the fabric does not look correct on the bolt it probably will not look right anywhere else either. When you unroll a few feet of the bolt, does it lie flat or does it roll up or crumple? Grab a handful and squeeze it. Does it crumple easily? Does it feel correct?

Is the cloth fraying on the bolt? If so it will fray while you use it too. Look on the bolt for special cleaning or handling instructions. Do they suit your requirements?

It is quite difficult to work with satin because it slips easily. T-shirt knit is also difficult because it rolls up on itself. It is probably best to avoid these materials until you acquire some experience

Cotton is the best fabric for beginners because it is easy to work with and everyone is very familiar with cotton goods. We know how they should feel and we can tell good, thick heavy cotton from cheap, thin cotton. We also all know that cotton shrinks. Therefore before you cut you cloth. wash it and cut the shrunken cotton fabric. In effect, you have pre-shrunk it.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on a number of subjects, but is now involved with decorative sofa pillows. If you would like to know more, please visit our website at Modern Throw Pillows For Sale.

The Best Way To Get Free Quilt Patterns

Friday, July 1st, 2011

Throughout history, ladies who quilted have shared patterns, designs, tips and experience to others within their group. It was a tactic for women to get together in a social group without risking being accused of wasting time. Not only did they use their ’social time’ to make items, quilts, which could be used or sold, but they manufactured them out of scrap material: small off-cuts of cloth which other people might call rags.

Women still do this today, especially in the mid-west. If you want to get into quilting, you could do a lot worse than become a member of a quilting club or group. Look in your local yellow pages or ask at a hobbyist shop.

If you have no supply of free quilting patterns from a local club, try the Net. If you use the search term ‘free quilting patterns’ in Google or Yahoo, you will see hundreds of alternatives. Some will be very suitable and others will be useless and you will have to dig down to work out which are which.

If you are asking yourself why anyone should offer free quilting patterns, the reason is that they will want you to visit their web site to request it and your email address to deliver it. This gives them all they require to send you promotional emails until you unsubscribe.

Keep an eye on the emails they send you and if you do not like them, do not feel guilty about unsubscribing immediately, even if the free quilting patterns were pretty functional. You will not be hurting anyone’s feelings, no-one will even know who you are. It is all done automatically with programs known as autoresponders.

Patterns that you will be offered in your quest for free quilting patterns are normally the traditional ones that have passed into the public domain like the Lone Star, the Log Cabin and other traditional American patterns.

If you like the traditional quilting patterns this is all very well, but if you want something more modern and less well-known you will probably have to pay for it. The average price of a quilting pattern is somewhere about $25, but it can also be $10 more or less. EBay can be a decent source of cheap quilting designs.

However, do not give up on your quest for free quilting patterns too soon because there really is a plethora of free quilting patterns on the Internet, you merely have to bear looking. Before you begin, it would be worth creating a folder called Quilt Patterns in your Favorites Folder. Then you can save any helpful site in there so that you can come back to it easily later.

Browsing for free quilt patterns, whether on the intent or asking friends, is an enjoyable aspect of the hobby of quilting, one that is certain to keep you engrossed for many hours.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on a number of topics, but is now concerned with king size duvets. If you want to know more, please visit our website at Modern Throw Pillows For Sale.

The Fundamentals Of Making Quilts

Tuesday, June 28th, 2011

If you have never done any quilting before, you may be forgiven for thinking that it looks fairly simple. The fact is that it necessitates a lot of patience, skill and diligence to create a quilt. It really is not as simple as it looks. It takes practice and attention to detail. Given that, you must use good quality textiles if you are considering manufacturing a quilt.

Cotton is fine for the job, but it ought to be the lowest you will go. No polyester or other man-made fabrics. If you do use these cheap fabrics and spend weeks making your first quilt, you will only regret it. If you make mistakes, but the fabric is good at least there will be that one saving grace.

Once you have chosen your fabric, you can choose the style or pattern that you want. This may seem backwards, and that is OK. If you want, you can choose the style first and then a fabric to match, but I would recommend that you just stick with cotton for your first quilt.

Next, you have to get hold of a pattern. This is very straightforward. You can either become a member of a local quilting group, where people will give you traditional patterns or sell you modern ones; or you can go on line and search Google or Yahoo for ‘free quilt patterns’ or you can visit to your neighbourhood craft shop and buy one that fits your requirements.

You will also need a decent set of tools to make your quilt. It is a pretty good idea not to scrimp on these tools as they are not expensive; will make your job a lot easier and will last a very long time. You will require at least one rotary cutter. ‘At least one’ because the wide blade cutters are very good for straight cuts whereas a small blade cutter is better for corners or shapes. By the way, these rotary cutters look like pizza cutters.

Because these cutters are sharp, you will also require a cutting board. This can be as simple as a sheet of plywood, trimmed to suit your table top or you can merely lay it on the floor. Without a board, you will damage your table or carpet. You will also need dress-maker’s scissors and large shears. Further requirements are pins, needles, cotton, straight edges and markers.

Your pattern will explain about batting and a back fabric and you must pay a great deal of attention to the recommendations in your pattern.

This piece cannot be a ‘teach yourself quilting’ manual, but I hope that it has shown you that you do not need a great amount of equipment to make very passable bedding quilts. However, with just a little adaptation of the pattern, you could make some beautiful duvet covers. Not many people make duvet covers, so you could either make them solely for yourself or sell them.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on a number of subjects, but is now involved with king size duvets. If you want to know more, please visit our website at Modern Throw Pillows For Sale.

The History Of The Cushion

Friday, June 10th, 2011

In American phraseology, the words ‘cushion’ and ‘pillow’ are practically synonymous, but in the remainder of the English speaking world, a pillow is used on a bed for supporting the head and a cushion is used on elsewhere for supporting other parts of the body. A pillow is normally much larger than a cushion nowadays.

The cushion and pillow were most likely first used by well-off Asian men to lounge on. They would probably be referred to as throw cushions these days. However, we are going back so far in history that dyes and fabrics were very costly, so pillows and cushions were just for the wealthy and the patterns were so elaborate that they became pieces of art in themselves.

Needlework became a skilled profession as did weaving. Cushions were large sacks or cases filled with feathers, hair, wool, straw or something comparable. These days they are more likely to be filled with man-made fibres such as polyester. Down is the most costly filling particularly down from the eider duck.

Due to international trade, the idea of the cushion started moving westward and had arrived in Egypt by the time of the Pharaohs. Cushions have been found in ancient Egyptian tombs. By the Middle Ages, cushions were to be seen in all the royal palaces of Europe. Cushions were still regarded as representing wealth.

The cushions of the royal palaces were substantial enough to sit in, a bit like modern beanie bags, and even started replacing traditional chairs. In those days, cushions were very substantial sacks manufactured of leather, many of which had needlework patterns on them.

Cushions were also used in churches for the wealthy to kneel on when saying their prayers. These special but small cushions were called carreaux because they were square (from the French).

Nowadays cushions are everyday items because they are much cheaper. Most cushions in the West are 17 inches by 17 inches and the reason for this is the traditional size of a roll or bolt of fabric. A roll of cloth is traditionally 54 inches wide, so it could be cut into three pieces of 18 inches, allowing for seams, this allows the manufacturer to make a 17 inch cushion.

Japanese cushions were much and still are, but they have a different role. In the West they are used for support, whereas in the East they are used for sitting on on the floor. In Japanese they are called ‘zabuton’ and measure 20-30 inches square by a few of inches in thickness, which is less than a quarter of the thickness of traditional Western cushions.

Zen meditators will frequently sit on another special cushion called a zafu or meditation cushion, which is placed on top of the zabuton. A zafu can be round or square but is small, often only 8-10 inches in diameter and 4-8 inches in thickness.

Zabuton are used in all aspects of Japanese life especially those aspects that have religious overtones or traditions such as sumo. Spectators of the sport will sit on zabuton while watching the bouts. If there is a foul or a dispute, spectators frequently throw their zabuton into the ring in revulsion.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on a number of topics, but is now concerned with decorative sofa pillows. If you want to know more, please visit our website at Modern Throw Pillows For Sale.

Ideas For Landscaping

Thursday, May 12th, 2011

If you think that your garden is getting a bit scruffy, perhaps it is a decent time to give the whole thing a thorough make over. If you make a decision to go down this path, you have several alternatives available to you. These choices vary from simply adding a few new plants and other garden bits and pieces to the garden to hiring a landscaping firm. However, you would be better off looking at some landscaping ideas before you start any major alterations to your garden.

By looking at these landscaping suggestions first, you have the opportunity of seeing what items you might like to have in your back yard garden. These suggestions will also show you how you can reasonably transform your garden, no matter how big or small it is, into one which reflects your personality. You might decide that you would like a water feature like a pool or a shallow pond in order to attract wildlife.

One of the best means to finding great backyard landscaping ideas, is to look at magazines which handle this area of gardening. You can also acquire lots of ideas for a great looking garden from exhibitions sponsored by landscaping companies.

As these places are always on the lookout for new customers, they will have the most current suggestions and trends featured in their shows. If you are very lucky, you might get one of them to come and give your garden a free facelift as part of their marketing campaign.

There may be times when you will have the opportunity of purchasing an device, which will help you develop an concept on which your landscaping theme or style may evolve. As the key to a great looking garden is how well all of the things in the garden fuse together, you will need to think around where all of the items should be placed before you start transforming your back yard or garden.

It is important for your landscaping concepts to turn out in the way that you would like. You can make the look of the garden by sectioning your garden out. This sectioning out can be done on a piece of (graph) paper or you could use one of the numerous landscaping software programs available. These software programs permit you to see how different concepts can be integrated together.

Since the program will just give you a rough working concept, it is even better if you look at each part of the garden and work out how you can transform the garden’s appearance bit by bit. Now if you feel like it, you have the ability to make certain that each section of the garden shows an interesting item, feature or plant in the various seasons. This seasonal garden look is just one of the numerous landscaping ideas that you can attempt to create.

There are various landscaping ideas that you could strive to achieve.. However, while loads of these ideas might require you to spend loads of money there are others that you can try on a far tighter budget. These different landscaping options, whether they are easy or complex ideas, all have the same goal in sight and that is to make your garden look unique.

If you are searching for stylish landscaping ideas , then you really must go along to our website for more free ideas on Stylish Home Decor and more.

Kitchen Design And Lighting Ideas

Monday, May 2nd, 2011

If you have just moved into a new, old house, one of the first things that you will probably want to do is refurbish or remodel the kitchen, especially if you like cooking or spending a lot of time in the kitchen. If you use a kitchen a great deal, you will probably already have a good idea of what you would like the kitchen to look like in the end.

One of the first decisions to make is whether you are going to do it yourself or oversee it yourself. There is a lot of work in a kitchen refurb and I have seen amateurs spend years, literally years, doing what a professional could have done in weeks. This always leads to family tensions. Once that I know of, it even led to divorce. It seems that everybody wants to boast that they are having refurbishments done, but no one actually wants to go through the hassle of having it actually done.

If you are not entirely sure what you want your kitchen to look like, it is a good suggestion to visit show kitchens in home improvement stores and even pick up brochures there to look at at home. You could also buy a few magazines and surf the Internet for suggestions.

Once you see a few examples that you like, be sure to cut out the pages and print off the image files after downloading them. This way you can build up a dossier of the things that you would like to integrate into your new kitchen..

Once you are pleased that you have all the components you like, you have to collate them. This does not have to be to scale or exact, but just as good as you can do with what you have. Take a large sheet of paper, say A3, and draw in your kitchen’s windows and doors.

Then cut out the pictures of the items you want from the magazines and brochures and stick them in place. If you think that this is not feasible, draw them in and label them unmistakably so that you can refer back to your picture file.

You need not stop at one drawing, you can play about with it. If you cut the pictures out, but do not glue them down, you can move them around until you are happy. You may also want to get the input of other members of the family and have a brain storming session

When you have finished, decide how you are going to illuminate the kitchen. Do you want a pendant light over the table? Do you want spots pointing at the cooker and the sink? Do you want concealed down-lighting to shine on the work surface? How are you going to see what you are doing? It is a very important question. Wall lights are great for ambient lighting.

Lastly, you have to choose a colour scheme and you are almost ready to start, unless you are using a builder and then you will have to select one first, but that will make up the contents of another article.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece writes on several topics, but is at present involved with researching wrought iron floor lamps. If you would like to know more or check out great offers, please go to our website at Wrought Iron Light

Contemporary Fine Art In Your Hotel Decor

Wednesday, April 27th, 2011

Businesses of all kinds have come to realize that contemporary fine art makes fantastic, yet inexpensive decor and the lighting necessary to illuminate them is useful for lighting corridors too. Hospitals, hotels, airports, restaurants and bars are jumping on the band wagon as well.

There are all kinds of paintings and objets d’art, so many in fact that you will always be able to find something to fit in with whichever style of decor that you have. You can use contemporary fine art to give bare walls an interest and to keep people interested while they are waiting for something to happen.

For example, contemporary fine art displayed in a restaurant will prevent diners from becoming bored while they are waiting for their meal. Contemporary fine art in a bar will give solitary travellers something to do while they are passing an hour or two in your business. Similarly for hospital patients, looking at contemporary fine art might help relieve nervousness and stress.

Hotels and Guest Houses.

When people come to check in, you want to offer a warm, yet stylish appearance to them. Many hotel guests travel alone and spend time sitting in the lobby to pass their evenings or weekends. An interesting display of contemporary fine art will keep them amused for hours.

Put your paintings or and objets d’art at regular intervals around the walls, but do not crowd a wall. You should pick a warm, yet neutral colour for the wall’s emulsion. Lighting is also very important. Up lighting, down lighting or back lighting are common methods of illuminating pieces of art work, but you can also use spotlights to highlight something out of the ordinary.

The lobby can also contain a few plants and a coffee table or two with an interesting wrought iron lamp on each. A matching lamp shade helps to generate a warm, co-ordinated effect.

You should also place some contemporary fine art in the guest rooms, because, once again, many travellers are alone and have to spend hours sitting in their rooms alone. If you are stuck for a theme, think about your location. Is it near the sea or is the town famous for something? Does it have a well-known historical connection? Once you have your theme, you will surely find pieces of contemporary fine art to decorate it with.

Try to put yourself in the shoes of the average person who comes to stay or eat at your establishment. Is he there for business or pleasure? If it’s pleasure do families come or is it mostly singles? Whatever the type of hotel, guest house, restaurant or pub, you will find a theme and the rest will follow because there is so much choice of contemporary fine art.

Uniformity is a good thing when you are decorating a hotel or guest house. Try to keep everything ‘on topic’. The colours, the furnishings, the plants, the contemporary fine art - the lighting should be subtle and the whole decor must be in the same theme, if it is to be hugely successful.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece writes on several topics, but is at present concerned with researching wrought iron floor lamps. If you would like to know more or check out great offers, please go to our website at Wrought Iron Light