Design like a Designer!

What’s wrong with the design on the right? If youre at a loss for words read on. Now compare it with the one below. When you look at anything, from a late-model or a magazine ad, you probably have opinions about it appearance, its design – why you like or dislike it.

A good design doesn't just happen it is a winding process, like an ocean current in the middle of the sea. Essentially the major parts of the process are :

• Define your point – figure out our reader, your message, and the mood or tone that you want o set.

• Collect ideas. Sketch your ideas on paper to clarify the tone and mood of your message. Experiment on your own with friends and family.

• As you work, follow the three basics of good design : keep it simple, make it consistent and spice it up with contrast.

• While your design ideas are still flexible, check the estimated costs of   production against your budget. This will help you determine if you are going to print your design at home on your desktop printer of go for a high-end finnish to an outside printer.

You don’t always know what you like until you see I, so after you start working, you might want to rethink some of your ideas. Once you get the hang of it, it only takes a mouse-click or two and there you have it a new proffesional design.

A word about Fonts : 

What is a font? Well a font is all the characters of a single design, it constitutes of all the letters of the alphabet, plus numbers and special symbols. When choosing fonts for a deisgn it’s a good idea to limit yourself to 2-3 fonts . For all the fonts that you will use in a single design it is of vital importance that they are readable & have feeling to match the mood and tone of the design. Remember don’t use script fonts or fonts meant for HEADLINES for body text.

What I recommend : Having tried various graphic programmes over the years I still feel the 5 key programmes that ever wannabe designer must have are : Microsoft Publisher,Corel Draw and Photopaint , Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator .

1. (P) You can add different shapes of texts, with curves and colours by clicking the word art tool.

2.(C) You can add lenses to your headlines to liven them up. Draw a circle or a square then go to effects and click lenses. Choose the lens effect of your choice and place your square or circle over the headline.

3. (P) Apply a gradinet fill to any object, by clicking the fill colour tool (a paint tin) then choose fill effects then gradients.

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