Archive for category Graphic Design
The Cute Designer Video That Started It All
Posted by Alan G in Fun Stuff, Graphic Design on July 13th, 2009
I make no secret of my admiration for Gridiron Flow, which in my not-so-humble opinion is the best thing to happen to designers since desktop publishing. Here is the very original YouTube video that enticed me into the private beta test program for the product, more than a year ago:
Flow has its own teaser trailer
Posted by Alan G in Graphic Design, News on July 6th, 2009
You have to love a software company that can put out a seriously cool movie-style trailer for their latest product.
I’ve written about Flow, the application that transforms the way we work with creative software. It was a blast testing, suggesting improvements, and watching the program evolve from its original concept to the mature product that it became when it went on sale last week. Even if you don’t work in the graphic arts, I am sure you’ll hear more mention of Flow. It will become as ubiquitous as Photoshop, no question.
For more information about Gridiron Flow, watch the Overview video and browse their website.
Transforming the way you work with creative projects
Posted by Alan G in Graphic Design, Techie Stuff on June 27th, 2009
I’ve mentioned Gridiron Software’s new application, Flow, in a previous post. I’ve been beta testing Flow since the latter part of 2008, and it’s been quite an evolution. Big news is that the first (possibly the only) Release Candidate has just been made available for download at www.gridironsoftware.com. Every once in a long while, a new program comes along that actually merits the term “innovative,” that changes the way we use computers. The first spreadsheet program (VisiCalc, for those whose memories go back that far) was one. Photoshop was another. Flow is in that category.
If you’re not a video editor or graphics professional, don’t assume Flow isn’t for you. Anyone who works with Microsoft Office files, creating documents, writing copy, or putting together PowerPoint presentations could potentially benefit greatly. There are some excellent intro and how-to videos here.
Breaking News: As of June 30, Flow is now shipping.
Corporate Identity Standards Aren’t Just for Big Corporations
Posted by Alan G in Business Communications, Creative Tips, Graphic Design on June 24th, 2009
The latest issue of Creative Tips, going live tomorrow, details more about what a style book is and how to make one. Very few small to medium size businesses have a style book, far less use one, because nobody teaches business owners (or dentists, or consultants… name your field) that the marketplace does, 100 percent, judge a book by its cover. (If that’s not so, why do publishers put such enormous amounts of money and effort into designing terrific covers for their books?)
Corporate Image Boot Camp
Posted by Alan G in Creative Tips, Graphic Design, News on May 14th, 2009
The Creative Tips newsletters have proved amazingly popular, far more than I ever expected. There’s an interesting double-effect here: as I write more and get more feedback, I find the newsletters taking on a life of their own. Number 10 is the start of a series on company image that I suspect is going to shock some folks, because the definition of what constitutes “good” design isn’t nearly the constant that some would like to believe. And the more I got into the subject, the more I realized just how many ways there are – none of them rocket science, all quite simple – to sink your company’s image without trace.
So I found myself on a roll for hours, long past the point where one little newsletter could cover it, and the “Corporate Image Boot Camp” was born. If you’re not subscribed to the newsletter, but would like to be, shoot me an email and I’ll add you to the list.
Design Always Has a Message
Posted by Alan G in Graphic Design on May 8th, 2009
A couple of recent articles on John McWade’s Before&After blog really point up the importance of keeping the audience in mind, as opposed to the designer or the client, and designing for that audience.
A week or so ago, John posted two Craig’s List ads for the same classic Jeep. He asked for comments as to which one his readers felt more likely to sell the car. You can read that post here, along with the many, many comments. Look them over, read the responses, and make up your own mind.
Looking good in print isn’t just about “art”
Posted by Alan G in Creative Tips, Graphic Design on April 25th, 2009
Ann Wayman, whose excellent blog is a terrific resource for freelance writers in any field, left a comment the other day about an author whose book had been “designed” by someone with super-powerful design software, but who clearly had never bothered to learn the hows and whys of graphic design. It wouldn’t, Ann conjectured, sell very well. She was exactly right.
Gridiron Flow is going to wow the design community
Posted by Alan G in Graphic Design, News, Techie Stuff on April 25th, 2009
For months, the good folks at Gridiron Software have been working hard on the beta testing and feature development of Flow, a new tracking program that is going to usher in a new era for designers, videographers, and creative professionals in any field who have to keep track of large projects.
Why We Design
Posted by Alan G in Graphic Design on April 22nd, 2009
John McWade is a designer’s designer, someone who not only does superb work himself, but has been a teacher and inspiration to many, many others in the years since he became the very first user of the very first desktop publishing software: Pagemaker. I frequently recommend his books, “Before and After: Graphics for Business” and “Before and After: Page Design,” to clients and anyone starting out in the design field. He is also the publisher of Before and After Magazine, one of the finest, certainly the most practical periodical in the field.
This recent post on his blog not only sums up why designers do what we do, but puts our work in a different and thoughtful light; one that it is much too easily missed in our well-fed, computer-aided world.
The Battle for Good Looking Documents
Posted by Alan G in Creative Tips, Graphic Design, Typography on April 21st, 2009
I’ve been amazed how many people have told me — enthusiastically — that after reading Creative Tips #5 they are battling to overcome their years-long habit of typing two spaces after a period. Those typewriter habits we learned at our mothers’ (or fathers’ secretaries’) knees are sometimes hard to break, but folks tell me they’re persevering! Oddly enough, the two-spaces thing never was considered correct in the UK, so ex-pat Brits don’t have a problem with it.
It’s all in the interest of better-looking documents. That, and copy that designers can typeset without a fuss. There’s a degree of enlightened self-interest in these newsletters: the better the copy is written in the first place, the less there is to fix before it goes into the brochure, magazine, manual or book.