Collider is a great graphic design agency based in Sydney, Australia. They offer film production design and traditional studio design. These are several of their works that I find very interesting;
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Post 6: Examples of Vector and Illustrator Art
Here are some examples of Vector and Illustrator art that interest me and inspire me;
Post 5: Design Terminology
Aliasing
Aliasing happens when a low resolution computer graphics file or device produces jagged edges and little to no smooth edges and curves.
Bleed
A Bleed is a printed document or photo that has it’s graphics or text extended to the very edge of the printed paper.
CMYK
CMYK (Cyan, Magenta,Yellow,Black) is one of several colour models and is used most commonly in offset printing to create any mix originating from these four colours.
Kerning
Kerning is the process of putting two letters or characters closer together than normal and is used often in typography to make some letters look better in combination.
Leading
Leading is known as making space vertically between lines of text and is pronounced as LED-ing because strips of lead were used by typographers a long time ago to make this effect possible.
Negative Space
Negative Space is the intentional use of space surrounding objects or an object within an image to create a new object altogether and is used perspectively in Rorschach tests and art alike.
Pixel
A Pixel is a really small area or dot that forms an image when hundreds, thousands or even millions of them are placed together on a screen or computer display and makes the visual fidelity of an image (resolution) better or worse dependent on the pixel count.
Thumbnails
Thumbnails are small, compressed images commonly used on websites to show a miniaturized view of a larger image and can also be used to preview the contents of an article or webpage.
Watermark
A Watermark can be impressed onto a paper document to signify ownership by symbolizing a signature of sorts and is visible when held over a light source.
Post 4: The Technical Challenges of Graphic Design
Some of the technical challenges of being a designer are staying up-to-date with the industry that is constantly changing and implementing new toolsets. Keeping a clients expectations in check is a necessity because it’s easy for you to get side tracked by a client if they insist they know exactly what they want, it’s your job to show them what they want and not the other way around.
Another technical challenge of being a designer is time management. Planning ahead and being fully aware of deadlines and any restrictions in place is an absolute must. A balanced life is the key to success but many people fail to do these things and end up regretting it.
There are plenty of resources available to people for inspiration and help such as social media and image hosting websites who have literally millions of photos and artworks for people to browse and download at their choosing.
Asking for help can be tough but help is always available and can be found in any number of places. Online tutorials, design F.A.Q’s and message boards are very useful resources that anyone can access via the internet. Alternatively you can ask any friends or teachers who are knowledgable or who are in the business if you don’t have an internet connection.
Post 3: The Roles Designers Play In Allied Industries
Designers In Film and Television
There are many roles that designers have in film and television and most of them are absolutely essential to the overall quality and success of a film or TV series.
The majority of popular movies and shows owe their visual identities to Production Designers and Costume Designers. These talented people do a lot of heavy lifting in terms of setting the tone and drawing the viewers in to create a memorable experience.
Sound Designers also play a huge role in the success of a project because they help the audience connect to the film on a more personal level purely with sound. The film Psycho is a great example of how sound or lack thereof in film is absolutely needed to create and build tension.
After production had wrapped on Psycho, the director, Alfred Hitchcock, showed a screening of the film to a large audience without any sound besides dialogue. He was surprised to see that people weren’t connecting with the film like he had hoped and decided to employ a sound designer to score the film. He showed the film again but this time with the score and he was ecstatic to see people terrified and genuinely horrified by what they were seeing and hearing onscreen.
There are many people in these industries other than designers who are vital to the success of their craft but without designers, movies and television shows would be much more dull and uninteresting for everyone.
Post 2: The Rights and Responsibilities of a Designer
When I become a designer I will have the right to;
- A fair, harassment-free workplace in a safe environment.
- Work without being discriminated against or treated poorly by my colleagues.
- Use and enforce intellectual property and copyright laws for all my works.
- A high standard of workmanship.
- Access to good quality tools, software and hardware.
The responsibilities of being a designer are;
- Forming trust between the client and I.
- Meeting all deadlines without excuse.
- Being honest and upfront about the design costs, all terms and conditions, timeframes and design projections.
- Informing the client of any codes and practices they need to be aware of.
- Supporting sustainability within my works.
- Taking responsibility for any positive or negative influence my works may have on others.
The ways I can remain relevant and current in the design industry are by;
- Keeping up-to-date with any advancements, minor and significant, within my field of design.
- Researching and/or implementing popular trends used in modern design.
- Knowing all the tropes and clichés of design and learning how to use them in moderation or how to avoid them altogether.
A deadline is a date set in stone by a client or a boss in which a person must complete and hand in all work on or before the date the deadline is set at.
Meeting a deadline on time should involve setting out a plan and a timeline within the timeframe you have before the deadline is reached. Managing your time thoroughly can save you from a lot of headaches you’re sure to experience throughout the process of designing something.
The consequences of breaking a deadline are usually serious and can devastatingly effect someone else who is relying on you to finish your work on time. This can include deduction or loss of pay, a bad reputation in the business, suspension or even termination. Deadlines are put in place to keep this from happening by making sure everyone in the design process isn’t forming a chink in the chain.
To better meet deadlines you can plan ahead of time and figure out the best and most time efficient ways of completing your goal. Be realistic and never commit to a project that you cannot or will not finish and never start planning without a Plan B in mind.
Post 1: The Designer That I Want To Be
My name is Ethan Smith, I’m 21 and this is my first blog. I’ve decided to base it around design and I’ll be posting works of design that I like throughout the year. I’ll also be talking about my interests, my inspirations and about design in general.
Most of my design experience comes from drawing by hand and not so much with software like Illustrator and Photoshop. I’ve been drawing for most of my life and I enjoy it a lot.
Hopefully in the future I can have a career in some sort of game design whether it be as a concept artist, a level designer, a character modeler, or even as a creative director.
For as long as I can remember I’ve been interested in designing video games and all the hard work that goes with it. I constantly watch behind-the-scenes videos and making-of videos for games because they give me a lot of insight in to the design process of my favourite games.
Here are some design examples that I find particularly interesting;
ethansmithblog 
