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For graphic designers who are new to web design this article will provide some very useful tips to optimize your websites and images to maintain a visually dynamic website without slow load times.

Everyone should want a website that is attractive, engaging, and easy to navigate. More often than not, you can spot websites that were created by graphic designers and sites that were created by programmers. Generally speaking a website created by a graphic designer will be visually engaging but is probably not Search Engine Friendly, while a programmer’s site will be set up beautifully with CSS streamlined for Search Engines and quick load times. For obvious reasons the best websites are usually created by a team of professionals working in tandem.

It sure seems to me that most people designing websites have an “either or” attitude, either it looks good but loads slow or you focus on code and appear more generic. I’ve seen plenty of websites that contradict this thinking and I personally believe every website should be visually stunning and streamlined for search engines and download time. Every year less people are using dial up to connect, however there are too many to ignore. I really don’t worry too much about dial up users anymore, because most of the websites I design are targeted at fairly web savvy searchers. However, just because I don’t worry about dial up doesn’t mean that I can neglect to streamline my websites for its users.

This article will provide some quick and useful tips on how graphic designers new to web design can optimize websites and images and still keep them looking hot. If you’re just starting out then you’re probably not going to know a lot about CSS. No worries! Just start designing your layout in Photoshop. A good document size to start with would be 950 pixels wide by 600 pixel high set to RGB at 300 dpi. When you’ve created the layout that you want you are ready to slice up your document and export it as an html document with an image folder.

1. In Photoshop you can use the slice tool and manually create slices organized in rows and columns for Dreamweaver or drag “guides” where you want to slice your page and just click the “slice from guides” button at the top of the Photoshop menu bar. Note: you can combine slices by shift clicking multiple slices then holding down the control key and clicking to select combine slices. (You can define your text and background colors easily in Dreamweaver).

The image below is an example of how I sliced this Photoshop document up.

a. Hold down shift + option + command + s to export the slices. Click “Save” and then select export html and images.

b. Open all of your images in Fireworks and resave them at 80% quality and jpg format. Now you have nice looking images that have a small file size and are easy to load.

2. Another quick tip is to learn to set up your web pages using .php includes.

The basic set up for a php page is a “header”, “body” and “footer”. In a nutshell what we are doing is breaking one complete html page into three separate html files and letting the server put them back together as one complete page. Why would we do this? We do this, because there are many beneficial advantages to creating your pages this way. For example if your navigation is in the header document and you need to make a change to your navigation you only need to do it once, not for every page. Also the server loads your images once and not for every page which makes your site quicker to load and use.

a. In Photoshop you proceed the same way using the slice tool or guides to? create slices organized in rows and columns for Dreamweaver. Except this time you are turning the one file in the example shown previously into (3) separate files. Break your main Photoshop document into three sections, a header, the body, and the footer. Label each Photoshop document accordingly. Samples shown below.

Header File:

Body File:

Footer File:

b. Hold down shift + option + command + s to export the slices as html and images for each of the three Photoshop documents.

c. Your head document named: “header.html” change to “header.php”

d. Replace the ? and information found at the top of your “index.html” page with this simple code:
include(”header.php”);?>

e. Replace the / tag found at the very bottom of your page with the following footer include.
include(”footer.php”);?>

Note: Re-save the “body” which is your index.html as index.php
Note: You will need to upload these files to preview the entire page, but on the positive if you use these same header and footer tags on the rest of your pages your website only needs to load the header and footer images one time making? your site display much quicker. This idea works with background images as well (if you re-use the images they only have to load once).

Reference #1:
Here is what the basic html looks like in the header.html file:
These brackets {} used in place coding of actual code for placement purposes only.

{html}
{head}
{title}Your Title Goes Here{title}
{table}
{table}

Reference#2:
Here is what the basic html looks like in the index.php file:

{?php
include(”header.php”);?}

{body}
{table}
{table}
{?php
include(”footer.php”);?}

Reference#3:
Here is what the basic html looks like in the footer.php file:

{body}
{html}

When you upload these files and images the server will put them together as one complete page. Now you can create new pages and content and keep your header and footer information the same using the header and footer includes.

Pulling the best of business is every online firm?s prime motif, no matter what effort it should focus in onto. The last few years have proved to be a very fertile time period, considering all the possibilities that have been carried impressively in the world of custom graphic design. With graphic design becoming the demand of the day, a creative graphic designer working for a graphic design company leaves no stone unturned to integrate the best features using design vehicles like Photoshop.

Photoshop, one of the premier photo editing and designing software out there in the market features some gem of functions for accomplishing any graphic design activity with panache. Using Photoshop?s varied functions and tools, a graphics designer can perform a number of activities. The Brush Tool of Photoshop is a heavily used painting tool. By simply opening the Brush palette from Windows Menu ? Brushes, you can access the Brush function. Besides, you can change each setting suiting to your preference. Basically, there are three states to use the Brush Tool:

Select a color using the color picker. Choosing a brush from the brush menu Select a mode for the brush that are you using.

You can select a variety of brushes besides creating your own brush. By creating a new document and bringing up the Brush Tool by simply clicking on the little brush icon, you can proceed further. Using the Shortcut Key B on your keyboard you can do the same. By clicking the brush drop-down list in the toolbar, you can discover different sizes of brushes. Besides selecting predefined list of brushes, you can also change size as well as hardness of brushes that you pick. What?s more, you can save your custom brushes by clicking on the little arrow at the top right of the palette. Graphic design professionals working in a graphic design firm often need to play with the Brush Tool of Photoshop during different stages of project development.

Ever wondered how some graphic designers always manage to produce beautiful looking designs for their brochures, website designs, logo designs? Talent…yes, it helps but there are a handful of more important things you can do that will have even complete beginners producing award winning design.

Forget everything you’ve ever been told about Graphic Design

There are some hard and fast things that graphic designers will insist are to be obeyed. Only use limited fonts on a design for example or never use green on a magazine or book cover as people will not buy it. Stuff and nonsense. You can pretty much do whatever you like but you must apply these STRICT GRAPHIC DESIGN RULES and you will soon be walking away with graphic design silverware.

Somewhere on the page you MUST put in a subliminal message

This can be done in a multitude of ways for example if you are producing a brochure selling wellington boots then start every paragraph spelling out ‘buy our wellington boots’ or better still ‘you have no choice but to buy our wellington boots now get out your cheque book and buy them – NOW!’ Another crafty method is to doctor images in photoshop so that on an innocent picture of a tree for example carved into the bark is a message along the lines of ‘U Luv Wellington boots’ You get the idea. just make sure it’s hidden away on a subliminal level and watch your sales go through the roof, quite literally

You MUST include a picture of a pretty girl smiling on your document or webpage

This works for 95% of products. Put simply would you rather read and look at pictures of industrial machinery or would you rather look at a pretty girl? It’s a no brainer right? Research has proven that mens brains are wired up to focus on girls smiles and of course their breasts and backsides. If you can somehow convince your client to put a naked girl on there somewhere you can pretty much laugh yourself down to the bank. However, never ever put a muscle bound hunk on any design thinking it will work conversely for womens products. Research has shown that womens brains are only wired to think of shopping for clothes and chocolate, so putting a bare chested chippendale on the cover is going to see your business go down the dumper. Unless your product is for homosexual merchandise in which case go ahead.

Shock and Awe – the guaranteed way to get your design work noticed and talked about

Perhaps the best example of this trick can be found widely used in the modern art world. Sharks in formaldahyde, unmade beds and plastic dolls melted together to sodomise each other. All these pieces of art have been much talked about and whether you find them to your taste or not are widely percieved as being breath takingly original. The same principal can and should be applied to your graphic design work or website design. Add a blood splattered severed willy in the centre of the page for example or how about using an excrement smear as a backdrop. Remember the important thing is to get people talking about your design work. Bad taste soon becomes acceptable once commonplace so be the first to do something outrageous and reap the rewards.

If you remember to apply at least one or two and ideally all 3 of these golden graphic design rules there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be a millionaire/billionaire within one or two months. Now get creative!

The Cut&Paste tournament pits graphic designers against each other in a live competition. The event draws crowds from Boston to Berlin. We catch up with them in New York City.

The Cut&Paste tournament pits graphic designers against each other in a live competition. The event draws crowds from Boston to Berlin. We catch up with them in New York City.

Sketch in Motion has produced this clip for the Jordan Web Awards Ceremony 2007 and it was screened at the event.

www.sketchinmotion.com
www.jordanwebawards.org

This is the usual conversation held between a web designer and a client at an initial meeting

Sketch in Motion has produced this clip for the Jordan Web Awards Ceremony 2007 and it was screened at the event.

www.sketchinmotion.com
www.jordanwebawards.org

We are living in a world that is continuously facing a heavy onslaught of visual images and messages. In this competitive market of visuals, the first impression counts big time! Therefore, it becomes very crucial for businesses to captivate their target audiences right from the start. A professional graphic designer can bring in fitting solution to your problem.

So what exactly is a graphic designer?

A graphic designer is a professional who has expertise in putting together images, moving graphics and text in an aesthetically pleasing manner to create a design. Nearly all kinds of media that deal with visual images such as print media, electronic media, brochures, hoardings, advertisements make use of custom graphic design. In fact a creative graphic designer can earn handsome packages in these sectors that rely heavily on images and graphics.

Nowadays, many graphic design companies and graphic design firms operate in the market and render their services to clients. They consist of professional illustrators and brilliant graphic designers who understand the medium of graphic design and exploit it to create visually captivating pieces for their clients.

How can a Graphic Design Company help business?

A competent graphic design company can completely overhaul the image of a brand and infuse a new life into it. They work on building a brand systematically and can change the fortunes of brands that are flagging at the bottom of the pile. A graphic design firm works in resonance with the marketing and advertising strategy of the business and help them in achieving their objectives.

Utilize custom graphic design for your websites

If you want your websites and other visual media to be unique and make a statement for you, you can get custom graphic design. The graphic designer will work towards introducing interplay of colours, contrasts, images, graphics, texts and empty spaces to create an exclusive identity for you. Through a custom graphic design you will be in a league of your own and your target audience will be able to differentiate and distinguish you in the milieu of similar sounding names and businesses.

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The importance of integrating graphic design into websites has increased as a result of its favorable appeal and usability. It is difficult to imagine a website with only plain text and no design. Such sites would surely prove to be a bore for the visitors. Graphic designs add the glamour quotient as well as make a website more interesting and communicative.

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There are several graphic design companies in LA rendering quality graphic design services . The best graphic design companies provide a full range of top-quality, yet cost effective graphic design services including advertising, development of image, web development, 3D and 2D presentation, and more.

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Graphic design firms typically employ graphic designers who are skilled and handle their clients? marketing and advertising needs. The professional field of graphic design in LA is dynamic and fast paced. Design experts try to stay on top trends in efforts to keep their work, particularly when merging it with marketing efforts, modern and cutting-edge. Some experienced individuals serve as independent graphic designers, working on a free-lance basis. However, for the medium or large scale projects, it is advisable to use the services of established graphic design firms.

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Adobe Illustrator, In Design and Adobe Photoshop are some of the latest software applications used in graphic designing. We advise businesses to find graphic designers that are professionally trained in using color, the design process, working with artistic images, etc., to create competitive and attractive designs. Graphic designing is a very effective tool as far as the internet and email marketing is concerned. The artwork produced by graphic designers can be utilized for a number of promotional activities such as direct mail, advertisements, marketing brochures, and so on.

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Copyright ? 2008

If Michelangelo time travels to the 21st century he would probably have a hard time earning his living with his paint brush. The modern day artist can no long work with brushes and paints; rather he uses his refined artistic sensibilities to create dazzling images using the medium of computers and software.

Professional designers working with ad agencies use software like Photoshop, Illustrator and Corel draw to create mesmerizing images, which accentuate the value of worth of the written words which accompany them.

Professional graphic design is a very rewarding field in which designers come up with new and innovative ways of getting the desired message across to the masses through various mediums, like print, film, TV and of course the web. The online media is by the most dynamic of the mediums since it?s an arena that?s open to all. Professional graphic design for the web is considered to be the most innovative and yet the easiest of ways to gather followers and customers.

Professional graphic design uses cognitive and imaginative skills and combines it with visual arts for creating breathtaking array of artworks in a variety of forms.

Corporate graphic design plays a huge role in determining the impression of the people during brand building initiatives, like endorsements of products;.

Professional graphic designers carefully study your internet marketing plan and combine it with your business requirements, and then come up with a workable solution that would both fit your budget and also help you reap huge profits.

Corporate graphic design solutions offered differs from business to business as per their budget and their domain.

Sky is literally the limit for these creative wizards known as corporate graphic designers. They can create spectacular designs by cleverly blending images, colors, sounds etc. When software like Dreamweaver is used to create your website, it gives your online address (your site) a sophisticated look. In short, impress your prospective clients with professional graphic design!

Ever wondered how some graphic designers always manage to produce beautiful looking designs for their brochures, website designs, logo designs? Talent…yes, it helps but there are a handful of more important things you can do that will have even complete beginners producing award winning design.

Forget everything you’ve ever been told about Graphic Design

There are some hard and fast things that graphic designers will insist are to be obeyed. Only use limited fonts on a design for example or never use green on a magazine or book cover as people will not buy it. Stuff and nonsense. You can pretty much do whatever you like but you must apply these STRICT GRAPHIC DESIGN RULES and you will soon be walking away with graphic design silverware.

Somewhere on the page you MUST put in a subliminal message

This can be done in a multitude of ways for example if you are producing a brochure selling wellington boots then start every paragraph spelling out ‘buy our wellington boots’ or better still ‘you have no choice but to buy our wellington boots now get out your cheque book and buy them – NOW!’ Another crafty method is to doctor images in photoshop so that on an innocent picture of a tree for example carved into the bark is a message along the lines of ‘U Luv Wellington boots’ You get the idea. just make sure it’s hidden away on a subliminal level and watch your sales go through the roof, quite literally

You MUST include a picture of a pretty girl smiling on your document or webpage

This works for 95% of products. Put simply would you rather read and look at pictures of industrial machinery or would you rather look at a pretty girl? It’s a no brainer right? Research has proven that mens brains are wired up to focus on girls smiles and of course their breasts and backsides. If you can somehow convince your client to put a naked girl on there somewhere you can pretty much laugh yourself down to the bank. However, never ever put a muscle bound hunk on any design thinking it will work conversely for womens products. Research has shown that womens brains are only wired to think of shopping for clothes and chocolate, so putting a bare chested chippendale on the cover is going to see your business go down the dumper. Unless your product is for homosexual merchandise in which case go ahead.

Shock and Awe – the guaranteed way to get your design work noticed and talked about

Perhaps the best example of this trick can be found widely used in the modern art world. Sharks in formaldahyde, unmade beds and plastic dolls melted together to sodomise each other. All these pieces of art have been much talked about and whether you find them to your taste or not are widely percieved as being breath takingly original. The same principal can and should be applied to your graphic design work or website design. Add a blood splattered severed willy in the centre of the page for example or how about using an excrement smear as a backdrop. Remember the important thing is to get people talking about your design work. Bad taste soon becomes acceptable once commonplace so be the first to do something outrageous and reap the rewards.

If you remember to apply at least one or two and ideally all 3 of these golden graphic design rules there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be a millionaire/billionaire within one or two months. Now get creative!

When you’re coding or designing a complete website you use similar codes over and over again. Writing those can take time, and time is precious! the solution in to use the best webdesign tools available.

Let’s say you need to add a few drop-down menus for your site. The menus are not the same and you need to write the code for every one of them, or you can use a webmaster tool that can help you build a custom drop-down menu just by clicking a few buttons. By using a tool like that you’re able complete your website in less time and start other project.

There are lots of tools that can make your work easy. A powerful tool is Dreamweaver but this software solution cost money and most of the time we don’t want to spend extra money. So, we prefer free solutions and the best free solution may be code and script generators. A simple search on google shows you that there are lots of websites that provide you with html generators, javascript code generators or php code generators. Simple bookmark those pages and use them every time you need, saving time.

A script that required 1 hour of hard work can be completed in just a few minutes. More than that, you can find scripts that make your website look fresh and your user will be impressed by the design and the functionality of your web application. If you use jQuery and Javascript generators in the right way, your site will interact with the users and there’s a high probability that they’ll visit you later.

In script generator pages you may find drop-down menu generators, html redirect code generators, set home page generators or even banner and thumbnail generators. You’ll feel the difference and you’ll save time!

Graphic designers make different amounts of money depending on what company they work for, how successful they are and who their clients are. Calculate a graphic designer’s salary, which can range …

The graphic design outsourcing industry is booming by every passing day, providing a wide range of benefits to their clients. These companies employ a skilled fleet of graphic designers and offer their services to offshore companies. Graphic designers are like web magicians, giving life to any picture through the medium of color and special effects.

They first discuss with their customers the nature of their business, their goals and project budget. After considering these basic facts, they utilize the most effective way of conveying the message to the target audience through media mediums like print or film. Features like color, animation, photography, layout technique, and illustration go into developing state-of-the-art graphic designs. They also accomplish the tasks of designing materials required for web graphic design, multimedia projects, and interactive media.

Firstly graphic designers gather important data from their clients, conduct research, and refer to company briefs provided by their clients. Secondly different design layouts are prepared from which the customer chooses the most appropriate one. Then, to make the graphic design attractive and complete, the elements of color, motion, animation, and sound/visual effects are incorporated into the designs. Thereafter the short listed and complete designs are shown to the client or the company?s creative director for their approval.

Various types of design software and techniques can be used for graphic design creation. Certain layout software offers good amounts of flexibility in the work, thus saving time and money for the designers, which can be passed on in savings to their clients.

These designers have professional degrees or qualifications in the field of graphic design. They are trained in problem solving skills, communication, graphic designing, creativity, and more, that mold them into talented and skilled designers. The Work quality of any outsourcing company can be marked by the quality of graphic designers they have. In the outsourcing industry, they can be hired on a part-time or full-time basis , depending upon the project requirement.

The graphic design company should understand the purpose of the client and their expectations from them. Their thorough understanding will enable them to better create a design that is from their client?s point of view. Moreover graphic design has to be complimentary to the site content and serves the purpose that has been laid out.

Graphics are widely used in different types of websites and in various formats. Plain text websites are simply a bore to the site viewer. Graphics add interest, glamour, and life to any image and eliminates the boredom factor.