You The Designer
Web Promotion Tips from Brand Identity Designer David Airey
If you haven’t gotten around to creating yourself a website or online portfolio, you’re missing out on a great opportunity. In today’s YTD post we discuss the importance of web promotion for graphic designers with David Airey, the famous brand identity designer, blogger and internet marketer extraordinaire. His self-titled website, www.davidairey.com, draws thousands of readers a day and made headlines when the international online community rallied to support his stand against an unscrupulous domain thief. He recently published an amazing book entitled Logo Design Love and works as a self-employed graphic designer in the UK.
Interview with David AireySammy: Hi David! Thanks for taking the time out to share your knowledge and experience with the readers of YTD.
David: You’re more than welcome, Sammy. Thank you for the invite.
Sammy: Let’s get right down to business. Can you tell us a little about the history of www.davidairey.com? What did you envision when first launching the site and how it has evolved over time?
David: Back in 2005, I had a static online portfolio that wasn’t attracting any attention. That’s completely understandable, however, as my site was your typical MS Frontpage masterpiece, and full of fairly shoddy work, too.
You’re welcome to poke fun by witnessing my beautiful attempts here: The 30 month evolution of my online graphic design portfolio.
Sammy: Do mind listing and describing your many websites?
David: It started with davidairey.com — first as a static website, and then as a design blog with attached portfolio page. Then came logosdesigners.com — a collection of iconic logo designers and their background information. You can read a little more info on that one here: 35+ iconic logo designers. Afterward I decided to create a logo-specific blog, titled Logo Design Love. Choosing a name wasn’t easy, and I asked readers of davidairey.com what they thought: Tips for logo design website names. Had I not launched my second blog, perhaps I’d never have been offered a book deal. What I do know is the book certainly wouldn’t have been called Logo Design Love.
Sammy: Do you have a favorite CMS platform such as Wordpress or Drupal?
David: WordPress is definitely my favourite CMS. Not only because it’s incredibly intuitive, but there are so many useful plugins available, the support community is huge, and on top of that it’s free. There’s also the fact that I’ve never tried another option. I don’t feel the need to.
Sammy: Do your websites help you attract clients? Do you have any particular stories or examples that you can share with us?
David: My websites are my main marketing tool, and I can’t remember the last time I needed to actively search for a client. Thankfully, clients find me first. A nice example is when out of the blue I received a message through my website’s contact form that said:
I would like to explore refreshing the Canadian Yellow Pages logo and the Walking Fingers logo with you.
Interested?
Yellow Pages has been my biggest client to-date.
Sammy: David, it’s obvious that you’ve achieved somewhat of a celebrity status through your web promotion, but I’m sure you had to overcome many obstacles to get there. What sort of advice would you give to a designer who is just now starting web promotion?
David: I’d never consider myself a celebrity, and I think I need to do a lot more good before even coming close, but I appreciate your thought. I can, however, offer what I believe is solid advice for those designers starting out with online promotions:
- Launch a blog, and be prepared to spend a lot of time nurturing it
- Don’t expect immediate results
- Engage in the comment threads of design blogs you admire
- Take a camera wherever you go (or at least a notepad) because everything around us is a potential blog post
- Avoid regurgitating the same old tired lists, it’s boring
- Express your opinion — it’s what makes you the person people want to work with
- Use images alongside your text
- Give credit where it’s due, and never pass off someone else’s thoughts or work as your own
- Link to others as you want others to link to you
Sammy: You have 2 twitter accounts that I know of: @DavidAirey and @LogoDesignLove In what ways do you use twitter to promote your work and do you use any 3rd party programs to manage your multiple twitter accounts?
David: I’m one of the old-school who still uses Twitter on the web. When I started using the site I tried one of the instant-messaging style tools — one similar to Skype or Messenger — but I found it a needless distraction, and much-prefer visiting Twitter only when I find a nice link to share, or have a question to ask.
In terms of using Twitter to promote my work, all I do is reference a new blog post when I publish one (maybe once or twice each week). I see the service as just another way to communicate with people — a nice accompaniment to my blogs. Ultimately, Twitter is very immediate, in the moment, whereas thoughts expressed through a blog post have a sense of permanence that sets them apart.
Sammy: Do you use social bookmarking to promote your website? Any favorite bookmarks?
David: Not really. I used to, and back in the day I gave Digg a shot: Here’s what happens when you get on the front page of Digg. I tried StumbleUpon, Delicious, Reddit, Design Float, Design Bump, and a few others, but all these sites can suck up your day, and I think it’s more important to spend time elsewhere.
Sammy: I noticed that you link within your websites with specific anchor texts such as graphic designer or graphic design portfolio. Is it safe to say that you are a believer in Search Engine Optimization?
David: Isn’t everyone? I’m far from being an expert, but I’ve discovered a few tips along the way, such as how to reverse a Google penalty, and how to get on the first page of Google and Yahoo in 11 days. At the time of writing, a Google.com search for “graphic designer” or “graphic designers” will show me on the first page, which isn’t too shabby (although it means I’m constantly fielding interview requests from students with design assignments). I’m not doing too bad for “logo designers” and “best logo” either, thanks mainly to the launch of Logo Design Love — and perhaps the relevant keywords within the domain name.
Sammy: I’m one of the 5,000+ fans that Logo Design Love has on Facebook. Do you find that social networks are effective in promoting your work?
David: Oh, nice. Thanks for joining the Facebook group, Sammy.
I started that page upon the recommendation of my book publisher, so about three months ago. Prior to that, I didn’t take Facebook seriously for business purposes. To an extent, I still don’t, but it’s fantastic to see the additional design chat that takes place when my RSS feed automatically updates the Facebook wall. I was surprised that many people comment on Facebook, yet don’t comment on the actual blog posts I publish, so for me it’s another way to keep in touch with my peers.
Sammy: What other social websites do you recommend for online promotion?
David: None come to mind. I use Twitter and Facebook daily. No others.
Sammy: David, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us today. I thank you on behalf of all our readers and the team here at YTD and UPrinting.com! Cheers!
David: It’s my pleasure, Sammy. I hope my ramblings have been of some interest to whoever made it this far.
document.getElementById("post-7897-blankimage").onload();45 Free High Quality Apple Wallpapers
One of the most well-known multinational companies in the world is Apple inc. It is a corporation that designs and manufactures consumer electronics, computer software, and commercial servers. Among its best-known hardware products are the Macintosh computer, iPod, iPhone and iPad. Because of its technologically advance products and high-quality software, Apple has undeniably left a good mark on many consumers. And no wonder, there simple and elegant product design is inspiring designers to even create custom wallpapers with Apple themes. For those who love customizing their desktop, this article is for you.
These 45 Free High Quality Apple Wallpapers make up a showcase of astounding Apple-themed wallpapers that you can use to add personality and class to your desktop. The collection is composed of unique apple wallpapers that you don’t want to miss… So, start browsing and have fun collecting!!!
document.getElementById("post-7780-blankimage").onload();29 Sexy iPhone App Designs
The iPhone is the most popular product of the past two years. By now everyone knows what the iPhone is, and most of you have one or have come in close contact with one. The iPhone has changed the mobile industry and slated itself as a trend setter. The phone itself isn’t the biggest selling feature – it’s the apps. Allowing consumers to purchase apps really sets apart the iPhone from anything else. The App store has exploded with amazing clever little tools. Developers are pushing the boundaries with creative ideas and beautiful looking interfaces. A beautiful app isn’t just fun to use based on it’s functionality but also because it looks sexy. With a 320×480 sized screen, every detail counts from little status alerts to important UI elements. I have found 29 examples of sexy iPhone apps. These apps were only chosen based on their graphic appeal, not popularity, functionality or purpose.
By: Chad Mueller
Chad lives in Canada eh!, when he’s not shooting donut shaped rubber pucks, he’s running Inspiredology and designing anything to get his creative juices flowing.
document.getElementById("post-7737-blankimage").onload();30+ Corporate WordPress Themes
We’ve compiled 30+ excellent corporate WordPress themes from ThemeForest for your next corporate client. Either download the themes and customize them to your client’s needs or use these designs as inspiration to create a unique WordPress template from scratch.
Corporate WordPress Themes document.getElementById("post-7555-blankimage").onload();30 Various Artworks of Astro Boy
The Japanese Manga is a widely known series that consists of comics and print cartoons in the Japanese language. This type of artwork has created a phenomenal influence over the publishing industry. One of its most influential series is The Adventures of Astro Boy, claimed to be the first ever Anime on Japanese television. Astro Boy became Japan’s envoy for overseas safety and has greatly influenced our current Anime shows.
Astro Boy’s character has made its mark in the publishing history. As a tribute to its worldwide popularity, we bring you 30 Various Artworks of Astro Boy. The collection is composed of individual interpretations of various designers in the web. Check out this cool list and be inspired… Have fun!!!
By : Artgerm
By : Cuson
By : Monk-art
By : Red-J
By : Ginoroberto
By : Rettag
By : Ry-spirit
By : Sibsy
By : Tovio911
By : OvejaNegra77
By : TOONAMIX
By : Yellowwindow6
By : Bvcomics
By : Deviously-Devi
By : KicsterAsh
By : OvejaNegra77
By : Smifink
By : Ratcrtur
By : Nolaj
By : Tatonkus
By : Eyemelt
By : KidNotorious
By : Zero-zero-nine
By : xxxcelaohqxxx
By : Ninjatron
By : Kizer180
By : UberDre
By : Sibsy
By : Cocor
50 Freebies: Download Free Grunge Fonts
A dirty, distressed and grungy font is what tops off a superb grunge design. On the contrary, using the wrong font can really kill the grunge theme you were aiming for. Don’t get stuck without the resources your creativity needs. Download all 50 of these dead sexy grunge fonts for your collection. All these grungy fonts can be downloaded for FREE, so stock up and enjoy!!!
Masterplan Birth of a Hero 28 Days Later Beton 321 Impact Dead Secretary Action of the Time Alpaca Pulse Sans Docteur Atomic Hawaii Killer Cocaine Sans Downcome Cut N Past Dirty English Laundromat Base 02 Sniper Chicago House Trial Ascent 2 Stardom Plagued Death Gas Mask American Bravo Guilty Matejo Everyday Ghost Fraturika Ambulance Shotgun Trashco Bleeding Cowboys Aristotle Punk Fuck You Las Vegas Depraved Retro Rock Poster Capture Defused Colton Grundy Black Oak Sidewalk Destroy Dirt 2 Death Distress Got Heroin BlueBaby A Bite Dirty Ego More Than Enough VTKS Untitled Destruccion Survival Horror document.getElementById("post-7538-blankimage").onload();40 New and Trendy Free Social Media Bookmark Icon Sets
Social Media Bookmark Icons serve as significant design touches in websites and blogs. They help visitors bookmark their favorite posts and articles in any social media platform such as Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon and others, ensuring that they can get back to your site directly for future reference. Using these resources, bloggers are given the chance to promote their posts. Furthermore, they add beauty, artistry and uniqueness in websites-which is, of course, expected in web 2.0.
Various social media icons have emerged in the web for promotional purposes. To cater to the ever-growing demand for such tools, unique websites that offer freebie icons have been searched and thus we have came up with 40 New and Trendy Free Social Bookmark Icon Sets for our readers. Take time to check out the list that we have came up with and download your favorites. Every icon is unique so be sure to browse through them one by one… Enjoy!
Bevel Dark Social Icons
10 icons set against a black bevel background. This look sleek and go nicely with tech sites.
Twenty icons are included in this set. Some might be reminded of Fallout with these cool bottle cap icons.
The set includes 12 icons that look like decals. These decals would be great for cartoony templates.
These 3D icons will pop out and remind people to subscribe or share your blog.
These grass textured Icons will give your website texture and a natural feel.
These ink heavy sketch icons will turn heads to your subscribe buttons.
These stamp icons will have travelers subscribing and sharing your travel stories.
PNG botlecaps with a nice sheen to them.
the muted orange mixed with browns go great against gray, or black backgrounds.
These silver gradient icons will give your tech site a nice accent.
These popular iphone style icons will have trendy consumer electronics sites looking great.
More hand drawn icons, but these are filled in. This almost pastel look will make your site look more artsy.
In this set, 14 icons are included. These icons would be great for a personal blog.
There are 26 icons included in this set. These 26 patches add a creative touch to any site talking about handmade items.
These icons might remind your audience of golf or at least the outdoors.
The set includes 20 pastel colored icons.
One hundred eight icons are included here. The shiny orange is a popular design trend.
Twenty-three icons are included here. these vintage stamp icons will add character to your blog, great for design blogs and personal blogs.
Line drawn vector icons. These could fit a variety of sites, but some thoughts are kids sites, and design sites.
In this set, 28 icons are included. These icons might remind your audience of a calendar or a sticker.
There are 30 icons included in this set.
These paw print icons will make any pet site look more authentic, or your outdoor site look more appealing.
Scalable icons with a basic design to fit most site concepts.
These 3D icons have a nice lighting effect and show depth.
These 6 social bookmarking icons might look great with a tutorial blog.
These ten bookmarking icons will look great on any commentary or opinion blog.
These wooden icons give our blog a classic or vintage feel.
These simple circle bookmark icons will look nice on a tech or an auto site. The Delicious one almost looks like the BMW logo.
These neat origami icons would look great on craft blogs.
One hundred eight simple red against white social media icons are included in this package.
These icons have a metallic quality to them with a gradient that splits the image in half.
This set contains 17 simple icons.
Twenty-two icons are included in this set. Great for any artist or design blog.
The set includes 39 icons that look a lot like coasters.
These simple bookmarking icons are slanted, a simple presentation that can be a nice addition to your blog.
These black glossy icons are good against a lighter background. you don’t want your background to clash with the subtle sheen on these icons.
In this set, 26 icons are included. The star shape is something simple, but if you are a mommy blogger, or perhaps maintain a blog for your sports team or gym, these might be a nice addition that could help remind people to subscribe.
These 11 leaf icons might be the right touch for your nature blog.
More sticker themed icons. The above picture is a great example of how these icons can look like an authentic part of your site.
These abstract icons are modeled after the arts style of Van Gogh. You can see echoes of Starry night in the Flickr button.
40 Absolutely Free Vector Pack Collections
As designers, we are all familiar with various resources that we use in our usual designs, images and creations. Resources such as brushes and textures are just a few examples of these resources that help improve the quality and artistry of every image. More and more websites are into providing high quality resources for the design community. These items are often offered as freebies that can be used for both commercial and personal purposes…
By now, most of you may have numerous downloaded resources available in your computers. Nevertheless, allow us to give you an addition to your collection. Here are 40 Absolutely Free Vector Pack Collections that you can add to your growing pile of resources… These vectors are best used in Illustrator designs and can be re sized without sacrificing quality. Take your pick and have fun!!!
Amir Fura Vector Pack Set 1These Vector brush sets are perfect for simple design accents like band logos or even placement on a website border. Grungy vector sets like this are popular these days, so make sure you grab them whenever you can.
Colorful Vector
These Colorful vector brushes are great for designing backgrounds and posters. Filled with small shapes and accents to plaster across your design, this vector brush set is one you won’t want to miss.
Vector Stock Pack Number OneAssorted vector brush sets like this are good if you do a wide variety of designs. Need something cutesy? The rag doll bear shapes will be a nice addition. You can create true digital scenes out of the bamboo shoots, or smaller comic themed icons out of other shapes.
FREE SKULL VECTOR PACKSkull vectors are often resized for a variety of reasons. Web designers have been known to place them as watermarks on websites. Bands incorporate skull vectors into their posters and logos. Skulls have a variety of different uses as long as you stick within the grunge style.
WG Funny Swirls Vol1These swirls and circles are a popular accent to most vector images. A quick perousal of iStockPhoto will reveal a variety of posters and designs made with swirls just like these. It may take a moment to get the right colors, but these will look great against a background with a gradient.
AutumnThis autumn brush has some amazing potential for colorful effects. Using flowing lines and poignant circles, this set of vector shapes can be resized for all sorts of different purposes.
People Silhouette VectorHave you ever needed a person, but didn’t want to go through the trouble of using the pen tool? This is a must have for designers that require silhouettes in different stock positions.
Pimpin Vector PackThese trendy effects are great for invitations or arrange them together as a border to photographs. This cartoony style resembles something out of Paul Frank.
Vector FlourishesFloral vectors like these can create stunning designs, or go for a classic grunge feel depending upon the attitude of the piece as a whole.
Vector Grunge ElementsVector grunge clouds are nice background pieces. Overlay them for a cluttered scratchy effect and don’t forget to have each layer at different opacity levels.
Scroll CloudsAny design can now have that web 2.0 Twitter feel with these brightly colored vector shapes.
FREE GAS MASK VECTORSThese gas mask vectors tailor to a specific aesthetic. try pairing them up with the skulls to create a chilling or industrial design.
Green Floral BackgroundUsing bright bursts and long flowing twists will give you the edge in banner creation. The curves will make a nice broder accent, while the banner stands out front and center.
Go Media Vector PacksFilled with a variety of shapes, vector packs like these are nice to have around when you want to play with a design and find just the right shape for the job.
Ornate Vector HeartSimilar to a Victorian style floral design, or stamp, this vector would look great at the top of a letterhead or perhaps on the back of a postcard. Try playing around with different text effects to see what you come up with.
Free Vector DownloadThis vector set gives off a street vibe feel. Bright colors, sleek designs and silhouettes make up a set that would be ideal for poster design.
30 Vector Flying BirdsBirds are so simple to draw by hand, but having vector stamps of different kinds frees you up to concentrate on other tasks. Use your pen tool to add a jet stream effect behind the birds as they fly across the design.
Vintage SamplesThis vector set is perfect for anything rock and roll related.
CityscapeA nice city scape is a thing of beauty. Place the skyline in the background and combine with other brushes to set a unique scene.
Vector DoodlesA series of hand drawn style vector shapes. Hand drawn affects are rare, but always pleasing to the eyes. The scratchy pen texture will keep people staring at your design longer.
Military Vector Pack 1This military vector set is a great idea for mom’s sending letters home to their troops or designing photo albums for kids out playing with sticks.
Disco Flyers and Shadow Music VectorsA colorful theme centered around music. Perfect for poster and night club flyer design.
Ornamental FlourishesAnother ornamental floral set with intricate patterns.
Vector iMacCapture the Macintosh knack for design with these vector shapes. With a little tweaking, you can create custom icons or use them for brochure design.
Drawn Floral 2A hand drawn floral effect that would be perfect as a border.
Mixed Vector PackA mixed vector pack created fro a variety of photos. All sorts of designs ranging from grunge to vintage can benefit from these simple shapes.
5 Floral OrnamentsTry lowering the opacity and changing the colors around for these floral designs. You can use them as background accent shapes with the right adjustments.
Cute AnimalsThese cute animal vectors are perfect for icon creation.
Stringed Instrument VectorsGuitars for rock and roll designs. The vectors look photo realistic, so these could be great for designing a scene.
Halftone vectorsthese ink spot vectors encompass the style of newsprint. That dotted look is a nice overlay on the right picture. Try scaling the size up and applying these over a layer for a unique effect.
Vector FoliagesSimple floral to line corners and borders.
Floral GrungeIIThese Vector brush sets are perfect for simple design accents like band logos or even placement on a website border. Grungy vector sets like this are popular these days, so make sure you grab them whenever you can.
Music and Instruments EPS FileMor e rock themed vector sets to compliment your musical designs.
TribalTribal Vector shapes are good for spacers or perhaps as an accent to a corner.
SpeedometerThese speedometer vector shapes are for any card themed cards, posters or websites you may need to design.
Colorful LabelsColorful labels like these make for excellent icons. You can even increase or decrease the size of one letter to make your letters look like they have formatting from older books.
6 Flowered LabelsThese flower label vectors are good for creating backgrounds on name tags. If you are designing for a company that requires hanging name tags, these would be excellent choices.
A Slick Collection Of Free IPod Vector IconsThe prominent gradient in these vector brushes is something that could clash with your background. Be careful to put thought into where these icons will fit in your design.
Super Vector Bundle – Free VectorsA series of assorted vector graphics taken from all sorts of photo references.
Beetle Vector PackPut bugs all over your design with these illustrated bug vector graphics. That scientific hand drawn look will fit nicely with your design.
document.getElementById("post-7508-blankimage").onload();44 Awesome Business Card Designs that Will Inspire You
Business-minded people are into creating ways to advertise and get in touch with important and influential people in the society. Handing out business cards is a great way to get noticed and remembered. Traditionally, business cards are small pieces of paper containing basic information such as name, contact information and the like… Very practical indeed… However, practical can also be mixed with style and creativity to create more impact to the person who receive the card. The more unique the card is, the greater chance of being noticed…
In this post, we have compiled 44 Impressive Examples of Business Card Designs for all business card users out there. Check out this list we have came up with and be inspired to create the perfect business card for your self, organization, company or any other uses this card may be utilized for. Start creating and get noticed!!!!
Check out UPrinting’s great selection of premium business cards, available in custom sizes and shapes. UPrinting.com also offers a variety of paper options to fit your needs. For those less prone to design, take advantage of free business card design templates! Call us today at 1-888-888-4211!
document.getElementById("post-7458-blankimage").onload();33 Creative Photoshop Tutorials Text Effects for Beginners and Advanced
In creating texts for your images- whether it be for logos or headlines- we are given the option to make it more lively or to make it plain and simple… However, nowadays, ‘too simple’ is not quite the standard in designs. Of course, as designers, we know people tend to expect too much. Following several guidelines and tips, we can create out-of-this-world images and unique designs right from our fingertips.
Applying effects on your text is one of the coolest things to do in Photoshop. Not only do text effects add beauty to your designs, but they are pleasurable to the eye. There are lots of techniques you can do with your text using Photoshop and it’s all around the web. All you need to do is look for a good source for those ideas. But worry no more as of today’s post; we’ve compiled 33 Creative Photoshop Tutorials for Text Effects ranging from Beginner to Advanced. These lists may help you achieve cool and good effects for your texts. Get some ideas and be amazed. Enjoy viewing and learning!
Create a Stunning Text on Wild Fire EffectThis tutorial will teach you how to create a wild fire effect.
How to Create a 3D Text Photo ManipulationIn this tutorial, you will learn a 3D text photo manipulation.
Create a Spectacular Grass Text Effect in PhotoshopThis will teach you how to add a grass like texture in photoshop.
Using Light and Shade to Bring Text to LifeYou will learn how to bring text to life with light and shade.
Smoke Type in Photoshop in 10 StepsThis tutorial will teach you how to create a smoke effect through Photoshop.
Hell of a Tutorial in PhotoshopThis tutorial will teach you to create a hellish text effect in photoshop.
Text in StitchesIn this tutorial, you will learn to make stitch effects.
Tutorial: Text EffectsThis is a cool but simple text effect that everyone should learn!
3D Textured Text EffectIn this tutorial, you will learn how to create a 3D text effect with texture.
Photoshop Tutorial: Stunning 3D Effects in 30 MinutesThis is a quick 30-minute tutorial for stunning 3D effects.
Icey Styles in PhotoshopA cool icy style tutorial in photoshop to learn.
Blueprint Text EffectThis tutorial will teach you to create a blueprint text effect.
How to Create a Gold Text Effect in PhotoshopAfter using this tutorial, you will know how to create shiny gold text.
3D Text EffectThis simple 3D text effect will help your designs really pop out.
Super Cool Frilly Bits TopographyThis tutorial will teach you how to create a a super cool frilly bits typography effect.
Colorful Glowing Text Effect in PhotoshopFrom this tutorial, you will learn about creating a glowing text effect.
3D Photoshop Text TutorialSimple but elegant 3D tutorial that you must learn.
How to Quickly Create a Stylish Retro Text EffectThis retro text effect will bring life and style to your text.
Patriotic Text Using Displacement MasksWith this tutorial, you will be taught how to create a patriotic text effect.
How to Create High Quality Metal 3D Text in PhotoshopThis tutorial will teach you to create a stunning metallic and 3D text effect.
Transparent Glass Lettering in PhotoshopTransparent-like text effect that you should learn.
Create Destructive Black and White Lettering with a Dramatic Splash EffectThis tutorial will teach you to create destructive black and white lettering with a dramatic splash effect.
Photoshop Tutorials: Colorful Light Burst TextYou will learn from this tutorial to create a light burst text effect.
Create a Unique Burning Text EffectThis tutorial will teach you to create a burning text effect.
Create a Spectacular Style Text EffectIn this tutorial, you will learn a spectacular style text effect.
Create a 3D Scene Using PhotoshopYou will learn to create a 3D scene out of your text with photoshop.
Create a Dream Design with 3D TypographyThis a dreamy design with 3D typography is a highly stylized effect.
How to Create an Impressive-Looking Text EffectThis tutorial will teach you create an impressvie-looking text effect.
Create a Spectacular Flaming Meteor Effect on TextYou will learn how to create a flaming meteor text effect from this tutorial.
Text Effect Quickie: Moon Shine Text EffectA quick and easy moon shine text effect tutorial that you should learn.
How to Make a 3D Spectacular Text Effect in PhotoshopIn this tutorial, you will learn how to create a 3D spectacular text effect.
6 Quick ‘n’ Dirty Photoshop Text Effects From ScratchYou will learn from this tutorial a text effect from scratch using photoshop.
How to Create a Copper Photoshop Text EffectThis tutorial will teach you to create a copper text effect in photoshop.
document.getElementById("post-7423-blankimage").onload();Various Alice in Wonderland Designs for Inspiration
Do you remember having bedtime stories read to you as you grew up? Remember your parents telling you tales about fairies, princes and princesses, knights, dragons and all those wonderful characters born of pure imagination? Several of these stories were even made into movies and cartoons that captured our young minds… These fictional characters have played a significant part in our childhood memories. Who could forget the classic stories of Cinderella, Snow White, Rapunzel and so many more?!!!
Today, we pay a tribute to one of our all-time favorite stories. It’s about a young girl lost in a wonderland, and if that doesn’t jog your memory, we have chosen several art designs themed around this story. Based on the classic hit fantasy story from Walt Disney, we present Various Alice in Wonderland Designs for Inspiration … Check out this collection straight from the creative imagination of several talented designers around the web… Enjoy browsing!!!
Alice in Wonderland Alice in Wonderland Wonderland Cheshire Cat Alice in Wonderland -cosplay- Alice in Wonderland Alice Wonderland Steam Punk Alice in Wonderland The End of Wonderland Alice – Kakashi in Wonderland Alice Alice’s Tea Party Alice Colored -new version- Wonderland: Controlled Chaos Wonderland Cover Painted Wonderland Falling Down The Rabbit hole Alice Alice in Wonderland Alice and the Queen of Hearts Wonderland Issue 5 Cover Alice in Wonderland Alice as Madhatter Wonderland Alice in CandyLand Tales From Wonderland Alice in Wonderland Alice in Wonderland document.getElementById("post-7417-blankimage").onload();30 Free Adobe Photoshop Valentine Brush Sets
As Valentine’s day approaches, more and more designers are searching for quality brushes to aid them in creating their Valentine designs. We put together 30 Free Adobe Photoshop Valentine Brush Sets to make sure our fellow designers have high quality brushes in time for Valentine’s Day…. This collection of brushes will help you create astounding designs for your loved ones to help celebrate a day of love.
Check out this awesome heart brush collection and download the brushes you like best. Each set of photoshop heart brushes is unique, so make sure you don’t miss any of them. Browse through our collection and use the brushes wisely… Have fun!!!
Valentine Brush Set
A set of 24 vintage style brushes for every occasion of love. The brushes within this set are large sized and a full sized preview is available if you click the picture above.
A series of hearts are included in this cute little brush set.
22 Floral style brushes for Valentine’s Day. These Valentine’s Day brushes are high resolution!
A set of 20 high resolution floral brushes perfect for Valentine’s Day.
A series of vector scanned brushes shaped like hearts for Valentine’s Day.
Twenty-five brushes for Valentine’s Day ranging from red rose brushes to heart brushes. Perfect brushes for invitations and love notes.
A set of 20 vector hearts for Valentine’s Day. All vector heart brushes come with unique designs and are sized differently.
Several kinds of hearts in both brush and PSD form. Make sure you check the link for information on how to open these vector heart brushes in time for Valentine’s Day.
A beautiful set of Valentine’s Day stamps and brushes useful for developing templates, designing Valentine’s cards, and creating elegant Valentine’s Day designs.
Make your backgrounds stand out with 21 unique Valentine’s Day brushes. Inside, you’ll find hearts and floral accents to make your backgrounds stand out and your Valentine’s themed cards and notes appear unique.
12 high resolution grunge style brushes just in time for Valentine’s Day.
A set of 18 Valentine’s Day themed hearts and assorted brushes perfect as clipart or accents to Valentine’s Day themed sites and cards.
This Valentine’s heart brush set is excellent for that hand drawn look. These brushes would look great on Valentine’s Day cards
24 Heart shaped brushes for Valentine’s Day. This Valentine’s heart brush set is more of a grunge design, perfect as a background or part of a theme.
These 18 brushes are inspired by love and perfect for any Valentine’s Day themed design.
These 5 heart brushes would be a great companion to any of the Valentine’s brush sets on this page.
50 hearts are included in this Valentine’s heart brush pack. The designs range from grungy to hand drawn, these shapes will be the perfect accents to any Valentine’s Day card design.
These 11 heart fractal Photoshop Brushes were made with Apophysis and add a cool flair to any design made with love.
These hand drawn heart brushes will look wonderful on any card or love note.
These 18 grungy floral brushes will definitely make your Valentine’s Day design stand out with cool heart brush effects.
The Hearts in Motion Brush set will give you some great Valentine’s Day design ideas for any card or theme.
These hand drawn heart brushes will add a touch of personality to your Valentine’s Day designs.
These romantic envelope designs will give you ideas of how to personalize your Valentine’s Day Stationary.
The 20 heart brushes in this Valentine’s Day brush set will add attitude and style to your Valentine’s Day designs.
Show your love with these elegant and simple Valentine’s Day designs.
These heart stamps will give your Valentine’s Day stationary that hand made touch to let people know you put love into it.
This set contains 14 heart shaped brushes that would be perfect as accents to a Valentine’s Day card or background.
These heart brushes look and feel hand drawn. Make your Valentine’s Day cards look beautiful with these chic hearts.
These 8 heart shaped brushes give that grungy feel to any Valentine’s Day card. Use these in the corners of your stationary or as accents to your designs.
The 6 brushes included in this set cap off our series. The vector brushes pictured here have paint spatters and stylized circles to add to the heart shaped Valentine’s brush design.
Increase Your Google Visibility in Under 5 Minutes
Google now holds a 70% market share of the search engine game and increasing your visibility in Google Search is key to gaining new clients. In addition, you may have noticed that Google now displays 7 local listings and a map when you search for a local business or service. Guess what? Graphic design is a service and a business. You can immediately increase your visibility to potential clients in your area by registering yourself in Google’s Local Business Center.
Local SEO for Graphic Designers
It takes about 5 minutes to sign up and fill out your info. At the end, they need to verify your account by phone or postcard. I chose phone and received a call within 10 seconds of submitting my listing. Voila! I found myself in Google Maps a few minutes later.
In a busy city like Los Angeles it isn’t easy to be ranked in normal search results, but follow these tips to increase your visibility in both general search and google maps search.
- Use words that describe your service like Logo Designer, Freelance Designer, etc. in your listing. I used SEO Consultant in the example above
- Add your website address to your local listing; add your local address to your website (in html text, not flash, not image)
- Guest post on blogs and link back to your site with words like “logo designer in los angeles” or “web designer in west la”
- If you are a web designer who has worked with local businesses, ask them for a “web design by______” link in the footer.
- Ask past clients to add reviews for you on Google Maps
Even if you don’t get ranked in general search results, you may find that clients will find you by browsing the area closest to their business. For example, my listing didn’t show up until I moved the map near my address. Lucky for me, there are a ton of office buildings nearby.
document.getElementById("post-7401-blankimage").onload();11 Creative Outdoor Advertisement Designs
Getting noticed in a busy street or crowded hallway isn’t easy, but the reward of reaching millions of consumers has possessed marketers to come up with some amazing and ridiculous outdoor advertisements. Today’s post looks at 11 of the most creative outdoor ads around the world (according to us). Click on the image to see the original high-res images at adsoftheworld.com
Creative Outdoor AdvertisementsIf you’re looking to design outdoor advertising of your own, check out UPrinting.com’s large format printing products here.
document.getElementById("post-7313-blankimage").onload();Job Posting – Freelance Tutorial Writer
The team here at You the Designer is looking for a freelance tutorial writer to help bolster the variety of content offered to our readers. If you have experience writing design tutorials, please email us right now.
How to Apply for Freelance Tutorial Writer PositionEmail the following information to writers@youthedesigner.com
- Cover Letter
- Resume / Portfolio
- Per Post Rate
UPrinting.com Offers Free Canvas Print Promotion
Printing on canvas is becoming quite popular among photographers and designers. If you haven’t tried it out, now is the perfect time to give it a shot. UPrinting.com is offering a free 16×20″ rolled canvas print with any order over $50. All they ask in return is that you have your design shared in their print idea gallery (which is great for getting yourself more exposure as a designer).
How to Claim a 16×20″ Rolled Free Canvas Print1) Click Here (opens in new window)
2) Place an Order Over $50
3) Review your shopping experience
4) Share your design in our idea gallery
5) Receive an email with a link to claim your canvas print
Canvas Print Review from Designer Adam Woodhouse
If you wondering about the quality of these canvas prints, check out the video review submitted by artist Adam Woodhouse. Printing.com offers a full range of large format printing services including poster printing, canvas printing, wall graphics, vinyl banners and window clings.
document.getElementById("post-7133-blankimage").onload();25 Design Freebies From Blogs You Should Read
This week’s roundup is loaded with tons of brushes, fonts, wallpapers, tutorials, textures, icons and a grungy three column Wordpress theme. Just click on the images or link sources to download the freebies you like. Scroll down and enjoy!
Weekly Design Resources RoundupFonts
Free 28 Days Later Movie Font l Airopia 28
35 Stunning Free Fonts to Enhance your Designs l instantShift
Brushes
15 High Resolution Moldy Paper Brushes l Colorburned
High-Res Texture Brushes for Photoshop l DESIGNM.AG
500+ Free Photoshop Retro Brushes l Naldz Graphics
Textures
A Showcase of Free High Quality Grunge Texture Sets l BLUEBLOTS
Hi-Res Texture Pack: Light Watercolor Stains on Crumpled Paper l Dawghouse
Icons
A Slick Collection of Free IPod Vector Icons l creative NERDS
3000+ Social Media Icons l TutorialFreakz
Social Sketches: Exclusive Free Hand-Sketched Icon Set l Six Revisions
Free Blogging Icon Set l Randa Clay Design
33 Beautiful Social Media Icon Sets for Designers and Bloggers l Web Design Booth
New Free Twitter Icon Set l Pink Moustache
Great Desktop/Folder Icons for Unix l Designora
Japanese Icon Sets l Designora
Tutorials
How to Create a Stereoscopic Image for Crossed Eye Image Viewing l PSD Tuts
Creating a Realistic Torn Photo Effect l Speckyboy
Reflections Done Right- Creating a Money Roll l Vector Tuts
How to Create a Cute Vector Bear T-Shirt Design l Blog. Spoon Graphics
50 Excellent Adobe After Effects Tutorials l Noupe
Wallpapers
A Collection of Free Fabulous 2010 Wallpapers l Naldz Graphics
40 Most Impressive Abstract 3D Wallpapers l 1st Webdesigner
Wordpress Theme
document.getElementById("post-6805-blankimage").onload();31 Incredible Comic Book Cover Art Samples
Comic books are close to many of us designers’ hearts, since these are likely our first encounters to the amazing world of art. These days, they continue to become even more sophisticated and expressive from when we first experienced them as kids.
So to keep your inspiration going, I’ve collected a series of breathtaking comic book cover designs, both past and present. I hope they remind us all of that rush of exhilaration when we bought our first, freshly printed comic book, and motivate us to inspire the same feelings in others through our own works of design. Enjoy!
Inspiring Comic Book Cover Designs document.getElementById("post-6788-blankimage").onload();22 Design Freebies to Kick-Start the New Year
Replenish your graphic design arsenal with this week’s freshest design picks. Get on the creative groove by downloading free textures, brushes, fonts, icons and even Wordpress themes for your design projects. Spread the good news by bookmarking, tweeting and sharing this post!
Free Design Resources RoundupBrushes
Massive Collection of Over 1,000 Floral Photoshop Brushes l PSD Tutsplus
350+ Smoke Brushes for Photoshop l DesignM.ag
Free High-Res Heavy Watercolor Spatter Photoshop Brushes l Six Revisions
Free Hi-Resolution Scribbles Photoshop Brushes l DawgHouse
Textures
Great Useful Brick Textures l Abduzeedo
Black and White Grunge Textures | Bittbox
Free Cracked Textures | Developer’s Paradise
46 High-Quality Graffiti Textures | ThinkDesign
High-Quality Wood Textures Pack | Design Your Way
Hi-Res Carton Scrap Textures l DawgHouse
60 Plus Brand New Free Textures l Freelance Review
Icons
30+ Useful Free Icon Sets in PSD Format | BlueBlots
200+ Big and Beautiful Highly Detailed Icons | Web Design Ledger
6 Free Social Icon Sets | Freelance Review
Free Furry Cushions Social Icons Set | Noupe
20 Free Office Stuff Icon Sets for Your Design | AEXT.NET
Speech Cloud Brushes | TutorialFreakz
24 Stitch Styled Social Media Icons Set | Creative Repository
Wordpress Themes
50+ Best Free Premium Wordpress Themes of December 2009 l Gupshop Blog
25+ High-Quality Premium as Free WordPress Themes l Dzine Press
Fonts
10 Excellent Free Fonts You Simply Can’t Get Your Hands Off l Tripwire Magazine
document.getElementById("post-6717-blankimage").onload();83 Crazy/Beautiful Letterhead and Logo Designs
Whap! Like a flash of satori, your company letterhead should be a slap in the face of consciousness. The whole point is to grab your readers’ attention by the throat on first contact, then make them beg for more in the long run. Considering the chronic short-attention span of a generation raised on cable TV and the internet, this is saying a lot.
I’ve gathered 83 of the most eye-popping letterhead designs so far to illustrate my meaning. Albeit the designs are stylistically distinct from one other, this showcase is a marriage of cutting-edge creativity and effective brand communication. Enough said. Just scroll down these letterhead designs and enjoy!
Letterhead Designs that Will Rock Your OfficeCreating your own letterhead design? Get it printed with UPrinting.com’s letterhead printing services!
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