If you are a graphic designer, you must have a great online portfolio to showcase your designs and increase the possibility of getting regular projects. Your online portfolio helps you promote your skills and attracts clients all over the world. However, designing an online portfolio is not an easy job. As a graphic design artist, you have to show your creative style and also make the portfolio site user-friendly.

Here are some helpful online portfolio designing tips for you.

1. Design a Simple Site and Go Straight to the Point- You should design a simple portfolio site to convey your message effectively. Don’t write long descriptive sentences on the homepage of your portfolio. Keep the introduction content brief and tell your clients what you do as a designer.
2. Have a Unique Design- When a client visits your site, he checks your portfolio design to get an idea of your efficiency as a graphic designer. You must design a unique layout to impress your clients. Don’t follow any web design trend. Show your creativity and add a personal touch to your portfolio.
3. Highlight Your Expertise- As a versatile graphic designer, you may design website layouts, logos and brochures, but when you are designing your portfolio, you must highlight your strongest skill. If you are an expert in logo design, then highlight your logo designing skills to prove your expertise.
4. Less, but Quality Designs- You may have designed dozens of brochures and website layouts, but don’t post all your designs in your portfolio. Your employers won’t count the numbers of design samples, they will evaluate your designing skills. Upload only the best designs to impress your potential employers.
5. Don’t Clutter the “Design Gallery” Page- You have to offer your design samples in an organized way to help viewers check them. If you post 30 design samples in one page, it will tire the viewers’ eyes. You should design multiple galleries and categorize them to offer a better experience to your viewers. For instance, you can create 3 separate galleries on logo design, depending upon the design trend you followed in those designs.
6. Place Most Impressive Designs at the Beginning and at the End- In your design gallery, all designs can’t be equally good. Make sure that you place the best design samples at the top. This way, you can hide your not-so-good designs and still impress your viewers.
7. Pay Attention to Usability- When you design your portfolio; give attention to usability as well. Your website maybe beautiful but if your viewers can’t find the menu bar, they will leave your site. Maintain a balance between design elements and navigation to help your audience surf your site comfortably.
8. Decide Your Target Clients- You need to know your target clients to design an effective portfolio. For instance, if you want to target high profile multinational companies, design a professional looking portfolio to grab their attention.
9. Post Your Contact Details- You should design a separate contact page and give all your contact information to help your clients contact you anytime. Write your email address, phone number and social media links, so that you never miss any project due to lack of communication.
10. Regularly Update Your Portfolio- Whenever you design something new, post it on your portfolio and remove the old designs. This way, your potential clients will realize that you are an active and busy designer.
11. Post Client Testimonials- Someone who comes to your site to hire you, will always read the testimonials first to make a decision. You should post some client testimonials on your homepage to convince your future clients.
12. Design an “About Me” Page- You should design an “about me” page in your portfolio site. In this page, write about your educational qualification, your experience as a designer and give your clients strong reasons to hire you. However, don’t make the “about me” page too long and never share any personal information. Your potential employers don’t want to know every detail of your life.

If you are designing your online portfolio for the first time, these tips can be useful to you.

Google Panda updates have reinforced the belief ‘content is king’. However, the importance of content has forced designers to rethink the role of web design. To clear the confusion, in this article, we will discuss the role of web and graphic design in affecting user experience. To know more, read on.

Design Creates the First Impression

Studies have proved the fact that visitors form an opinion about a site within few seconds. This initial opinion is critical because it determines further activities of visitors. In most cases, visitors use design as the yardstick to evaluate the site. If the design is impressive, they stick to the site and vice versa. This means that in creating the initial impression, design plays a more important role than content.

Design Elicits the Desired Reaction from Visitors

Design also affects reaction of visitors towards the website. With interesting call-to-action buttons, you can compel visitors to act and thus, increase conversations. Of course, you can request users to act via content also. However, most people would agree that as compared to a call-to-action statement hidden in the content, call-to-action buttons are more effective.

It Affects Content Consumption

Many people will be surprised to know that design can even affect the way users interpret the content. The typography rules play an important role in affecting the experience that visitors have, while absorbing information. Furthermore, using informative videos and graphics can reinforce their understanding of the content, thus creating a positive impression.

We do not have any doubts about the fact that visitors usually look for good information in the Internet. However, at the same time, presentation of the content is also important. For example, if you set a serious article in comic fonts, it will definitely distract the readers. Even if the content is of high quality, users will feel confused.

Modifying User Reaction

In the Internet, one can come across millions of sites that deliver the same information. To stand out amongst similar sites, one needs to use web designs intelligently. You should modify designs to present content in an attractive manner.

YouTube serves as a good example of how videos can evoke user reaction. Millions of videos get uploaded on YouTube everyday. Content, of course, determines popularity of videos. Along with it, factors, such as how encouraged visitors feel or how smoothly they share the videos contribute to their popularity.

With explosion of information on Internet, the importance of web design has become more critical than ever. Web design allows experts to modify user reaction and offer visitors a unique experience. Additionally, you can encourage them to react towards the web content in a meaningful way. The basic point is to pay equal importance to content and design.

Icons are used in website design, product promotion and for many different purposes. Icons are very small in size and you have to give attention to the minute details to make your designs successful. Even the most experienced graphic design artists make mistakes in icon design. Here are some of the deadliest mistakes you must avoid to design a meaningful icon.

1. Wrong Object Selection- You must use the right objects for your icon to help people understand what the icon stands for. For instance, Gmail uses the image of an envelop in their icon that clearly conveys the message to its viewers.
2. Not Making a Rough Sketch- Conceptualization is the most important step behind any design project. You should make a rough sketch of your design concept on a paper and use it as your guideline. Add or delete elements in your sketch, and once you are happy with your design, you can replicate using a design software.
3. Failure to Understand the Audience- Your icon design will be viewed by people all over the world and therefore, you must not hurt anyone’s cultural beliefs. Icons are often designed using symbols, but symbols have different meaning in different countries. For instance, a pentacle is considered as a holy symbol by the Jews, while Christians think of it as a symbol of Satan.
4. Not Creating the Icon in Bitmap Format- Some designers think that designing an icon in vector and raster format is enough. However, you need to design the icon in bitmap format as well. Vector formats don’t offer visual clarity when made smaller and therefore, you need to design a bitmap for better scaling facility.
5. Using Too Many Details- Icons are generally used in very small sizes and if you add too many details in your design, your icon will look complicated. Design a clutter-free icon to make it effective.
6. Adding Unnecessary Elements for the Sake of Aesthetics- Every designer wants to design an aesthetically appealing icon. However, that does not mean you can add unnecessary shapes and symbols in your icon. Meaningless symbols and lines only diminish the visual appeal of your icon. If you want to give your icon a distinctive look, you can use lighting and shadow effects.
7. Similar Design- When you design a bunch of icons for a group of products, you need to make sure that they reflect a coherent look, but don’t look too similar. If all your icons look the same, it will be hard for your target audience to understand which icon stands for which product. For instance, the icons of MS Word, MS Excel and MS PowerPoint offer a matching design, but you can easily distinguish them.
8. Failure to Maintain Design Consistency- When you are designing a set of icons for a group of products, like MS Office, make sure you maintain a design consistency in all your icons. For instance, if you use a particular light and shadow effect in one icon, you must use the same effect in other icons as well. Otherwise, it won’t look like they belong to the same group of products.
9. Using Bland Colors- Icons are very small in size and they need to attract the viewers’ attention. If you use monochromatic or dull colors in your icons, viewers won’t notice it. Always use bright colors and go for unique color combinations to make your icons noticeable.
10. Inappropriate Perspective for Small Icons- If your icon does not look good when compressed, your design is a complete failure. During the design process, you must continuously experiment with the size and perspective of your icon to make sure that it always looks brilliant from any angle.

Every designer makes mistakes, but when you are aware of the most common mistakes, at least you can try and avoid them.

When you work as an independent web or graphic designer, you can get projects on the basis of your resume and portfolio. However, when you run a website design company, you have to show your business skills, besides creative skills, to secure new designing projects. You must create an impressive business proposal to convince your clients and beat your competitors.

Here are 12 secrets to write an effective business proposal.

1. Meet Your Client- Before you write the business proposal, meet your client and ask him all the necessary questions. Make a short questionnaire and give it to your client. Once you know all the details about his business, you can write the proposal comfortably.
2. Showcase Your Work- When you meet your client; show him some of the projects your company has delivered successfully. This way he will understand that you are good enough to meet the demands of his project.
3. Do Some Research- Apart from the information you get from your client, you need to do some research on your client’s background, his competitors, target audience and the current condition of his company. This will help you write an organized business proposal.
4. Know the Target Audience- When your client approaches you with a project, try to know his target audience and write clear details about them in the business proposal. For instance, write gender, age group and financial status of the target audience and state clearly how you can help your client grab their attention.
5. Write a Brief Executive Summary- Executive summary includes all project details in a nutshell. Most clients read this part of a business proposal carefully and you must write a brief yet impressive executive summary to convince your client. Show him that you truly understand his requirements and are ready to help him.
6. Discuss the Project Goals- Every design project has a goal, and you must know what your client expects from your design to deliver him exactly what he wants. If your client’s needs and your ideas do not match, he won’t give you the project.
7. Know the Competitors- There are hundreds of web design companies out there and it’s your duty to make sure that clients hire you for their projects. Take a look at your competitor websites and find out their weaknesses. Once you know their weaknesses, write a design proposal that can outshine your competitors.
8. Write Creative Strategy- Discuss your design strategies with your client and explain your decisions. Tell your client how you are going to meet the project goals and help him attract his potential customers.
9. Explain Project Methodology- You must explain your work methodology in the proposal. Show how you are going to handle the project from beginning to the end. This will help your client understand your work procedure and he won’t argue with you about the project deadline.
10. Explain Project Budget- Write the total project cost and the payment method in the business proposal. Break total cost in different parts such as “website design”, “frontend development”, “and backend development”, etc., to assure your client that you are offering him a fair deal.
11. Mention Project Deadline- When you set the project deadline, make sure that you keep some extra days in your hand. Website design is a creative process and sometimes you may spend a few extra days to design a beautiful layout. Therefore, if you think a project will take 10 days, give a 12 days deadline.
12. Give Your Contact Details- Always give your contact details to your client. Give him your mobile number, office landline number, email address, etc., so that he can contact you anytime regarding the project.

A well written and organized proposal can certainly win you a project. After you show the business proposal, don’t forget to send a follow-up email. Let your client realize that you are eager to work with him. If your client is impressed with your proposal, he will hire you for his design project.

Many people believe that videos games are exclusively about eye-catching graphic design and Flash animation (2D/3D). This is, however, not a right concept. Apart from great visuals, an interesting video game should also contain a good story. In fact, with the help of creative writing, a video game can make players experience various emotions and thus, offer wholesome entertainment.

If you are planning to write video games, you should be aware of the fact that the process of writing involves three crucial aspects. These include developing the plot, creating various characters, and putting together the storyboard. We discuss in details these three aspects.

• Developing the plot

The first step is to create a plot for the video game. To fulfill this goal, you need to figure out the theme of the video game (horror, adventure, or comic), and the characters. Thereafter, you should develop a general plot for the game.

Consider the fact that developing a plot for the game is a time consuming process and demand great effort. However, this step is important because it will help game developers to understand what they are trying to create. If they like your idea, you may move on to the next step.

• Developing the character

Character is a crucial aspect of any video game. If you create characters that are boring and uninteresting, chances are high that players will not have a positive impression of the game. For this reason, you need to create intriguing characters, those that possess special qualities, and interpret situations differently.

Adding humor or quirky traits to the characters can provide them with a special appeal. Furthermore, you need to justify their actions as well. If a character sulks or reacts violently, you should point out the reasons for their behavior.

Try to make the characters interactive. Convincing players that these characters take an active role in any situation will make them more popular. Offering your characters various choices during interactions is a great idea. This will stimulate curiosity of users, thus encouraging them to play the game repeatedly.

• Creating the storyboard

You have finished developing the storyline and characters. The next step is to create the storyboards. Storyboard indicates words, pencil sketches, and instructions that explain every single scene of the game. In most cases, graphic designers create these sketches, after consulting with the writer.

Depending on the story, decisions regarding movement, appearance, and behavior of the characters are taken. The storyboard can also include interaction between various characters of the game. Every panel of the storyboard includes a short overview of every action. While writing, this storyboard will act as your visual guide.

We have highlighted the three main aspects of video game writing. This is, of course, not an easy job. It demands patience and hard work. However, if you are imaginative, willing to undergo grueling schedules, and have a flair for writing, this can be the best career choice for you.

For majority graphic and web design professionals worldwide, Adobe Photoshop is the de facto image editing tool. Photoshop is used for a variety of design projects – creating web graphics, photo retouching, graphic design, etc. With each new release, Adobe has given Photoshop a number of features and toolset to retain its usability and popularity among its users. Recently, new features of Photoshop CS 6 (version 13) beta were leaked online, causing design professionals immense excitement.

Photoshop CS 6 will be released in 2012 as part of Adobe Creative Suite 6.0. Adobe has opted for a darker interface for Photoshop CS 6 and it will also come with new Auto save features and enhanced 3D capabilities. Now, since Photoshop’s new darker interface may not go down well with some users, Adobe has provided an option to switch over to the older platinum interface.

3D features were made a part of Photoshop with CS4 version and in this release, Adobe has spruced up its 3D capabilities significantly. Paint Bucket tool now comes with “3D Material Drop” feature. There is also a new 3D Text feature in Photoshop CS 6. Users can tweak 3D options in Preferences menu, including controlling the 3 axis. These will give web design professionals enough resources to create stunning 3D designs. Photoshop CS 6 has got a number of new tools like Remix Tool and Perspective Crop Tool. Photoshop can now save files without user intervention, a much needed improvement.

It is possible CS 6 final version will be released with features that have not been included in the beta version. There has been much speculation about a spanking new image deblurring tool that was talked about with much enthusiasm at the Adobe Max Conference. However, it is uncertain if it will be included in the Photoshop CS 6 version or Adobe will sell it with other apps.

The first thing that visitors notice about a website is its header. An interesting header offers a brief overview of the site and encourages visitors to explore it further. For this reason, you need to invest both time and energy for creating an intriguing header. We offer you few tips that will help you to come up with useful graphic header designs.

Opt for the right font

Choosing a font that differs from content of your site is a great idea. The contrast will attract attention of the people, forcing them to observe the header. At the same time, you should ensure that the font complements the overall theme and mood of the site.

Balancing these two aspects can be quite tricky. Therefore, you should study various fonts and choose the one that fits the bill. If you do not like fonts stored in your computer, you can explore websites that offer free fonts.

Many people also use images as headers. Of course, in such a case, you do not have to worry about fonts.

Pay attention to layout

Layout of the header plays a critical role in creating visual interest and drawing attention of people. The header layout must have room for content and images, with negative space surrounding them. Leaving space between text and graphic design is critical; otherwise, they will create a cluttered look.

Choosing the right color is critical

The color palette of the site and header should be similar. To create an interesting effect, use varying tints of the site color palette in your header or images. Of course, you can also opt for images that contain different color. However, in such a situation, ensure that the pictures complement the theme of your website and do not hurt the eyes.

Using excessive animations may not be a great idea

Using excessive animations in your site can confuse and overwhelm the visitor. Moreover, complex animations increase loading time of pages. For this reason, keep things clean and simple. If you think that animations will add value to your site, opt for simple ones. Avoid overloading the web pages with animations.

Coming up with attractive headers can increase your site’s traffic significantly. This is why investing sufficient time in creating interesting headers is critical. Additionally, evaluate the header from the point of view of your visitors. This will help you to observe it critically and implement necessary strategies for improving it further.

In website designing, as in any other industry, finding quality clients can be tough. If you don’t have enough experience, (or lack negotiating skills) you will often end up working with low-paying clients who pay a paltry sum for your efforts but demand high-quality designs. Working for such clients mean working double for half the money you deserve.

To get good clients, you should change your attitude. Being a newcomer doesn’t mean you should compromise. If you have confidence in your talent, start promoting your services with an equal show of faith. Here are some helpful tips for attracting quality clients:

1. Don’t Create a Needy Image- You should not appear desperate to your potential clients. If they know you are out of work, clients will force you to work at a cheaper rate. If you appear as a needy designer, you will never get good assignments.

You should also pick assignments carefully. If you get 5 projects and only 2 of them are from big companies, you should concentrate on those 2 only and leave the other 3. This way, you will be able to give more time and pay more attention to your work. When you deliver quality design to quality clients, not only do they pay you handsomely, but it also boosts your reputation in the market.

Believe in your abilities and show clients that they need you, you don’t need them. However, this does not mean you have to be arrogant. If a client doesn’t agree with your terms and conditions, then tell him you can’t do his work. Decline projects politely.

2. Don’t Compromise on Rates- Beginners face a lot of pressure from clients to cut their rates, but you should convince them that you are charging a fair rate for the quality of work you are going to deliver. Tell them you are not open to negotiations. This establishes your worth.

If your clients refuse to pay you premium rates unless they see your design, offer them sample designs at low rates. This way, you can impress your clients with your creativity and make them pay the money you deserve.

3. Spell Your Benefits- There are hundreds of graphic designers who claim they offer the best quality designs, but if you really want to attract quality clients, you should tell your potential clients what your specialty is and how you can help them to achieve their business goals.

You should create a serious image and inform your potential clients about your expertise in a particular field of design. For instance, if you project yourself as a graphic design expert who can improve any company’s brand image through his unique designs, clients are likely to take you more seriously.

With time in the designing business, you will realize that great clients not only pay you without any argument, but they improve your portfolio and help you grab the attention of other quality clients.

Designing a website may not be as time consuming as it was a few years back owing to the advances in web technology, but catering to the user’s requirements can be daunting for the web designers. A website design company needs to have the expertise to delve into the psyche of the internet users and understand the need of the individual clients. With time the internet users are becoming more demanding and they expect websites to be more dynamic and interactive. The web designers need to be particularly careful when they are designing websites for the clients whose revenue gets affected directly by the website. The website developers making the site for a real estate agency need to be careful about certain site design aspects.

• The web users visit a real estate website for concrete information and latest information on real estate rates. Therefore, a web design company making such a website needs to make the content crisp and simple. The site needs to be made in such a way that content updating becomes a straightforward affair. The content should not have any jargon that is difficult for the prospective customers to understand.
• A real estate website that has impressive visuals can appeal to the first time visitors. The viewers will like it very much if the site has a 3D visual walkthrough of the real estate properties in the site. Flash slideshows can also be used for the same purpose. However, the graphic design job needs to be done in the site in such a way that it does not lengthen the page load time.
• The web design professionals making a real estate site should ensure that it has a straightforward navigation scheme. To reach out to the maximum users, links to major social networking sites should also be given in the site.

Democratic media unlike print media or online media is a different ball of wax altogether. It is powerful and highly influential but it is hard to control. You simply cannot tame it as it is largely controlled by general people. It is its unpredictable nature, which is giving corporate organizations a hard time. For good or evil, democratic media is here and it is here to stay and there is no way to escape this truth. Here in this article, we are going to explore how this new and evolving platform is posing serious threat to brand images of large corporate organizations.

It is democratic and Free

The most striking, perhaps the most annoying from organizational perspective, feature of Democratic media is that there is no way to sensor or stop people from expressing their views or opinions freely. Opinions can be expressed through blogs, communities, forums, microblogging sites, social networking sites and many more which are all powerful enough to make or break brand image of any organization irrespective of its size or market status. If this is not enough, these social media sites are open to all, which is definitely an icing on the cake for those who are looking for a medium to vent their feeling.

Power of People

Allowing easy access to comment and share views, the social networking sites and blogs evolve as the most prominent democratic media platform for common masses. Read below and know how the influences of democratic media affect the corporate world:

• Democratic media helps to protect the rights of a consumer
• Provides with freedom of speech to consumers
• Curbs the power of brand identity
• Allows access to fair knowledge to public
• Limits the creative flow of a designer

So, lets find out how democratic media is changing the very principles of online reputation management. Here are the two classic examples that you should not miss at any cost:

BP Fiasco
BP has learned the immense power of Democratic media the hard way. The massive oil spill that put the company on its toe last year drew furious feedbacks and flak from a large number of netizens. Some over enthusiastics even try to tarnish its online reputation by making parody of its logo and some even went on further by announcing to launch a logo design contest to make fun of BP’s global brand image. Green Peace, as obvious, was on the forefront of these activities.

Gap fiasco
Power of democratic media once again got reflected when Gap decided to change its original logo. But the decision did not go down well with people. People started posting against the decision in various social media sites, blogs etc and eventually, Gap decided to put an end to this by reverting to its old logo.

So, if you are still in denial about the ever increasing power of democratic media, you are just inviting similar kind of embarrassment for your corporate organization.