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Reasons why you should hire a Graphic Designer

Graphic Design is a huge industry and the demand for great design is becoming increasingly popular to help professionals, musicians and businesses to market their product and services as effectively as possible. Visuals are a deciding factor often used to differentiate and allow people to stand out from their competitors, and who could blame them for wanting to stand out? For example, in the music industry the competition is fierce. With so many artists and bands wanting to attract the attention of their fans, some people when getting into a new band will even choose to buy a new CD based on a particular cover art. My boyfriend did this with an 80’s band as the sci-fi image on the front attracted his attention instantly, and he’s not alone… reading through this opinion forum on reddit, this question was posed: ‘What album(s) have you bought based on purely their artwork which turned out to be amazing?’ so graphic design is obviously something that consumers are prepared to tap into when it comes to deciding to buy a CD or not.

I suppose the demand for innovative imagery is very similar to the need for fresh content. No musician or business wants their logo or front cover art to be the same as that of their competitors which is why there are so many graphic design houses and freelancers. According to this article, many people will outsource and hire others to do their illustrations so that their imagery can do the talking, as well as providing many other benefits. Some bands will even just have an image with no logo, like The Rolling Stones for example – their red forty licks image has become synonymous for their growth as a rock band and is instantly recognisable to people unless they have been living on the moon and have no clue about popular culture. You can listen to their greatest hits here if you’re in the mood for some classic rock.

I think once you have an idea about how to get your message across, the rest will take care of itself. If you’re a new band, the best way to promote you music is through quality sound combined with unique album artwork. Look into the services of freelance graphic designers like Dylan Martin or design houses like Liquid Bubble Duplication as you want your graphics to be original and of the highest quality.

So you see there are more reasons than you may have thought to hire somebody who can draw and help turn creative ideas into something tangible.

The Mobile Phone Market at a Glance…

For those who own an iPhone, iPad, Blackberry or similar type of smart phone you will understand what all the fuss is about when it comes to owning the latest mobile devices, right? According to an article I read in The Guardian, the consumer buzz is definitely still centred around staying in the loop and using social media platforms ‘on the go’, with 60% of mobile users owning a smart phone in the UK alone.

Mobile phones cost an awful lot of money, especially for the newest models, but the thing is brands like Blackberry and iPhone know that their loyal consumers will pay the price if this means owning the latest craze in technology. Some customers are so technology obsessed that they will even be prepared to camp out to make sure they are first in line when the shops open the next morning – take a look at this video on Youtube which shows New Yorkers who camped outside of 5^th Avenue’s Apple store for a whole week, in anticipation of the iPhone 5 which came out last year. You can find out more information on this type of phone here if I’ve got you curious.

My sister owns a Blackberry smart phone and although she has had the occasional glitch with it, on the whole she said she would not be able to live without this mobile and that it’s extremely useful for map directions, checking train times as well as looking at old photos and listening to music. That’s the good thing about technology innovation I suppose, the fact that you can access those things in life that are most important to you at the click of a button.

Equally as important as a symbol of status or just for the aesthetics is the case you choose for your smart phone or similar technology device. If you want something that not only protects the delicate nature of your mobile phone, but also makes it look trendy, it’s worth looking for a personalised phone cover online. There are many affordable phone accessory stalls out there as well as e-tailers like Custom Funk, Like My Case and individual sellers on Ebay who are great for finding cheaper deals too. As with the plethora of choice we have with mobile phones, the amount of mobile phone accessories is equally as versatile and accessible, and this is a good thing.

So as the mobile market continues to soar, so does the need for innovation, new products and individuality, much like the fashion industry which is my weakness when it comes to spending!

Photo Printers

Digital Cameras are one of the great inventions of the 20th century, and allow you to take photos that can be viewed instantaneously. These photos can then be uploaded and shared with everyone without having to get a film developed. But that does mean that you don’t have the photos to put up around your home. If you like your home to be filled with pictures from weddings, parties, holidays etc but don’t want to have to bring your photos to a developer, then you should invest in a photo printer.

Though you could use your family printer to print out your photos, they will never look as bright or as sharp as they do on the computer screen, as the average printer cannot print at the resolution and does not have the range of colours needed to make your image into quality photos.

Photo printers ensure that your photos will look great and mean that you can print out photos whenever you want. There are lots of options on the market and the cost can vary from as little as £60 to as much as £150, it is up to you. Some printers will be all in one, providing great photos and an excellent family printer, others are designed just to give you top quality photo print outs. Here are a few of the best and most reasonably priced photo printers on the market to help you get an idea of what you might want.

Epson Stylus Photo P50 – £78. The Epson has a six ink colours instead of the usual four for a more accurate colour rendition and the ink cartridges are individually replaceable, so that you only have to replace the one that runs out. It also has a very simple set up, just plug in the USB cable and start printing.
Lexmark Interpret S405 – £67. This printer is a very inexpensive option, it is cheap to buy and just as cheap to run. There are also three connection options for your printer. You can use wifi, usb or and ethernet cable. It will print your photos quickly, a 6×4 inch print takes 30 seconds, though with only four inks instead of too they will be good but not as great as the Epson print outs.
Canon Pixma iP4850 – £70. This Canon printer has excellent picture resolution and two paper inputs meaning you won’t have to change your paper every time you want to print out a picture. It is the fastest colour printer of the three only taking 19 seconds to print out your 6×4 image.

Always shop around before buying and make sure you know what you want from a printer before buying one. Once you have bought one you can soon begin filling your house with 6×4 memories.

Architectural Photography

Although often considered a solitary pursuit – there are only so many people who can hold a camera at once, after all – architectural photography can bring with it an exciting and varied social life. Of course, most people are attracted to the activity by the act of taking the photo itself, but it would take a particularly grumpy type of misanthrope to never enjoy sharing any of their creations with other people.
Architectural photography hobby groups are as popular as ever, and provide a brilliant network of creative and technical support for those types of people who prefer something more personable to the cold, hard internet.
Even if your group has little interest in your subject matter or even in you initially, fellow photographers will always be interested in your work because they are interested in architectural photography in general. They know they may learn something from looking at other people’s shots, either about the technique or technology used, or maybe become inspired to take up a new project or theme themselves.
All this is added to the natural camaraderie that comes from sharing a niche interest, and the opportunity to revel in the kind of anecdotes specific to architectural photography that you may find entertaining, but that seem to bore all of your non-photography friends.
With groups come group outings, and architectural photography is no different, meaning you have ready and willing companions for the many day trips architectural photography requires. So why wait?

Digital Cameras

The digital camera is an important tool for many people who work in the graphics design industry. Whilst it is of course possible to create an image from scratch without using any photographs many graphic designers like to incorporate photographic images into their work, or perhaps manipulate a digital photo using a program such as Photoshop in order to achieve the results they require.

If you’re interested in graphic design and photo manipulation then it’s important that you take high quality photos if you want to achieve professional results. Many professional graphic designers and photographers will use digital SLR cameras such as the Canon 550D to take excellent, high quality photographs. However, if you’re an amateur then you might think that you wouldn’t be able to afford a camera good enough to take these kind of photos. However, that’s not strictly the case as models such as the Canon 550D are much more reasonably priced that other digital SLRs and they achieve similar results.

As the technology behind digital imaging hardware and software has improved over the years there has been a significant increase in the amount of digital artwork being created. There are so many examples of excellent artwork that has been created digitally. In some cases it is very difficult to distinguish a digital painting from one that has been done by hand.

Photographic Prints

Photography has gone under many recent changes over the past decade. More and more people have traded in their old SLR cameras for the latest and greatest digital cameras. As technology continues to grow, these developments are allowing digital cameras to have more and more features. Also, the image quality is improving with higher pixel counts and resolution. There may come a time when digital cameras are the only choice when wanting to buy a camera. But at this present time, there are still many people, both professional and amateur, who use film cameras for the purpose of their work.

The process of photographic prints consists of producing a final image on photographic paper for viewing purposes. The great thing about both ways of photography is that you are allowed to make a photographic print with both formats. This image can come from both a photographic negative and a digital image from a file. A popular way to view your digital images is through the computer. And you can also view them through the camera itself, although as the screen is quite small, it is usually just to check to make sure you got the shot that you wanted. A digital camera also allows you to take many more photographs at one time than you get with a film camera. It all depends on the size of your memory card and how high of a quality an image you want to produce. Digital cameras are a popular choice with young people.

Graphic Design

A great way to advertise a company or product is that of graphic design. As a visual item can be more appealing to customers rather than text, many companies go the graphic design route. Basically, graphic design can relate to the process of the design and the product itself. Many advertising companies rely on graphic design for the many types of advertising. A popular choice to use graphic design is in magazines and product packaging. Product packaging can include a company logo or certain design that pertains directly to the company’s image. With the Internet growing as rapidly as it has been, more companies are relying on websites to market and advertise their products or services.

A popular career choice is that of a graphic designer. The Internet has provided the need for more graphic designers, as more and more companies need their websites to be updated and to stay current in the design world. Graphic designers can also be known as a creative director or an art director, or in some cases graphic artist. The job of a graphic designer consists of the complete process of the design. They will design and arrange visual elements to the liking of their choice and what is best for the company. Graphic designers rely on the computer to complete their work and it has become the most efficient way for them. Today, most companies employ a number of graphic designers to create and develop their website.