Design Directory

Reading a Book by Its Cover The chance to produce art for a book cover is rare, bug the essential thought processes and creative steps are very similar, if not identical, in the inventive process. In this series we actually try to read a book by its cover--to see if the design concept is successful or [...]

Inspiration from the Covers of Books In the next few posts, we'll look at some book covers and learn a few things about design. We'll find that design sometimes has to follow form. And in these examples, they follow the form of the content. The creative processes used to design a book cover are relatively the same [...]

Freelancing 101: The typical life. Plus tips and advise from a professional. By Elle Phillips According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, about twenty-five percent of all Graphic Designers (or Graphic Artists) do freelance work, full-time or part-time. Many more have aspirations of doing freelance because of the money, creativity, and the appeal of working from home. [...]

As a graphic artist, you face the challenge of creating designs that are unique, and interesting. Some designers, as you will see, have taken the idea of design to a very literal form. The following examples are fun to look at and admire, but also serve as inspiration to think "inside the box" by approaching design [...]

And Now the Good Stuff In our last few articles about logo design we've seen some logos that didn't quite work because of design flaws, problems with concept or lack of visual appeal. This time we'll look at some of the most famous logos in the world, and some that aren't so famous to see why they [...]

The Logo Journey Continues In our last article, we examined several logo designs that were, by most conventional standards, unsuccessful. Your art education is a continuing process and understanding the basics of graphic design can help you to be more effective in creativity and to avoid mistakes. In Part 2 of this series, we'll take a look [...]

Logo Design Isn't Always Easy Designing a logo can sometimes be mystifying, but that doesn't mean it can't be done. At times a logo design just works, even though it may seem rather unremarkable. Other designs should work but they don't. When Things Go Terribly Wrong The examples in this article demonstrate what can happen when attention to [...]

Package Design: The Two Second Commercial If you pay a visit to your local supermarket and view the thousands of items sitting on shelves, each product is vying to gain your attention through its package design. Hence each package acts as a two second commercial. The following designs excel in attracting your eye, but also serve a [...]

See, Learn, and Get Inspired Designing a package can be quite challenging when trying to think of unique ways to present a product. The following examples show how graphic designers think outside the packaging box by using creative techniques that are novel in approach, and also quite functional by design. Otokoyama Sake A simple design can be more [...]

Talent + Education = Graphic Designer Talent is always a big consideration for employers who are seeking individuals to fill positions, but the world of graphics, illustration, and art has changed dramatically with the use of computer design software and computer hardware. Publishing houses, graphic design firms and other related businesses need people who are up-to-date in [...]