Best place to teach you off-camera flash lighting
October 29th, 2009
Imagery/ Four Elements of Design
October 29th, 2009
Images are widely used for direct communication to the audience. That is because we can process pictures, even outlines or silhouettes, faster than a word or sentence. It is just the way we perceive visually. However, showing only an image is not enough for a successful design. It has to be cropped, edited and color-corrected in a way to suit the design and convey the concept. Besides carrying the message, images in our designs also convey a particular feeling, emotion or mood which is then associated with the product or advertisement. Lets take for example a very popular and successful ad - the iPod Silhouette ad. It is a very simple and straight to the point advertisement. You simply see a silhouette of a person, but as I mentioned above, it is very easy for the viewer to recognize the shape. The next thing you notice, because of the great use of color, is the actual product - the iPod. The movement in the silhouette shape suggests feelings of comfort and enjoyment and there are no other distracting elements. It is just the figure and the iPod. Using a silhouette plays a very important role from another perspective as well. It is not only successful because of its simplicity but also because of its relevance to the viewer. The message is “This can be you, you and your iPod” So before you realize it, you envision yourself enjoying the iPod and dancing with the music. The designer was able to get you there in just a few seconds and left you with a warm feeling. No wander the next thing you do is buy an iPod. (Don’t get me wrong, it is a wonderful product. I am just trying to show the design perspective and successful approach to the viewer). As you can see the choice of imagery/illustrations is crucial for a designer. Therefore, understanding your client, their needs and the public they would like to reach can only be beneficial for these choices.
Four Elements of Design
October 29th, 2009
Imagery, color, typography, and composition are the four basic elements of design. Understanding their role and application leads to successful design solutions. I will talk in more detail about each one of these elements in subsequent posts.
Sunday Shooting Session
October 27th, 2009
After a rainy Saturday, this Sunday I went on a walk with my boyfriend to Mianus River Park in Stamford, CT. The park is beautiful and the day was great for outdoor shooting. I was set up with my tripod and took some beautiful pictures. However, I want to go back to this location because I was just exploring it and now I can find better spots and look for the special light that happens usually at dawn or dusk. Anyways, it is a great location right in front of my nose and I was not aware of it, but luckily my boyfriend found it. There are many people walking their dogs as well as trails throughout the whole park. What makes it so enjoyable is the fact that you are actually walking through the forest. You can get dirty and you can even get lost so you should always bring a map of the park with you, we got ours from their website. And even with a map you should be aware that you can still get lost especially if you stay later and it starts to get dark. That is kind of what happened to us. Fortunately, we found our way back but because it was getting late and we were walking through the forest we decided to get out on the street and it turned out that we had to go around the park to get to the parking which was like five times the distance we had to walk through the park to get to the parking. Lesson is learned but we enjoyed the walk and it was a good exercise.
Less is More
October 25th, 2009
That is one of the principles of design we should never forget. Eventually, every graphic designer learns to embrace it because simplicity and clarity are essential to visual communication. Even if it seems easy, it is a lot harder to achieve simplicity in your designs. You should always go back and forth between the message that has to be conveyed and the actual images, color, text and other visual elements used in the designs. All elements should be used in a way to support the message. If there are any elements distracting the viewer from the message, they have to go. After all, the design must convey a message with minimum elements on the page and maximum clarity. Basically, when you make your designs seamless and effortless, and the message is very clear to the viewer, that is when you’ve achieved your goal.
Abode Photoshop Lightroom 3 Beta Released
October 22nd, 2009
I know it’s fast, but it’s here - the Adobe Lightroom 3. If you are already a user or the time came to check it out because so many people talk about it you can download the free beta version here.
And of course the Photoshop guys always keep us posted, so they put together a Lightroom 3 Learning center. Check it out here.
I am off to download the version myself and watch the videos from Matt Kloskowski and Scott Kelby to learn more about the new features.
Off to a Fresh Start
October 21st, 2009
I spent a long time debating within myself what I should be writing about in this blog. There are my professional interests, my hobbies, friends and family and daily simple things. So I began writing about my personal life a while back, and it turned out to be difficult. I wasn’t consistent with it and I wasn’t sure what to share and what to keep private. Looking back, I realize that I just chose the wrong topic. This blog should be about what I love doing the most - design and photography. I learn techniques everyday, I see compelling designs, and I find creative solutions. That’s why this blog should serve the purpose of a notebook to me where I can record valuable information not only for myself to look back at but also for anybody else looking for the answers to the same questions. So here it is to a fresh new start, cheers!