Graphic Design

Graphic design is the process of visual communication, and problem-solving through the correct use of typography, space, image and color.

Thought it would be fun to have a discussion around graphic design and meet more designers. Share where you are from, a bit about yourself and a link to your portfolio!

 

My name is Ian Baldwin and I am from Dayton, OH. I started designing in 2006 creating fliers and other graphics for the band I was in at the time. Crazy to think its been a decade already! I am always hungry to learn more and meet other designers. I love the community around design and music.

Right now I design artwork and logos for bands under the name Hear&See Design. I do have a day job as a production artist working for a company called ACCO Brands. I would love to design and make products full-time in the future. My plan is to save 6 months worth of income and leave my day job to pursue that dream.

Here are some artwork and logos I have created.

 

Great stuff. I got into graphic design the same way as you did, just designing gig posters and merch. Did a little freelance, then finally got hired on as a full time designer at a marketing agency. We do campaigns around consumer engagement. 206 if you wanna check it out. It's completely client driven, so it gets a little frustrating when you want to do something cool, only to dwindle it down because of budget. But working with different brands has helped me get out of my comfort zone, and explore all different types of design.

I'd show my personal portfolio but I haven't updated since I graduated school (4 years, ugh). But here's my side project, I illustrate lyrics at least once a week. At least I try for once a week. http://writing-lyrics.tumblr.com/

 

That is really neat! I love hear those stories. Just checked out 206 and your Writing Lyrics Tumblr. I really like it and I have wanted to get back into doing personal projects again for fun. I made some lyric inspired designs back in 2010. Major throwback for me. Haha

I had just updated my portfolio at the beginning of the year so don't feel too bad! It had been years in the making. I could never find the time to update it. Using Squarespace made it easy!

 

The "Visual Center"

An interesting web app that looks at the visual center of things.

For example, the new Ringer logo:

 

i review so many student portfolios, and it's so obvious they use the align tool on most of their work since none of it is visually center. makes a huge difference.

 

Very useful! I will definitely be referring to that site in the future.

 

Awesome to see a discussion for this! I'm currently in my third year in a Graphic Design program. In 2006, I sort of ventured into the design world and just started creating little things and messing around with software, but it wasn't until years later when I actually decided to take my interest further. It's a really rewarding path, but challenging along the way! I'll definitely be checking out everyone's work here, and I'll try and upload some of the things I'm proud of at some point to share with you all!

 

That is awesome to hear! I would love to see some of your work. Thank you for jumping into this thread! The more the merrier.

 

i haven't done any graphic design in a while and i'm awful at illustrator. i want to try to create logos or re-design logos but i don't know where to start. i'm kind of lost. i wasn't so bad between high school and college, but now i'm never inspired to do anything and when i try it just looks terrible. for illustrator, are there any easy tutorials i can follow? or any books you'd recommend?

 

It all comes down to the pen tool, and Pathfinder tool, at least, for me. Did you have much practice with those? When I don't feel like a certain logo is going in the right direction, usually I just end up messing around with the colours and functionality, putting the logo on a dark background instead of a light one. It helps seeing it in a new/different light. Let me know if you still want more help!

 

not really, i wouldn't know how that would help >_<

 

Hmm. Well, sorry I tried to help!

 

no it's not your fault at all!! i appreciate the reply. i just don't know how to get started and it's so weird considering i did this throughout high school and college. it's been a long time since i properly did any graphic design work. i'm trying to take an old logo and re-design it and "update" it so to speak but i tried once and it looked awful and i can't think of any other ideas.

 

Maybe try and redesign it and post it in here and we could help you make some adjustments? Sometimes feedback is the trick, and usually it's not as awful as you think! You're your own worst critic. ;)

 

This is the site I started learning on after graduating high school. They have a lot of great tutorials and offer a free 10 day trial. Hope this helps!

http://design.tutsplus.com

 

Tonight at 8PM EST (In 30 minutes) I am doing a Facebook Live Event with Jake Bryant of Platinum Audio. If you are a musician, designer or someone who manages bands in this group come join the conversation!

Here are the topics we'll be talking about:

• Why design matters to your band/brand.
• Why design needs to accompany every release.
• How much you should invest in design/social media marketing.
• How to take art from your music video to make a cohesive release.
• The most affordable way to print CDs.
• How to get your music on iTunes, Spotify, etc.

If you have any questions about these topics or others comment in the live chat and we will answer them, no secrets kept!

Click here to join!

 

missed this, will there be an archive of it to watch later?

 

as a practicing product design professional, I'd just like to leave this here for you guys:

Sketch - Professional Digital Design for Mac

If you aren't using it yet, this will change your life. If you are, it already has.

 

I've heard a lot about Sketch and have been meaning to try it out! Going to install the trial soon and give it a go. Thank you for the link!

 

Yes, here is the link. It's the 5th post on my timeline. Thanks for checking it out!

Keep in mind it was my first time doing a live stream so it is a little rough. I'm sure I will get better at them as I do more!

 

you're welcome -- let me know if you need any help figuring it out. what kind of design do you do? :)

 

I will! Thank you. I do a lot of artwork and logos for bands. Is Sketch better for web, UI and app design?

 

I never received a notification about this. Thanks so much for this link.

 

well it's a vector drawing tool, so technically you can do those things too, however I am not 100% sure it can improve your workflow as much as if you were to design apps/product.