photoshop basics

Adobe Photoshop Levels Dialogue Box

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 18:11:00 +0000

Use the Levels dialogue box (Imag>Adjust>Levels) to adjust the tonal balance for colour and grayscale images. You can adjust highlight, shadow and midtone ranges for a selection or an entire image, or you can make changes to individual channels only.

Input Levels

The Input Levels dialogue box (Image>Adjust>Levels) to improve the contrast in a ‘flat’ image.

1. Use the Channel pop-up menu to select a channel. If you do not select an individual channel, you can work on the composite image and affect all channels.

2. To darken an image, drag the sold black slider to the right. Altermatively, enter an appropriate value in the leftmost Input Levels entry box. This maps or clips pixels to black. For example, if you drag the black slider to 15, all pixels with an original value between 0 and 15 become black. The result is a darker image.

3. To lighten an image, drag the hollow, white Input Levels slider to the left. Alternatively, enter an appropriate value in the rightmost Input Levels entry box. The result is to map or clip pixels to white For example, if you drag the white slider to 245, all pixels with an original value between 245 an 255 become white. The result is a lighter image.

The most flexible way of working with Levels, Curves and Color Balance is to set up Adjustment layers (see page 119). Adjustment layers allow you to readjust settings in the respective dialogue boxes until you are satisfied with the result.

Dragging either or both the black or white input levels sliders inwards has the effect of increasing contrast in the image.

Adobe Photoshop Auto Levels And Color Settings

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 07:21:00 +0000

Auto Levels allows you to adjust brightness and contrast automatically. Auto Levels examines each colour channel independently and changes the darkest pixels to black and the lightest pixels to white, then redistributes the remaining shades of grey between these two points.

Auto Levels works best on images that have a reasonably even distribution of tonal values throughout the image, as it redistributes pixels based on white and black points, with a tendency to increase contrast.

Auto Color removes unwanted colour casts in an image without adjusting the contrast in an image.

1. To apply Auto Levels to an image, choose Image>Adjust>Auto Levels.(Use Edit>Undo if you do not like the result.)

2. To apply Auto Color to an Image, choose Image>Adjust>Auto Color. (Use Edit>Undo if you do not like the result.

Auto Levels adjusts each colour channel in the image individually. As a result, it may remove or introduce colour casts.

Both Auto Levels and Auto Color generally produce good results, but they do not allow the precision of manual adjustments that you can make using the Levels and Curves dialogue boxes

Adobe Photoshop Brightness And Contrast Command

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 17:41:00 +0000

The Brightness/ Contrast command provides the least complicated controls for changing overall brightness and contrast levels in an image. It dose not allow you to make changes to individual colour channels; it makes the same adjustment to every tonal range of the image.

1. To change brightness and contrast for an entire image, or for a selection, choose Image > Adjust > Brightess/Contrast. Drag the Brightness and Contrast sliders to the right or lift, or enter a value in the entry boxes (-100 to +100). OK the dialogue box.

2. If you are making adjustments to a selection, click the preview button to see, on screen, the result of the settings you choose.

3. Choose Image>Adjust>Auto Contrast (Ctrl/Command + Alt + Shift + L)to automatically adjust the contrast for an image or sele ction. Highlightes should appear lighter the shadows darker resulting in an overall improvement in the image. Auto Contrast dose not adjust individual channels in an image. It makes highlightes appear lighter and shadows darker by mapping the lighter and darkest pixels in the image to white and black respectively.

Adobe Photoshop Channel and Quick Mask Options

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 16:53:00 +0000

The Channel Options dialogue box and the Quick Mask Options dialogue box allow you to control the colour of a mask and whether the protected or unprotected area of the image is coloured with the overlay.

1. To change channel options, double-click the alpha channel name. Alternatively, with the alpha channel selected, use the Channel Options.

2. In the Channel options dialogue box you can enter a new name for the channel. You can also choose Selected Areas to reverse the way in which the colour will apply, in other words, masked (protected) areas will appear white, while the selection area (unprotected) will appr black.

3. To change the colour used to represent the masked (protected) area and its opacity, click the Colour box and choose anew colour form the Colour Picker.

4. To change the settings for a quick mask, double-click either the Quick Mask Mode icon or the Standard Mode icon, then make the appropriate changes in the dialogue box that appears.

How to Applying Layer Masks in Adobe Photoshop CS5

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 01:19:00 +0000

Use layer masks to hide or revel areas of a layer. A layer mask is extremely useful because you can it to try out effects without actually changing the pixels on the layer. When you have achieved the result you want, you can apply the mask as a permanent change. If you are not satisfied, you can discard the mask without having permanently affected the pixels on the layer.

This example begins with an image with two layers. The Background layer is the original scan: the other layer was created using the Render>Clouds filter.

1. To create a layer mask for the Clouds layer , fist click on the layer to make I active. Choose Layer>Add Layer Mask >Reveal All. Reveal All means that all the pixels in the layer are visible. The Clouds layer now completely obscures the Background layer.

2. In the Layers palette, the layer mask is active, indicated by the Mask icon next to the Eye icon. Click on the layer thumbnail to make the layer active(the Paintbrush icon indicates that you can now work directly on the layer). Click on the layer Mask icon to continue editing the mask.

3. With the layer mask selected make sure that the foreground color is set to black. Choose a painting tool and start painting . Painting with black hides pixels on the Clouds layer, revealing pixels on the Background layer.

4. Pixels on the Clouds layer are not permanently erased when you paint with black. Paint with white to pixels on the Clouds layer- in effect hiding pixels on the Background layer.(if you choose Layer >Add Layer Mask>Hide All, you start with the opposite scenario to the above. Now all the pixels on the clouds layer are hidden.
Paint wih white to reveal on the Clouds layer, paint with black to hide them.)

5. To temporarily switch off the layer mask, choose Layer>Disable Mask, or hold down shift then click on the Layer Mask icon. TO reactivate the mask, choose Layer>Enable Layer Mask, or hold down shift then click again on the Layer Mask icon.

6. To apply the layer mask as a permanent change, choose Layer>Remove Layer Mask>Apply, To discard the layer mask, without affecting pixels on the layer, choose Layer>Remove Layer Mask> Discard.

7. Or drag the Layer Mask icon (not the Layer icon) onto the Wastebasket icon in the bottom of the palette. Click Apply or Discard. Once you apply a layer mask you lose the flexibility of making further changes the effect is fixed. Click Discard only if you want to delete the mask.

DON'T FORGET -

1. You can only have one layer mask per layer.

Creating an Abstract Ecology Scene with 3D Render

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 16:44:00 +0000

I came across one of the most beautiful 3D renders from Futurology on DeviantArt and realized I must create something with it. This is a walk-through of how I made the New Life artwork. It is a simple and short tutorial that focus on the basic Photoshop tools.

Create a new document of A4 size with 300dpi resolution. Using the Gradient tool, make a vertical gradient from white to grey as shown below.
Download Rocky Mountain Trail from ShutterStock. Using the Polygonal Lasso tool, extract out several mossy rocks from the downloaded image. You may position the rocks in a similar manner like mine below.

Create a new layer below the rocks and rename it as Shadow. Using the Soft Rounded Brush tool with 20px and black color, paint in the shadow beneath the rocks.

Download Green Leaves from ShutterStock. Open up the downloaded Green Leaves image. Using Magic Wand tool, click on the white area of the Green Leaves image. Go to Select > Inverse. Using the Move tool, drag the leaves into your original document.

Download the 3D Render from Futurology. Open up RW6.png and drag it into your working document using the Move tool.

Using the Eraser tool, clean away those floating unwanted pieces. Select the 3D Render image, go to Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation. Enter the settings as shown below.

Create a new layer above the 3D Render. Using the Soft Rounded Brush tool and size 40px, paint in shadow around the leaves as shown below.

Download Green Ivy from ShutterStock. Open up the downloaded Green Ivy image. Using the Magic Wand tool, click on the white area of the image to load a selection of it. Go to Select > Inverse. Using the Move tool, drag the Green Ivy into the original document. Using the Eraser tool to remove some parts to make it look as if it is crawling around the 3D Render.

Duplicate the Green Ivy layer to decorate the lower of 3D Render as well.

Create a new layer below the 3D Render and rename it as Random Lines. Using the Brush tool with 3px and grey color, draw random lines along the flow of 3D Render. It will be easier with you are using a tablet. Paint several dots of various sizes with the same color around the random lines.

Duplicate the Random Lines layer. Right-click on the duplicated layer and choose Color Overlay. Pick a light green color and hit OK. Choose Outer Glow and enter the settings shown below. Using the Soft Rounded Eraser tool with 1000px, remove the lower part so it reveal the grey lines.

You should be getting something similar to this.

Last thing to do is to add a simple bokeh effect to the background and you are done! There are plenty of tutorials on Bokeh Effect and the best I can find so far is from Abduzeedo. Hope you enjoyed this tutorial. Have a nice day!

Top 100 + Stunning Photoshop Text Effect Tutorialss for Beginners and Advanced

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 12:51:00 +0000

There are tons of Photoshop text tutorials around us, but today we are going to pick the most Top 100 + Stunning Photoshop Text Effect Tutorialss for Beginners and Advanced.

HOW TO EDITING ALPHA CHANNEL MASKS

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 12:04:00 +0000

You can display an alpha channel without loading it onto the image as a selection. You can then edit the mask by painting with black, white or Grey.

1. To display an alpha channel. Choose windows > show channels to display the channels palette. Click on the alpha channel you want to display. The channel name. And an eye icon in the left column of the palette, indicate that this is the visible channel.

2 The image window changes from the composite view to a grayscale representation of the mask. The white area represents the selection and the black portions represent the protected areas.

3 To edit a selection channel. Select a painting tool and brush size. Click the default colors icon if necessary. To change the foreground color to black. Paint with black to remove areas from the selection paint with white on any black portion of the mask to add it to the selection.

Another useful technique for editing a selection mask is to view a mask and image simultaneously by turning the alpha channel selection into a colored mask (very much like using quick mask mode) and then reshaping the mask by painting with black, white or shades of Grey.

RESHAPING MASKS

1 To reshape a mask ensure you don’t have an active selection on your image. Click o the alpha channel in the channels palette to select it. Lt highlights and the eye icon shows on the left. The image window now displays the grayscale selection channel mask. The eye icon disappears from the composite RGB channel and from the individual red. Green and blue channels.

2 Click in the currently empty eye icon position for the composite channel. The eye appears for the composite channels add in the individual red green blue ones. The composite channel now also shows in the image window but only the alpha channel is selected – indicated by the highlight.

3 The image window now changes in appearance. The selection area appears as normal whilst the protected or masked portions of the image have a quick mask – type transparent film applied.

4 Select the paintbrush or pencil tool . paint with white to remove areas of the image from the mask (to enlarge the unmasked area). Paint with black to add portions of the image to the mask.

Top 13 Super Clan & High Quality Free Fonts Created in 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 16:10:00 +0000

2010 is just going to end leaving good and bad memories and moments for everybody. 2010 also gave us some of the most professional, creative, fanciful, elegant, imaginative and graceful fonts of all time. Today we have collected a collection of Top 13 Super Clan & High Quality Free Fonts Created in 2010. We hope you will like this collection. You can download these fonts for free, some of them required registration so you will have to sign-up or sign-in. Make sure to read license before using them in commercial projects. Enjoy.

Affair

Brandon Grotesque

Breathe

Despeinada

Lady René

LiebeErika

Livory

Museo Slab

Origins

Sketchetik

St Ryde

17 Places To Buy High Quality Ecommerce WordPress Themes

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 15:36:00 +0000

After hours of looking for websites that sell word press themes, I’ve found 17 Places to Buy High Quality Ecommerce WordPress Themes. With many designers using wordpress as their main stage, it’s always great to have a head start with pre-made themes that you can buy online. It can save you time and money. I personally use wordpress a lot and find it easy to use. Using WordPress helps with updating your website quickly. If you’re a freelancer, you know time is of great value. I hope you enjoy the themes and thank you for reading.

62 Awesome And Creative Website Layout Tutorials Using Adobe Photoshop

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 14:38:00 +0000

Adobe Photoshop, this software is most popular among designers. This software have awesome features, with these features designers can create beautiful and attractive website layout design. It is excellent software for creating attractive and stunning designs for various purposes like print media, web and multimedia. Today we are providing 62 Awesome and Creative Website Layout Tutorials Using Adobe Photoshop. This article have different kind of web design layout tutorials such as portfolio, ecommerce, real estate web layout, restaurant and business web design layout tutorials.

Corel Draw 11 Beginner Tips

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 10:23:00 +0000

CorelDRAW 11 is a part of the CorelDRAW Graphics Suite program. This software allows users to create digital graphics and vector art using your computer mouse or tablet. CorelDRAW also allows users to manipulate and enhance existing photos and images. This software can be used for webpage design, document design, vector art animation and photo editing.

Learning Keyboard Shortcuts

You can learn keyboard shortcuts to make launching tools and commands quicker. A keyboard command is created by pressing two or more specific keys on a keyboard at the same time. For example, you can quickly save your document by pressing the "Ctrl" and "S" buttons on your keyboard, rather than going to the "File" menu and choosing "Save."

Click a menu from the top toolbar to see the available shortcuts listed next to the commands. For example, clicking on the "File" menu will show you that the keyboard shortcut for "Save" is "Ctrl+S". Some tools also have keyboard shortcuts that you can view by hovering your mouse cursor over the tool icon.

Using Layers

When you create a new layer on an existing image, this layer allows you to draw and make changes without affecting the image below. You can create numerous floating layers when editing your graphics, each with its own setting. Layers also provide the ability to drag and move elements on the screen without affecting the other layers. You can create a new layer by clicking the "New layer" icon located on the bottom of the Object Manager Docker. A new layer will appear in the Object Manager Docker that you can name and edit any way that you need.

Cropping Images

The crop tool allows you to choose a square-shaped area of an existing image and remove all the other elements around it. This is useful for when you need to crop the size of a picture to make it fit to a certain layout or when you only have one area of a picture that you need to display. When you click on the crop tool from the tool bar, you will see your mouse cursor change to look like the crop tool icon. Drag your mouse cursor across the image to create a square outline. The part of the image that you will keep is inside of the square. You can click and drag the border of this square to re-size it. Double-click inside the square to crop the image.

Quick Copy Objects

Shapes and objects that you have created in CorelDRAW can be quickly copied and moved on the screen. Select any object editing tool, such as the "Square" or "Circle" tool. Right-click an existing object on the screen and drag your mouse away from the object. You will see a blue outline of the shape pull away from the original. Release your mouse button and allow a menu to pop up. You can choose to move the object or make an exact copy of the object, which makes it quick to re-create the same shape object over and over again.

Effective Resume Tips For Graphic And Web Designers

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 16:18:00 +0000

Creativity and imaginations don't have any geographical boundaries or time limitations. These hold the power to go beyond the horizons with the sole aim of creating a perfect masterpiece. Despite of this there is a need to lock creation with time and certain boundaries. This thing comes true when a designer has to opt for a full time 9 to 6 job. In such a job you only have 9 hours to go ahead with wild imaginations. Those who wish to go for this time limitations also has to learn to write a designer resume.

Here are some excellent tips to help you write an effective graphic designer resume:

• Your resume should have a purely professional look and approach. Keep your words and language simple whilst adding some designer flair to it. As the resume is for a graphic designing post you can also add a banner and a logo to your resume to make it look more appropriate for the specified job.

• Then in one sentence mention the position you are applying for. Clearly mention whether you are looking for a position of art director, graphic designer, senior designer, freelance option, or any other specified area. With the mentioning of the position it is also important to say in a few words why you feel you are the best candidate for this position. Along with this if you mention how you would make a valuable contribution to the organization; it would be an added advantage.

• List down your professional experience in graphic designing with all the positions you have worked on and responsibilities taken care of in each job.

• In case of a web designer post there are various specific technicalities that you should know. Highlight all your experience in the field and also all the specific knowledge you behold. Also list the technical know-how in terms of offset printing, digital printing, and web site design like the Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Quark Xpress, Macromedia Dreamweaver. Use this technical proficiency as significant keywords that would help you market yourself in the job market.

• List your educational qualification but there is no need to emphasize on any unless the degree or diploma is related to graphic designing. In this kind of a job, education does not play a vital role, rather hands-on experience is considered to be the most effective marketing tool to market your credentials and credibility.

• Mention all the awards and accolades received in your past work life. This serves to be a great tool to increase your worth in the job market.

• Make sure to end the resume on a soft, friendly, and an affirmative note.

How to Choose a Web Hosting Company the Easy Way

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 15:43:00 +0000

Getting a good web hosting company for your business is an important decision, so you should not be in a haste to choose a web hosting company. There are steps that have to be analyzed accordingly, because the quality of your web host service really determines your customers' online experience on your website. And as a business firm, you cannot afford to just leave it to chance as a wrong choice of a web host can affect you and your business negatively.

You should take your time when you want to choose a web hosting provider. Choose a web host provider that is known for its reliability and standard services.

If you are having problems with your web hosting service, this can lead to loss in sales, also potential visitors and customers looking up your website. So you do not want any mistakes in your choice of a web hosting company; therefore, you must aim for the best web hosting to avoid any complications.

If you want to start a search for a web hosting company, check out on major search engines to find the best web hosting service provider or you can type in the search box, best web hosting companies. This will definitely provide you with lots of results. You should also check for online reviews by satisfied customers. Also there are also professional ratings by experts and notable persons, you should emphasize on this kind of reviews. These are the basic things you should consider when you are searching for a web hosting company;

-Quality of the web host
-Strong features and characteristics
-Cost of web hosting package

A good web hosting company will be able to service all your need and make a plan for you. They can decide to create your website for you or give you templates to choose from. They will sometimes suggest to you features that will turn your website into a profit making site. The web hosting company is like a technical partner and they (the web host company) will tell you how much disk space you need, the bandwidth that is required, the maximum and minimum storage requirements and other supports needed to help you grow your online business.

So you should always go for a company that will offer technical support because they will be able to rectify errors in no time. A reliable and efficient web hosting service provider, offers you uptime of more than 99%, this will ensure that the speed of accessibility is really fast and your website is live most of the time.

Another way from expert ratings and online search is to check out discussion forums where web hosting topics are discussed. Here you can get random views/opinions about web hosting service providers. In these forums, the participants are really helpful to newbies and ready to answer your questions.

The participants are current users or past users but they will provide you with honest views and reasons. I am not saying that you should base your judgment on these forums, but you should be rational and analytical in your decision.

Also you should do a good comparison about the cost, but never compromise on quality owing to price value when selecting for any web hosting company.

Choose The Best Website Designers

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 17:03:00 +0000

Professional website designers can design, marketplace and engineer your web site for your business's benefit simply because your web presence is essential 24/7, all of the yr spherical. The worldwide web never sleeps, and so does your company once it's online. Web site designing could be categorized as being a component of a advertising technique any business makes use of to get maximum outreach, ultimately resulting in profits because of an increase in clientele.

Why Is the Style Of your Web site Essential?

Websites are central to any business these days, large or little. An internet presence is essential, regardless of the nature of one's business. It is your virtual impression and introduction to the world around the web. A outstanding website attracts visitors, will get higher search engine rankings and directs clients, leading them towards the web content material you want them to read.

Website development specialists will design your website carefully to match your company goals, brand value and marketing initiatives. They produce content material which focuses on goal users and organize it in a logical movement to convey info to these customers successfully. Your website needs to become consumer friendly to hold any browser's interest. Also, a primary objective of your web site would be to tap the possible to be search engine pleasant to draw targeted visitors.

Your business ought to be in a position to get advantage of each opportunity to attract new customers and maintain customer loyalty. The best web site designers in the company will make sure that your web site is user pleasant, could be effortlessly navigated and represents your company well. They'll get care that that the content material plainly tells your clients who you are and what you do; and the graphics are aesthetically appealing.

Designing A Website Includes

* Logos, banners or stationary which complements your corporate identification. Brand styles, identifies your model message.

* Customized graphics.

* Domain title, internet hosting amenities and setup.

* Blogs, content material, newsletters, online forms, site map.

* Flash animation to interact with customers visually.

* E-commerce is included if you promote products from your website on-line.

* Web software applications.

Additionally to all this, web site designers assure to maximize your search engine results by related content material development and also the right keyword density, Meta tags, title and hyperlink optimization. Good internet services companies will make sure your site arrives up in organic or natural search engine results.

101 Amazing Icon Designs & Logo Design Tutorials

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 08:06:00 +0000

Icons are essential in any graphical user interface. They are effective visual cues for performing tasks or navigating to a certain location. There are many resources online that can help and inspire you in your own icon designs and – in this collection – we share some of the best tutorials on the topic.

In this article, you’ll find a wide selection of tutorials and resources to help you learn about designing icons.

Some Great Tips For Effective Icon Design

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 18:14:00 +0000

Icons are part of the fabric of the web. They're used for everything from contact links and "buy now" buttons, to social media tags and URL graphics.

Icon means a simple graphical representation of a command or function in a user interface, according to Princeton Wordnet. In other words - that means that an icon should help a user do something, not just look pretty.

Here are a few tips to bear in mind when designing web icons:

Don't think "logo"

And icon is not the same thing as a logo.

A logo might aim for general goals such as memorability or evoking an emotion. Icons are designed to prompt a specific action or demonstrate a particular function. This is an important distinction. It means that an icon should visually relate to what it represents. Logos can usually get away with being more obscure and indirect.

Keep it simple

"If you have to think about an icon to 'get it', the metaphor is too complex," according to the developer's handbook for the Gnome platform.

Like all great professional website design, icons should convey their function in as simple a way as possible. Off-the-wall visual metaphors like using a carrier pigeon icon for your "contact us" link may not be the best option. One way to stay simple is to:

Avoid superfluous detail

A common mistake a lot of icon designers make is to add an extra detail that has no functional advantage. For example, it might look good to have a green tick in all of your icons, but it could confuse the message.

Make the form reflect the function

There's a reason that the majority of email buttons on the web are letters or stamps. It's a visual shorthand for the activity the icon represents.

Sometimes, real-world equivalents make useful icons, such as paper-clips for attachment icons, padlocks for secure sites, credit cards for payment options and so on. However:

Be aware of cultural differences

Remember that icons don't always mean the same thing in every culture. For example, a US mailbox is usually blue. In the UK, it's red. In Sweden, it's a small yellow wall-mounted box. This subtle difference between cultures means that what might seem to be visual shorthand to you, is no such thing to your American or European colleagues.

Stand out from the surrounding content

An icon that blends in with page content isn't distinct enough to prompt a user to engage with it. Make it stand out with strong, contrasting colours or shapes (within reason, of course!)

Make each icon distinct

While consistency is important, so is differentiation. If icons on your site all look very similar, then how will users know which one to click?

Make them work at different sizes

Sure, your icon may work well at 258 x 258 pixels. However, what about on a mobile device? Most icon designers create several versions of the same icon in a variety of sizes. This isn't just a case of shrinking the original. For example, in your large version, you may have some detail in a folder graphic. However, when shrunk to half-size, the detail looks muddy and confusing. So the smart designer simply takes the essence of the original icon and simplifies it for the smaller size.

Icon design is a discipline all of its own. However, follow these few simple tips and you'll be heading on the right track for great web icons.

Using on Plastic Card Printer Tips And Tricks

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 18:38:00 +0000

For the first time card printing equipment users, it is not that easy for them to incorporate their own ideas or designs with the card printer they are using, it is oftentimes due to that fact that they are not yet used to the equipment they are using. Here are some tips and tricks on how you can incorporate your ideas, not just from artwork designing but also to embossing, tipping, adding a barcode and also thermal printing.

Artwork Designing

Some owners of a particular company would want to incorporate their own designs on the ID card that they would want to represent their company but sometimes they do not know what file format of the design they can use. Some of the file formats that are available are the following: .cdr for CorelDraw; .jpg, .psd, .bmp .tif, for Photoshop; ai for Illustrator and .eps for Freehand. You have to ensure that all of these graphic references created with the use of the CMYK Color Gamut and not the RGB because this would produce an adverse reaction on the accurate reproduction of colors. This applies to both for printing and proofing purposes.
As for the card layout, its size must be 86 x 54mm with 1mm of wrap around. If you would like to require a signature panel, the position & size must also be indicated where you would like to place it.

Embossing

Embossing is a process of raising the characters for printing which you can usually find on credit cards bearing your account number and name. With some card printers features an embossing property.

Tipping

The colored foil that is placed on the embossed area of the card is called a tipping. If a plastic card is tipped with colors, it is more attractive, so you can ensure a greater sense of value of your card.

Encoding

The data that are provided in the magnetic stripe is called the encoding. With the use of this encoding system, it would be a great help for your company's security because your employee's information are stored on its magnetic stripes.

Thermal Printing

The printing procedure that utilizes heat to transport the ink coating into the card is called thermal printing. It is done by melting the ribbon colors are then transferred to the card using a sequence of dots that produces the preferred image on the card.

Barcode

The representation of information that is characterized by bars that are machine readable is called a barcode. These barcodes can be read by barcode readers or optical scanners, its information are scanned by some special software.

Top 10 Tips For Choosing a Web Designer

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 02:46:00 +0000

How to choose one
The more established web design businesses will have a reputation. This is based upon their previous work. When a web designer does a good job, happy customers will be enthusiastic about recommending their work to others who require similar services. It's always a good idea to take a look through some previous work and see if that is the kind of style you are looking for but there are always wider issues to consider such as their experience at making a website truly work for your business in terms of online marketing strategy.

The good or the best
Generally speaking, if you want the best of anything then you are more than likely going to have to pay more. This is because the very best of an industry are in demand. This makes their time worth more money. The web design industry is no different. Sure you can get a good web designer to create a good website for you but if your company doesn't generally settle for anything less then you need a seek out the best.

Taking time with your design
I would expect a great web designer to take lots of time to develop an idea. Rushing is not an option. I would expect a tried and trusted web design process to be followed. This helps each stage of the development to flow and ensures that designs are agreed before the next stage commences. In the world of business requirements can and do change so a website designer who is flexible and offers an iterative approach to design is your best option.

Planning for the future
The chances are that your competitors don't just have a website but have a Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) strategy in place, as well as a Social Media Marketing strategy and overall Internet Marketing Strategy. If this is the case, then to remain competitive, you need one too. When choosing a web design company you are best advised to make sure they consider Web Design as a part of Internet Marketing as opposed to a standalone form of media.

Lots of companies make the mistake of getting one company to do their website, then another to do their SEO, another to create an internet marketing plan. The better option is to choose a single agency which has enough expertise to cover all areas.

Top 10 tips for choosing a Web Designer Right, here goes.
1) Geographical Location
Choose a web designer who is near to you. It's nice to have easy access. Unless you have very specific requirements that realy cannot be serviced by a local company then look local.
2) Expertise
There are a number of ways of judging a web designer's expertise. One way to tell how good they are is to speak to them. Then you will want to know if they are as good as they say they are so examine their work.

3) Experience
Do they have experience in web design and do they have experience developing websites for your industry and the level in the marketplace that your company as achieved or is aiming to achieve.
4) Design Process
What do they actually do to take an idea online. They must use a process. Ask others who have used them for an informal chat about their experiences with the web designer.

5) Cost
Each and every company has a set budget. Maybe this is a fixed figure or a percentage of perceived value to your business. A basic rule of thumb is that if you can't afford to have a website designed which is better than your competitors (or at least as good) then you need to budget more.

6) The Extras
Lots of companies have a website developed. Most businesses have a web presence. But does it work. You need to budget for the extras such as SEO to get your website seen on the search engines.

7) Communication
So you've called up a few web designers and had a chat. Research shows that if you choose to do business with someone who you can get along with then the end product or service will be better than if you can't communicate properly. Illiciting requirements in a project is difficult especially when their are multiple stakeholders involved. Everyone wants to add their personal touch and rightly so. But everyone must be happy with the end product including your end users.
8) Documentation
Sometimes reserved for larger projects but if you lose contact with your web designer later on down the line then you need handover documentation for your new designer or it will end up costing more money to continue the development. A website must grow with your business and be updated frequently so that it doesn't become stale and can help your business keep up with the competition. Be aware that some developers use their own proprietary web design platform which only they can update. There is nothing wrong with this but it does lock you in to using them in the future and it would be difficult for another developer to carry on from where they left off. The worst case scenario might be that you would need to start over from scratch if the original web design company disappeared.

9) Fun
The web design process should be fun. Business should be fun. Can you have fun with your prospective web design company or do you think it will be all hard work. The best way to tell early on is to try a bit of early design and see how the web designer communicates with you.
10) Previous Successes
Who have they worked with? What have they done for them? How successful were their last three projects? If the answer is very successful then go for it!

The New Features in Adobe Illustrator CS5

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 02:52:00 +0000

Adobe Illustrator CS5 is the newest in the Adobe Illustrator line. The previous version offered many great features but what does the CS5 bring to the table? Let's take a look at some of the new features in Adobe's graphic and illustration program.

The one thing that stands out right from the get-go is the multiple artboards feature. This new features allows you to grab any existing artboards and combine it in one document. You can edit them any way you want just like you can do as layers. Up to 100 artboards can be used on one document and you can add, edit, delete, and resize them as well. This is an expansion of the feature that was in Adobe Illustrator CS4.

Another new feature is the Shape Builder tool. You can use this tool to really edit your images without relative ease. You'll be able to overlap shapes, get rid of parts that you don't need, combine different shapes, and fill out any areas very easily. This feature is very helpful if you're trying to design logos and advertising campaign.

The third new feature is the drawing enhancements that have been made. This feature allows you to draw inside a shape or image. If any of your drawing makes it outside, it will be automatically set so that any drawing outside of the shape will be removed. This allows you to spend less time editing your work and will help you create artwork faster.

The fourth new feature is the exciting bristle brush painting. With the bristle brush selected, you can choose from different shapes and sizes. This looks like you've just hand painted something with a real wet brush. It creates a really unique look to your work and you can imagine all the different designs you can create with the new brush.

The fifth new feature is the perspective drawing tools. To start, you can manipulate the grid and choose the vanishing points. Once you have everything set the way you want it, you can start using artwork and set it at different points of the grid. The really unique thing about this feature is that you can put a graphic on the grid and the perspective of the original image will change according to a distance.

For example, if you have a posted on a building grid, it would look much different if it was in the outer edges than closer to the inner edges of the wall. What the perspective features does is change the view of the image according to the distance so that you don't have to create the original image in relation to the perspective.

So those are the 5 new features in Adobe Illustrator CS5. There are many more new features that have been added but it's a huge list to go over. The 5 features in this article are what stand out the most in the CS5. The CS5 is bound to amaze designers with all the new tools available to them.

8 Tips You Didn't Know For Sending Your Design to the Printer

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 08:02:00 +0000

Along with all those years of theory learning and practical experience in creating designs, when you hire a pro designer you also get a whole lot of incidental knowledge about utilizing printing services to get the best result for a design. There is a purpose for all of the dozens of image file types, export options and print settings, though most of us are blissfully unaware of them! Today we tap into that pro knowledge to help you get the same picture-perfect result for your own company marketing materials.

- Provide native application files where possible

Yes, this does give the printing service the opportunity to change things around. However, there's no reason to be concerned over this capability - they have no interest in changing your work! However, providing the native application file (like an Indesign package or CorelDraw file) does allow the printer to export it using their preferred settings, without back-and-forthing too much.

- Include fonts with native application files

Many people don't know that unless a font is installed on a computer, it won't display within a document. You'll need to email your font files (located in Control Panel> Fonts in Windows) along with your pdf or your native application file.

- Include linked images with native application files

It is also easy to forget that although a picture displays properly in InDesign or Illustrator, that display is only good because it references a place on your hard drive. You'll need to include any additional images that are linked to your application file as well, for the printing service - otherwise the picture will come out horribly pixelated!

- Include written instructions detailing file names, etc

It is always good practice not to assume that your trade printer knows which files are supposed to go where. Send a list (either in hard copy or via email) detailing how many copies you need of each document, including the file name, and the stock you were expecting to be used. Include your contact numbers in case there are any problems with the files, or clarification is needed.

- Confirm arrival by email

Ask your printing service to drop you a quick line to let you know they've received the files. If you don't have this confirmation by a particular time, give them a ring to make sure your files haven't been lost in the ether!

- Use Senduit or other file sharing site for large files

Email client timeouts often mean that it isn't possible for printing services to receive large files (above 10 megs) via email. A great alternative are file sharing services such as Senduit, where you upload the file to a web server, and your printer downloads it.

- Compress your file if possible with Zip or Stuffit

You can make the entire sending process much easier by compressing the file with a program like Zip for Windows, or StuffIt for Mac.

- Do your own printout before sending

Do your own printout before you send the file to the printer. It is a quirk of the human eye that we often simply don't see mistakes on the screen which are glaringly obvious on the printed page. If you don't want to be making last minute frantic phone calls to the printer asking them to pull the plates because you've discovered you misspelt a word... print first!

Various Advantages of PDF File Format

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 03:40:00 +0000

A Portable Document Format is a non-editable computer application which has been designed and introduced by Adobe Systems in 1993. It is a file format that is equipped with the compression algorithms which is used for compressing the graphics or images in a document. The algorithms are the ones that can make the size of the PDF files smaller and portable. As a result of this feature, a PDF file format has become portable and compatible across platforms.

How can you create a PDF file format?

A Portable Document Format is an application that can be created easily. There are two ways of creating a PDF document. One method is that a person can scan the document and then save the file in a Portable Document Format and this is called scanned PDF documents.

The other method is to use PDF converter computer program and these tools are the ones with which you can easily convert a Word or any other application into PDF file. These are called native Portable Document Format applications. By using these tools, you can create the non-editable files out of Word, Excel, Power Point and many more applications. All these are easy and simple ways to create a Portable Document Format file format.

Benefits of the PDF file format:

A Portable Document Format is an application which can be used for incorporating vast amount of information. You can incorporate multimedia effects to the document or an application in such a manner so that the file becomes interactive in nature. One can even make the content of a PDF documents secure or safe by encrypting the document with passwords, digital signatures or certificates. These are the three main ways to secure the content of the file.

You can change the layout or insert the graphics or images into the document. The compression algorithms can make the documents or files compatible and portable across multiple platforms. With this application, you can make your content secure and intact as well as professional in appearance. So with so many benefits, you can create PDF documents using word to PDF converter and make your documents more intact.

Fiter Kill is a skilled internet marketer having more than 10 years of experience. He has taught many people the strategies to build up and leverage wealth. This time he has written article on Word to PDF and PDF Converter.

190 + Trend Of 2010 Eye Catching Ecommerce Website Designs

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 17:06:00 +0000

A great web design can effectively communicate with the visitors and convey information in a clean manner. Designing a Ecommerce website is a challenging task that requires a designer to break communication barriers while showing clear idea of the websites.

we bring you 190 + Trend Of 2010 Eye Catching Ecommerce Website Designs that are not only beautiful but are also effective in presenting themselves as an online shop. Please go through the websites and let us know which ones are your favorites in terms of their design and usability.

Yellowood Store

Wrangler

Wireandtwine

Wearable Print

Water CMS
Waltzingmouse Stamps

Walstick

Vitsœ

Versions

Vael Project

UPPERCASE

United Pixelworkers

uniquemartique

UNIQLO UK

Ugmonk

Tungsten Rings for Men

TON

Tilly Moss

Threadless

The Well Body Store

The Little Zebra

The Few Gallery

The Famous 4th Street Cookie

The Cotswold Company

The Book Garden

teez

Teez
Surf Ride Surf Shops

Super Lamb Banana

Storyville Coffee Company

Steve & Co.

Steve & Co.

St. John
Squarespace

Sprinkle Penny

Sony Style USA

Socialite
Snupped

Snow Sport Protection

slipper-shop

ShopHouseOfSpy

Shopflick

shop.ugmonk

Shop Curious
Shoe Guru

Seibei

Sebastoni

Scarafaggio

Saturized

Sanction Snowboards & Skateboards

rüsthaus
Royal Bank of Scotland

Roxy

Rip Curl

Rifle Paper Co.

Reiss

Reinvigorate

rediswhite

Red Is White

Rapha

PUMA2
PUMA

Play in Traffik
Perfume Point

Perfect Order

Paulstuart
Otteny
Other Criteria

Onehub
Olive & Myrtle
Office VP

Ocean Sales
Oakley

North Face

Nixonnow

Nineteen47

Nine Fashion

Nike

Nicola Whitman

New Look

Nestliving

Nest Living

Nectar

narwhalcompany

Narwhal Co.

MySoti

Mowhawk

Mister Spex

Mission Bicycle Company

Martha Rey

Marine Layer

Mama-La-Mode.com

Madison

Loja Birds

Loft

Lodger Footwear

Little Kids Bedrooms

Little Catwalk

Lifejacket

Levi.com

letter-photo

LePush Mail

LemonStand

La Portegna

La Belle Epoque

Kuhn's Jewelers

Krop

Kiki & Bree

kauppa.yalo

Kauppa Yalo

Justgonesix

Journeys Shoes

Jedal Italian Fashion

JAQK Wine Cellars

iWorkwear.nl

Itself

Hydrokultúra

Husky CZ

howies

House Industries

Hommu

Hollister Co.

Hokey Croquis

Harry Winston

Harley-Davidson USA

Hard Graf

Habitat Shoe Boutique

GSelect

GroveMade

Grana and Mau

godiva2

Godiva

GNC

GLUE Interactive Media

Gist

Ginger Pup Lane

getyubo

Gargyle

Ganobi & Grant

Fugitive Toys

Fred Perry

Foot Locker

Flirt Catalog

Fenn Wright Manson

Farfetch.com

Energie Online Store

Emptees

Duffle Coats UK

Duffle Coats

Duchy of cornwall nursery

Dolce Touch

DogCollars.ca

DKNY

Diva

designcollectors

D&Department Project

Customtoronto

CuCuu

Crate & Barrel

converse.com

Columbia Sportswear

Coach

Clear Spring

cinniaedua

Chrome Bag Store

Checkout.App

Charlotte Russe

Charles David

Cellarthief

Cat Watches from Caterpillar

Capuccino Wbe Framework

Campfire

Campaign Monitor

Business Catalyst

Build-A-Bear

Brutus Trimfit

Bronson Vitamins

Bridge 55

Bonjour Mon Coussin

Bonfire Snowboarding Apparel

Blossom Mother and Child

Blik

Bilka

Better Closet

Baby Besos

Atom Bicycles

Archiduchesse

Ann Taylor

Alexandalexa

Agnes B

Acne

Abercrombie & Fitch

Web Designing Info

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 16:27:00 +0000

Web design is a field where you can develop a web site created by the professionals. The process has often been considered as the same as web development, this was a misleading concept because the development of the web is a larger project is the composition of many of the web of disciplines that web design is an important part.

Whenever you start to create a website design, you should always think about what your users want? For instance the user of Orange County Web Design if not, then it is time that you begin to learn about your audience and understand their needs. After all, the main reasons why you try to find a good design, because you want to attract the attention of your audience for generating more traffic. And the only way you can achieve these goals is to think about what your users want and use them in the design of your website.

Online users, which could be Orange County Web Design users, are often very impatient, and probably because they were accustomed to high-speed connections and the browser experience easier. So if you find a place so difficult to do and takes too long to load, shuts down immediately and move on the next page. That is why we need to work to make your website design more accessible to their readers. Be sure to add menus, search boxes, FAQs, classified positions, site maps and other navigation tools for visitors to use. Also, avoid using graphic effects such as Flash and JavaScript, because they give your site a slow load time.

One of the many things that users complain on a website is the choice of fonts and colors. It is very important that you choose a font and color is soothing on the eyes or your visitors will have a hard time browsing the content. Always use readable fonts, lighter backgrounds and darker font colors for your web design.

Designing a website is not just about being creative, but it also has much to do with editorial content relevant to your users. Remember that no matter how good your web layout, it would be helpful if the news articles you post are months or years of delay. Therefore, you must maintain fresh content and updates to your website if you want to increase your online traffic and profits effectively. Do, and your users will surely love to go back to your website on a solid foundation.

How to use Photoshop Channels and masks

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 07:39:00 +0000

The Channels palette stones colour information about an image and can also be used to store selections on a permanent basis.

Masks are created and used in a variety of ways in photoshop. The basic principle of masks is that you use them to protect areas of an image from editing that you carry out on the unmasked areas of the image.

Use Quick Mask mode when you don’t want to save the mask for future use. Layer masks control how different areas of pixels on a layer are hidden or revealed.

Covers
Quick Mask Mode
The Channels Palette
Saving and Loading Selections
Editing Alpha Channel Masks
Layer Masks
Channel and Quick Mask Options