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If you are interested in a graphic design career, you have to understand that it takes a lot of groundwork to build your foundation on. Having talent for colors, shapes and images is one thing. Developing them into assets is another.

Do not be disillusioned by the impression that people who know a great deal about image-editing software such as Photoshop can carve a great future out of a graphic design career. Photoshop and its counterparts are tools which are necessary but not critical in the development of your graphic design career.

You will have to undergo intensive modules on basic drawing, rules of typography, image composition, principles of visual communication and also software application.

To be a good graphic designer, you will not only require a flair for pretty fonts and cool layouts but also the ability to think objectively for the project you are working on. This means you cannot simply throw in all your artistic temperaments onto the design, but you must be able to communicate the message that your client is trying to project to its customers.

A graphic design career is possibly one of the most challenging yet exciting careers that one can pursue. It is fast-paced, adrenaline pumping, full of oohs and aahs, and the best of all; you get paid for your creativity.

It is such a satisfying emotion being able to see your work on billboards, magazines, television, web, newspaper and a whole of other media. A graphic design career also opens up opportunities for you to expand your creativity to advertising, video production and the electronic media.

In a typical graphic design career ladder, you can expect to work first as an illustrator, layout artist, junior designer, designer, senior designer, art director, creative director and finally the head of your own design consultancy firm.

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Design for Communication: Conceptual Graphic Design Basics Review

Professor Resnick’s new text, Graphic Design for Communication offers a fresh, innovative approach to teaching visual communication in general and graphic design in particular. She presents many conceptual design principles in a format that is easy-to-understand, practical, and clear in its organizational hierarchy. The book provides intelligent, pragmatic lessons about design that will be of use to both students and teachers alike.

The book’s most notable strength lies in its author’s unique approach to the subject matter. In the past, most authors have tackled the task of writing an instructional text on design by focusing on a few basic principles of the craft and supplementing these with exercises designed to impart specific skills and techniques to the reader. In contrast, Resnick has employed a far more inclusive, conceptually focused approach. Like her peers, as an educator she does offer text that presents her perspective on various basic design principles. Yet unlike many others her focus is clearly on the reason we design-namely to effectively express and communicate ideas. And again unlike some other texts, ideas about BOTH form and content are give their due here. The different principles explored each section are illuminated with appropriate exercises. This is where Resnick’s book shines as a unique accomplishment. For her illustrative exercises, Resnick invited a remarkable group of international educators to work with her as collaborators. All were invited to submit their best assignments along with student work for inclusion. In this respect, Graphic Design for Communication is unlike most other texts because it offers an inclusive diversity of approaches to design and will certainly be a great tool for educators. As a text for use at all levels of instruction, it offers the best, “road-tested”, assignments for lecturers to draw upon as inspiration when explaining the principles of design to students. The numerous exercises impart information in a manner that is at once both practical and conceptually expressive.

Graphic Design for Communication features a structure that is pragmatic and clear. Each section opens with a well-written, articulate introduction to a different design principle (e.g., basic elements of design; typography as both image and semiotic message; word and image relationships; the grid and visual hierarchy; and visual advocacy). This text is followed by a series of design assignments (from basic to advanced) that teach students how to effectively integrate ideas with various techniques and processes. The design exercises are amply illustrated with examples of real student work completed in response to the assignments. In addition, most of the student samples include a brief process statement from the student as well as a critical instructor evaluation. As another reviewer pointed out, students will certainly appreciate the many illustrations (some in color) and the opportunity to examine both the process and critical evaluation of peer work outside the classroom. By using student work for examples (as opposed to those created by master designers), Resnick succeeds in bringing both the assignments and the creative design process to life.

Because of the great range of exercises included, this text will serve both students and educators as a useful handbook. For anyone who has either audited a class or wished they could have, the book is a joy. It is a little like auditing the “best of” graphic design education-all the more rewarding because the author was enlightened enough to collect some assignments and visual examples from cultures outside the U.S.

Professor Resnick deserves special credit for her concise editing and clean layout. I suspect one of the challenges in a compilation of this sort had to be the careful editing of her collaborator’s assignments. It would appear that she did not just leave them to their own devices in this regard. Rather, as an educator herself she has thoughtfully and carefully applied her writing skills to the task. The result is a well-considered, consistent survey of the principles that guide modern graphic design. In addition, I must add that her bibliography is outstanding. It should be adopted as a standard reading list for anyone interested in the field.

As with the very best cookbooks (I am thinking of the classics here, such as Rombauer and Becker’s Joy of Cooking or Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking) this book will find a place in the libraries of both novices and experienced students of design. Like those texts, it effectively explains the important principles that guide all design work. Her decision to present contemporary master “recipes” (those proven to work in the classroom) introduces students to design as a thoughtful “process” without forfeiting any artistry or pleasure along the way. It is clear that Professor Resnick is passionate about her work as BOTH a designer and educator and in this book she she shares that pleasure with us, the reader.

Design for Communication: Conceptual Graphic Design Basics Overview

Complete coverage of basic design principles illustrated by student examples

Design for Communication offers a unique approach to mastering the basic design principles, conceptual problem-solving methods, and critical-thinking skills that distinguish graphic designers from desktop technicians.

This book presents forty-two basic to advanced graphic design and typography assignments collaboratively written by college educators to teach the fundamental processes, concepts, and techniques through hands-on applications. Each assignment is illustrated with actual student solutions, and each includes a process narrative and an educator’s critical analysis revealing the reasoning behind the creative strategies employed by each individual student solution.

Assignments are organized from basic to advanced within six sections:
* The elements and principles of design
* Typography as image
* Creative word play
* Word and image
* Grid and visual hierarchy
* Visual advocacy

Design for Communication is a highly visual resource of instruction, information, ideas, and inspiration for students and professionals.

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There is one real problem when it comes to online business card printing and that problem is in the design. In most cases, you need to design your own layout before starting the printing process.

This is important especially if you want to print them online. It is only logical for this to happen since you will have no design help at all, unless you help yourself. Do not get troubled though since help can easily be found through five basic design tools in business card printing. Just read on and discover what these tools can do for you.

1. A computer – Of course your best and most important design tool is a computer. Of course, it must not be any kind of computer mind you. It should be a good and fast computer that can crunch up image design tasks in a flash. So make sure you secure the use of a high performance computer for your use in business card design.

2. Layout template – Another important design tool is the layout template. Layout templates for business cards are basically pre-set documents with specific standard business card dimensions and guidelines in them. This helps a designer to quickly create a business card layout since most of the guidelines and dimensions have already been set into the file. So for a quicker and easier time in designing color business cards, make sure you have it.

3. Different font style resources – Typography is also a crucial element in designing color business cards. This means that you will need to have several “font styles” to choose from to see and experiment how your business card text looks like in different styles. That is why you will need to use the Internet to find font style resources such as websites and font databases. You can easily find free fonts on the Internet by using a simple search engine.

4. Design software – Of course, to marry all your fonts, and layouts together, you will need some sort of design software. There are plenty of applications out there that can let you design business cards specifically, In fact there are a couple of online applications that let you do just that.

However, for a more precise way of controlling your design, you should try using common desktop publishing applications such as Microsoft Office, or may even some image editing applications such as Adobe photo shop. In most of these types of software, you can even add images and other design elements to make your designs a little bit more interesting. So make sure you use this kind of software if you want to be in control.

5. Design references – Finally, to make sure that your design is good and workable you need several design references. This can easily be found on the Internet as well. Websites like Wikipedia can provide simple information about the proper international standards of business card printing, including the proper dimensions, layouts and other design preferences. Moreover, you can also try to look at other business card design websites so that you can have an idea of how business cards look today.

So there you have it, the five common business card design tools that you must learn to use or have. Try to have all of them before starting your design in earnest.

Kaye Z. Marks is an avid writer and follower of the developments in online business card printing or business card printing industry.

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