Graphic designers who are passionate about drawing and painting can find a balance between fine art and graphic design by specialising in illustration. Long before print and digital technology the drawn image was used for communication, enabling mankind to record and describe the complexities of everyday life. Today’s illustrators have…
Every day we encounter advertising, whether it’s in newspapers or magazines, outdoor billboards, television or even on the internet. In today’s world Advertising is everywhere and is a major aspect of graphic design. The designer uses images and words to convey a message to an audience and tries to persuade…
According to Wikipedia Graphic Design is a creative process, referring to artistic and professional disciplines that focus on visual communication and presentation. The term Graphic Design has many aspects from advertising to typography and is often referred to as Visual Arts or Information Design. To be a graphic designer means…
Most prominent South African Logos can compete with the high standards of international branding. Some are even internationally recognisable. Visual marks for identification have been used for centuries, but never has the world of logo design been so fast-paced and competitive. With new digital techniques and designers constantly striving to…
I have had a few queries regarding where to study Graphic Design – at Universities or Independent Schools. In my previous blog post, Where to study graphic design in South Africa, I listed a few noteworthy tertiary institutions in South Africa which offer graphic design, and basically left it up…
In South Africa we have no print publications specialising in graphic and web design – or none that I know of… Thank goodness for the internet, as this provides us with much needed inspiration, tutorials and features. But sometimes it’s good to have a printed magazine. So here is a…
jQuery is a fast and concise JavaScript Library that simplifies HTML document traversing, event handling, animating, and Ajax interactions for rapid web development. It’s easy to use and can make a huge difference to the look of your website. You can download the latest version of JQuery here. Below is…
As a freelance graphic and web designer, I am always looking for inspiration and new techniques and the best place to find it is on the web. There are thousands of designers and developers out there who are eager to share their resources and knowledge with the world. But, you…
What is good Website Design? Design versus functionality is probably the most important factor when designing a website. The first time you view a website, what do you look for? I suppose that depends on the purpose of your visit. But, once you have loaded the page, are you going…
So you want to be a graphic designer and don’t know where to start? Well back in the day when I decided to study graphic design there weren’t many design schools to choose from, but today you have a choice of independent schools, colleges, universities and universities of technology. You can do a short course, diploma or even a degree.