Good typography is key to a successful book illustration. Illustrator and designer Fitz Fitzpatrick explains how to go about creating it.

Whilst I was researching children’s books, in preparation for my own Timmy Tompkins’ Awesome Fantasy Comic Book Superhero Adventure (my next book’s title is going to be a lot shorter I assure you), I was a pretty disappointed by the sheer lack of variety, and in essence creativity when it came to the typography.


The vast majority of it looked like an afterthought. Just slapped in there, smack bang over an illustration, with no thought given to its placement, styling, or just making it plain interesting to look at.

It’s a kid’s book. The typography should have just as much importance as the illustrations themselves, they should work together.  Hence, it’s fair to say that I really wanted to go to town with the typography when it came to doing my own book, and hopefully I did. So here are a few general tips and that to help when incorporating typography into your illustration, whether it be for a one off piece or a children’s book.


01. Do your research


Research what types of fonts others have used for similar work
This is one of the first things I did when starting my book, and I think it’s super important and applicable to any project.  Researching helps you get a good idea of what’s been done before, what’s out there currently, and to get your creative juices flowing (gross) so to speak.  This is really important if you’re an illustrator that hasn’t done a lot of typographic work, or you’re about to tackle a style you’re unfamiliar with.

Fortunately, I’ve been lucky enough to work at a whole bunch of different agencies, where I’ve learnt a good mix of illustration and design, and that really helps when it comes to incorporating typography into my illustrations.

If you’re looking for a starting point, always check out Dribbble or even Behance. There are a lot of really talented typographical illustrators out there, and that’s where I go a lot for a good old bit of inspiration.

02. Start drawing


Diving in and drawing blind sometimes leads to unexpectedly creative results
It’s also important, of course, not to get too bogged in just looking at other people's work for inspiration, to the point where you never actually create anything yourself. So just start sketching out some compositions, graphical elements to house your text, just have fun and experiment - you’ll never know what you’ll come up with.

It can be best to just start drawing blind in a way, I’ve come up with what I think are some of my best stuff when just drawing from me braincase, but it’s not for all.

03. One font doesn't fit all


The font needs to match the illustration style
Don’t just go picking any random font just because you happen to like it or you always use it. Make sure it fits well and matches up with the style of your illustration.

I’ve seen this a lot in children’s books where they’ve just popped the text in as Helvetica or Garamond, thinking it will just go with any style of illustration. At the end of the day, though, it just looks rubbish; like it was made on the cheap and put together by a chimp using Gimp.

04. Where to find fonts


There are plenty of places to find great fonts
If you’re short on fonts have a look on The Lost Type Co-Op. There are some absolutely lovely fonts on there, which you can all pick up for free, but you should pay for them as they’re well worth it.

I've used quite a few fonts from that site for my book as well as other projects, and I have loads that I can’t wait throw into a project. For other places to find decent fonts, check out this collection of resources.

05. Create your own typography


Why not create your own typography?
If you can’t find a font that suits your style, or the particular project you’re working on, have a go at creating one yourself. This is advice I should take myself, although it can be intimidating creating your own font, and hand lettering can be difficult if you don’t do it regularly.

06. Make sure it's legible


Readability is the most important thing
So you’ve got yourself some absolutely wizard fonts, or you’ve drawn up a rad composition with some lovely illustrated typography. Now the most important question needs to be asked - can other people read it?

It’s important to get another pair of eyes to look over your typography because at the end of the day if it isn’t readable then you’re buggered.  It might look pretty and have some damn sexy curves, but you’ll hear rumblings of “that c looks like an e”, or, “is that word in French?”

07. Ask: is it needed?

This is a lovely little question that you should ask yourself fairly regularly. Don’t self-indulge and throw typography in there for the sake of it: it’ll end up just being utterly arbitrary.

I've done illustrations in the past where I’ve felt the need to pop some type in there because the illustration is weak. It's easy to do but it's ultimately futile - you need to be honest about why you're doing and consider starting again with a new illustration.

As a freelance web designer, you need more and more clients not just earn money but also establish your network as well creating as creating creating trust in your clients. The five reasons why clients cannot hire or find you include...

1. Repulsive headline, tagline and descriptions in your portfolio
2. No fancy nickname that your clients will be fond of remembering
3. Not writing about the results
4. Lack of confidence in your skills
5. Keeping everything complex

Here are simple tips that  help resolve the above issues and hence get you more clients.

Write a catchy headline, tagline, and descriptions. Ask a friend, your parents, and even your favorite teacher, including Mr. Cuddles, if your tagline or headline is memorable enough. Your friends will make fun of you, your parents will support you 100%, your favorite teacher will give you a good feedback, and Mr. Cuddles will probably just doze off. Your goal is to make them not forget it. Make a promise and fulfill it.

Give yourself a fancy nickname that people will be fond of remembering. We all give nicknames to people we don’t know, and they, too, don’t know about it. We give them nicknames because they are so memorable. It can work the other way around. Name yourself and never be forgotten. Do you know Soda Guy? Or Cute Cathy? You know what I mean…I bet you call your pizza delivery guy Pizza Man.

Write about the results, not the process. I just want my burger, I don’t want to know the ingredients and how you cooked it to its perfect golden brown color.

Show them that you have what they want. Tell them you can redesign their website and modernize it or that you can design any website they want you to design. Make them feel their problems will be solved in just one or two sentences.

KISS.
Not Keeping It Simple and Smart...Simply "Keep It Short and Sweet"

Need more?View details: 5 killer tips that will get you clients

What is color psychology ? It is the study of color as a determinant of human behavior for example quantification of individual color preferences. When, looking at the color used Color  is a key factor when you are branding your product. Different colors mean or symbolize something different to various cultures in the world, and entice different emotions. The infographic below tries to illustrate color psychology in simple clear manner.

We all love Photoshop. It has done wonders for all designers, photographers and hobbyists by providing a one-program solution for all the design needs. It is very flexible, easy to use and readily available. Its tools are so perfectly fitting for all the design needs, you’ll never look for another! This is the main reason why we all love this amazing program, right?

But behind all of these quirky features, do we all know where it all began? Do you know the history of Adobe Photoshop? Aren’t we all curious where our favorite software came from? Who made it? Well, this calls for a history lesson.

The tale began in 1987 when PhD student Tom Knoll wrote a graphics application in a Macintosh Plus. The software was used to display gray scale images on a monochrome display. Knoll called it ‘Display.’ We could now consider Display as the unofficial father of our beloved Photoshop.
Tom’s brother John, who works at Industrial Light and Magic, saw the program. Being a photo-enthusiast, John persuaded his brother to turn it into an image editing software. He eventually finished it after taking a six-month break from his studies. Tom tried to call it ImagePro (image, if this was pursued, we will all say, I ImagePro-ed my photo). Good thing was, the name was already taken for copyright so he opted to call it Photoshop (version 0.07). Tom eventually managed to sell it to a scanner manufacturer.

Photoshop’s Early Versions

On September 1989, everything changed for Photoshop when Adobe bought it. A year after, on February 1, 1990, Photoshop 1.0 was released. It included digital color editing and retouching. It was dedicated for use in high-end platforms such as the SciTex and costs $300 the for basic photo retouching.
Photoshop improved its features as it was set for version 2.0. And so it was, on June 1, 1990 when Photoshop released its second version adding Paths, CMYK color and the Pen tool. We attribute much of the Pen tool to a guy named Mark Hamburg.
Version 2.5 was later released in November as it addressed for the first release of the Windows OS. Photoshop also added palettes in this version.

In 1994, Photoshop 3.0 was released. This version now included layers. This saved the arses of a lot of designers who loved to add a more complex feel in their creations. Tom Knoll was the man who made all these possible.
It took two years for Photoshop to release version 4.0, which added adjustment layers and macros. Imagine if Photoshop developers haven’t thought of these, we will still take a very long time to put watermark on our photos. They made life easier. Also, 4.0 also started the user interface we all see today.
On May 1 1998, version 5.0 came out featuring its newest functions the editable type and the ability to undo actions various times using the History palette. Area selection was also made easier with the addition of the magnetic lasso tool. A year later, 5.5 came out and added the Save for Web feature. (Thanks to 5.5 we can export PNGs!)
As the new millennium dawned, Photoshop 6.0 came out. Vector shapes were featured in this version. The type tool was also revolutionized by adding a feature where you can directly type text even without defining a bounding box to it. Blending options were also added.
Two years later came 7.0, which introduced a new file browser that allowed the users to easily look through folders. Brushes were also added together with the patch tool.
Creative Series Era
As Photoshop continued to evolve, it came with cooler and cooler features. This was marketed into a vast pack of software in which Photoshop was the leading brand. It was called the Creative Suite. It basically catered to all design needs, ranging from graphic design to layouting, photography to film.

Photoshop CS (or Photoshop 8.0) was the first version to come out in 2003. It had a Counterfeit Deterrence System (CDS), which reused duplication of paper currency. With the release of CS came also scripts and languages. Grouping of layers was also introduced in this version, making the usage of the program easier.
Meanwhile, in 2005, CS2 came out. This version added the red-eye removal tool, and vanishing point tool. Smart objects, which allowed users to blow up or trim down images without it loosing quality, was also introduced.
With the release of CS3 in 2007, speed was the major change.  CS3 optimized changes with the tools. It made the navigation and usage of Photoshop faster and easier. Adobe Camera Raw and the Quick Selection Tool were also introduced.
In 2008, CS4 came out. It was evident that panning and zooming were made easier. Mask and Adjustment panels were also included which made Masking easier.
After two years, in 2010, Photoshop released CS5. It added the Puppet Warp Tool, Bristle tips, Mixer Brush and Automatic Lens correction. Masking was improved further.
At last, on May 7, 2012, CS6 came out with a very new and darker UI. It included newer features like autosaving, patch and move tools, blur gallery and vector shapes with dotted or dashed strokes.
Creative Cloud
As you are reading this article, Adobe is already on the process of refining the software. One of the major innovations we have had is the Creative Cloud series. This is a service from the Adobe Systems which gives users access to the company’s design software.

CC works on a software as service model where users can ‘rent’ the usage of the suite for a charge. This tries to eliminate piracy while minimizing the expenditure of companies with their design software.
Photoshop’s CC version includes various changes. With CC, you are granted with more liberty, speed and make images ‘incredibly real’. You can work straight with Behance and get feedback with your projects instantly. This newest installment of Photoshop uses features like Smart Sharpen, which turns low-res images to high-res. It also allows Camera Shake Reductions which allow the users to restore sharpness in motion-blurred shots.

Conclusion

Looking back into Photoshop, we will see how a simple idea can evolve into a useful and impacting tool. Without the Knoll’s display, we would not have our favorite software, right? This just proves that Photoshop, like us web designers, can evolve and be better. We continue to remove our bugs, improve our tools (and sometimes redesign our UI) to become better people. And, hopefully, like Photoshop, we will emerge as successful web designers.
Article source 1stwebdesigner

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. True or not, images are an important part of any website we create. Since it is so easy to embed an image in a website (even the process of creating your own images is very easy), most websites are filled with them. There are some very good examples out there on how to deal with images in a website from different points of view, but most of the websites do not showcase positive examples. And while this is not entirely dangerous for a design, it might decrease your chances to sell, in case you have a call-to-action page, or the chances to create good reading flow.Read full article