tentang psd dan tutorial blogging

Freelancing: Is it for Dummies?
Unusual Inpsiration
50 Tints of Green
Vintage Ad Designs
Letterpress and Letter Bulge Effect using Photoshop and CSS
How to design a Minimalistic Blog Theme
Top 20 Free Fonts for Your Creative Projects
Showcase of Beautiful and Inspiring Workplaces
14 Important Writing Tips For Graphic Design Bloggers
25 Unique & Creative World Map Designs

Posted: 28 Sep 2013 01:16 AM PDT

Freelance graphic design opens up a world of possibilities to those who enjoy freedom over the security of a typical 9-5 job. Freelancing has pros as well as cons, and understanding them is essential to making a decision regarding the direction to take in your career. Deciding whether to freelance as a graphic designer is an important choice in a designer's career that requires careful consideration.

So, is freelance graphic design the right career for you?
First, consider the pros:

1) Potentially higher income:

When working on your own, you have the option of working as many jobs as you can reasonably handle. You can work weekends, holidays, whenever you like. This frees freelancers up to pursue higher-paying projects which may require a higher time investment than a firm is able to offer.

2) Freedom:

Freelancers set their own hours, take sick days when they need to and can schedule vacation times to suit their own needs. The freelancer's schedule can be part or full time, depending on the need to create income. Not only do freelancers enjoy the freedom to set their own schedule, they are also free to work from wherever they like, whether that means a home office or a internet cafe.

3) Choice of Clients:

Graphic designers working on a team or for a corporation are assigned to a specific client. Freelancers are free to work for the clients who pay the best or who they enjoy working with. Unlike corporate drones, freelancers are free to pick and choose their clients.

Cons:

1) Potentially lower income:

While freelancers are free to earn as much as they are able, they are also free to slack off and earn nothing at all. If you're not self-disciplined, it may be difficult to generate a sustained income. Freelancing means that not only is the freelancer the boss, they're the the only source of structure and discipline. If that structure falls apart, only the freelancer is responsible for fixing it.

2) Inconsistent income:

Freelance income, even when a freelancer is working as many projects as possible, is unpredictable and inconsistent. Payments come in whenever the clients make payment. And if the client refuses to pay, for whatever reason, it may be very difficult to collect. Freelancers don't have corporate clout behind them when it comes to collections. Large payments might require a trip to small claims court to collect, and the payment might not be worth the cost of going to court.

3) Personal responsibility:

Finally, a freelancer is solely responsible for accounting, paperwork, record keeping, contracts and every other aspect of paperwork. A graphic designer should only consider freelancing if they are willing to take on the full responsibility of not only the design work but the running of the business as well. For the independent, self-motivated, well-networked and talented designer, freelancing can be a lucrative profession.

Unusual Inpsiration

Posted: 21 Sep 2013 01:20 AM PDT

Inspiration isn't hard to come by with the world wide web at our fingertips, but sometimes we need to step outside the box of conventional thinking and examine some more unusual sources of inspiration. By stretching beyond the tried and true, inspiration becomes fresher, more effective and leads to better design.

Here are some sources and examples of sources of graphic design inspiration that might help your designs reach the next level of unique expression.

Science:

Scientific photography provides us with some bizarre, unusual and beautiful images.

Nature:

While everyone suggests nature as a source of inspiration, there is value in getting out and getting green. Looking beyond the back yard helps widen horizons and open us to new ideas and creativity.

Getting out into nature helps loosen tension and provides inspiration.

History:

Looking at art from years past can offer insight and perspective.

Vintage prints and illustrations can provide new ideas and cultural insights. Picture-book illustrations can provide a wide array of artistic styles and images.

Perspective:

When all else fails, looking at objects and situations from a different angle or point of view can open up new ways of seeing.

Sometimes it's all about perspective.

A different point of view can change your whole outlook.

50 Tints of Green

Posted: 16 Sep 2013 01:23 AM PDT

The wild success of last year's best-seller, 50 Shades of Grey, was a shock to many in the writing community. The story began as a work of fiction written by a fan of the Twilight vampire franchise. It began life as a story on a website dedicated to works of fiction by fans. Within months, the story had been read and reviewed by over 20,000 readers. Because of the enormous exposure and popularity of the work, an editor jumped at the chance to publish the re-written, original book by the same author.

What does all this mean to you as a freelance graphic designer? This is a case study in thinking outside the box. This author achieved success by a very unconventional means. She published on a website, rather than self-publishing or turning to e-books, or even following the traditional route of submitting her work to publishers. EL James succeeded by pushing the boundaries of tradition. You can, too.

For graphic designers, crowd-sourcing "contests" are the equivalent of e-books and self publishing for writers. Joining the crowd-sourcing trend is a good way for graphic designers to hone their craft and to get noticed in the very competitive world of freelancing. Crowd-sourcing has a long and benevolent history. Video game beta testing is an early form of crowd-sourcing that gave the industry a taste for large pools of potentially high-quality, cheap feedback, which soon evolved in to large pools of potentially high-quality, cheap labor.

When a crowd offers work, companies can sift through ideas and choose those which seem most effective.

So, what does this mean to you as a freelancer? It means that there are opportunities available to those who wish to participate in crowd-sourcing contests. Whether or not crowd-sourcing is a good choice for freelancers depends on what the freelancer expects to get out of it. If you're looking for an opportunity to hone your skills and challenge yourself by comparing your capabilities against others in the industry, then entering a crowd-sourcing contest is an excellent opportunity for growth. For professional freelancer graphic designers, crowd-sourcing contests might be an opportunity to land a contract with a big-name company, a foot in the door, so to speak. With an opportunity to put work in front of companies, comes a chance to present work to some of the larger companies in the industry.

Vintage Ad Designs

Posted: 19 Aug 2013 01:36 AM PDT

Advertising and design change with each new decade. Ideas and social mores come and go. What was humorous in one decade may be considered offensive or even disturbing just a few short years later. These sixteen designs are examples of how design that reflects commonly accepted cultural norms in one era can be construed as completely unacceptable in the next.

Probably the most disturbing advertisement in our line-up, this one takes the cake… but not the coffee.

Well, there you have it, folks. Some of the most disturbing vintage ads from the 50′s, 60′s and 70′s. What advertising examples can you think of today that will be out-of-date or unacceptable in the next 30-50 years?

Letterpress and Letter Bulge Effect using Photoshop and CSS

Posted: 15 May 2010 01:07 AM PDT

Graphic design is an ever-growing industry. With the trends toward more modern and sophisticated design, letterpress and letter bulge effects are popular. Designing the effects in Photoshop is simple, but transforming them into code used to be impossible. Now it's possible to transfer the effect from Photoshop to CSS nearly effortlessly, streamlining the design process. This tutorial will show you how to create letterpress and letter bulge effects in Photoshop and transfer them to a CSS file.

The first step is to create the design in Photoshop. Start a new file:

Now, fill the entire background area with the color #3c3c3c. This is to highlight the text while we apply the effects.

Now pick up the Typing tool and write some thing (eg: psd-tutorial). Make sure that the font color is #7b7b7b. This will give a nice look to the text while we apply the effects.

Right-click the text layer (psd-tutorial) in the Layer Panel and select Blending Options. We are giving the magical touch to the text in this window.

Tick the Inner Shadow and set the attributes to the following values:

Opacity: 80%

Angle: 120

Distance: 2

Choke: 0

Size: 3 and press OK.

Now you can see the amazing text-press effects for your text just like the following image. Isn't it amazing ?

Now we'll move on to the text bulge effect. For that, again select the type tool and make another text:

Here I just typed 'complete psd tutorials'. Make sure that the font color is again #7b7b7b.

Now again, go to the newly created text layer in the layer panel and right click, choose Blending Options.

This time, tick the Drop Shadow effect instead of Inner Shadow and set the values:

Opacity: 83%

Angle: 120

distance: 1

Spread: 0

Size: 3

Make sure that the color selected is black. Now press OK.

Here we go. That's all about the Text bulge effect. How is this going? Interesting right?

Okay, now we are moving on to the second part, that is coding of these letters. I'm using Adobe Dreamweaver for that.

First, create a new HTML page:

You will get a page like this. Here, we are doing the html codes for the page. Save this file as index.html

Now put the following codes in between <body> and </body>

Next, we will have to create the CSS file for the same. So Take a new CSS page.

You will get a page like this. You can write the code after the default texts.

Just copy and paste this code in to the file.

body {
background: #b1b1b1 url(bg.png);
}

h1 {
font-size:80px;
text-align: center;
font-family:Rockwell;
color: #7b7b7b;
text-shadow: 0px 2px 1px #bbbaba;
}

h2 {
font: 60px Rockwell;
text-align: center;
color: #7b7b7b;
text-shadow: 0px 2px 5px #000000;

}

If you don't have the Rockwell font in your list, try to add the font to the font-family. You can simply click the Edit font list and add the new font to the list.

Just select the rockwell font from the available fonts category and click the insert button pointed by the arrow in the image.

That's all with the CSS styling. Save the file as style.css in the same folder where you saved the index.html. The main code behind the effect is the text-shadow attribute.

So here is the final screenshot of what you get when you double click the index.html

I hope you enjoyed the tutorial. Please feel free to ask any questions in the comment area, and I will answer them as best I can.

How to design a Minimalistic Blog Theme

Posted: 05 May 2010 11:47 PM PDT

A blog is a great way to generate traffic, build a platform, and get your brand or voice out there on the internet. Your blog should be as individual as its creator, to get the most attention and attract readers. This tutorial will guide you through the steps to creating a beautiful minimalistic designthat's sure to help your blog become a success.

Final Result

Step 1: Create a new document

Start by creating a new document in Photoshop with 1024px width and 1200px height.

Step 2: Bokeh Background Image

You can download this background image here or you can follow this tutorial to make your own.

Step 3: Drawing the layout

Grab the Rounded Rectangle Tool (Radius: 5px), draw a 825x940 shape in the middle of the document and reduce its Opacity to 60%.

(Font used: Daniel)

Then, take the Horizontal Type Tool and write a title for your theme (like My Personal Blog).

Grab the Rounded Rectangle Tool (Radius: 5px) again, draw a 626x418 shape in the middle of the bigger shape and reduce its Opacity to 75%. Add a Layer Mask, take the Gradient Tool, select the black/white combination and grab it from bottom to top.

Take again the Rounded Rectangle Tool (Radius: 5px) and draw a 81x39 shape on the left top corner. Then, set its Opacity to 50%.

Add some icons (like Rss Feed and Twitter) and set their Opacity to 80%.

Step 4: Drawing the content

Let's start from the date of the posts. Grab the Rounded Rectangle Tool (Radius: 5px), draw a 76x29 shape and reduce its Opacity to 40%. Go to Layer > Layer Style > Drop Shadow… and use the above settings.

(Colors used: #ffffff – #d4d4d4)

Then, select Gradient Overlay and use these settings.

(Font used: Antipasto)

Add the days' number and the month (like 23 May).

With the Rounded Rectangle Tool (Radius: 5px), draw a 504x38 shape about 160px down from the posts' date and go to Layer > Layer Style > Drop Shadow…. Use the above settings.

(Font used: Verdana)

Take the Horizontal Type Tool, add some text (like Comments, Categories, Author) and color the text links with #ffa200.

(Font used: Verdana)

Finally, with the Horizontal Type Tool, add the title of the post (I used Italic decoration) and the post text.

Step 5: Adding Newset/Older Entries Links

(Font used: Verdana)

Last step and you have to write the "<< Newest Entries" and "Older Entries >>" after all the posts.

Final Result

Top 20 Free Fonts for Your Creative Projects

Posted: 20 Apr 2010 12:08 AM PDT

Often, the most difficult part of coming up with a logo design is choosing the most effective font for the project. I've put together a list of 20 cool fonts to help you with all your graphic design needs. Whether you're creating web pages, logos or tee-shirts, there's sure to be a font that's perfect for your project. All of these fonts are free and each one links to its respective download page.

Enjoy…

Thanks for reading, and make sure you catch our future features by subscribing

Showcase of Beautiful and Inspiring Workplaces

Posted: 11 Apr 2010 12:59 AM PDT

Our workplace can change the way we think, affect our mood and inspire our imagination. Here, I have brought together a collection of beautiful and inspiring workplaces.

Enjoy…

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Our 642-504 online course includes latest news and reviews on web designing to help you become expert. Download 70-291 design tutorials and 642-524 guide to learn how to design beautiful-and-inspiring web designs.

14 Important Writing Tips For Graphic Design Bloggers

Posted: 11 Mar 2010 11:02 PM PST

There are many graphic design bloggers on the web, but not many articles on what it takes to be a good graphic design blogger. While there are some excellent graphic design blogs out there, many graphic design experts are not expert writers. Some tips may be found here: Writing Tips for Graphic Designers.

These are my top 14 tips to help you write your own graphic design blog. These tips are effective for web design & photography blogs as well. By writing well and paying attention to the essentials of graphic design blogging, you can increase your traffic and create a presence on the web with your graphic design blog.

1. Be Passionate

If you want to have a good graphic design blog, you must have a passion for your work! If you are not passionate about your subject, readers will sense your apathy and your blog will not grow. Readers will move on to another blog. Passionate bloggers share their expertise, but they also share their excitement about graphic design. Write every day, and write what you know. Presumably, you're writing about graphic design because you love it. Share the love. Blog with passion.

2. Be Honest

A good graphic design blogger will share the resources used in writing the article. Good graphic design bloggers, (and good writers in general), use backlinks to the material they use. Giving credit to the resources you've used isn't just ethical, it's smart. Blogging is all about networking. Providing backlinks to the resources you've used increase your integrity in the blogging world, and your traffic.

3. Write Some Draft Posts

Unless you plan to hire a writer to provide you regularly with fresh material, you should write some draft posts to have on file in case you become too busy to write. It's a good idea to have 3-4 new posts in reserve all the time. Not only does this help ensure you won't run out of material for your blog, it gives you a chance to review your posts for errors in grammar or spelling before posting them. Remember, your blog is part of your total presentation online. You want it to be as professional as possible.

4. Post Frequently

Posting frequently ensures you always have fresh material when your readers visit. Fresh material keeps readers coming back. It's a good idea to post on a regular schedule. A new post every 2-3 days is common. You can post every day if you are prolific enough. Speckyboy.com posts almost every day. 3-4 posts a week give the readers fresh material without overwhelming them. It's more important to post on a regular schedule than to post frequently, so be honest with yourself about how much time and effort you can commit to writing your blog posts. Be consistent.

5. Be Active in Social Media

Social media such as Twitter, Digg, Stumble Upon, Delicious, Mixx, etc are a blogger's best tool for building awareness and traffic. Be active in social media, but be careful not to spam! It's a huge turn-off to potential readers and will give you a bad reputation. The secret to social media is to be active. You will get more traffic from 200 friends who you interact with regularly and sincerely than from 2,000 who you barely talk to except to announce that you've posted to your blog. The more active you are on Social Media, the more traffic you'll see on your blog. Learn more about Social Media in Mashable.com

I'm now active on these Social Media. Feel free to add me to be your friends:

Digg
Stumble Upon
Mixx
Twitter
Facebook
Delicious

6. Provide High Quality Images

If you want to be taken seriously when writing about graphic design, use the highest quality images you can find. Don't compromise by using low resolution images lifted from Google or other search engines. Make the best use of your space and bandwidth by using really good-quality images. Be aware of copyright! Use images that are either available under creative commons licensing, images you've purchased rights to from a site like StockPhoto.com, or that you have permission to use.

7. Be Sure That Your Articles Is Easy To Read

Nothing turns a reader off faster than hard-to-read articles and confusing content! Use a standard font in a reasonable size. Don't over-size or under-size your text. The temptation may exist to create a unique look, but your text is not the place to fully unleash your visual creativity. Text should be easy to read, not distracting. Save the creativity for the actual writing, and your readers will keep coming back for more.

8. Do Not Steal Bandwidth – Hotlinking

If you want to use image on your post, save it in your own web hosting. It's not nice to steal people's bandwidth, and other bloggers will not appreciate it. (You wouldn't, right?)
Good graphic design bloggers use images under their own web hosting. Use a hotlink protector such as WordPress Automatic Hotlink Protection plugin (for WordPress users). Hongkiat.com also uses hotlink protection for his images. I used to hotlink to some of his images long ago, I'm sorry Hongkiat

9. Use Good Looking Template

If your blog doesn't look good, readers won't come back. Contests, great content, special offers… none of it will mean anything if your layout is not attractive and easy to navigate. I really like Psdtuts.com's layout. It's simple & nice looking.

If you don't understand about web design, there are several options for you:

Ask your friends. You must have at least 1 of your friend who is a web designer
Take the time to study other web design blogs and web design forums. Notice what works, and what doesn't, what designs seem effective, and which ones don't work very well.
Use professional template provider such as Elegant Themes & Theme Forest.

10. Place Subscription & Social Media Buttons On The Right Place

It's important to place your subscriptions and social media buttons prominently. The buttons should be easy to find and eye-catching to help generate more traffic. Readers will not hunt for "share" and subscribe buttons. Speckyboy.com has a good layout of subscription & social media placement above and below every posts.

You are a graphic designer, right? Use your own design for those buttons. I learned a lot from Hongkiat.com & Tutorial9.net about making my own button designs. Creating your own buttons will raise your credibility among other graphic design bloggers.

11. Be Active & Find Buddies Who Have Similar Interests

Want to increase your traffic and raise recognition of your blog? Use the buddy system. Comment on other blogger's posts- and take the time to read and leave a meaningful comment, not just "great blog! check out mine at *link*!"
You want people to read your blog, right? So take the time to read their blogs as well. Offer to write a guest-post for other blogs. The extra exposure can help raise traffic numbers for your blog as well. It's a win-win situation. You get to share your blog post with a wider audience, and you increase traffic to your own blog as well. I've also applied to be a guest writer for 1stwebdesigner.com. You may also apply to be a member of Smashing Magazine Network to drive more traffic for your blog.

12. Ask Readers To Share Your Post

Design a special "share" banner. Make your sharing buttons visible. Not all readers will share your post, but those who do will bring you additional traffic. High-quality posts with truly useful tips are more likely to be shared, so be sure to pay close attention to writing quality content!

13. Learn From Other Graphic Design Blogs

Study other graphic design blogs. You may discover unique features that drive traffic to their blog. Observe their design and presentation, how they decorate and design their blog. If you find a blog you really like, ask the person how you can improve your own blog. Hongkiat.com is a great resource for learning more about writing articles and designing a blog.

14. Submit Your Article To User News

Many blogs have community user links to submit your articles to be published in their blog. New graphic design blogs can benefit the most from sharing articles with community user links. I have about 80 blogs on my list. Submitting to all of them takes time, but it pays off in increased traffic.

These are some of lists compiled by our friends:

53 Promotional Websites To Gain Traffic Quick And Easy – 1stwebdesigner
44 Sites To Submit Links To Increase Site Traffic – Tweeaks
75+ Websites To Submit Your Design News – Webtoolfeed

Additional Tips: Use Proper Web Hosting

When I was still using my local amateur web hosting, my blog ended up being blocked due to high traffic. My blog was blocked without any notice, and the hosting company blamed me for causing errors on their server with my traffic. I realized that I needed better hosting, and left that service the very next day.

Use good web hosting which recommended by WordPress or some famous blogger. If you want to know where famous blog hosted, use this very helpful website: www.whoishostingthis.com. It also offers some bonuses worth $750.

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25 Unique & Creative World Map Designs

Posted: 19 Jan 2010 11:19 PM PST

A world map is a map of the surface of the Earth, which may be made using any of a number of different map projections.

Maps of the world are often either 'political' or 'physical'. The most important purpose of the political map is to show territorial borders; the purpose of the physical map is to show features of geography such as mountains, soil type or land use. Geological maps show not only the physical surface, but characteristics of the underlying rock, fault lines, and subsurface structures.

Today I'm going to present some unique world map designs. They are unique, fun & sometimes weird. Check it out!

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