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Communications Design Industry Discussion, Inspiration, & Tutorials

Dec 15, 2012

Portfolios That Inspire: Moxie Press & Co.

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If typography is high art, then letterpress is the best of paint, brushes, and canvas. Moxie Press & Co., the brainchild of Maryland designer Chris Undi, does it so well. This one-man shop offers design services, illustration, and printing. Not only is Chris a fantastic designer/pressman, he's also a good friend. Check out more of his work and see Moxie Press on Facebook: ...
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Dec 11, 2012

The Online Portfolio

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Today is the perfect day to get started on yours. OR to update your existing online presence with recent work! Having an online portfolio does a lot to boost your street cred among potential clients and employers. It’s also: More Convenient than a Resume and saves time in a job search. This tool gives potential employers and clients a preview of your skills and abilities. In addition to the...
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Dec 10, 2012

The Portfolio: Not Just for Creatives Anymore

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My buddy, Barbara*, works in marketing and does a lot of media writing. This year she gave a riveting AIGA talk about interviewing with a portfolio when not in the creative arts field. Today, a great article on Idealist.org loudly seconded her sentiment. It's good enough to share. According to Barb and Idealist every professional should arrive at an interview with a portfolio in-hand; "we do...
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Nov 28, 2012

Public Domain Stock Photography

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I'm in Love. . . with this website! Coming from a non-profit, graphic design background, I am well-versed in the economical online image search. Some time last year I found this site and have visited often when looking for the right hi-res photo for various projects. Check out and bookmark Photos-Public-Domain! For winter holiday / christmas/ new years / seasonal images go directly to Holidays...
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Nov 21, 2012

Internship: Format Your Resume

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As a current student, your professional experience is limited. While you’ve taken several diverse courses, participated in student groups, and completed several freelance pieces, you don’t feel that marketable. But you are! Which Type is the Right Type? When updating your resume for an internship consider your audience. Is the industry a creative one? Is it receptive to out-of-the-box design concepts?...
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Nov 4, 2012

Instagram DIY or Another Photoshop Tutorial

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I've gotten a few requests for an easy tutorial on increasing blur in portraits. Here's a super easy how-to using a selection and a filter. For this sample, I used a low-res portrait of myself snatched from a social site. 1. Open your image with Photoshop and unlock the layer by double clicking on it and hitting “OK”. Create a duplicate copy of that layer. 2. With the top layer selected...
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Oct 26, 2012

Everyone has an E-book Inside

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The old saying was that everyone has at least one book inside 'em. Undoubtedly, I've got one in me that may make the world a slightly better place. While my globe-trotting, brushes with mortality, and trying tales of punk bands and band aids would curl even the straightest hairs, I'm certain that book one should be a guide for us creative types--a short guide. ID CS6 inspires me to compress my design...
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Oct 16, 2012

What is a Leave Behind?

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Postcard serise by: http://iwonak.com/tag/postcards/ Simply put, a leave behind a physical object that you leave behind after an interview. This media helps the interviewer or potential client to remember you. The object can range from the mundane (business card)—to the functional (printed portfolio)—to the elaborate (folding portfolio poster with DVD insert). To Create a Good Leave Behind: Keep...
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Oct 9, 2012

Stuff I’ll Miss About My Job (II)

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 In recent years, I’ve done plenty of market research about changing currents in graphic design industry and written articles on my findings. The prevailing wind has definitely shifted to growth and development of portable media and specific types of electronic design. The trends I witnessed led me to conclude that I belong back on a university campus, working in instructional design....
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Oct 6, 2012

simonejenifer.org - 2012 revision

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Without too much chit chat, here's my new home page at www.simonejenifer.org Reform Design by simonejenifer.org! The page showcases my pro bono and barter design services, recent graphic design projects, plus some fun and exciting recycling art projects. Take a lo...
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Sep 21, 2012

Need a Web Development Refresher?

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In a recent conversation with fellow Pub Design grads, a friend posed the following question: "I'm about to cross the line from full-on print designer to (teaching myself) web design. I know basic code but not much else. I plan on getting practice by creating a blog - can anyone fill me in on the most important things I should know? I've heard jQuery a ton of times--and any free tutorial sites...
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Sep 19, 2012

It's Time--again--for a Good Purge

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Binge & Purge (clothing swap) is back and I want to talk about it. The original idea behind B&P was that I had a ton of super-fly gear from the now defunct shop "Funk in the Trunk"--a vintage clothing store in Baltimore, owned by Travis, Chris and me. The gorgeous garments, stunning shoes, bitchin' belts, and bodacious baubles cluttered up my life and apartment for years after we closed....
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Sep 4, 2012

Tutorial: Simple Photoshop Vignette

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Here is an easy-peasy way to vignette a photo by darkening it's corners using a simple mask. For this tutorial, I'm using a photo of two of my friends--both MICA grads--who attended the 2012 MICA graduation carrying inspirational signs to encourage the new grads. Open your image in photoshop. In the layers panel double-click the image to unlock it Select the Elliptical Marquee Tool and drag...
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Aug 29, 2012

Standing Out In a Crowd…

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…is More Important Than Ever. My company is in the process of hiring a Copywriter / Editor to join our communications team. We posted the position a few weeks ago and we’ve gotten nearly 200 responses. Here’s a quick breakdown of what that means to a jobseeker in this market. Of the 200 respondents: a large percentage of the applicants are based outside of this state, and a smaller, but significant...
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Aug 24, 2012

This Week: Lotsa Stuff

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What is Simone working on this week, you ask. I have several projects that are winding down. In  no particular order: an event invitation, a direct mail solicitation, a poster of a great guy, a PhotoShop tutorial for you, and a jQuery online course. Here's part of the direct mail piece, I'm making the most of some fantastic stock images! ...
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Jul 27, 2012

This week: Circus Peanuts and the Unicorn

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I have an inexplicable soft spot in my soul for circus peanuts; you know the orange, semi-soft, semi-hard candy that’s shaped like peanuts and tastes like a combination of red dye #5, yellow dye # 3, and sugar? Whenever I see them in stores I’m instantly drawn. But I limit myself to gorging on a 2.99 bag of Circus Peanuts just once a year. I think my love of this heinous confection is connected...
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Jul 23, 2012

Sappi Samples: Freebies

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Sappi offers booklet/book samples for free to designers and students--they're samples! Highly recommended:Folding and scoring book is a huge favorite!http://sappi.litorders.com/SelectInventoryList.a...
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Jul 16, 2012

Branding You

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How to design the right identity to market yourself In recent discussion with a group of students I learned that a major stumbling block in completing a portfolio is creating a personal identity package in which the finished portfolio will reside.  When in my 3rd year of undergrad, I was approached by a friend, in her final year of grad school and taking a portfolio class. One slow afternoon...
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Jul 12, 2012

Salary: What to Expect When Starting Out

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I just took part in another heated discussion with a mixed group of recent grads and mid-career graphic designers.  A young woman in the group raised the question of salary range for an entry level graphic designer with a master's degree. This question was asked the recent graduate: "What kind of pay should I be expecting for a full-time entry level graphic design position with my master's...
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Jul 10, 2012

Interview Question: Do you have any Questions for Me?

By On 14:21 In
I just participated in a heated discussion on the dreaded final interview question. This one is asked when you're sure that you and the interviewer have beaten the molecules back and forth for the last time. The art director takes a shallow breath, exhales, and then asks, "Do you have any questions for me?" There are a few different ways you can respond to this one. My answer: I always...
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Jul 2, 2012

Tutorial: Salvage a Signature in Photoshop

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I got a printed scan of our signature on my desk this morning. This sheet of paper looked terrible, but it was all I had so I needed to make it work. Here’s the quick and dirty on how to make salvage a low quality printed signature for digital use. Rescan the image and set the output to TIFF or other image file type. Be sure to select the highest resolution setting. This will yield a lot of artifacts...
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Jun 26, 2012

In the Media: Macbook Markup

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Visitors to online travel site Orbitz.com are fed higher hotel rates based on the operating system (OS) they use. Mac/Apple users are reported to spend around $30 more on travel and accommodations than Windows users, so Orbitz chooses to capitalize. Their practice is to show more expensive options--boutique hotels, as opposed to more economic options--when users search from the Apple OS. Read the...
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Jun 23, 2012

Robots and Resumes

By On 04:51 In
Maybe you’ve heard that a tailored resume is one of the best ways to grab a hiring manager’s attention. It’s a fact that the one-size-fits-all, generic, general resume doesn’t cut it. Not anymore. Remember, you’re facing a pool of hundreds (and potentially thousands) of competing applicants whenever you apply for a job. Because of the increasingly high numbers of applicants, more employers rely...
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