60 Professional Examples of Stationery Design
Since the Victorian era, stationery has been an important part of proper social etiquette. Stationery design usually consists of paper, office supplies, letterheads, writing equipment, business cards, cases, and other similar items. The entire goal is to have beautiful branding throughout the company.
Every business owner understands that personalized communication emphasizes your professionalism. Showing your customers and clients how far you’re willing to go to stand out, will put a huge smile on their face.
I’m also constantly impressed with companies fashionably carrying out branding across their entire digital presence. By now, you should understand that Internet is the virtual counterpart of your business. Overlooking your self image will hurt you in the long run.
Studio Lighting Techniques you Really Need to Know
With any type of photography, the lighting techniques you use will greatly affect the way your work looks, as will the choice of props you decide to use. Below are some lighting principles I abide by when carrying out photography in my studio and will also refer to a selection of props I can’t go without. Don’t forget, the techniques you adopt should vary according to the type of your shoot, the client and style you’re aiming for.
Continuous or flash?
Firstly you need to decide which type of lighting source is best suited to your shoot’s purpose. The continuous option is relatively inexpensive and great for those starting out in studio photography. As the name suggests, it is a continuous source of light which will help find where the shadows and highlights will be throughout the shoot, and is a good option for still life photography. However, do bear in mind that this type of equipment emits a lot of heat, which isn’t ideal if you’re shooting portrait or fashion. Flash equipment puts more control in the photographer’s hands, allowing you to adjust your shots to create the desired style.
Photographing newborns and children
As mentioned earlier, continuous lighting can be a problem if you’re working with people – the constant heat from the equipment is likely to irritate your subjects. With delicate little babies, this is especially a concern. If your studio allows for natural lighting, take advantage of that. If not, use soft continuous lighting.
With older children I recommend using a combination of flash and continuous. Attach a softbox in front of the child to make their face even rounder and the catch lights in their eyes stand out. To completely eliminate harsh shadows and create even lighting I recommend fixing a large softbox – a 32”x40” usually works well. This simple but effective setup results in really vibrant colors and suits the feel of this type of shoot.
Portrait photography
Portrait shoots require an altogether different approach. Quite often you will work with clients who are out of their comfort zone when in a photography studio. So it’s up to you to manipulate lighting levels so that the client not only feels comfortable, but is amazed with the end results. Taking pregnancy photography as an example, use soft, flattering lighting to emphasize the curve of the client’s bump whilst minimizing areas that might want a little less attention after 9 months of pregnancy.
A distinct style of shot which is especially popular in portrait is the silhouette photo. To create this look, place strong lighting directly behind the person and bring in a soft second light from the front if you want to bring their face out of darkness.
25 Wise Quotes From George Carlin
George Carlin is a Grammy-winning American stand-up comedian, actor, and author. Being considered as one of the top comedians of all time, George is well known for his black humor, political views, observations on language, psychology, and religion along with many other taboo subjects. His critical thinking shines on stage and opens your eyes to modern-day problems that most folks are oblivious to. The following quotes are some of the most thought provoking sentences you’ll ever read.
55 Creative Bottle Cap Designs
Bottle caps are an essential part of every bottled beverage. The market is filled with numerous breweries and distinctive beers. If you’re a brewer, overlooking this part of the packaging design isn’t an option. Right before a customer pops the cap off, you should have some sort of visible branding presented to them. This will add an extra touch to your product and show how much you care about your craft.
35 Examples of Beautiful Sign Designs
As a business owner, having an elegant sign will spark the consumer’s interest, lead them inside the store, and possibly turn them into a frequent customer. For your inspiration we collected some beautiful examples of signs that’ll catch your attention.
30 Elevating Photos of Mountains
This Earth is filled with stunning landscapes. There’s nothing as breathtaking as gazing your eyes upon a beautiful mountain. Mother Nature’s tectonic forces create these stunning land-forms and you have the privilege to enjoy them. I’m very grateful for talented photographers who provide you with an emotional experience. While looking through these images I want you to imagine that you’re there, that way you’ll really appreciate the priceless beauty presented to you. The best things in life really are free. So grab a fresh cup of coffee and immerse yourself with enjoyment!
20 Dirty Car Artworks by Scott Wade
Living on a long dirt road for over 20 years, Scott Wade developed a method for creating detailed and shaded pieces of art in the dust of dirty car windows. From an after-work hobby, Dirty Car Art has become a way of life, with opportunities to share this work in the international media, at fairs and festivals, for corporate events, and PR and ad campaigns throughout the world. His work has been featured on the History Channel’s Modern Marvels, The CBS Early Show, CMT’s Country Fried Videos, and on many other national and regional television shows, as well as several in Japan, Germany, Brazil, South Korea, and Mexico. Enjoy!
35 Nice Examples of Flat Web Design
What is Flat Design? As Sabina Idler at Usabilla puts it, “flat design is a two dimensional design for a two dimensional screen.” Flat Design is an ongoing trend sweeping the design community. Well-known companies like Mashable, TheNextWeb, and Microsoft are already utilizing this design aesthetic.
Similar to Microsoft’s Windows 8 Metro UI, flat design shakes off unappealing drop shadows, inset shadows, gradients, subtle textures, and heavy bevels. It takes a fundamentally minimalistic approach by only using bare necessities like clean layouts, solid colors, and sharp typography. Holding hands with responsive web design, flat UI design is suited for mobile interfaces and is easier to code.
Skeuomorphic design is meant to look like its physical counterpart and possess real life characteristics. Thanks to Apple, the popularity of skeuomorphic design boomed since the launch of the iPhone in 2007. To find a common ground with users, designers got used to designing skeuomorphic user interfaces, icons, and web designs. The stitched-leather effect seen in many Apple-designed iOS apps is a good example of skeuomorphic design.
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Achieve Your Goals: 7 Golden Rules Of Goal Setting
Setting goals in your life and in your career can be very powerful and very effective. Writing them down will increase your ability to meet them.
In 1979 the MBA programme graduating class at Harvard University were asked,
‘Have you set clear, written goals for your future and made plans to accomplish them?’
Ten years later this class was tracked to see how much they were earning. They were split into three groups.
Group A which represented 84% of the class had set no goals at all
Group B and 13% of the group, had set themselves goals but not written them down, ten years later were earning TWICE as much as group A.
Group C which equalled just 3% of the group had set written goals and were earning TEN TIMES as much as both groups A & B put together!
In this article we share some of the golden rules for setting goals for yourself, that have been gathered from successful goal setters from around the globe.
1. Be Careful What You Wish For!
We need to be very specific about what we actually want in all areas of our life. For example it might be great to earn heap loads of money and have a great career but are we sacrificing other areas in our life. This might include not seeing your children grow up because you are working long hours or you don’t reserve enough time for your partner or hobby.
It pays to make a list of all the important areas that are important in your life and be very specific about what you want and need.
2. Make Sure You Will Know When You’ve Arrived
How will you know when you’ve arrived at your goal? How will you judge that you have reached your desired outcome? What will it look like, what will you hear and what will it feel like? If we don’t do this it’s difficult to say we’ve done it. We need this to gain that sense of achievement and satisfaction that reaching the goal gives us.
3. Give Yourself A Stretch
We often gain the highest amount of satisfaction when we achieve a goal that requires some effort on our part. Many dreams are like this and it will depend on each individual whether it is stretching enough.
4. Check That It Meets Your Internal Values
Sometimes in our rush to meet our goal we put ourselves in situations that go against our values as a person. For example we might work for someone who has different values and we are expected to comply with those. If you have ever found yourself in this place, you will know that after a while it becomes so uncomfortable that you have to leave. So before you say yes do what you can to see whether your values are aligned.
7 Steps to Build Your Audience on Instagram
Instagram is a great service for artists, designers, and others with a creative eye. Not only is it free, but it requires minimal gadgetry (you don’t need a fancy camera or expensive editing equipment – just a smartphone!) and it’s a social network that directly rewards your creative efforts with engagement. If you don’t have a presence on Instagram yet, you’re missing out on a fun social network that can sharpen your artistic skills. If you do have an account, read on for some ideas on how to build yourself a steady following!
Be Proud, Be Public
If you want to build a following, it is important to make sure you’re sharing your photos publicly! You’re barking up the wrong tree if you want to keep your photos private. Obviously this means that anything you post will be, duh, public – so don’t post anything illegal or that could make a future employer wary of hiring you.
To make sure your photos are public, go into Instagram settings and make sure the “Photos Are Private” slider is set to OFF.
Connect, Connect, Connect
While you’re in settings, take a detour into “Share Settings” and connect away! There is no point for you to log into Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr just to post a single photo. Instagram allows you to connect with Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Flickr, and Foursquare, so be sure to take full advantage of this feature. Each time you upload a photo, you’ll be given the option to select what social network you wish to share it with.
Be Selective: Don’t Share Crap
As an artistic social network, Instagram’s members collectively value artistic merit. However if your photos are complete and utter crap, no one’s going to want to follow you or engage with your uploads. Though the square format can present some challenges to people trained in traditional photography, it’s actually a pretty easy format to pick up as a beginner. Practice makes perfect.
If you need a little photography 101, Inspiration Feed has some great guides. Whether you’re just starting out and need some beginner photography tips, or if your challenges lie with photographing food or taking pictures in the snow, there are guides. Use them.
And remember, you can take photos with the app without sharing them – just go back to the camera after adding your effects. Wait until you have something awesome before flooding your feed.
Consistency is Key
Speaking of flooding your feed – don’t do it. Just a few photos a day, tops. Since Instagram is still a relatively small network compared to the big players like Facebook and Twitter, chances are that some of the people who might follow you actually follow a relatively small number of people. That means if you’re spamming their feed, that’s all they might see for hours, or even days. Don’t do that – it’s annoying.
The best thing you could do is share one or two photos a day, be sure to space them out as well. Either save them to share at a later time, or just refrain from Instagramming until enough time has passed. Try not to miss too many days in between though – constantly posting is key.
