Graphic design is a very complex career. It is filled with many technical chores mixed with artisan abilities. You have to work hard. Many times you won’t be able to sleep in order to make the dead line. You have to put up with criticism and negotiate with the client your artistic freedom and fees. These are an integral part of being a graphic designer. Taking classes and earning a degree will prepare you for this and so much more.

Going to a university of college will give you the advantage of having professors. They are guides that will show you the way and even give you advice on what you should and shouldn’t do as a designer. You will also have class mates with whom you can have conversations, from which innovative ideas will spring for your projects. They offer different points of view and suggestions that will often improve your designs. Aside from this, the classes will teach you the 5 elements of design, the 6 visual components, typography and many other topics.

The 5 elements of design are: 1. Line, 2. Forms, 3. Texture, 4. Mass and 5. Color. These are shown individually. Once you dominate these elements you are taught the 6 visual components: 1. Balance, 2. Proximity/unity, 3. Alignment, 4. Repetition/consistency, 5. Contrast and 6. White space. These components are used to combine the 5 elements. Typography is normally it’s own course that teaches the anatomy of a font and their different families. Have in mind that these are only the classes that teach the basics. You will also have take courses that teach you how to use computer programs.

As a final note, I want to point out that taking classes will prepare you for your life as a professional. Each course will demand a series of projects that show how well you control a certain skill. You will have to work alone or in a group and keep up with deadlines. These are the bread and butter of a graphic designer.

The career of a graphic designer is difficult but full of rewards. At the end of each project see can see your grain of sand become a pearl. What do you think; do you need a degree to be a graphic designer?

An idea, especially the good ones, makes us uneasy. They don’t leave us alone. They keep us awake at night. We are impelled to realize them. No matter how we want to express it or what we dedicate ourselves to, we must surrender to the idea.

We work, re-work and polish it until it is perfect. It costs us sweat, tears and even blood (metaphorically and literally for some) but we managed to take our idea and turn it into a pearl. The satisfaction is indescribable. Being able to see fulfilled what until recently was only a manifestation in our mind.

The ideas come from everywhere. Be it from a building that captivated us, a place we’ve visited by chance or even talking to an old friend, we must be receptive to ideas that emerge. Work hard on your ideas, whatever it is, and you will see your pearl shine.

During the 1960s, Dennis Hopper carried a camera everywhere—on film sets and locations, at parties, in diners, bars and galleries, driving on freeways and walking on political marches. He photographed movie idols, pop stars, writers, artists, girlfriends, and complete strangers. Along the way he captured some of the most intriguing moments of his generation with a keen and intuitive eye. A reluctant icon at the epicenter of that decade’s cultural upheaval, Hopper documented the likes of Tina Turner in the studio, Andy Warhol at his first West Coast show, Paul Newman on set, and Martin Luther King during the Civil Rights March from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.

You can view the entire book at http://www.taschen.com. Those of you who wish to buy it, you can get it at Amazon.com.

The first step is to choose the name of the page. It can be your business’s name or a name for your virtual identity. Note that you can use a different name for your web business.

1.Avoid complicated names - Your business can have a very creative name or use the names of Greek gods. For your web audience, use names that are easy to learn and remember. Example: Your business is about sleep disorders studies and is called Morpheus (god of sleep). Your page could be called Morpheus, but the public can find it a bit difficult. You could call it Dreams or Sleep page or something along these lines. This would be your URL but in the design, highlight the name of his real business: MORPHEUS.

2. Use abbreviations when you can - If your company name is very long, eg. Morpheus Institute of sleep and relaxation, Inc; consider MISD.

3. Once you’ve chosen the perfect name, check its availability. Go online and type the name you want with the extension you want. Ex. Morpheus.com, Morpheus.org, Morpheus.tv, etc.

You already have the domain you want, and you’re ready to buy it. There are many websites that provide this service. But all give similar options. When shopping keep in mind:

1. Avoid unfamiliar extensions - In the web, the best known extension is .com. There are others like .org,. net,. co.mx, etc. There is also .tv, .fm, and more. Try to get a .com. Why? The extensions allow people to have the same name. So if your business is Morpheus.net and is an institute that studies dreams, your competition, which sells mattresses may buy Morpheus.com. Your audience might go to the mattresses site first because .com is more popular than .net.

2. Avoid regionalism - From experience, people in Puerto Rico (generally people who don’t know much about the web) love to write pr at the end of their name. Ex. Mopheuspr.com. This is not recommended because if there is a Morpheus.com available, you give the chance for another to take this URL. Use this only if the name is already taken and do not want to change the name you have chosen. But my recommendation is to avoid this at all costs.

What happens if the name that took you so long to create is not available? Well, you can do one of two things, 1. Create a new name and see if it is taken or 2. See if you can get the name that you want. To do that, you should check the condition of the website.

1. Already established business - most likely the name is not for sale. If so, it can cost you a lot of money.

2. Under Construction - The address or URL is in plans of being used. Contact the owner to see if they would sell the name.

3. Investor page - These are pages that have information about hosting services or links to Web sites with names close to what you just typed. These pages are used for traffic studies on which these words generate. Usually, these URLs are for sale.

4. Dead pages - These are pages that are empty. It is difficult to know whether they are for sale or not. Contact the owner to see if he is willing to sell.

I hope these tips to help you when buying your next domain on the network. Good luck in your search.

But I can not pass the fact (no matter how hard I try) that they would use a typeface that is so overused as Papyrus. In the movie poster, AVATAR appears in papyrus and I thought it would stop there. But during the movie when the Navi (blue beings) speak in their native language, the subtitles are written in this font.

The only thing I didn’t like about the film was the use of papyrus. A multimillion-dollar production (about $ 300 million USD) and they limited themselves to use a font that besides being one of the most over-used, it’s free. Even in an interview in 2007, Chris Costello the creator of the font agreed that papyrus has been over-used. Couldn’t they pay a fontographer to make a special font for the movie?

The movie is worth watching. It is an unforgettable experience. But if seeing this font causes you eye irritation and stomachache, stay away from the theater.

I wanted to watch a movie online. To my pleasant surprise, I discovered the gem The Secret of Kells. The film is visually stimulating and inspiring. Intrinsic details along with its style give this animated feature a life of it’s own.

The story was also beautifully written. It’s about a 12 year old boy named Brendan. He lives at the Abbey of Kells, where his uncle’s the abbot. Orphaned and forbidden to leave beyond wall, Brendan knows only what the monks and the books tell him. Brendan is devoted to books and especially the drawings. One day the monk Aidan arrives and everything changes. Brendan becomes curious to know what’s in the forest and his adventure begins.

During the film, we see the great contrast between forest and city. The art is spectacular. Although the design of the characters may seem a bit flat, it’s just the style the animators wanted to emulate from the real Book of Kells. The backgrounds have great and magical details, full of intersecting lines and bright colors. The mood of the scene changes with the situation and place where Brendan is. Sometimes we see the screen divided into panels, very much like comic books.

Do not miss this marvel of animation!

With a suggestion from my colleague, Ms. Velez, I got the idea of creating a Christmas tree. And since the proposal where I work has to do with technology, what better than to do a tree with that theme.

The tree was made with craft wire. First I secured the USB cable with tape to the wire. Then rolled in a circle and pulled it in the center so it would become a spiral. The background lights were held by one of my coworkers. The spiral wire was not the mouse’s cable because it was very short. I set up a lamp on the right side with Barn doors that the background wouldn’t get contaminated with the light. I adjusted the speed and aperture to render well the foreground but have the background dark so it does not show the hand of my companion. The result was as follows.

Then with a little photoshop, I managed to get this …

Cilck to see hi res.

It was fun to experiment with speed and aperture.

There is a very successful Apple campaign in which we are presented with two men. One is a young cool guy and the other is an older man, and somewhat of a screwball. The young man is a Mac while the older man is a Windows computer. Apple took a comic approach towards these TV ads where we see Windows at a clear disadvantage when compared with Mac. But the funniest aspect of the campaign is that it’s been around since September 1996!

It comes to no surprise that people tend to have very strong feelings about which system they prefer. It’s been over ten years with the same speech. Not only are we told that Mac is better, but they also boast that Mac is the exclusive tool for graphic designers and artists. It’s gone as far that if someone sees you with a windows machine, they think less of a person as an artist. Dear readers always remember, the tool does not make the artist.

I have worked with both operating systems. And I have worked graphic programs (ADOBE Suits) on both O.S. and I can honestly say that other than using the Ctrl key in windows and the apple key in Mac, there is no difference. The mystery has been solved!

Although we are in an age when most computers work very fast and efficiently, we still have these ideals of our computer’s OS. Many use them because they are already accustomed to them and change seems impossible. Others are limited financially and buy what is the scope of their pocket.

With this message I try to mitigate or if possible; ERASE, the myth that Macs are for artists and Windows for accountants. Both systems have the same or similar programs (depending on whether the program exists for both systems) and are enjoyed by a whole range of users. It really is the user’s preference and budget. The Macs are a bit more expensive than Windows, so you have to take this into consideration. I think at this point that the Mac campaign is wrong. Of the two characters, who do you see in the economic position to spend $ 2000.00 USD on a computer?

I’m not going to teach you how to write an article. There are many online tutorials for you to get started. If you think that you don’t know how or where to start, you can visit the article Mind map + (plus) Brainstorming = (equal to) Unique Creativity to get ideas. My goal is to show you the benefits or rewards of taking time to write about something that inspires you. The subject doesn’t matter, there’s always something you can write about. Depending on your filed, the format may vary. Let’s say that if you’re a scientist, your article may have many formulas, definitions and abbreviations. On the other hand, if you’re a historian, your article might have many dates and comparisons of ancient and modern societies. The subject is not an issue due to the fact that the aforementioned advantages are the same.

1. Acknowledgment

First of all, you receive acknowledgment. This may be from your readers, or if you get published in a magazine or a blog, you are receiving recognition as a person who knows about a particular subject. If you get posted in a university blog or in a very popular blog, this may help you in a job interview because it counts as a publication. You are no longer a candidate for a job; you are a candidate with published material. This is very helpful in the scientific community since the competition is fierce.

2. Expertise

This means that you are considered an expert in a subject. You are no longer a student, you are a master. This puts you in an advantage to your peers.

3. Practice for a job

Many jobs are asking for people who are good at oral and written communication. This is mare than just orthography (Microsoft Word takes care of this), it’s about eloquence. Like the old saying: “It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it”, or write it in this case.

Don’t discard maintaining a blog. If you think it’s too much of a hassle, speak with someone that has a blog and ask them if you can be a contributor. That way you can post whenever you think you have a good article. Writing is a great experience, and at first it will feel tedious. However, when you see your first articles posted, you’ll fell the urge to continue doing it and enjoy the time you do it.