Design & Photography

Tag: graphic design trends

  • Portfolio Show from an Inside Source

    When planning out what to show at the portfolio, pick things you enjoyed creating and can talk a lot about! When an industry professional comes up to your booth, be excited to talk about all the things you’ve accomplished.

    Make sure to have one specific thing that captures all of your skills. Photography, illustrating, layout, or maybe even video work. Variety is key when it comes to the design world. Leaders within the industry want to know that you’re not only a “one job” kind of person. Try everything! Dip your toes into every little thing that you can while in college.

  • Knock Out Small Text OR Overprint it?

    Below is a clear example of why it’s better to overprint small text rather than knock it out. Small text is hard to get aligned perfectly with knockouts. Instead, just overprint it.

  • Current Design Trends

    One of the design trends I’ve been noticing and sometimes cringing at is texture to words. This texture is out there and extreme. For instance, fuzzy-looking letters and food-like letters. I was scrolling on Instagram and saw letters that looked like pretzels. I’m not sure if someone who loves pretzels would’ve been all over this design either. When designing, it’s important to try to create a timeless design that won’t easily go out of style. Making letters look like specific things almost “dumbs it down” in a sense. It tends to make a design look childish. Another example of this was a bunch of different Lego to create a letter. This one wasn’t so bad. I thought it fit the design and the target audience. Lastly, I saw ropes forming a word.

    Overall, hard core texture is a current design trend that I’ve been noticing lately. If used correctly, it enhances the customer’s wish to feel, touch, or taste the design they’re seeing. But, if it’s used or designed poorly, it makes the design/company come off as childish.