Let’s face it: clients usually don’t know what they are talking about when it comes to design for both web and print. How do you navigate around a client that insists on A or B, when you know C is what they need? Here are 20 “templates” that you can “use” to convince any client of anything!

… [Read More]

When it comes to making font combinations, there are principles and methods, but no absolutes. You can’t apply all the principles or ideas listed here at the same time. Just peruse this list of ideas and see what strikes you as interesting, and then pursue creating your own interesting typeface pairs!

… [Read More]

So you wondered the same question about your graphic design blog too? Join the crowd! But I do have some interesting and hopeful numbers for you…. [Read More]

“Font Combos” for the iPhone is on sale at the iTunes store now!

From today until June 22nd, Font Combos will be on sale for .99 cents, which is 50% off the list price of $1.99.

• We want to increase awareness of the Font Combos app in preparation for the publishing of our graphic design resource book “The Big Book of Font Combinations” which is the expanded print companion to Font Combos.
• Font Combos is an iPhone app that makes is very easy to create interesting font pairs from 45 of the most popular typefaces of all time. You can match fonts to create over 2000 variations.

Read the full description, see the screen shots, and consider taking Font Combos for a spin at 50% off for this limited time!

Just a little horn-tooting: we crossed 100,000 visits last week. It’s not much, but our first 6-digit tally of visitor totals feels significant for some reason. Unique page views crossed 160,000 too. We started in September 2009, and in general get 300-1000 unique visitors a day, but have the odd day of 3000-7000 hits if we post something that gets re-tweeted like mad. That’s happened a dozen times or so.

… [Read More]

I’ve done the homework for you so that you don’t have to! Let’s take your blog from bad to worse, like a slow train wreck, over the next 12 months. All you have to do is follow these 10 steps:

… [Read More]

When using vector tools for drawing realistic objects, many subtle tweaks are required here and there to give that realistic “fit and finish”. The process is not linear, like many tutorials are for certain things. There is no step 1, then 2, then 3. Rather, there is a cycle that is more like “rinse, wash, repeat if necessary”. So let’s tear apart a finished, realistic-looking vector object to see what makes it tick after all is said and done.

… [Read More]

Short thoughtful post here folks.

We’ve seen some graphic design bloggers disappear in 2009 and 2010. We’ve seen once-busy bloggers slow way down from their usual pace. That’s OK. Life happens.

Sometimes you get a better job, an illness, a new baby, a broken foot, a sabbatical, a new guitar, or even a new professional focus. There could even be a traumatic life event that puts the blog on the lowest possible rung of “what’s important.” That’s fine too.

We see lots of advice on how to build your graphic design blog, how to get more Twitter followers, a billion Photoshop tutorials, a zillion list posts, and all kinds of graphic design bloggy goodness. But how do you tank your blog? I mean, how do you get rid of it? How should you get rid of it? Have you thought of that?

… [Read More]

We are excited to have our first app be published in the iTunes Store. It’s a simple app called Font Combinations that lets you see how different header and body fonts relate to each other with a simple swipe. So many fonts, so little time!

… [Read More]

I’ve seen a lot of humorous posts lately about the very random things Google Suggest will come up with when trying to read your mind. So what does Google “suggest” about graphic design related topics? I plugged in some terms for some entertaining, informative, and unintentionally funny results. Enjoy!

… [Read More]

The dreams of graphic designers can be very interesting as well unintentionally revealing. I speak from personal experience. Let me tell you about an episode and then you can make of what you will, and perhaps apply the lesson to your own life as a designer and human being.

… [Read More]

The “request for proposal” or RFP process for many small graphic design and web design firms is fraught with huge time-wasting and dead-end traps. Have you been caught up in the excitement of getting what seems to be great project opportunity from an established company only to find out “while your offer was compelling, for strategic reasons” they chose some other firm?

… [Read More]

What has happened to these 10 great graphic design blogs and their bloggers?

… [Read More]

In researching logos for children’s toys and clothing stores, I assumed I would find several things which all turned out not to be true, which are outlined below. What we did find instead – a great diversity of design and style – was a pleasant surprise!… [Read More]

Part of the fun of running a graphic design blog is getting to see how people find the site through Google. I recently took a look at my analytics, and found some crazy typos and hilarious search strings! While most of my traffic comes from other designers through Twitter and other graphic design related sites, search still generates a large percentage of traffic – no matter the intent of the searcher!

… [Read More]

Get your bib, wet naps, and portable therapist’s couch – we are going out to eat and psychoanalyze 26 succulent and interesting logos designed exclusively for restaurants and eating establishments.
… [Read More]

Update: After you are done reading the limericks, check out this list of graphic design ebooks, new for 2012 over at The Big List of Lists!

My son nabbed Edward Lear’s Complete Book of Nonsense from the library some time ago. It was one of my favorite books growing up. I wondered if it was possible to write limericks about Graphic Design. I penned some (dare I call it) Graphic Design Poetry and now post the results for your amusement and bemoanment:

… [Read More]

We collected some of the best logo design tips from the top logo designers and other resources on the web. We sorted them, got rid of overt overlaps and now present to you, dear graphic design enthusiast, the final results. We have here one of the densest, pithiest, and most tip-ladden post on logo design you are going to find. Follow these tips, and you’ll be on solid ground with your design efforts. Ignore them at your own peril.

… [Read More]