Tag: Tips

Design Tip Tuesday-Take Great Pictures

On By Styld by GraceIn #TipTuesday, Design1 Comment

One way to make a positive impact on your design and brand is by taking great pictures, posting great pictures, and capturing unique images.

Using pixelated and bad quality images can devalue your brand identity and design. I’m not a photographer, but I’ve learned what a great picture looks like by researching great photographers’ work. And I’ve also learned to take good pictures when I don’t have a photographer readily available.

Posting good quality images on your social networks can also increase your audience, which in turn will bring more business. It’s better to take your own pictures than taking something from Google. At some point, if you want to be deemed as a professional, you can’t steal pictures from Google. Using your own photography makes your brand stand out from the rest. Images that are unique to your brand distinguish you from the competition. And by investing in your own photography, you’re creating a voice for your brand.

Aside from taking unique and good quality pictures, it’s good to keep in mind the Rule of Thirds (especially when you have a low budget and need to take your pictures). The Rule of Thirds is a fundamental composition principle both in photography and design.

The Rule of Thirds states that an image is more appealing when it’s objects are composed along imaginary lines (think of the Instagram grid when you’re cropping your picture) which divides the image into thirds, both vertically and horizontally.

Positioning points of interest in the intersecting parts of the lines can create a more appealing and balanced image.

Here are some examples:

GreatPic_Examples4

GreatPic_Examples1

GreatPic_Examples5

GreatPic_Examples3

I hope you enjoyed today’s design tip. Is there any specific tip you’d like to read about next? Write to me at info@styldbygrace.com.

Also, I would love to connect with you on Instagram. Tag your pictures with our handle @styldbygrace on Instagram. We might repost your pic 😉 Can’t wait to see your amazing pictures!

Special thanks to my friend/photographer Nick Gulla for taking these amazing pictures at Bill Baggs Cape Florida Beach, Key Biscayne.

Design Tip Tuesday: Create a Mood board

On By Styld by GraceIn #TipTuesday, Design2 Comments

SummerMoodboard_2

During an interview, I was asked why I decided to become a graphic designer. I told them my honest answer, “The movie 13 Going on 30”. I explained that her creative process of collecting things to establish the vision of her magazine spread made me want to do the same. I’ve always liked to collect and save things that are memorable to me. A menu, a tag or ticket stub. Designing is more about the process and the collection of ideas, than doing stuff in Photoshop.

Creating a mood board is a way of organizing thoughts and creating a consistent visual treatment. There are different ways to create a mood board. If you like hands-on projects, then pinning different things that inspire you to cork board might work. If you’re more of a techy person, maybe it’s collecting images online to create a mood board in Photoshop like the image above. The whole point is to be inspired before you create. And also, to show others collaborating on the project, a visual representation of where your vision is at. You can incorporate color palettes, font treatments, quotes, examples of photography that you like, and the list goes on.

Perhaps you’re thinking, well isn’t that what Pinterest is for? Yes and no. Yes, you can use Pinterest to make a board for your project. But grouping image of that relate to one another within one board, isn’t an option on Pinterest. So take the time, be inspired, inspire others, and mood board your heart away.

Send your summer mood boards to @styldbygrace on Instagram. I’ll repost my favorites! 

Design Tip Tuesday: White Space over Clutter

On By Styld by GraceIn #TipTuesday, Design1 Comment

More often than not, white space makes more of a statement than clutter. Do not be afraid to leave empty spaces on your canvas. Clutter screams amateur.

White space brings balance to the artwork and allows for the focal point to take center stage. Also, white space adds emphasis to the important parts of the piece. It draws the eye of the audience to the focal point.

In a practical sense, having white space makes everything else on the artwork easier to read.

As with fashion and decor, when designing, less is more. The challenge isn’t to fill the entire canvas with “stuff”, it is to keep it as minimal as possible without compromising the copy and design elements that need to be there.

Lastly, white space is “trés chic”. It makes your artwork look upscale and elegant.

Did you enjoy today’s Design #TipTuesday? Share it on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter! Tag us with #Styldbygrace #TipTuesday.

Design Tip Tuesday: Family is Everything

On By Styld by GraceIn #TipTuesday, DesignLeave a comment

FontFamilies_Artwork_2

#TipTuesday
Use Font Families

So, what is a font family? A font family, also know as a typeface, is a set of one or more fonts with different weights, sizes, and slants that share common design features. The above font family or typeface being used is Didot. And I have incorporated three different fonts from the Didot font family: regular, italic, and bold.

As you can see, using different fonts from within a font family, can also make a design dynamic and cohesive. Font families are designed to be cohesive yet diverse.

Rule of thumb: when you’re not sure what fonts look good together, it’s best to use different fonts within a font family. You can’t go wrong when you stay within a font family. Once you become more familiarized with typography rules and looks, you’ll be able to experiment with different font family combinations.