All Questions
10
votes
5answers
356 views
Are logo design contests considered “spec” work and what are the pros and cons of participating as a designer?
I know logo design contests and the whole "spec" work issue is a controversial subject. As a designer given the AIGA's position on spec work what are the pros and cons of entering such contests?
9
votes
5answers
541 views
Is it possible to have global color swatches or color styles in Photoshop?
I'm looking for a way to use one color in multiple different layers, and then be able to change that color in all the layers in one single place.
Lets say that I have four layers using #ffffff. Now I ...
5
votes
2answers
185 views
Prepare a design for CMYK printing
This was asked in another thread. When I searched to see if this question has been asked before it was not. Per Meta we are encouraged to create threads that show quality solutions or to future ...
0
votes
3answers
3k views
Sunken look in photoshop?
Does anyone know to make a control look sunken into the back ground? Is it some sort of photoshop effect?
I.e., in first button in this interface,
8
votes
2answers
2k views
How to create a batch job, numbering images (writing text on them) from 1 to 100 in Photoshop?
Looking to create a 100 images that would have their appropriate numbers written on them.
Since I`ll be most likely making changes to the template in the future I figured it would be better to ...
5
votes
8answers
710 views
How to get this blur texture effect in photoshop?
I'm trying to get an image to look similar to this photo:
I'd guess they took a picture of the monitor with a regular camera. But I'm more interested to know what effects / filters they used to get ...
4
votes
6answers
410 views
Modern design - What's that?
I am working on redesigning my website and iterating through fivesecondtests.
The overall feedback is improving but no matter what I change, several people have mentionned that my designs look ...
4
votes
1answer
4k views
Illustrator now refuses to draw lines with stroke weight below 1 pt
Since yesterday, Illustrator has been refusing to let me set a line weight under 1pt. If I set a lower one, the line snaps back to 1pt weight.
This is crippling to my work: The art is being output to ...
4
votes
2answers
1k views
Life size image in Photoshop
I've noticed that Photoshop makes my image size, specified in inches, smaller than it really is. Approximately 1 inch both in height and width. Since this is an approximation and not exact, and ...
0
votes
2answers
428 views
How to create a shape, in a form of two basic shapes partially substracted?
When I have a circle shape and now I substract from it a little square in the middle, what I get is a shape that looks like hollowed circle. But in fact in its paths I still have my whole shape of ...
6
votes
8answers
690 views
Lower-cost alternative to Photoshop
Maybe once a month I need Photoshop. Since it is rare, the cost seems like a disproportionate amount of money to spend by my startup.
I think the tasks I need to achieve when I'm converting a ...
6
votes
2answers
917 views
Overlay a graphic on a photo or image
How would I overlay a graphic (a logo in this case) on a t-shirt and make it look like it's really there, not just superimposed (wrinkles, lines, etc?) I don't have photoshop or any adobe software, ...
6
votes
1answer
230 views
In Photoshop, how can I open up a view (in the same window) with another zoom level?
When drawing pixel art in Photoshop, I like to have the zoom level really high. Is there a way to also have a regular-level zoom (or perhaps an outer zoom) in another part of the window, so that I ...
4
votes
2answers
3k views
Exporting a Pattern to Image in Photoshop
I am designing a website and in the background I am using a pattern that is done by somebody else.
Now while slicing, is there anyway to find and select the exact dimensions of the pattern that the ...
2
votes
3answers
2k views
How do I avoid lines at top and left borders of png files exported from Illustrator
When I export Illustrator artwork as a png file, I get a one pixel grey border at the top and left edges.
There is no background object, but I export (Save for Web and Devices) with matte white ...
2
votes
2answers
644 views
Inept knowledge about dpi and ppi,please help?
I have designed a web header 1000x98 at 72 ppi using Macromedia Fireworks for our website and we are planning to print a billboard using that header? The printer has told us that he needs the image ...
1
vote
4answers
253 views
Darker shade of a given color
What does it mean and how do I get a darker shade of a given color. For example if I have the color
R = 53, G = 140, B = 205
or
H = 204, S = 74, B = 80,
or
#358CCD
What value do I change in ...
60
votes
23answers
7k views
New generation of Save icon that is not a “disk”?
Currently, the save icon in almost all applications represents a 3.5-inch disk from the 20th century. An example from Microsoft Office 2010 is shown below:
As we move towards more advanced ...
16
votes
12answers
798 views
Overcoming creative blocks: how to break out of current mindsets
Every designer hits a roadblock at one time or another. Few designers get those "dream" projects where they are allowed to create anything and everything they want. In most cases we all have to adhere ...
23
votes
6answers
4k views
Designing around an awful logo
I'm looking for some opinions on how to approach an interesting problem I've encounted.
I dabble in UX/graphic design, specifically for the web. Mostly static sites. I do this all on my own time as ...
4
votes
4answers
753 views
What makes a design professional?
Can anyone define why something might not look "professional"?
What differentiates between professional/unprofessional designs?
I have clients who have said my design does not look very ...
14
votes
8answers
557 views
Fireworks for website design - why?
I've used Photoshop to design (more or less) every website I've made in the past 9 or 10 years. I hear people going on about Fireworks saying that it's excellent for web design and prototyping.
When ...
36
votes
10answers
106k views
Is there a way to copy layers from one Photoshop document to another?
Is there a way to copy layers from one Photoshop document to another? I was working on a project earlier on that required this but I didn't know how this could have been done. (Procedure not as simple ...
17
votes
9answers
22k views
How do you make a font in illustrator?
I have recently created my own font/typeface in adobe illustrator and I would like to use it as a REAL font (e.g I would like to use it as I type something). Is this possible in adobe illustrator or ...
20
votes
10answers
575 views
What web graphics formats to use?
Web sites can contain JPEG, GIF, and PNG format graphics. Which ones should be used, and when?
15
votes
4answers
3k views
What's the difference between CMYK Black and RGB Black
I know this sounds a stupid question, black is black right?
Wrong:
It's black right? so why are the CMYK Values so far away from black?
10
votes
5answers
11k views
Create a Triangle with Rounded Corners
I know you can create a rounded-corner rectangle; but, how do you create a triangle with rounded corners in Photoshop?
I am actually interested in making it from scratch, not basing it on a custom ...
10
votes
3answers
7k views
Is there a faster way to save all layers in PSD to PNG?
I'm trying to export all 155 raster layers, each 240*240 in pixels, to separate png files, but it takes ages to do that using CS5 "File > Scripts > Export Layers to Files".
This script creates new ...
8
votes
4answers
414 views
How would I know how good of a designer I am?
To me my designs looks good, at least for some months.
But to others not so much.
I want to go freelancing but I don't want to be a bad designer.
So how do I find out if my logo/website/business ...
8
votes
2answers
677 views
Version Control for Designers / Alternative to Version Cue
I've just been searching around the net for version control that has some support for graphic/Photoshop files. We're currently using BitBucket which is free and unlimited when it comes to file size ...
15
votes
2answers
5k views
Difference between kerning vs letter spacing?
What is the difference between kerning vs. letter spacing?
9
votes
6answers
976 views
Good Place to Start Learning Web Design?
I'm very interested in learning Web Design and have learned some basics regarding HTML and CSS a few years back from W3Schools, but I never learnt how to develop websites that are up to today's ...
8
votes
2answers
1k views
How do I get this uneven airbrush effect similar to old art deco posters?
This is an section from a poster made back in the 1920s or 1930s, that was made using an airbrush:
What interests me most is that it has a rough, spattered quality. It's as if the airbrush didn't ...
6
votes
4answers
12k views
How to create a “zig zagged, jagged” effect with Photoshop?
I'd like to create the effect of a zig-zagged line at the bottom (or top, or any edge) of a rectangle. I also want to use this image on a web page, thus I think I should do it such that I can repeat ...
6
votes
3answers
24k views
What's the pixel dimensions of a powerpoint slide for Open Office / Libre Office Impress?
What's the dimensions of a powerpoint slide in pixels?
I'm having a hard time trying to get it right. I keep guessing and checking and it's taking too long. I googled some results and they're a bit ...
5
votes
2answers
3k views
How does a monitor display the CMYK color? Is it actually showing the true CMYK color?
Just few moments ago I asked a question regarding RGB to CMYK conversion.
say, RGB (86,92,214) the color in my image. Then monitor uses same values for displaying (lightning LEDs, LCDs or CRTs). ...
10
votes
11answers
32k views
Any way to use an Android tablet as a cheap touch-screen (display + pointer-input-device) for Photoshop?
Is there a way (a hack; a commercial app; etc...) which enables me to use any of the available <300$ tablets as a pen-input device to my PC? And specifically in Photoshop?
Wacom's offerings are ...
10
votes
4answers
610 views
What free/open source image design programs can you recommend?
Are there any free/ open source image designing programs that you can recommend?
8
votes
5answers
5k views
Visually similar alternatives to Helvetica?
I'd like to use something similar-but-different for my poster project.
I've already ruled out:
Arial
Avant Garde/Futura - too geometric
Frutiger - too humanist
/'friendly'
I guess I'm looking for ...
7
votes
3answers
9k views
Add transparency to an existing PNG
I'd like to use this image on a web site.
What I need to do is change the background from black to transparent, so I can use the arrow on my site maintaining the page background.
I used Gimp to ...
7
votes
2answers
3k views
Effective way to cut out clouds in photoshop
I've had to use clouds in projects on more than one occasion, and I'd like to find a way to extract (select only) the clouds.
There are a lot of good brushes for this type of thing but often times ...
6
votes
1answer
279 views
Name and possibly a tutorial for this inset rounded rectangle technique
I am speaking about the drop-in effect around the round edges. I like the fact that the actual theme seems to be a bit further back and the border is closer to the viewer.
I can gather that a ...
6
votes
4answers
13k views
Convert a line drawing from raster to vector
I have a raster image, basically a scanned drawing of the outlines (and some detail) of various objects, and I wish to convert these lines to vectors, using either illustrator or inkscape.
My present ...
5
votes
8answers
6k views
Make Arabic text show properly in Adobe Illustrator
Arabic text doesn't show properly in Adobe Illustrator. Even with a font that supports Arabic text (e.g. Arial), the text is back to front (left to right, not right to left) and the letters don't join ...
4
votes
7answers
599 views
On which crowdsourced design site have you the best experience?
I'm looking to have a couple logos and website designs done. I've had some great local designers, but each one has moved or gone else where so I keep having to look for new designers. My thought and ...
1
vote
3answers
878 views
“Fake” 3d effect in Photoshop/Illustrator with raster images
I need to create a "fake" 3D effect for some raster image, like this one below:
do you know how I can achieve this in Photoshop (CS5) or Illustrator? Thanks.
14
votes
3answers
3k views
Do I need to license fonts included with my OS?
I've noticed that most custom fonts include a license.txt file that requests some amount of money for a commercial license.
I am interested in whether it is also necessary to license OS (Mac/Windows) ...
13
votes
3answers
336 views
Does hyphenation increase legibility?
All I could find on the subject was this paper, which is pretty interesting in itself. But it only deals with preference. 57% of the test subject prefers hyphenated text.
This is kind of surprising ...
11
votes
5answers
10k views
How Should Adobe Bridge Be Used?
Adobe Bridge was installed by default when I installed Adobe CS5. What is Adobe Bridge used for, and how can it be integrated within a designer's workflow?
What I know about it is that it is ...
9
votes
5answers
9k views
turning off slices in photoshop save for web&devices without deleting them
I have a document set up with slices in photoshop. If I want to export the whole psd as one large jpg and no other files, can I do it? I don't see any option to select combine all the slices into one ...
