Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer

The day I could have died.

Andrew Kelsall — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 11:41:23 PDT

(PS: In case you’re wondering, the figure in the front seat of the car is my Dad who arrived on the scene and was clearing the car as it’s a write-off)

Over a week ago, I was involved in a somewhat-serious car crash. The image above shows what my car looked like after been “T-Boned” by another car on a National Speed Limit road near Lincoln, England.

I was knocked unconscious in the smash for a little while (I think), and I have little memory of the incident due to my head hitting the inside of the car (the right drivers side column or window perhaps).

The Police and ambulance staff who arrived at the scene couldn’t believe that I walked away from this crash. If a lorry had hit, me, I could have been a goner. As a Christian I don’t fear death, but I still want to live! It’s a good job my family weren’t in the car with me.

Fortunately, the occupants of the car that hit me had only minor injuries too, but their air-bags deployed; such was the force of the impact. Anyway, after suffering a little concussion, I’m okay now. My project/design schedule was thrown out of whack for a few days, especially as I was then at the east-coast for 3 days shortly afterwords.

This article is also a special thank-you for their patience in the matter.

So, I’m still alive, so please stay tuned for my upcoming articles Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

The day I could have died.

Me & the Family in York + [A Revisited] Travelodge Logo

Andrew Kelsall — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 10:22:51 PDT

◥ Me, Wife & Kids next to York Castle.

I have just returned from a couple of days camping a few miles away from the ancient City of York (England). I went with my family and some other family members. We had plenty of sunshine and it turned out to be a great short break away.

◥ York City Wall.

As can be seen, I yet again have my daughter strapped to my back! Check out my earlier photo from London regarding this. Note the red circle in the background…

◥ York Travelodge

A while ago, I wrote an article named 3 Great Logos I saw on the Motorway—and one of the logos I wrote about was the Travelodge logo. In the comments section, fellow blogger and designer David Airey made the following comment:

Had to make a comment about the Travel Lodge logo. I don’t feel the graduations are doing it any favours, and would like to see how it works as flat art (e.g. for use on uniforms).

Well, after noticing this white-coloured Travelodge logo after walking around part of the ancient York Wall, I couldn’t help noticing how thin the lines were which are contained in the icon. It does look rather classy, however, I feel a little more weight would have done the logo justice—and maybe the logo would have looked better than the gradient version afterall?

What a Mix

Yeah, this is quite a mixed-up blog post. As designers, even when we are away relaxing, the designer-brain never turns off. What do you notice design-wise when you’re away supposedly taking a break? Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

Me & the Family in York + [A Revisited] Travelodge Logo

It Happened: I Nearly BROKE a Client’s Hand!

Andrew Kelsall — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 09:28:33 PDT

I’m sure you read articles about how to shake a client’s hand—or how not to. About 10 years ago, I once shook the hand of a client, who gave me the lamest, most limp-wristed hand shake ever—and I have always remembered it. Shorty after receiving payment from this client, with no cover letter or thank you note with the cheque, I remembered that dreaded handshake that basically said “I don’t like you”.

Ever since then, I have always given any client [I physically met] a very firm handshake. I never want to give a lame handshake like the one I received 10 years ago. However, recently I went to meet some clients that I was producing some work for (which was large-format prints, so I was physically erecting the display work).

Anyway, to cut a long story short, I reached over to shake the client’s hand and I heard and felt every finger of his give a mighty CRACK. This was then followed by a loud “Ouch!”. To say that I was both embarrassed and concerned was an understatement. Fortunately, he was okay after the event—and I apologised for the incident.

I don’t think my hand shake was particularly too crushing, but I reckon his hand was more fragile than most. In future, I’ll be performing hand shakes with slightly less grip, but still firm—and I hope that I’ll never break a client’s hand.

I learned much from this episode, but I reckon I’ll be paranoid about shaking hands from now on.

Have you had a bad experience shaking a client’s hand? Do you have any other client nightmare stories to share? Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

It Happened: I Nearly BROKE a Client’s Hand!

Do you use Dribbble? What do you think of it?

Andrew Kelsall — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 08:11:23 PDT

Just a quick update to let you know that I’m now on Dribbble. I was kindly drafted a few weeks ago by follow designer Chad Engle of Fuel Your Creativity (you can view his work on Dribbble).

What is Dribbble?

Dribbble is show and tell for designers, developers and other creatives. Members share sneak peeks of their work as “shots” — small screenshots of the designs and applications they are working on. It’s also a place to talk design, give and receive feedback and iterate toward better work (from the Dribbble site FAQ).

I’ve quite taken to this service over the past couple of weeks, and I’ve had some valuable feedback on my designs, too. If you’re currently a user, you can follow me on Dribbble here.

So far, I’ve only uploaded a hand-full of “shots”, but these include a logo design for my Wife’s side-business and my new upcoming blog header.

Do you use Dribbble? What do you think of it? Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

Do you use Dribbble? What do you think of it?

Free Poster Download “You Can Read Better Than I Can Design Posters”

Andrew Kelsall — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 09:30:04 PDT

I’ve had the concept for this poster in-mind for many months now. It’s based on the premise that it doesn’t matter what order the letters of a word are in—just as long as the first and last letters are in the correct place (according to researchers at Cambridge University).

For example, try reading this:

Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

Cool huh? I thought so too. My thinking is that the sentence on the poster design should read “You Can Read Better Than I Can Design Posters“. I hope no explanation is necessary regarding to humorous nature of the design (?) The image below shows some detail from the poster, with a slightly-patterned background effect.

Download for Free

The poster is available for download in both A4 and USA desktop printer sizes, saved in PDF Format:

• USA Version (8.5″ x 11″) @300dpi: Download PDF

• A4 Version (21cm x 29.7cm) @300dpi: Download PDF

• Don’t have a PDF Reader? Get one from Adobe Software Here

This poster design is branding with a Creative Commons Licence: Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 Generic

Questions & comments welcome… Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

Free Poster Download “You Can Read Better Than I Can Design Posters”

Unique CD Jewel Case Design

Andrew Kelsall — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 11:29:00 PDT

I recently wrote an article about the unique media designed by 5inch. Yesterday, I was clearing up some paperwork in my office, and found this CD artwork I designed for a local band a few years ago.

As can be seen, it uses a unique CD Jewel Case Design that houses a clear disc.

The image above is the reverse of the jewel case, with another element of the design that shows through. When the CD is “sprung out” of the case using the trigger, the rest of the design can be viewed.

Have you designed CD artwork that uses a jewel case like this? Have you designed a cover that uses another unique-style of case? Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

Unique CD Jewel Case Design

AndrewKelsall.com Hacked

Andrew Kelsall — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 17:20:33 PDT

Apologies if you have visited my site over the past couple of days and have clicked on links that took you to spam-sites. My site is hosted over at Media Temple, where there has been a system-wide incident.

Basically, malicious code was injected into the WordPress blogs from a certain section of their servers. If you are hosted by (mt) on their Grid Server, you may want to check out their solution to the problem. The solution isn’t easy if you’re not competent with using phpmyAdmin (like myself) but follow the instructions and contact support if you get stuck. To be fair, the support over at (mt) were pretty good.

A big thank-you to blogger Andrew Keir who alerted me to the problem. Checking my own links isn’t something I do too often, so thanks Andrew for alerting me! I can remember back in 2007, when fellow blogger David Airey had his site stolen/hacked, but I’m glad my incident wasn’t anywhere near as bad as his situation.

The bug also brought down the other sites on my server, so I’ve had my hands busy this weekend. Ironically, I had deactivated my security WP plugins a few weeks back when I upgraded to WordPress 3.0 (as they was a code-conflict of some kind).

Anyway, I’ve now reactivated and sorted a couple of WP plugins. I already had antivirus running, but it didn’t work in this case for some reason. Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

AndrewKelsall.com Hacked

Design Week…and a Dodgy Picture of Me

Andrew Kelsall — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 08:34:51 PDT

I was amazed last week to hear that I had a won a years free subscription to Design Week. I took part in a competition over at Graphic Design Forums, with the top prize been Adobe CS5 premium (all the winners are listed here). Since I only own the CS5 standard version, it would have made a great prize. However, I’m content with the prize I won. All I had to do to enter the competition was to tweet my entry.

“Magazines are weird”

Winning this subscription reminded me that I haven’t read an actual printed magazine for years. I used to buy Design Week to read on the train when I worked for a design studio in Leeds, back-in-the-day. I’m so used to consuming content online, that reading from a paper magazine seems just weird! I even read the Bible online, and the first book I bought in years was Logo Design Love (which I need to complete).

Do I like Design Week?

It used to be a favourite of mine, along with Creative Review, however, things have changed in this online world. There’s nothing contained in the magazine that I cant already read online, but I reckon the design directory in the back pages is top-notch, and well worth keeping hold of.

Sidenote: to my amazement, there’s a large advert in the magazine for a design company…which uses Comic Sans throughout the entire add. Nice…

Do You still read magazines, or do you consume all your information online? Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

Design Week…and a Dodgy Picture of Me

Beat the Credit Crunch with Amazing Design

Andrew Kelsall — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 10:46:48 PDT

When we were in the midst of the credit crunch, did you hear words like “sub-prime”, “CDO” and “Hedge Fund”, but had little idea about how they were all connected and how this credit crunch derived? Well, I was a little confused myself, but recently I came across this great 2-part infographic by Good.is.

After watching various reports about the credit crunch on the news over 2 years, I had a fair idea about what was going on. However, after just reviewing this infographic for just a few minutes, I suddenly knew 10 times as much.

You can view the infographic on the Good.is site. Part 1 is here and part 2 is here.

I’ve been interested in infographics for years, and have always wanted to design one at some point. The good ones prove that amazing design can indeed teach facts far better than general information and articles.

The Person Looking in this Mirror is Responsible for their Health & Safety

Andrew Kelsall — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 08:41:51 PDT

I produce a fair amount of large-format prints as part of my business. Lately, I had some “spare printing space” when printing some designs for a British company.

So, I had 7 signs printed that read “The Person Looking in this Mirror is Responsible for their Health & Safety”.

This sign reads: The Person Looking in this Mirror is Responsible for their Health & Safety.

This sign is unique with only a few produced. The sign has been professionally designed this year with a stunning design not found anywhere else online!

• The sign comes complete with a 15″ square plastic mirror with rounded edges.

• There are 2 A5 sized plastic wallets attached to insert your own company logo and Health & Safety guidelines, etc.

• The signs are made from highly durable 5mm-thick Black Foamex® (which is a special plastic-foam hybrid material). The sign can be attached to a wall with screws, as the material handles like sheet-wood, with no pre-drilling required.

• The signs are full-colour, with a special anti-scratch & anti-glare coating laminate applied.

• Size is 91cm x 63cm approx. / 35″ x 25″ approx.

I am selling these signs on my site here. Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

The Person Looking in this Mirror is Responsible for their Health & Safety

The Typical Freelancer Workload

Andrew Kelsall — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 08:49:24 PDT

Thanks to all my loyal readers and subscribers. You’ve done a great job sticking by me through a lack of posts lately.

The truth is I’m busy; busy designing, which is a good thing—but unfortunately I haven’t had time to update my main blog here at AndrewKelsall.com

Here’s what I’ve been busy with:

• A Logo design + WordPress website for a Singer/Songwriter

• Another Logo design + WordPress website for a Church

• A poster and leaflet campaign that appeared in local Job Centres (Yorkshire, UK)

• Two sets of fire-route graphics using schematics for 2 buildings

• A set of 5 large format graphics for a transport department

• A set of leaflets and posters for the same Singer/Songwriter

• Another CD cover for a local band

Time-permitting, I’ll be posting some work process’s of a selection of projects soon.

Other News:

I’m now on Dribbble, albeit on-there with just one upload at the moment, but I hope to be dedicated user soon.

The World Cup is on (in case you didn’t know), so I’m trying to watch the matches online whilst working. Now that’s multitasking

I’m looking for people to work with who can competently code PSDs into WordPress themes. Please read this previous post and leave your details if you’re a Star…

Are you a designer? Are you keeping busy? Let me know what you’re up to…. Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

The Typical Freelancer Workload

First Blog Post from iPad

Andrew Kelsall — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 06:37:20 PDT

Alas, the iPad is finally here in the UK. I read posts about the pros and cons of the iPad before deciding to buy one for the following reasons:

1. To run my blog on (that is, writing new content and responding to comments).
2. To consume content (mainly RSS feeds and design research).
3. To be able to write an article whist lounging around the house and garden. Yeah, I could do this with my trusty ‘ol MacBook, but for some reason I just can’t get comfy with the little blighter—and when I do, the kids try and jump all over it.
4. Oh yeah, I want to see my kids more, without been sat in the worlds smallest office!

After writing so far (using the official WordPress App) I must say its been quite easy to say the least. I haven’t quite figured out how to crop a photo on the iPad yet (maybe there’s an App for that too), but it doesn’t bother me too much at the moment, as most of my images are cropped and watermarked in Photoshop anyway. So for now, I think I’ll give writing on the iPad a good run, but get my photos together and sort out the SEO pack information on my iMac before publishing.

….Hmm, I can’t seem to make a link.

The jury is still out. Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

First Blog Post from iPad

How to Design a CD Album for a Local Band

Andrew Kelsall — Sun, 09 May 2010 13:44:23 PDT

Here is a CD Album Design I produced for a local band named “The Reeds”, a Christian-based 2-piece who produced music for the album “all in a days musing”. Even though I produced this artwork a few years back, it’s one of my favourite CD designs I have produced, so I thought I’d feature it.

Firstly, Scott and Karen (the Reeds) provided me with a detailed description of what they wanted, including a set of photographs of themselves to be utilised in the design. The design I produced was for a CD jewel case with black tray. The reverse printed colour and so was the face-up side of the 4-page inner booklet. The inner booklet was black & white.

I designed most of the CD cover in Adobe Illustrator®. I made the reeds-illustrations in vector format and tweaked them in Photoshop® before compiling the whole design set back in Illustrator® before exporting to PDF-X.

The CD print was comprised of two Pantone® colours, which I instructed the printers to print straight onto the CD face. This utilised the silver of the disc face as “a third colour” in a way, which maximised the simple yet attractive design.

As can be seen in the above image, there isn’t a lot of space on the jewel case spine for the allocated text. My article on CD Design Tips (on point 7) address’s the issue of getting this critical text positioning right.

When designing a CD cover, one great thing you can do is use an unusual, but appropriate font. Here, I used a readable yet original font on the CD back tray and throughout the design. As there is limited information, a non-standard font can be used in keeping with the style of design.

Further resources: Scott Antony Wainright (from the Reeds) solo music sites: on MySpace & also on his Own Site

Any questions? Please ask them below or leave a general comment. Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

How to Design a CD Album for a Local Band

How does a Freelancer Relax?

Andrew Kelsall — Sun, 02 May 2010 15:00:31 PDT

How does a Freelancer Relax? It’s hard to switch off our minds sometimes to the varied project assignments we work on most days.

Fortunately for me, I have my trusty four-legged friend, Bailey—my somewhat-loyal English Springer Spaniel. Taking him for a walk down the fields where I live on the border of South and West Yorkshire, England, can be a massive stress reliever.

I took photo above this winter. Since I posted a photo of me, my wife and two kids recently, I also thought I’d introduce my trusty floppy-eared pet, too!

Do you have a dog? What other pets do you think can help de-stress and relax us after hectic days? Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

How does a Freelancer Relax?

The Worst Designer on the Planet. Ever.

Andrew Kelsall — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 13:54:02 PDT

Last year, I designed my new business card design—I even wrote about how indestructible it allegedly was.

On another matter, I would like to point out how important it is to have some “clear space” on a business card design—so potential clients can write handy notes down on it. Why would clients do this? Maybe you’ve spoken to them on the phone, and they quickly need to write down a detail you have told them. Maybe they quickly need to write down your lead-time or ball-park figure quote.

Obviously, if the client thinks that you are the worst designer on the planet, there’s space for that, too

There’s plenty of space on the back of my own business card for clients to scribble on, should they wish. I would like to think that their notes look like the image just above—and not the image from the start of this post.

What’s prompted me to write this fairly humourous article is that lately, I’ve been receiving a fair amount of quote requests just by word-of-mouth and using contact details from my business cards I hand to clients.

It just goes to show, business cards can be a huge asset to the independent designer when they are given to the right people. Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

The Worst Designer on the Planet. Ever.

Free Texture Pack for Download: Bricks, Paving & Tarmac

Andrew Kelsall — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 10:02:39 PDT

Here I have a collection of 7 different high resolution textures free for download (link at base of post). There are photos of block paving bricks (both closeup and far away), tarmac road surfaces & brick walls in both red and grey colours:

Most of the images are in hi-res (up to 12 megapixels – 4000 x 3000px) so they’re good enough for use in print projects.

These free brick and tarmac textures are 100% royalty-free (and free to use commercially), but please credit this page if you use them online (although, this is not a requirement). I took the photos at various times throughout last year—and I hope you find some good uses for them.

Please note: these images are NOT for redistribution or resale online.

Download Link (24.8 MB Zip File): 7 High Resolution Brick, Block Paving & Tarmac Textures Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

Free Texture Pack for Download: Bricks, Paving & Tarmac

TwittBits: 100 Great Links

Andrew Kelsall — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 15:16:51 PDT

It’s been a while since my last TwittBits post, so I thought it prudent to keep to series going. This time, I have a list of 100 great links that I either discovered myself or retweeted on Twitter.

I hope you find something useful

♥ RT @chrisspooner 50 Illustrator Tutorials Every Designer Should See, Blog.SpoonGraphics http://bit.ly/bbZnln

♥ Entertainment Web: Urban Camouflage http://bit.ly/9IFj9m

♥ How to Make a Screencast for Your Website | Webdesigner Depot http://bit.ly/9iP2ct

♥ RT @justcreative 94 interviews with 39 designers, developers and bloggers – http://bit.ly/bwXoGr

♥ RT @KarenMcDade // RT @k4v3rn4 40 of the Most Interesting and Creative Guerrilla and Ambient Advertising Campaigns | http://ow.ly/1vhkp

♥ Implementing A Good Redesign: Advices And Examples http://bit.ly/9vMUqK

♥ RT @robcubbon Free “How to Market Yourself Online” e-book! Download now! http://is.gd/bhxiQ

♥ RT 70 Photoshop Tutorials For Creating Perfect Typography | Creative Nerds http://su.pr/2Eef5q

♥ Guide to Localizing Your Design Business http://su.pr/2BTSR5

♥ 4 People You Should Ask For Website Feedback | Webdesigner Depot http://su.pr/1wsjtS

♥ A List Apart: Articles: Contrast is King http://su.pr/1pqxf5

♥ RT @ChristianDesign Make History by Downloading History! – Invade The Airwaves campaign for UK Band Delirious? http://awe.sm/53Bt2

♥ The Ultimate Guide to Twitter Theme Design | Graphic and Web Design Blog http://bit.ly/d6BAw3

♥ RT @mashable Our Choice: The Funniest April Fools Jokes http://bit.ly/cfezdt

♥ RT @inspiredmag Creative and Elegant Business Cards From February http://bit.ly/c4QdR6

♥ Excellent Shopping Cart Designs: Showcase and Best Practices | Graphic and Web D.. http://bit.ly/9k5efG

♥ 44 Free Stylish Graffiti Fonts for Designers | Naldz Graphics http://su.pr/20jkZ1

♥ Logo Design: Flowers, Plants and Trees | Abduzeedo | Graphic Design Inspiration .. http://su.pr/8kJPYE

♥ The World’s Most Beautiful Bridges | Webdesigner Depot http://su.pr/1M8LrH

♥ How NOT to lock your Bike in New York City (Pic) http://su.pr/7jEq5b

♥ Great Man Cave Designs http://is.gd/b5wA8

♥ 10 creative design ideas for your electric plugs http://bit.ly/aV0yYZ

♥ RT @toxel 12 Cool Products for your Kitchen http://bit.ly/dfXWWA

♥ 10 Most Commonly Used Colors In Web Design And Their Examples | Design Newz http://su.pr/2PhWhW

♥ 10 Ways Designers Can Earn More from Projects http://su.pr/1ewSqt

♥ 60 Apple Inspired Websites – Why Apple Design Works? | Graphic and Web Design Blog http://su.pr/1ni4n9

♥ RT @line25blog Line25 Sites of the Week for March 26th 2010 http://bit.ly/b1V9s4

♥ Infinite USB | Concept Design – http://www.buzz-beast.com/2010/03/infinite-usb-concept-design.html

♥ #ChristianDesigns RT Free Poster Download: John 3:16 http://awe.sm/52bt6

♥ RT @nettuts 10 Features to Look Forward to in WordPress 3.0 http://bit.ly/8ZztaV

♥ RT @DavidAirey [from the blog] 10 tips to improve your ‘about’ page: http://bit.ly/98yK4Z

♥ RT @brianyerkes RT @brianyerkes RT @Laughing_Lion: New Photo: Little Church (For St. Patrick’s Day) http://dlvr.it/HCMl Nicde Pic

♥ RT @mashable Design Free Digital Business Cards with DooID http://bit.ly/c8s2Gk

♥ How to Be Corporate and Still Be Creative | Webdesigner Depot http://ow.ly/1qaazD

♥ RT @1stwebdesigner How To Make Cool Icons For Your Social Media Buttons With Adobe Photoshop | Grap.. http://ow.ly/1qspg0

♥ RT @chrisspooner Finding your voice in the design community – http://is.gd/aKKn2 (Be Genuine, yeah!)

♥ RT @RobCubbon New Post: How to create a web button in depth #photoshop http://bit.ly/9HgnpG

♥ Good to know: CSS Bugs and Inconsistencies in Firefox 3.x | Webdesigner Depot http://ow.ly/1qsdjK

♥ Ultimate Roundup of Free User Interface Icons | Graphic and Web Design Blog -Res.. http://bit.ly/cuQ9iw

♥ Ultimate Star Wars Room Decor | Interior Designs And Home Ideas http://is.gd/aItFb

♥ Highspeed Photogaphy: Drops | Abduzeedo | Graphic Design Inspiration and Photoshop Tutorials http://ow.ly/1qser1

♥ Colour Theory chart: http://is.gd/aItwi

♥ 5 Tips To Optimize Your WordPress.org Blog For Search Engines http://tinyurl.com/yb4ynj8

♥ Save pens. Use Garamond font: http://is.gd/atI0g (too much time on their hands)

♥ RT @dot_design RT @imascientist: Junk food manufacturers are like the new tobacco companies designed to make us overeat http://bit.ly/cEnTN5

♥ Great use of Typography in Advertising – 150+ Examples-unstage http://bit.ly/a6g10K

♥ Design Around the World: Metro Maps | Webdesigner Depot http://tinyurl.com/ybq7oxe

♥ Anti theft lunch bags. Great concept: http://is.gd/almrz

♥ I May try this for letters to clients: DIY Wooden Wax Seal: http://is.gd/alm7Y

♥ 25 Awesome Tips to Become a Successful Freelancer | Graphic and Web Design Blog .. http://bit.ly/amDh4D

♥ WordPress vs. ExpressionEngine: Apples and Oranges? | Webdesigner Depot http://bit.ly/cbVPIe

♥ RT @Creative_Fan 30 Outstandingly Creative Poster Designs http://bit.ly/cD0wIL

♥ Inspirational 50 Twitter Backgrounds Showcase | Graphic and Web Design Blo… http://tinyurl.com/ybf8g2e

♥ Okay, One more link. Check this out: The Glennz Tee store. Best.Tees.Ever. http://store.glennz.com Follow: @glennztees

♥ Brilliant!! 30 Hilarious Print Advertisements | Spyre Studios http://tinyurl.com/y8jyl22

♥ Colorburned | More Stunning Smoke: 30 High Resolution Photoshop Brushes http://bit.ly/dw1TXE

♥ Why As a freelancer you should use twitter | Creative Nerds http://bit.ly/ai9ymj

♥ 20 Questions To Ask Clients Prior To Designing A Logo http://tinyurl.com/mjj828

♥ 50 great snowboard designs | TheLanceLife http://tinyurl.com/yc8uzrt

♥ 1000+ Best Free Twitter Icons http://bit.ly/c35lWO

♥ 40 Superb T Shirt Designs Which Will Make You Look Twice | Graphic and Web Desig.. http://bit.ly/d6koEz

♥ Why Designers Shouldn’t Settle | Webdesigner Depot http://ow.ly/1pX6wT

♥ 30 Powerful WordPress Plugins For Blog Administrators | Graphic and Web Design B.. http://bit.ly/cJ3NAH

♥ “How to Kill the Design Community”| Webdesigner Depot http://bit.ly/aGJzdf

♥ Great Backgrounds: Blurry Lights of NYC http://bit.ly/9iK8dP

♥ Texture Thursday: Glass 2 « PSDFan http://tinyurl.com/yc4ezft

♥ 20 Unique and Creative Logo Designs http://tinyurl.com/y9hrkro

♥ Make Watercolor and Marker Style Portraits with Illustrator http://bit.ly/cvgZ08

♥ Outlaw Design Blog » Useful Ways Creatives Can Use Digital Cameras http://cli.gs/as7QY

♥ RT @LogoDesignLove Landor’s identity for 7×7 http://bit.ly/a4DNUR *Interesting “retro” poster design concept

♥ RT @styletime RT @justcreative 102 Respected Designers You Should Follow On Twitter http://bit.ly/cHSL7q

♥ 50 Useful Cartoon Character Design Tutorials http://is.gd/9515A

♥ The Wackiest and Most Creative iPhone Cases | Webdesigner Depot http://tinyurl.com/yk7aced

♥ Showcase of Great Web App Interfaces | Webdesigner Depot http://ow.ly/1pazLE

♥ RT @abdussalam123 30+ Handy Blank Templates for Designers http://bit.ly/6E34ED

♥ 16 Interesting WordPress Plugins to maximize Traffic and Followers from Social Net.. http://ow.ly/180T3

♥ Interesting logo concept from David Pache: WineVision ~ http://www.helveticbrands.ch/portfolio/branding/winevision/

♥ A Guide to Creating Professional Quality Logo Designs http://ow.ly/1p5tpf

♥ 55 Examples of Huge Typography in Web Design | Inspiration http://ff.im/-glncV

♥ Comics of the Week #13 | Webdesigner Depot http://bit.ly/dk8vyc

♥ Collection Of 40 Best Carefully Hand Picked Retro Designs | Graphic and Web Design Blog -Resources… http://bit.ly/aY6H6q

♥ RT @GadgetLab Swarm of Micro-Helicopters Could Create a Giant 3-D Display http://bit.ly/98Catn

♥ The Many Faces of Nazaury Delgado | Webdesigner Depot http://is.gd/8F6zL

♥ 44 Awesome Business Card Designs that Will Inspire You http://tinyurl.com/yga47wv

♥ 20 Breathtaking & Eye Catching Design Wallpapers http://bit.ly/8OWesR

♥ RT @BLblog Living in a Shell – Nautilus House http://bit.ly/Dug2Z

♥ 80 Awesome Fresh Post for Designers and Developers|tripwire magazine http://tinyurl.com/y9aqhsa

♥ 50 Excellent WordPress Themes For Starting an Online Magazine http://is.gd/8mIDi

♥ Smashing Slab Serif Typography « CreativityDen http://ow.ly/1oDjmK

♥ RT @toxel Toxel.com » Modern Beds and Creative Bed Designs http://bit.ly/NdmFC

♥ Blast from the Past: Vintage Technologies That We No Longer Use | Webdesigner Depot http://is.gd/8ALkA

♥ 35 Latest High-Quality Free Fonts for Professional Designers http://tinyurl.com/y9luas2

♥ A chat with Chris Spooner | TheLanceLife http://tinyurl.com/ya4qu5p

♥ Bizarre & Stylish Steampunk Creations http://is.gd/8siVl

♥ RT @FreelanceFolder Open Thread: Do You Take All the Work You Are Offered? http://bit.ly/9LqnDa

♥ 70 Business Card Designs | designrfix.com http://tinyurl.com/ycy74gg

♥ Mega Collection of The Best Free Social Media Icons for Designers http://is.gd/85sLx

♥ RT @Designrfix 40 Useful Photoshop Tutorials on Photo Manipulation | designrfix.com http://bit.ly/1njkp

♥ RT @fudgegraphics Free High Resolution Plain and Grunge Paper Textures http://bt.io/ESyz Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

TwittBits: 100 Great Links

Me and my Family in Piccadilly Circus, London

Andrew Kelsall — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 05:35:40 PDT

Recently, I took another trip down to London (UK), which is about 260 miles south from where I live, near the City of Leeds (Google Maps #ref. here). My Family and I spent a couple of nights at a friends house, near London City Centre.

This is a photo of me, me wife and 2 little kids at the infamous Piccadilly Circus. As can be seen, I carried my daughter around in a new innovative “Child-Rucksack” device, which was really great—especially when it came to riding the London Underground.

The last time I was in London, I wrote an article named Three Great Logos I saw in London, but this time I was way too busy to notice great design…as the kids kept me busy! Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

Me and my Family in Piccadilly Circus, London

Am I really Quitting? No…April Fools!

Andrew Kelsall — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 09:26:33 PDT

In my last post, I told how I’d won millions of pounds and was going to quit blogging and travel the world!

While it would be good to travel the globe, unfortunately, I don’t have rich relatives (that I know of) who have made me a millionaire.

Thanks to everyone who left messages on twitter about my post. Most of you knew it was an April Fools joke, hehe.

For a round up of the best April Fools jokes this year, Mashable have a great article showcasing the best ones.

BTW, if anyone does have a few million pound to spare, please give freely Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

Am I really Quitting? No…April Fools!

Why I’m Quitting Blogging: My Last Post

Andrew Kelsall — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 08:28:52 PDT

This is a really quick post. Basically (and to cut a long story short), I’ve just inherited a couple of million pounds from a relative of mine who has just passed away.

I’ll update this post with more info soon, however, this will be my final article (and the end of this blog). I plan to travel the world and buy a mansion somewhere. I will still work on existing projects, but will not be taking on any more work until my world tour is over.

Thanks everyone for reading my blog over the past year.

Comments are closed for this article. Please Contact Me for more info.

Bye for now… Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

Why I’m Quitting Blogging: My Last Post

Top 10 Visually Outstanding CD Sleeves

Andrew Kelsall — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 11:17:59 PDT

I’ve been a fan of CD Sleeve design for as long as I can remember (I also design them). Here, I have collated 10 of the most Visually Outstanding CD designs that I have seen over the past few years and even recently.

I don’t think these are great because of the bands they represent, but just because they have the “Wow” factor that would make you want to look at them further… Enjoy!

Lemon Jelly “Lost Horizons” CD Cover Design

Interpol “Our Love to Admire” CD Sleeve Design

Interpol “Best of” CD Cover Design

Feeder “Echo Park” CD Sleeve

Editors “An End Has a Start” CD Cover Design

Muse “The Resistance” CD Sleeve

Björk “Volta” Album Art

The Prodigy “The Fat of the Land” Album Art

Coldplay “X & Y” CD Sleeve

Delphic “Delphic” Album Cover

I plan to compile another list soon listing some great “Conceptual CD Sleeve Designs”. Why not subscribe to my Andrew Kelsall RSS Feed">RSS Feed or get Free Updates by Email so you don’t miss a thing? Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

Top 10 Visually Outstanding CD Sleeves

American-English or English Spelling in Blogs? UPDATED

Andrew Kelsall — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 15:00:06 PDT

Image: LexnGer

**There is a NEW UPDATE at the end of this article**

The last time a flew over to Florida on holiday, I can fondly remember having a bowl of Froot Loops® (which aren’t sold in England) and recognizing how brightly colored they were…or were they coloured?

As an Englishman, I know all-too-well that there are differences between English spelling and American-English spelling. Being aware of this, I always try to tailor the language of my articles to the main target audience. For example, for general articles, I will use American-English spelling as my reader-base is about 66% American. However, for my posts about work that I have done locally here in the UK, I will use native English spelling. Why? Because these articles are not only aimed at the ‘general reader’ and subscribers, but my local market—who may want to hire me for similar work, etc.

There is a resourceful Wikipedia article regarding some of the differences between the spelling of particular words on both sides of the pond. Here are some commonly-used words used:

(English version first, then American-English)

Color — Colour
Aeroplane — Airplane
Aluminium — Aluminum
Mum — Mom (I would never use this one)
Cheques — Checks
Speciality — Specialty

Furthermore, many UK words ending with “ise” such as specilise, recognise, and realise are spelt organize, recognize, and realize in American. Oh coarse I could go on and on, well beyond the scope of this post — I could discuss the use of totally different American and British words with the same meaning (Holiday and Vacation, for example), but I’ll end this article here.

What kind of spelling do you use of your blog or site? Do you tailor your language like myself, or always use one or the other? Your opinions are welcome…

UPDATE

Since writing this article about a year ago, I have changed my mind on the whole issue. Why? Because even though it sounded like a smart choice at the time, I realised over the past few months how annoying it all was. It seemed right for me to adjust the spelling in my actual blog posts, but when it came to writing replies to comments “in my own voice” so -to-speak, I hit a conundrum. How could spool-off natural comments when I was constantly adjusting the spelling? I couldn’t keep doing it.

I started to revert back to my native English spelling a few posts ago, and glad I did so. Final note: Alex, Richard, Aaron, David, Chris and Rebecca—your advice was correct all along—thanks for your input Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

American-English or English Spelling in Blogs? **UPDATED**

How to Limit Information Overload

Andrew Kelsall — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 16:39:47 PDT

With all the social networks popping-up here, there and everywhere lately—blogs (now in their multitudes), masses of great tools, tutorials and resources online too—I had began to feel like I was suffering from information overload.

The solution to this problem was actually a simple one: Limit the amount that I read everyday.

I’ve learned that skimming too many inspirational galleries actually depresses me. Why? Well, when the world’s “best of the best” is put side-by side, my owns work looks uninspiring by comparison. I’m sure most designers feel the same way.

Reading too many design blogs just hinders my own workflow. Now, I have started to just scan the titles of blog posts in my RSS reader until I find an article that will benefit me. There are a couple of blogs, though, who’s articles I always read.

Being overly social online simply takes up way too much of my time. For now, Twitter is my tool of choice. I simply don’t have an extra hour a day for another social platform—one is enough.

In the future, I plan to be more productive and proactive by digesting limited, but quality design-related information that benefits me as a professional designer.

Of course, I hope to be of help, assistance and inspiration to other designers and readers, too.

Do you feel like you’ve suffered from information overload recently? Let me know in the comments below, and we’ll discuss… Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

How to Limit Information Overload

5inch: Truly Unique Media

Andrew Kelsall — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:20:03 PDT

A while ago, I ordered some great-looking CD cases from a truly unique online CD and DVD media company named 5inch (by the way, this IS NOT an affiliate post).

The 5inch site is packed full of original, exciting and unique CD & DVD print designs, along with special colourful cases to match.

I once ordered some of their discs for a client project, and was very impressed with the quality of their products.

I even received a massive poster showing their CD designs when I made my first order (top photo), which has been on many different walls over the past 3 years.

So, if you ever need a pre-printed custom CDR or DVDR, I would definitely recommend 5inch. They also do hubs and Tees, too Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

5inch: Truly Unique Media

100 Fantastic Design Blogs (and their logos)

Andrew Kelsall — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 09:45:23 PST

Here is a fantastic list I have put together, showing 100 Design Blogs with their branding logos. They are shown in alphabetical order (well, mine’s at the top) together with a few words about the nature of the Blog. The blogs are primarily Graphic Design sites, with a few WordPress, Web Design and Inspiration sites thrown-in for a great mix—enjoy!

1 | Andrew Kelsall → Design Project Studies and Graphic Design Blog

2 | 10 Steps → Photoshop Tutorials and Resources

4 | 1st Web Designer → Design and Freelance

5 | Aaron Russell’s Blog → Web Design Tips

6 | Abduzeedo → Tutorials, Wallpapers and Design Showcase

7 | Aiburn → Art, Inspiration and Vectors

8 | Andrew Keir → Graphic Design & Inspiration Blog

9 | Andy Sowards → Web Design and Development Links

10 | Anidan Design → Web Development and WordPress

11 | Anti-Social Development → WordPress Tips and Links

12 | Arbenting → | Tutorials and inspiration

13 | Bittbox → Web Development and Freebies

14 | Blog Perfume → WordPress Tips and Themes

15 | Boag World → Web Design and Podcasting

16 | Brian Yerkes → Graphic & Web Design

17 | Chris Wallace → Worpress Themes and Blog

18 | ColourBurned → Graphic Design Resources and Tutorials

19 | Creatica Daily → Design Inspiration

20 | Creative Curio → Graphic Design & Inspiration Blog

15 | Creative Overflow → Photoshop and Anything Creative!

21 | CSS Tricks → CSS, Code and Web

22 | David Airey → Logo Design and Branding

23 | Dead Wings Designs →Print Design and Helpful Resources

24 | Design Blurb → Tutorials and Freebies

25 | Designer Daily → Graphic, Web Design and Inspiration

26 | Design Shard → Design, Inspiration and Free Resources

27 | Design Flavr → Art and Design Inspiration

28 | DesignM.ag → Web Development, Galleries and Inspiration

29 | Dev Snippets → Code, Galleries and Inspiration

30 | Design O’ Blog → Graphic Design and Illustration

31 | Designus → Design Resources and Freebies

32 | Digital Arts → Design Inspiration Magazine

33 | Dosh Dosh → Internet Marketing and Social Media

34 | Dot Design → | Graphic Design & Inspiration Blog

35 | Doug Draws → | Cartoons & Blogging

36 | DzineBlog → Inspiration and Resources

37 | Echo enduring Blog → Design, Illustration and Writing

38 | Elite by Design → Tutorials, Inspiration, and Resources

39 | Elliot Jay Stocks → Design, Illustration and WordPress

40 | Forty Seven Media Blog → Web and Graphic Design Blog

41 | Freelance Folder → Freelance Advice and Resources

42 | Freelance Switch → Freelance Advice and Resources

43 | Fudge Graphics → Free Textures and Resources

44 | Fuel Your Creativity → Inspiration, Freebies and Articles

45 | Function → Web Design and Development Blog

46 | Gabe Taviano → “Technology meets Eternity” Design Blog

47 | GoMediaZine → Tutorials, Freebies and Graphic Design Blog

48 | Helvetic Brands → Logo Design and Branding

49 | iDesignStudios Blog → Web Design and Freelancing

50 | I’m Just Creative → Logo Design and Brand Identity

51 | Inspiration Bit → Web Design, Photography and Blogging

52 | Inspiredology → Web Design and Inspiration

53 | InstantShift → Web Designers and Developers Daily Resource

54 | Janko At Warp Speed → Web Design, Freebies and Tutorials

55 | Just Creative Design → Graphic and Logo Design Blog

56 | Kyle Steed → Life + Design + Faith

57 | Laughing Lion Design Blog → Graphic Design and Inspiration

58 | Logo Design Love → Logo Design Blog

59 | Loon Design → Tutorials, Comic and Freelance

60 | Lost and Taken → Free High Resolution Textures

61 | Mayhem Studios → Graphic Design and Marketing

62 | MediaLoot → Premium Graphic Design Resources

63 | MyInkBlog → Graphic and Web Design

64 | Naldz Graphics → Tutorials, Freebies and Inspiration

65 | Net Tuts → Web Tutorials and Freebies

66 | Noupe → Photoshop, Tutorials and WordPress

67 | Outlaw Design Blog → Freebies, Tutorials and Resources

68 | Pixelflips → Web & Interface Designs

69 | Pro Blog Design →Wordpress, CSS and Php

70 | PSDFAN→ Photoshop Tutorials, Inspiration and Freebies

71 | PSD Tuts → Photoshop Tutorials, Inspiration and Videos

72 | QVectors → Vector Freebies and Blog

73 | Redswish → Web Design and Marketing Blog

74 | Rob Cubbon → Web design, print graphics & more!

75 | Script and Style → Design and Web Development Blog

76 | Sharebrain → Web Design, Fonts and Graphics

77 | Six Revisions → Web Development and Design Information

78 | Smashing Apps → Free and Useful Online Resources for Designers and Developers

79 | Smashing Magazine → Graphics, Inspiration, Coding and Design Magazine

80 | Spoon Graphics → Photoshop & Illustrator Tutorials and Freebies

81 | Standout Blogger → Blogging Tips To Help Improve Your Blogging

82 | STYL.ETI.ME → Design news and links

83 | Texture Lovers → Free Textures, Inspiration and Resources

84 | The Design Cubicle → Graphic Design, Twitter links and Inspiration

85 | The Roxor → Freebies, Tutorials, Logos, Package Design and Photography

86 | The Dieline → Package Design and Inspiration

87 | The Graphic Mac → Mac OS X tips, tutorials, resources and software reviews

88 | Think Design → Graphic Design Freebies, Resources, and Inspiration

89 | Tracey Grady → Graphic Design, Web Design and Illustration

90 | Tutorial9 → Photoshop Tutorials, Photography Tuts, and Resources

91 | Usability Post → Usability issues for Web and Design

92 | Vectips → Illustrator Tips, Tricks, and Tutorials

93 | Vectordairy → Illustrator Tutorials & Tips

94| Vector Tuts → Adobe Illustrator and Vector Tutorials

95 | Veerle’s Blog → Webdesign, CSS and Graphic Design Blog

96 | We Are Not Freelancers → Web, and Design Blog from Obox Design

97 | Web Designer Depot → Web Design Resources and Tutorials

98 | Web Design Ledger → Web Design Blog, Tutorials and Inspiration

99 | Well Medicated → Graphic Design and Inspiration Blog

100 | WP Beginner → Beginner’s Guide for WordPress + Resources

Okay, I worked on this list at various times over the last couple of months, so some of the graphics will be outdated. However, I do expect that I will expand upon this list and add other sites on at a later date. There are plenty of quality design blogs out there, so if I missed your blog, it may get added on the next revision Similar Posts of Interest

Post from: Andrew Kelsall | Graphic Designer | Poster and Logo Design

100 Fantastic Design Blogs (and their logos)