Lakia Ross Creative Blog

Website V3.1 Coming Soon

noreply@blogger.com (Lakia) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 21:14:00 +0000

Updates to my Portfolio site are coming soon, and I have a new url: lakiarosscreative.com.

New Clip Art for Sale!

noreply@blogger.com (Lakia) — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 18:56:00 +0000

Recently, I created a sweet set of ice cream clip art.

They are available for download individually for .99 or as a package of 10 for 7.99.

They are perfect for scrapbooking, party invitations, t-shirt graphics and website icons.

To purchase this clip art, visit Pixel Popsicle at Payloadz.

Thanks!

InDesign Tutorial: Turn Text into an Image Frame

noreply@blogger.com (Lakia) — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 00:09:00 +0000

Download the tutorial (better quality) InDesign_1.mov (3.3MB).

**Note: at :26 I mean text frame not image frame. Yar!

My Favorite Creatives

noreply@blogger.com (Lakia) — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 17:50:00 +0000

Eric Spiekermann – this links to his blog. I had the honor of meeting him my freshman year in college when he was a resident artist on my campus. Watching him critique the senior comm arts students was great. I learned a lot from his feedback to them.

Marian Bantjes – her lettering is lovely, lovely, lovely. And, I like the fact that her opinions are just as strong as her work.

Armin Vit – this link is to the design-centered site he founded with Bryony Gomez-Palacio. I love UnderConsideration and all of the mini-sites that sit under its umbrella.

Louise Fili – I attended one of her lectures in college. Her work is so unique, it seems to exist both in present time and somewhere in the past.

Michael Bierut – does he need an introduction? Is there a designer out there who hasn't attended one of his lectures? Does everyone else see his name misspelled half of the time?

Milton Glaser – I [heart] Milton Glaser. I love his insight into the business. And I love designers who can illustrate, too.

Jessica Hische – Keep an eye out for this one. She is gonna be famous. I believe she is currently at Louise Fili, Ltd. Her work is so vibrant and lovely; I think I hate her a little. : )

Coming Soon! New Website

noreply@blogger.com (Lakia) — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 17:29:00 +0000

New Lakia Ross Creative website coming soon!

I am diligently working away on it during the small pockets of time I have between projects.

New look, great new features. The site will have lots of resources for my fellow designers and my clients, like free templates to download. Estimated launch date in 2 weeks!

Wish I could BS into a £125,000 project

noreply@blogger.com (Lakia) — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 22:37:00 +0000

I think I am moving to Scotland.

Scotland just spent £125,000 to come up with the new tourism catchphrase ... “Welcome to Scotland.” Yes, you read that right. The Daily Record newspaper quotes: “top advertising brains” are responsible for the groundbreaking motto.

If they paid that much for Welcome to Scotland, imagine how much they'd pay for a good campaign.

read it at AdFreak.com
image came from here

Alignment

noreply@blogger.com (Lakia) — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 17:54:00 +0000

When creating blocks of text, stick to left-aligned (Flush left, ragged-right).
Justified alignment should only be used in a formal setting: contracts, bank prospectuses and the like. (It's frequently used in books and magazines to maximize space)

Also, full-justification is difficult to read by someone with a learning disability such as dyslexia.
And, we designers hate the gaps and rivers it creates.

Click Here for a great book on design basics such as alignment.

Heat & Read: Awesome Annual Report

noreply@blogger.com (Lakia) — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 20:47:00 +0000

Bake it to read it. Well Done (by Bruketa & Zinic) is an annual report for a huge foodstuff company in Europe, Podravka. What a great idea for an annual report!

What makes it great to me is not the creativity of the designers—we designers come up with amazing things everyday—it is the courage of Podravaka to go along with it and pay the cost, etc. I get so tired of clients going the "safe and cheap route." Sometimes, I think corporate america has completely homogenized design results.

(saw it first on boingboing, referenced it from dezeen.

Great Advice from Milton Glaser

noreply@blogger.com (Lakia) — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:30:00 +0000

Here is a link to an AIGA talk he did in 2001. Great advice, especially when design is your life, and not just your job.

Linktastic Friday: Free Fonts

noreply@blogger.com (Lakia) — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 17:42:00 +0000

Here are some free font websites:

Dingbat Depot
Search Free Fonts
Abstract Fonts
Better Fonts
dafont
25 geekiest free fonts
1001 Free Fonts
Urban Fonts
Free at MyFonts

Enjoy! And, remember, not more than two fonts per project!

A note for MS Word Users...

noreply@blogger.com (Lakia) — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 15:42:00 +0000

Simply put your message in big, bold letters—use colors and all caps if you must. Just please, please leave Word Art alone.

Typesetting Tips

noreply@blogger.com (Lakia) — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 15:22:00 +0000

Double spacing after a period is archaic—a remnant of typewriters and old monospaced type. If you are a graphic designer, chances are 99.9% of the documents you receive to drop into a layout have a double space after punctuation. To fix this, simply use your Find/Change menu to change the double to a single space.

Also, to quickly give your body of text a more sophisticated look, simply decrease the font size from the default of 12pt to 11 or 10pt (depending of the x-height of your font).

TYPOGRAPHY TIP

noreply@blogger.com (Lakia) — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 19:43:00 +0000

Never put a script font in all caps. It makes your message hard to read, looks inelegant, and, of course, all caps can read like you are YELLING. Also, it is rarely a good idea to mix two script fonts.

Free font for Halloween

noreply@blogger.com (Lakia) — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 04:56:00 +0000

Skull Font from Skull-a-day.
Saw it first on BoingBoing.

Other great fonts for Halloween include: Artistamp Medium, ReneLouis, Blood, Dead Ringer, Nosferatu, Scurlock, Vitriol, Mother Goose, Hellfire, Zombique, Spike Regular, Ogilvie, Cenobyte, Claw, A Lolita Scorned, Rothenburg Decorative, Bleeding Cowboys, and Fashyon.

...not to mention any blackletter font.

The GOCCO is back!

noreply@blogger.com (Lakia) — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 13:18:00 +0000

The Gocco is a quick and easy “screen printing” system that uses the basic principles of screenprinting and rubber-stamping. Self-contained and compact, it exposes and prints all in one unit. It uses flash bulbs, like those in old cameras, to imprint on a master screen. Then, prints are made by inking the master screen and pressing it against a sheet of paper placed on a spongepad.

Buy yourself one here.
Get the history and more info at SaveGocco.

toys + typography = neato

noreply@blogger.com (Lakia) — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 11:34:00 +0000

EveryoneForever blog has an interesting post about toypography, a neat take on the childrens' alphabet block. Wooden pieces spell out words in english (Roman) or Japanese characters and you can actually arrange the pieces to make an pictograph of the word.

(Saw it on BoingBoing)

I Am a Father - Book Launch

noreply@blogger.com (Lakia) — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 17:35:00 +0000

Here are some shots from the I am a Father by David Manuel book launch party.
The photos are courtesy of Moses Robinson.

If you are interested, you can purchase the book here.

It's not all been done before

noreply@blogger.com (Lakia) — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 03:31:00 +0000

I thought this was a very new, cool idea. (I'm jealous) =D

Four Books for Designers

noreply@blogger.com (Lakia) — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 15:11:00 +0000

Are you a freelance graphic designer? You need to own these books:

- The Business Side of Creativity, Cameron S. Foote ISBN 978-0393732078

- Graphic Designer's Guide to Clients: How to Make Clients Happy and Do Great Work , Ellen Shapiro ISBN 978-1581152760

- Talent Is Not Enough: Business Secrets For Designers, Shel Perkins ISBN 978-0321278791

- The Graphic Designer's and Illustrator's Guide to Marketing and Self-Promotion, Maria Piscopo ISBN 978-1581153637

Blog for the Day

noreply@blogger.com (Lakia) — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 15:38:00 +0000

Go here.
I really like the business/leadership posts on this blog.

A little help for the potential client

noreply@blogger.com (Lakia) — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:09:00 +0000

I think our clients are confused.

Many of us graphic designers find ourselves in a predicament when it comes to negotiating with potential clients—but I think it is not the clients fault, necessarily.

So, without further ado, I would like to provide some enlightenment for you out there seeking creative services:

You will be looking for one of two people: a graphic designer or a desktop publisher.

A desktop publisher (dtp) will know the software of the trade: Quark, InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, etc. They will also have some knowledge of the printing process and web publishing process. The desktop publisher provides a “look”—they can mimic current styles and trends; they may or may not have a associates degree or certificate in design, graphics, visual communication or something related. The main benefit of a desktop publisher is that their rates should be quite affordable: approx $10 - $12 hourly for a entry level dtp; up to $30/hr for a more seasoned dtp.

A graphic designer (communication designer) will know the software, have advanced knowledge of the printing process (they will know what a hickey is; they will be able to do printers spreads in their sleep), may have web/multimedia skills, and will probably have an associates, bachelors or higher. (Some lucky individuals may not have a degree, but may possess natural talent that supplements that.) A graphic designer will know typography, grid systems, gestalt theory, the golden section, basic copy writing, and all the other elements that are implemented in visual problem solving. They will probably be a member of a professional organization such as AIGA. Graphic designers aren't interested necessarily in mimicking current trends; they are interested in providing the best solution for a problem—which can end up spurring a new trend. They will do extensive research and will ask a lot of questions. Freelance graphic designers can charge $15 -$20/hr for entry level/just out of school, up to $250+ for seasoned professionals. Agencies may charge even more. The benefit of hiring a graphic designer is you are going to get a solution that will stand out, get results and have a bit of staying power over time.

So, I hope that helps you, dear client/employer, when you go to post a job description.
(And, I hope this helps our desktop publishers who may accidentally refer to themselves as graphic designers.)

Here's a link to some informational downloads from the AIGA.

Ideas: learn something; share something

noreply@blogger.com (Lakia) — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 16:28:00 +0000

ChangeThis is a wonderful site that uses existing technology to get ideas
out to the masses.

The template for their pdf format is well designed, and a lot of the manifestos I have read have been helpful and inspiring. They also have some manifesto proposals, if you are interested in contributing.

Camino

noreply@blogger.com (Lakia) — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 16:25:00 +0000

Use a Mac?
Use Firefox?

Check this out.

Is Futurebrand the ConAgra of the design world?

noreply@blogger.com (Lakia) — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 17:35:00 +0000

So, I have been in denial for nearly 4 years. I have been ignoring the new UPS logo and mentally replacing it with Paul Rand's masterpiece. I don't think I am ready to face this newer *camel of a logo. (I snatched the image on the left here.)

I love change. I thrive on change. But change for change's sake? (insert raspberry noise here)

I do have an interesting idea for redesigns of major brand logos. In order to receive a new “improved” mark, you have to have a documented 80% - 100% customer satisfaction rating. Of course, then who would Futurebrand design for then?

Have I mentioned that I love the Fedex logo? (If you are the last, and I mean last, person on earth who doesn't know, look at the arrow created by the e and x — in the negative space). Thanks, Mr. Leader.

* based on the ol' saying that a camel is a horse designed by committee.

Quote for the Day

noreply@blogger.com (Lakia) — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 21:26:00 +0000

The two worst things to say to a creative person: 1. That's been done before. 2. That's never been done before. - Seth Godin