Creative World

Vector Clip Art Sites for Editable Graphics 50+

2010-08-28T14:54:00.000-07:00

50+ Vector Clip Art Sites for Editable Graphics to Edit in Adobe Illustrator / CorelDraw, etc

There are two major drawbacks of most illustrated and cartoonish clip art that keep most designers from using them on a regular basis. These drawbacks are caused because of the issue that most clipart is in raster format(bitmap image … a file that is totally composed of tiny dots, or pixels). One of the drawbacks of most clip art is that you cannot edit these images in Adobe Illustrator or other vector art programs such as CorelDraw. The other major drawback is that you can not resize rasterized clip art without pixelating them. Because of these two major setbacks, many graphic designers prefer vector graphics and clip art. That is why I have taken the time to put together this list of 50+ vector clip art sites. If you know of any that I have missed, please comment below. Thank you.

ArtBitz Vector Clipart

Armorial Gold Vector Clipart (Heraldry Vector Art)

Art Favor

Art Spot Vector Art

BGA Graphics

Bittbox

Boxed Art Vector Icons

Brian Press

Buy Clip Art

Classic Vector ClipArt (Antique and Victorian Images)

Clipart.com Vector Art
Clipart Design
Clipart Lab
Cool Clipart
Cool Vectors
Free-Clip-Art
Digital-Clipart
Extreme Vector Clipart
Free Design Magazine
Free Vector Clip Art
Food for thought Vector Art (Food Vector Art)
Havannah Street Vector Clipart
Image Club Vector Clipart
Klipart
Logo Clipart
Mad Dog Vector Graphix
NVTech Vector Clipart Download Center
Plotter Art Originals (Vector graphics developed especially for computer sign making)
Public Domain Photos
PresentationMaps.com (Vector Maps)
StockAid
Tattoo Vector Clipart(Tattoo vector clipart)
The Ultimate Vector Art Symbol Collection (Vector collections of symbols, icons, and shapes)
Technical Vector ClipArt (Technical illustrations
UberPiglet
Vector Images
Vector Art
Vector4Free
Vector Cartoons
Vector Clipart
Vector Map Resources (Vector Map Graphics available in Adobe Illustrator vector format)
Vector Magic
Vectorizar (Italian Site)
Vecteezy (Free Vectors)
Ultimate Symbol
Web Chantier
http://ClipArtOf.com also offers vector illustrations.
http://www.toons4biz.com
http://www.vectorstock.com
http://www.123vectors.com
http://www.123freevectors.com
http://www.freevectors.com
http://www.freevectors.net

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* StumbleUpon's Recommendation Technology

2010-06-16T13:26:00.000-07:00

StumbleUpon integrates peer-to-peer and social networking principles with one-click blogging to create an emergent content referral system. Our patent-pending toolbar system automates the collection, distribution and review of web content within an intuitive social framework, providing users with a browsing experience which resembles "channel-surfing" the web. This architecture has easily scaled to millions of users.

StumbleUpon combines collaborative human opinions with machine learning of personal preference to create virtual communities of like-minded websurfers. Rating websites updates a personal profile (weblog) and generates peer networks of websurfers linked by common interest. These social networks coordinate the distribution of web content, such that users 'stumble upon' pages explicitly recommended by friends and peers. This social content discovery approach automates the "word-of-mouth" referral of peer-approved websites and simplifies web navigation.

World Cup Football 2010

2010-06-13T13:11:00.000-07:00

Adidas World Cup 2010 Competition Match Football - White/Black/Yellow. Revealed at 6pm on the 4th December This competition standard football is a replica of the Official 2010 FIFA World Cup Match Ball to be used at the greatest competition in the world from the 11th June 2010 in South Africa.
Football Design By Sailkot - PAKISTAN

Adobe Photoshop Creative World

2010-06-09T12:57:00.000-07:00

Make money from your Website or Blog with BidVertiser

losing weight with photoshop

Ugly Girl TRANSFORMED into a Hot Girl

Lindsay Lohan Makeover - Digital Beauty

Blending Two Pictures Tutorial

Stockfresh was founded by Peter Hamza and Andras Pfaff, who were behind the free stock photo community stock.xchng and its microstock sister site Stockxpert. Now they've sold their shares in those sites to create something new that emphasizes simplicity, quality, fair pricing, and fair commissions.

2010-06-07T15:17:00.000-07:00

After the success of the widely popular stock photography sites Stockxpert and stock.xchng, Hungary based Dream Group is entering the stock photo marketplace once again with Stockfresh a brand new microstock offering. The new website aims to offer the best royalty free images in the market at prices everyone can afford - via a hassle-free, clean and easy to use interface.

At launch the Stockfresh collection features over 100,000 images for sale from top stock photographers and studios such as Yuri Arcurs, Ron Chapple's Iofoto, Monkey Business Images, Dmitriy Shironosov and many more. They can be purchased through a wide range of pay per download and subscription plans available at highly competitive prices, and with Stockfresh's exceptionally high artist commissions customers can always be sure that their money goes to the right place. In addition to this, the website's easy to use, intuitive and uncluttered interface helps customers save time on their projects.

Stockfresh was founded by Peter Hamza and Andras Pfaff who have been in the stock photo industry for nearly 10 years and were also behind the highly successful free stock photo community stock.xchng and its microstock sister site Stockxpert. After working together with some of the biggest agencies they decided to become independent again and sold their shares in those sites to create something new and exciting from scratch along the values they believe in - in Peter Hamza's words "simplicity, quality, fair pricing and last but not least fair commissions".

Serif Launches DrawPlus X4

2010-04-21T13:56:00.000-07:00

The latest version of the bitmap and vector illustration package notably adds support for SVG files.

In the current economic climate the big-ticket graphics and design applications are less accessible to many, causing something of a resurgence of interest in applications with more modest price tags and, yes, capabilities. When it comes to bundling vector drawing and bitmap editing capabilities, Serif's DrawPlus package for Windows has to be one of the cheapest, with a £79.99 price. And yet a peek under the hood reveals some surprisingly serious functionality, such as its ability to create service bureau-ready PDF-X/1a files or open Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, EPS, PDF and CAD files. It can even edit SVG vector graphics and create modest Flash animations, so its vector illustration capabilities might make it attractive to those looking for an inexpensive alternative for Illustrator.

The new version adds effects that alter how layers and objects blend with each other; support for pressure-sensitive pens; dynamic guides and vertex snapping to accurately align objects, and connect lines and shapes; more than 70 bitmap effects and adjustments; improved brushes and color picker; and SVG vector format support.

DrawPlus X4 for Windows can be purchased on the Serif site.

Article What is Graphics Design?

2010-04-14T11:46:00.000-07:00

The term graphic design can refer to a number of artistic and professional disciplines which focus on visual communication and presentation. Various methods are used to create and combine symbols, images and/or words to create a visual representation of ideas and messages. A graphic designer may use typography, visual arts and page layout techniques to produce the final result. Graphic design often refers to both the process (designing) by which the communication is created and the products (designs) which are generated.

Common uses of graphic design include magazines, advertisements and product packaging. For example, a product package might include a logo or other artwork, organized text and pure design elements such as shapes and color which unify the piece. Composition is one of the most important features of graphic design especially when using pre-existing materials or diverse elements.
Contents

* 1 History
o 1.1 The advent of printing
o 1.2 Emergence of the design industry
o 1.3 Twentieth century design
* 2 Applications
* 3 Skills
o 3.1 Visual arts
o 3.2 Typography
o 3.3 Page layout
o 3.4 Interface design
o 3.5 Printmaking
o 3.6 Chromatics
* 4 Tools
o 4.1 Computers and the creative process
* 5 Occupations
* 6 See also
o 6.1 Related disciplines
o 6.2 Related topics
* 7 Footnotes
* 8 Bibliography
* 9 External links
o 9.1 Graphic Design Professional Associations

While Graphic Design as a discipline has a relatively recent history, graphic design-like activities span the history of humankind: from the caves of Lascaux, to Rome's Trajan's Column to the illuminated manuscripts of the Middle Ages, to the dazzling neons of Ginza. In both this lengthy history and in the relatively recent explosion of visual communication in the 20th and 21st centuries, there is sometimes a blurring distinction and over-lapping of advertising art, graphic design and fine art. After all, they share many of the same elements, theories, principles, practices and languages, and sometimes the same benefactor or client. In advertising art the ultimate objective is the sale of goods and services. In graphic design, "the essence is to give order to information, form to ideas, expression and feeling to artifacts that document human experience."[2]

During the Tang Dynasty (618–906) between the 4th and 7th century A.D. wood blocks were cut to print on textiles and later to reproduce Buddhist texts. A Buddhist scripture printed in 868 is the earliest known printed book. Beginning in the 11th century, longer scrolls and books were produced using movable type printing making books widely available during the Song dynasty (960–1279).[3] Sometime around 1450, Johann Gutenberg's printing press made books widely available in Europe. The book design of Aldus Manutius developed the book structure which would become the foundation of western publication design. This era of graphic design is called Humanist or Old Style. [4]

In late 19th century Europe, especially in the United Kingdom, the movement began to separate graphic design from fine art. Piet Mondrian is known as the father of graphic design. He was a fine artist, but his use of grids inspired the modern grid system used today in advertising, print and web layout. [5]

In 1849, Henry Cole became one of the major forces in design education in Great Britain, informing the government of the importance of design in his Journal of Design and Manufactures. He organized the Great Exhibition as a celebration of modern industrial technology and Victorian design.

From 1891 to 1896 William Morris' Kelmscott Press published books that are some of the most significant of the graphic design products of the Arts and Crafts movement, and made a very lucrative business of creating books of great stylistic refinement and selling them to the wealthy for a premium. Morris proved that a market existed for works of graphic design in their own right and helped pioneer the separation of design from production and from fine art. The work of the Kelmscott Press is characterized by its obsession with historical styles. This historicism was, however, important as it amounted to the first significant reaction to the stale state of nineteenth-century graphic design. Morris' work, along with the rest of the Private Press movement, directly influenced Art Nouveau and is indirectly responsible for developments in early twentieth century graphic design in general.[6]

A Boeing 747 aircraft with livery designating it as Air Force One. The cyan forms, the US flag, presidential seal and the Caslon lettering were all designed at different times and combined by designer Raymond Loewy in this one final design.

Who originally coined the term "graphic design" appears to be in dispute. It has been attributed to Richard Guyatt, the British designer and academic, but another source suggests William Addison Dwiggins, an American book designer in the early 20th century.[7]

The signage in the London Underground is a classic design example[8] of the modern era and used a font designed by Edward Johnston in 1916.

In the 1920s, Soviet constructivism applied 'intellectual production' in different spheres of production. The movement saw individualistic art as useless in revolutionary Russia and thus moved towards creating objects for utilitarian purposes. They designed buildings, theater sets, posters, fabrics, clothing, furniture, logos, menus, etc.[citation needed]

Jan Tschichold codified the principles of modern typography in his 1928 book, New Typography. He later repudiated the philosophy he espoused in this book as being fascistic, but it remained very influential.[citation needed] Tschichold, Bauhaus typographers such as Herbert Bayer and Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, and El Lissitzky are the fathers of graphic design[citation needed] as we know it today. They pioneered production techniques and stylistic devices used throughout the twentieth century. The following years saw graphic design in the modern style gain widespread acceptance and application.[9] A booming post-World War II American economy established a greater need for graphic design, mainly advertising and packaging. The emigration of the German Bauhaus school of design to Chicago in 1937 brought a "mass-produced" minimalism to America; sparking a wild fire of "modern" architecture and design. Notable names in mid-century modern design include Adrian Frutiger, designer of the typefaces Univers and Frutiger; Paul Rand, who, from the late 1930s until his death in 1996, took the principles of the Bauhaus and applied them to popular advertising and logo design, helping to create a uniquely American approach to European minimalism while becoming one of the principal pioneers of the subset of graphic design known as corporate identity; and Josef Müller-Brockmann, who designed posters in a severe yet accessible manner typical of the 1950s and 1970s era.

From road signs to technical schematics, from interoffice memorandums to reference manuals, graphic design enhances transfer of knowledge. Readability is enhanced by improving the visual presentation of text.

Design can also aid in selling a product or idea through effective visual communication. It is applied to products and elements of company identity like logos, colors, packaging, and text. Together these are defined as branding (see also advertising). Branding has increasingly become important in the range of services offered by many graphic designers, alongside corporate identity. Whilst the terms are often used interchangeably, branding is more strictly related to the identifying mark or trade name for a product or service, whereas corporate identity can have a broader meaning relating to the structure and ethos of a company, as well as to the company's external image. Graphic designers will often form part of a team working on corporate identity and branding projects. Other members of that team can include marketing professionals, communications consultants and commercial writers.

Textbooks are designed to present subjects such as geography, science, and math. These publications have layouts which illustrate theories and diagrams. A common example of graphics in use to educate is diagrams of human anatomy. Graphic design is also applied to layout and formatting of educational material to make the information more accessible and more readily understandable.

Graphic design is applied in the entertainment industry in decoration, scenery, and visual story telling. Other examples of design for entertainment purposes include novels, comic books, opening credits and closing credits in film, and programs and props on stage. This could also include artwork used for t-shirts and other items screenprinted for sale.

From scientific journals to news reporting, the presentation of opinion and facts is often improved with graphics and thoughtful compositions of visual information - known as information design. Newspapers, magazines, blogs, television and film documentaries may use graphic design to inform and entertain. With the advent of the web, information designers with experience in interactive tools such as Adobe Flash are increasingly being used to illustrate the background to news stories.
[edit] Skills

A graphic design project may involve the stylization and presentation of existing text and either preexisting imagery or images developed by the graphic designer. For example, a newspaper story begins with the journalists and photojournalists and then becomes the graphic designer's job to organize the page into a reasonable layout and determine if any other graphic elements should be required. In a magazine article or advertisement, often the graphic designer or art director will commission photographers or illustrators to create original pieces just to be incorporated into the design layout. Contemporary design practice has been extended to the modern computer, for example in the use of WYSIWYG user interfaces, often referred to as interactive design, or multimedia design.
[edit] Visual arts
Main article: Visual arts

Before any graphic elements may be applied to a design, the graphic elements must be originated by means of visual art skills. These graphics are often (but not always) developed by a graphic designer. Visual arts include works which are primarily visual in nature using anything from traditional media, to photography or computer generated art. Graphic design principles may be applied to each graphic art element individually as well as to the final composition.

Typography is the art, craft and techniques of type design, modifying type glyphs, and arranging type. Type glyphs (characters) are created and modified using a variety of illustration techniques. The arrangement of type is the selection of typefaces, point size, line length, leading (line spacing) and letter spacing.

Typography is performed by typesetters, compositors, typographers, graphic artists, art directors, and clerical workers. Until the Digital Age, typography was a specialized occupation. Digitization opened up typography to new generations of visual designers and lay users.

Page layout is the part of graphic design that deals in the arrangement and style treatment of elements (content) on a page. Beginning from early illuminated pages in hand-copied books of the Middle Ages and proceeding down to intricate modern magazine and catalog layouts, proper page design has long been a consideration in printed material. With print media, elements usually consist of type (text), images (pictures), and occasionally place-holder graphics for elements that are not printed with ink such as die/laser cutting, foil stamping or blind embossing.

Graphic designers are often involved in interface design, such as web design and software design when end user interactivity is a design consideration of the layout or interface. Combining visual communication skills with the interactive communication skills of user interaction and online branding, graphic designers often work with software developers and web developers to create both the look and feel of a web site or software application and enhance the interactive experience of the user or web site visitor. An important aspect of interface design is icon design.

Printmaking is the process of making artworks by printing on paper and other materials or surfaces. Except in the case of monotyping, the process is capable of producing multiples of the same piece, which is called a print. Each piece is not a copy but an original since it is not a reproduction of another work of art and is technically known as an impression. Painting or drawing, on the other hand, create a unique original piece of artwork. Prints are created from a single original surface, known technically as a matrix. Common types of matrices include: plates of metal, usually copper or zinc for engraving or etching; stone, used for lithography; blocks of wood for woodcuts, linoleum for linocuts and fabric plates for screen-printing. But there are many other kinds, discussed below. Works printed from a single plate create an edition, in modern times usually each signed and numbered to form a limited edition. Prints may also be published in book form, as artist's books. A single print could be the product of one or multiple techniques.

Chromatics is the field of how eyes perceive color and how to explain and organize those colors in the printer and on the monitor. The Retina in the eye is covered by two light-sensitive receptors that are named rods and cones. Rods are sensitive to light, but not sensitive to color. Cones are the opposite of rods. They are less sensitive to light, but color can be perceived.[10]

Examples of graphic design made on a computer, setting out various possibilities for a Wikimedia Commons project icon.

The mind may be the most important graphic design tool. Aside from technology, graphic design requires judgment and creativity. Critical, observational, quantitative and analytic thinking are required for design layouts and rendering. If the executor is merely following a solution (e.g. sketch, script or instructions) provided by another designer (such as an art director), then the executor is not usually considered the designer.

The method of presentation (e.g. arrangement, style, medium) may be equally important to the design. The layout is produced using external traditional or digital image editing tools. The appropriate development and presentation tools can substantially change how an audience perceives a project.

In the mid 1980s, the arrival of desktop publishing and graphic art software applications introduced a generation of designers to computer image manipulation and creation that had previously been manually executed. Computer graphic design enabled designers to instantly see the effects of layout or typographic changes, and to simulate the effects of traditional media without requiring a lot of space. However, traditional tools such as pencils or markers are useful even when computers are used for finalization; a designer or art director may hand sketch numerous concepts as part of the creative process. Some of these sketches may even be shown to a client for early stage approval, before the designer develops the idea further using a computer and graphic design software tools.

Computers are considered an indispensable tool in the graphic design industry. Computers and software applications are generally seen by creative professionals as more effective production tools than traditional methods. However, some designers continue to use manual and traditional tools for production, such as Milton Glaser.

New ideas can come by way of experimenting with tools and methods. Some designers explore ideas using pencil and paper to avoid creating within the limits of whatever computer fonts, clipart, stock photos, or rendering filters (e.g. Kai's Power Tools) are available on any particular configuration. Others use many different mark-making tools and resources from computers to sticks and mud as a means of inspiring creativity. One of the key features of graphic design is that it makes a tool out of appropriate image selection in order to convey meaning.

There is some debate whether computers enhance the creative process of graphic design.[12] Rapid production from the computer allows many designers to explore multiple ideas quickly with more detail than what could be achieved by traditional hand-rendering or paste-up on paper, moving the designer through the creative process more quickly.[13] However, being faced with limitless choices does not help isolate the best design solution and can lead to endless iterations with no clear design outcome.

A graphic designer may use sketches to explore multiple or complex ideas quickly[14] without the distractions and complications of software.[citation needed] Hand-rendered comps are often used to get approval for an idea execution before a design invests time to produce finished visuals on a computer or in paste-up. The same thumbnail sketches or rough drafts on paper may be used to rapidly refine and produce the idea on the computer in a hybrid process. This hybrid process is especially useful in logo design[15] where a software learning curve may detract from a creative thought process. The traditional-design/computer-production hybrid process may be used for freeing one's creativity in page layout or image development as well.[citation needed] In the early days of computer publishing, many 'traditional' graphic designers relied on computer-savvy production artists to produce their ideas from sketches, without needing to learn the computer skills themselves. However, this practice has been increasingly less common since the advent of desktop publishing over 30 years ago. The use of computers and graphics software is now taught in most graphic design courses.

Graphic design career paths cover all ends of the creative spectrum and often overlap. The main job responsibility of a Graphic Designer is the arrangement of visual elements in some type of media. The main job titles include graphic designer, art director, creative director, and the entry level production artist. Depending on the industry served, the responsibilities may have different titles such as "DTP Associate" or "Graphic Artist," but despite changes in title, graphic design principles remain consistent. The responsibilities may come from or lead to specialized skills such as illustration, photography or interactive design.

A graphic designer reports to the art director, creative director or senior media creative. As a designer becomes more senior, they may spend less time designing media and more time leading and directing other designers on broader creative activities, such as brand development and corporate identity development. As graphic designers become more senior, they are often expected to interact more directly with clients.

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Top 10 best graphics cards in the world today

2010-03-31T03:37:00.000-07:00

For much of the last 10 years, the graphics card market has been a bit of a dull place to be.
Similarly to how Intel has been completely dominating the CPU market, Nvidia has led the way with GPUs. However, the last couple of years have been a lot more interesting.
ATI's 4000-series cards at the end of 2008 offered up almost the same power as the Nvidia GeForce's of the time, but for almost half the price. This put ATI back in contention.
Since then, of course, ATI products supporting Windows 7's DirectX 11 have emerged as the fastest and best graphics cards the world has ever seen.
And that's where we are now – with ATI's Radeon HD 5970 sitting firmly on top.
However, there's a GeForce-shaped storm brewing on the horizon in the shape of DirectX 11 cards from Nvidia. They're just around the corner, and they promise to trump the ATI cards in terms of sheer performance.
We'll be reviewing those cards very soon, and we'll be sure to update this article as soon as we do.
But until then, here are the top 10 best and fastest graphics cards on the planet…

Fastest Video Card # 01

1. ATI Radeon HD 5970
And here it is, the dual-GPU ATI Radeon HD 5970, the fastest graphics card in the world. All hail its mighty rendering pathways and the gods of silicon for bringing us this technological wonder.
It's faster than any graphics card we've ever tested, it's bigger than any graphics card we've ever tested and it houses more technology than you could shake Stephen Hawking at.
But at close to £600, is it worth it? Well, like the GTX295, if powering a couple of 30-inch high-res gaming screens is what you're after, and money has never been an object, then you could maybe consider the purchase. Otherwise, you'd be better off going for the 5870.

Fastest Video Card # 02

2. Nvidia GeForce GTX 480

The Nvidia GeForce GTX 480 is the fastest single GPU graphics card in the world.
The GTX 480 is definitely a good card in terms of both its performance and the micro-architecture. It's faster than the HD 5870 by a fair amount, which will only increase as tessellation becomes more prevalent.
With the DX11 tessellation feature touted to propel PC gaming far beyond the realms of what its console siblings can offer, the power of the GTX 480's DX11 pipelines should see it staying the course far longer than AMD's top single-GPU card. The red company's dual-GPU solution is a bigger fly in the ointment, keeping Nvidia's top card in its quite monstrous shadow.
Unfortunately the dual-GPU joy of AMD's 5970 still wins hands-down. If Nvidia can get units onto the shelves should do well - AMD 5xxx cards are still rare as dog's eggs.

Fastest Video Card # 03

3. Nvidia GeForce GTX295

This dual-GPU graphics card is an absolute monster. At just under £500 it's ludicrously expensive, but it's also ridiculously powerful.
It's is a blindingly fast card, and as the price suggests really only belongs in a rig that's already been highly tuned with liquid assistance. If you haven't got a top-notch motherboard, memory kit, CPU and SSD - you're wasting your money. Equally, if you've got a screen less than 26-inches in size, you'll not notice the difference between this and some of the other, cheaper, cards in this group.

Fastest Video Card # 04

4. ATI Radeon HD 5870

The ATI Radeon HD 5870 is the second fastest single-GPU graphics card in the world. Not only that, it's quite simply the most powerful computer chip we've seen of any kind, thanks to it getting on for three teraflops of raw processing power.
If AMD had hit the same £200 price point as it achieved with the 4870 at launch, we'd be hailing the 5870 as the greatest graphics card of all time.
It's still a very, very good card. But at £300 it's simply much less relevant. The passage of time will no doubt fix the pricing problem, but by then, who knows what magic Nvidia may have worked with its own DX11 monster.

Fastest Video Card # 05

5. Nvidia GeForce GTX285

The 285 is still Nvidia's fastest single-GPU graphics card, and will remain so until Nvidia gets its act together and unleashes the DirectX 11 Fermi chip on us. The 285 is a great card though. Technically, the 285 is actually an updated version of the now-extinct GTX280.
It's a bit on the pricey side - still costing almost £300. But of all the single-GPU Nvidia cards out there, this is definitely the best.

Fastest Video Card # 06

6. ATI Radeon HD 5850

As its name implies, the 5850 is a slightly cut-down rendition of the 5870, most likely down to the binning of the chips to squeeze more value out of the line.
This core, codenamed the Cypress Pro, has a slower core clockspeed of 725MHz and manages only 1,440 unified shaders (an eyebrow raising 10 per cent less than the 1,600 to be found in the 5870). For around £209, we're starting to get to the expensive end of the market so it's up to you how much extra you want to spend.

Fastest Video Card # 07

7. Nvidia GeForce GTX275

All this talk of price/performance ratios can get a little wearing, so lets focus more on the latter part. You cannot get better benchmarks than this for under £160, and in some circumstances it's faster than the £200+ GTX 280.
The only advantage the more expensive card has is its four extra ROPs, which help with high image quality settings.

Fastest Video Card # 08

8. ATI Radeon HD 4890

The 4890 was basically a super-charged version of the super-selling 4870. AMD upped the chip's core operating frequency from 750MHz on the 4870 to 850MHz.
Meanwhile, the clockspeed of the board's GDDR5 memory edges up from 900MHz to 975MHz. And for £130, you can't go far wrong with this card.

Fastest Video Card # 09

9. Nvidia GeForce GTX260 AMP! (Zotac)

The original GeForce 260 was pretty fast, but Zotac's souped-up and overclocked AMP2 version was brilliant.
It was Nvidia's budget option - offering almost the same performance as the GTX280 but for a good deal less money - and it's still a mighty contender, packing 896MB of DDR3 memory. You can snap one up now for around £140.

Fastest Video Card # 10

10. ATI Radeon HD 4870

This is the card that kick-started the graphics revolution. Offering slightly less performance than the GeForce GTX280 - the fastest card of its time - it cost half the price. It was perhaps the most energy efficient and elegant card ever released.
For normal people, choosing between the 4870 and the 280 was a no brainer, and even today it's still fast enough to make the top 10. And you can now get your hands on it for less than £100.

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Starting a Graphic Design Business: Part I & II

2010-03-20T03:29:00.000-07:00

Graphic Design and Print Materials

Creative World Creative Designers' graphic designers have been schooled in brand building, typography, desktop publishing, prepress and layout with a minimum of 5 years experience. Traditional print, although fading in popularity as the Web becomes a more common means of communication, is still necessary. A strong consistent message through all of your marketing materials is essential and creating that link between Web and print is where we stand strong. From brochures and postcards through to annual reports and trade show booths, we have done it all and can work with you to complete a total design package for your organization to serve whatever function you are after. We will make you look great, even on paper.
Here is a list of print materials produced by our graphic design company.
• Logo - It's the first graphical representation of your brand and a good opportunity to place something unique on your cattle... should you have any. A logo is where your corporate identity starts. We all know that first impressions are important and your logo will be the first thing on which you will be judged. It's your first line of offense in your sales force, so take your time and make sure it represents everything you are made of. With all of the mediums available today, your logo needs to easily transfer to stationary, signage, video, mugs, pens and wallpapers.
• Stationery - Business cards, letterhead, and appointment cards. Often mistaken for being stationary or a lack of motion. Interestingly enough we are actually talking about movement and progression to further establish your identity. Be sure that all your correspondence enforces your corporate identity, from your business cards and letterhead to your envelopes and appointment cards. They are all part of the stationery package and are equally important to your image.
• Brochures - Single page specification sheets to 30-page full color, and product brochures.
• Advertisements - Yellow Page ads to billboards, we'll have your competition shaking in their boots.
• Post Cards - Promotional materials that make a statement and serve a function.
• Trade Show Booths - Roll up banners to full floor displays. Semi may be required.
• Package Design - CD covers to custom boxes.
• Illustration - Cartoon icons to cool detailed product cutaway diagrams.
• Wallpapers - Creative wallpapers can serve as a nice source of inspiration. Wallpaper design with your company logo and company slogan.

Starting a Graphic Design Business: Part I

Learning the Biz

Graphic Design schools will sharpen your artistic talents, but what about your business acumen? If starting a design business appeal to you, however, both sides of your brain need to be functioning. In order to get You, Inc., off the ground, knowing the nuts and bolts of business ownership is just as essential as being a whiz in Illustrator.

What You Need to Know

Remember when you had a lemonade stand? You had to stock enough cups, reach the delicate balance between sweet and tangy, and be home before dark. You were not concerned with obtaining signatures on contracts or whether the sidewalk was a viable office location. Unfortunately, running your own business will be a little different. To avoid unnecessary trouble, take a look at the resources offered through AIGA, the professional association for design. Here, you can not only find tips, but a Center for Practice Management.

The Firm Hand of the Law

They may focus on aesthetics in graphic design colleges, but in business, they want your t’s crossed and i’s dotted. To understand the legal process of running your business, seek advice. Find other graphic designers who have done something similar by joining an online community. Then, turn to an expert such as:

* Attorneys
* Certified Public Accountants
* Bankers
* Business Insurance Agents
* Industry Consultants

A few topics this army of advisors will discuss are your company’s legal structure, tax details, and becoming an employer. Who knew this was significant to your graphic design education? Your new office may look like four walls sandwiched between a floor and ceiling, but there are numerous logistics bolting that structure together.

Starting a Graphic Design Business: Part II

You’re in the Money

In our last post we identified some of the advisors you’ll need on your team as you start a graphic design business. Lucky for you, the logistical fun doesn’t end there. Armed with your graphic design education and ready to take on your first project, you’ll first need a pricing structure. Design firms typically charge on a fixed-fee basis. So, how do you figure out what that should be?

What Are You Worth?

First, consider the time it takes to complete different projects. From logos to collateral to business cards, what is it going to cost your firm in hours? AIGA offers some tips on how to stick a price tag onto your creative muscles. As mentioned in their Center for Practice Management, factor in potential redesigns or delays caused by the client and spell out the cost of these situations upfront. Setting expectations early will benefit you in the long run.

Overhead Costs

Next, what else will you need? Brainstorm all production or material costs associated with each project, and make them a line item in your fee structure. And don’t just go with the first printer you call. Just as you researched graphic design schools, research your potential business partners. Get to know your local resources and put your best negotiating foot forward. Cutting costs on overhead expenses can help you reduce your prices, making you stiffer competition.

Why Does It Matter?

With new technology and more graphic design colleges than ever before, talent is abounding. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, competition within the industry will be stiff, meaning that you need to distinguish your firm by any means. Be organized. Be a professional. Invest time into understanding your graphic design business.

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