Top 10 Fascinating Romance Illustrations

Jan 12, 2012 by admin    1 Comment     Posted under: Design Tutorials, Graphic Design Tips

Do you think you can ever imagine love or chalk it out on a piece of paper? Here are the top 10, and best romance illustrations showcased in this article that you would ever come across. Portraying love is actually a tough job and a great deal because you would have to express everything about love on a piece of paper with your artistic graphic design skills.

You would be amazed to notice all sorts of sentiments and vibrations that surround our daily lives. There are numerous occurrences in our day to day life that may act as visual illustration or depiction of love. Take a closer look to figure out all such romance illustrations scattered around you.

Please note that you can use Adobe Illustrator to design some of your creative illustrations while we are only going to publish what we think are the best pictures from some renowned graphic designers that depict “love”. You might have seen “N” number of love pictures over the internet; however we have put together a list of top 10 fascinating romance illustrations for our readers to view and enjoy!

1. This photo was taken by Ruy Barbosa Pinto on June 6, 2004 in Salvador, Bahia, BR, using a Konica Minolta DiMAGE.

2. This illustration was taken by Aleci and titled “the kiss”.

3. This image was taken by Linda Palm van Meel and titled as “Kiss from a tree”.

4. This photo was taken by ajpscs on September 7, 2008 in Yurakucho 2 Chome, Tokyo, using a Nikon D300.

5. This photo was taken by Ivan Tonev and titled as “Love is everywhere”.

6. This photo was taken by Josh Libatique on July 22, 2010 in Dumbo, New York, US, using a Nikon D90.

7. This image is taken by Bogomolov Denis and titled as “love-story”.

8. This image is taken by Dmitry Laudin and titled as “gangster wedding”.

9. This image is taken by Ahmed Habis and titled as “Emotions between the two lovers in the street, but there is always someone watching!”.

10. This photo was taken by John B. Mueller on July 30, 2010 in Santa Monica, California, US, using a Nikon D700.

We would love to hear from you in the comments section below and expect that you would appreciate our effort and expression of love!

Design of Royal Mail Yearbook 2011 by Magpie Studio

Nov 19, 2011 by admin    No Comments    Posted under: Design Firms

The Royal Mail Yearbook, which features 14 stamp issues of the year 2011 along with their explanations, has been designed by Magpie Studio design firm.

Olympics Gymnastics Stamps, designed by Studio David Hillman

Magpie Studio started designing 2011 yearbook sometime in the year 2010 after presenting a creative pitch. They have previously vacationed with Royal Mail to create presentation packs and design different stamps, or related projects.

Dumbledore stamp from the Magical Realms range, designed by So Design Consultants

According to the Magpie Studio creative director, Ben Christie, ‘The challenge is to get something completely different each year and to also appeal to the collectors.  There’s such a wide range of subject matters so we wanted an approach that adds interest on every page, not just the same idea throughout.’

Me and My Girl stamp from the Musicals range, designed by Webb and Webb

Along with the Royal Wedding supplement, hardback book presentation box includes special issue stamps such as the Thunderbirds range; Olympic and Paralympic stamps; classic locomotives of England; musicals; WWF animals and the Morris & Co range in the package.

Royal Wedding stamps, designed by Atelier Works

Each chapter was designed by different illustrators who were commissioned to create an exclusive imagery with a unique feel and look, illustration typography and style. A different letter was used from every chapter to carve out “Royal Mail” on the cover of 2011 yearbook.

Thomas the Tank Engine stamp, designed by Elmwood

‘Being able to use different typefaces adds uniqueness to each page. Royal Mail staff has got a really good creative eye and really worked with us to make the design work while still giving us free reign’, stated Christie!

Awesome Graphic Design Illustrations from Chow Hon Lam

Nov 17, 2011 by admin    1 Comment     Posted under: Design Tutorials

Chow Hon Lam is an experienced illustrator and, an awesome t-shirt designer from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Popularly known as Flying Mouse in the designer world, Chow just got done with his personal creative project “Flying Mouse 365”, of designing 1 illustration a day for straight 365 days.

Chow has had the chance of working with some of the major brand names today such as Lotus F1, AirAsia, Nike, KLUE, Martell VSOP, Dave Mathews band etc.. He hopes to put a smile on your face with his incredible graphic design skills with Adobe Illustrator. Here are some of his prominent illustrations published below:

Let us know your thoughts on Chow’s lovely graphic design illustrations in comment section below.

Interview with a Designer of Brand Identities; Rich Scott

Oct 24, 2011 by admin    No Comments    Posted under: Designer Interviews, Graphic Design Tips

Rich Scott is a full time graphic designer for his own company designabot.net, which has worked with global clients. Rich mostly works with smaller companies and/or startup businesses.

We got a chance to interview Rich, because he was generous enough to take out time to answer some important questions for DesigningTips.com readers. Continue reading below for graphic designer interview along with some valuable design tips.

DesigningTips.com - Please tell us a little about yourself, where are you from and how did you end up being a designer?

Rich Scott - I am a thirty one year old designer originally from Australia who moved to the UK at the age of seven. After much travelling I have resettled back to the place of my birth.

I always loved to draw as a kid, deciding early on that I had to follow my passion and be creative in some way. Graphic design seemed like an interesting avenue to follow because it encompasses all forms of art. I had a short spell working for an animation company and stints with design firms but always liked the idea of time/life freedom and thus set up my own design business four years ago.

DesigningTips.com - Is it necessary to go to design school to learn how to be a good designer or is it enough to “attend the school of hard knocks?”

Rich Scott - Honestly I would say it is not necessary to attend design school. I studied graphic design and photography for two years at college then completed a three year degree specializing in graphic design. I think design school gave me a solid grounding and introductory insight into the design industry. Now, with the growth of the internet and design inspiration being so widely accessible, I believe anyone with passion, drive and skill can succeed no matter his or her background.

DesigningTips.com - What are the key elements of a good design? Is good design a function of creativity … of sound experience … or both?

Rich Scott - Concept is king when it comes to any form of design. The vision is what’s important whether you are designing a logo or a car. Being able to communicate your vision to the audience is vital I feel.

DesigningTips.com - Is there any real difference between designing a brochure/pamphlet/logo, room in a home and clothing for a beautiful woman?

Rich Scott - Not much difference really apart from the time taken to complete…from reading a brief/initial sketching to viewing the end product can vary dramatically depending on the scope of the project. Also how you go about tackling them may be different but the same design rules apply.

DesigningTips.com - How do you work on your design projects? I mean, what design software, applications and design tools do you use the most for your projects?

Rich Scott - My design process varies depending on the project. The majority will start with research, brain storming then sketching. However if an idea immediately pops into my head I will jump straight into Adobe Illustrator and begin creating with vectors. Currently I am using cs5 and would say 80-90% of my artwork is produced in Illustrator, with Adobe Photoshop being used mainly for presentation purposes.

DesigningTips.com - Are there ever times when design changes are radical?

Rich Scott - Yes, usually driven by the client. Sometimes a logo and branding system is almost complete then the client will do a complete backflip and desire something entirely different. This is rare and can be a little frustrating but at the end of the day the customer is always right… Ain’t that right? : )

DesigningTips.com - Can you tell us about your design portfolio and clientele (people you have worked with & for)?

Rich Scott - I have worked with a variety of great clients across the globe. I tend to design for smaller companies or business start-ups. Some of my clients include; Maria Andros (www.mariaandros.com), HydroTerra (www.hydroterra.com.au), Reputeer (www.reputeer.de), Ombros Consulting (www.ombros-consulting.com), Australian Association for Cognitive and Behaviour Therapy (www.aacbt.org.au), Level Four (www.levelfour.com.au). I also collaborate regularly with Dan Johnson of Spin My Logo (www.spinmylogo.com) and Samuel Nilsson (www.envelope.se).

DesigningTips.com - Any design tips you would like to share with freshers just starting out in the design industry?

Rich Scott - The key for graphic designers starting out in the industry is to be creative and original. With such a vast array of talent ‘out there’, it can be quite over whelming trying to compete with established professionals. It’s up to freshers to believe in themselves, never give up and try to evolve their own design styles. I hope that helps!

Graphic Designer Interview: Janak Desai

Oct 4, 2011 by admin    No Comments    Posted under: Designer Interviews, Graphic Design Tips

Janak Desai, logo design and animation pro who runs a design studio at www.DesignStudioSB.com was recently published as the featured designer over at 99designs.com blog.

Interestingly, Janak has won about 44 design contests at the 99designs and is on a roll with his awesome design skills.

We got an exclusive chance to speak with humble Janak Desai who belongs to India, and were able to get insight of an off-shore graphic designer along with some useful design tips. Read on..

DesigningTips.com – Please tell us a little about yourself, where are you from and how did you end up being a designer?

Janak Desai – As you know, my name is Janak Desai and I am from India. I completed Advanced Animation Course in MAYA and started my career as a 3D Animator. I was very much interested in post production work of video editing and composting. Besides working as an animation artist, I also jumped into video editing and VFX course. While working on projects of animations, I was also able to make full videos with composting and editing whereas only thing missing was sketches of the logo for logo animation. I used to seek help from other 2D designers, who used to create logos and other design elements of animation for me.

When I started working independently, designing logos and other designs in vector were a challenge for me. I went through some struggle in this part of designing, however learned quite a lot from the online tutorials, e-books & design tip sites. I became skilled in designing logos, graphics elements etc with the help of reading and started taking brand design projects. Now I am a complete graphic designer along with an animation artist.

DesigningTips.com – Is it necessary to go to design school to learn how to be a good designer or is it enough to “attend the school of hard knocks?”

Janak Desai – I don’t think so. I did not learn designing in any design school or institute. But I will definitely like to point out that I had a lot of knowledge of designing being an animation artist. So that obviously helped in sharpening my skills.

I wouldn’t say that you don’t have to attend graphic design school to become a skilled designer however, only going to a design school and learning designing won’t make you a creative designer. You will have to learn a lot, independently of course, work on different projects and also learn from others.

DesigningTips.com – What are the key elements of a good design? Is good design a function of creativity … of sound experience … or both?

Janak Desai – Good design is a package of skills + understanding + appropriate visualization. Experience is helpful for-sure; however you have to attain certain level to use that experience.

DesigningTips.com – What inspires you, and your designs?

Janak Desai – You have to be creative every time and everywhere, not just in designs. If you think creative and act creative, you will be creative automatically when you are working on your design projects. Being creative inspires me the most!

DesigningTips.com – Is there any real difference between designing a brochure/pamphlet/logo, room in a home and clothing for a beautiful woman?

Janak Desai – I think it’s almost similar. I haven’t felt anything different while working on design projects.

DesigningTips.com – How do you work on your design projects? I mean, what design software, applications and design tools do you use the most for your projects?

Janak Desai – It all starts from your research. If I am able to find useful inspiration and proper material, I mix all the stuff, visualize and then sketch down the ideas. After that I start with Adobe Photoshop, and Illustrator.

DesigningTips.com – Are there ever times when design changes are radical?

Janak Desai – A lot of times

DesigningTips.com – Can you tell us about your design portfolio and clientele (people you have worked with & for)?

Janak Desai – I have worked with a variety of clients around the world. All have different needs and diverse choices. Sometimes clients make me learn. And, I have ended up with quite a few awesome designs that I could never imagine before. Sometimes you have to make something which you don’t like but your client insists on working and you have to design it. I rarely put those designs in my portfolio.

DesigningTips.com – Any design tips you would like to share with fresher’s just starting out in the design industry?

Janak Desai – Don’t be afraid of the graphic design industry. Don’t start your career in this industry if you are forced to be a designer. If you like being creative and love designing then you will definitely grow in this industry with your passion. No specific design tips as such, just be yourself & love what you do!

You can find more about Janak Desai from his website here and his 99designs profile here.

Make a Statement With Spotless Graphic Designs; Cristiano Siqueira

Aug 26, 2011 by admin    No Comments    Posted under: Design Firms, Designer Interviews, Graphic Design Tips

We know it’s been a while since we last interviewed a professional graphic designer for you, however, we do think the wait was worth this one. Today we are bringing to you Cristiano Siqueira from Brazil, a graphic design artist  and illustrator who has had the pleasure of associating with brand-names like Microsoft, Nike, Gillette etc etc.

Continue reading below for some amazing design tips and a detailed interview session.

DesigningTips.com – Please tell us a little about yourself, where are you from and how did you end up being a freelance graphic designer?

Cristiano Siqueira – I’m an illustrator working from my home office in Sao Paulo, Brazil. I’m 31 years old… Well, it’s really hard to talk about myself; I don’t think I have anything interesting to say about myself!

Okay let’s try this one time: I like football, I like to go out with friends to drink beer and talk useless things, however at times I also talk about some other things, like career, life, Oh and I’m married I don’t have kids, pets, plants, just a small apartment a Wacom tablet and a Mac.

I took some time to realize that I could work as a graphic designer. My educational pattern was a technical course of communication design, based in traditional art, painting, drawing, sculpture and I had some talent in that field. So, I thought I could be a painter or another sort of artist in the future, after further studies, of course. During that time (1996) a “Designer”, for me, was more like an architect or a professional with years and years of experience. Nowadays, people learn Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator and call themselves a “Graphic Designer”. I wish that it was so easy to be one 15 years ago, but it wasn’t. So, with acknowledgment I got in school, the only job I found was of an assistant of another assistant in a small graphic design studio. I got accepted there because I was good in drawing and the employees wanted me to draw few things at the studio, like hand drawn lay-outs, sketches of characters, logotypes, etc.

Once I started at the design studio, daily routines turned out to be quite different than planned. I didn’t make any drawing, as I’d thought and seated in front of a computer with the Adobe Illustrator 7 and asked to redraw scanned logotypes to be applied in books and other stuff. So that’s how I first came in contact with Illustrator. Days and days of redrawing logos made me good with pen tool I think… (Laugh out loud) and that’s how I got promoted to another section, to cut background images from a picture in Adobe Photoshop.

Of course I had problems performing simple tasks, since I didn’t know anything about Photoshop and Illustrator, but I think I have an obsessive (and maybe morbid?) quality for perfection and I took this task as a challenge, studied Photoshop and Illustrator every day, trying to use something more than pen tool. Someone at the design studio suggested me to start colorizing my own hand drawn works in Photoshop and I did it, getting some of the unexpected and out of the world results. With these great outcomes, the directors of the design firm realized that I could do a lot more than cutting off images and that’s how I got to work on my first design project. And this is how, following step by step, with many success and failures, I ended up being a “Graphic Designer”.

Almost 6 years later, after working as a designer for books, CD covers, packaging, etc… I finally started my career as an Illustrator artist. Initially, working for children books and packaging design (with the partners I had from the graphic design jobs), later for magazines and advertisements. The first year as freelance illustrator was really bad, very few projects and that too well underpaid. I had a good experience in graphic design industry however I didn’t know how an illustrator could work like that; the first year was much more of a learning curve.

I found a lot of information on internet blogs, different web-forums, and while interacting with experienced design professionals. I found the SIB (Brazilian illustrators association) and while networking with graphic artists on board, I learned more on how the illustration industry worked, with the knowledge about quotations and contracts. The second year was way better, a lot more design projects and much better payments. I also started sharing my work on different design portals like DeviantArt and of course on my own website. Since then, the ball kept rolling and I kept myself working on new projects and upgrading day by day.

DesigningTips.com – Is it necessary to go to design school to learn how to be a good graphic designer or is it enough to “attend the school of hard knocks?”

Cristiano Siqueira – In my opinion, yes! It’s good to study, to become a graphic designer and even after starting out. The designer needs to keep taking lessons because a lot of new things related to design industry keeps coming around and the creative artist needs to stay up-to-date. For basic development, I think it’s essential.

To be a good designer, one needs to know the basics of his work for example; Composition, color theory, typography, illustration, photography, gestalt, semiotics.

According to me, good designer is a professional who is able to manipulate the graphical language to transmit ideas and concepts. You can only be successful at this, if you study design basics and learn from the past experiences of other design professionals and researchers. All of these things can be learned at a good design school.

DesigningTips.com – What are the key elements of a good design?

Cristiano Siqueira – Key basics of a high-quality design are; good and clear communication, the efficient use of graphical elements to support the communication, high technical level of execution and creativity.

DesigningTips.com – Is good graphic design a function of creativity … of sound experience … or both?

Cristiano Siqueira – I think good design is a realistic portrait of a communicative intention. I mean, the design is good when it can translate an idea, concept or message from an image that can be successfully received by targeted audience. To be precise, when people can actually understand what you really want to say!

DesigningTips.com – Is there any real difference between graphic designing (brochure/pamphlet/logo), a room (office space/bedroom) and clothing for a beautiful woman?

Cristiano Siqueira – Sure, each request has its own language, common codes and references. While using the key elements of a good design I just stated above, you need to use the right basics to be efficient in your communication, and the right elements can be found by studying the language of the different uses, however they all are quite relevant or similar works.

DesigningTips.com – How do you work on your graphic design projects? I mean, what design software, applications and design tools do you use the most for your projects?

Cristiano Siqueira – Primarily, I like to draw some simple sketches on a sketchbook which is always lying next to me. This is just to clarify ideas and concepts. I get on to the computer only when I have something more understandable in mind. So I draw more sketches on computer, even by using my Wireless Wacom tablet and Photoshop or Illustrator (for vectors). From start to finish, the process is drawing, painting and getting references to actually draw what I really don’t know to depict. Sometimes these references are photos, and at times are 3D renders. So, basically my tools are: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, wireless Wacom tablet, Poser, and digital camera to take high-quality reference pictures.

DesigningTips.com – Are there ever times when design changes are radical?

Cristiano Siqueira – In my designs you mean? Well, of course… either by client request, or at times by my creative self. My objective is to get a good design work to my client, and in order to get the best results, I can change or modify everything from the start. I think it’s better to change everything while you are working and are in the process rather than at the end.

DesigningTips.com – Can you tell us about your graphic design portfolio and clientele (people you have worked with & for)?

Cristiano Siqueira – Sure, I can tell you everything about my illustration portfolio since this is the field I’m good at… I had the pleasure to work for: Microsoft, Nike, Gillette, BBDO NY, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners.

I’ve been working with the major publishers here in Brazil, such as: Globo and Abril, along with companies such as MasterCard Brasil, Azaléia, etc.

You can always get to know more about my design portfolio from my website here.

DesigningTips.com – Any graphic design tips you would like to share with freshers just starting out in the design industry?

Cristiano Siqueira – Just keep studying and taking care of the excellent work. Clients come and go, but your creativity should stay. Try to make a statement with your neat and spotless graphic designs.

6 Illustrator Related Web Design Tutorials

Aug 22, 2011 by admin    4 Comments    Posted under: Design Tutorials, Graphic Design Tips

Here are 6 free design tutorials that can be used to create websites with the popular graphic design software; Adobe Illustrator. Please use these tips and let us know your feedback.

• What is Adobe Illustrator?

Adobe® Illustrator® CS5 software helps you create distinctive vector artwork for any project. Take advantage of the precision and power of sophisticated drawing tools, expressive natural brushes, and a host of time-savers.

• Effortless Register Form Design Tutorial: By following this design tutorial, you will get to learn how to use illustrator. And, of course with some practice you will be able to make an easy design for register form without much effort.
• Easy Navigation Menu Design Tutorial: By using this tutorial, you will get to learn how to design a pleasant navigation menu. The design tutorial is mostly useful for web designers who are keen on perfectly associated rollover states for web applications and sites.
• Design Spotless Website Layout with Illustrator: This design tutorial should help you to carve out a neat and clean website layout using Adobe Illustrator, forget other design tools.
• Make a Layout Design using Adobe Illustrator: Designing a layout was never easy, however with this tutorial, you’ll easily learn how to make a website with the help of Adobe Illustrator. You should also be able to convert your Illustrator design styles into CSS & HTML.
• Use Illustrator to Design a Business Website: This tutorial shows the complete procedure of designing a professional corporate website with the help of Adobe Illustrator.
• Wire-frame Designing for Website in Illustrator: The design tutorial will take you through the process of making a document of Website Wire-frame with the support of Adobe Illustrator.