Follow these tips on what to avoid and what you must include to make a great first impression
You hear it all the time, if you want to get hired as a designer you need to have an amazing portfolio website.
But what you may not hear as often is how important the resume or CV is. If you want to be hired by a company as a full-time designer, contract designer, or freelance designer, you need to have a resume that shares your skills and experience as a designer.
Believe it or not, most companies won’t even look at your portfolio until they’ve skimmed your resume first and pushed you through the next round of interviews. …
Tips for pricing your design work
How much should you charge if you’re starting out as a freelancer? How do you know if you’re charging too low or too high? When should you increase your prices? In this article, we’ll dive into these questions and more on graphic design hourly rates.
Why charge an hourly rate?
If you are just getting started as a graphic designer, the easiest way to get paid is to bill at an hourly rate. At this stage, you are still learning how long it takes you to complete a design project. …
Don’t make these mistakes
Hierarchy is a key element in design, creating a good user experience, and achieving the business goals of a website or app. It’s also one of the biggest mistakes new designers make. When there is no clear hierarchy on a website or an app, you risk frustrating the user and losing them as a potential customer. Let’s dive into what visual hierarchy is, tips for how to achieve it, and how you can use it to improve your websites and app designs.
What is visual hierarchy in design?
There are many definitions of hierarchy. Most refer to a system of organized rankings, it’s an order or power structure to help everyone know who is on top and most important. For example, at a company, this would be the CEO. The CEO is at the top of the pyramid, the top of the chain of command with various leaders and individual contributors underneath in the organization chart. …
Shift how you think about money for the better
Money. It’s not a subject we learn about in school or talk much about while growing up. It’s no wonder most adults have no idea how to invest or use their money wisely. From bad habits, lack of knowledge, or just plain playing it safe, I’ve made many mistakes over the years that have robbed me of tens of thousands of dollars.
I remember that line on my first full-time employment application that asked, what are your salary expectations? I didn’t put any thought into the number I wrote. At the time, still recovering from the 2008–09 recession, I just wanted a job so I could start paying off my student loans. …
4 alternatives to building websites yourself
It’s the ultimate question. Can you become a web designer without learning how to code? The short answer is yes.
While learning the basics of code, like how HTML and CSS work, will help you understand how to design for the web, it’s no longer required knowledge if you want to be a web designer.
I’ll cover 4 solutions for how you can create your own websites without code. Some options are better than others, I’ll share the pros and cons of each to help you decide which is right for you. …
A brief history of key events in web design
The first-ever published website came to the Internet on August 6, 1991. Tim Berners-Lee created the site about the World Wide Web project, describing the Web and how to use it. Since then, web design has evolved with innovations in technology and design.
Here’s how it went.
Recently I hit a plateau in my weight loss journey. I’ve remained fairly consistent at about the same weight over the last couple of months by following various habits, one of which was sticking to a calorie deficit. But in order to hit the next level, I knew I needed to try something new.
When I heard Jordan Syatt was hosting a 30-day calorie challenge, I decided to take part. I wanted to see if this method of eating would help break through a plateau and kickstart my weight loss again.
I’ll share my own experiences with the challenge (before, during, and after) including what worked and what didn’t. I’ll also walk you through what calorie cycling is, help you determine if it’s right for you, and exactly what to do if you decide to try it out on your own. …
Are they the same? Which should you pursue as a new designer?
If you’re new to design, you may be wondering what is the difference between graphic design and web design? Are they the same or do they require completely different skill sets? Which should you pursue and which offers more opportunities as a freelance designer?
In this article, we’ll start with defining what each role specializes in then discuss key differences and similarities between the two. I’ll also offer recommendations for the next step when you’re deciding which career path to pursue as a new designer.
What is graphic design
Graphic designers focus on creating graphics, combining typography with photos and illustration to present an idea. Traditionally, graphic designers used to work more on logos and print design like posters, brochures, magazine and book layouts, and packaging. But over time design has evolved along with technology and now graphic designers work on creating more digital assets for web and email. …
Design a better website with these tips
Web design is the process of designing the visual look and feel of a website. As a web designer, you focus on planning the user experience of the website, wireframe layouts, organize content and images in a way that tells a story, and design the final UI.
Your homepage is your first impression to the world so it’s essential to design it well. Design can be subjective but there are some things to keep in mind to design an effective and well-designed site. …
You have the design skills, but where do you start?
You’re just starting on your journey to becoming a freelance designer. You have the design skills, you’ve been practicing, you know your craft. You just need help finding freelance jobs, where do you start?
In this article, we’ll dive into the best way to find freelance design work. But before you even search and inquire about freelance design opportunities, there are a few things you need to work on first. Follow these steps and you’ll land your first freelance design job in no time.
Decide what type of freelance design jobs you want to work on
As a designer, you have the opportunity to take on various types of freelance design jobs. Logo design, branding, and web design are just some of the options. …
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