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We dig out some of the best free résumé templates that are perfect for getting you that next design job… Not all of us have the time or inclination to craft our own creative résumés , and arguably having a flashy or beautifully illustrated curriculum vitae printed on 130gsm paper is of far less importance than a well-presented  design portfolio .

Can you identify with any of these poster designs? Posters can be a way to express your passions, reveal your tastes or, in the case of these clever designs, advertise your pet peeves. Most of the time designers are creating these wall-mounted marriages of text, colour and shape for others and with their preferences in mind. But occassionally, talented individuals design them for themselves and for others like-minded. These can act as a creative catharsis for frustrated illustrators who are fed up of never getting it quite right for everybody else.

Editor’s Note:  The HOW team is so excited that  Bill Gardner , president and founder of  Gardner Design , is joining Lippincott senior partner  Rodney Abbot  as a judge of the  Logo Design Awards  (final deadline this Friday!). Gardner is the founder of  LogoLounge.com , the international, cross-referenced compendium of logos from the world’s leading corporate identity designers. He authored the best selling book series LogoLounge Volumes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, as well as several other books. Gardner speaks nationally and internationally on identity trends and logo development; keep an eye on where he’s speaking next via  Facebook . A couple of months ago, Abbot shared his top five  tips for designing a logo . Today, Gardner shares his 5 top  tips for logo design . 5 Top Tips for Logo Design by Bill Gardner, president of  Gardner Design  and founder of  LogoLounge.com...

We’ve been sharing a wide variety of poster design lately, from  26 great movie posters  to  27 “pin-able” and unparalleled posters . Today, we’re bringing you more greatness. Feast your eyes on these letterpress posters and soak up the inspiration. 54 Letterpress Posters You’ll Love by  Bijdevleet . Collaboration with  Nieuwe Hoogte Letterpress Studio .

t’s impossible for me to talk about  3D lettering  without mentioning  Katlego Phatlane , who sees all 2D type in 3D “almost immediately.” How cool would that creative superpower be? We interviewed Phatlane about his  amazing typography  work last month, and since then I’ve been on the hunt for more cool  3D letters . Check out the roundup below and get your 3D-lettering fix. And if do great things with type and lettering in your own projects, consider entering your best work into PRINT’s  2015 Typography & Lettering Awards   (deadline: Friday, Nov. 20) . 3D Lettering Inspiration Roundup Work by  Rizon Parein

In the competitive industry of graphic design, it can be difficult to establish a name brand. Nonetheless, there are a handful of  design firms around the world that have managed to cut through the clutter and gain international prestige. Their roster of clients, impressive portfolio of work, prominence in local markets and international reach have made them some of the most famous graphic design companies on the planet. Read on below for a list of the companies many  designers dream of working for. 1.  Pentagram Identity: Riotous Company (via  Pentagram )

Graphic Artist / Designer Salary  (India) A Graphic Artist / Designer earns an average salary of Rs 231,745 per year. Most people move on to other jobs if they have more than 10 years' experience in this field. Skills that are associated with high pay for this job are Dreamweaver and Adobe After Effects. For the first five to ten years in this position, salary increases sharply, but any additional experience does not have a big effect on pay.

SCOPE OF GRAPHIC DESIGNING AS A CAREER: PROS, CONS, JOB, SALARY IN INDIA t  No Comments Being a designer in India is an achievement in itself! Unlike western countries where designers specialize in either vector art or graphic content design for web – here in India companies look for an all-rounder. Often an Indian designer is skilled in photography, imagery, colors, textures, patterns, graphics, animations etc.

आगरा, 3 अगस्त 2015: देश में नेत्रदान के प्रोत्साहन को संकल्पित गैर लाभकारी संगठन अंतरदृष्टि द्वारा आयोजित क्रिएटिव कांटेस्ट दृष्टि 2015 और वृहद स्तर पर मनाया जायेगा। 2011 से शुरू हुए इस अभियान का यह पांचवा पड़ाव होगा। अंतरदृष्टि प्रबंध न्यासी अखिल श्रीवास्तव ने आज यूथ हॉस्टल में आयोजित प्रेस वार्ता में बताया कि पिछली बार की तरह इस बार भी हम लोग प्रविष्टियां इंटरनेट के माध्‍यम से स्‍वीकार करेंगें जिसमें डिजाईन की प्रविष्टियां भी शामिल होगी, हमें पूरा विश्‍वास है कि इससे प्रतिभागियों के प्रविष्टियां भेजने के खर्चे में कमी आएगी और नेत्रदान को बढ़ावा देने के अभियान को भी मजबूती मिलेगी।’

Building an online portfolio is possibly the most important step you can take in your graphic design career. Here at HOW, we decided it was time for a three-part HOW-to guide on graphic design portfolios and the process of building them. Included is advice from well-known designers like Malika Favre, tips from in-house designers and tricks from students going through the portfolio building process themselves. I. Pick your Purpose: The most notable reason for creating an online portfolio is to have quick and easy access to your best works from nearly any location. Having an organized and  eye-catching  design portfolio can easily turn a chance meeting with a stranger into an interview for a potential client or employer. A well-designed website can also set you apart from the thousands of other designers looking for work by showcasing your personal style and design abilities in a unique way. First impressions are hard to gauge, but having an online portfolio en...

Imagine this scenario: you receive a call from a small business owner who needs some design work. He says he doesn’t have time to do it himself and asks for a quote. When you give him the project estimate, he balks at  your rates  and thanks you for your time, never to be heard from again. You probably don’t have to imagine this; throughout your career as a graphic designer, it’s probably happened to you countless times. Professional design work is notoriously undervalued in small businesses. When financial times get tough, the creative budget is one of the first things cut. Only one small business out of several I’ve worked with had a dedicated graphic designer on staff. In one sense, that’s great news for  freelance designers  and design agencies, but it also highlights exactly where designers fit on a small business’ list of priorities. Small business owners typically run on limited resources, and while each wants a beautiful website,  clever logo , a...

Social media can be an effective personal branding tool for creative professionals, but only if used properly. Launch into it without deliberate intent or forethought of its consequences, and you could find yourself with an ineffective or, worse, a negative online presence that jeopardizes your current job search or position, and future career prospects. To avoid that unfortunate fate, here are eight  social media  tips for creative professionals.

Ahhh… The joys of a graphic design career can be rewarding and profitable if you are diligent, especially right from the start. In the Beginning… A majority of designers start in one phase of design and end in another. For some, like me, it is a logical progression taking you from print to web to digital, to  interactive , etc. For most, including myself, you start wherever you can get that first opportunity. For me, it was a company doing direct mail in-statement pieces. It wasn’t particularly exciting, but it was my first job, and I was resigned to the fact that I would take anything that came along.

When it comes to showcasing your talent, seeing is often believing – and stills don’t always do the trick. Bring a little  movie magic  to your self-promotion strategy with these tips. This article is in the  September 2014 issue of HOW magazine , the Self-Promotion & Marketing issue. Illustration by Elly Walton; www.ellywalton-illustrations.com

When establishing yourself as a powerful player in the design arena, it’s crucial to hone your  self-promotion and branding expertise. While it might seem like common sense, self-promotion may be more of a challenge than you think. After all, it entails more than organizing your work into a carefully orchestrated  portfolio . Thorough self-promotion also requires an understanding of the latest techniques, methods and platforms to compete in the ever-growing market. To help you meet the challenge of successful self-promotion, we gathered resources that feature the latest trends and techniques to make the process significantly easier. Check out the list of resources below to help you  confidently self-promote : Self-Promotion for Designers In this  download  from  HOW magazine , you’ll get expert advice and tips on how to promote yourself. From learning when to call yourself a freelancer to learning how to make your LinkedIn profile stronger, y...

The online design resume is one of the most intimidating things new job seekers have to deal as they begin their careers. Creating an online design resume requires different skills and considerations than traditional  print resumes . Furthermore, most people in a position to give a new job seeker advice about resumes haven’t competed in the job market since online resumes became the standard, so much of their advice doesn’t take the “online” part into consideration at all. Technology has dramatically changed the way we approach the job market, but there seems to be a reluctance to accept the fact that what made someone successful even a decade ago may not hold true today. The world is considerably faster and smaller than it has ever been. .

“Now is the time to take this in-house revolution and your career to another level—one that is less tactical and more strategic. HOWU has designed a phenomenal new series of training courses for in-house team contributors—from the manager to the designer—that will build both strategic thinking and management skills.” – Ed Roberts In-house designers play a significant role in shaping design trends and making a global impact on the design world. At HOW, we can’t thank in-house designers enough for spurring the growth of the graphic design industry and magnificently showcasing how  creative teams  can work together to create spellbinding work. Each year, we recognize in-house designers with the  In-House Design Awards . The awards recognize the best creative work produced by designers doing in-house work for corporations, associations and organizations. (We’re currently accepting submissions for the  In-House Design Awards  — but the  dea...

Putting together a brand identity campaign requires hours—even years—of dedicated work. Accomplishing a celebrated brand identity is the fruit of tireless inquisition into a brand’s mission, values and target audience. It requires an encyclopedic understanding of everything the company represents and the needs of the audience. Learn from the acclaimed brand strategist, Carolina Rogoll, as she delves into the procedure for successful branding. She brings her vast experience to students at  HOW Design University  with a comprehensive course based off of her popular book,  Star Brands: A Brand Manager’s Guide to Build, Manage and Market Brands . Throughout her career, Rogoll has led brilliant campaigns for brands such as Proctor and Gamble, and was hired on at the  School of Visual Arts in New York City  for the first-ever Masters in Branding program. Along her journey as a creative professional, she has accumulated multiple advanced degrees and acc...

by Chris Jalufka,  Eviltender.com The act of athleticism is dynamic by nature. Run. Jump. Move. Hit. All are constants. When you stop the action and render it static, you find what keeps it all moving. The players, tired and worn down. Determined. Injured yet focused. Sport is one of mankind’s true acts of focused movement. Illustrator  Oliver Barrett  has been tackling sports subjects on his own since the beginning of his career, and with this year’s NBA Finals ESPN has tapped him for some key visuals to tell the story of the Golden Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers. As a Cleveland native and sports fan, Barrett often times finds himself creating work that displays the frustration and cynicism a  sports  fan feels when his team loses or makes a bad decision. I reached out to Oliver to talk about his love of sports and his work with ESPN and creating imagery of hometown hero turned villain turned hero once again, Lebron James.

When it comes to the  International Design Awards , there’s a universal consensus: Good design needs no translation. Unlike some other forms of communication, it knows no boundaries. This is exactly why the  International Design Awards  is one of my personal favorite  design competitions . Entries are judged by project type rather than industry or region—so posters are up against posters and annual reports against annual reports—no matter where in the world you reside. The beauty of the International Design Awards is that a thoughtfully constructed design project from the outskirts of Singapore can be admired in a boardroom in a bustling city in Japan. And over the years, we’ve seen this competition spread in the international market, displaying winners from Argentina to Zagreb, Croatia, and the United States. In the  2015 International Design Awards , we’ll showcase 300+ projects that break the mold and transcend borders to be elevated and recognized as t...

Editor’s Note: Here, Jason Tselentis presents seven common mistakes web and interactive designers make when applying unique typefaces for the web. Are your  web typography  skills up to scratch? 1. Using System Fonts

by Gabriel Shaoolian Every company wants to achieve success when it comes to its website. High conversions, repeat visitors and minimized bounced rates all contribute to the growth of a business. To get there, you must have several key features on your website. You need to have clear and concise messaging, calls to action that lead to conversions, sharable content, and a “stickiness factor” that will help keep users coming back for more. While you may think your choice of typefaces is seemingly minor in the grand scheme of things, the reality is that it it’s actually a major factor when it comes to the effectiveness of your website and achieving your objectives. Messaging needs to be easy to read and digest in order for it to really be absorbed by the user and ultimately lead to an action. If the delivery of your messaging lacks visual clarity, your value won’t come across and users will likely leave your page after a few seconds. There are several things to consider as we ta...

Self-promotion  isn’t always about “ME! ME! ME!” In fact, designers are often tasked with figuring out how to help their clients (or employers) put their best feet forward. In an effort to bring you some solid examples of this very important aspect of self-promotion, we reached out to three  winners  in the  Client Promotions  category of  HOW’s Promotion & Marketing Design Awards . Read on for details on these winning projects, including what sort of client praise the creatives behind these winning projects received, and why the teams entered these projects into the  Promotion & Marketing Design Awards  in the first place. And if  you  go on to create a promotion design that  wows for your client , we’d love to see it in the 2015 competition. (Deadline: TODAY!)

Though 3D printing has been around for more than 30 years, the desktop 3D printing revolution started around 2009, when key patents on the most advanced 3D printers expired. Since then, desktop 3D printers have really become accessible. In addition to more affordable printers and materials beyond plastic, Adobe added  3D printing capabilities into Photoshop CC , making it easy for designers to use and experiment with the medium without learning or investing in a new software or hardware. Don’t think of 3D printing as just an experimental option: Aside from purely artistic uses of the technology, learning  how to 3D print  introduces new revenue opportunities, such as prototype design and production, or the ability to directly convert 2D designs into consumer goods. The ability to design, experiment and refine 3D objects can seem overwhelming if you’re new to 3D printing. Here are some guidelines to consider before getting started.

It’s official: HOW’s  International Design Awards  is open for entries. Not only that, but we’re thrilled to announce this year’s panel of judges:  Marina Willer , Pentagram partner, Sebastian Padilla, co-founder and creative director of  Anagrama , and  Dana Arnett , chief executive officer at VSA Partners. If you want these talented individuals to review your work, be sure to  enter today . Now, let’s talk about something we’ve noticed in past years’ entries:  brochure design .  Excellent  brochure design, to be more specific. Did you know that entries in the  International Design Awards  are judged by project type rather than by industry or region? That means that brochure design is up against brochure design, posters are up against  posters , web design against  web design —you get the idea—no matter where in the world you reside. Here, we showcase 5  brochure designs  that were...

Trust us: You want to enter the  International Design Awards  this year. Why? For starters, HOW has an extensive international reach, and winners gain valuable exposure. Plus, the Best of Show winner scores a free trip to  HOW Design Live  2016 in Atlanta (that means round-trip airfare, hotel and conference registration). But here at HOW, we’re buzzing with even more excitement than usual because of this year’s panel of judges (drumroll, please):  Marina Willer , Pentagram partner,  Sebastian Padilla , co-founder and creative director of  Anagrama , and  Dana Arnett , chief executive officer at VSA Partners. If you want these talented individuals to review your work, be sure to  enter today . Early-bird deadline is this Friday, Aug. 14. In celebration of international design, we’re spotlighting a selection of  award-winning design  from the U.K., including packaging design, brochure design, a...

he entries in the Sixth Annual  Logo Design Awards  were top notch, and we ended up with an amazing  group of winners . Among the  great logos  were two designs from Orlando-based  Brand Architecture,  a branding and design agency with a passion for creating memorable, meaningful design. We talked to Brand Architecture CEO & President Frederic Terral about the big win, and here’s what he had to say: “We enjoyed some good social media and PR buzz, which increased traffic to our site and general social media engagement.  Most importantly, we gained a great client out of Chicago. Thanks HOW! ” Terral says the agency plans to  submit a few logo designs  this year as well. “Folks should enter for the reasons (and results) stated above,” Terral says. “Another reason for others to enter (and win) is for the validation that your work is as great as you and your clients think it is.” Check out s...

The Sixth Annual  Logo Design Awards   (this year’s  deadline  is this Friday, Aug. 21)  saw some amazing entries. We ended up with an amazing  group of winners . Among the many  great logos  was a gorgeous one from  Works Progress Design , a small agency full of self-proclaimed creative partners, confidantes, storytellers and artists who work as seasoned strategists, designers, writers and developers. “Being selected for the HOW Logo Design Awards was a huge highlight for us,” says Mara Lubell, owner and creative director of Works Progress Design. “It had kind of an empowering effect; like by winning HOW, we were taking things to the next level. And it was something we were very proud to share with our clients, audience, and peers. I think we’ve had one of our best years since then.” Lubell adds that they’ll “definitely be entering again this year.   HOW is a highly respected publication in ...

Is there anything better than a truly well-designed poster? If you’re listing off the obvious responses (Hel lo —food? Family? Love?), humor me for a minute. Imagine you’re scrolling or clicking through a website, maybe  Dribbble  or   Pinterest , maybe the very site you’re reading right now, and BAM! The most delicious poster appears before you. You stop. You stare. There’s no looking away—not until your eyes have seen every inch of this work of art. And in that moment, you  might  say that there’s nothing better than the very poster before you. You with me? If so, let’s take a little trip through some of the most pin-able poster designs floating around out there. We’ll end our journey with a look at some of the wall-worthy (and drool-worthy) posters that will be on display at the  Seattle-Havana-Tehran Poster Show  premiering this fall. The show—spearheaded and curated by Dan Smith, design director at ...

Whether you think  business cards are dead  in the digital age or thriving in all the right places, it’s impossible to ignore the fact that designers are still creating highly unique business cards that we all love looking at. Below, you’ll find a roundup of some of our favorites. If you’ve created a killer business card in conjunction with a  logo design , whether for yourself or a client, consider entering it into the  Logo Design Awards   (deadline: Friday, Oct. 9) . The new Identity Applications category means you can enter  business cards ,  animated logos ,  packaging  and anything else created alongside the logo.The judge,  Lippincott’s Rodney Abbot , will be choosing 10 winners from each category, so entering both categories doubles your chances of winning. Find out Abbot’s  top 5 tips for designing a logo . Plus, all entrants will now receive a free digital download of  Jim Krause’s best ...

I went to art college because I wanted to draw every day for living. I didn’t want to design  annual reports  or  apps , I wanted to fill galleries with work that people wanted to hang in their living rooms. I also didn’t want to just make pretty work; I wanted to make work that was provocative, work that made your brain happy as well as your eyes. Over the years, I fell in love with  poster design , and I’ve won pretty much every  award  on the planet doing it. I’ve learned quite a bit along the way, and I want to share a few  poster design tips  for anyone getting into this field. If you have a tip to add, I invite you to leave it in the comments below. 1. Start with a Good Idea

As a designer, you take pride in your process. And if that process has historically worked for you, your company and your clients, then you may be hard-pressed to change it in even the smallest way. But what if that process benefits everyone except you? What if during your creative endeavors, you find yourself slogging along, barely able to stay focused or, worse yet, barely able to give a Gaussian blur about the work you’re doing and your client? Well, that’s a problem—and you need to make a change. Before you start considering a career switch, maybe all you have to do is find the culprits of your malaise. When looking to improve your productivity,  time management , office culture and environment, design tools and client management, you need to assess what works and what doesn’t. Take the following quiz to see how your current situation stacks up. Then, discover the nine common problems you may be facing—and how to fix them. Illustration by  Greg Mably

5 Top Tips for Logo Design by Bill Gardner, president of  Gardner Design  and founder of  LogoLounge.com 1. Start with Discovery Stop. Designing a logo is a bit like climbing down a mountain, and that’s but half the journey. Discovery is the first part of the process and more akin to ascending the mountain. As a credible designer you are creating a subjective solution that addresses the objective needs of your client. More than a clever image, your design needs to have strong logic for why it will build relevance with your client’s customers. Intuition, though valuable to the design process, is multiplied exponentially by research. Cosmosphere International SciEd Center and Space Museum

My 12-year-old sister is a pro at showing zero interest in everything that is unrelated to the teen heartthrob of the moment. This is especially frustrating for me when there’s some excellent movie or song I want to share with her, and I can’t get so much as a polite nod. But there is a place I can always count on to restore her sense of wonder: the halls of the movie theater. She stops and stares at the  movie posters  even when the cast doesn’t include her one and only, and I join her—because  great movie posters  demand our attention. And they deserve it. Let’s take a look at 26 movie posters—some official, some  alternative , all great. Great Movie Posters by  BLT Rock the Kasbah. Client: Open Road Films

GRAPHIC DESIGN FEATURE 5 tools every graphic designer should have Jul 31, 2013   15:08 pm Comments       If you're starting out in the world of graphic design, here are five things you need to get hold of. If you're just getting into graphic design, or think you want to be a graphic designer, here's what you need to invest in. You may not need the latest hardware or software - ideas and execution are far more important than the latest equipment. But get the best kit you can afford! While you're here, why not read our other articles aimed at the novice graphic designer? Here are three to get you started: Names  every graphic designer should know Key terms  every graphic designer should know Underrated tools  for graphic designers Now here are the five must-have tools...