Optimise your Exposure

Hopefully you've already seen this as it's had tonnes of coverage. Well done Happiness Brussels and Anthony Burrrill - this is the perfect example of optimising an event/news story to promote yourself and your business.

People will Always need Plates

Have a look at the products available on the People will always need plates website. The Baltic plate (featured here) shows good use of the contours of the plate. Allowing the building to break out from the inner circle and the perspective both also add another dimension to this design.

Self Promotion & Location Promotion

The Tate online shop is a great source of inspiration for your latest project on optimisation and self promotion.

Pictured here is Peter Blake's Limited Edition Tin Plate. You'll also find Natsko Seki's London print, and whole host of comissioned Tate souvenirs.

Light Graffiti

One of Iain's recent posts shows some interesting light graffiti experiments. This area has quite a history - take a moment to look at the amazing photo taken by LIFE photographer Gjon Mili in 1949 of Picasso.

Kyle Saxton graduated in 2009 from the BA (Hons) Visual Arts programme at the University of Salford, his work (pictured here) is a really stunning. Watch him at work in this short film on Vimeo. Kyle also has a website, flickr account, deviant art account and facebook account.


This video about Michael Bosanko is worth watching too:

How to 'sell' your design work in your portfolio

Rob Millington graduated from BA (Hons) Graphic Design at the University of Salford in the summer of 2006. Rob designed the promotional material for the show the cohort had in London to showcase their work.

From the images above the viewer immediately understands that these promotional items weren't just designed - but they went to print too. The viewer has a sense of scale (person holding poster, shoes in top image) and an understanding of the print finish (gloss finish on the invite). The top image shows the scale of the items in relation to each other - the layout is well considered so that they aren't competing with each other and there is a sense of balance. There is a separate close-up celebrating the detail in the typography too. This is an excellent example of how to 'sell' a design project.

Portfolios & Self Promotion

A fantastic article on self-promotion and portfolios on the All Graphic Design website.

Business Names & Letterhead Design

As a freelance Graphic Designer it's important to provide a professional service to your clients. This means that you should know your area of business inside out and stay up-to-date with changes that effect your line of work.

Providing clients with business advice is sometimes necessary to prevent problems later on in the design process. For example start-ups aren't always aware of the legal obligations with with regard to stationary and occasionally even the company name. Developing long-term relationships with clients is important to your business, so giving clients great advice in the beginning is a fantastic way to cement the relationship early on.

Have a read through these:

Letterhead Legal Requirements post on StartUps.co.uk
A report on the Business Names Act 1985 on Link4Business
Business Names Act 1985 on the Government website
A guide about Incorporation and Names on the Companies House website
Naming your Business Guide on the BusinessLink website

Logorama

Logorama from Marc Altshuler - Human Music on Vimeo.
This award winning film featuring over 2500 logos (contemporary and historical) and mascots has been circulating a little while now, but if you haven't seen it before I think you will enjoy it. See if you can spot the Obey posters!

David Petersen

Have a look at David Petersen's blog for a fascinating insight as to his process for creating this illustration for the Mouse Guard RPG box set.

David's video on the models he makes to help visualise perspective and angles in scenes is particularly interesting.

The Sandpit

The Sandpit from Human Music & Sound Design on Vimeo.
Stunning tilt-shift video

Rob Ryan

Check out Rob Ryans's website showcasing his distinctive screenprints and beautiful paper cuts.

Rob also has both a virtual shop on Etsy and a physical shop in London.

Between Bears

Between Bears from Eran Hilleli on Vimeo.
 A hauntingly beautiful piece by Eran Hilleli.

Kozyndan

Uprisings, (pictured here) by illustrative duo Kozyndan (Dan and Kozue Kitchens) is a personal favourite. Referencing Great Wave off Kanagawa by Hokusai this modern surreal version never fails to raise a smile.

Apart from their own shop, Kozyndan also have limited edition pieces over on ClickforArt.

Sketchbooks & Illustration

On Flickr you can use the slideshow option (see Tom Gauld's sketchbook here - located by searching using the word sketchbook) to show your sketchbook and the development of your ideas in a chronological order. There are also Flickr groups called Illustration and Illustration Now.

Issuu is another free platform you may wish to use, this is Will Scobie's sketchbook

Open publication

Search for Illustration on Issuu and you'll find - among other things - the IdN Illustration Special

Jon Burgerman

This is Jon's mural (located in Allerton Studios, where the BA Graphic Design programme is located) which he kindly did whilst visiting Salford Uni last year.

Check out Jon's website for some inspiration as to how an Illustrator can diversify and optimise his talents.

Gallery 2D 3D
Animations
Sketchbooks

Shop
Flickr
Twitter
Iphone Ap
Downloads
Competitions
FAQs

Made of Manchester

 I couldn't resist these laser cut clear acrylic (with mirrored backing) badges by artist Clare Knox-Bentham.

Have a look at the other materials that can be laser cut on the Heritage Inlay website.

MediaCityUK Talk

Just in case you haven't spotted this opportunity...

Mikroman

Sam Buxton is the talent behind the Mikroman series of sculptures. Mikro the Deep - Deep 01 (shown folded out here) is only 170mm high x 135 wide x 85mm deep!

Check out the Mikroman and the Mikromart websites.

FFFFound

FFFFound is a fantastic site for finding inspiration!

Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair

Looking for some inspiration as to how some of the most talented craft makers, designers and illustrators are promoting themselves?

Visit the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair (Friday till Sunday), it'll be £6 well spent!

Apart from purchasing a few treats and gifts, consider how each exhibitor is promoting themselves. The stall, the objects, the marketing material and brand. See something you like? Talk to the exhibitors and get some tips.

If you don't have time to go, have a look at the website - especially the exhibitors list.

Comic Sans

Interesting article over on the BBC website.

Typography

Have a look at Sebastian Lester's fantastic website showcasing the breadth of his work and his passion for type. Inspiring stuff!

Creativity

I mentioned that I'd like you to watch a video regarding Creativity and sleep... please watch it, try out the advice and post your comments on your blog.

First Gap now My Space

First we had the Gap conspiracy theory (unveil a new dismal logo and withdraw it following online campaigns and tonnes of free publicity), now I can't help but wonder if myspace have done the same thing... no new logo on their site, no mention in the press or news section...

Business Cards

As a Graphic Designer, your business card should be a memorable item that truely reflects your style/business whilst also being something that your target audience will want to keep. You should consider size, shape, material, special inks, printing finishes etc. Have a look at Inspiredology, Creative Bits, CardObserver and The Design Cubicle for more information and inspiration.

Have a look at the JungeSchachtel website too.

Tin Eye - Reverse Image Search

TinEye is a fantastic tool that helps you to locate the source of an image - brilliant for your research! Watch the video to see how it works.

CoolBrands

Have a look at the CoolBrands website - apart from listing the top 500 UK brands, they detail the judging criteria:

1. Style
2. Innovation
3. Originality
4. Authenticity
5. Desirability
6. Uniqueness

Consider these in relation to your chosen logo to develop.