If you seem to be a natural at interior decoration, why not become an interior designer? There are steps you can take that will ease you onto the road to becoming a professional interior designer, bringing your passion to life. The terms interior designer and interior decorator are often used interchangeably. That said, if you want to do interior decoration for a living, the following considerations may be of help.

Education and training:
While you may be able to hang out a shingle and proclaim yourself an interior designer, you may also not have too many clients. Training will likely be more important than the mere fact that you've been educated in interior decoration. While it may take longer, getting a job with an established interior designer may make things easier for you in the long run.

Prepare a portfolio:
No matter what you do, a prospective employer or client will want to see what you can do, in a range of interior design options. Can you create a chic country look?

Practice:
Your home is your personal showcase. While you may have found the perfect interior decoration for your living room, try switching things up. Tap your friends for help. There's no reason you can't offer your interior design services to friends, as long as you get to take pictures of the finished product for your portfolio. Be sure to take before-and-after pictures to showcase your interior designer talent as you create a wonderful living space. If cost is a problem, try using what is currently there or find different, cheaper options, like moving furniture from other rooms in the house.

Network:
Attend home shows as an interior designer. Take your portfolio, dress up a corner of the booth, or raffle off a free interior design consultation. Your name needs to be out there in order to create a business. Try and visit home shows even if you don't rent any space. Introduce yourself to the various participants and hand out business cards. Talk to builders and contractors, offering interior decoration for their model homes. Make sure you have good business cards. They are often your longest-lasting impression on potential clients, and a badly designed card doesn't fill people with confidence that you'll do great interior decoration.

Specialize:
What type of interior design do you want to do? If you want to work on office buildings, building a portfolio of cozy bedrooms will not help you much. If you want to create wonderful interior decoration on a shoestring budget, talking to a contractor who works on multimillion dollar homes will likely be a waste.

Continue to learn your craft:
Even if you take every step known to man to become an interior designer, if you forget to continue learning your craft, you will likely not get far. Interior design changes regularly. Trends alter, offices and homes change, and you should be prepared to adjust. Subscribe to interior design magazines, join a group of decorating professionals, make sure you watch trends-- basically take steps so that you and your work never become stagnant.

A. Stylish Architect And Interior Design Services In India At Affordable Prices
India on architectural front has come of age; from the boring buildings, its time when buildings shout attitude, all thanks to great interior designs by interior design services in India. Interior design firms take idea from paper sketches to firm structures on ground, utilizing the space intelligence and that too at affordable prices range.

Interior design services in India are competent to global architectural services. There is a marked difference and attitude in one’s architectural designs and different architectural firms have earned specializations in different sectors with special requirements like hospitals, offices, home, apartments, etc.

In India architectural and interior designing services are easily available. With the wide web just at the click of finger, getting interior design services have got easier; clients need to drop the requirement and different firms that offer interior design services would contact on their own.

Interior design service expert can add zing to an otherwise decent or normal dwelling. In today’s scenario firms offering interior designing services would not cost king’s ransom because of the high competition in the sector. Architectural services comes in foreplay not only in new set ups but also to re design the old ones, many times clients look forward to retaining the basic idea while giving new charm to old things. For fresh designs, designers work in collaboration with architects to produce splendid buildings, Interior designers spice up the final structure to the taste of the client.

B. Quality interior Design services in Delhi Now available Online
The wide width of interior services include interior design and interior of architectural services including planning, designing, project management, decorating services, deriving project cost, supervision, quality control, budget monitoring and co-ordination of the entire project.

These Interior Design Firms have marked heir footprints on the world of web to widen their reach after their wooden and cemented offices. The online presence of skilled professionals in interior designing has made them more approachable. Corporate interior design companies with the onset of online have got unmeasured space to showcase their work and talk (write) in length about their strengths and work.

Interior Designers in Delhi are better positioned than rest because here work needs to be performed under the crunch of space and time. Consulting the interior designers offers a personal touch with new ideas to put up the unique space. The search options throw away hundreds of interior designing services at the face of the net surfer. At Conarch, we have skilled professionals to take care of each and every aspect of interior designing. These professionals also take the help of Computer Aided designing to help out the clients.

Conarch not only takes care of the Interior Designing Services in Delhi, but it also creates architecture that is safe and cost effective for the customers.

Effective graphic design is the applied art of arranging text and images in a way that effectively communicates a message. Effective graphic designers can enhance the image of advertising your company and products through media such as direct mail, flyers, newsletter design, brochure design, annual reports, business cards, letterheads and of course web site design. Graphic design agencies can assist you with all the above stationary to be designed to a good standard and would give you ideas of how to implement brand development.

Effective graphic designers attract people to read the content of your message. Effective graphic designers build trust and confidence in your company and products and helps in brand development.

Effective graphic design is also a key component of brand development. Consumers respond to graphic images such as logos, and skillful graphic design companies helps make your product stand out in a crowded marketplace. Graphic design agencies offer a specialised service so outsourcing is your best option. Look for a company with a strong portfolio of memorable designs. Check if you recognise any of the clients the design firm has done work for. And don't forget that graphic design is an applied art. Designs that are beautiful for their own sakes don't guarantee commercially viability. Look for designs that indicate the designer has a strong grasp of marketing too.

When you find graphic design agencies, you need to ask them about brand development, advertising etc like, how many revisions the firm will do until you're satisfied. In what format would the graphic design agencies delivery any graphics?

A. Professional Graphic Design Services- Tm Media Graphic Design Studio
TM Media Inc. is located in Dallas, TX, and offers professional graphic design services, brochure design Dallas, graphic design Dallas, Dallas web site design, Dallas web design, graphic design firm, graphic design brochure, web graphic design, graphic design site, web site graphic design for customers in the Dallas or worldwide. TM Media Inc is headed by a team of professional graphic designers with extensive experience in the graphic design industries.

Our graphic design and website design services include:
* Logo Design
* Website Design
* Brochure Design
* Identity Design
* Book Cover Design
* Package Design
* Illustration Design

We present high quality work that complies with all web standards. TM Media is a top graphic/web design company in Dallas and is dedicated to providing professional and affordable graphics design and web site design services and solutions to customers worldwide.

B. Make your next Graphic Design Job Your Last. How to retire wealthy in a few easy steps
We've all dreamed of spending our working days reclinining back in a deck chair eating cheese sandwiches on an overcast summers day. But then we remember the mortgage/kids/wifes $500 a day drug habit and our fantasies turn to dust. Here at www.mindtap.co.uk we show in 5 easy steps how you can quit that lousy Graphic Design job and spend the rest of your life living in easy street.

Step 1: Think yourself in a better place and low and behold it will happen
This is your first step towards financial freedom. Forget the graphic designer career you had mapped out. Let's join the idle rich instead.

Step 2: Tell the boss what you think of him and burn those bridges!
Remember the time your design studio manager had you stay late and manually key in that 1oo page farming brochure text by hand and then laughed at you in your face? Right, we'll show him who's boss. A good way to be forcibly removed from the office and earn some extra kudos from your fellow graphic design employees is to take a dump and leave it festering away in a drawer in the bosses desk.Just wait for his reaction when he smells that sick stunt. You're history.

Step 3: When you hit rock bottom the only way is up, up and away
No job = No money right? A spot of domestic violence after hitting the bottle is usually enough encouragement.

Step 4: Remember keep your vision and your dreams will come true
At every stage in this degenerate journey, never lose sight of that image we visuallised in step one of yourself sitting astride a huge pile of banknotes. It's time to pay them a visit with cap in hand.

Step 5: Invest wisely and you can say hello to a life of wanton abandon
Now after securing your large sum of cash from your chosen aquaintence, its prudent not to blow it all in one go on 200ft gold statues of yourself or buying an amusement park complete with zoo.

A great logo can help a business project a positive image while a bad logo can bring a negative impression about a company. If a logo is the company spokesman, how much is it really worth? Cheap logo designs are all over the Internet - logo designs under $150! $99 logo designs, $75 logo designs, $49 logo designs and even lower! You will easily find a wide range of prices for logo design on the Internet.

Be careful of cheap logo design offers, some designers may be using clip art. A logo design that includes a royalty free piece of clip art cannot be copyrighted. That same piece of clip art could be used on dozens of other logo designs. A designers portfolio should be displayed and there should be a wide variety of logo samples. Some logo designers charge one flat fee for a logo with no questions asked.

Can you imagine Coca-Cola purchasing a logo design for $99? All designs are not equal. Some logo designers charge additional costs for extra colors, extra modifications and extra preliminary designs. How much is a logo design really worth? A logo design is more valuable to a company than a single spot illustration. A logo has more value than just the hours spent on creating it. It becomes the companies identity.

Professional graphic design rates average anywhere from $30 to $75 per hour. If you see a logo design priced at $125 and that designer charges $50 per hour for design work, do you assume that they spent 2.5 hours on your logo? That price would include the time spent to contact you, the research done on your company and competition, the preliminary ideas, the changes, the finalizing of the logo, the file prep for each different format, sending the logo, billing and allowing you to have all rights to the design.

So how much time was actually spent creating your logo? Many professional graphic designers would be hard pressed to create a top notch illustration for under $150 let alone a creative, well designed logo. So beware of logos priced under $150, you may get what you pay for. There's even more confusion about logo pricing.

Some designers base their logo rates on several of these factors: Logo Modifications - You could get charged for each time you want a change or modification to your logo. If a logo designer asks the right questions, does the research and stays in close communication with the client there should be no need for major changes during the creation of a logo design. Be a good communicator and explain to the logo designer exactly what you want your logo to be saying about your business. Extra Colors - Printers charge more for extra colors.

If a logo designer charges more for a two color logo than they do for a three color logo, get a detailed explanation as to why. A logo designer should be able to decide for you the correct amount of preliminary designs it will require to create your perfect logo. An example would be asking for a yellow duck logo design and changing your mind to a red dog design once the logos are presented to you.

Adding an identity program to your logo is a legitimate cost. Designing the business card, letterhead and envelope layouts are normally a higher priced package. You should receive camera ready files for each design.

There is a standard reference for pricing graphic design and corporate identity projects. Any logo designer can purchase the book. A professional graphic designer would have a tough time supporting a family and a studio designing all of their logos below $200.

I'm not writing this to give exact prices for a logo design because each logo designers circumstances are different. The standard logo design rates are based on two major components, company size and application or distribution size. The majority of logo designs created over the Internet are created for small companies and individuals with limited application and distribution uses. Fortune 500 companies normally pay much higher logo design rates and use advertising agencies. My conclusion is that the value of a logo should be based on a few
important criteria:

1. Experience of the logo designer
2. Size & budget of the company using the logo
3. Scope and usage of the logo
4. Difficulty of the design

An individual or small company with small to average uses should be prepared to pay anywhere from $300 to $1500 for a top quality, professional logo design. What's included with your logo? You will then have to pay another graphic designer or printer to create the correct files. Be aware of what file types you will be needing and ask your logo designer what file types are included in their price.

The most common file types needed are AI (Illustrator) and EPS for most professional print jobs. These are vector format files. These files should be in a CMYK color format. Be aware that not all colors translate well on the Internet, especially GIF files. Ask if the logo designer used web safe colors. You should receive crisp 72 dpi files for the Internet. Be sure and ask your logo designer about your logo colors. You will need this information each time your logo is printed. Ask your designer how long they keep your logo on file in case you lose your versions later down the road.

You should also receive all rights (copyrights) to your logo. How long have they designed logos? In closing let me say that the information above is a personal opinion and is taken from years of searching logo design web sites and reading books on graphic design. An advertising agency handles logo design on a larger scale and incorporates an entire corporate identity service. Their logo design rates are many times higher than a graphic designers.

A. 5 Steps to Good Graphic Design
In this economy when you need a project done within the field of graphic design its important that the graphic designer you choose be versatile, fair, and a great communicator. Here are five things a good graphic designer should do.

1. Communicate effectively- A graphic designer should listen to his client and periodically show the client early drafts of the design project, to ensure that the client get what they want. Often times Graphic designers lack the communication to find mistakes before they become problems, and follow the changing ideas a client can have throughout the design process. As a graphic designer, I have found that the client many times will want to change the design to meet their expectations, and if there is a lack of communication throughout the design process, a designer and client will make more work for themselves.

2. Do the job right the first time- Just like everything else in business time is money. Communication is key to ensure that the project follows the requirements, and stays on task. If the design or project is not what the client envisioned, steps need to be taken to provide the final product, within reasonable time frames, and a discounted, or free charge for service.

3. Charge a fair price- In this economy its important that your graphic designer charges you a fair market value price. Payment methods and quantities are a must in the design service world. If a designer suggest all payment upfront, there is a chance that their dedication to the project has already fallen short of the cost for the project. Schedule smaller fraction payments, with required status reports, to ensure that they designer is on track, and will continue to dedicate the designer to work on track towards the finalized project, and still striving towards the final amount. Staying flexible with fees and payments, keeps a valued relationship between client and provider. many graphic designers will continue to land steady work, by providing an inexpensive, time effective, and desired product.

4. Follow the client's needs - Many graphic designers mistake graphic design for artistic design and try to put too much of their own creative mark or spin on a project when the desired work is much simpler. Designers should stay on track with clients needs, and communicate exactly any questions the designer might have regarding the level of freedom one has towards creative cart blanche.

5. Be passionate and have fun with the design- No work done by a designer should be painful. Clients do not want to have a design, that is created with limited passion towards the design. Even if you really love the artistic, and free expressive style of graphic design, give your simple creative side a chance to breathe. The client is paying the designer to take care of all the little things in the design.

B. Why Should You Go For Custom Logo Design?
Whenever you like a particular product or company your brain associates itself with the designs of the logo of that company. Not only the design of the logo, your brain also associates itself with the jingles that accompany advertisements of famous products and organizations. The same is applicable to a business logo design too. One small error in the design will remain stuck with the company forever and by the time they either realize or are pointed out the flaws in the design; it is too late to make amends. One should always seek the services of professional logo design services to ensure that they get the custom logo design they are seeking for.

There are many professional logo design companies who will create a professional logo for your organization, but even they require some information and feedback from your end in order to create a perfect logo. If you are looking for someone who can render a professional logo design, it is recommended that you take the help of advertising agencies. Get more valuable information about being a custom logo design for your organization. Remember, your logo is your organization's mascot and it represents your organization, hence it is important that it has a unique and custom logo design that stands out from the designs of the logos of your competitors.

In order to create a custom logo design using these programs using this software, one has to first select any design from the software's collection. Simon is a graphic designer and creative writer on various business related topics which help others to start up and boost up their business. Get more valuable infologin4mailsrmation about combinations of the logo to one that suits the standard colors of the company for which the logo is being designed.

Most professional companies have their own unique color combination that is used in all their stationery and the same should be followed for their custom logo design. Once all these steps have been completed, the entire image can be exported as a graphic corporate logo design,best logo design,company logo design,custom logo design file and can be sent to the printers for printing on letterheads, visiting cards and other official stationery. What the users of this software do not know is that the same program is being used by tens of thousands of semi-professionals all over the world to create some other custom logo design.

They are being termed as semi-professionals, since no graphic professional worth their salt will ever use such programs with pre-designed logos. There is one more important point that one should remember when getting their logos designed. The image of the logo should appear to be a part of your company. Try to add elements in the design that shows the nature of your company's business.

A famous example is that of a gramophone record company. Their logo depicts a dog listening intently to the horn of an old gramophone player. Can you imagine how many things does this logo depict? The record goes to show the logo is that of a company that deals with records. Remember, the logo is the heart and soul of your company and they are the biggest and most important representatives of your organization too. 365 days a year, the logo of your company keeps reminding people about the presence of your company through your organization's ads, letterheads, visiting cards and gifts.

So you’ve started your new business and the purse strings are tight (We know, we’ve been there!)

1. Are You Memorable?
You need them to remember your company name and image in a flooded market, so your logo has to be original, memorable and eye catching all at once. Most companies now have computer software that allows you to create images and text or even use clipart, but using clipart in your logo will limit your appeal, anyone could use the same image in their logo and then your original idea isn’t so original. A designer will look at your company in-depth, finding out about your aims, goals, ideal customers, target market etc. There is also the problem that whatever you created your logo in may not be a programme that is design standard, these being Adobe Illustrator, Macromedia Freehand or Corel Draw.

2. Time Saving
Graphic Designers are expert at Graphic Design, whereas you are an expert at your business. By using their expertise you’ll save yourself time and get the job done right first time. They know how to create the right look and feel to attract your target market. Designers can really see how best to present your business or product, and design your material for maximum effect!

A. The Ups & Downs of Logo Design
Making or designing a logo can be a difficult task for many-especially when you don't have the experience, or simply the patience to sit countless hours in front of the computer dealing with colors, layers, paths, etc. It took a bit of research - watching tutorial videos, checking forums, and a whole lot of patience with myself and the image editing software I used.
When designing a logo, artists/designers should consider a few things to accomplish this task in the least time possible and using the highest quality.

Whether it is for a distant cousin's pig farm, or for a roller coaster company in Italy, the logo must be something gives a first impression of what the company is about. It's now time for doodling. After having something physical on paper, then it's time to design your logo. Woohoo! Now, open your favorite software and start creating! Personally, I like to use a free program called "The Gimp," or simply "Gimp." Whatever you decide to use, there are gazillions of image editing software programs out there to facilitate your artistry.

B. The Art of Logo Graphic Design
Logo graphic design is an art anyone can learn. The best place to start is by studying the form and function of logos you see everyday, especially those pertaining to the industry you want to design for. If you are wanting to design your own logo for your construction business, you will want to spend some time studying the logos of other companies in the construction industry. Never copy their logos, but it is a great source for research.

Logos need to be simple. The more busy a logo is, the more negative impression it tends to leave on the viewer. Symbolism can play an important role in coming up with ideas for a logo design. Logo graphic design is a process. You will spend a lot of time researching, drawing, sketching, throwing ideas away, pulling your hair out, and sighing. You have found that mark, now take the extra time to perfect it.

First, always start designing your logo in black and white. Don't forget about the negative space.

Have you ever seen a beautiful house or office building and wondered who did the work? Many people wonder what it would be like to be an Interior Designer, but they rarely ever go beyond thinking about it.

If you really want to know if Interior Design is right for, this book will be your comprehensive guide to the ins and outs of the business. An interior Designer is a consultant. You must educate your client about interior design.

I can guarantee you, that after you’ve read this, you will know for sure if Interior Design is the right career choice for your future. Interior Design can be a very lucrative career choice for the right person. You might be wondering exactly what an Interior Designer does.

An Interior Designer creates, organizes, and designs commercial and/or residential properties. Basically, an interior designer works with the interior of a particular space, such as rooms, offices, boardrooms, and various other internal spaces. Here is a list of some of the places that interior designers can work in.
* Hotels
* Banks
* Restaurants
* Stadiums
* Arenas

Interior Designers do more than just decorate a space. In some cases they can add extra rooms, design patios and gazebos, add or remove wall space, and they spend a great deal of time networking with people. Interior Designers are responsible for creating a comfortable and relaxed space for their clients to live and/or work in.

A. Do You Know What Interior Design Work Is?
Interior design begins with a style and a color palette. Often a commercial interior design professional will be employed pre-construction to ensure than windows, stairwells, escalators, walkways and rooms are located in optimal places. Next, the designer will estimate the costs and create a design image with computer-aided interior design software. There are several different realms for interior design professionals to focus their sights.

For instance, some designers work at furniture, home or garden stores selling merchandise and recommending color and theme options. Some designers focus on office interior design or commercial interior design, while others specialize in custom designs for individuals or realtors trying to stage homes for sale. Other designers may be masters of acoustics and soundproofing, security, home theaters, home spas or gardens.

According to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the average annual income for interior design professionals is around $42,260. The middle 50% earned between $31,830 and $57,230, with the lowest 10% earning $24,270 and the highest percentile earning over $78,760. Architectural and engineering designers earned the highest salaries, with specialized interior design services right behind. The income a professional interior designer makes largely depends upon the years of experience, specialization, reputation and employer.

B. Reviewing the Latest Interior Design News
Whether you are looking for contemporary designs, commercial interior design ideas, modern furniture or historic relics for your home, design news can offer practical ideas. Generally, the interior designer will be a good listener and communicator, knowledgeable in everything from interior design furniture and lighting to building regulations and kitchen storage space. So what does the moment hold for interior design?

Green building materials, furniture and interior design services are making design headlines all around the world, but particularly in America, in places like Seattle, Portland, New York and Austin. Last year, green building technology found a friend in the money-conscious consumer who was looking to save on his or her energy costs. The LEED standard became the predominant licensing agency and Energy Star appliances became mandatory for government buildings in many states.

More than 14% of all US cities have some kind of "green real estate" program in place and insurers agree to protect sustainable houses. While it may sound incredulous, the latest interior design news is that music has been added to the interior design services repertoire. Music/architecture specialists from New York and London to Aspen and Belize are creating customized play lists that are synchronized with their clients' decor. Young interior decorators bring their own distinctive visions to the table, according to the latest Baltimore interior design news.

For instance, 30-year-old Annie Zemarel Werden, who comes from a background in Italian fashion and landscaping, adores historic items in her professional interior design. Ex-history teacher Charlene Lester says that her style isn't flashy but is rather practical in her home designs.

Why choose a design agency for your project?
With the wide variety of design houses, ad agencies and printers out there, choosing the right supplier for your creative needs can be a daunting prospect. should you employ an in-house designer? Many types of company offer graphic design. Printers no longer just print, even many photographers are offering graphic design as a service, as are stationery suppliers, IT companies and many other businesses.

What is a design agency?
So what is a design agency, as opposed to these other options? A design agency is a specialist in creative design as a core business. At the other end of the scale, there are advertising agencies. Should you use an advertising agency for design work that is not advertising? The reverse situation is equally true, most design agencies will not be appropriate for producing broadcast or press advertising, and especially where media scheduling and buying are a factor. The set-up of a design agency can be very effective for some advertising, but usually for limited campaigns aimed at niche target audiences.

The right design agency?
• Is the agency doing many more web projects than design for print? Are the designers qualified designers for print, or web designers who outsource the print design?
• Is the agency willing to give references of satisfied customers other than pre-printed testimonials?
• Can the agency provide quantitative results for work, what evidence can they provide for return on investment and accountability?

Web site design has now become a standard part of a design agency’s portfolio and it is a natural progression for clients’ to expect their web sites to have the same level of branding as any other marketing communications tool.

The main benefit of using a design agency to design your web site is that a graphic designer can integrate your site’s branding with that of all your other marketing items. It is true that many design agencies have to buy-in technical back-end functionality for their sites, but this is only like using a printer to print a brochure that has been conceived and designed by a design agency.

In-house versus Agency?
Many businesses have taken the decision to employ graphic designers for themselves as in-house creative teams. Using a design agency has certain key benefits over an in-house creative studio. Design agencies work in a competitive environment, their designers must constantly deliver the highest standards of work, as clients have a choice of suppliers who will often compete on a project by project basis.

As in football, to maintain a ‘first team place’ it is in the interests of all design agencies to constantly come up with exceptional creative for clients as there are consequences for not doing.

In house designers very seldom have that competitive pressure to drive up their creative efforts. Unlike in-house studios, where the projects may only involve the products and services of one company, designers within an agency work for many different sectors and business types. This constant variety leads to many fresh ideas and the honing of cutting edge creative talent.

This variety benefits the client as the designer in the agency is far less likely to become stale over the longer term. Experiences with new design challenges and constant use of the imagination for new products and services, means that when the designer comes around to working back on a certain client’s project, he has all the experiences from other client’s work to bring to the table.

Although the trend for in-house design will continue due to pressure on budgets, working with a good design agency may still be the better option, as long as your agency can deliver cost-effective services, and offer you a measurable return on investment.

A. Style - How it Affects your Career as Graphic Designer
Few years ago, I had an opportunity to discuss with one of Indonesian well-known ‘branding expert’ about “how we can survive as a graphic designer, specially a freelance graphic designer. Does style affect?” He said, “What is style?! Style is killing designer!” His answer really shocked me, because I am a graphic designer who likes certain style of design, and without I realized people recognized my work by that style.

Do I have to change my style?
I have been 10 years working on graphic design field, during that time I always design with a certain style which more oriented to German style that has a certain characteristic such as ‘neat, compact, well alignment with strong square or rectangle geometrical shape’. That makes me sure that graphic design style is not always about era, just like many people think. In other word, a certain style won’t kill designers’ life. On the other way around, a freelance graphic designer will be able to survive with his/her own style.

A freelance graphic designer, who has his/her own style, unconsciously would create his/her own target market. With their portfolios, prospect clients would see the characteristic of their artworks.

Explore and strengthen the style in order to get the personal touch, that way our style will be our identity in graphic design industry.

B. So You Think You Don't Need To Use An Outside Graphic Design Agency?
It seems there are a large number of Companies out there that think it is an extravagant and unnecessary expense to hire an outside Graphic Design Agency to do their work for them. Their beliefs are that they already know what they want and they have a member of staff that is able to do the work in-house, or perhaps they are simply unwilling to pay for outside graphic design services that they 'think' are too expensive when costs are an overriding concern.

Companies may well be saving on costs 'doing-it-themselves' but at the expense of the quality of design, skills and experience an outside Graphic Design Agency can bring to bear on a particular project.

Marketing and Communication is essential to every Company's ability to grow their client base. Well, Graphic Designers plan, analyze, and create visual solutions to communications problems. They consider cognitive, cultural, physical, and social factors in planning and executing designs appropriate for a given context. Bottom line, they get the Clients message out to the public with the intention of selling said Clients products or services. Simple!

In most instances a Company will turn to an established outside Graphic Design Agency for help in creating bespoke solutions for their specific marketing and communication needs. In some Companies though, in-house Designers or existing staff with some design skills are often used to create the marketing materials. Cost is a major consideration with Companies and they often think that it is cheaper to keep everything in-house by hiring their own Designer (or doing it themselves) and acquiring all the software and hardware required to produce the projects in-house. For most smaller companies these are expenses that are just not viable.

Smaller companies that produce the artwork themselves do not necessarily have the skills or knowledge required to create artwork that is ready to print, so when the files are sent to the printer, additional costs and time delays are incurred whilst the printer sorts out all the problems. The outside Graphic Design Agency has the advantage here, being already experienced in all the software programme's commonly in use and will fully understand all the design and production tricks of the trade that helps to achieve effective design with the fewest problems.

Design itself. An in-house Designer will often have a problem moving the company forward into new territories, because their imaginations and creativity are being stifled working within the same business sector, using the same stories and visual solutions again and again. An outside Graphic Design Agency has a huge advantage here, working on a variety of different briefs, from different clients within different industry sectors.

The Designers within the Graphic Design Agency are constantly exposed to the ongoing evolution of design ideas with colleagues, client interactions and the design media, whilst continually drawing on the years of training and development acquired whilst actually working within the Design business for a number of years. Perhaps cost-cutting is not the over-riding factor after all. Perhaps effective design is more important.

Ever wondered how some graphic designers always manage to produce beautiful looking designs for their brochures, website designs, logo designs? Forget everything you've ever been told about Graphic Design. There are some hard and fast things that graphic designers will insist are to be obeyed. Only use limited fonts on a design for example or never use green on a magazine or book cover as people will not buy it. Stuff and nonsense. You can pretty much do whatever you like but you must apply these STRICT GRAPHIC DESIGN RULES and you will soon be walking away with graphic design silverware.

Somewhere on the page you MUST put in a subliminal message, This can be done in a multitude of ways for example if you are producing a brochure selling wellington boots then start every paragraph spelling out 'buy our wellington boots' or better still 'you have no choice but to buy our wellington boots now get out your cheque book and buy them - NOW!' You MUST include a picture of a pretty girl smiling on your document or webpage, This works for 95% of products.

Research has proven that mens brains are wired up to focus on girls smiles and of course their breasts and backsides. If you can somehow convince your client to put a naked girl on there somewhere you can pretty much laugh yourself down to the bank. However, never ever put a muscle bound hunk on any design thinking it will work conversely for womens products. Shock and Awe - the guaranteed way to get your design work noticed and talked about Perhaps the best example of this trick can be found widely used in the modern art world.

Sharks in formaldahyde, unmade beds and plastic dolls melted together to sodomise each other. The same principal can and should be applied to your graphic design work or website design. Remember the important thing is to get people talking about your design work.

A. How to Find A Trusted Graphic Design Company or Web Designer
It's long been held that trust goes a long way in building strong long term design relationships. To the uninitiated this might seem like a frightening place to look for someone trustworthy to carry out your design brief but perservere and you may get to hear about some secret design meeting going down in the backroom of some crack festooned fleapit. Welcome to the shadowy world of the design behemoths.

Playing the field
With so many unscrupulous designers hawking their shoddy services, it pays the prudent design buyer to play off these scampa among each other. For instance one designer may be offering free lollipops with every logo design. Sweeeeet!

Get to know your designer intimately
Mixing business with pleasure can be a dangerous pastime but when you are looking to build a long term design relationship, sometimes being bedfellows makes common sense.

Money - the route of all evil?
So far we've discussed the psychological neccessity of maintaining a trusting relationship between designer and client. The other, sometimes neglected aspect is a sound business trust between the two parties.

Listen to your heart
At the end of the day building up a trustful design relationship has to emerge from both parties. It's all very well you doubting the designers sincerity and to be fair who hasn't thought at one stage or another that a designer is ripping you off? Ginger haired people although renowned for their hostile nature are 99% of the time fairly honest. Blonds will steal your last penny and leave you with some hideous design work.

B. The Amazing Amount of Online Graphic Design Classes
There are a variety of graphic design classes that are possible online. Carrying out an online learning course can be more convenient but still help you towards your chosen career. Do a basic search with Google or another search engine, type the keywords "graphic design classes" and you will discover an exceedingly large quantity of results. It is important that you not settle for the first graphic design course you discover. Do some checking and make sure that the online graphic design classes that they offer are valid.

There is no must be concerned about how much graphic design courses will cost. While college classes can be pricey, the deals on online classes are amazing. Students who take courses over the Internet can save themselves a lot of cash and financial hassle. When you take any kind of course online you must be aware that it is more difficult than taking a course in a classroom atmosphere.

Because the company where I worked could not accommodate my school schedule, it became challenging for me to attend my graphic design courses regularly and I had to quit my job. There are many schools that advertise their syllabus on day time television for graphic design service but I have discovered that the best school is ITT Tech. After a few months I found a new occupation with a schedule flexible enough to accommodate my courses of study.

Here's a really simple way... any novice can create a fully functional website in less than a week. Although many companies are using an online presence to drive business to their brick and mortar stores, many hobbyists also tend to have a bit of interest in developing their own online presence as well. Developing a website from scratch can be rather expensive, but armed with the right tools, and given a little instruction, anyone can develop a professional website in less than a week.

Having the right tools will definitely make your project a bit easier to complete. I guess you are scratching your head wondering what type of tools I would be talking about. Just as if you were going to build a home from the ground up, take a paint brush and create a masterpiece painting, or take a piece of clay and create a winning statue, you need the right tools to do the right job.

The tools I'm referring to are web graphics software, web design software, and ftp (file transfer protocol)software. Each program focuses on a particular task. The graphics software helps you create images for your website from scratch. The web design software in short helps you to design and build a website from scratch. The file transfer protocol software is you link to sending your completed web pages from you computer to the internet.

Day one should be focused on purchasing cyber "real estate", and purchasing a name for that real estate. Building a website is like building a new house. You have to purchase the land and then you can purchase the materials to build the home on the land. Every website has a so called name. Example www.1234.com. There are many places that you can purchase cheap domain names. Once you have the domain name you can start looking for a place to host you website. Day two should be focused on the whole planning aspect of your website.

The planning aspect of your website should be focused on the objective of your website, the audience you are trying to target, and how your competition is doing in the market. You should also be trying to focus on a target market. Many internet marketers feel that you should focus on a niche market. Remember that the internet is a big playing field. Day two should also be focused on the look and feel of your website.

Pay attention to the color scheme as well. In all honesty, web graphics can make or break the success of your online presence. A fast loading website will beat out any other website hands down any day. In order to have a fast loading website you must keep your image graphics file size down to a minimum. There are several website design programs out their that will let you know how long it would normally take for you page to load up.

Shrinking the file size, saving it in different formats, and even cropping the image can cut seconds off your loading time. If you want to save money, you can purchase a graphics program and make images and logos on your own. Whatever choice you make, always do your research for the best details and outstanding customer support.

Creating your web pages.
This is basically the meat and bones of any website. For the most part, an easy way to build a website is to use what is called a template. It saves you time and headaches. One thing to remember is that using an html editor prevents you from dealing with actual html coding. You want to focus on building links, inserting and formatting text, and focusing on building your other pages throughout your site. Your website is basically a mirror image of what you stand for. This day is spent publishing your website to the world.

In order to do this you need some type of ftp software. In technical terms it's called File Transfer Protocol. This is how you transfer your web page files and graphics from your computer to your hosting company. Once the site is up on the web, check for links that are not working, or slow download times. Way to go, you have completed your first website without all the technical wisdom.

A. 5 Steps to Design Your Own Website
If you're new to the world of web design, then designing a website for business or personal reasons might seem like a daunting task. Outlined below are five steps to creating your own website.

1. Decide on a Website Theme
Choose a website theme that will flow with your business or personal goals. If you're selling photographs, choose a theme that fits well with photographs. Perhaps you'd like a website that offers training in a particular field or that provides useful information or services in fields such as health, insurance, marketing, finance, family, home and garden, web design, etc.
Use search engine optimization tools such as Wordtracker.com to determine popular keywords in your field.

2. Choose a Domain Name
Your domain name is the web address people will type in to find your website and it is completely unique to you. Example: www.domainsitings.com
Choose a domain name that meets the following criteria:
*Fits your website theme.
*Easy to remember.

3. Choose Web Hosting
Web hosting is a must for a website. This is the "web space" you'll buy so your website can appear on the World Wide Web. You can choose from thousands of web hosts today, but be aware of the pitfalls if you choose the wrong host. Choose a web host that is dependable, affordable, offers excellent customer service, and offers the features you need for your website. Free web hosting services are available if you’re starting a personal website, but are not recommended for business websites. Not all hosting services offer a reliable control panel for site management and following your website's visitor statistics.

4. Design Your Website
Once you choose a domain name and secure web hosting, it's time to design your website. You have two options: a) Learn web skills such as HTML and PHP so you can design your own website. b) Hire a web designer. If you choose to learn web design, there are many tutorials and courses online to help you learn.

5. Get Your Website Noticed
It's time to promote your website. You can promote in many different ways: search engine optimization, paid search engines, free search engine submission, e-zine advertising, and even off-line advertising. Include your website address on everything you print such as business cards, newspaper ads, letterhead, envelopes, etc.
B. My Web Design Cheat Sheet - 9 Tips to Make Designing Websites Faster, Easier, and More Fun
I've been designing web sites for about nine years now. I've gone from a Front Page rookie to a wily PHP designer and hit every bump in between. I've tried ASP, ASP.Net, PHP, HTML, XHTML, CSS, CGI, java script, action script, and just about every language you can think of. And, over time, I've developed a simple method for creating stunning web site designs faster, easier, and more fun that most people could imagine.

How NOT to Think About Web Design
It's important to always start off with the right kind of mindset when taking on any project and designing web sites is no different. One of the biggest road-blocks I encountered on my journey is my own fear of "getting dirty" with the code. For the first four years, I was purely a Front Page guy... never daring to venture into the code unless I absolutely had to It wasn't until I became absolutely frustrated with the limited nature of the software that I slowly inched my way into learning some HTML.

Learning code is easy, because it's so logical. Most programming languages, especially today, operate off simple common sense and logic. Don't spend years frustrated by a software program that will never give you the control you're looking for. If you're serious about being a web designer or designing truly professional web sites, learn the code.

Step #1: The Pre-Step
If you're like me, your first instinct when you come up with a new idea is to immediately rush to the computer and start working. It's as if the mind suddenly focuses once you put your idea on paper. No matter how silly it may or may not seem, draw out your design first!

Step #2: Lay Out Your Files
If you're using current web design standards (and you should be) then every site you build will have a similar set of core files: 1) header.php, 2) footer.php, 3) sidebar.php, 4) style.css and 5) your individual content pages (i.e. index, about, contact us, etc.). Go ahead and create these files right off the bat. This gets the core functionality of your site out of the way, that way you can focus on designing and you can test your site live to see how it looks.

Step #3: Build Your Page Layouts
Will you have a sidebar? What about your footer? What kind of elements will it have? This is where you lay out the basic structure of your site - kind of like building the walls of a house.

Step #4: Conduct Basic CSS Styling
Get your divs lined up how you want - the right heights and widths, their basic layout and shape.

Step #5: Build Your Design Elements
This is where you'll spend the majority of your time - and, you'll spend it in Photoshop (or whatever graphics program you use). This is where you create your background images, logo, bars, headers, and so on. Build your design elements, test them, and get them exactly how you want them.

Step #6: Check Browser Compatibility
I test my designs in Firefox as I build them, so inevitably I have check to see how Internet Explorer renders my site. At this point, you want to stop and do this for the major design elements you've built so far. There's nothing more frustrating than building an entire site only to find out it causes Internet Explorer to have a heart attack. You have a lot less code to work through and if you handle the major issues now, it typically works out to be less work you have to do later.

Step #7: Integrate Web Technology
Now, you've got your major design elements down, you have your site mostly in place, and it's time to add in your major technology elements. If you're building a Wordpress Theme (which you can do following this same method) this the point when you would integrate the Wordpress PHP code into your design.

Step #8: Advanced CSS Styling
At this point, you should have your site mostly built structurally... now, you can begin to finalize your CSS styling. I'm always tweaking my sites here and there. The great part is with CSS you can style elements very specifically and get them exactly how you like them.

Step #9: Validation
Oh yeah... validation. Building a site that validates is the sign of a professional web designer. It's well worth the time in terms of reputation, credibility, and search engine rankings.