Does the concept of wearing designer clothing excite you? Well if it does, then you must be glad to hear some of the benefits these fashionable clothing has on offer.

Wearing designer clothing is surely a symbol of status. There's no better way to convey your fashion statement than this. They are designed to hook people's attention. Their exclusivity easily makes them a stand out in the clutter. Moreover, these attires will depict your taste for fashion in a social gathering.

Wearing fashionable clothing can just create a special feeling within you. Many people feel confident when they understand the significance of wearing something trendy. This sense of satisfaction can lift up your mood amazingly and help you to achieve your task with great enthusiasm. So, you must wear the designer brand yourself to feel the difference.

There is no hiding to the fact that these exclusive clothing are available on premium rates. However, they last long because of their better make and finish. Sophisticated cutting, adhering to contemporary style, definitely gives these clothing an extra edge over other apparels. Embellishments like sequins or Swarovski crystals on them also add to their charm.

Another significant benefit of wearing such clothing is that they are produced in smaller numbers, compared to other outfits. So, the chances of seeing another person wearing the same dress are very less. You can surely feel proud as the exclusive owner of your attire. However, things would be entirely different if you decide to buy a piece from your local retail outlet or shopping mall. The element of uniqueness in a designer clothing would be found completely missing in those outfits.

By Kris Gault

By Erin Petersson


In our everyday life we encounter a lot of problems, including dressing up or fitting problem. The moment you are born in this world, every people are undergoing or gone through dress up and some little Dress Up Games.

The Passion for fashion may start and differ from infant,toddler, preschooler, school age,adolescent, young, adult, late adult, male or female, everyone will encounter the so called dress up. But mostly the hardship of choosing the best clothes starts to toddler. It is so hard for some parents to find clothes for their kids, because there are kids that are not comfortable to clothing that are too tight or too loose. So that is why our growth and development influence our dress up.

Preschooler or school age are also not that easy but kids at this age are very obedient. They really follow their parents. Kids at this age really would like to please their parents and parents in return give rewards for their kids. So the obedience and the so called give and take is encountered on this stage that is why their would no hard times for dress up at this age groups anymore.

Adolescence stage is also a hard stage. The maturity of every youth affect their clothing fashion as well. The peer pressure and the feeling of belongingness influence the youth. Their mode of dressing should follow what their other peers are wearing in order for him or her to belong. They are making sure that they follow with all their best what their team have plan to wear. So when they walk to the street she has also confidence that he or she belongs to the world.

Young adult and late adult transform their fashion slowly, thou they are aware of the what is new and not, they are not easily influence by the so called media and norms. Most of the adults already know what clothes are for them. They are not anymore thinking of belongingness but rather comfort and security. They are more on color. They more on dark color types of clothes and not that interested on accessories.

Old ones are not anymore in to fashion. For them just to be able to wear the proper clothes for everyday is alright. They have that so called simplicity. They move slowly and no more wasting time of changing and trying clothes.

See, dress up is really a worldwide encounter and problem. It is one thing that makes this world fun and challenging. It adds color to our daily life and living. It may gives us sadness and so much joy. Fashion is really like a Dress Up Games you have to play, know and learn so that you can go straight wherever you will go.

Dress Up Games Online

Online Dress Up Games is not only made for entertainment. Its beautiful side is that it gives us good ideas and inspiration of what dress to wear for a certain occasions. The dresses in that game is not only about for princess and celebrity look, but it also covers the clothing of different ages, seasons and occasions. Winter, spring, summer or fall, they showcase the dresses of the season and for all different age group. Dresses for birthdays, weddings and many others are being an option as well. If you would play it you will really have a lot of options to choose from. Just by playing it you are able to create the dress for you. Dressing up finally will never be a problem but it will become your passion. You will have that passion to create the clothes for you and your friends. You will gain confidence and really love yourself.

It is really hard to meet the worlds challenge. Most of you think that being with a group is the only solution to meet the norms of the society. You are afraid to carry yourself, to create your own style, to stood up for yourself and to be the real you. I think though we people have different status and age the only thing we have to do in terms of dress up and fashion problem is to be ourselves, to wear the clothes that will really fit us well. I do believe that we are not looking glamorous and elegant because of wearing expensive clothes but the look comes out if it really holds to our body and you are able to carry it with no feelings of uneasiness.

You look extra fashionable when you wear designer clothing but there is an added benefit to your self image so your feeling of self worth is improved. With a new stylish look from your fashionable clothes your feelings of self confidence will be boosted so you see the whole world in a brighter frame of mind.

Trendy people obviously choose to look uncommon, they like to stand out and the easiest way to achieve is by making confident you have the most up-to-date fashion apparel. The latest trends include designer t-shirts, handbags, fashion dresses, skirts, jackets, pants and more. People will pay money for stuff that allows them to stand out from the crowd. The factors that determine what type of designer clothes a person might wear will include the person's appearance and size and of course their universal approach taste.

Designer clothing is the icon of fashion. Inexpensive designer clothes is desirable for so many people and the higher cost of many items set the clothes apart from the crowd creating an air of exclusivity. It is this upper level of craftsmanship coupled with the excellent level of fabric that makes them last longer and therefore could really be considered better value for money in the long term, not to state the exclusivity aspect.

You could learn there is another way to own such items and you might spend some time hunting for inexpensive designer clothing. Less well proven clothing companies are who have the design skills and manufacturing capability to manufacture clothing equivalent to the more well famous branded goods. To generate business the less well famous companies make sales of their stylish clothing and they will offer them at price cut prices.

Designer clothes aren't necessarily unique items but merely because of their price you can expect them to be reasonably exclusive and that's all part of the appeal. Designer clothing has that outstanding look about it because they work out a better piece of work when it comes to cutting the fabric and sewing the individual pieces together. It sounds simple but it does make a difference. Designer clothes are far outstanding to the five dollar shirt bought off the street as they are better quality which lasts longer both practically and design wise, than from top to toe street clothing. A knowledge buyer does not have to be in one of the fashion capitals such as New York or Paris to buy designer clothes. Now of course we have the internet so all of a sudden.

Society as it stands is pleased to adopt fashion as one of the major forms of self-expression and that has lead to a increase in the demand intended for designer clothes. Inexpensive mens designer clothes are all the rage, and for individuals who prefer to buy them become the centre of attention. There is nothing wrong with wanting to look and feel good about yourself and what better way to attain this than donning a number of designer gear. For a lot of people the whole point of buying designer stuff is the snob factor. They simply don't like to be seen in the same clothes that other people buy off the shelf and they simply couldn't be doing with cheaper imitation.

To find out more about fashion, please visit http://googleonlinebusiness.com/trends

By Riplis M Junid

There is no alternative of fashion. If you want to wear a particular colour, a particular fabric and a particular style of clothing, then no other dress on any store can make you satisfied. It is true. Some people can go to any extent to buy designer cloths. Nowadays, online stores are also offering fashionable cloths in great prices. Best part is that you can have multiple of options before your eyes. So it becomes easy to get it matched with your choice. You can choose the fabric, colour and pattern of designs freely while shopping on these online fashion stores.

Women are specially fond of designer cloths. They seek clothes with designer labels as these garments present a unique fit and also a specific price point. It is true that all designer clothes are not unique in style but there one USP is that they hold the distinction of being exclusive. This quality makes them lovable and sought after. If you think that these clothes are very costly then wait a minute! You might not have seen the collections available on some of the online fashion stores. You can buy some exclusive clothes on very exclusive prices. You can not find branded designer cloths at the reasonable prices in general fashion stores.

But, on the online medium it is possible. Not only you can buy clothes on the good prices but you are also getting some great offers, like free gifts and special discounts. Designer cloths are specially crafted clothes. The cuts of the fabric creates the right fit and makes these clothes look good on women. The materials of clothing is unique and superior in quality. These materials also increase the longevity of the clothes. It is also a fact that the trendiest fashions can be found in big cities only but with the growth of Internet sites buying them has become easier. Online stores are offering designer lines, which you can choose and buy easily.

Through online stores you can get high quality designer clothes at a good price and also from the comfort of your own home. So visit these sites and buy clothes for professional, social, and personal uses.

By Matthew Watson

By Ruben Licera Jr.


As much as you want to wear prom dresses for 2010 that are made by famous fashion designers, you and I know this would be difficult in a practical circumstance. Unless you are utterly rich and your dad can provide you over a thousand dollars for a prom dress, let's just stay with the reality that we can opt for beautifully made dress in a much less cost.

There are definitely a wide variety of gorgeous dresses that are alternatives to those designed by Chanel or Dior. And you do not have to worry because you can always search for their features on the web and go adopt it for your own prom dress.

Meanwhile, you can also surf for the most famous fashion dresses online which you can find dresses for prom that can be suitably perfect for you. To give you an idea which ones are best for this year's prom, here are the guidelines of the trendiest dresses on the web that are surely in standard with the designer's dresses:

First for the fabric, it should be shiny and lustrous. You can see that fashion dresses nowadays are made with glossy fabrics such as satin, silk, polyester or acetate. This definitely can light up your face and give your figure a glow. These fabrics are also cool to the skin and can make glamorous styles.

Then for the length, you may choose to go for short and sexy which are matched mostly for the petite, or for long and flowing which are for those who do not want to show off their legs. The cocktail length dresses for prom can make you more younger looking while the full length ones can make you look more elegant.

Next for the color, you can see that fashion dresses online are bright and printed. Pick a dress with colors that shines like white, yellow, magenta, silver, gold or tangerine. If you want to look more elaborative, go for printed ones with floral or geometrical designs. You would surely appear unique from the whole crowd.

Then for the style, you may select among the famous sheering styles of the season-halter, one-shoulder or heart tube dresses. These are popular cuts for any formal dresses as they emphasize the upper body especially the shoulders and bust. Since you are just teens, make sure you do not make the neckline too low.

And finally for the accessories, these are sparkling ornaments like flowerets, brooch and jeweled belts to make your prom dress for 2010 complete. You can also make your way by adding bead works to your dress or by wearing a stony headband on your hair.

See, even if you cannot afford a Dolce & Gabbana prom dress, you are sure to capture every detail of it by these guidelines for famous fashion dresses.

This article is not your basic primer on selecting your "dream home". Nor does it contain the list of "items to ask your designer" - these things can be found on any designer's website or Google search. As important as those items are, what we are going to do here is drill-down into the design a little, bypass the fan-fare and talk about some specific concepts that will really make a difference in your life.

Matching your house to your lifestyle begins with an exploration of your needs and wants. Most home designers will have some type of "discovery process" that will help identify the basics for your home design. It will start with the configuration of your lot and proceed through items such as privacy requirements, work areas, outdoor spaces, etc. Although this process is critical to your project, it rarely drills down enough to transform your design into a home that will serve your needs for a lifetime.

Here are two keys of good home design that must be addressed up-front: a) assessing the homeowner's current needs; and, b) anticipating the future needs of people living in the home. Before you say "Yeah, yeah...I've heard this all before!" let's take a closer look at what "current needs" entail.

Almost all "discovery processes" used by home designers focus on the use and space requirements of the rooms in the house. This is good, but too little attention is given to the personal needs of the people actually living in the home. Without performing a comprehensive assessment of the client's functional abilities, identifying areas of the home where modifications are necessary is often overlooked.

For example, the needs of a child and his / her ability to live comfortably in the home are rarely addressed at the design stage. It's necessary to evaluate the child's current abilities and design an environment that works and grows with the child. Some easy adaptive design elements would include adjustable shelves and rods in the closet. As the child grows, the shelves and rods can be moved to better accommodate their reach. Appliances present a similar situation as it is necessary for the controls to be accessible. Front mounted controls on washing machines and dryers enable their use. Safety also comes into play. A child trying to use a microwave placed overhead is a recipe for disaster!

Of course, the above example is very simple, but it illustrates the point that design needs to be done from the perspective of the individual and his / her ability to carry out daily routines in the home. This is why a good designer will perform an assessment of the client and specify the needed design modifications.

There are a couple of tools that a designer can use to evaluate the needs of their clients. One of those tools is the Comprehensive Assessment and Solution Process for Aging Residents (CASPAR). CASPAR was designed for healthcare professionals to evaluate their client's ability to carry out routine activities in the home. This is also useful in determining the requirements of people who have disabilities.

Anticipating the future needs of individuals may prove a little trickier, but we can start by understanding the process of aging. Whether we like to think about growing old or not, it is inevitable, and people's functional abilities diminish over time. A well designed home will easily adapt to these changing needs and allow people to stay in their homes longer.

Fortunately, "universal design" is beginning to take root in modern home design. Ron Mace, Founder and Program Director of the Center for Universal Design (NCSU), give us the following definition of UD: "The intent of universal design is to simplify life for everyone by making products, communications, and the built environment more usable by as many people as possible at little or no extra cost. Universal design benefits people of all ages and abilities." Because the principles of universal design are inclusive for people with disabilities, the application of UD in home design is appropriate and addresses many of the needs of people who wish to "age in place".

Adaptable design is different in concept from universal design. Where universal design benefits people of all ages and abilities, adaptable design allows the home to be modified for a specific need. An example of adaptable design would be designing a two-story home with "stacked closets" (a closet on the first floor directly below and aligned with a closet on the second floor) so that a residential elevator or lift could easily be installed in the future. In contrast, a universal design item might be the installation of lever door handles that are easier to use for people who have lost the ability to grip a standard round door knob. These lever handles also benefit anyone who may have their hands full with groceries and want to release the door latch by using their forearm or elbow, for example. Children also have an easier time using lever door handles.

Distinguishing between universal and adaptable design may seem difficult at first, but when one realizes that these principles have less to do about the installation of specific items and are more about a designer's perspective, it all begins to make better sense. And the designer's perspective is heavily influenced by a thorough client assessment.

Does this level of service cost more? Yes, probably. But a couple hundred dollars up front to hire a qualified designer who will accurately assess your lifestyle and evaluate your future needs, pales in comparison to leaving your design to chance. The number one secret to good home design is to avoid cutting costs at this stage of your project and find a home designer who is an expert in assessing your needs and applying the design criteria that will make your house a home for a lifetime.

Thomas Hewitt is the President of Falcon Homes, Inc., a home design company located in Albuquerque, NM. Thomas is an aging-in-place specialist certified by the National Association of Home Builders and specializes in universal and adaptable design. The company’s website can be found at http://www.FalconHomesInc.com

By Thomas Hewitt

So, you've decided that your company needs a web site. Now what? Since we are ultimately talking about your "online business image", unless you yourself have web design experience, finding that perfect web designer to create your company site is a very important next step. If you've never had a web site created before, you will find that there is quite a lot to consider if you want your site to be successful, and you may have to do a bit of homework to find the right person for you.

Regardless of the type of site you want, to be successful, your site will need to do, at least, these 3 things:

    * Look professional
    * Function properly
    * Get good positioning on the search engines

In achieving this goal, there's good news and bad news.

The bad news is that there are all kinds of designers out there, offering all kinds of services, and prices are pretty much across the board. The good news is that there are some simple points you can follow to help make this process easier.

So, how do you go about finding a designer?

Since there are so many different companies offering web design, you might start by making a list of what your specific needs are. Every site is unique so it's a good idea to know what you need before you start calling around or sending in estimate forms. Some things you might need to know are:

    * Will you be selling a product online?
    * Does your site require a database?
    * Do you also need web hosting? or a domain name?
    * Do you want to have your clients contact you through a form?
    * How many pages do you think the site will be?
    * Are there any pages or features specific to your business that you would like to have on your site?

Also, write down a couple of URLs of sites that you like. Or maybe you've seen a specific feature on another site that you would like to incorporate into your own site. Having a rough idea of the kind of site you're looking for will help you find the right designer for your project.

Referrals

One of the best ways I've found to find the right designer is to get a referral from someone you know personally who has already had their site designed and they are happy with the site, and their experience with the designer. So let your friends and family know that you are shopping around for someone to help you create your online business image. People who have had a good experience with their web design company will be more than happy to pass the information along.

If you do get a referral from someone, go and look at the designer's site and see what else they've done. If you're interested, you can fill out a free quote form on their site, or email the designer with the specs of your project.

Job sites

There are a number of online sites that will help you match your project with a number of designers who will then bid on your project. The one thing to be aware of is that these sites have all types of designers listed with their service from those with years of experience, to those who just bought themselves the latest version of Front Page and have now labeled themselves "web designer".

Although these job sites do make it harder for less experienced people to be listed as a serious prospect, when they ask for your project description, you can include on there that "only serious professionals need apply". You can sometimes eliminate the amount of riff-raff that will send in proposals for your project.

The biggest problem people have with using these job sites is that potential clients are usually overwhelmed with the number of quotes they receive for their project. Be aware that you may have to rifle through a lot of proposals that are not what you are looking for.

These sites usually offer a Designer's Profile and some kind of a rating system, which can help you learn a bit about a potential designer. Reading the reviews listed from previous clients can also help shed some light on your choice of designers.

Yellow Pages

Yellow Pages ads are expensive so chances are that you will find professional design firms to successful web design individuals listed there. They will usually list their URL in their ad and it's always a good idea to go to their site and see what they have to offer before contacting them.

What you should be looking for in a designer?

Possibly you have a couple of designers you are interested in. But how do you know for sure? There are a few specific things that you should be aware of when picking your designer.

Portfolio

First and foremost, you want to check out their portfolio! This is the body of work that this designer has recently created and it tells a lot about what they offer. All web designers should have an online portfolio that you can easily access.

Take a good look at their own site and other sites they've created. Do the sites look professional? Is the style of the designer something you would like to have on your own site? In addition, you can contact companies that have had their site designed and ask them about their experience with this designer.

Price

Another thing to consider, although this is not the top priority, is price. Although there is no clear-cut rule as to what an "average" price for web design is, this is one situation where, in most cases, you get what you pay for. This is simply not the time to cut corners. So in considering price, also consider that you are paying for this individual's expertise, as well as their time and experience.

It is more important to create a successful site that has a good position in the search engine and one that you are very happy with the look and function of than to save a couple of bucks. If you get a good site, your site will be able to grow with your company and, hopefully, that's for a very long time!

Search engine optimization

The number one mistake that most first time web site owners make is that they don't know what to do with their site after it's designed. It is very possible to have a beautiful site designed for you and no one ever sees it.

A good designer will not only help you create a professional looking site, they will also ensure that your site gets a good ranking with the search engines so that your site can be easily found online. Make sure that your designer will optimize your site for the search engines and submit it to the major search engines.

Specialized services

Will you be selling your products or services online? Will you need a database driven site? How about Flash or embedded video or audio? Not everyone offers these services; be sure to ask specifically about what you will need for your site.

A couple of other things to consider is web hosting and domain name registration. Make sure if you need these services that your designer can help provide them too.

Compatibility

Lastly, when you are talking to potential designers, it should be someone you seem compatible with. Does the designer seem friendly and are they willing to answer all of your questions? Do they respond promptly to your emails and/or phone calls? Basically, is this someone you "click" with?

Communication with your designer is crucial. You need someone who is willing to answer any questions and keep you up-to-date on the status of your web design. A good designer will keep in touch with you every few days, at least. You don't want to get down to the final days of creating the site only to find out you don't like it!

Testimonials

Most designers will have testimonials from previous clients on their web site. It's a good idea to see what their customers are saying about their services, and again, calling one or two clients regarding this web designer's services is a really good idea.

Summary

There are many factors involved in finding and picking the right designer to build your company's web site, but the key is to remember that this is your business image, one that you hope to have for many years to come, so you want to pick your designer as you would pick a real estate agent to find your "dream house". If you pick the right designer the first time, you won't be looking for someone to redesign your site in 6-9 months.

Be thorough, ask questions, look at samples, and you'll find the perfect web designer for you!

Teri Tucker is owner of T&I Grafix Business Web Design, a full service web design company that offers custom web design, logo design, search engine optimization, Flash animation and web consulting services. For more information on our design services, please visit our web site at http://www.tigrafix.com or email us at teri@tigrafix.com.

By Teri Tucker

By Ashish Singh


When we talk about gaming in the computer world, there are many of those. New ones come out all the time adding to the library of already available millions. All these games are of different types and the genre of games defines it's audience. Not all types of games are preferred by everybody and so there is an audience for a genre. Like for example young kids may prefer kids and cartoon games and adults, on the other hand, may prefer other face paced action genres like shooting and racing. Similarly the choices may differ between boys and girls. Boys may prefer different games than what girls normally like. Girls might have completely different choices when it comes to games. Whatever their choices are, it is understood that any game according to their demands are readily available.

It is a known fact that boys and girls definitely have a different choice when it comes to electronic games. While boys may like high-speed action, racing and fighting genres of games, girls on the other hand, may prefer lighter and less-violent games. Not all girls have such choices but most of the girls are known to love different games than what the boys prefer. While there might be some hardcore girl games fighting up to the action in the games, there are more girls who prefer skill-based, fashion-based and other simulation games which require creativity. One of such type of games which are definitely created with girls in mind are the fashion based dress up games.

Fashion dress up games are those types of games which require a bit of fashion sense to play. In these, the player must involve in different activities to dress up a model and even do the makeup as well. These games typically have a male or female model while some might have fictional cartoon characters and even pets. There will also be a collection of clothes and outfits which exactly fit the model. The players can try these outfits on the model and see which design and color suits the best. A correct combination of the tops and the bottoms will reveal a very eye-catching overall dress up. Then the players can also select the shoes and other accessories like jewellery, bags, purses, hats, glasses and so on. A selection of hairstyle should add the final touch to make the model look quite splendid.

In addition to the dress up games, there are those which go further deep into the fashion world. There are those which even allow the players to do the makeup like apply some foundation on the faces of models making them look better and neater, wash their hair, color their eyes, fix their eyelashes and also select a lipstick color. Players might also be able to do pedicures and manicures for the models and also polish their nails making them look dashing and eye-catching. All these activities require a lot of creativity, fashion exploration, color combination skill and also some patience. After all the hard work of fashion designing, trial and error and some self judgment, the player will be able to view their final fashion creation. If the player is not satisfied she can easily try out new looks.

So, these games require the players to use all of the fashion skills in order to create a magnificent model; but despite the fashion knowledge, one can easily try them out. Not only girls are meant to play these but these games are loved by all who love fashion. Even boys can explore their fashion skills. But it is found out that a large number of girls enjoy these fashion dress up games. Whether it is dressing up a Barbie doll or a Bratz girl and her pet, the dress up games have them all. One can explore and dress up models from fictional beauties to the real world celebrities. So get your ticket to the fashion world and explore your fashion creativity with these dress up games.

1. Ask Around.
Find out from friends and colleagues who they use and if they would recommend them. If the designer did a good job, they will be more than happy to pass on their details.

2. Collect Examples.
Make a collection of designs you like/don't like, and give reasons for your choices, this will help you later. Find out who produced the work. Most designers will credit their work if it is on a flyer, poster or website for instance. If you love the look of a company's brochure, try phoning them and asking who the design company was. I doubt they will mind you phoning, as it's to praise their good judgement!

3. Search Online.
Search for designers by region, speciality and experience on the Design Directory.
http://www.designdirectory.org/index.php?page=directory/search
You can try searching on Google but the design market has become very saturated, so searching by speciality will always be better. Remember to check out their website if they have one, you should find a range of their best work displayed, and possibly even testimonials or case studies to explain how they came up with the final design solutions.

4. Questions, Questions, Questions.
Once you've made a few selections, ask them questions to check they have the necessary skills to undertake your project. Remember, not all designers do all things. Some are all-rounders and some specialise in certain areas. A website designer may not have the same skills as a designer that works on corporate brochures and identities. Ideally, you want to find a designer that can take on anything you ask them, that way you'll save time and money by keeping the job with one company.

5. Write a Brief.
Being clear about what you want from the start will help you in choosing the designer you work with. Write a clear brief that includes a description of the project and what you want to achieve. What is it that you need? A new brand? A website? What are the project objectives?
Who do you want your product/company to appeal too?
If you're not clear about how you want your target market to see you, then the designer will struggle too. Most designers will have a questionnaire they use to help them get the information they need. Answer these honestly and you'll be halfway there!

6. Personality Counts!
Meet with the designers and talk through the brief with them. Make sure they fully understand your goals, needs and where you're coming from/going to. You should pick a designer that you feel comfortable to build a working relationship with, some one you trust and could work closely with.

7. Budget.
Set yourself a realistic budget and ask for quotations for the work. If you're just starting out in business, costs are big issue, but remember cheaper isn't always better. Again, try asking people what they paid for their website etc...that will give you a good idea what yours will cost if it has similar features. It really helps to discuss what budget you have with the designer, so they know what restrictions they have. Use your best judgements.

8. Track Record.
Does the designer have a good history of solving the design issues you have? Have they created an e-commerce website before? Or is there evidence in their portfolio that they can work on branding issues? (if that's what you're after). Testimonials from happy clients are a good sign, as are case studies, or ask if you can speak to any of the past clients yourself.

9. Ask for Ideas?
This is a tricky one. Some designers feel it's the norm to free pitch for work, while others feel you should pay for their ideas and creativity. Personally speaking, I'm not 100% happy to do work for free, but it does all depend on the size of the project and whom you speak to. A lot of smaller companies will not be able to afford to do this

Another idea is to pay for say 2hours of their time to come up with some ideas. At around £40 per hour it's not a huge amount to pay. Or some designers ask for a small deposit up front to secure the job. This has worked very well for a number of designers we've spoken to.

10. You and your Designer.
Hopefully by now you'll have made your decision and be in designer heaven with your choice!
If it's not Rubber Cheese, then you're missing out!

A few things to remember...

a. Pick someone you like and trust. You may have to work with them for quite a time.

b. Listen to advice from your designer. Remember that they are there to help you gain more business and solve your problems. Making you look good, makes them look good. Always tell them if you are not happy with an idea, and don't worry - us designers are thick skinned!

c. Enjoy the process!

Kelly Molson & Paul Wright run Rubber Cheese, a Design & Illustration company based in the Hertfordshire countryside. info@rubbercheese.com http://www.rubbercheese.com Tel:01279 434488

To get your free help sheet, Finding the Designer for You, sign up for our monthly newsletter, Cheese Bites. http://www.rubbercheese.com/newsletter.html

By Kelly Molson

As the Creative Director at JV Media Design, I oversee and manage all creative projects and staff. In order to undertake this task, I have developed an outline for our team to follow that facilitates the process which takes each project from concept to completion. Part of this process involves educating each of our clients on what we need from them in order for the project to move forward.

Although some design studios may not be as organized, it would still benefit each client to know in advance what might be expected of them before proceeding with a design job. Successful projects come from not just a talented design team, but also close interaction with the client throughout the process.

Below is a general outline of how you or your company can work with your chosen design team.

Consultation, Planning, and Choosing a Representative

The most important step in many things is the first and that rings true in the design field. Your designer should set up a phone or in-person consultation with you prior to the beginning of your project. Here, you should discuss every detail of your project so that the designer can plan the workflow and milestones. Some designers will also offer you a questionnaire to fill out to help determine this information. It is very important, especially when working on interactive/multimedia and custom programmed (database/ecommerce) websites to have more information than not enough. If you discover that you forgot to mention a key function in your initial consultation it could not only set your project back, but also cost you more money to add it in after you have already signed a design agreement or contract.

After the initial consulting and planning for your project is complete and you have signed a design agreement, the next task is to choose a single representative from your company to interface with the design team throughout the project. This prevents many problems such as conflicting information before they even have a chance to happen. The chosen representative's responsibility is to:

1) Get the design team any content (text, chosen images, etc.) necessary for the project
2) Respond to any questions or requests from the design team
3) Notify the design team of any changes or modifications necessary on the project
4) Sign off on any milestones

Content

Content is possibly the most important aspect of your website. It is equally important to make sure that your content represents your company the best possible way. Before giving text content to your designer, you need to check and recheck it for grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors. You may also consider hiring a professional copywriter to produce content for your site. Either way, most design companies do not reread your content checking for and/or correcting errors and will charge an extra fee for this service. Just make sure your content is the best that it can be when you hand it off.

The Design

Most design companies will offer a number of "mock up" or concept designs for your project with a certain amount of revisions. It is important for you to review each design with your associates and make any changes necessary to achieve the final look for your site. Once a final design is approved, if you make additional modifications you may be liable to pay additional charges. Your design team should help you avoid this by working closely with you and making suggestions during the concept phase.

When Problems Arise

It is important to remember that although your design team relies on computers to create your site, they are only human. There are occasions when an instruction may be misinterpreted or not as clear as it should be. It is up to your design team to ask questions when things are not perfectly clear to avoid problems and it is up to you to give as much description and detail in order to complete the project. Phrases such as, "We are looking for something edgy", or "We'll know it when we see it" really do nothing to help the progress of your project.

Additional problems such as delays can usually be avoided by keeping a clear line of communication open at all times. If you have questions during the process, do not hesitate to bring them up. Your design team should be available normal business hours via phone, email, and/or an instant messenger service and be able to solve any problems that arise quickly and professionally. If they cannot, make sure you receive adequate explanation (there may be extenuating circumstance in any case) or refer back to the agreement you signed with the company.

Completing the Project

Your design team should thoroughly check your finished website to make sure that it works on the top internet browsers (Internet Explorer and Firefox) and has no errors in functionality. They should also be available to make any final edits and/or changes before the site is taken live on the web.

When the project is completed to your satisfaction, many design companies will present you with options for maintaining your site such as; "on call" maintenance or a monthly, quarterly, or yearly contract.

In Conclusion

For a successful project it is important for both the client and the design team to work together. It is up to the client to explain the project thoroughly and give the design team a good idea of what is expected and it is up to the design team to keep lines of communication open, ask questions when things may be unclear, and use experience and expertise to do the job.

Sherry is the Creative Director and Senior Designer at Southern California firm, JV Media Design http://www.jvmediadesign.com

By Sherry Holub

Whenever I thought of web design my face would frown, I just hated the fact that I had to do any kind of web design. I just couldn't see why web design was simple for others and not for me.

Well, that all changed when I discovered this simple program, a web design machine made for those who just don't understand that you can do it yourself if, you would only keep your web design as simple as possible.

Since using this program I have been able to launch two websites with my own web design style within two months, these websites aren't perfect, but they do look very professional.

And, they carry my touch, yes, at last I can boost to my friends how easy web design is for me, because they have no clue that I am using my little secret weapon for my web design.

What does it take to design your own website?

Now, for those who don't understand what it takes to design your own website from scratch, I will give you five important steps you need to master, before you can get your website to the next level.

Five steps for perfected web design:

1) You Need Some Type Of Web Design Software

No one and I repeat no one, is doing web design the expensive way (The truth: Some are still wasting money paying for web design). Those who has enough money, pay for their web design, and those who can't will have to get their hands on a easy to use web design software that gets the job done.

2) You Need To Know Some HTML

No matter what type of web design software your using, you must educate yourself with a little HTML. There is no way around that. Once you get the feel for simple little HTML code snippets, you will notice that you never ever need to know more than that, because you already have my little secret weapon ( My secret web design software program, that I will lead you to very soon).

3) You Need To Know How To Layout Your Website

Wow, another killer, I had no clue how or what to do, much less layout a web site. That all changed when I bought my little secret weapon, it came with a manual loaded with tips on not only how to use the software, but also how to layout your website template.

4) You Need To Master Internal Linking

If you going to design your own website, you must know how to internally link you website together. Ah, well, not really if you have my secret web design software you won't need to know how. This is taken of by the program, it creates all your internal linking,
without you even understand how it's done, isn't that cool.

5) You Need To Keep Your Web Design Simple

This one should have been number one, because it is so important and yet so overlooked. Look around the web and notice the top sites online, they are all use very simple web design with lots of white space. Don't get flashy if your building a website for profit.
Look at Google and Yahoo, they are very simple and that's what you need to do when you design your website.

Anyway, I have given you some tips that should set your web design on fire, if you follow and study successful web sites online, you will see the trend, simplicity wins the web design war.

And now, for the long awaited secret weapon, just browse over to this simple web designed site and watch the video, you will understand why this is a secret weapon that only the guru's use, once you try it.

Be advised, your web design doesn't get return visitors, it is well written and informative content, so why spend thousands on web design, while searchers are only looking for information.

Alexander Marlin, Ebenezer St. Maarten A.N. He only uses simple web design tricks and teaches you how to build a website [http://how-to-build-website.com] that isn't an eye sore. One of his many profitable websites can be found at [http://how-to-build-website.com]

By Alexander Marlin

By Chun-Lam S Lo


The 2009 Melbourne Cup was won by a horse name Shocking. Not only was the win just shocking, the fashion at the Flemington race course was shocking too. Melbourne Cup 2009 fashion looked simply stunning. The girls wore the most beautiful dresses they could and wore matching hats.

The Spring Racing carnival is not only about the horse races, it also about the fashion. The amount of different types of fashion you see at the races is simply amazing. People from all over the world flock to the races during the Spring Racing Carnival to place a bet or simply have a great day out.

Fashion has always been an integral part of the Spring Carnival. The ladies will always dress up and sometimes you will catch a glimpse of what is hot and what is not.

Wearing the right kind of shoes at the races is always important because you will spend most of the time standing and less of the time sitting. It is just all part of the fun. The shoes must be comfortable because you don't want to hurt your feet.

Some girls like to wear bright vibrant colours, and some just follow the trend of the year. Daring people set their own trends and every girl or lady is trying to be the most unique and prettiest. You wouldn't want to have a wardrobe clash. Unless you plan to be wearing matching clothes as someone else, you have to plan quite carefully what you are going to where on the day at the race track.

Fashion is a big thing and department stores in Melbourne sell a lot more clothes than usual in the lead up the amazing Melbourne Cup. There is a day specifically devoted to the ladies. This is called Oaks Day and the ladies love to go to the races on that day and have a nice girls day out.

Going to the gym before heading off to the races is always a good thing. Wearing a dress properly requires the right body shape. Having a killer hot body can turn some serious heads. A lovely dress and hat will make you the talk of the town.

The amazing Melbourne Cup is a race that stops a nation and if it wasn't for the people there watching the event, it wouldn't be as successful as it is. Millions of people tune into the race and it is a holiday for people in Melbourne. Cup day is a huge event and fashion plays a huge role in making the day as memorable as it is.

In conclusion, Melbourne Cup 2009 fashion played an integral part at the races last year and it will most likely have the same effect this year. As part of the Carnival there is a fashion competition with judges judging who is the most fashionable.

The Problem

In my refrigerator there is a wheel control that is used to change its temperature. It is jammed to position 3 by use of a lolly stick. Why? Because just about every fourth or fifth time I put something in there (especially when it is nearly full) the wheel is disturbed and the temperature setting is changed.

I cannot for the life of me work out how this design flaw was passed in the first place. Surely, this problem came to light when the prototype was being tested?

Another problem I have is with my car. The light in the dash that indicates the full beam is on is obscured by the steering wheel. No matter what position I change the steering wheel to, it still manages to obscure this important light. I am about average height but have to constantly crane over the steering wheel in order to find out if I am blinding other drivers. Once again, how did this pass the design test?

These are only two example - but we all know that there are many more.

Designers do not have an easy task. Depending on what they are asked to design, they are required to match artistic license and flair with functionality. They are faced with many obstacles along the way. Here are some of them:

1. The Client

When a new design brief comes along, the designer is usually handicapped right from the start. Whoever the client is, whether its the designer's own boss or an external client, they will have pre-conceived ideas that the designer is expected to accommodate. Straight away the designer needs to know how to play the politics involved in getting out an original, workable piece whilst pleasing the "wouldn't it be great if" crew. A confident designer with a proven track record can afford to demand some space from the client, or at least the opportunity to make some mistakes. A less confident designer may turn into no more than a draughtsman, slavishly turning the client's amateurish instructions into the dog's dinner it will inevitably become.

2. The Critics

Most designs are a compromise between aesthetics and functionality. Constructive criticism is possible when dealing with functional aspects. Aesthetics are a different matter: beauty is in the eye of the beholder. A designer can have the wind taken out of their sails at an early stage if someone says they think their design is not pleasing to the eye (or just plain ugly!). Let's just acknowledge the skill required to be a product designer. The rocket designer has it easy: 100% functionality required. The artist also has it easy with 100% aesthetics. Our product designer has to have a foot in both worlds - and perhaps his fingers in his ears!

3. Production

Yes, but how will it work in production? Good question. Most products are designed to be re-produced in mass production. All designers will have this in mind from the start. There is no point in designing the perfect product that costs zillions to produce. The problem is that the production manager will so enjoy pointing this out at every opportunity - great design - impossible to make. A good retort of course, is to state the reverse which is equally true: there is no point in designing the perfect production-friendly product if the end users don't like it: great production product - impossible to use.

4. Time

I have a sneaky feeling that this is the most common problem of all. Most situations require deadlines. Well the average client is hardly likely to say: "I want this product at some time in the future - whenever you can get around to it". Most new product launches are project-managed, with the designer always - I mean ALWAYS - allocated insufficient time. As time is a linear phenomenon, the corners that tend to be cut fall in the latter stages. This rather obvious statement is made in order explain why prototype testing and customer satisfaction measurements tend to be squeezed the most. Several weeks or months may have originally been put aside for these vital aspects when in reality two or three afternoons of prototype testing are all that separate a working model from the finished product.

5. Events

While you are designing your new product, the world around you is changing. Customers' purchasing habits are changing. The factories that might make your products are being upgraded. New legislation is being planned. New materials are now available. And, of course, competitors are bringing out new products and doing a great job in moving your goalposts. If only the world could stop while you perfect your design...

The Solution

The product design function comes in all shapes and sizes. Small companies may employ just one part time designer who often will be the business owner. I personally think that the make up of the design function is the most vital part. Large companies may have an in-house design team - that is fine. The rest should also consider having a design team rather than leaving it up to one person, even if outside resource is brought in to bolster the function for the lifetime of a specific project. It is common for companies, large and small, to pull in outside resource from a design agency - sometimes they will be given the full brief. If resources are scarce and only one designer can be afforded, I would rather have two part-time designers (perhaps seconded from other duties for part of the week) then one full-time. The reason for this is the need to be two things at once:  focussed on tunnel vision creativity and focussed on outside pressures and influences.

The ideal ingredients of the design team are the following:
- Outer function
- Moderating function
- Inner function

Ideally the designers will all be qualified professionals. As well as having their own fields of design expertise that they will bring to the team, they will also fall into one of the above three camps. The outer function will deal with external pressures: they will be more experienced and will be given the task of dealing with demands made by the client or the boss. They will fight for resources, including precious time for the team. They will defend the teams decisions. They will also keep a watching brief on changes in materials, trends, legislation and competitor activity. They will work closely with the production team. They will act as a filter, feeding back to the design team only information and requirements that are needed. Let's say the client insists on a particular design feature and the external function see merits in this, or - let's get real - are told to include the feature or else. This can then be communicated back to the team as a bona fide decision that must be adhered to. Other tittle-tattle can be discarded.

The inner function will need to consist of free-thinkers who are given time and space to produce innovative ideas. They need to possess innovative thought processes and an open mind. They will be protected from outside interference as much as possible. Their ideas will be taken up by the moderator function which will feed back to them, moderating their expectations in line with outside realities whilst giving them encouragement.

The moderating function will work with the inner function, turning their ideas into workable solutions. They will also do the same with the information and decisions that come in from the outer function. The moderating function will not necessarily have the free-thinking attributes of the inner function, but will not be bogged down in having to deal with the external contacts. They will be the end-designers. They will turn the ideas fed from both the inner function and moderate these with the demands from the outer function and come up with the design.

The whole team will need to feedback on the aesthetic elements, as the widest possible poll of these aspects would be required. This is not design by committee. This is a team of people who must be joined to each other at the hip. They will be expected to argue their corner but will also compliment each other, giving way to each other's strengths and be prepared to give in when the time comes. The team will become one entity and not a group of individuals - not a committee.

I can only imagine that there were some on the design team of my refrigerator and car who were aware of the design faults I have highlighted. I am sure that if their design teams had been structured the way I have suggested above I wouldn't have a lolly stick in my temperature control and would not have to be in fear of causing a pile up on the motorway.

Insectocutor is a good case study where product design has moved over the years from purely functional to a balance between function and aesthetics. Their fly killer machines have traditionally been built for food factories and out-of-sight kitchens. In the last few years they have recognised that there is an increasing trend to have fly killers in front-of-house areas such as retail shop floors and open kitchens. They have also seen an increase in the use of fly killers in domestic homes. As such, the Discreet Series and Select Series have been developed. These are kind to the eye whilst still doing an excellent job of dealing with flying insects. Their most powerful machine is a marriage of both aesthetics and functionality. The IND61 can kill flying insects within a 500 sq metre area and looks majestic as it guards us from up on high. Insectocutor have the perfect design team - where do you think I got my ideas from!

By Vernon Stent

The first thing you can do if you want to find great deals in designer purses online is to go to many of the different Yahoo shopping directories available through Yahoo ecommerce sites. These sites are mainly operated by independent purse sellers who make designer purses available online through their websites. The only way they can make money out of selling designer purses is by buying wholesale from designer purse designers and then selling it through their designer purse websites online to consumers everywhere in the world. Therefore, whatever they save on the designer purses they purchase, they pass the savings on to designer purse lovers like you!

With Yahoo, you can sift through the amazingly long list of designer purse sellers online by ranking. By going through the list of designer purse sellers, you can also make comparison.

Here’s what I think you should do, as a fan of designer purses and online shopper. Go through all the websites and sift through the designer purses that you like. Mark them down by their designer purse title and ID. And then go through other online designer purse sellers on the Internet and compare similar or same designer purses in terms of price and dependability of the seller. Now, this is something that no one else can help you with because you have to use your own judgment. Ask yourself questions like, is the price of the designer purse worth it? Is the designer purse seller dependable? Is the customer service provided by the designer purse seller satisfactory? How fast did the designer purse seller respond to your email or comment or feedback?

If the designer purse seller is large enough, they will even provide you with small samples of the materials they use to make their designer purses. Most of the time, these designer purse sellers will only give you a small piece of the material, enough to show you what kind of material the designer purse is made of. Sadly, very few designer purse sellers will provide these samples. But if you find a designer purse seller online who is willing to sell you a sample, you can be sure they are serious designer purse sellers.

Dakota Caudilla, journalist, and website builder Dakota Caudilla lives in Texas. He is the owner and co-editor of [http://designer-luxury.com] on which you will find a longer, more detailed version of this article.

Dakota Caudilla, journalist, and website builder Dakota Caudilla lives in Texas. He is the owner and co-editor of [http://designer-luxury.com] on which you will find a longer, more detailed version of this article.

By Dean Erickson

Dear friends,

If you have read any interior design books/articles, visited a few websites on the internet, you will find the word theme used quite often.

What exactly is a theme-based design?

A theme according to me is a collection of various parameters of design of an interior space. So a theme may include a certain set colors, materials, repetition of a certain element, such as a decorative item, etc...

Primarily there are two basic themes under which a design can be categorized, 1)Oriental 2)Contemporary.

Oriental Bedroom Design Theme:

These kind of themes have a still drilled down niche design themes, such as country, rustic, vintage, elegant, etc...
One of the major thing about these kind of themes is that much emphasis is given on the natural beauty of any material.
These designs are close to nature or are shown to be close to nature.

These kind of design styles are very rarely found in the urban city interiors. Mostly the countryside homes adopt these kind if themes, to replicate the flora and fauna of the outside environment.

The designer tries to include the patters seen in nature, such as leaves, flowers, plants. All these natural patterns are seen on wallpaper patterns, decorative lamps, curtains, furniture upholstery, wall paintings, etc...

Homes which are build on country side such as farm houses, the scarcity of space is not an issue, but this creates another problem as far as designing interiors is concerned.

A bedroom, no matter of what size it is, requires some basic furniture elements as functional needs, such as a double bed, dressing table, wardrobes, study tables, a book shelf etc..

It is sometimes possible that because of the large spaces, the bedroom looks empty after the furniture is arranged. At such times "decoration" plays a major role. During ancient years the palaces and castles had such large built spaces, where extensive use of decoration was used in the form of paintings, heavy decorative flooring patterns, carvings, moldings as a decorative architectural elements.

So in this oriental design trend, decoration of the space using various accessories plays a major role.

Contemporary design Theme:

These kind of design themes are very new as compared to the previously mentioned oriental design theme. But how did the designers came along using these kind of designs?

During the starting years of the 20th century, the "Industrial Revolution" in Europe changed the face of our planet. It was easy to design and manufacture goods on a mass scale with amazing speed and efficiency.

This created a flood of industries in and around the cities. These cities attracted large amount of people to migrate from rural areas to city centers in search of a living.

Because of this migratory effect there was a sudden need of housing requirement for the workers. This is where the concept of an "apartment" was introduced. Because of the pressure of demand, a school of thoughts emerged within the architects, who believed that "simplicity" is the need of today's era.

They thought that, the design of the building has to be simple and easy to build, then only we can compete with the growing demand of housing needs in cities. That's why simple designs with mostly plane and square faces with square or rectangular openings were used. These forms and masses were easy to build and still beautiful. If everything from "safety pins" to "space ships" could be built on a mass scale, why not "buildings".

The school of thought believed that a plane rectangular form is in itself beautiful and they proved this using infinite permutations and combinations of the basic square form. That's why decoration was given a second preference. Today we call this school of thought as "contemporary". In contemporary design every element has an order.

That's why in today's modern interior design, simplicity is the key to an efficient design. Unlike the previous oriental design theme, the contemporary design theme states that any kind of architectural decoration is always dependent on the basic form of the building. The form itself is so beautiful, that the need to further decorate it is not required. Today's modern interiors spaces are simple to understand, simple to construct, and project a kind of simplicity.

By reading the above paragraphs some of you might say that, decoration is no more needed. But this is not true. I am not trying to force some ideas here. But most people confuse the whole concept of "Interior Design" and "Interior Decoration". Both are quite different and both have a unique value in today's complex society.

Decoration was something the primitive man learned, looking at the nature around him. He saw plants, flowers, birds, animals and tried to copy these elements. We still use "embroidery" on our dresses. But the modern design theory says that any sort of decoration can only "enhance" the existing form, but can not be an element of design.

What does this mean?

In the above said example the "embroidery" pattern can certainly add to the beauty of the cloth, but the modern theory denies to accept the cloth to be of a cheap quality. It states that every form, texture, material, shape is in itself beautiful and must be accepted as it is. Because of this the need to further decorate it does not arise.

Thus decoration whether used in architecture or elsewhere is always dependant on the form on which it is used, but design is
an independent entity which does not need any justification from the external factors.

The two design themes mentioned above are still widely used today. The user must look upon them from a point of view of what best suits his/her likes and dislikes. Only then can you give yourself and your family the best quality of living.

Shrinivas Vaidya is the webmaster of Bedroom-Design-And-Decorating-Ideas.com .Visit TODAY to get an in-depth knowledge of master bedrooms, teen bedrooms and child bedrooms.

By Shrinivas Vaidya

By Kelly Price


The Magic slimming dress is one dress that all women will love as not only does it look good but the unique way that is made means that it flatters your figure instantly and makes you look a size smaller!

Let's look at the magic slimming dress in more detail.

1. The concept

Ever looked at the Tour De France and seen how the cyclists look in Lycra? Well, the Lycra clothing they wear holds the body firm.

The construction of the magic slimming dress uses the concept of holding the body firm on the first level and then uses softer fabrics on top to give a firmer, slimmer look.

2. Design

The magic slimming dress has Elastane Lycra support in the design of the lining and the seaming of the dress. This support is designed to flatter your figure and is part of a new Magicwear range where all garments feature this unique construction. The marketing From Marks and Spencer's who have produced this first range claims:

"Firm control inner lining that is cut and seamed to control and lift in all the right places - holding in the stomach and lifting the bottom and bust"

Well, to any women a claim like that has to be investigated!
The best place to start was the magic slimming dress (as all of us girls need one) and is a simple conservative plain black dress.

The Magicwear (TM) Short Sleeve Dress arrived, in the mail and I tried it on straightaway. Girls the good news is - It really does deliver and is not all marketing hype, which is great news! The dress was not only well made, but made me look slimmer, just as important, it changed my silhouette into a curvy, sexy hourglass shape.

My look was simply transformed and my figure looked great and I actually felt that rather than being in my late thirties, the Magic Slimming Dress took my body back a decade, to before I had children.

As my husband put it "you don't look so big" cheek, but as I was so delighted I took it as a complement.

So why does the magic slimming dress work?

3. The Technical Bit

The inner is made up of 23% elastane Lycra combined with 77% polyester. The double crepe top fabric is made of 49% Viscose, 49% polyester and just 2% Lycra. Crepe yarn, being a highly twisted yarn that curls back on itself so therefore it is quite resistant to creasing.

This double crepe fabric has the advantage of just 2% Lycra and is mixed with polyester again makes it more crease resistant.

The Magic Slimming Dress also has a combination of polyester and viscose making it very comfortable to wear. The viscose absorbs body moisture helping retain comfort in wear. This combination also makes washing easy.

I personally think all women will love this new construction, which has a patent pending at present.

4. A great concept

The concept behind the Magicwear range is so simple, its one of those ideas you think why didn't I think of it?

My Magic slimming dress worked for me and I am sure other women will love it. This range of women's clothing looks set to become one the biggest fashion trends of 2007.

In conclusion, it delivers and that should make every woman happy.

No matter who actually you are, a graphic designer, web designer, visualizer, concept developer, animator or layout artist. If you belong with word "Graphic Design", this is for you.

It's about the time when I was in initial stage of learning graphic design. For me it was all about experimenting and playing with colors. Starting with a white canvas in Adobe Photoshop and ending with an illusion, which can't be predicted correctly, what does it denote? But yet it was a designed graphic.

I still remember most of my great designs were actually started without any concept and were been conceptualized, after I finished them. I used to call it quality by mistakes.

This is not the story of me alone, infect this belongs with a thousands of new comers and some time even with professionals.

This article "One Lesson Book - The Graphic Design" is all about explaining the most critical and important factor to design a conceptualized & significant graphic for highly demanding corporate design world.

Graphic design is no more remains the art of playing with colors; it's a complete set of processes to follow.

• - Understanding Core Concept.
• - Visualizing
• - Creating Value
• - Sketching
• - Layout Designing
• - Final Touch

1) Understanding Core Concept

Core concept is actually the message, which needs to be delivered to audience of your graphic. Better to call it subject of graphic. So before double clicking the icon of graphic editor, set a core message for your future graphic. Think what you need, your audience to know by this graphic. Then see your concept from customer point of view, are you getting what you want to show?

2) Visualizing

I believe the most critical factor to design a significant graphic is visualizing and designing the concept. Concept i.e. how will you deliver your message to your audience? Concept i.e. what single illusion will replace your 1000 words?

In this step you need to visualize the look and feel of your future graphic. You need to visualize the contents of graphic.

Let me take an example -
Once I have seen an advertisement of a car manufacturing company in a magazine. In graphic, they had placed a luxurious white color sofa on four wheels. Of course they wanted to show their customers, how much comfort the car delivers to rider.

This is an elegant example of getting the core concept ("Delivering Comfort") and visualizing a design ("Luxurious Sofa on Four Wheels").

3) Creating Value

Creating value means you have to visualize your design according to the value of product or value of brand. What I mean to say is you can't visualize a beggar signing a cheque by a Luxurious Parker Pen Or, you can't visualize a family sitting & smiling in a Red Ferrari Racing Car.

The brands have certain values and you have to design your graphic accordingly to maintain their brand value.

4) Sketching

Most of the designers love to skip this step, but this is again a very important section. Designing a sketch of your visualization before drawing the actual graphic, is like designing a demonstration model of a building, before actually building it.

It gives you a vision of what exactly the final graphic is going to come. You can better use your time enhancing the content placement and look & feel of graphic on a paper and even can make appropriate changes if something goes wrong here.

5) Layout Designing

Now you are 100% ready to make your hands dirty with the various tools of graphic design software to shape your imagination in actual form.

The profit of following all 4 steps above can be seen here, where you have a clear image in your mind that what exactly you want to create and how finally it will look.

There is a saying in management "it's always better to spend extra time when planning, instead of spending extra days in producing".

6) Final Touch

Now your visualized image is finally in your hands and now you are eager to show it to somebody, who can praise you for your new design but Wait.
This is the time to re-analyze the starting core concept and the final outcome. How far have you achieved? You will definitely give you 100 marks but let's have a cross check.

- Check if the size ratio of text and images is correct or not? Use small text size for sleekness and big text size for giving focus.

- Check if the colors you have used are kissing your eyes or not? Use combination of dark shades or light-dark shades rather then fully light colors.

- Check if you have placed a significant amount of text too to describe your core message or not?

- Check if there is any content missing?

Though there is no pre-defined mechanism available to judge the capabilities of a designer, but yes by following these certain steps you can advantage yourself in this fast paced competitive world, where you don't have enough chances to make errors and then correct them.

Author of this article Aryan, is from India based Web Technologies Company, COMPOSE Corporation.

COMPOSE is Web Solution Company offering Offshore Development Services, Web-based Enterprise Applications Development, E-Commerce Development, Intranet & Extranet Solutions, Application Development and Web Design & Development.

Website: http://www.compose.co.in Email: compose@thecompose.com

By Aryan Gupta

Whenever I think of any design, be it interior design or product design, a few things very naturally come up in my mind. These are in the form of questions.

The best part is, answers to these questions can give rise to a very successful design in itself. Let's see how.

If I am planning to design a piece of furniture, let's say a double bed, immediate I start relating to what I already know about double beds, some picture/image I have already seen, something I have seen in some furniture shop, etc...Then I start thinking about what material I should think about, the budget, dimensions, age group of people who are going to use it, etc... If you answer these questions one by one on a paper, you will get a blueprint of the design process, so that you can convert in into technical drawings, with all the joinery details and finally the product.

Amongst above mentioned questions some are directly related to function of the double bed as a piece of furniture.

What does this mean?

When I ask myself, what should be the dimensions of a double bed? I have very little freedom to decide the dimensions of the bed, because there are certain norms to be followed in order to serve it's basic function and that's comfort.

But what if I say that I will keep the overall surface area of the bed same , but make it round in plan. Will it be ok..

Now here I am trying to achieve both function and aesthetics, without sacrificing the comfort of the person who will use it.
So during any design process there will be times when the designer need to take some decisions where he has to keep aside his wildest ideas and pay attention to function first.

That's why the true success of an interior design project is a good balance between function and aesthetics.

Expressing this kind of balance through design is not an easy task, because function is universally accepted, but aesthetics,
not always.

What does this mean?

Beauty is always relative. A washbasin has a common universal function of an appliance to be used for washing hands, but it's
beauty is relative. What is beautiful for me, might not hold true for you.

So a design expression can have a unique style of the designer himself. It is possible that the designer is more comfortable with certain kinds of materials/finishes/color schemes, etc.. which can reflect in his designs.

In spite of these personal touches a good designs always caters the needs of the user first. A good designer has a certain kind of convincing power in his/her style which he uses to expresses in the design without sacrificing the likes/dislikes of the user.

There are designers who are more comfortable in designing only a certain kind space such as bathrooms, bedrooms, living rooms, public spaces such as restaurants, clubs, gymnasiums.

Of course this is entirely of a personal choice, but there is this same message in their designs, shell out your ego and design for the best parameters with worst possibilities taken into considerations. This is what gives birth to a great design.

Shrinivas Vaidya discusses some great interior design ideas at his website. Visit his website http://www.bedroom-design-and-decorating-ideas.com today to get an overview of decorating and remodeling interior spaces in your home.

By Shrinivas Vaidya

It may seem that all you need to be a good interior designer is a sense of aesthetics and a flair for design. That is a good start, yes, but it gets you about five feet forward in terms of your career. The first thing to do is to turn a latent, in-born talent into an effective tool. Just because you can figure out what looks nice and what doesn't does not make you a good designer or decorator. You may know how to use light and colour, how to synthesize architectural elements with design details and how to integrate space and design, but that is about five percent of the work. Most of the real work begins when you come to the execution.

Some formal education in the basic concepts of interior design is absolutely essential. There are many schools, which will give you a basic background course, and most of them are diplomas, but they are all very elementary in terms of the knowledge and the skills they provide you with. You could either pursue a full-fledged course at a reputed institute, preferably one with accreditation; or you could learn by working with someone who is a storehouse of talent. Work with the best, work for free if you have to, because it will be worth it. But regardless of where you get the education and for how long, the one thing an interior designer must always remember is that one is a lifelong student. Every day gives you an opportunity to learn something new about the trade and explore another aspect of its limitless potential.

If you have an eye for design, make sure that is turned into an artful skill, by practicing at every opportunity. Read everything you can, observe design aspects wherever you go...make mental notes and if possible keep a journal with points you pick up along the way. There is no substitute for hands on experience so get into it as early as possible. If you aren't paid for it, don't worry...learn all you can and explore every opportunity to test your know-how. Because it will tell you all you don't-know-how-to. Use your home and any space that is offered to you as a guinea pig. Work out your concepts and present your vision. Explore the dimensions of your own creativity before you ask others to entrust their money ,time and space to you.

Create a portfolio of your work. Try to do as many varied projects as possible. It will teach you all you need to know first-hand and also work as a showcase for your talent. Interior design or decor is about space planning, conceptual genius and a lot of hard work. While design is a major aspect, if you don't have fundamental business skills, you will never be able to succeed independently. When you strip it of the design and glamour accoutrements, what you have left is a lot of planning and time-management skills, labour management, client handling, costing analyses and execution abilities. If you cannot transform what is in your head into something that is concrete, you are perhaps better suited to the drawing board.

Research every aspect of your trade. Find suppliers, understand products and build relationships. These people will be your backbone. The stronger they are, the more upright your standing will be professionally. They can get you better deals, which means you can offer clients a better deal, and that is one way a new kid on the block gets business. Once you are familiar with different styles, concepts in flooring, wall coverings, soft furnishings, accessories and art you must find the suppliers who will actually deliver the goods.

While you are meeting clients, learn to do one thing. It will determine your success as an interior designer. It is not your ability to design. It is your ability to LISTEN. Understand your client. Find out what their lifestyle is. Discover what their likes and dislikes are. Find out what they need and desire. You will find that it may not necessarily coincide with what you would instinctively recommend. Which leaves you with two choices. If you can find a point of convergence, try to assimilate their wants into your presentation as much as possible. If you find no meeting ground, you are better off recommending someone who can deliver the goods rather than work on a project where you will derive no satisfaction, and the client will offer no appreciation. At the end of the day your designing style and their requirements have to meet halfway. For it to be a worthwhile enterprise.

A smart thing to do while you train to become an interior designer is to specialize. You could always diversify later, but initially it is a good idea to find a niche for yourself. If you would like to do residential interiors focus on that for a few years. If commercial spaces are your cup of tea, gain experience in such contracts. If you think you want to be left only to design and stay away from the rest of the madness, then stick to just designing. If organizational skills are your forte, turn to project management. Find out what your skills are and then start honing them. Until you reach a stage when you can start honing another skill.

A good interior designer should be able to work well with anyone from the architect to the civil contractor. If you just want to do your own thing regardless of their suggestions or requirements, the simplest project will turn into a nightmare. At the end of the day, if you, along with all the others involved in the project, including your client, cannot be a cohesive team, the whole thing will fall apart.

If your creative genius can be coupled with practical ability, you are well on your way to becoming a successful interior designer.

Learn the ABC of being a good designer

• --Integrate concepts and styles to give a unified décor
• --Maintain a sense of equilibrium. Balance is the key.
• --Know your field. Know your client. Never presume to be bigger than either.
• --Never stop learning--Never stop listening
• --Innovate. Don't get trapped into predictable design.
• --Never underestimate the value of good service. It tends to pay higher dividends than design.
• --Time management and scheduling skills. Plan and execute.
• --Coordination skills and being a team worker.
• --Business expertise. Do an MBA if you have to but get your business concepts right.
• --Patience--Eye for detail--Design Skills--Style
• --Knowing the latest trends. Information keeps you ten steps ahead.
• --Understanding different decorating styles, their uses and limitations

Rekha I Nambiar is an interior designer based in New Delhi,India. She runs her own business in interiors,furniture and furnishings.She is also a consultant for all sourcing related to home furnishings,furniture and interior design in India.

Her work may be viewed at IDI HOME [http://www.idi-home.com]
Her blog is The Decorating Hub [http://www.thedecoratinghub.com]

By Rekha I Nambiar