Just a sketch today, made with three different kinds of markers: Copics, Faber-Castells, and Staedtler artist pens. This one was a study in fabric folds and convincing hair.
Archives for April 2015
Who Does What: How to Hire the Right Creative
When I tell people I’m a graphic designer, they don’t always know what that entails. “So, logos?” Yes! Plus annual reports, t-shirts, Facebook ads, UI for web apps, the occasional card game, and a bunch of other things that have to look nice. On the other hand, sometimes people assume that because I’m a graphic designer, I also excel at photography or interior decorating (sadly, no).
There are many kinds of professional creatives, and your project might benefit most from one in particular. People don’t get the results they want when they hire the wrong creative for the job — a web developer when they actually need a web designer, or a graphic designer when they actually need a marketing strategist.
Choosing the right creative for the job is important to the success of your project. Below is a short list I made of creative types whose roles and skills sometimes get confused — hopefully it helps you hire the right person!
A note before I get on with the list: you won’t find a creative professional who can do it all. Each of these roles involves a field of learning that is rich and complex, and can’t be mastered in a short time. It’s common for a creative to be very strong in two of these areas; plus, we artsy types love to play and dabble, so we might have basic skills in a couple others. A 10-year veteran can be highly competent in maybe three of the below listed roles. Be extremely skeptical if your talent claims to excel in more than that…unless they’ve been in the business for a really, really long time. (Also: I didn’t include every kind of creative professional — such as videographers — because their specialty is pretty self-evident.)
On to the list:
graphic designer — a commercial artist who arranges text and images in a way that both looks appealing and best communicates your message. They can make original graphics from scratch (illustration) and large amounts of text readable (layout). Graphic designers focus on the two-dimensional world, and almost any kind of medium is fair game, both digital and tactile: posters, t-shirts, web banners, etc. However, it’s not guaranteed that graphic designers have technical skills to create digital media; for example, they can create a pretty design for a website, but they might not know how to actually build, code, or launch it.
web designer — specializes in graphic design for the web. They can design an attractive website that engages customers, plus get it up and running. However, they’re not necessarily equipped to provide you a logo, business cards, or any marketing media that’s not based on the web. Some web designers can do this, but you have to check.
web developer — specializes in the back-end programming and data processing of websites and web apps. To quote an analogy I’ve heard: if web design is like auto body work, then web development is like building the engine itself. Web devs can write programs that fetch or crunch data, automate complex tasks, and generally make your website do backflips.
illustrator — an artist who specializes in making highly detailed pictures that are meant to be the showpiece of a particular design. For example, a magazine article might have an accompanying illustration that helps tell the story. You hire an illustrator when you want highly customized images to do the heavy lifting in your design. Many illustrators work in digital media, but most are able to paint or draw as well. Their education varies: an illustrator might have a fine arts degree, or they might be self-taught. Whether their work is “good” or not sometimes depends on your own personal taste as the client!
photographer — you know what a photographer does. But I want to mention this: don’t assume your designer can also take great pictures! Photography is a complex art of it’s own, demanding unique skills and equipment.
exhibition/display designer — specializes in making appealing 3D environments, from window displays to museum exhibits. Not only does the space have to look great, but it also must inspire the viewer to do something: walk into the store, read the information, interact with an object, etc.
industrial designer — specializes in designing 3D objects that serve a purpose — chairs, tables, prosthetics, anything — and that will be mass produced. They have to consider everything from beauty to ergonomics to materials. These creatives may also design intangibles like systems or processes used to produce an object.
marketing strategist — this person can determine what the graphic designer, and other creatives, should be working on. Marketing strategists analyze data (population demographics, advertising methods, what’s happening in the economy) to figure out the best way to promote a product or obtain customers. They’ll also create advertising budgets and conduct market research. If your graphic designer can think like a strategist, you’ve found yourself a golden goose.
New Stuff: Card Game Graphics
Now for something a little different — I recently wrapped up a very cool project for Edmonton comic book artist Jeff Martin. Jeff designed an original card game based on his comic, HEAT; the cards feature all his own characters and artwork. My role was to help spiff up and create the supporting graphics for the cards: icons, backgrounds, etc.
Heat is all about pro-wrestling in the space age, so Jeff was going for a pro-wrestling title belt aesthetic. We went with various steel and leather textures to create the look. It was interesting to see how UI design applies to an unconventional medium like this, and what user-friendliness looks like in a card game.
If you’d like to see more of Jeff’s comics, which also include his Hockeypocalypse and War of 1812 titles, you can check out his website and follow him on Twitter.
Fun with Copics
A grey cat for a grey day (at least where I live.) Lately I’ve been trying to get better at working with Copics, so here’s a post in which I geek out about markers.
I received an important tip, courtesy of a local artist, that solved an issue that had been bugging me for some time. I bought some markers that I thought functioned the same as Copics — Faber-Castell artist pens. I kept trying to get a blending effect as seen above, but instead kept getting this:
The lines wouldn’t blend, but would create transparent but visible layers. Turns out not all artist markers are the same! Faber-Castell pens are made with India ink; lovely to draw with, but they do not blend. You need alcohol-based markers (which Copics are) in order to get the colours to blend. Copics kind of behave like watercolours and it takes a lot of practice to manipulate them well.
A small revelation, but you have no idea how exciting it was to finally discover the right tool for the job. And if drawing really fluffy cats isn’t the best way to practice with Copics, I don’t know what is.
Summer Solstice Postcard Design
Summer’s just around the corner, guys! At least, it feels that way to me, as I’ve been absolutely barreling through these last few months.
Here’s a postcard I made for Sugar Swing’s upcoming Summer Solstice Swing Dance Festival. Solstice is a party weekend in Edmonton where the dancing goes until sunrise both nights. It’s insane. Here’s a quick video (scroll down) if you want to see what that’s about!
As for the postcard, the colours and imagery are meant to remind you of long summer nights, spent staying up late and goofing around. Dance photos were snapped by local swing dancers Krystal Moss and Chris Kuchmak.
You Might Like: Paris DJs
Happy Easter, everybody! Things have been busy with the aforementioned church-to-ballroom conversion, so I’m trying to catch up on my blogging.
I’m deviating a bit from Edmonton-local stuff and introducing you to an online wonderland of music: Paris DJs. I discovered it while hanging out in an Edmonton cafe, so it kind of applies. This site is the place to explore if you’re looking for tunes from easygoing genres like reggae, funk, and soul to play at the office or whenever you’re working.
Paris DJs describes themselves as an International Music Bureau; they’re Paris-based music producers who specialize in reggae/dub, afrobeat, soul, hip hop, and all kinds of jazz and funk. Their well-crafted compilations are posted online for your streaming pleasure, along with artist info and links to buy the music you’re hearing.
There’s at least one place in Edmonton that benefits from Paris DJs: my favourite cafe hangout, Cha Island. They get my vote for best atmosphere, so one day I finally had to ask the staff where they found their music.
Here’s a playlist I recommend to get you started, perfect for your reggae and dub needs. Scroll to the bottom of the page to find the media player. Take a moment to admire the album artwork too, because this record label does that really well!