There’s so much more to web design than having technical prowess. The ability to tap into your target market and design with your customer in mind is critical. Designers need to be up-to-date on the latest design trends, while being able to put their own spin on different techniques. As a web designer, when you’re in the know, you’re much more likely to be able to deliver successful projects to your clients. According to the technology company Dreamhost, “Web design and usability are synonymous with one another. Evolving trends focus on the marriage between these two.” If you’re a designer that likes to walk to the beat of your own drum — don’t fret. The following tips can be adapted to your current workflow, regardless of your style and preferences. Use Responsive DesignThis is non-negotiable when it comes to web design. Responsive design allows your websites to be seamlessly viewed across any screen or device. And because mobile usage continues to grow, there’s no way around this. Mobile search has now surpassed desktop search, making it increasingly important. Certain industries, like the food, rely even more heavily on mobile traffic. However, regardless of what the purpose of the site is, responsive design creates a fluid experiences that can help increase conversions and retention. Re-consider the SidebarAccording to Neil Patel, whether to use a sidebar depends on the type of site you have, but there are still a few design tips to keep in mind. A general rule of thumb is that businesses and service providers usually don’t need a sidebar. They are able to contain all information they need within the navigation. On the other hand, blog-style sites could benefit from a sidebar, as it could provide valuable information, such as popular posts, ads, and subscribe and search bars. For blog sites like Quick Sprout, the sidebar is necessary to increase subscriber count. Depending on your site, these promotional elements can be beneficial. However, when you’re making the decision on whether to include the sidebar, consider the needs: are you adding a search bar because the site owner wants users to be able to use social share functions easily? You don’t need a sidebar for that. Today’s themes make it simple to add share functions directly to pages and posts. For ecommerce and other business sites, sidebars can make the site appear amateur and too busy. This clutter creates a negative user experience. And sites like Quick Sprout are an exception,, considering the immense following behind the Neil Patel name. Otherwise, the opposite seems true. Heat map studies have found that in general, people rarely use the sidebar. Design Offscreen FirstIt may be tempting to get to work on a project right away, but by designing offscreen first by paper and pen, you can eliminate may of the challenges and errors you run into otherwise. This will help you better understand where you want different elements to go and how certain features should be laid out. It also provides you with a high-level overview of your work, much like a blueprint. An architect wouldn’t start building a house without tweaking designs on paper, and neither should web designers. You can use different web design tools to aid you in this process. Minimize ClutterIn addition to phasing out your sidebars, there are other ways to minimize your clutter. One way you can achieve this is by incorporating more white space. This allows your readers to focus on what’s important. To many other on-page elements, like fonts, images, and colors, can create an atmosphere. White space is also called “negative space” which means that space doesn’t necessarily have to be white. Make Your Navigation SimpleYour navigation should be — simply put — easy to navigate. The navigation is essentially the steering wheel of the site, and you wouldn’t want to steer your visitors in the wrong direction. Some designers believe that by padding the navigation, they cover all ground for what a potential visitor might need. But this isn’t necessarily true. With so many options, it can overwhelm the visitor. With simple navigation, you decrease the chances of your visitors going elsewhere. While your content requires careful consideration, your navigation should straight to the point. One of the first things you can do to optimize navigation is to consolidate pages. Evaluate each page of your site, and determine what each contributes in value to the reader. You’ll notice that some pages can easily be combined because they contain overlapping information. For example, you don’t have to have separate pages for About, History, Mission, and Team. Each of these can be consolidated into one. The post Web Design Tips Designers Needs To Follow appeared first on Design your way. from http://www.designyourway.net/blog/misc/web-design-tips-designers-needs-to-follow/
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What’s an infographic? An infographic is a visual representation of data and/or information. The rise of the internet has made infographic examples incredibly common and has made good infographics invaluable for web design. They communicate ideas to users quickly and effectively, catching the eye and making it more likely that users will follow a website’s call to action. Infographics have become key to a lot of web design in recent years since users want data quickly and in an easy to understand format. If you want to make infographics, it’s important to make sure that the info you’re presenting is not left up to interpretation. Everyone who reads the infographic should reach the same conclusion. Many infographics are similar to the sorts of charts and graphs that you can make in Microsoft Excel, simply with a lot more polish and often more text. Think of explanatory timelines, comparisons between products, and even instructional charts that you’ve seen. Those are all infographics. The best of them can even go viral if the designer is lucky. Modern infographics pull together a lot of information to create a sleekly packaged piece of eye-candy. Learning how to create infographics is a must for anyone looking to design even a small website. Infographic design is fairly simple and adheres to some basic principles. The Basics of Infographic DesignFiguring out how to make an infographic is not like other forms of graphic design. You need to develop a specific sort of mindset in order to create great infographics. There’s a set of standards and you need to learn how data visualization works. It’s not something that even a veteran web designer can just make in half an hour. Here are a couple of rules to help you create an infographic: Show, Don’t TellThe first thing to remember is that good infographic designs show people data, they don’t tell them about it. You need to design an infographic that is visually stimulating, not a wall of text. It should lead users to the conclusion you want them to make. You need to make sure the design tells a story. Avoid unnecessary complexity. Instead, make a simple infographic that has a clear point. If users wanted to read a wall of text, they already would. Users want an infographic that shows them clearly the info they want to see. Choose the Right Kind of Chart TypesThere’s no one right type of chart for all kinds of data. The data you’re using will determine what kind of chart you use for your infographic layout. The first thing you need to do when deciding on a chart type determines what kind of data are you looking at and what you want it to mean. Are you trying to highlight an important number? Are you comparing two data points? Are you trying to show off a certain trend over time? Do you want to point out an outlier in the data set? The most common types of charts used in infographic designs are pie charts, column graphs, line charts, and bar graphs. Each type excels at showing certain things. Column graphs are good for comparing data. Line charts are great for showing a trend over time. Pie charts are good at demonstrating different fractions of one set of data. Bar graphs quickly demonstrate the differences between entire sets of data themselves. There are more unusual options out here as well. If the chart shows off your data in the way you want, then go ahead and use it. Be creative. The most important thing about the chart is that it’s easy to read and clearly communicates the data. Sometimes an unconventional approach may be the best way to do this. Make Sure You Have the Data You NeedOnce you have an understanding of where you want to go with your infographic design, make sure you have all the data you need to pull it off. Figure out how the pieces come together to get your point across. There may be gaps in what you have. You might have to do (or request) more research to help tell the story you want on the infographic. Learning how to recolonize this is one of the most difficult parts of learning how to make infographics. Use a WireframeBy using a wireframe to design your infographic, you start out with an excellent basis for creating a coherent infographic. Infographics are difficult to design because it’s easy to lose the thread of the story you want to tell. You will find yourself reorganizing data and text often. Without a wireframe, you have to start from scratch. With one, you’ll be able to reorganize everything without dealing with a cluttered mess. This takes some time and a bit of effort, but it will make a big difference later on in the design process. How to Make an InfographicOnce you have your data and an idea of what kind of chart you want to use for your infographic design, it’s time to start getting to work. The best infographics are carefully thought out and make good use of core graphic design principles. Here are some ideas to help you figure out how to create an infographic that looks modern and clear. Use ContrastContrast is a great design tool. Place strikingly different element next to each other to make the infographic stand out. For instance, a light infographic background with bold foreground elements will automatically draw the eye to that bold foreground. If one color or set of colors is more prominent than the others, you create a useful visual hierarchy. Pair complementary colors for great effect. Combine a dark blue infographic with brighter colors like orange or yellow for your text to make it stand out. Bright, highly differentiated colors are easier for viewers to see quickly. You only have a few moments to capture their attention, after all, and contrasting color is a great way to do it. You can also contrast text sizes. Make the header the largest typography, with the sub-header second largest, and the body text smaller. The large header will allow viewers to know immediately what the infographic’s subject is. If you’re careful, you can be particularly dramatic with your contrast by using a tinted image as your infographic background. Choose the image you use wisely. You don’t want to overwhelm the data you’re communicating. ColorContrasting colors are a smart thing to think about when considering how to make an infographic, but it’s not the only thing you should think about when considering your infographic’s colors. The right color palette can do a lot for the infographic’s effectiveness. If you’re making an infographic for a brand, consider using the brand’s colors to help integrate the infographic example into their branding campaign. However, these colors may not work that well for an infographic, so take the time to play around with brand colors if you’re working with them. If you can’t use the brand’s exact colors, see if you can use shades of them. It’s important to choose a color palette that the greatest number of people can read easily. Dark colors combined with neon colors, for instance, are hard for most people to read and they will usually scroll right past it rather than look at. Some color palettes and patterns can be painful to look at. You should try to avoid using a white background if you can. Good infographic ideas are shared on numerous blogs, social media pages, and other websites. Many of these sites have white backgrounds already. If your infographic design already has a white background, it will blend into the website and figuring out where it begins and ends will be hard. Regardless of the particular set of colors you choose, try to stick to three colors. Three-color palettes are very appealing and easy on the eyes. One color, typically the lightest, should be the background color. The other two should be used to break up different sections of the infographic. If you still feel you need to add other colors for the best look, use shades of those three colors. This will keep the colors of the infographic coherent and prevent them from becoming jarring. Using PhotosThe best kinds of photos are ones that have been specifically taken for your infographic. However, this is not always an option. You can find royalty free images at many different websites, including Unsplash, Dreamstime, Bigstock, and Pixabay. Using these stock images is a good workaround, but they also carry a risk. Using them can look cheesy and make it seem like you lack creativity. Be careful which stock photos you decide to use in your infographic layout. Stock photos see a lot of use on the internet and anyone looking at your infographic’s subject has probably seen a lot of the same ones. Using these images can make it seem like you put the minimum amount of effort into creating the infographic. All the photos you use, whether they were taken by a photographer for this infographic design or stock images from the web, should have consistent lighting and styling. They should have the same lighting effects and backdrops. You don’t want the photos to distract from what you’re trying to communicate with the infographic. Using photos with flat color backdrops lends your infographic a modern look, while black and white photos fit with a more old-fashioned style. BalanceVisual balance will help your infographic look better. It will be easier to read and more pleasant to look at. Balance helps keep all the elements of the infographic layout remain cohesive, which is especially vital for longer infographics. You can use both symmetrical and asymmetrical balance for your infographic design. Symmetrical balance means both sides of the composition have equal visual weight. This is a great composition style for an infographic that’s comparing different data sets. It can be a bit dull, however. Asymmetrical balance is more natural and doesn’t have the same dull uniformity of symmetrical infographic designs. It creates a more complex relationship between the different elements. Asymmetrical balance is also more dynamic and avoids too much repetition. Some good infographic examples of asymmetrical balance in an infographic designs are the way text alternates sides on many timelines. ConsistencyAn infographic draws together spate data elements to tell a single story with a clear point. The layout and design elements should remain consistent in order to achieve that effect. You should use the same bullet points for the same kinds of information. You should use either filled in or line art icons throughout the infographic, not both. The same principle should apply to the images, font, and color palette you use in the infographic. This will prevent any sense of color and also make the infographic example look much more professional. SimplicityOne of the core ideas behind infographics is that they break down complicated ideas into simple visual guides. You need to remember that as you create the infographic layout. It’s all too easy to let an infographic grow long and complex, cluttered with text and charts. Make an effort to keep your infographic design as simple as possible while still conveying all the info it should. FocusDon’t get wrapped up in placing every last fact and figure you can think of into the infographic. Streamline the info so that it remains focused on the story you’re trying to tell and the concepts you’re trying to communicate. Viewers should come away from looking at your infographic thinking of the core concept, not feeling like they just looked at a lot of vaguely connected information. Remember, infographics are a calculated collection of information, not a random assembly of facts. You want to drive home a single point. An infographic is not an info dump, but rather a coherent form of communication. Keep it Easy to ViewResizing can play havoc with the readability of an infographic. You may design it to be a massive, screen-dominating image, but the website designer may end up downsizing it to make it fit on the website, resulting in an infographic that is now impossible to read. If your infographic design gets shared on social media, you want people to be able to tell what it’s about on phone screens and in preview windows. Make sure that even the smallest element of your infographic is readable at smaller sizes without needing too much squinting. Remember Your Target AudienceRemember to tailor your infographic to your target audience. Do some research into the best ways to communicate with the people you are designing the infographic for. Choose font, colors, and photos to better appeal to them. If your infographic is meant to be viewed by a particular profession, like military, law enforcement, or medical professionals, make sure you use photos that match their actual uniform and conduct. If you use professional insignia or logos, choose the correct ones. If you just snatch these elements off the internet without checking to see if they’re correct, your infographic will not be a source of information so much as a subject of mockery. Take a Final Look at Every ElementMake sure you take a careful read through every element of the infographic. It can be tempting to just skim over anything you’ve typed or any copy you’ve been given, but take a look at every last word and number. Typos and strange formatting quirks make the infographic look unprofessional. Taking the time to read over your work will result in a more professional final product. If you’re working for a client, reading over all the details of tour infographic before you submit it for review will save you time later. Submitting your work only to have it torn to pieces upon a client’s review is frustrating. Creating the best infographics means knowing when there are holes in the data, making sure that everything important has been included, and knowing when the facts support the story that’s being told. Create a Visual HierarchyEvery infographic layout operates on a clearly defined visual hierarchy. This hierarchy uses a combination of information and graphic design elements to lead viewers through the infographic’s story to the ultimate call to action. It unifies all the information and data on display. Use font size, color, and data arrangement to create this visual hierarchy. Without it, your infographic is just a random collection of facts without a clear point. Think About Your TypographyWhile your infographic design should not be based entirely on typography, you are very likely going to use some text. You need to choose everything about your text wisely. It can make a big difference to whether or not your infographic catches people’s eyes or not. Text size is important for numerous reasons. For one, it helps you establish your infographic’s visual hierarchy, easily identifying the most important information for viewers. You should also choose your text size to make the infographic easy to read in numerous sizes. When it comes to font, try to use only two types of font that work well together. You can go with more elaborate font for headers and sub-headers since they are usually only a few words. For longer chunks of text, use simpler fonts that are easy to read. Regardless of what you are using the font for, it should be easy for readers to distinguish between letters and words. You can still have fun with your font, but remember that your infographic needs to make sense to anyone reading it before anything else. Don’t use typography as a crutch. Don’t use it to generate excitement that your infographic layout is failing to create. Good typography is another tool you can use to create interest and a visual hierarchy. Use it to help tell the infographic’s story. Look for ExamplesYou don’t have to design an infographic all on your own. Take a look at how others have created infographic designs. Look at how the elements of the design come together to tell a story. Think about why everything works together well—or maybe not so well. One of the best ways to learn about any kind of design is from example. This is defiantly true for infographic examples. If you get stuck in a creative rut with your infographic design, hop on the web and see what other people have done with theirs. You might find some really great infographic ideas that will help you pull everything together in your own work. PromotionInfographics can and do go viral. It doesn’t just happen. You need to be a bit calculating if you hope for your infographic design to get a lot of social media shares. You need to promote your infographic. Treat it like any other piece of content you want people to see. Reach out to influential people in the niche to see if they’ll feature your infographic. Include social media share buttons when you feature the infographic on your website. Ask for users to share it with others. Your infographic design can be absolutely spectacular, but without proper promotion, it will just languish in obscurity. You’ll need to work to get out there. Keep promoting whenever you can. Practice Makes PerfectInfographic design does not come easy. If you want to create good infographic examples, you’ll need to practice your design skills. It can be easy to get frustrated, especially if you start off with a few duds. Remember your basic principles, look for good examples to follow, and keep on working at it. If you want help, look for groups of other people who work at designing infographics. They can offer helpful critiques, encouragement, and offer helpful tips from their own experience. Look through graphic design forums and working groups to see if you can find these helpful people! Ending thoughts on infographic examplesInfographic examples are a great way to communicate information online. Users want information in an interesting and efficient format. Designing a good infographic is difficult, but it will be worth the effort. If you liked this article about infographic examples, you should check out these as well:
The post Infographic Examples And Ideas On How To Make Them appeared first on Design your way. from http://www.designyourway.net/blog/graphic-design/infographic-examples/ Monitoring a WordPress site is not easy at all but the one which is more difficult is managing multiple WordPress sites at once. Whereas, WordPress has a central location (interface) which is easy to handle and use and you can easily merge or boost each additional site but have to take care a lot especially with sites that have healthy organic traffic that doesn’t even take much time as it takes to log in and log out of each website. Features in WordPress like updating WordPress, comments moderation, creating content, maintaining your site, etc. is an easy task but all you need it to taking care of on a regular basis. So that’s why many developers developed plugins to manage multiple WordPress sites from a central location. There are many tools for managing multiple websites and in this article, we going to discuss some managing tools that are right for your WordPress management which will help you to manage more than a website. So without any further delay, let’s discuss some tools. IControlWPThis plugin carries important features like backups, security, site management, etc., this plugin is very flexible that include malware scans, automatic updates, backups. One of the main features is that if you need to restore a site from backup, the plugin creates a test site first in order to review the backup from restore and check all the bugs or errors. The plugin comes with website security scans, IP address restriction, multi-factor authentication, and also allows you to manage update and moderate comments manually from the dashboard. The cost of this plugin is 15-dollar a month and it comes with 15 days free trial for testing purposes. You will have to pay more for adding additional features or more websites. InfiniteWPIt allows the users to install its application on their server to manage all the websites. As we know that it is self-hosted and self-contained so there is no need to give the sensitive data to someone else. The Main feature of this plugin includes a single master login for all the sites, single-click updates, backups, restore, etc. This plugin doesn’t contain uptime monitoring of website, scheduled backups, and managing user’s dashboard. The price of this plugin is $148 per year for 10 websites with a free trial and if you don’t like this plugin then they will give your money back within 14 days. MainWPIt is an open source plugin and a free management tool with an automaticinterface and able to updates all the features with a single click. The main attraction of this plugin is that if you want to go to one of your sites so instead of messing with your head you can simply click on the link present inside MainWP and it will login you automatically and take you to the website where you want to go. Another thing is, it will automatically send all the notifications like which plugin need to be updated. The plugin charged you $199.99 per year and a lifetime access with a price of $399. 10WEBIt is a WordPress management service and allows you to monitor multiple WordPress sites from a central location (dashboard). It is very easy to use and enhances the security, manages SEO, Image optimization, backups, etc. of your all the WordPress sites. It comes with the 14-day free trial for checking their service before purchasing. WP PipelineThis plugin is also used for managing many websites in WordPress and it has an ability to manage, conduct user management, merge websites, and place WordPress plugins or ability to create the entire page or blog or website. It offers easy updates and backups. It will charge you $99 per year for unlimited websites but there is no free trial available to check the plugin before spending money to buy. ManageWPIt is the powerful, well-known, and popular plugin because this plugin tool is acquired by GoDaddy. It will let you all access to all your websites from a single dashboard or a central location and allows you to maintain from updating plugins to deleting spam comments, comment moderation, and post revisions to backing up your site. This plugin comes with an advanced feature to Integrate with Google Analytics and able to clone the website. The best part of this plugin is that you can freely use ManageWP for an unlimited number of websites with a great 24-hour technical support. For managing up to 100 websites it will costs you $20 to $70 with features like SEO tools, security check, backups, etc. CMS CommanderCMS commander is another plugin for managing multiple websites using a practical interface. This tool will provide you an overview of all the websites just like an index of some book which multiplied it, allows the user to update everything at once in a single-click, and finish the tasks in one move. It carries a strong import function that supports RSS feeds and text files.It also comes with Google PageSpeed Insights, backlinks monitoring, websites cloning, automatic backups, SEO tools, etc. It has an ability to scheduled content ahead of time of your websites and comes with posting bulk post to a lot of sites in a single go. It will come with a 15 days trial is there for checking and testing all the interface before going for purchase and premium plan is $80 per month for managing up to 200 websites. WP RemoteWP Remote is the first one that allows the webmaster to monitor all the multiple websites from a dashboard which is easy to handle and easy to use. Users can easily update all the things like plugins or themes with a single click. There is a drawback with this tool which is that it does not offer you a lot of features but it is free to use and user-friendly as well. ConclusionSumming up all, you will be noticed that managing multiple sites on WordPress is not tough or a time consuming if you have any one tool from the above ones. Every tool which we discussed above will let you manage multiple WordPress sites from a central location (dashboard). The lengthy thing for you is to spend some time for choosing a right tool for your WordPress. The post Managing Multiple WordPress Websites from a Central Location appeared first on Design your way. from http://www.designyourway.net/blog/misc/managing-multiple-wordpress-websites-from-a-central-location/ Would you like to build a website at speed? Like building a Lego house in minutes fast? All without writing a line of code? Does this sound good to you…Before now this might have been a pipe dream. Now, a dedicated team of professionals have decided to make it come true for you. It is called Elementor, the #1 WordPress website builder that you can use for free. It has gathered over 700,000 loyal users in less than two years. This is due to the highly specific features designed with web professionals in mind. Yet, whether you’re a seasoned designer or taking your first steps toward design, you can use the crazy-fast way to build your website. It has a 5-step work flow that makes it a dream to use. Introducing ElementorElementor was created to solve one major problem: feeling “stuck” in a theme’s design. The team behind this WordPress page builder wanted to offer web professionals freedom to create websites the way they wanted, but without having to write code or design things from scratch. Elementor is the first theme builder where you can design everything directly on the frontend with instant results, but you also get total control over layout customization. However, that didn’t fulfill the whole dream picture the team had when creating Elementor. So now they’re releasing Elementor 2.0 all throughout the year, one feature at a time. Blocks: The crazy-fast way to build websitesBlocks are pre-designed section templates that you can combine any way you please to create a website or landing page. It is a spectacular first feature. Here’s how it works:You just pick the blocks you need, like the hero, testimonials, or the service presentations section. Then you can custom them to suit your site! You have 235 blocks to choose from and they are all organized in 15 main categories:
To make it even easier for you to create the perfect website, you have the option of light or dark type blocks. It allows you to adapt a dark block to a dark themed website with a simple background color change and a few minor clicks of the mouse. Optimized WorkflowUsing Blocks can really change the way you build websites by optimizing your workflow down to five simple steps.
New Template Types and ConditionsCompatibility with themes is crucially important when building your site. With Elementor 2.0 you get a wide array of new templates that are compatible with almost any theme. Header and Footer is the number one template that Elementor users have specifically asked for, and their wish is granted. Until now, the Header Footer template was static and came from the theme. Now you can customize it any way you wish. You also get access to 404 customizations like the Archive feature, and the 404 features. This can be crucial when designing your website. Each template has its own corresponding area in your WordPress website where it can be applied. If you want to create a header template that is displayed ONLY as the header of your single post, you can set the conditions using a simple interface to determine exactly where the template is implemented. What made Elementor the #1 WordPress Theme BuilderThe creators of Elementor 2.0 made sure to keep the amazing features exactly as they needed to be to become the #1 WordPress Theme Builder. Total Customization Over LayoutA lot of theme builders promise high customization, Elementor premium website builder has taken it to a whole new level. You get extended control over various sections, such as the width and height of each section. Column size and content position were not forgotten, nor were dynamic size settings for padding and margins. There is even a column gap setting for “cleaner” design. Impressive Template LibraryElementor offers you a wide variety of beautiful templates, covering different industries, styles, and specific needs. You can choose a pre-designed template, or you can easily design the page yourself, then save it in your templates and reuse it later. You can also export or import your templates, so you can use them with other websites. You can also share them with other designers. Over 40 Elements IncludedYou have got the whole package. That is forty elements included for free with advanced widgets such as Carousel or Google Maps. For live page builders you get access to customized widgets created for just that purpose. You can achieve virtually any layout you want, to the tiniest detail, such as the spacing inside the progress bar. You can also include your preferred plugins and widgets automatically, you don’t need to write a single line of code to embed them inside Elementor. 100% Responsive DesignThe team behind Elementor gave a 110% to make it look flawless on any device because this can make or break a website. Device preview screens, percentage-based element widths and device visibility control are available to make sure your users experience your website the way you’ve designed it. Why you should try it now
The post Crazy Fast Website Building with Elementor appeared first on Design your way. from http://www.designyourway.net/blog/wp/elementor/ Looking for a multipurpose WordPress theme? There are a few neat options in this article. The key idea for creation of most WordPress themes is to provide flexible templates. They usually suit any brand, any company large or small, or any organization or cause. The basic features required to design and build any of these website types must be there. This includes features for promoting products and services and eCommerce support. The themes must also be responsive and be able to create a professional portfolio. They also need to be capable of integrating with social media, and more. Yet, some WordPress users tend to shy away from multipurpose themes. This happens due to the assumption that if a theme tries to do everything, there are some things it could not do well. While on the surface that assumption may appear to have some validity, it’s just plain wrong. There are plenty of outstanding websites on the market today. The majority of them will fit every website type well. Here are 15 of the best. BeTheme – Responsive Multi-Purpose WordPress ThemeWith the largest selection of pre-built websites on the market, 320+ and counting, BeTheme makes it easy to find a perfect match for any website or business type, or client. Each customizable pre-built website is professionally designed and easy to install (the one-click installer is the most intuitive installer on the market). With the many website features and tools BeTheme places at your disposal including the popular Muffin Builder, it’s possible to build a complex website, complete with text, images, and all the trimmings in as little as 4 hours. Since it is so easy to deliver exactly what a client wants, and even exceed that client’s expectations, it’s little wonder that BeTheme is a top 5 ThemeForest bestseller. Although the Muffin Builder and Options Panel will do most of the heavy lifting for you, there are plenty of other features ranging from shortcodes to special effects to help you create picture-perfect deliverables. One more outstanding feature, the Header Builder is just around the corner. Be’s world-class support team is there to help as well. TotalTotal, with its drag and drop frontend builder, multiple page-building elements and live theme customizer has all the features you would expect in a premium multipurpose WordPress theme, plus several nice surprises. Total makes it super-easy to use its live demo importer. Simply review the demos from your WordPress dashboard and click to install any one you’d like. You’ll also be informed of any required plugins you’ll need to install, and away you go. Creating page layouts is an easy task thanks to Total’s extended version of Visual Composer. You can drag and drop to create any header or footer layout you want, and Total’s full support of WooCommerce makes monetizing your website a snap. Is building a community forum one of your objectives? Since Total is completely compatible with bbPress, it can do that for you as well. Porto – Ultimate WordPress+eCommerce ThemeThe Porto Ultimate WordPress and eCommerce theme is, as the description implies, a super-fast, feature-rich web-building tool. Porto is Bootstrap 4 based, which accounts for its speed and excellent overall performance. It is also easy to use, highly customizable, and fully responsive. Included among Porto’s many features are 25 homepage layouts and skins (with more coming soon) that will satisfy your needs for any type of business, blog, portfolio, or eCommerce site you can think of. Any one of these layouts can serve as a great starting point for building a custom website that’s bound to please the most demanding of clients. Visual Composer, complete with valuable addons, is Porto’s editor/builder of choice. Powerful page options, an excellent selection of blog and portfolio types, multiple headers, elegant animations, SEO optimization, and social sharing features are also among Porto’s many offerings; plus, you’ll receive rapid support response and updates as well. Uncode – Creative Multiuse WordPress ThemeNo coding required, and never a need to build anything from scratch is Uncode’s promise to you. This powerful user-friendly theme has all the functionality you need to deliver a super-attractive, high-performing product that will make any client proud. The best way to familiarize yourself to what Uncode can do for you is to visit their showcase of hundreds of websites built by this theme’s creative customers. HouzezHouzez is an excellent choice for those who either specialize in delivering websites to realty agencies or have a meticulous or hard-to-please real estate agent or agency as a client. Houzez delivers precisely the functionality this business sector requires; radius and advanced search, Google geolocation, and listings layouts galore. Houzez is easy to work with and responsive; mandatory requirements of those in the field or on the go. TheGem – Creative Multi-Purpose High-Performance WordPress ThemeTheGem by CodexThemes is a wonderful creative toolkit for crafting powerful modern websites in a matter of minutes. It has just about everything you would expect in a multipurpose theme, including 70+ ready-to-go creative homepage concepts for any business niche! This multipage- and one page-ready gem includes the Visual Composer page builder along with a host of creative page templates, unique design concepts, widgets, shortcodes, and design options. There are plenty of portfolio and blog layouts, you can freely combine elements, and no coding is required. Themify UltraThemify Ultra comes with a selection of design skins, pre-made demos sites, and customizable design elements and features that will enable you to build any site for your clients and do so instantly. Themify Ultra’s multiple features include customizable mega menus, header, footer, and post layout options, WooCommerce support, and a free portfolio post type plugin. Pofo – Creative Portfolio and Blog WordPress ThemePofo is a modern creative portfolio and blog WordPress theme for like-minded businesses, clients, and individuals. Among this multipurpose theme’s many features you’ll find free plugins, Revolution slider, the WPBakery page builder, and a large selection of custom shortcodes, pre-built elements, and ready to work with home and demo pages. KallyasThe Kallyas WordPress theme’s reputation is based on a secret – speed. This multipurpose WP theme is built around a Bootstrap framework, making it super-fast and super-easy to work with. Only the resources a page requires are loaded, which means there are not a lot of extras to slow things down. You’ll enjoy working with this SEO friendly, responsive theme’s cool Visual Builder and its more than 150 design elements. Layers WPWith Layers WP at your fingertips you can expect as many assignments as you can handle when you tell prospective clients how quickly and easily you can deliver a custom, high-quality website to their door. Layers WP is responsive, SEO friendly, features an clean HTML structure, and is WooCommerce ready. The default theme is free, as Layers only charges for extensions. A Pro version is also available. Movedo Premium Multipurpose ThemeA multipurpose, creative WordPress theme like Movedo that is masterfully created for nothing less than awesomeness is definitely worth looking into. Any theme that offers an abundance of design features and options can be a good investment, but Movedo is at the head of the line with its huge number of cool and fun-to-work-with features that make sameness an antiquated concept. Movedo rocks! Fildisi – Responsive Multi-Purpose WordPress ThemeFildisi takes your ideas seriously, and at the same time, this responsive multipurpose WordPress theme will make your life as a designer that much easier. Whether a website is general in nature, or a specific type or addresses a highly specific niche doesn’t matter. Fildisi adjusts to your creativity – not the other way around. StormydayStormyday is a feature-packed multipurpose blog theme that includes a one-click demo install that allows you to choose from a full range of live demos (with a video tutorial to get you started), unlimited colors, and a brand-new Premium coding page builder. This responsive and retina ready blog theme is designed to help you make a statement. HestiaYou can build anything visually with this free multipurpose WordPress theme, with a little help from Elementor’s 50+ free templates, extra widgets, and the free OrbitFox plugin. A Pro version is available, but Hestia’s free version will get your next project off to a sizzling start. Based on material design principles, Hestia’s single-page layout makes navigation easy for you and the end users alike. XStore – Responsive WooCommerce ThemeXStore makes eCommerce easy. This carefully crafted, minimalist WooCommerce theme includes the pages and web-building tools and settings that enable you to easily create professional-looking, trustworthy online shops in no time at all. Features include 70+ good-to-go shops and $250 worth of premium plugins. XStore is a great choice if you want an eCommerce store that positively rocks! Ending thoughts on finding a multipurpose WordPress themeComing to a decision when you’re faced with a smorgasbord of tasty goodies or cool items can be difficult. This is especially if it only takes one, or maybe two to meet your needs. On the other hand, it’s a sure thing that you’ll find the multipurpose WordPress theme you’ve been looking for among these 15 quality WP themes. The post Which Multipurpose WordPress Theme will you use in 2018? appeared first on Design your way. from http://www.designyourway.net/blog/wp/multipurpose-wordpress-theme-2018/ A lot of young designers think that it’s a bit hard to make a living by doing something they love and don’t realize there are lots of graphic design jobs out there. Finding the right first graphic design job, regardless of whether it’s an internship, or a summer job, is not only an important job when you’re launching your career, it’s also an exploration of the field you love, and a continuation of your learning process towards becoming a good designer. Even the most skilled ones will find finding their first jobs in graphic design are stressful to find. There are a few things, however, that you can do in order to reduce that stress when you’re looking at design jobs, regardless of what types of graphic design jobs you’re looking into, such as remote graphic design jobs, freelance graphic design jobs, or even part time graphic design jobs. Now, even before you begin looking for graphic design jobs, there are a few things you’ll need to understand. First, you will need to understand yourself, your strengths, weaknesses and motivations. Then, you’ll need to understand the nature, variety and style of your work. And, finally, you’ll need a good understanding of the job market. Are graphic design jobs in demand? Where to find graphic design jobs? Understand the design offices, corporations, and the plethora of other businesses that may employ a graphic designer. Only then, can you prepare to present yourself, as well as your work, in a portfolio, and start looking for entry level graphic design jobs. Create a portfolioWhen you’re looking into how to get a graphic design job, know that a portfolio is very important, and should only consist of the work you’re proud of, as well as willing to discuss. This is especially important for online graphic design jobs, where you only have your CV and portfolio when applying. People will remember best what is either first or last in a certain sequence, and you should bind together the sketches that display your ability to sketch, think and brainstorm. You should also be prepared to discuss your weaknesses and strengths in an interview. If you’re at a school or university that gives you courses on how to assemble a portfolio and market yourself, attend them. Show your teachers your portfolio, and attend, if possible, portfolio reviews that are organized by professional design organizations. The feedback you get from them will be more than valuable. And, make sure that your prospective employer knows that you’re aware that the learning process will continue throughout your career. In fact, that learning curve is actually pretty steep for the first two or three years once you’re done with school. You should be harnessing your creativity, because, any agency that’s looking for talent has seen hundreds of resumes, and they are cold, white and boring most of the time. If you’re a graphic designer, make it as visual as you can. If you’re an illustrator, get a pen and paper, and turn it into something that will represent your style. If you’re skilled in motion graphics, make a showreel resume that will both outline your skills and your visual experience. ResumeAnyone looking at how to get graphic design jobs, or any other job, should have a resume. However, a design applicant should pay specific attention to this. Your resume should reflect your type ability and skill with the careful typographic design. Make sure to include all facts that an employer might want to know, as well as a reliable phone number and address. Printing business cards is also important, as they give you another shot at making an individual design statement. Any designer that’s interviewing you will appreciate it. And, designing for yourself is actually worse than representing a client, as it might feel like having an identity crisis. Where do you want to work?Next, identify the corporation or individuals you’d like to interview with. The job leads at school placement offices usually have real value, and you can also make use of trade magazines as well as design annuals in your school library. However, if you’re after a job in a particular geographic location, make sure you’re looking for listings based there. You could take a look at your school’s alumni lists for recent graduates you could call up and discuss your interests with. Alumni will know people in design, and might be able to help recent graduates in meeting them. Getting an interviewA prospective employer will most likely prefer to get a resume and brief letter prior to the interview. If possible, use it to establish your interest for a particular job opening, or for the specific organization’s specialty. You should give whoever’s reading your letter a good sense of who you are. Make a telephone call to arrange your appointment. Whoever you’re contacting might be a busy person, but don’t get discouraged. Instead, be politely persistent. Sometimes someone who doesn’t have job openings, but is willing to meet you, will give you an interview. This is a great practice, and he or she might help you with making other connections. In the interviewThe first interview is always the most stressful one, so mock interviews with friends can result in good practice and feedback. At the real one, try to be relaxed, and breathe. Ask about the organization, the projects, and be interested in them. Then, explain how you can help. Don’t drone on about yourself, keep track of the interviewer’s body language and responses. An interview is actually a dialogue between people who are finding common ground, when it works. After any interview, stop, and record your impressions. A thank you note as a follow up is a courtesy, and will help interviewers remember you. As far as clothing goes, you should be yourself. Present well, but don’t overdo it. A lot of agencies won’t expect you to wear a suit, but it is an interview afterall, and you shouldn’t be wearing your ripped jeans and battered trainers. Look the best you can, and try to keep a hint of your personality. Prepare some decent material as well. The interviewer will have most likely seen your portfolio, and agencies often want to give you a brief to work on before the actual interview. If this isn’t the case, do something nice, but do something you can leave with them. If you can also relate it to the agency’s brand, and have it show off your skills, you’ve got yourself a winner. So, you got a job offerYou might be taken by surprise, and neglect negotiating. Don’t just say “yes”, an employer will expect, and respect, you taking time to consider the conditions. This is the right opportunity for you to establish your market value. See what it takes to live reasonably, and take care of any educational loans. See what an entry level design job pays, and balance all that information against your personal strengths. There are other negotiable things in addition to money, such as paid vacations, unpaid leave days, health benefits, flexible hours etc. You could be sacrificing some of these things in order to get others that are more important. Be clear, ask questions, and take a bit of time to consider everything. Whatever is not satisfactory, try to adjust it now. Starting off the relationship with trust and clarity is important. Once you accept your position, celebrate, but don’t throw out your contacts, and send them a note that announces your new position instead. Join design organizations or volunteer at their eventsWhile you’re a student, you have discounts when you want to join design organizations. You’ll find that the benefits of interacting with people who think alike, as well as networking, are actually very valuable. When you’re participating in such organizations, you have a rich understanding of the field, as well as who is who in the industry, and you’ll also have a chance at speaking to inspiring people. There are truly tremendous opportunities for growth and learning, and soaking up that knowledge is important. Do some work for charitiesIf you want to add some solid work for your portfolio and kick-start a network base, offer your design skills to some charities in your community – you’ll also be supporting a great cause. This is something that might potentially lead to both for-profit paid work, as well as some non-for-profit work. Try approaching a local business or gallery, or an animal shelter, or any other cause that is close to your heart. Get internshipAn internship with a good studio can give you invaluable experience you can draw on throughout your entire career. You will get some experience in how such an organization is run, and have a better understanding about how things such as the client requests and work load work. With a bit of luck, you can show your commitment and skills to the company, thus turning your internship into a full-time job. This lets you gain a lot of skills and start your own network. Nurture your network of peersThis might be a bit obvious, but we commonly see our peers as competition, and not supporters. Instead, try to actively nurture your network of peers, it will undoubtedly pay off. If someone passes on a project due to a busy schedule, this can be a good fit for you, and a great thing to add to your portfolio. This, in turn, opens the doors to bigger opportunities. LinkedIn is another great tool when used properly. However, bad, or unfinished content makes you look like an amateur. So, any useless work-in-progress should be cleared out. Send out fan mailEveryone likes getting a note from admirers, it will lift the spirits, and strengthen us up as an industry. So, why wouldn’t you tell your heroes that you respect them and the work they do? When you’re sending a genuine short e-mail, such as a note, to someone you admire, this can lead to a lot of opportunities. You might be what they’re looking for, such as when they’re hiring, or need someone to commission for something that matches your skills. Sure, this won’t happen always, but you shouldn’t get discouraged if you don’t get phone calls immediately. Sending a follow-up mail with your latest work is also another thing if you want to keep them interested, as well as reminded of your availability. Create a presence on the InternetAnother obvious one, but if you have an online platform where you can express yourself, as well as maintain dialogue with people who are actually interested in your work, it helps a lot. And, I don’t mean just a Facebook page or Twitter account. A prospective employer will want to see your own bespoke website or blog, or make us of something like Squarespace or Behance. Making use of those websites, or others such as DeviantArt, Cargo Collective etc., is nothing if you don’t have anyone looking at it. Therefore, you should be matching your uploads with supporting posts on your blog or personal website as well. Be as active as possible, and make use of any channel at your disposal to get your message out there. You can never know where your next job opportunity is coming from. Exploit some of your other skillsIf you also have photography or illustration skills you can add to your skillset, this is another thing that may led to significant work under some talented people’s art direction. Make a simple, yet elegant PDF of your best pieces, and prepare to mail it to the agencies you’re interested in. Submit some of your work to awards schemesA couple of accolades under your belt help you get a reputation, and get under the radar of editors and art directors. And, it might help a hesitant creative director choose between you, or another talented designer. Start working on your own projectsYou’re a creative person, and if you don’t have any doors opening, make your own projects. Split your day in a way so you have time to get your work out, as well as create some of your own projects. You can choose between postcards, free icon packs, e-books, CMS themes, or anything else you could think of. This might be a bit risky, but it’s absolutely worthwhile. There is merit to creating your own opportunities, and you have tools to connect with like-minded people, colleagues and friends at your disposal. You’re free to explore your skills and creativity using them. Today’s online culture is changing the rules of the game, and getting on board and making it work for you is a great opportunity to use. Look for openings, or try a recruitment agencyScouring agency websites like the plague is something you’ll need to do when you’re looking for your first design job. This way, you’d be doing a couple of things. First, cutting out the middleman will mean you’re more likely to get an interview, and you’re saving the agency a load of money. Next, you’re actually going to the person responsible for you. A recruitment agency goes through a screening process, and if they don’t like you, your details won’t be passed on. You’re coming across as proactive in looking for employment, and this shows how willing you are to be a part of the team. Last but not least, you can establish direct contact, which breaks down the walls of formality and lets them get to know you better. However, everything said above doesn’t mean you shouldn’t consider a recruitment agency. There are agencies, or even magazine sites that list some up-to-date agency jobs. If you can’t get to the employer directly, a recruitment agency is your next best shot. Ending thoughts on graphic design jobsFinding your first job is actually you matching your skills and creativity, with the real needs of an organization. And, it will also be a very valuable learning experience. You’ll be learning as you go, about the various ways of practicing design, and your next job search will be much easier, regardless of when it happens. You’ll have a clearer vision of the field, and your position within it. It’s important to communicate, follow up, and be courteous. This takes away from the first stressful experience a lot of valuable information, let alone satisfaction and increased confidence. And, nobody’s approach is the same when we’re discussing potential employers. Therefore, when presenting, mix things up a bit, and step outside of your comfort zone. If you liked this article about graphic design jobs, you should take a look at these as well:
The post Graphic Design Jobs: How to Get the Ones You Want appeared first on Design your way. from http://www.designyourway.net/blog/graphic-design/graphic-design-jobs/ A creative director fulfills a very important position for any project. Many ad agencies employ creative directors to plan and help deliver a coherent strategic vision, as do companies that do their own in-house marketing. What is a creative director? What does a creative director do? Creative directors are sometimes called design directors, as well. A creative director manages the creative staff. He or she will also oversee vendors, photographers, printers, and anyone else who is working on the project. It’s the creative director who sets deadlines and keeps the project on track. They lead brainstorming sessions, assign projects, and help to clearly conceptualize ideas. They also usually speak with clients to make sure the project meets their needs. Often, the creative director has final creative authority. The creative director role is more than just one that deals with personnel, however. The creative director works with account executives to make sure budget needs are met. Another large part of the creative director job is the creation of proposals and the pitching of ideas. This means that anyone who is looking into how to become a creative director needs to have extensive knowledge of graphic fundamentals, print capabilities, web capabilities, and marketing principles the creative director job description is a wide-ranging one, including technical, artistic, and people skills. Does this creative director definition appeal to you? If it does, let’s look into what it takes to become a creative director and what the creative director job is really like. Creative Director QualificationsA creative director resume is pretty extensive. Most creative directors have a degree in art, graphic design, communications, or some other related field. Many typically have 5 to 10 years of experience in design, project management, and/or brand development. This is not a job you just leap into. Most creative directors start out as graphic designers. 80% if advertising agency staff are graduates, according to the IPA Agency Census. Creative directors usually have a humanities degree, though an increasing number are coming from other backgrounds like management and technical roles. This development is thanks to jobs like app developer, producer, and content strategist becoming routes to senior roles like creative director. This has made the already formidable competition for creative director jobs even more fearsome. Work experience can tip the balance your way. Make a name for yourself and build a good reputation. Attend industry events to start networking in the industry. Run a good, well-read blog. Speak at industry events when you can. These things will get you noticed by employers looking for a creative director. Some events to look into include Advertising Unlocked and workshops run by The National Advertising Benevolent Society (NABS). These events are geared to networking and newcomers. If you impress them enough, but the position isn’t exactly open yet, you can find short-term placement. Try reaching out to an agency by sending them a CV and cover letter. It’s really important to make it clear that you already know what you’re doing and that you’re staying up to date. Build your personal brand. Keep professional social media profiles and a blog that is updated on a regular basis. If you’re still a student, try taking on communications roles with clubs and societies offered at your school. Skills a creative director needs:
The top skills employers look for from a person seeking to fill a creative director position are:
Pursue Professional DevelopmentA great way to develop the skills and reputation needed to be a creative director is to pursue professional development opportunities. Many of these opportunities are also great networking events. A very easy to way to start this process is to follow industry trends by reading trade press publications. A quick morning web search over coffee can keep you up-to-date without too much work. There are also many mailing lists you can sign up for. Look for blogs run by top creative directors, as well. Several employers and other organizations offer a variety of professional development schemes. The IPA offers an MBA level IPA excellence Diploma. This program is targeted towards those with 3 to 5 years of experience in the industry who are looking to broaden their understanding of how brands work. This increases value to clients. The IPA also offer short courses and seminars for people with the same experience level. The Communication Advertising and Marketing (CAM) Foundation offers a Diploma in Marketing Communications and a Diploma in Digital Marketing. Design and Art Direction (D&AD) also offer continuing professional development courses. A good place to showcase your work and network is the annual CIM Marketing Excellence Awards. Creative Director SalaryA starting creative director in the advertising field can expect to make between $30,000 and $40,000 a year. With some experience, that increases to between $57,000 and $85,000 a year. Highly experienced creative directors can earn over $114,000 depending on the size of their agency. Like with any other kind of job, a creative director salary can vary by the size of the company they work for and their location. A lot of creative director jobs are full-time. Less than 20% of the staff are freelancers. This is a higher number in marketing and editorial positions. Creative Director Hours and Working ConditionsA creative director typically works an 8 hour day, from 9 AM to 5 PM. However, evening networking events are also a big factor. A creative director is expected to be extremely dedicated, and those 8 hours can grow much longer on major campaign or when deadlines are looming. Paid overtime isn’t very common, though how your company manages overtime can vary significantly. Expect to be juggling multiple projects and some pretty tight deadlines. Creative direction is a high-pressure job. You have to make sure you stay on the cutting edge of technical innovations and learn how to become competent with them very quickly. You’ll usually be working in an office, but you will also spend a fair amount of time out of it at networking events, exhibitions, and industry events. Networking events are frequently in pleasant venues. Travel during the work week is very common, as is overnight absence from home. The longer you work as a creative director, the more likely you’ll get the chance to travel internationally. Travel in this job often includes all expenses paid accommodations and transportation. Hotels are often located in nice areas, especially for industry events and exhibitions. As a creative director, you will still get changes to add to your own creative portfolio. This is a great opportunity to create new visions and affect the course of your field’s history. It’s considered a major perk by those who already work as creative directors. You will get the opportunity to work on new, innovative projects almost every day. The environment is usually dynamic, young, and multicultural. The attitude is generally “work hard play hard”. Often, you’ll be able to dress down even at the office. You and your team will be pushing hard, but the amount of satisfaction you’ll feel when you complete a project will be immense, especially if it’s one that you’ll see on billboard, television, or elsewhere outside of work. EmployersCreative directors are employed at ad agencies and the marketing departments of large companies. Every individual employer manages their recruitment on their own. They tend to have their graduate recruitment schemes with applications at the start of the final year of study. If you want to do this, know that competition is fierce, so apply early. A lot of graduates start out in the marketing and advertising fields through internships. This is an opportunity to gain valuable experience, build a reputation, and create a network of contacts. After you have these, you might have the chance to do freelance work. Go to networking events and submit speculative applications followed up by informal face-to-face meetings. These are well-established ways to find new opportunities, especially if you’re seeking a senior role. A few companies and agencies to keep an eye on are AdMission, Campaign. Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), Institute for Practitioners in Advertising (IPA), and The Drum. If you’re a student, you should also check your university’s careers service vacancy lists and websites. Continuing OpportunitiesThere’s plenty of room to grow as a creative director. If you manage to secure a creative director job, look to capitalize on international prospects or even set up your own agency by working with a finance director and chief executive. You have the opportunity to become the regional head of agency. This is a great chance to reinvigorate with established or emerging markets. The UK is still seen as the center of advertising excellence. As a result, a lot of business in the industry is done in English. Singapore is the hub for Asia, but Shanghai is growing. In the United States, San Francisco and New York are the two advertising hubs. If you work in marketing, you can become a chief marketing officer (CMO). If you continue in that position, the door to becoming a chief executive offer (CEO) may open up to you. In editorial positions, it’s possible to become the creative director across the whole publishing group. How to Be a Creative DirectorResponsibilities
Things Great Creative Directors DoSet clear creative standards and objectivesEveryone in the team needs to have clear understanding of what’s expected of them. A great creative director sets the bar high. You need to make the standards easy to understand for everyone. Include examples if you can. This is especially important if you’re trying to effect change and increase the work of an already existing project or team. Be accessible and approachableNew bosses always make people anxious. Your team will be eager to learn who you are, how you think, and what you’re about. Make yourself easy to reach. Be courteous and listen to what your team has to say. Learn what your team thinks about their workYour team is doing a lot of the heavy lifting day-to-day. Ask what they think of their work. Solicit their suggestions. They’ll appreciate the fact that you’re listening. You’ll get a better understanding of whether or not they have the same standards as you do. Also, you might find they have some great ideas, approaches, and solutions. Develop a culture of honest engagementAllow everyone at all levels to be able to speak their minds, offer up ideas, or express options about the projects. You will be the one making all final decisions, which is something everyone knows, but your team will feel much better if they can be honest. This is a major contribution to a better, more productive workplace culture. Provide specific and constructive reviewsDon’t be vague when you’re doing your reviews/ “This is just not doing it for me” is unhelpful feedback. Anyone can say it. Your team is likely to assume you don’t really care or that you may not have even reviewed their submission. Give them feedback they can use. Why is this not working? Is there a good idea somewhere in there? Find it if there is. If there isn’t, offer suggestions about new approaches and directions. This will provide the team with real direction to go in. No one enjoys guessing games, especially not from their boss. This is also a great chance to help team members improve their skills. Do some of the work yourselfDon’t make yourself into competition for your team, but give a helping hand. Avoid taking the plum assignments. If you can demonstrate your own skills and firsthand knowledge, your team will have more respect for you. Make sure you put in your best effort into any part of the work you take on. Offer people a fair chance, but get rid of nonproductive team membersCreative departments depend on talent. You’re only as good as your least talented individual. Be fair, but if someone isn’t pulling their weight, you need to let them go. This is hard, but it is necessary. You owe it your clients and the rest of the team to only keep the best people for the job around. Hire people who are better than youCreative directors don’t have time or energy to be insecure. Hire choice talent. Don’t be afraid of being shown up, even if that person works in the same area that you did at that level. You’re only as good as your talent, so pick the best talent for your team. Be able to save the day but avoid doing soDon’t rush in to save the team at the last moment. Stay invested enough to be able to solve it, but try to avoid needing to. Your team is often more capable than you know so offer them the chance to come up with solutions. Just make sure you can be there if you need to. Take the blame, but distribute the creditStand behind work that you’ve approved. If it doesn’t go over well, take the blamed on your own shoulders. If it’s a success, give credit where it’s due: your team. Push yourself to the background. Your team will notice this and appreciate it- -and so will your management, so don’t worry. Spend the extra time to make good into greatDon’t waste your time producing so-so work. That’s a waste of everyone’s time and money. Instead, push good work into great work. It usually only takes a little tweaking and polish. It is well worth the effort, especially when compared to pushing okay work into becoming more okay work. It’s still not great. Create healthy competitionCompetition can be very good for a work environment. However, you don’t want to turn your team into a distrustful pack of people who are looking only to outshine the rest. Having a shootout for every assignment is incredibly demoralizing. Friendly rivalries, however, are a good thing and will improve the quality of the team’s output. Keep out of the wayMake sure to give your team their space. Lay out your standards and objectives, then leave them to it. They’ll appreciate the trust you’re putting in their work ethic and skills. If you remember to remain approachable and accessible, they’ll find you when they need you. Hold them accountable, of course, but don’t act like you don’t trust them. Remember that everyone is differentYou’re not running a team of robots. Trying to fit a person to a job is a mistake. Instead, fit the job to a person’s strengths and abilities. You run a team of individuals. Figure out how your team works so you can place people in the best position for their talents. Don’t accept chaos as the standardMany creative departments like to let the messiness and chaos of the process take everything over. They use that fact as a shield to hide form managing it. This all too often results in delayed briefs, last-minute changes, and suddenly added deadlines. It takes some planning to avoid this and not all that much planning, either. Have an awesome creative managerHire and keep a creative manager who has a good understanding of the organization, team assignments, scheduling, and so on. Build a good rapport with this person. Your job shouldn’t become an administrative swamp. You need to be able to focus on the ideas, work, and execution. Avoid burning people outAllow people time off and vacations when you can. People need to get away from work and recharge from time to time, otherwise, they come to hate their work and begin to lose inspiration. Pay attention to how well your team is doing. Your timeline might not allow for a vacation period now, but it is something you can plan for the future. Don’t let today’s deadline destroy future projects. Be kindCreative people can be emotionally fragile. Everyone, creative or otherwise, is a combo of bravado and insecurity. Be gentle with your team. Offer them a lot of your time. Generously praise them when they deserve it. Develop your own creative sideIt’s easy to lose sight of your own creative side when you’re a creative director. You’ve got a dozen irons in the fire and you are constantly dealing with the creative side of your team members. Don’t abandon your own creative thinking, though! You don’t have to go honing your skills at a software program, but just thinking about what people like the way something looks. Figure out why a certain thing looks good for its target audience. This will make you a better creative director and keep you from losing what probably got you into this field in the first place. Always be innovatingLook at ways to improve on existing material. Play with new ideas in your mind. See if you can tweak something to make it even more appealing. See if new trends in technology can be used to make an existing design even better than it already is. Keep the project in line with company values and cultureA creative director has a broader view of projects than many who work in their department. The work that comes from your team should not only look good, it should also convey your organization’s values and ideals. If you’re developing something for a client, make sure it works for their values, as well. Stay on-brandWhile making sure project fit within brand guidelines can be boring, it’s a vital aspect of being a creative director. Doing so will make sure that the brand never lets things up. The quality should be high. In the modern world, slapdash and cheap work simply is not going to work for any serious company. Be adaptableNo project is going to go smoothly. Schedules shift, emergencies happen, new requirements are suddenly thrown in. Remain flexible. This will help mitigate not only your own stress but also that of your team. Lead by example when things go awry and show them that it’s not the end of the world. You guys have this. Create the right environmentWhile your team does have deadlines to meet, make sure you aren’t turning your department into a sweatshop. Most creative people work better in a relaxed environment with some guiding discipline. Figure out if your team works better in an open floor plan or with their own more-closed sections. Everything should be organized but comfortable. Keep up with trends and developmentsWhen you’re deep in the heart of a project, it can be hard to stay aware of how the industry is changing. Don’t let that part of your professional development fall by the wayside. Stay aware of how things are changing and what’s coming over the horizon. As consuming as your current work may be now, this project will end you will have a new one to work on soon enough. Don’t mind being hatedLearn that sometimes your team will hate your guts. Get over it before it happens. You’re there to make sure the project is completed. Deadline crunches are hard on everyone and are often the time when you’ll find that people hate you the most, in part because they might blame you for the situation and in part because tensions are high. Don’t let your fear of being disliked make you an average creative director. Remember to keep a good work-life balanceYou might love your job, your team, and your project, but don’t let it consume your entire existence. If you have a family, that can be really hard on them. It’s also not good for you or your career. Letting work consume everything will cause you to lose perspective, which is something that a creative director always needs to keep in mind. You might also lose your love for your work and your own sense of creative inspiration. Remember to let go of work and just relax on occasion. Take care of your peoplePrevent bad things from happening to great ideas…and talented people. This is a behind-the-scenes aspect of being a creative director. Often, the people you’re taking care of won’t even know what you’ve done for them, which is a good thing. Be quietYou need to trust in the skills and knowledge of your team. Let them do their work. Offer your input when it’s asked for and when you review projects. Build trust with your team. Many of them will be much younger than you. They want their ideas approved and published. Don’t force a hyper-detailed vision on them. Often, this isn’t what your client wants. They want exciting, fresh ideas, not older ones that everyone has seen before. Be quiet and let your creative team do their thing. Listen to your clientsYou may work for an agency, but at the end of the day, the client is the one really providing direction to the project. Listen to them. Do it for hours if you need to. Ask smart questions and design the project around their wants and needs. Offer your expert advice on problems and ideas. Clients are liable to come to you with spreadsheets and PowerPoints and presentations. Listen and look at all of it. The spark you need to focus on is buried somewhere in there. Believe in your projectYou’re very likely going to be the one presenting the finished project. Believe in it fully. Communicate that belief to everyone in the room. If you have to fight for what you think is a good decision, do so with respect. At this point, you should have carefully chosen and approved every aspect of the project. Ending thoughts on becoming a creative directorCreative direction is an exciting and lucrative field. Getting one of this coveted position requires a lot of work, but once there, you and your team can make your mark on the world. If you liked this article about becoming a creative director, you should like these as well:
The post Creative Director: Job Description, Salary, And How To Become One appeared first on Design your way. from http://www.designyourway.net/blog/design/creative-director/ Growing demand for UI/UX designers has resulted in higher salaries. Demand for those who claim UX design skills and experience is especially pronounced. You’ll find that getting on board is much easier when you have the right tools and know how to use them. The right tools cover wire-framing, prototyping, user testing, interactive design, and team collaboration. Finding the best UI/UX tools to suit your needs can be a mind-boggling experience. This is because of the sheer number of them out there. The good news is that in this post, we have done the heavy lifting for you. We researched and listed the most amazing UI, UX, and prototyping tools on the market in 2018. Any tool on this list can help create apps and websites that are more user-friendly. This makes your workflow productive than ever. Happy Hunting! MasonHanding off a mockup or prototype to work toward a final design is one approach, and a common one at that, but the creators of Mason had a better idea. With Mason, you use a simple visual interface to do your software and digital features designs in real time. When it’s time to hand your design off for feedback or approval, Mason deploys the actual design screen you see in the builder; and it can deploy your pixel-perfect design directly into production. Mason enables you to build apps faster, avoid overhead, and reduce the need for QA inspections and testing to a minimum or eliminate it completely. Mason is built around best practice design solutions created by designers with clients such as Google, NFL.com, InVision, and others. You are not constrained to a specific development or hosting platform either. You work when and where you want to with whatever tech stack makes the most sense. This is one UI/UX tool you don’t want to let slip by without taking a closer look. OverflowThe best designs are often those that tell a story and that is exactly what Overflow does. Overflow is the world’s first user flow diagramming tool tailored for designers. Reinventing how user flow diagramming should be done, it empowers designers to communicate their designs in a new, impactful way. As a powerful cross-platform tool that integrates seamlessly with the most popular design tools, Overflow helps designers quickly turn their designs into playable user flow diagrams. This way, designers can effectively communicate their work, while fully engaging their audience with an interactive user flow presentation. With Overflow, designers can design, present, share & print their user flows to get valuable feedback, all in one place. Overflow is currently available as an early private beta, and will be available to the public soon. Request early access. UXPinUXPin enables development-ready design. This design systems pioneer gives you the editing power you need to create and prepare UI elements and components and puts the necessary controls in place to ensure UX consistency throughout your digital component, app, or website. UXPin allows you and your team to create better designs faster. You can build prototypes to any fidelity level you require, complete with built-in interactions, animations, and design libraries. This design systems platform fully enables real-time team collaboration as well. Additionally, with UXPin, there is no need for manual documentation. Data and specs that developers are typically tasked with are automatically generated for each design element created within UXPin. There is even an inspect tool to ensure developers have adhered to your exact design specifications. CreatelyCreately consists of a wide set of tools to help UX teams and designers work more effectively across the entire design cycle. They range from flowcharting and mind-mapping tools to diagrams for information architecture design and unified modeling language tools. Creately comes with real-time collaboration to help share and work on diagrams across locations and time zones. You can easily get started with their 1000s of well-designed templates. PowerMockupIt takes but a trial run for PowerPoint users to fall in love with PowerMockup. This remarkable tool enables you to create interactive website and app mockups and wireframes using shapes and icons from PowerMockup’s library. Simply select the shapes and icons you need and drag them onto a Power Point slide. You can even add your own shapes to build a custom library. Download a trial version from the above PowerMockup link. Fluid UIFluid UI is a feature-rich collaborative design, prototyping, wireframing, and mockup tool. The package includes built-in component libraries for all your web uses including those for desktop, Android and iOS. With Fluid UI, you can build interactive prototypes complete with animations. This is an excellent tool for designers, teams, entrepreneurs, and product and project managers. Visual InspectorThis useful UI tool provides you with the visual capability to inspect and fix UI issues on live websites. It works on HTML, WordPress, and any other website type. You can annotate changes on top of the web page to share with others, discuss your changes in real time, and much more. Lifetime access to this exceptionally useful tool is currently available for $49. ConclusionThe following web and app design approaches feature the very best in UI and UX design practices. You should have no trouble choosing one that best suits your design approach. You’ll find a top-quality tool here to do anything you please. Prototyping, designing product design elements or handing over a design to a developer. This tool covers it all. The post Need help choosing a UX/UI Tool in 2018? Check these options appeared first on Design your way. from http://www.designyourway.net/blog/user-experience/ux-ui-tools-2018/ |
AuthorPleasure to introduce myself I am Jamie 27 years old living in Searcy, AR. I am web developer and have developed over 50 sites for clients. Now a days I am focused on designing as I feel I am lacking it. Archives
April 2019
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