We recently started publishling little hints and tips on twitter for fellow designers. This ain't meant to be preachy just a bit of mildy informative fun!
Here are the first 50, make sure to follow us on twitter to see more.
#designertips 1 - Never fear the white (empty) space
#designertips 2 - There is no such thing as creative block only fear & frustration in disguise
#designertips 3 - When a client say's the brief is 'open' it rarely is.
#designertips 4 - There are no rules to design only personal gut instinct. Following rules prevents progression
#designertips 5 - Designers are the only other force in the universe aside from black holes that can distort space-time (some clients think)
#designertips 6 - You cant teach someone to have talent but you might be able to open their eyes a little
#designertips 7 - Never send your design CV out as a word document in times new roman thats akin to playing Beethoven on a kazoo
#designertips 8 - Never ever give a quote on the spot (not even ballpark). Take at least a day to figure it out properly.
#designertips 9 - If you dont fully believe in your work NO ONE else will!
#designertips 10 - A great font choice can always turn the bland into the grand. Always go experi-mental as it can totally flip a piece
#designertips 11 - Whatever the project always start with a pen and pad. Not a mouse
#designertips 12 - DONT follow trends, your work will not stand out and will date quickly (although sometimes its unconsciously unavoidable)
#designertips 13 - Any networking is good networking
#designertips 14 - Never leave it at just an email. People dont mind pestering AT ALL. Pestering is passion
#designertips 15 - Never discourage odd or abstract initial ideas as they usually blossom. Embrace stream of conciousness
#designertips 16 - Be yourself not your peers
#designertips 17 - You are only as strong as your portfolio not your grade
#designertips 18 - work hard play harder :)
#designertips 19 - Follow your heart and not your head. Emotive not emancipated. Passionate not preconcieved
#designertips 20 - There is no such thing as good or bad work artistically, just peoples opinions (often biased through exposure)
#designertips 21 - Opportunities.. grab them!... or even better create them then grab them
#designertips 22 - Garlic will not subdue the time vampires. Be prepped for a lorra late nights
#designertips 23 - Vectors are upscalable, bitmaps are not. Vectors are made of maths, bitmaps pixels. Remember that!
#designertips 24 - Teaching others will help you learn
#designertips 25 - Start any new doc at 300 dpi, even online jobs as you never know when you gotta print that tinker out
#designertips 26 - Use sign off proofing stages with clients otherwise you will be doing a merry samba back and forth for all time
#designertips 27 - Too many cooks want too many broths. Designate a client project contact so they act as a filter of feedback not you!
#designertips 28 - If someone tell's you work is bad it doesn't mean it is. If your work pleases everyone your doing something very wrong
#designertips 29 - Aim high score highish, aim low score no
#designertips 30 - A brand is not just a logo, a brand is people, perception, reputation and more
#designertips 31 - Always, always, always carry your business cards with you
#designertips 32 - Public health warning... photoshop filters are bad for your wealth
#designertips 33 - Magic wand is the poor mans pen tool. Learn pen tool or be laughed at in the street by strangers
#designertips 34 - Always pen tool a few pixels in from where you think to avoid background bleed
#designertips 35 - For best results if an image looks like it has <256 colours (ie monotone) make it a GIF, more than that a jpeg/png
#designertips 36 - To avoid gamut muck up try to always start in CMYK
#designertips 37 - #photoshop, press 'f' then 'f' again. This allows you to concentrate on the work at hand and remove 'faff' and 'faff'
#designertips 38 - #photoshop, never flatten any layers til the final piece. Constructive destructive
#designertips 39 - EVERYONE can draw
#designertips 40 - Beware a nasty case of feature creep. The only known antidote is a contract. http://tinyurl.com/cxf7fs
#designertips 41 - White space is not uncolourful but the very definition of colourful http://tinyurl.com/dftows
#designertips 42 - The meaning of life... would prob be found in sketch books not hard drives
#designertips 43 - Save all your notes/ doodle/sketches/prep like a rabid binman. Never discard
#designertips 44 - Build/design a website like you'd make love. Passionately, then clean up afterwards
#designertips 45 - For true feedback never ask friends or family
#designertips 46 - Always try to carry a notepad for those impromptu ideas. Failing leave yourself a schizophrenic voicemail
#designertips 47 - Try to always push out of your stylistic comfort zone. Otherwise you'll end more typecast than Hugh Grant
#designertips 48 - If the paper stays blank... draw a line anyway
#designertips 49 - The customer is 'sometimes' right... no, really
#designertips 50 - All the design tips in the world can't beat plain old experience
