1. Using web graphics on printed material.

With many young designers coming from a pre-dominantly web design background the transfer over from web design to traditional design for print can bring with it a multitude of design sins. Images supplied at 72dpi and crunched down to load fast on a website are going to reproduce very badly in print you can get away with small thumbnails but blowing things up to any appreciable size is going to be pushing your luck. There are a number of online sites offering free or very cheap quality hi resolution images which are a good source for suitable imagery.

2. Forgetting about or not allowing enough bleed.

A very common error is to send to print a document or flattened image that has no bleed at all. Generally speaking you should allow at least 3mm around every cut off edge. Failing to do so will give the printers no leeway and will either crop off the side of the page or give you a white border. It is always a good idea when supplying image files to save layered psd files then if things need extending or cropping you can do this on the background layer and hopefully cut down your work

3. Using obscure fonts and not embedding or outlining them for output.

We've all been guilty of this at some point and things are generally fine if you are going to be the only person accessing your artwork or documents. However if someone else needs to amend the files or use your vector logo on one of there publications. Unless you package up the used fonts, they are not going to be able to open the files correctly and some software programs may replace any unknown fonts with a default. This is a particular problem when you need to dig out stuff that was created several years previously and you no longer have your old fonts installed.

4. Supplying print ready artwork using spot colours or rgb

There are valid reasons for using spot colours in artwork, logos that need to reference particular pantone colours for example. In general design work however most print is sent through on 4 colour presses CMYK with occasional 5th colour for luminoius or metallic colour or for spot UV varnish. It is very common for lazy designers to just place rgb images into files and expect the vibrant colours seen on screen to reproduce in print.

5. Allowing design illiterate clients to lead you round the houses

The customer is always right, goes the old adage. However it is often said with gritted teeth and a sense of patience that recognizes that these morons will at some stage be handing over a fat cheque for your troubles. It is often a good idea when first submitting visuals to throw in a couple of stinkers to hopefully get them to appreciate the design you would like them to accept. There is the very real danger of course of them loving the piece of absolute arsewipe that you knocked up in five minutes to make them think you've been earning your money. Still it's a living.

edit @ 13 Aug 2008 10:33:04 by Wi_Zard

Graphic designers nowadays require not only creative abilities, but also some understanding of other graphic design-related areas such as computer graphic design.

During the 80's, the advent of desktop publishing and of design software such as Adobe Illustrator and Macromedia Fireworks, put the power and versatility of the computer at graphic designers' fingertips. Designers for the first time were easily able to manipulate images and create 3D images using the computer. Computers are now considered to be an indispensable tool in the graphic design industry, though some traditional graphic designers may still prefer to use manual and traditional tools for their creative endeavors.

With modern graphic design concepts and methodologies always changing, graphic designers need to continually advance their knowledge of different graphic design techniques, innovations and graphic design software packages. At present, the basic instructions in graphic designing cannot guarantee for a competitive product anymore without the use of high technology, so that the demand for highly skilled graphic designers is higher than ever.

To become a computer graphic designer, the basic requirements include good creative abilities, good computers skills, and good communication skills.

Computer graphic design helps graphic designers complete their tasks faster and easier. They can effortlessly translate ideas into visual imagery, save it onto their computers and edit it whenever alterations are necessary.

There are great many benefits if you undergo computer graphic design training geared towards arming you with a wider range of cutting edge graphic design skills. Having computer design training also means a greater choice of employment. Computer graphic design skills are in great demand in such sectors as:

1. Advertising agencies - You can use your newly acquired graphic design skills to design appealing and eye-catching advertisements for different media.

2. Web design companies - Help design appealing web pages.

3. Design studios - Apply your design skills to photo editing such as editing the contrast and the brightness of colors on the photos.

4. Publishing houses - Perform layout design and editing tasks. Publications usually follow a distribution schedule; so make sure you are able to meet deadlines.

5. Corporate advertising departments - Design professional corporate ads.

6. TV and film companies - out of all the other jobs, this is where a graphic designer is most suited as it requires a comprehensive application of the designer's skill and ability, especially if working on animation films.

Your computer graphic design training will open new doors for you into a world of greater opportunities. Your computer design knowledge, combined with your dedication and commitment, will surely help you reach your goal.

ประวัติโปรแกรมวาดภาพกราฟิก

อะโดบี อิลลัสเตรเตอร์ (Adobe Illustrator) เป็นโปรแกรมวาดภาพกราฟิกแบบเวกเตอร์ ซึ่งพัฒนาโดยบริษัทอะโดบีซิสเต็มส์ รุ่นแรก จัดทำขึ้นในปี ค.ศ. 1986 เพื่อใช้งานกับเครื่องแมคอินทอช และได้พัฒนารุ่นที่ 2 ออกมาให้ใช้งานได้กับวินโดวส์ ซึ่งได้รับความพึงพอใจ และ การตอบรับที่ดีจากผู้ใช้เป็นจำนวนมาก จนปัจจุบันได้พัฒนาออกมาจนถึงรุ่นที่ 13 และได้รวบรวมเข้าไปเป็น 1 ในโปรแกรมชุด Adobe Creative Suite 3 (CS3)

รุ่นต่างๆ
Adobe Illustrator 1.0 (Mac OS) (มกราคม ค.ศ. 1987)
Adobe Illustrator 1.1 (Mac OS) (มีนาคม ค.ศ. 1997)
Adobe Illustrator 88 (Mac OS) (มีนาคม ค.ศ. 1988)
Adobe Illustrator 2.0 (Windows) (มกราคม ค.ศ. 1989)
Adobe Illustrator 3.0 (Mac OS) (ตุลาคม ค.ศ. 1990)
Adobe Illustrator 3.5 (Solaris, Silicon Graphics) (ค.ศ. 1990)
Adobe Illustrator 4.0 (Windows) (พฤษภาคม ค.ศ. 1992)
Adobe Illustrator 5.0 (Mac OS) (มิถุนายน ค.ศ. 1993)
Adobe Illustrator 5.5 (Mac OS) (มิถุนายน ค.ศ. 1994)
Adobe Illustrator 4.1 (Windows) (ค.ศ. 1995)
Adobe Illustrator 6.0 (Mac OS) (กุมภาพันธ์ ค.ศ. 1996)
Adobe Illustrator 7.0 (Mac/Windows) (พฤษภาคม ค.ศ. 1997)
Adobe Illustrator 8.0 (Mac/Windows) (กันยายน ค.ศ. 1998)
Adobe Illustrator 9.0 (Mac/Windows) (มิึถุนายน ค.ศ. 2000)
Adobe Illustrator 10.0 (Mac/Windows) (พฤศจิกายน ค.ศ. 2001)
Adobe Illustrator CS (Mac/Windows) (11.0) (ตุลาคม ค.ศ. 2003)
Adobe Illustrator CS2 (Mac/Windows) (12.0) (เมษายน ค.ศ. 2005)
Adobe Illustrator CS3 (Mac/Windows) (13.0) (มีนาคม ค.ศ. 2007)

โปรแกรมประเภทเดียวกัน
นอกจาก Adobe Illustrator แล้ว ยังมีโปรแกรมวาดภาพกราฟิกแบบเวกเตอร์ อีกหลายโปรแกรมที่พัฒนามาจากบริษัทอื่นๆ เช่น

ACD Canvas
Macromedia FreeHand
CorelDRAW
Microsoft Expression Graphic Designer, based on Creature House Expression
Microsoft Expression Interactive Designer
Paint Shop Pro
Vector Effects
Xara Xtreme

ข้อมูลจาก www.wikipedia.org