A graphic design portfolio is the best way to display and showcase your past projects, creativity, and talent. A graphic design portfolio is vital when trying to pursue opportunities as a graphic designer within a company or as a freelance graphic designer pursuing clients.

The first important step in developing a graphic design portfolio is deciding what work to include. You should only include your highest quality work in your graphic design portfolio. If you include mediocre work in your graphic design portfolio simply because you are concerned about not having enough pieces in your graphic design portfolio, you will lose important job offers and clients - this is the mistake of many website designers. It is better to have a few pieces in your graphic design portfolio that really showcase your talent and creativity.

The next step in developing a graphic design portfolio is deciding what type of graphic design portfolio you want to create. There are four main types of graphic design portfolios: printed pages in a binder, an online graphic design portfolio, images placed on a graphic design portfolio CD, or a slideshow of images placed on a graphic design portfolio DVD. Really, it is best to create one of each type of graphic design portfolio so that you are fully prepared to offer whatever your prospective employer or client is prepared to look at to judge your talent.

So, make sure you choose only your best work, and only the best quality printed copies. If you are unsure of the quality of your home printer, put the images on a disk and have them printed for you at a print shop. The best quality and most creative pieces can look mediocre if not printed with high quality printing. You should then present the pieces in a professional manner. The best color for a graphic design printed portfolio is black, and the most professional style is leather. This should be something that is spiral bound, a book, or a case so that you can add or remove pieces from your graphic design portfolio easily as you progress in your graphic design career.

To create a graphic design portfolio online, you will first need web space. Website hosting and domain registration has become very cost effective. But if you know how to choose free hosting with ftp - everything becomes possible.

Most websites also give you free website building tools so that you don't have to know HTML. However, make sure that you sign up for website hosting with enough bandwidth to handle all of the images and potential traffic. Once you have your website set up, you'll want to choose your pieces carefully. Display them as thumbnails on one page, with each full scale piece appearing on another page when the thumbnail is clicked. This will give people with slower internet access easier access to your online graphic design portfolio.

To create a graphic design portfolio on DVD or CD, you must have a computer with a DVD or CD burner. To make really professional DVD or CD graphic design portfolios, you will want to get a CD or DVD burning kit that allows you to burn images onto the top of the CD or DVD and create labels for jewel cases. You can either save individual pieces on the CD or DVD, or you can simply save a copy of your website on the disc.

Original Post: Online Schools

Explore More About Graphic Design Job – Important Secrets

Any color in existence has three qualities that completely determine the color:

1) Hue

2) Value

3) Intensity

We will now precisely explain what each quality means.

Hue - The hue of a color is simply the name of the color. For example, yellow, red, green-yellow, etc.

Artists often talk about the temperature of a color or a painting. Temperature is really an element of hue. The warms colors are the yellows and the reds while the cool colors are the greens and the blues.

However, temperature is a relative term. For example although two different blues are both cool colors, one blue can be warmer than another blue.

For example French Ultramarine Blue leans towards the violet while Phthalo Blue leans towards green. Therefore French Ultramarine Blue is a warmer blue than Phthalo Blue although both blues are cool.

Value - Value refers to the lightness or darkness of the color. If you squint you will see that, for example, that yellow is lighter than blue. The value of a color is actually the most important property of a color in relation to painting.

Intensity - Intensity of a color refers to its brightness or dullness. The more saturated or the purer a color is the more intense it is. A color coming straight out of the tube is in its most intense state. Any mixture will dull the tube color and therefore make it less intense. It is however possible to make most mixtures more intense by adding a touch of one color or another.

Now, if you can nail down the hue, the value, and the intensity of a color you will have reproduced that color. Based on this observation we can outline a mental procedure to guide us with the mixing of colors.

Observe - First you observe the color. For example, is it a certain blue or is it red?

Select - Then you select the color on your palette that resembles the observed color the best.

Analyze - Of course, as you would expect, the pure tube color on your palette will rarely match the color you observed. Therefore, we now must identify how the two colors differ from each other. In this, we need to concentrate on three things: hue, value, and intensity. Does the color need to be adjusted in terms of hue? For example, does the observed blue lean more towards the violet or towards the green? Does the value need to be adjusted? For example, does this blue need to be darkened or lightened?

Finally, does the intensity of the color need to be adjusted? For example, does the blue need to be brighter or duller? One, two, or all three of these qualities may need adjustment.

In the beginning you will make many mistakes and the going will be slow. It is generally hard to judge the three qualities of a color and it takes practice. This is particularly the case with judging values and intensities. Nevertheless, you need to practice this procedure every day and over and over again. However, one day it will become second nature just like riding a bicycle. Also, in the beginning don't be too fussy but try over time to become better and better at it.

Read more about the neighbor topic of pencil drawing. Plus, get extra tips on the tattoo art - upper back tattoos info.

Original Post: Online Schools

Free Helpful Techniques – Qualities of Color

Any serious graphic design student or graphic designer should subscribe to at least one graphic design industry magazine. Graphic design magazines give graphic designers and graphic design students the ability to keep up with current graphic design trends, learn about new or coming graphic design technology, and discover new graphic design opportunities.

One of the best graphic design magazines is HOW Magazine. This graphic design magazine allows graphic designers to find information about graphic design technology, freelancing as a graphic designer, and graphic design career opportunities. Students of graphic design will find this graphic design magazine helpful in its showcases of graphic design career opportunities, graphic design schools, and graphic design events. Readers find it important that the stress that this magazine puts on not just the how, but the why and the creativity of graphic design.

Graphic Design USA is another fabulous graphic design magazine. This graphic design magazine has technology information for serious graphic designers to keep up with industry news. It also has resources for students of graphic design, as well as contests and scholarship programs. The online version of Graphic Design USA magazine also has opportunities for free graphic design stuff, and a graphic design online newsletter that can be emailed to your inbox weekly.

Print Magazine is yet another great graphic design magazine. This graphic design magazine seems to tend more toward the creativity side of graphic design. With regional and nationwide graphic design contests, student graphic design contests, and other graphic design competitions, this graphic design magazine is a must for students of graphic design or those just starting a career in graphic design. The online version of Print Magazine offers graphic design forums, a free graphic design newsletter, and other free graphic design stuff.

DT&G, (Design, Type, and Graphics) Magazine is an online only publication for graphic designers. This graphic design online magazine offers the option to read on the web site, or on a text only email edition that is sent out around the first of every month to subscribers. Not only does this online graphic design magazine offer industry news, graphic design technology information, and other graphic design features, but it also offers reviews of graphic design software, graphic design books, and other graphic design resources. Anything graphic design related, big or small, might be included in this online graphic design magazine.

Serious graphic designers and graphic design students should subscribe to at least one graphic design industry publication in order to keep up with the latest graphic design industry news. If you would like to find more graphic design magazines and resources, do an internet search for graphic design magazine and be amazed at the wealth of graphic design information available to you in this type of graphic design forum.

Learn more about benefits of online education.

Original Post: Online Schools

Important Things About Graphic Design Magazines

1. Understand the sat writing prompts first

Before you write one word, you must know exactly what you need to be writing about. The biggest mistake you can make is to start writing before you’ve fully thought through the prompt. I’ve seen many students write an essay that hardly relates to the prompt because they were so eager to get started that they missed an important point in the prompt. Don’t be one of them.

2. Use an analogy or metaphor to answer your sat essay topics

Analogies are creative. And good analogies can impress graders because they like to reward good thinking. Here’s an analogy a one student created to answer the prompt “Does it always take hard work to make progress?”
"To climb a mountain a person must struggle and strain. And this is the case with any worthwhile goal..."

3. Tell a brief anecdote

Create an engaging introducty by telling a brief anecdote in just a few sentences like in the example below:
When I trained for my first marathon it was difficult and often painful. But I wanted to have the accomplishment of running 26.2 miles so I did it anyway. To make progress in life requires sacrifice.

4. Use a quote that was not used in the prompt

Tip O’Neil, former Speaker of the House of Representatives said that one key to his success in politics was the fact that he memorized great lines of poetry and famous quotes to use when he had to do impromptu speeches.

The same strategy can help you when you take the SAT. Memorize a few quotes that you really like and use them if they fit your topic on test day.
For example for the essay topic "Do mistakes lead to growth?" one of my students wrote
Someone once asked Edison, "how can you feel good about your work, having failed nine-hundred and ninety-nine times to make a light bulb?" To this Edison replied, "I have not failed so many times, I have merely learned nine-hundred and ninety-nine ways not to make a light bulb.” Why did Edison react this way? Because he knew that mistakes are always experiences that lead to learning and growth.
This was a great quote to begin his essay with and would definitely impress SAT Essay graders.

5. Mention a topic in the news

Most educated people are aware of most important stories in the news and it’s good for you to be aware of important events when studying for the SATs. However, when you use a news story it’s important to make sure that it’s not something about Britney Spears or some entertainment related topic. Make sure it’s about something more substantial like the atrocities in Darfour. And stay away from political issues like abortion as you can never be sure of the political views of the people grading your sat essay.

6. Make up an anecdote using very specific details

I had a student that loved to use this technique even though he wasn’t very good at it… at first. Eventually he got good at making up stories that were so specific, that he even fooled me a few times and I knew he was trying to make things up. I personally don’t recommend this strategy because it’s not good preparation for college. Trust me, if you make something up in your Biology course your professor will know it.

7. Use a cliche in an inventive way

Professional writers, academics, journalists and pretty much anyone who knows anyone who judges writing says to avoid cliché’s. However, I disagree because these same people use clichés to spice up their writing. But what they do is change the cliché so that it becomes more original.

One student used the following cliche to make a great introduction for the topic "Which is a better indicator of a person's true character, their actions or their words?"

"A picture tells a thousand words" is a saying that applies to the newspaper industry but which also applies to people. The picture created by a person's actions tells us a thousand words about him or her and goes much farther than words do in telling us about a person's true thoughts and feelings. Several examples from literature and history demonstrate this point.

Using this cliché that “a picture tells a thousand words” to prove the point of another cliché that “actions speak louder than words” is pretty original and added a lot of power to his essay.

8. When all else fails just do a quick summary of what you will cover in your essay

After reading the prompt, you should brainstorm several ideas you can use in your essay. Once you’ve done that you can include a list of the kinds of examples you will use.

For example, "Examples from history, literature and science will prove that people care far too much about what others think of them."

Most of all remember, you do not need to write an impressive introduction so badly that you sacrifice the rest of your essay. In fact I taught my students to write great body paragraphs first as these are just as important. Then when they could write them quickly I taught them how to write great introductions and powerful conclusions.

Original Post: Online Schools

Sat Essay Topics: Eight Ways To Write An Inspiring Introduction To Your Sat Essay

Architecture Jobs fulfill many different functions, so architects have a diverse set of jobs. While architects design buildings, they also oversee the planning and construction of the structure as well. Basically, the architects job is to take his clients vision for a building and "make it happen".

As with other professions such as medicine, law and education, architects must be licensed, as their decisions affect the publics health and safety. Licensing requirements for architects vary by field chosen and by location, as each state has its own licensing body. In 1919, the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) was formed to make sure that there was parity between the states in the rules for licensure. Before any person can take the ARE (Architect Licensing Exam) they must fulfill 3 basic requirements- these are education, examination and experience, meaning at least a B.A. and a comprehensive internship- the ARE is administered by the NCARB.

In their training for Architect Jobs, architects learn all about various building codes for architectural design, and they also must have a thorough understanding of building materials and methods, both for design considerations and for cost and project management analysis. Usually, an architect works on a commission from a client such as a corporation or a government agency, on specific projects ranging from single buildings to whole developments and their surrounding areas. An architects day tends to be lengthy- projects run every day and are on tight deadlines, do the architect has to lead the "design team"- a team of engineers and specialists working on the project- through the phases of the project and ensure it finishes on time. While most of an architects work is completed in the office, they may take frequent field trips to a clients office or a work site, especially in the case of Landscape Architect Jobs.

Median income for an architect, according to the 2006-07 Occupational Outlook Handbook (from the US Department of Labor), median salary for an architect is about $63,000 per year, approximately the same rate of pay as an engineer. However, as with most other professions, intern architects working Architect Jobs make substantially less, and pay is commensurate with experience.

The need for architects, even in todays economy, continues to grow.

Original Post: Online Schools

In Need Of A Stable Job? Have You Considered Landscape Architect Jobs?

is definitely a strange place. Most of the folks I know at my architect school have some kind of extremely idiosyncratic vision of why they came there in the first place. For some people, it was all about some building that inspired them as a child. Perhaps they grew up in some gorgeous mansion. perhaps they went to one of the great museums of the world as a kid and were completely captivated by it. Whatever it was, a single building got them interested in the process of designing and building others.

For other people, architecture schools are part of a political mission. You wouldn't believe how many visionaries there are at an average architectural school. At the one I go to, they probably make up half the class. Some of them want to design buildings with the idea of providing beautiful and affordable housing to the poor, others to change the way we see space as a society.

For me, going to architecture school was part of a much more down to earth experience. As a matter of fact, you could say that I always had an interest in buildings. I grew up on a farm, in one of the last communities in this country that still practices barn raising. For me, architecture school was not the realization of a lifelong abstract dream, but rather a way to build on my early, hands on experiences with communal buildings.

I feel like this gives me a much clearer vision than many people in architecture schools nowadays. Your typical architecture school student has his or her head in the clouds. In some ways, this is a good thing. It is good to have a vision to unify your buildings. There are many things that buildings have to be. They have to be functional, structurally sound, and comfortable to occupy. They don't necessarily have to be beautiful. When they are beautiful, however, it is like a wonderful luxury for the city around. Although not everyone understands an architect's vision, they can tell whether or not he has one.

On the other hand, if you enroll in a school of architecture without any hands-on experience, you can lose track of the purpose behind what you are doing. Architecture is, after all, about providing spaces for people to live and work. Architecture school can teach you many things, but unless you go in with this understanding, you will never build with both elegance and practicality.

Original Post: Online Schools

Architecture School

When you want to go to school for any type of design program, you have to look around for the best school. This is a given, of course, but you have to really think about the reputation of the schools in question. Most of the schools that offer these courses are private schools, and they tend to cost more than your average college tuition. There are design schools in a lot of America?s major cities, but how do you know when you have found a good one?

I went to the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, but I did not major in design. They have programs for fashion design and also many art design type classes. I knew quite a few people in these programs, and they had looked at a lot of different design schools in a lot of different areas before deciding to go to the Art Institute. Of all the design schools in the area, they felt this was the best one, even if it was one of the most expensive.

The great thing about most of these programs is that you can start to go to design schools in the middle of the year. Many colleges start up in fall, but most of these programs have four times a year when you may enter the program. This is great for someone who must delay school for a few months but does not want to delay for an entire year. I started in March myself, due to family issues, and was glad I didn?t have to wait an entire year to begin. Check with the design schools in your town to see if they offer this flexibility was well.

You can look online for design schools in your area, or in any area where you think you might like to go to school. If you think you want to go somewhere else for your college experience you should by all means do so. If you have lived in the northern part of the US for most of your life and would like to experience the beaches of Florida, you should look for design schools in the major cities of Florida. You will find schools in a lot of different places, and as long as they all have what you want in a program, you just have to decide where you want to live. Just don?t let location outweigh the quality of the programs they offer at that particular school.

Original Post: Online Schools

Design Schools In