Online Graphic Designing Jobs

The Graphic Design Certificates:
The Graphic Design certificate programs focus on creating intelligent and powerful visual communication. Students build a strong foundation for a graphic design career by learning design techniques, visual thinking, concept development, color, composition, and typography, through case studies and hands-on exercises.
Graphic Design students master Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator or equivalent digital imaging and vector drawing tools. Course projects include critique, illustration, photo compositing, retouching, poster design, magazine layout, product packaging, book design, identity design, corporate publications, typography design and many more
Useful Information
CMYK:
Stands for the colors Cyan-Magenta-Yellow-Black. In print design, colors are defined as a percentage of each of these 4 colors. For example, the CMYK abbreviation for the color black would be 0-0-0-100. In contrast, display devices (i.e. computer monitors) typically define colors using RGB.
DPI:
Stands for dots per inch. DPI specifies the resolution of an output device, such as a printer or printing press machine. Print resolution usually runs from 300-1200 dots per inch on a Laser Printer and 125-225 dots per inch for photographic images on a print brochure. (For information on input device measurements see ppi.)
FTP:
Stands for File Transfer Protocol. FTP allows you to copy or send files (HTML-documents, graphic images, spreadsheets) from one computer to another via the Internet.
GIF
Stands for Graphics Interchange Format. GIF images are the most widely used graphic format on the web. GIF images display up to 256 colors.
HTML:
Abbreviation for Hypertext Markup Language; a cross-platform text-formatting system for creating web pages, including copy, images, sounds, frames, animation and more.
PDF:
Stands for Portable Document Format. Created by Adobe Systems in its software program Adobe Acrobat as a universal browser. Files can be downloaded via the web and viewed page by page, provided the user is computer has installed the necessary plug-in which can be downloaded from Adobe’s own web site.
PPI:
Stands for pixels per inch. PPI specifies the resolution of an input device, such as a scanner, digital camera, or monitor. Web page resolution ranges from 72-96 pixels per inch. (For information on output device measurements see dpi.)
RGB:
Stands for the colors Red-Green-Blue. In web design and design for computer monitors, colors are defined in terms of a combination of these three colors. For example, the RGB abbreviation for the color blue shown below is 0-0-255. In contrast, print designers typically define colors using CMYK.


The BMP file format:
BMP is a standard file format for computers running the Windows operating system. The format was developed by Microsoft for storing bitmap files in a device-independent bitmap (DIB) format that will allow Windows to display the bitmap on any type of display device. The term “device independent” means that the bitmap specifies pixel color in a form independent of the method used by a display to represent color. The default filename extension of a Windows DIB file is .BMP.
Use in a prepress environment
Everything that can be done with BMP, can also be done with TIFF files (or EPS). Because TIFF is an established and more versatile file format for prepress applications, it is better to avoid BMP-files for prepress production. BMP is also limited to RGB-images only while CMYK data are prefered in prepress. You could say that the only sensible use of .BMP files on a prepress system is for putting a nice background picture on the monitor


The EPS file format:
Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) is a standard file format for importing and exporting PostScript files. It is usually a single page PostScript program that describes an illustration or entire page. The purpose of an EPS file is to be included in other pages. Sometimes EPS files are called EPSF files. EPSF simply stands for Encapsulated PostScript Format. An EPS file can contain any combination of text, graphics and images. Since it is actually a PostScript file, it is the most versatile file format that is available. To avoid the need for a PostScript interpreter, EPS-files usually contain a small preview image that is used to visualize its content.
EPS files can be generated by all drawing applications as well as most layout applications. Image manipulation programs like Adobe PhotoShop can also save bitmap images as EPS-files. Some printer drivers are also capable of generating EPS-files as well as PostScript files.


JPEG File Format:
JPEG stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group, which is a standardization committee. It also stands for the compression algorithm that was invented by this committee. To complicate things a bit more, JPEG compressed images are often stored in a file format called JFIF (JPEG File Interchange Format), which a lot of people also refer to as JPEG!
What many people call the JPEG file format, is actually called JFIF or the JPEG File Interchange Format. It is a minimal file format which enables JPEG bitstreams to be exchanged between a wide variety of platforms and applications. JFIF conforms to the JPEG Draft International Standard (ISO DIS 10918-1).Specsheet
This table gives a quick overview of the possibilities of the JFIF file format:
Name -JFIF (JPEG file)
Developer -JPEG committee
Release date -late 80's, early 90's
Type of data -bitmap
Number of colours -256, 16777216 or 4294967296
Colour spaces -grayscale, RGB, YCbCr, CMYK
Compression algorithms
internet publishing
Extension on PC-platform -.JPG


GIF File Format:
GIF is a file format that should not really be used for prepress, it is far more suited for web design or to exchange images through e-mail or newsgroups. Unfortunately, GIF images keep popping up in pages made by amateurs (not to mention books about the internet ; so it is worthwhile to know a bit about the format. You can also use this description to explain to people why GIF is not suited for prepress use.
General information:
GIF is the abbreviation of Graphics Interchange Format. It was originally developed by CompuServe (an on-line service that was pretty successful in the early nineties). The format includes some key features which makes it a unique and valuable format for the internet. These features include file compression, transparency, interlacing and storage of multiple images within a single file which allows for a primitive form of animation.
This is an overview of the different features of the GIF file format, from the perspective of a prepress operator.

Limited colour palette
A GIF image can contain 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128 or 256 colours which are stored in a colour palette or colour table within the image file. Each colour in the GIF colour table is described in RGB values, with each value having a range of 0 to 255. CMYK colours are not possible in GIF.
Although the GIF format has access to over 16.8 million colours, only a maximum of 256 colours can be referenced within a single GIF image. While this limited palette keeps down file size and is perfectly acceptable for on-screen viewing, it leads to posterized images when they are printed. Most preflighting tools like PitStop can generate a warning when they encounter images with a fixed colour palette.
Resolution
Although GIF does not require a specific resolution, most GIF images have a resolution between 72 and 90 dpi, ideal for on-screen viewing but insufficient for prepress use.

What is good Graphic Design?

What makes a good graphic designer, and how can you be sure of getting good graphic design? The graphic design market can be confusing. At first sight, inexpensive graphic design looks readily obtainable, because there are a lot of good people out there eager to get some references. But for the customer, getting the right graphic design is not easy. In fact it's a problem. Because what is the right graphic design?
Just because someone can work with Photoshop or has a graphic design qualification does not necessarily mean they are a good designer. An able designer needs far more qualities than just a good eye for colour, form and detail. Design is an entity.
Good graphic design tells a visual story. Good graphic design employs succinct psychological tools, such as reactions to and associations with forms and colours. But above all, good graphic design is a visual expression that functions in optimised interaction with communication and strategy. This makes heavy demands on the designer's ability to integrate design into the whole. It also calls for considerable insight into the customer's firm, the purpose of the message and the underlying strategic thinking. Because like communication, design must reflect the customer's profile, appeal to the customer's buyers/partners, and also distance the customer from his competitors.
A good designer must therefore be able to be creative within the framework laid down by the customer. Bubbling creativity is of no use without a sense of context and economic realism. A designer must be capable of focused working within financial and time limitations. This is the challenge, and it is one of the areas a good designer gets paid to master.
That the designer must work within the framework of the customer's situation and market can surprise no one. But this does not mean it is the customer who sets the limits. The customer possesses an in-depth insight into the circumstances of his business. But precisely because he is so deeply involved it is important that fresh eyes should be brought to bear.
Innovation is a word commonly used in the value sets of many companies. But being innovative means being willing to move boundaries – not least within oneself. There is a difference between being creative and being innovative. Being creative means getting the best out of the given framework. This can be done by any good designer. Being innovative means thinking beyond the given boundaries to take a fresh look and set new boundaries. This takes courage and trust – on the part of both customer and designer. The best graphic design is therefore produced by a designer who knows the key questions to ask the customer and who transcends the conventional, and by a customer who has confidence in the end-result, dares to break limits – and to invest in the future.
Creativity, inspiration and above all motivation must never be forgotten. Because be

ing a good graphic designer means being thoroughly tuned in, finding inspiration in the oddest things, and preferably also having access to exactly the right sources. An awareness of current and future trends is thus an integral part of a graphic designer's toolbox. This awareness provides the source of the inspiration that the designer passes on to the customer, but is also enables the designer himself to achieve self-renewal and find fresh creativity.

It should be clearly understood that a professional graphic designer does not necessarily have his own style. This is because the designer's job is to supply a message that has to fit th

e company's view of itself, the company's strategy, and the company's desired market position. Another reason is that the design must appeal to the values of the users. Good de
sign must be design that works: design that helps generate revenue and optimise the understanding of the message. Such design can only result from thorough preparation, an analytical appreciation of the company's message and market, and naturally a creative mind.

"Look at all the love around you, look at all the love that's found you, darling, what do you think you're made of?"

"People with courage and character always seem sinister to the rest."

"Nothing in the world is more distasteful to a man than to take the path that leads to himself".

"Only the ideas that we actually live are of any value".