Resources for Students
This is an excellent resource for students who are working to create their own self-brand for the first time – or even for people who want to re-brand themselves. With step-by-step instructions and downloadable worksheets, it’s well worth reading all three parts.
This is a completely useful and wonderful set of tools for the designer. There are patterns and dielines for 12 kinds of envelopes, kit folders, CD & DVD covers and labels and cases, postcard sizes, standard foldings, plus a bunch of other goodies such as a conversion chart, proof reading marks, web font guidelines, and more!
Definitely one for your prominent bookmarks.
Unveiling a solution is arguably the most harrowing aspect of the creative process. In our last post we talked about how we can work to better service our clients. In this one, I’ll share some of the best responses we have to questions that can often derail an otherwise effective solution.
How to disarm 10 difficult client observations/requests –> [via creative curio]
Creative Curio is fast becoming one of my favourite design resources. Recently Lauren posted a wonderful article answering questions that design students ask when they’ve graduated. Questions like:
And many more. Make sure to check them all out!
Answers to the Top Design Student Questions –>
The Digital Arts Technology Training Institute has registered on the Autodesk Student Engineering & Design Community networking site. This website community will allow our students to connect with students and faculty in dozens of countries in order to share interests and get inspired.
Students will be able to:
Registered users will also have access to question and answer forums, job postings, tips and tricks, a magazine archive, an extensive article database and a resource link repository.
Currently, the community has a Student Design Challenge running with several prize packs including:
Students are invited to check their email for an invitation link from their instructor that will allow them to join our school in this community.
This is a theme that’s very close to my heart – close as in, it’s in my shoulder. And neck. And elbow. And wrist. And fingers. I’ve got a repetitive strain injury (RSI) from using the computer improperly many years ago, and unless I’m careful it can flare up quite easily and ruin an otherwise lovely day (or week, or month..).
It’s a bit of a pet project of mine to make sure everyone in the office has their workstation set up properly and isn’t creating a problem for themselves. So I was very glad to come across these workstation setup graphics on an Illustrator website that I’m able to share with you.
Do yourself a favour and make sure your setup is correct!
Awarding cash, electronics, software and scholarships, students are given multiple opportunities to win monthly with a grand prize at the end of the competition. Studica Skills is a set of international design contests in 3d animation, character modeling, graphic design, page layout, web design, digital sketching, photography, and dozens more digital media categories.
Created to challenge students both technically and creatively, Studica Skills is designed as an addendum to classroom learning. Awarding cash, electronics, software and scholarships, students are given multiple opportunities to win monthly with a grand prize at the end of the competition.
The competitions can get pretty heated and are a great way to stretch your creative muscles. There are competitions in design categories as well as competitions to test your knowledge of specific software such as Adobe Photoshop, Autodesk 3ds Max, Adobe Illustrator or InDesign.
CD-ED’s Digital Arts Technology Training Institute is working to incorporate the Studica Skills competition into its curriculum to allow students a chance to compare their skill levels and creativity with that of students across North America, as well as with their own local classmates.
It is open to all students, and even if you don’t win you can post your work and have it seen on the largest social networking site on the Internet.
We encourage our best & brightest to submit (that means you!)
* All Competitions are Free to Enter
* Enter as many Competitions as you wish
Studica Skills Competitions at Facebook –>
Studica Skills Competitions online –>
The title says it all. Two-page article by gamecareerguide.com.
This is absolutely perfect for my graphic design, 3d and gaming students. It’s an online portfolio site specifically for artists without web skills. It’s sleek and clean, and I’ve had one or two students submit their portfolios by sending me the URL (which is how I found it). I’ll be suggesting it as part of your final portfolio project!
(Plus, it’s pretty and a good example of webdesign.)
I found this through a commenter on 37signals’ weblog: it’s a page where the team at 37signals doesn’t just whine about a design or usability problem, they create a solution. At 37Better, you’ll find their idea of a better PayPal experience (see above), a better bank experience, a better Google experience, and more.
As a student, you should be looking at these as examples of how improving a site’s usability will almost always improve its design as well. The 37BetterPayPal site above is not only much clearer – you can read how much you’re sending even in the tiny thumbnail of the better page – but it is actually more visually pleasing.
Always think about usability, and your design will follow.