Creative (and Inexpensive) Tips for Marketing Your Talent As a Graphic Designer

You don't have to be a starving artist - follow these helpful business tips.

Many people can write their own content, even build a website - but they do not have the talent to create innovative, appealing images, motion graphics and other elements of design. So, how can you put your talents front and center of those who need them?

Here are a few cost-effective and creative tips that will help you promote your talent without leaving you a so-called "starving artist."

Brand yourself. Yes, that's right! Most people equate "brands" with large corporations, but the fact is every business regardless of how small or large should have a brand. Brainstorm a bit to determine what your business stands for, what your unique selling proposition is, and how you desire for potential clients to perceive you.

Network. Today, networking is easier than ever before, particularly online. Join industry-related forums; create a Facebook business page, join Twitter and/or LinkedIn, Google+ and other social media sites where you can engage with your target audience. If you'll get out there and get involved, you'll see that there are nearly limitless opportunities to put your talent in front of those who need it. A good mix of online marketing and face to face meetings are essential. Join your local Chamber of Commerce for starters.

Create a press release for distribution. Press releases help put you in the "news," and search engines (as well as people) love news. Optimize your press release for your keywords and geographical location if applicable. Submit your press release to highly trafficked PR sites like PRWeb and Business Wire.

Write articles for your own website, and submit to directories. Nothing establishes you as an authority in your industry like content - and lots of it! Write articles and put them on your own website (for SEO benefits), then submit them to article directories for further syndication.

You may have thought marketing your talents as a graphic design artist would cost a fortune (or at least more than you can afford). The fact is, you can promote yourself effectively as a graphic design professional for very little cost! Sure, there will be some areas where you will want to spend a little money (your portfolio being one of the most important aspects), business cards, but even on a shoestring budget you can enjoy substantial exposure. Be creative and think outside the box for promotional items.

For additional tips and resources to help graphic designers visit our Rosepapa Creative Blog at http://www.rosepapacreative.com/blog/

One More for the Road - The Other Most Memorable Graphic Novels of 2012

We saw it all, the top 10 Comics of 2012, the best Graphic Novels of 2012 and similar titles were published extensively through the December 2012 and in January this year. No one could deny that it was really a spectacular year for the mainstream comics, but also we found some interesting, shall we say, strange and more personal stories about people, their troubles and lives, which are just so wonderful and pretty to look at and flip through. There are just so many great graphic novels that didn't make the cut to the any chart of the Best Graphic Novels of 2012, so we are just compelled to make this sort of Top 5 Honorable Mentions thing. So, here we go.

5. Building Stories
Brought to you by cartoonist Chris Ware, this wonderfully crafted graphic novel published by Pantheon Books is made up of fourteen printed works-in the forms of newspapers, diary, flip books, even a board that resembles a gaming board, all packaged in a huge box. This innovative and non linear approach to storytelling will give you an intimate and intricate view into the lives of people living in this three story building.

4. Underwater Welder
A story by Jeff Lemire, the writer of Sweet Tooth and Animal Man, tells a story about a man who faced with the prospect of family life and parenting must take responsibility for his actions. Or as Damon Lindelof put in his introduction: "The most spectacular episode of The Twilight Zone that was never produced. I really, really care about the people in this story... And I can pretty much guarantee you will too."

3. Tale of Sand
Tale of Sand, published by Archaia, is an original graphic novel adaptation of an unproduced, feature-length screenplay written by Jim Henson and Jerry Juhl. It is a dreamlike story about an unnamed man chased through the desert by men and beasts. Wonderfully drawn and colored, it is a little bit quirky eye candy.

2. Blacksad: A Silent Hell
The fourth Blacksad album created by authors Juan Diaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido is a murder mystery set in the city of New Orleans. With vivid colours and exquisite detail the authors will draw you into this dark tale full of heavy sounds of jazz and voodoo magic.

1. Sharaz De
This is a collection of tales inspired by the Arabian Nights by the late European illustrator and comics master Sergio Toppi. Beautifully drawn, with strange and surrealistic imagery and unusual composition, it is a true work of art.

Comixette is a future web based platform allowing comics' artists and writers to actively participate in creating comic strips while the readers rate their efforts in real time.

Through elaborate mechanism of rating the artistry and storytelling of each individual contribution to the narrative, every comic strip on Comixette can become virtually never-ending because each comic artist or writer can add changes to affect the narrative..

Besides enabling anyone to upload their comics, Comixette is intended as a serious tool for top-level artists as well, as it provides safe print syndication and publishing service.

http://www.comixette.com/

Graphic Design - A Comprehensive Guide

Graphic Design - A Comprehensive Guide

One of the most popular forms of art in today's world is graphic design. This form of art is utilized in many different ways. Individuals that engage in digital art are professionals that specialize in creating visual forms of communication that combine certain elements, such as word, images and specific ideas in order to convey some type of information to the individuals that make up the audience that will observe the art. Industry professionals are directly responsible for taking various forms of media and arranging them in such a way that a particular message is conveyed successfully. Popular forms of media used in this type of art include packages, photographs, posters, drawings, and websites. Special focus is placed on the elements of shape, color and texture. In this comprehensive guide, you will learn many facts pertaining to the art of graphic design.

The Effectiveness of Visual Communication

Various types of studies have concluded that visual communication is one of the most successful forms of communications for individuals, organizations and businesses. According to the information from case studies, sight is the most commonly used of all of the senses that humans possess. The information also includes that 75% of all of the stimuli that is contained in the environment is received through the visual based reception processors of humans. When the University of California conducted a study, they were able to conclude that 55% of all that a particular audience learns is a direct result of visual messages presented to them. Visual aids, such as the art of graphic design, assist in helping individuals retain the messages that they have received, according to the Wharton Research Center. When information is presented in a verbal fashion, only 10% of it is retained. However, when combined with graphic design pieces, the retention rate moves up to an amazing 50%. Each piece of art created through graphic design is utilized to reach a certain objectives. It has been found that audience objectives are at least 67% successful. This was established by Decker Communications. If you have a need for an art form that will relay certain types of communications in a visual manner, graphic design is the best option.

The Creative and Innovative Approach

Individuals that specialize in digital art combine their creativity with various forms of innovative technology in order to effectively communicate their ideas. These professionals are known to take drawings, paintings, pictures, and even images generated by computers to create visual images that will be retained and recalled precisely by the audience that is subjected to the images. You may find graphic design pieces in many different places. Examples of these include logos that are associated with certain brands, personal and professional websites, on business cards, on specially designed advertisements, located on books, throughout brochures, on the packages of certain products, on billboards, in magazines, on newspapers, located on posters, on greeting cards, and even on vehicles through wraps and signs. Digital art is all around us, and it is quite possible for one person to see millions of graphic design art pieces each and every single day.

Graphic Design versus Web Design

Many people confuse graphic design and web design by believing that they are the same. However, this is not accurate. Web design is based on the habits that are associated with the target audience of the website. Each page on a website interacts with other pages; whereas, the pages designed through graphic design art do not interact with each other. While it is true that websites communicate through pictures, they most commonly relay messages through content. People that visit websites scan the information listed on the pages for specific keywords, certain types of phrases and even icons that assist in maneuvering them to other pages. Graphics, images and various types of typography are utilized in the art of graphic design to produce a certain idea. While it is true that digital artists have the ability to create graphics that may be used on a website, they are not programmers. Web designers use all of the same elements that graphic design artists utilize. However, instead of focusing on standard media types that are offline, they use the internet to display all of their created artwork. Digital art is not limited to programming, whereas web design is limited by programming.

Conclusion

Digital art is a unique type of art. It is a visual form of communication that aids in presenting ideas and other types of messages to individuals. In some instances, it is used to identify a product, a service, a company, an individual, or an organization. Individuals that specialize in this type of art often rely on words, images, texts and other types of media in order to create a specific design and/or message. While digital art may be used on websites, it is not the same as web design in that it is not limited by the programming languages that are utilized on the World Wide Web. It has been established that visual communication is one of the most detailed and beneficial forms of communication - especially for organizations and businesses. If you have an idea or a message that you would like to be displayed through art, graphic design is an option that is sure to bring you high levels of success.

Carolann Henderson, homeschooling mom, website designer/editor, researcher and new graphic design student. You can find out more about the graphic design book I've purchased to help me in this endeavor by visiting my website http://www.homeschooling-road-map.com/