Vectors, Paths and Pixels in Photoshop & Illustrator

Posted on by mark williams
vector image
The terms used in graphic design when you first get started can be difficult to get your head around. Photoshop is a large and powerful program which, for those unfamiliar with it, can be equally (if not more) confusing. With that in mind, today we’ll look at the differences between vectors, paths and pixels – all terms that you will come across regularly whilst learning to use Photoshop and Illustrator. var uri = 'https://impgb.tradedoubler.com/imp?type(img)g(22838624)a(3049974)' + new String (Math.random()).substring (2, 11); document.write(''); Pixels Essentially, pixel means a p...
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5 Free Vector Resources for Illustrator: Part Two

Posted on by mark williams
vector background example
In part one of the free vector resources for Illustrator, we discussed Creative Commons licensing and gave you some of the best sources. Leading on from that post, here's 5 more resources that should help you to create stunning vectors, whatever the project. Illustrator is a powerful and highly useful program for creating vectors for use in a variety of business material, such as logos, illustrations, charts, graphs and more. These can be used in both print and web promotional material and are increasingly used to create art for the web by illustrator ‘artists’. For example, the image be...
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Should I Use Adobe Muse To Build My Website?

Posted on by mark williams
Adobe Muse icon
When we think of Adobe, we tend to think of Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, possibly Flash, and a few of the other more common programs. When it comes to building websites, however, the place where most of our minds go is WordPress, or perhaps Drupal or Joomla. WordPress of course is the biggie. This is the website builder and CMS (content management system) that is pretty much built for the novice – though if you are in possession of coding skills, then you can do a very professional job on WordPress, too. var uri = 'https://impgb.tradedoubler.com/imp?type(img)g(22838624)a(3049974)' +...
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5 Free Vector Resources for Illustrator: Part One

Posted on by mark williams
vector spiral
As a designer, one of the most frustrating things can be trawling through search engine results trying to find some vector illustrations that are not only suitable for your current project or design, but are also great quality, and, of course, free to use. I’ve lost count of the times that I’ve finally found a vector image that I like – or that it contains an object within it that I could make use of – only to find out that it can’t be used commercially. var uri = 'https://impgb.tradedoubler.com/imp?type(img)g(22838624)a(3049974)' + new String (Math.random()).substring (2, 11); document...
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How To Optimise Photos For The Web In 2 Minutes With Photoshop

Posted on by mark williams
Goose flying out of laptop screen. Cool graphics
As with so many things in life, when it comes to optimising your images for the web, it all comes down to striking the right balance. The images on your website will play an extremely important role in visitor retention. And in fact they will do this in two ways – one aesthetic, and one technical. Firstly, the images you choose for your website of course need to be of professional standard and quality. They also need to be germane to your brand and your online message to the world. They need to be original, too, as well as eye-catching, beautiful and thoughtful. If your images lack any o...
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