Danielle

No matter what art form you are working in, the composition of a piece is of utmost importance. Knowing how to properly balance artistic elements to reach a harmonic and satisfying whole is one of the primary challenges of becoming a great artist and producing marketable and engaging works.

When creating any composition, the use of negative space will often make or break the piece. Simply put, negative space is the space that surrounds the elements of an image. For example, if you were looking at a painting of column against a white background, the negative space would be the white background.

Having the proper amount of negative space, and placing the elements within it appropriately, have a major impact on how a viewer engages with a piece. From corporate logos to high end art, improperly applied negative space will make it difficult for your eyes to focus on the piece as a whole.

In films, the use of negative space can be particularly important. As the amount of space kept relatively “empty” in a frame will help guide your eye from one image to the next in a way that helps Hollywood perform its “invisible” continuity editing style. In fact, films can be a great way to see the use of negative space in action when first becoming familiarized with the concept.

Negative space not only affects how a viewer will engage visually with a piece, but it can also help in communicating an idea. An off-center element within a negative space, for example, can provide a sense of unbalance or confusion. If you were trying to provide a commentary on the instability of an object, the use of negative space could provide a helpful tool in achieving your goal.

Although negative space is more often focused upon in minimalist works and designs, the importance of it extends to every art form, and every piece. It is practically impossible to escape negative space when creating art. From the actual space inside of the canvas or medium, to the location something such as a sculpture may be presented in, the negative space will affect the overall impact a piece has on an audience.

Once you begin appreciating what purposefully implemented negative space can accomplish, you will start to gain much more from the objects around you.

Colors play a big role in how we see the world, not only physically but emotionally as well. Whether you notice it or not, certain colors can affect your mood in certain ways. Some colors might make you feel sad, and others can make you feel excited or even anxious. The interesting thing about colors and emotions is that many colors affect people the same way. . Since colors are so important in our daily lives, it makes sense for businesses to use colors in their advertisements and marketing to evoke feelings and help customers remember logos and brands.

All About Blue
One of the strongest colors and one that many businesses use in advertising is blue. Blue is a dominant color. When a person sees the color blue that often feel safe, calm, relaxed and secure. Blue is often used in company logos and brands. Blue is a dominant color and is often used to show that a company is reliable, trustworthy and professional.

How Colors Affect Us
Colors can affect everyone differently, but in many cases they don’t. Most people have the same reactions to certain colors and there is a scientific reason for it. When a person sees the color blue, the body begins to produce chemicals that are soothing or calming. The body literally relaxes, and the person may feel content and safe. This is because so many blue elements in nature are also calming and relaxing. The sky and water are both represented by the color blue and are associated with feeling relaxed and peaceful.

How The Color Blue Can Help You
If you are looking for a color to add to your business logo, website design, and advertising, think about what you want your customers to think and feel as soon as they see your marketing materials. Most people react to color without even realizing it, so before a customer even reads your materials, he or she has already formed somewhat of an opinion about your brand. By choosing the color blue to represent your company, you are telling your customers that they can be safe and confident with their decision to do business with you. You are telling them to trust you and to relax and allow themselves to be “taken care of” by the company.

Color is an important part of our lives. Not only do we enjoy colors, but they can affect how we perceive things. If you want your company or business to be associated in a strong, dependable and professional way, you may want to consider including blue in your logos, brand, website design or marketing materials. How do you feel when you see the color blue?

Designers seem to be able to always choose the perfect font from a huge selection with seemingly no effort or error. Is it creative intuition? Or is there a science behind why it is better to use Arial or Calibri instead of Lucina Handwriting and Comic Sans?

The answer is: it is a little of both. A designer likely goes into their field based on their strong sense of creative intuition, and slowly learns that there is, in fact, a theory behind the creation and use of typefaces.

Consider Readability

Back in the old days when papers were written by hand, it was important for the writer to use a nice, neat handwriting. Just because they might have the ability to pen a great bubble font did not mean that they necessarily should use it. It isn’t much different on the computer. Fonts with lots of sheriffs, blocks, shadows and curls look pretty and artistic, but should be limited to the headers and highlights of any document or web page at most. Professional works should be sans most font quirks, no matter how esthetically pleasing they might be.

Fonts’ Contribution to Theme

Now that you have limited your palette of potential fonts down to those in the class of Arial, Helvetica and Tahoma, it is time to narrow them a bit more.

Uniformity is very important in contributing to a great theme, especially on a blog. While we may not think of the font as much as we think of the color and shape of the decorative images around the border, it is still very important. In fact, most internet pages and documents are primarily made up of words, and having a font that you use consistently can only help your theme become more memorable to readers.

A General Tip:

If it makes your eyes jump, or if it is difficult to focus on reading a whole line, then it might be a sign to change your typeface. A font with generous spacing between letters and words is better than a narrow font where everything blends together.

Overall, if you have found a font that is a little more on the funky side than it is on the traditionally readable side, don’t worry. If you can read it with ease, chances are your readers will, too. The most important thing is to consider the rules and use your gut to make the final decision.

The worst words a designer can hear are “I don’t like it.” When a client doesn’t approve of a design or a portion of it, it can be frustrating and disheartening. How you react to the client’s comments can make or break your career and instead of feeling discouraged when a client request a revision or new design, you should learn how to ask for feedback so you can give the client exactly what he wants the next time around.

Apologize

It’s always a good idea to apologize for the confusion and reassure the client that you want to satisfy their needs and are willing to make changes to the design as needed. The client may be just as frustrated as you, but the reassurance will put them in a better mood and allow them to communicate clearly with you.

Request Feedback

Don’t be afraid to ask for feedback or direction. As the client what he or she didn’t like about the design, what they would like to see changed or how you can make it better. It may be something small, or you may have to create a new design. Let the client direct you, so you can meet their needs. Don’t be afraid to ask for question or clarification of requests. Your client may think he or she is being clear about their wants and needs, but they can really be making requests that are confusing. When you know exactly what the client wants or needs, you can deliver better work for them.

Inform The Client

In some cases, the client may not know what they want or need. They may make a request that seems ridiculous to you or that could have negative effects on the message or character of their company. You can always politely question your clients on their requests and redirect them if necessary. If they request a font that you feel is too small or color that you do not think work well together, you may bring up your concerns and present them with other offers. In the end, go with what the client wants.

The next time a client tells you he or she does not like a design or an aspect of your design, don’t get discouraged or feel bad. Just find out what you can do to make the design better and learn from your experience and feedback.

Social media is one of the most effective and popular ways to market your business. You can reach millions of people on social media networks and over time, build your customer base. Social media is all about communication and visual content. Social media users will determine if they want to read an ad or visit a website based on the images and brand representation in the post. If you are going to use social media as a way to market your brand and grow your business, it is essential that you understand how to use visual content to make your brand more appealing.

What Is Personal Branding?

Personal branding is a way to present yourself or your company to others. Your personal brand should describe your company and tell prospective customers why you offer certain products or services. A personal brand should show what makes you different from similar companies, the name of your company and an image that represents it well and catchy theme title or byline. Your brand should be recognizable, meaning that when someone sees a certain phrase, color, image or name that they relate it to your company or products.

How To Use A Brand As Visual Content On Social Media

Before you post your advertisements or links on social media websites, think about how much more appealing and attractive your post will be if they contain images and visual content. Add your personal brand to your posts, and you will not only attract more readers and customers, but you will also make more people aware of your brand. Social media users will soon relate your brand images to the type of content and information you post on the social media sites, and both your brand and your business will grow.

If you want your social media audience to engage in your posts and be genuinely interested in the products and services you offer, you have to be able to explain what your company is all about by using your brand and visual content. By combining your personal brand with an image or images that represent your company well, you can create an exciting and appealing ad for your customers that will likely get a lot of clicks, comments, likes and shares across all of the major social media platforms. Get started on your personal brand and visual content right now.