Every entrepreneur’s dream is to have a company and a logo that’s as instantly recognizable around the world as a Nike or a Coca Cola. The job of a professional graphic designer is to try to convert these dreams into reality. The graphic designer takes the brief from the client and comes up with a graphic design that reflects the values of the client.

Professional graphic design is a skill that is a combination of both art and science. While a design needs to be catchy, the graphic designer has to keep in mind the different media that will be used to promote an identity for which the logo is created. A logo needs to look good – be it from an outdoor advertising panel, on computer/TV screen, or on to a mobile device.

The role of the print media continues to decline as the primary mode of advertising for companies. As people are beginning to spend more and more time online, the share of online advertising from the total branding remuneration pie will continue to grow for online and internet advertising. With ubiquitous broadband internet and 3G mobile services, advertising will change from something that is simply static to one highly dynamic; and encourage greater interaction amongst the user.

The corporate graphic design of the future has to bear in mind these changing dynamics. The winning graphic design will be the one that best understands the mindset of its target audience and is able to entice and influence its target geography and the people living there.

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1. Area of Focus

The first thing that you need to know about schools of this nature is that they are designed with everyone in mind, and that means people going into the program may have absolutely no experience. In my case, they asked for a portfolio of work as part of the admission process. So, if you are self-taught and eager to solidify your already existing knowledge, or a total beginner, this is a good choice for you. If, however, you have already completed a similar program, you may wish to take a new program merely to upgrade your skills (because the field of new media is always changing). If you can, it really, really, really helps if you take a freehand drawing course prior to learning how to draw using a computer.

2. Recognition

- Does the school participate in any graphical arts competitions?
- Have students accomplished anything of reknown in the industry?

3. Teachers

Trust me, this doesn’t go without saying. The quality of your education will be directly related to the instructors. I have never encountered an instructor that wasn’t immensely knowledgeable about the subject area. Of course, there is a big difference between knowing the subject area and being able to teach (that is, to convey that information, and manage students, answer questions, etc).

4. Job Placement

100% make sure that you get into a program that incorporates on-the-job experience. Or at least a practicum. This usually is 100 hours of real on-the-job experience and it is absolutely invaluable to your career.

5. Curriculum And Tools

You must assess whether the curriculum is relevant to you field of study. You may want to compare the curricula of different schools to see which offers the best form of education. As it so happens in my case, the administration did something they have never done before: changed the curriculum halfway through the program. The reasoning behind this was that the software we were scheduled to be instructed in would soon be discontinued on the Mac. It really pays off if you can see the facilities beforehand so you know what tools they are using. Don’t just oogle at the computers, snoop around and see the programs directory and make note of what programs are installed, and if they are the latest versions.

6. Student to Teacher Ratio

Graphic design is kind of an industry that more or less demands personal contributions on every project. For this reason, you can’t just be known as the photoshop guy, it is your responsibility to be well versed in a lot of different programs and techniques for creating stunning graphics and illustrations. And that means you will definately need one-on-one instruction, or at least the ability to stop the class in case you get lost. These programs are very fast-paced and if you don’t make sure you fully understand concepts in the first semester you will get hopelessly lost – fast.

7. Accreditation

Accreditation means the school has passed a certain standards of educational quality. If you can, ask for literally one minute of the head departments time and find out a listing of companies that students have been hired into.

8. Cost

A full education in graphic design can cost anywhere from 13,000 to 16,000 dollars for an intensive one-year program (120 credits). The goal here is to find a university, college, or technical institute that is recognized internationally for excellence. Let’s face it, Harvard University will look a lot better on your resume than Texas Community College. Three great recognized schools in are BCIT located in Vancouver Canada (Vancouver is the equivalent of Hollywood for graphic designers, web designers, and all new media experts), the Art Institute (with locations worldwide), and the Vancouver Film School (VFS) that has graphic design programs that are very specialized.

9. Scholarships

You might want to consider whether the design school you are looking at offers any scholarships. You also might want to know the terms to them too. Some schools offer scholarships based on academic performance. Some offer them based on art competitions they hold regularly. You should qualify for a national student loan either way, and repayment is extremely affordable.

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Quality counts

It may be unfortunate but the users of photo sharing platforms often fail to pay adequate attention to the quality of the pictures that are published.  The reason is mostly the lack of photographing skills on the part of the publisher and not utilizing the photo editing programs.

You should also appreciate that high quality does not always involve high cost or a lot of efforts.  After all it is not only Apple Macintosh that produces pictures of good quality. The misnomer has developed because of the reputation of the Mac as a multimedia machine. It is the quality that counts in the ultimate analysis. That is why even the professional photographers are using photo editing software that is economical to improve the quality of their photos.

Photo editing software utilities

What makes photo editing software “a must have possession” is its ability to give your photos a professional touch. These editors can really make your photographs look much more than the holiday pleasure endeavor. You can find multiple photo editing software in the market.  Some of them are free and others are not.  But the basic purpose of using them remains always the same, getting the top class photographs with them.

You can find various free and paid versions of the photo editing software on the web that includes the Google Picasa that is free, and Photoshop that is not free.  Both are high grade photo editing tools and there are several others who also come close to their class. One that stands out is the GIMP and the best part of it is that it is completely free. But while searching for free software, do pay attention to its features, because free software at times may not be able to deliver the quality that you are looking for.

Reasons for using photo editing software

Whether your photo editing software comes bundled with your computer or digital camera or you buy it from the market separately, you will look for certain elements. One is speed, another is convenience of use, and the third and perhaps the most important is affordability.  You can edit your photographs in a computer laboratory but the cost involved is much more than what you spend using the editing software.  Moreover, with the software, you can customize your photographs as per your needs.

Students use photo editing software at a much cheaper price showing their student ID, subject to the condition that they cannot use the software for commercial purposes. Others use the editing software because of the ease and convenience of use.  They may not get free or high discount on quality software.  But the good news for them is that over the years there has been considerable downward slump in the prices of the photo editing software.

Clearing the mist

Those who still have doubts about the use of the photo editing software should understand that it is never possible for you to achieve the finesse and finish of the photos either manually or through some other automated processes. Even amateur photographs with many flaws can be turned into high class professional product with use of photo editing software.

Just as bright sunshine easily clears the mist, efficient photo editing software can also set right the defects that plague your photographs!

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