Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with graphic

How can I help my girlfriend find work?

malthas — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 12:38:31 -0800

My girlfriend and I just moved to Austin, Texas and she's looking for a job in graphic design. She needs advice, and I want to know how I can best help and support her in her job search. Long story short: I just started my MS at the University of Texas at Austin. Both my girlfriend and I are new grads; me in engineering and her in graphic/3D design. She moved to Austin with me, and though we've only physically been here a couple of weeks she's been trying for more than a month to get a job down here. She's looking for a full-time or temp-to-hire position (rather than contract or freelance) and has done a couple of internships so she has actual work experience.

She started using our Austin address on her resume a couple of weeks before we moved and that seemed to help a little bit, but still no interviews. She's been primarily checking Craigslist and the local AIGA Job Board for openings, but there have also been a few other websites she's tried (Work in Texas, UT Job Board, etc). She's also applied with a couple of temp agencies, but they haven't gotten back to her yet.

Her resume and portfolio have been forwarded around by a couple contacts she has. These contacts have given her positive feedback on her portfolio, saying it's good and well rounded for a recent grad, but she hasn't heard anything back from anyone her materials were sent to.

Because she's been at this for a while and feels like she's exhausted her available connections, my girlfriend is starting to lose hope. She wants to know what else she can do to help her get a job, and I don't have an answer for her. Is it always this hard for graphic designers to find a job? What else can she do? How can I help, other than providing moral support?

The scene that freaked me out 25+ years ago

Pater Aletheias — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 11:16:30 -0800

Disturbing, graphic Western movie/ TV show from childhood... Okay, my turn for a round of "Does anyone know what I'm half remembering?"

When I was a kid--late 70's, early 80's sometime--I watched part of a Western late at night. The scene that sticks with me--and freaked me out then--involved some vigilante cowboys who kidnapped a native American woman, tied her to a tree or a post and proceeded to skin her. That's really all I can reliably say--but I think it was out in a desert somewhere, and I think that they started by cutting off her eyelids so she couldn't blink in the sun. It's possible that it was a movie we rented. We had a Betamax back then. I can't imagine that could have been on broadcast TV. Or maybe I just had a nightmare. Does this sound like any pre-1983ish movie you've seen?

The books you would take to a deserted island

spec80 — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:54:05 -0800

I'm looking for books and graphic novels that are meant to be read multiple times. I remember reading in an interview with Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons that Watchmen was written to be fully understood after multiple readings. I've read the same in an interview with Haruki Murakami (I think the book in question was Kafka on the Shore.) What other books and graphic novels were written in this style?

Please help me find some old logos that incorporated some kind of a globe!

stackhaus23 — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 03:42:39 -0800

Please help me find some old logos that incorporated some kind of a globe! I've been trying to do some research into some old logos that use either a globe as the main logomark like this or an extended variant like this.

Can you think of any similar logos?! Airline companies, travel companies, television or cinema companies?

Thanks in advance!

Free Vector Graphics/Borders for a Wedding Invitation

snap_dragon — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:42:27 -0800

I am looking for the best sights for vector border graphics as I am designing my wedding invitations. Anyone recommend some decent sights? When I googled I did not get many sights with much. Thanks for your time and consideration!

Have you had a graphic converted to html and css?

davebush — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 06:15:14 -0800

I'm curious about companies like this one that convert Photoshop files to working HTML/CSS. If you've had an experience with one (good or bad), I'd like to hear how it went.

Renaissance Communications Man Seeks Advice.

producerpod — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 20:24:44 -0800

Am I a marketer? Am I a flack? Am I lost? Yep. I'm currently the marcomm director at a non-profit agency - the only person in my department. I am a true renaissance man, handling marketing, PR, internal communications, the website (I've hand-coded an entire site), all our graphic design and some video production.

I do it all, and that's kind of the problem. I'm looking to leave for the for-profit world, and I don't know which way to go. Marketing seems to be the best solid profession to get into (I am a family man as well, so pay is a big consideration) but I'm not sure I know what a for-profit marketer would do. Most marketing positions I see seem to be industry-specific as well. The more job descriptions I read, and the more resumes I read of people who are in marketing, the more I realize I may not have any idea how to do that at all - and it's rather depressing.

In my former life, I was a TV news producer in a top ten market, which gives me a lot of solid, basic skills that translate into any industry: team leading, writing, ability to grasp complex topics quickly and translate them into common language, working under HIGH PRESSURE under daily deadlines. When I do the PR part of my current job, it's this background I use, and I have a very easy time dealing with the media. I have no problem speaking on camera, or to large groups of people. I see people making PR mistakes ALL THE TIME. Sometimes I think I should go into for-profit PR based on my journalism background, but I dread working for an agency, calling reporters and producers with forced story ideas from a lame client.

My true passions, though, are graphic design and web design. I love CSS, Flash, XHTML, all things Adobe. I'm told I have a talent for it, but referencing a previous point (I'm a family man, entering my mid-thirties) I'm not sure I can create a new career from it.

Bottom line: How do I leave the non-profit world, and which path do I pursue?

NYPL/Pylon font match?

activitystory — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 13:56:00 -0800

What is the font used by Pylon on all their records and singles and everything else? You know, this one. It looks similar to the font used for the word "Police" on some 1970s NYPD squad cars-- is it the same one?

If I can see it, then I can do it

reenum — Tue, 27 May 2008 18:04:09 -0800

CookingFilter: I need cookbooks or websites that have step by step visuals of recipes. After my AskMe about cooking last week, I've determined that I need cookbooks or websites that have visuals. I seem to do a lot better when I can see the steps I need to be taking, or at least some photos of how the prep should go.

I've already seen VisualRecipes.com, and am looking for more cookbooks or websites in a similar vein.

Thanks, everyone!

I'm looking for an old graphic novel.

jackofsaxons — Thu, 22 May 2008 15:11:51 -0800

I'm looking for an old graphic novel. It was released in either the late 70's, or early 80's and dealt with a spacecraft that fell to Earth in a forest, and the occupants where a giant-sized version of mankind. Their history mirrored that of Earth, and the story mainly revolved around two brothers. I distinctly remember a section of it mirroring the Roman era, complete with chariots and all. The art style was in the same vein as the old Eerie/Creepy (think old romance novel cover) comics, and it was in color. It was hardback and about an inch thick. Any ideas?

A free alternative to Minion?

ThomThomThomThom — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:01:05 -0800

Does anyone know of a free alternative for the font "Minion"? It looks like this

I'm working on a project for school and I'd really like to use a similar font...

My google-fu turns up nothing...

How do they manage a lot of little projects where you work?

andrewzipp — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 14:31:54 -0800

Graphic design department question: How do they manage a lot of little projects where you work? Where I work, we have "job tickets" that are printed out and spray-mounted onto big envelopes, and one person who's entire job is to run around with these. If a client needs something done, an account rep writes it down, then they go to her, she prints out a ticket, glues it to an envelope, stuffs the note inside, and then at some point in the next few days, carries to to a designer. Who then completes the project, and walks the envelope back to her desk.

The whole process seems archaic, and is prone to having her walking around from desk to desk looking for lost tickets. And it seems really poorly suited for very small jobs, that sometimes take two minutes to actually do, since a lot of time goes into running these tickets around.

I've seen web based project management software for managing big projects with teams of people, but I would have to think there is something out there where you could say "make the logo bigger on this by tomorrow" and add it to a designer's queue, and they could work through that list, just checking off jobs as they're done. Since this tends to be a lot of little projects going to a few individuals, rather than a group of individuals working as a team on one big project.

Best home office graphics printer?

bbranden1 — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 11:06:36 -0800

What printer/printer output will please an art director? An artist is shopping for a new inkjet printer. It will be used to print graphics and photographs for submission to art directors, so she would like to know if there are industry standards or preferences for the output. The printer should be Windows XP compatible, but does not need to be networked. It will not be under a heavy workload, perhaps 2-10 prints per week and not in use every day or even every week, so there is a concern about ink drying and clogging up the nozzle works. Print quality is more important than print speed. It would be helpful, not mandatory, if the printer were capable of high quality text output also. Retail price: under $1000.

A handful of printer and print questions:

1. Is there a dot size and dpi requirement? Would 8x10" output be ok, or are there occasions when up to 13x19 is required?

2. Is one brand/model of inkjet printer the standard? (Epson printers have been moved to the bottom of the list because of their reputation for repeated and difficult to clean nozzle clogging.) Are any HP printers in the running?

3. Should she consider dye sub printers or high quality laser printers?

4. Do the output requirements change if these prints might end up being camera ready art for publication?

5. In her work situation would there be significant advantage in converting an inkjet printer to continuous ink printing?

6. Is there a website for graphic artists that includes forums for discussing these issues?

Thanks.

What is the best platform for rendering on OS X?

serial_consign — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 07:21:16 -0800

What are the best options for digital rendering in OS X? I'm jumping back into the world of rendering after a year hiatus. The studio I'm working at currently models in sketchup.. and my default strategy is to export out of sketchup, and import it into rhino and render with vray. However, I am running Rhino on an emulator and performance is not optimal. Furthermore, I'm wondering about the distinction between the way sketchup models and rhino.. will exporting sketchup into Rhino cause me grief.

So.. metacrowd: What are the best photorealistic rendering options that run native in OS X?

Floral patterns - what are they called?

dantodd — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 21:24:44 -0800

Name that pattern! I've seen some really nice designs lately that feature a stylised floral pattern running in a repeating, seamless motif. The pattern is often a tone of the primary colour and connotes an old world, luxury feeling. It makes me think of expensive wallpaper. What is the pattern called and where can I acquire a copy?

I thought that the pattern might have been a brocade or a jacquard but I can't find a good match when I search those terms.

Measuring overlap in graphical objects

Blazecock Pileon — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 17:17:07 -0800

SVG or Java: Measuring the overlap of graphic objects If I have two overlapping objects, say two circles, is it possible to measure the overlap between them as a fraction of the enclosed area of either object?

Can this be done within SVG, and if not, is this kind of measurement possible with the Java AWT Graphics package, or another framework I can plug into Java?

Build/Promote a Non-Commercial Web Site

Quisp Lover — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 12:28:19 -0800

How do I build and promote a totally non-commercial web site to disseminate useful and creative tricks for fixing a number of supposedly incurable health problems? I've developed, thanks to a multi-decade study of yoga, some pretty powerful ways for people, even non-yoga people, to self-fix a number of supposedly incurable maladies e.g. migraines, TMJ, RSI, patellar tendonitis, fallen arches, and depression. I understand your skepticism. But please keep reading.

I plan to build a web site to house and disseminate this information non-commercially. How do I get the information out there? There are so many quacks hawking rip-off miracle cures, and so much inane noise, that I can't imagine how to be heard, even though these techniques really work. I think the problem is that I'm not doing this out of greed (the info will be freely offered, I just want to relieve suffering) or ego (I'll be anonymous). And those are the two big forces in the world which make voices loud enough to cut through the chatter!! So how do I, a mild-mannered would-be good samaritan, get word-of-mouth buzz going without stooping to the cheesy/sleazy strategies of marketers?

I should note that these techniques are just little mental or physical actions...nothing that could cause greater harm. So while there's been no rigorous testing, I think it's patently reasonable to offer on a "try this!" basis

As for the web site, I'm envisioning an intro page indexing different pages for each condition. A blog format isn't appropriate, which is a shame because there are great blog templates out there and I don't have graphic design talent (my HTML is good enough to yield bland, barebones 1998-looking sites!). What's my best bet for yielding an attractive look? My pref would be to pay a graphical designer...wouldn't be too expensive, 'cuz it's such a simple site. But how do I find a talented, not-totally-swamped-with-work designer? Or is there a non-blog template that might work?

Twirl me around.

spakto — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 11:17:55 -0800

Design filter. Help me layout a circular dial. Both InDesign and Illustrator are making this very tricky. Is there a plugin or other program that can help? HELP! I want to layout a circular dial with 100 pie-shaped sections. Each section will hold a small amount of type (3-4 words). I've tried InDesign and Illustrator, but lining up 100 small text boxes around a central axis ain't easy. Is there a plugin or other program that can help? Any ideas will be appreciated. Oh, and this is for print.

!!Bonus points!! go to anyone who can tell me how to make my imac monitor spin around so I don't kill my neck working on this project.

THANKS!

I don't wanna buy or learn Flash. Please help me avoid having to.

jbickers — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 09:47:25 -0800

Can you please help a Flash idiot (me) do what ought to be a fairly simple task? I know nothing about Flash, and I've been perfectly happy that way. But now, I need to create what I think is a very simple graphic, and sure could use some help: Three images, identical dimensions. Shown one after another, X number of seconds delay between them, endless looping. Each image links to a different URL. Snazzy transitions a must.

Do I need to go out and buy a full version of Flash for this? God, I hope not. Is there some simple way to accomplish this?

Who designed this awesome piece of graphics?

Andy Harwood — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 14:41:13 -0800

I just found this i my pictures folder. I really like it but I have no idea who designed it.

Examples of good Flash work?

_sirmissalot_ — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 12:53:18 -0800

I'm producing a short Flash piece and am looking for inspiration. Could you point me to examples of good < 1 minute, basic promotions that artfully weave text motion with good music and photography/video? Not looking to get interactive here, just a simple but intriguing, inspiring motion piece.

Need a banner page to separate the tribes

LoraxGuy — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 11:59:39 -0800

I'm trying to find usable graphic files with these specific images. I'm teaching young kids about the Old Testament, and am using different visual aids to help teach about the 12 Tribes. The picture linked above shows *exactly* the images I want to find. A local church used these in a VBS packet this summer, but I'm hoping to avoid having to track somebody down...

Vintage Indian bike vector graphic needed

AnyGuelmann — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 14:35:18 -0800

Looking for vector graphics of 40's or 50's Indian bikes I need a vector drawing of an Indian motorcycle from the 40's or 50's. It doesn't necessarily need to be an Indian, as long as it looks somewhat like this. I do need it to be in profile, though. Not much detail needed, even a silhouette may be ok.

Free is always best, but I am willing to pay a few bucks if it's the graphic I need.

Graphic Designer's Weird Terminology

robhuddles — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 12:38:20 -0800

Why is a horizontal or vertical line in graphic design called a "rule"? I need to find some sort of background or history or something to explain why graphic designers call visual horizontal and vertical lines "rules". Unfortunately, the term is too vague so I'm finding any search online to be useless. While a straight-up explanation is okay, citing some sort of reputable, quotable source would be appreciated.

Distance Ed

simplesharps — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 15:33:57 -0800

I stopped 3/4 of the way through my degree. I'd like to get the piece of paper, but I don't necessarily want to study on campus or with that Australian university. I was bored with its syllabus difficulty (not it's content: web, video and graphic design) and decided to see if I could make it in the real world. I've since been working in the industry for 4 years with some success. I thought it was time that I made another change so I quit my job, traveled remote parts of SE Asia without dying OR contracting horrible diseases. I came back refreshed and got straight into freelancing. Still haven't quite mastered all the ins and outs, but the freedom of waking up and starting work in pajamas is something else.

Now that I have the opportunity, I'd like to finish a similar degree with a respected Australian institution who is well known for its creative graduates. I can't study on campus, so I'd need to apply for some form of distance ed. I'm not sure how all of this works - any recommendations much appreciated.