Designers checklist advices

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5
rules of logo design by Mark Bloom • Art director at Socio Design • London, England

5 rules of logo design

Mark Bloom • Art director at Socio Design • London, England

I still adhere to them today (2018), some 17+ years after I wrote them


  

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4
things mine had to be successful at portfolio design by Julien Renvoye • Freelance designer • Austin, Texas

4 things mine had to be successful at portfolio design

Julien Renvoye • Freelance designer • Austin, Texas

I did it! Don’t ask me how long it took. It’s ridiculous. Designing a portfolio from scratch requires so much effort and thoughts, even when you don’t plan to. You know what I mean :) But hey! I’m stepping into a fresh new year, a new adventure, so it was time to take some time to design something for me. And this design had to do few things that my previous portfolio did not do.


  

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01/05Less is more

Mark BloomArt director • London, England

Some of the most recognisable brands in the world use a simple marque or logotype. When I create an identity, I want the marque to be recognisable in its own right.

02/05Simplify

Mark BloomArt director • London, England

If in doubt - simplify! Strip away anything that may make the logo look fussy or overly complicated.

03/05Timeless

Mark BloomArt director • London, England

For me a good logo should remain timeless. It is also too easy to design to a trend, but a logo should have longevity.

04/05Scalable

Mark BloomArt director • London, England

Consider how the logo will look at all sizes. It is important that it remains legible, even when scaled down small.

05/05Black / Colour

Mark BloomArt director • London, England

If it works in black, it should work in any colour.

01/04Pass the test of time

Julien RenvoyeFreelance designer • Austin, Texas

I’m done following trends and redesigning my portfolio every year. It’s so tempting though, right? Most of the time, I redesign my portfolio because it feels “outdated”, because I’m done looking at it. But you can’t keep redesigning your portfolio for the sake of redesigning. What it really comes down to, is finding the right voice. A voice that can resonate over the years. I want my new portfolio to become an “antique”, to pass the test of time!

02/04Easy to add “new” work

Julien RenvoyeFreelance designer • Austin, Texas

So here’s the thing. Case studies are the best and the most beautiful way to showcase your work. No doubt! But they come at a price, time. I failed with my previous portfolios, because I was trying to build case studies at the Fantasy Interactive level. Thank you very much FI, for making it so difficult for us to keep up 😂!

So the case studies on my new portfolio are much simpler now. In the matter of two days I can now, put up a new client’s project. Not text, just nice visuals. Another thing that is important for the success of my portfolio, is to be able to re-use the assets I create to promote my work on platforms like Dribbble & Behance. I often creates gifs to promote new work, so those needed to be in there.

03/04Create an inspiring experience

Julien RenvoyeFreelance designer • Austin, Texas

Like every site I design, I want to inspire people to consume content and perform actions. It’s no exception for my portfolio. Nice visual helps you do that, but motion design, will take the experience to another level. It helps create a more immersive experience and also make you design feel seamless (when done the right way with the right amount of motion). For instance, one of the interaction on my portfolio is that, when you scroll through a case study, you keep scrolling to get to the next one. And in one click, you go back where you were initially (btw, you can find that interaction on other portfolios, I did make that one up so...). Clicking is annoying, scrolling is natural.

04/04Educational

Julien RenvoyeFreelance designer • Austin, Texas

So the idea is to show my style and skills through the case studies. But I also want to start writing. Writing will reveal more about my process, my experience designing SaaS, Financial and other kind of websites. It will also help me improve my communication skills. Keep learning about the things I can improve in order to be a better communicator. Communication is “key” for a designer.