I have been in the graphic design industry since 1981 working in London, Los Angeles & Spain. My career started in the traditional way on a drawing board, using Rotoring Pens, Magic Markers, Pantone Pens & Letraset working as a Designer/Visualiser/Artworker. My design career has taken me through the music, toy, t-shirt, packaging & print industry. I am now a freelance graphic designer (British) based in Spain with many clients worldwide ...now using Photoshop, Illustrator & InDesign on a Mac.
UPDATE...I have now written a guide to becoming a graphic designer. It is available as Kindle or in print ...check it out here... AMAZON LINK . No not really, but it does help. But the main thing about being a designer is being creative. It doesnt matter how good you are on the Adobe software, if you are not creative then it means nothing. Its like saying 'I know how to use a oven so does that make me a chef' ...no it doesnt. There are too many people out there that think just because they have a computer with photoshop etc that are now suddenly designers ..sorry but it doesnt work like that. I may sound harsh but I see so much bad design out there that has been done by so called designers ...I know all potential designers have to start somewhere ...but the first starting point is to be creative ...not the software you use ...and being creative on paper is a good starting point.
UPDATE...I have now written a guide to becoming a graphic designer. It is available as Kindle or in print ...check it out here... AMAZON LINK . When I see recruitment adverts for graphic designers I see that a lot are asking for at least 2 - 3 years experience and some kind of degree. So they do help ...but at the end of the day it is your portfolio and creativity that will get you the job. Before I was freelance all the jobs I had I was never asked for my diploma certificate (I did have one) ...but it was my portfolio that got me the job. Hope this helps.
UPDATE...I have now written a guide to becoming a graphic designer. It is available as Kindle or in print ...check it out here... AMAZON LINK . Hi Razan, not sure I understand the question ...but I guess whatever you are searching for ...Google is always the answer ...I find everything I need there. Sorry I cant be anymore help.
UPDATE...I have now written a guide to becoming a graphic designer. It is available as Kindle or in print ...check it out here... AMAZON LINK . If you designed the logos while working for the company on a contract and they paid you a wage ...no you do not own the logos. But if you designed them outside of that company they do not have any rights to use them to promote themselves. It is up to you to decide whether they can use them or not ...but deal with it in a sensible way as you do not want to lose your job. Good luck
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UPDATE...I have now written a guide to becoming a graphic designer. It is available as Kindle or in print ...check it out here... AMAZON LINK . Designers that work mainly on web make the same mistake all the time ...which is, when asked to do a print design they do it in RGB and low res ...because that is the spec they only know and always work in.
So when doing a print job (such as the invitation you want to do) make sure the document settings are CMYK (not RGB), 300dpi (not 72dpi) and if the design will bleed off the edge of the page allow for at least 3mm bleed (extra space off the edge of the design).
To be honest Photoshop is not the best tool for designing invitations etc. Photoshop should be used for web graphics, photos, image retouching etc. I always use InDesign for this and import any relevent photoshop images I need. Also any vector illustrations i need i do in Illustrator.
Hope this helps
UPDATE...I have now written a guide to becoming a graphic designer. It is available as Kindle or in print ...check it out here... AMAZON LINK . The way I do it is that I draw over the photo in illustrator so I have a vector version I can colour (see my profile pic). But the other option is to place the photo into Adobe Illustrator and use the trace option to convert to vector and then convert to live paint to manually change the colours. You may have to experiment with the settings in the trace option to get the look you require.
UPDATE...I have now written a guide to becoming a graphic designer. It is available as Kindle or in print ...check it out here... AMAZON LINK . That's a bit of an open question ...it depends on who you work for, in what country and your experience. If you are good and working for a good company then yes the salary is equivalent to the work you do. In some companies you are paid for what you are worth to the company and according to your experience. I am freelance so charge according to my experience. Hope this helps
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