Posts in Design
The Kalexiko Wish List
As we career helplessly towards the festive season, it’s probably time to start thinking about what to put on your Christmas list. Hopefully you’ve all been good boys and girls; we’d like to think we have at Kalexiko. Here are a few awesome things that we think everyone who’s into technology should have on their list. Perhaps your budget won’t stretch to all of them, but that’s not say they can’t still go on the list anyway. The prices we’ve given here aren’t necessarily the lowest you’ll find, and by the time you read this they might not even be …
A designers 10 commandments
We’ve had a bit of a revelation here at Kalexiko. Here before you are our 10 Commandments for designers. Don’t worry, we won’t strike you down or anything if you don’t follow them, but sometimes even designers need a guide to adhere to. 1. Identify the problem for every brief What are the major issues? What are the minor issues? Are you going to work through them or around them? What is important to the client, what are their expectations, and how are you going to exceed them? 2. Establish what the goals of the project need to be Every …
What the 1980′s can teach us about great design
Fashion/ clothing Anyone over the age of 40 can remember (usually with crashing embarrassment) their 1980’s fashion disasters. From kilt-wearing punks (yes, the boys as well as the girls), to brushed and mottled denim, to pink leg warmers and ‘Frankie Says’ t-shirts, it’s fair to say that the 1980s taught us all, that it is always best try to wear what suits you and not what half a dozen stylists in London or New York have decided is ‘happening this season’. Hair When it comes to the coiffures of the 1980s, the key word was ‘big’. Big hair dominated the …
Typography: A Pressing Matter
Most of us would assume that typography was established with the invention of Gutenberg’s printing press in the 15th century. However, like so many things, it turns out that the Ancient Greeks did it first thousands of years beforehand. Some good it’s done them. Where in the past choosing a typeface was an arduous affair, involving having someone carve out entire alphabets of characters to place on the printing press, in the digital age it’s thankfully a lot easier. We’re all familiar with the more common fonts like Arial, Times New Roman and Courier, and modern web design has led …
A new addition to the family
Here at Kalexiko we always like to keep our eyes peeled for any resources that will help us develop our skill set. We recently came across these little gems from Computer Arts who over the last few weeks have published magazines featuring pro software tips for Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator and After Effects. If that wasn’t enough, you also get a free DVD with each copy full of resources and video tutorials! Wondering what each copy has to offer? Photoshop This covered everything from tool guides and hidden shortcuts that help boost productivity to 150 essential techniques for web design, retouching …
Balancing Colour in Web Design
In today’s business market, each decision we make can often be the difference between success and failure; we have to be right on the money to ensure that we stand out from the crowd and and firmly make an impact on the market and our clients. Nothing is an exception …everything counts, from our marketing strategies to our implementation and even little things you never knew could make a difference…like the colour we use on our website. Rewind back ten years and a website would not hold much prominence, whatever your business, in fact you probably could have survived successfully …
The good, the bad and the ugly in web design
Ever been on a website and wondered; one, what you were doing on there? And two, what the website even was? Odds are that you have probably just answered yes. You see the fact is that despite the ever growing power and the sheer domination of the internet, there are still some websites out there that are far from impressive and find themselves falling way behind. If you are attempting to create a website for your business then you must realise how important it can be…don’t look at it as a secondary tool! In today’s fast paced media world, the …
From Print to Web
Coming from a print background, the transition to web design has been and continues to be something quite unique. Although the two subjects can be seen at opposite ends of the design spectrum, there are many techniques and practices which can easily cross over and be adapted to both. These include the use of grids, font selection and hierarchy to name but a few. Of course, these should all work in harmony with what will be the icing on a clients cake… that being a genuinely great idea which answers their brief. A brief overview of the strengths and weaknesses …