image adjustments in photoshop

Adjusting images and creating effects on them without damaging the original image can be very challenging. Photoshop, as with most image editing problems, can solve this. This past week, I learned that you can create Adjustment and Smart Layers on an image without damaging it permanently.

I used to only adjust levels and the hue/saturation of an image using the shortcut keys in Photoshop. Adjustment layers allow you to still create the effects, just on a new layer so as not to change the image indefinitely. You add a new adjustment layer and then you can reduce the opacity if you went a little too overboard on adding a gaussian blur or sharpening an image too much. The single best thing about them though, is that if you want to go back and change levels, filters, or saturation, after you've printed the image out, and you saved your image as a .psd file, you can.  This newly discovered tool for me allows for versatility and saves a lot of time. I highly recommend using adjustment layers and smart filters over applying these effects directly to the image.

Skills v. a Degree

You're a senior in college, about to graduate, in a subject that you're not quite sure what to do with. You don't know if you should continue your schooling or go search for a job instead. There are a lot of options and choices ahead of you, but you don't know quite where to turn.\

That's me, a senior attending BYU - Idaho majoring in Communications emphasis in advertising and graduating in April. I'm not quite sure where to go from here. Today, I was talking with one of my professors, and she brought to my attention that I really don't necessarily need to graduate in graphic design to apply for the type of position I want. Employers are looking for someone with an amazing portfolio and a particlar set of skills. I don't need to go to graduate school in graphic design.

This new knowledge made me realize that I can get the dream job I want because I have skills and a good portfolio. A lot of what I will do on the job will be learned while doing it. I hope those reading this also realize that it's more important to have skills, be well-rounded, and have a degree in something than to specialize too deeply into one subject. For those of you graduating in something that you don't quite know what to do with, just relax, search for the job you want and then aquire the necessary skills.

What is design?

Designaré  It’s the Latin word for design. Defined, it refers to something to mark out or define.  That’s exactly what I plan to do in this blog. I plan to mark out and define what design, and more specifically graphic design, is. Now, some of you might think that this has been done before and I agree, to an extent.  There are design principles that have been laid out and there are always guidelines to everything, but what really makes graphic design appealing? Is it our society that focuses on the visual? Is graphic design becoming a flooded industry?

Each of my posts will be concentrated on one aspect of graphic design whether it be about the Adobe programs, photography, typography, color schemes, logo design, etc.  If you have any tips, comments, questions, or concerns about any of my posts, please feel free to inform me.  I’m open to any criticism that will allow me to see a new perspective and learn new things.