Creating Colour Palettes September 29th, 2011

London Colours

When asked to write this piece my first thought was who am I writing this for? I know most of you are “Creatives” and have your own ways of approaching your creativity; but we can all become a little lazy in our practice and use off the peg template colours. I hope you’ll find this…

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Why we never do spec work June 28th, 2011

Firstly, I should say that these views are personal, and not a reflection of CIN’s views. Important to say that straight up top, as I am attempting to discuss a topic which is highly divisive in the creative sector. On a number of occasions we have been asked to submit designs for projects before we’ve…

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Why should interns be paid? May 25th, 2011

Keri Hudson has recently made the news as the intern who took her employer to court and won the right to be recognised as a paid worker. This will doubtless have caused concern in companies throughout the land who currently give places to unpaid interns. There is a long history of unpaid internships in this…

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Know your audience February 18th, 2011

As creative professionals we put a lot of ourselves into our work, but we will almost always be aiming that work at someone else. To be truly effective, we must have a real understanding of our target audience. What are their interests? What kind of language is appropriate? How should we use colour? I recently…

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A last resort February 11th, 2011

drawing

Stock image libraries are strange places for graphic designers. The rise of cheap, affordable image libraries in recent years could be seen by some as a God send. However I don’t see it that way. I see them as a kind of Hell, Purgatory if you like. A place where a once creative individual can…

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A little of what you fancy November 24th, 2010

As you will hopefully have noticed, CIN has recently been upping the number of events available to members. The question is, what kind of events do our members really want? Maybe you’re hankering for a ‘Design Social’ type of a thing involving chat with other creatives over a beer (or a fine wine of some…

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CIN Award Winners 2010 September 27th, 2010

Wayne Hemingway – Host of CIN Awards 2010. Winner of Best in Show – 1623 Theatre (above) Judges comments: “They were highly impressed with the company’s innovative approach to taking a well known subject and placing it into a contemporary context. The work has been seen at the National Theatre in London and is proving…

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Why you should be using Twitter April 22nd, 2010

Are you one of those people wondering what the point of Twitter is? I know I was. Twitter seemed to take one tiny element of Facebook (status updates) and stop there. But to think of Twitter as Facebook-lite is to completely miss the point. Here’s my top four reasons for getting your tweet on. Marketing…

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Is there any excuse for lazy copy? April 5th, 2010

copy-crisps

I’m a graphic designer which means I care more about how something looks than the words that accompany it. NO! If I ever say that, I’ll have to fire myself. I firmly believe that it is the designer’s job to make sure both text and image work harmoniously. You can’t do that if you’re ignoring…

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Graphic Design on the Radio March 29th, 2010

Anyone more interested in listening to Adrian Shaughnessy than Chris Moyles? I know I am! I recently discovered this show, called simply ‘Graphic Design on the Radio’, and thought I’d share it with you all. Adrian Shaughnessy is probably best known for writing the essential ‘How to be a graphic designer without losing your soul’…

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