Many of the skills Jeremy Girard honed while playing in a band have contributed to his success as a web designer — as much as, if not more than, his ability to write clean code or design an attractive web page. He learned skills critical to his success, such as the importance of tailoring your set list (or your presentation) to make an early connection with your audience, or the ability to speak clearly and confidently in public. In this article, Jeremy will describe how being in a band taught him to be a better web designer.
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As a designer, you might start looking for a new job when you feel you have hit a wall with your current employer or when greater opportunities are present at other companies. When you’re honest with who you are and what you want in a job, you will be able to determine whether the position meets your criteria. Planning for job requirements, salary and perhaps location before applying is obvious, but many people forget to set criteria for one major thing: corporate culture. Corporate culture shapes every aspect of an organization, from operations and business policies to “extra-curricular” activities and day-to-day staff interactions.
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There will be times when it gets tough. They won’t last forever but they will happen. In this article, Paul Boag asks you to remember one thing when those times come… You are not a machine. You might think this all sounds rather depressing but, you know, it isn’t. It is meant as an encouragement, that if you are struggling you are not alone; that there is not something wrong with you, there is something wrong with the industry. Allow yourself to be human by cutting yourself some slack and getting help. Long hours are not a badge of honor, they are a sign of failure, pure and simple.
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To fully realize that creativity, successful developers need to continually improve their skills. The web industry has grown from this desire to learn. You only need to look at the unwavering demand for conferences, workshops and training days for evidence of this, but the cost of continually sending your team to workshops and training days can quickly become unsustainable. Within your team lies a wealth of skills, knowledge and experience that can be shared and developed further. With a little effort and using resources freely available on the web, you can increase the technical competence of the team organically, with much lighter demands on time and cost.
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“What is the best career advice you’ve ever received?”. Throughout his career, Jeremy Girard has received plenty of advice. But after thinking about that question (from one of his students) for a week or so, Jeremy Girard came up with four pieces of advice that he received early in his career and that were invaluable to him as he was getting started in this industry but that are just as relevant and useful to him today.
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In today’s article, Spyros Zevelakis is interviewing Anthony Burrill, one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary graphic designHe has never worked for another design firm, and his first studio was at home — at his kitchen table. Some of his most famous work is self-published making graphic design, a standalone discipline in itself.
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Jeremy Girard took a part-time position teaching website design and front-end development at the University of Rhode Island. In this article, he will look at some of the challenges to prepare for if you are considering taking on a teaching position. He will also present some of my personal experiences and insights, to help you consider such a move for your own career.
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Adobe is feature-freezing Fireworks, and it is not offering a replacement tool for Fireworks users. What does this mean for you if you use Fireworks to design user interfaces and screens? In this article Michel Bozgounov will take a close look at Adobe Fireworks, explaining why it is a unique and powerful design tool, how we can continue to use it effectively, and what our alternatives are for the future.
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Jan Martin attracts many followers with his visual design skills. He grew up in the small city of Brandenburg. After graduating from the Berlin Design Academy with a degree in Communication Design, he cofounded 6Wunderkinder. Since then, he has been the company’s lead designer, responsible for the visual design of the popular Wunderlist and the company’s website, blog, social-network sites and branding.
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Leona Hu met Benjamin in a Berlin cafe called Shakespeare & Sons, during his transition from SoundCloud to NPR. During their conversation, he talked about when his father began using digital programs like AutoCAD, and how he became equally inspired, seeing it as a way for static design to achieve dimension. Benjamin spoke about his passion for music and how he enjoyed being involved in the design and music communities. He was named a “SoundCloud Hero” for raising awareness of white nose syndrome and colony collapse disorder.
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