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Category: Art & Design

Art Appreciation and DIY

Architecture in Cerca Carvajal

Architecture in Cerca Carvajal

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Cerca Carvajal is situated about 30 minutes from the city of Hinche and about 2 hours from Port-au-Prince. Houses similar to the cinder block ones found in Pétion-Ville are also found here. See my other post about the architecture there. There is a feature on some of the houses I’ve never seen before. There are windows that have no glass. They contain lattice made of cement. Screens behind them keep out insects. Other houses were made with found materials. Think of…

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Quick Adobe Photoshop Hacks

Quick Adobe Photoshop Hacks

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Quick Photoshop hacks can be used to instantly improve an image when you are short on time. The images above were slightly washed out. A little adjustments using Curves can save the day. Curves (Control M or Ctrl M) Use this tool to adjust the contrast in an image, color channel by color channel. For example, an image may have a large percentage of red. This can alter how the image’s subject looks compared to how the subject would look…

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Architecture in Pétion-Ville Haiti

Architecture in Pétion-Ville Haiti

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The first thing I noticed as I entered the area of Haiti called Pétion-Ville was all the different types of architecture. Like many buildings in the Caribbean, cement and cinder block are the construction materials of choice. Visiting Puerto Rico some years ago, I was told it’s because of the large amount of termites. Homes start as grey cinder block frames with grates for windows. They transform into beautiful “stone castles” on the mountaintop. I learned that while people are…

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Creating an Inspiration Board

Creating an Inspiration Board

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Being goal oriented helps us to grow. When I was younger I had so many goals. As I near 30, I am glad to have reached so many goals and milestones. However, I also can tell when I start to feel stagnant. This means I need new goals to achieve. As a visual and creative person, inspiration boards are a great way for me to be goal oriented in a creative way. We have so many things like Pinterest and…

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DIY: Host a Wine and Painting Party

DIY: Host a Wine and Painting Party

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  There are so many wine and painting places popping up. They are great places to get together with friends. Have you ever thought of hosting one at home? It’s easier than you think. What to buy: Wine of course (one bottle per group of three people) Appetizers Canvases in a range of sizes Acrylic or gouache paint (One or two sets will work for a pretty large group of people. If purchasing individual bottles, purchase a color range of…

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Interactive Design: Target vs. Walmart

Interactive Design: Target vs. Walmart

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Everyone is vying for the Millenial dollar. Walmart decided they wanted a bigger piece of the pie. The Walmart website has definitely gone through some changes as of recent. When you compare it side by side with Target’s site you can see how much they resemble. Kudos to Walmart. Not so much for having such a similar design aesthetic as Target, but for making necessary changes toward relevancy. Print Magazine has an insightful article specifically about Walmart’s redesign. Interactive design…

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Pantone’s Color of the Year

Pantone’s Color of the Year

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Pantone’s Color of the Year for 2018 is Ultra Violet. “The Pantone Color of the Year has come to mean so much more than ‘what’s trending’ in the world of design; it’s truly a reflection of what’s needed in our world today.” – Laurie Pressman, Vice President of the Pantone Color Institute. As a child, I loved violet, and all types of purple for that matter. As an adult, however, it wasn’t the first color on my list. It felt…

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Process Color vs. Spot Color

Process Color vs. Spot Color

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You’ve heard so much about Pantone spot colors vs process colors, but what does it all mean? Everything design-related has to do with color. Be it Graphic Design or Fashion Design, color is so important. In simple terms, colors can be separated between spot colors and process colors. Pantone is the global standard for spot color.  They have created a color matching system in which colors are specially mixed for accuracy across all types of media. Colors are numbered and put…

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Rookie Design Mistakes I’ve Made

Rookie Design Mistakes I’ve Made

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Everyone is a rookie at some point. And there will always be someone who has more experience than you. There are some design mistakes we can make, though, that automatically make us look like a rookie. I’ve made all of the following. Don’t be like me. Avoid making these five rookie mistakes. One: Forgetting to proofread your project before production. We get so excited to be ending a project and we just want to see the finished result. We rush…

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Transparent Background in Adobe Illustrator

Transparent Background in Adobe Illustrator

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You have just created the perfect logo. You drop it into InDesign only to realize that it has a white background. You thought you saved it in the correct format, so what did you do wrong? I’ll walk you through how to make images in Adobe Illustrator with transparent backgrounds. Step 1: Go to the Document Setup under the “File” menu. Now you’ll be able to see all the document properties. Step 2: Make sure that “Transparency” is selected as the background…

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