On screen, the colors of pixels are a mix of red, green and blue values. A fourth value, opacity, controls how pixels blend with pixels laid over them. In image-editing programs such as Photoshop, changing the opacity of a layer is straightforward: Setting a layer to 50% opacity makes all of its pixels half-visible. If the situation calls for variable visibility, then layer masks are the answer.
The angle gradient tool is an overlooked gem tucked away in Photoshop’s toolbar. Often passed over for its more popular sibling, the linear gradient tool, angle gradients create clockwise blends of color around the point a user clicks. The angle gradients create clockwise blends of color around the point a user clicks. Most people stop there. But when combined with other techniques and some creativity, the angled gradient has some surprising uses.
The ability to tint black-and-white photographs with color has been a staple of photography for decades, and modern image editors make warming and cooling grayscale images a snap. This concept of a steady progression of shades can be used to present information as well.
Setting images into text mixes words’ straightforward communication with photos’ emotional implications. Words state; photos express. But conflicts result when the images get lost or the text becomes muddled. Or both. Images and text can successfully mix—if we follow some guidelines that balance readability in both text and images.
Stately text doesn’t need to hurry. When used well, small caps make a design look stable and reliable. They can appear official or solemn. But like any technique, small caps requires understanding the why behind the how.
In the past, I had trouble with vague ideas. Fighting my own limp-wristed attempts to frame content, I discovered that most topics can be phrased as a FAQ. Since questions spawn questions, thinking in FAQs turned out to be a useful mind-mapping-like tool as well.
Photoshop’s Curves has long been associated with making images brighter or darker. But few people know that it can also change color with greater degrees of control than the Hue/Saturation or Color Balance controls. From slight selection changes to creating great duotones, Curves is a powerful tool to master… if you’re willing to practice.
In searching for interesting patterns, designers sometimes pass over basic shapes in favor of more complex geometrics. But simpler is often better. The trick is to pay attention more to how shapes interact than to how a shape looks on its own. The concepts are simple, but the choices are endless.
The process of designing a type-based logo is similar to that of designing a shape-based logo. Both logos need to convey a message, do it quickly and appease the client’s taste.