10 Things They Didn't Teach you in Design School

1. Your diploma doesn’t help you to find a job
2. Good design takes time, don’t set too tight deadlines
3. Your clients don’t think that you are an artist (well, mine do;)
4. You must be able to handle irrelevant criticism
5. You should backup your data on a regular basis
6. Start networking, now!
7. Make sure your client signs a contract
8. Learning design is an ongoing process
9. Being a good designer is not only about talent
10. Your printer will stop working when you need it the most

Visit DesignReviver.com for the complete blog post.

Need Design Skills?

You can become a professional designer without attending a year college! Sure, it takes hard work + dedication to learn how to manage your time + learn by yourself. But once you get into the design groove, it will be so well worth your creative effort. Below are some useful sites that can help you get started as a graphic or web designer. Already skilled? Well use these resources to beef up your design skills + portfolio.

ONLINE TRAINING
Sessions.edu is an accredited online School of art + design that can help you reach your goals. I took the Graphic Design I class online through this site when I was first starting out as a graphic designer. The class was very helpful, and allowed me to add work to my portfolio. There is a talented teacher that can answer your questions, and you're able to network with other students + designers.

DESIGN RESOURCES
Toxel.com
"17 Unusual + Creative Mailboxes"
"Top 75 Best Design Resources of 2008"

PhotoshopRoadMap.com
"The Best 80 Photoshop Text Effects on the Web"

LifeClever.com
"584 Ways to Design a Business Card?"
"I heart Flickr: my new source for joy + design inspiration"

WEB INSPIRATION
Sawse.com
"12 Invaluable Sites for Web Design and Design Inspiration"

YouTheDesigner.com
A useful design blog featuring tips + freebies + jobs
"7 Ways to Build Trust on a Porfolio Site"
"Google Local Business Center for Designers"

RedBubble.com
Another great way to get inspired is to look at other artist's work. I like to browse the RedBubble and Etsy.com and even Flikr.com sites for paintings, digital art, and graphic pictures that inspire me to CREATE!

What I'm Working On

The Website
This month, I am putting the finishing touches on our official website. The new site is complete with Artist Gallery, Services List, Price Sheets, Online Store, and more! To the left is a screen shot of the new website design. Hope you like it! I chose a design that was simple and artistic in order to highlight the artwork and services. I also applied this design to the look and feel of our Blog. Much of the time it takes to create a website is spent initially deciding on the right design to portray the message of your business. With this design, we are telling the world that Custom Canvas Art is a small business who gives great attention to detail and strives to provide quality service. What does your site design say about you?

New Work
I am also working on getting print #2 of "Prayer" stretched and framed for a client. She purchased the largest size canvas print of 44"x36" and it looks amazing! You can check back on the website and blog for her testimonial, and photos of where she hung the painting in her home.

New Design Clients
I have two new web design clients that I will start working on during the beginning of May after our own official website launch. The first client is a Chicago DJ wanting a new music site. The second client wants me to create a personal web page for her.

Edaw is still working on an album cover art design for one of our MySpace friends. They asked for a superhero representation of themselves. Visit our MySpace Gallery page in the upcoming weeks to see this album cover.

Museum Exploration
In this new portion of the site, we will take a look at a new Museum or Gallery every week and highlight the exhibition artworks and key facts of the museum. This week, we take a look at the Seattle Art Museum, and the 'Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness: American Art from the Yale University Art Gallery' show. With more than 275 objects, the exhibition spans the period from the first European settlements to explorations of the far west and culminates in the World's Colombian Exposition in 1893. The exhibition runs from February 26–May 25, 2009 at the SAM Simonyi Special Exhibition Galleries. More to come on the blog this week!

Salt + Pepper Get New Look

Designer Daily has an awesome selection of the best salt and pepper designs! These two were my favorite, what's yours?

6 Virtual Galleries for Artists

"6 Virtual Galleries for Artists"
posted on Mashable.com March 31st, 2009 | by Natasha Wescoat

Below are the top 6 sites that have become well established and recognized for their professionalism, style, and opportunities for exposure and networking. These are potential competition for Custom Canvas Art, as we add more member artists, but I wanted to list them anyway! Better to share information that will help other artists than to just think of self serving interests.

EBSQ
MyArtSpace
Artition
DeviantArt
Illustration Mundo
Artist Rising

To read the full blog post from Mashable.com: Mashable "6 Virtual Galleries for Artists" March 31st, 2009 | by Natasha Wescoat

Cutting Edges

New client graphic design work.


In this design, the clippers are cutting out the words "cutting edges" and represent the hair pieces falling to the ground. This concept is used to show the flow of design and use elements within the poster to create a movement.


I created this logo for a MySpace client "Cutting Edges" a barber salon in Naples, Italy. I was hired by the owner to spice up his profile and create a more creative and interesting look on the page. I'm still working on organizing the page, and will have a final new page by next week!

I thought of this logo and background design and used his favorite color within my design. This took my two days to complete.

For more information on our services, or to contact me, please visit the Custom Canvas Art Gallery MySpace page or email customcanvasart@gmail.com.