That word… ‘Design’ – The Design Journey ( edited in 2025 )
‘Design’ covers a wide area. You may hear the word ‘Design’ being overused in many business spaces to represent many things that are supposed to represent some sort of creativity. Or a byword for somebody trying to be clever.
I feel that the word ‘Design’ can have negative connotations when talking to non-design-based businesses.
The word ‘design, is a trigger word. An expensive word that can bring MDs out in a financial rash for those who do not see its value. Design = expense + no quantifiable return
Design should be more than just taste or making something pretty!
Design can represent many things depending on the niche and problem it is trying to solve. With a history of creating websites, banners, brands, animations, and game content. My attitude to design is that; it should solve a problem, convey a feeling or a message, and bring something to the table.
Design should be applied in a way that can push your product, message or marketing material to the next step using visuals, imagery, and media. I like to create pieces that invoke excitement and create a buzz.
I have created an illustration to capture the nuances of the creative design Journey as it works for me. This is not an in-depth look at the graphic design process across the industry – it’s more discussion on how the journey often looks, with a slightly humorous slant.
Design Is A Journey
With design, it can take time to arrive at the final result. It takes time to explore the relevant paths before finalising the best route to take to achieve the best outcome.
People see this = The result, and assume it came straight out of the packet ready to go. This probably wasn’t the case and is certainly not the case for my projects.
Journey Hidden Behind Results
When the journey can look like this.
‘Why not just use the one path?’ or ‘It looks easy’ I am glad in one respect that it ‘looks’ easy – maybe I did something right when working on a project. Perhaps it’s down to practice and experience that I have which makes the whole process look easy! I will take it as a compliment, but this school of thought or perception also comes with its own headaches.
Not Always An Easy Journey…
Design is rarely ‘easy’. Occasionally quick, occasionally straightforward – but not easy. If you went with your first unresearched approach it may look something like this.
Comic Sans… = no
But you were quick? Surely that means it was easy!
Going with your first design isn’t necessarily good design. Neither is it strictly speaking the most effective, visually pleasing or polished. And making it look easy is another matter. When I first started, I struggled on some projects as a junior designer to nail a brief, or at least I look back at some projects and reflect on how I could have done much, much better!
Design that looks straightforward in the end, may have taken different routes to success and achieve that final appearance. When starting a substantial project, I like to plan – as with most big journeys.
Plan Your Journey – Plan Your Design Trip
Before going on a long trip, do you plan what you are going to take? What if you are going away for two weeks and fail to pack toothpaste? Underwear, or a passport?
You plan it. A good design service should be the same for anything of size – granted you don’t need to plan for your regular trip to a metaphorical trip to the shop, you already know that route.
I often have a destination or a planned end. But my roots may look something like this. You see with design and new projects. Nobody has strictly speaking laid any roads, or cut a path. That is down to the designer and the scribble below may look like this. Designers may need to plan and cut a path.
Design Forks & Pathes For Design Journey
Sketch or paths for a project
Polished Design
A good design can be
part of polishing something or pushing an existing concept to it’s
maximum potential.
I hope you have enjoyed having an insight into my design journey.
If
like me you need work layers in Photoshop any time saving measure is
a bonus. I have a compiled a short list of shortcuts for making the
best use of Photoshop’s layers for both the Mac and PC – Enjoy!
(Swap CMD for CTRL on Windows)
Photoshop Layer icons
Layer Graphics
Change the layer order, move it up and down :
Cmd+[ Move Down
Cmd+] Move Up
Cmd+Shift+] = to move it to the bottom of the stack
Cmd+Shift+[ = Move it to the top of the stack
Direct
select a layer
With
move tool selected (V) hold Cmd
to highlight the
layers directly from the art board. This will also highlight groups.
Duplicate a layer
Ideal for copying a layer! Cmd + J to copy a selected layer! Or you can drag the selected onto the ‘New” icon! OR right click and duplicate – A personal fave.
Colour
Coordinated
In
addition to organizing you layers into folder and groups, why not
colour coordinate the layers so you glance at groups? Brown for dirt,
green for sea etc. Right click and select a colour.
New Layer Cmd+Shift + N brings up the new layer dialogue.
Cycle Through Blend Modes
Need
to see what a multiply, saturation, or overlay will look like on the
fly?
Shift
+ (Minus or plus, top right of the keyboard)
Layer Opacity With the layer selected you can quickly change its opacity by pressing >
Shift + (Minus or plus, top right of the keyboard) Shift + 22, 30, 23 (a number from the top row) typing the number in quick succession will change the layers opacity percentage. Hold shift and then press “22” the layer will be 22% “30” = 30 %.
Very handy for digital painting or retouching.
Group
Layers
Select
your layers and press Cmd + G to
group them together. If you are not grouping your numerous layers…
you should start. For sanity’s sake.
The original text for this was created and added to blogger in 2016 (Jimm Odell Blog). This has since been tweaked and added to this blog – the professional blog.
The easiest way to make a Photoshop brush. This is a short tutorial on how to make a simple Photoshop brush in simple easy-to-follow steps. No fuss, no headaches. I have used this exact same technique for making brushes over the years as a designer.
It is straightforward to make your custom brushes in Photoshop ( or Adobe Photoshop ) as an overview. All you will need to do in essence is draw your shape or item on a blank document and turn this selection into your new Photoshop brush.
The core steps : Start with creating your brush, defining it, and adding it to your palette! Let us draw a shape on black on a white background and see easiest way to do it.
Now to the steps on the easiest way to make a Photoshop brush.
1 ) New Document
1 ) Open PS and make a new document – 300 x 300 px and 72 DPI for good measure, make sure the background is set to white. ( You also work with other size and resolutions if you prefer )
2 ) Create Your Brush
2 ) Working in black and white (Shortcut ‘D’ for black and white) draw your brush shape (in black) onto your new document. For the sake of this tutorial, I have made mine a solid brush.
Create A Photoshop Brush
3 ) ‘Select’ The Brush
3 ) Either by using the marquee tool or Apple + ‘a’ to select all (CTRL + A for windows). And select the area or part you want to turn into your brush. For me, I wanted to use only the black splat in this example.
If you have selected the brush you want to define, you can go to the next step! Make sure you have selected your brush artwork. With selections, you may see ‘marching ants’ around your selection.
4 ) Define Brush
4 ) Go Edit > scroll down to ‘Define Brush Preset’ and click on or select it. label your brush, I called this one ‘blob’ and then click ‘OK’
Label Your Brush
5 ) You have created a brush in Photoshop!
Well done, you should now have designed your very own custom brush and saved it to your library. If you press ‘F5′ to look at your brush palette, you will see the brush you have just made listed at the bottom of your library.
Why not open a new document and test out your newly created Photoshop Brush, I hope you enjoy making more awesome brushes.
Hobbyists, businesses, and potential clients… this post is for you!
This post covers 3 simple ways for you to build a website for free, or almost free. This article is ideal for start-ups, hobbyists, and individuals looking to gradually build their online presence. All you need is a computer and internet access.
This post will cover the pros and cons of each system based on tried and tested experience.
It should be noted I am not affiliated with these companies
How to build a website for FREE – Summary Overview
To build a website for free, you can use a selection of tools, software, and hosting options to start creating your website with next to no upfront cost. Many DIY developers use platforms such as WIX and WordPress to build websites and blogs for free by learning the tools themselves. However, it should be noted that ‘Free’ is not always strictly free in the truest sense.
You can use WordPress’s free domain, for example, to save on money, but the hidden cost is that you are handing control and ownership of your website to their hosting. You are relinquishing a certain degree of control for speed, convenience, and ease. You are also removing professional knowledge skills and expertise from the equation.
Instead of opting for a full website, website owners can also opt for an easy-to-maintain solution, such as having a ‘Facebook Business Page Only’ or solutions such as Blogger in the early stages of their website journey.
Although this is not the same as having a website for free, it can serve as a free starter block for establishing an online presence.
Here is a list of solutions to create a website for free.
How to build a website for FREE | Start building Something
1 ) Use Blogger To Create a Website For Free
Not heard of Blogger? Blogger (blogspot) has been around for years and is part of Google. With Blogger, you can create your website or blog completely free!
Blogger is fine if you are looking to create a simple blog as a hobbyist or put something together quickly for a friend or relative. I have used Blogger as part of my ‘hobby and general stuff’ website, which I treated as a creative/personal dumping ground. You can see my personal blog here.
Blogger isn’t solely for amateurs. I have seen great examples of Blogger being used by professionals and semi-professionals, despite It being a free platform.
However, generally speaking, Blogger is used more by hobbyists than professionals, but this doesn’t render the software totally unworthy.
Due to Blogger’s low point of entry, it is a magnet for homemade, freebie, and hobbyist blog creators. A great starting point for those learning the bably blocks for making blogs and blog content.
This website is a great example of what can be achieved with some dedication and willpower, with its limited build function. The website, Print & Pattern, comes with a jobs board, products, and other pieces of information centered around graphic and surface pattern design.
I doff my cap… If I had one!
It might also be worth mentioning that you can also monetise your ‘Blogger’ blog very easily using Adsense should you choose to do so.
Blogger Pros :
FREE – Blogger is free. You can set up an account today and start writing about your hobby or business pretty much right away.
Reasonably easy to use – Blogger is relatively straightforward to use. Buttons in the left-hand navigation show what is what, from add buttons to other tools. All you need to do is create a “new post” and type away – as easy as that, although it is not without its quirks.
Can be polished – with a bit of thought, a lot of application, and headache tablets, you can make your Blogger look professional. But in my personal experience, it is an uphill struggle.
No fuss – You can set up a Blogger website quickly; you don’t need a coding guru to help.
Blogger Cons :
Typically regarded as unprofessional – if you are using a Blogger for a business website, it can frame you as an amateur. Blogger websites tend to have a dated essence to them in terms of appearance and format. People can more often than not tell something looks a bit ‘Home-made’. In business, making a good impression is important, and you want to avoid being… ‘Homemade’ if you want to be taken seriously. Not all Bloggers are created by amateurs, but many do use this platform as it is free.
If you must use Blogger, dress it well.
Awkward code – know how I said to try and ‘dress it’? Now imagine trying to dress an excited squirrel! Well, it certainly won’t put its arms into the sleeves. This is Blogger, an unwilling and uncooperative squirrel. The code and interface can be very awkward to use if you are trying to tweak alignment, adjust paragraphs, or bold text. It also adds a lot of junk HTML to your article, making it needlessly difficult to tailor in code view. Many hours have been wasted trying to make it play fair. From this perspective, I cannot recommend it. Especially as somebody who has used code such as PHP in websites.
You don’t really own it – Although it is free to use and as a free tool, it is pretty good, it’s not your intellectual property. Should your Blogger be closed for some reason, you will lose all of your content with it. For ‘free’, you will relinquish control and imagine losing 5 years’ worth of posts? Back up your content if you decide to use Blogger.
Blogger and SEO – although it’s not bad, I’m not convinced about its friendliness towards being seen by the search engines either.
How to build a website for FREE | Blogger Verdict :
It’s good for hobbyists, it’s free, but there are other options that I would consider over Blogger. Generally, if you want a professional presence, I would use a better platform, such as WordPress.
Creating Your Website For Free Verdict
Rating out of 5 :
1 = Poor | 5 = Excellent
Cost = 5
Ease of use = 2
Creation Efficiency = 1
Set Up = 4
Quality Of Websites ( On average ) = 2
Value = 2
Total = 16
Got more questions?
Create a website for free using WIX
Although I am less familiar with the pricing structure of WIX, WIX still claims you can build a website for free.
A viable option if you are considering free options to create a website!
Wix gets some unjust stick. Developers ( hardcore coders ) scoff at it because it is a ‘website builder’; the only real reason for this anti, is due to a combination of accessibility and snobbery. Wix, which can be used by non-coders, opens up the market and enables DIYers to attempt to make a website.
My Opinion on Wix: When building a website for free
Although time has long since passed when using WIX, WIX isn’t too bad! And if you are strapped for money and just starting out, maybe consider this as a possible option in the beginning. WIX allows you to visually drag and drop your website together to create a design that you may not vomit over! You can even add snippets of code as and when required.
Not all bad, not all great in my opinion either.
Here is an example page & website I was part of when building a new website. I created both the UI and content for the page.
What is WIX like for building a website?
It’s pretty good in short… but there’s more to that story. I have used WIX in a past role to create an easy-to-maintain website without the need for code.
That’s well and good, but why use it?
It’s accessible, free / cheaper, great for restricted budgets, and does the job. You don’t have to be a coder either.
WIX enables users to position page elements without having to hard-code everything. You can build your website or web page visually.
Imagine using a program like Microsoft Publisher, Photoshop, or Canva to create a website from start to finish? No need to code, no headaches, no bar to entry!
There is more to website design than graphics, but for the sake of argument, I want to keep this post lean. You can make a website as a business owner or as a designer. For those who like a bit of code, you may be interested in reading a bit of theory and practice on PHP include.
WIX – you don’t need to be a Developer to make it work! The mess can be left down to the casual website developer instead. (Whoops, did I say that out loud ? )
Here are my shared experiences with the WIX website builder.
Creating a Website With Wix – Pros :
Neat & Tidy –An all-in-one neat little packaging with a relatively straightforward drag and drop interface to assemble your website.
Cheap – WIX comes with a range of pricing plans to suit a variety of budgets. It also comes with its own hosting packages.
Cool features – It comes with some nice little integrated features, such as a mail-list manager and an easy-to-use image library; you can also create a basic shop with it, too.
Visual Designer – It’s great if you like to create websites visually, but please note that it’s not to be used for creating graphic design and banners!
Wix Cons :
The responsive design was/is sub-par – arguably worse than Blogger. As a non-developer, you may be wowed initially by how easy it is to use, but what you see isn’t what you get. They call these WYSIWYG’s. What you see is what you get. Ironically, with website builders, be it Dreamweaver , Wix, or others, this is not always the case. ( based on when I last used it to make a website )
Build twice, takes twice as long – Further to the point, you ( used to) have to build twice or suffer a website that will not work properly on a smartphone. Eg can’t read text without zooming with fingers etc. This bad user experience will be passed on to your customers.
Clumsy fluid layout – As a designer, this would be something I would pick up on. The default desktop website can have some somewhat awkward behaviour when it comes to viewing the website in different browsers. Fluid and responsive websites are not easy to build, and WIX certainly hasn’t mastered this yet.
Slow Down – If you have a large webpage with lots of elements and content, this can overwhelm the WIX builder. You will find that as you are dragging (pushing) elements around, they start to lag and stick. This can become very frustrating if you are trying to work toward a tight deadline in a busy or demanding environment.
limited control with deeper development issues – By using a website builder such as WIX you surrender building a more accessible and technically proficient website. It’s also trickier to get into the real nuts and bolts to solve somewhat basic issues.
Wix Verdict – Jack of all
Cheap
and cheerful and great for non-techies. This user-friendly website
builder is good if your are starting out. I have seen WIX used for
straight up brochure and small scale websites with great results and
if you are on shoe string it could be something to consider. WIX is
nice to use, quite slick and an intuitive piece of online software!
Not the cheapest, but ok.
//====================== *
– just to the stress this from the previous point. Sometimes,
people think websites are static and they adopt their thinking to an
archaic approach to website design. Websites are no longer static and
it is best to avoid a website design in this way. If you would like
to know more about this feel free to send an
enquiry. //======================
Rating
out of 5 : : 1 = Poor 5 = Excellent
Cost
= 3 Ease of use = 5 Creation Efficiency = 3 Set Up =
4 Quality Of Websites = 2 Value = 3
Total
= 20
———————————————
WordPress is Free
WordPress
has been available for years! It has grown a very large and loyal
following that are building better product everyday. WordPress
is completely free to use,
its open source and has a large community of developers and agencies
available to help. If you have your own domain and hosting, using WP
is as simple as downloading and implementing it yourself. Certain
hosting companies come with one Click
installer
which can make installing very straight forward but this isn’t the
case for all hosting companies.
If
you don’t have hosting or a domain you can also set up your WP
hosting complete free
– WordPress > don’t panic!
You
can create very powerful website using
WP and
comes with a very large library of resources to build different types
of websites; stores, blogs, brochure sites, downloads sites, ticket
software etc etc – it’s vast and WordPress has gone way beyond
being just a blogging tool!
WordPress
is integrated with many 3rd
party companies which range from over automated email systems to
analytics. There is also themes which turn WP into a visual website
builder. All this plus the features mentioned before.
WordPress Cons
Hackers like it – being a victim of it’s own success and a large proportion of websites being made using WordPress, it’s a hackers paradise. If you have a very large scale website perhaps other options are better to consider.
Plugin’s can break – Although there are 1000’s of plugins on the WP market place some of them can fail over time if they are not maintained.
Needs to be maintained – WordPress needs TLC occasionally. Pay attention to your dashboard or email notifications if you need to update you current version of WP or its plugins.
Set up – WordPress can be a challenge from time to time when trying to install it on your own host. This can range from obscure incompatibilities or ‘access’ not being configured properly
Tricky to change – The default version of WP can be tricky to tailor without knowing your way around CSS or downloading a plugin. This is where using a developer could come in use if you decide to use WordPress.
Used a lot – due to a lot of websites using WordPress website can start to feel the same.
WordPress Pros
Progressive
& Powerful
– WordPress is always pushing forward with it’s technology and it’s
developer community are always improving the platform.
Community
– WordPress comes with large pool of knowledgeable developers
creating new functions and extending the function of the default
software through plugins and themes which can either be purchased or
downloaded for free.
Powerful
for no or low budget (FREE) –
you can create a professional and functional website with default
Wordpress software.
Do what
you like with it, more or less
– create your website today on your
own domain
and hosting you and can do what you choose with it – isn’t that
great!
Simple to use – It comes with a reasonably easy to use ‘dashboard’ – not too dissimilar to Blogger.
–
Plugins and Themes
– Just too much awesome to list. Also a lot of dross but there is
essentially a candy store of added functions to select from.
Rating out of 5 : : 1 = Poor 5 = Excellent Cost = 5 / (*1 ) Ease of use = 4 Creation Efficiency = 4 Set Up = 3 Quality Of Websites = 5 Value = 5
Total = 26 / (*22)
*Cost
variable due to free VS paid. As this article is about free and low
budget website solutions the score jumps from free to expensive
depending on whether you need a dev to help you.
WordPress Verdict : Great Value, Great quality
WordPress
is a good platform and worth considering if you want some flexibility
in what functions come with your website and whether you want to
change it at a later date. You may require developer to help you in
the beginning but after that, your WP site is yours to do with as you
choose.
That’s all! 3 Simple ways for getting a website online – in detail.
I hope this will offer some insight! If you are needing a Graphic Website Designer to help out with creating your business send me a message or if you have any queries about the listing above – also get in touch and will try my best to answer!
This article was written to give some guidance as how to go about creating a free website. This is based on my skills and experience. The opinions, based on my experience, are ‘my opinions’ and not that of others. Please bare in mind when making your business decisions on you website that you have considered what has been written and do your research thoroughly.
The scores were created for a bit of fun.
The platforms listed are tools. It’s down to you to offer great experience and value to the person reading it.
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