How to edit text on your card artwork in Adobe Indesign! This short tutorial shows you how to make some quick and easy edits to the text in your card artwork in Indesign. This post also covers some general text frame editing.
Editing your playing cards should not be difficult if you know how, and have the right tools.
It should be noted that this article focuses purely on the card editing stages, and not the whole card creation process.
This is a general help article to edit text on your card artwork in Adobe Indesign. You don’t need to be an Indesign guru or know your way around data merge to follow this.
This tutorial is ideal for those that just want to jump and edit the text quickly and hit save. It’s short and sweet, quick and dirty – no fuss. Or however else you want to describe quick text edits for game cards. The same applies to editing text too.
Common Question | Ways of editing the card text in Adobe Indesign
It is quite common for me to hear “how do I edit text on the cards” after I have created the initial prototype for a client.
With the card artwork, it is often in my client’s interest to know how to edit the text themselves or assign somebody else to edit the text. This is especially true in the late stages of production or mass production for various reasons.
One being, I’m not a copywriter profession!
How to edit text in Indesign on your card artwork – put simply
In order to edit the text easily, open the document in Indesign ( if you’ve not done so already). Select the card face you want to edit, ( use the pages panel ) and change the text. You will then need to save your work or export it if you are intending on sending the work to print.
That is the simplified and short answer to editing the game card text in Indesign.
I cannot edit text in Indesign!
If you are finding that you cannot edit text in Indesign or you cannot edit the text on the cards. A few of the reasons could be either the text frame is locked, the layer is locked, or you need to override the master page template.
You can read more on editing your text frames in Indesign at the bottom of this post.
6 Steps to editing text in your card artwork In Adobe Indesign
1 ) Open up Indesign
Assuming that you already have Adobe Indesign installed, in order to edit the text you will need to have Adobe Indesign open.
If you don’t already have Adobe Indesign, you can download it. ( make sure to download from Adobe – DO NOT BUY OR DOWNLOAD from an unknown source )
Make sure that you have permission to install the software and that your computer has the technical requirements to run Adobe Indesign.
*Friendly Disclaimer | Adobe Indesign is not run or owned by myself. Indesign is part of the Adobe Creative Suite. I cannot take any responsibility for any loss or damage incurred should you download any 3rd party software or Adobe Indesign.Please take precautions!
Please check all the requirements from their official website before downloading. ( Adobe Creative Suite ) And make sure that you download the software from a safe source. Do not use any unauthorized 3rd party platforms when downloading InDesign. ( also based on past experience )
2 ) Open up the card artwork
You can either ‘Open’ the artwork from the ‘File’ drop-down menu in Indesign ( File, Open – Select artwork ) or you can open the artwork by ‘dragging and dropping’ the artwork onto the application icon from your desktop.
Or if you have your recent items window on view when you start up Indesign, open your document this way.
Tip – Don’t overwrite your original card artwork!
As a tip, I would strongly advise that you create 2 versions of your artwork and leave the original intact. If you edit the text, change something and save over the original artwork ( ruin it by accident ) you won’t have a way of back-stepping from this mistake.
Create another version! And avoid editing the original version. A piece of advice from past experience.
3 ) Navigating the card artwork for your game
Theoretically, you now have your card document open in Adobe Indesign. It will look something like this.
If you have used a template or a file such as the one shown in this article, then you should be able to scroll up and down through the cards. As you scroll up and down, you should see the back and front of your cards.
Or, as an alternative way of finding the card you need, go to window > pages. If this tool panel is not already open.
You can either scroll up and down to go through the cards, which is okay for smaller decks, but not as efficient if you have a larger deck. Or if you have your ‘pages’ window open, you can double-click on these to jump to the card you want to edit. This is a faster and more effective method of navigating through your cards.
( Handy tip! Did you know you can see which page you are on at in the bottom of InDesign interface when you are editing the card you want to edit? The illustration above has a close-up of ’19’ to show this. )
5 ) Find the text box ( interacting with an Indesign text frame )
Assuming that you have now selected the card you wish to edit. Go to the text box ( as shown below ) click on it, and edit your text!
Tools you should only need!
If something has gone awry, here are some simple steps to follow.
) Make sure that you have the ‘selection tool’ active.
) Go to the box or area you wish to edit.
) Double-click the text box.
) Find the word or sentence you wish to edit.
If you are having trouble being able to edit the text or some of the text, this bit of troubleshooting may help. Cannot edit text in indesign – help!
6 ) After you have edited the text
Now that you know how to edit one text box and all has gone smoothly, you can edit any basic text box in these card files.
Once you are happy with your work and your edits just make sure to save your work. You can save your work by going to file ‘Save’ or ‘Save As’. Or by pressing CTRL+S ( Apple + S ).
7 Bonus Step ) Exporting your file for print
It should be noted that this process is a bit more nuanced and may require more experience and skill in saving your work correctly. It can be easy for somebody inexperienced ( or with experience! ) to run into difficulties when setting files up for print.
Remember, when doing this that you are shouldering the responsibility for all the print production for your cards. If you would like somebody to share the burden feel free to get in touch or read more here. Card game design.
‘Export’ your file as a PDF’
Remember to Select all pages if you wish to save/export all pages for print.
Double-check that the images are above 300 DPI when exporting ( otherwise you will get a low-res file )
Check that it is in CMYK
Hit ‘Export’ and select a location
This is a simplified version of how to edit text on your card artwork in Adobe Indesign. The added end step also instructs how to save your work and export it for print.
Troubleshooting Game Card Editing in Indesign – cannot edit text in indesign!
When looking at how to edit text on your card artwork in Adobe Indesign, sometimes it is not as straightforward. There can be issues such as locked layers, master pages being selected, or even limitations with hardware.
Here are some troubleshooting steps for editing the text on your cards.
Why can’t I select the text box? I can’t edit my text frame!
This could be down to a couple of reasons as to why you can’t edit the text box in your file. Here are some of the potentially straightforward and obscure reasons as to why you may not be able to edit your text :-
You don’t have enough ram/processing power on your computer
If your computer is struggling to run Indesign properly, an odd quirk that can show up is an inability to edit or select text boxes.
Possible solutions:
1 ) Turn off other programs such as Outlook, Your Web Browser, and other non-essential applications to see if this loosens up some grunt for Indesign. Remember to only close nonessential programs
2 ) Change the view to low-res draft mode. This can also make InDesign less taxing on your computer.
3 ) If you have tried all of the above. With a minimal amount of applications still running to allow more resources to go to indesign, close Indesign and re-open it to see if this does the trick.
The object is accidentally locked
There could be a couple of reasons as to why you can’t edit the text in your Indesign document. And, fortunately, the fix for this can be as simple as unlocking your text frame to get it working again.
Here are a couple of ways to check if you have a locked object. Unlocking text frame solutions in Indesign:
– The Object has been manually locked! This is a simple case of unlocking the object. To make sure the object isn’t locked go to > top menu > and check the drop-down for the Object – Unlock all on spread. Here is an image showing the menu option.
( Here is some more accurate information from Adobe on where to find this exactly – unlocking objects )
– Your text frame is on a locked layer. Alternatively, your text frame could be on a ‘Locked Layer’. On your ‘layers tab’ in the interface window, check to make sure the editable text layer ‘is not locked’. ( With a padlock on )
You want it ‘unlocked’ – you may also need to open the ‘layers’ window open.
– You are editing the wrong layer. If you cannot edit your text, it can be as easy as having the wrong layer selected. And, having the layer you want edit locked. Make sure you have your correct layer selected and that you are unlocking the correct layer!
You are trying to edit a master template
Another potential reason that you may not be able to edit the text is that you are trying edit from A, or the Master Page. A way to check is to:-
Select the card ( page )
Right click
And “Override Master Page Properties”
*Just remember not to override and edit the Actual Master template. This may otherwise change the text or design on ‘all of the cards’ or pages. ( remember what I said about keeping a backup? Always, keep a back up file!)
Thank you for reading and editing the text on your card artwork in Adobe Indesign
That is a share of my experience on how to both easily edit the text on any card artwork or card artwork template for your board game. And, how to edit the text in Indesign – when you cannot edit text in Indesign.
Hopefully, this post has saved some time, money, and headache. Feel free to share this post if you feel it is helpful.
If you would like help in designing a card game or creating some illustrations for your game please get in touch.
Final bit of advice on how to edit text on your card artwork in Adobe Indesign
My final bit of advice on editing your text on your card artwork would be to hire a professional if you are doing this as a DIY thing for your business. Or at least find somebody that knows their way around Adobe Indesign, how to save it etc.
Although I appreciate that budgets can’t always make this a viable option it is still potentially the better option.
Getting somebody that is experienced can save headaches later on.
Tips for creating a graphic design portfolio. Getting noticed can be difficult in the design field. Whether you are a freelancer, junior or somebody that is looking at changing their career. This post is a list of 30 portfolio ideas that will help you with your design journey. – tips for Graphic Design portfolio
This will (hopefully) offer some ideas to create an interview-ready graphic design portfolio.
“There are three responses to a piece of design – yes, no, and WOW! Wow is the one to aim for.”
– Milton Glaser
Tips for a graphic design portfolio that may get you noticed
I will answer quickly the question that I was asked recently before going into the detailed list of tips on making a compelling graphic design portfolio. But before going further into these tips for graduate graphic designers, I want to share some of my knowledge and experience when recruiting for graphic design internsships.
Please bear in mind that I am not a recruiter.I’m a designer with over 14 years of experience. I was also a Senior Designer and Head of Department when I used to recruit somebody to help me and the company.
I was a Senior Designer, who hired graduates for junior ‘traditional design roles’, 3 month internships, and freelance positions. And when I say traditional graphic design – mostly print.
Myself and my former colleague, looked through a range of portfolios when trying to find a good fit for the company. Sometimes a job posting would get 100’s of applications in less than a week.
Another interesting piece of information you may like to know – I used to look at portfolios before looking at CV’s. I could write a post about the process but that is something for another day.
How can I make my Graphic Design portfolio stand out? tips
To get employers, agencies, and or anyone to hire you for a project or job. You need to have a portfolio that helps you shine, resonates with the employer and potentially be on brand with the person hiring. Look at who is hiring and ask yourself whether your portfolio is a match. What benefit can you and the portfolio bring to the role?
Take
note, you, the designer will need to put your best foot forward if
you want to win that job. You need to show that you can do what is
asked of you and that you can offer value to the next role.
What you did yesterday is nice – what you are going to do tomorrow will be what gets you the job.
Not everyone will love you or your portfolio, but you want to give it your best shot until something eventually sticks.
Onwards for 30 tips for creating a graphic design portfolio – list of ideas
1 ) Have a portfolio
In short, yes you need a portfolio to get graphic design roles. Be it in digital or print form. People, designer managers, and recruiters need to see what you can do. This is the first tip. Without a design portfolio, there is no way of ‘showing’ what you can do. Without any examples of work, you are relying on an employer, agency or client to just take your word for it. I cannot emphasise this enough.
Yes, you need to show that you are a graphic designer and you at least have some idea of what you can do. Don’t tell them – show them.
2) Include your best, finished pieces
This is not as common as you might think. Graduates, in particular, tend to can put much process stages and fluff into their portfolios. Although this offers a good insight into how you work, too much can be counter-productive. This can be better shown in asked.
Many employers are in a hurry and want to see ‘results’ but not all.
And, I may burst a bubble here and go as far as to say that you may be working as a creative junior artwork / designer if this is your first role – even if the position is sold differently on the jobs board.
Hopefully, this won’t be forever. But be prepared to see a lot of this when applying for work – especially in the early stages.
Many artworking roles are dressed as creative design work when in fact a manager or client may be telling you what to do, and… you may be pushing pixels around to begin with as a junior designer.
When you also include you best pieces of work, consider making your portfolio like a sandwich. Really great stuff at the start. Less good stuff in the middle, great stuff again at the end.
3 ) Show your technical proficiency
If you have managed to find a job that is more ‘art and design’ or ‘illustrative’ then great! But if you are looking for more mainstream graphic design roles you will need to show that you can create the artwork in common industry standards. Programs such as, Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and Indesign are common at the time of writing this.
I would no longer assume that all design graduates come out with these software skills as a standard – not after recruiting interns and junior graphic designers for creative positions. I was surprised some establishments were churning out graduates without any software skills mentioned above at all, and I felt truly sorry for the graduates who sold these design ‘courses’. If that is what you can call them.
4 ) Design notes & annotations in the portfolio
Believe it or not, whether you are going to a meeting as a freelancer, junior or senior designer. People will read your notes and they will want to understand more of what is going on in your project.
You may know what your project is about but others will not, it is often best to spell it out in short sentences. It doesn’t have to be an essay. Just a paragraph with some annotations saying what is going on in a few words.
5 ) Make it relevant and appealing
This is one of the most important points in this list so make sure to pay attention. Make sure whatever is in your portfolio – is as relevant to the job as possible if you want the position.
Employers
will want to see what you have done and also what you will do for
them should they hire you for the role.
For example, if you are going for a packaging role at gifting company, try to emulate that you can do packaging and that you have past experience in the relevant market. If you have no commercial experience in this and you want to work in packaging and print, create some of your own initiated projects and show what you can do!
6 ) Your portfolio says one thing, your CV says another
Saying that you have x y z is one thing. But if your portfolio tells a very different story to what comes out of your mouth or what is written on your CV it will be evident by the end of the meeting.
Don’t bluff too much as you will waste your time and hiring managers’ time. And managers and directors really don’t have a lot of time to waste.
7 )Woefully terrible portfolio
Subjective
but…
I recall reading a CV and thinking to myself how epic a candidate was. I jumped over to their portfolio and they had just 2 pieces of dubious graphic design work in their portfolio. There was a dinky little piece of advertorial tucked up into a corner of the page promoting a grave-digging business, the other I cannot recall. But it made an impression..!
It was pretty evident that this individual was not a trained graphic designer and that some people in the industry may have been outraged by what was trying to be passed off as a portfolio. In a word – they were bluffing it and their portfolio showed it.
Perhaps
they wanted to change their career.
If
you are looking at changing career then study design, or at the very
least have a portfolio with work that shows you are capable.
Don’t
tell hiring managers how good you are, show them!
Also, don’t get me wrong, I don’t claim to be the best designer in the universe but you know… come on. I was hiring! My reputation is on the line and anyone who would put even a basic new fresh out of university or course graduate next to this would probably giggle.
So what to do with your graphic design portfolio – Let other eyes see
So, make your portfolio as awesome as you can! Do your best, look at other designers, and ask yourself some frank and critical questions. This would be a strong tip on how to create a design portfolio. Make it as best as you can! even this will get some brutal remarks most likely. Trust me, I both seen it and felt it.
8 ) Varied but relevant
The
closer you can keep your portfolio to the job match, the better. If
you have any relevant or applicable pieces that you believe can help
land you the desired position – include them.
You want to show projects that are transferable to the position and present you in a good light.
9 ) Not enough work
It can be frustrating even as a senior designer to hear, “Have you worked for anyone else?” or when I was a graduate “is that all?” from a recruiter. As a graduate, the chances are you may only have a few good pieces of work and a final major project that takes up a large portion of your portfolio.
Don’t be disheartened.
Create
more work that will draw attention. Sounds easy, but the fact is,
your portfolio shouldn’t stop once you leave university or college.
If you can try to keep your work up to date and keep adding new and
exciting pieces, this will carry you in good stead in the future.
tips Graphic Design portfolio
10 ) Personal projects
As long as they are good, polished, and relevant, include a couple of these projects in your portfolio. It shows that you are continuously trying to develop and some of these projects are on occasion, more interesting than your commercial projects.
11 ) ‘Discuss’ projects
With your printed portfolio, be ready to discuss not just what you did in the project, but for what purpose. For example, if your aim was to sell a product, mention this in notes and be prepared to elaborate if you are asked questions.
Keep the notes small and to the point but, try to write it in a way that will invite questions and open discussion.
12 ) Real-life examples
If you have created any real-life examples of your work be it packaging, stationery, or retail displays take photos of these and add them to your portfolio too.
Aside from breaking up your portfolio and keeping it interesting, having real-life examples adds a tangible authenticity to the project that a render of a flat image cannot replace.
If you don’t have photos or real-life examples then create your own renders and visual mock-ups to show your work in action! And if you can’t create visualisations, you could always consider using a website such as Graphic Burger for freebie mockups.
Websites, such as Graphic Burger have a ton of free mockup kits.
14 ) Have real products and samples for your meeting
Another thing to accompany your graphic design portfolio is to have physical samples of what you have made. So, for example, if you have created a piece of packaging and you have the box – take it with you to the meeting.
People
like to touch things – we are tactile creatures.
You can always show some of the work in progress in your portfolio too and then pull out a “Here is one I made earlier”. It can also help to shake up dull meetings.
15 ) A ‘bit’ of the design process
Showing some of how you work can offer a little extra insight into you as a designer, as mentioned before. For me, I will often keep completed visuals alongside some of the rough drawings and processes.
This is a small break in the list! 30 Tips Graphic Design portfolio.
Hopefully,
this has given you some ideas on how to create an interview-ready
portfolio. As a designer, your portfolio is important at any stage of
your career, whether you are a graduate or a senior designer.
It should be noted right here and now, that a nice display book for your portfolio is never a replacement for good work and eye-catching design. It is just tidy a professional vessel to show your best pieces.
Since University, I
have used a tidy A3 mapac portfolio to display my work.
Your portfolio needs to look professional. No stickers, No A-level ring binders with cloudy sleeves… slick and professional.
A3 Mapac
My personal favourite
that is affordable is the A3 design book or if you have some cash for
the sleeves too, archival cases.
Don’t use the cheaper-looking A2 ring binder portfolio that you probably went to a college interview with. You are a design professional now and you need to look the part, I would also like to remind you that you are in competition with other designers – with slick portfolios.
17 ) Art vs Design
I’m going to say something controversial to some – art & design, in most commercial settings, are not the same…
So, by all means, feel free to include some of your ‘artwork’ if it is relevant to the job.
But most agencies, unless you are an illustrator, are looking for a Graphic Designer – not an artist, and there is a difference, and more so in real commercial settings.
If you look too much like an artist as opposed to a design professional when you are applying for a professional graphic design role, this can work against you in a couple of ways:
Secretly, you want to be an artist and your portfolio shows this. Therefore do you have intentions to make this dream a reality? (leave the role in 5 minutes)
They are not hiring an artist (unless they are) they are looking for a graphic design professional for the position. You have sold yourself as more artist than a graphic designer
You will be frustrated as you probably won’t get to paint. (Who doesn’t love to paint!)
Make sure your skills and portfolio are in line with the job requirements. What you have in your portfolio will reveal more than you realise. Sell yourself to the position.
Then create all CVs and portfolio and reflect this.
18 ) ‘Artwork’ in your graphic design portfolio
As lovely as some
artwork can be, these more often than not offer an irrelevant
distraction sadly. They may look beautiful, but unless relevant to a
job or project it is best left out.
Or added to an alternative dedicated artwork portfolio.
If you have provided artwork for ad campaigns, an app, or something similar, include it if you feel it offers something to the job. But only if it offers something to the role. Make your portfolio about the job and what you can offer to the job that will be applicable.
19 ) How much work should I include in my design portfolio?
This question has been
around for years and for as long as I have been designing – and in
truth. I would struggle to say how much is too little for your
printed design portfolio.
– For my printed portfolio, I try to hover around 14 pieces without it getting boring.
– I would say no more than 20 pieces in your portfolio. Recruiters would try to steer you toward around the 14 or 16 number.
Too much ‘okay’ work can dilute the great work. Be ruthless with what you include. it is a delicate balance of best foot forward and not selling yourself short. Or, if speaking to a recruiter for a role, ask them. Include work that will sing to the person hiring.
20 ) Stand out with your print portfolio
The tips and ideas listed in this post are elements of a much bigger goal – what can you do to make your portfolio stand out and get you a job?
Recruiters, HR, and businesses are busy and the chances are if you applied for a position at a company in a big city they will have received literally hundreds of applications. This is especially more likely if you are applying for work in the summer holidays.
How do I know this?
Because I have been in the position of hiring for junior design
roles.
So, this brings it back
round to this point. What can you do to stand out in a roaring sea of
busy inboxes?
Create real-world examples of how the project came out, If it is a piece of packaging then try to mock up the packaging. There are websites online that allow you to put together mock-ups if you can’t do this yourself.
If you have designed a kiosk, stand signage – take ‘in situ’ pictures that make a recruiter say “you actually made this”.
Other ‘wow’ factors for your graphic design portfolio
If it is digital design also, use web links to live websites if at all possible, however, it can be the case that website change – some make sure to take screen grabs.
If the website has
changed and you only have a UI, create mock-ups of the design inside
a computer screen or a Smartphone.
Assume that people will
only spend around 60 seconds glancing at your portfolio. What can you
do to hold their attention for longer? Also ‘show’ what something is
as much as possible.
21 ) Make your design portfolio snappy
Did I mention that
business owners are busy (or impatient)? Or both. I’m (and have been)
guilty of this. I would advise making it so that your portfolio can
be read easily and skimmed.
There may only be a couple of projects that actually catch the employers’ attention so make it easy for them to spot what they are looking for.
22 ) Compartmentalise and structure
Keep your portfolio in
some sort of sensible order. Whether this is by project or by a
medium such as print and then digital is down to you. Don’t jump
between projects.
It will help any recruiter stay on track with what they are reading and make it look like you can apply some order to your projects. Being an organized designer is a huge plus too.
Do I need a ‘digital’ portfolio?
Yes, in a very short answer. A quick step out here.
I have been asked “do
I need a digital portfolio?” or specifically a PDF portfolio. 100%
yes. You do need a digital portfolio saved as PDF. Get this sorted
first as with the digital age, this will be your first port of call.
When I was recruiting for internships ( you can read tips here on getting an inhouse graphic design internship) and hiring for a junior role, I would also need to see a PDF of work along with a CV. And shall offer a little inside sub-tip right here, right now.
Subtip – After a time I stopped reading a design CV’s first
Think that is an odd thing to add?
It was not uncommon for me to read a great CV from top to bottom and say – “Wow this person sounds great! Let us hire them now.“
Then I would look a the portfolio…
I can recall looking at some of these portfolios and asking myself whether they were even Graphic Designers, it made me feel genuine pity for Graphic designers trying to struggle through and find work in the industry when these ‘have a goes’ were trying their luck.
Secondly. I had wasted 5 minutes of my time reading a CV of somebody who clearly wasn’t a Graphic Designer. From then on I took a portfolio-first approach.
Make both your CV and
portfolio as good as it can be. It will help you secure the
opportunity you want.
And to answer again –
yes you will need a graphic design portfolio / PDF version. It is
very important. Which leads to the next point.
23 ) Create PDF or online version of your portfolio
Moving on from physical
hard copy of your print portfolio. I will now offer some ideas and
insights on creating digital versions of your portfolio with this
being the first digital tip.
Create a digital PDF version of your portfolio so that it can fit inside a recruiter’s inbox.
Make it eye-catching
and don’t make the recruiter or the person having to hire need to
work for it.
Make it as easy for
them as humanly possible.
If you are struggling to know which program to use to create a digital PDF portfolio you can use Indesign and Adobe Acrobat and ‘save as’ or ‘export’ from there.
24 ) Keep the PDF small
Don’t send a MASSIVE portfolio to the recruiter’s inbox. This will either take too long to download or may even get caught in a firewall.
So with this I mind,
and knowing that you should send a concise version of your PDF
portfolio this will probably mean that you may have to trim the fat.
Cull the stuff that
won’t help land you the job – next point!
25 ) Create A ‘light’ version of your PDF portfolio
One of the obvious ways of shrinking your portfolio is by losing some of the pages which makes it so bloated and heavy.
Lose projects and be
brutal with what you want to include.
If needs be, strip it
back to the bare essentials. And then decide what matters to you and
what you should include. I can be worth doing this every year. We can
call this maintenance.
26 ) Don’t bother sending Wetransfer links to download your WHOPPING great PDF
Please don’t.
Remember when I said ‘make it easy for them’ sending a link or a ‘Wetransfer’ isn’t making it easier for the recruiter to see your work. Don’t make ‘them’ (people hiring) have to wait to download your 2 GB portfolio as this takes time and invites more problems for you.
I tend to strive to try
and keep my PDF portfolio under 3 / 4 MB tops so that I can attach it
and get it inside an inbox.
From a recruitment standpoint making me have to download a PDF from 100 plus applications makes it time-consuming and more difficult than it needs to be.
So, don’t make a hiring manager download anything. Don’t waste their time.
It will be met with an
inner groan. You don’t want to make the person hiring burst a blood
vessel!
Don’t cause this | tips graphic design portfolio
27 ) Make it easy for the hiring manager
Make it simple. Don’t send dozens of links to various locations. Have all of the big content in a single PDF or keep it all together as much as possible.
The more actions you ask the recruiter to take, the more likely they are to get bored or move on.
And you don’t want
that. They are people behind the jobs, after all.
28 ) Links to online presence
In addition to your PDF portfolio, you should have some of your artwork online. And when I say online, I mean on platforms such as Behance, Creativepool, etc.
Putting additional work on websites such as Behance can be a great way of showing off additional work and sending follow-up links. The bits of the process you can’t fit into a portfolio or the bit of a project that didn’t quite make the final cut.
As a freelancer, it is especially important for you to have your work visible online but that is another topic for another day.
29 ) Deciding on ‘not’ having an online graphic design presence
Mixed opinions on this.
If this was for a job for a classic print house then I could let it go – maybe. But in this day and age with so much information, projects, and work being online I would have found it strange not to see any of your work online.
Even as a pure print
designer. I would advise that you have your print work online also.
Here are a few reasons:
It will most likely be the first thing people will look at when they
want to see samples of your work – in particular as a freelancer.
Not having work online will age you – in a negative way (too much of a senior designer?). It may also be perceived that you may not have an interest in design trends etc.
I’m not mentioning that
to be mean. Even a senior designer myself. I have found this to be an
issue in the past.
30 ) Website Portfolio
You may not ‘need’ a dedicated online portfolio if you are just going to focus on print design. But, if you are gearing towards working in the digital fields then I would say yes – you should have some form of a website or at the very least an online presence as a bare minimum.
If you are thinking of creating a website I have written some tips here on how to start with some very affordable web creation options – keeping in mind, that the post mentioned is geared toward small business owners as opposed to how to create a killer graphic design portfolio.
A website allows you to
sell yourself and sell yourself the way you want to.
Having online a Behance profile means that you are in a sea of designers and you have to structure portfolio according to their rules and format.
Don’t get me wrong,
Behance is great. And I believe you should set up a profile today but
not at the expense of a website – more true if you are a
freelancer.
So… do you need a
Website? Is it compulsory to have one?
No.
But having one may help you to stand out and possibly look more professional. You need to give yourself an edge.
Summary | 30 tips for creating a graphic design portfolio
I hope these
suggestions will help you in creating a graphic design portfolio that
turns heads. If you also have tips for a graphic design portfolio
feel free to share.
I have over 14+ years of commercial experience in graphic design – both digital design and print. I have also recruited quite a few graduate designers that I see falling at similar hurdles and I wanted to help you – as a graduate graphic designer (and maybe another professional designer) get to the design job you want.
Here are a couple of
inspiring quotes:
“There are three responses to a piece of design – yes, no, and WOW! Wow is the one to aim for.” – Milton Glaser
“No masterpiece was ever created by a lazy artist.” – Salvador Dalí
Graduate design tips
If you are a graduate looking for some design tips read this.
Additional Resources | tips for a graphic design portfolio
To create a digital STEM or E-learning game ‘app’ you will need to make a plan, download software to construct the game and have access to or own software to create the artwork and ‘assets’ for the game. This post covers all of the details on how to create a STEM game or application in a step by step process from software suggestions, to hints and tips.
Caption from E-learning game
The steps I used to create an E-learning / STEM game.
This post covers the
steps and stages I undertook to create a STEM game or what was then
an E-Learning game that could be played on a computer, be it either
an iMac or PC.
I would like to mention now that I am not a teacher or a STEM specialist. I took what was a principle and applied it to my game design for a major project. This article focuses more on the creation of the application itself, opposed the focus of STEM subject matter itself. If you wish to read more specifically on the subject of STEM you can find out more here : source
Why Create an E-learning (STEM) Game?
Before STEM was a term I had heard of, I wanted to create an application that was both entertaining and educational for young children. Games or gaming has a bad rap for being mindless and many are (I do like a mindless shooter as much as the next person). I was also a fan of the classic puzzlers growing up such as Monkey Island and Fate of Atlantis.
I wanted to create a
fun purposeful experience through the medium of gaming that will help
children.
And…
When the project was
assigned to create a big experience I wanted to create a game that
would utilise some of my existing skills as a young designer and
illustrator (as a student) and create a product that I would be proud
of. I wanted the E-learning game to have engaging puzzles and
characters that would pull the children in and compel them to explore
through the levels. They also had a mission, they needed to save a
friend.
Crooked Castle for E-learning
About this E-learning game – Blossom Tree
The game was aimed towards children aged 7 +. As the player progresses through the game, they would have to answer questions of varying difficulty until they arrive at the final stage and save their friend. There were 2 main paths that had 2 types of questions.
Path 1 = Sums
Path 2 = Spelling
It should be noted that you can pick any of the core STEM subjects for your own project.
Both paths converge at
the end to logic and problem-solving questions which broke format
from traditional ‘yes” and ‘no’ English and maths.
Blank background for level
The steps used to create the E-learning game whilst adopting STEM
After studying design
this was my first venture into developing websites, apps and 2D games
in Adobe Flash. From the start, I planned the project from the look
and feel to how it would play. I also made a level randomiser but the
concept ran into technical difficulties late into the game
development – get into your “white boxing people” please. It is
such a valuable stage for the process. I have mentioned in detail
below what “White boxing” is.
1 ) The idea for the E-learning Game
Sounds obvious, but the
idea was an important step. I had a vision and idea for what I wanted
the game o achieve and how it may look! After developing a viable
idea I set about doing some research online into “pedagogy” and
how it could be applied to the design of my e-learning game.
2 ) Game Objectives – “The Mission”
So you have an idea,
now what do you want it to achieve? You will need to consider the age
range for your game, whether it will be for all educational subjects
or will it just 1. If this going to be for free? Etc. As a teacher or
somebody looking to make a STEM game grab a piece of paper or open
word and start jotting down what you would like your application to
do for the world.
3 ) Planning your STEM / e-learning game
Great, so you have
established what you want your game to achieve and what will happen
in the game. I approached a more narrative approach to my game which
lent itself well to word challenges and maths questions. If you are
making a Science themed game maybe you could have a lab and you need
to find the secret ingredient for a concoction? Of you have
calculated sums and outwit an evil computer! The ideas are endless.
Start to the application – you game, how many levels, how many
characters, sound, animations, and try to do a rough cutting list of
what will need to be created. This may change as time goes along.
* note: the more ideas you have the longer it will take finish
Level map for game
4 ) Your Game Project Timeline
If this is your first
venture into creating a game project it’s tricky to gauge how long it
will take to create a fully-fledged game. If you are building it all
yourself – and learning all of yourself it could be a steep old
slope = a lot of time. None the less, in order to get your STEM game
live you need to set up milestones. I would advise breaking your
milestone down into smaller steps if not for timekeeping, then for
your own morale.
So, with your idea
ready and your research finished and plan set to be into motion. Now
is the time to roll up your sleeves and start building. The next set
of steps covers the more technical steps for getting started.
Technical steps on “how to create your STEM game”
The game that you see displayed was created by me in Adobe Flash (See product here). To create this game, I had learned how to code in a language called “Action Script”. Action Script is what made the nuts and bolts of the game tick, from the scene transitions to the answers boxes checking to see if the question is right or wrong. I have attempted to break down the process of making your game.
1) What gaming program should I use? Select a program to start making your game
Example of game engines you could use for your STEM project
Stencyl (great for beginners with no programming knowledge)
Stencyl is great for complete coding novices. The coding system works similar in principle to Lego Bricks, where you can stack and click together the functions and activities in your game. I have attached an example of what you can do in Stencyl. Or if you would like to, you can navigate to the post here and get an idea of how it works – (Stencyl post, custom cursor) Although Stencyl is good and has merits it has many limitations in my opinion. It should also be noted, that this engine is 2D only.
Unity Software (great for someone with some coding skills, create powerful games)
Unity software is everywhere and with large developer communities constantly improving the assets and the software but, be warned – it can have a steeper learning curve if you are wanting to create e-learning or STEM games this is truly a powerful piece of kit. One great advantage is that Unity comes with LOTS of tutorials, assets and game templates to bump up your game into completion.
Adobe Animate (Used to be king of the game makers, still good but not the most powerful)
The E-learning / Stem game shown throughout this post was created in what was known as Flash. Flash, now Adobe Animate has somewhat fallen out of favour with powerful programs such as Unity bumping it out of top position and accessibility issues for Smartphones driving in the wedge.
It’s a misconception that you can’t use Animate anymore to create rich-media applications – it’s not true. You can still create phone apps, HTML 5, animations, video indents, and games!
2) ‘White Box’ your game first
White boxing is
single-handedly one of the best modern techniques I have been taught
in recent years as it can save so much time. When I say ‘white box’
its a case of roughing out functionality and lose the form of your
game. Worry about the function and how the game plays first and use
place holder graphics in the early stages of development.
One terrible mistake I
have made in the past with utilising time is to create artwork for a
component (part) of a game that will not work and you end up having
to junk not only the component but the artwork/animation also.
Rough it, test it, play it and then make it beautiful!
3) Find a game Artist or Designer
A very important step
for your STEM Learning game is creating artwork that will be visually
appealing to children (and adults) when they interact with your
awesome puzzles. I tried to make the artwork for my game appealing to
a younger audience, to keep them engaged in the topic. You can either
create the visuals yourself, hire an artist (link) or look for free
and open-source artwork and make a Frankenstein monster of moving
stock graphics! (yes, a pinch of sarcasm)
4) Test, test again and assess – then develop your game further
Test your game on players that have never heard of it or played it. Although, I have to confess that I had trouble finding young testers and the youngest I could go to was 9 years old. Watch how people play your game and take notes on what you can improve. This is a valuable step, more so if this is being created for commercial purposes.
5) Publish your STEM application / E-learning game
You’ve done it! Depending on the size of your game, you have spent a year, 6 months, 2 weeks and you have published the application ready to go out to your classroom. You have created a game with a purpose that will hopefully help with learning and STEM development. – Well, in theory, you have made it, now you need to put it into practice.
How “I” created my STEM / E-learning game
I have outlined how you can create a STEM or E-learning game based on my experience and playtesting. I have attached a few conceptual details and visuals of the original game – Called “Blossom Tree” which was my first major foray into interaction and game design at the University of Cumbria.
Static visual for field
I wanted the game to feel warm, friendly and filled with the freshness or being the outside, you never know – the artwork my spur children to go play outside, maybe build a den. You may also notice in the background there is a twisted silhouette of a castle. That is the final destination for the player.
E-learning game spoiler alert!
(Wilber Worm)
Speed rounds and classroom chalkboard.
Speed Round from e-learning game. (Do you reckon children will know what a blackboard is 20 years? Probably not. Castle level Background – getting near the end of the game.Dungeon
Looking back
I feel I may have constructed this game slightly ahead of its time. This game was created as part of a final major project whilst studying at the Cumbria Institute of the Arts in my final year of study. This would have pre-dated the surge in the smartphone and the tablet technology and well before the surge in digital downloading platforms such as Steam, Google Play, Apple Store, PS4 network etc.
This e-learning game
was created to be a web application or CD ROM .exe. The platforms for
downloading such games weren’t as prevalent then, whether they
existed at all. The commercial standpoint if I was to create this
game again I do a lot of things differently.
things I would do differently, for my STEM / E-learning game
If I was to remake this game I would add so much more interaction into the game, maybe some quicklimes scenes, a bit more movement and generally make feel a little less static, but hey, this was my first ever go at making something like this. I look at many aspects of the project – especially on the design side of things and hiss through my teeth or feel my toes curl as some of the aesthetics but still proud to this day to hear this from around the corner.
“This is F*****g ace!”
in a Cumbrian accent. And that was directed at what I had learned, what I had created and I had hoped would be an of a benefit to a few.
The take way on how to create a STEM game application
I hope my project and
how to post has motivated you and given some insight on how to create
a STEM application or learning game. The process of creating a game
such as this can be incredibly rewarding. It can also be a big
undertaking and if you need any help or have any questions. Well, you
know where I am.
If the found this post on “how to create a stem game application” useful please share. It could be helpful for those looking to create an educational game or something for friends and family.
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.
Making a simple PHP include website need not, in principle, need not hurt your brain!
So… Let’s make an easy-to-maintain bespoke brochure website using PHP. This post covers the principles of using PHP and how it can be used for brochure websites, also known as ‘brochureware’. This is not a whole guide to making a website, only the PHP part.
Using PHP include will make maintaining a larger bespoke website much easier.
Maintaining a large bespoke brochure website can be very time-consuming, based on my past experience. Using PHP “include” can take the website to the next stage of modular design and streamline your workload.
Imagine writing one line of code into a ‘php’ file instead of copying and pasting the same piece of code across 70 or so pages? Now that is time-saving.
Now imagine if you had to manually edit and retype code across all 70 pages due to a typo! You would have to go back and amend all of the pages one by one, and it would be a costly waste of time! And you’d get an arm ache!
This is especially useful on navbars and footers. Using PHP include can reduce the time-consuming method of copy and paste, shorten time, and take your website to the next stage of development (Or look at a CMS system, but that is a different topic).
With using the ‘php Include’ – the information you amend in one file can change across multiple webpages with a simple save and upload.
To further illustrate this, you can use this method for navigation, footers, banner adverts, and much more. I cannot emphasise how much easier this will make your life when working on larger projects if you must take the bespoke method. Change once to update many!
It will save hours! Or as I said before, just use a CMS system.
The Principle Of Using PHP INCLUDE for Navigation and Footers
In short, with PHP Include, you can use this line of code to include things into a web page. For example, you may wish to add custom navigation, a footer, a banner advert or just something that you wish to include. It pulls in external files and components.
For example, on a master page – parent page or however you wish to address a main page, by adding a line of script into a ‘div’ or area of your page, you can pull in files such as a navigation if it were to be created in a separate file. Such as a separate nav bar.
Likewise, this principle and line of code can pull in footer data. Or anything of similar nature.
You need not copy and paste the navigation again and again. It has many uses and purposes.
Steps for making a bespoke, low-maintenance brochure website using PHP include: the first block.
As a basic example, we are going to make a footer. We will have a master or ‘main’ document that will “include” – pull in, integrate, import a file from your website. This file will be a footer.
This tutorial/experiment will assume you already have prior knowledge of setting your website up with root folders etc, if you need some more help with this, please follow these tutorials.
– The main file (The parent/master) – An external footer file (why not add some styling to your html?) – One line of code, which you will embed into the parent folder. – A space to upload/test your experiment. (domain and hosting)
Component 1 – Parent File (Master)
The ‘Parent’ (master) will pull in the external files to construct the page. In this example. The master will have some code at the bottom of the page that will say ‘Hey footer, you included down here’.
Why not call your parent file ‘master.php’
This image shows (with straying CSS, bleurgh! sorry, an old image ) the master.php and Product-footer-test.html working together… or popping out of the bottom.
This is a master file and a and external footer.html / or PHP working in conjunction.
Component 2 – Footer File
I have used the footer in the example. This area of the website at my previous company used to have frequent updates, with new products being added constantly. As you can see, all styling is added to this queasy example with the accursed table by using CSS – the image below is the bare bones of the footer file – no bells, no whistles! ( Why did I use the horrible table back in the day!
If completed correctly, changes or modifications to the footer file will be included in the master file once you add the “include” piece of code to the master file. So what you change here (the footer file) will be visible once you come to uploading all of the files and testing the file.
How you treat your footer is down to you.
The Code Example – The Simple Piece of Code to Paste Into Your Master PHP file
The image below shows in red where the piece of “include” code sits. So, imagine you have made a hollow space on your webpage, in the hollow space, you are going to add this code to the bottom. As shown.
Its just 1 line of code… 1 line that could potentially save you hours!
Product-footer-test.html”); ?>
The line of code above, which has been inserted into the bottom of your master file will call on the footer module and all of its elements. Once you upload your files you can see whether the footer has worked! Oh and check you have saved everything!
The visual diagram below will visually show how the principle works – leaving aside how the coding works for the PHP include.
Summary of PHP include in action
This is a image of what is happening with you PHP include!
In a nutshell. You have the parent (the main page) and a child, in this example, it was the footer. 2 elements talking to each other. Thank you for reading.
Hey, need a hand with your website?
There are other methods to get the results you want, which may be even more effective if you are a non-coder. You can use a web builder, a CMS or something else. If you would like help you can find out more on the design website.
If you need a hand with a blog or website, please get in touch.
You may also find these posts interesting :
Making a simple PHP include website : Website Posts
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
