The resources are here to get you to an effective and universal level of quality; all you have to do is apply them.  It can’t be stressed enough, how important it is for you to apply the techniques and ideas here.

Did you ever want to be a graphic designer? How about creating club flyers? Ever ask yourself, “Man, HOW DO THEY DO THAT?”  Friends, graphic design is everywhere around us. It is in print, books, magazines, commercials, online, cd’s, albums, clothing, product packaging, movies, billboards, movie posters, even on the food we eat!  Graphic design is apparent in virtually every business in the civilized world.  Effective graphic design is effective marketing.

Effective design can spur and motivate consumers to buy into a product.  With the rise of the internet, more and more businesses are competing and need the most effective marketing strategies possible.  Graphic design can often mean the difference between success or fail. Countless companies will pay big bucks for professional graphic design for the marketing and production of their services or products.  They say Image is everything and “You only have one chance to make a good first impression”.  There is much truth to that.  Today’s consumers are very fickle and have many options.

Companies want to portray their image as effectively as possible and will do this through marketing of which graphic design in various forms often plays a big part.  Have you ever just seen a movie poster and say “I have to see this movie!” and just from looking at the poster and knowing nothing else about it?  That’s the whole idea.  Imagine if you had these professional skills and a portfolio you can market and offer to countless clients.

Graphic design coupled with other factors can make the positive difference in an effective marketing campaign to win new consumers. People are very visual and we are bombarded with visual information and offers which we are continuously making decisions whether we know it or not; oh that’s nice; that’s ugly; or that’s stupid, or I’m interested in that product, I kind of like it. Beauty takes many forms and is in the eye of the beholder but there are accepted generalities and standards. For example, most movie posters have common characteristics (which I will reference many times).

Ever want to do something like learn how to make movie posters and how exciting that would be?  Ever open that new program for the first time, just to be in a staring contest between the blank screen and your blank mind?  With no knowledge of where to begin doing anything?  We’ve all been there. 

Truth is though; if you know you have a natural eye for things; ie. Beauty, layout, photography, fashion or image and you know what looks good; you have a solid head start because you have the lurking talent that just needs to find its vehicle.  Congratulations, you found it! 

If you’ve ever thought, “I could do that differently” then you had the spirit of what it takes to be a producer. If you don’t, you can try it and find out and if not; then you can specialize in other areas of production or promotion.  Where else can you find someone to teach you how to become an effective graphic designer if you can't afford graphic design school or college? 

Sure you can go to a graphic design vocational school or collegiate program and pay $15,000 plus.  Or you could put that extra "general studies" cushion time into producing in Photoshop and seeking out more affordable and practical resources.  You should want to get to the heart of Photoshop and design as soon as possible.  There are great resources out there which we will continue to link to.  PhotoshopDesign.NET and our partners will continue to provide you with the real world education at much less the cost (much of it absolutely free).

You wouldn’t hardly ever find a movie poster designer sharing their secrets with anyone else; because what they do is dependent on them and would only possibly help their competition. They’ll become good at it and are too busy even to share their secrets with anyone else and would hardly see why they would (especially if they’re contracted to a corporation not to). 

So you have the program (preferably Photoshop 5.0 or above) and filled with lots of hope and maybe some ideas of designs. So how do you go from Blank Screen: Blank Face to effective producer of graphic design that will be demanded and admired by many?  That’s what the Photoshop Designer Training is for!

Photoshop Design is to help allow the average person to become a competent graphic designer and to save them $10,000’s in tuition fees.  All it needs is your persistence and dedication.  That doesn't mean you have to read the reference manual from front to back. What I will do is continue to show you how to produce great graphic design to rival that of working professionals. Your work will speak for itself. Don’t quit your day job; it will take time and dedication but we have no doubt you can be there.

You can have incredible work but you also need to market yourself effectively to get the “job” (B2B) offers you want. It will take time to develop a portfolio. The more a habit of production and applying you make of it, the faster you will get there. I recommend around 2 (+) hours/day if you are serious.

I am here to bridge the gap between the know-how’s and those who want to know-how.  This should be obvious from the quality of the tutorials you find here (imagine what my full designer training could do for you...)

Effective graphic design is a visual complementary synergy of the independent components. Effective graphic design will portray the image or convey the feeling or emotion the producer (or your client) wants to get across (examples). Graphic design is all about synergy.
You are the creator now. The power is in your hands. Once you master some of the basics and you have material available, you can just keep experimenting and working on your basics.

The Discover Photoshop: Total Package (all the Design training PLUS the Basic Photoshop 4 DVD training) is filled with 500 video, 'see it as it happens' tutorials to show you how to operate within Photoshop to create and produce incredible designs.  Make sure you join the free PSDer Ezine to keep getting free education on your new or expanding journey.  You can also sign up for 60 free tutorials @ BasicPhotoshop.com

It's a great feeling to be able to communicate your visions effectively.  Learn from my skills with hundreds of downloadable designs in the iPSDirectory (included in the PSDesigner training).

- Orion Williams copyright 2004

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