There are 5 things that I have learned about and used in my
career as a graphic designer that have made my life a whole lot easier. I
decided to share these things with you. Some of them you might already know
about and others not so much.
1)
Razor Tartarus- I once thought to myself it
would be nice if my shortcuts had shortcuts. It’s funny how many Photoshop and
Illustrator shortcuts have three or more key combinations to pull them off. The
Tartarus helps take those three key combos and assign them to one key. With 10
different key maps with 25 different keys to customize in each key map and an
unlimited amount of profiles you can customize this machine to make designing
easier and faster. The Tartarus was originally designed for gaming but it is so
practical that any designer can use it. There are other pieces of tech like
this and you can even get keyboards that can do the same thing. I use the Tartarus
and the time that it saves me is tremendous. You can find this product at this
site http://www.razerzone.com/gaming-keyboards-keypads/razer-tartarus/.
You can even find it being sold at places like BestBuy.
2)
Astute Graphics- We all know how important
vectors and shapes are to graphic designers. Astute Graphics is a company that
provides us designers with plugins for illustrator that can significantly cut
down the time we spend creating vectors and shapes. Through their site you can
purchase any of their plugins individually or in a package. They also have a
couple of free items that alone are worth checking the site out. Tutorials are
available for all of their plugins so no one is left in the dark. So check them
out at http://www.astutegraphics.com/
you wont regret it.
3)
Air Display- Most designers either use giant
27in screens or laptops with multiple screens to do their work, but it gets
complicated when you want to mobile. For the ones that use there laptops there
is a solution for you to constantly have multiple screens where ever you go.
Even you guys that use the giant 27in if you want a screen just to hold your
tool bar this could work for you as well. Its called Air Display. It is
essentially an app that can be installed on your mobile device as well as your
computer that allows you to use your mobile device as your second monitor. The
app for your mobile device is paid for but you will find that it is money well
spent. It works through Wi-Fi so it’s not directly connected to your computer.
Even you don’t have Wi-Fi where you are there are YouTube videos that show you
how to setup a computer to computer network that will easily allow this app to
work. For more info check out http://www.avatron.com/applications/air-display/
you will be glad that you did.
4)
Compfight- Every designer has to worry about
copyright issues it’s a vice that comes with the career. Compfight is a site
that can help with that. It’s a search engine that allows you to search for
images with either commercial or creative common licenses from the original
source. Using a site like this can really cut down the hassle that we have with
copyright. We can search for models, cars, clothing and more all with the
original license. Don’t hesitate check it out at http://compfight.com/,
the next best thing to taking your own images.
5 5)
Wacom- This last one almost all designers are
familiar with but I had to through it in there for those of us who don’t. Wacom
is a company that provides pen tablets for designers and digital artists to use
and create all sorts of work while feeling natural. Wacom offers many different
types of tablets from touch pads to second monitors with touch capability.
Having the ability to design or draw on a computer the same way you would if
you were doing it freehand will tremendously increase production time. Why wait
check them out at http://www.wacom.com/ see
what they have to offer.
Yes everything I had to share with you today has a price tag
on it. Some are more expensive than others, but they are all worth the money
considering the money you save on time. There are other ways of purchasing some
of the products like eBay and amazon where you buy used items. Check them out
if you haven’t. By implementing any one of these products you can cut your
production time in half in turn save money.
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