Thank you for visiting my blog! My name is Kate Nickerson and I am a fourth-year Graphic Communication student at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. I blog about graphic design, web design, and technology. I hope you enjoy my posts, and if you do, remember to subscribe to my RSS feed!
Drop shadows are an excellent way to add dimension and interest to a design piece. However, making them look truly realistic is a more applied process than simply adding the “drop shadow” layer effect. This cool technique is something I picked up from David Adams, the Art Director of Weiser Creative Group. Read more
I rely heavily on free resources and tools offered on the web. There are many lists of free sites available that include an overwhelming amount of links, but I have tried to boil it down to the ones that I personally use the most and find the most valuable. Read more
Tables are a great way to display information such as numerical data, hours of operation, and standard procedures. While they can be made in Excel, InDesign has some sophisticated tools for making attractive tables, and data can even be imported into InDesign from Excel. Here is an easy way to make an impressive table using simple tools in InDesign. Read more
Many artistic effects can be achieved with black and white photography. It allows the viewer to focus on the lighting, texture, and composition that you work so hard to perfect. Here is a short video I made on how to properly grayscale an image in Photoshop. Changing the Image Mode is no longer acceptable! Read more
Photoshop’s Add Noise filter can be used effectively for many useful and interesting results in graphic and web design. First, I will explain the different settings that can be specified with the Add Noise filter, and then the effects that can be acheived with this simple yet powerful filter. Read more
In February, Graham Smith, the creator of LoveHelvetica.com, had a Helvetica-themed poetry contest in honor of Valentine’s Day. The winner would receive the coveted Helvetica Moleskine. I ended up winning, but it was a close competition. Here is the poem I submitted to the contest. Read more
After realizing that I really missed getting lost in a good book and wanting to quench my thirst for having fancy new gadgets, I ultimately decided that I would buy Kindle 2 a week or two after it was released to read the customer reviews. Now that I have had my Kindle 2 for almost three months, I have my own review of this device, the technology it presents, and my overall satisfaction with the product. Read more
