Feb
29
Which do you prefer? The laborious hand made design or the easy to make machine embroidery patterns? No matter which type you choose, the intricacy and complexity of embroidery styles and designs can still be a stand out, especially if you choose the right threads and fabric. These are the factors that determine the beauty and elegance of the finished embroidered work together with the pattern and the design.
Before you decide, let’s have an overview of the two methods used in making embroidery design.
Hand embroidery is undeniably difficult since it requires clear eyesight and careful manipulation of the thread and fabric using the fingers and hands coupled with imagination and creativity. Other materials can also be added to come up with variety in designs or patterns. There are different types of hand embroidery designs, which include ribbon and lace embroidery, cross stitch, and canvas work.
Ribbon and lace embroidery has been used during the old times to produce floral designs. It is a good choice for starters since it is easy to do as compared with other types. Cross stitch is commonly used and is even the most famous type of embroidery that involves counted X shaped stitches to form various types of patterns and designs. It can also be made easily although it may require careful attention to the number of X stitches to follow the desired design. Canvas work uses yarns and canvas fabric, which may not be too easy for beginners.
Machine embroidery designs are used in almost any type of fabric, including a handkerchief, towel, t shirt, skirt, cap, or in any type of cloth or fabric. Machine embroidery is obviously much easier, especially when it comes to intricate designs and patterns. The design it produces can range from simple to complex. It is preferable to use computer controlled embroidery machines when you opt for complicated designs and patterns. However it must first be converted into digitized form which must be inputted to the computer’s system.
Embroidery provides detailed information on Embroidery, Embroidery Machines, Custom Embroidery, Embroidery Designs and more. Embroidery is affiliated with Used Embroidery Machines.
Share This
Feb
28
Designing a logo can be an exciting process, and with an infinite array of logo design possibilities, it’s easy to forget to think about how your logo will look when you’re actually using it. No matter the nature of your business, you want to make sure your logo will look great no matter where you decide to use it.
It is important to remember that complex logos, although they may look great on a
large sign or on the company website, may not look so hot when shrunk down to fit
on business cards and company pens. Logos will need to be adjusted when they are
applied to stationary, t-shirts, business cards and websites. Aside from having
access to the different file forms of your logo (jpg, eps, Tif.), keep the logo simple,
avoid using too many colors and think about how you will be using your logo down
the road. This can save you a lot of trouble down the line.
A good logo is one that will fulfill all your needs, and part of that means being able
to make it look great no matter how and where you choose to use it, whether that is
on a billboard, on coasters, jackets, hats, or on your company’s vehicle, so keep
that in mind as you design a company logo.
Jonathan Munk writes articles for major Logo Maker companies such as http://www.LogoWorks.com and http://www.LogoMaker.com
For more information about LogoWorks visit
Statesman.com
Share This
Feb
27
PowerPoint is, fundamentally, a tool for communication, and the heart of that communication is written words. As many charts, videos and illustrations a presentation might have, without text these add up to little more than a collection of disjointed elements pasted between slide transitions.
Words remain the glue that ties information together. Because of this, good typography is as important — if not more so — than any visual element in a presenter’s PowerPoint file. (This not to say good presentation is a substitute for weak content; after all, content is king.)
“Typography” is a medium-independent term used to describe how type is presented. This includes everything from mixing fonts to choosing colors and point sizes to laying elements on a page in certain relation to other objects.
Good typography doesn’t happen by accident — it is a skill that is developed through practice and experimentation. Just as there are some general, fundamental guidelines that are as applicable to presentation software as they are to billboards and annual reports, there are a few typographical principles that relate directly to PowerPoint alone. Adhering to these simple strategies can result in a much more polished and professional-looking piece.
1. Fonts should never be less than 12 points in size. Even with substantial magnification over a projection system, people have difficulty focusing on smaller type. This really works against you anytime the audience needs to carefully read something, since most of their effort is spent squinting and leaning forward and not on actually understanding the content. The only exception to the 12-point rule would be small copyright information, dates or watermarks that are not related to the primary content.
2. Bigger is better. Headlines should float around 20-24 pt, larger if needed. Body copy generally works well in the 16-18 range, although 14-point is not uncommon for squeezing a few extra lines in. Headline point size should never be smaller than the content size.
3. Don’t be afraid of leading. “Leading” is the term for adjusting the space between lines, and can be found under Format > Line Spacing. This does not have to be drastic; often, a subtle 1.1 - 1.5 can really open up the design on a page and make long blocks of text much easier to read.
4. Stick with the standard font faces that are included on a typical Windows machine. These include Times New Roman, Impact, Arial, Verdana, Georgia and Trebuchet. Using off-beaten fonts that you’ve installed may make your presentation more visually interesting, but it will cause numerous problems when moving the piece between different computers. While these non-standard fonts can conceivably be moved with your file, the end product is rarely worth the resulting headaches.
5. When choosing fonts, it is often better to stay with sans-serif typefaces like Arial and Verdana. Their blocky, minimal nature makes them ideal for headline applications, where they can be displayed at larger sizes and still retain maximum readability. In PowerPoint, it is even more important to use sans-serif fonts in bullets, paragraphs and other small point size applications. Serif fonts like Times New Roman and Georgia are more decorative, and while they perform superbly in the printed realm (look no further than The New York Times for endless columns of the Times face), study after study demonstrate they hinder reading speed and comprehension when presented on screen.
6. Pick font colors that contrast with the background:
* For white backgrounds, black and dark versions of red and blue work exceptionally well.
* For dark backgrounds, like black or rich blues, white is ideal, but options such as yellow or very pale, icy blues can achieve interesting and often captivating color combinations.
* A good visual trick is to use a background color that accepts both white and black font colors. Dark oranges, rich greens (apple green especially) and even certain blues can be excellent choices for the design-adventurous.
* Color combinations to avoid: Black and red, in any situation. Color-similar combinations, such as orange text on yellow backgrounds, or light blue text on dark blue backgrounds.
7. Since PowerPoint works so well with bullet points, it is a presentation technique widely adopted as a means of displaying important information in bite-sized chunks. But consider exploring different typographic solutions for bullets; small changes can often encourage better readability and audience interest. There are several techniques that I have successfully used.
* Consider making the actual bullet a different color than the text. For instance, if your text is black, a medium gray bullet might work well. They serve to primarily guide the eye from line to line, so it is not always critical to make them as visually important as the text.
* Also, making the active bullet line a different color might be a good way to reinforce what you are saying. If each bullet appears manually, dependent on where you are in your speech, this can be a subtle but powerful means of reminding the audience what you are talking about.
* Also, try using different shapes for bullets! PowerPoint’s flexible options allows a variety of pre-installed symbols, or even an imported graphic, to be used in place of the rather dry default circles.
8. Consistency. This is, without a doubt, the most important typographic tip in any medium, PowerPoint or other. Design your master template and stick to it. If you use 24-point Arial as a headline font, 16-point Verdana as the body font and a customized set of bullets that change color, use that combination through the entire presentation. And not just sizes and colors, but also positioning. The first sign of amateur PowerPoint is text fields jumping from spot to spot across different slides.
Kevin Potts is the webmaster of Blogging Articles and ConsumerFriendly.org.
Share This
