Turbodizayn: 8 Tips designers for productive work

Our editors have done very interesting and worthy of attention from the head office of the Community "Photoshop + Creativity"In the social network" VKontakte "and the largest training portal for creative people skillsup.ru — Pavel Lebedev. For that he thanks a lot!

These proven personal experience tips will help designers learn how to take the job not just in time, and in advance. :)

Admit that you, too, often work under the scheme: "Retrieve Job → Do not do anything until the deadline → sob."

On improving the efficiency has been written many books and articles on the Internet. But the disintegration of Feng Shui sharpener on the table and marked with different colors letters in the mailbox will not help you as quickly as possible to pass the layout. Below - advice from Pavel Lebedev, the head of the largest communities of Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator «VKontakte" and the portal skillsup.ru, how to create a design with inspiration and without.

1

Sharpener with pencils can be on the table in any order, but the workspace should be convenient. Adjust it so that it will help you in your work. Palette that you use, put

to prominenceAnd those that are rarely used, and conceal.

2

If you have the option, connect to your computer a second monitor. This will provide work space so as not to have to switch between windows, and this greatly saves time. Configure one monitor for the working document, and the second - for e-mail, instant messengers, view tasks and tools.

3

There are times when a designer needs to save the world: do the layout for an hour to make it look as if the worked weeks on it. For such cases, keep a separate folder options not previously adopted for other clients. Collect on Behance standard solutions that you like and that you will be able to repeat. Create templates to work and lists its standard "original" ideas.

When it is very urgently needed templates, use Freebies:

• freebiesbug.com;
• pixeden.com;
• freebiesgallery.com;
• psddd.co;
• dribble.com/tags/freebie;
• sixrevisions.com/category/freebies.

Find new free sources for design and form its own template library. To be aware of the emergence of new content, I recommend to add sites with templates in RSS Reader.

4

Do not waste time searching for files! Most of the time we have to work with them. And often to search for files, we spend much more time than it takes. In order to stop wasting time, you should use three basic file storage principles:

• can be understood by the name of the file is always what's inside;
• All files should be located unambiguously;
• files and folders that you do not need should not be distracting.

So that you can always see what is in the file without opening it, make it a rule to write the correct file names. Most often names like Untitled appear not because of lack of time, but because we do not know what name to give the file. Therefore it is necessary to develop a system that will not have to worry about how to name files. For example, at the beginning of the file always write what the layout type (leaflet, brochure, poster and t. P.), Or write to which it relates to the customer, if you happen several customers.

The second important rule - forget the two words in the title: Final and New. Because as soon as the new changes will come from the customer, Final already cease to be Final. A previous rename all the files you do not have time.

To navigate the folders, get a certain numbering projects, but so that the numbering should not be duplicated. For example, it may be a unique project number or the order acceptance date, in YYYY-MM-DD format.

Thus, all new projects will be at the bottom of the list, and the old - at the top. If the projects in the folder will be too much, you can always send the old folder to the archive.

It will also help with the organization of the program organizer Adobe Bridge, which can add color labeling and rating images, edit XMP-, IPTC- and RAW-format work with different versions file.

5

Create layouts so that they can easily be altered. It is necessary to replace one for the other? use smart-objects in Adobe Photoshop and symbols instead of groups in Adobe Illustrator.

It is necessary to play with colors - create a global palette of colors (Swatches) in Adobe Illustrator. Changes color in one place - changing colors throughout the layout. In Adobe Photoshop using custom layers, gradient map, customizable layers Solid Color and vector objects. Also use layer effects, which can be copied and pasted to other layers.

There is a need to "play" with fonts? use Character Styles and Paragraph Styles for texts. And models are more accurate, and to change the size or font style can be very fast. Follow the procedure in the layout from the outset.

Group the layers in a folder at once, as we understand that they need to move together. Signing folder immediately as grouped layers into the folder. Signing layers immediately when found necessary unsigned layer. Remove empty layers as soon as they saw that we have a blank layer.

6

Train yourself to use hotkeys. Adjust keyboard shortcuts so that they facilitate your work. In Illustrator, many hot keys, but none of them will not help because significant time savings as key X. With its help, you can switch between fill and stroke in the palette Tools (Tools). Try to use in their work the key, and very soon you can not imagine my life without it.

7

Use a crib. If you can not remember the hotkeys, paper sizes, and so on. N. Feel free to print for yourself cribs. Keep them in front of you until you remember them. And in the working model set up for themselves guides and modular grid so that they have helped to define the center and the major proportion of the document (the third, fourth and so on. d.). This will also help save you time.

8

Automate the process. Teach yourself to use ActionsIf you do one action more than five times. Adjust batch processing wherever possible.

Done! You are gorgeous! Before putting the layout for another two hours - it's time to see the new series "Game of Thrones" and reach the treasured square with the inscription "2048".