Photoshop Down & Dirty Tricks for Designers

4. A Word from Our Sponsor: Commercial Effects

Many designers refer to commercial design work as the type that pays the bills, meaning it’s the work you do for commercial clients that doesn’t always lend itself to creative work. You are often limited by assets, time, and sometimes input from the client. They always seem to know what they don’t want, but never what they actually do want. However, it is under these conditions that you can really test your creativity. My first job out of design school was as an ad creator for a newspaper. Notice the title: Ad Creator, not Graphic Designer. The title alone limited my creativity, but I had to start somewhere. I pressed on to do the best I could and learned a lot. For one thing, I learned the value ...