Brian Petty Design Blog » web design

Free Photoshop Layer Styles – Pink

Brian — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 18:34:19 +0000

Now that it is February I felt it was time for some fun seasonal Layer Styles. So I am proud to release a set of 15 Pink Layer styles for Photoshop. These are free for personal and commercial use and no attribution is necessary. So download, enjoy and check back for some more freebies!

Note: There is a file embedded within this post, please visit this post to download the file.

Free Font – justAkid

Brian — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 18:20:58 +0000

I have another free font to share with everyone. justAkid is a handwritten font that includes all of the major characters. Uppercase, lowercase and most of the commonly used characters. The intention of this font is to mimic some of the handwriting of a child.

Click below to download justAkid

Note: There is a file embedded within this post, please visit this post to download the file.

You can use this font for anything you would like. You are free to use these in commerical or personal projects. However you may NOT sell, claim as your own, redistrubute from your own website, email these files to your friends. Just send them the link to this page and have them download the files themselves. If you want to offer them on your blog or website you must link to this page for others to download. No Hotlinking. You do not have to credit me if you use these. Please enjoy and if you want to show me how you used them I would love to see it.

Hope you enjoy the font!

Clean Brown 1 Layer Styles

Brian — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 19:59:16 +0000

Wow it has been awhile since the last freebie. Here are some more layer styles in the “Clean Series”. This is the first set of two.

These are designed to help speed up the design process. Clean Brown 1 features 18 layer styles that look great on both light and dark backgrounds.

Clean Brown 1 Photoshop Layer styles

This time I have also included a Photoshop Swatch file for you in this download that includes all the colors that were used to create the layer styles.

Note: There is a file embedded within this post, please visit this post to download the file.

These layer styles are perfect for navigation buttons for the web as well as many other uses. You are free to use these in commerical or personal projects. However you may NOT sell, claim as your own, redistrubute from your own website, email these files to your friends. Just send them the link to this page and have them download the files themselves. If you want to offer them on your blog or website you must link to this page for others to download. No Hotlinking. You do not have to credit me if you use these. Please enjoy and if you want to show me how you used them I would love to see it.

Free Photoshop Layer Styles – Clean Green

Brian — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 20:13:43 +0000

I noticed watching TV this week that there is a lot of talk about green again. So I thought that this would be the perfect opportunity to release my third photoshop layer style set in the “clean” series. This set includes 15 green layer styles to help speed up the time you spend designing.

More Info and download after the jump.

Note: There is a file embedded within this post, please visit this post to download the file.

Free Photoshop Layer Styles – Clean Yellow

Brian — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 19:59:42 +0000

Here is the second set of free photoshop layer styles in the “clean” series. These are designed to help speed up the design process. Clean Yellow features 6 layer styles that look great on both light and dark backgrounds.

Clean Yellow Photoshop Layer Styles

More info and Download after the Jump

Note: There is a file embedded within this post, please visit this post to download the file.

Free Photoshop Layer Styles – Clean Blue

Brian — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 01:10:59 +0000

I am proud to release a set of 26 Photoshop layer styles to help speed up the time you spend designing. This first set is called Clean Blue and is the first in the set of clean colors. Please feel free to use these in your designs.

Clean Blue Photoshop Layer Styles

More info and download after the jump.

Note: There is a file embedded within this post, please visit this post to download the file.

Starting a New Project: Step Two Continued…again

Brian — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 16:56:24 +0000

Making Contact. Encounters of the Third Kind.

The final category in our search for the perfect designer involves looking outside your current contacts. There are many ways to find a designer online. From the simple Google search to portfolio sites to just looking at the bottom of a website that you frequent.

This category is wide open. Much of it depends on what you want and when you want it. Most designers have a simple form to fill out right on their websites and most are more than happy to give you a quote without any kind of obligation. Making contact by filling out a quote form online you can find out many things about how that design firm works. For example, how fast do they get back with you. This is important because it shows how well a firm communicates. If it takes a week to get a quote back it might be an indicator that communication is not their strong suit. Is the quote personalized? If you get a price back in the form of a price sheet or a generic answer it might be an indicator of how the the project might be handled.

To receive a timely and personalized quote from Brian Petty Design click Here.

Hopefully you now feel informed enough to make contact and start that next great project.

Starting A New Project. Step Two: Making Contact. Encounters of the First Kind.

Brian — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 15:03:26 +0000

Making Contact. Encounters of the First Kind.

This is the second part of an on-going series about starting a new project. To read the first part click here.

So now we know what our mission statement is, when our deadline is, and what we can pay. What’s next? Making Contact!

A simple Google search for “Graphic Designers” gives us almost 5.2 Million web pages to go through to find the right person for the job. Or you need a website? Google “web Designers”. That will give you what you want right? Only if you have a couple of years or so to dedicate to reading 8.9 million web pages. Let’s simplify the process a bit and break it down into three categories.

Category 1: Encounters of the First Kind.

You have a friend or someone you know well that can do the job for you. They know you, you know them. Perfect fit right? Well maybe. Ask yourself a few questions first before asking them. Do they do this full time, part time, or as a hobby?

If they do it full time great. More than likely they have the time to dedicate to your project. Plus it is their professional reputation on the line. But will they be out of your price range?

Part time? Will they have the time for your project? Can they make last minute changes if needed or will they be at their other job? How long will it take them if they can only work on it on nights and weekends? There are many great part-time designers out there, but make sure that their schedule fits with your schedule.

The guy (or woman) that you know that does this as a hobby? Have they done this before? Can they do it? Will they use professional design software to complete the project? (by the way… Microsoft PowerPoint is not professional design software) If they can’t do it right can you afford the time and money to redo it professionally? Be careful of this option unless the project is purely for fun and has absolutely nothing to do with business or your reputation as a professional.

One last thing needs to be said about this category. What if things go bad? When friends and money are involved there are some scary things that can happen. It’s probably not worth ending a friendship over a bad website or a poorly designed business card.

Tomorrow: Encounters of the Second Kind.

Starting A New Project. Step One: The Big Idea

Brian — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 18:04:55 +0000

So you have a project in mind and you don’t exactly know how to go about getting it done in the best possible way? It’s actually easier than you think to take those first few steps to get the ball rolling on that great idea that has been rattling around in your brain.

Step One: The Big Idea.

This part is probably already done. You know what needs to be done and what you will do with it. The problem is now what. Chances are it just seems daunting. Answering a few simple questions will help you focus and guide you in the right direction.

Question 1

What is the mission statement for this project?

No matter what the project is it has to have a purpose. Write a short mission statement for your project that states very clearly what you are doing. Keep it short. Make it very clear. “I’ll know it when I see it.” just doesn’t cut it. Know what the exact goals of the project are. Write it down.

Set yourself up for success. A clear focused mission statement is the best way to start your project.

Question 2

When do I need to have this done by?

This seems like a simple one but probably one of the most important questions that you need to ask yourself. The right amount of time creates a better project in my opinion. If the deadline is too quick sometimes the quality of the work suffers. Of course we do our very best on every project no matter what the deadline, but there is no doubt that communication creates a better end result. Communication takes time.

On the other hand a deadline that is too long creates problems as well…actually probably more problems than a quick deadline. Long drawn out projects lose focus. Think about all the messages that your audience receives on a daily basis. A concise, focused message is key.

Give yourself enough time to develop good communication, but not too much that both parties could lose focus.

Question 3

What is my budget?

No designer in his or her right mind thinks they are going to get rich on one project. They know what goes into a project and what it is worth to them. You know what you can pay for the project. Now what? Get it out in the open right from the start. Don’t be afraid to say “I can pay this for this project. Is that a figure you can work with?” and say it right from the start. If the answer is yes then great you’re on your way. If the answer is no then very little time is lost on yours and the designers parts. Remember you get what you pay for though, so if more than one designer says no because of price your budget may not be realistic.

A realistic and fair budget is key to the success of a new project.

Check back tomorrow for part two: Making contact!

Welcome!

Brian — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 22:52:28 +0000

Hi,

Welcome to the blog home of Brian Petty Design. This space will be used to give news of the goings on around here as well as thoughts, opinions, and news that relates to me and hopefully to you as well.

We hope to share stories of our successes and offer advice about the things that we do everyday like web design, print design, marketing and networking on a social and professional level.

Lots more to come!