

Quick Tip: Now that you’ve created artwork, and let’s assume your design uses effects from the Stylize menu such as Drop Shadows, Outer Glow or Inner Glow, you need to ensure quality. High (300 ppi). The two last options are intended for graphics that will be used for printing.This is the standard option that you would go for if you would design for the web (which in our case, we are). Screen (72 ppi), which is the default value.Raster Effects: There are three values to choose from.Quick Tip: Learn more about the differences between RGB and CMYK in this official Adobe tutorial (which does a good job explaining key differences you need to be aware of). RGB (Red, Green, Blue) is color specific to the digital medium, whereas CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black) is used in projects that involve printing. Color Mode: Double-check that this option suits the medium you are creating for.Units: Illustrator is intended for use with web and print, so you have a lot of options for this project we will go with pixels.Width and Height: Measures from which you can size your artboard – in our case, we’ll go for a 120 by 120 pixels.I usually go for a bigger artboard even if I have multiple designs, and put them on different layers so they will be at hand and select exactly the ones I want to see. Number of Artboards: The Artboard according to Adobe, represents regions that can contain actual artwork.Make sure to select Web from the drop down menu. Profile: This is important because graphics designed for the web will be different from those based on a profile for printing.Name: This one is obvious give it any name that suits your project.Try Startup App Try Slides App Other Products With Startup App and Slides App you can build unlimited websites using the online website editor which includes ready-made designed and coded elements, templates and themes. Set Up a New DocumentĪssuming you already had Illustrator up and running in the background, create a New Document by pressing Ctrl + n (or ⌘ + n if you’re using a Mac) or by going to FILE > New… and let’s go through some of the settings that will pop-up. I’m not going to talk about the actual software, but will guide you through setting up a New Document and starting to build an icon. Whether you’ve been pushing pixels for a long time, or just starting, one of the most important tools is Adobe Illustrator. For our project, a couple of images representing the actual Kindle will suffice it has a simple design that can be easily reproduced using basic shapes. These first two steps are somewhat general. By doing so, you can overlay pieces from one version to another and refine the quality of the visual composition. Even if you started an idea, and abandoned it along the way, always try to establish a path, so that you can see the directions from which your design emerged. It doesn’t matter how good you are, what matters is that by doing so, you start laying down the form and functions that your icon will use. Whether it’s a cup a coffee or some good old Nirvana (the band), find that something that gets your mind going and your hand flowing and start drawing. There are no rules, but most importantly no boundaries to which you need to adapt or constrain to – the only true variable is your imagination. Step 2 – Start SketchingĪs with any new product, the way you translate the information you now hold is deeply connected to your person, as no two ideas are identical. Now you can actually start getting creative. Google: If there’s something that Google does best, it’s finding relevant information (definitions, characteristics and most important images) all directly linked to the word you search.Īssuming that you’ve carried out your detective work, you should have a deeper sense of what it is that you want to represent by use of color, lines and other forms of imagery.A stroll through the city: You’ll be amazed of the amount of information our surroundings have to offer in terms of symbols.A website specialized in dealing with icons: Try Iconfinder, which has a nifty search engine that goes through tons of categorized icons that are related to specific keywords.A dictionary: Whether it’s online or hardcover, this little guy will always help you get a first glimpse at what your product should be or represent.


With Postcards you can create and edit email templates online without any coding skills! Includes more than 100 components to help you create custom emails templates faster than ever before.
