Many of my students are stumped when they come across applying perspective to a simple vector object in Adobe Illustrator (in this case, CS3).  Using the “Free Distort” filter seems to be the solution that many use.  However, those of you who have tried this solution before know that it takes a lot of trial and error.  It can also produce unwanted results.  The simple, yet unfamiliar, answer is using the Free Transform tool (E).

Free Transform Tool (E)

The reason that so many designers do not know how to use the Free Transform tool is because of the extra keys that are used with the tool.  The option, command, and shift keys are needed to use the Free Transform tool correctly. Below is a step by step tutorial on how to apply perspective on a logo:

1. Select your vector logo with the Selection tool (V).
**If you are using type, it will need to be outlined  (shift + command + o).

Below are more examples of using perspective.

Thanks!  I hope this helps fellow designers!

Useful Links:
More on the Free Transform Tool
Warped Perspective
Drawing Perspective
Vectorizing

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Customers need guidance when trying to decide what they want to order off a menu.  That is why the placement of menu items, pictures/graphics and item descriptions plays an important role when designing a menu.

The inside right page of a menu is considered to be a high profile spot for a menu.  This is where it’s recommended that you place high end specialties.  It is recommended that you change up the font a little to make this section stand out more than the rest of the menu.

Menu item position affect sales.  It’s known that people/consumers tend to remember the top two items on a list as well as the bottom item.  This is a good location to place most profitable items.

Draw attention to specific areas of the menu. The font type, as well as font size, borders, boxes, symbols and shading all help to draw attention to specific items.  Just remember to not over do it.

Menus should not describe common or familiar items. Some items just don’t need to be described.  If something special or unusual is being offered, there should be a description for that item.

Don’t align prices on a menu, this causes the customer to look at the price of the item to determine what they will order.  If you put the price at the end of the description in the same type without dollar signs, this will allow the customer to focus on the item rather than just the price of the item.

Proofread!!! Proofreading is very important.  Spelling errors and typos are things that can cause customers to not take you seriously.

To see the full menu used above click here.

Below is the most comprehensive list of links to many different business card design posts. These unique designs can help you get started thinking of your own design and make your card stand out amongst the rest.  

Click the links/pics below to visit many design posts.

Link #1

Link #2

Link #3

Link #4

Link #5

Link #6

Link #7

Link #8

http://outlawdesignblog.com/2008/30-websites-that-feature-a-hand-drawn-style/
“In the past 5 years we ’ve seen an increasing trend of designers using a hand drawn style on their websites. Here are some great examples of the use of a hand drawn style in web design.”

http://www.smashingapps.com/2008/09/10/39-masterpieces-of-creative-advertisements.html
“I believe that strong advertisement is a fastest way to convey the message to the audience and if they are attractive as become inspiration for others so it ’s more useful. Sometimes they are just an advertisement but some companies works very hard to make their promotional / advertisement campaign very unique, striking and successful.”

http://justcreativedesign.com/2008/09/09/top-7-most-overused-techniques-elements-used-in-graphic-design/
This is a great list of over used design techniques. “Is all design looking the same too you? Are you following graphic design trends subconsciously?”

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13515_3-10046206-26.html?part=rss
Twitter got a face lift.

http://www.seomoz.org/blog/how-to-ruin-a-web-design-the-design-curve
“ As a professional web designer I’ve noticed a consistent trend in the majority of the projects I’ve worked on: The more time that is spent dissecting, analyzing, and critiquing a design by the wrong kinds of people the worse that design gets. The same trend applies to the number of people involved in the design process.” 

ymck.net

8bitklubben.dk

adventurekid.se

http://www.mixinc.net/atari/

http://www.geocities.com/paulranday/8bit/8-bit.html

Do you know any more 8-bit sites? Link us in the comment section and we’ll add it.

real 8bit stuff:

http://uaddit.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=702

8bit bkg:

http://www.abc64.de/backgrounds/index1024.html 

8-bit wordpress theme:
retromactheme.modernlifeisrubbish.co.uk

I think this is a great ad, which really shows the way images, how we see those images, our world-views, and how we are situated in power structures are intertwined. I thought for a minute that there was one problem: who says that favelas are necessarily ‘bad’ places? But I don’t think the ad is connatating that. It is (re)presenting how we see and understand the favela, asking us to think about the way we think about things, itself.

On the way home from Blueprint Design every day, I see a billboard of Care’s most recent ad campaign, using the slogan ‘I Am Powerful’

I have mixed feelings about this strategy. I see how they’re trying to not show the subject as a victim, thus changing the traditional power structure of the ad audience and the recipient of Care’s aid. I’m not sure if this achieves their aim however, in fact, it may be patronizing or even reiterate the power structure.

Ok, so I got my image ready in Photoshop and saved it as a .psd, and placed it in Illustrator. See how the image below has a border around it? That’s important. You need to have closed path shapes of course when you vectorize an image, and Illustrator interprets full bleed images as open shapes, so making a ‘border’ from the background layer in Photoshop is an important step. Then I used Object > Live Trace > Make and Convert to Live Paint:

After you do this, make sure you release the paint group. (Object > Live Paint > Release).

The next problem: losing details. Or so it seemed. The trunk of the tree ended up on top of the shadow marks, and I couldn’t find those for a while. So I sent the trunk to the back of the group and turned it into another color so I could see the smaller paths on top:

What you’re seeing here is the next step. I selected all the small shapes on top of the trunk, then the trunk, and used Pathfinder to cut out the smaller path shapes from the trunk shape. You could just make them the same color as the background if you wanted to, but I wanted the most design process flexibility, so I made them as a cut-out.

Here’s one of the concept revisions I used this image for:

Also, I noticed a beta version of their university-wide site is up. It’s really beautiful and functional.