Graphic Design
The world of graphic designers is as oversaturated as a heavily filtered Instagram photo. Finding a niche is often key to making a living. The posts below share stories and perspectives from folks working in graphic design and related fields.

Heading Southwestness Editor/publisher Samantha Anne Carrillo on hyping the hyperlocal and rejecting boredom in her own indie publication
Southwestness publisher/editor Samatha Anne Carrillo shares the worldview and inspirations that drive her work: “In the real world, facts exist and science is real. … Since Southwestness is my own site, I have the freedom to report on our corner of the world based on my own perception of the world. There’s no question that this perception is still evolving and thank goodness for that!”
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Coffee + Creatives Opportunities: 5.3.20
Job, funding, grant and other opportunities culled from the Coffee+Creatives group for creatives seeking work or other ways to get paid for what they do.
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Support Arts Hub’s Artist Relief Fund
Hey arts-loving friends! Albuquerque’s Arts Hub is raising funds for artists impacted by the pandemic. Donate at their Facebook page or at their website at http://www.abqartshub.com/relief
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Torobako (Fish Box) Guitar Shop: A Primer
All I wanted to do was make a cigar box-style guitar, and in this town there were no cigar boxes to be found. The next best box to find for free were the torobako, the crates used to ship sanma from northern Japan to southern ports.
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Dear Rich: Should I Submit Fabric Designs to Vida?
Dear Rich: I built my business on printing my designs on fabric and making stuff. Now there’s a handy service (VIDA) that makes stuff with your uploaded design and sells it to others. I am just leery of any “catches.” Can you look at the licensing agreement?
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Dear Rich: Can I Use Sheet Music as Part of a Crafts Product?
The question you’re wrestling with—whether the purchase of a copyrighted item permits you to use the item as part of another product—has come up several times in court cases.
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Artistry Means Evolution
Mastery means knowing in your bones what you donʼt know. It also means form is second nature—you didnʼt get up that mountain without learning how to hike. And it means youʼre free. When you come back down, youʼve been changed.
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Dear Rich: Can I Copyright Colorized Photos from Public Domain?
If the underlying work is in the public domain, you’re free to do what you want with it. If the work is not in the public domain, you will need permission from the copyright owner to reproduce or sell the derivative (or risk a charge of infringement).
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Dear Rich: Do I Have to Pay to Use Pre-Installed Fonts?
I have used these fonts extensively for my consulting work to produce reports, many of which are available as PDFs (with font embedded) online. I recently read that I may need to pay for the rights to these fonts.
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9 Ways to Make Your Cartoons into Fine Art Masterpieces
How come those graphic-y novel pictures fail to deck the walls of high-class galleries and command the same big bucks? What do we need to do to get taken seriously around here?
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7 Tips for Solid, Effective Web Design
When you were learning design, professors likely told you to watch your color palettes, fonts and contrast. But don’t forget: The simplest things like button placement and choice of content features can make all the difference in whether or not a design works.
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Self-Evolution: From Brushes and Paint to Photoshop How technology helps me advance the goals I set for myself as an emerging artist
As I slowly began to pick up the basics of computers, from simple things like working with documents, to photo editing and management, I was able to debunk some beliefs I had about myself and as a result, it has expanded my virtual and artistic horizons.
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How Music Affects My Designs
Each type of music seems to have its own effect on me. For that reason, I don’t let iTunes play random music from my far-too-large library. Instead, I pick the music for the task at hand and then get to work.
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Alarmed That’s right, I am the snooze-master
You and I can continue to snooze our loud and buzzing iPhones, skip a shower and eat half of a granola bar for breakfast—but it’s time to wake up and stop snoozing our feelings, our art and our common future.
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Self-Employed Happy Hour Podcast: Eph Sharpe We chat about playing the uke, being a creative parent, and his raccoon pendant
Peri interviews Collin Troy, a.k.a. Eph Sharpe, known to hip hop fans for his work with 2bers, but who also has a crap-ton of other creative ventures on his plate, including a new solo music project called Factory on Fire.
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Dear Little Bobby: So Over My Roommates
I just want my own quiet place but I can’t afford it here. The fucked up thing is that I’m afraid to move to a small/cheap city because I think it will be boring and not give me the buzz of energy this city does. What should I do?
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