Support NeoGAF

[Xal-Shoota]

I use whatever gets the job done. All those points you made about the mac can be easily done in windows. I wish people would get over that pointless argument of mac vs pc when it comes to photoshop.

I agree when it comes to in-photoshop mostly, but overall Macs seem more drop-and-droppy which I found out a really miss once I switched back to windows recently. There are tons of other little things I constantly miss, and the features I thought were really cool in windows 7, I quickly realized are similar to OSX, but just worse. Not saying their bad features, but say, switching windows by throwing your mouse in a corner vs. going to the bottom, find the application you want, hovering on it, then hovering on the window you want, then clicking.
And once again, tons of SMALL problems like this, but it really does add up. And I'm not about to install 30 applications that might bug out to fake the environment. Hell, I even like the text rendering on Macs better! A bit fatter and easier to read. And god I miss the side scrolling file browser. Even spotlight is smarter about finding some applications.

Once your IN photoshop, its basically the same, but the relationship between your files and the programs your in really is different.

And bear in mind, Im typing this after selling my old Macbook Pro, on my fucking beastly home PC that I just built, because it costed 1000$ dollars less and is twice as powerful as the Macbook Pro I wanted. But anytime I'm working on stuff with this, I really do wish I had osx again :/

BUT ANYWAYS, yeah, I guess I'm technically not a graphic designer, but I'm a "digital designer". Basically graphic design taken into the digital era, so we do most traditional graphic stuff (minus printing), plus web design and coding, 2D/3D animation, interactive design, spatial design, etc.
It's my last year in the program though, about to hop into the real world! I'm very excited to make a positive amount of money per year.

 

[Kikarian]

Please read the thread rules guys. No more OS talk. Mac vs Windows, it's going off-topic.
Thanks.

 

[Eight Diagram Bat Fighter]

Please read the thread rules guys. No more OS talk. Mac vs Windows, it's going off-topic.
Thanks.

Thank you.

 

[JaseMath]

Never have had a problem with fonts choices and clients butting heads. Helvetica is always a pretty safe bet, but most of the time, clients send along "their" fonts along with assets to our account people so it's not a problem.

 

[Dead Prince]

Please read the thread rules guys. No more OS talk. Mac vs Windows, it's going off-topic.
Thanks.

for a graphics thread there's a lack of it in the OP D:

 

[.GqueB.]

I believe we've had this discussion before .

My background is in layout and photo work. I can do anything with InDesign, and can make a photo do whatever the hell I want.

I am (still) pretty ignorant to the capabilities of Photoshop and/or Illustrator. Any good beginner tutorials that you know of for illustrator? My job couldn't give a shit less if I use either, but I'm looking to expand my capabilities while I have free access to CS5

Its a bit pricey but I would use the site lynda. Tons of tutorials.

But if you wanna do it on the cheaps, just google things you wanna do and you can find step by step tutorials on exactly what to do. This will help you learn how to use the tools in general since youre getting so much practice with them.

And here my website for work viewins...

THIRDBORN DESIGN

 

[VICTORsaurio]

I graduated from College almost 3 years ago (Graphic Design). Did my internship at a motion graphics studio, without knowing anything at all and ended up working there for 3 years. I got to work on big projects like the Miss Venezuela pageant (which is a HUGE event here)

In 2010 my boss emigrated to Canada so I was unemployed for a couple of months, then got called to work on another company, doing mostly print design. I worked there until september when I just of got tired of having to do so much stuff on a daily basis, I wasn't really happy with the quality of my latest designs.

Since then I've been working on little projects here and there, from friends and some people related to my past jobs and I'm so much happier. I think I'm earning about the same I did where I used to work but now I got more time to put into each project so that I'm proud of my work.

here's some of my work if you guys would like to see it

http://www.behance.net/victormartin/frame/All

 

[JohnTinker]

I work for a church and primarily work with students & college age. With students a lot of what I get asked to do is louder and busier than what I'd like, but its what they want. Working with college I have a lot more freedom. I primarily use Photoshop & Final Cut Pro, but I want to get into Illustrator & Motion

 

[Birbo]

Subscribed!

I work in the marketing department for a park district in the suburbs of Chicago. My big project is the four seasonal program guides I put out annually, but I also do posters, banners, newsletters, logo design, etc. My main programs are:

Quark (am I the only one still using this?)
Photoshop
Illustrator

I also do a majority of the photography as well for our pieces. Got my degree in Advertising / Design just over 10 years ago. Don't know how much of a graphic design I really consider myself; I mainly just do layout and manipulate stock art to suit whatever project I'm working on.

I'll be switching from my six year old iMac to a shinny new PC in the coming weeks, so we'll see how that transition goes.

A client recently made me ugly up a site I made.

I'm still super salty about it.

Can I vent to you GAF?

Know that feel, bro.

 

[Malleymal]

Hey guys,

I am just picking up design and for the most part like what I am doing.. I have designed things in photoshop and have been using the slice tools and all. Can anyone help me with actually getting text boxes in to my sites correctly?

 

[Toppot]

Quark (am I the only one still using this?)

I think it's on old relic in most young designers eyes, everyone i know uses InDesign. Since people are taught Photoshop + Illustrator, and InDesign uses the same UI, it's just easier to pick up.

I think it varies from company to company on what they use, certainly in print design Quark is still popular, but I wouldn't be surprised if in 20 years time it is gone.

 

[xxracerxx]

Hey guys,

I am just picking up design and for the most part like what I am doing.. I have designed things in photoshop and have been using the slice tools and all. Can anyone help me with actually getting text boxes in to my sites correctly?

Wait, are you using the slice tool in Photoshop then imputing them as images for website building?

 

[Malleymal]

Wait, are you using the slice tool in Photoshop then imputing them as images for website building?

Yes exactly. saving slices as images for a website. I design everything in photo shop even the text, but I would like to type the text in another program like Dreamweaver maybe?

 

[RDreamer]

I went to school for Graphic Design and Marketing. Haven't found anything big yet, but I did freelancing here and there and then my friend started a business and when he finally built it up enough he hired me on to do all their ads and logo work and everything. So, I created his branding from the ground up.

My first piece for him that really got everything rolling was this brochure.

(sidenote: Forgive the borders on all these. It's the way I display them on my site. So the black and white borders aren't part of any design I put up here. They're used to separate it from my site background)

I did everything on there except the CMP logo, which they had to stick with because they had some rugs and things with it rented for another year+. They wanted to kind of separate from that branding and get things under the Tactical Lazer Tag brand for the future. All the photos were done by me, too. The branding has worked quite nicely because it's eye catching like that, and it makes getting shirts done very cheap, which was something I really had to keep in mind. Our branding as black and that orange color means we can do a lot of vinyl one color shirts and things from a guy we know.

And my favorite piece from working with them has been the tournament posters I've been doing. In real life 18x24 (or 17x24 if we get it printed cheaper from a guy we know) they look so vibrant and awesome. I am just insanely proud of the direction they went.

Overall, there is A LOT of orange in my designs for them. Sometimes that gets a bit obnoxious and it's something I know I should work on a bit, but overall the aesthetic does its job. It's something that looks modern and military, but also has a sort of futuristic edge about it. It really fits in with their whole lazer tag thing, since they do a very modern military simulation style of lazer tag.

Also, my site is here. I need to do a redesign on the header, I think, and possibly everything at some point. It's really the first website I ever made, and I've not really done any changes to it since.

 

[xxracerxx]

Yes exactly. saving slices as images for a website. I design everything in photo shop even the text, but I would like to type the text in another program like Dreamweaver maybe?

I would suggest learning how to code your own HTML and CSS if you want to get serious about web design. There are some great books out there and online tutorials can be great as well. What always helps me is if I see a site I like I look at the source code and the style sheets and break it down from there on how they accomplished the look I like.

 

[epik]

I'm a designer!

full-time and freelance. Check out my portfolio www.epikdesigns.ca

 

[Malleymal]

I would suggest learning how to code your own HTML and CSS if you want to get serious about web design. There are some great books out there and online tutorials can be great as well. What always helps me is if I see a site I like I look at the source code and the style sheets and break it down from there on how they accomplished the look I like.

Thanks a lot, I will look into some tutorials and sharpen my skills and see where i can go from there. I appreciate your help.

 

[Buckethead]

Know that feel, bro.

Yeah. Funny/good reminder.

Most of the changes make the site worse though. It's just... just... silly.

 

[Futureman]

I recommend Lynda.com for the people asking for training videos. I really don't think $25 is that much for a month long access to their stuff. They have a TON of CS videos. I'm currently going through Photoshop and After Effects tutorials. I want to get into motion graphics and learn character animation w/ AE. Usually anytime I have a freelance project, I'll sign up that month and learn some more stuff about the CS that I don't know.

At the same time though, trainging videos showing one person doing a particular action in their own way, when, as everyone here knows, there are multiple ways to do everything in CS is not always the best way to learn something in CS.

With that in mind, I asked for "Creating Motion Graphics with After Effects" for XMas ( http://www.amazon.com/dp/0240814150/?tag=neogaf0e-20 ). It's a textbook-like book PLUS it has training videos. Best of both worlds.

 

[SavoryCade]

I've been a graphic designer for about 12 years, more if you count working for the university's design department while still in school. Had numerous jobs for companies of varying size, mostly print-related. Currently employed in the marketing department of a large US retail chain. I freelance on the side, or at least used to when I had more free time.

My focus has been primarily print and illustration. Anything web design-related I taught myself since my school didn't start adding it to the curriculum until after I had graduated.

Pretty much use InDesign and Illustrator every day. Photoshop is my favorite program but doesn't get used much in my current job. Quark is what I learned in school and all of my jobs used it until thankfully dropping it in favor of InDesign.

More or less hate my career now and wish I'd gone into something else. Got really burned out after getting laid off from a job a few years ago. Current job is more on the technical/pre-press side of things so it's a nice change of pace, but getting boring. I still like design, but would much rather just freelance and design on my own terms for awhile while doing something else for a day job.

 

[MacAttack]

Yeah. Funny/good reminder.

Most of the changes make the site worse though. It's just... just... silly.

I keep this old list tacked to my wall and read it when I get frustrated with clients. I've bolded a few choice ones but a some are a bit dated.

1. Your fonts will default to the worst possible font available on the machine you are showing your work on.

2. If you have two versions of a photo, the wrong one will make its way to the printer.

3. The less time you have the more useless your computer will become.

4. Promises made by the sales staff have no basis in reality.

5. The sales staff will promise anything.

6. If the text consists of two words, one will be misspelled.

7. Speed. Quality. Affordability. Pick any two.

8. If the run is wrong, it's never the press operator's fault.

9. Spell checkers don't.

10. Grammar checkers don't, either.

11. Proof raeders are useless.

12. Global search-and-replaces aren't.

13. The index entry you leave out will be the first one the client looks under.

14. Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is good comedy.

15. If three designs are shown to a client, your least favorite will be chosen or any combination of worst components of each.

16. If two designs are shown, a third will be requested. If provided, then one of the first two will be chosen.

17. If you ask for more copy it will be sent as a .jpg. If you ask for images they will send powerpoint presentations.

18. Clients don't have their company logo in a usable print ready format so don't bother asking.

19. Blue line proofs reveal previously invisible errors.

20. The best designs never survive contact with the client.

21. You will misspell the name of the client's spouse.

22. Your best idea is already copyrighted.

23. The best way to find errors in your code is to show a client "a new feature".

24. There is no stock photo ever made that matches the image you have in your head.

25. Creative inspiration flows in inverse proportion to the distance from the studio.

26. Time allowed to complete work is inversely proportional to time taken by client to work out what to complain about.

27. Doctors, astronauts, and plumbers need training to do their jobs, but anyone with a computer is a graphic designer.

28. No matter how detailed the tech support FAQ is, nobody has ever heard of your problem.

29. The number of colors in a client's design will equal the number of colors in the original bid specs, plus two.

30. The client's disk won't run on your equipment & when it does will contain unusable copyrighted images.

31. If you purchase new equipment to read your client's disk, it will be the last disk of that type you will ever receive.

32. Your client will often not like your design but not quite know why.

33. Computer crashes always happen exactly 30 seconds before saving.

34. A client who knows exactly what he wants is worse than one that has no idea.

35. Clients who do not provide content upfront will complain about the use of Lorem Ipsum.

36. Everything has to be done immediately, deadlines are incredibly important unless client has to provide materials or approve your work.

37. The customer is always right . And an idiot.

 

[Snkfanatic]

Wow, dude. I'm in the same boat as you, 3 years at a screenprinting company not a lot of room to advance. I use Illustrator for most of my design and separations. We primarily print spot colors, do you do a lot of CMYK work?

Looking to start doing some freelance myself but also not sure how to branch out. I always feel guilty charging full rates to friends and family.

edit: Mac/PC was an issue 10 years ago today the biggest difference is the cntrl/command keys on the keyboard.

We have a custom made 9 color separation process here I helped develop and it works wonders on shirts. Especially black shirts

I would post a link to my companies website with a lot of my art on it, not sure if that is cool though. If it is fine I will post it.

More or less hate my career now and wish I'd gone into something else. Got really burned out after getting laid off from a job a few years ago. Current job is more on the technical/pre-press side of things so it's a nice change of pace, but getting boring. I still like design, but would much rather just freelance and design on my own terms for awhile while doing something else for a day job.

My god I know that feeling....

 

[Futureman]

hey Photoshop people...

why does my brush cursor sometimes just disappear?

I'm using a Wacom tablet and sometimes the brush tip cursor that shows the size of my current brush is gone. So all I have is the tiny "+".

it was gone... and then when I came back from making this reply, it was back. What....

so as far as I can tell, it's just random.

 

[MrBig]

hey Photoshop people...

why does my brush cursor sometimes just disappear?

I'm using a Wacom tablet and sometimes the brush tip cursor that shows the size of my current brush is gone. So all I have is the tiny "+".

it was gone... and then when I came back from making this reply, it was back. What....

so as far as I can tell, it's just random.

Is caps lock on? Also check the cursor settings under Preferences.

 

[SebastianAlexander]

does anyone of you know what happened to brown.li ? i always liked that site ever since yayeveryday has gone to shit ... but now it seems like the same has happened to brown

are there any other good sites like thos out there? websites with lots of new pictures everyday of design-esque stuff. I find that very inspiring

 

[Kikarian]

A great site that holds designs by Graphic Designers and all other types of designers is Behance.net, It's a great site to get inspiration.

 

[gimz]

I founded and design everything on www.threenil.com

Its a football/soccer-culture apparel line. Hope you guys like it!

im just wondering, how do you promote your page and how often do you sell your art?

 

[exhume]

Subscribed!

I just finished up a diploma in graphic design and as of Monday I'll be looking for full time work. Trying to stay positive about the whole deal...!

 

[Horse Detective]

nvm

 

[FStop7]

This is a great example of what discourages me from doing design work.

Everytime I find something I like to use, and other people seem to like it in my work as well, it becomes too usual or expected of design work. What happens when I decide I prefer using Macs? The majority hates macs. What happens when I like Helvetica? The Majority thinks it is too boring.

It just gets more and more difficult to be inspired.

but i like helvetica

 

[gimz]

Subscribed!

I just finished up a diploma in graphic design and as of Monday I'll be looking for full time work. Trying to stay positive about the whole deal...!

good luck!

 

[exhume]

good luck!

Thanks buddy! I'm really more of an illustrator than a designer, which makes it tough since most work for illustrators appears to be on a freelance basis, and it seems hard to get going without name recognition. I'd be really interested to hear how everyone here got their start in design, actually, like what your first jobs were like and all of that.

 

[Kisaya]

What a great thread, wish I found this earlier in the day DX I was making this booklet and I had no inspiration at all. I'll keep in tabs for future assignments~

 

[MrBig]

This is a great example of what discourages me from doing design work.

Everytime I find something I like to use, and other people seem to like it in my work as well, it becomes too usual or expected of design work. What happens when I decide I prefer using Macs? The majority hates macs. What happens when I like Helvetica? The Majority thinks it is too boring.

It just gets more and more difficult to be inspired.

Do something different. Everyone expects Helvetica and everyone stereotypes designers to use Macs. So do your own thing and surprise people so that they don't already have a predisposition on it.

 

[onadesertedisland]

Recently sent a file to a panel printer (think high density laminate flooring, but with printed pretty stuff atop). I hurt myself and haven't had a chance to see the installed finished piece.

Somewhere between when I uploaded the file to their FTP and after getting the printed proof, they edited my file and moved some pieces.

Now the finished piece is installed, ugly, and adulterated.

I *hate* printers/pre-press that think they are designers.

Don't edit my stuff, and I won't come change settings on your non-color matched printer.

 

[dangrib]

im just wondering, how do you promote your page and how often do you sell your art?

Twitter is an incredible tool for promotion. @threenildotcom if you'd like to see.

I sell enough shirts to keep the brand alive. It's only a few months old but it's definitely started to gain some attention in the football community which is pretty cool.

 

[cbox]

Subscribed!

I just finished up a diploma in graphic design and as of Monday I'll be looking for full time work. Trying to stay positive about the whole deal...!

You need experience my friend, get designing for yourself or others, and get some work up online.

For the other younger designers, I have a rule that if I have 3 designs to present to the client, they will always pick the one you like least. So I at least improve all my designs before receiving feedback, or injust present one design and tweak accordingly. I find the latter works better!

 

[RDreamer]

For the other younger designers, I have a rule that if I have 3 designs to present to the client, they will always pick the one you like least. So I at least improve all my designs before receiving feedback, or injust present one design and tweak accordingly. I find the latter works better!

I think the rule of clients picking your least liked direction is probably a universal thing.

Personally, so far, I've been able to get away with just presenting one design at a time. I've found it's easier for me to really put my heart into it and make it much better, and then the client can really focus on what needs to change or work better with that one design rather than focusing on which direction they like best. If they don't like the direction at all then they'll say so, or I'll get that vibe and I'll come up with something else and we'll go from there.

My current boss loves the way I work. He had another designer for a while that he said he'd pay her for like 20 hours of concept work and she'd come in with a bunch of designs and he wouldn't like any of them. When I was freelancing with him I came in with one stronger design that he usually likes or can see where it's going, and that took way less time, and we go from there. Now, though, I can just give him the finished design and we usually just use that.

 

[cbox]

Ya that's how I've worked for the last 3 or 4 years, much better for everyone involved.

 

[BruceLeeRoy]

I finally got the time to launch my own website.

http://www.robleydesign.com/

Gaffers will probably recognize a lot of the 'art'

 

[Entropia]

I finally got the time to launch my own website.

http://www.robleydesign.com/

Gaffers will probably recognize a lot of the 'art'

Carousel with no forward/back?

Also, your Logo and the Services/About/Works/Blog link text is Black, your landing carousel section has a black background. The links are invisible and your logo is barely visible.

 

[Naito]

Subscribed. We should do something suitable for OT.
I'm freelancing at the moment, will probably join a studio in the coming month.

To the professionals and students, what got you into graphic design?

 

[Futureman]

quick question.

when working in AE and PP, what determines render/export speed? Is it only CPU/GPU, or will adding more RAM help?

I assume RAM will just make working with large layers, files, resolutions and having multiple CS programs open smoother, but I wanted to check. Does more RAM potentially help keep things rendered longer without having to re-render? Sometimes I'll merely move a clip on the PP timeline and have to re-render, I wasn't sure if that was because of a RAM limitation.

I'm working w/ 4 GB right now and I'm upgrading to 16 GB (on a 27" 2011 iMac).

 

[Dennis]

quick question.

when working in AE and PP, what determines render/export speed? Is it only CPU/GPU, or will adding more RAM help?

I assume RAM will just make working with large layers, files, resolutions and having multiple CS programs open smoother, but I wanted to check. Does more RAM potentially help keep things rendered longer without having to re-render? Sometimes I'll merely move a clip on the PP timeline and have to re-render, I wasn't sure if that was because of a RAM limitation.

I'm working w/ 4 GB right now and I'm upgrading to 16 GB (on a 27" 2011 iMac).

Both AE and PP are absolute RAM hogs and will use all you have if you let them. And yes, you can have much longer clips RAM previewed which is helpful.

But if I recall correctly, there is help to be found on RAM settings and allocation in the in-program documentation. Otherwise, I am sure it can be googled.

 

[BruceLeeRoy]

Carousel with no forward/back?

Also, your Logo and the Services/About/Works/Blog link text is Black, your landing carousel section has a black background. The links are invisible and your logo is barely visible.

Yeah the landing page is just supposed to rotate through the 3 latest sections. Also the reason for the main screen being pure black hiding the logo and links is to highlight the message of the website. I think its short enough to not be a big deal. Plus I am getting no exit clicks on the first screen so people are interested enough to continue on.

Good observations though.

 

[gimz]

hello, i'm a currently doing some freelance graphic design work, i was working in an company as their in-house designer until i quitted a month ago. Right now i mainly do some logo design, flyers, and i also make design for cd album and graphic for clothing design!

And today i ordered my very first prints of my own design for myself! I mean i have printed T-Shirts, flyers, stickers, and all these stuff before, but it is my first time to print my own design on a poster size (A2) with professional print job as just an art/design piece!

Here is the design i am using

I print this in A2 size, I am gonna frame it and hang it on my wall

and i also printed 4 pieces of the same design but different colour background in A3 size
I think i will be giving them out to my family and friends as Christmas presents

The reason why i wanted to print them was i always wanted to print my own design and hang it as an art piece, and now I'm starting to settle down in my new place, I have been setting my place up and i thought i could use some picture on the wall, so i decided to use my own design!

if you guys are interested in my stuff you can visit my tumblr: http://gimuproduction.tumblr.com
or my blog : http://gim-gim.blogspot.com

Cheers!

 

[ajf009]

Im in school right now, will graduate after next year. I cant wait to take a typography course next year, thats one thing i feel like im way behind on, i cant recognize a lot of fonts. I need to do some serious work on that

 

[RDreamer]

To the professionals and students, what got you into graphic design?

I was kind of looking through some options when choosing a major for college, and I knew I wanted something with computers and media related. At first I was going to go into 3D modeling/animation, since I had a lot of fun doing that in a class at high school. But the college I had found was unaccredited and I just wasn't feeling it quite as much after a while.

After that I looked things over and realized I had been doing design stuff with making people's signatures on forums and other random things over the years, and I had a lot of fun with it, so I looked into graphic design. It was really the combination of practicality and artistry that caught me and still catches me now. I was never really truly an art student, but at the same time I was never really an academic student. I did well with both areas, but I was never the top. To me doing design is really the combination of the two sides of my personality and my talents. When I finish something I feel the same sense of accomplishment I felt when I solved a complex math problem, but also the same thing as when I would draw something and it came out just right. There's a lot of intuition involved, and yet you can analyze it and break it down and figure out what you need to do at the same time. It's a crashing of two worlds that rarely interact.

And also I think it was my love of music that got me into it, too, since I was always very enthralled by album artwork.

I print this in A2 size, I am gonna frame it and hang it on my wall

and i also printed 4 pieces of the same design but different colour background in A3 size
I think i will be giving them out to my family and friends as Christmas presents

The reason why i wanted to print them was i always wanted to print my own design and hang it as an art piece, and now I'm starting to settle down in my new place, I have been setting my place up and i thought i could use some picture on the wall, so i decided to use my own design![/url]

Nice design and great idea! I always feel weird hanging up anyone else's work in my apartment. I feel like I should put up stuff that I did. I have a few of my photographs framed and hung up. I was going to make some other things to hang, but I'm still in a small apartment now and my record collection hanging on the wall (album art being my main inspiration) has taken up too much room to put more stuff up. I was thinking of framing some of the tournament posters I did (you can see in this thread) and hanging those up. I should really get to work on making stuff since I know a guy that can print me 17x24 posters in high quality for just like 8 bucks.

Im in school right now, will graduate after next year. I cant wait to take a typography course next year, thats one thing i feel like im way behind on, i cant recognize a lot of fonts. I need to do some serious work on that

I'm terrible at recognizing fonts too. I have a good enough knack for picking them, though, and sorting through them.

 

[cbox]

I finally got the time to launch my own website.

http://www.robleydesign.com/

Gaffers will probably recognize a lot of the 'art'

Looks good, I'd add hyperlinks to your images on the works page also

To the professionals and students, what got you into graphic design?

I knew when I was a kid that I wanted to be an artist when I was older so I worked towards it. I always doodled every now and then and it just exploded into second nature. I had a feeling the internet was going to explode, so I began fooling around with photoshop on our computers at school ( #4 lol ) and it blossomed from there. I started off mainly doing logos and simple designs, but I wanted to know how websites were made so I did my research there aswell. I don't own any font books, or anything design related - it all comes from my head. I can't see myself doing anything else really :/

 

[Eight Diagram Bat Fighter]

You need experience my friend, get designing for yourself or others, and get some work up online.

For the other younger designers, I have a rule that if I have 3 designs to present to the client, they will always pick the one you like least. So I at least improve all my designs before receiving feedback, or injust present one design and tweak accordingly. I find the latter works better!

If there is a design you like the least, you're doing it wrong.

quick question.

when working in AE and PP, what determines render/export speed? Is it only CPU/GPU, or will adding more RAM help?

I assume RAM will just make working with large layers, files, resolutions and having multiple CS programs open smoother, but I wanted to check. Does more RAM potentially help keep things rendered longer without having to re-render? Sometimes I'll merely move a clip on the PP timeline and have to re-render, I wasn't sure if that was because of a RAM limitation.

I'm working w/ 4 GB right now and I'm upgrading to 16 GB (on a 27" 2011 iMac).

RAM and CPU will be your main things when exporting. When rendering on the timeline, it's RAM and GPU/VRAM. And you're going to have to re-render every time you move a clip on top of another with effects regardless of what you have. Drop your res to half or 1/4 and it will be much easier. Or add quick effects that can render in real time. Cut first, then add transitions, coloring, titles and effects last.

I finally got the time to launch my own website.

http://www.robleydesign.com/

Gaffers will probably recognize a lot of the 'art'

Quick tip- If you're going to promote your company as interactive branding and design, you might want to fix up some branding problems with your site. During one of your slides where it's the one of the planets, you completely lose your navigation and logo. Black text on black background does not mix. Also it's hard to read on the blue superman slide. If you aren't able to brand your own site without any flaws, especially when it comes to interactive design where there are some visible branding errors, what are potential clients going to think?

Reconsider your navigation and gt it to work with your personal brand so clients can't find an excuse not to hire you.

Also on this page: http://www.robleydesign.com/robley-design-services/ you have:

Your vision
by design.
Robley
Design
Services.

At least, that's how it's showing up on my mac. Big typography errors as I'm sure you can tell by just reading that.

Last, your contact info on the footer. It's insane small. You want to promote yourself right? So blow it up. Don't be timid about it. That info is the only way they can get a hold of you, so make it known.