How to stay sane amidst being on lockdown

Take up a new Graphic Design skill!
At Blue Sky Graphics we have been scratching our heads putting together some of the best freebies, career-enhancing skills and resources that you can use with time at home from graphic design to single-leg deadlifts. You may have extra time on your hands that you have not before so you might as well make the most of it, right? Those cash-strapped looking for free design resources need to look no further and those on a tight budget wanting to study graphic design can take advantage of interest-free instalment plans many companies have put in place. Those looking to study graphic design with one-to-one lessons can take an online course and pay using Flexi Options at Blue Sky Graphics.

Enjoy…

Testimonials:

Listen and upskill with some free educational content on podcasts

At Blue Sky Graphics we are big fans of podcasts especially those that focus on creatives and the wonderful world of graphic design. With free subscription, access podcasts won’t’ burn any hole in your pockets and they are extremely easy to listen to while you are doing other things, from chores at home to using your front from the sofa as a bench for press-ups. The truth is like reading a book most tend to go on recommendation and here we have gathered our top 6 podcasts are students and tutors both enjoy the most.

Listen and upskill with some free educational content on podcasts

Study graphic design from an online graphic design school

Blue Sky Graphics class strategy is to ensure an easy to follow step-by-step, well presented, vigorous teaching experience with the learning style of the student always in mind. We take a cognitive approach to education meaning that every time we teach you a concept of design, we also teach you how to put that concept into practice. These practical skills layer one on top of the other in a sequential manner until you are thinking and processing design in a very natural way. We are passionate about graphic design and have been since 2005. Our online classes specialise in delivering professional and industry-aligned graphic design courses with a portfolio you can call your own! There are flexible payment terms and we have an enrolment coming in the coming weeks. Register online here: https://blueskygraphics.co.uk/contact-us/

1) Never Not Creative

Never Not Creative is a society of creatives that largely seek to make the creative industry a better place. Its dynamic podcast features news, career insights through interviews with community members, as well as discussing contemporary issues.

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2) Perspective Podcast

If you are a designer or aspiring to be a graphic designer and you are looking to dispel any doubts on money-making graphic design or business decisions such as how much to charge for your services or learning tips on marketing like growing an audience then this podcast is for you.

Each week, Scotty Russell of Perspective-Collective gives his audience the instruments for making an impression and a larger impact with your creative work.

3) Creative Rebels

Inspiring interviews with creative people who have rebelled against the 9-5. This podcast is hosted by two friends Adam Brazier and David Speed, the co-founders of Graffiti Life, Creative Rebels features inspiring interviews with the entrepreneurial minded individual.

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4) Creative Honey

Creative Honey is a podcast and journal for the creative professional and discuss what it means to be a creative professional in the contemporary world.

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5) Logo Geek

Want to know what it takes to design logos? In the Logo Geek Podcast, a successful British graphic designer explores the art and science behind successful logos finds out by interviewing successful graphic designers and entrepreneurs around the world so you can learn from their experiences.

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6) Design Matters

Debbie allows her audience to understand graphic design key questions as she is an incredibly warm host who manages to balance the entertaining with the insightful like only a master can, all while being honest and unfiltered! Listeners find her podcase very exciting and innovative speakers give inspiring stories, struggles, and successes from a wide range of artists of all types. Good for those looking to explore careers in graphic design.

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Learn about photography with the Nikon Photography course

We think this is one you would love. How about 10 Free Photography Short Online Courses: Includes courses on photography fundamentals from domain experts.?

These normally cost about £40 each. Requires simple sign-up.

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Learn something new like Japanese or Spanish

Rosetta Stone is offering three months free for students during the coronavirus pandemic to learn a language of their choice.

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Study graphic design from an online graphic design school  

Blue Sky Graphics class strategy is to ensure an easy to follow step-by-step, well presented, vigorous teaching experience with the learning style of the student always in mind.

We take a cognitive approach to education meaning that every time we teach you a concept of design, we also teach you how to put that concept into practice.  These practical skills layer one on top of the other in a sequential manner until you are thinking and processing design in a very natural way. We are passionate about graphic design and have been since 2005. Our online classes specialise in delivering professional and industry-aligned graphic design courses with a portfolio you can call your own!

There are flexible payment terms and we have an enrolment coming in the coming weeks.

Register online here

Testimonials

Let us talk exercise, fitness and well being

Not interested in stimulating your brain. How about your body? Many gym chains across the country have shuttered but are offering online classes for free.

Happiness course (meditation)

Take a free happiness course—which some of us could do with especially now during lockdown measures.

This online course has been created by Life Coach and Meditation Teacher, Chloe Gosiewski. The course is free, and you do not need to sign up to take part either which is easy. During this difficult time, they want everyone to be able to have access to help and support.

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Golds Gym is offering free access to its app, Goldsamp, until the end of May, where more than 600 audio and video workouts along with DJ mixes get you ready to work up a sweat. In this way you can keep your fitness routine strong and join our Personal Trainers from around the world with unlimited access to Gold’s Gym on-demand video workouts, Les Mills on-demand video workouts, or in-app audio and video-guided workouts while studying graphic design later on.

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Here are some content-related resources all of which are FREE and may help during your creative graphic design pursuits.

Free graphic design tools

Pencil

A free alternative to Adobe XD, Pencil is an open-source and powerful tool that allows you to design the prototypes for web, mobile and desktop applications. Available for all platforms. Perfect.

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Canva

Simple to use in the browser, with no downloads required, Canva is a surprisingly powerful and flexible graphic design tool. It’s no Photoshop, but it can do a lot of basic design tasks quite efficiently using drag and drop.

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Free stock images

Burst

E-commerce platform Shopify has created a site where anyone can download stock images for free, whether or not you’re a Shopify user. You can use them for both non-commercial and commercial purposes without attribution. Images are available in low or high resolution, and the quality is very high throughout.

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Free illustrations

Drawkit

DrawKit is a collection of free, beautiful, customisable MIT licensed SVG illustrations in two styles, to use on your next website, app, or project.

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Free fonts

Google Fonts

An intuitive and robust directory of open source web fonts for designers to use how they wish. All created to the high standards you would expect from a web giant like Google.

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We hope you found this short guide useful and we know at Blue Sky Graphics that if there is one thing that creatives are wonderful at then that is thinking outside the box and creating. We are excited to hear of your own stories during this period and we cannot wait to see all the amazing things you all create during this turbulent period. Why not send us a line with what you have been up to by emailing us at info@blueskygraphics.co.uk

Love, hope and creative wishes,

Team Blue Sky Graphics

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