...to Ben Smith Design, an evolving contemporary designer providing resource for self-expression and inspiration for lovers and owners of art and people who just appreciate good design.

• Explore individual multi-media galleries of kinetic abstract photography from around the world including Hong Kong and good old Manchester. Llimited edition archival prints are available on various media including canvas and framed prints, and are produced to the highest standard possible.
• Commission me as a freelance designer, whether it be for website design to brochure design, I have vast experience in most areas of design
• View my extensive design portfolio which includes work for clients such as Grazia
• Comission a piece of artwork for your home, office or space.

painters of contemporary art, illustrators and photographers to famous artists, classic work and old masters

Explore individual multi-media galleries of original fine art from around the world. From painters of contemporary art, illustrators and photographers to famous artists, classic work and old masters. In each artist profile, experience their work and talent expressed in their own way with interviews, videos, animation music and sound.

The vision is quite simply to make creativity more accessible. By providing a virtual platform as a source of social and business contact our aim is to promote creativity, exploration, discovery and make acquisition of art simple, affordable and a pleasure.

• Contemporary artists of all genres
• Art museums, trusts and collectors
• Students, graduates, schools, art colleges
• Galleries, dealers, sellers and promoters or art

Prepare for exceptional A2 prints using Canon’s unique 12-colour pigment ink system. Generating an impressively broad colour gamut, the iPF5100 large format printer features new colour calibration technology and delivers quick, consistent prints that always impress.

All prints are of exceptional quality, produced on A2 media thanks to Canon’s industry-first dual-head 12-colour LUCIA II pigment ink system. The 12 colours are not only capable of delivering an exceptionally wide colour gamut; they use less ink than conventional systems by reducing the need to mix colours, for more efficient running costs. The LUCIA inks also deliver prints with smooth colour graduation, reduced graininess and bronzing, for results that are consistently impressive.

The fact that our artwork is printed and finished by experts who have over 25 years of experience between them in the printing and framing industry, and can practically print onto any any media, any size, using the most advanced large format colour and B&W printers available, means that we are confident in claiming that you will be 100% satisfied with your artwork purchase

The primary tool for graphic design is the creative mind. Critical, observational, quantitative and analytic thinking are required for designing page layout and rendering. If the executor is merely following a sketch, script or instructions (as may be supplied by an art director) they are not usually considered the author. The eye and the hand are often augmented with the use of external traditional or digital image editing tools. The selection of the appropriate one to the communication problem at hand is also a key skill in graphic design work, and a defining factor of the rendering style.

In the mid 1980s, the arrival of desktop publishing and the introduction of graphic art software applications introduced a generation of designers to computer image manipulation and image creation that had previously been laborious. Computer graphic design enabled designers to instantly see the effects of layout or typographic changes without using any ink in the process, and to simulate the effects of traditional media without requiring a lot of space. Traditional tools such as pencils or markers are often used to develop graphic design ideas, even when computers are used for finalization.

Computers are generally considered to be an indispensable tool used in the graphic design industry. Computers and software applications are generally seen, by creative professionals, as more effective production tools than traditional methods. However, some designers continue to use manual and traditional tools for production, such as Milton Glaser.

There is some debate whether computers enhance the creative process of graphic design. Rapid production from the computer allows many designers to explore multiple ideas quickly with more detail than what could be achieved by traditional hand-rendering or paste-up on paper, moving the designer through the creative process more quickly. However, being faced with limitless choices does not help isolate the best design solution and can lead to designers endlessly iterating without a clear design outcome.

New ideas can come by way of experimenting with tools and methods, be they traditional or digital. Some designers explore ideas using pencil and paper to avoid creating within the limits of whatever computer fonts, clipart, stock photos, or rendering filters (e.g. Kai's Power Tools) are available on any particular configuration. Others use many different mark-making tools and resources from computers to sticks and mud as a means of inspiring creativity. One of the key features of graphic design is that it makes a tool out of appropriate image selection in order to convey meaning.[5] Some graphic design ideas are created entirely in the mind, before approaching any external media.

A graphic designer may also use sketches to explore multiple or complex ideas quickly[6] without the potential distractions of technical difficulties from software malfunctions or software learning.[citation needed] Hand rendered comps are often used to get approval of a graphic design idea before investing time to produce finished visuals on a computer or in paste-up if rejected. The same thumbnail sketches or rough drafts on paper may be used to rapidly refine and produce the idea on the computer in a hybrid process. This hybrid process is especially useful in logo design[7] where a software learning curve may detract from a creative thought process. The traditional-design/computer-production hybrid process may be used for freeing ones creativity in page layout or image development as well.[citation needed] Traditional graphic designers may employ computer-savvy production artists to produce their ideas from sketches, without needing to learn the computer skills themselves. However, this practice is less utilized since the advent of desktop publishing and its integration with most graphic design courses.