Vancouver Graphic Designer and Photographer Nazia Sharif makes a promo v...

This is my first attempt at a promo video for myself :) I definitely need to learn some more animation techniques, but I'm pretty happy with how these projects are turning out lately. Good times.

Vancouver Graphic Designer Nazia Sharif nerds out hard on Typography.

Typography has a hold on me. 

Yes, I admit it. I'm a type nerd.

It can help you target a male audience or connect with a female audience. 

It’s just a typeface, right? Or is it more than that?

Credits: Vital Design’s “The Alley Blog” vtldesign.com, 

Bicycle image from http://www.julianabicycles.com/en/ca

Putting together a landing page for Maximizer today - First Iteration

Just a little mock up of a landing page for Maximizer. This is only the first iteration. Design may change but I'm going for simplicity, so I hope it doesn't change too much.

 ;) Thanks for looking!

Vancouver Graphic Designer and Photographer Nazia Sharif hopes to learn a thing or two from Vancouver's Indie Film Industry

Thrilled to be working with some very passionate and oh-so-talented members of the Vancouver film industry!

Here's a peek at our latest project. Just started work for an upcoming Vancouver Indie Film - name yet to be determined. This project involves creating a logo specially for a ragtag brotherhood of beer league dads, which the film will revolve around. The logo will be featured during the opening credits of the film and will be used in promotions. 

The only problem now is to figure out which one of these bad boys works best. :) I'm leaning towards the first one, myself. Loving the dark. What do you think?

Panoramic. Sunset. Coquitlam.

This photo was taken Saturday night during sunset. A breathtaking southern view of Surrey, The Fraser River, and Burnaby, shot from the top floor of a beautiful new house on the hill in Coquitlam.

Multiple raw images stitched together using Adobe Photoshop and post edited using Adobe Lightroom. 

Port Moody Arts Centre - Silent Auction Submission

Painted in December 2011 and submitted to Port Moody Arts Centre's Silent Auction. 

Drawing #2

Just some Saturday morning dawing

Why effective design matters to your business

Not long ago, Design used to be the last thing a start-up would think about. Yes, it costs money. Yes, you could “hire” the family artist to create your logo and website (aka FIRST IMPRESSION) of your business. So why shouldn’t you? 

The two-tenths rule, that’s why.

Two-tenths of a second is the amount of time it takes to form a first impression on a web site (1). That’s it. Site opens, site has bad aesthetics or clunky UI, you navigate away. Sound familiar?

Usability issues, poorly laid out information, lack of vital information, intrusive pop-ups or music players– all contribute to the end user’s satisfaction or lack thereof. What keeps them browsing your site instead of clickity-clicking to another one? Very little, really. You may, indeed, be selling a product they have a need for. Perhaps you turned up in their Google search. Maybe your site DOES offer all the content they need to see, but unless you’ve hired a thoughtful designer to help deliver that information to them effectively, you run the risk of losing prospective clients.

This example illustrates what I mean. Stunning, but in a bad way, this website fails to impress its target market, according to Vincent Flanders’ webpagesthatsuck.com.

Exhibit A:

Headhunter Styling’s website. This example was taken from a list of 2014’s worst websites. (2014!!)

Let’s say, for argument’s sake, that this establishment’s hairstyling talent is amazing! Would you get your hair cut from these guys based on their website? Probably not. Will a bad logo or clunky web interface lead your potential client to click away from your site and onto a competitors? Most likely, yes. 

According to Matt Mickiewicz, co-founder of 99designs and featured on Forbes Magazine’s 30 under 30 list, “design today has moved from an afterthought to a basic need, and a solid marketing plan isn’t enough to succeed anymore.”

I couldn't agree more.

Now, let's take a look at something absolutely superb! This website doesn't sell a product, rather, it is Tokyo, Japan Photographer, Moeko Abe's portfolio website. Site design by Stronghold Japan (Mikiko Kikuoka).

This site is gorgeous! Take a minute and browse around the full site. These screen shots do it no justice. The UI is just fantastic. When you scroll down the page, other magical things start to happen and the user remains engaged. One Day I hope to have web design skills like these. Bravo Stronghold! Beautiful Work. 
 

  

 

(1.) According to a study published in February 2012 by researchers at the Missouri University of Science and Technology

Credits: Matt Mickiewicz, co-founder of 99designs, SitePoint and Flippa

Abemoeko.com was nominated as one of the cleanest web designs of 2014 by Awwwards.com, Awards for design, creativity and innovation on the internet.