Author | Lightnews

Sarah Susan Designs @sarahsusandesigns.bsky.social · 2d

A+ #composition

kotsy @itsonlykotsy.bsky.social · 3d

Delivery Across The Tracks

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Sarah Susan Designs @sarahsusandesigns.bsky.social · 2d

July 10, 1973, marked the #Bahamas' independence from the #UK and the raising of this fine-looking flag—a black triangle pointing a laser beam of sunlight over aqua waters. Dramatic contrasts and direction—this composition commands the elements. 🇧🇸
#BahamasFlag #FlagDesign #LogoDesign

Flag of the Bahamas: A black triangle pointing away from the hoist over three bands, two teal and one yellow between them.

Sarah Susan Designs @sarahsusandesigns.bsky.social · 23d

A nation's flag is its #logo. The flag of #Kazakhstan features a #SteppeEagle flying beneath a sun with 32 rays. Centralized but dynamic, with an uplifting theme. To the side, the #koshkarMuiz bears the standard. All on a turquoise background—what a winner! Learn more: bit.ly/3Kj11Tz

Sarah Susan Designs @sarahsusandesigns.bsky.social · Sep 24

AI Art Critique #3: The sense of depth is fantastic. But the background isn't fading; it's melting, like a nuclear holocaust. Not a good look. Kind of scary.
#VanGogh #StarryNight #LinearPerspective #AerialPerspective #FadeOut #DepthPerception #AI #VisualDesign #ArtIllusions #DepthOfField #AIArt

AI image prompted by caption: #3 Create a post-impressionistic image of a starlit night in France, just at dawn, overlooking a sleepy village in the mid-1800s.

Sarah Susan Designs @sarahsusandesigns.bsky.social · Sep 17

#AI Art Critique #2: *Why* is this hideous? Because AI split the baby in half, right down the middle. The top is cool and bright; the bottom is warm and murky. Pancaked between them, another dead-center sunset? #Transitions matter.
#composition #DesignCritique #DesignTips #VanGogh #StarryNight

AI image based on prompt, captioned: #2 Create a post-impressionistic image of a starlit night in France, just at dawn, overlooking a sleepy village in the mid-1800s.

Sarah Susan Designs @sarahsusandesigns.bsky.social · Sep 10

AI Art Critique #1: The focal point is dead center, and not in a good way. (See #DaVinci's Last Supper for a master class in dead-center focal points.) Here, AI draws us into a blob of blobs, pierced unnervingly by the church spire. What else is wrong?

AI Image from prompt, captioned: #1 Create a post-impressionistic image of a starlit night in France, just at dawn, overlooking a sleepy village in the mid-1800s.

Sarah Susan Designs @sarahsusandesigns.bsky.social · Sep 1

"We can either have democracy in this country or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both." —Louis Brandeis
To everyone who works: #HappyLaborDay!
#Brandeis #WealthDistribution #FairWages #ChildLaborLaws #EightHourWorkday #WorkerSafety #RightToOrganize

Kathe Kolwitz etching: The March of the Weavers in Berlin, showing 19th-century workers with tools marching for their rights. Captioned: Happy Labor Day, You Earned It.

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Sarah Susan Designs @sarahsusandesigns.bsky.social · Aug 27

Is a tasty morsel enough to get people's attention? No, you need a surprise, a twist, an ironic pivot. That's a hook.
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#contentWriting #writing #copywriting #writingCopy #ContentDevelopment #SEO #WebWriting #Marketing

Drawing of a fish about to bite a worm on a fishing hook.

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Sarah Susan Designs @sarahsusandesigns.bsky.social · Aug 20

Pretty colors aren't a rainbow until they line up in their assigned positions. 🌈 🌈 🌈
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#Rainbows #RainbowColors #ROYGBIV #VisibleSpectrum #ColorTips #DesignTips #RainbowOrder #Rainbow

Three rows of six multicolored circles, with the middle row sequenced in rainbow order.

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Sarah Susan Designs @sarahsusandesigns.bsky.social · Aug 6

An overcrowded, chaotic composition repels the eye. Make sure your designs include places for the eye to rest. Aren't we all busy enough as it is?
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#Design #DesignTips #Composition #VisualComposition #RestingSpace #RestingSpot #Rest #NegativeSpace #CleanCompositions #GraphicDesign

Illustration of two empty beach chairs under an umbrella in the sand. Captioned: Rest.

Sarah Susan Designs @sarahsusandesigns.bsky.social · Jul 30

#AltText is an attribute added to an image tag in HTML: (your image description)

Describing your image provides access for users with low or no vision. Can you skip this step? Sure. But what would your mother say?
sarahsusandesigns.com/
#usability #accessibility #GuiltTrip

Silhouettes of a mother and baby bear. Captioned: Alt="A brown bear walking with her cub."

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Sarah Susan Designs @sarahsusandesigns.bsky.social · Jul 23

If you underline all of your text, you're *emphasizing* none of it. Use capitalization, italics, boldface, and underlining sparingly and only when it really packs a punch.
sarahsusandesigns.com/
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#emphsais #Typography #graphicDesign #overEmphasis #LessIsMore

Repeated word: emphasis, occasionally in all caps, boldface, italics, and underlined.

Sarah Susan Designs @sarahsusandesigns.bsky.social · Jul 16

Why do cool colors recede while warm colors advance? Because our brains process longer wavelengths of light, like red, more quickly, making us think they're closer to us. Now, how *cool* is that?
sarahsusandesigns.com/
#color #colorTemperature #designTips #VisualCognition

A pattern of blue raspberries with one raspberry colored red.

Sarah Susan Designs @sarahsusandesigns.bsky.social · Jul 9

The #GoldenRatio is based on the mathematical #FibonacciSequence, and it defines the logarithmic spirals we see in nature: seashells, flowers, trees, hurricanes, and even galaxies. Use the golden ratio in your own compositions, and you'll see the difference right away.
#GraphicDesign

A pair of snails sliding up a spiral in golden-ratio proportions.

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Sarah Susan Designs @sarahsusandesigns.bsky.social · Jul 4

Happy 4th of July, America! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
sarahsusandesigns.com/
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#America #FourthOfJuly #JulyFourth #4thOfJuly2025 #July4 #landofthefree #homeofthebrave #USA #UnitedStates #American #freedom #IndependenceDay

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Sarah Susan Designs @sarahsusandesigns.bsky.social · Jun 25

Color theory in a nutshell: Complements cancel each other out and turn to gray. The more precise the complements, the more neutral the gray.
sarahsusandesigns.com/
#ComplementaryColors #NeutralColors #ColorTheory #DesignTips #DesignElements #Color #ColorScience

Two large circles, one green and one red, overlapping in a gray section. A gray heart floats above. Captioned: Perfect Harmony.

Sarah Susan Designs @sarahsusandesigns.bsky.social · Jun 15

Happy Father's Day, everyone! 🏆 🏈 🎯 ❤️
sarahsusandesigns.com/
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#FathersDay #Dads #Padre #Fathers #Parents #CelebrateDads

Sarah Susan Designs @sarahsusandesigns.bsky.social · Jun 12

I'm glad you like both together! Just sharing some design pointers. This post was about framing and how it impacts our perception. (The bonsais were random, but I'm glad you found you're way here! 🌳)

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Sarah Susan Designs @sarahsusandesigns.bsky.social · Jun 11

To contain or not contain, that is the question. Images that *bleed* to the edges surround the viewer's eye, demanding intimacy. Framed images create distance and separation. Which one's better? Both!
sarahsusandesigns.com/
#design #GraphicDesign #Bleeds #FullBleed

A framed image of a bonsai tree set over a bonsai tree background.

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Sarah Susan Designs @sarahsusandesigns.bsky.social · Jun 4

Kerning is how we adjust the space between letters. Fonts are not always crafted with optimal spacing. And once you see it, you can't unsee it. Scratch your kerning itch here: type.method.ac/
You're welcome.
#kerning #graphicDesign #design #typography #letterSpacing #KerningGame

The word goldilocks is typed three times with kerning too wide, just right, and too tight. The head of a teddy bear is peeking up from the bottom.

Sarah Susan Designs @sarahsusandesigns.bsky.social · May 11

To every mom everywhere: Thank you! 🌺 🌻 🌼 🌷 🌸 💖
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#MothersDay #Moms #Mom #Mother #MomsRule #CallYourMom #MothersDayBrunch #MothersLove #LoveYourMom #NewMoms #AdoptiveMoms #FosterMoms #GrievingMoms

Sarah Susan Designs @sarahsusandesigns.bsky.social · May 7

Zooming in on a very small subject transforms our perspective, creating both intimacy and awe. Macro photographers know this!
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#composition #scale #Design #DesignTips #VisualDesign #VisualComposition #Macrophotography #Ants

A magnifying glass held over a trail of ants, encircling a single, enlarged ant.

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Sarah Susan Designs @sarahsusandesigns.bsky.social · Apr 30

Is your website sending users into a labyrinth from which there is no escape? Being lost is unnerving even without a lurking Minotaur. Structure your website and style your navigation so anyone can find their way.
#webDesign #Usability #WebsiteNavigation #InformationArchitecture

A map icon preceeded by a curvy, looping dotted map line. Captioned: Navigation.

Sarah Susan Designs @sarahsusandesigns.bsky.social · Apr 27

Looking for a writer for a law blog. Must be able to research and write clearly without AI. This is a contract job. See post on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/42...
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#writers #bloggers #seekingWriter#writersB#bloggersl#seekingWriters

Vintage illustration of a 50's woman drinking coffee, smiling, wearing pearls. Captioned: Seeking Writers.

Sarah Susan Designs @sarahsusandesigns.bsky.social · Apr 23

Green means purity and paradise in Islam—unless you're in Indonesia where green clothing can incur the wrath of the Goddess of the Southern Sea. Orange signals royalty in the Netherlands... or mourning in Egypt. When it comes to color, know your audience!
#Color #Culture #Religion #Usability

Illustration of violets. Captioned: Roses are red. Violets are violet.