In creating a website branding is as important as any other discipline. One of the techniques I like to use to evoke brand messages is to use captioned images. Using a photoshop and a bit of knowledge of masks and opacity you can have a powerful brand motif in no time.

If you have Photoshop CS3 you can automatically merge two different photographs to create a new one, with Photoshop doing all of the hard work for you.

Often designs need a background to fill space behind navigation or other page elements. Here one way to create them.

Photoshop doesn't come with the same one-click ability as Illustrator to make the fill of shapes or objects transparent. Here's a workaround.

Photoshop comes with a handy feature that allows you to quickly crop and use scanned images or sketches.

Sometimes you might want to add a stroke to a stroke on the same layer in Photoshop. Thankfully with a simple technique you can.

If you are not already using the quick select tool you should give it a go - it can be far more efficient than the magic wand or magnetic lasso tools.

A less well known feature of Photoshop is that you can create custom vector shapes and use them throughout your designs. Here's an of examples of how to do it.

Adding type to designs is a daily task in Photoshop. Especially if you are interested in Typography mastering this tool is a must.

1. Create a new 165x165 pixel document and name it aligning-images. Now press D and then fill the document (with Black). Then create a new layer and name it 'circle'. Next, select the elliptical marquee tool , and draw a perfect circle (hold down shift to make it perfect)...