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Mozilla Foundation rushes patches to fix bugs in its browser that could allow for remote code execution. View the full article

Your organization is unique. So is your IT team and their approach to managing the IT estate. But what isn’t unique are the vulnerabilities in your environment. They affect every organization. And in the current state of the world, where teams are scattered and scrambling to get their organizations up … Source Continue reading Discover Intelligent Patch Automation for Your Software Vulnerability Management at Flexera Blog. View the full article

As part of Serif's efforts to help creatives during the COVID-19 crisis, the team behind Affinity Photo, Affinity Designer and Affinity Publisher have pledged to buy work from 100 creatives over 100 days. The 100 Days, 100 Commissions initiative will take place over the next three months, and Serif is asking designers, photographers and publishers to send in their existing work for consideration. The emphasis here is that it is not asking for spec work, nor for projects created for a specific brief. Though of course, the work must have been created in an Affinity app (Serif's offerings are some of our favourite iPad Pro apps, so that shouldn't be too much of a problem). "We’re always looking for real-world projects that have been created in Affinity apps and we know many people would have been working on briefs that have just been cancelled. Alternatively they may have unused projects or even something just done for fun," says managing director Ashley Hewson. "That’s the sort of work we’re looking to license, so contributors don’t waste time and effort preparing new work to pitch (unless they really want to) and might even get paid for something that’s been cancelled by a client." So basically, if you have a really exciting project up your sleeve that you're unfortunately now not likely to get paid for, and it was made in an Affinity app, you can send it to Serif in the hope of being snapped up. Serif says it is looking for the following types of projects, although these aren't the only types it will consider: Print documents made in Affinity Publisher such as flyers, brochures, magazines, reports and book layouts Illustrations, graphic and UI design projects made in Affinity Designer, including website or app layouts, icons, logos and packaging Projects created in Affinity Photo such as portrait retouching, compositions, focus stacking, astrophotography, panoramas, HDR, fashion and product photography And if you don't have a finished project that's ready for submission, you can send in an idea, as well as your portfolio (see our favourite design portfolios for some inspiration). Interested? You've got until 12 noon (BST) on 20 April to submit your entry, which is limited to one per person. Note that any branding that you've already made will need to be "fictionalised", which could be a fun creative challenge. Those who are commissioned will be paid USD $1,500 for their work. You can read the full terms and conditions of the initiative, as well as submit your work on Serif's website. Also note that Serif is offering a free 90-day trial of its apps at the moment, so even if you're not already using the Affinity suite, now could be the time to give it a whirl. And if you want to buy the apps outright, they are also currently 50% off. Read more: Affinity 1.8 updates make apps even more tempting Affinity Designer: How to use effects and styles Free online resources for creatives stuck at home View the full article

Bootstrap, the most popular front-end framework built to design modern, responsive, and dynamic interfaces for professional design web pages, is currently undertaking a major update, Bootstrap 5. Bootstrap is a free and open-source collection of CSS and JavaScript/jQuery code used …View the full article

NASA is bringing back its 'worm' logo, and has used the symbol on its new Space X Falcon 9, which is due to take off in May – marking, as NASA puts it, the return of human spaceflight on American rockets from American soil. But never mind the wonder of human spaceflight, people are really, really excited about the return of NASA's previous logo. What's the big deal with the worm? Well, the logotype known as the worm was used between 1975 and 1992, and is much-loved for its clean and sleek forms, although it was quite controversial when it was initially brought in (read more in our NASA logo piece, or see our logo design guide for more on logos in general). After 1992, the logo known as the 'meatball', which was the original NASA logo, was brought back. But could this new appearance of the worm mark a wider change for the NASA logo? The meatball (left) vs the worm (right) In short, the answer is yes. "There's a good chance you'll see the logo featured in other official ways on the mission and in the future," says NASA on its website announcement, entitled 'the worm is back'. "It seems the worm logo wasn't really retired, it was just resting up for the next chapter of space exploration." So now we know. And we can't help but wonder if this departure from the meatball has anything to do with the rebranding of the Space Force logo, which was more in the style of the meatball (and some suggested, Star Trek). Is NASA trying to distance itself from the Space Force? On Twitter, people seemed pretty overjoyed at NASA's announcement, made by NASA administrator, Jim Bridenstine. There were also a lot of gifs, some of them courtesy of NASA. We look forward to seeing how this develops. To infinity and beyond? No, we mean, one small step for man, one giant leap for worms. Read more: New NASA logo celebrates women on the moon The 10 best logos of all time New Bing logo has curves in all the right places View the full article

If you've ever yearned to be interpreted by one of the greatest artists, you'll finally get your wish. Google's Art and Culture app has a brand-new feature that will bring Picasso to your living room and put you in the spotlight. The Art Transfer feature goes a step further than the app's previous fun filter, the Art Selfie. Instead of scouring its huge database for matches to your photos, it applies different filters to pictures, in the style of history's famous artists. If you want to take things a step further, find all you'll need to know to make your own art in our art techniques guide. Part of the Art Transfer process After taking or choosing a photo and applying filters that range from 'Self Portrait in the style of Vincent Van Gogh' to 'Free South Africa by Keith Haring' (plus a wealth of other artists such as Leonardo Da Vinci and Pablo Picasso), you have the option to save the result as an image or as a gif. The app also throws up some trivia about the artist and the option to view their work in a virtual gallery (more on that later). We have to say we are massively enjoying the outcome, and took the liberty of giving a nearby cat a plethora of makeovers. Firstly, 'The Scream by Edvard Munch'. And then a Frieda Kahlo-style self portrait. The app uses AI-powered technology to analyse any photo and transform it, and not by just applying a simple filter, either. "Once you snap your photo and select a style, Art Transfer doesn’t just blend the two things or simply overlay your image," product manager Michelle Luo explains. "Instead, it kicks off a unique algorithmic recreation of your photo inspired by the specific art style you have chosen." Honestly, we will probably spend all day on this. But there is more that the app can do for you right now. As well as fun filters, it also has a bunch of time-filling cultural content, including a virtual tours of over 1200 art galleries and museums – see our roundup of online art galleries for more. There are also art activities and interactive experiments. Read more: The essential guide to foreshortening in art The best art easels in 2020 What is beauty? And why do we need it in art and design? View the full article

As we all adjust to the changes to our lives caused by coronavirus pandemic, and social distancing becomes the (hopefully temporary) new normal, the creative community is coming together with various brilliant examples of solidarity and support. Every day, we have seen more and more individuals, groups and companies offer their talents and services for free. There's almost too much to count now – which is no bad thing for creatives. Below are just a few of our favourite online resources and services currently being offered for free during the coronavirus pandemic. You'll find everything from creative software and drawing lessons, to free books and talented authors doing daily story times. Some things here are aimed specifically at artists and designers, while others are simply designed to help you manage being stuck at home. Rest assured whatever situation you find yourself in right now, you'll find something here to help make life a little brighter. Please feel free to share any resources we've missed at contact@creativebloq.com or on Twitter @Creativebloq. Let's get started with some amazing free tools... There are a number of companies offering services for free in an attempt to support creatives financially. Here are all the current offers: Get Adobe CC free for two months Adobe is offering two months Creative Cloud for free to already existing individual CC subscribers. With the Covid-19 outbreak hitting everyone hard, this will no doubt come as very welcome news to artists and designers reliant on Adobe apps. Adobe CC free for students and teachers Adobe is also offering temporary free licenses to students and teachers, which could be a lifesaving offer for students currently reliant on Adobe software to complete vital coursework. In order to be eligible, you must attend a school or college registered as an Adobe education customer. Free Affinity apps from Serif Serif is offering everyone 90-days free access to Affinity Designer, Affinity Publisher and Affinity Photo. And at the end of the trial, should you wish to purchase the software, you can do so for half the retail price. Serif has also pledged to engage 100 creatives with paid work amid the virus outbreak. Nice one, Serif. Get ftrack Review for free Say goodbye to multiple emails and messages for the next few months with free access to collaborative media review and approval platform for content creators ftrack Review. The tool is free until at least 31 May 2020 (with date to be reviewed as the pandemic develops). Join Rob Biddulph every Tuesday and Thursday for DrawWithRob A number of artists have taken to doing regular online tutorials as a way to help creatives develop their skills and keep kids busy while they're at home. Here's a list of all the ones we've heard about so far: Art is where the home is Firstsite gallery in Colchester has brought together a crack team of well-known UK artists for a series of downloadable activity packs called Art is Where the Home is. Those artists include Grayson Perry, Annie Morris, Jeremy Deller and Antony Gormley, to name a few. The first pack will be available "very soon" – keep an eye on Firstsite's website for details. Free art lessons with Aaron Blaise If you want to learn how to draw, you'll be hard pushed to find a better teacher than legendary Aaron Blaise. The former Disney artist has today announced he will be publishing his lessons either for free or at a huge discount. Home schooling suddenly never looked so good. Draw with Rob Illustrator Rob Bidduph is sharing draw-along videos for kids every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 10AM (GMT), using the hashtag #DrawWithRob. And they've gone down a storm. Even if you don't want to join in, we urge you to take a look at the fantastic submissions so far, which are guaranteed to put a smile on your face. Quarantine Art Club Award-winning American children's book illustrator and artist Carson Ellis has set up her very own Quarantine Art Club for adults and kids alike. Ellis There's a step-by-step video and handy reference material to help you get stuck in. Art club with Noel Fielding British TV presenter Noel Fielding has set up a Twitter-based online art club, which anyone can join in with. Participants are invited to submit their art to his Twitter handle – @noelfielding11 – and so far they've been glorious. Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems Lunch doodles with author Mo Willems, posted at 1PM (EST) every day on Twitter (and streamed after if you miss it). Visit Mo's virtual studio every day and then post your artwork online, using the hashtag #MoLunchDoodles. Looking for something meditative? There's nothing quite like getting lost in a session of calming colouring in. Lots of illustrators are offering free templates for printing, or even a touch of digital colouring. Colour for Calm Claudine O'Sullivan's Colour for Calm Glasgow-based illustrator Claudine O'Sullivan is offering a free PDF of seven different illustrators (six animals and one cityscape) which can either be printed and coloured, or used as a template for digital illustration. "Drawing has always been an incredibly calming escape for me," says O'Sullivan, "and I believe it can provide the same for others." Check out Colour for Calm here. Squidoodle's free colouring sheets Kent-based illustrator Steve Turner (better known as Squidoodle) is offering several free colouring templates on his website, including two designed specifically for the current situation. One is a message of support for the NHS, while another carries the hopeful message "We'll get through this!" surrounded by various items including books, headphones and a video game controller. Audi's online colouring book In one of the more unexpected offerings, car manufacturer Audi has posted a free colouring book PDF to its website, featuring various Audi vehicles in a number of exotic locations, from a majestic mountain range to... an Audi dealership store. Because why not? Elsewhere, illustrators and authors are taking to Instagram Live to read their books aloud in daily story times. This is a great way for adults and kids to spend some time together, so check individual Instagram feeds for times and tune in. Julia Donaldson The Gruffalo author has begun a series of weekly broadcasts on the book's official Facebook page, featuring stories, songs and poems from her books. The first broadcast features songs from 2004's A Squash and a Squeeze, and includes an appearance from illustrator Axel Scheffler. Oliver Jeffers Author of the popular children's books, How to Catch a Star and Lost and Found Oliver Jeffers has taken to Instagram to doing daily readings. Tune in at 2PM (ET), where posts will be available for 24 hours, and the recording then available on his website after. Sophie Blackall Author and illustrator Sophie Blackall is also taking to Instagram to share artists tips and tricks, based around her favourite books, including Ivy and Bean and Hello Lighthouse. There doesn't appear to be any post schedule, but videos are popping up every other day at the moment. Mac Barnett A daily book club is running from children's book author Mac Barnett, every day at 0900 (ET). Videos are available for 24 hours after posting, so you can catch up after if you miss it. If your stuck at home and want to get stuck in to a good book, there's plenty of free online libraries available. Free ebooks for designers: hone your skills with these 22 amazing resources for both beginners and pros Apple Books currently has a ‘stay at home’ collection of free read-alongs for kids and audiobooks That's a long list of free resources to help keep you in all sorts of ways while stuck at home. If you need some kit to help with remote working, we've also got a number of super-helpful buying guides to help you choose the correct equipment for you. This bit isn't free, sadly, but our price comparison widget will make sure you get the best price possible. The best office chair for your home office The best desks to keep you comfortable Laptop stands to keep you and your device cool The best laptops for students View the full article

Google is rolling out the newest Chrome browser version, 80.0.3987.162, in the coming days. View the full article

The feature, criticized for "undisclosed data-mining," is only the latest privacy faux pas for Zoom this month. View the full article

We started our agency, DixonBaxi, 19 years ago and I have worked as a designer for over 25 years now. As a company, we’ve weathered difficult storms, including two economic recessions, and arguably now we are amidst one of the most challenging times of all. But in this strange period of isolation there is also opportunity. An opportunity to really examine and understand your views of the world and what creativity means to you, which are the habits and behaviours that are critical to the work of any good designer. 28 amazing design portfolios to inspire you When I interview people early in their career, I don’t look at CVs or work. Instead, I want to speak to that person and get an understanding of what they truly care about. I want to figure out not what they've learnt but what they can do with that learning. I want to hear about the problems they have creatively overcome, and even more crucially, why. This is fundamental for me – the ability to see how someone applies critical thinking and can understand how to communicate on behalf of a brand. Everyone is different: we see people who are natural leaders, practitioners or strategists, but we also can see those who are lost because they’re not quite sure why they want to be a creative. And so this is what you need to work on – now more than ever. If you are looking for a new role, see our design jobs board. 01. Be bold and focus Focus on the type of work you want and like to create. It’s far easier to succeed and grow if you know what you want. If you’ve not yet had a chance to create the work you love, don’t worry. Just get on and make it. While working, create something interesting that pushes the boundaries. When we meet with clients, we like to offer ideas across what we call the ‘scale of bravery’ - if one is playing it safe and 10 is radical, we always aim for five and above. We understand that creativity improves things and makes things better and that’s why we often say that we are ‘always in beta’ – we always have new things to learn, new ways to grow and adapt to the world around us. This is really important – stay interested and aware of how the world is culturally and socially shifting and you’ll maintain a critical perspective. 02. Meet and talk to people (virtually) Whether via video chats, LinkedIn, blogs or social media, start small conversations with people you find interesting and admire and talk. Start conversations where you can really add value and develop a relationship. This allows you to think beyond yourself which is important as creativity is collaborative. Be open to ideas and ways of working that might be different to yours and learn to understand them. 03. Use this gift of time There’s a lot of uncertainty at the moment and that can drive negativity – the best way to challenge this is to make things. This is a really great way to get back on the front foot and be productive, and when you make things you have something to talk about. Whether you help a struggling local business with messaging, create an app or ideas with friends to help the community or simply develop your own designs, you are creating work with a tangible meaning. This is then a self-fulfilling prophecy as you are feeling productive and also becoming part of the industry. Another good thing to do is to use this time to systemise your folio so it’s easy for people on the outside to understand and get a good idea of who you are. Be brutal – get rid of deadwood, the work that is too broad or weak. It’s better to have fewer pieces that are brilliant than a lot of work that is average. It’s easy to fall into the sea of sameness where work can look and feel like many others - learn to aggregate your work in a way that makes you stand out. See these inspirational design portfolios for some fantastic portfolio examples. 04. Find your tribe Research studios that can help facilitate your ways of working and play to your strengths as you develop. Don’t get caught up on job vacancies or titles – worry about the quality of the work you are producing. Far too many people focus on getting specific roles when the only thing that matters is that you are doing vital and rewarding work – chase the projects and the exciting ways of working instead. When you’re ready, reach out to them. Be positive and additive – people buy into people. So the more natural, interesting and upbeat you are, the more you will connect. Ultimately, use this time to explore who you are and what you want to communicate as a creative Ultimately, use this time to explore who you are and what you want to communicate as a creative. When we hire, we look at attitudes over skills. You can teach technical skills but you can’t teach creative perspectives. We help to draw that out. You may design using a pencil, charcoal or a computer but if you don’t understand the reason or meaning to what you are doing it becomes pointless. Design today is no longer a fixed state – it scales, it breaks, it changes and adapts with how people use it. So you must learn the engine that drives it as well as the specific technical skills, and that will keep you designing with passion throughout your, hopefully, long career. Read more: 20 tips for design interview success 5 things NOT to say in a job interview How to draw: The best drawing tutorials View the full article

The past couple of years have seen Microsoft update many of its icons to bring them inline with its Fluent Design System. A process, which, in short, aims to create simplicity and coherence across its entire platform. Today, Microsoft's search engine Bing is the latest of its services to receive the Fluent design treatment, and the results are surprisingly impressive. The new Bing logo keeps the immediately recognisable lowercase 'b', but loses the sharp edges in favour of a much curvier design. There are also some very subtle, gorgeous new gradients in there too. While it seems like a simple change, the effect is quite profound, with the old, quite harsh design replaced with a sleek, classy new look. Is it enough to make it on to our list of the best logos of all time? Or make people choose the service over Google? Doubtful. But it's definitely a step in the right direction. McDonald's apologises after tasteless logo change Out with the old (left) and in with the curves (right) However, we can’t help but think Microsoft could have extended the redesign to update the font as well. Or maybe gone all out and changed the name too – is it just us or does Bing feel super-'90s? Whatever you think, there's no denying the new Bing logo falls in line with the uniformed, more modern look Microsoft is going for. The Windows logo led the way, with Microsoft's Office app icons quickly following suit. The new Bing logo doesn't appear for everyone just yet, and there's no news on when – or indeed if – it will be fully operational. The Thurrott website suggests the company may be A/B testing the new logo with a limited number of users, so whether it will make it to the masses remains to be seen. If it does make the cut, our guess it will be rolled out to everyone in the coming weeks and months. Read more: Logo design: Everything you need to know Audi’s new socially distanced logo misses the mark Iconic logos reimagined for the age of coronavirus View the full article

Working on the web usually means you will be working with Google in some shape or form. And seeing as Google Chrome is streets ahead of the competition, designers and developers need to think about how their project will work with the browser. How will it look? What technologies does it support, how secure is it and how will it perform? Fortunately, Chrome provides tools to ensure any site or app will be at its best. DevTools enable designers and developers to gain insight into a web page: you can manipulate the DOM, check CSS, experiment on designs with live editing, debug JavaScript and check performance. (See more about how to use these Google web tools here). But Google offers more than just the browser. It has tools and resources to aid nearly every aspect of your design and development life. Want to know how to improve performance? Lighthouse is here to help. Want to build better performing mobile sites? Then say hello to AMP. Are you looking to build beautiful PWAs? Then Flutter, Material Design and Workbox are ready to step in. The beauty of using Google tools, resources, libraries and frameworks is that you know they will work well with the Chrome browser – the most popular browser on the planet. For more tools, see our web design tools roundup. 01. Lighthouse Performance is a key factor in the success of a site and Lighthouse is Google’s tool for improving the quality of web pages. So how do you use it and what can it do? In its simplest form, you can run Lighthouse from the Audits tab and choose from a selection of options including desktop or mobile, in addition to tick boxes for performance, accessibility and SEO, to generate a final report with suggested improvements. 02. Polymer Polymer is well-known for its work with web components but the project has now expanded its repertoire to embrace a collection of libraries, tools and standards. What’s included? LitElement is an editor that makes it easy to define web components, while lit-html is an HTML templating library that enables users to write next-gen HTML templates in JS. Plus, you will also find a PWA Starter kit, the original Polymer library and sets of web components. 03. APIs Explorer Google has a vast library of APIs available to developers but finding what you need is no easy task. This is where Google’s APIs Explorer steps in to offer a helping hand. There is a long list that can be scrolled through but, for quicker access, there is a search box to filter the API list. Each entry links to a reference page with more details on how to use the API. 04. Flutter Create beautiful apps with Flutter If you are looking to build good-looking applications for mobile, web and desktop from a single codebase then Flutter could be for you. The site is a complete reference to working with and building with Flutter. Haven’t got a clue what to do? The docs take a user from installation to creation, assisted by plenty of samples and tutorials. 05. Google GitHub As most will know, GitHub is the hosting platform/repository to store and share code and files. And happily Google has its own spot on the platform with over 260 repositories to sift through. Use the filter to cut down on your search time and get closer to the repository you want to play with or contribute to. 06. Puppeteer Built in Node, Puppeteer offers a high-level API that enables you to access headless Chrome – effectively Chrome without the UI, which developers can then control through the command line. So what can you do with Puppeteer? A few options are available for generating screenshots and PDFs of pages, automating form submission and creating an automated testing environment. 07. Workbox If you are looking to build a PWA then this is a great starting point. Workbox provides a collection of JavaScript libraries for adding offline support to web apps. A selection of in-depth guides demonstrate how to create and register a service worker file, route requests, use plugins and use bundlers with Workbox. And there is also a set of example caching strategies to check out. 08. Codelabs In need of practical guidance for a Google product? Codelabs provides “a guided, tutorial, hands-on coding experience”. The site is neatly broken down into categories and events, making it quick and easy to find what you want. It includes Analytics, Android, Assistant, augmented reality, Flutter, G Suite, Search, TensorFlow and virtual reality. Select an option and get the code and directions you need to build small applications. 09. Color Tool Pick a palette, any palette Color Tool is a straightforward tool that enables you to create, share and apply a palette in addition to checking accessibility. Users can choose a predefined palette from the Material palette. Simply pick a colour and then apply it to the primary colour scheme, switch to the secondary option and pick again. Finally, pick text colours for both schemes. Alternatively, switch to Custom to pick your colours. Then switch to Accessibility to check all is good before, finally, exporting the palette. 10. Design Sprints The Design Sprint Kit is for those who are learning how to participate in or run design sprints. It looks to cover all knowledge bases, from first-timers to experienced sprint facilitators. Learn about the methodology or jump straight into the planning stage, including writing briefs, gathering data and research, as well as what to do post-sprint. Also includes a host of resources such as tools, templates, recipes and the option to submit your own method. 11. People + AI Guidebook This guide is the work of the People + AI Research initiative at Google and looks to offer help to those wanting to build human-centred AI products. The comprehensive guidebook is split into six chapters covering user needs, data collection and evaluation, mental models, trust, feedback and graceful failure. Each chapter is accompanied by exercises, worksheets and the tools and resources that are needed to make it happen. 12. Google Assistant Google's Assistant does plenty of assisting This is the Google Assistant’s developer platform, offering a guide on how to integrate your content and services with the Google Assistant. It shows you how to extend your mobile app, present content in rich ways for Search and Assistant, control lights, coffee machines and other devices around the home and build voice and visual experiences for smart speakers, displays and phones. 13. PageSpeed Insights PageSpeed Insights analyses web content and then offers suggestions on how to make it load faster. Simply add a URL, hit the Analyze button and wait for the magic to happen. Check the Docs to get a better insight into how the PageSpeed API works and how to start using it. 14. AMP on Google AMP is Google’s tool for creating fast-loading mobile pages that will (hopefully) get to the top of search rankings. Learn how to create fast, user-first sites, integrate AMP across Google products, use Google AMP Cache to make AMP pages faster and monetise AMP pages with other Google products. 15. Google DevTools There's a lot you can do with DevTools Every designer and developer knows (or at least should know) that Chrome comes with a set of tools built directly into the browser. Chrome's DevTools are ideal for inspecting the elements that make up a page, checking CSS, editing pages on the fly and much more. The Elements tab is the introduction to DevTools. It displays the HTML code that makes up the selected page. Get an insight into the properties of each div or tag from the selected page and start live editing. This is perfect for experimenting with designs. Check the Layout – whether you are using Flexbox or Grid – and take a look at related fonts with examples and examine animations. Elsewhere, you can view and change CSS. The Styles tab on the Elements panel lists the CSS rules being applied to the currently selected element in the DOM Tree. Switch properties on and off (or add new values) to experiment with designs. This is the perfect tool for ensuring that everything works as expected before applying any changes to the live design. You can also debug JavaScript, optimise website speed and inspect network speed. Here’s a quick tip you can use to immediately speed up your workflow. Head to the Sources tab, click New Snippet and add frequently used code. Name the code snippet and save. Repeat as needed. Now you can grab this code snippet instead of writing it again. Like every good browser, Chrome is constantly evolving and each new release brings new features. Find out what's happening on the Chrome status platform 16. Material Design Material is a vital piece of design kit Development may be seen as Google’s favoured child but, whatever you are making, creating or building, it needs to look good and give the user an experience that makes them want to use it. Material is a more recent addition to the Google stable but is a design system that has matured into a vital piece of design kit. Like any good design system, it has its own set of guidelines, which you need to look at before stepping into the more exciting stuff. Get an overview of how to use different elements, what Material theming is, how to implement a theme and usability guides including accessibility. Elsewhere, there is an insight into Material Foundation, which includes the key areas of design such as layout, navigation, colour, typography, sound, iconography, motion and interaction. Each category reveals its dos and don’ts and where you should consider caution. To give an idea of what to expect, the Layout category offers sections on understanding layout, pixel density, how to work with a responsive layout including columns, gutters and margins, breakpoints, UI regions and spacing methods to name but a few. Beyond the Design section is Components, which provides the physical building blocks needed to create a design. What’s included here? Buttons, banners, cards, dialogs, dividers, lists, menus, progress indicators, sliders, snackbars (these are brief messages about app processes at the bottom of the screen), tabs, text fields and tooltips. Undoubtedly a comprehensive collection of components. And developers haven’t been forgotten, with details and tutorials on how to build for different platforms – Android, iOS, Web and Flutter. And, finally, there is a page dedicated to a host of resources to help make your chosen design happen. This article originally appeared in net magazine. Buy issue 326. Read more: 30 Chrome extensions for developers and web designers HTML6: What is it and when is it arriving? 7 web design trends you need to know View the full article

With the world in turmoil, it's anyone's guess when Apple's iPhone 12 will finally be revealed. But the wait has done nothing to dampen the anticipation around its arrival, with Apple fans everywhere eager to get their hands on the shiny new device. While we wait for official launch news, graphic designer Donel Bagrov has come up with his own bold concept design for the iPhone 12 Pro. Leaked specs have already given us a decent picture of what to expect from the latest models. According to Tom's Guide, a report from established Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reveals there will be four iPhone 12 models, and they'll be the first iPhones with 5G capabilities. We also wouldn't be surprised to see them include the same ProMotion technology that has given the iPad Pro a buttery-smooth refresh rate. While these features would further cement the iPhone as one of the best camera phones for creatives, Bagrov's concept goes a few steps further with some unexpected details. Firstly, where's the notch (aka the black part housing the top speaker, front camera, and Face ID technology that cuts into the display)? With an under-display camera, this concept would be the first truly all-screen iPhone. While the notch was widely mocked at the launch of the iPhone X in 2017, the design has since been adopted by countless smartphone manufacturers. But is Apple ready to remove it completely? We're notch sure (sorry). Could the notch's days be numbered? The second big surprise is what the Bagrov calls 'Slide and TapTap'. With his concept design removing all buttons, in their place are what appears to be touch-responsive 'sliders', which can be used to toggle options such as volume. They bring to mind the Apple Pencil with touch bar that Apple recently filed a patent for. The new buttons that definitely aren't buttons Rounding off the design is a slew of more traditional upgrades, including improved battery life, reverse charging and just enough cameras to count on one hand. We'd love to see Apple take a few cues from Bagrov's design, especially the huge, uninterrupted display. Notch or not, we can't wait to see what Apple actually has in store for us. In these uncertain times, though, it's not just a question of what, but when. Read more: iPhone 11 Pro review Leaks confirm iPhone 9 (but it's not all good news) iPad Pro 2020: All there is to know about Apple's new tablet View the full article

Lego and space have a storied history together, from the classic blue and translucent green of the ’80s space sets to the great NASA-accurate sets below. The best Lego space sets of 2020 might be a bit more scientifically accurate than the older sets, and they're all the better for it. The best Lego space sets include a mix of scale models of real space craft that are perfect for adults or older kids, while the range of Lego space playsets are great for kids as young as five. Even the playsets were developed with input from NASA, though, it offered insight into the kind of equipment it expects humans to be using when we start making trips beyond the moon. We've broken the sets down into the real space craft aimed at adults, and then the sets aimed at a younger audience – and you'll find the current best online prices for them all right there. Also don't forget to check our Lego sets for adults, and our best Lego Architecture and Lego City sets. Best Lego space sets for adults Released to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the lunar landing, this recreation of the Eagle is a glorious display piece. Lego worked with NASA on getting the details right, including the right shade of gold. There are loads of fun details in the Lego Creator Expert NASA Apollo 11 Lunar Lander, from the way you build the lunar surface (including little square footprints for your astronauts), to the fact that the lunar escape module disconnects from the landing gear to rocket away. There’s even an inside to the module, with equipment panels. This has been a long time coming – ISS models would regularly make their way through Lego Ideas (where people submit propositions for new sets to be voted on by the public, and the most-voted will be assessed by Lego for potential release as a set), but Lego never picked them up… until now! This Lego Ideas International Space Station comes with lots of nice touches, including a robotic arm for deploying a satellite, a scale space shuttle you can dock, mini cargo space craft, and microscale figure to head out on space walks. If you’re into space, science and singular achievements, this is pretty much an essential display piece, especially since it comes on a handy stand. Here’s the thing: this Lego Ideas NASA Apollo Saturn V is no longer made by Lego. It has been retired – possibly forever, possibly not, but definitely don’t expect it back soon. Normally, we wouldn’t recommend things that aren’t actually available any more, but this is easily the best space set Lego has ever made, and you can find it for sale online since it's only a recent retirement, so we kind of have to mention it. A full metre long when complete, this scale model of the Saturn V is utterly awesome, and meticulously detailed – from its recreation of every portion of the multi-stage rocket, to the little dioramas of the lunar module on the moon and the command module in the sea after a touchdown… and all with microscale figures, as a reminder that this is all to scale! Moon landing buffs should take note of the number of pieces it’s made from, even – that’s the care and love that was clearly poured into this set. So, if you see it for sale for a not ridiculous price, we can’t recommend it enough. If you're a big space program fan, it's worth it. Best Lego space sets for kids The City range might seem a slightly odd place for the all the following sets in this list to sit, but that’s where this kind of playset tends to go, so fair enough. The next six models in this guide are all from a series inspired by NASA’s plans for future and mars programs, with designs that draw from serious concepts. The Lego City Rocket Assembly & Transport is our favourite of them, because not only does it have the coolest-looking rocket (which is the most important thing), but we also love the big crane assembly and caterpillar transportation vehicle. And as a playset, the range of robots, vehicles and garage give loads of scope for little explorers to have fun. This Lego City People Pack is a really fun selection of minifigures and accessories: it comes with seven different astronauts, a reporter, a camera operator, a personal trainer, a drone engineer, a rocket engineer, a mechanical engineer and a botanist, plus a robot, a g-force training machine, pizza, space rocks, a test rocket, and more. It’s a really cool set of stuff for kids to free play with and add to their range of other Lego. This Lego City Mars Research Shuttle is a slick-looking shuttle that opens to reveal space for its two astronauts to sit, and for it to carry a storage drone, perfect for carrying the included geode bricks. There’s also a rover with grappling arm, but the little touch we love the most is the scanning heli-drone, which has a red panel that, when held over a brick of rocky regolith, will reveal a neat ‘scanning’ interface. It’s a great set for budding space scientists. This Lego City Lunar Space Station is a concept for a small space station, with three modules to it that you can arrange however you like around the central airlock module. There’s a kitchen module, and living module, and a lab module, and they all open up so you can play with the minifigures included. The lab has light-up equipment, the kitchen has a pizza oven (we’re not sure of the NASA accuracy of that bit…), and the living area has a treadmill and bed. There’s also a small shuttle and a detachable satellite, for getting all that busy space work done. This Lego City Deep Space Rocket Launch Control set has a multi-stage rocket with assorted modules, plus a control room for executing your perfect launches, but most importantly it has a funky rail transport system. There’s a range of accessories too, from transport vehicles on the ground to a robot help, to a space telescope satellite that fits in the rocket’s payload module for transport up to your ceiling. A nice added touch is that the control tower is designed to accommodate a phone with a special countdown app on the screen, for an atmospheric (so to speak) launch event. You can practise for those martian/lunar escapades with this Lego City Rover Testing Drive set – it has an articulated grappling arm and removable cockpit, plus chunky all-terrain wheels. There’s various rock collecting equipment for its driver minifigure to use when picking up the rock bricks it comes with, and it’s all observed by a technician. Read more: The best Lego Harry Potter sets Pixel art: the best retro examples Super Lego Mario is coming and we need it now View the full article

Easter is a weird holiday; a Christian celebration with decidedly pagan iconography, and you can never be quite sure when it's going to happen each year. Christmas is easy – 25 December – but Easter's a movable feast with an incredibly obtuse formula for calculating the date: the first Sunday after the ecclesiastical full moon on or after 21 March. As you've doubtless worked out, this means that Easter this year falls on 12 April, and while you'll have finished and submitted any Easter commissions right now, there's always the possibility of a last-minute job. Be prepared with this selection of free fonts with an Easter theme; they're just what you need to give the finishing touch to any Easter designs. 13 of the best Google Easter Eggs 01. Bunny The ears have it When it comes to Easter fonts you basically have four choices: rabbit-based, egg-based, decorative in a kind-of Easter style, or dingbats. We're giving the dingbats a miss and instead starting with Bunny, a rabbit-based font from Flop Design. It's a fun lower case font, with each glyph created using fat, rounded strokes, and the ascenders and descenders turned into long, bunny ear-like loops. And if that's not sufficiently bunny-like for you, an alternate set adds rabbit face details to each letter; use it sparingly. It's a freeware non-commercial font; contact the designer if you want to use it for commercial projects. 02. Happy Easter There are some weird characters going on here, but we like it There's certain naive charm to Happy Easter by Des Gomez. It's a tall script font that mixes upper and lower case characters in a single set, and has the appearance of the sort of lettering you'd get on an Easter card designed at school by a child who hasn't quite got the hang of the entire alphabet yet. The 'd', 'e' and 'a' are particularly strange, but we have something of a soft spot for its haphazard style, and there's the added bonus of a single hand-drawn Easter egg character. It's donationware, so be sure to send the designer some money if you use it for a work. 03. Easter Fun by Tom Make this font even more fun by playing with the colours Designed by Tom Brown, Easter Fun is an all-caps cartoon font that gets its Easter flavour from sets of hand-drawn lines across the upper and lower portions of each character, in the style of traditional Easter egg decoration. It's a simple but effective technique that you could accentuate by colouring the lines in different shades. Easter Fun is free for personal use. 04. Bunny Rabbits Get a load of these happy lagomorphs Got your heart set on a more rabbity Easter font? Don't you worry; Bunny Rabbits by GemFonts is a gloriously leporine font with at least one rabbit per character. Each letter is formed by a cartoon rabbit or two in a suitably spring-like pose; you'll even spot actual Easter eggs in some of the characters. Wonderfully quirky and fun, Bunny Rabbits is free for both personal and commercial use. 05. Easter Sunrise This one has plenty of non-Easter applications, too Apart from eggs and rabbits, there isn't really much imagery to draw upon when you're coming up with an Easter design. There's the whole crucifixion thing, but when do you ever see that on an Easter egg? We actually found one font that played on that, but it was terrible; hand-scrawled letters with crosses drawn over them as an afterthought. Anyway, here's Easter Sunrise; it's a bit of a stretch to link sunrises with Easter, but maybe it says something about emerging from the long, dark winter months. Again, one to colour in by hand if you have the time, and it's freeware so you can use it for anything you like. 06. DJB Eggscellent Finally, an egg-based pun All right, we've kept you waiting for egg-based fonts long enough. You just know that DJB Eggscellent is going to be great, purely on the basis of the egg pun in its name, and it doesn't disappoint. It's a full set of hand-drawn letters in both upper and lower cases, each one contained in a little egg, and as an extra bonus there's a small set of characters in the form of decorated Easter eggs. Created by DJB Fonts, it's free for personal use. 07. EasterFont Another cracking eggy font Free for personal and non-profit use (with the request that you don't use it for political campaigns), EasterFont is our second egg-based offering. Unlike DJB Eggscellent it has no lower case characters; it's all hand-drawn upper case, but with the choice of solid or stroked eggs. We slightly prefer the look of EasterFont's letters; they're slightly more lively than the ones in DJB Eggscellent, and they fill their egg container better too. Really, though, there's not a lot to choose between them; why not get both? 08. Bunny Hopper Ear All the bunny ears you're ever likely to need If you're the sort of person who stands behind someone having their photo taken so that you can extend a pair of fingers behind their head to give them bunny ears, this is the font for you. Bunny Hopper Ears is a cartoon font in which every single letter has a pair of bunny ears stuck on top. How much more Easter can you get? It's for personal use only; you can get a commercial licence for just $12, and it comes with an additional style that doesn't have the bunny ears; where's the fun in that? Related articles: How to add fonts in Photoshop 6 logo Easter eggs you might have missed 10 remarkably retro free pixel fonts View the full article