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Are you at a turning point in your career? Do you want to learn new skills that bring in income? This course may be for you. Learn the fundamentals of project management with Lean Six Sigma and begin your new profession by mastering skills that will help you launch an in-demand path for only $70. GoLeanSixSigma, a web-based company that made the Inc. 5000's list for 2019, brings you a four-course bundle that is jam-packed with over 60 hours of training in the project management realm. Starting a new role? You'll want some new business cards. Here are our pick of the best business card templates around. Get valuable hands-on experience You'll start by getting a comprehensive look into Lean Six Sigma (with courses in roles, wastes, and DMAIC) and then move on to more advanced Sigma terminology such as establishing the current state of a business, developing its future state, and building a Lean culture. Lessons in Six Sigma White and Yellow Belts, how to get your Lean certification, and how to use 20+ Lean tools will all be conquered at the end of the courses. With access to the lessons on web and mobile, you'll be able to learn Lean Six Sigma at home or on the go. Perfect for any level of expertise, these easy to follow tutorials guide you through each step of the project managing ladder and allow for valuable hands-on experience in building high-performance teams, minimising costs, and maximising profits. Perhaps most importantly, you can learn at your own pace and will receive a certificate upon completion, a great skill set booster for your current or next position. The Ultimate Lean Certification Prep Bundle is usually priced at almost $2,000, but, for a limited time, you can kick off a money-making career like a pro for only $70 (that's 95% off). Transform your working life and begin a new job that will help you learn new vital skills, not to mention bring in a prosperous income. Read more: UK design jobs: Find your dream role with Creative Bloq and Design Jobs Board How to get a job as a video games artist How to be a better speaker: presenting and pitching tips View the full article

HDMI vs DVI probably isn't a question that keeps you up at night, but it is important to know the difference. A creative’s workstation is never run of the mill, with drawing tablets, graphic design laptops and multiple monitors all piling up around us as we try to get our work done. All those peripherals littering our desks need to be hooked up somehow – but how exactly should it be done? Not infrequently, that comes down to a simple question: do you need an HDMI or DVI cable? Each looks different, works differently, and supports different outputs. To the untrained eye, it can be a minefield of resolutions, data rates and supported features. So, which should you get? The answer depends on more than just the ports on your best laptop for graphic design or one of the best monitors. But fear not, our no-nonsense guide lays out exactly why you might need each cable, and which is the best option for creatives right now. HDMI vs DVI: Footprint Comparing HDMI and DVI plugs shows the large difference in size between them HDMI and DVI are simple to tell apart thanks to their contrasting footprints. Unlike the myriad forms of USB cables, which often look deceptively similar, HDMI and DVI ports look strikingly different. Being the older standard, it’s perhaps unsurprising that DVI is the larger of the two. Viewed front on, a typical DVI plug is rectangular in shape, with a matrix of (usually) 24 pins three rows deep making up the bulk of its front side. To the right of this matrix is a square consisting of four more pins. The whole arrangement is flanked on either side by screws that fix it in place. The number of pins, combined with the screws, make DVI a relatively large plug. HDMI, in contrast, is much smaller. Its plug consists of a slim rectangle with a sloped lip below it. In the middle is a thin gap surrounded by 19 pins. Despite having close to the same number of pins as DVI, HDMI plugs are much more compact, in part due to their lack of securing screws. Note that it is possible to get Mini and Micro versions of both DVI and HDMI plugs. Mini-DVI and Micro-DVI are only found on older Apple computers such as the original MacBook Air and 2009 Mac mini. Mini-HDMI and Micro-HDMI can be found on a wider variety of devices, including some tablets and phones, but are still uncommon compared to standard HDMI plugs. HDMI vs DVI: Compatibility Need to connect HDMI and DVI devices together? Adapters are simple and won’t break the bank One of the most important questions when it comes to deciding between HDMI and DVI is what each standard works with and whether it’ll work with your devices. The first thing you can do towards answering this is check the ports on your hardware. Some computer motherboards will have ports for both, for example, while your TV or monitor may only support one or the other. These days, HDMI is much more common than DVI. That’s especially true on laptops, where HDMI’s smaller connector is much more likely to make an appearance due to its space-saving design. You’re likely to find it on computers, TVs, monitors, games consoles and a variety of other hardware types. However, even HDMI is not as common as it once was, as both DisplayPort and USB-C have eaten into its market share. As we mentioned earlier, the best thing to do is check your hardware to see what exactly you’ll need. Don’t forget that you can always get an adaptor if you need to connect two mismatched devices. HDMI vs DVI: Quality HDMI plugs are far more compact than their DVI equivalents, allowing them to be used in smaller devices Both DVI and HDMI have certain limitations on what they can display, both in terms of an output device’s resolution and its refresh rate. Given that HDMI is newer than DVI, it’s unsurprising that it works with better specifications in both cases. The latest version of HDMI (2.1) can support a maximum data rate of 42.6 Gbit/sec. That means it can support some truly impressive resolution and refresh rate combinations: up to 4K at 144 Hz natively, or a mind-boggling 8K at 120 Hz using Display Stream Compression. It also works with HDR video output (although its maximum resolutions and refresh rates take a slight hit given the increased bandwidth used by HDR video). DVI, meanwhile, only has a maximum data rate of 9.9 Gbit/sec. Taking that into account, the maximum resolution and refresh rate it can support is 3840x2400 at 30 Hz, or 2560x1600 at 60 Hz. As well as its notable visual advantages, HDMI can transfer audio signals, something DVI is unable to do. That means streaming a video from one device to another only requires one cable with HDMI; with DVI, you also need to account for audio cables. HDMI vs DVI: Price Regardless of whether you need an HDMI or DVI cable, neither is likely to set you back very much. For example, you can pick up an HDMI cable on Amazon for or a DVI cable for around $5/£5. Both standards’ popularity means neither will cost you much. You may sometimes see expensive versions of each cable doing the rounds, with fancy-sounding features and eye-watering price tags. Don’t be fooled. Even the cheapest HDMI or DVI cable will get your signal to its destination just as fast as the most expensive one, without leaving a galling dent in your finances. HDMI vs DVI: Which should you buy? If you’re looking at computer components such as motherboards and must choose between one that supports HDMI and one that supports DVI, we’d advise the former every time. HDMI is a more modern standard and supports much higher resolutions and refresh rates, and will also work with a wider variety of peripheral devices. If you have a DVI device that you need to hook up to another device, you can always use an HDMI to DVI cable or an adapter; neither is likely to cost you much more than a fiver. Given that HDMI cables are more modern, more common and often cheaper than their DVI equivalents, there’s no real reason to stick to DVI unless you really have to. Read more: The best L-shaped computer desks The best mouse right now The best computers for graphic design View the full article

GenerateJS – the conference helping you build better JavaScript – is the place to be if you want to learn how to build better sites and experiences. To learn all about the must-know language, get down to Shoreditch on 2 April 2020. Tempted? Well now is the perfect time to get your ticket. For one week only you can get 50% off the standard ticket price as part of our flash sale. This means you can get a standard ticket to see six top JavaScript experts speak for just £149+VAT. Are you a student? Then it's even cheaper. A standard ticket is just £89.50+VAT. You will be hard-pushed to find a better offer anywhere to see such a fine array of JavaScript speakers. Get your ticket now by heading over to generateconf.com and using the offer code FLASH50. But be quick, you only have until 11pm (GMT) on Sunday 15 March 2020. New panel session added The latest not-to-be-missed addition to the GenerateJS line-up is our brand new end-of-day panel session entitled The Diversity of JavaScript. Speakers Remy Sharp, Jeremy Keith, Charlie Gerard, Phil Hawksworth and Nadieh Bremer will all be primed and ready to answer any questions that come to you as you listen to their inspiring talks. As good as they might be, they won’t be able to tell you everything in their sessions. So make sure you note down any questions you want answered. The speakers will be giving you the lowdown on design systems, data visualisation, gesture recognition, a serverless web, service workers and even good old vanilla JavaScript being wrangled into a 1980s slow and loud loading screens with help of Web Audio, canvas API, cameras and more. Network with GenerateJS speakers Not only can you listen and learn from our JavaScript superstars, but you can hobnob with them throughout the day, and you get to network with fellow developers and designers and talk shop. Plus, you can brush shoulders with brands and associate with agencies and you will get fed throughout the day with breakfast, lunch and snacks. To finish off the day, you can enjoy a few free drinks on us. All this at a price that is hard-to-resist. Don’t forget it’s 50% off until 11pm (GMT) on Sunday 15th March 2020. Get your ticket now at generateconf.com. Hope to see you there. 11 amazing graphical JavaScript frameworks 21 steps to super speedy JavaScript 25 of the best JavaScript APIs View the full article

A Zoho zero day vulnerability and proof of concept (PoC) exploit code was disclosed on Twitter. View the full article

With International Women's Day approaching on Sunday, lubricant brand K-Y Jelly has revealed a rebrand focused on female sexual empowerment. Design Bridge New York's new logo design emphasises the ruby in its centre, turning it into a much prouder celebration of the vulva than before, and a "strong symbol of female sexual power". The ruby was always part of the logo, but diagonalising the 'Y's descender to meet the 'K' creates a new outer diamond, making the effect far more obvious. The old logo (left) compared to the new one (right) "We've loaded it with meaning," says Claire Parker from Design Bridge, "and brought a sensuality and confidence to the brand that was lacking before." If you ask us, the vulvarisation (sorry) of the logo is a stroke of genius. The old logo looks positively prudish, clinical even, compared with this playfully confident rebrand. And if anyone needs help spotting the visual reference, Design Bridge's accompanying video (below) for the rebrand ensures that the new ruby looks, well, nice and inviting. K-Y Jelly was one of the first lubricants aimed specifically at women. Launched in 1904, it entered a marketplace aimed predominantly at men. This new identity is a brilliantly strong statement of the brand's mission to, as K-Y puts it, to "empower women to have the best sex, always". Are you ready for this jelly? As well as the new logo, the rebrand includes bespoke typography and iconography for the product's packaging, as well as a refined colour palette with consistent use of the brand's "deep, ruby red – a colour that universally represents love and passion". We love it. Related articles Durex hits the spot with sexy new rebrand The problem with period product branding Designers react to bizarre Gucci rebrand View the full article

Facing a blank canvas can be daunting, particularly when designing subjects not of this world. Just what and who do you turn to for inspiration when designing mythical creatures? The sixth in its series, Sketching from the Imagination: Creatures & Monsters, by Marisa Lewis is a fantastic place to start. It’s an inspirational paperback (for more great books, see our best drawing books roundup) that gathers artwork from 50 illustrators working in the field of creature design, while throwing in some valuable artist insight for good measure, too. Sketching from the imagination: Format A dinosaur-like design from the imagination of US artist Jordan Walker The book's format quickly becomes apparent from a glance through the book’s 317 pages. Each artist has been allocated a similar amount of space, most of which is crammed full of the most fascinating creature designs. A varied subject selection provides drawings of everything from dragons and fairies to mechanical structures and aliens, in all stages of development. The majority of the artwork is in black and white; however, a number of full colour illustrations pop up randomly, making for a welcome change of pace in among the monochrome. A slight downside to this softcover is that there’s no easy way (unless you’re familiar with every artist) to quickly find a specific subject matter or style of interest. Instead, you’ll need to flick through the book’s hundreds of pages to find those dragon designs you’re looking for. If and when you do, however, artists are detailed in a summary of contributors at the back of the book, should you want to explore their body of work any further. Sketching from the imagination: Layout Jin Yee Tew gives her creatures a backstory that informs the design The image-to-word ratio is, quite rightly, weighted heavily in favour of the former, and the text featured is, for the most part, carefully placed so as not to intrude on valuable illustration space. Page layouts follows the same format for each artist – a short introduction followed by inspiration, materials and techniques sections – which can get a little repetitive. Highlighted boxouts, which feature individuals’ artistic and professional advice are, overall, much more insightful (for a good example, see White Ink is Your Friend on page 17). Sketching from the imagination: Our verdict On the whole there’s very little not to like about this book. The art is accessible and fascinating in its variety, and the artistic insight is a nice added extra. Creature artists are sure to enjoy all the eye candy on view, and at less than £20, it’s a bargain to boot. This article was originally published in ImagineFX. Subscribe here. Read more: The best figure drawing books View the full article

Figma is an awesome design tool. In this video, we’ll look both at some design tips and tricks for when you’re putting a web design together, as well as look at some of the cooler features of Figma.View the full article

Picking fonts can be a frustrating affair. Rather than diving deep into the world of typography, in this video I want to show you two super simple steps to how you can pick fonts for your site, and have them …View the full article

As coronavirus continues to spread, some companies are urging their employees to work from home. Big brands such as the likes of Twitter, Google and Sony have all closed offices and encouraged staff not to come into the office as a means of combatting the spread of the disease. If you find yourself working from home, it's important to be prepared. From your equipment to your wellbeing, there are several factors that can affect your productivity and comfort while out of the office (and it's not all about having the best desk money can buy). Here are our top tips to help you work from home like a pro. 01. Stay disciplined Whoever said you shouldn't bring your work home with you clearly never had to work from home. One of the biggest challenges is keeping your work and home life separate. So, give yourself a dedicated place to work – even if it's a just the end of your kitchen or dinner table. Anyone who has worked from home will understand the temptation to turn on the TV. There's nothing wrong with a little background noise, right? Then before you know it, working from home has turned into Netflix or Disney Plus time. Not only is this bad news for your work, but also for your leisure time. Sitting on the sofa won't feel relaxing in the evening if you've been doing it all day, so try and keep things separate. 02. Make sure your laptop is up to the job Our top laptop, the 16-inch MacBook Pro In most cases, a laptop is probably the most important piece of kit when it comes to working from home. For the sake of your productivity (and sanity), you'll want to make sure it can handle whatever your job is about to throw at it. If it's time for an upgrade, we've covered options for all budgets elsewhere on the site. Topping our best laptop for graphic designers list is the hugely capable MacBook Pro 16-inch. 03. Get a VPN If you haven’t yet got one, you’ve at least probably heard about VPNs. Standing for Virtual Private Network, this downloadable software lets you change the IP address of your computer or phone to somewhere else entirely differently. Whether that be to a server in another country, back in your office or another location entirely. Perhaps a VPN’s most crucial feature is its encrypted connections. That means the utmost privacy and security for you when you’re working at home, which is particularly handy if you’ll be sending and transferring sensitive information. But it’s not all about work – one of the main reasons VPNs have become so massive over the last few years is because they can help you stream TV shows you wouldn’t normally be able to. The extra versatility of the best VPN services have made them an increasingly popular replacement for standard antivirus software. 04. Make your workspace comfortable Sitting pretty Grabbing a kitchen stool is fine for a few quick emails, but if you're about to spend a lot longer at your desk at home, you need to be sitting comfortably. When it comes to office chairs, our top pick is the iconic and ergonomic Herman Miller Mirra 2, but our list of the best office chairs includes options to suit every budget. 05. Take breaks Even without your boss looking over your shoulder, it's easy to end up tied to your desk – especially when your colleagues can see your green dot coming and going on Slack. But just like in the office, staying in one place can easily lead to cabin fever, and that's not what you want from the place you have to sleep in. So, give yourself a change of scene as often as possible, even if it just means going to another room. One of the great benefits of working from home is being able to cook a decent meal, so don't forget to give yourself a lunch break. 06. Get the right software Do you need Creative Cloud? So you've got the laptop, now it's time to load up on software. Slack will help you to keep your colleagues in the loop, and check out Zoom for conferencing calls. And if you need to share files, see our send large files post. If you're a creative, you'll almost certainly need an Adobe Creative Cloud plan if you want to use any software from Adobe's Creative Suite, including Photoshop and Illustrator (although there are, however, plenty of Photoshop alternatives and Illustrator alternatives available). 07. Leave the house This final tip might seem like counter-productive advice for, you know, working from home, but it's important to get outside, get some fresh air and stay active – providing you're not in quarantine, that is. As much as we all hate commuting to work, it normally involves at least a touch of exercise, whether you cycle in, or even just walk to the station or car. When establishing your work from home routine, make time for at least one trip into the great outdoors. You don't need to go for a full blown hike every day – a trip to the shop can be enough. Not only does this keep you active, but can be good for your mindset. Even with Slack, Twitter, and the tons of other means of communicating online, working from home can become a lonely experience if you're missing out on talking to people in person. Even a quick chat with a shopkeeper or barista might put a smile on your face before you head back to your home office. Related articles: The best office stationery for working from home Artist's illustrations of TV home floor plans are weirdly fascinating 10 productivity tools you can't be without in 2020 View the full article

The high-severity flaws, existing in Webex Player and Webex Network Recording Player, can allow arbitrary code execution. View the full article

Twitter has started testing its own version of Stories – Fleets. These fleeting tweets disappear after 24 hours, bringing Twitter in line with other apps that have a disappearing Story feature – namely Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram. Fleets will be primarily text-based, but can include videos, GIFs or photos. The feature is currently being tested in Brazil and may be rolled out across the rest of the world depending on user feedback. Unlike with normal tweets, users won't be able to retweet, like or comment on a Fleet, although they will be able to send a DM or emoji. Twitter hopes that those who normally feel that tweeting is too public feel more comfortable with Fleeting (we're not sure it's a capitalised verb yet, but we'll go with it). On the day after the announcement, Fleets are already trending on Twitter, but perhaps not in the way Twitter anticipated. The hashtag #RIPTwitter has taken off, with people posting various savage memes about how they don't want Twitter Stories. We can't say yet just how fleeting this anger will be. For a social media trick that's available right now, read our post on how to change the font in your Instagram bio. Do we really need Twitter Stories (sorry, we mean, Fleets)? Well, the answer is of course, no. But that doesn't mean that Fleets won't take off, and we do love the name. However, Fleets may end up being one of those features that most people basically ignore – a bit like Instagram TV or Facebook Watch (yes, we had to look that one up). From a content creator's point of view, Fleets will either be another way to reach your audience, or another way for your audience to ignore you. The addition of Fleets could also mean that people will stop scrolling through other users' Twitter feeds in an attempt to find something racist, or offensive to call them out on. Might there be an increase in screenshots, perhaps? All potentially offensive views – okay, all views – can now have their own disappearing platform, just like they do on other social media networks. We can only imagine what politicians will do with these Fleets if they do eventually roll out across the globe. Just imagine the press briefings. Read more: 10 must-know Instagram tips for creatives Disney character 3D fossils are strangely adorable Everybody hates new Twitter View the full article

Embarking on a freelance career in illustration is an exciting yet nerve-racking move, particularly in the first year. As if learning the art of illustration wasn't enough, you now have to contend with all the challenges that come with managing your own career. Luckily, there's always advice on hand, both in terms of techniques (see our how to draw tutorials) and from within the community. Here, three freelance illustrators reflect on the things they wish they'd known when they were first starting out. This advice comes from AOI's Fresh Eyes event in Bristol, 2020 01. Get organised early Organisation is key The first piece of advice isn't exactly the most exciting, but you'll thank yourself for following it. "Keep your receipts!" says Aleesha Nandhra. "I recently started using an online accounting software, and that really helps." It's also important to keep track of how long you spend on projects, especially if you're being paid for your time. "I wish I'd started early when it came to organisation," she adds. "I wasn't great at tracking my time at first." Ana Jaks agrees. "I wish I'd started sending out contracts earlier," she says. One of the many benefits of contracts is negotiating a kill fee for when a project doesn't work out. "I had a couple of jobs stop halfway through," Jaks adds. "I didn't get paid for them." 02. Do personal projects Ana Jaks' embraces colour, pattern and inclusivity in her work When you're trying to get your foot in the door as a freelance illustrator, you may feel like you haven't got time to work on personal projects. You should be spending every minute of the day trying to get commissions, right? Not only are personal projects a great way to build up your portfolio, but they can also lead to commissions. "I love conceptual, political work," says Thomas Patterson. "A lot of the work I did in my spare time was tech and social stuff that I'd put on Instagram. Now, most of my work is that sort of thing." Patterson's clients now include The New York Times, the Economist and lots more. 03. Don't worry about having another job It can feel like there's a stigma around holding down a job alongside illustration, but in reality it's both normal and a necessity when there are bills to be paid. "It's impossible to go straight into illustration," says Patterson. "But it's easy to put unfair expectations on yourself and think that everyone else is doing really well. Take your time, earn money, survive, have fun." And there can be benefits to having another job. "In terms of mental health, working from home can bring its own challenges," says Jaks. "I sometimes miss the days when I worked in a chip shop in Cornwall. I needed my shit job and my friends. Customer-facing roles can be really sociable." Nandhra used to work as a teacher. "Having a job is nothing to be ashamed of, and you never know what situations it will prepare you for. When you've dealt with a room full of Year 9's, you can deal with anything." 04. Make work you enjoy making Aleesha Nandhra makes work that is both whimsical and evocative While it's good to keep an eye on trends, and the styles or tools that other artists are using, it's important to stay true to your own style. "It’s very easy to see other illustrators pushing their work in a direction that works for them and gets them plenty of work," Patterson says. "But if you do what enjoy and create plenty of work then sooner or later it will get seen." But you don't have to feel pressured to stick to a single style – experimenting can be just as enjoyable. Most of Nandhra's work uses bright colour. "Then I made one thing that was black and white and stuck it in my portfolio. That was the piece that caught one client's attention." Related articles: 10 top illustration trends for 2020 Survey reveals illustrators are still grossly underpaid Adobe Illustrator alternatives: 6 of the best View the full article

Filip Hodas is an artist with a twisted view on popular culture. He's previously attracted attention for his series of pop culture dystopias, in which pop culture icons were transformed into unsettling post-apocalyptic views, and his latest work is no less twisted. This time around he's created a set of cartoon 3D fossils and turned them into virtual museum exhibits. Each render looks like it's been dug up after thousands or millions of years underground and put on display in a museum, accompanied by telltale props associated with each character. The result's a sobering yet fun memento mori, which reflects many of our tips on great character design. Each fossil is set against a colourful flat background to provide a little cartoon flavour. Goofy's fossil is dressed up in his trademark hat Making up the set are much-loved cartoon icons such as Goofy, Popeye, Spongebob Squarepants and Tweety Pie, sitting on little plinths complete with a label providing the Latin name for each specimen, and looking suitably age-worn. We particularly love Hodas' rendition of Scrooge McDuck, wearing a top hat and surrounded by stacks of gold coins. We have to take issue with his representation of Minnie Mouse, though; surely a mouse fossil wouldn't have retained those recognisable ears? Would Minnie's fossil have retained those ears? Hodas created these amazing images in order to improve his sculpting skills and experiment with ZBrush (see our ZBrush review) and Substance Painter, and he notes that there's quite a visible difference between the first image (Canis Goofus) and the final (Anas Scroogius), thanks to his improving his workflow and the way his skills developed over the course of the project. Sponge Bob is totally recognisable You can see the full set of adorable, macabre exhibits over at Filip Hodas' Behance page. Feeling inspired? If you want to explore ZBrush further, we've put together a handy set of ZBrush tips to help you master the software. You can also check out the best 3D modelling software available, for options beyond ZBrush. Read more: Disney characters' homes as Tiny Houses will leave you wanting more 9 character designers you need to know Character sheets for 3D modellers: 15 top tips View the full article

Pixel fonts aren't exactly the sort of type that you're going to need every day. Given the right scenario, however, a well-executed portion of pixel type can give a piece of work just the kind of retro cool you might be looking for, just as long as you choose the right one. Such retro fonts may not be objectively pretty, but their blocky looks evoke memories of ancient technology with horrifically low resolution screens, and that's a powerful nostalgia hit for anyone who grew up with old-school home computers and games consoles. We've collected together 10 of our favourite free pixel fonts; there's stuff here for '80s, '90s and even noughties kids, as well as choices for people who just like the look of big chunky text. And the best thing about them? Most of them are free for commercial as well as personal use. (If you can't get enough of pixels, also see our roundup of the best pixel art.) 01. Windows Command Prompt Happy memories of everything going wrong Long gone from modern versions of Windows (we've just checked), this font is one you're unlikely to have encountered unless you ever had to open the command prompt to sort out a technical problem you couldn't fix through the GUI. There's something reassuring about the Windows Command Prompt font, recreated here by McFood; it's a sensible-looking low-resolution serif (of sorts), suggesting that Stuff is going to get Done. 02. ZX Spectrum Everyone knew how to write this program back in the '80s This one's for the '80s kids. The Sinclair ZX Spectrum was one of the most popular home computers of the 1980s, and for anyone who spent hours sitting in front of one typing in programs (or more likely waiting for games to load off a cassette), this font will be indelibly burned into their brains. Each character was just 8x8 pixels in size, so every letter and numeral is a miracle of minimalist design; perfectly readable, with an instantly identifiable look. 03. Abstract A really '90s kind of futuristic Abstract isn't derived from any actual retro fonts, but we reckon it's just the thing if you're looking for a '90s feel in your design. Its super-wide blocky characters put us in mind of '90s games such as WipEout, or thumping trance compilation CDs, and while you'd never put it to use in body text (unless you really wanted to annoy your readers), it'd make an excellent attention-grabbing headline font. 04. Press Start As seen in countless arcades An unmistakable font for anyone who ever hung out in an arcade in the '80s or '90s, Press Start is based on the font used in classic Namco arcade machines such as Pac-Man and Galaxian. Specifically it's based on a lesser-known game, Return of Ishtar, which was the first Namco title to feature a full lower case set; the designer has also made it Unicode-compatible, and added symbol characters not found in the original Namco fonts. 05. Home Sweet Home Cross-stitch: the original pixel art This is a very different kind of pixel font. Home Sweet Home is actually based on cross-stitch, and as soon as we saw it we knew we had to include it in this list. Cross-stitch, after all, is a form of pixel art that predates pixels as we know them. The designer, Raymond Larabie, describes Home Sweet Home as a sentimental, saccharine cross-stitch font; despite that, we love it. 06. Gothic Pixels 10/10 for effort, at least You have to admire the ambition of Gothic Pixels, if nothing else. Executing a gothic script font within the constraints of a 16x16 character block is one hell of a tall order, and Gothic Script isn't always successful in its execution; some of the upper case letters, particularly the 'B', 'K' and 'X', could be frankly anything. Full marks for trying, though, and the fact that it's doubly retro makes it all the more appealing. 07. Subway Ticker Another font that does a lot with not many pixels We mentioned earlier that most of these fonts are free for commercial use; this is one of two exceptions. Subway Ticker by K-Type splendidly recreates the look of those low-resolution electronic displays you'll find on just about any underground line (it's based on an electronic display observed on a New York subway train en route to Coney Island in 2005), and while it's free for personal use, you'll need to buy a licence if you want to use it commercially. 08. Nokia Cellphone FC A smash hit from the days before 3G Back in the days before the iPhone ruled the roost there was basically only one brand of mobile phone to own: Nokia. They weren't much to look at, but they were practically indestructible, they lasted a week or more on a single charge, and you could even play games (well, Snake) on them if you were desperate. And while you might not even remember what the Nokia font was like, one look at Nokia Cellphone FC will bring it all flooding back to you. 09. Blox BRK Create solid-looking text with this smart pixel font Taking a fun angle on pixel fonts is Blox BRK by Ænigma Fonts. It's more of an isometric font, with each (caps-only) letter and numeral carefully crafted out of shaded, cubic pixels. Our favourite feature is that instead of a lower case set, it features a set of alternates with the characters rotated by 90 degrees, enabling you to make gorgeously solid-looking blocks of text. 10. Pxlxxl Font Pxlxxl's amazingly minimal but still readable To finish off, here's a fabulously minimal pixel font from Levi Szekeres. Most of the characters in Pxlxxl Font are just five pixels wide; despite this it's incredibly legible and visually very striking, even at low point sizes. Like Subway Ticker, this font's only free for personal use; the full Pxlxxl set is available through Szekeres' website at $20 per font or $96 for the full family of eight weights. Related articles: Font design: Tips to create your own typeface The 8 best retro gaming consoles How to break into pixel art View the full article

Dozens of routers are patched by Netgear as it snuffs out critical, high and medium severity flaws. View the full article

Loish is a Dutch artist, illustrator and animator based in Utrecht, but it’s probably more accurate to describe her as a phenomenon. Over 15 years working as an artist, she’s steadily built up an immense online following, from sharing her early work on oekaki boards, then Deviant Art and finally Instagram, where she now has 1.8million followers. And a visit to Vertex last Friday showed exactly how passionate that following can be, as hoards of adoring fans queued up to meet her after her talk. Loish remained gracious and smiling throughout, and it’s that generosity of spirit, combined with her amazing talent, that makes Loish a huge draw at events worldwide. She’s recently taken her relationship with her fans to the next level by launching on Patreon, allowing herself to step back from client work and focus more on crafting the personal work, which she describes as "colourful girly art". Yet her career hasn't all been plain sailing, as our interview revealed... For practical tips on creating your own art, see our how to draw tutorials, or our sketching tips. Being funded by Patreon has allowed Loish to focus more on her personal art You said that at school, people told you you couldn’t be an artist. Why do you think they were so discouraging? I had very encouraging art teachers, but they didn’t get overly involved. They really wanted you to figure it out yourself. I think my parents were similar, they wanted me to figure what I liked to do for myself. I come from a family where there aren’t a lot of creative people. I have an aunt who's dabbled in drawing, but that's about it. My parents also didn’t go to college, they went straight into work, so they didn’t know a lot about what that would look like. And I also didn’t know about the industry. You eventually began working as a commercial illustrator. When did you realise that you’d "made it"? There was a point when I realised I’d become financially stable. As a freelancer, your income fluctuates every year. So I always thought when I had a good year financially, this is not going to last. I always thought the bubble would burst. But finally I realised, "Oh wow, my income isn’t going to go down, it’s remained stable". It was a really big thing for me. You've recently launched on Patreon. What took you so long? I’ve known about Patreon for a long time, and so many people have told me to try it. But I didn’t want to go there. I wanted to keep doing what I’m doing, which was to keep using social media to get in touch with clients and do client work. I always felt that client work was a safe path. With Patreon, I felt like I wouldn’t have the time. And also, working with clients is very transactional. I make something, for the fee we agree on, and I get the fee. It's a proper business relationship, which always felt safer to me than asking people, 'Will you support me?' Who knows if they’ll be happy? Patreon is highly personal, which to me felt intimidating. When I decided to take the plunge, it helped that I could ask for a small contribution, $5, so I didn’t have to make an insane amount of stuff. For that small amount, it felt less intrusive on my life, so that worked for me. Also read: How to get more from Patreon Loish says she's her own harshest critic You've now got over 1,200 patrons. What’s the feedback been like so far? I’ve had super-positive feedback. Everyone is super-happy and they say it exceeds their expectations. This has been a pattern for me: I’m always overestimating what’s expected of me, because I’m the hardest on myself. So now I need to recognise that people like it, it’s okay. Visit Loish's Patreon page here What’s the balance in your workload now? I try to schedule my Patreon work in the same way as client work. So every month I have two weeks set aside for Patreon: making art, and I’m also getting into making process videos. And alongside that I speak at events, and do some client work. Patreon allows you to draw or paint whatever you want. How do you decide what to create? I absorb inspiration from around me. So I see drawings, or scenery, I take photos, and I see little things around me that spark an idea for a painting or a drawing. And I have a pictures board where I collect inspirational material. So if I don't have any ideas, I’ll just go look at what’s there. Sometimes I’ll sit down and make a bunch of rough digital paintings in one sitting, get those ideas out. Often, a colour will be an inspirational factor. Like, I saw this colour combination or I saw this sunset and it had an impact, it evoked a mood that I want to recreate. And so I’ll make three or four rough paintings and gradually finish them off. I don’t really come up with stories, I just think about moods, and what I call ‘creative spark bubbles’, where I look at something and it sparks a feeling and I think I want to draw something. The painting may turn out quite different, because I have an intuitive workflow, but that spark is what gets me started. How many of your drawings end up in the trash? I almost always finish them. I feel like everything has value. So even if it’s not my best drawing, I’m not going to completely leave it. Maybe somebody else will, maybe it will resonate with others in a way it doesn’t with me. It’s a step in my process. When I feel frustrated with my art, that’s also a really important part. It’s an opportunity to think: which skill am I missing right now? Why is this frustrating me? What is the way I’m going to get past this? So I always try to finish it and take a lesson out of it. I’m not really someone who wants it to be perfect. And I won’t go and take something out of my portfolio. I want to keep it all there so people can see it. Loish is considering a third art book, and wants it to contain a self-help element Across the last 15 years, how much of your work have you kept? I’ve kept all of my art, well as much as I've been able to, including all the old pixel-ly stuff. I think it’s really important to share that. Because that’s what I was missing when I was in high school. I was looking at all these artists that I admired and thinking: 'Where do they come from? How did they get to that stage?' I drew Powerpuff Girls, I drew really bad fan art, and it’s often kind of embarrassing to look back on, but it needs to be shown. Every artist has that; every artist goes through a stage where they don’t know what they’re doing, and they’re absorbing styles and ideas, and I want people to see that. How do you plan to develop your art in the future? I’m going with the flow in my career. That’s the reason my early stuff works and allowed me to develop; I didn’t know where it was going to lead. If you know that what you’re doing will have an impact 20 years from now, you’ll do it with a lot more anxiety. So I try to keep things as open as I can. For instance, I don’t know what will happen with social media. Are there going to be new platforms? Are we all going to be living in VR? So I always advise artists: don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Create a brand, a style, an identity that you can translate into whatever context. We love your books. Any more on the horizon? Yes, I’m thinking about doing a third in the series. In The Art of Loish, I really tried to put my voice in there: you know, 'This is how I think, this is what I’m about.' And people who bought it felt they really connected with me. So it became a really important way for me to connect with my fans. The first one was quite easy because it’s just ‘Art of’. Like, who am I as an artist? But now I’m starting to think what can I add. So I’m having to go deeper. I’m really into the psychology of drawing, so I’m thinking about how do you maintain a positive mindset? How do you make an exciting art blog? What do you do to maintain your mental health? Because drawing is like looking in a mirror: you always see your own flaws, and they can be really tough, and drag you down. So I see it as super-important to maintain your mental health, and keep a positive attitude. Having that healthy balance of forcing yourself to grow but also enjoying it. Because it’s okay. I always felt guilty for enjoying it, and that psychological aspect is something I really want to share. I want to have a self-help theme to the book, while it still being an art book. So that will be a real challenge, to get that balance right. Don't miss out on Vertex 2021: register your interest today Read more: 8 mind-boggling facts about the making of Toy Story 4 How to get a job at ILM Top Marvel concept artist shares 6 tips for success View the full article

An L-shaped computer desk could be the purchase you didn't know you needed. L-shaped desks don't take up much more space than a standard rectangular desk (particularly when tucked into a corner) but give you far more room to work and mean you're never struggling to find room for a sketchbook, laptop and graphics tablet at once. The very best L-shaped desks will help keep everything neat and tidy, with cupboards, drawers and cable storage to ensure your surfaces are as clear as possible. It's also worth looking out for extras like cubbies to store your computer off the ground, and keyboard trays large enough for both your board and a graphics tablet. We've put together this guide to help you make the best possible choice for your workspace, and there's something for every budget. If you're looking to upgrade your desktop computer, then take a look at our best computer for graphic design guide. And for more desks that aren't L-shaped, see our guide to the best desk for designers. An adjustable desk can be a real asset when you're working long hours, making it easy to shift between sitting and standing, and bringing your work to the most comfortable height for you. This L-shaped sit/stand computer desk from IKEA features an electric motor to make changing height effortless (there are no noisy cranks to worry about; just a pair of simple buttons) and there's plenty of space to spread out your work. This desk is available with either a wood veneer or melamine top and a variety of frame colours, so you can choose a finish that suits your working space. The smart Mainstays L-shaped desk with hutch is ideal for smaller work spaces, and is a particularly good choice if you don't have a dedicated study or studio. It's far more affordable than its smart design would suggest too, and comes in a variety of woodgrain finishes. Two cubbies and and a cabinet overhead providing plenty of storage space for documents, files and materials. There's a large keyboard tray for your peripherals, too. Take care to measure your monitor before you buy, though; while this is a generously sized desk, hutch designs mean there's less space for extra-wide and curved displays. Although it's been created with gamers in mind, the Walmart large ergonomic gaming desk is a great choice for designers too, giving you acres of space to spread out your graphics tablet, laptop, papers, desktop computer and much more. If you use a Mac Pro, you'll appreciate the dedicated stand underneath that'll keep the tower nicely ventilated and away from the dusty floor. This desk's industrial-style design won't be to everyone's tastes, and you'll need separate drawers and shelves, but having so much space is a real luxury; you'll wonder how you ever managed with a smaller workspace. If laminated particleboard doesn't take your fancy, take a good, long look at the Z-Line Belaire glass L-shaped computer desk instead. This stunning desk, with its elegant curves, is also super practical thanks to a built-in monitor stand that raises your display to a comfortable height, plus a wide tray for stashing your keyboard and mouse or laptop out of the way for sketching sessions. You can easily install the monitor stand and keyboard tray on the same side, though be careful with your cables; with a glass desk you need to keep them neat or it'll really show. The Better Homes & Gardens Lindon Place L-shaped desk is one of the more expensive desks in this roundup, but still very affordable for a piece of equipment you'll be relying on every day. This is a thoughtfully designed piece of furniture with two slim drawers that are ideal for storing your graphics tablet, Pantone charts and other equipment, plus space for a Mac Pro or PC tower and a cabinet with adjustable shelving. The hutch design means you're sacrificing some arm space for all this storage, but it looks fantastic. We particularly like the wire grid that can serve as a pinboard with assistance from a few bulldog clips. The SHW Vista might look like a regular corner desk, but it actually divides into three sections so it can be assembled in a small space. If you work in an apartment and don't like the thought of heaving a huge piece of furniture up the stairs, this is the L-shaped desk for you. Its smoked tempered glass top is a thing of beauty, and there's even a foot rest bar to help you sit more comfortably. You'll need to dedicate some time to screwing the sections together, but the results are worth the effort. A great-looking desk for designers with limited space. If your everyday design work involves some heavy equipment (a Mac Pro and multiple monitors, for example), you might not feel entirely comfortable trusting a glass desk with the tools of your trade. The Office Hippo Ideal corner desk is built for exactly that kind of weightlifting, and is rated to support loads up to 80kg. It comes with an impressive five-year warranty as well, and the top is heat- and stain-resistant (ideal for coffee addicts). Not the most stylish, perhaps, but it won't let you down. The Walker Edison tempered glass computer desk could have been made specifically with Mac Pro users in mind, with a perfectly sized central CPU stand to keep your computer tower safely off the ground and within easy reach, whichever side of the desk you're using. It's a shame there's nothing to help with cable management; being able to clip wires to the back of the desk's legs would help keep them tidy and avoid a clearly visible tangle. It's an excellent L-shaped desk though, and will serve you well for years to come if you're willing to invest in some cable ties to neaten things up. Read more: The best office chair Infographic: 10 essential desk exercises for designers The best standing desks View the full article

After months of speculation and a beta version that nobody was able to actually sign up for, WhatsApp has finally rolled out its much-requested dark mode on both iPhone and Android. And guess what? Lots of people really hate it. In a blog post to mark dark mode being out of user testing and available now, WhatsApp notes that the new dark mode is designed to reduce eye strain in low light environments, and also hopes that it prevents awkward moments when you're on the phone; in fact it's even made a little video to play on that particular dark mode benefit: Dark mode finally comes to Facebook (kind of) Nice touch; not so sure about that Simon and Garfunkel cover, though. WhatsApp states that it two main priorities when designing the new dark mode: readability, which meant that it wanted to minimise eye fatigue and use colours that are close to iPhone and Android system defaults; and information hierarchy, using colour and other design elements to help important information stand out so that users can more easily focus their attention on each screen. The new dark mode is designed with readability and information hierarchy in mind We've downloaded it on iPhone (pro tip: if it doesn't appear among your updates, swipe down to refresh the page) and we like the look of it. It's not quite as grey-looking as our report on the beta version suggested, and fits well with other dark modes on iPhone. Our main note is that the dark mode accentuates the weird doodle pattern that's always been in the background of your chats; you may not have even noticed it before because it's pretty pale in the standard mode, but in dark mode it really stands out. This might explain the current social media uproar around the WhatsApp dark mode. While we're sure plenty of people are loving it, there's a lot of noise right now from people who are absolutely seething about it being ugly. Harsh, but as with so many other things in life, we're sure they'll get used to it. And if you're dying to get a bit more dark mode in your life, you should be able to download the new WhatsApp now. Android 10 and iOS 13 users can activate dark mode by enabling it in system settings, while anyone on Android 9 or below need to go into WhatsApp's settings > Chats > Theme and select 'Dark'. You can read more about WhatsApp's dark mode here. And if you want a new phone to enjoy all that darkness, then don't miss our best camera phones. Related articles: How to turn on Instagram's Dark Mode Photoshop gets dark(er) mode for 30th birthday How to implement light or dark modes in CSS View the full article

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. Coincidentally, that's about how many lines of code it takes to create that picture in a web browser. Fortunately, the browser offers several high-powered drawing APIs and surfaces. Most notable are the canvas element and scalable vector graphics (SVG). Both of these features are now available in almost all desktop and mobile browsers but the APIs required to use them are rather low level and 'low level' typically translates into a lot of tedious and redundant code just to do simple things. Since writing tedious and redundant code is not high on the list of things that developers typically enjoy doing, even with the best code editors, there are thankfully several libraries available to help you with all of your browser drawing requirements. In this article, I'll take a look at some of the options available. We'll explore the most popular JavaScript libraries and talk about what their strengths and weaknesses are. We're also going to do a little spelunking into some of the lesser known projects that fill some very interesting niche needs – the kind that you don't know you need until you need them. 13 of the best JavaScript frameworks to try 01. D3.js D3.js provides boundless possibilities, as Shirley Wu's interactive Hamilton visualisation demonstrates D3.js is the big boss of JavaScript graphics libraries. With over 875K weekly downloads on npm, it is quite possibly the most well known and widely used of all the graphics libraries. It even has its own Wikipedia page. And, let's face it, isn't that when you know you've made it to the big time? D3 enables you to build data visualisations of any kind. You only need to glance through its examples page to see the world of possibilities. Better yet, visit Shirley Wu's interactive visualisation of every line in the musical Hamilton if you really want to have your mind blown. D3 is an all-encompassing tool. It has its own DOM selection, AJAX capabilities and even a proprietary random number generator. Each component of D3 is its own Node module that must be imported. For instance, the selection module is called d3-selection. There are also modules for arrays, shapes, colours, drag-and-drop, time and much more. The power of D3 comes with the trade-off of complexity. The learning curve can be steep and the code can still feel verbose. Building something as simple as a bar chart requires you to manually assemble the axis, scales, ticks and even draw the rectangles that will represent the bars. Developers often complain about the low-level understanding required to be effective with D3. This is largely because creating complex data visualisations requires you to have a low-level understanding of the visualisation you want to create. D3 is not the best option for pre-baked charts. For that, there are several other choices that will find you in the 'pit of success' much faster. D3 is capable of rendering to canvas and SVG. However, the real magic of D3 is in its ability to 'data bind' to the graphics it generates. Think of a chart that changes as the incoming data changes. With SVG, each graphical item is an individual element that can be selected and updated. This is not possible with canvas and, since D3 is fundamentally about powering data visualisations, SVG is usually the preferred output format. 02. Chart.js Chart.js has eight prebuilt chart types, which means users can get up and running quickly Chart.js is an open-source project for building robust charts with JavaScript. The big difference between Chart.js and D3 is that while you can build just about anything with D3, Chart.js limits you to eight pre-built chart types: line, bar, pie, polar, bubble, scatter, area and mixed. While this seems limiting, it's what makes Chart.js simpler to get started with. This is especially true for those who aren't experts in data vis but know their way around a basic chart. The syntax is all built around a chart type. You initialise a new chart on an existing canvas element, set the chart type and then set the chart options. Chart.js only renders to canvas. This is not a problem since all modern browsers support the HTML canvas element but it might be a hangup for developers who have requirements for SVG support. It also means you are limited in the animations that are possible. Out of the box, Chart.js has support for all easing equations and animations are specified with one property setting. While that makes it quick and easy to get an animated chart, not having individual SVG elements prevents you from being able to do complex animations using CSS3 transitions and animations. Unlike D3, Chart.js is not modular, so it only takes one JavaScript include to get support for all functions and chart types. This makes it easier to get started but means your assets can be much larger. This is especially true if you require time axes – Chart.js then requires Moment.js, which is ~51kb minified and zipped. It's far easier to create a bar chart with Chart.js than with D3. However, there is a ceiling that comes with the simplicity. You may find you hit the limit of what it will do out of the box. Often, developers start with a solution like Chart.js and then graduate to D3. If the simplicity of Chart.js appeals to you, you might really like the next option: Chartist. 03. Chartist One big bonus of using Chartist is that it is responsive by default Chartist aims to be a simple, streamlined charting library that is small in size and easy to get started with. It is also designed to be responsive by default. This is a bigger deal than it sounds, as frameworks like D3 do not resize charts automatically but require the developer to tie into events and redraw graphics. Chartist is also tiny in comparison to Chart.js. It weighs in at a mere 10KB with zero dependencies. That might be because it only offers three chart types: line, bar and pie. There are variations within these types (ie scatter plot is a line type in Chartist) but the tiny size and ease of configuration is countered by the lack of out-of-the-box chart types. Chartist renders to SVG instead of canvas, making it much more customisable in terms of look and feel, as well as providing far more control over interactivity and animations. However, not having rendering access to a canvas means that you might have a harder time doing certain actions. For instance, there is an API for rendering a canvas to an image (toDataURI). That option does not exist for SVG, so exporting a chart as an image will prove to be much trickier. In an ideal world, you would have the option to render to both modes. Chartist charts are easier to configure than Chart.js, as there are fewer options available. While it's possible to extend these charts with quite a bit of functionality, their focus on simplicity means that they are, by definition, simple. Chartist is a great solution for those who need a basic charting solution. Charts are inherently hard to configure as they require some sort of knowledge about how to set up the data along certain axis and grouped in certain ways. Chartist makes the charting portion as simple as possible but you may find yourself in need of a more powerful solution as you become more comfortable with generating your charts. Chartist also lists open-source framework support, including React and Angular. There is no mention of a Vue package on its site. 04. Britecharts Britecharts wraps D3, so you can enjoy D3 functionality without having to learn how it works Britecharts is a charting library that wraps D3. It was made by Eventbrite, who then opensourced the project under the permissive Apache V2 license. It offers a very minimal, yet aesthetically pleasing set of charts. While it can be quite a task to create a bar chart with vanilla D3, Britecharts' wrapping makes it as simple as creating a new barChart object and then setting its width and height. Britecharts has support for all of the basic chart types: line, bar, donut, bullet, scatter plot, sparkline and step, which is more than those offered by libraries like Chartist. It also provides basic tooltip and legend functionality. The animations for the charts are built-in and Eventbrite has provided some beautiful colour schemes. Ultimately, Britecharts is a great option for basic charting functionality. The configuration objects are quite simple and you still get the power of D3 under the covers without having to know anything about D3 itself. Many developers will find this a more compelling option than simply building a complete chart from the ground up with D3. It also has a focus on the data-binding aspects of D3, making it quite good for charts that need to change as underlying data changes. While somewhat restrictive in the available types, it also has a base chart type that you can extend to create new chart types of your own. 05. Taucharts Taucharts teaches users about the fundamentals of data visualisation Taucharts is another charting solution that wraps the complexity of D3 in an easy to implement API. It is built on the concepts from The Grammar of Graphics, a book by author Leland Wilkinson. It provides understanding of when and how to use which data visualisations to display different kinds of data. Out of the box, it features line, bar, scatterplot, area and facet charts. However, it implements the concepts from The Grammar of Graphics into 'Taucharts Language', which provides a framework in which to implement your own data visualisations. Taucharts looks quite compelling and the fact that it's built on D3 makes it an attractive and powerful option. There is the feeling, though, that the developer also needs to read The Grammar of Graphics in order to fully leverage its power. So far we've covered only charting and data visualisation. This is because drawing charts is the most common use-case for a graphics library in a browser. But it is by no means the only one. Another quite common scenario for graphics is, of course, animation. 06. Two.js Twos.js comes into its own when handling 2D animation Not to be confused with D3.js, two.js is an open-source JavaScript library for two-dimensional drawing on the web. It is also able to target all three graphics options in modern browsers: SVG, Canvas and WebGL. Two.js is somewhat similar to D3 in that it is strictly focused on drawing and does not have pre-baked charts or interactive structures to choose from. This means that, just like D3, you need an underlying understanding of the type of drawing you are trying to do and how to achieve that with the constructs two.js provides. Drawing a circle is rather straightforward. Building out a detailed animation, on the other hand, is a much more complicated endeavour. Two.js only abstracts the tedium of drawing shapes, not the tedium of the overall drawing. Two.js also keeps track of all of the objects that you create, so you can reference and animate them at any time. This is particularly important if you are doing game development and you have assets that need to be tracked for things like collision detection. It has a built-in animation loop, which relieves you from having to worry about animation frames, and makes it easier to tie in an animation library such as GreenSock. While two.js is powerful, its free-form nature might leave some developers unsure of how to begin and it's more of a niche tool for 2D drawing and animation. Another excellent option is pts.js. 07. Pts.js The predetermined methodology of Pts is good for interactive visualisations, as well as animations Pts is also a two-dimensional drawing library. It is fundamentally different to two.js however, as it uses a predetermined methodology for how drawings and animations should be assembled: space, form and point. The analogy its developers use to explain this is one from the physical world. Space is paper. Form is the pencil. And point is your idea. In terms of its implementation, space is a canvas element. Once the canvas element is created, you can add players to it. These can be either functions or objects. These functions and objects must conform to the predetermined interface that a space has. Pts is built on TypeScript, so there's no need to guess at what those are as the tooling you use will likely suggest those with autocomplete. For instance, a space has a start function that you can specify. This is code that is run when the space is ready. Within these functions, the drawing to the space occurs using the form object. Form objects can draw any sort of shape and the point is where these items are located in the space. Pts seems to be primarily designed for creating interactive visualisations and animations. Its implementation is interesting, albeit quite abstract. Developers may have a hard time understanding the 'space, form, point' model that Pts requires. This is another mental hurdle that will have to be cleared in addition to that of simply drawing and animating shapes. 08. Anime.js Anime.js works on a staggered system, which helps with timing your animations Anime.js is primarily an animation library. It has a built-in stagger system to make it more simple to have complex animations that overlap or are dependent upon the occurrence of another execution. It's common for animations to be timed together or to be triggered by one another. The staggering system makes this easier to implement, as it helps relieve some of the overhead of tracking everything happening on the page and manually configuring the animation timings. Unlike the drawing libraries covered so far, anime.js doesn't have APIs for drawing shapes. Instead, it assumes your shapes already exist and that you want to animate them. This makes it great for use with libraries such as two.js. Anime.js has support for animating CSS properties, SVG, DOM and even JavaScript objects. Anime.js is a good option for animating existing drawings and will likely be combined with another library. It should be considered an alternative to something like GreenSock and not a replacement for other drawing libraries. Anime.js would likely be used for more complex animations that need to happen as part of an interactive web experience. 09. PixiJS PixiJS is a 2D drawing library with an API that was built and used on Adobe Flash, so will be familiar to some PixiJS is another 2D drawing library. Its main purpose is to make it easier to display, animate and manage 2D graphics, so you can focus on building your experience or game without worrying about keeping up with all of the shapes and images you have to draw and animate. If you're building a game, assets (or sprites) can quickly balloon to a number that's hard to manage. A compelling aspect of PixiJS is that it comes from an API that was built and used extensively in Adobe Flash. This is a huge benefit for developers coming from a Flash background, as the experience will feel familiar. It is also similar to Apple's SpriteKit. PixiJS is not a game engine, so if you're using it for games, you won't find any tools or physics to handle things like collision detection. You'll need to wrap it in an actual game engine or one you build yourself, if you're feeling intrepid. PixiJS renders to WebGL. WebGL is an engine for doing GPU-accelerated graphics in the browser. This means it is useful for animations and graphics that use a lot of system resources and would perform best when rendered by a discrete Graphics Processing Unit (GPU). It is based on OpenGL, which is the desktop equivalent for running games and 3D graphics programs. Underneath the hood, WebGL uses the HTML canvas element. Serious graphics developers will appreciate the power of WebGL. However, these experiences may be degraded on lower-powered machines. Even as I was putting this article together, many of the PixiJS demos caused a noticeable slowdown in my system, which does not have the higher-end capabilities required for complex graphics and animations. 10. Zdog Zdog offers the look of 3D using 2D drawings Most of the drawing engines that we have discussed so far are two-dimensional. This is because most of the interacts we have with our screen occur in two dimensions – along the X and Y axis. Three dimensional drawings and animations are usually much more complex. Zdog is a library for building pseudo- 3D experiences that are mostly flat in nature. It's called pseudo-3D because while it conceptualises its drawings in 3D space, it renders them as flat shapes. It uses visual tricks to make 2D objects appear 3D. The effect is really interesting. It looks completely three dimensional when the animation is viewed but when a screenshot is taken, it is clearly a flat image. Here is one example: the rotating Mario demo. Since the renderings are 2D, Zdog can render to either Canvas or SVG. Zdog is a fantastic option for 3D animations on simple objects – especially if those assets incorporate aspects of flat design. Developers who want 3D animation but don't want to get bogged down in the complex world of 3D graphics engines might find Zdog an adequate solution. Additionally, with its focus on flat images, Zdog can afford a much simpler interface and much higher performance than would be required for the 3D rendering of complex graphical images. It does not have the elements of a game engine such as asset management and collision detection, so would need to be wrapped in a game engine or those considerations taken care of manually. This means Zdog is probably best for isolated 3D animations on landing pages. 11. Snap.svg Snap.svg has an API that will select an SVG element for you to then draw elements to it Snap.svg says it makes "working with your SVG assets as easy as jQuery makes working with the DOM". You might be able to tell from the jQuery reference that Snap.svg is a bit older but its API does feel as easy as jQuery and that is quite a powerful thing. Snap.svg has a clean and simple API for selecting your main SVG element and then drawing elements to it. It is most suited to developers looking for a quick solution for animating SVGs. It is a particularly good option if your animations are simple and you don't have a lot of knowledge about animation engines. While it is somewhat dated, it certainly shouldn't be overlooked, as it could be the easiest way to work with your SVGs. Snap.svg is refreshing in its simplicity. It's scoped to the job of selecting and working with SVGs and doesn't try to be more than that. Snap could be combined with other graphics libraries here for drawing and rendering to SVGs. It is also good if you have existing SVGs and you want an easy way to work with them. This article was originally published in issue 326 of net, the world's best-selling magazine for web designers and developers. Buy issue 326 or subscribe to net today. Learn how to build better JavaScript at GenerateJS Join us in April 2020 with our lineup of JavaScript superstars at GenerateJS – the conference helping you build better JavaScript. Book now at generateconf.com Related articles: 21 steps to super speedy JavaScript Animate SVG with JavaScript 25 of the best JavaScript APIs View the full article

The MacBook Pro is undoubtably one of the best (and most popular) laptops for creatives, and the line-up is due a refresh this year. After the hugely welcome MacBook Pro 16-inch was released in November, it jumped straight to the top of several of our best laptop lists, including the best laptops for graphic design. The web is now awash with rumours about how the 13-inch MacBook Pro will fare in 2020, and based on brand new leaks, it looks like we could be seeing an update to that model as early as next month, possibly with a larger screen. What might it look like, how much will it cost, and will there finally be an update to the keyboard? Here's a freshly updated rundown of everything we know so far. MacBook Pro 2020: Design One design triumph with the recent 16-inch model was the reduction of the bezels around the screen, allowing for a larger display within a similar body to the previous 15-inch model. We called the new screen "gorgeous" in our MacBook Pro 16-inch review. It looks like Apple could be taking similar approach again – according to new analyst notes shared by MacRumours, we might be seeing a MacBook Pro with a 14.1 inch mini-LED display. This suggests that rather than reducing the size of the machine, Apple could once again trim the bezels, allowing for a larger display within something close to the current 13-inch body. If there's one design change we're really excited about for the MacBook Pro 2020, it's an updated keyboard. Of all the controversies Apple has faced in recent years, the butterfly keyboard saga has been the stickiest (quite literally – we've enjoyed many a trip to the Genius Bar with stuck keys). Not only has Apple issued a rare apology for the defect-prone design, but it was even targeted during a speech by director Taika Waititi at this year's Oscars. The new 16-inch MacBook has our type of keyboard Thankfully, a better typing experience seems to be on the horizon. Last year's 16-inch MacBook Pro saw a return to the traditional scissor switch mechanism beneath the keys, so we hope (and pray) that Apple will see fit to update the keyboard across its entire MacBook Pro line. MacBook Pro 2020: Tech specs Until Apple officially reveals the new MacBook Pro, we can only speculate about what it will offer internally. That said, leaked benchmarks reported by our sister site TechRadar suggest we might be getting a new model armed with a 10th-generation Ice Lake processor, one of the best-performing mobile chips around. The least we'd hope for with a refreshed MacBook Pro is a performance boost, and these leaks suggest that's exactly what we'll be getting. MacBook Pro 2020: Release date and price Right now, rumours are pointing to March 31 for the next Apple Event, which means the new MacBook Pro could make its first appearance at the end of next month, alongside reported updates to the iPad Pro and iMac Pro (which we hope resembles this amazing concept). While the release dates for new iPhones are easy to predict (they're nearly always revealed at Apple's September event), the last four years have seen MacBooks released in October, June, July, May and November. The latter was the 16-inch MacBook Pro, which didn't even get a release event. While we can't rule out Apple announcing the new model via a simple press release, we're holding out hope that we'll see it at the rumoured March event – if not before. Pricing details are similarly vague. The only thing we probably shouldn't count on is a price drop. Apple is known to keep prices the same when a product is refreshed. The current MacBook Pro 13-inch starts at $1,299/£1,299 for the 1.4GHz processor base model, and the 2.4GHz model begins at $1,799/£1,799. We're not expecting to see prices drop any lower than that, so it's definitely time to start saving. MacBook Pro 2020: What we'd like to see In terms of screen size, we'd prefer to see a 14-inch display within a similar sized machine than a reduced overall footprint. That extra inch of screen would make all the difference for creatives – and if portability is paramount, there's always the much slimmer MacBook Air. But most of all, we want to see the 16-inch model's lovely new keyboard come to the smaller MacBook Pro. And the Air. The sooner we can brush this butterfly business under the carpet and move on with our lives, the better. We'll update this post as and when more news drops on the new MacBook Pro 2020. But if you can't wait that long to get your hands on one, you can currently get some great deals on the current MacBook Pro models. Here are the best prices in your area: Related articles: New 16" MacBook Pro leaves previous model in the dust Mockup of the iMac of the future looks incredible The best cheap Apple laptop deals View the full article

We love it when designers have a bit of fun with a project while turning in a top-class job, and this new piece of identity work by North ticks all the boxes. It's for the Coronet Theatre in Notting Hill, London, which has been around since 1898, became a cinema in 1928 and eventually fell into disrepair. In recent years it's been undergoing an extensive restoration and relaunch programme after another theatre, the Print Room, acquired the building in 2014. Part of this initiative has been a new identity and logo design that returns the theatre to its original name (for the past few years it's been known as the Print Room), and North has carried it off with a design that takes a big typographic liberty – and gets away with it. 4 of this year's must-know typography trends You might not approve of this sort of thing, but we reckon the ends justify the means The new logo uses a monospace font – Maison Neue Mono by Milieu Grotesque – and through the simple (but often frowned upon) trick of extreme justification, it turns the name of the Coronet Theatre into a simple but instantly recognisable representation of an actual coronet. The effect's most noticeable on the posters for the theatre's new season launch campaign, where it's superimposed on a head and set at a jaunty angle. It works just as well, though, on other posters where it fills the top third of the layout. Its rigid grid-based structure, combined with more playful typography and striking imagery, adds up to a strong and engaging look that perfectly suits the reinvigorated theatre's new identity. North's identity system allows for beautiful and playful layouts While Maison Neue Mono is the typographic centrepiece of this new desigb, other fonts are in play across North's identity system, providing the Coronet's designers with plenty of scope moving forward. There's a great-looking serif in the form of Colophon Foundry's Fortescue, and a gorgeous script font – ITC Edwardian Script from Linotype – which you can see being used to great effect across a number of posters. One lovely final touch is the use of a number of hand-drawn coronet symbols being used as a secondary visual language across the theatre's merchandise and staff badges. These were inspired by original illustrations from the Coronet's theatre programmes and posters, found by North at the V&A museum. We love the secondary illustrations based on old designs from the theatre's history You can find out more about the Coronet Theatre – and see further great examples of its stunning rebrand – on its site. Related articles: The ultimate typography cheat sheet 50 top typography tutorials Has branding become boring? View the full article

An exploit published by a developer is easy to use and has already been used to build malicious apps that gain root access on Android devices. View the full article

Blackmagic cameras haven't always had an easy ride to market. Blackmagic Design (BMD) has had a tough time getting its cameras on sale in a timely fashion once it's announced them. Until now. The previous release, the Pocket Cinema Camera 4K, took months to get into the hands of all who wanted one and, although it's a hugely popular camera, people still bemoaned the delays. This 6K model appeared out of nowhere, being announced as it was available, a move that shocked and pleased people and for good reason. An EF mount makes this model more attractive to some users who shoot on Canon DSLR systems who want to boost their movie output without investing in new glass. That alone would have made this a worthy product, but BMD hasn't stopped there. The chip in this release is bigger, at similar specs to Super 35, allowing for 6K images to be captured. But will this model become one of our best cameras? 6K might feel like an odd choice of resolution, in these days of impending 8K, but in reality it's a good figure. Cropping in to reframe for a 4K (or, shocker, HD) timeline now offers even more leeway, and many 4K Blu-ray releases are still based on a 2K or 2.7K print, so don't get too caught up in the numbers. Blackmagic 6K camera: Design and build This Blackmagic camera crams a lot into a small package, but it might not quite fit in your pocket BMD's strength in cameras has always been its colour science and pure image quality. We can spout specifications all day long, but that kind of misses the point. The Pocket Cinema Cameras have always enthused shooters and this is no different, capturing gorgeous images. Partner this with the included DaVinci Resolve and you have a full-on VFX movie studio in a box. Resolve ships with the compositor, motion graphics and VFX tool built in, so you don't even need to round-trip your shots any more. If you are considering this as a purchase to boost your abilities as a VFX indie studio, then there isn't much, if anything, that competes for this price. The Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K has all the connections you're likely to need The body is solidly built, with rubber bungs protecting dual card slots (SD and CF2 cards) although you'll more likely want to use SSD storage via the USB-C port, allowing you to plug the footage direct to your editing machine, a joy in its own right! Blackmagic 6K camera: Battery life Much has been said about the overall form factor of these cameras, but to criticise it for this is kind of missing the point. It's a cinema camera and that implies that it fits part of a bigger setup, of cage, power supply, focus pulling etc. The fact that it has a nice grip and commonly found internal battery slot just makes it more versatile. Yes, the battery will only last about 40 minutes and the screen doesn't articulate, however that is all just fine. BMD has a pretty handy battery pack to extend shooting life and you could always use a V-mount setup attached to your cage, as most cinema camera users expect to do. The screen doesn't move, but it's bright, sharp and touch-sensitive Blackmagic 6K camera: Screen and audio Back to the screen, then. It may not move (there is an HDMI out, for field monitors) but it is glorious to use. It's bright and clear as well as touch sensitive, for controlling BMD's famed UI, which only takes just a quick look to master. It's an intuitive setup, easily manipulated by a simple press of a finger, with each panel logically laid out for specific tasks, like audio setup and monitoring. Shortcut keys can be set how you like, from applying a LUT to viewing peaking, to accessing any number of functions. Returning briefly to audio, the BMPCC6K has built-in mics for scratch audio, a 3.5mm line in and a mini XLR, which has switchable phantom power, another nod to this camera being rigged up for full production, while retaining tools for run and gun. All in all the Pocket range from BMD are fantastic cameras. The only real choice is which flavour to get. The 4K, with its MFT lens mount and huge array of glass, or this 6K, with increased chip size and resolution and an EF mount. This article originally appeared in 3D World. Subscribe here. Read more: The best camera for beginners View the full article

Troy Hunt said the popular HIBP will continue to be run as an independent service. View the full article

BMW has revealed a brand new logo to coincide with the release of its i4 concept car and yes, it's another addition to the flat design movement. Gone is the classic black outer ring (now completely transparent), and the 3D and lighting effects have been removed to create a minimal new look. The circle design remains, as do the white and blue colours of the company's home state of Bavaria. We're fans of the newly clear design. Its simplicity suggests it has been refreshed with digital in mind, but it also acknowledges the logo's 103-year heritage – a solid example of both classic and modern logo design. Jens Thiemer, senior vice president customer and brand, says "BMW is becoming a relationship brand," (the new Tinder?) and the transparent logo was designed to "radiate more openness and clarity". The new logo on the BMW i4 concept BMW has added the 2020 design to its article on the history of the logo. Seen in context (below), the boldness of this redesign is more obvious – the removal of the black ring appears to be the biggest change to the logo since its introduction in 1917. BMW through the ages When BMW first published the article last summer, we were particularly interested in its debunking of the common misconception that the logo itself represents a propeller. This stemmed from a 1929 ad (below) showing the logo in a rotating aircraft propeller to promote a new aircraft engine BMW was building. The ad that propelled the myth “For a long time, BMW made little effort to correct the myth that the BMW badge is a propeller,” the article states, "so sticking to the story that the BMW is a propeller would not be entirely wrong". In a world of red tape and impossibly strict guidelines, it's nice to hear a brand suggest that its logo can be whatever you want it to be. Related articles: BMW takes the world's blackest paint out for a spin The 10 best logos of all time Designers give iconic logos a radical makeover View the full article