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Fallout from giants at the top is one of the largest drivers of cyber-impacts on everyday people and companies. View the full article

The latest edition of the bi-annual hacking contest saw creative exploits in new device categories. View the full article

The Google Pixel 4 is one of the best camera phones you can buy, whether you’re big on bright city lit photography or high-impact night shots. It’s a great point and shoot snapper that’s easy to use, after all, and the experience it delivers feels seriously considered, with its clean interface, smart controls and versatile range of shooting modes. That said, if you want to get everything you can out of the Pixel 4, you’ll need to know about its double taps, hidden Astrophotography feature and let’s not forget the Pokemon. We cover all these highlights and more in this ultimate Pixel 4 camera guide. What makes the Pixel camera so great? Google has processed billions of images – it’s a search company after all. That means if anyone knows what makes a good image, and what doesn’t, it’s the big G. Historically, its Pixel phones haven’t been anything special in terms of camera hardware, they’ve all had traditional 12MP sensors. It's the software and image processing where the Pixel 4 excels. That’s how these humbly specced camera phones have delivered better dynamic range, clarity and greater noise handling than pricier phones like the excellent Note 10 Plus and their in-excess of quadruple-camera setups. Google Pixel 4 camera: Boost shadows What specifically makes the Pixel 4 camera so good is its simplicity. Photography pros may balk at the fact it has no manual mode, but there are still some very smart overrides when it comes to fine tuning exposure. The Pixel is one of the only smartphone cameras that lets you boost shadows separately to highlights, for example, so if you’re photographing a black cat, you can pull out detail in its fur that other phones can’t. Adjust shadows via the two bars that appear at the top of the viewfinder To take advantage of this shadow boosting, tap a focus point, and if you’re holding the phone in landscape orientation, you’ll see two bars appear at the top of the viewfinder. The right-hand bar controls exposure, the other controls shadows – genius. Google Pixel 4 camera: Quick adjustments and settings You can make on-the-fly adjustments in quick settings; swipe in from the left of the Pixel to access them. Here, you can toggle motion capture, which takes a short video clip with every photo so you have a moving memento. This is also where you can set a timer, fire up the flash and change the image aspect ratio from 4:3 to 16:9. Swipe in from the left of the Pixel to access quick settings Tap the cog for advanced settings – overlay framing grids, turn off camera sounds, enable quick sharing options so you can fling your picture straight onto Twitter, toggle RAW shooting on or off, and so much more. Google Pixel 4 camera: Zoom The new Pixel 4 includes a 16MP telephoto camera with a roughly 1.6x zoom. That’s an optical zoom, so it holds onto more detail than digital zoom, and it’s one of the best we’ve used, outperforming the iPhone 11 Pro. How you access it, however, isn’t immediately obvious. Sure, you can pinch in and out to frame your shot, but that’s clumsy and will likely leave you overshooting the second camera’s focal range or fall short of it altogether. The solution? Just double-tap the screen to punch in, double-tap to punch out. Stick with taps over pinches and you’ll guarantee yourself the highest quality photos, whether you’re zoomed in or out. Google Pixel 4 camera: Nightsight When the lights go down, Google’s Nightsight mode comes to the rescue with its handheld long exposure and see-in-the-dark superpowers. To activate it, swipe to the Nightsight option near the shutter release button or just tap it, point your camera at your subject, hold very still and take your shot. Your Pixel 4 will capture multiple pictures for about three seconds, stitch them together and create an almighty, high dynamic range, low light marvel. The steadier your hand, the better your shot, but even if there’s a bit of wobble, the Pixel 4 will still impress. That said, Nightsight takes photos with a long exposure, so if you’re shooting someone else, they need to keep as still as possible too, otherwise, they might end up looking like a blurred spectre against a pin-sharp backdrop. Google Pixel 4 camera: Astrophotography The Pixel 4’s highlight feature, Astrophotography isn’t quite as easy to fire up as we’d have liked it to be, and out of the box, we didn’t get any instructions as to how to go about taking photos of stars and galaxies. That said, once you know what you’re doing, it’s a doddle. First, launch Night Sight. Next, access your phone’s quick settings and turn on the Pixel 4’s self-timer - an optional step, but it will give you time to position our Pixel. Next, steady the phone, either on a tripod or a surface, and when the Pixel detects it’s perfectly still, it will flip to Astrophotography mode. When engaged, Astrophotography can keep the shutter open for around four minutes. While we weren’t able to capture the stratospheric shots Google demoed at the launch of the phone due to light pollution and cloud cover in the city we were shooting in, the results still impress. Google Pixel 4 camera: Pokemon Google’s Pixels are always fun. In the past, the phones have seen augmented reality partnerships with the likes of the Avengers, Childish Gambino, Star Wars and Stranger Things; now, it’s Pikachu’s turn to steal the AR spotlight. Google’s incredibly smart object recognition overlays one of four Pokemon from the Detective Pikachu movie between you and your background if you’re taking a selfie. Alternatively, you can create a Pokemon party by positioning multiple Pokemon over your scene if you’re shooting from the main camera. To access it, tap More within your camera UI, then Playground. Pixel's Playground is lots of fun As you can see from the example above, its object recognition is great and the creatures engage with one another when multiple Pokemon are in position. It’s also a lot of fun for kids too as the Pixel can still grab pictures and shoot videos of the Pokemon in action when in Playground mode, making it a great way to engage their imagination and creativity while still giving them a screen-time treat. Google Pixel 4 camera: Anything else? While we’ve covered the main highlights exclusive to the Pixel 4, there are other features found on most phones that are so good, they’re still worth mentioning. Its portrait mode, for example, works across the main camera, zoom camera and the selfie camera too, blurring out the background brilliantly. The Pixel 4 also shoots Panorama photos, and even 360-degree Photosphere images, which can be used with VR headsets. Slow-motion mode freezes time by up to an eighth and Time Lapse fast forwards it up to 120x. Just like any flagship smartphone worth its salt today, the Pixel 4 also shoots 4K video too with impressive image stabilisation. Thinking about picking up a Pixel 4 if you don’t already have one? To find out everything else you need to know about Google’s impressive camera phone, read our full Pixel 4 review. Read more: The best smartphone in 2019: be more creative on the move Street photography: 11 expert tips 15 top tips to boost your photography skills View the full article

A designer has spotted a nerdy joke hidden in Twitter's UI, and the internet is loving it. Click on the the 'Show more replies' CTA below a Tweet, what do you get? Text saying 'More replies'. It's right up there with 'I'm hungry / Hi hungry, I'm Dad' as groan-worthy parent gags go, and surely the proudest part of one Twitter team member's design portfolio. (Sometimes, of course, you'll actually see more replies to the tweet. It looks like this response is saved for cases where the repliers' accounts have been locked, making their comments unavailable to outsiders.) The man we have to thank for discovering the quirk is Scott Jehl, a designer and developer at Filament Group. You can see the joke in action in his viral GIF below. Jehl calls it "Twitter's best dad joke". We think it's good but in our opinion, not a classic, like these: 'Did you know the first French fries weren't actually cooked in France? They were cooked in Greece.' Or this absolute rib-tickler, 'Why can't your nose be 12 inches long? Because then it would be a foot.' (We can only apologise.) Read more: How to change the font in your Instagram bio 28 awesome Tumblr blogs for designers to explore A complete guide to social media for creatives View the full article

If there's one thing that designers hate, it's inconsistency. Surely the minds behind the world's leading creative software wouldn't make such an error? Well it looks like they have: right now the mixture of rounded and square-edged app icons on Adobe's popular tools is driving designers crazy. The apparent error has been a bone of contention for some time, but the recent release of Photoshop 2020 has reignited the rage of designers everywhere. The matter is detracting somewhat from all the exciting updates from Adobe MAX 2019, including the news that Photoshop on the iPad is finally here, and Illustrator on the iPad is in the works too. Want a Creative Cloud discount? Explore our guide to the best Adobe Black Friday deals Wondering why the XD and Photoshop icons in your dock or have rounded corners, while Illustrator and InDesign remain stubbornly square? Stephen Nielson, who leads the Photoshop product management team at Adobe has taken to Twitter to explain that it's actually intentional. He tweeted that "Adobe apps get rounded corners when they become multi-device and cloud-aware". So now you know. While it makes a little more sense now you know the thinking behind the inconsistency, Design Twitter is having none of it. Neil A. Evans summed up the crux of the problem, tweeting: "An icon that has to be explained is rubbish. I don’t care if it’s multi platform, if I install it on my other platforms I’ll already know. Make the icons consistent." An icon should be the purest version of what it represents, with no prior knowledge required (see our roundup of the best iOS app icons for more tips). While the difference between multi-device, cloud-aware apps and standalone apps is a big deal for those working at Adobe, it doesn't make a big difference to the general user – and certainly not the extent of wanting a different type of icon to remind them. If you're really struggling with the non-uniform icons, there is a solution. Go into Finder, and in the app's info panel you can override its icon. Copy in the 2019 icon, and you'll have a beautifully consistent dock once again. Phew. Read more: Adobe MAX Sneaks 2019: The most mind-boggling tech heading your way The 23 best Photoshop plugins Lightroom vs Photoshop: What's the difference? View the full article

Attackers could access Wi-Fi credentials due to a problem in initial configuration of the smart doorbell device. View the full article

You're reading Examples of Great Fall Email Newsletters with Tips and Tricks, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook! Fall is ideal for email marketing campaigns. It is that time of the year to enjoy quality time at home with a cup of warm tea and delicious biscuits while surfing the web. It is a perfect opportunity to catch … View the full article

Did you know IKEA has never released a Christmas advert until today? We found it hard to believe too. But later tonight TV screens will see the first-ever festive IKEA ad, and, well, we love it. The perfect antidote to the usual tear-jerkers offered up in the festive period, this hip-hop themed offering from IKEA and Mother London had us both laughing and cringing (at how relatable it is) at the same time. Encourage the nation to defy ‘home shame’ and open up their homes to guests this festive season, ‘Silence the Critics’ opens with a small flat that has seen better days. The beat drops and a, quite frankly, vulgar-looking cat teapot and various other household ornaments come to life with a brutal rap, voiced by legendary MC D Double E, that ridicules everything from the tired furnishings and cracked walls, to the lack of space. "This place ain't blessed, this place is a mess (disgusting)" – told you it was savage. We particularly like the part where the T-Rex gets chucked into the toy chest as he begins to rap more devastating blows. Not that you'd ever catch us tidying our house in such a fashion, you understand. The couple in the advert become overcome with ‘home shame' (we've been there) when faced with impending guests and the external manifestation of this is offbeat, and very funny. As Christmas adverts go, it's a brilliantly refreshing change from the usual heartwarming, sentimental offerings you see this time of year. And encompasses everything we love about IKEA as a brand, which is the ability to not take itself too seriously (something it demonstrates regularly in its brilliant print ads). Silence the Critics will first air on Friday 8 November, on Channel 4 in the Gogglebox break. But if you can't wait that long, you can watch it in full right here: Read more: 5 ad campaigns that changed the world Billboard advertising: Traffic-stopping examples The best print adverts ever View the full article

Flaws in Das U-Boot affect third-party hardware that uses the universal bootloader as an underlying component. View the full article

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are now just a matter of weeks away, meaning soon we'll be practically swimming in top Black Friday deals. And the first pre-Black Friday deals are already starting to appear. So what exactly can we expect from Black Friday 2019, which these days also extends throughout the weekend, all the way until Cyber Monday 2019? And how can you get the best Black Friday deals? Let's find out. When is Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2019? Before we dive head-first into the Black Friday deals we expect to see, let's first make sure you've got the dates marked in your diaries. Black Friday traditionally takes place on the Friday immediately after Thanksgiving, meaning this year it falls on 29 November. That means Cyber Monday is 2 December this year, three days after Black Friday. While Black Friday is a frenzied cacophony of high street and online deals, Cyber Monday was originally conceived by savvy marketers as a way to sell more of their wares online, back when online shopping wasn’t as prevalent as it is today. These days, Cyber Monday usually sees a wider range of deals across individual retailers. It's less about one-off discounts, and more about lower prices generally. Saying that, if stores need to shift stock they’ll follow up Black Friday discounts with further reductions on Cyber Monday – so expect one-off deals too. With Black Friday and Cyber Monday happening a little later than normal this year, it may well be a good opportunity to get your Christmas shopping sorted. The best pre-Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals for creatives Where will we see the best Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals? While we can't say for sure where and what the best Black Friday deals will be, we can make educated guesses based on previous years. It's wise to keep an eye on any sought-after items throughout the whole of November, because Black Friday deals surface earlier and earlier each year. However, the best deals have historically happened later in the month, with retailers offering bigger discounts on the most expensive items, as well as accessories that might go with them. And typically, the best bargains are still reserved for Black Friday and Cyber Monday themselves. So what kind of items are we talking about? Below are our top predictions on the creative items you might have on your Christmas list this year. But first, here's the early Black Friday deals we're already seeing, and guess what? They're on the items we predicted. 01. Microsoft Surface range The Microsoft Surface range has become hugely popular among artists and designers in recent years. The Surface Pro and Surface Go lend themselves well to the needs of a creative, so it was no surprise to see them fly off the shelves in some of the best Black Friday deals we saw last year. Microsoft has been busy this year, recently announcing six new devices to its Surface range, all of which are aimed at a creative audience. With the release of these devices so close to Black Friday 2019, it's highly unlikely we'll see any discounts on these newer models. However, with the introduction of the new Surface Pro 7 and Surface Pro X, we will almost certainly see some great savings on the Surface Pro 6. A fantastic device in its own right, the Surface Pro 6 is currently one of the best tablets with a stylus around, so if you're not bothered about having the shiniest new Microsoft model, this will be a product to watch out for this Black Friday. Bookmark our dedicated Surface Pro Black Friday deals page for all the latest deals and updates on these popular devices. 02. Adobe Creative Cloud subscription Adobe has offered big Black Friday deals in the past Last year, creative software giant Adobe got stuck in all the Black Friday deals action, offering up to a whopping 40 per cent off a subscription to its Creative Suite of apps. That meant new subscribers could snap up Adobe’s entire collection of 20-plus creative desktop and mobile apps, and more, for just £30.34/€36.29/$22.99 a month, instead of £49.94/€60.49/$52.99 a month. And let's be honest, it doesn't get much cheaper than that (unless you're a student, where we have occasionally seen around 70 per cent off). That said, Adobe offers other discounts throughout the year, so it's worth keeping an eye on our Adobe Black Friday deals post. We expect that Adobe will get involved with Black Friday 2019, and the deals usually last a few days, so should be around on Cyber Monday 2019 too. 03. Apple iPad and iPhone We expect to some great savings on various iPad models this Black Friday and Cyber Monday Apple has been busy this year, launching its new iPad Mini and iPad Air, plus the iPad 10.2-inch. With all these models offering Apple Pencil support, they are a great choice for busy creatives on the go. As shiny new additions to Apple's portfolio, we don't expect to see huge savings on these, but if there are any discounts to be had, we'll keep you posted. And if you're after an Apple Pencil, then see our Apple Pencil Black Friday deals. But the best deals will almost certainly be on older – but still very sought-after – iPad models. For example, last year saw the iPad (2018) reduced to the bargain price of just $249 at Walmart, and it, unsurprisingly, flew off the shelves. If you're after a bit more power, the iPad Pro (2017) was reduced to $524.99 (from $649) at Walmart last year too. Whatever iPad model you're after, we have details of all the best iPad Black Friday deals right now and will update as the best Black Friday deals drop. If it's an iPhone XR you're in the market for, the latest iPhone has just dropped, meaning the ever popular 2018 model will likely see some pretty impressive savings. It's worth noting that these discounts will come from retailers, rather than directly from Apple, which tends to only extend its Black Friday involvement to that of extra Apple gift cards when you make a purchase. Which is fine if you're a super-Apple fan, but not so great if you're only likely to buy one or two Apple products per year. 04. Apple MacBook Pro Oh MacBook Pro, how we wish you were cheaper It's a firm favourite among creatives, but the MacBook Pro doesn't come cheap. So it's no surprise that a load of them got snapped up last year when B&H dropped the 2017 15.4-inch model to $2,149 (from $2,799). It may not be the newest version, but the MacBook Pro 2017 is still a highly capable and powerful machine. It's rare to see big savings like this on the latest Apple products, but if you're not worried about having the most up-to-date specs, you can save an absolute packet, and grab a great bit of kit while you're at it. And the place to do so? On our dedicated best Black Friday Macbook deals post, which has all the biggest savings as and when they arrive. 05. Apple Watch We don't know about you but keeping up with what version the Apple Watch is currently on is exhausting. That said, now there are a number of models (at time of writing the most recent model is Series 5), there's quite a high chance we're going to see some good savings on older (but still highly capable) devices. If you really want to find a bargain, Series 1 and Series 2 are almost certainly going to be where it's at. But if you want the option to have GPS and Cellular connections, go for the Series 3. Keep up to date with all the biggest offers over on our best Apple Watch deals post, which will include all Black Friday savings too. See an early Black Friday Apple Watch offer on the Series 3 Watch below. 06. Apple AirPods Hold tight! You could save a packet on Apple AirPods later this year Rounding up our Apple products Black Friday review is the company's controversial AirPods. Some people love them, others think they look weird/want the headphone jack back. And the release of the AirPods Pro has been even more controversial – here's why we were pleasantly surprised by their release. Last year, the biggest discount we saw was around £20/$30, which isn't much to shout about. However, with the new improved Apple AirPods (2019) out now, plus the AirPods Pro, we're hopeful we'll see much better Black Friday AirPod deals in November (although we're not holding our breath for deals on the AirPods Pro). We'll keep you updated with any great offers that land via our dedicated best Apple AirPods deals post, so make sure to bookmark that page and check back regularly. 07. Wacom drawing tablets Will there be any Black Friday deals to be had on the new Wacom Cintiq 16? Here's hoping. It's tricky to find discounted Wacom products, which is why Black Friday 2018 was such a pleasant surprise for designers in the market for one. Various retailers dropped the price of Wacom's sought-after products, with the best Black Friday deals seeing a whopping $200-$500 knocked off the popular Cintiq Pro range. Wacom has recently released its budget Wacom Cintiq 16. It'll be interesting to see if any Black Friday deals crop up on this already affordable creative pen display. In a similar vein to Apple, it's rare for Wacom to offer discounts directly – if you want to make a saving, you're best looking at major retailers such as Amazon or Walmart. Alternatively, if you're on the hunt for a graphics tablet, but don't mind if it's not a Wacom, last year there were some great bargains on XP-Pens, so that could be one to watch out for. Better still, save yourself the hassle, bookmark our Wacom Black Friday deals page and let us do the work for you. 08. External hard drives Black Friday 2019 could help you make big savings on quality external hard drives Okay, so it's not exactly the sexiest of items, but an external hard drive can form a vital part of a designer's toolset. And, as anyone who's bought one will attest, they don't come cheap. Last year, leading manufacturer Western Digital offered some decent savings on its 'My Passport' range, which starts at around £90 for its 4TB option. We'll be keeping you up to date with any offers over on our best Black Friday external hard drives post, where you'll find all the lowest prices now and over the Black Friday period. Look out for more Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2019 information and deals coming soon! View the full article

Lego is one of the best creative tools around. Not only can you use it for problem solving and prototyping, you can also free up your mind from the stresses of daily life and get stuck into a themed set of your choice (the Lego Knight Bus is a cracker for any Harry Potter fans out there). The seemingly never-ending styles and shapes that the little brick now comes means you can now build virtually anything your mind can think of, including Christmas decorations. And Lego's latest campaign is asking the world to do just that. The Build to Give initiative encourages people all over the globe to use spare Lego, either at home or in select Lego stores, to build festive ornaments and upload their creations on social media with #BuildtoGive. For every decoration shared, Lego will donate an entire set to a child in need of play. You could create a Christmas tree, a reindeer, cake, ornaments for the tree or Santa, even. Alternatively, you could think a little more outside the box and recreate the town of Bethlehem, maybe? If you're stuck for inspiration, the Build to Give web page has a number of ideas, as well as some downloadable instructions on how to build a MySweetHeart pendant (see below). Download the instructions and start building If you want to get involved, Build to Give events are taking place around the world during November and December 2019, which is free for all to join. Simply check the Lego store locator to see what's happening in your area. Read more: Introducing Lego, as you've never seen it before The Knight Bus Lego review 9 top tips for drawing in black and white View the full article

Vulnerabilities in several PC gaming products offered by Nvidia can lead to escalation of privilege, denial of service and other malicious attacks. View the full article

You're reading React and CI/CD – From 0 to Released, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook! CI/CD has become the beating heart of any software team. A well-refined CI/CD process results in a frictionless path to live. In turn, this results in smaller, simpler releases that enable teams to test out experiments, react to bugs and … View the full article

Mission-critical systems can't just be switched off to apply security updates -- so patching can take weeks if not years. View the full article

After years of unsuccessfully battling malware and bad apps in the Google Play store and on more than 2.5 billion Android devices, Google is finally doing something about it. The tech giant this week unveiled an alliance with three companies with specific expertise in endpoint security to help prevent the spread of malware on its […] View the full article

Recently, the logos of the world’s biggest brands have opted to go character-less, rather than character-full. Pinterest, Google, Uber, eBay and Microsoft have all stripped back, simplified and lost their ooomph. Indistinctive, inoffensive and strictly no fun seems to be the order of the day. But it’s no longer just an issue with logo design (to avoid any issues with yours, see this handy logo design guide). It’s branding in general. Once brands get established, risk aversion seems to drive the once-fun, opinionated and loveable start-ups down a more serious path. So why do our most successful start-ups eventually feel the need to be safe and conform? Are we just biding our time until the likes of Oatly, Monzo and Habito opt for a more buttoned-up approach to attract a global audience? Does growing up mean you have to lose a lot of what made you great in the first place? Why do brands lose their fun? Will Oatly retain its light-hearted branding? When new brands are born they have the flexibility to play. They can take risks, be light-hearted, look different and divide opinion. They’ve got little to lose, so a fresh, alternative approach helps them stand out and engage with consumers. But as brands develop they often find it harder to be fun and show their personality. They worry that it may isolate and deter potential customers. They feel the need to be seen as a safe bet, becoming more serious. And naturally the fun tails off. It’s our role as designers to try and break this predictable pattern. Yes, there are times when we have to be more subtle, but what are we here for if we can’t have fun with our work and push our clients creatively? We need to reassure our clients that they’ve built a powerful brand with that approach – why change as soon as you become successful? The same goes for the more traditionally ‘serious’ sectors. Just because you’re working in financial services and law, for example, doesn’t mean you can’t strive to be different or have fun. Designers can bring back the fun & SMITH learned how to have fun with their design At & SMITH, we’re guilty of it too. Several years ago we partnered with a firm of solicitors on their new identity. We presented what we thought was the perfect brand for a legal team: quiet, trustworthy, reassuring, corporate. It was exactly what they didn’t want. The firm had built their reputation taking on challenging cases and doing things differently and wanted a brand to match. We tried again. And failed. And again. And failed. So, we decided to start from scratch, trying to unsee and unlearn all that we knew visually about the sector. It felt like designing a funeral director’s logo in Comic Sans. It didn’t sit quite right, but we knew we had to get out of our comfort zone and have some fun. We got there in the end. The job resulted in A1-sized screen prints with personalised logos for each member of staff. And although it was difficult to stomach at the time, we realised it was real turning point in & SMITH’s development and approach to branding in general. We learned that it’s possible to have fun in a serious sector. In fact, there are brands out there actively searching for it. When you look more closely there are some brilliant examples where mainstream brands have found joy in the everyday. Take the McCafé ‘Flat what?’ advert, for example. It’s a clever piece of advertising that highlights just how difficult the simple things in life have become (like ordering a cup of coffee) and makes a joke out of it. It’s playful, lighthearted and tongue-in-cheek, but still looks and feels like McDonald’s. Why should brands try to be different? Dr Martens' branding remains opinionated and strong Today, too many brands get drawn into adopting commercially led identities rather than those rich in character. And it’s too easy for designers and brand creators to follow trends with little originality or point of difference. The brands that rise head and shoulders above the competition are those that stand for something. Being decisive makes for compelling brands, but decisive doesn’t have to be dull. It’s our job to open our clients’ eyes to the possibilities of design. There are some great brands out there that have stuck to their guns going through growth and expansion but remaining opinionated, emotional, brave, fun and different. Brands like Marmite, Virgin, Channel 4, Dr Martens. Let’s hope in years to come these brands don’t become a rare species. This article was originally published in issue 296 of Computer Arts, the world's best-selling design magazine. Buy issue 296 or subscribe to Computer Arts. Read more: Are trends any good for branding? 8 brands that rule at social media Where to find logo design inspiration View the full article

Art terms are a fundamental part of creating art because they summarise complicated concepts succinctly. And given that the terminology is used by course instructors and educational books across the board, it’s a good idea to get yourself familiar with them if you want to further your skills. After all, even if you’ve picked up the best pencils for artists, they can only take you so far if you don’t know how to get the most out of them. To help you learn the lingo, we’ve compiled this handy glossary which makes important art terms easy to understand. These expressions are designed to be of practical assistance to creators, so if you feel like you’ve plateaued or you need to brush up on the basic theories behind drawing and painting, there’s a good chance they can help you out of a creative rut. For more guidance, see our how to draw tutorials. Abrasion A process whereby paint is removed to reveal layers beneath the surface. Usually done via friction or scratches. Can be accidental or deliberate. Accelerated perspective A deliberate exaggeration of perspective. It is often used to make a shallow surface appear deeper than it actually is. Acrylic paint A type of paint where the pigment is suspended in an acrylic polymer emulsion. Acrylics are a popular medium with artists thanks to their fast drying time, bold colours and flexibility when mixed with water. Get the most out of them with our acrylic painting tips. Ambient light Light that is already present in a scene. This can include either natural or artificial light. Axis lines A straight line, either implied of visible, that runs through an object in its dominant direction. It helps to give structure to an object or composition. Background An area of a painting that appears to be furthest from the viewer. Objects in the middle ground and foreground appear closer, as if they are placed on top. Balance The arrangement of elements in a piece of art that creates a sense of visual equilibrium. Binder A paint substance which holds together the pigment and ensures that it sticks to surfaces. Also gives the paint a uniform consistency. Blending A painting technique where the transition between colours and shades appears smooth or gradual. Blocking in Painting process where the artist roughly establishes the composition and structure of the subject. It’s a popular technique with portrait artists. Body colour An opaque paint that can completely obliterate an underlying colour. Brushwork The way in which an artist applies paint to a support with a brush. Used to refer to the characteristics of the artist in question. Canvas A closely woven cloth that acts as a support for paintings. Get started with them with our beginner's guide to canvas painting. Chiaroscuro From the Italian for ‘light-dark’. Used to refer to a strong contrast between light and dark in drawings and paintings. Often used to create a sense of volume. Cityscape An image where urban scenery and buildings are the main focus. Closed composition A piece of art where everything sits comfortably inside the borders of the image. Collage From the French verb coller, meaning ‘to glue’. Used to refer to the technique and resulting piece of art where materials are fixed to a supporting surface with glue or another substance. Here’s what to consider when creating a collage. Colour The perceived hue of an object or substance. Also used to refer to a dye, pigment, or paint that imparts a hue. Become a master of colours work with our guide to colour theory. Colour wheel A circular diagram of the spectrum of colours. Useful for artists because it shows how the relationships between primary, secondary and tertiary colours. Combine A painting that works various objects into the surface material. Complementary colours A pair of colours which cancel each other out when mixed together. They are situated opposite one another on the colour wheel. Composition The arrangement of visual elements as distinct from the subject in a piece of art. It means ‘putting together’ and can be used in visual arts as well as music, writing and photography. Contour From the French for ‘outline’, this refers to the technique where an artist draws a line that defines a form or edge. As its word origin suggests, it creates an outline of the subject. Convergence Refers to linear perspective in a drawing or painting. It’s the phenomena whereby all parallel lines converge together as they run along to a point at a person’s eye level. Cross-hatching A mark-making process where lines that run in different directions are layered on top of each other to provide the illusion of shade. Depth The apparent distance from the foreground to background, or near to far, in a work of art. Diptych A piece of art, usually a painting, made on two panels that are traditionally attached by a hinge. Doodle A loose, fun drawing that often has little regard for accuracy. Usually completed while the artist’s attention is elsewhere. Check out some of our favourite examples of doodle art. Elevation A drawing of the front, side and rear of a structure. Usually used in architecture and scale drawings. Figure drawing The depiction of the human body in art. Master how to draw the human body with this guide to figure drawing. Focal point The area of a piece of art that is designed to draw the viewer’s attention. Foreground Visual elements in a drawing or painting that are positioned nearest to the viewer in terms of depth. These elements appear on top of the middle ground and background. Foreshortening A technique used in perspective drawing to create the illusion that an object, usually parts of the human body, recede strongly into the distance or background. Frottage A technique where textures are obtained by rubbing pencils, chalk or charcoal over a granular or relieflike surface. Geometric A piece of art made out of geometric shapes. Gesture A quick drawing that captures the most basic elements of the subject. Gouache A water-soluble paint that appears opaque on the support. Dries quickly and can be reactivated when mixed with water. This guide teaches you how to paint with gouache. Hardboard A uniform and stable surface for painting. It doesn’t have a grain which makes it easier to prime. Hard-edge A painting technique where the transitions between colours are abrupt. The opposite of blending. Horizon line A horizontal line that runs across a page or canvas that represents the viewer’s eye-level, or to represent where the sky meets the ground. Hue The actual colour of something. Often referred to as a colour, but hue is more technically correct. Illusion When a piece of art tricks the eye into perceiving a particular effect. For some amazing examples, check out our collection of the best trompe l’oeil art. Impasto A painting technique where paints are laid down on the support in very thick layers. Often, brush marks or palette strokes are still visible. Landscape A piece of art that focuses on natural scenery such as mountains, forests and coasts. Line drawing A fundamental type of mark making made up of a stroke of a pencil, pen or a brush. Consists of straight or curved lines. Used to represent shape and form. Linear perspective A technique where the illusion of depth is created on a flat surface. Medium The materials that are used to create a piece of art. Middle ground The central elements of a painting in terms of depth. Sandwiched between the foreground and background. Mixed media A piece of art made up of multiple mediums. Monochrome A painting created using only one colour or hue. Negative space The empty space between objects and structures in a piece of art. Can be used by artists to more accurately define the form of the subject. See how these brilliant examples of negative space make an impact. Oil paint A paint where the pigment is held in a drying oil binder. Oil paint is usually slow to dry. Paint Coloured substance which is spread over a support with tools including a brush and palette. Made up of pigment and binder. Get the most out of paints by choosing the right brush. Palette A surface on which an artist mixes colours. Palette knife A blunt plastic or metal blade which is used to mix colours and spread them on a support. Pastel Solid art medium in the shape of a stick. Made up of pure powdered pigments and binder. Supplied in soft, pan and hard varieties. Artists can choose from oil and water-soluble pastels. This guide shows you how to get started with pastel art. Perspective A technique for creating the illusion of three dimensions on a two dimensional surface. A crucial method to master for drawing realistic pictures. Start learning perspective basics with this guide to one point perspective. Pigment The colouring component of art mediums such as paint and pastels, as opposed to the binding agent. Plane A flat surface within a painting, picture or sculpture. Also used to refer to the flat surface on which a picture is created. Portrait A piece of art where the facial features of the subject are the focus. Also used to refer to a vertical orientation, as opposed to a landscape picture. These simple steps show you how to draw a face. Pose The position of the subject in a piece of art. Often in reference to the stance of a human model. Profile A side view of a subject, usually the human head. Proportion The harmonious relationship of parts to each other or to the whole. Representation The visual interpretation of a subject. Scale The ratio between the size of the subject and its artistic representation. Sfumato From the Italian for ‘smoke’. A painting technique that softens the transition between two colours and tones in such a way that they appear to melt into one another. Shade In colour theory, shade is a pure colour with black added (and not white or grey). Sketch A rough or unfinished drawing or painting of a subject. Usually completed to aid the creation of a more thorough study. Make your mark with these sketching tips. Soft edge When the boundaries of a subject in a painting appear to fade into the background. The opposite of a hard edge. Still life An artistic study, either a drawing or painting, of either natural or man-made objects, or both. This guide shows you how to paint expressive still life images. Stylised The representation of a subject that conforms to the rules of a certain style, as opposed to a natural depiction. Subject The primary focus of a piece of art, such as a building, human or object. Tempera A paint in which the pigment is held in a water-soluble binder. Also used to refer to a painting completed in this medium. Tint When white is introduced to a colour to make it appear brighter. The opposite of shade. Tone The intensity and strength of colours in a piece of art. Triptych A painting completed on three separate panels, or three paintings on different supports that are thematically linked. Value The relative lightness or darkness of colour. The highest value will be white, and the lowest value will be black. Vantage point The position of the viewer in relation to the subject they are representing. Vanishing point A point of disappearance in perspective drawings. At this point, receding parallel lines appear to converge. Volume The representation of mass in a piece of art. Watercolour Art medium where the pigment is held in a water-soluble solution. Also used to refer to pictures completed with these substances. Read more: The best art easels in 2019 Should I go to art school? How to create pinup art View the full article

It feels like we've spent a lot of time talking about the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog movie this year, and with good reason. Back in March we reported how fans were up in arms about the iconic video game character's new CG look (with the weirdest human-like face and set of teeth you just couldn't ignore). The backlash was so fierce from the leaked images that soon after, the film's director, Jeff Fowler, announced Sonic would be taken back to the drawing board. After that all Sonic chat fell silent, until last month when an improved 3D version of the computer game character did the rounds on social media. And now another leaked image (below) of the famous blue hedgehog has surfaced, with early indications suggesting it's the game-accurate character design fans have been waiting for. Gone are those human teeth, the weird eyes and sort of person-shaped body, the new design instead reinstating Sonic's trademark lopsided smirk, wide cartoon-like eyes and body proportioned back to that of the original character. The only major difference that remains is the new Sonic's arms are still blue, but taking the other improvements into account, that seems a manageable trade-off. The most recent leaked image initially came from Twitter user @SnideyMcCoolGuy, with @TailsChannel finding a wider version to add to the mix. While fans are struggling not to get excited by the latest reveal, it is worth remembering that this new image is not from a confirmed source, so whether this favoured new design comes to the big screen remains to be seen. However, if this isn't the work of Paramount, we strongly suggest its creative team speaks to whoever is behind it because if the reaction to it so far is anything to go by, they're on to a winning design. Read more: 27 top movie title sequences How to improve your character art The 10 best 3D movies of 2019 View the full article

Adobe Sneaks is where the company reveals its most cutting-edge experiments and innovations. These are the features that haven't found their way into products yet, but are pushing the boundaries of what's possible for creative tools. This year's show was hosted by Adobe's own Paul Trani, alongside Emmy Award-winning writer and comedian John Mulaney, and the brightest minds at Adobe. The 11 experiments we got a taster of were all truly mind-boggling. "You're getting a preview of what might be a future keynote, and eventually right in front of you," summed up Trani in the introduction. Read on for the Sneaks we're most excited about from this year's show. For the latest news and product announcements, check out our guide to Adobe MAX 2019. The best experiments from last year's Sneaks are now making their way into Adobe's tools – if you haven't subscribed yet, check out our guide to snagging the best Adobe Black Friday deals this year. Project About Face A tie-in with Adobe's newly announced Content Authenticity Initiative, Project About Face is a machine learning- and AI-based system that can analyse an image and tell you if and how it has been manipulated. Apply it to a photo, and it will provide you with a percentage chance that image alteration has taken place, and even provide you with a heatmap to indicate where the likely alterations have been made. Finally, and very impressively, it can approximate what the original photo may have looked like, pre-editing. Project Image Tango This experiment enables you to take the texture and pattern from one photo, and apply it to a different image in an intelligent way. In practice, the results are incredible. To demonstrate, the presenter took a very basic line drawing of a bird, and then applied the texture from a real-life photo of a different bird. The tech uses deep learning and AI to intelligently reshape and reform the feathers and colours from the real life bird and merge them into the form of the hand-drawn bird. The result is something entirely new, which does not exist anywhere else. The team also showed how you could ask the tool to generate a range of different options based on the same information, to use the tech as an inspiration tool. Project Fantastic Fonts This wasn't as flashy a demo, but this one could have huge implications for designers if and when it makes its way into a real-life tool. Project Fantastic Fonts opens up entirely new possibilities for manipulating typography in pretty much any way you want. The presenter showed how you could use it to go way beyond bold and italics to adjust any element of a font in a design, from the x-height to the horizontal weight. They even applied animations, and tilted the iPad the Sneak was being demoed on to control the direction of the animation. All this on real fonts, which are live and not outlined. Project Go Figure This experiment in After Effects enables you to transfer motion from a reference video and apply it to an illustrated character. This is all done without the need for mo-cap markers or body suits – all you'll need is a tripod and a camera (perhaps just on your camera phone). A feature called Body Tracker adds markers to the body and tracks them across different frames within the animation, then intelligently adds a mask around the body. You can then link those tracking points to the same point on a character design, and watch it instantly mimic the movement. Clever. Project Light Right This AI can alter the lighting within your pictures by enabling you to move the light source around. To use it, you need a few different images of a structure. The tool will analyse the photos, learn where the light source is and understand the geometry included in the scene. You can then shift the lighting in your chosen final image, and Project Light Right will show you how the structure or scene will look, intelligently casting shadows on the fly. The tool can also use video, or stock images as its input to build its 3D understanding of the scene. Project Sweet Talk This Sneak reimagines how we animate with just the voice. This animation tool requires just a single static, flat image, and an audio file. The tool predicts how the face will move to create the given audio. The results of the demo were mind-boggling – the presenter used it to bring to life a crude line drawing of a cat, and then moved on to apply it to historical artworks. Project Pronto This experiment lets you mock up design ideas by combining AR and video editing, using AR tracking to prototype effects using your device (e.g. an iPad) as a 3D controller. The tool will record and respond to the tilting of the device, and you can use it to mock up AR interactions. Read more: Illustrator on the iPad is on its way Photoshop Camera: Adobe unveils super-cool, AI-powered photo app Facebook's new logo is just about worth a Like View the full article

As the festive season approaches, that only means one thing. Black Friday and Cyber Monday are on their way and we're already seeing some exciting deals on all manner of laptops, including the nifty 14-inch HP laptop with a 10th generation Intel Core i5, which is currently reduced from $599 to $399 at Walmart. This laptop has a 256GB SSD plus 16GB Intel Optane memory, a 14-inch screen and 8GB of RAM. It's designed to be thin and light, with a 6.5mm micro-edge bezel display, making it ideal for working on the go. HP is also shouting about the battery life of this model, which goes from 0 to 50 per cent charge in just 45 minutes. For a complete roundup of what to expect on Black Friday, don't miss our Black Friday deals post, where we're collating all the best offers. If you're a Microsoft fan, you might also want to check out our Microsoft Black Friday deals or dedicated Surface Pro Black Friday deals posts. In the meantime, read more about HP deals at Walmart below. If you're not in the US, or are looking for a different laptop or workstation deal, check out the best HP laptop and 2-in-1 laptop deals with our dedicated price tool. View the full article

The 2020 Security Plan PPT template helps security professionals engage their organization's decision-makers and gets their backing for critical security decisions. View the full article

Going freelance is simultaneously exciting and terrifying, and worrying about freelance finances is a big part of that. It pays to be prepared – largely because once you start freelancing, a single company will no longer be regularly paying you. We asked those who've made the leap for their advice on how to make it work, and their advice ranged from everything from being organised, whether or not you really need to learn how to network to getting to grips with tax. Here's what they said: 01. Set realistic expectations "You must think of your new business like a startup: savings are a 'runway' to transition you from the stability of a monthly salary," suggests strategist Christopher Murphy. It's therefore a good idea to build up at least three (preferably six) months of living expenses prior to going freelance. Also, have a plan to step back if things don't work out. "I told my wife we needed at least six months to discover whether my freelancing would work," recalls creative director, designer and developer Shane Mielke. "And if I wasn't successful, I'd immediately apply to whatever agency would have me, so we wouldn't cut deep into our savings." While that might sound negative, Mielke argues freelancing is anything but – as long as you're organised and know how to network. "I made a single tweet, received my first project, and haven't looked back since," he says. "Although people sometimes think freelancers sacrifice money for freedom, that's not necessarily the case – it can be very profitable and I've consistently made more money than when I worked as a salaried employee." How to be a thrifty freelancer 02. Manage your overheads Mielke's point about organisation is crucial. As Clearleft founder Andy Budd notes, a major challenge of freelancing is the uneven nature of income: "Even if you're lucky enough to immediately land a long-term contract, you'll probably work for a month before you can invoice. And many companies pay on 60- or 90-day cycles: miss a payment window and you'll have to wait until the next one." Even with smaller companies, you may find yourself chasing payments, hence why graphic and web designer Colm McCarthy recommends "mandating a 50-to-60 per cent deposit from new clients, with the remaining balance arriving in staged payments upon delivery of agreed work". Naturally, get this written into a contract. Income is at least broadly understood among most people considering freelancing. Outgoings… less so. When you've worked in a salaried environment, it's easy to forget what you're spending and then fritter money away. "You must track exactly what you need to be using in your business," recommends brand designer Rachel Shillcock. "I work with a lot of online tools and renewal bills quickly mount up. So I do an audit every quarter to ensure I cancel anything I'm not using." Murphy notes that such tracking should extend to everything: "Software. Pens and paper. Sticky notes. It all needs accounting for. When you're salaried, someone else pays for these things. As a freelancer, you cover it yourself. So log receipts and at the year's end you'll know how much ancillaries are costing. This can then be factored into invoices." 03. Be ready for the tax man Don't get caught out by unexpected tax demands Dealing with 'the man' may also be a shock to the system. "There's that fear of the unknown," says Mielke. "If you've never dealt with taxes, health insurance or forming an LLC, you can worry yourself to death and never make the move." He initially paid an accountant to navigate the process; on understanding about using a separate credit card to isolate expenses and setting aside money for tax and insurance, worries soon faded. Health insurance in particular is a cost to be mindful of in the US. Mielke notes it initially "feels like a huge additional burden," until you realise it was previously "automatically deducted by your employer". Since it's part of running a business, you may be able to write it off. Also, be aware in regions with a national health service rather than mandated private insurance that you may still be liable for some costs (such as national insurance contributions in the UK). Again, consult an accountant if unsure. One thing you can be sure about is tax. "It's almost always more than you'd expect, so don't get to the end of the year with a bill you can't pay," urges Budd. A smart idea, thinks Murphy, is to routinely set aside a percentage of income into a savings account. Budd advises this can also work in 'reverse': "Rather than seeing your income as a pool of money to dip into whenever you like, treat your bank account like a business and pay yourself a set monthly fee." This ensures you're covered for payments – and any troughs that come along. 04. Get the word out The inconsistent nature of work can affect any business but will be especially stressful to a freelancer looking at gaps in a calendar. Ideally, you'll hit the ground running, winning jobs before leaving salaried employment. The trick, though, is to keep that ball rolling rather than forgetting about it when waist-deep in deadlines. Too many people rely on recommendations and have no plan when the phone stops ringing Paul Boag Even having a shared office space can be helpful. "They're good value, sociable and a place to pick up work just by being there," says McCarthy. But direct action tends to be more fruitful. "You really need a proactive sales and marketing strategy," says digital strategy and user experience design expert Paul Boag. "Too many people rely on recommendations and have no plan when the phone stops ringing." For Mielke, "fear is a great motivator" and this drives his marketing strategy to get ahead and stay ahead. He does small things throughout the year to stay in clients' minds, rather than waiting until things get slow. "I do this by continually striving to create high-level work that gets me noticed, submitting personal projects for awards, keeping my portfolio updated and maintaining real friendships with people I've worked with," he explains. "It's a constant hustle and the ebb and flow of projects is ultimately out of your control. But when you're an expert in your area and at the top of the list of people that do certain types of projects, you'll get first pick of what's available." Shillcock admits this is something she's struggled with – not doing enough marketing during busy periods. "But you have to remind yourself during such times that you don't want to end up with a quiet season once it's all done," she says. Again, maintaining a financial reserve can help but she adds that it's often easier to retain clients than find new ones and so you should also consider introducing retainers. "This allows you to continue working on a long-term basis with clients once an initial project is finished," she says. It's rare the work is done once the last of the code is compiled: there's a whole host of ongoing maintenance work that needs to be carried out that can add up to a very meaningful revenue stream. "You can sell maintenance packages to agency customers, thereby generating a recurring revenue stream," Fabio Torlini, MD EMEA of WP Engine. "This will often include a hosting component but also assistance with plug-in updates, reports, responding to alerts and other tasks relating to operating a properly maintained website." This probably sounds like a lot of busywork. But although these things aren't wholly passive, they can be a win-win –high-margin for the freelancer and a weight off of a client's mind, knowing their site will be well looked after. 05. Take time off Don't forget to take a holiday – but warn your clients But no matter how carefully you plan your future workflow, you can't be active all the time and this means addressing time off – effectively a self-inflicted trough. We often hear of freelancers spending holidays bathed in the light of a screen. This isn't what you should aim for. "Taking time off isn't easy for freelancers but it is doable," says Boag. "Give clients as much notice as possible and remind them often. Also, realise you don't need to treat them all equally. When I go away, I disable email notifications and set an 'out of office' reply. But I tell my most important clients I've enabled notifications for their email addresses and will respond in a timely manner." 06. Have a backup plan Another way to deal with troughs is to ensure you're not reliant on a single income stream. "Diversify your offering," says Boag. "I run a lot of training and offer consultancy alongside my UX design services. When one goes quiet, I push the others." Effectively, focusing your energy in several different areas means it's easier to ensure you have some way of making hay while your other field lays fallow. "For years, I've told my students about the importance of developing a portfolio career," says Murphy. "I work half-time as a lecturer and half-time as a consultant. Those are two distinct income streams and they both help me to stay afloat." Even taking work on piecemeal can help fill the gaps during quieter times. "Freelancing in-house for design studios has been a big win for me," says McCarthy. "I can help out when someone goes on leave and the pay is pretty good." The key thing, says Mielke, is to challenge the notion that you should only be one thing. People within the industry have built up experience and skills in many areas and should use them. "Depending on the project, I work on UI design, front-end development, animation and even photography," he explains. "Sometimes I'm hired for one and other times for multiple skills and to handle an entire project. But my range of skills allows me to become involved in more projects, control my creative destiny, have more fun and ultimately make more money." 07. Develop your sidelines Got some wisdom to share? Why not write and self-publish a book And with time, many people find that this diversification can lead to very valuable additional revenue streams in their own right. For example, Mielke has written a book, the income from which is putting his daughters through college, and knows others in the industry who do very well selling things like illustrations, fonts, posters, stickers and all sorts of digital and physical products alongside client projects they're hired for. This is an avenue Shillcock has found success in. One reason she went freelance was due to having a chronic illness that causes pain and fatigue. But she began overworking and running herself into the ground – to the point she burned out twice in two years and found herself hospitalised. She then began looking for alternative ways to make money online. "Being freelance isn't always about trading time for money," she says. "Since those days of overwork, I've released online courses and self-published books and I'm currently creating digital products to make my branding methods more accessible to people that can't afford to work with me on a one-to-one basis." She has found this a rewarding and fun way of making money, which is why she urges talented designers to think more widely: "Write books! Create worksheets, online courses, apps and guides!" Should you want a guide to doing so, Murphy recommends Rachel Andrew's 'Profitable Side Project Handbook', which is "filled with useful advice – and is itself a good example of a profitable side project". However, while it's tempting to want to wear every hat you can get your hands on, it's worth remembering that launching a whole new side hustle can often take as much effort as launching your original career. "Everyone dreams of launching an app or selling a course but in truth it's a fantasy because you must still market the product and provide customer support, let alone develop it in the first place," offers Boag as a useful dose of reality. He reckons that unless you have the time to fully invest in such ventures, you're better off trying to push up the market and increase rates as you go, in order to ride out peaks and troughs. 08. Get your prices right The bread and butter of your freelancing will remain design and development work and so it's vital to get your rates right. The general consensus is to price at what the market will absorb. If you find the local market has "low fee expectations", Budd recommends you look to build a more national and international audience. When setting an initial baseline, Boag warns you should be mindful of various factors. "Too often people undercharge because they think they can charge out all of their time," he says. In truth, it's more like half when you consider weekends, public holidays and admin. And whatever rate you decide on should also be more guideline than fixed position. "If you're swamped, increase your rate," he says. "If you don't like the job, increase your price to a number that makes you willing to do it." Experience should also be a factor, as should where you're expected to work. "I charge more for stressful projects that might need speciality work like immersive WebGL development or unique UI design than I do for basic front end development or UX design," says Mielke. "If a project has an extreme deadline, needs me on-site or requires my exclusive attention, my prices increase." 09. Charge differently It's also worth considering moving away from traditional rates. "Charge by the hour and clients will try to beat you down, arguing different tasks will take less time," says Murphy. "To avoid a slippery slope of being paid less than I should be, I use a value-driven pricing model based on the client's budget and what they hope to achieve." Shillcock has a more controversial take. "I believe in pricing on value, but know those I usually work with have very specific needs. So I've created packages to give them items I'm continually asked about." The notion of fixed-pricing is anathema to some in the industry, but Shillcock says it's a good bet if you can make it work. "It made it so much easier for my ideal clients to get an idea of what I would charge, and increased my bookings." Again, remain flexible. Shillcock still offers custom pricing and retainers that don't fit into specific packages. But she doesn't regret 'packaging' work, nor think it devalues output. "If anything, it creates more value for people I want to work with and builds a huge amount of trust between myself and potential clients." Whatever your approach, Torlini says the goal should always be to deliver value to customers. "Anchor pricing relative to the benefit you deliver and you can better position the value of your services, escape the trap of being treated like a commodity and earn the right to demand higher fees." Offering value. Being creative. A decent income. That seems like the freelance dream right there. This article was originally published in issue 322 of net, the world's best-selling magazine for web designers and developers. Buy issue 322 here or subscribe here. Related articles: Survey reveals how much freelancers are really charging How to balance money and happiness as a designer 9 tools to help you work remotely as a freelancer View the full article

One of the most fun things about web design is that no matter how many intricately-defined standards there are, you can never be sure that whatever you create is going to look the same in all browsers. Even the very latest versions of the most popular browsers have different ways of handling assorted web technologies, which can affect the way your site renders; that's why cross-platform testing is so important, especially if you're relying on cutting-edge CSS animation. While inconsistencies between browsers can be infuriating, every now and then they can throw up something utterly delightful, and here's one fantastic example: the pure CSS art of Diana Smith. She creates beautiful browser-based art inspired by classic paintings, using only hand-written HTML and CSS; her latest creation, Lace (in the style of Flemish and Baroque works) is a stunning piece. 8 state-of-the-art CSS features (and how to use them) This is incredible work, if you look at it on a recent version of Chrome At least, it is as long as you're looking at it in an up-to-date version of Chrome. CSS is one of those things that never quite works the same way across various browsers, and with an image like Lace that depends on certain CSS properties behaving in the way they do in Smith's browser, you can quickly spot the differences. Firefox Quantum makes a decent fist of it, but with some rough anti-aliasing and a lack of texture to the irises, while Safari loses the plot completely, layering stuff in the wrong order and ending up with a surrealistic nightmare vision, as seen above. It's exactly the sort of thing that makes us want to deliberately feed Lace into older browsers to see just how they mess it up; thankfully Andy Baio has saved us the trouble. Having already tried Smith's previous work, Francine, in older browsers – we particularly love the almost Mondrian-like abstract effort by Internet Explorer 5.1.7 for Mac - he's given Lace the older browser treatment, with similarly fabulous results. Don't mess with Safari 10.01 It's hard to beat the spectacular ruination that Safari has bestowed upon Lace; the weird thing is that if you go back a few versions to Safari 10.1 the results are a lot less random. However there's something weird going on with the shading, making the subject look severely bruised and beaten. "My theory is that Safari 10.01 tripped down some stairs, and two versions later, Safari 13 is feeling embarrassed about it," says Baio. We adore the naive flatness of this effort Going back to an old version of Chrome – in this case Chrome 45 from 2015 – yields excellent amusement, with the subject looking like a face painted onto a balloon. But the real joy's to be had from Internet Explorer 8, which renders Lace as a glorious piece of 8-bit neo-Cubism and loses every bit of detail, but still retains a certain degree of character and expression. Internet Explorer 8's attempt is simply magnificent in its hopelessness If you fancy trying out Lace in your own collection of ancient browsers, you can find it here. And to see more of Andy Baio's mistreatment of it, head to his blog post. Related articles: 10 best CSS frameworks in 2019 How to design with CSS shapes: An introduction 3 shiny new CSS properties for you to try today View the full article

What makes a good logo design can be subjective. But there's no doubt a good logo should be instantly recognisable, even if it's for a brand that you don't identify with. But how easy is it to identify the concept logos from the ones designed for clients? Reddit user u/Amtsag1980 has posted 20 logos (below) to test just that. The 'real logos' might not be for big brands but then that's what makes the whole scenario more intriguing, and there's been plenty of love for them. If you want to compare these logos to the best ones to ever come from a designer's hand, then check out our best logos post. 20 logos, but how many are for clients? Reddit user TheRudKing picked out the logo for Sunkids as a favourite, saying, "That sunkids one is absolutely perfect." theunbranded reinforced this choice with, "The sunkids logo is extremely well executed! My personal favourite." But Buenarf was showing the love for a couple of different choices, "R visualisation and vortex are my favourites. Simple, clever, and recognisable." All good choices, though should a logo tell us what the product or service is meant to be? The text and graphic combine well in the ORMASH logo, instantly suggesting something to do with sun. And Wavy Motion is a smart bringing together of text and graphic. So how many are for real clients? Five definites, plus two more depending on how you look at it. The three logos that have Hebrew letters in them, as well as CARMIT and Evergreen are the real deal. The ORMASH logo was a redesign for a real company but it's not in use. And then there's the AM logo, which u/Amtsag1980 says they, "designed for a friend who's an industrial designer." How did you do? See the original post on Reddit here. Read more: IKEA's latest logo tweak is "amazing" Logo memory challenge befuddles participants 6 of the most iconic drinks logos View the full article

Any day now, Apple will begin selling its much-vaunted and long-overdue Mac Pro. And designers and artists all over the globe will no doubt want to upgrade to the shiny new hardware. Macs have long been a popular choice among creatives, with everything from iMacs and iMac Pros, to iPads and MacBooks being used to create incredible 2D and 3D art. But a recent surge in new creative-focused hardware and developing operating systems has opened up a lot of new options you might not previously have considered. Windows, in particular, is not the operating system it was a few decades ago and – running buttery smooth on popular devices such as the Surface Pro and HP ZBook – is seeing more creatives make the switch from macOS to Windows. If you find yourself frustrated by your current Apple-centric set-up, maybe it's time to try something new. Maybe it's time to make the switch to Windows – here are six reasons it's worth considering. 01. Making the switch is easy Windows 10: doesn’t look that scary, does it? One of the biggest reasons for sticking with Macs is macOS. We won't try and argue which one is best, as everyone has their own specific requirements. macOS is certainly secure and very easy to use – but it also has limitations in terms of flexibility, and Windows isn't the OS you knew from the ’90s. The days of endless updates, missing drivers and malware may not have gone entirely, but it’s much improved. You can easily add apps to make Windows 10 look and act just like macOS, and once you’re your working in your app of choice, there’s very little visual difference. Making the switch isn’t as painful as you might imagine. 02. Catalina cuts too deep Apple’s latest OS, named Catalina, takes away more than it adds As well as being one of the buggiest OS launches from Apple, macOS Catalina also makes some pretty sweeping cuts. Gone is support for 32-bit apps, so you can bid sayonara to any old programs you had lying around that are no longer supported. If an app hasn’t been updated to 64-bit status it simply won't work, so a lot of artists who rely on older programs are forced to stick with Mojave for the time being. OpenCL and OpenGL have also been deprecated, which feels like an app-bricking time bomb waiting to go off at some point – just ask the guys who code Blender. PCs happily support the majority of open standards and software. 03. Metal is no CUDA TurbulenceFD is a fluid dynamics plugin for Cinema4D. It runs up to 12x faster under CUDA, but most Mac users are limited to using the CPU Apple is replacing OpenCL and OpenGL with a single API called Metal. An unwanted side-effect of that is the continuing spat between Apple and Nvidia, which means no Nvidia cards are shipped in Macs, no Nvidia drivers have been signed off since macOS High Sierra, and Mac users don’t have access to CUDA (Compute Unified Device Architecture), Nvidia’s popular GPU-acceleration API. Some of the bigger developers – Adobe, Maxon, OTOY – have agreed to port their code over to Metal, but a lot of smaller devs just don’t have the resources to do so, and are caught between spending additional time on a separate codebase or abandoning the Mac platform altogether. If you use apps that are CUDA-accelerated, you need to move to a PC. 04. PCs are flexible Nvidia’s Titan RTX is a colossus of a GPU, but the chances of seeing one in a Mac are practically non-existent The new Mac Pro is the first Apple hardware for a decade that can use off-the-shelf PCIe cards, while iMacs, MacBooks and Mac minis regularly come with last-gen GPUs and CPUs. And despite the constant drive to faster silicon, Apple is notorious for not updating its hardware for many months – and, in some cases, even years. Creatives need power to do what they do – whether it’s high-res multi-layered illustrations, billion-poly visual effects or compiling code for multiple devices. Buying a PC enables you to spec the very latest components, at a budget you can afford, with the power to deliver your vision without unnecessary compromise. 05. The majority of apps are coded for PC first Affinity Photo is one of the few apps developed initially for macOS, but popular demand saw it ported to it PC anyway This is a really old argument but it’s still relevant. Apart from a handful of Mac-specific programs and the occasional oddity, like Serif’s Affinity suite, apps are written for the PC and ported to the Mac later. Mac users often have to wait months for a native macOS version – which may well be feature-limited in some way – and with the increasing restrictions implemented by Apple, there might not be a Mac version at all. Working on PC gives you options. 06. You can take baby steps So if Windows isn’t such a hurdle any more, the hardware is cheaper and more powerful, you can use all your favourite old apps, GPU-acceleration is easy and you can use as many PCIe cards as you can afford, AND you can play all the latest games in your down time… what’s stopping you from simply adding an affordable PC to your arsenal and seeing how you get on? A second computer is always useful, and you never know, you might just like it. Read more: The best MacBook Pro alternatives for designers The 8 best external hard drives and SSDs for Mac and PC users Affinity Designer 1.7 review View the full article