Rss Bot

Learning how to calibrate your monitor correctly is a must, as having a monitor that displays colour and contrast accurately ensures your work can be viewed by others as you intend. It's also useful when you need to match the colours in a digital design to a printed version. However, it’s all too easy to become accustomed to an uncalibrated monitor that displays everything with a slight colour cast, effectively tricking you with an inaccurate view of your digital creations. In some cases, once a monitor is calibrated, the before/after colour difference can be shocking. You’d be forgiven for thinking any monitor should be pre-calibrated to display at its best, but this is only the case for monitors that boast ‘factory colour calibration’. This is a feature built into high-end, premium-priced panels like the stunning Eizo ColorEdge CG319X, which we reckon is the best monitor you can buy right now. But what exactly is monitor calibration? What is monitor calibration? Calibration ensures the colour output from your monitor matches a predefined standard, such as the sRGB or Adobe RGB colour space, rather than whatever colour balance the screen happens to display after it rolls off the production line. The calibration process doesn’t actually alter anything about the monitor itself, apart from settings like brightness or contrast. Rather, a hardware monitor calibrator detects the colours emitted by your screen and creates a bespoke software profile – or look-up table – that tells your computer’s graphics card to distort its colour output to compensate for the inaccuracies of your monitor. If you don’t fancy splashing out on a hardware calibrator, there are also apps built into your computer’s operating system, as well as free online tools, that will help assist you to manually adjust your monitor’s colour output by eye. They’re useful for rectify glaring colour and contrast issues, but the human eye is simply too subjective for precise colour calibration. We strongly recommend investing in even an entry-level hardware calibrator if you’re at all serious about accurate colour – it’s the only way to get the job done properly. Here are all your options for calibrating your monitor correctly. How to calibrate your monitor (Windows) How to calibrate your monitor (Mac) The Display Calibrator Assistant built into OS X is accessed via the Displays icon in the System Preferences menu. From there, click the ‘Color’ tab, then hold down the Option key and click the ‘Calibrate…’ button. On the Introduction screen of the Display Calibrator Assistant wizard, make sure you check the Expert Mode tickbox to ensure you get all available calibration options. Online calibration tools 01. Calibrize Calibrize is a simple downloadable app that contains similar calibration tools to the built-in Windows and Mac OS X calibration utilities. Black & white boxes help you set brightness and contrast using your monitor's controls, and there are RGB gamma sliders for tuning colour. Save your new profile and you're good to go. 02. Photo Friday The Photo Friday Monitor Calibration Tool is nothing more than a webpage that displays a greyscale image. You then adjust your monitor's brightness and contrast so the black and white shapes display as instructed by the walkthrough guide. 03. The Lagom LCD Monitor Test Pages This selection of calibration web pages is very comprehensive and includes various images and charts to help you calibrate everything from black level to sharpness, along with the usual brightness, contrast and gamma options. It's one of the best online calibration tools out there, though some of the available options aren't of much use for creatives. Buying a monitor calibrator: Things to consider No matter how closely you follow an online or operating system calibration process, there’s always going to be a weak link in the process: the human eye. Even if you have perfect vision, the eye just isn’t an objective judge of colour balance or consistency. There are plenty of optical illusions that highlight the eye’s fallibility, so to get around the problem and calibrate your screen properly, there really is no alternative but to splash out on an electronic eye: a dedicated monitor calibrator, also known as a colorimeter. See our guide to the best monitor calibrators around or read on for our top two picks. These nifty gadgets are usually about the size of a computer mouse and only require a USB connection. Simply hang it over the top of the screen so it rests in the middle, then corresponding software flashes various different colours over a period of several minutes for the all-seeing eye to detect. The calibrator then feeds the colour data back to the software so it can create a custom colour profile to apply to Windows or OS X. Colorimeters aren’t the only hardware you can use for monitor calibration. Spectrophotometers look identical and do the same job, but will also calibrate your printer, as they’re capable of analysing both emitted light from monitors and also light reflected off printed colour swatches. The only downside is price, as spectrophotometers usually cost considerably more than a monitor-only calibrator. Once the calibration is done, you’re still not quite home and dry. The brightness and colour reproduction of any monitor will fluctuate over time, so to keep everything consistent you should repeat the calibration process once every few months. Top monitor calibrators X-Rite’s ColorMunki Display is an entry-level device that can really help you calibrate your monitor correctly When it comes to choosing a monitor calibrator, two brands dominate: X-Rite Pantone, and Datacolor. Both produce excellent products to suit a variety of price points and feature requirements. And the best bit is you don’t need to drop big bucks on a range-topping calibrator to get accurate calibration. Even an entry-level tool like X-Rite’s ColorMunki Display will calibrate your monitor super-accurately. Spending more money will get you extra features like multi-monitor calibration, as well as ambient light monitoring that’ll tell you the optimal screen brightness to suit your studio environment Datacolor's SpyderX Pro is a speedy option for monitor calibration Higher-end calibrators also tend to be quicker, as a calibrator like Datacolor’s SpyderX Pro is able to calibrate a monitor in well under two minutes. That’s useful when you need to calibrate regularly to ensure your monitor is consistently displaying colour-critical designs. Read more: How to master colour theory The best monitors for video editing The best monitors for programming right now View the full article

Contemporary jewellery company Pandora has revealed a new logo (above) that pushes the definition of sans serif to the absolute limit. The logo sees the trusty Optima typeface ditched in favour of a new design that contains some of the subtlest serifs we've ever seen. The rebrand, which first started rolling out back in August, also sees Pandora adopt a bubblegum pink as its brand colour. But it's the logo's lettering that has attracted the attention of the design community, thanks to is almost imperceptible serifs. Our guide to logo design highlights the importance of typography when creating a brand identity, so has Pandora got it right? In some ways, yes, in some ways, no. The old typeface Optima might have been a safe choice when it comes to logo lettering, having previously been used by the likes of Yahoo and Jaguar, but more and more companies are choosing to leave it behind. So at least Pandora doesn't look like it's lumbered with a font that's fallen out of favour. The previous logo used Optima, and had a clearer crown image And in Optima's place is a font that Brand New has described as "99% sans serif". It's a good way of summing up the typeface, which has flicks so subtle we'd forgive you for not noticing them. And while this new lettering is certainly understated, we think it's a step up from the previous iteration. It's not all good news though. One of the signature elements of the Pandora logo, the crown that sits above the letter 'o', has had its bottom line removed. This threatens to make the imagery unclear, and means the letter looks more like a ring than anything else. Which may not be such a bad thing for a jewellery company. In a press release from Pandora, the company said that the rebrand aims to deliver a "fresh, modern tone". This can be seen in the pink that now dominates Pandora's identity, a colour which it describes as the "new main marker and recognisable statement across all consumer touchpoints." The new Pandora icon, and pink colour, as it will appear on social media Speaking of recognisable statements across all consumer touchpoints, the crowned letter 'o' will be used as Pandora's social media avatar. On the face of it this might seem like a strange choice. After all, wouldn't the letter 'p' be more appropriate? But when you consider that Pandora's jewellery is based on charms that slide onto a bracelet, the decorated 'o' is a convenient shorthand for the products it offers. Related articles: Logo swap is surprisingly disturbing Is this the most blatant logo theft ever? World Cup 2022 logo revealed View the full article

3D isn't an easy creative discipline to learn. Just the basics of creating good-looking 3D models can take a while to get to grips with, and that's before you get to the technical challenges such as lighting, rigging and rendering. Anyone with an eye on 3D is likely to be horrified by the price tags attached to some of the best 3D modelling software. However if you're looking to learn but don't have the budget to match, there are plenty of free options available. Here are nine of the best, starting with basic stuff for beginners and moving on to more advanced packages suitable for experienced 3D professionals. 3D art: 28 amazing examples to inspire you 01. SculptGL Teach yourself 3D sculpting in the browser For beginners wanting to get a feel for sculpting in 3D, it's hard to go far wrong with Stéphane Ginier's SculptGL. It's a free digital sculpting app that runs in the browser – you can also get it as a Chrome app and standalone version – and it comes with plenty of features to get you started with 3D sculpting with a mouse or tablet. There are assorted brushes and manipulation tools to try, plus PBR vertex painting and alpha texture support, as well as multi-resolution sculpting, voxel remeshing and dynamic topology, and it'll export your work as an OBJ, PLY or STL. 02. Wings 3D Wings 3D is an ideal first taste of 3D modelling If 3D modelling's something you want to try, Wings 3D is a great way to dip a toe in the water. It's a pure modelling app that lets you build a basic 3D model out of polygons and then smooth it out by subdividing the mesh. It's a fairly basic experience with a slightly unusual customisable interface, but it's designed to be easy to use and supports lights and materials as well as having a built-in AutoUV mapping facility. 03. Tinkercad Autodesk's Tinkercad helps you explore the basics of 3D Designed as an introduction to Autodesk's more heavyweight CAD tools, Tinkercad is a set of free online tools to get you started not only with 3D, but also with electronics and designing with code. Built with teachers, kids, hobbyists and designers in mind, it's all about placing, adjusting and combining objects to create designs, and comes with a whole stack of tutorials to get you started, and when you're done you can export your work for 3D printing or export a slice as an SVG file for laser cutting. 04. Daz Studio With Daz Studio you can create in 3D without all the modelling 3D modelling isn't for everyone, but even if you can't get your head around it, there are still some great options for creating 3D art without having to deal with polygons and subdivisions. Daz Studio doesn't have any modelling tools, but with it you can build complex 3D scenes and animation using a vast library of ready-made people, animals, props, vehicles, accessories and environments. For beginners there are plenty of in-app interactive tutorials to help you get to grips with its features, so you can start learning about things like lighting, texturing and rigging, and once you've completed your 3D masterpiece, you can render it at photo-realistic quality to use however you want. 05. Clara.io Clara.io's cloud-based system is easy to get started with A cloud-based 3D tool that runs in your web browser, Clara.io gives you all the 3D modelling, animation and rendering tools you need to create and share 3D models and photo-realistic renders. It features a load of powerful modelling tools enabling you to do everything from tweaking an existing model through to building your own creation, and it uses VRay cloud rendering with an enormous material library and flexible lighting setups. And while it's web-based, Clara.io's front end is modelled on traditional desktop tools, so it's easy to get started with and should leave you ready to adapt if you decide to move onto a more heavyweight app. 06. Sculptris Sculptris works as a fantastic free introduction to ZBrush's tools Based on Pixologic's ZBrush, Sculptris is the ideal free 3D modelling app to move on to once you've exhausted the possibilities of SculptGL. Designed as an accessible, easy-to-use app for any type of artist, it uses dynamic tessellation with automatic subdivision to enable you get sculpting immediately, and features an intuitive, immersive interface with navigational controls similar to those in ZBrush. If you want to take your work further, it's easy to export to ZBrush for additional refinement. Sculptris is no longer in development, but it's still available as a free download. 07. Blender Blender might be free, but it's still one of the best 3D packages available The undisputed king of free 3D software, Blender is an immensely powerful tool for 3D creation that can handle just about everything much more expensive packages can do, from modelling and texturing through to rendering and compositing. There are also plenty of helpful Blender tutorials out there to help you learn the ropes. It's available for all major operating systems, and while it's traditionally had a bit of a reputation for being just a little too open-source in its look and feel, the most recent update has seen it adopt more industry-standard interface. So now it has a right-click context menu, as well as keyboard shortcuts that do exactly what you'd expect if you're used to other packages. 08. Bforartists Bforartists is basically Blender with a friendlier interface With Blender adopting a more standardised look, there's possibly less of a need for Bforartists, but it's definitely worth checking out if you're still not keen on Blender's user interface. It's a fork of Blender that's aimed primarily at artists, and which has been created to be much easier to use, with a much improved and intuitive graphical UI. This shouldn't come at the expense of functionality, though; the development team promises that every feature that works in Blender should also work in Bforartists. 09. Terragen You can't get much better than Terragen for creating incredible landscapes When you're thinking big on a 3D project, you need something that can create a suitably impressive world, and Terragen fits the bill in every respect. It's a powerful took for building amd rendering realistic natural environments; if you can imagine a landscape, Terragen can make it. The free version is for personal use only (although you can use it commercially on a 30-day trial basis) and comes with a few limitations over the full version, but it's an ideal way to explore Terragen's stunning world-creation tools. Related articles: Why 2D artists need to learn 3D 10 ways to build better 3D world environments How to land your dream job in 3D View the full article

Zendesk says access occurred in 2016 and that only a small percentage of customers were impacted. View the full article

The Microsoft 2019 event came to a close just a few hours ago, and it's fair to say the company has been pretty busy recently. During the almost two-hour event, Microsoft revealed six new and updated products, which was super-exciting (and the arrival of which means we're no doubt looking at some cracking Black Friday Microsoft deals this year). Speculation about a dual-screen device being revealed at the event has been rife over the past few months, and we were fully expecting to see a dual-screen laptop surface (no pun intended). But Microsoft had other ideas, and very impressive they were too, we have to admit. First up, it announced not just one, but two dual-screen devices. The first being the Surface Neo, an exceedingly cool-looking dual-screen tablet. But what came next was what looks like Microsoft's niftiest device to date, the Surface Duo. On this new foldable phone – sorry, "communications device" – Microsoft partnered with Google to bring to market what Panos Panay, chief product officer of Microsoft Corporation’s Microsoft Devices group, referred to as "the best of Android in one product". The handheld device boasts two 5.6-inch displays, which are joined by a centre hinge, and fully unfolded lie flat as a 8.3-inch (diagonal) surface. The design is clearly the selling point here, Microsoft was much more reserved on other details (such as price, for example). We do know that it's powered by a Qualcomm processor, the Snapdragon 855, and of course, runs on Android. But we can't ignore the design, which is unlike anything we've ever seen, and the appeal of which we're sure Microsoft is counting on to keep consumers' interest. The Duo adds to a feeling of growing functionality crossover between devices, so we're interested to see exactly who Microsoft is aiming the Duo at and how and when it would be more beneficial than say a Surface Pro or an iPad (aside from the obvious portability and phone capabilities). But we've got high hopes, and who knows, maybe we'll see it top our list of the best camera phones one day? Microsoft commented on the new device in its blog post: "With Surface Duo we are building upon Android to marry cutting edge hardware with familiar software and services. We’re excited to work with developers and the industry to create the next wave of dual-screen computing and unlock a new era of mobile creativity." And of the overall Surface range, Panay said: "These new products are about empowering you to be your most productive, and your most creative." So far there are very little details around when the Surface Duo will be available to buy, with Microsoft simply saying 'Holiday 2020'. If you can't wait that long for the new Surface range to hit the shelves, here are the all the top current models at the very best prices in your area: Read more: The best laptops for graphic design Surface Pro 6 review The best Microsoft Surface deals in 2019 View the full article

Multiyear campaigns stretching back to at least 2014 have been seen using zero-days in region-specific software. View the full article

Microsoft has certainly upped its game in recent years, and the Microsoft Surface range has become a firm favourite among artists and designers. So much so, the Surface Book tops the list in our roundup of the best laptops for graphic design and the Surface Pro 6 maintains a firm position in our pick of the best tablets with a stylus. However, the company has just taken things to the next level, as it announced a whole slew of new products at its Microsoft Event in New York. We'll be breaking down all the new devices and what they offer over the next few days, but for now we're going to concentrate on one of the really cool bits: Microsoft's new FOLDABLE tablet, the Surface Neo. The Surface Neo is essentially a dual-screen foldable tablet, which houses the Surface Pen in the back. It includes a magnetic foldable keyboard, and there's even a trackpad. In short, it's got all the accessories you'll ever want in a tablet, but they all fold away nicely into one nifty little device. The Surface Neo also looks good (seriously, watch out, Apple). It is 5.6mm thin, and includes the thinnest LCD ever created. It weighs just 655 grams and has a 360 degree hinge, which we severely hope will be strong enough to withstand being flipped around all day (let's hope it won't be a repeat of Samsung's foldable phones). The Surface Neo is powered by Microsoft’s new OS, Windows 10X, which has been designed especially for dual-screen devices such as the Surface Neo (and the new foldable phone, the Surface Duo). It also boasts a new Intel Lakefield processor, which includes an 11th Generation Intel graphics solution. The Surface Neo consists of two 9-inch screens and the neat part is that apps adapt across the two screens, meaning that they display content in a sensible and logical way across both screens (or so we saw at the demonstration). Why would you want a two screen tablet? Well, you might want to open the link in an email on a second screen to look at later. You might be watching something on Netflix, only to receive a phonecall or remember you need to do something on your email. That's when you can easily move your Netflix screen to the other screen, and you can even choose what portion of the screen it takes up. You can choose, for example, to have your content in the 'Wonder Bar' – like a Touch Bar on the Mac but much bigger, and with emojis – while you deal with something else. Basically, what we're saying is, you could be watching Netflix while you answer your emails or create in a drawing app, for example. Or you could be doing two things at the same time, on the go, in lots of different configurations. Microsoft talked a lot about being in the "flow" at the event, and we can see how a device like this will help seamlessly switching between tasks. The speakers also talked a lot about symphonies, and although we'll probably wait and see before we invest in the entire "orchestra" of products, we're pretty convinced that the Surface Neo will be worth checking out. The Microsoft Surface Neo (right) compared to the Microsoft Surface Duo (left) The Surface Neo is coming in "holidays 2020". We'll assume that means it'll be available around this time next year. But rest assured we'll be keeping a close eye on it and will report back with any new details as and when they arrive. We'll also be getting a hands-on review as soon as we can. If you can't wait that long to get your hands on a Surface device, or one screen is more than enough, here are the best prices on other models in your area. And with Microsoft Black Friday just around the corner, we're sure to see even more top deals in the weeks to come. Read more: Surface Pro 6 review The best laptops for students in 2019 The best laptops for graphic design View the full article

Elusive street art legend Banksy has set up his own homeware shop in response to a greeting card company that tried to obtain legal rights to the name 'Banksy'. To accompany the launch of the online store, named Gross Domestic Product, Banksy has also set up a mock showroom installation in Croydon, South London. Appearing out of the blue on Tuesday on the site of a former carpet shop, the Gross Domestic Product installation contains the clever mix of warped pop culture icons and charged social commentary we've come to expect from the artist. And that includes the Union Jack vest worn by Stormzy at this year's Glastonbury festival. The Gross Domestic Product installation will be in Croydon for the next two weeks. And on Instagram, Banksy added that it's for display purposes only. "I’m opening a shop today (although the doors don't actually open)," he said. "It’s in Croydon. Probably best viewed at night." A flyer from the installation reveals why Banksy felt the need to set up a shop where "art irritates life". "This shop has come about as a result of legal action," the flyer reads. "A greetings cards company are trying to sieze [sic] legal custody of the name Banksy from the artist, who has been advised the best way to prevent this is to sell his own range of branded merchandise." The products in question will retail from £10 upwards, and are said to be "handmade in the UK using existing or recycled materials wherever possible. Including the ideas." Items in the shop include sofa cushions emblazoned with the message "Life's too short to take advice from a cushion" and a gravestone that reads "You have now reached your destination". According to The Guardian, proceeds from the sales will go towards buying a new migrant recuse boat to replace one that was confiscated by Italian authorities. If you want to pick up a Gross Domestic Product original and help raise funds for a worthy cause, bookmark the store's homepage, which currently displays a flooded shop floor with the message: "The homewares store from Banksy. Opening soon." Related articles: How to change the font in your Instagram bio Instagram designers: Who to follow for creative inspiration How to hack the Instagram algorithm View the full article

PDFex can bypass encryption and password protection in most PDF readers and online validation services View the full article

Adobe MAX 2019 is almost here, and Adobe is generating hype by announcing updates to its popular tools. We've already heard that a "magical" new Content-Aware Fill tool is on its way, not to mention a game-changing update to Adobe XD. But now Adobe has announced that Keyframes will be coming soon to its Character Animator tool, which it promises will open up countless creative possibilities for animators. If you're not familiar with Adobe Character Animator, it allows users to bring to life artwork that they've imported from Photoshop or Illustrator. It does this with the help of real-time motion capture recorded by a microphone and a webcam. Get Adobe Creative Cloud here The app is geared towards creating animated videos quickly, and its limited features mean that up until now it's only been capable of making characters talk or move on the spot. All that is set to change with Keyframes though. Character Animator users will soon be able to control parameters such as position, scale and rotation. Not only that, but behaviour properties such as head tilts or eyebrow movements can be keyframed at specific points. As well as being able to create precision animations more easily, users will be able to make edits on-the-fly to give their live performances added impact. An inline graph also gives users more control over the timing of their animations. Take a sneak peek at everything Adobe Character Animator Keyframes have to offer with the video below. Other Adobe platforms such as After Effects and Premiere Pro already use the Keyframes feature to great effect, so its transition to Character Animator is sure to go down a storm. And with live animation performances growing in popularity, it makes sense for Adobe to tap into the demand of its users. Related articles: How to move from animation to illustration Understand Disney's 12 principles of animation 10 ways to create better character animations View the full article

With vector and raster tools combined, Affinity Designer is an affordable yet powerful alternative to Adobe CC. It’s available for Mac, PC and also iPad. 

In this tutorial we're going to run you through the Effects panel, and how to create and use styles to apply effects quickly. The Effects panel enables you to apply non-destructive effects to your vector objects – you can toggle on and off and tweak elements of the effects. Styles can be used to capture the steps required to create a certain effect. These can be saved as a template to be reused on future objects, ensuring consistency and saving time. Watch the video tutorial below for a speedy run-through of the basics, or read on for a written guide. More in the Affinity Designer tools series: Using constraints Using Grids The Pen tool The Export persona The Pixel persona View the full article

Having a strong online presence is vital in order for artists and designers to succeed in the ever-competitive creative industry. But while building a beautiful home in WordPress is relatively simple, maintaining it online can be tricky for those unfamiliar with the ways of the web. Until now. Introducing Kinsta, a WordPress hosting service that makes managing your website a cinch. Equipped with all the latest technologies and managed by WordPress experts, Kinsta does all the hard work for you, at a very affordable cost. So whether you’re looking to set up your first website, or are an experienced web developer without the time or resources to maintain your online space, Kinsta has you covered every step of the way. A service like no other The Kinsta team has worked with WordPress for the last decade, developing new and improved ways of WordPress hosting. So not only are all the technical aspects of managing your website covered, Kinsta also comes packed with brilliant features to help you get the most from your online home. One of the main things that separates Kinsta from other WordPress hosting providers is its use of the Google Cloud platform. This means its sites are hosted on and supported by the same state-of-the art infrastructure created and maintained by Google (think Google search, Google Maps and YouTube). On top of that rock-solid infrastructure, Kinsta boasts some impressive architecture, which includes state-of-the-art technology to make your websites load at lightning speed. Not satisfied with the performance and usability of existing control panel solutions, Kinsta also replaces the familiar control dashboard cPanel with its own MyKinsta dashboard. Designed with beginners in mind, the MyKinsta portal is also packed with advanced features and tools that experienced developers will love. Easy to use and navigate, the portal allows tasks such as creating new WordPress websites, updating any installed plugins and managing backups. The MyKinsta portal is easy for beginners to use, but also packed with advanced features that experienced developers will love And you needn't worry about security. It’s high protection network means your site is monitored around the clock, with both active and passive measures in place to stop malware in its tracks. DDoS attack detection, software-based restrictions, SSL support and hardware firewalls and continuous monitoring for uptime means you can relax, safe in the knowledge that your content is fully protected 24/7. Easy migration So that’s all great if you’re just setting up your own WordPress website, but what about if you want to migrate an existing site to Kinsta from another web hosting company? This process can be hugely time consuming, costly and not to mention confusing if you’re not wise to the web. But Kinsta has made the whole process super-simple, and, most importantly, is set up so you won't incur any downtime. The company offers different types of migration, depending on the plan you choose, type of WordPress site you have and the number of sites you need to migrate. That said, all of Kinsta’s plans include one or more premium migration plan credits, with the website detailing every plan you might need and how it works. But if you're struggling to make sense of it, fear not. Kinsta’s expert migration team will take care of everything for you, assigning a temporary domain to your migrated site and checking everything before going live. Super support Kinsta has WordPress experts standing by to help you, 24/7 The WordPress hosting service Kinsta provides is second-to-none, evidence of which was seen in an independent test from Review Signal, which, for the fifth year in a row, rewarded Kinsta with the Top Tier WordPress Hosting Performance award. So if you want to spend less time worrying about your website and more time on what you do best – being creative – Kinsta is the perfect web hosting solution. View the full article

Malware laced OpenDocument files target Microsoft Office, OpenOffice and LibreOffice users. View the full article

Here's our pick of the best JavaScript APIs around right now, plus a guide to getting started using them. These will help you add new and interesting functionality to your sites and apps. A word of warning: many of these APIs are still in development, so make sure you check browser support before you start using them, and provide fallbacks where necessary. For more awesome plugins to explore, take a look at our guides to the best HTML APIs and Google APIs. The best web hosting services in 2019 01. Modify browser settings Read more: Mozilla summary While the browser usually is 'above' any code running in it, a Mozilla-derived API allows JavaScript limited access to browser settings. Think about aspects such as reading the user's homepage, how bookmarks are handled, and where new tabs show up. 02. File APIs Read more: W3C summary Handling large amounts of persistent data always was a bit of a problem for web apps. The W3C file API combines some of the concepts used by various vendors — please do keep in mind that full filesystem access is usually not granted, mostly for security reasons. 03. Microsoft Cognitive services Read more: Microsoft summary Artificial intelligence requires extreme amounts of training data — logically, vendors are not motivated to provide these models to their customers. Instead, developers are allowed to send payloads to a server, which is then analysed on-line. While all of the large cloud vendors offer more or less sophisticated artificial intelligence services, Microsoft stands out by its focus on AI features. The API offers are subsumed under the term cognitive services; you can access features such as advanced image recognition services. For example, the snapshot accompanying this box shows the AI being used to recognize Microsoft's CEO from a press photo — other features are related to video, handwriting and sound recognition and transcription. While the quality of output usually is very high, do keep in mind that continued usage is all but cheap — as time goes by, usage charges can and do add up. 04. Open Government APIs Read more: Data.gov summary Democratically elected representatives usually show great skill at transforming money. The concept of open government means that the results of these works are made available via (usually open) APIs, allowing third-party developers to perform all kinds of data harvesting magic. One especially interesting area concerns transportation: public transport services tend to provide APIs with live locations of their vehicles and the frequencies seen on the route network. This is not done out of pure altruism: when done right, a "local traffic" application for a specific city or town can quickly climb the ranks of the local app store. The government does not need to invest resources into the creation of the service, while the developer — usually — makes a neat buck selling ad space due to the locally limited audience. In addition to these APIs, developers are also usually let loose on other things. The French government, for example, will provide relatively detailed capabilities for looking up addresses. 05. HERE mapping API Read more: HERE summary Competition, by definition, is good. Here is Nokia's former mapping division, and offers developers a "third party" alternative to the mapping services by the big three. One interesting aspect is the extremely simple API, which makes downloading tiles a breeze. 06. OpenStreetMap API Read more: MapBox summary OpenStreetMap does not provide ready-to-display maps. Instead, a rendering service, such as CartoType, will be needed. When working on a website, creating a dedicated rendering system is a bit of work — MapBox provides a convenient pay-per-use alternative. 07. Master of linguistics Read more: Microsoft reference Programs dealing with user-generated content can score brownie points by offering an integrated translation service. A client for Twitter or Gab could, for example, translate English texts to Russian to make them easier to handle for that audience. While "machine-based translation systems" are among the oldest research fields in IT, developing a workable machine translator by hand is difficult. Microsoft's Translation API recently was updated to version 3.0, and is a one-stop shop for all problems of babelese scope. In addition to performing translations between language pairs, the service can also be used to find out which language a specific text is in. You can then use this data to configure lesser APIs such as the spell checker. Finally, idioms and individual words can also be sent into a dictionary query. The information returned is situation dependent — in some cases, Microsoft can even return dozens of idioms to help understanding. 08. Off-screen canvas API Read more: Google reference Developers once used a technique called double buffering to render graphics without flickering. Google has introduced something similar — it creates an off screen window where graphics can be "staged" at high performance. 09. NASA Read more: NASA summary Microsoft's decision to provide Windows Phone 7 users with an occasional curated wallpaper drove ripples through the industry. Given that pictures of Space are always popular, why not go right to the source and grab yourself a few from the never-ending store of NASA? 10. Get Slack data Read more: Slack summary Slack established itself as the go-to tool for "modern project management". Should you ever feel like using data contained in such a project, get yourself an API token and hack away. When done right, your web application can even integrate itself into the Slack GUI. 11. YouTube API Read more: Google summary A YouTube channel is only as good as the analytics which stand behind it. Google's YouTube Data API might not be particularly spiffy, but does provide — among other things — valuable insights into your audience's behaviour. 12. Payment Request API Read more: W3C summary The first JavaScript API we're looking at is the Payment Request API. When creating an ecommerce website, lots of thought goes into improving the checkout flow to make sure the experience is as smooth and pain-free as possible. Entering payment details remains a repetitive process. If any field is slightly wrong, the whole process breaks and it needs to be started again. On the developer’s side, making sure the right validation checks are in place for each payment method is a time-consuming process. The Payment Request API does away with this part of the checkout experience. The page can request the information it needs and the browser provides the user with the fields to enter. The user only needs to enter their details once, and they can be used across different websites and transactions. Depending on the device, they can even use the payment methods linked to the user account, such as Google and Apple Pay. The object takes a few parameters that describe the payment that should take place. The first details the payment methods accepted. These can be different types of payment cards, as well as details for integrating with other third-party payment solutions. There is even scope to include another web application as a payment method by using the Payment Handler API. The second is a breakdown of what is being purchased. This can be in any format that makes sense to the transaction. This also includes options for shipping costs, which can be calculated based on other factors, such as delivery address. There is also a third, optional argument to specify any extra information that needs to be collected, such as an email address or contact number. 13. CSS Layout API Read more: W3C summary As a general rule, your website layout should be left down to CSS. With JavaScript, handling changes to layout is prone to poor performance and lots of manual upkeep. But what happens if a site requires a non-standard layout? The traditional grid-like placement that CSS provides may not work for more creative design ideas. The Layout API enables developers to create their own layout modules, much like the existing grid or flex modules in use today. By defining the rules it should work to, the API can place items anywhere within its containing element. It is the second Houdini API to make it to browsers. Houdini introduced the concept of ‘worklets’, which work similar to web workers but are highly specialised in one activity. The Layout API works through a specific layout worklet. These get registered with the browser, which enables them to be picked up in CSS. A layout worklet has one method called layout, which deals with the positioning of elements. It runs as a generator function, enabling it to run in parallel to the rest of the page to keep everything running smoothly. The first parameter is a reference to the immediate child elements of the one the layout is applied to. Size data is available from the second and third parameters. One provides position and dimension information about the element being styled, with the other defining the constraints the element has to work within. The final parameter describes the rest of the styles of the element, including any custom properties it may be interested in. A custom module is applied by using the usual display property on an element. It uses the layout function, along with the name of the worklet. 14. Credential Management API Read more: W3C summary Instead of having to remember lots of individual login details, users can log in with the credentials stored within the browser. That way, users on multiple devices can have their details follow them around without needing to log in each time. While a browser’s autocomplete feature may reduce the friction with entering the password itself, the Credential Management API can automatically log a user in as soon as they hit the page. It can also log in using other forms of authentication, such as a public key or through an authentication provider like OpenID. 15. CSS Paint API Read more: W3C guide or Google Developers summary CSS and JavaScript are often seen as separate parts of a website – only ever coming together in small ways, such as adding a class name. Developers have few opportunities to change how the browser decides to render a page other than directly updating the DOM. That is all set to change in the next year as a new set of specifications start to land in browsers. They provide access to the render pipeline in the browser through JavaScript, to help developers finely tune the browser’s actions to their needs. The Houdini task force is comprised of a collection of people from browser and technology companies. They have the aim of opening up the way everything renders in the browser in a way that makes it readily approachable for developers. This includes layouts, fonts and animations. The first specification already hitting browsers is the CSS Paint API (also known as CSS Custom Paint). This API enables you to programmatically generate an image whenever a CSS property expects one. Use JavaScript to generate dynamic backgrounds, borders and image masks and apply them in CSS without a heavy performance hit. It's about to be enabled by default in Chrome Stable. The Paint API uses a paint worklet to define what the browser should do each time it needs to update the screen. Each paint can use a new version of the worklet, which means that any persistent data should be stored elsewhere. The paint callback method gets passed three values. The first is the context, which works much like a canvas context. It can be drawn upon in the same way and has most of the same capabilities, but as this can be called multiple times a second it should be kept simple. The second value provides information about the element being painted, such as its height and width. This can be used to make sure the end result fits perfectly each time it gets used. The final value contains all the style properties on the object. This includes any input custom properties defined within the getter. These use the Typed Object Model – another new Houdini feature that makes CSS values easier to digest in JavaScript. The last call registers the worklet with the browser and opens it up to the CSS side. To use within CSS, it involves a one-line function. The passed value is the name of the effect provided when registering the worklet. The API and its associated worklet is available in Chrome and Opera, while it remains a key focus for Safari, Firefox and Samsung Internet browsers. While the specification is nearing completion, expect to see it hit those browsers soon. Later iterations on the specification provide a mechanism for supplying arguments against the CSS function, similar to how gradients are currently defined. This enables easier customisation without having to apply custom properties. Other options, such as defining an alpha channel for layering, are also being considered. 16. Web Animations API Read more: W3C guide Animation with JavaScript has historically had a bad rap. Moving elements by changing position values causes lots of repaints and results in poor performance. CSS animations are the better choice, but they are hard to manipulate on the fly. The Web Animations API provides access to the same animation engine that powers the CSS side. Every element has an animate method, which takes a series of keyframes plus either a settings object or a duration. This returns an animation object, which can then be updated to play, pause and adjust the playback speed. There is added benefit coming from Houdini, with animation worklets. These work on a similar syntax to the API, but allow for finer control. They can be controlled by inputs other than time, such as scroll or touch position. This is still in development – to find out more, head over to the Chrome developer blog. Support for the Web Animations API itself is small but is quickly growing. By using feature detection, those who have support for it can feel the benefits straight away. 17. Writable Files API The long-term goal of web applications is to get them to be on the same level as their native counterparts. Some functionality, however, remains lacking – particularly around managing local files. Writing files currently involves creating a download and saving to a specific directory. Saving iterations over a specific file will create multiple copies, which is not always a good experience. The Writable Files API will provide developers with more flexibility and enable users to decide where files should be stored. This opens the door to more fully featured projects on the web, such as an online code editor or complex graphics applications. This API is currently part of Google’s capabilities project. It’s currently in the process of gathering feedback on potential features before it hits the browser in an origin trial. Issues around security, and what kind of files can be written where, need to be ironed out before the API can be made official. 18. Generic Sensor API Read more: W3C guide The sensors on the devices we carry around every day are a great way of providing extra benefit to an application. Using the physical environment, such as with an accelerometer, can provide added immersion for creative experience. If we already have events for these kinds of things, why is there a new API? Devices are constantly changing and adding new and varied sensors. To save having to create new APIs for each new sensor that comes out, the Generic Sensor API creates a simplified interface for them all. While the API is still in development, Chrome and Firefox both include it behind flags to play around with. Other browsers have it under consideration for the future. 19. Paint Timing API Read more: W3C guide Performance is a big focus this year. Getting file sizes down can help, but there is more to performance than what gets downloaded to the browser. The browser ‘paints’ its contents onscreen every time something changes. Until that first paint happens, users will be left staring at a blank screen. When it gets hung up in other details, such as downloading assets or processing JavaScript, the time to that first paint can take longer. The Paint Timing API keeps detailed information on two events – the first paint and the first ‘contentful’ paint, which refers to something more than just styling, such as text or an image. The PerformanceObserver interface describes what to do when these events occur. This can then be used to send the data to a server for analysis later on. Right now, this is only available in Chrome and Opera, but other browsers such as Edge and Safari have both shown an interest and will possibly include it in the future. 20. Web Speech API Try a demo Read more: W3C guide This API is made of two parts – synthesis and recognition. Speech synthesis will take text supplied to it and read it out in the voice chosen by the user. The SpeechSynthesis object provides access to all the different options, including what it should say. Recognition involves taking a microphone input and understanding the words being said. The SpeechRecognition object is used to detect the speech, which will fire a ‘result’ with what it thinks the user said and how confident it is. The synthesis side of the API is supported in all major browsers. Speech recognition support is currently limited to Chrome with a prefix, or Firefox with a flag enabled. There are discussions to expand the recognition side to include other inputs, including WebRTC to provide real-time transcripts of video conferencing. While these are still in the early stages, it could help make webinars and online presentations more accessible and easier to reference in the future. 21. Intersection Observer Read more: W3C summary This JavaScript API can be used to understand the visibility and position of DOM elements (known as 'targets') relative to a containing element (the 'root'). Use it to fire a callback whenever an element enters and exits a certain area. This API is best for lazy loading or infinite scroll effects. 22. Reporting Observer Read more: W3C summary Part of the Reporting API, Reporting Observers observe some types of reports from JavaScript. Use them to get notified when the browser has to intervene – for example, if it has to provide a fallback for a slow-loading font. 23. OffscreenCanvas Read more: Google Developers summary Drawing to a <canvas> is an expensive task for a browser. This new API enables you to render graphics off the main thread, without hitting the DOM. 24. Internationalisation API Read more: MDN web docs Known by the namespace Intl, the ECMAScript Internationalization API provides language-sensitive string comparison, number formatting, and date and time formatting. Use it to avoid sending heavy libraries and show dates, numbers and strings in a format that makes sense in the user’s location. 25. GraphQL Read more: GraphQL While this is not an API in the strictest sense, GraphQL is something that always deserves a mention when it comes to discussing APIs. The method to the madness relates to queries running against servers containing an object store. Instead of forcing developers to create an access API for each and every element, a "generic" query language is established. The developer of an API must then provide a standardised description of the objects contained within: In the next step, fire off one or more queries against these formalised descriptions. An example against a (fictional) human database would look like this: GraphQL capable servers react by returning a JSON object containing the wanted fields. Due to space constraints, we can not elaborate this topic further – this tutorial does, however, provide an interesting overview. This is an edited version of articles that originally appeared in Web Designer magazine. Read more: The best WordPress websites A coder's guide to APIs Get started with the Web Audio API View the full article

Over the course of our lives we all acquire things. Some are inevitably tossed aside as we move through various stages of our career, graduating from flat shares to owning our first home and ‘upgrading’ our lives. Other items take on a deeper meaning and occupy a firm place in our surroundings. We might find ourselves drawn to certain objects for comfort, or to find meaning. A splash-out purchase bought with your first pay cheque; a graphic design book that changed the trajectory of your career; a ticket stub from the night we met our spouse. In this special feature we’ve invited industry leaders in design, illustration, art and architecture to wax lyrical about objects that have inspired and influenced their creative lives. And we do mean industry leaders : there's swissmiss Tina Roth Eisenberg (this page), Aaron Draplin and Merijn Hos (page 2), Sidonie Warren (page 3), Dong-Ping Wong and Jon Cockley (page 5), Jessica Hische (page 6), and Benjamin Van Oost (page 7). From old records to handwritten postcards, rare flea market finds or relics from childhood, our eight creatives share their stories and reveal the truth behind why their chosen objects mean so much to them. Tina Roth Einsberg Tina Roth Eisenberg is a Swiss born, raised and trained graphic designer. In 1999 she came to New York for a three-month design internship and never left. Often referred to as swissmiss after her popular blog, over the past 13 years Tina started numerous side-projects that have organically turned into businesses: a creative co-working community called FRIENDS; a global, monthly lecture series called CreativeMornings; a simple to-do app called TeuxDeux; and Tattly, a high-end temporary tattoo shop. She lives in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, with her two children Ella and Tilo who are teaching her the art of making slime and building forts. Notes from the Underground, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky “A paper sculpture work crafted by Stephen Doyle, the book stands open, with words seemingly exploding out of it, masterfully assembled with an X-ACTO knife and a glue gun, the box was custom made. “I remember standing there, completely out of words, overcome with joy and gratitude. This was the most generous gift I have ever been given,” reveals Einsberg. “And it is now my all-time favourite object I own. It was gifted to me during a particularly turbulent time in my personal life, a time when I was redefining my life from the ground up. For me, this sculpture represents the notion of rebirth and a sense of potential.” Leaning in sculpture “My father, who lives in Switzerland, suffered a stroke last year and had to move into a nursing home to get the care he needs. It was an emotional moment to see my dad, who always was a strong, entrepreneurial force in my life, losing his independence.” says Einsberg. “When I went to visit him in the nursing home, I noticed an artist exhibit in the entryway and fell in love with this statue by local artist Mario Campigotto. It now lives in my bedroom, and reminds me daily to stay curious, to lean into whatever life brings. My dad, even though he has almost entirely lost his eyesight and has other health issues, has stayed strong and optimistic. This statue is a daily reminder for me to stay in the energy of gratitude, just like my dad does, every single day.” Tattly confetti drawer “Joy is at the core of Tattly, my temporary tattoo business. So it’s no surprise to anyone that we have an entire drawer filled with confetti. When you purchase tattoos on tattly.com, you can add confetti to your package during the check-out process. Funny enough, it’s our most purchased product. We learned to be respectful and to confetti-warn the recipient: Our WARNING CONFETTI INSIDE stickers always put a smile on my face. "Our confetti drawer has reached a bit of a cult status and is usually the first thing people ask to see when entering our office space in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn. Everyone seems to agree that there is something really magical about running your hands through an absurd amount of confetti.” Next page: Aaron Draplin and Merijn Hos Aaron Draplin Based in Portland, Oregon, Aaron James Draplin is a graphic designer, author and founder of Draplin Design Co. (DDC). Specialising in brand identity, logo design and typography, his client list includes Burton Snowboards, Nike, Red Wing, Field Notes, Esquire, Ford Motor Company and the Obama Administration. Draplin’s 2006 book, Pretty Much Everything, is a mid-career summary and story/showcase of his work that includes case studies, advice and commentary about his career to date. Rock guitar “I found this rock in the mud flats near Anchorage, at low tide. Would’ve been the summer of 1996, in between dish-washing shifts in the land of the midnight sun. People don’t have anything else better to do than hike, it seems. I find it pretty insufferable. "It was my first summer up in Alaska and my roommates were a little too ‘gung ho’ for their own good regarding outdoor activities. I’d ride my bike or skateboard back and forth to get a bite to eat or hit the record store, and found myself on the edge of downtown, checking out the mud flats at low tide. That’s where I found this rock on the shore, and noticed the peculiar shape to it. "I just couldn’t leave it behind. How could it exist? How could I find it among the zillion other rocks out there? Some kind of Fender Jazzmaster/Guild Jetstar hybrid? Back at the house in the corner of the living room that I rented I got a little white paint and some ink and then went to town. "It was just a weird little instance that nature can throw some pretty incredible curve balls. It’s a reminder of the power of the universe, and happenstance, and randomness and one-in-million moments. Beauty can be found in so many things that we tend to overlook. And I didn’t want to lose what I saw in that awesome moment in those sketchy mud flats.” Merijn Hos Merijn Hos is a visual artist and illustrator from Utrecht, The Netherlands, known for his curious, characters and quirky illustrative work. He divides his time between working as a commercial illustrator for clients such as Bose, Red Bull, Google, The Guardian and Keds, and working on personal projects, exhibitions and independent publishing. Baseball “When I was a kid I was obsessed with American culture. I loved those 80s movies in which kids would ride around on their BMX bikes wearing a baseball cap and varsity jacket carrying a baseball bat with them,” says Hos. “Around the age of 10 I went to see a baseball practice game with my friends and I found this baseball in the bushes. It’s been on a cabinet in every house that I lived in ever since, as a relic of my youth. When I look at it I’m transported back to a time when I didn’t have a care in the world.” Quick postcard “My grandmother sent me this postcard in the early 90s after I visited the exhibition that featured all the American graffiti legends in the Groninger museum. This was when I became interested in graffiti and drawing, and possibly a key point in my life. I started writing graffiti – and graffiti taught me everything about lines, shapes, colour, friendship and dedication. Together with skateboarding it brought adventure into my life and helped me meet all the wonderful people I still hang out with to this day. It shaped my career more than art school ever did.” Ralph Lauren baseball cap “This is a Polo Ralph Lauren cap that I bought in the mid 90s when I was skateboarding. Within skateboarding culture there was a small group that was more into hip-hop music while the majority of the kids were into punk. I was listening to hip-hop and we were influenced by the fashion of groups like the Wu Tang Clan. They would wear Helly Hanson Jackets and Polo Sport gear and that’s what I did, too. Or at least I tried! Looking back at it we looked like kids in baggy golf clothes rolling around the city with a backpack filled with beers. A special time. I spent my last bit of spare cash on this hat, and still wear it a lot.” Next page: Sidonie Warren Sidonie Warren Sidonie Warren is one half of the duo behind Papersmiths, the UK-based one-stop shop for contemporary stationery and paper goods. Moving their design studio from Bridgeport to Bristol in 2013, they transformed a small space to house their design studio and first shop, celebrating design-led goods that inspired their own day-to-day creative endeavours. By 2014, the studio team had outgrown the space and the shop was getting busier. They moved to a four-storey Georgian building in Clifton Village and Papersmiths was born. The company now has locations in Brighton, Chelsea, King’s Cross and Shoreditch. Colorplan notebook “I was given this by GF Smith because we often work on client projects with Colorplan papers. It was designed by Made Thought as part of the Colorplan rebrand,” says Sidonie Warren. “ I was given it around 2014 but I didn’t allow myself to write in it until 2016. I use notebooks as an aide-mémoire and also to process, develop and record my thoughts. This one is made of the full rainbow of GF Smiths’ Colorplan papers and assembled using Coptic stitch binding with a multicoloured thread. It is an object of beauty. I chose this particular notebook because it documents the time that I began journaling again as an adult. I was experiencing big change: going through a breakup, considering whether to open a second Papersmiths shop and thinking about moving to London. It’s a treasure trove of my grand schemes, philosophical ponderings and consequential ah-ha moments, all recorded in words and pictures. There’s the essential dose of cringe too of course, but nobody will ever see that.” Minerals, crystals and stones “I collect stones and crystals. Over the years friends have given me stones as gifts and these are some of them. They were given to me at significant times in my life by people who are important to me, so they’re very precious. The salt rocks were brought back from Timbuktu by a friend. The round stone is from a pal who was working in the Pacific Northwest, a place that I want to visit someday. Each one feels symbolic of times of change and learning. I’m connected to stones on a spiritual level, too. I’m interested in the esoteric and I’m learning about ancient spiritual practices with different teachers. I find it all fascinating.” Harvest by Neil Young “My dad generously gave me a good cut of his record collection. This record was in there. Dad bought it when it came out in 1972, so it’s 47 years old. He would have been 16 years old and living in Hong Kong at the time. "My dad has been my biggest musical influence. When I got into Nofx and [Spunge] as a teenager, he handed me London Calling by The Clash. Neil Young holds particular significance for me. Although not on this record, After the Goldrush is the song that my sisters, cousins and I sang together at my granny’s funeral. Years later, I was at the Isle of Wight festival with my dad and After the Goldrush was put on in between acts. It was a moment of bittersweet bonding. I love the ceremony of putting on a record, listening to an album from start to finish, poring over the artwork and lyrics, lying on the floor, getting lost in the sound.” Pastels “The pastels were a gift from my mum. I was drawing with her pastels all the time so she marched me down to the local art supply shop and sorted me out with a set. Then we sat in the garden and drew pictures. I find mark-making, with pastel in particular, to be very cathartic. The versatility of the medium and the process of application is therapeutic. I can glide the pastel smoothly across the page or make vigorous, dynamic strokes depending on how I’m feeling. I’d say it’s a healthy way to release emotions!” Next page: Dong-Ping Wong and Jon Cockley Dong-Ping Wong Dong-Ping Wong is the founding director of Food New York, co-founder of Friends of + POOL, and was a founding partner of Family New York with Oana Stanescu. Wong’s work has been featured in publications including the Wall Street Journal and New York Times. He trained as a designer at OMA and REX in New York and EHDD in San Francisco, specialising in public, cultural and hi-density mixed-use buildings. Wong has taught at Columbia University and is a frequent public speaker including talks at RISD, UCLA, the New Museum, Municipal Art Society, Oslo Design Council, AIGA, TedX and the World Summit on Innovation. + POOL Swiss Flag Postcard “+ POOL is the world’s first water-filtering floating pool, and this is a postcard from Oana from the year it started, in 2010. She was still in Basel at the time and I think I had just visited her after we had won a competition that enabled us to travel around a bit and talk about big ideas like this. "The pool was still just a funny idea, but I think we’d already started working with the other two co-founders, Jeff and Archie of PlayLab, to get it out in to the world. I’m sure none of us at the time realised how much of our lives it would consume or how much of a challenge it would be, but also how many incredible people we’d meet and work with, how many cities we’d visit because of it, or how far and how large the project would get. "Nine years later and we have a pending patent for the filtration technology, we have a non-profit and a board, we’re in the fourth year of a youth swim program, and we’re a few years from it being completed. It is to this day still my dream and model project. Almost every project since has to try and live up to it in one way or another.” Food Radio Behringer Xenyx QX1222 Mixer “We started a project named Food Radio in autumn last year where we interviewed 40 artists in and around Chinatown about how they made money. We’d certainly never done a radio show before, but we’d been in the neighbourhood for a few years now and like + POOL, I wanted to initiate a project that engaged the local neighbourhood directly (only ideally with a project that wouldn’t take another 10+ years). "So we took over a storefront on East Broadway, bought a bunch of surprisingly inexpensive radio equipment, set up a long work table in the middle of the space, and invited people to stop by and hang out. The hope was that kids in the area would see people that looked like them (especially POC and women) doing rad and interesting stuff and actually making money from it. It’s probably the least architectural thing we’ve done and one of the most fun. We’ll be doing Season Two this autumn.” Jon Cockley After a decade working in publishing, Jon Cockley set up Handsome Frank illustration agency with his cousin Tom. Working mainly in the areas of advertising, design, publishing and licensing, Handsome Frank represents 35 of the finest contemporary artists and illustrators, including Jean Julien, Malika Favre and Matt Saunders. Frank painting “Handsome Frank is named after my grandfather, Frank. Frank was a steam train driver, but he loved art and his house was full of paintings, drawings and carvings that used to fascinate me as a child. Often inspired by his travels around the world to what seemed like such exotic locations in the 1980s. "One painting, which hung in the dining room of the terraced house he shared with his wife Kate, had always stood out for me. I love the colours and naivety of the characters. The picture now hangs on the wall of my home office, where I work most days, surrounded by contemporary art by our illustrators. It’s a lovely reminder of him and my grandmother and a nice link to our company name.” Beatles photo “Okay, before you decide to break into my house and steal this, the signatures aren’t real. However, this is a genuine 1960s facsimile photograph, issued by the official Beatles fan club which my mum was a member of. I love it because I love The Beatles, especially their later albums; I also love what the photo represents. The band were one of the first to have a ‘fan club’ and they used to issue limited edition Christmas records for their loyal fans once a year with recorded messages and new songs. "When you look at how things have developed since the 60s, it’s almost like the earliest form of social media – the idea of rewarding ‘followers’ with bespoke content and building a loyal fanbase, albeit via the postal service.” Handsome Frank Neon sign “About 18 months after starting Handsome Frank, we realised we needed to make some changes. One thing that had to go was our original logo, so we commissioned designer Tom Morgan. When we saw the right design, we knew straight away. Realising that the ‘HF’ and the roundel was one seamless line, I had an epiphany: we were going to need a neon sign. The reason I chose it for this article was what it symbolised for us as a company. It was the realisation that things were actually happening and that it had the ability to change our lives. It represented the end of working jobs we’d fallen out of love with and the start of something new and hugely fulfilling. I also love the fact that our first costly company purchase was a big, pink, neon sign!” Next page: Jessica Hische Jessica Hische Jessica Hische is an American letterer, illustrator and type designer. She’s best known for her personal projects, Daily Drop Cap and the Should I Work for Free flowchart. She published In Progress: See Inside a Lettering Artist’s Sketchbook and Process, from Pencil to Vector in September 2015, which gives insight to her creative process and work she’s completed as a hand-lettering artist. Hische has spoken at over 100 conferences worldwide. She’s currently based in California where she shares a studio with fellow lettering artist Erik Marinovich in San Francisco’s Mission neighbourhood. Her first picture book Tomorrow I’ll Be Brave gives an inspiring message about trying your best but forgiving yourself when you don’t always achieve what you set out to do. Bless This Mess artwork “I went to art school in Philadelphia, and in my junior and senior years I tried to integrate a bit more into the local art scene. There were a couple of galleries doing interesting things, run by people only a few years older than me. I bought this painting at a Space 1026 show. I think it’s the first piece of art I ever bought. It was north of $100 so I felt like a true patron of the arts at 21/ 22 years old. I still love it – it’s had a prominent place in every place I’ve lived since. There’s a little intentional pencil scribble on top of an otherwise cleanly executed painting, and that’s my favourite part.” Glamour shots “When I was in middle school, all of the cool girls were getting glamour shots taken – the fancy ones that look like headshots for a modelling career you hoped to start. I begged my mum to get me them for my 13th birthday and was overjoyed when she did. It wasn’t the glamorous photo studio I expected, but I remained hopeful. "As they did my hair and makeup, my spirits started to drop. I wasn’t being turned into a slightly older cool model version of myself – I looked like a chain-smoking, middle-aged woman on a bus tour to Atlantic City. The last thing I wanted to do was to show disappointment to my mum, so I went with it. "I took photos in an iridescent green top with my giant frosted hair. I sassily posed with a leather jacket worn backwards, sunglasses slipping down my nose. I was mortified by the results and they hid in a closet for years, but now they’re one of my most precious and prized possessions. I joke that these photos are the only thing I would save in a fire because I love them so deeply.” Scissors from Alexander Isley “I can’t remember what year Alexander Isley sent me these, but they were his client gift for the holidays that year. It must have been when we collaborated on a project for the Girl Scouts, somewhere around 2012/2013. "When they arrived in the mail I was so blown away. I didn’t think scissors could be an object of beauty. There’s an inscription on the inside that says ‘Alexander Isley Inc.: Useful & Sharp’. They were significant to me for a few reasons. First, it was crazy to be on the gift list of such a renowned designer – one who I learned about in school. Second, it completely recalibrated my preconceptions about what makes a good client gift/promotional piece. "I have been quite lazy about sending out gifts to people I’ve worked with or people I admire professionally, and the presence of these scissors on my desk in my life reminds me the difference that extra care and effort (and cost) can make.” Next page: Benjamin Van Oost Benjamin Van Oost Benjamin Van Oost is co-founder of TOYKYO productions and art director/sculptor at CASE STUDYO. Famed for his unique artistic approach, distinctive fibreglass sculptures, beautiful porcelain and other objects, Van Oost takes limited edition artworks to the next level. Today, the creative agency based in Belgium assists international clients who are looking to add clarity, flavour and quality to their identity. TOYKYO’s products department is the heritage of its hands-on approach, and manages the entire production process of creative products and art installations for artists such as Parra, FriendsWithYou, Andy Rementer and Steven Harrington. Wish card and motivational words by Joseph Kosuth “Back in 2016 my ex was working in a hotel in Ghent, Belgium and one night she came home with this piece of paper and the following story: apparently the hotel staff were very intrigued about an old man in a wheelchair who was staying in the hotel. But nobody knew for sure who the man was. The hotel staff figured that he was somebody famous and wealthy because he was accompanied by a couple of assistants, and by seeing how people interacted with him they assumed that he was some kind of big shot. After discovering that the man was a famous artist, my ex took the opportunity to talk with this man, and told him that I was also an artist. And so it came that he wrote me these few words on a piece of paper: ‘To Benjamin With my best wishes for your work. Remember artists never retire because it’s not a job. Joseph Kosuth. Gent 26.8.2015’ "It’s one of the best presents I ever received, and one of the rare things that I have left from that period and that girl. But most of all, the quote seems to speak to me in a very personal way. I’ve never met this man, but still I have a weird sense that those few words haven’t reached me accidentally. The content of the message is something that I already knew, but having it on paper from J Kosuth almost seemed like a sign to me. The handwriting and the aesthetics of the card also make me think of my own graphic work and calligraphy. These few words are the best, and an everlasting motivational quote that help me in times of doubt." Limited-edition Tintin rocket “I bought this sculpture at the age of 12, with my first savings, and the money I received for my solemn communion. I remember I paid 21,500 Belgian Francs – the equivalent of 532 euros back then in 1992. That’s a lot of money for a 12 year old! I went to the shop with the cash, partially in notes, but also with a big bag of coins. It took the girl from the shop half an hour to count it. "My classmates and friends couldn’t understand why I had bought a wooden rocket that couldn’t do anything; they all bought their first stereo installations and mountain bikes and stuff like that. For them I must have seemed like a real idiot spending money on that thing. Now, 27 years later, I still have my rocket, and I’m sure none of them still have the stereos or bikes that they bought back then. "Tintin is a Belgian icon and is one of the cartoons that helped shape my youth. I enjoy this object as much as I did 27 years ago. And if any of my old classmates are reading: the value of the sculpture has more than tripled over the years, and is still increasing steadily among Tintin collectors!” Collection of matchboxes and sugar cubes “After the death of my grandmother a couple of years ago, we had to empty her house. I discovered a cardboard box that contained my dad and my uncle’s childhood collection of sugar cubes and matchboxes from all over the world. They were going to put it by the trash. Luckily, I noticed the box and saved it. It’s huge and wonderful, and has been in my office for some time. It’s a treasure and a gigantic source of inspiration for any graphic designer or artist/collector. I just love it and I often use its graphics, logos and faded colours for inspiration.” Exhibition catalogues with notes from my grandad “I was six years old when my grandad took me to visit James Ensor, and the year after he took me to the Expressionism exhibition. These are two moments I’ll never forget and these two visits were decisive for the rest of my life. After seeing the Expressionists I knew what I wanted to become in life: a painter. After visiting the exhibitions with him he always bought me the catalogue (the luxury versions that came in a box) and he wrote a few kind words on the first pages of all of them. When I was seven years old he wrote: ‘To Benjamin, the big draftsman and future artist from his grandad 29.01.1987’ He’s been gone for 20 years now, but my grandad was the person who showed me my path in life. I’m thankful for the moments that have shaped the course of my life.” This article was originally published in Computer Arts, the world's best-selling design magazine. Buy issue 294 or subscribe. Read more: How to come up with ideas, by Michael Johnson 3 trends that changed the design industry forever 9 character designers you need to know View the full article

Travel brands have a tough time of it in general. With a few very rare exceptions – currently, Airbnb springs to mind – we tend not to care too much about travel brands. When it comes to booking holidays, loyalty to a particular brands ranks far below more pressing concerns such as getting the best deal on your chosen destination. Skyscanner's one of those brands that you'd go with if it could get you an excellent price on the holiday you wanted, but that's probably the full extent of your brand loyalty. However it hopes to change that with its bold new branding and logo design, developed with Koto. 8 brands that rule at social media The company's old logo was an unintrusive and uninspiring effort in muddy cyan, with a symbol that looked like the sort of thing you'd see on a weather map to suggest an afternoon of partly cloudy weather. The new symbol, says Koto, is a key step in Skyscanner's brand evolution. It's described as embodying the optimism of a sunrise as well as the positive impact that the company wants to have on the world of travel. Skyscanner also notes that it combines the four elements that reflect its brand's mission: optimism, sustainability, ideas, and places to discover. We get the sunrise bit; the stylised shape underneath, though, we're not quite so sure about. To us it looks more like a pair of skimpy, low-rise Speedos. Which, to be fair, is just the sort of thing that you might want to pack if you were booking your dream holiday through Skyscanner, so fair play there. The new logo is a key part of Skyscanner's brand evolution And there's much more to this project than the new Skyscanner logo. Koto acknowledges that a brand shouldn't stop at the splash screen, and so it's developed a whole design system for Skyscanner to use across all its touchpoints. There's a bespoke sans-serif font, Skyscanner Relative, as well as an eye-catching colour scheme that starts with Sky Blue (#0770e3) and features a supporting palette of warm tones that are meant to reflect its variety of possible destinations. Like any good design system, Skyscanner's has its own font As well as that, there's also new photography, illustration from Skyscanner's in-house team, and iconography to help guide customers through Skyscanner's site. It all adds up to a bold look, and it's hard not to be impressed by it. However at the same time, we're not sure it's about to change anyone's relationship with travel brands; we suspect most people will remain focused on the bottom line rather than the logo design, but we definitely admire its ambition. Find out more about it over at Koto. Related articles: Are trends any good for branding? Traditional branding is dead 5 steps to building a strong brand voice View the full article

The Wacom Cintiq 22 is the latest model in the company's drive to make this famous digital art brand a whole lot more affordable. Within Wacom’s overall product line of electronic drawing aides, many of which can be found in our round up of the best drawing tablets, the Cintiq is a flat-screen display for your computer, which you can draw on with the provided stylus. The range is neatly divided into two: Cintiq offers relatively basic displays at lower prices, while Cintiq Pro provides a premium experience – particularly a 4K display in larger models – with prices to match. The Cintiq 22 joins the Cintiq 16 in the more affordable sector. Wacom Cintiq 22 review: Display The Cintiq 22 offers a full HD screen (1,920 x 1,080 pixels) – the same screen resolution as the smaller Cintiq 16. That immediately means there’s an important trade-off between the two: the Cintiq 22 gives you a physically larger drawing area for more comfortable, expressive arm movement while drawing, but the screen image is less sharp than on the Cintiq 16. While the picture on the Cintiq 22 is a little soft compared with other Cintiq models, it’s comfortable to work from – and in all other respects, the drawing experience is excellent. The larger size compared with the Cintiq 16 really matters when you’re in an extended drawing session: it frees you up to make more extensive pen strokes. The Cintiq 22 gives you a physically larger drawing area, but the image is less sharp than on the Cintiq 16 Apart from resolution, the other potential drawback of this display compared with the Cintiq Pro line is the colour gamut – how many colours the screen is capable of displaying. The quoted gamut for the Cintiq 22 is 72% NTSC, which puts it in the same league as a budget monitor. Cintiq Pro displays have a colour gamut of 94% NTSC. While that technical difference sounds damning, bear in mind that the Cintiq 22 is able to present 96% of the range of colours supported by the sRGB colour profile, which many designers and illustrators apply to their images by default. Wacom Cintiq 22 review: Drawing surface The Cintiq 22’s screen surface is well-considered. The anti-glare glass surface is laminated to give it a slight texture, which gives a pleasing sense of bite as you move the stylus across it. The technology that enables the Cintiq 22 and similar drawing displays to work means there are two planes you interact with: the glass you draw on, and the actual screen presenting the image you’re drawing. Too great a gap between the two leads to a disconcerting disconnect between the point of your stylus and where your pen mark appears on-screen. The Cintiq 22’s gap is perfectly acceptable, although you don’t get the almost supernatural sense of connection the advanced optical bonding technology of a Cintiq Pro gives you. Wacom Cintiq 22 review: Drawing pen The Pro Pen 2 is very comfortable to draw with The provided stylus, the Pro Pen 2, is easily capable of capturing your creative gestures: it offers 8,192 levels of pressure-sensitivity, as well as tilt sensitivity, where the angle at which you hold the pen affects the stroke. The stylus doesn’t need a battery either: it takes the power it needs from the electromagnetic properties of the screen. The same is true of the pen that comes with the rival Huion Kamvas Pro 22, but the cheaper XP-Pen Artist Display 22E Pro’s pen requires periodic recharging. While there are other Wacom pens available, few artists should have any complaints with the functionality of the Pro Pen 2, and it has a satisfying heft that makes it comfortable with draw with. The Cintiq Pro line comes with the same pen, although the Pro’s advanced drawing surface allows the use of soft felt nibs. Wacom Cintiq 22 review: Adjustable stand and connections A stand built into the Cintiq 22 enables you to tilt the display to your preferred drawing angle. It’s a better solution than in the Cintiq 16, which uses foldable legs that tilt the display to a fixed angle. While conventional drawing tablets without a display, like Wacom’s Intuos line, are capable of working over a wireless Bluetooth link, that isn’t yet realistic for a combined tablet and display. The Cintiq 22 uses USB-A for its drawing tablet connection, so you need an adaptor if your computer only has USB-C ports; and HDMI for its display connection. Wacom Cintiq 22 review: Should you buy it? Perhaps the most notable feature of the Cintiq 22 becomes apparent when you compare it with the model it replaces in Wacom’s lineup, the Cintiq 22HD. It’s a fair bit cheaper, at around $1,200 / £860 / €990 versus its predecessor’s $1,400 / £1,300 / €1,200. (The difference is most pronounced in the UK.) That still doesn’t put it in the same price bracket as the Huion Kamvas Pro 22’s $900 / £680 / $775 or the XP-Pen Artist 22E Pro’s $400 / £500 / €550, but it’s still clear that Wacom is responding to the threat posed to its market-leader status. The older Cintiq 22HD has a stand that rotates as well as tilts, plus ExpressKey shortcut keys to help you access favourite commands in your chosen software. However, the newer Cintiq 22 has a superior pen and a matt rather than smooth screen surface. As well as the price drop, you get a materially better drawing experience. If you miss the 22HD’s shortcut keys, you can buy Wacom’s ExpressKey Remote for $100 / £100 / €130 for the Cintiq 22. The benefits of the Cintiq 22 compared with the Huion Kamvas Pro 22 and the XP-Pen Artist 22E Pro are more intangible. They’re a pretty close match for key features, although both rivals offer built-in shortcut keys. The Cintiq 22 still has a better overall feel, however, with superior build quality in both the display and the pen. You have to weigh up the immediate gain of lower prices against the longer-term benefits of the Cintiq 22 just feeling a little more satisfying to work with. It’s a distinction that may not wash with the Cintiq 22’s target audience of students, keen non-professionals and jobbing artists. View the full article

So, you want to download Instagram photos? Maybe you've accidentally deleted the original of the fantastic shot you uploaded to Instagram, or heaven forbid, lost your phone or camera. Maybe you used the in-app camera and didn’t save a copy, or perhaps you want to reference or repost an image from someone else’s feed and they can’t locate the original. Whatever the reason, here’s a complete guide to your options for getting content from Instagram onto your Mac, PC or phone. While it’s easy to post images to Instagram, it’s not quite so simple to download them. Here we’ll look at all the options, from downloading your entire history to finding the source code for individual images or using third party apps. Use the links on the right to jump to the section you're after. If you'd like to enhance your pictures before uploading them to Instagram, you'll need to know about the best photo editing apps. For more Insta tips, you can also see our guide to how to change the font in your Instagram bio. When downloading Instagram images, please respect image ownership and bear in mind that while some of these methods allow other users’ images to be downloaded, we recommend always seeking permission and giving credit where due. For more info on copyright on Instagram, see our article on how to repost on Instagram. Download Instagram photos to a PC or Mac Instagram offers no native method to download individual images from your feed, but it does allow you to download your account’s entire history, including all the photos and videos you’ve uploaded as posts or stories. This, the only “official” way to download your stuff, was introduced due to privacy concerns following controversies at parent company Facebook, and it provides you with a link to download your data. You can also request the file through the app: go to your profile, tap the menu icon in the upper right-hand corner and choose 'Settings'. Select 'Security', 'Download Data', type in your email and password, then tap 'Request Download'. Save a photo from Instagram to a PC or Mac using the source code If you don’t want the hassle of downloading your entire history and wading through perhaps better forgotten posts to find a specific photo, or if you need an image from someone else’s feed having received their permission, you can download individual images by turning to the code. Bookmark images on Instagram If you just want to be able to find an image again rather than use it elsewhere, you might find it’s enough to bookmark it. You can bookmark any image on Instagram, whether from an account you follow or not, and you can neatly organise bookmarked images into separate folders for ideas and inspirations, wish lists, dream holiday destinations or whatever you choose – don’t worry, no one else can see your bookmarks. Download images on Instagram with third-party options If you need the image off Instagram and the first options above sound too fiddly or time consuming, there’s a plethora of third party options offering workarounds to download your own images and others’. Bear in mind that some of these require access to your account data, while others rely on heavy advertising. If possible we’d advise using the previous solutions, but if you want the convenience, these are some of the most popular options. DownloadGram DownloadGram is one of the most attractive third party options in terms of security since it doesn’t require software installation, plus it can be used on both computers and mobiles. The downside is that you can only download one image at a time. On a mobile device: open the Instagram app and find the photo you want, tap the three dots icon and choose 'copy link', then do as above. Other options include FastSave for Instagram, which offers a faster app-based option for downloading individual images to an Android phone with no copying or pasting needed, but you need to allow the app to access your data and the ads can be annoying. Download multiple images If you want to download more than one image at a time, you’re limited to using third party software, with 4K Stogram and Save-o-gram being two of the most used. 4K Stogram 4K Stogram allows you to download in bulk 4K Stogram allows you to subscribe to a username, hashtag or even a location to download in bulk every public image it finds under that tag with no need to sign into instagram, but while it’s free to subscribe to a couple of feeds, you’ll need to pay $10 for a license for unlimited use and chances are you’ll find yourself downloading a ton of images that don’t interest you. Download and install 4K Stogram on your computer, open the program then type an Instagram username, hashtag, or location into the search bar. Click Subscribe, and the programme will search and automatically start downloading everything it finds - you’ll find the images piling up in the 4K Stogram folder in your computer in subfolders for each search you entered. Save-o-gram Save-o-gram lets you be more selective with your downloads If you need to be more selective, Save-o-gram allows images to be downloaded images all at once as a zip file or individually and charges a one-off $9 after a seven-day trial. Download Instagram Stories Instagram makes it much easier to download your own stories – the image or video plus any stickers or text you’ve overlaid. Just click on the three vertical dots at the bottom right of the story and choose 'Save photo'. You can find old stories by going to your profile, clicking on the menu icon and selecting 'Archive'. (See our guide to using Instagram Stories here.) If you want a Story from someone else’s account – and some photographers specifically share pictures for use as wallpaper by this means – you can save it by taking a screenshot. The trick to hold down one finger on the screen while you do so to remove the Instagram UI and get a clean shot. Just tap and hold anywhere on the screen so the overlay fades away, which also pauses the story giving you time to take the screenshot. With a little finger yoga, keep you finger held down while you take the screenshot, whether that’s by pressing volume up and lock on an iPhone X, the power and home buttons on a Samsung Galaxy, or power and volume down on a Google Pixel. Again bear in mind potential copyright issues if considering taking a screenshot of someone else’s work. Read more: 10 must-know Instagram tips for creatives 9 agencies to follow on Instagram 7 ways to make your studio more Instagram-friendly View the full article

Images, and therefore image file formats, are a big part of many creatives' lives. As a designer, one of the most common questions I get asked is, 'what file format do you want?' closely followed by, 'will this do?' With such a diverse array of options, and names that would have Scrabble champions reaching for the dictionary, it’s no wonder that the world of image file formats can be a little overwhelming. Learning the standard file formats is essential if you want the highest quality images at the smallest file sizes – using the wrong one can be disastrous, even if you've got one of the best cameras. What you're ultimately going to use the image for will largely determine the choice of file format – ask yourself what quality you need, whether the image will be resized, how quickly you or others will need to upload/open it, and how much space you have to work with. This article explains the need-to-know basics and lists 10 of the most common formats you’re likely to come across. But first, we'll take a look at the differences between raster and vector images. Raster vs vector images The vector circle on the left has clean, sharp edges, while the raster circle on the right has jagged edges when scaled up Broadly speaking you can separate image files into two major types – raster and vector. Both can be produced on computers (see our best computers for graphic design if you need an upgrade) and are equally useful in the right situations, but there are some big differences between the two. Raster images (sometimes referred to as bitmap) are pixel-based, meaning the image is composed of a grid of pixels, collectively forming a larger image. You can observe this by magnifying any photographic image in print or digital – you will see lots of coloured squares (RGB in digital and CMYK in print). Raster images are used for complex images that have smooth gradients of colour and undefined edges, such as photographs. The downside is that they are dependent on resolution, suffering from image degradation and loss of detail when scaled up. Raster images can be described as lossy or lossless, terms that refer to the compression they use. Lossy compression removes pixels to produce a close match to the image, while lossless uses exact reproductions of the original image. Common raster file formats include JPEG, PSD, PNG and TIFF. If you want to learn more about resolution and resizing raster graphics, read our piece on how to resize images in Photoshop. Vector images are mathematical calculations, rendered in the form of geometric paths, created purely on a computer. Because their form is defined by a set of mathematical parameters, they can be scaled up and down without any loss of quality. As a consequence you will often find these being used for logos, icons and fonts, which are expected to be flexible given any situation. Examples of vector file formats are AI, EPS and SVG. The 10 most common image formats 01. JPEG USED FOR: Taking photos in camera, uploading to the web, sharing on social media. Can be used for printing, so long as it’s in the final stage and no further editing is required. PROS: Widely used and compatible with most software. Low file size, so saves space on memory cards. Offers some control over the amount of compression. CONS: Lossy compression. Suffers from generational degradation, where an image is repeatedly edited and saved. Layers are flattened, so cannot go back and edit. Does not save transparency. Because JPEGs produce such low file sizes, you can fit more photos on your memory card (so long as you don't plan on any heavy editing afterwards) JPEGs are the ‘sliced white’ of the image world, being the most common and widespread format, both in all kinds of cameras (see our best camera phones here) and across the web. They use ‘lossy compression’ to remove unwanted pixels and achieve smaller file sizes. JPG and JPEG are both acceptable and interchangeable file extensions – an artefact of the ongoing Windows vs Mac rivalry. (Not to be confused with JPEG 2000, an updated but rarely used format). 02. TIFF USED FOR: High quality graphics – popular in the publishing industry and for graphic artists. Also useful for photo editing and archiving images. PROS: Lossless format. A variety of compression options. Can have multiple pages and retains layers. Supported by lots of apps. Can save images with transparency. CONS: Very large file sizes, larger than RAW and JPEG. Not all applications support multi-page TIFFs. TIFF is a lossless graphics container, meaning it does not compress images or lose any information (unless specifically required to). This produces high-quality images with the drawback of larger file sizes. 03. PNG USED FOR: Most popular for use on the web. Optimised for screen, so not ideal for print. PROS: Supports more colours than GIF. Compresses without losing quality. Can save images with transparency. CONS: Larger file sizes than jpgs. Limited to RGB colour space. PNGs retain transparency when saved, but work better on digital rather than print Initially designed to replace GIFs (see below), PNG is another format designed for lossless image compression, which makes it good for photographs and text documents. 04. GIF USED FOR: Web images, especially animated banners and memes. PROS: Quick loading. Can be animated. Lossless. Small file size. Can save images with transparency. CONS: Limited colour palette (maximum of 256). Does not support CMYK. For a long time was not patent-free, but is now. GIF (pronounced jif, apparently) was used on early internet due to its ability to compress images into very small file sizes. It has subsequently been overtaken by JPEGs, but has found its niche in banner ads and social media memes. 05. PSD USED FOR: Creating print or digital Photoshop projects. Photo editing. These days a lot of printers will accept PSDs. PROS: Supports transparencies. Saves any edits or adjustments. Can work with vector and raster images. CONS: Not good support for web or printers. Can quickly grow into large file sizes. PSD files are perfect for Photoshop projects that require multiple layers and complex editing. A multi-layered image format that literally stands for Photoshop Document. PSDs are extremely versatile and allow editing to be saved and returned to later on. For more on using Photoshop, don't miss our Photoshop tutorials. 06. RAW USED FOR: Professional photography, where the photographers want to perform their own edits. PROS: Very good for photo editing as retains all information at high quality. CONS: Large file sizes, so fills up memory card quicker than other image file formats. Not compatible with all photo editing software, may need converting first. Many printers will not accept RAW. Digital cameras offer this as the closest alternative to film quality. RAW is uncompressed and untouched by the camera, meaning minimal loss of information. Each camera make has their own version of RAW (such as CR2, NEF, DNG) and they are all similar, despite using different file extensions. 07. EPS USED FOR: Vector artwork, illustrations, logos, icons. PROS: Can be used at any size. Largely universal format, so can be viewed in many applications. Can be easily converted into raster graphics. CONS: Can only be edited in certain illustration apps. Some printers may have issues with eps files. Can often contain a raster image, disguised as a vector file. No longer in development. EPS is a legacy vector graphic standard, supported by most illustration apps. Can contain vector graphics, raster images or text. 08. SVG USED FOR: Good for responsive website designs. Import into 3D software. PROS: Allows vector, raster and text. Can be interactive and include animation. Remains crisp when resized, so can optimise file size. Can be added directly to HTML without image link and styled with CSS. Search indexed and compressed easily. CONS: Not good for images with high colour depth. Not optimised for print. SVGs are handy for importing graphics from 2D illustration apps to 3D modelling software such as Blender XML-based vector image for 2D graphics and web publishing. SVGs are also handy for importing graphics from 2D illustration apps to 3D modelling software such as Blender (see our best 3D modelling software roundup). 09. PDF USED FOR: Documents. Often preferred by printers. PROS: Can display vector graphics, raster and text. Can be exported from many applications. Can contain multiple pages and interactive elements. CONS: Limited to Windows and Mac OS. Difficult to edit. Often not integrated for viewing on web pages. PDF is the almost universal standard for documents and graphics. 10. BMP USED FOR: Largely outdated, used in Windows OS. PROS: No compression. Supported by almost every system. CONS: Relatively large file size. Does not support CMYK. Can’t be compressed. BMP is an old raster file format, developed by Microsoft, to store files in a device-independent format. It's not to be confused with the more general term bitmap, which describes a map of pixels (of which .bmp is included). Read more: How to compress images: a web designer's guide 9 tools to help you work remotely as a freelancer How to prepare a file for print View the full article

Ask any digital artist and most will confirm the rendering stage to be the most complex, time consuming and often costly of a 3D pipeline. Until now. Introducing RebusFarm, a high-quality, affordable rendering service that integrates directly with leading 3D applications including Maya, 3ds Max, Cinema 4D, Blender and Modo. In operation for over 13 years, the RebusFarm team have been developing its software since 2006 to deliver a simple-to-use, highly efficient and cost-effective rendering solution to artists and designers all over the globe. And now the arrival of RebusFarm 3.0 makes the rendering experience even easier and more accessible than ever before. The newly updated software both simplifies and enhances your 3D workflow via a number of key features: Farminizer The Farminizer plugin, which connects your chosen 3D software to the render farm, has been given a complete overhaul and now boasts new control elements, an intuitive design and workflow improvements: New batch render/takes - Uploading a scene just to change the camera is now a thing of the past. Simply send the render job with multiple cameras and get different renderings for all selected cameras at once. New render cost estimation – avoid additional costs with RebusFarm’s new precise cost estimation tool. New Design – An all-new design, the Farminizer plugin now adopts the feel of your 3D software, embedding itself seamlessly as well as adding new interactive elements to help aid workflow Pre-Upload – Send your assets upfront to reduce upload time by up to 90%. Enhanced workflow – Farminizer has been optimised in terms of finding and auto correcting errors, significantly reducing user warnings. RebusDrop The administrator behind all render jobs submitted by the Farminizer plugin, RebusDrop automatically uploads jobs and downloads rendered images to a local folder on your PC. RebusFarm 3.0 sees RebusDrop highly optimised in terms of both speed and stability: Faster up-and downloads – RebusDrop automatically optimises transfer protocols and uses the best fitting mode according to your internet access for fastest file up and downloads. Highest stability - Highly robust and optimised performance, RebusDrop will always perform, even with unstable internet connection. ControlCenter A web-based management interface, the RebusFarm ControlCenter allows you to manage and monitor rendering jobs via real-time updates and reports, even when you’re out and about. RebusFarm 3.0 introduces a number of improvements and functions to enhance that experience, including: New Playback – The new preview of the ControlCenter makes viewing and managing every layer of a render job a cinch. See finished frames in your preview window immediately and the complete animation by moving your cursor across the preview window. New Resubmission – Gone are the days when you need to re-render a scene due to slight changes. Now you are able to re-render without having to upload the entire job again. Resubmission is just one click away in the new ControlCenter and your modified job will start to render again. Find your local files – Open the directory to your local files from your automatically downloaded renderings with just one click. Responsiveness – The design of the entire ControlCenter is responsive, so you can manage your jobs directly from your smartphone. Available to all You’d be forgiven for thinking all of these impressive features come at a huge cost, but RebusFarm’s prices offer an option for everyone. Starting at a very affordable 1.06p per GHz hour, RebusFarm also offers discounts of up to 60 per cent via its RenderPoints scheme, making it accessible to all.. Check out the video below to see some of the new features in action, and visit the RebusFarm website for more information on the all-new RebusFarm 3.0, available now. View the full article

In many ways, working in web design in 2019 has never been more challenging. But on the positive side, there have never been so many free resources out there to help you. There are tons of free design assets on the web you can use to speed up the process of building websites, including free UI kits, free icon sets and free fonts. Plus if you need to learn new skills or improve your existing ones, there are some great books that have been made absolutely free to read. In this post, we round up some of our favourite freebies for web designers. So we’d recommend you bookmark this page, as you never know when they might come in handy! On this page you'll find UI kits, followed by free icons, free fonts, and free ebooks. Use the drop-down above to jump straight to a particular section. UI kits When it comes to building websites in 2019, there’s absolutely no point in reinventing the wheel again and again. Web designers across the world have been kind enough to share the assets they’ve created for their own projects to make yours easier. So why not take advantage, and save yourself time and energy. Here are some of the best free UI kits to come to our attention recently… 01. Shards Shards is a lightweight UI kit that's built for performance Created by DesignRevision, Shards is a free responsive UI toolkit based on Bootstrap 4. Built with performance in mind, it features a modern design system with every component designed from scratch and enhanced with smooth micro-interactions, as well as two pre-built landing pages. It supports both Material and Font Awesome icon packs, and the developers have included the original Sketch and SCSS files in case you want to customise the kit to meet your particular needs. 02. A not so brutalist webkit Add a bit of brutalism to your designs Brutalist web design may have had its day as a movement, but many of its notable elements have swiftly become absorbed into mainstream web design. A bit of a brutalist touch is a great way to give a site a modern edge; this brutalist webkit, consisting of 70 free artboards, will help you get the look. 03. UI Components A great set of charts, graphs and other components This free UI kit contains a selection of 3D charts, graphs and other UI components created by Balraj Chana. All these components are vector-based and fully editable, so you can easily plug them into your dashboards or mobile app designs. 04. Landing A set of Sketch and Photoshop components to help you build sites faster Landing is a free UI kit from LStore Graphics. It’s packed with handcrafted UI components to speed up your website building, for Sketch and Photoshop. 14 fabulous tutorials to improve your logo design 05. Visage This free kit contains more than 70 components for Photoshop across seven categories Visage is a free UI kit for Adobe Photoshop from Bostan Florin that contains 70+ UI components for building websites. It presents these in seven categories: Blog, E-Commerce, Media, Admin, Forms, Headers and Footers. 06. Chat Build a chat app with this bespoke UI kit Chat is a free cross-platform UI kit from InVision app, designed to help you create an elegant chat app. It includes 60 templates, 12 categories and 80 UI components for web, tablet, and mobile. 07. Browser UI Kit A kit designed to help you create screenshots with a blank browser UI As the name suggests, Browser UI Kit is a vector UI kit allowing you to easily create website screenshots with a default blank browser UI. Designed by Keir Ansell, it includes Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Opera and Edge. 08. Basiliq Create beautiful mockups with these hand-crafted vector shapes Here’s something a little different: Basiliq is a UI kit containing more than 300 hand-crafted vector shapes for Photoshop, which you can use to create beautiful looking mockups. Watch the video on their homepage to see how they all fit together. 09. Prometheus Create any kind of website with this clean and simple kit Prometheus is a clean and simple UI kit for creating any type of website, including blogs, online shops, and personal pages. The work of Vid Kraljic Radulovic, it includes more than 150 vector-based design elements in 10 categories. 10. Overlap UI A minimalist, component-based UI kit built on Bootstrap Overlap is a modern, minimalist, component-based UI kit that’s aimed at helping you create a clean and stylish website. Built on a 12-column Bootstrap grid system by Vlad Cristea and Raul Taciu, it comes in two file formats: PSD and AI. 11. Flat UI Free A variety of flat components to build a sleek looking website Based on Bootstrap 3, Flat UI Free is a free UI kit containing such components as buttons, inputs, button groups, selects, checkboxes, radio-buttons, tags, menus, progress bars and sliders, navigation elements and more. 12. Mac OS UI kit A UI kit for macOS, designed exclusively for Sketch Another free download from Keir Ansell, this is a comprehensive and precisely designed macOS UI kit, designed exclusively for Sketch. Each primary UI element is a Sketch Symbol (using the Symbol Override features) to allow for easy editing and reuse. Next page: 12 free icon sets Everyone loves a good icon, and it can be a lot of fun designing your own. But sometimes you just don’t have the time or budget to do so. Luckily, the web is full of free icon sets to help you out and speed things up. Here are some of our favourites... 13. Social Materia Grab 34 flat social media icons for free These free icons from IcoJam are beautifully flat and cover pretty much all the social media platforms you can think of, in all the sizes and file types you're likely to need. If you want even more icons in the same style, the full Materia set, consisting of 3,120 vector icons, is available for just $42. 14. Icons8 iCon8 has 91,000 free icons waiting for you For a vast set of visually-consistent icons, take a look at the Icons8 collection. It has 91,000 free icons available to download or embed, in PNG and editable SVG format. Most of its icon packs are created in-house so they'll work together nicely, whichever style you need. 15. UXPin icon set More than 80 icons for web and mobile design From the makers of UX design platform UXPin comes a diverse and attractive suite of 80+ icons for web and mobile UI design. In addition to PDF and Adobe Illustrators files, there are SVGs, PSDs and PNGs in the mix. 16. Aganè Icons 100 icons themed around signage and wayfinding Aganè Icons is a free set of 100 icons themed around signage systems and urban graphic systems. This set was created by Danilo de Marco and Giulia Gambino to accompany the Aganè font (see 30). 17. CSS Icon These icons are pure CSS CSS Icon is a free icon set made with pure CSS, with no dependencies. There are 152 "grab and go" icons, all created by Wenting Zhang. You can learn more about the project in the video below. 18. Collecticons A cool collection of crisp and fresh icons Collecticons is an ever-growing collection of crisp icons (141 at time of writing), which are all free to download. The work of Development Seed, some of the icons were designed/built on top of libraries such as icoMoon by Keyamoon, and others that were made in-house. 19. Mex-icons This free set contains a selection of bright and colourful Mexican themed icons These bright and colourful Mexican themed icons are available as .png, .eps & ai files, in both colour and outline format. They’re the work of Texas-based Inkbyte Studios, and free to download for your web design projects. 20. 30 Isometric Icon Set 30 flat isometric icons in various PNG sizes This free collection includes 30 flat isometric icons in various PNG sizes. Created by Iconshock, they’re all fully editable and customisable in Illustrator. 21. Socialoha! Icons A whopping bundle of 756 social medial icons This multi-style set of 756 social media icons comes from Iconshock. These free icons are available as editable Illustrator .ai files, web-ready .svg files, and transparent pngs in several sizes. Note that these icons are free for personal use only. 22. Flat Line UX and Ecommerce icons Two icons sets covering user experience and ecommerce Here, Smashing Magazine has brought together two free icon sets crafted by the design team at Ecommerce Website Design. The Flat Line User Experience Icon Set contain 45 icons with a retro discreet feel, while the E-Commerce Linear Icon Set features 38 linear icons depicting the likes of signs, shops, clothes, barcodes and currencies. 23. Animated flat emojis A diverse set of animated emoji icons This free icon set features 28 animated emojis that are fully vector-based and can be easily scaled, but can also be used as pre-made GIF-animations in 3 sizes: 32x32, 64x64 and 100x100. 24. Bank and money icons Free icons themed on business and finance This free set features 36 flat-style bank and money icons. Created by Vecteezy.com, they include a range of finance-themed pictograms, from credit card to piggy banks. Next page: 10 free fonts When it comes to typography, it’s usually a false economy to try to save money on fonts; you’re really better off paying for a professionally-designed font that’s going to make your site sing. Having said that, there are some free fonts out there that are as good as the paid-for ones, so discount a font just because it’s free. Here are some of the most interesting free fonts to have grabbed our attention recently... 25. Merriweather Merriweather's a great-looking serif designed for readability Designed to be read comfortably on screens, Merriweather is a font family with a large x height, slightly condensed letterforms, a mild diagonal stress and sturdy serifs. Available in plenty of weights, it's an open-source project led by Massachusetts foundry, Sorkin Type; there's also a sans-serif version, Merriweather Sans. 26. Work Sans Work Sans is inspired by early Grotesques Designed by Wei Huang, Work Sans is a type family that's loosely based on early Grotesque fonts, optimised for screen resolutions with simplified features and larger diacritics. It's available in all the weights you'll need from Thin through to a super-heavy Black; there's also a desktop version available at the project's Github page. 27. Cornera A unique font for eye-catching designs Cornera is a unique font that can be used in eye catching designs, logos and short bursts of text. Created by Gatis Vilaks of Wild One Design, it’s free for both personal and commercial use. 28. Hamurz Get the hipster look with Hamurz Hamurz is a hipster-style retro typeface with rough edges and rounded shapes. Created by Bagus Budiyanto, it’s free for both personal and commercial use. 29. Fina A thin, fine, modern font Fina is a thin, fine, modern font that’s free for personal and commercial use. It was designed by Yai Salinas exclusively for DesignHooks and is free for both personal and commercial use. 30. Fibon Sans A sans-serif that’s well suited for any display and text use Fibon Sans is a transitional sans-serif type family in six weights. It’s a balanced, low contrast, geometric, highly legible typeface that’s very well suited for any display and text use. Created by Valerio Dell'Edera, it’s free for personal and commercial use. 31. L-7 Stencil Fragmented lettering makes this stencil font really stand out This sans-serif, stencil-style font uses fragmented lettering and rounded terminals to make real impact. Created by Luis Calzadilla, L-7 Stencil is free for personal and commercial use. 32. Shkoder 1989 A 1990s-inspired font for both print and digital Shkoder 1989 is a techy and sporty font, inspired by the 1990s. Combining two weights, it was designed by Julian Hoxhaj and Ana Hoxha and is free for both personal and commercial use. 33. Norwester This geometric font would look great in header designs This condensed geometric sans serif comes with uppercase and small caps, and would look great in header designs. Created by Jamie Wilson, Norwester is free for both personal and commercial use. 34. Aganè A geometric sans that’s optimised for web use Designed by Danilo De Marco, Aganè is a free font that’s ideal for use in the production of user interfaces. The available weights are light, regular, bold and extra bold, and it’s free for personal and commercial use. Next page: 8 free ebooks When it comes to learning web design, there’s nothing better than sitting back with a good book. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to invest in the physical printed edition. There are a ton of great books available online to read for free; here are some of our top picks. 35. A Guide to HTML5 and CSS3 Learn the basics of web development with this free book Authored by technical writer, web developer and programmer Ashley Menhennett, this free book covers the basics of web development and it’s a good starting point whether you wish to build websites, HTML5 mobile apps or games. 36. Speaking JavaScript This free book offers a way to learn JavaScript quickly and properly This book has been written for programmers by a programmer, one Dr. Axel Rauschmayer. Speaking JavaScript is ideal for those who want to learn JavaScript quickly and properly, as well as JavaScript programmers who want to deepen their skills and/or look up specific topics. 37. Pocket Guide to Writing SVG Get started with SVG by reading this free book This guide provides designers and developers with the basic knowledge needed to get started with SVG. It will help you better understand its overall syntax and behaviour through clear examples, and quick descriptions of properties and attributes. 38. PHP: The right way An easy-to-read reference for PHP coding standards Written by Phil Sturgeon and Josh Lockhart, PHP: The Right Way is a regularly updated, easy-to-read, quick reference for popular PHP coding standards, links to authoritative tutorials around the web, and what the contributors consider to be best practices at the present time. 39. Web Design for the Human Eye A practical guide to UI and visual design Get to grips with UI design with this free ebook from the team at UXPin. It distills topics including UI design, interaction design and visual design into practical design advice. 40. Pixel Precision Handbook UsTwo share their advice on digital design This 214-page guide to digital design comes from leading web design studio studio UsTwo. Currently on volume 3, this latest version includes advice on how to get both sides working together more effectively, plus design techniques to ease the transition from pixels to code. 41. Web Design Trends 2019 This free book showcases the best web design techniques This recent release by the makers of UXPin looks at the very latest trends in web design, and includes plenty of examples showcasing the best web design techniques, dozens of visual case studies, and best practices from the top tech companies. 42. Resilient Web Design Leading web designer Jeremy Keith looks back into the history of web design Web designers are mostly occupied by the here and now. But this free book by Jeremy Keith instead takes a look back, in an attempt to combine the most resilient ideas from the history of web design into an approach for building the websites of the future, In short, then, less a handbook and more a history book. View the full article

When you need a stock image for your graphic or web design, Adobe Stock is the place to turn. Integrated seamlessly into the Creative Cloud, it provides you with access to millions of high quality photographs and illustrations, not to mention templates, vectors, video footage and more. But even if you're already using Adobe Stock on a regular basis, you may well be missing a trick or two, that could save you a serious amount of time and energy. Read on as we highlight some of the less-obvious uses for Adobe Stock that you may not have considered... 01. Visual inspiration Adobe Stock is a stride ahead Google Images when it comes to visual inspiration Right at the start of a project, when you’re still thinking loosely about concepts and ideas, it’s natural to go looking for inspiration. And for most people, Google Images is often the default. But think about it: the images you’ll find there are going to vary hugely in quality, while on Adobe Stock there are millions of consistently high quality, professionally created photos, illustrations and videos to inspire you and give you fresh visual ideas. So you’re far better off using the sophisticated search filters provided by Adobe Stock, and seeking out visual inspiration there instead! 02. Website mockups and wireframes The main aim of a digital mockup or wireframe is to get the functionality right, and make sure that the site or app can fulfil the needs of the user in a fast and efficient manner. For this reason, they’re often created as “bare bones” designs, with zero imagery, and that approach can be appropriate when you’re just working on things in-house. But once you get to getting sign-off from stakeholders and clients, it can be worth using some of the high quality stock photography or illustrations available on Adobe Stock to make it look a little nicer and more approachable. Because however much you ask people to “see past” the lack of visuals, it’s often a psychological hurdle that non-designers find difficult to navigate. And the best news is, if you don’t want to spend any money, you don’t have to. You can use watermarked versions of any Adobe Stock image in your designs, and you only have to pay once you’ve got sign-off. If you don't use them, you don't pay: simple! More ways to use Adobe Stock images for free 03. Social media campaigns Adobe Stock saves you time by letting you search for pics of a certain shape (in this case, square) From Facebook and Twitter to Instagram and Snapchat, there’s so much noise on social media these days that attracting people’s attention with a brand campaign is a tough ask. But one thing’s for sure: the brain processes pictures far more quickly than words, and so powerful and eye-catching images are key to attracting those eyeballs. A small investment in the high quality photography and illustrations that Adobe Stock can provide, then, will pay off handsomely when it comes to clicks and likes. And not only are you free to crop the images you license to whatever shape and size you need, but you can even save yourself time by, for example, searching for only square, horizontal, vertical or panoramic images. 04. Moodboards The moodboard is a time-honoured tool in conveying the mood and spirit of a proposed campaign, and getting approval from clients and stakeholders before you head too far down the wrong path. To create one, many people often just scrape images from Google, because while this is technically copyright infringement, in practical terms they’re unlikely to ever get sued for it. However, legal issues aside, it’s worth considering using images from Adobe Stock instead. After all, they’re available in high resolution, so will look much better blown up at size. Plus the millions of high quality images available, in combination with sophisticated search filters, means that you’ll be much more likely to find the right images to bring your moodboard to life. 05. Email newsletters UK flag, EU flag and St. Paul Cathedral by erika8213 The email newsletter seen a massive resurgence in recent years. Perhaps as a reaction to the amount of noise on social media, people seem to like like the idea of a regular, curated and above all, short summary of what they need to know about a certain subject. In some cases, they’re even willing to pay for this service, and some people now make their living entirely based on producing a must-read email newsletter. Whether your newsletter is paid-for or free, though, success isn’t guaranteed, though. You have to produce one kick-ass newsletter if you’re going to succeed in this busy marketplace. And so here again is an arena where the right images can play a key role. Liven up your email newsletter with some high quality imagery from Adobe Stock, and - as long as the content is equally high quality - your sign-ups and open rates should soon start to climb. 06. Your blog If you’re writing a personal blog or the official blog for your design studio, imagery is again a great way to lure people in. Most of the time you’ll probably want to use killer images from your latest design work, but that may not always be possible. The client may not have given permission, for example. Or perhaps there aren’t great visuals from the work to show (if your work was in the field of strategy, or web development, for example). In such cases, don’t just leave a blank, or post an uninspiring image. Think outside the box, and search Adobe Stock for images that represent the theme of the story instead. For example, if you’ve has been invited to sit on a government panel to discuss how the creative industry should respond to Brexit, you might want to use the image above to highlight your news. 07. A/B testing Want variations on this pic? Click the image to visit Adobe Stock, then scroll down to 'More from this series' A/B testing is about serving up two versions of a web page, Facebook ad, etc, to your audience and seeing which one leads to the most conversions. Given the importance of imagery, it’s often useful to test different lead images, to see which one leads to the best results. The good thing about Adobe Stock is that there are often images from the same photoshoot, which means you can choose between small variations on the same image. This makes Adobe Stock ideal for when you really want to nail down the perfect image to help your website conversion rate. 08. Your personal videos Most video professionals will know about Adobe Stock’s motion design templates, which allow you to add cool effects, titles, transitions and more to your projects with very little effort. But they’re so simple to use that anyone can use them for their own personal videos too. Especially as many of them are free! To see how easy it is to use Adobe Stock's motion design templates without any training, check out our tutorial on how to add wow to your holiday videos. 09. Your wedding stationery Watercolor and Foil Wedding Invitation 1 By The Wedding Shop Planning a wedding? Adobe Stock can help here, too! It has an amazing range of top quality templates for your wedding designs that are fully customisable within Photoshop CC, Illustrator CC and InDesign CC. From designing your invitations and ‘save the date’ cards through to menu designs and thank-you notes, Adobe Stock has you covered: find out more in our article 5 ways Adobe stock templates can help with your wedding planning. 10. Your Christmas cards Finally, Christmas is approaching, you're a designer so why not design your own bespoke Christmas cards? It’s a great way to delight a client or potential client, and make sure they remember you. Or alternatively, you might just want to put a smile on the face of a friend or family member. To find out how Adobe Stock can make this quick and easy, check out our tutorial on How to Design a Christmas card with Adobe Stock and InDesign CC. View the full article

Art supplies don’t make the artist, but they help. Buy the best materials you can afford on your budget. It's tempting to cut corners financially, but bargain basement equipment will give poor results and cheap paints will look lifeless and chalky when dry. If you're going to spend that precious time developing your art, don’t sell yourself short with inferior tools. Although it’s an investment to begin with, the amount of paint you use on a daily basis compared to the cost is little. The art materials market can be a minefield for the uninitiated, the sheer number of choices available can be overwhelming to say the least. This essential art supplies guide is designed to relieve the stress of kitting yourself out and help you choose the best equipment first time. If you fancy some new pencils to use alongside the shiny new art supplies featured here, check out our guide to the best pencils around right now. Michael Harding started making his own oil paints in 1982 when he was studying fine art. Inspired by recreating the glorious colours in his favourite Rembrandt painting at the National Gallery, London, Michael went on to become a colour-master suppling oil paint across the world. His Michael Harding Oil Colour paints come in a comprehensive range of colours and a high pigment content, and less filler, means his paints retain vivid colour and are more light resistant. All this quality comes at a price, but it’s a false economy to try and save money on cheap paints that yield poor results when dry. Your art is worth that little extra. Choosing your first set of brushes can be a daunting task. Confronted with a myriad of manufacturers, different brush shapes, handle lengths and brush sizes can be overwhelming to say the least. A great place to start can be a pre-selected brush set from one of the best known names. This Winsor & Newton Series 7 brush set consists of two round brush in sizes 3 and 6, two filbert brushes in 3 and 6 and two flat brushes in 10 and 14. Synthetic brushes have come on a long way in the past 20 years and are a great mid point between traditional qualities of hog and sable bristles. We’ve all forgotten a paint brush from time-to-time and found it the next day dried and contorted. When your brushes are top-quality Rosemary & Co brushes this can be disastrous! Fear not tough, there is a miracle saviour available that, although expensive to buy, will soon pay for itself many times over. After cleaning my brushes in Bartoline Clean Spirit. I then use the Masters Brush Cleaner & Preserver soap to clear any remaining pigment from the bristles and reshape into it’s original form. Keeping your brushes clean and in good order is vital for successful results and for saving you a ton of money. The beauty of the metal brush washers such as this Academy JAS : Large Brush Washer Metal Deluxe is the perforated insert that allows you clean the bristles of the brush without swilling up the bottom of the pot. This allows the pigment to sink to the bottom and helps keep the spirit cleaner for longer. The clean spirit can be decanted and any sediment dredged from the bottom and disposed of correctly. The sturdy design stops it toppling over and the handy brush holder allows you to soak brushes without them becoming misshapen. There are many types of easels available on the market and each style is designed for a different use. Some are designed to be portable for plein-air painting and others are collapsable and best suited for limited space. Here I’m looking at a studio easel that’s designed to not get packed away and not leave the studio. Italian-made, Mabef easels, such as this Basic Studio Easel, are designed for quality and longevity. I have personally owned a number of Mabef designs for over 25 years and they’re all still going strong. Made from stain-resistant oiled beech wood, the finishing on these easels is beautiful, well worth the investment. It’s good to spend a lot of time identifying and analysing colour when mixing, so you don’t want to waste all that precious time allowing your mixes to dry out. In my studio I have airtight catering containers that are turned upside down and lined with glass so the lid becomes the mixing surface. Another, and perhaps easier, method is to invest in an airtight palette from Mijello. These cool little paint-savers allow you to keep mixes workable for weeks, which can be especially handy if you’re fitting painting in around a busy schedule. When you’ve invested in top-quality paint you don’t want to add inferior mediums to spoil it. Artist quality mediums can seem overly expensive next to their hardware cousins but the difference can be vast. Cold pressed linseed oil is produced specifically so the oil is of a higher quality and more suited for use with oil paints. As 99 per cent of artist's oil paints on the market use linseed oil as their binder, linseed oil such as this one from Winsor & Newton is a popular medium. Although alternatives like Safflower oil can help increase the drying time. You can save a lot of money by buying in bulk volume. One of the best qualities of oil paint, over acrylics or watercolours, is its slow drying time which gives you more time to push paint around. That said there are always instances where it would be advantageous for a layer of paint to be dry the next day and that’s where Liquin Original comes in. Liquin Original is designed to speed up the drying time of paint without affecting its body or colour. This drying medium is also available in a thicker Liquin Impasto for Impressionistic styles and a thinner Liquin Fine Detail for more camera-like techniques. Painting with palette knives can give some very expressive results but its not a technique for the faint-hearted painter. Equally, a great set of palette knives such as this one from MEEDEN will serve you well while mixing your colours, although look out for metal tools scratching your glass-topped palette. The most important thing is the knife’s construction. There is a tendency, even with the top manufacturers, to go for the cheaper process of welding the blade onto the arm of the knife. In my experience these welds nearly always snap so try and get the superior style where the blade and arm are made from a single piece of metal. Oil painting outside, or en plein air, can require you lugging around a lot of equipment. Watercolours can be a more portable choice for painting reference studies and colour examinations outside, and also a fun change of gear for an artist. This complete field set from Winsor & Newton includes 12 half-pans of Artist quality watercolour paint, a pocket brush, sponge, water bottle, water container and two small mixing palettes. I’d advise taking an additional larger palette strapped to your watercolour sketchbook and a few additional pocket-brushes, but otherwise you’ve got a complete Polly-esque painting kit that’s small enough to fit in your pocket. Read more: How to find your art style 20 sketching tips to help you make your first marks Acrylic painting techniques: expert tips for artists View the full article

Flaw in National Security Agency's Ghidra reverse-engineering tools allows hackers to execute code in vulnerable systems. View the full article

Users of Dreams on PS4 can create anything, from art and movies to music or games. The video game/game creation system Dreams is from the makers of hit game LittleBigPlanet which was a big sandbox for budding game creators and creative souls. The scope of that game was limited to the visual style set by the team, a problem that Dreams seeks to overcome. Dreams, by Media Molecule, is a young platform which is currently in early access. Your export options are limited to video and photos, but the developers have promised more options in this regard once the program launches for real. PSVR support is also planned for release. This tutorial will give you some hints and tips for using Dreams on PS4. Or for more 3D art-based learning, you can check out our pick of the best Blender tutorials on the web. This article was originally published in issue 133 of 3D Artist. Buy issue 133. Read more: Amazing free 3D models 3D sculpting: how to sculpt with style 10 ways to improve your 3D anatomy View the full article