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The best picture books aren't just for children. Illustrators create imaginative, character-filled artwork to bring stories to life for readers of all ages. Picture books can also spark the reader's imagination and allow them to enter the world the author has created, holding their attention to the very end. Illustrations treat the the reader to extra detail not found in the text, giving more context to the story. Soaking up all of this bonus material is what makes children crave the same story again and again – and it keeps adults interested when reading that one book over and over again. In this rundown, we've selected the best picture books you need to pay attention to, old and new, and included options for all ages, across a range of topics. If you want more picture book ideas, there are plenty over on our post rounding up the best children's books, or if you want to try your hand at illustrating your own book, check out our pick of the best how to draw tutorials on the web. Goodnight Moon allows us a private peek into the bedtime routine of a young bunny rabbit as he says goodnight to everything in his cosy room. This classic book will hypnotise the youngest of children with its rhythmic poetry and striking illustrations, and the board book edition is perfect for little hands. With pages that alternate from brightly coloured to black and white (colour choices that are perfect for babies), the books' colour palette makes bedtime feel safe and warm, with some slight shadowing that hints at night time. The ink drawings on the black and white pages zoom in on specific parts of the room so you can explore the features in more detail. It's a charming book that's guaranteed to have little ones yawning by the last page. We had to include a Julia Donaldson book in this list, and Paper Dolls is wonderfully illustrated by Rebecca Cobb. A little girl and her mother make a string of paper dolls and take us along on an adventure laced with sentimental messages about the importance of memories. Cobb has a delicate, whimsical illustrative style that's a departure from the boldness of Donaldson's collaborations with Axel Scheffler. Her pictures bring the imagination of the little girl to life and are full of detail that toddlers (and older children) love to explore. At the end of the story, you feel you've been let in on the secret of child's play; it feels joyful, bittersweet and surprisingly intimate. Ex-children's laureate Anthony Browne celebrated the topsy-turvy world found down the rabbit hole when he lent his unmistakable style to the classic book Alice In Wonderland in 2015. Known for his surreal approach, Browne is unafraid to let the darkness and confusion of Alice's adventures sing out with bold, sometimes grotesque, imagery that reimagines beloved characters and scenes. Browne tried to stray from the formidable influence of past Alice illustrator Sir John Tenniel, and we especially love his Mad Hatter. Instead of a signature tall hat, Browne's Hatter has lots of hats, stacked on top of each other. This is a fascinating read that will be most appreciated by older children and adults. Kind is a brand new book that showcases 38 top illustrators whose styles you are sure to recognise from their work on some of the best children's books (think Quentin Blake and Lauren Child to get an idea of the calibre). The book invites you to imagine a world where everyone is kind, all of the time, with each illustration depicting that premise in different ways. The different illustrative styles are celebrated using minimal writing, usually just a sentence or two. The types of kindness pictured vary from small acts such as opening a door for someone to showing kindness to people from other countries by learning a few words in their language. It's a profound book that'll resonate with both children and adults. One of a series of science-themed books that includes Dinosaurium and Botanicum, this one, Planetarium: Welcome to the Museum, is published in association with London's Science Museum. It's an impressively-sized hardback book packed full of mesmerising illustrations that depict all aspects of space, from our solar system to the universe beyond. Illustrator Chris Wormell has fulfilled every criteria with his artwork. He dazzles us with sweeping views of galaxies, then changes gear for the precision needed for scientific diagrams. It's like watching the universe on an HD screen of the highest spec. And the text from Professor Raman Prinja is suitably expert too, comprehensive and approachable enough for children and adults. Though if you did want a simpler one, it does come in a junior version. This stunning book about renowned artist Frida Kahlo has won multiple awards. Monica Brown uses the animals that inspired Kahlo to tell the artist's story in Frida Kahlo and her Animalitos, showing us how she embodied characteristics from her much-loved pets – two monkeys, a parrot, three dogs, two turkeys, an eagle, a black cat, and a fawn. This book is as much of a celebration of animals and Mexican culture as it is of Kahlo herself. John Parra's vibrant illustrations are tied to Kahlo's artistic style providing an immersive first look at one of the world's most influential artists. These glossy hardbacks illustrated by Jim Kay are a whole new way to experience Harry Potter. Kay is about to release number four out of the seven Potter books, and uses paint, pencil and digital art to breathe new life into the fantasy series. It was tough to choose a favourite, but we've gone for The Chamber of Secrets. The variety of technique and style is impressive, the dark plot is celebrated with eerie images and scenes that occur in dark places are printed on black paper. There's a particularly special double page imagining of the phoenix and a mesmerising double page of neon digital graphic art that blew us away. Where's Wally is reborn for the art crowd in this super-fun picture book, Where's Warhol? sees Andy Warhol catapulted into different eras as he visits art of the past. He's hidden in scenes depicting 12 iconic moments from art history ranging from Michelangelo working on the Sistine Chapel to Studio 54. Each picture serves as a who's who of the period, with famous faces littering the crowds. With amusing and well-crafted detail that was carefully created from archival research, this is an engaging and informative whistle stop tour through art history. The Jolly Christmas Postman has letters for all your favourite fairytale characters on Christmas eve. The format of The Jolly Postman books lend themselves to excitement (kids love opening a letter), and adding in the wonder of Christmas amps it up a level. The reader can visit the home of the Three Bears and Cinderella and open the actual letters and cards sent to them. With so many characters to spot in the captivating illustrations, and so much detail in the post itself, this book will keep small (and bigger) ones busy for hours. Just be careful with the littlest of readers as the envelopes are easy to rip. What does home mean to you? A caravan? An igloo? A shoe? In Home, Carson Ellis explores the many imaginative possibilities of where home could be through her precise style that seems simple but holds delightful detail. Some of her images come straight from real life, like the urban grit in the city scene, whereas others such as a pirate ship are more at home in a storybook. Her distinctive artistic style, though, is consistent throughout. Rich in colour and thought provoking, this book is a great basis for discussion about how different people live. This beautifully illustrated book, Sea Prayer, is based on the tragic real-life death of a refugee child that made international news. A father sits with his sleeping son on the evening before they take a boat across the sea to search for a new home. Part prayer, part reflection, the father talks of his life in his beautiful home country of Syria and laments all they'll be leaving behind. The poem is brief but leaves a lasting impact, while the watercolour illustrations are evocative and serve to make the father's words even more moving. This is a book you'll want to return to again and again. Read more: The best books for photographers right now The books every graphic designer should read Discover 2019's hottest design books View the full article

Most of us will remember those Diet Coke ads from the '90s, the ones where all the women in an office rushed to ogle a man with his top off, who happened to be drinking Diet Coke. Today, man ogling is back in a new spot created by Wieden + Kennedy London. This time, the women are two 'grannies', Vera and Gladys, who are sitting on the sofa scrolling through 'twinge', and texting each other about potential matches (it's not clear what phones they're using, but we'll assume they're some of the best smartphones available). Gladys sends a picture of Derek, 84, with the text: "I'm in, 100% my type, right?" and Vera swipes to see a picture of Derek with his top off, drinking a Diet Coke. Which is basically another way to say 'Take me, ladies, I'm yours'. Vera definitely remembers the '90s ad, as she replies: TOTAL PLAYA, with a laugh-cry emoji and a total of four exclamation marks to signify maximum excitement. And while Spanish speakers might read that as 'total beach,' we'll assume it's supposed to say 'player'. Vera then says, "not looking for long-term though, am I babes?" before doing some grr-ing at the picture of Derek. Yes, you read that right. It's the 1994 advert, but everyone's got older and we're now ogling men on a phone screen instead of through the window. It's a bit like New Coke coming round again. You can watch the spot in all its glory below: The ad campaign, named, 'You Do You' comes accompanied with eight limited edition cans, which, according to W+K's website, "celebrate popular phrases including, ‘Can’t even’, ‘Okay, next’ and ‘It’s lit’." There's also a social campaign partnership with Snapchat, where users can choose a Face Lens with the same phrases. We'll admit it, our first thought was 'what on earth has happened here?' Diet Coke has gone completely off-piste. However, ads that provoke a strong reaction, good or bad, are usually the ones you're more likely to remember. If you've never heard of the "popular phrases", we're gonna bet you're a) over 25 or b) okay we don't really know what else, they're not exactly in our vocabulary either. On the Coca-Cola website, Tuuli Turunen, marketing manager for Diet Coke, says: “Diet Coke is enjoyed every day and the launch of the new light-hearted campaign to celebrate everyday ‘you do you’ moments from embracing cultural trends to enjoying everyday pleasures aims to encourage our fans to just be themselves.” W+K, describing the campaign, says: "TV spots see people including two grannies defy conventional norms by unashamedly embracing mainstream trends." So either we're out of touch with mainstream trends, or Coca-Cola and W+K are. We can't even... Read more: 5 brands so strong they don't need a logo YO! Sushi rebrands with a ridiculously long name This angle meme is making designers want to gauge their eyes out View the full article

At last night's big launch event, Apple announced three new iPhones: the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max. There's plenty to explore here, from a slick new design to some impressive specs, to a camera that's probably going to bump it straight to the top of our list of the best camera phones. There are also, predictably, some glaring omissions, and a fair few mean memes already flying around. Let's take a look at the four features we were most impressed by, followed by three we were not. 4 things we love about the iPhone 11 01. The cameras Count 'em All the chat leading up the event was about the camera(s), and Apple hasn't disappointed on this front. Both the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max have a whopping three 12MP lenses – standard, ultra-wide, and a telephoto one with 2x optical zoom. Even the more basic iPhone 11 has two. There are more goodies here as well. All three phones have night mode, 4K video recording at up to 60fps. The front camera is also 12MP, and powers Apple's Face ID recognition system (which has been improved for this launch, too). 02. The battery life A permanent annoyance for iPhone owners (and a sticking point for powerful smartphones in general) is battery life. Apple has made steps to correct this here. At its California event, it promised that the iPhone 11 Pro would be able to last up to four hours longer than the iPhone XS; the Pro Max version could last up to 5 hours longer than the iPhone XS Max; and the iPhone 11 could last up to an hour longer than the iPhone XR. Of course, how they perform in practice is yet to be confirmed, but it's a promising start. Another exciting addition is fast charging. All three models will apparently be able to charge up to 50 per cent in just 30 minutes using a dedicated 18W charger. This is included with both Pro models and sold separately for the standard iPhone 11. 03. The colours Taste the rainbow We're designers here, so let's ignore the specs for a moment and be superficial. We think the new iPhones look goooood. Two years ago, with the iPhone X, we had the choice between black and grey. Now, we have a whole rainbow of handsets to pick from. For the Pro Max, as well the familiar Space Grey, Silver and Gold, we have a classy Midnight Green (we're fans). The iPhone 11 is a little more colourful: there are yellow, green and purple handsets to choose from, as well as Product(Red), which is linked to the charitable organisation fighting against AIDS and HIV. The colours are a little paler and duller than previous models, and that's because the backs of the iPhone 11s are glass to aid wireless charging. In fact, they have a matte look that we quite like. As predicted, the Apple logo has been centralised and the text removed, in contrast with previous iPhone designs. 04. The price Apple has form when it comes to reeling us in with impressive specs and snazzy designs, before smacking us round the face with an exorbitant price tag. Who can forget the casual addition of the $999 stand required to go with the Mac Pro (starting price: $4,999)? For once, we have some prices that don't make us want to vomit. Colour us pleasantly surprised. Don't get muddled, these iPhones aren't cheap by any standards. But they're not nearly as expensive as they might have been. The iPhone 11 starts at $699 (£729), which is little cheaper than the iPhone XR was at launch. 3 things we do not love about the iPhone 11 01. The weird camera design We actually don't hate the camera design, but it's certainly getting its fair share of criticism on social media. People are comparing it to everything from a fidget spinner to a gas hob to a Philips razor. But let's face it, the old Mac Pro got likened to a bin and the new Mac Pro does look quite a lot like a cheese grater... it's almost a tradition now, and it's not likely to do sales any harm. The camera 'bump' is a little odd looking, but the fact it's the same colour as the rest of the handset means it doesn't stick out too much. 02. The naming system The iPhone Pro 11 Max? What's coming next, the Pro Max Plus? iPhone Pro Pro Max? We like a confident naming system as much as the next design site, but we can't help but think Apple is backing itself into a corner here, and veering dangerously towards a 'The Greatest Hits of All Time... Ever! Vol 2' situation. 03. The lack of 5G Every new product launch brings with it one big thing that's conspicuous in its absence. With the iPhone 11, it's the lack of 5G. While 5G support isn't yet widespread, it is growing, and there's no doubt it's going to be the next big thing in mobile internet connectivity. We're baffled as to why Apple's most cutting edge phones wouldn't include it. Read more: The best cheap Apple laptop deals in 2019 20 best iPad Pro apps for use with Apple Pencil 5 things that might happen to Apple when Jony Ive leave View the full article

FISK is a gallery with a difference. Founded in 2014 in Oregon by Bijan Berahimi and Michael Spoljaric, FISK is one part residency, one part exhibition space, and one part shop. Visual artists from around the world come to take over the gallery, creating immersive installations and collaborating with FISK to design limited edition products. The founding duo will be taking to the stage at the upcoming Us By Night, which takes place from 26-28 September in the diverse, metropolitan city of Antwerp. We caught up with them ahead of their talk to find out the theory behind their groundbreaking venture, and what makes it so different from traditional art galleries. Inside: The gallery For FISK, community is key, and having a physical gallery space is vital. To them, it represents the opposite of the pristine, controlled online world. "It is a real place with dirty white floors and a slick sound system. Goods and bads... we love that," says Berahimi. Each FISK exhibition can be completely different from the next While the gallery is (proudly) imperfect, the pair try and make it perfect for each artist that exhibits there, and their particular mood and aesthetic. This in turn means each show audience can be completely different from the last. "It is amazing to think a space takes on a completely different personality based on the art on the walls," continues Berahimi. "We love the spontaneity and transformation of a physical space that can happen. One show is bright and optimistic, and a month later the vibe is a bit heavy and exhausting. You can’t do that authentically online." The aim for the future is to start branching out into different kind of events, exhibiting work from people who have never had a show before or perhaps aren't even artists. Inside: The shop To go alongside their show, exhibiting artists and designers are asked to create a product for the FISK shop. Berahimi and Spoljaric explain that three things are important in creating a product: it must be affordable, accessible and useful. While it may seem like a bit of a challenge to shift from creating art to creating products, the pair insist that, with over 30 shows now under FISK's belt, it's all quite straightforward. "It is not hard collaborating with artists on making art as products. They get the idea," says Spoljaric. "The big thing is accessibility in cost. Art should not be exclusive." Along similar lines, the gallery is planning creating the 'Fisk Library for One'. These will be special edition books based around art prints. Inside: The residency The final element of FISK is its residency programme, which again helps to build the community aspect of the venture. "We spend so much time meeting and communicating with artists through Instagram and email. We sometimes Skype, but the majority of the back and forth or even the 'discovery' of an artist happens online," says Berahimi. "We like sharing our experiences and being around people." Community is at the heart of FISK's ethos Berahmi even invites exhibiting artists to stay in his home – something we'd venture not many galleries would be willing to offer. "Community and having a good sense of trust beyond what happens in the space is important," he explains. The talk FISK founders Bijan Berahimi and Michael Spoljaric will be appearing at the upcoming Us By Night festival, where they'll be discussing "our gallery, the ups and downs, lessons learned and what’s next". Us By Night is a design event with a difference – it's completely nocturnal, with talks starting at 5pm each evening, and a thriving nightmarket to explore during breaks. For its atypical event, Us By Night's organisers picked an atypical host city. Antwerp has a prestigious artistic pedigree, and continues to feed its reputation with a thriving creative community (one in six Antwerp enterprises works in the creative sector) as well as an enthusiasm for innovation. Computer Arts will be attending the event, which promises to be just as awesome as previous years. Read more: Discover how fellow UBN speakers, W+K's Zeynep Orbay and writer Macie Soler-Sala make political work people actually want to pay attention to View the full article

Want to get started with acrylics? This article reveals the key acrylic painting techniques you should know. Acrylics are fast drying paints that can be used straight from a tube, like oil paints, or can be thinned with water, like watercolour. They are extremely versatile and vibrant, offering the artist a wide range of textures, colours and consistencies. (After more general advice? See our article on painting techniques instead.) Acrylics are also affordable, making them ideal for covering large areas with paint. Because these paints are opaque and fast drying, they can be very forgiving, allowing you to cover up mistakes with more paint. They can be painted on almost anything and dry into a water resistant surface. While you need to be aware of how quickly they dry, acrylics can be blended beautifully. The heavy body colour of acrylics is buttery and smooth, blending on the canvas almost like oils. Because they basically dry into a plastic surface, they are ideal for using in multimedia painting as well. All of these unique properties mean that you'll need to brush up on your acrylic painting techniques before you get started. Read on for everything you need to know. We'll begin with the kit you need, then introduce some simple acrylic painting techniques such as mixing and misting, to help you get used to working with this wonderfully versatile and rewarding medium. Acrylic brushes: A quick guide It's important to have a good variety of brushes, from small to large We'll begin by introducing four key brush shapes that will be useful in your journey into acrylic painting, and exploring what each shape can be used for. Acrylic brushes tend to be made from synthetic materials and can be used with a variety of mediums. You should not use oil or watercolour brushes for acrylic painting. It's important to have a good variety of brushes, ranging from small to large. You'll soon learn which you're more comfortable with, but these four are some of the more common shapes you'll encounter. The Filbert brush is a great all-purpose brush that can offer a straight or rounded shape. Acrylic paints: What types are there? Experiment with a variety of paint brands to see which one you enjoy using the most Here we're using golden acrylics, which have a buttery texture and can to hold up to a lot of water. These are considered 'Heavy Body Acrylics'. We'd encourage you to experiment with a variety of brands to see which one you enjoy acrylic painting with the most – everyone has their favourite type and brand. Acrylic paint is essentially plastic; more specifically, pigment suspended in a polymer emulsion. You can break that emulsion with too much water, so take care when thinning it out. The acrylic painting techniques in this article can be put into practice with any heavy body acrylic paint, student or professional grade. How to mix acrylic paints Mixing paints is a precise process Mixing paints is a precise process. It's good to know your colour wheel here as you'll be mixing very specific colours as you work. Red and yellow can be combined to make a variety of oranges. Add in some green and you'll get brown and burnt umbers. Using a palette knife, a plastic knife, or even an extra brush is ideal when acrylic painting. Mix thoroughly and remember that some paints can dry a slight shade darker. Need a refresher? See our guide to colour theory. Misting: How to stop acrylics from drying out One way to keep paints moist easily is to mist them with water Acrylics dry quickly – sometimes too quickly. One way to keep paints moist easily is to mist them with water when you're acrylic painting. You can buy gardening misters at hardware or gardening stores. Depending on the surface you're painting on, you can water your acrylics down enough to almost resemble watercolour. This can be a valuable trick to quickly lie in an under painting to get started. Using gesso as a base Gesso is a white paint mixture used as a ground for acrylics and oils Gesso is a white paint mixture used as a ground for acrylic painting and oils. Linen is stretched for canvas then painted with gesso to provide a smoother and more resistant surface for the paint to pushed around on. Acrylic gesso is a little different from traditional gesso as it contains latex. You can also use gesso to create texture under the paint you're going to apply. Glazing: How to seal acrylic paintings Glazing is a great way to seal pencil sketches to paint over Glazing is a great way to seal pencil sketches to paint over. Using a gel medium is the best and most even way to achieve a glaze. Start by selecting the colour you'd like to glaze with, in this case green. Then mix a bit of gel medium and paint together with just a little mist of water to loosen it all up. Once it's an even mixture, apply the glaze over these black strokes. Blending with acrylics Working wet into wet is the best way to blend Blending is one of the trickier acrylic painting techniques to master. First, paint in a layer of white then using a filbert brush, add in your colour (here we're using blue) along the bottom of the area you want blended. Stroke back and forth, rapidly up and down the area, until you get a nice gradient from your colour to white. Working wet into wet is the best way to blend. You can also dry blend by laying in colour, letting it dry then dry brushing another colour over it. Use wet in wet and over dry to build texture Use this technique when the colour or surface underneath is dry It's best to use this technique when the colour or surface underneath is dry. Start by loading up your brush (here with a deep purple), and paint a shape into the dry background (here orange). From there you can drag out the other side of the stroke to feather it into the canvas and paint below. You can see that acrylics have an incredible amount of control and will stay put pretty much wherever you put them. Read more: How to draw a bear in 5 simple steps How to clean paintbrushes: the definitive guide Watercolour tattoo art: the most incredible examples View the full article

Language learning apps are a great way for creatives to flex their brainpower. And learning a new language is also a great way to get more from, well, life. After all, one of the best ways to get inspired is to go abroad and experience new cultures, sights and sounds, and that's always so much better when you can communicate with the locals. The good news is that it’s increasingly easy to get started learning a new language. In recent years, language learning has evolved from the clunky methods of traditional textbooks and rote learning, to fun and flexible approaches that can be surprisingly effective. And of course, apps have also improved greatly. See our best iPad apps for designers if you don't believe us. That doesn’t mean, of course, that using a language learning app will get you anywhere close to fluency, without a lot of serious and more formal study to accompany it. But with a bit of effort, the latest language apps can certainly help you get from zero knowledge to a level that will make your trip a lot easier and more fun. And even if you’re still terrible, just making an effort to communicate in the locals’ own language can make all the difference in how they perceive you. It can, in short, open a lot of doors (not quite in the same was as having a supercharged design portfolio, but it's still definitely useful). In this article, we list five of the best language learning apps on the market, and explain the pros and cons of each, to help you choose the right one for your needs. 01. Duolingo Duolingo is totally free, but that's not the only reason it's popular. Pros: Free. Fun and easy to use. Cons: Lessons can be quite random. Lack of explanations. Platform: Web, iOS, Android, Windows 10 Price: Free Download here Duolingo offers 90 courses in 22 languages. It has over 300 million registered users across the world, and that popularity is not without good reason. Most importantly, it’s free. But that’s not all. It’s also nicely designed, especially in terms of functionality, and got a new look earlier this year. Duolingo’s approach is to immerse you in the language from the word go. It does this entirely via a series of multiple choice questions based on text, pictures, and audio. Just like in the real world, when you’re in a country whose language you don’t know, you have to muddle through and find the right answer through educated guesswork. This might sound like a pain, but it’s actually fun and easy to use, and turns language learning into something that feel less like ‘studying’ and more like a game. You also get persistent reminders to log on to the service, which is useful if you need some extra motivation. You can’t progress to the next stage until you get each round of questions right, and this is crucial, as it stops you from skipping bits and ensures you fully understand each lesson before you progress to the next. That might take a long time, and a lot of guesses, but that’s good too, because it encourages the kind of repetition that makes things stick in the memory. Duolingo is free, and has a lot going for it But there’s also a downside to using Duolingo. Because the questions are randomly generated, they can come up with some pretty odd sentences, rather than the common conversational phrases most people wish to learn. Also, the way the lessons progress doesn’t always seem logical. Suddenly jumping from basic vocab and sentence structure to quite advanced formulations seems to be a common theme of people’s experience, including our own. That can make you feel like you’re missing important chunks of what you need to know, which can be disorientating. Also, because there are no actual lessons or explanations, it can also be frustrating when you just don’t get why a particular answer is right or wrong. Having said that, Duolingo is free, and has a lot going for it. So we’d suggest you give it a try, and keep using it for as long as you find it enjoyable and useful. 02. Lingvist Lingvist only covers four languages, but does them all very well Pros: Good explanations. Choose what you learn. Cons: Only four languages. Free version is restrictive. Platform: Web, iOS, Android Price: From free to £16.99/month Download here Another app that helps you learn through a series of challenges, Lingvist is a little more serious and better structured than Duolingo, which may be a good or a bad thing depending on your perspective. Available for iOS and Android, and offering instruction in French, Spanish, German and Russian, Lingvist is largely focused on improving your vocabulary via flashcards. This is a tried and tested method used by language teachers all over the world, and works just as well in app form. In addition, and in stark contrast to Duolingo, Lingvistalso offers detailed explanations of grammar rules and then sets challenges to make sure you understood them. Again in contrast to Duolingo, you choose what content you wish to access, which might be a plus or minus depending on the user. For example, if you need to fill specific knowledge gaps in your understanding, this makes it easier to do so. If, however, you’re a beginner who just wants to be given direction, it can be a little overwhelming. Lingvist uses AI and machine learning to assess your language level automatically, so it’s suitable for everyone from beginner to advanced level. The free version limits you to 3,000 pieces of vocabulary in total, plus 50 new words and one challenge per day, but beyond that you have to pay. 03. Babbel Babbel provides a unique course for each language Pros: Practical focus. Unique course for each language. Cons: Not free. Not especially "fun". Platform: Web, iOS, Android Price: From £4.75-£9.99/month Download here Babbel is a subscription-based service; there’s a free version but it basically just gives you access to the first lesson on each course. The app currently offers 14 languages: Dutch, Danish, English, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Swedish, Spanish and Turkish. Crucially, each course is unique, and tailored to the needs of that language and country. That might sound obvious, but many online courses duplicate the same lessons over multiple languages, diluting the actual relevance of what you learn. With Babbel, though, it’s obvious that everything has been carefully prepared to be useful when you actually visit the country. Like Lingvist and unlike Duolingo, you can move to different levels within the course at will. And so while we feel Babbell is most suited for beginners, it could also be useful for intermediate and advanced users looking to improve their skills and plug a knowledge gap or two. The design is pretty minimal. The way you learn is pretty standard: a mixture of flashcards and multiple choice quizzes. And overall the tone of the app is a bit… well, dull. But on the plus side, there’s a real sense of academic rigour, seriousness and effectiveness with Babbell. And when you combine that with the practical and contextual nature of what you actually learn, that may be all you really need. 04. Rosetta Stone The oldest name in the game, Rosetta Stone is still going strong Pros: Can access lessons offline. Option for one-to-one tutoring. Cons: Expensive. Immersive approach may not suit. Platform: Web, iOS, Android Price: From £9-£16/month Download here The great-grandparent of all language learning software, Rosetta Stone has been around for decades: its first CD-Rom was released in 1992. And because of its high name recognition, the company charges higher prices for its courses than pretty much anyone else. Lessons are available both in the browser and via Android and iOS apps, which enable you to download lessons to follow offline. Also, if you want to pay more, you can add live online tutoring to your course, either within a group session or a private one-to-one session. The approach to learning is much more straightforward and highly structured compared with the likes of Duolingo. That said, it’s not like school learning: Rosetta Stone take an immersive approach where there are no English translations, and you have to rely entirely on pictures and guesswork to follow the vocabulary and grammar lessons. The idea is to get you speaking another language from the word go. As with Duolingo, this idea of immersion has its good and bad points. On the one hand, it’s the most natural way to learn a language, much like a child does, without overthinking. On the other hand, the lack of explanations about, say, a particular grammar point can become very frustrating. 05. Drops Drops won't teach you a whole language, but it's great for picking up lots of vocabulary, quickly Pros: Great for vocab. Beautifully designed. Cons: Doesn’t teach grammar. Free version very limited. Platform: iOS, Android Price: Premium version from £2.50/month Download here Looking to learn vocabulary, in short bursts, whenever you can spare five minutes on your phone? Then Drops is for you. The thing we love most about this app, which is available for iOS and Android, and covers an impressive 32 languages, is its design. No cheesy images here; all the colourful and minimalist illustrations are well crafted, and in our minds, that counts for a lot. It’s also a great example of the maxim: 'Do one thing and do it well'. The app is centred on vocab, mostly nouns, so while it won’t teach you a language by itself, it will teach you an awful lot of words in that language very quickly. The free version includes ads and offers you a five-minute session every 10 hours (so theoretically two a day, if you time it right). That doesn’t sound like much, and of course, it isn’t. But the very urgency of this short period can focus your mind wonderfully. Or you can pay for Premium mode, which unlocks unlimited time as well as removes ads and allowing offline access. Drops is only ever going to be one element of your language learning, but it’s great fun and we’d certainly recommend you at least give the free version a go. Read more: The best iPhone apps for designers How to make a photo collage in Photoshop CC TikTok app: What is it? And why should you care? View the full article

September Patch Tuesday leads off with two elevation-of-privilege bugs that have been exploited in the wild. View the full article

Overall Adobe's September security update addressed vulnerabilities in Flash Player and Application Manager. View the full article

Looking for the best CSS framework? This guide is here to help. In this feature, we're going to help you get familiar with some of the most interesting and powerful CSS frameworks available. Some of these are well-known, while others are newer tools that are just starting to pick up steam. Either way, you’ll benefit greatly from getting to know these useful tools. We'll kick things off with some well-known names. With any of these CSS frameworks you’ll be fully equipped to build clean, maintainable projects with minimal time investment. However, sometimes you need something a little more specific. For that reason, towards the end of the list you'll find some libraries and frameworks that have very specific use cases. For more CSS inspiration, take a look at our roundup of top CSS animations and how to code them. Generate CSS (26 Sept) is a London conference dedicated to all things CSS – book your ticket now! Use the code WEBDESIGNER2 for 10% off tickets 01. Bootstrap Let’s start with the most popular framework in the world. While Bootstrap is certainly not exclusively a CSS framework, its most popular features are the CSS-based ones. These include a powerful grid system, badges, buttons, card components, navbars and much more. There are also a whole load of free Bootstrap themes to explore. If you’re not familiar with how a framework like Bootstrap works, a few code examples will help, so you can see how easy it is to build maintainable interfaces by editing nothing but HTML. Bootstrap’s grid system is a great place to start. The Bootstrap grid has been a valuable commodity since the framework’s first public release in 2011. And no wonder – it’s ridiculously easy to use. Once you’ve included Bootstrap’s CSS, creating a responsive flexbox-based grid that works in all browsers is as simple as this: As mentioned, Bootstrap also boasts a comprehensive collection of UI components. Some of those that have been difficult to style in the past are just plug-and-play with a framework like Bootstrap. These include a breadcrumb navigation component, a card component and a pagination component. Here’s the HTML to implement pagination: All of these components can be built without writing a single line of CSS. In many cases, you’ll likely theme the components to suit the project’s branding. Whatever the case, the mobile-friendly structure will already be in place, making it incredibly easy to reach a finished product in record time. Bootstrap also includes advanced features for responsive layouts, utility components and it’s built on Sass, so it’s super-flexible and customisable. 02. Foundation The Foundation framework, like Bootstrap, has become immensely popular and is known as a more sophisticated framework with some advanced but easy-to-implement CSS components. Foundation is built on Sass so, like Bootstrap, it’s customisable. In addition to that, it also boasts some powerful responsive features that mean making mobile-friendly designs is super-easy. The responsive table component is one of our favourites: Also, the vertical timeline is a layout feature you don’t see in many frameworks. This component uses the .timeline class for the container, which then holds multiple .timeline-item elements with an icon and content for each item: That’s just a small sampling of the many components that make Foundation one of the best CSS frameworks available today. 3. UIkit UIkit is another popular frontend framework and maybe a little under-appreciated in terms of CSS features. In addition to many features similar to those found in other popular frameworks, there are a few useful specialised components. First of all, if you’re still not very comfortable with flexbox, you can do complex flexbox-based layouts with UIkit using plain HTML. It might seem strange at first to use flexbox syntax in your HTML classes but this saves you from having to know all the quirks about flex wrapping, columns/rows, flex grow and so forth. Here’s an example: UIkit includes dozens of components that offer attractive styles out-of-the-box. Many of the features are specialised utility classes, including the following: .uk-align-left, .uk-align-right and .uk-align-center for aligning or floating elements .uk-column-1-2 up to .uk-column-1-6 for multi-column, magazine-style text layouts .uk-radio, .uk-checkbox and similar for attractive form inputs Various margin and padding utility classes (.uk-margin-top, .uk-padding-small etc.) Various utility classes to relatively position an element inside a container (.uk-position-top, .uk-position-left etc.) UIkit is worth a try if you want a fresh, well-maintained CSS framework with a slew of component options. It’s available in Less and Sass and even includes a stylesheet to cater for right-to-left languages. 04. Semantic UI Semantic UI has a lot of feature overlaps with other popular frameworks but the way it works (implied by the name) is based on the semantic nature of the class names that are used to build components. In other words, the class names are human friendly. Take a look, for example, at how you would build a four-column grid: Notice the way the class names communicate exactly what’s built. The CSS doesn’t necessarily have a unique set of styles for each of the classes listed but instead the classes work together. Thus, much like language where words make sense in context, the class names work together to build cohesive, mobile-friendly components. Here’s another example, which builds a simple data table: This is a great demonstration of how Semantic UI uses class names to describe the component being built. If you’re more accustomed to traditional frameworks like Bootstrap or Foundation, the learning curve on this one might be steeper. But once you get the hang of it, it’s pretty powerful and enjoyable to use. 05. Bulma Bulma is another popular CSS framework and its primary feature is the fact that its components are largely dependent on flexbox, making it a truly modern framework. You can think of Bulma is being somewhat like a hybrid of Bootstrap and Semantic UI but without any of the complexity. It uses some of the same principles as Semantic UI with its class names, includes many of the popular components, yet manages to keep things simple – for example, form elements have little to no styles to maintain a cross-browser look. The following example demonstrates how a Bulma component can be built and is easy to maintain: Notice the containing <section> element is given the hero and is-dark classes. This indicates you want a hero banner that uses the default dark theme (one of seven theme colours included with Bulma, all of which can be changed via Sass variables). Also, notice the is-* classes on the container and primary heading. The is-fluid class enables the container to be fluid on any size screen, centred with margins and with no max-width. Without this value, the max-width of the container changes depending on the size of the viewport. The is-size-2 class defines the size of the heading, with sizes ranging from 1 to 7. As you can see, Bulma makes it incredibly easy to build mobile-friendly interfaces via readable class names. 06. Tailwind Many modern CSS frameworks are taking advantage of a recent trend in building user interfaces: the use of single-purpose utility classes also known as Atomic CSS (see the accompanying box). Tailwind is one such framework. The idea behind Tailwind is that instead of starting out with pre-styled cookie-cutter components, you build everything from the ground up using utility classes. The learning curve is definitely higher on this one, especially if Atomic CSS is new to you. But with Tailwind, specificity issues and other override problems common in large stylesheets are avoided. As an example, Tailwind doesn’t include any kind of ‘button’ component. But you can build your own button using something like the following: From there, if you decide what you've created is a valid component for reuse, you can do that by means of Tailwind's component extraction feature. So a component like the button shown in the previous code block can be included like this: As you can see, the learning curve for Tailwind is pretty high. Not only do you have to get accustomed to the utility-first styles but it’s also recommended to use component extraction, done using Tailwind’s @apply directive – which is just one way to do extraction; see its documentation for more. 07. Picnic CSS If you don’t like the idea of including presentational classes in your markup, which is common in most, if not all, of the popular frameworks, then Picnic CSS might be the framework for you. Picnic is in many ways the opposite of Tailwind in that it’s not only less complex but very opinionated. For example, some HTML elements are pre-styled with no need to add class names. These include <button>, <button disabled>, <table>, <input type="checkbox"> and <input type="radio"> (the latter two of which also have a nice little animated check/uncheck actions). In addition to a number of existing default styles on many HTML elements, Picnic has some other nicely designed interactive pure-CSS components that don’t require any JavaScript. These include a modal dialog, a tab switcher, a file uploader and a tooltip. Some of these can be enhanced with scripting but they’re all functional with just CSS. 08. PaperCSS We're getting into the more speciality options in our list of the best CSS frameworks here. This won’t be your go-to CSS tool but it’s one of the quirkiest frameworks out there. PaperCSS is billed as the “less formal CSS framework". The components have a hand-drawn, cartoon-like appearance. Use cases might include a website for kids, a blog, a game or a comic strip. PaperCSS includes a flexbox grid, badges, buttons, cards and some interactive pure CSS components. The accompanying image gives you a taste of what this unique framework produces. 09. NES.css Like PaperCSS, NES.css has a unique set of styles suitable for only a narrow set of projects. It mimics the 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System graphics, creating a retro gaming look. In addition to common components found in other frameworks, NES.css also includes styles for comment balloons, reaction icons, plus unique containers with borders. Below is the code for a couple of comment balloons. The accompanying image shows how they look along with a couple of the many icons (built via CSS shadows) that are bundled with the framework. If you like this, check out PSone.css. 10. Animate.css There are multiple libraries that more or less do the same thing: add one or more animations to a specified element. The first such library that gained popularity in recent years was Dan Eden’s Animate.css. This fun library contains dozens of pre-built animations that shake, fade, slide, zoom and more. There are some other similar libraries that offer users alternative animations, including Woah.css, which has some undeniably offbeat animations that probably aren’t to everyone’s taste. There’s also Vivify, which has many more unique animation options and is quite different from Animate.css. Another great option to explore is CSSFX, a new project that has even more options for plug-and-play style animations. Finally, if you’re on the hunt for animated loading indicators, you might want to check out Epic Spinners, which features some unique CSS-only animated graphics. Do I need a CSS framework? It’s not uncommon to hear people bash CSS. With its focus on the cascade, global styling and the idiosyncrasies of its layouts, it has attracted its fair share of ire from frustrated developers. For these people, CSS frameworks and libraries that modify vanilla code to make it more intuitive are an absolute godsend. Meanwhile, for some CSS purists, frameworks simply add a layer of abstraction to something that needs no adornment. Neither side is right or wrong. There’s great value in understanding the core language (especially some of the new features like flexbox and Grid Layout) but there’s also great value in being able to build something quickly that’s scalable and maintainable. That’s where CSS frameworks and libraries can help. It might be that you love writing your CSS from scratch. But with easy-to-use, flexible and adaptable frameworks and libraries like the ones discussed in this feature, you can build interactive and maintainable UIs for your app in little time. We'd always encourage developers to keep learning and writing vanilla CSS. There’s no substitute for that. But if you need to build or prototype a new layout or design on a tight deadline, using one of the best CSS frameworks can be a huge productivity booster. Click the image to find out more and book your ticket If you’re looking to learn the latest creative and practical skills to take your career to the next level, then join us at Generate CSS our conference for web designers and developers. Find out more at www.generateconf.com. Use special offer code WEBDESIGNER2 for a 10% discount on tickets! This article was originally published in net, the world's best-selling magazine for web designers and developers. Buy issue 321 or subscribe. Read more: 5 pro Sass tips for better CSS Create animated CSS art How to design with CSS shapes: An introduction View the full article

Ever feel that this is the final season of humanity, and the writers are pushing out all the crazy story ideas that they weren't allowed to get away with before? Also, have you seen that Peter Saville's designed the trophies for this year's Pornhub Awards? Yes, that Peter Saville. Co-founder of Factory records, designer of a whole stack of iconic album covers including Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures, Eno and Byrne's My Life in the Bush of Ghosts and Peter Gabriel's So. Over the years he's also designed the England football team home shirt, the livery for Manchester's Metrolink tram system and Burberry's new logo, and he's even had a stint at Pentagram. Oh, yes, and that Pornhub. Last year it roped in Kanye West to design the statues for its inaugural awards – a celebration of its most popular performers – and since it's hard to go much bigger than Kanye, this year Pornhub's got an actual design legend to do the business. And to be fair he's delivered, with a stunning piece of organic and sensual experimental design (check out some non-porn-related experimental design examples here). Admit it, this would be one hell of a conversation piece to have around the house It's a striking piece in bright orange that, Saville tells Ad Age, is inspired by the molecular structure of sex hormones and other behaviour-modifying chemicals such as serotonin and dopamine. "My intention was to maintain a degree of ambiguity in the final form the award took, with respect to the sexual spectrum so impressively encompassed by the award category line-up," he says. He hasn't gone quite so far as Kanye, whose 2018 design was basically a sex toy, but there are definite elements in it that you might expect to find gracing the pages of specialist ecommerce sites. "Sculpturally the award has a bio-fluidity about it, abstractly evoking orifices, penetration, sperm and bondage toys," he explains, and notes that the big creative challenge in this project was "to design a trophy celebrating sexuality without reiterating the clichéd symbolism of erotica." Well, quite. Hang on, what if we end up getting an invite? We're meddling with forces we can't fully comprehend here We're sure that the award winners – categories include Top Fetish Performer, Most Popular Verified Amateur and Top Female Solo Performer – will be delighted to have Saville's design gracing their mantelpieces. The 2019 Pornhub Awards take place on 11 October at Los Angeles' Orpheum Theatre; you can find out more here. Related articles: 25 names every graphic designer should know How to win a D&AD Award 5 logo redesigns that got it right View the full article

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

Slack is an increasingly popular tool for businesses and teams who need to communicate instantly. While it may – in some cases – be considered a daily disruption, it also has a great automation potential, offering dozens of integrations to keep everything in one place, and it is slowly superseding emails. There are many ways to integrate your systems with Slack; the platform even provides a branded bot that lets you deliver reminders, or messages across your digital workspace. 18 of the best collaboration tools for designers Slack offers various entities that could be considered 'bots': webhooks, which allow to post messages from other apps into Slack, but are a one-way form of communication, apps, for advances integrations (with other apps), bot users, more on them shortly. In this tutorial we'll be looking particularly at 'bot users', how to program them (check out our guide to the best code editors to make your life easier) and make them fit your needs. This presupposes you have access to a Slack space where you can add app integrations. If you are not already part of one, they are free to create. In what follows, we build a NodeJS app to post-to and respond to particular messages in a Slack channel. We use the 'slackbots' module, which is a wrapper for the Slack Real-Time Messaging API. 01. Code setup This tutorial assumes you have node installed. If not, do so now. Then download the assets you'll need. We have provided you with a starting point and framework for the tutorial. Throughout, we make use of modules such as 'slackbots' and 'node-slack-upload'. They can be obtained by running the install command. 02. Slack setup Give your bot a username and invite it to your channel We are using the "Bot user" integration for Slack. To do so, we need to get a token by going to 'https://<youSlackworkspace>.slack.com/apps/A0F7YS25R-bots' and click "Add Configuration". Choose a username for your bot (we can override this programmatically at a later stage), and confirm. Invite the bot to the desired channel. By creating a bot user you will get a token in the following format: xoxb-000000-000000-x0x0xxXxX0XXxx0x Copy the token for the next step. 03. Environment variables We make use of environment variables (a '.env' file) to avoid hard-coding and revealing secret tokens and keys, like the Slack token we've generated, and the channel name in your private Slack workspace. Go ahead and fill in the '.env' file with your token, and the name of the channel to which you've invited the bot user. 04. Bot parameters This next step takes us to 2 files: 'index.js', which we'll have a brief look at, and 'bin/lib/bot.js', where most of our development takes place. In the index file, we instantiate our bot by giving it a name, which is 'WDMBot'. In 'bot.js' we control the parameters of each instance with name, token, etc. 05. Post to channel Now you can get your bot to send messages Have a look at the 'sendMessage' function. We use the 'postTo' method. This will handle posting to any type of channel, public or private. If you only want to post to private channels you could use 'postToGroup' instead (or 'postToChannel' for a public one). To send our first message, we can add code in 'initBot'. 06. Custom botParams You should have noticed a message from WDMBot appear in your channel. It is worth noting that in 'botParams', 'as_user' is set to false, which lets us override the name and image. If set to true, it will use the name and image you set when getting the token. You could change the bot emoji to an image like so: 07. Channel events Set your bot up to listen for messages Posting messages is useful, but to make the bot more interactive, we need to be able to identify posts from other users in the channel. Let's listen to the message event, and then see what happens when we type into to channel. We should see different message types being logged, like 'user_typing' or 'message'. 08. Respond to incoming messages Next, we want to reply to incoming messages of the type 'message', and maybe to a specific phrase or keyword, to avoid replying to absolutely everything. We make sure to compare lowercase strings if we want to match an exact phrase. We could also see if a message 'includes()' a particular word. 09. Restrict to "human" users Messages sent by bot users have various properties such as a subtype of 'bot_message' and a bot_id. You might want to restrict replying to only human-posted messages to avoid infinite loops of bots replying to themselves or each other, if their response includes one of the keywords you're listening for. 10. Personalised response To give a more personalised response, you can leverage the user id of the message you're replying to. Slack will automatically convert an id to the user name when enclosed in the tags '<@>'. Identifying who you are replying to can be useful, especially if multiple channel members are interacting with your bot simultaneously. If you're looking to learn the latest creative and practical skills to take your client work, career or agency to the next level, then join us at Generate CSS – our CSS-focused conference for web designers and developers. Find out more . Use special offer code WEBDESIGNER2 for a 10% discount on tickets! 11. Update responses Bots can also edit their responses. Only their own, though. So if you were hoping for a typo-spotting bot that would correct your messages automatically when it spots a mistake, that's not possible with the current setup. To update the message, we define a new function, and a global Boolean that we'll use in our demo. 12. Change the message Update the messages that the bot sends out Let's try to update the text the bot sends us. In this case, on a message event, we need to reply to an incoming bot message, so we'll match that condition for the update, and we also use the timestamp of the original message to be updated. That is so Slack can identify which message to update, in case others get posted in-between. 13. Ephemeral messages Ephemeral messages are only seen by one user and can be deleted Ephemeral messages are, as the name might suggest, temporary. They are also only visible to one user and can be deleted by them. Those types of messages might be useful as a tip or reminder that doesn't need to stay permanently. 14. User lookup Different methods will take slightly different user parameter (either ID or name, which is different from the display_name and real_name). However, only the user id is available on message events. We can therefore implement a user name lookup by getting all users and matching the ID. 15. Send direct messages With the new user lookup, we can now send direct messages to a user, when ephemeral messages just won't do. Note that direct messages are considered to be a new/different channel, with a different ID than the original channel. You could also implement a channel lookup in the same way as the user we've done previously. 16. Respond with an image Bot users also have permissions to upload files and images to a channel. This functionality is not covered by 'slackbots' though, so we have to instantiate a new uploader, as demonstrated below. Also prepare an 'assets' folder at your project root, with some images in it. Let's prepare a call to 'sendImage()', defined in the next step. 17. The file upload function Use the uploader and the FileSystem to upload images We upload images using the uploader and the FileSystem (fs) module. Provided that a user's message is in the format "image <imagename.extension>", and such a file exists in the 'assets' folder, the image will be read and uploaded. If not, we send back a regular message (it could even be an ephemeral one). 18. Post to multiple channels You can post to multiple channels with the same bot user, as long as it is a member of each channel where you are expecting a response. Let's create a 'postToAll' function and update the environment variables to have channel names as comma-separated values. 19. Split channels Occasionally, you might want to use channels for debugging, or respond to events differently with the same bot in different channels. It is up to you to workout your channel naming convention. We will assume for the following example that SLACK_CHANNEL=wdm-tutorial,wdm-tutorial-debug. 20. Dictionary of responses We have been hard-coding responses directly in the message. Going forward, to make things more manageable, you might want to store triggers and responses, either in a database or JSON format, and switch between them depending on the conditions met. 21. Further resources There's much more bot info to be found elsewhere There are a few other useful properties available in the Slack API. Hopefully, this tutorial will have given an overview of what's possible for all your bot needs. Further resources can be found by reading the 'slackbots' documentation, or the full Slack API documentation. This article was originally published in issue 289 of creative web design magazine Web Designer. Buy issue 289 here or subscribe to Web Designer here. Related articles: Build an AI-powered chatbot Slack's had a massive update and you're all going to love it How to design a chatbot experience View the full article

You're reading Free Bootstrap Dashboards and Landing Pages, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook! Whatever you plan to create, you have a reliable companion in Bootstrap. It provides a solid, trustworthy foundation for a web project with a bulk of features for building and extending functionality like Bootstrap dashboards. The free Bootstrap dashboards are … View the full article

Flaws can potentially affect every device and user on the network by directing them to malicious websites or blocking their access to important data or resources. View the full article

This year has so far been full of exciting and daring creative expression as people look for new ways to stand out and create something unique, whether this be through advertisements, on the catwalk or in movies. At Shutterstock, we released our Creative Trends Report back in January to predict the top influences for design and visual production in 2019. The trends were forecast by gathering and analysing data across images, video and music and included billions of searches and downloads within Shutterstock’s collection of 280 million images by customers around the world. The top three major trends for 2019 were Zine Culture, '80s Opulence and Yesterday’s Tomorrow, and we also predicted some rising trends, which included a trend for Japanese cuteness, Kawaii. As we head into September, we look back at the past eight months to see whether these predictions have come to fruition, and predict where they may still have influence throughout the rest of the year and beyond. Want to see how these trends have influenced the world of design? Check out how they've been incorporated into these inspirational design portfolios. 01. Zine Culture The Zine Culture trend is all about paper cutouts, noise and texture Historically, zines have been venues for the counterculture to freely share ideas. They disseminate the voice of people through DIY-style media. This made it a perfect theme for creative agency, Don’t Panic, to spark political debate with its flyposters, carrying the hashtag #stickittotheman, which appeared all over London following Boris Johnson becoming the new Prime Minister. The zine-inspired poster campaign encourages pedestrians to stick their used chewing gum onto the face of Boris Johnson. The zine culture trend was originally expected to predominately be seen on social media, but it has recently influenced product design like the Nike Air Force 1s and multichannel advertising campaigns, including Bombay Sapphire’s Discover the possibilities ad (above), created by AMV BBDO. This ad follows three individuals in a hyperreal representation of the creative process as they bring their masterpieces to life. In particular, the first two individuals feature random objects that are presented in a zine-like video format, but as we witness, this is part of the process to showcasing their individual creativity – a key element of zine culture. This example shows how zine can be applied in videos and in ways other than the typical loud and collage style that we regularly see. Read more about the rebirth of the zine . 02. '80s Opulence Outside of advertising, ‘80s Opulence – all about animal prints, clashing and attitude – has become increasingly relevant as high-profile celebrities bring back fashion trends that were popular in that era. Taylor Swift donned an outfit for the MTV VMA’s by Versace (above), featuring the quintessential chains that are key to the ‘80s Opulence trend. The huge popularity of the '80s-based show Stranger Things has also given fashion brands the chance to hijack the launch of the third season and create items that appear in the episodes, for example, Levi’s ‘Stranger Things’ Hat. Other Stranger Things-related items include New Coke's comeback. 03. Yesterday's Tomorrow Yesterday's Tomorrow is all about old becoming new (again) In terms of entertainment, we can see the Yesterday’s Tomorrow trend having an influence on games with the recent launch of World of Warcraft Classic, and the planned release of Disney’s retro games Aladdin and The Lion King later this year. All these games originally used basic vector graphics and synth music that will be brought back within these games in 2019. As well as video games, the designs associated with Yesterday’s Tomorrow have also been prevalent in music and entertainment, particularly Muse’s Simulation Theory album cover and show design (above), John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum poster, and Pokémon Detective Pikachu. 04. Everyday Futurism As well as the major trends from the report, there was also a list of Rising Trends predicted to have a more subtle impact in 2019. Adidas and HYPEBEAST have recently created a campaign to promote the new Adidas originals Ozweego (above) for the Chinese market. Based in a futuristic setting with innovative graphics, it fits in with the Everyday Futurism trend from the report, which celebrates technological advancements in our society. The ad also has a scene that features influencer Lala Takahashi creating her own zine-inspired poster. 05. Rococo Romance Rococo Romance is all about maximalism, and Old World paintings Additionally, there was the rising trend Rococo Romance, which focuses on the Rococo period and its dramatic vintage patterns, soft pastels, sensual light and shadow, and elegant curving lines. Galaxy adopted this trend completely with its Accidental Renaissance campaign, created by BBDO Dublin. The ads focus on moments of everyday 21st-century life, with a dramatic painterly vibe that is synonymous with the Rococo Romance trend. 06. Kawaii Cuteness goes mainstream with the Kawaii trend Another rising trend was Kawaii – the culture of cuteness in Japan – which is taking the world by storm. We saw this trend come to life in London at Hyper Japan – a three-day festival celebrating Japanese culture. We expect this trend to continue to gain momentum when the Rugby World Cup in Japan starts in mid-September. It’s likely that brands will want to channel the local culture around the global event by using creative designs influenced by Kawaii to resonate with the right audience. Creative trends for 2020 It’s clear to see that the Creative Trends Report has made accurate predictions so far this year, especially with the major trends. There are so many possibilities for these trends to be used in diverse ways and through multiple mediums that we expect they will continue to have an influence beyond 2019. Read more: Are trends any good for branding? 6 big portfolio trends for 2019 TikTok app: What is it and why should you care? View the full article

When a elementary school student created his own logo representing the University of Tennessee Volunteers, his hand-drawn design was mocked by other students. In a heartwarming twist, the university has adopted the logo for use on one of its official T-shirts, with proceeds going to an anti-bullying charity. The logo design has proved so popular it caused the university's online shop to crash. 42 best free handwriting fonts The story starts when a Florida boy, a University of Tennessee fan, didn't have a Volunteers shirt to wear on his elementary school's Colors Day, so he decided to make his own. He wore the hand-drawn logo pinned to an orange T-shirt, and his efforts attracted the ridicule of fellow students. Quick pause for non-US readers here. 'Volunteers' – often shortened to 'Vols' is the name adopted by the University of Tennessee in reference to Tennessee being a Volunteer State in the War of 1812. College Colors Day is a US celebration in which university students, parents, and alumni are encouraged to celebrate their team spirit. This Florida student didn't have a Vols T-shirt for Colors Day, so made his own The boy's teacher, Laura Snyder shared the story on Facebook, explaining that the child was a big University of Tennessee fan and had been heartbroken when others had made fun of his handiwork, and reaching out to the university with a request for some Vols merchandise to cheer him up. The story quickly went viral, and the University of Tennessee responded by not only sending a mega box of stash, but adopting the design for an official university T-shirt. The design now adorns one of the University's official T-shirts The design is featured on a T-shirt in the University's official Tennessee orange, with a portion of proceeds being donated to US nonprofit STOMP Out Bullying. When the shirt went on sale in the VolShop, demand was so overwhelming it caused the website to crash. It's now available to preorder again, for delivery in late September. Read more: 10 iconic logos with hidden meanings 5 ad campaigns that changed the world Why have the words disappeared from Dairy Milk bars? View the full article

The Japanese restaurant chain YO! has recently rebranded its Richmond branch as YO!SushiRamenKatsuStirfryCurryBaoBurgerGyozaFriesYakisobaMochiBallsFriedChickenPopcornShrimpBeefTeriyakiChocolateBrownie! The new 121-character name features 17 menu items and is displayed on a monster sign that extends over 12ft. The aim is to highlight the choice of food the restaurant offers – there are over 80 dishes available (thankfully they didn't all make it to the new name). YO!'s website also announces the change, suggesting that perhaps it could become more widespread. Although having such a mouthful of a name is certainly not an approach to logo design we see very often, what is familiar is that the rebrand is linked to a social media campaign. Customers who upload a video to social media of them successfully saying this tongue-twister will be entered into a draw to receive a £50 voucher. Yo! Look at this massive sign! Will having of the longest, most unpronounceable names do YO! any good? Well, if the town Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch in Wales is anything to go by, then yes. Because the chances are, you've heard of this long-named destination, and if you went there, you'd probably take a selfie at the train station. YO! said in a press release that it hopes this name will "inspire Britain to be more adventurous and discover the world of fresh, exciting and delicious Japanese food. To support this vision, the brand is relaunching to show that they are about more than just sushi with over 80 colourful dishes on its current menu." It also notes that this is based on research that discovered that 55 per cent of the public think that sushi solely means raw fish. There are a few questions that remain about this rebrand though. First of all, how will it fit on packaging design, business cards or menus, for example? Will it be all over the walls? Will the people who work at YO!SushiRamenKatsuStirfryCurryBaoBurgerGyozaFriesYakisobaMochiBallsFriedChickenPopcornShrimpBeefTeriyakiChocolateBrownie! have to answer the phone saying this name? And finally, does anyone really associate chocolate brownie with sushi? Read more: Six-year-old designs logo for London restaurant Can a new Byron logo save the struggling burger chain? Why have the words disappeared from Dairy Milk bars? View the full article

Getting social media right isn't easy, but it's an essential tool for brands wanting to keep themselves in the minds of their customers. All too many companies set up social media accounts and then either forget about them or use them as a straight marketing channel. That's never a good look, regardless of how impressive your Instagram fonts are. To give you some ideas on how to create a social presence that'll reel the punters in, we've found eight brands that are killing it on social media right now. Whether you want to work across multiple platforms, develop a distinctive brand voice that customers will identify with, or simply promote your brands in ways that traditional marketing techniques don't allow for, you'll find some inspiration here. How to nail your social media strategy 01. Lego Lego's Instagram account is where it's at With over 13 million Facebook fans and more than 600,000 Twitter followers, Lego is a titan of social media, which isn't surprising given its position as one of the world's leading toy brands. The brand has a never-ending stream of cool new stuff as well as an openness to suggestions through its Lego Ideas portal. But it's on Instagram – where "everything is awesome" and it has a cool 4.5 million followers – that really Lego stands out; Instagram's visual nature makes it the perfect place for Lego to showcase inspiring projects and new product launches to swallow up your disposable income. 02. KFC Smart brands know their audiences and how to address them, and some of the best-performing brands on social media are the ones that nail a brand voice that might not sit well in the board room but cuts right through to the target market. KFC is a master of this, not only through its main account but also its international franchises. Take for example this epic shade thrown at the Conservative party by the UK KFC account: Our favourite thing about KFC on Twitter, though? Well-known for its secret recipe of 11 herbs and spices, its main Twitter account follows just 11 people: When you get it, you'll get it 03. Charmin Social media's a lot more relaxed than other promotional channels, meaning that brands can often use it to say what they can't in their more traditional campaigns. For example, toilet paper adverts have always been dressed up in assorted euphemisms, generally focused on comparing its softness to assorted cute fluffy animals rather than ever addressing what it's actually used for. For US toilet paper brand Charmin, though, when it comes to Twitter, the gloves are off. It still makes a big deal about how soft its paper is and gets a lot of mileage out of its bear mascot, but it doesn't shy away from the nitty gritty of toilet paper and it makes liberal use of the poop emoji, and for that we love it. 04. Paddy Power Regardless of how you feel about gambling, it's hard not to at least feel a little grudging admiration for the way in which Paddy Power has revitalised the industry's image. Gambling used to be all about grim-looking high street betting shops, but with its killer eye for mischief and controversy, Paddy Power has shaken things up a lot, and its Twitter presence radiates its own particular brand personality. It's a non-stop stream of sports talk – and accompanying odds – but alongside that it's never afraid to tackle bigger issues. 05. Disney When you're as big as Disney and have so much beloved content to draw upon, even a half-hearted social media presence would do the job. So it's to Disney's credit that it nails its social game, with some staggering numbers to prove the point: 52 million Facebook fans, 6.4 million Twitter followers and another 20 million on Instagram. As with Lego, it's probably on Instagram that Disney's image and video-let social feed works best, but its greatest recent use of social media came when it summoned all its assorted properties to move to its new streaming service, and they all responded in kind. 06. Casper Sleeping's great. Everyone loves a good slumber, and industry disrupting sleep brand Casper loves to play on this in its social media output, with a great line in photos of cute sleepy animals that are guaranteed to ramp up the 'Awww!' factor. Right now it's pulling out all the sleepy stops for 'Sleptember', a month dedicated to celebrating all things sleep; we're not sure it's going to catch on, but we love its dedication. Get some snoozey listening on the Casper Sleep Channel As a hungry challenger brand, Casper is active across all the usual social media platforms, as well as some you might not expect. For the most unlikely – and brilliant – piece of social media marketing, check out the Casper Sleep Channel on Spotify: "a magical slumberland of sounds, meditations, and bedtime stories to help you sleep". Nighty night. 07. MoonPie We're not entirely sure what a MoonPie is – to our UK-based eyes it looks a bit like a Wagon Wheel, and that's fine by us – but we're utterly entranced by its Twitter feed. It's a glorious stream of consciousness with a flagrant disregard for punctuation, apparently written by a hapless, MoonPie-obsessed social media intern. It's clearly aimed directly at the younger market and is so beautifully observed. We're unlikely to ever eat a MoonPie but we've still given it an enthusiastic follow. 08. Pop-Tarts The official Kellogg's Twitter account has its moments, but it seems to spend more time responding to consumer complaints than sharing hot content. Its Pop-Tarts brand, though, absolutely nails it – and has more than double the followers of the corporate brand to show for it. Again, it's a brand aimed at the younger market, and the tone reflects this; like the MoonPie account it's super-casual and occasionally wonderfully edgy – check out its tweet from 20 April this year for a great example that the kids will get but a lot of adults won't. Related articles: 5 social media tricks to help your brand thrive 5 ways (not) to lose followers on social media 10 social media tricks you didn't know about View the full article

With the right Instagram tips, you can learn to use the platform to your advantage. No longer just an image-sharing app, Instagram has evolved to become an extremely useful tool for enabling studios and individual creatives to showcase their work to a potentially huge audience. Understanding how to ride the wave of Instagram’s rising popularity and tap into this growing community can pay off dividends for artists and illustrators, and it’s no surprise that those with larger audiences reap the benefits. However, simply chasing ‘likes’ does not build engagement – this requires a clever eye, interesting viewpoint and genuine passion for what you do (and of course, simple tricks like how to change the font in your Instagram bio). Luckily for the time-poor, getting Instagram right doesn't involve as much planning as you might think. We asked six creative professionals to share their best advice for building and sustaining an audience on Instagram. Read on for their essential Instagram tips and tricks. 01. Share your working processes East London-based animation studio Animade has 141,000 followers, and predominately uses Instagram as a platform to share some of the work the team's most proud of, as well as share insight into how they make things. "It’s a place to showcase the love of our craft, share knowledge and air some of our smaller, weirder experiments," says Amy Egan, head of marketing. "A big part of our studio culture is about experimentation and play – whether that’s trying out new software or techniques, or using any available time to work on a passion project – and I think our content on Instagram reflects this," says Egan. We’ve had clients get in touch with us directly after seeing a specific post on Instagram Amy Egan, Animade Posting a mix of client work and passion projects, as well as finished animations, Animade often shares work in progress or behind-the-scenes bits that the team think might be interesting. This includes what they call 'breakdowns'; animated demonstrations of how a particular piece was made, which have proven quite popular (see above). "Often clients look to social media as a way of spotting talent, with the website as a secondary port of call," continues Egan. "We’ve had clients get in touch with us directly after seeing a specific post on Instagram; sometimes it just encapsulates what they’re looking for." Rather than sticking to a rigorous posting schedule, Animade tends to share as and when the team feel excited about something. "We try to make sure we post as often as we can to avoid any 'tumbleweed' moments." 02. Pick key themes – and stick to them Having a uniting theme can help organise your feed Rather than mapping out a rigid strategy for your content, Bristol based illustrator Rosi Yip, who has around 3,700 followers, recommends following a few simple rules. For her, consistency is key, especially to nurture an audience that will stick around. “Interact and understand your audience, consistently produce content that is in line with your ethos and most importantly make work that you love,” she explains. “For me, a great account is an authentic account; feeds that not only have unique styles but also show off the artists as a person.” Creating work which aims to challenge society's perception of what the female body should be through lighthearted illustrations and clay figurines, Yip's feed is awash with a subtle colour palette of pink, fleshy pastel hues, although it's not all about her illustrations. “I like to break up my illustrations with photos. I think this helps the illustrations stand out and not look too overwhelming,” she says. After abandoning her account for several years, Yip has managed to grow her audience from 300 followers to over 3,000 in less than six months by staying true to the issues and topics that matter to her most. It’s a sentiment shared by Detroit-based lettering designer and mural artist Lauren Ho, who has 187,000 followers. Known for her bright colour palettes, playful letterforms, and quirky copywriting, Hom has created work for clients like Starbucks, Google, AT&T, YouTube and TIME Magazine. “I use Instagram to nurture my community and connect with other artists and share the work that wouldn’t necessarily make it into my portfolio in a timely manner,” she says. Sticking to topics around creativity, freelance, food and humour, Hom narrowed down her focus based on what she was most interested in and what has resonated with her audience the most. “I often joke that the things you should explore in your instagram are the five categories you’d be the most confident in if you were playing Jeopardy!” 03. Make your space your own Since joining Instagram in 2011, Amsterdam-based illustrator Timo Kuilder, who has over 27,000 followers, has built a steady following for his pared-back characters, simple colour palettes and tight linework. He advocates trusting your instincts, and sharing the work you enjoy the most. "I’ve started using Instagram almost like a sketchbook and try to be less rigid about it. Once in a while I share a print, work in progress or a timelapse as well. Although I tend to do this in Stories instead of my feed." (see more about how to use Instagram Stories here) Less concerned about posting for the sake of likes, Kuilder says the key for him is to keep it fun. "A recent obsession was using coloured outlines and cloth and how it can wrinkle on objects. In those cases, I share a lot of style explorations and just tiny ideas or sketches. Instagram becomes a glimpse into my sketchbook. Just make this space your own, it’s your private gallery where no one tells you what to do." Japanese-born Brooklyn-based visual artist Hisham Akika Bharoocha, who has over 97,000 followers agrees. “The only thing I do is to be genuine. That’s always been my style and people seem to appreciate that.” 04. Don't over-curate Bharoocha makes a lot of work using collage, large scale mural paintings, installation work, sound pieces, and music performance. “I post at times where I feel most people are on their devices. That’s usually around lunch break, evenings after work, weekend mornings. Sometimes I need to do planned posts for commissioned jobs that involve social posts and I let the client and my agency, Hugo & Marie decide on that stuff. I just write the caption how I would say it in my own voice.” Hom adds that the concept of a curated feed is not something she has consciously pursued. “My strategy is just to double down on the things that I love, and know a lot about, and make a lot of work around those things. I wouldn’t say my feed is intentionally curated, it’s just a reflection of me." “Some people do have a ton of success with extremely curated feeds but that is not me in any shape or form, so I do not prescribe to that style,” continues Hisham. “There aren’t enough people who are not afraid to get a ton of likes. If you like it, post it if it means something to you. Personally I get very bored with over-stylised feeds.” 05. Experiment with apps For creatives keen to create a sense of unity on their Instagram feed, using image editing apps help maintain a consistent colour palette on photographs, as Daisy Emerson, who has over 22,000 followers, has discovered. “I’m fairly particular on what I post. I will spend time editing a picture so that it looks in keeping with the rest of the work posted previously and I photograph things in the same way.” Specialising in hand painted typography and lettering, Emerson paints bespoke pieces in enamel, often hand finished with gold leaf. “A big factor is the colour palette too. I wouldn’t post images if they contained certain colours which didn’t fit with my theme, again for consistency,” she adds. “ I use an app for editing called A Colour Story which is really good for achieving great-looking photos and clever editing.” 06. Find your weird “Think about what you do that’s different,” says Egan. “ It’s not something we ever planned, but we’ve noticed that some of our naturally weirder projects attract a lot of attention, like Ricard’s Watering the Plant, in which a goggle-wearing character nurtures a plant in a kind of high-tech hamster cage, with an unexpected twist. It really seemed to stop people in their tracks. It got 2.2 million plays and 480 comments. For Animade, self-initiated animations and illustrations in the studio often attract the most attention. A recent example is Frida’s Teabag, which attracted 143,000 plays. “It’s a sassy teabag dancing provocatively around a cup of tea.” says Egan. “The post with the highest engagement to date is a breakdown of Ed’s walking chili dog (shown in tip #1), showing the composite parts of the moving leg. It reached 3.4 million plays!” 07. Build your community If you’re serious about growing your audience, it pays to invest time in starting conversations in a genuine way, says Bharoca. Talking to people you’re inspired by and feel a connection to can attract more engagement on your own Instagram feed. “I do that just because I want people to know if I like their work beyond just a “like” reveals Bharoca. “Often people will look at your work and decide if they want to follow your account based on your interactions with them. I find it disappointing when people don’t engage at all. It seems selfish and that won’t grow any kind of community ethos.” Yip agrees. “I think instagram Stories are a great way to communicate with your audience too. It enables you to ask questions directly and take polls without your audience having to do much. As well as this, it’s great for sharing other people’s work and more personal parts of your day that maybe you don’t want to keep on your feed.” "I use Stories to post images of my son, events I go to, gatherings I go to, things I think are funny and don’t need to live forever online," says Bharoocha. "I’ve found that a lot more people engage with Stories and I find myself enjoying watching other people’s stories as it is a window into people’s lives that is candid.” Sharing personal work also resonates, as Yip discovered back in May. “I was feeling pretty run down creatively. I drew out the eight things I like to do, which includes my favourite go-to feel good tv show, Gilmore girls, which turned out to be the same for a lot of people!” The post was one of her most popular to date, attracting over 2,000 likes. “I think self care can sometimes come with a price with so many products out there telling us that this new thing will definitely calm us, help us sleep, de-stress but sometimes what we actually need is a bit simpler.” 08. Ditch lengthy captions Animade’s Instagram content reflects the passion and energy of the studio's culture. ”We aim to be open about our working processes by sharing experiments and showing how things have been made, sometimes in great detail. And not just for those in the industry; our ‘edumation swipes’ (above) aimed to decode animation jargon for a wider audience in a way that is still fun and engaging. We let the work speak for itself and avoid lengthy descriptions.” Bharoocha agrees. “I truly hate seeing a lot of small variations on one project unless it adds depth to what I see in the first post. Switch it up. If you post one still image, post a video about process. Talk about it in your caption but don’t write a novel, because people don’t care that much.” 09. Add value Alongside her thriving artistic practice Hom supports her community by sharing advice and industry insight, and runs a weekly ‘Hom-work’ challenge as an open invitation for artists and illustrators to participate, and create work, in response to a topic or theme she chooses. “It’s one of the things that has really helped grow my community on Instagram,” says Hom. “One of the things I noticed after talking to artists for a couple of years – and of course being one myself – is that it’s really nerve wracking to sit down in front of a blank page and want to create, but feel totally overwhelmed, and so these prompts are designed to get people started.” Hom promotes the ‘Hom-work’ challenge three or four times per week on Instagram Stories. “I get to showcase the work of other creatives to my large audience, and they get to build their community in turn. It’s a win-win.” Giving something back in this way has not only seen her engagement on the platform sky-rocket, but Hom’s infectious enthusiasm and passion has seen her build a captive Instagram audience. “A great instagram account is something that brings value and remains consistent,” reflects Hom. “It means that someone who follows you will be confident that they will always know what they’re going to get and what they can expect.” 10. Strike a balance Relying purely on social media to promote your work is not without risk. Despite her success, Hom disagrees that Instagram is essential to make it in design. “Instagram is just one method to share your portfolio and get you work. I don’t think it’s the be all and end all, and I don’t think emerging illustrators and designers should view it that way,” she confesses. “At the end of the day your portfolio, point of view and personality are more important. Instagram is just a vehicle. Social media platforms come and go, of course – check out our favourite social media platforms here. “I think regardless of the platform, as a visual artist / illustrator once you figure out who you are and what you’re passionate about you will do well on any social media platform.” concludes Hom. “I started out on Tumblr around seven years ago, and it’s not what it used to be anymore, so whilst Instagram is the big thing right now, who knows what we’ll be doing in seven years from now. The best thing you can do is focus on developing your work and your personal style.” Read more: How to repost on Instagram: A complete guide Instagram and WhatsApp get a rebrand TikTok app: What is it and why should you care? View the full article

You're reading Top Prototyping and Design Handoff Tools in 2019, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook! Good prototyping tools give an accurate insight to designers as to how a product under design will work once the project is completed. These tools simulate application flow, measure and test expected performance. Also, they create a valid user experience. … View the full article

Attackers can drop malware, add the device to a botnet or send their own audio streams to compromised devices. View the full article

Do you recognise Pantone 2685C? The trademarked colour belongs to Cadbury's Dairy Milk and it's recently taken centre stage. Cadbury has removed the words from Dairy Milk's iconic packaging as part of its heartfelt new campaign, leaving behind a vast blank purple space and the 'glass and a half' logo design. Cadbury has launched the 'donate your words' campaign to raise awareness of loneliness amongst older people aged 65 or older. This is in response to new research from Age UK which has revealed that 225,000 people can often go for a week without speaking to anyone, whilst 2.6 million people speak to three or fewer people they know in that time. As well as taking away the words from each bar of Dairy Milk to raise awareness, Cadbury is also donating 30p to Age UK from every bar sold. It says that it hopes the limited edition bar will encourage people to reach out to the older members of our society. It has even put together a list of small things you can do to make a 'real difference' to the lives of older people, things as simple as saying hello to a neighbour or writing a letter to a grandparent. How you can get involved to help make a difference Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, says: "A friendly 'hello' or 'how are you?' is something most of us take for granted – it's just part of every day life, but these latest figures show that hundreds of thousands of older people in the UK will spend today and the rest of this week alone, with no one to share even a few simple words with. "That's why Age UK’s expert advice and support services are so crucial and help people in all sorts of ways, every day of the year." Cadbury isn't the first brand to ditch its traditional branding this year. Doritos recently abandoned its logo to appeal to Generation Z in an edgy rebrand that will last until the end of the year. Mastercard also dumped its wordmark in an attempt to simplify its digital identity (see our comment on this in our roundup of logo design success stories). Removing the words from a brand's visual identity is a bold move, whatever the reason, and one for the big players who have the confidence to back it up. But Cadbury's short term move is more poignant than most. Read more: Logo swap is surprisingly disturbing 10 iconic logos with hidden meanings Design a killer logo in illustrator View the full article

A critical vulnerability found in Exim servers could enable a remote, unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code with root privileges. View the full article

Creative Bloq's readers will be well aware of the power of advertising. A good campaign can propel your business to new heights; a misfire can ruin you. While politics obviously comes with its own brand identities, rarely has a party embraced the language of modern-day brand campaigns in quite the same way as the Conservatives with their recent JFC stunt, in which they called Labour Party leader a chicken via mock KFC branding. Here's everything you need to know about why everyone's in such a flap about the campaign. Adobe Flash sale: Get 19% off Single Apps plan It all kicked off on Friday night, with the Conservative Party tweeting a picture of Jeremy Corbyn wearing a chicken outfit, along with a comment that read: "Hey @KFC_UKI, we’ve found an even bigger chicken than you." It may have been just a tweet, but at this level they might as well have put up a billboard ad. KFC, known for its forthright brand voice, swiftly responded: "This is KFC not LBC don’t @ me." Ouch. (If you don't know, LBC is a London-based radio station that deals with political and social discussions). While the initial tweet caused quite a stir, it was KFC's response that was the clear winner when it came to likes and retweets (at time of writing, the Tories' tweet had 13.7k Likes compared to KFC's 151k). Mother London, the ad agency behind KFC's widely celebrated FCK chicken shortage apology, also got involved, quote-tweeting the Conservative message with a more to-the-point: "Delete your account". To complete the campaign, the Tories sent 'JFC' branded deliveries to major press outlets. The below image comes from the deputy political editor for the MailOnline, who tweeted the message: "Conservatives committing to the whole “Corbyn is a chicken”. HARD. A “JFC” delivery has just been made to the press gallery." Press outlets were sent KFC-lookalike chicken meals The response to the stunt, as you might expect, has been mixed. Some pointed out that KFC was a chicken shop, not an actual large chicken. Others reminded us that Jeremy Corbyn's middle name is Bernard, so it should if anything be JBC. More still mused on the legality of mimicking KFC's branding in this way. Those familiar with KFC's take-no-prisoners brand voice questioned the logic of choosing this particular brand to mess with. A large majority also suggested that the Conservatives might have bigger and more important things to focus on right now. But we're a design site so we're not going to get into that. When the story first kicked off, there was also a big (and it turns out unfounded) kerfuffle about image rights. Photographer Timothy Archibald posted a tweet (now deleted), suggesting the photo was being used without permission. However, following a fairly sizable back backlash, it transpired the Conservatives did in fact have permission to use the photo. A screenshot of a message from stock image provider Getty stated: "Getty Images can confirm that the Conservative Party recently legitimately licensed a creative stock image of a man in a chicken costume, which has been used in line with their license agreement via social media... I would appreciate it if you could direct any media enquiries to me so that I can correct any implications that the image was unlicensed." Read the full message below. In this case the anger was misplaced, but it's a timely reminder to brush up on your image rights knowledge. Corbyn supporters have now, in a classic move, taken the campaign and repurposed it for their own message, rebranding it #JezzaForChange. Corbynites have reappropriated the campaign for their own message While the campaign can't exactly be called a success, it is interesting to see political parties starting to embrace the language of modern branding to try and strengthen their message and broaden their appeal. The idea of carefully crafted brand rivalries is certainly having a moment right now, most notably with Burger King versus McDonalds. Done well it can work to the benefit of both brands – whether we want to see these tactics in politics is another matter, though. Read more: 3 times big brands tried to be woke and failed miserably The best print adverts ever KFC bucket-hat: genius or one-way ticket to chicken-hair? View the full article

Monospace fonts allocate an equal amount of space to each character, so a letter 'i' will take up the same horizontal space as an 'o'. This creates unnatural spacing which makes a paragraph of flowing text harder to read, so for most applications, proportional fonts – which allow characters to take up the space they need – are usually preferable. But it’s a different story when you’re choosing a font for coding. Proportional spacing is great for word recognition but it’s much easier to read numbers and punctuation marks when they are evenly spaced. Indentation and vertical alignment is also important for code legibility and the monospace grid is good for achieving this. What follows is a list of monospace fonts designed specifically for coding. Some are paid for, and others are free fonts. In these monospace fonts, special care has been taken to make similar-looking glyphs more distinguishable, punctuation is larger than usual, and the fonts are designed to be easy to look at all day on a screen. Some are even customisable. Each one has its own personality and priorities, so your choice will come down to your individual preferences. If you want to make your coding life even easier, check out our posts on the best code editors and the best laptops for programming. 01. Fira Code A font designed for Mozilla with coding ligatures Fira Code is an extension of Fira Mono, a monospaced font designed for Mozilla to fit in with the character of Firefox OS. The code variant of Fira includes programming ligatures – these are special renderings of certain character combinations that are designed to make code easier to read and understand. So, for example, the == and != combinations are rendered as proper equality glyphs, which are supposedly easier for the brain to process than two separate characters that have their own individual meanings. How you feel about this of course depends on personal taste – if you’ve been reading normal code for years you might not want to make the change. But if this does appeal, Fira Code is a widely supported, popular programming font that makes code easy to read. It's also free and open source. The GitHub page has coding samples from a range of languages so you can see how things look. 02. Input Mono Read the creator's coding font philosophy in the Info section Input is a system of fonts designed specifically for coding by David Jonathan Ross that comes in both proportional and monospaced variants. As it has been designed with coding in mind, the proportional spacing is tailored to that application so it may be that you will consider it over the monospaced version. There’s a range of widths, weights and styles, each with serif, sans and monospaced variants, resulting in a total of 168 different styles. So you really can get exactly what you want with this font set. It is described as having generous spacing, large punctuation, and easily distinguishable characters, and the size and positioning of symbols frequently used in coding has been given great consideration. You can also customise the forms of certain key characters including the letters 'i', 'l', 'a' and 'g'. Input is free to use for private, unpublished usage in your personal coding app. If you want to publish text using something from the Input font family, you can see the prices here – prices start from $5. 03. Dank Mono Dank will add panache to any code editor Dank Mono by Phil Plückthun, bills itself as being "designed for aesthetes with code and Retina displays in mind". Like Fira Code, it has the programming ligatures, and there’s also a cursive italic variant that’s useful for distinguishing different types of text within your code. Overall this font has been created for coders who have an eye for design, and the unusual lowercase 'f' is known for being particularly beloved among Dank fans. Dank supports the Western, Eastern, Central and Southern European Latin character sets, and you can use it within CodePen. To get Dank, you'll need to pay – a personal licence is £40 and a commercial one is £100. But if you’re a type connoisseur and you’re smitten with that jaunty 'f' it might be worth treating yourself to some Dankness. 04. Gintronic Jovial font Gintronic is easy to stare at Creator Mark Frömberg describes Gintronic as "jovial" and "gentle", an antidote to what he sees as the overly technical and mechanical style of many programming fonts. Gintronic overall appears relaxed and easy to look at, with a few particular characters adding a special personality – check out the curly brackets, the question mark, the lower case ‘k’ and the numerals. Extra effort has been made to design glyphs that can be hard to tell apart – such as 'B' and '8', 'i'’ and 'l' and so on – in a way that makes them easy to distinguish at a glance. In total there are 1174 glyphs, so Gintronic has a massive character set that includes Latin, Cyrillic and Greek characters as well as a full range of mathematical and technical symbols. Gintronic is €50 for the single font, €100 for the Roman or Italic bundle and €150 for the complete family. 05. Monoid A compact, highly legible font that works with Font Awesome Andreas Larsen set out a list of priorities when he designed Monoid – he wanted it to be legible, compact (the more code you can fit on one screen, the better), and "pretty". To achieve these ends he compared three other programming fonts – Fira Mono, Source Code Pro and Pragmata Pro – and took note of features that he likes and doesn’t like from each to inform the design of Monoid. Like many programming fonts, Monoid has extra-large punctuation marks and operators; apertures are large to help make characters more distinguishable; and ascenders and descenders are kept short. Smart design decisions have been taken to make Monoid both compact and highly legible. It has programming ligatures, and there is also a special feature called Monoisome which enables you to see Font Awesome icons in your code. Monoid is free and open source, so you can even tweak it to your tastes if you like. 06. Hack Over 1500 glyphs that you can customise Among the fonts we’ve covered so far, there are some with huge character sets and several variants, so it’s likely you’ll find something that’s just right. But if you have very specific desires, Hack could be the one for you, as there’s a whole library of alternative glyphs made by users that you can add to if you like. Hack is therefore highly customisable – you can get right down into the detail of each glyph and edit it yourself if no one else has done it exactly as you want. Hack is free and open source. Head over to alt-hack, the alternative glyph library, to find out how to create your own custom version. If you're looking to learn the latest creative and practical skills to take your client work, career or agency to the next level, then join us at Generate CSS – our CSS-focused conference for web designers and developers. Find out more here. Use special offer code WEBDESIGNER2 for a 10% discount on tickets! Read more: 50 top typography tutorials 12 cheat sheets every designer needs Ethical hacking: all you need to know View the full article