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Apple's security update included a slew of vulnerabilities in various components of iOS, macOS and Safari - the most severe of which could enable remote code execution. View the full article

Brands are continuing to respond to the spread of coronavirus, with many using their platform to highlight the importance of social distancing. Last week, McDonald's shared a minimalist ad in which its two famous golden arches became separated – and the internet was not impressed. The ad, created by agency DPZ&T, appeared across all of McDonald's Brazil's social media accounts to convey the idea that we are "separated for a moment so that we can always be together". However, after a fierce backlash, the altered logo and accompanying social media posts have already been deleted. It's safe to say this attempt won't be gracing our best logos list. We're not lovin' it While speculative creative efforts (such as Jure Tovrljan's iconic logos reimagined for the age of coronavirus) have gone down well online, it seems it isn't enough for corporations to make fun, creative tweaks if they aren't backed up by actual action. Twitter users were quick to blast McDonalds's seemingly opportunistic effort. "Shame on everyone turning this pandemic into an award brief" said @rafapcolombia, while @VanLigon simply asked, "How about pay your workers a living wage?" Perhaps @LaurelLu puts it best: Not only has McDonald's Brazil removed all trace of the tasteless ad, but it has also apologised. A statement to the New York Post, said: “As a brand that operates in nearly 120 countries, we share a collective responsibility to help our communities in times of need. We apologise for any misunderstanding of the intent to remind our customers and communities on the importance of social distancing during these uncertain times.” We hope this will be a lesson to other brands considering a quick, tokenistic response to the current situation. Fortunately, many brands are making an effort to help those who are struggling, such as Adobe offering two free months of Creative Cloud. While McDonald's has made some successfully bold creative moves in the past (such as these minimal, type-only ads), it's safe to say this was a supersize mistake. Related article: McDonald's posters go viral for all the wrong reasons The genius concept Guinness ad we don’t want to love (but really do) Nike reveals bold new ad (but there's a problem) View the full article

Researchers say that APT41's exploits are part of one of the broadest espionage campaigns they've seen from a Chinese-linked actor "in recent years." View the full article

As we are all at home, it's the perfect opportunity to find stimulating activities to fill our free time. You could take on the retouching techniques you've wanted to learn, and finally polish your photos (because those images aren't going to retouch themselves). Edit your photos like a pro with The Professional Adobe Photoshop Retouching Certification Bundle, now at 98% off. With eight courses, 19 hours of lectures, and over 200 lessons, this complete master bundle is bound to bring you an endless amount of material to add to your retouching bag of tricks. But if that's not enough, you can check out our pick of top Photoshop tutorials. Be taught by seasoned photographers You'll learn everything you need to know about dealing with photography post-production efficiently and effectively. Perfect for expertise levels of all stages, this bundle includes techniques, tips, and best practices for all kinds of photo retouching in Adobe Photoshop. By the end of the master courses, you'll be proficient at the ins and outs of portrait retouching, beauty retouching, retouching family/wedding images, black and white retouching, and more. Step by step, easy to follow tutorials are taught by seasoned photographers who have years of experience in retouching photos for different industries. They'll guide you through using the dodge and burn tools, enhancing colour palettes, adjusting light, exploring various brush tools, and more. Hands-on exercises are included in the bundle, allowing you to practise each new technique at your own pace. You'll soon become an expert at processing RAW files, cleaning up an image's background, retouching skin and hair, and using masks to make your final images works of art. Certification is also included upon completion, making it a valuable asset to add to your portfolio. Access to The Professional Adobe Photoshop Retouching Certification Bundle is valued at $1,600. For a limited time, this bundle is price-dropped to only $24.99, a saving of 98 per cent. With all the content available 24/7, you'll be able to effortlessly finesse your retouching skills and put your time to valuable use. *Prices subject to change. Read more: The best laptops for graphic design The 13 best alternatives to Photoshop Photoshop 2020 review View the full article

We've seen lots of amazingly creative responses to the rise of self isolation and social distancing over the past few weeks, and this album cover project by Los Angeles agency Activista is another brilliant addition. Designed to raise awareness of the importance of staying at least six feet away from each other, the 6 Feet Covers project takes several iconic album artworks and, with a little digital trickery, separates the band members. From hip-hop to rock, the collection by Activista's art director Paco Conde and copywriter Beto Fernandez covers a broad spectrum of famous covers. Most of them, like all the best album covers, are instantly recognisable. Abbey Road by The Beatles The Beatles' Abbey Road cover now sees the fab four crossing the road at entirely different points. And a genius piece of graphic design sees the members of N.W.A now poking out of the windows of the building behind the huddled group in the original cover for Straight Outta Compton (below). “The original idea was movie posters,” Conde told AdWeek. “But we thought album covers could be a simple visual solution. The main criteria was that the cover should be iconic enough for people to recognise." Perhaps the most impressive thing about the new concepts is that they still manage maintain the attitude of the originals. Social distancing has never looked so rock and roll. Blondie's eponymous debut abum “[The coronavirus crisis] is very sad,” Conde said. “With these album covers, at least we’re making people smile. But at the same time, we’re making the message clear. Better to be six feet apart than six feet under." Below are more of our favourites – visit Six Feet Covers for the full collection. It's great to see the creative community coming together in the face of adversity. If you're an artist or designer stuck at home right now, check out our list of the best free online resources available for you right now. U2's The Joshua Tree Combat Rock by The Clash Fugees' The Score Read more: Illustrators depict their perfect self-isolation scenario Illustrator gives free drawing lessons to inspire kids stuck at home VW 'fixes' iconic Beatles album cover View the full article

Lego City sets offer you the joy of constructing your own civilisation from scratch, and in theory we'd love to buy every single one of them. But in practice, they don't come cheap, and you'd have to spent an awful lot of money to do so. So here, we bring together the best Lego sets for building an urban environment: everything from public amenities to local businesses, plus some epic additions to the range such as the Deep Space Rocket Launcher. Most of these Lego City sets aren't flawless, and so along with the things that are great about each one, we also mention the few areas where they could be improved. But overall, these Lego City sets all offer excellent value to both young and old Lego fans alike. Crime is a major theme throughout a number of Lego City sets, so it’s not surprising the brand has put effort into its Police Station. And it’s paid off handsomely: this is our favourite of all Lego City sets, for a number of reasons. One is its complexity. This is not just a single building but essentially three integrated ones: a jail section, a headquarters building and a garage. In fact, the designers have squeezed in more besides that, in the form of a lookout tower on top of the garage, and a helipad above the main headquarters. Best of all, everything is nicely connected together through a series of catwalks, stairs and doors, allowing plenty of variety in where you place your minifigures and accessories. Also, of all the Lego City sets, this boasts the best attention to detail, making this a particularly believable world. For instance, we love that there’s a place for taking criminals' mugshots, complete with a height chart. We also appreciated the inclusion of both a water cooler and a coffee maker: if there’s one thing we know from cop dramas, they like their drinks. Additionally, there are some super-fun action features here, including the launcher arm on the garage, which causes the car to come rushing out, and a mechanism that allows you to blow the side of the jail clean off after placing dynamite in the climate control unit on the side. In conclusion, this set isn’t cheap, but it does offer excellent value. Along with a cop shop, every city needs a fire station. And Lego’s done a very good job with its Fire Station, which has a very realistic look and features some beautiful design touches. We particularly love the fire fighting water scooter, with rotatable water gun (we're not sure how many of these there are in real life, but who really cares?). Plus the inclusion of a drone, with spinning rotors and its own landing pad, brings things nicely up to date for 2020. It's not the biggest of Lego City sets: the building as a whole is best described as compact, and it’s a shame there’s no fire pole, or even stairs to connect the rooms. Note also that the garage is only just big enough to house the truck. But this does keep the cost of the set down, and overall, this is a very well designed set that brings back the feel of classic Lego in its stylish simplicity. We mentioned earlier that Lego City seems riddled with crime, and here’s an offbeat example. This Donut Store may be dominated by a giant pink donut sign, along with a cool crane for lifting on and off. But what you may not notice is the ATM on the side, which is waiting to be broken into by a crook called Duke DeTain, one of 10 minifigures in this set. You can then use a trigger to release the giant donut that then rolls off the roof and crushes him, which is either authoritarian overreach or brilliantly funny, depending on how developed your social conscience is. By itself the Donut Shop might look a little forlorn, so Lego has also supplied a neighbouring toy store. This is a little plain and unexciting, to be honest, but it’s more than made up for by the impressive crane, which comes with lifting and extending features that add a lot of fun to this set. We also love the coffee cargo bike; because hipsters are people too, even in Lego City. Okay, let’s get this out of the way first: this is not actually a service station, it’s what Americans would call a gas station and Brits would call a petrol station. As Lego is a Dutch brand, maybe something got lost in translation. With all that said, though, we love this Lego City service station set. It comes with a great range of very well-designed vehicles, and there are some lovely, up-to-date touches, including a modern style pump with credit card machine and an electric car charging station for the red car. Our only criticisms are that the tiny branch of City Pizza inside the station is a bit basic, and the back of the sign looks kind of unfinished. But other than that, this is a solid Lego City set that ticks all the boxes and offers very good value. As you’ll see from the picture above, the Lego City Tuning Workshop set is more about vehicles than buildings, but to be fair, they are some pretty great vehicles here. The breakdown truck with working boom, the classy hot-rod and the rocket-powered motorbike, in particular, masterfully tread that fine line between being very cool, without being over-the-top and silly. The camping trailer is very good too, and while you won’t necessarily expect it to be there, the doghouse (complete with dog, of course) is actually quite brilliant. At the centre of the set lies one large building with large sliding door at the front. Inside, everything works together very cleverly, from the gantry crane which slides up and down, forward and back, along the ceiling, to the (removable) jack stand, which allows you to lift any vehicle in the set. Above all, though, Lego has really got the rock'n'roll look and feel of this place nailed, and an environment that could easily have missed the mark has turned out a triumph. While the Tuning Workshop (above) has a gritty, grown-up feel to it, the Garage Centre in comparison has a much more colourful and simple look. It comes with three fairly simple but nicely designed buildings: a drive-through car wash with hose and bucket, a toy garage with car lift, and a petrol station pump with flexible hose. There are also three attractive vehicles, in the form of a sports car, a tow truck and a fuel tanker with flexible hose. To be honest, there’s nothing hugely exciting about this Lego City set, but then again, there’s very little to criticise either. All in all, this is a solid, dependable product with no obvious flaws, that feels particularly suitable for younger children (indeed, Lego's given it the lowest age rating on this list, at just 4+). If many parts of Lego City are riddled with crime, it seems that the Ski Resort is riddled with injuries. Lots of injuries. Because this set seems very heavily weighted towards dealing with ski-related calamities. The main building is a two-level rescue base, and the vehicles (snowmobile with trailer, helicopter with opening cockpit and rescue truck) seem mainly designed for getting people out of trouble too. If your vision of a ski resort is all about fun in the snow and apres-ski, then, this set might not be perfect for you; most notably, it doesn’t actually include a ski lodge. But if you’re more interested in action on the slopes, along with a healthy slice of drama and disaster, then you'll love it. This nicely designed set also features a beautifully realised half-pipe, with stair access and a separate grind rail; a booth for cocoa and cakes; a ski shop with (bizarrely) a huge TV on its roof, and a ton of accessories and minifigures to keep you entertained. This set is centred around a very cool control tower, with lots of interested elements packed into quite a tight space, along with some fun vehicles, accessories and minifigures. We particularly love the Buzz Lightyear-style jet pack, which you can easily attach to your characters. There's also a jail attached to the tower, because it seems that in Lego City, criminals really are everywhere. The least successful part of this set is the parachute. It's actually nicely constructed, but like all toy parachutes, if dropped from a normal height (ie a few feet) in calm weather, it just drops to the floor with a thump, rather than the floating descent pictured in the image above. Despite that issue though, this is a lovely set that's full of fun and imaginative possibility. Some older children and adults might find it a little unsophisticated, but it's certainly well geared to younger children. Who in their right mind wouldn't want a rocket launch pad in their city? And luckily this Lego City Deep Space Rocket set is very nicely designed indeed. The highlight is the rocket itself, with different parts that are all detachable, representing the different stages of ascent. There’s even a space telescope inside, ready to be launched into orbit with its own solar wings. The launchpad also works beautifully, with the refuelling towers on the sides retracting automatically on lift-off. And the main launch control building, with its huge windows, is suitably epic. The only slight bum note comes from the track and car mechanism to transport the minifigures between the two, which works fine but seems a little pointless. On the whole, though, this is an original and brilliantly designed Lego City environment that any space junkie will love. Read more: The best Lego Harry Potter sets Coding for kids: 7 top toys 37 standout packaging designs View the full article

The world, right now, faces a huge amount of uncertainty, which we are all feeling the effects of in one way or another. But despite this time of crisis, artists and designers are harnessing their talents to help spread positivity and powerful messages to all. And this latest offering is one of the best we've seen so far. Created by copywriter Luke O'Reilly, this concept Guinness ad is being praised online for its simple perfection. The ingenious design uses a trend we've seen pop up a lot recently, invisible branding. The clever technique sees well-known images replaced with perfectly placed objects to create an optical illusion, whereby your brain has to fill in the gaps (see our round-up of negative space art for more optical illusion inspiration). In this case, the iconic pint of Guinness' foam head has been substituted with a sofa, in it's signature creamy colour, of course. The middle is stamped with the the old Guinness logo and harp icon, and a simple, well-positioned 'Stay at home' message at the bottom provides all your brain needs to complete the image. O'Reilly created the clever image as part of a One Minute Brief project, and the creative community is giving it a resounding thumbs up. Although not everyone is comfortable, including us, on the developing crisis being used as a subject for marketing campaigns. Twitter user Mark Gallo said: "Even though I share the opinion that brands should lay low with Coronavirus marketing – this is my favourite ad/message." And we have to agree. But credit where it's due, the creativity on display here is undeniable, and the concept executed perfectly – the lack of gimmicks make it feel poignant but not inappropriate. A striking visual, it reiterates the simple message being heard across the world right now, all the while staying true to the brand. Thankfully, we've not seen many brands use the coronavirus for marketing purposes, but we like to hope for any that might be planning to that they'd exercise the same amount of respect and integrity shown here. If you're in need of even more inspiration, or a little bit of support, don't miss our round up of free online resources being offered during the Covid-19 outbreak. There's free software, art lessons, books, read-alongs and much more to help you navigate this difficult time. Read more: 5 brands so strong they don't need a logo 6 magnificently minimal logos Iconic logos reimagined for the age of coronavirus View the full article

Adobe has fixed a critical flaw in its Creative Cloud Desktop Application for Windows. View the full article

Disney Plus has become a huge hit since it launched in November 2019. It's currently available in the US, Canada, the Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand and some European countries such as UK, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Austria, Switzerland and Germany. Its release has been delayed in India and France due to coronavirus, but if it's not in your area yet then watch this space – the streaming service is projected to be in most territories within the next two years. Looking at what's on offer, it's not hard to see why Disney Plus subscriptions have become so popular. The platform is certainly giving the likes of Netflix and Amazon a run for their money. The on-demand service hosts over 500 movies and 7,500 TV episodes produced by Walt Disney Studios. This includes all the classic Disney films, as well as content from Disney's Marvel, National Geographic, Pixar and Star Wars brands. And there are plans in place for even more hit films and original content to be added in future. What else do you need to know about Disney Plus? You'll find all the latest information on pricing, getting a free trial, key releases, compatible devices and more in this guide. And if you want to make sure you're getting the best experience watching your favourite movies, make sure you've got one of our best monitors or one of the most powerful laptops. How to get a Disney Plus free trial If you're not sure whether a Disney Plus subscription is the right service for you, a seven-day Disney Plus free trial is available via the website. Available with standard membership, this completely unrestricted Disney Plus free trial is a great way to see if the service and content is what you expected. Seven days might not seem like long, but it should plenty of time to help you get a feel for how Disney Plus works and whether you like what you see. If you decide Disney Plus isn't right for you, you can avoid a month's bill by simply cancelling your Disney Plus free trial like so: Log into Disney Plus Click on your user profile Select 'Account' and 'Billing details' Click 'Cancel Subscription' Click 'Complete Cancellation' Et voilà! You're done. Disney Plus: What's included? When it comes to content, this streaming service's library is seriously impressive – it feels like it would almost be easier to list what Disney Plus doesn't include. First and foremost, users can access all the classic Disney movies and shows, which in itself offers hundreds of hours of entertainment. But it doesn't stop there – on Disney Plus you'll also find blockbuster movies and TV shows from brands such as Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic and Pixar. And then there's The Simpsons (every single season, just saying). More hit shows are also set to hit Disney Plus throughout 2020. You can also download all of the content on Disney Plus, making it easier to watch wherever you are (and however dodgy the WiFi). Disney Plus: Shows and movies available now Some of the Disney Plus originals available There are plenty of movies already available on Disney Plus, and lots coming up throughout the year, some, such as Frozen 2, have been released early. Here are just a few of the Disney Plus shows and films we're most excited about, which are all available to stream now. Classic Disney films: Cinderella, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, The Lion King Newer Disney films: Frozen 2, live action remakes of Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast Pixar films: Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Finding Dory Star Wars films: All of them, excluding the most recent The Rise of Skywalker Marvel films: Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Captain America: The Winter Soldier Disney Plus originals: The Mandalorian, High School Musical: The Musical Other: 10 Things I Hate About You, Willow Disney Plus: Upcoming shows and movies Onward (3 April) Solo: A Star Wars Story (9 July) Avengers: Infinity Way (25 June) Ant-Man and the Wasp (29 July) The Incredibles 2 (30 July) The Falcon and The Winter Soldier (Aug) The Mandalorian season 2 (Oct) WandaVision (Dec) Loki (TBA, 2021) Ms Marvel (TBA, 2021) Obi-Wan Kenobi series (currently untitled, TBA, 2021) Monsters Inc sequel series (Monsters at Work, TBA) Home Alone remake (TBA) We have to say, the volume and quality of content available here is a pretty mind-boggling. And its frankly unbelievably low cost makes it really excellent value for money. If by some miracle you do manage to find a hit film or TV show that isn't listed on Disney Plus, you can bet it won't be long until it is. Be sure to keep an eye on the official Disney Plus Twitter feed for details of any new releases. Disney Plus devices Just download the Disney Plus app to watch it on the following: Android phones and tablets Apple phones and iPads Amazon Fire tablets Web browsers Android TVs LG WebOS Smart TVs Roku TV Samsung Tizen Smart TVs Amazon Fire TV Apple AirPlay Apple TV (4th generation and later) Chromebook Chromecast Sony PlayStation 4 XBox One Roku Sky Q devices Is Disney Plus worth it? We're sure all the information so far has answered this question already. But just to be clear, the answer is, unequivocally, yes. Disney Plus and all its delights will set you back a measly $6.99 / £5.99 per month. That's the same price you pay for the lowest monthly Netflix fee in the UK. And, let's be honest, the non-HD stream to a single device service is nothing to shout about. A bumper Disney Plus pack also available in the US for $12.99 gives users access to Hulu and ESPN Plus streaming services too. View the full article

Life is changing in ways we never dreamed of due to the Covid-19 outbreak. But despite these uncertain times, the creative community is leading the way in its supportive efforts. Each day we are seeing more and more individuals and companies offer their time, talents and services for free, in order to help others. And the very least we can do is help share this abundance of love. Here we've rounded up the online resources and services we've found being offered for free during the pandemic. You'll find everything from creative software and drawing lessons, to free books and talented authors doing daily story times. Some things here are aimed specifically at artists and designers, while others are simply to help you manage being stuck at home. Rest assured whatever situation you find yourself in right now, you'll find something here to help make life a little brighter. Please feel free to share any resources we've missed at contact@creativebloq.com or on Twitter @Creativebloq. Let's get started with some amazing free tools... There are a number of companies offering services for free in an attempt to support creatives financially. Here are all the current offers: Get Adobe CC free for two months Adobe is offering two months Creative Cloud for free to already existing individual CC subscribers. With the Covid-19 outbreak hitting everyone hard, this will no doubt come as very welcome news to artists and designers reliant on Adobe apps. Adobe CC free for students and teachers Adobe is also offering temporary free licenses to students and teachers, which could be a lifesaving offer for students currently reliant on Adobe software to complete vital coursework. In order to be eligible, you must attend a school or college registered as an Adobe education customer. Free Affinity apps from Serif Serif is offering everyone 90-days free access to Affinity Designer, Affinity Publisher and Affinity Photo. And at the end of the trial, should you wish to purchase the software, you can do so for half the retail price. Serif has also pledged to engage 100 creatives with paid work amid the virus outbreak. Nice one, Serif. Get ftrack Review for free Say goodbye to multiple emails and messages for the next few months with free access to collaborative media review and approval platform for content creators ftrack Review. The tool is free until at least 31 May 2020 (with date to be reviewed as the pandemic develops). Join Rob Biddulph every Tuesday and Thursday for DrawWithRob A number of artists have taken to doing regular online tutorials as a way to help creatives develop their skills and keep kids busy while they're at home. Here's a list of all the ones we've heard about so far: Free art lessons with Aaron Blaise If you want to learn how to draw, you'll be hard pushed to find a better teacher than legendary Aaron Blaise. The former Disney artist has today announced he will be publishing his lessons either for free or at a huge discount. Home schooling suddenly never looked so good. Draw with Rob Illustrator Rob Bidduph is sharing draw-along videos for kids every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 10AM (GMT), using the hashtag #DrawWithRob. And they've gone down a storm. Even if you don't want to join in, we urge you to take a look at the fantastic submissions so far, which are guaranteed to put a smile on your face. Quarantine Art Club Award-winning American children's book illustrator and artist Carson Ellis has set up her very own Quarantine Art Club for adults and kids alike. Ellis There's a step-by-step video and handy reference material to help you get stuck in. Art club with Noel Fielding British TV presenter Noel Fielding has set up a Twitter-based online art club, which anyone can join in with. Participants are invited to submit their art to his Twitter handle – @noelfielding11 – and so far they've been glorious. Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems Lunch doodles with author Mo Willems, posted at 1PM (EST) every day on Twitter (and streamed after if you miss it). Visit Mo's virtual studio every day and then post your artwork online, using the hashtag #MoLunchDoodles. Elsewhere, illustrators and authors are taking to Instagram Live to read their books aloud in daily story times. This is a great way for adults and kids to spend some time together, so check individual Instagram feeds for times and tune in. Oliver Jeffers Author of the popular children's books, How to Catch a Star and Lost and Found Oliver Jeffers has taken to Instagram to doing daily readings. Tune in at 2PM (ET), where posts will be available for 24 hours, and the recording then available on his website after. Sophie Blackall Author and illustrator Sophie Blackall is also taking to Instagram to share artists tips and tricks, based around her favourite books, including Ivy and Bean and Hello Lighthouse. There doesn't appear to be any post schedule, but videos are popping up every other day at the moment. Mac Barnett A daily book club is running from children's book author Mac Barnett, every day at 0900 (ET). Videos are available for 24 hours after posting, so you can catch up after if you miss it. If your stuck at home and want to get stuck in to a good book, there's plenty of free online libraries available. Free ebooks for designers: hone your skills with these 22 amazing resources for both beginners and pros Apple Books currently has a ‘stay at home’ collection of free read-alongs for kids and audiobooks That's a long list of free resources to help keep you in all sorts of ways while stuck at home. If you need some kit to help with remote working, we've also got a number of super-helpful buying guides to help you choose the correct equipment for you. This bit isn't free, sadly, but our price comparison widget will make sure you get the best price possible. The best office chair for your home office The best desks to keep you comfortable Laptop stands to keep you and your device cool The best laptops for students View the full article

A leaked spec list for the update to the Surface Go, Microsoft's cheapest tablet, suggests we might have serious rival to the iPad Air on our hands. Much like the Air, the Surface Go is a cheaper alternative to a pro tablet (in this case the Surface Pro 7), but shares many of its pricier sibling's features in a smaller package. The specs reveal that two options will be available. The top-spec model packs an Intel Core m3-8100Y CPU, as well as 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. The base model has half the storage (128GB) and features an Intel Pentium 4425Y CPU. One benefit of the Microsoft device over the iPad is that it runs on full Windows, supporting desktop versions of apps such as Photoshop (although there are a huge number of iPad apps for designers). 2018's original Surface Go The processors revealed in the specs (shared by Twitter user _rogame) are a definite improvement, and it's good to see a 256GB option, doubling the storage of the original Surface Go. We're a little disappointed however to see that the previous model's 8GB RAM has remained unchanged. Still, the smaller Surface was never intended to be a powerhouse – as we said in our Surface Go review, it's the bright screen and great inking experience that makes it a solid option for creatives on the go. The iPad Air could be the Surface Go's main competitor And when it comes to its most obvious competitor, the iPad Air, the Surface Go with these specs definitely take a bite out of Apple. Not only does the iPad contain just 3GB of RAM, but it's also much more expensive – starting at $499 for only 64GB of storage. If the Surface Go maintains its $399.99 price for the base model, it could look like great value next to the iPad. Ultimately, it boils to down to which software ecosystem you prefer – for iOS fans, the iPad Air is a great digital canvas (read our iPad Air review). But with access to full Windows apps, improved specs and a great price, the Surface Go 2 might end up turning the heads of more than a few Apple fans. Check out some of the best Microsoft Surface offers below. Read more: Surface Pro 7 review Apple reveals new iPad Pro (but we're more excited by the Magic Keyboard) The best drawing tablets View the full article

Using landing pages to test new product ideas is a smart strategy. And, it’s not too complicated. The process can be boiled down to four steps. But, what makes landing pages a useful tool to test new product ideas? Landing …View the full article

Apple's marketing wasn't always the sleek, silvery-grey affair it is today – indeed, there was a time when it burst with colour. And now you can own a rainbow-hued piece of Apple history, as a vintage 1978 retail sign is up for grabs in an online auction ending in two days. All you need to do is make a minimum bid of $20,000. Easy. The sign simply features the words 'apple computer' (all lower case) below a giant Apple logo. Whether rainbow-coloured or plain black, Apple's mark is unmistakable. No wonder it's one of our best logos of all time. Those colours make us happy According to Nate D. Sanders Auctions, the sign didn't actually belong to an Apple retail store. It was displayed by an authorised reseller who first learned about Apple after attending a 1976 computer conference. The sign is "yellowed", but those all-important rainbow colours are "bright and in good condition". Seeing the rainbow logo again, we can't help but miss the the colourful charm of the old Apple aesthetic. We'd love to see the retro apple make a comeback (and it was rumoured to be happening last year). Also charming are the old apple's imperfect proportions – it appears to have something of a hunchback compared with the current logo, said to be based on perfect circles (below). Sure, okay We learned a few amazing facts from the Apple logo's original designer Rob Janoff last year. If you think $20,000 is a lot for a retail sign, wait until you hear how much it cost to digitise the apple. Check out our interview here. Read more: Apple WWDC 2020 moves online (but not for a few months) New Apple Pencil could get dramatic redesign Apple reveals new iPad Pro (but we're more excited by the Magic Keyboard) View the full article

What is beauty? Well, beauty is a six-letter word, and a loaded one, especially when it comes to working in the creative industries, but, while there’s the old adage that it’s 'in the eye of the beholder', some argue that what is (and isn’t beautiful) is far from subjective. The Oxford Dictionary defines beauty as "A combination of qualities, such as shape, colour, or form, that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially the sight." But we all know it’s more than that: we often say a person is beautiful, or that they have a beautiful soul. Beauty, then, is nebulous – it isn’t dependent on certain aesthetic qualities, but has a deeper resonance that’s more about feeling than composition or colour. If it were that simple, we’d all make things that were universally agreed to be beautiful. (If you want to focus on your own creations, see our guide to oil painting techniques, or our how to draw tutorials). What is beauty? Maria-Alina Asavei is a lecturer and postdoctoral researcher in Russian and East European Department at the Institute of International Studies at Charles University in Prague and an independent curator of contemporary art. "We often fail to make clear what we mean by 'beauty', even if we use this word quite frequently, in all kinds of occasions, related to art or not," she writes in the essay Beauty and Critical Art: is beauty at odds with critical–political engagement?. Asavei continues: "When we appreciate that something has beauty, we implicitly accept that X is a source of positive aesthetic value or positive aesthetic appreciation. In the history of philosophical aesthetics, there are many theories and definitions of beauty. Despite differences, most of these theories connect the experience of the beautiful with a certain type of pleasure and enjoyment." Alan Moore, in a suitably beautiful setting Yet many would argue that by our very nature, there’s a certain universal set of indices that inform beauty. Alan Moore, a former designer and typographer who worked under the mentorship of letterpress guru Alan Fletcher and in roles including head of art at Publicis in London, now focuses his entire career on beauty in design, and its role in successful businesses. However, his take on beauty isn’t about what something looks like: he often speaks about it in terms of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, Dirac’s theorem, spirituality and the laws of nature. "At an atomic level, everything is connected; they dance and are attracted to one another at a nuclear level. The law of nature seeks things to be made of symmetry and harmony, and even in opposites they’re complementary: we have night and day, up and down. We’re all made of the same stuff molecularly, so we intuit beauty – we know it to be the life-enhancing force." As a designer, your duty is to only bring good things into the world As such, Moore sees beauty not just as symmetry, but as regeneration: the first law of thermodynamics, also known as Law of Conservation of Energy, states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed; energy can only be transferred or changed from one form to another. This is intrinsically related to good design. "It’s about the idea of bringing good into the world and regeneration," Moore says. "People really connect to the idea of beautiful people because it relates to values, it relates to ethics. You have to think about if someone asked you as a designer, 'Is that the most beautiful decision we could make?' If you see that, then as a designer, your duty is to only bring good things into the world." Is beauty useful? These are big concepts, but are increasingly ones that designers have to think about in times of climate crisis and political turmoil. They’re as crucial (and as such, as "beautiful") as how good their type looks, or which Pantone they’ll select. It’s also about utility: Moore points out that "Mother Nature works with purpose in everything she does." In legendary designer Paul Rand’s 1947 book Thoughts on Design he stated that, "Ideally, beauty and utility are mutually generative"; the combination of both is when you reach the pinnacle of design. "Visual communications of any kind… should be seen as the embodiment of form and function: the integration of the beautiful and the useful." While this doesn’t help us to define what is and isn’t beautiful, it does underscore the notion of beauty as being a concept we all understand, but that can be mutable and dependent on context. Asavei echoes this view: "What we know about an event or object and our world-view and moral values always determine our perception about what is beautiful, why it is beautiful, and what is not beautiful." Will this be considered beautiful in one hundred years? It goes without saying that what is and isn’t considered beautiful has changed throughout history, whether in art, design or the human form (for women in particular – think fetishising plumpness when it signified wealth during the Renaissance era; 90s "heroin chic" waifs; today’s Kardashian-esque big ass, little waist, big lips). At one end of the historical beauty-definition spectrum is the "rational understanding of beauty and the search to boil down the essence into formulae and models for application," as Alan Powers, a design writer and professor of architecture and cultural history at the University of Greenwich puts it in Beauty: A Short History. This was seen during the Renaissance when the prevailing belief around beauty was that it was based on numbers "akin to the harmonies of music and the movements of the planets". At the other end is a far more romanticised notion, such as the Middle Ages’ view of beauty as part of the "divine order" or poet John Keats’ "beauty is truth, truth beauty" from his Ode on a Grecian Urn. Then Modernism came along: everything was stripped back to its most basic components and that continues to play a huge role in today’s frequently Swiss-leaning, grid-loving design education. It was the far-reaching cultural shifts (at least in the Western world) of the rise of Modernism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that saw the earlier decorative values of pattern and opulent lettering styles in print, or the decorative flourishes of architecture that had formerly dominated, fall out of favour. It also saw a swift shift toward pared-based design and prioritised rigid proportions and functionality. This marked the start of an underlying reluctance to embrace beauty as a core value, which continues to this day. The idea of beauty, to many, is (perhaps subconsciously) seen as trite or old-fashioned – an aesthetic principle at odds with the rigid frameworks of 21st century design. The divisive Guardian art critic Jonathan Jones wrote a piece in 2012 about the rejection of beauty in contemporary art, which aligned this view with far older beliefs that "beauty is the most dangerous idea in art… It tantalises and confuses, inspires and crushes", and that "beauty has been worshipped as the highest artistic value and denigrated as a pagan temptation." The value of beauty Beauty isn't in the eyes of the beholder, argues this book Yet in design, it’s not so much about "pagan temptation" or danger, but a focus on problem-solving, form-following-function, conceptual rigour and evolutions in technology that drive how interfaces, software and even print design are viewed. As grids and rules came in, beauty in its more traditional sense went out. As Alan Powers puts it, "The ideal of pure geometry remains deeply rooted in western consciousness as the basis of beauty. It sits well with the idea that beauty is an expert business, not accessible to the untrained mind." However, one designer who consistently rails against the notion that beauty is unimportant, subjective or "not accessible to the untrained mind" is Stefan Sagmeister. In his talks and the book Sagmeister & Walsh: Beauty, created with Jessica Walsh, he uses numerous scientific and cultural examples to point out that beauty is far from being "in the eye of the beholder" (he points out the phrase only came to prominence thanks to a line stating as such in Margaret Wolfe Hungerford’s 1878 novel Molly Bawn.) In talks, Stefan has shown his audience a slide with five different colours, another with five different shapes, and asked people to vote for their favourite. The results are almost identical wherever and whenever he does this (turns out circles and blue or purple come out top). Sure, it’s a crude experiment, but it says a lot about how our tastes are not as unique or subjective as we might have thought. Stefan often blames Modernism for the devaluation of beauty, and the suspicion that beautiful work might not be taken seriously, or derided as merely decorative or commercial. Inside Sagmeister & Walsh's book To avoid this risk, the grid was firmly laid out in design schools as the safe, clean, rational solution, to the point that it became non-expressive to the exclusion of physical beauty. Jan Tschichold – one of the most famous proponents of Modern ideals through his Die Neue Typographie – eventually went back on his espousal of modernist values, describing Modernism as "inherently authoritarian and fascist", and a style that had become a "default" that lacked wit and innovation. The public will respond to any attempt to rehabilitate beauty Jan Tschichold Although his text is still a staple in design education, Tschichold went further, saying that a designer doesn’t have to be inventive or innovative to create design work based around the grid. Despite this apparent ongoing renunciation for many designers of beauty as a priority, "there is every reason to work with it again," says Powers. He cites MORI research that showed "the public values beauty and not only wants it in their homes, clothes and other personal belongings, but also in the great outdoors, the public realm and public life… especially in these difficult times, the public will respond to any attempt to rehabilitate beauty." Designers, take note! Alan Moore’s views echo this, and make a case for the importance of beauty in commercial design: "Beauty is a powerful quality for a business to have," he wrote in The Business Case for Beauty, originally published in Management Today. "People experience the world qualitatively, not quantitatively… a Temkin survey shows that customers with a positive emotional experience of a company are six times more likely to buy more, 12 times more likely to recommend and five times more likely to forgive a mistake." This, clearly, defies any suspicions that beauty in creative work has no function, or serves a merely decorative purpose. Alan Moore’s commitment to preaching the values of the beautiful was born of a "road to Damascus" moment, he says. This arrived after many years working for various organisations and agencies and his view that there was a "form of myopia in the way they were working: making money at any cost until it cost them everything," he says. "I got very angry at the greed across incumbent industries, whether they were TV, radio or print. I thought ‘this is not okay, we’re supplanting the idea that a good life is one born out of material consumption – nothing to do with the wealth of life’." If there are so many cases in favour of beautiful design, why then in recent years and even decades have we seen designers move towards not just function over form, but deliberately "ugly" design: the post-ironic clashing of typefaces and so on? We’d suggest that this is because such work isn’t in fact ugly at all when it’s done well, but what we mean by beauty has radically shifted. Nature and beauty Alan Moore points out that if everything in nature is beautiful, and that nature thrives on diversity and regeneration, then how we view what is and isn’t beautiful or aesthetically appealing will patently shift over time. Therefore, the notion of beauty as either a representation of subjective, aesthetic pleasure or something purely aesthetic with little intellectual or conceptual underpinning, is something that the designers who consider their role as simply "problem solving" might want to rethink. Indeed, Jonathan points out that artwork that shuns beauty may well be in vogue; but once we’ve "look[ed] at it earnestly," we then go and look at gorgeous photos, films, magazines – the true art of our time." With so much of the commercial creative landscape responsible for such imagery, this suggests that a great editorial layout or careful selection of typefaces, a well-art directed campaign, or even a brand film has as much need for beauty as an artwork simply created for art’s sake. Dazed Beauty One newish platform pushing radically new and innovative ideas around what’s beautiful is Dazed Beauty. Launched in late 2018, and art directed by Ben Ditto, who’s also creative director of Ditto Publishing, with creative direction from Isamaya Ffrench, the pair brought a more internet-led, fantasy-like, occasionally gore/horror-inspired look to the platform. The platform stated its mission as "celebrating identity, self-expression and creativity through the transformational power of beauty." This means alongside covering faces and products, there’s a considerable focus on art. Pieces range from the sexuality of maternal women to nipple removal and other "extreme body modification" to profiles on creative coders and an artist who claims that we’re "already living in a video game". Beauty is personal, and platforms like Instagram have helped people to leverage beauty on their terms Nellie Eden This idea of creativity and self-expression as integral to beauty has meant the design of the site is thoroughly futuristic, using gloopy metallic type that floats around the pages, lurid neon green lines to break up the site’s grid and sections that are predominantly image-led, clearly taking a cue or two from certain image-sharing platforms. It’s a far cry from the usual look of beauty or fashion publications: all clean, neat layouts; white space, femininity and mastheads set in black, traditional serif capitals. "This is beauty for the social media age," as Ffrench puts it. "Beauty is personal, and platforms like Instagram have helped people to leverage beauty on their terms," says Dazed Beauty’s editor Nellie Eden. "Our design is informed by the convergence of the beauty and the tech industries. When we talk about beauty it’s not about products or who’s the face of YSL – it’s what a teenager in Poland is doing with his contact lenses." Dazed Beauty's logo Eden continues: "Dazed Beauty has a distinctive personality: you can put something on Instagram that people find disgusting or appalling or strange, and that’s fantastic, because beauty imagery has become so sanitised and so far from what it means to be human… We always say make it weirder or more digressive or obscure." These presentations of future-facing, deliberately "weirder" or "appalling" takes on what is beautiful doesn’t mean that beauty needn’t be a consideration for designers – quite the opposite – but it does mean they need to dig deep to think about what could make their work more beautiful, and their approach to doing so. Beauty, states Powers, is "cultivated through a deeper understanding of what we already have, and by looking after and appreciating the unique characteristics of the places where we live." He adds, "we should commit ourselves to living better on less. Perhaps the key thing is to have the confidence to say beauty matters, and not to be afraid of the reaction." But it’s not just about these deeper philosophies, or trend-bucking. In Sagmeister and Walsh's book, they state the case that attention to form (in other words, beauty) in turn makes a design more functional. Beautiful packaging design, for instance, sells better. Moore firmly backs this: "Beauty as a frame, philosophy, language even, shows how to build businesses that are more relevant and needed in the world we all live in today: businesses that build legacy, that go beyond sustainability, that are places the best people want to work for, and that deliver outstanding customer experience, all of which translates into long-term growth and profitability." Alan Moore also argues that rather than form making something more functional, "beauty flows from purpose", citing companies such as Patagonia as exemplary in attracting creative talent and effective decision-making and leadership through the sense of purpose embedded across the business. To him, beauty isn’t just about design or even design teams: it’s about a workplace culture built around generosity and positivity. This in turn brings deeper engagement with the tasks at hand, trust and overall better well-being. It’s also about sustainability, for both the business and the world: Moore states that "beautiful businesses… take less, make better with less and waste nothing" – they are "regenerative, existing as part of living systems rather than trying to disrupt or destroy them." Moore adds, "Beauty isn’t incompatible with rigour. It won’t hurt your bottom line or your return on equity to have a beautiful business with a beautiful culture, making beautiful products. Indeed, in the long term it could be one of your greatest assets." Which one is most beautiful? To make more beautiful design runs deeper than the images you put into the world, it’s about the social purpose of what you’re doing and how you’re running your creative business. So if we run with the idea that beauty remains vital to design, but the foundations of what is seen as "beautiful" are more mutable than ever, how as a designer do you make more beautiful work? Describing beauty as "the sweet spot between order and chaos" (rather than the Modernist designers’ rejection of chaos of any form); Sagmeister and Walsh use the equation M = O/C to decide on something’s beauty (beauty, M, is the ratio of Organization (O) to Complexity (C).) Whether a commission requires simplicity, ornamentation or boundary-pushing image-making, beauty is, and always will be vital. In an age where designers increasingly see AI and other tech innovations gradually making gains on the grub work of design, one thing that computers will never be able to do is judge an innate, more nebulous sense of what is beautiful. Beauty is innately related to humanity, and whatever face you put on it, computers will never be truly human. This article originally appeared in issue 300 of Computer Arts, the world’s leading design magazine. Buy issue 300 or subscribe here. Read more: Graphic design history: 25 landmark events Design for good: ways to use your creativity to make a difference Design's gender problem, and what you can do about it View the full article

If you promote your creative work via social media, the best social media schedulers could relieve you of a significant chunk of your weekly workload. Users who share upwards of seven posts a week gain the most engagement across their social media pages, and you could be spending that time working on creative projects instead of staring at social media platforms. This is where a social media management tool, or scheduler, steps in. You can plan your content in advance and then schedule posts to be sent out automatically. There are a host of other features built into these programs, all designed to help you understand what audiences respond to across different platforms, increase engagement and build a bigger following. Some contain a variation of analytical tools to help you understand optimum times to post, or what content is working best for you. This post mostly focuses on schedulers, so keep in mind that there are loads of other options if you need a tool that does it all. Remember, scheduling content is helpful but it isn't the best way to increase engagement with your social media accounts. Instead of simply putting out content, you need to deploy a well-rounded set of strategies. For more on this, see our post on how to boost Instagram engagement. You may also want to try simple tricks such as how to change the font in your Instagram bio. Smarter Queue is just coming out of Beta, and it's shaping up to be a fierce contender in the social media tools space. The platform is category-led, which means you set up multiple categories each with different posting plans, such as which profiles are to be posted to, and add content to each category as you create or find it (including directly from your Twitter feed). You do this by inputting urls or dragging and dropping into the visual calendar so your plan is laid out clearly in front of you. Smarter Queue's analytics are pretty powerful and will give you information on optimum posting times, enable you to compare engagement between content types and analyse your social history plus your competitors. The evergreen content recycler keeps your repeated content going on a cycle, with no ending (unless you ask it to stop). There are engagement tools such as sharing or retweeting from within the platform, and content curation and editing tools, too. One downside is that the mobile app is very limited. Its only purpose at the moment is to remind you when to publish content on Instagram (which doesn't have an auto-post function), and to bookmark content. However, the product roadmap details some great future features for the platform, which could outweigh this negative point. This scheduler boasts that it saves you over eight hours a week, and indeed it is a great choice if you want to be totally hands-off (remember, this won't necessarily create the most engagement). Establishing your content settings is the only time-consuming part, but once that is done, you can let it tick over. Later is unapologetic about being mostly for Instagram, in fact it tags itself as the number one Instagram scheduler. And it does that job really well. Due to Instagram's regulations, you can't auto post content on the site unless you're a business page (and even then, only on single image posts), so bear in mind that if you're not, you'll only be able to schedule posts then publish them manually. But, you'll get notifications from Later at the specified times, and all you need to do at that point is press publish on the content you've already created. The fact that the platform is so image-led means Later works incredibly well with Instagram, but not so well with Twitter or Facebook, which aren't so focused on the visuals. The grid layout within Later displays your content just as you would see it on Instagram, so you can curate brand consistency at a glance, as well as check you're posting a mix of content. There's also a handy hashtag search which allows you to repost content based on specific keywords. Later provides stats on your account that become more detailed as you move up the price plans, but these are pretty limited at the lower price points, and even the most in-depth analysis doesn't match that of other schedulers. If you're a visual content creator, focused on Instagram, this is an easy-to-use scheduler that doesn't overcomplicate things. But it's not the best choice for writers, or anyone wanting to delve deep into stats across social channels. A powerhouse of a social media management tool, Sendible really does do it all. Aimed at increasing productivity for agencies managing multiple clients, the platform has a slick dashboard interface that allows you to switch between clients easily, and the facility to collaborate with teams/clients on content and campaigns. Functions for scheduling and auto-posting are included in the toolkit, alongside powerful analytics via reports, automation tools (like automatic replies), grouping posts by teams, and content libraries that house all your evergreen content for reuse. This is a serious choice for larger outfits, but the app can be somewhat unstable. This isn't something we'd expect from such a professional program so it's a niggle, but the other tools definitely have the goods to back up the price. If you're looking for a scheduler that does just what it says on the tin, this is your best bet. Postcron is ridiculously simple in its focus: it schedules and auto posts, and that's it. (As with most other apps, it won't auto post to Instagram, you'll need to respond to the notification.) You can bulk upload, which saves time, and the ability to add a watermark is a nice touch. There are no extras here – there are zero analytics, and no editing or curation tools. But if you just want to be able to schedule, for a reasonable price and with a clean, useable UI, this is a safe choice. Hootsuite is one of the leading social media management tools, and it truly does do it all. It offers a free forever plan that will do the job well if you just want to schedule content. It can be hard to find a decent free scheduler that works this well across all channels, and Hootsuite's free plan even has basic analytics. The Streams tool is a clear winner, allowing you to schedule, manage and sort your posts (and your followers' posts/mentions) across social media channels without having to log in to your separate accounts. Bear in mind that you are limited to scheduling only 30 posts at one time, and to three user profiles, but this should be enough to get you started if you're a single user. If you choose to upgrade your plan, Hootsuite's wealth of features won't leave you wanting in any area – it offers functions we didn't know we needed. We were particularly impressed with the Hootlet – the browser extension. It helps with topic searches, retweets and replies and more. However, it's worth mentioning that the UI does feel a bit dated, especially compared to other platforms. TweetDeck is a pretty basic scheduler that was bought by Twitter, and, unsurprisingly, it only encompasses Twitter itself. However, though there are not many other features, it does do Twitter scheduling well, in an uncomplicated way. It may only be a browser platform but it has a clean, bright UI, plus there are a few nifty tricks that will improve your experience immensely. Content is organised through custom columns, which you can create yourself to track pretty much anything you like through targeted streams. Think keyword mentions, lists and saved searches. You can filter searches (to track whenever someone mentions your business, or your competitors), and all this can be done with up to 200 Twitter accounts at once. You can also manage multiple accounts from one dashboard. TweetDeck will not provide enough functionality for power users, but it is a solid option for a single user, or a small team. Recurpost has found a niche in its approach to recycling evergreen content, so if you have content that you want to resurface and recycle, it could be particularly useful as part of a wider social media strategy. The content variation tool automatically suggests alternative wording to your existing content, potentially saving you a lot of time when trying to mix things up for Twitter's reposting rules. Other than that, it is a simple scheduler. The free plan means you could use this platform for recycling content alongside something more heavy hitting. It would also be useful for testing the strategy of automated recycled content, or for people who don't have a huge amount of content to push and purely want to post recycled content regularly. The free plan allows you three profiles and 100 pieces of content. Loomly is a calendar-based tool with a useful angle. The software will help keep your ideas and content fresh with its content creation toolkit, and make it easy to collaborate. Loomly uses AI to generate dynamic suggestions based on time of day, location and what is currently trending on Twitter. Its calendar view contains key dates and events to help you out, and you can also connect your RSS feeds to generate further content. The collaboration aspects are also a massive plus. Posts can be set up and shared with team members or clients for approval and edits, and the post view function saves all previous versions of a post. This includes who has made edits and what they were, which is great for feedback and accountability. Slack integration is also great for workflow. The fine-tune each channel tool allows you to tweak posts for each social media channel individually, enabling you to perfect format, picture, links and so on. Loomly's main function is to be a calendar-based scheduling tool with a focus on content creation assistance and collaboration, and it does these things very well. Read more: The best Instagram font generators The ultimate guide to social media for creatives Brands that rule at social media View the full article

A good logo has to achieve an awful lot with not very much collateral. It needs to be distinctive and memorable, it has to effectively communicate the identity and values of the brand that it represents, and it absolutely has to be versatile enough to work at every conceivable size, from browser favicons up to large-scale signage. That's a big ask. A well thought-out minimal logo design can be the best way to meet all three criteria; the challenge can be coming up with an end result that hasn't been done before. The simpler a design, the more likely you are to find hundreds of similar creations ready to be confused with your client's brand. It can be done, though, and if you get it right you'll have a brand identity that sticks in people's minds. Here are six logos that are utterly minimal but which still manage to be instantly recognisable. 5 big logo design trends for 2020 01. Volkswagen Volswagen's recent rebrand features its most minimal logo in years Probably the most complex of our selected designs, the Volkswagen logo is still beautifully minimal, especially in its latest iteration, launched last year. The distinctive monogram has been central to Volkswagen's branding since its launch before the Second World War; it originally featured additional ornamentation in similar style to the Nazi swastika, but this was quickly dropped after the war. The logo's been tweaked various times over the years and until recently it was an unsightly, chunky work of non-minimal chrome and 3D edges. The latest version, however, takes it back to basics with a simplified flat design that's a lot more pleasing to the eye. 02. Red Hat Red Hat has stripped its logo back to the essentials Red Hat isn't a name that's going to be familiar to most people, but it's one of the biggest names within the world of Linux. With a name like Red Hat (the company's named after the red lacrosse cap worn by one of its founders, Marc Ewing) it's obvious what the logo should be; each of its logos since 1995 has featured some kind of red hat. The original 1995 logo – a stylised stovepipe hat – is probably the most minimal of the lot, but the most recent, developed with Pentagram's Paula Scher is a fine looker. It's an evolution of the long-standing Red Hat logo featuring a figure in a red fedora, reduced and refined to simple hat in a shade of red that works better across both light and dark backgrounds. It's all part of a larger branding system that you're not particularly likely to come across, but you'll know it whenever you see it. 03. Beats The Beats logo does a lot with just a couple of elements Love or hate the headphones it represents, it's hard to deny that the Beats logo does a lot of heavy lifting with minimal elements. A simple lower-case 'b' against a circular background, it not only signifies the Beats brand but also works as an abstract representation of someone actually wearing a pair of headphones. Conceived as not only a high-performance audio brand but also as body art, Beats got its iconic look from Ammunition in San Francisco, which not only designed the hard-working logo, but also the headphones themselves and the whole brand identity and visual language. 04. Apple In its current incarnation, the Apple logo's deliciously minimal The original Apple logo, created by Ronald Wayne, was the very opposite of minimal: an elaborate hand drawing of Sir Isaac Newton sitting under his apocryphal apple tree, with a fluttering banner pronouncing the company name, it was a piece of branding straight out of the 19th century and barely lasted a year. The logo that we all know was designed by Rob Janoff in 1977, and it's a glorious example of a designer getting it right first time. Janoff didn't have any backup designs when he presented his work to Apple; he describes his simple silhouette of an apple with a bite taken out of it as the clearest bell of a visual he's ever had, and his confidence paid off. While the visual treatments of the Apple logo have evolved over the years, its iconic shape has remained untouched. You can find out more about Janoff's design here. 05. Mastercard Pentagram managed to reduce the Mastercard logo to this utterly minimal version The Mastercard logo, consisting of a pair of overlapping circles, originated in 1968, and like Rob Janoff's Apple logo it's one whose silhouette has remained largely untouched over the years, while the inner details have been sporadically tweaked. From 1990 until 2016, the overlapping section in the middle consisted of interlocking lines – a striking look but one that's less suitable for modern usage as it doesn't scale gracefully across all its possible implementations. Pentagram's 2016 redesign simplified the logo with a look reminiscent of the 1968 original, but with a more vibrant palette; a beautifully minimal look that works at all sizes. And then at the beginning of 2019 a refresh took things further, removing the Mastercard name from the design to create what's almost the ultimate minimal logo. 06. Nike Nike's swoosh is a masterpiece of minimal design Of course if you really want the ultimate minimal logo, you'd be hard pushed to do better than Nike's swoosh. Famously created by design student Carolyn Davidson for a whole $35 (she was handsomely rewarded for her contribution to the Nike brand later on) the swoosh is a simple but unmistakable shape that demonstrates just how much you can achieve with well-executed stroke – or a pair of Bézier curves. Inspired by a wing in reference to the Greek goddess of victory, Nike, the swoosh, like the most recent Mastercard logo, doesn't need any other Nike messaging to communicate exactly which brand it's talking about, and its elegant minimalism means that it scales effortlessly for all possible uses. For a logo designed back in 1971 which has undergone only minimal adjustment since then, that's quite an achievement. Related articles: 8 of the biggest logo redesigns of 2019 Iconic logos reimagined for the age of coronavirus Where to find logo design inspiration View the full article

Researchers said that a working exploit for CVE-2020-1938 leaked on GitHub makes is a snap to compromise webservers. View the full article

Criminals behind botnets Chalubo, FBot and Moobot attack unpatched vulnerabilities in the commercial DVRs made by LILIN. View the full article

If you're in need of some powerful new hardware but are on a budget, this Dell sale might just provide a solution. The leading computer tech company has reduced a number of its most popular laptops, which includes some really great options for creatives. Topping that list is the power-packed Dell XPS 13. One of the best 2-in-1 laptops money can buy, this incredible deal sees it reduced to just £1,219 – that's a whopping £299 saving! And that price includes a one-year subscription to Dell's premium support, onsite service and free delivery. But you'll need to hurry, this epic offer ends tonight (23 March 2020). The Dell XPS 13 packs a 10th Gen Intel Core i7 processor and Intel Iris Plus Graphics, offering excellent performance with graphically intensive tasks, such as creating complex digital art, editing photos and rendering animations and videos, all while offering a fantastically versatile 2-in-1 design. If the XPS 13 doesn't suit your requirements, don't worry, Dell is running huge savings across a number of its other devices too, with the promise to, as the world continues on a path of uncertainty, keep you connected. You can find details of all current deals over on the Dell website. Not in the UK? Here are the best Dell deals in your area: View the full article

The unpatched Windows zero day flaws are being exploited in "limited, targeted" attacks, according to Microsoft. View the full article

The sky can make or break a photo, so it's important to consider the steps it's going to take to successfully replace it if needed in your photo editing. For a long time, this was a manual, time-consuming job for photographers, requiring a lot of skill, time and expertise. For uncomplicated horizons, this process is less difficult. However, highly detailed tree-filled spaces or city skylines, with lots of gaps to fill, can prove so challenging, it's easier to give up. Until now, that is. The arrival of the AI Sky Replacement filter, a major new tool in Luminar 4, means even the most complex of images can have the sky replaced with ease. This incredible feature can not only automatically identify and separate the sky in the original image, but mask it so effectively that it's almost impossible to notice any areas the mask has missed. Following even the most detailed tree lines to the finest pixels, the AI Sky Replacement tool recognises gaps that a regular selection tool would oversee. And if you do notice any areas that need attention, there are sliders for even further fine-tuning. In order to make sure your replacement sky truly feels part of the original shot, you will need to pay close attention to the image exposure, lighting and colours and then let the tool do the rest. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to use the tool effectively, plus some top tips on how to make the final result even more standout. 01. Locate AI Sky Replacement filter To start, select Luminar's Edit panel, which will show icons for the four main filter panels – Essentials, Creative, Portrait and Professional – on the far right of the screen. If you're familiar with Luminar 3 (or earlier versions), these are the equivalent to the previous Luminar preset workspaces. The one you want is the Creative section, which is where the AI Sky Replacement filter lives. 02. Navigate AI Sky Replacement panel Once you've found the correct filter, select Sky Selection within the AI Sky Replacement panel. This is where you can choose a new sky and make any basic adjustments. There are advanced settings for further refinements, however, initial results are usually good enough to not warrant using these. 03. Select a new sky The Sky Selection dropdown menu has multiple replacement sky options, which come inbuilt with Luminar 4. You can select each and see which one provides the right feel for your image. Try not to get carried away with all the options and instead pay close attention to the sky that fits best with your image. 04. Experiment! This powerful tool is super-clever and has a number of options to help you be really creative, so don't be afraid to experiment with it. The night skies in Luminar 4 are particularly special, and can work really well at transforming a regular daytime image in to a magical evening shot. A prime example is image (above), which has had its original overcast sky replaced with 'Galaxy 2' sky – what a difference! 05. Finishing touches If you're almost done but feel like your image could still do with a few tweaks, the sliders in the AI Sky Replacement panel can really help. One to note is the Relight Scene slider, which this progressively applies the replacement sky’s tones and colours to the rest of the image to produce a much more natural blend. The AI Sky Replacement panel Here's a closer look at the AI Sky Replacement panel's features to help you get started: 1. Choose the perfect sky As mentioned earlier, there are variety of options from this drop down menu, but try not to get too carried away. Pick the sky that's right for your scene. And if you can't find it here, you can insert your own sky image here too. 2. Horizon Blending If you're struggling to join the sky with the horizon, or it looks a bit off, help make it a more natural fit by adjusting the Horizon Blending slider. 3. Relight Scene Use the Relight Scene slider to gradually shift the tones and colours of your original photo to match those of the sky you’ve added. 4. Advanced Settings It's unlikely you'll need these often, but handy to know they are there if you do. Options available are adding warmth and atmospheric haze in to images to really make your skies more authentic. 5. Sky Defocus This is a brilliant feature for replacing skies on close-ups or portraits with blurred backgrounds. 6. Edit Mask Useful for subtle blends, i.e. if you wanted to make the sky paler near the horizon, use the Edit Mask button and add a gradient mask. Get the most from AI Sky Replacement: 5 top tips AI Sky Replacement is a powerful tool, but it's no substitute for a photographer's eye. While it can certainly save you time, you will still need to ensure the replacement sky you are choosing fits perfectly, which will often require some tweaks. With that in mind, here are a few ways to get your skies just right, all of which are super-simple in Luminar. 01. Create your own sky library Luminar 4.1 comes packed with a variety of skies to choose from, but it's just as easy to drop in your own and create your very own sky library. So get snapping and start your sky collection today. 02. Add a 'Look' If you need that something extra to really bring your image and new sky together, try giving it a Luminar Look. Simply add an adjustment layer and then pick a Look that suits. 03. Match the lighting Take a close look at the lighting in your original image and try to find a sky that matches it. The sun is a good source to use in this above image as it can be used to determine how the light falls in the rest of the photo. 04. Add a vignette A quick and easy solution to adding a dark sky to a bright scene is to apply a vignetter. This edge-darkening effect will help balance the brightness and bring the image together seamlessly. 05. Use gradients If you're struggling to find the right tone to meet your horizon, use the edit mask button and add a gradient that helps blend the sky to your image more naturally. Get your copy of Skylum Luminar 4 today If you want to give Luminar 4 a go for yourself, you can download a free 14-day trial (for both macOS and Windows) via the Skylum website. If after a couple of weeks you'd like to buy, use discount code CB to get an exclusive $10/£10 discount on the retail price. View the full article

Nike has dropped a text-based ad encouraging people to stay indoors amid the spread of coronavirus. Using plain black text on a plain white background, the ad tells viewers: "If you ever dreamed of playing for millions around the world, now is your chance. Play inside, play for the world". The message looks stark, but the advice is pretty much in line with everyone else: stay indoors. The ad (below) was posted to Nike's social media channels over the weekend. Bespoke versions were also shared by various Nike ambassadors including Cristiano Ronaldo and Tiger Woods. Most feature the celebrity's signature alongside Nike's famous swoosh (one of our best logos of all time). Michael Jordan's version, however, removes the swoosh entirely, replacing it with a basketball-playing silhouette. It's the kind of simple, clear copywriting Wieden + Kennedy are known for, and the message cleverly plays on the the potential aspirations of Nike's followers to give them an unusual message for a sports brand: play inside. On its own, the ad might not seem like a strong effort from the largest sportswear brand in the world – but fortunately, Nike is offering more than just words – accompanying the ad is a new offer for its training app. As well as pledging $15 million to coronavirus response efforts, Nike is giving customers free access to the premium features of its Nike Training Club (NTC) app, joining the ranks of other brands offering free services (from Adobe's two free months of Creative Cloud to Serif pledging to engage 100 creatives with paid work). This is potentially great news for anybody working from home – with gyms closed and commutes shortened from bedroom to living room, it's one way of helping people to stay healthy at home. There's just one problem – the subscription-based service is currently only available in the US. With Nike imploring us to "play for the world", it's a shame that these benefits are only available in one part of the world. The version of the ad posted to Michael Jordan's Twitter page "Optimism and courage are two of the characteristics that define the world of sport," Nike says in its announcement of the now-free features. "We continue to be inspired by the ways people make sport a daily habit, even in the most challenging of times." Hopefully we'll continue to see examples of brands offering support to those whose lives and routines have been upended by the current situation. Related articles: Illustrator gives free drawing lessons to inspire kids stuck at home Illustrators depict their perfect self-isolation scenario The anatomy of Nike's most famous sneaker is weirdly fascinating View the full article

Film-inspired fan art is nothing new. But, as many digital artists will attest, reimagining a movie character in 3D is a huge undertaking. Until now, that is. Headshot plug-in for Character Creator software enables artists to quickly generate human 3D models from 2D images. In this article, digital artist Peter Alexander reveals how to take a photo of Pennywise the clown from hit horror film IT, and easily transform it into a complex 3D model using Headshot, ZBrush and Blender. Alexander’s guide covers everything you need to know go get started, including photo selection and preparation, https://youtu.be/7y5mJNQgqLousing the bake, edit mesh and sculpting tools native to Character Creator 3, manually adjusting Headshot masks in Photoshop, how to fix symmetry using ZBrush, and, finally, a crash-course on creating hair with a third-party Blender add-on called Hair Tool Download a free trial of Headshot plug-in here, and learn how to easily create a fully animatable 3D Pennywise model from just a single 2D image. 01. Finding a reference This image is used strictly for educational purposes. Please respect the copyright of the source images I found a photo of the clown from hit film IT by typing 'Pennywise bust' into Google images. Note this image is being used strictly for educational purposes – please pay attention to and respect the copyright of any source images. In order to fully demonstrate how Headshot works, I made further adjustments to the image, including adding symmetry by duplicating and mirroring the best side, and reducing some of the shadow. 02. Initiating Headshot and matching source image With the photo ready to go, I initiated Headshot. Once it computes the image, switch to the Sculpt Morph tool and Image Matching Tool. At this stage you will push, pull, and exaggerate the shape of the head by using the Bake feature to ‘lock in’ each transformation and reset the morphing limits. 03. Fixing the projection with expressions Approximate the expression of the source photo by using the Facial Expression Editor. Once you have a rough matching of the photo, use the ‘Re-project Photo’ feature under the Image Matching Tools. 04. Adjusting teeth with Edit mesh Use the Edit Mesh tool on the teeth to give them a pointed look. You can also adjust the teeth using the Morph Sliders included in the Headshot Morph 1000+ pack. 05. Editing mask to keep details from source image The red nose is masked by the default masking options. To keep more detail from the source image, I used Photoshop to add white to the masked area of the nose, mouth and eyes. 06. Fixing symmetry for eyes and teeth in ZBrush I sent the character mesh to ZBrush via GoZ function for some modest sculpting, using an app called PureRef to reference the source image at the same time. While in ZBrush, I corrected the symmetry on the eyes and teeth. Starting with the former, move the eyes into the approximate centre of the socket. Mask one of the eyes, and go to click ReSym and Smart ReSym in the Deformation area. You may have to slightly smooth out the eye, then ReSym and Smart ReSym repeatedly Re-import the file back into Character Creator, automatically align the bones to the face, and then delete the eyes and add new ones. Any deformations in the mesh should be fixed. 07. Touch-up and creating normal map in ZBrush To fully clean up the texture and produce normal maps, I subdivided the Basemesh of the full body a few times and hid everything except the Head UV group. Character Creator groups the mesh into the correct UV groups when GoZ’d into ZBrush. In the Texture Map dialog, add the face texture that has been produced by Headshot. Select Polypaint From Texture – from here you can do some light touch-ups and produce a cleaner texture map. To create a normal map, use brushes of your choice to sculpt and add definition around the painted areas that indicate detail. I sculpt around the brows to give increased depth, and notice the cracks in his painted head. When complete, switch to the lowest subdivision and extract a normal map. This can be combined with the provided normal map using an image editor with layer blending capabilities (e.g. Overlay). 08. Creating hair in Blender I created hair for Pennywise with a paid add-on for Blender called 'Hair Tool'. I started by exporting an OBJ file of the Pennywise mesh in T-Pose from Character Creator, and importing it into Blender. In Blender, I selected the skullcap, duplicated the mesh and then separated the two. In Particle edit mode, I combed the hair appropriately using a mouse, then increased the Strand Width to 20 (approximately). I switched interactive grooming off and on when editing settings for the hair. Once satisfied, I selected Particle Hair to Curves, and then Curve Ribbons to Mesh Ribbons. Export Opacity Map from UV settings, and export the Hair Mesh as an OBJ. Now back in Character Creator, import the hair OBJ as an Accessory. To create a hair texture, I searched the Internet by typing 'Copper Hair Texture' into Google. I assigned the red hair texture to Base Color, and the Opacity Map saved from Blender into the Opacity slot. Once happy with the hair setup, it can be saved as a reusable hair item. Here is the hair content I created as an example, you can download it from the description on my Youtube video (above). 09. Animating the Character This character is fully-rigged, and ready to be animated in iClone or any 3D tools. Here is an example of live animating Pennywise by mocap in iClone. You can download a free trial of Reallusion’s Headshot plug-in, and learn more details about how to make good use of this tool from these tutorials. View the full article

According to recent trademark filings, a new logo is on the horizon for car manufacturer Nissan, adding it to the long list of companies eschewing 3D for a flat, minimalist design. Not only has the chrome badge been replaced with a thin, monochromatic version, but the 'Nissan' font is now a straighter sans-serif affair. While Nissan is yet to officially announce the logo, the new design (below) certainly suggests it is moving in a similar direction to other car manufacturers such as BMW by adopting a more minimalist take on its branding. There'll have been no shortage of competition for Nissan to take tips from within the car industry, but if you're looking for logo ideas, check out our guide to finding logo design inspiration. The current logo (left) vs the possible new version (right) It's not surprising to see another car manufacturer join the flat design party. BMW recently revealed a minimalist redesign of its logo, designed with "openness and clarity" in mind. We're fans of Nissan's new, sleek look which, with removal of all colour entirely, is perhaps an even bolder transformation than BMW's. We like how, rather than going full circle, the semicircles encase the two 'N's, emphasising the almost-palindrome of the word Nissan. As well as the new brand logo, a second trademark filing (spotted by MotorTrend) suggests that Nissan will be getting new branding for its Z-car line of sports cars. Launched in 1969, there have been six generations of the Z-car, most recently 2009's Nissan 370Z. While the new Nissan logo looks to the future with its minimalist design, the new 'Z' (below) appears to be a nod to the past. The 'Z' has changed over the six generations of cars, but the new serif 'Z' with its centre strikethrough closely resembles the logo from Nissan's first Z-car, the 1969 240Z. There have been rumours that the new Z-car could feature a retro-inspired design, and the vintage logo suggests this could be the case. The hood emblem from Nissan's first Z-car in 1969 (left) and the new trademark 'Z' (right) Whether the flat design trend will disappear and 3D logos make a triumphant return in a few years is anybody's guess, but right now, the switch to simplicity makes sense – a logo needs to work across websites, social media and various types of digital media as well as a car bonnet. Hopefully Nissan will announce the new logos soon, and tell us more about the driving force behind the redesign. Related articles: The 10 best logos of all time The 7 best car logos of all time BMW reveals the truth behind its logo View the full article

Lego Harry Potter is a big deal, and that's not really surprising. JK Rowling's series of books hold a special place in the hearts of anyone growing up in the Nineties and early 2000s, and continue to be embraced by new generations of fans every year. The first Lego Harry Potter sets appeared in 2001, to coincide with the release of the first film, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Further sets were released in tandem with each subsequent movie, and then more came in 2010-11. Things went quiet for a bit after that, but since 2018, Lego Harry Potter has returned in style, with a run of excellent sets that improve markedly on their predecessors in terms of complexity, design and imaginativeness. Lego has come on leaps and bounds in recent years, evident in our round up of the best Lego sets for adults. And Lego Harry Potter is no exception. In this article, we bring together what we consider to be the best Lego Harry Potter sets of the modern era. We'll explain exactly what's good about each one, as well as some of the flaws, to help you make an informed decision. Whether you're buying for yourself, your children or the Hogwarts fanatic in your life, read on to discover the very best Lego Harry Potter sets available today. You'll need plenty of space and lots of patience to build this large and complex Lego Harry Potter castle If you're a truly passionate Lego Harry Potter fan, and time and money are no object, then there's no real question about it: you're going to want the Lego Harry Potter Castle. We say "time", because it's going to take quite a while for you to build this complex set, with over 6,000 pieces. And we say "money" because, well, it's certainly not cheap. But if you are prepared to invest both, then you'll get a lot back in return. Because this brilliant set, which measures around 60 x 75cm once constructed, really does pack a lot of classic Harry Potter moments into its multiple rooms and passageways. It would take to long to list every single location and scene represented in this Lego Harry Potter castle, but suffice to say The Great Hall is beautifully realised, with nicely designed stained glass windows, flaming torches, and seating able to house a range of students and staff. Elsewhere you'll find Chamber of Secrets, Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom, Dumbledore’s office, Umbrage’s office, the Transfiguration classroom and plenty more besides. Given the huge number of scenes represented, many of these rooms are quite minuscule, and so rather than minifigures (of which there are just four), the set is centred around 27 microfigures, which are tiny enough to pose in multiple places. They're well designed and mostly recognisable, but of course they're not nearly as detailed, or satisfying, as minifigures. Almost everywhere here, Lego's made brilliant use of space, from the devil’s snare behind a rock to the moving staircases, which are actually rotatable. And that's not all: outside the building you also get a Whomping Willow and Hagrid's Hut to add to the value. Please note, though, that this model doesn't actually replicate the entirety of Hogwarts as seen in the movie; it's basically just the front part of it. Lego's aim here has been more about echoing the big scenes rather than anything like an accurate architectural representation of the castle as it appears on screen. Also note that there's a large reliance on stickers to add many of the most important details, such as the door to the room of requirement, and that these can be quite fiddly to apply. Beyond these little niggles, though, this Lego Harry Potter set will provide you with endless pleasure, in terms of both the initial construction and the inevitable series of modifications you'll want to make once you're done. This Lego Harry Potter train and platform set is full of well-observed little details Book-ending the beginning and end of each academic year, the Hogwarts Express chuntering through the countryside is one of the most iconic elements of the Harry Potter movies. And so we're overjoyed that the latest Lego Harry Potter set to represent it is really, really good. The train itself is much more accurate than its predecessors, with much more representative wheels and a nice selection of interior details including fireplace, dials and valves. The carriage is great too; we love that you can remove both the side and the roof, making it very easy to get your minifigures positioned in there. And the platform design is the crowning glory, neatly divided as it is between the muggle and magical portions, with a swinging door to move your characters from platform 9 to platform 9¾. Do be aware, however, that the headlights don't actually light up, as it portrayed on the box (naughty, Lego!). And that although the train does fit perfectly onto any Lego tracks, there aren't actually any tracks supplied with this set. Otherwise, though, this is a brilliantly designed Lego Harry Potter set that ticks all the boxes, and offers truly excellent value for the price. You can actually play Quidditch with this Lego Harry Potter set, after a fashion A lot of Lego Harry Potter sets are more about "display" than "play", but this excellent Quidditch set scores on both counts. That's because the player characters can actually fire Quaffle pieces, and the keeper (who "flies" on a kind of stilt piece) can be manoevered to protect them from the three goal mouths. The set also comes with four towers that represent Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, and Hufflepuff respectively, with room to fit one of the six minifigures at the top. The Hufflepuff tower doubles as a useable scoreboard, too. And that, along with some accessories such as a very nice Golden Snitch, is basically your lot. You're not getting a full stadium then, or even a second goal piece, but considering the very affordable price, that's a compromise we feel is well worth making. This small but perfectly formed set packs in a lot of cool detail You might think the grittier, rougher sides to the Harry Potter world might not mesh so well with the clean, polished and precise nature of Lego... but this fantastic set will go a long way to changing your mind. Thoughtful design and colour choices means that Lego has brought a real sense of the earthy and rustic to this depiction of Hagrid's hut, in the scene from Prisoner of Azkaban where Buckbeak is due to be executed. This set makes great use of space too. The two sections of hut, which open at the back, are filled with fascinating objects that are easy to both move and remove. And the interior highlight is the fireplace containing a dragon’s egg; a battery-powered lightbrick that brings the fire to life very effectively. Outside the huts, you also get two sections of pumpkin patch, a pole and tether for Buckbeak, and the hippogriff himself, with a head and neck that can be rotated, wings that can move up and down, and studs on his back to place minifigures. All in all, this set might be a bit pricey considering its relatively small size, but it's beautifully put together and really does add up to more than the sum of its parts. This dark and brooding graveyard scene is a great budget buy. The rise of Voldemort in Goblet of Fire is one of the most pivotal scenes in the Harry Potter saga, so it's great that this very affordable set does such a good job of depicting it. Given the price, it's not surprisingly quite basic: no buildings as such, and quite a small number of pieces. But there are some lovely touches, including a Grim Reaper that can be posed to grasp Harry in his clutches, a cool mini version of the TriWizard Cup, and both a baby and an adult version of the chief villain. A very cool action feature allows you to make Voldemort rise from the dead with the pull of a lever. And best of all, unlike other Lego Harry Potter sets, the box art doesn't mislead you by suggesting features that aren't there: in this case, what you see really is what you get. All in all, this is a great budget buy for anyone wishing to recreate one of Harry's darkest hours . There's a real fairy-tale feel to this beautifully depicted Lego Harry Potter scene If the grimness of the Voldemort graveyard scene isn't your thing, perhaps you'd prefer to recreating one of the franchise's most uplifting and fairytale-esque sequences? This beautifully designed set recalls the scene from Goblet of Fire where a flying carriage from Beauxbatons Academy of Magic arrives at Hogwarts. And it's all quite gorgeous, from the ornate carriage, peppered with attractive little details, to the enchanted equines with their posable wings. This set is cleverly designed too, especially the carriage, which opens up at the top to offer what is essentially a second storey, complete with beds and furniture. Our favourite part, though, is the very dapper version of Hagrid, dressed in his Yule Ball costume and ready to win over Madame Maxime. On the negative side, it's a little weird that one of the carriage doors doesn't open, the front harness piece seems a little unfinished, and it might be considered a bit pricey considering the number of pieces. But overall, this is a delightful set that pays brilliant tribute to one of the series' lighter and more uplifting moments. We love the idiosyncratic detail in this Lego Harry Potter set There aren't many particularly memorable vehicles from the Harry Potter series, but the crazy Knight Bus from The Prisoner of Azkaban is very much the exception. And this Lego set does a great job of bringing the surreal three-storey contraption and its associated characters to life (see our full Lego Knight Bus review). At 12 x 15cm, it's not as big as you'd expect from the surprisingly high price. But it is cleverly designed to fit a lot in, from the shrunken head and chandelier, which actually swing as you glide the bus about, to the swing chair and bed, which both fit minifigures. It's cool, too, that the side of the bus is detachable, aiding access, plus you can remove the top layer of the bus altogether. This design isn't flawless by any means: one gripe is that while the conductor fits on the side of the bus, he won't fit through the bus door itself. And overall, this set is pretty darned expensive for what it is. But as a Lego recreation of one of Harry Potter's wackiest scenes, it's does a very good job indeed. Relive one of the series' most powerful scenes with this nicely affordable Lego Harry Potter set We'll be honest, here: the scene in Prisoner of Azkaban where Harry summons his Patronus is one that hits us square in the feels. So we were instantly attracted to this set, and what we love most is the Patronus piece itself. In a (very un-Lego like) transluscent light blue and speckled with glitter, it really stands out and effectively conveys the magical nature of both the apparition and the moment itself This contrasts nicely with the (again, very un-Lego like) weird and creepy take on trees, bringing a vivid sense of darkness and despair into the scene. And so while the shoreline piece is, to our mind, a little too small, we think Lego should be applauded for trying something different here that really works. And overall, given the low price, we think that this set offers superb value. This selection of Lego Harry Potter accessories and minifigures is a great buy at any time of year This Lego Harry Potter advent calendar contains 24 free mini-bags, containing Lego pieces that you can use to assemble Christmas scenes. So to start with there are a lot of accessories, including seating areas, a Christmas tree, cultery, food, snowman, fireplace, and presents. There are also minifigures, a statue pedestal, a Hedwig figure and a micro Hogwarts Express train. Some of the pieces are very small and hard to put together, which might be seen as a bug or a feature, depending on how much you like a challenge. Meanwhile, some collectors might want this set just for the exclusive (at time of writing) items, such as Hermione in her winter outfit and Harry’s acceptance letter to Hogwart's. There's even an exclusive character in the form of a gold figure of Hogwart’s architect. Or maybe you just want something to open each day over the Christmas season, that isn't a disappointingly small square of chocolate. Whatever your reasoning, this is a nice and inexpensive buy for Lego Harry Potter fans. Lego Harry Potter minifigures... gotta catch 'em all. This set offers exactly what it promises: 16 minifigures from the Harry Potter and six from the Fantastic Beasts series. Each comes in a sealed ‘mystery' bag together with one or more accessory elements, plus a collector's leaflet and a unique display base plate. Unfortunately, that does add up to a lot of unnecessary packaging, which doesn't quite mesh with Lego's general focus on environmental responsibility. The Lego Harry Potter minifigures themselves, though, are all very nice, and our favourite inclusion has to be Harry's Invisibility Cloak, which has an iridescent treatment that really shines, both literally and metaphorically. Be warned, though: the set as a whole is very expensive , and so how you feel about the Fantastic Beasts series will probably make a big impact on whether you think this is worth the cost. View the full article