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Consumer router models allowed authenticated users to take unrestricted remote control over TL-WR940N and TL-WR941ND routers. View the full article

Cisco repatched its RV320 and RV325 routers against two high-severity vulnerabilities, but at the same time reported two new medium-severity bugs with no fixes. View the full article

Three waves of DNS hijacking attacks against consumer routers have been linked back to Google Cloud Platform abuse. View the full article

No. 4 global phone maker, Xiaomi, preinstalled a security app called ‘Guard Provider’ that had a major flaw. View the full article

Have your business try Cynet's Free Threat Assessment that checks for malware, C&C connections, data exfiltration, phishing link access, user credential thefts attempts, etc. View the full article

You're reading How to Create a Good Transactional Email that Converts, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook! There are two general types of email newsletters: promotional and transactional. While the first is widely used by email marketers to draw attention to websites and goods, the second is considered to be a technical asset. While the first is … View the full article

What exactly is a user flow? Visually, it's a bit like a dance mat. Right foot here. Left foot over there. Now bring them together, turn and repeat. Without knowing how to dance, you're still able to stand on this mat and move along with your feet stepping in the right places in the right order. A user flow is just that. A loose but coordinated dance with your website. It's important that you know where a user will step and in what order for that dance to go well. Working through the expectations of users and crafting an overall positive user experience can be a complicated mixture of data points, use cases, wireframes and prototypes to connect the dots before the project is fully built out. With so many moving parts, it's easy to get tripped up or have a stakeholder misunderstand the vision. The 20 best wireframe tools Unlike a design showcasing what a user will interact with after development, the role of a user flow is to set the ground rules for what the subsequent wireframes and designs will represent. It's the strategy document to design how the user flows from point to point. What you need for a user flow Apply user flows to work out how navigation will work in apps, as well as websites Whether you work for an agency or directly with a client as a freelancer, you're probably no stranger to the confusion that comes with sharing early designs with a client. In your head, you understand the intricacies of how each block of content fits into the overall experience and it's glorious. Then you show someone else or, even worse, the client and they don't get it. They get hung up on the wrong details, often because they don't have the full vision in front of them yet. Which is where strategy documents that outline purpose – like a user flow – come in handy to keep things moving forward. To do that, you'll need the following: Business goals Why do you want someone to visit your website? You can typically get these from your point of contact with a brief conversation. Are they launching a new service, product or trying to generate traffic for a specific area of the site? The more granular you can get the better. Goals lead to accountability from all sides and will benefit the users. User goals Why is someone actually visiting your website? Be hesitant to take these directly from the client unless they have done user testing or some kind of data-driven research to support it. Otherwise you'll end up with the same business goals with a different twist. Entry points and user types Based on the data, where are users landing right now? Do users typically land on a blog post? On a portfolio piece or a featured product? More importantly, how are they getting there? If organic traffic is driving mostly to the blog, those users may flow between secondary or tertiary pages differently than someone coming in from a referring website, social media or an email campaign. You may need to map them out differently to properly showcase the flow. Yellow Brick Roads (YBRs) What is the ideal path for users to travel between pages to meet both the business and user goals? To get them from the entry point to the results-driven destination? As users flow in non-linear ways, what are the edge cases that users may flow into? For example, if your YBR is a blog post landing page that clicks through to a service page and then the contact page, where might some users get lost? Do some users end up on the about page? Where do they go from there? Map out those edge cases and how they branch off from your ideal scenarios. A lo-fi wireframe is useful for getting a rough idea of how a page works You can extract the last two points with Google Analytics and the User Explorer feature for individual user flow paths or the Users Flow section to see a 10,000 foot view of trending paths for all users on the site. Both are worth getting familiar with (see our top tools in Google Analytics post). Think of the dance mat. Where do users place their feet first (landing page)? Where does each foot go next (page two, three, four, etc)? Show that in a flow chart for each user type or goal. There are plenty of plugins, frameworks or software solutions that can be used to create diagrams; let's look at what the deliverable should be in a user flow. Easily shared and printed. This may seem like a no-brainer but you'd be surprised how often people bring printouts for diagrams that are unreadable. If there are too many steps or too much text to fit clearly on an 8.5 x 11-inch printout, you're overcomplicating things. Bridge the communication gap between clients, stakeholders, designers and developers. Flows show how a user will navigate and interact with the site jumping between pages. This is important to give a framework for everyone to unify their understanding moving forward. Showcase the path(s) toward each priority business and customer goal, common entry point pathways and a streamlined YBR pathway that offers up missed opportunities for key content. For clarity, this does not happen in a single flow. This will be multiple stand-alone flows. With buy-in from stakeholders, you can take these user flow documents and use them to inform the designers creating wireframes to ensure they follow the core user experience strategies. They can be treated like a check list to validate the project is meeting the goals at each step. Learn more about UX and more at generate New York 2019. Click the image to book your ticket Expand user flows into wireframes Map out edge cases and consider how they branch off from your ideal scenarios Most of us have experience with wireframes in some form. Wireframes are used to represent the strategy behind a website layout. Sometimes they will be handed off to developers to begin building the bones of the infrastructure. They're the blueprint to the home. They help stakeholders understand the 'why' of the strategy without getting roped into details like fonts, colours or content. Many times someone responsible for the user experience or design of a project will jump directly into the wireframe because they construct their own mental model of a user flow. The problem with that is they run the risk of internalising strategy, applying unforeseen bias, repurposing old ideas and may become a bottleneck between the design and the communication of the design. Clear communication is paramount. User flows will help mitigate those risks because they pass down structured communication. It adds a layer of checkpoints. There are various levels of visual fidelities when it comes to wireframing. Some prefer low-fidelity templated wireframes they can drop into place to represent the general information architecture of a given page. Others prefer high-fidelity wireframes that are very much designs but without the proper font, copy, colours and imagery in place. It's important to know your audience and what to use when. Realistically, if you are working from user flows you should move into a higher-fidelity wireframe that then grows into a prototype more easily. It's a good idea to start on paper, whiteboard or some tablet sketching tool It's a good idea to start on paper, whiteboard or some tablet sketching tool. This enables you to focus on the quick ideation of potential solutions to problem areas and keeping the user on the ideal pathway. To get started, you will need a list of each page to design and build into the website: home, about, service listing, etc. That acts as your checklist to ensure you don't miss anything. Start with rough sketches for each of those based on the goals you've uncovered previously. Where does the navigation go? How are you going to convey the business goals on the home page? Are you following a 12-column grid for speed of understanding the structure with a certain demographic or is it a more progressive interactive site that can exude a bit more expressive freedom? This is where you determine the best way to achieve the goals and build on top of a strong base. User flow documents can inform the creation of wireframes , as in this example for Sullair Once those rough sketches are complete, select one of your user flows. For example, if the ideal pathway is a blog post landing page that the user clicks through to a service page and then the contact page, test that out with your wireframes. Look at your blog post landing page: how would a user find the service page based on your structure? Is it clear? Is it truly a priority on that page's layout or is it just another link tucked away on the sidebar, footer or navigation? The user flow becomes an auditor to your work, the unbiased fact checker to your wireframes. Even better, when you can show a client you've connected all of the dots they deemed a priority, they become very satisfied with the work at each step. It reminds them of why they hired you to do this in the first place. It's a relief and they will likely begin to settle into your full process. If you don't show you've provided a solution for those goals or a way to alleviate the existing pain points, each phase of your project will rely heavily on trust. Even with the best of us, that can only take you so far until comments like 'why didn't we catch that?' sneak into your conversations. The later those pop up, the more expensive they are to fix. The more often they pop up, the more that trust erodes. That's why following a process like this and supporting decisions with data and focus is so crucial. Interactive prototypes Showcase the path(s) toward each priority business and customer goal Now you've validated the wireframe implementation with user flows, it's time to turn them into interactive prototypes. These are basically clickable static image files that enable you to jump to another image file to give the impression of navigating a website. Not only are these great for clients to experience, it's also very important to ensure your developers and designers are on the same page. That great layout idea may actually add 100 hours of development time and be out of scope. This kick-starts those conversations before time is wasted. You or your design team may have a very clear vision for what this set of wireframes will evolve into in the weeks ahead. Maybe you're even taking the wireframes into a full design and prototyping that. That's not uncommon. But one problem persists. Those subtle hover states and microinteractions that support an intuitive user experience are hidden away inside of someone's mind. A stakeholder doesn't see that vision yet but prototypes can help. Much like wireframing, prototypes can come in various fidelities. At Candorem we have used InVision for years because of the simplicity of creating sharable prototypes that focus on the user pathways between pages and key interactions or overlays. Drop in existing images and draw hot spots over links. Creating low-fidelity interactions then enables you to share a prototype within an hour, depending on complexity. Bring out the hi-fidelity wireframes when you want to drill down into content in detail Others may suggest using Adobe XD, which is far more robust in showcasing interactive elements of a design beyond page transitions. It's like if you combined Adobe's Creative Suite (get Adobe Creative Cloud here) with InVision as a single product. You could create your wireframes, full design concepts and prototypes in one fell swoop if you're organised enough. The important part is connecting the pages to craft an experience someone can click through and understand the vision. It's important to set expectations Again, know your audience. Even with basic click-throughs in InVision, some clients confuse it with a built-out website. It's important to set expectations. Communicate exactly what it is you're showing a client with the prototype and, more importantly, what kind of feedback you are looking for at this stage. Are you looking for feedback on flow between those key pages in the user flow? Are you looking for feedback on the page transition animations in the prototype? The content that fits into the spaces and where it will come from? Communicate that. It will help you grow as a professional very quickly and the quality of your work will increase exponentially. You can judge the success of this process by beginning the prototype review on a key landing page like the blog from earlier. Ask someone in the review from the stakeholder team to click through to a specific page on the prototype and see what paths they take. Even in edge cases where the user travels down another path, as users travel in non-linear fashion, they should be able to locate the key pages that reflect a business goal. Your work must be accountable to that. Your ability to showcase the critical thinking and implementation behind key decisions, as well as how you or your team have adapted your goals into an intuitive experience, is crucial. That's what enables you to reframe perspectives, move away from short-term trends and obtain support from the otherwise loudest people in the room. Strategy at every step. This article was originally published in issue 315 of net, the world's best-selling magazine for web designers and developers. Buy issue 315 here or subscribe here. Related articles: 10 rules for making user-friendly web forms Performance UX: A primer 10 steps to an engaging user experience View the full article

For readers of a certain age, the game Snake will bring back hazy memories of squinting at the screen of a Nokia 3210 as you furiously try to beat your best mate's high score. To give people the chance to relive the classic game, Google has added a version of Snake to Google Maps today as an April Fool's Day treat. Rolling out worldwide today across Android and iOS, Snake on Google Maps sees players control buses and trains instead of a slithering serpent. The aim of the game is still the same though: players have to gobble up objects, in this case tourists and famous landmarks, while making sure they don't overlap themselves or run off the map. After a few goes, you'll realise (or remember) that this isn't as easy as it sounds. Players get to choose from a variety of locations from Google Maps, including Cairo, London, San Francisco, São Paulo, Sydney and Tokyo. Each map and its associated landmarks are picked out in colourful pixel art, ensuring that this version of Snake brings out all of your '90s nostalgia. According to Google Maps product manager Omar Abdelaziz, Snake on Google Maps will be available in the app for "about a week". However, if you just can't get enough of the game, you'll be pleased to hear that it has a standalone site, so you will be able to keep playing "long after April Fools is over." As far as pranks go, Google is playing it very safe this year. That's if you can even call Snakes on Google Maps a prank. However, given that your social media feeds have probably been inundated with joke stories this morning, we appreciate that the search engine giant is saving you a bit of hassle by being upfront with its mild tomfoolery. Another reason that Google is treading carefully around April Fool's Day could be related to a 2016 prank that backfired. That year Google launched the 'Mic Drop', a feature which temporarily replaced the 'Send and Archive' button. By clicking 'Mic Drop', users sent everyone in the conversation a GIF of a Minion dropping a microphone, as well as stopping further replies from appearing in your inbox. The Mic Drop prank caused headaches for companies, with at least one freelancer losing work as a result of it burying their replies. Hilarious. In response to the fallout, Google issued an apology and deactivated the feature, so we can't really blame it for not taking a risk this April Fool's Day. Related articles: Google's new gaming logo is cleverly off-brand The Period Game is Dream Phone with ovaries 5 ads that tried to be cool, but failed View the full article

Looking to up your painting game? Corel Painter 2019 will help you create your next masterpiece. Though it typically costs $429, it's currently on sale with 41% off at just $249. This painting tool is one of our picks for the best software for digital artists. And rightly so. With over 900 different brushes in 25 different types of brush categories, Corel Painter 2019 is a must-have in the arsenal of any digital artist. It boasts the most realistic Natural Media and exclusive particles, pattern pens, thick paint brushes and even more – so anything you dream up you'll be able to paint perfectly. Since artists are known to be particular, everything is totally customisable. Import brushes, custom palettes, textures and gradients as you wish. Auto-Painting Panels make prepping, auto-painting and restoring details even easier. And thanks to Corel Painter's multi-core processors and CPUs you'll be able to create your masterpieces faster than before. Start making masterpieces today with Corel Painter 2019. It's available for $249 here. Related articles: Create portrait art in Corel Painter The 29 best iPhone apps for designers 20 illustrators to follow on Instagram View the full article

If you're interested in a career in video editing, you'll need to master Adobe Premiere Pro CC. Get up to speed on this top video editing software with Adobe Premiere Pro CC MasterClass: Video Editing Made Easy. This top-rated course typically costs $200, but it's currently available for 89% off at just $21. No matter what industry you'd like to work in, conquering Adobe Premiere Pro CC will get you that much closer to your dream job. The software is used in all kinds of video production, from business and marketing videos to music videos and documentaries. Get Adobe Creative Cloud here Learn the basics of starting a project, editing videos, adding video and audio transitions and titles, and much more with this informative class that's perfect even for beginners. These 59 lectures are available at any hour of the day, so you can learn at your own pace and become a video editing pro from the comfort of home. Snag the Adobe Premiere Pro CC Masterclass: Video Editing Made Easy for just $21 here. Related articles: The 18 best Adobe Illustrator plugins Voice prototyping added to Adobe XD Top-class Photoshop tutorials to try View the full article

Choosing the best VPN service can be tricky, but it has clear benefits for designers of all kinds. Whether you’re based in your local coffee shop and need to keep your work secure, or are working remotely abroad and having trouble accessing the sites you need, a VPN can help you out. To help, we've researched and tested all the major services. Read on for our ranking of the best VPN services for creative professionals, plus detailed notes to help you choose the one that's right one for you. VPN stands for virtual private network, and they're used for a number of things. Primarily, they keep your internet browsing anonymous and secure, and enable you to get around blocked websites. You can also use them to watch shows on foreign streaming services including country-specific Netflix and BBC iPlayer. At the bottom of the page you'll find a more in-depth look at what a VPN is and why you might need one. For now, let's get get started with our guide to the best VPN services right now... What's the best VPN service in 2019? Our pick for the best VPN service right now is ExpressVPN, thanks to impressive speed, unblocking, privacy options and excellent customer service. The second best VPN is IPVanish – a reliable option that handles P2P and torrenting particularly well. NordVPN earns third place for its speedy performance and strong security. For a closer look at our picks for the best VPNs, read on. ExpressVPN is the best VPN service right now. This super-fast service offers enterprise-standard encryption, excellent customer service and over 3,000 servers spread across 94 countries. It boasts perhaps the widest platform support you'll find from any VPN. As well as native apps for Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android and BlackBerry (!), ExpressVPN offers custom firmware for some routers, and a MediaStreamer option for consoles and smart TVs including PlayStation, XBox and Apple TV. Finally there are very capable VPN browser extensions for Firefox, Safari and Chrome. What really makes ExpressVPN stand out is its customer support. Although it’s not alone in offering live chat, 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, its agents have a great reputation for sorting problems quickly, efficiently and with a smile in their voice. And while that’s not often our main consideration when selecting a provider of any service, it does help. On the downside, it only offers three simultaneous connections per user, where most services offer five (and IPVanish, at number 2 in this list, will support up to 10). The second best VPN service comes from IPVanish. This VPN owns and manages its own servers, of which there are over 1,200 in more than 60 countries; has a strict zero-logs policy to preserve your privacy; and offers up to 10 simultaneous connections per user – well above what most services offer. In our real-world tests, IPVanish performed well. The servers connected quickly and were always up, download speeds were above average, torrents are supported on all servers, and we were able to unblock BBC iPlayer and US Netflix. Where IPVanish really shines is with its apps. There are dedicated apps for Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS, Android, Fire TV, Windows Phone and Chromebook. Unlike competitors' efforts, these are powerful and configurable, with plenty of different features and settings to explore. There's a slight downside here: there's a bit of a learning curve to get the best from the apps, and there are some small usability issues. A few servers didn't appear to be in the advertised locations, and there are no kill switches on the mobile apps. Price-wise, you're at the premium end of the VPN range with IPVanish. While there are no free trials available, there is a 7-day money-back guarantee if it turns out to be not quite what you want. In all the areas that count, NordVPN beats or matches what's offered by the competition. The service has over 5,300 servers in over 60 countries, offers 2048-bit encryption, secure DNS leak protection, and app-specific and system-wide kill switches. It supports up to six devices simultaneously and there are proxy extensions for Chrome and Firefox. NordVPN's SmartPlay feature is useful for getting round geo-restrictions and can be used to unblock a whole host of streaming services. NordVPN offers four different subscription choices: a monthly plan or one, two or three year plans (the final of which is really excellent value). There's also a 30-day moneyback guarantee. In our performance tests, download speeds were well above average on almost all connections (although we did run into difficulties when trying to connect to a small number of servers). Where NordVPN falls behind slightly is with its customer support. The site is relatively weak, and unlike many of the services on this list, there's no live chat feature. However, the email support is perfectly acceptable – we got a helpful, accurate reply to our query within 12 hours. HotSpot Shield offers a couple of VPN services: free and a paid Premium version. What you're paying for is full access to over 2500 servers in 25 countries, use on up to five devices, unlimited bandwidth, no ads, and 24/7 support. The free option is pretty good, but it's worth shelling out the (very reasonable) price for Premium. When we took it for a spin, we experienced impressively quick upload and download speeds when transferring big image files, even from the most distant locations. Hotspot Shield Premium's high speeds and low prices have clear appeal, and the seven-day trial makes it easy to test the service for yourself. As you'd expect, the best value for money is the one-year subscription, unless you want to commit to the lifetime plan. So what are the downsides? HotSpot Shield is based in California, making it subject to US law enforcement. It uses its own proprietary Catapult Hydra protocol, which some people are suspicious of because it hasn’t been widely analysed externally. It no longer supports standards like OpenVPN, and the service can only be used on devices that are able to run its apps (Windows, Mac, Android or iOS). It also doesn’t let you pay for the service with Bitcoin, the apps are lacking in configuration options, and during testing we weren't able to unblock US Netflix. CyberGhost is the best VPN for you if you're looking for a service you can configure to your liking, but has a helpful interface and avoids jargon. There are apps for Windows, Mac, iOS and Android, the service allows torrents and there's live chat support if you need it. Extras include the ability to block ads, trackers and malicious websites, and automated HTTPS redirection helps keep browsing as secure as possible. The interface is organised according to the task you're trying to complete. The main window offers six options: Surf Anonymously, Unblock Streaming, Protect Network, Torrent Anonymously, Unblock Basic Websites, and Choose My Server. There are helpful touches, too. For example, you can choose a geo-blocked service (Netflix, iPlayer, etc.) from a list, and the app will automatically connect you to the best server and open a new window at the target site. CyberGhost has a ton of easy-to-follow guides that explain everything in basic English that anyone can follow. These are handily divided up by device, so you don’t have to cross-reference all over the place. And they explain everything from how to surf anonymously and how to block ads to more advanced fare, such as how to configure a Raspberry Pi as a web proxy with OpenVPN, or how to share a VPN connection over Ethernet. And it’s good that these guides exist, because CyberGhost does offer a large number of configuration options, such as setting it to automatically run on Windows startup, assigning specific actions for different Wi-Fi networks, and making CyberGhost automatically run when you use certain apps, such as Facebook. So what's wrong with it? Performance was patchy in our tests – while speeds in the US and Europe were good, some long-distance connections were poor. All in all though, CyberGhost is a great VPN service for anyone who’s not a total newbie and wants to push what their VPN is capable of, but doesn’t want to go wading too deep into the techie weeds. Canadian VPN service TunnelBear is aimed squarely at non-techies and VPN newbies. It’s incredibly easy to use, and there are apps for Windows, Mac, iOS and Android, as well as Chrome, Opera and Firefox extensions. Setting up the TunnelBear VPN takes a matter of minutes, via a much simpler process than other VPN services. Explanations are jargon-free and written in the kind of plain English everyone can understand. The flipside of that, of course, is that options are limited compared to other VPNs (you can't even change protocol, for example), so more advanced users looking for high levels of configuration will be better off with a rival service. There are also only around 20 server locations, and the website is not terribly helpful at all. But that aside, what TunnelBear does, it does very well. It's easy to connect, and offers strong performance overall (although those speeds do drop a little over long-distance connections). It's also gone where few other services dare to go by getting a independent, public security audit on its servers, code and systems. Paid plans give you unlimited data and for a very reasonable per-month cost, and there's also free plan that limits you to just 500MB of traffic per month. Windscribe offers a decent VPN that has one main benefit over rivals: its commercial Pro plan allows for unlimited connections. That means you can use it on as many devices as you want simultaneously. The only other service in this list to currently offer that is Surfshark, at number 9. The network is a decent size (locations in 110 cities across over 60 countries). There are clients for Windows, Mac, Android, iOS and Linux, plus Chrome, Firefox and Opera extensions. You'll also find guides if you want to manually set up the service on routers, Kodi and more. Another plus point is the high level of privacy it offers. The company policy is clear and detailed, and you don’t have to use your real name or provide an email address to sign up. And if you want to stay totally anonymous you can (as with most VPNs) pay with Bitcoin. Plus, being based in Canada, it’s nicely out of reach of US law enforcement agents. If those things aren't big selling points for you, though, then it probably shouldn’t be your first choice. The service as a whole is fairly average, and our tests threw up some issues. While performance was generally good, some long-distance severs were very slow. Connection times could also be slow, we couldn't view BBC iPlayer, and there's no 24/7 support. It might be a good idea to start out with Windscribe's free VPN, which offers a very generous 10GB data per month. Private Internet Access offers slightly limited (although actually still pretty good) features for a super-cheap price. There are custom clients for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android and Linux, as well as open source extensions for the big browsers. There's also built-in blockers for ads, malicious sites and trackers, and torrents available on all servers. With 32 server locations, it's a relatively small network, but sufficient for most users' requirements. In our tests, performance wasn't the best but definitely wasn't the worst, with Private Internet Access offering good speeds in the US and Europe, and slightly less reliable performance over long-distance connections. There isn't live chat support, but we got a helpful response to our email query within two hours, which is fair. If those low, low prices are raising some security concerns, fear not. While some companies sell user data to enable them to cut their prices, Private Internet Access' privacy policy does not allow any kind of session or activity logging. And you can pay via Bitcoin if you want to be really anonymous, too. Surfshark serves up a good value, if a little basic, VPN service. In fact, there's a lot going for this VPN. Unlike many of the services on this list, Surfshark supports an unlimited number of devices. There are apps for iOS, macOS, Android, Windows, Linux and FireTV plus Chrome and Firefox extensions (note the Android app can be a little unstable). The pricing is very reasonable indeed, and there's a 30-day moneyback guarantee if you don't like what you see. There's OpenVPN UDP and TCP, IKEv2 security protocols, AES-256 encryption, a kill switch, a private DNS and a double VPN hop for extra security. Performance is good across the board too. The user interface clean and stripped back, the only minimal options displayed (we'll leave you to decide whether that's a drawback or benefit. VyprVPN is a very fast, highly secure service without third parties. If you’re looking for privacy, then a service based in Switzerland – known throughout history for obsessive levels of discretion within its banking system – has to be a good start. But while Vypr is keen to trumpet its service’s ability to provide privacy and security, it’s really the speed of the thing that’s the most impressive. VyprVPN is hardly alone in claiming to offer 'the world’s most powerful VPN'. However, it backs up this statement on the basis that, unlike many of its rivals, it owns its own hardware and runs its network. VyprVPN has its own zero-knowledge DNS service and its Chameleon protocol could get you online in countries that block VPN. Either way, it was pretty nifty when we took it for spin. Download speeds were mostly good. They slowed a little in a few of the most remote locations (although not beyond an acceptable level). Platform support is also wider than most, taking in Blackphone, QNAP and Anonabox as well as the usuals (Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, router). So what are the downsides? VyprVPN logs session details (connection times and IP addresses) for 30 days, and you could have your account locked if your IP is found downloading illegal torrents. In our tests, four servers wouldn't accept connections, and a further four didn't appear to be where Vypr said they were. So it's not perfect, but if the session logging isn't a problem for you, and your work involves uploading and downloading a lot of hefty files, VyprVPN should help you shave time off that process. What is a VPN and why do I need it? VPN, which stands for virtual private network, is a service that encrypts your internet communications. It enables users to securely access a private network, and safely send and receive data. Using a VPN, you can remotely connect to an office network as though you were working in the building – which is handy if you're a freelancer, or working abroad. You can also securely send confidential material to a client, or do your banking from an unsecured public network, such as a coffee shop Wi-Fi spot. Another useful feature is that a VPN can keep your internet browsing anonymous. And it can make you appear to be located in another country, too – which is helpful if you work with global clients that have IP-based restrictions on their sites. “I often have to fire up the VPN to make myself appear as if I’m in different EU territories,” says London-based web designer Robert Fenech. “A quick 'turn on and select country', and voila.” Sometimes it’s not the website protocols themselves that you have to get round, but government censorship. Just imagine you’re visiting Beijing and needed to download some Photoshop files from a service that the ‘Great Firewall of China’ has blocked. A VPN can help you get around that too. Related articles: The best free fonts for designers Top CSS animation examples to recreate The best painting and drawing apps View the full article

A new module is now available for our software vulnerability management solutions. It is called the Threat Intelligence Module and it takes your ability to focus on the vulnerabilities that matter most to the next level by exposing which are actually being exploited in the wild. Industry experts, including Gartner show that only 6%-10% of the vulnerabilities disclosed each year are actually exploited. Further, it turns out that most of those that are exploited have medium CVSS scores, which are often overlooked by organizations. With the insights provided by threat intelligence, it is possible better optimize the time spent remediating software vulnerabilities. Decrease time and resources spent patching vulnerabilities that do not have evidence of exploitation and spend more on those that do. Prioritization is crucial for effective risk mitigation and to ensure an appropriate focus of resources. Leveraging machine learning, artificial intelligence, and human curation from thousands of sources in the open, deep and dark web, the Threat Intelligence Module augments Flexera’s vulnerability intelligence with a threat score that provides the ultimate prioritization tool for your busy desktop operations teams. When added to our Software Vulnerability Manager (SVM) solution, the Threat Intelligence Module helps operations to focus on the patches most critical to the security of the software deployed in your environment. When added to our Software Vulnerability Research (SVR) solution, the Threat Intelligence Module provides security professionals even more insight by exposing threat scores not only for security advisories, but for the specific CVEs associated with those advisories as well as what evidence was triggered to arrive at the provided threat score. Please read this datasheet for more details. Source View the full article

Machine learning. Deep learning. Natural language processing. Computer vision. Automation. Voice recognition. You've probably heard all these and many other terms recently, all under the umbrella of artificial intelligence. In fact, the field is growing so rapidly, it's becoming increasingly difficult to nail down a definitive definition. AI is becoming part of nearly every aspect of our lives, from ecommerce websites and search engines to unlocking your phone. Your websites and apps can leverage APIs to tap directly into the power of AI. Without having to 'train' AI agents, you can take advantage of massive quantities of data already analysed. Google, Amazon, IBM and many others have created endpoints for developers to hook into and start using AI right away. On the front end, you can connect voice commands, chatbot interfaces or reactive WebGL creative elements. On the back end, databases use intelligent algorithms to maximise speed and analysis. APIs can provide a layer of abstraction from a wide range of AI functions, from predictions to collective training. A guide to Google's web tools There's a flash sale now on on generate New York tickets! Don't miss out, click the image to book your place What is computer vision? Computer vision is the study and creation of artificial systems that extract information from images. It can also encompass the mechanical system of vision itself. In terms of recognition, it is the process of analysing and determining the content of an image or series of images (including video). This could include medical scans, photos, 360-degree video and virtually any kind of imagery you can imagine. AI-powered computer vision can: Identify, label and categorise content Detect faces and emotions Recognise headwear such as glasses and hats Identify landmarks, buildings and structures Assess pixel-level information such as colour data, quality and resolution Recognise popular logos Identify and read text Identify potentially inappropriate images Computer vision with Google's Cloud Vision API There are lots of choices for Vision APIs but we'll be using Google's Cloud Vision API. Google hosts many AI APIs, including natural language processing, voice recognition, deep learning and vision. The Cloud Vision API enables your sites and apps to understand what is in an image. It will classify the content into categories, labelling everything it sees. It also provides a confidence score, so you know how likely it is that what it believes is in an image actually appears there. You could use this to interact intelligently regarding camera input in AR or video apps. You could create tools to assist those who are visually impaired. You could create assistants to help identify buildings or landmarks for tourists. The possibilities are endless. 01. Set up a Cloud project If you've used Google's APIs before, some of these first steps will be familiar. As with other Google services, you'll need to set up a cloud project. Go to the Google Cloud Platform console and create a new project or select an existing one. Like most of Google's services, the Cloud Vision API is free to use until you start making lots of API requests. You may need to enter billing info when you activate the API but this is not charged at a low volume of requests and you can remove the services after you're done testing. 02. Enable the Cloud Vision API Browse the API library and then enable the Cloud Vision API Browse the API library and select the Cloud Vision API for your project. Once enabled you should see a little green check and the message 'API Enabled' beside it. 03. Create a service account Next you'll need to set up a service account. Think of the API as a web service you're creating. Since we are going to set up usage like a typical service, this is the best practice. It also works best with authentication flow. 04. Download private key Get your private key for the service account Once you have a project with the API enabled and a service account, you can download your private key as a JSON file. Take note of the location of the file, so you can use it in the next steps. If you have any problems with the first few steps there is a quick start guide that helps and ends with the download of the JSON key. 05. Set environment variable You need to set the GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS environmental variable, so it can be accessed by our API calls. This points to the JSON file you just downloaded and saves you having to type the path every time. Open a new terminal window and use the export command like so: Replace the [username] with your username. Be sure the path to the place you stored the private key file is correct. Replace the [file name] with your private key file and use the path to your file. On Windows, you can do the same thing via the command line, like this: Note: If you close your terminal or console window, you may need to run that again to set the variable again. We'll add this into our PHP code shortly as well, so you don't have to worry about it again. 06. Make a call to the API Now you're ready to dig into the Cloud Vision API. You'll use curl to do quick tests of the API. You can also use this method from your code as well. The curl requests can be made in most languages, whether that's PHP, Python or Node. This way you can make the calls direct in command line or assign the result to a variable in the language of your choice. FInd some quick tips on using curl here. Create a simple JSON file to hold the details of the request. Call it google_vision.json. Store it local to where you want to run the terminal commands from. In the above code, you've indicated an image to analyse, as well as specific API features to use, including face detection and landmark detection. SAFE_SEARCH_DETECTION is great for knowing if the image is safe and in what category it belongs to, such as adult content or violent. IMAGE_PROPERTIES tells you about colours and pixel-level details. To execute the curl command, in your terminal or command line interface, enter the following. By using the > results syntax, you'll have the results stored in a new file called results for you. You indicated the URL to the API ("https://vision.googleapis.com/v1/images:annotate") and included your JSON data to POST to it. You may get prompted the first time you use this to activate the API or allow access. Answer yes or Y to that prompt and it should return the JSON. If you open the results file, you'll get JSON data results from the Vision API request. Here's a snippet: You see some very useful results right away. Under the labelAnnotations node, you can see a 98 per cent match that the image contains a "dog" and a 95 per cent match that it contains a "golden retriever"! The AI already identified the content of the image and other detail, including a "snout" and the fact it is likely a "sporting dog". This required no training on your part because of the already-trained Google Vision AI system. Scanning through the results, you'll see everything from recommended crop regions – for auto-cropping images to subjects – to incredible detail of what is in the images, including colours and content. Try it out with other images to see how powerful the API is. You can continue using this method to test out the calls we'll use. You can also set up a local SDK in a language you prefer and integrate it into your app. 07. Install client library Next you will make a simple web-based app to show how to integrate the API into your projects. There are a number of SDKs available in a variety of languages to make integration easy. You'll use the PHP SDK for this next section. If you wish to tweak the code that follows into a different language, there is a great resource of SDKs here. Start by making sure you have a project folder set up on your local or remote server. If you don't have it already, get Composer and install it to your project folder. Optionally, you may have Composer already installed globally and that is fine too. Run the following Composer command to install the vendor files for the Cloud Vision SDK. Composer makes a vendor folder in your project folder and installs all the dependencies for you. If you get stuck setting this up and want to use PHP, you can check out this installing Composer resource. 08. Create a new file Create a new PHP file in your project folder. Set it up however you like but include a simple HTML form to upload images for quick testing. Here's an example PHP file with the form included: The code includes a basic HTML file with a form and a placeholder for PHP code. The code starts checking for the existence of the image, submitted from the form. If it's not submitted yet, it does nothing. 09. Store the image If you'd prefer to point to images online or on your system, skip this step. If you'd like to process images you select, add this code to save the image selected. 10. Add environment variable You need to set the GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS variable for it to authenticate. In PHP we use the putenv command to set an environment variable. Add this code next in your PHP code: Replace the path and file name to your JSON private key file. 11. Include the library Add the library and initialise the LanguageClient class in your code. Add this code next: Start by requiring the vendor autoload. This is similar in Python or Node when you require your dependencies. Import the ImageAnnotatorClient next, to make use of the class. Define your projectId. If you aren't sure what this is, look it up in your Google Cloud Project console. Finally, create a new ImageAnnotatorClient object using your projectId and assign it to the $imageAnnotator variable. 12. Analyse image content Start submitting the image to the API for analysis. You'll display the result as JSON to the screen for now but in practice you could assess the results and use them any way you wish. Add the following to submit the image to the API. This submits the content from the submitted form to the imageAnnotator endpoint and stores the result in the $response variable. It specifies the labelDetection feature. You can also use faceDetection, logoDetection, textDetection and many other functions. For a full list, check here. Next, iterate over the list of labels. This is just an example to show how to use it: you could process it and react to the results however you need. 13. Detect faces Using the faceDetection function of the Vision API, you can find the emotions and bounding boxes of faces in the image Another quick example of how powerful the API is lies in the faceDetection function. This will return emotion data as well as location information of where in the image the faces are. Try out this code to see how it works. You start out by using the faceDetection function of the Annotator and pass in the image like the previous example. Then you get the faceAnnotiatons. You use an array of response weights in more common language, so you can see the likelihood of certain emotions. Following this, you iterate the response like before. You check for two of several possible emotions, anger and joy, returning the results of those. This will also give you the corners of the bounding boxes that define each face found. This article was originally published in issue 316 of net, the world's best-selling magazine for web designers and developers. Buy issue 316 here or subscribe here. Related articles: Amazing AI tool reconstructs photos like magic 17 top tools in Google Analytics The best code editors View the full article

In this figure drawing tutorial we will focus on the torso and breasts, particularly on how the breasts change shape due to compression and the effects of gravity. On first impression these simple forms look easy to draw, and for that reason they’re often drawn poorly. A common mistake is to treat them as solid globes, instead of shape-shifting mounds that move, fall, bounce and flatten out. Another common error is drawing them as if both are facing front like a pair of eyes, when in fact each breast sits on the curve of the ribcage. I’ve chosen this pose to demonstrate the changing shape of the breasts due to their shifting weight against a solid rib cage, and the pull of gravity, evident even on a young, physically fit woman. How to draw: the best drawing tutorials Above, you can watch the accompanying in-depth video tutorial of how to show compression and gravity when drawing a female figure, or, read on to find a step-by-step guide to how to draw the breasts and torso of a female figure. For more general advice on figure drawing, check out our guide to how to draw a figure. The effects of shifting forms Learning proportions is important for the figurative artist but stay flexible In the photo above, I’m measuring Alana for an online classroom. I measure the forms by eye, compare their shapes – their boxy or tubular nature – then draw the biggest shapes first and measure on the pinch side of the figure where shapes are closer together. Learning proportions is important for the figurative artist, but I don’t see it as an inflexible rule. Apart from drawing the illusion of soft flesh against a hard surface, we’ll also deal with relationships of form. Although the ribcage expands when we breathe, the hips and ribcage are basically solid, with all the twisting done by the abdominals and obliques (the waist side muscles). These hard shapes against soft shapes cause pinching flesh, most noticeably at the waist. 01. Learn to really see Create a basic structure of the body to help focus your work When it comes to drawing the figure, I think of how the basic structures work together. Making structural drawings such as this one helps me understand how everything locks together. Learning to see structure as a form of simplified anatomy is the key to drawing with confidence. 02. Direct with the power of Austin If you're directing a photoshoot, think about how you do so In this photoshoot I direct Alana using emotional themes. I call out, “Cruelty, spite, anger, joy, elation!” while Alana moves from one pose to another. As fun and Austin Powers-like as this may sound, it works. With this sorcery pose, Alana becomes a raging symbol of creation. I’ve often found that enthusiastic and confident art direction results in an energetic, productive photo session. 03. Act suspicious You don't have to copy your photo exactly I draw lightly using a small piece of willow charcoal. As usual, I treat the photo with deep suspicion. The arms look too long and the head feels too small. I want the body to be flying rather than lying over a support, so I lengthen the foreshortened midsection. 04. Chase the echoes With our motivational theme of ‘creation’ in place I think about what kind of supernatural being Alana is as I draw, and decide she is a witch conjuring spells. I name the drawing, The Wake of the Black Witch. With a title and motivation the drawing gains a driving force. I smudge tones around using the charcoal that I’ve already laid down on the newsprint paper. It’s important in the early stages to keep the drawing light, because this method allows for changes. I’m chasing the echoes of similar forms as I go, blending nature’s rhythmic shapes down the body. 05. Create a sense of movement Add in darker lines once you're happy with the lighter drawing I step back from the drawing and take time to evaluate before committing to darker lines. I feel the overall drawing has solidity, and more importantly, a sense of movement. I lay in darker lines, placing a sheet of paper under my hand to keep the surface clean. 06. Consider the effect of gravity Draw the breasts after you draw the ribcage Add gravity to the situation and the breasts change shape. See how each breast is slightly different – because they always are. Note also how the nipple changes shape as the breasts stretch or flatten out. Take time to study these ever-changing forms. I’d advise drawing the breasts after you’re happy with the shape and position of the ribcage, rather than draw them first. 07. Draw the hands Take care when drawing the hands, they're tricky When drawing hands there are notes to keep in mind, for instance, the forefinger and middle finger take up more than half the width, and the little finger splays outward more. Drawing the little finger and thumb first also makes it easier to plot and place the other fingers. 08. Blend and draw Make sure you think about your light source There is enough charcoal on the newsprint paper for me to blend with a paper stump, and I improve the forms as I push the charcoal around. I also dim the torso area by lifting off some tone with tissue. This suggests a central light source that draws our eye. 09. Make use of leftovers Use excess materials to create further forms I blot texture down with tissue dipped in charcoal powder. You can buy charcoal powder, but I use the stuff already on the sandpaper pad left over from sharpening my pencils, which saves money and a trip to the art store. I then use a kneadable eraser to pull out highlights. 10. Use your imagination Use swirls to suggest sorcery With the figure work mostly behind me I come back to the story of the witch casting spells. I use swirls to suggest sorcery afoot and engage my electric eraser to suggest crackling energy. This also frames the figure and adds contrast, bringing the figure more into focus. 11. Erase into the swirls Use a rubber to enhance the swirls Using a large compressed charcoal stick I draw large swirls, twisting the stick as I draw for thick and thin marks, I then use a Faber Castell grip eraser to change the swirls into more interesting shapes. Note how the figure appears brighter now against the outside dark tones. 11. Add the small stuff Know when to stop your drawing Putting in the small stuff is always a danger, because we tend to tinker and lose sight of the big picture. I’m feeling that it’s time to stop before the drawing suffers. Was this drawing better than the step before? Perhaps. The main thing is we explored further and by exploring further we get to feel when it’s time to stop. Gravity and Compression study sheet Learning to see the breasts as soft forms compressed against a hard, curved surface will help us draw forms that convey both weight and movement. Lots of life drawing will help further as we have the chance to study how the breasts change shape as the model changes their pose. This article was originally published in issue 169 of ImagineFX, the world's best-selling magazine for digital artists. Buy issue 169 or subscribe here. Read more: The 11 best drawing books How to draw a character in pen and ink Improve your line work with these pro drawing tips View the full article

The bright, fan-like Pantone colour swatches are a familiar part of a designer's toolkit. However you probably won't want to use these lookalikes to choose a colour scheme. That's because this pair of Pantone-inspired colour guides are all about, and there's no way around saying this so apologies if you're about to have your lunch, poo. Released by Penguin, these two secretion swatches were designed by Anomaly creative director Matt Roach and illustrated by Douggy Pledger to help familiarise readers with their waste matter. Specifically, one tells parents all they need to know about their baby's nappy fillings, while the other one is an informative guide to help adults understand their excreta. As well as being humorous, the two guides have been medically approved by a gastroenterologist and a paediatrician. So if you've ever been baffled by what you've left in the toilet bowl, think of these swatches as the Rosetta Stone of your stools. How to master colour theory Poo can't be blue... can it? Answering all the burning questions that have probably puzzled you at some point or another, these swatches explain why floaters float, why stinkers stink, and the secrets to doing a poo like a pro. Parents will also find heaps of helpful insight as to whether or not it's normal for their baby's poo to look like Dijon mustard, what they should do if the nappy looks like an oil spill's hit it, and why their newborn's doing dumps at all hours of the day. Is that a BONE in one of those swatches? All in all, a whopping 35 different types of poo are covered in these swatches. Perfect for parents and adults with a sense of humour, these guides can be traced back to 2015 when Roach created a POOTONE guide as a gift for Anomaly art director David Lawrie when his first child was born. This baby swatch guide proved so useful that Roach decided to run it by publishers. The adult poo guide came out in the summer of 2018, while March 2019 saw the release of the new baby poo guide. Related articles: Pantone unveils the top wedding colour palettes of 2019 Discover your 2019 Pantone with this quiz Pantone launches new Metallics colour range View the full article

Earlier this week Huawei launched its latest device, the much-anticipated Huawei P30 Pro. Boasting a powerful camera backed up with AI support, this device looks set to take breathtaking snaps that are sure to come in handy for your next creative project. Details are still emerging about this phone, but if you want to pre-order the Huawei P30 Pro today, you've come to the right place. With our trusty price comparison tool you'll find the best Huawei P30 Pro deals available right now on this very page. And if you're still weighing up your options, don't forget that we've got a guide to the best camera phones for designers ready and waiting to help you decide on the phone that's right for you. Huawei P30 Pro: key features for creatives Huawei P30 Pro comes in a one of four colours When it comes to standout features for creatives, the Huawei P30 Pro's key selling point is undoubtedly its powerful camera. You might have heard a lot of noise surrounding this phone's camera in the run up to its launch, and for good reason. Thanks to Huawei's artificial intelligence photography know-how, this device's camera is capable of taking truly impressive shots. Take the 10x lossless zoom, which deploys AI smarts to snap jaw-dropping shots. This capability also powers a 50x digital zoom that is capable of taking clean and crisp pictures quickly. An accompanying 32MP selfie camera means the Huawei P30 Pro is a powerful piece of photographic kit no matter which way you point it. This AI muscle backs up the Super Spectrum sensor, a feature which sets the Huawei P30 Pro apart from pretty much every digital camera on the market. Thanks to said sensor, this phone substitutes the green photocells for yellow ones, resulting in a more light-sensitive display. This sensor also means that the camera performs better in low light performance. On top of these capabilities, the Huawei is rumoured to contain an impressive amount of storage, not to mention a 6.47-inch OLED display capable of delivering an impressive fully HD picture quality. It might not have a headphone jack, so if you want to listen to music while you create that could something to consider. But with speedy wireless charging that can load it up with 70 per cent of power in just 30 minutes, the Huawei P30 Pro seems to be a powerful and sturdy device that more than delivers in the photography department. We just have to wait and see if it goes toe-to-toe with the industry leading Google Pixel 3. The best Huawei P30 deals The Huawei P30 Pro is available to buy right now, although it won't hit shop shelves until 5 April in the UK. Details are vague when it comes to a wider release, and at the time of writing we're not even sure when US audiences can expect to get their hands on it. So if you do want to pick one up right now, take a look at the best Huawei P30 Pro deals below. View the full article

In Houdini 17, SideFX introduced some new tools and enhanced others in order to widen the range of opportunities for artists creating fully procedural terrains or adding details to real-world based models. For example, the enhanced Erode node simulates erosion in a more scientifically plausible way and has many more controls than before. The main parameters of HeightField nodes can now be masked and there is an instant paint button that automatically sets up the appropriate node(s) for painting. Taking a scientific approach to our CG landscapes will always help us to achieve better results, so that's why we're not simply running through the new terrain features, but also taking a look at some basic scientific aspects and exploring some new methods, such as the Vellum toolset to simulate tectonic compression. Download the resources for this tutorial. Also read: Our review of Houdini 17 Banshee. 01. Learn the basics To effectively use Houdini's heightfield system, we should learn its basic principles first. When SideFX introduced this feature set in version 16, as usual they made a masterclass video (above). I recommend this for those who are not familiar with the basics. Basically the Terrain module in Houdini consists of a bunch of SOP nodes, every one with HeightField in its name. They create a special kind of geometry: a 2D volume grid, which is more like a 2D image with pixels, but Houdini renders/displays it as a surface. The best 3D modelling software 2019 Similarly to how DEM files store the height data, every pixel stores a height value, and it pushes the particular surface site upwards with this amount, exactly how displacement textures work. These nodes are designed for terrain generation workflows, so even if we use other tools for landscapes, this is the most convenient and most effective way in many cases. 02. Understand geology The Earth is a bit like a grape that's actually a boiling pudding Researching the science behind the Earth's geology is pivotal for accurately simulating real-world processes in a CG environment. At its most simplified, we can think about Earth as a big blob of fluid and relatively soft matter, a mere droplet from the universe's perspective, with solid skin, like a grape. Sometimes the skin of this 12,750 km wide droplet breaks into pieces, similarly to how the skin at the surface of hot milk or pudding tears apart as it gets hotter and starts to boil. This solidified magma skin, the crust, is thinner below the oceans and forms the base layers of the landscapes and many geologic processes. Some of them are crushed together by forces of tectonic movements. These originally igneous rocks crack, fall apart, decompose and sometimes thousands of miles away settle down and stick together again, forming sedimentary rock. The weathering effects of the atmosphere and water matures the terrain over time, resulting in different shapes and textures. 03. Set up a sandbox scene Get to know H17's tools by having a good old play around in it Learning through play is always a good way to get familiar with a CG tool. Even if you have used terrain tools before, it's worth setting up a sandbox scene with simple geometries and trying out the new tools and parameters in H17. Put a few polygon primitives around, like in this image, and incorporate them into a heightfield system by firstly creating a HeightField node then using a HeightField Project node, which stamps the geometries into the heightfield. Now we can start to go through the different HeightField nodes and apply them to this simple scene. It's much easier and straightforward to understand the effects of these nodes than using arbitrary and complicated shapes. The master node of the erosion effects is the HeightField Erode, which has been updated in version 17 with new features and optimisations. 04. Get to grips with nodes There are three basic erosion nodes We can dive into this node to understand how it works. As it automatically dives into a deeper node, we should step up one level after the dive command. As we can see, there are the three basic erosion nodes at the end of the pipeline, the Thermal, Precipitation and Hydro. It's worth creating these outside of this context with the same order to observe their effects. The Thermal node simulates the mechanical weathering effects of the surfaces at a basic level. In reality there are different causes that lead to the decomposition and disintegration of rocks: thermal expansion and contraction, frost wedging, pressure-release fracturing (sheeting), salt crystal growth, biological activity, abrasion and so on. These break the rock into smaller and smaller pieces and pile up at the bottom of the inclines. The Precipitation node creates a water layer and spreads drops on it. These are not intended to be related to raindrops – they seed the simulation and add variations which will make the erosion more uneven. This water layer is necessary for the Hydro node, which contains the Slump node inside, the most complex lower-level node of the erosion simulation. 05. Master cause and effect The usual first step of terrain generation – if it is intended to be fully procedural – is to add a random-based pattern onto the blank initial surface. In nature there are arguably no random processes at all, as everything depends on previous events. Thus instead of using the HeightField Noise node, we can set up a more physically plausible massing model using the versatile simulation capabilities of Houdini. However, the main advantage of heightfields is that we can handle larger landscapes with finer details, compared to other types of geometry. Using simulation nodes makes the memory footprint even larger than these geometries themselves, so we should always take care with how much detail we put in this phase. Later we should add the additional details with heightfields, which otherwise would be too heavy. 06. Use Vellum tectonics Use a Vellum cloth simulation to see how different layers interact We can actually create this step in the real world using multiple layers of thick cloth. If we put a layer of slightly wet sand or finer grained powder like gypsum on top of it, then start to crush the cloth, we can observe how the top powder layer behaves. I recommend doing practical experiments – even playing with the sand and water on the beach – as it gives us tactile experiences that are unattainable within 3D software. For similar effects we can use a Vellum cloth simulation in Houdini. In this scene there are three layers of thick cloth geometry on top of each other. Below them there are two polycubes, and each is modulated by a Mountain noise node for uneven surfaces. I animated them with a closing and shearing movement to simulate tectonic plates. They are wired into the static geometry input of the Vellum. I used Vellum Drape instead of the Vellum Solver node for simulation, because it behaves more like the new Erosion node as there is a freeze frame option in it. In this node the static friction is set to a low value like 0.1; in nature with such scales everything tends to behave fluid and slippery, just very slowly relative to human timescales. However the dynamic friction scales are recommended set to the opposite, well above 1, like 3-4, to get enough friction between the cloth and the tectonic plates, and they can form wrinkles. I used relatively high damping values to overcome exploding behaviours, and the most important thing is to switch on all the plasticity options as they are the 'memory effects' of the cloth simulation: they will keep the wrinkles and prevent them from flattening during the simulation. I started with one layer of cloth, as it's easier and faster to play with the parameters, but then duplicated them on top of each other with slight rotational differences in order to lessen any grid resolution interferences during the simulation. Using multiple layers makes the simulation more similar to natural processes, as usually there are different rock layers on top of each other. This is also necessary for adding enough thickness to the simulation, as using one cloth with the same thickness can significantly slow down the simulation. 07. Import DEM With a DEM file you can use the HeightField File for import The other way to get a more realistic massing model is to import real-world data. If we have a DEM file, we can directly use the HeightField File for import. With the default settings it will keep the original resolution of the DEM file, which can be huge, so it's recommended to crop an interesting part for experimentation and then use the full area just occasionally. It's a good idea to set real scales here because the simulation nodes will need it. 08. Use the MapBox node I recommend installing the Game Tools for Houdini, as it has tools that can be useful for terrain work. Maybe the most interesting is the MapBox node which allows us to directly browse the Earth inside Houdini, then we can select a specific area and download the elevation model and the satellite phototexture of it. It has a heightfield output option, so the entire planet is at our hands. 09. Use the erosion node With just the default erosion settings you can achieve impressive results Let's use the Erode node on a real mountain. This elevation data is from Alaska, around the Blue Lake reservoir which has a nice mountainous landscape. As we can see, by just using the default settings we can achieve quite realistic results – they have improved this node in many aspects. There is a new Freeze at Frame switch, so after we are satisfied with the result we can tick this, but it's also good for trying out the effects of the different parameters interactively. Crop a smaller but relevant part of the terrain and tick this, then set it to a low number like 5 and play with the parameters. You can see that it updates more or less interactively, however some simulations inside do not update well, so you should hit the Reset Simulation every time for full feedback. Describing the new features of this node is far beyond the limits of this tutorial, so I rather recommend the second part of the official H17 Terrain masterclass video (above), which is about the new features of the terrain tools. 10. Explore the Bedrock tab Use the Bedrock feature for more advanced rock layer structure In the documentation there is still a lack of information about the Bedrock tab, however it's worth using this feature if the goal is to include some kind of 3D rock layer structure in the simulation. We can inject a secondary heightfield in the second input of the Erode node, which defines a 'prehistoric' structure of the landscape in this case. We can achieve strata effects easily by switching on Adjust Erodability by Strata. The Strata Depth defines the depth range of the ramp editor's horizontal axis, relative to the bedrock layer's height. A negative value inverts the whole thing and puts the strata above this layer. As you can see in this screenshot I used a Distort by Noise node to get the surfaces of the strata uneven, and also rotated the geometry, so it cuts the landscape at a shallow slope angle. In the ramp editor we can add the strata by defining the relative hardness of the bedrock in the function of depth, each with different erodability bands. Switching off Clamp at Strata Bounds loops this pattern, so regardless of the erosion depth we will get repetitive vertical patterns after reaching the end of the ramp. The only disappointing side of this feature is the limitation of the heightfields, as if we observe these phenomena in reality, especially on bold cliffs, the strata have strong relief patterns that we can't achieve with heightfields. However, converting these parts to polygon or VDB SDF will allow us to add these details. The 'Adjust Height by Bedrock Change' switch should remain off for this kind of effect, but otherwise it allows us to use an animated bedrock layer which updates the input for this node at every frame. 11. Distort by layer Distort by layer is a new feature in H17 Finally let's talk about this node, as it is completely new in H17. It has two inputs. The first input is usual, for the geometry itself. The second can contain the direction layer for the distortion, similar to how these kinds of nodes work in a node-based comp software. This article was originally published in issue 243 of 3D World, the world's best-selling magazine for CG artists. Buy issue 243 here or subscribe to 3D World here. Related articles: Check out these unbelievably realistic portraits 15 top Houdini tips Grow plants in Houdini View the full article

A Mac shortcut is a combination of keys that, when pressed together on an Apple device, perform an action that would otherwise require a more complicated set of actions. Getting a handle on Mac shortcuts is a simple and practical way to streamline the design process, as along with all the basic shortcuts that are integral to any computer work (copy, paste, cut, and so on), Macs boast a host of less well-known examples that lie bubbling beneath the surface. The best cheap Apple laptop deals For designers, tapping into these should be as instinctual as breathing, using learned muscle memory. But that doesn't mean that every designer is getting the most out of their Mac. We have collated twelve of the most useful Mac shortcuts, which should help every designer speed up their workflow and impress their colleagues. And if you love saving time and are after more shortcuts, then don't miss our post on top Photoshop shortcuts. 01. Close window (Command + W) When working over a slew of different documents at the same time, it can be a great timesaver to get rid of unwanted windows using the Cmd + W shortcut, rather than clicking on the red dot in the top corner. Unlike the Quit option, Cmd + Q, this option only closes the window you’re currently working on, keeping the program running along with any other files you have open. 02. Bring up info (Command + I) The Cmd + I shortcut gives access to the Info dialogue box, which provides a brief overview of the properties of a file or folder, including its size, when it was first created and any metadata (relevant when checking photos). It's also the place you can find the option to designate the file a default program to open with, saving lots of hassle in the long run. 03. Quicklook (Spacebar or Command + Y) The modern world moves at an increasingly fast pace and it’s sometimes frustrating to wait for an image to open in Photoshop CC. Macs have a preview feature called Quick Look, which gives you a fast, full-size preview of the image without having to rely on alternative software. Inspect your image – or images (in slideshow format) – by pressing Spacebar or Cmd + Y. In the latest version of OS, Quick Look also offers limited editing powers. 04. Mission Control (F3 or Control + Up) Like a commander surveying their battlefield, designers have the option to take a bird’s eye view of all open applications in Mission Control and move smoothy between them. Switching between different windows becomes a doddle with this shortcut – press either F3 or Ctrl + Up to bring up the spread of applications and choose between them. 05. Go to desktop (Command + F3) Over the working day, your screen can become rapidly clogged with a multitude of windows, leaving the time consuming task of minimising or moving them to get back to the desktop. Dive through the clutter with the invaluable shortcut Cmd + F3 to immediately show the desktop, pushing all open windows aside. This also provides an effective method for quickly saving an image from a web browser to your computer, by clicking on the image, using this shortcut, then dragging and dropping straight onto your desktop. An alternative method for achieving the same goal is by setting up a Hot Corner in the System Preferences, Desktop tab. This will allow you to access the desktop by moving the mouse cursor to that corner. 06. Duplicate a file or folder (Option + drag) You’ll never resort to using copy and paste again, once you’ve tried this nifty time-saver. Simply click on the file you wish to duplicate, hold down the Opt and drag it away, to create an identical copy. You can do this with multiple files at once and also duplicate from one folder to another. 07. Create a New Folder (Command + Shift + N) Since everything on a Mac is organised into folders, the creation of new ones is a regular task that prevents files proliferating out of control. Pressing Cmd + Shift + N will immediately create a new folder and highlight the filename to type into. This is especially useful when viewing files as columns, where it’s difficult to find a place to right-click and bring up the New Folder option. 08. Screenshot a specific area (Command + Shift + 4 then drag) When taking a screenshot with Cmd + Shift + 3, your Mac captures your entire screen, warts and all, and saves onto your desktop. To grab a specific area of the screen, without having to crop anything afterwards, press Cmd + Shift + 4 to bring up a crosshair, then simply drag it over the area you desire and let go. 09. Show/Hide Dock (Command + Option + D) On a Macbook, it’s a constant struggle to squeeze as much out of your screen as possible. Depending on your preference, you may view the dock as a strip of pixels wasting valuable space. By pressing Cmd + Opt + D, you can hide the dock when you want the whole screen to work with, then use the same combination to bring it back when you’re done. 10. Force Quit (Command + Option + Escape) When your Mac drops the ball and stops responding altogether, Force Quit might be your only option – once you’ve stopped screaming. Pressing Cmd + Opt + Esc will bring up a window displaying all the currently active apps, where you can select one to Force Quit. Once the application is closed, you can reopen it and pray you haven’t lost much work. 11. Screen Mirroring (Command + Brightness Down) Many creatives use two screens to increase productivity, often having multiple windows open simultaneously across both. But on certain occasions, such as presentations, it is necessary to use screen mirroring, where the external screen mirrors the content displayed on the Mac screen. Pressing Cmd + Brightness Down will toggle screen mirroring on-and-off, and takes a few seconds to sync. 12. Reopen the previous tab (Command + Shift + T) With a mere slip of the hand, you could find a tab suddenly disappearing before your eyes, along with that tutorial it took you hours to find. There’s no need to panic. To open up a previously-closed tab, in any of the leading browsers, press Cmd + Shift + T. As if by magic, the old tab appears and you can get straight back to work as if nothing happened. Read more: The 10 commandments of Photoshop etiquette 21 Illustrator shortcuts to speed up your workflow New iPad Air and Mini come with Apple Pencil support View the full article

The creative industries have spawned some suitably creative job titles. And while some roles are given descriptive and impressive names, there are, admittedly, a few professional monikers that border on the bizarre. Words such as guru, unicorn, and thought leader can be found on the creative resumes and LinkedIn pages of designers, perhaps to the bafflement of non-artsy folk. And now, Pseudo Design Titles is here to lovingly poke fun at this ludicrous lexicon. Created by designers Xtian Miller and Boris Crowther, the site describes itself as "a satirical title generator for designers seeking a title apart from other designers." So if you're looking for a new job title to spice up your CV, simply head over to Pseudo Design Titles and let the random role generator work its magic. New titles are created when you hit the space bar, and the more you do it, the more surreal they become. Check out some of our favourites by clicking left to right in the gallery below. Inspired by other online publications that have taken a friendly swipe at corporate creative culture, including The Truth About Design Titles and the Silicon Valley Job Generator, Pseudo Design Titles is clearly a tongue in cheek project created by people who have more than a bit of industry self-awareness. So don't be too offended if by some amazing coincidence a title similar to yours is conjured up. It's just a bit of fun! And if you do want to update your business card to reflect your new role, then check out our post on business card templates. Related articles: The best laptops for graphic design in 2019 30 top graphic designers to follow on Behance The best free graphic design software View the full article

For those who don’t know, generate is a conference for web designers that boasts a host of top-quality speakers and workshops. This year the NYC event is set in the salubrious surroundings of the TKP New York conference center on 109 West 39th Street and only 10 minutes from Grand Central and Penn Station. So who’s appearing in this year’s line-up? CSS layout legend Jen Simmons, UX design leader Josh Clark, CSS Houdini magician Sam Richard, Susy creator Miriam Suzanne, author and CX aficionado Jim Kalbach, OOUX evangelist Sophia Prater, design technologist Adekunle Oduye, girlscancode.io creator Kasey Bonifacio, Sparkbox founder Ben Callahan, co-founder of Anton & Irene, Irene Pereyra, and problem-solving design director Aaron Irizarry are the big names that are set to make generate NYC 2019 a raging success. Save 50% on a ticket to generate For three days only you can now get a whopping 50% off the price of a standard ticket. So what does that mean in real terms? You can get a whole day workshop for just $149.50, while you can get to see and hear eight expert speakers for just $199.50. Check below for the full price list. Flash Sale Ticket Prices: All Access Pass: (was $649) now just $324.50 Workshop Day Pass: (was $299 now just $149.50 Conference Day Pass: (was $399) now just $199.50 Student All Access Pass: (was $324.50) now just $162.25 Student Workshop Day Pass: (was $149) now just $74.50 Student Conference Day Pass: (was $199) now just $99.50 What do you need to do? Visit the generate website and input discount code GENERATE50 when prompted. But be quick, sale ends 2100 (EST) on Monday 1 April 2019. Speaker, workshop or both? The generate conference runs over two days with the first day running four top notch workshops simultaneously. Sign up and you get to spend eight hours with an expert in a small group ensuring you get plenty of insight and the chance to ask as many questions as you want. So what’s on offer? Miriam Suzanne brings you her Advanced CSS for Modern Applications workshop. What will you learn? How to use modern CSS features including custom properties (variables), calc, grids, flexbox, writing modes, advanced media & support queries and how to write Sass & CSS for design systems and pattern-library automation. Jim Kalbach unleashes his Design and Innovation Sprints workshop, which once finished you will have the skills to plan and set-up a sprint, have the confidence to run a design sprint and understand what to do with the results of a sprint. Sophia Prater brings her Object-Oriented UX: Simplify your pixels and your process workshop to generate NYC. What will you learn? The psychology of object-oriented UX and why it speaks to our lizard brains, the four biggest user experience fails (and how to avoid them) and the art and science of object mapping: how to structure a product with the power of OOUX. Finally, we have Ben Callahan and Kasey Bonifacio with their Making Design Systems Work workshop. What will you learn? How to evaluate your system design needs, convince others of the value of a design system, how to roll out and deliver strategies and much more. Stellar speakers, stellar subjects CSS layout legend Jen Simmons is the closing keynote speaker at this years generate Day two of generate is speaker day. This brings together eight industry experts who will give you an insight into their world. The opening keynote belongs to Josh Clark with AI is your new design material, while the closing keynote belongs to CSS layout expert Jen Simmons who will present her Everything You Know About Web Design Just Changed. Check the full agenda for dates and times. Don't miss out. Head over to generateconf.com and sign up now. The best code editors 33 of the best 404 pages 11 hot web trends for 2019 View the full article

Founded in 1977, Studio Dumbar isn’t only a stalwart of the Dutch design scene, but is one of the most awarded design agencies in the world. Its identities for the Dutch National Police and Dutch Railways are so iconic, they are woven into the fabric of Dutch society. Yet the agency is hardly coasting along on the merit of past glories. It seems to go from one groundbreaking project to the next. In 2016, the studio joined international digital agency Dept, and the merger has enabled Studio Dumbar to flourish further in today’s digital world, using creativity, tech and data to create new work that pushes the boundaries of design. 19 free ebooks for designers and artists We spoke to Studio Dumbar about what it takes to sustain its relentless drive for quality, why it believes good design is not just about the work, and how it consistently creates powerful identities that are made to last. You can follow in their footsteps by reading on for their top tips to success. 01. Lose the fear Studio Dumbar refreshed the brand identity for the Van Gogh museum Innovation is all about experimentation, and having a fearless attitude is key when it comes to pushing your work. "Don’t be afraid of the unknown," says visual and motion designer Stan Haanappel, "explore technologies you are not familiar with". "We believe in the power of paradox," says creative director Liza Enebeis. "On the one hand we are doing the positioning and visual identity of two major blockchain initiatives, on the other we refreshed the visual identity for the Van Gogh museum and the rebranded Amsterdam Sinfonietta, the renowned Dutch string orchestra. So tech-based clients and cultural clients come together in Studio Dumbar." 02. Keep exploring "Don’t stop at your first sketches, even though you think what you’ve done is finished and good," advises Haanappel. "Explore multiple routes in order to be sure you’ve found the right answer." And to explore even further, think of your colleagues as a valuable resource. Enebeis explains that in about 60 per cent of projects, different digital experts at Dept are involved – "we constantly work together in teams with inspiring people – from data experts to marketing specialists to platform builders. The funny thing is that we can focus more, but at the same time enrich and broaden our perspective." 03. Embrace the ugly Studio Dumbar's branding for the Dutch police transcends fashion trends It’s also important not to panic if you don’t get there straight away, stresses Haanappel. "Making ugly things is also an important part of the design process. Failures can lead to amazing discoveries." It's also important not to get hung up on what is currently on trend. As Enebeis points out, "We believe in the Trinity: pure, simple and powerful... If you succeed in this approach, by definition the brand will be powerful and live beyond trends of fashion and taste." 04. Give people freedom The team at Studio Dumbar have creative freedom As operations director and online strategist, it’s Wouter Dirks’ job to ensure everyone is working to the best of their ability."If you always tell people exactly what to do, they will take less and less initiative," he says. "We tend to give everyone a lot of freedom. How each person conducts their work and meets deadlines is their responsibility." "There is no hierarchy at all," Enebeis continues. "We are a flat organisation in our way of working, in how we value ideas... We all have to be as good as each other." 05. Choose the right clients If you’re not working with and for the right people, you will struggle to innovate and make your ambitions a reality. "By selecting clients who share our high ambitions and who we click with, we have a proven approach that we can tailor to the needs of each project and client," explains Dirks. "What's most important is finding a way to bring together the ideas and interests of the clients with our expertise," Enebeis explains. "We don't create concepts in isolation, it has to be through working together." 06. Ask the right questions Get to the essence of a brand in a simple and direct way Once you’ve got the right clients, it’s important to know how to handle them, and to be clear about when innovation is needed, and when it isn’t. "We know what questions to ask when in order to create the right brand strategy; how to involve the different stakeholders at the right moment; how to make sure we’ve answered all the right questions," says Dirks. Strategy director Tom Dorresteijn explains that approach is key. "Whether it is about design or strategy, we have a basic approach to get to the essence in a simple and direct way... if you don't manage the process well, it will harm the creative quality of the result. It takes a lot more than great design to bring great design to the world." This article was originally published in issue 288 of Computer Arts, the world's best-selling design magazine. Buy issue 288 or subscribe to Computer Arts. Read more: Build a better personal brand Design Indaba: 8 categories of bad design Google's new gaming logo is cleverly off-brand View the full article

Want to start creating your own responsive, user-friendly websites? The Ultimate UX/UI Designer Bundle will get you ready to design sites in no time. The eight courses included are currently available for 98% off at just $29. These eight courses will make you a whiz at website building. The Complete Guide To Front-End Web Development & Design will get you started, giving you an introduction into website building by teaching you the basics of HTML, CSS, JavaScript and JQuery. There's also How To Become a UX Designer, a class intended to get you up to speed on UX essentials and show you how to create intuitive products for the end-user. Introduction to HTML5 Canvas: Basics of Drawing will teach you how to use HTML5 Canvas in just one hour, while Bootstrap 4 Rapid Web Development will show you how to streamline your web development with a a Bootstrap 4 Primer. There are also courses like Quick Front-End Website Creation: HTML, CSS, JavaScript & JQuery, Illustrator: UI & Web Design Using Adobe Illustrator, Practical Responsive Web Design and UI/UX Web Design Using Adobe XD. So whether you're a beginner, advanced or intermediate skill level, there's something to learn from this jam-packed bundle. Grab The Ultimate UX/UI Designer Bundle for just $29 here. Related articles: Design a responsive site with em-based sizing 17 really useful responsive web design tutorials The rules of responsive web typography View the full article

You're reading How to Insert and Use Animated GIFs in Email Newsletters, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook! The web is teeming with websites where videos, CSS dynamic effects and WebGL-powered animations are running the show, but what about the email newsletters? In the majority of cases they are created with HTML and CSS looking almost like a mini … View the full article

You're reading 6 Benefits of Using a Copy-First Approach for Designers, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook! A copy-first design approach is beneficial in helping design projects of all sizes. Whether it’s a stand-alone page, such as a landing page, or website redesign, a copy-first approach can make your project more efficient. Personally, I’ve been using this … View the full article

You're reading Plain Text vs. HTML Email Templates: What’s Best for Marketing?, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook! Plain text or HTML email template? Which performs better? Which generates more leads and provides higher conversion rates? This has been the subject of much debate. Even though email marketing has a long history, professionals cannot reach a consensus. Each … View the full article