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There is an unprecedented increase in remote working happening worldwide, which is growing exponentially daily. We, at Designmodo, work from home for 10 years. Due to global circumstances resulting from COVID-19 (Coronavirus disease), many who are working from home are …View the full article

Disney Plus UK launches tomorrow, and today is your last chance to get it at a bargain price. The streaming service, which is already going down an absolute storm in the US, launches in the UK on 24 March. For anyone spending more time inside, a Disney Plus subscription will be a brilliant, affordable way to keep all the family entertained. (Want to know more about the service? Check out our Disney Plus guide.) To celebrate Disney Plus' early arrival, Disney is currently running an incredible offer, knocking a further £10 off the subscription cost. While that might not seem like a huge deal, the original annual cost of £59.99 was already a bargain, so to be able to get this now for less than £50 makes it a deal not to be missed! We're even considering upgrading to one of the best 4K monitors for the occasion. Disney Plus' available shows and films will include much-loved classics from Disney, Pixar, Marvel and National Geographic, and there's also previously unseen content, including the aforementioned The Mandalorian, and the catchily named High School Musical, The Musical, The Series. Just some of the exclusive goodies on offer For what you get for your money, Disney+ offers much better value than Netflix. With this offer, Disney Plus UK will cost around £4 per month. Users will be able to stream 4K content on four devices at once, and there are no hidden extras. They'll also be able to download their favourite shows or films, to watch offline. To compare, Netflix costs £5.99 per month, but you have to pay more (either £8.99 or £11.99) if you want ultra-HD content, or to be able to stream on one more than screen at a time. With Netflix UK having recently won the rights to Studio Ghibli's content, it seems competition between the two streaming giants is really heating up, and that's before Disney+ has even fully launched. Which will you choose? You can sign up now on the Disney Plus website for more updates. Read more: Aaron Blaise reveals why he quit his dream job at Disney Is this Chinese city logo a blatant Disney copy? Understand Disney's 12 principles of animation View the full article

There is no dearth of cloud identity management platforms but few are as popular as Teamstack. The company came into being when the founders got together to create a solution that was easy and simple. In this TeamStack review, we’ll …View the full article

Hacking contest goes virtual with participants remotely winning $295k in prizes for taking down Adobe Reader Windows 10 and macOS. View the full article

Threatpost editors discuss this week's top news stories from COVID-19 themed malware attacks to Pwn2Own updates. View the full article

With children now stuck at home across the world, parents will be wondering how to keep them busy over the coming weeks. That's why illustrator Rob Biddulph has taken to Twitter to offer a series of draw-along videos for kids. Using the hashtag #DrawWithRob, budding young artists can share their responses to Biddulph's tutorials, which he plans to share every Tuesday and Thursday at 10am GMT on Twitter. We love a good drawing lesson (check out our list of the best how to draw tutorials), and Biddulph's animal designs are a super fun example. From tutorial 2: 'Sausage dog' "[Draw-alongs] are something I have been doing for years at my live events," Biddulph told BBC Breakfast, but with so many kids now stuck at home, "this is something I can do for those parents and those kids." As well as being posted to Twitter, the videos will have a permanent home on the illustrator's website. Below is the first tutorial, 'Gregosaurus'. Biddulph is quick to point at that the draw-along is not a competition. "I've seen thousands [of entries] now, and every single picture is different and charming in its own way." We completely agree – here are some delightful #DrawWithRob examples from Twitter: While the world is a strange place right now, we're seeing lots of heartening examples of community in the world of art online. These include Noel Fielding's online art club and French artists creating a giant collaborative artwork. Visit Biddulph's Twitter page on Tuesday and Thursday mornings for the latest draw-alongs. "All you need," he says, "is a piece of paper and a pencil, and maybe some colouring pencils". And with that, we're off to draw Gregosaurus. Related articles: Drawings of mythical Amabie flood social media Art terms: The ultimate artist's glossary 4 tips for your first year as a freelance illustrator View the full article

If you're a new business owner, you know the frustration of getting your website to the top of Google search. Brand Overflow, a top-rated and industry-leading SEO keyword tool/rank tracker, brings you a lifetime subscription to take your online ranking to the top. Best yet, you'll be able to save an extra 15% this weekend only with code SPRINGSAVE15. Industry research shows that quality keywords are still one of the top-ranking factors when it comes to getting your website seen on online searches. Powered by Google Keyword Planner, Brand Overflow brings you an in-depth analysis of keywords to make your business thrive. It assists you in finding similar keyword terms that directly integrate around your landing pages and enhance it. Conquer A-level link building, target different searches that cater to your industry, improve clickthrough rates to your site on search result pages, plus so much more. With your business growing, you'll want to tell people about it. Why not create a stunning new business card to give a great first impression? Our rundown of the best letterpress business cards are brilliant inspiration. Get a head start on your competitors Not only will you gain insights into the best tools globally for SEO and SERP success, but you'll also receive on-time daily updates for your keyword rankings to see where your brand stands. Easily download all your latest findings with dynamic ranking data filters, shareable reports, and ranking snapshots. With easy to read chart integration, you will be able to view your global and local results all in one place. The 24/7 email and seamless live chat support means you'll have constant assistance whenever any questions arise. You'll soon get a head start on your competitors. Access to Brand Overflow: Lifetime Subscription (100 Keywords) will typically cost you over $1,000. For a limited time, you'll be able to bring your site to the top for only $50.15 with code SPRINGSAVE15 (expires 24 March). With all the content available 24/7, you'll be able to effortlessly climb the search ladder and bring valuable professional and financial growth into 2020. Read more: SEO tricks: 16 ways to outrank your competitiors 13 of the best Google Easter Eggs 17 free resume templates View the full article

Are you looking to upgrade your digital art arsenal? Well, you're in luck as Wacom has launched its spring sale in the US, and it includes some pretty tidy discounts. With offers covering top tablets and accessories, you could get kitted out for the new season at a lower price. To kick things off, Wacom is offering $50 off the Wacom One for its US customers. With a 13.3-inch screen, the ability to connect to Android devices and compatibility with other styluses, this amazing graphics tablet features in our guide to the best drawing tablets of 2020. The usual price of $399.99 is knocked down to $349.99, which is not to be sniffed at. But you'll want to hurry as the deal ends on 22 March. And UK customers don't need to miss out. They can get 10 per cent off the Wacom One, which brings the price down from £359.99 to £323.99 until 29 March. Hardly earth-shattering but nice, nonetheless. Get Creative Cloud Other US offers include up to $200 off the Wacom MobileStudio Pro 16 and discounts on the Intuos Pro models, too. You can shop the US sale here. Not in the US? Check out these Wacom deals near you. Read more: The best computer for graphic design in 2020 Graphic design history: 25 landmark design events 16 essential tools for graphic designers View the full article

The botnet exploits a vulnerability discovered last month that can allow threat actors to remotely compromise and control devices. View the full article

Two new patents filed by Apple have revealed brand new features the company is exploring for the Apple Pencil, including a touch bar along the edge of the device. Named "Stylus with a Glass Component" (we have a feeling the name would change), the patent suggests that the current flat edge of the Apple Pencil would be a glass display panel – perhaps like a much smaller version of the touch bar on the MacBook Pro. Extra functionality would no doubt be welcome for the many creatives for whom the Apple Pencil is an essential artistic tool. According to the patent (obtained by AppleInsider), the touch bar "can be used to detect a tap, double tap, triple tap, or another tap gesture by the user. Additionally... the touch sensor can be used to detect a sliding gesture by the user [or] a rolling gesture by the user." For artists, these extra gestures could open up a whole world of new possibilities, such as sliding to adjust the thickness of a brush, perhaps. Using the iPad and Apple Pencil for creativity? Check out our favourite iPad apps for designers. A detail from the "Stylus with a Glass Component" patent Even wilder is the suggestion that the touch bar could also make the Apple Pencil appear transparent, allowing the user to see what's beneath the area the stylus covers – which could be particularly helpful for detailed paintings. It's an intriguing concept, but until we see it in action (and this is just a patent, so it might never happen), it's hard to say how well it will work in practice. While we love the idea of extra functionality, one could argue that the beauty of the Apple Pencil is in its simplicity. Despite the magic going on inside, externally, the Apple Pencil is as almost as uncomplicated as an actual pencil. A screen would certainly change that. A second patent suggests a new kind of haptic feedback for the Apple Pencil, letting it nudge a user's hand towards where an app thinks it should go. Another intriguing idea, although we hope the Apple Pencil is discerning in what it forces us to write or draw. The brand new iPad Pro with Magic Keyboard As these are patents, these are purely ideas that Apple is exploring at the moment – some, all or none of them could see the light of day. Luckily, the current 2nd generation Apple Pencil is still a brilliant device – check out the best Apple Pencil deals for 2020 if you want one. And if you missed the news, Apple revealed a brand new iPad Pro this week with an exciting new keyboard, so there's plenty of new Apple tech to get your teeth into while we wait and see what's next for the Pencil. Related articles: iPad Pro 12.9 review Apple Pencil vs Apple Pencil 2: which should you buy? Is it possible to turn your iPad into a 3D studio? View the full article

Knowing how to do a paintover in Procreate will transform your projects. After all, being able to sculpt a creature on the iPad is all well and good, but if you can’t fully realise that vision in colour, your ideas will remain very limited. Colour, tone and mood are all crucial components for a concept artist presenting their ideas to client. For me, Procreate is the the ideal solution to add life to my sculpt. Using Procreate I have the ability to create and stack layers, work with masks, opacity and hues, and maintain a greater degree of flexibility that would allow me the ability to alter colours or tones as the client desires. In the workflow below I'll show you how I take a simple character sculpt made in Forger and bring it to life with Procreate. This will include a look at colour, texture, and Procreate's brush options. Don't forget, if you want to learn more about Procreate's community-created brushes, check out our guide to the best Procreate brushes, including free and premium options. And if this tutorial has whetted your appetite for creative tools, head on over to our guide to the best iPad apps for designers. Get Procreate here 01. Sculpt in Forger With a little practice, sculpting in Forger is easy and intuitive Sculpting in Forger is very similar to ZBrush (here's our top tips for mastering ZBrush), you can push and pull your forms and remesh at any point. It contains an object outliner and layers, so after a little practice, the interface becomes pretty familiar. Here I’ve imported some of my own stamps to create a layer of detail for the stamp brush, which only operates in drag rectangular mode. To make this work I have to ensure all my stamps have a decent feathering. Achieving this type of detailing is, I believe, a first for any app-based sculpting program – my final model is around 3.5 million polys. 02. Render in Forger Despite its limitations, Forger can handle basic material assignments Rendering in Forger is limited, but you can do some basic material assignments and change the location of the single light source. So I’m rendering out some passes to comp together in Procreate. A single left light, top, bottom and right. I’m also approximating something like an ambient occlusion pass, and assigning a very specular Blinn to the skin surface. 03. Layer in Procreate Start by stacking your images in the layers box Once I have my renders, I can start the paint-over process. First I bring all my images into Procreate and stack them in the layers box. I can now start to make new layers, like a colour pass that has a clipping mask to the basic render below it. This way I can paint the basic colours on top of my render. I also speckle in some variation with a spotty brush of light and dark spots to vary the skin tone. Most of my layers are set to Screen, Soft Light or Lighter Color. 04. Test lighting passes Don't forget to experiment by blending light passes I’m going to try out all my lighting passes, and possibly blend them to give a faked global illumination. During this process I realise that I like the left side light the best, and focus on a concept that utilises this light source most. The other passes are still blended in to a degree, and to do this I set each layer to Screen and turn down the opacity until I am happy with the result. I’m also assigning a colour to my left light as a clipping mask. I rendered the lights all in white, so I simply have to create a fill layer above it and then set that to colour and clipping mask, and it should give me a nice yellow light source to work with. 05. Apply texture detail A paintover is a quick way to add texture impressions I’ve downloaded some nice photo reference of lizard skin and some green eyeballs. I’m importing these images into Procreate on separate layers and then using masks to reveal the sections of texture I want. For something that's just a concept paintover, I'm not fussy about getting it exactly right. I really just want to capture the feel, so this is a nice quick way to add some real-world details to the final image. I’m also using a crosshatched brush to give the fabric of the bandana a little textured feel. 06. Create a background Don't compromise your work with a boring black background Setting any image against black will seem a little boring. With my strong left side light source, it would be nice to play that up a bit more, so using a few of Procreate’s default brushes I can add some cool effects to the background to make it pop a bit more. I use three brushes for this, nebula, grunge and halftone, and layer each one on top of the next to give it a sort of comic-y look, but with the mysterious light from the turtle mutagen. TURTLE POWER! This article originally appeared in issue 254 of 3D World, the world's leading magazine for 3D artists. Buy issue 254 or subscribe here. Related articles: Be the first to try Procreate 5 The 23 best iPad Pro apps to use with the Apple Pencil Procreate tutorial: How to paint like the Old Masters View the full article

Disney Plus UK launches next week, and right now you can get it cheaper than ever before. The streaming service, which is already going down an absolute storm in the US, is set to launch on 24 March (instead of 31 March as initially expected) in the UK. (Want to know more about the service? Check out our Disney Plus guide.) For anyone who may soon be spending more time inside, a Disney Plus subscription will be a brilliant, affordable way to keep all the family entertained. To celebrate Disney Plus' early arrival, Disney is currently running an incredible offer, knocking a further £10 off the subscription cost. While that might not seem like a huge deal, the original annual cost of £59.99 was already a bargain, so to be able to get this now for less than £50 makes it a deal not to be missed! We're even considering upgrading to one of the best 4K monitors for the occasion. Disney Plus' available shows and films will include much-loved classics from Disney, Pixar, Marvel and National Geographic, and there's also previously unseen content, including the aforementioned The Mandalorian, and the catchily named High School Musical, The Musical, The Series. Just some of the exclusive goodies on offer For what you get for your money, Disney+ offers much better value than Netflix. With this offer, Disney Plus UK will cost around £4 per month. Users will be able to stream 4K content on four devices at once, and there are no hidden extras. They'll also be able to download their favourite shows or films, to watch offline. To compare, Netflix costs £5.99 per month, but you have to pay more (either £8.99 or £11.99) if you want ultra-HD content, or to be able to stream on one more than screen at a time. With Netflix UK having recently won the rights to Studio Ghibli's content, it seems competition between the two streaming giants is really heating up, and that's before Disney+ has even fully launched. Which will you choose? You can sign up now on the Disney Plus website for more updates. Read more: Aaron Blaise reveals why he quit his dream job at Disney Is this Chinese city logo a blatant Disney copy? Understand Disney's 12 principles of animation View the full article

As cultural events are cancelled worldwide, some enterprising folks are taking to social media to fill the void. Noel Fielding, co-presenter of the Great British Bake Off, has come up with his own idea to keep the country entertained – a Twitter-based art club. Aimed at everyone (but especially kids, he says), participants are invited to submit their art to his Twitter handle – @noelfielding11 – and so far they've been glorious. If you'd like to up your art skills and submit one yourself, here's our pick of the best how to draw tutorials. And don't forget you can currently get access to free creative software with Adobe's Creative Cloud free for two months offer, and Serif generously giving everyone access to Affinity apps free for 90 days. Responses flooded in to his original tweet (above), covering a plethora of mediums including sculpture (see the cat sculpture above), painting, and a particularly special salami snowflake (yes, an actual nibbled salami). Fielding shared the artwork – all based on the theme of 'love', then comedian Joe Lycett chose a winner. Many of the entrants were children, others adults, and many creations were delightfully-random (as may be expected for fans of Fielding). Below are some of our favourites, starting with the afore-mentioned salami. This rainbow-filled offering is just what we need right now. A portrait of Fielding and Isla's mum. And the winning piece was created by a four-year old. Check out Fielding's Twitter page for more art joy. Want to get involved? The next Art Club is tomorrow 3pm until 5pm. Online content is increasingly reflecting the situation we find ourselves in right now, such as this Google Doodle, and these coronavirus-themed logos. This online art club is a brilliant example of social media-based collaboration, aiming to entertain and inspire, bringing communities together online. And we really hope to see more of it. Read more: 5 tips for presenting your work on social media The ultimate guide to social media for creatives The best art easels right now View the full article

The world is a strange place at the moment, with all of us unsure what the future holds. But what is sure, is in times of crisis the creative community joins forces in the most amazing ways. This week we've seen artists and designers supporting each other in the most amazing ways, from inspirational, thought-provoking new art projects, dedicated artist Slack channels and businesses, both big and small, offering their services for free. Keen to play its part, Serif, makers of popular creative software Affinity Designer (which tops our list of the best iPad apps), Affinity Publisher and Affinity Photo, has announced, as of now, anyone can use its apps free for free months. In addition to that, anyone wishing to purchase the apps after this period can save 50 per cent on the retail price. And that's not all. The company has also pledged to engage more than 100 freelance creatives for work over the next few months. Full details on this have yet to be released, but you can keep up to date with further announcements via the Serif website or Twitter feed. The Serif website says: 'The introduction of the 90-day free trial and deeply discounted pricing is done in the hope that this will make life a little easier for people who rely on creative software to make a living, but may be stuck at home without their usual tools, or for students who might not have access to their Affinity apps on their personal devices.' We have to say, as help goes, this is a cracking offer from Serif. Not only are they helping artists all over the globe from a financial point-of-view, but the added offer of employment for some is a massive bonus at this uncertain time. For more details on this amazing offer and to download the Affinity software, head over to Serif's website. Read more: Affinity 1.8 updates make apps even more tempting 23 best iPad Pro apps to use with Apple Pencil Adobe gives Creative Cloud users 2 months free - here's how to get it View the full article

A poll of Threatpost readers shows that security preparedness is uneven as organizations make an unprecedented transition to remote working. View the full article

As the economic effects of coronavirus are felt across the creative industries, we're seeing more examples of the community coming together in the face of adversity. When illustrator Ben O'Brien put a callout on Twitter (below) for illustrators to join a private Slack channel on Tuesday, he was overwhelmed by the response. Looking for illustration inspiration? Check out our top tutorials for various art techniques. "In 24 hours we have a community of 500+ illustrators from all over the world," Ben O'Brien told Creative Bloq, "and they've already made themselves at home, starting discussions, advising, sharing work, asking questions, doing what a great online community does." From French artists creating a giant collaborative illustration to Adobe offering 2 months free to Creative Cloud users, we're loving these examples of solidarity within the artistic community, from individual artists to large companies. Channels like O'Brien's will no doubt be a huge help to creatives right now. The channel was something O'Brien had been considering for a while. Off the back of his Illustrator's Survey (which recently revealed that illustrators are still grossly underpaid), he realised that artists would benefit from a place to discuss work and life "away from the prying eyes and negative opinions of social media". But recent events have brought the need for community into even sharper focus. "It seemed that a place like that could serve a better purpose in the short-term, giving illustrators a place to support each other with everything going on worldwide with Coronavirus." O'Brien isn't the only one to have started a supportive community on Slack in response to recent events. Fiasco Design co-founder Ben Steers tweeted a similar callout, for agency owners and directors: "This is just the beginning," says O'Brien. Not every discussion is about coronavirus, people are looking for business advice and sharing resources to better their careers. This gives me hope that together we can support each other through this difficult year, but also build a community that moves into the future together." Read more: 4 tips for your first year as a freelance illustrator Illustrator alternatives: 6 of the best 10 top illustration trends for 2020 View the full article

The high-severity flaws exist in the products using SD-WAN software earlier than Release 19.2.2. View the full article

With all this time spent inside, it's no wonder that creativity is booming around the world. It's also no surprise that many of the new projects we're seeing are in response to the coronavirus outbreak. But despite it being such an unsettling and uncertain time, artists and designers are responding with strong messages of hope, unity and forward-thinking. One such project is this reimagined iconic logos concept by motion and graphic designer Jure Tovrljan, who has played with spacing, image and brand names to create a bunch of witty and thought-provoking designs. Named Coronavirus Logos, Tovrljian prefaces the designs with: "Just an idea of how logos should look like in these difficult times. Hang in there, guys. Stay home." Below are the Olympics and Mastercard logos, normally famous for their interlocking icons. But, alas, in the age of the coronavirus they have been socially distanced for safety. Some logo design inspiration here, for sure. Olympics (left) and Mastercard (right) The NBA and Starbucks logos (below) have been manipulated to add some topical detail. Starbucks' iconic mermaid is adorned with a face mask, and the NBA player's usual basketball game has been cancelled so he's taking some downtime with his laptop. Tovrljan has rebranded Goodyear into Badyear because, obviously, and poor Corona's current plight is advertised under its trademarked crown. Head over to Tovrljan's Behance gallery to check out the rest of his designs. These reimagined logos aren't the only ones to get a makeover. In a real-life rebrand, GUT Buenous Aires has created a coronavirus-specific new look for online marketplace giant Mercado Libre. To reinforce the message of social distancing, Mercado Libre's logo has been redesigned to reshape social greetings. The handshake is out, the elbow bump has arrived, and GUT/Mercado Libre wants the world to know it. A concept logo redesign always gets people talking, as we saw when designers gave these logos makeovers. But the topical edge seen here gives a unique perspective into current events, and we're looking forward to seeing more creative takes on the world's events as they unfold. Read more: 8 fantastic non-profit logos The 10 best logos of all time The best logo designer: the best paid-for and free logo designer software View the full article

Slack has begun rolling out a redesigned interface, adding features designed to create what its website calls "a simpler, more organized Slack." These include a new navigation bar, collapsible folders for organising conversations, and more. Millions of teams and colleagues communicate using Slack, and the update aims to make the software easier to use. The sidebar's new collapsible folders mean that if you’re working on a project with its own channels and chats, these can now be nested under one section – handy for creatives with multiple projects on the go at once. Unfortunately, though, the customisable sections are will only be available for users on paid plans. Redesigning your UI? Check out our list of the best web design tools. The new sidebar with nesting sections The new navigation bar has a search function for looking up conversations, files and other items. And in the top left is a new 'compose' button, which enables you to start writing a new message from anywhere in the app before deciding where to send it. Plus, if you get distracted, the message will remain saved as a draft (not that we ever get distracted on Slack, of course.). Slack's new look Also new is a lightning bolt icon next to the message input field. This is where you can find apps. Slack says many of these will arrive in the coming weeks, including Simple Poll and Cisco WebEx Meetings. And finally, spacing has been increased for more breathing space across the whole app. We're fans of the new, tidy design. Slack can be an intimidating place for newcomers, and the new look makes the old Slack look positively cluttered. With so many people working from home right now in the wake of coronavirus, this is a bold time for Slack launch a redesign, and we kind of admire them for it. Hopefully it'll help creatives keep more on top of all their projects, instead of, you know, slacking (sorry). Related articles: Slack dark mode is live! Here's how to activate it Create a custom Slack bot The haters are wrong. Slack's new logo is an improvement View the full article

The world of web design doesn't stand still. In an effort to deliver the best user experiences and capitalise on the latest technological advances, web designers are constantly experimenting with new ways to build sites. And if a certain approach proves effective, it makes sense that it spreads like wildfire and becomes a web design trend. Seasoned web designers will have already seen plenty of industry trends rise and fall over the years, but the trends that succeed become so ingrained that it's easy to forget that they were once the hot new thing. To give you an idea of what's on the horizon when it comes to web design, trends are therefore a good place to turn. We spoke to industry experts to see what they think the future holds. And if you want to start experimenting with their insights, don't forget to check out our roundup of the best web design tools. 01. Custom visuals For Emma Bukee, head of design at PS Website Design, the most exciting web development is that it's becoming visually interesting once again. Now that we're coming out of a minimalist design period, which was ushered in alongside the responsive web design movement, she anticipates that 2020 could see disciplines pushed in new directions. "So now we’re starting to see the benefits of responsive design being coupled with ever more complex and intricate illustration work, animation and unique design features," she explains. "Nothing makes me happier than seeing custom visuals being used to add value to websites across all devices." 02. Personal sites Dwayne's Garden Art was one of the millions of personal pages created With web design becoming more accessible, Redweb's lead front-end developer Matt Northam is excited about the resurgence of personal sites. He puts this down to people starting to appreciate the value of maintaining their own space online. "Seeing people create unique places to exercise more creativity in their designs, experiment with new techniques and share their thoughts is super-inspiring," he says. "The variety and freedom you used to find on GeoCities is what got me into web development and rediscovering that diversity is what’s got me excited for the future." 03. AI-enhanced experiences Websites that use AI to offer experiences based on data from customer use patterns are what onebite's senior developer, Marcela Bohorquez, is looking forward to. This trend would include being able to more accurately model the journeys users want to take, then make better suggestions to personalise the experience. "What’s exciting is how you can create these interactions in a way that’s natural," says Bohorquez, who also predicts that this would run alongside browsers that support 3D, animations and illustrations. "They run in a lighter way and don’t compromise the user experience. They offer new ways to get to know a product or service: you can navigate 3D models, examine their details or follow animated journeys." 04. Human-centric design For Benoit Soucaret, creative director at LiveArea, the most thrilling part of web design is how technology is making the complex simple. By putting design at the heart of every business, he argues that brands can bring connected products and services to life and redesign a user’s relationship with the connected world. "Human-centricity is at the heart of everything," says Soucaret. "Design already plays and will continue playing a huge part in developing future-proof strategies that give clients the competitive advantage necessary as they undertake digital transformation." 05. Functional simplicity Evoulve's website is an example of functional simplicity, with a one-colour theme and pared back elements. "I’m excited by simplicity, one-colour websites and bold typography," says Tess Herrmann, creative director at MongoDB. She goes on to add that simple can be harder than complex and it’s one of the biggest challenges across the industry. "Huge typography means visitors will remember what was written and are more likely to come back to your platform," Herrmann adds. "One-colour creates a harmonious, visually cohesive look and it’s easy to make it look like various elements go together. "This isn’t only a visual effect; it’s also functional. Showing how the features of your design are related or how they interact with each other can help users instantly understand the message and purpose of your design." 06. Micro-animations Redweb's digital motion designer Emily Brennan is interested in how the growing immersion of micro-animations and interactions within web design will unfold. "They help direct the user and enhance their experience, creating a more fluid journey," she reasons. "The increased use of smooth, natural and more advanced animations visually boosts a site, adding an element of playfulness, without the risk of increased loading times. "Hover, scroll, tap and swipe animations are all ways to involve users in a website, encourage specific actions and make sites feel more intuitive. Micro-animations and interactions give users instant feedback, guidance and affirmation." 07. Ethical design "Right now, ethical and responsible design is one of the most exciting areas of our work," says Alex Lee, principal designer at Foolproof. While they can technically build almost anything they can dream of, Alex and his team often find themselves asking '‘Should we be designing this at all?’ "We need to ask: how are our product design decisions affecting self-perception, acceptance, inclusivity, interpersonal relationships and much more? As web designers, it's time for us to stand up for our ethics and ensure we can look back on our work and be proud of our contribution." This article was originally published in issue 326 of net, the world's best-selling magazine for web designers and developers. Buy issue 326 or subscribe to net today. Related articles: Master minimalism in web design Google's hidden AR tool will blow your mind 6 web design trends that have had their day View the full article

Finding the right font for a creative project can be hard enough; finding the perfect fonts to go with it can be a nightmare, especially if you have hundreds or even thousands of fonts at your disposal. Where do you even start? If your computer's stuffed to the gills with free fonts and you're overwhelmed by choice, there are thankfully plenty of online tools to help you narrow things down to some winning combinations. We've picked out five great sites that'll not only help you make excellent font pairing choices, but in some cases teach you how to make better decisions about type pairing by understanding what makes some fonts work better with others. Read on for some essential typographic matchmaking. 10 remarkably retro free pixel fonts 01. Fontjoy Fontjoy uses AI to put complementary fonts together Most font pairing tools rely either on curation or providing you with a way to visually judge which font combinations work best together. Fontjoy, on the other hand, does it all with artificial intelligence. Created by designer and engineer Jack Qiao, it uses deep learning techniques to analyse the key visual features of fonts and calculate which one should work best together. You don't need to worry about the science, though; simply hit the Generate button and it'll instantly conjure up a font combo for you. Alternatively, pick a font and it'll come back with any number of combinations that should work perfectly. 02. Type Connection Type Connection's a dating game for fonts that'll teach you how to make great matches We adore Type Connection's quirky approach to typeface pairing. Created as a thesis project by Aura Weiner, it describes itself as a typographic dating game; you pick a font, then Type Connection presents you with a selection dating strategies, each one based on different strategies for combining fonts. It then lines you up with three potential dates, only one of which will result in true love. More of an educational tool than a straight font pairing tool, it'll teach you a lot about how fonts work together and help you come up with your own font pairings that won't turn out to be a terrible mistake. 03. FontPair FontPair helps you narrow down Google Fonts' massive library into beautiful pairings If you use Google Fonts and you're overwhelmed by the amount of type on offer, there are a good few sites that can help you narrow them down to some winning combinations. One of them is FontPair, a project started by Hayden Mills as a way to help people pair free, open-source fonts together. Updated weekly with fresh pairings, it provides huge selection of featured font pairs, complete with options to download the fonts and see the pairings in the wild. And if you're looking for specific pair types, such as display fonts paired with serifs, there are separate sections for most of the combinations you might want. 04. Typ.io Typ.io finds beautiful web typography and shows you how it's done One foolproof method of finding beautiful font pairings is to go in search of well-designed sites with great typography, and see what fonts they're using. That's a lot of effort, though; thankfully Typ.io is on a mission to do just that. It regularly showcases sites that make great use of type, and allows you to look under the hood to see exactly what fonts they use by pulling out their relevant CSS. It also helpfully links you the fonts in question so that you can try them out for yourself. And as an added bonus it keeps tabs on which fonts are proving popular at the moment so you can keep up with online typography trends; right now the likes of Gotham, Avenir and Roboto are all getting plenty of love. 05. Google Web Fonts Typographic Project This is a gorgeously eye-catching approach to showcasing excellent font combinations Another site designed to showcase fine-looking combinations of Google Fonts, the Google Web Fonts Typographic Project is the first offering from 25x52, an initiative to launch 25 new projects over 52 weeks. It takes a splendidly eye-catching approach to showcasing font pairings: winning combinations are used to display passages from Aesop's Fables, which makes for a much engaging way of exploring typography than seeing 'The quick brown fox…' repeated over and over in different type. If you like what you see, know your typography and fancy contributing, you can find out how to do so here. Related articles: A complete guide to font licensing for designers 50 top typography tutorials The ultimate typography cheat sheet View the full article

Adobe has set up a two-month discount option for individuals with an already existing Creative Cloud subscription. With the Covid-19 outbreak hitting everyone hard, this will no doubt come as very welcome news to artists and designers reliant on Adobe apps. The news comes just hours after we reported the software giant is offering Creative Cloud free to students and teachers until the end of May 2020, and its Connect web conferencing software free to everyone until July 1 2020. So how do you get two months Adobe CC for free? Well, the offer is not immediately obvious, but was discovered yesterday by photographer Yehju Park, who shared his find on Twitter: Park's video shows him first log on to his Adobe Creative Cloud account, before heading to the Manage Plan section (found on the Plan page). You then need to request to cancel your plan – Park chose 'Too expensive' and suggest you do the same – and hit continue. What follows is an offers page, which has a number of deals set up to convince you to stay. And it's here you should find the two-month payment holiday offer. So far, this has worked for users in both the UK and US, which suggests this is a worldwide offer. However, it's worth noting that some users replying to Park's Twitter thread about the offer have tried to find the offer and not been successful. But Park thinks he has the solution, saying on Twitter: "What I know is that it only works for current Adobe users and it doesn’t work if your next billing date is within the next 48 hrs." However others who have recently been charged have been told they will get a credit on their account. Twitter user Khena7 said: "I still did it. Now it says my account will be credited 60 days and my next payment schedule is in June." So it looks like most people have been successful, but we can't say for sure that you're guaranteed to get the offer option. But if you're an existing Adobe CC user, it's worth a go to potentially save some valuable cash over the new few months. Not already signed up to Creative Cloud? Here are the best Adobe CC deals in your area: Read more: Disney Plus UK deal: Get a year's subscription for less than £50! Social distancing Google doodle is ingeniously simple Apple reveals new iPad Pro (but we're more excited by the Magic Keyboard) View the full article

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