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"We're all living on phones – that's the first thing you touch in the morning and the last thing you touch while you're sacking out," laments graphic designer Aaron Draplin. "We're these little cyborgs – phones are appendages, our babies are being born now with their hands clamped around these things." While Draplin might have some pretty original takes on biological evolution, his broadside underscores a point much more relevant to his trade: where tiny screens are our primary interaction with a company, product or person. That obviously has big implications for the people branding them. Logos have to work smaller today than ever – which means they have to work a lot harder, too. “In the ‘good old days’ a logo was always printed, and might make it onto TV, but that’s not the starting point today,” says James Sommerville, who recently left his role as VP of global design at Coca Cola. Pocket-sized logos The classic Coca-Cola logo still remains recognisable despite its 130-year evolution; still flexible enough to work across digital and physical collateral “The starting point is usually in our pocket, on a screen. The successful logos work across all of those surfaces. The challenge for many heritage brands is that they were never designed to move – Coca Cola was never designed to animate. For new brands, they have to give a sense of longevity – show consumers that they’re not just here today, gone tomorrow, but also grab attention.” The importance of scalability in logos is, of course, nothing new. Since the dawn of corporate branding, logo designers have had to consider that their creations must look as great on a business card as a billboard, as recognisable on a candy wrapper as on the side of a bus. “If it doesn’t scale well, then you’re in big trouble,” reinforces Draplin. “That’s what I was taught by Saul Bass and Paul Rand when I was a kid – that’s effective communication.” But what’s different now to in Rand and Bass’ day is the scope of what these logos can, and have to do: onscreen, they can move, perhaps make sound, shape shift. Yet they still have to sing on boring old 2D too. New systems and touchpoints A new identity for data start-up Typeform by DesignStudio, created in early 2018 An even bigger shift isn’t just the basic idea of how and where a logo’s applied, but what it stands for. Alex Johns, creative director at DesignStudio, points out that how we interact with a brand is “way more nuanced” today, even compared to five years ago. “With the rise of devices like iPhones, our relationships with a brand are way more personal and our interactions with them more frequent," he says. "A logo used to be a shorthand for a brand: today it’s a key part of a holistic system.” With all these newfound possibilities – not to mention the software to create them – it would make sense to assume that today’s graphic designers are gleefully ripping up the precedents set by their forebears and running wild. So are 21st century logos a reflection of the possibilities of experimentation and adventure that designers have at their fingertips? Many would argue very much the opposite. Designing for the digital age Cover for Letters as Symbols, a book by designers Christophe De Pelsemaker and Paul Ibou Christophe De Pelsemaker, a Belgium-based graphic designer who recently co-authored the (as yet unpublished) book Letters As Symbols with Paul Ibou, sees technology as a hindrance rather than a help when it comes to creating a smart logo design. "A computer enables you to make more mistakes," he says. "That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it isn’t a good thing either. Now, we just put something on the screen and if we don’t like it, we erase it. Back in the day, a designer really had to think about the concept before they drew a line on a paper." "Without a concept, you cannot create something good. Now, with the help of computer, a lot of designers skip the conceptualisation, or thinking phase. That's why, I think, good logo design isn’t as common today." Sommerville agrees. "I think some of the craft has gone," he says. "Now that things are so fast and it's so easy to iterate, it feels like there's less longevity in logos. Identities have a short fuse now that everything’s so disposable. A great design is one that has the time to live its own life." Belief systems and responses to logos The Designers Republic’s visual language document for the video game Wipeout 3 This emphasis on story and meaning in logo design is by no means unusual. Ian Anderson, founder of The Designers Republic, is famously non-design-school educated (he studied a philosophy degree instead), and his work’s conceptual underpinnings may well have a lot to do with that. “My interest has always been in people, and understanding what people do or don’t do, and why,” says Anderson. “My work is informed by belief systems – why do people believe in god, and not in fries that live at the end of the garden? Why do we act on what we believe? That all feeds into logo design." "We tend to hop past that now and straight into the funfair of branding. My interest in graphic design is only based on what it can communicate and how it can provoke responses." He suggests that having not been to design school might have meant he’s less "easily seduced by form", or by particular trends: "When you're just interested in impressing other designers, it will always be more about surface. I want a design to look good and work well for a reason." Indeed, some of the classic logos we hold up as embodying wit and greatness are those we’ve spent time with and with rigorous underpinnings – think the FedEx hidden arrow designed in 1994 by Lindon Leader for Landor Associates. Not only was this sort of design born of a time with more limited software possibilities than we have today, but as Sommerville suggests, the likes of Alan Fletcher – perhaps most famous for his Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) logo – likely worked with different agency structures. Logos doing it all The V&A logo, designed by Alan Fletcher in 1990 and still in use today "A lot of those iconic logos are a diffusion between great design work and great advertising, combined in one logo. There's a storytelling approach to something like [Fletcher’s] V&A logo: you see that alone on a poster and it's an ad itself." The other side of the coin is quite the opposite. Now that identity systems have to be and do so much, designers have to be many-trick ponies. You can’t just draw a logo and be done with it: you have to think about how that animates, how different people first encounter it – might they see a TV ad? An icon in the app store? (See examples of stunning IOS app icons here.) An animated website header? A moving billboard? The designers making the most interesting – and, crucially, the most effective – logos are surely the ones considering the impact it has not just as a drawn thing on the page, but also a moving one that sits beautifully within the various lives of consumers. 33 stunning IOS app icon designs Keeping it simple Mastercard’s 2016 redesign was completed by Pentagram’s New York office. In 2019, the wordmark was dropped altogether Of all the trends that have dominated branding in recent times, there’s one that trucks along more doggedly than any other: simplicity. Flatness. ‘Paring back’. Last year, we surmised that “simplicity has been king for a while" And it seems that crown isn’t set to slip any time soon. Take last year’s Moonpig redesign: the (albeit quite hideous) little piggy was given the boot (as was, finally, the ‘dot.com’) in favour of a flat, simple, yet still rather kids’ party-esque new look and feel. Before that, Pentagram’s redesign of the Mastercard logo stripped things right back to their most basic components – just two, flat, overlapping circles and a new all lower-case word mark in safe, tasteful sans serif FF Mark. And it makes total sense that a primary consideration was the logo’s optimisation across multiple digital platforms. In 2019, Pentagram has simplified things further still by removing the wordmark entirely. “It’s become a homogeneous gloop of graphics really,” says Anderson. “That’s not any one design or designer’s fault, but it’s the reality. If you’re simplifying everything there’s only so many shapes, forms and colour combinations before you begin to get repetition.” Simplicity is not inherently a bad thing: some of the logo designs held up as among the best of the past decades are incredibly restrained He acknowledges that where “smart designers” can flatten a logo design to “communicate the brand message, brand values, the product or whatever,” such a style is all too easy to approximate by “half-arsed designers. So there’s a lot of repetition of ideas, and a lot of it is quite lazy.” An example of how differently the V&A logo continues to be used Simplicity is not inherently a bad thing: some of the logo designs held up as among the best of the past decades are incredibly restrained. Vitally, such pieces are incredibly smart, too – a prime example being that V&A logo, which elegantly forms its A from the classic yet bulbous ampersand. It’s little surprise that the design has remained unchanged since it was created in 1990, and it still looks as fresh and confident as ever. “The brief stipulated the design should only comprise three characters (V&A), should be functional, dateless, memorable and appropriate,” said Fletcher of the piece. If its enduring use in the Museum’s present campaigns is anything to go by, he certainly nailed it. The perfection of the logo also means that for designers working with the logo today, it’s both a dream and something of a delicate balance. Chris Curran, cofounder of The Studio of Williamson Curran, recently worked on a campaign for the museum’s The Future Starts Here exhibition. “The consistent use of the V&A logo over the campaign in both scale, position and colour was always central to our thinking when designing across both print and screens,” says Curran. “The V&A logo and exhibition title all picked out in the same colour, and the choice of typeface was a shorthand for the tone of the exhibition and struck a good balance with the V&A logo.” Judging logos The V&A museum’s The Future Starts Here exhibition document, by The Studio of Williamson Curran Recently though, simplicity could be said to rarely pack such a well-aimed punch. Eye on Design managing editor Liz Stinson recently coined the term “millennial minimalism” to sum up the trend over the past few years in commercial graphics centred around sans serifs, monochrome palettes and “flat photography”. As she puts it, it's a trend born of digital-focused strategies and, "years of seeing some variation of the same minimalist logo again, and again, and again". The result, many in the industry surmised, is sameness. Such accessions of homogeneity may be slightly unfair though – are we judging a brand on the outdated (slightly short-sighted) criteria of a single logo, where we should be looking at its modern counterpart – a moving, interactive, altogether more nuanced “system”? Are we – Twitter-botherers, consumers, and the design industry at large – being a little too quick to judge? Balancing nostalgia and innovation Studio Dumbar’s work for the Amsterdam Sinfonietta aimed to refresh the musical group’s image If there’s a studio that knows a thing or two about what makes a good logo, it’s Amsterdam’s Studio Dumbar. Founded by Gert Dumbar in 1977, its portfolio takes in many projects held up as gold standards when it comes to corporate graphics, including work for Dutch Railways, Amsterdam’s NEMO science museum, the Dutch government and its National Police. Yet while its history isn’t to be sniffed at, as the studio’s creative director Liza Enebeis points out, it’s unwise to indulge in misty-eyed remembrances of a so-called ‘golden era’ of design that may or may not exist. "When you speak to your parents or grandparents, they’ll always say things were so much better in the past – usually when they were in their teens," she says. "A lot of designers can look back and say how brilliant or better corporate design was in the 1960s, or the Modernist era, but now we have so many more possibilities. We can adapt logo and identity design to so many different platforms and media and redefine how we approach branding." “That’s a huge challenge, obviously, but it means you really have to work hard to find a way to make the mark you create stand out,” she says. Liza Enebeis, Studio Dumbar’s creative director and partner Motion plays a bigger part in logo design than ever before. This has dual consequences: on the one hand, a logo has to work harder than ever, and on the other, that logo takes a backseat as it becomes part of a far wider graphical outcome. When you see a logo on a digital platform or within an app, behaviour and how it moves defines the identity. We never really had to consider that a few years ago Lisa Enebeis “The symbol is no longer everything,” says Enebeis. “When you see a logo on a digital platform or within an app, behaviour and how it moves defines the identity. We never really had to consider that a few years ago; now, it plays a huge role.” Dumbar’s work for Jeugdfonds Sport & Cultuur (Youth Sport Foundation and Youth Culture Foundation) saw the studio begin by sketching in motion before distilling the movement into stills whenever needed. “It was another way at looking at identity that’s all about movement,” says Enebeis. As a result, the designs are hugely energetic and radiate positivity: exactly what was needed for a brand that looks to promote the potential in the young people it works with, and is intended to speak directly and respectfully to a youth audience. Such projects celebrate the potential of logos not as standalone entities, but part of far broader, more dynamic communication systems. Another Dumbar project proves that this approach need not just be for brands aimed at youth or playfulness, but for more traditional institutions. Its work for string orchestra the Amsterdam Sinfonietta, whose musical repertoire includes everything from baroque to contemporary, answered a brief to refresh public perceptions. Studio Dumbar’s solution was to take full advantage of today’s technical possibilities, creating an identity driven by a bold logotype and typographic palette but which evolves by responding graphically to each performance’s musical themes through reacting to sound. Amsterdam Sinfonietta' rebrand took full advantage of technological possibilities Back in 2018, DesignStudio created a new identity for Barcelona-based data start-up Typeform, inspired by Spanish artists including Picasso and Miró. The identity eschews a traditional system that takes a logo at its heart, instead – again – looking to motion: the logo itself is “living” and mutable, taking on different forms according to factors including whether it’s representing complex data, or looking to express more abstract emotions. “People are complex and challenging, and so clients are coming to us with more interesting challenges,” says Johns. “The world of design has changed: even five or 10 years ago, design was a colour palette, logo and typeface – now, it’s more about behaviour and interaction.” He adds: “Where a logo was once a seal of approval or shorthand, now they can respond to interaction – to clicks, swipes and taps. That’s a very new thing. A logo has to wear many hats, and it can’t do that alone. Maybe the word logo has be to be reconsidered as we redefine this new vernacular.” As such, a design system will still include a logo, but for many brands that are built to be used digitally over and above print campaigns, packaging and so on, sound and motion are as integral as a mark to be popped on a business card or even a website header. Agility is key. Speaking to your audience Coca-Cola understands its target audience perfectly So what makes an irrefutably good logo design? As Draplin points out, truly timeless designs only become so for their refusal to kowtow to the hot new thing: “Try not to be led too hard by the latest trends or styles. Things rise and fall but clarity is an element that never really goes out of style.” A lot of it simply comes down to doing the right thing for the right project. “Some people are interested in typographic forms, but what I’m more interested in is understanding the situation,” reinforces Anderson. “Whether that’s music packaging or Coca Cola, you have to understand the target audience and the product, and how you intend to connect those two. Why have they made that album? Why has Coca Cola launched a new product, what are they trying to achieve? The problem solving aspect is trying to say that in a way the target audience best responds to.” In his logo for Warp Records, for instance – a label known for its boundary pushing electronic music roster – the idea was to communicate something that was futuristic, but wouldn’t date. “Things that look ‘futuristic’ date very quickly, as that version of the future will never happen,” says Anderson. “So I wanted to just have a logo and a colour that people would recognise.” The resulting mark is a stretched, gridded planet-like shape with a zig zag holding device that hits you like a comic book “ZAP!”, often used with a distinctive brand purple. Warp Records logo, by The Designers Republic “There’s an old sci-fi, pulpy feel to it,” says Anderson. “A lot of those '50s and '60s sci-fi things have already dated as much as they’re going to: they’re locked into the future so they’re never going to date. With Warp, I was saying that you need to simplify it in order to communicate a complex message.” Simplicity, as we’ve discussed, doesn’t mean boring: the sweet spot between dull minimalism and smart minimalism is in that ability to distil a brand’s essence in just one mark. The success of a logo is, of course, a highly individual thing: it has to truthfully, potently speak of a brand’s essence “In my opinion, good logo design is creating a simple, strong, recognisable symbol that communicates something about the company or brand or product,” says De Pelsemaker. “That might be through using an unusual or interesting space, or clever use of contrast and white space.” The success of a logo is, of course, a highly individual thing: it has to truthfully, potently speak of a brand’s essence, whether that’s in a direct or more abstract way. Finding logo design success Fashion house Burberry’s 2018 new monogram, designed by 03 Peter Saville Take Peter Savile’s recent redesign of the Burberry logo, for instance: “it’s basically simplified, and you could argue that it’s a very simple logo,” says Enebeis, “but what’s brilliant is that Burberry is more than a logo, and it transcends that. You have to think about the core of the company to find the right answer.” Chanel’s timeless interlocking ‘C’ mark achieves the same thing: it’s beautifully crafted, simple typography, but an utterly memorable distillation of the brand’s essence. Away from fashion, think of the Saul Bass Bell System logo: “even if the brand isn’t around today [the company ceased operations in 1984], the logo still works,” says Draplin. “It’s just a bell in a little circle, but the clarity is just so perfect. Here comes the ‘c’ word, but corporate entities taught me a lot about letting restraint and simplicity tell a larger story.” Today though, clarity need not solely refer to the simplicity with which we recognise or understand a static mark. That clarity can be born of recognising a brand through our interactions with it – through its wider values and place in the world, and how we engage with it on a far more personal level. Chanel’s iconic interlocking C logo, which is rumoured to have been created by Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel herself in 1925 A design brief’s outcome is wildly different to what it was once expected to be – and there’s a lot of excitement and freedom in that. For Johns, a crucial part of DesignStudio’s ethos is in its belief that best practice is there to be confronted and pushed. “When best practice means stagnation, you have to challenge it to move forward,” he says. “Consumers change, and designers have to change with them. A brief might come in to create a logo or a business card, but we take the time to live and breathe the brand and understand the proposition, then make recommendations on what the outcome should be. Just giving you a logo might not be the right answer.” That’s where the danger in sites like 99Designs et al come in: a logo is not everything, for a start, and if you’re paying peanuts for a design, you’re going to get, well, a poor design. “If you’re paying $4.99 you’re rolling the dice on someone who’s going to sell you bullshit clipart art,” says Draplin. “Don’t lament to me ‘oh we paid $6 and got a stupid logo.’ What did you think you would get?” Why does a logo have to mean something? Why can’t it just create a feeling, and be exciting and intriguing? Alex Johns Johns also puts forward an interesting counterpoint to the traditional argument that a logo must stand for something. “Why does a logo have to mean something?” he argues. “Why can’t it just create a feeling, and be exciting and intriguing? There can be space for poetry and fun in there too. A logo is no longer at the heart of a brand, it’s decentralised: the first touchpoint might not be a print campaign or product, it can be so many other things, and that’s really exciting.” DesignStudio’s 2016 Deliveroo rebrand is clear and simple enough to extend across a range of digital and physical mediums; from apps to company workwear While it’s easy (and for many, fun) to wage keyboard-warfare until the cows come home about the sameness of today’s marks – especially those for digital start-ups – perhaps the most radical thing we can do is to sit back and really think about what we’re judging and why. “If it’s ‘too flat’, who gets to be the judge?” says Draplin. “Don’t go looking for controversy and get all huffy. What’s the problem if you can nail the spirit in simple, flat shapes? But if it comes off looking like everything else, you have to go back to the drawing board.” The best designers are the ones who respect the past, but also build for the now and look to the future Alex Johns Perhaps all the logo-bitching and cries that craft is dead are misguided for one simple reason: logo design isn’t stale or boring, we’re just judging with outmoded criteria. “A brand is so much more than a logo,” says Johns. Sure, it’s wonderful to look at the greats – to pore over the hefty Standards Manual reissues, to worship at the altars of Rand, Fletcher, Chermayeff and others, but it’s vital for us in 2019 to consider that these weren’t created as neat black and white totems of ‘great design’, but as the boundary-pushers of their day. “You don’t have to reject the past, but you do have to remember that people like Wim Crouwel, and Hamish Muir’s 8vo were pushing the envelope. Don’t just hold onto nostalgia, think about what they actually stood for. Of course, craft and quality have to be retained, but they also have to be applied to new problems. The best designers are the ones who respect the past, but also build for the now and look to the future.” A shorter version of this article was originally published in issue 286 of Computer Arts, the world's leading graphic design magazine. Buy issue 286 or subscribe here. Related articles: Which logo do you wish you had designed? The best logos of all time 6 huge logo trends for 2019 View the full article

Designing a great WordPress website doesn't have to be an arduous process. Even with no prior programming experience or training under your belt, you can design a fantastic website with Storeshock WordPress Themes & Elements: Lifetime Subscription. This tool streamlines the process of creating your own website, thanks to a huge selection of WordPress themes, templates, plugins, and web elements. The drag-and-drop page builder makes the whole process so intuitive that you'll be surprised what amazing visuals you can create. For just $59, you can download more than $50,000 worth of products. Now that's what we'd call a steal. Get Storeshock WordPress Themes & Elements: Lifetime Subscription for just $59. Want your products featured in Creative Bloq? Learn more about how to sell your products online! Related articles: 5 cross-browser testing tools to try today 35 brilliant 404 error pages Get to grips with the theory of UX View the full article

Cloud storage is an ideal solution for anyone needing to store lots of large files. Anyone with any kind of photography skills is bound to have at least a very big folder on their drive filled with years of shots, or even an entire hard disk dedicated to photos. It's certainly a lot easier to manage your photos digitally than in the days of film, but for peace of mind – not to mention the ability to instantly share photos with friends or clients – you're probably going to want some cloud storage for your photography portfolio. There are plenty of cloud storage options available. However, most of them are geared towards general file storage, and if you're looking for the best cloud storage for photos specifically then choices narrow down a lot. To help you choose, we've picked out six of the best options available; some are built with photographers and creatives in mind, and the rest are ordinary cloud storage solutions that are worth checking out if you simply want to back up your shots online without the need to present your work in a swish manner. Read on to discover our pick of the best cloud storage for 2019. Photography cheat sheet helps you take better photos Flickr's come in for a bit of stick since it decided to reduce its free package from a whopping terabyte to 1,000 photos and videos, with adverts inserted into your stream. Despite this, it's still an excellent destination for anyone who wants to store their photography online, and for it to look good on the screen. Flickr's photostream is all about presenting your photography to best effect, and if you can somehow whittle your portfolio down to your best 1,000 shots then you'd be a fool to turn it down. If you need more, for a $6 monthly fee (or just $50 annually) you can have all the storage you want, as well as no ads and, if you opt for the annual fee, discounts on Adobe Creative Cloud, Blurb, Portfoliobox, and Priime. The only slight downside is that as it's geared towards displaying photos rather than storing them, it only accepts JPG, GIF and PNG images; if you're after somewhere to stash your RAW images then you'd be better off elsewhere. Try Flickr for free Subscribe to Flickr Pro from $4.17/£3.99 per month There are loads of different Adobe Creative Cloud plans to choose from, but if you're primarily interested in photography there are just three you need to know about. If storage is what matters, Adobe offers two different packages with 1TB of cloud storage thrown in; the full-fat Photography plan will cost you $239.88 per year, with Lightroom CC, Lightroom Classic CC and Photoshop CC included. If that's a little steep then you can instead opt for the Lightroom CC plan for $119.88 per year – this just gives you, astonishingly, Lightroom CC. If you're planning to be a little more discriminating with the volume of photos you upload, however, there's a cheaper Photography plan for $119.88 per year. It also comes with Lightroom CC, Lightroom Classic CC and Photoshop CC, but limits you to 20GB of cloud storage. Like Flickr, Creative Cloud gives you good-looking image galleries to show your work off to best effect, and unlike Flickr it supports RAW files. It also gives you Group Libraries that friends can add their own photos to, integration with Lightroom and Elements, and it makes it easy to upload whatever your platform, with dedicated apps for Windows, Mac, iOS and Android. Get Adobe Creative Cloud Another great photography-focused cloud storage option is Canon's Irista. As with Flickr and Creative Cloud it provides you with a gallery-based interface that's all about showcasing your photography rather than mere storage of your files, and it accepts both JPG and RAW file formats. If you're picky about how your photos are organised then you'll welcome its ability to arrange your images by camera, lens type, date, tags and even EXIF data, and if you need to know how popular your shots are then you'll be similarly pleased by its social media integration that enables you to share uploaded images to Facebook and Flickr then track likes and comments. The free Irista plan's a great deal, giving you 15GB of storage to play with, but if you need more then there are six subscription tiers to choose between, starting at 100GB for $2.25 per month and ramping up to a frankly insane 10TB that'll cost you $129.99 per month; that one's only for the serious pro photographers, we reckon. Get Canon Irista for free plan Upgrade from $2.25/£1.99 per month If you're more interested in simply storing your photos online rather than have them organised into attractive galleries then a more general cloud storage solution might be the way to go, and in terms of free storage then you can't really do better than Google Drive. Its free package delivers 15GB of cloud storage as well as use of its online productivity apps, but it also includes Google Photos, which gives you unlimited storage for photos up to 16 megapixels in size and uses machine learning technology to automatically label people in photos and make searching your images easier. For storing larger images you'll have to make do with Google Drive's general storage. If you burn through the free 15GB then there are plenty of plans to upgrade your capacity, starting at $1.99 per month for 100GB and increasing to $99.99 per month for 10TB. Get Google Drive for free Upgrade to Google One from $1.99 per month Chances are that you already have a Dropbox account, and if you're using the free version then it's quite likely that you're constantly having to delete old stuff to make room for new files because you're cruising close to your storage limit. Dropbox's 2GB free storage isn't much, and while you can increase it to 16GB by referring friends at an extra 500MB a pop, that's not as easy as it was back in the days when not everyone had an account. For $9.99 a month or $99 per year you can upgrade to Dropbox Plus, which gives you a terabyte of storage, as well as remote desktop wipe, 30-day version history and priority email upload. That's a pretty sweet deal, and if you're not fussed about gallery presentation for your picture then you'll find that Dropbox is versatile and easy to use, no matter what your platform. Use Dropbox for free Upgrade from $8.25/ £6.58 per month Microsoft's cloud storage isn't dissimilar to Google's, unsurprisingly, but with a look and feel that's the same as Windows 10 it's one that PC users will instantly feel at home with. Like the other two general storage options covered here it's not specifically aimed at photographers, so again, don't go expecting exciting presentation options. However it gives you 5GB of storage for free or 50GB for $1.99 per month, and if you upgrade to one of the higher tiers you'll get Office 365 included, which is always a bonus. For $6.99 per month or $69.99 yearly you get 1TB and Office 365, and for another $3 per month you'll get even more storage, six Office licences and other features including an hour of Skype credit. Use Microsoft OneDrive for free UK: Upgrade to 50GB for £1.99/mo US: Upgrade to 50GB for $1.99/mo Related articles: 15 ways to improve your photography skills The best USB flash storage for creatives The 15 best photography websites View the full article

Like drawing and painting, and want the best of both worlds? Well in a sense, that's what watercolour pencils offer. With normal coloured pencils, the pigment is contained in a waxy or oil-based binder, but watercolour pencils have a water-soluble binder. That means you can draw normally, but if you add water to the marks you've made, it becomes more like a watercolour paint wash, which you can spread around the paper with a brush, sponge or other tools. This is opens up a range of creative possibilities and painting techniques to try out. Also, because they can be sharpened, watercolour pencils allow you to add fine details that are hard to achieve with a brush. And finally, if you're travelling, there's also a big practical advantage to watercolour pencils, in that they're much easier to transport than paints. How to choose a watercolour pencil There are a number of things to consider when choosing a watercolour pencil. They include the thickness of the lead: thinner leads are better for fine detailed work, while thicker leads will help you cover more area quickly. Also think about the shape of the pencil: will a round, hexagonal or triangular pencil sit more comfortably in your hand? Another consideration in the number of pencils in the set. Do you need a wide a spectrum of colours as possible (making a bigger set useful)? Or do you plan to do a lot of blending (which means you can live with a smaller one)? Finally, how tough do you need your pencil to be? If you tend to break lot of leads, you might want to go with a brand that prides itself on its toughness and durability. In this article, we've rounded up our pick of the best watercolour pencils for artists and designers. Each offer slightly different things, but they're all excellent products, from leading brands with great track records. If you need tools for sketching and note-taking too, be sure to check out other best pencils post. Faber-Castell watercolour pencils Established in 1761 by the cabinetmaker Kaspar Faber, Faber-Castell is one of the world’s leading manufacturer of wood-cased pencils. And its Albrecht Durer model is one of our favourite watercolour pencils on the market today. These pencils are made using high-quality materials, and the company's SV (Secural Bonding) process results in super-strong 3.8mm leads that are less likely to break. They provide sharp, fine lines and excellent point retention, while the colours are rich, vivid and attractive, and blend beautifully when water is added. The colours also match the company's Polychromos oil pencils, so the two sets can be used together easily. Quite simply, whether you use them wet or dry, these little beauties perform superbly and are superbly flexible, whatever kind of art you're creating. They come in sets of 12, 24, 60, and the full range of 120 watercolour pencils. A 10mm paintbrush is included in the tin. A less well-known but similarly high-end watercolour pencil from Faber-Castell is the Albrecht Dürer Magnus. With a 5.3mm lead and a very soft and vibrant colour laydown, this is an ideal choice for large-scale drawing and covering large areas quickly. These are big, fat pencils, with big, fat leads, and this bigger size and shape makes them easier to hand and gentle on the wrist during long periods of use. These pencils are available in tins of 12 or 24, and as with the standard Albrecht Dürer pencils (above), a 10mm paintbrush is included. Again, you're paying a little more for these pencils, but getting a high-quality product for your cash. Staedtler watercolour pencils The German Staedtler company, founded in 1835, claims to have invented the colouring pencil. So it's not surprising that the have some of the best watercolour pencils on the market. These lovingly designed pencils are easy to hold and manoeuvre, and their hexagonal shape means they're less likely to roll off the table. They lay down colour beautifully, they're easy to sharpen with a quality metal pencil sharpener, and the 3mm, high-pigment lead is powerfully break-resistant. The colours are easy to blend and create marvellous washes. There's a good range of colours and the brighter hues really stand out, even when mixed with water. Available in sets of 12, 24, 36, 48 and 60, this is pretty much the perfect watercolour pencil for both hobbyists and pro artists, aside from being more expensive than other brands. If your kids want to have fun experimenting with watercolour pencils, we'd highly recommend these slim pencils from Staedtler, which are suitable for all age groups. With a triangular shape and with a non-slip, they're uniquely ergonomic and comfortable to hold and use over long periods. They're also more difficult to break: as with all Staedtler watercolour pencils from benefit from break resistant lead, and are easy to sharpen with any quality sharpener. The 3mm wax-based leads are lovely and soft, and produce vibrant colours. Overall, kids will love these pencils, which come in boxes of 12 and 24, whether they want to draw freehand or complete colouring books. Derwent watercolour pencils Made with natural wood barrels and quality water-soluble pigments, the soft wax of Derwent's watercolour pencils blends and dissolves easily in water, making them a great choice for mixing colour. With up to 72 pencils in the range, you won't be short of colour to mix, either, although very vibrant hues are conspicuous by their absence. Also note that these colours dry quite quickly, so depending on how fast you work, you may have to keep applying fresh colour and water as you go. These hexagon barrelled pencils are a little cheaper than their Faber-Castell rivals, but still perform well in terms of usability (they're nice to hold, and easy to sharpen) and finished looks. With a 3.4mm lead, they're available in sets of 12, 24, 36, 48 and 72. Overall, at this mid-budget price, these represent the best value watercolour pencils on the market right now. Derwent's Inktense and Watercolour collections are often confused, so let's be clear. Both ranges are water soluble, but that's where the similarity ends. With Derwent's Watercolour pencils, once your layers have dried, they can be re-worked by adding water on top. With Inktense pencils, however, once your layer has dried, it's permanent, so layers added on top don’t affect it: more colour can be added on top without affecting the layer beneath. Furthermore, while the Derwent Watercolour pencils' colours, as mentioned previously, are more subtle and muted, the Inktense pencils produce a vivid, ink-like colour when combined with water that really leap off the page. (Note that used dry, however, they're pretty dull and inspiring.) Note, too, that they work well on fabric as well as paper. These round-barrelled pencils come with a 4mm lead and are available in sets of 12, 24, 36, 48 and 72. Prismacolour watercolour pencils These pencils produce deep, thick and creamy colours that are easy to apply and blend beautifully. We'd therefore recommend them as the best watercolour pencil for beginners to the discipline. More experienced artists can also consider them as well, because these are very good quality pencils that lay colour down smoothly and are highly break-resistant. The only downside to bear in mind is being limited to just 36 colours (albeit well-chosen ones). If you're happy to blend your colours, of course, that may not be a concern, and as noted, these pencils do make blending easy. These round-barrelled pencils come with a 4mm lead and are available in sets of 12, 24 and 36. Swiss brand Caran d’Ache's Prismalo Aquarelle Watercolor pencils sit at the higher quality end of the market, with a higher price to match. The hexagonal barrel is a delight to hold and use. The vivid colours mix beautifully with water on the page, and are easy to control. And the small 3mm leads can be sharpened to a fine point, making these pencils perfect for drawing in fine detail. If you're an experienced artist who wants to see if a pricier pencil can improve your art (particularly if you're working on intricate designs), and you can afford to splash out, then we'd recommend you take these top-quality pencils out for a spin and see what they can do. They're available in sets of 12, 30, 40 and 80 . Read more: How to draw: the best drawing tutorials 10 great notepads for designers The best mechanical pencils for artists and designers View the full article

Freelancing can offer a great sense of freedom. The ability to be your own boss, decide who you work for and what you produce can be incredible…except when it's not. "Everything becomes more vivid, more extreme when your successes and failures are solely down to you and you alone," says freelance graphic designer Francesca Tortora. "The highs are utterly fantastic and the lows utterly horrible…" This well-documented 'rollercoaster' nature of self-employment presents a multitude of challenges, as freelance illustrator Barbara Dziadosz reveals: "There are times where you don't have enough jobs to cover your basic expenses, while there are other occasions when you don't have enough time to do all the commissions. It's a real balancing act between time and money, which is sometimes hard to handle." Barbara Dziadosz notes that the freelance life can be one of feast or famine While many try their best to prepare for such events, there's no escaping the unexpected: "There's a myth that there is only one big obstacle that you overcome when you work for yourself," says studio founder and creative, Benny Gold. "The truth is there are a ton of road bumps every day throughout your entire journey. What matters is how you react to them. You have to dust yourself off and get up every time you hit a bump in your path and move forwards." The art of going freelance Work out your schedule Bear in mind that not all your working hours are billable, says Jessica Hische If you're facing the issue of too little time, desperately trying to fit everything in and wondering where you're going wrong, you're not alone. "I think when I was starting out I couldn't have predicted how much time gets washed away to managing a career versus creating artwork," says lettering artist and author Jessica Hische. "It's led me to give advice to other freelancers to consider a 'full-time work week' as 20 hours of productive billable work – the rest is necessary, but not billable." Taking this approach and facing your limits early on means you can not only set realistic expectations of what's achievable, pricing your work and planning your time accordingly, but it also ensures your business is sustainable in the long run. We've all been there: booking yourself solid, working all hours (and for good reason: you have bills to pay), but you can't keep that pace up forever. Structure and socialising Factoring in some sort of structure for your day, which includes exercise, networking and socialisation, is vital. Knowing how to network stops the very real possibility of feeling isolated, especially if you work from home rather than a rented desk or studio space. I couldn't have predicted how much time gets washed away to managing a career versus creating artwork Jessica Hische Seeking out and attending creative events in your local area can offer real benefits. These opportunities enable you to support and connect with your creative community, opening up possibilities for collaborations or meeting like-minded friends, but it also eases the pressure of factoring in travel time and cost so you can do it a little more frequently than you would if it was further afield. For freelance designer Beci Orpin, removing the work/life barrier is what works for her. "There is no separation… it's all one big mess, which is just how I like it. I would completely steer away from anything I thought was 'networking', but I definitely go to lots of events (often not design-related) where I meet cool people doing good things." Build connections Try to drop in on other artists and designers if you get the chance, says Chris Parks Professional illustrator Chris Parks, aka Palehorse, meanwhile, also reaches out to fellow artists directly. "My wife has always pushed me to get over my introverted tendencies and hit up artists over the years that I admire when I'm travelling to their area. I ask if I can come by their studio or grab a coffee together. This practice has led to lasting friendships and some great opportunities that wouldn't have manifested if I never asked to come by and introduce myself. The key here is to be respectful of the artist's time and to be specific about the times you can drop by. Don't be late and don't keep them too long, but give it a try next time you travel – you might be surprised who says yes to a studio visit." Yet if it's the social side of an office you're missing, you may find a dedicated studio space or desk in a shared creative environment is worth investing in. For Hische, it was vital: "I go to design events and drink meet ups…and I share a studio with another lettering artist. [I've] found that sharing a workspace with other creatives is imperative for me as a freelancer – it allows me to be 'social' at work, to have people to bounce thoughts, ideas and work off of." If it's not viable for you to pay for a workspace outside the home, social media can be a lifeline during the good, bad and ugly moments you face on this freelancing rollercoaster. "…There are freelancers left, right and centre facing the exact same struggles that you are right now, so go and find them – for support, for camaraderie, even if it's just to vent," Tortora tells us. "It's one of the core reasons why I set up my side project, Doing It For The Kids." Also known as 'DIFTK', this online (and increasingly offline) community offers a place for its members to chat, collaborate, ask business-related questions and more. Manage the lulls An increasingly common situation is finding yourself with no bookings on the horizon and time on your hands. While it's easy to freak out, Orpin has this advice: "I read a cool thing recently: 'trust the timing of your life' – and that is why I try to do. My work has changed quite a bit over the years: the first 10 years or so were fashion-based work, as that was my main interest; then, once I had kids and was spending more time at home, my work was more illustration and homewares based." Beci Orpin's work has changed over the years, but she's happy as long as she's pushing forward She continues: "Once my books were published, my work kind of moved into more of an art director direction. These were natural progressions, but I paid attention to what was going on around me and made conscious decisions based on that. Through all these years there are also ebbs and flows – sometimes you are manically busy, sometimes you are really quiet. The quiet times can be hard and sometimes scary, but as long as you are still pushing yourself forward, and using that time to work on something personal or just do things, which will help your work in other ways – such as travel, visiting galleries, and so on – then they are just as important as the really busy times." Dziadosz agrees: "What I've learned in the past couple of years is to absolutely keep going. If I find myself in a situation with lots of time, I start a personal project, experiment or try to develop and evolve my style. This always draws attention and leads to new assignments that I wasn't sure would be there even just a few days prior. Overcoming those days, weeks or even months is very challenging and sometimes frustrating, but if you work hard enough it can pay off in the end." Exploit your side projects Benny Gold is a big believer in the power of side projects These personal projects are incredibly important to your creative practice. For Gold, his started to take shape while working full-time for a branding firm. What we now know as the well-established streetwear brand Benny Gold, began as a sticker with the slogan 'Stay Gold'. This evolved into a shirt and, eventually, a full collection. "I wouldn't be where I am without a side project," he tells us. "Side projects are amazing for many reasons," confirms Hische, "They can help scratch creative itches you're not scratching through client work, they can help show clients what kind of work you want to be doing if you're not currently being hired to do it, and they can translate into additional income, either directly or indirectly. I wouldn't be where I am without a side project Benny Gold Most of my side projects haven't directly generated additional income (Daily Drop Cap being the exception, since I've made prints of the arts and have licensed them a bit for projects), but they've been incredibly helpful to my career. They bring in new audiences, show that there is a brain behind the art, and help form a more complete picture of who I am as a person and artist – more people can see that." Make money with products If generating additional income is one of your goals, digital products are a great way of branching out without having to rely on start-up cash. Whether that's content for stock sites, editable templates or online classes and workshops, there's massive potential there. "Yes, there's potentially a lot of work in setting these things up," says Tortora, "but once they're up and running the benefits can be huge and just take the edge off that constant need to find client work." Need extra money? Try selling digital products, suggests Francesca Tortora Palehorse has run a couple of successful online courses sharing his illustration knowledge: "I love Skillshare…it's an excellent way to make some residual income. I've also created many digital download books, vector sets and fonts for IllustratedMonthly.com that sells reference and royalty-free files for tattoo artists and designers, along with printed art books." Dziadosz, meanwhile, prefers the analogue approach: "I've always been passionate about print making and book binding," she explains. "The other thing I really enjoy is screenprinting… the technique changed the way I think about illustration. [It's] also given me the opportunity to sell some prints and make a little extra money. When I don't have enough time to do original prints, I sell fine art prints of my illustrations through my online shop." Focus on revenue streams While it's important to create additional revenue streams where possible, it can be difficult to even begin thinking of ideas if you are going through a rough patch. "Know that this is just a phase and that you will come out the other side…" says Tortora. "Be proactive, ask for help and keep faith." "I think exploring ideas and seeing what did and didn't work for me is an important part of running my business," Orpin tells us. "I ran a clothing label called Princess Tina for almost 10 years. In retrospect, we were pretty poor at running a clothing line – it sold well, but we were always late with deliveries! But it taught me a lot about what I am good and bad at, and it also supported my freelance design work." Be proactive, ask for help and keep faith Francesca Tortora Reflecting on the high and low points is important at any stage of the business, as is adjusting the course where necessary. "[Freelancing is] constantly both rewarding and difficult," adds Hische. "I still struggle with fears that the bottom will drop out from under me (which I think affects anyone who works for themselves and whose only 'job security' rests in their own hands). "Generally I do feel like when I have those moments, it's because my schedule has gotten out of control, that I'm behind on work, or that I've been saying yes to projects I should have said no to. Feeling like you do have control to right the ship is very powerful, and it's important to realise as a freelancer. It can be really easy to go on autopilot and let the jobs coming in determine which path your life should take, but you do have the ability to show people what work you want to be doing through past work." Yet, if you're still struggling, take a bit of time out to really consider what you're looking for from your career. "Remember freelance life isn't for everyone," says Orpin. "It requires a personality type and a willingness to sometimes live on the edge of the poverty line! Maybe that is not for you. If you are happy – keep on pushing through. If not, go back to being employed – there is no shame in that." This article was originally published in issue 283 of Computer Arts, the world's best-selling design magazine. Buy issue 283 here or subscribe to Computer Arts here. Related articles: 5 ways to get more freelance work in 2019 Studio vs freelance: The pros and cons 20 tools that make freelancing easier View the full article

Anish Kapoor, if you're reading this, you might want to click away now. We're not usually ones to turn away readers, especially Turner Prize-winning sculptors, but the team of artists behind the blackest black acrylic paint Kickstarter have made it pretty clear they don't want Kapoor getting his hands on their creation. Feeling left in the dark? Let us shed some light on the situation. Back in 2014, a UK-based industrial equipment supplier called Surrey NanoSystems developed the blackest material, Vantablack. Capable of absorbing 99.96% of light, Vantablack has plenty of potential commercial uses, but Anish Kapoor took out an exclusive licence that meant only he could use the paint (although certain other parties such as museums and research facilities are allowed to request a sample). How to master colour theory This agreement caused outrage in the creative community. Artist Stuart Semple didn't want other painters to be denied access to the colour, so over the last two years he's been working with other artists at Culture Hustle to develop Black 3.0. Black 3.0 certainly looks blacker than other commercial paints According to Semple and his team, the "super special" Black 3.0 is the blackest black acrylic paint available. Capable of absorbing between 98 and 99% of light, Black 3.0 might not be quite as black as Vantablack, but as far as acrylic paints go, it looks like it's as dark as artists are going to get. So what makes Black 3.0 so black, and even blacker than the team's last paint, Black 2.0? To make sure as little light escapes from it as possible, Semple and his team went back to the basics of paint-making. In doing so, they removed reflective pigments and created a new matte alternative. They also formulated a new acrylic polymer that led to a denser pigment load and depth of colour. To flatten out the last bits of stray light, brand new nano-mattifiers were sourced. In short: Black 3.0 is very black. All of this impressive scientific development can't stop Kapoor from using Black 3.0 though. In fact, Culture Hustle has already had a run-in with the artist after he purchased its pinkest pink, despite a disclaimer explicitly forbidding him from doing so. Kapoor even took to Instagram to celebrate his achievement. This isn't the only time colour has landed Kapoor in hot water. Last year he made headlines after a man feel into his painted hole installation. And while the installation predated the development of Vantablack by decades, its pretty clear that colour and illusions are a source of fascination for the artist. It remains to be seen if Kapoor will buy Black 3.0, but if you want to order it for your own creative work, then there's still plenty of time to support the now fully-funded Kickstarter, which runs until 22 March. Pledge rewards are currently going from £25 and ship worldwide, so if you want to get your hands on the blackest black acrylic paint, now's your chance. Related articles: 7 must-know painting techniques for artists How to choose which paint brush to use 10 essential oil painting tips and techniques View the full article

It's easy to build a brand and boost your social media following with a helper like Appz Instagram Assistant. With a Lifetime Subscription for just $39.99, you can access this Google Chrome extension that allows you to automatically like, comment and follow users and posts that are similar to yours. Using your hashtags of interest, this tool will build you a newsfeed with content you'll enjoy seeing. You'll also be able to access a user-friendly dashboard that helps you track your own activity and engagement statistics. Conveniently, you can manage multiple Instagram accounts from one single dashboard. Appz Instagram Assistant: Lifetime Subscription is yours for just $39.99. Related articles: A designer's guide to Instagram Stories How to make money on Instagram as a creative 5 ways to go viral on Instagram View the full article

You're reading 19 Free Fonts You’ll Want to Use in 2019, Trends and Examples, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook, Google+! Every new year comes with lists of new design trends and techniques you’ll be using in the months to come. But what about typography? While type trends are often parts of these lists, there aren’t as many devoted to fonts … View the full article

Part two of RSA’s Conference Advisory Board look into the future tackles how approaches to cybersecurity must evolve to meet new emerging challenges. View the full article

The power of ZBrush means that by following some tutorials and getting in plenty of practice, any budding 3D artist can soon produce great-looking results. However, if your aim is stunning results that are suitable for the big screen, then you're going to have to up your game a lot. The 17 best ZBrush tutorials To help you out, we asked three A-list artists – Maarten Verhoeven (tips 01-05), Gaurav Kumar (tips 06-10) and Madeleine Scott-Spencer (tips 11-15) for their pro tips on getting the most out of ZBrush to produce work that stands apart from the rest. Here's what they had to say. 01. Set work screen Make sure you're not wasting any screen space A very basic but important thing to do is set your work screen in a way that lets you utilise it fully. Go to Document in the toolbar and set the size of your document monitor resolution to make sure there are no unused areas. You can also change the ZBrush screen from grey to gradient black for a consistent background screen. Thirdly, I would suggest that you change the material from MatCap Red to MatCap Grey or basic grey material. 3D art: 27 stunning examples to inspire you 02. Customise your UI Speed up your workflow by moving your favourite features onto the interface This is a very effective way to increase the speed of your work. Go to Preferences in your toolbar, select Config > Enable Customize. By pressing ctrl+alt you can move any button, pallet or brush onto your ZBrush interface. Once you've added your most-used brushes and options to your UI go back to Config and click Save UI and Store Config. This will help to make your creative process easier and faster. 03. Use the timeline With the timeline you can easily check your model from all angles This is a great way to move quickly from one angle to another. When working on a large model it becomes difficult to see it from all sides, so you can go to Movie in the toolbar and under Timeline turn on Show. This will put the timeline camera on the top of the screen, so you can position your model and click on the timeline to add a keyframe. This can be done in any position that you may need to see again or work on quickly, and you can move through them quickly using the arrow keys. 04. Create basic forms in low subdivision It's easier to manage a lighter mesh than a heavy one Create most of the shapes of the model in the lowest subdivision so that the forms can be made correctly with the least poly. It's much easier to manage and edit a lighter mesh than a heavy one. Always try to sculpt in the same flow of muscles or skin to make the model look real. 05. Transpose smart masking Transpose will mask an entire surface, leaving out any raised spaces Transpose is a smart tool for masking certain areas of your model. If you hold ctrl then click and drag the model, you can mask with the Transpose Smart brush. It will look at the surface and mask the rest of the area, leaving any raised spaces, as seen in the image. 06. Amp detail the easy way Ryan Kittleson's Macro script can really enhance sculpted details Go and search Ryan Kittleson's Macro script. It could save you some time when sharpening up your sculpted details. Install the script and find it in your Macros folder, then sit back and let it work its magic. 07. Make use of Sculptris Pro Sculptris Pro is another handy way to add details to models You can use Sculptris Pro to add details to your already-decimated models; instead of re-DynaMeshing your prepared sculpt, just go in again with Sculptris Pro without the restrictions. You can easily modify and add small details until you're happy. 08. Use Polypaint to add colour A little bit of Polypaint can go a long way Polypaint is very useful when it comes to adding colour to your piece. The most important thing, however, is to let the sculpt do its magic. All the sculpted details will pick up the highlights. When applying the Polypaint start rough and tweak it with the RGB value of your brush. A little bit of Polypaint can get a big result when it comes to the final image. 09. Shrink wrap retop Retopologising your sculpt can be much more animation-friendly One of the main ways to create stunning models these days is to sculpt the initial form in programs like ZBrush or Mudbox and then retopologise the sculpt. This is the process where you create new geometry that is more animation-friendly, more predictable with contiguous edge loops and much lower in polygon count, making it more efficient. You can of course do this in Cinema 4D with tools like the Polygon. To make it even better you can download scripts like the HB Modelling Bundle that make Cinema 4D into a perfect retop solution, enabling you to draw new geometry right onto your sculpt. Find a range of options here. 10. Utilise skin alphas Try blending different types of alphas with positive and negative values Try to blend different types of alphas with a positive and negative value over each other. Try switching out between big ones and small ones to give it a natural blend. Also, for adding veins a small trick that I use is to go down a few subdivisions and draw in the vein – if you step up again, it will blend in perfectly like it's under the surface, instead of laying on top. 11. Use Accurate Curve Mode for spines/spikes AccuCurve will give you a much sharper Move brush One aspect of the Move brush is that the falloff tends to create a rounded centre to the brush effect, making it difficult to create a sharp protrusion like a spine, spike or peak. To fix this you can edit the settings of the Move brush. Select the Move brush then go to Brush > Curve and turn on the AccuCurve button. This forces ZBrush to use the brush curve in this menu to define the falloff of the brush. The result as you can see is a sharp, precise Move brush. 12. Adjust the smooth brush settings Try editing your Smooth brush to make it more effective on open geometry edges and single points When using the Smooth brush many users realise how difficult it can be to smooth border edges on poly geometry or single stray points that have been shifted from the original model, as sometimes happens when projecting geometry. Smoothing these geometry types can often produce unsatisfying results. A good tip is to edit your Smooth brush settings to allow the brush to be more effective on open geometry edges and single points. Go to the Brush > Smooth Brush Settings menu and lower the Min Connected slider to 1. The Smooth brush will now be much more effective in these areas. 13. Use Polish Features to clean up panel loops Give your model a nice machined look by polishing by features When generating panel loops from polygroups, we often find that the edges of the mask and the resulting polygroup creates an irregular shape to our panel loop geometry. A great way to correct this and give the model a nice machined look is to polish by features. This slider is found under Tool > Deformations. After you have generated your panel loops open the Deformation sub-menu and click on the Radial button on the Smooth by Features slider. This will look like a black dot in a circle rather than a white dot. Now raise the slider incrementally and you will see the edges of your loops clean up and look far more pleasing. 14. Use Draw Size and Dynamic mode buttons ZBrush now lets you enable a per-brush Draw Size and Dynamic mode Often when I'm working in ZBrush I will make changes to my draw size and in many cases the Dynamic setting on my brush. Previously this setting was global for all brushes, so if you were to make a change to your draw size whilst working in curves it would impact any other brushes in use. In the new ZBrush you can now enable a per-brush Draw Size and per-brush Dynamic mode. Simply enable the buttons at the top of the screen to have far more control over each brush setting. 15. Use Morph Targets to help blend off detail The Morph brush can be much better for blending textures than the Smooth brush One of the trickiest aspects of adding fine details to a model is finding the best way to fade one texture into another, or to fade out details completely. We want to avoid a uniform 'stamped-on' look. Before I start to add fine details I will store a morph target of my model in its undetailed state by going to Tool > Morph Target > Store MT. Now as I detail the mesh I can use the Morph brush to blend back out to the undetailed surface. This is much better than smoothing because the Smooth brush erases detail while the Morph brush will gently reduce its intensity. It's a much more effective blending brush. This article was originally published in issue 239 of 3D World, the world's best-selling magazine for CG artists. Buy issue 239 here or subscribe to 3D World here. Related articles: ZBrush 2018 review 14 ZBrush workflow tips ZBrush at the movies View the full article

It's nothing new to promote the idea that accessibility should be a key consideration at the start of any design project. In reality, tight budgets and timescales can often render the big features needed to make our digital products fully accessible either neglected or considered ‘something to add in later’. The end result is that while broad-brush accessibility best practices get implemented, many of the finer elements of accessibility or inclusive design can often be overlooked. Fortunately, as you’ll see, many of these oversights can be addressed with minimal effort. 7 hot web trends for 2019 Taking just a handful of these points into consideration may help empower an additional percentage of your audience to better engage with your digital products in ways that they otherwise wouldn’t have been able to. 01. Remember alt text In a world in which uploading visual assets to the internet is as commonplace as starting your day with a coffee – Instagram alone estimates 100 million images are added daily to its platform – we can easily overlook the need for alt text on images and videos when adding content to our own websites and apps. Consider the percentage of your audience that may be using screen readers to consume your content; if you’re anything like GOV.UK, you may not be catering for 29 per cent of your users . When choosing your visuals, be sure to consider the alt text that will accompany them in order to provide context in relation to the rest of the elements on the page. You’ll be catering for screen readers, users viewing as text-only and failed loading states. Naming your image layers in your design files with their alt text labels will challenge you to really question the suitability of the images you’re selecting, as you’ll read them for what they are. 02. Consider animations carefully The Arche 68 menu taking you for a spin Those gorgeous parallax sites and GIF-tastic web pages you’ve been designing have certainly pushed the online storytelling experience no end, but with 35 per cent of people over the age of 40 suffering from a vestibular disorder, there’s a chance you may make users suffer nausea and motion sickness by going too heavy on the animation. The Arche 68 front page menu is an amazing experiment in animated typography, but can leave even those with the strongest stomachs feeling a little giddy after a minute or two of scrolling. To address this you could consider providing the option to either disable scrolling animations or to provide a static alternative for viewing your content. Slack provides the option to hide animated images and emojis, demonstrating that motion can be an optional enhancement rather than a must-have feature for all users. 03. Think about other languages Accents overlapping when translating from English to French with a tight line-height Not all projects you work are going to require the content to be translated into multiple languages, but remember that accessibility and inclusivity extends beyond the need to cater for those with visual or auditory impairments. Making your line heights too tight can cause all manner of issues when translating into French, for example, as character accents such as the accent grave (à, è, ù) may be overlapped and get lost, rendering an entirely different meaning – for example à = ‘to’ versus a = ‘has’. Other languages like Arabic read right to left so will have a big impact on the way blocks of text are rendered and consequently the way that page flows will be read. 13 best pieces of user testing software When designing for a global audience, your templates and design systems have a better chance of scaling if you consider the myriad ways alternative languages can affect type layout at the start of the design process. Try mocking up your design files in one or two alternative languages to see if they’ll stand up to translation; it’ll make things easier should this requirement be added later. 04. Keep it straightforward Given the estimation that around one per cent of the UK population are on the autistic spectrum, it’s important to consider words at face value. Emojis and quirky copylines are great fun and help give brands personality but when addressing serious subjects, writing in plain English will help negate any ambiguity for users, especially when helping them to make important decisions. Be mindful of the diversity of your audience and the tone in which you intend the copy to be read in to keep your message on point. 05. Use simple colours and shapes The Spectrum plugin for Chrome enables you to simulate different levels of colour blindness Shapes and colours are so important for various reasons and can have a huge effect on a user’s experience. When we consider the autistic spectrum, colour blindness and other visual difficulties, your choices of colour can be extremely challenging to differentiate between or even recognise. It is considered that bright and high-contrast arrangements of colours can be hard and overwhelming for autistic users to process; their attention can be easily lost, so try to use simple colours and shapes. Equally, a user with colour blindness will rely heavily on contrasting colours. Approximately one in 12 men and one in 200 women around the world are affected by colour blindness. Choices like red and green, green and blue, blue and purple and green and brown can be troublesome. Try using a colour-testing tool like the Chrome plugin Spectrum. This enables you to analyse your web pages and simulate colour blindness scenarios. You could also use Userway’s Contrast Checker to test your text and background colours and see if they are WCAG 2.0 AA or AAA compliant. 06. Empower the user Imagine a digital experience that gives you the opportunity to consume content in the way that best suits your needs. With Harry Potter, you can read the book, watch the film or listen to the audiobook. These three methods empower fans to enjoy the story in the way that suits them and is inclusive of those that are deaf, dyslexic or visually impaired. Reveal News does this brilliantly with a number of its online long-form articles, the sexual abuse investigation story Rape on the Night Shift being a great example of this. It offers up the options to either read, watch or listen to the same story all within the same interface. Next time you’re planning your content strategy, it may be worth considering the multiple ways it can be served up, as you’ll not only benefit those with disabilities, you’ll actually provide a much more flexible way for all users to enjoy your offering. 07. Offer multiple options Communication can be challenging for users with visual or hearing difficulties. It may be that a user is hard of hearing or deaf and requires the option to respond to a request in writing, or that they have a visual impairment, in which case a phone call may be the preferred means of contact. Providing communication preferences can be a really important consideration to successfully engage with people who face these challenges, so always keep this in mind when designing your next contact page. 08. Offer customisations It’s so easy to get caught up with how a brand should be visualised online. Sometimes your brands, typography and colour may not be enough or just obstruct an accessible experience. Ideally, you should enable users to customise their viewing preferences, changing themes (light/dark or colour variations) and text sizes. A study by E-Check concluded 70 per cent of websites are potentially breaking the law and are at a significant potential commercial, PR or legal risk. There are many factors but providing the user with a customisable experience can help them visualise content better. Take the Guide Dogs website as an example, where users are able to alter text size throughout the website and even change the colour mode. It is known that contrast is very important for users with visual restrictions, so providing alternative themes can be really useful. 09. Think about tabbing It’s easy to get lost when trying to navigate Pinterest armed only with a keyboard Over 50 per cent of internet traffic now originates from mobile devices, though as a designer you’re pretty likely to still be equipped with a keyboard and mouse, much like the remaining half of the population. Of that population, there are a number of people (an estimated 7 per cent of working adults) with ‘severe dexterity difficulty’, rendering them reliant on a keyboard alone to navigate menus and webpages on their computers. The impact this has on design is twofold. The first concerns page layout: can users with a keyboard tab through your page in the order you intended the content to be read? Ever tried tabbing through Pinterest’s masonry grid? It’s near impossible to work out where you are in the flow of the page because the focus jumps. The second concern for tabbing is the actual visual representation of the focus state. Most browsers have default focus states out of the box but some websites like Smashing Magazine have gone the extra mile to create their own style that adopts a thick dashed red line rather than the generic light blue boxes of Chrome or Safari, which don’t work so well if your backgrounds or buttons are light blue themselves. To truly cater for keyboard-only users, it’s worth taking the time to consider how each of the components of your design system or style guide will appear in their focused state and then work with your developers to perfect these in the browser. 10. Don't forget the bots Human beings are not the only ones that read websites; bots do too. Consider voice-controlled devices and those clever little Google bots that crawl the web every waking hour. Websites are being scanned and analysed by many technologies, including assistive software. Screen readers are just one of the many types of this assistive software and are used by 90 per cent of people with varying levels of visual impairment. The way your website is structured is really important. The formatting of content and alt text is what is mostly read by screen readers. Think about how the HTML is ordered and if the flow of content matches your own visual experience of the web page. 11. Get the right line length and amount of text Engagement is needed to capture an audience’s interest but it’s easy to forget that words matter when it comes to keeping your user focused. The challenge is to write enough to be informative, while at the same time keeping reading fairly light work. Large textual areas can be quite intimidating. It’s not just about how much text you have though; it’s the way you display it that can often make reading a challenge for some users. The line length for your text can help with that. If a line of text is too long, the reader’s eyes will have a hard time focusing, as the line length makes it difficult to gauge where the line starts or ends. It can also be difficult to continue on to the correct line in large text blocks. Furthermore, if a line is too short the eye will have to travel back too often, breaking the reader’s rhythm. Shorter lines also tend to stress readers, making them begin on the next before finishing the current one. To help with this, it is considered that 50 to 60 characters per line will ensure comfortable reading. Take a look at Medium for a masterclass in how reading can be a pleasure. 12. Avoid anxiety-inducing prompts The Ticketmaster countdown in full flow We’re all familiar with the flashing ‘In high demand!’ and ‘Last chance!’ messages on Booking.com. We’re also distinctly aware of the countdown in the corner of the screen when ordering tickets on Ticketmaster. One can only imagine the rise in conversion rates due to these features, but what if these experiences cause genuine anxiety for some users? More than one in 10 people are likely to suffer a ‘disabling anxiety disorder' at some stage of their life and as designers we should do what we can to avoid contributing towards this problem. There are a number of UX patterns that aim to rush users into taking actions, especially booking processes, where timeouts are an inevitability. As a forward step we can look to cater for those who will take longer to use our applications by gently notifying them that a time limit is in place and giving them the option to extend the time needed as appropriate. When designing your next booking flow, make sure you include the timeout scenario as part of the sequence and that you strive to create an interface that empowers users to complete, rather than sending them into a panic. 13. Add in verifications and checks Monzo offers three layers of verification when making payments For sufferers of anxiety, there is nothing worse than being left to question the validity of information or data submitted into the digital ether unintentionally. Getting to the end of a lengthy form or booking process rich with important information and pressing ‘next', only to discover that your data has been submitted without the option to undo can be a stressful experience, especially when money is involved. When designing flows that have a consequential call to action at the end, it’s well worth bearing in mind that many users – including those suffering from anxiety – will appreciate the option to double-check that they’ve filled everything out correctly. Monzo does this brilliantly when sending payments, offering customers three layers of verification in one tidy interface. At the final stage of making a bank transfer, you can perform a final check of the amount to be sent, the sort code and account number of the recipient, as well as having to enter your card’s PIN number to confirm the transaction. 14. Confirm the end of a user journey A lot of energy can go into understanding user journeys and providing the best user experience but you can find yourself falling short in some scenarios. When a user comes to the end of a process, interaction or submission, the final screen should confirm their actions and inform them of what’s next, even if it’s simply a message that says something like ‘Let’s take you back to the home page’. Any form of confirmation can be really rewarding to the user and lower any anxieties they may have. This article originally appeared in issue 314 of net magazine; subscribe here. Lead image: Taras Shypka Read more: 20 best UI design tools The world's biggest websites take on the 10 year challenge A guide to Google's web tools View the full article

Originality in design is a thorny subject. While direct, intentional rip-offs are rightly condemned by the international creative community – as well as falling foul of trademark law, of course – it's not always that clear cut. As Oscar Wilde reportedly once said, tongue firmly in cheek: “Talent borrows, genius steals." But regardless of whether you steal deliberately, unless your logo design is particularly unusual, the chances are that someone, somewhere will have had a similar basic idea. This is especially true when it comes to simple shapes, monograms, and visual metaphors. When similar logos overlap sectors, however tenuously, that's often when lawyers get involved The skill in creating an original logo design comes in finding that differentiator – from a simple but clever flourish, to building a rich brand world in which the logo is just one small part. The other key consideration is whether the similar logos occupy the same sector – W+K's Formula 1 logo famously fell foul of compression tights manufacturer 3M in 2018 because F1 also produces clothing, and the logos (above) were too similar to ignore. Read on to discover eight more pairs of logos that bear striking similarities to each other... so much so that in some cases, lawyers got involved. 01. Airbnb vs Azuma Drive-In Designed in 1975, the logo for Japanese drive-in Azuma (left) bears remarkable similarities to Airbnb's Bélo When DesignStudio announced its new Bélo symbol for Airbnb in 2014, a symbol of "coming together" and "belonging anywhere", the internet went wild – comparing it to everything from genitalia to Peter Griffin's chin. But it also attracted comparisons with other logos, from Habitat to Monocle magazine and, as Erik Spiekermann pointed out on Twitter at the time, lesser-known brands Automation Anywhere (which has since rebranded) and Network. But look even further back, and you'll find an even more remarkably similar symbol employed by a Japanese drive-in called Azuma, designed in 1975. Did DesignStudio rip off Azuma? We seriously doubt it – the symbol, drawn with a single flowing line, is just too satisfyingly simple not to have been independently created before. 02. National Film Board vs Virtual Global Taskforce How many ways can you draw an eye with legs? Sometimes the same visual metaphor crops up in very different sectors When it comes to visual metaphors, however smart, there's always a chance someone else will have thought of it – albeit with a different meaning in mind. A giant eye, combined with a stick figure so that the pupil doubles as the head, formed the National Film Board of Canada's distinctive 1969 logo. Known as 'Man Seeing', it was intended to symbolise a vision of humanity – and has since been reworked to crop in more tightly for its modern-day logo. Meanwhile, Virtual Global Taskforce – an organisation that tackles online sexual abuse of children – somehow arrived at a remarkably similar visual representation for its rather different line of business, depicting an all-seeing eye roaming the internet and watching over children. Coincidence? Well, yes. It seems so. 03. Starbucks vs Starpreya American coffee giant Starbucks lost a court battle with similar-looking South Korean brand Starpreya Next we come to a David vs Goliath-style clash of similar logos within the same sector: Seattle-born, global coffee giant Starbucks, and Elpreya, a relatively tiny South Korean company that sells coffee under the brand Starpreya – a name derived from the Norse goddess Freja. Elpreya began trading in 1999, the same year Starbucks opened its first South Korean store. Both brands featured the brand name wrapped around a green circle, and a female character in the centre, white on a black background. And more crucially, they both sold coffee. 33 graphic design books every designer should read Starbucks claimed copyright infringement, but the Korean Intellectual Property Tribunal disagreed, arguing that the marks were too dissimilar to be confused. The Tribunal's degree of impartiality is another question – but the underdog won this time. In 2011, with Lippincott's help, Starbucks later ditched its green circle and made the mermaid an even more distinctive, ownable brand asset. 04. Ubuntu vs Human Rights First These stylised depictions of people holding hands in a circle both represent collaboration, but in very different sectors Rather like the eye with legs in our second example, the remarkable similarity between these logos for dramatically different businesses can surely be put down to the universal nature of some visual metaphors. Ubuntu is an open-source software operating system, while Human Rights Foundation (hrf) does as the name suggests. Their common ground is communities working together towards a shared goal, and the simple graphic representation of a circle of people linking hands expresses that equally well in both sectors. 05. Gucci vs Chanel Fashion brands Gucci and Chanel both employ monograms based on interlocking geometric characters Monograms are common in the world of fashion logos, so it's no surprise that two big-hitting high-fashion brands have found some common ground when it comes to interlocking similarly shaped characters together. The fact that Gucci's two 'G's and Chanel's two 'C's are both based on a geometric typeface doesn't help, as you essentially end up with overlapping circles at the core of the logo. But there are notable differences: the Gs face inwards, while the Cs are back to back. Gucci employs a thinner line weight, and the logomark is also used smaller relative to the wordmark than Chanel. Gucci has had bigger concerns than Chanel in recent years, however: its nine-year legal battle with Guess over its own interpretation of interlocking Gs (in this case, four rather than two), as well as other alleged design imitations, finally came to an end in 2018 with an undisclosed agreement. 06. Beats by Dre vs Stadt Brühl Lots of designers will have put a 'b' within a circle to make a logo. It's what you do with it that counts... We'll be brief with this one. If common ground is likely to be found with monogram logos, when a business uses a single letter to represent itself it is inevitable that there'll be a coincidentally similar logo to be found in another sector. Such is the case with the logo for Beats by Dre, which fits a lowercase 'b' in the Bauhaus typeface inside a circle, to resemble headphones. Is it strikingly similar to Anton Stankowski's 1971 identity for the city of Stadt Brühl? Well, yes, but it seems like an unlikely source of inspiration to say the least. 07. Sun Microsystems vs Columbia Sportswear These logos may seem similar in structure, but the smart use of a graphic ambigram takes the Sun logo to the next level Designed by computer science professor Vaughan Pratt in the 1980s, the Sun Microsystems logo is a 'rotationally symmetrical chain ambigram' – which in layman's terms means it reads 'sun' whichever way you rotate it. On a brutally simple level, if you screw up your eyes and ignore that all-important graphic flourish, Columbia Sportswear's logomark is certainly similar. It's formed from interlocking shapes with rounded ends, rotated at the same angle, and is usually locked up with the wordmark on the left-hand-side, at the same scale. Columbia's stylised interlocking shapes symbolise a textile weave pattern, but the logo is missing the smart twist that takes Sun's logo to the next level. That twist also ensured the Sun logo stood the test of time until the company's 2010 acquisition by Oracle. 08. PayPal vs Pandora PayPal customers were confused by the similarities with the new Pandora logo, and these complaints even formed part of the proceeding court case We finish with another battle between similar logos that ended up getting the lawyers involved – and proves that the universal approach of using a single letter to represent your brand isn't necessarily safe territory after all, especially if there is more than one similarity to your logo and another brand's. When music-streaming service Pandora unveiled its logo in 2016, complete with a filled-in counter within its cyan-coloured letter 'P', PayPal wasn't happy. Its two overlapping blue Ps, both sporting filled-in counters, certainly had some striking similarities – particularly when seen small as an app icon. Indeed, as part of its 2017 court case, PayPal submitted over 100 pages worth of social media posts from users who were confused between the two apps. A settlement was agreed, and three months later a new, jazzy, multi-coloured Pandora logo was rolled out – the same outline shape with a filled-in counter, but decorated with wavy lines that added purple, red and orange to the original blue. Read more: Which logo do you wish you'd designed? Where to find logo design inspiration 20 iconic logos drawn hilariously from memory View the full article

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When you think of good ol' Blighty, then perhaps images of Big Ben, red phone boxes and the Union Flag spring to mind. And when your everyday Brit thinks of crisps, chances are they think of Walkers. As part of a rebrand, Walkers has now brought the worlds of British icons and potato snacks together to strengthen its connection with shoppers. Designed in partnership with PepsiCo and Vault49, the Walkers redesign sees the packets of its core range of flavours get a patriotic new look that packs a modern, premium feel. Unveiled yesterday, the packaging design for the crisps sees the distinctive red and yellow Walkers logo drop from the top of its bags to sit squarely in the middle. 38 standout packaging designs Surrounding the logo are playful hand-crafted illustrations that sum up modern Britain in a whimsical way. Look closely and you'll spot a pigeon wearing John Lennon-style sunglasses and a squirrel sporting a bowler hat and scampering around famous British landmarks such as the Angel of the North. Walkers crisps and Britain, together at last Cementing a connection with the British public makes sense when you consider that Walkers sells more than five times as many packs of crisps to people in the UK than its nearest rival. And for a company that makes seven million packs every day, that's a heck of a lot of crisps. "It's one of those rare brands that taps into something deeper than the feelings people usually have for companies," says Jonathan Kenyon, co-founder and executive creative director at Vault49. As if this wasn't a strong enough tie to the public, the new bags also proudly announce that Walkers crisps are made out of 100 per cent great British potatoes. It's a nice little reminder that will help bring the brand even closer to shoppers. See the new design in action below. Featuring a mix of gloss and matte finishes, the new design is intended to stand out on the shelf and outshine pretenders to the throne – including any copycat brands. But with this rebrand, Walkers will stand head and shoulders above the competition. "The eye-catching new design makes it easier for UK consumers to find their favourite crisps and will deepen the already special relationship they have with the Walkers brand," says David Marchant at PepsiCo's UK Design Centre "We feel honoured to have been asked to work with PepsiCo to keep Walkers in this enviable market position," adds Kenyon. "We've had great fun bringing the element of storytelling to life, creating a design that Britain can be proud of and excited to buy, but without losing sight of the importance of communicating the heritage and quality of such an iconic brand." Related articles: Online packaging archive is a design delight 6 times brands temporarily changed their packaging 4 top tips for successful seasonal packaging View the full article

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It's many designers' ultimate goal to become the creative director of a successful agency. Not everyone gets to achieve their dream – you need more than a great creative resume to make it as a great creative director. It takes skill, talent, top-notch management skills and plenty more besides. However, you can put yourself in a better position to achieve your goal if you pay heed to advice from those who have been there and done that. So what kind of qualities do you need to become a creative director? In this article, we've asked creative directors from leading studios for their advice on how to make it. 01. Treat every project like it's your first "My responsibility is to ensure all creative is to the high standard we set here," says Martin Widdowfield, creative director at Robot Food (the studio behind the opening image for this article). For Widdowfield, an easy way to do this is to treat every job like it's your first – with all the excitement and fear that comes with that. "Every job, big or small should be given the same energy. Complacency is the killer of good creative and spreads like wildfire if left to do so." 02. Trust your team As creative director, it's your job to look after your team and encourage them to flourish. And that means one of the most important qualities you need to have is the ability to trust others to do a good job. "It's incredibly hard, as most creative directors are creatives who have worked really hard to get to the position where they are listened to," say the Gary Holt, David Law and Simon Manchipp of SomeOne. They have all this knowledge and skills that they naturally want to pass on to their juniors – but that, the trio say, is not what a creative director is there for. "No hot young designer wants some 45-year-old droning on about photosetting and waxers. They want their ideas approved and published. The client wants the best, most exciting, progressive, and effective idea to create a monopoly for their product, service or organisation. Not something dug up from a 1980s sketchbook. Great creative directors hire really, really good people. Then let them do really, really creative work." 03. Don't run a dictatorship A major part of the creative director role is to do with mentoring your team. "I’m a firm believer that everyone has ideas and my job is to help bring them to fruition," says Widdowfield. "It doesn’t matter if you’re a senior or straight from university, everyone at Robot Food has the opportunity to put their mark on the agency and is encouraged to do so." Robot Food took inspiration from tattoo culture in this project for beauty brand Electronic Ink 04. Give good feedback "Look after your studio family and encourage them to flourish," say the SomeOne CDs. "See the good in everything they do, but be consistent in your advice. Widdowfield agrees, stressing the importance of good feedback in particular. "CDs need to be confident and decisive, yet patient enough to help nurture ideas without stressing the designer. I’ve had too many experiences in my early career, where a CD gets frustrated on an idea and doesn’t offer any form of constructive feedback to help." 05. Get your hands dirty sometimes As is common the further up you move in a design company, becoming a creative director tends to result in less time in front of Photoshop and more time managing and guiding others. "My own role still involves some hands-on design/copywriting, but very often it's about me taking the lead on a project, working with the client on the overall approach and then briefing my team to create something wonderful," says creative director Chris Jones. That means checking in on the project throughout its development, and making sure it's staying true to the brief and providing what the target audience wants. But be careful not to lose touch completely. "I believe creative directors should get their hands dirty sometimes," says Widdowfield. "It's all too easy to dictate some instructions and let the creative struggle to translate that idea on their own." 06. Be happy to be hated As a creative director, you'll be responsible for guiding artistic decisions. And to truly stand out, you'll need to be willing to take some risks. "It is far too easy to be liked; you just have to be accommodating and hold no strong convictions," say SomeOne. "Then you will gravitate towards the centre and be average. That cannot be your role." SomeOne knows the importance of pushing boundaries – such as in this work for the Natural History Museum 07. Stay true to your studio's vision While it's important to keep things fresh and push new ideas, you also need to have a clear understanding of your company's identity. "A good creative director has to have a clear understanding of their agency vision," says Widdowfield. "Without this, work is not going to deliver on the image the agency wants and in turn won’t attract the desired work in the future." 08. Know when to shut up "Whether it's clients or your own team, creative directors should spend a lot of time listening. Really listening," stresses Jones. In order to really get to the bottom of what a client's issues are, he tries to sit back and mainly listen in meetings, only speaking when he has a really good question to ask. "It should be all about the client, not the agency," he adds. "Similarly, in-house you need to take the time to listen to your team and accept that you can learn from them." SomeOne echoes Jones' advice: "Great creative directors may listen to their clients for hours. Because somewhere deep in all those spreadsheets, PowerPoints, briefs and data is the spark that they can pass on to the creative minds that will put pen to paper. They must choose that spark very, very carefully, or risk a fire that can take down the entire ship." 09. Don't let bad things happen to good ideas "The best creative directors do something entirely different," says SomeOne. "They trust talented people to do talented things. Then stop bad things happening to the work, and to the people. Often without the people even knowing it." Gary Holt, David Law and Simon Manchipp have all been creative directors of SomeOne 10. Share the love Share what you know with the wider world. It's helpful for less experienced designers, and helps strengthen the design community as a whole. "Don’t keep it to yourself and don't be paranoid about sharing your expertise, even with competitors," says Jones. "Writing blogs and speaking at conferences are both great ways of getting stuff out there and have the added benefit of helping you meet new people and sparking debate." 11. Create the right environment For creatives, the right studio environment have a big impact on the work created – everything from what's on the walls to the mood in the studio is important. "It's very difficult to define, but the perfect working environment for me is generally relaxed, with occasional bits of Victorian mill owner-style discipline thrown in to keep standards high," shares Jones. "Equally, encouraging creatives to let off a bit of steam by throwing stress balls at each other or flying the office's remote control helicopter around is just as important." 12. Keep your mind open "Be a sponge for as much culture (both high and low) as you can fill your mind with," suggest the SomeOne creative directors. "Then forget about it. It will remind you when it's needed." Many studios will specialise in one particular area, as of course, you'll need to know your particular discipline inside out. However, it's vital to be aware of what's going on in other specialisms, too. Jones works for a digital agency (you can see some of his work in the video above), but still keeps an eye on what's going on in the branding and advertising segments. As well as making sure your work is well rounded and being open to any new developments, this can help keep you inspired within your own specialism. 13. Preach "There's nothing worse than seeing a project presented by someone who doesn't really get it. Doesn't understand it, or really like it. If the person presenting doesn't believe in the work, there is no reason for the audience to care," says SomeOne. "Great creative directors pick their fights very carefully, but once they have committed to a route, they believe that it is the greatest idea on the planet. And they make a stand for that work. They protect it. They enhance its chances, co-ordinate people who could help it, channel it to concentrate it. They become evangelical. They believe. You, as the designer, may never see any of that in the studio – but they will be out there fighting the good fight for a cause they passionately believe in: a great idea." 14. Don't get bogged down While it's pressurised at times, the creative industry can be a wonderful place to work – and many would agree that great ideas can happen when you relax and have fun. "The best creative work comes when the mind isn’t bogged down with stress," says Widdowfield. "Yes, deadlines loom, and that concept can be a struggle to crack, but you’ve got to just put that to the side and enjoy it." Related articles: Careers advice: How to become an art director 18 things they didn't teach you at design school 9 design trends we'd like to see in 2019 View the full article

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The development team of the vulnerable Total Donations plugin appears to have abandoned it, and did not respond to inquiries from researchers. View the full article

Major fashion chain Zara has released a new logo, and incited the wrath of every designer on Twitter, thanks to some over-enthusiastic kerning . The original logo, pictured below, was an all-caps wordmark that was – we'd say – a little too spaced out for our liking. But it seems to have overcorrected the issue for its new look (above), in which the letterforms are so enthusiastically overlapped as to be barely legible. The old Zara logo was rather spaced out In defence of the new logo, we're pleased to see Zara has not joined the hoards of fashion brands stripping away personality and heritage from their logos in favour of classy but bland sans-serif wordmarks. Zara's new logo retains visual links to its original font, but has livened it up further with overlapping characters and serifs, and a new, curvy 'R'. So it's not lacking in personality, and it'll certainly stand out in a sea of increasingly similar-looking high street logos. But there isn't much else positive to say about this new logo design. Erik Spiekermann called it 'the worst piece of type I've seen in years', while others suggested it looked like it was kerned by a robot. Designers have also been quick to point out the logo's similarity to The Met's 2016 rebrand by Wolff Olins, which similarly failed to draw much praise (it was memorably compared to a typographic bus crash). What do you think of the new Zara logo? Let us know your thoughts on Twitter or Facebook. Read more: A designer's guide to typography and fonts Typography trends in 2019 to look out for The best new logos of 2018 View the full article

It only feels like yesterday when I was role-playing with high school friends in fantasy worlds full of knights, wizards, barbarians and treasures hidden in dungeons. As teenagers, the most treasured possessions we owned were the RPG handbooks. Among them, the bestiary books were my first contact with the world of concept art and character design, and that’s what made me interested in pursuing a career in art. Almost everything back then was still painted traditionally in acrylics or oils. My preference for clear brush strokes and canvas or paper texture visible in print has stayed with me over the years, and for a long time I looked for a way to create the same effects in my digital paintings. Corel Painter includes a range of features to help you mimic traditional art effects What’s so beautiful about traditional art is its unpredictability. There are so many happy accidents that give traditional painting a soul. The way that every hair in your brush tip leaves an individual mark. How pigments don’t just mix, but 'sing' a magical song together. With Corel Painter 2019, I found the perfect tool to recreate some of these art techniques digitally. In this tutorial, I'll show you how you can use Corel's different features to mimic oil paints. Above you can see the final version of the painting we'll be working on. Click the icon in the top right of each image to enlarge it. 01. Establish your concept and composition Consider interesting colour combinations when planning your composition The first thing to do is to work out your composition. My rough initial thumbnails are done in just few minutes – I often think in colours, seeing what combinations creates interesting harmonies. Gather reference pictures while sketching and developing the idea. I use free software PureRef to organise my photographs: I can save my collection and return to it any time. I keep it visible on my secondary monitor. You want to make sure you've fully decided on the composition, colours and details, before you start work on the final piece. Make sure the figure’s anatomy and perspective is correct and the key shapes balance nicely (for advice on this, take a look at our how to draw tutorials). 02. Create a burnt sienna underpainting This is a common step when creating traditional oil paintings This step is taken straight from the traditional oil painting process (learn more about underpainting here). Painters use it to create monochromatic value composition, by setting up a basic environment of light and shadows. I open the Mixer window in Painter and create a gradation of Burnt Sienna to black and white. I make sure that the contrast is interesting and strongest in points of interest (mainly the face). 03. Bring in colour Use Corel's Glazing brush range to add colour In traditional art, the next step would be to create thin layers of paint to colourise the monochromatic picture. This process is called glazing. Corel Painter 2019 has a new family of Glazing brushes for this very step. I set the layer mode to Colorize and apply various colours. I let some of the underpainting show through and avoid having flat shapes of the same hue or colour. This creates a mesmerising mosaic of brushstrokes. 04. Keep an eye on the big picture Having your Navigator window open enables you to keep an eye on how the image is progressing as a whole At this point 80 per cent of the image is completed. The remaining 20 per cent will take five times as long, as I polish all the details. I never stop controlling the whole picture. Even when I’m zoomed on a portion of the painting, I keep the Navigator window open (Window > Navigator or ctrl+7) on my second monitor, and constantly compare my progress across the whole image. 05. Try the Distorto brush Distorto is equivalent to Photoshop's Liquify – and it's incredibly useful In Corel Painter 2019, the Distorto brush is an alternative to Photoshop’s Liquify tool. I use this brush on a low Strength setting (around seven per cent) to correct the position of any elements that feels 'off'. You can use this tool to do anything from moving the nose slightly to the right, to aligning eyes or changing the shape of the face. You can find the Distorto brush within the F-X brush group. 06. Jump around Don't focus too long in one area, or your painting will become uneven I force myself to never work in one spot for too long. I want my picture to develop evenly. My aim is to leave some parts looking quite rough, but I make sure I have full control over the painting’s development. How it graduates from focus points to less-important areas. I use a mix of Artists’ Oils and Sargent brushes for realistic touches. 07. Use the floating colour wheel The floating colour wheel is new to Painter 2019 Painter 2019 now offers a floating colour wheel, which gives me full control over my colour choices while using the stylus. I paint directly with the colour I picked from the canvas, but only when blending. Otherwise I select a colour and suitable alternatives using the colour wheel. I change its temperature to warmer or cooler, make it brighter or darker, more or less saturated, and so on. 08. Correct values Turning the image black and white will show up any areas where it's becoming flat For a readability check, I turn the picture black and white. I notice how flat my value composition becomes when a green background and a warm skin share a similar brightness. Knowing how difficult is to print vibrant greens and cyan, I decide to darken the background. This also makes the character pop. 09. Mimic the glazing process with Multiply Add a Multiply layer to dull down darker colours The magic of digital art is all the shortcuts you can access. I stopped feeling guilty about using them long ago, knowing how much 'cheating' was applied in traditional painting. Maybe the Old Masters didn’t call it a Multiply layer, but glazing darker colours to dim down large areas of a painting is nothing new. That’s what’s I do here: use Multiply mode to darken the background. 10. Make final tweaks Play around with your settings to check you have the best version of your image I correct the contrast and colours to create the most appealing version of the picture. I have a tendency to paint at a very low contrast, so to create more visual interest I play around with different settings. To finish up, I use Equalize and Correct Colors from the Tonal Control option under the Effect tab. This article was originally published in issue 166 of ImagineFX, the world's best-selling magazine for digital artists. Buy issue 166 or subscribe. Read more: Our pick of the best graphics tablets in 2019 Create portrait art in Corel Painter The best software for digital artists in 2019 View the full article

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Performance UX is a perfect solution for those of you who work on websites that are already live. The aim of this article is to provide an introduction to performance UX and help you understand its three core pillars. I’ll delve into a bit of history and let you know where the need for performance UX initially came from and how it can get clients bought into (and understanding) UX. Lastly, I’ll show you how to produce three performance UX tactical deliverables to help map your ongoing strategy. UX (within service delivery) has been at the heart of the most successful customer-centric businesses for many years. A decade or so ago the market started taking UX seriously and the results have been exceptional, with new web design tools popping up all over the place to help measure and implement UX strategies. A study from pointsource.com found that for every $2 spent on UX-related activities, $2 to $100 was yielded in return. Right here, right now, it really doesn’t feel like those of us with a UX cap need to be backwards in coming forwards with new thinking and innovative ways of improving the experience of our clients and our clients’ customers. The digital market figures support UX as a viable solution to achieve ROI. UX has become a bread and butter service offering for agencies.. So being a UX practitioner is brilliant and all of our clients think we’re some kind of digital Dalai Lama, right? No. It certainly wasn’t this way for me, not for a long time. What is performance UX? UX, for me, isn’t something that ever finishes. It is an ongoing process, not a one-off project that has a start and end date. Within an agency, this thinking fits very nicely into a recurring (month-on-month) services model. I had long been an advocate of lean UX – it’s really the most appropriate means of delivery in a fast-paced, multi-client agency environment. My whole digital product approach was already based on iterative cycles using agile sprints, which helps to keep progress moving forward. Lastly, the part of me obsessed with clean code and optimising for search marketing needed to minimise bloat, keep things nice and streamlined as well as being future ready. Blending all these aspects together with UX tactics and strategy, it felt like I was on to something. I put together an initial program of ongoing delivery that I called ‘User Experience Optimisation’. It flopped. The results were good but prospects (more often than not) simply didn’t understand it and didn’t take it on. A month or so passed with slow progress until a wise Texan took me to one side and suggested I changed the name to ‘Performance UX’. He theorised that businesses understood performance and already wanted help in making performance better. He wasn’t wrong. The delivery program didn’t change at all. Just the name. Service growth immediately surged. So how can performance UX build on the already solid foundations established in the UX marketplace? To put it in simple terms, it just requires a slight tweak to the perspective. The three pillars of performance UX When talking about UX, we can sometimes shy away from talking about cold hard cash. In my experience, the client wants to know what UX means in terms of ROI or how long the UX project will take before they see results on their bottom line. Sometimes this can be impossible to quantify until the actual work starts. We need to move the conversation away from money and instead focus on performance, namely: technical, experiential and commercial performance. The three pillars of performance UX. These are tangible areas with the ability to benchmark and demonstrate progress. Technical performance This is all about clearing impediments and enabling your digital product to be the best it can be. You could have the best looking website on the market but if it’s slow or not utilising the latest technologies, it wouldn’t take much for it to be quickly left behind. Experiential performance This means understanding who your users are, what you want them to do on your site and being able to diagnose what they are actually doing. Commercial performance The final pillar requires you to become your client and understand their needs and the needs of the business. Knowing what each conversion, sale or interaction means to your client will help you prioritise your work and ensure you’re reporting on what’s important to them By separating the process into three core areas, you are helping the client understand that improving digital experience can be tangible – but these areas must work together to achieve the best results. Who can do performance UX? I’ve found that the best UX professionals I’ve met have a varied skillset – it’s almost a given if you’ve worked in UX for any length of time. The majority started in different areas and moved into user experience later in life. This varied experience makes an ideal performance UX campaign delivery manager. Performance UX works best when you can cover – by yourself or with a team – design, strategy, data analysis, code, project management and most importantly, excellent communication. How to run a performance UX sprint Your first performance UX sprint is about understanding and benchmarking. Understanding your client should be the first step with every new digital campaign – but that doesn’t mean it should be underrated. Hold a kick-off meeting with your client and conduct a stakeholder interview. You’ll need to interview whoever will be evaluating your work and, if you can, whoever evaluates their work. You need to learn about their business, what’s important to them and what they expect from you (this works whether you’re in-house or from an agency). These interviews are integral when it comes time to plan your strategic UX roadmap later. For those unaware, a sprint is a measure of time, and a key part of the Agile development methodology (read more about Sprints here). You set a list of tasks you believe you can achieve in your sprint and then report to your client at the end. In this example, my client has four days a month of performance UX. In this first sprint, I’ll spread two days’ worth of time over two weeks. As a recurring service this means we have at least three client touch points each month. One at the start of the first sprint, one at the end of the first (and start of the second) and one at the end of the second sprint. In this sprint we’ll deliver a technical diagnostics audit, experiential journey analysis and commercial goal review to our client. These documents will form the backlog for ongoing performance UX work. The technical diagnostics audit Technical performance essentially boils down to speed. How quickly can the user find the site (in search)? How fast is your digital product in giving the user what they want? And how accessible is it? Although speed has been used in search ranking for some time, it was focused on desktop searches. This year, Google announced page speed will be a ranking factor for mobile searches. This now makes technical website performance more important than ever. In order to diagnose the current state of technical performance, we need to gather benchmark data. We’ll use three sources of data that are all free. You’ll want to run your client’s site through: PageSpeed Insights, GTmetrix and Lighthouse. For the latter you’ll want to run all reports except the Progressive Web App one. Lighthouse runs in the browser (or in node/command line) and gives an insight into any technical performance issues To compile your findings, you should provide an executive summary of why you are conducting the audit (benchmarking) and show the scores from the three sources up front. You should ideally explain to the client what each source looks at and why you chose it. For the rest of the audit, compile the recommendations from the three tools into chapters with numbered lists of recommendations. Your chapters should be: basic site setup, speed and performance, accessibility and SEO. The chapters form themes you can use in the coming months and the numbers will enable you and the client to refer to line items during discussions. All of these elements directly affect the user and being able to talk about them is absolutely essential to being a user advocate to your client. Experiential journey analysis In order to show how we’ve improved the experience for the user, we record how users are currently using the site. We’ll do this using two industry-standard UX testing tools: Hotjar and Google Analytics. Sign up for Hotjar and get the tracking on your client’s site as soon as possible, ideally before this sprint starts. Once the code is installed, log in to Hotjar and activate Recordings – on the free plan you’ll get 100 sessions, which is more than enough. Make sure you select sessions that include clicking and scrolling and that you ensure it’s only recording sessions of over 30 seconds. Hotjar has a number of tools to help with user behaviour insight Once you’ve amassed a good few sessions, sort by the #pages column (high to low) and review what’s been recorded. You should take notes about the way users navigate through the site and the sequence of pages they take. 10 to 20 videos of three or more pages should give you a good feel of how users are moving through their journey. You should document these journeys, pulling out any information of note (users ignoring CTAs, not using the menu you thought they would, using the site search, etc). Next, within your client’s Google Analytics, navigate to the Behaviour > Site content > All pages table. Set the date range for the last three months and make sure you’re sorting by page views. What we’re going to do now is show our client how users move through the site most of the time. Take the top 10 pages for page views. For each of these click on their URL in the table. This takes you to the page level screen and the graph will only show visits for that one page. Click on the tab that says Navigation Summary, found above the graph in the top-left corner – it’s next to the one already selected that says Explorer. This navigation summary screen shows you which page users were on before the page you selected and usefully, where it was that they went afterwards. You should record this data for each of your client’s top-performing pages (10 is a good number to start with). Collate these findings in a document for your client and be sure to include a section where you note down anything of interest. You will refer to this document a lot in the coming months when justifying hypotheses or demonstrating journey improvements, for example ‘this page used to account for four per cent of visits to the demo sign up; my work on improving messaging/layout has increased this to 8 per cent’. Commercial goal review This task is exactly what it sounds like and can be somewhat painful for some less technical clients. The point of this exercise is to establish trust and to also let the client know you understand what is important to them. Review your stakeholder interviews and distil what is important for your client to measure success. Is it product sales? Brochure downloads? Phone calls? Armed with this information, you should log into your client’s Google Analytics and review their goal tracking (Admin > Goals). Note down which goals relate to what and, more importantly, note any missing goals you will need to add. Next arrange a call or meeting with your client (this is important – an email won’t do) and run through each goal. Once you’ve established what each goal does and if any need replacing or amending, suggest any new goals you need to add. For ease you should document what each goal is recording (in simple terms) for your client and then record the goals you mean to add on their behalf. It’s at this point I’d recommend learning how to deal with regular expressions (RegEx), which will help no end in dealing with complex goal tracking; regular expressions 101 is an excellent debugging tool once you’re up to speed. How to review your progress With your first sprint at an end, you now have three valuable documents ready to present to your client. It’s important to get these right, because these documents will form the basis of how you plan your next three, six or 12 months. Ideally, the whole of the second sprint will be used to produce your performance UX strategy. After the work you’ve already put in, the client will understand the importance of getting this right. Within your strategy document you should record what is important to the client in terms of key metrics. You should then detail, month-on-month, how you will work towards measurable progress. Always justify your tactics using technical, experiential or commercial performance reasoning. Performance UX is unique in that you get to be an advocate for the user and for your client For example, instead of saying ‘I need to do some card sorting to make the navigation easier to understand’, try ‘our experiential user journey research showed a disconnect in the labelling used on the current navigation – card sorting would allow us to find a better solution’. Ideally you should have a way of showing how your work is influencing the benchmarks you have recorded. I’d recommend a tool like Power BI or Google’s Data Studio to make an dashboard with all the metrics updating in real time. How you produce your strategy is ultimately down to you but I would strongly advise a varied strategy. Cover all three pillars whenever possible. Commercial is where users end up, experiential is how they get there and technical is what’s stopping them on their journey. Too much technical work and you will lose your client’s interest, too much experiential work and they might start to question value and too much commercial work just becomes conversion rate optimisation. Performance UX is unique in that you get to be an advocate for the user and for your client. You job is to be an old-fashioned ‘middle man (or woman)’ and make it as easy as possible for both parties to get what they want. So get out there and start greasing those wheels. Performance UX resources The elements that make up performance UX are nothing new and there are already some fantastic books out there that make excellent reading for anyone wanting to start working with performance in mind. Here are some useful resources that will sharpen up your skillset Sprint Jake Knapp's book is all about solving problems and testing ideas in a five-day sprint. I found this book especially useful for moving ideas through a team setting. Designing for Performance If there was a book on web design I wish I’d written, it would be this one by Lara Callender Hogan. The knowledge contained will help you understand and dominate technical website performance. Product Design A neat little field guide from David Pasztor on the product design process. Touching on things like; journey flows, A/B testing and onboarding, it’s a good tool to brush up on some more general skills if you’re missing them. Lean UX The experiential performance element of performance UX owes a lot to lean UX processes. Rather than focusing on deliverables, this book by Jeff Gothelf and Josh Seidenwill show you how to directly affect the experience itself. Design is a Job Working in a recurring model means you need to manage your client properly. Make sure you understand what they need from you and be confident in leading them. This book by Mike Monteiro may just straighten your spine. This article was originally published in net, the world's best-selling magazine for web designers and developers. Buy issue 313 or subscribe. Read more: Controversial predictions for UX in 2019 The 6 pillars of great UX 9 ways to smash UX on a small budget View the full article

In days gone by, if you missed the start of a film on TV then that was it, you just had to sit through the rest and figure it out as you went along. It was a confusing way to watch films, and could often change the meaning of the story. To highlight the importance of catching films from the beginning, Sky has launched a new set of typography-based ads, in a campaign called 'Miss the Start. Miss the Story’. Created for Sky by Serviceplan Campaign X to promote how users can now restart films on linear TV with Sky, these clever poster designs target the German market, where viewers still predominantly watch films when they're on, as opposed to through On Demand services. To point out why it's important to catch all of a film, including the beginning, these ads delete the first letters from familiar titles that rely on eye-catching and recognisable typography. Take the martial arts classic Kill Bill, which becomes the slightly less impressive Ill Bill when you chop off the K (see above). 53 top typography tutorials It's a simple but effective trick that plays with viewer's expectations and invites them to engage with the ads. The posters also underline how effective the right combination of typography and colour can be. Check out the rest of the campaign ads below. Related articles: The good, the bad and the ugly of movie posters How to master colour theory A designer's guide to printing a poster View the full article