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A new logo for an adaptation of Dune has been leaked, and it's causing all kinds of drama. We'll start by pointing out that it's obviously not the one above. That's a fan-made recreation in pasta, and we'll get to why that's our header image in a minute. There are a couple of variations of the actual Dune logo doing the rounds online, but the one causing the most upset is shown below. It uses four U-shapes in different orientations to spell out the title. Cleverly, this super-minimalist design can be flipped vertically and still read the same (see our logo design tips for more inspirational examples). This was widely reported to be the official design, but a lot of the shares are being removed for copyright reasons. Which suggests it's either not the official design, or it was released without permission. The problem people are having is that, while it's clever and sleek and sci-fi and all that, it's not hugely legible. Especially that 'E', which, let's face it, is actually a 'C'. A curve-ball in the story is that the leaked photos from that French conference show a slightly different version of the Dune logo, which is apparently what the actual logo will look like. This one has a lens flare (or eclipsed planet, if you prefer) to represent that problematic missing crossbar. Which logo, if either, is the right one, remains to be confirmed. There's certainly something controversial going on behind the scenes at Warner Bros. But all that hasn't stopped the wave of 'fixed' logo versions making their way on to Twitter. Here's our pick of the best, which range from snarky but hilarious to actually good. While the logo is proving contentious, fans of the Frank Herbert’s sci-fi epic seem to be feeling positive about this Denis Villeneuve reboot. We'll update this article as we know more. Read more: Should the NBA logo feature Kobe Bryant? 9 of the best monogram logos ever made Space Force logo furore is a massive overreaction View the full article

Every now and again the internet serves up a controversial colour-based question that splits people firmly down the middle. Whether you thought that dress was white and gold, or blue and black, you'll be pleased to hear another corker has been found. This time it's in the high-end form of some Louis Vuitton sneakers. Click on the image to enlarge it An eagle-eyed, but quite confused, Twitter user shared the image above and asked for opinions. And people are certainly divided. (Find out more about how colours relate to each other in our colour theory post.) All we see is black. And others see only white. But not everyone is so certain. There are several theories floating around as to why this might be the case. Many commented that the shoes have been photographed in the dark with the flash on, which gives the impression of the white shoes being black. And the LV emblems may be glow-in-the-dark, apparently. One commenter suggests changing the brightness on your computer screen, which shows the sneakers as white (below). Turn the brightness up and you'll get closer to reality Gino's poll currently shows that 44.2 per cent of the Twitterverse believe the shoes to be white, and 53.4 per cent see them as black. The rest chose the 'other' option, so who knows what colour those folk are seeing. The optical illusion may not be as controversial as these moments in branding, but these conundrums are a way to wile away a few minutes pondering the reality of what lies before you. And they spark a great debate, too. What do you see? Share your thoughts on Twitter or Facebook. Read more: 7 colour trends to watch for in 2020 How to use colour to shape UX How to use photography in design View the full article

The manufacturers have issued BIOS updates to address the issues, but researchers warn DMA attacks are likely possible against a range of laptops and desktops. View the full article

It wasn’t so long ago that to work on a different device you had to plan in advance and copy large files to disks or USB sticks to transport them. Working in a team often meant an assembly line process with work passed down the line from one person to another, and sending work to a client for proofing meant sending it by post. Thankfully the best cloud storage and file transfer services mean that it’s now possible to work anywhere we choose and to send large files instantly. Cloud storage also provides somewhere to keep your work safe from the risk of spillages. While many of the best-known options that exist today started off with different approaches and purposes, they have grown closer towards offering a similar blend of storage and collaborative tools, making it harder to identify the advantages of each. Here, we compare eight of the most popular options for creatives to store files online and share with colleagues and clients and examine the strengths and weaknesses of each. 01. Google Drive Google Drive has one of the most generous free allowances Google Drive is an obvious choice for anyone who uses Google’s other products, and particularly for Android users since it comes built into the architecture. It integrates seamlessly with other Google apps and has one of the most generous free storage allowances around, offering 15GB, although this includes Gmail if you use that as your email. Paid plans start cheap and you can push the storage limit sky high. It costs $1.99 a month for 100GB and there are several plans on the way up to an enormous 30TB for $299.99 a month. The platform is easy and intuitive to use and one of the best options for instant collaboration owing to the ability to work simultaneously with others using Google’s own GSuite tools like Google Docs and Sheets, and you can boost productivity with a wide range of third-party add ons. Throw in neat features like the option to disable downloads, and Google Drive is also one of the most flexible options out there. 02. pCloud pCloud is one of the prettiest storage options Google Drive offers practicality and flexibility for collaborative work, but it isn’t the prettiest option for presenting work to clients. The interface is busy and crops image previews to a square. pCloud can be a better option in terms of looks. Interface elements are discreet and kept to a minimum, giving priority to offering large scale previews of each file that save clicking to open each file. There’s also the option to view each folder as a slide show. pCloud doesn’t have the collaborative tools of Google Drive, OneDrive or Dropbox, but there with features such as the option to customise sharing links to include your own message or branding, it's easy to see why pCloud is one of the most popular options for photographers to deliver work. There are options to backup content directly from Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, Facebook and Instagram through direct integration, and it’s also one of the few storage options that has both a built-in video player and streaming and an audio player complete with playlists. The free option offers a fairly generous 10GB, and there are lifetime subscriptions available at $175 for 500GB, or $350 for 2TB, which mean you can pay once then get on with it. 03. Dropbox Dropbox remains one of the most used online storage services Dropbox remains one of the biggest names in cloud storage. It’s among the fastest because it uses block-level synching, which means it only syncs changes made to a document rather than the whole file. This is great for collaborative work because it means changes appear quickly. The professional version also offers a 'smart sync' capability that allows you to save space on your hard drive by sending files to the cloud but still allowing you to see them on your computer. The service isn't as integrated with other tools as GoogleDrive or OneDrive and doesn't offer it’s own full office suite, but it does have collaborative tools, and integrates with Office Online for editing Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files, and can share files directly to Slack. Its own Dropbox Paper document editor can’t beat Google Docs for text editing, but has the advantage of being able to embed any type of file that can be previewed in Dropbox, including video and audio. A new transfer tool just out of beta means you can also send files weighing up to 300GB to anyone, even if they don’t have Dropbox, effectively turning Dropbox into a file transfer service as well as a storage service. Dropbox is one of the most expensive options and offers only a stingy 2GB in its basic free plan. You need to fork out at least £7.99 a month for a more generous 2TB, and £16.58 to get the professional version with the added features that really make Dropbox stand out, such as smart sync, watermarks, viewer history and a 180-day backup of deleted files that beats the 30 days offered by most other services – a potential saviour if you or someone you collaborate with accidentally deletes a folder full of work. 04. OneDrive OneDrive integrates well with Microsoft products Just as Google Drive is a convenient option for Android users, if you’re a PC user running Windows 10 or use Microsoft’s Office 365, OneDrive offers comparable levels of integration. It’s much less popular than Google’s option among general users but has a big uptake among companies that use Office 365. Free allocation is a rather mean 5GB, which is a lot less generous than Google’s and makes this option mainly useful for storing files that you want to email via Outlook, but storage can be upped to 50GB for a reasonable £1.99 a month, and there’s a business plan that offers unlimited storage along with desktop versions of Microsoft products including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote for £7.99. The interface looks good, a chat icon at the top launches Skype so you can talk to colleagues, and OneNote integration beats Google Docs and Dropbox Paper. It also uses fast block-level synching, but only for Microsoft file types. 05. iCloud Apple’s iCloud is limited, but convenient for storing content from Apple devices This is storage option that only makes sense for Apple devotees but is convenient for storing and backing up images and files from a Mac or iPhone. Of course, iCloud integrates well with MacOS and iOS ecosystems and makes it easy to store files through Finder. Documents from the iWork suite are saved to iCloud so that you can access them from all your devices. There’s also a Windows client so access is not restricted to Apple devices. Like Microsoft’s OneDrive, free storage is limited to 5GB and higher allocations are reasonably priced, but it’s strictly a storage option. There's no option to share files outside Apple’s Family Sharing and there are none of the collaborative tools that you get with other services. 06. Adobe Creative Cloud Adobe’s full Creative Cloud suite comes with 100GB of storage If you subscribe to Adobe’s Creative Cloud suite of apps, don’t forget that you get cloud storage included in the package. Many users forget that the monthly fee they pay for access to the apps includes storage that can be used to back up files. It’s not worth buying an Adobe package for the storage alone, and the free plan only offers only a measly 2GB along with starter versions of some Adobe apps, but if you already have a Creative Cloud plan, it’s well worth remembering that you have the storage there. Photography membership (Lightroom and Photoshop) gives you 20GB, and a full Adobe All Apps plan comes with 100GB, enough to store a couple of thousand RAW images. You can pay more to up your storage limits as high as 10TB. Expect to see more developments on collaborative and sync capabilities. 07. iDrive iDrive offers backup with many of the capabilities of cloud storage IDrive is billed as an online backup rather than cloud storage – the difference being that it aims to keep your files safe rather than accessible and shareable, but it also offers powerful sync, and some of the collaboration capabilities offered by cloud storage services. It uses fast block-level syncing like Dropbox to continuously sync all your files on unlimited devices, including those on network drives, and it permanently keeps up to 30 previous versions of every file, allowing you to retrieve old work if needed. For even more peace of mind, IDrive even offers a service that will post out an actual physical hard drive containing your backed up files if you suffer an emergency. IDrive offers up to 5GB free, and $70 per year for 2TB. It you need secure backup without the full range of collaborative tools, it’s an option to consider. Read more: The best internal hard drives The best external hard drives 6 questions you need to ask your new client View the full article

Looking for some weekend viewing? We know you've almost certainly seen Toy Story 3 many times, but you've never quite seen it like this. While Toy Story 3 was the work of a massive team at Pixar using state-of-the-art computers to create one of 2010's best 3D movies, this version is the result of a much more streamlined production process. Toy Story 3 IRL, released on 25 January, was created by just two teenage brothers, Morgan and Mason McGrew, and took a bit longer than the original film to produce: roughly eight years. Was it worth the effort? You decide: As you can see, it didn't need Pixar's heavyweight computer hardware, as it was all shot in the real world using toys and models. The McGrew brothers painstakingly reproduced every shot from the film using stop-motion animation, using iPhone cameras and a hell of a lot of patience. Toy Story 3 IRL took a whole lot of dedication and inventiveness to complete The brothers uploaded the first trailer for their low-budget remake im 2018, and it quickly racked up over 2.5 million views on YouTube. The second trailer performed similarly well, and it's safe to say that there were lots of people waiting for the remake's final release. At the time of writing, Toy Story 3 IRL has attracted over half a million views; not bad considering it's only been out for four days. And perhaps the best news is that it's been released with Disney's blessing. We've seen plenty of promising fan projects disappear beneath a volley of cease and desist letters from over-protective IP holders, and considering that Toy Story 3 IRL uses the original Toy Story 3 soundtrack, it was sailing close to the wind, copyright-wise. We had every expectation that the remake would quickly vanish when we first saw it; it's good to see that Disney's encouraging these young filmmakers. To infinity and beyond It may not have the sleek looks of Toy Story 3, but this IRL version comes packed with charm and there are plenty of fantastic moments along the way; we particularly love how it takes advantage of being able to shoot in the real world and has the scenes with people in them shot as normal video rather than with animated CG humans. Most of all, it's a stunning example of extreme dedication to a task. Could you have devoted eight years to a single project when you were a teenager? Us neither. See more about the project on the Toy Story IRL Facebook page. Vertex is the place to be this February Join us in London for our unmissable event for 2D and 3D artists, featuring workshops from over 20 professional artists from film, video games, VFX and illustration. Book now: vertexconf.com Related articles: Image formats in CGI: Everything you need to know Real-life renders of animated bedrooms are surprisingly disappointing Lion King CGI: Behind the scenes View the full article

It's safe to say that Baby Yoda has taken the internet by storm. The breakout star of Disney's The Mandalorian, officially named The Child, has been spawning memes ever since his existence was announced. It seems like every week, a new artist's interpretation appears. So you can avoid the tedious task of scrolling through the rubbish designs in search of one that's clever or funny, we've collected our favourite Baby Yoda memes right here for your viewing pleasure. To make life even easier for you, we've ranked them in order of preference. For more Star Wars content, see our favourite free Star Wars fonts, and if you want to make your own Baby Yoda creation, you might want to check out the best Photoshop tutorials, or our guide to how to make a meme in Photoshop. Finally, if you still haven't seen The Mandalorian, then check our post on everything you need to know about Disney Plus, including how to get a free trial. 05. Baby Yoda in Metroid Tiani Pixel has created a mash-up of The Mandalorian and the game Metroid (specifically, in the style of Super Metroid, from the early '90s). The image shows Baby Yoda in his little crib pod bobbing along behind The Mandalorian, his head even turns for extra cute-appeal. There's also a render of what powers The Mandalorian would have as a Metroid character. This one's a stunning piece of pixel art, but as it's so game-specific, it perhaps lacks the mass appeal of some of the other memes. Ten out of ten for effort, though. (Although we'd like to see Baby Yoda's game credentials, please.) 04. Baby Data and Baby Yoda mashup What do you get when you combine Star Trek: Picard with the Star Wars TV series? Baby Data, of course! In this mockup from Ziggy, Star Trek: The Next Generation's Lieutenant Commander Data is reimagined with a Baby Yoda makeover. This one is pretty disturbing. It's also definitely one for Star Trek fans, as if you don't know who Data is, it'll probably go over your head. 03. George Lucas holding Baby Yoda This one has arguably nothing to do with art. But this tweet from Jon Favreau, who created The Mandalorian, was an instant hit. And what could be cuter than an image of George Lucas cradling Baby Yoda? The only question we have here is why the image is so blurry. Do the team at The Mandalorian need to check our list of the best camera phones? 02. Baby Yoda with human skin Cute he is, yes Following on from Yoda with human skin, which is an unsettlingly realistic 3D version of grown-up Yoda, Steven E Paugh created a Baby Yoda with human skin. As he suggested, the results are not unlike Dobby from Harry Potter. Look at those cute little hairs on his head! We think this one deserved a little more love online than it received. 01. Baby Yoda concept art It's hard to beat this concept art This may be a slight cop-out, but our favourite Baby Yoda meme is actually the original concept art for the character, shared by Favreau. We just love it. And we love the idea of a group of TV execs looking at the concept art and deciding that they simply needed to create a whole show around it. That part may or may not be in our imaginations. Either way, we just can't stop staring at his little toes. Honourable mention: Baby Yoda cocktail So it's not exactly a meme, but this Baby Yoda cocktail deserves a mention just 'cos it made us smile. There have been plenty of Baby Yoda-themed cocktails popping up across the globe, but we like this one from Glasgow bar, Glasgowist, the best. Did we miss a meme? Or order them 'wrong'? Get in touch on Twitter or Facebook to tell us your views. Read more: How to make a meme in Photoshop Xbox Series X spawns savage design memes Disney redesigns 20th Century Fox, without the Fox View the full article

Apple’s iOS 13.3.1 update includes a host of security patches and a way to turn off U1 Ultra Wideband tracking. View the full article

After a year of big changes, white hats reaped more from Google's programs than ever before. View the full article

If you live in the US and are in the market for some new creative gear, you're in luck. Right now, Best Buy is running an epic one-day sale, with a ton of designer-specific goodies getting a mega price-drop. The event includes some incredible savings on everything from Apple Airpods and over-ear Bose headphones, to powerful laptops and 4K TVs. So if you've been holding out on getting some of the best-selling tech, now's the time to buy. But you'll need to be quick, these offers are valid for just 24 hours, with the flash sale ending tonight at 11:59pm (CT). Below is our pick of the top Best Buy deals, but for the full list of discounted items (which includes air fryers, washers and dryers and security camera systems) head on over on to Best Buy website. Not in the US? Check out our roundup of the best Apple AirPods deals or the best cheap laptop deals, which will both show you the best prices and bargains in your area. Alternatively, explore our pick of the best noise-cancelling headphones. View the full article

Understanding image formats is critical to making the most of the variety of image types available to a 3D artist. While the core of creation in 3D is naturally in creating models, images are in many ways as important as polygons and edges when creating a 3D model – whether it is a crucial image being used to give a colour to a model, or a secondary image that is utilised to create differences in reflections or relief on a model. Images are also the key for successful sharing with clients, friends or as part of a team with compositors who will blend the model into a live-action scene. Alternatively images can be used to store features in compositing applications to combine a wide range of models into a piece of 3D art that would otherwise be difficult to render in one go. (See the best 3D software right now to decide which app is for you.) Common image file formats and when to use them Certain image types such as JPEG are quick to create, quick to use and small in size, but they do not hold a range of information such as transparency and as they are a 'lossy' format, details can be lost which can cause inconsistencies, especially if used for animations. At the other end of the image format spectrum are EXRs – this format can handle a massive amount of information. EXRs can hold colour, transparency and even in some cases true depth all in one (admittedly large) file, but at the expense of a less straightforward workflow for new artists. In between are multiple options such as PNG, PSD, TIF and DPX among others. When working with other artists, understanding what each of these files can and cannot do can make the difference when creating successful artwork. Let's take a look at some of the key considerations. 01. Lossy formats Lossy images are fine for non-critical imagery Many artists new to CG are not aware that when an image is saved, dependent on the image type chosen, data can be lost. The reason for this is that the complex saving algorithms of an image format can estimate the data in an image and replicate it without having to store the data on a pixel-by-pixel basis, both saving disk space and allowing quicker access. Lossy formats are great for non-critical images in a pipeline and various finished formats. JPEG is probably the most popular lossy image format. 02. Image bit depth Make sure you're working with the right colour range Consider how much data an image can store. Basic colour data is stored in 8-bit images such as JPEGs. Some video-specific files such as DPX and Cineon can store 10-bit images, which include extra colour information. However, these formats work within a specific 'colour range', which is defined by the bit depth and can 'clip' to white or black when exposure is adjusted. So, always make sure when working with these formats that the colour range is in a visually desired range. 03. 24 bits and PNG PNG is particularly useful for texture files One of the most popular image formats in CGI creation is PNG; it combines the benefits of JPEG, such as relatively small size and wide compatibility, coupled with the ability to save extra data in its full 24-bit capability. PNGs can store 8 bits of transparency data alongside 16 bits of colour data. This makes PNG files flexible for a wide range of uses, especially with texture files which, if the 3D application allows it, can absorb the PNG transparency data to mitigate the need for a separate alpha channel image. 04. 32 bits 32-bit files can combine a big colour range with transparency and other useful info While 10-bit files are useful for maximising recording formats on some cameras, others can store 'RAW' data, which effectively means that the file contains 'everything'. This is the same with 3D applications. Some file types such as EXR can store up to 32 bits of data, which includes a vast colour range. EXRs can also include transparency information and extra useful info, such as the new 'Cryptomatte' format which can create mattes on the fly from a single colour layer. 05. Colour types 3D apps don't like CMYK, so convert it to RGB When working with print and vector illustrations, sometimes image files can come in different colour formats. These can be CMYK, which is a four-colour process used for print, and occasionally greyscale, which is an image that does not have any colour data. Many 3D applications will not work with these formats even if the image format is saved as a JPEG, PNG or EXR. That is because 3D applications prefer to work with images that are RGB (for the screen-based three-colour process of Red, Green and Blue). Colour theory: a jargon free designer's guide Vertex is the place to be this February Join us in London for our unmissable event for 2D and 3D artists, featuring workshops from over 20 professional artists from film, video games, VFX and illustration. Book now: vertexconf.com This article was originally published in issue 253 of 3D World, the world's best-selling magazine for CG artists. Buy issue 253 here or subscribe to 3D World here. Related articles: An artist's guide to using reference images: 13 essential tips The ultimate guide to image resolution 4 essential image optimisation tips View the full article

While Apple AirPods are arguably some of the coolest headphones on the planet, they are not cheap. So when a good deal comes around you don’t want to waste any time getting your hands on them. And you're in luck, because today's a good day to bag an AirPods deal. In the US, Best Buy has knocked off an impressive $31 on AirPods with the standard charging case, meaning you can get them for just $128.99. And it is throwing in free Apple Music for 4 months (for new subscribers only). If you fancy going completely wire-free, then Best Buy has shaved $30 off AirPods with the wireless charging case, reducing the latest model to a hard-to-beat $169.99. But hurry as these offers are part of Best Buy's Flash Sale, which ends at midnight tonight (CT time) – see all the Best Buy offers here. If you're outside the US, there are still some great AirPods deals. In the UK, you can now get AirPods with the standard charging case for just £129 and the wireless option for £159 at Amazon – that's £30 and £40 off, respectively. Even better, get approved for an Amazon Platinum Mastercard and you could get another £20 off both models. We don't need to tell you discounts on Apple AirPods are rare, so if you want to get hold of these top Apple accessories, you need to snap these deals up now. If you fancy some more good-looking Apple accessories make sure you check out our best iPad accessories for 2020 post too. Alternatively, see our best running headphones buying guide. Unmissable Apple AirPods deals (US) Unmissable Apple AirPods deals (UK) Not in the UK or US? Here are the best Apple AirPods prices in your area: Read more: The best Apple Pencil deals in 2020 Apple Pencil vs Apple Pencil 2: which should you buy? iPad Pro 2020: release date, rumours and leaks View the full article

Admins are encouraged to update their websites to stave off attacks from Magecart card-skimmers and others. View the full article

The world of basketball is in mourning after the tragic death of NBA legend Kobe Bryant in a helicopter crash on Sunday, and it's led to a fierce debate about the NBA's logo. Following his death – along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna Bryant and seven others – a petition was posted on Change.org by Nick M, asking that the current NBA logo be updated with an image of Bryant. At the time of writing the petition has attracted over 2.6 million signatures, making it the fastest-growing petition ever on Change.org. But will it result in the NBA changing one of the best logos in sport? The 10 greatest sports logos of all time This is the fastest-growing petition ever on Change.org There's a strong case for putting Kobe Bryant on the NBA logo. He's recognised as one of the greatest players in the history of the game, with a whole stack of records under his belt including the youngest player to reach 30,000 career points, the all-time top scorer for the Lakers, and even two Olympic gold medals. There aren't many players who can challenge Bryant's achievements on the court. There's a similarly strong case for updating the NBA logo. The current logo features the silhouette of another LA Lakers player, Jerry West. Another NBA legend, West was the Lakers' all-time leading scorer until Bryant beat his record in 2010. He has an impeccable record, but there's a problem: while a silhouette of West may have been a representative look when the logo was designed back in 1969, modern basketball looks very different. The current NBA logo now looks a bit dated According to a report by Richard Lapchick for the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport, black players accounted for three quarters of the entire NBA line-up in 2015. Basketball has the highest percentage of black players in American professional sport, and black viewers make up the biggest proportion of the television audience. This makes having a white player on the logo problematic, to say the least. While the NBA has never actually acknowledged that it's West on the logo, it's one of those open secrets that just about everyone with an interest in basketball knows about. West has said in interviews that he'd rather not be on the logo, so updating it to more reflect the modern game should be a no-brainer. But should Kobe Bryant be the new centrepiece? As we all know by now, there's a problem with that: a previous serious sexual assault allegation, which was settled out of court, puts into question the appropriateness of using Kobe as a figurehead for a global sports brand. There's no denying the weight of public opinion on this right now, but it's an emotive issue, and the decision to redesign the NBA logo needs to be made on clearer lines. The NBA knows that if it were to put Bryant on the logo, there'd definitely be a backlash. We suspect that if this doesn't all blow over in a few weeks, the NBA would be more likely to update its logo with a player silhouette that recognised the importance of black players to the game, but without it being recognisably based on any single player. And that, at least, would be progress. Related articles: 9 inspiring examples of sports imagery in branding Don't make the same design fail as the Chicago Bulls logo The 20 best sneaker designs of all time View the full article

It's no secret that prices keep rising in today's economy, increasing the need for more jobs to bring in extra money. Whether you are looking to make an additional income to complement your day job, or you are looking to freelance full time, The Digital Marketing Side Business certification bundle will help you to start your freelance writing journey. How often have you thought about becoming a freelance professional but had no idea where to start? This five-course master class bundle helps you achieve your business goals, no matter how big or small, from the comfort of your home. Access to 29 lectures on freelance writing 101 tips and tricks enables you to build on your passions and find a freelance writing niche that is both profitable and interesting. Get Adobe Creative Cloud If you're looking to profit from blogging, a masterclass of over 80 lessons helps you build a successful blog from scratch or take your existing blog to the next level. With a step-by-step roadmap, you'll soon get started on your first (of many) paid writing gigs. (See how to start a blog for more tips on blogging.) Not only will you gain valuable guidance on how to improve your content creation skills, but you will also learn how to grow your business through promotion, SEO, email marketing, and so much more. Lessons on how to create high-ranking content on any topic (regardless of the competition) and finding the right keywords for your articles and images will help make your efforts stand out and perform. A 30-lesson course will also help you supercharge your focus on projects and create a positive mindset to stay motivated and productive throughout your freelance process. Access to The Digital Marketing Side Business Certification Bundle will typically cost you $1,000. For a limited time, you'll be able to side-hustle like a boss for only $29 – that's 97% off. With all the content available 24/7, you'll be able to effortlessly finesse your digital marketing skills and bring valuable professional and financial growth into 2020. Read more: The wrong way to build a portfolio SEO tricks: 16 ways to outrank your competitors Dashlane app rebrand will get your attention (but not in the way you'd expect) View the full article

If there's one way to get the world to pay attention to your brand, it's to get Pentagram to redesign the logo. And that's what Dashlane – a password manager and online security app – has done. It certainly got our attention. Eddie Opara headed up the design team for the brand overhaul that includes a revamped logo and a completely new brand identity. The old brand logo (below) showed a gazelle and a shield – the shield being a typical design trope used by the best antivirus software companies, and others claiming to protect people online, and the gazelle supposedly representing the 'dashing' of Dashlane. We didn't love the old branding, but it did show what Dashlane did pretty nicely (and that's something that can really help when you're creating outstanding logo design). However, Pentagram's new look is much more effective. Dashlane's old logo, before Pentagram got involved The new look consists of the 'Dashlane D', and it's made up of what Dashlane is calling 'AroundRects' – basic shapes (they're pretty much lines) that join together to make up the logo. It doesn't look so exciting in static form, but animated, it comes together pretty nicely. We also think it's just abstract enough to work as a pattern as well as a letterform, which adds a bit of depth to the new look. As well as the new logo, there's a new typeface, GT Walsheim, which Dashlane states is: "grounded in strength". It's also supposed to represent an evolution "from an overly tech-forward look and feel to reflect a much warmer, more human, way forward." We'll go with that, it's definitely clear. And it feels pretty human and warm to us. (See our free fonts roundup if you're looking to refresh your own font collection.) The new typeface, and revamped colour palette There's also a new colour palette, focused around green and a complementary pink, which may not be the most attractive we've ever seen, but it is fairly distinctive, and – again – functional. "While imbued with purpose and energy, our colours resist becoming bright or flashy," says Dashlane. "We give you a better way to move through the web. The last thing we want is to get in your way." Indeed, it seems this whole rebrand is delightfully focused on the user, and deliberately enhances the user journey, rather than interrupting it. It's sleek, minimal, and we like it This seems to be in line with Dashlane's main function as an app, which is to fill in your passwords for you to help you do things quicker online. Overall, it seems like, as usual, Pentagram has designed a new identity that is entirely fitting for the brand. “Our old brand identity didn’t quite reflect where we are going as a company,” says Dashlane's CMO Joy Howard. “We wanted a clean, flexible system that reflects the clarity of our commitment to fix the UX of the internet. We help our customers reveal and conceal themselves and their data online; that idea turns into motion in our new identity system." "We removed any extraneous filigree to present a sharp-edged visual identity system that points to Dashlane’s commitment to fix the UX of the internet," says Opara on the Dashlane site. When you're using words like "filigree" to explain your branding, who are we to argue? Read more: Do people still dislike last year's most hated rebrands? Historical figures get Instagram-ready makeovers (and they're weirdly addictive) Louis Vuitton gets a gloriously retro makeover View the full article

Researchers have release a new proof-of-concept attack targeting a new Intel Speculative-type bug called CacheOut present in most Intel CPUs. View the full article

LEGO DOTS is a new 2D tile concept from the king of tiny bricks. LEGO announced the range in style today, by opening a massive, interactive HOUSE OF DOTS in London (read on for more on that). The core DOTS range encompasses colourful 2D shapes and tiles that children can use to create their own patterns and designs, with the aim of encouraging creative self-expression. The range extends to include bracelets, picture frames, pencil holders and more, all with integrated surfaces that their owners can customise with DOTS tiles. Finally, there are over 30 'mood tiles' to jazz things up. These seem to have been inspired by emojis, and include different facial expressions, and symbols such as stars, musical notes, planets and paw prints. The range is due to launch on 1 March 2020. LEGO DOTS are aimed at children and teens – grown-ups might want to head to our guide to the best Lego sets for adults. The range includes bracelets and homeware that can be customised with DOTS tiles LEGO announced its new range in serious style, by asking artist Camille Walala to create a massive HOUSE OF DOTS in London’s Kings Cross. The free public art installation includes five rooms that have been heavily customised with a vibrant mix of LEGO DOTS and Walala’s signature patterns. The collection has launched in style with a five-room HOUSE OF DOTS Walala worked with 180 children and AFOLs (that's adult fans of LEGO, for those who don't know) to put together the huge, interactive installation. There's a living room, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom and even a DOTS DISCO room to explore, and guests can exit via – wait for it – an 8ft slide. Visitors are encouraged to get involved by creating their own DOTS patterns and bracelets, which they can take home with them. Artist Camille Walala worked on the project, which includes disco room, ball pit and 8ft slide The idea behind the DOTS range came from research that suggested children were looking for personalised forms of play that would enable them to express themselves more freely. “We’re extremely excited to introduce LEGO DOTS as a new arts and crafts building concept giving children a creative canvas for social, self-expressive play with endless, ever-changing patterns, colours and designs," says LEGO's Lena Dixen. "As someone who epitomises how confidence in your creativity can have a tremendous impact, Camille was perfect to collaborate with to announce it to the world. She has created something extraordinary and immensely fun that we can’t wait for our fans to explore and be inspired by.” HOUSE OF DOTS will be open from 28 January to 2 February (you can sign up to visit here). The DOTS range will be on sale from 1 March. Read more: Do people still dislike last year’s most hated rebrands? Lego art: 40 designs that will blow your mind Historical figures get Instagram-ready makeovers View the full article

Looking for a hot iPad deal this January? Then you won't want to miss out on these amazing Amazon deals. You can get your hands on a 32GB 10.2-inch iPad for just $249.99, and the larger 128GB 10.2-inch iPad for an impressive $329.99 – the cheapest we've seen it! That's a saving of $79 on the 32GB model and $100 on the 128GB model. The 10.2-inch iPad is Apple's latest entry-level tablet and offers a crisp Retina display, brilliant battery life (expect nearly 12 hours) and support for the Apple Pencil and Apple's keyboard cover. Check out our Apple Pencil deals and the best iPad apps for designers to help you get the most from your shiny new purchase. Across the pond, there are some equally impressive iPad deals worth checking out... Impressive discounts (like the ones above) on the iPad don't come around too often, so you really need to take advantage while you can. And, why not choose yourself something from the impressive range of iPad accessories available to keep your iPad Pro shiny and new. If these deals aren't available to you, here are some of the best iPad prices wherever you are in the world. You can also check our roundup of the best cheap iPad deals right now. View the full article

We all know consumers hate change, and they also love to complain about rebrands on the internet. But usually, people get used to a new logo after a while. So now that the dust has settled and we've entered a whole new decade, how do people feel about 2019's most controversial rebrands? To find out, Visual Objects surveyed 1,000 consumers in the States to get their views on some of 2019's most biggest rebrands. (See our logo design post for some expert advice on crafting logos.) Of course, 1,000 people isn't exactly the biggest survey ever created, but the results are still surprising. 01. Facebook Facebook went all caps in 2019 Facebook got a makeover in 2019, although the familiar blue and white logo is still there on the app itself. This new logo was designed to unify Facebook's various brands, such as Instagram and WhatsApp, and the eagle eyed will have noticed this new logo appears on the bottom of the loading screen on these apps. The new look is basically an all-caps font in different colours (read more about what we said at the time here), and wasn't exactly a huge risk for the company. The old Facebook logo Perhaps not surprisingly, 80 per cent of people surveyed preferred Facebook's old logo to the redesign. The question is, how many of those people had even noticed that Facebook had had a corporate rebrand in the first place? 02. Slack The new logo uses a pinwheel rather than a hashtag The Slack rebrand was pretty controversial at the time: people were very angry about the switch from a hashtag (below) to a pinwheel (above). Just for the record, we called out the haters pretty quickly. Just because the app uses hashtags, doesn't mean you need them in the logo The thing about redesigns is that sometimes all it takes is a few months of using something before people get used to it. And that seems to be exactly what happened with this rebrand. Roughly a year later, 73 per cent said they preferred Slack's new logo. The lesson? When you've really thought through your designs, people will often come round after a period of adjustment. 03. Yahoo The colour purple is still the cornerstone of Yahoo's logo Yahoo's redesign wasn't one we were particularly expecting. We'll admit that we may have almost forgotten about Yahoo entirely. But its update by Pentagram was a welcome change – it fleshed out the letterforms, went lower-case and added a jaunty exclamation mark that suggests fun. The old Yahoo logo now looks a little thin The survey shows that people were divided on this logo. Just over half of them – 58 per cent – preferred the old logo, leaving 42 per cent who liked the new one better. It seems the jury is still out on this one. 04. Zara Zara's new logo was controversial when first announced When Zara rebranded in January of last year, people got very upset (we may have said that it had been kerned into oblivion). In layman's terms, the letters are packed much more closely together in the new logo. The old logo had a lot more white space This is another one that split people almost down the middle. Fifty six per cent prefer the old logo, and 44 per cent prefer the redesign. We actually think the new logo has grown on us. Those letterforms seem to look more elegant over time. 05. Sears The new logo was supposed to put the focus on homes and hearts Sears' new logo was criticised on launch for appearing very similar to the Airbnb marque. And it seems that consumers haven't quite shaken that disquiet, because more than three quarters of them (79 per cent to be exact) prefer the old Sears logo to the new one. To be honest, we can kind of see why. The old one was kind of great. This old Sears logo looks a little SEGA to us To read more about the survey, as well as see how people reacted to the Lord & Taylor rebrand, see the Visual Objects website. You can also read more about last year's most talked about rebrands in our roundup of last year's biggest logo redesigns. Read more: Where to find logo design inspiration The PS5 logo we all wanted is here Reebok tweaks its classic logo View the full article

Looking to design a logo? Some of the best logo designer software can help you do just that, even if you're a novice or non-designer. The designs won't, of course, be anywhere near as good as paying a professional designer or agency to craft your logo. But if you don't have the budget for that, and just want something that looks half decent for, say, your hobby, a personal project, a mockup or internal presentation, there are many tools to help you get you there. In this article, you'll encounter the best logo designer for pros, for beginners and for non-designers, and we'll explain exactly which tools are likely to meet your specific needs. So if you need to create look for your brand, quickly and easily, check out these cool apps (and our guide to logo design). Whether you're looking for the best paid-for logo designer software, or the best free logo designer software, we've got you covered. The best paid-for logo designer software A decent logo can be crucial to your business success, so only focusing on free tools can be a false economy. In all honesty, the best logo designer for your needs is probably going to require a bit of cash. So in the first section of this post, we round up the best logo designer software around that's paid-for; for different platforms, and for pros, novice designers and non-designers respectively. Adobe Illustrator is the best logo designer for professional use First launched in 1985, Adobe Illustrator has spend several decades now as the market-leading vector editor. As the name suggests, it's not just for logo creation, but is used to craft illustrations, posters, website layouts, icons and more. But it is the tool most likely to be used by professionals to design a logo. That’s partly because it’s very powerful and feature-rich piece of design software. It’s also because it works smoothly and efficiency with the whole Creative Cloud ecosystem, which means it’s interoperable with other Adobe apps, and you can access assets such as Adobe fonts and Adobe Stock within its interface. And it's partyly because it's been around so long, it's the indisputed industry standard. If you’re completely new to design software, though, then there is a quite steep learning curve. Also be aware that Illustrator is not available as a one-off download but solely as part of a monthly subscription, which can be quite expensive (although our Adobe Creative Cloud discount article can help keep the price down). To get up to speed with designing logos using Adobe Illustrator, check out this Adobe tutorial and our own walkthrough, Design a Killer Logo in Illustrator. Create logo designs easily using Canva Logo Maker's drag-and-drop interface If you’re a novice designer with little or no experience of creative software, something like Adobe Illustrator can be a little scary. In contast, you’ll find that Canva Logo Maker makes it easy to create a nice-looking logo using a drag-and-drop interface that works right in the browser. You can use one of Canva’s professionally designed logo templates to get started, then add your brand name, and start tweaking the elements until you’ve crafted a design you’re happy with. Once you’re done, you can download and share your finished logo as PNG file. If you use your own images and graphics then you won’t pay a penny from start to finish, while the graphic elements in the library start from $1 a pop. Overall, our favourite thing about Canva Logo Maker is how easy it use to use, with helpful pop-up instructions guiding you through from start to finish. Some examples of logos created by Tailor Brands' AI-powered logo design software In our view, Tailor Brands Logo Maker is the best logo designer software for non-designers: people without a creative bone in their bodies. Because, quite simply, it does all the designing for you. It begins by asking you to type in your logo wording, then presents you with a series of typographical options and asks which you like better (you can also choose ‘I dislike both’). It’s a bit like taking a pop quiz on Facebook, and only takes a minute or two to make your choices. Once you’re done, the tool harnesses some clever AI to conjure up a selection of potential logo designs based on your choices, which can be either icon-based, initial-based or name-based. If you like one of them as they are, then you’re free to go ahead and download as an SVG or EPS file (at which point you pay). If you sort-of like one of them, you can start to customise the text, typeface, colours etc, with simple in-browser tools until you’re happy. At this point, to get access to the hi-res logo files, you’ll have to pay from £2.99 per month, billed annually. This might sound like a lot of money, but there’s plenty more thrown in too, including a logo resize tool, your logo in different social media sizes, plus a graphic design tool, stock photos and icons, and an AI-driven website builder. In short, if you’re a non-designer looking for a bundle of marketing and website services, along with a bespoke logo design, then this is well worth considering. Designhill uses AI to make creating logos easy for non-designers Designhill Logo Maker is powered by AI and works in a very similar way to Tailor Brands’ tool (above). You enter your details, pick a range of colours and designs that you like the look of, and then the software produces a number of bespoke designs for you to choose from, and/or customise. The main difference is in the pricing: while Tailor Brands Logo Maker charges you a subscription, Designhill wants a one-off fee of £50 to download and own your logo. That might seems like a lot of money, but the logo generation itself is quick, easy and free, so if you're a non-designer it's definitely worth trying. After all, if it auto-generates a logo you absolutely love, then that's not really a lot of money at all. ICONA Logo Maker is surprisingly powerful logo designer software for iOS ICONA Logo Maker is a paid-for app ($2.98) for iPhone and iPad that most educated people will probably swipe past on the App Store, thanks to its misspelled tagline “Porfessional Logo Studio”. Typos aside, however, this logo designer software is surprisingly sophisticated. Boasting more than a million customisable designs, 350K+ image backgrounds and custom hues ranging from solid colours to gradients, there’s a lot of flexibility on display here, making it more likely you’ll create something that doesn’t look like everybody’s else logo. You can customise your design further with a range of advanced controls, including smart layering, fill and stroke colouring, solid and gradient colouring, type kerning and leading, and grid snapping. Of course, non-designers won’t know what most of that means, and thus will probably be better off with one of the simpler tools on this list. But if you’re a novice designer who doesn’t want to spend a lot of time in a tool like Illustrator (and/or spend significant money), this app might be right up your street. Logo Design Studio Pro Online lets you create unlimited logos, quickly and easily Despite having 'Pro' in the title, Logo Design Studio Pro isn't really for professionals. Instead, it's closer to something like Canva Logo Maker in providing a simple interface that makes it easy for novice designers to craft a basic logo. With tools 2-4 on this list, the creation process is free, and you pay when you download the logo. Logo Design Studio Pro, conversely, charges you to use the software itself, but allows you to design as many logos as you like. As we went to press, you had the choice of paying $29.99 for a single month, or $19.99 per month if you sign up for a year. There are plenty of included assets to help you complete your logo, including thousands of templates and graphics, and hundreds of commercially licensed fonts. If you're only looking to create one logo, this app is probably overkill, but if you want to create lots, it might well be worth the subscription. The best free logo designer software While it can pay to invest in logo designer software, sometimes you just need a quick and simple logo design as a placeholder, before you sort out a more sophisticated design further down the line. However, if you Google "free logo designer software" then beware! Many of the results will bring you to logo tools that seem to be free, but actually charge you once you want to download your logo. These three tools, however, allow you to both create AND download your logo for free (albeit with some restrictions). Read on to discover the best free logo designer software available today... Shopify Hatchful is the best free logo designer software around Shopify is a paid-for platform for building your own ecommerce website, and very good it is too. But you don't need to subscribe to Shopify to use Shopify Hatchful: it's a separate app that's absolutely free. You can use it within the browser, or download the free iOS or Android app. You start by answering a series of questions about your type of business and the kind of style you're looking for, and then the software generates a series of logos for you to choose from. Click on the one you like and you can then tweak it in terms of colours, fonts and layout. It's all pretty basic, but the logos look very decent and there are no hidden charges: it's all absolutely free. Squarespace Logo Creator is super-fast and fuss-free Squarespace is another paid-for website building platform, and they were pretty much the first to offer their customers free logo designer software. Compared to the other tools on this list, though, Squarespace Logo Creator is an extremely basic logo designer. You tell the browser-based app your company name and it generates you a logo. You can choose a symbol from the Noun Project, and that's about it in terms of customisation. Then it's time to download your logo. Not a huge amount of sophistication on offer, then. But if you just want a quick logo and don't really care about the design, as long as it looks okay, then this is the fastest and easiest way to do it. However, be aware that you need to be a Squarespace customer to get a high-res version of your logo for free. Otherwise you can download the low-res version for free, but you'll have to pay $10 for the high-res file. Ucraft is the best free logo designer software for crafting your own logo from scratch Don't want an auto-generated logo but would rather craft something of your own, from scratch? Website building platform Ucraft offers a Free Logo Maker that lets you do exactly that, for free. Click on the 'Text' button, type your text and tweak the size, font, etc. Then add shapes, icons and/or backgrounds to complete your design. As far as design tools go, this is no Adobe Illustrator. But it is very easy to use, and unlike with other so-called "free" tools, you can download a hi-res PNG version of your logo without paying a penny. (An SVG file costs $7.) Read more: The 10 best logos of all time Where to find logo design inspiration 9 of the best monogram logos ever made View the full article

20th Century Fox is an iconic name in the movie industry. It's the studio behind some of the biggest cinematic blockbusters in living memory, including Star Wars, Avatar, Titanic and, of course, How to Train Your Dragon 2, and its unmistakable searchlight logo and accompanying fanfare is a familiar sight to any film lover. But as of now, 20th Century Fox is no more. Disney bought 20th Century Fox last year, acquiring a huge library of film classics going back about 85 years, and while it's a strong brand with one of the best logos around, Disney felt that the studio simply wasn't performing as well as it did in its glory days. And so the brand's had a makeover, renamed as 20th Century Studios with a new logo to match, first spotted on a poster for The New Mutants. Disney Plus: everything you need to know If you look really closely you can see the new logo on this poster for The New Mutants It's a strange choice of name. Back at the turn of the century there was plenty of talk about what 20th Century Fox would do with its name; would it want a name that was stuck in the past, or would it rename itself 21st Century Fox to move with the times? It turns out that the name was strong enough to stick with. 20 years on, though, and Disney's decision to lose the 'Fox' bit of the name but keep the '20th Century' bit seems just a little obtuse. Arguably 'Fox' is the more identifiable bit of the brand, although it's fair to say that there are other media brands that share the Fox name, so Disney may well be taking steps to disassociate its studio from the likes of Fox News, which Disney has nothing to do with. Not much has changed from the previous logo The 20th Century Studios logo itself is almost identical to the previous 20th Century Fox logo. It's the same high-contrast black and white look, and the only real difference is that the word 'Fox' has been replaced by the word 'Studios'. If you saw it in the corner of a movie poster then you'd barely notice the change. But what about the on-screen version of the logo, the one with the moving searchlights and fanfare that we've all seen hundreds of times? Once again there's not much changed; you can see the new version at the end of this little compilation video: The first film to be released under the new 20th Century Studios banner is going to be Call of the Wild, starring Harrison Ford, and there's a fun piece of synchronicity there. 20th Century Fox came into being back in 1935, when Fox bought 20th Century Pictures, and what was the first film it released? You got it: We still wish they'd bite the bullet and embrace the 21st century, though. Related articles: Understand Disney's 12 principles of animation Is this the defining movie poster trend of the decade? 27 top movie title sequences View the full article

New research from IOActive has found that “blindly” trusting the encryption of the widely adopted device protocol can lead to DDoS, sending of false data and other cyber attacks. View the full article

Design for good is not just a 'buzzy' phrase. Now more than ever, designers recognise the importance of turning their hand to become a real force for good. Put into practice, creating in this way can enrich your agency and the work you do. A real emotional investment is often at the core – working with charities can be fulfilling and rewarding in ways that commercial work simply isn’t. Creative studios of all sizes can make an effort to include charity work in their remit, and those that do it well are quite vocal about it. Commercial agencies will always have one eye on the bottom line, and it can be difficult to identify which charities or social causes are a good fit for your team. Yet the knowledge that you’re making a real difference can be the catalyst for producing your best work (and can be a great way to spruce up your portfolio, see our favourite design portfolios for some inspiration on that front). "It’s always motivating to work with organisations that are driven by doing more than just feeding their bottom line," says Jonathan Hubbard, creative director at London-based agency The Clearing. "The charity sector has interesting challenges. It’s very congested, which means that charities have to be very clear about who they are, what they do and why they exist, if they’re going to connect with supporters, partners and colleagues. Brand is vital in the charity sector." Hubbard believes that to really work, charity brands have to create an emotional connection to their audiences. "They have to be clear about their cause, their vision and the problem they’re here to fix. They need to be built from a strong and motivating idea and have a soul. Charities used to operate their brands in a traditional ‘command and control’ way. Today, they need to be able to give control to anyone who wants to engage with the brand." 01. Don't rely on tugging the heartstrings The Clearings’ One Feeds Two identity in action The Clearing worked with charity One Feeds Two to develop a brand with mass-market appeal to act as a credible commercial partner and an easy but impactful choice for consumers. The agency designed a simple, clear visual and verbal identity to attract new commercial partnerships and raise awareness of One Feeds Two’s cause. "The brand work had to move the project from one man-with-a-soup van, to a credible and desirable brand to engage national and international food partners and feeding charities to creating mass-market appeal for consumers," reveals Hubbard. Consulting with charity founders, food partners and potential customers, the agency focused on its one-for-one proposition: connecting the process of buying food with the impact of providing food. "Rather than tugging on people’s heartstrings or making them feel guilty," says Hubbard, "the brand makes consumers feel good about their choice – summed up in the line ‘Join the movement for happier meals.’" Byron Burgers got involved with One Feeds Two in part because of its branding One Feeds Two has shaken up the congested charity sector by developing a credible brand with The Clearing that’s gained buy-in from national partners, including the likes of Bryon Burgers, Higgidy Pies, Mindful Chef and Baker Miller, to name but a few. The charity has delivered over six million school meals to children in poverty, putting more than 31,500 children through a year of school. Almost 99 per cent of these meal donations are from partner activity. Cristina Fedi, former head of brand at Bryon Burgers, was won over by the One Feeds Two rebrand that caught her eye on Facebook. "We’d been looking for a charity partner that matched Byron in its individual and simple approach, with a similarly bold and eye-catching design. One Feeds Two stood out straight away: it had a strong logo that could communicate the idea without explanation, a beautifully designed visual identity that put a smile on our face, and we knew it could sit harmoniously alongside our own brand on our menus, leaflets and digital media." Three years on, Byron has been responsible for delivering a million meals and putting over 5,000 children through school. "We’re proud to work with the charity," says Fedi. Being an art director: All you need to know 02. User experience can be powerful The Calm Harm app encourages users to interact with characters to manage their emotions effectively Focusing on health, science and tech, digital agency HMA works on a broad range of projects, from the design and development of websites, apps and other digital tools to the marketing of digital products and services. Its client list includes a number of charitable organisations, including stem4, which it first worked with in 2016 to reposition the Calm Harm app. Conceived by clinical psychologist Dr Nihara Krause, the concept for the app was to help teenagers resist or manage the urge to self-harm through supportive, evidence-based dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) techniques. By the time HMA came on board, Calm Harm was already on the App Store and had been downloaded over 24,000 times, but the charity knew that there was potential to help a lot more young people. "The primary focus of its brief was to deliver a more engaging user experience; making the design and visual elements of the app more appealing to its teenage target audience so that they would feel comfortable using it," explains HMA’s managing director Nicola Tiffany. HMA brought together stakeholders, parents, young people, teachers and clinicians to carry out a strategic review of the existing app and co-produce a road map. "We looked at desired outputs, user journeys, visual concepts and security/privacy considerations leading to decisions about the user experience and tone of voice," explains Tiffany. "The app is based on the notion that the urge to self-harm is like a wave – feeling most powerful when you start wanting to do it. Once you surf the wave, the urge will fade. "Users can learn to ‘surf the wave’ using five- or 15-minute exercises with content based on evidence-based DBT techniques and the characters (avatars) were created so that users could – if they chose to – have a ‘companion’ while surfing." For more on building apps, see our how to make an app post. 03. Don't assume all charities are good Just because an app has good intentions, doesn't mean it's based on scientifically robust assumptions Tiffany continues: "While it seems like a saturated market, there’s a real need for good quality, evidence-based apps to support people in various clinical and non-clinical contexts." She discovered that, according to ORCHA (Organisation for the Review of Care and Health Apps) which carries out independent assessments of apps for NHS Digital, there are over 327,000 apps claiming to help us stay healthy or manage our health (rising 990 per cent from the 30,000 available in 2013), yet only around 112,000 of these apps are looked after, updated and kept fresh. Delving deeper into the evaluation of these, only around 15,000 are secure, clinically safe or have met design standards. "It begs the question as to whether the creative industry should be selective about the projects they work on if they have the potential to do more harm than good," says Tiffany. With nearly one million downloads in two years, the app has won several awards and raised the profile of both stem4 and HMA through the external recognition they’ve received. "Working within the health sector, and specifically for charitable organisations, provides a sense of worth for our project teams," reflects Tiffany. "They’re doing their job while also helping people, and seeing the difference that their work makes has a really positive impact on team morale.” 04. Get the right help It’s a sentiment that’s echoed in the collaborative efforts of Grey London’s creative team, who together with executive producers at Thomas Thomas Films, conceived the idea of The Wayback after sharing their family experiences of Alzheimer’s. "We all felt that we wanted to do something to make some kind of difference,"says Grey London's Dan Cole. "Alzheimer’s is a hugely frustrating disease for families to go through, as there seems so little that you can do. But once we started thinking about it, and talking about it, we started to have ideas of how we could help in some small way." A group of friends who have worked on advertising projects together in the past, including Vodafone and News International, the team were inspired by the idea of virtual reality. "We began to wonder if such an immersive experience as VR could help people with dementia to remember parts of their lives – and if the experience might help trigger conversations with their loved ones and carers," reveals Cole. With the idea for immersive video in mind the team started to brainstorm ideas of what time and place they could recreate in 360-degree film – with all the sights and sounds from a moment in time that would be familiar to millions. "We hoped that if we made the film as authentic as possible, so it really looked and sounded like a moment from their memory, that it would help spark some recollection," adds Cole. "We settled on the Queen’s coronation in 1953 as a pilot film, purely because many people in the UK over 70 would have some recollection of this moment. There were thousands of street parties on the day so most people took part in some way.” Interested in VR? See our best VR headsets buying guide. The Wayback takes people back to street parties around the Queen's coronation Funding the project on Kickstarter was one of the biggest challenges faced by the team, which needed to raise £35,000 to make the pilot. "It involved countless phone calls and emails and tweets, and some very generous people. We realised that every single detail in the films could be a potential memory trigger for somebody, so getting all of this right was crucial.” The team also consulted with Dr David Sheard, a leading dementia care expert, and pulled together a huge crew who sourced hundreds of outfits and props that would bring the day to life for the viewer. "Making a 360-degree film in the way that we felt was important is not cheap. From day one we were obsessed that the film should look so real that it almost felt like archive footage. So attention to detail was everything. Which meant we would need authentic wardrobe, sets and hundreds of extras!" The team also self-funded thousands of cardboard VR viewers to supply to care homes. Following the film’s release the project won several awards including D&AD, SXSW, Creative Circle and The Art of Creativity award, giving it a permanent place in the British Film Archive. 05. Pick something you really care about "Professionally, it’s been a real learning curve to be our own client, making decisions on everything from budget to PR," reflects Cole. "I think people are driven best by the causes closest to their heart, and to their own experiences." He argues that turning to people who have had personal experience of a cause and have a set of creative skills that could be utilised to bring about change should be an important stage in any social project. "I think the creative industry is sometimes overlooked by government as an effective approach to tackling some of the toughest problems in society.” 06. Check out AIGA's Design for Good initiative AIGA‘s Get Out the Vote campaign used design to encourage participation in the critical 2016 US elections. The campaign was a key element of AIGA’s ongoing Design for Democracy initiative Creative director at Seattle-based agency Modern Species and AIGA member Gage Mitchell is part of a task force/committee of socially responsible and sustainable design thought leaders that drives the AIGA Design for Good initiative. This was formed to help provide the organisation and its members with clarity around what "design for good" means and how it differs from sustainable design, diversity and inclusion, and other AIGA social impact-focused initiatives. Mitchell says sustainable change lives on after you’re gone. "That means teaching others what I know, connecting people and building teams where I can, and being an open book with all my resources, with the assumption that empowering others is more impactful that just doing what I can alone." When a designer feels they want to make a difference, they know where to go first, where their talents will be respected and where we can match them with problems that need to be solved, explains AIGA executive director Richard Grefé. "If designers are involved in projects affecting the community, and are seen as a convener of groups that can solve community problems, then they’re going to be standing with attorneys, with accountants, with community leaders who see the way designer addresses a problem and the effectiveness of bringing creativity anytime you’re dealing with a problem that has many dimensions," says Grefé. Path to Impact is a methodology that guides people through the process of designing for "good". It defines what’s meant by good, weaves in sustainability and inclusive design practices, and acts as a resource for people looking to lead communities and organisations through the process using different strategy and design thinking methods is available to AIGA members, explains Mitchell. "In the AIGA Path to Impact workbook we suggest that design can aim to make an impact on the environment, society, culture and the economy. This basically means that we believe a strategic design process could be used to help teams of people make an impact on any problem," says Mitchell. "Once you stop thinking of design as an outcome (the thing we’re designing) and more as a process (framing the challenge, ideating and evaluating solutions, and so on) you find that you can use that process in all aspects of your life and work.” 07. You don't need to work for free More assets designed by The Clearing for One Feeds Two Working alongside Gage Mitchell on the AIGA Design for Good taskforce, Rule29’s founder and creative director Justin Ahrens argues that the biggest mindshift that needs to happen is thinking work needs to be pro bono. "In any project we do, there has to be some investment by the client. It may be nominal, but the point is for everyone involved to be committed. For all the work that we do in the non-profit space we offer process audits and budgetary guidance for organisations to be able to plan over time to pay for the work they are getting. It’s really about understanding value and education." These days good charities need to view themselves more as businesses with a social objective. They need to generate income that they invest into the cause as well as building their brands and growing their people, says Hubbard. "Part of that investment in their brands is paying their partners, and although we might work at a reduced fee, we generally don’t work pro bono.” Design for good is about using strategic design thinking and processes to bring about positive outcomes and impact. Gage Mitchell "I don’t think it’s super-difficult to find agencies willing to do the occasional pro bono work for non-profits, but I do think it’s rare to find agencies who know how to design for a sustainable, measurable impact,"continues Mitchell. "By that I mean that design for good isn’t merely about doing what you’ve always done; designing a brochure let’s say, but for a non-profit instead of a corporation. Design for good is about using strategic design thinking and processes to bring about positive outcomes and impact. "That might mean telling the non-profit a brochure isn’t going to solve their problem and encouraging them to instead co-design a more impactful solution (which could be something else entirely) with their fellow stakeholders," says Mitchell, who argues designers should encourage their corporate clients to look beyond profit/sales goals and think about reducing upstream waste and/or adding additional value to the community they’re serving. "Bottom line, while it’s not ‘difficult’ per say, it’s not currently the default mindset in the design community. But that’s what AIGA (and design studios like Modern Species) are working to change.” 08. Think about all your projects Designing for good doesn’t necessarily mean designing for free or at a discount for a non-profit either, according to Mitchell. "You can design at your full rate for a for-profit corporate and still make a positive impact. So I would challenge creatives to think beyond the ‘occasional discounted work for a non-profit’ mentality and think more about how they can weave impact into every project, into their core values as a creative, and into their business model. As designers, we have a lot of power to make a difference in the world, and with that power comes a responsibility to use that power wisely. If a superhero doesn’t limit their "pro bono" work to five per cent of their time, why should we?" Positive change can only be brought about if a cause is clear, compelling and motivates participation, concludes Hubbard. "Good communication is at the heart of that change, so for us getting involved in projects where we can use our skills to further a cause we believe in is both rewarding and important." This article originally appeared in issue 299 of Computer Arts, the world’s leading design magazine. Buy issue 299 or subscribe here. Read more: 5 tips for presenting your work on social media 9 design trends that defined the year of rebellion How to generate ideas View the full article

Splash pages – introductory pages that users have to exit to explore the main site – are old right? They’re certainly not as common as they once were, and they may not be the best choice for SEO or user experience, but splash pages should not be written off. There are still enough examples out there of good use of splash pages that they cannot be overlooked by web designers, and there are times when a splash page may still offer the best UX. A splash page is a preliminary initial page that visitors see when arriving at the website before advancing to the first page proper. They can serve as a gateway that customers pass through before getting free reign to the whole site. They're usually heavy on visuals and include a call to action to help the visitor decide what to do next. They can serve simply to wow the visitor with impressive CSS animation or graphics, or to deliver a crucial message such as an upcoming event or special promotion, but they can also serve to check people are arriving at the right place, check where they want to go, check they’re the right age in the case of accessing restricted content. Here are seven good examples of where a splash page can still be a good idea. 01. Zara Zara uses its splash page to impress while checking where we want to go Most websites that operate across regions and languages will now automatically detect location and language and take you the site that fits, but it’s not an exact science and can still end you in a site in a language you don’t understand struggling to find the language selector. The official Zara website still uses a splash site to ask visitors to choose. It also avoids the common error of confusing language and region, not assuming that everyone in a particular country prefers to communicate in the dominant language, so the US store, for example is available in both English and Spanish. For a brand with stores in 96 countries, it makes sense and avoids sending people away from the site all together if they arrive at a store they weren’t looking for. But Zara also takes advantage to dazzle with impressive imagery. In the case of the Zara page, the site stores your preferences for the next time you visit, to avoid getting tired, and they change it every couple of months to make sure people are seeing something new if they visit again. 02. Yeezy (Adidas) Yeezy Boost's splash page gives visitors a warning A splash page can be just the ticket for a newsworthy event or to respond to something happening now. In this case, Yeezy's splash page (on the Adidas site) serves to preempt visitors’ disappointment, making it clear before they begin the order process that a new limited edition model has sold out, and providing the chance to join the waiting list. This also serves to promote the excitement around the product, making it seem even more desirable and hard to get. 03. Smooth Hound Smith Smooth Hound Smith uses a splash page to give fans the chance to go straight to tour dates or new material Users of certain sites have particular common behaviour. Fans of a band for example are often want to get straight to the latest tour dates or newest material from the group without needing to go to the main site. Nashville Americana duo Smooth Hound Smith provide a basic splash page that previews new material while giving option to go straight to tour dates or to join the mailing list or go to social media accounts, as well as continuing to the homepage. The site lets us see the band’s new material and provides a clear and concise roadmap for the most common actions. The video in the background highlights new material and promotes the duo’s music, accompanied by a couple of good-sized quotes from reviews, 04. Glassful Special events may also be worth creating a splash page Special events are another source of splash-worthy material. In this example, wine club Glassful used a splash to promote its first birthday party, with all the information needed and a call to action to RSVP Ideally, splash pages should be as lightweight as possible to load quickly and avoid SEO or usability issues. A simple event invitation does the job nicely. 05. Schmoll Schmoll Creatives uses a splash page to define its personality A splash page can be just the ticket if you have a message you want to get out there before people are distracted by anything else. Schmoll Creative’s minimal splash page says a lot without trying too hard, with a bold claim of "less agency, more creative", it defines its personality, and offers a boldly direct call to action "hire us". It’s clear and concise and gives you a good idea of what the agency is all about before seeing a single piece of its work. 06. Resn Resn breaks the rules and takes us on a journey Here's another agency splash page, but this one has a very different approach. New Zealand-based Resn showcases not only a direct message, but takes splash pages as an opportunity to have some fun and show off its creativity by taking us on a wandering journey through a greyscale, apple-themed kaleidoscope; a bat with a ouija board that uses its x-ray laser beams to strip the flesh from people in old paintings; a psychedelic bottle that tips out bizarre clipart. It breaks all the rules of designing a splash page in that it’s meandering, has a vague point and is not entirely useful, but then a production agency can get away with such things if it highlights its creativity. The result is compelling enough that it works as something of a filter. You're likely to keep digging around if you like the style, and it’ll make an impression that will stay with you. If it’s not you thing, you’ll move on and not waste the agency's time with an enquiry. 07. Football Choose any sport, as long as it’s football Language and region settings are not the only thing you might want to give a visitor the chance to choose from when they hit your site. If you’re providing widely different products or services, a splash page can be a quick way to divide the experience and allow visitors to choose which service they want and avoid them having to wade through irrelevant menus relating to other services. American football website football.com for a time took a fun advantage over the confusion around the use of the term “football” in North America versus the rest of the world to check with visitors just what they were looking for with a visual clarification. Read more: 7 totally distinct brand Instagram feeds 6 questions you need to ask your new client Discover the unknown stories behind everyday icons View the full article

Zoom has patched a flaw that could have allowed attackers to guess a meeting ID and enter a meeting. View the full article