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Whether you're designing website or apps, prototyping is a vital part of the design phase that enables you and your clients to get an idea of what you're building and how it feels to use. A good prototype can save you countless hours of explaining features and gathering feedback, and with the right tools you can quickly iterate and fix any potential problems before moving to production and user testing. Established studios will already be set up with one or more of the top prototyping tools, but if you're just getting started and cash flow is a problem, you might be reluctant to spend money that could be used elsewhere in your business. Thankfully there are some great free options out there, from free versions of paid services through to completely free prototyping tools that do much of what premium services offer. Here are six of the best to try out. 8 essential tools for UI prototyping 01. Origami Studio Origami's a Mac-only tool developed at Facebook Developed at Facebook as a tool for building and designing products, Origami is available free for Mac users. You need to be a registered Apple developer to get started, with Xcode and Quartz Composer installed, but once you've jumped through the necessary hoops you'll find that it's easy to start creating with Origami, thanks to a wealth of online documentation, tutorials and ready made prototypes. You can import designs from Sketch and Photoshop with project layers preserved, and create concepts with simulated scrolling, taps, swipes and page links. As well as mobile apps you can also use Origami to create responsive websites with features such as text input and drag and drop, and once you're finished it's easy to export prototypes to be added to projects. 02. Webflow Webflow gives you two free projects to get a taste for its abilities Webflow has plenty of paid plans on offer for all team sizes, but if you're looking for a taster then there's a free option that will do a great job of getting you started, allowing you two projects, client billing and free staging, but no code export or project transfer option. With a visual CMS you can create dynamic, responsive prototypes without having to write any code, and it comes with a library of templates and components to make it even easier to build your projects. Prototypes can be connected to over 400 services including Slack, Google Drive and MailChimp, and if you get stuck there's a wealth of online documentation to help you out. 03. Vectr Here's a vector design tool that's great for prototyping and gathering feedback Built as a free cross-platform vector design app, Vectr also works very well as a free prototyping tool. While it's maybe a little slim on features compared with other vector apps, it's designed to be easy to pick up and play with, and after following a few tutorials (there are plenty to get stuck into on the Vectr site) you'll be ready to start designing. One really useful collaboration function is its link sharing option; with that you can send a link to others and they'll be able to watch you edit in real-time and provide quick feedback. And once you're done, your finished design can be exported as a JPG, PNG or SVG. 04. Justinmind Justinmind's free wireframing tool gives you plenty of options to play with Justinmind's powerful prototyping tool is available to download for free, but to get the full set of features you'll need to sign up for a paid subscription. However, for more basic projects Justinmind also provides a wireframing tool that's free forever and allows you to create unlimited prototypes, pages and users for both web and mobile apps. During your 15-day trial period you'll get access to more advanced functionality, such as advanced web interactions and mobile gestures, plus effects, transitions and animations, so you might feel inclined to pay up for the full feature set once the trial period runs out. By then, though, you'll have got an idea of whether Justinmind will pay for itself as a prototyping tool. 05. Figma The free option from Figma is brilliant for collaborative creation For anyone wanting to work collaboratively on their prototypes, Figma is a brilliant solution. It enables designers to work together in real-time and also makes it easy to share works-in-progress with clients and stakeholders, and crucially it enables you to build prototypes that feel like the real deal, complete with interactions, animations and dynamic content overlays. While the professional versions of Figma are paid-only, there's a free starter version that's ideal for getting up to speed with its tools. It allows for up to two editors and three projects, with unlimited cloud storage and a 30-day version history, making it perfect for getting up and running. If you're a student, though, it's worth knowing that you should qualify for free access to Figma's professional plan, giving you unlimited project and much more. 06. InVision InVision makes it simple to turn flat designs into clickable prototypes InVision offers a variety of tools for creating engaging interactive prototypes, and like many of the platforms covered here it operates on a paid basis but with a free version. In this case, the free version of InVision restricts you to just one prototype, but as is the case with Figma, there are free upgrades available for students. Turning static designs into clickable prototypes is nicely straightforward with InVision; you can click and drag hotspots onto your creations to simulate click or hover actions, add links to other screens in your prototype, and simulate real-life interactivity by using gestures for transitions. And it's similarly easy to share your work; prototypes can be opened in the browser or on mobile, and InVision's LiveShare feature means that you can also present prototypes in real-time. Related articles: 8 essential prototyping and build tools How to avoid prototyping pitfalls The 20 best wireframe tools View the full article

Every year, digital design becomes more ingrained in our daily lives. Smartphones and devices filled with apps for everything from fitness and food, to travel and timetable – there’s really never been a better time to be a digital designer. Shillington’s graphic design course delves into the digital side of design, using industry standard software to teach UX and UI design to students wanting to lead the way in this rapidly growing area. Shillington’s innovative approach to teaching means graduates can have an incredible portfolio under their belt and are industry-ready in as little as three months (or nine months if you prefer part-time study). And there’s also the opportunity to study abroad, with six Shillington campuses across the UK, US and Australia (Bondi, anyone?). Sound too good to be true? Hear from the students themselves in these open and honest Shillington testimonials, and see for yourself in this inspirational student showcase. But before all that, here’s a round up of some amazing digital designs, all created by former Shillington students, to inspire you. 01. Friendly Faces font app Former Shillington Melbourne student James Freebairn is the designer behind Friendly Faces font app, which helps identify unknown typefaces when you’re out and about. Not only a super-helpful tool for any designers on the go, but it looks the part too. 02. Das Food food delivery app Shillington graduate Petra Venturini created this beautifully simplistic concept food ordering app for German restaurant Das Food. The cute, simple icons work perfectly with the limited colour palette, leaving users in no doubt of how to order their favourite dish. 03. Figured Cloud accounting app Accounting is not the easiest of subjects to come at from a creative angle, but former Melbourne Shillington student Benjamin Ngooi has managed it beautifully with his finance app, Figured. The clean, minimal design makes the subject both accessible and engaging. 04. Bean mental health app Previous Shillington student Meg Lawrence created this concept design app to tackle mental health. Centred around mindfulness, personal growth and self-care, the hand-drawn icons and earthy green colour give it an overriding sense of nature and an altogether friendly, approachable feel – perfect for the subject matter. 05. Wobbly Wonderful recipe app Apps need to stand out these days, and this concept design from Shillington graduate Vanessa Low certainly does that. Using vibrant graphics, the images immediately catch your eye – an ingenious way to emphasise the versatility of jelly. 06. Verst money management app It can be hard to be inspired by money, especially if you don’t have much. But this gorgeous money management concept app, Verst, designed by Shillington graduate Lucia Gajdošovà, is definitely something to get excited about. Sleek, clean and easy to read, Verst would no doubt keep even the biggest spendthrifts on top of their finance goals. 07. Buddy mobile network app “We’re all tired of boring, basic, banal data providers, this is why Buddy was created,” says designer and former Shillington graduate Stefania Luvarà. She’s got a point, right? Buddy is a world away from the design of your average data provider apps, which is nothing but a good thing. 08. Daily Green climate change website Shillington graduate Jessica Ibbett put together this striking website design for action on climate change. The attention-grabbing design references old-school notes, schedules and to-do lists to help spread the message of planning for the future. You can’t miss it, and that’s kind of the point. 09. Submerge wild swimming app Jay Van Duerse is a former Shillington student. He’s also a big fan of wild swimming, hence his Submerge app. A clean, beautiful and minimal design, Submerge shares details of the nearest ‘swimming paradise’. And it does so in such an effective, inviting way, it’ll make you want to reach for your swimmers even on the coldest of days. 10. Reefresh reef clean up app Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock recently, you’ll know the Great Barrier Reef is under serious threat from coral bleaching. To highlight the issue, former Shillington student Isabella Coman created this clean up app concept, which not only aims to do good, but looks really lovely too. Want to create amazing digital designs like these? Read more about studying at Shillington and learning to become a graphic designer in three months full-time or nine months part-time in London, Manchester, New York, Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane. View the full article

Several flaws found in Nvidia's graphics drivers could enable denial of service, remote code execution and other malicious attacks. View the full article

Learning how to code may not be as daunting or complicated as you might think. Start making your career goals a reality and master the ins and outs of coding with The 2020 Learn to Code Full Stack Developer Certification Bundle, now only $38.99. With nine courses and over 450 lessons, this master bundle will teach you everything you need to take your web developer skills to new heights. Taught by top-tier industry instructors, the guided lectures will lead you through everything from fundamental concepts to complex HTML programming. Lifetime access to all the courses allows you to come back and visit each idea whenever you need extra help. Whatever your level of expertise, you're bound to learn new tips and tricks that make a successful web developer and build on your skills to start making the big bucks. And once you've got the knowledge, you can start to utilise our pick of the best web design tools. Receive over 50 hours of instruction Lessons in Python, Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, PHP, C#, and more will teach you the differences in each program and how to conquer each one in the most comprehensive manner. You'll capture how to know the difference between query languages and databases, create advanced database tables, write clean code that will make your work more readable, learn to debug any code to find and fix bugs, and so much more. With 50+ hours of instruction, you'll soon be on your way to earning your certification upon completion, a valuable asset to add to your portfolio that will give you an edge over the competition. Access to The 2020 Learn to Code Full Stack Developer Certification Bundle is valued at almost $2,000. For a limited time, this bundle is price-slashed to only $38.99, a saving of 97%. With all the content available 24/7, you'll be able to effortlessly finesse your coding skills and start up a prosperous career in web development. Read more: 6 huge web design trends for 2020 Master minimalism in web design Who are the unsung heroes of web design? View the full article

A security error in the Walgreens mobile app may have leaked customers' full names, prescriptions and shipping addresses. View the full article

The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games has revealed over 70 new pictograms depicting every sport in Tokyo 2020 – and for the first time in the history of the event, the images are animated. The beautiful designs, covering 33 Olympic sports and 22 Paralympic sports, were animated by Japanese motion designer Kota Iguchi. They each appear as blue fragments on a white background before showing a short sequence of the sport in motion, freezing for a moment, then disappearing. "It took more than a year to create them," says Iguchi. "I hope that they will brighten up each of the events." We've no doubt that they will – we're suckers for a cool piece of animation (check out our favourite css animation examples). We've been staring at the archery design for hours: It's fitting to see the world's first kinetic pictograms introduced by Tokyo 2020, since it was Tokyo 1964 that brought us the first static pictograms. According to the Tokyo Organising Committee, the original pictograms "arose from a need to communicate visually with an increasingly international group of athletes and spectators". The Olympics are a haven for graphic design fans, and Tokyo 2020 has led to some truly stunning commissions. We particularly loved these minimal Team GB designs revealed by Tom Pigeon last month. Tokyo 2020's kinetic pictograms will appear at competition venues, as well as across the games' official website and social media. Find out more about the kinetic pictograms on the official Tokyo 2020 website, or see more of them in action in the video below. Related articles: Tokyo 2020 Olympic posters are a delightfully eclectic mix Design sheet for the iconic 1964 Olympic logo unearthed Tokyo 2020 strikes gold with its recycled Olympic medals View the full article

When Karla Ortiz gives advice on how to become a successful artist, it's advice you want to pay attention to. The award-winning Puerto Rican creative has already ticked most of the boxes on any aspiring artists' dream-list. In her 10 years as a concept artist, she's contributed to several big-budget films, including Jurassic World, World of Warcraft, Rogue One, Thor Ragnarok, Black Panther, Infinity Wars, and Doctor Strange. As an illustrator, she's perhaps best known for her work on Magic: The Gathering; while as a fine artist her work has been exhibited in major galleries worldwide. So when Ortiz spoke last Friday at Vertex, the sell-out event for 2D and 3D artists, we were eager to hear what she had to say. And she didn't disappoint: in a talk full of passion, Ortiz shared a torrent of wisdom gleaned from a career full of ups and downs. Read on, as we share some of her best tips. Also read: Art techniques: top techniques for painting and drawing 01. We all have bad days Karla Ortiz designed Doctor Strange for the Marvel Movie... but says she's as human and falliable as any other artist If you’re doubting your ability to succeed as an artist, then don’t worry, says Ortiz: you’re not alone. "We all have that shared emotional up and down: ‘I can't paint this right, so I suck.’ You don't believe you are as good as you are, because you don't see it. But that's okay, it's a very normal thing for an artist. You're not an artist unless you want to quit at least once." The most common trait of artists, she notes, is to constantly compare yourself to the most successful artists. It’s an example of survivorship bias: "the tendency to focus so much on other people’s success, it renders the failures it took to get to that success invisible". In other words, when you see a famous piece of art, you don’t see the countless terrible paintings that artist made which went straight in the trash. "When you see this incredible painter or this incredible VFX artist, you only see the end result, the shiny career," she says. "You don’t see the trials and tribulations it took to get that far. So always, always, keep your survivorship bias in check." To illustrate an example from her own career, she refers to her time at ILM. "I had a really horrible first day, in fact I had a really horrible first two months," she reveals. “I didn’t have any friends. I thought I was going to get fired. And then to make matters worse, I had this one really horrible day when nothing I did worked out. So feeling defeated, I went home." Stepping into the elevator, she was joined by the iconic Star Wars artist Ian McCaig, who walked in and emitted a heavy sigh. “Ian is a consistent source of positive energy, so to hear him sigh is something of concern," Ortiz recalls. "So I asked what was wrong, and he was like: 'I had a rough day at work, I couldn’t quite paint what I wanted.' "He said something so normal, but my mind exploded," continues Ortiz. “Here is one of Hollywood’s best legendary artists and he had a rough day. So I’m allowed to have one too. But my attachment to whether what I did was good or not was so strong, it invaded my ability to perform. That’s something you should really not allow yourself to do. Because we all have bad days. You’re not alone in having a bad day." 02. Age doesn’t matter You don't have to be a certain age to succeed as an artist; it's all about the art you produce Ortiz speaks at conferences all over the world, and meets artists from many different backgrounds. “But they all have the same fears” she says. “For instance, this adorable lady came to me and said, ‘I’m close to being 50: I’m so scared that I don’t think I can do this.’ But that’s so wrong. We have this ridiculous focus on age, it’s complete crap. It doesn’t matter, because it’s not a race. The whole idea is get knowledge and to get there eventually." Many people think you have to be young to succeed in the art world, but there are countless examples of artists who blossom later in life, and that’s to the benefit of everyone, believes Ortiz. “The best thing about art is that it reflects the point of view of a particular person in time, and that is an amazing thing,” she reasons. “So whatever age you are, don’t feel that pressure, that ‘I want to achieve this by the time I’m such-and-such an age’. I was once one of those people, and it was useless, it was a waste of my time. Your time is served much better if you focus on knowledge and practice.” 03. Develop a support network Reach out to others, as a support network can be invaluable “This man came up to me and said: ‘My family doesn’t like what I do: they don’t know what being an artist is about, they don’t believe in it, they don’t care about it,” remembers Ortiz. And this made her realise the importance of having a support mechanism. “Of having people around you who say: ‘You know what? This might be hard, but you can do it.' To have that person in your life can really change everything for you.” Of course, some people are luckier than others; Ortiz herself came from a family of artists. “So what if you can’t find support networks?” she asks. “You need to reach out to others. Surround yourself with people who will believe in you, no matter what. That sometimes comes in the form of friends, it sometimes comes in the form of online communities." Once you start interacting with other artists online, you’ll soon discover it's a profession that’s particularly friendly and supportive. In Ortiz’s words: “Twitter is a pretty scary place, but our Twitter? Our Twitter’s cool.” 04. Be resilient You have to be strong and resilient, and play the long game However, while a support network can help you, you can’t rely on it, adds Ortiz. “To be a successful artist, there’s also an element of needing to build yourself up, of becoming resilient and strong.” All artists get knockbacks and rejections, but you have to keep powering on and pursuing your vision. How do you do that in practice? “Detach yourself from the idea that your value as a human being and how good your art is depends on how successful you are," says Ortiz. "You’ve got to really disassociate yourself from that, because that will make you feel very very alone." 05. Art is a puzzle Before you can start to improve your art, Ortiz says, you need to understand what art actually is. In her words: “Art is a puzzle and the only way to solve it through practice.” But ‘practice’ doesn’t mean just blindly doing the same thing again and again. “For instance, if you were doing a jigsaw and there was a piece that wasn’t quite fitting, you wouldn’t keep trying to jam it in the same place,” she reasons. “That would be crazy. But we do that to our own artwork.” Often you need to take a step back, she says. “So don’t validate yourself on whether you can paint something or not,” she recommends. “Instead, ask yourself: do you know what are you painting about? If the answer is no, find out. Why does light bounce the way that it does? Why does everything look flat on an overcast day? Why does hair shine like a ribbon? Ask questions like this.” The best way to gain this knowledge is to pursue it systemically, she says. “So I’d urge you every day to do a least 15 minutes of art theory studies. You’ll start to really get things like colour harmony, like composition, shape, value. Do this consistently, and you’re going to learn a ton.” Check out our pieces on colour theory and the best art books to get a handle on art theory. 06. Learn from the masters Copying the masters can help you to create learn to great art like this Of course, studying art theory is only one half of the equation; it’s also vital to practice consistently. “A lot of art is just hours and hours of practice doing the things that matter, and at one point, things just start to click,” says Ortiz. But what should you practice? She recommends the master study: “You choose a dead artist you love, and copy one of their paintings directly. This should takes as long as it takes. If it takes you a week, two weeks, a month, that’s how long it should take you.” And it’s not just something you do at the start of your career, but throughout it. “I do constant studies whenever I can,” points out Ortiz. “I want to learn. I want to be curious. I want to figure out why things work the way they work. You can teach people technique, but you can’t teach people curiosity. Because to remain curious is to keep asking questions. Why does this work? Let me find out and make an actual copy of this, and learn and learn. Like, why do waves flow the way they do? Be curious, learn as much as you can.” Even when you’ve established yourself as a professional artist, it’s vital to continue learning and creating personal projects outside of your day job, she adds. “If you’re always in the service of others you’re going to burn out very, very quickly. Only doing the work that clients ask you to create is not going to feed you as an artist. It’s the things you do outside of that which will benefit your work more than anything.” Keep your eyes peeled for more reports from Vertex 2020 on Creative Bloq in the coming days. Read more: New Tokyo 2020 prints are a minimal design dream How to draw a rose: Beginner and advanced tips Art terms: The ultimate artist's glossary View the full article

Apple has been touting the iPad as a laptop replacement for a while now, perhaps most infamously through its 2018 ads in which a young tablet user asks, "What's a computer?" The ads were widely mocked at the time, but the last two years have seen the iPad come on leaps and bounds in terms of productivity thanks to a new OS and the sheer amount of incredible iPad Pro apps. And now, rumour has it that the rumoured iPad Pro 2020 might be getting the one feature that could turn it into a bonafide laptop-killer: a keyboard with a proper touchpad. The information comes (appropriately) from The Information, which credits the scoop to "a person familiar with the matter". It doesn't say who (we presume it isn't Tim Cook), but the mystery source claims that Apple is already preparing mass production of the keyboard accessory with longtime contractor Foxconn Technology, and "will likely release the accessory alongside the next version of the iPad Pro expected later this year". (See our roundup for all we know so far about the iPad Pro 2020.) Could it look a little like the Microsoft Surface Pro Signature Type Cover? So, this will most likely be an update to the current Smart Keyboard Folio, currently one of our best tablet keyboards and sold separately to the iPad. While we don't know which iPad models it will work with, knowing Apple, we can see it being restricted to the newest iPad Pro. The more basic models already use a separate accessory (the older but still great Smart Keyboard), and Apple will probably want to keep the Pro, well, pro. As regular iPad users, we're game for anything that might further increase its functionality. We're already big fans of the top-end tablet (check out our iPad Pro 11-inch review) which is edging closer to replacing the MacBook for several tasks – especially since the release of its own iPadOS. But we can't help but wonder – do we actually want it to replace the laptop completely? The iPad was originally conceived as a much more casual device than the MacBook, and the blurring boundaries are making things a little confusing. Soon we might end up with a device with an attached keyboard and trackpad, which opens and closes in a clamshell-type design. Oh, wait. Related articles: iPad Pro vs MacBook Air: which should you buy? The best iPad accessories Smart keyboards for iPad: The top deals right now View the full article

We love deciphering the evolution of a logo, and we love a good quiz. Put the two together and it's design geek party-time. This particular quiz is a jaunt through car logos of the past, and a fun exercise in matching past logos to a well-known brand. It contains lots of big hitters in the car industry, who all have iconic logos that wouldn't be out of place in our best logos roundup, so it's easy to assume you'll smash this quiz. But if previous logo memory challenges have taught us anything, it's that it isn't always easy to recall the specific components of a brand's logo – even when you've seen it hundreds of times before. Plus, who's to say the current logo looks anything like the original? Call on all the clues available to work out the brand Car specialist Dave Spence created the quiz, which is made up of images of original logo designs with the wordmarks blanked out. So, working out the answer based on shape, typography, style and colour should be easy, right? In some cases that's a breeze, but other logos are so transformed that it's not as simple as you'd think. In fact, there's one in particular that may as well have contained the wordmark, as even that bears no resemblance to the current brand name. Does this logo look anything like the current version? Volkswagen has one of the most well-documented logos in the design industry, with its previous incarnation being subject to stringent trademark rules that were disregarded for the digital era in its newest update. So that one isn't so tricky. But though other car brands feature on our pick of the 7 best car logos, you may not be so familiar with their history, which makes for a more testing, well... test. Head over to DriveTribe to take the quiz. How did you do? Let us know on Twitter or Facebook. Read more: Quiz: Spot the errors in these famous logos 8 of the best animated logos Where to find logo inspiration View the full article

The first full adventure for Woody, Buzz and the gang since 2010, Toy Story 4 didn't just introduce new characters like Duke Caboom (above), Gabby Gabby and Forky. When it came to the level of visual detail and complexity, it brought things to a whole new level. Last night at Vertex, the sell-out event for 2D and 3D artists brought to you by our sister magazines ImagineFX and 3D World, Pixar’s Dylan Sisson spilled some of the secrets of how the Oscar-winning animation was made. If the nitty gritty 3D tech details are what you're after, you'll find many of these points covered in our article behind the scenes of Toy Story 4 (and you may also want to check out our top free textures). For the rest of us meanwhile, read on, as we share some of jaw-dropping facts from Sisson's talk. 01. The level of detail was just incredible Pixar created six billion leaves for Toy Story 4 A few numbers will illustrate how far Pixar has travelled recently in terms of the level of detail in its scenes. Sully from Monsters, Inc. in 2001 was famously covered in over one million hairs, which was impressive at the time. But fast-forward to 2019's Toy Story 4 and even that number starts to look tiny. "For instance, if you count all the leaves on the trees in this movie, you’d have about six billion," Sisson noted. "That’s quite a bit, right? Unless you start counting the needles on the pine trees. We had over a trillion pine needles in the carnival scenes. This is the size and complexity that we’re dealing with now." Shortly after, Sisson made mention of 50,000,000 individual dust fibres too, but we were starting to pass out from the shock, and it all became a bit of a blur. 02. It all took an astronomical amount of computing power Characters like Forky might look simple, but a terrific level of complexity underlies scenes like this One of the most costly and time-consuming parts of the animation process is rendering, which basically involves high-powered computers pulling together the various elements of a CG scene, including all the geometry, lighting and motion effects, into the perfect final image. At Vertex, Sisson stunned the audience of 2D and 3D artists by showing them a single frame from Toy Story 4, and revealing how long it took to render. "This is the most expensive frame in Toy Story 4, and it took about 325 hours to render on four cores," he revealed, to audible gasps. "So that's over 1,200 hours per frame." Why so long? "We had a chandelier taking up half the shot," he explained. "And in order to get the transparency, those rays [of light] had to bounce around this giant warehouse. So that took so much time to render - and that’s including running a de-noise pass on it." When Sisson was asked in a later panel whether a chandelier was really necessary for the scene, he jokingly shrugged and remarked ruefully: "We could have had a pinata instead; that would have saved us a lot of trouble." 03. Pixar broke some of its own lights... on purpose There were over 17,000 lights in the carnival scene - but not all of them worked When you're making a 3D animation, one of the most challenging things is to create lighting and shadows that look natural, and the more elements there are to light, the trickier that becomes. So Toy Story 4's carnival scene was no picnic for the artists at Pixar. "There were over 17,000 lights in the carnival scene," Sisson explained in his talk. "We had the Ferris wheel, we had all these different rides, and they were all creating illumination. So we didn’t really have a direct light source in the night time scenes, we just had this pool of light from all these individual lights." And here's our favourite fun fact: Pixar ensured a super-high level of realism by making sure not all the lights were actually working! "In fact, three per cent of these lights are burnt out," Sisson revealed. This is not something most viewers are going to notice consciously, but on a subconscious level, it really helps you believe in the world. And it's this kind of clever thinking that really marks Pixar out from the pack. This was just the tip of the iceberg when it came to lighting cleverness, though. Globally Calibrated Exposure allowed lighting to be both more efficient and more realistic More importantly Pixar used a technique called "Globally Calibrated Exposure", which means all the lights in the movie were calibrated, allowing the lighting team to have exposure control baked into their setups. “If you’ve ever used a DSLR and changed your aperture, we basically created the same kind of setup for Toy Story 4," explained Sisson. "This is a practice that’s common in visual effects for movies, but this was the first Pixar film we rolled this out on, and it really gave a physically based realism to the lights. It was also very efficient because we could accurately change the exposure for different shots, from night to day." 04. Gabby Gabby was originally blonde Gabby Gabby's change of hair colour really helped the technical team out One of the new characters in Toy Story 4 is Gabby Gabby, a vintage doll created in the 1950s who's voiced by Christina Hendricks. She's a redhead in the movie, but originally she was meant to be blonde. Why the change? Because, would you believe it, it made her cheaper to animate. As Sisson recalled, "The character design department pitched over the original design, and the technical team was like, “Does she have to have blonde hair? That takes like five times the amount to render as she would if she had red hair. And she’s in a lot of different scenes.” The character department agreed to the change, and the technical department breathed a sign of relief. Because as Sisson explained, blonde hair is more challenging due to the way it interacts with light. "In order to render blonde hair, we’re not just rendering the yellow colour; we’re sending a ray in and it’s bouncing around maybe 80 times within the hair," he said. "Blonde hair is really transparent hair, so if we make it less transparent and more opaque then maybe we send the ray in and it bounces around about eight times. That reduces the rays we're sending in the scene, and reduces our workload considerably. We get a good result either way, but it’s a cheaper one with red hair." 05. Duck and Bunny were super-expensive to make Ducky and Bunny's colour design was non-negotiable As the example of Gabby Gabby shows, Pixar is always looking for new and inventive ways to save money. But Sisson stressed that this should never be at the expense of the story's needs, and offered an example of when the character designers pushed back on a technical request. It involved another couple of new characters in Toy Story 4, Ducky and Bunny: two carnival toys who have longed for a kid to call their owner. "They're these incredible twins with neon yellow hair and neon blue hair," he explained. "Well, neon yellow hair is the most expensive hair you can render. And if you have neon blue hair, that’s super-expensive to render as well." So, as before, the technical team went back to the designers. "And they were like: 'Can’t they just like be brown and black?' But the response was, 'No, they have to be these colours!' So the technical team took the hit for all the shots they were in, because it was important to the narrative.” 07. The cobwebs were woven by AI spiders Pixar programmed AI spiders to weave cobwebs throughout the environments The story of the cobwebs was one of the most surprising parts of Sisson's talk. "We had some software bugs in Toy Story 4 which actually helped us," he revealed. "We created these AI spiders in Houdini, and they would go into these nooks and crannies and start weaving webs. We’d render these webs out and that was pretty helpful." Just let that sink in for a moment. The cobwebs you saw in the film were not crafted by human artists, or pulled in from a reference library, but generated by digital spiders that don't actually exist. We are so living in the future right now. 08. There are endless Easter Eggs to discover The antiques store is packed with Easter Eggs from earlier Pixar movies If you have young kids, a time will probably soon approach when they just want to watch Toy Story 4 on repeat, all day long. But don't worry: even if you eventually tire of the plot, you can always amuse yourself by looking out for Easter Eggs. And according to Sisson, there's a LOT to look out for. "Check out the props in the antique warehouse," he noted, "because we have over 2,000 props from previous Pixar films." Pointing at the screen, he noted: "Here's some carnival stuff from Coco that we just dragged in, here's a snow globe from Knick Knack [a Pixar short from 1989], here's Arlo the Good Dinosaur, here's a Pixar image computer... so there's a bunch of stuff in there to look for." Yes, you read that right: over two thousand. Have fun trying to find them all! If you're on the hunt for more Easter Eggs, why not check out our pieces on Google Easter Eggs, or logos with hidden Easter Eggs? Keep your eyes peeled for more reports from Vertex 2020 on Creative Bloq in the coming days, and follow us on Twitter for all the latest live from the event #vertexconf Read more: How to make an animated video: Expert advice Toy Story 3 IRL remake is ridiculously impressive Disney characters' homes as Tiny Houses will leave you wanting more View the full article

The difference between being seen and being lost in cyberspace is a thin line that can be difficult navigate. If you're looking to help your business thrive, you'll want to be found easily online, especially on Google. Push your site to the top with The Pro Google SEO & SERP Certification Bundle and learn everything you need to master Google SEO, SERP, backlinks, Amazon SEO, and so much more. Industry research shows that quality links are still one of the top-ranking factors when it comes to getting your website seen on online searches (you can make sure your site is looking its best with our pick of the top web design tools). This 10-course bundle brings you everything you need to master the most important factor in your website's success. Conquer link building, target different searches, improve clickthrough rates to your site on search result pages, and more. With over 400 lessons, the step-by-step content will guide you through each platform and show you pro tips for making your website successful. You'll soon have a head start on your competitors with keyword targeting tactics for better traffic and top-notch ranking strategies on Google SEO, YouTube, Amazon, and others. Discover tactics to grow your business Not only will you gain insights into the best tools for SEO and SERP success, but you'll also learn the most effective marketing strategies for furthering your growth potential. Learn top social media tactics to launch your business, discover how to create successful Amazon ads and prosper at your Amazon product niche. You'll also be taught how to brand yourself and your business as an authority online, seamlessly. This jam-packed bundle comes complete with a certification of completion, making it a powerful addition to your résumé and professional milestones. Access to The Pro Google SEO & SERP Certification Bundle will typically cost you $2,000. For a limited time, you'll be able to bring your site to the top for only $29 (that's 98% off). With all the content available 24/7, you'll be able to effortlessly climb the search ladder and bring valuable professional and financial growth into 2020. Read more: SEO tricks: 16 ways to outrank your competitors Google's hidden AR tool will blow your mind 7 ways to boost Instagram engagement View the full article

CEO Mary T. Barra addressed the high stakes in rolling out self-driving cars and biometric-enhanced vehicles, where one cyber-event could derail plans for emerging automotive technologies. View the full article

When Apple revealed the new Mac Pro in November, it also announced that a set of optional wheels would be available for the heavyweight machine. It wasn't until a month later that the price of said wheels was revealed: $100. Per wheel. That adds an eye-watering $400 to an already eye-watering $5,999 for the Mac Pro (and that's only the basic model), with the option of adding a maxing out the specs for a grand total of over $53,000. We'll give you a moment to dry your eyes. So problem number one is the cost. And now, YouTuber Marques Brownlee has discovered another pretty major flaw with those wheels: they don't have brakes. So, if you're planning to use them, you might want to take a spirit level to your desk or floor first. If it isn't perfectly straight, your $53k Mac Pro might just roll off into the sunset (and it won't be rolling into our best computers for graphic designers list at that rate). After watching Brownlee's video, the omission of some sort of wheel lock seems pretty glaring. And when it comes to suggestions for how Apple might fix the problem, Twitter users are on a roll (ahem). We're particularly fond of this Wedge Pro concept (and its genius tagline) by the ever-reliable @JonyIveParody: While we did gawp at the price of the Mac Pro and its many upgrade options ($999 for a display stand?), we did concede that it isn't aimed at most creatives – you're more likely to find it rolling around the offices or production suites of companies with lots of cash to burn. If you're looking for something more affordable (and less likely to run away), see today's best deals below. Related articles: Mac Pro 2019: release date, price, specs and latest news Apple’s latest Mac Pro is easy to fix (just expensive to buy) MacBook Pro 2020: Everything we know so far View the full article

Ask anybody to name an Adobe product and we bet they'll say Photoshop. Ask for more and you might hear Illustrator, InDesign or After Effects. But do you think you could name 50? Us neither – until now. When YouTuber Humtog couldn't find an official introduction to Adobe's entire Creative Suite and beyond, he decided to make his own – and the result is 10 minutes of essential viewing for any kind of digital creative. While there are tons of detailed Photoshop tutorials and Illustrator tutorials around, this is the first time we've seen every single app explained in one place: Get Adobe Creative Cloud All those icons look like some kind of creative periodic table – which is appropriate seeing as there's an Adobe app for pretty much every element of digital creativity these days. It's surprising that there isn't an official whistle-stop tour of Adobe's entire offering available, but we can't imagine it being much clearer than this. As well as introducing each app and what it's generally used for, Humtog points out differences between similar-seeming apps such as Photoshop vs Lightroom. A particularly nice touch is the animated character who occasionally pops up with the sort of questions we're usually too embarrassed to ask ("but isn't Flash, like, dead?"). As well as being useful and informative, the video is a fascinating window into the huge world of creativity offered by Adobe. You could be a seasoned pro at one of these tools and never have heard of another. As one Reddit user writes, "This is a better explanation than I've ever heard and I've used many of these tools in some professional capacity for almost 20 years. Phenomenal video!" Humtog says the video took over a year to make, and he "stopped making it mid-way due to how time-consuming it got". Thankfully, his hard work seems to be paying off. At the end of the video he jokes that he'd like to improve his current subscriber count of two – and right now he's on 3.33k. On the strength of this video alone, we'd say he's definitely worth a subscribe. Related articles: Take your Adobe CC skills to the next level Photoshop 2020 review The 6 best laptops for Photoshop in 2020 View the full article

Calling all photographers! Get ready to move quickly because there's an incredible deal running on Adobe's Photography Plan, but you need to be super-quick as it ends today. Yes, today! If you're in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, you can take advantage of this awesome deal that takes a sweet 16% off super-popular apps like Photoshop for iPad and desktop, and Lightroom. If you're speedy enough, you could have all the editing apps you'll ever need to up your photography game. Not sure whether this plan is for you? Take a look at exactly what Adobe's Photography Plan offers: Lightroom CC for desktop and mobile photo editing Lightroom Classic CC for desktop-focused photo editing Photoshop CC on both desktop and iPad to transform your photos Spark Premium to create graphics, web pages and videos Adobe Portfolio to build showcase websites easily Adobe Fonts for all your font needs 20 GB of cloud storage to get you started These Adobe apps mean there need be no end to your creativity. Your projects will reflect the limitless possibilities that the precision editing and compositing tools deliver. These tools enable you to create stunning, multilayered artwork by combining images, play with colour and effects to elevate your images, move or remove objects within your images, and even turn photos into paintings or 3D objects. You don't want to miss this offer, but you need to put your skates on as this is your last chance. We repeat: the offer ends TODAY! Not in EMEA regions? Check out our other Adobe Creative Cloud discount post, which we update regularly with all the top offers. Read more: How to make a photo collage in Photoshop Photoshop 2020 review The best alternatives to Photoshop View the full article

Packaging is a layer of communication between a product and the customer. It serves the practical purpose of holding and protecting the product, but also needs to draw eyes to the product on a crowded shelf or online storefront. To stand out from all the competing options, it needs to tell us something about what makes the product different. There’s been a trend in packaging design towards minimalism in recent years, with clear and clean layouts breaking down the noise that accompanies the surfeit of choice on the shelves. Now tougher economic conditions and increased competition are leading to renewed use of stronger patterns and illustrations to create greater emotional connection with the customer and stand out from the competition. Here we round up seven pattern trends to look out for in packaging this year. 01. Nature Everyone wants to be seen as nature-friendly at the moment and many brands are seeking to communicate their green credentials in their packaging. Patterns inspired by nature can suggest organic, natural ingredients in food and cosmetics, and a general concern for the environment. Like all over the design world, a lot of this is happening through flat design, such as in Darling Clementine’s illustrations for Maud’s Teas. But designers are taking influence from everything from vintage botanical illustrations to the bold forms of CW Stockwell's classic Martinique banana leaf wallpaper. Greens and browns are being joined by more varied vibrant but still earthy colours. In eye-catching pattern designs for Pukka teas, The Space Creative gave the products vivid colour schemes and patterns with repeated motifs evoking each flavour. Expect to also see a return to more detailed patterns and illustrations. Examples like Mamba Studio's concept for La Selva coffee show a return towards a maximalist trend, of which more later. Of course, if the product is being presented as green and natural, for credibility design is best followed through with the use of recycled and recyclable materials. 02. Geometric shapes Though hardly a new trend, the use of geometric shapes in packaging design continues to be strong in 2020. Expect to see those shapes getting bolder and taking on more extreme dimensions in darker monochromatic applications in a bid to stand out. This could be by zooming in closer on thick lines, with less repetition of a pattern like in the packaging for French confectioner Ladurée’s range of macarons that pays homage to Carven by using the fashion house’s traditional brand green in thick, bold stripes. Conversely, using very fine lines in black and white can achieve an Art Deco or even tribal-looking feel that conveys a raw energy and more organic aesthetic in the packaging developed by One Darnley Road for London Fields Soap Company. 03. Textures Pattern can be created through texture as well as colour and illustration. This is something we're seeing more of as brands continue to experiment with packaging materials. Textured patterns can create a mature, sophisticated feel. Die cut windows offer the chance to create patterns that reveal the product itself, or to make layered patterns that produce clever effects. Meteorito Studio were awarded at the 2019 Pentawards for its layered packaging design for Secretos del Agua’s Christmas gift pack. The packaging tells a story about the beauty brand's mission and use of water by layering die cut shapes to create depth and give the impression of a grotto as a natural source of water. Textured patterns can also transform the feel of packaging substrate. Japan's DNP used a black matte polyolefin wrap with a textured pattern to give plastic the premium feel of glass in their bottle design for Awanama sake. They used a pattern that resembles traditional Japanese Satsuma Kiriko cut-glass design to create a sense of heritage and luxury while also serving as a light-blocking barrier to extend the shelf life of the drink inside. The innovative design won the diamond award at the DOW Packaging Innovation Awards. 04. Metallic and holographic patterns The application of patterns in special colours using foil stamping can make a product dazzle on the shelf. Metallic patterns in gold and silver have long been used to add a classy vintage feel to products like chocolate, but more vibrant metallics and holographic patterns can appeal to younger customers. Iridescent and holographic patterns have been most used for packaging cosmetics but are now being applied to all kinds of packaging, from tea to fries. It can create a modern, even futuristic look, particularly for exclusive, limited-edition products. Foil stamping on Greenfield tea packaging designed by Alice Macarova created a look that was as novel as the brand's limited-edition ice cream-inspired flavours. Embossed stamps with twin varnishing in matte and gloss play with light and shadow to conjure up the iciness of the unusual inspiration. In China, mooncakes are an important gift during the Mid-Autumn Festival. With so much competition among manufacturers, the use of laser holographic foil stamping to create abstract iridescent patterns representing the moon’s rugged surface make K11’s product stand out as a limited-edition luxury option that feels like a work of art. Holographic patterns are being used for even the most humble of products. In Australia, Hungry Jacks (Burger King) used holographic packaging for fries to deter Seagulls from pinching them, and raised ordering a side of fries to an Insta-worthy moment in the process. 05. Blur The gradient trend has been all over digital and print design and is now firmly in product packaging too. Gradients provide visual interest and dynamism without overwhelming information on the packaging. Something that’s grown out of the trend is the use of multiple gradients or hazy, blurred patterns to evoke a mood or sensation. The cans for Kin, a range of non-alcoholic drinks made from nootropics, adaptogens and botanicals, use warm hazy backgrounds to echo the products' claims to create a feeling of euphoria without the headache the morning after. The look taps into the current retro futurism trend to create a sense of nostalgia coupled with an optimistic vision of the future. Ingrid Picanyol’s labels for Jaume Jordà’s Viamic range of wines initially look like blurred abstract patterns but are designed to resemble Instagram-like images. The sense of mystery is intended to invite us to disconnect from the online world and reconnect physically over a bottle. The imagery is strikingly abstract and creates a clear brand identity across the range. 06. Maximalist design Many of the trends we’re seeing show an overarching tendency to step back from the recent penchant for minimalism to inject louder personality into designs. Tougher competition on both physical and virtual shelves means brands are tuning up their presentation to grab attention and create a desire to know more. Considering that 81% of consumers have tried a new product because of its packaging, it makes sense. Although minimalist designs cut out the nonsense, many consumers like the mystery that more complex packaging design can provoke, and packaging that makes a statement is also more likely to be shared on social media. The label for Forager’s Keep whiskey designed by Greg Coulton uses ornate leaf motifs to give a magical, almost fairytale-like fantasy sense of fun to the product. Kevin Cantrell Studio gave another drinks maker, Star Union, cut-out patterns, illustrations and type covering the majority of the surface area on bottles of brandy, vodka and grappa leaving no chance that the products go unnoticed, even if they're seen in a thumbnail image on an online retail site. 07. Neatly structured layouts Despite the return of maximalism and more elaborate patterns, there is still a lot to be said for the minimalist trend seen in recent years with neat, structured layouts creating an almost apothercary style. What we’re seeing now is that apothecary-style minimalism combining with brighter colour and pattern to produce something that is still very clean but with a less austere feel. This kind of 'minimalism plus' boasts the simplicity and tidiness of minimalist design but with added fun and warmth. SOSOLIFE's packaging designed by Korea’s Triangle Studio uses dabs of colour to add a sense of whimsy to their otherwise understated packaging for biscuits, soups and noodles. Packaging for Slovakian spice range I Can Spice designed by Dekoratio uses a crisp central label but on a bright patterned background to give the product more personality on the shelf, while still being simple to interpret. Read more: 33 standout packaging designs The top design trends for 2020 7 colour trends to watch in 2020 View the full article

The Kr00k bug arises from an all-zero encryption key in Wi-Fi chips that reveals communications from devices from Amazon, Apple, Google, Samsung and others. View the full article

Adobe MAX Creativity Tour London was packed with inspiring stories, jaw-dropping demos and fascinating creative insights. And if you missed out on the main event, you can catch up on all the talks from the comfort of your own home (or desk) right here. It's ideal for a shot of inspiration and motivation in these dingy winter days. Whether you're a designer, illustrator, blogger, photographer or budding student creative, there's something here for you. The evening kicked off with a fascinating and useful insight into the tools you're almost certainly using to bring your projects to life: Adobe Creative Cloud. There have been several headline-grabbing updates to flagship tools, as well as exciting additions to the CC family, but you might not be quite clued up on all the changes. Principal Creative Cloud evangelist Rufus Deuchler offered a speedy tour of the most exciting updates, from the Sensei-powered brushes in new art app Adobe Fresco, to XD's powerful new co-editing capabilities, to Photoshop's downright amazing Object Selection tool. Get up to speed below. The second talk shone a light on the incredible showcase of talent that was the McDonald's 2019 Christmas advert. Designers from Leo Burnett and Passion Animation Studios took to the stage to reveal how they came up with a concept that would capture the nation's hearts, and share how they brought it all to life. Catch up on their presentation below. Rounding off the evening in style, Jamal Edwards MBE joined Adobe's Claire Darley on stage to chat about how he made the journey from getting his first camera aged 15 to curating stages at Wireless and recording interviews at 10 Downing Street. It makes for incredibly inspiring viewing – it's worth tuning in to hear the section on Edwards' hilariously cheeky guerilla marketing tactics alone [2 mins 50]. For more insight and inspiration, plus information on those Adobe Creative Cloud updates, head to the Adobe website. Adobe MAX is heading to Europe There's more exciting news for designers who can't make it across the pond for Adobe's annual US bash – in 2020, MAX will be coming to Europe for the first time! Adobe MAX Europe will take place 15-16 June 2020 at the Feira Internacional in Lisbon, Portugal. The festival will bring together the world’s biggest brands and most inspiring minds to celebrate Adobe’s vision of ‘Creativity for All’ – as well as, of course, revealing the latest innovations coming to Creative Cloud. To register, head to the Adobe MAX Europe site. Don't hang about though – there's a special launch discount that means if you pick up your ticket before the end of February, you'll pay less than half price! View the full article

Have you been thinking about developing your mobile app but have no idea where to start? You've come to the right place. Master the essential skills of designing and programming mobile apps with the help of The 2020 Mobile App Developers Bundle and learn everything you need to start up a successful career in this in-demand industry. Your creations might even end up making our list of the best iPad apps for designers. If you're hoping to leverage your web and mobile app development skills in the ever-changing design world, you'll want to start by learning the core fundamentals. With seven courses and over 250 lessons, this bundle brings you everything you need to get started in the development industry, and conquer all the skills that are required to thrive in the process. As you begin your journey, you'll learn to develop mobile applications for Android and iOS using apps such as Android Studio, Kotlin, Java, Swift, Flutter, and so much more. Master all the basics With over 20 hours of content and lifetime access to every lesson, you'll grasp the complexities of web development comprehensively. As you navigate through these courses, you'll master all the basics for writing clean code, laying out various UI elements for Android and iOS and managing user input. You'll also get tips on how to show data based on search requests, and more. The bundle comes complete with hands-on training so you can apply what you learn in a real-world setting. You'll soon be able to handle a variety of backend and frontend errors and understand how to test them out in various environments. Certification of completion is available once you master each course, which will be a valuable addition to your professional career and résumé. The 2020 Mobile App Developers Bundle can be yours today for only $29.99 – that's a 91% discount off the usual price of $350. Fuel your mobile app developer career and learn the fundamentals to and add new skills to your portfolio. Start your mobile development journey today. Read more: The best Apple Watch apps for creatives in 2020 Mobile app design: A beginner's guide 18 of the best Android apps to download for creatives View the full article

The rivalry between McDonald's and Burger King has played out across billboards and online for years, with the competing chains taking countless swipes at one another – all in the name of healthy (ahem) competition. But this week, a new fighter unexpectedly entered the ring: Nando's. The beef began last week, when Burger King launched a mouldy new ad (below) showing exactly what happens when its famous Whopper is left to age for a month. Spoiler alert: it isn't pretty (and yet, weirdly, sort of is). It's certainly an ad that breaks the mould The mouldy burger is shown with the tagline, 'The beauty of no artificial preservatives'. It's an up-yours to McDonald's, referencing the common rumour that their burgers never decompose. We admire the boldness of the ad – it takes serious photography skills to turn a decomposing burger into a thing of such strange, grotesque beauty. We kind of love it. The ad has led to strong reactions online. They seem to fall into two distinct categories: those who are repulsed, and those who love the dig at McDonald's. This brings up our main criticism of the ad – it's potentially too much of an in-joke. Without knowing exactly what Burger King is poking fun at (everlasting Big Macs), all we're looking at is a mouldy burger – which isn't making us hungry. Enter Nando's. While Burger King was no doubt awaiting the next move from McDonald's, the chicken restaurant swooped in with an unexpected response of its own: If you ask us, it's a bit of a cheap move from Nando's. The joke is simple enough (the Nando's burger hasn't had time to rot because it's been eaten, hence the crumbs), but without the impressive photography of Burger King's effort, this packs less of a punch. And worst of all, it's yet another burger-based in-joke. If you haven't seen Burger King's ad, the Nando's post makes little sense. Somebody needs to break it to the fast food chains that people might not be following the burger wars as closely as they think. Thanks goodness we're here to give you the highlights. We do enjoy a bit of banter between brands – it can lead to some of their most talked-about creative work, as is the case with the mouldy Whopper. IKEA is particularly good at the sport, as demonstrated by last year's hilarious swipe at Apple's cheese grater-resembling the Mac Pro. Check out some of our favourite times brands had a dig at competitors – and won. Related articles: McDonald's ditches its brand in new type-only ads Burger King trolls parliament in cheeky campaign The optical illusion you probably won't want to work out View the full article

Serif's Affinity apps – Affinity Publisher, Photo and Designer – have quickly become popular among creatives, and a just-released version 1.8 update has made all three apps even more attractive. We've long been fans of the Affinity range; its apps offer comparable functionality to Adobe's Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign CC, without tying you into a monthly subscription. There's always the lurking worry, though, that if you switch over you might lose a vital feature or be unable to access your old work, and this new update addresses some of those concerns. Affinity Designer 1.7 review IDML support could help ease the move from InDesign to Publisher What Serif's most excited about is the updated version of one of the best InDesign alternatives, Affinity Publisher, which now offers InDesign file import – after a fashion. Sadly it's not full-on INDD support; rather, Publisher 1.8 supports IDML, the less-loved InDesign file format that's built for cross-version compatibility. It's definitely a step in the right direction, and if you've been considering switching to Publisher but have a large back catalogue of InDesign documents that you still need to be able to work with, this will ease the process. Prevent nasty surprises with Publisher's live preflight checking Reinforcing its credentials as a serious option for professional print workflows, Publisher 1.8 also provides live preflight checking, with a preflight panel that'll instantly alert you to possible errors in your documents. So rather than find out about things like missing or low-res images, overflowing text and bleed problems when your work comes back from the printer, you can spot and fix them before you send off your finished documents. Publisher 1.8 also enables you to merge multiple documents into a single file and to import spreadsheet data from XLSX files, plus smart master pages and a host of other fixes and improvements. And to make your life even easier, you can now save your documents as template files that can be re-used as many times as you want. It's not just Affinity Publisher that's getting template support; it's also been added to Affinity Designer and Photo, and templates can be shared across all the Affinity apps. Smart object support is a welcome addition to Affinity Photo While Publisher's getting the spotlight with this 1.8 update, there are some great new additions to Designer and Photo on top of the template support. Affinity Photo now allows you to import PSD smart objects as embedded documents and edit their layers, and it also supports an expanded range of plugins, including the brilliant Nik Collection 2.5 from DxO, making it an even better option for photo editing. It also has better lens correction, improved metadata handling and support for Canon's CR3 RAW format. Meanwhile Affinity Designer has a new Stock panel to make it easier to add royalty free imagery to your work, and it also features improved expand stroke functionality that gives you accurate results with fewer nodes. Now you can use keyboard shortcuts on iPad One last upgrade that should delight anyone using Affinity Designer and Photo on iPad is the addition of customisable keyboard shortcuts. If you have a keyboard attachment, you can now speed things right up by creating your own shortcuts (and if you don't have a keyboard, check out our selection of the best smart keyboard deals). There are plenty more improvements and additions rolled out today across the Affinity range; you can find out all the details here. Related articles: Affinity Publisher launches, and reveals a ridiculously cool new feature Secret Adobe eyedropper trick will change your life Affinity Designer: how to use effects and styles View the full article

The MacBook Pro is undoubtably one of the best (and most popular) laptops for creatives, and the line-up is due a refresh this year. After the hugely welcome MacBook Pro 16-inch was released in November, it jumped straight to the top of several of our best laptop lists, including the best laptops for graphic design. The web is now awash with rumours about how the 13-inch MacBook Pro will fare in 2020, and based on leaks, it looks like we could be seeing an update to that model as early as next month. What might this look like, how much will it cost, and will there be an update to the keyboard? Here's everything we know so far. MacBook Pro 2020: Tech specs Until Apple officially reveals the new MacBook Pro, we can only speculate about what it will offer internally. That said, leaked benchmarks reported by our sister site TechRadar suggest we might be getting a 13-inch model armed with a 10th-generation Ice Lake processor, one of the best-performing mobile chips around. The least we'd hope for with a refreshed MacBook Pro is a performance boost, and these leaks suggest that's exactly what we'll be getting. MacBook Pro 2020: Release date and price Right now, rumours are pointing to March 31 for the next Apple Event, which means the new MacBook Pro could make its first appearance at the end of next month (alongside a reported update to the iPad Pro). While the release dates for new iPhones are easy to predict (they're nearly always revealed at Apple's September event), the last four years have seen MacBooks released in October, June, July, May and November. The latter was the 16-inch MacBook Pro, which didn't even get a release event. While we can't rule out Apple announcing the new model via a simple press release, we're holding out hope that we'll see it at the rumoured March event – if not before. Pricing details are similarly vague. The only thing we probably shouldn't count on is a price drop. Apple is known to keep prices the same when a product is refreshed. The current MacBook Pro 13-inch starts at $1,299/£1,299 for the 1.4GHz processor base model, and the 2.4GHz model begins at $1,799/£1,799. We're not expecting to see prices drop any lower than that, so it's definitely time to start saving. MacBook Pro 2020: Design If there's one design change we're hoping for with the MacBook Pro 2020, it's an updated keyboard. Of all the controversies Apple has faced in recent years, the butterfly keyboard saga has been the stickiest (quite literally – we've enjoyed many a trip to the Genius Bar with stuck keys). Not only has Apple issued a rare apology for the defect-prone design, but it was even targeted during a speech by director Taika Waititi at this year's Oscars. Thankfully, a better typing experience seems to be on the horizon. Last year's 16-inch MacBook Pro saw a return to the traditional scissor switch mechanism beneath the keys, so we hope (and pray) that Apple will see fit to update the keyboard across its entire MacBook Pro line. The new 16-inch MacBook has our type of keyboard Another design triumph with the recent 16-inch model was the reduction of the bezels around the screen, allowing for a larger display within a similar body to the previous 15-inch model. We called the new screen "gorgeous" in our MacBook Pro 16-inch review. If Apple takes a similar approach again, we could see a 14-inch display within the current 13-inch body. Or, if the display size remains the same, perhaps we'll be getting a smaller machine. Only time will tell which way Apple decides to go. MacBook Pro 2020: Specs and what we'd like to see In terms of screen size, we'd prefer to see a 14-inch display within a similar sized machine than a reduced overall footprint. That extra inch of screen would make all the difference for creatives – and if portability is paramount, there's always the much slimmer MacBook Air. But most of all, we want to see the 16-inch model's lovely new keyboard come to the smaller MacBook Pro. And the Air. The sooner we can brush this butterfly business under the carpet and move on with our lives, the better. We'll update this post as and when more news drops on the new MacBook Pro 2020. But if you can't wait that long to get your hands on one, you can currently get some great deals on the current MacBook Pro models. Here are the best prices in your area: Related articles: New 16" MacBook Pro leaves previous model in the dust Mockup of the iMac of the future looks incredible The best cheap Apple laptop deals View the full article

The best ampersands tell you a lot about a typeface. Thanks to its unusual structure, the curly symbol that's a substitute for 'and' is the character that can make or break a typeface for the type-conscious designer. It's a character that asks the typographer to make certain creative decisions above and beyond the A to Z letter set, the numerals and standard punctuation, and the care that goes into an ampersand is often indicative of the attention to detail that has gone into the typeface across the board. As a designer, the ampersand can be your plaything. It's the maverick character in the set, the one that really tested the typographer in its creation, and the one that can bring the right atmosphere to a project when used at a large scale. If you'd like to assess the ampersands in a range of fonts, have a rummage through our rundown of the best free fonts around. What is the ampersand? While today it is considered a punctuation mark, the ampersand used to be the 27th letter in the Roman alphabet, following Z. People would say 'X, Y, Z and per se and' as the figure itself means 'and'. 'And per se and' was shortened into a word in the 18th century and today we have 'ampersand'. Its form derives from the Latin word for and, 'et'. In some ampersands – commonly the italic form – this combination is more clearly seen than in others, and the character has evolved its highly unique form. Read on for our pick of the best ampersands of 2020. 01. Baskerville These ampersands are the go-to favourite for many graphic designers Price: From £35 Download here Ampersands don't come much better than the refined and classic forms found in the Baskerville typeface family. Originally designed in the 18th century by John Baskerville, in Birmingham, England, it was influenced by Bodoni and Didot. In the Regular version of the typeface, the ampersand feels gentle yet authoritative, and the ampersand in Alan Fletcher's iconic V&A mark is very similar to Baskerville's. Move to Baskerville Italic and a strong, creative and cursive feel emerges the letters E and t shining through more clearly. 02. Miller Here’s ampersand that seems to have a life of its own Price: From £40 Download here Mention ampersands and for some designers, it's Miller time. Although designed in 1997 by Matthew Carter, this is a typeface based on the sturdy, all-purpose Scotch Roman fonts of the early 19th century. Select Miller Display Italic, however, and you'll unlock an ampersand that's as beautiful and flowing as a Highland spring. Somehow, the slightly extreme elevation of the top right ligature doesn't feel out of balance at all. 03. Bella Pro Heavy yet graceful, and with a sense of dynamism Price: From £55 Download here Elegant, and a little extreme, no typeface better reflects the modern penchant for high contrast serifs than Bella, created by Manchester typographer Rick Banks of the F37 Foundry. Newly available as Bella Pro, this font family boasts an ampersand that oozes luxury in both regular and italic forms – it's a character that looks like it's lounging around in an expensive cocktail bar, waiting for the action to kick off. 04. King's Caslon Traditional, classy and with the kind of flourish a regal ampersand needs Price: From £16 Download here This redrawing of William Caslon's classic English typeface from the 17th century was created by Dalton Maag in 1991, and its six fonts deliver a swirling ampersand drawn in a style usually reserved to italic versions of a typeface. Despite its deliberately over-egged curves, it still feels anchored and well-structured. It's hard to go wrong with a Caslon. The one shown here is King's Caslon Display Regular. 05. ITC American Typewriter This ampersand is anything but business as usual Price: From £35 Download here Designed in 1974 for ITC by Joel Kaden and Tony Stan, American Typewriter was inspired by classic slab serif mechanical typefaces. However, unlike its influences, it isn't monospaced and has a funky, fun feel reflecting the decade in which it was born. This is perfectly encapsulated in its playful ampersand, and comes across throughout its weights and styles. Doesn't it resemble a cat dangling a paw, ready to swipe a toy mouse nearby? 06. Josefin Slab Designer Santiago Orozco was quite daring with the ampersand for this Google font Price: Free Download here This free font, created by Santiago Orozco, was inspired by early modernist typefaces as well as typewriter fonts and extends the designer's original Josefin Sans into new areas. The ampersand found here is tall and unusually thin, but still well-balanced. It has the feel of a symbol or an icon, with a sense of motion, and looks almost as though it's posing the question: "And?" 07. Bronx This outline ampersand is close to that of Baskerville and is traditional, but with a soft feel to it Price: From $6 Download here There are numerous typefaces called Bronx, but look out for this one by Jen Wagner Co, which extends her very angular serif Manhattan with a softer-feeling outline font. It's so inexpensive that we've seen it listed as a free font but $6 is more than worth it for the ampersand alone. With languid curves, the outline gives it an upholstered air – comfortable without ever seeming over-stuffed or stuffy. 08. Flux Regular Like the typeface as a whole, Flux Regular’s ampersand looks businesslike, but with a touch of creativity to it Price: From £12.99 Download here Australian designer Monib Mahdavi's typeface Flux brings us an ampersand that doesn't mess around – it's clean, lean and flexible. Unlike many on this list, it's a good candidate for body and display uses. We like the way that, as a form, the E and t hold together rather stiffly, like new dance partners who are serious about not putting a foot wrong. 09. Hoefler Text A unique ampersand that reflects the genius of its designer Price: From $299 Download here Heavily influenced by traditional typography and wanting to bring its many nuances to digital type, Jonathan Hoefler's Hoefler Text was an ambitious launch back in 1991. Despite a heavy nod to the classics, Hoefler was an innovator and his ampersand, here seen in italic, is as individual as its designer. It really feels like it has three distinct strokes – carefully and deliberately placed, and perhaps that's how it should be used. 10. Mastadoni G1 You'd better get out of the way when you see this ampersand coming Price: From £27
 Download here Oh, baby, yes! Here's a typeface with an ampersand that needs a double garage to park in, and then some. Like the prehistoric pachyderm it's named after, Mastodoni brings scale but also borrows from the elegance of the traditional typeface that inspired it: Didone. Here's a worthy, extreme contrast competitor to Bella, which is all about luxury and excess. 11. Windsor Here’s an example of an ampersand that tells the rest of its typeface to loosen up Price: From £23.20 Download here Like a boomerang that comes flying back to you with unexpected force, Windsor's ampersand has a ligature that swooshes around overhead in a way that sets it apart from the rest. It's an example of an ampersand that might just be better than the typeface it comes from – Windsor is often used to say 'old style' and thus has a rather cloying feel in general. Thank goodness for its exuberant ampersand. 12. Chopin Script If a treble and bass clef were to produce an offspring, perhaps it would look like Chopin’s ampersand Price: Free Download here Designers of script fonts tend to go wild with their ampersands but Mediengestaltung held things together rather well with their free font Chopin Script producing something elegant, restrained, unique and – yes – harmonious. The typeface has some lovely swirling capital letters, while the ampersand brings a sense of motion reminiscent of a bow delicately bringing the strings section to life. Read more: The truth about the ampersand will blow your mind 5 of the hottest typography trends The ultimate typography cheat sheet View the full article

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