Rss Bot

To call modern move posters a bit of a mixed bag would be putting it kindly. For every magnificently psychedelic Wonder Woman masterpiece, there are 20 Spider-Man Photoshop aberrations. And while movie poster design is often crippled by the forces of Hollywood, so to do many could-be-great movies bite the dust before they can make it to the big screen. Designer Fernando Reza, aka Fro, has created a range of posters for movies that never made it past pre-production, but which we'd definitely like to see if these magnificent designs are anything to go by. The range includes unrealised work from Quentin Tarantino, Guillermo del Toro and Tim Burton. Scroll down to take a look at our favourites, and get ready to mourn for the masterpieces that never made it. Movie fans might also want to check out our guide to graphic design in film. Click the icon in the top right to enlarge the posters Alfred Hitchcock's Kaleidoscope was planned as a sequel to the director's earlier film Shadow of a Doubt, and be told from the perspective of the existing film's 'Merry Widow Murderer'. Hitchcock went as far as to photograph and film silent test footage, but the project was deemed too violent and sexually explicit to go ahead. Reza's vibrant poster features the main character (a bodybuilder) and twists the movie's proposed set pieces into a psychedelic world that plays on the film's title. The Vega Brothers, also known as Double V Vega, was first planned as a followup to Pulp Fiction, and would extend the stories of Vic and Vincent Vega. The movie remained a potential option for some time, but it seems to increasingly unlikely that it'll ever make it to the big screen (and if it does, Tarantino will need to find a way to explain its now considerably older stars). We'll have to console ourselves with this poster, which oozes the same laid back, cool vibe as the brothers themselves. Click the icon in the top right to enlarge the poster Tim Burton's Superman Lives is one of the most infamous movies that never was, but we're sold if this poster is anything to go by. Mechanical spiders! Polar bears! A flaming skull! Nicolas Cage! What's not to like? Click the icon in the top right to enlarge the posters At The Mountains of Madness would have seen Guillermo Del Toro tackling H.P. Lovecraft's iconic sci-fi horror novella. The story follows an expedition to Antarctica and the discovery of an alien race of creatures. Tom Cruise was to be the hero, James Cameron was lined up as producer, and we're pretty confident it would have been epic. This poster does a great job of weaving an unsettling feeling into the bleak Arctic landscape. Another could-have-been sci-fi masterpiece is Clair Noto’s The Tourist. In the plot, modern-day Manhattan is the front for a secret alien world. Sound familiar? This movie has influenced a host of other films, from Blade Runner to Men in Black. The poster might be our favourite of the bunch, overlaying an other-worldly, fiery figure against the city skyline. Read more: From 2017: Are movie posters in a design crisis? How iconic fantasy film posters were made 8 appalling CGI fails in modern movies View the full article

An advert for the British Library has caused upset on Twitter, and it's all to do with a comma, or lack of. The billboard advert was created by Tom Sharp of The Poetry Of It All. We think it's an extremely clever piece of copyrighting and deserves to be up there with our favourite pieces of billboard advertising. Although there was a lot of love for the campaign on social media, the middle section of the ad enraged some. It reads: "The whole wealth of human knowledge, endeavour and experience to date." Some people think this sentence requires an Oxford comma, which is used to separate the penultimate item in a list of three or more things. So they think the ad should read: "The whole wealth of human knowledge, endeavour, and experience to date." Those people are 100 per cent wrong in our eyes, but we'll highlight their opinions below, so you can agree with us. Of course, if you are American – where the Oxford comma is more prevalent – you probably won't agree with us. You might even think that "endeavour" is misspelled. The Daily Mail has reported this small number of tweets about the Oxford comma as "social media meltdown". And while we wouldn't like to say how many tweets constitute meltdown, we asked Sharp to comment on the Oxford comma situation. He said: "The advert doesn’t have an Oxford comma because the advert doesn’t need an Oxford comma. "Over 30,000 likes on social media versus a handful of tweets about a bit of punctuation isn’t really a ‘meltdown’, but hey," he continues. "The majority of commentators on the Daily Mail article share my point of view. So that’s a first." Sharp's work for the British Library also includes this rather lovely piece on how whatever you do in a library is research. If you've been affected by any of the issues raised in this post, we suggest you go straight to the British Library to do some research on the rules of English punctuation. The differences between American and British English might be a good place to start. Read more: 8 brands that rule at social media Has Diet Coke lost the plot? The best print adverts ever View the full article

Graphic design is a discipline in flux. Technology influences aesthetics and aesthetics impact on form. Ultimately, ideas of all kinds – commercial, philosophical or functional – have determined the practice and styles of graphic design. In this article, we've focused on three of the main ideas to have shaped graphic design as it stands today. For those of you wanting to read more about graphic design, here's our roundup of the best graphic design books around right now. 01. Motion Motion is the most rapidly growing method. A new discipline has emerged at the crossroads of film, video, animation and film title sequences, which borrows from all these. Motion graphics may be as important as typography. Singing and dancing visuals are to graphic design what the talkies were to silent films. Kyle Cooper's title sequence for Seven (seen above) is one of the most prolific examples of modern motion graphics. 02. Audio Saul Bass elevated the movie title sequence with his work for Alfred Hitchcock The addition of audio, more than that of movement, propels graphic design into this dimension. The earliest experiments with what was once called ‘eye-music’, coincided with the sound cinema in the mid-1920s. Motion graphics came into their own in the 1960s with movie title sequences by Saul Bass. He created for Alfred Hitchcock a series of semi-abstract film titles and expressionistic graphic style was in perfect sync with the repetitive motifs of composer Bernard Herrmann’s scores. Today, more hybrid animated graphic styles are emerging. All forms of design signal timeliness. In this sense the second of the key ideas, “forced obsolescence”, is essential to signalling a contemporary veneer. In the 1920s it was called “style engineering”: to increase consumer interest by making products more stylish. The advertising artist and industrial design pioneer Raymond Loewy referred to this notion as MAYA (Most Advanced Yet Acceptable). The MAYA principle promoted colours and shapes that transmitted the idea of “new and improved”, but was a safety net to prevent a shock of the new. For most US designers, modernism was a bag of tricks the artist could use to make new even newer, including futuristic “decoration” accented by contemporary typefaces with enticing names such as Cubist Bold and Novel Gothic. Forced obsolescence was a costume that artificially stimulated growth. 03. Colour Josef Albers' Interaction of Colour work helped launch the psychedelic trend The third idea is vibrating colour. During mid-1960s the psychedelic style began with the Bauhausler artist Josef Albers. Through his Interaction of Colour work he helped to launch the trend that would typify the psychedelic poster and tie-dye graphic concepts. Victor Moscoso, who studied under Albers at Yale and was one of vibrating colour’s founding fathers, claimed that he likened Albers’ famous Color-aid paper exercises to the futility of learning algebra in high school. Psychedelics trashed and restated the rules. ‘Don’t use vibrating colours’, for example, became ‘use them whenever to excess’. The tenet that ‘lettering should always be legible’ became ‘disguise the lettering, make it difficult to read’. One significant element of Albers’ theory was the relativity of colour: that colour changes in direct relation to its surroundings. Colour produced deceptive and unpredictable effects, with multiple readings of the same hue possible depending on what colours surround it. Vibrating colour was an affront to the senses, forcing the viewer into a kinetic, dynamic relationship with the two-dimensional picture surface. Vibrating colour is now one of the many tools in the colourist’s kit. Learn more about colour theory here. These are three of the 100 ideas that changed graphic design. Doubtless there will be more changes in the future. Plus ça change! Steven Heller has authored a wide range of graphic design publications, find out more here. This article was originally published in issue 294 of Computer Arts, the world's best-selling design magazine. Buy issue 294 or subscribe here. Read more: The best laptops for graphic design Amazing new graphic design tutorials The best free online graphic design courses View the full article

Welcome to Creative Bloq's guide to the best smartphone lenses around. A phone has now become the only camera in many people’s pockets, but that’s not to say it’s all the camera you could want. Until fairly recently, most phones only had a single rear-facing camera, usually with a wide-angle lens. If you wanted to shoot more distant subjects, your only option (short of relying on image-degrading digital zoom) was to get your skates on and physically move until the subject was distant no more. But there is an easier solution: the add-on smartphone lens. There’s no shortage of these cute little lenses that can attach to your phone, converting the typical wide-angle view to a variety of focal lengths. Choose from lenses that’ll let you see even wider – to the degree of a bulging, wraparound fisheye perspective – through to mini telescopes that offer in excess of 20x zoom. Unlike lenses for conventional cameras, these miniature marvels tend to be surprisingly cheap, and most simply clip to your phone. Some more advanced smartphone lenses may instead attach via a custom phone case, giving a more secure fit and ensuring the lens consistently lines up with your phone’s camera. Pair it with one of the best smartphone tripods, and you've got yourself a great bit of photography kit. Of course with most flagship phones now sporting at least two rear-facing cameras, it may seem like the days of the add-on lens are numbered (take a look at our guide to the best camera phones for a taste of what you can pack into a handset these days). But more niche optics like fisheye, telephoto zoom and video-orientated lenses can still produce effects that can’t yet be matched by built-in camera phone hardware. 6 expert smartphone photography tips One word of caution, however. Adding an extra lens in front of your phone’s camera will inevitably have a detrimental impact on image quality. A premium lens will minimise any unwanted softness or distortion, but an el-cheapo kit containing a dozen lenses all for the price of a KFC Mega Bucket will almost certainly give questionable quality. These lenses can still be fun to use though, especially if you dig the low-fi grungy look. Read on for our pick of the best smartphone lenses around at the moment, or check out out guide to the best photo apps to take your snaps one step further. The big advantage with the AllClip system is its universal adjustable design. This enables it to be used on any smartphone with a width between 58 and 80mm, including all iPhones from the 4 through to the XS Max. The trick is a spring-loaded sliding clamp that fits the clip to differing phone sizes, and the lens mount can also move to position the lens perfectly in front of your phone’s camera, whether it be the front or rear-facing snapper. While you can get the clip separately and fit one of BitPlay’s many compatible lenses, this particular kit pairs the AllClip with Bitplay’s Premium HD Wide Angle lens. With it’s quality aluminium lens barrel and glass that includes an aspheric element, it feels solid and image quality lives up to the HD claim. The lens also noticeably increases the field of view of a typical rear-facing phone camera, giving a much wider perspective. This triple-lens set from long-established smartphone lens manufacturer Olloclip contains a fisheye lens that gives a huge, spherical 180-degree field of view, albeit with typical bulging distortion. You can minimize the latter by switching to the Super-Wide lens. It’ll increase your camera’s field of view to an expansive 120-degrees – significantly wider than the iPhone XS’s bare wide-angle camera. You still get some distortion, but it’s only noticeable when shooting geometric subjects. The last lens in the trio is a macro lens that magnifies a close-up scene by 15x, revealing microscopic details almost invisible to the naked eye. The trick works best at the centre of the image frame, with the periphery being slightly blurred, though this can help distinguish your main point of interest. The interchangeable lenses attach to Olloclip’s Connect X clip which simply slides over the top of your phone and enables the lenses to work with both the rear and front-facing cameras. When the time comes to expand your photographic horizons, other Connect X-compatible lenses including telephoto optics are available and clip straight into the holder in this kit. The lenses can also be used with many Android phones if you attach them via Olloclip’s Multi-Device Clip (sold separately). Moment lenses have a strong reputation for quality, and it’s easy to see why. This macro lens is made from aircraft-grade aluminium surrounding hand-polished glass. There’s even a diffuser hood attachment included that helps soften the light surrounding your subject, and its 1-inch length serves as a guide for how close you can get while maintaining focus. It all adds up to stunning close-ups that you simply can’t get with a standard phone camera, though as with any macro lens, depth of field is tight, so you’ll need a steady hand and accurate focussing to get a sharp shot. The only possible drawback is, unlike many add-on lenses that attach to your phone using a clip system, this lens can only be attached via one of Moment’s M-Series phone cases. These are also top quality though, and they enable fitment of Moment’s other top-notch M-Series lenses. Different cases are available to fit most iPhones, as well as recent high-end Galaxy and OnePlus models. Confusingly, this smartphone lens and accessory bundle is called a 4-in-1 kit in the UK and a 9-in-1 kit Stateside. It’s the same deal though, with four separate lenses, along with extras including an eye cup, carry case, cleaning cloth, micro tripod and a basic phone holder, plus the all-important clamp to attach the lenses to your phone. These include a macro, wide-angle, fisheye, and the most interesting of the quartet: a telephoto lens, giving an advertised 20x magnification. That’s enough to zoom in far closer than with the 2x telephoto camera on an iPhone XS, though inevitably for such a cheap lens with plastic internals, corner sharpness is poor. You’ll also need a super-steady hand, as even if your phone’s camera has optical image stabilization, it won’t have been designed to work with a lens this long. But, if you’re after fun and versatility over outright image quality, this kit is well worth the money. So you’d like to create cinematic video footage on your phone? One of the easiest ways to get more immersive content is to shoot in an ultra-widescreen 21:9 aspect ratio (also referred to as 2.35:1, or CinemaScope), rather than your phone’s native 16:9 format. This add-on lens does exactly that, but it doesn’t just cut off the top and bottom of your footage and call it quits. No, this is an anamorphic lens, so it optically compresses the camera’s perspective along the horizontal axis. Once the footage is re-stretched out to 21:9 using editing software (Filmic Pro, Premiere Pro), you get distortion-free video that Spielberg would be proud of (luck, and talent, may also be required). An added bonus of the anamorphic process is horizontal lens flare, adding to the Hollywood look. The lens itself is built to a high standard, with an aluminium barrel and German Shott glass that maintains good image sharpness. The included metal clip maintains compatibility with all recent iPhones, Galaxy S-series models, and many other phones. Read more: The best camera for creatives in 2019 Lightroom vs Photoshop: What's the difference? The 10 most Instagrammable places in the world View the full article

Not only do female employees make significantly less money than their male counterparts, but they are also subject to a ‘pink tax’ on consumer goods. You read that right, female consumers are given less money and then made to pay more. Shaving startup Billie has launched an unexpected marketing campaign that aims to bring extra attention to the issue. Enter blue wine. The packaging design is nothing to write home about and the drink itself is in a hue more akin to mouthwash than wine (but that's also reminiscent of WKD – a saving grace?), but Château de Blué does make an important statement. It's priced 13 per cent lower than the average bottle of rosé, to represent the difference in the price of a standard razor marketed at women (Billie's own razor subscriptions are actively in line with the male versions). Billie founder, Georgina Gooley explains how her company wants to counteract these issues: "We wanted a simple, playful way of showing what the Pink Tax is. Not enough women know that they're overpaying for products marketed to them." She says that Billie wants to "raise awareness around this ridiculous pricing discrimination and encourage women to purchase from companies that are fair to them." We were concerned that this campaign strategy would come across as a little stomach-churning, but Bille has nailed the tone with lighthearted wit. Taglines describing the wine as a 'robust, full-bodied feast for the senses – including the sense of fairness' and 'contains notes of crushed blueberries, oak, and just a hint of gender bias' make the point with a sense of humour. People are loving the strategy on Twitter, with April S' thumbs up showing the campaign will definitely be good for business as well as making a great point about equality: Bille created the wine with KDM Global Partners, a creator of private-label wine based in California – an apt choice of location given California was the first state to ban gendered pricing back in 1995. And given the wine sold out in just eight hours, the message certainly seems to have hit the right note. Read more: Traffic-stopping examples of billboard advertising Are trends any good for branding? 8 brands that rule at social media View the full article

Earlier this week Apple launched three new iPhones at its highly anticipated event in California. They might be the best camera phones we've seen, but we'd like to draw your attention to another device for a moment. The announcement attracting a lot fewer headlines is the new Apple Watch. It may not have three cameras in the shape of a fidget spinner, but the Apple Watch 5 packs some standout new features. First and foremost, this new model will tell the time, all the time. Don't underestimate the significance of this. Until now, due to battery life issues, Apple Watch screens would automatically shut off when they thought you weren't looking at them. If you managed to catch your device unawares, you had to jiggle your wrist around to get the screen to light up. Not ideal. There's a new titanium finish for that always-on screen The Apple Watch 5 includes new display technology that means the screen will remain on all the time. There are some clever power-saving touches that make this possible, including automatic adjustment of frame rate depending on what's being shown on screen, dynamic screen brightness, and subtle differences to what's shown when the device is in power-saving mode (for example the animated second hand vanishes when you're not looking at the watch). Second, there are two new finishes to choose from, which is good news for anyone who wants a smartwatch that fits with the rest of their wardrobe and doesn't stand out like the chunk of tech that it is. Apple has been doing well with this for a while now, but we especially like the new titanium and ceramic options now on offer. Apple is also updating watchOS with a selection of cool new smartwatch features. Many of these are focused on health and fitness applications – a big draw for a lot of smartwatch owners. There's an Noise app that monitors ambient sound levels and flags up if you're somewhere that might damage your hearing, and new Cycle Tracking feature that is not (as we originally assumed) for recording bike rides, but for monitoring your menstrual cycle. There's also a compass. The only disappointment is the continuing absence of sleep-tracking capabilities. Prices for the Apple Watch Series 5 start at $399 for the 40mm GPS model, and $499 for the LTE version. It goes on sale on 20 Sept, but preorders are open now. Not sure you need an always-on face? There are some bargains to be had on older models right now. Take a look at the best deals on the Series 4 and 3 below. Read more: The 100 greatest Apple creations The best MacBook Pro alternatives for designers 20 best iPad Pro apps for use with Apple Pencil View the full article

You're reading Send an Efficient Black Friday or Cyber Monday Email Newsletter, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook! Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) is one of the biggest events of the year. Everybody is looking forward to it. While offline retailers and online entrepreneurs see it as an excellent opportunity to maximize revenue and get rid of … View the full article

The origins of pin-up art can be traced back to the late 19th century, but it became more widespread in the 1940s and 1950s, often appearing on posters and calendars. Defining characteristics of the artistic style include a cheerful face, a mix of humour and sex appeal, but without crossing the line into becoming provocative. The final pin-up art we're working towards Over the years, there have been changes in character portrayal, not only in relation to style of hair and clothing, but also in how the artist has rendered pin-up art to appeal to audiences of the time. Yet modern-day pin-up art often includes many retro references. If you want to improve your drawing skills before you get going on pin-up art, check out our how to draw post that collates the best drawing tutorials out there. Otherwise, read on to discover how to create your own pin-up art. 01. Create the initial concept Draft your early ideas It’s a good idea to get down a few early drafts, either on paper or digitally – whatever suits your creative approach. This will help you choose a design to take forward. For this workshop, the theme is a pin-up girl, so I want the character to channel the two distinct features for this type of artwork, which is to be sweet and sexy. This is a reference to its 1950's origins. 02. Create clean sketch lines Use Photoshop to create the outline I transfer my scanned drawing into Photoshop (get Creative Cloud here) and go to Brightness/Contrast. I choose 18 and 55, respectively, to create a clear contrast between the lines. Then I open a new layer, go to Channels and choose Cyan, then click Select > Inverse. Next, I create a new layer and go to Edit > Fill, selecting black with 100 per cent Opacity, which creates clean line art for me to use. 03. Fill the drawing with flat colour Use the Magic Wand tool to apply flat colour I enjoy working directly with colour rather than in greyscale. I’m all for technology and the digital tools we have available, mainly because they enable me to save time. Yet I still use traditional media such as pencils, inks or markers, both for my initial drawings and laying down the final lines. Here, I’m creating my lines on paper, but the process that you’ll use for colouring will be the same as if the lines were digital. So you can ignore my scanning clean-up stage. Staying on the layer of my lines, I remove the old layer and create a new one under my lines. I select the Magic Wand tool and click the outer part of my drawing. Then I go to Select > Inverse and then Select > Modify > Contract Selection by three pixels. Staying on the layer that I’ve created, I fill in with any colour. Finally, I check that the whole drawing is filled with colour on the inside. 04. Distinguish the areas of the body Switch to the pen tool to apply different colours After I’ve created my colour layer, I duplicate it and fill it with a different colour. Next, I switch to the Pen tool and use this to select the areas that I want to reveal, for example just the character’s skin, and then mask off surrounding areas. Now I select the Lock Transparent Pixels option, which enables me to accurately paint in specific areas. I follow the same process for the hair, clothing and other key elements of the artwork. 05. Generate hair volume Colour the shaded parts of the hair I select the hair layer with the Lock Transparent Pixels option checked. Next, with a default brush set to zero per cent Hardness, I colour the shaded parts of the hair, choosing which parts will be dark. I follow the same process, alternating between a darker colour and then a lighter one. The variety of colours help to give the character’s hair a sense of volume. 06. Add details to the hair Create another layer to add details to the hair I create another layer over my coloured hair layer and I draw some details with a default Photoshop brush, increasing the Hardness to 85 per cent, which introduces a sense of lustre on the hair without going over the top. I also decide that there will be lighting on the back of her hair, so on another layer, and again with an increased Hardness setting, I create lighting that follows the direction I want the hair to have. 07. Make the flower look natural Use custom brushes for the flower Transparent Pixels checked, I apply a flat lilac colour to the flower and I paint the bottom part with a simple blue brush. Next, I select one of my custom brushes called marker 1 and play around with the colours – just enough to give the flower a more natural look. Then with a default Photoshop brush (see free Photoshop brushes for some ideas) set to 100 per cent Hardness, I draw small circles on the petals, also randomly. 08. Colour the clothes Use different shades of colour I choose to make the character’s clothing blue. Still with the Lock Transparent Pixels option checked, I select a default brush with 0 per cent Hardness and paint the some areas of her clothes a dark blue. Then I paint the lighter parts of the clothes with a blue that’s a couple of shades lighter. 09. Give the clothing interesting texture Use custom and simple brushes to create different effects After completing the dark and light parts of the clothes, I select my custom lolo1 brush, set its size between 30 and 60px, and Hardness to 90 per cent. Then with the Other Dynamics > Opacity Jitter option checked, I start to paint using the same colours. The result is that the clothing now looks as though it’s covered with sequins. Then, using a simple brush, I draw more distinct small circles in white, to highlight areas almost randomly. 10. Refine the main facial features Use a new layer for facial features to make them stand out Once I’m happy with the character’s clothes, I turn my attention to the face and create a new layer for the eyes, lips and teeth, so that they stand out from the base colours in each particular area. Then, after painting them, I unite them on a single layer. I select a basic medium tint for the skin that’s neither too dark nor too light. 11. Add colour, light and shadows to the skin Give the face and body a 3D appearance by using light and dark shades Now I paint the shaded parts of the face and body, using a colour that’s slightly darker than the one I have selected for the skin. I repeat the process until I’m happy with the results. Next, I again select the skin’s main colour and lighten it slightly, before painting the lighter parts of the body. This gives the face and body a 3D appearance. I take care not to overdo the lighting and shading during this stage. 12. Give the lines a smoother appearance Paint with a simple brush to make the lines appear smoother I select to the layer with the lines, which is the uppermost layer and in Multiply mode. With Lock Transparent Pixels checked I paint them with a simple brush, using a dark brown colour for the body lines or a dark blue colour for the clothing lines. I want to make the lines smoother. 13. Apply a tattoo Draw the tattoo in another file and layer it onto the skin I draw the tattoo in another file, before bringing it in my main file, on a layer over the skin. I turn the tattoo layer to Multiply mode. I also add a 1px blur by selecting Filter > Gaussian Blur. Next I go to Edit > Transform > Warp, and adjust the tattoo so it matches the shape of the arm. I then create a layer mask and fade the tattoo slightly where the light hits it. 14. Make final touches Add final details on the top layer The final details usually are added on the layer that should be over the line art. On this layer, I usually paint some lustre for the hair, lips and eyes. I also add some lighting on the skin and the clothes in general, as well as some wavy lines to create the impression of separate hairs standing out. This article was originally published ImagineFX, the world's best-selling magazine for digital artists. Subscribe here. Read more: How to find your art style Pixel art: 34 retro examples How to draw a wolf View the full article

In Sweden, McDonald's has adapted its billboard advertising to make it a little more eco-friendly. In May we reported on the McHive, a tiny McDonald's restaurant for bees (actually a fully functioning beehive), and now it looks like the insects of Sweden will have their accommodation sorted too, with several billboards around the country being converted into mini hotels. Many of Sweden's wild bees are under threat due to a lack of resting areas. The new campaign includes dedicated wooden billboards with holes drilled into them for wild bees and other insects to make their nests in. All McDonald's Swedish franchisees have been offered the opportunity to create their own bee hotel billboards and choose their own message. One existing example reads 'Always open' – a clever reference to both the bee hotels and the 24/7 McDonald's restaurants. Outside Stockholm, another billboard has had six big bee huts added to its reverse side. The advertisement side faces south, and the huts are on the north-facing side, where bees prefer to nest. Six boutique bee huts have been added to the reverse of this billboard The project forms part of a larger initiative that sees McDonald's Sweden working to protect and preserve the country's bee population. Several restaurants have beehives on their rooftops, and there are plans to scale up the new chain of bee hotels in 2020. Just like the McHive, this project comes from NORD DDB, a creative agency with studios across several nordic countries. For this initiative, the creatives teamed up with outdoor advertising firm JCDecaux. Read more: The best print adverts ever These ridiculous ads show sexism is still alive and kicking Has Diet Coke lost the plot? View the full article

The winners of the Brand Impact Awards 2019 – Computer Arts' annual celebration of the very best branding from around the world – were revealed last night at the Ham Yard Hotel, Soho, London. As ever, the bar was set high by the discerning judging panel, who whittled down a record number of almost 200 entries – leaving 55 projects by 27 different agencies. The Brand Impact Awards are judged on the following criteria: a compelling, appropriate idea; beautiful, consistent execution; and work that stands head and shoulders above its market sector. Read on to find out more about the 14 wins of the night (covering 11 projects), and then check out the highly commended projects. And be sure to check out all the shortlisted entries on the next page! Best of Show: BBC Two by Superunion BBC Two by Superunion Agency: Superunion Winner: Best of Show Winner: Collaboration Winner: Culture, Entertainment Shortlisted: Public Sector Best of Show is the highest accolade at the Brand Impact Awards, picked by the judging panel from a shortlist of three category winners. And, for a second year running, Superunion bagged the ultimate trophy. Brand Impact Awards 2019: Winners The following 11 projects all received at least one winning trophy at the Brand Impact Awards 2019... 01. Petit Pli by NB Studio Petit Pli by NB Studio Agency: NB Studio Winner: Fashion Shortlisted: Social Impact 02. Anna by NB Studio Anna by NB Studio Agency: NB Studio Winner: Financial Services 03. No Fuss Fundraising by Bond & Coyne No Fuss Fundraising by Bond & Coyne Agency: Bond & Coyne Winner: Not-for-Profit 04. Equal Justice Initiative by Turner Duckworth Equal Justice Initiative by Turner Duckworth Agency: Turner Duckworth Winner: Social Impact Award Winner: Not-for-Profit 05. Trademark.com by Texture Trademark.com by Texture Agency: Texture Winner: Professional Services 06. Alphaputt by Sennep Alphaputt by Sennep Agency: Sennep Winner: Self-Branding Shortlisted: Best of Show 07. Creative Discomforts by Taxi Studio Creative Discomforts by Taxi Studio Agency: Taxi Studio Winner: Self-Branding 08. ESL by Superunion ESL by Superunion Agency: Superunion Winner: Sports & Leisure Highly Commended: Entertainment 09. The Fife Arms by Here Design The Fife Arms by Here Design Agency: Here Design Winner: Transport & Travel Shortlisted: Best of Show 10. The Surrey Copper Distillery by Nude Brand Creation The Surrey Copper Distillery by Nude Brand Creation Agency: Nude Brand Creation Winner: Wine, Beer & Spirits Brand Impact Awards 2019: Highly commended The following 23 projects received highly commended trophies on the night... 01. McDonald's by Turner Duckworth McDonald's by Turner Duckworth Agency: Turner Duckworth Highly commended: Bars & Restaurants 02. Mandela and Me by B&W Studio Mandela and Me by B&W Studio Agency: B&W Studio Highly commended: Culture 03. London Symphony Orchestra 2019/20 by Superunion London Symphony Orchestra 2019/20 by Superunion Agency: Superunion Highly commended: Culture Shortlisted: Entertainment 04. All 4 by DixonBaxi All 4 by DixonBaxi Agency: DixonBaxi Highly commended: Entertainment 05. Kellogg's by Landor Kellogg's by Landor Agency: Landor Highly commended: FMCG 06. Jacob's by Pearlfisher Jacob's by Pearlfisher Agency: Pearlfisher Highly commended: FMCG 07. Tillamook by Turner Duckworth Tillamook by Turner Duckworth Agency: Turner Duckworth Highly commended: FMCG 08. Christie Proton Beam Therapy Centre by Music Christie Proton Beam Therapy Centre by Music Agency: Music Highly commended: Not-for-Profit Shortlisted: Social Impact 09. Parkinson's UK by Texture Parkinson's UK by Texture Agency: Texture Highly commended: Not-for-Profit 10. Manual by Onwards Manual by Onwards Agency: Onwards Highly commended: Pharmaceuticals & Toiletries Shortlisted: FMCG 11. Medivet by Turner Duckworth Medivet by Turner Duckworth Agency: Turner Duckworth Highly commended: Professional Services 12. Amsteldok by VBAT/Superunion Amsteldok by VBAT/Superunion Agency: VBAT/Superunion Highly commended: Property 13. The Great War Centenary by Hat-trick Design The Great War Centenary by Hat-trick Design Agency: Hat-trick Design Highly Commended: Collaboration, Public Sector 14. Simple by Here Design Simple by Here Design Agency: Here Design Highly Commended: Publishing 15. The Drum by NB Studio The Drum by NB Studio Agency: NB Studio Highly Commended: Publishing 16. FOX Sports Netherlands by DixonBaxi FOX Sports Netherlands by DixonBaxi Agency: DixonBaxi Highly Commended: Sports & Leisure 17. Wolverhampton Wanderers by SomeOne Wolverhampton Wanderers by SomeOne Agency: SomeOne Highly Commended: Sports & Leisure 18. Celebrity Fitness by The Clearing Celebrity Fitness by The Clearing Agency: The Clearing Highly Commended: Sports & Leisure 19. Brach Hotel by GBH London Brach Hotel by GBH London Agency: GBH London Highly Commended: Transport & Travel 20. The Hangry Duck by Superunion The Hangry Duck by Superunion Agency: Superunion Highly Commended: Wine, Beer & Spirits 21. Carlsberg by Taxi Studio Carlsberg by Taxi Studio Agency: Taxi Studio Highly Commended: Wine, Beer & Spirits Shortlisted: FMCG Next page: shortlisted projects... Brand Impact Awards 2019: Shortlisted Being shortlisted at the BIAs is an accolade in itself – if no projects in a category meet the strict judging criteria, that category is cut altogether! The following 23 projects made the grade this year... 01. Fresh Awards by Rose Fresh Awards by Rose Agency: Rose Shortlisted: Artisan 02. Le Collectionneur by GBH London Le Collectionneur by GBH London Agency: GBH London Shortlisted: Bars & Restaurants 03. Super Lyan by Magpie Super Lyan by Magpie Agency: Magpie Shortlisted: Bars & Restaurants 04. Noc Coffee Co. by Superunion Noc Coffee Co. by Superunion Agency: Superunion Shortlisted: Bars & Restaurants 05. Tim Hortons by Turner Duckworth Tim Hortons by Turner Duckworth Agency: Turner Duckworth Shortlisted: Bars & Restaurants 06. Remembering D-Day at Bletchley Park by Rose Remembering D-Day at Bletchley Park by Rose Agency: Rose Shortlisted: Culture 07. St Albans Museum + Gallery by Studio Sutherl& St Albans Museum + Gallery by Studio Sutherl& Agency: Studio Sutherl& Shortlisted: Culture 08. Deliciously Ella by Here Design Deliciously Ella by Here Design Agency: Here Design Shortlisted: FMCG 09. YQ by Yoplait by Pearlfisher YQ by Yoplait by Pearlfisher Agency: Pearlfisher Shortlisted: FMCG 10. A Flag for Bankside by NB Studio A Flag for Bankside by NB Studio Agency: NB Studio Shortlisted: Collaboration Shortlisted: Not-for-Profit 11. Combat Stress Magazine by Texture Combat Stress Magazine by Texture Agency: Texture Shortlisted: Not-for-Profit 12. Monument by Jack Renwick Studio Monument by Jack Renwick Studio Agency: Jack Renwick Studio Shortlisted: Professional Services 13. Moo Handshake Don'ts by MOO Print Moo Handshake Don'ts by MOO Print Agency: MOO Print Shortlisted: Professional Services 14. Dot, Dot, Deloitte by Superunion/VMLY&R/Deloitte Dot, Dot, Deloitte by Superunion/VMLY&R/Deloitte Agency: Superunion/VMLY&R/Deloitte Shortlisted: Professional Services 15. An Anarchy of Chillies by Here Design An Anarchy of Chillies by Here Design Agency: Here Design Shortlisted: Publishing 16. Picture the News by Johnson Banks Picture the News by Johnson Banks Agency: Johnson Banks Shortlisted: Self-Branding 17. Bristol City Football Club by Mr B & Friends Bristol City Football Club by Mr B & Friends Agency: Mr B & Friends Shortlisted: Sports & Leisure 18. 10Bet by Rose 10Bet by Rose Agency: Rose Shortlisted: Sports & Leisure 19. Foyers Lodge by Alphabetical Foyers Lodge by Alphabetical Agency: Alphabetical Shortlisted: Transport & Travel 20. The_Modern Hotel by GBH London The_Modern Hotel by GBH London Agency: GBH London Shortlisted: Transport & Travel 21. Journeysmith by NB Studio Journeysmith by NB Studio Agency: NB Studio Shortlisted: Transport & Travel 22. Level Destination Posters by Superunion Level Destination Posters by Superunion Agency: Superunion Shortlisted: Transport & Travel 23. Equinor by Superunion Equinor by Superunion Agency: Superunion Shortlisted: Utilities Related articles: Generate better ideas with Computer Arts Are trends any good for branding? Starbucks' style guide reveals subtle brand refresh View the full article

Wondering the difference between Adobe Lightroom vs Photoshop? This guide is here to help. Adobe editing software has dominated the professional landscape for years. When starting out in image editing, it’s important to understand what software to use and when to use it. Knowing the differences between Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop is a useful first step for budding image editors. Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop are both image editing tools but each one serves a different purpose (of course, there are other options, and for those take a look at our list of the best photo apps and photo-editing software). Primarily, Lightroom is a more lightweight and simplistic tool, which many find easier to get the hang of. Photoshop, in contrast, is a heavy-duty photo editor that millions of professional photographers rely on daily. To help make a decision on which software is right and where to start, we've put together this article that pits Photoshop vs Lightroom. Don't have either programme yet? Sign up to Creative Cloud here or explore our list of the best Adobe deals at the moment. What is Lightroom? Full name Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, this software was introduced in 2006 as part of the creative suite of tools from Adobe. Though it has Photoshop in its name, Lightroom is nowhere near as powerful an editing tool and is mainly focused around workflow. Where Photoshop can only open one image at a time, Lightroom includes databases of photos, making navigation between photos in a set much easier. Lightroom also automatically stores a lot more descriptive data from your camera, helping simplify the process of bulk image editing. What is Photoshop? Initially a simple image editor, Photoshop is now the most powerful and recognised editing software in the world. Not just for photographers, this mammoth tool is used by creatives in multiple media, including 3D design, animation and graphic design. Photoshop is a pixel-level editor, meaning users have much more control over the overall look of their images, but the process is much longer as each image needs to be precisely edited individually. The size of the software also makes for a steep learning curve that can be daunting to the uninitiated. Advantages of Lightroom While both tools have extensive uses for photographers, identifying each one’s strengths and weaknesses is useful for those hesitant to commit to Adobe’s creative suite. Advantages of Lightroom include: Easier to learn Lightroom has a much more basic interface in comparison to Photoshop, meaning users who already have experience with editing software may be able to get to grips with Lightroom much quicker. Options for automation Lightroom users are able to apply preset edits across a range of photos all at the same time. These presets, available through Adobe or third-party creators can save editors huge amounts of time if the same edits need to be made to a whole collection. RAW editor Photographers who take their pictures in the recommended RAW format can upload their collections straight to Lightroom and begin editing, something which isn’t possible when using Photoshop alone. Tidy interface With the opportunity to create databases of your photos and highlight, star or flag particular images, organising your workflow with Lightroom is much simpler than in Photoshop or Adobe Bridge. Lightroom also automatically gathers metadata on each image, including aperture, camera make and model, date and time and resolution, helping you single out each image with much better precision. Editing capabilities Lightroom still has strong editing capabilities which may actually be enough for some photographers to create their desired effects. Contrast, exposure, clarity, saturation and warmth can all be edited directly in Lightroom. Non-destructive Lightroom creates a new file every time you edit a picture, meaning originals are never lost. The editor also keeps a record of all changes so any alterations can be reversed with ease. Advantages of Photoshop As the leading editing software, most photographers will need to get to grips with Photoshop at some point. Its abilities go far beyond the limitations of Lightroom in terms of editing. Advantages of Photoshop include: Editing perfection There’s a reason Photoshop is the most-used software in the world. As a pixel-level editor, the photographer has control over every minute detail of each image for stunning pictures every time. Operation variety As a multimedia tool, there is a much wider variety of tools available than in Lightroom. This means that photographers can get more adventurous and use the tools in an innovative way to create their artwork. Compositing Compositing, or replacing selected parts of an image with similar sections of other images, is one of Photoshop’s greatest features. This tool means that perfect images don’t have to be compromised by smaller details which can easily be replaced. Feature-boosting plugins Plugins and actions are automated operations which are created by Adobe or other professional editors and allow for more general edits to be made with ease in Photoshop. Editors can also create their own actions so that long processes used repeatedly take much less time. Take a look at our roundups of the best Photoshop plugins and free Photoshop actions for a taste of what's on offer. Layer editing Layer editing allows for layers of edits to affect different parts of the image, giving the editor much more control of the overall look of the image. Removing objects Whether it’s entire buildings or simple skin blemishes, Photoshop’s healing tools are unparalleled. While some professional photographers may be able to use Lightroom’s more simplistic tools to do some retouching, Photoshop can be used to create clean, detailed edits. Learning to use Photoshop and Lightroom Lightroom is a simpler editing tool than Photoshop, which beginners may find easier to dive straight into. However, each tool has a huge range of specialist operations, shortcuts and actions which can require training. Aspiring professional photographers may want to consider training on both tools before entering the industry, or finding a full photography course that covers Lightroom and Photoshop use. Using them together Although both tools are used for image editing, ultimately, they complement each other well. Where Lightroom focuses on workflow, Photoshop allows editors to make beautiful edits to each individual picture. Using both tools together means that photographers can reap the benefits of each without having to compromise. Lightroom vs Photoshop: Pricing It’s clear that both tools are intended to be used together, as Adobe offers both as part of its subscription service Photography plan. The full Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop standalone apps are also only available through monthly subscription, so purchasing both means you'll be saving a fair amount per month. For those still hesitant, Photoshop Elements is a lesser version of the main tool that still has a lot of capabilities and can still be purchased with a one-off payment (read our Photoshop Elements 2019 review). Though each tool has its own advantages, using them together means professional photographers can reap the benefits of both without having to compromise. Read more: The 10 best alternatives to Photoshop The best laptops for Photoshop in 2019 How to resize an image in Photoshop View the full article

Volkswagen has revealed a new brand design and logo at the 2019 IAA motor show in Frankfurt, and while at a glance it looks like yet another refresh of the VW logo that's been adorning its cars since the 1930s, sharp-eyed designers will note that there are a few unexpected departures from its usual formula. What's instantly noticeable about the new logo design isn't that it's a thoroughly contemporary flat logo as we reported recently; plenty of its logos over the years have been monochromatic and minimal. And so it makes perfect sense to revert to that look in a world where a good logo design has to scale gracefully, down from massive versions to display outside corporate headquarters, down to tiny mobile icons. 7 best car logos of all time The new logo's good for all manner of uses and sizes In that respect, Volkswagen had most of its work already done. What really stands out, though, is that this is a much more slimline iteration than earlier logos. The line width is much thinner than in any other VW logo, and it's particularly noticeable when seen next to the previous model, which had a sharp embossed look that gave it extra weight. You'll also have noticed that in this new version, the 'W' doesn't connect with the circle at the bottom of the logo, and is instead left hanging, and if you look even closer you'll see that all the corners on the 'V' and 'W' are distinctly rounded; it's particularly noticeable at the bottom of the 'W'. Interestingly, though, at the point where the letters intersect with the circle, the angles are sharp as you like, so this isn't just some all-over softening of the logo. Man alive, that gap's a lot more than 2.5%. Call the design police! The really fun thing, though, is that this new design flagrantly breaks Volkswagen's own trade mark rules on how the logo should be drawn. We've mentioned Volkswagen's vintage logo specs before, and how they lay down exactly how the VW logo should look. It specifies precise formulae for calculating the line width in relation to the width of the logo, the angles for the lines making up the letters, and even the exact gap between the 'V' and the 'W'. And as far as we can tell, the new design throws the rule book out of the window; the lines are far too thin, the angles of the letter strokes are all over the place, and the gap between the letters is too wide. Honestly, it show blatant disregard for the rules, and for that reason we love it. Expect to see the logo at your local VW dealership soon Volkswagen's been under a bit of a cloud in recent years thanks to its doctored emissions test results, and this fresh new logo – along with bolder and more colourful visual language, a new audio logo and the switch to using a female voice in its advertising rather than traditional male tones – allows it to make a much-needed break with its past. Related articles: 10 iconic logos with hidden meanings How to make a logo in Photoshop The best 3-letter logos ever made View the full article

A new attack on Intel server-grade CPUs could allow the leakage of SSH passwords - but luckily it's not easy to exploit. View the full article

The best picture books aren't just for children. Illustrators create imaginative, character-filled artwork to bring stories to life for readers of all ages. Picture books can also spark the reader's imagination and allow them to enter the world the author has created, holding their attention to the very end. Illustrations treat the the reader to extra detail not found in the text, giving more context to the story. Soaking up all of this bonus material is what makes children crave the same story again and again – and it keeps adults interested when reading that one book over and over again. In this rundown, we've selected the best picture books you need to pay attention to, old and new, and included options for all ages, across a range of topics. If you want more picture book ideas, there are plenty over on our post rounding up the best children's books, or if you want to try your hand at illustrating your own book, check out our pick of the best how to draw tutorials on the web. Goodnight Moon allows us a private peek into the bedtime routine of a young bunny rabbit as he says goodnight to everything in his cosy room. This classic book will hypnotise the youngest of children with its rhythmic poetry and striking illustrations, and the board book edition is perfect for little hands. With pages that alternate from brightly coloured to black and white (colour choices that are perfect for babies), the books' colour palette makes bedtime feel safe and warm, with some slight shadowing that hints at night time. The ink drawings on the black and white pages zoom in on specific parts of the room so you can explore the features in more detail. It's a charming book that's guaranteed to have little ones yawning by the last page. We had to include a Julia Donaldson book in this list, and Paper Dolls is wonderfully illustrated by Rebecca Cobb. A little girl and her mother make a string of paper dolls and take us along on an adventure laced with sentimental messages about the importance of memories. Cobb has a delicate, whimsical illustrative style that's a departure from the boldness of Donaldson's collaborations with Axel Scheffler. Her pictures bring the imagination of the little girl to life and are full of detail that toddlers (and older children) love to explore. At the end of the story, you feel you've been let in on the secret of child's play; it feels joyful, bittersweet and surprisingly intimate. Ex-children's laureate Anthony Browne celebrated the topsy-turvy world found down the rabbit hole when he lent his unmistakable style to the classic book Alice In Wonderland in 2015. Known for his surreal approach, Browne is unafraid to let the darkness and confusion of Alice's adventures sing out with bold, sometimes grotesque, imagery that reimagines beloved characters and scenes. Browne tried to stray from the formidable influence of past Alice illustrator Sir John Tenniel, and we especially love his Mad Hatter. Instead of a signature tall hat, Browne's Hatter has lots of hats, stacked on top of each other. This is a fascinating read that will be most appreciated by older children and adults. Kind is a brand new book that showcases 38 top illustrators whose styles you are sure to recognise from their work on some of the best children's books (think Quentin Blake and Lauren Child to get an idea of the calibre). The book invites you to imagine a world where everyone is kind, all of the time, with each illustration depicting that premise in different ways. The different illustrative styles are celebrated using minimal writing, usually just a sentence or two. The types of kindness pictured vary from small acts such as opening a door for someone to showing kindness to people from other countries by learning a few words in their language. It's a profound book that'll resonate with both children and adults. One of a series of science-themed books that includes Dinosaurium and Botanicum, this one, Planetarium: Welcome to the Museum, is published in association with London's Science Museum. It's an impressively-sized hardback book packed full of mesmerising illustrations that depict all aspects of space, from our solar system to the universe beyond. Illustrator Chris Wormell has fulfilled every criteria with his artwork. He dazzles us with sweeping views of galaxies, then changes gear for the precision needed for scientific diagrams. It's like watching the universe on an HD screen of the highest spec. And the text from Professor Raman Prinja is suitably expert too, comprehensive and approachable enough for children and adults. Though if you did want a simpler one, it does come in a junior version. This stunning book about renowned artist Frida Kahlo has won multiple awards. Monica Brown uses the animals that inspired Kahlo to tell the artist's story in Frida Kahlo and her Animalitos, showing us how she embodied characteristics from her much-loved pets – two monkeys, a parrot, three dogs, two turkeys, an eagle, a black cat, and a fawn. This book is as much of a celebration of animals and Mexican culture as it is of Kahlo herself. John Parra's vibrant illustrations are tied to Kahlo's artistic style providing an immersive first look at one of the world's most influential artists. These glossy hardbacks illustrated by Jim Kay are a whole new way to experience Harry Potter. Kay is about to release number four out of the seven Potter books, and uses paint, pencil and digital art to breathe new life into the fantasy series. It was tough to choose a favourite, but we've gone for The Chamber of Secrets. The variety of technique and style is impressive, the dark plot is celebrated with eerie images and scenes that occur in dark places are printed on black paper. There's a particularly special double page imagining of the phoenix and a mesmerising double page of neon digital graphic art that blew us away. Where's Wally is reborn for the art crowd in this super-fun picture book, Where's Warhol? sees Andy Warhol catapulted into different eras as he visits art of the past. He's hidden in scenes depicting 12 iconic moments from art history ranging from Michelangelo working on the Sistine Chapel to Studio 54. Each picture serves as a who's who of the period, with famous faces littering the crowds. With amusing and well-crafted detail that was carefully created from archival research, this is an engaging and informative whistle stop tour through art history. The Jolly Christmas Postman has letters for all your favourite fairytale characters on Christmas eve. The format of The Jolly Postman books lend themselves to excitement (kids love opening a letter), and adding in the wonder of Christmas amps it up a level. The reader can visit the home of the Three Bears and Cinderella and open the actual letters and cards sent to them. With so many characters to spot in the captivating illustrations, and so much detail in the post itself, this book will keep small (and bigger) ones busy for hours. Just be careful with the littlest of readers as the envelopes are easy to rip. What does home mean to you? A caravan? An igloo? A shoe? In Home, Carson Ellis explores the many imaginative possibilities of where home could be through her precise style that seems simple but holds delightful detail. Some of her images come straight from real life, like the urban grit in the city scene, whereas others such as a pirate ship are more at home in a storybook. Her distinctive artistic style, though, is consistent throughout. Rich in colour and thought provoking, this book is a great basis for discussion about how different people live. This beautifully illustrated book, Sea Prayer, is based on the tragic real-life death of a refugee child that made international news. A father sits with his sleeping son on the evening before they take a boat across the sea to search for a new home. Part prayer, part reflection, the father talks of his life in his beautiful home country of Syria and laments all they'll be leaving behind. The poem is brief but leaves a lasting impact, while the watercolour illustrations are evocative and serve to make the father's words even more moving. This is a book you'll want to return to again and again. Read more: The best books for photographers right now The books every graphic designer should read Discover 2019's hottest design books View the full article

Most of us will remember those Diet Coke ads from the '90s, the ones where all the women in an office rushed to ogle a man with his top off, who happened to be drinking Diet Coke. Today, man ogling is back in a new spot created by Wieden + Kennedy London. This time, the women are two 'grannies', Vera and Gladys, who are sitting on the sofa scrolling through 'twinge', and texting each other about potential matches (it's not clear what phones they're using, but we'll assume they're some of the best smartphones available). Gladys sends a picture of Derek, 84, with the text: "I'm in, 100% my type, right?" and Vera swipes to see a picture of Derek with his top off, drinking a Diet Coke. Which is basically another way to say 'Take me, ladies, I'm yours'. Vera definitely remembers the '90s ad, as she replies: TOTAL PLAYA, with a laugh-cry emoji and a total of four exclamation marks to signify maximum excitement. And while Spanish speakers might read that as 'total beach,' we'll assume it's supposed to say 'player'. Vera then says, "not looking for long-term though, am I babes?" before doing some grr-ing at the picture of Derek. Yes, you read that right. It's the 1994 advert, but everyone's got older and we're now ogling men on a phone screen instead of through the window. It's a bit like New Coke coming round again. You can watch the spot in all its glory below: The ad campaign, named, 'You Do You' comes accompanied with eight limited edition cans, which, according to W+K's website, "celebrate popular phrases including, ‘Can’t even’, ‘Okay, next’ and ‘It’s lit’." There's also a social campaign partnership with Snapchat, where users can choose a Face Lens with the same phrases. We'll admit it, our first thought was 'what on earth has happened here?' Diet Coke has gone completely off-piste. However, ads that provoke a strong reaction, good or bad, are usually the ones you're more likely to remember. If you've never heard of the "popular phrases", we're gonna bet you're a) over 25 or b) okay we don't really know what else, they're not exactly in our vocabulary either. On the Coca-Cola website, Tuuli Turunen, marketing manager for Diet Coke, says: “Diet Coke is enjoyed every day and the launch of the new light-hearted campaign to celebrate everyday ‘you do you’ moments from embracing cultural trends to enjoying everyday pleasures aims to encourage our fans to just be themselves.” W+K, describing the campaign, says: "TV spots see people including two grannies defy conventional norms by unashamedly embracing mainstream trends." So either we're out of touch with mainstream trends, or Coca-Cola and W+K are. We can't even... Read more: 5 brands so strong they don't need a logo YO! Sushi rebrands with a ridiculously long name This angle meme is making designers want to gauge their eyes out View the full article

At last night's big launch event, Apple announced three new iPhones: the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max. There's plenty to explore here, from a slick new design to some impressive specs, to a camera that's probably going to bump it straight to the top of our list of the best camera phones. There are also, predictably, some glaring omissions, and a fair few mean memes already flying around. Let's take a look at the four features we were most impressed by, followed by three we were not. 4 things we love about the iPhone 11 01. The cameras Count 'em All the chat leading up the event was about the camera(s), and Apple hasn't disappointed on this front. Both the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max have a whopping three 12MP lenses – standard, ultra-wide, and a telephoto one with 2x optical zoom. Even the more basic iPhone 11 has two. There are more goodies here as well. All three phones have night mode, 4K video recording at up to 60fps. The front camera is also 12MP, and powers Apple's Face ID recognition system (which has been improved for this launch, too). 02. The battery life A permanent annoyance for iPhone owners (and a sticking point for powerful smartphones in general) is battery life. Apple has made steps to correct this here. At its California event, it promised that the iPhone 11 Pro would be able to last up to four hours longer than the iPhone XS; the Pro Max version could last up to 5 hours longer than the iPhone XS Max; and the iPhone 11 could last up to an hour longer than the iPhone XR. Of course, how they perform in practice is yet to be confirmed, but it's a promising start. Another exciting addition is fast charging. All three models will apparently be able to charge up to 50 per cent in just 30 minutes using a dedicated 18W charger. This is included with both Pro models and sold separately for the standard iPhone 11. 03. The colours Taste the rainbow We're designers here, so let's ignore the specs for a moment and be superficial. We think the new iPhones look goooood. Two years ago, with the iPhone X, we had the choice between black and grey. Now, we have a whole rainbow of handsets to pick from. For the Pro Max, as well the familiar Space Grey, Silver and Gold, we have a classy Midnight Green (we're fans). The iPhone 11 is a little more colourful: there are yellow, green and purple handsets to choose from, as well as Product(Red), which is linked to the charitable organisation fighting against AIDS and HIV. The colours are a little paler and duller than previous models, and that's because the backs of the iPhone 11s are glass to aid wireless charging. In fact, they have a matte look that we quite like. As predicted, the Apple logo has been centralised and the text removed, in contrast with previous iPhone designs. 04. The price Apple has form when it comes to reeling us in with impressive specs and snazzy designs, before smacking us round the face with an exorbitant price tag. Who can forget the casual addition of the $999 stand required to go with the Mac Pro (starting price: $4,999)? For once, we have some prices that don't make us want to vomit. Colour us pleasantly surprised. Don't get muddled, these iPhones aren't cheap by any standards. But they're not nearly as expensive as they might have been. The iPhone 11 starts at $699 (£729), which is little cheaper than the iPhone XR was at launch. 3 things we do not love about the iPhone 11 01. The weird camera design We actually don't hate the camera design, but it's certainly getting its fair share of criticism on social media. People are comparing it to everything from a fidget spinner to a gas hob to a Philips razor. But let's face it, the old Mac Pro got likened to a bin and the new Mac Pro does look quite a lot like a cheese grater... it's almost a tradition now, and it's not likely to do sales any harm. The camera 'bump' is a little odd looking, but the fact it's the same colour as the rest of the handset means it doesn't stick out too much. 02. The naming system The iPhone Pro 11 Max? What's coming next, the Pro Max Plus? iPhone Pro Pro Max? We like a confident naming system as much as the next design site, but we can't help but think Apple is backing itself into a corner here, and veering dangerously towards a 'The Greatest Hits of All Time... Ever! Vol 2' situation. 03. The lack of 5G Every new product launch brings with it one big thing that's conspicuous in its absence. With the iPhone 11, it's the lack of 5G. While 5G support isn't yet widespread, it is growing, and there's no doubt it's going to be the next big thing in mobile internet connectivity. We're baffled as to why Apple's most cutting edge phones wouldn't include it. Read more: The best cheap Apple laptop deals in 2019 20 best iPad Pro apps for use with Apple Pencil 5 things that might happen to Apple when Jony Ive leave View the full article

FISK is a gallery with a difference. Founded in 2014 in Oregon by Bijan Berahimi and Michael Spoljaric, FISK is one part residency, one part exhibition space, and one part shop. Visual artists from around the world come to take over the gallery, creating immersive installations and collaborating with FISK to design limited edition products. The founding duo will be taking to the stage at the upcoming Us By Night, which takes place from 26-28 September in the diverse, metropolitan city of Antwerp. We caught up with them ahead of their talk to find out the theory behind their groundbreaking venture, and what makes it so different from traditional art galleries. Inside: The gallery For FISK, community is key, and having a physical gallery space is vital. To them, it represents the opposite of the pristine, controlled online world. "It is a real place with dirty white floors and a slick sound system. Goods and bads... we love that," says Berahimi. Each FISK exhibition can be completely different from the next While the gallery is (proudly) imperfect, the pair try and make it perfect for each artist that exhibits there, and their particular mood and aesthetic. This in turn means each show audience can be completely different from the last. "It is amazing to think a space takes on a completely different personality based on the art on the walls," continues Berahimi. "We love the spontaneity and transformation of a physical space that can happen. One show is bright and optimistic, and a month later the vibe is a bit heavy and exhausting. You can’t do that authentically online." The aim for the future is to start branching out into different kind of events, exhibiting work from people who have never had a show before or perhaps aren't even artists. Inside: The shop To go alongside their show, exhibiting artists and designers are asked to create a product for the FISK shop. Berahimi and Spoljaric explain that three things are important in creating a product: it must be affordable, accessible and useful. While it may seem like a bit of a challenge to shift from creating art to creating products, the pair insist that, with over 30 shows now under FISK's belt, it's all quite straightforward. "It is not hard collaborating with artists on making art as products. They get the idea," says Spoljaric. "The big thing is accessibility in cost. Art should not be exclusive." Along similar lines, the gallery is planning creating the 'Fisk Library for One'. These will be special edition books based around art prints. Inside: The residency The final element of FISK is its residency programme, which again helps to build the community aspect of the venture. "We spend so much time meeting and communicating with artists through Instagram and email. We sometimes Skype, but the majority of the back and forth or even the 'discovery' of an artist happens online," says Berahimi. "We like sharing our experiences and being around people." Community is at the heart of FISK's ethos Berahmi even invites exhibiting artists to stay in his home – something we'd venture not many galleries would be willing to offer. "Community and having a good sense of trust beyond what happens in the space is important," he explains. The talk FISK founders Bijan Berahimi and Michael Spoljaric will be appearing at the upcoming Us By Night festival, where they'll be discussing "our gallery, the ups and downs, lessons learned and what’s next". Us By Night is a design event with a difference – it's completely nocturnal, with talks starting at 5pm each evening, and a thriving nightmarket to explore during breaks. For its atypical event, Us By Night's organisers picked an atypical host city. Antwerp has a prestigious artistic pedigree, and continues to feed its reputation with a thriving creative community (one in six Antwerp enterprises works in the creative sector) as well as an enthusiasm for innovation. Computer Arts will be attending the event, which promises to be just as awesome as previous years. Read more: Discover how fellow UBN speakers, W+K's Zeynep Orbay and writer Macie Soler-Sala make political work people actually want to pay attention to View the full article

Want to get started with acrylics? This article reveals the key acrylic painting techniques you should know. Acrylics are fast drying paints that can be used straight from a tube, like oil paints, or can be thinned with water, like watercolour. They are extremely versatile and vibrant, offering the artist a wide range of textures, colours and consistencies. (After more general advice? See our article on painting techniques instead.) Acrylics are also affordable, making them ideal for covering large areas with paint. Because these paints are opaque and fast drying, they can be very forgiving, allowing you to cover up mistakes with more paint. They can be painted on almost anything and dry into a water resistant surface. While you need to be aware of how quickly they dry, acrylics can be blended beautifully. The heavy body colour of acrylics is buttery and smooth, blending on the canvas almost like oils. Because they basically dry into a plastic surface, they are ideal for using in multimedia painting as well. All of these unique properties mean that you'll need to brush up on your acrylic painting techniques before you get started. Read on for everything you need to know. We'll begin with the kit you need, then introduce some simple acrylic painting techniques such as mixing and misting, to help you get used to working with this wonderfully versatile and rewarding medium. Acrylic brushes: A quick guide It's important to have a good variety of brushes, from small to large We'll begin by introducing four key brush shapes that will be useful in your journey into acrylic painting, and exploring what each shape can be used for. Acrylic brushes tend to be made from synthetic materials and can be used with a variety of mediums. You should not use oil or watercolour brushes for acrylic painting. It's important to have a good variety of brushes, ranging from small to large. You'll soon learn which you're more comfortable with, but these four are some of the more common shapes you'll encounter. The Filbert brush is a great all-purpose brush that can offer a straight or rounded shape. Acrylic paints: What types are there? Experiment with a variety of paint brands to see which one you enjoy using the most Here we're using golden acrylics, which have a buttery texture and can to hold up to a lot of water. These are considered 'Heavy Body Acrylics'. We'd encourage you to experiment with a variety of brands to see which one you enjoy acrylic painting with the most – everyone has their favourite type and brand. Acrylic paint is essentially plastic; more specifically, pigment suspended in a polymer emulsion. You can break that emulsion with too much water, so take care when thinning it out. The acrylic painting techniques in this article can be put into practice with any heavy body acrylic paint, student or professional grade. How to mix acrylic paints Mixing paints is a precise process Mixing paints is a precise process. It's good to know your colour wheel here as you'll be mixing very specific colours as you work. Red and yellow can be combined to make a variety of oranges. Add in some green and you'll get brown and burnt umbers. Using a palette knife, a plastic knife, or even an extra brush is ideal when acrylic painting. Mix thoroughly and remember that some paints can dry a slight shade darker. Need a refresher? See our guide to colour theory. Misting: How to stop acrylics from drying out One way to keep paints moist easily is to mist them with water Acrylics dry quickly – sometimes too quickly. One way to keep paints moist easily is to mist them with water when you're acrylic painting. You can buy gardening misters at hardware or gardening stores. Depending on the surface you're painting on, you can water your acrylics down enough to almost resemble watercolour. This can be a valuable trick to quickly lie in an under painting to get started. Using gesso as a base Gesso is a white paint mixture used as a ground for acrylics and oils Gesso is a white paint mixture used as a ground for acrylic painting and oils. Linen is stretched for canvas then painted with gesso to provide a smoother and more resistant surface for the paint to pushed around on. Acrylic gesso is a little different from traditional gesso as it contains latex. You can also use gesso to create texture under the paint you're going to apply. Glazing: How to seal acrylic paintings Glazing is a great way to seal pencil sketches to paint over Glazing is a great way to seal pencil sketches to paint over. Using a gel medium is the best and most even way to achieve a glaze. Start by selecting the colour you'd like to glaze with, in this case green. Then mix a bit of gel medium and paint together with just a little mist of water to loosen it all up. Once it's an even mixture, apply the glaze over these black strokes. Blending with acrylics Working wet into wet is the best way to blend Blending is one of the trickier acrylic painting techniques to master. First, paint in a layer of white then using a filbert brush, add in your colour (here we're using blue) along the bottom of the area you want blended. Stroke back and forth, rapidly up and down the area, until you get a nice gradient from your colour to white. Working wet into wet is the best way to blend. You can also dry blend by laying in colour, letting it dry then dry brushing another colour over it. Use wet in wet and over dry to build texture Use this technique when the colour or surface underneath is dry It's best to use this technique when the colour or surface underneath is dry. Start by loading up your brush (here with a deep purple), and paint a shape into the dry background (here orange). From there you can drag out the other side of the stroke to feather it into the canvas and paint below. You can see that acrylics have an incredible amount of control and will stay put pretty much wherever you put them. Read more: How to draw a bear in 5 simple steps How to clean paintbrushes: the definitive guide Watercolour tattoo art: the most incredible examples View the full article

Language learning apps are a great way for creatives to flex their brainpower. And learning a new language is also a great way to get more from, well, life. After all, one of the best ways to get inspired is to go abroad and experience new cultures, sights and sounds, and that's always so much better when you can communicate with the locals. The good news is that it’s increasingly easy to get started learning a new language. In recent years, language learning has evolved from the clunky methods of traditional textbooks and rote learning, to fun and flexible approaches that can be surprisingly effective. And of course, apps have also improved greatly. See our best iPad apps for designers if you don't believe us. That doesn’t mean, of course, that using a language learning app will get you anywhere close to fluency, without a lot of serious and more formal study to accompany it. But with a bit of effort, the latest language apps can certainly help you get from zero knowledge to a level that will make your trip a lot easier and more fun. And even if you’re still terrible, just making an effort to communicate in the locals’ own language can make all the difference in how they perceive you. It can, in short, open a lot of doors (not quite in the same was as having a supercharged design portfolio, but it's still definitely useful). In this article, we list five of the best language learning apps on the market, and explain the pros and cons of each, to help you choose the right one for your needs. 01. Duolingo Duolingo is totally free, but that's not the only reason it's popular. Pros: Free. Fun and easy to use. Cons: Lessons can be quite random. Lack of explanations. Platform: Web, iOS, Android, Windows 10 Price: Free Download here Duolingo offers 90 courses in 22 languages. It has over 300 million registered users across the world, and that popularity is not without good reason. Most importantly, it’s free. But that’s not all. It’s also nicely designed, especially in terms of functionality, and got a new look earlier this year. Duolingo’s approach is to immerse you in the language from the word go. It does this entirely via a series of multiple choice questions based on text, pictures, and audio. Just like in the real world, when you’re in a country whose language you don’t know, you have to muddle through and find the right answer through educated guesswork. This might sound like a pain, but it’s actually fun and easy to use, and turns language learning into something that feel less like ‘studying’ and more like a game. You also get persistent reminders to log on to the service, which is useful if you need some extra motivation. You can’t progress to the next stage until you get each round of questions right, and this is crucial, as it stops you from skipping bits and ensures you fully understand each lesson before you progress to the next. That might take a long time, and a lot of guesses, but that’s good too, because it encourages the kind of repetition that makes things stick in the memory. Duolingo is free, and has a lot going for it But there’s also a downside to using Duolingo. Because the questions are randomly generated, they can come up with some pretty odd sentences, rather than the common conversational phrases most people wish to learn. Also, the way the lessons progress doesn’t always seem logical. Suddenly jumping from basic vocab and sentence structure to quite advanced formulations seems to be a common theme of people’s experience, including our own. That can make you feel like you’re missing important chunks of what you need to know, which can be disorientating. Also, because there are no actual lessons or explanations, it can also be frustrating when you just don’t get why a particular answer is right or wrong. Having said that, Duolingo is free, and has a lot going for it. So we’d suggest you give it a try, and keep using it for as long as you find it enjoyable and useful. 02. Lingvist Lingvist only covers four languages, but does them all very well Pros: Good explanations. Choose what you learn. Cons: Only four languages. Free version is restrictive. Platform: Web, iOS, Android Price: From free to £16.99/month Download here Another app that helps you learn through a series of challenges, Lingvist is a little more serious and better structured than Duolingo, which may be a good or a bad thing depending on your perspective. Available for iOS and Android, and offering instruction in French, Spanish, German and Russian, Lingvist is largely focused on improving your vocabulary via flashcards. This is a tried and tested method used by language teachers all over the world, and works just as well in app form. In addition, and in stark contrast to Duolingo, Lingvistalso offers detailed explanations of grammar rules and then sets challenges to make sure you understood them. Again in contrast to Duolingo, you choose what content you wish to access, which might be a plus or minus depending on the user. For example, if you need to fill specific knowledge gaps in your understanding, this makes it easier to do so. If, however, you’re a beginner who just wants to be given direction, it can be a little overwhelming. Lingvist uses AI and machine learning to assess your language level automatically, so it’s suitable for everyone from beginner to advanced level. The free version limits you to 3,000 pieces of vocabulary in total, plus 50 new words and one challenge per day, but beyond that you have to pay. 03. Babbel Babbel provides a unique course for each language Pros: Practical focus. Unique course for each language. Cons: Not free. Not especially "fun". Platform: Web, iOS, Android Price: From £4.75-£9.99/month Download here Babbel is a subscription-based service; there’s a free version but it basically just gives you access to the first lesson on each course. The app currently offers 14 languages: Dutch, Danish, English, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Swedish, Spanish and Turkish. Crucially, each course is unique, and tailored to the needs of that language and country. That might sound obvious, but many online courses duplicate the same lessons over multiple languages, diluting the actual relevance of what you learn. With Babbel, though, it’s obvious that everything has been carefully prepared to be useful when you actually visit the country. Like Lingvist and unlike Duolingo, you can move to different levels within the course at will. And so while we feel Babbell is most suited for beginners, it could also be useful for intermediate and advanced users looking to improve their skills and plug a knowledge gap or two. The design is pretty minimal. The way you learn is pretty standard: a mixture of flashcards and multiple choice quizzes. And overall the tone of the app is a bit… well, dull. But on the plus side, there’s a real sense of academic rigour, seriousness and effectiveness with Babbell. And when you combine that with the practical and contextual nature of what you actually learn, that may be all you really need. 04. Rosetta Stone The oldest name in the game, Rosetta Stone is still going strong Pros: Can access lessons offline. Option for one-to-one tutoring. Cons: Expensive. Immersive approach may not suit. Platform: Web, iOS, Android Price: From £9-£16/month Download here The great-grandparent of all language learning software, Rosetta Stone has been around for decades: its first CD-Rom was released in 1992. And because of its high name recognition, the company charges higher prices for its courses than pretty much anyone else. Lessons are available both in the browser and via Android and iOS apps, which enable you to download lessons to follow offline. Also, if you want to pay more, you can add live online tutoring to your course, either within a group session or a private one-to-one session. The approach to learning is much more straightforward and highly structured compared with the likes of Duolingo. That said, it’s not like school learning: Rosetta Stone take an immersive approach where there are no English translations, and you have to rely entirely on pictures and guesswork to follow the vocabulary and grammar lessons. The idea is to get you speaking another language from the word go. As with Duolingo, this idea of immersion has its good and bad points. On the one hand, it’s the most natural way to learn a language, much like a child does, without overthinking. On the other hand, the lack of explanations about, say, a particular grammar point can become very frustrating. 05. Drops Drops won't teach you a whole language, but it's great for picking up lots of vocabulary, quickly Pros: Great for vocab. Beautifully designed. Cons: Doesn’t teach grammar. Free version very limited. Platform: iOS, Android Price: Premium version from £2.50/month Download here Looking to learn vocabulary, in short bursts, whenever you can spare five minutes on your phone? Then Drops is for you. The thing we love most about this app, which is available for iOS and Android, and covers an impressive 32 languages, is its design. No cheesy images here; all the colourful and minimalist illustrations are well crafted, and in our minds, that counts for a lot. It’s also a great example of the maxim: 'Do one thing and do it well'. The app is centred on vocab, mostly nouns, so while it won’t teach you a language by itself, it will teach you an awful lot of words in that language very quickly. The free version includes ads and offers you a five-minute session every 10 hours (so theoretically two a day, if you time it right). That doesn’t sound like much, and of course, it isn’t. But the very urgency of this short period can focus your mind wonderfully. Or you can pay for Premium mode, which unlocks unlimited time as well as removes ads and allowing offline access. Drops is only ever going to be one element of your language learning, but it’s great fun and we’d certainly recommend you at least give the free version a go. Read more: The best iPhone apps for designers How to make a photo collage in Photoshop CC TikTok app: What is it? And why should you care? View the full article

September Patch Tuesday leads off with two elevation-of-privilege bugs that have been exploited in the wild. View the full article

Overall Adobe's September security update addressed vulnerabilities in Flash Player and Application Manager. View the full article

Looking for the best CSS framework? This guide is here to help. In this feature, we're going to help you get familiar with some of the most interesting and powerful CSS frameworks available. Some of these are well-known, while others are newer tools that are just starting to pick up steam. Either way, you’ll benefit greatly from getting to know these useful tools. We'll kick things off with some well-known names. With any of these CSS frameworks you’ll be fully equipped to build clean, maintainable projects with minimal time investment. However, sometimes you need something a little more specific. For that reason, towards the end of the list you'll find some libraries and frameworks that have very specific use cases. For more CSS inspiration, take a look at our roundup of top CSS animations and how to code them. Generate CSS (26 Sept) is a London conference dedicated to all things CSS – book your ticket now! Use the code WEBDESIGNER2 for 10% off tickets 01. Bootstrap Let’s start with the most popular framework in the world. While Bootstrap is certainly not exclusively a CSS framework, its most popular features are the CSS-based ones. These include a powerful grid system, badges, buttons, card components, navbars and much more. There are also a whole load of free Bootstrap themes to explore. If you’re not familiar with how a framework like Bootstrap works, a few code examples will help, so you can see how easy it is to build maintainable interfaces by editing nothing but HTML. Bootstrap’s grid system is a great place to start. The Bootstrap grid has been a valuable commodity since the framework’s first public release in 2011. And no wonder – it’s ridiculously easy to use. Once you’ve included Bootstrap’s CSS, creating a responsive flexbox-based grid that works in all browsers is as simple as this: As mentioned, Bootstrap also boasts a comprehensive collection of UI components. Some of those that have been difficult to style in the past are just plug-and-play with a framework like Bootstrap. These include a breadcrumb navigation component, a card component and a pagination component. Here’s the HTML to implement pagination: All of these components can be built without writing a single line of CSS. In many cases, you’ll likely theme the components to suit the project’s branding. Whatever the case, the mobile-friendly structure will already be in place, making it incredibly easy to reach a finished product in record time. Bootstrap also includes advanced features for responsive layouts, utility components and it’s built on Sass, so it’s super-flexible and customisable. 02. Foundation The Foundation framework, like Bootstrap, has become immensely popular and is known as a more sophisticated framework with some advanced but easy-to-implement CSS components. Foundation is built on Sass so, like Bootstrap, it’s customisable. In addition to that, it also boasts some powerful responsive features that mean making mobile-friendly designs is super-easy. The responsive table component is one of our favourites: Also, the vertical timeline is a layout feature you don’t see in many frameworks. This component uses the .timeline class for the container, which then holds multiple .timeline-item elements with an icon and content for each item: That’s just a small sampling of the many components that make Foundation one of the best CSS frameworks available today. 3. UIkit UIkit is another popular frontend framework and maybe a little under-appreciated in terms of CSS features. In addition to many features similar to those found in other popular frameworks, there are a few useful specialised components. First of all, if you’re still not very comfortable with flexbox, you can do complex flexbox-based layouts with UIkit using plain HTML. It might seem strange at first to use flexbox syntax in your HTML classes but this saves you from having to know all the quirks about flex wrapping, columns/rows, flex grow and so forth. Here’s an example: UIkit includes dozens of components that offer attractive styles out-of-the-box. Many of the features are specialised utility classes, including the following: .uk-align-left, .uk-align-right and .uk-align-center for aligning or floating elements .uk-column-1-2 up to .uk-column-1-6 for multi-column, magazine-style text layouts .uk-radio, .uk-checkbox and similar for attractive form inputs Various margin and padding utility classes (.uk-margin-top, .uk-padding-small etc.) Various utility classes to relatively position an element inside a container (.uk-position-top, .uk-position-left etc.) UIkit is worth a try if you want a fresh, well-maintained CSS framework with a slew of component options. It’s available in Less and Sass and even includes a stylesheet to cater for right-to-left languages. 04. Semantic UI Semantic UI has a lot of feature overlaps with other popular frameworks but the way it works (implied by the name) is based on the semantic nature of the class names that are used to build components. In other words, the class names are human friendly. Take a look, for example, at how you would build a four-column grid: Notice the way the class names communicate exactly what’s built. The CSS doesn’t necessarily have a unique set of styles for each of the classes listed but instead the classes work together. Thus, much like language where words make sense in context, the class names work together to build cohesive, mobile-friendly components. Here’s another example, which builds a simple data table: This is a great demonstration of how Semantic UI uses class names to describe the component being built. If you’re more accustomed to traditional frameworks like Bootstrap or Foundation, the learning curve on this one might be steeper. But once you get the hang of it, it’s pretty powerful and enjoyable to use. 05. Bulma Bulma is another popular CSS framework and its primary feature is the fact that its components are largely dependent on flexbox, making it a truly modern framework. You can think of Bulma is being somewhat like a hybrid of Bootstrap and Semantic UI but without any of the complexity. It uses some of the same principles as Semantic UI with its class names, includes many of the popular components, yet manages to keep things simple – for example, form elements have little to no styles to maintain a cross-browser look. The following example demonstrates how a Bulma component can be built and is easy to maintain: Notice the containing <section> element is given the hero and is-dark classes. This indicates you want a hero banner that uses the default dark theme (one of seven theme colours included with Bulma, all of which can be changed via Sass variables). Also, notice the is-* classes on the container and primary heading. The is-fluid class enables the container to be fluid on any size screen, centred with margins and with no max-width. Without this value, the max-width of the container changes depending on the size of the viewport. The is-size-2 class defines the size of the heading, with sizes ranging from 1 to 7. As you can see, Bulma makes it incredibly easy to build mobile-friendly interfaces via readable class names. 06. Tailwind Many modern CSS frameworks are taking advantage of a recent trend in building user interfaces: the use of single-purpose utility classes also known as Atomic CSS (see the accompanying box). Tailwind is one such framework. The idea behind Tailwind is that instead of starting out with pre-styled cookie-cutter components, you build everything from the ground up using utility classes. The learning curve is definitely higher on this one, especially if Atomic CSS is new to you. But with Tailwind, specificity issues and other override problems common in large stylesheets are avoided. As an example, Tailwind doesn’t include any kind of ‘button’ component. But you can build your own button using something like the following: From there, if you decide what you've created is a valid component for reuse, you can do that by means of Tailwind's component extraction feature. So a component like the button shown in the previous code block can be included like this: As you can see, the learning curve for Tailwind is pretty high. Not only do you have to get accustomed to the utility-first styles but it’s also recommended to use component extraction, done using Tailwind’s @apply directive – which is just one way to do extraction; see its documentation for more. 07. Picnic CSS If you don’t like the idea of including presentational classes in your markup, which is common in most, if not all, of the popular frameworks, then Picnic CSS might be the framework for you. Picnic is in many ways the opposite of Tailwind in that it’s not only less complex but very opinionated. For example, some HTML elements are pre-styled with no need to add class names. These include <button>, <button disabled>, <table>, <input type="checkbox"> and <input type="radio"> (the latter two of which also have a nice little animated check/uncheck actions). In addition to a number of existing default styles on many HTML elements, Picnic has some other nicely designed interactive pure-CSS components that don’t require any JavaScript. These include a modal dialog, a tab switcher, a file uploader and a tooltip. Some of these can be enhanced with scripting but they’re all functional with just CSS. 08. PaperCSS We're getting into the more speciality options in our list of the best CSS frameworks here. This won’t be your go-to CSS tool but it’s one of the quirkiest frameworks out there. PaperCSS is billed as the “less formal CSS framework". The components have a hand-drawn, cartoon-like appearance. Use cases might include a website for kids, a blog, a game or a comic strip. PaperCSS includes a flexbox grid, badges, buttons, cards and some interactive pure CSS components. The accompanying image gives you a taste of what this unique framework produces. 09. NES.css Like PaperCSS, NES.css has a unique set of styles suitable for only a narrow set of projects. It mimics the 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System graphics, creating a retro gaming look. In addition to common components found in other frameworks, NES.css also includes styles for comment balloons, reaction icons, plus unique containers with borders. Below is the code for a couple of comment balloons. The accompanying image shows how they look along with a couple of the many icons (built via CSS shadows) that are bundled with the framework. If you like this, check out PSone.css. 10. Animate.css There are multiple libraries that more or less do the same thing: add one or more animations to a specified element. The first such library that gained popularity in recent years was Dan Eden’s Animate.css. This fun library contains dozens of pre-built animations that shake, fade, slide, zoom and more. There are some other similar libraries that offer users alternative animations, including Woah.css, which has some undeniably offbeat animations that probably aren’t to everyone’s taste. There’s also Vivify, which has many more unique animation options and is quite different from Animate.css. Another great option to explore is CSSFX, a new project that has even more options for plug-and-play style animations. Finally, if you’re on the hunt for animated loading indicators, you might want to check out Epic Spinners, which features some unique CSS-only animated graphics. Do I need a CSS framework? It’s not uncommon to hear people bash CSS. With its focus on the cascade, global styling and the idiosyncrasies of its layouts, it has attracted its fair share of ire from frustrated developers. For these people, CSS frameworks and libraries that modify vanilla code to make it more intuitive are an absolute godsend. Meanwhile, for some CSS purists, frameworks simply add a layer of abstraction to something that needs no adornment. Neither side is right or wrong. There’s great value in understanding the core language (especially some of the new features like flexbox and Grid Layout) but there’s also great value in being able to build something quickly that’s scalable and maintainable. That’s where CSS frameworks and libraries can help. It might be that you love writing your CSS from scratch. But with easy-to-use, flexible and adaptable frameworks and libraries like the ones discussed in this feature, you can build interactive and maintainable UIs for your app in little time. We'd always encourage developers to keep learning and writing vanilla CSS. There’s no substitute for that. But if you need to build or prototype a new layout or design on a tight deadline, using one of the best CSS frameworks can be a huge productivity booster. Click the image to find out more and book your ticket If you’re looking to learn the latest creative and practical skills to take your career to the next level, then join us at Generate CSS our conference for web designers and developers. Find out more at www.generateconf.com. Use special offer code WEBDESIGNER2 for a 10% discount on tickets! This article was originally published in net, the world's best-selling magazine for web designers and developers. Buy issue 321 or subscribe. Read more: 5 pro Sass tips for better CSS Create animated CSS art How to design with CSS shapes: An introduction View the full article

Ever feel that this is the final season of humanity, and the writers are pushing out all the crazy story ideas that they weren't allowed to get away with before? Also, have you seen that Peter Saville's designed the trophies for this year's Pornhub Awards? Yes, that Peter Saville. Co-founder of Factory records, designer of a whole stack of iconic album covers including Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures, Eno and Byrne's My Life in the Bush of Ghosts and Peter Gabriel's So. Over the years he's also designed the England football team home shirt, the livery for Manchester's Metrolink tram system and Burberry's new logo, and he's even had a stint at Pentagram. Oh, yes, and that Pornhub. Last year it roped in Kanye West to design the statues for its inaugural awards – a celebration of its most popular performers – and since it's hard to go much bigger than Kanye, this year Pornhub's got an actual design legend to do the business. And to be fair he's delivered, with a stunning piece of organic and sensual experimental design (check out some non-porn-related experimental design examples here). Admit it, this would be one hell of a conversation piece to have around the house It's a striking piece in bright orange that, Saville tells Ad Age, is inspired by the molecular structure of sex hormones and other behaviour-modifying chemicals such as serotonin and dopamine. "My intention was to maintain a degree of ambiguity in the final form the award took, with respect to the sexual spectrum so impressively encompassed by the award category line-up," he says. He hasn't gone quite so far as Kanye, whose 2018 design was basically a sex toy, but there are definite elements in it that you might expect to find gracing the pages of specialist ecommerce sites. "Sculpturally the award has a bio-fluidity about it, abstractly evoking orifices, penetration, sperm and bondage toys," he explains, and notes that the big creative challenge in this project was "to design a trophy celebrating sexuality without reiterating the clichéd symbolism of erotica." Well, quite. Hang on, what if we end up getting an invite? We're meddling with forces we can't fully comprehend here We're sure that the award winners – categories include Top Fetish Performer, Most Popular Verified Amateur and Top Female Solo Performer – will be delighted to have Saville's design gracing their mantelpieces. The 2019 Pornhub Awards take place on 11 October at Los Angeles' Orpheum Theatre; you can find out more here. Related articles: 25 names every graphic designer should know How to win a D&AD Award 5 logo redesigns that got it right View the full article

Black Friday and Cyber Monday will soon be upon us. In just a couple of months time, the busiest event in the retail calendar will be in full swing, meaning there will be plenty of opportunity for you to bag a top Black Friday deal. So if there's some creative gear you've been eyeing up, then you might as well wait a couple of months before splashing your cash. If last year's Black Friday performance is anything to go by, we're set to see some fantastic deals for artists and designers. So what can we expect from Black Friday 2019, which these days also includes Cyber Monday 2019? And how can you get the best Black Friday deals? Let's find out. When is Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2019? Before we dive head-first into the Black Friday deals we expect to see, let's first make sure you've got the dates marked in your diaries. Black Friday traditionally takes place on the Friday immediately after Thanksgiving, meaning this year it falls on 29 November. That means Cyber Monday is 2 December this year, three days after Black Friday. While Black Friday is a frenzied cacophony of high street and online deals, Cyber Monday was originally conceived by savvy marketers as a way to sell more of their wares online, back when online shopping wasn’t as prevalent as it is today. These days, Cyber Monday usually sees a wider range of deals across individual retailers. It's less about one-off discounts, and more about lower prices generally. Saying that, if stores need to shift stock they’ll follow up Black Friday discounts with further reductions on Cyber Monday – so expect one-off deals too. With Black Friday and Cyber Monday happening a little later this year, it may well be a good opportunity to get your Christmas shopping sorted. Where will we see the best Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals? While we can't say for sure where and what the best Black Friday deals will be, we can make educated guesses based on previous years. It's wise to keep an eye on any sought-after items throughout the whole of November, because Black Friday deals surface earlier and earlier each year. However, the best deals have historically happened later in the month, with retailers offering bigger discounts on the most expensive items, as well as accessories that might go with them. And typically, the best bargains are still reserved for Black Friday and Cyber Monday themselves. So what kind of items are we talking about? Here are our top predictions on the creative items you might have on your Christmas list this year. 01. Adobe Creative Cloud subscription Adobe has offered big Black Friday deals in the past Last year, creative software giant Adobe got stuck in all the Black Friday deals action, offering up to a whopping 40 per cent off a subscription to its Creative Suite of apps. That meant new subscribers could snap up Adobe’s entire collection of 20-plus creative desktop and mobile apps, and more, for just £30.34/€36.29/$22.99 a month, instead of £49.94/€60.49/$52.99 a month. And let's be honest, it doesn't get much cheaper than that (unless you're a student, where we have occasionally seen around 70 per cent off). That said, Adobe offers other discounts throughout the year, so it's worth keeping an eye on our Adobe deals post. We expect that Adobe will get involved with Black Friday 2019, and the deals usually last a few days, so should be around on Cyber Monday 2019 too. 02. Apple iPad and iPhone We expect to some great savings on various iPad models this Black Friday and Cyber Monday Apple has been busy this year, launching its new iPad Mini and iPad Air. With both now offering Apple Pencil support, these models are a great choice for busy creatives on the go. As shiny new additions to Apple's portfolio, we don't expect to see huge savings on these, but if there are any discounts to be had, we'll keep you posted. But the best deals will almost certainly be on older – but still very sought-after – iPad models. For example, last year saw the iPad (2018) reduced to the bargain price of just $249 at Walmart, and it, unsurprisingly, flew off the shelves. If you're after a bit more power, the iPad Pro (2017) was reduced to $524.99 (from $649) at Walmart last year too. Whatever iPad model you're after, we have details of all the best iPad deals right now and will update as the best Black Friday deals drop. If it's an iPhone XR you're in the market for, the latest iPhone has just dropped, meaning the ever popular 2018 model will likely see some pretty impressive savings. It's worth noting that these discounts will come from retailers, rather than directly from Apple, which tends to only extend its Black Friday involvement to that of extra Apple gift cards when you make a purchase. Which is fine if you're a super-Apple fan, but not so great if you're only likely to buy one or two Apple products per year. 03. Apple MacBook Pro Oh MacBook Pro, how we wish you were cheaper It's a firm favourite among creatives, but the MacBook Pro doesn't come cheap. So it's no surprise that a load of them got snapped up last year when B&H dropped the 2017 15.4-inch model to $2,149 (from $2,799). It may not be the newest version, but the MacBook Pro 2017 is still a highly capable and powerful machine. It's rare to see big savings like this on the latest Apple products, but if you're not worried about having the most up-to-date specs, you can save an absolute packet, and grab a great bit of kit while you're at it. Watch this space. 04. Apple Airpods Hold tight! You could save a packet on Apple Airpods later this year Rounding up our Apple products Black Friday review is the company's controversial Airpods. Some people love them, others think they look weird/want the headphone jack back. Last year, the biggest discount we saw was around £20/$30, which isn't much to shout about. However, with the new improved Apple Airpods (2019) out now, we're hopeful we'll see much better Black Friday Airpod deals in November. We'll keep you updated with any great deals that land, so make sure to bookmark this page and check back nearer the time. 05. Wacom drawing tablets Will there be any Black Friday deals to be had on the new Wacom Cintiq 16? Here's hoping. It's tricky to find discounted Wacom products, which is why Black Friday 2018 was such a pleasant surprise for designers in the market for one. Various retailers dropped the price of Wacom's sought-after products, the best Black Friday deals seeing a whopping $200-$500 knocked off the popular Cintiq Pro range. Wacom has recently released its budget Wacom Cintiq 16. It'll be interesting to see if any Black Friday deals crop up on this already affordable creative pen display. In a similar vein to Apple, it's rare for Wacom to offer discounts directly – if you want to make a saving, you're best looking at major retailers such as Amazon or Walmart. Alternatively, if you're on the hunt for a graphics tablet, but don't mind if it's not a Wacom, last year there were some great bargains on XP-Pens, so that could be one to watch out for. Better still, save yourself the hassle, bookmark this page and we'll bring you all the best graphic tablet deals right here. 06. External hard drives Black Friday 2019 could help you make big savings on quality external hard drives Okay, so it's not exactly the sexiest of items, but an external hard drive can form a vital part of a designer's toolset. And, as anyone who has one will attest, they don't come cheap. Last year, leading manufacturer Western Digital offered some decent savings on its 'My Passport' range, which for its 4TB option starts at around £90. We'll be keeping you up to date with any Black Friday deals that drop as and when, but if you need one before then, take a look at our best external hard drives guide, where you'll find all the lowest prices. Look out for more Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2019 information and deals coming soon! View the full article

Slack is an increasingly popular tool for businesses and teams who need to communicate instantly. While it may – in some cases – be considered a daily disruption, it also has a great automation potential, offering dozens of integrations to keep everything in one place, and it is slowly superseding emails. There are many ways to integrate your systems with Slack; the platform even provides a branded bot that lets you deliver reminders, or messages across your digital workspace. 18 of the best collaboration tools for designers Slack offers various entities that could be considered 'bots': webhooks, which allow to post messages from other apps into Slack, but are a one-way form of communication, apps, for advances integrations (with other apps), bot users, more on them shortly. In this tutorial we'll be looking particularly at 'bot users', how to program them (check out our guide to the best code editors to make your life easier) and make them fit your needs. This presupposes you have access to a Slack space where you can add app integrations. If you are not already part of one, they are free to create. In what follows, we build a NodeJS app to post-to and respond to particular messages in a Slack channel. We use the 'slackbots' module, which is a wrapper for the Slack Real-Time Messaging API. 01. Code setup This tutorial assumes you have node installed. If not, do so now. Then download the assets you'll need. We have provided you with a starting point and framework for the tutorial. Throughout, we make use of modules such as 'slackbots' and 'node-slack-upload'. They can be obtained by running the install command. 02. Slack setup Give your bot a username and invite it to your channel We are using the "Bot user" integration for Slack. To do so, we need to get a token by going to 'https://<youSlackworkspace>.slack.com/apps/A0F7YS25R-bots' and click "Add Configuration". Choose a username for your bot (we can override this programmatically at a later stage), and confirm. Invite the bot to the desired channel. By creating a bot user you will get a token in the following format: xoxb-000000-000000-x0x0xxXxX0XXxx0x Copy the token for the next step. 03. Environment variables We make use of environment variables (a '.env' file) to avoid hard-coding and revealing secret tokens and keys, like the Slack token we've generated, and the channel name in your private Slack workspace. Go ahead and fill in the '.env' file with your token, and the name of the channel to which you've invited the bot user. 04. Bot parameters This next step takes us to 2 files: 'index.js', which we'll have a brief look at, and 'bin/lib/bot.js', where most of our development takes place. In the index file, we instantiate our bot by giving it a name, which is 'WDMBot'. In 'bot.js' we control the parameters of each instance with name, token, etc. 05. Post to channel Now you can get your bot to send messages Have a look at the 'sendMessage' function. We use the 'postTo' method. This will handle posting to any type of channel, public or private. If you only want to post to private channels you could use 'postToGroup' instead (or 'postToChannel' for a public one). To send our first message, we can add code in 'initBot'. 06. Custom botParams You should have noticed a message from WDMBot appear in your channel. It is worth noting that in 'botParams', 'as_user' is set to false, which lets us override the name and image. If set to true, it will use the name and image you set when getting the token. You could change the bot emoji to an image like so: 07. Channel events Set your bot up to listen for messages Posting messages is useful, but to make the bot more interactive, we need to be able to identify posts from other users in the channel. Let's listen to the message event, and then see what happens when we type into to channel. We should see different message types being logged, like 'user_typing' or 'message'. 08. Respond to incoming messages Next, we want to reply to incoming messages of the type 'message', and maybe to a specific phrase or keyword, to avoid replying to absolutely everything. We make sure to compare lowercase strings if we want to match an exact phrase. We could also see if a message 'includes()' a particular word. 09. Restrict to "human" users Messages sent by bot users have various properties such as a subtype of 'bot_message' and a bot_id. You might want to restrict replying to only human-posted messages to avoid infinite loops of bots replying to themselves or each other, if their response includes one of the keywords you're listening for. 10. Personalised response To give a more personalised response, you can leverage the user id of the message you're replying to. Slack will automatically convert an id to the user name when enclosed in the tags '<@>'. Identifying who you are replying to can be useful, especially if multiple channel members are interacting with your bot simultaneously. If you're looking to learn the latest creative and practical skills to take your client work, career or agency to the next level, then join us at Generate CSS – our CSS-focused conference for web designers and developers. Find out more . Use special offer code WEBDESIGNER2 for a 10% discount on tickets! 11. Update responses Bots can also edit their responses. Only their own, though. So if you were hoping for a typo-spotting bot that would correct your messages automatically when it spots a mistake, that's not possible with the current setup. To update the message, we define a new function, and a global Boolean that we'll use in our demo. 12. Change the message Update the messages that the bot sends out Let's try to update the text the bot sends us. In this case, on a message event, we need to reply to an incoming bot message, so we'll match that condition for the update, and we also use the timestamp of the original message to be updated. That is so Slack can identify which message to update, in case others get posted in-between. 13. Ephemeral messages Ephemeral messages are only seen by one user and can be deleted Ephemeral messages are, as the name might suggest, temporary. They are also only visible to one user and can be deleted by them. Those types of messages might be useful as a tip or reminder that doesn't need to stay permanently. 14. User lookup Different methods will take slightly different user parameter (either ID or name, which is different from the display_name and real_name). However, only the user id is available on message events. We can therefore implement a user name lookup by getting all users and matching the ID. 15. Send direct messages With the new user lookup, we can now send direct messages to a user, when ephemeral messages just won't do. Note that direct messages are considered to be a new/different channel, with a different ID than the original channel. You could also implement a channel lookup in the same way as the user we've done previously. 16. Respond with an image Bot users also have permissions to upload files and images to a channel. This functionality is not covered by 'slackbots' though, so we have to instantiate a new uploader, as demonstrated below. Also prepare an 'assets' folder at your project root, with some images in it. Let's prepare a call to 'sendImage()', defined in the next step. 17. The file upload function Use the uploader and the FileSystem to upload images We upload images using the uploader and the FileSystem (fs) module. Provided that a user's message is in the format "image <imagename.extension>", and such a file exists in the 'assets' folder, the image will be read and uploaded. If not, we send back a regular message (it could even be an ephemeral one). 18. Post to multiple channels You can post to multiple channels with the same bot user, as long as it is a member of each channel where you are expecting a response. Let's create a 'postToAll' function and update the environment variables to have channel names as comma-separated values. 19. Split channels Occasionally, you might want to use channels for debugging, or respond to events differently with the same bot in different channels. It is up to you to workout your channel naming convention. We will assume for the following example that SLACK_CHANNEL=wdm-tutorial,wdm-tutorial-debug. 20. Dictionary of responses We have been hard-coding responses directly in the message. Going forward, to make things more manageable, you might want to store triggers and responses, either in a database or JSON format, and switch between them depending on the conditions met. 21. Further resources There's much more bot info to be found elsewhere There are a few other useful properties available in the Slack API. Hopefully, this tutorial will have given an overview of what's possible for all your bot needs. Further resources can be found by reading the 'slackbots' documentation, or the full Slack API documentation. This article was originally published in issue 289 of creative web design magazine Web Designer. Buy issue 289 here or subscribe to Web Designer here. Related articles: Build an AI-powered chatbot Slack's had a massive update and you're all going to love it How to design a chatbot experience View the full article