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Legendary designer Stefan Sagmeister stepped down from his famous design agency Sagmesiter & Walsh yesterday, giving his business partner Jessica Walsh the opportunity to oversee commercial operations. As of now, Sagmeister & Walsh is no more, instead the new studio will go by the name &Walsh. And, being such a prominent feature of the old studio's logo design, it comes as no surprise that Walsh's new identity places a major focus on the ampersand. The new logo (above), features a fluid, curvy ampersand shape that stands in contrast to 'Walsh', which is displayed in Milieu Grotesque’s Maison. Pushing the art of typography to new limits, the design is supported by 50 secondary ampersands, all of which will appear as bizarre, distorted versions of the logogram. The idea being to clearly and effectively communicate Walsh's goal to help brands "find their weird". The previous logo (below) was a clever way to communicate the partnership between Sagmeister and Walsh. Foregrounding the ampersand addressed Sagmeister's head-turning decision to offer Walsh a partnership position in 2012 when she was 25. It's a powerful example of a typography-based identity, see more examples of this in our guide to logo design. The old logo looks more formal in comparison On the &Walsh branding page, the studio adds: "Our branding uses an ampersand for both the visual identity and tonal expression. This typographic system includes our clients, projects, collaborators, experiments & endeavors: hence the (Blank) & Walsh." "We’ve drawn 50 final ampersands in our style and will draw a custom ampersand for every new project or team member. The ampersand is one of the most beautiful typographic characters and will challenge ourselves to continuously reinvent its form." Check out how these iterations appear in the gallery below. There's been some confusion as to how the new studio will work, given that Walsh wrote in a blog post that "this isn't the end of Sagmeister & Walsh". It looks like Sagmeister has done a bit of a Jony Ive, in that he's left, but will still collaborate on art projects, just not commercial ones. In terms of operations, &Walsh will still maintain the 25 people who already work for the firm. It's an exciting development for Walsh, who points out that: "Only 0.1% of creative agencies are women-owned. POINT. ONE. PERCENT. How does this make any sense when women drive about 80% of consumer purchasing?" Related articles: Design a killer logo in Illustrator 15 top typography resources 53 top typography tutorials View the full article

Apple's much-anticipated 16-inch MacBook Pro is due to be released in October, according to a recent report from Taiwan's United Daily News. The LCD device will be Apple's largest MacBook Pro since its 2012 17-inchers, and will come with an equally supersized price tag: prices are rumoured to start at around $3,000 (roughly (£2,450). So do the specs justify the cost, or will you be swayed towards one of the best MacBook Pro alternatives? Let's have a look at what we know so far. According to reports, this device will be a halfway house between an iMac and iMac Pro. In terms of specs, users can look forward to an LCD screen instead of an OLED display, with a 3K pixel resolution of 3,072 x 1,920. Design-wise, we're expecting smaller smaller bezels, as well as that generous 16-inch screen. And as for processor technology, UDN's report says the new MacBook Pro will ship with Intel's 9th or 10th-gen Core i series chipsets, although this is yet to be confirmed. However we do know that Apple will come with up to 32GB of memory (the same as the current MacBook Pro offering). Whether the functionality will justify its mega price tag remains to be seen. Of course, big prices for Apple products are nothing new. Earlier this year the new Mac Pro 2019 made headlines for its whopping price tag and equally eye-wateringly expensive stand (sold separately). If this MacBook Pro's suggested three grand sticker price is a bit beyond your budget, check out our guide to the best cheap Apple laptop deals for some friendlier prices. While we're pretty sure the new model will be hitting shops in October, the specific release date has not been confirmed. Given that it's only a couple of months away, we expect to hear more updates soon – and will be updating this article with all the news as soon as we hear it. So while some of the details are still up in the air, it does look like Apple has a portable, professional-grade device up its sleeve. And with Apple's increasing focus on content creators and developers, here's hoping that it will serve those audiences well. Roll on October. Related articles: The best Walmart laptops in 2019 The 5 best laptops for Photoshop in 2019 Samsung announces its answer to the MacBook Pro View the full article

A local development environment allows you to use your own machine to run your website, instead of using one provided by a web hosting company. You can customise the setup without worrying that it'll affect your live site, as well as make and test site development before uploading your site. Taking away risk when building something makes the development process much less stressful. Another benefit of working locally is that you don't have to be connected to the internet. If you have slow wifi, like to work in the garden or are travelling, there is no need to search for a wifi signal all the time. The time spent FTPing to a staging site and waiting for your site to refresh really adds up over a day of development. A local environment will let you focus on code and the fun bits of building websites. This tutorial assumes you are on a Mac, and the tutorial for getting started with Valet focuses on this. For a PC alternative, try Homestead. A basic knowledge of Terminal is good, although you should be able to follow along, as the commands are all fairly simple. They are mainly to get the prerequisite components installed and running. After completing this tutorial, you will have set up PHP, Homebrew and Composer on your machine, installed Valet and learnt how to set up local sites. Download the files for this tutorial. 5 ways to speed up your websites and apps 01. Install Homebrew Start off by installing Homebrew from the terminal First step here is to install Homebrew. Type the following command in your Terminal. 02. Install PHP Make sure that your PHP is version 7 Next we need to install/upgrade to PHP7, so check using php -v. If you need to install you can type: If you restart your Terminal window now and type php -v again, it should show v7 installed. 03. Install Composer You will need to download Composer, and then put it in a directory that is part of your PATH. 04. Move to your PATH Put Composer in your PATH Now move Composer to a directory within your PATH. Once done, you can check your access to it by typing composer-v. 05. Check your PATH If you type echo $PATH, you will see what it contains. If it doesn't, then type the following to add it. 06. Require Valet globally Now we have the pieces installed, we can get on with installing Valet. First. let's check nothing is using port 80. Type the following, and if it returns nothing, we are good to go. 07. Install Valet We use Composer to install the Valet package for us, and then we can run valet install. 08. Park/unpark directories Create a directory for your development sites and tell Valet to serve them. Note that folders inside this can be accessed as sub domains. 09. Forget directories In a similar way to park, if you no longer want a folder to serve through Valet just use the forget command from inside the directory. 10. Link/unlink directories You can also link to directories. This allows you to choose the name you use. 11. Share your site with the world You can share your local dev url to the outside world. In the directory of your project, type valet share and it will create a URL you can use. 12. Using a database You will need to install your database of choice – for WordPress, we can go ahead and install MySQL. 13. Choose a database tool With a database set up, a tool to import and export data is useful, since we don't have phpMyAdmin or similar with Valet as it is so lightweight. 14. Download Sequel Pro Sequel Pro is a straightforward database tool We are using Sequel Pro, as it offers a simple interface. You can download it here. 15. Connect the database Using the default settings from MySQL, add the following details and test your connection. 16. Set up a WordPress site Install the WordPress Core in your Valet directory With everything now in place, set up a WordPress site. Create a new folder inside your Valet directory and install the WordPress Core. 17. Add a database Create a database in Sequel Pro In Sequel Pro, create a new database with the same name as the folder you created. Update the wp-config file to suit. 18. Test it's all working Head to the browser and check it's working Now if you open your browser, and navigate to (your-folder).test you should see the WordPress install screen. Follow this through as normal. 19. Taking it further Valet is not just for running WordPress installs on, it was actually originally created for Laravel development. Whether you are building something bespoke in PHP or using a framework, you can easily create a new site by creating a new directory for it in your root folder. Join us on 26 September for Generate CSS, a bespoke conference for web designers brought to you by Creative Bloq, net and Web Designer. Save £50 with an Early Bird Ticket when you book before 15 August 2019. This article was originally published in issue 287 of creative web design magazine Web Designer. Buy issue 287 here or subscribe to Web Designer here. Related articles: 40 brilliant WordPress tutorials The best WordPress hosting services in 2019 4 different ways to create a website mockup View the full article

You're reading Adding Social Proof to Your Website with Client Logos & Press Mentions, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook! One huge concept that many designers overlook on their landing pages is social proof. This can come in the form of user reviews, testimonials, or bigger companies vouching for your website. You can accomplish this in many ways but one design … View the full article

Over the past year we've seen some amazing deals on Adobe Creative Cloud subscriptions, with the company offering users all over the globe huge discounts. And right now we're happy to offer another incredible offer, which sees the price of CC slashed by a whopping 40% for those living in the UK, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden and the Netherlands. The price drop means users living in these countries can get a 12-month CC subscription for just £30.34/€35.39, opposed to the regular £49.94/€60.49. The price reduction applies to the entire Adobe Creative Cloud suite, which encompasses Adobe's 20+ applications, including photo editing favourite Photoshop and digital artists' go-to Illustrator. You'll also find video editing software Premiere Pro, web prototyping tool Adobe XD and motion effects creator After Effects among the impressive toolset. If you're not living in the above mentioned countries, take a look at our guide to the best Adobe deals, to see if there are any discount in your area. Make sure to bookmark the page too as we update it with all the best offers when they go live. > Get 40% off Adobe Creative Cloud As if that wasn't enough, when you buy Adobe's full package you're also getting 100GB of cloud storage (with the option to upgrade to 10TB) and premium features like Adobe Portfolio, Adobe Fonts, and Adobe Spark. The programmes are fully integrated, so you can switch between them (and jump from one device to another) seamlessly – whether you’re out and about or in the studio. Built-in templates help you jump-start your designs, while step-by-step tutorials will help you sharpen your skills and get up to speed quickly. This deal will be available until 4 August 2019, so if you're in the UK, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden or the Netherlands and want to save big on Adobe's entire suite of creative software, grab it before it's gone. Read more: Get started with Adobe Dimension CC The best digital art software in 2019 The 9 best alternatives to Photoshop View the full article

The Surface Pro has become a hugely popular and sought-after device for creatives since it first appeared back in 2017. One of the best tablets with a stylus around, in our opinion, this highly portable and extremely powerful machine allows artists and designers to express and develop their creativity whenever, wherever. But while it's great for using as a graphics tablet and running creative software – we're talking full-on Creative Cloud apps such as Photoshop CC – without compromise on features or performance, this nifty little device can be turned into a laptop in seconds by connecting it's compatible Surface Pro Type Cover keyboard. However, like with most devices these days, such accessories cost extra, and they rarely come cheap. Until today. Right now, you can get a the Type Cover at less than half the regular price with this incredible deal at Amazon. Usually £139.99, the Surface Pro accessory price has been slashed to just £59.99 – that's a huge 57% discount on the retail price! Looking to buy a Surface Pro too? Amazon also currently has the device at a price that's hard to argue... Not in the UK? Here are the best Surface Pro and Surface Pro Type Covers prices in your area: View the full article

If you're familiar with Reddit, you'll know that if you leave a popular post in a community then you'll be blessed with a virtual award from a moderator. And as of today Reddit has started rolling out Community Awards for members to have fun with in selected Subreddits. Community Awards, as their name suggests, are specially designed gifts relevant to each Subreddit. They're the result of months of user testing and will allow for a broader range of expression between users. Reddit ultimately hopes they will encourage healthier communication on the platform, especially seeing as they're created in collaboration between moderators and members. There's also an added bonus for the site itself, because these awards are purchased using Reddit Coins (Reddit's in-app currency, which users buy with real cash). So how do Community Awards work? Well, take the r/DunderMiffin Subreddit, which is dedicated to the US sitcom, The Office. A popular post could be treated to the 'Classic' Award, which looks like a stapler encased in jello. This is a reference to a practical joke in the show, which members of the community will recognise and appreciate. Take a look at how the Community Awards look in the gallery below. To bestow a Community Award on a worthy post, users click on the "give award" option, which appears under a comment. Receiving a Community Award has no practical upshot for the user, besides probably making them feel good. However 20 per cent of the funds used to buy the award go back into the Subreddit's coffers. Community Awards are created by moderators, and they remain exclusive to that particular community. Moderators are encouraged to collaborate with community members on the look of the awards, which can be priced at anything between 500 and 40,000 Reddit Coins. To give you some context, the latter price is roughly $100. "What we're most excited about with this feature set is the potential of elevating the conversation and making it healthier, and strengthening the relationships between users and mods," says product manager Vin Sathyamoorthy over at Mashable. Or, to tell this whole story in a way Reddit users would understand - TL;DR: Community Awards could create healthier Subreddits and boost the site's bottom line. Join us on 26 September for Generate CSS, a bespoke conference for web designers brought to you by Creative Bloq, net and Web Designer. Save £50 with an Early Bird Ticket when you book before 15 August 2019. Related articles: Slack's had a massive update and you're all going to love it 8 powerful productivity apps to help you get things done 5 logo redesigns that got it right View the full article

Thanks to its slick looks and powerful performance, the iPad Pro is a popular tool among creatives. However a quality tool like this doesn't come cheap. If you've always wanted to get your hands on an iPad Pro but couldn't justify paying the sticker price, today could be your lucky day. We're giving you the chance to win a brand new 11-inch iPad Pro for free – you won't find cheaper than that, right? The model in question features a liquid Retina display, 512 GB of storage, a 12-megapixel camera and is powered by Apple's A12X Bionic chip. We're even throwing in a new Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard Folio to make this giveaway all the more exciting. To be in with a chance of winning, simply sign up here and you'll automatically be in the running. A unique link will be generated upon entry, which you can share with friends and family for more chances to win. If you're not successful, never fear, our round-up of the best iPad Pro deals will ensure you still get a great price. Or if you're not bothered about the latest new devices, there's also some great offers that will save you hundreds of dollars on refurbished iPads. Check them out: Related articles: iPad Pro 11-inch (2018) review The best cheap iPad deals in 2019 The best Apple Pencil deals of 2019 View the full article

An isometric drawing is a type of 3D drawing that is set out using 30-degree angles. It's a type of axonometric drawing in which the same scale is used for every axis, resulting in a non-distorted image. Isometric grids are relatively easy to set up, and once you've mastered the basics of isometric drawing, creating a freehand isometric sketch is quite straightforward. In this guide, we'll cover everything you need to know about isometric drawing. Learn what exactly defines an isometric drawing, how it differs from one-point perspective, how to get started creating your own isometric projection, and more. Boost your art skills further with our guide to how to draw just about anything, and this run-down of the art techniques you should know about. What is isometric drawing? An isometric drawing is a 3D representation of an object, room, building or design on a 2D surface. One of the defining characteristics of an isometric drawing, compared to other types of 3D representation, is that the final image is not distorted. This is due to the fact that the foreshortening of the axes is equal. The word isometric comes from Greek to mean 'equal measure'. Isometric drawings are built around 30-degree angles Isometric drawings differ from other types of axonometric drawing, including dimetric and trimetric projections, in which different scales are used for different axes to give a distorted final image. In an isometric drawing, the object appears as if it is being viewed from above from one corner, with the axes being set out from this corner point. Isometric drawings begin with one vertical line along which two points are defined. Any lines set out from these points should be constructed at an angle of 30 degrees. Isometric drawing vs one-point perspective Both isometric drawings and one-point perspective drawings use geometry and mathematics to present 3D representations on 2D surfaces. One-point perspective drawings mimic what the human eye perceives, so objects appear smaller the further away they are from the viewer. In contrast, isometric drawings use parallel projection, which means objects remain at the same size, no matter how far away they are. One-point perspective mimics what the human eye perceives Basically, isometric drawing doesn’t use perspective in its rendering (i.e. lines don’t converge as they move away from the viewer). Isometric drawings are more useful for functional drawings that are used to explain how something works, while one-point perspective drawings are typically used to give a more sensory idea of an object or space. How to draw an isometric cube Drawing a cube using isometric projection is very easy. You will need a piece of paper, ruler, pencil and protractor (or for the shortcut version, using gridded paper, jump to the next section). Using the ruler, draw a vertical line on the page, and mark three equally spaced points along it. Draw a horizontal line through the lowest point, and using the protractor, mark out a 30 degree angle up from the line on either side. Draw a line back through the lowest point from the 30 degree angle on each side. Repeat this step through the middle point and the same through the top point, but with the top point, mark out the angle downwards. The lines from the second and third point will cross at a certain point, and from this intersection, draw a vertical line down towards the angled lines coming from the bottom point. You should be able to see the form of the cube where all of the lines intersect. Using an isometric grid For all the cheats out there who don’t have the necessary tools (or inclination) to create an isometric projection, there is a foolproof way to bash out your axonometric drawing: simply use an isometric grid. The pattern can be downloaded online, and will save you lots of time and effort. Alternatively, learn how to set up your own grid in Illustrator by following the video tutorial below. Once your eyes become accustomed to the trickery of the triangular pattern, you will immediately notice how the isometric works. The super handy thing about the grid is that it already has all of the 30 degree angles set up for you. This tutorial walks you through how to draw a cube using an isometric grid. The benefits of isometric drawing Isometric drawings are very useful for designers – particularly architects, industrial and interior designers and engineers, as they are ideal for visualising rooms, products, and infrastructure. They're a great way to quickly test out different design ideas. There are a number of other situations in which isometric projection is useful. In wayfinding systems, for example in museums or galleries, an isometric wall maps can show visitors where they are in the building, what is going on elsewhere, and how to get to get around. Some of the best infographics use isometric projection to enable them to show more information than would be possible in a 2D drawing. Some logo designs also use this approach to create impact. Representations of places, such as this one created by Jing Zhang, are just one use of isometric drawing techniques Exploded isometric drawings are useful for revealing parts of a product that might be hidden or internal. They're used by architects, engineers and product designers the world over to better explain the intricacies of a design. To create an exploded isometric, you need to know the detailed inner workings of whatever you are drawing, so they're are usually used at the final design stage for presentations to clients. Isometric drawing examples Click the icon in the top right to enlarge the image Illustrator and art director Mauco created this isometric map to represent the areas surrounding the SPECTRUM buidling in London. It shows just the main roads and landmarks to help people orientate themselves. Click the icon in the top right to enlarge the image Jing Zhang is an illustrator working mainly with clients in the advertising industry. She's built a particular reputation for her detailed exploded isometric designs, including this creation for Slack. It's part of a series to accompany the brand's stories, focusing on elements such as a happy mobile workforce (above). Click the icon in the top right to enlarge the image This design was created for an article in the The California Sunday Magazine, entitled The Tech Revolt and exploring political activism 
in the tech industry. In it, illustrator Tim Peacock uses isometric projection as a way of revealing the inner workings of a Silicon Valley office block. Click the icon in the top right to enlarge the image MC Escher was perhaps the king of using isometric projections in his artworks. His use of parallel geometries to depict mind-bending staircases that go nowhere will be familiar to most. In Cycle (1938), is it clear how isometric projection comes into his work, from the pattern on the ground to the use of cubes that turn into steps. Read more: How to design isometric typography The best vector art tutorials Adobe Illustrator tutorials to sharpen your skills View the full article

There's exactly one year to go until the 2020 Olympics kick off in Tokyo and to mark the date, the organisers have revealed the medals that all the competitors will be hoping to take home with them. And from a sustainability point of view, they're all winners. While the medals at the Rio 2016 games were made from 30 per cent recycled materials, thanks for a drive by the games' organising committee, the Tokyo medals are fully recycled. It put the call out to the people of Japan to donate unwanted electronic devices, and from these it was able to reclaim all the metals necessary to make next year's medals. There's been some controversy surrounding the Tokyo 2020 logo (many have argued that this concept logo is better than the official design), but with its recycled medal designs it looks like the organisers may have struck gold. Where to look for logo design inspiration The Tokyo 2020 medals were designed by Junichi Kawanishi of SIGNSPLAN, and were chosen out of over 400 entries into the Tokyo 2020 medal design competition. Kawanishi's winning designs are based around the themes of light and brilliance, with the medals resembling rough, polished stones surrounded by concentric, overlapping rings. According to the Tokoyo 2020 organisers, the medals reflect myriad patterns of light, symbolising the energy and friendship of athletes and their supporters. Both the silver and gold medals contain about 550g of recycled silver, with the gold medals plated with an additional 6g of recycled gold, while the bronze medals are made of 450g of red brass, which is 95 per cent copper and 5 per cent zinc, all recycled. That's not a bad haul of precious metals from discarded electronics, and the medals' green credentials don't end there. Even the ribbons are recycled and environmentally-friendly To go with the medals themselves, the ribbons that they'll hang from are recycled too. Designed to reflect traditional Japanese chequered patterns and kimono layering techniques in a modern way, these ribbons are made from recycled polyester fibres that produce less carbon dioxide in their manufacturing process. With approximately 5,000 medals to produce for the 2020 Olympics this has been quite an undertaking for the organisers, and it's impressive to see it all carried off in such an environmentally-friendly way that has involved the whole country. You can find out more about the medals at the Tokyo 2020 site. How to create work that could change the world 18 controversial moments in logo design and branding Ethical brands: real revolution or fluffy fad? View the full article

If you design something on the cheap, chances are it isn't going to go down well. That's just what happened with the Malaysian tourism ministry, whose zero budget Visit Malaysia 2020 logo was slammed online for its amateurish look. To fix this, the country has recently unveiled a new and altogether more sophisticated logo (above), which is the winner of a government competition. And despite being mocked for having a logo that's difficult to read, the design elements are a definite improvement. In our guide to logo design we point out the importance of listening to public criticism, and it looks like the Malaysian tourism ministry has done that here. Its new graphic includes distinctive features of the country, such as a hornbill, a hibiscus flower, and a wild fern. Each has been depicted in a stylised way that looks like the region's famous wax-resist dyeing technique, batik. It's still not perfect, but it's unarguably a more elegant and well realised logo than the previous Visit Malaysia 2020 effort (below), which featured cartoony graphics of the region's native wildlife wearing sunglasses. This Visit Malaysia 2020 logo was designed in-house for free It's fair to say that this logo didn't go down well on social media. Twitter user Aven Fauzi summarised a lot of feelings by saying that due to the logo, the country was going to "be a joke for another 2 years and beyondddd." The hunt for a new logo was organised by the newly elected Malaysian government, Pakatan Harapan, which ran a competition calling for ideas. Graphic designer Alfred Phua Hong Fook's logo was chosen as the winning design out of hundreds of entries. Malaysian prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad officially unveiled it in a tweet on Monday. And, by and large, it looks like the new logo has gone down well. Twitter user jasmin has given the design her seal of approval by saying it's superior to the 'stoner orangutans' of the old logo. Meanwhile Eskentirka says that it represents a logo where the client values the designer's input. You can't please everyone though. And given that people can see the finalists that didn't make the cut, some Twitter users were quick to jump in and point out which ones they would have preferred. On a more serious note, some users speculated that the logo was made from assets found on Shutterstock, which had then been hastily copied and edited. If there's one complaint we can agree with though, it's that the slogan is difficult to read. When read from left to right, the message appears to be "Visit Truly Asia Malaysia". However when you take into account that the logo uses two different fonts, it suddenly clicks in place to read: "Visit Malaysia, Truly Asia". We'll be honest, we didn't realise this until Twitter user Hamka pointed it out. As far as copywriting goes, this is a bit of a swing and a miss on behalf of the Malaysian tourism ministry. Its Twitter profile uses a version of the slogan "Malaysia Truly Asia" for its account name, but what happened to the "Visit"? Nitpicks aside, this is a vast improvement on the previous Visit Malaysia 2020 logo. But its real test will be whether or not it attracts more travellers. Think you could do better? You'll need some logo design tools. And luckily for you we've rounded up the best free logo design tools to help you on your way. Related articles: 5 logo design apps for beginners 18 controversial moments in logo design and branding 5 logo design terms you should know View the full article

However hard agencies fight against it, branding has always been subject to stylistic trends. Whether brands embrace or resist the status quo, the fact that some kind of aesthetic benchmark exists remains significant. Arguably, there’s some value in a new launch sharing certain visual characteristics with the rest of its sector. It helps build familiarity and trust, as a sort of visual shorthand for consumers. There’s no denying that standing out is always easier if you position yourself against the grain of a trend, but you must work a lot harder to do so successfully. In this article, we round up three stylistic approaches were all the rage in recent months, but are starting to look a little passé (and three more that aren't going anywhere any time soon). For some awesome examples of advertising that made a giant impact, check out our roundup of the best print ads and the most innovative billboard advertising. 01. The age of Innocents Innocent's style of anthropomorphic voice has fallen out of favour For years, Innocent was the de-facto benchmark for brands seeking an informal, quirky, casual brand voice. Chris Moody, Wolf Olins' chief director and chair of this year's Brand Impact Awards, is tired of it. “It’s time to lay to rest the ask of: ‘Can we sound like Innocent?’” he says. “The whole thing of giving carrier bags an anthropomorphic voice is done. The focus should be on creating genuinely interesting dialogue with brands.” 02. Generic geometrics Landor's 2010 redesign of the city of Melbourne was cutting-edge at the time, but branding has moved on from the geometric design trend Like the ubiquitous geometric sans-serif typefaces embraced by digital-first brands, geometric illustration is a common sight across the branding spectrum. “It’s easy to make and replicate by internal teams, but the drawback is it’s not particularly ownable,” says Rob Coke, an executive creative director based at Output, which was a winner at last year’s BIAs for its BBC Sport rebrand. “Brands want to be seen as content creators rather than just selling products, so a more expressive style of illustration helps them appear more editorial in their approach.” 03. 50 shades brighter Brands using bright colours are trying to grab our attention in an already crowded market Bright and poppy ‘challenger’ colour palettes show no sign of waning. “Often driven by digital disruption, the use of colour is a starting point to signify: ‘Notice us, we are different,’” asserts James Greenfield, founder of Koto. “Banks with pink debit cards, turquoise advertising and clashing palettes want to grab our attention.” But if everyone’s shouting with colour, then who’s really standing out? Three broader design movements built to last “There was once a school of thought that all branding should be timeless,” says Johnson Banks founder, Michael Johnson. “Now, many rebrands happen within four or five years, rather than every 10 or 15. Branding has become much more tactical, and we’re seeing more designs that are style based.” “In their early stages, trends can be useful to help align you with a style of work, a movement,” says Coke. “The brand benefits from being seen as contemporary, part of the culture. It’s possible to be part of it and yet put a different spin on it.” For Moody, it’s clear which route to take. His view is that trends are to be avoided at all costs. “House styles suck, trends suck, looking like your competitors sucks,” he says. But what can brands do to ensure their strategies are built to last? Consumers expect more of brands than ever before, and these creative movements all consider the bigger picture. 01. Standing for something Applying a moral purpose to a branding strategy has to be done sincerely to have a positive impact From Nike standing shoulder to shoulder with ‘disgraced’ American footballer Colin Kaepernick to Gillette attempting to tackle toxic masculinity, many brands are choosing sides and playing an advocacy role on pressing social issues. Some are more successful than others. “We regularly turn down projects that we think are taking a ‘false’ position,” says Johnson. “The upswing of FMCG brands trying to persuade me that their soap, breakfast cereal or toothpick has a higher moral purpose makes my teeth grind.” Louise Kyme, Studio Texture's strategy director, observes that an increasing number of brands are leading with a “female-centric, body-positive, diverse and rebellious spirit,” while Greenfield draws attention to the ‘good versus bad tech’ debate, brought starkly into the spotlight by the likes of Facebook. “Some companies already have this on the agenda, some need a little encouragement,” he says. 02. Embracing relevant technologies Studio Texture's sister company, Texture, is devoted to AI For Kyme, artificial intelligence is where the most exciting potential for branding innovation can be found – and Studio Texture puts its money where its mouth is, with a sister company entirely dedicated to A.I. “We see enormous opportunity for machines learning to augment the work we creatives do,” she says. “One A.I. tool we’re working on seeks to predict emotional responses to creative content at a speed and scale that was previously unimaginable. Not just positive and negative sentiment, but the full spectrum of emotions, from specific audiences – at the push of a button. This will enable us to test messaging in an instant.” While Moody believes the over-hyped VR revolution is a technological red herring – describing VR headsets as the equivalent of 3D glasses in the 80s – he’s a strong advocate of the role of sound design in a modern brand toolkit. “All respectable brands launching this year should have a point of view on voice, and a sonic landscape,” he says. 03. Thinking more sustainably TOMS is a brand with sustainability at its heart Sustainability is moving further and further up the agenda for many brands. “It’s huge, but should be treated like hygiene,” says Moody. “The trap many brands fall into is making a big thing about stuff they should be doing anyway. All corporate social responsibility (CSR) teams on the planet should be disbanded immediately and merged into the blood-flow of the business.” Andy Howell, co-founder and creative director at The Clearing, agrees: “Sustainability shouldn’t be a campaign that comes with an inevitable time-limit. It should be built into the essence of the brand,” he says. “Things like sustainable HQs, supply chains, materials and circular systems should become part of how companies work.” This content was originally published in issue 292 of Computer Arts, the world's best-selling design magazine. Buy issue 292 or subscribe to Computer Arts. Read more: 7 musicians that nailed their branding campaigns How the world's biggest brands got their names 5 brands that hit nostalgia hard View the full article

Android tablets (as well as large-screen Android smartphones) can be wonderful tools for digital artists, and in this guide to the best stylus for Android in 2019, we take a look at the top pen-like devices that can really transform your Android gadgets. There are a number of things to look for when buying the best stylus for Android. While there are plenty of cheap styluses out there, which are essentially plastic pens, the best stylus for Android will have tactile ends that ensure your device's screen doesn't get scratched. The best Android tablets rarely come cheap so it's imperative to find a stylus that won't cause any damage. How to choose the best stylus for Android Some of our picks for the best stylus for Android in 2019 are powered by batteries, and this allows for additional features. For example, they can connect to your Android devices via Bluetooth, and include buttons to change the style of drawing or writing. So, a press of a button can change the thickness of the lines the stylus draws, or the color. Or, by holding down a button, it could turn on the eraser tool, allowing you to rub out any mistakes. You'll also want a stylus that feels comfortable to hold and work with, has a decent level of friction when used against the glass screen of your Android device, and is precise when used. By investing in one of our picks for the best stylus for Android devices, you'll find your smartphone or tablet can turn into a versatile tool for drawing, sketching and writing on. The Wacom Baboo Tip is our pick for the best stylus for Android devices overall. It manages to bring a decent amount of features without over complicating things. So, it doesn't need paring up with your Android device, instead, you can just begin using it. This means it's compatible with most touch-screen devices as well. However, it does have a built-in battery, which helps give the stylus a bit more control over your drawing, as it uses Reflective Electro Static that allows it to have the accuracy of more expensive fine-tipped styluses. The battery is good for 20 hours, and can be charged via MicroUSB. It's also nicely designed and well balanced, so if feels good to draw and write with. The Adonit Dash 3 is another stylus that isn't 'active', so it doesn't connect via Bluetooth. That means it's easy to get started with it, but it does lack some of the advanced features active styluses benefit from. However, thanks to its fine tip that's made with new and improved material, the drag of the stylus leads to a more natural writing experience. There's a single power button which you press to turn the stylus on, and the battery lasts for up to 14 hours of continuous use. While it's our pick for the best stylus for writing, it's also great at drawing as well. If you're looking for a cheap – yet dependable – stylus for your Android device, then the AmazonBasics Executive Stylus is an ideal pick. Some budget styluses feel cheap and can leave marks on your screens, but Amazon's affordable stylus are comfortable to hold, feel solid and have a silicone tip the responds well. Best of all, Amazon sells these in packs of three, which means you have have spares in case you lose one. As you'd expect due to the price (and name), this is a basic stylus that doesn't offer any additional features, but it does the job well enough. If you're new to digital art, then the Staedtler 180 22-1 Noris Digital is an ideal stylus. It's designed like Staedtler's iconic traditional pencils, and it feels like one as well, which means you get a natural writing and drawing experience. It uses passive EMR technology, which means it doesn't need a battery, and it offers decent compatibility across devices. It also features palm rejection, so it doesn't get confused if you accidentally rest your palm or wrist on your Android device while drawing. Spare nibs are included as well. With one thousand levels of pressure sensitivity and a programmable button that lets you change modes on the fly, the Wacom Bamboo Fineline 3 is an excellent premium stylus for some Android devices. We say 'some' as not all devices are compatible with its advanced features, so make sure you check to see if your Android device is supported before you buy. If it is, then you'll get a well built stylus that is well balanced and comfortable to hold, with a level of resistance when used on a screen that makes drawing and note taking feel natural. Basically, it's everything you'd expect from a company like Wacom. Read more: 18 of the best Android apps to download for creatives The best drawing tablet The best tablets for photo and video editing in 2019 View the full article

We live in a free market society, and so – in theory at least – whatever the public demands, the public shall get, albeit at a price. But in practice, there are some weird anomalies. Seemingly popular products, from chocolate bars to beauty products, disappear from the shelves for no apparently good reason. The internet erupts with complaints, petitions are launched, and fans start avidly hunting for surviving examples on Ebay. Yet despite this, the original makers seem stubbornly resistant to bringing them back. All, though, is not lost. As we’ve seen from Kodak’s success in reviving Polaroid cameras, you should never say never when it comes to old favourites. In this post, we give a shout out to eight discontinued products we’d love to see make a triumphant return. For some of our favourite products that have survived, take a look at our guides to the best tools for graphic designers and the top web design tools. Or hit us up on Twitter, and let us know what you’d like us to add to the list below. 01. Money-back bottles In the days when Corona was king, you could bring back your 'pop' bottles in exchange for cash If you were a kid in the 1970s you’ll remember how, once you’d finished your glass bottle of ‘pop’, you could return it to the shop and get a partial cash refund. This meant the chances of you throwing it away as litter was zero. It also encouraged you to liberate discarded bottles from hedges, parks and gardens, as a way of supplementing your pocket money. That all came to an end in the 1980s, though, due to the rise of cheap, disposable plastic bottles. But with the seas now filling up with plastic at an unsustainable rate, it seems like a good time to bring it back. Thankfully, it looks like that might happen soon. Businesses and politicians have been talking a lot about new deposit return schemes, and recently, a trial was carried out in Scotland, where reverse vending machines installed at various shops offered 10p for every can or bottle deposited. Let’s hope the rest of the country follows suit quickly, because it really does strike us as a no-brainer from both an economic and environmental point of view. 02. Cadbury’s Fuse Bar If we were to list all the discontinued food and drink products we’d like to bring back, we’d probably be here all day. So we’ll be restrained and just choose one. We’re genuinely mystified why Cadbury withdrew the Fuse Bar in 2006, because we can think of few chocolate products to ever attract such a passionate fanbase. Living up to its name, it combined 70 per cent chocolate with a selection of nuts, raisins, crisp cereal and fudge pieces, in a way that added up to more than the sum of its parts. Truly, a meal in a bar. It was once so popular that it was even promoted to the highest echelons of Cadbury elite; the Miniature Heroes selection box. And Cadbury must know it’s sorely missed, as it even brought it back as a limited edition over Halloween 2015. Stop teasing us, Cadbury. You revived Wispa, and look how successful that was. Bring back the Fuse; quite honestly, nothing else can touch it! 03. The Delorean Marty and the Doc made everyone fall in love with the Delorean The work of John Delorean, who left General Motors to manufacture his own dream car, the Delorean was quite simply the coolest car in creation. It sported gull-wing doors, brushed stainless-steel outer body panels, innovative fibreglass body structure and a steel backbone chassis. If you’ve ever watched Back to the Future (and if you haven’t, do so at once), you’ll know what we’re talking about. Unfortunately, its actual performance never quite matched its looks and price tag. And so only 9,000 DeLoreans were ever made, before production halted in early 1983 and the company shut up shop. But hey, the first Apple computer wasn’t perfect either. So why hasn’t someone taken this classic design and combined it with modern engineering, to create a car that any wealthy nerd would bend over backwards to buy? Well, it turns out a company called DMC Texas have been trying to do just that, originally planning to return the Delorean into limited production in 2008, only to be hit by legal problems. The last announcement, in February 2018, promised production would start in January 2019, but we’re still waiting. C’mon, guys! 04. Phones with keyboards We miss those little keyboards! Remember the early 2010s, when everyone thought the coolest phone around was the BlackBerry? Embarrassing, right? Well actually, not everyone sees it like that. While the BlackBerry’s blinking red lights and push email may be a thing of the past, some people who find it difficult to use a touchscreen dearly miss those clickable little keyboards. Sadly as of 2016, BlackBerry no longer produces mobile devices at all. And while the brand has been taken up by Chinese manufacturer TCL, its devices aren’t particularly sophisticated, and are unlikely to be putting in an appearance in your local phone shop any time soon. For those of us who crave the soft click of a button under our finger, though, we hope TCL can develop a device that matches up to the iPhones and Samsungs of this world... and bring back the QWERTY phone to the high street in style. 05. Deadline magazine Tank Girl and Deadline were way ahead of their time Unless you were young and hip in the 1990s, you probably haven’t heard of Deadline. And that’s a shame, because it truly was a publishing phenomenon, albeit a niche one. Created by 2000 AD artists Brett Ewins and Steve Dillon, Deadline surfed the wave of an era when comics stopped being just for little kids and could appeal to adults too. Featuring left-leaning social and political commentary in its comic strips, along with written articles about the indie and alternative scenes, Deadline championed Britpop and had a close relationship with the hip bands of the time, including Blur, Ride, Curve and Carter USM. Its best comic strip was Tank Girl, created by Jamie Hewlett and Alan Martin, which followed the adventures of a punk girl who drove a tank and lived with a mutant kangaroo. Its feminist, kick-ass spirit was hugely ahead of its time; unfortunately, the resulting movie was an artistic and commercial disaster, heralding the eventual closure of the mag in 1995. That shouldn’t be held against it, though. After all, the 1995 movie of 2000 AD’s Judge Dredd wasn’t exactly brilliant. Let's face it, it was an era when Hollywood simply just worked out how to make comics work on screen. That’s clearly no longer the case. And at a time when there’s renewed enthusiasm for left-wing and feminist ideas amongst young people, we reckon it’s the perfect opportunity for Deadline to make a comeback. 06. The one pound note 30 years on, we'd still like to see a return to the £1 note It’s been more than 30 years since the pound note has been in circulation in England and Wales, after it was withdrawn in 1988 and replaced by the one pound coin. But those of us of a certain age still miss it dreadfully. Why? Because it was light, compared with all those coins now weighing down our wallets. It was much easier to find than rummaging around a bunch of loose change. You were far less likely to lose it down the back of a sofa. And it was much more difficult to counterfeit (it’s estimated that 20 per cent of £1 coins in circulation today are forgeries). In short, it’s no wonder that the original pound notes are still a collector's item, going for £8.90 on Amazon, no less. The note was originally withdrawn because of its short life, but Australia has since introduced a plastic based note that’s longer lasting and easy to manufacture. So why can’t we follow suit? Then just think what cool new designs we could come up with... 07. Ladybird Books Enough of the parodies, bring back the real thing already! Even if you weren’t alive when Ladybird Books were a thing, you’ve no doubt seen them at school, in libraries, or at jumble sales. And for good reason, because despite being out of print since 1999, they still rank amongst our favourite children's books, and continue to be loved by countless generations. These pocket-sized hardbacks broke down every subject you could think of into bite-sized explanations that children could understand, with beautiful illustrations to match. And there’s been nothing like them since. In recent years, we've seen a successful series of parodies, explaining such modern phenomenon as ‘The Story of Brexit’ and ‘The Hipster’, published by Michael Joseph. There have also been some new, non-parody Ladybird books for adults, walking through topics such as ‘Quantum Mechanics’ and ‘Climate Change’. But we’re still eagerly awaiting the return of traditional-format Ladybird books for kids. In fact, we can’t think of a more worthy candidate for a discontinued product to return to market. 08. Bioform Bra Despite M&S support, the Bioform Bra never made the market breakthrough it deserved Back in the year 2000, the Bioform Bra from Charnos was one of the biggest design stories of the new decade. Developed by design consultancy Seymour Powell using 3D body scans of hundreds of women, at a cost of £2million, it was hailed as a revolutionary step forward for the industry. The bra's sides were made from firm pre-moulded plastic covered by soft materials, thus removing the need for a traditional underwire. The Bioform was ideal, in the words of this author’s girlfriend, "for the bustier woman who didn’t want her boobs trying to escape up her armpit all the time". Marks and Spencer described it as "probably the most important development in the history of women's underwear", and backed it to the hilt. Unfortunately, the cost of production was high, and within a few years, Charnos was bought out. The organisation restructured, and the Bioform bra was phased out as a result. Of course, every woman’s body shape is different, and the Bioform wasn’t for everyone. But for many, the design never been bettered, and the number of websites trading in originals suggest that many are aching to see the Bioform make a return to market. Read more: The 100 greatest Apple creations How the world's biggest brands got their names The best camera phones in 2019 View the full article

You're reading How to Make the Most of Appointment and Events Scheduling with Amelia 2.0, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook! Today’s web users are almost always in a hurry. If your page does not engage them in a few brief seconds, they’re likely to try their luck elsewhere. In addition, if your users are already established clients or customers, they … View the full article

An ongoing malvertising campaign is exploiting WordPress plugin vulnerabilities to redirect website visitors to malicious pages. View the full article

There's more to ITV than Broadchurch and... whatever else is on ITV. The British free-to-air channel also has a creative side, as seen in this new batch of experimental idents made by artists and designers, which start rolling out today. These idents see the channel's logo design taken in some strange and fascinating directions. The project is part of ITV Creates, which got 52 different artists and designers play with the channel's branding. Why 52? That's how many weeks there are in a year, meaning that each ident will get seven days in the limelight as they help to break up the scheduled programming and adverts. Kicking off the creative idents is a beautiful henna design drawn on eight pairs of hands, which symbolise an offering. This ident was made by junior creatives at Saatchi & Saatchi, Emily Downing and Olivia Weston, and represents the start of ITV's 'new talent' takeover month. The following weeks will see the work of students from Newcastle University, Arts University Bournemouth, the University of West England , and Manchester Metropolitan University take to the air. Get a taste of what to expect in the gallery below. "ITV Creates is a dream project to curate," artistic director and curator Charlie Levine said in a press statement. While curating the work for this project, Levine had to keep in mind that the artists were briefed to customise the ITV logo in any way they wished. "Being able to showcase some of the best UK wide art talent is a rare opportunity and one that I have thoroughly enjoyed - I feel ITV Creates is a real snapshot of what is happening in the arts right now," Levine adds. "It has been a priority to make the 52 artists representative and for the project to broadcast a selection of different art approaches, styles and missions." For a full look into the new talent behind this month's idents, head on over to the ITV Creates page. Related articles: BBC and ITV launch new streaming service BritBox Top 10 TV logos of all time Netflix channels the magic of the cinema in new ident View the full article

A patch does not yet exist for a critical buffer overflow vulnerability in VLC Media Player that could enable remote code execution. View the full article

Instagrammable places draw in the travellers and tourists like nothing else. Because what's the point of jetting off to exotic locations if you don't take pictures to share on Instagram? After all, the photo and video sharing social network is one of the most popular ways for creatives to record (and brag about) their adventures abroad. It's unsurprising really. With its array of filters and effects, Instagram is the perfect tool to make your incredible snaps look even better. To make your feed even more appealing and unique, take a look at our guide to how to change your font in Instagram, and our roundup of the best VSCO filters. But if you're stuck on where to travel to next, fear not. We've rounded up some of the best places in the world that are packed with Insta-worthy locations. This list takes into account the findings from Big Seven Travel, who analysed the amount of hashtags used per destination. So you can rest assured that these really are some of the most Instagrammable places in the world. 01. Sydney, Australia If you can stretch to a trip to the land down under, you'll be in the most Instagrammable country on the planet. And where better to spend you time than in Sydney? With the Sydney Opera House, Wedding Cake Rock, and Bondi Beach, there are plenty of amazing sights just waiting to be photographed. 02. Hong Kong Famous for its towering sky-scrapers, bustling business district, and vibrant food scene, Hong Kong is an unmissable destination that deserves a place on your bucket list. The Special Administrative Region of China is also the second most Instagrammed place in the world, so you're in good company when you start taking photos. 03. Kyoto, Japan While the capital of Japan, Tokyo, is seen as a modern and bustling metropolis, Kyoto is a more traditional place to unwind. The former capital is home to a tranquil bamboo forest, more temples than you can shake a chopstick at, and the famous red gates of the Fushimi Inari Shrine. You'll need to be patient if you want to get a clean photo here, though. 04. Taipei, Taiwan If you're looking for a trip with amazing night markets, stunning architecture, and a diverse array of culture to take in, Taipei is the place for you. The capital of Taiwan is a popular destination with Instagrammers thanks to its range of photogenic hotspots, so be sure to check it out. 05. Amsterdam, Netherlands Even if you just take a short trip to the Dutch capital you'll be overwhelmed with Instagram-worthy sights. From windmills, and gardens bursting with tulips, to the amazing Oude Kerk, you'll be spoilt for choice. Maybe steer clear of snapping the Red Light District though unless you want your account to get suspended. The best camera phones in 2019 06. New York City, United States If you want to fill up your Instagram page with iconic sites, book a trip to New York City. It's got the big hitters like the Empire State Building, Times Square and Central Park to make your followers green with envy, but there are plenty of lesser-known gems to be found if you go off the beaten track. 07. Vancouver, Canada Canada's a big place home to lots of Instagrammable locations, but Vancouver stands apart from the rest thanks to its eye-catching contrast of scenic views and sprawling cityscapes. And with a thriving arts scene to check out, creatives are sure to love it. 08. Cape Town, South Africa Thanks to its epic natural beauty and clifftop views, Cape Town is a playground for Instagram users. Will you start at the dramatic Cape Point? Or perhaps you'll hold out for a striking sun set at Kloof Corner? Either way, you'll get some stunning Instagram photos that will see the likes rolling in. 09. Mumbai, India Multicultural Mumbai is home to 20 million people, so be prepared to get stuck in and sniff out the best views for your Instagram account. If you don't know where to start, safe bets are the iconic Gateway of India, or the Vipassana Pagoda. If you're after a souvenir, you could also head on over to the Chor Bazaar, which is home to Instagram Stories just waiting to happen. 10. Dubai, United Arab Emirates Dubai is one of the most spectacular places you could hope to visit thanks to its skyscraper-filled skyline, lively nightlife, and surrounding artificial islands. This makes it the prime location for Instagrammable photos. Just make sure you leave some time to take advantage of its luxury shopping opportunities. Related articles: The best budget camera phones in 2019 9 agencies to follow on Instagram Instagram designers: Who to follow for creative inspiration View the full article

Nothing makes the heart sink like the news that that an app or website that you use on a daily basis is rolling out an enormous update. Because you know that it's going to break some feature that you absolutely rely on, or introduce new features that you totally hate. And yes, we're very much looking at you, new Twitter. So it's utterly lovely to get to report on a massive update that hasn't skimped on the user testing and that you're not going to hate. Today's big news is that Slack has rolled up its biggest desktop update in ages, and you probably haven't even noticed because it looks pretty much exactly the same as it did yesterday, nothing seems broken and there's a distinct lack of unwanted new features. Fair play. 18 of the best collaboration tools for designers There's no point supplying a screenshot of new Slack because it looks the same; these are the numbers that matter So if everything looks the same, what's the point? It's all about performance; according to the Slack, this new version loads 33 per cent faster and uses up to 50 percent less memory than before. That's quite a performance bump, and one that you'll appreciate if you have loads of channels and workspaces on the go, and it gets better if you use it for making calls: joining an incoming call is now 10 times faster. Another big improvement is one you won't notice until you find yourself with a bad net connection. You know how when the you have net problems you lose Slack completely? Not any more; with this latest version you'll still be able to see messages from your current session when your connection's up and down. Is this new or old Slack? No-one knows. All these improvements, which you probably haven't even noticed (Slack will give you a little notification popup when you get the update and that's it), are thanks to a huge behind-the-scenes operation that's involved rewriting the desktop client from scratch. There's a fascinating blog post from the engineering team here that goes through the basics of the process; bottom line is that it's been quite an undertaking. Obviously this isn't a redesign, but nevertheless it's impressive that Slack's been able to deploy an enormous update like this without breaking anything or infuriating anyone. No doubt further down the line there'll be a proper redesign that does both those things, but let's try not to think about that, instead, you can read more about this update here. Related articles: Slack sparks further outrage with tweak to new logo 8 powerful productivity apps to help you get things done 5 logo redesigns that got it right View the full article

If you want to get ahead on the web then you need to keep track of all the latest technologies and techniques. Things move pretty fast online, and what was cutting-edge a couple of years ago can soon become outdated, so it's vital that you stay abreast of new developments. One of the best ways to do this is to hit your nearest web conference, where you can learn the latest tricks and also do some all-important networking. These days you're pretty much spoiled for choice; at any moment there's almost certainly a web conference happening somewhere in the world, from small meetups to vast gatherings, covering everything from design and development in general down to individual web design tools and technologies. To help you pick your next destination, we've picked out some of the best conferences coming up until the end of 2019. Happy travels! How to network successfully 01. JSConf US Head this way if you want to combine JavaScript with surfing lessons When: 12-14 August Where: Carlsbad, California It's one of the fundamental modern web technologies, and now JavaScript is moving beyond the browser and into servers, robots, video games and other places. For a thorough update on what you can be doing with JavaScript in 2019, JSConf US brings you two packed days of talks covering everything from JS-powered gesture recognition through to creating LED art, and sandwiched between the two conference days is a 'choose your own adventure' day of workshops, surf lessons, a safari park adventure and more. 02. An Event Apart Chicago An Event Apart is always worth a visit When: 26-28 August Where: Chicago An Event Apart has been in the conference business since 2006 and holds regular events across the US, focusing on digital design, UX, content, code and more, with the biggest names in the web business sharing their knowledge. An Event Apart Chicago features talks from Jeffrey Zeldman, Rachel Andrew and Jen Simmons, amongst others, and will also host a special screening of Rams, a new documentary about the life and work of design legend Dieter Rams. Can't make it to Chicago? An Event Apart will also be in Denver on 28-30 October and San Francisco on 9-11 December. 03. Web Unleashed 2019 Broaden your front end horizons at Web Unleashed When: 13-14 September Where: Toronto If front-end development is your business then Web Unleashed 2019 is the place to get updated on all the latest tools, techniques and technologies. Held over two days, with over 50 presentations and up to four tracks to choose from, it features an array of top speakers including Wes Bos, Catt Small and Mina Markham, with subjects including individual technologies, testing, accessibility and much more. There's also a day of workshops before the conference kicks off, where you can get hands-on with Vue, Gatsby and variable fonts, as well learning about design thinking the latest JavaScript features. 04. WebExpo WebExpo: the conference you can take your kids to When: 20-22 September Where: Prague Held across three days with 70 speakers in five separate halls, WebExpo is Central Europe's largest web conference and covers the latest trends and topics shaping the future of technology. This year's speakers include Vitaly Friedman and Harry Roberts, and if you have kids then take them along; WebExpo is the first tech conference where children are welcome, with activities including 3D printing and programming courses, as well as a lounge area for parents with babies or toddlers. 05. Digital Thinkers Conference The Digital Thinkers Conference is hosted by the fine people at Awwwards When: 25-27 September Where: New York Billed as two days of knowledge and growth, the Digital Thinkers Conference is organised by Awwwards and covers all manner of subjects including UX, product design, ecommerce and branding. Speakers include Pablo Stanley, Molly Nix and Anton & Irene, and as well as the two-day conference there's also a day of workshops where you can learn about smart responsive interface design patterns, the business of design, creating a CSS Grid landing page and selling and presenting design. 06. Generate CSS Come for the CSS knowledge, stay for the LEGO When: 26 September Where: London Brought to you by net, Web Designer and Creative Bloq, Generate has been in business for a good few years but this year it's trying something different with Generate CSS, a single-day conference designed to provide a concentrated shot of CSS knowledge from some of the UK's leading CSS experts. It's taking place at Rich Mix in Shoreditch with speakers including Bianca Berning and Natalie Weizenbaum. You'll learn about debugging CSS Grid, the future of type, Sass and more, and in between sessions there are Creative Bloq breaks where we'll be holding a photography workshop, a colouring-in session and a huge pile of LEGO for you to play with. 07. Fronteers 2019 Another great option for the front-end crew When: 3-4 October Where: Amsterdam Another great conference for front-end developers, Fronteers has been organised in Amsterdam since 2008 and this year's conference has a top line-up of 19 speakers including Lea Verou, Jeremy Keith and Rachel Andrew. Subject to be covered include the future of web typography, the secrets of native-like PWAs and drawing with CSS, and the day before the conference there's also a pair of all-day workshops that'll take you through building React apps with Next.js, and discovering the latest CSS Layout features. 08. Full Stack Europe It's called Full Stack but it's for all kinds of developers When: 23-25 October Where: Antwerp Described as a conference for every kind of developer, Full Stack Europe promises to get out of your comfort zone, improve your existing skills and learn new ones, whether you're a full stack developer or not. Among the speakers confirmed so far are Sara Soueidan, Jeremy Keith and Tim Neutkens, and as well as the talks there's also a day of workshops covering everything from React for beginners through to testing JavaScript applications. 09. Web Summit When: 3-7 November Where: Lisbon If all these conferences sound a little compact and bijou to you, here's the antidote: Web Summit in Lisbon is a massive four-day event with over 70,000 attendees from more than 170 countries, with over 1,200 speakers lined up. More than about simply making the web, it's about bringing together the people and companies who are redefining the global tech industry, and with speakers including Microsoft president Brad Smith, Tinder CEO Elie Seidman and even the president of Ghana, this is a seriously heavyweight conference. You're unlikely to learn the latest CSS techniques there, but if you're interested in the bigger picture for tech in general – plus lots of networking opportunities – it's the place to be. 10. dotJS dotJS covers Javascript from front to back-end When: 5-6 December Where: Paris We started with a JavaScript conference and here's another to finish the year off with. dotJS is a two-day conference in Paris, with the first day dedicated to front end and the second to back end and language. Speakers include Chris Heilmann and Charlie Gerard, and if you fancy making a longer stay of it the organisers have partnered with Hackages to provide a two-day Vue.js hardcore training session on 2-3 December. Related articles: How to network successfully: 19 pro tips The hottest web design trends of 2019 The future of web design View the full article

Creating character designs for living is a dream come true, especially when working on League of Legends. The game is chock-full of diverse and over-the-top fantasy characters, and imagining them in a completely different alternative universe is even more thrilling. That’s sums up my job at Riot Games as a character concept artist developing new skins for the players. In my spare time, I try to soak up trending visual references and expand my mental library as much as possible. From looking at amazing photographs to watching videos that tell compelling stories, to studying how to draw manga and anime characters, mobile phone games, and of course browsing through amazing illustration and concept art online. After work, I wind down by painting fan art of characters that are either trending or are genuinely iconic in nature. For this workshop, I’m subtly reinterpreting Asuka from the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise, and give her a bit of an anime twist. I’ll be using some of the best Procreate brushes to complete this on my iPad Pro - I love this creative combo! And if you want to give it a go yourself, be sure to check out the best iPad Pro deals available right now. 01. Keep things light while sketching Try to imagine the character before laying down the first stroke To start I keep the Opacity of the default Round brush pretty light to help me see where I put down the brush strokes and how they will establish the direction of the whole image. Indeed, I try to imagine what the figure will look like before putting down any strokes. This is an important skill to learn and is something that I still struggle with. I believe that comic book or manga artists are trained to do this, so this is worth bearing in mind if this is your career goal. 02. Draw with your finger A finger stroke leaves a more natural mark The stroke on the left is the result of using my finger with the default Round brush. Notice the varying shape of the stroke. The Streamline brush setting keeps the strokes clean and steady, much like using a lazy mouse setting. Oddly, I can’t replicate this stroke using the stylus with Pen Pressure active (right). It took time to work freely this way, but now it feels natural. I’ll be using my finger to paint Asuka. 03. Create clean line art This is the time to nail down the look of the image This is mid-way through the sketch process. In the dark bold lines and ambient occlusion areas you can see the effect of the Brush pen and its distinctive brush stroke. I have to be careful about not adding too many strokes for the hair, otherwise it starts to look unnatural. I recommend regularly flipping the image during these early stages, looking for errors. It’s easier to correct them now rather than later on in the painting process. 04. Start masking areas By masking areas you can apply a consistent colour technique I use the Magic Wand equivalent tool in Procreate to select around the character, then I invert this selection to isolate the character. Next, I mask off specific parts of the character: her hair, suit, gloves, eyes and skin. This makes it possible to apply a consistent colouring technique to the image, and enables your unique painting style to come to the fore. 05. Customise the iPad workspace By splitting the display, it's easy to compare to reference material Here, I've split the screen to display reference material right next to the art work – pretty handy, eh? I have reference open at all times from artworks that I’ve saved on to my iPad and iPhone, or from Pinterest. I also have Netflix minimised in the corner for background noise or just for listening to music. 06. Start building the background Build the image up steadily by bringing the background in I’m adding the Evangelion Unit in the background to create more visual interest and contrast. I roughly put down strokes to create its overall composition and look, before committing to clean line art. I think it’s good practice to work on the entire image at a steady pace. 07. Make a simple but powerful graphic shape Keep the background clear to make it engaging Using the same Brush pen, I’m focusing on making the Eva Unit’s head clear and graphically engaging. This is because its purpose is to act as a tertiary element to keep the viewer within the scene. 08. Accentuate the composition There's still time to finalise how the different elements work together I’m exploring this composition approach, where the focal point is around the pilot’s face and upper half of her body. The cross shape acts as the secondary interest behind the pilot, while Eva Unit becomes the tertiary background element blending gently into the red background. 09. Use a Multiply layer for shadows Multiply lets you focus on one layer at a time I place the original mask of the character above all the other layers and turn it to white. I swipe two fingers and flick the layer to the right, which layer masks it. I then change the layer type to Multiply. This enables me to add a subtle grey colour without it bleeding out of the character. This is a simple process that enables you to focus on one thing at a time and gradually build up consistent shadows. 10. Paint over the lines Don't be afraid to try new techniques, even at this late stage After the shadows are painted over the character, I decide to experiment by adding some warm oranges over some lines, giving the character a stylised subsurface scattering appearance. This also enables me to blend the line art with the colours of the character. I’m happy with the results - it’s good to try out new techniques! 11. Add an explosion of art Explosion elements help to establish a sense of contrast I add some explosion shapes, which I interpret and stylise in my own way. I want to emphasise the contrast here through shapes, size, value and colour. 12. Apply post-processing to the character Post-processing can bring the whole image together, but don't overdo it When the image is around 85 per cent finished, I turn my attention to post-processing. I use blurring, sharpening, duplicating and merging techniques, experiment with many different types of layer and adjust the Opacity. I don’t want to overdo the processing. The idea is to harmonise the values and colours, and help the image have the correct balance and pop in the focal areas. I’m trying to make Asuka blend in with the rest of the image naturally. 13. Paint in background details I decide to add a little more subtle details on the red background by painting in some red cloud and smoke shapes using Procreate’s default Smoke brush. I also carefully apply the noise filter on many parts of the image to generate extra depth without it becoming a distraction. 14. Run a final polish pass over the image Final passes and tweaks make Asuka look three-dimensional This is near final and I’m happy with how the painting’s turned out. I add a lot of vignette steps to redirect the focal point to her face and upper torso. I carry out a little more colour balancing using a combination of Screen, Lighten, Overlay, Color Dodge and Add layers, bringing more vibrancy to the image's colour and values. This also enables me to mask out the initial dark lines and blend everything more naturally. I also hit the edges of the character with the big soft Round brush, painting subtle rim lighting to add more three-dimensional forms to her. This article was originally published in ImagineFX, the world's best-selling magazine for digital artists. Subscribe to ImagineFX here. Related articles: Recreate a manga classic How to make it as a manga artist 15 tips for better manga characters View the full article

When released in 2001, Photoshop Elements was primarily targeted towards photography enthusiasts, boasting a simple array of tools for general purpose photo editing. Over the years Adobe has steadily added new features to give wider appeal, though it will always linger under the shadow of its full-blown counterpart in that respect, relying instead on its relative simplicity and an affordable price-tag. But with brilliant Photoshop alternatives, like Affinity Photo, getting cheaper and better, is Elements in danger of overpricing and underselling itself into obscurity? The 2019 version slid onto the scene with a refreshed home screen, presenting a cleaner, more user-friendly interface on launch of the application. But any ongoing success ultimately rests on a combination of older features mixed with its new automated features, a sign of Adobe’s increasing reliance on Sensei, their impressive AI engine. These changes will come as a welcome addition to anyone looking to step up their social game or assemble a quick and stylish family photo album. Other notable inclusions are its improved performance, support of HEIF (High Efficiency Image Format) and updated collage creator. Keen to learn more? Read below for the low-down on the most interesting new features of Photoshop Elements 2019. Photoshop Elements 2019 review: Home screen The new home screen is a nice touch, although it could be improved by being able to resize the window. When opening the program you are greeted by the new face of Elements – a friendly, engaging Home screen. Here you will be able to discover and try out new features, search for help, open recent files, and explore the new Auto Creations feature. The top of the Home screen is now dominated by a series of large icons that showcase the new features in Elements, aided by a search bar that points you in the direction of helpful online tutorials. These will be at their most valuable when taking your first steps in the software and prove a good source of inspiration to any newcomer, but become increasingly redundant with every hour spent in the app. Unfortunately at the time of testing some of these links directed me to 404 errors, but this bug seems to have been fixed later on. Auto-creation is certainly 2019’s most exciting innovation, taking advantage of Adobe Sensei, Adobe’s AI and machine learning engine. By adding images into the Elements Organizer app, the Home screen automatically generates a selection of up to forty personalized collages or slideshows, highlighting memorable moments, like birthdays or holidays, based on folder names, associated tags and content intelligence. And there is now a bigger choice of templates, frames and backgrounds available for collages. It can take a little while for auto-curation to sort through your Organizer library, so don’t be worried if you are not presented with auto-creations immediately after installation. The results can be a little hit-and-miss, but provide a good starting point for the user to go in and make their own alterations. Overall this is a feature that has lots of potential and one that Adobe will no doubt be looking to expand in future iterations. Photoshop Elements 2019 review: Guided modes Guided edits are the bread and butter of Photoshop Elements, offering effortless, stepped processes that hold your hand throughout. With each release of Elements new edits are added, and 2019 is no different, introducing us to Meme Maker, Partial Sketch, Multi Photo Text, and Text and Border Overlay. As with most of the guided edits it’s possible to achieve similar effects in Elements’ Expert mode, though you would be hard pressed to rival the speed of a guided edit, while gaining only a little extra control. One source of frustration was having to open images before entering a specific guided edit, rather than opening the edit first and then loading your images. Photoshop Elements 2019 review: Meme Maker You can churn out multiple memes in mere minutes with Meme Maker, although success still relies heavily on the quality of the content. It’s hard to be too precious about anything so temporary and fleeting as a meme. The emphasis for a meme creator should be on speed and efficiency, of which this passes both with flying colours. This guided edit takes all the hassle out of generating a meme, making it extremely easy to pick a photo, overlay text and add a background. The background options are generic and limited, but quite sufficient for the purpose. The optional effects for your image seem somewhat superfluous and not something I can ever imagine using. It will not win any awards, but it might get you a few extra likes. Photoshop Elements 2019 review: Partial Sketch The selection brushes in Partial Sketch are sufficiently accurate to pick out this Jacana bird from a textured background. If you are already a fan of Photoshop’s artistic filters, Partial Sketch introduces the same familiar effects with an extra level of control over the process, opening up some interesting creative options. Use the selection brush to highlight parts of your image to convert into an artistic sketch, leaving the rest of the image in the original photographic format. While the selection brush is reasonably accurate, you are also provided with a subtract option and a detail brush to clean-up your selection. The options are currently relatively limited, with a modest choice of four effects to choose from; Pencil Sketch, Coloured Pencil Sketch, Old Photo and Old Paper. It’s a clever bit of software, though it’s hard to think of any real uses for it. Photoshop Elements 2019 review: Multi-photo Text Finding an image to fit the shape of each letter can be tricky and the result can end up looking a little dated. In previous versions of Elements it was possible to insert a single image into letter ‘frames’, but with the new Multi-photo Text option you are able to type out text, using the typefaces on your computer, and populate each letter with a separate photo of your choice. If you already have suitable images to hand then this is a really easy process, aided by clearly marked steps, culminating in a choice of backgrounds and text effects. A couple of minutes with this could add a splash of much needed personality to any birthday card or school project. Repositioning images within the frames is easy enough, although the whole feature (along with many other aspects of guided edits) suffers from not being able to go back and edit previous steps. If you want to make any retroactive changes then you are forced to undo any progress or start the whole edit again. Photoshop Elements 2019 review: Text and Border Overlay The Text and Border Overlay can draw the eye to an without seeming too intrusive, so long as you stick to black and white. This might be the most understated of the new features, but arguably the most elegant. Use Text and Border Overlay to embellish your images, choosing from a selection of six built-in border styles, before adding a text overlay, again selected from typefaces on your computer. The result is pretty much what it says on the tin, there are no bells and whistles about it. Some of the steps were a little fiddly, such as the text automatically resizing rather than the text box around it, but nothing that couldn’t be swiftly resolved. Photoshop Elements 2019 review: Performance and HEIF support As with every update of Elements, the 2019 version runs faster that its forebears, including a quicker download and install, as well as speedier launch from Home Screen. It also has added support for HEIF (high efficiency image format), a highly compressed image format, opening it up to devices running on iOS 11 or higher. Along with other features, such as the Meme Maker, this could suggest a subsequent lean towards the instagram generation, where cheeky, instant filters are favoured ahead of a masterful, laboured works of art. Either way, any improvement in performance is a step in the right direction. How good is Elements 2019? Photoshop Elements 2019 continues to be a surprisingly powerful photo-editing application, retaining all the same tools and edit modes that made it so popular in the first place. Excluding the sprinkling of magic from Adobe Sensei, the new features are not overly impressive or substantial, representing a gradual shift towards the social media market. The special effects can be fun to play with, but can easily run the risk of rendering images as cheap, tacky versions of themselves. As much as Guided Edits are designed to be simplified for ease of use, I regularly found my progress hampered by obstructive processes, such as not being able to load images inside a guided edit or having to undo progress to make any changes to previous steps. In this respect I much preferred the relative freedom of the Expert mode. Elements is still lacking certain tools, like a CMYK mode or a functional pen tool, that would make it a more attractive prospect to aspiring professionals. It seems unlikely that it will ever reach its full potential while Photoshop CC wears the ‘premium’ crown that justifies its heftier price tag, though the divide is not quite as gaping as you might expect. If you already own a recent version of Elements then there is no pressing reason to upgrade just yet. However if you are new to photography and looking for an inexpensive software to experiment with, Elements still proudly waves the flag for fun, straightforward, and affordable editing. Read more: 54 free Photoshop actions How to resize an image in Photoshop 14 Photoshop Elements tutorials to try today View the full article

Whatever kind of work you're doing as a designer, whether you're in-house at an agency, juggling freelance commissions or building a portfolio of engaging side projects, you need to demonstrate your own visual expertise. While a big chunk of that is your ability to create the right imagery for any scenario, you also need to be able to take a wider view and ensure that the stories you tell through your work are visually consistent across all the media in which they might be used. Read on to discover three ways in which you can weave consistent visual narratives for clients, their customers, and for yourself. 01. Start with your portfolio Ensure that your own portfolio flows in a coherent way Your portfolio is one of your major calling cards for potential clients, and to demonstrate the breadth of your abilities it doubtless features a whole range of quite visually different work. And while that's a useful asset to have, you need to take care in the way all your work is presented so that it makes a strong visual statement to visitors. It's easy to just arrange your work chronologically, but unless, for example, you're an illustrator with a well-defined visual signature, the end result is likely to be a jarring mish-mash of styles. If you want to make a good impression to potential clients, you need to think in terms of your own brand and craft a visually consistent portfolio that arranges your work in a way that flows smoothly. Every page should have a similar look and feel, and feature a selection of work that sits well together, even if the subject matter is markedly different. A well-organised portfolio is much more likely to hold clients' attention than one that's all over the place visually, and it shows you're capable of thinking creatively and consistently while staying on-brand. You might want to try creating your own brand or style guide, and using that to create a stunning portfolio site shows off your work to best effect; it's a great way to display the full extent of your skills. 02. Search for imagery by colour Create an engaging visual thread by finding images featuring the same colour Working as a designer often means that you're not just using your own imagery; you also have to work with complementary images from other sources, and if you want to create a sense of visual consistency then you need to be careful about the images you choose. One way to do this is to decide on a common visual thread that links together all the imagery within a particular project, and colour can be the perfect strand that defines your visual narrative. And achieving this is easy when looking for imagery at iStock by Getty Images, as you can search by colour to get exactly the look you're after. Using iStock's colour picker – or simply searching for a particular hex code – you can easily find a whole stack of images in whatever shade you require. Even if they feature radically different content, with a strong thread of colour you can be sure of a consistent visual narrative, with the added bonus of a sense of variety. 03. Use the best-quality imagery If your image quality's all over the place, people will notice One of the most important ways of establishing a visually consistent narrative is to ensure that all your content is of the best possible quality. After all, there's nothing to turn people off like the sight of a badly scaled, over-compressed .JPG next to a much higher quality photo; it's bad for your reputation and even worse for your clients. At iStock you'll find millions of top-quality images, from essential stock photography through to vectors that can be scaled to any size without any loss of clarity, as well as videos, cinemagraphs and much more. You can quickly and easily assemble all the high-quality visual assets you need to create a project with a consistent visual narrative, and thanks to iStock's affordable pricing you can do this without blowing your budget. Visual consistency is a must in design, and iStock can help you achieve this with amazing imagery and search tools that make it easy to find what you need. Save 10% off any product by using the ISTOCK10 code before 31 September 2019. View the full article

Amazon's Prime Day 2019 is over, but there are still a few brilliant deals lingering around. So if you missed the main event, you're in luck. One of the best tablets with a stylus, in our opinion, the Surface Pro 6 is currently still available on Amazon with a huge £120 off the retail price. Perfect for busy creatives, the Surface Pro 6 is super-light (just 771g), highly portable and packed with power, making it an incredibly handy travel partner. Under the hood you'll find the latest 8th Generation Intel Core processor and a battery that can last for up to 13.5 hours, removing any limits on your creativity. There's also the option to convert the Surface Pro 6 into a full laptop by adding the signature type cover, Surface pen and Surface arc mouse (all sold separately). This is the cheapest you'll currently find this Surface Pro 6 model, so don't hang around, at this price they'll fly off the shelves. Want the Signature Type Cover too? Amazon are also offering an impressive discount on the hardware bundle: Living outside of these areas? Here are the best Surface Pro 6 deals in your area: View the full article