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So you've just got your design qualification. Congratulations! And smart thinking too, because, quite frankly, you've chosen a great profession to enter. There have never been more jobs available for graphic designers, motion designers, animators and illustrators. In this feature, we've spoken to those in charge of hiring at top design agencies, as well as the recent grads that have launched their careers with a bang, to hear their tips for taking your first steps in the industry. Read on for 11 different ways you can kick off your career in design, and make sure you make the most of any downtime between uni and your first job. Not fully kitted out yet? Take a look at our guides to the best tools for graphic designers, and the must-read graphic design books . See the best Adobe Creative Cloud deals right now Harriet Payler faced tough competition after graduating from Kingston University Of course, it's not all going to be plain sailing. While you might have been a star among the few students on your course, you're now having to compete with hundreds, maybe thousands of others, to get a foot in the door. All the while worrying about how to pay the rent and put food on the table. That's exactly what Harriet Payler, now a designer at NB Studio in London, went through a couple of years ago, after graduating from Kingston University with a BA in graphic design. "While looking for work, competition was the biggest challenge," Payler says. "There were a vast number of graduates in the same position as me. There was also the added obstacle of having to fund living in London. As well as interning through the week, I was also busy working on Saturdays and Sundays, as were most of my friends." So what's the best way to navigate the tricky waters of the jobs market in 2019? Read on... 01. Apply for jobs straight away In one sense, getting a job at a design studio is pretty straightforward. At Robot Food, for example, "the majority of our creative hires come via the well-trodden route of an emailed portfolio, followed by a face-to-face session," says Ben Brears, strategic design director at the Leeds studio. And that's fairly typical of design studios as a whole. So if you're confident that you have a killer portfolio, and a lot of real-world work experience to back it up, there's no reason you can't walk into a job straight from university. For more advice here, explore our guide to how to become a junior designer, and take a look at the best openings right now on our graphic design jobs board. 02. Try an internship That said, there are only a limited number of positions to go round, and not everyone will go from graduate to employee that smoothly. So if you're experiencing knockback after knockback, then it's definitely worth considering the alternative path of an internship. In many industries, internships are a byword for exploitation; a way for bosses to secure cheap or free labour based on a vague promise of full-time work that never seems to materialise. But in the design world it can be very different. Take NB Studio, an award-winning branding and communications agency that's based in London. "We recruit 99 per cent of our designers via internship," says Alan Dye, owner and creative director. "We have rolling interns all year and have done so for well over the past 20-odd years. We actually have Polaroids of every intern in a book, dating back to 2003." We recruit 99% of our designers via internship Alan Dye, NB Studio So how many actually get taken on? "If you took our current crop of designers as an example, it's been one every 18 months to two years," says NB Studio designer Sam Pittman. "Unfortunately it's impossible to take on every good intern, but that shouldn't flatten the optimism of those who come in. We've often recommended interns to friends at other studios, and we've also had interns return later on in their career in both full-time and freelance roles." Aporva Baxi, co-founder and executive creative director of London branding agency DixonBaxi, tells a similar story. "A few years ago we formalised our intern programme and created an academy where we promote an open and accessible opportunity for young talent," he says. "It starts as a one-month trial, then to the most successful of these we give a three-month stint. The most successful of those, we hire. Currently, more than a third of our team came through this programme, and we're a far more diverse and dynamic company because of it." 03. Make the most of your experiences Of course, even if you don't get taken on, internships are still a valuable experience. Graphic designer Simoul Alva interned at Pentagram in New York after graduating from the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, in western India. "It taught me a lot about working in a team around other incredible designers, for a range of very different clients," she says. "It changed how I approached design and thought about communicating work. It's also opened so many possibilities for me." Currently working as a visual design intern at Samsung in California, Alva's advice to anyone embarking on an internship is to: "Take the time to really apply yourself to the work you do. Also, figure out if this kind of work interests you. Design currently has so many possibilities and is becoming more and more fluid every day." Bankside Flags is amongst the projects Harriet Payler has contributed to at NB studio Payler, who spent two months as an intern at NB Studio before being taken on full-time, offers similar advice. "Get stuck in when interning, help out with everything you can, and get to know the team," she says. "People aren't expecting you to come out of university as a perfect designer, but they want to know you're excited to learn more and are interested in what you're doing." Above all, understand that internships are not ‘beneath you', but a standard – increasingly the standard – route into a professional role in 2019. "Paid internships are invaluable for gaining experience and learning and dealing with the pace of studio life," says Brears. "I'd recommend them to every graduate. "That said, if they're expecting you to intern for free, just say no. It's exploitative, it's morally and legally in the wrong, and it perpetuates a cycle of privilege. Any studio head who's okay with that isn't worth your time." 04. Perfect your portfolio Whether you're after a job or a top internship, competition is fierce. So how can you get a jump on your rivals? For Brears, one thing counts above everything else. "In the downtime between graduation and taking your first steps in the design industry, there should be one key focus: your portfolio," he stresses. "Make it representative of you and the work you want to do. Make it memorable and your presentation of it compelling. Take out or improve anything you don't like. And most importantly, know it inside-out. There's no bigger red flag than a designer who can't substantiate their choices, articulate their ideas or remember the details of the brief." 05. Ask the pros for help One way to achieve a stronger, more focused portfolio is to ask other creatives for help. "Before I left university, I contacted designers whose work I was particularly interested in, and asked if we could meet and go through my portfolio," recalls Payler. "Being able to present your work confidently is an important part of getting a job, so I found this really helpful in practising. It was also a great way of informally building a network of contacts." Neil Gilchrist has contributed to work for Eurosport in his role at DixonBaxi However, reaching out to total strangers can be a challenge when you're used to the relatively cocooned environment of further education. It was for Neil Gilchrist, now a junior designer at DixonBaxi, after he graduated with a BA in interaction design from Glasgow School of Art. "Having the confidence to put my work out there, for studios to look at and judge, was daunting," Gilchrist says. "It feels very different from doing crits at art school." He advises anyone in a similar position to: "Spend a good amount of time on your portfolio, from the curation through to how you photograph or document your work. Your book can be as much of a reflection of you as a designer as the work itself. "And remember that even a knockback from studios can be just as useful, because you can then tweak aspects for the next time." 06. Fill any knowledge gaps Another way to usefully fill the time between graduation and employment is plugging gaps in your knowledge. Whether that be learning to use After Effects or honing your life-drawing techniques, the more skills you can offer a design studio, the more valuable you'll be to them. "Our ideal candidates are hybrid creatives," says Emma Barratt, head of design at Wolff Olins. "Wolff Olins is looking for people with multiple skills: in graphic design, film-making, brand, motion, copywriting and so on. They should be eager, and come with fresh ideas and a different way to approach problems." "Our ideal candidates are hybrid creatives – Wolff Olins is looking for people with multiple skills" Emma Barratt, Wolff Olins And Wolff Olins isn't alone in this regard. "In the past decade, the need for hybrids has become more apparent," Barratt says. "The options brands have to engage with audiences through are growing by the day, but they're also more saturated than ever. So people who can develop ideas beyond traditional graphic design – really pushing technology and unusual forms of communication – will quickly get to the front of the jobs queue." You can't learn everything at once though, so be patient and realistic, says Erika Baltusyte, a designer who joined Wolff Olins back in 2016, just before graduating from UCA. "The start of your career is always difficult, especially if you're interested in many things, whether that's typography, animation or illustration, and it's difficult to choose one route," Baltusyte says. "It was only when I started my job that I realised I could still do all of these other things. In fact, that curiosity to play with different mediums will only make you a better designer." 07. Work on actual projects Of course, skills aren't the only thing that studio heads are looking for. "If anything, graduates are more skilled now than ever," says Brears. "However, the challenge among all this speed and skill is often getting people to slow down; to stop, think and interrogate the idea. To pick up a pen and sketch it out. To flick through a book or look up from the screen and truly realise the ‘why' as well as the ‘what'." Ben Brears is now a strategic design director at Leeds studio Robot Food So while it's always good to learn new skills, putting them into practice is of equal importance. Which is why Tim Beard, a partner at London creative consultancy Bibliothèque, is always pleased to see a new candidate who has actual work on the go, whether that's paid freelance, pro bono or a side project. "During your downtime, find projects that need doing and do them," Beard says. "There are always people who need the help of a designer, so make projects happen. Hustle hard. Nothing will just fall in your lap. You'll meet more interesting people by getting out there and making connections. And of course, there's always a new piece of software to learn, or a way to increase your knowledge. The moment you bring something new to a studio, you're a much more desirable commodity." Baxi agrees. "Being proactive is key to making stuff happen," he says. "So work on ideas, personal projects and your website. Practise, and practise some more, to learn new skills or simply hone the craft. And think about ways to stand out, to do things differently, to think creatively and challenge convention." 08. Work smart If this is all starting to sound overwhelming, then let's get realistic. There are only so many hours in the day, especially if you're having to work a non-creative job to pay the rent. And to be frank, no one can do everything we've mentioned on our recruiters' wish-list. Yet at the same time, your rivals are going to be up-skilling, hustling, competition entering and networking as much as they humanly can. You owe it to yourself to do the same. It's not about working silly hours and missing sleep: that would be counterproductive and self-defeating. Instead, it's about making smart choices, following your passions, taking advantage of connections and opportunities when they arise, and creating your own when they don't. 09. Attend networking events The good news is that people in the design industry are generally open and friendly if you approach them in the right way. Many events are organised specifically to help creatives make new contacts, and you'd be foolish not to take advantage of them. "While I was looking for work, I went to a few Glug networking events, which I found very valuable," recalls Hattie Windley, who graduated from Leeds College of Art (now Leeds Art University) in 2017 and is a middleweight designer at Robot Food. "I also went along to networking events organised by the university. Even if such events don't directly help you get a job, it's always good to meet like-minded people and learn from them. It's important to be yourself, and don't be scared to pester people." During my degree show I made a lot of effort to speak to industry creatives and pass out business cards Thierry Nahayo, DixonBaxi Payler agrees, "Go out and meet people, either at events or on a one-to-one basis," she says. "A lot of opportunities I had post-graduation were through recommendations from people I'd met, or through my tutors." Thierry Nahayo, who graduated from London College of Communication with a BA in graphic design, and is now a junior graphic designer at DixonBaxi, offers a good example to follow. "During my degree show I made a lot of effort to speak to industry creatives and passed out a number of business cards," he says. "I was glad to be offered numbers and positions from this. I also went to a few workshops to meet creatives from different practices, which enabled me to work with different people while expanding my potential opportunities." Joseph Lebus, now a junior designer at Made Thought, followed a similar path. "After graduating from my design course at Shillington, I got in touch with people I was really inspired by," he says. "Then I met up with them to get as much advice as I could about how to navigate the design world at this early stage. "It sounds like a cliché, but the most important thing is to put yourself out there and never be afraid of getting rejected," Lebus says. "Be proud of your work. Use everything that gets thrown your way, whether positive or negative, to push you forward. If you're passionate and driven enough, you'll get where you want to be." Read more: 7 organisations design students need to know 10. Consider full-time freelance So far, we've assumed your ultimate end goal after graduating is a full-time job. But many graduates go into freelancing full-time and never look back. Take Kota Yamaji, a digital artist and video director who started freelancing in his senior year at Tama University in Tokyo. He didn't have to try hard to find clients: after he'd posted his best work online, they made a beeline for him. "People contacted me via Facebook and Vimeo and so on," he says. "I found social networks like these really useful for freelancing." Crystal animals by Kota Yamaji, who launched a freelance career straight out of university Since graduating, Yamaji's worked freelance full-time, and isn't interested in getting a full-time job. "I want to be able to use all of my time freely," he says. "I want to spend my time on client work, but also on personal work that's original. And I think that originality enables me to attract more clients and raise my rates over time." Going freelance full-time isn't for everyone; you need to be prepared for a steep learning curve on everything from self-promotion to preparing your tax accounts. But actually, for most new graduates, the biggest challenge is one of confidence. For Raman Djafari, a freelance illustrator and animator based in Hamburg, the turning point came after a concept art studio spotted work that he'd posted on Tumblr. "The company felt I'd be a good fit for a character illustration project," he says. "This gave me confidence in my abilities, which led to me being more direct about approaching clients with my work, both online and in person, at fairs or conventions. "I started to realise that all of these ‘gatekeepers' are just people," Djafari continues. "People that I could just shoot an email with my work, or introduce myself to." It's also about approaching the right people: "When I've contacted people, either via the web or in person, it's been those whose work I genuinely was excited by." In short, hustling for work probably isn't nearly as daunting as you might imagine. "I'm still surprised how open people are as soon as you reach out to them in a friendly and honest way," says Nadine Kolodziey, a visual artist and art director based in Germany who's been working freelance since 2013. Nadine Kolodziey is a freelance visual artist and art director based in Germany That doesn't mean it's always been a straightforward process, of course. "In my first four months after graduation I struggled with the typical ‘No one knows me and my work, so no one is hiring me' situation, and had to work in a restaurant to pay my bills," Kolodziey says. "However, after reaching out to people, projects and residencies, the first collaborations developed. I used every free minute to build up my profile, and have been able to live by working 100 per cent freelance since then. I've learned that the more energy and work I put in, the more I get back from people who appreciate young, newly emerging artists and creatives." 11. Embrace the fear It's natural to find it all intimidating and overwhelming at times. But as Kolodziey says, "There's a potential in being scared and insecure: it means there's space for you to grow. The scariest challenges have been the ones I've learned and grown the most from. It takes courage to conquer those insecurities, but once you walk outside of your comfort zone, it will pay you back big time." Above all, create things, make things and never stop being active. "Spend time on your portfolio to ensure that it not only shows your best projects, but also captures your personality and makes you stand out," says Baltusyte. "Start looking for opportunities to collaborate with other designers, animators, makers and creatives. Reach out to your favourite agencies, attend design events, go to talks, meet new people… just keep trying!" This article was originally published in Computer Arts, the world's best-selling design magazine. Buy issue 294 or subscribe. Read more: 5 design student stereotypes to avoid Portfolio tips that junior designers need to know The biggest mistakes that junior designers make View the full article

There's nothing like a good internet meme to get people raging. And while a lot of the latest memes involve the latest developments in politics, if the last few days have taught us anything, it's that there's always room for some anger about an angle. The latest graphic design meme to do the rounds on Twitter and Reddit is a pencil drawing of an 89° angle, with the text 'Hey perfectionists. This is an 89° angle. Have a good day!' The post hasn't quite made it to our list of realistic pencil drawings, but give it time. Not surprisingly, given the highly distressing nature of the post, it all kicked off pretty quickly. When Tobias Van Schneider posted the meme on Twitter, he said: "I can barely look at this". Others were similarly affected: While others took a more technical angle: Over on Reddit, users were infuriated by the post itself, with user RoeHogan saying: "The amount of times this has been posted is mildly infuriating." While there was some good old-fashioned debate of (ahem) varying degrees of pedantry: Nooneisanonymous said: "Looks more like 95 degrees to me. I thought we measured from right to left. Even if it measured from left to right it looks more like 85 degrees." While Haribo112 replied: "No it is 89. The straight bit and the curve indicate it is to be measured from left to right. The reason it looks more like 85 to you I because of the height. A 1 degree change at the base of the angle will lead to a very noticeable deviation at the top." More angles, are, of course, developing all the time. Read more: How to avoid the MacBook Pro flight ban Is the sleek new White Sox logo sexier than intended? The designer's guide to the Golden Ratio View the full article

Mozilla's newest Firefox iteration also offers new fixes for critical and high-severity vulnerabilities. View the full article

As the number vulnerabilities hit a historic high, battle-worn security teams are upping their patching game. View the full article

An ongoing attack on websites has added new exploits and an administrative backdoor to its bag of tricks. View the full article

It may be a few years away still, but eager football fans will be thrilled this evening as the World Cup 2022 logo is set to be revealed for the very first time. Responsible for organising the next World Cup, Qatar's Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy has organised an international digital campaign unlike any other, which will see the big logo reveal shown on the most prominent giant digital screens in more than 20 locations across the globe, at exactly the same time. The World Cup takes place on 21 November to 18 December 2022, making it the first to be held in winter. It's also the first time in history Qatar will host the event, so we're really keen to see if or how the new logo design might reflect the venue and change of season. The World Cup bid brand identity and applications, created by Creative Action, featured a vibrant mosaic design, and we're wondering if that's maybe a path the official emblem will follow. But with no news on the design agency behind the logo or any details on the design itself, what the final artwork will consist of is anyone's guess. Here's hoping it will be worthy of a spot in our round-up of the best sports logos of all time. Creative Action's World Cup bid brand identity featured a vibrant mosaic design The reveal will take place across the world tonight at 20:22 (Arabia Standard Time), which is 18:22/13:22 for those of you in BST/EST time zones. As well as being displayed on the facades of buildings and landmarks in the Qatari capital Doha, the new logo will also feature on selected giant screens in countries including the US, Argentina, England, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Turkey, India, South Korea and South Africa. But don't worry about searching for your nearest big screen, just bookmark this page and we'll update it as soon as the new logo makes an appearance. Read more: 10 iconic logos with hidden meanings Can you spot the hidden symbol in this airline logo? Bond 25: Spy returns with a killer typographic logo View the full article

An increasing number of airlines worldwide are banning passengers from travelling with a MacBook Pro, following fears about fire risks. Given that it's one of the best laptops for graphic design right now, this is going to pose a problem for many jet-setting creatives. In this article, we explain everything you should know about the MacBook Pro flight ban, including how to know whether or not you will be affected, and how to travel safely with your Apple laptop in tow. First up, how did the ban come about? In June 2019, Apple spotted a potential fault in the batteries of certain MacBook Pros that could cause them to overheat, posing a safety risk. It asked owners of certain 15-inch MacBook Pros sold between September 2015 and February 2017 to return their machines for a battery replacement. The recall understandably caused concerns about those travelling with the affected models on flights – no one wants a fire on a plane, after all. The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) alerted US airlines of the potential risks, and many airlines responded by banning affected MacBooks. To avoid having to individually check different MacBook Pro models, some airlines opted for a blanket ban approach – not ideal. So if you need to take a MacBook Pro on a plane, what do you need to know? How do I check if my laptop is affected? The first step is to check if your laptop is one of those with a potential battery fault. To find this out, click the Apple icon on your homescreen, then select 'About this Mac'. If your model is MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015), then copy out the serial number and enter it into Apple's official recall list to see if your machine is amongst those affected. If it is, Apple requests you stop using the machine immediately. You should return the laptop to your nearest Apple Store or authorised service provider for a free battery replacement. This is probably a good idea even if you're not jetting off anywhere anytime soon. Can I travel with my MacBook Pro if it's not affected? If your MacBook Pro isn't one of those at risk of fault, or if you've had the battery replaced, theoretically you should be absolutely fine to travel with it. However, you might still find it a problem. Asking airport staff to check every MacBook Pro that passes through the airport is time-consuming and prone to human error, some airlines are taking a blanket ban approach, and not allowing any MacBook Pros (or MacBooks in general) on flights at all. Read on for a list of the airline policies we know about at the moment, but be aware that rules differ between different companies – some allow them in hand luggage only, others require them to be switched off for travel, others are banning them completely. Also, more airlines are getting involved all the time. In general, we'd recommend not travelling with your MacBook Pro unless you absolutely need to. If you do need to bring it with you, call your airline ahead of your travel date to find out their policy and advice on the MacBook Pro flight ban. If official guidance says you can bring it, make sure it's packed in hand luggage rather than your hold bag. Been put off getting a MacBook? Here's our guide to the best MacBook Pro alternatives for designers. Which airlines are banning MacBook Pros? So which airlines are banning passengers from travelling with their MacBook Pros? Here's a list of the airlines we know of, at time of writing: All major US airlines TUI Group Airlines Thomas Cook Airlines Air Italy Air Transat Virgin Australia (banned from hold luggage only, all MacBooks included) Qantas Airlines (banned from hold luggage only) Singapore Airlines (SIA) Thai Airways All flights within Vietnam and India While US airlines have gone for an outright ban following advice from the FAA, in Europe, the ban is a little less strict. The EASA has issued a safety bulletin that requests that passengers travelling with MacBook Pros be required to keep the devices switched off and not charged during the flight. This approach is also being taken by Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways. Our sister site TechRadar also has a guide to the airlines affected. Read more: How to actually get work done on public transport The best computer for graphic design in 2019 5 podcasts every freelancer should listen to View the full article

Being a modern designer means that there's an awful lot of technical stuff you need to hold in your head at any time. Whether you're working in Photoshop CC, designing for the web or creating apps, if you want to work well and efficiently then there's all manner of rules, guidelines and jargon to keep in mind, as well as speed-enhancing shortcuts for all the software you'll use along the way. It never hurts to have some helpful aides-memoire to hand; that's why we've put together this selection of cheat sheets that'll help you learn the things you need to know, jog your memory when you're up against it and refine your workflow. Most of them are downloadable, but some are online cheat sheets to bookmark. Whatever your design discipline, there's something for you to get your teeth into here. The ultimate Adobe CC keyboard shortcuts cheat sheet 01. Interactive typography cheat sheet Do you know your bowls from your loops? Typography's a design discipline with a lot of very specific jargon attached to it, and if you're serious about type then you need to be familiar with it. And here's a great way to learn all the weird names for different bits of letterforms. Based on an original design by Martin Silvertant, this interactive typography cheat sheet enables you to click on the highlighted areas to bring up the correct terminology, so you'll never confuse a shoulder with a terminal again. 02. Manual photography cheat sheet Don't fear your camera's manual settings! Having a good quality DSLR can instantly improve your photography, but if you want to take things further then you need to get out of the automatic modes and tackle those scary manual modes. Apertures, shutter speeds, ISO and exposure can feel a little daunting, but this manual photography cheat sheet from the London School of Photography explains them all, as well as providing some essential general tips for better photos. 03. HTML cheat sheet All the HTML elements you need to know about HTML is the backbone of web design, and while it was pretty easy to pick up in 1991 when it was invented by Tim Berners-Lee, it's come a long way since then and there's a lot more to learn. If you're still getting to grips with modern HTML5 elements, this HTML cheat sheet is a must to keep bookmarked; it features a full list of all HTML elements, with descriptions, code examples and live previews. 04. AR design cheat sheet Get AR right with this useful guide Augmented reality is an exciting new frontier of digital design, and easy to do badly if you go into it without a clear idea of what you want to achieve. If you fancy dipping a toe into the AR world, this AR design cheat sheet from Wiarframe will help you cut through the jargon and get things straight. Be sure to look at this accompanying blog post, too, which doesn't look as good but goes into more detail. 05. Mobile app design – a cheat sheet How to create mobile apps that aren't full of fail If you're building a mobile app there are plenty of things that you need to consider if you want to make a good impression. To make sure you're ticking all the boxes, keep this mobile app design cheat sheet by Maxim Grozny to hand. It'll take you through the four main stages of designing a mobile app – UX research, mockups, visual concept and interface design – to help you create something that people will want to use. 06. Google Material Design – a cheat sheet for professionals Polish your Material Design skills Google's Material Design, first announced five years ago, is a mobile-focused visual language that's informed the look of all Google's recent products. Inspired by paper and ink, it uses shadows and edges to create a minimal aesthetic that looks good on everything from phones to 4K displays; this Material Design cheat sheet for professionals will keep you up to speed with everything you need to know about it. 07. The iOS design guidelines Designing for iOS? This cheat sheet's for you Material Design is all well and good, but if you're designing for iOS then you need to be aware of a whole other set of visual rules. This regularly-updated page of unofficial iOS design guidelines will help any designer build apps for iOS that adhere to Apple's Human Interface Guidelines and look good too. 08. Colour combinations cheat sheet Everything you need to know about colour but were afraid to ask Colour theory is one of those areas of design that can feel a little daunting, but once you have a handle on it then you can break out of your usual set of preferred palettes and start creating with imaginative and unexpected colour schemes that hold together perfectly. And this colour combinations cheat sheet will set you well on the way to improving your colour confidence. 09. Photoshop shortcuts cheat sheet Speed through those Photoshop tasks with these shortcuts Photoshop CC is an essential design tool, but it can be a complex and time-consuming app to learn, especially if you need to use its more advanced features. If you want to speed things up, knowing the keyboard shortcuts rather than relying on menus and toolboxes is a must; that's why we've put together this fantastic Photoshop shortcuts cheat sheet detailing 69 of the most useful ways to turbo-charge your design process. 10. Illustrator cheat sheet Here's a helpful guide to Illustrator's ways Another essential but complex design must-have is Adobe Illustrator. While it's relatively easy to come to Photoshop cold and pick up the basics, Illustrator's vector ways can be a lot more challenging to master, so head over to Creative Market and grab its free Illustrator cheat sheet, which will guide you around the Illustrator workspace and explain its most useful tools and features. 11. InDesign keyboard shortcuts InDesign shortcuts? Here you go! While we're on an Adobe tip, let's move on to InDesign, which in many ways is the most complex Adobe app that designers are likely to have to deal with. Creating and preparing pages for print can be a demanding job, especially when you're up against an immutable print deadline, and knowing those keyboard shortcuts can help speed the process. So make sure you have this comprehensive guide to Indesign keyboard shortcuts from Adobe standing by. 12. Complete CSS3 cheat sheet 29 pages of everything CSS3 CSS is just as essential to web design as HTML, and just like HTML it's been developing for a long time, with loads of terminology that you need understand. This complete CSS3 cheat sheet by Nick Schäferhoff is one you'll want to keep handy; over 29 pages it covers all the CSS elements that you need to know about, including all the new CSS3 tags and divs. Related articles: 62 Photoshop shortcuts you need to know How to get a design job: 7 expert tips 12 Mac shortcuts every designer should know View the full article

Facebook is considering a test that would hide Likes and reactions on its platform. This follows Facebook-owned Instagram's Like-removal trials in seven countries earlier this year. In the trials, users are able to see who has liked their own photos and videos, but they can't see a Like/reaction count on other people's posts. App researcher Jane Manchun Wong began speculating that Facebook is considering hiding Likes when she found code within the Facebook Android app. In a blog post she said these moves suggested that Facebook/Instagram "have confidence the pros of hiding like counts outweigh the cons". We'll assume the pros are improved wellbeing of its users (and Facebook looking like it's doing something about this), and the cons being a drop in users. In the meantime, if you're still all about the Likes, you can see how to change the font in your Instagram bio. Following Wong's tweet (above), Facebook then confirmed to Tech Crunch that it was considering the testing removal of Like counts. Wong suggests that hiding Like/reaction counts could make users feel less anxious about how popular they perceive their content to be. Facebook isn't the only social media platform changing the way it displays information. YouTube is also addressing wellbeing concerns by ceasing to display exact subscriber numbers for accounts with over 1,000 followers – for example by displaying 1.23K subscribers rather than 1,234. It remains to be seen when and where these tests might commence, and how any changes could affect how social media is used. If no one can see a post's Likes apart from the post's creator, will anyone bother giving it the thumbs up? Read more: 8 best social media platforms for artists and designers Social media for artists: a lifeline or a curse? 5 ways (not) to lose followers on social media View the full article

Trivial-to-exploit authentication flaws can give an unsophisticated remote attacker 'omnipotent' control over a server and its contents. View the full article

Welcome to your ultimate guide to favicon design. In this article, we'll run through exactly how to create a perfect favicon, with specific tips for creating a favicon for Apple Touch, Windows 8, Android, Chrome, Opera and Safari – including a handy guide to the different favicon sizes and formats you need to know.You can use the boxout opposite to jump to the section you want. So first up, what is a favicon? Short for favorite icon, favicons are small symbols that appear in the URL bar and bookmarks list. Today, favicons extend the brand of a website beyond the browser canvas in many more different contexts, but we'll get on to that later. Looking for a different kind of icon? See our guide to the best free icon sets In the old days of the early web, creating a favicon involved linking a 16x16px icon file and that was that. Nowadays, it's a little more complicated – there are different favicon sizes and processes for different contexts. Creating a proper favicon is a science. In this article will show you exactly how to design a favicon. We'll start with some top tips for what your favicon should look like (for more inspiration, explore our roundup of the best iPhone app icons), then move on to specific advice on how to create a favicon for different contexts. We'll be using the template available on Apply Pixels to easily generate the different favicon sizes required, and the favicon from Apply Pixels as an example. 01. Make it recognisable The first thing to consider when designing a favicon is what needs to be represented in the canvas. Remember that your favicon is only displayed to the user when they are already on your website or have bookmarked it. So there's no need to try and attract the user with your favicon. 02. Use your logo Consider favicons as sober signposts that aid users in recognising your website when browsing their bookmarks lists and homescreens. Therefore, you want to use your logo, or whichever symbol most easily let's the user recognise your website. If you don't have a logomark that fits the quadratic canvas, use the most recognisable part of your logo. 03. Keep it clear There are also a few things you should avoid. Don't use the favicon as a marketing tool - that means no price tags, 'new' or 'updated' banners and so on. In fact, you don't want to put text inside the favicon at all. Text doesn't scale well, and the chances are it's going to be illegible anyway. Finally, don't use a photo – it will be muddy and unrecognisable at the size it's going to appear at. 04. Create two versions Different backgrounds work well for different contexts When favicons were first introduced in Internet Explorer 5, they appeared in the URL bar and in the bookmarks list. Today, favicons are displayed in a lot of other contexts, including bookmarks lists, shortcut menus and even mobile and TV homescreens. This makes it hard to predict how your favicon will be displayed to the end user. To ensure your favicon looks good in the many different contexts it's going to appear in, ideally you should provide two favicon styles: Logo on transparent background This version is shown in the URL bar, bookmarks lists and other places where the favicon appears next to your website URL or name. Logo on solid fill This version is used in grid-like bookmarks and shortcut menus where the browser or device masks the background, to achieve a uniform look in context. As mentioned before, different contexts require different sized favicons. Below you can see a quick guide to the different formats and dimensions you'll need to supply to cover all of the main use cases. Previously favicons had to be provided in the ICO format. Today it's okay to provide the files in PNG format (except for the Safari Pinned Tab icon which should be provided as SVG). If you want an easy way to design and export all favicon sizes, take a look at the favicon template over at Apply Pixels. Click the table to enlarge it Now let's take a closer look at the specific requirements of different use cases. How to create a desktop browser favicon Let's start with the most straightforward favicon you'll need to create: a classic favicon for the classic desktop browsers. This type of favicon works best on transparent backgrounds, as it will often appear in the URL bar and in bookmarks lists. Classic style favicons displayed in the bookmarks bar and URL bar in Google Chrome You'll need to provide this type of favicon in three sizes, all in PNG format with a transparent background. 16x16 32x32 48x48 How to create Apple Touch favicons Apple's iOS uses Apple Touch Icons to represent websites that have been saved to the iOS home screen as bookmarks. This means that the Apple Touch Icon will be rounded to the squircle mask of iOS app icons. It'll also be displayed against whichever background the user has chosen for their homescreen. With this in mind, your Apple Touch Icon should have a solid fill background style. This favicon will be displayed against the user's homescreen background Apple favicons should be supplied in a PNG format. You can get away with providing a 180x180 Apple Touch Icon that will automatically scale for the various iPhone and iPad sizes. This will work fine in most cases. If not, you can provide additional sizes for the different Apple devices: 60x60 76x76 120x120 152x152 180x180 How to design Windows 8 Tiles Although Windows 8 is no longer supported by Microsoft, there are still a lot of users with tablets running this OS. Depending on your user base, you might want to create a favicon for this platform as well. The 558x270 Windows Tile is the only favicon that is not quadratic Windows 8 uses Tiles to represent websites in the UI. There are five sizes to support in total, one size for Windows 8.0 and four sizes for Windows 8.1. The Windows 8 Tiles are made up of two components: Foreground: Your favicon image with a transparent background Background: The tile background generated by Windows 8 All Windows tiles should be in PNG format with a transparent background. These are the sizes you need to use. For Windows 8: 144x144 And for Windows 8.1: 128x128 270x270 558x270 558x558 The background color is specified in the tags and the browserconfiguration.xml that you need to provide: Note that the specified favicon dimensions in the browserconfiguration.xml do not match the sizes specified above. That's because, for scaling purposes, Microsoft recommends providing images that are larger than the standard tile dimensions. How to create a favicon for Android, Chrome and Opera Android, Chrome and Opera use the android-chrome-192x192.png and android-chrome-512x512.png that Google recommends. Since the introduction of adaptive icons in Android, websites added to the Android homescreen will mask the 192x192 design, so the icon takes shape after the user's preferred masking style. This might be a squircle, ellipsis, rectangle, rounded rectangle or teardrop shape. The favicons here will be masked into different shapes, according to user preference You need to create a PNG favicon with solid background, at 192x192 and 512x512. Implement these favicons by adding a manifest.json file to your site and linking to it within the tags: Here is the code for the manifest.json file: How to create a favicon for Safari's pinned tab This is the odd one out, and it is the only favicon that needs to be provided in vector format as an SVG file. It displays as the thumbnail icon when a user pins a tab to the Safari browser window. Unlike all other favicons, this icon is generated from an SVG image This favicon needs to be a 100% black SVG file with a transparent background. The SVG can only be one layer, and safari requires the viewBox attribute of the SVG to be set to "0 0 16 16". What about Google TV, Chrome Web Store and pre-iOS 7 Apple Touch Icons? There are some favicon dimensions and formats that were not included in this article, either because they are practically deprecated or because they are rarely relevant for the average web developer. In general, developers and designers should strive to support as broad a variety of devices and operating systems as possible, but sometimes it just does not make sense. For example: Google TV was replaced by Android TV in 2014, and the SDK was discontinued, Chrome Web Store is probably only relevant if you're building a Chrome app, extension or theme, and the percentage of iOS devices not running iOS 7 or later is now less than ~1 %. If you want an easy way to design and export all favicon sizes, take a look at the favicon template over at Apply Pixels. Read more: Mobile app design: A beginner's guide How to design app icons The best monitors for programming 2019 View the full article

Ethical hacking is becoming a growth industry. The information security sector is booming, expected to grow at 10.2 per cent annually through to 2023, according to a report from Markets and Markets. This has prompted a demand for white hat hackers and other security professionals. A study by the Herjavec Group predicts that 3.5 million cybersecurity-related jobs will open up through to 2021. The high demand and growing cost of attacks have resulted in some impressive salaries. PayScale puts the average annual salary for a computer security specialist at around $72,000, while the Infosec Institute estimates somewhere around $71,331 for a certified ethical hacker. IT security workers also seem resilient to economic downturn. If survey responses from (ISC)2 are any indication of the future, ethical hackers can be relatively confident that they will keep their jobs whenever the next recession hits. This means that learning more about ethical hacking rather than just focusing on other aspects of web design, such as building the best website layout, could help you futureproof yourself. Cybersecurity is essential for any business that stores data or operates in an online capacity, which means that many opportunities exist for ethical hackers. The obvious careers are those at internet giants such as Facebook, Google or Amazon. Banks and other companies in the financial sector also require high levels of security. The best code editors Many major companies have their own cybersecurity workforce but there are also infosec specialists like Cisco and FireEye, as well as roles in the military. Information security professionals can find jobs in a wide range of industries and in just about any major city in the world. But a career as an ethical hacker isn't only about the financial benefits. As our society has moved online and with the success of shows like Mr Robot, the image of the hacker has crept out of the dimly lit basement and become a respected and intriguing figure. With all of these advantages in mind, working as an ethical hacker can be a pretty sweet deal. But what's the best way to become one? What types of ethical hacking are there? Ethical hacking is a broad field made up of numerous subdisciplines. Each of these have their own skill sets and requirements. Some of the major types include: Penetration testing – This involves being granted permission by an organisation to hack into their systems in an attempt to find security holes. Digital forensics – The digital branch of forensic science can include things like intrusion investigation and assisting law enforcement. Social engineering – A significant part of breaching systems is all about tricking people instead of getting past technology. This particular field of expertise is known as social engineering. Vulnerability research – This job involves finding the latest vulnerabilities and threats, as well as coming up with ways to effectively manage them. Join us at Generate CSS our CSS-focused conference for web designers and developers. Find out more at www.generateconf.com . Use special offer code WEBDESIGNER2 for a 10% discount on tickets! What skills do you need for ethical hacking? This really depends on the answer to the last question. If you want to be a penetration tester, then you will need to be an expert in at least one programming language but the more the better. You will need to understand how systems interrelate, key networking principles and design, the security models of Unix and Windows, as well as a host of other knowledge. If you would prefer to stick with social engineering, you could get by with charisma and a smile. Despite this, it's still an idea to have at least a decent technical background, especially if you want to be able to understand colleagues and progress further in the field. The particular skills needed for your career depend on where you see yourself heading. Some people will have a solid plan and stick to it, while others may choose to go with the flow, look for opportunities in their surroundings and pick up whatever skills they can. This approach can lead them to areas of ethical hacking that they never would have thought of. Do you need a degree for ethical hacking? A degree can be a good way to enter the industry but it's not strictly necessary. Of course, this comes back to what kind of ethical hacking role you want. Some governments can be more strict about degree requirements, as can some companies. But many well-regarded businesses in the industry don't put as much emphasis on degrees – they care more about a person's skill set and their attitude. In the eyes of many employers, someone who is excellent at their job is miles above a mediocre candidate with a piece of paper. Saying that, degrees can be beneficial for career advancement and moving into managerial roles. Prospective ethical hackers have several paths to choose from. They can get a general computer science or computer engineering degree, then perhaps join the workforce for a few years. After a while, they may choose to get a master's degree in cybersecurity, ideally with their company paying for their studies. Alternatively, some may want to get into cybersecurity right out of the gate. There are a lot of great cybersecurity programmes throughout the world and the best one for you will depend on your location and career goals. If you do opt for university, don't get complacent with your degree. If you want to excel in the field, combine it with personal study, such as learning new programming languages, keeping up with industry news and even browsing hacker forums. Keeping up to date is important for handling the latest threats and technological changes. Is ethical hacking certification available? Thankfully, many of the necessary skills can be found in other ways and as long as you have them, you should still be able to find a job. In the most unstructured sense, you can learn a lot of what you need from forums and watching YouTube videos. Although this isn't the fastest way to learn, it has been a trusted path for many teenage hackers. A more structured approach involves online courses and certifications, which are often more respected in cybersecurity than in other industries. There is a variety of free and relatively cheap courses that offer great ways to get started. If you want certifications valued by the industry, look at getting one of the following qualifications: CNSS 4011 CISM CISSP CREST SEC+ CySA+ CCNA Security CCNA Cyber Ops Cybersecurity is a wide and rapidly moving industry. Making a career out of it involves knowing what you want to specialise in and working hard to become an expert in that particular role. As long as you keep up with the latest threat developments, you could be setting yourself up for a comfortable and engaging career. This article was originally published in issue 321 of net, the world's best-selling magazine for web designers and developers. Buy issue 321 here or subscribe here. Related articles: How to set up a local development environment 6 ways to get into creative coding How to code faster, lighter JavaScript View the full article

Don’t know what TikTok app is? If you work in the creative industries, you need to get up to speed fast, right now. Why? Well... Remember that time when nobody under 25 was talking about Facebook any more, and the buzz seemed to be around this new thing… Instablam, or Instafam or something? Well, that’s exactly what’s happening now in the world of social video. (If you're after some Insta tips, see our post on how to change the font in your Instagram bio.) The most downloaded app in the US in 2018, and now available in over 150 countries and 75 languages, the TikTok app reached the one billion downloads mark in February, and that number continues to climb. It is, in short, the latest cultural revolution to hit social media. And as with all previous revolutions, its popularity is hugely skewed towards the young, while many older people haven’t even heard of it. It didn't make it to our list of best social media platforms for creatives, for example. Tet. So what exactly is TikTok, and why should creative professionals care? Read on as we explain everything you need to know. 01. It lets you make short videos Fundamentally, TikTok is a social platform for making, sharing and watching short videos using your Android phone or iPhone (see our posts on Android apps and iPhone apps for our top apps for creatives). These may be anywhere between three and 60 seconds long, although most typically run to around 15 seconds. In this way, it’s similar to the now-defunct Twitter app Vine. But there are a number of important differences. First, TikTok is a standalone app, not an adjunct to an already-existing platform. Second, and uniquely in the social media space, it’s not a product of American, Silicon Valley culture, but comes from China (where, for complex legal reasons, it’s available as a separate, but identical app called Douyin). Thirdly, the TikTok app has a set of unique features. These include the ability to use preloaded tracks from a wide variety of music genres in your videos, special effects like slow/fast motion, stickers and filters, and the ‘React’ feature, which lets you film your reactions to a specific video (which itself appears in a small, movable window). 02. The videos are fun and silly In terms of functionality, TikTok doesn’t offer much you can’t find in other apps. What really makes it so important is how it’s actually being used, by hundreds of millions around the world. The first thing you notice about videos on TikTok is that they’re lively, silly, fun, OTT, and often just plain weird. They’re the perfect antidote, then, to the kind of po-faced projections of 'perfect lives' that have quickly become a cliché on Instagram. In contrast, TikTok app videos are mostly joyously amateurish, and unthinkingly honest. There’s a real sense of kids 'being themselves' that you don’t get on other platforms. (Note: Ironically, because Creative Bloq isn't yet set up to embed TikTok videos, we've featured YouTube compilations in this post, which naturally focus on the higher quality clips. But you'll still get the broad idea...) 03. It’s mostly lip-synching, dancing and challenges So what do people do in TikTok videos? Well, for one thing there’s a lot of lip syncing and dancing to pop songs. A LOT. As you’d expect from kids messing about, most of this is laughably shambolic compared to the heavily edited and polished production values of today’s YouTube stars. But that’s kind of the point. Most of the people uploading videos to TikTok don’t want to be celebrities, they just want to have fun, and that fun can be incredibly infectious. Plus the use of preloaded tracks means that you can enjoy the song in high fidelity, even if the video itself is a bit rubbish. (See our best video editing software if you're interested in creating high-quality videos.) One of the main planks of TikTok culture is responding to challenges, such as the stair step challenge, where participants dance up a set of stairs in elaborate ways. Some of these are set by TikTok itself, some by brands, musicians and media celebrities, and some just naturally generated by the community itself. Pets doing daft things is another popular theme on TikTok, as are cosplay, stunts, lip synching to comedy routines, and playing out famous TV/film scenes. Whatever the subject, though, the videos here range from highly professional, to cute and adorable, to annoying and cringe-inducing. All (young) human life is here, basically. 04. The social aspect isn’t the main deal While Instagram, Twitter and Facebook are all about getting likes, follows and friends, TikTok's app is still largely about the actual content. You do follow people, and some of the most popular accounts have eye-popping numbers of followers. (The record is currently held by singer Loren Gray, who has 33.1 million at time of writing). But it’s not really about that. Most creators simply want to be on TikTok to make funny clips to share with friends, and the wider world, in that order. And others are just there to watch (as on YouTube, you don’t have to upload anything in order to enjoy people’s clips). Best of all, when it comes to the comments section, TikTok seems to have avoided – for the moment – the kind of nastiness that’s tainted so many other forms of social media. TikTok is primarily powered by how much users like your videos: nothing more, nothing less. That doesn’t mean TikTok is without its problems. Like every other service popular with young people, it’s been accused of attracting cyberbullies and sexual predators, encouraging obscenity, and mishandling private data, an issue that’s been magnified in the wake of the Huawei controversy and general paranoia about China. More generally, TikTok users should not be generalised as the 'voice of youth' today. Look on other social channels and you'll find lot of other youngsters being very scathing about its clips and the kind of people who make it. Although how much of that is just general class prejudice, or sheer jealousy, is a matter for debate. But aside from all that, TikTok is a place where popularity is not (yet) powered by personal connections, friend circles, clever SEO tricks, Russian bots, marketing money or mainstream celebrities. It’s primarily powered by how much users like your videos: nothing more, nothing less. 05. It’s influencing wider culture If you haven't downloaded the TikTok app, then why should you care about it? Because the wider culture is becoming heavily immersed influenced by it, in ways you may not even be aware of. Take music. One of the biggest tracks of the year globally has been Lil Nas X’s Old Town Road. But while it’s been near impossible to avoid the song, what may have escaped you is how it became so huge. Not, as you might expect, through radio play. Not through steaming music platforms like Spotify. Not even via Twitter, Instagram or Snapchat. No, this track first became titanic on TikTok, when a meme took off via the #yeehaw hashtag, which prompts youngsters to drink 'Yee Yee Juice' and change into cowboy/cowgirl clothes just in time for the song's drop. This was by no means a one-off, either. Many other songs, old and new, have blown up internationally via TikTok memes too, including Flamingo by Kero Kero Bonito, Pretty Boy Swag by Soulja Boy, Sicko Mode by Travis Scott" and Fake ID by Riton and Kah-Lo. And it’s not just musicians who are using the platform to attract attention. TikTok has been used by everyone from Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon, who asked users to roll around on the floor like a tumbleweed, to Google, who got people creating entertaining videos that utilise their Google Assistant. In short, when it comes to promotion on social media, brands have an enticing new alternative to using influencers, with their demands for money, gifts and free holidays in return. In contrast, if teens on TikTok like your idea, then masses of them will put time and effort into making videos that promote it, for free, and purely for their own amusement. So far, it seems, there’s no resistance among TikTok video creators to helping even the biggest companies in this way. Which means for creatives, it’s really a matter of coming up with neat and fun ideas to inspire youngsters, and achieve cut-through. No one’s saying it’s easy, but if you work for a full-service creative studio, expect your clients to soon be demanding it, if they aren’t already. Best of luck! Read more: How to nail your social media strategy The evolution of social media logos (and what you can learn from them) The best video editing apps in 2019 View the full article

You're reading These 7 Multipurpose WordPress Themes Are the Best 2019 has to Offer, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook! There’s a reason so many people choose to go with a multipurpose WordPress theme. The best ones excel in flexibility, the number and variety of features offered, and the ability to create almost any website type you can imagine. You … View the full article

Today Wacom announced an update to one of its flagship products, the MobileStudio Pro 16. A firm favourite among creative professionals, Wacom's creative pen computer is now armed with even more power and features to help maintain its position as one of the best graphics tablets (a lot) of money can buy. Under the hood of this high-end mobile device you'll find an Intel Core i7 Quad core processor and NVIDIA Quadro graphics card (a P1000 4GB GDDR5 if you want specifics), the combination of which promising to provide all the power needed to run even the heaviest creative software applications. The update also sees Thunderbolt 3 connectivity thrown in to the mix, it's 40Gbps speed making it up to eight times faster than USB 3.0 and providing the ability to run two 4K displays hassle-free. Add to that the convenience a Thunderbolt connection offers (to virtually any display and with a variety of protocols) and a new ‘Backdoor’ feature which makes it easy to upgrade the SSD and DDR memory whenever you need to and you've got an impressive revamp. The update will come as welcome news to any creative thinking of adding this powerful kit to their arsenal. However at over £3000 per unit, the MobileStudio Pro 16 is is far from cheap. But for professionals thinking of making a purchase, there's never been a better time to invest. The revamped MobileStudio Pro 16 will be available to purchase this month, with an updated MobileStudio Pro 13 set to follow later this year. For more information and full specs on today's new offering, head over to the Wacom website. In the meantime, you'll find the best prices on both models currently available below. View the full article

You're reading Bootstrap Buttons Guide, Examples, and Tutorials, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook! Buttons are baseline components of every interface. When it comes to Bootstrap, the simplest details matter. Therefore, Bootstrap buttons are not just rectangle-shaped elements; they are professional tools with predefined styles. Read about Bootstrap grid, Bootstrap navbar, and Bootstrap modal. Meeting the … View the full article

Everyone loves a good pair of Chucks, right? Nobody wants to be seen in a pair of generic basketball shoes. And the latest All Star designs will leave no-one in any doubt that you're adorning your feet in a pair of genuine Converses, because they're decorated with an absolutely massive brand name. As reported by Sneaker News, the latest addition to the massive Converse range is a set of stunning hi-tops that don't just feature the iconic Converse logo design, but also have the Converse name embroidered across both boots in an enormous script font, reminiscent of the Coca-Cola logo. The left boot has 'Conv' written along the side, while the right boot has 'verse' on it. 28 great free script fonts A big brand name is a hot look right now So if you stand with your heels together and feet spread out, people standing behind you will be able to read 'Converse' across your new Chucks. Or actually, now we look a the designs more closely, it'll be more likely something like 'Conwerse'; the cut-off on the 'v' seems a little too generous for its own good. Despite that little typographic niggle, this is a strong look for Converse. Supersized brand names seem to be a hot trend at the moment – see the recent Boots and Grolsch redesigns for great examples of going over-large with the brand name – and this is right on the money. And there's more to these distinctive daps than their immense branding. They come in a choice of fantastic-looking single-colour designs: white, red or black (with contrasting text colour), and are made from a more durable canvas blend than your standard Chuck. See? Told you. 'Conwerse' Sneaker News also reports that the insole is equipped with Nike's React cushioning, which you won't find in standard All Stars, only in Converse's new All Star Pro BB range. These glorious new Converses are expected to go on sale at the end of the month; the only downside is that so far they seem to be destined for the Japanese market only. Of course, it could be that Converse simply hasn't got around to announcing them for the rest of the world yet. We'll be watching for further updates from Converse with suitably bated breath. Related articles: Nike brings back old Swoosh logos Design a killer logo in Illustrator 5 brands that hit nostalgia hard View the full article

Implementing game mechanics and competition into the mix can incentivize employees to improve their cybersecurity posture. View the full article

American baseball team Chicago White Sox have had a huge range of logos in the past – the team's featured 10 primary logos, 20 headwear marks and a whopping 77 lettering variations adorning its jerseys. Despite this logo overload, the name of the team, 'White Sox' hadn't been used on the team's jerseys since 1990. Now, design agency Contino, has rectified this by creating a sleek new 'White Sox' logo for the team's home jersey. The new wordmark draws on elements from the previous 'White Sox' logos as well as elements of the 'Chicago' script also in use in the team's visual identity (see our free script fonts for more cursive fonts). That script font is a custom typeface called South Side Script, and has one feature that may be slightly contentious (more on that later). The White Sox logos of 1947 (left), 1987-1990 (middle) and 2019 (right) Contino says the new logo "features minor bumps and hiccups along the contours of the letters as a nod to the imperfections of baseball’s rich aesthetic history while still creating a unique mark with its own distinguished personality." We like the reframing of "a mess of different identities" to "rich aesthetic history". We also see what Contino means about the bumpiness of some of the forms, such as the 'W' and the 'e', but overall think the wordmark pulls off looking incredibly smooth. It also looks extra cool in-situ on the jerseys (below). So far, so good. For more on creating great logos, see our guide to logo design. The new logo in-situ There's only only thing that jumps out at us, though. At first glance, we saw 'White Sex'. We fully admit that this may be a product of our dirty minds, and of course, when we looked again, it seems obvious that it doesn't. There's also another 'e' to make it absolutely clear that the 'o' is in fact, an 'o'. But we still can't unsee it. Is this what Contino meant by a hiccup, we wonder? Read more: 45 free retro fonts Mock Cleveland Indian logos highlight racial double standards The 10 greatest sports logos of all time View the full article

Time is precious for creatives, and so finding ways to work smarter is essential. If you're one of the many users signed up to Adobe Creative Cloud, you'll know mastering its apps can be hugely time consuming, which is why you've almost certainly mastered some keyboard shortcuts by now. However, do you always remember the right one to use? Maybe there's few you've yet to discover? In this super-helpful Adobe CC cheat sheet from the team over at Shutterstock, you'll find the most popular keyboard shortcuts for Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign, all in one place. The handy printable chart can be downloaded as a PDF, with the three app's shortcuts colour-coded (using signature shades) and organised into a periodic table-style layout for maximum efficiency. And the best bit? It's totally free! So whether you're a seasoned pro at Adobe's 'big three' and just want a little refresher, or new to the creative software and in need of a helpful starting point, this download will serve you well. We also have an excellent round of Photoshop tutorials and Illustrator tutorials should you need some extra help honing your Adobe CC skills. Click image to download Read more: Adobe MAX 2019: News, rumours and predictions The 10 best alternatives to Photoshop 39 InDesign tutorials to level up your skills View the full article

So you've completed your course, and you're on the lookout for job opportunities. Or perhaps you've already got some work, but are still feeling a little unsure of yourself. Starting off in your new career can be both exciting and terrifying. There are some things you can do to make your life easier – getting your design portfolio in order for instance – or checking out our list of design jobs if you're after a new challenge. Apart from that, it's often just a case of getting stuck in and doing what you can. Getting advice from those who've been there often helps, of course. Here, we spoke to graduates who've been there to find out what mistakes other juniors have made, and what you can do to avoid them. 01. Missing a key email "One of my first clients was YouTube Official, which invited me to contribute to an art book," says Nadine Kolodziey, a visual artist and art director based in Germany who’s been working freelance since she graduated in 2013. "I thought the message was spam and deleted it. Eventually, they called and asked for my first drafts. I was in shock, but super-happy." Not every potential client will call after a missed email, though, so make sure you read carefully before sending an email to the bin. 02. Not making the most of placements “On my course, we were encouraged to seek placements, but it wasn’t compulsory,” says Hattie Windle, who graduated from Leeds College of Art (now Leeds Art University) in 2017, and is now a middleweight designer at Robot Food. “I’d feel the 25 per cent of students who didn’t do one missed out. Not only does it help you secure a job, it’s also the best place to learn. I’ve learned more about design at Robot Food than I ever did at university!” If you're currently on a placement, internship or are in a new role, remember that just clocking in won’t get you far. “What you get out of it depends on how much you put into it,” says Joseph Lebus, who graduated from a design course at Shillington and is now a junior designer at Made Thought. “If you aren’t doing the work you want, or learning the skills you’re looking for, it’s up to you to make that happen.” 03. Not specialising In a diverse industry where it’s impossible to be all things to all people, it can pay to specialise, as Neil Gilchrist did after graduating with a BA in interaction design from Glasgow School of Art. “I started thinking about my university work and what I’d found interesting,” he says. “This took me in the direction of studios producing the work I wanted to do. Then it was all about curating my portfolio.” Gilchrist now works as a junior designer at DixonBaxi. 04. Giving up Don’t get disheartened when obstacles appear. “Many people turned their noses up when I mentioned I hadn’t taken the traditional route into the design world,” says Lebus. “But in the end, it gave me a stronger drive to keep pushing myself and get my voice heard. Lebus used his Instagram account to get his work out there, "and this led to me securing my first few internships,” he says. This article originally appeared in Computer Arts issue 294. Buy issue 294 or subscribe here. Read more: How to refine your design portfolio 4 portfolio tips that junior designers need to know How to become a junior designer View the full article

What makes a specific camera the best camera for wildlife photography? You may think that pretty much any camera will do the job, but in truth, wildlife photography is a particular discipline that has its own requirements, and some cameras will be much more suitable than others. So what do these requirements include? Well, wildlife photography is a fast discipline. You’ll be attempting to capture subjects that will not stay still for very long, and may flee if they realise you are near them. This means that a camera with a fast frame rate is critical. As you’ll be out and about you also want to have solid battery life, and a camera that isn’t too heavy to carry for long distances (our pick of the best camera bags around will help you with that). The ability to use telephoto lenses and shoot at range is critical, meaning you want to either pick an interchangeable lens camera with plenty of telephoto optics available, or a compact (i.e. fixed lens) camera that has a decent maximum focal range. A fast autofocus system is an absolute must, and ideally one that has plenty of AF points that cover the majority of the frame. There are plenty more factors to consider, and we’ve tried to cover a broad range of them with our list. So, without further ado, let’s take a look at the best cameras for wildlife photography that you can buy right now... Best camera for wildlife photography overall It’s built like Nikon’s pro DSLRs, but comes at a significantly lower price point. Nikon’s D500 is a dream come true for many photographers, and, for the money, it’s currently the best camera for wildlife photography. Its burst rate of 10fps is paired with a generous shot buffer that allows the camera to keep shooting and shooting, even in RAW mode, with up to 200 continuous shots possible. Its sensor is APS-C not full-frame, which does mean reduced dynamic range but provides the advantage of increasing the effective focal length of telephoto lenses – a boon for wildlife photographers. Ruggedly built and dependable, this is the workhorse wildlife shooter for all seasons. Best high-end camera for wildlife photography The Canon EOS-1D X Mark II is the current gold standard for professional photographers. It shoots and shoots with speed and accuracy, and if you don’t mind paying the premium price tag, it’ll produce superb results when photographing wildlife. It’s an absolute beast of a camera, able to keep churning out shots at 16fps with the mirror locked up, or at 14fps with autofocus enabled. Access to the Canon EF range of lenses ensures you’ll always have glass for the occasion, with some of the best telephotos in the business on its books. It’s the camera equivalent of a pneumatic drill – if you know what you’re doing, you’ll get the job done as quickly and efficiently as possible. Best budget camera for wildlife photography While Nikon’s true entry-level range is its D3000 series of cameras, we reckon the D5300 is a better buy for the wildlife photographer on a budget. This highly capable DSLR provides a generous 24.1MP of resolution and 5fps burst shooting, as well as an autofocus system that’s surprisingly sophisticated for a camera of this class. Add in access to the extensive Nikon F range of lenses and you’ve got a camera that equips you with all the tools you’ll need to get started with wildlife photography, all at a really competitive price. It’s weather-sealed too, so you need have no fear of the elements. Best point-and-shoot camera for wildlife photography The fourth iteration of Sony’s big RX10 bridge camera, the RX10 IV pairs a 1-inch sensor with a 24-600mm f/2.4-4 lens for amazing versatility and image quality. All this range would already be ideal for wildlife photography, but the fact that the camera is capable of shooting at an impressive 24fps with autofocus, to a maximum buffer of 249 frames, really seals the deal. The autofocus system is fast enough to keep up thanks to its 315 AF points, with Sony claiming focus-acquisition times as snappy as 0.03sec. All this comes at a premium price – if it’s too dear for you, consider previous models in the RX10 range, which you should be able to find at a much friendlier price. Best DSLR camera for wildlife photography All right – technically it’s an SLT camera, but Sony’s A-mount does so many things right that it’s up there with the best DSLR cameras for wildlife photography. It’s capable of shooting at up to 12fps with autofocus enabled, and it’s designed with the kind of intelligent ergonomics that make DSLRs so intuitive to use, with a generously sized handgrip and intelligently laid-out controls. Its autofocus system is sophisticated and accurate, and while the fact that it’s a few years old means it’s missing some of the latest bells and whistles, this also means the a77 II can be picked up for a bargain price. Best mirrorless camera for wildlife photography While Sony has many fantastic full-frame mirrorless cameras in its Alpha 7 range, we like the a6500 for its combination of lightweight build, super-speedy shooting and incredible autofocus coverage; a massive 425 points spread across the frame ensures that the a6500 will be able to lock onto even the most elusive of subjects. The a6500 is also incredibly lightweight, and its APS-C sensor pushes the focal length of your lenses just a little bit further, which is a boon for photographing wildlife. An incredibly feature-packed camera for its size and price point, the a6500 is a superb achievement of imaging technology. Best Nikon camera for wildlife photography You’ll find no shortage of Nikon photographers eager to tell you why they swear by the D850 – it’s basically a premium all-rounder, a solid DSLR that does pretty much everything really well, and is undoubtedly one of the best cameras for wildlife photography. With 45MP of resolution, class-leading dynamic range, a weather-sealed construction, excellent noise-reduction systems and truly outstanding image quality, especially in RAW files, the camera is just an absolute workhorse. You can connect to SnapBridge for instant image transfer from the camera to your phone, and thanks to the generous battery life, you can shoot for absolutely ages. An all-around winner. Best Canon camera for wildlife photography When Canon updated its EOS 7D camera, it didn’t just bump up the resolution, it remade the camera from the ground up to make it an absolutely superb APS-C DSLR in practically every category. It can burst shoot at up to 10fps and its lightning-fast Dual-Pixel autofocus system can keep up with everything. Add in a sophisticated metering system, a rugged body and a host of other useful functions (albeit no Wi-Fi, and an LCD that isn’t touch-sensitive), and you have a seriously competitive DSLR for capturing wildlife. Canon did an excellent job of overhauling the EOS 7D – the EOS 7D Mark II is outstanding. Read more: The best books for photographers in 2019 15 top tips to boost your photography skills The best photo apps and photo-editing software View the full article

Unless you've been living in an Amish village for the last couple of decades, you'll know that Apple products are sleek, clean, and powerfully understated. And while this means that its devices look cool and minimalist, it also means they're a blank canvas waiting to be customised. And that's just what Apple celebrates in this new video. If you're an iPhone user – and we can't blame you if you are, what with all those free iPhone apps for designers – you might listen to your device with AirPods. These wireless headphones are housed in cute little charging cases, which are made even more adorable with a bit of personalisation. Crafty AirPod owners have made them their own with charming heart decals, knitted sleeves, and even keychains. To celebrate its community's creativity, Apple in South Korea has compiled this supercut of super-sweet modifications. Cool, huh? Of course we could see some more changes on the way for the iPhone. A recently released invitation to an Apple event hints at the launch of the iPhone 11, and has got people speculating as to whether it will feature a new colourful logo. Now that's a design detail we would really love to see. To get your own Apple AirPods, see today's best deals below: Related articles: The 100 greatest Apple creations It cost 50K to digitise: 5 surprising Apple logo facts The 10 most beautiful Apple products (and the 5 ugliest) View the full article

Up to 25 percent of valid vulnerabilities found in bug bounty programs are classified as being of high or critical severity. View the full article

If you're stuck staring at a blank canvas, or faced with a brief that has a lot of room for interpretation, having the right tool to hand can help you get your creative mojo on. And if you need to generate a variety of ideas and concepts as quickly as possible, Photoshop CC's Pattern Stamp tool can be a godsend. Creating variety is where the Pattern Stamp tool excels. It generates interesting textures and colour variations from texture sheets, and also creates enough room for happy accidents to occur which can be beneficial to the early stages of the creative process. Get Adobe Creative Cloud Here we'll take you through the process of creating your own custom patterns and how to apply them to a value sketch. Based on the outcome of placing the patterns, we'll refine the sketch to a working idea, before bringing that idea to a more refined finish. Download the custom brushes for this tutorial. 01. Gather pictures Collect some pictures to form your patterns Before I start, I gather pictures to build my library of patterns. I'm using photos that I take myself or collected from friends and family. I'm building up my own reference library by storing photos on a cloud server. That way I can use my own photos, knowing there are no copyright restrictions on them. 02. Use the Pattern Stamp tool Paint your canvas with the Pattern Stamp tool The Pattern Stamp tool enables me to paint or fill my canvas with a pattern that I choose from a pattern library. Similarly to the Brush tool, I can select a brush tip to paint the pattern with. There are pre-made patterns available but for this workshop I'll make my own. I've created several patterns that can be downloaded from my website under the Resources tab. 03. Create patterns to use with the tool Ensure the lighting and shadows in your photos match I make a new document and copy-paste photos from my reference library (A). By double-clicking my layer (B) and using the Blend if… option under Layer Style (C), I can blend layers together by excluding colours. Holding Alt while dragging will split the slider in two, resulting in a smoother transition. I make sure that I arrange the photos in such a way that the lighting and shadows correspond with each other. 04. Refine and edit the chosen patterns Retouch the edges with the Content Aware tool To retouch the edges of the photos, I use the Content Aware tool under Edit > Fill. In the dialog I choose Contents > Content Aware. By clicking OK, this tool fills the selection with the surrounding pixels and blends them together. I click Filter > Other > Offset to make the pattern tileable. 05. Warm up and create a series of sketches Get going with a bunch of sketches At this point I have no idea in mind so I use the Pattern Stamp tool to warm up, and to show how effective it is in the early phases of a painting. I start my sketches with limited values and use the standard Round brush to keep the shapes simple. After producing multiple sketches, I decide to develop one of them so I can show my whole process from start to finish in this workshop. 06. Refine the value sketch Adjust your foreground and background values to enhance the perspective I create the feeling of atmospheric perspective by making the foreground values darker, and those in the background lighter. I deliberately avoid adding any light or shadows because I want the Pattern Stamp tool to do that for me. At the same time, I rearrange different layers to come up with a pleasing composition. I want the round shapes to contrast with the straight lines. 07. Block in the colours Use Impressionist mode to block in colour I use the Impressionist mode of the Pattern Stamp tool to block in the colours. The Impressionist mode will generate colour variations based on the colours Photoshop identifies in the active pattern. I block in the colours of each layer on a separate layer so I can add them as a clipping mask (B) and adjust them later on. 08. Make the most of those happy accidents If something goes wrong, try working with it I create a new layer to paint with the Pattern Stamp tool with the Impressionist mode turned off. This is the moment where a happy accident should help take an idea to the next level. For those not aware of the phrase, a happy accident in painting is when something unique and unexpected happens. It turns out to be beneficial to your work and guides you on to a new path that you might not have considered. 09. Rethink the story Happy accidents can lead you to exciting new ideas By placing the Pattern Stamp tool I come up with the idea of having derelict communication spheres that are partially buried under the desert hills. I use the Pattern Stamp to create the sea and clouds in the background. Because I use clipping masks for all the coloured layers, I can easily adjust the values to the underlying greyscale layer. 10. Clean up the focal points Upscale the image and add more detail Once I'm happy with the overall positioning of elements, I upscale the image to a bigger resolution. This enables me to add more details on the focus points. By adding more layers with the Pattern Stamp tool and applying a Distort > Spherize Filter on them, I generate more details on the foreground communication hub. 11. Refine the figures Use an tool like Mixamo to add characters to your scene Mixamo is my favourite tool to add figures to my paintings. It's an online service designed to rig and animate your custom 3D characters. It also holds a library of pre-made models and animations that are free for use. I pick a model and animation and screengrab the pose to add it to my painting. This model will help me to achieve the correct pose and proportions. 12. Check the readability of the composition Use light and shadow to draw the viewer into the scene Using an interesting light and shadow pattern, I lead the viewer in and through the painting. By creating a repetition of shadows and lights I'm able to push the feeling of depth even more. I fix the values of the background hubs and add more perspective to the clouds in the sky. 13. Add greyscale and colour simultaneously Use a custom proof setup to view colour and greyscale versions at the same time I go to Window > Arrange and create a new window for my open document. For this new window I change the viewing options: View > Proof Setup > Custom. In the dialog I choose sGray for the Device to Simulate menu. By placing the two windows next to each other, I can paint in colour and values at the same time. 14. Add finishing touches A few more fixes and you're done Working on the values and colours at the same time enables me to keep my values in place while making the finishing touches. I rearrange my layers slightly to create some more breathing space around them. I add extra small details to give everything a more finished look. After getting feedback from friends, I fix small parts of the painting, such as the perspective of the clouds. This article was originally published in issue 173 of ImagineFX, the world's best-selling magazine for digital artists. Buy issue 173 here or subscribe to ImagineFX here. Related articles: How to resize an image in Photoshop All the best free Photoshop brushes The 10 commandments of Photoshop etiquette View the full article