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In celebration of the up-and-coming Wix Design Playground, starting June 2019, some of the programme's alumni recently met to discuss their experiences from last summer. The students mention an invigorating, creative energy that kept them motivated throughout the entire three-month summer program, as well as long after it came to an end. “It was such a stimulating environment, where a group of talented people were encouraged to unlock their creativity and pour it into every project,” says Ariel Sun, digital designer, illustrator and recent graduate of the programme. “The Wix Design Playground has definitely placed me right in the epicentre of the design community in New York. I’m really grateful for the community that the program has cultivated for us, and for the connections that we now have with so many talented luminaries of the design field.” Stellar speakers The luminaries that Ariel is referring to are the many speakers that popped by the program over the summer, including award-winning designers such as Jessica Walsh, Debbie Millman, Adam J. Kurtz, and Alexandra Zsigmond, to name a few. These talks were accompanied by everything a designer can dream of, from workshops making paper masks, zines and more, to visiting design studios and museums around Manhattan. The students also took part in three main projects, spanning a month each. While they varied in brief and objective, they had one thing in common: they were all real-life projects, made for real clients. “As a leading high-tech company,” explains Vuong Tong, head of the Wix Design Playground, “It was important for us that our academy reflected the design industry, in both its high standards and tight timetables. "As a direct result, we knew that we wanted our students to work with real clients.” The message they were hoping to convey, says Tong, is that the client can be your ally and share your goals, rather than being your enemy. The Wix Playground space Reigniting creativity through play The 35 students who attended last summer’s program all come from different walks of life and design disciplines. Some were still students at the time, while others, like Ariel, were practising designers. “I wasn’t sure whether I needed to go through a programme to learn more and improve my design skills,” says Sun, who had to cut down on her then full-time position in order to attend the programme. “But in the end, I’m so glad that I did. The Wix Design Playground helped me realise that I can define my own career path as a creative, and gave me the confidence to do so.” Whether the students were busy creating a website for a temporary tattoo company, rebranding a non-profit or revamping their own portfolio, it was the Playground’s mission to provide a well-rounded set of skills, rather than simply technical expertise. The Wix Design Playground helped me realise that I can define my own career path Ariel Sun “A designer doesn’t need much more than a laptop,” comments Yotam Kellner, one of the programme mentors, “Which makes the conceptual, abstract tools of the trade so much more crucial than the technical ones. Only through experimentation can you step out of your comfort zone and brave into new techniques and skills. This way, you may become versatile, so that no platform, medium, or technique will be out of your reach.” As an example, Kellner refers to fashion designer, illustrator and Playground graduate Ivy Chen, whose experimentation led her to truly unique and interesting results. “Ivy used to shy away from the digital medium,” says Kellner, “But I’m so proud of the Wix website that she designed. It’s beautiful, poetic, and employs a deep understanding of graphic design principles.” The final outcome combines Ivy’s two passions – fashion design and illustration. With a sophisticated application of scrolling effects, Ivy was able to fuse the two seemingly unrelated fields into one cohesive visual language. “When she put the two worlds together,” says Yotam, “She created a third one that’s just hers, and is an accurate representation of who Ivy is as a creative.” And it’s this spirit of refining one’s creative voice through play and ingenuity that the Wix Playground is all about. The 2019 Wix Design Playground is currently accepting applications. The tuition-free program will be in Manhattan starting June 2019. Ready to embark on your own creative journey? Apply today for the design experience of a lifetime! View the full article

The creative industries are famously fast moving, and none more so than in the world of web design. Trends and tools change so quickly it can feel like a whirlwind. To help you not only keep up but get ahead of the curve, UXPin has created a comprehensive guide to the trends that will shape web design this year. And you can download it completely free using the link below. > Download Web Design Trends 2019 for free These are the movements we're just starting to see signs of, and the ones you need to know if you want to design websites and apps that stand out. This free ebook comes from the same people who brought you UXPin – the code-based digital product design tool that changed the way we approach prototyping. So it's safe to say they have a solid understanding of what's going on right at the cutting edge of web design. The ebook kicks off with a look at the coolest colour themes around, including gradients, colour overlays and animated colour effects. Next, there's a look at the new ways we're approaching branding and logo design, followed by one of the more experimental design trends around: split-screen design. A guide to effective data visualisation and a closer look at how to layer different types of interactivity round off this invaluable ebook. Inside, you'll also find: Inspiring examples of 2019's biggest trends in action Top tools to help you achieve these effects Insight from industry experts Advice for how to incorporate the trends into your projects Download UXPin's Web Design Trends 2019 ebook for free now, to start using the industry's coolest themes in your projects. View the full article

The Samsung Galaxy S10 is one of the most hotly anticipated smartphone releases this year, and we're now just days away from seeing Samsung's new flagship handset hit the shelves. Set to launch on Wednesday 20 February, speculation surrounding the Samsung Galaxy S10 will come to an end as the new device is unveiled at 'Galaxy Unpacked' media events in London and San Francisco. While no-one apart from the South Korean tech giant really knows anything solid about the new device, if you've already decided the new S10 is going to be the best camera phone for you in 2019, preorders are available in the US via the Samsung website. In fact, the company is offering an early Samsung S10 deal: reserve a handset today and save up to $550 when you trade in an eligible device. Galaxy S10 preorders for anyone outside of the US have yet to be confirmed, but they're expected to open up to UK consumers on Thursday 21 February. So what exactly do we know about Samsung's latest flagship smartphone? What does it look like, what features will most benefit artists and designers, and where can you find the best price? Here's everything we know about the new device, plus where to find the best Samsung Galaxy S10 deals. Where to find the best Samsung Galaxy S10 deals The cheapest way to purchase a new handset is normally to buy the device outright – but the price of the S10 will be steep: this is Samsung's latest flagship model, after all. If that isn't an option, you're likely to be looking at a two-year contract. So where will you get the best Samsung Galaxy S10 deal? According to our sister site TechRadar, O2 may come up trumps in the UK with the most competitive offers. However, it's also worth keeping an eye on EE and Vodafone, Techradar predicts: "EE was the network with some of the most attractive tariffs when the S9 was launched in March 2018 and the same with the Note 9, but we're expecting O2 to come out on top when the new handset is released. O2 has been really competitive recently for smaller data deals and especially on flagship Android devices. Vodafone also stands a good chance of throwing in some great offers but we've placed our bets with O2 for now." Here's what TechRadar thinks an O2 deal might look like: What Samsung Galaxy S10 models will be announced? The S10 is rumoured to be coming in three sizes. Credit: GSMArena / MobileFun We're expecting to see three shiny new versions of the Samsung Galaxy S10 – a standard model, a smaller S10 Lite and inevitably a S10 Plus model sporting the largest screen of them all. The display is rumoured to be super-crisp, boasting a resolution of 1440 x 3040 and a 19:9 aspect ratio, with hardly anything in the way of bezels eating in to it – perfect for seeing art and design work in all its glory. Samsung Galaxy S10: key features for creatives When it comes to the best smartphones for creatives, there are many considerations, but two of the most important are power and camera capabilities. So is the Samsung Galaxy S10 likely to have everything you need when it comes to both? The short answer is yes. The camera quality looks like it won't disappoint, with the standard model rumoured to have a dual-lens camera and the Plus packing a triple lens, with a 12MP wide-angle f/1.5-f/2.4 lens, a 16MP super wide-angle f/1.9 lens and a 13MP telephoto lens with an f/2.4 aperture. Add all that together and you've got some serious photographic power in your pocket. And Samsung hasn't forgotten about the front-facing camera either, by all accounts, with the Lite model rumoured to be a single-lens model, and the standard and Plus versions with a pair of cameras. There's also been whisperings of a 3D sensor for augmented reality content. Portable powerhouse Dependent on where you are in the world, the device's processor itself is almost certainly going to be a Snapdragon 855 chipset, which right now, with 5G support, with theoretical download speeds of up to 2Gbps and a chip solely dedicated to processing videos and photos, is the mobile chipset to beat. Outside the of the US, the S10 is expected to feature Samsung's eight-core Exynos 9820 chipset, which is just as impressive, providing support for 8K video recording, a dedicated neural processing unit to deal with AI-related tasks laser fast and 40% better power efficiency over the previous generation. In terms of memory, the S10 is expected to feature eight, possibly even 12GB of RAM and a bucket-load of onboard storage, making it ridiculously quick. The best Samsung Galaxy S10 deals right here We'll be keeping you up-to-date with all the action as it happens on 20 February: we'll be posting the best Samsung Galaxy S10 deals as and when they drop, so make sure to bookmark this page and check back on Wednesday. It's also worth noting that the release of the S10 will almost certainly mean there will soon be some brilliant deals to be had on its older but still super sibling, the Samsung Galaxy S9. If you don't mind not having the very latest device, the S9 is still an excellent buy – and it's just about to become a whole lot more affordable. Here are the best Samsung Galaxy S9 deals available right now... View the full article

Threat-hunters say the breached data from the massive Equifax incident is nowhere to be found, indicating a spy job. View the full article

Data-exposure "lowlights" for the week ending Feb. 15, 2019. View the full article

Recording 4k footage has never been easier, but editing it later on still requires using high-end equipment and expensive software. VideoProc Video Processor & Editor does away with all of that and makes processing ultra HD videos a breeze. You can get it today for $19.99. VideoProc is your one-stop shop to editing, converting, resizing, and adjusting 4K UHD videos, DVDs, and music at lightning fast speeds. It employs Level-3 Hardware Acceleration to allow for smooth video editing and transcoding, without compromising on quality. With this powerful software, you can convert clips up to 47 times faster, and it's filled to the brim with streamlined features such as adding subtitles, stabilising video, fixing fisheye, removing noise, and so much more. Get lifetime access to VideoProc Video Processor & Editor today for $19.99 — 74 percent off the usual cost. Related articles: The best computers for video editing in 2019 The best video editing software in 2019 The best online video editing courses View the full article

Where is design heading? Our guess is that the broad societal trend towards a web and app-based lifestyle mean that strong currents will continue to encourage a standardisation and simplification of design, both online and off. And that’s partly a good thing, because design is primarily about solving a problem, and the fewer obstacles we can put it people’s way – visual, cognitive or otherwise – the better our work will be. But at the same time, no one wants to end up in a cookie-cutter world where every single piece of design looks and feels the same. So it’s the job of creatives everywhere to manage that pressure thoughtfully, harness our imaginations and passions, and find new and inventive ways to use design to solve problems in a way that’s both functional and inspirational. Why you should embrace design thinking No one’s saying it’s easy, but that’s the challenge that ultimately makes design work fulfilling. And to see where it will take us, we caught up with five industry leading creators to hear their thoughts. 01. A 2D comeback Territory created stylised 2D cel animations for the Sky Super League titles "In motion, I think 2D will have a renaissance," says Nils Kloth, creative director at Territory. "For the past few years, there was a huge drive for 3D design to be at the forefront, but there seems to be a shift happening." 02. Integration of the physical with digital “We’re seeing an exciting move towards the seamless integration of the physical and digital within retail, exhibitions and brand experiences,” says Tino Schaedler, chief design officer at Optimist Inc. Los Angeles. “But as an industry, we’ve only touched the tip of the iceberg when it comes to these immersive or ‘connected’ spaces.” 03. Colour ownership Mailchimp's latest rebrand by COLLINS uses a prominent yellow, is it aiming to 'own' yellow? The aspiration of brands ‘owning’ a single colour seems to be making a comeback, notes Luke Woodhouse, creative director at Ragged Edge. “With MailChimp adopting yellow and Coca-Cola going back to its iconic red roots on cans, it may be we’ll see more brands going back to basics and really owning colour as a tool for brand recognition in an increasingly busy and fast-paced world.” 21 outstanding uses of colour in branding 04. Human-centred motion “The use of animation as a way to improve the user experience of a site or app has become very well established online,” says Laura Walters, designer at The Tin. “The next step will be to translate brand personality into motion principles. A brand that defines itself as ‘human centred’ may choose to animate elements in a way that’s not quite perfect; objects may not land perfectly and may have a slight wobble.” 05. Greater brand transparency Clear type and design helps to deliver brand transparency “Straightforward copy, clean type and images, and motion with fewer visual alterations will be the new norm going forward,” says Jared Tomlinson of Standard Black. “The trend is all about transparency: brands that show you who they are and don’t tell you what you should be; pulling back on retouching; amplifying user-generated content; and having an inclusive tone of voice. This will permeate all forms of communication, from photography, video, social and copy, all the way through graphic design and identities.” This article originally appeared in Computer Arts, the world's leading design magazine. Buy issue 287 or subscribe here. Related articles: 6 of the biggest graphic design trends for 2019 6 huge logo trends for 2019 4 creative career tips you didn't know you needed View the full article

The ecommerce is big business, but despite the fact that the industry is still relatively new, our sites are already starting to look oddly similar. Many brands are also stubbornly focused on their physical stores, while their digital platforms remain comparatively uninspired. So says Daan Klaver, the man behind Dutch studio Build in Amsterdam, a multi-award-winning ecommerce powerhouse. At Digital Design Days in Geneva, Klaver presented his hard-earned advice for creating standout ecommerce websites that "attract, engage and convert in an infinite loop", and we caught up with him afterwards to find out more. In this article, you'll find advice for creating ecommerce websites that offer your visitors a standout shopping experience. Not working specifically with ecommerce clients? There's plenty to learn here anyway. "Every brand has something to sell. So in our mind every brand is ecommerce," says Klaver. DON'T settle for best practice Build in Amsterdam's ecommerce site for Mendo was designed to replicate a experience of browsing in a real bookstore "We're working in such a young industry, we have to push the envelope. We can't just look at best practice and just settle for that," urges Klaver. We've got to the point where we have certain established patterns in ecommerce that we know work – but we're relying on these and innovation in the industry is suffering because of it. Most brands still see their 'flagship store' as a bricks-and-mortar shop, and it's here they focus on creating wonderful customer experiences. Klaver thinks this is the wrong approach. "Your ecommerce site is the biggest flagship store you have. It's open 24/7, worldwide," he says. DO make 'snackable' content Social media now plays a huge role in selling online. "Social media is where almost all the communication is happening now from brands," Klaver explains. That means the types of content that are popular on social media should also be informing your ecommerce strategy. "Consumers nowadays don't want to read a lot. They just want the visuals, they want 'snackable', short stories. So I think we'll see that social thinking coming into ecommerce." For its latest project, Build In Amsterdam has been creating this kind of 'snackable content' for a brand, making sure the stories the brand communicates on its Instagram can be directly applied to its main site. DON'T think in journeys Build developed a new kind of scrolling experience for Studio Job We tend to design for ecommerce in journeys, imagining there's a static route to channel customers through to reach the point of conversion. That way of thinking is obsolete. Thanks largely to the key role social media now plays in ecommerce, you can no longer predict where a customer will land on your site – more people will land on a detail page than your homepage. So it's time to stop thinking of your designs as separate pages. DO use a headless CMS There have been a lot of shifts in the CMSs that dominate in the ecommerce landscape, but what Klaver is seeing now is that the newer sites are using a headless CMS – an approach Build in Amsterdam has embraced for a while. This means you can use a CMS you like, and you have complete freedom over templating. Klaver is fully behind the trend. "It's a really good thing, because hopefully then not all web shops will look alike," he smiles. Use WordPress as a headless CMS DON'T expect loyalty Earlier in the festival, designer and entrepreneur Chris Do said that: "Having an audience is greater than having customers... You have to pay customers to get their attention (that's advertising). An audience will give your their time willingly." We ask Klaver if he agrees. "Partially I agree. But I believe people are not loyal to brands so it's always about winning new souls, if you want to grow." He points out that while nowadays brands are expected to have a more honest and relatable message than they used to, that still that doesn't mean you can rely on customer loyalty. "People hop brands very easily," he explains. "It's great if you've built an audience, because then you have a core and you should never let that go, but as a brand I would always hunt for new audiences." DO know your strategy A shoppable online community for Open Wear The biggest and most common mistake designers make is to not pay enough attention to strategy. "They design things, very often, just from pure instinct," says Klaver. "Sometimes that leads to good design, but I believe that every decision you make during the design process should lead back to the strategy, and should have a good rationale behind it." You don't want to end up in a conversation with your client where they ask why you've done something, and your only response is that you thought it looked beautiful, because if they disagree you have nothing to come back with. In Klaver's opinion, everything from the UX concept to the typeface and colour scheme should relate back to the overall strategy. DO design mobile-first There has been a focus on building apparently 'mobile-first' for a while now, but Klaver thinks many brands are still directing too much attention to their desktop solution. He points out that most brands now attract around 70 per cent of their visitors on mobile, and that figure is only going to rise. Only now are we starting to focus on mobile design, and implementing that thinking into the desktop versions. DO get inspired by apps Build pushed boundaries with its award-winning platform for Fans Hals Museum Short of inspiration? Take a look at shopping apps. "I think we can learn a lot from apps," says Klaver. "They're trying to innovate and trying to push the limits. They're much more innovative than the ecommerce websites, even from the bigger brands. It's exciting to see." Read more: 34 web design tools to help you work smarter in 2019 10 web skills that pay Choose the perfect colour palette for your website View the full article

Welcome to the new issue of 3D Artist. Issue 129 of the magazine contains over 40 pages of step-by-step guides covering a range of styles and 3D software. And with every issue you can download great resources, including free models, textures and more, via our FileSilo. This issue it includes UV test maps and models from RenderHub, premium CGAxis models, textures from 3DTotal and more. Our masterclasses this month include an in-depth tutorial to recreate our sci-fi cover figure, Eve – follow Jonathan Ching’s step-by-step training to recreate Eve, and discover new workflows to help streamline your ZBrush and KeyShot art. Subscribe to 3D Artist And there’s another step-by-step tutorial showing you how to create a stylised portrait in real time. We also have two Blender tutorials this issue, one focusing on mastering arch viz, the other is on creating 3D fractals using Blender’s new real-time renderer Eevee. And, if abstract art is what you seek to achieve, you’ll love our tips and tricks feature that’ll show you what you need to do to create your own compelling artwork. Also in the issue, we take a peek behind the scenes at Weta Digital to discover the challenges of making a photo-real character for the manga-inspired sci-fi movie, Alita: Battle Angel. And we also talk to the producer, Jon Landau and the director, Robert Rodriquez on the aesthetic choices in Alita. Using the Unreal engine and Unity to create real-time VFX for film production is the hot topic in a special feature, where ILM’s Rob Bredow says he believes that the world’s first real-time VFX blockbuster “isn’t years away anymore…” There’s all this and loads more besides. 3D Artist issue 129 is available to buy now from all good newsagents. You can also buy it online, or through the Apple Newsstand (simply search for ‘3D Artist’). Read more: Free textures: 40 top textures to download today The best cities for 3D artists Become a better 3D artist View the full article

A USB-C mouse is an ideal alternative for those who are sick of the trackpad. In this buying guide, we've taken a look at the different options available, and rounded up the best USB-C mice on the market right now. The good news is, plenty of new USB-C mice have hit the market in recent years, so there are some great products to choose from. We reckon the best USB-C mouse is the Jelly Comb 2.4G Rechargeable Type-C Optical Mouse. It’s got great wireless connectivity and lots of useful extra features, all for a seriously competitive price. If you can't see what you're after in this list, take a look at our general guide to the best mouse for 2019. What do I need to know? When shopping for the best USB-C mouse you’ll likely encounter a term you've heard before, but not in this context: DPI. We're not talking about image resolution here – DPI is a measure of how sensitive a mouse is. The higher a mouse’s DPI, the further the cursor will travel along the screen when it is moved. While it’s worth being aware of DPI rates, you needn’t get bogged down in them – it only really matters for applications like professional gaming, where every millisecond counts. As long as a mouse has a DPI of more than about 1,000 then it’ll be more than adequate for creative work. Let’s get to the list! Buy Jelly Comb 2.4G on Amazon For our money, the The Jelly Comb Type-C Optical Mouse is the best USB-C mouse you can buy right now, as well as the best wireless mouse. It boasts a powerful 2.4GHz wireless connection, which will work at distances of up to 15m. The wireless receiver slots neatly into the underside of the mouse when not in use, meaning you won’t lose it easily. While battery life could perhaps be a little better (the manufacturers report 15 days, though this will of course depend on how heavily you use the mouse) it’s simple enough to plug in and charge up. The adjustable DPI allows you to pick your preferred level of sensitivity, and it’ll work with whichever operating system you’re using. The best part, as well, is that the competitive price means this is also among the most affordable USB-C mice on the market. Buy Logilink ID0160 on Amazon LogiLink’s ID0160 USB-C mouse has an ergonomic, ambidextrous design, with a soft covering on its sides and back for a comfortable hold. Its strong wireless connection is set up via the USB-C receiver, and it’s powered via a single AA battery (one of these comes packed in the box, so you can get started straight away). The DPI of 1200, while not the highest, should be more than fine for most applications creatives are going to be using the mouse for, and the fact that the LogiLink ID0160 is nice and portable makes it a good option if you want a mouse to take on the go. Buy Seenda Wireless Mouse on Amazon Pay only a little more than you would for the other mice on this list, and you could have your hands on this lovely wireless mouse from Seenda. Powered by an AA battery, this mouse features four adjustable DPI levels, all the way up to a hefty 2400. It's compatible with both USB-C and USB-equipped computers thanks to its dual adapters, which is useful if you're working across multiple devices. The smooth, silent buttons make the Seenda mouse a pleasure to use, and extra features like battery-saving automatic switch-off round out an already impressive package. Well worth the slightly premium price, especially if you also plan to use the mouse for gaming and could use the extra sensitivity. Buy Jelly Comb Ergonomic USB-C Mouse on Amazon: Right handed / left handed If you’re someone who spends most of their working day using a mouse, then it’s worth thinking about getting hold of an ergonomic USB-C wireless mouse. The Jelly Comb Ergonomic USB-C mouse bears a vertical design to ease the pressure on the user’s wrist and be comfortable to use for long periods. It comes in both left- and right-handed versions, though left-handed people might be understandably miffed that they’re asked to pay very slightly more. While the mouse works on both Windows and Mac, some of its function buttons will only work on Windows, so if you’re a Mac user you may want to review before taking the plunge. Buy AURTEC Type C Wireless Mouse on Amazon This straightforward wireless USB-C mouse from Aurtec is powered by widely available AAA batteries, but there are none provided, so you’ll need to remember to pick some up before you can start using it. Compatible with Windows and Mac systems, this mouse is designed with comfort in mind, and its DPI settings can be changed by simply holding the left button and using the scroll wheel. The wireless connection is a powerful 2.4GHz type, and like many others on this list it works at ranges of up to 10m, in case you ever find yourself using your mouse while 10m away from your computer (hey, it could happen). Buy Macally UCTURBO on Amazon Though the Macally UCTURBO 3 mouse is clearly and unambiguously designed to be used with Macs, it is also perfectly compatible with Windows systems – in both cases, simply plug in and play. Of course, that white design just screams ‘Apple’, and Mac users who plug it into their Thunderbolt 3 port will find it a responsive and comfortable mouse to use, though not as precise as some others on this list. The generous length of the cable means the lack of wireless functionality is no great loss, with the UCTURBO mouse just as useful for a desktop computer as a laptop. Tiny and remarkable, Trust’s USB-C mouse is perfect for throwing in your day bag or even your pocket and heading on your way. The USB cable retracts when not in use, meaning it won’t get in the way, and the ergonomic design works well for both left- and right-handers. Compatible with Windows and Mac operating systems, this is a great choice for the creative who tends to work on the move – and it’s available at a pretty attractive price, too. Can’t say fairer than that. Also read: The best USB-C monitors in 2019 The best keyboards for designers in 2019 The best laptops for graphic design in 2019 View the full article

Adobe has cut the price of its full Creative Suite of apps by a whopping 40% in an amazing Creative Cloud deal. That means you can now pick up Adobe's entire collection of more than 20 creative desktop and mobile apps, and more for just €36.29 a month instead of €60.49. Unfortunately, this deal isn't open to everyone worldwide. However, if you live in parts of Europe and Africa, you can claim this huge 40% saving. Save 40% on Adobe Creative Cloud now The full list of countries that can grab this deal include: South Africa, Austria. Belgium, Bulgaria, Switzerland, CIS, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Spain, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, MENA, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Sweden, Slovenia, Slovakia, Turkey and Ukraine. This offer is valid until 1 March, so if you've been debating signing up to Creative Cloud, there's really no better time. What's included? Adobe's Creative Cloud All Apps plan includes: The entire collection of 20+ creative desktop and mobile apps, including Photoshop CC, Illustrator CC, and Adobe XD CC 100GB of cloud storage Adobe Portfolio Adobe Fonts Adobe Spark with premium features The option of up to 10TB of cloud storage The programs are fully integrated, so you can work between them (and different devices) 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 expires on Friday 1 March 2019. Related articles: The best Adobe deals in 2019 60 top-class Photoshop tutorials The best 4K monitors for designers View the full article

Choosing a laptop as a creative can be all about compromise. Find one with good enough RAM and power to run your graphic design software, and it’ll weigh too much to conveniently bring into the office. Pixel density and vibrant colours often mean a three-hour battery life max. Want a screen size larger than 13”? Get ready to shell out the big bucks. The fact is, designer's shouldn’t need to compromise on the device their livelihood depends on. You need something that can handle Adobe Premiere Pro and a full gamut of colours without fail; won’t run out of juice during a vital pitch to a client; and won’t feel as if you’re lugging around an actual canvas every day. So, don’t compromise! LG’s new gram 17 is tailor-made for creative professionals, with LG having somehow managing to stick a 17-inch LCD screen onto a 15.6-inch body laptop that weighs less than 3 pounds. It’s the world’s lightest 17-inch laptop, and most of its 17-inch peers weigh more than double that amount. Those 17 inches give you a spacious 2,560 x 1,600 high resolution display and 16:10 aspect ratio. Graphic designers who need reliable colour fidelity for their projects will fully appreciate the bright, wide range of colours. Most computers and displays use a 16:9 ratio because it’s more affordable to make screens that match the ratio of TV screens. But that doesn’t mean you should just settle for the mainstream option. The extra bit of workspace will work wonders when you’re using photo and video editor applications that require a lot of vertical real estate. Of course, even 17 inches may not be enough for your needs. That’s likely why LG maintained a Thunderbolt 3 port into the 2019 gram, which enables 40Gbps data and high-bandwidth video, including 4K support to two screens or 5K to one. You won’t have any problem editing 4K content across the gram and a connected display. Only 0.7” thick and shockingly light, the gram 17 hasn’t compromised on performance to achieve its 2.95 lb. weight. It boasts an 8th generation i7 Intel core processor with integrated Intel UHD 620 graphics, 512GB or storage and 16GB RAM - power enough to do all the heavy lifting with industry standard creative software with speed and ease. Plus, creatives that can’t bear to delete their old work can use the second SSD slot to add more storage space for new projects. With such dependable hardware squeezed into such a slender frame, you might assume LG would have run out of room for a decent battery, but you’d be mistaken: its 72wh battery can reach a max of 19.5 hours on a full charge. It’s convenient to know that even if you forget your charger at home and run your most intensive creative software all day, you’ll still probably make it through your 9-5 without a problem. #ScaleUpQuiz campaign If you want to get your hands on a new LG gram 17, be sure to take part in the #ScaleUpIdea photo contest. You need to add a photo to your Instagram feed that creatively shows your thoughts on the gram 17’s large screen size, lightweight frame or long-lasting battery. Add the right hashtags, #ScaleUpScreen, #ScaleUpLightweight and #ScaleUpBattery, and you could win one of three 17-inch LG laptops, so long as you post before 7 March. See here for full terms and conditions For more information on the LG gram 17, check out the #ScaleUpQuiz campaign coming up on LG’s YouTube and Instagram channels, running from 14 – 27 February. Simply watch a video on each platform and answer the question included (related to LG gram’s key features) as a comment, and you could win a $30 Amazon gift card. View the full article

Love is in the air - and, no, we’re not talking about Valentine’s Day. This month Adobe has rolled out the latest update to its popular prototyping tool Adobe XD and it boasts a whole lot more love for users and its Creative Cloud siblings. Aware of the need for seamless transition between tools, Adobe has concentrated its efforts on making it easier than ever to use Adobe XD with Photoshop, Illustrator and After Effects. Along with the ability to communicate your concepts faster via a new narration tool and added support for voice prototyping in multiple new languages (including accents and personas), it’s a very exciting time to be an Adobe XD user. Here’s everything you need to know about the key new features in Adobe XD – and if you want to see the tool in action, be sure to tune into the Adobe Live sessions taking place at AWWWARDS today and tomorrow from 1000 - 1600 CET (0900 - 1500 GMT). Register here. Improved integration with Adobe Creative Cloud apps It's easier than ever to use Adobe XD alongside other Creative Cloud apps A seamless workflow is every creative’s dream, which is why Adobe has focused on making Adobe XD compliment existing processes. Now featuring deeper integration with other popular Adobe design tools, users can open Photoshop, Illustrator and Sketch app files in XD and quickly turn them into prototypes, as well as export XD files to After Effects to create advanced animations. Record interactions with audio Adobe XD now allows users to add narration to prototypes when recording. This is an invaluable new feature, particularly for creatives working remotely who want to walk clients or team members through the application flow but can’t be there in person. Check out the feature in action below: Additional language support The added support for voice and audio interaction doesn’t end there. This iteration of Adobe XD supports seven languages, with Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese now joining English, German, French, Japanese and Korean. The added support for Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese extends to the language of the application, voice recognition and speech playbacks, meaning users can now fully prototype interactive voice experiences in either of those languages. View all comments across artboards Gone are the days of emails back and forth for feedback. Users can now turn on ‘view all comments’ in the Adobe XD commenting panel to access feedback across all artboards. Reviewers can pin comments to specific areas of a prototype, which can then be clicked on by the designer, who will be taken to the affected artboard to reply, resolve or delete. Eyedropper of dreams Where would designers be without the humble eyedropper tool? Don’t fret, it’s not going anywhere, instead it’s easier than ever to access with Adobe XD now featuring a new shortcut. Simply select an object, hit ‘i’ on the keyboard and voilá! The eyedropper appears and from there you can select whichever colour takes your fancy. Plugins aplenty As the development of Adobe XD evolves, so does its ecosystem of plugins, app integrations, UI and graphic kits. With over 100 plugins available for Adobe XD, and more launching every week, XD provides a robust platform that enables you to customise your experience to work exactly for you. Get on board: Adobe Live from Awwwards Built for designers, by designers, Adobe XD is the fastest way to design, prototype, and share any user experience, from websites and mobile apps to voice interactions, and more. And it’s free. Built openly with the community, XD has a focus on performance and provides a smart and modern workflow that allows you to concentrate on what you do best: creating. Want to see it in action? Join the Adobe Live sessions from Awwwards Amsterdam on 14 and 15 February from 1000 - 1600 (CET) (0900 - 1500 GMT) for an in-depth analysis of the Adobe XD toolset. The Adobe livestream is also a fantastic opportunity to connect with creatives around the globe; listen to talks from leading visionaries in UX and VR who will share their tips on good experience design, and discover the latest UX and UI trends and news. Register now for your chance to watch the future of UX unfold. View the full article

Valentine's Day is upon us, so it's fitting that we've teamed up with Lovedesignjobs.com to bring you news of all the best design jobs around. When it comes to working in the creative industries, it's not just getting a foot in the door that's notoriously difficult. Where to look for your next step up the creative ladder can also be a struggle, which is why we've formed this partnership to bring the best career opportunities directly to you. All you need to do is click on the Jobs link in Creative Bloq's main navigation bar (see below) and voilà! Hundreds of jobs in graphic design, animation, web development, UX/UI design, 3D and visual effects, gaming and digital illustration are just waiting for you. Hit the Jobs link the main CB nav bar to find all the latest and greatest creative job opportunities Lovedesignjobs It won’t surprise anyone working in the creative industry to know that they're working in one of the most innovative and successful industries in the UK, no, in fact in the world. But finding talent has never been such a challenge. The creative industry job market is booming, and employers continue to struggle to find the right people. There has never been a higher demand for creative and design skills, which is why Lovedesignjobs.com has joined forces with Creative Bloq to provide an excellent resource for finding and posting a role. Working closely with recruiters, Lovedesignjobs.com delivers a platform that can help and support employers in engaging with relevant job seekers at the right time. There's hundreds of opportunities up for grabs, including our Job of the Week, which is one all you junior designers out there won't want to miss! Read more: 4 creative career tips you didn't know you needed How to get a design job: 7 expert tips 5 things NOT to say in a job interview View the full article

Love can mean more than just romance, roses and Hallmark poetry. These artists and illustrators have all captured the theme of love in new and thought-provoking ways. The illustrations here are part of the Month of Love, a project launched by artist Kristina Carroll back in 2013. Each week in February, Carroll sets challenges loosely based around the theme of love, and the artists taking part interpret them in their own way. This Valentine's Day, if you're musing on how to draw a romantic image that is a little more meaningful, take a look at these impressive artworks for inspiration. Keeping it traditional? Here's a step by step guide to how to draw a rose. Click on the icon in the top right of each image to enlarge it 01. Angela Rizza Angela Rizza has been participating in the Month of Love project for a few years, and likes to use the challenges to try out new directions and techniques. In this piece, she focused on playing with positive and negative space, mixing highly detailed areas with areas of empty space. "For the Beauty challenge, I immediately thought of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty," says Rizza. "I imagined her birth as something maybe more natural than her rising from the ocean, and ended up liking the composition of her in the foetal position among seaweed in the receding tide." 02. Jessica Shirley This drawing by illustrator Jessica Shirley focuses on the theme of 'lies', and is based on a quote from Dorothy Allison: 'Things come apart so easily when they have been held together with lies.' "The quote has such intriguing imagery. It was a good summary of how many moral tales about lying turn out," she explains. Shirley incorporated animal symbolism into her piece, noting how ravens and crows are often used to represent trickery and deceit. "I wanted to show a person coming apart when their lies were discovered," she continues. "Also, the feeling of wanting to flee or be invisible in that moment when you have been exposed." 03. Shannon Knight Shannon Knight's piece exploring the theme of 'beauty' plays on the traditional mirror image style found on a playing card. "I wanted to paint a face card that represented both the king and queen as one entity, showing both genders blooming from the same body," she says. "To me, this celebrates the beauty and the natural inevitability of gender fluidity and transgenderism, something that should be celebrated more." 04. Qistina Khalidah "The 'Lies' artwork that I made was about feeling manipulated by the person you hold in very high regard," says artist Qistina Khalidah. "I always like to put a fantasy facade on it to sell the story. For this, I wanted the give the feeling of a queen being controlled by someone she holds very close to her, like an advisor." 05. Janaina Freelance illustrator Janaina created this illustration based on the theme of 'beauty'. "I have been fascinated by mythology and fairytales since I was a child, so I searched memory for myths, legends and tales that were romantic and had something related to beauty. The story of Psyche and Eros was one of the first that came into my mind," she explains. In the tale, Aphrodite sets Psyche four tasks that she must complete in order to get her husband back. For the last task, she must bring the Persephone's box of beauty to Aphrodite. However, inside the box is nothing other than the sleep of Hades. When Psyche opens the lid, she falls into a deep sleep. Eros escapes from his prison, flies to Psyche, and wipes the sleep from her. "As I'd never drawn this couple before, I decided I would do it now," continues Janaina. "I think this is a good story to illustrate in the Month of Love; a myth about a couple overcoming great challenges to be together." 06. Julia Griffin Julia Griffin decided to draw a friend of hers as a representation of 'beauty'. "I wanted to show her personality and vibrance, and also illustrate the beauty of the natural world through the Luna moth she is conjuring," she says. Griffin drew the design in charcoal on paper, before scanning it in and adding colour digitally. 07. Kelly KcKernan Kelly McKernan decided to challenge herself by working on a crescent moon-shaped painting panel. "In that composition, I found an underwater scene with these bright, two-dimensional fish surrounding a woman glowing with promise," she explains. "In my work, I think fish represent possibility and change, and in this piece, their presence is a positive one." Read more: 14 quick ways to improve your art in 2019 The best pencils for colouring, drawing and sketching Add digital colours to pencil drawings View the full article

VR and AR have been around a while now, and we're at the point where brands are really starting to embrace these tools. But that doesn't mean the experimental design stage is over – in fact, interaction design is heading in ever more weird, wonderful and mind-melting directions. It was a hot topic of discussion at the recent Digital Design Days in Geneva. We caught up with one of the key speakers, a leading experience design expert, to hear their predictions for where the worlds of VR and AR might be heading next. 10 amazing examples of experimental design 01. Social VR will get much bigger Social VR and AR – platforms where you can enter a virtual world and socialise with others, via their avatars – is about to become a big deal. "It's soon going to become like one big internet where we just go into this space together," says the speaker. "I think why people do that will be defined more and more. Instead of just hanging out in a room alone, we'll have a goal, like: this business meeting, or Skyping with someone you care about." 02. We'll defy the laws of physics The fact is, we can do pretty much whatever we want in a VR space – but at the moment we're still we're working within the laws of physics. Soon, we're going to start to throw these laws out of the window, and stop seeing VR and AR as a kind of 'skin' on top of the real world. "I think we're going to move away from the physicality and embrace [the possibilities] digital spaces bring for us. It's going to be things like gravity, or being able to place objects 'up there'," they explain, gesturing up into the sky, "things that a digital space will allow us and afford us to do." The phenomenon relates to the way we used skeuomorphic design when touchscreen devices first became popular. Our speaker points out that designers often use skeuomorphic design when working with new technologies, because it's an easy way to get people on board and help the new medium feel more familiar. While on touchscreens, skeuomorphism gave way to flat design, in VR and AR the shift has the potential to be much more exciting. 03. Eye tracking will become commonplace One big trend the speaker sees on the horizon is that there will be a lot of more sensors around eye tracking. "Eye tracking is going to be something that we will explore, and that is a sensor that we'll come into contact with in our everyday interactions in VR and AR." 04. We'll establish VR etiquette Just as the rules for interacting online are different to those we use in real life, we will develop new conventions for sensor-based interaction. Think about how we deal with those we don't like in a traditional online space: we are able to block or delete them. But doing that in, for example, a social VR space, is a very different prospect. "In general, adding and deleting is controversial, because you're defining what is reality," says the speaker. Imagine you were to be able to remove everyone at a conference who wasn't a designer. Or, to extend that, if you were able to remove everyone of a certain race or gender. The fact is, we're copying from other platforms at the moment, but there are a number of patterns that, when translated into VR, offer a very different prospect. We'll need to find new ways to deal with those challenges. 05. We'll redefine human rights Further to the point about etiquette comes something even more serious: the rights of human avatars in VR. "What is a human right, in this space? I think that's really interesting to explore," says our expert. The answer, they think, is so complex that it shouldn't be left to the designers at companies such as Facebook to figure out. "We should sketch that out together, like as a global team! We should be sketching these notions of how we deal with harassment. It's hard. I think it's something that needs to be collective thinking." 06. We'll start designing for the other senses VR and AR do incredible things in the field of vision. But what about the other senses? We're seeing people starting to explore brand new areas of interaction design, working with haptics, smell, food and flavours. "I personally think food is a really interesting area, because we all eat food and affects us highly," they enthuse. "Another area people are exploring is toxins. The ability to sense a toxin, and notify or learn about if something [around us] is toxic. There are a lot of invisible things in this space, and toxins are one we can create sensors around, and that's fascinating." 07. Phones will become the main AR tool While much of the focus thus far has been on VR headsets, it looks like the good ol' smartphone is going to become the main tool for AR experiences. "I see ubiquitous hardware, like phones, becoming a big leap into the world of AR because everybody has the hardware," says our expert. Head-mounted displays have impressive capabilities, but they're typically expensive, which limits access. Making smartphones the main tool widens the audience for AR experiences massively. Read more: The best camera phones right now How to hack the Instagram algorithm 5 top AR tools to try today View the full article

It's not often (ever) that you'll find us listening to The Chainsmokers – once described in Esquire as 'the Nickelback of EDM'. But we've just made an exception to that rule after learning the story behind the animated video for The 'smokers new song, a typically tuneful and thought-provoking number entitled Who Do You Love?. The video's a very clever take on the traditional lyric video, and it's the work of Belgian illustrator Musketon, who decided to take a different approach to animating The Chainsmokers' words of wisdom. Despite only having 30 days to produce the finished video, Musketon decided that he was going to paint the animation on a wall, frame by frame. Starting in After Effects CC, where he mapped out the words to figure out the timing of the song, Musketon then moved to Procreate on the iPad Pro to actually draw and animate all 373 words. "I wanted every single word to be hand-drawn," he tells us. "No fonts! I wanted every single word to be drawn from scratch, so no tracings! Every single word was time-lapsed in Procreate." The 25 greatest animated music videos Working with two other Belgian artists, Lennert Gavel and Gert Van Goethem, Musketon created a digital version of the animation in about a week, which then had to go the the Chainsmokers for approval. "I sent it over to the guys and anxiously waited for feedback," says Musketon. "If they didn't like to style we had a problem, since we didn't have any time to come up with a plan B due to the very short deadline." Thankfully the band loved it; all that remained to do was actually create the finished version, and they hadn't yet found a wall. "Not everyone is waiting for a few guys to come and spray 1,000 layers of graffiti on their wall," notes Musketon. But with just a few days to go until shooting was scheduled to begin, they found the perfect wall and rushed out to get the necessary supplies. "We went out to the Montane Shop in Brussels and bought 250 spray cans to start with and started painting," says Musketon; in the end they needed 400 cans to complete the job. "We had 14 actual shoot days to transfer all those words on that wall. Since we are based in Belgium it was crazy cold outside. The wall we found was inside, but the location wasn't heated. So we had fun for the first two days. The 10 remaining days of shooting were just awful... The freezing temperatures made handling the spray cans very uncomfortable since they were frozen. Working with actual frozen hands was very hard." Musketon explains the hellish process for getting the job done: "We started with a white wall. Started painting the first words and repainted the wall to paint the following lyrics. This was repeated until the end of the song. Since we used transitions to animate the words in and out we had to paint a lot of frames in between to make this possible. This took a lot of time." As well as the relentless painting, the team had to remember to shoot all 1,900 frames of animation and make sure they looked good, too. "We were using a basic Sony camera I had laying around at home, but that was decent enough to take 4K pictures. Every time we finished one frame, we snapped a photo via the laptop that was connected to the camera and repeated this process 1,900 times. Every time we took a shot we had to make sure the chair we used to paint the top of the wall wasn't in the frame, the cans we put on the wall were out of frame, the sunlight wasn't beaming on the wall too much... anyway we had to stay sharp to avoid mistakes. If we forgot one photo we had a big problem. Both timing and paint-wise." It sounds like an impossible task but they managed it, and once the shoot was complete Musketon had just two days of post-production before sending the final render off to the Chainsmokers; it was released just a few days later, on 7 February. Since then it's racked up nearly six million views, and Musketon is delighted with the feedback he's received. That's a lot of spray cans "We know those views are basically because of people coming for the song, but it's super nice to see a lot of super-positive reactions in the comment section," he tells us. "People questioning if this was really shot frame by frame. People saying it must be greenscreen and the animation was edited in post-production. We also think it's exciting to get our work out in the open and get so much reach due to their reach." Related articles: Street art: 43 incredible examples to inspire you 5 key animation patterns and how to use them Top animation tools for digital artists View the full article

The flaw is only one of many romance-related security issues as bad actors take advantage of Valentine's Day. View the full article

If you're hoping to leverage your programming skills in the job market, one of the best ways to do just that is by learning full stack development. With the Complete Full Stack Web Development Master Class Bundle, you'll gain mastery in the hottest web frameworks and technologies to become the most sought after coder out there. You'll begin with learning the basics like HTML, CSS, PHP, and MySQL before moving into more advanced concepts like React and Redux, Angular 7, NodeJS, and Angular. Across all the courses, you'll get to put your new skills to the test and build a bevy of projects from scratch. By the time you finish, you'll have the knowledge and resources to develop beautiful and dynamic applications. The Complete Full Stack Web Development Master Class Bundle usually retails for $693, but you can get it today for just $29. Read more: The best laptops for programming right now The future of web design Web design tools to help you work smarter View the full article

When handing over a creative project, most agencies or freelancers include a document known as a style guide. This not only adds an additional air of professionalism to the work and helps guide the client in using your design, it also rationalises the creative choices you made. It shows the client that it was absolutely worth paying you to give them a new look or identity, and it also means that they have some guidelines for using your designs in the future. After all, most designs are not static but evolve over time, just like a good style guide. Hitting the right tone with your style guide can be tricky, you want to be informative and clear, and be as comprehensive as possible without being preachy. Here are 25 tips for ensuring your style guide is up to scratch. 01. Avoid pomposity Clarity and lots of white space make The Barbican's style guide a joy to read We creatives are a sensitive bunch, haunted by nightmares about clients screwing up our (much laboured upon) designs. There's a tendency to become over protective, preachy and, dare I say, a little mouthy when it comes to rolling these out to the folk who pay for them. A style guide that's overly bombastic or pompous in tone will only end up stifling its creative application. 02. Allow for some slack Many style guides read like the work of control freaks. They shouldn't. They should serve as a guide to any other agency, freelancer or licensing company who is working with the brand you initially helped develop. They should allow for the brand to develop, whilst establishing an overall framework. 03. Don't wait for perfection We'd all love to spend time and energy crafting the perfect design style guide for each project. But in the real world, that's not always possible. If you're up against a tight deadline and not able to create a style guide with lots of bells and whistles (and examples), be sure to include the most pertinent and helpful information about the brand or piece of work you've created in the time you do have. 04. Include essential elements Start off with: A written overview of the company it's for A rationale for the work carried out Information about logos, font usage, colour palette and tone of voice Photographic guides Collateral information If you have enough time, it's worth adding some examples of logo and typographic usage, as well as links to master artwork or brand collateral templates, and helpful contacts within your agency or company. 05. Give the client options Name your design style guide something like 'Styleguide_lite_v0.1' and explain to your client that this is the “lite” guide to working with the brand, which is suitable for everyday creative use. Should they wish for an additional, more thorough version, this can be classed as a separate project – with a separate budget. 06. Hit the right tone If you're creating a style guide for, say, a cartoon show, then make it as fun, colourful and wacky as the series. If it's for an asset management company, make it as clean and straight-down-the-line as the company's thinking and brand equity is. This shows the client you understand the brand or television property you've been working on. Plus, it'll instantly put that tone in the mind of the designer who's been given the style guide to use. 07. Guide, don't preach Remember you are producing a guide – which, when applied successfully, will produce a common system of elements that work together, reinforce brand values and embrace successful interpretation of that guide. A wagging finger approach will instantly put the person who uses the guide in school mode. “Don't do this; don't do that” is a surefire way to drive someone nuts and make them not want to use the guide successfully. In terms of tone, you'll catch more flies with honey than with vinegar: encourage innovation by allowing the possibility for interpretation and innovation. 08. Think of it like a cook book Look on a style guide as being similar to a cook book. It's full of brand recipes and ingredients that work well together, and create a successful blend of flavours and tastes. It should allow for experimentation, but clearly explain where too much of the wrong type of ingredient will spoil the brand broth. 09. Concentrate on the visible Bristol City Council's style guide section on colour tells you exactly when to use each colour Look around your workplace and you'll (probably) see colleagues who look presentable and are nicely dressed. Quite possibly a large percentage of these people do not have matching pants and socks or bras and knickers. But who cares? You (hopefully) don't get to see them. Similarly, in your style guide, concentrate on the visible and the relevant. Try not to deep dive into creating colour palettes that then have sub colour palettes and then further sub, sub colour palettes, which might never be used or seen. 10. Less is more Ask yourself if every 'rule' you add to your design style guide is absolutely necessary. By giving too much information you might just end up confusing designers, or overwhelming them with so much information they can't possibly remember all of it. 11. Be helpful and specific Audi's style guide tells you exactly how to use the brand's rings Try to give out helpful and practical advice to the creative reading your guide. If you're using a particular type of overlapping text (see the image above) or a certain type of Photoshop treatment, then think about adding a page to your style guide that explains exactly how to do this. 12. Think creatively Your style guide is an extension and expression of your creativity. It should have its own guidelines applied to it, and communicate the brand simply and effectively. There's no rule that says it has to be in PDF format (although admittedly a lot are) – you could have the whole thing online. Think creatively, but don't over complicate. Five clicks to a logo download are just annoying. Keep it simple. 13. Work with a copywriter Big, bold words help energise and communicate brand values in an effective, visual way Work with a copywriter to energise and communicate the brand. This style guide will potentially be used client-side by the in-house creative team or sent out to other agencies to be applied in future work. For your guide to be applied successfully, it's essential to communicate effectively in written form: the brand spirit; the reason behind the work; what the guide is there for; and what the brand goals are – all things that the creative using the guide should be mindful of. 14. Add a section on tone Mailchimp's style guide has an informative section on voice and tone Peculiarly, 'tone of voice' is sometimes forgotten in style guides. A tone of voice section includes a guide to copy tone, appropriate style and how messaging is communicated to an audience. It works hand-in-hand with the creative vision. If you think about a brand such as Virgin, its tone of voice is quite irreverent and perfectly matches the visuals. A style guide should include these details, as it helps to communicate who the brand's audience are, as well as the spoken vision, which is aligned to the visual one. Hand in hand, these both effectively communicate the brand. 15. Proofread your work Proofread your guide before sending it out. Typos and bad grammar make you look awfully silly when you're sending out a 'best practice' guide to your work. If at all possible, have someone else read the guide for you and ask them to flag up anything that isn't clear, and whether any parts need further explanation. 16. Show elements on a page Don't just say. Do. The best way to have someone get to grips with the creative vision shown in the guide is to pack it full of examples of what you're going on about. So for example, if an element is to be positioned on a grid, just so, then show it in situ. 17. Master artwork and templates Your guide will be severely lacking if it doesn't include the artwork mentioned in it. Create a repository online for all brand materials, and index these by category so they make sense. One great big list of brand asset download links is of no real help to anyone. Create categories relevant to your style guide and add the links there. Cross link between PDF or webpages to each download as well as having this separate download area. Add version numbers and dates to template file names, which are likely to update over time, and do the same with your style guide. 18. Create art-worked examples The BBC's style guide allows you to see how each page looks with different 'skins' Art-working up examples of creative templates can be a great way to showcase how the guide can be interpreted. Also consider supplying these files for download with the style guide. 19. Explain your typographical choices Informative usage guides for type "Type that has long and very fine serifs has a habit of breaking up on screen and becoming illegible when used on television, so big blocky sans-serif fonts are best." That, ladies and gentleman, is an informative tidbit of information. If you didn't know much about type, it would prove useful if you had a choice between two brand fonts for an animated type treatment for television. Pepper your guide with brief titbits of information like this and remember that not everyone is a type guru. Don't write volumes, but instead educate by rationalising and giving examples of usage. Different types for different media are shown in this guide Oh, and if your brand font is bespoke, supply it. If it's available from a font library, give out the download link. Don't distribute fonts you have no right to. 20. Rationalise your thinking A creative example of a visual typographic rationale If you took a friend to your favourite Angus Steakhouse for dinner and they sat there nursing a single malt while refusing to eat, you'd think their behaviour quite bizarre. If, on the other hand, they explained they were a vegetarian, you'd immediately understand their predicament and pop out for a stuffed pepper and some cous cous. Similarly, you need to rationalise your thinking behind why a logo would look bad with a drop shadow, or why all the type shouldn't be used in title case. Typographic rationales explained in a style guide No one's a mind reader, and creatives mostly approach style guides with suspicion that the document will limit their creativity. Rationalise your thinking simply and clearly to prevent this. 21. Anticipate questions At the end of the guide, include relevant contacts and create a group email address in case the reader has any queries about the guide and wants to get in touch. (Although if you've included all the relevant details in your guide, this should very rarely happen.) Also consider creating an FAQ as part of the guide, and think about the top 20 questions a creative might ask about a brand when they first approach it. “I hate your logo. Do I have to use it?” is a question that isn't allowed. 22. Take people on a journey However mawkish that tip might sound, it's exactly what you're aiming for. Approach the job as if you were creating an immersive creative experience, but in book (or online) form. Take the stand that your reader knows nothing about the brand they're about to work with, and from the brand mission statement to showcased collateral examples, educate the reader with bite-sized information about what the brand represents and how the creative elements work together. 23. Show collateral flexibility Briefly touch on the brand collateral's flexibility. It will show the client your thoughts about future-proofing your work, as well as covering off the potential that your guidelines for a purely online brand might one day move into print, outdoor or broadcast collateral. 24. Leave room for improvement To survive in any commercial enterprise, we have to adapt and change. Brands change constantly, either organically, or to reflect markets and fashions. Creating a style guide that bolts down a brand and stifles it to such a degree that it can't develop over time is disastrous and rather silly. There's always room to grow and develop, and your guidelines should reflect this. 25. See some examples DeviantArt's style guide is in our list of top examples Need some inspiration? The best thing to do is have a look through some real-life examples of style guides. Check out Skype's style guide and the Barbican for starters... Related articles: 76 best free fonts for designers How to interpret and follow brand guidelines 10 most hated logos (and what they teach us) View the full article

You're reading The 5 Critical Elements That can Make or Break Your One-Page Website’s Design, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook, Google+! It seems obvious that one-page websites would be much easier to build than multi-page ones. In truth, it can often be much harder to make a one-pager user-friendly and at the same time visually appealing. It’s not usual for a … View the full article

Researchers have identified multiple security issues with this Lenovo smartwatch. View the full article

For a long time unbiased rendering was barely touched by a wide range of render engines. This was because an unbiased render solution was computationally intensive and therefore very slow. This was a great shame, as from a user’s perspective an unbiased rendering solution offered ‘true’ physical lighting exactly as would be seen by the naked eye or the lens of a camera. OctaneRender from OTOY was one of the pioneers of moving the computationally intensive tasks of unbiased rendering over to the Graphics Processing Unit (GPU, otherwise known as the graphics card), which is able to divide tasks across a much greater number of parallel cores. By using GPUs, all of a sudden unbiased renders could be achieved in minutes on a single machine instead of hours or days – as was the norm before using CPU rendering. The best 3D modelling software As OctaneRender gets ready for a milestone version 4 release, it has become one of the leading render engines on the market. This is primarily due to the large number of software solutions that OctaneRender can integrate into through the wide selection of plugins that are available for digital content creation applications, including 3ds Max, Maya, Cinema 4D, Houdini, Modo and LightWave to name but a few. OctaneRender is available for CAD applications and also Nuke, allowing compositors to work with OctaneRender without needing to round-trip to an application. A lot of this flexibility is handled in the background by the ORBX format, which OTOY uses as the underpinnings of its standalone application, and makes transferring scenes between applications easier than it would be with other render solutions. OctaneRender also has one of the most responsive render preview systems, making iterative changes easy to visualise in near real time. As OctaneRender is an unbiased solution, it is easy for artists new to 3D to learn with OctaneRender materials, lighting and cameras all corresponding to real-world settings. Here are some key features that will help you get to grips with this powerful software. Get free admission to VERTEX 2019, the ultimate event for 2D and 3D artists 01. Standalone application Having OctaneRender as a standalone app allows a wide range of elements to be tested Unlike many other third-party render solutions, OctaneRender comes with its own standalone application. This may initially seem odd, as so much time is spent in the host application with the chosen OctaneRender plugin. However, having a standalone application is a really useful tool because it allows a wide range of elements to be tested as scenes are moved between different creation applications. 02. Render preview OctaneRender boasts one of the most impressive render preview windows in the digital content space OctaneRender has one of the most impressive render preview windows in the digital content space. Not only is it exceptionally responsive in comparison to other GPU render solutions, OctaneRender allows – depending on the plugin – quick access to material selection, focus point selection and AOV/render layer preview. Support is being implemented for Apple Metal allowing Mac users to bring OctaneRender into their workflows. 03. For compositors OctaneRender is available as a plugin for the compositing application Nuke OctaneRender is friendly for compositors as it is available as a plugin for the compositing application Nuke which supports deep pixel rendering, allowing Nuke artists to have access to the latest compositing toolsets combined with the speed of GPU rendering. As OctaneRender also supports features such as volumetric rendering, it is an excellent solution for effects work where dust, smoke or flames are often required. 04. Material library OctaneRender comes with an array of materials to choose from OctaneRender comes with an array of materials that are constantly added to by the community, and are easily accessed in host applications through the OctaneRender LiveDB. As OctaneRender is an unbiased render engine, materials have a logic to them that is easier to grasp for new 3D artists than those of a biased render engine. OctaneRender also supports a full material baking paradigm, making it an excellent tool for those working in real-time creation. 05. Nodes in OctaneRender Nodes can seem confusing at first, but they offer great efficiencies Nodal workflows are key to the power of OctaneRender. Nodes are used to control practically every aspect of the application in the standalone version and they are also used through the OctaneRender plugin environments for materials. Although these are potentially confusing at first for artists new to nodal workflows, nodes can offer great efficiencies, especially when using texture files and gradients that need only one node to control multiple outputs. 06. OctaneRender 4 The latest release of OctaneRender – version 4 – is now available as a beta to existing customers The new release – OctaneRender 4 – is already available as a beta to existing customers. Major highlights are the integration of OTOY’s real-time path-tracing engine, Brigade, into OctaneRender. There is also the addition of a Spectral AI Denoiser and AI Light system that will enable cleaner animations and dramatically faster render times, improved fog and a new planetary environment. OctaneRender 3 full-licence customers will get a free upgrade to the new version. This article originally appeared in 3D World issue 242; subscribe here. Read more: 3D art: 27 stunning examples to inspire you The best cities for 3D artists A beginner's guide to using camera lenses in 3D View the full article

If you're hungry to create unique digital experiences, the iconic Awwwards conference in Amsterdam is the place to be. This year's event, which kicks off today, will see hundreds of designers, web developers and digital thinkers gather to gain insight and expertise on all the latest and greatest developments in the world of digital design – and you can have a front row seat, courtesy of Adobe. Already helping to shape the future of experience design with its open source prototyping tool Adobe XD, Adobe will host a two-day livestream of Awwwards, from 1000 – 1600 (CET)/ 0900 – 1500 (GMT) on the 14 and 15 February, so you can enjoy all the action from the comfort of your own home. In a line-up you won't want to miss, you'll hear from many of the senior Adobe design team, including Principal Creative Could Evangelist Rufus Deuchler and UX/UI Design Evangelist Stephanie Maier. The Adobe livestream will also feature inspiring talks from leading UX and VR experts, including Active Theory, Moxy, Peter Smart, Anrick Bregman, Simon Widjaja & Ingo Eichel, Clive K. Lavery & Claire- Lise Bengué, and more. Hear their tips for good experience design, ask them questions live online, discover new UX trends and updates in Adobe XD CC. Register now to watch the Adobe Live session Registering for the Adobe Live session couldn't be easier, simply follow the link above, provide your details and voila! You'll also receive an email reminder before the livestream starts so you don't miss anything. When? Join Adobe on the 14 and 15 February from 1000 CET/0900 GMT. Where? The Abobe livestream will be held on Behance. All of the live sessions will be held in English. Don't miss the chance to be a part of this inspiring event and connect with the Adobe community. And as an extra bonus, you'll get a recap of all the latest Adobe XD updates requested by the community. What's new in Adobe XD? Speaking of XD, whether you're a seasoned user, or someone with an interest in UX design, Adobe XD is the fastest way to design, prototype and share any user experience. A leading authority in the world of web design, Adobe works closely with the UX community on the continued development of Adobe XD to maintain and enhance its already impressive toolset. Give Adobe XD a try for free today and see these key new features in all their glory: Voice triggers and speech - Interact with your prototypes like never before. Voice triggers and speech playback let you take users beyond the screen. Auto animate in the browser - First launched in October 2018, Auto-Animate is now accessible via web browsers, enabling users to view animations in prototypes and get the animation property values. This will make it easier for designers showcase their designs to stakeholders and other partners. Record interactions with audio - The desktop preview app now allows you to record your own voice along with any click-through interactions and share it as an MP4 file (Mac only). Voice language and accent support - Since January, 2019 XD allows users across a variety of countries and regions to access voice capabilities and work in multiple languages, including English, French,German, Korean or Japanese. XD also supports regional accents for voice commands with the ability to understand accents in various regions such as English-UK, French-Canadian or Australian. The update also includes a range of personalities and genders. View all comments across artboards - Adobe XD also enables you to view all screen comments across artboards. Users can now turn on the All Screen Comments feature in XD, which allows the ability to see all comments made on a prototype in a single list, making it easier than ever to collaborate and share feedback with colleagues and partners. Linked Symbols - It’s easier to stay on top of changes when symbols that are copied from one document and pasted into prototypes remain linked. Now when changes are made to the source file, you’ll be notified and have the option to accept updates. View the full article

The issue affects default installations of Ubuntu Server and Desktop and is likely included in many Ubuntu-like Linux distributions. View the full article