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Are you a social media guru? Do you post, tweet, and stream like nobody's business? With the right training, you could be the perfect candidate to enter the social media marketing field. This lucrative field is growing every day, and whether you want to build your own brand or help a company build theirs, The Social Media Marketing Master Class Bundle can give you the coaching you need. Learn how to turn followers into revenue, and find out how to navigate different social media platforms in the most effective way. You'll also earn certifications of completion to prove your skills to employers. Check out The Social Media Marketing Master Class Bundle for just $29. Related articles: 5 ways (not) to lose followers on social media Social media for artists: A lifeline or a curse? 5 golden rules for social media strategy View the full article

What are the top cyber trends to watch out for in 2019? Here's what we're hearing. View the full article

Vulnerability in electric car charging stations could allow attackers to compromise devices. View the full article

A look back at the blizzard of breaches that made up 2018. View the full article

The best iPad accessories for your favourite tablet are here to help you make the experience even better. From keyboard cases that protect your iPad and make it a mobile workstation to speakers and headphones to help make your tablet experience even more immersive – we've got the lot. This guide has picked the best options from all the iPad accessory categories you can think of and has them laid out clearly below. With all the work done, all you need to do is decide which iPad accessory will get you the best out of your iPad this year. Being the official Apple stylus, the Pencil is near perfect for the job. It magnetically attaches to the iPad Pro and charges wirelessly while there. The Pencil features a double tap sensor that allows you to switch pen styles easily. This is also both pressure and tilt sensitive so can be used more like a real pen. So increase pressure for thicker lines or tilt for shading, all while leaning your hand on the screen without marking your work. The Adonit Jot Pro is a great stylus to save you some money while still keeping enough style to look good even when paired with the design perfection that is Apple's iPad. A magnetic core allows this to clip to your iPad while the precision head with clear plastic jot dot allows for super levels of accuracy where you see exactly what you're pressing against. Of course at this price you sacrifice all the smart extras like pressure sensitivity and tilt support. This is a super budget stylus option that works on all iPad devices. The Griffin Balanced Stylus Pointer, as the name suggests, is a simple way to get more control over drawing, writing and annotating on an iPad. Since its passive, it'll work on most touchscreens, doesn't require charging or connecting and even comes with a handy clip so you don't lose it. Griffin is a well known brand that is able to offer this quality stylus for a silly cheap price. If you want most of the features of the Apple Pencil but can't justify the expense then the Logitech Crayon is a good alternative. This still offers the tilt sensor and palm recognition of the Pencil. This pairs instantly when turned on and features an anti-roll shape so can be left down easily. You lose the pressure sensing and tap features of the Pencil but then you save a lot of money too. The official Apple Smart Keyboard for 10.5-inch iPad Pro is one of the best ways to turn your iPad into a laptop. You get Apple quality design and build meaning top quality keys for typing as well as a luxurious finish to the case itself. Everything attaches easily thanks to the Apple Smart Connector and the case is both thick enough to offer protection but slim enough to stay mobile. When it comes to keyboards, Logitech has been in the game for nearly as long as it has existed. That's just one of the reasons this Logitech Slim Folio Case with Keyboard is sold officially on the Apple Store. Bluetooth LE connectivity, complete iPad protection, dedicated iOS shortcut buttons, a stand mode plus a staggering four year battery life make this a winner at that low price. The Brydge 9.7 is aptly named as it aims to bridge the gap between tablet and laptop. Using its Bluetooth connected keyboard it offers a MacBook style experience with an iPad. You get a full QWERTY keyboard with dedicated iOS shortcuts, high-grade aluminium build, 3-level backlit keys and a lifetime warranty. The iPad Smart Cover is the original and accessory defining product which made tablet cases such a necessity. This not only protects the tablet display with a thin yet strong polyurethane and microfibre build, but it also acts as a stand when folded back. The case also features a magnetic connection to hold to the iPad which allows for smart awakening and sleep when opened and closed. The Griffin Survivor is a superb way to make sure your iPad stays protected. Yes this isn't the most sleek or attractive case but then it can go all the places a pretty case would be left dishevelled and your iPad broken. This is great for those with children or who lead hectic lives where the iPad is thrown in and out of bags travelling all over. This is US Department of Defense level safe too. The MoKo Case Fit for iPad 9.7 is a truly astonishing balance of super low price and multiple features combined. This offers the auto wake and sleep magnetic flip case of the official Flip Cover but also adds rear side protection with heat dissipating materials to avoid overheating. There is also shock absorption for drops and a screen protector to evade scratches. A superb feature set for the low price. The official Apple AirPods have been designed from scratch to offer the ultimate wireless audio experience with an Apple device. That means a simple tap to connect and then automatic recognition when you pop them in your ears. A tap gets you Siri for voice controls without the need to touch your iPad. You get a 24-hour battery with charges from the case plus decent audio for music and voice. The Bose QuietComfort 35 ii headphones offer a fantastic way to drown out the world around you with active noise cancellation while giving wireless connectivity and decent battery life. These are ideal for travelling or at home where background noise can affect concentration. The comfort levels are high meaning they can be worn for a long time without being noticed – the perfect flight companion. If you want to go for more subtle in-earphones but wish to stay wireless and on a budget then the Soundcore Spirit Sports are a great option. These sweat and rain resistant buds offer up to eight hours of listening before they need a charge. That makes them not only useful at home with your iPad but also great to head out the door for a run with your iPhone, getting you even more for that affordable price. The Bose SoundLink Revolve+ is a powerful yet portable Bluetooth speaker that offers 360-degree sound to fill most rooms. This even comes with Siri support allowing for easy voice controls via your connected iPad. The battery should keep going for 16-hours while the IPX4 rating means splash and dust resistance to set your mind at ease as you enjoy the high-quality sound. Sonos started the multi-room speaker revolution and is still leading the way with quality products like the Sonos One. This allows you to connect using your iPad to control the speaker, or any other Sonos speaker in the home, using AirPlay for super simple access. It also supports Siri voice controls and allows you to use two speakers for stereo sound. Sony quality sound on a budget. This Sony SRS XB-10 portable and affordable Bluetooth speaker will work with any iPad to offer decent bass for the size and enough audio punch fill most rooms. The battery life is an impressive 16-hours and with IPX5 water and dust resistance you can take it pretty much anywhere you need to go. Despite the name, the Joby GripTight GorillaPod Stand Pro actually fits lots of different iPad types. Thanks to its malleable legs it can be manipulated to hold the tablet at varying heights and angles, ideal for watching video or thanks to side-on tilting, FaceTime chatting. The rubber feet hold the unit in place and you can even wrap it around a chair back or pole, for example, to get it in place where you need. The Logi Base Charging Stand for iPad is a typical Apple style design that uses metallic minimalism at its best. The slither of a stand not only looks good and solid but also uses the Smart Connector for easy attachment and charging of the iPad Pro. The iPad can be placed in portrait or landscape mode for use as a video player, work station or even FaceTime video chat interface. The Anker Portable Multi-Angle Stand works with most iPads as well as a host of smartphones including the iPhone. This stand offers support for portrait and landscape viewing and can be titled to offer the perfect viewing angle. While this is great for videos and FaceTime, you won't have any cable hiding or charging support, but at this price would you expect to? Read more: The best laptop bags for 2019: top laptop backpacks, sleeves and cases The best cheap iPad deals in 2018 The best iPad stylus in 2018: top iPad styluses for drawing and note-taking View the full article

For this workshop I’m going to create an interior background featuring line art and a textured paint style. I want to set myself up for success by doing lots of planning in the early stages of the painting process. I start by seeking out plenty of reference and inspiration. Once I have a simple idea of the story, I’ll do a drawing of the environment, featuring as many props and details as I can bring to mind. The goal during this stage is to be able to imagine what kind of person lives in this room. I then create several black and white compositions that explore different ways of lighting the image. At the same time, I’ll create various colour keys of the image. Even though I spend a good deal of time preparing and planning the piece, I want to keep my options open. I know that I have the chance to change my mind and improvise my approach as I go. This enables me to keep the energy high throughout the entire painting process, means I can switch up my painting techniques and ensures that I won’t get bored and quit halfway through! You can watch the video above, and continue on to read the step-by-step process. Download your custom brushes here. Not quite what you were looking for? You might want to check out our other Photoshop tutorials. 01. Start from nothing Try to stick to one clear idea at the start of your process When I start a painting, I try and pick one simple idea. This takes the pressure off me to think of something amazing right from the start. I want to paint an interior shot of an office with lots of props. At this point, I’ll spend lots of time researching and quickly sketching ideas in Photoshop to spark my imagination. 02. Establish a story Think about what subject interests you most, and don't be afraid to reflect elements of yourself in your work I start to hone in on what makes the subject matter interesting to me. I decide to turn the office into an artist’s studio because – perhaps unsurprisingly – I can relate more to that subject matter. At this stage I’m focusing on large shapes and the overall feel of the drawing, rather than getting bogged down in the details. 03. Experiment with lighting Decide on lighting ideas early on if you can I tend to do lots of prep work for a painting. These lighting options provide a safety net so that I won’t get stuck later on in the process. Composition, lighting and colour are so intertwined that I like to make these decisions early, knowing that I’ll change things up as I go. 04. Refine the composition Expanding your frame and thinking about key framing devices can help improve your work At this point the image feels as though it lacks depth, so I expand the frame to show more of the room. I try adding a large window before ruling that out, and eventually settling on a staircase as a framing device. There’s lots of experimentation in the early stages of a painting – but that’s all part of the fun. 05. Consider the perspective of the scene Drawing lines and cubes on your work can help you 'get perspective' on your piece Perspective can be a daunting task, but with practice it can become second nature. For this image the perspective is relatively simple: it’s one-point perspective with a horizon line in the middle of the image. To avoid becoming overwhelmed by the complexity of this image, I lay in main shapes as cubes and then build around them. 06. Create lighting and colour keys Force yourself to stick to key ideas by using opaque brushes When creating my colour comps I like to infuse them with energy, making as many as I need in five minutes. I avoid using transparency when painting colour comps, opting instead for a hard Round 100 per cent Opacity brush, so I’m not tempted to start painting details. 07. Produce a clean line drawing I transfer my Photoshop file to my iPad and open it in Procreate. At this stage I like to take a step back and have fun. Time to really let loose and allow my personality to shine through the drawing! I make sure not to trace the sketch, but to improve on it, fix perspective errors, and add more personality and detail. 08. Lay down a base An energetic base will help the final painting have more energy I want to create a base to paint on so I don’t have to stare at a white canvas. It doesn’t matter what kind of brush or texture at this point, I’m just trying to start the final painting process with lots of energy, to make sure I don’t end up with a stale-looking image. 09. Block in major shapes Adding the main shapes at this point helps with the next steps I block in my shapes with what I consider would be their local colour and value without any lighting effects added. I can paint those in later. What I need now is for the main shapes to be there so I can paint into them later. This little bit of prep work will enable me to jump around different parts of the image with ease. 10. Take in Color Dynamics The Color Dynamics tool speeds things up One great tool in Photoshop is Color Dynamics. I like to have this turned on with most of my brushes, although I rarely turn any of the sliders past 10 per cent because it can get garish. It generates a subtle colour variation that would take too long to paint by hand. 11. Paint with light and colour Once the main shapes are laid in, I can start to light the image. Using my colour key as a guide I make my way around the painting, adding a light and shadow side to all objects, I consider the local colour of the object, as well as the temperature and colour of the light that’s affecting it. 12. Keep your value groups consistent Always check you're not straying too far from your original idea I create a layer filled with black and set the blend mode to Color. This enables me to check that I’m not straying from my initial value comp as I add colours. It can be easy for an image with this much complexity to lose focus if I allow the colours to take precedence over the value. 13. Colour the lines Coloured lines add depth to a piece To give my image an extra bit of depth at the end I go through and colour the lines, My goal is to integrate the lines into the image so that it feels like they belong. In my experience, having an all-black line drawing on top of a colourful painting will flatten it out. Bonus tip: take lots of breaks One thing that demos can’t convey is time. Generally, when I’m painting I’ll work in small chunks – 20 minutes to an hour, say. I find that when I stare at the image for too long I can become blind to the mistakes I may have made. Overall, I spend about 13 hours on this interior scene. This article originally appeared in issue 165 of ImagineFX, the world's leading magazine for digital artists; subscribe here. Read more: How to remove a background in Photoshop Designers are NOT happy with this Photoshop update A comprehensive guide to Photoshop blend modes View the full article

Want to become an animator? Animation is a powerful storytelling tool – just take a look at the much-loved films from Pixar and DreamWorks. To launch a career in this creative field, check out The Complete Beginner's Guide to Animation Bundle. You'll learn to use crucial software from Adobe Creative Cloud – Illustrator, After Effects, and Premiere Pro – that every animator worth his or her salt needs to know how to utilise. Discover the tricks of the trade, and you'll be well on your way to creating animated stories. For just $24.99, you can get The Complete Beginner's Guide to Animation Bundle. That's 95% off the regular price! Related articles: 17 expert storyboard tips for TV animation The best online animation classes in 2018 Perfect your animation portfolio with these tips View the full article

It's normal to make mistakes when writing, even if you're one of the best writers out there. For a writing assistant that's always there for you, try out WhiteSmoke Writing Assistant: Lifetime Premium Subscription. This advanced technology works overtime to check your grammar, spelling, and style – ensuring you'll never have to go through the experience of sending an email to your boss, only to realise too late that it's riddled with embarrassing typos. This software is easy to use and works seamlessly on mobile and desktop, and can even translate into 50 different languages. Proofread emails, check for plagiarism, and ensure all your writing is typo-free. Get WhiteSmoke Writing Assistant: Lifetime Premium Subscription for just $79 – that's 80% off the regular price. Related articles: How to write the perfect brief How to write engaging case studies for your portfolio How to write a great headline View the full article

The explosion of AR, VR and AI has certainly opened new doors for UX and UI designers. These technological developments encourage designers to develop more lush, engaging experiences while at the same time challenging them to rethink their creative approach. However, while these innovations have given designers exciting new spaces in which to hone and showcase their craft, successful UX/UI design at its core continues to be driven by a compelling narrative. In this article, we'll consider the UI themes that dominated in 2018, and what will be key for designers to focus on as we move into the new year. 01. Colourful, effervescent design A vibrant colour palette brings this Adobe experience to life The strongest, most appealing way in which UX/UI storytelling is being rendered is through the use of bold, vibrant colour. High saturation and use of neon-like colour palettes create so much positive energy, which you can truly feel in digital efforts like Running on Experience. In this simple but striking, scrolling journey, Adobe uses video to tell a linear story about digital transformation. The whole thing is beautifully handled, but what’s really captivating is strong use of typography and the gorgeous colour spectrum on display. 02. Less flat design Orano combines 3D, parallax and subtle micro-interactions in this captivating experience Along with a focus on vibrance, flat UX/UI design is once again trending down and giving way to a renewed interest in the creation of more layered, immersive web experiences, from the use of drop-shadows to image depth of field. To promote its gamma radiation-detecting NanoPix camera, for example, the renewable energy specialists at Orano unveiled a multi-tiered experience complete with a mix of clean graphic design and 3D, parallax scrolling and subtle, intuitive micro-interactions that all seamlessly combine to create a wonderful storytelling experience. 03. Heightened hi-fidelity prototyping Tools like Cinemagraph Pro streamline the path to proof of concept The UX/UI design tools of digital storytelling are now being amplified by apps like Cinemagraph Pro, Pixaloop, VSCO and Canva, which streamline the path to proof-of-concept, compared to more complex traditional design tools such as Photoshop or After Effects. But as we head into 2019, we're exploring more tools like InVision Studio, which can be used to develop more high-fidelity prototypes to better sell a user experience to our clients. One of the main purposes of prototyping is to do with validating the proposed user experience. These tools can help designers create something high-fidelity in a similar amount of time as standard UX/UI development, and ultimately provide a more effective way to walk clients through an interactive experience. 04. Increased adaptability Shifts such as the rise of voice interfaces have transformed the role of the designer Like any other industry, be it music, film or fashion, cycles in UX/UI design happen because of oversaturation. At some point everything begins to look and sound the same. The downward trend of flat design, for instance, is just part of the cyclical nature of the field. Because of this consistent ebb and flow, UX/UI designers need to acknowledge that the key for the industry’s survival is adaptability – especially with the emergence of AR, VR and AI. The latter, in fact, has already made a noticeable impact on society, from controlling and managing our smart homes and driving our cars to making financial recommendations – not to mention the effect that the technology has had on the work of UX/UI designers. Though AI has yet to completely take over our responsibilities in UX/UI, what this tool and other innovations should teach designers is that they need to learn to adapt and adjust their skill sets as new tech emerges and design styles shift. While the fundamentals of graphic design will still apply to UX/UI, the tools will certainly advance. And as more companies develop specific tools for designers and developers, we need to be open to leveraging them appropriately – before of course, we eventually move onto something else entirely. Liked this? Try these... 7 hot web trends for 2019 How to build an AR app Build cross-platform apps with React Native View the full article

Alaska is famous for the Northern Lights, and a favoured destination for anyone looking for the aurora borealis in North America. However, Alaska is wild. It’s remote. It’s hard to get to. And it's hard to get around – especially in winter. Weather can be unpredictable, and transport too, so make sure you have travel insurance for all trips you book during the winter in Alaska. Although you can rent a car, conditions are best described as extreme, and many companies do not allow their vehicles to be driven to the far north; check the conditions before signing any rental agreement. It’s also very cold in winter (as low as -30°F/-34°C). The best astrophotography camera and equipment So should you visit Alaska to see the Northern Lights? Alaska is often visited on cruises, though unless you’re going at the end of the cruise season, around September (when Northern Lights season kicks-off), you’re probably not going to see them from the water. So wrap up well, be prepared to get up in the middle of the night, and get yourself to northern inland Alaska in September or March. That’s when the aurora can be at their strongest, but means you'll miss the extreme conditions of midwinter. You'll also get a better chance to see wildlife. Make sure you avoid full moon, too – plus a week either side. And plan to be in Alaska for a week or two, if you really want a decent chance of seeing the Northern Lights. Here’s where to go. Situated at 64° N about 180 miles south of the Arctic Circle, the Northern Lights are common in Fairbanks, though less so than in Alaska’s far north. A former gold rush boomtown, Fairbanks may not be the absolute best place in Alaska to see aurora frequently, but it’s so easy to get here by plane, and there are dozens of places to stay. Good observations spots nearby include Cleary Summit, Chena Lakes Recreation Area (see below), Haystack Mountain, Ester, Wickersham and Murphy Domes. You can get to some of those places on guided tours at night operated by local companies, or rent a 4x4. How to get there Alaska Airlines fly from Anchorage, which is by far the easiest way of getting to Fairbanks. However, you can also get there by train; the Alaska Railroad operates its Aurora Winter Trains on weekends. It travels north from Anchorage for 12 hours on Saturday and returns on Sunday. It also operates during mid-week in December, January, February and March. The drive from Anchorage to Fairbanks takes about seven hours. Where to stay Out in the wilderness but spitting distance from Fairbanks, Chena Lake Recreation Area is a popular place to come looking for the Northern Lights. A common tactic is to drive round the lake to the jetty, park your car, and view the Northern Lights from the lake shore. By day you can rent ice-fishing houses and fish for Rainbow Trout, Silver Salmon, and Arctic Char through pre-drilled ice holes. There are also cross-country ski trails here. How to get there Chena Lakes is only 55 miles east of Fairbanks. It can be driven in 30 minutes, though the only accommodation option near the lake – Chena Hot Springs Resort – runs a shuttle from Fairbanks International Airport. Where to stay If you want to find somewhere beautiful to photograph the Northern Lights, consider Denali National Park. Although it's some distance south of Fairbanks, this wilderness of six million acres is northerly enough for the Northern Lights to be spotted (though it’s not a nightly occurrence). However, the lodges on the outskirts of this national park are well set up for aurora viewing, and many of them will ring an alarm or arrange a wake-up call when the aurora do appear. Most easily reached by train, Denali National Park is home to sheep, grizzly bear, caribou, moose and the tallest mountain in North America, Mt. Denali. That’s one for the backdrop to your aurora photos. This area is best visited in September, when the aurora season has started, but the extreme conditions have not set-in. How to get there You can get here by train; it’s an eight-hour journey north from Anchorage, and only four hours south of Fairbanks. It is possible to drive here, and it's easy to rent a car at Anchorage Airport, though most people do take the train (most hotels here offer shuttle services between the railway station, the visitor centre, and the hotels). You cannot drive your car very far into the national park, so again, shuttle buses take most people in and out. There is no airport at Denali National Park. Where to stay Here at almost 68° N is the beginning of a vast Arctic tundra landscape. It’s wild, so wild, that to get here and immerse yourself in the wilderness is an expensive affair. Protecting the Brooks Range, the Gates of the Arctic National Park is the northernmost national park in the US, situated entirely north of the Arctic Circle. Coldfoot is the point of entry, either by plane to its small airport, or by road up the Dalton Highway. How to get there The ex-mining camp of Coldfoot is very often reached by air as part of a luxury wilderness package that involves a stay at either Coldfoot Camp or Iniakuk Wilderness Lodge. Some packages will put you in a van to drive up the Dalton Highway to Coldfoot; it takes about six hours from Fairbanks. Coldfoot is 250 miles north of Fairbanks, and 60 miles above the Arctic Circle. Where to stay Ever wondered where the Ice Road Truckers are going? The answer is Prudhoe Bay (also called Sagavanirktok), a region on the coast of the Arctic Ocean that’s also the centre of the Alaskan oil industry. The main town, Deadhorse, is home to around 2,000 people – mostly transient oil workers – and the town is more industrial work camp than tourist destination. There are only a few (trucker accommodation) places to stay in Deadhorse – the Prudhoe Bay Hotel and The Aurora Hotel – though access is restricted to oilfield workers and tour groups with special permits. How to get there Getting to Deadhorse on the edge of Prudhoe Bay Oilfield is not easy. If you do want to come here, call one of the hotels listed below (or the Fairbanks Convention & Visitors Bureau) and they will advise you. Some Fairbanks-based tour companies often bus tours north to Coldfoot and Deadhorse, or fly drive combination tours. Deadhorse lies at the end of Alaska's famous Dalton Highway, Alaska's most remote and challenging road and a 414-mile journey from Fairbanks. By far the easiest way to get here is by air; Alaska Airlines and Frontier Aviation offer daily services to Deadhorse from Fairbanks. However, if you just want to see the Northern Lights from somewhere beautiful, go elsewhere. Where to stay Barrow is at the extreme northern edge of Alaska, and is a much more beautiful place than Prudhoe Bay. About 330 miles north of the Arctic Circle, Barrow (also called Utqiagvik) is the most northerly settlement in the US; only the adventurous make it this far. However, there is a good reason for making Barrow your destination of choice when looking for the Northern Lights, and that's because of its traditional Alaskan culture. As well as being able to see the aurora over the ocean from here, you will be able to explore the local Iñupiat Eskimo culture, and visit the Inupiat Heritage Center to learn more about bowhead whale-hunting and dog-sledding. They still harvest 24 whales a year here. How to get there The only option for getting to Barrow is by plane, and it can be expensive. Alaska Airlines fly to Barrow from both Fairbanks and Anchorage, as do charter flight companies including Era Alaska or Arctic Air, though most people who visit Barrow do so via a tour company such as Tundra Tours or the Northern Alaska Tour Company, whose package prices normally include a flight. Where to stay Read more: When, where and how to photograph the Northern Lights Photography cheat sheet helps you take better photos The 6 best laptops for photo editing in 2018 View the full article

It makes it simple for attackers to find devices to take over and add to botnets. View the full article

As we come thundering towards 2018's denouement, it's time to reflect upon the logo designs of the past 12 months with the additional wisdom of time passed; the renewed appreciation gained from distancing knee-jerk reactions (yes, we mean on Twitter). With that in mind, we've gathered the branding projects and identity redesigns that we feel merit further cogitation as we move into a new year, with its own as-yet unknown trends, shocks and delights. Of course, we've spoken to industry big hitters to ascertain the logo trends for 2019, and it's certainly fascinating to get such adroit insight into the creative directions of the impending 12 months. But let's not forget to look back for inspiration, too. We've looked back through our archives to find the best logo designs of 2018. Click on the subheads to read our original articles, and see the old versions of each logo – plus more pictures of the new look for each brand. 01. Ogilvy "Change is our lifeblood" is Ogilvy & Mather's mantra, and this year, the global advertising agency's logo revealed an eyebrow-raising change to its logo. The June rebrand took two years to complete and was notable for the dropping of "& Mather" from the logotype, harking back to a previous handwritten logo based on founder David Ogilvy's signature. How to master colour theory "We needed to greatly simplify the organisation around what I call an integrated enterprise agenda, not a holding company of all these different piece-parts," explained the company's chief executive John Siefert to the Wall Street Journal, and the refreshed identity is designed to reflect that. Despite the simplification, Ogilvy's new logo is deceptively challenging, with many interesting typographic design elements competing to draw the eye – and as such is an excellent reflection of the agency and its ethos. 02. John Lewis/Waitrose John Lewis and Waitrose earned their stripes in 2018 This year, John Lewis Partnership relaunched its two retail brands as Waitrose & Partners and John Lewis & Partners. Each arm of the rejigged business model got a new brand identity and logo design created by Pentagram, each emphasising the connection between the two firms. Pentagram looked to the original work for the John Lewis Partnership logotype designed by Hans Schleger and Peter Hatch in the early '60s, which at the time was centred around a pattern motif. The same weight and thickness of lines found in this diamond symbol pattern was used to provide a link to the past in the new logos. 03. American Express Pentagram was trusted with AMEX's first logo redesign in 37 years For the first time in 37 years, AMEX has refreshed its visual identity, the design coming from Pentagram's Abbott Miller. First introduced in 1975, AMEX's little blue symbol is instantly recognisable, so the aim was to preserve – but enhance – its design. To do this, the radial gradient was removed and the letterforms that cross through the centre of the blue square were redrawn and finessed in order for it to render in a clean, concise way that functions at both a large and small scale. 04. Mailchimp Revolution not evolution for the primate-obsessed email client's logo Popular email marketing service Mailchimp launched a new brand identity and design system this year. The rebrand came courtesy of COLLINS, working alongside Mailchimp's in-house design team. Notably, it saw the company doing away with its much-loved script logo design in favour of a sans-serif wordmark, and introducing a cheerful yellow as its brand colour. The new wordmark uses a custom typeface that is equally full of character. Freddie, Mailchimp's simian mascot, also had a makeover. The hat and cheeky wink remain firmly in place, but he's now a simplified, single-colour silhouette. The shift also means Freddie can appear alongside the wordmark as part of a more unified system. 05. BBC Two Created in partnership between the BBC’s in-house agency BBC Creative and brand agency Superunion, and involving collaboration with the likes of The Mill, Mainframe, and FutureDeluxe, BBC Two received the televisual equivalent of a redesigned logo: new channel identifiers. Centred around a visual signifier whose curved shape suggests the number two, the new idents tackle the same brief in a range of creative ways, with animations including colourful blobs, furry scuttling creatures, and hypnotic swirling patterns, and elevated by audio created by award-winning British composer and sound designer Alex Baranowski. 06. Uber Embattled Uber received a new logo in 2018 On first sight, the new Uber logo looks like it's doggedly following the recent trend for wordmarks in bespoke fonts. It's the work of the ever-controversial Wolff Olins – who you'll remember for the 2012 Olympics logo and the similarly provocative Met rebrand – along with the Uber Brand Experience Team. Of course, it includes a bespoke font, Uber Move – a sans serif by MCKL Type Foundry, which was inspired by typefaces usually associated with transportation, and designed to look friendlier than the previous, more aggressive typeface, Clan Pro. 07. Burberry Burberry was not alone in receiving a sans serif logo treatment this year We're not going to go over this year's logo design controversy again here – yes, a number of brands went homogenised sans-serif in 2018. But Burberry's renewed identity is interesting for more reasons than typeface alone. The new logo was designed in collaboration with Burberry and Peter Saville, and replaces the famous Burberry Equestrian Knight Logo which in one form or another has been going strong since 1901. Revealed simultaneously, a new Burberry monogram from Italian designer Riccardo Tisci exhibited a more playful side to the brand. Tisci has taken the initials of the fashion brand's founder, Thomas Burberry, and weaved them into an interlocking and colourful design decked out in orange, white, black and beige – the colours of the iconic Burberry check. 08. Battersea Dogs & Cats Home Battersea goes abstract, with help from Pentagram Battersea is a much-loved British charity that cares for cats and dogs across the UK. This year, Battersea unveiled a new identity, created by Pentagram partners Marina Willer and Naresh Ramchandani, which drops the 'Dogs & Cats Home', instead opting for a new brand line: Here for every dog and cat. The refresh includes a new logo made up of a family of hand-drawn, abstract watercolour images by Japanese illustrator Hiromi Suzuki, designed to emphasise the charity's commitment to every animal in its care. Retaining Battersea’s signature blue, the illustrations are complemented with a sharp Franklin Gothic wordmark. 09. Houses of Parliament The new UK Parliament logo (right) is optimised for digital A new identity for UK Parliament was created in collaboration between the House of Commons and the House of Lords with brand and digital design studio SomeOne, and as part of this identity, new logos were created for digital optimisation. At first glance, the new logos appear remarkably similar. The main differences seem to be a tidying up of an existing portcullis design, which includes the removal of a few dots and a uniform shape applied to the chain links. However this subtle smartening up was at the heart of the new identity for the digital age. 10. Wahaca Wahaca logo goes from shabby to classy while retaining a sense of fun For Mexican restaurant Wahaca, going from a start-up to a chain meant refining its image without turning its back on its heritage, and defining its mission statement in a new logo design. Revealed this year, the new identity created by London studio Without sees Wahaca do away with its shabby chic aesthetic, which was once ahead of its time. The new logo sees a taco raised defiantly in a fist. As well as looking polished, the design and reduced colour palette also identifies Wahaca's territory as a Mexican restaurant that offers fresh, flavoursome food. 11. FatFace The new FatFace logo caused some disquiet on launch The new FatFace logo caused some disquiet on launch but a few months on, it has been reappraised. Such a radical change – from surfer aesthetic to a sophisticated high street look – was always going to divide opinions, and now that the froth has settled it can be seen that the more mature logo design perfectly reflects FatFace's progression to a respected outdoor clothing brand. Some will mourn the end of FatFace's dreadlocked character motif, but moving to a lone wordmark is entirely consistent with 2018's trends. 12. Debenhams Debenhams' new logo is classy yet approachable UK department store Debenhams was given an identity overhaul in 2018, courtesy of Mother Design, which included a new logo design that replaced that which had been in place since 1999. Mother worked closely with Swiss Typefaces on a new logo for the retail giant – the final design uses a custom typeface based on SangBleu, creating a more approachable, modern look that still contains echoes of Debenhams' 200-year heritage. The logo is supported by a vibrant colour palette and fresh illustration style, which formed part of a marketing campaign tasked with injecting some of the joy back into the shopping experience. Related articles: Indie film goes viral with the true meaning of Christmas The best boozy Christmas ad campaigns 40 traffic-stopping examples of billboard advertising View the full article

Christmas is just around the corner. No doubt you've already got dinner plans sorted – maybe sitting down with the in-laws, overcooked turkey, a side of passive aggression – but what if, what if… you were going to your dream design dinner party instead. That's not really a thing. We made it up. But it's got you thinking, right? We asked a bunch of our favourite creatives the same question and it got them thinking too. Here's the deal: Five-courses of your favourite food, the finest wines available to humanity, and the company of three other designers, dead or alive. Who would you choose, and why? Amongst their responses, there are some of the biggest names in the design world, but there are also some left-field choices. Read on for some super inspiring, highly creative, and downright bonkers dinner tables. Salvador Dalí, Freddie Mercury and Joshua Davis "First, Salvador Dalí, a great artist, but, as well, a great designer: he created the logo of Chupa Chups among others," says graphic designer of Yarza Twins Marta Yarza. "Can you imagine having a surreal dinner with Dali? Yes, us neither. Next, Freddie Mercury, as he was a graphic designer before becoming a legend! We are pretty sure that he was really fun to hang out with. Did you see that picture of him with a Rolls Royce birthday cake? F*ck yeah! "And Joshua Davis: we had the great pleasure of meeting him during OFFF Barcelona and couldn't have laughed more with him. We're sure that he will be the perfect guest to manage a drunk Mercury and a drunk Dalí with ease and grace." Beatrice Warde, Daniel Benneworth-Gray and Luke Tonge "I would certainly pick the first lady of type, Beatrice Warde – not a designer strictly but a lady of huge influence on our profession," says designer and typographer Nicole Arnett Phillips. "Of course, because you’re serving us the finest of wine we could totally unpack the crystal goblet metaphor over the starter. But I would also love to talk to her about typographic authorship, contemporary trends in layout and, selfishly, my research, and a random theory I have about Stanley Morrison's strategic intentions for Monotype during Warde’s time as marketing manager there. "With Beatrice at the head of the table I think you’d need publishing talent to fuel the conversation, so I would choose Daniel Benneworth-Gray, as his book design is outstanding, and I find his writing insightful and smart so would assume that follows to his conversation. And my friend Luke Tonge, an editorial design wizard, would be amazing company. Luke works with Monotype today, designing the Recorder, and would absolutely stoke the fires of our type in print conversation. Simon Mottram, John Lasseter and Bridget Riley "Now," says owner and co-founder SomeOne Simon Manchipp, "normally I’d pick the three partners of SomeOne, Gary, Laura and David. But I’m guessing you want more than that here. So. Simon Mottram, founder of Rapha. I want all their stuff all the time. I would love to know how he’s designed a brand that is deeply difficult to resist. Next, John Lasseter, founder at Pixar. Storytelling is the greatest asset of any brand. This guys the master designer of stories. He’s going to be a great guest. Third guest: Bridget Riley. She’s designed some of the most incredible images in contemporary culture. They always stop me in my tracks. I’d love to meet her. Charles 'Chuck' Harrison, Jan Švankmajer and Elon Musk "First, Charles “Chuck” Harrison, often titled as the most prolific African-American industrial designer," says Hjalti Karlsson, co-founder and partner at karlssonwilier. "He designed countless products for Sears and other companies, including power tools, hair driers, riding lawn mowers, and the first plastic garbage can (at the time of it's release all garbage cans were metal). "Next, the Czech artist and filmmaker Jan Švankmajer [svankmajerjan.com]. Been a big fan of his work for years. He is the “God” of stopmotion animation. I must have watched his short movie Food like 50 times. And, finally, since I am the biggest fan of Elon Musk and Tesla, I would love to meet and talk to Elon and his chief designer at Tesla, Franz von Holzhausen, who has been responsible for the overall design of all Tesla models to date." Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Alexis Taïeb and Dame Zaha Hadid "Designer one: Charles Rennie Mackintosh," says lettering artist and graphic designer Craig Black. "The Glasgow art nouveau and art deco artist and architect, is the pioneer of Scottish art and design. His unique, innovative style would change the art world forever. His beautiful, simple designs are loved by many all over the world. I would love to chat and find out more about him and his process. "Designer two: Alexis Taïeb. better known as Tyrsa, is a French hand-drawn type master. Tyrsa attacks any kind of brief with a huge amount of energy and delivers polished, highly appealing digital and handmade work ranging from murals, posters, and enormous installations to small, detailed packaging designs. I first came across Tyrsa's work in uni and that was what inspired me to become a lettering artist. "Designer three: Dame Zaha Hadid (1950-2016), an Iraqi-born British architect whose soaring structures left a mark on skylines and imaginations around the world, and in the process reshaped architecture for the modern age. Her work has continued to inspire me and actually led me down the path of design so I would love to have the chance to say thank you." Read more: The 9 most annoying things every designer does What NOT to get a graphic designer for Christmas 10 life lessons for designers View the full article

Microsoft issued an out-of-band patch for a zero day bug in its Internet Explorer browser. View the full article

Fantastic Christmas iPad deal alert: if you missed out on picking up an iPad deal on Black Friday or Cyber Monday, it looks like your indecision (we can call if patience, if you like) has paid off. That's because the iPad 9.7 (2018) is on sale once again – and this time it's even cheaper than it was over the peak shopping period. Right now, you can save up to $149 when you buy the iPad 2018 through Walmart. The same deal can also be found on Amazon, with both offering devices in a range of colours from $229. Earlier in the year we saw the price of these tablets slashed by $80, so with even more money off they're sure to be snapped up fast. In the UK? There are some Christmas iPad deals to be found below, too. Choose from iPads with 32GB or 128GB of storage. If you're hoping to have these before Christmas, make sure you check Amazon's delivery policies to avoid disappointment. Check out the iPads and special deal prices below. UK: Christmas iPad deals Related articles: The best cheap iPad deals in 2018 22 best painting and drawing apps for iPad The best iPad stylus in 2018 View the full article

No one can deny that cloud storage is convenient, but chances are you're storing files with multiple apps. When all of those apps and windows become overwhelming, CloudMounter for Mac steps in. This tool helps bring all of your cloud storage solutions to your hard drive, helping streamline your workflow. A lifetime licence is currently available for 57% off the RRP of $44.95; it's now just $19. We have no doubt CloudMounter for Mac will be your new favourite cloud storage tool. Never again will you need multiple windows open for all of your different cloud storage solutions. CloudMounter allows you to mount your favourite cloud services – like Dropbox, Amazon S3, Microsoft OneDrive and Google Drive – as local disks right on your computer's hard drive. Aside from making your life easier, CloudMounter also keeps things even safer. CloudMounter's advanced encryption adds an extra layer of security to your files, making sure they're even more secure. Simplify your workflow and keep your files super safe forever for this lifetime license at a one-time low price of $19. Want your products featured in Creative Bloq Shop? Learn more about how to sell your products online with StackCommerce. Related articles: 20 tools that make freelancing easier 13 great tools for pitching to clients 17 top tools in Google Analytics View the full article

In a rapidly changing IT landscape where digital business initiatives are being adopted, it is an imperative that IT domains break down silos and collaborate. When it comes to IT Security, preventing financial and reputational loss is a requirement of every employee’s job. When it comes to an IT and Software Asset Management (ITAM/SAM) discipline, it can be another attack prong to assist the Security Operations team in its mission, while simultaneously increasing the visibility of SAM. Maintaining information about the organization’s technology assets uniquely positions the ITAM program to assist with securing business assets and most importantly, data. Collaborating with an over-burdened Security team requires the SAM manager proactively reach out to the CISO or Security Operations, and provide data about potential risks that range from inefficient employee on/off-boarding to open source software embedded code to SaaS applications, procured by a department or business unit, that may not meet the organization’s security guidelines. The oft used ITAM aphorism, “you can’t manage, what you don’t know about” illustrates that applying inventory management, along with license compliance, can’t be done effectively without visibility into all the assets. This maxim also applies to securing assets, which is the primary reason that ITAM/SAM teams must view Security as part of its function, or at a very minimum, share data. Employee On/Off- Boarding Employee on and off-boarding, is a standard business function that is fundamental to every corporate business. Yet, you may be surprised at how many companies don’t have this “human resources meets IT” process standardized. Over the past couple of years, there have been numerous examples of employees who left the organization and still had network access or access to SaaS applications exposing company data. Especially as these applications may have been purchased by a business unit, aka ShadowIT, and not managed by the technology asset management team. Having a standard process for recovering corporate assets may involve several different teams depending upon the IT department’s resources, or if there is a triggering event such as a reduction in force. Typically, IT service and support management (ITSSM) handles the deployment and return of all the assets allocated to an employee. As organizational structures evolve to support digital transformation efforts, this responsibility may shift to the client support team, depending upon Infrastructure and Operations (I&O) maturity. Discontinuing access to a SaaS application or automatic renewal of one, such as Adobe Creative Cloud, Slack, Box or Concur, is an action that may not happen in the off-boarding process. According to Gartner, the SaaS market is experiencing rapid growth and generating $72.2 B in revenue in 2018 (https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2018-09-12-gartner-forecasts-worldwide-public-cloud-revenue-to-grow-17-percent-in-2019). So, it is easy to see why this step might be overlooked, especially if it the app isn’t accessible through single sign on (SSO) or identity and access management. ShadowIT: The Risks Are Becoming Greater Giving employees flexibility to get their job done as efficiently as possible has become a hallmark of digital transformation efforts. Access to cloud and virtual instances and SaaS apps allows employees to bypass legacy IT bottlenecks and be more efficient, but it can create new risks. If employees aren’t using the standard catalog or the apps they want aren’t included in it, they might be introducing security risks by accessing SaaS that haven’t been properly vetted or using cloud instances that haven’t been properly configured. One asset manager, who I recently spoke with at an industry event, indicated that they knew about 150 different SaaS apps that were being utilized by employees. They had at least three different ways of discovering SaaS, but were losing sleep over what they still didn’t know about. Not knowing SaaS utilization can lead to recurring overspend and poses a greater security risk. Overcoming the challenges that digital business initiatives present to technology asset management, requires that ITAM/SAM teams proactively raise awareness with synergistic IT teams, especially Security Operations, and expand collaboration so the value of the data is recognized. It may not happen right away, but hopefully it will happen before a major breach causes brand damage and lost revenue. With new attack vectors consistently making the news, it is critical to take the necessary steps to minimize as many potential risks as possible. And if technology asset management can achieve savings at the same time, they will spread the happiness. If these problems resonate within your organization and you would like to learn more about how Flexera can help, let’s get you in touch with one of our specialists today. Author Patricia Adams is a former Gartner Research Director and IT Asset Management evangelist Source View the full article

Creating a transparent material such as glass seems easy – just increase the transparency slider to 100 and the job is done. So why doesn't the glass look right? Transparent materials are actually one of the most complex items in a 3D scene to get right, as they have a wide variety of factors that impact on their look. From the thickness of the object, to the way the material bends light and even the chemical composition of the glass, diamond, oil or water amongst many other transparent materials, there is a lot to figure out. As with many other material systems, legacy fixes, or cheats, which were determined by a lack of computing power, are now no longer relevant for transparent materials due to the speed of today's render engines. That being said, transparent materials can still be computationally intensive, so understanding the core components of how transparency works in a render engine is critically important. The best 3D modelling software Learning how to model for transparency can be of benefit, for example a solid glass ball transmits and refracts (moving light through an object) very differently from a light bulb. This is because the light bulb is a thin-walled glass sphere, which means that the light does a lot less bending, but at the same time there are two layers of transparency for light to go through, rather than the one with the solid glass ball. As with many techniques in 3D art, you should aim to get as much real-world reference as possible when working with transparent materials – ideally in similar lighting conditions that you need to create. This is particularly important as transparent materials behaving incorrectly are one of the easiest 'tells' in CGI. That being said, getting a transparent material correct is one of the most satisfying accomplishments a CG artist can master. Here's how to get started. 01. Index of Refraction Different materials have different Index of Refraction values Every transparent material has a different Index of Refraction value. This is the calculation of how light passes through a material and affects how objects behind the transparent object are seen by the eye (or camera). The great thing about learning IOR values is that they are scientifically accurate, so inputting a value of around 1.5 will get a good approximation of glass in any current render engine. With the latest generation of PBR materials, IOR and reflection properties now tend to be linked. 02. Thin vs solid glass The thickness of the material affects how much light bends when it passes through A major giveaway for transparent objects is their thickness, as the thicker a transparent surface the more it will refract and bend light. But not all transparent objects are solid – bubbles, traditional light bulbs and even camera lenses are all examples where thinness matters. These types of objects can be created by modelling a thin wall into the object, to check to see whether the render engine being used has the ability to compensate for thin-walled glass. 03. Transparency scale Make sure you model things at the right scale, as size affects how light looks around the object Transparency and especially light-refractive qualities are critically dependant on model scale (if the render engine being used is physically accurate). For example, a wine glass that is 2m tall will refract and transmit light very differently to one that is normally sized. For this reason, it is very important to ensure that you model at the correct scale. The good thing about this is that a single glass material can look different on a wide variety of objects. 04. Dispersion Some materials split light into its component wavelenghs creating a slight rainbow effect Another method of giving a transparent object life is to play with the dispersion, if it is available in the chosen render software. Dispersion, in essence, hints at the chemical makeup of the transparent material by splitting out the light wavelengths, and can be a great way of highlighting the differences between a whiskey container made out of glass and one made out of crystal. When taken to an extreme it can also be a great way of creating a soap bubble. This article originally appeared in 3D World magazine. Buy issue 240 or Subscribe here. Read more: Become a better 3D artist 50 After Effects tutorials to sharpen your motion skills Render your art in ZBrushCore View the full article

Here’s what everyone has been waiting for: Corel Painter 2019 is here. It has long been a leading option in digital art software, but a renewed focus on performance and usability helps keep Painter 2019 ahead of the pack. The expanded Brushes options includes new Pattern Pens, which produce strokes that make use of five new patterns. These can be based on an existing pattern library, but you can also create your own – essential when making original concept art. Elsewhere, the updated and enhanced version of the Real Watercolor wet brushes are able to realistically interact with your chosen paper’s texture and grain. Your colours will flow, mix and be absorbed by the paper, making your art look more natural than ever. Opener artwork by Stefano Pistonatto The new stamps brushes will certainly make an impact (artwork by Ajmal Mohammed) Another update is the Color Selection tool. The colour choices are clearer and you can pin the Temporal Color Selector wherever you need it on your in-progress artwork, and use shortcuts to take samples with the Eyedropper. This is handy, especially when creating complex illustrations. The program’s interface has also been revamped. Its darker tone makes it possible to see colours more clearly, and also helps you to focus on the canvas when painting – particularly useful when illustrating dark objects. However, if you miss the old grey interface, you can easily change it back. Previous versions of Painter had a cluttered interface. Corel must have been listening to feedback from its customers, because version 2019 now features over 650 redesigned icons that bring a welcome simplicity to the workspace. This clean and responsive environment makes Painter 2019 easier to understand for newcomers, while seasoned users will benefit from a more efficient painting experience. An updated and enhanced Pattern library offers more creative opportunities The key update of Painter 2019 is the improvement in the application’s performance. Previously, the program had a reputation for running slowly on older machines. This is certainly not the case with the new version. Corel is to be congratulated for eliminating many speed bumps while retaining the feeling of painting traditionally. For example, one of the problems with the old version was the noticeable lag that occurred when using the brushes, but now the brush engine works as smoothly as silk. There are still some little quirks – sometimes it slows up on multi-touch operations, and there are a few bugs that need to be addressed – but overall the program has come on a long way since version 2018. What a difference a year makes… We think that Painter is still the leading traditional media painting program, and the improvements make it look even more appealing. Yes, there are cheaper alternatives such as Rebelle 3 and ArtRage 5, but neither program has the painting power that Painter wields. This article originally appeared in ImagineFX magazine. Buy issue 166 or subscribe. Read more: The best free design software. View the full article

Click to read GitHub's contributor guidelines The open source philosophy lets anyone take a project in a new direction by changing the original to create something unique. That philosophy is the reason we have projects like Firefox, a project originally forked from the Mozilla Application Suite. In Firefox’s case, the developers felt the software was too bloated, so they used the original codebase to create a more streamlined browsing experience. As a result, Firefox has become one of the most used browsers in the world. Forking a project is a sacred and important function of the open source model, which is why it’s important to know how to do it right. When it comes to proper forking etiquette, there are best practices in regards to publishing forks. Here we show you how to fork an open source project the right way. To be clear, fork privately any way you want. Experimenting with new features and code is part of the fun of programming. DO submit a feature request for minor changes Even though guiding principles of open source ensure developers have the right to publish a fork, it doesn’t mean that is always the correct choice. Forking to make a small, insignificant change or to add a single feature without properly attempting to participate in and contribute to the open source community is bad form. The original project maintainers have put their code out there because they believe in it and they know that other people may have ideas to improve on what they’ve made. The project is probably something they’re passionate about. Before bastardising their hard work and effort, one option is to submit a feature request. Open source projects typically have a system in place to accept feedback and code, so we recommend using it. If you’ve already coded the change, submit the new code in a pull request. This approach helps ensure that developers not publish a fork and just walk away. DON'T hide security updates in a fork Submitting a pull request in lieu of a fork is especially important if you’re improving the security of the code. Open Source software relies on the ‘many eyes’ approach to security, meaning the more people looking through the code base, the better. Don’t hide your security tweak in an unseen and forgotten fork. Instead push it with pride and your efforts will likely be much appreciated by the maintainers – plus you’ll be making the code more secure for all those who use it. DO become an active contributor If you’re passionate about the project and have a vision for the future, become an active contributor. This is also a great way to hone your development skills. Participating in the project gives the maintainers an opportunity to make the feature or change available to everyone who uses that project by incorporating it into the original. Not only does this please users through the thoughtful improvement of the overall user experience, the practice of joining a project can help introduce you to a world of coding opportunities. When you build relationships with fellow programmers, the resulting sense of community uplifts everyone. DO ask the owner if you're interested in an abandoned project Sometimes you will find that the project has been abandoned and is no longer actively maintained. In this case, you should reach out to the maintainer and ask to take it over, which would afford you the option of building on the project framework while taking it in a new direction. A good example of this is when Jeff Atwood, the co-founder of StackOverflow, publicly asked to take over the Markdown project from John Gruber or to have Gruber participate in a new version. Receiving no response, he created CommonMark. CommonMark was forked with the intent to create a new, better version of the original. Atwood attempted to participate in the original project and reached out to the original maintainer. This article was originally published in net, the world's best-selling magazine for web designers and developers. Buy issue 312 or subscribe. Read more: 18 great HTML APIs – and how to use them 10 best new web design tools for December 2018 All the best stocking fillers for designers View the full article

At the end of each year, almost every inch of digital space is filled with summaries and predictions for the future. It's only natural. We all love to analyse the past and guess what the future holds. The same goes for design – we're naturally curious to know what will qualify as 'trendy' in the next 12 months. Unfortunately, too often those predictions are shallow and repetitive. It seems that every lap around the sun in the past decade was predicted to be the year of minimalism, flat design and big typography. There's nothing inherently wrong with any of these design trends. They simply describe the aesthetic choices that are highly universal – if not slightly generic – and hence stay valid for way longer than 12 months. Listing them every year doesn't carry any benefit to the reader. So instead of the classic list of repeated predictions, we've decided to take a more provocative and controversial angle. What makes these user experience trends controversial? They all point at the shortcomings of the design industry today, which should be re-addressed in the coming year. If we're right, 2019 will be an amazing year for the design industry. 01. A refusal to conform The uncertainty of global politics, with local turns towards populist radicalism, will be reflected in the design of 2019. Just as the Second World War inspired people to seek stability in the calmness and simplicity of mid-century modernism, we predict the current times will push designers towards a new form of postmodern non-conformism. For some designers this may mean direct political engagement in terms of subject matter; for others it will centre around expressing skepticism and radicalism on a stylistic level. No more pastel colour palettes, minimalist interfaces and modernist illustrations. Instead, we expect 2019 to be about high-contrast colours, new forms of interactions and radical solutions that question the status quo. The angst of today will once more push design towards innovation. Provocative imagery is already popping up online If you think this sounds unlikely, think again: the first signs of these changes were already visible in 2018. Just take a look at this provocative illustration from Medium that shows a mobile device as a projector that turns your head into a tornado of ideas. 02. Better balance between form and function Over the past five years, digital design became primarily concerned with the visual aspect. Designers kept repeating the Steve Jobs' famous words: "It's not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works." At the same however, they spent more time than ever in vector-based design tools that limit designers' ability to plan and test complete, interactive experiences. No wonder the dominant design trend of 2018 was not a breakthrough interactive pattern that provided exceptional usability and accessibility. In fact, it was a set of illustrations meant to convey a certain brand image. From the most popular communication tool to a great customer service company, in 2018 it seemed that everyone had websites full of illustrations loosely inspired by mid-century illustration styles. We can't escape it: the tools we use shape our designs. 5 mesmerising uses of illustration in branding In 2019 this trend is going to die. Why? First of all, design reduced to aesthetics cannot survive. Deprived of lasting value in the eyes of users and businesses, design will face a critical choice – regain its focus on the user, regain the balance between form and function, or move back to the times where design was an afterthought. And designers won't allow for the latter to happen. Secondly, vector-design tools are about to face fierce competition from the next generation of tools: code-based design tools. Code-based tools such as UXPin bring advanced prototyping, accurate rendering and synchronisation with development without asking for any coding expertise. Those tools are going to start dominating the market in 2019 and will save design from being pushed towards pure aesthetics. 03. The rebirth of advanced prototyping User-centred design will once again rule the design world in 2019. With it, advanced prototyping will regain its status. In 2018, the growing popularity of vector design tools meant prototyping interfaces was reduced to linking hotspots with static artboards and animating changes between predefined states. This approach limits how expressive designers can be, as well as their ability to test realistic prototypes with users. This won't continue in 2019. Next year, designers will once again invest their time into advanced prototyping. Consideration for the human interacting with design will become more important than the struggle with aesthetic elements. 04. Accessible design We believe the new tools, disregard for the status quo and re-establishing the position of the user at the centre of the design workflow will change something. Taking care of accessibility will become a natural part of every design process in 2019. It's hard to believe, but until recently, no design tool had any accessibility features built in. Community-driven plugins were frequently broken by the lack of stability of design platforms. Nobody seemed to care enough to move those crucial features from the level of community effort to first-class feature category supported by a design tool maker. Hopefully in 2019, design will pay more attention to accessibility. 05. A union between design and engineering As designers move to code-based design tools, a new possibility presents itself: the opportunity to work in concert with engineers. Vector tools pushed designers to their own silo and enforced a sequential 'hand-off' process. Even the noble concept of design systems often ended up with one source of truth residing in static vectors and the other in dynamic code. Code-based design tools such as UXPin, Framer X and Modulz are able to seamlessly connect to a code repository and give designers access to the production code without requiring any coding expertise. With these tools, designers and engineers can have a common design system and keep their workflows in full sync. Read more: 7 hot web trends for 2019 10 best new web design tools for December 2018 The ultimate Christmas gift guide for freelancers View the full article

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So you're in the market for a new phone and naturally you're trying to decide which flavour of iPhone X you want to go for, right? Hang on a minute, though, because Samsung is getting dangerously close to launching its new flagship Galaxy S10 phone, and this could be the perfect opportunity to take a break from Apple, and maybe check out some of the best Android apps at the same time. In the style of Apple, Samsung is keeping pretty tight-lipped about its next smart phone's exact specs, but as the the Samsung Galaxy S10 launch date approaches, there are leaks coming thick and fast, suggesting that this might be a great phone for creatives. We're likely to discover more when CES comes around on 8 January, and the likely date for for Samsung's Galaxy S10 launch event is 20 February 2019, just before MWC Barcelona. For now, though, here are some of the rumoured features you need to know about. Samsung Galaxy S10: Design and display The S10 is rumoured to be coming in three sizes. Credit: GSMArena / MobileFun Like the iPhone X, the Samsung Galaxy S10 is likely to come in three different screen sizes – a standard S10, as well as a smaller S10 Lite and the inevitable S10 Plus with the biggest screen of all. We're expecting a super-crisp display with a resolution of 1440 x 3040 and a 19:9 aspect ratio, and the screen's going to take up pretty much all of the front panel with hardly anything by way of bezel; the S10's front-facing cameras appear to be embedded within the screen, with a tiny cut-out in the top right corner of the screen for the pinhole lenses. More on them in a bit. If you're still furious at Apple for doing away with the 3.5mm headphone port – and who wouldn't be – then the good news about the Galaxy S10 is that's it's almost certain to have one, so you can listen on headphones without having to use a special dongle, which you'll almost certainly lose sooner or later. Build-wise, the frame is likely to be metal with a glass back, and the S10 could come in assorted colours; Samsung has suggested, but not confirmed, that you may be able to choose between silver, green, black, blue and pink. Samsung Galaxy S10: Camera Three lenses would make the S10 a photography must-have For many people, especially designers, the quality of the camera is a vital factor in deciding which camera phone to go for, and the Samsung Galaxy S10 looks like it won't disappoint, especially when it comes to the larger models. While the Lite model might just have a single-lens rear camera, it's been suggested that the standard model could have a dual-lens camera while the Plus version may be 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, which all adds up to some serious photographic chops. As for the front facing camera, expect the Lite model to be a single-lens model, while the standard and Plus versions could have a pair of cameras. There's also been talk of a 3D sensor for augmented reality content. Samsung Galaxy S10: Power Non-US users should benefit from the lightning-fast Exynos 9820 processor Is the Samsung Galaxy S10 likely to have all the power you need? In short, yes. The actual processor is likely to be depend on where you are in the world; if you're in the US then it's almost certainly going to be a Snapdragon 855 chipset, which appears to be a hefty little processor that outperforms pretty much ever other mobile chipset right now. It supports 5G, with theoretical download speeds up to 2Gbps, and it also has a chip dedicated to processing videos and photos. Outside the US, your S10 is expected to feature Samsung's eight-core Exynos 9820 chipset, which can support video recording at up to 8K at 30fps as well as offering 40% better power efficiency and improved single and multi-core performance over the previous generation. It even features a dedicated neural processing unit (NPU) that makes AI-related tasks happen up to seven times faster than on the Exynos 9810. Memory-wise, expect the S10 to feature 8GB of fast RAM, and perhaps even 12GB, and as for onboard storage, there could be a lot of it, and it could be really fast. Samsung is set to start using UFS 3.0 storage in 2019, which is twice as fast as current phone storage modules and more compact, too. Its minimun size is 128GB, which would make for amazing baseline storage, and reports suggest that the S10 could store a whole terabyte. Samsung Galaxy S10: More features? The S10 may move the fingerprint scanner off the back and have it on-screen That covers most of what we know about the Samsung Galaxy S10; all that's really left to wonder about is the price, and it's safe to say that we all know it isn't going to be cheap. We'd expect the basic S10 to set you back about $719 / £739 / AU$1,199, with the price ramping up as you move through the models and storage options. Want to know more? Our colleagues over at TechRadar are keeping an eye out for the hottest Galaxy S10 leaks and rumours; head over to their page for the very latest news. Related articles: The best budget camera phones in 2018 Is iPhone XS the best camera phone for designers? Galaxy X: Samsung's foldable phone is on its way View the full article

To download the accompanying files for 3D World issue 238, simply click the link below each article and a zip file will automatically download the content to your Mac or PC. If you've missed this issue or other editions of 3D World, order a copy. If you have any problems downloading this content, please email: rob.redman@futurenet.com Tutorial: Keyshot Master your keyshot renders with our top tips This issue we bring you our top expert tips, to help you become a Keyshot master, rendering the best possible results, with the least effort, such as our stunning cover image from Pascal Blanche. Download the files here (238MB) Tutorial: Gravity Sketch Create cool sci-fi vehicles in VR In this tutorial CG veteran Mike Griggs, shows you how to create an Akira style sci-fi bike using Gravity Sketch, the hard surface VR tool. Download the files here (3.9GB) Tutorial: Hard surface VR modelling Sculpt a tank in VR Martin Nebelong, VR expert, shows you ow to use VR tools to create detailed hard surface models in a VR environment. Download the files here (132MB) Tutorial: Q and A Get the answers to your CG problems in our regular Q and A section Our regular panel is back to help you overcome any issues you are having with your animation and visual effects work. Download the files here (234MB) View the full article

To download the accompanying files for 3D World issue 243, simply click the link below each article and a zip file will automatically download the content to your Mac or PC. If you've missed this issue or other editions of 3D World, order a copy. If you have any problems downloading this content, please email: rob.redman@futurenet.com Tutorial: Honey Create realistic honey materials This guide will take you through the process of creating realistic honey, from modelling the comb to creating believable shader networks for ultimate photorealistic renders. Download the files here (270MB) Tutorial: Houdini terrains Learn to use Houdini's new terrain toolset. This tutorial will take you, step by step, through the process of using Houdini's new terrain tools, to create detailed and realistic terrain geometry. Download the files here (204MB) Tutorial: Hard VR Texture a tank scene in VR Following on from last issue, where we showed you how to sculpt a tank, this issue we complete the scene building and show you how to use VR tools to texture your objects. Download the files here (608MB) View the full article