Slate
Blackcurrant
Watermelon
Strawberry
Orange
Banana
Apple
Emerald
Chocolate
Marble
Slate
Blackcurrant
Watermelon
Strawberry
Orange
Banana
Apple
Emerald
Chocolate
Marble
-
Content Count
17,177 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Never -
Feedback
N/A
Everything posted by Rss Bot
-
The launch of the D&AD Annual is always an exciting event. Creatives get to discover who designed the prestigious book and how they have put their spin on the annual, and also see all the winners of the year's D&AD Awards collected in one beautiful volume. The annual is always a masterclass in how to design a book, but at last night's launch party D&AD revealed that its 56th Annual contains something extra special. This year's Annual was designed to not only celebrate Pencil-worthy work from across design and advertising, but also create something that would stimulate and inspire young creative talent. Who designed 2018's D&AD Annual? Step in Magpie Studio, who designed this year's Annual. Known for its playful spirit, award-winning London agency Magpie Studio experimented with the format of the Annual, and cut the front cover in half to make space for a new addition: the Manual. The Manual is detachable from the main Annual, and is aimed at young designers and creatives who are just entering the industry. It features creative tasks, such as reimagining a doughnut or cutting out and rearranging a series of flags, as well as nuggets of inspiration and wisdom from industry heavyweights such as Michael Johnson (Johnson Banks), Bjorn Stahl (INGO Stockholm) and Alice Tonge (4creative). The Manual describes itself as a "guide for the dreamers and the idea-havers", and the front page encourages Annual owners to detach their Manual and pass it on to "someone with big ideas". It uses the same typeface as the Annual, Timmons NY, in order to give the titling impact in a modern and utilitarian way. An inspiring Annual/Manual for budding creatives “Ever since college, the Annual has been a hallowed source of inspiration for me," says Magpie Studio's creative partner Ben Christie. "Whilst other awards schemes come and go, D&AD has always been the best of the best. Year on year it’s by far the greatest collection of creative work in the industry. It’s a vital way to spread the word of creativity and hopefully the Manual will help take that reach wider.” "There have been so many beautiful and interesting Annual designs over the years that I thought this year we use the book to give a bit more back to people just starting out," explains outgoing D&AD President Steve Vranakis. "One of my predecessors, Andy Sandoz, was actually the first to introduce the idea of the D&AD Annual acting as a 'manual' for creativity and I thought what better way to deliver against my manifesto of opening up the creative industry to more people especially those coming from diverse and disadvantaged backgrounds than to revive this.” The Annual is available to buy now from D&AD. Related articles: How to win a D&AD award D&AD offers free night classes to young creatives 8 up-and-coming designers to watch from D&AD New Blood View the full article
-
You're reading Google Announces a New Governance Model for AMP, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook, Google+! Just a few days after adding ads scenarios to AMP attracting a new wave of critiques, Google dropped the bomb and announced the transition to an open governance model. “[…]we want to move to a model that explicitly gives a … View the full article
-
So you're looking for the best Canon EOS 800D deals? (Or Canon EOS Rebel T7i deals, if you're in the US.) We've searched the world's most reputable retailers to find the cheapest Canon EOS 800D price possible. Scroll down for today's best offers... The best camera in 2018 The Canon EOS Rebel T7i / EOS 800D is a great pick for any budding photographer, thanks to its great range of features for shooting both photos and video. The 24.2 megapixel sensor combined with a super-sharp 45 autofocus points makes for remarkably impressive pictures that belie the entry-level price-tag. With considerably more cross-points than the likes of Nikon's D5600, many photographers are heading over to the Canon camp. We're big fans of the live-view autofocus and image stabilisation, which is particularly useful when shooting video footage and trying to refocus on new elements. There's no 4K shooting on the EOS 800D, but that helps keep the price down. You do get 1080p recording at a silky smooth 60 frames-per-second though. There are multiple image transfer options available on this entry-level DSLR, with Wi-Fi, NFC and Bluetooth all on call to get your files onto a mobile device or laptop – anything that keeps those pesky USB cables at bay works for us. Most users shouldn't have a problem getting a full day's use out of the Canon EOS 800D as the battery is good for around 600 captures. We're quite surprised to see a handy vari-angle screen on this DSLR too. This is an incredibly accomplished and user-friendly beginner's DSLR camera. Scroll down for more of today's best Canon EOS 800D prices. Read more: The best camera for photography The 10 best point-and-shoot cameras The best camera phones in 2018 View the full article
-
Looking for the cheapest Nikon D850 price? We're here to help. Our team is constantly searching for the best Nikon D850 deals possible – and we've collated our findings below. Scroll down for today's lowest Nikon D850 prices... The best camera for photography The Nikon D850 is a professional camera – as you'd expect given its price. Unlike many of its rivals though, this DSLR doesn't compromise on resolution or shooting speed: you get excellent performance from both here. You can shoot incredible 45.7 megapixel images at a slick seven frames per second. And if you need a little more, then a battery grip will boost that to nine frames per second. You won't find any other cameras offering such high performance levels for this price. In fact, these Nikon D850 deals make the camera considerably cheaper than the likes of the Nikon D5 – but it comes with the same 153-point autofocus, making it even more tempting. We’re actually struggling to find any cut corners to explain how Nikon is achieving this at this price. You’ll get an incredible 1840 shots from a single charge on the Nikon D850 to ensure plenty of time and images before heading back to the studio. You won’t find another Nikon DSLR with a viewfinder capable of such a high level of magnification either. This excellent camera can handle pretty much anything you might throw at it, including the elements as there’s a sturdy weather-resistant shell. The secondary LCD screen on the top of the camera also illuminates, making it great for shooting in darker conditions. This is one of the best professional cameras suited to multiple disciplines in the field – and you'll find more of today's best Nikon D850 prices below. Related articles: The best camera for photography The 10 best point-and-shoot cameras The best camera phones in 2018 View the full article
-
There are some fantastic Nikon D5600 deals to be found right now. One of the best cameras a beginner can invest in, the Nikon D5600 is a feature-rich and extremely capable entry-level DSLR – and it does a little bit more than the D3400, so it'll grow with you as your photography skills improve. Here are the lowest Nikon D5600 prices out there right now... These days, entry-level DSLR cameras are incredibly user-friendly. Indeed, the Nikon D5600 could be considered close to enthusiast level, given its excellent image quality and extra features. With a 39-point autofocus system and 24.2 megapixels, image quality is high – and even more so when you consider it's nowhere near four-figure territory in terms of pricing. The stand-out feature of the Nikon D5600 is its intuitive vari-angle touchscreen. We’re simply not used to seeing them on cameras around this price. Not that we’re complaining: the adjustable screen angles make shooting in various conditions and positions much easier. Budding photographers will also appreciate being able to tap the area of the screen where they’d like images to focus, too. Nikon’s SnapBridge feature is a handy (if not always particularly smooth) process where you can transfer images directly to your phone or tablet via a Bluetooth connection. From there, you’re free to upload your images to social media, cloud storage and so on without having to get the laptop out and dig out your USB cable. With images this good and an incredibly helpful touchscreen, this really is a fantastic value DSLR camera. You'll find more of the latest deals and the lowest Nikon D5600 prices below. Related articles: The best camera for photography The 10 best point-and-shoot cameras The best camera phones in 2018 View the full article
-
Searching for the lowest Nikon D3400 price? Our team is continually searching the internet to dig out the very best Nikon D3400 deals – and you'll find today's best offers right here. The excellent entry-level Nikon D3400 is one of the best cameras you can buy if you're just starting out. Read on to find the most competitive Nikon D3400 prices there are right now... The Nikon D3400 is one of our favourite entry-level DSLR cameras. It’s more than capable of taking a great picture, but comes without the huge price tag many rival cameras wear. We’d go for this model over the older ones thanks to the D3400's excellent battery and SnapBridge. The Nikon D3400 will last for a few days from a solitary charge for most users, with the capacity to take up to 1,200 shots before needing topping up. SnapBridge is a neat system that enables you to transfer images via Bluetooth to your mobile phone – making it a lot easier to back your pictures up on a secondary device and enabling you to upload them to social media before you get home and transfer them to your laptop. With these Nikon D3400 deals, you get some impressive specs for your cash. You can shoot 24 megapixel images at five frames per second, and this small camera is an excellent video recorder too. As you would expect at this price, there’s no 4K recording, but 1080p recording remains of excellent quality for most entry-level users. If you’re just getting into photography and the world of DSLRs, then you’ll appreciate the Nikon D3400’s built-in guide and user-friendly controls. This is one of your best options if you’re serious about taking pictures but can’t justify splashing four figures on a camera. Here are the lowest Nikon D3400 prices out there right now... Related articles: The best camera for photography The 10 best point-and-shoot cameras The best camera phones in 2018 View the full article
-
Adobe has been releasing teasers of the most exciting changes you'll find in the upcoming release of Illustrator CC, and here's one we're particularly excited about: soon designers will be able to customise their toolbars. 60 amazing Illustrator tutorials With over 80 tools on offer, finding the ones you want hasn't always been easy. And let's face it, your most-used tools often differ from project to project. Thankfully, there's a clever new way to manage your tools coming your way in the next major Illustrator update. Adobe has created a new tools menu, accessible from the bottom of the Illustrator toolbar, in which all available tools are grouped logically by function. Designers will be able to drag and drop the tools they need into their main toolbar, and the ones they don't out of the main toolbar and into the complete menu. See it in action in the short video below. Users will also be able to create different custom toolbars for different projects. It's a fairly simple update that promises to have a big impact on workflow, making Illustrator much more user-friendly. You can read more on the Adobe Blog. Read more: Create sets of product icons in Illustrator The illustrator hotlist 2018 How to create repeat patterns in Illustrator View the full article
-
With a quarter of US malls predicted to close by 2022, many retailers are wondering how they can survive the approaching apocalypse occurring in the commercial world. While the value proposition of retail destinations has become obsolete, physical shopping is far from dead. In fact, behind the doom-laden headlines and against all odds, stores are continuing to open, innovate and succeed. 12 inspiring ecommerce website designs In the US, retailers announced more than 3,000 store openings in the first three quarters of 2017, and between 2014 and 2018, surveys showed that the percentage of consumers shopping at brick-and-mortar stores weekly increased from 36 to 44 per cent. But in order to continue evolving, physical stores must embrace technologies that have helped their online counterparts succeed. At present, many retailers only think of a physical store as hardware – the architecture, the layout, the products within – but it's crucial that they combine this with an invisible layer of technology: the software. The biggest mistake most traditional retailers make is treating e-commerce as a separate channel, in turn creating siloed experiences. The Storefront Salvation Game places users in the shoes of a new British high street brand's managing director As they break down these silos, retailers need to rectify the metrics they use for defining a store’s success. Metrics such as sales per square foot and year-on-year sales are from a pre-Amazon era. In the future, measures such as impact on brand impression, digital purchase intent, inspiration per square foot, return on friction, convenience for associates and customer experience will play a much more crucial role. The Future Laboratory believes that future stores will not simply be experiential hubs without products, nor will they be screen-filled fulfilment centres. They will be the best of both worlds and catalyse a relationship with the consumer that transcends the store. In the game, you are tasked with making the many crucial decisions that brands of the future will need to make in order to stay afloat To accompany The Future Laboratory's recent Storefront Salvation report, we created a free game to put the public in the shoes of future brand managers, so they can experience what decisions need to be made to help stores survive the so-called retail apocalypse. Have a go now. Will you go bust, break even or break the bank? After you’ve played, share your score @TheFutureLab on Twitter. Good luck! This article originally appeared in issue 284 of Computer Arts, the world's leading graphic design magazine. Buy issue 284 or subscribe here. Related articles: 8 business tips for selling design goods How to succeed as a designer-maker The future of branded cities View the full article
-
There are some exciting web design tools out this month. September's picks include an AR reality system for Shopify, a huge UI wireframing kit, a collection of sounds for your apps and some great colour tools. Read on to find out more... 01. Microcopy Inspirations These examples of great microcopy will hopefully inspire you to write better copy on your own site Hitting the right tone with your microcopy makes a huge difference to how people feel about you and what you’re offering. To help you strike the right note, Sridhar Rajendran has curated this online collection of good bits of copy that demonstrate how to communicate well while adding some personality to your site. They’re divided into helpful categories such as 404 pages, cookie consent, newsletters, error messages and so on, and will hopefully serve as inspiration for writing your own entertaining and engaging copy. 02. Picular You can try typing in things that aren't colours, such as 'pig', to get some typical pig hues Here’s an alternative way to get started on your colour schemes: Picular is a search engine for colours. Just enter any colour and get a range of swatches. It’s useful because we’ve all got a slightly different idea of what we mean by ‘fuchsia’, ‘vermilion’, ‘dusky lavender’ and so on, so Picular helps to get everyone on your team speaking the same language. The swatches come up with hex values that you can click to send to the clipboard. 03. Scale Use the sliders to adjust light and dark colours separately This is another really great tool for making colour palettes. Unlike other palette tools, this one is focused on making palettes out of colour scales. The RGB values at the top control the overall colour theme, and once you’ve set that you can further tweak things using the sliders underneath. The palette is divided into light and dark colours, so you can play with either end of the scale without affecting the whole thing. You can use this to create scales that go from very dark to very light, or stick to a middle range. 04. Shopify Augmented Reality It's now easy to give your customers a 360-degree view of your products One advantage that bricks-and-mortar shops will always have over online retailers is that they give customers direct access to products for close inspection. Now Shopify is closing the gap a little with Shopify AR, which enables retailers to easily create augmented reality experiences for customers using Safari in iOS 12. This gives users a chance to closely examine products from every angle and get a much better sense of what they’re buying. Check out Shopify's blog to see what some online shops have already done with it. 05. Dense Discovery Kai Brach, publisher of Offscreen magazine, curates a weekly collection of the best web design things Don’t miss out on this one: it’s a wonderful newsletter put together by Kai Brach, publisher of Offscreen magazine, which contains an excellent selection of useful tools, apps and sites, as well as the most interesting and inspiring design-related podcast episodes, articles and conversations. If you’re trying to wean yourself off Twitter a bit, you can use newsletters like this one to reduce FOMO – all the best bits are in here so you don’t need to worry about missing out on something by reducing the time you spend on social media. 06. Ship 2.0 Get your product off the ground with this suite of tools Product Hunt has released a major update to its Ship tool, which is a toolkit to help you with all the things you need to do to get your digital product off the ground. There are tools for making a landing page, building an email list to stay in touch with your users, conduct surveys, A/B test your website and much more. The new version has improved customisation features, as well as the capability to add a chat room to your homepage. 07. Image Performance by Mat Marquis Top advice for optimising images and speeding up your site No matter how much effort you’ve put into the design, if your site is slow it’s going to be a frustrating experience for your users – so speed should always be a priority. Image optimisation is a low-hanging fruit in this situation. Mat Marquis is chair of the Responsive Issues Community Group, so he’s an expert on these matters. In this e-book, he guides you through everything you need to know to get your images up to scratch. 08. PDFShift Get a PDF from an HTML document with minimal fuss Sometimes the simplest tasks can be frustratingly difficult to accomplish, and converting HTML documents to PDFs surely fits into that category. PDFShift offers a decent solution to this problem: with a single POST request it will generate a PDF of the required HTML document, and it provides plenty of options for customising the output – you can add a header/footer, a watermark and customise the CSS. There’s a free option which gives you 250 conversions per month, or you can pay to get more. 09. UI Sound Kit 2 This is a great collection of UI sounds from composer and sound designer Roman Zimarev, which you can use to give a nice tone to your app or website. The sounds are arranged into categories for notifications, alerts, complete and success, cancel and errors, and miscellaneous – but of course you can make your own judgement about which sound goes where. There are 130 sounds and it’s $38 for the lot – not bad for a good library you can use for multiple projects. 10. iOS Wireframing Kit Drawing interface screens from scratch probably isn’t worth your time; this kit has over 240 fully customisable screens for Sketch that you can use to put your app together at top speed. All the common purposes are there such as registration, user profiles, settings and so on, and the designs are divided into categories so you can find what you’re looking for easily. It’s easy to adjust colours and typography to put your own spin on the designs and avoid a cookie-cutter look. The library is $39, which sounds like a good deal to us. Related articles: 7 game-changing web design tools for 2018 10 fantastic web design tools for July 2018 The 6 pillars of great UX View the full article
-
A pastel is a stick of pigment that you hold in your hand, and apply directly to the surface. Like trying to choose the best pencils, it can be confusing knowing which pastels to buy, with different brands available, all with different grades of hardness and varying prices. However, after a little bit of experimentation, artists often find that they use a few different types, according to their subject matter, type of mark making, and the size of their work. How to draw: the best drawing tutorials Artist-quality pastels tend to have a colour range that includes deep darks, bright lights, and a range of saturated and neutral colours. So if your paintings are looking a little flat, and lacking in depth, it may be that you need to invest in some better quality pastels. But don't let price put you off. You don’t need to buy a whole set to find which pastels suit you. You can get some of each type and experiment with different subject matter, sketching or painting, rough textures or soft blending. Remember, price usually reflects quality. Hard pastels and pastel pencils Hard pastels and pastel pencils are great for sketching and underpainting Hard pastels and pastel pencils are great for sketching and underpainting. They tend to be squarer in section with a high proportion of binder. Conté crayons are very hard, wonderfully versatile, and have sharp edges to give a variety of marks. Inscribe pastels are cheap, ideal for beginners, but are not lightfast. Faber-Castell Pitt Pastel Pencils produce fine, delicate detail. Soft pastels Medium-softness pastels have more pigment than the harder varieties Medium-softness pastels, such as Royal Talens Rembrandt and SAA Artists Soft Pastels, have more pigment than the harder varieties. They are useful for work that requires good coverage and the pigment is not too soft, and are ideal for crisp mark-making for subjects such as animals, where fine lines and textures are needed. They tend to be round, but narrower than very soft pastels. Professional-quality pastels Professional-quality pastels are made with rich, high-quality pigments Professional-quality pastels are made with rich, high-quality pigments, and less binder. This results in wonderful creamy textures, with a huge range of saturated colours and subtle hues. Brands include PanPastels, which are applied with sponges and tools, Sennelier and Schmincke Pastels, and Unison Pastels, which are handmade in the UK. Professional pastels cost more but are excellent value for money. Read more: The best office stationery for working from home 10 sketching tips to help you make your first marks How to draw a wolf View the full article
-
Cinema 4D is one of those 3D applications that has grown over the years to cater to users of all different kinds, from shader builders and texture artists to motion graphics and simulation experts, character modellers and animators. 14 essential Cinema 4D plugins It's a vast and capable tool, but that comes with a learning curve and although it's one of the friendlier applications, you'll need to put some time in – and study some Cinema 4D tutorials – to master all it offers. With that in mind, we talked to members of Cinema 4D's large, thriving community to discover the best ways to get the most out of the software. Read on for advice that will hopefully give you a leg up the learning ladder, boost your skills and make you more productive so you can concentrate on being creative. 01. Access anything "As a Cinema 4D user myself I'll kick things off with my favourite top tip for any situation," says 3D World's editor, Rob Redman. "Cinema 4D has a multitude of options, menus, tools and tags. Memorising them all is a big task, so while you get working on that there is a simple way to access just about anything in Cinema 4D. Hold shift and C. A little pop-up input field will appear at your cursor. Start typing the command you want and anything that has the characters you typed will appear in a list. Select it and hit enter. You're done." 02. Consolidate takes Use the Object Manager to consolidate your takes "Takes are a great way of quickly working through look development in one scene file," says 3D motion designer Jason Poley. "Being able to change a model's position, materials and visibility on a take-by-take basis to iterate ideas is extremely handy. I'll often end up with five to seven takes as I work through ideas and looks. "To consolidate all these takes down once a look's approved, select the take you want, then select everything in the Object Manager. Right-click and select Remove from All Takes. This moves all the changes in that take to the main take. Delete your other takes to tidy up a move into production." 03. Organise with layers Use layers to stop things getting over-complicated "Layers are great for keeping your Object Manager under control in larger scenes. Having a system from the start of a project will help if things get complicated later," adds Poley. "Create a layer in the Layer Manager or right-click with objects selected and select Add to New Layer. Drag from the Object Manager to add to layers or hold down ctrl/cmd to add an object and all its children. "Having the ability to lock, solo or hide different aspects of your scene can make working smoother and faster. The usual layer configuration is: Camera, Lighting, Hero Geo, BG Geo and Sims/Particles," he explains. 04. Shrink wrap retop A quick retop can save you a lot of modelling time Glen Southern, of digital design studio SouthernGFX, says that one of the main ways to create stunning models these days is to sculpt the initial form in programs like ZBrush or Mudbox and then retopologise the sculpt. "This is the process for creating new geometry that is more animation friendly, more predictable with contiguous edge loops and much lower in polygon count, making it more efficient. You can of course do this in Cinema with tools like the PolyPen," he explains. "To make it even better," he continues, "you can download scripts like the HB Modelling Bundle that make Cinema 4D into a perfect retopology solution, enabling you to draw new geometry right onto your sculpt." 05. Use sculpt tools when modelling Cinema 4D's sculpt tools are ideal for perfecting your models "With Maxon developing a huge range of sculpting features for Cinema it would be silly not to utilise the toolset wherever you can," says Southern. "When you are modelling and you want to tweak an area with great accuracy, you used to have the Magnet tool and a Soft Selection falloff. Now you simply switch to the Sculpting mode, increase the subdivision levels and use the Grab and Pull tools. This is a dream for organic modellers and can be just as useful for hard-surface work. "Add to that tools like Inflate, Knife (scoring the surface) and Flatten and you have a pretty comprehensive set of tools to adjust a mesh once you have created the underlying geometry." 06. UV unwrap everything Separate your model into good UV sets and you'll thank yourself later Southern also recommends UV unwrapping a model. "Most people think a UV unwrap is just to allow you to map textures onto your mesh. This is of course true, but there are lots of scenarios where having a good set of UV coordinates helps. "Normal maps are used in most modern games, and of course you need UVs for those. There may be lots of times where you'll need to give selection sets to be used in composition further down the line. Having a model separated into good UV sets enables you to more easily select the areas you want, and not just in Cinema 4D. For example, you may need to take a model into ZBrush and polygroup it. If you have UVs you can do this with a single click. The UV tools in BodyPaint are pretty comprehensive and you can even pelt map. 07. Quads, triangles and n-gons Ditch the n-gons and Booleans for a smoother workflow "One of the big problems we have is that we often get asked to work with models that have been made in Cinema 4D, and they just don't work well subdivided or in VR programs," says Southern. "It is all too easy to just model something to look good and forget about the underlying technical requirements. Get into the habit of making things out of quads and triangles. "N-gons (polygons with more than four sides) aren't as big of a problem as they used to be, but you are still better to clean them out of your models. "Booleans (meshing two models together) leave bad edges that don't deform. Get into the habit of retopologising these areas and make them good for the whole pipeline." 08. Start with a basic idea If you're planning a headshot, don't bother modelling the rest of the body "I wanted to create a very fast doodle character concept, along the lines of a flamethrower zombie soldier trooper," recalls industrial and concept designer Michael Tschernjajew. "I started by researching older projects and picked out some geometry parts that I could reuse for building and filling up the body parts. "At the start it's good if you have an initial 'layout' so model some very raw upper body parts, just for layout purposes. If your plan is to do a headshot, don't waste time modelling anything below chest level." 09. Bash together Make your life easier with some creative recycling "After setting my character layout, I start to fill out the upper body with bash parts. I do some additional modelling as well, for the spine parts and also some hydraulics for the neck," explains Tschernjajew. "You can use anything from older projects that look interesting, as long as you arrange it together in an interesting way. But don't exaggerate it – the parts should have a function on the character when you think of it in real life." 10. Detailing Weld on some extra geometry to make your model a bit more interesting "For the skull, I used a model that I had purchased for some medical stuff I did in the past. To make it more interesting I cut the skull into three parts and added a bit of geometry to the forehead," says Tschernjajew. "This was done very quickly by welding geometry together. Thinking of the final image, I decided to put some additional stuff behind the character to gain more depth. As I knew that I wanted to use depth of field in the rendering, the weapon did not need to be super high-detailed, as it would be out of focus in the final image." 11. Post-production Add extra labels and textures in Photoshop "Post-production was done very quickly, continues Tschernjajew. "The labels and some textures were completed afterwards in Photoshop. I do this very often because it's fast and also allows for flexibility. Of course this works only when you've fixed your perspective. "I used some decal textures and overlaid them onto specific parts of the model. You don't even need masks, just blend them together with a soft brush. "In the end I added some smoke using stock smoke PNG images, and used a Z-buffer to blend it together in Photoshop. "An additional ambient occlusion map was used to contrast up some parts. Don't use the ambient occlusion layer on lights or anything that glows, because it will eat up any glow or light effect. You can mask these areas out, or just use a white brush and paint it over. Use the Multiply blend mode, but never use it at 100% – I mostly use 20-25 per cent." 12. Make use of the Polypen tool The PolyPen tool's great for a retop once you've switched on some extra options "The PolyPen tool makes it possible to do a quick retopology," says digital artist Alina Makarenko. "For this, you need to enable additional options: Quad Strip Mode, Auto Weld, Reproject Result and Create N-gons." 13. Apply Subdivision Surface Weights Use this technique to get lovely smooth shapes "The Subdivision Surface Weights tag and Subdivision Surface helps create a clean, smoothed shape with a good grid," explains Makarenko. "To do this, you need to place the final retopo mesh in the Subdivision Surface on the third subdivision editor, Loop Selection the edges and apply Subdivision Surface Weights. Moving left to right easily controlled the width of the chamfer." 14. Detail hair strands The Edge Slide tool is great for detailing hair "Use the Edge Slide tool with Shift pressed on the selected edge, and move left to right to create a groove in the geometry. It is important to work with the converts object after Subdivision Surface. This enables you to detail large strands of hair," says Makarenko. 15. Base splines on a mesh Create hair strands quickly with the Pen tool in the spline "Using the Pen tool in the spline helps to quickly create thin strands of hair," continues Makarenko. "Enabling the snap to polygons option makes it possible to build the necessary splines on the base mesh of hair. Disable Snap and Pen in free mode in order to edit the splines. Work with this tool under the Sweep Nurbs. It is a very easy and fast method." This article was originally published in issue 237 of 3D World, the world's best-selling magazine for CG artists. Subscribe to 3D World here. Related articles: How to model concept art in Cinema 4D Make realistic plants in Cinema 4D 31 brilliant Blender tutorials View the full article
-
Even if you're done with school, that doesn't mean you have to stop learning. After all, learning is a journey that never ends. Keep educating yourself with Stone River eLearning: Lifetime Membership. This unlimited lifetime subscription gives you access to 170 courses and 2,000 hours of learning. Covered topics include everything from web programming to 3D animation, and you can even learn programming languages such as Python and MySQL. You'll also get the added benefits of personal guidance on what to learn, as well as certification exams, which usually cost at least $50 each. Advance your career, or build your hobbies, with Stone River eLearning: Lifetime Membership. It's yours for only $59. Related articles: 12 inspiring ecommerce website designs 7 things they don't tell you about the web industry How to name your app View the full article
-
You're reading Adobe Updates XD with Responsive Resize, Timed Transitions and more, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook, Google+! The latest update to Adobe XD brings new tools to streamline design workflows with improved support for multiple devices and resolutions. Additionally, the September update introduces timed transition elements for prototyping scenarios, an enhanced full-screen viewer and spell check functionality. … View the full article
-
If you're looking for the best Canon EOS 5D Mark IV deals, you're in the right place. We've searched the world's most reputable retailers to find today's best Canon EOS 5D Mark IV prices, and we've got them right here. While it still isn't cheap, the good news is that this is one of the best cameras you can get. Critics have heaped enormous praise on the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV: it's more than capable of shooting in a wide range of disciplines, and an essential item in any serious photographer's setup. If you're tired of taking multiple cameras out on a job, it's probably time to invest and consolidate your setup with the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, arguably the most well-rounded DSLR camera on the market right now. The full-frame sensor shoots 30.4 megapixels through 61 autofocus points, 41 of which double down with cross-type AF too. And seeing as you can shoot at 6fps, you're more than ready to take on fast-moving subjects. The best camera phones in 2018 The improved 1,620,000 dot always-on display looks better than ever and is especially useful when shooting video, which is now available in glorious 4K. If 1080p still works for you, you can film at 120fps – excellent for super smooth slow-motion filming. As you'd probably expect for a DSLR of this quality, you're also getting built-in Wi-Fi and NFC connectivity for transferring images. There's a dual slot for SD and Compact Flash cards too for more options away from the studio. A single battery charge will keep you going for 900 shots too. Even at these prices, some cameras struggle to cover as many disciplines with such confidence. The Canon EOS 5D Mark IV provides immaculate capture of fast-moving sports, wildlife and scenic landscapes – and you'll find today's best Canon EOS 5D Mark IV prices below, via our continually updating price comparison engine. Related articles: The best camera for photography The 10 best point-and-shoot cameras The best camera phones in 2018 View the full article
-
There are a number of CSS preprocessors on the market. You’ve probably heard of Less and Sass (if not, take a look at our article on what is Sass?), but there are a number of other options that might be better suited to your needs. Here, we take a closer look at all the different preprocessor around, and the pros and cons of each one. Use the quick links on the right to jump to a particular section. A word of caution first. Back in 2007 Jon Christopher wrote a blog post entitled Please do not use CSS frameworks, and a lot of his comments stand true today. “A big problem with frameworks is when up-and-coming developers attach themselves to a framework as opposed to the underlying code itself. The knowledge gained in this case surrounds a specific framework, which severely limits the developer.” While preprocessors can undoubtedly make your life easier, there is always a danger that relying on a framework will reduce your understanding of the core language underneath. 01. Sass “Sass is the most mature, stable, and powerful professional grade CSS extension language in the world”. That comes from the makers, but it’s pretty hard to contest. For over 11 years, the team behind Sass have worked diligently to build a preprocessor that is feature-rich, has a large community to support, and develop it and its users, and has been adopted by some of the biggest names in the industry. It offers by far the most engaged community, with forums, dedicated sites, and tutorials on every major teaching platform for code – take a look at The Sass Way in particular. Sass is built on Ruby and offers two different syntax types depending on the user’s preference. Sass doesn’t use braces around selectors or semi-colons at the end of rules, but feature-wise is identical to SCSS (Sassy CSS), which still uses both of those. SCSS is the most common language choice, mainly because it doesn’t differ syntactically from plain CSS, which makes it really easy to adopt the basic principles. Additionally, every major task runner has a module to use with Sass. There is also a C/C++ port of the Sass precompiler called LibSass that decouples Sass from Ruby. It’s fast, portable and easy to build, and integrates with a variety of platforms and language. Pros Lowest barrier to entry – you can harness some of the most powerful features by simply learning a couple of new symbols New collaborators should have no trouble picking it up. LibSass (which decouples Sass from Ruby) is fast, portable and easy to build By far the most engaged community, with plenty of support and resources Cons As with any framework, there’s a danger you’ll become reliant on this approach, and not fully grasp the underlying language 02. Less Less is stylistically very similar to Sass in its feature set, and so anyone that has used one will feel right at home with the other. Its popularity got a big boost after it was used in the source Twitter Bootstrap. It has since moved to Sass in Bootstrap 5, but it has left a lot of people comfortable using its syntax. The fact it is so similar to Sass makes it difficult to advocate when Sass is more widely used, actively developed, and feature-rich – indeed this feature would be comparing the two (as many have before) if there were more differences and unique selling points about Less. It still remains a popular and strong preprocessor though. Pros Written in JavaScript, which makes setup easy GUI apps can watch and compile code for you (Crunch, SimpLESS, WinLess, Koala, CodeKit, LiveReload or Prepros) Very detailed documentation and a very active community Easy to find help or previous examples IDEs such as VS Code, Visual Studio and WebStorm support Less either natively or through plugins Cons Uses @ to declare variables, but in CSS, @ already has meaning (it's used to declare @media queries and @keyframes) which can cause confusion Time might be better spent learning Sass, due to wider use Relies entirely on mixins rather than allowing you to use functions that can return a value, which can result in slightly restricted use cases 03. Stylus Stylus was created by TJ Holowaychuk – a former programmer for Node.js and the creator of the Luna language. Its initial design was influenced by Sass and Less but it offers a wider range of features, a super-fast Node.js system under the hood, and gives users the most freedom in how they write their CSS. This freedom has a downside though. As Declan de Wet says: “It supplies the developer with no definitive direction…once you’re ingrained in variables, mixins and functions not requiring a prepended dollar sign ($) or ‘at’ symbol (@), you’ll soon start to realise that you can no longer tell the difference between them. This makes for very confusing code”. Mozilla used Stylus to redesign its developer network, and it offers most of what’s covered in the Sass section, but with a few minor differences in syntax. Pros Hugely powerful built-in functions Can do much more computing and ‘heavy-lifting’ inside your styles Written in Node.js, which is fast and fits neatly with a 2018 JavaScript stack ‘Pythonic’ syntax looks a lot cleaner and requires fewer characters Cons Too forgiving, which can lead to confusion Doesn’t seem to be in very active development 04. PostCSS Based on its approach, PostCSS is one of the biggest ‘alternatives’ to Sass, Less and Stylus when it comes to preprocessing: it leverages a modular plugin system that allows the user to customise their feature set and compilation as much as they want. This means that rather than just adopting a library in its entirety, you get to choose what it’s made of. Unlike many other preprocessors, PostCSS makes no assumptions about the features or stack you’re using. Instead, you simply add the plugins you would like based on the features you want to use. You can add plugins to give it the exact same features as a library like Sass. This modular approach means you can even use plugins completely by themselves, such as auto-prefixing and minification, rather than building a full library. Pros Un-opinionated, modular approach – can be heavily customised Written in pure CSS, so developers don’t need to learn a new syntax Speed (if you only use a few plugins) Cons Speed (again) – If mimicking another setup, PostCCS lacks the performance benefit a dedicated, optimised tool will offer Generally, more effort to install and maintain than a conventional preprocessor, because you’re relying on different plugins maintained by different people 05. Pleeease Pleeease takes a slightly different approach to preprocessing in that it tries to tackle some of the more practical issues with CSS rather than focusing purely on its syntax or layout. Its website explains: “A Node.js application that can easily process your CSS. It simplifies the use of preprocessors and combines them with the best of post-processors. It helps create clean stylesheets, support older browsers and offers better maintainability”. Pleeease provides fallbacks to common issues with older browsers out of the box, including pixel fallbacks for when you’re using rems as your measurement of choice, and filter fallbacks for IE8 when using opacity. It even has a feature to allow you to use the syntax of your favourite preprocessor like Sass or Less within Pleeease’s setup (as well as pure CSS), although this is experimental at this point. Pros Built-in autoprefixer adds vendor prefixes, using data from caniuse.com Generates source maps in which you can see the original code A tool rather than a syntax library, so you can use it with pure CSS or with another preprocessor Clear, practical uses for dealing with older browser quirks Cons Not very well known, which may make finding resources difficult The feature that allows for the inclusion of other preprocessors is completely experimental at this stage 06. CSS-Crush CSS-Crush is a standards-inspired preprocessor designed to enable a modern and uncluttered CSS workflow. It’s written in PHP and features a combination of the standard features you would expect in one of the more popular preprocessors (variables, nesting, mixins) along with some of the more tool-based approaches we’ve covered like Pleeease (vendor prefixing, minification). CSS-Crush’s PHP background means it can be used neatly in conjunction with popular PHP content management systems such as WordPress or Drupal. This is probably its biggest pro, because if you’re confined to what you can do inside a CMS, you can install it as a plugin and still benefit from some of the advantages of having a preprocessor. One bonus is that its vendor prefixes for properties, functions, @-rules and even full declarations are automatically generated. This means that you can maintain cross-browser support while keeping your source code clean. Pros Neat integration with popular PHP CMSs (WordPress, Drupal etc) Open source, so you could theoretically fix your own issues Useful plugins available, such as working with aria roles and HTML canvas Built-in autoprefixing for cross-browser styles Cons Despite a wide range of features, lacks popularity beyond the regular PHP programming community Lack of maintenance (at time of writing) 07. Garden This option is completely different to all the others because it pretty much does away with the conventional language of CSS as we know it. Garden is a library for rendering CSS in Clojure and ClojureScript. It uses vectors to represent rules and maps to represent declarations. It is designed for “stylesheet authors who are interested in what’s possible when you trade a preprocessor for a programming language.” As far as programming languages go, Clojure is known for its clean architecture and firm heritage. For CSS, this can mean great power. However, the syntax can be daunting. As an example, to set no font-weight on h1 and h2 tags, you would use: user=> (css [:h1 :h2 {:font-weight "none"}]). Pros Access to the core features of a powerful programming language in Clojure Unique opportunity to code a project entirely in the same language: Clojure for backend programming and Garden for CSS Garden Gnome plugin enables you to pipe style changes directly to the browser without reloading Cons You can't simply copy and paste CSS from elsewhere into your work – every snippet must be converted to the correct format Very different syntax to regular CSS or any other preprocessor, making it more difficult to read Learning curve for Garden is steeper than other options 08. Styled Components This last option is a pivot from conventional preprocessors. I only raise it in this context as it’s a way of writing your styles in a certain manner and layout and having it convert, alongside your component logic, as browser-ready CSS. Only the basics are covered here and its style handling. Styled Components is ‘CSS-in-JS for the CSS folk’ as Glen Maddern put it. It’s the latest attempt to make truly modular CSS by interweaving it into the JS components you write. It has a big advantage over inline React styling as you don’t have to camel case your attributes, and you declare each style block directly onto the name of the element you’ll be using it on. So for example, to create a title component that’ll render a <h1> tag with some styles, you would write this: Pros You can achieve total encapsulation of your components – every piece of markup, logic Large following, and active community and project owner Represents a fascinating shift in direction Preventing ‘append-only styles’. What are append-only styles? Cons You are back to writing plain CSS, which has its drawbacks Quite opinionated, as it’s built to work solely with the React JS library You have to handle cross-browser issues and fallbacks using other methods This article was originally published in creative web design magazine Web Designer. Buy issue 276 or subscribe. Read more: How to structure media queries in Sass 7 things they don’t tell you about the web industry How to set up site theming with CSS variables View the full article
-
Plenty of filmmakers are looking for ‘organic’ forms to represent alien worlds or magical moments in their movies. So it’s perhaps unsurprising that they would seek to embrace fractals. After all, fractals tend to look like naturally occurring and infinitely repeatable objects, yet can often be simulated with mathematics. And so it is that several recent 3D movies have adopted fractals – especially three-dimensional ones – to help tell their stories. And they’ve seen use in immersive projects too, where fractal simulations can help realise complex forms for users to explore. The team at 3D World recently asked the artists at Weta Digital – who were tasked with making complex fractals for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 – how they went about tackling them. Fractals of the Galaxy Put simply, fractals are complex, which is exactly why Weta Digital looked to them as inspiration for the Planet Ego sequences in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. The studio carried out some early tests embedding implicit functions into its proprietary Manuka path-trace renderer via plugins, with promising results. It matched the client concept art – which specifically featured 3D Apollonian gasket-like shapes – but soon realised that relying on purely mathematical functions could be limiting. How to make a Mandelbulb “A fractal is amazing in the sense that it’s just a tiny piece of simple code, but very small changes to the inputs of fractals tend to result in unpredictable, large-scale changes in the output,” outlines Weta Digital visual effects supervisor Kevin Smith. “They’re very chaotic. This was problematic for us as I couldn’t sit in a review with a client and ask them to give notes on a piece of code, much less one that’s completely unpredictable. We knew that whatever methodology we chose needed to be art directable.” Initial development for the fractal pieces went through Weta digital’s proprietary Manuka renderer So Weta Digital considered modelling by hand, but again abandoned this approach due to the infinite detail required (“Also, the models supervisor yelled at me when I brought it up,” says Smith). That left the studio with new requirements: defining an arbitrary shape that was art directable but could still match those gasket shapes, and achieving a digital environment that felt like it had infinite practical detail. The R&D team devised a method that let artists use curves to define an axis and a profile in Maya, and then code that would use a custom sphere-packing algorithm to boolean out spheres from the first shape, to give the appearance of an Apollonian fractal in a user-controlled volume. 15 Maya tutorials to try today “For the detail, instead of trying to add infinite fractal minutia, we used an in-house piece of software called Genesis to essentially spray-paint little instances of fractal geometry all over the resulting shapes produced by the first tool," explains Smith. "The layout department came up with Genesis brush presets that used combinations of the tiny instances with different scales to essentially make pseudo-fractals. This let us add a lot of detail without incurring an infinite cost. It also helped us age the main sections of the environment, since the Planet Ego in the film was very old.” Weta digital needed to match specific fractal-looking client concept art for the interior of Planet ego for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Then, a stumbling block. The Maya plugin could not quite achieve all the shapes in the concept art. Weta Digital needed a way to generate some of the more esoteric forms from the art that had originally come from Mandelbulb software, but attempts thus far had required prohibitive amounts of memory without the required resolution. The solution, devised by senior modeller Pascal Raimbault, was to generate a 4K turntable of the relevant areas in the Mandelbulb software – instead of geometry – and then feed those renders to Weta Digital’s photogrammetry software. “It totally worked,” exclaims Smith. “It produced sharper, cleaner, higher-resolution images than we were getting with voxelisation, and allowed us to build a library of shapes we could use to dress in detail that was not just close to the concept but exactly matched it.” “Visual effects for me has always been about the combination of art and science,” adds Smith, “and it was great to be able to take a purely mathematical concept like fractals and not only make something new and different, but to use it to help drive the narrative of an awesome movie like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.” This article originally appeared in 3D World issue 237; subscribe here. Read more: The best power bank in 2018: top portable chargers to power your devices Pose a character in ZBrush: 4 top tips Master ZBrush digital sculpting with 3D World View the full article
-
When design jargon goes wrong
Rss Bot posted a topic in Ειδήσεις από τον χώρο του Design και Hosting
Have you ever been told to put logos before logos? Have you ever fed your client a hamburger? Ever been backfilled? Design jargon is a bit of a minefield, so we got in touch with some of our favourite designers to ask about the latest industry jargon. We wanted to know the new terms everybody's using. We were after the abbreviations, the euphemisms, the acronyms, and what they actually mean in plain English. But it turned out our favourite designers were unanimously against this idea. Design jargon, they said, has got to go. Instead, we got stories about times design jargon has led to misunderstandings, awkwardness and panic. There were terms that were well and truly lost in translation, words that have other, far more salacious definitions, and phrases that just sound plain daft. Read on for designers' tales of times design jargon has wreaked havoc on projects. That's just rude "I was once in a meeting about Iceland supermarkets," Simon Manchipp says. The SomeOne founder remembers how the team were looking at the brand and trying to work out what was unique about it. They wanted to show the company as being progressive. "I was quite new to the project," Manchipp says, "and everyone was getting more and more heated until one of the very senior members of the agency shouted at the client and told them to ‘Bog off’. At this point, Manchipp had to leave the meeting. He was shocked at how this senior person had behaved towards the clients. "I'd always been taught to treat people with respect – and particularly clients. It was some time until I realised it was an abbreviation for the sales mechanic that Iceland supermarkets had pioneered: The buy one, get one free – the "BOGOF." NB Studio's smart, simple and striking identity for The Drum Alan Dye, owner and creative director at NB Studio, also once had a client who used a particularly unfortunate term. Dye's favourite bit of jargon is a double-entendre that used to make the whole team laugh. "We had a client," Dye says, "who always used to say to us: I'll backfill you next week." Double meanings Often, a term is so widely used that its other meanings are lost. Sometimes a definition changes entirely. For example, ‘literally’ (once the most misused word in English language) is now also defined as being used ‘to acknowledge that something is not literally true but is used for emphasis or to express strong feeling’. That's the case with one particular word that you'll never hear David Airey saying. "I often see renowned design firms and designers being described as ‘seminal’," explains the logo design and brand identity specialist . It's meant as groundbreaking, influential, original. But that's not how Airey hears it. "It wouldn’t be my choice, considering the other definition," he adds. Yarza Twins collaborated with HP and Smirnoff to create a limited edition bottle celebrating diversity While we're on the subject of popular but unnecessarily lewd design terms, how about 'sexy'? "We find it super-funny when people ask us to make a design look 'sexy'," says Eva Yarza. Yarza is one half of Yarza Twins – the London studio she runs with twin sister Marta. Their clients include Smirnoff, adidas and MTV. The big problem here is that the meaning isn't clear – the image a term summons in a client's mind could well be very different to what it means to the designer. So any client asking Yarza Twins for something ‘sexy’ might find themselves in for a surprise. "We always just imagine," she says, "adding in a picture of Pamela Anderson in Baywatch." karlssonwilker's logo design for the Reykjavík Art Museum Peter Saluk brings a bit of class to the debate. The project manager at karlssonwilker explains he's fond of the phrase 'logos before logos'. This idea has proved useful in the New York studio's projects for clients like Samsung, Mini/BMW, and Time Magazine. But it's meaning is not instantly clear – especially when written down. It means, Saluk says: "Logic and reason first, to avoid senseless visuals. Or: think before you design." Still stumped? Trying saying it out loud. Saluk says: "It's all about the correct Greek pronunciation." Just plain weird Jamie Ellul is now the creative director of Supple Studio, but during his days at Magpie Studio, he met with a client who used a term that got him into a bit of a panic. "We had an amazing new business opportunity with a US tech giant," he says. "They said they'd like to come over and meet us and asked if we could put together a presentation to share with them at the meeting, but that it shouldn't be ‘a dog and pony show’." Ellul had to Google the term. It means 'an elaborate display or presentation'. "We then freaked out," he says, "about what was too over-the-top and what wasn't – but we got the gig, so I guess we pitched it on the right side of 'elaborate display'." Supple Studio created a set of ads that let designers know about the benefits of using recycled paper stock Snask founder and creative director Fredrik Öst had an equally confusing time with some jargon he came across while working on a film. Öst was born in South Korea, grew up in Sweden and was over in America when a few geographical terms went over his head. The set designers were stacking apple boxes for the shoot. They called out different names depending on which way the boxes went. Longways was ‘New York’. On their side was ‘Chicago’. And flat was ‘LA’. Öst eventually figured out that these terms have to do with how tall the buildings are in the respective cities – New York being full of skyscrapers, LA being pretty flat, and Chicago being somewhere in the middle. On the buzzword bandwagon Now for some terms that everyone understands, but no one likes. "I absolutely hate the term ‘on-trend’," Rob Gonzalez says. Gonzalez is a partner at London studio Sawdust, which specialises in typography, brand displays, and visual identities for companies like Nike, Apple, and Coca-Cola. What it doesn’t specialise in is things that are ‘on-trend’. But surely this one is harmless enough? It's a synonym for fashionable, popular, cool. It's meaning is clear. It's widely used. It's not wordy. What's the problem? "On-trend makes me cringe," Gonzalez says. "On-trend is here today and gone tomorrow. On-trend is for the masses, the followers and the wannabes. On-trend is no longer unique, it’s the death of an idea." These notebooks for Arjowiggins Creative Papers won Studio.Build a D&AD Pencil Studio.Build creative director Michael C Place went to town when we asked him to give a few example of jargon he hates. "What's the critical path?… I can feel a serious amount of feature creep coming here… I can feel a bit of a pain point here, guys… The CFO needs to see what his Benjamins are being spent on... Feed them a hamburger, yeah?" Most of it we understood. ‘CFO’ is chief financial officer. A ‘Benjamin’ is a $100 bill – it's money. ‘Feature creep’ is what happens when a job spirals out of control and unnecessary stuff is added to try and fix it. A ‘touchpoint’ is the bit where people interact with the project, and a ‘pain point’ is a problem, an irritation. But we needed help on the hamburger. The manager of Build, Elena Dranfield, helped us out: "Michael says it's 'a technical term for user experience'." Ah, a hamburger menu, maybe? Studio Sutherl&'s thoughtful branding and wayfinding for the St Albans Museum and Gallery Studio Sutherl&'s Jim Sutherland also has a few 'pet hates' when it comes to design buzzwords. Thinking is enough, Sutherland says. You don't need ‘blue-sky thinking’ or ‘left-field thinking’ or even ‘thinking outside of the box’. But what he dislikes most is any phrases involving fruit or vegetables – in particular ‘brand onions’. This is the process of drawing a big circle with all the different layers that make up a company. Sutherland’s message in simple: let's all use common sense and plain English. Read more: 7 ways illustration can help brands stand out What designers say vs. what they really mean Google logo sparks 'correct design' debate View the full article -
Millions of people around the world use Apple products, and that's why developers are scrambling to learn how to build apps for the Apple operating system. For a crash course on everything you need to know about developing apps for iOS 12, macOS, watchOS, and more, get The Essential iOS 12 Development Bundle. In this bundle, you'll gain hands-on experience by creating your own app for watchOS and finding out how to make your app creations more user-friendly. You'll even create a weather app and a bitcoin tracker as further practice to prepare you for the world of iOS development. The best cheap Apple Pencil deals of 2018 With more than 100 hours of expert help, this course is sure to help you become a top-notch developer. Get The Essential iOS 12 Development Bundle for only $29 – that's 97 per cent off the regular price. Related articles: How to name your app 33 stunning iOS app icon designs Create your own apps for Android View the full article
-
Can it really be September already? That can only mean one thing – the latest issue of Computer Arts magazine is on sale now. Issue 284 is all about branding, and in its pages you'll discover what it takes to create award-winning identities. We also take a look at the 47 amazing projects in the running for this year's fifth annual Brand Impact Awards, and find out who came away with a trophy. Buy Computer Arts issue 284 now Followers of the awards will be all too aware of the tough selection process that goes into picking the winning projects. With the aim of selecting and celebrating excellence, the Brand Impact Awards are so brutal that if the expert panel aren't all in agreement when it comes to a project, then the category simply won't have a winner! Only the best of the best win at the Brand Impact Awards Save up to 60% on a Computer Arts subscription Elsewhere in issue 284, Emily Gosling talks to some of the best full-time and freelance illustrators to learn how they stay motivated and avoid drawing a blank. Meanwhile, Jacqui Oakley walks us through her fierce approach to Reebok T-shirt design, and Magpie Studio explains how investing in the happiness of its staff has led to award-winning work with a playful spirit. Sign up to the Computer Arts newsletter Take a closer look at what's inside Computer Arts issue 284 by scrolling left to right through the gallery below. Computer Arts is the world's best-selling design magazine, bursting at the seams with insight, inspiration, interviews and all the best new design projects. For all this delivered direct to your door each month, subscribe to Computer Arts. Right now you can save up to 60%, and receive a free Computer Arts tote bag when you subscribe. Related articles: Bring a brand to life with illustration How to reawaken a brand's heritage How to choose the right typeface for a brand View the full article
-
Bath Digital Festival returns
Rss Bot posted a topic in Ειδήσεις από τον χώρο του Design και Hosting
Bath Digital Festival is set to return on 23-27 October for its most ambitious year yet. The week-long festival of everything to do with digital technology will encompass 85 talks held in various locations around the city, and early bird tickets are available for just £10 (usually £15), which is ridiculously cheap for what's on offer. Buy an early bird ticket to Bath Digital Festival for £10 That £10 ticket will get you access of the full schedule of events, and you just need to reserve your place on the ones you want to attend (hurry though, popular talks will book up fast). Helpfully, the mammoth festival is broken down in to a different theme each day. Tues 23 – Digital creativity: Design and creativity using digital tools Weds 24 – Digital working: How tech is changing the way we work Thurs 25 – Digital for good: Digital as a force for social change Fri 26 – Digital intelligence: Machine learning and AI Sat 27 – Digital future: A glimpse of what might be still to come Within those themes are specific streams aimed at hobbyists, businesses and tech professionals, so there's a little something for everyone. There's even a range of child-friendly events for parents to bring their kids to, and get them a head-start with their coding skills. Read on for our pick on the talks you'll want to reserve your place on. 01. All-dayer for web makers This full-day event will explore the most exciting developments in the web industry and user experience design. There's a cracking roster of speakers: Jonny Rae-Evans will explore how to design for good (or, as he refers to it, 'the subtle art of not killing anyone'), Mud's Michelle Barker will dive into CSS Grid, Mike Brondbjerg will show you how to use data as a creative material, and Tara Ojo will offer a look at the web world though the eyes of a 'junior' dev. 02. AI vs Human Creativity Artificial intelligence is a hot topic at the moment, but where does it leave creatives? In this talk, Edit's Rob McGowan muses on whether AI can ever truly be considered autonomously creative, and explores a future where AI can be used as a tool to build connections in society and open up new possibilities. Following the talk there will be panel discussion that digs into the ethics around using AI. 03. The secrets of social media There's no denying the power social media can have over your career, if you know how to wield it correctly. In this talk the clever people who crafted a brilliant online presence for startups Hugg and Swoon share their insights on how to build a powerful digital brand. 04. Lego Robot Wars Love Lego? Got coding skills? Combine the two to build a fearsome bot, then battle your creation against other teams' robots until a champion is crowned. Sam Ramsay, the founder of Lego Robot Club, will be offering guidance to help you fulfil your true potential. Just beware the house bots! Read more: 25 top life hacks for designers 5 AR tools to try today 7 things they don’t tell you about the web industry View the full article -
It takes time, skill and effort to build and maintain a strong, healthy client relationship. Getting it right is crucial, not just for the sake of the project you're working on, but to help ensure repeat work. However, there has to be a balance between catering to your client's needs, and being a doormat they take for granted. Likewise, you need to show you know what you're doing and wow them with your creativity, but not come across as arrogant or inaccessible – the best client relationships are forged on collaboration. It's a fine line to tread. Read on for five all-too-common mistakes that designers make that can drive clients mad – and more importantly, how to avoid them. 01. Ignoring the constraints of the brief It pays to think outside the box creatively, but constraints are there for a reason This may sound blindingly obvious, but sometimes the whiff of excitement at developing an exciting portfolio centrepiece could take your ambitions off-course. Sure, going above and beyond the brief from a creative standpoint is usually a good thing – but not if it would blow the budget, or the timeframe. If the client has set constraints in the brief, it's your challenge to over-deliver within those constraints – not to try and ignore them. Constraints can be good: they can focus your energy, and help you think outside of the box creatively, without actually smashing the box to pieces. Constraints set at a brief stage may even prove flexible as the project progresses, which can yield new opportunities. But your job is to solve the client's problem. It'll drive them mad if your outlandish solution, however awesome, doesn't do so. 02. Slipping into design jargon Don't tie your client up in knots with design jargon – explain things clearly so they feel involved If you're lucky, you'll be collaborating with a design-savvy client-side team that is on your wavelength, and you can work in tandem to take your ideas to the next level. You both know your stuff, and can second-guess each other's thoughts as you power towards the ideal creative solution. However, some clients aren't design-savvy – even if they may think they are. That's not their fault: that's what they're hiring you for, after all. They may be taken aback by how long things take, or how much they cost (see point #4). Don't assume they know what kerning is, or appreciate why spending hours doing it is important. Or why the RGB to CMYK conversion is going to make the image they've provided you with look different. Or worst of all, that they'll respond to that unique brand of over-inflated strategic mumbo jumbo that's all too common in design. As a rule, speaking in plain, clear English will help put your client at ease, and make you more approachable and ultimately easier to work with. 03. Getting too precious about the work You may love an idea, but it's a collaborative process and you can't get overly attached to it This is a big one. The client is the client – they hold the budget, and set the brief – and however attached you are to that design route, it's ultimately their call. Sure, clients make bad, uninformed decisions sometimes – but the onus is on you to make sure the pros and cons of the routes you present are properly explained. Some agencies make a point of only presenting one killer solution, and then return to the drawing board if it doesn't pass. Others prefer to go with, say, three, and give the client a choice. In this case, make sure you believe in all of them, even if you have a personal preference. Don't throw your toys out of the pram if your favourite route isn't chosen, or it gets taken in a different direction. It'll wind your client up no end. Your job is to solve a problem, not make more problems. 04. Not being transparent about the process The creative process can be long, winding, and messy – but try to explain it to the client as clearly as you can This falls into similar territory as design jargon. If a client feels like they're a meaningful part of the design process – they understand what's going on, and why – things will inevitably be smoother for you both. Again, some collaborations are closer and more fruitful than others, but you're working towards the same goal at the end of the day – so don't fight against each other. Right from the outset, explain what the different stages are, estimate how long each one will take – with the proviso that this may change – and set out what the client can expect to see at each point. Clients all-too-often get frustrated because a chunk of time has passed, and they don't know what's going on. There may not be another version of a design that's ready to present at that point, but the more transparent you can be about your activities, the better. If you're flat-out on another project, don't hide it – be honest, and be clear when you'll be back on their project. Put their mind at rest. 05. Getting angry about amends Anger begets anger. Keep a two-way communication channel throughout the process and amends should be smoother Just as you shouldn't become too precious about particular ideas and design routes, when it gets to the business end of a project and the rounds of amends start coming in, it's time to take a deep breath. Getting angry at this stage won't help anyone. If you've adhered to the advice from the previous four points, then hopefully you'll be on the same page, with some decent two-way communication flowing with the client. But endless amends can be infuriating. They may be contradictory, particularly if many stakeholders are involved, or uninformed, and ultimately not in the best interests of the project. Depending on how you've quoted for the project, and the nature of the work, it's sensible to specify that a certain number of rounds of amends are included in the price – and any more will be charged extra. But it also comes down to clear communication, and explaining why certain choices have been made at every stage. If you're both on the same journey, and the client feels part of key design decisions, the amends process should be much easier to stomach. Related articles: The design agency survival guide 8 portfolio mistakes that drive clients mad 10 ways to be more business savvy as a designer View the full article