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A Mandelbulb is a three-dimensional fractal that is becoming increasingly popular in 3D art and VFX. In this article, I’ll walk through how to quickly make a Mandelbulb in Houdini, using an SDF (signed distance field volume). In each voxel, an SDF stores the distance to the nearest point on the surface. Houdini can interpret these distances, and visualise the derived surface as 3D geometry. This is very convenient since most fractal formulas take the form of a ‘distance estimation function’ – given a point in space, the function returns the distance to the nearest point on the fractal implicit surface. This means that you can put the results of the fractal function directly in each voxel and it will just work! 01. Create an empty volume Click the icon in the top right to enlarge the image First, create an empty volume (Volume SOP) to fill with distance values – give it the name 'surface'. A good fractal to test with is the Mandelbulb, and by default it's around 2.5 units wide, so set the volume's size to 2.5, 2.5, 2.5. You can change the resolution of the volume to trade off speed against quality; a good starting point could be setting the Uniform Sampling to By Size, with a Division Size of 0.01. The default mode of visualising a volume in Houdini is a fog volume, but you can change that to display as a hard limit surface, by changing the Display Mode to Isosurface (in the Properties tab). 02. Add some code Click the icon in the top right to enlarge the image Then it’s a matter of filling the voxels with distance values. Use this VEX code in a Volume Wrangle SOP to run the Mandelbulb formula per-voxel: 03. Introduce parameter references Click the icon in the top right to enlarge the image Houdini lets you add your own custom spare parameters to an individual node’s user interface. Our VEX code contains parameter references (the chf() functions), to let us control aspects of the formula with parameters in the UI. Those parameters won't exist by default, but you can create them by pressing the Create Spare Parameters button in the right of the code window. In this case, the Iterations parameter will control the level of detail for the Mandelbulb – start off with 5 or 6. The Power will control the shape of the Mandelbulb – the typical shape emerges at around Power 8.0. 04. Convert to polygons Click the icon in the top right to enlarge the image To convert the surface to polygons, follow the Volume Wrangle with a Convert Volume SOP. Use Invert mode, because it's interpreted as a signed distance field, and you'll get the detailed fractal shape meshed in polygon form. Effectively, the Invert mode reverses the normals of the surface and the winding direction of the polygons. 05. Render your Mandelbulb Click the icon in the top right to enlarge the image You can then render it the same as you would any other mesh, but because it's so detailed you won't be able to UV unwrap it easily – consider using procedural techniques to surface it, for example, shading based on its curvature. This article was originally published in 3D World, the world's best-selling magazine for CG artists. Buy issue 237 or subscribe. Read more: Grow plants in Houdini 8 eye-popping examples of fractal art 15 top Houdini tips View the full article

Fasthosts offers everything from domain registration and business email to dedicated servers. Now this leading web hosting provider is offering users a single platform for a complete range of cloud-based services: CloudNX. CloudNX provides high-performance Virtual Private Servers on demand. These virtual machines are provisioned in as little as 55 seconds, and users can choose from the latest Linux or Windows operating systems, as well as flexible configurations of CPU vCores, RAM and fast SSD storage. With scalable resources and advanced features including load balancers and monitoring, Virtual Private Servers are ideal for running websites with variable performance demands. There are no upfront costs or contracts, and usage is tracked by the minute – so you only need to pay for the server resources you actually use. Apps and stacks For users that need to launching their ideal development environment quickly, CloudNX also offers Apps & Stacks. These custom software stacks can be deployed with a wide range of components, including a choice of web server, database and scripting language. Developers have instant access to their tools of choice, from a standard Apache/MySQL/PHP setup to more specialised configurations. Pre-installed applications for popular software such as WordPress, Joomla and Drupal mean users can easily get started with their preferred content management system. With Apps & Stacks, the operating system and software updates are managed by Fasthosts, so developers can focus on their code, rather than messing around with server admin. Every stack includes its own dedicated processor vCores, memory and SSD storage, which can be allocated automatically according to the performance needs of each project, or scaled on a custom basis. Bare Metal Servers Also now available on CloudNX, Bare Metal Servers are single-tenant, physical machines, fully integrated on a cloud platform. With powerful dedicated hardware including Intel Xeon processors, Bare Metal Servers are a perfect solution for demanding applications like intensive ecommerce, but offering the added benefit of cloud-like flexibility. Billing is based on usage per hour, so you can spin up a Bare Metal Server for temporary, heavy workloads, with no long-term commitment. They’re quick to set up, too: a new Bare Metal Server is ready to use in just eight minutes. This solution can be fully integrated with other CloudNX services, interacting with Virtual Private Servers and load balancers on a single high-performance network. Everything on one platform To keep things nice and simple, all of these services can be controlled from one convenient interface. The CloudNX control panel offers a full range of options for launching and managing Virtual Private Servers, Apps & Stacks, and Bare Metal Servers, along with easy ways to keep track of usage and costs. Fasthosts has data centres in the UK, mainland Europe and the US, and the performance of servers and projects can be optimised for the needs of different audiences worldwide. There’s also UK-based technical support on hand 24/7 to ensure any issues, queries and tasks can be resolved as quickly and efficiently as possible. View the full article

A few days ago, we reported on everything we know about the Apple iPhone 11 so far, and revealed what we'd like to see. Now, with less than 48 hours to go until Apple's next-gen iPhone big reveal, rumours and leaks surrounding the new device/s name and what it/they will look like have started to intensify. 6 best smartphones for designers In this video below, tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee reveals what he claims are three detailed dummy models of the new iPhone range. Brownlee provides a close-up look at them, detailing the possible features in the second-generation 5.8-inch iPhone X, a new 6.5-inch device and the rumoured 'budget' 6.1-inch iPhone, the latter of which it's reported will have an LCD screen, with the other two models boasting an OLED (organic light-emitting diode) display. What's in a name? A lot, actually, with Apple fans speculating just as much about the new iPhone name as its potential new look and features. While nothing has been confirmed, reports in this morning from our sister site Techradar suggest Apple's iPhone X successor is expected to be called the iPhone XS, with another model – currently being referred to as the iPhone XS Max – set to take the presumed iPhone 9 Plus slot thanks to its larger 6.5-inch display. There's no doubt we'll see more leaks and rumours in the build up to launch over the next 48 hours. One thing we're pretty certain of seeing, however, is die-hard Apple fans lining the streets once again, eager to be the first to get their hands on this latest device. Read more: The 28 best iPhone apps for designers iMac Pro review The best cheap Apple laptop deals of 2018 View the full article

Branding a major airline is one of the most prestigious, large-scale jobs a design agency can land – and one of the most expensive to implement. Your work will be emblazoned across a fleet of aircraft, as well as every other touchpoint that customers experience, from terminal kiosks to tickets. It's a big responsibility. Redesigning an airline logo is a decision not to be taken lightly, partly because of the huge cost, but also because people often get rather attached to the logos of their country's 'flag-carrying' airlines, and major rebrands often attract their fair share of controversy – American Airlines and United, both covered below, being prime examples as they ditched the work of luminary designers in the process, going from some of the best-loved to the most-hated logos overnight. Get it right, however, and the best logos for airlines can truly stand the test of time. Read on to discover six of the most recognisable airline brands from around the world, and what makes them so effective... 01. Lufthansa (1963 version) Until 2018, Lufthansa 'owned' ochre yellow in the airline sector As the world's oldest airline, the German flag-carrier's stylised 'flying crane' motif dates back to 1918, when Otto Firle first created it for Lufthansa's predecessor Deutsche Luft-Reederei (DLR). In 1963, Otl Aicher added its distinctive rich ochre yellow as a brand colour – a masterstroke in terms of market standout. Ownership of a colour in a sector largely dominated by red and blue can be crucial for standout – easyJet's grip on orange is another case in point – and that yellow became a key part of Lufthansa's identity, alongside the iconic crane. The rebrand removed it from aircraft liveries, but kept it as a secondary colour elsewhere As a result, one of the most controversial aspects of Lufthansa's in-house rebrand earlier in 2018 was the downgrading of yellow to an accent colour, playing second fiddle to navy blue. It remains across many of the airline's touchpoints – such as tickets – but the backlash was strong. Lufthansa's 350-odd planes are now liveried exclusively in navy blue, with a slimmed-down crane. 02. American Airlines (1967 version) Massimo Vignelli's bold, angular American Airlines logo is indisputably iconic Designed in 1967, the late, great Massimo Vignelli's American Airlines logo combines a bold, confident 'AA' acronym with a heavily stylised, angular eagle that sits neatly inside the triangular negative space between the two letters. It's indisputably one of the most iconic airline logos of all time, which is why it remained a badge of honour for the US carrier for almost half a century. In arguably the most controversial airline rebrand of recent years, FutureBrand ripped up Vignelli's much-loved logo in 2013, and also moved away from Helvetica – still a relatively new, cutting-edge typeface in 1967 – as a brand font. FutureBrand's 2013 rebrand was widely criticised for 'fixing' what wasn't broken Dubbed the 'flight symbol', the new American Airlines logo incorporates an eagle, a star and the letter 'A' into one modern graphic shape, rendered in a distinctively American red, white and blue palette – albeit a paler, more sky blue shade than its predecessor. It's fit for purpose, but lacks the gravitas and confident simplicity of Vignelli's, and the designer publicly voiced his disapproval at the time. 03. KLM F.H.K. Henrion needed just four circles, a line and a plus to define KLM's iconic crown emblem Like American Airlines, Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij (better known as KLM) was treated to an iconic logo by a world-renowned designer in the 1960s – in this instance, F.H.K. Henrion in 1961. Where the two differ, of course, is that KLM's is still very much in use, bar some minor tweaks in 1991, and widely cherished. While Lufthansa is technically the world's oldest airline, KLM – founded in 1919 – is the oldest that still maintains its original name. That name translates to 'Royal Dutch Airlines', and the airline needs just four circles, a horizontal line and a plus symbol to form the beautifully timeless graphic crown that represents it to this day. 04. Qantas Qantas has reworked its brand five times since 1944, but kept the essence of its red-and-white kangaroo Established in 1920, hot on the heels of KLM, Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services (better known as Qantas) is Australia's flag carrier, with around 120 airplanes. In 2016, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner was added to the fleet – which gave the airline an excuse to overhaul its well-known logo and livery. Australian design agency Houston Group worked on this latest Qantas rebrand, the fifth time the distinctive red-and-white kangaroo has been updated since 1944. The last rebrand was in 2007, to mark the introduction of an Airbus A380. Houston Group's ambition was to give the emblem a more streamlined, contemporary look and feel, so it serves more as an abstract, ownable symbol than a literal representation of a kangaroo. The wordmark was also updated, losing the italicised text and giving everything more room to breathe. Ultimately, it retains the essence of the brand, and just gives it a modern, stylised twist – a rather different tack from American Airlines. 05. LEVEL Superunion's identity for low-cost, long-haul airline LEVEL subverts all the trends of the sector International Airline Group (IAG) needed a name and visual identity for its brand new low-cost, long-haul airline that could stand out in a crowded sector, and appeal to a new generation of global travellers. Up stepped Superunion. Inspired by the idea of ‘levelling the playing field’ of long-haul travel, the agency decided on a name: LEVEL was born. Subverting the traditional flag motifs of the big ‘flag-carrying’ airlines, the airline sports a simple two-colour square for its logo, split into blue and green strips to represent the sky and Earth respectively. This expands into a series of vibrant, animated patterns that carry seamlessly across every brand touchpoint. LEVEL was the most successful airline ever launched, with 52,000 tickets sold in its first 11 hours of business. It may be the newest airline brand on the list by quite some distance, but it's already proved its worth – and was highly commended at the 2018 Brand Impact Awards. 06. United (pre 2010) Pentagram's 1997 rebrand of United respected the considerable brand equity in Saul Bass' tulip When a luminary designer like Saul Bass is behind a logo, it pays to hold on to that heritage. A pleasingly balanced emblem formed from four beautifully simple graphic shapes that curl around each other at the base, his 1974 'tulip' for United Airlines is instantly recognisable – and replaced a whole string of different 'crest'-based logo designs from the previous three decades. While the design of the accompanying wordmark fluctuated – including a stylish rebrand by Pentagram in 1997, above – Bass' iconic tulip remained constant for over 35 years. That was until United merged with Continental Airlines in 2010, and in a spectacularly ill-advised tradeoff between name and logo, acquired Continental's nondescript blue globe and became, briefly, known as United Airlines. Following its merger with Continental Airlines, United decided to sacrifice the tulip in favour of a nondescript blue globe That's right: three years before Vignelli's work was ditched by American Airlines, its US rival had already binned Bass. And then, as if that wasn't enough, it rebranded again just three months later, dropping the 'Airlines' to become 'United' once again, and changing sentence-case serif for all-caps sans. Unfortunately, the type was the least of their problems. The globe stayed – and the tulip sadly was no more. Related articles: The best logos of all time 7 logos we all love to hate (and lessons we can learn) 6 great logo ideas that break the mould View the full article

Whether you’re are a freelancer, consultant, or running a small business, receiving payment for your work on time is crucial. Nothing is more frustrating than having to chase your clients multiple times for the same invoice, when you should be spending that time building up your design portfolio. And late payments can have a massive impact on your cash flow. Thankfully, there's a subset of tools for graphic designers dedicated to meeting freelancer needs, including collecting and managing payments. If your work demands recurring payments on a regular basis, such as a project fee split across a period of months, a retainer service, or even web hosting, these tool can help simplify the process. In this article, we'll run through some different options for automating payments for regular clients or long-running projects. We'll start with the major bank-based options, then move on to some specialist tools. These solutions will enable you to collect payments from your clients without fuss, so you can sleep easy while you get paid on time. 01. Direct debit Direct debit has been around for a long time. You’re probably using this payment method to pay for your household bills, mobile phone, and more. It is the preferred method for large companies, such as electric and gas suppliers, to collect payments. Direct debit is most convenient way to collect regular payments from your clients. You can set a direct debit up to automatically collect varying amounts from your client’s account at regular intervals. To do this, your client needs to register with your direct debit system and you need to provide them with prior notice of the amount being collected and the date on which it will come out of the account. For small businesses and freelancers the downside is that you may find it hard to get the direct debit system granted. Your bank or building society will need guarantees, which can take a long time to be processed. 02. Standing order A standing order is another excellent way of collecting payments automatically. This is the traditional method for paying suppliers. The account holder instructs the bank to pay a regular, fixed amount to a particular organisation or person. Unlike a direct debit, the amounts can’t vary, and you personally cannot initiate payments. Everything is fully controlled by the client, and they can cancel payments whenever they want. There isn’t any charge on your end for collecting payments through a standing order. 03. PayPal PayPal offers a dedicated business account PayPal is a well-known online payment provider. Besides paying for goods on eBay and sending money to friends and family, you can use this popular tool for your business. Set up a business account or upgrade your existing PayPal account to a business account and start receiving recurring payments. So long as your client has a PayPal account, you can set up subscriptions to automatically bill them for fixed amounts. You can conveniently manage all your subscriptions within your account, including pausing subscriptions or changing the amount or date of payments. PayPal will also send a helpful email notification alerting you when a payment has been collected. The only downside using PayPal is that it is a relatively pricey option – the approach will cost you 2.9% plus 30¢ if you're in the US, or 3.4% and 20p per paid request in the UK. However, depending on your business you may be entitled to a discount. 04. Stripe Coders can integrate Stripe into their site or app Stripe is an online payment system aimed at internet businesses, and offers an easy way for online shops to accept card payments through their website. It’s built to be flexible and code-driven, which means users with some technical skills can integrate it with any website, or build a custom app. For your own business, you can send customers to a URL, have them enter in their credit card details and set up a subscription service that will bill them at regular intervals. Stripe will then collect these payments. Stripe makes collecting card payments simple and straightforward, no complicated application process or PCI compliance requirements. Stripe has some great documentation, but it does require some technical knowledge to get set up and, like PayPal, there is a significant transaction fee. The starting cost in the US is 2.9% plus 30¢, or 1.4% plus 20p per transaction for EU cards, with no monthly fees involved. 05. GoCardless GoCardless makes direct debits simpler Setting up a direct debit system with the bank can be very time-consuming and expensive. More importantly, the bank may not approve of you using a direct debit system. That is where GoCardless comes in. GoCardless is a direct debit system that is quick and easy to set up. At the time of writing it is only available in some countries in Europe, and Australia, but more versions, including a US version are in the works. Sign up for GoCardless and you can start receiving recurring payments using direct debit. Simply send an automated form to your clients to fill out. You can set it up to collect money from from your client on a regular basis. GoCardless has the same features as a traditional direct debit system, which means the amount you collect can vary from payment to payment. GoCardless is simple and easy to use. You can manage all your recurring payments within the dashboard, accept one-off payments as well as regular ones, and when you are paid you are instantly notified. Once payment is received by GoCardless, the funds will be transferred to you within three working days, making it one the quickest and most effective ways to collect payments. GoCardless is also cheap to use: costs start at just 1% (minimum of 20p) and are capped at £2 for each transaction. 06. PeoplePerHour This freelancer platform provides a risk-free environment in which to work PeoplePerHour is a freelancer platform where you can post jobs and services, or accept new projects. PeoplePerHour provides a safe haven for freelancers to work with clients in a comfortable, risk-free environment. Clients pay a project deposit directly to PeoplePerHour’s escrow system, where this money is kept safe until you complete and submit your work and it’s approved by the client. At this point your money is automatically released, and you can transfer it into your own bank account or other preferred payment option such as PayPal. Larger projects can be split into milestones, so as soon as you complete each stage you can raise an invoice, directly within PeoplePerHour’s website and get paid more quickly. PeoplePerHour is a great place to look for new jobs and projects. You may even want to bring existing clients onto the platform, as it provides a place where you can work securely without either of you having to worry about missing or chasing payments. Be aware PeoplePerHour changes an initial one-time fee of $265 for new users. After that, they charge includes 5% of the transaction fee (excluding taxes) and an extra 15% service fee for more expensive projects. Read more: The freelance survival guide 6 ways to save money as a freelancer 8 tools to help you work remotely as a freelancer View the full article

The winners of the Brand Impact Awards 2018 – Computer Arts' annual celebration of the very best branding from around the world – were revealed last night at the Ham Yard Hotel, Soho. As ever, the bar was set high by the discerning judging panel. From a record 194 entries, just 47 projects were shortlisted – 12 of which were highly commended, with just seven picking up a winning trophy. Scroll down to discover who won what this year... Best of Show: Elliptic, by Superunion Elliptic by Superunion Agency: Superunion Winner: Best of Show Winner: Technology & Telecoms Shortlisted: Social Impact Award Best of Show is the highest accolade at the Brand Impact Awards, picked by the judging panel from a shortlist of three category winners. People's Choice Award: Ebury Publishing, by Form Agency: Form Winner: People's Choice Award A totally new award for 2018. This shortlist wasn't decided by the judges, but by the projects that generated the most interest over the past 12 months on Creative Bloq. The winner was decided by public vote. Brand Impact Awards 2018: Winners The following six projects all received at least one winning trophy at the Brand Impact Awards 2018... 01. Twinings London Edition Twinings London Edition by BrandOpus Agency: BrandOpus Winner: FMCG Shortlisted: Best of Show 02. Centre Point London Centre Point London by hat-trick Agency: hat-trick design Winner: Property Winner: Collaboration 03. Joe Coleman website Joe Coleman website by Music Agency: Music Winner: Self-Branding Shortlisted: Best of Show 04. BBC Sport BBC Sport by Studio Output Agency: Studio Output Winner: Sports 05. Shakespeare's Globe Shakespeare's Globe by Superunion Agency: Superunion Winner: Entertainment 06. Inside the mind of Mark Denton Inside the Mind of Mark Denton by Superunion Agency: Superunion Winner: Self-Branding Brand Impact Awards 2018: Highly commended The following 12 projects received highly commended trophies on the night... 01. SMK SMK by &andstudio Agency: &andstudio Highly commended: Education 02. Byron Close Estate Byron Close by Alphabetical Agency: Alphabetical Highly commended: Not-for-Profit Highly commended: Social Impact Shortlisted: Collaboration 03. Piccolo Piccolo by Here Design Agency: Here Design Highly commended: Artisan 04. Wide Horizons Wide Horizons by Jack Renwick Studio Agency: Jack Renwick Studio Highly commended: Education 05. The Glenlivet Code The Glenlivet Code by NB Studio Agency: NB Studio Highly commended: Luxury Shortlisted: Wine, Beer & Spirits 06. RizeUp UK RizeUp UK by Studio Output Agency: Studio Output Highly commended: Not-for-Profit Shortlisted: Social Impact 07. Agatha Christie Ltd Agatha Christie Limited by Studio Sutherl& Agency: Studio Sutherl& Highly commended: Publishing 08. Level Level by Superunion Agency: Superunion Highly commended: Transport & Travel 09. Eden Mill Eden Mill by Tangent Agency: Tangent Graphic Highly commended: Wine, Beer & Spirits 10. Lafayette Anticipations Lafayette Anticipations by Wolff Olins Agency: Wolff Olins Highly commended: Culture 11. Moorhouse's Brewery Moorhouse's Brewery by WPA Pinfold Agency: WPA Pinfold Highly commended: Wine, Beer & Spirits 12. UEFA Nations League UEFA Nations League by Y&R Branding Agency: Y&R Branding Highly commended: Sports Next page: shortlisted projects... Brand Impact Awards 2018: Shortlisted Being shortlisted at the BIAs is an accolade in itself – if no projects in a category meet the strict judging criteria, that category is cut altogether. The following 28 projects made the grade this year... 01. Ella Canta Ella Canta by &SMITH Agency: & SMITH Shortlisted: Bars & Restaurants 02. Fashion Business School 2018 Meta typeface for Fashion Business School by Alphabetical Agency: Alphabetical Shortlisted: Education 03. SCRUBD SCRUBD by BrandOpus Agency: BrandOpus Shortlisted: Pharmaceuticals & Toiletries 04. Tanqueray Flor De Sevilla Tanqueray Flor De Sevilla by Design Bridge Agency: Design Bridge Shortlisted: Wine, Beer & Spirits 05. Springster Springster by DesignStudio Agency: DesignStudio Shortlisted: Not-for-Profit 06. adidas Predator product film adidas Predator product film Agency: FITCH Shortlisted: Sports 07. MOB Hotel of the People MOB Hotel of the People by GBH Agency: GBH London Shortlisted: Transport & Travel 08. Life Kitchen Life Kitchen by hat-trick Agency: hat-trick design Shortlisted: Not-for-Profit Shortlisted: Social Impact 09. LA Brewery LA Brewery by Here Design Agency: Here Design Shortlisted: Wine, Beer & Spirits 10. GREK Tea GREK Tea by interabang Agency: interabang Shortlisted: Artisan 11. Historic Houses Historic Houses by Johnson Banks Agency: Johnson Banks Shortlisted: Culture 12. Johnson Banks Johnson Banks by Johnson Banks Agency: Johnson Banks Shortlisted: Self-Branding 13. Bandido Coffee Co. Bandido Coffee Co. by Magpie Agency: Magpie Shortlisted: Artisan 14. Lovat Park Homes Lovat Park Homes by Magpie Agency: Magpie Shortlisted: Property 15. Manchester Literature Festival 2017 Manchester Literature Festival 2017 by Mark Studio Agency: MARK Studio Shortlisted: Culture 16. Kitbag Kitbag by Music Agency: Music Shortlisted: Sports 17. Jambo! Jambo! by NB Studio Agency: NB Studio Shortlisted: Retail 18. Someone Who Someone Who by Onwards Agency: Onwards Shortlisted: Professional Services 19. Humankind Humankind by Peter & Paul Agency: Peter & Paul Shortlisted: Not-for-Profit 20. Gatsu Gatsu Gatsu Gatsu by Pinkeye Design Studio Agency: Pinkeye Design Studio Shortlisted: Bars & Restaurants 21. Chez Claire Chez Claire by Pinkeye Design Studio Agency: Pinkeye Design Studio Shortlisted: Luxury 22. Spyscape Spyscape by SomeOne Agency: SomeOne Shortlisted: Culture 23. Start-rite Start-rite by Studio Sutherl& Agency: Studio Sutherl& Shortlisted: Retail 24. London Symphony Orchestra 2018/19 London Symphony Orchestra 2018/19 by Superunion Agency: Superunion Shortlisted: Entertainment 25. Thinking and Drinking Thinking and Drinking by Superunion Agency: Superunion Shortlisted: Self-Branding 26. Plava Laguna Plava Laguna by Superunion Agency: Superunion Transport & Travel 27. Peace Tea Peace Tea by Taxi Studio Agency: Taxi Studio Shortlisted: FMCG 28. 01T 01T by The Beautiful Meme Agency: The Beautiful Meme Shortlisted: Technology & Telecoms Related articles: 10 logos we never want to see change 5 times brands shook up their logo for a powerful message 10 most-hated logos (and what they teach us) View the full article

The Threatpost team breaks down the biggest news from the week ended Sept. 7. View the full article

The Necurs Botnet, DarkHydrus and other threat actors are turning to the inconspicuous files. View the full article

The core principle of user experience (UX) design is to make each user feel like the website they’re visiting has been built specifically for them. To achieve this, you need to know who your audience is before building the site. From there, you should tailor your website content to your most valuable users. Designers have an advantage here, in that most users have similar online behaviours. Once you’ve worked out what those behaviours are, you can tailor your website design to their specific needs. In this post we’ll take a look at the six key pillars on which great UX stands. 01. The five-second rule Visitors should be able to tell what your site has to offer within the first five seconds of landing on your homepage. This is the average time users need to form a first impression and decide whether it’s worth engaging with content. To retain visitors, a landing page must clearly convey its purpose, what content is on offer and a strong call to action. 02. First steps Most website traffic will come from external links such as search engines or site links, rather than from users who know your URL. As a result, users are likely to land on your website with a specific goal. Your site should satisfy this goal by providing engaging, relevant and valuable information through an easy to use interface. It’s also likely that users who are directed to your site from another source will land on a deeper page of your website. Therefore, all website pages need to be designed to clearly communicate what information can be found there to avoid high bounce rates. 03. Minimal design The information users are looking for on your site needs to be presented in a clean and simple way. If any element of the page doesn’t need to be there, get rid of it. In terms of copy, communicating key information in fewer words is more effective than offering long bodies of text that users will skim read. Avoid clutter and keep decorative elements minimal; fewer distractions allow users to find what they’re looking for, faster. 04. Consistency Keep design consistent across pages so users can easily find information. For example, the main menu should always have the same elements, no matter which page it features on. Similarly, clicks should always perform the same action – for instance, clicking on a link should always open it on a new window. Consistent design enables your users to learn how to navigate your site quickly and effectively. 05. Standard design patterns Designing the layout and navigation for a website requires you to follow tired-and-tested trends. This means using standard design patterns and taking inspiration from successful websites, which will also encourage cross-browser compatibility across devices. 06. Structured content The information you put on your website needs to be arranged and grouped into pages and the resulting structure will form the navigation and logic for your menu. Within each page, you’ll also need to organise information; if content isn’t visible on the screen before scrolling down, then there’s a high chance that users will miss it. Calls to action should also prompt users to scroll through to uncover more information. When it comes to a website’s homepage, it should contain a brief summary on the brand and what it does, so that users know what to expect from the site. This article was originally published in net, the world's best-selling magazine for web designers and developers. Buy issue 309 or subscribe. Read more: 69 fantastic free web tools How sound design is transforming UX 9 ways to smash UX on a small budget View the full article

There’s no shortage of inspiring women in extreme sports and adventure. So why is there a shortage of filmmakers sharing these inspiring stories on screen? That’s exactly the question posed by Shextreme Film Festival, the world’s first film festival celebrating women in extreme sports. Following last year’s sell-out success, the two-day event is set to return to Bristol, UK for a fourth year, taking over unique underground arts venue The Loco Klub from 4-5 October 2018. The best video editing laptops in 2018 Expect an action-packed programme of exclusive adventure film premieres, inspiring panel debates, live art, adventure poetry performances and more, as Shextreme continues its quest to promote equality in extreme sports and adventure. Confirmed festival speakers include Hazel Findlay, the first British woman to free climb El Capitan in Yosemite; environmentalist and five-times Irish National Champion pro surfer Dr Easkey Britton; mountaineer and NASA-trained astronaut Dr Suzie Imber; award-winning adventure filmmaker Paul Diffley; and prolific para climber Anoushe Husain. Film workshop The event starts on 4 October with Shextreme Film School, an evening workshop that will see expert tutors training the next generation of adventure filmmakers (that’s you). Suitable for all levels, students will learn every phase of production, from essential on-screen storytelling techniques to tips on choosing the best sound equipment to use on location. Learn from award-winning pros at Shextreme Film School 2018 “Our film school’s programme is designed to save you time and energy by helping you avoid classic rookie mistakes,” explains event founder Dr Ruth Farrar. “Multi award-winning adventure filmmaker Paul Diffley will be sharing exclusive behind-the-scenes insights on how he made his latest production featuring prolific climber Hazel Findlay.” “Siân Lewis, aka award-winning The Girl Outdoors, will also be sharing how to effectively work with brands to get your film production’s story published by the press,” she continues. “From surf film shoots in Brazil with BBC self-shooting producer and editor Elise Wicker to skateboarding photography in Cambodia with Hannah Bailey, we’ll cover a lot of ground over the course of the evening.” This year, Shextreme Film Festival will also expand its awards scheme to recognise the diverse, multi-talented creativity of women in adventure. Brand new categories include Best Adventure Blog and Best Non-Fiction Adventure Book, which sit alongside established categories such as Best Adventure Film, Best Adventure Photography and Best Adventure Podcast. Shextreme tickets Shextreme Film Festival tickets sold out quickly last year (we know, because we missed out) so if you’re in the area, you’ll need to move fast. You can book festival tickets here, and a place at the Shextreme Film School here. And for more information about Shextreme Film Festival, how to attend or how to get involved, head over to the Shextreme website – or follow the event on Facebook and Instagram. Related articles: 8 things you didn't know about design for film The best video editing laptops in 2018 The best video editing software View the full article

If you run your own website or are thinking about starting one up, you probably know that Wordpress powers a huge chunk of the Internet. That's why it's so important to learn how to navigate this platform. With The WordPress Essentials Lifetime Bundle, you'll receive 20-plus hours of video training that will teach you how to use this tool. You'll learn how to install, set up, and design your very own website from scratch, you'll discover how to write effective copy that pulls your readers in, and you'll even learn how to use digital marketing to boost your business or brand. Try out The WordPress Essentials Lifetime Bundle for only $19 – that's 97% off the regular price. Related articles: Top tips for building a WordPress theme 23 great examples of WordPress websites 6 top tips for CRO success in WordPress View the full article

Selections are one of the most vital tasks you'll learn to master in Photoshop CC. A good selection will give realism to an image, not to mention cleanness. But with so many selection tools at your disposal, which one should you use? In this Photoshop tutorial, we'll help you decide. Get more from custom Photoshop brushes The Lassos are a great place to start. Between them, they offer close control, precision, and even intuition. All three enable you to physically trace around the outside of your object with your cursor. The regular Lasso relies on you being able to draw around your object. Though it's a little rough, it's the quickest of the three tools, and providing you use the Refine Edge tool afterwards, it can produce a good, clear selection in just a few seconds. The Magnetic Lasso is similar, only you don't have to meticulously drag the cursor around your object, as the points 'stick' to the edge. The Polygonal Lasso is perhaps the most controlled of the three; instead of relying on dragging and pulling points, it involves a more pinpoint clicking technique. By using the Polygonal Lasso, you can click around the edge of your object and delete points as you go. There's a Lasso tool for any kind of project, and the best thing is that they're all easy to tidy up and refine after the selection is made. Mastering the art of cutting out objects will come in useful for many projects, so it's a good idea to play with the Lassos and find which one you like best. The regular Photoshop Lasso tool Draw around your edge freehand and touch it up after. 01. Draw your selection The regular Lasso needs a steady hand... Start by selecting the regular Lasso (L) and drawing around the outline of your object. Don't worry about trying to trace it exactly right, but make sure that you at least follow the basic outline of what you're trying to cut out. 02. Touch-up the selection ... but you can fix your mistakes later Once you've made your rough selection, it can be edited slightly. Check the options in the bottom bar of Elements; you'll find that you can add or subtract more pixels to your selection by again, drawing round the object. 03. Refine Edge Use the Refine Edge tools to get your selection exactly right Finally, click on the Refine Edge tool. Here you'll see all kinds of sliders to help you finesse your selection, including Smooth, Feather, Contrast and Shift Edge. Experiment with these, and remember that by brushing onto the picture itself, you can add/remove pixels to and from the selection. Photoshop's Magnetic Lasso Trust the intuition of Elements to know where the edge is. 01. Set the variables Set the options for the magnetic Lasso first, or just refine the edge later Select the Magnetic Lasso (L). In the bottom bar, you'll see options for Width, Contrast, Frequency and Feather. Alter these for the selection; if you're not sure, ignore them and just refine the edge later. 02. Make the selection Follow the edge of your selection and the magnetic Lasso will do its best to keep up Click at one end of the selection area. From there, simply trace your cursor around the outside of your object, and the Lasso will follow. Hit Backspace to undo the last point made in the selection. 03. Tidy it up Use the Marquee tool to fix huge chunks of bad selection Once you've traced the outline, double-click to finish. Often with the Magnetic Lasso, the end of the selection is messy. Use another Lasso, or the Marquee tool (M) to complete the selection if needed. Photoshop's Polygonal Lasso Click to create points around your object and then select. 01. Adjust the Feather setting Feather your selection for a softer edge A popular option to adjust before making any kind of selection in Elements is the Feather. This determines how many pixels of softness there is around your object. Set it higher for a softer, but less accurate, selection. 02. Trace the outline Selecting with the regular Lasso can be painstaking work, but more accurate Click to set a point on your image. Click along the outside of your object, making points at all the relevant corners. Again, press Backspace to delete the last point you've just made, and double-click to complete your selection. 03. Refine Edge Once again, refine the edge to get your selection ship-shape Finally, go through the process of using the Refine Edge dialog to improve your selection further. Experiment with the four main sliders to help soften the edges of the pixels and add or remove pixels to the selection. This article originally appeared in issue 152 of Photoshop Creative. Related articles: How to create stylised game artwork Create illustrated portraits from photos Make your own pop art portrait View the full article

Discover the skills behind the art of your favourite fantasy games and characters in the latest issue of ImagineFX magazine – on sale today. Inside issue 166, we talk to leading illustrators and artists from the biggest fantasy properties, so if you've ever wanted to get involved with creating out-of-this-world illustrations and concepts, you've come to the right place. Buy issue 166 of ImagineFX here In our cover feature, illustrator Tara Phillips guides you through her process of painting a captivating fantasy portrait in Photoshop. Elsewhere in issue 166, we learn how to create art for a gaming screen, complete with tips for adding those finishing magical details, while Philipp Scherer is on hand to show you how to design a post-apocalyptic environment. On top of this there's all the news, reviews and reader art you've come to expect fro ImagineFX – don't miss it! Never miss an issue: Subscribe to ImagineFX here Explore what's on offer by taking a peek at the lead features, below. Meet the new Magic: The Gathering artists The art of the new set goes back to basics The latest Magic: The Gathering Core Set is out now, with fans getting their teeth into new creatures and spells. We go behind the scenes and talk to the artists behind this latest set to hear how they created imagery that would appeal to players both old and new. Inside the Games Workshop studio We learn what it takes to work at Games Workshop Still going strong since it was established in 1975, Games Workshop continues to succeed due to the hard work of its talented artists. We talk to the creative brains behind the billion pound business to discover how they keep the game the table top game fresh. Painting a Total War: Warhammer concept Are you up to this mammoth undertaking? Looking to progress in the field of concept art? If so, you'll need to practice and study. We've got the studying part taken care of with this Photoshop workshop courtesy of Total War: Warhammer concept artist Rinehart Appiah, who shows you how to concept a deadly war beast. Create an oil paint look digitally Master this amazing paint technique in Corel Painter Fantasy role playing games were a constant source of fascination for Magdalena Proszowska thanks to their traditional acrylic illustrations. In her workshop she shows you how to emulate this look digitally in Corel Painter, and she uses plenty of fantastical creatures to guide you through the process. Hone your painting prowess Bring your paintings to life with these tips Renowned illustrator Tran Nguyen has been working as freelance artist for a decade now, and in that time she's honed and picked up lots of techniques that take her work to the next level. In this workshop she shares 15 ways you can improve your own art. Related articles: 10 sci-fi and fantasy art painting tips How to create a fantasy costume design 14 fantasy artists to follow on Instagram View the full article

You're reading What is a Design Audit and Why You Should Conduct One?, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook, Google+! Design consistency heavily influences the customer experience. It ensures that your customers (and potential customers) receive the same message at any given touchpoint. It’s difficult to keep with, and it’s confusing to be receiving mixed signals from a company. Inconsistencies … View the full article

The DoJ said a DPRK spy, Park Jin-hyok, was involved in “a conspiracy to conduct multiple destructive cyberattacks around the world." View the full article

The PowerPool gang launched its attack just two days after the zero-day in the Windows Task Scheduler was disclosed. View the full article

2018 was the year that witnessed the Women’s March, Beyonce’s empowering set at Coachella and a defiant global female movement in the form of #MeToo. Coincidentally, it also marked the 100-year anniversary of the female right to vote in the UK. Following years of relentless campaigning, in 1918, eight and a half million British women finally secured the right to have their say. Sign up for the Computer Arts newsletter Compared to 1918, women are now a lot more free to express themselves and to live independent lives. We are the most powerful consumers on the planet, accounting for 85 per cent of all purchasing decisions. And yet the question remains: have we come as far as we would like to think? As an industry, is there more we can and should do to embrace equality? Referring to frying bacon in a perfume ad was a novel approach Sexual liberation and design The 1950s marked the golden age of booming consumerism and advertising that glorified the idealistic housewife. The 1950s female was the perfect companion: subordinate, grinning, and always willing. Her favoured products included Brillo Soap pads and Tide (“Tide’s got what women want!”). The 1960s saw the design of the first seatbelt, to male specifications. A design that means female drivers are 47 per cent more likely to be seriously injured in a car crash. Entering into the 1970s, we witnessed a change in tides for female liberation: feminism, greater sexual freedom, the start of the fight for equal pay. Enjoli launched the eight hour perfume for the 24-hour woman, who could “bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan and never let you forget you’re a woman”. There was a slight shift towards both recognising and celebrating the multi-faceted roles of women. A gender-fluid world Maude's condoms are made with 100 per cent natural latex And as our world has shifted, so have our attitudes: 2018 marks a year where more young people are rejecting traditional gender labels, where gender can be defined in 71 different ways, where brands from Zara to Gucci have launched gender-neutral collections, to much acclaim. The focus has shifted from who you are designing for, to why. And many brands are excelling. Aesop creates beautiful skincare packaging, using dark bottles that focus only on what the product does for you. US-based Maude has redefined adult products, with organic, tasteful, genderless condom designs. For cosmetics, the shift is greater still. Once upon a time the realm of the female, beauty today sees no boundaries. ASOS’ Face & Body collection uses bold, vibrant packaging that can proudly sit on the dressing table of whoever wishes to use it. Launched in 2018, Canadian skincare brand, Non-gender Specific, offers only one product: the Everything Serum. The conditions for use? That you are human. The pink problem Bic for Her attracted much ridicule But, if we think back to the infamous 2012 launch of BIC for Her, when it comes to packaging equality we still have some way to go. Take a pen, one of the most generic genderless products. Add some glitter, pink, a “thin barrel to fit a women’s hand”, a handy ‘for her’ label, and hey presto – a pen for women. Cue hilarious reactions from women all over the world. With men predominantly at the global helm of design, the tendency to revert to the pretty and pink strategy remains rife (a privilege we pay, on average, seven per cent more for). Moving forward The Everything Serum is aimed at "all humans" Solving this disparity has to start from within our own industry. I am proud to be part of a creative team at Interbrand London where I myself am creative director, and am led by an intelligent, bold female executive creative director. But this seems to be the exception. Despite women accounting for 46 per cent of the advertising industry, just 11 per cent are creative directors. And we remain guilty when it comes to gender delegating. It’s a beer brand? Dave would be best on that one. Packaging for perfume? Lisa should lead that. Why? Because she will definitely understand the end-user better. It’s gender bias. Thankfully we are in 2018. Where the time is ripe for us to drive change. To assign people to projects, based solely on their expertise, interests and capability. After all, who says that a woman can’t design a male razor? (maybe razors don't need to be gendered at all?) That a man could not design the next innovation in sanitary care? I have a male designer in the team at Interbrand who has done just that. We know that the most effective innovations are those that are completely inclusive. One of my favourite projects to date was designing a range of motor oils, targeted at Russian alpha-males. Certainly not pretty or pink. If that isn’t proof that a woman can understand exactly what a man wants, then I’m not sure what is. So let’s rewrite the rules and design for the person, not the gender. And by 2118, raise that 11 per cent to 50 per cent. This article originally appeared in Computer Arts magazine. Buy issue 281 or subscribe here. Related articles: The problem with period product branding New BrewDog branding takes on sexism, fails 5 times brands shook up their logo to create a powerful message View the full article

So you’re thinking about buying a laptop from Walmart. Good move: not only is there a huge range of laptops on sale at Walmart, the retailer offers consistently low prices – and if you get your timing right, there are some fantastic bargains to be found, too. But which machine should you buy? That’s where we can help. We’ve searched the online store to find the biggest deals on Walmart laptops. Right now, we think the best laptop for sale at Walmart is the Microsoft Surface – but the right choice for you depends on what you want it for. The best laptops for graphic design The best video editing laptops What are good specs? If you work or play in the creative industry – in graphic design, video editing, photography, digital art and so on – there are certain specs to look for. You'll need the very best panels and a high colour accuracy for your screen. 1080p is the minimum resolution you should consider, but a 4K monitor is preferable. You'll also need plenty of power, because creative software such as Adobe's Creative Cloud suite can be fairly resource intensive. As far as minimum specifications go, we recommend a dual-core, 64-bit processor (or, if your budget can stretch to it, a quad-core processor). To perform complex creative tasks, RAM should be no less than 4GB – and ideally 8GB or 16GB. For most day-to-day tasks, you won't need to buy a Walmart laptop with a discrete graphics card – but for graphic-intensive creative work you’ll need one. An MX150 graphics card will give you some decent graphics performance without costing a fortune. For more demanding graphic work, look into Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti, 1060 and 1070 graphics. If you want very powerful graphics and play a lot of games as well, then an Nvidia GTX 1080 graphics card is worth considering - but it will be expensive. Finally, for storage space, don't go any lower than 120GB because you’ll need enough to install an OS like Windows 10, and to store your files and apps. Read on for our pick of the best laptops on sale at Walmart. The best Walmart laptops right now The Surface Laptop is a gorgeously designed notebook from Microsoft, and features a beautiful 13.5-inch, 3:2 PixelSense display that makes it a brilliant laptop for creative purposes. Thanks to its competitive price, we think this is the best overall laptop on sale at Walmart for creatives and designers. It has a thin and light design that makes it easy to carry around, and the body is partially made from Italian imported Alcantara fabric material that decorates the keyboard, making it a stylish laptop that's powerful enough to handle creative tasks. The Dell XPS 15 is a brilliant laptop it its own right, but it really excels when it comes to creative work, making it one of the best laptops on sale at Walmart for creatives. It comes with a brilliant 15-inch InfinityEdge screen, and the very top-end version has a 4K colour-accurate display that makes it perfect for creative work. It also boasts plenty of processing power as well, making it a dab hand at rendering large files. It is pricey, however, but if you have a bit of a bigger budget, then this is definitely a laptop worth considering. Apple's MacBook laptops are well known for being brilliant machines for creatives, but they can also be quite expensive. Last year's MacBook is still a brilliant machine, and Walmart has it on offer for a very compelling price. Its 12-inch screen and thin design make it easy to carry around, so it's a great laptop for working on the go. It's also powerful enough to run intensive programs, and its USB-C port means it's future-proof as well. HP has a great reputation for designing attractive laptops that also feature powerful components, and the HP Spectre x360 is a brilliant example. It has thin bezels that keep the body size down, without compromising on screen size, and its light weight makes it comfortable to use when in tablet mode. This is a great HP laptop on sale at Walmart if you're looking for a stylish device that can act as both a laptop and a tablet. The Dell XPS 13 is one of the best laptops ever made, and the 2018 edition combines the brilliant design with improved components, making it a powerful and desirable notebook. It has a stunning 4K screen with a bezel-less ‘Infinity Edge’, and comes in a new Rose Gold on Alpine White color option. What’s more, there’s a wide range of customization options, so you can really make the Dell XPS 13 the best laptop for your needs. The Lenovo Flex 6 14 is one of the best value laptops Walmart offers for creatives and designers. For less than $1,000 you’re getting specs that will get you through most everyday workloads easily – and in a chassis that doesn’t just look great, is rigid as well. It even supports the Lenovo Active Pen, though it’s not included. It's not the most feature-rich of the Walmart laptops we've got in this list, but it offers fantastic value for money. The Asus ZenBook Flip S UX370 is one of the best 2-in-1 laptops around, and Walmart is offering it for a great price. It comes with a new Intel Kaby Lake R 8th-generation processor powering the device, plenty of RAM and a super-fast PCIe SSD in certain models – this is an absolutely stunning laptop. Its 2-in-1 design means you can use it as both a laptop and a tablet. This makes it a supremely versatile model that's ideal for creatives, and easily the best Asus laptop on sale at Walmart. Related articles: The best tablets at Walmart The best tablets for kids at Walmart The best drawing tablets at Walmart View the full article

The update includes nine security patches overall. View the full article

Earlier this year Logitech launched its digital pencil tailored to the 9.7-inch iPad, the Logitech Crayon, exclusively to schools. But now, it's not just kids who get to enjoy nice things, as the Crayon will be available for everyone from 12 September. The best iPad stylus in 2018: top iPad styluses for drawing and note-taking Costing $69.99/£64.99, the Crayon will be available for designers to order from Apple stores. While this is $20 more than students could pick up the stylus through Apple's educational portal, it's great that everyone now has access to this precise and durable digital design tool. Although it does not support pressure sensitivity, the Logitech Crayon is 'smart tip' enabled, meaning that a user can switch from a thick line to a thin line simply by tilting the stylus, just like you would with a regular pencil. There's also no need to worry about confusing your iPad thanks to a palm-rejection feature that allows you to rest a hand on the screen while you work. And with a single charge giving the Crayon seven hours of life, you can knuckle down to big projects without having to worry that it's going to die on you. The Logitech Crayon enables users to express themselves easily Designed with comfort and durability in mind, the Logitech Crayon can connect to iPads instantly without the need to pair. "Logitech Crayon works seamlessly with iPad and the most popular creativity and productivity apps from the App Store," says Michele Hermann, vice president of mobility at Logitech. "So whether you are learning to write a new language, jotting down notes, marking up a screenshot or PDF, or visualising an idea, Crayon is the perfect tool for the task." Related articles: The best tablets with a stylus for drawing and note-taking 10 top new tools for traditional artists this May The best cheap Wacom tablet deals in 2018 View the full article

Bluetooth speakers are one of 2018's must-have gadgets. And with such a broad range of uses, from annoying people on public transport, to delivering high-def audio in design studios, the sheer breadth of options makes the task of choosing the best Bluetooth speaker a difficult one. The best wireless headphones in 2018 Ultimately, though, it’s all about how a speaker sounds. And whether you’re looking for a Bluetooth speaker for your home, studio, or something super-portable, we’ve got you covered. Which Bluetooth speakers should you buy? Choosing the best Bluetooth speaker isn’t just about the quality of the device – it’s also about the technology it’s using to pair to your audio source. All versions of Bluetooth are not created equal, and when it comes to specs, there can often be information that, if overlooked, can come back to bite you on the butt. But other factors are important, too. How durable is the speaker? What is the battery life? How much does it weigh? And, ultimately, how does it sound? When it comes to range, most of these speakers will reach around 30m, but will depend on other factors such as interference; so consider how it’s going to be used. Which are the best Bluetooth speakers? Right now, the best Bluetooth speaker that combines audio quality, durability, and battery-life is the UE Boom 2. Its styling is idiosyncratic, and won’t suit everyone, but it’s loaded with features, and provides fantastic audio for the price. In this post we’ve pulled together a selection of the best Bluetooth speakers, for a number of different scenarios, and pored over the specs to provide you with the most relevant information. The best Bluetooth speakers right now The best Bluetooth speaker overall: The UE Boom 2 builds on the success of its predecessor, with increased durability and some styling improvements – but it’s ultimately the same speaker that bagged a hatful of awards in its first iteration. Possibly the biggest improvement with the UE Boom 2, though, is the increased IPX rating (from 4 to 7), which means it can now be submerged for up to 30 minutes, and still keep on rocking. And through a companion app (for iOs and Android), you can also customise buttons, and even connect multiple speakers together via its ‘DJ’ feature, where other Boom 2 owners can add their own music to a group of connected Booms (but don’t worry; if you don’t like what you’re hearing, you can always boot them from your speaker party). The UE Boom app also enables you to adjust audio settings, such as bass and treble, which really helps when dealing with bass-heavy music. The audio performance of the UE Boom 2 hasn’t just been improved via its software, though, and also features upgraded 1.75in active drivers, as well as 3in passive radiators. Lastly, but by no means least, let’s look at the design. In most cases, this is the thing that first attracts people to the UE Boom 2. It’s colourful (with numerous choices), a little eccentric, and a welcome change to the homogenous aesthetic of most speakers. But, having said this, some may find the design a little too garish for their tastes. The best high-end Bluetooth speakers: We have a little confession to make: we have a serious soft-spot for the design of the Dali Katch. From its slim aluminium housing, to its leather carry handle, this is a speaker that oozes specs appeal. On its own, this wouldn’t be enough for inclusion, but it also sounds incredible (which for its slim design, is a serious feat of engineering). Coming with two 21mm soft dome tweeters, two dual 3.5-inch woofers, and two passive bass radiators, this speaker packs a serious punch. But when things get bass-heavy, you’ll still be able to detect the mid-range—and this thing can go seriously loud, too! You can’t edit the equaliser settings with the Katch, but it does have two pre-sets: Clear and Warm (for bass-heavy audio). And between them, they’ll cover most tastes. Lastly, if you are pairing with a device that supports aptX, then you have the added bonus of being able to play high-definition audio through the Katch, which takes it to another level of audio performance. The best Bluetooth speakers for home and studio: This is a category with two big hitters: the Zeppelin Wireless from Bowers & Wilkins, and the Naim Mu-so. For cost and performance alone, we’d recommend the Zeppelin, and you can get more details in our best wireless speakers for 2018’ post. But if cost is no issue, then the Naim Mu-so tops our list. Make no mistake, though: weighing in at 14.8kg, this isn’t a Bluetooth speaker that you’ll be slinging into your backpack anytime soon (not unless you’re in training for an endurance competition). Building on Naim’s high-end audio heritage, there’s little to give away the Mu-so’s digital make-up. An aluminium body encases an MDF cabinet, which, as well as providing audio dampening, also adds some serious weight to the unit. Elsewhere, recessed LEDs provide a visual cue when connecting, but sit behind the front grille, for a truly minimalist look. And the last design element of note is the main volume control, which will appeal to nob lovers everywhere (comprised of a solid ring of bead-blasted anodised aluminium). Sound wise, the Mu-so’s power is something to behold, with six 75 watt amplifiers delivering a total of 450 watts (all controlled by a 32-bit digital signal processor, which Naim claims is capable of “millions of calculations per second”). And listening to music on the Mu-so, we believe them–it’s as close to audio perfection as you’ll get with a Bluetooth speaker (and comes with full support for AptX, too). The best outdoor Bluetooth speakers: For this category, we’re going to make a few assumptions. The first is that – if you’re looking for an outdoor speaker – there’s a good chance you don’t want to spend a huge amount of money on it (because it will undoubtably be put through the wringer). Secondly, we’re going to assume that you want it to be fully-waterproof, because ‘outdoors’ often equates to ‘raining cats and dogs’. With these factors in mind, the selection is seriously narrowed down, and this category is a toss-up between the JBL Charge 3 and the UE Wonderboom; but for its sheer cuteness and competitive price, we’ve opted for the latter. You can’t talk about the UE Wonderboom without mentioning its looks (as we already have). Its stubby design is akin to someone over-pouring a bucketload of awesome into a drinks can, and then wrapping the whole thing in a mesh fabric, before finally topping and tailing it with a rubberised membrane. The design of the Wonderboom means that you get full-360 degree audio, and thanks to its IPX7 waterproof rating it also means you can play catch with this thing in a swimming pool! It really is that durable. On top of the speaker you’ll find buttons for power, pairing and playback, and you can even connect two devices simultaneously, for easy audio switching. And whilst the UE Wonderboom sounds great, it doesn’t have the high-end bass support of the JBL Charge 3, but it handles mid-ranges brilliantly, and given that it’s almost £100 cheaper, we’re happy to make the sacrifice on top-end bass. The best Bluetooth speakers for iPhone: You’ll be able to connect all of the Bluetooth speakers featured in this list via your iPhone. But, for this inclusion, we’ve tried to find a speaker that matches both the design and audio expectations of iPhone users, which is why we’ve turned to the Bose SoundLink Mini II. Styling-wise, it has a lot in common with the Jam Heavy Metal, including a hefty weight of 670g. It features a curved aluminium body, with grilles on the front and back of the device. And, like the Heavy Metal, it also handles bass extremely well (better than the Heavy Metal, in fact, which is no small feat). Standard control buttons sit on top of the device, and in its second iteration the Soundlink Mini II ditches the dedicated Aux button in favour of auto-switching when a new device is plugged in. This is a nice addition. The only downside to the Mini II is that, for the price, we’d expect support for aptX, which has been omitted. However, despite this small gripe, if you’re looking for a speaker that’s a step up from the competition, and will sit happily next to you iPhone, this is it. Read more: 5 of the best TV series on Amazon Prime How to remove a background in Photoshop 5 timeless illustration styles (and what to use them for) View the full article

We all know the unspoken rule is you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Indeed, in terms of design thinking, there’s a hell of a lot more to creating a beautiful, legible book than what’s on the outside. The principles of layout, type selection and use of imagery are complex; the role of a book designer holds much more than meets the casual reader’s eye. As with any creative project, there are no hard and fast rules for designing a book, but there are a few basic principles that designers adhere to. Again though, such rules are often there to be broken: legibility seems like an obvious one, but with more conceptual art books, for instance, sometimes you can get away with type and layout that challenge the reader to look as much as to read; images can be layered and morphed and chopped and screwed around with; stories can be told in traditional, linear formats, or as post-modern, nonlinear modes of expression. Sometimes a relevant solution can also be something that doesn’t suit the content Sara De Bondt The basic tenet is design should adhere to what’s being designed, format should work with content, and design shouldn’t (most of the time) overshadow what the book is conveying to its readers. Naturally, a shiny, seductive cover just isn’t enough. Erik Spiekermann once said that a book with a great cover and shoddily designed interior is “like great packaging, but when you open it, the food inside looks brown and boring. It may still be nourishing, but my appetite is gone.” So how does good book design keep us hungry, and ultimately satiate us? The book design process Once a designer has been commissioned to design a book, they’re usually briefed on the concept, and given some placeholder content to play around with. After that, it’s often a period of heavy research into the book’s themes and topics. Then it’s on to some experimenting with rough ideas of layout, playing around with typefaces, possible colour combinations, and the image selection. Along the entire process, a good designer will also be considering the mechanics of the production: how it will be bound, the paper, cover stocks, and so on. Sign up to the Computer Arts newsletter “I start by listening to the people involved: the authors, editors, artists, etc,” says designer Sara De Bondt. “Then I try to find out more about the subject, and find relevant design solutions that suit the content of the book. Sometimes a relevant solution can also be something that doesn’t suit the content, but that contrasts it.” While as a designer you aren’t always in a position to pick and choose the projects you take on, the vast majority agree that an interest in the subject matter – or at least, working to find something in it that piques your interest – is pretty important. Sara De Bondt’s designs for Tree of Codes, a book by Jonathan Safran Foer in which each page is precisely die cut to show only a few words “The better you understand the content, both text and images, the better you can deal with it in terms of positioning and sizing as well as coming up with hierarchies,” reveals graphic designer and art director Maximilian Mauracher. “Of course it’s possible to make a nice book layout by having a grid first and then just strictly laying out the content according to it, but I think it’s only going to be outstanding if you adapt typography, colours and the page layout to the content.” Book covers usually go through a series of meetings with the editor, the sales and marketing teams, the designers and eventually the author before being approved. “As a designer, hearing so many opinions can be a bit daunting, but I often find it opens me up to pathways I might not have considered,” says Henry Petrides, designer at Cornerstone, part of Penguin Random House. “The whole process usually lasts a few weeks; sometimes shorter, and sometimes longer,” adds Emma Grey Gelder, senior designer at the publisher. Typography in book design Great book design is only as good as its typography. In very basic terms, it makes sense that fonts should be unobtrusive, in as much as the reader doesn’t ‘notice’ the font, simply the words. It’s often said that monospaced typewriter fonts such as Courier are to be avoided in body copy, as the uniform spacing gives too much standout to individual letters. The debate is still very much raging as to whether serif or sans serif fonts are the most legible, or most suited to body copy: and after decades of research and bickering over the matter, we’re still far from a conclusion. So really, do what you feel in that sense: legibility wise, there’s not much in it. Petrides and Grey Gelder agree that while there are fonts designers fall back on, it’s more interesting to use less known typefaces, and introduce handwritten elements where appropriate. “I work on women’s fiction titles and I find that hand calligraphy works well on these kind of covers, and often feels more organic with the illustration used,” says Grey Gelder. “It’s really enjoyable to commission hand lettering artists to create a signature look for a cover.” Less is often more when it comes to typography, explains Maximilian Mauracher Mauracher takes a strongly typographic approach to his designs for books, mainly in the cultural field, and advises that type-wise, “less is more.” He explains: “It’s all about readability – that’s what most books are for, to be read – and the mood I want to create or feelings I want to evoke when reading or looking at it. "Of course I have some favourite fonts, but I usually vary them and see what matches the content best. As soon as I choose one or two typefaces I have a look at the hierarchies – headlines, sub-lines, body text and pagination.” Book design is all about rhythm and pacing Sara De Bondt It all comes back to there being certain rules – those dictated by content, and a somewhat intangible sense of what feels and looks right – and then letting each project dictate how such rules are executed. “Book design is all about rhythm and pacing,” advises De Bondt, and points out that the typography is only as good as the production. “You might design the most beautiful layouts on screen, but if you haven’t fully considered the binding or grain direction of the final thing, your book will end up looking like a hostile brick that doesn’t open.” Layout in book design Layout is made up of a careful selection of decisions regarding page size, font styles and combinations, line spacing, margin size, and which images are used. The vast majority of designs will adhere to a grid system, which at their most basic can be broken down into four categories: 1. Manuscript grid – a rectangular space made up of large text blocks and margins, often used for large blocks of text such as essays. 2. Column grid – helpful for presenting text that isn’t necessarily continual, perhaps with various boxouts, images, and captions. 3. Modular grid – prizing order and clarity to organise a series of complex information and images, as popularised by the Swiss International Style and Bauhaus School. 4. Hierarchical grids – more often used online than in print, where the column widths differ, and the designer needs to unify a number of disparate elements. Considerations around layout come down to vertical (typographical hierarchies) and horizontal (double-spread design and sequencing). Mauracher likes to create new layout designs for every book “I prefer reducing the typographical image to its core essence and try to establish clarity for the reading,” says Hanover-based designer and art director Yevgeniy Anfalov. “Sometimes the structure is more complex and requires more hierarchies. At this point, I need a good grid to use the surface in a rational and flexible way. The sequencing has a cinematic nature. It is less about graphic design, but narration.” Swedish designer Marcus Gärde has created an online grid calculation tutorial for figuring out the basics in any book design project. It’s based on a ratio method that works with all paper formats, and “always results in both horizontal and vertical lines fitting perfectly within the area,” according to Anfalov. Again, the right layout is only correct for the book it’s meant for. “In the end it always depends on the content and the book format,” Mauracher says. “That’s why I never reuse a grid or a page layout for another book. I want to create something new every time.” Sara De Bondt’s design for a book about sculptor Franz Erhard Walther, which accentuates the possibilities of tactility Anfalov agrees that ‘golden rules’ are inherently fluid. “It’s good to learn different approaches in layout composition and to always extend that knowledge,” he says. “I don’t believe in the power of dogmas. Approaching new projects, I often think: ‘Should I have a grid? Or is there no grid at all? How can I design something without sticking too mechanically to the rules?’ But it’s really up to the project’s nature. The content gives me clues on how I should proceed.” De Bondt has an “internal unspoken rule” when it comes to the process of designing layouts, “which is to try not to be too wasteful – the environment is already suffering so much.” Where possible, she tries to use standard book sizes to avoid paper wastage, and steers clear of laminating. “Unfortunately a lot of books get shrink wrapped in plastic, I hope someone will invent a more ecological solution for that soon,” she says. Printing a book Once you’ve slaved over a book project for weeks, months or even years, it would seem frankly daft to relinquish control once it all goes to print. As such, most designers work very closely with the printers themselves, building up relationships over many years and meeting to discuss the process way before the printing wheels start turning. It’s only by working closely with printers and really understanding how they work that you can push the limits of the books you’re making, and deliver something truly unique. De Bondt emphatically states that it’s “incredibly important” to work closely with the printer. “Printers often have good ideas,” she says. “Sometimes I ask them to help find a paper, or we try to find solutions together when we hit a problem. I really like going to printers’ offices to see other things they’ve made and learn about techniques I wasn’t aware of. Print technology is moving all the time.” Studio Yukiko created Home, a book of photographs by Matt Lambert and the first publication from gay dating app Grindr Berlin’s Studio Yukiko art directed the first publishing venture from gay dating app Grindr – Home. Formed of a collection of photographs by artist Matt Lambert, it explores intimacy and LGBTQ stories. The book is characterised by bold and complex printing flourishes, including black passe–partout frames, spot varnishes, a special cold foil production technique, and use of shiny, near invisible text. The production wasn’t without its challenges: they couldn’t get the cold foil to stick to the original choice of paper; and the varnish machine even caught fire. The result was worth it, and a testament to the drive and vision the studio has become known for. “We’re so grateful to have a really good relationship with our printer, and every time we come up with an idea we discuss it and see what’s actually possible,” says Studio Yukiko co-founder Johannes Conrad. “So we’re not trying to come up with ridiculous things that aren’t doable... We’re always in very close communication.” The ultimate project for him is when it becomes “more than just designing, but creating something that hasn’t been done before.” A book is an object It’s worth remembering in a design process so largely screen-based, that a book is a tactile thing to be held, touched and pored over in a very physical way, so its manifestation as an object should always be front of mind for designers. One of the most important decisions – and one that’s as much dependent on budget and printers’ limitations as imagination – is materials. Book designer Emily Benton recommends building up a paper library of swatch books and samples, containing everything from standard uncoated and coated stocks to coloured, transparent, mirrored and textured substrates. Other samples might include grey board, marble papers, head and tail bands, and ribbons. After a few years I realised how misleading the layout on the screen can be Yevgeniy Anfalov The vital element of tactility in books means it’s perhaps little surprise that many book designers featured here espouse the importance of looking away from the computer as part of the book design process. Anfalov sometimes takes images, cuts them out by hand in various sizes, and moves them around. “After a few years I realised how misleading the layout on the screen can be, if it happens without proper paper proofing,” he explains. “Scissors, glue, and handcraft tests became essential.” Mauracher draws on a wide range of visual references when it comes to his book designs “I learn a lot from the mid-century magazines, where the editing is sharp, generous, reductionist,” he adds. “The page is never alone, but is a part of the whole. Images on the double spread interact with each other. The way they are set is the means to establish the rhythm and dramaturgy.” Mauracher agrees, and advocates the importance of looking outside of the obvious touchpoints for ideas: “Of course I get inspired by other books, but they’re mostly not about book design. I read a lot and I think that’s important, to see what works and what doesn’t.” As Petrides states, the best book designs come from being relentlessly curious: explore film, fashion, art, music and illustration “away from a phone screen,” he says. “The more you see, the more you’re building a bank of references to pull from as a designer.” This article originally appeared in Computer Arts, the world's leading graphic design magazine. Buy issue 281 or subscribe here. Related articles 8 great examples of geometric art in book design How to design a book in InDesign How to design a contemporary book cover View the full article

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If you're planning to launch a design career, Adobe Creative Cloud is probably the best skill set to have in your arsenal. Pay What You Want: Adobe CC A-Z Lifetime Bundle will cover all the software in this collection, with 100 hours of content. You'll find out how to edit professional looking videos with Premiere, you'll learn the tricks to making photos look like they're straight from a magazine, and you'll discover how to make graphics, newsletters, and more with InDesign. Don't wait to launch your design career – pay whatever amount you want for Adobe CC A-Z Lifetime Bundle. You'll get a great design education for a fraction of what you'd pay for a college course. Related articles: Adobe adds 665 fonts to Creative Cloud How to use Adobe Capture CC Adobe and Erik Spiekermann revive lost type sets View the full article

This issue, along with our usual reviews, inspiration and regular Q and A sections, we review Maxon's Cinema 4D R20, look hard at ZBrush and some of its uses in TV and film, as well as bringing you a host of expert tips to help you be a better sculptor. Buy 3D World issue 239 now Here's more detail on what you can find inside... Feature: ZBrush at the movies Discover how ZBrush has been used on the big screen We take a look at some of the fantastic work being done by the ZBrush community, for use in TV and movies. The popular sculpting application isn't just about creating toys and game art, so we delve deeper. Feature: MPC creature creations Find out how MPC makes its animals In this feature, Ian Failes talks to MPC to see how the team go about creating their incredible creatures. Training: ZBRush expert tips Our panel of experts share their secrets Our panel of top ZBrush expert artists and industry veterans share some of their secrets to help you become a better ZBrush artist. Training: Ziva Create a muscular bull with Ziva Learn how to use the physics of Ziva to create a realistic bull model. Training: Master your ZBrush workflow Get to grips with a smart workflow 3D World regular and expert ZBrush artist Maya Jermy shows you how to work smarter in ZBrush to keep you efficient and creative. Training: Q and A Your questions answered This issue our panel includes Ant Ward, Oscar Juarez, Maya Jermy and more, who all answer your questions, helping you solve specific problems you face with your 3D work. Read more: How to model concept art in C4D Top 40 free textures to download today 6 expert tips for better renders View the full article