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'Oh, that'll take months to replace.' 'We can't touch that… [in a whisper]... we really don't know what it does, let alone how it works.' I've lost track of the number of times clients have said these kinds of things to me. But all is not lost. You can innovate with your existing tech solutions; you don't have to throw everything away and start from scratch. Web design automation: tune up your design process Imagine this scenario – quite a few years ago, a factory created piecemeal systems to support its internal functions, such as finance, manufacturing, dispatch, marketing and dealing with visitors. As customers' expectations have grown, its website has not been kept in check. Now more than half of the business's traffic comes from mobile or small-screen devices but the website does not properly adapt. And the IT solutions are all glued together but still work in silos, similar to the physical teams – making it almost impossible for them to all serve the same customer. This means that five, 10 or 20 years down the road, the business' IT systems and lack of attention to responsive web design are now inhibiting its growth. It is possible to build something out of old ruins So how do you adapt? Use the same principles you take while refurbishing a building. Think about when you've walked into a meeting room that has just undergone an almost overnight refresh. You are startled and pleased by the instant transformation but if you think about it, you know the building itself has all the same structure, heating, water and electricity. A plasterboard stud partition can hide a whole load of history and messy plumbing, cabling and ducting. Look a bit closer and you will see the same services but modernised with the help of now-universal sockets. The meeting room now has things such as USB power sources, VGA and HDMI ports for displays. However, behind the scenes, they all feed into the same tangled mess of electrical cables. We can take this same approach to old IT systems. The goal would be to connect these systems so that we can deliver a seamless user experience across channels. But what could be some of the challenges working with legacy systems? Let's take a look at some of the hurdles that you might face along the way. Duplicate customer information: multiple instances of the same individual could exist across different systems such as finance, web, visitor marketing or dispatch. In our fictitious example, there would be six different versions of the same customer across the six different systems. Depth of data: systems hold information in different ways and to different depths. For example, the operational side of business will often use code numbers for products with the shortest of English descriptions and contain data about things like composition, source of materials and weight. Conversely, marketing material tends to contain copious amounts of text to advertise the features of the product, in addition to including images and consumer pricing. Different methods of exporting data: in this case you might find some systems will only offer a data export, while others use a 20-year-old standard like SOAP or others use a modern interface like REST. Interface: some of these systems may have no web interface. Even if they do have one, it may fail to meet accessibility standards or adapt to mobile devices, let alone look consistent from a brand experience. New channels: there is no way to deliver a service to a new channel such as a Chatbot. Scale: some systems will be designed to service a small number of users, while others will be designed to be used at internet scale. Reliability: depending on how they were built, some of these systems may not be reliable or even available all of the time. Build modern facades to legacy systems A lick of fresh paint can make the world of difference To build a modern web or mobile experience for a business that will better stand the test of time, we look for the frontend to concern itself only in the experience, adapting to the medium the user chooses. The frontend should be flexible enough to be composed of multiple independent functions. In building refurbishment, we put up new plasterboard and paint the walls, while the superstructure, electricity supply and plumbing behind the scenes stay the same. We can follow the same approach for breathing new life out of your old IT systems: we can put up a new facade that connects to the back-end functions like product data or order management. Overcome technical complexity Despite the seemingly insurmountable barriers to accessing monolithic old systems, there are still ways that enable you to create clean connections between the backend and the modern frontend. Picture that faceplate that exposes the modern meeting room sockets we require: HDMI, USB, etc – this is what you need to overlay over your 'legacy' systems. We call these APIs (Application Programming Interfaces). The importance of APIs as a concept cannot be overstated. One of the factors in the success of Twitter, for example, is that it launched its platform along with an API and openly encouraged developers to create rival frontends or apps with the ability to tweet directly from developers' own products. Your organisation, like the factory, should be creating APIs like product API, order API and account API. Initially, these APIs would be for internal use (but a bold organisation will make them available to outside parties). Design API contacts The design of the API is the most critical phase – your stakeholders need to consider what information would be needed for all cases and ensure the API is scoped to deliver it (this is called an API contract). This can then be filtered so that a consumer won't see all of the manufacturing data and instead only receive the information they need. Implement APIs Apigee can help implement API With the APIs decided upon, it's then about implementing the API and retrieving the data from the one or more underlying systems. This is often the hardest part of the process but there is a wealth of software ready to assist with this, for example Apigee and IBM DataPower. Some other software options, while still being enterprise-grade, are free to use, such as WSO2's API Gateway and WSO2 ESB. These tools are capable of translating between SOAP to REST, file-based transfer (exports), handling concurrency, caching results and transforming them. That alone ticks several of the requirements we've already covered. Once the API contracts are approved, you can start building new services – such as an Alexa skill or an order-tracking app – upon them. You'd will no doubt expect multiple consumers to access the same API; a mobile app, Chatbot or website would all need access to the product API, for example. A separate part of the website would give access to authorised users for historic orders via the order API and so on. If the original backend doesn't offer a function to, say, issue a tweet or send a mobile phone notification, then a new function can be added to the API. If you want to add a new website function, app or new channel to market, just set these up as new consumers to your APIs. And you can be sure there will be new consumers: social media applications, Alexa skills or AI Bots. Whatever is next around the corner. Working with legacy technology is similar to refurbishing an old building. The general idea is not to throw out your legacy IT systems but merely wire them into a new API – transforming data along the way as necessary – to give them new life. Illustration: Kym Winters This article was originally published in issue 308 of net, the world's best-selling magazine for web designers and developers. Buy issue 308 here or subscribe here. Related articles: 10 tips for better testing The web designer's guide to Flexbox UX for emerging experiences View the full article

If you're a fan of Pixar films, you know how powerful animation can be. Just as animation can move us to tears and make us laugh, it can also be used as an effective and successful marketing tool. With Animatron Studio Pro Plan: Lifetime Subscription, you're getting a set of tools that will allow you to create exciting graphics and pretty animations, even if you have no graphic design experience whatsoever. You'll be able to choose from a varied collection of thousands of totally free, pre-animated characters and backgrounds, and you can also edit your own images, audio, and even video content. You'll be amazed at all the amazing artwork you can create directly on your browser. Get Animatron Studio Pro Plan: Lifetime Subscription for only $49.99. Related articles: Create and animate SVG polygons Understand Disney's 12 principles of animation Perfect your animation portfolio with these tips View the full article

Given that Generate London offers an unparalleled opportunity to learn direct from some of web design’s brightest minds, there are already plenty of good reasons to buy a ticket. But generous souls as we are, we’ve decided to add another: for just 24-hours only – running from midnight to midnight BST – you’ll be able to get 50 per cent off full-price tickets in our flash sale, meaning two days of conference and a full day of workshops can be yours for just £297.50. And we’re sure you’ll agree that’s not much moolah for a whole lotta conference. Here’s just a few of the benefits... See amazing conference speakers for half the price Out of the gate, your ticket will give you the opportunity to attend conference sessions from the industry’s best and brightest designers and devs. For example, Ricardo Cabello, the designer and developer who brought the world three.js and frame/js, will explore the WebVR and WebXR APIs and help you to start crafting your first VR and AR projects with three.js. Meanwhile, keynote speaker and founder of You Know Who, Sarah Parmenter will offer up insight into making sites marketing sing, covering how to hold quarterly website design reviews with a “design once use everywhere” mantra and diving into the ever changing world of Instagram algorithms, Facebook marketing, and topical social media takeaways. Packed with more top design and development talent, the conference schedule also features: Alexandra Etienne, AR/VR evangelist, Lightform Bruce Lawson, web standards lovegod / fashion consultant Cassidy Williams, head of developer voice programs, Amazon Kristijan Ristovski, founder, React Academy Marpi Marcinowski, digital artist, marpi.pl Richard Rutter, co-founder, Clearleft Sara Soueidan, front-end UI developer Steven Roberts, creative developer, Asemblr.com Further stellar speakers still to be announced Enjoy additional perks and benefits But a ticket to Generate London doesn’t just offer up a chance to catch these great conference speakers in action. Tickets also include: Two full days of conference sessions A full-day workshop of your choice (with the three-day pass) Lunch and refreshments each day Free drinks at the after-party Goodie bag that includes net magazine Free workshops by our sponsors in the break so you can squeeze in some extra learning Access to videos of all the sessions list So if you want to save some cash while securing your place at the hottest conference in web design, don’t hesitate: grab your ticket to Generate London this Thursday. Related articles: Further web design royalty confirmed for Generate The best colour tools for web designers Create a responsive layout with CSS Grid View the full article

Creating your first theme is a big deal. You might know how to turn a functional site into a thing of beauty, but building a WordPress theme means acquiring a new set of skills to make it function the way you want it to. Here are some top tips for designers looking to build their first WordPress theme. You'll learn what makes a good theme, some of the tools you should be thinking about and what you need to know about coding. Not ready to build a WordPress theme yet, or looking for something different? Take a look at our roundup of great WordPress tutorials to pick up some more skills. 01. Explore existing themes first Before you begin building your first WordPress theme, you need to have an idea of what works and what doesn’t. This is the inspiration stage. Now, that doesn't mean stealing other people’s work. What it means is researching into what different themes look like, how they function, and how they are put together, taking that idea, and turning it into something different. It’s all about the execution. Take a look at these WordPress portfolio themes for some inspiration. 02. Don't dilute the purpose When it comes to building a WordPress theme, you should have the end goal in mind at all times. What do you want your site to do? Do you want to create a theme to sell products? Or maybe improve brand awareness? Or build a blogging platform? Or drive lead generation? Decide on the purpose of your theme, and keep it focused – don’t dilute things by choosing too many different aims. 03. Start with a template You’ve got your goals in mind and the foundations for a strong theme are laid, so now you need to decide whether you are going to build your WordPress theme from scratch or customise an existing template. Starting with an existing template and adding your own customisation is an easy way to start. Take a look at our roundup of great free WordPress themes if you want to go down this route. Using an existing theme framework means you’ll get access to a lot of functionality and structure (which could be key if you don’t want to spend hours learning basic coding). However, you won’t have the same level of customisation you’d get if you were building a WordPress theme from scratch. 04. … or code from scratch To build from scratch, you need to be prepared to put in the time to learn code. If you do decide to go down this route, embrace Stack Overflow and the WordPress Codex to help you build and customise your theme. The WordPress Codex serves as an incredibly useful online manual from the developers of WordPress. It’s a huge resource bank of information on every template, function, plugin and feature you can think of, including tutorials on how to use and develop WordPress sites and themes. Stack Overflow, on the other hand, is an unofficial but trusted online community for developers to learn and share programming knowledge. Both are very useful. WordPress also has a helpful tutorial on how to develop a WordPress theme from scratch. 05. Hunt out some quality images You want your website to look the best it can and perform to a high standard. This means you need images that will catch the eye. The good news is tools like Design Wizard are readily available and easy to use to help you create stunning images. Design Wizard actually has thousands of pre-made templates to suit every need. Other tools, such as Pikwizard, PixelDropr and IcoMoon allow you to gather free stock images, create buttons, icons and fonts. Check this out for more essential web design tools. 06. Don't forget plugins One of the best things about WordPress is the amount of tools – called plugins – that are readily available to add functionality to your site. WordPress plugins can easily be integrated with your theme to capture information, insert social posts, add Google Maps and so on. While building, you’ll need to ensure sure your theme is compatible with any major plugins you may want to include. Here are a selection of popular plugins to consider: Yoast SEO: An SEO plugin for improving website visibility and search rankings Contact Form 7: A customisable, flexible contact form Akismet: A spam-fighting plugin to protect against comment and contact form spam Jetpack: An all-in-one plugin for analytics, design, marketing and security WP Rocket: Rocket fuel caching for speeding up Wordpress and improving web traffic 07. Don't mess with core code Just keep in mind, everything you want to build should be done in the WordPress wp-content folder – you don’t want to be messing around with core code! There are lots of folders within WordPress, each of which are responsible for different functionalities. A word of caution before you make the decision to build from scratch or not – it’s fairly easy to end up building a theme that looks nice, but doesn’t work. So be careful to ensure you don’t end up with a theme that doesn’t actually function and requires hours of effort to improve the coding. Read more: 6 top tips for CRO success in WordPress How to start a blog: 11 pro tips The 14 best iPad apps for designers View the full article

When it comes to creating an effective logo design, most brands want something instantly recognisable yet completely unique. No mean feat. A pair of creative eyes can always find a fresh spin on a design classic, though, and that's just what award-winning Japanese designer Taku Oomura has done with these logo-cum-objects. Oomura, who is an architecture graduate and founder of oodesign, designs innovative objects for a living. And in his downtime it looks like he can't suppress the creative urge – if his Trial and Error project is anything to go by. In the project, Oomura takes iconic logos and finds a new use for them with the help of a 3D printer. So, the Honda 'H' becomes a bottle opener that utilises the logo's unique shape, while the McDonald's logo doubles up as a paper-fastener and picture holder. It's a series of clever creative spins on familiar designs, and we're sure that it'll spark your imagination and make you look at logos differently. Get a glimpse of Trial and Error by scrolling left to right in the gallery below with the arrows. If that whet your appetite, here's the full list of all 47 creations, where you'll see Coca Cola-inspired rings and Louis Vuitton business card holders. [Via BoredPanda] Related articles: Prep your work for 3D printing: 8 top tips 27 free 3D models The best 3D modelling software 2018 View the full article

Growing up, my favourite comic covers were the ones featuring characters conveying strong emotion in tense situations. I was also fascinated with watercolour techniques. The way the paint bled off the page, the visceral nuances that the brush left, the splatter, the texture, the imperfections. Now that I’m creating covers myself, the attraction for this traditional medium is even stronger. My process is pretty simple. I draw it, then colour it. I’ve always felt more of a storyteller than a painter, so I see it as less of a painter’s way of thinking, and more of an illustrator’s approach. Along the way, there might be some nuances and some happy accidents, but for me sketching and the initial sketch are the most important thing in my covers, I feel it should carry that emotion and weight to the final piece. The paint should complement it in the finished piece. How to draw people For this workshop, I chose to go with a cover for a monthly comic series created by myself and writer Jeff Lemire. The series is Descender, a sci-fi and fantasy tale about a galaxy in conflict – but really, it all comes down to a very personal story following a young robot child trying to find his human brother, and their place in the madness of it all. As much as I enjoy working on licensed properties, my biggest joy (and least amount of stress) comes from working on something that we own outright. We’re able to make every decisions ourselves, sometimes on the fly, without needing approval from anyone. Going by our own judgment and imagination to create these new worlds and characters… that’s where the biggest freedom in creator-owned comics lies. This cover features a character who we created and then watched grow over the course of the series. The finished art is close to my heart, as all Descender covers are, so drawing each one is always a joy, even if most are rushed out over a weekend! 01. Create preliminary sketch Preliminary sketches help to nail the composition I start with a quick sketch. When working on a cover for a client, I’ll normally provide between two and four different concepts for them to choose, but because Descender is a property that’s owned by myself and Jeff Lemire, I can skip all that and go directly to what I want in an image. 02. Make the face first An emotional portrait can lead an illustration For me, faces are everything. Usually, I’ll tackle the face first so it can carry the rest of the drawing for me. It’s a bit of a motivational technique. Telsa was a character we created and watched grow throughout the series, so she’s a very personal character to me to draw. 03. Consider the composition The composition allows room for cover elements I lay out the rest of the cover, making sure to leave room for cover title logos and trade dressing (the Image Comics logo, credits, pricing and so on). One of the main differences between laying out a cover versus laying out just a pin-up or poster is making sure all those elements work together, and balance out in print. 04. Start with light colours first When painting with colours, work from light to dark I normally start most paintings from the lightest colours first, which is usually skin tones and light sources. Even though Telsa has an alien blue-ish, purple-ish skin tone, I’ve become accustomed to starting with a character’s skin. I tackle that first, using a combination of Sennelier Turquoise green with Holbein Watercolor’s (HWC) Permanent violet and Prussian blue. 05. Use a wash on the background Even with steely colours there's room for variation I move on to a wash of the background. In this issue, Telsa’s on an alien ship made up of mostly cold steel. There’s not old tech or any rust, but at least a bit of age to the ship, so I try to give the background some texture. It should feel cold and harsh in this part of space. 06. Add warm colours Warm colours will be used sparingly for greater effect The few warm colours in this cover will be Telsa’s hair and the tip of the laser rifle that she’s carrying. I limit this warmth to these three colours (shown above). All my paints are usually kept in sealable containers with holes punched to the side so that they can dry, but not collect dust. 07. Carve out some details Not a drop of masking fluid to be seen Using a smaller 1/4-inch chiselled tip flat brush, I work in Telsa’s hair and laser rifle tip, leaving nuances of highlights here and there. People often ask if I use liquid masking – I don’t. It’s just easier and more natural to just not paint in the areas you want highlighted. 08. Rough it up A dark costume acts as an effective contrast On to the rest of the costume, I go with a neutral tint for her top and use a bit of HWC’s Vandyke brown and Ivory black to dirty up her boots a bit. She’s been on quite a journey up to this point, and her once-pristine military uniform is now looking tired and worn out. 09. Create a claustrophobic setting The colour helps to establish a sense of tension I move on to other parts of the page, giving the background some depth. I want her sitting near some sort of vent in the lower levels of the ship, holed up in a confined space with just a bit of room to think and breathe. 10. Lay down hard lines The fine lines will appear even thinner when scaled down in print I move on to finalising the image with some hard lines, using a soft mechanical pencil and thinner brushes for the smaller details. I use a 0.3mm pencil here for some of the details on her boots and the section lines on the wall. The fine lines become finer as I bear in mind that the image will be scaled down in print. 11. Know when to stop Leaving a painting to dry is a good opportunity to reflect and take stock I set the piece aside and give it some time to dry. My biggest fear is that I end up overworking a painting. I’ve never considered myself a real portrait painter, or even close to drawing any sort of likeness and realism, so it worries me when I spend too much time trying to perfect a painting. 12. Clean up in Photoshop Photoshop helps to fix some analogue mistakes I scan in the final piece for cleaning and touch ups in Photoshop. I spilled some paint inside the dome of the fan and decided to just make it a big hole. I had to move fast so that the paint would lay evenly, so didn’t get a photograph of the accident. It turned out okay, though. 13. Address the little things Texture and dust can be cleaned up digitally I touch up some highlights in the more saturated areas, the section lines along the walls, highlights on textures of her boots and bits of dirt. It’s mostly whatever I forgot to do in the painting phase. This is also where I clean up any dust that I scanned in by mistake. 14. Convey a sense of conflict The portrait is the heart of the picture, so it requires extra attention Some more touch ups. Using Photoshop I highlight parts of Telsa’s hair, the rifle tip and some more small details. My main focus, though, is Telsa’s eyes, brows and lips. I want to convey a sense of conflict, difficult choices to be made, and the heartache in making them. 15. Finish your image The final image allows plenty of room for cover elements Here’s the final image of the cover. I clean up around the left and bottom, making room to cropping and text placement (that’s what the white space is for). All looks good and we’re ready to go to print. This article originally appeared in ImagineFX issue 160; subscribe here. Related articles: How to create glazes with watercolour 18 watercolour techniques every artist should know Master wet-in-wet watercolour painting View the full article

There are many ways to approach a rebrand. A trend of late has been to focus on reawakening a brand's heritage by looking to the past, but sometimes a huge overhaul of a visual identity isn't what's needed. If a brand hasn’t lost its way entirely, but is becoming a little tired, sometimes the rebranding process is more about modernising, and making a brand fit-for-purpose, rather than dramatically looking either forwards or backwards for inspiration. But sometimes making small steps towards a new identity or tweaking things slightly is actually more difficult than starting from scratch or making big changes. 5 brands so strong they don't need a logo Here, leading designers reveal how to best go about rebranding in small steps. 01. Don't disregard the current brand SomeOne's rebrand of UK Parliament Like so many high-profile projects before it, SomeOne’s recent rebrand of the UK Parliament faced a wave of initial criticism for spending public money on what was perceived to be a few tiny tweaks to the portcullis logo. But as the tweets piled up, and more of the ‘brand world’ was revealed, it became clear to anyone willing to dig a little deeper that the rebrand was about digital versatility. “Only a fool rushes into an established brand with a total disregard for the brand’s history,” believes Simon Manchipp, co-founder and executive strategic creative director at SomeOne. “There’s nearly always something worth preserving,” he insists. Sign up to the Computer Arts newsletter “With the UK Parliament, the portcullis is part of the very fabric of the buildings," continues Manchipp. "The Royal documentation. Even the curtains. So there was never a question of replacing it. It’s a globally recognised symbol, which in brand terms is worth billions. “It was streamlining and making it digitally adept that formed the basis of our brand work, as well as creating systems to better clarify Parliament’s role in a modern democracy. Connecting many parts to make one cohesive whole.” 02. Make small changes that make a big impact Ericsson’s recent minimalist rebrand involved small tweaks to the angle of its lines Chris Moody, chief creative officer at Wolff Olins, compares this approach to the principle of ‘incremental gains’ embraced by Team Sky in cycling events, and admits that Wolff Olins has actively encouraged it in recent years. “However, just like Team Sky, I’m now questioning the true validity of doing this,” he adds. “It’s not so much about being unable to plug in to other people’s designs, but more that it’s more important than ever to design with totality in mind.” If you aren’t pissing someone off a bit, you aren’t trying hard enough Chris Moody, Wolff Olins If small changes make a big impact, he reasons, then it’s a course of action worth pursuing, but you need to be completely honest with yourself. “If you are fiddling with line weight for the sake of it, then it’s a waste of everyone’s time,” he smiles. Moody gives the example of Ericsson’s recent minimalist brand overhaul: “It’s pure hygiene,” he argues. “This is commendable, and a critical part of any brand design process, but it’s neither genuine ‘rebranding’ in any major sense, nor newsworthy. “Fetishising these tweaks – see also eBay, Audi, and YouTube – gives them an inflated level of importance,” he adds. “It feels like [highly-acclaimed architect] Richard Rogers making a big deal about bleeding the radiators in one of his buildings. Designers should aim for big, bold, radical change. If you aren’t pissing someone off a bit, you aren’t trying hard enough.” 03. Make a brand digital-friendly “If you’re going to change anything, you must have a good reason. Something should be fundamentally broken, or substantially shifting in the market,” says The Clearing’s Richard Buchanan. “Making sure that brands are fit-for-purpose, particularly digitally, is what people are most concerned about. If not a digital-first strategy, they need a digital-friendly strategy. Look at Audi: it’s got to work as a badge on the front of a car, but also a 16x16-pixel favicon.” 04. Let form follow function Lufthansa has taken an incremental approach to updating its logo “Small incremental changes are about subliminal reaction to the change, not overt signalling of newness,” explains North's Sean Perkins. “They’re useful when brands need to address certain functional issues to move forward, without jeopardising the equity and reputation in their existing brand recognition.” Perkins gives Lufthansa as a great example of this approach: "incremental change, with huge effect on recognition. Masterfully successful, in my opinion.” 05. Make the change visible “Tiny tweaks become very hard to justify, when you consider the cost of rebranding projects,” believes Michael Johnson of Johnson Banks. “There may be a legitimate business reason to tweak your verbal brand and not the visual – but my old boss Wally Olins called his job ‘change made visible’, and I still subscribe to that view. If nothing appears to have changed or the changes are imperceptible, it makes it much harder to re-position a brand on just words.” 06. Pick your battles A range of assets featuring the new UK Parliament identity “Change in general is resisted by all but the most progressive of thinkers,” reflects Manchipp. “Part of our position is to identify the elements of the brand that will make the greatest positive impact. In the UK Parliament’s case, the symbol is well-known and needed technical attention but not a radical creative overhaul. However, the infographic systems and iconography to aid non-written communications were underdeveloped, and increasingly sought after.” 07. Don't reinvent the wheel Johnson Banks rebrand of Historic Houses (also featured in the lead image) “As a younger designer, I avoided ‘evolutionary’ routes,” recalls Johnson. “Now? I’m a little wiser, and can see that some clients’ previous identities weren’t completely broken. They just needed to work better. We changed Action Against Hunger’s confusing symbol to simply one of food and water. Historic Houses’ monosyllabic old symbol became a visual reminder of the many houses they represent.” This article was originally published in issue 279 of Computer Arts, the world's leading design magazine. Buy issue 279 or subscribe here. Related articles: 5 rebranding hurdles designers face today 5 small-client rebrands that attracted big attention Bring a brand to life with illustration View the full article

To be a successful and effective project manager, you'll need to learn the tactics, strategies, and techniques adopted by the best. That's the knowledge you'll get with The Pay What You Want: Project Management Mastery Bundle. You'll learn the secrets to success utilised by project managers in the fields of business and engineering, and you'll also receive comprehensive training to help you pass the PMP certification exam. You'll discover how to refine the project management process to ensure top-notch, high-quality results every single time. Best of all, you'll pay whatever you want for all this knowledge. The Pay What You Want: Project Management Mastery Bundle can be yours today. Related articles: Top tips for nailing project management Best project management software The tools of the trade for project management View the full article

'Iconic' is a big label. But there's more to an iconic brand than just the logo. It certainly helps, but you'll often find that the biggest brands aren't the ones with the best logos. Logo design aside, what makes a brand iconic? Ask the experts and they'll tell you that it's a combination of things. "We respond to experiences," says Ben Marshall, creative director at Landor Associates, "stories we can pass on, and frankly, some things that are simply unusual or inspired." Michael Johnson of Johnson Banks agrees that an iconic brand should deliver on multiple levels – the product or service itself, the environment it appears in, its tone of voice, and more. "Thinking about 'branding' from this cinematic perspective is relatively new," he admits. "It's pretty difficult to deliver successfully." In some cases volume of exposure can force brands into public consciousness, but it can be enormously expensive. "I can't tell you how many times we've been asked to design a logo as iconic as the Nike tick," says Paula Benson, partner at Form. "Our question: do you have the budget to repeat it boldly and consistently all over the world?" With all this in mind, we asked these experts and others to select 20 brands that they feel qualify as iconic. Here's what they came up with... 01. The Red Cross The Red Cross: universally associated with medicine and saving lives Top brands can be universal in what they represent; the Red Cross logo is so ingrained into our collective consciousness that we automatically associate it with medical assistance. "Some of us have never interacted with the Red Cross, yet we perfectly know what it stands for and how it changes people's lives across the world," says Andra Oprisan, strategist at Saffron Consultants. "We are able to recognise its logo anywhere." 02. Apple Apple's iconic logo is instantly recognisable without the name. "It embodies all the company's principles," says Paula Benson It would have been inconceivable not to include Cupertino's finest on any top brands list. "It's a truly great brand because it's become synonymous with innovation and outstanding design," says Form's Benson. "Its brand values permeate through absolutely everything, from usability to design to language to packaging to retail stores." "Apple has large revenues but only a very small number of products," Benson adds. "The real hallmark is care." 03. Bass The Bass logo and branding has recently been redesigned to give it a clearer standout The Bass logo is by far the most venerable of this collection; the Bass brewery was founded in 1777, and its red triangle logo is notable for being the first trademark registered in the UK, on 1 January 1876. For Kieren Thorpe, creative director at BrandOpus Australia, Bass's bold use of a very simple primary shape and colour has helped it towards top brand status. "It's since been redesigned with a bigger icon and a smaller word mark, giving it a much clearer standout," he believes. "We recognise colour and shape before the written word," explains Thorpe – and Bass goes for the jugular on both. 04. Uniqlo English and Japanese characters appear side-by-side in the identity, which Michael Johnson heralds as a "masterstroke" Founded in Japan as the 'Unique Clothing Warehouse', this basics-clothing line became Uniqlo, or yoo-nee-koo-roh in Japanese. "What sounds very Japanese actually derives from English," explains Johnson. "They'd already developed a world-class product and environment – the bilingual logo was the masterstroke that pushed them into being iconic." 05. Subway If you want a quick sandwich, you probably think of Subway Logo Design Love's David Airey believes all of the top brands offer the 'go to' product or service within its market. "If you want a quick sandwich made with care, you think of Subway," he observes. "Some people might consider them great simply because of the product or service that backs up the brand: ultimately, that's what it's all about." 06. Ralph Lauren According to Geoff Phillips, Ralph Lauren "owns American style and all its permutations" – and the brand is never static Although its logotype may be relatively uninspiring in and of itself, Ralph Lauren is unquestionably iconic and one of the top brands in the world. "It has successfully connected the Ralph Lauren mythology with the American collective psyche and the American dream. Together, they form the brand," suggests Geoff Phillips, design director at MetaDesign. "That goes much deeper than any logo itself could achieve." 07. Veuve Clicquot The Veuve Clicquot label combines its anchor heritage mark with beautifully set typography This champagne brand, according to Thorpe, has used colour to great effect to stand out from its competitors. "As a distinctly yellow brand in a world of category conventional colours such as black, gold and cream, the scope to create instant recognition across a multitude of touch points is clear," he points out. The identity carries across its advertising, with the signature becoming the flourish of an artist's brush. 08. Zippo Marshall believes that, rather like Victorinox Swiss Army, the Zippo logo is "simply a reassurance" For Landor Associates' Marshall, Zippo is a prime example of a brand that easily transcends its logo, which he dubs almost irrelevant. "It's a great innovation – windproof – and has great integrity in its history, having switched from commercial to military-only supply in the war," he says. "Its form, interaction and even sound are all unique." "I love the smell of a Zippo," says Marshall. "Face it, even people who don't smoke want a Zippo." 09. Adidas According to Benson, Adidas' Olympics ads were loud and proud, but not overly attention-grabbing or corporate Two distinctive graphic devices lie at the core of the Adidas brand: the trefoil of Originals, and the three stripes of the Sports division. "It also received the most positive uptake of any brand involved with the Olympics, which helped it secure its iconic status," says Benson. 10. Google Google's visual identity is expressed through its logo, the signature colours, and its much-loved 'Doodles' Google is another must-include on this list – although its logo alone is hardly a work of art. "Consider the bigger picture," advises Oprisan. "Google's brand lives in its products; its culture (those famous job interviews); its environment (its enviable creative offices); its advertising; and also its visual identity." 11. Paul Smith Paul Smith's signature excudes an effortlessly classic quality The Paul Smith signature wordmark is beautifully crafted in itself, but for Thorpe it's the continuity of the pinstripe livery that brings the brand iconic status: "It represents the 'classic with a modern twist' ethos." Johnson concurs, having nominated the same brand: "This recognisable 'graphic wallpaper' makes everything from carrier bags to scarves instantly recognisable." The pinstripe livery is at the heart of the brand's iconic status 12. IKEA Ikea has become shorthand across the world for cheap self-assemble furniture Airey believes that modern customers are looking for a complete experience, and highlights the free coffee that IKEA gives family-card holders as part of the global home furnishing giant's wider brand experience: "If you want to kit out a new home without spending a fortune, you think of IKEA," he adds. 13. Charity Water Sophisticated infographics and National Geographic-style photography help define the brand's look and feel Compared to most non-profits, argues Phillips, Charity Water has particularly high design acumen. "The founder said that charities' poverty mentality reflects in their brands: he wanted a more aspirational approach," he says. "The jerrycan logo is an iconic symbol of water accessibility. It has some notoriety, but it's not in the top brands yet – although it deserves to be." 14. Toms The Toms logo isn't over-designed, which for Thorpe, fits its brand personality Like Charity Water, Toms is another brand tipped for iconic status in the future: "It doesn't necessarily have a great logo," admits Thorpe: "A modern-looking san serif font, in the context of an Argentinian flag – the place where inspiration struck. But it's a cause-related brand dedicated to making things better, or in the words of the founder: 'Making things that matter.'" 15. Dyson "The product is innovative, the result is better, the aesthetic is unique. It's these qualities that truly elevate," reflects Marshall Marshall advocates a simple mantra: "to be iconic, be the first, best or only." In the modern marketplace, this often means truly innovative products cut through the competition. "When I was a kid, a vacuum cleaner was a Hoover; it was the byword," he recalls. "By using new, radical (and importantly, better) technology, Dyson eclipsed all others in people's minds." 16. The Rolling Stones Homage to Mick Jagger's famously full pout, the graphic is one of rock's best known logos Designed by John Pasche in 1970 and first used on the Sticky Fingers album cover, the illustrated lips and tongue became an iconic emblem for the Rolling Stones. "It sums up the band brilliantly, and is one of the world's most instantly recognisable symbols of rock and roll," argues Benson. 17. Coca-Cola "Coca Cola has seemingly endless possibilities through its core design," says Thorpe If any of the top brands have nailed global ubiquity, it's Coke. "It's a shining example of continual evolution, as relevant and desirable today as it was over a century ago," believes Thorpe. And the highly distinctive script logotype has remained a constant throughout its lifetime – compare that to bitter rival Pepsi's multiple radical rebrands. 18. The V&A "Everything about it is working; I think few Londoners would disagree," says Johnson of the V&A brand Alan Fletcher's V&A logo has been a classic since the late-'80s, but Johnson recalls a time when it was better loved than the museum: "It was dusty, labyrinthine – the kind of place a design student loved to get lost in, but confounded the everyday visitor," he says. "It's since elevated itself into one of the world's greats." 19. Pixar "The animated intro of the bouncing lamp isn't grandiose, like most production company intros," Phillips observes. "It's witty, simple, down-to-earth and intimate. Pixar's brand is rooted in original stories, rather than sampling traditional children's literature, sugar coating it and watering it down. They've proven that audiences don't always want what they've already seen and heard." 20. Irn-Bru Scotland's other national drink. Made from girders! Perhaps a slightly unconventional choice from Marshall: Scotland's finest, Irn-Bru. "Looking beyond its distinctive neon-ginger aesthetic and brilliant straplines, why is it one of the few markets that outsells Coca-Cola?" he poses. "Because it's part of the Scots' outlook. The challenger. It will always be this." This article first appeared in Computer Arts magazine. Subscribe here. Related articles: New Burberry logo is stripped of its knighthood 37 beautiful band logos to be inspired by 11 places to find logo design inspiration View the full article

Good design, much like anything, begins with a solid understanding of the basic principles. By building a strong foundation and mastering the fundamentals, you can quickly gain the skills you need to bring even your wildest creative visions to life. But where do you start? In the first of a series of free ebooks, The Ultimate Study of Design by Route 1 Print has everything to help you fully grasp the infrastructure of graphic design. Volume I kicks things off with some of the most fundamental elements of design - line, shape, composition and scale - features which are used to create designs and enhance user experience. Learn all about the different line types, their purpose, style and intentions, before moving on to an in-depth look at shapes and what they can mean for your designs. Symmetry and asymmetrical design is also on the agenda, and last, but by no means least, the subject of scale, including balancing design elements, how to use the golden ratio and how scale can be used to fully communicate your artwork. Marvel-ous case study Alongside all the in-depth technical advice, The Ultimate Study of Design also features an inspirational case study on Sony’s upcoming movie Venom. Based on the Marvel comic book character, The Ultimate Study of Design takes a closer look at the decision to create a symmetrical identity for the alien character whose eyes have always been represented, in the comics, as unpredictable, asymmetric forms. Download the ebook now for more details and see what you think. Download The Ultimate Study of Design: Volume I By the time you’re done with all this amazing content, the team at Route1Print will be ready to keep you busy with Volume II, featuring colour, texture, pattern, repetition and depth. So what are you waiting for? Download your copy of The Ultimate Study of Design today and become a design pro! View the full article

Freelance life can be wonderful, but it's not for everyone. Sure, there are plenty of pros to going it alone, and many freelancers never look back – but it's not a bed of roses, and you should always do your research first. For a start, there are plenty of tools for designers that your employer would normally pay for, and you'll need to stump up the cash for yourself. Besides creative skill, in order to be a successful freelancer, you also need the right balance of business savvy, self-discipline, confidence and more. So if you're thinking about taking the plunge yourself, read on to discover four pros (and four associated cons) of life as a freelancer... 01. Higher earning potential... You're gonna need a bigger wallet (maybe) It's no secret that freelance day rates are almost always higher than their in-house equivalents. Agencies and clients will pay more for specialist skills on-demand. They can also use you on a project-by-project basis, so can budget accordingly without the need to keep a steady flow of work to justify your salary. If you can pull in enough regular work from different source – 'if' being the caveat – then it's true, you stand to earn a lot more than you would within a studio environment. And that's definitely one of the potential perks to consider when considering freelance life. The fact that you can set your own day rates will help, of course, so long as you do your due diligence first: going in all guns blazing with an outrageously high pitch is how not to get hired as a designer. You may even be laughed out the room. Remember, there's always scope to increase your rates as you get more experience, or for particular types of work – it can certainly be easier than lobbying for a pay rise. ...but no sick/holiday pay Lie back, relax! But don't expect to get paid for it Here's the flip-side to a higher earning potential: you only earn when you're working. You sacrifice all employee rights, not least sick pay, holiday pay, redundancy package, and any kind of bonus (unless you award yourself one). There are many ways you can save money as a freelancer to help counterbalance this, although having a savings buffer in place before you leave is always wide. This will cover you in fallow work periods, as well as for sickness and holiday – it may also be worth setting up an insurance policy in case of long-term sickness. 02. Choose your own hours... Don't like mornings? Change your working hours Sick of working thankless overtime at evenings and weekends, and struggling to see friends, partner or kids? Perhaps constant delays on your sweaty, noisy commute are making you late to the studio almost daily? Or maybe you're a night owl, and just wish you didn't have to get up so early in the morning? The good news is, as a freelancer, you can do away with all of that. You can still work evenings and weekends if you really want to, or if a heavy deadline requires it. But no more lobbying for flexi-time, or time-off in lieu, or just sucking it up... you can take the next morning off at a moment's notice if you like. Sure, your holidays may not be paid – but if you're organised, you can plan projects around them so you don't come back to a stack of work to catch up on. And you can be much more flexible around other life commitments, such as childcare – especially if you work from home. ...but spend them on dull admin Everyone loves a nice pile of expense receipts Unfortunately, you'll need to fill at least some of those free and flexible hours with stuff you really don't want to do – there are no legal, marketing or accounts teams to fall back on, after all, or a resource manager to tell you how to spend your time. Being your own boss comes with boss-like responsibilities. Some of this can be absorbed by hiring third-party help, such as an accountant, or an agent – and there are plenty of productivity tools for designers that'll make your life easier. But invoices, expenses, bills and all manner of other studio admin tasks will still commandeer a chunk of your time – and not billable time, either. 03. Pick your own clients... Choose the sweetest clients (if they'll work with you) Naturally, this one depends on your own self-promotion and pitching skills. As well as studio admin, all the responsibility for winning the work is on you too, and time hunting for new business isn't billable either. All these things considered, though, the ball is in your court in terms of what projects you want to do – as well as the balance between client briefs and self-initiated work. You can choose to hone your core specialities with clients you want to work with (and turn down ones you don't), or explore a range of new opportunities – such as collaborating with others to tackle projects outside your usual comfort zone. It's genuinely exciting to be in full control of your own destiny. ...but you have to chase them for payment Some clients need more chasing than others This is the bane of most freelancers' lives. No matter how much you enjoy a project, chasing your invoice for payment afterwards is no fun for anyone involved. Some clients are prompt and cheerful with their payments – hold onto them while you can! – but every freelancer has a tale of a nightmare late-paying client. You'll need to be more business savvy to deal with it. Put a solid process in place – with a contract to protect you wherever possible – and get ahead of your finances so a stack of unpaid invoices doesn't force you onto the breadline. 04. Work where you want... Working from your favourite cafe is a definite perk As well as being flexible with hours, depending on the nature of your work, you can pick your location too. Whether it's converting a spare bedroom into a home studio, sharing workspace with fellow freelancers, roaming between coffee shops or even working while travelling, it's your call. There are various tools to help you work remotely as a freelancer, but at a minimum you'll need a lightweight laptop, a decent battery pack and mobile WiFi. ...but you may get lonely As a freelancer, you have to like your own company Whether home alone for eight hours a day, or surrounded by the hustle and bustle of strangers in a coffee shop, if you're used to a buzzing, collaborative studio environment with constant conversation, stimuli and like-minded people to bounce ideas off, you may struggle as a freelancer. Sure, you can meet friends for lunch, or collaborate with others on certain projects, but the likelihood is you'll spend a lot of time with your own thoughts. Some people thrive in that scenario and are far more productive without distractions; others go stir-crazy within a week – only you know which one best describes you. Related articles: Freelance survival guide 4 design tools you never knew you needed Design agency survival guide View the full article

Being a designer can be expensive. Once you’ve coughed up for some pricey hardware, the costs keep on coming – everything from hosting to imagery can come with a price tag. With a little investigation online, you’ll find there are plenty of deals and discounts that will help you get set up, upgrade your kit, and generally get focused on being creative without bankrupting yourself. There are tools for creatives of all kinds here, but if you're a student, jump to the bottom of the page for some deals especially for you. Hardware deals Hardware is likely to be one of your biggest upfront costs A new laptop, PC or tablet can be a major expense. However, there are plenty of ways to cut down the price of creative hardware. Here’s where to look. Apple No doubt about it, Apple kit is going to cost you. However, a smart way to save is by exploring Apple's refurbished goods. These are second-hand, but refurbished and given the stamp of approval from Apple before being resold, which means you can be confident they’ll work as expected. It’s a great way to get your hands on quality products with a significant discount. There’s also a clearance section to explore. Apple offers special discounts for students (read more on that in the student deals section). However, it's worth noting that these can also be used by anyone working in an education environment. That includes teachers, administrative staff, and so on. Online marketplaces You can often find good second-hand hardware on online marketplaces such as Gumtree and eBay. Without an official stamp of approval, you’ll need to be a little more careful to ensure you’re getting a good deal. However, occasionally you’ll hit on a gem, with someone selling a basically new item on the cheap. Creative Bloq If you're not sure what you want to buy or which device is worth your money, we have a whole host of buying guides for you. You'll find advice on all the core tools you'll need – such as the best drawing tablet or laptop for graphic design – as well as accessories such as computer mice and keyboards. We also have a dedicated tool that searches thousands of sites for the best prices on these devices, so if a retailer is having a promotion, we'll know about it and the information on the page will update to show you the cheapest available price. Creative software and tools Quality software doesn't have to cost a fortune While hardware might be your biggest upfront cost, ongoing expenses such as creative software subscriptions, fonts, and stock imagery can all add up. Luckily, there are deals to be had, as well as free options to explore if you know where to look. Adobe Adobe's creative suite of tools remains a popular choice for designers. Deals and bargains are few and far between, but here at Creative Bloq we are pleased to be able to offer some exclusive discounts – right now you can get 15% off Adobe Creative Cloud. For more savings, including those on specific applications, take a look at our guide to the best Adobe deals. Note: The student discount (see the Student Deals section) also applies to those in primary or secondary education, or even those who are being homeschooled. Free software It won't be as comprehensive as the software you'd get from the likes of Adobe or Serif, but if you're just getting started in a particular specialism, you can get a taste for it by playing around with some more basic tools. There's plenty of free graphic design software to explore while you're still learning. Stock library memberships If you’re in need of stock photography with a bit more edge, there are plenty of good membership deals out there that will get you more bang for your buck. The 99Club gives you access to four million images – including vector images – and offers 200 downloads a year for US$99. The Adobe Stock image subscription is a bit pricier, but offers more regular resetting of downloads available. Copyright-free images There are millions of copyright-free images online. If you’re not interested in paying for images to use in your work, the best free sources of copyright-free images include Unsplash and Negative Space. Vector art If you're pushed for time, existing vector artwork can be a lifesaver. There are lots of places you can find this for free online, but we've sorted out the best quality ones and put them together in one handy post: the best places to find free vector art. Fonts for designers There are a lot of fonts being offered up for free on the internet. However, quality and reliability varies wildly. Take a look at our pick of the best free fonts for designers if you don't want to end up in a pit of typographic doom. Money-saving tips If you're smart, there are lots of ways to cut down your outgoings There are always places you can find a handy discount code or two to apply to an upcoming purchase you might be considering making. Read on for some more money-saving tips. Deals sites Discount king Groupon offers deals on electronic goods – alongside holidays, experiential activities, haircuts, and pretty much anything else you could think of. It’s hit and miss what you’ll find on there, but it's worth keeping an eye on it. Other great online stores with discounted goods include Micro Center, TechBargains and Slickdeals. It’s also worth investigating Lifehacker’s Dealhacker section for updated offers. Voucher codes Money Saving Expert runs a constantly updating page full of links to discount codes for a lot of different major chains, as well as sites like VoucherCodes. You can also automate your efforts by using a browser extension like Cently or Honey, which both search automatically for any applicable coupon codes you can apply to online purchases. Cashback If you can’t find a discount code online, using cashback programmes is another option to work some of your outgoings back into your account. Quidco and Swagbucks are two popular options, as well as Shop At Home. Swagbucks and Shop At Home both offer Web, Android and iOS versions. Do note that many of these sites will have a threshold you have to hit before you can withdraw. Check these carefully, and note too that some sites will ask for annual fees, so tread carefully. Be sure to check that any cashback deal will actually save you money. If you see a product for $200 online with a $50 cash back, but you could also buy the product outright in stores for $100, it’s obviously not worth it. The same applies if you have a great coupon code or promo code – these usually can’t be applied to cashback deals. Your discount might be worth a lot more than the cashback, so investigate this option first. Design student deals If you're lucky enough to have a valid student email, read on A student status can help you get all sorts of creative products on the cheap, so make the most of it! If you’re a recent graduate and still have access to your .edu email address, you can also use that to sign up for a lot of these benefits on the sly. Here are some of the best student savings. Apple Apple offers education pricing in many of its international stores online; simply enter your educational institution’s name in order to qualify and receive the discount. These discounts vary according to the type of stock (i.e. they are not a uniform 10 per cent discount applied to all products, but vary according to the range and newness of the model). Adobe Students of all kinds can get access to Adobe tools for less. The student discount can be used by those attending university or college, but also anyone in primary or secondary school education. It’s well worth looking into this, as it will save you over 65 per cent. UniDays UniDays offers regular discount codes just for students, on all sorts of goods and services. It comes in handy app and web form so you can browse the latest deals whenever you want. Amazon Prime Student For a whole host of other kinds of discounted goods and services to get creative with, it’s worth signing up for Amazon Prime Student. Read more: How to make money on Instagram as a creative 50 free web tools 6 ways to save money as a freelancer View the full article

You’ve been browsing different design portfolios for ages, and you’ve finally found the perfect illustrator to collaborate on your latest project. But how do you make sure you get the very best from them? Read on for five tips from leading agencies on how to commission illustration the right way. 01. Set a clear brief Commissioning great illustration is about great communication. To make sure this happens, set a clear brief covering exactly what you want in an image and the style, as well as the timeline. Make it plain why you're commissioning that person for that job, and give them as much information as possible to let them interpret that creatively. 02. Respect your collaborators Nothing makes for a better working relationship – whether between a brand and agency, agency and illustrator, or all three – than trust, respect, and dialogue. "It's a balance between respect for who you are as a brand and flexibility to impose no limits on the creativity," says artist Dennis Osadebe. "A great client is one who can communicate effectively and understands the importance of allowing the artist to embrace their talent." 03. Think about scale When commissioning illustrations for packaging design, remember the canvas will generally be pretty small. You have to strike a balance between work that's suitably detailed as to be interesting close up, but is also bold, visible and legible enough to stand out on the shelf. 04. Consider specialising Hired Guns Creative and Thirst Craft are two branding agencies that specialise in drinks clients. According to Hired Guns Creative, specialisation was initially a scary move, but has been "a fantastic thing." Thirst Craft – the agency behind the branding scheme for Loch Lomond Brewery that appears in the opening image – echoes its sentiments. "This is our story now, and it's given us a really deep understanding of the drinks industry now and the right questions to ask people," says creative director Matt Burns. 05. Look to the future According to Canadian agency Hired Guns Creative, augmented reality technology is likely to become a big innovation in illustration across alcohol packaging, and is already being used across Australian winery's 19 Crimes wine, which uses an app to show portraits of real former criminals on the labels. This article was originally published in Computer Arts, the world's best-selling design magazine. Buy issue 279 or subscribe. Read more: The designer's guide to illustration 20 illustrators to follow on Instagram Our pick of the best graphics tablets in 2018 View the full article

Values are present in almost every drawing or painting we create – and often, they can make or break a piece. To create a successful image, we must navigate various light effects and quirks of perception. This can often be frustrating! However, the same challenges will always crop up regardless of your subject or medium. Whether you’re figure drawing, painting still lifes, pastel drawing or working plein air, the principles are the same when it comes to values. 9 top tips for drawing in black and white If you are looking to create believable and realistic images, there are some key ideas to get to grips with, and having some methods to hand to help solve common problems will help your work flow more smoothly. The more we practise, the more intuitive working with values becomes. For the past ten years, I’ve studied and taught drawing and painting, picking up some useful advice and tips for how to draw along the way. In this workshop I’ll share some of these tips with you. Let’s get started… 01. Separate light and shadow Making a distinction between light and shadow families is fundamental This is the foundation for all shading decisions. First make a distinction between the ‘light family’ and the ‘shadow family’ (shown above). The light family consists of all areas that are touched directly by the light source. A good way to test this is to look at your subject from the direction of the light, so you can see what the light can ‘see’. The shadow family consists of everything that is hidden from the light source. This includes all shadows and reflected light areas. 02. Use a value scale Get your head around tonal relationships with a scale A value scale is a tool that will help you understand tonal relationships. I recommend a nine-step scale because it has a middle value. You can make a value scale by marking nine swatches, as shown above. Then, using light lines, begin with swatch 1 (as dark as you can go) and 9 (leaving as just paper). Then add an estimate for tone 5 in the middle. Now, add tones 3 and 7. Add the remaining tones to complete the scale. For more details, see my tutorial. 03. Relativity of value Which square looks darker to you? Our perception of how bright something is changes depending on what surrounds it. The example above shows the same 50 per cent grey surrounded by black and white. Can you see how the grey looks much darker against the white background? This effect happens all the time when we draw from observation and it can really throw off our value judgements. 04. Light effects As light hits an object, there are many effects to be aware of. Click on the diagram below to see how light spills over an object and creates areas of light and shade. Click to see the full size diagram 05. Reflected light Drawing correct reflected lights gives a great sense of volume. To create a realistic sense of light, it’s important to understand what affects the intensity of indirect (reflected) light. The first is local value. This is the ‘actual’ brightness of an object, independent of light effects. Lighter materials reflect light more strongly than darker materials. Another factor is distance – the further reflected light has to travel, the weaker it gets. The image here shows the effect of distance on a white material with maximum reflective strength. Scroll left to right in the gallery above with the arrows to see these influences in action. 06. Three common shading mistakes Get your shading just right by avoiding these common mistakes The first common shading mistake is making reflected lights too light (1). This creates confusion between halftones and reflected lights, making it difficult for the viewer to interpret the image. The second is making light halftones too dark (2). This results in a dirty look. The third is making dark halftones too light (3), which takes away from the sense of form. 07. Make a value study Break down your subject into groups of values Get your head around confusing values by organising them into groups in a separate drawing (a value study). The goal is to summarise the image by grouping similar tones together. Four or five value groups are ideal. Define the lightest and darkest tones, then find two to three tones that are most common in the image. Do your best to combine similar values. You should now have a clear plan for establishing values. 08. Test your understanding Experiment with creating shade in new media and from memory It’s always good to conduct experiments. Work with both artificial and natural light and note the differences. Try out a variety of media in order to learn how to take advantage of each. Try and create images from imagination. Can you remember all 11 effects from tip #4? Are you successfully avoiding the three common shading mistakes? The image above shows different students’ drawings of John Asaro’s Planes of the Head, shading 100 per cent from imagination. 09. Limited range and value compression Light contrasts found in nature are hard to replicate in art A value range describes how big the spectrum is between the lightest light and darkest dark. Each medium has its own range. Nature has an enormous range: from the brightest light (the sun) to the darkest dark (complete blackness). Often it is difficult to match the range of nature in your art. The solution is to diminish contrast at both ends of the spectrum. 10. The light guide A sphere is useful for referencing light in a scene To understand the light in a scene, draw a little sphere and indicate the light direction, the brightness of the shadows, and the strength of reflected light. In a complex image, you can make a light guide for individual objects. To study nature, hold up an egg in different light scenarios and observe how these three aspects change in different environments. This article was originally published in Paint & Draw. Related articles: How to paint with acrylic washes Prepare a board for painting in 3 easy steps How to paint realistic waves in Photoshop View the full article

Want to master the art of coding? Knowing how to code in multiple different programming languages can be the key to opening up new job opportunities and career paths for yourself. With Pay What You Want: Learn to Code 2018 Bundle, you'll get your hands on a comprehensive training bundle, and you can pay whatever price you want for the entire thing. In this bundle, you'll practise building eight different Python apps, use iOS 11 and Swift 4 to create usable iPhone apps, and construct real projects to gain experience with React. You'll also gain a solid foundation in MySQL, Javascript, and Java 9. All this knowledge can be yours for whatever price you name. Related articles: The web designer's guide to Flexbox The web designer starter toolkit Beware the cutting edge of web design View the full article

Every place in the world has its own style and cultural influence, which can be a great source of inspiration for a designer. Here, we showcase a selection of travel poster designs created by artists and inspired by many wonderful and diverse places on Earth – and beyond... 01. Travel posters from Mexico Rita Duczmańska documented the often overlooked parts of travelling Rita Duczmańska documented her trip to Mexico by designing a series of posters on the trip. The series includes colourful prints of parrots and flamingoes, as well as posters depicting often overlooked elements of travelling, including noisy flights, jet lag and diarrhea. Check out the full series on her Behance page. 02. Dailies This poster forms part of a set formed over 16 days for a design challenge named Dailies As part of a 16-day daily design project, Toral Bheda created a series of travel posters that use simple elements related to each country and transformed them into a poster. We particularly like the simple design and pared-back colour palette of the poster above, depicting the Maldives. See the full set here. 03. Round the world Night & Day is David Popov's abstract artistic expression of his experience in New York This Night & Day New York design was part of an illustrative travel project by Pop & Pac's David Popov. An ongoing, self-initiated project, Popov created a series of abstract posters as a visual expression of the experiences he's had on his travels around the world. He has created prints for many cities and countries, including London, Paris, Bangkok and Italy. Popov's designs have been so well received that they are now available to buy online. 04. San Francisco Simple, clever design created by graphic designer Suzanne Pfutzenreuter Graphic designer Suzanne Pfutzenreuter is the lady behind these contemporary poster designs for San Francisco's Travel Spring 2013 campaign. Every year, the company chooses a handful of 'must see' events to promote in the city, which Pfutzenreuter has illustrated here, tying the event with a San Francisco icon. Which is your favourite? 05. Orient calls Mune Satomi's choice of composition and colour in this poster sells the Orient perfectly Type the search term 'travel posters' into Google and you'll be presented with thousands of examples of vintage posters. But this 1936 Orient Calls poster by Mune Satomi caught our eye. This beautiful composition and colour palette was entirely handcrafted. 06. London Graphic artist Neil Stevens was inspired by old airline baggage tags When London-based creative illustrator, image-maker and graphic artist Neil Stevens came across some old airline baggage tags, he decided to turn them into a series of posters. Stevens created prints for various airports, all of which can be purchased online. 07. Have you ever been to... How many places on Federica Bonfanti's list have you been to? We just love this awesome travel-inspired print by designer and artist Federica Bonfanti. Similar to the well-known 1,000 Places to See Before You Die book, this poster lists 84 places around the world, each with carefully chosen typography that best suits the country it represents, accompanied by a beautifully illustrated icon. How many can you tick off the list? 08. Free Rider This print aims to promote cycling This beautiful print was created in 2011 by graphic designers Petros Afshar and Sammi Swar. Part of a series of illustrations, the artwork's aim was to promote cycling as an alternative way to travel. The duo said, "The content is a collective exhibition of text, illustrations and photographs on the fondness we have with bicycles in a global and digital era." 09. Petit Belle Johnny Kotze created this gorgeous piece to raise money for the Canadian Children's Hospital Illustrator and designer Johnny Kotze created this piece for the Canadian Children's Hospital and annual charity event The Snowflake Ball. Auctioned off to raise money, the theme was Springtime in Paris. Kotze comments, "I went for more of a winter theme with a snow globe-inspired Paris city scene. It's got landmark sights the Arc de Triomphe on the right, The Notre Dame on the left and of course the famous Eiffel Tower in the centre." 10. Switzerland This Switzerland poster is just one of many iconic designs created by American artist David Klein We couldn't curate a list of travel posters without including one of iconic designs created by American artist David Klein – the man who illustrated dozens of posters for Howard Hughes' Trans World Airlines (TWA) in the 1950s and '60s. Klein designed numerous posters advertising travel in the US and abroad, and in 1957, his New York piece became part of the permanent collection at MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) in NYC. View the full collection of Klein's work here. 11. Let's Travel Somewhere Ines Gamler created a series of posters to promote Let's Travel Somewhere Let's Travel Somewhere is a collaborative project that aims to capture the essence of every country through beautiful photography and gripping stories. To promote the project, designer and illustrator Ines Gamler developed these brilliantly minimalist posters, each depicting an area of the world through a simple icon of that area's most recognisable mode of transport. 12. Istanbul This is one of three minimalist poster designs by designer Maxwell Rasche This retro-style, minimalist poster design is one of three by designer and art director Maxwell Rasche. Other designs include posters for Sydney and Amsterdam, all of which use the same colour scheme, feature illustrations of buildings synonymous with the countries, and incorporate fonts from Lost Type Co-Op. 13. San Francisco These vintage inspired posters will have you wishing for a summer holiday Graphic designer Alex Asfour has designed a whole range of vintage-inspired travel posters, including this one for Airbnb to promote Miami. It shows the Downtown view of the Miami river. You can see more of his designs in this post. And now for something a little different... 14. Travel posters for lazy people While on the hunt for travel posters, we came across this awesome series of alternative, tongue-in-cheek designs. Here, illustrator Caldwell Tanner has created some brilliant travel posters for all you lazy people. Genius. See the full series here. The internet; a refreshing way to waste the day You're never too old to eat something older than you Related articles: 10 inspiring examples of typography poster designs The top 25 movie posters of all time The designer's guide to printing a poster View the full article

This list of the best tablets in Walmart has been designed to make your life easier if you're shopping for a new device and you're not sure which option is right for you. Walmart has a great selection of brilliant tablets, from Apple iPads to tablets running Android or Windows 10 – and they regularly have good deals on them, too. The best cell phones at Walmart We've scoured the retailer's website to find the best prices on the top tablets at Walmart, and our smart price comparison tool will make sure that you get the best deal possible. (Or, if you're after a tablet and don't mind which retailer you get it from, take a look at our best tablet with stylus buying guide.) Read on for the best tablets at Walmart – and the best prices – right now... Our pick of the best tablets at Walmart right now New iPad (2018) This year's iPad tablet from Apple is our pick of the best overall tablet you can buy from Walmart. This is a tablet that does everything well, with a good screen quality, excellent camera and great performance for the price. Speaking of price, it's not that expensive compared to other Apple products, and the 2018 version also supports the Apple Pencil stylus (which you'll need to buy separately). You can choose between 32GB and 128GB capacities, and the 9.7-inch display is bright, vibrant and crisp. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 is another all-round excellent tablet that can handle almost any task. It comes with a beautiful HDR (high dynamic range) 9.7-inch screen, which makes media and images really stand out. Battery life is good, it has a fantastic camera and you can expand the 32GB storage space to 400GB with a microSD memory card. This is a tablet that can be pricey, but Walmart has some excellent deals that will help you get this tablet for a competitive price. Apple's iPad Pro is the best high-end tablet Walmart offers. It expands on everything we love about the regular iPad, packing in more powerful hardware and an improved screen to make it a brilliant tablet for productivity. The new ProMotion screen is a particular highlight. It features a refresh rate of 120Hz - twice the rate of standard tablet screens – which makes games and media look amazing. It also means the iPad Pro feels fast and responsive, especially if you're drawing with the Apple Pencil stylus. If you don't mind going for a slightly older tablet, then the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 offers brilliant value for money, making it our pick for the best cheap tablet at Walmart. It comes with some excellent features, such as 32GB internal storage and support for microSD cards up to 128GB for even more space to keep apps and files. It also has a fantastic 2,048 x 1,536 Super AMOLED display and enough powerful innards to keep this tablet running quickly and smoothly despite its age and price. iPad mini 4 If you're looking for a smaller tablet from Walmart that's a bit easier to carry around and hold than some of the larger slates, then the iPad mini 4 is well worth your consideration. It comes in a shrunk down-design that, as you'd expect from Apple, looks fantastic, and the latest version comes with a screen upgrade and more powerful components. Walmart offers some great deals on this diminutive tablet, so if you're on the lookout for a 7-inch slate, this is the one to get. Walmart offers a great selection of Android and Apple tablets, and it also stocks some brilliant Windows tablets as well. These tablets run Windows 10 – an operating system that works very well on tablet devices – and allow you to run regular programs such as Photoshop, rather than lumbering you with apps. The Surface Pro is the best Windows tablet Walmart currently sells, and as you'd expect, it comes with some brilliantly powerful components and excellent features, and a price tag to match. Acer makes some brilliant tablets, and the best one you can buy at Walmart is the Acer Switch 5. This is another Windows tablet, and it's a great alternative to the Surface Pro above. It can be used as both a tablet and a laptop-like device, making it a great little productivity device for students and professionals. The display is good (though not quite as good as the Surface Pro's), and it's a dab hand at drawing as well if you use a stylus. This unique tablet comes with a projector built into it. The Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 Pro also features a fantastic 10.1-inch screen, which makes it a large tablet that's great for media and productivity, and its sound quality is great as well. Thanks to the integrated projector, this is a fantastic tablet for presentations, and it's our pick for the best Lenovo tablet that Walmart currently offers. Related articles: The best phones at Walmart The best drawing tablet The best drawing tablets at Walmart in 2018 View the full article

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Just as fashions come and go, so too do logo designs. Even a design classic and wardrobe staple such as the Burberry logo (above) has to be consigned to the sale rail at some point. That's just what happened today as Burberry launched its new logo and monogram on Instagram. The new logo (below) was designed in collaboration with Burberry and Peter Saville, and replaces the famous Burberry Equestrian Knight Logo which in one form or another has been going strong since 1901. Before being put out to pasture, this chivalric design was last updated in 1999 when the brand dropped the letter 'S' from its name, switching from Burberrys to Burberry. As you can see, the new logo goes for a straightforward text-based approach. The only design element to be carried over appears to be the black colour scheme, which in the original logo represented strength and durability. Meanwhile, Italian designer Riccardo Tisci's new monogram takes the initials of the fashion brand's founder, Thomas Burberry, and weaves them into an interlocking and colourful design decked out in orange, white and beige. Accompanied by the hashtag #newera, Tisci is pinning his colours to the mast as he takes the company in a new creative direction. In a series of Instagram post published simultaneously by Tisci and Burberry, we get a unique glimpse into the creative process behind the new logo and monogram. It appears that the fashion label imposed an incredibly tight turnaround time of just four weeks for a project that usually takes at least four months. We wonder if these email transcripts have been airbrushed, "you must be crazy" sounds like a restrained way to respond to that deadline. So are the new designs trend setters or fashion victims? As we've come to expect from a rebrand, public opinion on social media has been split, with many mourning the loss of the recognisable equestrian logo. (One user commented that they should BurBURY the new look.) It is a shame to see the back of the knight and horse motif, however we're not so upset to wave goodbye to that old font. And if Burberry want to add a dash of contemporary style to their look, we'd say it's mission accomplished. As the 'prorsum' standard on the old logo used to say: 'forwards'. Related articles: 4 awesome examples of handmade type in branding 6 great logo ideas that break the mould 5 logo design trends for 2018 View the full article

The final tweaks that you make to your image can be the most crucial part in your painting process. That’s the part that you often agonise over, too. It’s easy to create art, but to perfect it is a whole other story. The adjustment tools have always been a part of Photoshop for this reason. Long before so many other tools have been deemed important – tweaking your image in the closing stages always has been. They range from tonal corrections to colour-editing sliders, but they all hold their own uses in the program. Get 15% off Creative Cloud with our exclusive offer Everyone has their favourite adjustment tools, but while some people utilise them throughout their workflow, they’re often seen as a unifier of a project at the end. The adjustments are such an integral part of Photoshop CC, that it’s worth learning what each of them do. They work best in tandem with one another, but the key – like any part of Photoshop, including using Photoshop actions – is simply to experiment with what works for you, as many of the fixes overlap. Once you’ve mastered these tools, you’ll never end a project without them again. We've divided these adjustments into four areas: tonal fixes, colour tools, creating a comic-book effect and applying filters. Tonal fixes in Photoshop 01. Add an adjustment layer Add new adjustments layers to make....adjustments There are many ways to add an adjustment layer. Either go to the top bar and click Layer > Adjustment layer, or add an adjustment panel from Windows > Adjustments. Alternatively, click the circle icon at the bottom of the layer panel. The Brightness/Contrast, Levels and Exposure tools give you control over blacks, whites, highlights and shadows in your artwork. Click on the half filled circle next to each layer to bring up the Properties menu for individual adjustment layers. This will enable you to adjust each layer. 02. Adjust brightness and contrast The Levels adjustment histogram is shown on the left box. Click on the top right corner of the image to enlarge The Levels adjustment provides you with a histogram. It can control the brightness, contrast, lights and darks in your image, as well as colour. The Brightness/Contrast tool is another way to tweak images, and relies on sliders. It’s a good second step after using Curves to correct the tone of your image. 03. Alter the whites and blacks in your image Click on the top right corner to enlarge the image In this adjustment window, you can alter the whites and blacks in your image to pick up more or less light and shade. Colour tools in Photoshop Click the top-right corner to enlarge Once you’ve set the tone in your image, it’s time to edit the colour. While Photoshop can’t do anything too drastic with colour without the work looking distorted, it can provide useful edits to your image. While there are plenty of tools in Photoshop to edit the colours in your images, there are just as many to take these effects even further. Black and White, Photo Filter and Selective Color are all tweaks that offer subtlety in your image, but can be vital for finalising the overall look. 04. Use the Hue/Saturation tool The Hue/Saturation tool The Color Balance is similar to the Curves tool, only it provides a far more colour-centric edit, rather than one based on the tone of your picture. The Hue Saturation tool can take individual shades to task with its drop-down menu, and is capable of editing the hue, saturation or lightness of any colour you choose. 05. Adjust the Vibrance in your image Use the slider to adjust the Vibrance in your image Increase the Vibrance of your image without altering the Saturation with the Vibrance adjustment. This is great as a finishing touch to your artwork, because it can make your colours pop even further. 06. Tweak the shades in your image Tweak the tones of the shades in your image using the sliders Black and White simply desaturates your image, but the adjustment comes in the form of sliders that offer you the ability to tweak the tones of each shade in your image. 07. Adjust some colours but not others The Selective Color Adjustment panel If you wish to make one particularly shade stand out from the rest, then the Selective Color adjustment is perhaps the easiest way to do that. It gives you sliders to adjust, and is simple to use. 08. Create a warming or cooling effect The Photo Filter tool is useful for making subjects stand out The Photo Filter tool creates a subtle warming or cooling effect, or a tint of a custom colour. This is useful for applying to subjects in a painting, to make them stand out from their backgrounds. Next page: Create comic book effects and apply filters Create comic-book style effects Comic-style effects are relatively easy to achieve in Photoshop The adjustments aren’t there to improve what you already have in Photoshop. In some cases, they can transform your work in the same way that filters can. Three of these adjustments – the Invert, Threshold and Posterize tools – can be combined to create comic-style effects. 09. Use Threshold adjustment The Threshold adjustment tool is particularly interesting when used at al low Opacity The Threshold adjustment consists of one balance slider. It turns colour or greyscale images into high contrast, black and white images, and produces interesting results when used at a low Opacity. 10. Get a low-fi effect with Posterize Posterize can help create a low-fi effect Posterize is similar to the Threshold tool, but offers you as many levels of colours as you wish. When used as a final flourish in an image, it provides a low-fi, comic book-style effect. 11. Invert your colours The Invert tool does as the name suggests The Invert tool inverts every pixel to the opposite colour and shade. It has no other options. When used on a low Opacity, it can provide you with a foggier, non-contrasted image. Add final touches and use filters Curves, Gradient Map or Color Lookup can change your image dramatically At the end of almost any project, you’ll use one of three adjustments: Curves, Gradient Map or Color Lookup. You may even end up using all three, for they each give you tonal and colour editing abilities to either improve or completely change your painting. 12. Use Curves to alter tone Curves can be used to change the colour channels in an image Curves works by tweaking the strands in the graph, and as well as altering tone, you can use the drop-down menu to change the colour channels, such as red, green and blue in an RGB image. 13. Add filters Everyone loves a good filter, right? The Color Lookup filter gives you a range of preset filters that can change how your photos and artworks can look, ranging from Edgy Amber to Foggy Night, and even some specific camera model effects. 14. Use the Gradient Map to repaint your image Achieve simple sophistication with Soft Light By setting a colour for each shade in your image, the Gradient Map can repaint your image. It’s best used when set to Soft Light for a simple, yet sophisticated filter. This article was originally published in issue 160 of ImagineFX, the world's leading digital art magazine. Buy issue 160 or subscribe here. Related articles: 5 best laptops for Photoshop 60 top-class tutorials to try The 10 commandments of Photoshop etiquette View the full article

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We don’t want to be morbid. But none of us really know how long we have to live. And if the end does come unexpectedly soon, will you have done all the things you really wanted to? No one wants their last moments to be drenched in regret. So in this post, we’re focusing on some things you might want to do sooner, rather than later. And then if you do end up living another 50 years after that? Well then, you’ll just have more time to become an art director or improve your design portfolio, or else binge-watch Netflix and eat pizza. Happy days. 01. Meet your design heroes Behance Portfolio Reviews offer just one way to potentially meet your design heroes Everyone dreams of meeting their heroes. But if your heroes are, say, the Dalai Lama, Will Smith or Taylor Swift, that might be a little difficult to arrange. If your heroes work in design, though, it suddenly becomes a whole lot easier. Many of the leading lights in the fields of illustration, graphic design, web design, 3D and animation regularly appear in public at industry-specific conferences, such as our own Generate, and are often quite open to standing around and chatting afterwards. Some events even organise ‘meet and greets’, so you can officially book time with your heroes. Portfolio reviews such as our own upcoming one, pitching events, and design competitions are other potential routes to making contact with your idols. So why are you sitting on your hands? If you need an extra jolt of inspiration, then read this blog post by Simon Wild about how he set about meeting his heroes, the graphic design partnership of Miraphora Mina and Eduardo Lima, and what he got out of it. 02. Read (or re-read) the classics If you haven't read Paul Rand: A Designer's Art, then you should Ever feel that you didn’t follow absolutely everything they tried to teach you at design college? That there are some fundamentals of art and design theory, from the golden ratio to grid theory, that you’ve never properly grasped? That you’ve been kind of muddling through ever since, and that maybe you’d create better design work if there weren't so many gaps in your knowledge? Don’t beat yourself up. ‘Fake it till you make it’ is not a minority pursuit, but the industry norm, and few people are truly expert in all areas of design theory. That said, once you have some practical experience under your belt, you'll probably find that if you revisit those books you struggled with at college, they suddenly make a lot more sense and can genuinely help you improve your craft. And that can be a massive boost to your self-esteem. Get started by checking out our list of 30 books every graphic designer should read. 03. Start (and finish) a passion project Jessica Hische's Daily Drop Cap project attracted plaudits far and wide There’s nothing wrong with working for others, whether they be an employer or freelance client. But following a brief is only ever going to nourish one part of your creative soul. If you truly want to stretch your design muscles, your best bet is always going to be to start your own passion project, aka personal project or side project. The beauty of a passion project is that you only have yourself to please, so at one level at least, it can’t possibly fail. As Yoda says in Star Wars: 'Do or do not, there is no try'. In other words, it’s not about the result, it’s about the process, and what it teaches you about yourself and your own creativity. Learn more about passion projects in our articles How to start a side project and Why you really do have time for creative side projects and Tips for better side projects. 04. Use your design skills for a good cause The Secret 7'' project is creating bespoke record sleeves to raise money for MIND You’ve spent years using your design skills to make profits for your employers. But the work you’re more likely to think of on your death bed will be the pro-bono work you did for the good of society. Yes, it’s nice to give money to charities and non-profits. But giving something of yourself can be both more valuable to the cause, and more personally fulfilling to yourself. In the process, it will probably also stretch you creatively; we tend to see things in a different perspective when not working for money. And it may even end up helping your career (you might be surprised how many influential people you can meet working for charities). For advice, check out our articles The designer's guide to working for nonprofits and The secrets of a creative approach to charity. 05. Take a sabbatical If this sight appeals to you, is it time you did something about it? No one ever lay on their death bed and thought: 'I regret not spending more time at the office'. So why not push the boat out, and take a proper amount of time off, to go travelling, write a book, learn a language, or whatever other dreams you’ve got buried deep in your subconscious? Many companies nowadays offer three-month unpaid sabbaticals. And even if yours doesn’t, there’s no harm suggesting the idea to your boss. A happy employee is a productive employee, after all, and taking some time out is only going to give you fresh perspective and make you a better designer. And if they turn you down? Well, you can always go freelance, and then your schedule is your own. Yes, we know, everyone needs money. But ask yourself how much money you really need to live on, and whether other things in life are more important. The answer may ultimately be no (or not right now, at least). But if you’re not honest with yourself about your hopes and dreams, however are you going to fulfil them? If you need convincing further, watch this talk by Stefan Sagmeister, who explains why his studio takes a full year off, every seven years. 06. Fail at something No one ever got good at skateboarding without falling off, and the same goes for design This might sound like an odd thing to include on a designer’s bucket list. But if you never truly fail at anything, you'll never learn anything. And in the words of Marcus Tullius Cicero: “Life without learning is death". So take risks. Break the rules. Do something outlandish. If it ends up being a disaster, you'll have learned a valuable lesson or two. But it could end up being something amazing and life-changing. You don't know if you try. Otherwise, how can you ever call yourself a "creative"? For more on this topic, read this excellent Medium post by Amalie Barras, How to Fail at Design. 07. Crowdsource an idea Ben Barrett-Forrest's typography playing cards were funded via a successful Kickstarter campaign Always loved the idea of launching a product and starting your own business, but are too financially risk-averse to risk it? Then why not ask other people to raise the money for you? Just a few decades ago, that would have been a crazy notion, but nowadays it's commonplace for creatives to use crowdsourcing platforms like Kickstarter to pursue their dreams at other peoples' expense, from Ben Barrett-Forrest's typography playing cards to Iris Compiet's illustrated book of fairies. That said, it's not a case of just asking for the money and running. Be aware that running a crowdfunding campaign can be an intense, full-time challenge. Because unless you've already got a million social media followers, you'll have to put a lot of work into publicising your campaign and persuading people to actually part with their money. Imagine the sense of achievement and fulfilment, though, once you've achieved your goal and funded your dream purely by making people believe in your creative vision. You'll find detailed advice on how to do it in our posts How to launch a successful Kickstarter and How to crowdfund your next design project. 08. Learn some code Trang Minh Nguyen has been creating daily sketches while learning p5.js and posting them on Instagram. If you're a creative who's not actually a web designer, you'll probably spend your entire career never needing to learn how to code. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't take a crack at it. Learning some basic HTML and CSS, having a play, and creating your own basic website can be incredibly liberating. It will give you a greater understanding of how the digital world works, more confidence to talk to developers, and is likely spark new creative ideas in multiple directions. It's kind of like learning a language. Even if you learn just a hundreds words of, say, Spanish, it can make travelling to Spanish-speaking countries a much richer and more rewarding experience. And in the same way, writing just a few lines of code can take you creative places you'd never dreamed of. For pointers on how to get started, read our post Why designers need to learn to code. 09. Teach design Passing on your knowledge to others can be incredibly rewarding You've spent much of your lifetime honing and crafting your design skills. And passing on that knowledge and understanding to others can be an incredibly fulfilling activity. That might be in the form of a formal teaching role; as a mentor to a younger designer; through a volunteer programme like Code Club; by running your own online design courses via a platform such as Skillshare, Udemy or CreativeLive, or by speaking at design events. But however you share your skills, it will give you a whole new perspective on what you know, not to mention a sense of pride and achievement at doing something good for others. And when someone you've taught gives you great feedback, that can be the best feeling of all. In fact, on that topic... 10. Thank your mentors Thank the people who got you where you are We're all familiar with the axiom 'It is better to give that receive'. But while we relish positive feedback from others, we're not always so good at giving it back. If you've found success and fulfilment in your career as a designer, take a step back and think about the people who've helped make that possible. That teacher who really cut through. The manager who became a true mentor. The person who selflessly made the introduction that helped you get your big break. Have you ever thought of sitting down, writing them a thank-you email and updating them on where you are now in your career? Doing so is not only the right and proper thing to do, it will likely give you an enormous sense of well-being and satisfaction into the bargain. 11. Find your dream, and then follow it Your true dreams may be buried in your subconscious, so take the time to drag them out List features like this one can sometime provide pointers. But if you really want to know what to do before you die, there's no getting around it: you need to gaze deep into your soul. Everyone has heartfelt desires that they desperately wish to fulfil. But life often gets in the way and we end up repressing them, sometimes even forgetting them, in the struggle to 'just get by'. So our honest advice is to take some time off, switch off your smartphone, and allow your brain to reset. Only then are can you really know what you want to achieve, and what will make you happy. Once you do, you'll find that pursuing your dream is pretty straightforward: a case of overcoming some well-worn obstacles. Take inspiration from these creatives, in our post 8 challenges to overcome to achieve your creative dreams. Read more: View the full article

At first glance, Adobe Lightroom CC may seem complicated to use, but with a bit of practice, you'll become a master. And that's what Lightroom CC Crash Course aims to help you do. You'll learn how to organise your photos, backup your work, adjust and retouch your images, and share them with others. Best of all, you'll be learning under the tutelage of Kasia Zmokla, a digital artist, graphic designer, and photographer who has over 20 years of experience in the field. She was trained at the Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Art and Design in Wroclaw, Poland, and she graduated as a Master of Fine Arts in 2003. Under her wing, you'll become a pro photo editor in no time at all. Discover how to make your images pop and stand out like never before, with Lightroom CC Crash Course – yours for just $18. Related articles: Lightroom CC 2018 review The 10 commandments of Photoshop etiquette 5 best laptops for Photoshop View the full article

When you're painting rippling water with something in it, you’re taking on the task of painting a disrupted reflection. This can be tricky to imagine, so I often like to make my own reference before I start. For this painting, I'm going to use oils, so I'll draw upon some oil painting techniques. Don't miss our general painting techniques post for more tips and tricks on the subject. 01. Make some reference My homemade reference used a toy, some water and a palette I use a mirror, my palette and a toy and I stir the water to get the ripples and then take a photograph to work from. You can also leave your reference next to you if you can, in order to experiment with different water effects. Once your reference is made, you're ready to go... 02. Start with the dark colours I start with the darks of the water as my base. When you're working in oils, you usually work from dark to light anyway, so this is a natural approach. You can work thin and with your more transparent hues. Your transparent colours will be Indian Yellow, Oxides (red, orange, yellow, and brown are a few I use), Viridian, Alizarin Crimson, Phthalo Blue and Ultramarine, to name a few. A reflection will tend to be darker than the object being reflected. The shadows from objects will similarly have some reflection but will usually make what’s below the water visible, and the values are usually darker as well. You can have fun with this stage and get all those dark and saturated colours mixed around. Let this dry (if you’re working en plein air, you should work thin). 03. Add the light colours In this oil painting of Tristan and Isolde, Aaron Miller captured rippled water with a limited palette, locking in his value ranges When you start on the lighter colour, the reflection of the sky, it’s best to premix the gradient. It makes the decision about which colours to pick easier! In areas where there is contrasting detail, choose one to focus on and consider painting back into the sky reflection with the shadow colours. To create the ripples in the painting, it’s much easier to paint the gradient of the reflected sky over most of the area and paint the darks back in again. This article originally appeared in Paint and Draw magazine. Read more: How to mount your artwork How to draw: 103 tutorials How to draw a rose: beginner and advanced tips View the full article

Even the best logos need to be updated to fit in with the modern age, which is why on the 50th anniversary of the International Symbol of Access (ISA) – aka the symbol of a wheelchair user – Visibility93 is calling for a redesign of the logo most of us associate with disability. In order to start the conversation, Visibility93 has launched a new icon font, with each letter representing a different type of disability, including ADHD, anxiety, lupus and dyslexia. The idea is to inspire the design community to make a new logo that represents lots of different types of disability – both visible and invisible – and to spark conversation and debate about the symbols that should be used to depict disability. The symbol for Crohn’s and Colitus Visibility93 was set up by designers from McCann London, many of whom have relatives or loved ones that have invisible disabilities. Wheelchair users are estimated to make up 5-7 per cent of the disabled population, meaning that at least 93 per cent of the disabled population have invisible or less visible disabilities (hence the name Visibility93). This also means that the current symbol doesn't represent most disabled people. The new icon font in full (click on the top-right corner to enlarge) Dan Howarth, head of art at McCann London, said: "Our ambition is that different communities – whether design, charity, people with disabilities and the public – come together to create a new ISA that is inclusive of all people with disabilities." The campaign coincides with the UK government announcement that it plans to overhaul the Blue Badge system, enabling people who have invisible disabilities as well as visible ones to have Blue Badges, and therefore access to accessible parking. The Blue Badge scheme is just one potential use for a new symbol depicting disability. A new logo also could help those with invisible disabilities feel more comfortable using accessible spaces. The symbol for depression What do you think of the new symbols? We think the attempt to reimagine disability is welcome, but the way it's been done is potentially contentious. Some people may find the symbol used to depict the disability they have as offensive – how many of those who have depression, for example, will feel represented by the symbol above? Others may feel left out if their disability is not included. The use of traditional symbols for men and women – which are arguably fast becoming out of date (if they're not already) – also feels like it could do with a rethink. But as the team behind these logos say, these symbols are: "in no way a finished set – far from it." And this opening up of conversation and inviting others to become part of a change in the way that we represent disability – and potentially therefore think or talk about – is definitely a step forward. "We urge our peers in the design community to get involved, add to them and help evolve the language we use to depict disability," says Howarth. So go ahead, get involved. You can start by downloading the font at the Visibility93 website and following the conversation on Instagram. Read more: Help design the new Firefox logo Accessibility in web design Amazing art from mental health awareness week View the full article