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Having only graduated last summer, I’m still pretty new to the world of freelance illustration. My style and process, however, are things that I’ve been developing for quite some time now. I dabbled with paper art during my A-levels and Art Foundation, but university was where I truly fell in love with the material. Initially, I cut everything using a scalpel and produced a lot of layered, two-dimensional illustration. This process was extremely time-consuming and the end result always looked very handmade. As I progressed, I started working with a laser cutter – this gave me the advantages of speed and precision but it burned the edges of my paper. Now, I cut my papers using a plotter. The plotter also facilitates speed and precision but, instead of a laser, it cuts with a blade, which eliminates the unwanted burn. 01. Start planning The first stage of every project is planning; in this stage I make lots of rough sketches and notes. However, paper (like any material) has properties that sometimes pose constraints. These constrains don’t always become apparent until I begin making my creations; so I keep my initial designs loose, and leave space for the paper to make some of the decisions. 02. Gather inspiration It’s all in the planning, and when the idea comes, the visual research follows. Once I have a basic idea of what I want to create, the visual research begins. I usually start by looking on Behance, Instagram and Pinterest. That being said, I don’t like to get all of my inspiration from other illustrators and paper artists. Though I am inspired by and admire their work, ultimately I want to create something different, so I like to look for other sources of inspiration too, for example using architecture, fashion and still-life photography. Sign up to the Computer Arts newsletter I collect all of this research in a file until a style or theme begins to emerge. I then print off the relevant images and put them up on the wall in front of my table, which is where they stay until all of the models for that project are complete. 03. Choose a colour theme In this stage, I also put together a colour palette. I love the colours used in Toilet Paper Magazine and in the work of Jessica Walsh or Aleksandra Kingo. Their use of bold tones and unexpected combinations is very striking and as a result, their work often features heavily on the inspiration walls for many of my projects. Specialist paper can be ordered at a sheet at a time 04. Buy your paper Once I’ve decided upon a colour palette I then buy the papers. For personal projects, 210gsm multipack card usually works fine, but it does limit my colour options. When I need something more specific, I order it from Arjowiggins, which has a great selection, and I can order as little as one sheet at a time. This is useful for small scale projects or one-off models. 05. Make a model With my colour palettes chosen, illustrations planned and paper selected, I take to Illustrator CC. The artwork is made up of paths split between two layers – one layer has the paths I want to cut out, and the second has the paths to score/fold. Since most of my work is three-dimensional, I begin by designing nets. In my mind, I visualise how the net will fit together and then artwork that vision using the paths and layers described. Having chosen the colour palette, the model is fired up in Illustrator with cut out paths planned out Once I have the basic design, I cut out and test it, but the first draft is rarely ever perfect. So then, I use a process of trial and error until the net is exactly how I want it to be. For this part of the process, I use cheap card and work on a very small scale to limit waste. Once I’m happy with the net, I can then scale it up or down. This stage can be relatively quick and easy or very long and challenging. It depends on the project, the scale and the level of complexity. 06. Work out the details Now the detailing. I take the faces of the net and work out which details will go onto them. Then I cut the details out and stick them to the unassembled net using all-purpose glue. Finally, I stick the pieces of the net together to complete the model. Mel Edwards finds the gluing part of the process trickier than the cutting – far too runny and prone to staining! People assume that cutting is the trickiest part of the paper process, but for me gluing requires the real patience. The glue is extremely runny when it first comes out of the tube so I have to remain focused to ensure it doesn’t get on to any exposed sections of the model. Once it’s dry, the glue leaves an unwanted shiny stain on the paper so if it does run, I have to discard and re-cut all of the affected pieces. This is both time-consuming and wasteful, which explains why precision is so crucial at this stage. 07. Turn physical to digital A lot of the time, the digital elements of my process can take just as long as the physical ones, and if I’m working on an animation, then sometimes they take even longer. Once the model is dry and stain-free, it’s photographed and worked on in Photoshop Photographing the models is the first step towards turning my models into digital artwork. Though I am keen to work with more photographers in the future, at the moment, I shoot most of the models myself. To do this, I use soft box lighting, and a camera set up on a tripod. Then, to complete the process, I edit the images in Photoshop. This article originally appeared in issue 280 of Computer Arts, the world's leading design magazine. Buy issue 280 or subscribe here. Read more: 10 beautiful paper portfolios to inspire you Create a folding paper animation 7 steps to creating striking paper art View the full article

Muse are well-known for making a scene, just ask anyone who's ever been to see one of their dynamic live shows. And in similar grandstanding fashion, the rock band caught the attention of the internet yesterday as it announced the launch date and cover art for its upcoming album, Simulation Theory. If you put 'Muse' into the Twitter search bar, you'll get bombarded with memes, wild praise from fans, and snide remarks from people who can't believe what they're looking at. So what's the fuss? Well, it can't have escaped your attention that design seems to be going through something of an 80s revival at the moment, and depending on your point of view, the cover for Simulation Theory is either a groovy continuation of this trend or an aesthetic abomination that would make even Kavinsky cry. Have we entered the era of bad graphic design? With its neon airbrushed visuals, vehicles that look like they've come straight out of Tron (ask your dad), and a retro font that a lot of people would more readily associate with 80s nostalgia trailblazer GTA Vice City, the Simulation Theory artwork is perhaps a bit too on the nose. It doesn't help that the word 'retro' is literally spelt out in the first video from the album, below. Is all the online cynicism going a bit too far though? After all, the designer of the album cover, Kyle Lambert, has previously created posters for hit Netflix show Stranger Things, a series that has been praised for getting the '80s look just right. We can't deny that Lambert has done a good job. If Muse hired him to create the pop cultural culmination of the decade with their faces on it, they definitely got what they asked for. But while the look and feel of the '80s was baked into the story of Stranger Things, here it feels as if Muse is belatedly jumping aboard the throwback bandwagon. Perhaps it's the timing that has irked some fans. This announcement follows in the wake of Ready Player One – a film which relies on similar imagery and has a poster that bears a striking resemblance both in terms of aesthetics and composition – so perhaps we're all just going through design fad fatigue. Or maybe it comes down to personal preference (and when you were born). Muse have always been a bit of a statement band, with previous album covers being as subtle as a sledgehammer (Drones, we're looking at you). Fans of the band are going to continue lapping up what they puts out, while others are going to laugh this cover off with the 'How do you do, fellow kids' meme. Then there are those stuck in the middle, oscillating between adoration and weary resignation. Related articles: How to create a retro logo with Affinity Designer Ready Player One gets suitably retro movie poster Is your design retro… or just dated? View the full article

Colour tools are many and varied, but we've never seen anything like this before. Picular is a new online tool that gets its data from Google Images, and enables you to generate a colour palette for any subject you can imagine. The latest addition in the ever-growing range of tools for graphic designers, Picular essentially harnesses the online hive mind to suggest colour schemes for your design projects. Users can type any topic into the search bar, and it will scrape the top image search results and provide a selection of shades based on the colours that appear there. The search suggestions provided on the site aren't that imaginative (no prizes for guessing what colours pop up for 'water' or 'forest'), but that doesn't mean you can't be. Picular will create palettes based on anything you can search for, from countries to abstract concepts. While you're of course going to need to use your own skills to find the right combinations, this tool provides a helpful jumping-off point for anyone trying to craft branding for a product – whether you want to embrace the colours your market associates with that particular product, or actively go against the grain. The tool was created by Future Memories, a digital studio in Sweden that specialises in strategic design and technology. Try Picular out here, or take a look at our roundup of other great colour tools for more inspiration. Read more: 21 outstanding uses of colour in branding Adobe shares Pantone's summer trending colours Famous internet logos get a retro makeover View the full article

Want to bring your images to life in a fun way? Get a lifetime licence for Next FlipBook Maker Pro for Windows. With this tool, you can use customisable templates that help you create flipbooks in no time at all. Show ideas to clients or share memories with friends by giving them the experience of flipping through a book – except that it's on an electronic device. You can create an even more visually engaging experience by embedding YouTube videos, music, charts, and more, and also incorporate any PDFs or images into your flipbook, bringing those pictures to life. Try Next FlipBook Maker Pro for Windows for only $19. Related articles: The best cameras for creatives in 2018 Photography cheat sheet helps you take better photos 5 reasons to use photography in your designs View the full article

Adobe is renowned for developing world-class software. But what's might not be quite so well known is some of the resources the company has created in order to help its users make the most out of its powerful creative tools. Introducing Creative Coffee Breaks , a series of mini-tutorials each covering a new skill or technique in less than the time it takes to make a cuppa. The Creative Coffee Breaks YouTube playlist features tutorials in many of Adobe's flagship Creative Cloud programmes, including InDesign, Lightroom, Illustrator, Adobe Stock, After Effects, Photoshop, Premiere Pro and, most recently, Adobe XD. Save 40% on Adobe Creative Cloud - offer ends Friday 31 August! The most recent tutorials focus on the latter, XD, Adobe's all-in-one UX/UI solution for designing websites, mobile apps, and much more. Built with a highly intuitive toolset, it's not hard to see why Adobe XD is quickly becoming the go-to tool for designers. Focussing in on two of Adobe XD's highlights is UX designer Sarah Parmenter, who first explores its Fixed Elements feature. A welcome addition to the software as part of its June 2018 update, Fixed Elements offers users a more realistic interaction experience, which Parmenter demonstrates perfectly in under two minutes: The second Adobe XD tool under the microscope is Repeat Grids. Here Sarah Parmenter reveals how Repeat Grids in Adobe XD can help streamline your workflow and how Adobe Stock imagery can be on hand to help bring your app to life. Get started for free Now you've seen how easy it is to master Adobe XD's tools, why not get started on your own mobile designs? XD is included in Creative Cloud, but the software is also available as a standalone app, with a free Starter plan option so you can begin creating immediately. As your designs evolve, you can upgrade to the full app at any time, giving you access to unlimited prototypes and design specs, 100GB cloud storage and access to Adobe's full library of fonts. You may use your Adobe tools everyday, and think you've got to grips with the toolsets, but trust us when we say there's always something to learn. And you never know, you might just find a small-but-hidden gem that transforms your creative process. So, what are you waiting for? Fire up your favourite apps and try out some of these Adobe Creative Coffee Breaks today! View the full article

Armed with the information, adversaries can explore and attack the local WiFi network, or identify and physically track any Android device. View the full article

With less than three weeks to the opening of Generate London 2018, preparations for the season’s premier web design conference are really gathering pace. Not only did the Generate flash sale exceed our expectations earlier in the month, but we’ve also been hard at work behind the scenes finalising our roster of top web design and dev speakers for you. But don’t just take our word for it: here’s just a tiny taste to whet your appetites. Daniel Olson As chief operating officer of DigitalCube, Daniel Olson’s responsibilities include product development and growth: he focuses on creating technical solutions centred around WordPress, design thinking and the point those two things intersect. And this experience undoubtedly inspired his talk at Generate: The Future is SaaS. While the upper limit of what's possible in a digital service-based industry may not exist, the reality of designing a product for scale may have real-world implications for its users and the communities around them. This is why his talk will explore its effect on relationships, quality of life, freedom of choice and what the future of the as-a-service model has in store. Laura Yarrow Laura Yarrow is a UX consultant at Experience UX. She’s spent 12 years in the digital industry, first as a web developer and subsequently as a user experience designer, and her passions are ethnographic and field research, behavioural psychology and understanding people. As a result she is fascinated by what happens when we tell stories. In her talk, The Art and Science of Storytelling, Yarrow will be speaking about how understanding the neuroscience and psychology of storytelling can be used to create engaging, learnable and memorable experiences for your products and services. Trine Falbe Trine Falbe is a consultant, researcher, speaker and lecturer who empowers people using design. She is the author of the book White Hat UX and is deeply committed to putting humans at the centre of work and building honest, transparent experiences. And there is certainly a lot of discussion about ethical design these days. About evil, Silicon Valley surveillance capitalists like Google and Facebook who track, profile and exploit our data. But the discussion can seem distanced to the developer or designer who is simply trying to make a living. How are we supposed to take up the fight against unethical design? By asking the right questions and by working within a White Hat framework, both of which you’ll get to know in Falbe's talk: Practical, Ethical Design. Tony Harmer Chief enchantment officer at Wizardry Ltd, Tony Harmer (aka The Design Ninja) is an illustrator, designer and learning-content author who has helped some of the world’s largest brands identify workflow cost savings running into the tens of millions and frustration savings that are priceless. As an Adobe Certified Expert and Instructor in many applications, Harmer has specialised in interoperability with Creative Cloud and is very enthusiastic about the accelerating of desktop production on the desktop through the integration of integration of mobile tools into design workflows. Harmer’s talk, Generate Web Assets at Lightspeed, will look at the production of graphic assets in today's "more and faster, for less" world and shows a stack of workflow efficiencies that will save time and money. With Generate only a few short weeks away, there isn’t a whole lot of time left to secure your place. See the full list of speakers here and make sure you pick up your ticket today! Related articles: Further web design royalty confirmed for Generate 10 fantastic web design tools for July 20 awesome books for web designers and developers View the full article

Choosing the best wireless speakers can be a tricky undertaking. Not only because the design needs to be in-keeping with your home office or studio, but because we all have slightly different requirements when it comes to listening to our favourite tunes. And with hundreds of products vying for your attention, finding the best wireless speakers, which tick all your boxes, can take hours of research. But don't panic, because here, we've done a lot of the hard work for you and put all the very best wireless speakers together in this handy guide. Which are the best wireless speakers right now? If you’re looking for a set of wireless speakers that give you all the benefits of fully wireless tech, with no need for a mains connection (albeit using an add-on battery pack), then you need look no further than the Ruark Audio MR1 MK2 (pictured above). Where most Bluetooth speakers are housed in a single unit, here you get the option of a true, stereo set-up, via two separate speakers. And if you’re looking for something higher end for your studio, we’ve opted for the Sonos One, which can be extended out to multiple rooms via wi-fi (and can support a staggering 32 connected–fully synced–speakers). How to choose the best wireless speakers? Choosing the best wireless speakers can include a number of factors. If you’re looking for something you can take to the beach, then you’ll want an extended battery life, Bluetooth-support, and a housing that can deal with everything the elements can throw at it. And if you’re looking for the best wireless speakers for your studio, where a required mains connection isn’t a problem, you can invest in a multi-room set-up – but all this comes at a price. The best wireless headphones in 2018 Wireless speakers come in many forms, and in this post we span the full range, from budget Bluetooth speakers, to higher-end systems for your studio. Whatever your needs, we’ve got them covered. The best wireless speakers overall The Ruark Audio MR1 MK2 speakers are as close as you’ll get to hi-fi audio in an affordable Bluetooth package (boasting tech usually reserved for higher-end hi-fi kit, such as tuned crossovers and A/B amplification). All this tech means that these speakers require a mains supply to operate, but Ruark has left no stone unturned, and even provides a portable, power supply – in the shape of the Backpack II – which can be attached to the back of the primary speaker, making it fully wireless, and offering up to 12 hours of playback on a single charge (Backpack II sold separately). Available in walnut or soft grey, there’s a design option to suit those that prefer a more traditional look, or something more Apple-friendly. And since the first version Ruark has also upgraded the grey fabric covering the speakers, which improves both its looks and audio performance. Whereas most Bluetooth speakers come with a limited set of inputs, here you also get the benefit of an optical input that can support hi-res audio up to 24-bit/192kHz. This means that you can run audio from your TV or amp directly into these speakers, providing even more versatility. The best wireless speakers if money is no object If you know anything about audio, then you know that Bowers & Wilkins has more than 50 years of experience in making speakers that not only perform well, but also look the part (with Sir Kenneth Henry Grange, co-founder at Pentagram, setting the standard for the company’s product design). Given the company’s design heritage, it’s no surprise that the latest iteration of its Zeppelin speaker stands out from the crowd; you’ll either love it, or think it looks like a giant suppository. Idiosyncratic design apart, the sound of the Zeppelin is amazing. Basically, B&W has thrown every acronym into the mix. You get up-sampling via a 192kHz/24bit DAC (digital-to-analogue) converter, a DSP (digital signal processor) that ensures low and high volumes perform equally well, and B&W’s proprietary FST (fixed suspension transducer) tech, which improves the performance of its midrange drivers. In short, a lot of work has gone into making the Zeppelin sound incredible. Add to this support for Bluetooth, AirPlay and Spotify Connect, and you have a wireless speaker that’s tough to beat, but it doesn’t come cheap. The best budget wireless speakers The Jam Heavy Metal HX-P920 nails its colours to the mast with its name, and packs a serious punch into 600 grams of pure grunt. For a speaker now priced at under $70/£70, you won’t find a better driver combo, with the Heavy Metal sporting two small active drivers and a pair of passive radiators–the radiators responding to air movement to boost that bass. But make no mistake, this Bluetooth speaker doesn’t simply cater to those about to rock, and does a fantastic job with most genres, with superb high-end frequency performance, too. The Heavy Metal’s simple metallic housing supports two speaker grilles, on the front and rear of the device, and is operated via six metallic buttons on the top of the unit. And pairing couldn’t be easier, despite no support for NFC, with the Heavy Metal establishing a connection to audio sources in seconds (signified by a reassuring series of bongs). We’ve put this speaker through the wringer over the last year, and a few scuffs aside, it’s retained its looks and performance, and still puts speakers available for a similar price to shame. The best wireless speakers for your home/studio The first thing to point out here is that the Sonos One isn’t to be confused with the Sonos Play:1, despite them looking almost identical. Because with the One, you get the long-awaited inclusion of built-in Alexa support. Design-wise, Sonos has always produced speakers that exude under-stated style, and will fit unobtrusively into most homes and studios. And if you should want to control the device physically, touch controls represent pause, play, and volume. But when you’ve got voice control, who needs buttons? To connect services such as Tidal or Spotify you’ll need to use the Sonos controller app, but almost everything else can be controlled by your voice. And thanks to the Sonos using Wi-Fi rather than Bluetooth to connect, you can sync up to 32 speakers, over a much longer range. Thanks to Sonos syncing tech, you can either have a single sound source playing seamlessly over multiple speakers, or create multiple smaller groups. This makes the Sonos One perfect for a studio environment, where you might want the same music playing from all your speakers, or have smaller groups for different floors/spaces/rooms etc. The best wireless speakers for TV Samsung is making some serious leaps in audio development, not least in its soundbar technology. And whilst you may not use its award-winning Samsung HW-MS650 Soundbar in wireless mode with your TV (because we suspect you’ll want it fairly close to your television), you can still use it as a wireless source for other audio inputs. Thee MS650 can stream from both Bluetooth devices and via Samsung’s multi-room app, which supports music services such as Spotify, Tidal and Amazon Music. And if you want to go a step further, you can include Samsung’s 9000S speakers to go for full-on surround sound. The tech that Samsung has packed into its soundbar is astonishing, with left, right, and centre channels comprising six woofers and three tweeters, all powered by 20W amps. For most people, this will handle all your TV and hi-fi needs in one package, and all for a price that won’t break the bank. The best wireless speakers for iPhone Weighing in at 780 gramms, you’re not going to be slipping the JBL Charge 3 into your pocket, but if you can handle the heft, there’s a lot to love about this Bluetooth behemoth. First up, it’s waterproof. And we’re not talking splash-me-with-a-wet-lettuce waterproof either; the Charge 3 has an IPX7 rating, which means you can dunk it in a swimming pool for up to 30 minutes. With the added weight of the Charge 3 comes 20 hours of playback, and the ability to charge other USB devices via its 6,000mAh battery, such as your iPhone, which will be a killer feature for anyone away from a mains connection for any length of time. And if you’re looking for a speaker for the beach or the pool that provides decent audio (for everything but the highest frequencies), and don’t mind the extra weight, then the JBL Charge 3 won’t let you down. Read more: The best wireless headphones for 2018 20 tools that make freelancing easier The best iPad stylus View the full article

It's an exciting day for Affinity fans and designers looking for software to streamline their workflow as the free beta of Affinity Publisher has just been launched. Following in the footsteps of the Affinity Designer launch a couple of months ago, Affinity Publisher is now available for Mac and Windows users to download and test for free – an iPad version will follow later. Boasting full integration with the popular Affinity Designer and Affinity Photo, Affinity Publisher is a professional desktop publishing app that will allow users who own all three tools to edit vector designs and images in one place. The arrival of Affinity Publisher has been a long time coming. Some users have been drumming their fingers in anticipation of the launch of Affinity Publisher since 2016, so it will come as some relief to learn that the first retail version will be released later this year. And with this bundle of three apps from Affinity, some may find themselves turning away from Adobe's Creative Cloud. Create tables to your heart's content "From the earliest days of visualising the Affinity range, we planned an unrivalled trio of sleek, super-modern apps created to work with the latest technology – ultra-fast, with stunning power and completely stripped of bloat," says Serif Managing Director Ashley Hewson. "The final step towards realising that initial ambition will come with the launch of Affinity Publisher. It’s an all-new app which we believe will revolutionise desktop publishing in the same way Affinity Photo and Affinity Designer have shaken up professional photo editing and vector graphic design." The headline capabilities of the creative desktop publishing software include advanced typography options, linked text frames, master pages, and facing page spreads. On top of this, users will also be able to work with dynamic photo frames, tables, baseline grids and linked resources, all backed up with end-to-end CMYK. Has Adobe just got served? Upon the launch, Hewson was keen to point out one thing: "It’s a beta, so there will be bugs and areas of the app which are not yet fully polished, so we don't recommend you use it for any important production work at this time. "We are relying on beta users to let us know what works and what doesn't," he adds. If there are any features that need adding, let us know. Even if we don’t get them in before we release version 1, you can expect plenty of free updates to come, just like with our other apps." The whole software is CMYK enabled Among these updates are buttons that allow users to toggle between Photo and Designer within Affinity Publisher. Although these buttons can be seen, it won't be until later in the beta period that they will be activated. News of the Affinity Publishing beta launch is sure to be welcomed outside of the software's existing users. For creatives frustrated with Adobe, InDesign has been one reason they've stuck with the platform for so long. But with the promise of Publisher on the horizon, this could be the reason they've been waiting for to jump ship and download Affinity. Related articles: Affinity Designer for iPad review Watch Affinity Designer for iPad in action How to draw with Affinity Photo for iPad View the full article

Increasingly, web designers are exploring the power sound as a web design tool (learn more about how sound design is transforming UX here). Between HTML audio and the Web Audio API, it’s easy to start adding sound to your projects. The <audio> element allows you to include plugin-free audio on your site, but it is still limited. For maximum sound control, the Web Audio API allows you to generate sounds, play existing ones, create effects and much more. In this article we’ll take a closer look at how each of these work, and explain how to use them to add sound to your projects. HTML audio The HTML <audio> tag allows you to embed music on websites and apps. Similar to the <video> tag, you can specify a source file, controls and several other options. This allows you to easily add audio to your page with minimal code. You can then target the element via JavaScript to give further control. It supports MP3, WAV, OGG and other formats, with MP3 being universally supported across modern browsers and devices. Let’s take a look at a simple example of using the <audio> tag. Some handy attributes specific to this element include: Autoplay – To allow the audio to play once it is ready Controls – Controls for the audio file will be included on the page Loop – If this one is included, the audio will loop and play again once it has finished Preload – Preload the audio when possible so it’s ready for playing However, it also has some limitations. There’s a low limit to the number of sounds that can be played simultaneously, no precise timing control, it’s not possible to apply real-time effects, and there’s no way to analyse sounds. This is where the Web Audio API can come into play. The Web Audio API The Web Audio API is a powerful system for controlling audio on the web. It can be used to enable audio sources, adds effects, creates audio visualisations and more. This API manages operations inside an Audio Context. Audio operations are performed with audio nodes, which are linked together to form an Audio Routing Graph. Multiple sources are supported within a single Audio Context. This modular design is highly flexible, allowing the creation of complex audio designs. Audio nodes are linked into chains and simple webs by their inputs and outputs. They typically start with one or more sources. Node outputs can be linked to the inputs of others creating chains or webs of audio streams. A common effect is to multiply the audio by a value to make it louder or quieter using the GainNode. Once the sound has been effected and is ready for output, it can be linked to the input of a AudioContext.destination, which sends the sound to the speakers. Note that this last connection is only required if you need the audio to be heard. A typical flow for Web Audio could look something like this: Create audio context Create sources inside the context (e.g. <audio>, oscillator, streams) Create effects nodes (e.g. reverb, flanger, panner, compression) Choose a destination for the audio (e.g. speakers) Connect the sources to the effects, and the effects to the destination How to use the Web Audio API Let's take a look at how you could use the Web Audio API in a project. In this example you'll load and play a sound file using the API. 01. Initialise the Audio Context To start we need to set up our Audio Context, an audio canvas for our sounds. This method ensures maximum cross-browser support and fallback in case the API is not supported. A single audio context supports multiple sound inputs and complex audio graphs, so you only need one for each audio application we create. 02. Connect the Audio Graph Any audio node’s output can be connected to any other audio node’s input by using the connect() function. In this example you will connect a source node’s output into a gain node, and connect the gain node’s output into the context’s destination: This audio graph is now dynamic, meaning you can change it whenever you need. You can disconnect audio nodes from the graph by calling node.disconnect(outputNumber). The power of this modular approach allows you to control gain (volume) for all sounds, or ones you wish. You can route sounds through effects or not at all, or in any combination you might need. 03. Loading sounds To load an audio file into the Web Audio API, we can use an XMLHttpRequest and process the results with context.decodeAudioData. This works asynchronously and doesn’t block the main interface thread. Here is what the code would look like: 04. Playing sounds Audio buffers are only one potential source of audio. You can use direct input from a microphone or line-in device or an <audio> tag among others. Once you’ve loaded your buffer, you need to create an AudioBufferSourceNode for it, connect the source node into your audio graph, and then call start(0) on the source node. To stop a sound, call stop(0) on the source node. The code looks like this: 05. Putting it all together As you can see from the previous code, there’s a bit of setup to get sounds playing in the Web Audio API. But, with this modular approach you gain maximum control over audio. Mixing sounds, reading their data via the Analyzer Node and so much more. Here is what a working example to load and play a sound looks like all together. Consider abstracting these steps for managing multiple sounds in larger projects as well. The Web Audio API AnalyserNode Web Audio API’s AnalyserNode enables you to extract time, frequency, waveform and other data from your audio. By using features like getByteFrequencyData and setting the min and max decimal ranges, you can zero in on specific aspects of audio data. Beyond music beds, effects and great music, we use sound to also drive visuals. Moving beyond complementing or enhancing what the user sees, the audio data can actually drive the animations. Simple effects that use the overall level (volume) of a music track can make your background pulse in time with a beat. Swells in the musical score can be used to change the opacity of an image or shift its colour. By tapping into the audio data through the Web Audio API we delve into frequency and waveform data as well. You can visualise the sound in an infinite number of variations. Find more on Web Audio API Want to find out more? These are the resources you should check out. MDN Web Docs – An in-depth look into the API with rich documentation and examples. Every aspect of the API is well covered. W3C – A repository containing the latest editor’s drafts of the W3C Web Audio API. This is the source where the standards are presented. Introduction to Web Audio API – A good introduction to using the API to create sounds by Greg Hovanesyan. Create a music-specific application using the oscillator audio source. Web Audio Weekly – A collection of news, stories and demos all about the Web Audio API. Covers a wide range of topics and examples to keep you learning. This article was originally published in creative issue 275 of Web Designer magazine. Buy issue 275 or subscribe. Read more: Agile development: why and how to use it in your web and app workflow A coder's guide to APIs 13 names every web designer should know View the full article

The Qualcomm Life Capsule Datacaptor Terminal Server and the Becton Dickinson Alaris TIVA Syringe Pump allow remote access without authentication. View the full article

Prototyping tool Adobe XD has already been making serious waves in the UI design space. And it looks set to get even better, as Adobe has announced that XD plugins are on their way. These will enable users to integrate XD with top collaboration or project management tools, as well as offering the community the opportunity to build their own XD plugins through an open platform. Adobe XD is a free tool that enables designers to design app and website interfaces quickly and easily, without the need to dabble in code. And while Experience Design is undeniably great for designing prototypes, it can't cover all the features that UX designers need to get a project to completion. These XD plugins promise to make the process of swapping between different apps and tools much smoother. Limited time offer: Save 40% on Adobe Creative Cloud Adobe has partnered with key companies and tools to build XD plugins that will add useful functionality and unlock new workflows. The list of companies involved looks promising, too: Microsoft, Trello, UserTesting, Dribbble, Anima and Astute Graphics and more are already working on their own third-party plugins, as well as Adobe's own Behance and Stock. Adobe has also announced that it will enable its community of users to build on top of the app via an open developer platform. That means means that if you can't find an XD plugin that adds the functionality you're after, you'll be able to build one yourself. "We are committed to developing a rich ecosystem around Adobe XD to fit the modern designer's needs," comments Creative Cloud executive VP Scott Belsky. "Delivering seamless, engaging user experiences is imperative for brands, companies and all digital products, and Adobe is focused on serving designers with powerful collaboration capabilities." This much-anticipated development continues Adobe's commitment to providing a tool that fits seamlessly into a modern designer's workflow, and follows the company's announcement earlier in the year that it had integrated XD with Photoshop CC and Sketch. That's all we know for now, although we'll be updating this post with more details as they're released. You can take a look at the full press release on the Adobe blog. Read more: 12 top prototyping tools How to prototype a mobile app with Adobe XD How to choose the right prototyping tool View the full article

If you're a nature lover who's also pretty savvy with a camera, you probably want to learn how to take stunning outdoor photos. The Complete Outdoor Photography Bundle will teach you how to take professional-looking nature photos, for the low price of just $49. Learn how to capture photos of wildlife in their natural habitat, without disturbing them or the environment. You'll also discover how to use natural light to your advantage when you're shooting in the wilderness, as well as how to do some basic post-processing, which will help your already gorgeous photos look magazine-ready. The Complete Outdoor Photography Bundle is yours for only $49 – that's 88 per cent off the regular price. Related articles: The 13 best photography websites Photography cheat sheet helps you take better photos 5 reasons to use photography in your designs View the full article

Graphic design, like any profession, is littered with jargon and phrases you might not be familiar with. Here are some of the key terms you should know, with a brief explanation – in words you can understand – of what they mean, plus info on where to go to learn more. A bit like a design style guide, we've separated our list into different section, with a page for the themes of images, typography, graphic design and printing. Use the drop-down menu above to navigate to the theme you're interested in. We'll start with terms related to images. Image types Raster images Raster images (sometimes referred to as bitmap images) are made up of thousands of pixels that determine colour and form. Photos are raster images. Photoshop CC is the most common raster editor, enabling you to manipulate the colour and other properties of the pixels. Because raster images are made up of a finite amount of pixels, resizing can be tricky. If you give a raster image larger dimensions in Photoshop, the software has to make up data in order to add the size. This results in a loss of quality. Vector images Vector-based images (such as those created in Illustrator CC) are made up of points, each of which has a defined X and Y coordinate. These points join paths to form shapes, and inside these shapes you can add colour fills. Because everything you generate is based around this, vectors can be blown up to any size without any loss of quality. Vector-based images (like this one) are made of points In recent times, Illustrator has progressed so much that vector graphics have become incredibly complex. You can now add gradients, complex shapes and more to create highly detailed, scalable vector images. Because vectors can be resized, they are often used for logos and other graphics that need to be used across many different outputs (from leaflet to billboard size, for instance). For more details see How to create vector art: top tutorials. Colour modes When working in Photoshop or Illustrator, you have the option to set your document's colour mode to CMYK or RGB. There are some other colour modes, but CMYK and RGB are the two you really need to know about. CMYK CMYK is the standard colour mode for sending documents – whether it's a magazine, newspaper, flyer, brochure, annual report and so on – to the printer. It stands for cyan, magenta, yellow and key. CMYK stands for cyan, magenta, yellow and key 'Key' in this instance means black. It's referred to as key because in four-colour printing, cyan, magenta and yellow printing plates are carefully keyed, or aligned, with the key of the black key plate. When you send a job to the press, cyan, magenta, yellow and black plates are made (on a traditional press, anyhow) and then aligned to print on paper. You can add Pantone, or fifth colours, as separate plates. RGB RGB stands for red, green, blue, and is used for screen output. Because CMYK has a more limited colour gamut than RGB (which is essentially what the eye sees and how screens output), you can experience a loss of colour when converting from RGB to CMYK in these applications. For more on colour systems, read this article. Image resolution Resolution is another key term that is often confused. There are two main acronyms used when dealing with resolution: DPI and PPI. The more dots per inch, the better quality the printed image will be DPI DPI is only of concern when you're creating work for printed output. It stands for 'dots per inch' and refers to the number of dots per inch on a printed page. Generally, the more dots per inch, the better quality the image. 300DPI is the standard for printing images. PPI PPI stands for 'pixels per inch' and, as you'd expect, refers to the number of pixels per inch in your image. If you make an image larger in Photoshop, you will increase the number of pixels per inch (with Photoshop making up the data) and you will lose quality. There's an excellent explanation here. Bear in mind that resolution only applies to raster graphics, because vectors do not work in pixels. Next page: Typography terms you should know Can you name all these typographical elements? Put simply, typography is the art of arranging type. It's one of the fundamentals of graphic design and a topic every designer should read into in great detail. The difference between good type and great type is often what sets brilliant designers apart. A great place to start your typography education is our comprehensive article Typography rules and terms every designer must know. However, to get you started, we've rounded up some of the most often confused terms here. Kerning Kerning is the adjustment of the spacing between characters in a font to make a more aesthetically pleasing result. For instance, you might want to increase the space between a ‘t’ and an ‘i’ to stop the arm of the ‘t’ merging with the ‘i’, making your type illegible. You’ll also want to make sure your kerning is correct when using a capital such as ‘T’ or ‘A’ in a headline. In applications such as InDesign CC, kerning can either be applied via the context-sensitive Control Panel using numerical entries, or, more frequently, by using shortcut keys to kern by eye. Automatic kerning is almost never good enough for use in headlines, where your type is more noticeable due to its size, so should always be done manually. For body copy – or longer passages of text – you can use either Metrics or Optical tracking in InDesign. After all, you’re not going to want to kern each letter in reams of text, are you? Metrics pulls the kerning pairs that are included in most fonts, whereas Optical bases kerning on the shapes of the letters. Some fonts have comprehensive kerning pairs, some don’t. Optical is usually the best choice if you’re unsure. Tracking Tracking is uniformly increasing or decreasing (although more likely increasing) the spacing between letters in a line or block of text. For instance, you may want a headline to span across the width of a page with equal spacing between each letter. Again, you can track type either manually or using number inputs in the likes of InDesign. Whereas tracking is a horizontal spacing methods, leading is a vertical spacing method – essentially the space between two lines of type. But more accurately, leading is the spacing between the baseline of one line of type and the baseline of the next line of type. The amount of leading applied depends on your font and the type of document. A column of normal body text will require less leading than a few lines of elaborate script, for instance. It’s really about making sure your type is legible and the descenders don’t run into the lines below. Oh, and it’s pronounced ‘ledding’ because the term dates back to when typographers used to separate the lines by hand with strips of lead. Orphans and widows Two typography sins: a single word on the final line of the paragraph, and a widow If you’re working with long passages of text – and you don’t have the services of an excellent proofreader – you need to watch out for widows and orphans. Hell, even if you’re just working on small passages, you need to know this. In typesetting, widows are paragraph-ending lines that fall at the beginning of the following page or column. Orphans are paragraph lines that start at the bottom of a page or column. Both look ugly, and should be padded out with more copy (usually the best fix) or fixed by the designer. Also, look out for single words falling on the final line of a paragraph – they're unsightly. Next page: Graphic design terms you should know Grids Setting up a grid enables you to get your composition right The best way to describe a grid in graphic design is a series of intersecting vertical and horizontal lines used to organise and structure content. Whether you're working in InDesign, Photoshop or Illustrator, setting up a grid enables you to get your composition right and balance your type and imagery. Grids typically include a large header across the top of the design, with equally sized columns beneath, but there's no real limit on what can be created. Grid Systems in Graphic Design by Josef Muller-Brockmann is an essential read in this area. Logo design Logos are powerful graphic tools, but they're just one part of the branding process Logos are powerful things; a great logo works as an instant reminder of a company or product, and for designers they represent the challenge of distilling a brand's essence into a single graphic. The best logos can live for a long time, and a new logo design can be a jarring event for customers, as the familiar is replaced by something new. Designing a great logo is by no means easy; follow our definitive guide to logo design for some tips – or check out the 10 best logos ever to see what can happen when you get it right. Branding Taken by itself, Wolff Olins' 2012 Olympics logo attracted ridicule, but it was built to work within a much larger branding system What logo design isn't, is branding. While the logo is often the stand-out part of a brand, there's much more to branding than a logo. A good brand identity is carefully built out of a number of elements, and the logo will reflect these elements and work within the brand system. Creating or refreshing a brand can be a massive undertaking, involving a deep understanding of the brand's personality, how it's perceived, its history and function, and much more. Get a taste of what you’re in for with these 7 steps for creating a great brand identity. Next page: Printing terms you should know Whilst offset printing is the most common method, for smaller runs or jobs on different media you may encounter different types of printing methods. So let’s look at what they are, what they entail and how you’d usually supply your job. Offset printing This is the most common type of printing for bigger jobs – especially in publishing – where the inked image is transferred from a plate to a rubber blanket, and then onto the printing surface. You’ll usually supply your files to the printer as PDFs (making sure you check the Separations panel), before they make them into separate CMYK plates for printing (with Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black all being applied separately). Digital printing Simple this one – and what you’ll get if you submit your job to a high street printer or specialist shop. It's exactly the same as printing at home or in the office, but probably better quality (unless you have a top-of-the-line inkjet at your disposal). If you’re doing a lot of printing work for small-scale jobs it might be worth investing in a high-end inkjet – not just because you’ll save money, but because you can finely control the colour calibration from screen to output. See our post on the best printers in 2018 for your home office. Flexography If you’re printing on plastic for medium or large runs, it’s likely you’ll use flexo printing. Basically, flexo printing uses quick-drying ink on flexible plates wrapped around rotating cylinders. The substrate – the material you're printing on – is often supplied in large rolls, meaning the press can run with minimal interruptions. There are limitations to what you can print. Type smaller than 4 points is pretty much a no-go; reversed type also doesn’t work very well. And four-colour photos aren’t going to look anywhere near as sharp as when using digital or offset printing. The best thing to do? Visit your printer before and during the printing process. You’ll often supply an underpin plate as well as your CMYK PDF – anywhere your plastic is transparent won’t need an underpin; anywhere you want to print on will. Letterpress Letterpress printing uses blocks of moveable type This is a bit more old-school, and you’ll only use it if you want to try your hand at this craft. Essentially, it’s a relief printing method, where blocks of moveable type are locked into a bed, inked and then raised against a continuous roll or sheet of paper. The likes of Alan Kitching (check out his book, A Life in Letterpress), Anthony Burrill and Erik Spiekermann have been responsible for the resurgence of letterpress printing in recent times. Screenprinting If you’re looking to print on fabric – perhaps a T-shirt design or similar – screenprinting is the way to go. Simply put, you use a mesh to transfer ink onto your material (by forcing it through), blocking off the areas you don’t want to print using a stencil. Each colour has to be applied separately, so it can be quite a costly process. It's great for blocks of colour, but not so great for fine details. Soft and hard proofs What’s the difference between a soft proof and hard proof? Well, it’s simple. A soft proof is a proof on your monitor – usually a PDF file supplied by the printer before printing starts. A hard proof is an accurate on-paper proof of how your job will look when printed. It’s always – no exceptions – best to ask for a hard proof from your printer, even if it’s a repeat job or you’ve worked with the printer before. You can even get hard proofs of jobs with spot colours. But be prepared to pay or factor this into your client's fees. Related articles: 30 top vector art tutorials How to get more from your print projects How to prepare a file for print View the full article

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The biggest names on the internet have been given a retro rebrand and logo design makeover this week courtesy of Reddit user and designer FuturePunk. A self-proclaimed creative who specialises in "art & music and deals memes on the side", FuturePunk's keen eye for the aesthetics of yesteryear has seen the likes of Google, Instagram and YouTube get a strikingly '80s redesign. Is your design retro… or just dated? The redesigns feature elements that readers of a certain age are sure to recognise. There's the blocky and spray painted visuals that call to mind the MTV logo, plus plenty of vibrant yet faded colours. The whole project looks like it was recorded on a VHS tape, but that's all part of the charm. The logos were posted on Reddit's Outrun community – a forum that's dedicated to the synthwave music scene – and have unsurprisingly found a passionate audience of '80s fans. Take a trip into an alternative past by scrolling through the logos in the gallery below. For best results we recommend listening to some Kavinsky for the ultimate Outrun community experience. For more images, see parts one and two of the collection. Related articles: New Burberry logo is stripped of knighthood Famous logos redesigned as fonts New Evernote logo is more evolution than revolution View the full article

Affinity Designer for iPad – the latest offering from Serif – is a tool based on the award-winning desktop app of the same name. Fully optimised for iPad without compromising on power, it's capable of supporting huge multi-artboard canvases with thousands of layers and can zoom to over one million per cent. 13 iPad Pro apps that come alive with Apple Pencil The UI is nicely laid out and easy to navigate, with a lot of familiar iPad gestures such as pinching to zoom and tapping with two fingers to undo, making it relatively straightforward to get to grips with. For anything that isn’t as obvious, there’s a whole library of video tutorials, which are accessible right from the interface, and cover a range of topics for beginners and professionals alike. With support for both CMYK and RGB, plus a full Pantone library in the colour swatch panel to boot, Affinity Designer for iPad is an excellent all-rounder for creating both digital and printed artwork. Complete vector toolset Affinity Designer for iPad features a rich set of tools for creating vector graphics Affinity Designer for iPad has a decent set of core tools for creating vector graphics. You can create and edit shapes, draw curves, edit brushes, create symbols, add gradients and more. It’s one of the most feature rich iPad drawing apps I’ve used. The pen tool works really smoothly and is on-par with leading desktop vector apps such as Adobe Illustrator. The pressure editor allows precision control of line widths, and for those who prefer freehand vector drawing, the brush and pencil tools come with advanced stabilisation for satisfyingly smooth finishes. There are some nicely intuitive UI touches too, such as auto hiding the toolbars if you start to draw over a part of the canvas they are covering, which was particularly useful when working on a smaller iPad. There’s also a good range of shape customisation options and a handy symbol asset manager for creating reusable elements, which UI designers will find particularly useful. Vector and raster workflow in one app Affinity Designer for iPad allows you to switch between Raster and Vector modes with ease One of the standout features is the ability to switch between Raster and Vector modes with ease, which is a real timesaver for those who use both. You can set up each layer accordingly and tap the menu button at the top to switch toolbars. Affinity Designer’s Raster mode comes with hundreds of brushes, which can be customised and fine-tuned for everything from sketching up concepts to adding texture layers, making it an excellent all-in-one for working from concept to completion – without switching between apps. Optimised for touch Affinity Designer for iPad comes with a range of familiar multi-touch gestures to speed up workflow Affinity Designer for iPad comes with a range of familiar multi-touch gestures to speed up workflow. You can hold one or two fingers on the screen as a modifier for controls such as Shift and Alt. The developers have also ensured that the app takes full advantage of the Apple Pencil’s drawing capabilities in terms of precision, pressure sensitivity and tilt functionality. The only downside is that there is no way to customise the modifiers and touch gestures to suit your workflow, as you would when working on a desktop app with a Wacom tablet. Typography tools The app comes complete with a good range of typography options to fully customise your lettering Affinity Designer for iPad comes with a good range of typography options. You can import your own fonts, add text to paths and fine-tune the kerning and tracking. For more custom lettering work, you can convert fonts to outlines or add guidelines to create lettering from scratch. Selecting type was a little fiddly with the touch screen controls, which sometimes misses off the first and last letters, but this was only a minor annoyance and probably the only time I felt that a keyboard would make things easier. Advanced import and export capabilties Another highlight was the extensive range of export options on offer, which Serif claims are the most advanced you can have for an iPad app. The list includes everything from EPS files and Print Ready PDFs, to PNGs and JPGs, plus the capability to export individual layers and slices. I was also pleasantly surprised at the app's ability to import AI files. Even though I couldn’t export in AI format, I was still able to continue working on existing Adobe Illustrator files when using the app, then export the changes in EPS or SVG format. Export everything from EPS files and Print Ready PDFs, to PNGs and JPGs The developers behind Affinity Designer for iPad have clearly put a lot of thought into how a desktop app needs to adapt to tablet workflows. They’ve worked closely with artists, illustrators and designers to deliver this app and that really shows. The fact that it’s a mere tablet app being compared to leading desktop apps such as Adobe Illustrator CC is indicative of its quality. If you're looking for a professional standalone iPad drawing app, then Affinity Designer would be an invaluable addition to your toolkit. It includes all the core tools for creating on the go, with a very reasonable price tag of only $19.99/£19.99 (and no ongoing subscription charge) making it excellent value for money for professionals, hobbyists and students alike. Buy Affinity Designer for iPad now for $19.99/£19.99 Read more: The best drawing tablets for 2018 View the full article

In this tutorial we will take a look at ways of changing the CSS styles of elements, as well as seemingly styling their parents, depending on the number of elements. We will also see how to change the layout of elements based on their quantity, in order to create a more adaptive website layout that makes better use of space. CSS tricks to revolutionise your web layouts Lastly we will cover the use of CSS counters to display an element's index within a set inside it, as well as displaying the total count inside the parent. All of this will be achieved with pure CSS only, without the need for JavaScript or frameworks, leading to simple and more efficient code. Single element selectors CSS3 only has a single pair of selectors that can determine the quantity of elements, namely the :only-child and :only-of-type selectors. Having said this, they are really only able to determine whether an element is on its own or has siblings. The :only-child selector matches elements that are the only child of their parent, while :only-of-type matches elements that are the only ones of their type. Unfortunately, that's as far as single selectors go but there are a few other selectors that can target elements based on their order in a set of similar elements. These are :nth-child, :nth-of-type, nth-last-child and nth-last-of-type, which are typically used to target elements based on their order in a set of similar elements. The :nth-last-child and nth-last-of-type selectors are used to determine the order of elements counting backwards from the last element to the first. Combining these with other selectors enables us to build more complex chains that target specific elements based on their quantity. Quantity-specific selector chains Selector :first-of-type:nth-last-of-type(3) and the general sibling combinator ~ can be combined to target the first of three and all its siblings, hence all in a set of three Of the four aforementioned selectors, the main one we will be using in this tutorial is nth-last-of-type. The difference between this and the nth-last-child selector is that the latter includes all the elements' siblings in the set, while the former only includes elements of the same HTML type and is therefore more selective. For the remainder of this tutorial we will use the -of-type selectors, however the -child variants are equally valid. The nth-last-of-type can be used along with the more popular first-of-type selectors to create a chain that targets the first element in a set of a desired quantity. For example, we can use :first-of-type:nth-last-of-type(3) to target elements that are both the first and the third from the end of their type or, in other words, the first of a set of three. We can then extend this with the general sibling combinator ~ to select all siblings that follow the first of a set of three. Combining these two selector chains, we can create a complex selector that targets elements that are the first of three and all elements of the same type that follow it, thereby selecting all elements in a set of three. This selector chain not only works for a specific number of elements but can even be modified to target a range of quantities. Selectors nth-last-of-type(n+2) and :nth-last-of-type(-n+2) can be used to target elements in sets of more than and less than two respectively If we want to target elements in a set with a quantity more than or less than a particular value m, we can use the chain with the (n+m) and (-n+m) techniques respectively. For instance, to target all elements in a set of two or more elements we can use: Similarly, we can target all elements in a set of two or less elements using: As you can see this is a powerful selector chain that enables us to achieve very interesting and useful things without the need for JavaScript or other frameworks. It is especially useful when it comes to creating adaptive layouts that change based on the number of elements. Dynamic, quantity-specific layouts For an even number of elements grid layouts look great, but not so much for odd numbers Let's say we want to display a group of boxes that show the results of a search or an API call in a two-column, grid layout. The problem lies in the fact that the results come from an external source and we have no way of knowing the number of results that will be returned, therefore we don't know how many boxes will be created. While the grid looks great for an even number of boxes, when applied to an odd number the last box sits on a row alone and looks… well, kind of odd. This is especially problematic when using flexbox items with flex-grow applied to them as it causes the last element to grow into the empty space on the row, thereby taking up the full width. One way of preventing this could be to make the first of an odd number of boxes take up a full row by applying a width of 100% to first boxes that are also an odd number of boxes from the end, using :first-child:nth-last-of-type(odd). This provides a better layout as it gives the first and therefore most relevant or recent result more significance than the last one. We can even add a special case for when the quantity is divisible by three using :first-child :nth-last-of-type(3n) to transform the grid into a three-column layout by applying a width of 33% to first boxes in a set with a quantity divisible by three and all boxes that follow it. Conclusion Layouts can be changed based on the number of elements just by using CSS selector chains As we have seen, CSS selectors can be chained together in a variety of interesting ways in order to apply styles and adaptive layouts that change based on the quantity of elements. The selector chains can also be used to seemingly apply styles to the parent of a set of elements of a certain quantity, by using ::before or ::after pseudo-elements that are positioned to take up the full size of the parent. Combined with CSS counters, these pseudo-elements can be used to display the total number of descendants in a parent element, as well as text that changes depending on the quantity of descendants. These techniques offer a valuable way of creating dynamic, quantity based styles and layouts that are useful when handling an unknown number of elements, which is often the case when dealing with APIs. 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: 5 tips for super-fast CSS Create a responsive layout with CSS Grid Understanding the CSS display property View the full article

The career path of a coder is proving to be more and more lucrative, as demand for coders is sky high and will likely continue to grow. If you want to join this industry, check out The Interactive Coding Bootcamp. Industry leaders offer expert instruction so you can learn only from the best, and real-world projects give you hands-on experience that will prepare you for your future job. With 400 lessons in HTML, CSS, and Javascript, with this course, you'll master the basics of these important programming languages, then dive deep into the world of full-stack development. Build everything from a tic-tac-toe game to an expense tracker, and learn how to create features you might find on popular social media platforms. By the end of the bootcamp, you'll be launching websites and building apps. The Interactive Coding Bootcamp is yours for only $39. Related articles: How to use an HTML boilerplate 16 amazing HTML examples Nail your HTML with this cheat sheet View the full article

You're reading How to be a Great Design Mentor and Where to Find one for Yourself, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook, Google+! There has been a lot more discussion online about mentorship among the designer community. Being a mentor boils down to being a trusted advisor who is readily available to provide support and advice that’s best suited to the mentored individual. … View the full article

Instagram has long since passed the point of being a place to browse heavily filtered shots of beaming selfies, soft-focus flat whites and avocado toast, although there's still plenty of that to be had. With users numbering in the hundreds of millions, Insta is a popular target for brands to express themselves visually. But unless you're Kylie Jenner or Cristiano Ronaldo, going viral on Instagram is easier said than done. People are often skeptical of brands on social media, and the vast majority of the most-liked Insta pictures of all time relate to celebrities having babies or getting engaged, or big news from superstar sporting legends. For most of us, achieving Instagram likes in the millions for a branded post may seem out of reach – but that's not to say there isn't room for improvement. Read on to discover five lessons to be learned from some of the most successful branded Insta posts... 01. Get an influencer endorsement For two months in 2016, the most-liked Instagram post was an advert for Coca-Cola (above). Granted, it was posted by global superstar Selena Gomez, who comes with over 140 million followers attached – but it's still an advert, and carefully art directed as such. It has almost 7 million likes to date. The shot was taken by noted fashion photographer Guy Aroch, and features Gomez sipping from a Coke bottle with some of her lyrics on the label. "When we compose a shot like this, it feels real and authentic as well as complementary to the symmetrical Coke bottle," James Sommerville, Coke's VP of global design said at the time. Of course, while the art direction is impeccable and Gomez looks... like Gomez, those factors pale into insignificance next to the value of leveraging a savvy celebrity endorsement in the first place. Sure, Selena Gomez may be a little out of reach for the average brand campaign, but the lesson here is to find an influencer who resonates with your target market. 02. Have a witty take on current events As a brand, LEGO is incredibly smart about turning product placement and advertising into entertainment in its own right – just look at the success of the LEGO Movie franchise for evidence. Its Instagram feed is no different, packed with pop culture references and witty takes on current events, all expressed through those distinctive plastic bricks. So when millions around the world were talking about the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, you bet LEGO had a piece of the action – including a highly impressive life-sized carriage made from LEGO bricks, and a quirky little animation (above) of the happy couple, which to date has garnered over 150,000 views. 03. Actually stand for something At its core, the Airbnb brand is all about experiencing new places in a more authentic way – living like a local. Accordingly, its Instagram feed is primarily used to inspire and entice followers to explore and travel more, using user-generated photos to sell the Airbnb experience. Its 2017 #WeAccept campaign, however, embraced a deeper, very topical message, expressing the brand's acceptance and welcoming spirit for those from all manner of backgrounds. While many brands prefer to shy away from anything too political in case of backlash, Airbnb nailed its colours to the mast. The campaign stated that anyone should be welcome in an Airbnb, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality or beliefs – and shared 12 diverse people's stories. Against a backdrop of widespread discussion of immigration, particularly in the States, this stance definitely resonated, with over 100,000 views of the launch video, and between 4,000 and 15,000 likes for each story. 04. Provide a compelling experience A brand like GoPro is something of a gift when it comes to engaging, immersive video content to post to a platform like Instagram – and it doesn't disappoint. Like Airbnb, the account takes full advantage of user-generated content to show off all manner of experiences and adventures. You'll struggle to find a product photo here – it's all about showing, not telling; a lesson many brands could apply. Their 'photo of the day' and 'video of the day' contests keep content rolling in, and enable GoPro to keep a finger on the pulse of how people are using their cameras, and what they're passionate about. That distinctive first-person perspective makes it truly immersive and compelling, as well as unmistakably 'GoPro' in flavour. One particularly successful recent post (above) shows high-adrenaline highlights from the winning run at the UCI Cycling DH World Cup 2018 – with over 650,000 views of the suspension-shaking ride to date. 05. Build up anticipation before a launch One of the most popular brands on Instagram, with almost 80 million followers – just over half of those commanded by the mighty Selena Gomez – Nike has a reputation for creative, unique takes on its Insta posts, including product launches. By way of example, the post to announce the new Nike Epic React shoe came in two parts to build anticipation – the first, posted on 22 January 2018, a month before the official launch date – featured a conceptual, stylised image (above) designed primarily to entice and intrigue: "The inspiration for a running innovation that feels like this (without actually looking like this)." In the image, the 'shoe' was a mannequin foot cushioned by three layers of foam, a pillow and some heavy-duty springs, all duct-taped together. It definitely caught the eye, and garnered almost half a million likes. This set the stage for the official concept video the following day, which to date has clocked up over 6.5 million views. Proof that when you do talk about your products on your branded Insta feed, if you do it thoughtfully and conceptually – rather than just doing the hard sell – you can still engage and excite people. Related articles: 8 tools for creating better social graphics 5 great Instagram Stories templates for designers 5 clever Instagram layouts you must see View the full article

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Web design books made from dead trees, eh? Things from the past! Haven't you heard we've got that spangly new internet thing now? While you can find a whole world of information online, web design books show no signs of waning in popularity. When you've been glued to a screen all day, it can be great to sit back in a comfy chair with a fantastic web design book that can educate and illuminate. The finest examples provide advice and insight in a manner that few single-shot website articles can compete with. Here leading designers, developers and web industry folk reveal their favourite web design books. The resulting selection is a collection of the very best insight into cutting-edge design and development techniques, inspirational texts, and beautiful volumes to admire. Also read: 30 books every graphic designers should read 01. Technically Wrong Buy it now Sara Wachter-Boettcher's Technically Wrong explores the (often invisible) biases, that shape the design and engineering of our software. "Technology designed without considering the ways it can affect people from a multitude of backgrounds can sometimes have devastating consequences, as the book explores," says Inayaili de León Persson. "Reading it has reinforced the idea that, as designers, we must actively strive to create products that are inclusive and truly consider the impact they will have on society. Since I read it, I always try to keep that in mind, in meetings, workshops, conversations, and to be vocal about those issues." 02. Make it Now Buy it now Anthony Burrill’s Make it Now is a a beautiful compilation of his work, stretching from his student projects right through his career. "It’s a great inspiration to find your own voice," says Fore Design's Dan Perrera. "He has a wonderful writing style – short sentences that get right to the point – which made the book a real pleasure to read. Most importantly though, it was a real motivator to bust through my doubts and get started on a project – now." 03. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck Buy it now In The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life, blogger Mark Manson offers a self-help guide with a difference, suggesting we don't need to be 'positive' all the time. It's a favourite of Sush Kelly, who despite being a designer and developer, doesn't often read technical books. "I’ve had as many 'a-ha' moments reading it as I would when reading a book on something like CSS Grid," he says. "With the constant stream of information from social, it’s easy to compare yourself with the prominent designers and developers you see. Not everyone can be exceptional: once you accept this and set your goals appropriately, life becomes much more satisfying. We have a limited amount of fucks to give in life; this book has helped me start to choose them wisely!" 04. The User Experience Team of One Buy it now The User Experience Team of One: A Research and Design Survival Guide by Leah Buley offers techniques and approaches to help you tackle UX when you don't have much time or many resources. "Like many other designers, I’ve had frustrations convincing certain clients of the value of UX resources and time on projects," comments JH's Warren Challenger. "This book reminded me that I’m not alone in this fight: larger projects and budgets suffer in the same way. In the book, the author talks you through exercises and teaches you only to do what you need to complete your goals. You can achieve a lot when you remove the formal process: be more flexible and cut to the chase." 05. Adaptive Web Design Buy it now Aaron Gustafson's Adaptive Web Design helps you understand the history, mechanisms and practical application of progressive enhancement. Jeffrey Zeldman heartily recommends it: "Coined by Steven Champeon of the Web Standards Project in the early 2000s, 'progressive enhancement' is the key idea behind standards-based web design. Both a method and a philosophy, it yields experiences that are accessible to all. Through mastery of progressive enhancement, we stop designing for browsers and start designing for people. No one has done a better, clearer, or more thorough job of illuminating progressive enhancement in all its richness than Gustafson… nor is anyone likely to." 06. Inside the Nudge Unit Buy it now Inside the Nudge Unit by David Halpern explains how a team of behavioural economists set up the government’s Behavioural Insights Team, with the aim of helping people ‘better choices for themselves’. "I read this book at an important time; I was thinking a lot about psychology and design and how both seemed to be siloed," says BehaviourStudio founder Lauren Kelly. "Reading this book solidified my ideas that behavioural insight should – and could – be brought into the design process." 07. Adapt Buy it now The premise behind this book is that everything we know about solving problems is wrong, and we should instead learn to rapidly experiment and adapt. Although not directly related to the web industry, Adapt: Why Success Always Starts with Failure's general themes can be beneficial to all. "Harford provides examples of how trial and error can be a more effective way to solve complex problems, and how trials can be structured to produce the best results," explains social software consultant and writer Suw Charman-Anderson. Illustrated with examples such as the development of the Spitfire, and the financial crisis, Harford explores what environments encourage innovation and how that innovation can then be adopted and expanded." 08. CSS3 for Web Designers Buy it now Dan Cederholm's book aims to show how CSS3 is a "universe of creative possibilities", providing insight into web fonts, advanced selectors and the many visual enhancements the technology can bring to web pages. A second, updated edition was published in 2015. Eric Meyer, An Event Apart partner and co-founder, says: "With Dan you know you're getting great visual design with a fun theme, wrapped around great technical information. This book delivers big time." 09. Design is a Job Buy it now Design isn't all about visuals, aesthetics, usability and crafting something beautiful. It's also about all the things that surround that, enabling you to build a business. Mike Monteiro's aim in this volume is to help you do that part of your job better, learning how to deal with clients and contracts. It's ideal for designers looking to set up shop – or even those who have been running a business for a while. "It’s basically a compilation of every wrong decision I've ever made in my decade of running a business, but it was also a major confidence-booster," says Fore Design co-owner Amy Parker. "I've learned all the lessons of what not to do that Mike outlines in the book and figured out what to do instead." "After Mike's brilliant 'Fuck You. Pay Me' talk at Creative Mornings, it was a no-brainer to buy his book on the topics of contracts, selling design and dealing with clients – this is a must read," adds creative director Mark Collins. 10. The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding Buy it now The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding by Al Ries and Laura Ries is one of the most influential books in Cheers Creative's Dana James Mwangi's career. "It was a huge shift in mindset for me, changed my company’s approach to web design, and increased the value of our offerings," she says. "Just as Mercedes owns the word ‘luxury’, we want to help brands own a word in the minds of consumers. From aesthetic choices like colours and typefaces to tone of voice, 22 Laws helps us develop website strategy and design for clients with this aim in mind." Next page: 10 more awesome books for web designers 11. Don't Make Me Think Buy it now If you work in web design and haven’t read this classic tome by Steve Krug, make sure you correct that ASAP. Basically the bible of web usability, it’s written in a concise way that makes it easy to consume on your commute. First published in 2000, an updated version explores mobile as well as web usability. "Anyone who designs, codes, writes, owns, or directs websites should read and memorise this book," argues Jeffrey Zeldman. "Whereas earlier usability books are scolding, parental, and anti-creative in tone, Steve makes the case for web usability compelling, friendly, and fun. I naively saw usability as the enemy of design until I read this book. It will work equal wonders for the marketers, developers, project managers, and content folks on your team… or for anyone who wants their website to delight its users." 12. Getting Things Done Buy it now "One of the greatest problems faced by web design freelancers is stress. Running your own business and dealing with demanding clients leaves many freelancers lying in bed worrying and feeling completely overwhelmed," comments Paul Boag. "Allen's book proposes a way of organising one's life to strike the balance between work and home. Although not for everybody, it certainly made an enormous difference for me, enabling me to feel in control of my ever-growing workload." 13. Good Strategy, Bad Strategy Buy it now Richard Rumelt's Good Strategy/Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why it Matters aims to differentiate itself from its rivals by not stretching an essay like argument to hundreds of pages. Instead, says the author, it "presents views on a range of issues that are fundamental, but which have not been given much daylight". This gelled with Leisa Reichelt: "It's not exactly a web book, but I wish more web industry people would read it so that we could spend more time making better things." 14. Mobile First Buy it now Luke Wroblewski's Mobile First is a strategic guide to mobile web design, which asks and answers why you should go mobile first, and how to achieve such goals. While it's a little old now (it was originally published in 2011), it still includes plenty of great advice. "When you want solid research and statistics on any web-related topic, Luke is your guy," says Aaron Gustafson. "His treatise on mobile is packed with incredibly valuable – and sometimes surprising – information that will help you better understand the mobile landscape and better sell its promise to your clients." 15. ReWork Buy it now It's safe to say Basecamp is not a typical company, but its success shows there can be a better way to work, without meetings, spending your entire savings, or working ridiculous hours. ReWork: Change the Way You Work Forever, was written by the company's founders Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, and provides a glimpse inside how Basecamp works. UI designer Maykel Loomans finds it invaluable: "The book's a staple when anyone asks me about designing, developing or wanting to create just about anything software-related. The power of ReWork lies in how clear-cut all the statements are. It's not a book that contains information that should be taken at face value, but it does give a lot of empowerment and it's a breeze to get through." 16. Steal like an Artist Buy now Austin Kleon's Steal Like an Artist is a book about process, and what the author learned during his design career. "There are many lessons here that are so stupidly obvious, but when they're written down they bring a lot of empowerment to the reader," comments UI designer Maykel Loomans. The book began life as a list, and then a slide presentation, before becoming a lively, engaging and entertaining book for improving your creative life. 17. The Elements of Typographic Style Buy it now Before you understand the technical aspects of typesetting on the web, you have to understand the principles underpinning it. First published in 1992, this beautifully written manual from Robert Bringhurst sets out the history of typography and is a practical guide to its use. Thanks to technical advancements, web designers have more control than ever over the way their text is displayed. Which means designers need to understand the principles of typography more than ever before. "This book goes into incredible depth and detail, making it indispensable for anyone wanting to make their web typography both legible and beautiful," says designer Laura Kalbag. 18. The Happiness Project Buy it now Are you happy? Gretchen Rubin one rainy afternoon realised she could be happier and embarked on her project, setting resolutions and figuring out what worked for her. The result is a thoughtful, practical and humorous story that could inspire you to your own paths to happiness. Sarah Parmenter elaborates on why it's an important inclusion in our list: "It reminded me that there's more to life than sitting in front of a Mac. Work-life balance is incredibly important in what we do, and this book can be read as a quick pick me up at any time." 19. Thinking, Fast and Slow Buy it now Daniel Kahneman's Thinking, Fast and Slow is concerned with thought processes and how we make decisions: why we're more likely to believe something that's in a bold typeface; why we assume someone who's good-looking will be more competent; and so on. Designer and developer Sebastian Green says: "As competition on the web increases, we are all looking for ways to create better sites. Going down the psychology route is the next step, and this book provides insight into how we are influenced, and how we interpret and respond to questions." 20. The Victorian Internet Buy it now According to Eric Meyer, this book by Tom Standage is a "compact, fascinating examination of how the internet parallels the telegraph system very closely, and how the world was even more technologically disrupted and future-shocked by the telegraph than we could ever aspire to be". Standage himself is proud of the book's longevity, noting on his website that he got to "make fun of the internet, by showing that even such a quintessentially modern technology actually has roots going back a long way – in this case, to a bunch of electrified monks in 1746". Read more: 15 great web design podcasts 13 names every web designer should know An essential guide to web design etiquette View the full article