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Researchers are warning users about the Coldroot remote access Trojan that is going undetected by AV engines and targets MacOS computers. View the full article

There's no shortage of paid-for and free fonts available for designers to choose from these days. But what if you want a typeface that's really special and stands out? Whatever the project, these professional fonts are certain to give your designs an air of sophistication. 01. FF Din FF Din is a popular choice among designers Price: From $65/£51.99 per font Format: OTF Added to MOMA's digital typefaces for its Architecture and Design collection back in 2011, FF Din is a popular choice among designers. Created by Dutch type designer Albert-Jan Pool between 1995 and 2009, this sans serif is ideally suited to advertising and packaging, logos and branding. 02. Oswald We're big fans of professional font Oswald here at Creative Bloq Price: Free Format: Google web font Oswald has become a popular choice of font for designers, especially for those working in the world of of the web. A reworking of the classic style historically represented by the 'Alternate Gothic' sans serif typefaces, this professional font has been re-drawn and reformed to better fit the pixel grid of standard digital screens. 03. Brandon Grotesque Brandon Grotesque won the Type Directors Club Award in 2011 Price: $40/£27.99 per font Format: OTF Designed by Hannes von Dohren in 2009, Brandon Grotesque was influenced by the popular geometric-style, sans serif typefaces of the 1920s and 30s. Equipped for complex, professional photography, Brandon Grotesque won the Type Directors Club Award in 2011. 04. Aviano Aviano typeface is inspired by the power and timeless beauty of classic letterforms Price: $24.99/£15.99 per font Format: OTF Named after a small town at the base of the Alps in Northern Italy, Aviano typeface is inspired by the power and timeless beauty of classic letterforms. A gorgeous design, Aviano was created by type designer Jeremy Dooley, owner of one-man foundry Insigne. 05. Proxima Nova Proxima Nova is used by over 25,000 websites, including Buzzfeed, Wired and Mashable Price: $29/£19.99 per font Format: OTF/TTF Used by over 25,000 websites, including Buzzfeed, Wired and Mashable, Mark Simonson's professional font Proxima Nova is an extremely popular choice amongst designers. The extensive family is available in seven weights (thin, light, regular, semi-bold, bold, extra-bold and black), with matching italics, small caps and condensed and extra-condensed widths. 06. Rockwell An updated Rockwell was published in 1934 by Monotype Price: $35/£22.99 per font Format: OTF/TTF Geometric slab serif Rockwell was inspired by a 1910 font titled Litho Antique. Designer Morris Fuller Benton revived Rockwell in the 1920s before it was redesigned and published in 1934 by Monotype, in a project headed by Frank Hinman Pierpont. 07. Trojan Trojan's design is based on classic Roman structures Price: $25.80/£20 for 1 font Format: OTF Trojan is one of many stand-out designs by creative genius Alex Trochut. Created back in 2012, professional font Trojan was used extensively throughout Wallpaper after its initial release. Based on classic Roman structures, Trojan has a very sophisticated set of glyphs, which, in turn, gives this font a classic contemporary appearance. 08. Le Havre Le Havre lends itself to all manner of creative projects Price: $24.99/£15.99 per font Format: OTF Art deco-inspired typeface Le Havre was named after the port where many a famous luxury cruise liner was launched in the 1930s. Compressed capitals, a low x-height and geometric construction give this beautiful typeface a retro look and feel, with the new contemporary update in 2009 lending itself to all manner of creative projects. 09. Mallory Mallory is the work of s type designer and teacher Tobias Frere-Jones Price: $50 per font Format: OTF The product of type designer and teacher Tobias Frere-Jones, Mallory is a beautiful professional font, which began as an experiment in mixing typographic traditions, building a new design with British and American traits. Frere-Jones has a number of best-selling type designs under his belt, but Mallory was the first font he created after splitting with long-time creative partner Jonathan Hoefler. He comments on his website: "Mallory was built to be a reliable tool, readily pairing with other typefaces to organise complex data and fine-tune visual identities. Each style contains over 1250 glyphs, to anticipate a wide range of content: small caps and old-style figures for running text, lining figures and uppercase punctuation for headlines, tabular figures and over a dozen currency symbols for financial data." 10. FF Meta FF Meta was designed by Erik Spiekermann Price: $59/£45 per font Format: OTF Created by outspoken type designer Erik Spiekermann, FF Meta was first called PT55, a typeface made for easy reading at small sizes for West German Post Office in 1985. Spiekermann continued work on his design to include more weights and styles, later releasing it as FF Meta, one of the first and truly foundational members of the early FontFont library. With a clean, cheery and distinctive aesthetic, professional font FF Meta flourished in the early 1990s and has been a firm favourite ever since. In 2011, the Museum of Modern Art in New York added FF Meta to its permanent collection, one of only 23 fonts selected to represent typography of the digital era. 11. Soho Soho is a beefy slab-serif by Seb Lester Price: $65 per font Format: OTF Beefy slab serif Soho is the product of renowned type designer Seb Lester. The super-family has over 40,000 glyphs and represents three years' worth of work. "As a type designer I'm preoccupied with finding ways in which I can address modern problems like good legibility in modern media, and create fonts that work precisely and efficiently in the most technically demanding of corporate and publishing environments," he comments on the Monotype website. 12. Davison Spencerian Davison Spencerian is a remains a benchmark of the ornamental script genre Price: $75 Format: OTF/web font American letter designer Meyer 'Dave' Davison was arguably one of the most distinguished lettering artists of the 20th century. With a library of Spencerian designs, Davison Spencerian typeface made its first appearance in Photo-Lettering’s 1946 catalogue and remains a benchmark of the ornamental script genre. Tireless hours have been spent by Mitja Miklavčič and House Industries designers Ben Barber and Ken Kiel to preserve the poise and precision of Davison’s masterwork in this faithfully-rendered digital incarnation. The House Industries website states: 'From automotive exhaust accessories and pirate-themed wedding invites to New Orleans sissy bounce hip-hop CD covers and upmarket bivalve ambrosia packaging, Davison Spencerian offers sober sophistication and unparalleled flexibility'. Related articles: 20 perfect font pairings What is DPI? The ultimate guide to image resolution 30 books every graphic designer should read View the full article

UX designers: here's your chance to shine. Adobe is challenging the UX community to create an app prototype, using one of three exclusive icon kits along with the latest version of XD, for a chance to win a trip to Adobe MAX in LA. The aim of the app is to give your users a peek into the creative secrets of your hometown (or adopted hometown, if you'd prefer!), showing them round and revealing design hotspots and hidden gems. The idea is to help visitors feel like a local, in the same way as Anton & Irene's Urban Walks app – the inspiration behind the contest. Every good UX designer knows how vital icons are to digital storytelling. To set you on your way, Adobe is offering three exclusive icon kits, designed by Anton & Irene, Büro Destruct and Lance Wyman, completely free (download them here). Use these icons with the latest version of Adobe XD – the all-in-one UX/UI solution for designing websites, mobile apps and more – to bring your prototype idea to life. If you're not up to date, fear not: you can download a free trial here. The creators of the amazing icon sets will judge your efforts, along with Adobe’s Michael Chaize. The talented designer behind the best app prototype will win an all-expenses paid trip for two to Adobe Max in Los Angeles in October 2018, as well as a one-year Creative Cloud subscription and 100 stock images to use in their UX projects. 10 runners up will receive a one-year CC membership, and 50 stock images. Your design must use at least five icons from any one of the three kits, and you can enter by publishing your work on Behance and tagging it #iconContestXD – it's as simple as that. For more details, plus tips and XD tutorials to get your creative juices flowing, take a look at the contest Spark page. You have until 11.59pm CET on 15 March 2018 to enter, and the winners will be announced on 27 March. Get cracking! View the full article

Want to kickstart your career in the video games industry? Then you can't miss our debut event Vertex, featuring the likes of RARE, Creative Assembly and more! Create with Creative Assembly You'll learn from Creative Assembly's character artist Danny Sweeney about all the secrets behind Total War: Warhammer I & II. You'll find out how the team approached and overcame problems as well as developed High Elf and Dark Elf units. For the RTS fans, this is one not to miss! Review your work with RARE And if you're looking to get a job as a game artist but are not sure how to get there, RARE's 3D lead Jorge Sanchez, animator Ellen Parkes and 2D concept artist Victoria Hall are perfect for showing you how to boost your portfolio presentations in our Portfolio Review sessions! Remember that the Review sessions will need to be booked beforehand on the day as you arrive. Discover low-poly worlds Meanwhile Anna Hollinrake, Dream Reality Interactive senior concept and environment artist and BAFTA Breakthrough Artist, will be explaining the process of building a highly efficient art style that uses traditional artistic principles to get the most visual appeal out of your tech on the main stage. Venture into VR Or maybe you're already an artist working in the industry but are looking to get into VR? Then Glen Southern's workshop is unmissable. Working within a virtual reality environment, Glen will show the process of concepting a character, using tools such as Oculus Medium. Step up your game textures with Substance And finally, the software on the lips of every game artist are the Substance suite of tools by Allegorithmic, and CEO and founder Dr Sebastien Deguy will be discussing how the tools are empowering today's artists. The Substance suite has been used to create incredible textures on games like Horizon Zero Dawn, Uncharted 4, Prey, Halo Wars 2, Call of Duty Black Ops II and much, much more! Don't miss out, get your tickets now! There are still some amazing Vertex speakers we’ve yet to announce so keep an eye on our website, where you can also find out more about the other amazing speakers, workshops, recruitment fair, networking event, expo and more. Read more: Level up game characters with Creative Assembly Upgrade your textures in Substance Designer How to create a video game character in ZBrush View the full article

Keeping projects on track can be a pain, especially when you're trying to balance more than one at a time. Without proper management, important tasks can fall through before you ever get to them. Keep your plan on schedule and get things done more on time with Aeon Timeline 2, on sale for just $19.99 (approx. £14). It's nearly impossible for a single person to keep track of every part of a big project without a little help. Aeon Timeline 2 is the answer to your problems. This timeline building app for Mac and Windows will handle the organisation for you, making it easy for anyone to manage a workload efficiently and get everything done on time. With this app, all the information you need is right at your fingertips, exactly when you need it. Aeon Timeline 2 usually retails for $50, but you can save 60% right now. That means you pay just $19.99 (approx. £14) for this tool that will help you get more done, so grab this deal today! About Creative Bloq deals This great deal comes courtesy of the Creative Bloq Deals store – a creative marketplace that's dedicated to ensuring you save money on the items that improve your design life. We all like a special offer or two, particularly with creative tools and design assets often being eye-wateringly expensive. That's why the Creative Bloq Deals store is committed to bringing you useful deals, freebies and giveaways on design assets (logos, templates, icons, fonts, vectors and more), tutorials, e-learning, inspirational items, hardware and more. Every day of the working week we feature a new offer, freebie or contest – if you miss one, you can easily find past deals posts on the Deals Staff author page or Offer tag page. Plus, you can get in touch with any feedback at:deals@creativebloq.com. Related articles: Top tips for nailing project management Best project management software The tools of the trade for project management View the full article

To download the accompanying files for 3D World issue 232, simply click the link below each article and a zip file will automatically download the content to your Mac or PC. If you've missed this issue or other editions of 3D World, order a copy. If you have any problems downloading this content, please email: rob.redman@futurenet.com Tutorial: build a Wolfenstein model Matthias Develtere gives us a step-by-step guide to easy and efficient high-poly modelling, revealing his techniques for creating this detaild armoured robot. Download the files here (34.9MB) Tutorial: Master Maya hair Kevin Ives describes how he developed this hairy creature for Momnster.com, and Todd Akita takes us through his fur simulation workflow. Download the files here (210MB) Tutorial: Create a burning leaf animation A guide to using visual effects as an effective tool in commercials. In this tutorial you will learn to combine tools from Lightwave, Photoshop, Turbulence and Fusion to create your comp. Download the files here (35MB) Tutorial: Create VR experiences with V-Ray and 3DS Max Oscar Juarez demonstrates how to create a VR experience projects using 3dsMax and V-Ray. Download the files here (998MB) View the full article

Professional animators need to be able to please both the director, with the quality of their work, and the producer, with their speed. As head of animation at Escape Studios my job is to make sure all my students are ready to succeed in today's animation industry. What follows are nine simple steps that all animators can take to make sure their workflow is good, fast and reliable. 01. Create a camera and lock it off It's good practice to create a camera view right away, and then lock it off so you don't mess it up by mistake. For most animators the standard layout is a three-way split: perspective view on the left, camera view on the right, Graph Editor below. With the exception of games projects, animators should always animate to the camera view; you also won't waste time animating stuff that won't be seen by the audience. 02. Work on facial expressions early on The Open Season characters are well loved thanks to their masterful character designs Make a positive statement when you begin making your poses by making the facial expressions clear from the start. Is the character happy? Sad? Angry? Make these choices early on and make it clear. Your next step is to offset the symmetry of the poses and make each key pose as expressive as you can. Facial expressions are key selling points for directors, and are vital to telling your story and to making the shot clear. 03. Decide your key controls If a character has multiple body controls (most do), then decide which control curves you will be using and stick to them. If you don't, you risk forgetting which control curves you have keyframed, and the result is spaghetti. For example, if you use multiple rotations on the spine controls, you may forget which ones you have used, and it can be difficult to make adjustments to your animation later on. 04. Keep eyelines consistent Poor eye direction can take the viewer out of the animation Poor eye direction (for example, characters not looking at one another) will ruin the believability of your shot and undermine your work. Allow extra time before you submit your shot for review, as you will likely have to fine- tune the eye direction at the very end. 05. Don't overcomplicate things A common mistake made by junior animators is to have too many expressions or poses in a shot. When you begin, pick an overall attitude for the shot and use this as your starting point. Just one main expression for your shot will often do the job. 06. Present your work in high resolution Alex has a long history in animation, starting with Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Remember to do your work justice and always present it in high resolution. Low-resolution shots (even if well animated) look grainy and unimpressive. High-resolution renders will give your shots a more polished and professional look, and you will likely get your work approved faster. 07. Put yourself in your audience's shoes When reviewing your work, before sending it anywhere important, you should always ask yourself, would this shot make any sense to a total stranger? Put yourself in the place of your audience: will they understand what's going on? If your shot needs an explanation in order to make it clear, then it needs more work. 08. Create thumbnail sketches first Thumbnail sketches are a simple and quick way to get thinking, start planning your shot and help solve problems early on. Sketching can really help you to be inspired and get creative. Even if you don't draw well, crude thumbnail sketches can help you plan your poses and timing. The extra time spent on planning your work will be worth it in the long run. You wouldn't build a house without architect's plans, would you? This article was originally published in 3D World magazine. Read more: Turn photos into 3D animations with Photoshop Learn to animate for kids Inside Aardman Animations View the full article

Clients from hell rarely have a tail, horns and the faint scent of brimstone, but there are ways you can spot a difficult customer before you sign your contract. Whether you're a graduate designer or an experienced creative director, knowing what to watch out for can save you plenty of headaches and heated discussions further down the line. Here are four sure-fire signs that danger is ahead. 01. They don't know what they want A client is employing you because they lack the skillset or resources to complete a project themselves. However, they should still have a goal in mind and a relatively clear idea of what they’re after and what they expect you to deliver. If not, expect the project to balloon and for frustrations on both sides of the table to rise as your blind attempts, predictably, miss the mark. 02. They don't appreciate you A terrible client may expect certain behaviour, time concessions or discounts for no other reason than they think they deserve it. They don't understand (or care) that you have other tasks to complete, and believe you live to work for them. Giving them what they want only reinforces their belief. 03. They're disrespectful The best relationships are when you work with a client, not for them. This is how designers gain the best understanding of who their client is and how the design will work best for them. Clients who don’t see you as an equal won't treat you with the respect you deserve, and will act like working with them is a privilege for you. 04. They devalue good work Nobody is thrilled to spend money if they don’t have to, but if a client devalues your work and efforts in an attempt to lower your rate, watch out. The freelancer-client relationship should be mutually beneficial. Clients should feel they get value out of their freelancers, and freelancers should feel valued by their clients. This article originally appeared in Computer Arts issue 257. Read more: How to deal with cheapskate clients The secrets of great client relationships Infographic: Terrible clients; every agency's worst nightmare View the full article

Last week saw a massive change to how internet users find and save images as Google removed the View Image button from Google Images. The decision prompted a huge online backlash, but a new browser extension for Chrome or Opera has already been released to get everything back to normal. Before last Friday, if you did an Image Search you could quickly open an asset on its own with a single click of the View Image button. However, a settlement between Google and Getty has resulted in new search options that only include buttons for visit, share, and save. As part of its statement following the change, Google pointed out that the move to drop the View Image button was carried out with publishers in mind. By forcing people to visit a site to access the image, publishers stand to benefit from the change as they generate more ad revenue. The update wasn't universally popular though, with plenty of people commenting on our story to express their outrage. Help is at hand though, as the appropriately named View Image Chrome extension re-implements the lost button. Watch it in action below. It's a quick and easy extension that returns Image Search to what you're used to. For some internet users the removal of the View Image button is only a mild inconvenience, but this extension makes sure that the muscle memory they've developed through years of grabbing images online doesn't go to waste. If you can't get this extension to work, there are plenty of other workarounds. Lots of people have been keen to remind Image Search users that the tried and tested right click and Open Image in New Tab option still works, and if all else fails there are (whisper it now) other search engines who can provide a similar service to what Google previously offered. Related articles: Google launches Instagram-like Stories Google logo sparks 'correct design' debate What's wrong with Google's burger emoji? View the full article

This project will be split up into different parts. We will give a short introduction to Heroku, show how to use Physijs with three.js, explain how to handle socket events over Node.js and also how we go about handling the sent data. 20 amazing examples of WebGL in action 01. Heroku Heroku is an easy to use and free to trial node.js web server This project will be hosted on Heroku, which is a cloud platform to host your apps. It has a wide variety of supported languages such as Ruby, Java, PHP and Python. We are going to use Node.js. Sign up for an account and choose Node.js. For this project we can use the basic server, which is free of charge. After registration you will come to your dashboard where you can create your app. This will create a subdomain at herokuapp.com. As a deployment method, you can choose to either use the Heroku Command Line Interface (CLI) to deploy using its git repository, or have a connection set up to GitHub or Dropbox. I've chosen to go with its CLI; this will require an install. But in return you get a variety of new helpful tools, one of these is live debugging through your terminal. For setting up your server I recommend following the steps as described here. To deploy you use default git commands. Each one you use will trigger the build server and your app will be deployed to the Heroku server and then be viewable at your subdomain. Once the code is deployed you can view your project at [yourproject].herokuapp.com. To view the logs use the 'heroku logs — tail' command in your terminal. Some of the things being shown is what is being served to the client – it shows the socket connections, and if you want to debug your code, you could also use the console.log in order to output to the terminal. 02. Build the physics scene Tap your screen or hit the spacebar to bounce the table up We will be using the most popular WebGL framework, three.js, to build a 3D scene containing an object on which we'll attach physics. The physics library of choice is Physijs, a plug-in for three.js. As an extension to three.js, Physijs uses the same coding convention, making it easier to use if you are already familiar with three.js. The first thing is the pool table. We are using the Physijs HeightfieldMesh, because this mesh will read the height from the PlaneGeometry. So it will basically wrap itself around the three.js object. So HeightfieldMesh requires a geometry but also a Physijs Material. We're adding two new features to the three.js material. Those are the friction and restitution variables. Friction is the resistance the object makes, and restitution refers to the 'bounciness'. These two variables will define how real the physics will feel like in your scene. For the created pool balls we don't want to make them too bouncy, so keep the number low. Like three.js, Physijs also has a series of basic shapes to go around the original mesh. SphereMesh wrapping the SphereGeometry will give the ball physics. When initialising the scene, we call buildBall(8), which will trigger the following function… Add the texture: Create the physijs-enabled material with some decent friction and bounce properties: Texture mapping: We are adding texture from a .jpg file. Create the material and use that for the SphereMesh to create the object, which we will place vertically to the top so it drops in to the screen. 03. Sockets connection The key goal of our game is emulating the physical movements to the screen For communication between the server and the client, we will be using socket.io. This is one of the most reliable libraries available for Node.js. It's built on top of the WebSockets API. Now physics is enabled for the meshes we need user input to make the game interactive. The input device we're using is the mobile device. The mobile browser is the controller that will provide data from the accelerometer and gyroscope to the desktop where you will see the game. First off, a connection between the mobile browser and the desktop browser has to be made. Each time a browser connects with our Node.js app, we need to make a new connection. A client side connection is set up by using the following: For sending messages you use the emit function: And for receiving you use the .on() function: 03.1. Setting up the desktop game If we are on a desktop we will send our sockets a device emit telling our server the desktop is the game using the following line of code: The server will return us a unique key/game code generated by crypto. This will be displayed to the desktop. Tell game client to initialise and show the game code to the user… 03.2. Connect controller to the game To connect the mobile device to the game, we will use a form to submit the game code from the desktop screen. On the form submit we will send the game code to the server for authentication. The server will check if the game code is valid and will set up the connection with the desktop game Once the connection is all set, we will then give the 8-ball a small push from the x and z with the following command… 04. Sending data Now that the connection is established we want to send the gyro and accelerometer variables to the game. By using the window.ondevicemotion and the window.ondeviceorientation events, we have the data we need to emulate the same tilt movements of our phone to the pool table. I've chosen to use an interval of 100ms to emit those values. On the client side we will resolve the latency by tweening the incoming values from the server to the tilt of the pool table. For tweening we use TweenMax. 05. Extra events More balls equals more fun. Try hitting the spacebar or tapping the screen of your mobile To give it a bit more interactivity, I've added a couple of extra events for the user to play with. We're going to give the user the option to add extra balls next to the 8-ball by using the numbers on the keyboard. Another one is to bounce the table upwards. For this you can hit the spacebar. But we're also adding a tap event on the controller device. This will send an event to the pool table, which will rise the table and send the balls up. First we need to catch the keyboard events… The buildBall function is the same function we used to create the sphere 8-ball. We are just using different textures that will wrap the sphere. For pushing the table up, we give the table an upward motion along the y axis with this code… Conclusion Add more balls and see how much your browser can handle When you have a concept for a game or anything else, it is entirely likely that there are libraries out there that could make your life easier. This is a demo that shows how this can work. We hope this will help spark some creative ideas or help you with your current project. See a live example of the game here, or find it on GitHub. This article was originally published in issue 300 of net, the world's top magazine for professional web designers and developers. Buy issue 300 or subscribe here. Related articles: Get started with WebGL using three.js 20 JavaScript tools to blow your mind Create interactive 3D visuals with three.js View the full article

Using elements of your pencil underdrawing is a great way to capture the viewer’s attention within a piece. Furthermore, your pencil lines can emphasise light sources in the scene. Even when I create a digital piece I usually tend to start out with traditional media such as pencils. I like the feeling of textured paper as I make my marks, and it also means I have an original piece of process art that I’m able to sell. Simulated texture in a digital art program is all well and good, but there’s nothing quite like the feel of pencil drawings on cold press board or watercolour paper. Sometimes it’s good to mix it up a little bit. I use contour lines that follow the curve of the main body of the welding device. My philosophy lately has become one of focus on draftsmanship. The more time I spend on working up a detailed drawing, the less I’ll have to paint over it later. Colouring becomes a breeze, because the values and texture are already there, but more importantly I’m able to switch the colour theme with minimal effort. Red/yellow colour scheme too aggressive? I can work up a blue/green environment in just a few minutes. The main takeaway, however, is to let the paper texture and pencil lines guide your eye to where you need it. 01. Gather references References are a perfect way to capture light My best work always happens when I have a good reference for clothing, materials and lighting. I set up a shot in my studio with a light source that’ll be radiating from the focal point. I wear funky goggles and work gloves, and kit-bash a welding gizmo for added authenticity. 02. Pencil in details Most of the shading is built up with pencils The detailed pencil drawing is where it’s at. I generate almost all of my shading and value work by aligning pencil strokes to the light source. I really take my time and concentrate on unifying the drawing. I’ll add some refinements in Clip Studio Paint after I scan the drawing. 03. Create a colourful layer A colourful layer doesn't need much detail I use Clip Studio Paint to add colour and other drawing refinements. There’s not much detail in this layer that’s in the drawing: just a lot of simple colour shapes and gradients. This stage is a lot of fun because you can experiment with colour schemes without too much effort. This article was originally published in issue 155 of ImagineFX, the world's best-selling magazine for digital artists. Buy issue 155 here or subscribe to ImagineFX here. Related articles: Create perspective by warping your textures in Photoshop How to draw your art in perspective using Adobe Illustrator Use perspective to create a dynamic image View the full article

Tech skills look good on your resume, but soft skills are just as important in climbing the career ladder. Communicating and knowing how to market yourself can go a long way. The eduCBA Soft Skills Training Bundle has the courses you need to pick up new abilities you need to succeed in the workplace, and you can get a lifetime subscription on sale for 96% off the retail price! When you log in to the eduCBA Soft Skills Training Bundle, you’ll find more than 100 courses, all packed with more than 200 hours of actionable and professionally taught lessons waiting for you. You’ll have unlimited access to it all, giving you the ability to learn the important soft skills you need to advance in the workplace whatever you’d like, whenever you'd like. Work your way through these courses you'll learn how to behave like a leader in the office. A lifetime subscription to The eduCBA Soft Skills Training Bundle usually retails for $797, but you’ll pay just $29 (approx. £21). That’s a saving of 96% off, a great deal for unlimited access to skills that could change your career, so grab it today! About Creative Bloq deals This great deal comes courtesy of the Creative Bloq Deals store – a creative marketplace that's dedicated to ensuring you save money on the items that improve your design life. We all like a special offer or two, particularly with creative tools and design assets often being eye-wateringly expensive. That's why the Creative Bloq Deals store is committed to bringing you useful deals, freebies and giveaways on design assets (logos, templates, icons, fonts, vectors and more), tutorials, e-learning, inspirational items, hardware and more. Every day of the working week we feature a new offer, freebie or contest – if you miss one, you can easily find past deals posts on the Deals Staff author page or Offer tag page. Plus, you can get in touch with any feedback at:deals@creativebloq.com. Related articles: 22 ways to boost your productivity 20 tools to make your team more productive Desk exercises infographic: 10 essential routines for designers View the full article

Vertex is the event for the whole community, and if an Access All Areas pass isn’t the right one for you, we offer a free ticket too. This will get you into large areas of the show, from the expo hall to Ask an Artist, so no matter what you are looking for there will be something for you. The expo hall If new tech and gear excites you then this is the place to be. The developers will be on hand to talk about the newest versions of their software and hardware. Many of them will be presenting case studies or tutorials live from their stands. Head to vertexconf.com to keep up to date on the schedule. Ask an Artist We all get stuck from time to time, needing a little help to get through things. The internet can help but there’s nothing like getting some one-on-one time with an industry expert, and that is just what we have for you. Artists from the likes of Framestore and Dneg will be on hand to help you work out how to overcome any issues you have. A fantastic and unique opportunity. Get your tickets! Although you can get access to Vertex for free it is still really important that you book your tickets at our site, so make sure you head over and register. We are now just a few short weeks away from opening the doors to Vertex and greeting you all for a day of inspiration, instruction and so much more. Don’t miss out on the chance to meet your heroes, further your career and rub shoulders with some of the biggest names in the industry. Head over to www.vertexconf.com to grab yours, and don’t forget there are tickets to suit all from the free Expo Access to the Access All Areas pass, and if you are a student you can get tickets at a discounted rate. Related articles: 7 reasons you can't miss Vertex What will Brexit mean for the VFX community 30 free 3D models View the full article

Flyers are essential advertising and self-promotion tools, showcasing your design chops for the world to see. Whether you want to subtly promote your vector art skills or typography capabilities, a slick flyer can be a great way to get yourself noticed. Get Adobe Creative Cloud now Sometimes, though, time is tight and you simply don't have hours to start from scratch. Or you might be new to creating flyers. Either way, we've gathered together a selection of top flyer templates that you can use as a stepping stone to creating a stunning, original flyer in half the time. Bookmark this page for next time you need a kick-start with your flyers. And if you need a little flyer design inspiration, we have that for you elsewhere on the site... 01. Twisted flyer template There ain't no party like a twisted party This flyer template's just the thing if you're planning on hosting a twisted party, but its creators insist that it's suitable for all kinds of party. It costs $6 and comes in PSD flavour with everything fully modifiable, and its fonts – Bebas Neue and Roboto – are both free, so you don't need to worry about substituting them with the nearest thing in your font library. 02. Postcard flyer This tasteful template comes in all the formats Best suited to fashion-related use, this tasteful and restrained template is built out of vector elements and fully editable, and your $9 gets you four files suitable for editing in InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop. There's even a PDF included so you can make some quick edits and be ready to go. 03. Business flyer We can all agree that creative thinking make success If your client's serious about its business, this flyer template should be just the ticket. Featuring a sober, no-nonsense design that's ready for multiple applications, it'll cost you $6 and comes as a PSD ready for editing in Photoshop. Typography-wise it uses Bebas Neue and Open Sans, both of which are free. 04. Summer party template There's still time to get your big summer bash together! Made by Rome Creation from Paris, this set of flyers is perfect for publicising your next hot fiesta. For $8 you'll get four templates in PSD format, fully editable and with a help file included. 05. Corporate flyer This template comes with a YouTube tutorial to show you how to customise it This $9 flyer template is aimed at corporate business use. It's A4 sized, and print ready – all you need to do is find the right photos to include. Plus, there's a YouTube video that shows you how to customise it. 06. Fall festival template Be sure to make it clear that you haven't booked The Fall, of course Made by creativeartx, this festival flyer has a lovely autumnal feel to it and will cost you just $7. It comes as a fully layered PSD that you can edit however you wish, it's CMYK print-ready, and the download features links to the free fonts used in the design so you can get it set up nice and quickly. 07. Business brochure template You'll need to supply your own imagery for this template Made with architectural firms in mind but suitable for any business with an eye for good design, this $16 brochure template by Kampertco Group in Malaysia features strong lines and thoughtful typography using free fonts; you'll need InDesign to get the best out of it, though. 08. Vintage flyer template Add a touch of vintage style to your designs with this free flyer template Graphic designer James George created this vintage-style flyer template in Photoshop. Bazar and Ostrich Sans feature in this free design, with the text completely editable to suit your needs. 09. Spectre movie flyer template This modern movie flyer template is sure to draw a crowd This clean, modern movie flyer template is sure to draw a crowd. It has been created with ease of customisation in mind, and comes with detailed and clearly labelled layers. This 8.5x11, 300 DPI, CMYK, print-ready flyer template would suit all manner of events. 10. Roots reggae night template Mash it up with this hard design Get back to your roots with this reggae-styled club night flyer. Made by AreacodezeroCreatives, this print-ready 300dpi CMYK flyer comes as a layered PSD and includes a help file so that you can get it out quickly and easily. 11. Colorface template This flyer would be just the thing for your next dubstep night Featuring a light theme and warm colours, this design by CrealabSK is suitable for an electronic music event or club party. It uses Nexa free font and Couture, which is donationware for commercial use, and the full package contains two flyer designs and a Facebook event cover. 12. Bold typography flyer template Grab attention with one of the more font-focused flyer templates on our list A flyer and poster template combination, this design lets your font skills speak for themselves. Bold, vibrant, colourful and fun, this is one of those handy flyer templates that can be used for just about any purpose. The layers are split into groups, so you'll have no problem editing this one. 13. Retro flyer template There are six retro styled flyer templates to choose from in this download One for the vintage lovers of design, these six retro-style and unique flyer templates are perfect for your next party or corporate event. The final package you download includes a fully layered, renamed, grouped PSD files and download links for free fonts in *.txt file. 14. Geometric flyer templates These flyer templates use the BebasNeue font, which is totally free Check out these modern and unique flyer templates for your next project. The final package you download includes nine flyer styles and nine business card styles. They're easy to modify and include bleeds, trims and guidelines. 15. Chill Out flyer template The wood texture is included in the download Originally designed to promote a music event, this wood-textured flyer template can also be used for a new album promotion or other advertising purposes. It's print ready, simple to customise with well organised layers. The photos aren't included, but the effects and textures will be applied to any photo you use (the wood texture is also included). A gorgeous design and certainly worthy of inclusion on our list of the best flyer templates. Next page: 15 more eye-catching flyer templates 16. Alternative flyer template The effects and textures will be applied to any photo that you use Here's another of our flyer templates that's perfect for any gig, album or concert promotion. Simple to customise, the effects and textures will be applied to any photo that you chose to include in the design. All the fonts used are free so you won't have any problems there, either! 17. Chill out flyer Promote special events with this cool indie vintage flyer template from Moodboy This cool indie vintage flyer template, created by Moodboy, was designed to promote music events but would work well for any special occasion. The A4-size template will set you back just $6 for a regular license and is fully customisable, with organised layers and paper textures included, and free fonts used. 18. Photography services flyer Showcase your photography and design skills with this free flyer template from FlyerHeroes This free photography flyer template, offered by FlyerHeroes, is perfect for advertising photography and design services. With 20 predefined photo spots, this template can be easily customised to create an eye-catching flyer design. And, best of all, it's free! But be sure to check the file license for full details before use. 19. 80s flyer template Create your own retro flyer designs with this template from Roberto Perrino Looking for a retro flyer template? Look no further than this design, originally created to promote an 80s revival party. From the colour palette to font choice, freelance graphic designer Roberto Perrino captures the style of the 80s perfectly. The design is a steal at $6 for a regular license and is fully customisable. 20. Typography gig flyer This cool typogaphy flyer template is perfect for music festivals and gigs Designed like a gig poster, we love this typography flyer template from Romanian artist Augustin of ZiaroGraphics. At just $6 for a regular licence for the design, this flyer template is perfect for music festivals and concerts. The template features more than eight fonts and a grunge look, suitable for alternative, rock, indie, britpop and punk bands. 21. Newspaper flyer Spread around the hottest news in town with this cool newspaper flyer template Planning a special event? Why not advertise it with this brilliant newspaper flyer template. Be the hottest news in town by fully customising the design with your own images and text. The download costs $6 for a regular licence and comes complete with two colour versions, well organised layers and more. 22. Vintage flyer Make your flyer design stand out from the crowd with this vintage-inspired design If you're after a retro design for your event, then this cool vintage flyer template may be just the ticket. Artist itscroma was inspired by psychedelic music when creating the piece. Featuring bright, vibrant colours, this template includes four PSD files – choose from blue, blue 2, green-blue and red-green colourways. 23. Event instruction template Create a custom infographic for your special occasion with this flyer template from AgenceMe This brilliant flyer template, designed by AgenceMe, lets the illustrations do all the talking. The retro style design is perfect for any special occasion and includes three different colour versions – red, blue and orange – and 14 icons for you to customise the design. 24. Gig flyer template Customise this brilliant flyer template by Moodboy to suit your design needs Are you organising a gig or festival? Or want to design a flyer to promote one? Then this cool vintage-style flyer template is a great place to start. Created by Moodboy, this free design is perfect for album promotions and advertising purposes too. 25. Corporate flyer template Choose from five different flyer designs with in this bundle by Tony Huynh If you're looking for a more corporate design, then this flyer template bundle by Tony Huynh is just the ticket. There are five different layout variations and all elements can be edited easily using Adobe InDesign or Illustrator. At just $8 for a regular license, they're a total bargain. 26. Sky flyer template This minimal flyer template comes in five different colours for you to choose from This minimal, clean flyer template would act as a great starting point to promote an upcoming summer event. It comes in five different colours as a layered PSD file, so is easily editable. This design can also double as a voucher or invitation. Download the flyer from Graphic River, where a regular license for it will set you back just $6. 27. Contemporary flyer template Add your own background and text to this contemporary flyer design If you like to work with big, bold type then this contemporary flyer template is the one for you. It costs just $6 and comes as a layered PSD file, so you can easily change the the background and text. The example here showcases a music event, but it can be adapted for many other purposes. 28. Photography flyer template This simple, elegant flyer design is perfect for showcasing gorgeous photography Photographers: why not put your work all over this simple, elegant photography flyer template? Created by designer Mike Bradshaw, the design is completely customisable, with the text, shape and images all easily modified. And it's a bargain at just $5. 29. Sketchbook flyer template Go for a more hand crafted design with this sketchbook-inspired flyer design Check out this sketchbook flyer template, created initially to promote a music event but perfect for all kinds of advertising purposes. It comes as a PSD file, layers are well organised and with quick photo replacement, the design is easy to customise. A steal at just $6. 30. Minimal flyer template Customsie this cool, minimal design courtesy of Michele Angoloro This simple yet stylish minimal flyer template comes from designer Michele Angoloro. For just $6, you can access this PSD or AI file, which is completely customisable. Change the colors, positions and typefaces to suit your own design brief. Related articles: The designer's guide to self-promotion 12 beautiful travel posters The designer's guide to printing a poster View the full article

You're reading Introducing Postcards, Email Template Builder, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook, Google+! Using Postcards, you can create beautiful emails/newsletters in minutes with drag and drop features and ready-made modules. Generated and exported emails are optimized for most popular email service providers and email clients (desktop and browsers). View the full article

A portfolio website is one of the most important tools in any design agency's self-promotional toolkit, and it needs to fulfil many different jobs effectively. These include showcasing your back-catalogue to best effect to impress clients, peers and potential recruits; explaining your background, ethos, and creative process; and where applicable, also getting across opinions and attitudes that make you stand out. It's not an easy balance to strike, and even world-class design studios need to rethink their approach sometimes. Read on to discover how six top agencies approached the redesign of their portfolio websites over the past year, and what you can learn from their successes... 01. Pentagram Pentagram leads with a large hero image, with a patchwork of projects to explore beneath Granddaddy of graphic design Pentagram has a dizzying archive of inspirational work that stretches back to the 1970s, split between its unique network of largely autonomous global partners. So any attempt to rework its website has a unique set of challenges not faced by smaller, younger studios. Its last major redesign in 2011 had a very archival, almost museum-like feel, with a grid of thumbnails that could be categorised according to project, client or how recently they were produced. It was a simple approach that acknowledged the many decades of design history that the world's largest independent design consultancy has under its belt. Pentagram's most recent portfolio shake-up has taken the polar opposite approach, visually speaking. You're greeted by an enormous screen-filling hero image that transitions between seven flagship case studies. Scroll down and you're met with a patchwork of thumbnails showcasing a selection of other recent work, with minimal text: just the project name at first, with a one-sentence qualifier visible on mouseover. Click those for a visual feast of high-resolution imagery for each project; and again for a more in-depth rationale behind the design solution. It's a mine of information for those who choose to explore it, fronted by a mouth-watering visual treat. 02. Johnson Banks Johnson Banks' innovative infinite-scrolling portfolio is a joy to navigate It would be remiss of us not to mention one of the most innovative design studio website redesigns of 2017: Johnson Banks' side-scrolling splendour, reviewed here on CB last April. Created in collaboration with BONG, Johnson Banks' smart infinite-scrolling interface splits the studio's extensive portfolio into a grid, with five rows of thumbnails of decreasing size, which scroll at different speeds. It's a mesmerising experience to navigate, and can be customised according to sector and discipline to help you zero right in on your work of choice. Other areas of the website following a similarly innovative navigation model, including Thoughts, News and even the About section – so often neglected compared to other, more visual areas of a design studio's portfolio. In short, it's a real pleasure to explore. 03. Rose Rose puts even more emphasis on the hero image in its clean, simple portfolio layout Despite a hugely impressive haul of design awards for an equally impressive list of clients, Rose often flies under the radar when it comes to overt self-promotion, compared to some of its more public-facing peers – preferring to let the work speak for itself. Like Pentagram, in its 2017 site redesign Rose opted for screen-filling inspiration for its homepage: huge, high-resolution hits of design porn that cycles automatically through the agency's back catalogue. Unlike Pentagram, however, the rest is kept much simpler, in line with Rose's understated attitude. In place of multiple layers of project information to explore, there's a clean menu interface: a few paragraphs about the agency; a matter-of-fact roll-call of clients; the necessary contact details. The implicit message is: if you love the beautiful work that's filling your screen right now, just drop us a line. 04. Studio Dumbar Studio Dumbar has a bold split-screen approach that shows the agency's love of typography Studio Dumbar also enjoyed a portfolio shake-up last year, and the Dutch agency's penchant for warped and distorted type is brought to the fore with an arresting split-screen treatment. On the left-hand side of the page two giant, chunky sans serif letters – an 'S' and a 'D', white out of black – are on a constant rotating loop, pushing and squeezing each other. Hover the mouse over and the letters change to numbers – a '4' and a '0', black out of shocking pink – to represent four decades in business since 1977. Meanwhile, the right-hand side cycles between a selection of project imagery, often cropped to become quite abstract, with no immediate context until you click through to discover full details about the brief and Studio Dumbar's solution. It's a bold, original approach that takes up a great deal of screen real estate with giant warped typography. And in doing so, reflects the agency's aesthetic and speaks volumes about its creative approach. 05. DesignStudio The cleanest, most minimalist above-the-fold approach on this list comes courtesy of DesignStudio – the agency that placed itself firmly on the global branding map in recent years with its high-profile rebrands of Airbnb, Deliveroo and the Premier League. Before you scroll down to explore a grid of dynamic project imagery, many of which is eye-catchingly animated, you get a bold statement surrounded by a sea of pure white: 'Hello, we are DesignStudio. We make a meaningful difference to the world's most loved brands.' Similar to Pentagram, once you click through from each hero asset on the homepage you can delve deeper into the thinking, and explore the various different touchpoints that each project involves. That confidence to put the spotlight on its mission statement definitely sets DesignStudio apart however, and no doubt those 11 words were agonised over for some time to get them spot on. 06. Superunion Our most recent inclusion is, we assume, an ongoing project for the mega-agency formed from WPP stablemates The Partners, Brand Union, Lambie-Nairn, Addison and VBAT, and officially launched in January 2018. With 750 staff worldwide, this is the biggest agency on the list by some distance, and from a portfolio perspective, needs to collate the diverse legacies of five well-respected, long-established agencies in one place. In its current form, Superunion's website is surprisingly clean and simple, putting the homepage emphasis on six hero case studies, as well as a handful of thought-leadership pieces. Most distinctive is the surreal brand imagery that currently lives above the fold, created by artist Nancy Fouts. The campaign features unexpected visual unions between objects, such as a balloon and a cactus; a bunch of flowers and a hand grenade; and a brain and a perfume diffuser. Where DesignStudio chose an 11-word mission statement, Superunion opts for visual metaphor to represent its birth in 2018: it will be fascinating to see how the agency's online presence develops over the coming months. Related articles: 5 rising stars of design from Paris 8 tools to help you work remotely as a freelancer 5 ways to create better brand imagery View the full article

Would you be interested in finding your next new job or freelance opportunity through Creative Bloq? We’re always looking for ways to make the site better, and one area where we think we could help is through a jobs board. After all, we have hundreds of thousands of visitors – designers, studio owners and clients alike – every day. What if we could connect you in a better way? We have a few different ideas in mind, which we’ll run through below, but the big question is: would you want this sort of service on Creative Bloq? When you've read through the options, please take 30 seconds to vote in our poll. Here’s what we’re thinking: 01. A jobs board This would be a traditional-style jobs board, where studios and agencies around the world could advertise their latest creative vacancies. 02. A 'find a freelancer' service This would be a more specialised service, connecting top studios and agencies with talented, reliable freelancers. We would love your feedback, so if either of these ideas are of interest – or if they really aren’t – please take a moment to let us know in the poll below. Vote in our poll now A huge thank you for your feedback. Related articles: How to turn 'free' work into paid work 8 ways to make more money in 2018 How to be an award-winning illustrator View the full article

Apple said it is working on a fix for the latest text bomb bug that crashes a number of iOS and Mac apps that display specific Telugu language characters. View the full article

The day after the Harvey Weinstein scandal broke, I spoke to the Computer Arts team about writing something on 'design's Weinstein moment'. I think both the editor and I half-expected the whole idea to slide, and for the ruckus to blow over, as these things tend to. We celebrate violent men and paedophiles because their work in some way inspires us. We idolise photographers and 'edgy' CEOs despite mounting accusations of rape, violence and abuse. Is it any wonder we all expected Weinstein and his alleged horrors to slip quietly off the front pages? The problem with period product branding Activist Tarana Burke's #MeToo campaign – revived by actress Alyssa Milano – was the tipping point sexual harassment needed. It's hard to discredit over 500,000 women as attention-seeking fantasists when all of them are saying the same thing. So far, there's hasn't been a big outing in the design industry. I doubt there will be. Design superstars don't really count for much in the real world. Our creeps are small fry when compared to glamorous Hollywood sexual abusers. That's not to say that abuse isn't rife in design. It is. We're just less high-profile, and a bit better at masking it. At the moment. Male and pale You only need to look at our senior leaders to know that something isn't right. Despite a decade of diversity initiatives, our creative directors and CEOs are resoundingly male and pale. The UK design industry is overwhelmingly white – 87 per cent so in fact. And just 12 per cent of London's CDs are female. It's perhaps ironic that Tarana, a woman of colour, is responsible for helping the sexual abuse scandal gain traction, seeing as a damning TUC report into workplace racism in the UK barely registered. Perhaps we're too worn down by austerity, Trump and Brexit to focus on more than one national horror at a time. This might explain why we chose to neglect the TUC's report. This might explain why we've compartmentalised diversity and made it a white woman's issue. Perhaps the plan is to 'fix' white women before moving onto people of colour, LGBT+ communities and people with disabilities. It's like the supermarket meat counter – take a number and wait. Gemma is a senior content strategist at London agency Dare Let's be clear. It took American Apparel years to fire Dov Charney, despite multiple harassment cases. Vogue only severed ties with Terry Richardson recently, despite a cacophony of complaints. The industry, in fact, the world, only stopped disbelieving women because they had no choice. It's nice to think that some handsy creative directors might be sweating it out right now, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. This type of abuse is part of a much bigger problem. I'm not here to mitigate or diminish the experiences of every woman who's been assaulted, but focusing solely on sexual harassment won't solve the problem of who has the power and why it's being abused. The Harvey Weinstein story has forced men (don't you dare #notallmen me) to confront some very sketchy behaviour. It's given women an opportunity to be heard, and to an extent, to be believed. We must now share that same courtesy with others who've had their opportunities limited by the discrimination that's rife in our industry. Fight the power We pretend the design industry is a meritocracy. That we'll get far with hard work and the right attitude, but that's not the case. There's a reason why we're so white, and it's the same reason so many of our leaders are male. Power is abused to be retained. Women are taught rape is a consequence of their actions. Under-represented people in the industry are taught the same lessons. They're put in charge of underfunded, unsupported diversity initiatives and tasked with solving an enormous problem from a position of limited authority. And when these initiatives fail, we blame them, not the leaders who continue to remake the industry in their own image. I work at Dare, the only truly diverse agency I've ever encountered. Diversity isn't a link in its footer, it's a guiding principle. The board's diverse and so are the staff. It really is that simple. How we, as an industry, move forward from Weinstein, sexual harassment and institutional discrimination will either make or break us. People like me have been speaking about these subjects for a long time. Nothing changes. We need to hear these words from the people with power, from those actually able to do something about it. This article was originally published in issue 274 of Computer Arts, the world's best-selling design magazine. Buy issue 274 here or subscribe to Computer Arts here. Related articles: 30 life skills every designer should master How to encourage diversity in the design industry 5 top tips for succeeding in an unpredictable world View the full article

Grabbing a picture from Google's image search just got a bit harder. That's because last night the search engine giant revealed that it has removed the View Image button from Google Images searches. Whereas users used to be able to search an image, pick a result they liked and view it on its own, now you'll have to go into the site the image is from to view the asset. So is this good news for creatives? Or is it a backwards move, like some suggest? The 14 best photography websites According to Getty Images, it's great news. The photo library had complained that Google's image search made it easy for people to find Getty Images pictures and take them, without the appropriate permission or licence. And for publishers, certainly, it's great news. Now they can serve ads and earn more revenue based on the extra click-throughs. The announcement, however, which was made via Twitter with screenshots of the new image search buttons – visit, share, and save – has been met with negative feedback from others. And we're wondering if Google deliberately used an image of a cactus as it broke the news to acknowledge that it's a prickly issue. Many have suggested that the unique benefits of using Google Images have now been removed. Others have labelled it a " backwards step", and pointed out that right-clicking on an image and selecting 'open image in new tab' or 'view image' means you can still access the asset. Google, for its part, has been quick to confirm that the change did indeed come about from a settlement with Getty Images. Related articles: Google launches Instagram-like Stories Google logo sparks 'correct design' debate What's wrong with Google's burger emoji? View the full article

The right song can set the mood for a video. Unfortunately, good music doesn't always come easy. You can make sure you always have the perfect tune ready for use for your project with the StockUnlimited Audio Library. You can get three-year access on sale for just $49.99 (approx. £36)! Music assets aren't cheap and they often aren't easy to find, either. StockUnlimited's massive Audio Library can fix that problem for you. This massive library provides you with tons of premium audio tracks and sound effects that you can use for any project. For three years, you'll have unlimited downloads to all of the royalty-free music you could want. These tracks are perfect for setting the mood with tons of genres, instruments and sound effects to choose from. You can get a three-year subscription to StockUnlimited Audio Library on sale for just $49.99 (approx. £36). That's a savings of 91% off the retail price for a can't-miss deal for any creator, so grab this offer today! About Creative Bloq deals This great deal comes courtesy of the Creative Bloq Deals store – a creative marketplace that's dedicated to ensuring you save money on the items that improve your design life. We all like a special offer or two, particularly with creative tools and design assets often being eye-wateringly expensive. That's why the Creative Bloq Deals store is committed to bringing you useful deals, freebies and giveaways on design assets (logos, templates, icons, fonts, vectors and more), tutorials, e-learning, inspirational items, hardware and more. Every day of the working week we feature a new offer, freebie or contest – if you miss one, you can easily find past deals posts on the Deals Staff author page or Offer tag page. Plus, you can get in touch with any feedback at:deals@creativebloq.com. Related articles: The best video editing software 2018 Apple Music's new branding hits all the right notes Build a simple music player with React View the full article

We've given you a selection of great brochure templates elsewhere on the site. But when it comes to making a stunning brochure design from scratch – something that can take pride of place in your design portfolio – how do you make it really stand out? How to get more from your print projects Here, we bring you a series of pro tips that will make the difference between creating a good brochure and a great brochure design. 01. Know your purpose before you start Human After All’s stunning brochure designs for the BAFTA 2016 Film Awards When you're thinking about how to design a brochure, start by asking clients why they think that they need a brochure. Then ask them to define their objectives. Sometimes they just want one because their last brochure didn't work. If they've come up with a brief for you, take a step back from that and look at exactly what it is they're trying to achieve. 02. Limit your fonts You don't need many fonts when you're thinking of how to design a brochure – just a heading, subheading and body copy font. But we see it all the time: people think they need to find a headline font nobody has ever used before. Clients will usually take the lead on fonts as they'll often have a corporate identity already in place. 03. Take stock of your paper stock Talk about paper stock before you put pen to notepad. If you're working for a client, ask if it has to be the standard A4. Find out if they've considered using uncoated paper, for example. There's a great post here on making a paper choice. 04. Get your copy right You may not want to hear it, but excellent copy is crucial to great brochure design Great copy is often the most undervalued element in brochure design. A lot of people don't understand that copy needs to be considered as part of the overall design concept. At the early stage of any brochure design project, experiment with the copy to see if it needs reworking. Headlines aren't something to just drop in later. 05. Put readers first When thinking of how to design a brochure, keep the end purpose in mind. Is this a brochure that's going to be posted out in response to requests made on a website? Is it a giveaway at an exhibition, or a leave-behind brochure? When someone opens it, what will it say to them? Design for that person, not for yourself. 06. Use simple statements Keep brochure design concepts clear and simple You want to know how to make a brochure that stands out, right? Sometimes the simple ideas are the best. If a client has decided they want lots of cliched images to get a particular point across, it's probably better to scrap them. The solution might be to use a typographic cover instead, and make a very literal statement about what they want to say. 07. Set pen to paper Break out the layout pads and try drawing and sketching ideas to start with. Brainstorm everything among everybody, rather than taking a brief away for two weeks and then presenting three concepts to see which one the client hates the least. 08. Keep what works Don't try to be wacky or different just for the sake of it when you're thinking of how to design a brochure that gets noticed. For example, most designers use the same 10 to 20 fonts across a lot of the projects they work on. There are sound design reasons why Helvetica is used a lot, and why Rockwell is a good headline font. 09. Make a good first impression You must convey a good impression with your brochure design Brochure designs need to fit in with what the client does as a business. Charities don't want luxury brochures that'll make people think they've spent a lot of money on them, whereas a new product might need a brochure that looks amazing on an exhibition stand. 10. Shoot sharp To make a product brochure pleasurable to flick through, you need good photos. If you're using stock imagery – budgets don't always stretch to a photoshoot – try to find pictures that don't look like they're stock images. Never cut corners. This article was originally published in Computer Arts, the world's best-selling design magazine. Subscribe to Computer Arts here. Related articles: 44 eye-catching flyer designs The design anatomy of a brochure 50 brilliant design portfolios to inspire you View the full article

React has grown into one of the most popular tools found in a web developer’s library. Get yourself a selection of essential techniques that will improve your code output. 01. Higher-order components Components often share functionality with each other, such as logging or network requests. These can become difficult to maintain as the number using this logic increases. Developers are encouraged to abstract shared code and include it where necessary. In a regular JavaScript application, the concept of a higher-order function is one way to approach it. In short, they are functions that take other functions as arguments and impart behaviours onto them. Array methods such as map and filter are examples of these. Higher-order components (HOCs) are React’s way of achieving the same thing. They are components that impart behaviour onto a passed component. In this example here, the function returns a new wrapped component, which renders the original one that was passed in alongside any props. HOCs are regular components and can do anything they can, such as passing in their own props and hooking into lifecycle callbacks. The function then wraps the original on export. By using HOCs, it makes commonly used chunks of code easier to maintain and test. When specific functionality is required, they are easy to drop in, safe in the knowledge that it will behave as expected. 02. Portals There are times where a component needs to break out of its parent to be elsewhere in the DOM. Modal windows, for example, belong in the top level of the page in order to avoid issues with z-index and positioning. Portals are also part in v16, which enables React to render components into DOM nodes completely separate from the rest of the application. The contents will keep its place in React’s structure, but will render elsewhere. This means any event that gets triggered inside the portal will bubble up through the parent in React, rather than into the portal container element itself. By creating a dedicated component, the portal can be returned by the render function. When content needs to be displayed, it can be wrapped in this component and then displayed in the other element. 03. CSS with styled-components Styling an application with reusable components can lead to issues with clashing class names. Conventions such as BEM help mitigate the issue, but they aim to treat the symptoms rather than the problem. It is possible for components to take charge of their own styles. This means they have a way of adjusting visuals on the fly without the need for either inline styles or class toggles. One such solution is styled-components, which uses JavaScript to its advantage. As the name suggests, rather than creating classNames it creates entirely new ready-styled components. The system makes use of ES2015 tagged template literals, which can accept regular CSS and apply that to the requested element. By using a placeholder, the style can be altered dynamically. In this example, the button background changes depending if the button is passed a primary prop. Any expression can be used here to calculate the style required. The created component can be used just like any other and any props will be passed through. Custom components can also be styled the same way by using styled(ComponentName) instead. 04. Using React-specific linting One of the best ways to keep code clean is to use a linter tool. They define a set of rules the code should follow and will highlight anywhere it fails. By ensuring all code passes these rules before merging into the codebase, projects stay maintainable and code quality increases. ESLint is a popular linter for various JavaScript projects. There are plugins available that analyse specific code styles. One of the most common for React is an npm package called eslint-plugin-react. By default, it will check a number of best practices, with rules checking things from keys in iterators to a complete set of prop types. More options can be enabled on a per-project basis by updating the .eslintrc config file. Another popular plugin is eslint-plugin-jsx-a11y, which will help fix common issues with accessibility. As JSX offers slightly different syntax to regular HTML, issues with alt text and tabindex, for example, will not be picked up by regular plugins. It will also pick up React-specific issues, such as assigning aria props with different syntax. 05. Code splitting As with any single page application, everything gets bundled into one file that can quickly bloom in size if it does not get kept in check. Tools such as Webpack can help split this bundle up into more manageable chunks that can then be requested as needed. As React encourages creating lots of smaller components, there are plenty of opportunities to break up the bundle. The react-loadable package enables a component to define exactly what it needs to render and Webpack can automatically split up its bundle to accommodate this. Loadable is a HOC that will dynamically import anything the component needs. It takes a few settings, such as what to show while everything loads in, which makes it highly customisable. LoadableButton can then be used as a regular component without issue. For larger applications with routing, it may be more beneficial to split by route instead of component. Common paths can be pulled in with one request, and can help speed things up. It is important to have a balance between the number of bundles and their overall size, which will change depending on the needs of the application. More details about react-loadable can be found at https://github.com/thejameskyle/react-loadable. What’s new in JavaScript? Wes Bos is a full-stack JavaScript developer, speaker and teacher from Canada. He works as an independent web developer, and is a lead instructor at HackerYou and Ladies Learning Code. In his talk at Generate New York from 25-27 April 2018, he reveals some of the best things that are brand new to JavaScript, as well as things that we can look forward to in the coming months and years. Strap yourself in for a fast-paced talk full of hot tips as we rocket ourselves into the future of JavaScript. GET YOUR TICKET NOW Related articles: Build a simple music player with React Create a dashboard app with React 12 common JavaScript questions answered View the full article

You're reading Best Free Web Icon Packs for 2018, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook, Google+! There are certain things in user interfaces that are eternal. Whatever the trend is — skeuomorphic, minimal, flat — designers will adapt to the current situation. One of the integral bricks of any good design is icons. As a clear graphical representation, an icon naturally bridges the gap between the web application and user. You […] View the full article

Clever and unique use of imagery can have a transformative effect on a brand's impact. The best logos can create a powerful visual association that goes far beyond the actual design itself. It's worth pointing out that 'brand imagery' is different from 'brand image'. A brand's image is that intangible, emotional quality that brands constantly strive to improve in the minds of consumers, formed from a broad kit of parts, including the promises a brand makes and the actual experience it delivers. Brand imagery, by contrast, is a more concrete, objective entity: how a brand presents itself to the world. It can evoke heritage or innovation, communicate quality, or imply good, honest, no-nonsense value. It helps shape brand image, but is never wholly responsible for it. It doesn't necessarily have to be visual, either – brand imagery can appeal to any of the five senses. Sounds, smells, tastes and physical sensations can all help define a brand. Read on to discover five brands that have developed brand imagery that defines their attitude, and helps them stand out from the crowd... 01. First Direct Barry the talking platypus helped position First Direct as 'the unexpected bank Banking and financial services have traditionally been one of the most conservative, 'safe' sectors for branding. It's all about trust, security, stability and growth. It's not a sector you'd usually associate with a platypus, a frilled lizard or an astronaut walking on water. But somehow, since its 2013 repositioning by JWT as 'the unexpected bank', First Direct has appropriated all three. Now part of HSBC, First Direct has built a compelling brand image based around its famously high-quality, very 'human' customer service, and corresponding loyalty. Barry the talking platypus and his successor, Little Frill the lizard, both emphasised that award-winning service in their own delightfully surreal, hugely memorable black-and-white ads that also featured beatboxing songbirds and a pizza-guzzling bushbaby. Fronted by the water-walking astronaut, First Direct's latest above-the-line campaign may reposition it again as a 'modern, digital bank', but that distinctive monochrome palette and unexpected visual associations are preserved in the brand imagery. 02. Aizone Luxury Middle Eastern department store Aizone enjoyed an annual visual extravaganza courtesy of Sagmeister & Walsh from 2009-2016, the result of which is a striking collection of brand imagery unlike any other. The initial constraint at the outset of the campaign – that the ads had to be black-and-white, and couldn't actually feature any of the department store's wares – drove the iconic New York agency to explore a stunning, and unmissable, combination of nude models and body paint. Subsequent campaigns introduced splashes of increasingly vibrant colour, and experimental type – at first painted onto models, and later constructed out of everything from paint to hair to balloons. More recently, the agency took the concepts in new directions, setting their models inside 3D environments inspired by pop art, constructivism and psychedelia. Splashed across newspapers, magazines, and billboards throughout Lebanon, all of these examples of brand imagery were the very definition of head-turning. But they also show how a powerful visual concept can be constantly reinvented to keep things fresh. 03. London Symphony Orchestra This identity was generated dynamically based on mo-cap data Winner of Best of Show at the 2017 Brand Impact Awards, the breathtaking rebrand of London Symphony Orchestra by The Partners (now Superunion) captures the essence of style, passion and movement effortlessly. While Aizone demonstrates what can happen when a bold creative agency has fun with a relatively open brief, this is a superb example of brand imagery that's firmly rooted in the subject matter: it's generated dynamically based on motion-capture data from LSO conductor Simon Rattle. The sweeping curves tear through the type with gusto, while the abstract, jagged metallic background imagery visualises the ethereal nature of the music. Each poster is unique, and yet unmistakably part of the whole. Brand imagery doesn't get much better, or more authentic, than this. 04. Apprenticeships Brand imagery doesn't need to be colourful to be effective As First Direct demonstrates, sometimes the absence of colour can be every bit as striking as all the shades of the rainbow. Part of Purpose's rebrand of the UK government's Apprenticeships service – which had previously been totally unassuming with a palette of burgundy and orange – was an incredible batch of brand imagery, crafted entirely in stark black and white. Based around the idea of 'Inspiring Transformation', the agency created a varied series of illustrated type treatments, all based around motivational phrases. A Meccano-style modular typeface followed, which played on the equally integral ideas of construction and practical, useful skills that the initiative champion – again, all in the black-and-white palette that makes the Apprenticeships brand imagery so distinctive. 05. D&AD Festival This imagery elevates the central brand element flawlessly. In a way, designing brand imagery for the D&AD Festival and Awards is both a dream brief, and a nightmare brief, as you know it'll be front and centre for a crowd of the world's very best, more discerning designers. The Beautiful Meme rose to the challenge in 2017, riffing on, distorting and deconstructing the familiar Pencil in all its famous colours: Wood, Graphite, Yellow, White and Black. Blown up huge on the big screen during the Awards, the resulting series of stylised 3D animations were an explosive feast for the eyes. They don't have the conceptual cleverness of LSO, or wittily subvert expectations like First Direct, but they do one thing exceptionally well: elevate the central brand element, the Pencil, to hero status. And as a piece of brand imagery, you can't argue with that. Read more: 8 iconic American logos that changed branding forever 10 huge graphic design trends to know for 2018 5 logo design trends for 2018 View the full article