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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

Cyber Monday 2018 might be a few months away yet, but if you’re wondering how to grab the best Cyber Monday deals for designers, illustrators and artists when the big day arrives, then we’re here to help. Whether you're based in the US or the UK, you'll find the biggest creative hardware and software bargains right here – so bookmark this page. We’ll be working around the clock to bring you the best Cyber Monday deals from the most reputable retailers, first. So what do you need to know now? When is Cyber Monday 2018? Cyber Monday falls on 26 November this year, three days after Black Friday on the 23 November. While Black Friday is a frenzied cacophony of high street and online deals, Cyber Monday was originally conceived by savvy marketers as a way to sell more of their wares online, back when online shopping wasn’t as prevalent as it is today. According to those in the know, Cyber Monday sees a wider range of deals across individual retailers. It's less about one-off discounts, and more about lower prices generally. Of course, if stores need to shift stock they’ll follow-up Black Friday discounts with further reductions on Cyber Monday – so expect one-off deals too. What we learned from Cyber Monday 2017 Last year, we saw some fantastic savings on creative hardware, software and resources. Here’s what we found: eBay and Amazon offered the best Cyber Monday deals on Apple products and Wacom drawing tablets Unsurprisingly, superseded products saw serious discounts. Amazon cut over $1,000 off its Surface Book stock, following the launch of the Surface Book 2 The Microsoft Store was ripe with large discounts across its Surface family Dell hosted some huge tech bargains directly on its website, too Adobe did Cyber Monday. It slashed its Creative Cloud software by 20% Other creative software also made competitive discounts, so it's worth waiting for Black November if you can Cyber Monday 2018: where to find the best deals As mentioned, we’ll be rounding up the best Cyber Monday deals for designers, illustrators and creatives right here on this page. However, if you want to browse retailer websites directly – and it’s worth having a look now to get a grasp of prices and specs, and to sign up for for early Cyber Monday deals alerts – here are the retailer links you need… Cyber Monday US: Adobe deals| Amazon Cyber Monday 2018 | Microsoft Store | Dell Store | Target Cyber Monday 2018 | Kohl's Cyber Monday 2018 | eBay Cyber Monday 2018 | Best Buy Cyber Monday 2018 | NewEgg Cyber Monday 2018 | Walmart Cyber Monday Cyber Monday UK: Adobe deals | Amazon Cyber Monday 2018 | Microsoft Store | Dell Store | John Lewis Cyber Monday 2018 | Very.co.uk Cyber Monday 2018 | Currys Cyber Monday 2018 | Argos Cyber Monday 2018 | Tesco Direct Cyber Monday 2018 | eBay Cyber Monday 2018 | Mobiles.co.uk Cyber Monday 2018 Cyber Monday 2018: tips for getting the best deals The brilliant Surface Book saw dramatic cuts on Cyber Monday 2017 Get the best Cyber Monday deals this year by following these pro tips... 01. Know what you want to buy Create a list of items you want to purchase over Black Friday. Knowing what you want to buy is the best way to avoid becoming swept up in the moment and purchasing something you don't want. 02. Do your research Avoid bad deals by doing your research ahead of the day. Swot up on the product you want, which specs you're after and what the price usually is. Read the reviews and find out who the best manufacturers are. 03. Compare prices To get a solid idea on product prices, try using price-comparison internet shopping sites like PriceGrabber.com. 04. Check the extras Always make sure you check the specs before buying a product – and look at the extras. Does it come with accessories? Are there any hidden postage and packaging charges? 05. Consider payment options We certainly don’t promote the idea of racking up huge credit cards bills with big interest rates – but do bear in mind that many credit cards offer benefits like free warranties, return protection and sale price protection. It's worth checking whether you're eligible for any such benefits and consider paying by credit card. 06. Invest in an Amazon Prime subscription Prime users – including anyone on a free trial – are offered an exclusive 30-minute early access period to all Amazon Lightning Deals. An Amazon Prime subscription will cost you £79/$99 per year. Today’s best deals on the best creative kit Don't worry if you can't wait until Cyber Monday to bag a bargain. There are plenty to be had on creative hardware, software and resources right now. We're tracking the month's best deals in the following articles, and you can scroll down for the day's hottest bargains on our favourite creative products... The best Macbook and Macbook Pro deals The best Microsoft Surface deals The best Dell XPS deals The best cheap laptop deals The best Wacom tablet deals The best Adobe deals 30 books every graphic designer should read Related articles: The best laptop deals for designers The best Macbook and MacBook Pro deals The best Wacom tablet deals View the full article

Intel will pay up to $250,000 to researchers who identify bugs more severe than 9.0 on the CVSS scale. View the full article

Avecto researchers say removing admin rights from users would mitigate many of the threats. View the full article

Malicious e-mail attachments used in this campaign don’t display any warnings when opened and silently install malware. View the full article

We all have a large store of memories taken as photos and it’s great to be able to reminisce. But what if you could go a step further and add a little life to those still images? Photo editors these days let us do just that. Photoshop allows us to add depth to photos, even animating the results, to truly breathe some fresh air into our old still albums. With that in mind I’m using a simple old photo from a holiday for this tutorial. Get Adobe Creative Cloud now 01. Choose the right photo Aim to use a photo with a distinct depth range I’ve chosen a photo that will make it more obvious as I proceed through the tutorial but many shots can work. I suggest aiming for one with a distinct depth range, like mine, that has some separation between foreground and background. You can use shots with more levels of depth as well, repeating the process for each. Click the layers lock icon, so that you can work with it. 02. Mask off the foreground The first step is to mask off your foreground subject The first step is to mask off your foreground subject. The means you use to do this are not important, what you need to focus on is a clean mask that doesn’t miss any details. I used the brush tool to manually paint mine, but the magnetic lasso tool is a good option. Don’t forget, depending on your subject matter, you might be able to select by colour range or use the magic wand tool. 03. Hide foreground element Copy your selection on to a new layer Copy this selection on to a new layer by simply hitting Ctrl+J, which will leave the fresh copy in the same location, before clicking the layers eye icon to hide it. The only thing to watch for here is whether the foreground or background gets copied. If needed, invert your selection by hitting Ctrl+Shift+I, before copying. Here you can see the pasted copy. 04. Fill in the background Make sure your background layer is active and then click CTRL_SHIFT+D to reselect your original mask With your copy hidden, make sure your background layer is active and then click Ctrl+Shift+D to reselect your original mask. Then click Shift+F5 to open the Fill dialogue. From the contents menu choose Content Aware. This will attempt to fill the selection based on surrounding areas of the image. 05. Tidy up background Use the clone stamp tool and/or the healing brush to tidy up any areas The results of the fill can vary and mine needs a little work. If you need to tidy areas of yours, I suggest using the clone stamp tool and/or the healing brush. This can handle selection artefacts easily. 85 brilliant Photoshop tutorials If you’re having trouble, then concentrate your efforts just inside your selection, as they are the areas that might be seen once you animate. 06. Create video timeline Now that we are prepared you can go to the window menu and check the Timeline option Now that we are prepared you can go to the window menu and check the Timeline option. A blank timeline will appear. In it, click the create video timeline button and your layers will each appear on their own separate section of the timeline. The default length is set to 5 seconds, which is fine for our purposes and is auto fitted to the available space. 07. Preview the image Concentrate on the Position to start with If you click the Right Arrow icon next to the layer preview on the timeline, it reveals the elements that you can animate. We will concentrate on the Position to start with. On frame 0 click the diamond icon, next to the word Position. This is the Add Keyframe button. Now go to the last frame, hit V and drag the layer to the left (I used the layer with me in it). A keyframe will be automatically added. Hit the play button to ensure your change in position was recorded. 08. Scale to fit Convert the layer to smart object for scaling options The background offers no options for scaling, which we need, so in the layer palette, right click it and convert to smart object. In the timeline you will now have a transform option. At Frame 0 add a keyframe as before. Then go to the last frame, scale the smart object up and add a new keyframe. Press play to see the results. 09. Finishing touches Select the appropriate keyframe to make adjustments If you aren’t happy with any aspect, go to the appropriate keyframe, change the scale or position, then click the stopwatch next to the track, to overwrite the keyframe. Another option you have is to introduce elements that weren’t in the original photo. Treat this as you would any other Photoshop task and insert the new content on its own layer and animate accordingly, using the same tools. 10. Save and export To save your video for use elsewhere, Click File/Export/Save as video To save your video for use elsewhere, Click File/Export/Save as video. In the dialogue that opens choose a suitable format. I opted for a Quicktime file, at full HD resolution, which happened to be much smaller than the original photo. Of course if you prefer you could paste your items into a 1920x1080 document to start with. Then all that’s left is to set a location for the video and hit the Render button... Related articles: How to take your vector logo from 2D to 3D The incredible Wacom tablet that's also a 3D scanner The digital artist's guide to switching from Mac to Windows View the full article

It's difficult to define exactly what 'creative coding' means. In broad terms, it refers to the production of something that is expressive in nature rather than having a purely practical use. It is a chance to learn and explore how various different technologies can come together to create impressive works of art. How to get started with creative coding What form that takes is entirely up to the creator. Anything from data visualisation to image manipulation could be considered 'creative coding'. The web is flexible enough to open up opportunities in different areas of art and design. Here we look at the different ways you can experiment with code and create stimulating visual results. 01. Head straight for the frameworks If you're comfortable with code and have a good idea of what you want to create, why wait? Here are the four best frameworks for creative coders; take your pick! p5.js p5.js gives you the power and ease of use of Processing, but on the web Processing is the holy grail for creative coders. It provides a language and an IDE to enable designers and non-technical people to create stunning visualisations without getting buried in the technicalities. The p5.js library takes the principles of Processing and applies them to the web. It delivers the same kinds of abstractions, which provide simplicity to the beginners and offer powerful control to experts. The bulk of the work happens within two functions – one controls the project setup, while the other draws to the page in a loop for the life of that project. The library supplies plenty of global methods and variables to update the page within these functions. For example, calling frameRate(60) lets p5.js do the hard work of maintaining a constant 60fps. sketch.js sketch.js is a lightweight but powerful way to get going with JavaScript Weighing in at under 5kb, sketch.js is a tiny framework that helps developers get up and running with creative JavaScript. It's light enough to embed in any website, but provides plenty of features along with it. It's possible to hook into methods that react to events within the projects. While this includes the usual callbacks, such as the animation loop, sketch.js also opens up events such as keyboard input and window resizing. Touch and mouse inputs are treated the same, which makes all projects touch-friendly by default. While it is possible to target either input type specifically, it takes the worry out of dealing with the small differences between the two event types. It can also calculate the deltas between these points automatically to make physics calculations easier. D3 There's more to D3 than charts and graphs While D3 has long been the go-to library for creating graphs and charts, that isn't all it's capable of. Its data-driven approach makes it great for creating attractive visualisations – either informative or abstract. When combined with a rich data source such as the Twitter API, it makes infographics easy to create. By manipulating DOM elements, such as SVG, D3 will work with any assets already a part of an application. It provides a structure around which they can be transformed to provide emphasis or to animate onscreen. There are plenty of ways to access D3 through other libraries and frameworks as well. Specially created components for React, directives for Angular, and plugins for most other front-end frameworks are readily available, for example. three.js With three.js you can easily create smooth 3D interactions using WebGL Working in 3D with WebGL can be complicated at the best of times. Working out how shaders and camera perspectives work in such a wide-reaching API can take away from the creative aspects of a project and slow everything down. With three.js it's possible to skim over these tricky aspects and focus on the visuals. It is a 3D JavaScript library, which works with WebGL to easily create beautifully smooth interactions with minimum effort. The library provides many built-in methods for creating objects in the scene. Everything can be altered just like any other JavaScript object and will update accordingly. Complicated techniques, such as texture mapping, are provided out of the box and are usually just a case of setting the appropriate option on the object. 02. Get smart with data sources and APIs There's plenty of publicly-accessible data out there for you to play with keep your project fresh; see what you can do with these sources. Twitter Twitter's developer platform is a treasure trove for creative coders With over 320 million active users in 2017, Twitter is a wealth of information. People are talking about every conceivable topic by posting pictures and video alongside their unfiltered reactions in real time. This makes it a goldmine for a creative coding project. The official API can bring back the tweets in the format needed along with other metadata that is open for analysis. This data can then be visualised in new and exciting ways. The Twitter API provides four defined 'objects' that can be retrieved – tweets, users, locations and entities. Entities include extra information linked to those objects including hashtags and media. Values on these objects are fixed and will only ever be extended upon, which means you will never lose access. Tweets themselves can be searched for with a query to a single endpoint. These searches can either be for a string or can be more descriptive, such as for images or tweets with a positive sentiment. Visualising Twitter data can make a great connected design piece. Combining multiple data points such as location and sentiment can create a project that is also informative, such as graphing live tweets about a topic from around the world. While there are plenty of opportunities to use the output from Twitter, the API also allows for applications to post messages to Twitter. These can come from any source provided that it's connected to the API. All endpoints in the API require some kind of authentication. For most projects that is only an application key, but authenticating can be tricky when done manually. Thankfully there are a few packages that make working with the Twitter API a little easier. The npm module 'twitter' is the catch-all client library when working through Node. It supports regular endpoints as well as streaming, which may be useful for real-time projects. Instagram and Flickr Social media APIs can provide a great source for data visualisations and mashups Creative coding projects are often visual, which makes image and video sharing APIs an attractive prospect for inspiration. Thankfully, sites such as Instagram and Flickr open up their data and allow developers access to that content, as well as the surrounding metadata. Instagram has become one of the web's most popular image-sharing platforms. As a result, it is a rich source of images to use in creative projects. The API is no different. It provides access to images, videos, comments and tags, as well as ways of searching through this information to find what is needed for the project. Access within the API will be initially limited to a small pool of accounts and images. To remove some of these restrictions, Instagram will need to review the project themselves, which can be time-consuming and fruitless for creative coding projects. Depending on the project, the initial sandbox mode may suffice. Flickr has a more readily accessible API. It is a resource of high quality images available at multiple resolutions. Many of the photo endpoints only require an application key to work, which makes set up and fetching much easier. The 'flickr.photos.search' endpoint is the most commonly used and gives access to most of Flickr's content. It can be filtered and sorted by date, location and even license as necessary. Other endpoints can get more detail on the photo, such as comments or EXIF data Getting the API to work exactly how the project needs it to can be difficult, particularly if writing information back to Flickr. Luckily, plenty of packages exist to help use it with JavaScript, including the company's own 'flickr-sdk' on npm. It's important to note that all images remain the property of their owners. For personal projects this will not be an issue, but if it's being shared be sure to either seek permission or credit the owner. Camera and microphone Emoji Wall by Kitasenju Design takes the image from a camera and redraws it using emoji within 3D space The web is usually limited to pointing and clicking with a mouse, but that is not the only way of providing input. Today's browsers are equipped with new APIs to pull in data from different external sources, including cameras and microphones. Making projects that are visually aware is a great way to get users involved. By using vision as an input over a traditional keyboard and mouse, users are able to interact in different ways, such as face tracking or image recognition. As most devices now come with a camera built in, it is no longer the barrier it once was and works out great for the web. Listening to the user is also a great alternative to manual input. Voice recognition could control navigation, or users could provide their own audio samples to use within their experience. It could also serve as an alternative to a button press. By extracting pitch and volume, these can then be mapped to what normally would be a button press, which could be used to control anything from colour to movement. Access to a camera and microphone is possible through the navigator object. The code has to specify exactly what is needed from the input devices. The call to getUserMedia() will trigger a permissions dialog that the user must accept before continuing. Once accepted, these features are available as streams, making them more memory efficient. All major browsers support this API, including mobile. If the browser cannot meet the exact requirements, the promise will reject and not work. It's important to supply an alternative experience, such as an image upload form, where access is not possible. 03. Mobile device sensors Brick Street View will show what your current surroundings would look like if they were made from LEGO The world of mobile presents a completely different set of opportunities when it comes to creative coding. The wide variety of form factors and sensors open for use within the browser can make for some distinctive experiences. Mobile devices are almost exclusively touch interfaces. Browsers have the ability to detect and track multiple touches at once. This means that projects do not have to be led by a single point and can be manipulated in a much more intuitive way. All touch events use a 'changedTouches' property on the event. This holds a reference to all the touch points that changed dependent on the type of event, rather than a separate event for each touch point. By tracking these, it's possible to map gestures or paint with touch. Accelerometers and gyroscopes are mostly used for changing from portrait to landscape mode, but these are also up for interpretation. Different methods of interaction can be created by using the device itself as a control mechanism – whether that in specific co-ordinate movements or more gesture-based, such as a shake. APIs provide access to this information, but the values returned will vary by browser as they do not all use the same coordinate system. Libraries such as p5.js provide special values and hooks like 'rotationX' or 'deviceShaken()' to help abstract away the differences. Mobile devices also have the ability to determine their exact position using geolocation. Being able to get the exact location of a device can open up new possibilities and make for a more streamlined experience. Access is provided through the navigator object. The value returned is the lat-long co-ordinates of the device, along with other data such as altitude or speed if the device supports it. Browsers will use the fastest method of detecting location, such as the IP address. However, this may not always be the most accurate. Combining these inputs in creative ways is the key to making something special. For example, using the device's location and orientation to create a virtual stargazing experience. 04. Multi-screen experiences Bubbles – a project made for Google I/O 2017 – enables users to pass bubbles between one another from across the world Desktop browsers provide reassuring familiarity when it comes to creative projects. But by experimenting with different displays, users can get a more personalised experience which works for them. The principles of responsive design still hold true for creative coding projects as well. Users should be able to enjoy them regardless of device, whether that's desktop, mobile, or projected on a giant screen. These differences can also be used to enhance the project further. By using media queries in CSS, mobile users could get an experience tailored to the smaller, handheld form factor. Since mobile users tend to be just one person, these visitors could be offered a more personalised view of a bigger platform, for example. Paper Planes, by company Active Theory, encouraged users to create virtual planes on their phones. These could then be 'thrown' and show up on the desktop version of the site. There, visitors could watch as planes flew around the world and see where they had come from. Interactions such as these can be made easier with WebSockets. Communication between a browser and the server is event based, avoiding the need to poll the server, which can often be wasteful and prone to delays. Projects such as Socket.io can make setting up WebSocket protocols easier. Direct communication between devices can also have a powerful effect when users are together in the same room. Seb Lee-Delisle's PixelPhones project, for example, turned a crowd of screens into a makeshift display. Once all were connected, everybody became part of the experience. WebRTC is a set of JavaScript APIs that makes real-time communication between browsers easier. It needs a server to set up a connection, media is sent directly between browsers, which makes interactions quick and simple to create. Now supported by all major browsers both on desktop and mobile. 05. Self-generative art Infinitown, by Little Workshop, generates a procedural city that is unique each time you visit Even the most creative of coding projects can become stale after a while. An element of randomness can keep things fresh each time a piece of code runs. While that can come from user input, it can be interesting to see what code is capable off when it's let off of the leash. Instead of defining what the output of a block of code would be, define a set of rules for it to follow. When a random starting position is defined, the end results will vary completely. Conway's Game of Life is a great place to start. In a defined grid, each square can either be 'on' or 'off' depending on the squares around it. By colouring the squares dependant on their state, it generates an image. Repeating the process multiple times shows how groups of squares mutate over time. Tweaking the rules on which they change can dramatically alter the outcome. Using JavaScript with a <canvas> element makes this visual process fairly simple. By using requestAnimationFrame(), JavaScript can re-evaluate its environment each frame. From there it is a case of using the output of the last frame as input for the next frame and let the program take care of itself. 06. WebVR and Bluetooth Creating VR experiences with a framework such as A-Frame is a lot less like hard work While browsers are getting more capable and powerful every day, there is only so much that one viewport can provide. Thankfully, browsers are also expanding out of the browser too. Virtual Reality has the ability to immerse the viewer in ways not possible before. WebVR is an open specification that allows access to these immersive worlds to the masses through the browser. It also helps bridge the gap between different device types, such as Google Cardboard and the HTC Vive. Frameworks, such as A-Frame, can help bypass any complications by providing ready-to-go building blocks for VR experiences. Since these are built for performance and reliability, they leaves the creator free to make a great user experience. Bluetooth is another option and an opportunity to forego a screen entirely. Chips are readily available and can be combined with different output devices to emit sound and light – all controlled by the browser through the Web Bluetooth API. The interface is promise based, which makes asynchronous communication somewhat easier. Browser support varies as these technologies evolve. WebVR is currently supported in various states by development builds of Edge, Firefox and Chrome. Web Bluetooth only has support from Chrome right now, but others are considering it. This article was originally published in issue 270 of Web Designer, the creative web design magazine – offering expert tutorials, cutting-edge trends and free resources. Buy issue 270 here or subscribe to Web Designer here. Related articles: 12 common JavaScript questions answered 20 amazing examples of WebGL in action How to code an augmented reality marker View the full article

We've hit that time of year when resolutions start to wobble. So we've got a stack of cool new art books to keep you ticking over creatively. One title looks at the big ideas every artist needs to know. Another focuses on how to draw with the humble coloured pencil. And we also have a book that introduces the 'painting party'. We're also getting stuck into watercolour techniques this month. Whether you've let your painting skills slip or you're just starting out, we've got a great new book on watercolour 'experiments' for you to get stuck into. We also look at the art of Star Wars, a smart new art journal, and some of the best art supplies around. 01. Drink Laugh Paint Just don't mix up your drinks and your paints Price: $29.99/£19.99 Ever heard a painting party? The authors of this book, Kerner Schon and Jackie Schon, run The Paint Bar in Boston (it's a 'paint-and-sip studio'). Here they tell you how to host your own boozy art party. It includes a list of the materials you'll need, theme suggestions, drinks ideas, and postcard invitations. It doesn't speculate on what time the drinking usurps the painting as the party's main activity. 02. Magisso ceramic shot glasses These ought to get your creative juices flowing If you're going to host a painting party, host it right. Soak these shot glasses in water for a minute, then, when the water has evaporated, the ceramic's natural cooling effect kicks in, keeping your drink of choice nice and cold. That's not all though – you can also draw on the chalkboard surface. So next time you shoot a few tequilas, you can do it in the name of art. 03. The Art of Star Wars Includes lots of cute Porg concept art Price: $40/£30 The Art of Star Wars: The Last Jedi gets stuck into the work of Lucasfilm's 'visualists' – costume sketches, storyboards, concept art – and offers a look behind the scenes at the development of the movie from the bottom up. It includes interviews with the key players, while the Lucasfilm team comment on the art. Not just one for the diehards, this is a proper insight into how artists help make a movie. 04. Watercolor Workshop Beginners and watercolour veterans will find something to enjoy in this book Price: $24.99/£21.99 Sasha Prood puts a new spin on the traditional how-to book. She teaches you how to paint contemporary art by following her watercolour tips. They take the form of 100 experiments – wet-on-dry, wet-on-wet, flat washes, and so on – as well as colour and texture lessons. There's something here for both beginners and more advanced watercolour artists. 05. Watercolour Workshop journal Start planning your next project with this journal Price: $16.97/£14.99 Prood has released a journal to accompanying her watercolour how-to guide. But this isn't just an add-on. It's a smart journal in its own right – the cover, especially, with foil-stamped accents on Prood’s watercolour swatches – and has stained edges, full-colour art by Prood, and lined paper, for journaling or noting down your next big watercolour project. 06. Winsor & Newton Cotman watercolours The set won't stay this neat and clean for long... Cotman is Winsor & Newton's entry-level range, aimed specifically at students and beginners. They're a good price, but come with the quality you'd expect from the brand. This sketchers pocket box is nice and portable, with 12 half pans and a brush, more than enough to get started or to paint on the go, and the lid doubles as a mixing palette. 07. Holbein watercolors: 24 colour set Take your watercolours to the next level with this set Once you've really got going in watercolours, you'll want to invest in some better materials. Holbein watercolours are "more finely ground than any other artist watercolour". That means you get smooth, non-bitty textures. The Japanese brand is also know for its big, lively, intense colours. This 24-piece sits right in the middles of a range that begins with a 12-piecer and goes up to 108. To complete your kit, take a look at guide to finding the right watercolour brush. 08. The Pocket Universal Principles of Art Learn all about art in an approachable way Price: $12.99/£8.99 A good one if you're just getting serious about art, or if you're after a handy reference book for your studio. The Pocket Universal Principles of Art tackles 100 big ideas to help you better make and analyse art. The author, the artist and art teacher John A. Parks, aims to write "a book that presents the whole world of art in a way that is simple, clear and accessible". 09. Love Colored Pencils Get awesome at drawing with this vibrant book Price: $19.99/£14.33 Vivian Wong shares her love of the humble coloured pencil in this book that promises to show you "how to get awesome at drawing". If you're already awesome, there's a ton of activities to work on within its pages, with each section demonstrating a particular technique before giving you space to practise it yourself. 10. Prismacolor Premier pencils Low cost and high quality - what's not to love? Prismacolour makes some of the best pencils around, and this Prismacolor Premier set is a top choice if you're after a great all-round set of coloured pencils. They're great for beginners (the price per pencil is low) but have the high-quality pigment more advanced artists look for. They blend well and are known for their buttery application. Really good for colouring books too. Read more: How to draw: 95 pro tutorials and tips 15 influential art and design movements you should know How to hold a pencil correctly View the full article

In 2016, Zimbabwean film director Sunu Gonera created a music video for musician Khuli Chana’s track, One Source. Sponsored by vodka brand Absolut, the video showed the world a different side of Africa, capturing the raw intensity of African creativity in a vivid celebration of collaborative storytelling. The film swept up at the 2017 Cannes Lions awards. Gonera, who’s speaking at Design Indaba 2018, took home a Gold, two Silvers and a Bronze Lion. The film was also nominated for best music video at the South African Music Awards and Metro FM Awards, and became the most awarded campaign at South Africa’s IAB Bookmarks. The 25 greatest animated music videos Here’s the really interesting part: according to statistics released by beverage firm Pernod Ricard, Absolut Blue went on to become South Africa’s leading vodka premium brand within six months. So how did a branded music video make such a powerful impact on both the advertising industry and consumers? 01. Authenticity Firstly, it channels what Gonera describes as the “realness and rawness of Africa”. One Source opens with the words “Africa is on fire”. Blue flames light up a stark grey rubbish dump, before a pounding beat and aggressive lyrics assert that “Africa is no longer riding shotgun”. 02. Collaboration It's a vivid and intense pan-African collaboration that places African excellence at the centre. To make the 'one source' of Absolut (an aquifer in Sweden) relevant in Africa, the video explores the idea that we all come from one source – Africa, the birthplace of humanity. It brings together the vibrant colours of Ghanian street artist Moh Awudu, as well as the skills of Kenyan digital artist and photographer Osborne Macharia, and sing-songwriter The Venus Bushfires. 03. Fresh thinking In addition, the team also turned away from the cliched orange and red colour palette typically used to represent Africa, and ditched the tired images of poverty used to represent unrest. The One Source campaign, which includes a music video and a series of web-based behind the scenes films, stands firmly in fresh new creative territory. One Source by Khuli Chana/Directed by Egg Films' Sunu Gonera/Produced by Native VML for Absolut “The consumer is not stupid,” explains Gonera. “I always say, trust the consumer. It was organic. It was about the collaboration. There was an authenticity.” Gonera describes himself as an 'afrocentric' artist. As international artists continue to move to the continent to create work, he says African artists are increasingly stepping up. But he says the industry is at a peak. “We’re having to, as filmmakers, change and adapt the way we think, especially with technology,” he says. “The other challenge is that there’s a massive saturation of filmmakers so the competition for every job has never been steeper.” Gonera’s solution? To stay fresh – especially when it comes to telling an authentic African story. “It’s usually outsiders telling our stories. Let us tell our stories. I want an inside-out perspective – raw, real, this is who we are.” Book your ticket to Design Indaba 2018 We’ll be bringing you more from Gonera at Cape Town's annual Design Indaba festival. The three-day creative event kicks off on 21 February, and we’ll be reporting live throughout. Related articles: Design Indaba 2018 headlines with Thomas Heatherwick How Beyoncé, Kanye and Miley's set designer is going global Design Indaba 2018: Building outspoken landscapes View the full article

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Trompe l'oeil ('trick of the eye') is the term used for the technique of using realistic imagery to create an optical illusion of depth. Artists have been practising it for centuries to create stunning illustrations and fool their audiences, while businesses have used it to create eye-catching billboard advertising and video campaigns. And these brilliant examples of trompe l'oeil are no exception. Prepare to be amazed! 01. Quetzalcoatl This is probably a great way of keeping marauding Aztecs out of your cable car station Artist John Pugh is famous for his intricate trompe l'oeil murals, located on various buildings around the world. "I have found that the 'language' of life-size illusions allow me to communicate with a very large audience," says Pugh. "It seems almost universal that people take delight in being visually tricked." This one, a terrifying imagining of South American feathered serpent deity Quetzalcoatl, can be found on a cable car station in Mexico City. 02. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea The A.FRESCO workshop, led by artist Patrick Commecy, has made a name for itself and won awards in France by bringing otherwise drab walls to life with attention-grabbing trompe l'oeil murals. Its most recent work, in Cannes, has transformed a foot tunnel leading to the beach at La Bocca into an epic aquarium inspired by Jules Verne's '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea', complete with giant sea monsters and Captain Nemo's submarine, the Nautilus. 03. Luz Nas Vielas The Brazilian art collective Boa Mistura started its trompe l'oeil project, Luz Nas Vielas, in north São Paulo back in 2012. It consisted of five words – amor, beleza, orgulho, doçura and firmeza (love, pride, sweetness, beauty and strength) – painted in alleys throughout the favela. Five years later Boa Mistura has returned with two news words: Poesía and Magica (poetry and magic). 04. Des Anamorphoses There's a lot to get your head round, here French street art duo Ella & Pitr created this series of picture frame installations for an ad campaign for the National Dramatic Center of St. Etienne in France, featuring impossibly warped picture frames and other anamorphic treats. 05. Copenhagen Zoo This stunning bus wrap is a sure-fire attention grabber Bus wraps are a new – and mobile – way of sending trompe l'oeil artwork out into the world. This one, featuring a giant snake crushing a bus, will either put you off or encourage you to visit Copenhagen Zoo. Either way, it's a memorable design certain to stick in your head and generate word-of mouth enthusiasm. 06. Graffiti sculpture Peeta's graffiti transforms flat surfaces into solid-looking sculpture Italian street artist Peeta makes clever use of colour gradients and shadows to make his graffiti pop out of its surroundings. It's designed to look like sculpture rather than 2D art, and it's very convincing. Just to add to the confusion, he also creates actual graffiti-inspired sculptures. 07. Indoor wilderness Daniela Benedini creates indoor murals that transport you into the great outdoors Italian artist Daniela Benedini founded her own company in 1994, after graduating as Mastro Pittore at the Painting Academy of Brera in Milan. Specialising in interior decoration, she creates beautiful trompe l’oeil paintings, collaborating with some of the most prestigious interior designers in the world. 08. Carroll Street Bridge Symbols gathered from thousands of residents appear in the artwork Situated over Carroll Creek in Frederick, Maryland, this award-winning trompe l'oeil mural depicts the spirit of community. The large-scale mural project transformed a plain concrete bridge into the permanent illusion of an old, ivy-covered stone bridge. Artist William Cochran and his assistants used permanent silicate paints to create the highly detailed illusionist painting, complete with fake niches, fountains and statues, and 3,000 unique painted stones. 09. Portland's peeling blueprint Portland is a hub for the arts and features more than just one stunning trompe l'oeil mural Originally painted in 1986 by Chris Denison, C. Michael Lewis, Toni Wolf, Josephine Mussomeli, Steven Priestly and Bertelle Brookings, the peeling blueprint is perhaps one of the cleverer takes on trompe l'oeil, and has become a local landmark. The mural creates the illusion that there is a giant blueprint of the building peeling off of one side of it, revealing the actual building underneath. 10. Floating shapes Swiss-born artist Felice Varini creates mindblowing, geometric trompe l'oeil installations Felice Varini is a Switzerland-born artist based in Paris. For over 30 years now, he's been creating remarkable geometric trompe l'oeil installations around the world. Painting primarily on architectural spaces such as buildings and walls, each of his works has a single vantage point from which a precise geometric shape appears. Genius. 11. The Crevasse Don't. Look. Down German street painter Edgar Mueller is a master of fun trompe l'oeil work – this crevasse piece being a perfect example. Mueller's website is filled with awe-inspiring images of incredibly detailed and realistic street paintings, which include waterfalls, trees and caves. We know this trompe l'oeil artwork isn't real but that wouldn't stop us thinking twice before standing on it. 12. House party Ciaran Brennan got into the party spirit when he painted this trompe l'oeil on his house Artist Ciaran Brennan (aka. Yohan) went all-out for his house party by painting this trompe l'oeil illusion of balloons spilling out on the walls outside. He comments on his piece, "I didn't get to finish it completely, I wanted to paint the inside of the house through the hole in the wall but I ended up just making it dark." 13. Roundstone St This trompe l'oeil in Wiltshire is said to be the largest in the UK Located in Roundstone St in Trowbridge, UK, this trompe l'oeil is thought to be the biggest in the country. The realistic house design, created by artist Roger Smith and Wiltshire Steeplejacks, was installed on the blank wall in October 2003 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Trowbridge Civic Society. 14. Dining table Ian Carnie's dining table features a realistic place mat, cutlery and jigsaw puzzle This dining table looks like it needs a good tidy. However, attempting that wouldn't get you very far, as the objects are in fact oil paintings. This brilliant piece was created by fine artist and interior decorator Ian Carnie, who specialises in decorative and landscape trompe l'oeil murals. 15. Great American Crossroad This Great American Crosroad is one of many trompe l'oeil pieces created by artist Eric Grohe Eric Grohe began his creative career as an illustrator and graphic designer back in 1961. Since then, his work has grown in scope and size, leading to the large-scale trompe l’oeil murals he creates today. He uses specialist German paint, which crystallises into mineral substrates and will not fade, peel or blister. Grohe has painted artwork all over the US, including this brilliant piece, titled Great American Crossroad, located in Ohio. Next page: 15 more amazing examples of trompe l'oeil 16. The Canebière Pierre Delavie recreated Marseille's historic high street on the facade of the Palais de la Bourse A specialist in urban illusion, visual artist, painter, videographer and musician Pierre Delavie is the man behind this giant trompe l'oeil located on the facade of the Palais de la Bourse in Marseille, France. The brilliant scene shows the Canebière – the historic high street in the old quarter of Marseille – passing right through the building. 17. Trompe l'oeil bench Upholstered or carved? Another sleek design from the team at Rüskasa Taiwanese company Rüskasa's hand-built RU-ST007 bench features a trompe l'oeil effect on the seat. It appears to have been upholstered, when it's actually carved to just look like that. Clever, eh? 18. Fresque du Petit-Champlain Quebec is home to this Fresque du Petit-Champlain piece Quebec is home to some amazing trompe l'oeil artwork. One such example is the Fresque du Petit-Champlain, which can be found in Old Quebec, at the foot of Escalier Casse-Cou (Breakneck Steps) and along one of the oldest streets in North America. The mindblowing piece depicts depicts milestones in the city's history, from the beginnings of New France until the present day. 19. Honda commercial Packed full of optical illusions and illustrations, this brilliant commercial for Honda was created by UK ad agency mcgarrybowen. By blending practical elements with cleverly painted imagery, this clip stays as fresh as it is mind-boggling. 20. Bookcase This amazing piece is one of many trompe l'oeil artworks by artist Paul Czainski Hard to believe, we know. But there's no way you'd be able to read this set of books for they are, in fact, a brilliant example of trompe l'oeil art. This is just one of many amazing pieces by professional trompe l'oeil painter, muralist and illustrator Paul Czainski. 21. René Magritte Museum This amazing trompe l'oeil art reimagines the building facade as theatre curtains Back in 2009, a new museum dedicated to the Belgian surrealist painter René Magritte opened in Brussels. The building that housed this famous painter's work had its facade updated in trompe l'oeil, featuring two side of theatre curtains pleated open to reveal a giant reproduction of iconic work of Magritte: The Empire of Light (1954). 22. 39 George V The facade of the 39 George V building looked like this throughout 2007 In 2007, the people of Paris were able to take in this view of the 39 George V building. While the structure was being renovated, artwork made entirely of photographs of the original building was manipulated, printed and hung on scaffolding to shelter the rehabilitation. Very cool. 23. Cafe Trompe L'oeil Can you tell where real life ends and the mural begins? This detailed piece, another by prolific artist John Pugh, is entitled Art Imitating Life Imitating Art Imitating Life. It can be found at the Cafe Trompe L'oeil, in San Jose, California. 24. Pepsi truck This design is so realistic, you're bound to do a double-take Trompe l'oeil art doesn't just work buildings. This Pepsi design, featuring several gravity-defying crates of cola, was one of seven semi-trailer trucks that were painted in the brain-scrambling trompe l'oeil style (others included a fish tank and mobile library design). 25. Balcony Did you notice the pencil drawing immediately? This mind-blowing trompe l'oeil image was created by photographer Helen G. We have to admit, it took us a few seconds to notice the pencil drawing at the top of the building and realise some of the balconies were not real. 26. LaSalle Towers Hard to believe, we know, but everything you see here is a painting on a flat wall This facade is part of the LaSalle Towers Apartments high-rise building on North LaSalle Street in Chicago, Illinois. This wall has no real door, steps or detailed engravings: everything you see here is a painting. This trompe l'oeil mural is based on Louis H Sullivan's Golden Door from the Transportation Building at the World's Columbian Exposition of 1892. 27. Derelict building Nina Camplin transformed a derelict building into a gorgeous piece of trompe l'oeil artwork This impressive mural, painted by artist Nina Camplin, transformed an old, derelict building in Swanage into an eye-catching piece of art. Specialising in trompe l'oeil, Camplin's website states she is "interested in challenging perceptions of space and creating illusions of faked realities." 28. Garage door library Don Grey painted this brilliant mural for former book reviewer It's not every day you come across an interesting garage door, so we had to include this one in our list. This particular library design graces the door of Lee Dembart, former writer and book reviewer for the LA Times, for whom books are a passion. Dembart had this trompe l'oeil mural painted in 2005 by artist Don Gray. 29. Arches Talented mural artist Janet Shearer has created many stunning trompe l'oeil pieces The career of mural artist Janet Shearer began back in 1983 when she was commissioned to decorate the walls of a swimming pool in Hyde Park. Since then she has created hundreds of paintings, ranging from portraits to landscapes. But Shearer has a particular passion for trompe l'oeil and constantly creates brilliant pieces, including this including this ultra-realistic 'Arches' mural. 30. Siete Punto Uno John Pugh paints incredibly realistic 3D scenes that delude the viewer Another piece by artist John Pugh, this Egyptian style mural adorns a wall in Los Gatos, California. His incredibly realistic 3D illustrations trick the viewer's eye into believing the scene is real. Even the woman peering into the ruin is a painting. Contributions: Jim McCauley This is an updated and extended version of an article that previously appeared on Creative Bloq. Let us know what we should add to future updates in the comments box below! Related articles: Street art: 45 incredible examples 21 incredibly cool design office murals 12 stunning examples of mosaic art View the full article

Attacks include a hard-coded password vulnerability that could give attackers unauthorized access to systems. View the full article

Researchers now believe attackers may have had prior access to networks and that malware was more sophisticated than originally believed. View the full article

There's not long to go until the release of Ready Player One, the cinematic adaptation of Ernest Cline's best-selling science fiction adventure book. In the run up to its theatrical debut, the official Ready Player One poster has been unveiled, and it's packed with Easter Eggs and knowing nods to poster designs from the '80s. Created by Paul Shipper, the poster has been specially designed with a vintage-style that calls back to legendary poster illustrator Drew Struzan - you might remember his work from such film series as Indiana Jones, Back to the Future and Star Wars. It's a clever move, given that the film's story is a retro pop culture jamboree. The poster even features elements from films Struzan illustrated, such as the time travelling DeLorean from Back the the Future. Check it out below. Click the magnifying glass icon in the top right to see the full size poster Topping off the design is the clever Ready Player One logo designed by Pentagram's Emily Oberman, which turns the title into a miniature maze with an Easter Egg at the end. A fitting concept considering that the story sees its protagonists hunting down clues in a digital reality. This latest is also a welcome change for artists, after the previous effort released late last year included a character with questionable body proportions and was considered a bit of a design fail. When posters like this are released, there's always a flurry of social media activity as artists and designers are quick to slam or praise the results. This design is no exception, with opinion split on whether or not it pulls off its intentions as both a good piece of design and an homage to Struzan. However, it's rare that the artist behind the work in question wades into the debate. But that's exactly what happened when one online commentator decided to break down the artistic shortcomings of Shipper's illustration. Let it be a cautionary tale to us all, be careful when you Tweet criticism because you never know who's listening. Ready Player One is out on 29 March 2018. Related articles: Solo movie posters are a typographic treat 10 best movie posters from the 1990s Are these vintage concept movie posters better than the originals? View the full article

Google has given mobile websites a new way to share content with the launch of AMP Stories. Described by the search engine as a "visually rich [form] of storytelling" the tool treads a similar path to Instagram Stories. For those not familiar with AMP (which stands for Accelerated Mobile Page), it's an open-source project that loads content on mobile websites extremely quickly. The system was developed around two years ago in response to Google noticing that users were spending more of their time in apps rather than on conventional websites. AMP Stories, on the other hand, is Google's answer to content-sharing platforms like those found on Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook. In short, AMP Stories, which has just been launched as a developer preview, will be a full-screen display of content for mobile users. The format will appear in Google searches, with readers able to tap or swipe their way through the content. AMP Stories has already been picked up by The Washington Post, CNN, Mic, Conde Nast, Wired, People and Mashable. It's still early days for AMP Stories, which are yet to be dotted with adverts. It's only a matter of time, though, until sponsored messages start popping up, with a Google spokesperson saying that ads and further details about the platform are due to appear in the coming weeks. Given that Google updates play into its rankings, it's no surprise to learn that adopting AMP Stories could give websites a real boost on search engine result pages. This is because Google looks favourably on sites that load their content as quickly as possible, and nothing gets much faster than AMP. "While some stories are told best through text, the AMP Project wanted to ensure publishers can invest in new ways of storytelling and engaging readers on the open web," said Google AMP Project engineering lead Malte Ubl, speaking in an AMP Wordpress post. Related articles: The secrets of Google's five-day design sprint 20 amazing free Google web fonts 5 principles of design illustrated with Google Fonts View the full article

You're reading Google Announces AMP for Email, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook, Google+! According to some, email was supposed to be obsolete a long time ago. Well, neither Facebook nor countless chat apps succeeded at dethroning email from our lives. More than 270 billion emails were sent each day in 2017. Today, with the launch of Google’s AMP for Email, the oldest method of digital communication gets another […] View the full article

In the year that Apple launched the first iPad, the old approach of coding one 'desktop' site and one 'mobile' site was becoming increasingly untenable. With more and more devices coming online, web design was crying out for a bold new strategy. It arrived in the form of an article by Ethan Marcotte on A List Apart. It drew inspiration from John Allsopp's article, A Dao of Web Design, and looked at architectural principles to explain how we could create layouts that adapt seamlessly to different screen environments, yet still retain the best principles of print design. 15 really useful responsive web design tutorials The rest is history. His essay, entitled Responsive Web Design, introduced a new approach that was so simple, elegant and effective that it was swiftly adopted by the industry as the standard way to design a site, and remains so today. Marcotte followed up with a book of the same title in 2011. Mashable called 2013 the 'Year of Responsive Web Design'. And today, from Bangkok to Boston, São Paulo to Sydney, whenever someone starts working on a web design, it's more than likely going to be responsive. Ethan Marcotte literally wrote the book on Responsive Web Design, as well as the original article So it's fair to say that Marcotte is entitled to feel somewhat pleased with himself. But he's breathtakingly modest about the whole thing. "It still surprises me that responsive design took off the way that it did  ," he reflects. "I say this with all sincerity: I met a publishing deadline. I wrote an article. And when I turned it in, I thought that was going to be the end of it. The way it exploded has been terrifying and humbling." He adds that, while he may have been the first one to put all the pieces together, responsive design was in some ways inevitable. "The way that the core idea resonated with people so much suggests that if I hadn't come up with it, someone else would have. Because our way of designing, it just wasn't sustainable." Still figuring it out While Marcotte continues today to curate the @rwd Twitter account, on which he shares links to useful articles and interesting redesigns, he certainly doesn't feel as though he 'owns' responsive design, or should be considered an arbiter of it. "Some years on, I think some people look to me as though I have answers for some of the challenges we have out there," he says. "But I'm very much part of a conversation that many, many people are having right now. So I don't see myself as being an owner of responsive design, in any way. I'm trying to figure out how to design responsively in my own practice on a daily basis." Ethan talking turkey with another web design legend, Jeffrey Zeldman He's still willing to share his views, of course. "Some folks have kindly asked me to contribute forewords to their books, because I've been talking about some of the topics they're interested in," he says. "And others have been kind enough to send me articles or redesigns that they think deserve a wider audience; I'm happy to help with that. But I definitely don't feel like I can control responsive design, or that it's my thing." And neither is he militant about the idea that responsive web design is always the 'right and truthful path' to creating the best digital experiences. "There's a tendency in our industry to pit ideas against each other," he says. "You can see this with responsive design versus device-specific experiences, responsive design versus adaptive design. Even something as broad as native versus web, or mobile versus desktop. We tend to think of things in these binary terms. Like it's either this, or it's this, until something better comes along." That's never been Marcotte's experience of the web, though. "In my work, there's never been one single best way to design, or to solve a problem. It's ultimately about what helps us solve problems for our clients and our stakeholders in the most effective way, given whatever constraints we're dealing with." That said, that way usually is responsive design. "I work with clients that do native work all the time," he says. "But when I'm talking to them about strategy, it's really a question of what's going to help them reach the widest audience possible. And invariably, that's the web, and creating a responsive experience for a web-based design. "That's not to say I'm not going to urge them to look for interesting native solutions if they have a problem," he says. "But generally speaking, investing yourself in a device-agnostic, beautiful responsive layout is going to be the best way to get started. And it might lead to some interesting approaches around the edges." New challenges But the world of the web is changing fast. Device-agnostic design might work when we're just talking about smartphones, tablets and desktop computers. But will responsive design survive the tsunami of new devices to come? "I feel like that's a conversation that's ongoing right now," replies Marcotte. "For instance, I worked with one client who launched a beautiful responsive redesign and then a few months later we started getting screenshots from Google Glass. This wasn't a device that hadn't even been invented when we started the site. And this wasn't maybe the best way to encounter the design or the content… but it was still accessible." Having written the book on RWD, Ethan later wrote the book on responsive design patterns And the moral is? "Thinking about the web first as a flexible design medium means that when those interesting edge cases pop up, because you've designed this as properly as possible, that frees you up in future to say: 'Okay, so here's a device that's getting some real traction with our audience, what sort of solution do we want to explore for that? Is it about refining our responsive approach, do we tune it for that context? Or maybe it's something that's more customised and discrete?'" For an example, he points to smartwatches. "What's going to happen to the web when it's on a screen that small?" he asks. "Who knows: again, it feels early, and Apple Watch isn't really a web-friendly experience right now." "But if you go on YouTube, you can find lots of great videos of people browsing through responsive designs on Android Wear devices. It may not be ideal, may not be popular. But by having that flexible device agnostic design in place, we've at least made something accessible to that audience." Staying grounded Throughout our conversation, Marcotte constantly brings everything back to client work. And it's clear that this is as important to him as speaking at conferences, writing articles for his blog, and books such as his latest work, Responsive Design: Patterns & Principles. "I've been travelling a lot, which is great, but it needs to be a mix between talking about work and doing work," he reflects. "Because I think one informs the other. There are things I've learned from speaking to people at conferences that I bring back into my practice, and things I'm designing for clients that I get really excited about and want to share with a larger audience." Balance is something he's always trying to figure out, though. "Travel takes a lot out of a person," he notes. "So this year, I've really focused on client work. I've ratcheted down a lot of speaking engagements and really tried to focus on some hands-on design and working with some good people." Interestingly, in a year dominated by 'fake news', these good people have included two innovative media organisations, Source's OpenNews project and the independent, non-profit newsroom ProPublica. Marcotte has been working with Source and ProPublica, a pair of innovative media organisations "Source is helping designers and developers who work in newsrooms across the planet to tell the stories about how they produce their work," Marcotte explains. "For example, they pulled together two years' worth of data and interactive visualisations from different news organisations on gun violence in the US." "It's a repository of all the work that's been done around this very difficult problem, but it's also helping promote any tools or frameworks or processes that might have come out of making those stories. To make them more accessible to people, so they can also produce that work, if need be." Marcotte got involved in a month-long design sprint for Source, working closely with the team to get a redesign up and running. "They'd been planning it for quite a while and had done mountains of research before I showed up for my sprint, so they did most of the heavy lifting," he recalls. "Deadlines were tight, but ultimately they were a wonderful client." As were ProPublica. "They really focus on some really tough, meaty issues, like corruption and consumer-focused stories  ," he says. "So it was nice to have an opportunity to help them out in some small way. They're a very fast-moving newsroom, so it was nice to just sit and watch them do their thing." And despite being so gifted at strategic-level thinking, Marcotte still likes to get hands-on with the code. "I generally find myself pretty involved in some aspect of the design and the front-end work," he says. "And even if I'm not directly involved in implementing a layout myself, I usually try to make sure we're adhering to some good principles. Ensuring that we're not making any decisions that are going to compromise accessibility, that will compromise building a fast, beautiful, responsive design." This article was originally published in issue 300 of net, the world's best-selling magazine for web designers and developers. Buy issue 300 or subscribe here. Related articles: 10 golden rules for responsive SVGs How to design responsive and device-agnostic forms Create responsive forms and tables View the full article

One of the most important ways to improve as an artist is by having your work critiqued. Sometimes you have no choice: as a student, you're critiqued by your tutor; as an employee, by your creative director. At other times, you'll seek out a critique. Either way, it's a great way to get insight into how to improve. There's just one problem. We're all human and no one likes to be criticised. "Working as an illustrator and concept artist, you always dread the moment where you show the work," admits Loïc Zimmermann, who's an art director at MPC and a teacher at Gnomon. "We all want the tap on the back." 7 biggest illustration trends of 2018 But hiding would be a big mistake. "Peer feedback for both personal and professional work is invaluable, because everyone loses perspective on their own work – both in general and on each piece as they work on it," says Drew Whitmore, a principal artist at Atomhawk. "Getting that outside context gives you a route to seeing your work with clearer eyes." Loïc agrees. "Learning to accept criticism will make you a better artist; you just have to learn not to take it personally," he stresses. "Nobody's going to hire someone who throws a tantrum each time points are raised, however talented they are." Roberto Pitturru's Laser Battle, as art directed by Sarah Robinson. She advises that, "being too aggressive when getting a crit may not get you more work" So what can you to do if critiques make you overemotional? In that case, you actually need to get critiqued more often, Drew suggests. "If you're too precious about your artwork and don't get a lot of feedback, that feedback is going to hurt if it's something you feel strongly about," he reasons. "You have to build up those calluses." See the crit for what it is It's also important to take a step back and empathise with the person giving the critique. "Getting a rough crit can feel like a personal attack, simply because you'd put so much of your time, energy, and emotion into creating the work," says US artist Daniel Warren. "But if someone cares enough to give you a well thought-out critique in the first place, then it means they're invested in your improvement and care enough to help you grow. So see this for what it is: help from a person who's probably dealing with the same things that you are." In short, while a critique can often feel like criticism, they're not the same thing. Criticism is often purely based on subjective, personal opinion – whether someone likes your work or not. In contrast, a critique should be purely objective and address one central question: does the piece achieve what the artist has set out to create? "Lots of artists tend to mix up criticism with an opinion on the quality of their work and their value as an artist," says French art director and freelancer Pascal Blanché. "But a critique isn't about you. It's a process that aims to improve the final version of your art. Once you recognise this, you can start to help and guide the person who is critiquing your work by discussing the issue and keeping an open mind." "Art director or freelancer, we all get exposed to critique," says Pascal Blanche. "It's about exposing your work to others' eyes and opinions." And note that 'discussing' doesn't mean 'arguing': this is not a zero-sum debate, but a process of constructive dialogue. That's the spirit in which Sarah Robinson, creative director for Paizo in Seattle, approaches receiving a critique. "I usually let them happen calmly," she says. "I may not agree with them, but in that case I'll just go ahead and make the requested changes to let them see how it would look, and explain to them why it wouldn't work." Above all, you should never feel singled out, because receiving a critique is something every artist has to go through. "All visual medium is open for criticism," Sarah stresses. "It's going to happen, so if you can't take it then maybe you're in the wrong business." And the pay-off is that you can use the feedback positively, to improve your art. Jumping board How you do that will vary in different situations, says Drew. "But generally, you can either implement the suggestions, or use their critique as a jumping board for being analytical about your image," he says. "Even if there are bits of a critique that I don't agree with, there's probably still something there to resolve. So I try to see if there are other routes to solving those issues, other than the suggested one, that will still retain what I liked previously." "Passion projects are where you can shine, and getting them critiqued is vital to making them better," says Loïc Zimmerman. Most importantly, never stop asking for critiques, because without them, your art is likely to stagnate, says Loïc. "I've done this job long enough that I have passionate people coming in, fresh out of school, who join and slowly fade over the years," he says. "It seems like there's a layer of dust on them, and the flame, the fire in the eyes, just fades. And this is why you need to keep a critical thinking on your own work, and show it to the people who'll help you get better." And there's no such thing as an artist who's too successful to ask for a critique. "Some of the best people I know ask for opinions," Loïc points out. "You wouldn't expect Jeremy Mann to tell you, 'Hey, what do you think of that painting?', but he does, because he's curious. The most established people, the strongest ones, still want to know." Giving something back As well as receiving critiques, as a professional artist you're often asked to critique other artists' work. But as we've already noted, no one likes hearing negative views of their art. So how do you go about it? While diplomacy is key, soft-soaping the truth is not an option, says Sarah Robinson, who regularly reviews other artists' work at conventions. "Hearing the truth is what helps," she points out. "We all want to get better, and if we're told that we're awesome all the time, then there's no chance of going to the next level." Image created by Dave Rapoza as part of a tutorial. "If the artist argues back, do listen, because they may change your perspective," says Dave Dave Rapoza, an artist for games and films who's just launched his own comic entitled Steve Lichman, agrees. "You don't do anyone a service by holding back," he says. "People are looking for someone to be honest. Remember, they're asking for critique. If they want compliments instead, they need to make that clear." Neither, though, should you simply spit out your own personal views of the work, says Loïc Zimmermann. "It's not about you and whether you like the art or not. That's not relevant," he explains. "It's about what is the artist trying to do, and how well they're working towards that goal." "A critique requires you to do more than just look at the art; it's about understanding the ambitions behind it," agrees American artist Daniel Warren, who's recently been working with Dave Rapoza on Steve Lichman. Daniel used to critique artists regularly online via Livestream and Twitch, and still does so for those who reach out via email. "I typically try to first identify what field they're trying to get into," he explains. "Concept art? Book illustration? Comics? And then I frame the crit around the needs and requirements of getting into that field." This way, there's a better chance of your critique hitting home, he adds. "It shows them that you actually took the time to observe their work and aren't just giving them the boilerplate responses you give to everyone who asks for help." Give yourself time to reply Drew Whitmore agrees that taking your time is key. "Don't immediately jump into critique," he advises. "Looking at their image a couple of times, with some time in between, gives you a better view of what the issues are," he advises. And try to be constructive rather than just narrowly critical. "Always try to have a proposed solution," Drew stresses. "Point out what you think is wrong and why, and then what you think they should do about it. If you don't have a solution off-hand, it's good to discuss it with the artist, and ask them a bunch of questions. Often, they'll think of a good solution themselves." Concept art for Injustice 2 by Drew Whitmore. "Peer feedback is invaluable as everyone loses perspective on their own work," says Drew To make sure you don't slide too far into negativity, Daniel recommends the 'crit sandwich'. "The formula is 'positive, negative, positive'," he explains. "It's very important to remember that critique is not just negatives. Identifying what works, and the strengths, is equally important. So, for every two areas of weakness, try to find an area of strength. For example: 'The anatomy could use some work; specifically the proportions in the arms. The costume design is really great, though – it's unique and makes the character pop. Maybe bump up the lighting so that it showcases the outfit more.'" Agreeing on crit limits Loïc adds that it's important from the outset to clarify with the artist exactly how open they are to criticism of their work. "So I usually ask: 'How far do you want me to go? Are you done with it and are asking politely, but ultimately you don't want to change a thing? Or this is something that you really want to improve?' I think that's a good place to start." Bear in mind that there's no 'right' answer here: yours is a second opinion, not the be-all and end-all. "Apart from the low-hanging fruit around fundamentals, such as perspective, anatomy and lighting, a lot of stuff is very subjective," points out Drew. "With client work it gets easier because, hopefully, there's a clear direction coming from the client. "With personal work, though, you need to consider where the artist is wanting to go. You can refer to other creatives who are successful at the thing this particular artist is trying to do as a jumping board for your feedback, so they know you're not trying to take them some place they don't want to go." Think big, not small It's important, too, to not get bogged down in details, says Daniel. "Stick to the three main problems you see in the work rather than overwhelm the person with every little thing you believe is wrong," he advises. "This serves to make the artist you're critiquing focus on the big, important issues and keeps them focused." "Be open to suggestions," says Daniel Warren. "But don't sacrifice your own style for someone else's just to get a thumbs up." Above all, remember you're talking to a human being, so address them in the same friendly manner you'd like to be addressed yourself. "It's not just about what you say, but how you say it," says Dave. "The important thing is to convey why something isn't working and how to improve it; you don't have to be nasty about it. It's basically balance between the two people; both need to be sensitive to each other." And Loïc is a great believer in a lightness of touch. "I think humour is something that works for everything in life," he says. "I start my class with anecdotes every time; it's like a way in. And you have to talk passionately about the good stuff. Then it's easier to say to them: 'So here, why did you screw it up? These parts are a very interesting direction, but you need to follow it the entire way through.'" This article was originally published in issues 155 and 156 of ImagineFX, the world's best-selling magazine for digital artists. Subscribe to ImagineFX here. Related articles: 10 hottest illustrators of 2017 Concept design tips for artists Why you should take an art class online View the full article

When web developers need to get their sites online with the assurance that all their designs will work as expected, they turn to Arch Hosting Web Hosting. This reliable web hosting service can get your site up and running in no time. You can get a lifetime subscription to this powerful service for just $24.99 (approx. £18). Arch Hosting Web Hosting has everything you need to get your website up and running at its peak performance. This performance-oriented web host understands the importance of having no downtime and quick load times and will optimise your site with its lightning-fast network. Get 2GB of storage space and 500GB of bandwidth for your domain, which you'll get free for a full year. You can get get a lifetime subscription to Arch Hosting Web Hosting plus one year of domain registry for just $24.99 (approx. £18). That's a savings of 95% off the retail price for a deal that will get your site up and running, 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: 12 best web hosting services 18 great web design podcasts 12 huge web design trends for 2018 View the full article

You might not know the name of the world’s most sought after set designer – but you’ll know her work. Es Devlin designed the London Olympic closing ceremony. The theatrical mastermind is also responsible for the mountainous landscape of Kanye West’s Yeezus tour, Beyoncé’s rotating cinema, and unique experiences for Adele and U2. She’s sent Miley Cyrus down a tongue-shaped slide, and created Benedict Cumberbatch’s crumbling mansion in the Barbican’s Hamlet. The list goes on. The London-based set designer, who will be speaking at Design Indaba 2018, specialises in blurring the boundary between stage design and art. She practices the ‘suspension of disbelief’ – but while redesigning traditional experiences in surprising ways is central to her craft, the theme of time is also becoming increasingly important. "I think now I'm really aware of time," she told CNN. "I have this sense of being halfway up a mountain." Es Devlin designed the London Olympics closing ceremony, which featured Damien Hirst’s huge spin painting One project where the theme of time really took shape was Devlin’s disorientating 2016 Mirror Maze installation in London (pictured below). The project used video projections and visceral sound design to explore how scent can trigger memories. As visitors wandered around the maze, which was filed with mirrors and dead-end staircases, their reflection was projected onto the walls around them. The project was inspired by an experience Devlin had while working on Adele’s Belfast arena tour. “Where we were working,” she told Creative Review,“I was staying in a hotel and I opened the cupboard door and smelled mothballs.” Mirror Maze was commissioned by ID and Chanel “I was so tired and I immediately felt like I was falling and plummeting through space into my five-year-old self smelling mothballs in my grandmother’s house in South Wales. I thought … ‘Could I make people feel that? Could I set up this kind of maze and involve people’s brain wandering around the maze, then suddenly plummet them, or remind them of what that plummeting sensation felt like?'” For Devlin, Mirror Maze also marked the start of a new line of enquiry: making the visitor part of the work. By experiencing her designs, people become the hero. In September, Devlin was awarded the prestigious Panerai London Design Medal. Previous recipients have included Zaha Hadid and Ron Arad, and a showcase of her work is planned for the V&A in celebration. She’s also been thinking about a retrospective exhibition. “I need to create some kind of thesis of my 20 years of work,’ she told Wallpaper. “I’d love to create an installation where you could travel through my stage sets. You could walk in through Kanye’s mountain, and then out through Wagner’s Parsifal tunnel and then slide down Miley’s tongue. Wouldn’t it be fun?” It gets our vote. We’ll be bringing you more from Devlin at Design Indaba 2018. The three-day creative event kicks off on 21 February, and we’ll be reporting live throughout. Related articles: Design Indaba 2018 headlines with Thomas Heatherwick 8 things you didn't know about design for film Design Indaba 2018: Building outspoken landscapes View the full article