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You're reading Soft Motion: The Art of Animating Websites in 2018, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook, Google+! Even if you love flat design, there’s a better way to create beautiful and engaging websites. The better way to create instant user engagement is with soft motion. A few years ago, before flat became the No. 1 trend in web design, we’ve all got excited. The web never looked better. That was until all […] View the full article

TeamViewer says it has issued a hotfix to address a bug that allows users sharing a desktop session to gain control of the other’s computer without permission. View the full article

When you're tasked with creating a character from scratch, think about that figure’s personality. Put yourself in their mindset and identify their motivations, their talents and their ambitions. It’s not just about how to draw an interesting shape or a beautiful face. You need to inform the viewer of the stories behind that face. Ensure that a character’s expression – even just their eyes – speaks volumes about them. Christmas offer: Save up to 47% on a subscription to ImagineFX The creative process is personal, so every artist has their own approach to the workflow. I'm sharing mine here, but you can always find a way to adapt these ideas to your own creative process rather than using it wholesale, if you prefer. A disciplined approach towards self-improvement also goes a long way if you want to improve your character art. Yes, talent and classes help, but you can also achieve a lot just by staying focused on your goals. 01. Get into the habit of drawing Time spent drawing studies will pay you back in the quality of your work Drawing is a skill that will improve the more time you spend doing it. Pick a subject and then spend at least three hours depicting it. It’s a great way to grasp the fundamentals of art: anatomy, composition, colour and values. Drawing statues helped me to learn about lighting and shading. Study references for an hour, then try to draw them from memory. This will help to enrich the visual library on your brain. But don’t waste time memorising small details. Instead, focus on the larger, geometric shapes, because these will be easier to remember. Don’t make things hard for yourself. 02. Study characters from pop culture Research character types from different sources for inspiration Books or films provide easy access to worlds that are full of inspiration and references. In particular, they’ll be characters – all with different back stories – that will help you bring your own characters to life. I take a lot inspiration from films and animation. For example, when I want to create an evil character I watch films that feature my favourite villains. Then I try to understand why they look creepy, scary or simply how they exude ‘badness’! Maybe it’s the eyes, smile or shape of the head? I take notes and then examine another villain. This approach helps me to build up my own bad guy. Draw up a list of characters from popular culture that you can dip into whenever you need to develop your own ideas. 03. Build your own visual library Create your own reference library While it’s useful to study characters from pop culture, it's also useful to spend time creating your own file of visual references. I usually use Pinterest to save my images of real-life photos, screenshots from video games, actors in costume, game production art, and even examples of imagery from artists that I follow online. I’m always adding to my Pinterest pages so that they don’t become stale. Being organised is an important part of your reference routine. 04. Choose your tools Keep it simple and use what you've got Don’t let your tools define you. Yes, it helps to have a fast computer, but beginners should stick to the basics. As your skills improve and you start making money, gradually invest in newer, better kit. When I started I had a normal PC and a small Genius tablet. A sketchbook enabled me to practise anywhere. My other key tool is Photoshop, but the only aspects that I’ve personalised are the brushes and some shortcuts. Digital tools won’t help you improve on their own, but can be a benefit if you feel comfortable using them. From experience, I’ve noticed that a more relaxed artist will be more productive. 05. Start by drawing curves Shape your characters through lines and curves Once you have an idea of how your character should look, it’s doodle time! Begin by producing some thumbnails. Ignore details for now and instead put down the larger shapes. I always start with curves rather than straight lines so that I can warm up my hand and keep things loose and organic, which is a key factor in my art. If you’re painting female anatomy then curves are a priority. In contrast, a figure made up of mostly straight lines means that they’re a strong, stable character. To be honest, I don’t feel comfortable starting with a rough concept, but this stage is crucial. You need to be happy with your idea, because you’ll be working within this space and inside these lines as the concept develops. 06. Draw the face and eyes Eyes are an important focal point as they can reflect a range of emotions A key aspect of my characters is their facial expression, and the most important feature is the eyes. They’re the first thing that your viewer will notice, so you want them to make the correct impact. Small pupils will indicate feelings such as anger, surprise, fear and excitement, while large pupils will help you to convey emotions of sadness or happiness. Downcast eyelids can mean they’re trusting, arrogant or tired, depending on how you paint the eyebrows. A good expression will always start with the eyes. I tend to draw the face before defining the shape of the head. 07. Create poses and body language It’s important that a character’s body pose complements their facial expression. For example, you can achieve so much with interesting hands. I realise it’s tricky to draw hands, but they’re a great way to convey emotion, and will always catch the viewer’s eye. Hands can help exaggerate an arm gesture, interact with the character’s body or even relay a stronger emotion than a facial expression. Then I think about the shape of the body. I always try to create a tangible feeling of weight. All aspects of a character’s body – the nose, hair, hands, shoulders, costume, arms, legs and so on – must be affected by gravity. This helps to enhance the realism of the design. 08. Retain the best aspects of a sketch I sketched this character some time ago. My aim was to improve my knowledge of the female anatomy while maintaining a loose sketchbook look. I kept it simple, and concentrated on the values and depicting key anatomy landmarks. Her face was my main focus, with the looser lines suggesting a dress from the Renaissance period. The ImagineFX team ask me to work up the sketch for the magazine cover. Before painting, I redo the line work to remove the distraction of the existing values. I try to recreate the volumes and the mood with simple brush strokes, paying more attention to the eyes and face, and play around with textures. I want my character to have a stern outlook. I smooth down the shapes within the silhouette, such as the face, hair and dress, which helps to create volume. Adding textures accentuates the forms in selective areas of the face and body. Once I’m comfortable with the bigger shapes, I move on to detailing. I fix the values, increase the saturation and then call it finished. 09. Use costume design as a complementary device Think of a character’s body as a book. The viewer will start to read from the face and then move on to the body. Take care to be accurate with the visual information that you’re supplying about their outfit. It must add to your character, not detract from it. A costume must complement a character. Once I’ve roughly illustrated my figure in full I start to add large and small geometric forms, but avoid detailing for now. I’ll often dip into my visual library and look for interesting shapes and references that match the subject matter. 10. Add personality with colour My approach to colours is simple. I start with grey tones because I don’t want to be distracted by the effects of saturation. Then I try to maintain the character’s 'message' by choosing colours that help to convey their nature. A darker personality would feature cold, destaturated colours such as blue, green and violet. I’d use warm, saturated tones like red, orange and yellow for more lively characters. Sometimes I create a little contrast by mixing cold and warm tones, although not in the same amounts: perhaps 80 per cent of desaturated blue and 20 per cent of its complement, such as a saturated orange. These proportions will be dictated by your character’s design. 11. Build up mood Not every evil character needs to feature dark, cold and desaturated colours. Yet it’s common to associate this palette with feelings of sadness, fear and loneliness, much like red is linked with danger and yellow with a warning. There are similar colour associations in the animal kingdom. Many of the decisions made by a character designer will be based on making the viewer react in a certain way. If you’re going to do something different, such as apply bright colours to an evil character, there must be elements that reinforce their dark nature, such as outlandish anatomy or a torn costume. This will ensure that the warmer colours won’t act as a distraction. 12. Simplify through light After I’ve finished my drawing I paint the local colour – or in the case of the images above, the halftone. This will act as my base. I define shapes with this halftone as well as the silhouette of my shape (the character’s head and body). I decide on the direction of my primary light source by adding a darker tone to my base, which helps me bring in the shadows. How I paint the shape of my shadow will help me to generate the volumes in the face. Finally, I bring in white tones in the darkest areas of my character’s face, which helps me create contrast and make it looks more interesting. I limit the use of white tones, because too much can be a distraction. 13. Control the values Early on in my learning process I produced lots of painting studies. Each day I’d find an interesting reference image that was full of shapes and contrast, and then try to reproduce it using my art tools. I learned how to create volume with values, but also how easy it is to drift away from the original sketch. If you don’t control your values then you can distort your character’s anatomy. The face in particular is very delicate. One simple line can change the expression completely, let alone several brushstrokes. So keep it simple and work with just three values. If you feel comfortable you can always add more. 14. Play with textures I can use soft brushes and make a clean render on my characters, but I like to play with brush strokes and add a little more interesting information to the render. I study the work of artists who produce amazing digital paintings: they emulate the traditional look of the Old Masters but with digital brushes. To me that’s an incredible skill. I’m still a fan of oil on rough canvas, so that’s why I try to capture that look using just a handful of brushes. I only use them for the detailing stage, because my main goal is always to produce a decent drawing. 15. Be disciplined There’s only one way to grow better as an artist and it’s with discipline. If you set yourself goals, organise your tools, produce clean studies and practise regularly, then you’re sure to improve. And finally, enjoy painting! You’ll run into difficulties from time to time, but if you like what you do then you’ll always find a reason to continue. This article was originally published in issue 153 of ImagineFX, the world's best-selling magazine for digital artists – packed with workshops and interviews with fantasy and sci-fi artists, plus must-have kit reviews. Buy issue 153 here or subscribe to ImagineFX here. Special Christmas offer: Save up to 47% on a subscription to ImagineFX for you or a friend for Christmas. It's a limited offer, so move quickly... Related articles: How to choose the right drawing tools 10 steps to improve your figure drawing Improve your concept art skills in Photoshop View the full article

A proof of concept attack developed by researchers target users of the development platforms for Android and Java. View the full article

The end of the year is the perfect time to take stock and look back on what's happened over the last 12 months, and web design isn't being left out. We've already seen how Spotify has wrapped up 2017 with witty ads, but now it's time for CSS sites to shine with the CSS Design Awards 2017. Founded in 2009, the CSS Design Awards celebrate inspirational web designs created by individual designers, studios and agencies. The awards see one site being crowned the Website of the Year in recognition of its creativity and innovation. This year the award went to Active Theory for the site Welcome to Hogwarts, which is part of the hugely popular Harry Potter-inspired Pottermore universe. The CSS Design Awards team praised the interactive site, which sees users scrolling their way around the Hogwarts castle and clicking on focal points for content. Judges called it a "truly magnificent effort and game changer featuring premium level WebGL, silky smooth effects and wow factor aesthetics." We headed over to the Welcome to Hogwarts page to check out everything the site has to offer, but were a bit put out when we were hit with a landing page that first warned us it might not work on our browser (Chrome) or device (iMac), and then demanded our login details. Sure, it's a landing page with glorious visuals, an appropriately atmospheric soundtrack, and buttons that sing out with an icy jangling sound. But it's an enjoyment-blocking landing page nonetheless. Perhaps we're griping because it's been a few years since anyone on the team logged into Pottermore. It took us a while to remember our account details (we're the sort of people who did the Sorting Hat quiz then never returned). That said, once we were in we had a fun time zipping around turrets and picking up titbits of Potter trivia. A panel of over 300 international judges settled on Welcome to Hogwarts as the winner, which narrowly pipped Mausoleum of Augustus by Havas Milan & Uprising to the top spot. So close yet so far for the Mausoleum of Augustus – the second best website of 2017 As well as crowning an overall winner, the CSS Design Awards also recognised websites that were the best in their field. These included the likes of 86 and a half years by Clubhouse Studios, which scooped the best interactive photography nod, and Aristide Benoist's portfolio site designed by Ben Mingo with 3D work by Michael Novia, which landed the best in class portfolio site award. Speaking on the CSS Design Awards blog, a spokesperson for the event said that 2017 was the year of motion animation. "Transitions, animated menus, micro-interactions, flow-on content, and of course webGL, all joined forces to stomp hard on static sites, making them seem like a distant memory. Coupled with this, an increased use of JS tech helped creators control sequential elements making storyboards come to life with fantastic results." To explore the full list of sites gaining praise from the CSS Design Awards judges, explore the Website of the Year site, which, appropriately, is beautifully designed and a joy to scroll through. Related articles: A guide to writing better CSS CSS tricks to revolutionise your web layouts 28 outstanding examples of CSS View the full article

While most people use Microsoft Excel to organise their data into neat rows and columns, Japanese artist Tatsuo Horiuchi has discovered there's more to the spreadsheet software, and has turned it into a stunning digital art medium. The 77-year-old artist decided to start stretching his creative muscles as he came close to retirement. However, his thrifty nature ruled out the possibility of using traditional mediums or the likes of Adobe Creative Cloud. So instead of paint brushes and pencils, or Photoshop, Horiuchi turned to Microsoft Excel because it ticked all the boxes his creative streak needed: it came free with his computer, and he already had it. Other artists (such as Hal Lasko, then aged 97) have already used the equally cheap and convenient computer tool MS Paint to express themselves, but Horiuchi found that the data management software offered more creative flexibility. Horiuchi has been impressing people with his Excel masterpieces for years now. In fact, his first taste of widespread attention came in 2006 when he wowed the judges at an Excel Autoshape Art Contest. From here he went on to create work that has been acquired by the Gunma Museum of Art. But a recent video interview on Great Big Story has catapulted him into mainstream attention. Watch it below. We're blown away by the level of detail in these digital pictures. Just take a look at the image at the top of this article, titled The pond of the plateau enclosed in green (the shark pond) and the woman of the parasol. Not only has Horiuchi created the illusion of dense foliage, but he's mirrored this perfectly in the water's reflection. On one of his numerous online domains, Horiuchi gives an indication of how difficult the Excel medium can be when he talks about the creation of this piece. "This painting is a work of pain," he reveals through a Google-translated caption. "I cannot open it even if I save the drawing due to insufficient capacity. When examined it is about 288 MB." If you like the look of Horiuchi's work, you can contact him about buying his paintings by emailing him at: cbl97790@pop06.odn.ne.jp. And if you'd like to have a go, check out his Excel drawing instructions (and please share your results – however they tun out – with us on Facebook or Twitter.) Related articles: The best Wacom tablet deals Pixel art: 37 great examples 97-year-old pixel painter creates masterpieces in MS Paint View the full article

As a designer, there are many essential creative tools that will help you do your job, whether you're working from home or in a design office. For me, the most obvious things are my Mac, broadband, a space to work in, eyes, a very large coffee, and a brain that's not too sluggish from being in the pub the night before. So there are lots of things that I need, but what couldn't I live without? What would be the absolute worst thing to not have during a whole day of work in the studio? To answer this question, I've put together this list of 12 things I see as essential to my working day as a designer. 01. An office chair A chair like this isn't cheap, but you'll be thankful for its support Never underestimate the importance of a decent office chair. It might be tempting to just grab a spare from the kitchen or dining room, but you'll end up paying the price after a few days perched on it. Because you'll be using it for hours at a time, most days, you'll want a decent quality chair that's going to last you. What this basically means is don't go grabbing the first chair you see for £50 – if you do, sooner or later you'll find yourself cursing your miserly ways. Instead, be prepared to spend more on something ergonomic with decent lumbar support. And if you get the chance, head out to the shops to try some chairs out for size and comfort; the last thing you want is to order something online, only to find (once you've gone to the trouble of assembling it) that it doesn't feel quite right for you. 02. A backpack Keep all your stuff secure while you're out and about No matter where you're working, sometimes you'll have to go out – maybe to meet a client, or to do an in-house job – and you'll need to take your stuff with you. Don't get caught out at the last minute, trying to cram all your gear into a promotional tote bag; think ahead and buy yourself a good quality backpack. As with buying an office chair, this is something you won't want to be too cheap about. You need something that can comfortably hold all everything you'll need on your travels, and keep it protected as well; at the very least you want to make sure that it has a padded compartment for your laptop or tablet. And if you're carrying a load of stuff, go for something with plenty of pockets or compartments; if you just shove everything into one place you'll invariably end up having to dig through a whole load of stuff in search of a stray charger. This one has its zip positioned next to your back, to help keep your pricey kit safe. Also read: 8 must-have bags for designers 03. A Wacom tablet Wacom, king of drawing tablets This nifty bit of drawing kit has been with me since I started out, and it's been as loyal and reliable as my own husband (maybe even more so). I think of my Wacom now as an extension of my hand. It's so wonderful, I haven't used a mouse in six years. It's made the transition between sketching everything on paper and then wrestling with the pen tool in Illustrator a lot more fun and definitely a lot faster. The control I have is amazing and it makes digital drawing much more fluid and natural. Not only that but it is definitely a very beautiful gadget, all smooth and curvaceous. (In case you can't tell, I really like my gadgets.) For those of you who haven't a clue what this is, think of it as a piece of paper and a pen that transfers every stroke you doodle on to your machine so that you can digitise the work. It's pretty darn wonderful and if I had to live without it? Well, I'd just be sat in front of my machine with no idea how to make the cursor thingamebob move. I don't just use it for artwork, I use it instead of a mouse or a track pad for everything. I really am severely attached to it, so please don't take it from me! There are plenty of different ones to choose from - take a look at our roundup of the best Wacom deals around if you're having trouble choosing. Also read: Best drawing tablet for creatives 04. A sketchbook A sketchbook is a must-have for any creative This may be an obvious one but it's definitely an essential item. With my face planted in front of a 27-inch screen all day it's sometimes good to break away and do a little super quick five minute doodle. A good Moleskine sketch book will sort you out. Try this pack of three for extra value. 10 of the best notebooks for designersNot only does it calm me down once I've checked I can still draw but it's great for adding content to my social media networks and it's a nice break for my achy brain. Check out my Instagram and Twitter to see some of those doodles. I take my sketchbook with me wherever I go because you never know when someone is going to be late to a meeting and leave you twiddling your thumbs. Or maybe I'll have a brainwave for a new project and need to jot some ideas down before the idea flies away. I also keep a notebook by the side of my bed. I'm not a great sleeper so I quite often do think about projects and work during the night. And sometimes I get some great ideas so it's perfect for spontaneous project planning. My sketchbook is pretty much my bible. It's got doodles in it that have been turned into infographics and motion graphics, so it's like a diary of sorts. It's great to look back on. The only downside is that I just have stacks of old sketchbooks all over the house and the studio. Oh well, maybe they'll be worth something someday. 05. Post-it Notes Forget sticky notes, get some real Post-its I definitely couldn't work or live without Post-its. I'm talking about the actual real, physical kind, not one of those sticky pad applications you can download to your computer. In fact, I'm probably keeping the Post-it manufacturing industry afloat all on my lonesome. In the way that my sketchbook is my idea jotter and doodle Bible, Post-its help me organise my day and keep on top of tasks. I do use a digital calendar as well of course, inputting all the tasks I need to do for the next day so I have a clear list of to-dos. But my Post-its are an extension of that and a way to keep everything at the forefront of my mind. I can close a calendar but if I've got Post-its in front of me all day, along with lists, there's no way to get away from what I need to do and that keeps me focused. I also use Post-its for personal encouragement and goals. If I see a phrase that really jumps out at me, I'll jot it down on the nearest Post-it and stick it in view. Or, if I need an extra kick of motivation, I keep specific goals I want to achieve in view. These little reminders keep me motivated, energised and focused. 06. Spotify Spotify: can help you not explodeOh Spotify, what would I do without you? Answer: go out of my mind! I don't know about you but the kind of music I listen to completely depend on my mood. Sometimes I need to listen to every single David Bowie song or I just might explode. Sometimes I'm so incredibly sick of everything that I need to listen through the radio setting on the app to see if I can find anything new that hits the spot. Basically, Spotify is there for me, whatever mood I'm and it never gets angry with me. It just finds some awesome tunes for me to fall in love with while I'm busy working hard. The radio function is genuinely genius and I definitely couldn't be without it. Another bonus is that if you're linked up with your friends on Spotify you can share music between you and occasionally you can make fun of them when you catch them listening to Boyzone's Greatest Hits when they thought nobody could see. Satisfying. Now all I need is for the developers to find a way to make Spotify know what mood I'm and what I want to listen to immediately. Hurry up, will you? 07. Snacks Snacks can prevent a deskbound meltdownIf you're anything like me, work tends to overtake a great deal of things including preparing healthy brain food and snacks for the week to keep you from having a meltdown at your desk. In fact, in some cases you can completely forget about lunch and look up from your work to find it's already 5:30pm and your stomach is screaming at you to feed it. Sound familiar? Enter Graze! This genius idea has been around for several years now. You create an account here (or here if you're in the US) and browse through all the options for healthy snacks (and a few naughty ones) and bin the options you're sure not to like. Then, you can set when you'd like your nifty little box with four snack sections to be delivered and how often. Simple as. I get mine delivered once fortnightly as it's not the most cost effective way to snack, but it sure it the most convenient and definitely rather fun. Graze gives you an option to view what's in your box before it arrives or you can wait and have a lovely surprise. One of my favourites is the popping corn with a twist of black pepper, slightly sweet, or lightly salted, which comes in very well designed packaging that you can just pop in the microwave. Yum! 08. A social media tool Connect up your networks with Sprout SocialI work with social media a lot and I use all of the platforms to promote my work, my business, gain new contacts and gain work so it's really important for me to be able to make the process of posting and uploading content super efficient and reliable. Not only that but I need to be able to see how posts are engaging, who's engaging with them if at all and compare them with other posts so I can make sure all my content is as impacting as possible. Sprout Social is a great tool for this. For a small monthly fee I can connect my social networks together in one neat list and compose content, which I can post to all at the same time. Or I can schedule posts to go out at different times. This is an amazing revolution for me. I can come into the studio on a Monday, go through the content I've collected all the last week and organise posts for the entire week showcasing work, things I've seen and done. This saves a great deal of time and distraction in the long term. Although we all know engaging with social media is a complete must for businesses, it can be quite distracting throughout the day. This way I know I've got some interesting content going out throughout the week and I can sit back and relax and review the stats that Sprout very handily display on the dashboard. Voila! 09. A time-tracking app FreshBooks is a handy time-tracking tool There is one thing a designer should never be without and that is a decent time tracking application. I searched high and low for something that not only had a well-designed, easy to use interface but also was available and equally easy to use across mobile and mac platforms. I found it. FreshBooks is a very valuable cloud accounting tool for tracking your time across projects, tasks and clients. It gives you the ability to add team members and invoice your clients directly, as well as giving them the option to pay online in a couple of easy steps. There are plenty of options though - take a look here to find one that suits you. As my business is growing, I've begun to employ a few freelancers of my own and what better way to keep track and manage projects remotely that to invite them to a project on FreshBooks and then enable them to either enter a time spent on a project manually or use a handy time tracking clock and add hours that way? Everyone can manage his or her hourly rates and I can invoice a client once the project is finished, as it exports all the hours spent into one very well designed invoice. Genius! It's simple and intuitive and allows everyone to work from anywhere. 10. An iPhone The iPhone. You may have heard of itThis is quite an obvious one, but I've no idea where I would be without it. Running a business alone is hard. Fact. There are so many things to think about and do on a daily basis that it can easily become a juggling act. For instance, if I'm not plonked in front of my Mac, I spend a lot of time each month going out and meeting clients, attending networking events and generally being on the move. While I'm doing all this, clients are emailing, freelancers are sending work through and I'm scheduling more meetings and more events and more work. Phew! How is this possible? My wonderful iPhone. It goes with me wherever I go and there are apps that are in full time use most days if I'm out of the studio. My calendar is always open, being added to, changed, inviting contacts. My FreshBooks app is running if I'm keeping an eye on freelancers or invoicing for a project. My Skype app is always in use for my overseas clients. My Sprout Social app is there if I want to add content to my networks on the move. And of course, my email client is normally buzzing away. Who knows what I'll need to do while I'm out – it's best to be prepared! Although iPhones have long been favourites amongst the design community, there are several other companies giving Apple a run for its money. To see what we thought take a look at our run-down of the best smartphones for designers. 11. Visually Visually can help you promote your workWithin the last year and a half, infographics have become a major component in marketing businesses as well as communicating complex data to audiences. As a designer I've had the pleasure to work with numerous organisations across the UK and beyond on a range of infographics from promoting office furniture for an online retailer to explaining the learning developments of children with disabilities for a charity. We all know that these types of artwork are shared through web pages and through social media but where do designers go to promote their work and also for inspiration? Visually. I've used Visually to collect all my infographic work in one place, which is great for linking with potential clients. If a client is specifically getting in touch with me for infographic work I can either send them my web link where they can look through recent work or I can give them quick and easy access to my entire infographic library. Simples! Of course I could upload every single one to my site but that wouldn't leave room for much of our other work and this is a quick and easy solution. Not only that but it serves as a great inspiration bank when I've got a creative block or if I'm looking to see if there have been any infographics of the same subject I'm working on to inspire me (take a look here if you're after a free infographic builder option). 12. Competition What would the world be without a little competition? There's nothing like some fresh blood to keep you on your toes, and however long you've been doing the job, there's always something new you can learn, whether it's a new approach or a new technique or even a new shortcut in the design software you weren't aware of. The fact is, two heads are always better than one and if you can surround yourself with creatives then all will be well. Instead of working head to head, why not try some collaboration and learn something new? When I was just starting out and working from my little living room desk, I knew I needed to get into some shared office space to keep the creative juices flowing and the competition in my eyeline. Mostly to have some like-minded people to bounce some ideas off but also to learn anything I could. That's exactly what I did and not only did I learn a great deal about what could be achieved but I also learnt about dealing with clients and other everyday necessities. It was the best thing I ever did. Not only that but employing some fresh young freelancers has given me a push to improve my skills and get up to date with the latest tech. Never stop reading about what's going in the world and what people are doing: it could inspire you to create something that you never knew you could. A quick dose in the mornings from websites like this might be all you need to have the most creative day you've ever had. Related articles: 12 tools every graphic designer should have in 2017 Best laptops for Photoshop View the full article

When your carefully crafted content is your livelihood, it makes it all the more troubling when someone uses it without your permission or attribution – it's left, after all. Solve that problem by placing a watermark on all your work with iWatermark Pro, on sale now for just $14.99 (approx. £11). When putting your work online, you need to protect yourself. You can do so with iWatermark Pro. This simple and effective app will stamp your digital photos and artwork with a watermark that will travel with it. That means any time someone rips your image from Facebook, Instagram, Behance or elsewhere, it will have your attribution right on it. Set the text, transparency, and size of the watermark to your preference. This app easily integrates with all sorts of top photo editing apps, so adding watermarks will fit right in your workflow. You can get iWatermark Pro on sale now for just $14.99 (approx. £11). That's a saving of 50% off the retail price for an invaluable app that will make sure your work is never ripped off. 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 Check out these great articles: The 14 best photo editor apps 9 tools to make graphic design easier in 2018 5 best laptops for Photoshop View the full article

An age-old problem in web and app design is how to bridge the gap between the design and development teams. While communication provides what’s probably the most effective means for bridging this gap, certain tools can offer an effective proxy. These tools do that by creating a shared language between digital design and development, providing outputs that either party can understand and use within their respective professional disciplines. 01. A comprehensive design pattern library has set a new bar for style guides An advantage offered by pattern libraries such as Shopify Polaris, which is sometimes overlooked, is that they give us efficiency. With a robust pattern library in place, you don’t have to spend so much time agonising over what this modal should look like, or even whether a modal is the right solution for this problem. For many problems, all you should have to do is look to the library and bam! There’s the right tool for the job, ready to hand – and presented in a way that designers and developers can all understand and use right away. If you stick to the library, there should be no need to redline basic things like spacing and type size, leaving you to focus on more salient details, like 'where does this link go?' Granted, new patterns inevitably arise. For those, you’ll need to work closely with dev and the design systems team (or whatever your company calls it) to develop specs and code. 02. Webflow Life can get pretty meta at Webflow One of the best ways to communicate with a dev is to give them something made of code – a fully interactive object with clickable buttons, fillable forms, and pages that scale with browser width. That way, instead of describing an interaction, you can just show people. Webflow enables that by allowing designers to create production-ready HTML, CSS, and JavaScript through a completely visual interface. And even if developers don’t want to use its code – which is often the case, due to internal frameworks – it still provides them with a high-fidelity guide to a design without having to create redlines. In an interview on the Webflow blog about how Intuit’s designers use Webflow, senior visual designer Nathan Bailey says: "Webflow forces you to create the CSS for any element. It creates that spacing and cascades it immediately. And so it's this forced discipline that most design products don't have." If a little enforced design discipline sounds good to you, check it out. 03. Figma Figma 2.0 has really broadened its offering Figma has been a solid force in the design collaboration space ever since its launch, but with Figma 2.0, it has really broadened its offering. Now, designers can not only create functional prototypes in Figma, but also hand off their work to developers, who can access a design in a 'code mode' that gives them all the style info they need – without waiting on a spec doc. 04. Zeplin Just reviewing artboards in Zeplin can give you a whole different perspective on the process Zeplin really excels at facilitating designer-developer collaboration, probably because it was specifically made for it. Working between a desktop and web app, designers can export artboards to Zeplin. This automatically creates a sort of 'dev-friendly' view into your design files, capturing CSS styles, fonts, colours, slices – in short, a whole bunch of what developers need to get cracking on bringing your designs to life. InVision has created a very similar product with its new-ish Inspect, and there’s a Sketch plugin called Measure that might do the trick for you as well. 05. Framer Framer embraces text editor-inspired UIs Another tool designed to seamlessly combine design and code – and thereby help bridge the design-development gap – is Framer. Much like Webflow, it blends design and code, though where Webflow is meant primarily for designers looking for a different way to code, Framer embraces text editor-inspired UIs. So if you’re the (ahem) unicorn type, or you’re chasing that full-stack designer label, Framer might be just the thing for you. Related articles: The 19 best wireframe tools 11 great landing page designs Fresh ideas for building websites View the full article

A brilliant flyer design can do wonders to help promote an event or product by making people feel excited about it. Artwork and printing are key factors in a leaflet or flyer's effectiveness, but the overall design – especially the use of colour – needs careful consideration for it to achieve its purpose. With more and more media competing for eyeballs than ever before, it's a real challenge to grab people's attention these days. And the art of flyer design is a great place to get inspiration. Here are the best examples of flyer design that we've found, to help inspire your next project. 01. Zach Darlington Now that's what we call a flyerWe love all the amazing things that you can do with Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign, but sometimes you can't beat the old-school combination of a photocopier, scissors, glue and sheer bloody-mindedness. Good work, Zach Darlington, on this retro collage-style flyer. 02. Philipp Möckli Risograph printing really gives these flyers an edgeCreated by Philipp Möckli in collaboration with Max Frischknecht, these A7 flyers for Konsens magazine really stand out thanks to Risograph printing, which uses a layering technique similar to that used in silk screen printing to produce multi-coloured prints 03. Design to Explain These toy shop flyers are adorableLil Joe was a startup enterprise providing children's entertainment products in the UK. Design to Explain created a brand identity design including business card, letterhead, envelope, postcard, CD cover, shopping bag, iPad and iPhone wallpapers, as well as this lovely flyer design that was used in local marketing to announce its opening. 04. Studio Orfeo Lanz This whole concept is probably a lot funnier if you speak GermanThese flyers, created by Studio Orfeo Lanz for the ceramics department at the Bern School of Design, Switzerland, are the gift that keeps on giving. Publicising a graduation exhibition themed around the German word 'Verzogen', meaning twisted, the eye-catching flyer was designed to be turned and twisted into the exhibition poster. 05. Studio Mut Studio Mut's Kunsthalle Bozen flyers are anti-establishment as all flipping heckStudio Mut designed the identity and communication for Kunsthalle Bozen, a new art space in Bolzano, Italy, that wants to become a centre for hedonism and beauty, connecting Bolzano to the rest of the world. Studio Mut's identity design conveys this youthful spirit with anti-establishment, Just-Do-It-In-PowerPoint aesthetics and the use of stretched black and white type, as you can see from these in-your-face flyers. 06. Mondopolitani Art fest Montserrat is a reliable choiceClaudia Alexandrino is art director at Italian creative studio The 6th, and every year she creates the visual identity for the Mondopolitani Art fest. For the 2015 event she chose a striking colour palette and used Montserrat Regular and Bold to make this flyer. 07. Panama Plus Beautiful, vivid colour gradientsPanama Plus is a subculture festival of art, music, creative performance and writing. Munich-based design bureau Moby Digg, working in collaboration with ZOO, took the vibrancy of the festival as inspiration to create this vivid, colourful artwork. Each piece of material for the show features a circle filled with a different bright colour gradient which is then fed through a glitch generator. The result is a beautiful, eye-catching series of visuals. 08. Kari Feinstein's Style Lounge Fantastic type treatment draws the eyeFreelance graphic designer and illustrator Eugenia Anselmo used this creative type treatment to produce a digital flyer for Kari Feinstein PR. She actually made a selection of options for this brief, each of which is an interesting experiment with the same look and feel; take a look at the gallery on Behance. 09. Rundgang DMI Each department gets its own version of a common styleRundgang DMI is an exhibition in which three university departments at HAW Hamburg – Design, Media and Information – showcase their work together. The promotional material therefore had to represent each separate department in a way that tied them together to make it clear it was a single show. Villa studio did a superb job, giving each department its own colour and type, while maintaining a single theme across the three flyers. 10. Général Sherman Nature photography is a theme in this bar's visual identityGénéral Sherman is a particular giant sequoia tree located in a national park in California, and also the name of a bar in Montreal, Canada. Design agency BZOING used the foliage of the tree and some beautiful type for its flyer. It fits nicely with the general branding for the bar, which incorporates photography of leaves, twigs, fruit and herbs. 11. Company Folders This flyer combines vintage design with contemporary fontsFor a retro dance party with modern twists, Company Folders' team of designers chose vintage images on a background that resembles old, well-worn paper. We love how the girl peers out from behind the red triangle – which is a bit of hidden irony, given that the flyer advertises the Red Rectangle Club. Contemporary fonts and icons at the bottom help balance the vintage look. 12. Joanna Kosinska Joanna Kosinska's flyer shows off most of her skills in a compact packageJoanna Kosinska is a freelance graphic designer based in West Yorkshire who loves creating logos, websites and brochures. To drum up business she created this beautiful A3 Z fold flyer printed on 350gsm recycled paper. The illustrated cover folds out to reveal a little about herself and her skills, and on the other side is a capsule portfolio featuring a few selected samples of her work. 13. Manage Your Day-to-Day Is it a promo flyer or a motivational poster? It's both!To promote Manage Your Day-to-Day, a 99U book about how the way that we work has to change, Matias Corea, Raewyn Brandon and Jocelyn K. Glei from Behance created this fold-out flyer/poster. "The idea was to create a print piece that would give people a succinct overview of the book, while also giving them something with lasting value," says Brandon. "Thus, the piece folds out to create an active experience of learning about the book; then, when it's fully unfolded, the piece works as a motivational quote poster that you can tack up over your desk." 14. Says Who It might look like junk, but this smart promotional package is anything butThis promotional package for design collective Says Who was created by South African-based illustrator Shaun Hill and ticks all the right boxes. The Says Who Junk Mail pack includes a take-out menu, junk flyers, 14-page illustrated booklet, a poster as well as a pack of 20 chicken stickers. "It was made from a variety of left over paper stocks, such as brown cardboard, an old analysis accounting books, newsprint pad, red and yellow poster board, and some old brown envelopes," Hill explains. "Each element was drawn and run through our photocopier, then finished by hand." 15. Cook&Book Anyone know what sharks have to do with Christmas? Is it a Finnish thing?For a Finnish-themed Christmas market at Brussels bookstore Cook&Book, French graphic designer Julie Joanny created this delightful festive flyer with a Christmas jumper vibe. We love the unlikely cross-stitched sharks, and the fact that if you pull at the orange collar an inner flyer comes out, with more details. 16. Loulou & Tummie This vector illustrated flyer promotes Loulou and Tummie's speciality perfectlyArtistic duo Loulou and Tummie's promotional material is out of this world! Known for their eye-catching vector work, this colourful flyer showcases their talents brilliantly, leaving the artwork to do all the talking and accompanied by a small, but necessary, amount of text. 17. 20 Fold It folds in all the right placesThe brief for this project was simple: create a flyer that goes along with the folding theme of the California State University Graphic Design BFA Show, titled 20 FOLD. So, that's exactly what designer Darren Nguyen did. No matter which orientation the recipient chooses, the sophisticated design places all the necessary information above the fold. 18. Mixed Taste The beautiful illustration and thermographic print job makes this flyer really stand outThis eye-catching design was created by Ellen Bruss Design to highlight a series of lectures at Denver's Museum of Contemporary Art. To promote the workshops, which pair two completely unrelated topics together, the flyer features a beautiful illustration of disjointed imagery. The design was completed with a thermographic print job, leaving it with a plastic, bumpy texture, which complements the illustrative style. 19. Drop Inn Hostel Return the Drop Inn's O-shaped flyer to claim a reward This is a simple but brilliant concept for the Drop Inn hostel, based in Singapore. Created by local creative agency Bravo, this luxury and stylishly designed O-shaped flyer informs each recipient that the hostel has, in fact, dropped its vital vowel and will therefore reward guests who return them with a discount on room rates. 20. CSUS Spring Show The threading of icons in the design cleverly demonstrates the artistic side and connectivity between departments To promote its student show back in Spring 2011, California State University, Sacramento commissioned designer Christine Jackson to create these promotional flyers. The back of the flyer provides all the necessary event detailsThe threading of various icons in the design cleverly demonstrates both the artistic side and connectivity of the graphic and interior design and photography departments. 21. Mehrblick We love the playful execution of this flyer designThis flyer for the two year anniversary of Mehrblick Events – an electronic music festival with lots of confetti and decorations – was designed by Germany-based artist Alexandra Turban. We love the playful execution and array of inspiring typography on show. 22. Hawes & Co. Get inspired with Tess Redburn's surreal illustrationsTess Redburn is a UK-based illustrator with a knack for eye-catching flyer designs. Having been snapped up by a number of festivals, companies and businesses, her colourful and surreal illustrations provide the perfect execution and inspiration for any flyer. 23. Pastilla Digital Stimulating visuals are at the forefront of this flyer designThis gorgeous flyer was created by Mexican agency Monumento (formerly called Face) for Pastilla Digital. "From the very beginning the goal was to design without limits, to experiment with all sorts of different materials, inks, and finishes, and to create an output of stunning, stimulating visuals that people can't help but want to collect," they explain. 24. Muah! We love the experimental lay-out of this flyer designThis custom typography, silkscreen flyer design was printed on limited run in special colour edition in A5 size. We love the experimental layout and the careful selection of colours. Designed by Czech Republic studio Anymade – we love their style. Next page: More brilliant examples of flyer design... 25. Monster Hands Your hands can turn into a dangerous monster if you don't keep them cleanYou can't get much more eye-catching than this brilliant flyer design, aimed at educating people about the importance of cleanliness in stopping the spread of bacteria. We just love how the hands have been transformed into this menacing yet cool looking character. Genius. 26. Room for rent This flyer design by Jimena Gamio was sure to attract prospective tenantsWhen a friend of art student Jimena Gamio was on the hunt for a flatmate a couple of years ago, Gamio created this cool typography flyer for her to distribute around town. A cool design and a refreshingly original alternative to the many generic, dull ads online. 27. Mikro Motion designer Mellow developed this beautiful, abstract flyer for Mikro club nightThis beautiful, abstract flyer design was created by motion, screen and print designer Mellow for a club night called Mikro. The design is so detailed, it takes a few minutes to notice the lizard that forms the base of the illustration. An extremely talented creative, Mellow has developed numerous flyer designs for various events, all of which feature in an awe-inspiring online portfolio. 28. Craft fair flyer Classic colours and retro type make this gorgeous flyer design stand out from the crowdThis craft fair flyer by designer Suji Allen is a brilliant example of how to advertise an exposition of all things homemade. Featuring classic colours and retro type, this design is sure to catch the eyes of people interested in arts and crafts. 29. Mokka Cuka Graphic designer Karoly Kiralyfalvi created this cool flyer design for Hungary's outdoor venue Mokka Cuka Plugged in and turned on, this cool flyer was designed by Hungarian graphic designer Karoly Kiralyfalvi for the Mokka Cuka – a leading outdoor underground venue in Hungary. The retro design features a custom-made font and eye-catching colour choices, finished off with graphics of microphone, earphone jacks and USB cables, giving a clear indication of the type of event the flyer promotes. 30. Kyary Pamyu Pamyu This flyer is energetic, just like Kyary Pamyu Pamyu's musicThis standout flyer promotes Tokyo-based singer Kyary Pamyu Pamyu's debut album. She started out as a blogger and model, and then proceeded into a music career. The flyer is as striking as her personal style and music videos. The prominent visual, a freaky-looking hairstyle on a floating head, immediately commands the viewer's attention because people are attracted to faces. The illustrations and hand-rendered typography are playful and visually striking in high contrasting colours. This layout has an energetic vibe, suggesting that's what we can expect from her music. 31. Shop Spotlight This colourful typographic flyer perfectly demonstrates Shop Spotlight's wares Shop Spotlight are proud owners of a shop that designs colourful typographic table decorations for weddings, and this flyer was designed to promote a bunch of new products; popping with colour, the layout boasts the use of type as image in overlays that give them a tactile letterpress aesthetic. 32. Baby Jupiter Psychedelic typography makes this flyer stand outThis nostalgic psychedelic flyer is for the In the Basement event held at Baby Jupiter, Leeds, UK. For some people this venue is reminiscent of a weird little bar you might stumble across in Amsterdam, for others the atmosphere reminds them of classic telly programme. All we know is this mesmerising flyer seems to come from a groovy place. The layout incorporates warping typography within a illustrative frame. A real product of craftsmanship; A real trip. 33. Morph Ed price has created many Morph flyers, which can be seen on his Behance portfolio page It was hard to choose from the many flyer designs that art director and graphic designer Ed Price has created for Morph, a popular techno night in Bristol, UK, but this one just pipped it for us. We love the splash of colour in amongst the clean black type and the neutral woman's face. 34. United Students This simple but effective design uses the iconic image of Big Ben to get its message acrossItalian freelance graphic designer and illustrator Marco Oggian created this simple but brilliant flyer design for a party hosted by United Students, the largest student association in Switzerland. A series of parties took students on a journey through the major capital cities of Europe, including London, Berlin and Barcelona. 35. Penguin Rider This cool Penguin does a great job promoting a skiing competition in France We couldn't not include this cool skiing penguin flyer design in our list. Creative agency Zim & Zou were the brains behind this concept for a snowboard and skiing contest in France. The team used models to create an Antarctic environment and then added Georgia and their own custom font to create the cool design. 36. Kolor Gorgeous design, colour and printing for these flyers designed for KolorSilkscreen art on rough cardboard works beautifully for these gorgeous flyers for Kolor bar in Budapest. The design was by Budapest-based graphic designer, illustrator and typographer Eszter Laki. 37. Forevergreen Festival Clean type and illustrations work wonders on this Forevergreen Festival flyer We're loving the simplistic design, clever use of type and cool graphics on this Forevergreen Festival flyer design, created by Giovanni Montuori. The quality and bright colours of the illustration immediately draw your eye and the simple, clean type presents all of the information visitors will need, nice and clearly. 38. HQ Drum & Bass There's a very different style to this club flyer design – simple but appealing This club night flyer is unlike most others. No glossy paper, bright colours or big typography, just a simple but appealing design. The cool central graphic is reminiscent of an optical illusion, and the whole thing is printed on 100% recycled pulp board. Awesome work by graphic designer Ross Gunter. 39. Riscopriamo Il Borgo These stylish festival flyers reflect the traditional event they promote perfectly Riscopriamo Il Borgo is a traditional festival held in Airola, Italy, created to celebrate the country's history, roots, popular culture and traditional cuisine. These stylish flyers by graphic designer Giuseppe Fierro are a great example of how well a simple, clean design and superb typography can work together. 40. Stampede The horse design for this rock night flyer was created using a series of different sized circlesStampede is a rock night that takes place in Soho, London, every Monday. To promote it, creative project assistant Michael Higginson created this cool, grungy flyer design featuring an elegant yet powerful horse composed of a series of different sized circles. 41. Lovejoy Clever use of shadows makes this flyer design by isoarts look 3D We love everything about this flyer design, from the original design to the colour palette used. But it's the clever use of shadows to give the impression of depth that we find most impressive. Developed by German graphic design studio isoarts (formerly named Andersdenkend), the team has nailed the art of flyer design with this creation. 42. Beat Up Designer Jacopo Severitano welcomes the summer with this retro-style flyer design This flyer for an outdoor party, by graphic designer Jacopo Severitano, proves that if you get the right image, minimal text is all you need to complete the design. With an Instagram feel to it, this retro flyer design makes us want to head out into the sunshine and join in the summer fun depicted here. 43. ADCN We love the distinctive style of Dutch illustration duo LouLou & Tummie Dutch illustration duo LouLou & Tummie make it into our list again for this flyer. Here they applied their distinctive illustration and graphic design skills to this flyer for the ADCN advertising gala back in 2010. The bright colours against the black background makes the brilliant graphics really pop, creating a totally eye-catching flyer design. 44. Ochsenfest Nicole Jacek developed this cool lenticular flyer design for the biennial Ochsenfest festivalNicole Jacek is an award-winning graphic designer from Germany, now based in New York, and the brains behind this lenticular flyer design for the biennial Ochsenfest in Ludwigsburg, a four-day music festival. The design itself is fairly simple, featuring a black cow on a simple white background. The impressive part is the guitar that forms on the animal's head as the flyer is moved. Related articles: 33 InDesign tutorials to level up your skills 50 brilliant design portfolios to inspire you 100 amazing Illustrator tutorials View the full article

Dan Mall is a creative director and advisor from Philadelphia, founder and director of SuperFriendly and co-founder of Typedia (an encyclopedia for typefaces), The Businessology Show (a business podcast for designers), No Chains and swFIR. And he's also confirmed to talk at Generate New York in April 2018. Mall’s ‘Should Designers…’ workshop will provide specific methodologies and techniques to help designers become even more indispensable. Designers need to grow their skills in order to stay relevant and effective these days, but which skills are worth focusing on? Mall’s session will give you the answers. We caught up with Mall ahead of his appearance to ask him to answer some net magazine reader questions. How has your pricing strategy changed over the years? Regina Casaleggio, Cape Town, South Africa Dan Mall: The more I work, the more I realise that pricing is an emotional variable. Clients will pay for things that they really value, regardless of whether it makes sense on a spreadsheet. The more attuned I am to that fact, the less dependent I am on a client’s stated budget. I rarely ask now what budget they have; instead I focus the entire conversation around their hopes and dreams and try to deliver a price for those things that’s guaranteed to be an excellent return on investment. Discover more about in Dan Mall's best-selling book How much design are you doing in static tools versus in browsers? Ben Callahan, Ohio, USA DM: Currently, it’s a bit of a parabola: I do a lot of sketching up front with tools like Photoshop and Sketch, mostly of small screen designs. I’ll hand that off to my frontend developers who start to rough those out in the browser. Towards the end of a project, I’ll jump back into Photoshop and do spot comps of any rough spots. Tickets for Generate New York 2018 are out now! I've read about your pricing articles, but how do you educate clients that the pricing you quote is worth their money? Yap Kwang Yik, Singapore DM: Empathise – Focus on the results of what your work will bring your client. Will they make more money? Will it help them become more efficient? Articulate – As the service provider, you’re supremely qualified to articulate exactly how your client will be better off by working with you. When thinking through what the project might entail, you’ve likely thought about how your client’s life will be better after you deliver your work, but few people remember to actually spell out these benefits to the client. Reinforce – Don’t be afraid to reinforce how your work will improve things; that goes a long way in helping your client understand why you’re worth the money. This Q&A with Dan Mall originally featured in net magazine's special 300th edition. You can grab your copy from here. Don't forget to book your Generate New York tickets now. The must-attend web design and development conference will be held on April 25-27, 2018 at the Metropolitan Pavilion Chelsea and features a who's who of some of the industry's biggest name. What are you waiting for? Get your tickets now. Related articles: Dan Mall on defeating apathy 18 great web design podcasts 4 ways to get your pricing right View the full article

You're reading HTML Media Capture is Now a Proposed Recommendation, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook, Google+! HTML Media Capture is a W3C specification that defines an HTML form extension that facilitates user access to a device’s media capture mechanism, such as camera or microphone, or within a file upload control. It works by extending the <input type=”file”> element with a capture attribute. Surprisingly, browsers were never good at capturing images and […] View the full article

From marketing to journalism, every industry is turning more to video as the next frontier. Now is the perfect time for you to pick up some key skills that could help place you in a new and growing field. Grab the Adobe Premiere Pro CC Masterclass and master the most powerful tool in video editing. It's on sale right now for just $21 (approx. £16). Adobe Premiere Pro CC is possibly the most used video editing tool on the planet. Everyone from commercial makers to movie studios uses this program to put together their video work, and you can join their ranks with the help of the Adobe Premiere Pro CC Masterclass. This comprehensive course will teach you everything you need to get started on editing – whether it's as a hobby or a career. From improving audio to colour grading and even adding effects to green screen footage, you'll get 59 lectures and over 5.5 hours of actionable lessons that will make your videos look professionally-made. The Adobe Premier Pro CC Masterclass usually retails for $200. You can get it on sale right now for just $21 (approx. £16). That's a saving of 89% off the retail price for a course that will have you editing video like an expert. 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 Check out these great articles: The ultimate Christmas gift guide for freelancers 9 tools to make graphic design easier in 2018 5 best laptops for video editing in 2017 View the full article

Medieval churches, green pastures and slate-topped farm houses are synonymous with the villages that litter the British countryside. Here I'll use my own 'five C’s of painting' – Concept, Composition, Contrast, Colour, Completion – as logical steps to paint the beautiful medieval St Laurence’s Church in Weston Underwood, the next village from where I live in the Cotswolds. The photograph of the church was taken on a sunny but cool day in April from the edge of a field at the back of the church. I put a 3x3 grid on the photograph to help draw my composition. To do this, draw a 14 x 10-inch border on your watercolour paper and this will be exactly proportional to the dimensions of the photograph. Once done, draw a 3x3 grid lightly with a B pencil on the watercolour paper, which will proportionately match the grid on the photograph and enable you to transfer the image accurately. Get off to a good start with tools and materials assembled For this painting, I used: Winsor & Newton Professional Watercolours in Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber, Cobalt Blue, Ultramarine Blue, Brown Madder, light red. Bockingford Not 140lb (300gsm) 11x15-inch. Isabey Squirrel Mop Brush (size 10) for the broad washes and Escoda Perla size 8 and size 12 to use on the architectural details. For a pen, try a sharpened matchstick (such as Bryant & Mays Extra Long Matches) dipped in a bottle of waterproof Indian Ink. The matchstick makes it easy to achieve a line with character. B pencil. Putty rubber. 01. Paint from the photo Develop the concept by observing a photograph of the scene The first C is Concept (what you want to say in the painting). The concept here is an English country church on the edge of a village. I decide to refine the concept to create a warm autumn painting in contrast to the cool spring feel of the photograph; the concept now is an English country church in autumn. I also decide to have a strong sun from the left to light up the left facade of the church and create strong shadows for tonal contrast at the centre of interest. 02. Draw a pencil outline Keep it simple with the use of gridlines and dots Composition is the next C and refers to the arrangement of the painting. A pencil outline of the main elements is drawn by referring to the 3x3 grid on the photograph and putting dots on the watercolour paper grid where the main elements strike the grid lines. Then it’s a case of joining the dots – no detail, just the outline of the objects. For clarity, I’ve drawn the gridlines, dots and outline in strong 4B pencil, but you should draw these lines with a B pencil as lightly as you can. 03. Start the ink drawing Using waterproof ink is essential to prevent lines loosing shape Line and wash is particularly useful for details on the buildings and drawing the trees. To produce a line with character, I’m using a sharpened matchstick dipped into waterproof black Indian ink. It is particularly good fun flicking in the trunks and branches of the bare autumn trees. As the ink drawing is completed first, it is critical that the ink is waterproof and doesn’t run when the watercolour washes are applied. As I’m left-handed, I start drawing on the right-hand side of the paper to avoid smudging the ink; if you are right-handed start on the left. 04. Complete the ink drawing Change and replace elements to achieve the right effect You will note I have made some adjustments from the photograph: I left out the rather ugly bush at the centre left of the photograph, which I felt competed with the church. I’ve also indicated some plough furrows in the foreground to create the autumn feeling but reversed the direction of the furrows to give directional perspective lines leading the eye to the centre of interest – the church. I also added a distant hill to improve the composition and add depth. 05. Hatch in the shadows Identify areas of light and darkness at the drawing stage The next C to explore is Contrast (tone values). This refers to the darkness or lightness of objects in the painting; I create the tonal plan for the painting at the ink drawing stage by hatching in the shadows using vertical lines. The sun is coming from the left so there will be shadows on the right-hand side of the tower,the buttress and the gable end of the church, as well as an eaves shadow caused by overhanging roof. If you want to erase the grid lines, now is the time. 06. Paint the sky Bringing warmth to the picture beginning with the sky Colour is the next C to consider, specifically whether it is warm or cool. I’ve decided on a predominantly warm painting so the sky will be warm light grey clouds with blue patches. I mix a warm light grey from Cobalt Blue and light red and another pan of strong Cobalt Blue. Using my mop brush, I apply clean water where I want the clouds and leave the paper dry for the blue patches. To emphasise the centre of interest, I put blue sky behind the church tower, leaving the domed cupola the white of the paper. Then I quickly paint the light grey wash into the damp paper, creating soft-edged clouds and drop in some more blue patches in a single wet-into-wet wash. 07. Begin the foreground The grass in the photo gives way to a freshly ploughed field One of my concept decisions was to change the season to autumn and create a freshly ploughed field in the foreground in rich browns and reds to give warmth to the painting. The plough furrows were drawn in ink so at this point, a strong wash of Burnt Umber and Burnt Sienna is sloshed on with my mop brush. The shadows created by the furrows are dropped in while the wash is still damp. 08. Start a first wash on the buildings Focusing on the Cotswold stone for church and headstones I add a touch of Raw Sienna to my grey cloud wash to emulate the dull yellow grey of the Cotswold stone. Using my number 12 round brush, I paint the walls and tower of the church in addition to the gravestones. 09. Finalise the wash Making sure the contrasting elements show through The church, cottage roof and the domed roof of the cupola are all painted with a strong mix of Ultramarine Blue and light red mixed on the paper to vary the wash. I then use light grey again for the lead roof on the facing extension and paint the cottage walls light red. The large bush in front of the church uses Ultramarine Blue and Raw Sienna, and the other bush is Burnt Sienna. Both are put in while the church wall wash is slightly damp to give a soft-edge effect. The long dead grass at the edge of the field is watery Burnt Umber. 10. Add a shadow wash Getting the colour of the shadows just right The hatched shadows are reinforced with a strong shadow wash, which will turn on the sunshine. Shadows aren’t grey; they are a darker tone of the colour of the object plus some purple from the sky and reflected light from adjacent elements. For shadows I use a transparent mix of Ultramarine Blue and Brown Madder; the transparency of the shadow wash allows the colour to show through, which I reinforce with some strong colour dropped into the wet shadow mix, for example, Raw Sienna into the tower shadow. 11. Make the final touches Less is more; know when to stop adding touches Completion is the final C. At this stage, I’m nearing the finish of the painting and there is a danger of adding too much. The trees need some indication of shape, so using quick downward strokes I dry brush in some light Burnt Umber. Then I emphasise the furrows in the foreground with some corrugated cloud shadows using the same shadow mix as before and dropping in some neat Burnt Sienna as the local colour. 12. Enjoy your work Sit back and admire the countryside At this point I refer back to my concept; English country church in autumn. Have I achieved my concept? I think I have, so the painting is finished. This article originally appeared in issue 11 of Paint & Draw magazine, offering tips and inspiration for artists everywhere. Buy issue 11 here. Related articles: 7 must-know painting techniques for artists How to capture the light with oils How to draw and paint - 100 pro tips and tutorials View the full article

Recently, I was asked the question: “How would you characterize the traditional patch management space compared to how the market is evolving?” This was my answer: Patch management is a discipline that’s not evolving as fast as the markets. The main reason is that, as a rule, discussions about evolving patch management practices don’t get support from senior management, therefore end up not being prioritized by IT professionals. The root cause of this challenge is in the fact that patch management is traditionally an IT Operations function and rarely treated as an integral part of a IT security strategy. This vision is contradictory though, considering that patch management is known to be the single most effective way to prevent exploitation of vulnerabilities, and the exploitation of software vulnerabilities is one of the top means for external intrusion. Additionally, it is known that applying patches before risk increases should be possible. Here are some facts that confirm my points: 99 percent of exploitation targets are publicly known vulnerabilities. That means vulnerabilities are known, not only to hackers, but by users and system administrators long before they are exploited. Patches are available for most vulnerabilities at the day they become public. Our research shows that, on average, over 80 percent of vulnerabilities have a patch within 24 hours of public disclosure. The majority of first exploitation happens long after the vulnerability becomes public. Despite this knowledge, we continue to see high profile attacks targeting known vulnerabilities. That’s the case in the WannaCry ransomware attack and the breach of Equifax, to mention two cases with broad media attention in 2017. Both of them started more than two months after the vulnerability – and the patches for the affected versions – were made public. Those facts confirm the need for more attention to patch management practices as an effective way to close the window of opportunity for hackers and keep businesses and users protected. Addressing the challenges of managing software vulnerabilities is our “raison d’être”. The Secunia Research team works relentlessly to deliver the best intelligence that feeds our vulnerability and patch management solutions. Our customers are empowered to patch the right things, before hackers can exploit them. Contact us, if you would like to learn more about how our customers use our solutions to prioritize their work and reduce risk. Source View the full article

As an artworker at Wieden+Kennedy London, I design for print regularly. There are certain requirements that printed products need that are different to other types of design. Here's my process for getting files print-ready. Christmas offer: Save up to 47% on a subscription to Computer Arts When preparing an artwork file for print, I start with an approved file from the design team. I make several rounds of minor amends – copy and image updates, such as edits to the headline or adding retouched images. Once I receive final sign-off internally and from the client, I prepare the artwork file according to job specifications defined by the design or media channel booking. This usually includes checking the resolution and colour space, so for a print job we ensure the image is a minimum of 300dpi and in the CMYK colour space. I then set the document up to specification, making sure the document size, bleed, trim and copy safe area are correct. To ensure the artwork is colour accurate, I print a colour-certified proof to be signed off by the necessary parties. For press and out-of-home campaigns, I will adapt the master artwork to suit specific media bookings. For example, if I’m adapting a press ad for Sainsbury’s, I receive different sizes and specifications for each newspaper and adapt the file while being careful to keep the overall look and feel as close to the master layout as possible. Once adapted, files are then packaged up (collecting the individual assets, layout files, fonts, graphics, images) or formatted to a particular file type, according to the printer’s requirements. We then supply to the printers or production partner ready to print. Balancing print The Three Holiday Spam campaign pictured above centred around people bragging via holiday snaps. As this was for print, the files were created in InDesign in the CMYK colour space. All images had to be a minimum of 300dpi and in the correct colour space. Colour adjustments were made so that the execution felt balanced and some of the duller images still popped. It was important that the white space between the images was consistent and exact and that the copy sizing, leading and tracking adhered to Three’s brand guidelines. I also ensured the T&Cs, hashtags and URLs were correct. This article was originally published in issue 272 of Computer Arts, the global design magazine – helping you solve daily design challenges with insights, advice and inspiration. Buy issue 272 here or subscribe to Computer Arts here. Special Christmas offer: Save up to 47% on a subscription to Computer Arts for you or a friend for Christmas. It's a limited offer, so move quickly... Related articles: 33 InDesign tutorials to level up your skills Create special print finishes in InDesign 5 things every creative needs to know about print design View the full article

Ivan Chermayeff, the American designer behind some of the most distinctive contemporary logos, passed away on 3 December aged 85. A founding partner of Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv, Chermayeff is widely recognised for his branding work, as well as his output as an author, illustrator and collagist. Born in London in 1932, Chermayeff was the son of Russian-born industrial designer Serge Chermayeff, who also enjoyed a diverse career as an author and architect of the De La Warr Pavilion. In 1940, Chermayeff moved to the US and went on to study at Harvard, the Institute of Design in Chicago and Yale School of Art and Architecture. A formal education was not the source of Chermayeff's artistic talents, however, as he once claimed that studying chemistry would have given him the discipline that he needed to succeed as a graphic designer. After graduating, Chermayeff worked as an apprentice for fellow American graphic designer Alvin Lustig and designed record covers at CBS. He founded his own New York studio with Tom Geismar and Robert Brownjohn in 1956. The studio, which would later become known as Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv, is the source of over 100 renowned corporate logos, including designs for NBC (see the famous peacock above), Pan Am, Showtime Networks, and HarperCollins. Major non-profits and cultural institutions also got the Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv treatment, with the likes of The Museum of Modern Art, National Geographic, and the Smithsonian Institution among its many clients. Speaking to us in 2015 for our branding article, Chermayeff described his meticulous approach at Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv: "We not only insist on seeing what they do, but on talking directly, face-to-face, to those in charge of any decision-makers – the CEO and others responsible for strategy, design or marketing." Alongside his career as a designer, Chermayeff enjoyed success as an illustrator. His bold style lent itself well to text by Kurt Vonnegut in the book Sun Moon Stars. As part of the studio he helped to create posters for the Guggenheim, magazine covers for Bloomberg Businessweek and a 9/11 editorial for The New York Times. Chermayeff served as president of the American Institute of Graphics Arts (AIGA), while Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv received the AIGA Medal for graphic design and visual communication in 1979. Chermayeff's contribution to modern graphic design has been monumental, with artists taking to social media to pay their respects to the creative genius. Related articles: The designer’s guide to using colour in branding The top 10 big-brand logos Interview with Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv View the full article

We're in a world where communication increasingly takes place online, and GIFs are on the rise. They now permeate everything from popular culture to ad campaigns. For the next generation of designers and developers, knowing your way around motion graphics and having a good understanding of the basics of creating a GIF is essential. A good GIF can be playful and full of dynamism, or it can be slow and smooth; whatever describes the feeling behind the moving images. The key is to understand what makes an eye-catching GIF and create a language that fits the mood of the message. However, there are some rules to learn and tools that can help you on your way. Here, creatives from leading studios, as well as some well-known freelancers, share their tips for mastering the art of the GIF. 01. Keep it eye-catching With social media usage hitting an all-time high, it's perhaps no surprise that the trend for GIFs in advertising is rising rapidly. "Using GIFs in social content can be really powerful if executed right, " says Tom Grant, a designer at Fiasco Design in Bristol. He sees GIFs as the ultimate attention-seeking device, bringing what would be a flat, static post to life in "eye-catching, engaging and informative ways". Fiasco Design created a range of energetic GIFs for the Rio 2016 Olympics Fiasco Design created a range of lively and energetic GIFs for the Rio Olympics, combining a vibrant colour palette with quick, flashy frame speeds, and experimenting with a typeface that would be legible at different sizes. 02. Keep the size down for social sharing For designers, there are a few rules to making effective GIFs for social platforms. "The main technical challenge is keeping them below the file size limitations of each social media platform, " suggests James Curran, senior director at global production company Partizan. "Tumblr in particular is always tricky as it has a 2MB limit, so I sometimes need to be creative with ways of shortening loops to keep the size down." There are also some particular rules for creating GIFs that will be compressed: first off, stick to a limited colour palette. Avoiding gradients is essential, as you'll end up with either grubby shading or huge file sizes. Semi-transparent pixels are also a no-no, as the transparency is either fully on or fully off – something to keep in mind to avoid those jagged edges. 03. Design with mobile users in mind Although different types of websites use GIFs in different ways, most designers agree that it's better not to have a huge number of GIFs playing at the same time on one page. Curran recommends using rollovers to avoid slowdown, and to keep the animations playing at the speed they were intended to. And it's worth bearing in mind the kind of devices that your GIF is going to be viewed on. Curran's tip is to design with a small screen in mind: "Keep everything simple and bold so it works well on any device." Russell Etheridge, a member of Animade's creative team, favours designing in a square. "Many of our GIFs start in that shape and get cropped if need be. Also, you tend to scroll social sites in portrait on your phone, so it's better to have a design closer to a square as narrower images will look smaller." For his Olympops GIF (above) Etheridge animated everything in 4:3, which could then be cropped to a square or standard 16:9 video. 04. Make it work as a continuous loop Parisian designer Valentin Adam, who works as Playground Paris, argues that rather than thinking about GIFs specifically, it's the concept of the 'loop' format that is gaining pace: "It's really fun to make a two-second animation that plays infinitely and looks like it's different at every loop." Curran agrees, and suggests thinking about GIFs as being continuous, rather than having a definite start and end point. "Try to tell a story that works within the loop, " he suggests. "I think that helps to keep people watching GIFs for longer." James Curran's playful GIFs have propelled him to a giddy level of popularity If the animation is short in length, it's good practice to limit the loops to no more than three times before halting the animation completely, recommends Nick Lewis, a designer and frontend developer at Fiasco Design. However, if you're designing the GIF to go on a social media platform such as Twitter you don't need to worry so much, as built-in functions only play GIFs when they are in view. Finally, it's essential to get your loops nice and smooth – and there's one particular pitfall to avoid. "Having the last frame of your animation the same as your start results in a tiny little hold where you see the same frame twice, causing an un-smooth loop, " Etheridge points out. "Make sure you remove that one at the end to avoid this." 05. Find the right tools for you For the majority of designers, mastering Photoshop is pretty much key when it comes to making your own GIFs. Curran recommends YouTube as a go-to resource for online tutorials to pick up software basics: "Once you've got a good understanding you can figure out how to adapt those principles to the style of work you want to create." Grant suggests playing around in CodePen: "It holds great sources of inspiration and offers a place to learn and get creative with code; whether you're a novice or a seasoned pro." For more complex GIFs, After Effects is many designers' tool of choice. "There is much greater control over the movement and timing functions, as well as some extra tools to create really powerful animations, " reveals Lewis. If you're looking to brush up your After Effects skills, try Curran's GIF-making tutorial (above), our guide Get started with animation in After Effects or our compilation of 40 amazing After Effects tutorials available online. It is possible to export your designs as GIFs directly, but Lewis suggests exporting as a video first: "It seems to be easier to compress that way and reduce the file size." 06. Start off simple With all these different options, it's easy to get overwhelmed. "Because there are many variables to consider, there is a lot of testing and technical know-how required. It can take twice as long as a usual illustration turnaround to create a looping GIF, " says Melbourne-based illustrator Ellen Porteus. Her advice to beginners is to keep things simple: "Start with a few elements, to understand how things move, and slowly build up to more complicated animation. I started out by creating a lot of bouncing balls." Valentin Adam (aka Playground Paris) built his portfolio by creating a GIF a day for a month Adam mastered the art of keeping things simple when he was working on expanding his GIF portfolio. "I had in mind to make a huge miscellaneous motion with a lot of silly and crazy things, but to make it happen I had to publish a GIF every day – partly to avoid overthinking it," he explains. He ran the challenge for a whole month, publishing the GIFs on his Instagram page. By employing a range of tricks he managed to get his average creation time down to around an hour. 07. Turn a video into a GIF Creating GIFs need not be the sole domain of illustrators – you can import any video into Photoshop to convert it into a GIF. For those whose Photoshop skills are lacking, Grant recommends experimenting with Giphy, which provides a free, simple way to break your videos down into frames. "I don't really use the frame animation system in Photoshop, as video layers are much more intuitive," comments Etheridge. "If I'm animating graphics I'll animate in After Effects and import into Photoshop as a rendered video file before converting." However, he points out that if you're making a GIF from live action video footage, achieving a smooth loop is going to be much trickier, as is getting an even colour. 08. Make it accessible for everyone To ensure content can engage with a wider audience, developers need to be mindful of accessibility and web standards. "Web animation should always be used to progressively enhance the experience, " argues Grant. He suggests describing animations and animated GIFs in text so they can be understood by screen reader-users, and avoiding too much blinking or flashing so they remain suitable for viewers with photosensitive epilepsy. Fiasco Design's GIF for Larmer Tree Festival Animade co-founder James Chambers agrees that accessibility should be built in from the start: "Basics like providing alt tags on images – animated GIF or otherwise – should be a baseline." He also points out that for vector animation, using inline SVGs can drastically improve accessibility. Simply put, an SVG is a XML-based vector image format for two-dimensional graphics that supports interactivity and animation. "From an accessibility standpoint, inline SVGs contain more information when compared to a blank <canvas> tag, and can therefore be better interpreted by the browser, " he explains. For animation-heavy sites, Chambers suggests combining SVG with thoughtful use of ARIA labelling. Out of the box, screen readers work with regular HTML, but adding ARIA can provide screen reader users with more context and greater interactivity with content. Yet ARIA has no effect on how elements are displayed or behave in browsers – it is meant only to act as an extra descriptive layer. An incredibly useful tool for web developers. 09. Explore something new So why have GIFs become so popular? For many designers, they offer a new outlet for creative expression. "I think it's partly because the core audience for GIFs is younger, [clients] are more interested in content that is a bit off-beat, " says Curran. "For whatever reason, brands seem more open to allowing creators to be more creative with GIFs than they would be with more conventional content. Because GIFs are smaller projects with generally smaller budgets, it's less of a risk for brands to use this format to try something different." Ellen Porteus designed this looping GIF for Quantcast Porteus agrees: "It's all about making the most of the flexibility of the digital medium. Traditional illustrations are great, but GIFs can be really engaging, fun and clever. For me, the most engaging GIFs are the ones that loop seamlessly and infinitely, with a lot of movement and playfulness." As for what makes a great GIF, intuition has something to do with it. "It's about having an understanding of basic animation principles, a sense of rhythm, and being able to think of an idea," concludes Curran. "I'm still learning all of those things myself after over 10 years of animating!" Main illustration: Yukai Du This article originally appeared in issue 287 of net, the magazine for professional web designers and developers – offering the latest new web trends, technologies and techniques. Subscribe to net magazine here. Related articles: What CSS framework should you use? Fresh ideas for building websites 30 amazing vector art tutorials View the full article

Push your renders like never before with this free Cinema 4D guide from the makers of 3D World and 3D Artist. Inside you’ll find 29 pro tips and workflows on character rigging, how to create walkcycles quickly and easily, pattern creation, graphical animation and more, all using Cinema 4D's Voronoi Fracturing. Download your free Cinema 4D guide Through 29 expert tips, you’ll find top advice for using new features in Maxon's latest release, Cinema 4D R19 from pros such as Edna Kruger – who writes for Maxon’s Cineversity learning platform. Kruger shares her advice on pose space deformation, PBR with AMD ProRender, MoGraph effectors, fragment destruction and more. You’ll also get an in-depth tutorial on the power of fracturing, so you can upgrade your motion graphics and destruction for VFX instantly. Jonas Pilz teaches you to work with Voronoi Fracture for true flexibility and create patterns, destruction, graphical animations and sort fragments for truly spectacular 3D art. Last but not least, Glenn Frey shares his essential techniques for rigging in Cinema 4D, including how you can effortlessly rig a character, use Character Builder (Cinema 4D’s autorigging system), and master walkycycles with CMotion. Frey has also provided plenty of videos so you can watch his animations in action while reading his detailed explanations at the same time. And don’t forget, you can download a free trial for Cinema 4D here! View the full article

What were the biggest graphic design trends of 2017, and what graphic design trends will be big in 2018? As the year draws to a close, we asked leading designers and studio heads to reflect on the last 12 months, identify the biggest movements of the moment and forecast what will be big in the new year. Just as when we brought you the biggest illustration trends of 2017, this isn’t about following the creative herd: it’s about taking stock of where the design industry is right now. Whether you use these trends to be inspired or move steadfastly in the opposite direction, the information here can help inform your design choices in 2018. Read on for our predictions of the biggest graphic design trends of 2018… 01. The 'Little Big Idea' Moonpig’s rebrand was about sweating the small stuff “The design theme of 2017 was big impact, but paradoxically the best work achieved it by really sweating the small stuff,” says Chris Moody, creative director at Wolff Olins. “The things I have found the most striking are the consommés – those jobs that focus on something singular and use it to create something with clarity, distinctiveness and beauty: the ‘Little Big Idea’. “This year was about simple ideas, executed with intelligence and insight to create real, radical impact. W+K’s work on the Dutch women's football team was a tiny logo tweak that managed to question heritage, patriarchy and even what a logo stands for. The Moonpig rebrand did more with the kerning of an ‘o’ than a thousand animated cartoon characters ever could. “If 2018 is going to be as chaotic, channel-hopping and crazy as this year was, elegant logic will be the only way to cut through.” 02. Braver colours The Dropbox rebrand made strong use vibrant colour “2017 has been a riot of colour, with graphic designers making big, bold choices,” says Shaun Bowen, creative partner at B&B studio. “Perhaps in an effort to inspire positivity after a difficult year in 2016, we’ve seen an influx of bright colours, often with flat graphics and only one or two colours used at any one time,” he adds. “More and more brands are also using their core packaging hue as the backing colour in posters and supporting graphics. Max Ottignon, co-founder at London branding agency Ragged Edge, tells a similar story. “We’ve noticed our clients getting braver,” he says. “Fluoro colours and clashing tones have moved away from edgy startups into the mainstream. eBay’s new identity has colour right at its heart, using it as a way to communicate both its breadth and inclusive personality.” Mireia Lopez, creative director at DARE, concurs. “We’re seeing the use of vibrant colours in juxtaposition with bold imagery,” she says. “This can be seen as a response to minimalism and material design, from using white spaces and clean layouts to unexpected colour combinations and distinct varied typographical styles – and is across all areas of branding as well as digital. “The new Dropbox brand direction, for example, is doing this with its creative use of images, and corporate identities such as NatWest are shifting to a fresh and modern feel, using the potential of brighter colours to increase higher conversion rates. In my field, digital, this development is probably due the fact that sites can load faster and screens on phones are bigger, so it’s easier to play with images.” “Using bright colours helps content stand out from meme-filled social media,” notes Nathan Sandhu, founder and creative director of Jazzbones Creative. 03. Brutalism is back North Design’s branding for the Southbank Centre, London “Although it’s been around for a while, Brutalism is one of the graphic design trends I’ve seen really kick off this year,” says Lopez. “The Southbank Centre’s rebrand by North is an obvious example. The simple branding and typeface used have been inspired by and go really well with Southbank Centre’s brutalist architecture. “We’ve also definitely seen web design being influenced by the principles of the movement,” she adds. “Balenciaga’s over-functional, anti-aesthetic site is the most impressive manifestation of this in my view.’ Our article Are brutalist sites the web's punk rock moment? explores this trend in web design terms in depth. 04. Hyper brand distillation YouTube’s new logo and branding, designed in-house “Throughout 2017, design has been getting simpler, yet richer,” says Ottignon. “In a world where user experience is king, complex brand systems get in the way of the content. Function overrides superfluous design details, and every brand asset needs to earn its place.” So brands are striving to streamline their core assets, but looking to pack more meaning and distinctiveness into each element, he argues. Often this starts with the name. "Naming briefs are increasingly becoming ‘How can we distill as much meaning into as few letters as possible? Bulb remains a great example of this, communicating product, purpose and tone in a mere four letters. Or Nested, a proptech startup whose name delivers on both a functional and emotional level." Naturally, it also means means scalable, digital first symbols packed with meaning – think YouTube or F1, where an entire brand can be distilled into an app tile or a profile picture. “There’s also a noticeable trend towards bespoke typefaces, such as IBM’s Plex and BBC's Reith – not to mention Camden Market and Giraffe,” adds Ottignon. “This allows a brand to show up distinctively wherever it appears, without introducing anything that isn’t strictly functional.” 05. Modern still life Tiffany’s Christmas campaign, created in collaboration with Roe Ethridge The use of high-end, styled and modern-looking still life has been everywhere this year. Giacomo Cesana, creative director at CBA Italy, describes the look as: “Contemporary, geometrical and a bit abstract. "Works that use flat colours with simple objects and shapes have been trendy this year, especially in fashion and the luxury market. Tiffany’s Christmas campaign, created in collaboration with art photographer Roe Ethridge, is a good example of this trend in action.” 06. Generative identities hit the mainstream “We are seeing more brand identities making use of generative software graphics,” says Cesana. “What used to be seen as an avant-garde craft is now most definitely in the mainstream, as Nutella’s algorithm jars and the Hello Robot catalogue at the Vitra Design Museum demonstrate.” 07. Flat graphics in packaging Packaging design for wine brand Elephant in the Room by Denomination Packaging design has made a move towards simplicity in 2017, says Rowena Curlewis, CEO of Denomination, a drinks design agency in Sydney and London. “Simplicity through the use of flat graphics can be seen across all packaging categories, including wine,” she explains. “This does not necessarily mean minimalism but instead a stripping back of layers, detailing, text and tone to hone in on the core information and graphics. These are then treated in a simple, deconstructed manner. “For example, the wine brand Elephant in the Room, Fourth Wave’s latest success story, has taken the Australian wine market by storm with its single colour label design. Featuring just the core information and intriguing illustrations, the contrast of its simplicity with the complexity of its competitors’ designs has ensured both distinctiveness and strong shelf standout.” 08. 3D modelling in typography 3D work by David McLeod for Dolby “3D modelling is the new frontier of graphic design,” says Cesana. “This has especially been seen in type design, but also in pattern generation.” Sandhu also points to a potential future trend: “One-colour 3D design is growing in popularity. There has been more and more product marketing that uses the same bold background colour as the featured product itself: the product leaps off the screen thanks to the volume created by the 3D techniques.” For examples of the 3D trend, check out the work of Locus and David McLeod, whose work for Dolby is shown above. 09. Geometric type breaks the Helvetica cycle This campaign for Logitech by Designstudio highlights the trend for geometric type “The use of geometry in both graphic design and type design has grown this year,” says Lee Fasciani, founder and director of Territory Projects, a sister company to Territory Studio specialising in brand and digital. “The use of Helvetica used to happen in cycles – largely driven by the lack of alternatives (notwithstanding Akzidenz Grotesk) – but now it seems the wealth of well-crafted geometric sans serifs available make designers think differently about choosing the trusted typographic statesman." "Google Fonts and the ability it gives designers to easily incorporate digital fonts into web pages is one of the reasons for this, bringing typographic consistency to branded collateral across all channels. Geometric sans serif fonts also have the ability to be relatively ageless, like most geometric design." “There is a bold clarity and honesty to such fonts that have now been used by many large corporations to communicate the simplicity and openness that their brand team requires,” he concluded. “Examples of the trend can be seen in the use of LL Brown by Airbnb, Natwest and Thameslink, and LL Circular by Spotify and Eurosport.” 10. Hand-drawn elements continue Ad and poster campaign for Mercedes Germany by Vic Lee “Hand-drawn images have been particularly big in 2017,” adds Sandhu. And that’s not surprising. “The personal touch that they provide to branding and marketing is undeniable,” he stresses. “In a world ever-more dominated by screens, there is just something appealing about the hand-drawn that resonates with many.” Similarly, Dan Bramham, senior designer at Greenwich Design, points to the recent rise of black and white hand lettering over the last 12 months. “I particularly like the work of Oli Frape and Vic Lee,” he says. “It's fantastic to see something a bit less polished, and that really stood out for me this year.” And he sees it as part of a wider trend. “It goes hand in hand with the movement away from the very technical and a return to an artisan approach, which we're seeing across everything from food to the resurgence of handicrafts, and the search for a more balanced way of life. "Similarly, there's been a move away from polished photography to more gritty, real-world photographs. I think this all stems from the Millennial generation looking for design that has a bit more integrity, and the manifestation of physical art in graphic design has really struck a chord." Simon Wright, managing director at Greenwich Design, makes a similar point" "One of the things we've noticed in 2017 is the desire to be more personal through design – a nod to a previous era,” he says. “Clients sending a beautifully designed postcard or a hand-written letter for example; a return to old-fashioned methods of communication as a means to stand out.” Liked this? Read these: 9 tools to make graphic design easier in 2018 Illustration vs photography: how do you decide? 8 great graphic design portfolio sites for 2018 View the full article

Animation has come a long way on the modern web, and users now have multiple choices of ways to make something move on screen. With so many options – such as CSS, JavaScript, SVG, the Web Animation API – how can you be sure which is the best choice for your project? Val Head is a web animation expert, author, and design evangelist at Adobe. She also teaches CSS animation on Lynda.com and curates the weekly UI Animation Newsletter. Head will be speaking at Generate New York – the web design event brought to you by the makers of net magazine, Creative Bloq and Web Designer magazine – on 25-27 April 2018, where she will be revealing which web animation options are the best fit for common UI design tasks. In her talk, titled Choose your animation adventure, she’ll look at the full spectrum of animation options from CSS to React Motion and show which are best suited for things like state transitions, showing data, animating illustrations, and making animations responsive. Once the options have been explored the next step is to look at the tools and how they impact performance. Head has the answers. Head will also lead a workshop at Generate New York, titled Essential web animation techniques. The blurb for this workshop says: "This workshop will get you started with the essentials of web animation. It covers the basics of motion design theory as it applies to the web, and how to use animation to improve the user experience. "In addition to the theory, we’ll use hands-on exercises to explore the similarities and difference of animating with CSS, JavaScript, and SVG. You’ll leave knowing how to bring your work to life with motion in meaningful ways and which web animation tool to use to get it done." Visit the Generate New York conference site to see the full, star-studded line-up, and book your early bird tickets now. Related articles: How to debug web animations 5 steps for mastering web animation 15 Web APIs you've never heard of View the full article

This artwork was created using CorelDRAW's Expression tool Much as a painter would carefully consider which brush to use when creating a masterpiece, digital artists must choose wisely when it comes to software, ensuring it has all the correct tools to help bring your creative visions to life. That’s where CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 2017 excels. Created with care for professionals and hobbyists alike, this value-rich suite has everything you need to achieve your artistic visions. CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 2017 has an abundance of features aimed specifically to inspire, enhance and aid an artist’s workflow CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 2017 has an abundance of features aimed specifically to inspire, enhance and aid an artist’s workflow, including multi-monitor, 5K and real-time stylus support, the amazing new LiveSketch tool, enhanced vector previews, nodes and handles, the Healing Clone tool in Corel PHOTO-PAINT, plus the ability to copy, past and duplicate curve segments. Several predefined workspaces are also available to help keep all the tools specific to your industry organised and easily accessible. Choose between Page Layout, Illustration, or set your workspace to look like Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator to help ease the transition from Creative Suite. Tool of choice An extremely popular choice, CorelDRAW is already being used by many talented creatives all over the globe, including renowned fine artist Dmitry Demidenko. Progressing from a simple designer in a small provincial printing service to a world-famous artist in just five years, Demidenko not only uses CorelDRAW to create his masterpieces, he also teaches numerous masterclasses about it, sharing the software’s extensive capabilities with other artists. Another award-winning artist fully exploiting CorelDRAW’s comprehensive toolset is Rogelio Hernandez Garcia. Having spent a lot of time using the software, Garcia entered the 2015 CorelDRAW International Design Contest, and ended up walking away with first prize in the Speed Drawing Category. In the video walkthrough above, Jared Nickerson of Jthree Concepts introduces a brand new feature of CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 2017: the Artistic Media Expression tool. “What makes this tool so great is that it detects not only the pressure of your stylus pen, just like other Corel tools, but also its tilt and bearing,” explains Nickerson. “This allows you to achieve some great detail with single strokes, and also helps mimic your personal hand-style a little more accurately.” I used the Expressions tool from start to finish. I wanted to keep it fun and experimental Jared Nickerson, jthree Concepts Just as its name suggests, the tool is versatile and designed to help you express yourself in any way you like. “I would often use this for sketching out initial ideas, adding a layer of highlights and shading to a detailed piece,” he continues, “but in the video I use the Expressions tool from start to finish. I wanted to keep it fun and experimental.” As with most of the other vector tools in CorelDRAW, the strokes you make using the Expression tool are entirely editable. “At any point in time I could go into some of these shapes and manipulate the individual nodes to get the exact shape and flow I want,” Nickerson says. “What’s nice with CorelDRAW now is that you can change the colour, shape and size of nodes to make them easier to edit, no matter how simple or complex the piece is.” Try before you buy As a creative, it’s important to make sure that the software you choose is a right fit. The team at Corel knows this too, which is why they offer a try-before-you-buy option by way of a free trial. But with the flexibility and accuracy you need for all manner of creative projects, and a vibrant and inspiring community to assist you along the way, you’ll almost certainly be hooked after sign up. So download your free trial today and bring your creative visions to life. View the full article

Everyone from the most seasoned creative director to a graphic design graduate fresh out of college knows that creatives and clients don't always see eye-to-eye. While designers will value innovative ideas highly, they're not worth anything in a client's eyes if they don't directly make them money. This difference of values can be frustrating at times, but this short animated video made by design resource website pixelo manages to find a funny way to look at them. Covering everything from their respective roles, to how they see colour and typography, this clip reveals the contradictory outlooks of graphic designers and clients with beautifully realised animations and icons. Now this doesn't mean that every client prioritises profit over imagination, or that graphic designers are creatively incompatible with a business mindset, but we're sure you'll agree that there must be at least a grain of truth behind this video. The fact that clients are impressed by designers' use of software they've never heard of is at least a reason to feel smug. If you liked this video, pixelo has a load of others over on its YouTube channel, such as Top reasons not to date a graphic designer ("They want to save the world with a post" admittedly being a pretty good reason) and The difference between art and design (Good art is interpreted, while good design is understood, being a useful mantra to trot out to relatives who don't understand what it is you do). Liked this? Read these: 5 top tips for graduate designers The 9 most annoying things every designer does 26 books every graphic designer should read View the full article

You're reading Mozilla Releases Open Source Speech Recognition Engine and Voice Dataset, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook, Google+! After launching Firefox Quantum, Mozilla continues its upward trend and releases its Open Source Speech Recognition Model and Voice Dataset. Well, Mozilla is finally back! In the past few years, technical advancements have contributed to a rapid evolution of speech interfaces and, subsequently, of speech-enabled devices powered by machine learning technologies. And thanks to Mozilla’s […] View the full article

You're reading Responsive Web Design: 50 Examples and Best Practices, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook, Google+! Responsive web design term is related to the concept of developing a website design in a manner that helps the lay out to get changed according to the user’s computer screen resolution. More precisely, the concept allows for an advanced 4 column layout 1292 pixels wide, on a 1025 pixel width screen, that auto-simplifies into […] View the full article