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Polypaint in ZBrushCore is a fantastic tool that enables you to add colour and textures to your model when you're creating 3D art. The best thing about Polypaint is that you don't need to have a geometry with UVs to be able to paint, because you're actually painting the polygons (or vertex) of your mesh. 10 ways to improve your human anatomy modelling The best 3D modelling software Since Polypaint adds colour to the actual geometry, the resolution (density) of your mesh will play a huge part in the quality of your painted strokes. If you start painting on a model and notice that the painted colour has a jagged edge, then you need to subdivide your mesh or increase the Dynamesh resolution before continuing. The density or subdivisions of your model needs to be determined at the beginning of the Polypaint process, because subdividing a mesh after painting in a low resolution won't improve or fixed 'pixelated' lines. Choosing the SkinShade material is one of the best options when Polypainting. Other materials like GrayMatcap or RedWax are great for sculpting, but not ideal for displaying true colours when Polypainting. 01. Paint a sculpture You can select specific RGB colours using the sliders within the colour palette To start painting in ZBrushCore all you need to do is have a sculpture ready (or a sphere, for instance, if you just want to practise some painting techniques), then select the Paint brush from the bottom of the UI and begin painting. Use the colour palette to choose a colour to paint with: the square (in the Color dialog) on the right is your main colour and the one on the left is your secondary colour. You can press V to switch between them. 02. Choose your painting brushes Try other Alphas such as Color Spray with the Spray stroke to create interesting patterns In the same way we customise sculpting brushes, we can modify painting brushes. With the Paint Brush selected, change the Stroke to Color Spray from the Stroke thumbnail and select Alpha 22 from the Alpha thumbnail. Now, when you paint the brush will act as a spray can, which is ideal for creating skin textures. You can also reduce the value of RGB intensity, using the slider at the top of the UI, to add more variations. 03. Any brush can paint Press C to sample a colour from your artwork, using your mouse pointer Note that you're not limited to the paint brush – most of ZBrushCore's sculpting brushes can act as paint brushes, too. Select the ClayBuild Up, and at the top of the UI switch off Zadd and turn on RGB. This will disable sculpting and enable painting. The rest of the brush's characteristics will still be active, so you can develop a sketch effect with the square alpha, for instance. 04. Workflow advice Focal shift changes your brush’s properties, from soft edges to hard edges A good rule of thumb when painting is to start with a base colour, select a colour and then click FillObject from the Color palette. Now select your paint brush and reduce the RGB intensity to 50. Select a darker variation of your base colour and start to paint with it. Choose a different colour and repeat this process, with RGB intensity at 50 (or lower), and then use FillObject to unify all of your colours. 05. Texture details You can create complex Alphas and use the DragRect tool to apply intricate colour patterns Using masks with PolyPaint will help you to achieve interesting textures on your model. Mask a few points on your mesh and blur the mask, invert it and then paint the unmasked points. Now invert the mask again and sharpen it a couple of times, invert it again and paint the unmasked areas. This process will give you a visually complex effect in just a couple of easy steps. This article was originally published in issue 157 of ImagineFX, the world's best-selling magazine for digital artists. Buy issue 157 here or subscribe to ImagineFX here. Related articles: How to sculpt a character in VR The best 3D modelling software 2018 Where to find free textures for 3D projects View the full article

Thanks to the internet, age or location doesn't mean much for a graphic designer anymore. In fact, most creatives don't mention their age in their design portfolio, and work with clients far from their hometown. So it's always a delight when you're blown away by someone's work and realise they're fresh out of school. As the co-founder of Semplice, a portfolio system for designers, I see creative portfolios and fresh design talent every day. Below are just a few of my favourite portfolios from exciting new designers – some are self-taught, some still working toward their degree, others a few years into their design careers. 01. Ana Realmuto Realmuto's About page hits all the right notes Ana Realmuto's portfolio features branding, web design and social media content for clients like Jameson Whiskey and Wristology Watches. But my favourite part is her About page with its hilarious baby photos – a unique and memorable personal touch. (To be clear, Ana graduated from college in 2015 and is older than these baby photos portray.) About pages can make or break a portfolio, and Realmuto's page hits all the right points. 02. Jakub Had Had has packed a lot of great work into a few short years At 20 years old, Jakub Had has more experience than a lot of designers that are many years his senior. His portfolio features print, product and UI design projects for clients like Budweiser, Charles IV app and Swissionare. I only wish it included case studies detailing his project stories, as case studies are crucial to understanding who a designer is and how they think. But it is clear from Had's portfolio that he believes simplicity is key. 03. Lucas Berghoef An unsolicited redesign for FKA Twigs shows off Berghoef's skills Lucas Berghoef's portfolio features a carefully selected range of projects, each designed like a magazine spread with artistic layouts and full-screen images. As a 2018 college graduate, it's fitting for Berghoef to share a class project or two, like his unsolicited visual identity for artist FKA Twigs. This project is polished and detailed enough to feel like client work, showing what Berghoef can do given full creative freedom. Unsolicited designs are a great way to showcase your skill as a young designer, however I recommend against including more than one or two. Berghoef's portfolio strikes the perfect balance. For more tips for brand new designers, take a look at our article on how to start building up your design portfolio. 04. Liz Wells Wells' case studies are exemplary Liz Wells graduated with a design degree in 2015. Between then and now, her work's been recognized by The Webbys, Awwwards, FWA, Communication Arts, Cannes Lions, The One Show's Young Gun awards and D&AD, to name a few. Wells' portfolio case studies are exemplary, especially given the added challenge of showcasing her conceptual user experience work. Each case study uses video, photos, notes and sketches to bring projects for clients like Google, Spotify and VICELAND to life. Read more about writing great case studies like Wells' right here. 05. Jason Yuan Yuan's custom grid helps his work shine Jason Yuan is a graphic and UX designer pursuing a BFA at RISD. He received attention across the internet for his unsolicited Apple Music redesign after the company rejected him for an internship. Interestingly enough, his portfolio now boasts a 2018 internship at Apple. A lovely custom grid showcases his personal and professional work, including a poster design page I've browsed more than once. 06. Petra Sitaru Sitaru uses her portfolio as a landing page, showing a light overview of her work Petra Sitaru uses her portfolio as a landing page of sorts, with offshoots to her Behance projects and social accounts. It's a light overview of her whimsical design and illustration work, an approach that could work well for designers on the job hunt wanting to quickly curate their work for each application. 07. Daniel Barkle Barkle's strong visuals and animations keep the visitor engaged Daniel Barkle's portfolio dazzles with so many engaging visuals and animations you don't realise how far you've scrolled down his project pages. An emoji cursor, full-screen navigation and snappy page transitions (plus an entire section entitled 'Play') do as much to reveal his personality as his personable case studies do. Barkle graduated from college in 2015 and given the work he's done so far, I can't wait to see more. 08. Katja Alissa Mueller Mueller's folio is clean and streamlined Katja Mueller's portfolio leads with a simple project grid showcasing her range of skills, from graphic design to art direction to project management. Her case study pages are equally streamlined with clean layouts and large visuals of her work. Since receiving her design degree in 2015, Katja's created work for clients like adidas, Saatchi & Saatchi and Victoria Beckham. Read more: How to curate a creative portfolio 5 quick and easy ways to fix your portfolio 7 organisations design students need to know View the full article

It’s easy for front-end developers to feel overwhelmed these days. What should you learn next? Which framework is going to take off? There are no absolute answers, of course, but if full-stack developer Wes Bos creates a course on a new technology, it’s safe to say it has matured enough for you to be able to pick it up and not waste your time on it. The latest one is CSS Grid, a free video course that more than 35,000 people signed up to in the first week alone. This new course took Wes around two and a half months of full-time work to build, requiring a lot of upfront investment so he could understand and explain it comfortably. To pay for this massive investment, Mozilla came on board as a sponsor and in exchange Wes used Firefox Devtools to demonstrate to viewers how they work and how effective they are when it comes to CSS Grid. Clearly Wes’s courses are learning by doing at its best. Yet he says he’s actually a very slow learner himself. “It might seem like I can just consume anything and understand it,” he laughs. “But the only thing I can attribute my understanding to is just pushing through those harder points and sheer time. I have a big chunk of my day dedicated to learning new skills, which is extremely lucky. That’s why it seems like I’m always a bit ahead of the curve.” Photography: Jenna Bos, Bear and Sparrow Photography That was also the thinking behind JavaScript30, a free 30-day JavaScript coding challenge, which teaches vanilla JavaScript without frameworks, libraries, compilers or boilerplates. People were always asking Wes how they could learn faster and improve their skills. “My advice is always that you need to build 1,000 things,” he suggests. “It’s going to take some time, you need to actually put in the work, but once you get through those 1,000 things, I can guarantee you’re going to be a lot better. The JavaScript30 are your first 30 of 1,000 things to get you rolling.” But Wes recognises it's not that easy to get started: even he hated JavaScript initially. “I very clearly remember being extremely frustrated with jQuery,” he sighs. “It just breaks, so there’s a possibility you waste four hours not getting anywhere. "I see that all the time. Often I get nasty emails from people, and a couple of hours later they apologise. You just get that rage blindness of how hard it is to learn. I hated it for a long time, and there was no ‘aha’ moment for me. I just kept at it and slowly but surely, over the course of three or four years, it started to get a little bit easier and I became more confident.” His style of teaching has clearly tapped into a need. Around 220,000 people have taken at least one of Wes’s courses. Often they enjoy them so much that they're willing to pay for others – such as ES6 for Everyone, React for Beginners and Learn Node. And now he regularly receives emails from people telling him he changed their lives. Photography: Jenna Bos, Bear and Sparrow Photography “It’s really weird, you don’t expect it,” he enthuses. “At the end of the day I’m just some guy recording my screen, but somebody emailed me recently saying they went through a bunch of my courses and got a C$15,000 raise from their boss [around £8,600], which is life-changing for a lot of people. "Obviously, I’m not going to attribute just my courses to it – these people are self-starters – but they said that my courses played a large role in them either getting raises or jobs. They also said that I’ve reignited their love for web development. There’s a lot of burnout in our industry, people get sick of it after a while, and need to continually update their skills. I want my courses to be fun and remind people of that little spark they experienced when they first started learning and worked things out.” At Generate New York, Wes is going to talk about new things coming to JavaScript that will make web development much easier and more enjoyable, while his workshop will be an introduction to React. “It will start you from the ground up and explain all the different React concepts,” Wes describes. “You’ll leave being able to build an application that fetches data from an API that is routed on the client side and pulls in your CSS.” An advanced React online course that will focus on GraphQL is also in the pipeline, as is a course on Visual Studio Code. In addition Wes has been trying to figure out how to teach the basics of JavaScript and CSS from scratch. “A lot of people tell me they can’t take my courses because they don’t understand the initial part of JavaScript,” he explains. “I’d like to work out how I can teach those things in a really nice way. It’s such a huge topic.” Clearly the Bos Monster may still just be at the beginning. This article was originally published in issue 305 of net, the world's best-selling magazine for web designers and developers. Buy issue 305 or subscribe to net. Want to pick up more JavaScript tips courtesy of Wes Bos? Wes Bos is giving his talk What’s New In JavaScript? at Generate New York from 25 - 27 April 2018 Wes Bos is a full-stack JavaScript developer, speaker and teacher from Canada. He works as an independent web developer and is a lead instructor at HackerYou and Ladies Learning Code. Wes is the author of Sublime Text Power User, and the creator of React For Beginners, Flexbox.io, Command Line Power User and hundreds of YouTube tutorials. In his talk at Generate New York from 25-27 April 2018, Wes will cover some of the best things that are brand new to JavaScript as well as things that we can look forward to in the coming months and years. Strap yourself in for a fast-pace talk full of hot tips as we rocket ourselves into the future of JavaScript. Generate New York takes place from 25-27 April 2018. Get your ticket now. Related articles: 5 essential JavaScript tools for 2018 12 common JavaScript questions answered 21 top examples of JavaScript View the full article

Freelance life can be hugely rewarding. Get it right, and you can balance greater freedom with a healthier work-life balance and a better day rate. What's not to like? Well, as any freelancer will tell you, the lifestyle can also bring its fair share of worries. Not only are you responsible for bringing every piece of work in, and juggling your own time and resources to get it all done – but you also have to worry about financial hurdles such as taxes, out-of-pocket expenses and that all-too-common bugbear, late-paying clients. Work can come in peaks and troughs. And even if you've been solidly busy for weeks you can end up short of cash while those unpaid invoices are being processed. A common piece of advice is to bank three months' salary before taking the plunge: that buffer can be invaluable in the first year. But even established freelancers can be hit by fallow periods, and you might end up eating through your savings pot quicker than you'd like. Sound familiar? Read on for six handy ways to solve your freelance cashflow woes... 01. Set up a zero-sum budget Household budgets are flexible by necessity. Unexpected expenses can crop up at any time, and no one wants to have their lifestyle dictated by a spreadsheet. But at least when you're employed, a pay cheque comes in like clockwork. When you're a sole trader, business and personal finances tend to merge, whether you like it or not. Even if you have separate bank accounts, if a client doesn't pay on time then you might have to cancel that holiday. One way of maximising your money during peak periods is to adopt a 'zero-sum' budget. This effectively means all the money in the bank is accounted for, and you return to zero at the start of the next month – on paper, at least – rather than having extra money sitting in the account ready to be spent. The first step is to track all your expenses, as accurately as you can, for three months. While fixed expenses such as rent/mortgage, utilities and so on are easy to predict, it's the flexible expenses that are more unpredictable – and more easily cut. Once you've found an average of your monthly expenses, measure that figure against your average revenue – then you can set a budget. In addition to all your normal day-to-day expenses, allocate a fixed amount for longer-term savings, and another fixed amount for short-term savings than can also contribute towards unexpected small costs. 02. Watch your flexible spending Tracking your flexible costs is a useful exercise in more ways than one: if the security of a regular monthly income meant you didn't worry too much about non-essentials and luxuries, you may actually be surprised how much you spent on certain things. You might also be surprised how easily you can cut them back if you really need to, with a little self-discipline. If you work from home, it's easier to cut back on things like lunches out, drinks after work and expensive morning coffees, not to mention commuting costs. Grocery shopping is a lot more efficient if you plan in advance and buy in bulk with a week or so's worth of meals in mind. And get in the habit of comparison shopping and negotiating wherever you can for things like phone, broadband and TV. There are always ways to shave money off your monthly outgoings. 03. Know what's tax deductible As a freelancer, a surprising amount of things can be offset against tax – almost anything you require to do your job, in fact. This can include advertising, travel, mileage, furniture, hardware, software, insurance and much more. Even if something is partly for personal use, you can divide it appropriately and deduct the business portion. If you run a home office, for instance, monthly payments such as mortgage interest, rent and utilities are partially tax-deductible. However, if cashflow is tight, then beware of using an item's 'tax deductible' status as an excuse for purchasing it when it's not entirely necessary. Before making the purchase, make an impartial assessment of whether you need it for your business right now, or if it can wait until your finances are healthier. 04. Get your taxes in order Filing the annual tax return is a major headache for any self-employed professional, but putting it off until the last minute will not only stress you out – it could also cost you more than you should be paying. Missing the tax return deadline entirely will incur penalties, but even if you make it, hurriedly pulling your expenses together from a stack of loose receipts means you're likely to miss something. Once the tax year is over, there's no reason not to file your tax return right away so you know exactly how much you owe, and can budget for it. It also gives you plenty of time to check and double-check your expenses. Freelancer-focused accounting software such as FreeAgent or Solo can help you stay on top of things, but it's good advice to put aside the necessary percentage of every invoice that's paid, and treat it as untouchable unless you absolutely have to. Don't be left with an insurmountable tax bill down the line. 05. Have a longer-term goal in mind This may seem academic in a month when you're hand-to-mouth, but having a long-term plan for your surplus income during the year – whether it's paying off debt more quickly, your kids' college fund, topping up your pension, or a nice family holiday – will help you ring-fence surplus cash. A useful rule of thumb is to aim to live on 50 per cent of your income. That's the fixed, bare-minimum cost of living if all non-necessities are stripped away. If another 30 per cent covers flexible expenses, that leaves 20 per cent for long-term savings. Ultimately, it's about getting out of a feast-and-famine mindset. Figuring a specific target into a zero-sum budget is one way of ring-fencing extra money each month, and if you pay it straight into a separate account before you figure in the flexible expenses, it's easier to adjust them. While any money you can allocate for these types of goals is less essential to replenish than your tax fund, if and when you do need to dip into your savings, there's more incentive to top them back up if they serve a greater purpose. 06. Increase your freelance rates No matter how disciplined you are with your savings, if you're simply not earning enough to hit those ideal 50-30-20 margins over the year then there's only so much you can do to trim back your flexible costs. If you don't have enough work coming in, you may need to take a hit upfront and spend money to make money – on things like carefully targeted self-promotion and marketing. But if you're not short of work and still can't make ends meet, it may be time to take a look at your rates. Are you charging enough for what you offer, and are underselling yourself compared to standard industry rates? Look out for salary surveys in the design press, or just be upfront with freelance peers and ask for advice about day rates. If you've been working with a client for a while with an impeccable track record, there's no harm in trying negotiate a better rate if you approach it in the right way. Don't beg, or be overly demanding – be clear, confident and upfront about why your experience is worth more. Even a relatively small change to a day rate can make a big difference over the year. Related articles: 8 simple productivity tools for designers 6 biggest design movements of the millennium so far 8 tools to help you work remotely as a freelancer View the full article

Microsoft's April Patch Tuesday release includes fixes for 66 bugs, 24 of which are rated critical. View the full article

A patched vulnerability in San Francisco’s public safety warning siren system suggests other radio-based platforms could also be hacked. View the full article

Verizon pegged ransomware as the most prevalent malware in its 2018 Data Breach Investigations Report. View the full article

Critical vulnerabilities are divided into four CVEs tied to Adobe Flash Player and Adobe InDesign CC. View the full article

Watch a film and you're an observer. But play a game and you're a participant. For Raphael Lacoste, art director of Ubisoft's hugely popular Assassin's Creed franchise, this is an important distinction. Growing up in the 80s, Raphael played games like Pitfall, Another World and Rick Dangerous, a platformer inspired by Indiana Jones. But even then, Raphael looked past point-scoring, beating the boss and completing the levels. He was interested in the story. 20 best designs in video games "It's funny to remember that visual quality at this time wasn't a big issue," the Frenchman says, "because our imagination was taking over. The rendering was really abstract, but the experience was still immersive." Later on, Tomb Raider – the boss level in particular – scared him. Playing Omikron: The Nomad Soul and Abe's Oddysee changed something in the young man. Again, he felt "immersed in the game experience." Franchise art director Raphael Lacoste shows the entrance to the city of Thebes Raphael says: "If you watch a movie then you're moved and transported by the characters and their story – you enter their world – but for the most part you receive information. You're just a spectator. In contrast, playing games makes you more proactive and gives you that feeling that you're playing your own story. "If you're putting yourself in danger, you can feel this stress. You escape, hide and find your own strategy. What I love the most is to be able to freely explore an immersive world, through the vector of the hero that you occupy. Video games can literally take you into another dimension." Why recreate reality? Alexandria's bloody history is reimagined here by senior concept artist Gilles Beloeil At school, Raphael was never much of a student. "Instructions were never, and still aren't, part of my priorities." He preferred to stare out of the window, wander about outside, or draw. Yet even then, he wasn't interested in copying the world around him. Instead, he wanted to create brand new worlds. "Why recreate reality? It surrounds us. It's sometimes beautiful, sometimes disturbing. Reality can drive us to feel complex emotions and have deep thoughts. But I love to reconstruct reality in order to create new environments that push us to wonder, and allow us to escape. "I like to blend cultures and landscapes, often exotic ones, to create something new, something different. What could an Icelandic landscape combined with the architecture of the ancient city of Petra look like? Or imaginary castles that defy gravity on a background of exaggerated Norwegian mountain peaks? My objective is to create fantastic worlds of what could have been." Creative upbringing No game set in ancient Egypt would be complete without the Great Pyramids, seen here in silhouette in Raphael Lacoste's artwork Raphael studied at Bordeaux's School of Fine Arts and Decorative Arts, and worked as a photographer and set designer at a theatre company. He enjoyed the work, but it didn't pay much. In 1997, his dad – who also played games with Raphael and taught him photography – bought him a computer. He learned 3ds Max, created his first demo piece, and built up a portfolio. He received a diploma from what's now called the ENJMIN Institute of Game Design, then secured a job as an environment designer at Kalisto Entertainment,. Kalisto went bankrupt in 2002, but then Ubisoft called and Raphael took the company up on its offer. He moved to Montreal, Canada and became an art director at the games publisher. Raphael now works as the brand art director on the Assassin's Creed franchise. In October 2017 Ubisoft released the tenth instalment of the game, Assassin's Creed Origins. Senior art designer Vincent Gaigneux worked on lead character Bayek, a member of the Medjay Raphael's job changes as a game goes through its many development stages. At first, he and the team focus on research, doing their "homework": lots of concept art, sketching, drawing and painting. "It's the most creative time, artistically," says Raphael, "and also a quiet period." The team explores specific time periods and locations. They try to find "an interesting pivotal moment of history." It has to be something exciting, with a bit of mystery to it, an "inspirational playground" for both player and developer. Once that's in place, they define some set pieces, work up illustrations to "sell" the chosen world and characters, and then start thinking about a hero. These first month are full of creative freedom. Anything could happen. The game could go anywhere. Raphael finds the blank page both stressful and thrilling. He's happy to try things, let them fail, then begin again. But at some point, the game must become something real. They need have a setting, artwork and gameplay prototype in place to sell the idea to headquarters. Martin Deschambault works up a storyboard, as the team attempts to transform a good idea into a great game The team throws in the overall game and level design with story and art to make the first playable version of the game. "This is where fights can happen," Raphael says. "It's both a challenging and crucial period. I spend more time in meetings than working with the illustrators." Now Raphael goes from team to team and makes sure that the "original benchmarks and visual standard" are followed throughout. To join his team, you need a good mix of skills: "They need to have interest in the game and have excellent skills in environment design and composition, but also storytelling. Our levels are complex to create as they blend historical context, fantasy, gameplay interactivity, and need to be epic and memorable." Departing – and returning Martin Deschambault's Bayek strikes an iconic pose In February 2007, Raphael finished work on the first Assassin's Creed and decided to leave the game's industry. "I felt that I needed new challenges," he says, "I wanted to learn new things." He went to work at visual effects firm Rodeo FX, a small company at that time, creating matte paintings and concept art for Death Race, Terminator Salvation, and Journey to the Center of the Earth. "The film industry is older than the video game industry," says Raphael. "I learned a lot at Rodeo, like mastering image composition, rendering, technical skills in Photoshop and even working in 3D software. I still use what I learned there now. But I felt that my job as a matte painter for film was a little too technical, less creative." You watch a movie, but you play a game: "So I decided to come back." This article was originally published in issue 157 of ImagineFX, the world's best-selling magazine for digital artists. Buy issue 157 or subscribe to ImagineFX here. Related articles: How to create stylised game artwork 10 best video game character designs How to create a video game character in ZBrush View the full article

Researchers are warning of a new email phishing campaign launches a trojan capable of distributing ransomware and stealing passwords. View the full article

Today sees the launch of one of the biggest CorelDRAW updates. Meet CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 2018, the latest version of Corel's industry-leading graphic design software. Building on feedback from the CorelDRAW community, the release is geared towards workflow enhancements to help creatives realise their visions faster. Packed with new design and photo-editing capabilities, CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 2018 promises to make it easier for users to create large format prints, online graphics and everything in between. Photoshop CC 2018 review “No matter your industry or background, everyone working with graphics has the same essential wish list. How can I design without boundaries, deliver a final product that will make an impact, and of course, do it all on deadline?” says John Falsetto, senior director of products, CorelDRAW and Productivity. “For our 2018 version, we worked closely with the CorelDRAW community to find this ideal balance of possibility and practicality. The new Symmetry mode brings a sense of fun and wonder, enabling you to experiment and draw spectacular images in minutes; while a simpler and smarter approach to design fundamentals, like working with nodes and images, ensures every project is completed on time and on budget." "The end result is a powerful suite that supports your workflow from inspiration to flawless output.” As you can see from the video above, CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 2018 is all about empowering creativity. In terms of tools and features, this means that users can now create images and assets that may have previously felt challenging to achieve. Take the new drawing tools for starters. With Symmetry Drawing mode, users can turn simple drawings into an array of symmetrical designs in real time. Complex, kaleidoscopic graphics can be automated with this tool, giving creatives time to get back to more engaging work. On top of this, the new perspective effect quickly creates the illusion of depth for bitmaps and vector objects. This is backed up by an upgraded Impact tool that can add movement or focus to an element in a drawing. Other drawing upgrades include an enhancement of Corel's revolutionary LiveSketch tool. With improved precision, users can now draw as naturally on a computer as with pen on paper. Pen and stylus device support means that users can also use pressure to vary the size of an eraser nib; link the tilt and bearing to flatness and rotation; and flip the stylus or pen to activate the Eraser tool. What's more, CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 2018 supports the Microsoft Surface Dial. Turn simple drawings into beautiful patterns with symmetry drawing mode It's not just good news for digital illustrators, though. A host of photography tools make it easy to edit captured images. Rotations tools and perspective correction tools allow users to quickly correct their snaps, while the new AfterShot 3 HDR tool gives creatives the chance to make professional-grade, non-destructive corrections to RAW or JPEG photos. The 5 best laptops for photo editing Meanwhile the new publish to WordPress tool enables users to send work directly to a WordPress media library. And thanks to the project timer you get to organise bills and deadlines in a non-intrusive way. Completing the release is a raft of images, including 10,000 clipart and digital images; 2,000 high-resolution digital photos; over 1,000 fonts; 350 professionally designed templates; 2,000 vehicle templates; over 500 interactive frames and photo frames; and over 600 fountain, vector and bitmap fills. If you're thinking of checking out CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 2018, the good news is there are two ways to buy it. You can either sign up for an annual subscription of $198 / £199.99, or upgrade your existing program for $99/ £109.99 a year. Alternatively, you can buy the full version for $499 / £599, or upgrade for $199 / £299.99 (excludes NFR, OEM, and Academic versions). For a full list of CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 2018's tools and features, and details of how to buy it, head over to the CorelDRAW site. Related articles: The best laptops for graphic design 2018 Create portrait art in Corel Painter This intelligent drawing tool will change the way designers work View the full article

A new episode of The Simpsons has addressed claims that its Indian character Apu is a racial stereotype. Convenience store owner Apu Nahasapeemapetilon has been part of the animation series since 1990, and is voiced by a white actor (Hank Azaria) who puts on an Indian accent. During the episode, which aired on 9 April, Lisa and Marge address the accusations – but some viewers have found the response insufficient. In 'No Good Read Goes Unpunished’, Marge and Lisa indirectly discuss the controversy around the characterisation. During the episode, Marge reads Lisa her "favourite book ever” but is aghast to find that it’s full of racial commentary and stereotypes. She changes the story to make it politically correct, but Lisa objects. “Well, what am I supposed to do?” Marge asks. Lisa turns and talks directly to the camera: "It's hard to say. Something that started a long time ago decades ago, that was applauded and was inoffensive, is now politically incorrect. What can you do?" The camera then pans to a photograph of Apu on Lias’s bedside table, which is signed: "Don't have a cow - Apu". Marge response, saying: ”Some things will be dealt with at a later date.” "If at all," adds Lisa, with the pair staring directly at the camera. The Problem with Apu Last year, comedian Hari Kondabolu criticised the character for propagating stereotypes of South Asians stereotypes in a feature-length comedic cultural exposé, The Problem with Apu. In an interview with the BBC, Kondabolu explained that the character was problematic because he’s defined by his job and how many children he has in his arranged marriage. Kondabolu was among the first to respond to Sunday’s episode, labelling the scene “sad”. He continued: “I used Apu & The Simpsons as an entry point into a larger conversation about the representation of marginalized groups & why this is important. The Simpsons response tonight is not a jab at me, but at what many of us consider progress.” Other people have highlighted the irony of Lisa delivering the lines. However, others have pointed out that most of the characters in The Simpsons are parodies and based on stereotypes. The debate raises questions about representation for character designers, and opens a larger conversation about the characterisation of marginalised groups. The makers have not commented publicly. Related articles: 20 top character design tips View the full article

Every gamer has dreamed of making their very own game. If. you're ready to turn that dream into a reality, then you need to enrol at the School of Game Design. You can get lifetime access to this incredible resource for aspiring game designers on sale now for 99 per cent off the retail price. The School of Game Design is a great resource for gamers of any and all skill levels. Whether you're just learning how to translate your love of games to your own designs or you're a programmer looking to get into gaming, this resource is for you. It's packed with more than 120 hours of step-by-step instruction that will teach you the skills you need to make your game ideas come to life. These courses will teach you the coding languages and frameworks you need to know, animation and modeling techniques, and much more. This bundle is valued at $5,999, but you can get it for just $59 (approx. £42). That’s 99 per cent off the retail price for access to lessons that could set you on a new career course, so grab it today. Related articles: How neuroscience and UX impacts video game design 20 best designs in video games Level up game characters with Creative Assembly View the full article

The thought of standing on stage and talking to a packed auditorium might make you want to dry-heave in the corner. But public speaking can be one of the most effective tools for self-promotion in a designer's armoury, instantly giving you credibility as an expert and supercharging word-of-mouth about your services. However, the skills involved in public speaking are just as valuable off-stage. Being able to talk confidently about your work in any situation – while pitching, during an interview, over a beer – is a fundamental design skill that differentiates the good from the exceptional. It's a key part of how to network as a creative. So what are the golden rules of presenting your work? How can you blow the minds of your audience – or at least keep them interested for 45 minutes? And what if it all goes wrong? Read on to find out how some of the industry's finest creatives have tackled nerves and technology meltdowns to shine as speakers, both on and off the stage. 01. Have a story and an opinion Illustration: "There's no replacement for having a great story to tell – and telling it well," says Tony Brook, co-founder of top design studio Spin. A portfolio walkthrough, alone, simply doesn't cut it. Audiences increasingly expect a reward, or a trade-off – something 'extra' – for their time. "The 'I did this' followed by 'then I did this' portfolio review, even for the best designers, is dull," adds Brook. "People want to be entertained and inspired. They want insights and to feel they've learned something. They want to know what your opinion is and why; what you're about – things that people can relate to and connect with." 02. Share the lows as well as the highs "The worst talks I've seen are the ones that are just self-promotion," agrees New York City-based artist Jon Burgerman. He's been invited to speak at events around the world and has chalked up many hours as an attendee as well. "If we, the audience, wanted to just see your portfolio we'd go on your website. I don't want to be marketed to. I want to learn what I don't already know about your work, life, process." "Tell me about the failures, mistakes, and ups and downs. I guess the big rule is: don't be boring." 03. Put the audience first This is perhaps the most basic golden rule – but it's often the easiest to forget. Who are your audience? What are their expectations? Are you delivering on these? "There are differences in talking to graphic design students and seasoned professionals from a broader creative background," says Jan Wilker of progressive design studio Karlssonwilker. Make sure you talk is pitched at the right level for your listeners. 04. Put your talk into a cultural context Jan Wilker plays a quick round of cross-Atlantic Mr and Mr with studio co-fouder Hjalti Karlsson, pictured on screen at AGI Open London Remember also that humour can be tough to translate. "The biggest difference for me is the culture that I'll encounter in a specific part of the world. A lot of our work plays with culturally learned expectations, visually and logically, so there are certain projects I wouldn't present," says Wilker. "When there are translators at the venue, I always check the references I want to make and the context I want to present a project in. Word-plays are often a no-no." 05. Identify the beginning and the end "Something [Pentagram partner] Michael Bierut told me once is: if you know where you're starting and where you're ending, you can draw the through line," Pentagram partner Emily Oberman explains. "I design a talk like that, and then thread stories in-between them." 06. Don't have more than five key points Two animated New Yorker covers by illustrator Christophe Niemann Berlin-based illustrator and author Christoph Niemann suggests breaking down the storytelling element even further. "This comes from me suffering through a lot of design conferences," he laughs. "Eventually I realised that even if it's the greatest, most insightful talk ever, I could remember a maximum of five images and three points. I was watching people I really admire and realised they're essentially delivering those points." The rest is down to storytelling – leading the audience to and from those points to keep them engaged. 07. Be brutal with your edits Niemann advises fighting the urge to mention every single detail of every project you've been involved in. "You tend to think, 'Oh, I also did the letterhead and also the business card'." "Of course it all matters to you as a designer, but for the attending audience it just drowns out everything you really want to say," he explains. "Once you know you have these three or four images, it makes it a lot easier to edit your presentation." 08. Never teach designers to design "The best proposals are the ones where the speaker is going to show work, demonstrate or teach something. Proposals that say the session is going to talk about how to be a better designer but then show hardly any work – or bland slides – often fall flat," adds Niemann. "Why? An attendee has paid to go to an event. I've seen the audience turn off when told how they should design. It's as if they're saying: 'What qualifies you, the speaker, to tell me I should do it a certain way?' But if the speaker has an impressive body of work, it immediately qualifies them." 09. Work on your delivery Illustration: Tomas Fryscak Great content aside, the real power of a presentation – whether you're speaking to a 3,000-strong theatre crowd or a client across the table – lies in your delivery of the material. Sincerity and authenticity are crucial if you want to make a genuine connection with your audience. "Does the speaker engage with the audience? Do they feel relaxed? Do they know what they're talking about and appear passionate? These are the things whizzing around my head whenever I'm watching presentations," says John Davey, founder of design and technology conference Reasons to be Creative. Next page: 9 more pro tips for being a better speaker 10. Avoid reading a script word-for-word Of course, engaging an audience is far easier said than done. There's debate as to the best way to deliver a presentation. Some design slides to outline the parameters and then speak off-the-cuff; others memorise a speech, practising until it flows naturally. Most agree that reading a script word-for-word usually sounds stilted and awkward. To help work in a bit of spontaneity without losing the structure of your talk, Tony Brook recommends using keywords as prompts, while Niemann tends to remember which points he wants to deliver with which image. 11. Don't rush it Rod Hunt's Multix Personal Utility Vehicle advertising campaign For award-winning illustrator and regular lecturer Rod Hunt, the key is not to rush the delivery: "Face the audience, speak up and project yourself. Also, try to take natural pauses," he advises. Also, fight the urge to hide behind the lectern. "I prefer to use a radio mic and progress the visuals with a remote so I can walk the stage," he adds. Niemann agrees: "People have a tendency to talk too much when they're nervous. Public speaking helps you learn to say less, which makes for a stronger delivery." 12. Connect with your audience Whatever your method, the ultimate aim is to connect with your audience – and this, in particular, is where all designers can learn from the best public speakers. "When I do a presentation, I grossly over-prepare," says Niemann, who was first invited to talk by AGI after emigrating to New York from his native Germany, and was nervous about his English. "Being comfortable with an audience, on stage, is really important in terms of speaking to a client," adds Oberman. "You have to understand and care about the content, be able to answer questions effectively, think about something differently and respond to what you're getting from your audience, whether they're sitting in the dark in a lecture theatre or on the other end of a table in a pitch situation or client meeting." 13. Overcome nerves with practice Sagmeister & Walsh's animated identity for cloud software brand Fugue Nerves and anxiety are two of the fastest ways to undermine any presentation – or destroy an interview – so what's the best way to overcome them? Again, there's simply no substitute for solid preparation and practice. "Practice is everything," admits Jessica Walsh, partner at New York design firm Sagmeister & Walsh. "I started out speaking to smaller audiences before going to larger conferences and speaking in front of thousands of people. This helped me test out what people responded to and also helped me gain confidence." 14. Invest in the right tech On the technical side, Niemann recommends the Presenter Display in Apple's Keynote software. This enables you to see your current slide as well as the next one, plus your notes and a timer. "I've never needed my notes, but knowing they're there is really fantastic," he says. "Handwritten notes only work if you change them as you talk – but I'm focusing on what I say. And all it breaks down if you've forgotten to shuffle your cards. Then everything's lost." 15. Have mulitple backups The Story of my App: Christophe Niemann's visual essay for the New Yorker, describing the challenges of making interactive app, Petting Zoo The best advice is to prepare for any situation that might go wrong. Always have at least one backup of your presentation; email your talk to the organisers in advance; do a practice run to test for potential projector or lighting problems; and double-check the quality of your images and videos. If something isn't working, give yourself time to change it. "I bring everything," Niemann laughs. "Even if the people at the venue tell me they have every adaptor, I bring it nonetheless." 16. Approach it like a design problem Finally, if it all goes wrong on the day, just stay calm. After all, the biggest secret – says Niemann – is that nobody was born talented at speaking. "It's just a lot of practice," he smiles. "That, and seeing your presentation as a piece of design. Once you tackle it as a design problem, it's actually not that hard. It just takes time." This advice first appeared in Computer Arts magazine. Subscribe here. Liked this? Try these... 9 tips for breaking onto the speaker circuit 5 inspired self-promo ideas for design agencies The best graphic design books to read in 2018 View the full article

American Express is one of the most instantly recognisable logo designs in the world. Yes, the fact that it has the company's name in big bold letters on it helps, but that iconic little blue box has become a symbol synonymous with AMEX. In fact, it's done its job so well since its inception in 1975 that it's remained the same ever since. Until now. For the first time in 37 years, AMEX has refreshed its visual identity, the design coming from Pentagram's Abbott Miller. But why now? AMEX has refreshed its visual identity for the first time in 37 years The refresh comes as part of the company's new global marketing campaign called 'Powerful Backing: Don’t Do Business / Don’t Live Life Without It', which focuses on how deeply intertwined personal and work life can be, and the role that AMEX can play in supporting that. The little blue box Now serving hundreds of millions of customers across the globe, one of the main goals of the campaign was to reinvigorate the identity and optimise it across various platforms. To achieve this, the design team paid close attention to the iconic blue box logo. First introduced in 1975, AMEX's little blue symbol is instantly recognisable, so the aim was to preserve but enhance its design. To do this, the letterforms that cross through the centre of the blue square were redrawn and finessed in order for it to render in a clean, concise way that functions at both a large and small scale. 5 brands so strong they don't need a logo The classic outline of the lettering was also redrawn with a non-outlined version that operates outside of the box, a task undertaken by type designer Jeremy Mickel, who made sure to stay true to the original design. The identity update also sees the introduction of an alternate mark for small-space digital use, such as Twitter and Instagram icons. This version of the blue box logo crops the larger wordmark to capture simply the 'AM EX'. The project sought to retool AMEX's iconic blue box logo A number of other AMEX brand elements, including its distinctive Centurion and World Service pattern, have also been maintained and enhanced as part of the identity refresh. The Pentagram website states: 'The new visual identity brings strength, simplicity, and rigour to the brand, extending a cohesive look and voice to American Express products, services and experiences.' AMEX's distinctive Centurion has undergone a bit of a facelift The overall campaign was a collaborative effort between mcgarrybowen, Pentagram, Ogilvy, Mindshare and Digitas. The advertising was directed by renowned director Lance Accord, and the photography by award-winning photographer Matthieu Young. For more details on the AMEX project, head over to the Pentagram website. Related articles: View the full article

You're reading Creating Better Design with Content First Approach, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook, Google+! It doesn’t matter if you’re designing a brand new app from scratch, working on a new feature or creating a landing page; design should start with the content first. There are many benefits to this. Ultimately you’ll end up creating better products or websites. What exactly do I mean by content? I am mainly referring […] View the full article

The art style of first-person survival video game Long Dark can be deceptively difficult to capture. The style from the video game can end up looking either too realistic or too whimsical. We want the player to feel like they’ve stepped into a world that feels familiar but also unique – a world both beautiful and dangerous. In this Photoshop tutorial, I’ll walk you through my process of capturing the style of the Quiet Apocalypse. Get Photoshop CC here From the early days of the game we wanted the art style to come across as painterly. The art style has been achieved in a collaborative process by the concept artists, the 3D artists, and the tech artists at Hinterland. I can sum up the basics this way: broad areas of subtle texture encased in sharp and simple silhouettes. I’ll take you through my process, where we’ll use the shapes that we achieve in the sketch as the basis for the final silhouettes. Using simple composition guides to ensure the overall image is balanced, we’ll give the image a painterly look using texture brushes and bold brush strokes. We can retain those strong silhouettes and bold shapes with one of my favourite secret weapons: Photoshop’s Lasso tool. We’re adding another wild animal, the moose, to the list of adversaries that you may encounter in the game. And we’ll focus the illustration around this giant of the forest. 01. Give yourself (or client) options Creating thumbnails with composition options aids the artist and the client The task was to have the moose by water, near birch trees, and featuring cattails prominently, which they eat. There are many number of ways for staging these elements. I came up with 12 thumbnails to give myself options and generate ideas. I came up with both first- and third-person options, for the creative director and art director to look over. 02. Solve as many problems as possible Next stage is to refine the chosen thumbnail The chosen thumbnail shows strong fore and background elements, and a good sense of scale for the moose. I refine it, using a composition guide that identifies the centre of the image, and the Rule of Thirds. However, the horizon line is at the centre of the frame, left and right are equally weighted, and the lower left cattails are distracting. So I lower the horizon to the bottom third, adjust the staging of the moose, and add the birch trees. Pro secret: Composition checks Use tools to figure out the centre and Rule of Thirds. These can help you stage a pleasant composition, and avoid silly and amateur mistakes, such as putting the horizon at the middle point of the frame. 03. Organise your sketch Spend some time developing the composition I spend time developing a well-composed sketch in Photoshop, and split it into the layers. This will help me use the sketch shapes in the final painting. I also take some high-resolution screen grabs from the game and use these screenshots as reference, to both keep the work in the style of The Long Dark and as a base for texture. I use the shapes of the sketch as a clipping mask (right-click>Clipping Mask) for the brush strokes and textures. 04. Don’t be afraid to use the Transform tools Free Transform and Warp will help you get the concept just right I continue to use the established shapes of the sketch as a clipping mask, starting with the moose. I concepted the original moose design for the game, so I use the established concept to help block in the shape of the animal. I use the Free Transform and Warp tools (Cmd+T, right-click>Warp) as necessary to get it looking mostly correct, and paint over any leftover problems. 05. Enhance the focal point Lift the focal point from the background I use a Hue and Saturation layer to darken the foreground and the trees to help frame the head of the moose. I then use the clipping mask again and duplicate the Hue and Saturation layer a number of times. Making sure I keep my bigger shape layers separated, I clip them above each individual layer before I flatten them. Then I start painting branches with my brushes. 06. Mask with selection Next, create a selection mask Another way I mask where I’m painting is by using my layers to create selections. I’ve painted in more branches and trees at this point. Now I want to start adding some light hitting the top of the trees. I create a selection mask (Cmd+Shift+click layers). 07. Reference the lighting Getting the lighting right is crucial at this stage I then take the selection mask I made in the last step and turn it into a vector mask. I set the layer to Overlay and start adding some warmth of the setting sun to the top of the trees. With an idea for the palette, I spend a good amount of time getting reference and observing how the sun hits the top of the trees at sunset. 08. Lasso that selection The lasso tool is an underrated ally Now that I have an idea for the lighting, I turn my attention to the moose. I love using the Selection tool (L) to create strong shapes that I can fill with bold brush strokes. I trace over the sketch of the antlers with the Lasso tool, and use bold and long brush strokes to hint at a subtle texture of the antlers. Pro secret: Lasso is my secret weapon The Lasso Selection tool is one of my favourite Photoshop tools. I use it to draw shapes, and to combine organic round forms with sharp straight ones. Some shortcuts to keep in mind: L (Lasso tool); L+Cmd+lift stylus off tablet (get point-to-point straight lines); L+Shift (add to selection); and L+Alt (subtract from selection). 09. Bring on the texture brushes Start painting in some texture Once I’ve blocked in the antlers, I lock the transparency on the moose layer (click the checkered box at the top of the layer window). I now start defining the form of the antlers, and using textured brushes to give the image that subtle painting texture reminiscent of The Long Dark. I also have lots of reference of moose antlers to really understand their shape and how they catch light. 10. Refining the palette It's time to dip into Hue and Saturation I realise that the image is quite muted. The colours need to be bolder, so I use a Hue and Saturation layer. I increase the Saturation slightly and adjust the Hue, too. I then repeat the process in step 5. I duplicate the Hue and Saturation layer, making sure I keep my bigger shape layers separated. Finally, I clip the Hue and Saturation layers above each individual layer before flattening them. 11. Warmth of the sun The sun's warm glow is added here I start adding the warm glow of the sun poking through the trees on the left side of the image, using a Color Dodge layer. I put it behind some of the background tree layer, but not other trees in the foreground. I then add another Color Dodge layer and put it behind all of the trees to get that blown-out look of the sun. 12. Enhance the focal point Making adjustments to the focal point will ensure it draws the eye I start working in the area around the focal point of the painting, which is the head of the moose. I make sure that the beast’s eye looks correct. I also notice that the sky above the moose is introducing too much contrast to the area above the head. My solution is to block in a mountain with a simple Round brush. Pro secret: Practise with your brushes Texture Photoshop brushes can appear to be the secret sauce that makes a good painting. They are not. Like any tool, they require practice. I have two brushes that I use all the time. I like practising with them by doing studies of film stills, the work of Old Masters or photo studies. Without the need to invent the subject, it enables me to focus on technique. 13. Start to add detail Start adding detail, but remember to stop! I receive some feedback to exaggerate the size of the antlers, so I increase their size. And them, being mindful not to doodle too much, I start adding details to the scene. If I use texture brushes then I make sure to let the texture do the heavy lifting. This may take several strokes to get right so I Cmd+Z a fair bit until I get the one brush stroke that’s perfect. 14. Finalising with fresh eyes An oft-overlooked stage – step away, then return to your work afresh I spend some time away from the painting to see it with a fresh perspective and realise that further details are needed on the moose as the focal point. I also spend time loosening edges with painterly brush work, keeping in mind the style of The Long Dark the entire time. I then send the work to the creative director and art director to get the art approved. Once approved, the painting is complete! This article was originally published in ImagineFX magazine issue 157. Buy it here. Related articles: 4 perks of working at an indie games studio 5 tips to kickstart your 3D career 5 ways for designers to find their next studio View the full article

A breach that exposed the credit card information of Delta Air Lines and Sears Holdings now expands its impact to include Best Buy and Kmart. View the full article

Every designer needs to know about user experience, commonly abbreviated to UX. And the first thing to understand is exactly what user experience actually is, as well as being clear about what it isn’t. UX is not web design, which is about the nuts and bolts of making digital interfaces function. It’s also distinct from (though closely related to) UI design, which is about designing the visuals of an app or website. Instead, UX is about making the experience a great one for the user – which means that in theory someone who can neither draw nor write code could be an expert in it. UX is most commonly associated with making apps and websites, but as Matt Theakston, experience design director at TH_NK points out, it goes way beyond that. “UX lives beyond the web,” he stresses. “It already flows, end-to-end, through the customer journey: from designing apps, shops, showrooms, cars, chairs or voice assistants like Amazon Echo. In the future, who knows where it’ll take us?" Where UX meets design You’re probably already more aware of UX than you realise, and as Spencer Buck, founder of Taxi Studio, says, getting on board doesn’t necessarily mean you have to become a fully fledged UX designer. “It’s about adding another layer to the thought process – being curious about how humans behave, and how we can influence that behaviour through good design.” The challenge faced by Taxi Studio when tasked with bringing Dolphin Solutions, a supplier of washroom products, online was balancing the premium nature of the brand with complex functional requirements Matthew Cockerill, creative director at Swift Creatives, agrees. “I don’t think it’s about graphic designers doing a UX role,” he says. “Instead, it’s about graphic designers and UX designers being able to understand each other’s processes and work together harmoniously and effectively.” And that’s less about learning a whole new discipline or methodology than taking what you already know and applying it in a different way, says Alec East, founder of Narrative Industries. “Going back to the Bauhaus, they taught students to eliminate the idea of the individual, and to focus on the productivity of design instead,” he says. “This means they had to understand how their designs would be used: the notion of form following function. For instance, in print design, if the typography is too small and dense, the reader’s enjoyment of the story is impaired.” UX involves applying similar principles to digital, East continues. “It means, for example, knowing the importance of removing cognitive load, whereby too much information on one screen can disorient the user.” Lee Carroll, senior interaction designer at Seymourpowell, offers more advice: “Placement, position, proximity, language, movement, colour, learned behaviour, bad habits, context, audience: these are all things user experience design draws on to achieve a goal,” he explains. “The biggest mistake you can make is going straight to the ‘idea’ or ‘concept’ – diving into designing how the interface should look and feel – without a deep understanding of the functions and processes that are required to make it work.” A UX challenge faced by Seymourpowell when creating a new VR design programme called Reality Works was to work out how the user selected and moved between different features and tools The most effective way to develop your UX skills is by communicating and collaborating more closely with people working in the field, says Buck. “So our print designers will collaborate with UX and digital designers on certain projects, and this works well as a way of expanding their thought processes with a real problem on the table, rather than through theoretical training.” Marta Lisboa, digital designer at CBA, agrees that improving your UX skills is less about studying and more about doing. “Like creativity, UX is a hard-earned skill, and like any other skill, it improves with practice,” she reasons. Look around you But that’s not all. Another important thing you can do is stay alive to the user experiences that are part of everyday life, says Max Ottignon, co-founder of Ragged Edge. “You’re interacting with UX every day anyway, whether it’s posting on Instagram or streaming a movie on Netflix,” he points out. “So try to engage your design brain while you do it. Analyse why the interface has been designed that way. Think about the techniques the designer has used to create a seamless, engaging journey. And as with anything else, it’s practice. Try to get your hands on some digital briefs and show what you can do.” Batch Organics is a health food service aimed at busy people, so user experience was paramount. Ragged Edge took pains to craft a customer journey that would work seamlessly across multiple devices Also, be aware that the ground is constantly shifting. “Today’s users, especially mobile users, are becoming less tolerant, more demanding, and they always want to be surprised,” says Lisboa. “The challenge is to continue being an innovator and develop experiences that are more relevant, delightful  and memorable. To provide metaphors that make screen-based interactions feel a bit more real. And to do all of this while adapting to rapidly evolving tech and digital trends.” To help you stay ahead of the curve, learning resources abound. East recommends books such as Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug and Ends: Why We Overlook Endings for Humans, Products, Services and Digital by Joseph Macleod, as well as following people such as @skrug, @wasbuxton and @jnd1er on Twitter. Theakston is a fan of The User Experience Team of One: A Research and Design Survival Guide by Leah Buley, Carroll urges you to attend a UX gathering such as the monthly London event IxDA, while Lisboa likes to keep up with new developments via Uxmag.com, UsabilityGeek.com and the Invisionapp.com blog. CBA's Marta Lisboa believes that improving user experience skills is less about studying and more about doing But always remember one thing, concludes East. “There are a bazillion books and blogs that will give you loads of rules, but the only person that counts in UX is the user; that’s why they’re the first letter in UX.” Ottignon agrees, and adds the following: “Put the user first, by using as little design as you can. UX isn’t about flashy creativity: it’s about crafting an experience that’s intuitive and stress-free. Don’t let design get in the way.” This article was originally published in issue 276 of Computer Arts, the world's best-selling design magazine. Buy issue 276 or subscribe to Computer Arts here. Related articles: New skills in UX design The 5 biggest UX design trends for 2018 Top tips for scaling up AR apps View the full article

Phenomenally successful creative talks series and ‘notworking’ community Glug has teamed up with international creative festival CANNT to launch an exciting series of events that will take place simultaneously around the world this June. Co-founded by Simon Gill (Isobar) and Laura Jordan Bambach (Mr President), CANNT Festival is an alternative creative event for anyone and everyone who can’t make it to the Cannes Lions Festival. This year, the event is going global – and you’re invited. Over 100 Glug x CANNT events will be launched in over 30 cities around the world from 16-25 June, at the same time as the Cannes Lions Awards. Glug will be holding events in many of its 30-plus existing city chapters, but the organisation is also calling for studios and agencies around the world to join in by hosting a one-off party or agency lunch event. There are two ways studios and agencies can get involved: 01. #CANNTlunch On Tuesday 19 June, studios and agencies are invited to open their doors for an hour and invite staff, clients, collaborators and local communities to come together for some inspiring short creative talks. All that hosts will need to organise are nibbles, drinks and two speakers. 02. Glug x CANNT Summer Party On Thursday 21 June, studios and agencies are invited to host a party, bringing together the local creative community to celebrate the industry and meet new people. Events can be anything from in-house drinks to a full-on summer party: hosts simply need to arrange the venue. For more information on how to run your own Glug X CANNT Summer Party or #CANNTlunch event, email jess@glugevents. Related articles: How to network successfully: 19 pro tips How to be a better speaker 10 inspirational design cities View the full article

In this masterclass, I'll reveal the basic steps you need to follow to perfect your figure drawing. I'll start with the first conception – or inkling of an idea – and take you through to the final presentation. Each written step is also covered in the video below, and involves applying core visual tools to develop your concept. Drawing is the graphical interface to your imagination: these techniques enable you to relate your idea to yourself and the world. The best pencils for designers and artists The aim of this workshop is to bring a feeling of life to your figures, based upon movement. We'll focus upon action – otherwise known as gesture – and the primary rendering steps involved in drawing a figure from imagination. Download the files you'll need for this masterclass. 01. Lead the eye Use your drawing tools to take viewers on a journey When drawing from life and imagination, the key is to understand the action that you're trying to depict. This is an analytical process. In this example, the lines lead you through the figure – they're not copies of shapes, outlines or stick figures. Each fragment leads you to the next, as if you were animating a journey through the figure, moving from one side to the other. It's not about creating dead drawings like CSI: it's all about transition. Make the viewer's eye move. 02. Go across the form Follow through, and take the line across and around the form. Imagine your pencil on the forms going over the contours The next primary technique involves drawing lines that go across and around the form, similar to a basic wireframe. Notice how this provides a clear understanding of the form in space. Focus on 3D, not shape or tone. 03. Build up the figure Draw very lightly so that you can change without erasing. Rehearse the strokes: three looks, two thinks, one application Here we come to the workhorse for describing form in action: the basic sphere. Drawing a sphere is the first step in the development of a figure. When adding spheres, focus upon creating clear, simple volumes. You can look at these as prototype anatomical structures, but don't become obsessed in making them perfect for now. These are general forms that will be adjusted as we go along. For now, pay particular attention to how they overlap. 04. Bring it to life The lines you put down show what you're thinking. Build the drawing Our goal as artists is to add a sense of life and movement to our drawings. So it's important that you use lines that communicate the gesture. Notice how the same simple spheres communicate very different actions. Every line has meaning. Your drawing needs to be purposeful in developing your first idea, which is your end goal. 05. All about reality Try putting two oranges in a stocking, and see what happens as you twist and bend it The way in which your drawing communicates a sense of physical reality is key to your figure having a sense of life. The first exercise in studying animation is the bouncing ball, and the primary elements of how the ball changes shape on hitting the ground and regains its shape in rebounding. Squash and stretch are fundamental drawing terms. I first heard these in discussions of the works of Michelangelo and Pontormo. Look at the Belvedere torso, copied by artists since Roman times. Note how I'm applying this basic concept to the simple forms of the figure. 06. Use the cylinder This approach also works for anything that's moving forward or backward When we drew the simple cross-contours back in step 02, each showed a section of a cylinder. Like the sphere, the cylinder becomes our next basic tool for figure drawing, and a building block for anatomical information. Where you place the ends of the cylinders and how you draw the ellipse are the main considerations in showing direction and foreshortening. The cylinder becomes part of a visual structure that we build anatomical structure on. 07. Symmetry awareness Don't get hung up on using boxes. They help, but aren't essential Pose analysis is key when drawing from a model. So far I've been building on an idea in my head, but when you're drawing from a model it's not often clear what the action is. Our next drawing tool is the box, which works to both clarify our understanding of the live model and our conceptual intent. This is because it introduces critical anatomical landmarks that show us symmetry – a key element in revealing action. 08. Make it move Make the pose yourself to feel the action At this point in the figure drawing, we get a merging of fundamental construction and anatomy in action. All the muscles are connected at two points; some at more. How the basic underlying structure moves and interacts affects the surface anatomy. So now is the perfect time to focus on not only the muscles, but the fabric of skin and fat on top of the muscles, and their interaction. Remember that everything goes over, around, compresses and stretches. 09. Keep the movement Feel the pencil as it goes over the form. Focus on the total, not the parts It's important to focus on how our original gesture sketch is applied in the development and rendering of the anatomy. We're drawing figures in action, not anatomy book illustrations. Each of the lines leading through the figure are transitions from one point to the next. Using these lines as guides, you can compose the anatomy to communicate the action. 10. Use the tone The rendering in a 3D computer model with the lights not set is the same as the modelling tone in a drawing Your first tonal rendering tool is the modelling tone. Push the sides back, and what faces you is in light. As the form turns away it goes into tone. The tones move the eye in the same way that lines do. They have to direct and describe the form. Don't copy tones, but use them to describe form. 11. Bring it to life The figure should look like it's in action – about to speak, turn, or just be in the process of doing something A major element in figure drawing that's often overlooked is the subjective content of the subject. In this example, notice how the look of the eyes and expression change the feeling of the drawing. Make the action and body language obvious, or no one will understand your intentions for the piece. 12. Use the photo, don't copy it When working from photographs, it's important to keep in mind that a copy of a figure in action doesn't mean the drawing will show action. You must create it. As I tell my students: we never copy; we analyse and construct. Compose the anatomy to show the action. This article originally appeared in ImagineFX issue 144; buy it here! Related articles: How to draw a face How to draw basic shapes How to draw people, animals and landscapes View the full article

Animation is eye-catching, attention-grabbing – and can be complicated to create. Usually making animated graphics takes a lot of work, but you can get professional quality work in minutes with the HTML5-based Animatron Studio Pro. Get a lifetime membership to the service for just $49.99 (approximately £36). Stimulating your audience with animation has never been easier. Use Animatron Studio Pro’s easy-to-master drag and drop system to get the look and style that you’re after. There’s no need for coding or complications, this tool uses a "what you see is what you get" editor that show you exactly how your final product will look. It’s simple, straightforward, and will provide your websites and mobile apps with an unmatched style. The lifetime membership to the powerful and extremely handy Animatron Studio Pro usually retails for $1,000. You can get it right now for just $49.99 (approx. £36). That's a saving of 95 per cent off the retail price – which is a huge saving for a must-have tool for any aspiring animator, so grab this deal today. Related articles: 8 ways to shine as an animator Learn to animate for kids The 27 greatest animated music videos View the full article

There’s nothing quite like some beautiful imagery to make your design portfolio come alive. But taking a good photo is more than just a simple ‘point and shoot’ exercise. If your photography skills are in need of a boost, you’re in luck. Our award-winning sister magazine Digital Camera has everything you need to start taking photos like a pro in no time. And if you subscribe today, you’ll get a full version of DxO OpticsPro 11 Essential – worth £99. Subscribe now to get your free software DxO OpticsPro 11 Essential is a powerful piece of photo editing software that lets you edit Raw and JPEG files, and is suitable for both Windows and Mac users. The program is being given away to every reader of Digital Camera in the issue that goes on sale in May. To make sure you don't miss out on this (and all the other gifts that come with the magazine every month) just subscribe by April 11 – and you’ll get your copy of DxO OpticsPro 11 Essential, for free, with the first issue that comes through the post. The best cameras for creatives in 2018 The software features all the exposure, dynamic range and colour controls that you would expect – but also includes built-in noise and distortion correction tools that will help optimise your images. And for high-contrast scenes, take advantage of the Smart Lighting feature to subtly boost detail in the shadow areas of your landscapes or portraits. Subscribe to Digital Camera today and get DxO's Optics Pro 11 for free! This advanced photo editing software has been designed specifically to give your creativity free rein. So don't miss out on this great offer – subscribe today. View the full article

App design is an exercise in brutally simple, user-centred design. The sweet spot is an interface that's as beautiful as it is functional. It should be intuitive to navigate, quick to load, but also incorporate little touches that make it unique and memorable. Thanks to the flat design revolution, and the prevalence of the pared-back aesthetic favoured by the likes of Apple and Google, many apps run the risk of looking similar. To some extent this is a positive thing, as users instinctively know how certain functions work. But it puts even more pressure on visual elements such as illustration or photography to help define the look and feel of the app. Read on for six expert tips on how to use images more effectively in app design... 01. Optimise photography for HD screens This app for Dollar Shave Club features a simple, very photography-led interface High-resolution screens are the norm now with most smartphones, which sets a bar of quality for the images you choose to use - particularly if you're using photography. For the iPhone X, you're working with a huge resolution of 1125 x 2436 pixels. Pixellation and fuzziness will look unprofessional, but fortunately these are easy to avoid if you source some decent-quality assets. Always bear loading time in mind, however – people expect things to load in a few seconds – so don't overdo it. Make every image count. Of course, sometimes it's inevitable that certain functions will take longer than that. That's where you need to think a bit more creatively, to make the wait more pleasant for the user – a loading spinner or progress bar is better than a blank or static screen. Another option is a 'skeleton screen' that loads information a piece at a time. 02. Make savvy use of animation Productivity app Doo uses functional animations to signify transitions, and quirky illustration adds personality Even the most subtle hint of animation can add charm and personality to your app, whether it's as simple as a functional transition, or something more character or story-driven that can surprise and delight the user. From a functional standpoint, animation can help people comprehend a state change in the app – what triggered it, the effect it's had, and how to initiate it again if necessary. It can also guide a user's attention to a particular point of the screen. Certain functional animations have in-built associations. For instance, if an element vanishes, the implication is that it's been removed entirely. A transition whereby it slides off to the side implies that it's simply hidden, and can be returned to later. The second type is known as 'delightful animation'. This adds warmth to your app, and makes it feel more human. It could incorporate anything from a playful treatment of a loading screen or progress bar, to tutorials about app features. 03. Pare everything back to basics This Chipotle Mexican Grill app combines a mouthwatering hero shot with a clear, simple call to action: 'Order now' One of the most universal rules of app design is to cut the clutter. You're working with a relatively tiny screen, and the more buttons, options and functions that are present on the screen at one time, the less intuitive the experience will be. Keep interface elements to a minimum, and only present the user with what they need to know. People want to perform tasks as quickly and efficiently as possible, ideally in a couple of taps, without scrolling through endless screens or inputting lots of data into complex forms. 04. Make all interface elements consistent A blue-green palette, rounded edges and stylised illustration all help give this Xfinity xFi app a coherent look and feel Consistency is also crucial, both in terms of visuals and functionality. A distinctive, coherent look and feel – even if the elements that define it are relatively subtle – helps users feel familiar and comfortable in the app, and ultimately make it easier and more intuitive to navigate. From a visual perspective, this includes structural elements such as colours, typefaces, buttons and labels. But also the use of illustration or photography: the style chosen, its role in the interface, and how frequently it appears. External consistency is important too. Where possible, an app should complement the look, feel and functionality of a brand's website – albeit simplified. Shared characteristics not only help avoid confusion, but also build brand recognition. 05. Design buttons with touch in mind Google's WazeRider app features large buttons and calls to action, with plenty of room to breathe between elements Another golden rule of app design is to design for touch screens, and particularly fingertips. Apple's guidelines state that buttons should be at least 44 x 44 pixels, but treat that as a minimum – if a buffer of an extra few pixels prevents the frustration of tapping the wrong thing, it's worth making room. Also bear in mind the space between interface elements, particularly buttons and other functional, interactive parts of the design. Even if your buttons are a decent size, if they're bunched too close together it can make accidental tapping more likely, which can annoy users and make them more likely to abandon the app. Different screen sizes are also a factor, particularly as high-end smartphones get larger. Held with one hand, certain areas of a larger screen are more challenging to reach than others, and may require stretching or even a readjusted grip. Frequent interactions and key navigation elements should be comfortable to reach, while more risky options such as delete and erase – which users will want to avoid triggering by accident – make more sense to be placed slightly out of reach. 06. Create hierarchy with size and colour Thanks to its large text and punchy colour, the monthly income figure in Clarity Money is the most prominent element Aside from games, the majority of mobile apps are essentially lists of some form or another – lists of options; functions; things to do, watch or play. As an app designer, part of your role is to make that framework more interesting, and easier to navigate. Even in a simple, pared-back interface with minimal design elements in play, it's important to establish a strong hierarchy to steer users towards the most important information, and make calls to action as clear as possible. Size is one solution: the largest element on the page should, usually, also be the most important. But colour can be very effective too. If presented with a list of menu options graded from black to light grey, people will assume the darker colour is more important and gravitate towards that. There are certain associations to bear in mind, too – particularly the colours red and green. A 'confirm' button in red next to a 'cancel' button in green will confound users' expectations and confuse them. According to W3C's accessibility guidelines, however, colour should never be the only signifier: text labels, or icons such as ticks or crosses, all help make your design accessible. Related articles: How to use images more effectively in digital ad campaigns 7 innovative ways to photograph your portfolio 5 brands so strong they don't need a logo View the full article

Last year during a user testing session for the BBC News app, one of the users made a comment that has really stuck with me. They declared: “I like to flow”. I don’t think there’s a better summary of what performance means to our users. On a fast app or website, the user can flow around, interact and engage with the content. Flowing experiences are good for site owners too. A fast-flowing experience helps users achieve their goals and in turn we achieve our organisations’ goals. Amazon and others have demonstrated the strong link between performance and user activity: as the wait for pages goes down, the amount of time and money the user spends goes up. Cut the distance with a cache Caches are created when a small amount of something is stored closer to where it is needed, normally to prevent rework. For example, if I am eating Skittles, I tend to pour a few into my hand and then eat from there. In effect, I am creating a cache of Skittles in my hand as it’s quicker to eat them that way than going back to the packet. This same pattern is used in technology. There are three caches we have to consider: Server caches: Cached data on the server, such as the results of database queries 
Network caches: Caches built into the network, sometimes by the site operator (known as a reverse proxy cache), but more often by ISPs or other networking providers 
Browser cache: The browser stores files on the user’s hard drive for reuse by the user Caching can make for a huge performance improvement; at the BBC I have seen caching increase performance more than 20 times in production code. It is beneficial for site operators too. With caching, more users can be supported by the same hardware. This reduces the cost in hardware per user and therefore reduces website operating costs. Design with the cache in mind For it to be effective, we want to use cached data as much as possible. To extend the Skittles analogy, if I want a blue Skittle but I don’t have any blue Skittles in my hand (aka my cache), I will have to go back to the packet. This is known as the ‘hit rate’. It’s a ‘hit’ when the item is in the cache and a ‘miss’ when it’s not. We want a high hit rate so the cache takes most of the load. One of the simplest methods to increase hit rate is to reduce variation. Stretching my Skittles analogy a bit, imagine if all Skittles were red. That way, any Skittle in my hand would be a cache hit; I would never need to go back to the packet. Applying this to the web, if we can give the same page to as many users as possible, the cache becomes more effective as more requests will hit the cache. Cache HTML for a short time The News homepage uses a 30-second max-age cache header to get content in front of users quickly without too much load So that’s the theory. Let’s get practical. Let’s start by looking at caching the request for the HTML. Caching of all file types is controlled using HTTP headers. The headers are meta data (data about data) sent from the server to the browser and visible to all the network hardware in-between. To tell the world it has permission to cache our pages and to share that cache between users, we set the following header: Here, we have also set a time limit: the maximum amount of time the cache should reuse this page for, in seconds. For this example, I have set it to 30 seconds. By setting the page to ‘public’, the user’s browser (and any hardware along the way) will keep a copy. So the first page load will make a request, but all page loads after that will reuse the original response, until the time limit is reached. The effect of network hardware along the way can be profound. Many large networks (such as ISPs) will have a cache shared between users. Mobile operators also use this technique heavily – for example, to cache and recompress images served over 3G. Site operators can also place an HTTP cache in front of their service. This is what we have done at the BBC. Cache static assets for ages BBC iPlayer stores static assets for a year – alterations to the URL ensures users see new versions promptly A technique we use a lot at the BBC is to treat static assets (like images, CSS and scripts) differently to how we treat pages. Caching HTML pages for too long can result in users missing content updates but we can take advantage of this behaviour when it comes to static assets. At the BBC we send all static assets with a maximum age of 31,536,000 seconds set in the cache header. This ensures the assets are cached for 365 days. In effect, assets are only requested once. This is good for performance but bad for flexibility as changes to that asset will take a long time to get to the user. In order to work around this, every time we release a new version of a page, we change the URL where the assets are kept. This trick means that new changes are put in front of users immediately but we still get the same performance benefits. Final words Caching in order to enhance website performance will in turn lower operating costs for our websites and preserve our users’ flow, leading to a great user experience. This article was originally published in issue 279 of net, the world's best-selling magazine for web designers and developers. Buy issue 279 or subscribe to net. Want to learn other ways to give your sites a speed boost? Jason Lengstorf is giving his workshop Modern Front-End Performance Strategies and Techniques at Generate New York from 25 27 April 2018 Jason Lengstorf is a developer, designer, author and friendly bear. His focus is on the efficiency and performance of people, teams and software. At IBM, he creates processes and systems to Make The Right Thing The Easy Thing™. At all other times, he wanders the earth in search of new and better snacks. In his workshop Modern Front-End Performance Strategies and Techniques at Generate New York from 25-27 April 2018, Jason will be showing attendees how to improve perceived load times – how long it feels like it takes to load a page – as well as actual load times, using only front-end techniques including: The skeleton loading pattern Better loading for static assets Lazy loading Service workers Better build processes and more! Generate New York takes place from 25-27 April 2018. Get your ticket now. Related articles: 4 tips to improve your page’s performance 7 expert tips for nailing web performance 3 simple ways to speed up your website View the full article