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The Harry Potter franchise continues to rumble on with the upcoming release of the second film in the Fantastic Beasts series. To build up anticipation for the latest instalment, called Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Pottermore revealed the film's logo and release date yesterday. We've already seen this year how film logos can contain little hints and suggestions about what to expect from the story. Just look at the logo for Ready Player One, which snuck in a subtle maze and Easter egg image that ties into the events of the film. Speaking of the Ready Player one logo, the Crimes of Grindelwald logo was designed by the same person – Pentagram's very own Emily Oberman. The logo for The Crimes of Grindelwald doesn't contain anything quite as literal as a maze, but the torn up typography does suggest that the film is set to get a little more dark in tone. In fact, the film's synopsis reveals that we will see more of the Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald, so it looks like the wizarding world itself is about to get ripped apart. Following its reveal on social media, fans have gone into meltdown, trying to dig into the messages in the gritty typography design. Does the design of the letter "i" in "Crimes" relate to the powerful elder wand? And why is the letter "a" in "Grindelwald" shaped like a triangle? Could it be a reference to the Deathly Hallows symbol? A short promotional video of the leading cast members accompanied the reveal of the title and logo. In this video, we see the Deathly Hallows symbol for a moment as it emerges from a smoky vortex. What could it all mean? Unfortunately the only way we'll find out is by watching the film, which will be released on 16 November 2018, so we've got a while to wait yet. Related articles: The top 10 big-brand logos The psychology of logo shapes: A designer's guide The 10 best cursive logos of all time View the full article

TypeScript is one of a group of languages that use the JavaScript runtime as execution environment: .ts files containing TypeScript code are compiled into normal JavaScript, which can then be run by the browser. Jeremy Ashkenas first made this concept popular with his CoffeeScript language, but sadly, its relatively terse syntax was difficult to learn for developers acquainted with C# or Visual Basic. As Microsoft expanded into Web 2.0 technologies, it chose to take inspiration from Jeremy Ashkenas. Due to the capabilities of Visual Studio, developers can simply hack away while profiting from the various language extensions. TypeScript is not limited to static typing: it also comes with a variety of advanced features that allow you to simulate object-oriented programming paradigms on the web. This short guide will take you through some of its key features. If the language appeals to you, more information can be learned on the fly. 01. Install Visual Studio Visual Studio 2017 comes with a new installer; the required features are split into payloads to make deployment easier Even though TypeScript can also be used on Linux or macOS, we will stick to Microsoft’s official IDE. Download the free community edition of Visual Studio 2017 from Microsoft, here, and make sure to mark the ASP.NET payload during deployment. 02. Add the SDK Due to the fast release cadence of TypeScript, Visual Studio needs to be expanded with an SDK module, which can be downloaded from the Microsoft site here. Simply run the installer as if it were a standard Windows application. 03. Download TypeScript, for real It wouldn't be Microsoft if there weren’t some extra hassle involved: while the SDK upgrades your Visual Studio installation, the actual TSC compiler is not added to your command line. This problem is best solved by using Node.js’s npm package manager on the command line. PS C:\Users\tamha\Downloads> npm install -g typescript C:\Users\tamha\AppData\Roaming\npm\tsc -> C:\Users\tamha\AppData\Roaming\npm\node_modules\typescript\bin\tsc C:\Users\tamha\AppData\Roaming\npm\tsserver -> C:\Users\tamha\AppData\Roaming\npm\node_modules\typescript\bin\tsserver C:\Users\tamha\AppData\Roaming\npm `-- typescript@2.4.2 04. Break out of the project Visual Studio expects to work in a solution-centric process: while interesting, this is less than ideal for our needs. Instead, create a file called worker.ts and place it in a convenient place in your file system. Open it by dragging it into Visual Studio, and drop it inside the toolbar on the top. Next, modify its contents to include the following code: 05. Create an entry point As mentioned in the introduction, a .ts file can not do much on its own. Due to that, proceed to creating a file called index.html, which must be located in the same folder. Next, add the skeleton code shown accompanying this step. It loads the compiler’s output, and runs it as if it were any other bit of JavaScript. 06. Compile and run The next step involves manual recompilation of the .ts file. Open PowerShell, and enter the tsc command followed by the name of the input file. By default, the output file will share the base filename, but will have an extension of .js instead of .ts. Finally, open the index.html file in a browser of choice to prove the appearance of the message box. 07. Get typed Use this reference table to find basic static types So far, TypeScript has done little more than act as a more complex JavaScript environment. The next step involves activating the support for static typing: it enables the compiler to perform static analysis of parameters, keeping out invalid values. For this, a set of types is needed – basic types are listed in the table above, while classes will be discussed later. 08. Try it out In normal JavaScript, this error would be found only when the line in question gets invoked TypeScript variable type assignments take place via ‘a :’ placed after the variable name. Let us modify our Oi function to take a number, and let us pass in a string instead. Finally, invoke the TSC compiler once again to feast your eyes on the error message shown in the screenshot above – Visual Studio, incidentally, will also highlight the line in question. 09. Avoid the prototype JavaScript implements object-orientation via prototyping: a style of code which is uncommon in the .NET and C/C++ worlds. TypeScript solves this problem by allowing the creation of classes – a process shown in the snippet accompanying this step. 10. Appreciate the public The holding values created by setting the public attribute get populated automatically Normally, the public attribute is used to declare that an element of a program is to be accessible from the outside. When used as a constructor parameter, it instead instructs the TypeScript compiler to create local fields with the same names. 11. Method and instance Let us expand our example class by providing it with a method which accesses the values stored in myResult and myA, and outputs them on the screen. Finally, the new parameter is used to create an instance of the class – it is used for invoking the method. 12. Use its magical features TypeScript’s language design is intended to save developers as much effort as possible. One nice feature is the auto-population of parameters created using the shortcut shown. 13. Perform inheritance Our small example program proves that TypeScript satisfies the core tenets of object inheritance One of the core tenets of object-oriented programming involves basing classes on top of one another. Derived classes can then override the contents of their base class, leading to flexibly adjustable class hierarchies. 14. Analyse the overwrite The code snippet from above extended the Imagine class with a sub-element called Future. Future differs from Imagine in that its saySomething method, being more evolved, emits a message into the command line of the browser. 15. Analyse the overwrite, redux With that, the actual code can be tested. When run, the browser console will contain two invocations of Future – the advanced class keeps its properties even when invoked as an Imagine object. 16. Restricted access Exposing member variables with the public modifier is unpopular: it, after all, takes away most control of what users do with the variable's contents. TypeScript accessors allow you to work around this problem in a fashion similar to traditional OOP. Be aware that read-only members are also supported, but that the use of this feature requires the activation of ECMAScript5 support. 17. Make it abstract The ability to create complex inheritance hierarchies will motivate developers to try their luck at abstract classes. TypeScript also has you covered in that regard – the example accompanying this step creates a class with an abstract and a real member. Trying to instantiate the abstract class directly leads to a compiler error. 18. Make an interface As object structures become more complex, developers often find themselves facing situations where one class implements multiple bits of logic. In that case, an interface makes for a nice workaround – the example shows what to expect. 19. Implement it As in the case of the class above, an interface does us no good if we cannot use it. Fortunately, implementing it is not particularly difficult: be aware that interface authors can, furthermore, declare parts of their creation to be optional. 20. Use a generic class The TypeScript compiler enforces strict variable validity checking. When working on a storage class, generics allow you to let the end user determine the type to be handled. Furthermore, TypeScript also allows other generic elements such as functions, as is shown in the (tautological) snippet taken from the documentation. 21. A question of enumeration State machines and similar elements benefit greatly from having a way to restrict a variable to storing a few well-defined states. This can be accomplished using the Enum data type: 22. Learn more Covering a language as complex as TypeScript in a single article is almost impossible. Look at the TypeScript site's examples to find out more about language bindings. This article was originally published in issue 266 Web Designer, the creative web design magazine – offering expert tutorials, cutting-edge trends and free resources. Buy issue 266 here or subscribe to Web Designer here. Related articles: 20 JavaScript tools to blow your mind Learn to make your JavaScript accessible 12 common JavaScript questions answered View the full article

If you've seen our Black Friday 2017 and Cyber Monday 2017 early deals pages, you'll know we're working hard to bring designers, illustrators and artists the best bargains on creative tools this November. And here's another one on a game-changing Photoshop CC and Lightroom CC course bundle. Adobe has set the gold standard for photo editing and so much more with Photoshop. You can take your work to the next level by learning from the experts to use this powerful tool from Adobe with the Complete Photoshop Mastery Bundle. You can get this collection of courses on sale now for $29 (approx £22). As we also have an exclusive 15% discount on Creative Cloud subscriptions until 27 November, now is the time to get into Photoshop, Lightroom and Adobe's other great programs. Get your 15% discount on Adobe Creative Cloud herePhotoshop is a powerful program that can seem overwhelming when you're first learning it. This bundle will take away your fears by teaching you the ins and outs of the app so that you can master every aspect of it. You'll get access to eight courses packed with 214 lessons, each with actionable information that will teach you how to master lighting effects, create cinematic gradients, colour black and white photos and much more. The Adobe Photoshop and Editing Mastery Bundle is valued at $1,210. You can get it on sale right now for 97% off the retail price. That's an amazing saving on a course bundle that can help all creatives, so grab it today. The courses included in the bundle are: Master Photoshop Light Effects & Style Your Images Design a Unique Bookstore-Quality Photo Book with Blurb Fine Art Compositing with Photoshop CC Lightroom CC Crash Course Amber & Teal: Cinematic Color Grading in Photoshop Master the Art of Coloring Black and White Photographs Photoshop CC: Digital Art Pro Techniques Portrait Photography Masterclass About Creative Bloq deals This great deal comes courtesy of the Creative Bloq Deals store – a creative marketplace that's dedicated to ensuring you save money on the items that improve your design life. We all like a special offer or two, particularly with creative tools and design assets often being eye-wateringly expensive. That's why the Creative Bloq Deals store is committed to bringing you useful deals, freebies and giveaways on design assets (logos, templates, icons, fonts, vectors and more), tutorials, e-learning, inspirational items, hardware and more. Every day of the working week we feature a new offer, freebie or contest – if you miss one, you can easily find past deals posts on the Deals Staff author page or Offer tag page. Plus, you can get in touch with any feedback at: deals@creativebloq.com. Related articles: How fan art can get you paid The 60 best free Photoshop brushes Get 15% off Adobe Creative Cloud with our exclusive deal View the full article

Whenever you see a comic book hero flying through space or crashing through a wall, chances are they're a digital double of a real actor expertly crafted by a visual effects studio. But how is an actor's likeness captured with such absolute photorealism? These days that's often the domain of 3D scanning providers, which rely on portable – and often custom – photogrammetry rigs that they can bring right onto the set. That way they can whisk actors in and out of the scanning process and generate a CG model of their face and body as fast as possible, helping to save the film studio a lot of expensive production time. One company in the 3D scanning services fold is Pixel Light Effects, based in Vancouver, Canada. Using its mobile photogrammetry setup, the studio recently scanned principal actors and extras on location in British Columbia for Matt Reeves' War for the Planet of the Apes, creating detailed CG models to give to Weta Digital for the subsequent digital double work. We asked Pixel Light Effects, which also has a presence in Beijing, how it tackles a typical actor photogrammetry scan – from the capture process right through to producing a useable high-resolution CG model. The basis of a 3D actor scan Pixel Light Effects uses both Agisoft PhotoScan and RealityCapture, seen here, to resolve models from its photogrammetry capture process Over the years, several methods have been used to accurately capture the essence of an actor in CG. These include laser scans, specialised 'light stage' contraptions, and now most commonly, photogrammetry. This process essentially involves taking hundreds of photographs of the actor from multiple angles. The photos are fed into computer software, which then sets about comparing the images and using them to build a 3D model. Photogrammetry is considered an efficient method of capture because it is quick, especially in a camera rig that has many cameras at many angles taking all the pictures at the same time. Indeed, that's what Pixel Light Effects uses, and further mobilises the scan by having it take place in the back of a truck that has the photogrammetry rig permanently installed inside. The truck can be driven directly to the set where the actors are, or to just about any other location. "Mobility is the biggest issue with a rig consisting of hundreds of cameras," says Pixel Light Effects' CEO, Jingyi Zhang. "Taking them apart and putting them back together is very time-consuming and labour intensive. It just doesn't feel right. However, due to the tight schedule of the production, sometimes it's just impossible to have the talent come to us. Being able to perform the service on set is essential." What's in the truck? Pixel Light Effects' mobile 3D scanning van is a modified Mercedes-Benz SprinterPixel Light Effects' photogrammetry rig, contained in a modified Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van, is made up of 144 Canon DSLR cameras. These are all synchronised using a proprietary 'Camera Hub' device, which supplies power and triggers 16 cameras at once. "It's designed to be daisy-chained together, so we use multiple devices to trigger the larger array," explains Zhang. Lighting is an essential part of the photogrammetry rig. For this, multiple flashes and bounce light ensure that there is enough depth of field in the resulting images, and that the actor is lit evenly. The van interior is also decked out in white and the environment is calibrated so that it is as diffuse as possible. The photogrammetry camera array inside the Pixel Light Effects van is made up of 144 Canon DSLR cameras The camera positions inside the rig were R&D'd by Pixel Light Effects for several months before an optimal layout was reached. "Everyone who does photogrammetry knows you just can't have enough cameras," notes Zhang. "You always want more. Having a constrained budget and space means we must have just enough coverage at every angle." Inside a scanning session Raw photographs of subject Sam Yunussov, posing as a Russian paramilitary member, from one of the 144 cameras taken during the photogrammetry scanWhen an actor comes into the truck for a scan, Pixel Light Effects typically has just two technicians running the scanning session. First they will ask the actor and on-set supervisors if it is okay for the actor to wear a hair net. "This gives a more accurate skull shape, which will be helpful down in the pipeline," explains Zhang. However, it may be crucial for an actor to retain their exact wardrobe, such as a helmet or a faux hairpiece. For a full-body scan, the actor will be instructed to make an A-pose, with their elbows and knees slightly bent for rigging purposes. The actor's face is typically posed in a neutral way and then aligned with extra witness cameras. The actual capture is like taking a photo, again highlighting the benefits of a photogrammetry rig. "The capture itself is as fast as taking a photo at 1/1000th of a second," says Zhang. "All the cameras are synchronised, which means we can scan animals – who of course don't stay still – as long as they fit in the capture volume." Scan and deliver The resulting photographs are simply raw images, but they are managed by Pixel Light Effects and ingested into photogrammetry software, typically Agisoft PhotoScan or RealityCapture. It is in here that a CG model is produced, essentially via the push of one button. However, the company does also perform clean-up of the resulting model in ZBrush and Maya to generate a shaded or textured form. This tends to involve patching any holes of missed details and removing surface noise. Pixel Light Effects will provide a client – such as a visual effects studio or the film production – with an OBJ model, JPG textures, FBX files, the raw images, a colour chart for grading, and the PhotoScan or RealityCapture project file for re-projecting textures (since photogrammetry is photography-based, the scans 'automatically' come with high-resolution textures, and these can help create additional fine detail). The textured head of the scanning subjectAlthough the company is relatively new to 3D scanning, it is already busy on productions in both Canada and China. One recent addition to Pixel Light Effects' truck came from a suggestion it received after demonstrating the vehicle to members of the Vancouver visual effects community. "Improvements were made [as a result of] a 'roadshow' we had," remembers Zhang, "where we added live view cameras and monitors, so that the VFX supervisor could communicate with the talent from back of the truck, while the talent was being scanned." For as long as an audience demands movies that defy reality, you can rest assured that somewhere there will be a truck full of cameras, busy scanning an actor's features to transform them into something incredible. This article was originally published in issue 227 of 3D World, the world's best-selling magazine for CG artists – packed with expert tutorials, inspiration and reviews. Buy issue 227 here or subscribe to 3D World here. Related articles: Learn how to model a 3D portrait in ZBrush and Maya The 10 biggest 3D movies of 2017 How VR is revolutionising the creation of 3D art View the full article

We all like to think we’re immune to trends. And it’s certainly true that we shouldn’t follow them blindly. By and large, clients are looking for original and inventive solutions, not me-too copyists. But neither can design agencies exist in a bubble. Much as we’d like to ignore the maelstrom of social, political, technological and economic change swirling around us, we need to constantly understand and adjust our offerings to it. In the evolution of a business, just as in biological evolution, in the long term it’s very much a case of adapt and die. We canvassed UK agency leaders on what they see as the emerging trends that will most affect us in 2018. Many of these, of course, will be long-term trends you’ll have heard about already. But that’s certainly not a reason to ignore them; quite the reverse in fact... 01. Better gender representation magnetic North’s work for BFI reveals shocking statistics around a lack of representation of women across the movie industry From the BBC's gender pay gap revelations and the Harvey Weinstein and Uber scandals, gender issues have been in the forefront of the news. And Lou Cordwell, founder of magnetic North, believes that UK agencies are by no means immune. “In the media and creative industries, we’re at the centre of a new paradigmatic shift, where inequality and abuses of power are no longer being tolerated,” she argues. And it’s not just about changing attitudes, but taking practical action. “As a female-led design company, we have always been passionate about championing diversity,” says Cordwell. “And in 2017 we’ve channelled it into collaborative projects, including the recent launch of the BFI Filmography, which for the first time has revealed a number of shocking statistics around a lack of representation of women across the film industry. “This has been underpinned by my own personal work providing female entrepreneurs with access to funding, information and networks through my role as director of the north for funding network AllBright. "It feels like we've reached a tipping point on gender and we're optimistic that 2018 will see a number of changes that will help to unlock the unique perspectives and talents of women from across the UK and around the world." 02. Planning for Brexit Graphic Thought Facility is one of many UK agencies with international clients and staff We’ve been talking about Brexit for so long that it sometimes seems it’s never actually going to happen. But last Friday, we passed a big milestone: on that date, it was just 500 days before the UK exits the European Union. And as we pass more and more of those milestones, it’s likely that agencies with clients in the EU, or staff who hail from those countries, will start getting more and more anxious about the future. Of course, no matter what happens politically, the industry will battle on and muddle through. But few are enthusiastic. “It's such a crazy own goal,” believes Huw Morgan, principal at Graphic Thought Facility. “Our client list is fairly international so I guess at the moment the upside for them is that we are less expensive than we were a couple of years ago. "But the obvious concern is staff: we have longstanding designers from France, Switzerland, Germany and Portugal and I’m delighted that, for now, they are still with us: pushed by neither fear nor law. Long-term, like everyone else including the politicians, while I can guess on the possibilities I have no idea of the reality. Of all things, I hope that Brexit still allows freedom of movement.” With uncertainty in the air, it’s reasonable to expect the number of agencies expanding or taking on new staff will be muted over the next 12 months. Meanwhile, at the employee level, we’ve heard from many EU designers working in the UK who are forming their exit plans, and British designers with continental ancestry applying for joint citizenship. To hear more about what UK agency leaders think about Brexit, read our article The Designer’s Guide to Brexit. 03. The rise of social video Short, funny and shareable video resonates with the youth audience In the last few years, agencies have been busily adapting to a big shift from traditional media to social media. In 2018, another big shift is set to continue and heighten: the importance of video to social media. Use of video on social channels is nothing new, of course. But the amount of video content people are viewing has been increasing year on year, and it’s a trend that looks likely to become ever-more important in 2018. Karl Goran, creative director at Flow, points to its work for BBC Three by way of example. “We’ve seen a huge increase in that period in the audience for the content and the reach of the videos – total views, likes and shares,” he reports. “The highest number of views for one video we produced in the summer of 2017 was 25 million views, with 255,000 likes and 337,000 shares, with estimated total reach of 79 million on Facebook alone. These are the kind of figures that would cost a fortune with paid sponsored content.” And this video wasn’t a beautifully crafted animation, he notes. “It was a satirical, ‘mash-up’ style video where we placed the heads of Premier League managers over the characters in the fight scene from the Anchorman movie. The key to its viral success was that it was short, funny, sharable, and resonated with the BBC Three youth audience.” The benefits of social video to brands are obvious, he believes. “They include increased online reach, organic growth of online following, and a great way to set a tone of voice for communicating with an audience. I’m sure 2018 will see a further increase of brands using a similar approach to social marketing: creating regular, short-form video content designed purely to entertain their followers and help to establish a tone of voice, and garner precious brand loyalty.” 04. The resurgence of the physical We’re falling back in love with physical things, like this white ceramic bottle for Glenfiddich For the most of the 2010s, trends articles have pointed to the decline of traditional media and a shift towards digital. But there are signs that in 2018, that may begin to reverse, or at least slow down a little. “With digital having been the great white hope of the ad and marketing industry for many years, I am seeing the resurgence of analogue creative,” says Gary Westlake, founding partner and creative director at Purple Creative. “This ranges from the news that books, vinyl and DVDs are all getting popular again, to the increase in campaigns that have real-world textural elements, to the growth of the craft of making.” And this is no accident, he believes. “We as a species want to see people making things and creating objects rather than a purely digital world,” he reasons. Skills like letterpress, pottery and ceramics – as seen in the latest Glenfiddich Winter Storm bottle – are all on the rise and this will feed into the advertising world too.” 05. More brands bringing design back in-house Pepsi’s ‘Black Lives Matter’ ad campaign was widely mocked Another trend that’s been ongoing for a while, and looks set to intensify further into 2018, is that of big brands bringing more design work in-house. Lucozade, Pepsi, Unilever, P&G, L’Oréal, BMW, Pernod Ricard, lastminute.com, Booking.com and Safestore are among the companies that have pursued this strategy in recent years, and the monetary savings are potentially huge – on paper at least. The real success of the strategy lies, of course, in the campaigns themselves, and debacles such as the widely mocked Pepsi/Black Lives Matter commercial give agencies a reason to argue that the third-party way is a better bet. For a detailed and nuanced look at this trend, check out Michael Litman’s recent opinion piece Creativity Needs Collaboration. 06. Greater emphasis on creativity Cannes Lions is paring back in 2018 and focusing more on creative campaigns “Cannes Lions was a bellweather for the industry – it hosted more technology and management consultants there than ever before, and the scope for the event was vast,” notes OneBite’s head of content, Mark Kember. “But for 2018, the event is paring back, and focusing on creative campaigns more and more.” He believes this points to a wider trend in the work of agencies; that they’re moving away from an obsession with data and measurement, and back to generating fresh and exciting ideas. “The emphasis for creative agencies has to move back towards really being creative around what clients want to achieve and how they get there,” he argues. “Data can show you where you came from and what worked, but it can’t provide true inspiration. Rather than data leading the way, this year’s seen the start of a swing back towards big ideas that could be executed over the right channels… not all of them.” And the rise of social media means new ideas are now needed more than ever. Ivan Korolev, insights director at Superimpose Studio, believes it’s leading to a seismic shift, with traditional ‘top-down’ campaigns led by brands and marketers looking increasingly dated. “The industry's relentless focus on newness, innovation and the ‘support’ – for which read: ‘appropriation’ – of youth culture is wearing paper-thin,” he argues. “Brands are not ‘platforms for collaboration’ nor are they agents ‘empowering creativity’; it is now strikingly crystal clear that audiences are the ones holding the power. “In the coming years, brands will no longer be able to push their versions of authenticity at people,” he concludes. “The whole process has to be reverse-engineered in order to allow real human connection, familiarity and purity of intent to be put back at the core of our creative process. Those who understand that will emerge as the new leaders in 2018.” 07. More focus on sustainability Rum brand Fitzroy is making labels from North Sea waste People are increasingly aware of how damaging plastic and excessive packaging is to the environment, but UK agencies are starting to make a positive contribution to solving the problem, believes Westlake. “I think one of the biggest trends this year is creatives, designers, scientists and environmentalists working together to co-create world-changing packaging through foraged and recycled materials,” he says. “In the drinks industry, for example, we’re seeing more and more brands creating sustainable packaging; such as the Navy Rum brand Fitzroy, which is turning waste from the North Sea into labelling with stunning globe-friendly results. “In 2018, I also think we’ll see a reduction in outer packaging and the use of more recycled paper and card. Glass in bottles will also get reduced, perhaps leading to more delicate and elegant solutions. "There’s also an encouraged increase in materials designed to stay in the home or on the bar rather than be thrown out – so as well as being good for the environment, they will become a memento or an object that stays in a customer’s life and continues to resonate with them.” 08. Small and supersized agencies These five agencies have all come together to become one There’s always been a range of agency sizes in the design industry. But lately we’ve seen a trend towards consolidation, leading to some supersize agencies. Most notable was the recent coming together of five WPP companies – Brand Union, The Partners, Lambie-Nairn, Addison Group and VBAT – to create one huge branding agency (as yet unnamed). “Our new company is incredibly exciting,” Greg Quinton, chief creative officer at The Partners, writes in the current issue of Computer Arts magazine. “We have a network of 750 people in 20 offices around the world, appealing to more clients because they’ll be able to engage with a wider array of specialists and a more connected set of services. "With the repercussions of Brexit and the threat of another recession, you need to be a flexible agency to change and adapt to clients’ needs more easily, and being bigger means you can do this without impacting the quality of work or designers’ time.” Of course, there’s also an equal and opposite trend of agencies that are happy to stay small, finding that these days it’s no longer a bar to winning big clients; as the likes of Johnson Banks, hat-trick, GBH, Rose and NB Studio have shown. Plus there are some agencies that do things differently – whether that be by operating as a flat hierarchy, working as a virtual consultancy collective or basing themselves outside the traditional UK agency heartland of London. So perhaps the really important trend for UK agencies for 2018 will be the idea that it no longer matters how big or small you are, or how you organise yourself. The big clients are fair game for everyone, and may the best pitch win. Related articles: 10 visual storytelling tips from top agencies 6 dos and don'ts for using images in agency projects The 17 best startup logos of 2017 View the full article

Photoshop brushes are a fantastic time-saver as they enable you to quickly create rich artwork without having to draw all the individual design elements. There's a huge spectrum of brushes available, ranging from leaf designs to fabric textures, and cloud patterns to typography. And while Photoshop CC does ship with a set of brushes pre-installed, they only scratch the surface of what's possible with the brush engine. Exclusive offer: Save 15% on Adobe Creative Cloud now So whether you're using CS3 or have joined Creative Cloud, grab the free Photoshop brush downloads below and start adding amazing design flourishes to your work. Painterly brushes 01. 25 watercolour brushes This set of 25 watercolour brushes is a great way to create natural-looking work in Photoshop; use them to better effect by combining them with a realistic paper texture. Limitations: none 02. Real markers These amazingly realistic marker brushes are completely freePerfect for fashion illustrations, industrial design and storyboarding, this set of 12 free brushes by Eilert Janßen enables you to create lively imagery that looks like it's been sketched out with marker pens. If you like what you see, Eilert sells a set of 300 marker brushes for just $9. Limitations: none 03. Ultimate Paint Make a mess with these hi-res paint splattersJonas Stoltz created this set of 30 Photoshop brushes in the best possible way: by simply splashing paint onto white boards and scanning the results in high resolution. The results are lovely and splattery – perfect for adding a bit of imperfection (or a full-on Jackson Pollock vibe) to your work. Limitations: none 04. Watercolour shapes and splatters Get that watercolour look with these free brushesIf you're going for a watercolour feel in your work then these shapes and splatters will help you get the look just right; just don't overdo them. Limitations: free for personal use; contact for commercial use 05. Dry brushes These dry brushes are great for rough, harsh texturesArtist Kirk Wallace created these brushes at home using ink and paper, and offers them to all for free. Perfect for rough, harsh textures, Wallace uses them in his own fruit prints. Limitations: none 06. Photoshop brush set For textured brush strokes, look no furtherThis cool set of Photoshop brushes was created by designer Matt Heath, who used an 8B Staedtler pencil and custom settings to give a natural feel and wide variety of textures. Limitations: none 07. Splashes of paint These splashes of paint have been vectored and modified in high-resolutionA collection of 30 big brushes, this set features spray paint patterns suitable for generating dirty backgrounds and textures. For use with Photoshop CS2 and above. Limitations: none 08. Doodle brushes There are 30 different doodle brushes in this free Photoshop setThis free brush pack features a collection of 30 random scribbles, suitable for projects such as greeting cards, web page headers and more. Limitations: none 09. Dry brush strokes This free pack of Photoshop brushes features 12 bristly dry brush strokesA set of 12 excellent brushes from Chris Spooner. These high-resolution dry brushes are fantastically detailed, bristly and texture-rich. Limitations: none 10. Technical brushes These brushes were made from old technical drawingsA beautiful set of 10 illustrative brushes in a technical-drawing theme, including wonderfully detailed cross-sectional designs. Limitations: none 11. Paint lines Details are no problem with this very high-res brush setThese 24 very hi-res brushes will provide a real-media feel to your design work. Some brushes look like paint tin marks, while others are thicker, providing lots of options within the pack. Limitations: none Natural brushes 12. Realistic charcoal brush All the great looks of charcoal, without the mess Charcoal's an essential part of any artist's toolkit, but it's undoubtedly the messiest as well. Get those soft charcoal lines - without getting charcoal all over your hands and everything else - with these excellent brushes. Limitations: none 13. Plant brushes These are ideal if you need a load of plants in a hurry If you need to quickly add some greenery to a project, this set of 23 high resolution plant brushes will let you do just that with the minimum of effort. Limitations: none 14. Lightning strikes Electrify your work with this collection of stunning lightning strikes. Tileable and available not only as Photoshop brushes but also as patterns and JPEG images, there are 18 to choose from in this set. Limitations: none 15. Nature silhouettes There are 19 free nature Photoshop brushes in this packThis is a really useful set of 19 different silhouettes, each featuring a different plant, ranging from trees to grasses. Limitations: none 16. Coffee stain brushes These coffee stain brushes have an abstract feel to themThese excellent brushes are intended to mimic coffee or tea drips, but would pass equally well for daubs of ink. These stain marks add a nice degree of life-wear to your images, instantly ageing them. Limitations: none 17. Vintage wooden brush Create stunning vintage wooden textures with this brush setThis simple brush offered by Creative Nerds brings a wonderful, rich flaking wood texture to your brush arsenal. Limitations: cannot be redistributed 18. Dust particle brushes This free dust particle Photoshop brush set is stunningA really useful set of dust particle brushes from WeGraphics that add instant dirt and richness. Limitations: cannot be redistributed 19. Grass and plant brushes Create realistic nature imagery with this free Photoshop brush set10 different brushes each featuring different grass and plant designs and ranging in size from 500px to 2500px. Limitations: attribution under some circumstances 20. Ornamental butterflies 2 There's a total of 35 brushes in this stylish setA beautiful set of butterflies and other plant-based ornamentation that can add a sophisticated touch to corners and borders. Limitations: none 21. Hair brushes set 1 These brushes don't work in PS7 or lowerGreat for providing touch-ups on model photography, this set of free brushes includes detailed textured hair in a variety of falling styles. Limitations: attribution necessary under some cirumstances 22. Tree borders brushes These brushes are perfect for treesA nice set of brushes that allow you to introduce tree and bush silhouettes to the edges of your composition. Limitations: non-commercial use only 23. GreenPack random brushes These free Photoshop brushes were inspired by the Whole Foods MarketFour green-themed brushes that are mainly worth the download for the excellent tree illustration that's included! Limitations: none 24. Water brushes vol. 2 These brushes are fantastic for all sorts of design projects, from brochures to Twitter backgrounds12 large brushes that include splashes, ripples and water drops. An excellent set for backgrounds as well as foreground design elements. Limitations: none 25. Five simple fabric brushes Add some natural surfacing to your workStraightforward fabric textures, great for backgrounds in both print and web designs as they're high resolution. Limitations: none 26. Floral swirls These swirls are compatible with Photoshop 7 and upUseful set of floral swirl brushes ideal for building up rich borders and textures in both print and web designs. Limitations: none 27. Fabric Textures These brushes were created from a collection of fabricsA useful selection of nine different fabrics that show off the weave and pattern of the material with a scratchy realism. 28. Hi-res clouds Add cosmic and nebulae elements to your designs with this brush setThis is a really useful set of 17 brushes, each of which features a different cloud design that can easily be used to add interest to your images Limitations: none 29. Cloud brushes There are 24 different cloud Photoshop brushes in this free packHere are 24 cloud brushes, at quite impressive sizes, all from artist by Mila Vasileva. "Mushroom cloud included." Limitations: none 30. Moon brushes There are 10 moon brushes in this setThis excellent set provides 10 different phases of the moon in brush format! Limitations: none 31. Leaf brushes These leaf brushes are stunningGreat for creating organic textured background, this set features seven isolated leaf images with intricate details and textures. Limitations: none 32. Fractal brushes 12 fractal brushes, all in different shapesAn excellent selection of fractal-based brushes that look futuristic – great for web design. Limitations: none 33. Feathers and birds These feather brushes are fantasticA total of 12 individual brushes, each of which includes a stand-alone piece of artwork ranging from detailed feather illustrations, to whimsical birds-on-a-branch. Limitations: attribution under some circumstances Next page: Grunge, sci-fi and fantasy brushes Grunge brushes 34. Distressed halftone brush strokes Get the best of both worlds with these brushes If you can't decide between a distressed brush stroke and a halftone brush stroke, why not have both? This set of 21 brushes is perfect for adding a vintage, worn or retro effect to your work. Limitations: none 35. Mixergraph Grunge Brushes Nail that 90s look with these rocking grunge brushesHandmade, digitised and individually edited by Marc Pallàs, this set of five grunge brushes will transform your illustrations and designs with a gloriously rough-and-ready look, making them seem like they're hot off the photocopier. Limitations: none 36. Gritty and grunge Roughen your typography and illustrations with this brush setSeven useful brushes that instantly add a grimy background to your work, featuring useful specks and splatters as well as areas of grit. Limitations: none 37. Speckle brushes Five toast brushes for your perusalThis superb set of five Photoshop brushes were made using a piece of toast. No, seriously. Limitations: none 38. Grimey brushes Add some grime to your designs with this free Photoshop brush setUseful for adding a bit of dirt to your images, this collection of five brushes from Mattox Shuler is understated but incredibly versatile. Limitations: none 39. Sponge party Create great sponge effects with this set of free Photoshop brushesSome beautiful textures make up this collection of eight high-quality brushes, including some excellent sponge brush marks, great for adding timbre to collage work. Limitations: none 40. Scorched and burned Create a scorched and burned effect with this brush setAnother great set of brushes from WeGraphics that feature realistic scorch and burn effects in 10 different designs. Limitations: cannot be redistributed 41. AP brushes: scar face Look no further for scars...Ideal if you want to introduce some scarring to portraits or simply generate beautifully textured background elements. Limitations: none 42. Grunge and smooth floral brushes You'll find some grunge floral brushes in this setA great set of mixed media brushes along a grunge and floral theme. Limitations: non-commercial use only 43. Antique postcards Use these six hi-res antique postcard Photoshop brushesThis wonderful collection of six antique postcard designs provides an excellent background for further design work. Each card brush features text and a delightful patina. Limitations: none 44. Spray splatter These 12 free Photoshop brushes are excellent for grunge and dirty effectsA lovely collection of 12 brushes covering up to 2500px each. This set features a range of spray patterns suitable for generating dirty backgrounds and textures, or highlighting typography. Limitations: none Sci-fi and fantasy brushes 45. Star brushes Add a twinkle with these free Photoshop star brushesHere are six high-resolution star brushes from artist Austin Pickrell. "Just have fun," says the artist. "I would love to see what people do with them... and if you make millions from your piece, I want a helicopter." Limitations: none 46. TC magic spells: moon These moon brushes are the result of a collaboration at Treehouse CharmsA quirky set of 21 brushes, each related to the overall moon theme, and featuring a mythological bias. Great for adding some whimsy, or accenting original illustrations. Limitations: none 47. Fairy tales brush set Quickly create fantasy backgrounds with this brush setA useful collection of fractal renders at up to 2500px, gathered together under the theme of fairy tales due to their other-worldly appearance. Limitations: none 48. Heads up display pack Get creative with these Heads Up Display Photoshop BrushesA set of 30 high-resolution brushes that provide all the elements of a HUD in the style of Iron Man. Includes brilliant details such as exploded diagrams and topographical renderings. Limitations: non-commercial only 49. Dynamic light special FX brushes Create stunning light special effects with these free Photoshop brushesCreate special lighting effects by using these brushes in combination with layer blending modes such as screen or vivid light. Limitations: none 50. Night sky brushes 13 large brushes represent the night sky in this setThis set of brushes includes 13 different night sky elements, including space dust, stars and moons. Limitations: none 51. Glitter and sparkles brushes Glittery swirls and individual sparkles are included in this packA nice and simple brush that adds a sprinkle of diffused light orbs to bring a Disney-esque magic sparkle to your work. Limitations: none 52. Starfield Four brushes from StarwaltDesignFour brushes, each at 2500px square, allowing you to quickly create detailed star patterns and celestial dust clouds. Limitations: personal use only; cannot be redistributed Next page: Special effect brushes 53. Skin brushes Create perfect looking skin with these brushesMarta Dahlig has been creating digital brushes for years now, and as she specialises in portraits, her set of skin brushes is an amazing boost to any digital artist's armory. Limitations: none 54. Fire brushes Niño Batitis relights the fire in PhotoshopDigital artist Niño Batitis has been very kind in releasing 13 high-quality Photoshop fire brushes for free. Perfect for your design projects, these will allow you to experiment with flames, characters and landscapes. Limitations: none 55. Bokeh brushes Use this collection of free Bokeh brushes for free in your next photo-editing projects and moreThe term Bokeh is of Japanese origin and refers to the appearance or feel of the out-of-focus areas of a photograph. Add this cool effect to your imagery with this free set of high quality Bokeh brushes Limitations: none 56. Photorealistic explosions Add fire to your photo manipulations with these explosion brushesA useful set of 16 explosion images, each saved as a standard image, but easily used as a brush. Perfect for compositing or adding impact to your designs. Limitations: none 57. Gradient shapes These gradient shape brushes are free for personal and commercial useA nice set of simple swishes that incorporate gradient colours to provide a modern, soft-edged finesse to any graphic design project. Limitations: none 58. 3D Halftone There are 16 brushes in this free setA really nice set of halftone images arranged in 3D with perspective to create interesting patterns that add depth to designs. Limitations: non-commercial use only 59. Funky paisley brushes There are both fancy brushes and some plain ones in this setA rich set of brushes each featuring a paisley design element. Also includes the original PNG files the designer used to create the brushes. Limitations: non-commercial use only 60. VectorPack brushes Create confident shapes with this free set of brushesA nice range of circular brushes that are clean and modern. Limitations: none Related articles: Review: Photoshop Elements 15 Colour in Photoshop: top tricks The 15 best free Photoshop Scripts View the full article

Oracle pushed out an emergency update for vulnerabilities dubbed 'JoltandBleed' affecting five of its products that rely on its proprietary Jolt protocol. View the full article

The White House released a charter document on Wednesday outlining how the U.S. government will disclose cyber security flaws and when it will keep them secret. View the full article

Most of us use interfaces every day; the apps on our smartphones, train departure boards, maps, chatbots and even the control panels on our microwaves. So every day, we see hundreds of words without really reading them – words like ‘OK’ and ‘Defrost’ and ‘I confirm that I am over 18 years of age’. We don’t think about the words in these interfaces much, but they can have a powerful effect on usability, particularly the first few times we use an interface, or when we’re trying to do something new. If we skip over them, it’s usually a sign that they are doing their job well – but it can take a great deal of effort to achieve this. Consider the opposite. A classic example of a badly worded interface would be a window that pops up on your computer when you try to cancel an action: ‘Are you sure you want to cancel?’, followed by ‘OK’ and ‘Cancel’ buttons. Does ‘Cancel’ cancel the action, or cancel the cancellation? It’s not clear. The words aren’t doing their job. On the other hand, ‘Yes, cancel’ and ‘Go back’ are pretty clear. Clarity is the main goal of an interface. But character is important too. When we worked with FreeStyleGames on the brand voice of Guitar Hero Live, the balance between accessibility and tone was critical. That’s why the game ended up with a ‘Song catalog’, rather than the more prosaic ‘Library’, or the more playful ‘Songbook’. For Heston Blumenthal’s chatbot, getting the ‘voice’ right was crucial New platforms are creating new kinds of interfaces. Consider chatbots and voice assistants, such as Amazon’s Alexa. With these conversational interfaces, you talk to them in natural language, which means they understand what you’re saying, and act appropriately. To write them well, you need to step into the mind of a user. Skype’s chatbot Heston Bot, which we worked on, opens with a big question: ‘What’s the one thing that stops people from experimenting in the kitchen?’ This feels open and engaging – but actually, the range of likely responses is relatively small. People might say ‘laziness’ or ‘takeaways’ or ‘too busy’ or ‘not enough money’ or ‘dunno’; they probably won’t say ‘a tyrannical government’ or ‘Boaty McBoatface’. Even if they do, Heston politely moves the conversation forward: ‘For me, the biggest barrier of all is fear.’ As interfaces become more complex, language – like design – will need to work harder. If you don’t notice the shift, then we’re probably getting it right. This article was originally published in issue 270 of Computer Arts, the global design magazine – helping you solve daily design challenges with insights, advice and inspiration. Buy issue 270 here or subscribe to Computer Arts here. Related articles: How to write a great headline 8 tips for designing voice interfaces 56 best free fonts for designers View the full article

Creating fan art is a popular way for artists to show their appreciation for a subject they love. You only have to glance at sites like DeviantArt or ArtStation to see plenty of inspiring tributes to pop culture icons. Reimagining famous characters is more than just a good way to keep your artistic skills sharp, though. It can also give your portfolio the leg up it needs to grab industry attention, as the Twitter hashtag #fanartgotmepaid shows. One of the main benefits of your fan art being noticed by a studio and big clients, besides the reassuring confirmation that what you’re creating is top of the range, is the prospect of being paid a handsome sum for your work. This also flies in the face of the idea that fan art is somehow worthless or something to be frowned upon – those hours hauled up in your studio working on Game of Thrones portraits won’t be seen as such a waste when the show’s producers commission you to create art for the premier of the next series. To defend fan art and explore what it can achieve, hundreds of artists and creative directors took to Twitter recently with the hashtag #fanartgotmepaid. Here we talk to some artists who have forged careers from their fan art, finding out how they gained success and sharing their fan art tips. Netflix commissions Banon Rudis' Demogorgon was inspired by 8-bit animations If you want to get noticed, honestly, do what is popular Bannon Rudis Bannon Rudis is one artist who joined in the hashtag. He found Netflix knocking on his door to create promotional art for the second series of Stranger Things after some fan art he posted on Twitter was shared by David Harbour, who plays police chief Jim Hopper in the show. “It kinda snowballed from that point and popped up on a bunch of different sites,” says Rudis. “Netflix's advertising partners got hold of me via Twitter about a year later.” Rudis was one of eight artists picked to represent an episode from the original series as part of an Instagram marketing campaign. He was lucky enough to be landed with episode six: The Monster. “I decided to make 8-bit animation shorts for them that looked like a potential real Stranger Things game, since all the characters and backgrounds were made like actual game assets,” explains Rudis. “There were three shorts in total and a couple of title cards.” Comic book covers Fellipe Martins' Marceline tribute comes from the Adventure Time episode Sky Witch While Rudis had to wait a while for Netflix to get in touch, Fellipe Martins had a much quicker turnaround when he posted his tribute to Adventure Time’s Marceline on Tumblr. “One day later after I posted it, [the show’s creator] Pendleton Ward shared it on his Cartoon Tumblr.” Martins is no stranger to his fan art doing the rounds. His first piece of digital painting back in college was a piece of Super Mario fan art that ended up being featured on the likes of Kotaku. “The fan art piled up with Links and Megamans, until I got my first job as a concept artist in 2007.” Jumping on the success of his Marceline illustration, Martins quickly got in contact with the editors from Boom! Studios, who are responsible for all the Cartoon Network licensed comics, including Adventure Time. “They saw the fan art, saw my portfolio at the time and I was offered to illustrate a few Adventure Time comic book covers, then Regular Show covers, then Steven Universe covers,” says Martins. “Eventually I illustrated my own Amazing World of Gumball comic book story. I believe I have a Bee & Puppycat script laying around here somewhere, too.” Game character art Claire Hummel's Disney princess fan art stood out thanks to her eye for historical detail One of the most exciting parts about putting fan art out there is watching it grow and attract an audience. This happened to Claire Hummel when she started posting her historical Disney princess series online back in early 2011. “I posted Belle in a 1770s version of her gold ball gown to all the usual venues (DeviantArt and Tumblr were probably my biggest communities at the time), and it immediately took off in a way I hadn’t seen before,” she explains. “As a result I expanded it into a series, and by the end of 2011 I had churned out about ten princess in their respective historical periods.” Then in May of 2012, Hummel got an email from Irrational Games studio out of the blue, asking if she’d be interested in doing character designs for BioShock Infinite. “They cited the historical princesses when we initially talked over the phone, saying that they specifically wanted to bring a more historical eye to the characters,” says Hummel. “I was a huge fan of the original BioShock, my boss at Xbox at the time gave me the go ahead to take on the freelance, so I said yes!” Disney posters Group work led to big projects for Dan Mumford There might have been a clear path between Hummel’s princess series and landing work on BioShock Infinite, but for Dan Mumford it hasn't been quite so clear cut. Instead, it was exhibiting his art in various group gallery shows that led to new projects and calls from clients who saw the work. His trajectory has never quite been a straight line, and he’s become used to waiting months between projects - but his technique did win big eventually. “My work with Gallery1988 led to me creating four posters for Disney and the release of Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens,” he recalls. “This has been the case with quite a few projects. Getting involved with big group shows at the more prominent pop culture galleries is a great way to get your work noticed. A lot of people are paying attention to those lineups and the work that gets created.” Back up fan art with substance Fan art with substance is a winning combination While fan art can be a useful hook to grab people’s attention, Hummel is keen to point out that what really makes artists stand out from the crowd is having their own distinctive creative flair. “I think it’s pretty rare that employers are looking for people to draw what they already have,” she reasons. “Fan art is a hook that can get the attention of employers, yes, but you still have to have a lot of substance to back it up,” she adds. “Part of that can be the content in the pieces themselves – in my case with the princesses and Irrational, that was appealing costume design and extensive research into historical fashion – but I still had a portfolio and resume beyond that series to support my case.” Fellipe Martins backed up his fan art with a strong portfolio to land work on the Adventure Time comic Martins agrees that while his Marceline fan art gave his freelance career the sparkle that it needed to lift off, without a strong portfolio to back it up, the art would just be a viral image. “You need a strong portfolio – and that's it,” he says. “Fan art drives the attention of a broader audience, which means that creators might see it as well. When luck knocks on your door - and it will - make sure you are ready. You can only be sure with a strong portfolio to make that first contact. You also need to practice to keep up with the demands. If you are serious about it, be ready.” Use social media Bannon Rudis took a month to complete his official Stranger Things art So, if you’ve got a killer portfolio that just needs to get seen, a juicy piece of fan art, shared smartly, can attract a lot of eyeballs. But how do artists set their fan art apart from the noise on social media? “If you want to get noticed, honestly, do what is popular,” says Rudis. “Look up popular hashtags to see if anything in that top ten that's trending is something you love. If so, hop on that train and get to drawing.” Drawing for the likes and retweets is all well and good, but Hummel warns against artists trying to make their break by sharing fan art via social media specifically. “A watched pot never boils and all that – so a watched fan art tweet never gets retweets, I guess. “I do, however, think that challenging yourself with how you approach fan art is a great way to make the process more satisfying, and to make the resulting art more unique and compelling. It’s a win/win!” Draw what excites you Good fan art is always going to get attention, according to Dan Mumford Mumford falls somewhere between Rudis and Hummel. “There are many great ways to get your artwork out there, but creating fan artwork for something popular is certainly going to get the attention of people, and if that leads to people seeing more personal work then that’s fantastic,” he says. “At the end of the day, creating good artwork and putting it out there will get you noticed.” It seems that the reputation of fan art has improved over recent years, with studios keeping their eyes peeled for interpretations with a fresh twist. Martins puts this down to brands such as Blizzard wanting to develop strong communities around their products. “They encourage fan artists and cosplayers to participate, even hiring them from time to time,” he explains. “In any case, a good art piece is always a good art piece, be it original or fan art. “From a personal point of view, do what your heart desires,” he adds. “There should be no barriers to what you want to create.” [Header image by Fellipe Martins] Related articles: 8 inspiring digital art portfolios and why they work Fans welcome new Doctor Who with amazing art How to make money on Instagram as a creative View the full article

You're reading The Future of the Web: Firefox Quantum, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook, Google+! After teasing us with months of nightly builds, Mozilla, the foundation behind Firefox, the first successful open source-browser, launches Firefox Quantum. With more than seventy-five percent of the code refactored (more than 5 000 000 lines of code), Firefox is, technically, worthy of the “new” tag. The new Firefox browser is the best we’ve put […] View the full article

If you've seen our Black Friday 2017 and Cyber Monday 2017 deals pages, you'll know we're working hard to bring designers, illustrators and artists the best bargains on creative tools this November. And here's another one on a great web design course bundle. There's never a better time to get your start as a web designer. Whether you want to build apps and websites as a creative side project or you want to turn it into your profession, the Learn to Design Bundle can teach you how to get your start. Grab this doorbuster on sale right now for just $24 (approx £18) – an extra bit of saving that you can only get today. There is a lot more going on with apps and web services than meets the eye. While a pretty coat of paint is nice, a true designer also understands what is happening behind the scenes. You can master every aspect of design with the Learn to Design Bundle. Packed with more than 57 hours of lessons across 9 courses, this collection of courses can teach you everything from the fundamentals of UX and UI to the coding languages such as HTML5 and CSS3 that make web and mobile apps look great and function perfectly. The courses of the Learn to Design Bundle usually retail for $1,209. Today only, you can get this deal for just $24 (approx £18). It’s a great deal that can help you launch your design career, so grab it today. The courses in this bundle are: Mobile App Design in Sketch 3: Learn UX/UI From Scratch Master Web Design in Photoshop Mobile App Design: Learn UX/UI and Start Freelancing Career Creating Responsive Web Design Web Design: HTML & CSS For Rookies Rapid Prototyping for Entrepreneurs - Build a Demo in 2 Hours Bootstrap UI Development For Everyone Learn Web Designing & HTML5/CSS3 Essentials in 4-Hours Mobile First & Responsive Web Design: Build Modern Websites About Creative Bloq deals This great deal comes courtesy of the Creative Bloq Deals store – a creative marketplace that's dedicated to ensuring you save money on the items that improve your design life. We all like a special offer or two, particularly with creative tools and design assets often being eye-wateringly expensive. That's why the Creative Bloq Deals store is committed to bringing you useful deals, freebies and giveaways on design assets (logos, templates, icons, fonts, vectors and more), tutorials, e-learning, inspirational items, hardware and more. Every day of the working week we feature a new offer, freebie or contest – if you miss one, you can easily find past deals posts on the Deals Staff author page or Offer tag page. Plus, you can get in touch with any feedback at: deals@creativebloq.com. Related articles: Why you really do have time for creative side projects Web design inspiration: 28 outstanding examples of CSS Customise sites with these responsive WordPress themes View the full article

Lighting is fundamental in any 3D art project you work on. At the most basic level, it’s a way of making objects visible. But cinematographers will tell you how lighting is much more. Lighting enables you to bring mood to a piece and set the tone. It allows you to subtly manipulate the viewer to look where you want them to. It is also a way to elevate your work out of the 3D realm, giving the warmth of an oil painting or the feel of a photograph. And if you are modelling a real-world object – such as the highly desirable Porsche Legend 964, here – it is essential you get the lighting correct if you are to stand any chance of achieving a photorealistic finish. (If you want to work with this car, download your 140MB resource files here). Read on to discover some key lighting techniques that will quickly improve your work. 01. Gather multiple references Get your search muscles flexing to find the most suitable referencesIt doesn’t matter how good you think your visual memory is, don't attempt any lighting without having a good stock of reference material to work from. If you are modelling something from the real world, find photos of it that you can use. If this isn’t possible, or you are creating something from your imagination, take your own lighting reference photos. Place an object on a plain surface and against a plain background, light it from one direction and take your photo. Keep moving the light and photographing the result and you will soon have a comprehensive photo reference bank for where to apply highlights and shadows for different light sources. Do the same with a transparent object, and place more than one object in a scene so you can see how light behaves when it hits multiple objects. 02. Use masks to light models For this image, I created a low poly model that was as simple as possible. To do this, prepare the UV and then import the model into ZBrush. Make sure that the SUV (Smooth UV) is turned on and then smooth geometry as much as you think is necessary. Now prepare a black-and-white mask in Photoshop and import it into ZBrush as Alpha Mask. After that, use the masks to select only the parts you need. For extruding the details use inflate(Deformation). Prepare a Dome Light setup with an hdri and then check how your model looks. In this example here, I have used a simple material without bump, because all the details came from displacement. 03. Build a compelling composition Effective composition will direct the viewer's eye where you want Composition works with lighting when it comes to manipulating the viewer’s eye and directing the attention where you want. The model and textures can be perfect, but if the composition is not good then everything falls into the water. If you are struggling with composition, investigate some traditional art theory. Artists and photographers have devised all sorts of rules for successful composition, from the Rule of Thirds and grid theory to the Golden Ratio (seen here). By knowing the route your viewer’s eye will take, you can then use lighting to work as support for the composition. 04. Add drama with strong contrast Add dynamics with the use of strong contrastThis is an excellent example of how you can focus all the attention on one part of the image by using strong contrast to create a silhouette. In this example, there is also a clear separation of positive and negative space, which helps emulate a high-end photographic quality and to deliver something a bit more interesting and dynamic than just a car model. 05. Experiment with lenses Use light to block as well as draw attention to areasDo not limit yourself to normal lenses (50mm). Instead, combine different lenses, angles, camera movement, speed and duration. The height of the camera can change a lot and give a completely different impression, which in turn will help open new lighting opportunities you might not have considered. 06. Position the main light Give the viewer a sense of being there If there was no sound in a film, you would be still able to tell a story or convey the atmosphere and mood by using lights and shadows. The main light needs to be positioned well and its shadows need to explain the shape and the structure of the scene. It can additionally influence the composition by separating the positive and negative space. Here, it would have been easy to fill the interior with light, but by placing the main light where I did, I’ve made it feel as though the viewer is inside the car, peering through the front seats. There is a feeling of depth and the light falling where it does accentuates the materials. 07. Build up your light Build the light in stages for effective composition Depending on the situation and requirements, adding other lights helps us to fill something else or to justify the bounce of the light. Try to describe the areas you are lighting as much as possible. It's best to start out of total darkness. You don't have always to be guided by a standard ‘hdri’, setup but by clumsy usage you will get ‘washed’ light, which is hard to control. Play with the lights but always have in mind why that particular light is on that particular place. 08. Clean up in compositing A composite image brings all elements together Compositing is the last phase of an image and allows you to quickly and easily combine many different layers, to influence the contrast, colour, depth of field, motion blur, lens breathing and everything else that's necessary to make your picture look like it was filmed with a movie camera. It is necessary to be aware that some things are easier left for the compositing stage, rather than wasting your time trying to do it in 3D. For example, in the render above we can clearly see the reflection of the wheel on the door, which needs to be removed. The plan is to paint out the spotlight on the floor below the wheel, to increase the highlight on the rear tyre and to generally reduce the highlights. 09. Use effects to direct the viewer’s gaze It’s really tempting to get carried away with shiny light effects such as bokeh and glow, but use them too much and all you do is lose any kind of impact. Restrict these to strong highlights on certain parts of the image, such as metal and glass, in addition to any strong light sources. Although this image is only a section of the Porsche, attention is drawn towards a diagonal slice in the middle, thanks to the glow and bokeh effects. I began by using lines to work out the composition of the image, and then applied the effects following those lines. 10. Add selective highlights Well placed highlights help convey depth of fieldUsing photographic techniques, such as a shallow depth of field, is a useful way of drawing attention to an area, but highlights can also help achieve the same result. The problem with a shallow depth of field is that all of the in-focus detail is right at the front of the image, so the viewer can find it difficult to know where to look. In our example above, highlights are used to pick out the texture on the headlight and Porsche logo. Not only does this give a tactile quality to the image, but it helps stop the image looking flat. 11. Light multiple materials Try different light sources to accentuate textures or details Play with the angle of the source light to make the most of textures. The lighting in this image is placed to accentuate the textures. If it was placed in a different position, some of this detail would have been lost. When you are aiming for photorealism, it is by emphasising recognisable elements that you will achieve your goal. 12. Light a scene Think about how it would look in a real-life settingOf course at its most basic, lighting is a way of setting the scene for your image. If you are dealing with a real-world object, think about how lighting might be used in a real-life setting. For example, motor shows will often use dark backgrounds, with a strong spotlight on the car being unveiled. It isn’t complicated, but it is a recognisable setup, and will therefore aid in making your image feel believable. This article originally appeared in issue 227 of 3D World, the world's best-selling magazine for CG artists – packed with expert tutorials, inspiration and reviews. Buy issue 227 here or subscribe here. Related articles: Calling all 3D artists: Join us at Vertex 2018 Learn how to model a 3D portrait in ZBrush and Maya How 3D compositing tools could add a new dimension to your designs View the full article

We’re delighted to announce that Generate New York, the event for web designers and developers, is back in 2018. Generate returns to the Big Apple between April 25-27 and promises to be bigger and better than even before. Held at the Metropolitan Pavilion Chelsea, next year’s unmissable conference will feature a day of practical workshops followed by an inspirational single-track, two-day conference. We’re super excited to share with you a preview of some of the world-class names that’ll be speaking at Generate New York – and there’s even more to be announced. Stellar speaker lineup Speakers include information architect Abby Covert, brand and content strategist Margot Bloomstein and author of The User's Journey: Storymapping Products That People Love, Donna Lichaw. We’re also bringing product designer Amélie Lamont, superstar developer Wes Bos and design advocate at Adobe Val Head to the prestigious Generate stage. Site performance engineer Henri Helvetica will also be there, as will Dan Mall, Jason Lengstorf and Daniel Schutzsmith. Cynthia Savard Saucier, director of UX at Shopify and author of Tragic Design, completes the star-studded lineup. And don’t forget, we’ll be announcing more speakers soon. Get $100 off tickets We’ve put together an early bird offer that will give you $100 off your ticket. Be quick though – this special offer runs out on November 29 and tickets will go quickly. What are you waiting for? Head to generateconf.com now to book your seat at 2018’s biggest and best web design and development event – just click through to get tickets for the New York event and you'll see the early bird ticket options. Related articles: The best early Black Friday deals 2017 Get started with HTML canvas How accessible are your designs? View the full article

You're reading WordPress Themes, Black Friday & Cyber Monday Deals 2017, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook, Google+! November 2017 is here and it’s time for great deals and discounts in WordPress industry. This Black Friday 2017 WordPress theme and plugin offer presents a great opportunity to get the tools you need to build a new website and move forward your business. We have selected some well-designed WordPress themes and plugins which you can […] View the full article

Back in the 1870s, the world of designing posters for advertising began. Having previously only been able to print black and white text, the introduction of French artist Jules Chéret's three stone lithographic printing process meant artists all over the world could develop marketing ideas into striking, colourful poster art. They did just that, and have been creating striking designs ever since, from beautiful travel posters and iconic movie posters. So here we're looking back at the best vintage poster designs, to inspire you. Here are our 28 favourites... 01. Kaffee Hag If you thought decaf was a modern horror, think againLucian Bernhard was the full design package – graphic designer, type designer, interior designer and artist. He was also the main force behind the Plakatstil ('poster style') design style, which used reductive imagery, flat colour and bold typography to convey a message simply and quickly. His 1914 poster for Kaffee Hag is a brilliant example, instantly selling the notion of decaf as a cup of coffee that won't turn around and bite you with side-effects. 02. Dubonnet Cassandre's Dubonnet poster was designed to be seen by motorists The advent of the motor car in the early 20th century provided new opportunities for poster designers in the form of roadside advertising hoardings, as well as new challenges: how do you get your idea across to people in fast-moving vehicles? Ukrainian-French painter and poster artist Adolphe Jean-Marie Mouron (known as Cassandre) rose to the challenge with this 1932 poster for Dubonnet, designed to be read and understood from cars whizzing past at high speed. Cassandre also introduced the idea of serial posters; a set of posters placed to be seen in quick succession, in order to convey the full message. 03. Le Chat Noir Le Chat Noir's iconic poster design has inspired over 100 years of poster designPerhaps one of the most well known vintage posters of all time, this iconic advertisement for the Parisian entertainment establishment Le Chat Noir was created by Swiss-born French Art Nouveau painter and printmaker Théophile Steinlen. It epitomises the Bohemian, Art Nouveau style and cabaret culture of late 19th century Paris that stemmed from the legendary venue, which in its heyday served as an artists' salon, music hall and busy nightclub. Buy a Chat Noir fine art print here04. Braniff Airways Braniff's stunningly simple poster design captures the whimsical, pop-art side of the 60s Back in 1967, leading Central and South American airline Braniff International Airways underwent an image overhaul, along with new brand colours and aeroplane designs. Following its redesign, the company merged with Panagra Airways and released a series of fun, whimsical posters advertising its destinations. This poster for Argentina features an Argentinian gaucho. A cultural icon, these country people lived off the land north of Patagonia, and were the South American equivalent of the North Western Cowboy. 05. Max Huber Max Huber lent his typographic graphic design style to record covers, music magazines and more Swiss graphic designer Max Huber worked with numerous advertising agencies throughout his prolific career. However, he is perhaps best known for his seminal poster for the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza 1948 Grand Prix. His typographic style relied on a grid system and is committed to a clear, bold and rational aesthetic. Many of Huber's logo designs are still in use today. 06. We Can Do It! Feminists and others have reimagined this uplifting designPerhaps one of the most iconic images of the 20th century, American graphic designer J Howard Miller's beloved Rosie the Riveter was designed to boost morale during WW2. This poster is still used today, and has been re-modelled for use on everything from modern feminist texts to tattoos, as well as spawning numerous parodies. Miller's bold illustrative style mirrors the comic books popular at the time and defined an era of advertising. Buy a We Can Do It retro tin sign here07. Vers Le Mont Blanc This stunning minimalist design perfectly captures the late 1920s Art Deco style These gorgeous travel poster designs were created by artist Geo Dorival in 1928. The minimalist design features a silhouetted countryside, through which a single road leads your eye to the big, beautiful mountain in the French Alps that it's promoting. Dorival created three different versions – day, night and dusk – and all are equally beautiful. 08. TWA Artist David Klein used bright colours and abstract styles in many of his poster designs for TWA American artist David Klein designed and illustrated dozens of posters for Howard Hughes’ Trans World Airlines (TWA) during the 1950s and 1960s. In 1957, this stunning TWA poster of New York City became part of the permanent collection of the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) in New York. In many of his designs, Klein used bright colours and shapes in an abstract style to depict famous landmarks and scenes of cities around the world. Best known for his influential work in the field of travel advertising, Klein's iconic images are much imitated. 09. Biere Allary Original French advertising by artist Jean d'YlenCreated in 1928, Jean d'Ylen was the artist behind this beautiful Art Deco poster design. Influenced heavily by Italian poster art designer Leonetto Cappiello, much of d'Ylen's work features large, colourful images on a contrasting background – this striking beer poster being a prime example. 10. Rouge Baiser Blindfold The work of fashion illustrator Rene Gruau made him a favourite in the haute couture world Renowned fashion illustrator Rene Gruau's artistic career began in the 1920s and continued right until his death in 2004. Gruau created a vast library of chic fashion illustrations, including pieces for Miss Dior, Vogue and Elle. Using strong lines and stark contrast, his illustrations made him a favourite in the haute couture world. 11. Harper's This is just one of 75 poster designs that Edward Penfield illustrated for Harper's magazine during the late 1800s It's impossible to talk about American poster design without mentioning graphic artist Edward Penfield. Often referred to as a master of graphic design, it was during a school exhibition that Penfield's work was first noticed by the art editor of Harper's Magazine, the company that he went on to create no less than 75 poster designs for. 12. Austria Kosel's distinctive travel posters are instantly recognisable as the Austrian artist's work Born in 1896, Hermann Kosel studied at Vienna Academy of Fine Arts and began his artistic career as a portrait painter at the age of 24. For a time, his work involved creating commercial posters for various travel companies, including this one, which highlights the beauty and culture of Austria perfectly. 13. Absinthe Robette Belgian poster artist Henri Privat-Livemont created this beautiful Art Nouveau print for absinthe in 1896 In the late 19th century, the popularity of absinthe coincided with the increase of large lithographic advertising posters as a commercial and artistic medium. Some of the greatest artists of that period created posters for the alcoholic beverage, including Belgian poster artist Henri Privat-Livemont, who illustrated this iconic Art Nouveau Absinthe Robette image in 1895. Buy Absinthe Robette as a fine art print now14. Parapluie-Revel Poster artist Leonetto Cappiello created nearly 1,000 pieces during the early 1900sPoster artist Leonetto Cappiello became a household name in the early 1900s after producing nearly 1,000 eye-catching advertisements for various campaigns. Probably his most famous is this beautiful Parapluie-Revel poster. The design features three figures blown about by a storm while the Revel umbrellas stand firm. Buy Parapluie-Revel as a fine art print here15. Monaco 75 This beautiful design was created by artist Michael Turner for the 1975 Monaco Grand Prix This striking design for the 1975 Monaco Grand Prix was created by talented artist Michael Turner. With minimal type, Turner let his illustration do all the talking. The vibrant and eye-catching colour palette lets the car take centre stage, with the beautiful destination of Monaco in the background. 16. Tomorrowland This Space-Station X-1 silk-screen poster graced the walls of Disneyland in the late 1950s Disneyland has been using silk-screen posters since 1956 to give visitors a taste of the attractions inside. And the majority of the most brilliant designs advertised the sci-fi rides of Tomorrowland. This Space Station X-1 graced the park's walls in the late 1950s, the ride taking visitors to view a large painted panorama of the continent via a rotating platform. 17. Perrier Girl Artist Jean Dommergue created this beautiful poster, the first to feature the 'Perrier Girl' In 1936, artist Jean Dommergue created this beautiful illustration for bottled mineral water Perrier – the first to feature the 'Perrier Girl'. This is just one of many beautiful campaigns by the young, dynamic and attractive brand, with others created by famous artists including Andy Warhol and Jean-Paul Goude. 18. Normandie Cassandre's image of ocean liner Normandie has become iconic in 20th century Art Deco design Cassandre created this image to promote travel on the famous ocean liner Normandie. The design has since become an icon of 20th century Art Deco and Modernist poster design. The original print featured the name of the ship underneath it, however, a few rare variants can be found with the type replaced with 'New York' (as above). Amazon has a giclee print here. 19. Austin Reed British designer Tom Purvis created many beautiful poster designs for clothing store Austin Reed during the 1930s Regarded by many as one of the finest commercial artists of the 20th century, British artist Tom Purvis created countless poster designs during the 1930s, one of the most famous being his campaign for retailer Austin Reed. For years, many of his beautiful poster designs graced the walls of the flagship clothing store in London's Regent Street. 20. Canadian Pacific Railway Peter Ewart created 24 gorgeous poster designs during his 17-year working relationship with Canadian Pacific This iconic design was part of a campaign for Canadian Pacific Railway during the 1940s and 50s. The series was created by Canadian artist Peter Ewart, who during his commercial career was inspired by the likes of Cassandre and Tom Purvis. His dynamic designs and illustrations caught the eye of many, and led to a 17-year relationship with Canadian Pacific in which Ewart designed 24 posters and two serigraphic prints for the company. 21. New York's World Fair Austrian designer Joseph Binder created this beautiful stylised version of a better world of tomorrowAustrian-born designer Joseph Binder is the man behind this beautiful poster design for the 1939 New York World's Fair. Titled 'Building the World of Tomorrow', the fair's main purpose was to try to lift the spirits of the US following the height of the Great Depression, and drive much-needed business to New York City. During this period a renewed belief in science and technology provided hope and a much-needed antidote to the general feeling of hopelessness and confusion. Binder's brilliant design offered a stylised version of that better world of tomorrow. 22. Eldorado French painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec uses simple outlines and solid blocks of colour in this eye-catching design Advertising singer Aristide Bruant's café-cabaret at the Eldorado on Boulevard de Strasbourg in Paris, this poster was designed by famous French painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec in 1892. Having previously created a similar design for Bruant's debut at the Ambassadors club, Lautrec recognised the power of a brand and simply reversed the image of the singer, shown here as a powerful figure. The eye-catching illustration makes an impact with simple outlines and a pared-back colour palette comprised of solid blocks of colour. 23. Design for Living As well as his famous TWA series, David Klein also created various posters for his local theatre in Brooklyn In addition to his famous TWA series, American poster artist David Klein also created various posters for his local theatre The Brooklyn Heights Players during the 1950s and 60s. This one for the production of Noel Coward's play Design for Living follows true Klein style, featuring bright colours and geometric shapes. 24. A Willette exposition This is just one of hundreds of poster designs from famous French artist Jules Chéret Jules Chéret was a French poster illustrator and graphic designer often referred to as the father of the modern poster. During his career, he created hundreds of posters for cabarets, theatres, well-known brands and expositions, including this one for artist A Willette. Chéret's composition shows careful consideration, drawing the eye to the dominating central figure, and also using prominent hand-lettered titles, areas of glowing colour and a simple background. 25. Orangina Graphic artist Bernard Villemot is most known for his humorous poster designs for soft drink Orangina This striking Orangina poster was created by graphic artist Bernard Villemot, who created equally memorable designs for Bally and Perrier. Villemot used simple, elegant lines and bold colours to produce his humorous, contemporary designs. Since his death, his iconic images have become increasingly sought-after by vintage poster collectors. 26. Moulin Rouge French artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec captured the Moulin Rouge vibe perfectly in this poster designThis poster design for the Moulin Rouge is another by French artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. When the cabaret opened, Lautrec was commissioned to create a series of posters, with this design being one of his most well known. The piece features Moulin Rouge dancer La Goulue and her partner Valentin le Desosse. Lautrec captured La Goulue's provocative kicks and Valentin's lanky frame perfectly in this design. Buy a print of this poster here27. Bitter Campari Italian artist Leonetto Cappiello drew bold figures popping out of black backgrounds for many of the campaigns he worked on, including this one for Campari Italian painter and art designer Leonetto Cappiello designed this beautiful Bitter Campari poster in 1921. Cappiello's work caught people's attention immediately, with many of his creations featuring bold figures popping out of black backgrounds – a startling contrast to the posters seen up until that point. He is now often referred to as the father of modern advertising because of his innovation in poster design. 28. Tintin Orange Tintin and Snowy share a refreshing bottle of Orange Soad in this vibrant poster design by Raymond Savignac In 1962, illustrator of the Tintin comics, Georges Remi (aka Hergé), collaborated with French graphic artist Raymond Savignac on this vibrant print advertising the Tintin Orange Soda soft drink. This is just one of many striking posters by Savignac, the talented artist also creating various designs for Pepsi and Perrier during his career. Contributors: Jim McCauley and Alice Pattillo Related articles: 30 stunning poster designs to inspire you Are movie posters in a design crisis? 4 classic movie poster designs making a comeback View the full article

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In recent years, tattoo-style typography has become a big influence on all areas of design. As a result, there are now hundreds of tattoo typefaces available online for use in your projects, and many won't cost you a penny! But how do you find free fonts in a tattoo style that rock – the diamonds among the rough? We've scoured the web to find you the top free tattoo fonts for designers. And if it's tattoos you're interested in, take a look at our posts on the best tattoo designs and some more out-there tattoo art. 01. Serval This feline font has some lovely strokes but it might scratchThis calligraphic font from Maelle.K and Thomas Boucherie is gloriously scratchy and perfect for taking the edge off a too-serious script tattoo. It's free to use, but contact the designers if you have any commercial plans for it. FORMAT: TTF 02. Tattoo Vieja Escuela 1 If Beavis and Butt-head got tattoos, it would be one of theseSwish, painstakingly-designed tattoo fonts are all well and good, but sometimes you want a tattoo that looks like it was done in prison with a contraband blade and a ballpoint pen. If so, step up for this awesome set of old-school ink from Woodcutter. FORMAT: TTF 03. Tribal Tattoo One of these would go nicely with a Global Hypercolor T-shirtWant a bit of retro class? Get your 90s on with this collection of eye-catching tribal designs, featuring plenty of Celtic knots, stylised dragons, spirit insects and spiky abstract designs. FORMAT: TTF 04. Sailor Scrawl Celebrate a life on the ocean wave with this nautical fontGet that nautical look with this salty hand-drawn font from the Out of Step Font Company. Each letterform features a little diamond, and it's free for personal use. Keep an eye out for a new version; it's currently under redevelopment. FORMAT: TTF 05. Man Down This Maori-inspired tattoo font is a joy to look uponWe love the bold strokes of this new decorative font from British studio Chequered Ink. Inspired by Maori tattoos, this fantastic tribal font is free for personal use, with a pay-what-you-want approach to using it publicly. FORMAT: OTF 06. MOM tattoo font MOM is inspired by old-school tattoo letteringInspired by old-school lettering, designer Rafa Miguel created tattoo font MOM. "I'm a big fan of American traditional tattoos, this is a just a tribute to the great artists that use this style," he comments on Behance. MOM is available for free for both personal and commercial use. FORMAT: TTF 07. Reditum tattoo font Add a touch of class with ReditumThe first of a number of stunning scripts in this list designed by talented fontsmith Måns Grebäck, Reditum is a calligraphic font that's guaranteed to add a touch of style to your designs. Free for personal use, it comes complete with a number of glyphs and standard ligatures. FORMAT: OTF and TTF 08. Lina Script tattoo font Designers Vicky Mardian and Måns Grebäck collaborated on Lina ScriptThis slick tattoo-style script font has a cheeky touch of graffiti to it. Designed by Vicky Mardian and Måns Grebäck, a full commercial licence will set you back $59 but you can download a free demo for personal use. FORMAT: OTF and TTF 09. Angel Tears tattoo font Packed with character, Angel Tears has a beautiful handmade feelAngel Tears, by Billy Angel, boasts a gorgeous hand-drawn feel. With 128 characters – including upper case, lower case and punctuation – it'll add a distressed look to your designs. FORMAT: OTF 10. Tribal Dragon tattoo font You get a basic Latin caharcter map with Tribal DragonA playful upper-case tattoo font, Tribal Dragon was created by prolific font designer Jonathan Harris and is free for personal use. FORMAT: TTF 11. Blackletter tattoo font You can use this tattoo font for both personal and commercial projectsCreated by Dieter Steffmann, this tattoo font is licensed as freeware, which means that – unlike most on this list – it's available for both commercial and personal projects; no questions asked. FORMAT: TTF 12. Crux tattoo font Download these brilliant designs for freeCrosses are a staple of tattoo design, and this dingbat font by Spanish designer Woodcutter brings together a range of brilliant designs that you can download for free. FORMAT: TTF 13. Precious tattoo font BoltCutterDesign have created a number of free fontsDesigned by BoltCutterDesign, Precious Regular is a traditional, calligraphy inspired tattoo font that you can download today. The graphic design company have also created a wide range of free fonts, so be sure to check out their site. FORMAT: TTF 14. Pentagon tattoo font Go for a different tattoo font with PentagonPentagon is a less traditional free tattoo font offering but by no means is it dull. You can download Pentagon for free if it's for personal use – we think plenty of you'll have fun experimenting with this design. FORMAT: TTF 15. Little Lord tattoo font Enjoy another free font from designer Nick CurtisDesigner Nick Curtis has produced over eleven hundred fonts - almost five hundred of them freeware fonts, which have been downloaded and enjoyed by over three million people worldwide. FORMAT: TTF and OTF 16. Spring tattoo font Spring showcases the illustrative elements of tattoosThis free tattoo font entitled Spring, combines the illustrative elements of tattoo designs with the traditional, calligraphy style typography that is often etched with ink. FORMAT: TTF 17. Rose tattoo font Rose - tattoo fonts for any personal workGoing with the more handwriting font style, Rose is free for any personal design work. Featuring only capital letters, this is one of those tattoo fonts that's perfect for headlines and eye-catching straps. FORMAT: TTF 18. VTKS tattoo font You can have these tattoo fonts filled or outlinedConsisting of both lower case and capital letters, VTKS Tattoo font is a mix of old and new style tattoo typography. As is often the case with downloads of no-cost tattoo fonts, the creators would appreciate donations and so if you do end up using it, we'd encourage you to do be generous! FORMAT: TTF 19. Cute tattoo font Go down the cute route with this one of our tattoo fontsThis cute font comes in capital letters that makes for a brilliant headline font. The subtle additions to each letter make this one of the more fun and playful tattoo fonts we've seen, and will provide plenty of typography experimentation. FORMAT: TTF 20. Extra Ornamental No. 2 tattoo font A fancy approach for this example from our tattoo fonts listExtra Ornamental No. 2 is a fancier approach to tattoo fonts, with its extra attention to detail, swoops and shading. As a 'busier' font design, it may only work in bigger scales. FORMAT: TTF 21. True Love tattoo font Davide Cariani's True Love design was inspired by old school tattoo typographyDavide Cariani is a UX designer and web developer with a passion for typography. True Love was created in his spare time and his first type experiment. Inspired by old school tattoo typography, glyphs available include letters, numbers, dash and dot. FORMAT: TTF 22. Blessed Day tattoo font Blessed Day is free for personal use with commercial licenses available to purchaseDesigner Billy Argel has some of the most popular tattoo-style fonts available to download online, Blessed Angel being one of them. The design is free for personal use only. The commercial version is revised, with additional glyphs, and can be purchased on Argel's website. FORMAT: TTF 23. Original Gangsta tattoo font Original Gangsta is available as free download for personal projects onlySince we have quite a few elegant, soft script fonts in this list, we thought we'd add one that's a little more meaty. Original Gangsta is a design by Gilang Purnama Jaya of GP Typefoundry and is available free for personal, non-commercial use only. FORMAT: TTF 24. Scriptina tattoo font Scriptina by Apostrophic LabsThis elegant script font is one of Apostrophic Labs' most popular designs, with a whopping 5.7milllion downloads to date. Free for personal use, the typeface includes a full set of upper and lowercase letters, numbers and a selection of special characters. FORMAT: TTF Next page: 24 more tattoo fonts for your body art... 25. Champignon tattoo font Incorporate Champignon into your tattoo for an elegant designAre you looking to get a verse of a song or some words of wisdom into your tattoo? Then maybe this Champignon font would work in your design? Created by designer Claude Pelletier, the typeface is free for personal use, with donations to the author greatfully received. FORMAT: OTF 26. AngillaTattoo font Måns Grebäck has created these edgy script tattoo fonts - free for personal useDesigned by Måns Grebäck, this script-based addition to our tattoo fonts list includes 357 characters, and is freely available - though only for personal use. You can also buy the font for commercial use for $59 here. And don't forget to use the numbers for swashes (e.g. A1ngilla4 Tattoo8). FORMAT: TTF 27. Los Angeles tattoo font This font by Vicky Mardian is all up in your face Grand Theft Auto. We approveAs far as tattoo fonts go, they don't get much better than this. Designed by Vicky Mardian, this font evokes fond memories of LA drive-bys and botched drug runs. On the Xbox, of course. The above version is for perosnal use, with a commercial version avaialble here for $20. FORMAT: TTF 28. True Man Tattoos tattoo font This dingbat font is free for personal use, and features old school tatsIf you're looking for a font-based collection of dingbat tattoo fonts, which can be used in personal projects, then True Man Tattoos is for you. Daggers through a skull? Sorted. Anchor? You bet. Horseshoe, shamrock, two dice and the number 13? You betcha! FORMAT: TTF 29. Brother Tattoo font Another creation from talented typeface designer Mans Greback.Another typeface from Måns Grebäck, Brother Tattoo is another of his designs perfectly suited to quotes and sayings. This free demo version is available for personal use only and comes with a selection of glyphs, including letters, numbers and characters. FORMAT: TTF 30. CM Tattoo Dragon tattoo font Christopher Means clearly enjoyed The Girl with the Dragon TattooThis movie-inspired font by Christopher Means is free for personal use, and was inspired by the poster for the US remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. FORMAT: TTF 31. Tattoo Ink font Type designer Ryan Splint created this Tattoo Ink font, which features scratch and angle fill effectsThis Art Deco-style font was created by typography designer Ryan Splint. This particular font features lettering containing both a scratch fill and angle fill effect. And with nearly half a million downloads on dafont.com, it's clearly a popular choice. As with most of the tattoo fonts listed here, it's free for personal use only. FORMAT: TTF 32. Delinquente tattoo font Personalise your tattoo designs with this gorgeous script font Delinquente. Illustration © Måns GrebäckDelinquent by type designer Måns Grebäck is a beautiful script font, perfectly suited to designs featuring quotes and sayings. Available free-of-charge for personal use only, the full font and commercial license can be purchased on Grebäck's website Mawns. FORMAT: TTF 33. Shit happens tattoo font Incorporate this gorgeous typeface by Billy Argel into your tattoo designsFont designer Billy Argel has developed a number of typefaces that would be suitable for text tattoos. But this 'Shit happens' design, with over half a million downloads, is by far his most popular on Fontspace. It's free for personal use, with commercial licenses available at Argel's website. FORMAT: OTF 34. Canterbury tattoo font Dieter Steffman's Canterbury typeface is free for both commercial and non-commercial purposesThis old English-style font is one of many designs by Dieter Steffman. Created in 2003, the set includes both upper and lower case letters, special characters and numbers 0-9. This typeface is also free to use for both commercial and non-commercial purposes. FORMAT: TTF 35. Tribal tattoo font Personalise your tribal tattoo designs with this typeface by Apostrophic LabTribal tattoos are still extremely popular, so if that's the design you're going for, check out this version of tribal type by Apostrophic Lab. The free font includes a full set of upper and lower case letters, numbers and a selection of special characters. It is also free for use in both commercial and non-commercial projects. FORMAT: TTF 36. Tattoo Lettering font Choose between an open design (shown above) or black fill when incorporating this typeface into your designsIf it's a cartoon-feel you're after in your tattoo design then this typeface by Gaut Fonts is a great starting point. The download includes two sets, one open (as shown above) and the other with a black fill, both of which include uppercase letters, numbers and special characters. Free for non-commercial use only. FORMAT: TTF 37. Drunk tattoo font We wonder what the inspiration for this typeface was...?This casual, handwritten typeface was designed by Xerographer fonts. We wonder if they created it after a heavy night out? The font set features a full set of upper and lower case letters, but no numbers. The download is free for non-commercial purposes. FORMAT: TTF 38. VTC Nue Tattoo Script Incorporate this delicate script font by Larry E. Yerkes into your tattoo designThis delicate script-style font was designed by Larry E. Yerkes of the Vigilante Typeface Corporation. Yerkes has created a number of typefaces and now has quite a collection in his dafont library, this VTC Nue Tattoo script font being one of his most popular designs. Free for non-commercial use only. FORMAT: TTF 39. Lupus Blight tattoo font Lupus Blight typeface offers a more delicate approach to tribal tattoo designsWe know this is the second tribal-inspired font on the list but this typeface offers a somewhat delicate take on what is normally quite a bold and heavy design. The lettering was created by Graham Meade, who has a number of other tattoo-inspired font designs online. The typeface is available for both commercial and non-commercial purposes. FORMAT: TTF 40. Ink In The Meat tattoo font Design a gorgeous text tattoo with script-style font Ink in the Meat. Illustration © Billy ArgelAnother from type designer Billy Argel, Ink in the Meat is one of his most popular downloads. The free version of this font is partial and doesn't contain any numbers. Ink in the Meat is free for personal use, with commercial licenses available at Argel's website. FORMAT: OTF 41. Hustlers tattoo font Go for a retro-style design with HustlersThis retro-style design was created by Gilang Purnama Jaya of the Decade Type Foundry. This free demo version includes both clean and rough styles, with more than 300+ glyphs, including various special characters. FORMAT: OTF 42. Mardian tattoo font Mardian is a great tattoo font for various stylesThis gorgeous tattoo-style script font was created by designer Vicky Mardian. This download is free for personal use only, with the full font and commercial license available to purchase from font foundry and reseller Aring Typeface. FORMAT: TTF 43. Antlers tattoo font Antlers is a striking tattoo font with an obvious influence!Created by Måns Grebäck, this striking font, titled Antlers, will certainly make your tattoo design stand out. Available for personal use only, this typeface includes a full set of upper and lowercase letters, numbers and various special characters. FORMAT: TTF 44. Head Case tattoo font Try something a little different with Head CaseFor a tattoo with a difference, check out designer Jonathan S. Harris's Head Case design. This playful font is available for personal use only, with commercial licenses available to purchase from Tattoowoo. FORMAT: TTF 45. Echinos Park Script tattoo font Ramp up the style with Echinos Park ScriptA stylised cursive font from Måns Grebäck, Echinos Park Script has a touch of calligraphy to it and stacks of character. It's free for personal use and perfect if you’re looking for a handwritten feel. FORMAT: TTF 46. High on Fire tattoo font Create big, bold tattoo designs with High on FireIf it's big and bold that you're after, then look no further than typeface High on Fire by Billy Argel. The free version of this design is partial and only available for personal use. The full font and commercial licenses can be purchased directly from the designer. FORMAT: OTF 47. Prison tattoo font New York designer Socialh does a great line in tattoo fontsNew York-based designer Socialh regularly experiments with an array of typography styles. We love this fun, playful tattoo font, which is available to download free for any personal use. FORMAT: TTF 48. Unzialish Unzialish is perfect choice for any Celtic-style tattoo designThis exotic, slightly elvish-looking tattoo font was created by designer Manfred Klein. A perfect choice for any Celtic-style tattoo design. Related articles: The 8 biggest typography mistakes designers make 40 free retro fonts 13 calligraphy fonts every designer should own View the full article

For this special round-up, I took a look at my own holiday shopping list, and I asked fellow artists and illustrators what was on theirs. Let's take a look at what we came up with, and why. There's options for every price point too – whether you're looking for a great value gift under £20 (just because you're on a smaller budget doesn't mean you can't get something cool) or want to splash out on something really special. Gifts for illustrators under £20/$25 01. Personalised colour block cosy and mug Price: £18Many illustrators rely on a coffee or tea to kick-start their morning – but as soon as their creative juices start flowing, it can be easy to forget all about it. This mug cosy will their caffeine hit hotter for longer. Choose from six different colours (to match the recipient's studio aesthetic) and add a personalised tag to keep it safe from mug thieves. This is a complete sketching and drawing set for any artist. It includes graphite pencils, charcoal pencils, erasable pens, two different kinds of erasers, a craft knife, sharpeners, and more. It even comes with a random colour canvas roll-up pouch with individual slots, so you can take this set anywhere. The Apple Pencil is great! In fact, it's #7 on this list; but the one thing it doesn't come with is a decent way to charge it. With the Apple Pencil direct charging Stand you'll be able to easily charge your Apple Pencil without having to worry about it rolling off your desk. Gifts for illustrators under £50/$75 For illustrators looking for a way to increase their drawing and stippling speed, the Cuttlelola electric pen is ideal! This pen can be used on a variety of different papers and comes with a rechargeable lithium battery. You can plug the pen into a laptop or work with it on battery power, which usually lasts about an hour. Hand crafted and totally unique, this soft and durable leather journal is stuffed with 120 sheets (125gsm thickness) made from recycled cotton. The gift set includes the box, the secret pen holder, and a luxury ball point pen – perfect for creating your next sketch masterpiece. The binding on the journal is hand stitched, so the pages stay in place. Some artists don't like to draw with mechanical pencils, but the ones that do will love this set. These pencils are comfortable to hold, durable, and come with coloured pads, making it easy to distinguish the different lead sizes. Both the lead and the erasers are refillable, but each one comes pre-loaded with super Hi-Polymer HB lead. Gifts for illustrators under £100/$125 07. ImagineFX magazine subscription Special Christmas offers! Print: £54.50 Digital: £45 Print & digital bundle: £66.50 (save 62%!) ImagineFX is the world's best-selling magazine for digital artists. Each issue is packed with an eclectic mixture of in-depth workshops from the world's best fantasy and sci-fi artists, plus galleries and interviews, community news and product reviews. If you're after a gift for a professional artist, art student or hobbyist, a subscription is a great option. This one's ideal for friends that have an iPad Pro for drawing, but haven't got round to picking up an Apple Pencil to go with it (and it's a little cheaper than just gifting the whole iPad Pro). While you can certainly get some cool things done with just your finger, the Apple Pencil takes your work to the next level. It is highly responsive, and it works well with almost all of the art programs on the App Store. 09. Clip Studio Paint EX Price: $75.54 Clip Studio Paint EX is easy to use and all the tools have a natural feel to them. It comes jam-packed with features and toolsets like pens, pencils, erasers, rulers, pattern brushes, and more. It even includes frame-by-frame cell animation support – ideal for digital creative. Worried about compatibility? Clip Studio Paint EX is available for both Windows and Mac, and it was recently introduced for the iPad. 10. Wacom Pro Pen 3D Price: $99.95If your illustrator friend is considering taking their work into a new dimension, this could be a great gift. The new Wacom Pro Pen 3D is designed specifically with 3D creativity in mind; three buttons enable the user to easily pan, zoom and tumble in a range of 3D programmes. On top of that is Wacom's usual sensitive, intuitive pen technology. This is a great set for anyone interested in exploring the world of painting. With over 130 pieces, it includes everything to get started with acrylic, oil, and watercolour painting – including various paints, paper, easels, and brushes. It also comes with two different-sized canvas panels: 8x10 6-pack and 11x14 2-pack. Gifts for illustrators over £100/$125 Paired with the Apple Pencil, the iPad Pro is great for drawing, painting, and sketching on-the-go – or better yet, in the living room. We liked it so much we gave it five stars in our review. I like the 12.9-inch, but it's also worth checking out the all-new 10.5-inch model, if the recipient would prefer something more compact. While you're filling your Apple stocking, why not grab the Smart Keyboard too. The full-size keyboard makes the perfect companion hardware to the iPad Pro. Users can just hook it to the Smart Connector and get to work! Then when they're all done, they can fold it up and take it with them, because it also doubles as a lightweight case. Useful. The Wacom Intuos Pro Paper Edition combines a digital workflow with paper. That's right! Users can clip their favourite drawing paper onto this device and sketch right on top using the Finetip Pen (or optional Ballpoint Pen). They don't need to even be connected to a computer at the time. When they're ready, they can import the sketch into their chosen drawing app, and continue to work on it there with the Wacom Pro Pen 2. It's really the best of both worlds. View the full article

Let’s face it, web development can easily become a mess. HTML, CSS and JavaScript have all evolved from humble origins over many years, and are largely equivocal in terms of how you should use them. As a result, it’s all too easy to build an unmaintainable mess. Adhering to standards and taking advantage of the latest improvements in the specifications doesn’t guarantee good code, but it can certainly help. In any type of software development, modularity is king when it comes to building maintainable code. As a result, you’ll want to keep a close eye on Web Components. Browser support isn’t great, but if you grab yourself some polyfills, you can get ahead of the curve and start taking advantage of custom elements to structure your code right away. This style of development is the future, so it’s worth getting familiar with it now. Keep code streamlined for clearer understandingHTML5 itself introduced a number of new elements (and deprecated several) to help encourage good coding practices. You may have heard of semantic markup, which refers to the use of HTML5’s descriptive elements such as <article> and <figure> to indicate the type of content they contain. This can really help with the cleanliness of your code, as the HTML elements will immediately identify, for example, which parts represent the menu bar, your sections of content, the footer and so on. It will also help if you take advantage of the latest JavaScript standards. JavaScript can also become messy, but it’s become much easier to work with in recent years. ES6 syntax is widely supported in browsers, and features like arrow functions and classes can make your life much easier – yet many developers are either unfamiliar with or wary of using them. Continuing the theme of modular development, JavaScript also now supports module loading, which can help you manage your dependencies cleanly. 01. Recognise and synthesise speech The sound of things to comeThese would once have been complex functions requiring specialised software, but they’re now being built directly into browsers. The Web Speech API has components which support text-to-speech and speech-to-text. The latter of these will either use an online service (Chrome uses the Google Cloud Speech API) or the device’s native speech recognition service. Expect to see this being used widely on mobile devices in the future. 02. Display a colour picker Choosing the right colourTrivial as it may sound, this is a great example of how HTML5 is simplifying common tasks which would previously have required custom coding of a fairly complex UI component. <input type="color"> will display a visual colour picker when clicked, using a colour picker native to the device. This could be particularly useful with HTML canvas. It’s widely supported with the exception of Safari on mobile. 03. Recolour the browser UI Colour themes for browsersThis can offer a nice aesthetic touch on mobile platforms. <meta name="theme-color" content="#FFFFFF" /> is designed to instruct the browser to recolour the toolbar when viewing your site. Unfortunately, it’s a little non-standardised, so while "theme-color" works with Chrome, Firefox and Opera, on iOS you’ll need "apple-mobile-web-app-status-bar-style" (only works in fullscreen mode). 04. Different images for different screens Specifying the image and the resolutionHopefully you’re already implementing responsive design, in which case your images will be resizing to suit the viewport. This isn’t perfect, since you’ll be forcing the user to download the largest version of the image then downsampling it. Enter the HTML5 <picture> element, which enables you to specify different images to be displayed depending on the screen resolution the site is being viewed on. 05. Vibrate your phone Shakin' all overThe unambiguously named Vibration API exposes a single function, vibrate(), which will do exactly what it says on devices which support it. The function takes a list describing a vibration pattern as its argument. It’ll work on Chrome, Firefox and Opera, although you’re out of luck on Edge or Safari. It’s reported that some ads are using this to attract the user’s attention, so the jury’s out on whether it’s actually a good idea. This article originally appeared in Web Designer issue 266. Buy it here. Related articles: The 10 best HTML5 template designs 20 HTML templates to give your web design projects a headstart Nail your HTML with this cheat sheet View the full article

Sometimes, with the right brand and the right client, the opportunity arises for you stick your neck out and take an audacious creative risk. Get it right and the sky's the limit, get it wrong and... well, try not to get it wrong. 4 ads that tried to be cool, but failedTo help you decide when you should attempt to when to push the creative boat out, we spoke to Brand Impact Awards judges Sue Daunt and Dave Wood. Sue is executive creative director at Interbrand London, with over 20 years' experience working with global clients, while Dave is design director at BIA-winning agency GBH, where he's designed everything from postage stamps to space rockets for clients including Virgin Galactic, Puma and Royal Mail. Here's what they had to say. When and why is it important to take risks? Dave Wood: Risk taking is something we do day in, day out. We don't pick and choose when to take risks, but prefer to let the idea lead the way. Inherently we like to be over-ambitious to do the best work possible for the client, and sometimes that's in tight time frames with tight budgets – but we always find a way of doing it. There's a bit of risk involved in that, but you have to hold onto the integrity of that idea, and convince clients to believe in it too. Sue Daun: That's a great way of describing it. For us, risk is when we push a client way outside the brief, and go in with a solution that challenges and reframes their brief massively. You need to take them on a bit of that journey, so they feel confident it's not really a risk. As a bigger agency, often they'll listen to us if we tell them it'll be okay. But there's definitely a thrill when you go in with a risky solution. You go in with your heart pounding, and you're excited because you've got a great idea. Intermarché's Inglorious Fruit & Veg campaign turned the spotlight on its uglier produceHow does the size of your agency affect your ability to take risks? SD: We're lucky as we're supported by a great team that encourage us to take risks. We're not a blame culture, so that's a really healthy operation to work within. I think as a big network, with a proven track record – underpinned by measurement and analytics, as well as creativity – we're able to get clients to buy braver. Having the weight of a business like Interbrand behind us, they tend to sit back and listen, and we don't have to work that hard to push them a little bit further. It also can play negatively. Some clients come because they want a trusted, formulaic solution. We rarely give them exactly that, but sometimes we have to take them on a longer journey. DW: Because we're smaller, and independent, we can pick and choose when to take risks – but like I said before, we let the idea lead. It's the idea that determines whether we take risks or not. At GBH, we work on a wide range of projects, from small – where there's more freedom – to big campaigns for clients such as Puma and Virgin Galactic. Actually it's those bigger jobs, with more of a presence, where there's an opportunity to take bigger risks. Harvey Nichols' 'Sorry, I spent it on myself' campaign was an unexpected blast of humour from a luxury brandWhat are the best examples of creative risks that have paid off? DW: Inglorious Fruit and Veg, the [Black Pencil-winning] Intermarché campaign a few years ago. They put these ugly, misshapen fruit and veg in their aisles, and encouraged people to buy them. It could easily have had the opposite effect, but there was real confidence and belief in the idea. SD: Another good example is Harvey Nichols' 'Sorry, I spent it on myself' campaign. It tugged at your heart strings, but in a tongue-in-cheek way. For a luxury brand to treat design in such a brutal way was a fantastic two fingers up to the industry, and it drew people in who perhaps hadn't bought into the brand before. This article originally appeared in Computer Arts issue 270; buy it here! Related articles: When to use humour in branding 5 ways to get clients to take more risks 21 ways to unlock your creative genius View the full article

Many, if not most, big brand logos are crafted in-house, and it’s often difficult to find out who worked on the design and what it involved. But some are created by external design agencies. And if we’re lucky, their clients will have given them the freedom to talk about the process and thinking behind the new designs. In this post we celebrate our favourite big-name logos from design agencies this year, and hear from the people behind them. 01. Giraffe by Ragged Edge Giraffe’s new logo is cleaned up and more professional, yet still playful Giraffe World Kitchen is a chain of UK restaurants with a focus on bringing the best of world food to the high street at a reasonable price. In June, the London agency Ragged Edge announced a new logo and identity for the brand. The redesigned logo extends the ‘F’ in a playful way that suggests the neck of a giraffe raising its head above the trees (but without being too obvious). The lettering as a whole has been nicely cleaned up and standardised when compared to the previous, somewhat zanier version (below). The previous Giraffe logo was a little wilder It's a fantastic logo design – a real highlight from 2017. You can learn more about the rebrand on the Ragged Edge website. 02. Sydney School of Entrepreneurship by For the People This startup school’s logo changes on a daily basis The Sydney School of Entrepreneurship aims to recruiting the cream of the crop from 11 universities and one vocational college in New South Wales, Australia to come together in a new startup campus in Sydney. In order to reflect the “diversity, energy and purpose” of the new school, Sydney agency For The People built then a custom logo generator to create a unique logo on a daily basis. It sounds like a wacky idea, and it is. But there’s an underlying geometric skeleton underpinning the logos, which are based on the Px Grotesk font, that gives them all a sense of consistency and makes them easy to recognise, even though they’re ever-changing. Controversial? Perhaps. But it’s a brave experiment that makes you think, which is clearly in keeping with the ethos of the institution. You can learn more about the logo system here. 03. Eurosport Olympics by Dixon Baxi The Eurosport Olympics logo uses a podium as a design device In August, London creative agency DixonBaxi unveiled the new logo, identity and on-air look for TV channel Eurosport’s coverage of the Olympics. The new branding has been designed to run for the next eight years, starting with the 2018 Winter Games in South Korea this February. “The identity unites two iconic sporting organisations, putting Eurosport’s commitment to be the Home of the Olympics at the heart of the brand,” explains Dan Capstick, creative director at DixonBaxi. “The podium is the foundation for the brand experience on every platform. The iconic three tiers are used as a simple visual metaphor in hundreds of ways. Layers of vibrant colour – inspired by Olympic venues – and expressive typography create a flexible and distinctive graphic style that is inspired by ultimate ambition of elite athletes to be the best.” Salman Anjum, head of design at The Institute for Optimum Nutrition, is a big fan. “The designs focus on the ascent to the podium, which is what every athlete at the Olympics (and the watching public) dreams of,” he notes. “And the attention to detail is great. Some commentators have complained that the podium should have three distinct levels. However, the Olympics podium is actually at two levels, as reflected in the logo. “What I find most appealing about the design is how it combines two very different entities and philosophies, with Eurosport and Olympics, into something not only cohesive but forward thinking.” 04. Juventus by Interbrand The new Juventus logo is dramatically minimal While the current trend to simplify your logo is obvious with big consumer brands like Audi, more traditional organisations such as football clubs have been slower to get on board. So it raised a few eyebrows this January when Italian superclub Juventus released this remarkably minimalist design, created by the Milan office of Interbrand http://interbrand.com. Based on the team’s black and white stripes, Interbrand have produced a decisively flexible and distinctive identity for the club which works well across the range of environments in which it promotes itself, from digital to retail. Predictably, thousands of fans took to social media to complain about the loss of their beloved crest (above). But we think by breaking convention and transforming themselves into a more mainstream brand, Juventus are simply leading the pack, and we very much expect other clubs to follow their lead in years to come. You can learn more about the new logo here. 05. Audi by Strichpunkt and KMS Team Audi’s famous rings have gone ever-more minimal April 2017 saw a new global identity system for Audi (above), based on a flattened version of its previous logo (below). This strikingly minimalist redesign of the famous rings was the result of a collaboration between German agencies KMS Team and Strichpunkt. The previous design has been slimmed down and made monochrome “Working in partnership with Strichpunkt, we took a holistic approach and redesigned the overall brand appearance for all relevant touchpoints,” explains Andreas Zeischegg, design director for KMS Team. “The vision was to create a seamless experience throughout all media and devices; starting from automobile interfaces, online and offline applications, TVC and classical media to print design. “The flattened Audi logo is not just a formal consequence of technical requirements, but a bold statement,” he adds. “A symbol of a new brand attitude fostering creative diversity and a shift from monologue to dialogue.” Graphic designer Christopher Colouryum greatly approves. “It's a real sign of status when a logo can drop its wordmark and be globally recognised by its icon,” he points out. “Especially when it's just four circles! Audi is now joining ranks with the likes of Apple and Nike, who have proved that a strong brand icon doesn't need messy letters for people to recognise it. This is a beautifully clean and sharp rebrand and very, well... German. “All the unnecessary fluff has been stripped away and flat design has been used across both digital and print applications to give a sophisticated and luxurious yet well-engineered feel,” he adds. “The accompanying font family is instantly recognisable as Audi and the brand clearly knows that too, by choosing to not use the logo in some of its material; very bold.” 06. Science Museum by North North Design’s new logo for the Science Museum combines a colour gradient with fading font weights North Design, based in London, courted controversy in October with the release of its new logo and branding for the Science Museum. Many believed it was too soon for a rebrand, and questioned what was wrong with the previous design, before Johnson Banks responded to the redesign. Love it or loathe it, the logo certainly got people talking. Louis Mikolay, senior designer at North Design, provides some background. “The Science Museum Group is the world’s leading alliance of five science museums around the UK,” he explains. “To maximise ongoing ROI and leverage funding partnerships, the group has been aligning itself in appropriate areas. To support these strategies and to foster a sense of unity and purpose, North was briefed to create a new group visual language that helps present the sites as a cohesive family.” The previous logo won a D&AD award for Johnson Banks Freelance art director Olly Browning is a big fan of the new identity. “It seems to give the museum a sense of cohesion in a way I hadn’t really seen there before; from wayfinding to shops to those lovely gradient staff T-shirts I want to steal,” he explains. “The new colour palette and gradients seem sufficiently science-y too, and I hope they won’t tire of them too quickly.” 07. Mozilla by Johnson Banks Mozilla harnessed the power of the public to develop its new logo The open source organisation behind the Firefox browser, Mozilla has always been all about the community surrounding it. But it pushed the concept even further recently by throwing the process of designing a new logo open to the public at large. From June 2016 onwards, Mozilla worked with London agency johnson banks to develop new branding. And it involved the public by documenting the process on its blog, and then releasing a longlist of seven first-round concepts and inviting feedback on the designs. The winner, shown above, was launched this January. Is it best standalone logo we've ever seen? No. But this boldly basic design, based on custom-made font created in collaboration with Dutch type foundry Typotheque, holds together beautifully, and looks smart and sophisticated while being beautifully flexible. Is it a ground-breaking approach to apply to logo design? Without a doubt. It wouldn't be right for most logos, of course, but for this client it was perfect. And that's why we've included it here. You can learn more about the thinking behind the logo in this blog post. Related articles: 10 visual storytelling tips from top agencies The 17 best startup logos of 2017 5 new free tools for boosting your creativity View the full article

A recognised centre of excellence for the creative industries, Escape Studios specialises in turning passion into studio-ready skills – and this year the studio is celebrating its 15th birthday. To celebrate turning 15, the academy is showcasing the latest crop of incredible talent by releasing four new showreels across VFX, Games and Animation. What's more it's expanding its offering with new courses in Python, Character Design, Rigging and Producing for VFX. Since it launched in 2002, Escape has been setting up partnerships with studios and offering practical training from leading specialists, all aimed at giving budding VFX artists the best start in the industry. A key player in the VFX industry, Escape also puts on events. Escape's first VFX Festival took place in 2012 in association with MPC, Framestore and Cinesite (and there's an even bigger on the way in February 2018!) and in 2016 it ran its first Game Jam. Escape Studios alumni Over the course of the past 15 years, the studio has taught over 4000 students, producing a vibrant and successful community of Escapees that are currently making their mark on the design world. Escape alumni can be found throughout the VFX, games and animation industries. The community's awards cabinet isn't looking too shabby either, with students going on to work on hundreds of award-winning films, and thousands of award-winning commercials. The brightest sparks have even gone on to shape Oscar- and BAFTA-nominated films, including recent Oscar winner The Jungle Book. A key player in the VFX industry, Escape also puts on events. Escape's first VFX Festival took place in 2012 in association with MPC, Framestore and Cinesite (and there's an even bigger on the way in February 2018!), and in 2016 it ran its first Game Jam. To find out more about this remarkable academy, watch the new 2017 showreels and find out about the new courses available, visit Escape's 15th Birthday website. View the full article

If you've seen our Black Friday 2017 and Cyber Monday 2017 deals pages, you'll know we're working hard to bring designers, illustrators and artists the best bargains on creative tools this November. And here's another one on WordPress themes... When launching your website, there's no platform better than WordPress. All you need is a professionally-designed theme from Visualmodo to give your site style and function as soon as it goes live. Get lifetime access to these themes right now for just $39 (approx. £30)! Visualmodo's WordPress themes let you streamline every web design project by providing you with a perfect theme to fit your every need. This library of professionally designed themes are a snap to set up and immediately give you a wide variety of features that you need. These themes are customisable and flexible and made to fit just about any project but if you're having trouble making it work for you, the award-winning customer service from Visualmodo can help you out. You can get a lifetime of access to WordPress themes from Visualmodo on sale for 84% off the retail price. That makes your total just $39 (approx. £30). It's a great offer for themes that will make your site even better, so grab this deal today! Creative Bloq deals This great deal comes courtesy of the Creative Bloq Deals store – a creative marketplace that's dedicated to ensuring you save money on the items that improve your design life. We all like a special offer or two, particularly with creative tools and design assets often being eye-wateringly expensive. That's why the Creative Bloq Deals store is committed to bringing you useful deals, freebies and giveaways on design assets (logos, templates, icons, fonts, vectors and more), tutorials, e-learning, inspirational items, hardware and more. Every day of the working week we feature a new offer, freebie or contest – if you miss one, you can easily find past deals posts on the Deals Staff author page or Offer tag page. Plus, you can get in touch with any feedback at: deals@creativebloq.com. Related articles: 14 brilliantly creative Christmas gifts for kids 22 great examples of WordPress websites 25 brilliant WordPress tutorials View the full article