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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

Cisco Systems issued patch that fixes a critical vulnerability impacting 12 products running the Cisco Voice Operating System software. View the full article

Researchers warn of a Microsoft remote code execution bug that has persisted for 17 years in Office, leaving the OS unprotected until the vulnerability was patched Tuesday. View the full article

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

Pricing your creative and design services effectively is a difficult business. After you have calculated your shop rate, you have a baseline number for all of your pricing calculations. Using this number, you can determine what it takes to complete a project. To do so, you'll use one of seven different pricing methods. Whether you're a freelancer or large agency, there is no single 'right way' to price your services. Instead, look for the 'ideal way' to price. Most companies will use two or three different methods. Exclusive offer: Save 15% on Adobe Creative Cloud now Use your past experience and estimation exercises to determine how much time and effort is required for each project. Look at two or three models to find the right one for each situation. And since your minimum profit is already covered by your shop rate, you have much greater freedom to say no to bad pricing situations. Click to see full-sized image 01. Hourly pricing Hourly pricing is one of the two most simple models. The key things you need for successful hourly pricing is discipline, documentation and communication. It requires greater scrutiny of the process, which often doesn't foster client trust. Hourly pricing only works when you have good data. You must meticulously track your time and expenses, and consistently check in with your client. This approach is ideal for freelancers who aren't directly working with the client – for example, a freelancer for an ad agency. It's also ideal for any work involving sophisticated technology such as app development, where things often go wrong. However, it isn't a long-term solution for most creatives unless you choose to remain freelance. You will only become more profitable by raising your rates, which has a ceiling. To summarise, hourly pricing is a good option if: You're working regularly with the same client, on similar work The project's deliverables are unclear Project scope changed several times when meeting with the client You're doing complex technical work 02. Project-based pricing The second of these simple models is project-based pricing, which can be used in tandem with the hourly model. Project-based or 'flat-fee' pricing is the most common model. Someone asks you how much a website costs, you tell them $4,000, and you charge them $4,000 regardless of the time or cost involved. However, with this method we often underestimate the effort required, and end up with excessive changes or unexpected problems. This means a loss in profit or an awkward request for a budget increase. Project-based pricing can be profitable, and it's a step toward value-based pricing and higher profit levels. If you do similar work for similar clients routinely (e.g. WordPress websites for restaurants), you can cut costs and increase profit with this approach. It can also work well if you're good at time estimates, but most of us aren't. You want to use this approach if: The client asks about money a lot up-front It's clear you can get the project done faster than the client's estimate What you’re pricing: Pricing packages don’t have to be for deliverables, they can also be used for things like workshops03. Retainer pricing A retainer is the closest thing to a regular paycheck; it's a pre-set and pre-billed fee for a time period or volume of work. This can be based on time – for example the client agrees to buy 100 hours per month at $100 per hour, for a total of $10,000. Alternatively, it can be based on value. In this case the client might specify the features or deliverables they need, and pay $10,000 per month for this work, regardless of exactly how long it takes. There are two types of time-based retainers: rolling and use-it-or-lose-it. In a rolling retainer, clients roll over any unused hours to the next month. In a use-it-or-lose-it retainer, any unused time is lost and the balance resets the next month. Don't offer rolling retainers; you'll end up doing meaningless work just so your client can burn through the hours. You will find a maximum hourly rate a client is willing to pay. Value-based retainers enable you to scale your skills instead of your time, which means you can increase your profit. If you can reduce the time it takes to produce a chunk of code, you are no longer penalised for the increased efficiency. You are paid the same amount regardless of how long the job takes. 04. Value-based pricing Value-based pricing calls for a less traditional client relationship. At Nine Labs we call it growth-driven design and our clients love itThe crux of value-based pricing is ensuring the client is satisfied they paid for what they received. Two clients may pay a different price for the same work. But they aren't paying you for your time; they're paying you for solutions. And those solutions are worth more to some clients than others. It's driven by customer demand and their willingness to pay. The strategy is based on three components, which we'll look at now. What your market will bear Consider the limits of both your local market (where you do business) and your horizontal market (what you do). You can get granular and define your market as 'custom logo designs for consumer brands'. You need to find out what your competition is charging for similar work with clients of similar size. So how do you do this? Ask: You'll be shocked at how many people will tell you Go where the clients are: Instead of networking with other creatives, go to client events and trade shows and ask them what they paid Get involved: Go to conferences, join trade associations, and sit in round tables and talk about pricing Monitor: Set up alerts for freelance pricing guides and pricing surveys Your track record Your past experience will affect how much you can charge. If you have extensive experience with a particular type of client, technology or style of design, then you fall into the 'expert' category. Experts can charge more for their services. Clients see that hiring you means that they're more likely to get desirable results. Perceived value Often you'll be called upon to detail how your work is 'worth more' to the client than the work of others. There are ways to quantify value, but the mentality has to change from what the client values to the client valuing you and your expertise. This means you have to demonstrate expertise, competence, and the ability to quickly understand their problems. 05. Package pricing Package pricing can get a business up and running, but it can also result in your services being viewed as a commodity. Putting your prices out front before you've analysed the client's problem puts your needs (money) above theirs (effective solutions). You've removed the ability to find pain points and address them directly because you have fit their problem into your process. If your package pricing includes discovery and analysis, that won't be as big an issue. Here are some examples of different package pricing options: Brand package: A logo, website and business cards at one fixed price Template customisation: Customised website themes for WordPress Consulting workshops and day rates: Aimed at public or private audiences Analysis or reviews: Analysis of existing projects at a fixed cost, including a report Photoshoots and videos: A certain number of shots or amount of time You can also offer price ranges (for example, 'CMS-based websites range from $5,000 to $20,000'), or consider minimum project costs. 'Projects start at $10,000' indicates you will not accept projects that are less than $10,000. 06. Performance-based pricing Value-based pricing and performance pricing aren’t the same thing, here’s the differencePerformance-based pricing means to base your fee on the performance of your work. You must affect a measurable outcome for your client, such as higher revenue or increased efficiency. It's often tied to analytics, so it's common with web or application design, and with ad agencies and SEO experts that can measure media impressions. You must have a bulletproof contract with clear metrics and clear terms – if you don't have legal support, don't use this model. It can result in powerful working relationships that closely align the buyer's goals and the seller's goals, creating the ultimate bond between you and your client. It's near-impossible to under-price yourself, as long as your metrics line up. 07. Equity pricing You may be offered a stake in a business in exchange for your work, either in lieu of any cash payment or as a mix of equity and a reduced cash payment. This approach is good for side projects or small engagements, but not if you're giving up a large number of cash bookings or clients and you need the money now. Success depends on where the company is at the time you get involved. If it hasn't received any outside funding, your ownership could be diluted once it does. If it has, you're going to be offered little equity, probably less than 5 per cent. If the company is funded but can't offer you partial cash, it's not worth it unless you plan to go and work there full-time. Summary Money can be messy, but it doesn't have to be. The key is to avoid getting emotional about pricing. No two projects or clients are the same, and there has to be a method to the madness. The sooner you get control of your pricing strategy, the sooner you'll find profitability. Related articles: The best Christmas gifts for graphic designers This graphic designer's price list is priceless The best laptops for graphic design 2017 View the full article

Working in Photoshop CC is such an ingrained feature of our lives that much of what we do becomes automated and subconscious. There are lots of brilliant Photoshop resources around to help us keep on top of things, including handy Photoshop tutorials. But if it's been a long time since you really considered your Photoshop workflow, there's a chance you're not being as productive as you could be. Exclusive offer: Save 15% on Adobe Creative Cloud now Here, we outline 10 of the most common mistakes designers make when using Photoshop. If you recognise any of these in your own workflow, it's time to make a change... 01. Failing to use shortcuts Don't go the long way round – use existing shortcuts or create your own Learning shortcuts is an enormously important way to save time and energy as a designer. Here you can find a list of some of the most useful Photoshop shortcuts, or here for a handy shortcut cheatsheet. It might sound like a lot of effort, and it's fiddly while you're learning them, but once you have the main shortcuts secured in your muscle memory you'll see your workflow speed up exponentially. You can also create your own shortcuts in Photoshop by selecting Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts. Or go even further and create your own Photoshop scripts. 02. Forgetting to save regularly A common mistake people make when working in any software is forgetting to save, and consequently losing all their work when there's a powercut or hardware malfunction. The lies we tell ourselves are always the most convincing; so it's easy to believe that we DO save regularly. But come on, be honest... Get in the habit of hitting cmd+S every 10 minutes or so and you'll thank yourself when the spinning rainbow wheel of death pops up. 03. Not using layers and folders Get organised – there's no excuse not to A central feature of Photoshop, layers make a project easier to edit, duplicate and more. A common mistake amongst Photoshop beginners is not to make enough layers, only to regret it later when they realise it's quicker to start again than edit what they've done. More experienced designers know not to fall into that trap – but what they still often fail to do is to organise their layers and structure them into folders properly. Again, this may seem like a lot of unnecessary work, but it will help massively in keeping your project organised and save you a lots of time and hassle in the long term. Plus, if you ever have to hand over your work to another designer, they'll love you for it. 04. Making permanent adjustments You're usually better off using Layer Masks rather than the eraser toolSimilar to point 3, making permanent adjustments to the pixels within projects without building in a route back to an earlier version if you decide against your changes is a classic mistake to make. To avoid this, you're usually better off using layer masks instead of the eraser tool. Also, use smart objects rather than rasterized layers. 05. Relying too much on stock imagery There are times when using stock photography makes sense for a designer working on a project in Photoshop. At other times, it's much better to shoot or illustrate the image yourself. When you do use stock photography, make sure the images are relevant and that you use your Photoshop smarts to improve the image where necessary. 06. Defaulting to CMYK Don't assume CMYK is always the best option for print workBelieve it or not, designing in CMYK mode in Photoshop is not always the best way to go, especially when it comes to print work (for an explanation of the difference between CMYK and RGB see this article). Using CMYK during design can be limiting, as certain functions and filters do not work, and the file size will be bigger. Sometimes working in RGB mode with colour proofing on is a better way to work, and then the file can be converted to CMYK closer to the final stages. 07. Going overboard with retouching We've all seen examples where a designer has got a bit overzealous with the airbrush in Photoshop. Whether we're talking about removing 'clutter' from a landscape or smoothing a model's skin, it's important not to get too carried away with trying to make an image too 'perfect'. Paradoxically, going too far down that road will actually make it look fake and uninteresting. 08. Using Photoshop for everything Photoshop is not the only tool: other apps, such as Sketch, may do the job as well or betterPhotoshop is a very versatile tool, but isn't necessarily the perfect software for every design task. For example, if you're creating a vector-based logo, you're much better off using Illustrator CC. Many web designers argue Sketch is a better option for web design than Photoshop. Also read our roundup of the best Photoshop alternatives. 09. Using 'Desaturate' to convert black and white images Choosing the Image > Adjustments > Desaturate function in Photoshop does exactly what it suggests: it removes all the colour from an image, leaving you with a black and white version. However, this can often result in a flat, lifeless photograph. A much richer image can be produced by choosing Image > Adjustments > Channel Mixer. Uncheck Monochrome and then adjust the Red, Green and Blue channel sliders until you achieve the desired result. 10. Working in 72dpi Photoshop's default resolution is 72 dpiPhotoshop's default resolution is 72dpi (dots per inch), which, for the most part, is fine for the web. But this resolution should not be used for print. At the beginning of a project, ensure that your dpi is set correctly for the type of work you're doing (print is typically 300dpi) as increasing the resolution at a later date can lead to work appearing pixelated and cause problems when printing. 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You're reading 4 Tiny Trends in Applying Animations, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook, Google+! With interaction design showing up pretty much everywhere, animation is finally being perceived not only as a tool for entertaining visitors but as an instrument for improving the user experience. From tiny dynamic effects that enliven parts of the UI to huge animations that are used as means of communication, the internet is jam-packed with […] View the full article

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Graphic designers can be the hardest people to please at Christmas. No way will they put up with some glittery mass-produced card from W.H. Smith's, and finding the right present for them is even tougher. Never fear, though, as we've searched far and wide to come up with a selection of designer-friendly Christmas presents that'll put smiles on their faces, and to make things even easier for you we've covered all the price points, from cheap and cheerful stocking fillers to overdraft-busting big presents. Happy shopping! Best Christmas gifts for designers under £20/$25 Don't boil these up for Christmas dinner01. Chocolate sprouts Price: £10There's nothing more Christmassy than sprouts, and now even sprout-haters can get in on the action with these amazing chocolate replicas of the traditional festive treat. Handcrafted in Somerset from carefully-dyed white Belgian chocolate, this punnet of eight sprouts is just one of a range of chocolate trompe-l'oeil from Choc on Choc. These cool coasters celebrate Star Wars old and newThe only thing nearly as Christmassy as sprouts is this new tradition of Star Wars coming out just in time for Life Day. And rather than get all over-excited and splash out on the latest toy, why not opt for this set of six tasteful Star Wars-themed coasters? Not only are they way cool, they're handmade and hand-varnished to protect against spills. Ungrateful recipients can take this apart and just keep the bricksPerfect for anyone who simply can't get enough Lego, these frames are made from genuine Lego bricks and plates and come in a variety of sizes from 4"x6" up to A4. And as it's not glued together, if the luckily recipient doesn't like it they can just take it apart and play with the bricks instead. Best Christmas gifts for designers under £50/$75 Have yourself a Brutalist little Christmas04. Brutalist London print Price: £40Brutalist architecture has finally made the transition from appalling eyesore to design classic, and has even inspired a style of web design. George Finch's Lambeth Towers, completed in 1972, are considered to be his Brutalist masterpiece, and this print definitely shows them to their best advantage. It's available in a number of sizes; we'd opt for the A3 giclée print. Coffee and classic literature - what's not to love?05. Coffee and Book Club Subscription Price: £29.95No designer can resist books and decent coffee, and this thoughtful gift delivers the best of both worlds. Sign a friend up for as long as you like, and every month for as long as the subscription last they'll get a surprise vintage paperback and some delicious ground coffee sent to them. This new volume's a must for type loversAn essential gift for any typography aficionado, Paul McNeil's Visual History of Type is a beautiful and comprehensive look at the most important typefaces produced since the invention of movable type in the 15th century. Featuring over 320 typefaces, displayed in the form of their original specimens or earliest printing, it's a must-have resource for anyone with an eye for type. Best Christmas gifts for designers under £100/$125 This gift keeps on giving 07. Computer Arts magazine subscription Special Christmas offers! Print: £54.60 Digital: £45 Print & digital bundle: £66.60 (save 61%!) Computer Arts magazine offers insight and inspiration for the global design community. And it's not just for Christmas either – buy your designer friend a subscription and they'll get a new issue through their door every month. Every copy includes in-depth analysis of trends, working practices and business issues, incisive opinions from the design world’s thought leaders, an inspiring roundup of the very best new work from the global design community, profiles of influential agencies, and behind the scenes access to cutting-edge design briefs. Plus, there are some ridiculous offers on this holiday season, so now's the time to buy! Each of these unique watches is hand-carved from bamboo08. Bear Wood Watch Price: £84.95Hand-carved from finest bamboo and fitted with a distressed leather strap, the Bear Wood Watch from Tribe is a fine-looking timepiece, and just the thing for anyone who's sick of having to take out their phone to find out what time it is. It's big and it's stylish, and as it's made out of wood, no two are alike. Never be caught out by bad coffee againFreelance designers working in-house run a constant gauntlet of terrible coffee, whether it's cheap instant or a filth in a plastic cup from out of a machine. So this USB-powered gadget is a godsend – it's small enough to pop in a satchel, but it'll quickly deliver a cup of damn fine espresso. This vintage sign can be personalised with whatever wording you likeThis retro cinema sign makes a perfect desk lamp or room feature, and can be personalised with any wording of your choice. It's handmade in the UK from reclaimed or sustainable timber, distressed and then finished with French polish wax for an authentic vintage look, and its white LED lighting provides a lovely soft glow. Best Christmas gifts for designers over £100/$125 Finally, a tablet for people who insist that pen and paper's bestThe reMarkable isn't cheap, and you should order as soon as possible if you want an outside chance of it arriving in time for Christmas, but it's just the tablet for a designer who prefers working on paper. Designed just for reading, writing and sketching, it's a paper tablet with a beautiful and responsive E-ink display, and it boasts 100,000 pages of storage and days of battery time. You won't get anyone's back up with this comfy chair Christmas is the perfect opportunity to get the designer in your life to stop ruining their back on some cheap swivel chair, and set them up with a quality office chair that provides proper lumbar support for all those late nights tweaking Bézier curves. This high backed chair from Eliza Tinsley ticks all the right boxes, won't cost the earth, and its mesh design looks great too. Why buy someone a bike when you can get them to make their own?13. Build your own bike Price: £623Any idiot can buy someone a bicycle; show them you really care by getting them to build their own bicycle. At this day-long workshop run by The London Bike Kitchen in Hackney, they'll build a bike from scratch, from the frame to the fork, and get to ride it home at the end of the day. Best of all, if it goes wrong they'll only have themselves to blame - but they'll know how to fix it too. We've waited two years for Microsoft to gets its act together and release the follow-up to its first laptop... and here it is. The Surface Book 2 doesn't come cheap, but it does include some impressive specs. There are a total of seven different configurations to choose from, but all offer a notable boost in performance, most include a bigger and better screen, and improved battery life. You can preorder yours from John Lewis here. View the full article