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Whether you're a recent graduate, a seasoned pro applying for a new job, or a freelancer scouting for new work, you need a powerful portfolio. Curating and maintaining your portfolio should be an essential part of your professional life. In essence, your portfolio should showcase your professional work, demonstrating what you can do and the skills you have. But more than that, it should demonstrate your experience and the journey that you've been on to get there. Needless to say, it's no simple task, Through this article, I'll run through some essential portfolio advice and golden rules that can be applied to any creative discipline, to help you on your way to curating a killer portfolio. 01. Only the best will do Designer and Illustrator Becca Allen's online portfolio is clean and simple This is a no-brainer, but only include your very best work in your portfolio: it should be all killer and no filler. Although we're used to being ruthless in presenting only the key information when responding to a creative brief, it's often very hard to apply the same ruthless decision-making process to our own work. Ensure that all the pieces in your portfolio 100 per cent represent your best work. If you're unsure whether or not to feature a piece then, as a rule of thumb, you probably need to ditch it. The work featured should demonstrate the very best of what you can do. Any sub-par pieces will only let down the portfolio as a whole, and give the impression that you're unable to self-edit or be self-critical. I asked designer and illustrator Becca Allen about how she goes about selecting the work that appears in her portfolio. "My portfolio is 5 per cent of my work over the last five years. It's the pieces I slaved over, I am most proud of and through which I pushed my design knowledge. It covers a large variety of design practices to show my ability and strengths, but only the best pieces make the cut. Quality not quantity." 02. Choose the right format This is more of an interview-specific tip, really, as it should go without saying that you need an online portfolio in this day and age. If you don't, get one! There's no excuse for not having an online space to showcase your creative work – you don't even have to be able to code. There are so many off-the-peg solutions from Cargo to Squarespace, not to mention the likes of Tumblr, Wordpress and Behance. 5 hidden heroes of web design Back to the interview portfolio. This really depends on your output as it would make zero sense to print out motion work. But I'm going to go out on a limb and say that traditional printed portfolios are largely redundant today. Put together an iPad presentation or even a full screen interactive PDF presentation that fits to your laptop screen and can be cycled through easily. Of course, take in actual physical copies of some of the more tactile pieces. If you've created a beautiful foil blocked and embossed book cover, that's the sort of thing people want to see and feel in the flesh. Printing that out and presenting it in a traditional format would do it no justice anyway. 03. Tell your story and present it well Pacing and presentation is key when curating a portfolio. Treat it like any other design job in the way that you present the work, and ensure that it has a beginning, middle and end. The exact aesthetic and typographic choices you make when creating your portfolio are yours and yours alone, but I'd suggest that less is more. It's better to let the work featured speak for itself and be the main event – not the vessel that holds the work. Whether it's a website or a printed folio, it should be easy to view each project clearly and identify who it was created for. "Your portfolio is a piece of artwork in itself – the order, composition, format, typography, colour palette," adds Allen. "It should all be considered just like a brief. A poorly designed portfolio could let the rest of the work down. It should be cohesive as a whole, from the first page to the last and all the pages in between." In terms of pacing, my suggestion would be to always start and end with key, knockout pieces so that the viewer is instantly impressed and left wanting more. This is easy to apply to a printed, PDF or showreel portfolio, but slightly harder online. With online portfolios, my advice as a commissioning art editor would, again, be 'less is more' in terms of the design and presentation. Make the work easy to view and then make the images big. I have definitely left illustrators and designers websites in the past, not because the work was poor but because the experience of trying to view it was so awful. Mike Sullivan, from digital design studio Mister, agrees with this. "When designing a portfolio, you want a website that is straightforward, easy to use and engaging," he says. "You want your work to be the focal point, rather than a distracting, design heavy folio." 04. Adapt for each job Your portfolio should be a living, breathing entity and should evolve over time, as your work does. It makes sense to periodically update your website and if you're looking for a job, always update what you intend to present in the interview. Don't be tempted to simply take along the same selection of work and present it in the same manner for every job role. The work within your folio should be thought about in terms of who you're going to be presenting it to. This, of course, applies to the samples that you send out when applying for the job in the first place as this is the first snapshot of your work that the potential employer will see. 05. Be confident Finally, be confident when curating your portfolio. This will speak volumes to viewers, telling people a little about yourself in the process. Choose your most interesting, dynamic and accomplished work, and pick pieces that you know you'll be able to talk about in a meeting or interview situation. Think about including some WIPS or alternative routes to a finished piece of work as this will provide valuable insight into your creative process and a talking point when face-to-face with someone. Mike Sullivan concurs: "Don't be afraid to specialise, if you want to work in editorial show this. If UX is your strong suite – show that and always share the process and backstory." Be careful not to overdo the 'behind the scenes' bit, though, and don't be tempted to retro-fit 'process' images as it'll only come off as contrived. We've all seen those spirograph logo diagrams. Now go forth and curate! Related articles: 32 brilliant design portfolios to inspire you 8 great examples of graphic design portfolios 10 tips for a killer design portfolio View the full article

You're reading wpDataTables: The Leading Plugin for Creating Tables and Charts in WordPress, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook, Google+! Most web designers love a challenge. Creating attractive and informative tables and charts can be one of them and a rewarding one as well. When large amounts of data are concerned however, creating a table or chart can quickly become a mind-numbing task, and an error-prone one as well. The good news for WordPress users […] View the full article

Even the best writers make some embarrassing mistakes. That's why they have editors. While your work and everyday texts don't have a second set of eyes to catch those slip-ups, you can still improve your writing with the help of WhiteSmoke. This powerful app will spot all the errors that sneak past you. Grab a lifetime subscription on sale for just $69.99 (approximately £51). WhiteSmoke is an essential tool, no matter your writing level. The powerful app makes use of advanced technology to proofread your work and identify grammar, spelling, punctuation, and style errors as you write. This versatile and easy-to-use app works on mobile and desktop, so no matter where you're writing, it can keep you from making common mistakes. Never send an email with a misspelled word again with the help of WhiteSmoke. A lifetime subscription to WhiteSmoke Premium usually retails for $399.95, but you can save 82 per cent on that price right now. Grab this must-have writing app on sale for just $69.99 (£51) and watch your writing improve in no time. About Creative Bloq deals This great deal comes courtesy of the Creative Bloq Deals store – a creative marketplace that's dedicated to ensuring you save money on the items that improve your design life. We all like a special offer or two, particularly with creative tools and design assets often being eye-wateringly expensive. That's why the Creative Bloq Deals store is committed to bringing you useful deals, freebies and giveaways on design assets (logos, templates, icons, fonts, vectors and more), tutorials, e-learning, inspirational items, hardware and more. Every day of the working week we feature a new offer, freebie or contest – if you miss one, you can easily find past deals posts on the Deals Staff author page or Offer tag page. Plus, you can get in touch with any feedback at:deals@creativebloq.com. Related articles: How to write engaging case studies for your portfolio How to write the perfect design dissertation How to write a great headline View the full article

Project case studies are one of the most important yet overlooked parts of building a design portfolio. In our efforts to design the perfect portfolio and showcase our visual work, we often rush the copy or omit it entirely, leaving only a shallow overview of who we are and what we can do. But dumping a bunch of photos on your project pages without any context sells your work short. Case studies are so crucial to the success of a designer's website that we built Semplice, a portfolio system for designers, entirely around them. (If you're after design portfolio and case study inspiration, check out the Semplice Showcase.) Your portfolio case studies are your opportunity to show prospective clients and employers how you think, how you work and what you can contribute to the world. Here are five examples of designers who do case studies well. 01. Liz Wells Wells includes videos of her website designs in action As a UX designer, Liz Wells has the unique task of making sitemaps, sketches, prototypes and user flows both visually engaging and concrete for her readers. She strikes the perfect balance in her portfolio case studies, highlighting work for brands like Google, Viceland and Spotify. Wells shares the project story from challenge to solution, taking care to explain her process along the way. Photos, videos – even early sketches torn from her notebooks – are thoughtfully photographed and laid out. All of it works together to not only showcase Wells' work, but also who she is and how she thinks. Early brainstorms offer insight into the project On my blog, I publish a series in which I interview top companies about how to get a design job where they work. Almost every company has voiced that they want to understand how you think and see your process. Think about your project in phases and share your work – even the less glamorous notes and sketches, if they’re important to the story – from beginning to end, and you’ll find you have plenty to say. 02. Melissa Deckhert Melissa Deckert’s case studies may be minimal but they pack a punch. Some, like her Food Quote GIFs case study for Tumblr, hook you in with a little secret that makes you look closer at the work. “Tumblr asked me to animate a few food quotes for an internal project,” Deckert explains in the case study. “Naturally I found a way to weave Beyonce into two out of three.” Short and sweet, but the last line creates intrigue and make you want to see more. If you hand-made a project, show off that fact Others case studies, like her In Every Moment We Are Alive book cover project, surprise you with a big reveal at the end. The case study works in reverse, leading with the finished product (the final book cover) and ending with a behind-the-scenes shot that makes you rethink what you saw before. Despite all our excuses, designers can write too. While it’s good to share your process, it also helps to remember the one person who is reading your website. They’re tired, they’re busy and they’ve probably reviewed dozens of portfolios today already. If your case study surprises them and brightens their day, it will be remembered. 03. Naim Sheriff Explain the visuals, don't just dump them on the page Naim Sheriff breaks his case studies into sections, making the page easy to read and digest. He leads with a brief paragraph introducing the client and task at hand, then shares each project element in bite-sized pieces. Most importantly, he explains his visuals instead of just dumping them on the page. Sheriff’s case studies are rich in imagery but he doesn’t just show, he tells. Just as with a newspaper or magazine article, it’s important to remember people are scanning your case studies. They may decide to read deeper if something catches their interest, or they may just skim and move on to the next project. Use your layout to guide them through the content and draw them deeper. Make your captions meaningful for scanners, and write easy-to-read paragraphs for the ones who stay. 04. Mackey Saturday Mackey Saturday’s case studies, like his whole portfolio, are clean and light. His identity designs for brands like Instagram, Oculus and Luxe stand on their own (as logos must do) but his case studies, complete with videos, polished photos and before and after GIFs, explain the nuances and decisions behind the finished product. Most notably, Saturday reveals his entire perspective on branding and design in his case studies. Before/after GIFs help emphasise design nuances “Redesigning a globally recognised logo is a polarising opportunity: Do you put your personal style on display, or stay true to what the brand’s users are familiar with?” he writes. “I believe the best designs channel a company’s culture, not the designer’s.” Don’t be afraid to share your opinion and perspective in your case study. While you should avoid sharing opinions like, 'I really hated working with this client', you should, where relevant, express your beliefs about design and how you applied them to your work. Tell people what inspires you, what principles guide you, share your feelings about the final result. This adds personality and helps visitors understand who you are as a designer. Read more tips for writing case studies here. 05. Kali & Karina Make it clear what your role was in the project Kali & Karina tee everything up for their case study readers with a strong introduction, including the project challenge, the project brief (in one sentence), as well as the partnering agency, their client and their role. They then follow through with their approach and the outcome. On of the most common portfolio mistakes is forgetting to mention your role and give credit to your team. Giving credit doesn’t make your work on the project any less impressive. In fact, it shows you can work well and collaborate with a team. It also helps a potential employer or client understand where your main skills lie and how you’ll fit into their team or project. Read more: Inspiring redesigns of design agency portfolios 6 ways to power up your portfolio How to start a blog: 10 pro tips View the full article

Sketch is the go-to UI tool of choice for many people working in the design industry. What you might not know is that there's a diverse and powerful community of people working to extend Sketch's functionality and features by building custom plugins. In this article, we'll share some of the best Sketch plugins around. The good news is that the management of your Sketch Plugins is even easier now. Plugins update automatically and outdated ones are disabled, plus a string of other small but highly intuitive improvements have been made. Making the plugin ecosystem even more useful is Sketch Cloud, a file-sharing service that anyone can sign up for, where you can view, download and comment on Sketch documents that have been shared publicly, or privately straight from Sketch. So let’s take a look the best Sketch Plugins around – the ones that could drastically change the way we design user interfaces. Once you've spotted one you'd like, read up on how to install Sketch plugins. 01. React Sketch.app This Sketch plugin helps you manage design systems Price: Free Summary: Render React components to Sketch Managing design assets can in Sketch can be difficult. This handy Sketch plugin provides an easier, more reliable way to manage your assets. Implement your designs in code as React components, then use this plugin to render them into sketch. It also makes it easier to fetch and implement real data into your Sketch files. React Sketch.app was developed by Airbnb for use with its design system, with the aim of helping bridge the gap between designers and developers. 02. Git Sketch Plugin Price: Free Summary: A Git client built into Sketch This plugin aims to bring version control into Sketch. It works by exporting an image for every part of the design, then generating pretty diffs so it's clear what changes have been made. By documenting each step of the design process, everyone on the team can see the how the design has progressed. Git Sketch Plugin was created by Mathieu Dutour, who has since moved on to creating a more comprehensive, paid version control system called Kactus. 03. Auto Layout Price: Free Summary: Responsive design for Sketch Group Resizing is a native Sketch feature that enables you to change the way objects react when your artboards or parent groups are resized. Auto Layout, built by AnimaApp, takes this functionality a little further. Where Group Resizing lets you create fluid elements and pin objects to a corner (think: :fixed positioning in CSS), Auto Layout also lets you offset elements by a certain number of pixels, define minimum and maximum dimensions for elements (think: min-: and max-: in CSS) and do everything that Group Resizing allows you to do but with a much less confusing UI. 04. Launchpad Launchpad is an efficient way of converting .sketch designs into static HTML websites Price: Free Summary: Convert designs to static HTML webpages LaunchPad offers an ultra-simple way to convert .sketch designs to static HTML webpages. It's from the same people who created Auto Layout, and in fact you can combine these two Sketch plugins to export responsive .sketch designs as HTML. LaunchPad doesn’t export a ‘finished’ design – you’re still expected to fine-tune loading times, tweak the code to ensure your design responds properly to different screen sizes, and optimise the code output to ensure the site loads quickly and runs smoothly. However, it does give you some pretty solid foundations to work with. After trying Launchpad out with a couple of low-fidelity mockups, I can see that the output is relatively simple, so there's no need to worry about bloated code. 05. ImageOptim ImageOptim brings a sophisticated image optimisation workflow Price: Free Summary: Image optimisation in Sketch While Sketch offers its own solution for optimising SVG files, there is no range of options for compressing JPG and PNG images. Since ImageOptim has been offering a solid service for a number of years, it makes sense that it would bring this functionality to Sketch. Any designer who cares about loading times and image optimisation (which should be all designers) should add ImageOptim to their toolbox. Note that as well as the plugin, you'll need the core ImageOptim app (free) installed on your macOS system, and you still need to mark layers as exportable in Sketch (navigate to ‘Export and Optimise All Assets’ to begin). 06. Magic Mirror Price: From $4/mo Summary: Image perspective transformation tool If you're trying to make impressive product mockups but have to keep jumping into Photoshop to deal with the tricky stuff, Magic Mirror could be a life-saver for you. It's an image perspective transformation tool, enabling you to create perspective mockups and other distorted effects without ever leaving Sketch. 07. Export More Make Mac-ready icons and animated GIFs with Export More Price: Free Summary: Export Mac-compatible icons and GIFs Previously two different plugins – Generate ICNS and Generate GIF – Nathan Rutzky's Export More brings them both together in a single package that addresses a couple of glaring holes in Sketch's export options. With it you can export icon designs as Mac-compatible ICNS files, and create simple animations that you can export as GIFs, all without ever having to step out of your Sketch workflow. This Sketch plugin is ideal for embracing the renewed enthusiasm for GIFs – while you could use Photoshop for or After Effects for your GIF design, you don't necessarily need a full-featured Adobe app, especially when creating relatively simple animations. Export More treats each artboard as an individual frame and combines them together. You can then choose whether to have the GIF play once or on a continuous loop. Navigate to ‘Plugins > Export More > Artboards to GIF’, choose the desired playback method (default or loop), then select the desired frame rate. 08. Sketch Style Inventory Pull all your designs into a single style to rule them all Price: Free Summary: Manage your styles easily Design can be a peculiar combination of freeform exploration and carefully structured process, and Sketch Style Inventory helps you marry the two: it gives you an overview of all the styles you've used and then helps you merge the styles of similar layers into one, enabling you to nail down a final style from all of your various experiments. 09. Day Player Price: Free Summary: Automatically generates placeholder images Adding placeholder images to a design is a necessary part of prototyping, but finding the actual images can be a pain. So rather than waste any time on it, leave it all to Day Player. This allows you to add customised placeholder images to any Sketch document, from a number of different placeholder image services, so the biggest decision you'll have to make will be whether you want to use Bill Murray, Nicolas Cage or kittens. 10. Marketch Turn your designs into lovely CSS with Marketch Price: Free Summary: Turn Sketch artboards into HTML and CSS If you want to retrieve CSS styles from your Sketch designs then a plugin like Marketch is absolutely essential. It enables you to export your Sketch artboards as a zip file full of HTML documents that you can then extract in order to pull out plenty of sweet CSS, ready to go. 11. Sync Sketch Plugin Convenient syncing for your design team Price: Free Summary: Share styles via Google Sheets Keeping your design team in sync is made easier by this plugin that holds your text styles, layer styles and colour palette in a Google Sheet. When you run the plugin it looks into the spreadsheet and changes your Sketch styles and colours to what's stored in there. A great way to share your styles instantly. 12. Segmented circles Segmented circle diagrams Price: Free Summary: Create precise circular graphics Here’s a quick way to make segmented circles for charts and diagrams. This plugin can produce various styles of circular diagram including dashed and tickmark circles, and the thicknesses are controlled via a simple list of comma-separated values. 13. Sketch Runner Sketch Runner is macOS’s Spotlight equivalent for Sketch Price: Free Summary: Spotlight for search Sketch is well-loved for its minimalist keyboard workflow. That being said, there’s always two or three keyboard shortcuts that you always seem to forget or confuse with another design app like Photoshop – and let’s not forget those less common tools and features that don’t have a keyboard shortcut and are hidden deep in the Sketch menu. Sketch Runner solves these issues and does so in a way that macOS users are familiar with – Sketch Runner is the macOS Spotlight, but for Sketch. 14. Icon Font Icon fonts in Sketch Price: Free Summary: Manage icon fonts Icon fonts are a highly efficient way of using icons in your web designs without having to export and optimise a ton of image assets. Typically we reference icon fonts in the <head> section of HTML webpages, as we do with CSS and JavaScript. However, using them in Sketch is a little more complicated. Thankfully, Icon Font makes it easy. After downloading and installing Sketch IconFont, download SVG font files or download this font bundle, which includes the font files for FontAwesome, Material Design Icons, Ion Icons and Simple Line Icons. When you’re done, navigate to ‘Plugins > Icon Font > Install a Font-Bundle’ , select the downloaded fonts from the Open File dialog, then navigate to ‘Plugins > Icon Font > Grid Insert > [your desired icon font]’ in order to insert an icon. Even if you’re intending to design a custom icon set for your design, having ready-made icons at your disposal can help you with rapid prototyping in the early stages of design, adding a little more clarity/fidelity to your low-fidelity mockups. 15. Find and Replace Price: Free Summary: Find and replace text in selected layers Text editors aren’t the only place you need find and replace – it’s useful in Sketch, too. This plugin has lots of advanced options, and it enables you to search for instances of particular words or phrases in the text in selected layers (and everything contained within), then replace it easily. Next page: More time-saving Sketch plugins 16. Content Generator Generate random placeholder content to populate your designs Price: Free Summary: Generate dummy data Built by Timur Carpeev, this tool lets you generate random content, whether that be people's names, addresses, profile pictures, background photos – you name it. The way it works is simple: create a shape (for images) or a text block, select it, go over to the plugins menu bar, run Content Generator, and choose from a variety of options for the kind of content you would like to see. This is extremely useful for populating designs. For example, to quickly mock up a friends list on an app, you could create a grid with circles and a label below, select them and, with this plugin, generate profile pictures and names in seconds. 17. Sketch Dockpreview Preview your work on the OS X Dock Price: Free Summary: Preview your icon design in the Dock This is a great utility if you are working on a Mac app icon – a simple shift+cmd+D will preview your current artboard on the OS X Dock, replacing the Sketch gem. Useless if you are working on a web page or an app, invaluable if you are working on icons. 18. Swap Styles Swap Styles uses a handy keyboard shortcut to swap styles with another later Price: Free Summary: Swap styles between two layers With the help of a handy keyboard shortcut, Swap Styles quite literally swaps styles with another layer. It's is a huge time saver when designing hover states. Let’s take a menu navigation, for example. A menu navigation would appear on every screen, although the active state would differ from screen to screen. On the settings screen the ‘Settings’ menu item might be underlined, and on the newsfeed screen the ‘Newsfeed’ menu item might be underlined. You usually have two options: either awkwardly move things around for every artboard, or create an insane amount of shared styles and/or symbols. In this example, Swap Styles lets you move the active state style to another menu item simply using the keyboard shortcut: cmd+ctrl+S. 19. Color Contrast Analyser Find out if your colour combinations meet MCAG guidelines with this plugin Price: Free Summary: Check your colour contrast meets accessibility guidelines To ensure your website is accessible to most users, there needs to be a certain amount of contrast between different design elements (for example, the background and body text). This contrast is measured using a formula defined by the WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines). Color Contrast Analyser is a handy Sketch plugin that compares two colours and defines the contrast ratio between them. Contrast ratios are split into three levels (A, AA and AAA) – AA is the minimum specified by the WCAG. If only one layer is selected, the colour will automatically be compared against the background colour of the artboard. This plugin helps you make solid design decisions using internationally recognised design standards, and is a must-have for designers trying to improve both the readability and accessibility of their work. 20. Craft Craft is a super useful toolbox that supercharges your design and prototyping workflow Price: Free Summary: Suite of design and prototyping tools Craft does a lot more than sync your .sketch designs with the InVision web app. In fact, most of Craft’s features can be used without having an InVision subscription at all. Craft supercharges your design workflow by letting you build your design with realistic data and images, rapidly tile objects horizontally and vertically, and create libraries of styles and assets that can be stored in the cloud, shared between your team and accessed at any time. There's also Craft Prototype, which not only lets you demonstrate user flows, transitions and dynamic components such as fixed headers/footers, but also sync those demonstrations into the core InVision app with Craft Sync, bringing your entire team into the loop with an abundance of top-class communication, collaboration and design handoff tools. InVision app subscriptions start at $15 a month, which is suitable for small teams. However, Craft itself can be used for free. 21. Sketch to App Store This plugin creates and exports all the screenshots you need for the App Store Price: Free Summary: Generate App Store images easily This plugin got a lot of exposure when it came out, mostly because it's so brilliant. If you design or develop for iOS, you probably are familiar with the pain of creating a range of screenshots for the App Store, especially now there are two new iPhone screen sizes. What this plugin does is take your screenshot, create a simple but completely customisable template with an iPhone and text on top, and export 45 screenshot images: a set of images with the iPhone and text, and a set with just the screenshot (and an extra Android one), all in JPG format and ready to upload to iTunes Connect. 22. Sketch Notebook Plugin Price: From €4.99 Summary: Manage functional documentation and notes When it comes to presenting your designs to a client or co-worker, sometimes it's nice to explain the thinking behind it. This plugin will add a tasteful sidebar to the right of your document. You just have to select an element of the project, hit ctrl+alt+cmd+9 and type your comment. The plugin will add the appropriate number and respective comment in the sidebar. 23. Sketch Measure Add overlays with useful information to your designs Price: Free Summary: Overlays your design with specs If you work alongside other people, especially developers, it's great if you can deliver your final mockups with some specs overlaid – things like the distance between elements, the dimensions of those icons, the HEX code of the colour you are using, or the font of a label, for example. If this sounds familiar to you, Sketch Measure will make your life easier. With a couple of clicks of your mouse, you can automatically create overlays on your design that contain this kind of information – all in the most unobtrusive way possible, and easily hidden. 24. Divine Proportions See examples of golden spirals or golden ratio grids to help guide your design Price: Free Summary: Check your design against classical ratios Designers love grids. They love logic behind emotion, and divine proportions are just that – divine. This plugin takes a shape and generates, for example, an overlaid golden spiral or golden ratio, or a grid based on the sections created by the golden spiral, or it divides it by the rule of thirds. You name it. It's a fundamental tool when it comes to layout work. How to Install Sketch Plugins Sketch Plugins can be installed in a variety of ways. Most developers simply upload their extensions to GitHub in the form of a .sketchplugin file. This is easy enough, but you’d have to check back regularly for updates as extensions are known to break when newer versions of Sketch are released. We can also use Sketch Toolbox to search for, install and manage Sketch Plugins. However, there’s no assurance that you’ll be given the latest versions, and some (such as Craft and Zeplin) aren’t even included in the toolbox. SketchPacks is updated more often and usually includes the big boys like AnimaApp – yet it’s still missing the private-source plugins like Craft and Zeplin. The newest version of Sketch (version 48) tries to update Sketch Plugins when it can, but using Sketchpacks or even the GitHub GUI – if you’re familiar with GitHub – could serve as a suitable alternative. For more guidance, look here. This is an edited version of an article that originally appeared in net magazine. Subscribe here. Related articles: How to automate your Sketch handoffs Implement beautiful typography in Sketch Jargonbuster: Mockups, wireframes, prototypes View the full article

Don't miss Vertex 2018, our debut event for the CG community. Packed with inspiring talks from industry pros working in games, VFX and more, plus career advice, workshops, an expo and more, if you work – or play – in CG, it’s unmissable. Book your ticket now. Creating realistic 3D portraiture will more than likely include simulated hair, but there may also be many other situations when a hair modifier is useful in a scene. Not only for dressing a human head, but also for clothing items, fabrics, animal hair, carpets and grassy surfaces to name but a few. 3ds Max comes with a very intuitive tool for creating realistic and styled hair and fur. This modifier is found under the World Space Modifiers drop-down list. V-Ray also has a (less flexible) hair creation tool found under Geometry and VRay: VRayFur. How to perfect hair in your portraits The 3ds Max Hair and Fur modifier enables you to comb, style and trim hair strands on screen and interactively, as if using a comb and scissors. This is fantastic for creating detailed, brushed hair styles and it can be additionally deformed by adding external simulated forces like wind. Styling with VRayFur is tricky and less intuitive however, as it requires tweaking the variables in linked procedural maps in the material editor. For this reason VRayFur is best used as a tool for creating random furry objects such as deep pile carpet or even grassy areas, as it doesn't lend itself easily to such close control. V-Ray also supplies a very nice material specifically for use with hair and fur objects. I find this to be a superior material to the default option offered in the 3ds Max Hair and Fur modifier. To get the best out of both worlds and by selecting one or two additional parameters, it is of course possible to use the V-Ray material together with the 3ds Max Hair and Fur modifier. 01. Create a base for the new hair plume Start with a simplified surface To begin, create a simplified surface in 3ds Max with the line tool whilst snapping to vertices on the top of the cap. The surface does not need to cover the entire cap, but only a reduced area where the plume will appear. Next, create the form with shapes bounded by three or four vertices at most (rectangles or triangles) and then weld all the vertexes. Apply the Surface modifier and ensure the normals are pointing upwards. Make the surface non-renderable in its properties dialogue. 02. Hair and fur assignment Use the Hair Count option to adjust the hair's thickness With the new surface selected, we now need to open up the drop-down Modifier list in the top right, and select the Hair and Fur option. Start by adjusting the general parameters in order to achieve the approximate length required for the plume. Tweak the hair strand thickness and the hair density to your liking with the Hair Count option. Adjust the amount of hairs on display to help with GPU memory under the Display tab, and then switch on the guides icon. 03. Comb and cut Channel your inner Vidal Sassoon in the Styling tab Under the Styling tab choose the Select button and select an area of hair guides that you might want to work on. Then click the Hairbrush button and the Scale button underneath. Work in the top and side viewports and stretch the hair with the green comb icon on screen. Switching from the Scale button to the Translate button will enable you to easily comb the hair into a style of your choosing, and switching from the comb to the cut icon will allow you to snip off ends in order to neaten and tidy the plume. 04. Render settings Finally, render out your hairy creation Once the hair has been combed and cut into the required style open the mr Parameters tab, select Apply mr Shader and click into the box under. Choose VRayHairMtl. Drag and instance the material into an empty slot in the material editor and adjust the colour and glossiness parameters, or choose a preset. Next open the Environment dialogue from the Rendering tab in the main top menu and select the Effects tab. Add Hair and Fur and under Hair Rendering Options select 'mr prim' for the Hairs options. This article was originally published in issue 231 of 3D World, the world's best-selling magazine for CG artists. Buy issue 231 here or subscribe to 3D World here. Book your Vertex 2018 ticket now On 13 March we’re launching Vertex 2018: a one-day event in London for the CG community. Featuring a jam-packed schedule of inspiring talks from the industry’s most exciting practitioners, there will also be workshops, networking opportunities, a busy expo and lots more. Get your ticket to Vertex 2018 now. Related articles: How to sculpt fur in Maya How to create manga-style hair in motion How to create hair in Cinema 4D View the full article

I create all my work in Adobe Illustrator. Initially getting to grips with the software can be tricky, but there are a lot of brilliant Illustrator tutorials around to help hone your skills. Get Adobe Illustrator CC One of the best things about Illustrator is the ability to create your own brushes. You can find some amazing free Illustrator brushes online, but sometimes designing your own is the better option. I created my own shading and line work brushes to give my Spider-Man image (above) a more natural feel, while still keeping it 100 per cent vector-based. Over time, I've developed a library of Illustrator brushes. This means I have precise control of drawing with the Pen tool, but I can also give my linework a more natural, hand-drawn appearance. Here's how to create your own vector Illustrator brush in three simple steps... 01. Start with weighted lines Start creating a brush by drawing your own weighted lines Create custom brushes by drawing your own weighted lines, either with a drawing tablet in Photoshop, the Blob brush tool in Illustrator, or good old-fashioned pen and paper. Then, bring your linework into Illustrator and create outlines from the strokes by selecting them, and navigating to Object > Path > Outline Stroke. 02. Refine your lines Use the Anchor Point tools to refine your lines Once you have your brush stokes outlined, use the Pen tool or Anchor Point tools to refine any part of the line to get it just how you want it. Next, create a new Calligraphic brush by selecting the shape you want to make into a brush. Open the Brush panel (Windows > Brush), click Create New Brush and select Calligraphic brush. 03. Create a brush library Create a library of different brushes and effects to suit your style You can follow this technique to create a library of different brushes and effects to suit your style. To create a new brush library, add the brushes you want to the Brushes panel (Window > Brush Libraries). Then, in the Brushes panel, click Save Brush Library, and put the new library file in one of the following folders so that it will appear in the Brush Libraries menu when you restart Illustrator: You can also use this technique to create Pen brush strokes, as well as shading effects such as stippling or half-tone effects – and you can create ‘fills’ as well as ‘strokes’. This article was originally published in issue 156 of ImagineFX, the world's best-selling magazine for digital artists. Buy issue 156 or subscribe to ImagineFX here. Related articles: 18 best iPad art apps for painting and sketching Art techniques: top tutorials for painting and drawing How to draw: 95 tutorials for drawing animals, people, landscapes and more View the full article

Collaboration is crucial for any successful design studio project, whether it's between internal team members, different agencies, or with external specialists in a particular craft or discipline. There are many different collaboration tools available – some free; some available on a tiered subscription basis. The choice between them will depend on exactly how you plan to collaborate, and with whom. There are also some great one-stop-shop project management tools. One of the most established is Basecamp, which includes to-do lists, project management tools, wiki-style documents, file sharing, messaging and more within its slick, simple interface. It might be the market-leading project management and collaboration tool, but Basecamp has many rivals So well established is Basecamp, in fact, that many of its rivals specifically market themselves as alternatives to it. Take Monday, for example, which integrates Gantt charts and agile project management methods, or Freedcamp, billed as "the closest free alternative you will ever get to Basecamp". Sometimes, however, you need a more task-specific collaboration tool. Maybe you don't plan to shift your whole agency to a new project management solution, or you're frustrated with the limitations of your current tool when it comes to certain functionality. If this is the case, read on for our guide to six common collaboration challenges that many design studios face – and the best tools for managing each of them... 01. Communicating with the rest of the team Slack has been adopted by many agencies as a communication tool, both internally and with external collaborators Whether you're bringing together a disparate team scattered in remote locations, or just chatting with colleagues on the other side of the studio, Slack is the tool of choice for many design agencies keen to improve communication. By splitting the conversation into channels, you can tune straight into relevant exchanges about any given project, while switching off anything irrelevant if you choose to – although many agencies will have a channel reserved for team banter. Best of all, compared to email exchanges – which can become confusing as remote team members cross streams, or people forget to reply all – Slack keeps the discussion in one place, reducing the number of emails and face-to-face meetings, and making everything run more smoothly. There are some great alternatives on the market, notably Flock – which pitches itself as a "team communication app and online collaboration platform", as well as the "most economical alternative to Slack". 02. Brainstorming and developing ideas Mural works across all manner of devices, and gives teams a shared digital whiteboard on which to collaborate remotely While many design studios swear by the hands-on, analogue approach of gathering the team in a room with a whiteboard, a flip-chart, sketches or Post-Its stuck to the wall, when it comes to remote collaboration this approach isn't feasible. Fortunately, there are plenty of tools out there to facilitate brainstorming online, to make sure everyone feels involved in the process. Once such tool is Mural, which enables team members to share thoughts visually. Files, links and documents can all be dragged and dropped onto a shared digital drawing board which is updated in real-time, so two particularly opinionated team members can even have a live argument over a concept from opposite sides of the country. Another popular brainstorming tool is Conceptboard, which is optimised for creative teams and provides flexible, web-based collaborative whiteboards. Like Mural, it facilitates simple drag-and-drop sharing of files for team members to annotate and discuss. 03. Managing shared to-do lists Asana is the king of the to-do list, and arguably the most task-focused app on this list – it's all about assigning and completing jobs Task management is one of the most important parts of managing a complex project, particularly when multiple people are involved at different stages. It gets even more complicated when they're based remotely. Asana is perfect for this very specific part of the collaboration process, as it's structured entirely around lists of tasks – which can be attributed to individual team members, with accompanying deadlines. One of the most useful aspects is the ability to convert emails directly into tasks, either from your G-Suite email using the free plugin or by sending an email to an address associated with a particular project. For small businesses and freelancers, Asana is free for the first 15 users - with unlimited projects and tasks included – but pricing then increases in tiers, with additional features coming into play such as task dependencies and custom fields. 04. Keeping track of projects in a visual way Asana's biggest rival Trello has a much more visual, Post-It-inspired interface where teams can share sketches and mockups as well as tasks to complete The most direct rival to Asana is Trello, which is also a user-friendly project management tool that helps facilitate remote collaboration – but rather than being based on task lists, is structured more like a virtual pinboard. Whether you choose Asana or Trello really depends on how you, and your team, prefer to visualise projects. Where Asana is brutally simple and list-based, giving you the satisfaction of ticking things off, Trello gives you Post-It note-style 'cards' that can include text, photos, drawings and mockups. These are all hosted on a central board for your entire team to collaborate on, while you can view the progress of the overall project at a glance. It's also free, although its Gold package adds functionality, such as larger attachments and saved searches. 05. Managing feedback and revisions GoVisually keeps track of feedback from clients and team members through colour-coded annotations directly on the work-in-progress design Of course, another key aspect of the collaborative design process is between designer and client, and while many of the other tools on this list could involve them too if you choose to, there are also more focused ways to collect feedback and manage amends and revisions. One such example is GoVisually, which essentially provides a platform for your team and your clients to mark annotations and comments on work-in-progress designs. These annotations can highlight particular areas of the design using elliptical, rectangular or lasso-based selection tools, and different people's comments are recorded on separate layers that can be toggled on and off. Concept Inbox is another tool that helps facilitate designer-client collaboration during the sign-off process, providing a dashboard setup to upload images, collate feedback, and re-upload amends with full version control. For digital designers, there's also the capacity to create interactive prototypes to demonstrate how ideas will work in practice. 06. Designing collaboratively Figma enables whole teams to work on a UI design simultaneously, using shared brand assets, for a truly collaborative creative process Perhaps one of the most complex and difficult collaborations to manage remotely is the design process itself. Ultimately, there's no substitute for a design team sitting together and talking things through face-to-face. However, there are various tools that help facilitate creative work. Built into Adobe Creative Cloud, for instance, is the ability to share assets with other CC users, and work cooperatively on them in the cloud. Figma is another creative collaboration tool, pitched more at UI designers. An entire team can work simultaneously on an interface design on the same page, while work in constantly saved - with version control built in. Shared brand assets and colour palettes help maintain a consistent look and feel. And anyone working with moving image should check out Frame.io, a collaborative tool that enables teams to upload footage in 150 different formats, create storyboards, and manage threads of comments and annotations in one place. Related articles: 8 tools to help you work remotely as a freelancer 6 inspiring redesigns of design agency portfolios 5 fascinating stories behind unusual logo designs View the full article

Into web animation? Expert Val Head will be talking at web design conference Generate New York in April. Get your ticket now. Motion plays a very important role in our lives. Our eyes and attention automatically shift focus towards moving objects; static content can't do this as effectively. There's never been a more exciting time for CSS animation. It's become an invaluable tool for creating beautiful and engaging interfaces. But crafting motion properly is not a small task, so having some help can go a long way. This is where Animista comes in. Animista is both a collection of pre-made CSS animations, and a playground where you can tweak and test them out. This speeds up the process of iterating different animation ideas considerably, which is one of the great things about incorporating Animista into your workflow. Understand the UI The Animista playground UI is split into three main sections. The animations are organised in logical categories, groups and variations, all located at the top of the screen. If, for example, you are looking for suitable animations for a presentation, you'll most likely want to browse the Entrances and Exits categories. Say you then opt for a Slide-in, you will find additional variations like Slide-in-Left, Slide-in-Right and so forth just beneath it. Clicking on the category, group or the variation will immediately play the animation on the main stage. Each category, group and variation is assigned their own URL, which makes it very easy to bookmark or share them. The Animista user interface is split into three main sections: 1: the menu bar, 2: the options panel and 3: the main stage The main stage is where all animations take place. There are three buttons in the top-right corner. The first is the Replay Animation button (circular arrow icon), followed by the Add to Favourites (heart icon) and Generate Code (curly braces icon) buttons. The Options panel is where you tweak various aspects of the animation. The first one is a select object drop-down menu that enables you to swap the animated object with another one from a list of predefined objects. It is followed by a group of options that correspond to standard CSS animation properties. The best way to see how each of them affects the animation is to experiment. Inject your code Once you get familiar with the UI, you are ready to start integrating it into your workflow. Speaking of workflows, when it comes to Animista you can pick between two, depending on your preferences and requirements. One at a time When you see the animation you like, simply click the Generate Code button. You will then be presented with the animation code panel. At the top of the panel there are two checkboxes. The first one enables you to minify the code, saving some space in the process. The second one will improve compatibility with some older browsers by adding browser vendor prefixes to the code. The animation code panel reveals the code for the currently active animation Immediately below, you will find the CSS code for the animation helper class named after the currently active animation. It is a one-liner containing the animation code with the animation options applied. Clicking the Copy Class button will copy the helper class code to your computer clipboard, so you can then simply paste it into your editor. The last and the most important bit is the animation keyframes code block. It is where the entire sequence of the animation is described and is what you need in order to use the animation in your project. Upon clicking the Copy Keyframes button, the code is ready to be pasted into your CSS. Animate in batches In contrast to the previous approach, when you see the animation you like, add it to your favourites by clicking the Add to Favourites button. The heart icon will appear next to the active animation in the animation variations list, marking it as a favourite. Repeat this as many times as needed until you are happy with your selection. The download button at the menu bar’s right side takes you to the download page, at the top of which you will find a list containing all of your favourite animations. Here you will get a chance to review your picks once again. You can also make any last-minute changes by clicking the ‘x’ button found next to the animation name. The last section contains the generated code for your entire selection of animations. Upon clicking the Copy Code button, a green notification will inform you that the action was successful and that the code is ready to be pasted into an editor of your choice. In case you are creating a new file, make sure it is saved with the correct extension, in this case .css. Get animating There are countless ways to use CSS animations and enrich your web projects. Animista makes the process more fun and a bit easier. New animations will be coming out soon – and in the meantime, happy animating. This article originally appeared in net magazine issue 303. Buy it here. Want more advice on which animation tools are best? If you're into web animation, make sure you've picked up your ticket for Generate New York. Web animation expert, author and design evangelist at Adobe, Val Head, will be delivering a talk – Choose Your Animation Adventure – in which she will break down the long list of choices for making things move on screen. She'll also show you which tools are best suited for things like state transitions, showing data, animating illustrations, and making animations responsive. Generate New York takes place from 25-27 April 2018. Get your ticket now. Related articles: 18 top CSS animation examples How to power up your menus with CSS animation 10 great CSS animation resources View the full article

Vertex is bringing the CG community together on 13th March at Olympia London. And along with the amazing industry-leader talks, workshops, networking opportunities and more, you'll also get the chance to see a real life BAFTA award. Creative Assembly (CA) is bringing its BAFTA to Vertex for you to ohh and ahh over – but the games studio has also teamed up with BAFTA Games for an exclusive competition for Vertex Conference attendees. They have three pairs of tickets to the 2018 BAFTA Games Awards for three lucky winners and their plus-ones. Get your Vertex 2018 ticket now The rules! To enter the competition, make your way to the CA booth at Vertex on Tuesday 13th March, take a photo of yourself with one of the studio’s BAFTA awards, post it on Twitter to @CAGames using the hashtag #takemetothebaftas. You must be 18 years old or over and able to attend the BAFTA Games Awards ceremony on the 12 April in London, UK. Winners will be picked at random by CA on the 14 March and notified via Twitter. Get your Vertex 2018 ticket now There's so much going on at Vertex, you really don't want to miss out. Speakers include the likes of Digital Domain's Scott Ross, Chaos Group's Chris Nichols and ILM's Ben Morris on the VFX of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. There's also workshops, portfolio reviews, an Ask An Artist section for one-on-one advice, a networking party and much more. Get your tickets today, or register for a free expo pass that even gives you access to show-floor talks... Related articles: Get top advice from DNeg, Framestore and MPC artists Scott Ross to talk at Vertex Free supplement: Find out what's going on at Vertex View the full article

Researchers have uncovered a new cyber-espionage threat that uses MikroTik routers as a springboard to launch attacks within a network. View the full article

Vertex, our one-day event bringing the CG community together, is nearly upon us. We have so much on offer that we can't wait to share with you, but in the meantime here are our top three things to start getting excited about. Get your Vertex 2018 ticket now If you haven't picked up your ticket yet, do so today and join us on 13th March at Olympia London. Don't forget you can get a free pass to the expo area, where you can see some talks, access the Ask An Artist area and more – just make sure you register for your free ticket. 01. World-class speakers As general manager of ILM, Scott Ross ran the studio for George Lucas, before founding Digital Domain with James Cameron and Stan Winston Our headline speakers are some of the most inspirational industry leaders around. We've got co-founder of Digital Domain Scott Ross talking about British VFX after Brexit; Chaos Group's Chris Nichols on Digital Humans; Ben Morris from ILM on the VFX behind Star Wars: The Last Jedi and much more. Not only do we have amazing speakers on the main stage and great workshops, though, we also have fantastic talks lined up for you in the free expo area. There's no charge, but don't forget to register for your free ticket. This area will also host a talk from The Mill's Will MacNeil, titled Adventures in Procedural Design. MacNeil is an award-winning motion graphics designer and animator, and he's worked across a broad range of projects in VR, installations, music videos and commercials. His recent clients include Lush, Vue Cinemas, Sony PlayStation and Huawei. We also have Maxon's Jonas Pilz talking about Cinema 4D MoGraph, Blue Zoo talking about the making of their animated shorts, DoveTail Games' Jess Magnus talking about Environment Art for Games and Career Progression, and much more. Find out more about the talks in the free expo area. 02. There are 15 amazing prizes to be won 15 Vertex attendees could be lucky enough to win one of the incredible prizes our partners have on offer. We will be announcing the winners after the panel, so stick around to see if it's you – and, of course, to attend our networking event, where you can mingle with the best in the industry. The prizes: 1x Forest Pack licence from iToo Soft 1x RealFlow 10 from Next Limit 1x RealFlow | Cinema 4D 2 from Next Limit 1x Maxwell 4 (Studio and/or any of the integration plugins available) 1x ftrackftrack Studio account with 10 users for 12 months subscription (worth $2,400) 1x Escape Studios' Intro to Houdini course in 2018 1x Escape Studios Taster Day voucher 1x Blackmagic Filmmaker’s kit (URSA Mini 4K, with Fusion and DaVinci Resolve Studio) 1x License of KeyShot Pro, worth $1,995. 3x six-month access to AnimDojo 2x X-Particles and Cycles 4D licenses from Insydium 1x PullItDown Pro Licence worth 400 EUROS from Thinkinetic 03. Get one-on-one time with pro artists Our Ask An Artist section gives you a rare opportunity to troubleshoot with the pros In our Ask An Artist area, you can spend some one-on-one time with talented people in the industry, who will answer those burning questions or workflow problems you have. We have lined up... Valentina Rosselli, MPC – texturing technical director Joel Best, Framestore – generalist technical director Andrew Baggarley, Dneg – surfacing lead Zakaria Boumediane, Framestore – senior environment technical director Stephen Molyneaux – freelance concept artist Ant Ward – generalist and 3D World contributor Get your Vertex 2018 ticket now We have even more on offer for you at Vertex, including portfolio reviews, an expo area showcasing the latest tech and a networking event. Don't miss out! Get your ticket now or register for a free expo pass. And don't forget to download our show guide too. See you there. Related articles: Scott Ross to talk at Vertex Press start on your game art skills at Vertex Get top advice from DNeg, Framestore and MPC artists View the full article

CANCUN, Mexico – A new analysis of the Russian-speaking Sofacy APT gang shows a continual march toward Far East targets and overlapping of activities with other groups such as Lamberts, Turla and Danti. Researchers at Kaspersky Lab this morning at its Security Analyst Summit, released their update on Sofacy, also known as APT28, Fancy Bear, […] View the full article

Hanwha is patching 13 vulnerabilities in its SmartCam security camera that allows attackers to take control of the device, use it to gain further network access or just brick it. View the full article

Remember 2008? It set the stage for a host of political events that would unfold over the coming decade, with the global financial crisis and the election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States both taking place during that year. To take stock of the major moments from the last 10 years, London's Design Museum is hosting an exhibition that will showcase significant political graphic design work. The exhibition, called Hope to Nope: Graphics and Politics 2008-18, will feature an array of graphic design – including traditional posters and protest placards – as well as look at how technology and internet memes have played an increasingly important role in the outcome of recent events. "From the global financial crash and the Arab Spring, to ISIS, Brexit and Trump, this exhibition explores the numerous ways graphic messages have challenged, altered and influenced key political moments," says a statement on the Design Museum site. Je Suis Charlie, image credit: Paul SKG "Journey through Occupy Wall Street, Hong Kong's Umbrella Revolution and the streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Explore over 160 objects and installations, and uncover the real-time social media conversation around political leaders, through dynamic displays created in partnership with leading social listening platform, Pulsar." Split into three sections –Power, Protest and Personality – Hope to Nope features a timeline that divides the gallery space. This timeline tracks how social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook have helped to shape and influence events, for better or worse, over the last 10 years. Power examines how institutes use graphic design to establish authority, as well as looking at how these techniques have been subverted by anti-authoritarians. Meanwhile Protest, the largest section, looks at the graphic designs used by campaigners and protestors. Women's march, Washington DC,January 2017. Image credit: Chris Wiliams Zoeica The final section, Personality, explores how political figures have been represented in graphic design. Notable examples include works from youth culture such as the unofficial Jeremy Corbyn Nike logo T-shirt. Curated by the Design Museum's Margaret Cubbage and GraphicDesign&'s Lucienne Roberts and David Shaw, with Rebecca Wright, Hope to Nope runs from 28 March to 12 August 2018. Opening image credit: Scott Wong Related articles: Presidential portrait draws a mixed reaction Why controversial UKIP logo falls on the branding sword Savage Brexit stamps are the best of British View the full article

One golden rule that any designer is guaranteed to come up against time and again is this: don't mess with the logo. Somewhere in most style guides you'll find a section telling you exactly how to use the logo, and warning you in no uncertain terms not to mess about with the logo design, under any circumstances, ever. 5 logo design trends for 2018 Which is fair enough; branding needs consistency if it's going to do its job, after all. But sometimes you just have to break the rules – something that McDonald's has done twice recently. McDonald's has broken all the logo rules with these cleverly cropped billboards First it put up billboards in Canada, cropping the iconic Golden Arches logo to give directions to the nearest restaurant. Then for International Women's Day, it turned the logo upside down, making it into a big W. Such logo manipulation is a ballsy move, and while it's paid off for McDonald's with a stack of publicity, it's the sort of trick a brand can only really get away with if its logo is instantly recognisable. So, how well can you guess the logo if it's been given a serious crop? Test your brand awareness with our extreme close-up logo quiz... Related articles: 10 of the best logos ever The 20 biggest logos of 2017 5 fascinating stories behind unusual logo designs View the full article

Procreate has quickly become my go-to digital painting app. Thanks to the portability of the iPad Pro, its appeal to me was to be able to create high-resolution digital paintings from anywhere, with the same quality you would find in a desktop program. Procreate’s clean and simple interface makes it welcoming to new and novice artists alike, and once paired with the Apple Pencil, I found it to feel the most natural way to draw digitally. Don’t be fooled by appearances, though: this application offers all the tools you’ll need to create higher-level artwork. The more I use this app, the more new tools, adjustments and shortcuts I find. 30 of the best Procreate brushes For this workshop, I’ll be painting entirely using the Procreate app. The process is similar to working in Photoshop: making use of multiple layers, colour adjusting and using a variety of brushes. All of the brushes I use are straight from the Procreate library, but the app allows for easy import of downloaded or imported brushes as well. I try to work in the least amount of layers possible, so it feels more like painting on a canvas. I decided to pay homage to classic fairy tale illustrations for this piece – in this case, Snow White and the poison apple. I love the old storybook paintings, and decided to try my take on the subject matter. 01. Start with a sketch Keep your ideas loose with a concept sketch Procreate has a great selection of 'sketching' brushes, and my go-to is the 6B Pencil brush. I loosely sketch out the concept of Snow White and the apple, not worrying too much about details and specifics, but just blocking in very general ideas. I know I can change and tighten ideas later on, so I keep the sketch simple. 02. Refining the idea and inking Avoid using a black brush to keep a softer look Next, I lower the Opacity of the pencil sketch layer. I create a separate layer on top and choose the Brush Pen from the Calligraphy Menu. I choose a dark brown colour to ink, avoiding black (for now) for a softer look. Using simple strokes, I ink over the drawing. 03. Blocking in flat colours Basic colours are blocked in Now having both the light pencils and inks, I merge the two layers and set the combined layer to Multiply. Then I create a layer underneath and then fill the background with a green colour using the Paint Bucket tool. Next, I select the Hard Airbrush and fill in the very basic, flat colours of the drawing that are underneath the lines. 04. Know your light source A grey - blue brush is used to establish shade I select the Flat Brush and set its brush properties to Multiply, before choosing a grey-blue colour. I decide that one light source should come in from the left, so I lightly paint in a thin layer of shadows on the figure and start to define her shape. I tackle a bit of the shadows in the background at the same time. 05. Time to paint Use existing colours to keep the illustration cohesive Now that I have the basics laid out, I create a layer on top and set the Flat Brush properties back to Normal. I eye-drop the colours, then choose lighter colours to push things forward and darker colours to pull things back. I also try to choose colours that are already on the screen, which keeps the colour palette cohesive. 06. Pushing the values A dark brown brush intensifies the shadows Now that the basic textures are painted on Snow White’s face, dress and hair, I create a Multiply layer on top. Still using the Flat Brush, I lightly go over the painting with a dark brown colour to intensify the shadows. I also make the four corners darker, which places more emphasis on the centre of the painting. 07. Painting over shadows Lighter colours are added to the shadows I like to pick a lighter colour (in this case, a light turquoise/blue) and paint inside the shadows. I do this in thin, gradual layers and build up the Opacity where it’s closest to the edge or where it’s the darkest. This can help to create a rim lighting effect. 08. Playing around with curves Adjusting this single layer changes all aspects of the art Procreate has different colour adjustment options. I like to use the Curves tool to play with contrast, and Color Balance to tweak the colours in the shadows, midtones and highlights of the painting. Since I’m working in one layer at this point, the adjustments change all aspects of the piece. 09. On to the background Background colours are defined in the same way as the central figure Using the same principles as painting Snow, I start defining the background. I use colours that are local to the painting, eye-dropping yellow for highlights and dark browns for shadows. I slowly start to render out the leaves, roof tiles and wood grain, still using the Flat Brush. 10. All about the details Bold colour decisions make the artwork look crisp After using the Flat Brush for the bulk of the painting, I select a Hard Airbrush to focus on details, reducing the diameter to make the brush head smaller. Since this brush is opaque, I try to make bold decisions in colour and highlights, giving the painting a crisper look. 11. Brighten the composition with the Color Dodge setting Be careful not to go overboard with the highlights Now moving on to a soft airbrush, I pick a local yellow colour and set the brush properties to Color Dodge. Then I very lightly paint in some highlights around the leaves, wood and face of Snow White. I try to keep these highlights to a minimum to avoid a heavily airbrushed look. 12. Going a bit further Trees and flowers help suggest a forest location Next I switch back to the Hard Airbrush and add elements that were not originally in my sketch. I paint in some trees, flowers and a subtle background to suggest a forest location. I use the Brush Pen from the Calligraphy menu to paint tree branches and grass blades, because it tapers off nicely at the ends. 13. Adopting a different perspective A mirrored image helps to reveal any flaws Throughout the process and more often at the end, I like to flip the canvas horizontally. If something seems off, seeing the mirrored version of the painting usually helps to identify any problems. This is also a great way to check symmetry. The painting should make sense both normally as well as mirrored. 14. Taking a final glance, before calling things done Minor details are added before calling it a day I feel like I’ve come to a point where the painting is almost complete. Using the Hard Airbrush, I look for places to add minor details and make any adjustments and tweaks. This is also the point where I play with the Curves and Color Adjustments one last time. And with that, the painting is finished! This article was originally published in issue 156 of ImagineFX, the world's best-selling magazine for digital artists. Buy issue 156 here or subscribe to ImagineFX here. Related articles: How to create a vivid fairy queen Paint a Grimm fairy tale-inspired illustration How to paint a dreamlike fantasy forest scene View the full article

A vulnerability recently found in several robots on the market can enable hackers to cause them to stop working, curse at customers, or even perform violent movements as part of ransomware attacks. View the full article

When it comes to grabbing people's attention with digital advertising, both space and attention spans tend to be in short supply. Simplicity and clarity are absolutely crucial. Our eyes are bombarded with content of all shapes and sizes – both welcome and unwelcome – and increasingly brands are turning to the highly personalised, targeted options offered by the likes of Google and Facebook. But carefully placed display ads aren't going away anytime soon. If you're tasked with designing an online ad campaign for a brand, read on for our five top tips to nail the client's KPIs with engaging and effective digital ads that really work... 01. Know your ad formats Glue London's award-winning digital ad campaign for Mini made smart use of the skyscraper format First up, it's important to consider the format, or formats, you're working with. In the UK, one of the most popular ad sizes is the MPU – which, depending on who you ask, stands for mid-page unit or multi-purpose unit, and measures 300x250 pixels. These are called Med Rec, MREC or Medium Rectangle ads in the US. Also very commonly seen are leaderboard ads, which measure 728x90 pixels, and usually sit prominently at the top of a web page – ensuring maximum visibility. Tall and thin skyscraper ads, which measure 160x600 pixels, are generally placed down the side of a page. There are many other formats, including buttons, billboards, banners and more invasive ads such as pop-ups – which could come up against blockers at the user's end. According to Google, wider ad sizes generally outperform their taller counterparts – partly because of their usual placement, but also because reading from left to right rather than vertically is more familiar and comfortable. There are many ways to think creatively within the restrictions of any of these formats. Glue London's 2007 launch campaign for the new Mini is a great example: its smart use of a close-cropped image and mirrored text on a simple skyscraper ad helped win it a D&AD Graphite Pencil. 02. Pick a single message Virgin's #FlauntIt campaign uses its trademark cheeky tone, and its association with red, to convey brand values without cluttering the image Another crucial rule of thumb when it comes to digital ad campaigns is to keep the message brutally simple. Packing in too much information makes an already cramped format look cluttered, messy and confusing. Multiple layers of messaging can be added using animation or video, and this can be effective sometimes, but it's not always the best solution. Even if you do end up adding more dynamic features, start with an idea that works when pared back to a simple static ad. It'll help you to clarify the concept. Pick the one thing that the ad needs to communicate. Is it general brand building, driving traffic, selling a particular product, or promoting an event, for instance? Sometimes, in defining this message, you may need to strip out elements of standard brand messaging – a complex logo or long tagline may need to be sacrificed here. This is where distinctive brand voice, or other recognisable brand assets – colours, style of art direction, a typeface – could need to work hard to associate the ad with the brand through visual shorthand, rather than spelling it out. 03. Choose one killer image Amnesty International teamed up with AdBlock for this freedom of speech campaign, which made use of striking close-cropped black-and-white portraits Don't try to pack each ad with images to get the point across. There's generally only a tiny space to work with, and it's much more effective to invest in a single killer shot that compels attention and draws people in. As with the copy, images in digital ads should be sharp, clear, singular in message, and easy to understand at a glance. Faces work well as they are easy to relate to, establish eye contact and can convey emotion quickly. When it comes to selling particular products, it's often more effective to zoom in close on a single item that represents the brand, rather than trying to show off a whole range of things. Avoid complicated patterns and backgrounds, as they distract attention. One way to choose the right image quickly is to start with the single message you've picked for the ad to communicate in mind, and think what the clearest visual manifestation of that would be. Sometimes this might be a mood, or a more abstract concept, but if you're selling a specific thing don't be afraid to be literal. Think about context, too. You want your ad to stand out, so if the website it's being placed on is awash with bright colours then a black-and-white photo, or a design that makes use of white space, could stand out much more. 04. Think about dynamic cropping This strikingly simple ad campaign for Pedigree features a close-crop of a dog, surrounded by plenty of flat colour background to let the message punch out If you're designing a digital campaign that makes use of the same image across multiple ad formats, you'll need to consider cropping. Given the small canvas size, and often awkward shapes involved, tight crops and detail shots are often essential to achieve impact. Cut-outs, set on flat colour backgrounds or white space, can be an effective way to create a versatile design framework that works in lots of different contexts. It also gives you a base on which to set the type, keeping the key message of the ad crisp and clear. Don't feel you need to pack every inch of the space, just because it's available. On a cluttered page, often the eye is drawn to the lightest or brightest areas of the screen first, so white space definitely isn't wasted space – just make sure your client understands that too. 05. Emphasise the call to action In this savvy campaign for Pink Ribbon Germany, the call to action 'Check it before it's removed' also referred to the inevitable social media censorship for the images Of course, what all of this is ultimately about is encouraging people to click through to something. Once you've chosen your format, defined the right message for the campaign and conveyed it as clearly and effectively as possible through imagery, it helps to be clear about what people should do next. You don't have much room to do this, so while sometimes it's worth being very literal – such as the 'Read more' link in the Amnesty International example above. Direct instructions that explain what happens next are more effective than a generic 'Click here.' If you're promoting an event, for instance, 'Buy tickets' is a better choice as it communicates the end goal. If there's a particular offer, mention it in the call to action: 'Click here to save 50%' is much more compelling. Sometimes, however, a compelling image can almost stand alone – with only a punchy tagline to establish the context. DDB Group's bold breast cancer awareness campaign for Pink Ribbon Germany was structured entirely around the fact that the images featured (artfully shot, entirely non-gratuitous) bare breasts, and the agency knew that Facebook and Instagram would soon begin deleting them. 'Check it before it's removed' was the inspired double-meaning tagline for the campaign, and a potentially life-changing call to action for women at risk of breast cancer. And as the posts were routinely removed, mainstream media attention grew. Related articles: 40 traffic-stopping examples of billboard advertising Are these the strangest advertising campaigns ever? 10 advertisers that use creativity to boost their brand View the full article

In the crowded online market, getting people to look at your product isn't easy – and getting them to buy can be even tougher. You need to know how to market your products, and you can learn that art with the Complete Digital Marketing Course. It's on sale now for just $19 (approx. £14)! Finding success isn’t just a matter of luck – it requires knowing how to attract an audience, and appeal to their needs and interests. You can learn how to do just that with the Complete Digital Marketing Course. This 12-lesson plan is packed with over 20 hours of actionable information on how to master SEO, Google AdWords, social media marketing, and much more. With this course, you'll be getting tons of views and selling in no time. You can get the Complete Digital Marketing Course on sale now for just $19 (approx. £14). That's 90 per cent off the retail price for a can't miss collection of courses that will pay for itself, so grab this deal today! About Creative Bloq deals This great deal comes courtesy of the Creative Bloq Deals store – a creative marketplace that's dedicated to ensuring you save money on the items that improve your design life. We all like a special offer or two, particularly with creative tools and design assets often being eye-wateringly expensive. That's why the Creative Bloq Deals store is committed to bringing you useful deals, freebies and giveaways on design assets (logos, templates, icons, fonts, vectors and more), tutorials, e-learning, inspirational items, hardware and more. Every day of the working week we feature a new offer, freebie or contest – if you miss one, you can easily find past deals posts on the Deals Staff author page or Offer tag page. Plus, you can get in touch with any feedback at: deals@creativebloq.com. Related articles: Promote your brand with content marketing 10 design tools for marketing professionals How to market yourself as a freelance designer: 7 top tips View the full article

Some designers seem to just have it sorted: great clients, awesome work, and an effortless workflow. Have you ever wondered what their secret is? Route One Print – the UK's biggest trade printer – decided to find out, by surveying graphic designers from a range to industries to uncover their secrets to success. The team then dug into the results and sorted through their answers to find out exactly what it is that makes a great designer, and you can discover what they found out in a free ebook: 7 Habits of a Highly Effective Designer. > Download 7 Habits of a Highly Effective Designer here While there isn't a silver bullet that will turn you into the Milton Glaser overnight, there are certain habits and traits that will help you bring your design business to greatness. This ebook covers everything from where to find inspiration and how to turn those initial sparks into working ideas, to how to stay on top of new developments and use feedback to improve your skillset. Finally, there are tips for really nailing a project brief, so you can be sure you're delivering exactly what your client needs. In this free ebook, leading designers also offer the benefit of their experience to help you get a head-start in the industry. They've shared what they wish they'd known when they first started out, and along with some valuable advice for improving your workflow and techniques, so you don't need to learn everything the hard way. Graphic designers from a range of backgrounds – from entertainment to nonprofits – all participated in the survey, to give a comprehensive overview of the industry, and because everything in this free ebook comes from design professionals, you know it's advice you can trust. Download it now to find out more. View the full article

The fifth annual conference for web designers and frontend developers is brought to you by net magazine, Creative Bloq and Web Designer. Featuring 16 fantastic speakers, it covers web animation, IA, JavaScript, performance, CSS, UX, content strategy, diversity, and much more. If you work in web design or development then you'll want to attend Generate NYC on 25-27 April 2018, for lots of good reasons, and here are 10 of them. 01. There's a top line-up of 16 speakers We've gathered together some of the biggest names in web design for Generate NYC 2018 to share their knowledge and inspire you to create better work than ever before. Our stellar line-up includes Donna Lichaw, Dan Mall, Wes Bos, Val Head, Cynthia Saucier, Jenn Lukas, Abby Covert, and nine other great speakers. Check out the whole lot. 02. It's in a new venue Generate NYC has moved home! The conference will take place at the Metropolitan Pavilion in Manhattans desirable Chelsea neighbourhood. A beautiful open space, close to subway lines and hotels, this is the perfect venue for our fifth Generate in NYC! Check out their site for hotel deals. Generate NYC has moved to the Metropolitan Pavilion in Manhattans desirable Chelsea neighbourhood 03. You'll learn about tomorrow's trends today Things move pretty fast in the web business, and whether you're in web design or frontend development you need to be up to speed on the latest web trends. Over three days, 4 workshops and 16 sessions you'll learn about web animation, IA, JavaScript, performance, CSS, UX, content strategy, diversity, and much more besides. The event will also give you an inspiration boost. If you're running low on creative energy it can be easy to let your work become mundane. Attending events like Generate puts you in a room with energised, vibrant people who will remind you why the web is amazing and give you new perspectives from which to view your contribution. 04. You won't miss a thing Ever found yourself torn between two equally appealing conference sessions happening at the same time? That's not a problem at Generate NYC, as for the first time it's a single-track programme, which means you'll be able to attend all the sessions without missing out on anything. Also, videos and slide decks of all the sessions will be made available to attendees after the event, so you can dig deeper and don't have to spend ages taking notes. You can then even share them with the rest of your team. In fact, sharing what you've learnt is positively encouraged! Up your skills and get ahead of the game; book your Generate ticket today! 05. Enjoy a whole day of workshops As well as two days of inspiring and practical talks, Generate NYC also features an entire day of in-depth workshops. On 25 April, you can learn new skills from the best in the business. There are four workshops to choose from; you can learn information architecture for everybody with Abby Covert, get an intro to React JS with Wes Bos, learn essential web animation techniques with Val Head, and modern front-end performance strategies and techniques with Jason Lengstorf Learn information architecture for everybody with Abby Covert 06. It's a great networking opportunity As well as a lineup of quality speakers, Generate NYC also offers a great opportunity to forge new contacts among the other attendees. Whether it's during one of the session breaks, or later on at the post-conference happy hour, it's the perfect chance to meet other web professionals and expand your network. 07. You will stay ahead of the competition If you're not offering up-to-date services then you can be sure that potential clients will seek out other studios and agencies that do. Generate NYC is the perfect place to boost your skillset and get insight into where you should be focusing your efforts for the future. If you're not there then you can be sure that your competitors will be. Don't get left behind; book today! 08. There's a goodie bag and lunch Attendees will receive a jam-packed Generate goodie bag full of useful content, including the latest copy of net magazine. Lunch and refreshments will also be provided every day. 09. We're having a party, too Of course there's also a party, where you'll have a chance to do even more networking with the speakers and fellow attendees. The party will take place straight after the first conference day on Thursday evening. Venue TBC! You might get the chance to meet designer and developer Wes Bos 10. There's a variety of ticket options There is a variety of ticket options to suit everyone's schedule and budget. You can book a workshop-only pass, a single- or two-day conference pass or a full conference + workshop pass. There's also a student conference pass. RELATED ARTICLES: Learn more about APIs at Generate Smart typography tool generates font pairs in an instant 68 best free fonts for designers View the full article

As the industry standard in digital sculpting, ZBrush boasts a toolset flexible enough to allow it's users to choose a 3D art workflow that suits them best. With so many options available it can be easy to miss less used or older features that might be perfect for a particular situation. What follows are 10 things that you may or may not have known about ZBrush, mostly aimed at beginner and intermediate users - but there might be the odd one that is useful to seasoned users depending on your workflow of choice. 01. Sketching ideas in PaintStop Sketch out your ideas with ZBrush's inbuilt drawing plug-in PaintStop While Quicksketch mode may be more popular for roughing out ideas, ZBrush also has its own built in painting and drawing plug-in called 'PaintStop'. Pre-installed with all the latest versions of ZBrush, you will find Paintstop under Documents > PaintStop. When launched you will be taken to a minimalist UI with Brush and Canvas settings along the top and the Brush types down the left hand side. While not as full featured as stand-alone apps such as Art Rage, Photoshop or Sketchbook Pro, PaintStop still has a wealth of natural media tools that allow you to sketch and paint out ideas. It has the added benefit of allowing you to load anything you sketch directly back into ZBrush for use as reference or as a texture. 02. Spotlight as a reference tool Although primarily a texturing tool, the Spotlight feature in ZBrush can also be used for reference images to aid in sculpting Although primarily a texturing tool, the Spotlight feature in ZBrush can also be used for reference images to aid in sculpting. This is particularly useful if you have limited screen real estate or don't have access to a secondary monitor. Start by importing a reference image via Texture > Import, with the image loaded, click on 'Add to Spotlight'. Spotlight will appear with the image loaded, now go back to Texture>Import and add as many reference images as needed, they will automatically be added into the Spotlight Tool. To ensure our sculpting brushes function normally we need to make sure the Spotlight Projection feature is turned off. This can be turned off by going to Brush>Samples>Spotlight Projection. 03. Using Transpose Move Tool for extrusions and non-uniform scaling Using this technique when blocking out objects or characters can be an efficient way to work I use this technique when blocking out objects or characters and combined with the masking tools in ZBrush, it can be an efficient way to work. For example when blocking out a character using you could use the Move or SnakeHook brush to pull out the arms, or alternatively mask off an area, switch to the Transpose Move tool (W) and extrude out the shape. When creating hard surface objects, combine this with the Shift key to ensure you get a straight extrusion. This technique can also be used as an alternative to the Transpose Scale tool (R) for non-uniform scaling and in many cases I find it more intuitive and quicker. 04. Rigging with ZSpheres You can also use ZSpheres to rig single and multiple subtools The Transpose tool is more commonly used for posing in ZBrush but it is important to note that you can also use ZSpheres to rig single and multiple subtools. As it is an older method of posing in ZBrush, new users may be unaware of it, but it is a powerful tool all the same. The key to this is start with a single ZSphere and then go to Tool > Rigging > Select Mesh, pick the mesh you wish to rig and then start building up the skeleton using ZSpheres. It is similar to placing joints in other 3d apps like Maya and Softimage. Once you are happy with the rig, go to Tool > Rigging > Bind Mesh, now you are free to pose the mesh as required. 05. Customise the UI One of ZBrush's greatest strengths lies in how flexible it is as an artist's tool One of ZBrush's greatest strengths lies in how flexible it is as an artist's tool, allowing you to get to the same result in a way you find most comfortable for your style and workflow. This is extends to the UI, which can be customised in subtle ways, for example changing the colour of the UI to the more advanced options of creating a totally bespoke UI with custom menus and pop-ups. To get started go to Preferences > Config > Enable Customise, this will turn on the Customise mode and allow you to rearrange and alter the UI. A quick internet search for custom Zbrush UI's will give you a wealth of ideas - personally I just change the UI colour, while leaving the layout at default. 06. Load multiple objects One of the most useful plug-ins is the SubTool Master ZBrush comes pre-installed with a wealth of plug-ins that help improve productivity. One of the most useful is the SubTool Master, allowing you greater control over your various subtools which is a life-saver if you are working on a mesh with a lot of parts. For example, if you have built a basemesh in an external app such as Maya and it is made up of a lot of separate pieces, loading these into ZBrush one by one can be tiresome. Subtool Master makes this process quicker, first start by loading one mesh, i.e. a characters head, now go to Plugin > Subtool Master > MultiAppend, this will let you select the remaining parts and load them all in at once. 07. Backface masking Turn on the 'Backface Masking' feature to avoid geometry collapsing A common issue for new ZBrush users is when it comes to sculpting thinner parts of a mesh where the geometry will collapse in on itself. To fix this we have to turn on the 'Backface Masking' feature, this option automatically masks areas that are facing away from the camera, allowing us to sculpt on thinner meshes without problems. To turn in on go to Brush > AutoMasking > Backface Masking. It is important to note, however, that this should only be turned on for certain brushes as it can have undesired effects with certain brushes, for example the Move Brushes (Move, Move Elastic, Move Topological) will not work as expected. 08. Initialize primitives ZBrush primitives work a little differently from traditional polygon modelling apps For new users moving from traditional polygon modelling apps it might be strange working with the ZBrush primitives as they work a little differently in ZBrush. It isn't immediately apparent that you can edit the primitive before turning it into a polymesh to be sculpted. The key to this is the 'Intialize' tab under the Tool menu. Some primitives have more options than others but they will give you more control over how your base primitives start out and lets you create brand new primitives as well. For example, the Ring3D primitive can be edited into a more conical shape, that could be used as the base for an animal or creature horn. 09. Topology and polygroup masking Polygroup masking will allow you to adjust how much influence a brush has over a Polygroup Earlier we looked at the Backface Masking feature but there are many other useful masking types that can be used to improve your workflow. Two that I use regularly are Topology and Polygroup masking, both of which are found under the Brush > Auto Masking menu. Polygroup masking will allow you to adjust how much influence a brush has over a Polygroup, with the setting at full, you will only be able to sculpt on the first polygroup you select. With Topology masking if you have two separate objects that make up one subtool, this option adjusts if you can sculpt across one or both of the surfaces. With the setting at full you will only be able to sculpt across one of the surfaces. These options can be very useful when detailing your subtools, in particular for creating clothing seams or hard surfaces. 10. Setting up reference planes While ZBrush only has a single camera, you can still set up reference images If you are moving from apps such as Maya, Softimage or 3DS Max then you might miss the classic quad view that you can apply reference images to. While ZBrush only has a single camera, you can still set up reference images. Using the toolbar to the right of the canvas, turn on the X, Y and Z floor grids, now access the Draw menu and scroll to the Front-Back, Up-Down and Left-Right sections. Here you can import and map images to the desired axis, there are also a number of options for adjusting the image in ZBrush, such as flipping the image if it is pointing the wrong way, negating the need to alter the images in an external app like Photoshop. Book your Vertex 2018 ticket now On 13 March we’re launching Vertex 2018: a one-day event in London for the CG community. Featuring a jam-packed schedule of inspiring talks from the industry’s most exciting practitioners, there will also be workshops, networking opportunities, a busy expo and lots more. Get your ticket to Vertex 2018 now. This article was originally published in issue 231 of 3D World, the world's best-selling magazine for CG artists. Buy issue 231 here or subscribe to 3D World here. Related articles: Model an alien pirate creature in ZBrush The best VR headsets for 2018 Behind the scenes on The Shape of Water View the full article

In the design world, a standard business card based on one of the many business card templates out there just won't cut it. Like a mini creative resume, a business card is a small but powerful marketing tool that enables you to showcase your unique identity and help you stand out. Your business card should leave a long lasting impression and reflect a little piece of your personality. To inspire you, we scoured the web to find some innovative business card designs. Here goes! 01. Jim Profitt We love this beautifully simplistic design from furniture designer Jim Profitt We absolutely love this simple yet clever business card design from furniture designer Jim Profitt. His contact information is small and subtle, yet still clear, with the brilliantly crafted pop-up chair left to tell prospective clients everything they need to know. 02. Lush For the best results, spread seeds then add lush. Genius This brilliant business card design by Struck Creative cleverly doubles as a seed pouch for lawn and property management company Lush. Not only does it provide all the relevant information in a clear and concise way, it hold precious cargo, meaning it's much less likely to be discarded. 03. Gong Kantapon Kantapon covered a poster of a woman in mini cards that passers-by could peel off New York City-based illustrator Gong Kantapon went all out when it came to getting his business card noticed. Kantapon covered a poster of a woman in mini cards, that passers-by could peel off and take away. It got everyone's full attention by leaving people wondering just what would be revealed when the cards were removed. 04. Lego business card These Lego minifig business cards are customised to match their owner Not only do the guys who work at Lego have a super-cool job, they also get these awesome Lego minifigure business cards. It's been reported that the company does its best to match each employee's features, even down to their hair and accessories. The individual's name, email and contact number are then printed on the figure's clothes. Best business card ever! 05. Bon Vivant Ad agency JWT designed this awesome cheese grater business card design for Bon Vivant We love this business card, which doubles as a tiny cheese grater, for Brazilian cheese store Bon Vivant. Created by ad agency JWT, the clever networking tool had proved extremely popular, with the owner having to tell customers to wait a few days before returning to take another. The awesome design also comes complete with a protective sleeve. All in all, a simply grate idea! (See what we did there? OK, we'll get our coats...) 06. Cotton business cards These business cards have a hidden secret These business cards from MOO may not look anything out of the ordinary, but they’re in fact made entirely out of offcuts from cotton T-shirts (the fabric left over once the pattern has been cut out). The company worked with Mohawk Fine Papers to reinvent one of the oldest methods of paper-making. The T-shirt offcuts are collected, turned into a pulp then dried and pressed into strong, flexible, naturally bright white paper, ready to be turned into premium business cards. Watch the video to see how it’s done. 07. Flow Yoga Flow Yoga's innovative business card lets the materials do the talking The innovative business card for this Vancouver-based yoga studio has been designed to leave a lasting impression: it has been fashioned from flexible foam, and rolls up just like a real yoga mat. A great example of a designer cleverly using a material to communicate their message. 08. Engraved John T.Kim created this design by laser cutting and etching basswood The clue is in the title of these 'Engraved' unique business cards by New York-based designer John T.Kim. Created by laser cutting and etching basswood, the woodgrain pattern makes every card truly unique. Engraved started life as a kickstarted project with a funding goal of $1,500. It ran for 30 days, and during that time garnered enough attention to raise nearly $24,000. 09. MODHair This cool musical comb business card plays a rock theme When its owner runs their fingernail along the teeth of this musical comb, it plays a classic rock theme. The innovative concept was developed by Amsterdam-based designer Fabio Milito for MODhair, a rock'n'roll hair salon in Rome. A brilliant way to encapsulate the brand's identity in a single card. 10. Bentply This ingenious business card can be folded into a miniature armchair What you see here is a neat letterpress business card and mailer for furniture shop Bentply in London that can be made into a mini plywood chair. The ingenious card was created by designer Richard C Evans and produced by Elegante Press in Lithuania. Just follow the instructions and the kiss-cut card can be folded into a miniature of the iconic 1934 plywood armchair designed by Gerald Summers. 11. Greek A brilliant design by Draft FCB for Greek restaurant OK, so these probably aren't the most practical business cards in the world, but the idea is pretty cool. Developed by Cape Town-based creative agency FCB, these creative cards were crafted for a Greek restaurant, and play on the traditional Greek custom of smashing plates. Made from broken pieces of pottery, the unique design is decorated simply with the restaurant's name and telephone number. 12. Yuka Suzuki Hair and make-up artist Yuka Suzuki sells her creative skills with these brilliant business cards The hair and make-up industry is a competitive one, so Yuka Suzuki decided to develop a business card that would make her stand out from the crowd. The clever design uses different coloured hair grips to create colourful hair styles, and the owner gets some free hair accessories to boot. Cool huh? 13. Choko La Clients get two treats with this design; a delicious chocolate and a brilliantly creative business card This candy wrapper business card is, unsurprisingly, a popular design. Another entry by ad agency FCB, this time to promote a range of delicious chocolates. This design incorporates two treats; a chocolate and a brilliantly creative business card. Genius. 14. Techkeys This business card design certainly ticks the 'innovative' box We've come across what might be the world's geekiest offering; it's a business card that also doubles up as a computer keyboard, created by Techkeys. "This PCB with on-board re-programmable ATMEGA16U2 allows for full flexibility for hackers, tinkerers, and makers," says the company. "Take home one of these as a project, keycap display, switch tester, or a shortcut to yours truly, TechKeys.us." 15. Martyna Wędzicka A personal and handmade approach makes these business cards unique Polish designer Martyna Wędzicka has created these gorgeous business cards to highlight her hands-on approach to projects and design in general. The clear canvas allows Wędzicka to add a personal touch with some brilliant doodle art. 16. Elfriede-Lilly Friedeberg The letterpress business cards capture Friedeberg's aesthetic Elfriede-Lilly Friedeberg is a Berlin-based illustrator and graphic design student who creates inspiring, colourful and cute characters and patterns that are guaranteed to raise a smile. Packed full of pastel tones and handmade style, these brilliant business cards sum Friedeberg up perfectly. 17. Cerovski London-based agency Bunch was responsible for the business cards These business cards were created for Cerovski – a Croatian print production studio that revels in the challenge of “nebulous finishing, microscopic editions, absurd materials and crazy deadlines”. London design agency Bunch was responsible for developing its entire brand – which included a custom logotype and typeface – but it's the business cards that we've fallen in love with. 18. Doctor Zamenhof These business card designs will make you drop your jaw in awe Spain-based design studio Doctor Zamenhof aims to 'diagnose' design problems and prescribe remedies and solutions. Continuing this medical theme, the team has designed this rather brilliant set of business cards that mimic tongue depressors. The stick shape features all of the design studio's contact information and will certainly stand out from other business card offerings. 19. Vitor Bonates Vitor Bonates combines work and play with these creative business cards How cool is this personal buisness card for designer Vitor Bonates? A self-confessed lover of music and vinyl, Bonates based his card on classic vinyl records, replacing track name and details with his own and finishing off the design with a sleeve that holds the replica record. A simple but brilliant idea. 20. BDH Millwork Leftover wood from BDH Millwork provides the material for its innovative business card Canadian advertising studio WAX are the team behind these sophisticated buisness cards for cabinet-maker Brad Haniak of BDH Millwork. On a tiny budget, the WAX team came up with the idea of rubber-stamping Haniak's business card information onto pieces of leftover wood, available in abundance at his carpentry workshop. 21. Powell Peralta We love the design and attention to detail in these skateboard business cards We're a little in love with these miniature skateboard business cards for American skateboard company Powell-Peralta. The design follows true skateboard style, made of thin wood and featuring grip tape on one side surrounding a skull design. Created by the talented bunch over at Jukebox, all it needs now is a set of wheels! 22. Ritornell This is one of the coolest business cards we've come across to date. As an integral part of its set list, Austrian duo Ritornell invites the audience to bring along their private music boxes. Katharina Hölzl designed the very special business cards, with the aid of laser-assisted milling. They feature nine micro compositions consisting of circles, triangles and Ritornell's contact information applied to a long music box paper stripe. Related articles: The 20 best sneaker designs of all time How to create a Snapchat Geofilter in Photoshop Design a stunning letterhead: 10 expert tips View the full article

For old hands, image resolution and DPI make perfect intuitive sense, but for folk just starting out – or, with wearying inevitability, for those with whom designers collaborate who aren't themselves design professionals – it can be a hideously baffling mess. Yet when you try to answer the question 'what is DPI?', you end up tying yourself in knots – as I can attest from the writing of the below – and so we're here to help. This guide is designed to help everyone understand image resolution, whether you're just starting out; work in a department such as marketing where you have to deal with design professionals; or even are a seasoned pro who needs to point a colleague to a guide that helps explain why, no, just changing the resolution to 300dpi in Photoshop doesn't magically make it a 300dpi image. Well, it does... but not in the way I mean, OK? Which brings me to: this guide will contain a lot of lies to children; that is, some of what I say will be a simplification, and though I'll add some caveats and detail later, I want to try to keep things simple early on. A tangent on vector formats We'll be discussing bitmap formats below (broadly speaking, things like JPEG, PNG, GIF and PSD) because they're the tricky ones when talking about image size: they contain a finite amount of detail. Vector images such as EPS, SVG and AI are usually infinitely scaleable. They have their own problems, but we're ignoring them here! What is a pixel? Bitmap images are formed of rows of coloured squares So probably everyone knows this, but we need to start at the beginning. Irrespective of the format they're saved in, bitmap images are all formed in the same way: rows and rows of coloured squares stacked on top of each other. Zoom into a bitmap image far enough and you can see these squares – 'picture elements' or pixels; a little like individual tiles in Roman mosaics or stitches in cross-stitch – but pull back and your eyes just perceive them as smooth gradients and unbroken lines. What is DPI? DPI stands for 'dots per inch'. Broadly, the higher the DPI, the more information there is in an image, so the more detail you can see and the crisper it looks. Think of it this way: if you were constructing a photo on a wall using coloured tiles which were each an inch square, your image would have a resolution of 1dpi, and you'd have to stand quite a way back to see the image as smooth and coherent. If you instead used tiles half an inch on each side, you'd produce something that was 2dpi, and which you wouldn't have to stand as far back before it stopped looking blocky. (Technically, you only use 'dots per inch' when discussing printed output, while 'pixels per inch' is for displays and digital images, and 'samples per inch' for scanners, but the concepts are all so closely related that at this stage in the explanation, you can treat them interchangeably. This is the most egregious lie to children in this piece; clarification coming later!) Ask not how many pixels per inch, but how big the pixels The above sounds pretty simple – 'more dpi' equals more better, right? – but there's a problem. The problem is that the size of the pixels – or tiles, in the analogy above – is only one of two factors that govern image size and quality. The other is the physical size of an image once it's printed, and the thing that ties them together is how many pixels there are in an image: the pixel dimensions, often expressed as a number of pixels wide and a number tall, such as 640×480. (In photography, image size is usually expressed as megapixels, but that's just arrived at by multiplying the number of pixels wide by the number of pixels tall the images a camera produces are. 640×480=307,200, and since that answer divided by a million – the 'mega' in megapixels – is 0.3, early cameras could be said to produce '0.3 megapixel' images.) The two things – how many dots per inch, and how big the image ends up – are completely dependent on each other (with a caveat that's coming up after Example B); change one, and the other changes. I'm going to give you some examples to help explain how this works, but viewing them here on screen (especially if you're on a smartphone) is only an indication of the effects we're talking about; to get the effect for real, download and print out this PDF, and follow along! The figures I mention refer to this document, not what you see on screen. I've given a photo and logo for each example, as the effect can sometimes affect different types of images in different ways. Example A: Same pixel dimensions, higher DPI; lower physical size Here, there are the same number of pixels in the images on the right as in the originals on the left, but we've just raised the DPI value from 72 to 300. The effect is that there are now more dots to each inch, but because the total number of dots making up the image hasn't changed, the mathematical inevitability is that the image becomes smaller, since each of the pixels which make up the image has become smaller in order to fit more of them into an inch. The grid of pixels that makes up your computer screen never change size – 'a pixel' is a abstract, sizeless thing – but the pixels that make up an image can be printed at any size you like. Below, simplified, is what's happening: Example B: Same physical size, lower DPI; lower pixel dimensions On the left are the original images. On the right, each has had the number of pixels reduced to about a quarter of the original values while maintaining the same physical size, which means that each individual pixel has got bigger and thus the DPI value has dropped (since there are fewer dots fitting into every inch). Here, simplified, is what's happening: Interpolation interjection With me so far? Good, because I'm about to throw a curveball. While Example A doesn't change the amount of information in the image, and Example B reduces it, you can add more information through a process called interpolation. Think of it like this: if you have a blue pixel next to a yellow pixel and want to add a third pixel in between – so that you can either increase the DPI while keeping the image the same physical size, or more usually to increase the size at which it can be output while maintaining a similar DPI – then the computer can guess that that pixel should be green. Sounds great, but in practice, you can't just magic up loads of information that wasn't there in the first place, and that's why taking, say, a 150dpi image and making it 300dpi (at the same physical size) isn't a solution to the problem of not having sufficient resolution. Example C: Higher pixel dimensions (interpolated), same physical size; higher DPI On the left, a 72dpi image, and on the right a 300dpi image made by interpolating information from the one on the left. Here, simplified, is what's happening: However, look more closely at the 300dpi image we just made with interpolation (below, left) and a 300dpi original (below, right), and you'll see that the 'fake' detail we've added with interpolation doesn't compare to an image that genuinely has all that detail. On the PDF, compare the image at the bottom right with the one on the left of the middle row. Next page: How to work with image resolution in Photoshop How do you actually do all this in Photoshop? The 'Image Size…' dialogue in Photoshop – or similar apps – looks simple, but it's a minefield if you don't know what you're doing. If you remember nothing else, remember that all the fields are essentially connected (because the pixel dimensions, resolution and physical printed size are). Changing one value will change others too, depending on what kind of resizing you're trying to do. Here's a guided tour. This maintains the aspect ratio – the relationship between the width and the height – and for almost every job you do, this should be active. Click to toggle. You can see the image size displayed in pixels, centimetres or other measurements. Note that of course everything's still interrelated, so if you switch to centimetres and change the values, the pixel count might change as well. This is the DPI (or, more correctly, the PPI; clarification coming…) of the image. This is the tricky one. With this Resample option unchecked, the pixel dimensions – the number of pixels across and down – of your image won't change as you tweak the values. You're essentially just making each individual pixel bigger and smaller for output (Example A) when you adjust the resolution or physical size. With this box checked, you're changing the pixel dimensions, either up or down. If you ultimately add more pixels (keep an eye on the Dimensions readout at the top), they'll be added using interpolation (Example C). You have some options for how the image is resampled here; if you're unsure, leave it on Automatic. 'Nearest Neighbor' is the only option not to use interpolation, and you should usually not use it; a common exception is if you're dealing with pixel-perfect graphics such as low-res screenshots or eBoy-style pixel art, and you want the detail not to get smeary when you boost or reduce the resolution. In this case, work in increments of 100%. That should hopefully have given you a basic understanding of the role of DPI and resolution, but I bet you still have questions. Let me guess what they are and try to answer them! What DPI should my images be at? For print, 300dpi is usually optimal, but you can get away with less; even 150dpi is often okay for photographic images, though it would be starting to look a bit rubbish for logos and the like. However… But I thought all images for screen should be at 72 or 96dpi? DPI is broadly irrelevant for designing images for screen, and not just because 'DPI' is specifically a print concern. Because you'll be presenting a grid of pixels (your image) slotted one by one into another grid of pixels (a screen), 'the size of the pixels', which is what we're talking about when we're talking about DPI, is irrelevant. So in general terms, you just need to care about the pixel dimensions, not the DPI/PPI. The 72/96dpi thing is a legacy kludge, and you can mostly ignore it, especially with today's high-resolution displays, which have their own problems with creating @2x versions. There's a wrinkle, though: in some contexts, systems can try to read a DPI value from metadata and be clever about how they present an image, when all you want them to do is just display the pixels 1:1. So, much as it annoys me, I do sometimes manually set the resolution of images destined for web pages to 72dpi. My printer prints at 4800dpi, though…? Each pixel on a normal modern computer screen can display one of 16.8 million colours, but when that pixel is printed on, say, an inkjet printer, unless it's pure cyan, magenta, yellow or black, the printer has to recreate what colour it is by placing even tinier dots of pure C, M, Y or K ink within the bounds of that pixel so that our eyes perceive the pixel as the correct colour. Therefore, the number of actual dots per inch the printer needs to be able to place has to be high – much higher than most of the images you'd send to it – in order that you can create the colours necessary for each pixel. And that's why conflating DPI, PPI and SPI as I did early on is actually a terrible idea, technically. Many people do just call all three 'DPI', however – even if Photoshop does correctly call it PPI in its dialogue box – and unless you're getting technical or pedantic, you usually can too. (There's LPI too, but let's not complicate things further.) So is 'resolution' the pixel dimensions or the DPI (or PPI)? Uh, either. Sorry. Different people use the term for each, and anyway it depends on context. If you're unsure, clarify. Related articles: The 10 commandments of Photoshop etiquette The designer's guide to printing a poster Create special print finishes in InDesign View the full article