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The success of any project – whether in web design or other disciplines – hinges on the maturity of the delivery processes and practices at play within the organisation. So what are the fundamentals of a good delivery and how can you go about achieving them? Here are 10 project delivery tips to help your team to impress clients with well-researched products that deliver on the brief – and then some. 01. Win the right projects The sales and delivery team need to work together to win the right shaped projects and clients, and involve the delivery team as much as possible in proposal writing, pitches and estimates. Before you get started on a new project, run a one-day workshop to check it’s feasible from a technical, financial and design perspective. There, challenge assumptions and talk openly about any risks that arise for that project. 02. Know your client Before the workshop, send a project approach questionnaire to the product owner asking them to honestly ‘Agree’ or ‘Disagree’ with a list of statements that you believe will help the project be a success, such as: “You’re able to take full proactive ownership of the project.” Discuss areas where you’re concerned they won’t be able to fulfil the role and ensure a mitigation plan is in place before continuing with the project. 03. Start with a research phase Gain a thorough understanding of the topics in order to develop the right plan of actionOnce you’re happy that you’re a good match, start with a discovery phase to explore the goals and business objectives of the project. Talk to stakeholders and users, and follow up with further research where required. Nothing contributes to project success more than providing a team with a clear set of goals and insights based on real user needs. 04. Establish clear roles Define project roles and responsibilities early. This shouldn’t be a box-ticking exercise and should include the internal team as well as the client. Explore what team members expect from each other and write them into a team charter so that everyone knows what they’re accountable for on the project. 05. Use a transparent process When projects lack structure, they lack direction and control. A process isn’t one-size-fits-all, but consistency helps. Be clear on what elements of your process are non-negotiable and make sure you hold teams accountable to them. 06. Trust your teams Show some faith and let each team perform their taskYou employ experts for a reason, so make sure you build a structure that supports self-organising teams. Define the problems, constraints and project objectives well, then trust the team to deliver a solution that works within these parameters. If at all possible, maintain a consistent team throughout the project. 07. Engage your team If the people doing the work aren’t engaged, you’ll have a hard time making good practices stick. Delivery is human work, so build fun into the process. Engagement is a byproduct of teams being able to take ownership of the issues they see on the project and of fixing them. 08. Regularly review the health of your projects One way to do this is to have a bi-weekly call with your client asking them four simple questions: What’s going well on the project for you? What worries you? What do we need to do differently? On a scale of 1 to 10, how confident are you that the project will succeed and deliver your goals? By having honest conversations about the project on a regular basis, you can nip problems in the bud. 09. Listen, learn and iterate At Deeson, where I'm delivery lead, we have three agile coaches within the agency who perform regular team assessments. These are written in acceptance criteria format. For example, “Do the team know they’re on track to deliver everything in a sprint?” Discussions around these criteria help identify areas where the team could benefit from further support and coaching. Common pitfalls are captured on a company-wide Trello board and goals are set to address the root causes. 10. Celebrate Enjoy your success and share it as a teamNancy Lyons once said project management is like oxygen: you only notice it when it isn’t there. As a result, it’s often under-valued, so take the time to celebrate project achievements, happy clients and advancements in your company’s process. This article was originally published in issue 296 of net magazine, the magazine for professional web designers and developers – offering the latest new web trends, technologies and techniques. Buy issue 296 here or subscribe to net here. Related articles: Best project management software 30 Chrome extensions for web designers and devs Top tips for nailing project management View the full article

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Move over YouTube... with the <video> element and a little JavaScript, you can start to create your own video site. The video element is fairly straightforward to use, but the real power comes when you combine it with JavaScript, which gives you a high level of control over the player’s behaviour. In this tutorial, we cover the basic setup of a video, selecting files to play back, and generating thumbnails. 01. Create a basic page Let’s start with an HTML page outline. We’ll need a simple div structure, some CSS for styling and, most critically, a script file. You’ll notice that the video tag is empty right now, so will do nothing when you load the page. However, we give it an id so we can control it with JavaScript. 02. Style the page Next, we’ll start adding styling to the page. Before we try to do anything too clever, let’s start by adding basic styling to a couple of our div elements so things look a little more respectable. 03. Add more styling Things become a little more interesting when we come to style the thumbnail-container div. We’re going to fill this with img elements, which will be thumbnails generated from our videos. Therefore, we want it to display a horizontal scrollbar if we have more thumbnails than it can show at once. We can do this using the overflow-x property. 04. Size the video player appropriately There’s one more bit of styling we need to do. As it is, when we start playing videos, they’ll display at whatever their native resolution is. This isn’t going to look good on the page. Let’s style the video element to determine how big it should be. If we set its width and height to 100%, it’ll just fill its containing div. 05. Set up the script It’s time to get down to the JavaScript. Let’s prepare a list of video files in an array for it to work with (we’ll hard-code for now, but you could try configuring it to retrieve via JSON from an HTTP service). We’ll also define a couple of variables which we’ll use later on: ‘player’ will be the video element; ‘playerSource’ will be a newly created source element that will become a child of the player object later on, and point to source files. We’ll also plan to hook into a DOMContentLoaded event to make sure the script waits for the page to load before kicking into action. Note that video playback in the browser relies on the presence of a codec that can read the video format you’re using. To ensure your video works cross-browser, the safest bet is MP4 files using the H.264 codec. 06. Generate a thumbnail Next let’s create a function that will generate an image thumbnail from a video file. We want this to take in a video object and return an image object. Internally, the way we will achieve this is using HTML canvas. 07. Automatically generate thumbnails as videos are loaded Now we can take the generateThumbnail function and use it on each of the video files in our list. Let’s do this by implementing the initialise() function. This function will add the playerSource object as a child of the video element, then iterate through every file in the list, load it into a temporary video object, and once loaded, generate a thumbnail and add it to the thumbnail container. 08. Add links to the thumbnails There’s something missing, though. Our thumbnails show up in the container, but none of them are clickable. We need to wrap the images in an <a> element, which needs to execute some JavaScript when clicked. Let’s adjust the function hooked to the loadeddata event to create the links as well, instead of just img elements. 09. Play a video Now we are generating thumbnails with clickable links, which are set up to invoke play(thumbSource.src), where thumbSource.src points to the filename of the relevant video file. All that remains is to implement the play function to set playerSource (which you’ll recall we linked to the video player element) to point to the correct file and kick off playback. This article originally appeared in issue 266 of Web Designer, the creative web design magazine – offering expert tutorials, cutting-edge trends and free resources. Buy issue 266 here or subscribe to Web Designer here. Related articles: How to power up your menus with CSS animation 16 amazing HTML examples 9 of the best resources for learning HTML and CSS View the full article

Known as the most tedious task in 3D, especially for beginners, UV mapping is also the glue that binds models, bakes and textures together. It's a crucial task, too, as a bad set of UVs and their resulting output can make a great model look awful. Whether you love or hate UVs, there's no escaping them – they are essential to understand. Christmas offer: Save up to 49% on a subscription to 3D World Some of the most common problems that novices run into when starting out with UV mapping is finding the whole process an incomprehensible soup of terms and concepts, as well as never quite knowing where to begin, especially when working on hard-edged models. However, if you get into the habit of doing a little prep and find a UV mapping tool you click with, it's not quite the tedium it used to be. UV space fundamentals Try using a UV grid rather than a checker map – a UV grid will show a lot more issues, such as flipped polys The reason why a UV map is the glue between model and textures is that it's not only the flattened and mapped topology of your model, it's also the basis for your map bakes. This means you need to take your mapping into consideration as you model – bad UVs give bad bakes. You can always tweak bad curvature, height or occlusion maps in Photoshop in a pinch, but bad normal or similar map output can be a real pain to fix if you don't keep them in mind from the get-go. This means the first thing you need to know about UV mapping is what UV space is. Based on a 0 to 1 grid, with 0.5 as the middle coordinates, a UV map consists of your 3D model's XYZ coordinates flattened into 2D UVW space – or tile, as it's called. Depending on your modeller and mapper, 3D's horizontal X-axis equals U in 2D space, vertical Y equals V, and the depth coordinate Z equals W. There is no madness to the letters, only method: 2D's UVW is used solely to avoid confusion with 3D's X, Y and Z. This equalling of coordinates is – to put it simply – how 3D space translates into flattened 2D space. Make sure your mapped UV groups have sufficient gutters. Look for the Spacing settings in your UV mapperYou may be wondering why 2D space also has a depth coordinate. This is to make sure that no matter how you choose to map, flip or stack your UV'd bits and pieces – called islands or shells – the depth coordinate will ensure they show correctly in 3D no matter their mapping. It's also vital that all your model's flattened polys need to be inside the UV tile in order to provide your baker and renderer with accurate texture information. Some renderers and texturing applications take this a step further by also providing support for something called UDIM – U-Dimension. In simple terms, UDIM makes UV mapping and texturing easier by enabling you to create multiple UV grids for the same model by allowing you to have 10 tiles on the U-axis, and an (almost) infinite amount on the V-axis. As with a normal UV tile, you can't have polys outside of the UDIM tiles' boundaries either, but we'll get to that later. Pre-modelling considerations Be careful not to go overboard with your groups and textures. As well as heavy game engine load, they'll also slow performance in, for example, Substance PainterNow you know what UV space is, we can move on to the few fundamental concepts that apply to UV mapping no matter your model, UV mapper, or whether you're using a single-tile UV map or UDIM. First and foremost, a UV map needs to be as distortion-free as possible. This means that a texture won't look stretched or pinched when applied onto the model. It also needs to maintain scale. Textures applied onto a model should not show disproportionately to each other. For example, the head of your mech shouldn't have a much smaller scale and details than its torso, and even worse if the arms have even larger details. You can of course work around this by using triplanar mapping when working in apps such as Substance, for example, but the best thing is to get it right straight out of the gate. As well as no distortion, a good UV map also has borders and padding. Avoid seam trouble on the tile's edges by adding a three- to four-pixel border, and get into the habit of creating enough space between your UV islands to handle edge padding and gutters to head off trouble at the pass. Even two to three pixels is often enough to avoid texture bleed and normal mapping artefacts when baking, and almost all UV mappers have functionality for this. Use it. It also pays to keep your layout tidy and economical, with similar items arranged together, or stacked on top of each other where possible to save space. This will allow more room for the items needing finer detailing or with higher visibility; the larger the item on a UV map, the larger the texel density, meaning the more space it gets for painting and detailing. UDIM is a much easier way to UV map, as it lets you visually separate your UV groups or materials over several tiles When you start modelling, make sure you build proper geometry, and keep in mind your intended end result can impact your UV map and its layout. If you're creating a game model, for example, you'll need to be very aware not only of your high-res mesh's detailing so the lower-poly mesh can hold it, but also how you cut your UV seams, as every cut means a doubled vertice count in-engine. Neither Unreal or Unity support UDIMs natively at the time of writing, which means your map needs to fit on a single tile. And it's never too late to start thinking about normals and smoothing groups. A lot of artists seem to think of a normal map as a glorified bump map. This is not entirely correct, as it has a few more uses than height or depth maps. In a nutshell, normals are the directional pointers for a polygon (face) or group of polygons. You can avoid some normal and potential flipping issues by using the binormal tangent export option when exporting .fbx files from your modellerThe direction they face defines the direction of smoothing, and the side or direction your materials display on. For example, if you're creating a scene inside a box, it would be natural to have the texture on the box's inner walls face inward, not outward, so you can see it. You define this by setting the direction of your normals. Most modellers have a function that enables you to see the direction they're facing in – usually that little pointer in the middle of a polygon pointing in or outwards. It's easy to forget that normals are more than a normal map basis – they also control the direction of a surface and smoothing groupsIn addition to the above, and as they are items you can hand paint details on, normals also control smoothing groups. A smoothing group's function is to make your model appear smoother without adding polys to the mesh. It's a sort of pseudo-subdivision surface where if two or more polygons share an edge and are members of the same smoothing group, they will render as a smooth surface. If not, a hard edge is created. This will render as a corner or an edge, and this edge will need to be separated when UV mapping to avoid baking artefacts. This means that even a simple thing like tidying your mesh as you go can yield baking, time saving and UV mapping benefits, as it'll steer you clear of tasks such as leftover poly clean up, too many deleted poly fixes, and tidying unclean edges, which often only become visible (and a potential clean up time sink) when you start the process of UV mapping or baking. If you're UV mapping a hard-edged model, be a bit wary of flipping islands and stacking them, especially if you're mapping on a single UV tile rather than UDIM. Even though it can really speed up your workflow and save you UV mapping time to only map half of your figure before copying, flipping, welding or stacking your shells, you run the risk of ending up with weird lighting and lighting seams. Smoothing groups need hard edges. In the gun's case, the body has two smoothing groups, meaning it needs a hard edge where the mesh hard edges intersectA workaround for this is to use an .fbx export with tangents and binormals checked, but it also helps to use multiple, non-flipped UV maps or sets, at the cost of load and the convenience of having everything in one map. Hard-edged UV maps Now you know your space and are aware of some of the basic workflow considerations, it's time to start mapping for real. Bring a UV grid, elbow grease, and patience. The UV grid should have letters and shapes on it – the plain black, checkered map is not good for spotting errors like flipped polys and smaller distortions, even if your UV mapper shows stretch (blue) or pinch (red) in the model view. The patience is because UV mapping can be time-consuming. Despite the wonders of the various auto unwrap buttons littering the UV mapping landscape, keep an eye on the auto unwrap results, as an auto unwrap function by itself has no concept of what the important and non-important areas of your texture will be. Unless you want a whole lot of islands to clean up, UV map as you model, and create groups and/or materials before auto unwrappingIf you're absolutely stumped as to where to begin unwrapping, look at your model, and, if you haven't already, divide it into groups or material groups. Then go for the largest, or most complex items first. These areas are often the most visible and time-consuming parts of your UV map and texturing, and it's here you'll have the least leeway when it comes to time and errors. This brings us to cutting and seams, which is where the main difference between UV mapping organic and hard-edged models lies. The reason for this is that because a mech has more edges than, say, a fantasy archer, they tend to need more seams in order to reduce distortion. But also because of normals, baking and error prevention. In addition to high-poly details and smoothing, normals also facilitate better shading. In order to make use of this on a hard-edged model, you'll need to take some precautions when cutting your UV seams. As mentioned, if you have a smoothing group or polygon ending and another one starting, a hard edge is created, and that edge is going to need to be cut and get some padding (never less than two pixels). This gives room for error reducing tangent twisting and avoids issues such as gradients, black lines or LOD issues down the normal baking line. Some programs don't respect welds, so check your export settings before unwrapping externally to save yourself an ocean of poly islandsTake care with where you put your seams and how many you cut. A cut on a hard edge can't be avoided, but as far as the rest are concerned, try cutting your mesh in places that aren't so obvious or visible. You can also try cutting these maps approximating the way they'd be separated in real life for a good result and ease of texturing. Staying on track Once you've started getting into your UV mapping groove, keep an eye on your straight lines. Be careful when using the Relax function. It's a godsend for many organic maps, but can really skew your lines on a mechanical mesh if you don't use your UV mapper's pinning or constraint function properly. Test it thoroughly. Make sure to keep your lines as straight as you can, as hard-edged models often show distortion more, and are more subject to being textured with decals and straight-lined items, which will look skewed if the UV map is skewed. Once you're getting near the finish line, run a final check with a different UV grid and a set of generic textures, just to check everything is mapped. Once you're done, it's ready, set, bake! This article originally appeared in 3D World issue 220. 3D World is the world's best-selling magazine for CG artists, boasting expert tutorials, inspiration and reviews. As a special offer in the run-up to Christmas, you can save up to 49% off a subscription for yourself or a friend. Subscribe here to never miss an issue. Related articles: 30 inspiring examples of 3D art 30 free 3D models 8 best 3D tools of 2017 so far View the full article

Digital publishing platform Adobe InDesign has a ton of features that make it essential for everything from brochure design to creating magazine layouts, to eye-catching poster design. Get your 15% discount on Adobe Creative Cloud hereHere we've rounded up the best InDesign tutorials on the web, which walk you through a variety of design projects. You're sure to find something here to stretch your skills. You can jump directly to a section using the dropdown menu above, or browse them all. InDesign tutorials for beginners 01. See what you can create with InDesign This short video explains how InDesign is used and by whomIf you're a newcomer to InDesign, spend a couple of minutes watching this short tutorial that explains exactly what the software is, its purpose and who uses it. It's a really clear explanation that shows off many of the time-saving tools and features of InDesign CC that you'll probably end up using all the time. 02. Get started with InDesign This series of videos from Adobe will help you get started This series of short tutorials, created by Adobe, is designed to teach you everything you need to know to start working in InDesign. There's a mini video showing you how to make and save a document and a tour of the InDesign workspace. As you continue through, you'll learn how to add and format text, then move on to working with graphics. 03. Explore InDesign basics This 5-minute tutorial walks through the tools you need to know There are many tools to get your head around in InDesign and it's easy to feel intimidated by them all. In this five-minute tutorial, Matthew Pizzi introduces you to the primary tools in InDesign CC and explains what does what, so you won't feel quite so lost. 04. A quick guide to master pages The basic idea behind master pages is that whatever you place on the master page will all be applied to any other pages that have the master applied to them. They are extremely useful for ensuring consistency within your designs, and once you've got the hang of them they're ideal for streamlining your workflow. Here a basic guide to how to use them. 05. Working with graphics Master the basics of working with graphics In just under seven minutes, this tutorial teaches you about placing, which is how you import photos or text into your InDesign page. It covers all the popular image formats: PSD, AI, TIFF and JPEG, as well as explaining how to scale, centre and crop photos. 06. 5 tips for working with images In this tutorial, Adobe evangelist Terry White picks out five key tips for working with images in Indesign CC. It's a recording of a live session, so there's a bit of faffing about at the start – you can skip the first couple of minutes if you want to get straight to the tips. 07. Pro tips for working with type Advice for working with type in InDesignIn this tutorial, magazine designer Jo Gulliver shows you some of the most valuable typographic tools in InDesign. In it, you'll learn how to quickly highlight text, control copy flow, align text and insert ligatures. It'll show you how to polish your text so it works perfectly within your design. 08. 5 amazing things you can do in Adobe InDesign In this video tutorial, Terry White is back, alongside British graphic designer Dave Clayton. The two of them share cool InDesign-made projects they've discovered, as well as tricks and tips they've picked up from Adobe events and their own experience using the design tool. Next page: Tips for using InDesign tools 09. Create vertical text in InDesign Vertical text is an easy way to add interest to designsVertical text can instantly add interest to your designs, and is ideal for use on posters or for headlines within editorial layouts. This step-by-step InDesign tutorial from InDesignSkills shows you how to create and format vertical text within your documents. 10. Three new text features in InDesign CC In this video tutorial, Adobe evangelist Terry White talks though three new text features from the 2018 release of InDesign CC, all of which are set to delight typography fans. The first feature is additional filters, which enable you to better organise your font list, so you can find what you want much quicker – for example, you can narrow down your list by serif or sans-serif fonts, or set it only to show decorative or script fonts. The second new feature enables you to search for fonts that are similar to one you have selected. The third feature enables you to place text in your CC library. 11. Wrap text around an object Add flair by wrapping text around an object You can wrap text around any object, including text frames, imported images, and objects you draw in InDesign CC. It's ideal for adding character and flair to your layouts. In this video tutorial Chad Chelius demonstrates the ins and outs of using the Text Wrap tool. 12. Set a print bleed Set up print bleed so you avoid white marginsIf your print design extends all the way to the edge of the page, it's essential to include a print bleed so you avoid an ugly white margin. This InDesign tutorial shows you how to set this up, including adding crop marks for the bindery. 13. Control multiple page sizes Learn how to control different page sizes in a single document In this InDesign tutorial, you'll discover an easy way to control multiple page sizes within a single document. Using a fake magazine layout as an example, the tutorial walks you through manipulating page size, creating gatefolds and adding a spine. 14. Quickly duplicate content Discover a simple way to duplicate contentCopy and pasting is a useful technique, but it has some shortcomings - which is where InDesign CS6's Content Collector tool comes in. In this five minute video tutorial, Adobe expert trainer Tony Harmer reveals the benefits of this tool. 15. Create a neon text effect Create this cool text effect quicklyLight-up neon type is an ideal way to add a little 80s glamour to your designs. This tutorial shows you how to nail the effect in under five minutes – and the skills you'll learn are easy to apply to other designs, too. Time well spent. Next page: Build complex documents and layouts 16. Design a book in InDesign How to design a book in InDesignThere's more to laying out the pages of a book than you might think – and one mistake can lead to a hefty fix-up job. Make sure you get everything right the first time round with this step-by-step InDesign tutorial. Our comprehensive guide includes everything you need to know. 17. Design a book cover in InDesign Learn how to design the perfect book coverOnce you've designed your book, you'll need an eye-catching cover. In this tutorial, designer Laura Hawk walks though how to design and create the perfect book cover in InDesign. She covers everything from setting up the bleed and arranging the cover panels to flowing in the blurb copy and putting together the back cover. 18. Design a fashion magazine cover Use layered images and text to create a dynamic fashion cover In this tutorial you'll learn how to create your own glamorous cover for a fictional fashion magazine, using layered images and text to create a dynamic, three-dimensional design, selecting and applying typography effectively and appropriately, and accounting for practical issues such as pricing and binding. The tutorial is focused in InDesign, but also hops over to Photoshop for a bit of image editing, so your Creative Cloud subscription will come in handy. 19. Design a promo for an imaginary brand Consistency is key when you're designing for a brandWhen you're designing for a brand, consistency across all touchpoints is key, so any design relating to the brand is instantly recognisable. In this Creative Bloq tutorial, Luke O'Neill walks you through how to create a simple A5 promo for a contemporary brand, detailing how to create and then archive graphic elements in an InDesign library. 20. Design a custom, print-ready pocket folder Pocket folders are great for promotionA pocket folder can be a powerful promotional tool. In this step-by-step InDesign tutorial, you'll learn how to create one, from setting up a dieline and creating your design through to preparing your file for delivery to your printing company. 21. Bind a book: a 10-step guide Everything you need to know about binding your own bookA handmade self-promotional book can make a cost-effective, personal and unique alternative to help you stand out. In our tutorial, Karen Lewis explains how to bind a book in a few easy steps, from setting up page spreads and cover templates in InDesign to the essential tools and techniques you need to bind your own books. 22. Indesign layout shortcuts Explore the Gap tool and Live Corner EffectsLearn how to scale and resize different gaps between objects and the best ways to use Live Corner Effects. This InDesign tutorial will teach you to how to quickly edit layouts without leaving the spread. 23. Create a calendar Create a calendar in InDesignPlan your time out and get organised with your own calendar. Plus, designing it yourself means you can set it up exactly how you want it! In this InDesign tutorial, magazine designer Jo Gulliver walks through how to design and edit a calendar using Scott Selberg’s Calendar Wizard script. 24. Create a 3D calendar Cube calendars can be made in just 11 steps Once you've mastered a 2D calendar, it's time to add an extra dimension. In this tutorial, Jo Gulliver reveals how you can create a 3D calendar by creating and manipulating cube nets in InDesign. 25. Design a glamorous Art Deco menu This retro menu is all done with typography, shapes and bordersThis easy-to-create Art Deco menu card recalls the geometric glamour of the Jazz Age, and it's the perfect way to add a touch of class to any dinner gathering. Best of all, it doesn't require any images; you can do everything using typography, shapes and borders alone. 26. Create reflective typography Creating a reflection is easy; making it convincing is another matterIt's not difficult to create a basic reflection, but making it look convincing is just a little more complex. Here Luke O'Neill explains how to quickly create an environment for your type to sit in that follows the basic rules of directional light, and how to place type in it to create a convincing reflection. 27. Create glossy graphics Here's how to make shiny things, if you really have toShiny and glossy graphics may not be to everyone's taste, but they certainly have their place and are often employed in sports branding and design. Luke O'Neill demonstrates how to achieve this look using InDesign, although the tips could also be applied to Illustrator. Next page: InDesign tutorials for pros 28. How white space can transform your layouts Don't be tempted to overfill your layoutsLess is more when it comes to layouts; by incorporating white space into your work you'll transform your designs from crowded and fussy to streamlined and polished. In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to create a simple two-sided flyer in Adobe InDesign, being sparing with placing your elements to create a contemporary, calming design. 29. Create special print finishes Special finishes can transform a print designIf you're after something really unique, special finishes can transform a print design. In this guide, magazine designer Jo Gulliver talks through the processes for setting up artwork in InDesign for special finishes such as varnishes, foil blocking, embossing and die cutting. Each finish has some best practice guides you should follow, but once you get your head around creating one you should be able to easily apply this knowledge to the other processes. 30. Add interactivity to EPUBS Add rich, interactive features to your fixed layouts It is possible to use InDesign to create dynamic and engaging EPUB documents by adding rich interactive features. This tutorial shows you how to include slideshows, add buttons to trigger animation, add hyperlinks to your document, and more. It also explains how the EPUB Interactivity Preview panel can simplify your production process by giving you immediate feedback on how an animation might look when it's exported and viewed on a device. 31. Fix muddy gradients Learn how to stop your gradients looking murkyA muddy gradient – usually caused by using the default black – can ruin the look of your work. Here you'll learn a few ways to correct it in both CMYK and spot colour gradients. 32. Use a column grid to design a poster Master aligned typography with this grid poster design In this tutorial Mark Bloom, aka Mash Creative, walks through how to create perfectly aligned typography using a column grid system for guidance. 33. Manage your assets properly Organisation is keyIf you're combining a lot of assets in your design, it's essential to organise them properly of you'll end up in a pickle. In this InDesign tutorial, Luke O'Neill runs through how to create a poster for an imaginary exhibition called Sirens. This InDesign tutorial covers the creation of a simple logotype and grid, use of typography, image editing and pattern creation. Related articles: 30 amazing vector art tutorials 5 things every creative needs to know about print design The best Adobe Illustrator plugins View the full article

Creating a beautiful website is one of the most important things a designer can do. After all, a slick and powerful online portfolio is a fantastic way for professionals to showcase their skills to potential clients and land work. And thanks to a website builder like Wix, designers from all walks of life have limitless options when it comes to crafting their online home. With a range of advanced features that are built to look beautiful and work intuitively, graphic designers, photographers, artists and web designers can stay true to their vision easily when making their portfolios with Wix. Even if you’ve got some web design know-how you’ll still be impressed with what you can achieve. The web is your playground Flexibility is at the heart of what designers find so appealing when they build websites with Wix. When you’re ready to start, Wix presents you with a blank slate that you can customise buy moving around any element with drag and drop tools. Not only that, but you can design in any layout you want - columns, strips, full-width or anything else you can imagine. And to make sure your portfolio is truly unique, each single element can be fully customised. For example, you can upload and use any font set to ensure your typography fits your style. There are no limits to what you can make. With the help of advanced features and top-notch technology, the possibilities are endless when it comes to creating a complete portfolio. These features include retina-ready image quality that will make your work look as sharp as possible, plus a revolutionary video player, Wix Video, to showcase your demo reels or motion graphics projects in the best resolution. Hassle-free coding If you want to get involved with the coding side of things, Wix is on hand with its advanced capability, the freshly released Wix Code, to make the whole web design process hassle-free and to help you deliver a robust platform. The great thing is that everything you create through Wix Code is SEO compatible. Note that the most desirable design effects, such as parallax scrolling, cinemagraphs and other animations, are already included in the Wix Editor, so you don’t have to write a single line of code to insert them in your portfolio. Get seen on the go Wix sophisticated design effects also look stunning on a mobile display, meaning that fans and clients can enjoy browsing your work anywhere and at any time. Your site will also get seen by the very people you want to attract with the help of Wix industry-leading SEO functionalities. Last but not least, to keep your all-important design work safe and sound, Wix also runs with fully-secure cloud hosting powered by their own servers. Designed with Wix. Made with pride Some of the world’s top designers, photographers and artists already chose Wix’s amazing capabilities to create their portfolios. Have a look at this short selection to see what kind of design you can achieve. It’s your turn to experience creativity without limits. Start designing your website with Wix now! View the full article

We're gearing up to bring you the best Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2017 discounts on creative tools in just two weeks, but in the meantime, we've got you a great daily deal on a web coding course bundle. Knowing how to code is an invaluable skill that can open up new career paths you might have never imagined. You can master the art of web code and supplement your existing design skills with the help of the Complete Learn to Code Bonus Bundle. Get this Doorbuster Deal on sale for just $54 (approx £41) – that's 96% off the full price. Whether you want to learn web design to craft your own creations or boost your skills to qualify for a bigger pay check, the Complete Learn to Code Bonus Bundle will give you the knowhow you need to become a talented web developer with the skills to succeed. With more than 16.5 hours of actionable content from 12 courses, you’ll learn the ins and outs of today's top coding languages including Python, MySQL, HTML, CSS, and more. Plus, you'll learn how to build incredible apps and websites along the way. The Complete Learn to Code Bonus Bundle is valued at $1,473. Luckily, you won't have to pay nearly that much as right now, you can get this deal on sale for just $54 (approx £41). The 12 courses included in this bundle are: The Complete Ruby on Rails Developer Course Learn Web Development by Creating a Social Network Learn By Example: The Foundations of HTML, CSS & JavaScript Python Tutorial: Learn by Coding PHP OOP & PDO with Projects for Beginners Total Web Development Course An Introduction to MySQL Database Development Learn Cloud Computing From Scratch AngularJS for the Real World Build Professional Websites with HTML5 & CSS3 Build Web Apps with ReactJS and Flux Git Complete: The Definitive, Step-By-Step Guide 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: Improve your photos with this Photoshop course bundle 25 top-class website templates 30 Chrome extensions for web designers and devs View the full article

You could transform stock imagery by making a creative composite image like this (Image by Vladimir Sazonov; click to see it on Shutterstock) Whether you’re a web designer, graphic designer, 3D artist, illustrator or traditional artist, you’ll need beautiful images in order to do your job. Sometimes you might have the time, budget and skills to create or commission your own, but sometimes one of those magic ingredients might be missing. Stock libraries such as Shutterstock are brimming with high-quality photography, illustrations, vectors and even video footage to make your life easier on these occasions. Shutterstock has also worked hard to make searching for these assets much easier, adding intuitive filters, collections and more to help you find the image that’s right for your creative project. You could use stock images for all manner of reasons – from reference images to inspire your artworks, to injecting interest into prototypes, to polishing a printed design. Here are 6 tips to help you find the perfect image right now. 01. Plan what you’ll use your image for This vibrant image combines colour, eye contact and humour – perfect for a shopping site’s hero image (Photo by Dean Drobot; click to see it on Shutterstock) Whether your image will be used as a website header, a background image or turned into a creative composite like the image above will have a huge effect on what sort of image you need. It sounds obvious, but thinking about the purpose of the image will save you a lot of half-hearted searching. If you are creating a magazine or website homepage layout then a colourful image will grab more attention and hold its own better than a dull one. Photos with people in, especially where those people are making eye contact, are proven to draw the eye the most. Try browsing Shutterstock’s People image collection as a starting point. A flat background will make it far easier to cut out your subjects (Image by Eric Isselee; click to see it on Shutterstock) On the other hand, if you need stock images to work with creatively, those with white backgrounds will be easiest to cut out in order to transform them with masks, colour inversions and so on. Adding ‘white background’ to the subject of your search is a simple way to get the most relevant results. Typing ‘birds white background’ found us a huge variety of photos we could work with. 02. Search by image Got a low res image that you like? Find a similar one with image searchArtists and designers are, obviously, visual people. And sometimes it’s just easier to show what you want than it is to describe what you want in words. With that in mind, Shutterstock has the option to search for images with another image. Ever found an image when looking around the web for inspiration, or been sent a photo by a client that has a good subject but is unusable as it is? Then use image search. Simply hit the camera icon in the search bar to bring up the option to search by image. Then, drag and drop or upload the image that you want to search for to see similar results. Image search results are impressiveIn the screenshots above, we uploaded a tiny low res image of a leaf that we liked the shape of, and were given 100 high res images with varying colours, backgrounds, interesting details and shapes. 03. Refine your search using filters Tie the colours of your images into the rest of your designColour is a powerful tool that evokes different emotional responses in people, so colour in branding and design is understandably important. With that in mind, why not narrow down your search results by looking at those that just contain hues of a key colour for your design? Simply type in a search term then, when the results page comes up, click on the dropdown menus to filter the results. As well as colour, these intuitive filters include options to filter your image search results by type, orientation, people (number, gender, age and ethnicity) and category. These filters make finding the right image for your project easier than ever. 04. Use curated collections This photo from the Storytellers collection invites audiences to wonder (Photo by Tatiana Bobkova; click to get it on Shutterstock) If you fancy a change from thinking of search terms and browsing pages of search results, Shutterstock’s carefully curated collections group together the best images around a theme. These collections are packed with inspiration and high quality imagery waiting to be stumbled upon. The Storytellers collection, for example, contains images that will surprise and intrigue audiences. This photo from the Changing seasons collection lends designs timeliness (Photo by Leonid Ikan; click to get it on Shutterstock) The Changing seasons collection, meanwhile, offers a huge range of images that have been chosen for being seasonal without being cheesy. Find the curated collections through the buttons on Shutterstock’s home page, along with other helpful design tips. By clicking on one of the images in the collection (or, indeed, any image you find on the Shutterstock site), you’ll also see suggested similar images and images by the same photographer underneath, offering yet more inspiration. 05. Consider illustrations, vectors or even video Illustrations cover all sorts of subjects and colour palettes (Illustration by miniwide; click to get it on Shutterstock) Shutterstock is known for its diverse range of professional photography, but its library of illustrations, vectors and videos could also be striking options for your next project. After all, in a modern world full of photography, there’s something refreshing about a lovingly-drawn illustration. Subjects large and small appear in its illustration library, drawn in a range of styles from intricate, hand-drawn studies, to black and white sketches, to bold, geometric digital art. Shutterstock even has paper art images (Image by TAW4; click to get it on Shutterstock) You can browse the illustration library at www.shutterstock.com/search/illustrations or search for a particular subject and select ‘illustrations’ from the dropdown menu, rather than ‘all images’. This vector would lend a high-end feel to a header or background (Image by RODINA OLENA; click to get it on Shutterstock) Similarly, Shutterstock’s library of vectors also boasts a range of styles, colours and subjects, with featured collections spanning wedding invitations, pop art, doodles and sketches, winter patterns and more. Draw attention by looping video clips like this mesmerising footage of the aurora borealis (Still from a video by Jamen Percy; click to see it on Shutterstock) Finally, could your web project, social media campaign or presentation actually benefit from some moving photography? Homepages featuring video are a growing trend, with the right footage able to communicate your values and aspirations as articulately as a well crafted paragraph of text. With over 8.5 million video clips priced from £19, check out Shutterstock’s video library now, or select ‘footage’ from the search bar dropdown. 06. Don’t forget the free photos Just put your details in and click ‘create account’ in this area of Shutterstock’s homepage, and you’ll get two free images every week Our final tip will save you money and time. Sign up for a free account with Shutterstock today and you’ll be given access to a free photo and a free vector each week. Even if you don’t need them for your current project, downloading them and saving them in your own personal library will mean you’ll gradually build up a collection of high-quality images ready to use as soon as they are useful. Easy. View the full article

US technology company IBM is responsible for creating three of the most recognisable letters in the world. Well, that's according to Mike Abbink, IBM's executive creative director of brand experience and design – and the man behind the company's bespoke new free font, IBM Plex. Designed by Paul Rand in 1956, the IBM logo – which sees the company's initials broken into eight distinct bars – remains one of the world’s most distinctive pieces of branding today. Earlier this month, the firm added another milestone to its design heritage by launching its first-ever “bespoke” font in beta. IBM Plex will be used across everything from the company’s software, websites and signage to PowerPoint presentations and marketing initiatives. It’ll be available in 110 languages, in both serif and sans serif versions, and boasts eight weights. Interestingly, it's also available for anyone to download and use for free. "When I came to IBM, it was a big discussion: Why does IBM not have a bespoke typeface? Why are we still clinging to Helvetica?" says Abbink. To better reflect who it is and how it communicates, IBM briefed Abbink to create a relevant font that taps into the story of the company. Money matters IBM is big on good design, of course. Last year it partnered with AIGA to put 100,000 members of staff through design training. But there’s another side to the story, as Quartz reports. Until recently, IBM was paying Monotype over a million dollars each year to license Neue Helvetica. That cost didn’t stretch far enough to provide each of IBM’s 380,000-plus employees with access to Neue Helvetica, so the firm needed a custom font that it could distribute as it wished. New Helvetica? Abbink and his team worked on the project for two years. Looking back to the IBM of the '50s and '60s, Abbink was captured by how the company tapped into the zeitgeist of modernism with a theme of man meeting machine. This collision of worlds was carried over into IBM Plex, a highly engineered font that’s loaded with idiosyncratic human touches. Watch the team behind IBM Plex explain its development in the video below. One of our favourite touches is how the font is designed to include eight weights in a nice callback to the IBM logo. On the video, the team says it hopes IBM Plex will become the 'new Helvetica'. It’s a bold ambition, but with the font free to download for everyone from individuals to businesses, if Abbink hits a design home run on a par with the famous IBM logo, perhaps we'll be seeing a lot more of IBM Plex in the future. Related articles: 20 fonts every graphic designer should own 20 perfect font pairings The secrets of custom font development View the full article

In the design industry, storytelling doesn't mean reading a book; it has a wider meaning connected with communicating the story behind a product, company or brand. As Margaret Nolan, creative director at Denomination, puts it: “Storytelling is about capturing what is credible and interesting about your brand and communicating it to the consumer. It can be done in a variety of ways: with words, pictures, the brand name itself, or even product design. Denomination's label design for Squealing Pig alters the words in children's rhyme The Three Little Pigs“A few words can create a vivid picture of your brand,” she continues. “I recently saw some egg packaging that just had a single line of type: ‘Laid by Matilda, Henrietta Biscuit and Pecky.’ It said everything about the brand: small and boutique; an egg producer that knows its product intimately; and someone who loves their hens. “In short, storytelling is about letting the consumer know what the essence of your brand is about: what you stand for. And finding these stories is at the heart of all our briefs.” “We needed to position the brand as a premium boutique offering, with more of an emphasis on winemaking,” says NolanIn Denomination's work for Squealing Pig wines, "the client wanted the brand to be positioned differently from the majority of New Zealand labels, which were quite serious and featured mountains or landscapes in their branding," says Nolan. “Our idea was to use the well-known children's rhyme but change key words to link the pig both to winemaking and to New Zealand.” In this article, we hear from some leading experts in the field on how to improve and finesse your visual storytelling. 01. Dig into the brand’s DNA Jazzbones Creative used the narrative of ‘Every holiday a Masterpiece’ for Imagine CruisingWhat makes for good storytelling from a design perspective? “The most effective campaigns have a clear narrative,” says Nathan Sandhu, founder and creative director of Jazzbones Creative. “And the starting point for that narrative has to be the client’s own DNA – what makes it special and what it offers that is different from its competitors.” So you need to spend time getting know the clients first. “In the best novels, the characters drive the plot, not the other way round. Without a clear understanding of characters – who they are, where they come from, what motivates them, where they are going – how can you put words into their mouths? Exactly the same principle applies to a business narrative.” Before developing the story, then, you need to understand the company; what it stands for, what makes it special, and what makes its product unique. “A small hotelier in Scotland is not the same as a multinational cruise operator; they speak in a different voice and to a different audience,” says Sandhu. “If you don’t put in the leg work getting to know your client and what drives them, you cannot possibly tell their story in an effective and authentic way.” Jazzbones Creative helped Imagine Cruising carve out a niche in the ultra-competitive cruise holidays sector via its highly distinctive ‘Every holiday a Masterpiece’ narrative. “The aim was to stimulate customers to imagine their own dream holidays,” explains Sandhu. 02. Everyone has a story So what type of client does storytelling work best for? Every single one of them, believes Kieron Molloy, associate creative director of Conran Design Group. “We tend to find that the 'story' is the key link between most of our clients, irrespective of their discipline,” he says. “When telling a story, it’s absolutely essential to get to the crux of the issue that needs to be portrayed,” Molloy continues. “So for a FTSE client, understanding what the time-poor investor audience needs to know, and delivering it in a way that is simple and memorable, is critical to their prolonged success. "A clear, fuss-free storyline, delivered in a way that makes the narrative distinctive and memorable, is inevitably what drives the best brand building.” 03. Stick to your story The label designs for London Cru merge vine leaves with maps of the cityOnce you’ve identified your client’s story, the most important thing you need to do is stick to it, says Kath Tudball, design director at The Partners. “When you’ve figured out an engaging and real story to tell, push it and extend it, but stay true to it,” she stresses, and offers the example of their work for London’s first winery, London Cru. “In this case, the city was the story,” she explains. “Fine vintages pressed and bottled right here in the big smoke, so London had to be the visual motif. Different varieties of vine leaf were created from the fine line work of the city map, with the iconic silhouette of the river Thames forming the stem. “An immediate visual marriage of London with wine was created on the label, without needing to see the bottle itself for context. With such a strong visual narrative, anything else would complicate matters, so naturally naming followed the same train of thought.” The signature range also took on the postcode SW6 as a further local reference, with its placement on the label dictated by the geographical reality of the map. “And the individual wines were named after famous London streets that hint at the grapes themselves, such as Charlotte Street for Chardonnay,” adds Tudball. “Even the typography was inspired by the utilitarian conventions of map design.” 04. Empathise with the audience When you sit down and read a child a story, you naturally pitch it to that particular child. And you need to think about who’ll be consuming your client’s story in the same way. “The first thing I do when writing or reviewing any form of storytelling is put myself in the position of the audience,” says Beri Cheetham, executive creative director at The Gate London. “I consider the context in which they are viewing it, and above all, how we want people to think, feel or participate.” And it’s most important to be realistic. “Always remember that people are extremely unlikely to have the same passion for, or knowledge of, a brand that the client does. They don’t have the benefit of having a strategic planner explain the finer nuances of what they’re watching. "They’ve not been waiting all year for a brand to interrupt their precious time to tell them a story. And they’re probably not predisposed to give much of a shit about the message or brand either.” 05. Develop stories within stories The use of textures helped to tell the story of Amys.com, created by SuperrbWhile it’s important that your client’s story is consistent, that doesn’t mean that there can’t be stories within stories. For example, individual campaign stories can complement the overarching brand narrative. “We refer to storytelling in a couple of different ways,” says Rory Berry, creative director of Superrb. “The first is at the start of the process. It’s when we’re trying to understand the brand, so that we can figure out how we’re going to tell that story through the website. That’s about getting a grasp on the brand positioning (within the market), its purpose, heritage, values and ethos. "It’s how we go about creating an experience for the target audience, going beyond the fundamentals of a product or service." Amy’s Kitchen is a community-driven family business with people at its core. “An example of how we told this story is through use of texture on Amys.com, says Berry. “Sections are broken up with rips and paint splats. And almost every element used is hand-drawn. The stroke lines, buttons, icons and fonts; everything is custom. There’s not a single straight line in sight.” “The second way we might use the term storytelling is if we’re trying to convey a specific message. For example on Amys.com, we created a timeline mapping out the brand’s key moments, starting from the day the company began to where it is now. For other clients, it might be about how we represent a particular service offering or convey certain product USPs.” 06. Capture attention There’s no point in telling a client’s story if no-one is listening. “Remember that everything is skippable or shareable,” warns Beri Cheetham, executive creative director at The Gate London. “So you need to think about how you will make it interesting, provocative or disruptive enough to capture and hold the audience’s attention. “How will you make it as relevant as possible by connecting the audience, the brand, the media and the moment? How will you make it participative enough to ensure the message creates meaningful action, and so that it can be measured and improved upon? “What we make either enriches or pollutes people’s lives,” adds Cheetham. When you think about it in such binary terms, it becomes much easier to judge the work, whether you’re the agency or the client.” 07. Tell internal and external stories BGN told the story of what workouts were like at boutique gym V1BEWhen considering the audience for your client’s story, remember that there may more than just one audience, says Jonny Edge, strategist and copywriter at BGN. “At BGN, we may write two versions of brand stories,” he explains. “For instance, one may be for use internally to onboard staff, giving a factual account of how the brand came to be. And the other may be to use with customers, telling a more stripped back, romanticised version, peppered with the philosophy and ethos of the brand to give a greater sense of who they are as a company, as well as where they have come from. Both tell a story, but the purpose of each is very different, he continues. “And therefore so is the tone and overall content. In essence, storytelling comes into a lot of different elements of our brand strategy work, from the brand stories to the formalised proposition or elevator pitch, the campaign messaging we provide, and so on.” Storytelling has been central to BGN’s work with V1BE, a boutique studio gym offering full body HIIT workouts in 50 minute classes. “The key was succinctly explaining what makes the V1BE experience different to the traditional budget gym model, then telling a captivating story about what you can expect in each class,” explains Edge. 08. Keep everyone on board As with any design endeavour, successful storytelling means keeping everyone in the loop and feeling happy about its direction, throughout the process. “So speak to or get input from the people that know the brand best,” advises Berry. “Put together brand mood boards to show the art direction you have in mind upfront, which will help to visualise things early on in the process to prevent you chasing a red herring." If a story is particularly complex, he adds, then storyboarding it can help your client understand what you’re proposing in a way that’s not really possible with flat visuals and can save a lot of revisions and friction. “And lastly, I’d suggest getting developers involved in the concept you’re working on at an early stage, as they can really help you consider how you can bring your ideas to life digitally as well as sometimes ruling out certain options for technical reasons.” 09. Be implicit as well as explicit Design Bridge's packaging for Fortnum & Mason uses storytelling subtlyThe story you’re telling doesn’t always have to be super-obvious to the audience, says Asa Cook, creative director at Design Bridge. “I think you can make the mistake of making storytelling explicit when an implicit approach is far stronger,” he explains. “The human mind is sophisticated enough to make these connections between the visual world and the brand narrative in a subconscious way. The pleasure in discovering the design is in making these connections yourself.” For example, Design Bridge saw that high-end London department store Fortnum & Mason feels like a grand, welcoming Georgian house. “Moving from shelf to shelf is like moving from one part of the house to the next," says Cook. "So each of our packaging designs reflect a part of the rich history of the house.” The worst thing you can do is patronise people, he adds. “There are multiple examples of creative executions that feel like they’re patronising or even insulting your intelligence, particularly when they aim to tell the story of a brand with high purpose. It's often not the brand idea or purpose itself that’s the problem, but the creative expression that misses the mark.” At the other end of the scale, though, designers can sometimes make the story too complex and thus impossible for anyone to actually interpret, even subliminally. “So a story still needs to be simple enough for the design to be bold and intuitive.” 10. Maintain focus on core goals With all of this to think about, it’s important to never lose sight of your core purpose, says Sandhu. Because the ultimate test of successful storytelling is whether or not it achieves its business aims for the client. “A novelist wants his or her readers to finish the book with a smile on their face or maybe a teardrop in their eye,” he notes. “A branding and design agency’s core purpose is to get their ‘readers’ to act in a specific way after reading ‘the story’, whether that means booking a cruise holiday, making a hotel reservation, or deciding to visit a particular destination. Always remember that throughout the process.” Related articles: 6 dos and don'ts for using images in agency projects The 10 best free graphic design courses online 5 ways to use imagery to create better branding View the full article

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Anger. Frustration. Dismay. Even boredom. The unauthorised use of imagery is taking an emotional toll on artists around the world, for sure. Every single day, artists like John Howe report on their Facebook page that their imagery has been used without permission. Exclusive offer: Save 15% on Adobe Creative Cloud now Prints, coffee mugs, T-shirts, aprons, pencil cases… you name it, pinched artwork appears in many forms on Etsy. Then there are those unscrupulous dealers who’ll scan artwork in and sell it as their own to publishers who should be buying work from the original artist. And the problem seems to be getting worse. Mike Lim's artwork, published in Portugal without permission“To be honest, it makes me mad,” says Mike Lim, AKA Daarken, whose work was lifted from Spectrum and used as a Game of Thrones cover by a Portuguese publisher. “Stolen art can be a huge problem for artists because usually the offending party is selling the stolen work for a fraction of the artist’s original rate. You can see how this could become a problem when it comes to finding work.” Howe agrees. It’s not about pride, or originality. It’s about getting paid. “Illustrators’ incomes, generally, are based on selling reproductions of their work, whether through publishing of books, posters and so on, or selling prints and such themselves. Selling a product with an unauthorised image is an attack on the artist’s livelihood.” Howe must hold some sort of record due to the fact that over a dozen different Russian death metal bands have re-used his image The Dark Tower, from his Lord of the Rings illustrations, for their album covers. And he’s got about as much chance of seeing any royalties from Russia as he has from Mordor. A T-shirt seller’s rendition of Michael Whelan’s symbol, copied straight out of the Dark Tower bookIt’s Stephen King’s The Dark Tower that lies at the centre of some of Michael Whelan’s most pirated work. “I invented a symbol for The Dark Tower character The Crimson King, and I see unauthorised examples of its use frequently on CafePress.com, Etsy.com, Ebay and elsewhere,” explains Whelan. “Each time I become aware of it I try to put a stop to it, but it’s like playing Whack-A-Mole – they keep popping up again. Friends in high places He’s dealt with the problem in two ways. When infringements occur on Facebook, Whelan’s webmaster, Mike Jackson, invokes the name of Stephen King. With a following of five million, the author and his team have a lot more clout with Facebook’s legal department and it’s banned dozens of fake fan pages that have used Whelan's distinctive art. Whelan has also signed licensing agreements: one with Sony Pictures which will use the symbol in the upcoming The Dark Tower film, the other with a T-shirt outfit called Katet 19. They will be the sole authorised producers of T-shirts featuring Whelan’s artwork. Both Sony Pictures and Katet 19 have the legal clout to prevent some of the plagiarism. Michael Whelan’s illustration in The Dark Tower: Gunslinger, and a T-shirt for sale onlineNot every artist has major clients like these to kick ass on their behalf, but just about every talented artist out there is being ripped off in one way or another. Tara Phillips is an Australian illustrator whose True Detective-inspired personal work was taken simply so that somebody in the film industry could boost their unrelated Instagram profile. Did they credit Tara? Hell no! Uncredited use of the True Detective-inspired image on Instagram“I’m aware that most people don’t know any better when they post art online, so I gave this person the benefit of the doubt and simply messaged asking for credit,” she says. “After several ignored messages from myself and others, I had no choice but to file an official report to get it taken down. By this point, the post had reached over 12k likes, and had caused a ripple effect of reposts and unintentional image fraud to follow.” Action against fraud Mis-attributed images can be spread like wildfire on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, just as misappropriated artwork can be sold on items on Etsy and eBay. To protect themselves against the claims of artists, most platforms use the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) in the US. The act basically means that if websites have a process that artists can go through to have plagiarised work removed, then the site is more or less immune from copyright infringement. It can be slow-moving and cumbersome, but getting used to filling in DMCA forms on sites like Etsy is the reality if you want to challenge image fraudsters. Eventually, maybe, the infringer will be banned. Watermarks – along with other measures – work for some artists, but not for others. “I think many of the steps people take in combating art theft are actually more detrimental,” says Mike. “Some people use watermarks, but everyone hates looking at art with watermarks. Not to mention that it’s pretty easy to remove them. Some people post really tiny images. Again, this is not something the general public, or art directors, want to look at.” Many seasoned artists will tell you to choose your battles, and to keep a cool head when infringement occurs. “Take it calmly,” says Howe. “There’s little point in getting upset, it’s not exactly life-threatening! If the infringement is on a platform such as Etsy, the tools are there to allow you to file a complaint. If it’s an individual’s site, then you can remind them that unless they have an authorisation, what they are doing is illegal. Where it goes from there is up to you.” One of the best things you can do is to turn to your community of fellow artists and fans for help. “The only thing I have ever found that works at all is maintaining a solid relationship with your fans,” says comic artist Colleen Doran. “Be honest with them, explain how damaging this behaviour is. It’s my fans who usually find the stuff. Fans will leave bad reviews on items that are stolen, and they’ll spread the word. They’ll support you.” This article was originally featured in ImagineFX issue 152. Buy it here. Read more: The best Wacom tablet deals for November 2017 Where to find unusual images for your design projects The best Black Friday deals 2017 View the full article

You're reading Figma Updated with Support for Pages, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook, Google+! The UI design tool ecosystem is quite agglomerated. The heavyweights, Sketch and Affinity Designer, are facing some stiff competition from challengers such as Adobe XD and Figma. The latter appeared on my radar when I was surfing Quora. In case if you didn’t get your hands on Figma yet, then you should know that it’s […] View the full article

If you’re looking to pick up a hot iPad deal this November, then you’ve come to the right place. Apple's unlikely to take much, if anything, off its flagship iPad models on Black Friday or Cyber Monday at the end of the month, but there are bargains to be had right now from retailers – and we've got the best ones right here. We’ll be working hard all month to dig out the biggest bargains from the most reputable retailers, and we’ll be posting them here as soon as they launch. And if you're in the market for more creative hardware generally, don't miss the following articles: Best cheap laptop deals, Best monitors for creatives, The best Wacom tablet deals, 6 smartphone deals for designers, and our exclusive Adobe Creative Cloud deal. Read on for the best iPad deals to be had this November... 01. iPad Pro 12.9 (2017) deals Apple’s latest iPad Pro – available in 12.9-inch and 10.5-inch versions – confusingly sits alongside the older iPad Pro model of the same name. You can tell the difference from the specs: the 2017 iPad Pros sport an A10X processor, while the older one has the A9X chip. Thanks to said A10X processor, both the 12.9-inch and 10.5-inch iPad Pro models are faster than the older version. They have an improved screen, with double the refresh rate – which means smoother graphics – and increased brightness. The front camera is also better, and the rear camera has a few more megapixels, too. The 12.9-inch iPad Pro (2017) is around £150 more expensive than the smaller 10.5-inch model. But with its larger screen, the 12.9-inch model is a solid investment for designers, illustrators and creatives. (Read our review of the iPad Pro 12.9.) If you don’t mind the lower specs and want to save even more money, check out the best deals for the older iPad Pro further down the page. 02. iPad Pro 10.5 (2017) deals At 10.5 inches, the smaller iPad Pro brings a brand new form factor to Apple’s stable of iPads. However, in most areas – other than screen size and resolution – the 10.5-inch iPad Pro enjoys the same tech specs as the larger 12.9-inch model. Like the 12.9, it sports Apple’s ProMotion feature – which dynamically adjusts the refresh rate – and the new screen is brighter as well. It also has the same A10X Fusion processor as the 12.9-inch version. The iPad Pro 10.5 comes in silver, gold, Space Grey and Rose Gold. 03. New iPad 9.7 deals Apple’s latest iPad, the new iPad 9.7 (2017) model, is a replacement for the iPad Air 2. It’s slightly thicker and heavier than the iPad Pro and Air 2 (and the same length and width) – but boasts an improved A9 chip with an M9 coprocessor for enhanced performance, and a higher battery capacity. It’s also unexpectedly cheaper than the Air 2, so it’s perfect for anyone who wants a larger iPad without the higher price point of the Pro. 04. iPad Pro 9.7 deals More than an iPad Air 3 upgrade, the iPad Pro 9.7 instead combines the power and many pro features of the original 12.9-inch iPad Pro (including a Smart Connector port) with the thin frame of the iPad Air 2. It sports a vibrant, colour-accurate screen, impressive 12 MP camera and shoots 4k video. And while it isn’t a laptop replacement, it is the cheapest iPad Pro model out there right now (and considerably cheaper than the new iPad Pro 10.5-inch model above). 05. iPad Pro 12.9 (2016) deals With the iPad Pro 12.9 (2017) model on sale around the world, the price has fallen for Apple’s impressive first iPad Pro model. It isn’t a MacBook Pro 2016 with a detachable screen – but it is monstrously powerful, and the huge, bright, stunning 12.9-inch screen is ideal for illustrators, artists and designers. 06. iPad Air 2 deals Apple might have stopped selling the excellent iPad Air 2 (now that the iPad 9.7 is here) but there are still some fantastic deals to be had on the tablet, particularly refurbished models. The power, brighter screen, better design and upgraded OS make for a brilliant tablet even now, a few years later - and the price point gives much better value for money. 07. iPad mini 4 deals Ok, that's a lot to take in. Need a recap? Here are the very best iPad deals we brought you today... Related articles: 5 best laptops for video editing in 2017 The best drawing tablet for illustrators and artists The best Amazon Cyber Monday deals 2017 View the full article

IBM’s X-Force Research team reports hackers attacking Brazilian banks are using the Windows scripting tool called AutoIt to reduces the likelihood of antivirus software detection. View the full article

Next week, Adobe hits London to host its Creative Meet Up, and you don’t want to miss it. Join us right here on 14 November from 18.30 GMT (19.30 CET) for what looks set to be an unforgettable night of creativity. The event has attracted some of the industry’s biggest names, with Nick Knight, Kelly Anna and Kate Moross among those taking to the stage. Attendees will also get the chance to see some of the latest game-changing updates to Adobe Creative Cloud. Talking the audience through these exciting new features is Principal Manager of Creative Cloud Evangelism at Adobe Rufus Deuchler. Here he tells us exactly what’s in store... What can we expect from this year's Creative Meet Up? We will be showcasing some of the latest innovations for Creative Cloud, covering what was launched at Adobe MAX just a few weeks ago. For those people who couldn’t make the conference, the next generation of CC can be grouped into three key themes: Next Generation Experiences: We introduced a range of new Creative Cloud applications that are designed for today’s cloud workflows. We also made major performance improvements and simplified existing workflows in our flagship apps, like Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. Accelerating your creativity: From learning, live streaming, user assets, marketplace assets, and working solo, to innovative collaboration tools, we are making it easier than ever for users to express themselves by making what they need available when and where they need it. Introducing Adobe Sensei: Our artificial intelligence and machine learning platform brings together big data and image science to help creators go from concept to amazing experiences even faster. And with the release, we added more Sensei capabilities across the Creative Cloud experience. What applications can we expect to see in action at the Creative Meet Up? I will be demoing some of the capabilities of Adobe’s new apps, including Adobe XD, Adobe Dimension and Adobe Spark. For video, we are launching Character Animator that lets you bring 2D puppets to life. And for those into photography, we’ve launched a brand new Adobe Lightroom Cloud Photography service. We have so many brilliant updates to show that it will be impossible to cover everything in the timeframe, but I promise to choose wisely! What has been a focus for this latest CC update? We always have a strong focus on community and so for the past year, we’ve concentrated on building AdobeLive, our live streaming channel that allows artists and designers to share their creative process with each other. During this time, hundreds of thousands of viewers have engaged for hours of entertainment, learning and inspiration, which is just so exciting. We launched the channel on Behance at Adobe MAX and are increasing the number of hours of streaming so all our members can benefit from the experience. We are streaming creativity three days a week on be.net/live and my team of Evangelists have been very active broadcasting on Facebook and YouTube. If you’re not involved already, you should definitely join us, it’s a fanstastic way to be inspired and learn new techniques. What, in your opinion, is the most exciting new feature of this CC update? Adobe Dimension is a game-changer as it gives graphic designers the power of 3D, with the simplicity of working in 2D. 3D has always been a challenge for graphic designers, because it involves a steep learning curve to achieve satisfactory results. Now, with Adobe Dimension, designers can create photorealistic renderings for packaging, product shots and branding with ease. Tightly integrated with Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, Dimension also has a robust asset marketplace on Adobe Stock to quickly get started. It’s really exciting to see what designers around the world will soon be creating with this innovative new tool. Thanks to Rufus for this sneak peek of what to expect at the Adobe Creative Meet Up. Want to know more? Join us on 14 November from 18.30 GMT (19.30 CET) as we livestream all the action right here on Creative Bloq. View the full article

Direct mail is one of the most challenging types of marketing collateral to design. The temptation is strong to simply try to replicate past successes and stick with what you know works, but if you want to truly succeed, you have to be willing to try something new. Not every direct mail has to completely reinvent the wheel. The important thing is to find some way to set yourself apart from your competition – whether that’s a creative new type of packaging or simply an attractive logo. Here are some top tips for creating an innovative direct mail piece, along with cool designs that demonstrate those principles. Exclusive offer: Save 15% on Adobe Creative Cloud now 01. Create a mascot or character A mascot can help give your company a faceA fun character can help to humanise your client’s company and encourage people to identify with your message. This Society of Design Etiquette campaign pictured above uses four colourful mascot characters to promote good design principles. 02. Explore subtle textures A spot varnish creates a luxurious feelIt often helps to engage potential customers on multiple sensory levels. The use of foil stamping in Erre’s direct mail design pictured here is visually subtle, but gives the black envelope a luxurious texture to the stripes that recipients can feel as they handle and open it. 03. Use die cut windows creatively Have fun with die cuts, like Caroline HensonA die cut window can express the company’s purpose or values in unexpected ways. This high-concept promotional piece for a hairdresser by Caroline Henson, 'Get rid of your roots', urges the user to visually 'drain' a yellow design of its darker elements. It's an effective visual representation of dyeing brown roots out of somebody’s blonde hair. 04. Get confrontational An element of surprise can stop recipients in their tracksKengo Maeda's Night of the Living Dead direct mail design features an extra flap styled to look like a zombie’s hand. When inserted into a person’s mailbox, the hand can be left dangling out, creating the appearance of a fearsome monster creeping out from inside. It’s a confrontational image that immediately draws the recipient’s eye. 05. Tell recipients what's inside The benefit of opening this envelope is clearA solid call to action is an essential part of any direct mail campaign. Most people tend to look at the address area of an envelope first, so that’s one of the best places to put your call to action (as Tartan Marketing has done here by writing 'For the love of wind power: Member perk pack inside' on the front of the envelope). Make sure it’s clear, concise and gives recipients a reason to look inside. 06. Find engaging ways for recipients to open This direct mail begs for interactionAnother great way to encourage recipients to open your direct mail piece is to make it open in an unconventional way. Warren Hardy for BMW added a perforated pull-tab to this piece that mimics the path of a vehicle cutting through a field of snow. It’s the sort of element that begs the recipient to interact with it. 07. Try special finishes Foil stamping doesn't need to be shiny to make an impactFoil stamping is a creative and versatile imprint method that gives direct mail pieces a little something extra. Bamboo Living’s portfolio design features a white, non-metallic foil to make the logo stand out while also maintaining a natural, organic look. For other brands, a shiny metallic or coloured foil might better complement the design. 08. Show off your product Show the recipient what's inside the mailSeeing is believing, so showing off images of a client’s products or services is often much more effective than simply talking about them. Company Folders uses images of its products to engage recipients of this sample packet envelope. 09. Seal your envelope in a unique way These stickers are a fun touchSometimes the smallest touches make all the difference. For instance, instead of just sealing your envelope in the usual way, consider using a colourful sticker such as the bowling balls used for this festive envelope from Masterskaya Vkusa. 10. Think outside the box A controversial approach from TouchDirect mail marketing doesn’t always need to be in a conventional envelope. Plenty of unusual 3D objects can be sent through the mail. This hand-delivered fake blood bag from Touch is a controversial piece designed to get people talking. 11. Include a free gift Make sure your gift will survive the journey intactOffering recipients a free gift (such as a promotional product or other small item) gives them an excellent reason to look inside; it contains something they may actually want. For instance, this unique desert-themed direct mail campaign by MDG Advertising for MDVIP includes a miniature cactus. 12. Provide something useful Not all direct mail ends up in the recycling binConsider going one step further; instead of including a gift inside your direct mail piece, make the entire direct mail piece a gift. Here’s a cool example: the World Wildlife Fund mailed T-shirts to various schools with the terms of its design contest printed on them. Related articles: How to design a business card: 10 top tips 100 brilliant print adverts Create special print finishes in InDesign View the full article

Route One Print has put together an ebook that contains everything you need to know to successfully market yourself as a freelance graphic designer – and it's totally free to download. Download The Freelancer's Marketing PlaybookGetting your name out there is one of the trickiest – but most important – things for a freelance graphic designer to master if you're to build a successful business and win the clients you want. The Freelancer's Marketing Playbook is packed with useful tips to make that happen. It covers a whole range of different marketing strategies. There's advice for striking the right notes with your digital strategy, but there's also a thorough guide to marketing yourself offline, as well as advice for networking effectively. What's inside? By downloading the ebook, you'll learn everything you need to establish a consistent personal brand to attract the right clients. While a solid digital foundation is all-important, a personal approach is far from obsolete. There are plenty of tips for networking with confidence and honing your offline marketing skills. Once you've started making contacts in the real world, they'll need to find you online so they can see what you're capable of – that’s why The Freelancer's Marketing Playbook also includes advice for improving the SEO of your website and other digital marketing strategies. Your new contacts will have no trouble finding your digital portfolio. Download your copy today to start building trust and nurturing relationships with prospective clients, so you can supercharge your freelance business. About the makers Route One Print is the UK’s largest trade printer. Its aim is to make trade-print easy for graphic designers and print resellers with white label packaging, reseller tools and a smooth order process that helps its clients' businesses grow. View the full article

Imagined scenes that leave you with a sense of wonder make you want to find out more and see what’s just around the corner. Good world building is all about gathering up enough information for you to discover the story inside a composition, and become immersed in it. When drawing and painting a world, ask yourself how the world functions, the relationships between characters in it, and the overall mood and feel you want to set. This allows you to logically and organically develop the story and design. How does the air taste? What can you hear? How do characters get around? Defining your image with subtle rules gives it some authenticity and life. This piece captures the life of someone living in a quirky cliff-top home that overlooks misty, expansive plains. The environment has a sense of personality, spring freshness, and calm, and a cohesive visual language. Through seeing the thought process behind this image's creation, you'll gain an understanding of how to build stories in your paintings. 01. Throw down shapes Find inspiration in shapes and colours to get things goingGather references that inspire and interest you, to use as a visual anchor to refer back to during the painting process. Also consider the mood and theme of the scene: if you want it to feel fresh and bright, throw down shapes using dawn colours such as periwinkle blue and pale yellow. This part is always a mess, but it’s worth it. 02. Define story through line Add the details that tell the storyNow you have a rough stage, start to tell the story. Working over the top of the thumbnail, consider where you want this world to be set. This scene is high up in the mountains, clouds drifting far below, with a house organically built into trees. To imply the mechanics of daily life here, I added in a couple of delivery aircraft. 03. Introduce rough colours Use colours early to bring ideas to lifeWork with what gives you the most inspiration. I put in more colour pretty early. Although many people work in greyscale initially, I find it holds my imagination back and leads to fewer happy accidents, so I play around with colour combinations and look for exciting contrasts – like the coral orange of the gestured-in rooftops. 04. Streamline your image to help with the painting process Set the scene with item placement and a sense of spaceExpand and reduce the detail in your image until you find a balance you're happy with. Define the planes of the environment a little more clearly so that it gives your brain the mental breathing room to process – too much information is overwhelming. It'll also enable you to clean up your lighting to get the mood you want. 05. Identify your setting Create solidity with your selection of sceneryGood world building means the materials and environments should be in keeping with the story you’re trying to tell. I want this place to feel safe and secure even though it’s high up and precarious, so I bring in deep-rooted trees and moss-covered rocks to make this location feel like it’s stable and has been here a long time – and it won’t go anywhere fast. 06. Develop focal points Achieve cohesion through repeating shapesRepeating shape language throughout an image makes it cohesive, so when I create the ship silhouettes, their design is influenced by the shape of the rooftops and greenhouse bubbles. The ships transport plants around in a whimsical way, which will require sunshine and water. I also add details like airbrakes and a rope ladder, for practicality. 07. Carve away Carving shapes with brushes for focal pointsWhen rendering I’ll create shapes and then carve into them with textured or square brushes, defining sharp edges that create focal points. I do this especially for grass trims around cliffs, or on craggy rock formations. Because of this I rarely use lots of layers, preferring the organic approach of painting over forms before erasing them. 08. Flip your image Change the perspective with a mirror imageA trick as old as the invention of the mirror, but flipping your image to check its composition is wholly necessary, as it's a great way to pay attention to your little quirks of drawing. I tend to tilt my compositions due to the hand and angle I draw with, and thus the composition can slide off the page. I darken the rocks in the corner and pull the foreground cliff edge up to balance the image. 09. Get into the details Make a house more of a homeNow it’s time to make this world feel personal, I ask myself how the inhabitants would decorate their treehouse. In my mind they grow mountain flowers for sale, so I dot baskets around outside and fill the ‘bubbles’ with foliage. Those rooftop platforms would experience lots of rain, so I cover them in plants, too. There’s so much beauty to be found in messy details – make use of it. 10. Make changes where necessary Move things around until it feels rightDon’t be afraid to drastically change your composition if it isn’t sitting right. Here, I need something that balances out the bottom left, and the combination of the house and the airship is getting too busy. I use Free Transform to move the ship, and change its colour palette to the white of the clouds and the pink of the roof tiles, which connects it more to the scene. 11. Consider verticality in the scene Use tools to help bring a sense of depth to the settingThe two ground planes are sitting at the same height, which makes the image dull to look at and doesn’t communicate scale well. I increase the airship size even further and use the Free Transform tools Perspective and Skew to warp the bridge into an angle that implies downward traversal, which then pushes the mid-ground down and back. 12. Add figures for scale Indicate scale by adding a figureAdding figures is a universal way to communicate scale to a viewer. I gesture in an airship pilot with a thought to what they’re doing; I want this piece to capture a relaxed moment during a routine morning pickup. When adding someone to a piece, their posture is the most telling thing about their character. I act out this pose to achieve the exact, unhurried vibe I want. 13. Hint at a story and raise questions Inferred relationships between figures adds to the storyI add another figure to provide context as to who lives or works at the treehouse, but also to imply a relationship between the two figures. Raising questions is the best way to pull a viewer into a scene. What is the nature of their relationship? Do they have a history? The over-the-shoulder glance implies a bit of a crush, and that’s a cute detail I can’t resist. 14. Polish the composition Let compositional flow lead the viewer onAs humans we naturally follow the eyeline of other people, so I have a pleasant compositional loop happening through the pathway and the gaze of the figure in the distance. I emphasise that loop by adding airship contrails, which has the added effect of implying there’s a bigger world out there than just these two. That’s always incredibly exciting – just imagine what it could be! This article originally appeared in ImagineFX issue 151. Buy it here. Related articles 20 best iPad art apps for painting and sketching How to use digital tools to create a hand-drawn look 6 manga artists to watch out for View the full article

While you can create textures yourself, there are several great sites that can provide you with new and interesting textures for 3D work. One of them is Creative Bloq, as we've got 40 superb free textures for you to download and use today. But if there's something specific you're looking for, here are 10 great websites where you'll find thousands of quality, high-resolution textures for 3D work to choose from. 01. 3D Textures At 3D Textures you get those all-important maps, tooJoão Paulo's collection of free 3D textures isn't as big as some other libraries, but the quality of them is great and they come with the added advantage of diffuse, normal, displacement, occlusion and specularity maps. You can download them one by one, but if you buy Paulo a coffee he'll give you a link to the folder containing all of his textures so you can grab them all easily. 02. Texturer Visit Texturer for a comprehensive selection of high resolution texturesTexturer is a creative resource for 3D artists, designers, web designers and animators, providing a comprehensive selection of high resolution textures. For ease of use, all textures are organised into categories and sub categories, featuring everything from brick, buildings and doors to animals, food and fabric. 03. Texturemate Designer Bill Scott shares his resources on TexturemateTexturemate is the online repository of Bill Scott, an electric engineer who also works as a web designer and graphic designer. Here, Scott shares textures, stock photos, brushes and other design resources he creates. The site has a fantastic library of free textures, all organised in named folders so you can easily find exactly what you're looking for. 04. 3D Total 3D Total has thousands of free textures available3D Total is a brilliant resource for CG artists, which includes training, an inspiration gallery, 3D assets and a free textures library. Currently, 3D Total has 16,631 free high-res royalty free images, which you can search through by category or using the search tool provided on the site. Note: images offered here are subject to this License Agreement. 05. Marlin Studios Computer graphics company Marlin Studios has been providing low poly 3D models and textures to the community for over 15 yearsMarlin Studios has been providing low poly 3D models and textures to the computer graphics community for over 15 years. Head to the site's Samples page where you'll find freebies from its texture packs. It offers less generic textures, including samples such as sci-fi textures, textures of Asia, classic architectural ornaments and much more. 06. Textures.com Textures.com features everything from animals to X-RaysFeaturing everything from animals to X-Rays, Textures.com features a wide array of textures for 3D work that you can download once you've registered for an account. You can browse by texture type or view the latest additions to the site. There's even a small selection of tutorials for you to try. 07. 3D Texture 3D Texture includes categories such as cloth and fabric and glass and metalLike CG Textures above, the 3D Texture gallery is a showcase for texture libraries and backgrounds. Browsable categories include cloth and fabric textures, glass and metal textures, sky textures and vehicles/car textures. You can also view new and the most popular images, as rated by the site's members. 08. TurboSquid TurboSquid's good for textures as well as modelsNot only is TurboSquid an extensive library of pro-grade 3D models, but it also hosts "the world's largest collection of textures". It's certainly crammed with stuff and encourages its users to submit their own textures for sale. Simply search for what you need, then narrow down your choices by checking compatibility with 3ds Max, Cinema 4D, Maya and many more modelling apps. Related articles: 13 best SketchUp textures 22 mighty Maya tutorials to try today 30 inspiring examples of 3D art View the full article

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We're gearing up to bring you the best Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2017 discounts on creative tools in just two weeks, but in the meantime, we've got you a great daily deal on a Photoshop mastery course bundle. Adobe Photoshop is the standard for photo editing and so much more. You can make your work stand out by learning to use this powerful Creative Cloud design tool by learning from experts with the Adobe Photoshop and Editing Mastery Bundle. You can get this collection of courses on sale now for just $41 (approx £31). Photoshop can be an intimidating program when you first fire it up. There are tons of tools and features that might look foreign at first. This bundle will take away your fears by quickly teaching you the ins and outs of the app so that you can master every aspect of it. You'll get access to five courses packed with 31 hours of instruction on everything from utilising vectors to colorising photos, and much more. Your photos will look incredible once you finish working your way through this bundle. The Adobe Photoshop and Editing Mastery Bundle usually retails for $306, but you can get it on sale right now for just $41 (approx £31). That's a saving of 86% off the retail price for an unmissable bundle for any creative, so grab this deal today. With our exclusive offer to save 15% on Adobe Creative Cloud now, it's the perfect time to tackle Photoshop. 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: Save 68% on a great tool that converts images to vectors 14 brilliantly creative Christmas gifts for kids Get 15% off Adobe Creative Cloud with our exclusive deal View the full article

Some people start to get that festive feeling the second that the shops clear the Halloween decorations from their shelves, while others wait for the launch of heart-warming Christmas ad campaigns or a good old-fashioned advent calendar to start the Christmas countdown. You'll usually find chocolate in advent calendars, but artist and king of the creative side project Mr Bingo has decided to shake things up with his 2017 Advent Calendar. Instead of a tasty treat hidden behind an infuriatingly difficult to open door, the Hate Mail illustrator has decided to draw 25 naked people and cover them in his own personalised rub-removable opaque gold ink that users scrape off throughout the month like a sexy scratch card. This isn't the first time that Mr Bingo has created a scratch and reveal advent calendar, but the 2017 version does have a few notable exceptions. Unlike before, everyone on the advent calendar is a real person who sent pictures to Mr Bingo. (Just to make it clear: he did ask for them. He hasn't just made the most of a barrage of unsolicited nude photos.) On top of this, everyone on the calendar is dancing, plus the whole thing is printed on high quality paper, which – according to Mr Bingo – makes is "a bit more fucking arty." The artist himself treats people to his own naked form on Christmas day. As well as plenty of nudity, the calendar also comes with a separate track list of the tunes each person is dancing to. Alternatively, you could listen to them yourself in this Tweet. Each calendar is hand screenprinted and signed by Mr Bingo. And don't worry if you've got children, according to the artist "it's just naked people dancing, there's nothing perverted and no hidden surprises!" If you want to get your hands on Mr Bingo's 2017 Advent Calendar, you've got until 10am on 28 November to order the piece of art for £38.50 (around $50) including worldwide shipping. Related articles: Count down to Christmas with this UX themed advent calendar 10 amazing calendar designs How far is too far when it comes to self-promotion? View the full article

It's a moment that, for better or worse, has come to mark something of a milestone in the festive countdown: the John Lewis Christmas advert 2017 is here. A two-minute emotional rollercoaster, accompanied by a slowed-down acoustic version of a classic tune and the niggling awareness that you are being manipulated for commercial gain. This year's advert is tells the heartwarming tale of a young boy who befriends the noisy monster – Moz – under his bed. The 2017 campaign pulls out all the stops. Once again John Lewis has partnered with advertising and design agency adam&eveDDB and this year has also called in Academy award-winning screenwriter Michel Gondry, known for directing Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, no less. With music videos for the likes of Björk and Daft Punk also featuring on his CV, perhaps this particular director was intended to add a little edge to the year's commercial spot. Exclusive offer: Save 15% on Adobe Creative Cloud now As usual, there's also some notable special effects efforts. While the studio has gone back to basics with Moz, who has been brought to life in true Sesame Street style by two men in a monster suit (we like to think one was sat on the other's shoulders, but perhaps not). His facial expressions were later added with CGI and mo-cap technology. The campaign is part of an advertising splurge from John Lewis, whose budget has risen by £140m to bring the total figure to almost £6bn in the last quarter of 2017, according to the Advertising Association. It marks a trend for businesses to go all-out in the festive season in a big to make up for flagging profits. Won-over viewers can pick up their own plush Moz toy from John Lewis stores (although the likeness between the advert version and the toy equivalent is not exactly uncanny) or share their thoughts on Twitter using the hashtag #MozTheMonster. The advert is the latest in a long and effective run of Christmas collaborations between John Lewis and adam&eveDDB. Last year's advert CG showdown included Buster the Boxer bouncing on a trampoline with all his woodland friends, while in 2015 a lonely man on the moon made an unexpected friend in a young girl with a telescope. It has also worked its magic on another major 2017 festive project – Virgin Atlantic's Where I Want for Christmas. The clever campaign enables the airline to get in on the gift-giving game by offering a way for people to contribute to the cost of a flight for their loved one. However, so far #MozTheMonster has garnered a mixed response, with viewers left disappointed and commenting on a muddled message (we agree with this one – why does it end with the boy losing his special friend?). If you have any thoughts you'd like to share, let us know on Facebook or Twitter. Related articles: 14 brilliantly creative Christmas gifts for kidsView the full article

Cursive, or handwriting-style, lettering can be joined up in a smooth and flowing manner, or feature a mixture of joins and pen lifts. It might be hand-drawn or based on one of the many handwriting fonts available. Being more casual than a serif or sans serif typeface, a cursive logo can be a good option for any brand wanting to come across as friendly, approachable, and family oriented. Here we select our favourite examples of cursive logos from global brands. 01. Harrods High-end London department store Harrods strikes a balance between formality and friendlinessSince 1834, Harrods has been the premier department store of London, England. Occupying the high end of the market, the store occupies five acres of land and contains 330 departments. But for many years, that caused a problem, because these all had different visual identities and there was a lack of a consistent brand message. In 1967, Marcello Minale and Brian Tattersfield – aka Minale Tattersfield – were tasked with devising an overarching identity for the store. The understated design they created, based on the store owner Charles Harrods' signature, hits the perfect sweet spot between austere tradition and friendly inclusiveness. Relatively unchanged since, it now adorns not just the storefront but numerous products, from bags to apparel, so has a high monetary value in its own right. 02. Virgin The Virgin logo was a child of the punk eraIn the early days of Virgin Records, its original logo was about as different from its current one as you could imagine. Designed by the great English artist and illustrator Roger Dean, this psychedelic extravagance featured a naked set of Siamese Twins and a suggestive-looking dragon. But when owner Richard Branson signed the Sex Pistols to his label in 1977, whose generation-defining slogan was ‘Never Trust a Hippy’, it was clear that a new design was needed. A stark red, graffiti style design was the result, and was much more in keeping with the times. It’s a sign of how quickly punk style was adopted by the mainstream that it’s survived pretty much intact ever since, and now promotes such mundane fare as fizzy drinks, air travel and insurance services. You can read more about the development of the Virgin logo on the company's website. 03. Paul Smith Paul Smith’s autograph-style logo has helped propel his fashion empire to greatnessSignature-style logos work well when the brand and its owner are inseparable, and that’s certainly the case with the famous logo for British fashion designer Paul Smith. Known for his idiosyncratic take on traditional English tailoring, Smith has grown an empire of more than 300 shops worldwide with an annual turnover of £200 million (around $263 million). And this quirky but elegant logo fits in well with his ethos of ‘classic with a twist’. As elegant as his shirts and suits, this cursive logos speaks to the style and panache of the genius behind the brand. So it’s surprising that it’s not actually based on his signature at all: it was designed by a friend of his called Zena. 04. Kleenex Saul Bass’s classic logo for KleenexSince Kleenex tissues came on the market in 1924, it has been the number one brand of facial tissue in the world. So it’s not surprising that its logo is so recognisable. But what you may not know is that one of the best-known iterations of Kleenex’s logo was designed by iconic designer Saul Bass in the 1980s. His upbeat and friendly design (above) used a style of joined up lettering that’s subliminally full of ‘smiles’, striking the right emotional note for a product otherwise connected with weeping and illness. The redesigned version by Sterling Brands in 2008The Bass logo was subtly redesigned in 2008 for owner Kimberly-Clark by Sterling Brands, curving the logo itself to add to the lighthearted sense of bounciness in the design. 05. Barbie Barbie’s current logo is little different from the 1959 originalFirst created in 1959 by Ruth Handler and inspired by a German doll named Bild Lilli, Mattel’s Barbie has been the best-selling toy brand in the world for more than five decades. That’s partly down to a ruthlessly consistent approach to branding. This has resulted in Barbie virtually ‘owning’ the colour pink, while her handwritten logo has become one of the most instantly recognised in the world. First introduced in 1959 at the New York Toy Show, this cartoony cursive logo has gone through many iterations, but the current version is almost identical to the original, highlighting just what a clever creation that was. There’s a real verve, playfulness and confidence to this design that speaks to the subtle sophistication at the heart of the Barbie brand. 06. Kellogg's The Kellogg’s logo has remained broadly consistent over the last centuryMany cursive logos come with company-approved backstories, and the Kellogg’s logo is no exception. Legend has it that in the early 20th century, founder William Keith Kellogg would sign each packet of his corn flakes personally, as a guarantee of their quality. This signature style logo began to become standardised in the 1910s and 1920s, and quickly became one of the globe’s most recognised logos. The latest version was created by the Kellogg’s marketing team in collaboration with Interbrand in 2012. The changes over the years have been so incremental, though, that few people outside the design world (or the very advanced in age) are likely to have noticed any difference. And that’s a good thing. Brand consistency is hugely important with a product like breakfast cereal, where the goal is to sustain people’s love for their favourite brand (often hard-wired during their formative years) throughout their lives. 07. Ford Many assume Ford’s logo is based on Henry Ford’s handwriting, but it was actually his chief engineer’sWe like to think multi-tasking is something new, but people had it covered in times past too. Take the classic stylised Ford script, which was developed by the company’s first chief engineer, Childe Harold Wills, in 1909. Wills, the chief contributor to the design of the Model T Ford, was also known for designing and printing business cards, so used the calligraphy from his own cards to crate the letters of the Ford logo. The oval was added in 1912, and not a huge amount has changed since, the most recent update being carried out by The Partners. The Ford logo is now inseparable from the brand, and even though the company has never claimed it to be the signature of its founding father, Henry Ford, the cursive style still helps to evokes a warm, friendly and familiar connection to the brand. 08. Wendy's Wendy’s has switched from all-caps to a cursive style Founded in 1969 in Columbus, Ohio, Wendy’s has since become the world's third largest hamburger fast food chain, behind Burger King and McDonald's. Its logo has always offered a more family-friendly vibe than those of its rivals, with an emblem based around a stylised portrait of founder Rex David Thomas's daughter Wendy. Until recently, the wordmark was based on all-caps, classic Western-style lettering. But its most recent redesign in 2013 changed this to a hand-drawn, marker-style cursive logo. This update makes the logo both simpler and more streamlined, and more personal and family-oriented, and was accompanied by a similar clean-up of the girl-in-pigtails emblem. 09. Disney Is it Walt’s signature or not? Well, yes and noSo what about Disney’s logo? Surely that was based on founder Walt Disney’s signature, right? Well, yes and no. Firstly, this now-classic logo didn’t actually come into existence until almost two decades after Walt’s death. And secondly, photos of the founder’s original signature show little similarity between that and the logo. What it does seem to be based on, though, is his “official” signature, which was signed on his behalf by an employee, Hank Porter, thousands upon thousands of times, to save Walt time and energy that he could better devote to business matters. Either way, that doesn’t stop Disney’s world-conquering logo being a must-include on our list of world-conquering cursive logos. 10. Coca-Cola Coca Cola’s Spencerian script has become an icon of modern design Many products that are world-famous now didn’t actually pay much attention to branding in their early days. But for Coca-Cola, it was a key ingredient right from the start. Way back in 1885, just after John Pemberton had come up with a new drink based on kola nuts and coca leaves, his partner and bookkeeper Frank Mason Robinson came up with the name and a logo based on script lettering. Robinson suggested the name Coca-Cola because he felt that two capital C’s would look good together in advertising. He couldn’t have been more right, and that decades-long headstart means that rival brands have struggled vainly ever since to break Coke’s hold as the world’s go-to cola. Related articles: The 17 best startup logos of 2017 The top 10 big-brand logos The 10 best free graphic design courses online View the full article