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Clients from hell rarely have a tail, horns and the faint scent of brimstone, but there are ways you can spot a difficult customer before you sign your contract. Whether you're a graduate designer or an experienced creative director, knowing what to watch out for can save you plenty of headaches and heated discussions further down the line. Here are four sure-fire signs that danger is ahead. 

01. They don't know what they want

A client is employing you because they lack the skillset or resources to complete a project themselves. However, they should still have a goal in mind and a relatively clear idea of what they’re after and what they expect you to deliver. If not, expect the project to balloon and for frustrations on both sides of the table to rise as your blind attempts, predictably, miss the mark.

02. They don't appreciate you

A terrible client may expect certain behaviour, time concessions or discounts for no other reason than they think they deserve it. They don't understand (or care) that you have other tasks to complete, and believe you live to work for them. Giving them what they want only reinforces their belief.

03. They're disrespectful 

The best relationships are when you work with a client, not for them. This is how designers gain the best understanding of who their client is and how the design will work best for them. Clients who don’t see you as an equal won't treat you with the respect you deserve, and will act like working with them is a privilege for you. 

04. They devalue good work

Nobody is thrilled to spend money if they don’t have to, but if a client devalues your work and efforts in an attempt to lower your rate, watch out. The freelancer-client relationship should be mutually beneficial. Clients should feel they get value out of their freelancers, and freelancers should feel valued by their clients.

This article originally appeared in Computer Arts issue 257. 

Read more:

• How to deal with cheapskate clients
• The secrets of great client relationships
• Infographic: Terrible clients; every agency's worst nightmare

View the full article

Last week saw a massive change to how internet users find and save images as Google removed the View Image button from Google Images. The decision prompted a huge online backlash, but a new browser extension for Chrome or Opera has already been released to get everything back to normal.

Before last Friday, if you did an Image Search you could quickly open an asset on its own with a single click of the View Image button. However, a settlement between Google and Getty has resulted in new search options that only include buttons for visit, share, and save.

As part of its statement following the change, Google pointed out that the move to drop the View Image button was carried out with publishers in mind. By forcing people to visit a site to access the image, publishers stand to benefit from the change as they generate more ad revenue.

The update wasn't universally popular though, with plenty of people commenting on our story to express their outrage. Help is at hand though, as the appropriately named View Image Chrome extension re-implements the lost button. Watch it in action below.

It's a quick and easy extension that returns Image Search to what you're used to. For some internet users the removal of the View Image button is only a mild inconvenience, but this extension makes sure that the muscle memory they've developed through years of grabbing images online doesn't go to waste.

If you can't get this extension to work, there are plenty of other workarounds. Lots of people have been keen to remind Image Search users that the tried and tested right click and Open Image in New Tab option still works, and if all else fails there are (whisper it now) other search engines who can provide a similar service to what Google previously offered.

Related articles:

• Google launches Instagram-like Stories
• Google logo sparks 'correct design' debate
• What's wrong with Google's burger emoji?

View the full article

This project will be split up into different parts. We will give a short introduction to Heroku, show how to use Physijs with three.js, explain how to handle socket events over Node.js and also how we go about handling the sent data.

• 20 amazing examples of WebGL in action

01. Heroku

Heroku is an easy to use and free to trial node.js web server

This project will be hosted on Heroku, which is a cloud platform to host your apps. It has a wide variety of supported languages such as Ruby, Java, PHP and Python. We are going to use Node.js.

Sign up for an account and choose Node.js. For this project we can use the basic server, which is free of charge. After registration you will come to your dashboard where you can create your app. This will create a subdomain at herokuapp.com. 

As a deployment method, you can choose to either use the Heroku Command Line Interface (CLI) to deploy using its git repository, or have a connection set up to GitHub or Dropbox. I've chosen to go with its CLI; this will require an install. But in return you get a variety of new helpful tools, one of these is live debugging through your terminal.

For setting up your server I recommend following the steps as described here.

To deploy you use default git commands. Each one you use will trigger the build server and your app will be deployed to the Heroku server and then be viewable at your subdomain.

Once the code is deployed you can view your project at [yourproject].herokuapp.com. To view the logs use the 'heroku logs — tail' command in your terminal. Some of the things being shown is what is being served to the client – it shows the socket connections, and if you want to debug your code, you could also use the console.log in order to output to the terminal.

02. Build the physics scene

Tap your screen or hit the spacebar to bounce the table up

We will be using the most popular WebGL framework, three.js, to build a 3D scene containing an object on which we'll attach physics. The physics library of choice is Physijs, a plug-in for three.js. As an extension to three.js, Physijs uses the same coding convention, making it easier to use if you are already familiar with three.js. 

The first thing is the pool table. We are using the Physijs HeightfieldMesh, because this mesh will read the height from the PlaneGeometry. So it will basically wrap itself around the three.js object.

So HeightfieldMesh requires a geometry but also a Physijs Material. We're adding two new features to the three.js material. Those are the friction and restitution variables. Friction is the resistance the object makes, and restitution refers to the 'bounciness'. These two variables will define how real the physics will feel like in your scene. 

For the created pool balls we don't want to make them too bouncy, so keep the number low. Like three.js, Physijs also has a series of basic shapes to go around the original mesh. SphereMesh wrapping the SphereGeometry will give the ball physics. When initialising the scene, we call buildBall(8), which will trigger the following function…

Add the texture:

Create the physijs-enabled material with some decent friction and bounce properties:

Texture mapping:

We are adding texture from a .jpg file. Create the material and use that for the SphereMesh to create the object, which we will place vertically to the top so it drops in to the screen.

03. Sockets connection

The key goal of our game is emulating the physical movements to the screen

For communication between the server and the client, we will be using socket.io. This is one of the most reliable libraries available for Node.js. It's built on top of the WebSockets API. 

Now physics is enabled for the meshes we need user input to make the game interactive. The input device we're using is the mobile device. The mobile browser is the controller that will provide data from the accelerometer and gyroscope to the desktop where you will see the game.

First off, a connection between the mobile browser and the desktop browser has to be made. Each time a browser connects with our Node.js app, we need to make a new connection. A client side connection is set up by using the following:

For sending messages you use the emit function:

And for receiving you use the .on() function:

03.1.  Setting up the desktop game

If we are on a desktop we will send our sockets a device emit telling our server the desktop is the game using the following line of code:

The server will return us a unique key/game code generated by crypto. This will be displayed to the desktop.

Tell game client to initialise and show the game code to the user…

03.2. Connect controller to the game

To connect the mobile device to the game, we will use a form to submit the game code from the desktop screen. On the form submit we will send the game code to the server for authentication.

The server will check if the game code is valid and will set up the connection with the desktop game

Once the connection is all set, we will then give the 8-ball a small push from the x and z with the following command…

04. Sending data

Now that the connection is established we want to send the gyro and accelerometer variables to the game. By using the window.ondevicemotion and the window.ondeviceorientation events, we have the data we need to emulate the same tilt movements of our phone to the pool table. I've chosen to use an interval of 100ms to emit those values.

On the client side we will resolve the latency by tweening the incoming values from the server to the tilt of the pool table. For tweening we use TweenMax.

05. Extra events

More balls equals more fun. Try hitting the spacebar or tapping the screen of your mobile

To give it a bit more interactivity, I've added a couple of extra events for the user to play with. We're going to give the user the option to add extra balls next to the 8-ball by using the numbers on the keyboard. 

Another one is to bounce the table upwards. For this you can hit the spacebar. But we're also adding a tap event on the controller device. This will send an event to the pool table, which will rise the table and send the balls up.

First we need to catch the keyboard events…

The buildBall function is the same function we used to create the sphere 8-ball. We are just using different textures that will wrap the sphere. For pushing the table up, we give the table an upward motion along the y axis with this code…

Conclusion

Add more balls and see how much your browser can handle

When you have a concept for a game or anything else, it is entirely likely that there are libraries out there that could make your life easier. This is a demo that shows how this can work. We hope this will help spark some creative ideas or help you with your current project. See a live example of the game here, or find it on GitHub.

This article was originally published in issue 300 of net, the world's top magazine for professional web designers and developers. Buy issue 300 or subscribe here.

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• Get started with WebGL using three.js
• 20 JavaScript tools to blow your mind
• Create interactive 3D visuals with three.js

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Using elements of your pencil underdrawing is a great way to capture the viewer’s attention within a piece. Furthermore, your pencil lines can emphasise light sources in the scene. Even when I create a digital piece I usually tend to start out with traditional media such as pencils.

I like the feeling of textured paper as I make my marks, and it also means I have an original piece of process art that I’m able to sell. Simulated texture in a digital art program is all well and good, but there’s nothing quite like the feel of pencil drawings on cold press board or watercolour paper.

Sometimes it’s good to mix it up a little bit. I use contour lines that follow the curve of the main body of the welding device.

My philosophy lately has become one of focus on draftsmanship. The more time I spend on working up a detailed drawing, the less I’ll have to paint over it later.

 Colouring becomes a breeze, because the values and texture are already there, but more importantly I’m able to switch the colour theme with minimal effort. Red/yellow colour scheme too aggressive? I can work up a blue/green environment in just a few minutes.

The main takeaway, however, is to let the paper texture and pencil lines guide your eye to where you need it.

01. Gather references

References are a perfect way to capture light

My best work always happens when I have a good reference for clothing, materials and lighting. I set up a shot in my studio with a light source that’ll be radiating from the focal point. I wear funky goggles and work gloves, and kit-bash a welding gizmo for added authenticity.

02. Pencil in details

Most of the shading is built up with pencils

The detailed pencil drawing is where it’s at. I generate almost all of my shading and value work by aligning pencil strokes to the light source. I really take my time and concentrate on unifying the drawing. I’ll add some refinements in Clip Studio Paint after I scan the drawing.

03. Create a colourful layer

A colourful layer doesn't need much detail

I use Clip Studio Paint to add colour and other drawing refinements. There’s not much detail in this layer that’s in the drawing: just a lot of simple colour shapes and gradients. This stage is a lot of fun because you can experiment with colour schemes without too much effort.

This article was originally published in issue 155 of ImagineFX, the world's best-selling magazine for digital artists. Buy issue 155 here or subscribe to ImagineFX here.

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• Create perspective by warping your textures in Photoshop
• How to draw your art in perspective using Adobe Illustrator
• Use perspective to create a dynamic image

View the full article

Tech skills look good on your resume, but soft skills are just as important in climbing the career ladder. Communicating and knowing how to market yourself can go a long way. The eduCBA Soft Skills Training Bundle has the courses you need to pick up new abilities you need to succeed in the workplace, and you can get a lifetime subscription on sale for 96% off the retail price!

When you log in to the eduCBA Soft Skills Training Bundle, you’ll find more than 100 courses, all packed with more than 200 hours of actionable and professionally taught lessons waiting for you. You’ll have unlimited access to it all, giving you the ability to learn the important soft skills you need to advance in the workplace whatever you’d like, whenever you'd like. Work your way through these courses you'll learn how to behave like a leader in the office.

A lifetime subscription to The eduCBA Soft Skills Training Bundle usually retails for $797, but you’ll pay just $29 (approx. £21). That’s a saving of 96% off, a great deal for unlimited access to skills that could change your career, so grab it today!

About Creative Bloq deals

This great deal comes courtesy of the Creative Bloq Deals store – a creative marketplace that's dedicated to ensuring you save money on the items that improve your design life.

We all like a special offer or two, particularly with creative tools and design assets often being eye-wateringly expensive. That's why the Creative Bloq Deals store is committed to bringing you useful deals, freebies and giveaways on design assets (logos, templates, icons, fonts, vectors and more), tutorials, e-learning, inspirational items, hardware and more.

Every day of the working week we feature a new offer, freebie or contest – if you miss one, you can easily find past deals posts on the Deals Staff author page or Offer tag page. Plus, you can get in touch with any feedback at:deals@creativebloq.com.

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Vertex is the event for the whole community, and if an Access All Areas pass isn’t the right one for you, we offer a free ticket too. This will get you into large areas of the show, from the expo hall to Ask an Artist, so no matter what you are looking for there will be something for you.

The expo hall

If new tech and gear excites you then this is the place to be. The developers will be on hand to talk about the newest versions of their software and hardware. Many of them will be presenting case studies or tutorials live from their stands. Head to vertexconf.com to keep up to date on the schedule.

Ask an Artist

We all get stuck from time to time, needing a little help to get through things. The internet can help but there’s nothing like getting some one-on-one time with an industry expert, and that is just what we have for you. Artists from the likes of Framestore and Dneg will be on hand to help you work out how to overcome any issues you have. A fantastic and unique opportunity.

Get your tickets!

Although you can get access to Vertex for free it is still really important that you book your tickets at our site, so make sure you head over and register.

We are now just a few short weeks away from opening the doors to Vertex and greeting you all for a day of inspiration, instruction and so much more. Don’t miss out on the chance to meet your heroes, further your career and rub shoulders with some of the biggest names in the industry.

Head over to www.vertexconf.com to grab yours, and don’t forget there are tickets to suit all from the free Expo Access to the Access All Areas pass, and if you are a student you can get tickets at a discounted rate.

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• 7 reasons you can't miss Vertex
• What will Brexit mean for the VFX community
• 30 free 3D models

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Flyers are essential advertising and self-promotion tools, showcasing your design chops for the world to see. Whether you want to subtly promote your vector art skills or typography capabilities, a slick flyer can be a great way to get yourself noticed.

• Get Adobe Creative Cloud now

Sometimes, though, time is tight and you simply don't have hours to start from scratch. Or you might be new to creating flyers. Either way, we've gathered together a selection of top flyer templates that you can use as a stepping stone to creating a stunning, original flyer in half the time. 

Bookmark this page for next time you need a kick-start with your flyers. And if you need a little flyer design inspiration, we have that for you elsewhere on the site...

01. Twisted flyer template

There ain't no party like a twisted party

This flyer template's just the thing if you're planning on hosting a twisted party, but its creators insist that it's suitable for all kinds of party. It costs $6 and comes in PSD flavour with everything fully modifiable, and its fonts – Bebas Neue and Roboto – are both free, so you don't need to worry about substituting them with the nearest thing in your font library.

02. Postcard flyer

This tasteful template comes in all the formats

Best suited to fashion-related use, this tasteful and restrained template is built out of vector elements and fully editable, and your $9 gets you four files suitable for editing in InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop. There's even a PDF included so you can make some quick edits and be ready to go.

03. Business flyer

We can all agree that creative thinking make success

If your client's serious about its business, this flyer template should be just the ticket. Featuring a sober, no-nonsense design that's ready for multiple applications, it'll cost you $6 and comes as a PSD ready for editing in Photoshop. Typography-wise it uses Bebas Neue and Open Sans, both of which are free.

04. Summer party template

There's still time to get your big summer bash together!

Made by Rome Creation from Paris, this set of flyers is perfect for publicising your next hot fiesta. For $8 you'll get four templates in PSD format, fully editable and with a help file included.

05. Corporate flyer

This template comes with a YouTube tutorial to show you how to customise it

This $9 flyer template is aimed at corporate business use. It's A4 sized, and print ready – all you need to do is find the right photos to include. Plus, there's a YouTube video that shows you how to customise it.

06. Fall festival template

Be sure to make it clear that you haven't booked The Fall, of course

Made by creativeartx, this festival flyer has a lovely autumnal feel to it and will cost you just $7. It comes as a fully layered PSD that you can edit however you wish, it's CMYK print-ready, and the download features links to the free fonts used in the design so you can get it set up nice and quickly.

07. Business brochure template

You'll need to supply your own imagery for this template

Made with architectural firms in mind but suitable for any business with an eye for good design, this $16 brochure template by Kampertco Group in Malaysia features strong lines and thoughtful typography using free fonts; you'll need InDesign to get the best out of it, though.

08. Vintage flyer template

Add a touch of vintage style to your designs with this free flyer template

Graphic designer James George created this vintage-style flyer template in Photoshop. Bazar and Ostrich Sans feature in this free design, with the text completely editable to suit your needs.

09. Spectre movie flyer template

This modern movie flyer template is sure to draw a crowd

This clean, modern movie flyer template is sure to draw a crowd. It has been created with ease of customisation in mind, and comes with detailed and clearly labelled layers. This 8.5x11, 300 DPI, CMYK, print-ready flyer template would suit all manner of events.

10. Roots reggae night template

Mash it up with this hard design

Get back to your roots with this reggae-styled club night flyer. Made by AreacodezeroCreatives, this print-ready 300dpi CMYK flyer comes as a layered PSD and includes a help file so that you can get it out quickly and easily.

11. Colorface template

This flyer would be just the thing for your next dubstep night

Featuring a light theme and warm colours, this design by CrealabSK is suitable for an electronic music event or club party. It uses Nexa free font and Couture, which is donationware for commercial use, and the full package contains two flyer designs and a Facebook event cover.

12. Bold typography flyer template

Grab attention with one of the more font-focused flyer templates on our list

A flyer and poster template combination, this design lets your font skills speak for themselves. Bold, vibrant, colourful and fun, this is one of those handy flyer templates that can be used for just about any purpose. The layers are split into groups, so you'll have no problem editing this one.

13. Retro flyer template

There are six retro styled flyer templates to choose from in this download

One for the vintage lovers of design, these six retro-style and unique flyer templates are perfect for your next party or corporate event. The final package you download includes a fully layered, renamed, grouped PSD files and download links for free fonts in *.txt file.

14. Geometric flyer templates

These flyer templates use the BebasNeue font, which is totally free

Check out these modern and unique flyer templates for your next project. The final package you download includes nine flyer styles and nine business card styles. They're easy to modify and include bleeds, trims and guidelines.

15. Chill Out flyer template

The wood texture is included in the download

Originally designed to promote a music event, this wood-textured flyer template can also be used for a new album promotion or other advertising purposes. It's print ready, simple to customise with well organised layers. The photos aren't included, but the effects and textures will be applied to any photo you use (the wood texture is also included). A gorgeous design and certainly worthy of inclusion on our list of the best flyer templates.

Next page: 15 more eye-catching flyer templates

16. Alternative flyer template

The effects and textures will be applied to any photo that you use

Here's another of our flyer templates that's perfect for any gig, album or concert promotion. Simple to customise, the effects and textures will be applied to any photo that you chose to include in the design. All the fonts used are free so you won't have any problems there, either!

17. Chill out flyer

Promote special events with this cool indie vintage flyer template from Moodboy

This cool indie vintage flyer template, created by Moodboy, was designed to promote music events but would work well for any special occasion. The A4-size template will set you back just $6 for a regular license and is fully customisable, with organised layers and paper textures included, and free fonts used.

18. Photography services flyer

Showcase your photography and design skills with this free flyer template from FlyerHeroes

This free photography flyer template, offered by FlyerHeroes, is perfect for advertising photography and design services. With 20 predefined photo spots, this template can be easily customised to create an eye-catching flyer design. And, best of all, it's free! But be sure to check the file license for full details before use.

19. 80s flyer template

Create your own retro flyer designs with this template from Roberto Perrino

Looking for a retro flyer template? Look no further than this design, originally created to promote an 80s revival party. From the colour palette to font choice, freelance graphic designer Roberto Perrino captures the style of the 80s perfectly. The design is a steal at $6 for a regular license and is fully customisable.

20. Typography gig flyer

This cool typogaphy flyer template is perfect for music festivals and gigs

Designed like a gig poster, we love this typography flyer template from Romanian artist Augustin of ZiaroGraphics. At just $6 for a regular licence for the design, this flyer template is perfect for music festivals and concerts. The template features more than eight fonts and a grunge look, suitable for alternative, rock, indie, britpop and punk bands.

21. Newspaper flyer

Spread around the hottest news in town with this cool newspaper flyer template

Planning a special event? Why not advertise it with this brilliant newspaper flyer template. Be the hottest news in town by fully customising the design with your own images and text. The download costs $6 for a regular licence and comes complete with two colour versions, well organised layers and more.

22. Vintage flyer

Make your flyer design stand out from the crowd with this vintage-inspired design

If you're after a retro design for your event, then this cool vintage flyer template may be just the ticket. Artist itscroma was inspired by psychedelic music when creating the piece. Featuring bright, vibrant colours, this template includes four PSD files – choose from blue, blue 2, green-blue and red-green colourways.

23. Event instruction template

Create a custom infographic for your special occasion with this flyer template from AgenceMe

This brilliant flyer template, designed by AgenceMe, lets the illustrations do all the talking. The retro style design is perfect for any special occasion and includes three different colour versions – red, blue and orange – and 14 icons for you to customise the design.

24. Gig flyer template

Customise this brilliant flyer template by Moodboy to suit your design needs

Are you organising a gig or festival? Or want to design a flyer to promote one? Then this cool vintage-style flyer template is a great place to start. Created by Moodboy, this free design is perfect for album promotions and advertising purposes too.

25. Corporate flyer template

Choose from five different flyer designs with in this bundle by Tony Huynh

If you're looking for a more corporate design, then this flyer template bundle by Tony Huynh is just the ticket. There are five different layout variations and all elements can be edited easily using Adobe InDesign or Illustrator. At just $8 for a regular license, they're a total bargain.

26. Sky flyer template

This minimal flyer template comes in five different colours for you to choose from

This minimal, clean flyer template would act as a great starting point to promote an upcoming summer event. It comes in five different colours as a layered PSD file, so is easily editable. This design can also double as a voucher or invitation. Download the flyer from Graphic River, where a regular license for it will set you back just $6.

27. Contemporary flyer template

Add your own background and text to this contemporary flyer design

If you like to work with big, bold type then this contemporary flyer template is the one for you. It costs just $6 and comes as a layered PSD file, so you can easily change the the background and text. The example here showcases a music event, but it can be adapted for many other purposes.

28. Photography flyer template

This simple, elegant flyer design is perfect for showcasing gorgeous photography

Photographers: why not put your work all over this simple, elegant photography flyer template? Created by designer Mike Bradshaw, the design is completely customisable, with the text, shape and images all easily modified. And it's a bargain at just $5.

29. Sketchbook flyer template

Go for a more hand crafted design with this sketchbook-inspired flyer design

Check out this sketchbook flyer template, created initially to promote a music event but perfect for all kinds of advertising purposes. It comes as a PSD file, layers are well organised and with quick photo replacement, the design is easy to customise. A steal at just $6.

30. Minimal flyer template

Customsie this cool, minimal design courtesy of Michele Angoloro

This simple yet stylish minimal flyer template comes from designer Michele Angoloro. For just $6, you can access this PSD or AI file, which is completely customisable. Change the colors, positions and typefaces to suit your own design brief.

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You're reading Introducing Postcards, Email Template Builder, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook, Google+!

Using Postcards, you can create beautiful emails/newsletters in minutes with drag and drop features and ready-made modules. Generated and exported emails are optimized for most popular email service providers and email clients (desktop and browsers).

View the full article

A portfolio website is one of the most important tools in any design agency's self-promotional toolkit, and it needs to fulfil many different jobs effectively.

These include showcasing your back-catalogue to best effect to impress clients, peers and potential recruits; explaining your background, ethos, and creative process; and where applicable, also getting across opinions and attitudes that make you stand out.

It's not an easy balance to strike, and even world-class design studios need to rethink their approach sometimes. Read on to discover how six top agencies approached the redesign of their portfolio websites over the past year, and what you can learn from their successes... 

01. Pentagram

Pentagram leads with a large hero image, with a patchwork of projects to explore beneath

Granddaddy of graphic design Pentagram has a dizzying archive of inspirational work that stretches back to the 1970s, split between its unique network of largely autonomous global partners. So any attempt to rework its website has a unique set of challenges not faced by smaller, younger studios.

Its last major redesign in 2011 had a very archival, almost museum-like feel, with a grid of thumbnails that could be categorised according to project, client or how recently they were produced. It was a simple approach that acknowledged the many decades of design history that the world's largest independent design consultancy has under its belt.

Pentagram's most recent portfolio shake-up has taken the polar opposite approach, visually speaking. You're greeted by an enormous screen-filling hero image that transitions between seven flagship case studies. 

Scroll down and you're met with a patchwork of thumbnails showcasing a selection of other recent work, with minimal text: just the project name at first, with a one-sentence qualifier visible on mouseover. 

Click those for a visual feast of high-resolution imagery for each project; and again for a more in-depth rationale behind the design solution. It's a mine of information for those who choose to explore it, fronted by a mouth-watering visual treat.

02. Johnson Banks

Johnson Banks' innovative infinite-scrolling portfolio is a joy to navigate

It would be remiss of us not to mention one of the most innovative design studio website redesigns of 2017: Johnson Banks' side-scrolling splendour, reviewed here on CB last April.

Created in collaboration with BONG, Johnson Banks' smart infinite-scrolling interface splits the studio's extensive portfolio into a grid, with five rows of thumbnails of decreasing size, which scroll at different speeds. 

It's a mesmerising experience to navigate, and can be customised according to sector and discipline to help you zero right in on your work of choice.

Other areas of the website following a similarly innovative navigation model, including Thoughts, News and even the About section – so often neglected compared to other, more visual areas of a design studio's portfolio. In short, it's a real pleasure to explore.

03. Rose

Rose puts even more emphasis on the hero image in its clean, simple portfolio layout

Despite a hugely impressive haul of design awards for an equally impressive list of clients, Rose often flies under the radar when it comes to overt self-promotion, compared to some of its more public-facing peers – preferring to let the work speak for itself.

Like Pentagram, in its 2017 site redesign Rose opted for screen-filling inspiration for its homepage: huge, high-resolution hits of design porn that cycles automatically through the agency's back catalogue.

Unlike Pentagram, however, the rest is kept much simpler, in line with Rose's understated attitude. In place of multiple layers of project information to explore, there's a clean menu interface: a few paragraphs about the agency; a matter-of-fact roll-call of clients; the necessary contact details. The implicit message is: if you love the beautiful work that's filling your screen right now, just drop us a line.

04. Studio Dumbar

Studio Dumbar has a bold split-screen approach that shows the agency's love of typography 

Studio Dumbar also enjoyed a portfolio shake-up last year, and the Dutch agency's penchant for warped and distorted type is brought to the fore with an arresting split-screen treatment.

On the left-hand side of the page two giant, chunky sans serif letters – an 'S' and a 'D', white out of black – are on a constant rotating loop, pushing and squeezing each other. Hover the mouse over and the letters change to numbers – a '4' and a '0', black out of shocking pink – to represent four decades in business since 1977.

Meanwhile, the right-hand side cycles between a selection of project imagery, often cropped to become quite abstract, with no immediate context until you click through to discover full details about the brief and Studio Dumbar's solution.

It's a bold, original approach that takes up a great deal of screen real estate with giant warped typography. And in doing so, reflects the agency's aesthetic and speaks volumes about its creative approach.

05. DesignStudio

The cleanest, most minimalist above-the-fold approach on this list comes courtesy of DesignStudio – the agency that placed itself firmly on the global branding map in recent years with its high-profile rebrands of Airbnb, Deliveroo and the Premier League.

Before you scroll down to explore a grid of dynamic project imagery, many of which is eye-catchingly animated, you get a bold statement surrounded by a sea of pure white: 'Hello, we are DesignStudio. We make a meaningful difference to the world's most loved brands.' 

Similar to Pentagram, once you click through from each hero asset on the homepage you can delve deeper into the thinking, and explore the various different touchpoints that each project involves. That confidence to put the spotlight on its mission statement definitely sets DesignStudio apart however, and no doubt those 11 words were agonised over for some time to get them spot on.

06. Superunion

Our most recent inclusion is, we assume, an ongoing project for the mega-agency formed from WPP stablemates The Partners, Brand Union, Lambie-Nairn, Addison and VBAT, and officially launched in January 2018.

With 750 staff worldwide, this is the biggest agency on the list by some distance, and from a portfolio perspective, needs to collate the diverse legacies of five well-respected, long-established agencies in one place.

In its current form, Superunion's website is surprisingly clean and simple, putting the homepage emphasis on six hero case studies, as well as a handful of thought-leadership pieces.

Most distinctive is the surreal brand imagery that currently lives above the fold, created by artist Nancy Fouts. The campaign features unexpected visual unions between objects, such as a balloon and a cactus; a bunch of flowers and a hand grenade; and a brain and a perfume diffuser.

Where DesignStudio chose an 11-word mission statement, Superunion opts for visual metaphor to represent its birth in 2018: it will be fascinating to see how the agency's online presence develops over the coming months.

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• 8 tools to help you work remotely as a freelancer 
• 5 ways to create better brand imagery

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Would you be interested in finding your next new job or freelance opportunity through Creative Bloq? We’re always looking for ways to make the site better, and one area where we think we could help is through a jobs board. 

After all, we have hundreds of thousands of visitors – designers, studio owners and clients alike – every day. What if we could connect you in a better way?

We have a few different ideas in mind, which we’ll run through below, but the big question is: would you want this sort of service on Creative Bloq? When you've read through the options, please take 30 seconds to vote in our poll.

Here’s what we’re thinking:

01. A jobs board

This would be a traditional-style jobs board, where studios and agencies around the world could advertise their latest creative vacancies. 

02. A 'find a freelancer' service

This would be a more specialised service, connecting top studios and agencies with talented, reliable freelancers. 

We would love your feedback, so if either of these ideas are of interest – or if they really aren’t – please take a moment to let us know in the poll below. 

Vote in our poll now

A huge thank you for your feedback. 

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• How to turn 'free' work into paid work
• 8 ways to make more money in 2018
• How to be an award-winning illustrator

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Apple said it is working on a fix for the latest text bomb bug that crashes a number of iOS and Mac apps that display specific Telugu language characters.   

View the full article

The day after the Harvey Weinstein scandal broke, I spoke to the Computer Arts team about writing something on 'design's Weinstein moment'. I think both the editor and I half-expected the whole idea to slide, and for the ruckus to blow over, as these things tend to. 

We celebrate violent men and paedophiles because their work in some way inspires us. We idolise photographers and 'edgy' CEOs despite mounting accusations of rape, violence and abuse. Is it any wonder we all expected Weinstein and his alleged horrors to slip quietly off the front pages? 

• The problem with period product branding

Activist Tarana Burke's #MeToo campaign – revived by actress Alyssa Milano – was the tipping point sexual harassment needed. It's hard to discredit over 500,000 women as attention-seeking fantasists when all of them are saying the same thing.

So far, there's hasn't been a big outing in the design industry. I doubt there will be. Design superstars don't really count for much in the real world. Our creeps are small fry when compared to glamorous Hollywood sexual abusers. That's not to say that abuse isn't rife in design. It is. We're just less high-profile, and a bit better at masking it. At the moment.

Male and pale

You only need to look at our senior leaders to know that something isn't right. Despite a decade of diversity initiatives, our creative directors and CEOs are resoundingly male and pale. The UK design industry is overwhelmingly white – 87 per cent so in fact. And just 12 per cent of London's CDs are female. 

It's perhaps ironic that Tarana, a woman of colour, is responsible for helping the sexual abuse scandal gain traction, seeing as a damning TUC report into workplace racism in the UK barely registered. 

Perhaps we're too worn down by austerity, Trump and Brexit to focus on more than one national horror at a time. This might explain why we chose to neglect the TUC's report. This might explain why we've compartmentalised diversity and made it a white woman's issue. Perhaps the plan is to 'fix' white women before moving onto people of colour, LGBT+ communities and people with disabilities. It's like the supermarket meat counter – take a number and wait. 

Gemma is a senior content strategist at London agency Dare

Let's be clear. It took American Apparel years to fire Dov Charney, despite multiple harassment cases. Vogue only severed ties with Terry Richardson recently, despite a cacophony of complaints. The industry, in fact, the world, only stopped disbelieving women because they had no choice. 

It's nice to think that some handsy creative directors might be sweating it out right now, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. This type of abuse is part of a much bigger problem. I'm not here to mitigate or diminish the experiences of every woman who's been assaulted, but focusing solely on sexual harassment won't solve the problem of who has the power and why it's being abused. 

The Harvey Weinstein story has forced men (don't you dare #notallmen me) to confront some very sketchy behaviour. It's given women an opportunity to be heard, and to an extent, to be believed. We must now share that same courtesy with others who've had their opportunities limited by the discrimination that's rife in our industry. 

Fight the power

We pretend the design industry is a meritocracy. That we'll get far with hard work and the right attitude, but that's not the case. There's a reason why we're so white, and it's the same reason so many of our leaders are male. Power is abused to be retained. 

Women are taught rape is a consequence of their actions. Under-represented people in the industry are taught the same lessons. They're put in charge of underfunded, unsupported diversity initiatives and tasked with solving an enormous problem from a position of limited authority. And when these initiatives fail, we blame them, not the leaders who continue to remake the industry in their own image.

I work at Dare, the only truly diverse agency I've ever encountered. Diversity isn't a link in its footer, it's a guiding principle. The board's diverse and so are the staff. It really is that simple. 

How we, as an industry, move forward from Weinstein, sexual harassment and institutional discrimination will either make or break us. People like me have been speaking about these subjects for a long time. Nothing changes. We need to hear these words from the people with power, from those actually able to do something about it. 

This article was originally published in issue 274 of Computer Arts, the world's best-selling design magazine. Buy issue 274 here or subscribe to Computer Arts here.

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Grabbing a picture from Google's image search just got a bit harder. That's because last night the search engine giant revealed that it has removed the View Image button from Google Images searches.

Whereas users used to be able to search an image, pick a result they liked and view it on its own, now you'll have to go into the site the image is from to view the asset. So is this good news for creatives? Or is it a backwards move, like some suggest?

• The 14 best photography websites

According to Getty Images, it's great news. The photo library had complained that Google's image search made it easy for people to find Getty Images pictures and take them, without the appropriate permission or licence.

And for publishers, certainly, it's great news. Now they can serve ads and earn more revenue based on the extra click-throughs. 

The announcement, however, which was made via Twitter with screenshots of the new image search buttons – visit, share, and save – has been met with negative feedback from others. And we're wondering if Google deliberately used an image of a cactus as it broke the news to acknowledge that it's a prickly issue.

Many have suggested that the unique benefits of using Google Images have now been removed. Others have labelled it a " backwards step", and pointed out that right-clicking on an image and selecting 'open image in new tab' or 'view image' means you can still access the asset. 

Google, for its part, has been quick to confirm that the change did indeed come about from a settlement with Getty Images. 

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• Google launches Instagram-like Stories
• Google logo sparks 'correct design' debate
• What's wrong with Google's burger emoji?

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The right song can set the mood for a video. Unfortunately, good music doesn't always come easy. You can make sure you always have the perfect tune ready for use for your project with the StockUnlimited Audio Library. You can get three-year access on sale for just $49.99 (approx. £36)!

Music assets aren't cheap and they often aren't easy to find, either. StockUnlimited's massive Audio Library can fix that problem for you. This massive library provides you with tons of premium audio tracks and sound effects that you can use for any project. For three years, you'll have unlimited downloads to all of the royalty-free music you could want. These tracks are perfect for setting the mood with tons of genres, instruments and sound effects to choose from.

You can get a three-year subscription to StockUnlimited Audio Library on sale for just $49.99 (approx. £36). That's a savings of 91% off the retail price for a can't-miss deal for any creator, so grab this offer today!

About Creative Bloq deals

This great deal comes courtesy of the Creative Bloq Deals store – a creative marketplace that's dedicated to ensuring you save money on the items that improve your design life.

We all like a special offer or two, particularly with creative tools and design assets often being eye-wateringly expensive. That's why the Creative Bloq Deals store is committed to bringing you useful deals, freebies and giveaways on design assets (logos, templates, icons, fonts, vectors and more), tutorials, e-learning, inspirational items, hardware and more.

Every day of the working week we feature a new offer, freebie or contest – if you miss one, you can easily find past deals posts on the Deals Staff author page or Offer tag page. Plus, you can get in touch with any feedback at:deals@creativebloq.com.

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We've given you a selection of great brochure templates elsewhere on the site. But when it comes to making a stunning brochure design from scratch – something that can take pride of place in your design portfolio – how do you make it really stand out?

• How to get more from your print projects

Here, we bring you a series of pro tips that will make the difference between creating a good brochure and a great brochure design. 

01. Know your purpose before you start

Human After All’s stunning brochure designs for the BAFTA 2016 Film Awards

When you're thinking about how to design a brochure, start by asking clients why they think that they need a brochure. Then ask them to define their objectives. Sometimes they just want one because their last brochure didn't work. If they've come up with a brief for you, take a step back from that and look at exactly what it is they're trying to achieve.

02. Limit your fonts

You don't need many fonts when you're thinking of how to design a brochure – just a heading, subheading and body copy font. But we see it all the time: people think they need to find a headline font nobody has ever used before. Clients will usually take the lead on fonts as they'll often have a corporate identity already in place.

03. Take stock of your paper stock

Talk about paper stock before you put pen to notepad. If you're working for a client, ask if it has to be the standard A4. Find out if they've considered using uncoated paper, for example. There's a great post here on making a paper choice.

04. Get your copy right

You may not want to hear it, but excellent copy is crucial to great brochure design

Great copy is often the most undervalued element in brochure design. A lot of people don't understand that copy needs to be considered as part of the overall design concept. At the early stage of any brochure design project, experiment with the copy to see if it needs reworking. Headlines aren't something to just drop in later.

05. Put readers first

When thinking of how to design a brochure, keep the end purpose in mind. Is this a brochure that's going to be posted out in response to requests made on a website? Is it a giveaway at an exhibition, or a leave-behind brochure? When someone opens it, what will it say to them? Design for that person, not for yourself.

06. Use simple statements

Keep brochure design concepts clear and simple

You want to know how to make a brochure that stands out, right? Sometimes the simple ideas are the best. If a client has decided they want lots of cliched images to get a particular point across, it's probably better to scrap them. The solution might be to use a typographic cover instead, and make a very literal statement about what they want to say.

07. Set pen to paper

Break out the layout pads and try drawing and sketching ideas to start with. Brainstorm everything among everybody, rather than taking a brief away for two weeks and then presenting three concepts to see which one the client hates the least.

08. Keep what works

Don't try to be wacky or different just for the sake of it when you're thinking of how to design a brochure that gets noticed. For example, most designers use the same 10 to 20 fonts across a lot of the projects they work on. There are sound design reasons why Helvetica is used a lot, and why Rockwell is a good headline font.

09. Make a good first impression

You must convey a good impression with your brochure design

Brochure designs need to fit in with what the client does as a business. Charities don't want luxury brochures that'll make people think they've spent a lot of money on them, whereas a new product might need a brochure that looks amazing on an exhibition stand.

10. Shoot sharp

To make a product brochure pleasurable to flick through, you need good photos. If you're using stock imagery – budgets don't always stretch to a photoshoot – try to find pictures that don't look like they're stock images. Never cut corners.

This article was originally published in Computer Arts, the world's best-selling design magazine. Subscribe to Computer Arts here.

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React has grown into one of the most popular tools found in a web developer’s library. Get yourself a selection of essential techniques that will improve your code output.

01. Higher-order components

Components often share functionality with each other, such as logging or network requests. These can become difficult to maintain as the number using this logic increases. Developers are encouraged to abstract shared code and include it where necessary. In a regular JavaScript application, the concept of a higher-order function is one way to approach it. In short, they are functions that take other functions as arguments and impart behaviours onto them. Array methods such as map and filter are examples of these. Higher-order components (HOCs) are React’s way of achieving the same thing. They are components that impart behaviour onto a passed component.

In this example here, the function returns a new wrapped component,
which renders the original one that was passed in alongside any props. HOCs are regular components and can do anything they can, such as passing in their own props and hooking into lifecycle callbacks. The function then wraps the original on export. By using HOCs, it makes commonly used chunks of code easier to maintain and test. When specific functionality is required, they are easy to drop in, safe in the knowledge that it will behave as expected.

02. Portals

There are times where a component needs to break out of its parent to be elsewhere in the DOM. Modal windows, for example, belong in the top level of the page in order to avoid issues with z-index and positioning.

Portals are also part in v16, which enables React to render components into DOM nodes completely separate from the rest of the application. The contents will keep its place in React’s structure, but will render elsewhere. This means any event that gets triggered inside the portal will bubble up through the parent in React, rather than into the portal container element itself.

By creating a dedicated component, the portal can be returned by the render function. When content needs to be displayed, it can be wrapped in this component and then displayed in the other element.

03. CSS with styled-components

Styling an application with reusable components can lead to issues with clashing class names. Conventions such as BEM help mitigate the issue, but they aim to treat the symptoms rather than the problem.

It is possible for components to take charge of their own styles. This means they have a way of adjusting visuals on the fly without the need for either inline styles or class toggles. One such solution is styled-components, which uses JavaScript to its advantage.

As the name suggests, rather than creating classNames it creates entirely new ready-styled components. The system makes use of ES2015 tagged template literals, which can accept regular CSS and apply that to the requested element.

By using a placeholder, the style can be altered dynamically. In this example, the button background changes depending if the button is passed a primary prop. Any expression can be used here to calculate the style required.

The created component can be used just like any other and any props will be passed through. Custom components can also be styled the same way by using styled(ComponentName) instead.

04. Using React-specific linting

One of the best ways to keep code clean is to use a linter tool. They define a set of rules the code should follow and will highlight anywhere it fails. By ensuring all code passes these rules before merging into the codebase, projects stay maintainable and code quality increases.

ESLint is a popular linter for various JavaScript projects. There are plugins available that analyse specific code styles. One of the most common for
React is an npm package called eslint-plugin-react.

By default, it will check a number of best practices, with rules checking things from keys in iterators to a complete set of prop types. More options can be enabled on a per-project basis by updating the .eslintrc config file.

Another popular plugin is eslint-plugin-jsx-a11y, which will help fix common issues with accessibility. As JSX offers slightly different syntax to regular HTML, issues with alt text and tabindex, for example, will not be picked up by regular plugins. It will also pick up React-specific issues, such as assigning aria props with different syntax.

05. Code splitting

As with any single page application, everything gets bundled into one file that can quickly bloom in size if it does not get kept in check. Tools such as Webpack can help split this bundle up into more manageable chunks that can then be requested as needed.

As React encourages creating lots of smaller components, there are plenty of opportunities to break up the bundle.
The react-loadable package enables a component to define exactly what it needs to render and Webpack can automatically split up its bundle to accommodate this.

Loadable is a HOC that will dynamically import anything the component needs. It takes a few settings, such as what to show while everything loads in, which makes it highly customisable. LoadableButton can then be used as a regular component without issue.

For larger applications with routing, it may be more beneficial to split by route instead of component. Common paths can be pulled in with one request, and can help speed things up. It is important to have a balance between the number of bundles and their overall size, which will change depending on the needs of the application.

More details about react-loadable can be found at https://github.com/thejameskyle/react-loadable.

What’s new in JavaScript?

Wes Bos is a full-stack JavaScript developer, speaker and teacher from Canada. He works as an independent web developer, and is a lead instructor at HackerYou and Ladies Learning Code.

In his talk at Generate New York from 25-27 April 2018, he reveals some of the best things that are brand new to JavaScript, as well as things that we can look forward to in the coming months and years. Strap yourself in for a fast-paced talk full of hot tips as we rocket ourselves into the future of JavaScript. 

GET YOUR TICKET NOW

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You're reading Best Free Web Icon Packs for 2018, originally posted on Designmodo. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow on Twitter, Facebook, Google+!

There are certain things in user interfaces that are eternal. Whatever the trend is — skeuomorphic, minimal, flat — designers will adapt to the current situation. One of the integral bricks of any good design is icons. As a clear graphical representation, an icon naturally bridges the gap between the web application and user. You […]

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Clever and unique use of imagery can have a transformative effect on a brand's impact. The best logos can create a powerful visual association that goes far beyond the actual design itself.

It's worth pointing out that 'brand imagery' is different from 'brand image'. A brand's image is that intangible, emotional quality that brands constantly strive to improve in the minds of consumers, formed from a broad kit of parts, including the promises a brand makes and the actual experience it delivers.

Brand imagery, by contrast, is a more concrete, objective entity: how a brand presents itself to the world. It can evoke heritage or innovation, communicate quality, or imply good, honest, no-nonsense value. It helps shape brand image, but is never wholly responsible for it. It doesn't necessarily have to be visual, either – brand imagery can appeal to any of the five senses. Sounds, smells, tastes and physical sensations can all help define a brand.

Read on to discover five brands that have developed brand imagery that defines their attitude, and helps them stand out from the crowd...

01. First Direct

Barry the talking platypus helped position First Direct as 'the unexpected bank

Banking and financial services have traditionally been one of the most conservative, 'safe' sectors for branding. It's all about trust, security, stability and growth. 

It's not a sector you'd usually associate with a platypus, a frilled lizard or an astronaut walking on water. But somehow, since its 2013 repositioning by JWT as 'the unexpected bank', First Direct has appropriated all three.

Now part of HSBC, First Direct has built a compelling brand image based around its famously high-quality, very 'human' customer service, and corresponding loyalty.

Barry the talking platypus and his successor, Little Frill the lizard, both emphasised that award-winning service in their own delightfully surreal, hugely memorable black-and-white ads that also featured beatboxing songbirds and a pizza-guzzling bushbaby.

Fronted by the water-walking astronaut, First Direct's latest above-the-line campaign may reposition it again as a 'modern, digital bank', but that distinctive monochrome palette and unexpected visual associations are preserved in the brand imagery.

02. Aizone

Luxury Middle Eastern department store Aizone enjoyed an annual visual extravaganza courtesy of Sagmeister & Walsh from 2009-2016, the result of which is a striking collection of brand imagery unlike any other. The initial constraint at the outset of the campaign – that the ads had to be black-and-white, and couldn't actually feature any of the department store's wares – drove the iconic New York agency to explore a stunning, and unmissable, combination of nude models and body paint.

Subsequent campaigns introduced splashes of increasingly vibrant colour, and experimental type – at first painted onto models, and later constructed out of everything from paint to hair to balloons. More recently, the agency took the concepts in new directions, setting their models inside 3D environments inspired by pop art, constructivism and psychedelia.

Splashed across newspapers, magazines, and billboards throughout Lebanon, all of these examples of brand imagery were the very definition of head-turning. But they also show how a powerful visual concept can be constantly reinvented to keep things fresh.

03. London Symphony Orchestra 

This identity was generated dynamically based on mo-cap data

Winner of Best of Show at the 2017 Brand Impact Awards, the breathtaking rebrand of London Symphony Orchestra by The Partners (now Superunion) captures the essence of style, passion and movement effortlessly.

While Aizone demonstrates what can happen when a bold creative agency has fun with a relatively open brief, this is a superb example of brand imagery that's firmly rooted in the subject matter: it's generated dynamically based on motion-capture data from LSO conductor Simon Rattle. 

The sweeping curves tear through the type with gusto, while the abstract, jagged metallic background imagery visualises the ethereal nature of the music. Each poster is unique, and yet unmistakably part of the whole. Brand imagery doesn't get much better, or more authentic, than this.

04. Apprenticeships

Brand imagery doesn't need to be colourful to be effective

As First Direct demonstrates, sometimes the absence of colour can be every bit as striking as all the shades of the rainbow. Part of Purpose's rebrand of the UK government's Apprenticeships service – which had previously been totally unassuming with a palette of burgundy and orange – was an incredible batch of brand imagery, crafted entirely in stark black and white.

Based around the idea of 'Inspiring Transformation', the agency created a varied series of illustrated type treatments, all based around motivational phrases. 

A Meccano-style modular typeface followed, which played on the equally integral ideas of construction and practical, useful skills that the initiative champion – again, all in the black-and-white palette that makes the Apprenticeships brand imagery so distinctive.

05. D&AD Festival

This imagery elevates the central brand element flawlessly.

In a way, designing brand imagery for the D&AD Festival and Awards is both a dream brief, and a nightmare brief, as you know it'll be front and centre for a crowd of the world's very best, more discerning designers. The Beautiful Meme rose to the challenge in 2017, riffing on, distorting and deconstructing the familiar Pencil in all its famous colours: Wood, Graphite, Yellow, White and Black. 

Blown up huge on the big screen during the Awards, the resulting series of stylised 3D animations were an explosive feast for the eyes. They don't have the conceptual cleverness of LSO, or wittily subvert expectations like First Direct, but they do one thing exceptionally well: elevate the central brand element, the Pencil, to hero status. And as a piece of brand imagery, you can't argue with that.

Read more:

• 8 iconic American logos that changed branding forever
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• 5 logo design trends for 2018

View the full article

Cyber Monday 2018 might be a few months away yet, but if you’re wondering how to grab the best Cyber Monday deals for designers, illustrators and artists when the big day arrives, then we’re here to help.

Whether you're based in the US or the UK, you'll find the biggest creative hardware and software bargains right here – so bookmark this page. 

We’ll be working around the clock to bring you the best Cyber Monday deals from the most reputable retailers, first. 

So what do you need to know now? 

When is Cyber Monday 2018?

Cyber Monday falls on 26 November this year, three days after Black Friday on the 23 November. While Black Friday is a frenzied cacophony of high street and online deals, Cyber Monday was originally conceived by savvy marketers as a way to sell more of their wares online, back when online shopping wasn’t as prevalent as it is today. 

According to those in the know, Cyber Monday sees a wider range of deals across individual retailers. It's less about one-off discounts, and more about lower prices generally. 

Of course, if stores need to shift stock they’ll follow-up Black Friday discounts with further reductions on Cyber Monday – so expect one-off deals too.

What we learned from Cyber Monday 2017

Last year, we saw some fantastic savings on creative hardware, software and resources. Here’s what we found:

• eBay and Amazon offered the best Cyber Monday deals on Apple products and Wacom drawing tablets 
• Unsurprisingly, superseded products saw serious discounts. Amazon cut over $1,000 off its Surface Book stock, following the launch of the Surface Book 2
• The Microsoft Store was ripe with large discounts across its Surface family
• Dell hosted some huge tech bargains directly on its website, too
• Adobe did Cyber Monday. It slashed its Creative Cloud software by 20%
• Other creative software also made competitive discounts, so it's worth waiting for Black November if you can

Cyber Monday 2018: where to find the best deals

As mentioned, we’ll be rounding up the best Cyber Monday deals for designers, illustrators and creatives right here on this page. 

However, if you want to browse retailer websites directly – and it’s worth having a look now to get a grasp of prices and specs, and to sign up for for early Cyber Monday deals alerts – here are the retailer links you need… 

Cyber Monday US: Adobe deals| Amazon Cyber Monday 2018 | Microsoft Store | Dell Store | Target Cyber Monday 2018 | Kohl's Cyber Monday 2018 | eBay Cyber Monday 2018 | Best Buy Cyber Monday 2018 | NewEgg Cyber Monday 2018 | Walmart Cyber Monday 

Cyber Monday UK: Adobe deals | Amazon Cyber Monday 2018 | Microsoft Store | Dell Store | John Lewis Cyber Monday 2018 | Very.co.uk Cyber Monday 2018 | Currys Cyber Monday 2018 | Argos Cyber Monday 2018 | Tesco Direct Cyber Monday 2018 | eBay Cyber Monday 2018 | Mobiles.co.uk Cyber Monday 2018 

Cyber Monday 2018: tips for getting the best deals

The brilliant Surface Book saw dramatic cuts on Cyber Monday 2017

Get the best Cyber Monday deals this year by following these pro tips...

01. Know what you want to buy

Create a list of items you want to purchase over Black Friday. Knowing what you want to buy is the best way to avoid becoming swept up in the moment and purchasing something you don't want.

02. Do your research

Avoid bad deals by doing your research ahead of the day. Swot up on the product you want, which specs you're after and what the price usually is. Read the reviews and find out who the best manufacturers are. 

03. Compare prices

To get a solid idea on product prices, try using price-comparison internet shopping sites like PriceGrabber.com. 

04. Check the extras

Always make sure you check the specs before buying a product – and look at the extras. Does it come with accessories? Are there any hidden postage and packaging charges?

05. Consider payment options

We certainly don’t promote the idea of racking up huge credit cards bills with big interest rates – but do bear in mind that many credit cards offer benefits like free warranties, return protection and sale price protection. It's worth checking whether you're eligible for any such benefits and consider paying by credit card. 

06. Invest in an Amazon Prime subscription

Prime users – including anyone on a free trial – are offered an exclusive 30-minute early access period to all Amazon Lightning Deals. An Amazon Prime subscription will cost you £79/$99 per year. 

Today’s best deals on the best creative kit

Don't worry if you can't wait until Cyber Monday to bag a bargain. There are plenty to be had on creative hardware, software and resources right now. 

We're tracking the month's best deals in the following articles, and you can scroll down for the day's hottest bargains on our favourite creative products...

• The best Macbook and Macbook Pro deals 
• The best Microsoft Surface deals
• The best Dell XPS deals
• The best cheap laptop deals
• The best Wacom tablet deals
• The best Adobe deals
• 30 books every graphic designer should read

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• The best laptop deals for designers
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Intel will pay up to $250,000 to researchers who identify bugs more severe than 9.0 on the CVSS scale.

View the full article

Avecto researchers say removing admin rights from users would mitigate many of the threats.

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Malicious e-mail attachments used in this campaign don’t display any warnings when opened and silently install malware.

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We all have a large store of memories taken as photos and it’s great to be able to reminisce. But what if you could go a step further and add a little life to those still images? Photo editors these days let us do just that. 

Photoshop allows us to add depth to photos, even animating the results, to truly breathe some fresh air into our old still albums. With that in mind I’m using a simple old photo from a holiday for this tutorial.

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01. Choose the right photo

Aim to use a photo with a distinct depth range

I’ve chosen a photo that will make it more obvious as I proceed through the tutorial but many shots can work. I suggest aiming for one with a distinct depth range, like mine, that has some separation between foreground and background. You can use shots with more levels of depth as well, repeating the process for each. Click the layers lock icon, so that you can work with it.

02. Mask off the foreground

The first step is to mask off your foreground subject

The first step is to mask off your foreground subject. The means you use to do this are not important, what you need to focus on is a clean mask that doesn’t miss any details. I used the brush tool to manually paint mine, but the magnetic lasso tool is a good option. Don’t forget, depending on your subject matter, you might be able to select by colour range or use the magic wand tool.

03. Hide foreground element

Copy your selection on to a new layer

Copy this selection on to a new layer by simply hitting Ctrl+J, which will leave the fresh copy in the same location, before clicking the layers eye icon to hide it. The only thing to watch for here is whether the foreground or background gets copied. If needed, invert your selection by hitting Ctrl+Shift+I, before copying. Here you can see the pasted copy.

04. Fill in the background

Make sure your background layer is active and then click CTRL_SHIFT+D to reselect your original mask

With your copy hidden, make sure your background layer is active and then click Ctrl+Shift+D to reselect your original mask. Then click Shift+F5 to open the Fill dialogue. From the contents menu choose Content Aware. This will attempt to fill the selection based on surrounding areas of the image. 

05. Tidy up background

Use the clone stamp tool and/or the healing brush to tidy up any areas

The results of the fill can vary and mine needs a little work. If you need to tidy areas of yours, I suggest using the clone stamp tool and/or the healing brush. This can handle selection artefacts easily. 

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If you’re having trouble, then concentrate your efforts just inside your selection, as they are the areas that might be seen once you animate.

06. Create video timeline

Now that we are prepared you can go to the window menu and check the Timeline option

Now that we are prepared you can go to the window menu and check the Timeline option. A blank timeline will appear. In it, click the create video timeline button and your layers will each appear on their own separate section of the timeline. The default length is set to 5 seconds, which is fine for our purposes and is auto fitted to the available space.

07. Preview the image

Concentrate on the Position to start with

If you click the Right Arrow icon next to the layer preview on the timeline, it reveals the elements that you can animate. We will concentrate on the Position to start with. On frame 0 click the diamond icon, next to the word Position. This is the Add Keyframe button. Now go to the last frame, hit V and drag the layer to the left (I used the layer with me in it). A keyframe will be automatically added. Hit the play button to ensure your change in position was recorded.

08. Scale to fit

Convert the layer to smart object for scaling options

The background offers no options for scaling, which we need, so in the layer palette, right click it and convert to smart object. In the timeline you will now have a transform option. At Frame 0 add a keyframe as before. Then go to the last frame, scale the smart object up and add a new keyframe. Press play to see the results.

09. Finishing touches

Select the appropriate keyframe to make adjustments

If you aren’t happy with any aspect, go to the appropriate keyframe, change the scale or position, then click the stopwatch next to the track, to overwrite the keyframe. Another option you have is to introduce elements that weren’t in the original photo. Treat this as you would any other Photoshop task and insert the new content on its own layer and animate accordingly, using the same tools.

10. Save and export

To save your video for use elsewhere, Click File/Export/Save as video

To save your video for use elsewhere, Click File/Export/Save as video. In the dialogue that opens choose a suitable format. I opted for a Quicktime file, at full HD resolution, which happened to be much smaller than the original photo. Of course if you prefer you could paste your items into a 1920x1080 document to start with.

Then all that’s left is to set a location for the video and hit the Render button...

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It's difficult to define exactly what 'creative coding' means. In broad terms, it refers to the production of something that is expressive in nature rather than having a purely practical use. It is a chance to learn and explore how various different technologies can come together to create impressive works of art.

• How to get started with creative coding

What form that takes is entirely up to the creator. Anything from data visualisation to image manipulation could be considered 'creative coding'. The web is flexible enough to open up opportunities in different areas of art and design.

Here we look at the different ways you can experiment with code and create stimulating visual results.

01. Head straight for the frameworks

If you're comfortable with code and have a good idea of what you want to create, why wait? Here are the four best frameworks for creative coders; take your pick!

p5.js

p5.js gives you the power and ease of use of Processing, but on the web

Processing is the holy grail for creative coders. It provides a language and an IDE to enable designers and non-technical people to create stunning visualisations without getting buried in the technicalities.

The p5.js library takes the principles of Processing and applies them to the web. It delivers the same kinds of abstractions, which provide simplicity to the beginners and offer powerful control to experts.

The bulk of the work happens within two functions – one controls the project setup, while the other draws to the page in a loop for the life of that project. The library supplies plenty of global methods and variables to update the page within these functions. For example, calling frameRate(60) lets p5.js do the hard work of maintaining a constant 60fps.

sketch.js

sketch.js is a lightweight but powerful way to get going with JavaScript

Weighing in at under 5kb, sketch.js is a tiny framework that helps developers get up and running with creative JavaScript. It's light enough to embed in any website, but provides plenty of features along with it.

It's possible to hook into methods that react to events within the projects. While this includes the usual callbacks, such as the animation loop, sketch.js also opens up events such as keyboard input and window resizing.

Touch and mouse inputs are treated the same, which makes all projects touch-friendly by default. While it is possible to target either input type specifically, it takes the worry out of dealing with the small differences between the two event types. It can also calculate the deltas between these points automatically to make physics calculations easier.

D3

There's more to D3 than charts and graphs

While D3 has long been the go-to library for creating graphs and charts, that isn't all it's capable of. Its data-driven approach makes it great for creating attractive visualisations – either informative or abstract. When combined with a rich data source such as the Twitter API, it makes infographics easy to create.

By manipulating DOM elements, such as SVG, D3 will work with any assets already a part of an application. It provides a structure around which they can be transformed to provide emphasis or to animate onscreen.

There are plenty of ways to access D3 through other libraries and frameworks as well. Specially created components for React, directives for Angular, and plugins for most other front-end frameworks are readily available, for example.

three.js

With three.js you can easily create smooth 3D interactions using WebGL

Working in 3D with WebGL can be complicated at the best of times. Working out how shaders and camera perspectives work in such a wide-reaching API can take away from the creative aspects of a project and slow everything down.

With three.js it's possible to skim over these tricky aspects and focus on the visuals. It is a 3D JavaScript library, which works with WebGL to easily create beautifully smooth interactions with minimum effort. 

The library provides many built-in methods for creating objects in the scene. Everything can be altered just like any other JavaScript object and will update accordingly. Complicated techniques, such as texture mapping, are provided out of the box and are usually just a case of setting the appropriate option on the object.

02. Get smart with data sources and APIs

There's plenty of publicly-accessible data out there for you to play with keep your project fresh; see what you can do with these sources.

Twitter

Twitter's developer platform is a treasure trove for creative coders

With over 320 million active users in 2017, Twitter is a wealth of information. People are talking about every conceivable topic by posting pictures and video alongside their unfiltered reactions in real time.

This makes it a goldmine for a creative coding project. The official API can bring back the tweets in the format needed along with other metadata that is open for analysis. This data can then be visualised in new and exciting ways.

The Twitter API provides four defined 'objects' that can be retrieved – tweets, users, locations and entities. Entities include extra information linked to those objects including hashtags and media. Values on these objects are fixed and will only ever be extended upon, which means you will never lose access.

Tweets themselves can be searched for with a query to a single endpoint. These searches can either be for a string or can be more descriptive, such as for images or tweets with a positive sentiment.

Visualising Twitter data can make a great connected design piece. Combining multiple data points such as location and sentiment can create a project that is also informative, such as graphing live tweets about a topic from around the world.

While there are plenty of opportunities to use the output from Twitter, the API also allows for applications to post messages to Twitter. These can come from any source provided that it's connected to the API.

All endpoints in the API require some kind of authentication. For most projects that is only an application key, but authenticating can be tricky when done manually. Thankfully there are a few packages that make working with the Twitter API a little easier.

The npm module 'twitter' is the catch-all client library when working through Node. It supports regular endpoints as well as streaming, which may be useful for real-time projects.

Instagram and Flickr

Social media APIs can provide a great source for data visualisations and mashups

Creative coding projects are often visual, which makes image and video sharing APIs an attractive prospect for inspiration. Thankfully, sites such as Instagram and Flickr open up their data and allow developers access to that content, as well as the surrounding metadata.

Instagram has become one of the web's most popular image-sharing platforms. As a result, it is a rich source of images to use in creative projects.

The API is no different. It provides access to images, videos, comments and tags, as well as ways of searching through this information to find what is needed for the project.

Access within the API will be initially limited to a small pool of accounts and images. To remove some of these restrictions, Instagram will need to review the project themselves, which can be time-consuming and fruitless for creative coding projects. Depending on the project, the initial sandbox mode may suffice.

Flickr has a more readily accessible API. It is a resource of high quality images available at multiple resolutions. Many of the photo endpoints only require an application key to work, which makes set up and fetching much easier.

The 'flickr.photos.search' endpoint is the most commonly used and gives access to most of Flickr's content. It can be filtered and sorted by date, location and even license as necessary. Other endpoints can get more detail on the photo, such as comments or EXIF data

Getting the API to work exactly how the project needs it to can be difficult, particularly if writing information back to Flickr. Luckily, plenty of packages exist to help use it with JavaScript, including the company's own 'flickr-sdk' on npm.

It's important to note that all images remain the property of their owners. For personal projects this will not be an issue, but if it's being shared be sure to either seek permission or credit the owner.

Camera and microphone

Emoji Wall by Kitasenju Design takes the image from a camera and redraws it using emoji within 3D space

The web is usually limited to pointing and clicking with a mouse, but that is not the only way of providing input. Today's browsers are equipped with new APIs to pull in data from different external sources, including cameras and microphones.

Making projects that are visually aware is a great way to get users involved. By using vision as an input over a traditional keyboard and mouse, users are able to interact in different ways, such as face tracking or image recognition. As most devices now come with a camera built in, it is no longer the barrier it once was and works out great for the web.

Listening to the user is also a great alternative to manual input. Voice recognition could control navigation, or users could provide their own audio samples to use within their experience. It could also serve as an alternative to a button press. By extracting pitch and volume, these can then be mapped to what normally would be a button press, which could be used to control anything from colour to movement.

Access to a camera and microphone is possible through the navigator object.

The code has to specify exactly what is needed from the input devices. The call to getUserMedia() will trigger a permissions dialog that the user must accept before continuing. Once accepted, these features are available as streams, making them more memory efficient.

All major browsers support this API, including mobile. If the browser cannot meet the exact requirements, the promise will reject and not work. It's important to supply an alternative experience, such as an image upload form, where access is not possible.

03. Mobile device sensors

Brick Street View will show what your current surroundings would look like if they were made from LEGO

The world of mobile presents a completely different set of opportunities when it comes to creative coding. The wide variety of form factors and sensors open for use within the browser can make for some distinctive experiences.

Mobile devices are almost exclusively touch interfaces. Browsers have the ability to detect and track multiple touches at once. This means that projects do not have to be led by a single point and can be manipulated in a much more intuitive way.

All touch events use a 'changedTouches' property on the event. This holds a reference to all the touch points that changed dependent on the type of event, rather than a separate event for each touch point. By tracking these, it's possible to map gestures or paint with touch.

Accelerometers and gyroscopes are mostly used for changing from portrait to landscape mode, but these are also up for interpretation. Different methods of interaction can be created by using the device itself as a control mechanism – whether that in specific co-ordinate movements or more gesture-based, such as a shake.

APIs provide access to this information, but the values returned will vary by browser as they do not all use the same coordinate system. Libraries such as p5.js provide special values and hooks like 'rotationX' or 'deviceShaken()' to help abstract away the differences.

Mobile devices also have the ability to determine their exact position using geolocation. Being able to get the exact location of a device can open up new possibilities and make for a more streamlined experience.

Access is provided through the navigator object. The value returned is the lat-long co-ordinates of the device, along with other data such as altitude or speed if the device supports it. Browsers will use the fastest method of detecting location, such as the IP address. However, this may not always be the most accurate.

Combining these inputs in creative ways is the key to making something special. For example, using the device's location and orientation to create a virtual stargazing experience.

04. Multi-screen experiences

Bubbles – a project made for Google I/O 2017 – enables users to pass bubbles between one another from across the world

Desktop browsers provide reassuring familiarity when it comes to creative projects. But by experimenting with different displays, users can get a more personalised experience which works for them.

The principles of responsive design still hold true for creative coding projects as well. Users should be able to enjoy them regardless of device, whether that's desktop, mobile, or projected on a giant screen.

These differences can also be used to enhance the project further. By using media queries in CSS, mobile users could get an experience tailored to the smaller, handheld form factor. Since mobile users tend to be just one person, these visitors could be offered a more personalised view of a bigger platform, for example.

Paper Planes, by company Active Theory, encouraged users to create virtual planes on their phones. These could then be 'thrown' and show up on the desktop version of the site. There, visitors could watch as planes flew around the world and see where they had come from.

Interactions such as these can be made easier with WebSockets. Communication between a browser and the server is event based, avoiding the need to poll the server, which can often be wasteful and prone to delays. Projects such as Socket.io can make setting up WebSocket protocols easier.

Direct communication between devices can also have a powerful effect when users are together in the same room. Seb Lee-Delisle's PixelPhones project, for example, turned a crowd of screens into a makeshift display. Once all were connected, everybody became part of the experience.

WebRTC is a set of JavaScript APIs that makes real-time communication between browsers easier. It needs a server to set up a connection, media is sent directly between browsers, which makes interactions quick and simple to create. Now supported by all major browsers both on desktop and mobile.

05. Self-generative art

Infinitown, by Little Workshop, generates a procedural city that is unique each time you visit

Even the most creative of coding projects can become stale after a while. An element of randomness can keep things fresh each time a piece of code runs. While that can come from user input, it can be interesting to see what code is capable off when it's let off of the leash.

Instead of defining what the output of a block of code would be, define a set of rules for it to follow. When a random starting position is defined, the end results will vary completely.

Conway's Game of Life is a great place to start. In a defined grid, each square can either be 'on' or 'off' depending on the squares around it. By colouring the squares dependant on their state, it generates an image. Repeating the process multiple times shows how groups of squares mutate over time. Tweaking the rules on which they change can dramatically alter the outcome.

Using JavaScript with a <canvas> element makes this visual process fairly simple. By using requestAnimationFrame(), JavaScript can re-evaluate its environment each frame. From there it is a case of using the output of the last frame as input for the next frame and let the program take care of itself.

06. WebVR and Bluetooth

Creating VR experiences with a framework such as A-Frame is a lot less like hard work

While browsers are getting more capable and powerful every day, there is only so much that one viewport can provide. Thankfully, browsers are also expanding out of the browser too.

Virtual Reality has the ability to immerse the viewer in ways not possible before. WebVR is an open specification that allows access to these immersive worlds to the masses through the browser. It also helps bridge the gap between different device types, such as Google Cardboard and the HTC Vive.

Frameworks, such as A-Frame, can help bypass any complications by providing ready-to-go building blocks for VR experiences. Since these are built for performance and reliability, they leaves the creator free to make a great user experience.

Bluetooth is another option and an opportunity to forego a screen entirely. Chips are readily available and can be combined with different output devices to emit sound and light – all controlled by the browser through the Web Bluetooth API. The interface is promise based, which makes asynchronous communication somewhat easier.

Browser support varies as these technologies evolve. WebVR is currently supported in various states by development builds of Edge, Firefox and Chrome. Web Bluetooth only has support from Chrome right now, but others are considering it.

This article was originally published in issue 270 of Web Designer, the creative web design magazine – offering expert tutorials, cutting-edge trends and free resources. Buy issue 270 here or subscribe to Web Designer here.

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We've hit that time of year when resolutions start to wobble. So we've got a stack of cool new art books to keep you ticking over creatively. One title looks at the big ideas every artist needs to know. Another focuses on how to draw with the humble coloured pencil. And we also have a book that introduces the 'painting party'. 

We're also getting stuck into watercolour techniques this month. Whether you've let your painting skills slip or you're just starting out, we've got a great new book on watercolour 'experiments' for you to get stuck into. We also look at the art of Star Wars, a smart new art journal, and some of the best art supplies around. 

01. Drink Laugh Paint

Just don't mix up your drinks and your paints

• Price: $29.99/£19.99

Ever heard a painting party? The authors of this book, Kerner Schon and Jackie Schon, run The Paint Bar in Boston (it's a 'paint-and-sip studio'). Here they tell you how to host your own boozy art party. It includes a list of the materials you'll need, theme suggestions, drinks ideas, and postcard invitations. It doesn't speculate on what time the drinking usurps the painting as the party's main activity.

02. Magisso ceramic shot glasses

These ought to get your creative juices flowing

If you're going to host a painting party, host it right. Soak these shot glasses in water for a minute, then, when the water has evaporated, the ceramic's natural cooling effect kicks in, keeping your drink of choice nice and cold. That's not all though – you can also draw on the chalkboard surface. So next time you shoot a few tequilas, you can do it in the name of art.

03. The Art of Star Wars

Includes lots of cute Porg concept art

• Price: $40/£30

The Art of Star Wars: The Last Jedi gets stuck into the work of Lucasfilm's 'visualists' – costume sketches, storyboards, concept art – and offers a look behind the scenes at the development of the movie from the bottom up. It includes interviews with the key players, while the Lucasfilm team comment on the art. Not just one for the diehards, this is a proper insight into how artists help make a movie.

04. Watercolor Workshop

Beginners and watercolour veterans will find something to enjoy in this book

• Price: $24.99/£21.99

Sasha Prood puts a new spin on the traditional how-to book. She teaches you how to paint contemporary art by following her watercolour tips. They take the form of 100 experiments – wet-on-dry, wet-on-wet, flat washes, and so on – as well as colour and texture lessons. There's something here for both beginners and more advanced watercolour artists. 

05. Watercolour Workshop journal

Start planning your next project with this journal

• Price: $16.97/£14.99

Prood has released a journal to accompanying her watercolour how-to guide. But this isn't just an add-on. It's a smart journal in its own right – the cover, especially, with foil-stamped accents on Prood’s watercolour swatches – and has stained edges, full-colour art by Prood, and lined paper, for journaling or noting down your next big watercolour project. 

06. Winsor & Newton Cotman watercolours

The set won't stay this neat and clean for long...

Cotman is Winsor & Newton's entry-level range, aimed specifically at students and beginners. They're a good price, but come with the quality you'd expect from the brand. This sketchers pocket box is nice and portable, with 12 half pans and a brush, more than enough to get started or to paint on the go, and the lid doubles as a mixing palette.

07. Holbein watercolors: 24 colour set

Take your watercolours to the next level with this set

Once you've really got going in watercolours, you'll want to invest in some better materials. Holbein watercolours are "more finely ground than any other artist watercolour". That means you get smooth, non-bitty textures. The Japanese brand is also know for its big, lively, intense colours. This 24-piece sits right in the middles of a range that begins with a 12-piecer and goes up to 108. To complete your kit, take a look at guide to finding the right watercolour brush.

08. The Pocket Universal Principles of Art

Learn all about art in an approachable way

• Price: $12.99/£8.99

A good one if you're just getting serious about art, or if you're after a handy reference book for your studio. The Pocket Universal Principles of Art tackles 100 big ideas to help you better make and analyse art. The author, the artist and art teacher John A. Parks, aims to write "a book that presents the whole world of art in a way that is simple, clear and accessible".

09. Love Colored Pencils

Get awesome at drawing with this vibrant book

• Price: $19.99/£14.33

Vivian Wong shares her love of the humble coloured pencil in this book that promises to show you "how to get awesome at drawing". If you're already awesome, there's a ton of activities to work on within its pages, with each section demonstrating a particular technique before giving you space to practise it yourself.

10. Prismacolor Premier pencils

Low cost and high quality - what's not to love?

Prismacolour makes some of the best pencils around, and this Prismacolor Premier set is a top choice if you're after a great all-round set of coloured pencils. They're great for beginners (the price per pencil is low) but have the high-quality pigment more advanced artists look for. They blend well and are known for their buttery application. Really good for colouring books too.

Read more:

• How to draw: 95 pro tutorials and tips
• 15 influential art and design movements you should know
• How to hold a pencil correctly

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