Just Creative

JANUARY 3, 2021

This article has been contributed by Tracy Sparks. Sometimes finding the right road to travel down can feel like standing in front of a spaghetti junction. With so many paths twisting and turning up ahead, which one do you choose? Where do they all lead? When it comes to choosing a career, it’s important to find one in which you can thrive. You don’t need something that simply pays the bills, but something that challenges you to solve problems in new ways, where no two days are ever the same.

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Graphic Design Graphic Internet and Software Development Freelance 300

Speckyboy Design Magazine

JANUARY 26, 2021

It seems like every designer has a horror story or two (or seventeen) about getting ripped off by a client who refuses to pay. Once it happens, there’s not too much you can do. It sucks, but it’s the simple truth. If you didn’t get a contract or a clear payment process established in the beginning, a lot of the time you’re just going to have to eat the loss.

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Client Templates Freelance Freelance 144

Spoon Graphics

JANUARY 25, 2021

Follow along with today’s Adobe Illustrator tutorial to create a colourful text effect, which comprises of a stack of text elements that transition through the colour spectrum to produce a rainbow effect. This text style has somewhat of a retro vibe, with it being the kind of effect you might see on an old VHS tape box or brand identity for a 70-80s tech or media company.

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Adobe Illustration Illustrator Color 311

I Love Typography

JANUARY 13, 2021

Read the book, Typographic Firsts. After a decade, ILT's annual Favorite Fonts list is back. In addition to a ten top favorite typefaces, there are now 50 typefaces in the Honorable Mentions list; and a section devoted to my favorite glyphs or characters of 2020, and a few words about my magical selection process. Oh, and there's even a typographic Space Invaders Easter egg!

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Fonts Typography 364

Speaker: Amber Asay, Creative Director and Founder of award-winning design studio Nice People

Understanding what trends are happening and how they’re impacting the competitive landscape is crucial to providing top dollar design strategy to your clients. With so many trends coming and going, it can be overwhelming to determine which ones you should capitalize on and which ones might not be worth the trouble. In this exclusive webinar with Amber Asay, we’ll explore graphic design trends that need to die, trends that are starting to pick up and why, trends that have come and gone, and how t

Graphic Design

Creative Review

JANUARY 28, 2021

Reimagining one of Penguin’s classic titles would be a dream commission for most designers, let alone being let loose on the work of arguably England’s most celebrated writer, George Orwell. The author and social commentator’s most famous work, Nineteen Eighty-Four, has been reimagined by everyone from designer David Pearson to illustrator Noma Bar in recent years.

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SpeckyBoy

JANUARY 8, 2021

Are you struggling to find that particular font that matches your creative vision? Well, you have come to the right place. We have collected fifty beautifully clean and stunningly crisp free fonts that will hopefully make your search that little bit easier. All of the free fonts in this collection can be used in both your personal and commercial projects.

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Fonts Arts and Crafts Typography Brand 140

Speckyboy Design Magazine

JANUARY 31, 2021

Technically, there’s no limit to the amount of design and content elements you can place onto a website. But the reality is that the space for getting a user’s attention is finite. That’s because a visitor typically reacts to what they see in the first few seconds after page load. Anything not visible within that timeframe will likely be missed. Designers and content creators alike have to carefully consider what is included.

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Templates Theme Web Design Web Design 143

Spoon Graphics

JANUARY 11, 2021

I love adding dirty textures to my designs to eliminate the clean digital appearance of computer-generated artwork. My new set of Dirty Surface Textures has been created from layers and layers of real surface grime to help you add authentic dirt effects with intricate details to your work, which just can’t be replicated with built-in Photoshop filters alone.

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Textures Photoshop Digital Graphic 353

Noupe

JANUARY 13, 2021

Marketing employs a wide range of design tactics to catch customer’s eyes, resonate, and leave a lasting impression. A marketer’s goal is conversion and they use every means possible to make that happen. Did you know that an incredibly powerful conversion design aspect lies in the art of typography? From serif to sans serif fonts, kerning, and size variations, the way your words appear dramatically changes the power of your message.

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Infographics Typography Fonts Publication 136

Creative Review

JANUARY 8, 2021

While 2020 was generally pretty miserable for a lot of brands, Burger King managed to buck the trend with a wealth of brilliant creative work, most significantly in its Moldy Whopper campaign , which swept the awards circuit. The fast food giant is showing no signs of slowing down as we enter a new year, however, having just unveiled its first major rebrand in over two decades.

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Fonts Brand Branding Media 140

Advertiser: Issuu

Brands must create and share impactful content to thrive, but they have less people, tighter budgets, and fewer resources to do so. Learn how to publish and market digital content with the same professionalism as organizations with million-dollar budgets.

Publishing

SpeckyBoy

JANUARY 2, 2021

Instagram stories are a great way to connect with your followers and give them a glimpse into your personal life as well as exclusive behind the scene updates. However, creating an Instagram story from scratch can be time-consuming. That’s where Instagram Story templates come in handy. In this roundup, we’re featuring the best Instagram Story templates that will allow you to create and share your stories in a consistent manner and get them published quickly.

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Templates Photoshop Adobe Color Schemes 138

Just Creative

JANUARY 3, 2021

This article has been contributed by Nicholas Rubright. If you’re running a business, you can’t just hope for leads to come to you. You need an inbound marketing strategy to attract potential clients. That’s where a blog can help you. But setting up and writing a blog is only one part of the equation. To succeed in business, you need a blog that turns leads into paying customers and offers something unique to potential clients.

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Internet and Software Development Production Marketing Marketing 349

Logo Design Love

JANUARY 6, 2021

In the words of Richard Baird, the idea behind the latest issue of his LogoArchive zine is, “to evoke — through materials, processes, form, content and ‘atmosphere and ceremony’ — ‘akogare,’ a deep feeling of respect and admiration for those I look up to, and a feeling of never being able to reach the same level. Japanese publications such as IDEA and ‘Graphic Design,’ and the works of Japanese designers Issey Miyake, Ikko Tanaka, and Kazumasa Nagai were key inspirations for this new issue.

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Print Publication Graphic Design Marketing 135

Speckyboy Design Magazine

JANUARY 8, 2021

How to Use Color Fonts on the Web – Get the details behind one of the hottest new trends in typography. The Rise and Fall of Invision – A look at why the design tool suite has plummeted in popularity. SidePage – Check out this simple free tool for quickly creating professional documentation. Houdini.how – Helpful snippets for use with the Houdini low-level CSS API. 50+ Free Awesome Certificates to Earn in 2021 – Up your game with this curated list of free Computer Science & Information Techn

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Fonts Typography Magazine Client 131

Advertisement

As the design industry evolves, teams are facing new challenges and a need to produce more outstanding creative work than ever. Leaders must learn how to adapt their processes to solve today’s—and tomorrow’s—unique design challenges. In this e-book, you’ll learn how to establish your creative workflow and leverage the power of CorelDRAW® Graphics Suite to streamline the entire design process, from start to finish.

Graphic

Designmodo

JANUARY 14, 2021

This post is originally published on Designmodo: Top Web Design and UI Trends for 2021. Jumpstart new projects and website redesigns with a few of the hottest elements in design for 2021. These trending styles are sure to help you create in a way that’ modern, fresh and perfect for the new year. Here’s the … For more information please contact Designmodo.

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Web Design Web Design Publishing Publishing 145

Creative Review

JANUARY 27, 2021

When London was placed into tier three restrictions after the first national lockdown, photographer and Kingston University student Cassian Gray decided to shine a light on unrepresented key workers in society. “There had been an extensive amount of coverage for NHS workers … and that’s when I thought of the Royal Mail postal workers,” explains Gray. “Their iconography really struck me; their bold red uniform with the recognisable Royal Mail logo emblazoned on the c

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Fine Art Photography Art Inspiration 144

SpeckyBoy

JANUARY 2, 2021

Photoshop actions can take a lot of the guesswork out of editing and finishing your photos. However, but if you don’t have a handy set of resources on hand, it might be a struggle to figure out how to proceed. That’s why we’ve put together this collection of Photoshop actions that make it super easy to add artistic effects to your images.

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Just Creative

JANUARY 5, 2021

This article has been contributed by Jyoti Roy. So, you have created a new website and now you want to monetize your blog. Not a problem – it can be a straightforward process. But to make money from your website, you need web traffic – and the key to generating traffic is successful search engine optimisation (SEO). There are plenty of SEO related articles on the internet that will help you get started.

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Publishing Publishing Media Photo Editing 323

Advertisement

In today’s competitive markets, how do you make sure that your content not only stands out but performs well? How can you predict whether certain design choices will result in clicks, engagement, downloads, and other drivers of ROI? Shutterstock’s Creative Insights Report (Q3) is your window into the hottest trends that are transforming the creative world.

Theme

Its Nice That

JANUARY 7, 2021

The fast food chain’s first redesign in over 20 years brings back a 60s logo and introduces a brand font inspired by the shape of its burgers, with a rich new colour palette, to create a more digital-friendly identity.

Fonts 145

Fonts Digital Brand Branding 145

Speckyboy Design Magazine

JANUARY 5, 2021

The time has come. The WordPress Gutenberg block editor has become reliable enough to power your existing website. You can now eschew that aged page builder plugin in favor of a native content editor. That’s the situation I’ve found myself in. A client that has, for years, utilized a bundled, out-of-date page builder is ready for change. Thus, I’m charged with helping to convert existing layouts and features to blocks.

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Layout Client Web Design Web Design 144

Design Week

JANUARY 18, 2021

Pentagram partners Sascha Lobe and Yuri Suzuki have designed the new identity for the Musical Instrumental Digital Interface (MIDI), based on musical forms and frequency waves. The work includes a new logo (static and sonic), sound design, video and motion graphics as well as typography. MIDI is used by musicians, producers and DJs as a way to create and share musical work.

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Patterns Typography Exhibition Graphic 101

Colossal

JANUARY 14, 2021

By Andrew Hem. What brings you hope? That’s the central question behind a new group exhibition presented by Port City Creative Guild. Couriers of Hope boasts more than 120 original pieces from more than 90 artists—the list includes Rosanne Kang Jovanovski , Andrew Hem ( previously ), Sean Chao ( previously ), and Yoskay Yamamoto —all rendered on vintage envelopes.

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Artist Exhibition Art Media 101

Speaker: Eden Spivak, Design Expert and Editor at Wix & Nir Horesh, Accessibility Lead and Senior Product Manager at Wix

When we design products or websites for people like ourselves, there are many others who are, as a result, left out. From visually impaired users who rely on assistive technology, to people with a temporary injury such as a broken arm, tech users are forever diverse and beautifully unique. The products we design can, and should, reflect the extremely wide range of human experiences and needs.

Web Design

Spine Magazine

JANUARY 6, 2021

Optical illusions can be puzzling, amusing and headache-inducing (often all at the same time). Theories on how they work have been expounded on since the time of the Ancient Greeks, with philosopher Aristotle noticing that when you look at a waterfall and then shifted your gaze to static rocks nearby, it appeared as though the rocks were moving in the opposite direction than the waterfall.

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Illustration Illustrator 140

Just Creative

JANUARY 31, 2021

Halftone refers to a photo or other image that has been reproduced, and dots of ink produce the gray or color tones of the image. Famously, Andy Warhol would use halftones on his photographic prints. Seeing his work and the other creations that artists can come up with using their Procreate app, we thought it was about time we put the focus on the best Halftone Brushes for Procreate.

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Textures Patterns Illustration Illustrator 316

Abduzeedo

JANUARY 14, 2021

Paintings of Street Scenes from Japan. AoiroStudio 01.13.21 A new year has started, alongside my partner and some friends; we all deeply miss Japan. Let's just put it this way and we miss everything about Japan, it's not like we will have the opportunity soon to come back (Hopefully!). But it's a reality we are all facing, other than seeing all the foreigners (and friends too) enjoy themselves and make sure to share them on social media!

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Animation Media Artist Illustration 96

Speckyboy Design Magazine

JANUARY 19, 2021

For over two decades, I’ve been fortunate enough to work from home. No maddening commute and all the coffee I can handle. Sounds pretty cool, right? And, even when a global pandemic sent the world scrambling to work remotely, things stayed relatively the same here (save for my child enrolling in online school ). Being in a familiar environment, away from all the chaos, is a true blessing.

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Freelance Freelance Templates Web Design 139

Speaker: Michele Berdinis

This session will answer business law questions that people are asking most during the pandemic. If my business can’t pay its bills, can my creditors come after my personal assets? Do I have to pay the rent on my co-working space or office? Can my clients cancel signed contracts? Can I cancel contracts for things I no longer need because my business has slowed down?

Client

Design Week

JANUARY 20, 2021

In the 1950s, Ladybird’s What to Look for series launched with a playful look at spring and autumn. The season-inspired books were written by E.L. Grant Watson and illustrated by painter Charles Tunnicliffe, aiming to show children the changing events in the four seasons across the UK. The series has now been revived for the first time in 60 years by Ladybird, Penguin’s design-led children’s imprint.

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Animation Illustration Illustrator Textures 99

Colossal

JANUARY 8, 2021

All images © Ted Chin, shared with permission. In Ted Chin ’s surreal dreamland, it’s not uncommon to see massive anglerfish swimming through the sky or a figure scooping up shooting stars. The San Francisco-based artist merges idyllic landscapes and outdoor scenes with fantastical details, choosing to upturn an evergreen in mid-air or position an oversized octopus underneath a floating house.

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Photoshop Travel Artist Digital 101

Creative Review

JANUARY 28, 2021

Organised by letterpress studio New North Press, the exhibition was originally held at the Standpoint Gallery in London, where it opened in December but then had to close due to the latest UK Covid-19 lockdown. It has since reached people online and via a catalogue of the works featured. While the events of last year make an exhibition about protest very timely, planning for it actually began in December 2019. “That’s when we chose the subject of protest,” says Richard Ardagh,

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Exhibition Artist Print Gallery 136

Just Creative

JANUARY 4, 2021

Some of the biggest brands in the world use a gothic font in their logos. Don’t believe us? Go take a quick look at the logos for Adidas, Mobil, Macy’s, Groupon, or even the original logo for Microsoft. All of them use some type of gothic font whether it be a humanistic gothic sans serif or a more traditional blackletter. So we thought that if some of the biggest companies on the planet trust a font this implicitly, how could it help you make your work better?

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Fonts Brand Branding Banners 303

Speaker: Sean Adams, ArtCenter College of Design

Thomas Edison once said “Vision without execution is hallucination.” This statement applies not just to invention, but to graphic design. One of the greatest strengths of graphic designers is the ability to first develop a concept and then execute it to make it real. From visualization and ideation all the way through to actuation and execution, each step of this process takes skill and expertise.

Graphic Design