Just Creative
SEPTEMBER 27, 2020
This article has been contributed by Aslam Multani. First impressions matter. The first interaction a potential customer has with your brand is usually on your website. The way you design and develop your website can make or break your conversion rates. If you see an increase in your website traffic but not in sales, then it is time for you to evaluate your website design.
Noupe
SEPTEMBER 28, 2020
Becoming more efficient is something every business can benefit from. It helps you to work faster and more accurately, ensuring that projects are completed on time and within budget. Solopreneur designers can benefit even more from increasing their efficiency because their margins for error and wastage are so much smaller — an inefficient project could be the difference between your company taking the next step or going under.
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Envato Tuts+
SEPTEMBER 28, 2020
What You'll Be Creating I've always been fascinated by smoke and have experimented a lot with it. So in this tutorial, I'll explain how to create a realistic smoky texture, make it into a smoke vector brush, and use it for type. Using the techniques in this tutorial, we will create the smoke illustration seen below. This is perfect if you want your words written in smoke, so let's light up our vector cigarettes and get started smokin'!
Designer Daily
OCTOBER 2, 2020
For its Great Ideas series, Penguin worked with book cover expert David Pearson , a graphic designer based in the UK. The designer took a type-based approach to nail the covers of these non-fiction books that feature no less than authors like George Orwell, Virginia Woolf, or Karl Marx. Pearson’s collaboration started early in the branding of the series, and he even coined the series name.
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
Spoon Graphics
OCTOBER 2, 2020
This week Access All Areas members have a new collection of high quality Photoshop Actions to download courtesy of Shutter Pulse. This set allows you to apply nightmare-inspired effects to your photos, with eerie colour casts and dark contrast, just like the colour grading of horror movies! There are 10 photo effect actions to choose from, plus an additional time-saving action to apply all 10 nightmare effects in one go so you can compare and find the one that complements your image the best.
Just Creative
SEPTEMBER 30, 2020
First appearing as part of the Tang Dynasty, ink painting, or ink wash painting as it is also known, has a long storied history. Since those days though, with advancements in technology, the days of having jars of ink on your desk are long gone. Now, we the advent of technology, you can create incredible works of art right on your iPad with the Procreate app.
Graphic Arts Today brings together the best content for graphic arts professionals from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
Creative Review
SEPTEMBER 29, 2020
Dior’s new Fall 2020 collection has been playfully reimagined as vibrant illustrations by Italian artist and illustrator Olimpia Zagnoli. The visuals were created digitally, but have the loose, handmade feel of traditional painting, with thick brushstrokes and figures presented in exaggerated proportions. “After talking to [Dior creative director] Maria Grazia Chiuri about the inspiration behind the collection, I thought a fluid, almost wet approach to the canvas was going to give th
Spoon Graphics
SEPTEMBER 28, 2020
Apply detailed wood grain effects to your lettering, logos, and graphics with the help of my free Dark Wood Texture Mockups. These Photoshop files contain Smart Object layers you can paste your artwork into, which will then be automatically processed to apply the wood grain texturing. Every fibre and knot will be erased from your artwork to give it a weathered effect that is ideal for rustic or outdoors themed designs.
SpeckyBoy
SEPTEMBER 28, 2020
Most web and graphic designers use Photoshop on a daily basis as one of the main tools of the trade. Photoshop is incredibly powerful for designing and for photo editing, but Adobe also has Lightroom, which can be used for processing/editing photos and for the organization of photo files. As a designer you probably work with a lot of images, including those provided by clients, purchased stock photos, free stock photos , and possibly even your own photos.
Booooooom
OCTOBER 2, 2020
A selection of personal and commissioned work by artist Steph Lau. While Lau’s personal work involves drawing in physical mediums like sketchbooks and textile pieces, the things she creates for herself usually end up fuelling the 2D and 3D digital pieces she gets commissioned to do. “I’m endlessly inspired by the timeless artistry of nature, and our relationship with it across different cultures.
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.
Noupe
SEPTEMBER 29, 2020
Using the neon effect in Photoshop may sound a little too simplistic for experienced Photoshop users but the effect it can have on your design is certainly not so simple. This fun design effect turns the design process into an experimental and vibey journey. The neon effect has a variety of different application methods and can be found in almost any type of visual.
Creative Review
OCTOBER 1, 2020
With an observational outlook and sharp wit to match even the most established political cartoonists, Reuben Dangoor is a name to take note of. The London-based illustrator is known as much for his music-themed collaborations as his striking visual commentaries on social injustices such as the Grenfell Tower fire and the migrant crisis. Born and raised in Hackney, east London, Dangoor was exposed to creativity from a young age, and the house he grew up in was constantly full of photos that his d
SpeckyBoy
OCTOBER 2, 2020
Seamless and tileable patterns are a great way to enhance your projects. They add extra depth and richness to your designs so having them in your library is a sensible choice. You can use them in both your web and print projects. For example, a seamless pattern is a great way to create an attractive business card or product packaging. With seamless patterns you are only limited by your imagination, so why not make use of all the great seamless patterns we have for you today and let your creativi
Speckyboy Design Magazine
SEPTEMBER 28, 2020
Like so many families around the globe, ours has had to make some difficult decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the most agonizing was what to do about school. Should we send our daughter back to traditional school, or should we opt for an online school? Out of both concerns for safety and consistency, we chose the online program offered by our local school district.
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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.
Noupe
SEPTEMBER 30, 2020
There was a time when bright colors and bold typography dominated the design world. But graphic design as we know it is ever-evolving. What worked a year ago may no longer be as effective today, making it important for designers to keep up with the latest trends. What does 2021 have in store for graphic design, you ask? To make it easier for you, the team at Venngage has compiled an infographic on some of the biggest graphic design trends that will dominate the coming year.
Creative Review
SEPTEMBER 28, 2020
We’ve seen a whole raft of virtual exhibitions, events and other digital experiments in response to the pandemic. The V&A is the latest arts institution to embrace the virtual world, with the news that it is collaborating with HTC Vive Arts to coincide with the release of tickets for its hotly anticipated Alice in Wonderland exhibition, which opens to the public in 2021.
SpeckyBoy
OCTOBER 1, 2020
Apple’s Macbook has become a synonym for quality and thanks to these Macbook mockup templates for Photoshop, so can your work! Illustrating the quality of your design to your clients during a presentation can be hard, especially when you’re in software or web development. Yes, you’ve listed all the features and their benefits, taken the appropriate screenshots, but a picture is still worth a thousand words.
Six Leaf Design
OCTOBER 1, 2020
I opened the front door of our house this weekend to feel the crisp air and smell the cool scent of fall on the breeze. It’s refreshing after a ridiculously long, hot summer here in Denver and I’m looking forward to what I’m sure will be a short autumn before winter hooks it’s claws into us. To be honest I’m dreading feeling even more trapped inside our homes than ever with the pandemic plus cold weather keeping us in.
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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.
Booooooom
SEPTEMBER 29, 2020
Ana Miminoshvili. Ana Miminoshvili’s Website. Ana Miminoshvili on Instagram.
Creative Review
OCTOBER 1, 2020
Titles range from stirring feminist manifestos to musings on happiness, civil rights, anarchy and the power of language – all wrapped up in pocket-size editions. Sojourner Truth’s Ain’t I A Woman features the activist’s speeches, while Peter Singer’s Why Vegan explores the ethical questions around eating animals. How To Be A Stoic, which collects the words of three Stoic philosophers on how to face life’s difficulties, feels particularly relevant for right now
Speckyboy Design Magazine
SEPTEMBER 29, 2020
Jeff Starr is not the first person to serendipitously find his way into the WordPress community. After all, many of us have discovered and since fallen in love with the CMS. But he has become one of its most prolific and recognizable members. The author of four books, along with dozens of both free and premium WordPress plugins, Jeff’s work has likely touched more of our projects than we can count.
Ohn Mar Win
SEPTEMBER 26, 2020
In this two-post series, I'm going to share my biggest takeaways and lessons learned from my illustration journey so far. These posts came about as part of a journaling exercise, and I thought they would be valuable insights to share. Please note: I am sharing my own personal experiences of being an illustrator and surface designer. I don’t intend to dictate industry-wide best practices or recommendations, and I’m not trying to be prescriptive.
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.
SpeckyBoy
SEPTEMBER 27, 2020
Article Index. Portfolio Bootstrap Templates. Landing Page Templates. Single-Page Bootstrap Templates. Multi-Purpose Templates. Creative Agency Templates. Coming Soon Templates. Material Design Templates. Style Guide Templates. Bootstrap UI kits. We have collected 50 Bootstrap templates for you to freely use in your next project. We have purposefully omitted all of that starter, straightforward and unstyled templates from this round-up, of which there is a multitude freely available on the web.
Creative Review
SEPTEMBER 27, 2020
Next year, the Bob Dylan Center is set to open in the Tulsa Arts District in Oklahoma, US. The institution will be one of the only public venues for the musician’s archive and is set to exhibit a collection of more than 100,000 items spanning Dylan’s career. To help bring it to life, creative studio Base Design, which has hubs in New York, Brussels, Melbourne and Geneva, was brought on to create the logo and identity system set to be used across a range of applications and the websit
Speckyboy Design Magazine
SEPTEMBER 28, 2020
Often an HDR effect is a desired look for professional photographs. But what if you lack the equipment to achieve this? That’s where Photoshop actions come in. With just a few clicks, it’s possible to add an HDR effect to your photos and give them incredible depth. What we’ve compiled here is a great selection of HDR effect Photoshop actions that produce stunning results and save you a ton of time.
Design Week
OCTOBER 2, 2020
The third year of book cover designer David Pearson’s university degree at Central Saint Martins, he admits, should have been spent focusing on his degree show. But rather than following the example set by his classmates, Pearson was job hunting. He tells Design Week the search was all-consuming: “I was terrified of graduating without a job and having to move back to Grimsby, so I tried to get the jump on everyone else.” It was a good strategy, it turns out – the day afte
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.
Colossal
SEPTEMBER 30, 2020
All images © Sofia Crespo, shared with permission. Sofia Crespo describes her work as the “natural history book that never was.” The Berlin-based artist uses artificial neural networks to generate illustrations that at first glance, resemble Louis Renard’s 18th Century renderings or the exotic specimens of Albertus Seba’s compendium.
Creative Review
SEPTEMBER 29, 2020
Tara Anand is an editorial illustrator who splits her time between Mumbai and New York City. “I grew up in an incredibly creative environment, my mother is an artist so I was introduced to painting very early on, as most children are,” says Anand. “The difference is that my early artistic endeavours were being shaped by someone with an art education and years working and experimenting in many disciplines.” Her family are also big on books at home and this is how Anand got
Speckyboy Design Magazine
OCTOBER 1, 2020
A great example of a logo using symmetry is McDonalds with its golden arches. When symmetry is used in logo design, it’s a powerful way of shaping the image and perception that the target audience will have of the brand in question. Put simply, a symmetrical logo is a logo in which the left side is identical with the right. However, there are different levels of symmetry used in logo design in order to communicate certain ideas and meanings.
Design Week
SEPTEMBER 30, 2020
Living Cocoon, by Bob Hendrikx. Courtesy of Bob Hendrikx There have been plenty of design solutions to the funeral industry’s sustainability crisis , from liquid cremation to biodegradable burial pods. Loop of Life is billed as “the world’s first living coffin” and has been designed by Bob Hendrikx. It is made from mycelium (a fungal network of mushroom) which is an “effective recycler” It transforms organic matter into nutrients for the ground, thereby creati
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