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Steve Jobs 1955-2011
The passing of Steve Jobs- one of the greatest technological visionaries of our time has brought grief to mac users, apple fans and technology enthusiasts around the world. The Apple homepage says more with one photo and 18 characters than any article or blog ever could.
The photo is iconic. The fact that all advertising has been removed speaks to his personality, which always put people before products. The clean, bare design is representative not only of his influential impact on simplicity in design, but also of the blankness that is left in his wake.
His genius has impacted our lives in more ways than I could possibly count. From the invention of the mouse, which has changed the way we interact with computers, to the iPod, which forever changed the way we listen to and even purchase our music, to the iPhone which broke grounds in the cellular world, to the first developed tablet, the iPad.
Steve Jobs has set a path that other technology companies have followed in his dust. His concepts broke barriers and produced the impossible. They were so well developed and tested that competitors rushing to push products would inevitably fail in comparison. He wasn’t concerned with making a fast dollar; he was concerned with consumer experience and satisfaction. He was concerned with changing the world. And in my opinion, he was successful.
As a designer, I am inspired not only by Steve Jobs intellectual and technological genius, but also by his highly visual, creative, and effective design style. He prided himself on clean, simple uncluttered design. From advertising to product to OS interface- everything is streamlined, usability is uncomplicated, and marketing materials are oh so pretty.
Steve Jobs saw the world through our eyes and gave us what we needed… what we didn’t know we wanted… what we didn’t even think could exist. Honor his life and his work with me and thousands others on Oct 14. for “Steve Jobs Day“
Posted in Inspiration
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Top 10 Design Blogs
1. Design.org
Design.org is a highly visual professional blog that covers all areas of design. With inspiration, interviews, education and tutorials, Design.org seeks to help designers and those inspired by design to create a better world and promote their efforts on a global stage. With a clean layout and short articles focused on imagery, this blog is great to glance at any time.
2. Media Militia
Media Militia is a great place to gather free design resources, tutorials, and inspiration. Download project files and designer resources for tutorials or jump start your design with a wide range of inspirational artwork.
3. DesignModo
DesignModo is a great resource of informative material for designers, web developers, graphic artists and just the curious looking for inspiration. DesignModo provides design, web development and art-oriented articles and promotes the works of talented artists from all over the world. If you’re looking to really enhance your knowledge base as a designer, this is a great blog to visit.
4. Speckyboy
Speckyboy offers insightful tutorials, time-saving techniques, fresh and useful resources and inspirational art covering web design and development, graphic design, advertising, mobile development and even the occasional Lego post. They love to showcase the best and most innovative web design styles, keep you up to date with the latest in current design trends and highlight the latest in web technologies. Speckyboy is one of my personal favorite blogs for all things design.
5. Smashing Magazine
Smashing Magazine delivers useful and innovative information to Web designers and developers. Their aim is to inform readers about the latest trends and techniques in Web development. They’ve provided an environment for designers to share their work. Nourished by the gratitude of its benefactors and powered by the reach of social networking, this community has produced a wide variety of high-quality articles, resources and tools, available to everybody. It is another one of my favorite online design resources.
6. Abduzeedo
Abduzeedo is a collection of visual inspiration, articles and tutorials covering a range of subjects and software. One of the goals of Abduzeedo is to be an open channel to the design community, encouraging feedback. The Daily Inspiration is a proof of that, allowing anyone to send images that inspired them to share with the community. It’s a great way for designers to interact and get feedback from each other.
7. Typography Daily
Typography Daily is a blog designed to share the love of typography. It covers all aspects of type from creative use to free fonts. Typography Daily showcases inspiration designs from packaging to hand-drawn alphabets and everything in between. If your type needs help, this is the site to inspire you.
8. Design Milk
Design Milk is an online magazine dedicated to modern design. It covers art, architecture, interior design, furniture and decor, fashion, and technology. Design Milk has been featured in several magazines and is a great resource for any designer. Exploring design trends across mediums is a great inspirational tool.
9. 1stwebdesigner
1stWebDesigner is a design blog dedicated to bloggers, freelancers, web-developers and designers. This blog is full of tutorials, inspiration, discussions, case studies, interviews, design news, design tools and freebies. There are a lot of well written thorough blog posts useful to anyone working in the design field.
10. The Wooster Collective
The Wooster Collective is dedicated to showcasing and celebrating ephemeral art placed on streets in cities around the world. Their mission is to discover and document authentic art experiences and share them with the world. This blog is different from the rest in that it’s not for career designers. It’s for artists and designers who create for the sake of creation. With videos, pictures and articles, this blog is a great place to get in touch with your roots as an artist.
Free Photoshop Gradients & Layer Styles
Layer styles and gradients are great design tools that are fast and easy to use. They can be used on text, shapes, and just about any layer you create in Photoshop. Adding a glossy layer style to a simple shape can create a professional looking web button in seconds. Adding a gradient to a background can make the foreground pop. Every designer should have a library of gradients and layer styles. Below are some free sources.
1stwebdesigner is a design blog dedicated to web-developers and designers. They post tutorials, inspiration, discussions, case studies, interviews, design news and all kinds of design tools including layer styles and gradients. I recommend browsing through the freebies section as well!
My Photoshop Brushes is another great site to find tons of free Photoshop tools including layer styles and gradients. MPB covers most Photoshop extras including brushes, patterns and custom shapes. Most of the resources are free use and the site stays on top of designed trends.
This blog post on Best Design Options gives very thorough visual instructions on how to install gradients. It also includes links to download hundreds of free gradients. There is a wide variety so check them out!
http://designmodo.com/great-collection-of-free-photoshop-layer-styles/
Posted in Freebies
Tagged Free Photoshop Gradients, free photoshop Layer Styles, gradients, Layer Styles
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5 Keys to Get the Design Job You Want
When it comes to finding a job in the design field you need to approach your search from multiple angles. You want as many options and interviews as possible. Don’t accept the first offer thrown your way. Find the job with the right position, the right pay, the right hours, the right culture, and the right benefits. This is a career move. Hopefully you will be working for this company years to come. Know what you’re looking for and don’t settle for anything less.
1. BRAND YOURSELF AND CREATE AN ONLINE PRESENCE.
You need an online portfolio. This is not optional. The best approach is to design and build your own unique portfolio site. If this isn’t an option you need to post your work on a free portfolio site such as carbonmade. If a potential employer can’t see your work online they will likely discard your application. I recommend creating a logo for yourself and using it consistently on your portfolio, resume, email signature, etc. This makes you appear more professional and can help you stand out in the eyes of potential employers.
Don’t underestimate social networking. Create a business page on Facebook and invite your friends. Update with current projects and photos/videos of your work. Create a twitter account dedicated to your professional interests and connect with others in the same field. Simply tweeting links to your latest work can get it in front of the right person.
2. NETWORK. NETWORK. NETWORK.
Contact everyone you’ve had a positive relationship with in your field. Everyone you’ve worked with, gone to school with, met at conferences, or even had a passing discussion with. Send a friendly email with the type of position you’re looking for and a link to your online portfolio and resume. Keep it short, ask a question or two about how they’ve been and express your gratitude for their help. These people are in the best position to help you find a job but also let your friends and family know that you’re looking. Sometimes they have connections that may know of opportunities. Bottom line, let anyone and everyone know you’re looking for a job.
3. POST YOUR RESUME ON JOB SITES.
Of course. You know this. But make sure it’s been proof read by at least 2 people. Typos get resumes trashed. Most job sites allow you to create a profile. Fill out everything. Write a professional bio describing your background, strengths and skills and the type of position you’re looking for. Include links to your portfolio. Now this is going to sound like a pain (and it IS) but you need to create profiles on as many relevant job sites as you can. The more you’re out there, the more likely you are to be seen. Here are some good sites: LinkedIn, Creativehotlist, ProductionHUB, Dice, Indeed, Simply Hired, Motionographer, authentic jobs, design:related, Coroflot, Job Fox
4. SUBMIT. SUBMIT. SUBMIT.
Research companies you know you’d like to work for. Check the job boards and apply for all positions you’re interested in. Include a cover letter that gives a brief professional bio and your reasons for interest in the company. (Show them you’ve done your research and let them know you’re excited for any opportunity at their company.) If there are no jobs listed that meet your criteria find contact information for general job inquiries or a manager/director in the department you want to apply for. Describe your skills and express your interest in the company. It may seem like a waste of time but I’ve actually been offered jobs and developed new professional contacts by “cold selling” myself.
Next you need to search through every job posting you can find and submit your resume to every position that sounds somewhat appealing. You don’t always get a full picture of the potential job from a description online. You want as many call-backs and interviews as possible. You are interviewing the company as much as the company is interviewing you. Don’t feel pressured into an offer. Accept only if you’re 100% this is the job you want for the next several years.
5. FIND RECRUITERS WHO SPECIALIZE IN YOUR FIELD.
It certainly doesn’t hurt to have a third party with a vested interest in finding you a job. Recruiters charge the hiring company a fee on top of your salary requirements for your hire so it never costs you a penny. While you’re submitting to your favorite companies and job postings your recruiter is submitting you to positions you haven’t even heard of. Recruiters are also a good resource to ask for feedback on your online portfolio and resume. They have ample experience placing designers and generally won’t charge a fee to look over your work and offer advice.
My only warning is to be sure your recruiter understands your preferred job position and required salary before they send you on an interview. Recruiters tend to try and place you in jobs that don’t necessarily reflect your strongest skill set or meet your salary requirements in order to obtain their placement fee. Asking for a clear job description and your pay submission rate should clear up any confusion before hand.
More Resources
Find Out What You’re Worth
About Employee Benefits
More Creative Job Search Advice
Posted in Productivity, Tutorials
Tagged design jobs, find job, how to get design job, keys to get the job you want
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The 3 Best Design Magazines
I must admit I’m not the biggest magazine fan these days. There are too many good design blogs to occupy my time. But there is something great about holding design in your hands. Feeling the paper, inhaling the ink, appreciating the print quality. It’s a nostalgic way to experience design in today’s technology based world. I recommend any designer subscribe to a few print magazines to enhance your inspiration experience.
Comm Arts is one of my favorite magazines for advertising, illustration, interactive and photography inspiration. This highly visual magazine focuses on current and upcoming design trends. “Since 1959, more graphic designers, art directors, creative directors, commercial photographers and illustrators have turned to Communication Arts for ideas and inspiration than to any other creative publication. What makes Communication Arts so special? Our unique combination of respected juried Annuals, in-depth profiles in our multi-topic issues and numerous informative columns makes Communication Arts the premier publication to cover all aspects of visual communications.”
Baseline is my absolute favorite typography magazine. It’s bold, artistic, contemporary and it keeps up with cutting edge design trends. During 21 years of publication, Baseline has become the leading international magazine focusing on typography. It sets out to reflect all aspects of type, including its design, history, use, and links to the graphic, art and craft scenes. The magazine’s contents are deliberately eclectic. It values originality of thought, while giving due weight to academic research. The design is approached with intellectual vigor. It has a distinct personality, lending emphasis to humanism.
Advanced Photoshop magazine is the perfect magazine for polishing up already great Photoshop skills. Aimed towards Adobe Photoshop professionals and enthusiasts, every issue prides itself on its unbeatable quality and sophisticated content. Every month you can have the chance to develop your techniques with a bunch of creative and challenging Masterclass and Workshop tutorials. Their intention is to give you the chance to learn new tricks and fine-tune your skills. The magazine comes with a CD each issue loaded with freebies and project files for tutorials.
After Effects Tutorials
The Adobe Site has tutorials and learning resources from Adobe and community experts that give beginners and experienced users a core overview of Adobe After Effects. Everything from navigating the interface to applying advanced effects can be found here. There are links to Adobe’s help and support site and After Effects forums. It’s a great place to start.
Layers Magazine Online has tutorials for all Adobe software including After Effects. Many of the tutorials explain complex tools and concepts inside After Effects and how to apply them. This isn’t necessarily a site to go to for high-end effects but it’s great for learning the ins and outs of After Effects beyond what you learned in school.
ae.tutsplus has high quality effects and in-depth video tutorials by multiple designers. There are tons of advanced tutorials covering professional looking effects, text treatments and animations. The videos are free to watch but you must pay a small membership fee to download source files. Many of the tutorials also require 3rd party plug-ins such as Trapcode.
Video Copilot has a lot of great video tutorials with quality cutting edge effects. The only catch is that Video Copilot sells an assortment of their own presets, design elements, effects and stock footage which you must purchase to complete some of their tutorials. They are fairly low priced and very professional looking so it’s worth the investment for some of your favorites. They also have some great tutorials that don’t require purchasing products and Video Copilot gives source files away for free.
Maxafter provides users with highly professional royalty free After Effects tutorials and templates. These high-end effects require 3ds Max integration in many cases so it’s helpful if you’re familiar with this program. (And own the student or trial version if you can’t afford the pricey professional version) Source files are free to download in most cases and there are several great after effects templates to purchase at reasonable prices.
Maltaannon is a video tutorial blog by a Motion Graphics designer from Poland. He shares lessons he uses in application working as a designer. This is a great site with tutorials covering a wide variety of subjects, effects and plugins. The videos are very thorough and easy to follow along. Great for beginner to intermediate users and anyone interested in browsing unique, professional and often simple after effects techniques.
Digital Design for Print Designers
If you’re a print designer you may find your skills being requested more in the digital field lately. Most large companies have significantly cut print and broadcast marketing budgets to focus on digital and online marketing. The world is going digital my dears. As a print designer there are certain principles that don’t transfer to digital design. For a moment I want you to erase all inner desires to create your work at 300dpi. Or use CMYK. Forget about Pantone swatches. These basic print foundations are big no-no’s in digital design. Let’s begin by laying out the document…
LAYING OUT THE DOCUMENT
The screen only reads 72dpi RGB images. Creating a web comp at 300dpi will not make it better quality as it does in print. If you build a design this way it will need to be converted down to 72dpi which will create a mess of incorrect font sizes and rasterized elements. Create your work at 72dpi. If you accidentally use CMYK rather than RGB the screen will read some of the colors differently when converting them to RGB. This will change the intended color palette which can ruin the design. Below are the correct resolution and color mode settings to use.
If you’re creating a web layout one thing to consider is size. Below are the most commonly used website sizes. The main consideration is your target audience monitor size. Larger widescreen monitors display larger sites beautifully but if your site doesn’t fit on a smaller monitor there is no was to resize it down once it has been created. 1024 x 768 is still the standard used by most designers today. It tends to do well on most monitor sizes. There are aslo standard sizes when it comes to web banners: www.iab.net
OPTIMIZATION
Unlike print design, file size makes a huge difference in user experience. The larger your file size, the longer it takes to load. You want images to load as quickly as possible so optimizing for faster viewing is essential. The trick is to optimize in a way that doesn’t compromise image quality. Below are settings I commonly use with Photoshop “Save for Web.” Here are some other image optimization tools.
FONT USE
As much as possible, you want to use web safe fonts when designing for web. These are fonts every computer (new, old, mac, pc) comes preinstalled with such as: Arial, Helvetica, Times New Roman, Courier, Courier New, Georgia, Verdana, Geneva, and Lucida. Ok, I’m aware these fonts get boring fast and you need to use custom fonts in many of your designs. Don’t rasterize your fonts and don’t create outlines. Instead include the fonts when you hand the files to a developer or any third party that may need to edit your work. It is possible to embed custom fonts in websites but this adds to load time so if you’re designing for web try and minimize custom font use.
For more info on designing for web it’s important to familiarize yourself with web standards.
2011 Dallas Art Fair
The 3rd Annual 2011 Dallas Art Fair was held Friday, April 8 through Sunday, April 10. Located at the Fashion Industry Gallery adjacent to the Dallas Museum of Art in the downtown Arts District, the event featured over 70 prominent national and international art dealers and galleries exhibiting paintings, sculpture, drawings, prints, and photographs by modern and contemporary artists.
The 55,000 square ft exhibition space allowed each gallery and art dealer to have their own private gallery space. The number of well-known galleries in cities from LA to NYC to London that brought their best work to the Dallas Art Fair was impressive. In a city that I personally feel lacks culture, it was nice to see art galleries from around the world gather here. I was excited to see several popular and very expensive artworks by great contemporary artists including Chuck Close and Damien Hirst.
The array of work varied greatly in media, subject, and style. One of my favorite pieces was by Angelo Musco. He uses photography and digital art to develop these huge masterpieces that stand taller than me. He photographs the nude human figure and layers thousands of bodies to make up one organic form, often representative of nature.
Another favorite, simply for the fact that it caught our attention and left a lasting impression- is captured in the video below. Humorous, clever and kinda creepy, this piece by Nicolas Darrot deserves a carrot. (If the video isn’t completely clear, this is a taxidermy parrot with a metal cap and wires hooked to a teeny brain in a bowl. Complete with audio matching his moving beak to a very interesting rant.) Please watch it full screen!
