84 posts tagged “design”

I recently purchased a new monitor for my home office and boy was it frustrating. The thought of buying something new is fun and exciting and I'm envious when I see others getting boxes of goodies at work. Of course I couldn't just buy the first monitor I saw, I had to do tons of research to avoid buyer's remorse. I started my exploration for the right monitor with high spirits. By the end of one week, my spirits were crushed. Not only was I drowning in conflicting reviews from "experts" and users, but the manufacturers seem to number their products with the goal of confusing consumers. Why can't they just number their models intuitively and make it very clear what the differences are?

Especially with electronics, consumers can have dozens of products with dozens of features to choose from. Having to choose can get overwhelming and confusing. It would seem like making the buying process easy would benefit everybody. I had an easier time buying a new car than buying a new monitor. It came down to asking some very tech savvy friends for recommendations to narrow things down. My buying adventure ended a few weeks later on a weekend trip to Costco. I saw what I thought was one of the recommended models. It's wasn't even on the Samsung website at the time yet it's an update to a previous model. See what I'm saying? After all the frustration there was a happy ending, I'm very pleased with my choice.

- S. Osako

VECTORTUTS brought to you by PSDTUTS is a great resource for those of you who are in need of Illustrator help. Much like PSDTUTS, the site has tried and true tutorials with loads of tips and tricks that even the savviest user could benefit from. When I personally tested out one of the tutorials, I was amazed at how it broke down complex illustrations into steps that I could understand and grasp quickly. It gave me the tools to be able to create illustrations with simple shapes and shading techniques. Even if you’re not a talented illustrator, you could pull off realistic Illustrator drawings by knowing how to implement these techniques. There were a couple of points I felt needed improvement. For example, the tutorial asked the user to choose a few different shades of yellow without citing the exact Hex number. Missing crucial color information can really change an illustration!

Regardless of your skill level, I highly recommend trying out one of the tutorials, even if it’s just to practice your Illustrator ninja skills!

- C. Lin

For those of you who are living under a rock an RSS or Atom feed is a family of Web feed formats used to publish frequently updated content from for example a blog, news site etc. in a standardized format. You have seen the little orange icon on blogs or the blue icon in the new Firefox window. Let’s say you have a favorite blog that you read everyday. You can subscribe to its feeds by clicking on the icon and then selecting a type of reader that you want all of your content to appear on. This gives people quick and at a glance access to updated content.

I love the convenience of feeds and there is a list I subscribe to. But one question: why are most of the reader’s feeds so ugly? I know that it is just content that users are signing up for. After all, that is the whole point of a feed. But what does that mean for designers who labor over sites knowing that for some viewers it will boil down to a mere feed? There’s no control over how they’ll look in the end. Feeds do not have distinguishing design elements; they are simply content. Feeds are sites without a face. How does this affect design? And what does it mean to have zero control over how your content is seen? Is it liberating or is it frustrating?

Personally, I find the convenience of feeds overpowering the frustration. But in the end, I am still annoyed that my feeds don’t look very good. And I find myself really missing the face of my favorite site’s personality.

- C. Lin

Element just “pushed” the evolution of the skate deck with the introduction of their “Push Construction Positive Negative Series;” which is a really long name for a series of skate decks…but seemingly worth every last syllable. The deck is a very intricate and scientific combination of carbon fiber and helium, weighs next to nothing and is more durable than any deck in production.

So, why is someone who hasn’t done an ollie in about 20 years, let alone ever attempted a shove-it, so fascinated with the announcement of a new deck? Well, there are two main reasons and this new deck takes both of those thoughts into consideration.

Construction. Even though I don’t try these stunts at home, I LOVE to see someone bust a crazy, hardcore trick without thinking twice about it. Radical stuff no one would have even thought of trying 20 years ago. The Push decks are crafted from a carbon fiber, which is a virtually indestructible material. Infuse that material with helium and you get a material that is super lightweight. Super durable + light as air = a killer deck that won’t let you down…ever.

Design. I love good design. Who doesn’t? Not only is the actual construction an example of highly creative thinking, but the monochromatic design is pure minimalist perfection, combined with a simple variant wood grain veneer on the top screen. To top it all off, it is totally eco-friendly! Element stays true to it’s “green” values by using wood from selectively harvested trees.

Don’t take my word for it though, check it out for yourself!

- P. Tade

It’s all but impossible for me to go into a bookstore without doing a pass at the design/computer section. When it comes to Photoshop, you’ll typically find a glut of titles that usually do a halfway decent job of listing all of its features with brief instructions on how to use them. There is certainly nothing wrong with these books, and I own several such titles. In fact, that’s why I almost didn’t even leaf through the copy of Scott Kelby’s 7-Point System for Adobe Photoshop CS3 at my local Border’s.
 
Judging from the title, I was expecting it to be a beginners-only book. As it turns out, the book assumes you already have a comfort level with the finer workings of Photoshop. The underlying concept of the book is that all other Photoshop books simply dissect the various components of the application and tell you how to use them. Do you have a dark image? Use levels to lighten it. Have a blurry image? Use Unsharp mask. Want to get rid of a blemish? Use the rubber stamp tool. The issue that Kelby addresses is that many digital artists don’t know how to assess a photo and determine what needs to be done to it overall and in what order. In simpler terms, the question becomes how to make a good photo a great photo. As a master Photoshop user, Kelby audited his own process as he worked on hundreds of images. He realized that the majority of photos required a combination of the same seven steps. In the book, Kelby breaks down each of those seven steps and applies them to real photos using detailed tutorials.
 
The 7-Point System is actually a complete course in a book. Readers are “required” to work their way through the entire 21 chapters, with each chapter detailing all the things you need to “fix” the tutorial image. Chapters take about 10-20 minutes to complete. Initial chapters walk the reader through each detail of the correction, for instance, how to do an appropriate amount of Unsharp Mask followed by a Fade Unsharp Mask to Luminosity. In later chapters it simply will say, “then do Unsharp Mask as before.” This technique keeps the pace of the book up so you don’t get bogged down in repetition.
 
If you are a Photoshop user, your first instinct when looking at the book might be: “yeah, I already do all this stuff.” Perhaps, but the book tells you how to most efficiently use the various tools and techniques. It also helps cut down on lots of trial and error work when it comes to correcting images (should I lighten in RAW, with Curves, by Dodging, etc).  
 
This is certainly one of the most enjoyable Photoshop books I’ve purchased for some time. Even if you consider yourself to be an advanced user, you would benefit from checking it out.

- S. Running

I was reading a blog post about the relationship designers have with music on Design Observer. Adrian Shaughnessy writes: “I’ve never worked in a design studio where music wasn’t being played pretty much constantly… What is it with graphic designers and music?” Adrian has a good point. The image of a room full of designers with headphones on while staring at the computer screen is almost becoming cliché.

So, what is it with designers and music? Designers often listen to music to drown out ambient noise for focus and concentration. In Shaughnessy’s post, he also talks about the fact that music feeds a designer’s creative sparks. Music has influenced many artists. Paul Rand often cites jazz as a major influence in his work. Jackson Pollack has done the same. And in motion design, music often dictates the visuals of title sequences.

On a grand scale, however, I believe that design and music have always had a symbiotic relationship. For example, I grew up in a household where music was very important. As a result, I gravitated toward the visuals of records and CD covers. The artwork was often imaginative and more creative than anything I had ever seen. One of my favorites was Peter Saville, the English graphic designer most notably responsible for the Factory Records covers promoting such bands as Joy Division and New Order. Saville’s designs were inspirational. In fact, they taught me about graphic design and eventually inspired me to become a designer.

Whether or not music directly affects the creative conscious is still debatable even amongst musicologists. I do believe that there is a connection between design and music even if it’s not measurable. Maybe we’ll never know why designers need to listen to music while they work, but we do know that it’s important and that it has the possibility of being influential.

- C. Lin

When new employees join our company, they are presented with the expected array of health benefits, 401(k) plan, vacation, and so forth.  However, one special benefit we give everyone is their very own red water bottle from Camelbak. We realized that we were going through as many as 30 cases of bottled water per month (we drink a lot), so we decided to install a water bubbler to replace all the individual bottles. Instead of creating a trash can full of disposable plastic cups, we outfitted the whole team with stylish, personal bottles. Everyone decorates their bottle so they can tell it apart (silver sharpie is a popular inscription tool). We figure this saves as much as 10,000 bottles worth of plastic per year. If only there was a way to get Snickers without the packaging…

- S. Running

Photoshop can be, at times, cumbersome with each new edition, although this is not to say completely futile. What commences as a brief look into creating conceptual art, culminates into an exceptional discovery. PSDTUTS.com is anything and everything Photoshop related. Lessons range from applying realistic tattoos, retouching facial imperfections, creating conceptual art, building seamless collages, fine tuning techniques of illustration, to making rad text effects. PSDTUTS is not only a prime resource for Photoshop tutorials, but it is also an online community where readers have the opportunity to suggest topics and even write in for paid publishing on the site. Definitely a hot resource right now.

- B. Juergens

 

Found: the most compelling art form for both typographers and laymen alike. People of various significance in the art world have taken famous cinematic scenes and re-created them using motley typefaces along with audio to showcase the enigmatic effect on our psyche.

What I cannot wrap my mind around is how delicious these clips are! Always Watching.org provides a synopsis of the concept and plenty little vids so you may make your own deductions. Of course, I have a few faves and a couple that I thought could have been a bit saucier. Don’t forget each video, once played, gives you the option to check out others of this genre, a notion I recommend indulging in.

Top two faves featured on the site have to be dedicated to Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill. The color scheme is punchy, the typeface is felicitous with each movie’s feel while keenly representing the narrative character. In my mind, what separates the rocks from the gems in this case are the aforementioned qualities. The Oceans Eleven and Full Metal Jacket scenes, for example, were desperately lacking this appeal.

The medium itself is an exceptional expression. Like hearing a book complete with action-motivated type and a killer soundtrack of effects. Kinematic Typography receives two thumbs up, four stars, two critics on a sofa, and the Mystery Science theatre 3000 seal of approval. Check it out!

- B. Juergens

Grunge Design is a chaotic and abstract design style from the 1990’s arguably coined by David Carson, dubbed the ‘godfather of grunge.’ Ok, fast forward to 2008. Smashing Magazine.com posted an article last week which states: “Shiny and glossy design elements are now officially outdated. Just like retro is becoming trendy again, the grungy look appears to rapidly gain on [sic] popularity.”Is 90’s grunge design coming back? And how do designers feel about it?

One of our Art Directors here at Tuesday Creative, Andrew Seles, took particular umbrage with this from the Smashing post: “In our everyday environment we’re unlikely to find ideal geometric forms or pretty shadow effects as they are manifested by glorious web 2.0-designs.” Andrew’s response: “While this once was the case, it is increasingly less so. Not only is media sleek these days, but our environments are becoming more refined. Whether it’s the latest in architecture and environmental graphics, a new chair at Ikea or snacking at a boutique eatery like Pink Berry, the real world places we inhabit and the objects we interact with are more polished and highly designed than ever.”

Jennifer Murse, a designer at Tuesday said: I DON’T love the aesthetic when it’s done well, but I hate it when it’s done poorly.” Murse went on to cite these examples, which in her opinion, display well executed (Subdued.net), (Misprintedtype), (THS), (MindTwitch), Grunge Design, poor use of (Jeremy Zevin), (Satsu) it, and even some who claimed a grunge aesthetic, but were not successful (AJMiles), (WebDesigner) in pulling it off.

This co-opt of 90’s design is best captured with the following quote from Fresh Styles for Web Designers: Lo-Fi Grunge Style… “If there is indeed ‘nothing new under the sun’ (as the author of Ecclesiastes repeatedly asserts), one way to come up with a ‘fresh’ style is to go back in time a few decades, cut what you find, and paste it into the present.” Today’s grunge design, however, is not nearly as exciting as the 90’s not because ‘it’s been done’, but because the new grunge no longer feels like a rebellious aesthetic. David Carson’s edgy abrasive design and typographic art is now being appropriated to resemble a scrap-book party rather than a military coup. On the flipside, negative feedback from the public that the 90’s aesthetic was illegible and confusing may have driven today’s designers to create a more palatable and modern grunge. For better or worse, grunge has officially returned!

Ironically, it may be a misnomer to call grunge retro. After all, did it ever really go away? Take a look at distressed fashions and splattered rock graphics of the last decade. Torn edges and weathered textures might be as much a nod to the 1990’s as they are to the 1890’s. The steady recycling of yesterday’s styles may already have lapped itself several times over. The grunge movement of the 1990’s was itself a throwback to the counter-culture of the 60’s and early 70’s (Woodstock II, anyone)? Have we reached a critical mass where the term “retro” is an oversimplification? Perhaps, much of today’s work may at best be “inspired by” or at worst grossly “derivative of” what came before it.

One thing is certain: trends are always a bit sticky. They are, after all, trendy. So, designers are charged with balancing what is fresh with the specific demands of a project and the needs of a client. A passing fad may work well in a short-lived, targeted campaign. Apply that same style to a logo (whether it’s grungy or chock full of gradients and drop shadows) and you may be quickly outdated. Either way, it’s safe to say organic, hand-tooled designs will always have their place along side the slick and seamless.

- B. Juergens, C. Lin, A. Seles