The Outside In Approach to Social Networking
Speculation has been heavy of late that Google is poised to introduce a new service that will attempt to stave off Facebook's otherwise inevitable quest for global domination of the social space. So if you came across someone who was the lead researcher for the social web at Google, tasked with advising design and product teams on creating successful social experiences, you'd probably figure they were close to the epicenter.
The Yahoo Style Guide: A Review
You probably never noticed it but one of the language options when installing major software applications is Canadian English. Huh? Sure, there's American English and British English. But Canadian? What does that consist of, beyond referring to a case of 24 beers as a "two-four"? As always, Wikipedia can tell you way more about this topic than you want to know, but the gist of it is that we Canuks employ an English that blends American and British usage, while adding some usages that are uniquely ours.
June 23, 2010, 8:18 AMAll Things Typographic: 9
Veer
Veer recently cameup with an imaginative setting for its exclusive Jukebox Collection. Jukebox is the name designer Jason Walcott has chosen for his collection of fonts that evokes "the golden age of sign painters and Madison Avenue. A treasure trove of typographic Americana." For its latest promotion, Veer created a number of faux vintage album covers to show off some of the faces, an example of which is shown above. Click on that image to view all the covers.
Universal Principles of Design
It just makes sense that when something is created, whether it be a work of art or a corkscrew, its success will depend to a great extent on the degree to which the creator kept the end user in mind. But how can you anticipate with any certainty just how people will react to your latest poster design, website or application, to bring things closer to home? An updated version of the bravely-named Universal Principles of Design proposes to help you do just that.
May 26, 2010, 8:47 AMMay Paper Roundup
Sure, everyone's keen to design for the iPad and the upcoming onslaught of tablet-based systems, not to mention smart phones and even good old websites. But for most designers, print remains their meat and potatos (admittedly a metaphor that no longer reflects our newly-healthy dietary habits). Yes, I'm talking about paper and you can bet that manufacturers of this still-ubiquitous substance are working harder than ever to keep designers attached to it. Accordingly, what follows is the first in a series of regular roundups of what's new in the world of paper, as well as more exotic substrates.
May 18, 2010, 12:09 PMAll Things Typographic: 8
Last week I took a look at the web font offerings of FontShop, Monotype and other commercial suppliers. I indicated at the time that while it was great to finally be able to use quality fonts on a website, the current metered pricing model might cause some designers to hesitate. Several of the vendors offer free trials of various kinds, providing a good way to experiment with the viability of web fonts. But I've since come across a site providing some decent free ones, which could provide a more flexible environment for your tests, since you can host them on your own server. For client work, you'll naturally want to employ top-quality, commercial fonts. But for use in personal projects, these might form a good starting point for building your collection of free web fonts.
May 6, 2010, 12:39 PMThey're Heeere. Web Fonts, That Is
Goodbye Verdana. Take a hike, Arial. After suffering through a decade and a half of purgatory, website designers are now finally free to take advantage of the typographic riches of those creating print publications. Bring on the dancing girls! Let the festivities commence! Or has a new nightmare only begun?
March 22, 2010, 12:20 PMDecoding Design: A Review
Image via wordle.net
An accomplished designer, author and teacher of symbolism and logo design at the University of New Mexico, Maggie Macnab believes that at some point designers lost their way. They became disconnected with nature and increasingly were less able to understand its patterns, which for so long formed the basis of how humanity grasped the fundamental mechanisms of existence.
October 27, 2009, 5:51 AMThe Evolution of Paper
Until recently, to be a graphic designer was to engage in an endless love affair with paper. How many hours were spent flipping through swatch books in a kind of tracelike state, waiting for the click that signalled "this is it!" Then there was that anxious moment when the finished job came back from the printer and you held it in your hands—was the alchemy of paper, ink and inspiration such that something worthy and true had been born? Sometimes, yes, sometimes no. Many thoughts and emotions would arise in that moment, such as "Oh my god, the trapping! The TRAPPING!"
October 6, 2009, 7:24 AMBe Careful What You Wish For
When complete strangers ask you to lend your voice to their cause, history has shown that it's wise to reflect before taking up the banner. Because sometimes outwardly worthy causes can mask an unsuspected agenda. I guess I've been around long enough that a big red light starts flashing when I bump up against these. So it was when I recently received an email entitled Artists Ask Obama Administration to Protect Copyright.
September 23, 2009, 8:55 AMRead the Typographic Fine Print
I'm sure you meticulously scroll through the entire End User Licence Agreement (EULA) before installing new software. Ditto when downloading stock images purchased online. No? Frankly, I'm shocked. Well, in that case there's little chance that you're familiar with the license terms of the last font you purchased. You didn't know fonts also had EULAs? Fonts are just software, after all, and commercial software simply grants the purchaser a limited ability to use it. Same with fonts. So for designers, knowing what they legally can and can't do with their fonts is not insignificant.
September 16, 2009, 9:20 AMiStockphoto: Your Next Insurance Company?
We humans are frightened by a lot of things but for most of us the scariest thing of all is contemplating the future. Not a future in which all is happiness and bliss but one in which something horrible pops up out of nowhere to grab us by the throat. Some unforeseen event so overwhelming that our lives are forever damaged. Ready and waiting to respond to this fear is, of course, the insurance industry.
September 14, 2009, 9:45 AMAll Things Typographic: 7
That's right, ATT is back with its take on what's new in the world of fonts, font applications, notable font usage and general fontiness. This time out I'll focus on recent font releases from Fountain, Gestalten, Kapitza, Linotype and Mårten Nettelblad.
September 7, 2009, 3:44 AMPresentation Zen: The Video
I've never given a PowerPoint presentation in my life but I've sat through more than a few of them, with varying degrees of interest. And that's no surprise, since with millions of presentations being delivered every day, at any given moment thousands of people across the globe are assembled in darkened rooms to gaze in wonder at—or more likely slumber through—yet another mediocre presentation. There's something poignant about this human drive to share a point of view, when the odds are so stacked against its chances of succeeding.
August 30, 2009, 11:02 AMThe Joy of Domain Parking: Part 2
Earlier this summer I began a look at the alternatives available to those of us who have domains on our hands but neither the desire nor the resources to build them out to full-blown sites. Beyond simply using the domain parking provided by your registrar, what are the possibilities?
