'Angelic Requiem'

Something that has stuck with me for some time now is the idea of angels in space, I think it's got so much intrinsic beauty just as an idea that I tried it. This is my first attempt to create visually the massive amount of whimsy in such an image.

'Mind on Fire'

This design was just a combination of caffeine and Photoshop. I love skulls as a art topic and to add the flames in a slightly realistic manner was a personal challenge. The idea that the very thing that the flames are originating from is itself trying to escape them is like a microcosmic depiction of life and the human condition. Albeit highly stylized : )

Type Classification Handbook Review

Type Classification Handbook
by Jacob Cass

http://justcreativedesign.com

This is a useful reference guide to type classifications although some of the classifications are unusually named and little acknowledged such as 'Humanist' and 'Mechanistic'. I think it gives a good overall idea of the different categories of typography but it names the categories using uncommon names that don’t  immediately associate with the more circulated names used in the artistic fields.
The layout is interesting and beautifully designed which makes it something that’s very interesting to read, if just for the background.
The message is short, succinct and to the point. The information is clearly relayed and informative. This includes examples of the typefaces in action with different styles and sizes, Historical facts and defining characteristics.

Design Briefs

A design brief is a written document that details the designers ideas and goals for how to face the challenges they are presented with when given the project. I works in a similar fashion to a Thumbnail sketch, in that it relates the basic ideas and the concept for what needs to happen to make the design work effectively. It is something to refer back to and to keep the ideas consistent throughout the process. A design brief is like a written contract relating the expectations placed on the designer and the assurance of the designers ability to execute and complete the project as it is laid out in the brief.

To give someone a Design Brief is like to give an oral pitch to sell your design it’s just written down. The object is to get the design concept sold, weather it is to get the job, the design you want to go with, or just to get the idea across to the client. A good Design Brief should not be just a sales pitch written down (though it should work like one) it needs to be tailored specifically for the medium that’s being used.

There are many advantages to writing your pitch in this form as opposed to giving it orally, for one, thing you can sit and think about the best wording to use and change it at any time before actually handing it over to the recipient, second, Spellcheck! There are no blunders in the message that can’t be avoided. You can check over the work as many times as you have time for and change it as many times as you want.

It is necessary that every Design Brief should answer the most relevant questions that need to be covered before the project can advance. There are many templates that provide guidelines in case of not knowing where to start but the truth is that there is no ‘One for All’ question set or order that will work in all situations. The designer has the responsibility to determine the relevant questions and the order in which they should be given.

The common issues that every design brief needs to address are:
   1. What is the core idea (stated as simply, and compellingly, as possible)?
   2. What problem are you trying to solve?
   3. Who are you solving it for?
   4. How will you solve it / How will it work?
   5. Why should I (as the reader) care? Why are you pitching me? What do you want?
   6. How might this go wrong? And what will you do to prevent, respond if that happens?

When these questions are answered the designer and the client have reached a level of understanding necessary for continued collaboration. The relationship a designer shares with the clients and printers and anyone that the designer comes into contact with is an extremely important factor that is all to often overlooked, but it remains a constant part of life in the Graphic Design field. This is an area where the Design Brief’s affect is the most noticeable, it helps keep everyone in line and on the same page.

• Creating the perfect design brief
• How to write a creative brief for an advertisement
• Design brief for web design projects
• The perfect creative brief 
• Idea/design problem and brief with examples

They're so awesome!!.......(Sniff)

Terryl Whitlatch ~ Animals Real and Imagined

 Arrrrggggggghhhhh!!!! I just spend hours on the Internet looking at all the stuff I don’t know and the skills I don’t have (not to mention the software) and it makes me feel crazy and inadequate! I want to learn so many things and it seems to take forever and cost so much that I’m stymied at every turn. What if we had one of those things in the Matrix that you just plug into the back of your head and BAM! you know the contents of the little disk they put in the drive. I’ve spent more time than I probably should thinking about just such a thing and have come to the conclusion that Apple or Microsoft or The Aliens or somebody needs to come up with some kind of USB port for the back of our heads so we can just upload the files, get off the chair and suddenly just be awesome! Till then I spend most of my time trying (not very successfully) to achieve the level of skill that people like Peter De Seve, Terryl Whitlatch, Paul Bonner and the rest of them have in spades. There is just so much to learn and so much more to learn after that.

Finding good, high quality tutorials can be a challenge. Sure, you can do a Google or Youtube search and weed through the results but this method can be frustrating and inefficient at times.

Whether you are just looking for inspiration or are desperate to figure out how to achieve an effect before your rapidly approaching deadline. The sites I’ve compiled here have been selected on their consistent quality and the coverage they give to a wide range of topics.

Tutsplus.com

This collection of tutorial sites is an amazing resource for finding some of the best tutorials on many aspects of design. The collective currently includes:

Psd.tutsplus.com, Net.tutsplus.com, Ae.tutsplus.com, Webdesign.tutsplus.com, Vector.tutsplus.com, Audio.tutsplus.com, Active.tutsplus.com, Mobile.tutsplus.com, Photo.tutsplus.com, Cg.tutsplus.com.

Tutvid.com

This is a very helpful site if you need to find video tutorials on aspects of designing. These are extremely professional videos that are easy to watch, clear and educational. A great deal of information is packed into these videos without getting confusing or overwhelming.

AddyOsmani.com

The tutorials and code examples here are amazing. He includes the source files and offers great freebies. This is a great collection of web-design and coding articles with specific regards to jQuery, CSS and html.

9tut.com

This useful in its shear magnitude. The tutorials are listed from different tutorial sites so the quality varies but there are so many that you’ll probably find what you’re looking for.

w3c.com

The number one reference for learning just about any scripting or coding. Whether you’re just starting out or need reference for your project or want to validate your code this is a top notch site.

HTML5... the love story

 I am seriously enamored with html5. Having been tormented by misspelled or otherwise incorrect DOCTYPES it’s a relief to have such a simple, easy to use solution to the previously mind numbing element. I’m sure I’m not alone in having been plagued by searching my html, trying to find what is throwing it off, only to find after hours or days that an extra ‘h’ managed to insert itself into my DOCTYPE.
I realize that cross browser concerns still exist with this new format, but every time I get to use it I can give a sigh of relief and look forward to better days.
In closing I'd just like to say....

<!DOCTYPE HTML>