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Design Corner: "The Reality of Aging (swissmiss)" & 33 more news

Design Corner /////////////////////////////////////////// The Reality of Aging (swissmiss) Posted: 01 Mar 2016 05:24 AM PST http://feedproxy.google.com/&-aging.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email "As Time Goes By" captures the reality of couples aging. Beautiful series. (via) /////////////////////////////////////////// Designers: Robots Are Coming For Your Jobs (Co.Design) Posted: 01 Mar 2016 04:00 AM PST http://feedproxy.google.com/&ts-are-coming-for-your-jobs?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email Designers are in for a period of radical change and must learn to adapt. Those who don't might as well look for a new line of work. This is the third in a series of essays by Argodesign's Mark Rolston exploring the intersection of artificial intelligence and design. Read the first two installments here and here. Read Full Story /////////////////////////////////////////// How to Create a Futuristic Metal Text Effect in Adobe Photoshop (Psdtuts+) Posted: 01 Mar 2016 02:21 AM PST http://feedproxy.google.com/&a-futuristic-metal-text-effect-in-adobe-photoshop--cms-25829?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email What You'll Be Creating In this quick tip, we are going to create a simple Layer Style text effect, similar to the text effects that can be purchased on Envato Market. So you'll be just using a texture, a pattern, and a couple of layer styles to create a bright, futuristic-themed text effect. Let's get started! Tutorial Assets The following assets were used during the production of this tutorial:Street Cred font Free Texture Stock - Lights 1 (2560x1600px) by Hexe78 30 Simple Patterns by mslootenCenter Gradient fill Free Pack 6000 photoshop gradients by Supertuts007 (Load the METALS.grd file) 1. Create the Background Step 1 Create a new 800 x 600px document, fill the Background layer with the color Step 2 Double click the Background copy layer to apply a Pattern Overlay effect using the Fine diagonal lines pattern from the 30 Simple Patterns pack. This will add a subtle texture to the background. Step 3 Place the Free Texture Stock - Lights 1 (2560x1600px) image on top of both Background layers, resize it as needed, and then change its layer's Blend Mode to Color Dodge. Step 4 Go to Image > Adjustments > Levels, and change the Shadows value to 50. Step 5 Go to Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation, and change the Hue value to -13. 2. Create the Text Layers Step 1 Create the text using the font Street Cred. The Color is Size is 200 pt. Step 2 Duplicate the text layer, change the copy's Fill value to 0, and then duplicate the copy. 3. Style the Original Text Layer Double click the original text layer to apply the following layer style: Step 1 Add a Bevel and Emboss with these settings: Size: 18 Uncheck the Use Global Light box Angle: 59 Altitude: 58 Check the Anti-aliased box Step 2 Add an Inner Shadow with these settings: Blend Mode: Linear Burn Color: Opacity: 35% Distance: 0 Size: 7 Step 3 Add an Inner Glow with these settings: Blend Mode: Vivid Light Opacity: 100% Color: Source: Center Size: 29 Step 4 Add a Satin style with these settings: Blend Mode: Hard Light Color: Distance: 5 Size: 8 Check the Anti-aliased box Check the Invert box Step 5 Add a Gradient Overlay with these settings: Blend Mode: Multiply Opacity: 35% Scale: 150% Use the Violet, Orange gradient fill Step 6 Add a Pattern Overlay with these settings: Pattern: Fine diagonal lines Step 7 Add a Drop Shadow with these settings: Opacity: 50% Distance: 10 Size: 10 This will style the original text layer. 4. Style the First Copy Text Layer Double click the first copy text layer to apply the following layer style: Step 1 Add an Inner Shadow with these settings: Blend Mode: Linear Burn Color: Opacity: 80% Distance: 0 Size: 13 Step 2 Add a Gradient Overlay with these settings: Blend Mode: Soft Light Use the Center Gradient gradient fill Step 3 This will style the first copy text layer. 5. Style the Second Copy Text Layer Double click the second copy text layer to apply the following layer style: Step 1 Add a Bevel and Emboss with these settings: Style: Stroke Emboss Size: 2 Uncheck the Use Global Light box Angle: 119 Altitude: 37 Gloss Contour: Ring - Double Check the Anti-aliased box Highlight Mode: vivid Light Step 2 Add a Contour with these settings: Contour: Rolling Slope - Descending Check the Anti-aliased box Step 3 Add a Stroke with these settings: Size: 3 Position: Center Fill Type: Gradient Use the Gold 18k - L gradient fill Congratulations! You're Done! In this tutorial, we used a simple pattern, and modified a texture to create the background. Then, we created three text layers, and styled each one of them to create the text effect and the stroke. Please feel free to leave your comments, suggestions, and outcomes below. /////////////////////////////////////////// Crew (swissmiss) Posted: 29 Feb 2016 08:38 PM PST http://feedproxy.google.com/&source=feedburner&utm_medium=email "There are no passengers on spaceship earth. We are all crew." - Marshall Mcluhan (via) /////////////////////////////////////////// From Kickstarter comes next generation lighting (3rings) Posted: 29 Feb 2016 08:33 PM PST http://feedproxy.google.com/&edburner&utm_medium=email Innovative companies have come up with not just some of the brightest new ideas for lightning, but utilising the most creative ways to bring to market their creations. Here are three of lightings most interesting Kickstarter projects. Model 100 Launched by RC & Design Co, a startup in Pennsylvania, this project aims to bring museum quality LED lighting into the home, at an affordable cost and slim housing to fit almost anywhere. RC & Design Cos Kickstarter page Ario started out with a simple concept. Just as diet and exercise improves health, so does lightning. Incorporating LED bulbs and a wifi connection, the Aria provides natural lighting throughout the day, triggering alertness for day and easing the user into night with a more amber output to begin producing melatonin in preparation for sleep. Arias Kickstarter campaign produced 800 lights and is now available for http://www.arioliving.com/store/ LIFX Kickstarter campaign began in September 2012 and raised over 1,3M USD and go into full production with both a pure white and colour lightbulb. The bulbs are wifi enabled and smartphone controlled to produce a spectrum of pure white and brightness as desired. Compatible with most dimmer switches as well. While not the most inexpensive of lightbulbs, they are the most technologically interesting ones out there. LIFX bulbs can be ordered through their online store /////////////////////////////////////////// Murals in the Snow (swissmiss) Posted: 29 Feb 2016 03:57 PM PST http://feedproxy.google.com/&snow.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email This. Just. Blew. My. Mind: Simon Beck specializes in making ornate snow murals with just his snowshoes. The murals take at least an entire day to complete, and in order to really see them you have to take to the skies. /////////////////////////////////////////// Rollable Wooden Table (swissmiss) Posted: 29 Feb 2016 02:20 PM PST http://feedproxy.google.com/&n-table.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email I like the idea behind this rollable wooden table by Nathalie Dackelid. /////////////////////////////////////////// These Postcards Depict The Colorful Decay Of Soviet-Era Interior Design (Co.Design) Posted: 29 Feb 2016 12:10 PM PST http://feedproxy.google.com/&s-depict-the-colorful-decay-of-soviet-era-interior-design?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email A history of former Eastern Bloc homes, as told by the wallpaper. From photos of Soviet Union shop windows to Eastern Bloc ruins, there's no shortage of imagery that preserves Soviet-era architecture for future generations. Read Full Story /////////////////////////////////////////// Ora-to?s Foodshelf for Scavolini Offers a Contemporary Solution For Kitchen-Living Spaces (3rings) Posted: 29 Feb 2016 11:44 AM PST http://feedproxy.google.com/&edburner&utm_medium=email Designed to suit the increasingly popular open plan living spaces, Italian kitchen manufacturers Scavolini have teamed up with French designer Ora-to to present the Foodshelf collection. Ora-tos versatile Foodshelf Collection for Scavolini is designed to suit open-plan kitchen and living spaces The Foodshelf range offers a contemporary solution for kitchen-living spaces, with wood-look shelves installed to the full length of the multifunctional living area, enhancing the sense of fluidity and continuity to the combined space. Across the Foodshelf unit, different elements can be added to suit the needs of that point, with worktops offered in range of materials, base units, or shelves fitted below and above wall units. Scavolinis Foodshelf units are available in a variety of contemporary palettes and finishes, allowing the subtle division of space through the use of colour, while maintaining its modular structure. Find your nearest Scavolini dealer here. About the Manufacturer: Scavolini is by far one of Italys leading luxury kitchen manufacturers and has been for more than 40 years. Scavolinis style and product model of traditional, contemporary and modern designs are distinctive amongst the manufacturers in its industry. The modular aspects to Scavolinis designs allow for functionality and meet the other most noted consumer needs: durability, cost efficiency, safety and style. /////////////////////////////////////////// The Tactile Technology That's Helping Blind People Experience Priceless Paintings (Co.Design) Posted: 29 Feb 2016 11:00 AM PST http://feedproxy.google.com/&chnology-thats-helping-blind-people-experience-priceless-paintings?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email This Canadian company creates reproductions of famous paintings that are designed to be touched. "I can ID the leaves and the little ripples, the buds and the flower up at the top," Ellen Rubin, an accessibility consultant, tells me over the phone from the library of CUNY's Baruch College in New York. "For me, it seems quite busy because of all the background dots." Read Full Story /////////////////////////////////////////// This Company Retrofits Glorious Vintage Hi-Fi Systems For The Spotify Age (Co.Design) Posted: 29 Feb 2016 10:00 AM PST http://feedproxy.google.com/&etrofits-glorious-vintage-hi-fi-systems-for-the-spotify-age?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email Long live the hi-fi. Over the last few decades, music pulled a disappearing act. Today, you can store thousands of sounds in the cloud and blast your tunes through all manner of crazy, compact speakers that masquerade as anything but speakers. But 60 years ago, you would have had a monolithic hi-fi console in your living room. Sure it hogged floorspace, but it was a physical testament to how much its owner valued sound. Sbel, a Belgian home audio company, wants to resuscitate the spirit of those days by rebuilding hi-fis that work with digital music formats. Read Full Story /////////////////////////////////////////// How to Make a Flat Design Birthday Cake in Affinity Designer (Psdtuts+) Posted: 29 Feb 2016 09:18 AM PST http://feedproxy.google.com/&flat-design-birthday-cake-in-affinity-designer--cms-25860?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email What You'll Be Creating Whether youre making a birthday card for your nearest and dearest or you want to congratulate yourself, this tutorial is for you! You will learn how to make a simple yet detailed flat-style birthday cake in Affinity Designer, using basic shapes and operations. Once you start making this festive birthday cake, youll feel that you cant stop until you make the whole flat birthday set! And the following techniques are a must-have for creating various flat icons, such as those you can find at Envato Market. Lets get started! 1. Make the Layers of the CakeStep 1 Let's begin building our cake from the bottom, starting from a plate and the biggest layer or biscuit. Take the Rectangle Tool (M) and make a long narrow horizontal stripe of 350 x 10 px size. This will be the plate that we put the cake on. Fill it with vivid turquoise color, using the color wheel of the Colour panel. Switch to chocolate-brown color and build the first layer of our cake by making a 270 x 90 px rectangle. Step 2 Add another rectangle of 270 x 17 px size on top of the chocolate layer and fill it with pink color, forming a thin stripe of strawberry cream. To do this faster, you can simply Copy (Command-C) the chocolate layer and Paste (Command-V) it on top. Then recolor it, and either squash the shape manually while pressing Command to make the shape smaller, or set the desired size in the Transform panel and move the new shape while holding the Shift key in order to move it straight vertically, so that both shapes remain perfectly aligned to each other. Step 3 Lets add another strawberry layer to our cake. You can either create a shape with the help of the Rectangle Tool (M) or use the same technique as in the previous step: Copy (Command-C) the chocolate layer, Paste (Command-V) it and place the copy beneath the chocolate layer (Command-[). Then either change the size from the Transform panel, setting it to 195 x 155 px size, or hold down the Command key and squash the shape manually, making it taller and narrower. Add another layer of 140 x 205 px size, filling it with biscuit yellow color and Moving it to Back (Shift-Command-[).2. Add Details to the CakeStep 1 Lets decorate our cake with birthday candles on top. Arm yourself with the Rectangle Tool (M) and form a 6 x 40 px shape of pink color for the body of the candle. Now add the flame. Take the Ellipse Tool (M) and make a squashed oval of orange color. Convert it to Curves by clicking the appropriate button in the control toolbar on top. Now you can edit and adjust the shape. Take the Node Tool (A), select the top node, and make it pointed by clicking the Sharp button in the Convert panel on top. Step 2 Duplicate (Command-C > Command-V) the shape and shrink it down, making it smaller. Make the copy lighter, depicting a stylized flame. Now, lets decorate the candle. Make a small stripe of about 6 x 2 px, using the Rectangle Tool (M). Select both the candle body and the stripe and Align both objects to the Center in the upper control toolbar. Select the stripe, hold Alt-Shift and drag it down to make a copy. Make more copies, covering the candle with stripes. Step 3 Lets add more stripes to the biscuit top of our cake. Make one stripe and create more copies by holding Alt-Shift and dragging. In order to make the distance between the stripes even, select them all and head to the top control toolbar. Open the Arrange drop-down window and click Space Horizontally.Step 4 Lets take the Ellipse Tool (M) and make a 30 x 30 px circle for the berry. Add a smaller and lighter circle on top for the highlight. Group (Command-G) the parts of the berry and place it on top of the chocolate layer. Make more copies, decorating the cake with glossy berries. Step 5 Lets add a liquid topping to our cake, starting from the chocolate layer. Duplicate the chocolate layer and shrink it to 270 x 40 px size by dragging its bottom part up with the Move Tool (V). Fill it with lighter brown color.Step 6 Now well form the liquid drips of chocolate. Make a rectangle of about 7.5 x 27 px size and make its corners fully rounded by setting the Corner radius to 100% in the upper control toolbar. Step 7 Fill the drip with the same light-brown color as the shape beneath, using the Eyedropper Tool from the Colour panel. To do this, click the eyedropper icon and drag it over the color you want to pick until you see a magnified area. Then click the color circle next to the eyedropper icon in the Colour panel to apply the picked color. Add another rounded rectangle of lighter color, placing it right next to the first one. Step 8 Hold Alt-Shift and make more drips, covering the whole length of the biscuit. Then select some of the brown drips and squash them, making the shape shorter. Step 9 Lets vary the length of the light drips. Make some of them shorter and the others taller. Step 10 Now lets merge the brown parts of the topping. Select both the brown drips and the rectangle beneath it, head to the Operations panel on top and press Add, this way uniting the elements into a single shape. Step 11 And now were going to form the liquid chocolate by cutting out those light rectangles. Select them together with the chocolate shape that weve just formed and use the Subtract Operations to cut the shapes out. Step 12 Well be using the same technique to form the liquid topping for the strawberry layer of our cake. Duplicate the pink layer and shrink it to about 195 x 39.5 px, placing the copy at the top of the strawberry biscuit and filling it with lighter pink color. Add two rounded rectangle shapes of about 9 x 30 px size, starting from the left side of the cake. Step 13 Alternate the colors of the drips, filling some of them with the same light-pink color as the base. Then vary the length of the drips, making some of them shorter than the others. Step 14 Use the Add Operation to merge the pink drips with the pink shape beneath them. Step 15 Vary the length of the light rounded rectangles and now lets cut them out, forming the drips. Select all the light drips together with the pink shape and hit the Subtract button in Operations panel, cutting out the shapes. 3. Give It a Finished LookStep 1 Now that all the decorative elements of our cake are ready, lets add a gentle shadow to give our illustration more of a flat-style look. Lets group all the elements of our cake (Command-A > Command-G) and make a copy on top (Command-C > Command-V). Select the copy, right click and Ungroup all. Keeping the ungrouped elements selected, apply the Add Operation, merging the elements into a single silhouette.Step 2 Fill the created silhouette with light-yellow color and switch it to Multiply Blend Mode in the Layers panel. Take the Vector Crop Tool and shrink the shape, so that the shadow covers only the right half of the cake. Step 3 Finally, lets add a simple background to our cake. Take the Ellipse Tool (M), make a light-beige circle and place it beneath the cake (Shift-Command-[). Duplicate the circle, varying the size and color of the copies.Congratulations! Our Flat Festive Birthday Cake Is Ready! Great job! Youve learned how to use the simple shapes and operations of Affinity Designer to make a fancy birthday cake in flat style! You can continue adding details to make it even more festive. And you can also add a simple blue background which will turn your image into a minimalist and stylish congratulation card. Just add the text, and there you have it! If you want to inspect the source file from Affinity Designer in order to see how it was made, or if you wish to get a vector EPS, AI or raster version of the whole set, dont hesitate to grab this festive birthday pack on Envato Market. Feel free to use these simple techniques for your new designs. Good luck! /////////////////////////////////////////// Photoshop in 60 Seconds: The History Panel (Psdtuts+) Posted: 29 Feb 2016 08:27 AM PST http://feedproxy.google.com/&0-seconds-the-history-panel--cms-25915?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email Vintage on the road Welcome to our Photoshop in 60 Seconds series, in which you can learn a Photoshop skill, feature, or technique in just a minute! This time around we explore the History panel.The History Panel We all know that one of the best benefits to working digitally is that there's an undo button, the famous Control-Z. But what if you want to undo more than the last step in Photoshop? Pressing Control-Z again just brings back your last operation, essentially undoing the undo. How can you get more than just one undo? Give me just a minute of your time and I'll show you. A Bit More Detail Learn more about Adobe Photoshop on Envato Tuts+.Photo Retouching in Adobe Photoshop With Content Aware in 60 Seconds Photoshop Tutorials for Beginners tutorial seriesMastering Light & Shadow in Adobe Photoshop free coursePhotoshop Essentials courseAdvanced Photoshop Techniques course That image of a Vintage Roadster is available in our stock site, Envato Market. 60 Seconds?! This is part of a new series of quick video tutorials on Envato Tuts+. Were aiming to introduce a range of subjects, all in 60 seconds-just enough to whet your appetite. Let us know in the comments what you thought of this video and what else youd like to see explained in 60 seconds! /////////////////////////////////////////// How Sony's Stealthy Wearables Startup Built A Watch Out Of E-Paper (Co.Design) Posted: 29 Feb 2016 08:00 AM PST http://feedproxy.google.com/&lthy-wearables-start-up-built-a-watch-out-of-e-paper?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email The FES started out as an experiment-here's the story of how Sony's under-the-radar wearables team brought it to market. It's one thing to test out an experimental material in the prototype phase. But producing that experiment on a mass scale is a whole different monster. Take the FES, an e-paper watch that Sony revealed in 2014. It's taken two years to bring the timepiece to market, thanks to the industrial design challenge of using an existing material-e-paper-in an entirely new way. Read Full Story /////////////////////////////////////////// The Afterlife Of Atomic City, A Nuclear Ghost Town (Co.Design) Posted: 29 Feb 2016 07:30 AM PST http://feedproxy.google.com/&of-atomic-city-a-nuclear-ghost-town?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email In 1986, a photographer documented an American town left abandoned after a nuclear disaster. Now, his photos are finally being published. Atomic City, Idaho: located at the edge of an 890-square mile nuclear complex, Atomic City was once called Midway-until the world's first electricity-generating nuclear power plant, Experimental Breeder Reactor-1, was built next door. The town boomed, wholeheartedly embracing the promise of the Atomic Age. Read Full Story /////////////////////////////////////////// Porcelain Pitcher (swissmiss) Posted: 29 Feb 2016 05:33 AM PST http://feedproxy.google.com/&her.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email This architectural looking porcelain pitcher gets my two thumbs up. /////////////////////////////////////////// Full Moon Rug (swissmiss) Posted: 29 Feb 2016 05:31 AM PST http://feedproxy.google.com/&html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email This Full Moon Rug is stunning. Wish listed! /////////////////////////////////////////// ? / Squarespace (swissmiss) Posted: 29 Feb 2016 05:30 AM PST http://feedproxy.google.com/&respace-27.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email Big thanks for Squarespace for sponsoring my blog and RSS feed. These days, there are many ways to create an online identity. Setting yourself apart online, however, thats a different story. Squarespace is the only platform that gives your website the power of beautiful design. With customizable templates that were crafted by world-class designers, you can create a website that stands out on any device. Start your free trial today and use offer code SWISSMISS for 10% off. (Interested in sponsoring a week of my RSS feed, learn more here.) /////////////////////////////////////////// Uncommon materials fuse together to create an exceptional multipurpose contract series (3rings) Posted: 29 Feb 2016 05:07 AM PST http://feedproxy.google.com/&edburner&utm_medium=email Reasonably priced hospitality furniture that is well designed is increasingly difficult to find in todays market. A challenge that Enrico Pellizzoni s.r.l took head on. Teaming up with Tom Kelley, they set out create a range of furniture that would be ideal for not just the hospitality and contract market, but for home as well. The Gazzella series, starting at just 604USD list for the side chair, also includes an arm and lounge chair, as well as counter and bar stool. All models are stackable, meet CAL 133 standards, as well as CTT leathers that are IMO approved. Upholstered by hand in the finest Italian saddle leathers, combined with metal detailing in a range of 11 surprising finishes, such as copper and graphite. Available now through Pellizzoni USA and their dealers nationwide. About the company: Enrico Pellizzoni, with over a century of experience, designs and produces seating and furniture in the great "made in Italy" tradition. Italian and International designers of renown conceive every piece of leather furniture by Pellizzoni which are handmade and finished by skilled and highly specialized craftsmen, in compliance with environmentally conscious Genuine Italian Vegetable Tanned Leather Consortium standards. Pellizzoni furniture is distributed in the USA by its wholly owned subsidiary, Pellizzoni USA Inc., with headquarters at 200 Lexington Ave., NYC, NY /////////////////////////////////////////// MIT Gives Us Superpowers (Virtually) (Co.Design) Posted: 29 Feb 2016 04:00 AM PST http://feedproxy.google.com/&uperpowers-virtually?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email A new mind-reading VR experience by MIT will make it feel like you have X-ray vision and can wield fireballs. We all dream of having the power to fly, to levitate objects, or to see through clothes walls. Now, a new project called PsychicVR, by MIT's Fluid Interfaces Group, makes it possible, if you're willing to settle for wielding these powers in cyberspace. Read Full Story /////////////////////////////////////////// A Subscription Box For People Who Want Less Stuff And Better Design (Co.Design) Posted: 29 Feb 2016 04:00 AM PST http://feedproxy.google.com/&-box-for-people-who-want-less-stuff-and-better-design?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email The lifestyle brand strategist Aja Edmond has created a Birchbox for minimalists. Splitting her time between Los Angeles, New York, and Berlin, Aja Edmond isn't just a minimalist by choice: luggage only being so large, she's one by necessity. And she doesn't think she's alone. "Everyone talks about minimalism as a niche, but if it's a niche, it's a large one," she says. "I think it's more than that. When we look back, I think minimalist design will end up being the style that defines our generation." Read Full Story /////////////////////////////////////////// What The Search For Extraterrestrial Life Can Teach Us About Creativity (Co.Design) Posted: 29 Feb 2016 04:00 AM PST http://feedproxy.google.com/&h-for-extraterrestrial-life-can-teach-us-about-creativity?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email For decades, astronomer Jill Tarter held the ultimate "creative" job: looking for aliens. STEM careers are all the rage, but let's be honest: Part of you probably still thinks that, for the most part, "science is just a list of old, dead white men and facts that need to be memorized." But according to Jill Tarter-astronomer, former director of the Center for SETI Research, and inspiration for Jodie Foster's character in the film Contact-"that couldn't be farther from the truth." Over the course of her four-decades-long scientific career, Tarter has had to be creative on two fronts at once. First, she had to forge her reputation within the male-dominated field of astronomy. Second, she did it by searching for signs of extraterrestrial intelligence. Read Full Story /////////////////////////////////////////// 5 Design Ideas For Developing A Healthier Relationship With Technology (Co.Design) Posted: 29 Feb 2016 04:00 AM PST http://feedproxy.google.com/&-for-developing-a-healthier-relationship-to-technology?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email A new London exhibition explores how to find balance in a tech-obsessed world. As technology takes over our lives, we're all trying to figure out a balance between our always-on mindsets and healthy, mindful living. Unread Messages is a new exhibition at London's Aram Gallery that explores how design can help bridge the digital and the analog. Curated by creative agency Six:Thirty, five different designers will put projects on display as part of the show. These interactive products have all been designed to help people explore healthier relationships with technology. Read Full Story /////////////////////////////////////////// Take Guilt-Free Long Showers With This Device That Recycles Your Water (Co.Design) Posted: 29 Feb 2016 03:00 AM PST http://feedproxy.google.com/&e-long-showers-with-this-device-that-recycles-your-water?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email Don't worry, it cleans it first. In fact, don't worry about anything: Just relax in the shower all day with your Showerloop. As the California drought drags on, some activists are trying to convince everyone in the state to take five-minute showers. But new technology can save more water even if someone takes an average shower-11 minutes-or, in theory, if they stay in the shower for an unlimited amount of time. Read Full Story /////////////////////////////////////////// color set (design seeds enclosed) Posted: 29 Feb 2016 02:01 AM PST http://feedproxy.google.com/&m_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email /////////////////////////////////////////// color spring (design seeds enclosed) Posted: 29 Feb 2016 02:00 AM PST http://feedproxy.google.com/&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email /////////////////////////////////////////// Kiddle (swissmiss) Posted: 28 Feb 2016 04:57 PM PST http://feedproxy.google.com/&m_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email Kiddle is a visual search engine for kids, powered by editors and Google safe search. All sites appearing in Kiddle search results satisfy family friendly requirements and most search results are illustrated with big thumbnails, which makes it easier to scan, differentiate between them, and click the most appropriate results to your query. Thumbnails serve as visual clues and are especially beneficial to kids as they dont read as fast as adults. Try it: Kiddle.com /////////////////////////////////////////// rustic hues (design seeds enclosed) Posted: 28 Feb 2016 02:01 AM PST http://feedproxy.google.com/&tm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email /////////////////////////////////////////// color love (design seeds enclosed) Posted: 28 Feb 2016 02:00 AM PST http://feedproxy.google.com/&m_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email /////////////////////////////////////////// Using Visuals to Enhance Your Credibility (Cool Infographics) Posted: 27 Feb 2016 01:13 PM PST http://feedproxy.google.com/&to-enhance-your-credibility.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email Infographics and visuals have become the lifeblood of storytellers, be it marketers, professors, presenters, etc. They are constantly battling short attention spans, information overload, and little vested interest from their audience. The smart marketer knows their target, and comes with a battle plan to defend against all of these things. This is where visuals come in. Reasons to Use Visuals Weve relied on visuals for everything from street signs and movie banners to websites and presentations. Using visuals to express information has long been a part of our history. Here are just a few more reasons to use them in your presentations and marketing efforts: 1. Getting Attention A visual makes information stand out more than just text alone. Studies estimate that between 50-80% of the human brain is dedicated to forms of visual processing. On social media, they simply take up more real estate than their text only counterparts. A post with some type of visual content has 94% more total views on average than content without images, according to MDG advertising. 2. Simplicity As humans, were simply wired to receive rich visual information, and can understand more complex information when it is presented visually. Infographics are a great way to provide your audience with context when displaying statistics that are otherwise meaningless. 3. Credibility Credibility is one of the biggest reasons to use visuals. Put a statistic in an article and it is questioned. Put a statistic in a visual and it is fact. In fact, every form of visual information lends credibility to what is presented. 46.1% of people say a websites design is the number one way to determine the credibility of a company, according to the Stanford Persuasive Technology Lab. This works the same way in presentations. In 1986, a 3M-sponsored study at the University of Minnesota School of Management found that presenters who use visual aids are 43% more effective in persuading audience members to take a desired course of action. Use This Power Responsibly In light of this information, it is important to use this responsibly. Providing accurate information is the most important thing content marketers and visual storytellers will do. No matter how beautifully crafted your infographic or visual is, it can be destroyed by one misrepresented fact, or out-of-context statistic. /////////////////////////////////////////// flora palette (design seeds enclosed) Posted: 27 Feb 2016 02:01 AM PST http://feedproxy.google.com/&8?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email /////////////////////////////////////////// color world (design seeds enclosed) Posted: 27 Feb 2016 02:00 AM PST http://feedproxy.google.com/&tm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email /////////////////////////////////////////// How Two Artists Pulled Off A Brilliant Heist Using Just A 3-D Scanner (Co.Design) Posted: 26 Feb 2016 10:00 AM PST http://feedproxy.google.com/&s-pulled-off-a-brilliant-heist-using-just-a-3-d-scanner?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email They stole nothing-but left with an unprecedented 3-D model of an Egyptian artifact that's been in Germany since 1913. Inside Berlin's Neues Museum, two museum attendants guard the entrance to the room that holds the famous bust of Queen Nefertiti, while two more flank the glass-encased sculpture to prohibit visitors from taking photos. That's four guards total, none of whom noticed when artists Nora Al-Badri and Jan Nikolai Nelles spent three hours one Sunday in October scanning the sculpture with a hacked Kinect. In January, the German artists released the data online and created a 3-D printed polymer resin replica of the piece that now resides in the American University in Cairo. Read Full Story /////////////////////////////////////////// 10 Tips for Improving Your Photo Manipulation Skills (Psdtuts+) Posted: 26 Feb 2016 09:50 AM PST http://feedproxy.google.com/&proving-your-photo-manipulation-skills--cms-25740?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email Over it's 20+ year history, Photoshop has proved itself useful for a great many things. One of the primary applications is photo manipulation. In fact, it's photo manipulation that is meant by the colloquial term "to Photoshop". Yet pulling off a successful photo manipulation isn't quite as easy as it sounds. So whether you are new to the game or an experienced photo retoucher, there's always room to learn and grow. I've compiled a list of ten tips for making sure your photo manipulation skills are a cut above the rest. 1. It's All About the Resolution When it comes to working with an image, think of pixels as the raw material of the medium. They are like the tubes of paint for a portrait artist or bolts of fabric for a seamstress. Any craftsman of their field will tell you that it's a mistake to skimp on the raw materials. Photo manipulation is no different. Pixels tend to get stretched, squashed, skewed and otherwise abused. The more there are to work with, the easier the task will be and the better the end result. So how much do you need? A good rule of thumb is to work at 150-200% the size of the final piece, and then resample the finished image down. Knowing the intended medium of delivery is crucial. Print media requires much more resolution than screen displays do. Most print work requires a resolution of 300 dpi, while screen displays can be as low at 72 dpi. That's a big difference. To learn more about print resolution, consider this course from Chamira Young on From Pixel-Perfect to Print Ready in Photoshop. From Pixel-Perfect to Print Ready in Photoshop The risk of not using high enough resolution images is that the final piece can appear distorted, pixelated or blurry. This problem is compounded when using photos from several different sources. Always try to make sure the images you choose for your photo manipulation project are all of similar resolution. Otherwise, start with the lowest resolution image and bring the other images down to it.How to Create a Surreal Underwater Scene In this image the entire scene is built using eight different images, all of good resolution so that the final piece appears seamless. Looking for a source of high-quality stock images? Take a look through the selection of stock images available on Envato Market. 2. Light and Shadow One of the most important tasks in creating a believable photo composite is that the lighting is consistent. If any element in the scene has obviously different lighting, and therefore different shadows, that element will never appear to fit in with its surroundings. This is commonly known as the "green screen effect" due to the frequent occurrence in TV and film where the composited background has much different lighting than the actors and actresses on screen. The best way to make sure the lighting and shadows for your photo manipulation are on point is to have a solid understanding of how light and shadows work in the real world. Light is a 3D element and casts a shadow in 3D space. To learn more about understanding how light and shadow work, check out this excellent tutorial by Monica Zagrobelna, Improve Your Artwork by Learning to See Light and Shadow. Improve Your Artwork by Learning to See Light and Shadow Once you figure out the primary light source for your scene, make sure every surface is illuminated or shadowed from that light source. Then follow through in doing this for every source of light in the scene. It sounds like a lot of work, but it's not difficult, and once you understand the visual geometry behind it, the task becomes much faster. For even more instruction on creating convincing lighting and shadows in Photoshop, take a look at these courses: Mastering Light and Shadow in Adobe PhotoshopUsing Light and Shadow in Photo ManipulationUsing Light and Shadow in Photo Manipulation 3. Put It in Perspective Second only to light and shadow, the most telling element of a poor photo manipulation is improper scale. Sometimes exaggerated sizing is intentional, and often that's the point of the piece. But when the elements are inconsistent in scale, it can create a strange sense of something just being "off". When that happens, it breaks the suspension of disbelief, and the viewer instinctively knows the image is visually untrustworthy. The best method for ensuring all the elements are in proper scale agreement is to think through the perspective of an image. Identify the horizon and vanishing points, and then make sure your elements align with these. Usually these concepts are associated with illustration and drawing, but they have very clear application to photo manipulation as well. If you are not familiar with how to work with perspective, take a look at these tutorials and courses. Technical Drawing for Beginners: An Introduction to PerspectiveHow to Work With Perspective in PhotoshopMastering Perspective in Adobe Photoshop4. Dodge and Burn A good photo manipulation doesn't always need to look photo-realistic. Often a piece is more successful when it appears to be stylized, with extra vibrant colors, super bright highlights and deep, deep shadow areas. This look often contributes to the fun and fantasy mood of a photo manipulation. Create a Skin-Tearing Illustration in Photoshop A major part of creating that stylized look is using a technique to dodge and burn the image by hand. Every photo manipulation artist has a favored technique, but a popular one is to use a layer filled with 50% gray that is set to the Overlay blending mode. The gray is rendered completely invisible, but the marks from the Dodge and Burn Tools will be visible. How to Create a Photo Caricature in Adobe Photoshop5. Use Realistic Textures Adding textures to a photo manipulation project is a fast way to create the depth of detail that we see in real life. In fact, using textures created from real life is one of the fastest ways to accomplish that. Instead of trying to meticulously paint in every wrinkle of a piece of leather for a book, it is much easier and more convincing to use a texture instead. Vintage Book Leather Cover Texture It's the use of high-quality textures that ultimately provides the required level of detail that makes the surfaces in a manipulated photo believable. Advanced Adobe Photoshop Techniques course 6. Use Custom Brushes Just like realistic textures, brushes are a great way to quickly add realistic effects to a piece with ultimate control. Photoshop's brushes are great! But they are all pretty well known and somewhat limited in their application for hand-painted effects. That's where custom brushes come into play. You can create your own brushes for very specific effects, like creating rust and scratches for adding weathering effects to pieces of metal.How to Create Custom Scratched Metal Brushes in Adobe Photoshop Or consider the variety of custom brushes available on Envato Market. Flame Wings Brushes7. Consider Using Actions Actions? Yes, actions. In one sense, Photoshop actions can greatly speed up your workflow by automating tasks that tend to be repetitive and time-consuming otherwise. Yet there's another excellent application. Actions can be used to create a very complex effect much more quickly than by creating that effect manually. With some clever recording of filters and layer operations, actions can perform an effect in moments, saving valuable time for other tasks that would require a more personal touch. Sandstorm Photoshop Action To learn more about creating complex photo effects with actions, check out the course on Building Your Own Actions in Adobe Photoshop. 8. Know the Transform and Warp Options The "manipulation" aspect of photo manipulation involves crafting a photographic element into something different. There are several ways to do that in Photoshop, and each technique has its own set of benefits and drawbacks. That's why it is important to master as many of them as possible so you can make an educated decision about which feature is the best choice for each situation. Changing the basic shape of an element can be done with basic transformations, custom warps, puppet warps, or liquify. To see a great tutorial explaining the differences of each of these, check out Adobe Photoshop for Kids: Funny faces! Adobe Photoshop for Kids: Funny Faces! 9. Learn the Tablet Are you still using a mouse or trackpad to work in Photoshop? Have you considered a better input device? Something like a graphics tablet? Yes, usually these tablets are used for digital drawing and painting, but they are also immensely useful for photo manipulation work. You see, every tool in Photoshop that uses the brush engine (dodge, burn, clone stamp, painted masks, etc.) is also receptive to the pressure inputs of a graphics tablet. A mouse has exactly two levels of pressure, button down and button up. That's it, completely binary input. A good-quality graphics tablet has 2,048 levels of pressure sensitivity or more! Add sensitivity for pen angle, speed and barrel rotation (on some models) and you have yourself an input device that makes the mouse feel like trying to draw with a soap-on-a-rope! In fact, if you have just a minute, here's a 60-second guide to using the Wacom tablet in Photoshop. If you want more in-depth instruction on using the Wacom tablet with Photoshop, take a peek at the course Mastering the Wacom Tablet in Photoshop. 10. Stay Inspired and Keep Practicing! As with anything that's worth doing, photo manipulation takes practice and dedication to build up superior skills. One of the best ways to keep yourself interested and motivated is to keep an Inspiration folder and collect examples of photo manipulation and digital artwork that inspires you. Browse sites like dribbble.com and deviantart.com. Also take a look at the library of tutorials and courses available here at Envato Tuts+ designed to help you enhance your photo manipulation skills. Advanced Photo Manipulation part 2How to Create a Magical Photo Manipulation: Post-ProductionWant More? I hope these tips have inspired you to push your photo manipulation skills even further. If you'd like to see some of my own work with photo manipulation projects, custom brushes, and even more Photoshop fun, check out my profile here at Envato Tuts+.