Where's Your Tagline?
You'll find the About.com tagline "Guidance. Not Guesswork" near the logo on the About.com home page. It's part of our branding, our message. This Design vs. Art blog post shows several Web site logos with their taglines. So, is a tagline part of the logo or is it a different creature? Sometimes you see it. Sometimes you don't. And when you do, does it mesh with the look and feel of the logo? Read more...
Design a Different Newsletter
The typical newsletter is letter size, has a nameplate across the top with articles below. But does it have to be that way? No, says Chuck Green. He suggests that making your newsletter look nothing like a typical newsletter can work to your advantage. Read more...
How Do You Identify Fonts?
We have a fairly active Type & Fonts folder in the forum. The bulk of the postings are from members seeking identification of specific fonts. They may need them to recreate some letterhead or a logo or just because they like the look and want to use the font in some project but don't know the name. We have some regulars who frequently offer help and I do so as well from time to time. This past week or so I've been posting quite a few font identifications. But it's not always an easy task.
Contests With Computer/Camera Prizes
One way to save money on desktop publishing is to get stuff for free. And you don't have to go dumpster-diving for some of the best freebies. Just enter a contest. OK, there's no guarantee you'll win, but it doesn't hurt to enter. Some of the prizes you can try for right now include a course in digital photography or a digital camera, a crystal-embellished laptop computer, or thousands of dollars worth of office supplies.
PNG Over WMF?
The PNG (ping) graphics format was developed as a patent-free alternative to the GIF format. PNG or Portable Networks Graphics are raster images that can support millions of colors, like JPG. PNG has variable transparency through alpha channels and has fully lossless compression (that is, saving and re-saving doesn't degrade the quality). These and other features make PNG a better choice than GIF and sometimes better than JPG or TIFF -- it can depend on the specific image and how it will be used.
MS Paint in Win 7: Surprise! A Decent Little Paint Program
I've used the little Paint program that comes bundled with Windows a time or two, mostly just for some quick doodling. There have been a few improvements over the years but nothing stupendous. Earlier this week my husband saw me working on some graphics in a couple of programs (the free and excellent PhotoScape and the starter version (free) of ArtRage) and he mentioned that in Windows 7, the Paint program is much improved. Opened it up a little bit later, and Wow! It sure is...
Paint in Windows 7
How Much Formal Education Do You Need?
I'm self-taught as I know a large number of you to be as well. Are we missing out because we don't have a formal education in design? This topic has been addressed from time to time on this site and in this blog. I just read a good article that details the pros and cons as well as... Read more...
Gee, How Pretty (Admiring the Lowercase g)
Brian Hoff has gathered up a nice selection of examples of the lowercase g. Notice how the bulk of these are the double-storey g. When looking for interesting letterforms, the g, the Q, the ampersand, and the a (like g, double-storey a's are more interesting) are some of the letters I tend to look at first. They are often the most interesting or unusual in an otherwise plain typeface. What letters/characters do you love?
How to Recycle Computers and Electronics
We recycle paper, plastic, aluminum at the curb where I live. When my ink cartridges don't come with a mailer to return the empties to the manufacturer, I take 'em to the Office Depot down the street. But what about dead monitors, old phones, or that outdated inkjet printer gathering dust in the closet? Don't toss that junk in your trash bin. The folks at Engadget have compiled a great list of recycling resources (US/North America) for all your electronic gadgets. It includes link to recycling programs for manufacturers from Acer to Toshiba as well as wireless carriers, retail stores, and some general recycling resources too.
Packaging Windows (& Other Software)
When I picked up my Windows 7 upgrade I had to take an empty box to the register and an employee brought the actual product up front. Knew instantly that the guy had brought the wrong package -- wrong color. Do you remember what the packages for earlier versions looked like? XP? Not that far off from Vista and 7. But how about Windows 95? Or 3.0 -- before that Windows flag/window logo.