BlogmyQuery – BMQ

When it comes to design projects, logo designs tend to be some of the trickiest to work with, simply because of their purpose. All design tends to be conveying a message, this is true, but most designs get to use so much more to make their points accessible to the viewer.

Not to mention that the message being conveyed through most design gets to be a bit more focused or general as well. This is not always true with a logo. Logos usually have much more to convey with a much simpler vehicle to make their message land.

It is with that in mind that this post came to be. We thought we would search out the best resources, interviews, articles, whatever we could find to help take some of the proverbial guesswork out of this sometimes troublesome design task.

We also thought that we would go ahead and drop some tips into the mix as well to share a few of the pearls that have always stuck out and stayed true with us in this arena of choice: logo design! Which is where we will get started in the post today, with some advice.

The Basics

Now in most conversations that we’ve had on logo design, there are a few standard bits of advice that tend to get tossed at the reader, so we thought that would be a good place to start. You more than likely have heard some of these before, but we have to start somewhere. So why not begin with somewhat of a refresher?

Less is More

As was already mentioned, with logos you often have quite a bit for your design to encapsulate which can tend to set you on a cluttered course of an overly busy, somewhat ineffective design. This urge must be avoided, for by and large, the way to the most effective logo design is through simplicity. That’s right, you hear it all the time, you want to keep it simple. Logos tend to work best when they are minimal and sleek, rather than busy and garish, so this is where you want to set your aim when you take on a logo design project.

Counting on Color

Given the minimal approach that most logo designs demand, one of the key elements we have at our disposal as designers for effectively pulling this together is color. Not plural. Just color. We stress this because one thing that most designers agree a logo needs to work is to be able to be conveyed in a basic black and white presentation without this compromising its effectiveness. The more colors that are used in the design, the more the design’s message becomes dependent on them. So keep it basic here as well.

The Scaling

As far as basic ‘musts’ for effective logo design go, scalability is near number one on the list. If the logo cannot be resized for use in virtually every size it is needed, then it scores less than fully successful. This is not always the case, mind you, but from what we have seen this tends to be the majority of cases. Logos need to be to versatile in presentation, and among other things that means scalability for transfer between mediums and marketing campaigns. This tends to be why vectors are the format logo designers prefer to work in.

Font Fixation

With little to work with, every element counts and carries that much more, which is why choosing the right font for any of your typographical inclusions needs to be heavily considered. This is not a time to simply fall back on your favorite font just so you do not have to think about it. Give the decision the full weight and consideration it deserves, and with the mission in mind find a font that fits nicely within the logo, connecting with all of the finer points of the message that it is carrying. So keep your focus fixed on this element as well when working in this arena so as to not have it feel like an afterthought.

The Brief

Like with all design jobs, getting the client to fill out a project brief is extremely important for being able to effectively craft the logo the client truly needs. Though there are unfortunately occasions when the job has to be done without a brief, or with such a limited one that it barely offers much insight, and things still successfully come together. Though it tends to not be a good idea to try this when creating a logo. Even if you cannot get the client to cooperate and send you the information you need, there is research you can do on your end to fill in the important parts of the brief. Below are a few of the brief bits that you need to be sure that you have covered when you set out to design a logo.

Get the History

History is important. It lets us know where we have been and what we have gone through. The same can be said of a business looking for an updated logo. If we do not know about the history of the company, not only do we have an incomplete picture from which to start our work, but like the saying goes, we might be doomed to repeat it so to speak. If the client is looking for a bit of a rebrand, then without consulting the past versions of the logo, we might near duplicate themes or elements they once had and have wished to leave behind. So getting the client to help us paint this picture can be crucial to the design work we are doing.

Not only can the historical perspective of the brief help us to avoid any repetition, but it can help us to find ways to throwback to the original design in creative new ways. So the history helps on both sides of that coin. Not only that, but as with any job, the more information we have going forward usually is usually the best way to proceed. The more we know about the business and its beginnings, the better prepared we are for finding a way to encapsulate and distill all of the pertinent and relevant information into the logo design. So try your best to get the client to be as forthcoming and comprehensive as they can when they are filling out the brief.

Get the Mission

Even though the history is important for knowing where the business started and how it has grown, another vital section of the brief for the logo design is the company’s current mission. In other words, the history is more of the background of the picture we need the brief to paint, while the mission is the foreground. Where the company is going. What they are moving towards. This helps to give you the full scope of the picture and allows you to feel out the project in a much more accessible way.

Now that you know where they are aiming, you can adjust your focus along that same track and imaginatively explore ways that your design can help create a sense of this endgame. Knowing this direction can assist you in numerous ways, beyond giving you a sense of what to impart. Our clients tend to know more about their fields than we necessarily do as designers (unless the client is from our own field of operations of course, then it is anybody’s game), so with a more distilled mission from the client we know what we need to focus on within their field and what we can avoid as we craft their logo. This way, their audience within the arena becomes clearer, and we can better adapt the message towards them.

Get Client Testimonials

Another section of the brief that we can include for a better picture of the client and their impact within their market is to have them provide a couple of client testimonials if they can. Naturally, not every job or client will have access to this, especially if they are new, but for those who can provide them it can be beneficial. Just like before when we talked about getting the complete picture from the client, these testimonials can serve up some finer points and detail that the picture would have otherwise lacked.

It is one thing to hear from the client about how effectively they are managing withing their field, but to some degree, we tend to write it off as hype. And even though the hype may be all we are selling through our design, if we believe it then we will more than likely be better at conveying that through the work. That is where the testimonials can help to really drive points about the company home through the design brief. By letting us, the designers, know what their audience sees as their strengths we can find ways to accentuate those through the design. So if the client can provide you with these insights, they might prove useful in your process.

Get Competitor Comparison Models

Another area of the brief that is crucial to logo creation, is the section on the client’s main market competitors. This is important for everyone involved in the project to consider for a number of reasons, but for the sake of the logo design, we need this insight to know what is already being done in terms of existing designs in the market. Originality tends to be what we strive for, so we want to be sure that we study the other businesses competing with our clients so that we know what imagery and symbolism has already been executed for conveying these sort of business ideas.

Now this is not to say that we are going to be able to come up with something that has never been done before, but it grants us a headspace wherein we are already in the environment we need to be in for our client’s design. Through this examination we begin already on the path to the audience we will be reaching for through our own design, then we just have to find a new way at them. So this element is often one that we should not attempt to proceed without having in the design brief.

Approaching Style with Caution

Now when it comes to logo designs, there are lots of stylistic approaches that you can take. In fact, you can just check out Logo Trends from Logo Lounge and see the numerous design styles and approaches that have been applied to these projects throughout the community, and which have steered them year by year. The site does a good job breaking down the various styles. However, you have to keep the basics in mind when you consider the stylistic approach that you are going to take. Especially, in regards to colors and scale.

We are the ones who should be aware of the lines and know which ones we should not cross. Image Credit

If the style you choose is too complex then you are going to have to rely on the other elements to help pull it off. Color is where a lot of designers turn in these cases, losing sight of the black and white factor. And though the client does have final say with the overall outcome, when we can steer the design we should opt for a simpler style that does not overcomplicate the design. Not only should we remember the basics, but we should remember to keep it basic. You can still be stylish without compromising the effectiveness of the design, it is just up for us to figure out how to do that.

We are the key to finding and maintaining that balance between function and style in the logo as the project unfolds. It is not a matter of one or the other. Our expertise is what we are hired for, and it is this skill that allows us to find those fine lines that we should not cross. With the depth of the brief it is often easy to lose sight of the simple approach and opt for the razzle dazzle, but this can prove to be a mistake in the end.

Logo Tutorials & Resources

Below are a few collections of resources and tutorials specifically targeted at logo designers for you to get lost in. With so many useful tools and tips all in one place, we felt this was a great place to start for gathering resources for you to use in your own projects!

• 70 Excellent Logo Design Tutorials and Resources is a wonderful post from the Six Revisions crew that lays out a large selection of resources and tuts to lift your logos to a new level.
• 105+ Logo Design Tuts And Resources is another fantastic collection with hundreds of entries for you to pour through when you begin any logo design project.
• How to design an awesome logo by Gary Simon leads you through the logo design process step by step using Photoshop.
• n.design Studio Tutorials gives you a useful quick introduction to 3D logo design in Illustrator.
• The Ultimate List of The Best Logo Design Resources is an older post from Just Creative Designs, but it still packs plenty of punch for anyone interested in this specific area of design.
• Logo Design Toolbox: 60+ Resources for Logo Design is another fabulous collection of resources from the Design Mag team, and our final collection of logo design resources.

The Blogosphere’s Best

Throughout the interweb there are numerous blogs that have taken on the task of keeping logo designers in the proverbial know. From sites that are more or less finely focused on this subject matter, to those that take on the topic from time to time, we have gathered a few more cyber stops for you to check out on your logo design quest for knowledge:

Dedicated Sites

• Logo Design Love is one of the top sites that designers turn to when they are looking for logo design info.
• Logo Lounge is an awesome site for sure, with lots of insightful logo information.
• Jeff Fisher’s Logo Motives Blog is a blog from one of the top names in the logo design game.
• Logobird is a very insightful and useful blog for logo designers from designer Duane Kinsey.
• Logolog is a fun logo design blog that features some wonderful logo design work from around the globe.
• Logodesigndotcom can be a useful source of inspiration. Browse their archives for some killer logo artwork.
• Logotalks’ article on the 33 Best Logo Design Processes of 2009 is a must-browse piece and useful reference collection.
• LogoBlog does not only blog, but showcases the award winning logos of their international community.
• LogoOrange gives you a nice insight into Logo Design History. Check out their Famous Brands Glossary and you’ll be astounded where some of today’s famous logos have come from.

Showcases

• Logodesignerblog features a huge showcase with a nice section on logo design in businesscards.
• Luka Pensa lets us take a peek into his large logo design portfolio.
• Gary Simon showcases some of his work in his online portfolio.
• LogoTwo presents one of the largest collections of Web 2.0 Logo designs on the Internet submitted by webmasters arround the world.
• LogoFavessole’sintention is to provide you with some logo design inspiration.
• Pixel Clouds showcases an inspiring selection of logos.
• The Flickr Logo Showcase is a collection of work you should not miss out on.
• LogoPond wants you to feast on their Identity Inspiration.
• LogoRaid features logo design work from around the world.

Very Helpful Articles

• Logo Design Tips & A Not-So-Ordinary Interview with Logo Designer, Jeff Fisher is an insightful interview that no logo designer or enthusiast should miss.
• Logo design tips from the Logo Factory is another article with some useful hints for those in the field.
• 10 Logo Design Tips From the Field is an article from Logo Design Love that we had to feature here even though we featured the site as well. Definitely a must read.
• 5 Useful Logo Design Tips from David Airey’s blog is another post that we had to feature here. Concise and insightful.
• Minimalism in Logo Design: Positively Perfect Negative Spaces is a post on effectively using negative space in your minimalist logo designs.

Logo Book Learning

Below are a few books on the subject of logo design that we had to highlight before the post wrapped up. If your desire extends beyond the blogosphere, you can always take you love for logo design to more in-depth sources of study:

• Logo Design Love : A Guide to Creating Iconic Brand Identities is a book from one of the top names in logos.
• Logo Lounge Series of Books is a series of books from the Logo Lounge Crew. Since that section of the site is for members only, we have linked the Amazon page for the first in the series.
• Identity Crisis : 50 Redesigns that Transformed Stale Identities into Successful Brands is another book from one of the most well known names in the biz, Jeff Fisher.

(sp)(ik)

Using the em unit to specify the width of a website layout is one of several ways of adding a bit of flexibility to your design. If you’re not familiar with em-based – or elastic – layouts, I wrote a bit more about how they work a few years ago in Fixed or fluid width? Elastic!.

The reason I’m bringing up em-based layouts is that I want to highlight two things that are often overlooked. One is setting a maximum width for the overall layout, the other is using percentages to specify the widths of child elements like columns.

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Posted in CSS.

Delivering great presentations is an art, and preparing the slides for them very much so, too. But we’re not going to talk about that. We’re also not going to get into the debate about whether to use open or closed technologies to create slide decks — this is something you need to hash out yourself, and there are some interesting discussions going on.

What I will talk about is how I (and you, of course) can use the Web to find content for your talks, record them, share them with others and save them for future audiences. I’ll also explain how to share it all for free and how to convert closed formats into open ones by using the Web.

In 2010 I delivered a boatload of talks that people attended, downloaded, commented on and remixed for their own training sessions and presentations. I love to share my research and information, because when you set them free they can inspire and help others to get their own voices heard. Here’s how I did it.

Free Tools For Recording And Spicing Up Talks

Let’s begin with the only paid-for system I use in the whole process: I write my slides in Apple’s iLife application Keynote. I use it because when I do my work I’m usually offline (on trains, in airport lounges, in hotel rooms without free connectivity, etc.).

Keynote is great: I can resize and mask images, embed video, export as PDF, and there are a lot of beautiful, subtle and effective animations and transitions. Creators of slide tools should view Keynote as a model, and 280slides actually did so. Apple should also consider using a standardized format for HTML slides to import; in fact, this is one of the interesting discussions going on.

If I need to use high-quality images, I don’t spend money or time getting licensed content. Instead, I go to the advanced search option on Flickr, find photos with Creative Commons licenses and use these. All I need to do then is publish a link with each photo in my slides. Even I can do that much for copyright law.

Flickr’s advanced search interface lets you specify the license of photos. You’ll probably want “Creative Commons� or “license-free.� Also check out The Commons for good old photos that have been donated to Flickr by libraries and museums.

Sharing Slides, Archiving The Originals

When I finish working, I give my talk using Keynote and export it as a PDF for sharing on the Web. I share my talk by uploading it to SlideShare, which entails the following:

• The talk gets converted to an embeddable Flash movie;
• The talk becomes an HTML transcript shown on the SlideShare website;
• The talk is hosted on its server, which means I don’t have to pay for traffic;
• People can “favorite,â€� bookmark and comment on my slides.

In addition to hosting my work on SlideShare, I usually also zip the original Keynote file; Keynote doesn’t format presentations as individual files, but rather as a folder of resources. I upload them to Amazon S3, where I pay a few pennies a month to store heaps of data. This is my back-up archive should anything terrible happen to SlideShare or my computer.

Asking For Feedback, Offering Code Examples

Another interesting service for speakers is SpeakerRate, where people can — wouldn’t you guess? — rate speakers and their talks. SpeakerRate also has an API that allows you to pull out the ratings in case you want to show them off on your portfolio.

I normally host code examples from my presentations on GitHub. There, they are accessible, and I can update and edit the code without having to create my own ZIP files for people to download. It’s incredibly useful for making quick changes in response to what people have requested in comments and for reacting to questions you received during the talk.

Hosting your code on GitHub automatically begins the process of versioning. People can embed and alter your original examples, and the code is displayed with color-coding, making it readable.

Setting up an account on GitHub and getting your code in there is pretty straightforward — just follow the simple tutorial.

Recording Talks

I normally record my talks so that I can listen to them in the gym and other places where I can’t write. There’s a free tool for this that works across all platforms. It’s called Audacity. Just hit the record button and it will create the audio file where you specify.

Editing in Audacity is as easy as cropping the things you don’t want:

Large view

You can save the audio in MP3 or OGG (among other formats). I usually save them as MP3s and then add them to iTunes for tagging so that I can add cover art and other extras to prep them for the iPod.

Syncing Audio And Slides

With SlideShare, you can also create a “Slidecastâ€� of your talks, which means syncing the audio and the slides. It’s a cool feature, but I don’t like the editor as it is; the handles used to define the start and end times of slides don’t allow them to be close together — and that can throw off the syncing. It’s also a time-consuming process. I’m working on some alternatives, and correspondence with SlideShare indicates that it is, too. Regardless, I’ve found that Slidecasts get a lot of visitors, so it can be worth it.

Recording Video

There was seldom a camera to record me wherever I spoke last year, and an amazing amount of recorded talks never see the light of day. If no camera is available to record your talk, then you can record the screen as you present.

One of Keynote’s lesser-known features is that you can record a video of your slides with a voiceover. Simply go to Play → Record Slideshow before giving your talk:

Large view

When you’re finished, export the video to QuickTime by going to File → Export:

Large view

If you don’t use Keynote or if you jump in and out of your presentation, then record the presentation on your computer screen. There are a few pieces of software to choose from for that.

VLC is a video player that’s free and compatible with all operating systems. It can also record the screen; go to File → Open Capture Device → Screen. You can record a high-quality video of everything that goes on. There’s even a feature that records a part of the screen by following the cursor.

Large view

Simply check the “Streaming/Saving� checkbox, click “Advanced,� and define a suitable location and settings for your video:

Large view

Screencasts are generally a great idea. Instead of performing live demos in my presentations, I record screencasts and embed them in Keynote. That way, I don’t need an Internet connection — they’re usually unreliable at conferences — and I can talk over the recording while on stage, rather than having to click, enter information and talk at the same time.

To screencast with a program other than VLC, I usually use the commercial app iShowU. When I was still using Windows, I had Camtasia. Both of these sit on your screen and let you record and pause easily:

Large view

Nowadays, I also use hosted services.

Screenr is absolutely fabulous for this purpose. Just start the applet on the page, grant it access to your machine, and start recording. You have five minutes, with audio. When you’re finished, the movie is automatically converted, and you can export the video to YouTube. The video conversion happens more or less in real time. All you need to sign into Screenr is a Twitter account. With Screenr you can also tweet an embeddable version of the video. If you need similar service for longer videos, check out Screencast-o-matic.

Converting Video

The free tool I use is MPEG Streamclip, and it’s available for Mac and Windows. Drag your video onto it, and select the format you need:

Large view

There are a lot of presets — iPod, iPad and so on:

Large view

Automatic Conversion And Hosting For Audio And Video

As you know, embedding videos on websites with HTML5 can be a pain, particularly when it comes to encoding them. Different browsers require different codecs.

There is, however, a simple way: Archive.org hosts all kinds of useful content. (The WayBackMachine, which keeps snapshots of how websites looked at a certain time, is probably the best known.) And you can host content there if you license it with Creative Commons. The good news? Archive.org automatically converts your content to HTML5-friendly formats!

Check out the recording of my talk on HTML5 for gaming. I recorded it with Audacity and saved and uploaded it as an MP3. The Ogg version was created by Archive.org. To embed it on a Web page, I just need to do this (line breaks added for readability):

<audio controls>
  <source src="http://www.archive.org/download/
               TheWhyOfHtml5ForGames/
               TheWhyOfHtml5ForGames.ogg">
  <source src="http://www.archive.org/download/
               TheWhyOfHtml5ForGames/
               TheWhyOfHtml5ForGames.mp3">
</audio>

The same goes for video: free, fast hosting without limits, and automatic conversion. What more could you want?

Converting SlideShare To HTML

SlideShare creates embeddable Flash versions of my Keynote files (saved as PDF). I want to go with open technology and convert them back to HTML and images. You can do this with the mobile version of SlideShare.

If you call up a SlideShare presentation on a mobile device, you’ll get an HTML version with JavaScript and images. You can simulate this by sending the user agent of, for example, an iPad to the page before displaying it. In PHP, this takes a few lines of code:

$url = 'http://www.SlideShare.net/cheilmann/
        the-why-of-html5-for-games-development';
$url = preg_replace('/.net\//','.net/mobile/',$url);
$ch = curl_init();
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL, $url);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_USERAGENT, "Mozilla/5.0(iPad; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_2
like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/531.21.10 (KHTML, like Gecko)
Version/4.0.4 Mobile/7B314 Safari/531.21.10");
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, 1);
$page = curl_exec($ch);
curl_close($ch);
echo $page;

Large view

I’ve scraped and converted the results, and now I can embed the SlideShare presentation as HTML and images using the converter tool:

Large view

I still want to fix a few things, such as making the images preload intelligently and adding proper alternative text. SlideShare creates transcripts of your slides on the page, but if there are slides without images, then the two go out of sync. I’ve emailed the company about it, and a fix might be released soon.

Summary

When it comes to publishing presentations online, a lot can be automated by using the Web as a platform and taking advantage of conversion services. Many developers are working on Web-based presentation tools, and I am quite sure we’ll see a collaborative presentation platform come into existence this year, although the task might not be as easy as it sounds. I have listed the hidden requirements of presentation systems before, and some things still need to be fixed. Keep your eyes open and help the cause.

(al)

© Christian Heilmann for Smashing Magazine, 2011. | Permalink | Post a comment | Add to del.icio.us | Digg this | Stumble on StumbleUpon! | Tweet it! | Submit to Reddit | Forum Smashing Magazine
Post tags: embedding, presentations, slideshows, Tutorials, video

I watched a TV documentary the other day about a professional soccer player. As well as his normal soccer training he mixed in training in other sports like boxing and yoga and I thought this sounded a bit odd. Why would somebody that earns his (considerable) daily bread playing soccer spend time learning and training in areas that are not directly related to his profession?

Well, it turns out that they are related in a round-about way. The athlete and his coaches went on to explain that training in other sports and physical activities, as well as regular soccer training keep certain parts of the brain active and stimulated, and this in turn improves soccer performance and prevents the brain and body slowing down.

What Does This Have To Do With Design?

This soccer player got me thinking about my own profession in design and made me analyse the way I deal with life as a designer. I mostly design for web these days and that can mean anything from interface design, banner advertising, as well as branding and logo design. It’s easy to drift into the same old routine for each project especially when work is coming in thick and fast — and when projects tend to overlap.

It turned out I wasn’t spending enough time “designing” away from a computer screen and out of the office. When I use the word “designing”, I don’t just mean putting together wireframes and pushing pixels in Photoshop — I mean actually gathering creative thoughts, images, videos and other forms of inspiration whilst living life.

Collect, Gather and Cross-train

As designers, we have an instinctive desire to collect things, from action figures to postcards to t-shirts and posters — it’s just something we do, right? Taking photos, recording videos, bookmarking web pages, ‘like’-ing and ‘favorite’-ing are all forms of collecting and it’s these things that shape us as designers.

Looking for inspiration can also be treated as a form of cross-training. Taking yourself away from your normal (daily) routine is a useful technique. Since my kids arrived a couple of years ago, we’ve found ourselves watching kids TV and movies as well as reading children’s books. Being exposed to these new forms of entertainment meant seeing a whole new world of animation and illustration and it was fun. Treating yourself to a show or a trip to the cinema to see something you wouldn’t normally watch can also be fun.

Some useful items for a designer’s cross-training toolkit

My brother-in-law took me to a soccer match in Amsterdam recently and I have to admit that when he originally proposed the idea I wasn’t overly excited. I was interested in finding out what it would be like to attend a proper European soccer match and I was promised it would be quite exciting as the teams that were playing were old rivals. I’m glad I went as it was an incredible experience and I found myself getting completely wrapped up with the other fans and cheering on the home side. It’s these kinds of experiences that bring out ideas and inspiration from the best of us.

The point I’m making here is to break away from normal routine. Designers are expected to read particular books, magazines and websites and attend certain conferences. I’m not suggesting we stop doing these things but we should add other things to the recipe too and explore other opportunities.

The Designer’s Toolkit

Let’s think about that soccer player again. He plays soccer and trains mostly in that sport but also cross-trains in yoga and boxing as they help his brain and body stay focused and sharp and prevent him from getting injured. What can we as designers do to accomplish the same thing? Developing skills in other creative areas will help keep you motivated and fresh. Below, I’ve compiled what I think is a good designer’s toolkit for a well-designed cross-training lifestyle:

A DSLR and a Point-and-Shoot

Investing in a good digital SLR and a good point-and-shoot camera with plenty of manual settings can really get the creative juices flowing. Being able to compose a good photo and control the light is not easy but when you start to understand how the camera works you can have a lot of fun taking photos. I’ve included the point-and-shoot camera as it’s not always feasible to carry a DSLR around with you.

A DSLR type camera and a point-and-shoot type camera with plenty of manual settings

Developing a photographer’s mind will condition you to be constantly looking for the perfect shot wherever you are and whatever you’re doing and it will also become your second nature to never leave the house without a camera.

Digital HD Camcorder

Having a camcorder is also a good option though some good DSLR cameras now shoot quite good cinema quality videos as well. You have the same rules about light and composition but have the added element of timing and movement. You will certainly want to start editing the videos you shoot, so learning new softwares such as Adobe Premiere or Final Cut will let you create a masterpiece — you might even want to get into something like Adobe After Effects and create something really special.

From a simple pocket HD camcorder to a top-of-the-range ‘pro-sumer’ camcorder

Understanding more about cinematography allows you to appreciate the intricacies of those classic movies. It’s not just about the fonts used in the opening credits or the detail in the animation — it’s the timing of a scene, the expressions used and other details in the shots that make certain films memorable and great.

Smartphones

Having a smartphone such as an iPhone or an Android phone can be a really handy way of collecting visuals. I’m always snapping interesting signage, posters and graffiti, etc. Download an app like Evernote or Dropbox and you can sync with an online account to view stuff later on the big screen.

Smartphones from Apple, HTC and Google

There are thousands of apps out there to help you organize your creative lifestyle, so ask around and see what other people are using.

Sketchbook, Pencils, Pens, Markers and an Eraser

Drawing and sketching is great fun. I’m not great at drawing but I have a real desire to get better. Whenever there is an opportunity to sketch, I’ll grab a pen or pencil and get going. Your sketching tools need to be handy all the time, so get yourself a good bag to keep all this stuff in. Investing in some good coloured marker pens will also add a bit life to your web mockups and drawings and will help get your ideas across much better.

Pens, pencils, marker pens, sketch pads, sticky notes, an eraser and a good bag to keep them all in

Using post-it notes and blutac can help with labelling. Why not sign up for an evening life drawing or comic book drawing course to really boost your skills? Sometimes it’s just nice to not use something digital to create and fall back to pencil and paper. I sat in a bar in New York with an artist just after the terrorist attacks in 2001 and he sketched on the back of a napkin what he saw on that day — it was one of the simplest yet most powerful sketches I’ve ever seen.

Google Maps

When I visit bookshops and news stands, I head for the design section or pick up a web design/creative magazine by default. This isn’t such a bad thing, but how about dropping into your nearest antique or second-hand bookstore and picking up a book or magazine — one you wouldn’t normally look at. I love looking at lifestyle magazines from the 80’s and 90’s and in particular the style of advertising used in them. We can learn a lot from looking back at old styles and techniques used decades before we were born.

It’s also fun to look at old packaging for kids toys and games or electrical items. The font usage, illustration and even printing techniques can offer ideas and inspiration. Open up Google Maps and find out where your nearest Antique or second-hand store is and drop in.

Graphics Tablet

With those re-discovered drawing skills, you’ll no doubt want to apply them to your designs on screen. Using a graphics tablet can add a whole new element to your working practice and making use of pressure and flow features in Photoshop will add detail and life to your designs. Though it’s down the individual, a graphics tablet can give you greater control of image manipulation — especially in Photoshop.

Scrapbook

A scrapbook is a must! Picking up leaflets, collecting magazine adverts and other printed material is a really useful way of gathering inspiration. It’s something you can look back to in years to come and you’ll be glad you kept them. Recognizing design patterns in print and advertising will certainly help you with your future projects.

Conclusion

So to conclude, taking photos, recording videos, drawing and collecting all manner of visual things are all things we can do everyday to keep us stimulated as designers. I’ve found that regularly attending Web and design related conferences help to keep my mind stimulated. Also, listening to people with ideas and thoughts and sharing them in an enthusiastic and passionate way will leave you feeling upbeat and excited about design even more.

We shouldn’t stop here though. Breaking the normal “design” routine can unlock new ideas and thoughts; so instead of dropping into the local for a pint, why not walk an extra block to the workers club and have a pint with the old guys over a game of dominoes.

Skip the freelancers weekly meetup this week and drop into an evening comedy workshop instead, switch radio stations, wear red instead of black, drink tea instead of coffee, buy a different newspaper… you get the idea! Drop in a bit of boxing and yoga and who knows what you could create — more often than not you will find yourself amazed by the innovative ideas you have come up with.

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© Mark Cossey for Smashing Magazine, 2010. | Permalink | Post a comment | Add to del.icio.us | Digg this | Stumble on StumbleUpon! | Tweet it! | Submit to Reddit | Forum Smashing Magazine
Post tags: cross-training, Design, Inspiration, working practice

When using @font-face to embed a typeface that has several weights and styles, your CSS can become a bit of a mess unless you define those weights and styles in the @font-face declarations. Unfortunately some tutorials and font embedding services do not do this.

The problem: Declaring multiple font-family names for the same typeface makes your CSS complex and forces you to remov fallback styles in browsers that do not support @font-face.

The solution: Specify font-weight and font-style in each @font-face rule to match each font’s properties, and use the same font-family name.

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Posted in CSS, Typography.