Let me preface this by saying do what you need to do to get through the day. I don’t begrudge anyone a way to make a living. That being said jobs exist on a continuum and there are better and worse ways to make a living even within a vocation. …
There are a set of tropes designers use to critique, principles that are ingrained from the first days of design school. Some of the more repeated rules include, never stretch type, more than two fonts are yucky, gradients are bad and of course kerning, the kerning is always bad. Designers, …
What is a trademark? In the US, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is the federal agency tasked with overseeing and approving trademarks. As defined by the USPTO a trademark is “generally a word, phrase, symbol, or design, or a combination thereof, that identifies and distinguishes the source …
“Content precedes design. Design in the absence of content is not design, it’s decoration.” — Jeffrey Zeldman I have noticed more doodles lately. My working definition for doodle is an illustration misrepresented to be a design. (If there is no misrepresentation then it is not a doodle) They can be …
Image includes photography, drawing, paintings, clipart, etc. There are exceptions to all these rules. When in doubt err on the side of caution. These rules may seem unnecessarily cautious. It is my contention that it is better to universally apply best practices rather than attempting to use them only in …
I recently ran across this diagram. It is originally from the 1970’s, and as far as cognitive science is concerned, it is not nearly as relevant as it once was. Two things jump out at me when I see this diagram. The first is, it is fascinating to see a …
Graphic designers, arguably more than any other professionals, find the validity of their profession and work called into questioned. The tools designers use are now widely available and finding someone proficient with the software is easy as finding the nearest computer. Crowd sourcing has made spec work a recognized business …
Font manufacturers are still called foundries, a reference to movable type. Fonts (software) can be copyrighted. Typefaces (the aesthetic qualities) cannot. Legally you need a license for all the fonts on your computer. You have a license if your fonts were included with other software (Word for example), but …
Failure has become a trendy meme in creative and popular culture . From popular books, TED talks, IDEO comments and even Dominos commercials, some version of failing is good is pervasive in our culture. As is often the case, language can be dangerous and in this instance it may prevent …
Zappin’ it to ya / The pressure’s ev’rywhere / Going right through ya / The fever’s in the air / Oh yeah, it’s there! / Don’t underestimate the power / Of a lifetime ahead / Electric youth / Feel the power / You see the energy comin’ up / Coming …
