Latest Posts from GDF Bloggers
Ben Kessler | November 19, 2009, 4:00 PMDesignism 4.0: Is Sustainability Sustainable?
At Art Directors Club's Designism 4.0 event last night, the word "sustainable" was heavy on the breath of all four panelists. "Sustainable" has entered common usage as a catch-all designation for eco-friendly lifestyles, but it took on extra meaning here as a sort of euphemism for "economically viable."
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Susan Kirkland | November 17, 2009, 1:32 PMA Few Thoughts on Fluid & Static Media
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Chris Dickman | October 27, 2009, 5:51 AMThe Evolution of Paper
Until recently, to be a graphic designer was to engage in an endless love affair with paper. How many hours were spent flipping through swatch books in a kind of tracelike state, waiting for the click that signalled "this is it!" Then there was that anxious moment when the finished job came back from the printer and you held it in your hands—was the alchemy of paper, ink and inspiration such that something worthy and true had been born? Sometimes, yes, sometimes no. Many thoughts and emotions would arise in that moment, such as "Oh my god, the trapping! The TRAPPING!"
Susan Kirkland | October 18, 2009, 2:15 PMJOBS: Hiring & Firing in Design
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Susan Kirkland | October 7, 2009, 4:00 PMPORTFOLIO: Part Two
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Chris Dickman | October 6, 2009, 7:24 AMBe Careful What You Wish For
When complete strangers ask you to lend your voice to their cause, history has shown that it's wise to reflect before taking up the banner. Because sometimes outwardly worthy causes can mask an unsuspected agenda. I guess I've been around long enough that a big red light starts flashing when I bump up against these. So it was when I recently received an email entitled Artists Ask Obama Administration to Protect Copyright.
Chris Dickman | September 23, 2009, 8:55 AMRead the Typographic Fine Print
I'm sure you meticulously scroll through the entire End User Licence Agreement (EULA) before installing new software. Ditto when downloading stock images purchased online. No? Frankly, I'm shocked. Well, in that case there's little chance that you're familiar with the license terms of the last font you purchased. You didn't know fonts also had EULAs? Fonts are just software, after all, and commercial software simply grants the purchaser a limited ability to use it. Same with fonts. So for designers, knowing what they legally can and can't do with their fonts is not insignificant.
Chris Dickman | September 16, 2009, 9:20 AMiStockphoto: Your Next Insurance Company?
We humans are frightened by a lot of things but for most of us the scariest thing of all is contemplating the future. Not a future in which all is happiness and bliss but one in which something horrible pops up out of nowhere to grab us by the throat. Some unforeseen event so overwhelming that our lives are forever damaged. Ready and waiting to respond to this fear is, of course, the insurance industry.
Chris Dickman | September 14, 2009, 9:45 AMAll Things Typographic: 7
That's right, ATT is back with its take on what's new in the world of fonts, font applications, notable font usage and general fontiness. This time out I'll focus on recent font releases from Fountain, Gestalten, Kapitza, Linotype and Mårten Nettelblad.
Chris Dickman | September 7, 2009, 3:44 AMPresentation Zen: The Video
I've never given a PowerPoint presentation in my life but I've sat through more than a few of them, with varying degrees of interest. And that's no surprise, since with millions of presentations being delivered every day, at any given moment thousands of people across the globe are assembled in darkened rooms to gaze in wonder at—or more likely slumber through—yet another mediocre presentation. There's something poignant about this human drive to share a point of view, when the odds are so stacked against its chances of succeeding.
Chris Dickman | August 30, 2009, 11:02 AMThe Joy of Domain Parking: Part 2
Earlier this summer I began a look at the alternatives available to those of us who have domains on our hands but neither the desire nor the resources to build them out to full-blown sites. Beyond simply using the domain parking provided by your registrar, what are the possibilities?
Ben Kessler | August 25, 2009, 2:46 PMCritic Armond White's New Book Keep Moving Chronicles MJ's Career
Two-time New York Film Critics Circle chairman Armond White is about to release his first collection of criticism in nearly 15 years: Keep Moving: The Michael Jackson Chronicles. The 118-page book brings together 21 pieces that have appeared over the last 25 years in publications such as The City Sun, The Village Voice, New York Press, and First of the Month.
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Chris Dickman | August 22, 2009, 10:08 AMPANTONE Wants You to Chip In
The economic crunch, combined with a growing aversion to the excesses of our disposable culture, is generating a very real aversion to upgrading just about anything. Take a look around. Odds are that you can spot something within sight that you (or the powers that be) have decided to hang on to, which in another era (not that long ago) would have been replaced by now with the latest and greatest. If you're a designer, that something probably includes tools of the trade, both digital and analog.
Mike Lenhart | August 13, 2009, 10:17 AMIf Your Picture Were in the Dictionary
Remember looking through old encyclopedias or other reference books at the pictures and drawings that were contained? There were so many wonderful images to look at - and they were all very inspiring for young artists. Chronicle Books has come out with another fabulous book that captures the images of dictionaries of old. Pictorial Webster's - A Visual Dictionary of Curiosities is a grand book that captures thousands of engravings which accompanied entries in this reference book for many years. It's a delight for the eyes.
Chris Dickman | August 13, 2009, 8:17 AM
You've Been Hacked! Now What?
Your day began by learning that one or more hackers had compromised your site's servers, gaining access to customer account information and possibly credit card details. The trust customers place in you, essential for your survival, is at stake. Luckily, you have prepared for such an eventuality by putting in place a disaster plan that can quickly lock out the hackers, assess the full extent of the intrusion, restore any missing data, and ensure your customers know exactly what happened, what your response is and what impact this has on them. You don't have such a plan in place? Then take notes from a firm that recently found itself in this position.
