Latest Posts from GDF Bloggers
Chris Dickman | March 13, 2012, 6:13 AMTaking the Mystery and Fear Out of Your Legal Agreements
If you're completely comfortable drafting legal agreements for your design services, then you won't be interested in what Docracy has to offer. But for the rest of us the site offers a welcome solution to a stressful aspect of freelancing.
Chris Dickman | February 27, 2012, 3:58 AMThe Weird, Wild World of eBook Production: Part 2
Last week I ended Part 1 of this saga of creating an eBook for distribution to online bookstores with the promise that in this installment I'd share with you why mastering this new domain of publishing is somewhat akin to herding cats. But before I get to covering some of the resources I've tapped to access the arcane knowledge required for successful eBook creation, a look at production tools is in order.
Chris Dickman | February 20, 2012, 4:25 AMThe Weird, Wild World of eBook Production: Part 1
When a friend asked me recently if I'd provide a hand turning her first non-fiction book into a self-published eBook, I agreed without giving it much thought. After all, eBooks have been around for some time now. Certainly long enough for the establishment of robust eBook file formats and for book creation tools to have matured to the point where they can handle whatever was required. I had Adobe's Creative Suite on my hard drive, so how difficult could creating an eBook be? I can almost hear you laughing.
Chris Dickman | February 8, 2012, 7:01 AMA Second Look at the Google Web Fonts Directory
I have to confess that I'm amongst those who viewed with mixed emotions the 2010 launch of what was then called the Google Font Directory. Way back in 2006 I had written optimistically, in The Web — A Typographic Wasteland No More?, about the typographic possibilities that upcoming extensions to CSS could finally open up for the use of fonts on websites. But when Google introduced its web fonts initiative, made possible by the CSS3 @font-face standard, cloud computing and modern browsers, I shared a collective shudder with those in the type community.
Chris Dickman | January 19, 2012, 11:14 AMAdobe System's Spring Software Tsunami
When Creative Suite 6 ships, sometime within the next few months, Adobe is hoping you'll purchase a subscription to its Creative Cloud, which is a central component of the release. Let me restate that: Adobe is really, REALLY hoping you'll pop for a subscription. And when you look closely at this cloud-based "creative hub," as Adobe calls it, it's not hard to see why, since it solves a lot of problems for the firm.
Chris Dickman | November 28, 2011, 4:51 AMThe Great Adobe Upgrade Dilemma
Like many of you, I use Adobe Creative Suite applications every day, specifically Photoshop, Dreamweaver and Acrobat Pro. These form the core of the tools I work with to maintain Graphics.com. The only significant exception is in the area of vector graphics—while Illustrator is part of Design Premium, I've never warmed to it and instead use Xara Designer Pro. I also have something else in common with more than a few of you, in that I'm not using a current version of these Adobe apps. Since I pay for the Suite myself, keeping it current, especially with new versions now being released more often, is a luxury I can't afford. But a recent shift in upgrade policy puts into question my ability to ever upgrade my applications.
Chris Dickman | November 21, 2011, 9:36 AMStamp Out Fascist Open Standards
It was of course the Marquis de Sade who once observed from his observatory of mankind that was the asylum of Charenton that "Those who define are the masters." In that he not only summed up the most important issues of our time but some of the most trivial. I speak here of the very minor footnote to Internet history which is the misguided Occupy Flash site and the shadowy figures behind it that prefer to not come forward.
Chris Dickman | November 9, 2011, 7:09 AMCreating Facebook Tabs the ShortStack Way
One of the oldest tricks in the book when you're on a tight budget and looking to purchase goods or services is to go for one of the least expensive offerings of a high-end provider, rather than one of the most expensive from a business that focuses on the low end. Have lunch in a top restaurant, for example, and order just a single dish, washed down by mineral water. You'll eat well in a memorable environment and pay little more than for a more copious offering in a forgettable establishment. If your focus is on the quality of the experience, not the quantity, this approach can't fail.
Chris Dickman | November 4, 2011, 5:19 AMThe Once a Decade Type Competition
A few years ago there seemed to be a bit of lull in the introduction of new typefaces. Perhaps not surprising, given the hundreds of thousands already available, ranging rom the classics, through contemporary releases and on into experimental offerings from individual designers and small font shops. But there's no doubt about it—we're now in the golden age of typography, with an avalanche of new releases upon us. And this will only increase, as the use of webfonts picks up speed.
Chris Dickman | October 31, 2011, 8:40 AMErik Spiekermann by the Numbers
House numbers are one of those things you don't really think about until they're brought to your attention—and then you can't stop thinking about them. This happened to me recently after reading about a new line of numerals designed by typographer, designer and FontShop founder Erik Spiekermann. Apparently he had an aha! moment at one point during a visit to the US, since his observation is that, "In the USA, streets can be quite long, and house numbers often run into five digits. The choice of numbers for this purpose, however, is pretty limited. What you see attached to most walls would not pass for professionally-designed figures." Chris Dickman | February 22, 2011, 5:49 AM
So French, So Bad
What's with the apparent inability of the French to express the unique appeal of their country in a graphical manner? It's not like they weren't once the world leaders at this. Think of those captivating posters for Parisian cabarets from the early years of the 20th century, travel posters from the Jazz Age for transatlantic liners, advertisements for exotic drinks or just about anything. To a great extent the world's continuing desire to flock to France for a vacation is still driven by these mythic images, the expression of a vibrant, confident culture. But myths they are, and long-dead ones at that, judging from the current inability of the French to rise above the level of graphical banality when trying to convince us that France remains a land of sophistication and savoir faire.
Chris Dickman | January 6, 2011, 7:37 AMCreating Tasty Business Cards: to Printfinity and Beyond!
Last week I shared some of the resources I found useful during my crash course on getting up to speed on using WordPress to create a hobby site devoted to French food. I have since stumbled across the StudioPress Genesis Framework which, coupled with the GenesisConnect plugin for BuddyPress, will serve as the foundation on which to construct the site. While that's good news, it also represents another mammoth learning curve, the outcome of which will inevitably serve as fodder for a future post.
Chris Dickman | December 29, 2010, 2:42 AMSlithering Towards WordPress Mastery
You might think that after a day of updating the Graphics.com site I'd be only too ready to shut down my systems and go walk the dog. Alas, I'm dogless and have yet to convince the cats to leave the building. So instead my attention typically turns to my admittedly narrow sphere of interests: playing the Renaissance lute, practicing pendulum dowsing and learning about food. I find food fascinating in all its forms, from the raw ingredients themselves and the history of how they were used in different times and places, on to their ultimate expression in restaurants. Especially the restaurants of France, given that's where I now live.
Attention Shoppers: 3D in Aisle 5
One way to broaden your design portfolio is to make a point of constantly trying out new imaging techniques. And while 3D imagery is nothing new (in fact, anaglyphs go back to 1853), its use is rare enough in print advertising and promotional work that when the right image is employed it can catch the reader's attention, which is half the battle. Providing the right image is where royalty-free and rights-managed stock agency StockFood comes in.
Mike Lenhart | August 2, 2010, 11:12 AMLet's Talk Generic
We all go shopping. And most of us have specific brand names of items we like. Sometimes we'll purchase that favorite brand of ketchup or potato chips where nothing else will do. Still, many of us will only purchase anything named "Apple" when buying electronics.
Brand names are well and good, but what about the generics? More importantly, what about the logos, or branding, that these "no-names" have? I thought it would be interesting to take a look at how these so-called, subservient brands rate in terms of their marks.
