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The best of the month includes:

> Logo design trends for 2008
> How to attend a big time web design conference on the cheap
> Sneak peek at the myfonts.com makeover

And much more...Enjoy! Chuck Green

P.S. Do you use InDesign, Quark, or PageMaker? See the bestseller ideabooks here:

For InDesign > http://www.ideabook.com/indesign_templates.html
For PageMaker > http://www.ideabook.com/pagemaker_templates.html
For QuarkXPress > http://www.ideabook.com/quarkxpress_templates.html

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Web Design > Using positive and negative space in a layout

This struck me as a particularly interesting use of positive and negative space. I like the way the designer changes the colors in the counterforms of select letters and numbers and how she uses a mixture of positive and reverse type.

Lots of good design appears to be uncomplicated (which means, of course, that it is)--it is often more about confidence in your choices than it is your ability to be wildly creative.

Here > NEA Jazz in the Schools...
http://www.neajazzintheschools.org/lesson1/index.php?uv=s

Here > Agnieszka Gasparska of Kiss Me I'm Polish is credited with the design...
http://www.kissmeimpolish.com/

Here > In the Ideabook Design Store: Pantone Guide to Communicating with Color...
http://www.ideabook.com/store_pantone_guide.html

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Photography > The LIFE Magazine photograph archive is now on Google

The intro page here says 97 percent of the LIFE Magazine photography collection has never been seen by the public. Now, 10 million images from the LIFE Photo Archive are being added to Google Image Search. To tap it, add "source:life" to any Google image search or search from the archive page.

Here > Between the 1860s until the 1970s LIFE Magazine was a source of some of the very best of photography in the world. LIFE was all about telling stories with pictures...
http://images.google.com/hosted/life

Here > Proof-positive that Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall were actors, not interior designers...
http://images.google.com/hosted/life/l?q=bogart+source:life&imgurl=7e837ddc12b38276

Here > This guy (Ed Turner) was my boss on my first real job as a designer (no, not my role model on work ethic)...
http://images.google.com/hosted/life1

Here > When I showed up for an Outward Bound course in Maine, I found out this gentleman (Col. Robert Rheault) was the instructor (a little intimidating at first, he turned out to be a powerful influence)...
http://images.google.com/hosted/life2

Here > There is some amazing stuff here going back to the very beginnings of photography...
http://images.google.com/hosted/life3

Here > You can also have the images printed and framed...
http://life.qoop.com/images/988768

Here > In the Ideabook Design Store: Before & After: Graphics For Business...
http://www.ideabook.com/store_business_graphics.html

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Typography > Sneak peek at the myfonts.com makeover

MyFonts.com is offering a sneak peek at a beta version of a new site design. If you don't know this resource, it is wide and deep.

Here > The new front door...
http://new.myfonts.com/

Here > What's new...
http://new.myfonts.com/hotnewfonts/

Here > And if you're looking for a bargain...
http://new.myfonts.com/specials/

Here > Curious about the current best sellers?...
http://new.myfonts.com/bestsellers/

Here > This is their popular font identification feature...
http://new.myfonts.com/whatthefont/

Here > If you look closely, there are some free fonts available from reputable foundries (look for a $0 price when you get to the individual typeface level)...
http://new.myfonts.com/search/lowest_price%3A%5B*+TO+0.00%5D/fonts/#return_to_item_5

Here > In the Ideabook Design Store: Becoming a Graphic Designer
http://www.ideabook.com/store_becoming_a_graphic_designer.html

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Color > Are the days of the black and white logo numbered?

In this recent article, David Pache at Dache presented the logos of 100 leading branding firms in black and white to, in essence, level the playing field. It made me wonder if it might be time to adopt the use of color as a foundational component of logo design. Isn't the reasoning for the need of a straight black and white version antiquated?

Here > 100 Brands of Interest...
http://www.dache.ch/dache/comments/100_Brands_of_Interest/

Here > In the Ideabook Design Store: Templates for InDesign, QuarkXpress, or PageMaker...
http://www.ideabook.com/ideabook_templates.html

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Web Design > One of the least discussed, most important sources of user experience design

The saying is, "Do as I do, not as I say." If you want to see what the usability experts view as state of the art interface design, you would expect they are using it themselves. There is much to learn by simply looking at how the experts set up their own site navigation.

A few interesting examples:

Here > User Interface Engineering...
http://www.uie.com/

Here > Nielsen Norman Group...
http://www.nngroup.com/

Here > Adaptive Path...
http://www.adaptivepath.com/

Here > In the Ideabook Design Store: The Copywriter's Handbook...
http://www.ideabook.com/store_copywriters_handbook.html

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Web Design > How to attend a big time web design conference on the cheap

A solid set of notes is often the most valuable outcome of attending a conference. Good notes are certainly not a substitute for attending and making all the associated connections, but composing and referring to a thoughtful set of notes is definitely useful.

To call Mike Rohde's "sketchnotes" useful would play them short. These notes are both a valuble resource and a lesson in visualizing information.

Here > User Interface Engineering...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rohdesign/collections/72157602798339521/

Here > The Sketches category of Rohde's blog...
http://www.rohdesign.com/weblog/archives/cat_sketches.html

Here > In the Ideabook Design Store: The Color Harmony Guide...
http://www.ideabook.com/store_color_harmony.html

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Illustration > How to expand your creativity? Make two-dimensions, three

Isn't that what faux drop shadows and reflections are all about? Russian designer Yulia Brodskaya did just that by creating a series of three-dimensional cut-paper illustrations for G2, a supplement of the British newspaper the Guardian.

Here > An example from G2...
http://www.artyulia.com/media/images/News/g2-ver-2.jpg

Here > Brodskaya's illustration portfolio...
http://www.artyulia.com/index.php/Illustration

Here > NEW in the Ideabook Design Store: Tintbook CMYK Process Color Selector...
http://www.ideabook.com/store_tintbook.html

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Ideas 101 > How to sell a design lifestyle

If you have not been to an Anthropologie store lately, I encourage you to stop by. It is all about design--they offer an eclectic mix of woman's clothing, tableware, books, and furnishings all accentuated by truly creative, one-of-a-kind displays and fixtures.

I'm guessing this is at least one direction of future retailing. This approach (versus a conventional department store) sells one point of view, a certain set of tastes, a particular mindset-something approaching a lifestyle. I really love the place. For a chain with many stores nationwide, it is amazing how unique they are able to make each.

To get the idea, you'll have to take a field trip-what you do not get from the Anthropologie web site is the importance of the store displays and fixtures to the experience. They are, in some cases, the best part.

Here > Anthropologie.com...
http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/index.jsp

Here > They have some great letters...
http://search.anthropologie.com/?q=letters

Here > In the Ideabook Design Store: Design-It-Yourself: Graphic Workshop...
http://www.ideabook.com/store_graphic_workshop.html

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Illustration > How to design around a foundational illustration

Charmingwall.com bills itself as, "A New York gallery specializing in a curated selection of open-edition fine art prints." What I want to show you is how they establish a foundational illustration and take you to the different site categories by modifying that illustration. A solid idea that could be reinterpreted in many different ways.

Here > Charmingwall.com...
http://www.charmingwall.com/

Here > In the Ideabook Design Store: Templates for InDesign, QuarkXpress, or PageMaker...
http://www.ideabook.com/ideabook_templates.html

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Typography > The top 100 typefaces of all time

It's a claim that stirs more than a little controversy, but FontShop gave it a shot. They enlisted seven people who most would acknowledge as experts and weighted the list as follows:

Sales figures: 40%
Historical significance: 30%
Aesthetic quality: 30%

It is opinion, obviously, but pretty interesting.

Here > The list...
http://www.100besteschriften.de/

Here > A rough translation of the explanation (German to English) via Google Translate ...
http://google.com/translate_c?hl=en&sl=de&tl=en&u=http://www.100besteschriften.de/index.php%3Fkategorie%3Dabout%26artikel%3DZeit%2520des%2520Sichtens&usg=ALkJrhgiNIAT64_RptYZAhvDw2hr0nUosQ

Here > A booklet with the list and illustrations (in German) (6.8MB PDF)...
http://download.fsut.de/100beste/FontShop_100besteschriften.pdf

Here > In the Ideabook Design Store: Templates for InDesign, QuarkXpress, or PageMaker...
http://www.ideabook.com/ideabook_templates.html

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Web Design > User interface: Is interactivity always the best approach?

I want to use this site as a catalyst for a discussion. I like the design--it's an interesting approach to teaching people how to react when an earthquake hits.

But it also raises two questions about user interface. First, does inviting the reader to pick and choose what they want to read and to potentially bypass a critical aspect of the presentation the best way to cover the information?

And second, is a multiple choice question that plants right answers among wrong answers the best way to help readers learn and retain answers in a potentially crisis situation?

UI experts (and others), I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Here > The earthquake quiz...
http://quakequizsf.org/

Here > NEW in the Ideabook Design Store: Tintbook CMYK Process Color Selector...
http://www.ideabook.com/store_tintbook.html

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Ideas 101 > Logo design trends for 2008

Time for the 2008 installment of Bill Gardner's excellent series on logo design trends for LogoLounge.com. Mark it "must read."

Here > 2008 logo design trends from LogoLounge.com...
http://www.logolounge.com/articles/default.asp?ArticleID=607

Here > In the Ideabook Design Store: Templates for InDesign, QuarkXpress, or PageMaker...
http://www.ideabook.com/ideabook_templates.html

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Illustration > Do you know what to leave out of your design?

Frank Chimero does. Where I might be tempted to add another layer of imagery and/or explanation to these illustrations, he is confident enough to hold back. That "sense of subtraction" is one of the most important skills a designer can possess.

Here > One of Chimero's posters aimed at inspiring designers...
http://www.frankchimero.com/work/view/inspirational_design_poster_barriers/

Here > And his portfolio...
http://www.frankchimero.com/work/category/everything/

Here > In the Ideabook Design Store: Before & After: Page Design...
http://www.ideabook.com/store_page_design.html

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About the briefing

I try to remain as objective as possible about the information I share here. Unless otherwise stated, I receive no compensation from the organizations and people mentioned except for occasional product samples.

Comments? Suggestions? Write me at [email protected]

> Chuck