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The best of the month includes:

> We are entering an era of collaboration. Whether you like it or not.
> What's going on at Adobe?
> The "Infinite Canvas"

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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Is this the first logo? �

Last week I heard filmmaker Ken Burns say something that I think applies to every communications designer.

In the process of discussing his reverence for the stories and imagery he uses in his films he said, "...We, in the present, think that because we've survived we're somehow smarter, or better, or different from those who went before us--and it's not true. For ten thousand or more years human beings are the same, the conversations they have...are no different, the degree of understanding, the glibness of rhetoric--whatever you want to call it--is the same: we love, we hate, we feel jealousy and passion, in the same ways that other people did and it is the responsibility of those of us who labor in these historical vineyards to remind people of that."

So I am asking myself and you, to pause and think about what we can learn about going forward from what has passed. How do foundational concepts such as top to bottom, left to right, and beginning, middle and end dictate the borders of our creativity? How can we avoid losing simplicity in sophistication?

The Kish Tablet...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:LimestoneKishTablet.jpg

NEW in the Ideabook Design Store: The Web Designer's Idea Book...
http://www.ideabook.com/the_web_designers_idea_book_th.html

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If I were a piece of paper, I'd watch out for Eamo Donnelly. �

Eamo has a penchant for fluid, complex lines and an acid-hot color palette. Nice stuff.

Eamo's portfolio...
http://www.eamo.com.au/yakka.htm

And his blog...
http://eamosknucklesandwich.blogspot.com/

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

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We are entering an era of collaboration. Whether you like it or not. �

That, in essence, is what I told a good friend today. He is looking to make a job change and I was posing the possibility that he offer up his substantial experience online. Not that he hand out his social security number, but just that he begins to cultivate new relationships by networking online--Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and such.

But that is not his thing, he explained. He is a private person and the idea of sharing information with the public does not sit well. My response was, "Well you'll just have to get over it."

The link below is the embodiment of my point. Thru-you is a groundbreaking collection of songs mixed together by a Tel Aviv musician named Ophir "Kutiman" Kutiel using pieces and parts of YouTube clips. What is so striking to me is that the people who play the music clearly had no way of knowing that this outcome was even possible.

Like my friend, they did not understand that their contribution could net them something far greater than what they planned.

The front door...
http://thru-you.com/

My favorite cut: 03. I M NEW....
http://thru-you.com/#/videos/3/

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

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Erin Jang is an eclecticist (that a word)? �

What I'm trying to say is that she has a gift for making a combination of disparate pieces look as though they were invented exclusively for her purpose. She got my attention with her wonderful layouts and illustrations Esquire magazine but she hooked me with these bold, colorful covers for the Seattle Times.

A collection of covers...
http://theindigobunting.blogspot.com/2006/07/dance-comedy-theater-festivals.html

Another great illustration...
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3001/2903132917_8f8b1cce79_o.jpg

In the Ideabook Design Store: The Desktop Publisher's Idea Book...
http://www.ideabook.com/store_dtpib.html

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A UI nuance only a design junkie would love (or notice) �

Watch how the designers employ screen symbols to demonstrate Facebook's new home page design--the three screens below the heading, "More about the publisher." I like how they simply silhouetted the elements to show the position of what they are describing.

It's all about the details.

Look at the screens below the heading: "More about the publisher"...
http://www.facebook.com/sitetour/homepage_tour.php

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

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Design is not always invention-much of the time it is more a process of identifying and adapting existing ideas �

I've been a fan of Hornall Anderson for a long time. I point you to their site to show you some interesting ideas they have incorporated into the user interface. (Yes, they may not have invented these, but seeing them in this configuration caught my attention.)

A blog calendar time line (bottom) and pop-up search (top right)...
http://www.hornallanderson.com/#/blog/

Hold your mouse pointer over an image for a slide show...
http://www.hornallanderson.com/#/work/

A slant column on each portfolio page that moves off frame when you click the "X"...
http://www.hornallanderson.com/#/project/47/

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

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I love to see type used in unexpected ways �

Here, the designers contrast the mechanics of typography with an organic background. Reminds me that, often, the designer's primary challenge is to find new ways of doing familiar things. (The work is credited to Why Not Associates in collaboration with Gordon Young.

Typographic tree columns at the Crawley Library in Essex ...
http://whynotassociates.com/en/crawley/01.php

While you're there, check out the rest of the designer's (Why Not Associates) portfolio. I especially like the FutureLab logo...
http://whynotassociates.com/en/futurelab/futurelab.php

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

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What's going on at Adobe? �

If you use Adobe products you are likely curious about the future of those products and, perhaps, the workings of the company that invents, produces, and markets them. Adobe makes itself known in many ways but I think this unassuming little page is among the most interesting.

Adobe Blogs aggregates posts from blogs written by the folks who do the work--the execs, engineers, writers, designers, and so on. If you have a passion for a particular Adobe software product or technology, this is where you will find someone who shares it.

Abobe Blogs aggregates the most recent posts from a long list of Adobe blogs...
http://blogs.adobe.com/

And here is the LONG list of blogs from which it draws...
http://blogs.adobe.com/blog-list.html

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

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To those who don't recognize the value of graphic design... �

I got a plea for help the other day. A designer who frequents this blog had shared a recent post with an engineer friend and the reply was a bit condescending. The post, "The talent that makes a good designer great," points to an engineer who I thought was particularly innovative. My purpose in drawing attention to him was to emphasize the importance of the same type of innovative thinking to the field of graphic design.

The essence of the engineer's response was they saw little correlation between the skills of an engineer and those of a graphic designer. How could that type of innovation, they posed, have anything to do with a designer's sense of style, their ability to choose typefaces, their knowledge of color, and so on. After all, the subject of my post, the engineer asserted, was a PhD candidate.

I laughed out loud. Every designer has had (or will have) this conversation. At its root is the implication that devoting one's career to the design of communications and an interest in the aesthetic is somehow less of a calling than some other, more significant field of endeavor.

My response is this:

The ergonomics and aesthetics of design are to engineering what taste is to food.

Remove the aesthetic qualities (style, organization, presentation) of the clothing you wear, the book you are reading, the automobile you drive, the room in which you spend your time, and so on, and all you have left is...function.

It is important for every student of design (and engineering) to recognize and appreciate the importance of form to function and vice versa. And it is equally important to understand that to be a exceptional practitioner of either discipline requires out-of-the-ordinary instincts, curiosity, knowledge, craft, and so on.

Lots of people view art and science as a comfortable coexistence. But for those who are particularly attuned to one or the other, it is good to remember that the most debilitating form of blindness is to minimize the way in which others see. It is not only a sure way to limit your potential--it is a certain and swift strategy for diminishing your influence.

An example of substance without style...
http://www.ideabook.com/substance_without_style.html

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

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How to identify a typeface �

We've all run up against a typeface we want to use but can't identify. Just in case you had not come across it, here is a link to one of the type community's great resources: The Typophile Type ID Board. If this collective can't name it (or at least give you a hint to its origin) you may as well give it up.

And while we're on the subject, kudos to those of you who are willing to participate in the un-puzzling. The only thing that makes a forum like this possible is the willingness of those who participate in it. As someone who needs an occasional assist, I thank you.

The Typophile Type ID Board...
http://www.typophile.com/forum/29

If, by chance, you are not familiar with the great resource that is Typophile, here is the front door...
http://www.typophile.com/

In the Ideabook Design Store: Getting It Printed...
http://www.ideabook.com/store_getting_it_printed.html

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Intellectual property basics for graphic designers �

I saw an article from HOW magazine by Jean S. Perwin that looks at the legal side of typeface design. It led me to other sites that feature her discussion of other legal issues of interest to designers.

Not My Type: Typeface Protection and the Law...
http://www.howdesign.com/article/fontpiracy/

Trademark issues in the Design Business...
http://www.jsp-law.com/library/legal-ease/trademark-issues-in-the-design-business.asp

Ten Copyright Myths That Can Hurt You...
http://www.jsp-law.com/library/useful-info/ten-copyright-myths.asp

Know Your Rights: Intellectual Property Basics...
http://www.designmanagementresources.com/business05.html

In the Ideabook Design Store: Brenner Pricing Tables...
http://www.ideabook.com/store_brenner_pricing.html

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An out of the ordinary web design strategy: The "Infinite Canvas" �

I love the idea of exploring the size and shape of the page. In this TED presentation, author and artist Scott McCloud explains and demonstrates his "infinite canvas" design strategy.

It is SO easy to lull ourselves into adopting restrictions that are often the remnants of decisions that, in many cases, is no longer irrelevant.

I realize this is not a new idea, but it is the first time I have heard it formally discussed. Best of all, it has got me thinking about ways to expand on the idea.

Thanks to my friend Don Snyder "Don The Idea Guy" pointing me to this.

Scott McCloud lays out the premise (pretty entertaining)...
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/scott_mccloud_on_comics.html

A written explanation from McCloud's site (be sure to look around, there is lots to see there)...
http://scottmccloud.com/4-inventions/canvas/index.html

A "hypercomic" by Daniel Merlin Goodbrey...
http://e-merl.com/pocom.htm

Don The Idea Guy...
http://www.dontheideaguy.com/

NEW in the Ideabook Design Store: The Web Designer's Idea Book...
http://www.ideabook.com/the_web_designers_idea_book_th.html

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A bold, type-centric package design �

If you were hopelessly addicted to looking around for exceptional design, you might have come across this striking package design on the Norwegian Design Council's site. It was designed by Str�mme Throndsen Design for the Trygve Nesje flour mill.

Package design for flour from the Holli ancestral farm...
http://www.stdesign.no/#/portfolio/identity/hollimoelle/1

The design is discussed in depth here...
http://www.norskdesign.no/packaging-design/holli-moelle-organic-stone-ground-flour-bags-and-labels-for-organic-flour-article7849-619.html

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Looking for a prior issue of the Design Links Briefing?

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs014/1101422979778/archive/1102457030824.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