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To paraphrase a famous David Throne back and forth...

Client: "All I was asking for was a logo--which would have taken you a few hours."

Designer: "Actually, you were asking me to design a logo which would have taken me a few hours and fifteen years experience."

Be well, Chuck

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Have you seen my InDesign Ideabook?

315 template files in 19 different categories -- Everything from brochures, newsletters, and direct mail to packaging, calendars, and books (one CD works with both Mac and PC). Use two or three files and you'll pay for the entire book and disc...

For Adobe InDesign  Here 

For QuarkXPress  Here


Are these the best webfonts ever?

Hoefler & Frere-Jones, by any measure, one of the world's premiere type foundries has introduced Cloud.typography, a new, impressive webfont solution.

Thanks to Rob Green for pointing us to it.

An introduction...  Here

How it works...  Here

How much it costs...  Here

The service is delivered by Akamai, a giant distributed-computing platform...  Here 

H&FJ makes some gorgeous typefaces...  Here

About typeface designers Jonathan Hoefler and Tobias Frere-Jones...  Here


Can you figure out how was this photograph produced?

Before you read further, click on this photograph and see if you can figure out how it was produced. Then come back and read on...

How was this photograph was produced?  Here

I never would have guessed that what I was looking at was a model set in front of a real background.

Here are the models and the board...  Here

It is a fascinating technique used by designer, illustrator, and model maker Michael Paul Smith. I point to it because I think it's such a smart idea to blend fiction and fact together.

The high resolution version of the photograph...  Here

An interview with Michael Paul Smith (note that he does not use Photoshop)...  Here

Smith's Flickr page...  Here

An article about Smith and his creations from the New York Times...  Here


Looking for a good online printer?

I have used and recommend PrintPlace.com...  Here


Meet illustrator Laura Plansker

I love good, different-Laura Plansker is all about good, different.

Example 1...  Here

Example 2...  Here

Example 3...  Here

Laura Plansker's...  Here


A design so simple it could fool you into thinking it was easy to design

And we know that rarely happens. But I l-o-v-e the new interface and design of Square Cash. It is a new service offered by Square Inc.-the folks who make Square Register, the device and app you've seen being used for completing credit cards transactions using an iPhone.

Square Cash allows you to transfer money from your debit account to another person's debit account-for free. Yes, for free.

Square's Creative Director is Robert Andersen, formerly a product designer at Apple. I must say, I admire his ability to oversee a project of this magnitude and arrive at such a simple-looking solution. Stand by, I've asked who should be credited with the design and I'll share it with you when (and if) they share it.

In the meantime...

Square Cash...  Here

A measured assessment of the service by Walt Mossberg, the Personal Technology columnist at the Wall Street Journal...  Here

Square Inc...  Here

Andersen's Dribbble page...  Here


Learn virtually any software program...

I recommend Lynda.com... A huge library of top-quality, design-oriented tutorials. Click here for a 7-day free trial.  Here


Meet illustrator Ariane Spanier

Out of Berlin, Ariane Spanier produces unusual and interesting everythings.

Example 1...  Here

Example 2...  Here

Example 3...  Here

The Ariane Spanier Design website...  Here


I'd love to know how many videos that are pitched as viral videos actually become viral videos...


"Slaves of the Internet, Unite!"

Essayist and cartoonist Tim Krieder struck a blow for creatives Sunday in the New York Times. As he explains it, "People who would consider it a bizarre breach of conduct to expect anyone to give them a haircut or a can of soda at no cost will ask you, with a straight face and a clear conscience, whether you wouldn't be willing to write an essay or draw an illustration for them for nothing."

As of noon Sunday there were already over 400 comments, including this gem from Max Alexander: "With every new book I write, the publicist of the moment earnestly advises me that the best way to get publicity is to do lots of free blogging and tweeting. Then she sends me a bill."

Thanks to Jessica Mills-Jones for pointing us to it.

Slaves of the Internet, Unite!...  Here

Tim Kreider's website...  Here


If you use this link to buy your type from MyFonts.com...

You won't pay any more but I'll get a commission. And you know what THAT means: My own island! Or, a paddle for the canoe.  Here


A web resource that could become one of a designer's top ten

It's called Niice and it is a search engine for creative inspiration. I've played with it for a while now and am impressed by the quality of what it finds.

As the designers of Niice explain it, "The internet is full of inspiration, but since Google doesn't have a 'Good Taste' filter, finding it means jumping back and forth between blogs and gallery sites. Niice is an inspiration search engine, letting you search across multiple hand-picked sources (Behance, Illustration age, Designspiration, SiteInspire & Fonts In Use for now, but we're working to add more)."

By the way, I very much like the idea that the sponsor of the site is given top billing at the top left, just below the search window.

Example: Here are the results for a search of the word "cheese"...  Here

Niice: The creative inspiration search engine...  Here


The new Creative Characters interview with Matthew Carter...  Here


Now even the prestigious Smithsonian Institute seems to be condoning the digital colorization of historical photographs.  

As I have said before, I believe a photograph is a creative work that should be protected from this type of defacement--ethically, if not legally.

I can't image anyone having the temerity to colorize Ansel Adams' The Tetons--Snake River. Or Pablo Picasso's Guernica. And I doubt most would look favorably on a budding writer who decided to add a chapter or two to Joyce's Ulysses and republish it.

Is this any different?  Here

What concerns me is not just the practice of editing/colorizing, but society's willingness to tacitly accept the appropriation of a creative work by a person other than its author and the assumption that their unrelated information/opinions/vision are attached in a way that implies a level of unearned credibility.

This retoucher, I'm guessing, has the best of intentions. But our acceptance of the practice leaves it open to anyone with the digital tools to likewise alter the images. That is why, across the world, so many fight to maintain the integrity of intellectual property.

The black and white original...  Here 

Here's an indepth discussion some of us had about the subject...  Here


Bob Bly's marketing and copywriting treasure chest...  Here
About this newsletter

I try to remain as objective as possible about the information I share here. Unless I tell you otherwise, I receive no compensation from the organizations and people mentioned except for occasional product samples. I am an affiliate of Lynda.com and MyFonts.com -- that means, if you purchase something from them, I get a small commission. Comments? Suggestions? Write me at chuckgreen@ideabook.com -- Chuck Green