Don't Fear the Internet

Don't Fear the Internet: Basic HTML and CSS for Non-Web Designers has some good introductory web skills videos geared towards print designers and non-web savvy artists and photographers. By Jessica Hische (from Daily Drop Cap and other projects) and Russ Maschmeyer.

Design*Sponge Book Cover Evolution

Design*Sponge has an interesting post on the evolution of the Design*Sponge book cover through 30+ cover drafts. I like some of the other covers a bit more than the final cover (the bright red one) but it's interesting to see all the different visual directions explored.

Importing InDesign Workspaces and Keyboard Shortcuts from Version to Version

I'm finally setting up InDesign CS 5.5. With some testing and research I've discovered the secret place where InDesign stores your customized workspace and keyboard shortcut files. So now I can easily copy and paste the shortcut or workspace files from InDesign CS 5 to CS 5.5 and be up and working in CS 5.5 in no time.

The location: Users > "Your Name" > Library > Preferences > Adobe InDesign > Version 7.0 (choose your version — 7.0 is equivalent to CS5) > en_US > InDesign Shortcut Sets or Workspaces.

Dana Tanamachi - Chalk Artist

I never thought of something as simple as white chalk on a blackboard as being impressive and artistic but Dana Tanamachi makes it so.

Google Art Project

Google Art Project: It's Google street view for museums! Virtually walk through museums and explore selected artworks at high resolution.



The list of currently participating museums is impressive:

• Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin - Germany
• Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian, Washington DC - USA
• The Frick Collection, NYC - USA
• Gemäldegalerie, Berlin - Germany
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC - USA
• MoMA, The Museum of Modern Art, NYC - USA
• Museo Reina Sofia, Madrid - Spain
• Museo Thyssen - Bornemisza, Madrid - Spain
• Museum Kampa, Prague - Czech Republic
• National Gallery, London - UK
• Palace of Versailles - France
• Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam - The Netherlands
• The State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg - Russia
• State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow - Russia
• Tate Britain, London - UK
• Uffizi Gallery, Florence - Italy
• Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam - The Netherlands

Scandilicious

I love the title font on this book cover. A very elegant and simple design - understated in a Scandinavian way...

Subtle Patterns for Websites

Subtle Patterns has a collection of free high quality patterns for website backgrounds. The patterns are mostly monochromatic but you can add your own color overlay in Photoshop as desired. The best feature of this site: click the Preview button on any pattern and the pattern will test live—filling the page.

Harry Potter Tribute Exhibition at Nucleus Gallery

Yes, I am a Harry Potter fan. I saw this Harry Potter Tribute Exhibition at the Nucleus Art Gallery and couldn't help choosing my favorite pieces.


I Open at the Close


Whomping Willow


J'ai Deux Amours (painting of Luna)


Hermione Reading

Dreaming Cow Yogurt Packaging

I like the simplicity, elegance and cute illustrations on this Dreaming Cow Yogurt packaging. And I absolutely love the "new zealand style artisan yogurt" text font (which What the Font tells me is Coquette).

How to Generate a QR Code

If you don't know what QR code or if you've seen these around but don't know what they were called, here is a good description from wiki:

A QR code (abbreviated from Quick Response code) is a specific matrix barcode (or two-dimensional code) that is readable by dedicated QR barcode readers and camera telephones. ... The information encoded may be text, URL, or other data.

Here's how to generate a QR code:

1. Open your web browser and navigate to your favorite QR code generating website. This free QR code generating site from Kerem Erkan came highly recommended. The better sites will allow you to create the file in vector .eps format—definitely preferred!


2. Select a Code Action which will most likely be "Browse to a Website" but there's a whole drop down menu of options.


3. Select Code Type: QR Code


4. Select Output Type: Encapsulated Postscript (EPS) (vector data is preferred because it's crisp at any size)


5. I left the defaults for the rest. URL Shortening: None, Error Correction Level: Low, Block Size in Pixels: 10, Margin Size in Blocks: 1, Foreground Color: #000000, Background Color: #FFFFFF, Transparent boxes unchecked



6. Click the Generate Code button and the file will automatically begin downloading


7. Insert the code into your Photoshop, InDesign or Illustrator document. QR codes will be hard to read at sizes smaller than .59 inches (15 mm). A good standard QR code size is around 1 inch or 25-30 mm.