Fonts are like people; they have personalities. A well chosen font combined with color and good design has the ability to invoke a feeling. I could break this down a million ways for you and write many pages to this post but instead, I want you to do an exercise for yourself. Whenever you’re out to the movies or in Time Square, at the Mall or even reading a magazine, take a moment to stop and really look at the design. If it’s a movie poster ask yourself why they chose the font you’re looking at and why were the colors chosen for this design?

If it’s a scary movie poster you will probably see a bold faced font that is jagged or has sharp angles. The colors may be red, black, dark brown, orange or anything ominous. Then take a look at the next poster which is a comedy and look at the difference. What font did they use and why? How does this font differ? What colors did they use? Size…imagery…text…location… and other elements create a design. Again, ask yourself why? You will begin to learn techniques that can be used in your own designs.

Continue to look at life with such explorative eyes and you will soon learn what fonts, colors and design styles work well in different situations. You may even find some bad designs out there.  Since you have been learning so much lately by just stopping and asking yourself questions, you will be able to notice that it’s a bad design. You will even be able to explain why.

Today you can download a really fun font that can be used with designs for kids or anything that doesn’t need to take itself too serious. The name of the font is PLSTK or (plastic), because of the nature of its design. It actually looks like plastic lettering that could be magnets on your refrigerator.

Free font download!

PLSTK is distributed under a Creative Commons License and you can use it for commercial and non commercial projects.

Download the font here: Download

Create a fun and corky design and send it to us!

Okay Okay.. the title may be a bit extreme but the reality is we do not think about personal information we are putting out on the web. Social websites like Facebook and Google+ are awesome. They allow us to share with friends what’s going on day to day in our lives. Something exciting happens.. “gotta post it on my wall.” Soon after, your friends are messaging you about it and cheering you on with a barrage of thumbs up and +1′s.

But how safe is the information you are sharing?

Let’s say that you’re on vacation in Hawaii and you are at the summit of Haleakala watching an amazing sunset. So you take a picture and post it on your wall along with 20 other photos you have taken throughout the day with the description, “In Hawaii having the time of my life!.”  This all seems safe to post, after all it’s just your friends that are going to read it right? Well, what you’re really telling the internet world is, “Hey, I’m thousands of miles from home. If you want to rob my house and take my TVs and computers now is a good time! Oh and the safe is under my bed, the combination is 12-55-83.”  Your friends aren’t going to rob you but the reality is you never really know who is going to see your posts.

This is something we always hear about but never really understand what is at risk. Takethislollipop.com is a website that will scare the living shhh.. well lets  just say you will think twice about Cyber Security.  This live action website entices people to connect via Facebook. Then the site trolls through your own photos, friend lists, news feeds, and plugs the data into a video starring a crazy, dirty, greasy man looking at your pictures. The video resembles a horror flick and you are the victim! It’s done really well and balances the theatrics with reality leaving the viewer feeling that this could actually happen to them if they are not careful.

Check out the site here and see it for yourself.  I DARE YOU.

www.takethislollipop.com

Leave a comment about Take This Lollipop below. Did it scare you too? Has anyone ever hacked you or someone you know before?

If you have used the Google search engine today you may have noticed the page looks a bit different. We often see the Google logo displayed with designs celebrating various current events, but never an interactive page such as this. Check out some of the past Google Logo Designs on inspirationfeed.com.

Today the Google page displays a huge interactive zipper and the actual logo looks like it is sewn fabric. Click and drag the zipper and you will see a really cool animation of the page being zipped away to reveal the search results page. This design is to commemorate the 132nd birthday of Gideon Sunback, a Swedish engineer credited with helping to develop the modern zipper.

Check out Google’s Sundback doodle in action in the video below, or try it for yourself by visiting Google.com.

Google has announced on their Official Blog that they will revamp the design to its social network site Google+. Some improvements include, a new navigation (now located on the left side of the screen instead of the top) with drag-and-drop elements and actions that appear when you hover over each item, as well as the introduction of new features aimed at making it easier to discover conversations to join, a dedicated page for Google+ Hangouts, new profile page layouts,   and more.

Google stated on their Blog:

“Getting there from here
Today’s Google+ update extends beyond navigation, the stream and hangouts. For instance: there’s a new Explore page that shows what’s interesting and trending across the network. And a new profile with much bigger photos. And a new chat list that puts your friends front and center. And a whole lot more.

We’re rolling out all of these improvements over the next few days, so please check back if you don’t see them yet. In the meantime, you can visit this overview to learn more.By focusing on you, the people you care about, and the stuff you’re into, we’re going to continue upgrading all the features you already know and love—from Search and Maps to Gmail and YouTube. With today’s foundational changes we can move even faster—toward a simpler, more beautiful Google.“

I personally think this is going to be a very cool upgrade. The design looks even cleaner than the original, with a real focus on the Social Experience.  I was going to write about these updates explaining in detail the new functionality but rather then make you visualize what’s coming, check out this video showcasing these updates!

http://youtu.be/A3Atj57r15U

What do you think about these new features? If you have used Google+ in the past but kinda stopped because of Facebook do you think this revamp will re-energize your interest. Let me know in the comments.

Here are 20 fresh logo designs that can help inspire you with your next client!

If you have any logo designs of your own feel free to submit them to us and we will publish them on our next logo blog! Click here for the Logo design submission page!

What are some of your favorite logo designs? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

If you have any logo designs of your own feel free to submit them to us and we will publish them on our next logo blog! Click here for the Logo design submission page!

Adobe has been releasing “Sneak Peek” videos on their YouTube Photoshop channel of some enhancements they have in store for us! Check it out.

Adjusting Your depth of field

Vector Improvements

Making dashed lines were always a pain in Photoshop. Sometimes I opened up Illustrator to make the lines just so I didn’t have to deal with brushes and the lack of control. Not anymore, looks like Photoshop will finally give you some of the amazing vector functionality that Illustrator has!

Content Aware Sneak Peek

Awesome…just awesome!

These videos look promising! I can’t wait to see what else they have in store for us. You can keep an eye out for more sneak peek videos on Photoshops Youtube channel.

Keep is mind CS6 is more then just Photoshop..It’s a “Creative Suite” which consists of other programs such as Illustrator, inDesign, Flash, Acrobat, and much more depending on what package you get. Here is a link for a more detailed listing of what Adobe offers in their CS.
http://www.adobe.com/products/creativesuite.html

How about you? What Adobe Creative Suite do you own? Do you think your going to get CS6 when in comes out?

1.Tilt-shift photography is a creative way to manipulate your camera using your lens. This results in life-sized locations and/or subjects that look like miniature-scale models. Basically, you can make any scene look like the huge model of the town in the movie BeetleJuice…That may have just aged me.

Here is an image of the BeetleJuice model. This look (as if the picture you are taking is a model on a table) can be achieved with the Tilt-Shift lens.

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2. Another use, which is more technical rather than creative, is with architectural photography. For example, have you ever taken a picture of a building so tall that you are tilting your head and camera upward in an effort to capture it all? If so, you know that the result is a building that appears to converge visually the further up you look. This is called perspective distortion. These parallel lines that seem to converge, can be realigned to appear parallel by using the Tilt-Shift lens. Here is an example of Perspective Distortion.

This image was taken from the website Canon Digital Learning Center. A great website with online educational resources for imaging professionals.

Obviously this lens offers amazing features, but it’s not really for the amateur photographer. They are very expensive and your need for them as an amateur will be few and far between. The prices range anywhere from $1200 to $3000. The fact that you can only use it for this type of niche photography  limits the average user’s necessity for such an item. Plus, this “toy” effect can now be created in many post editing software programs. I’ll put this down as another lens I wish I had but can’t justify the cost…Tear

Anyway, here are some really cool images taken from a Tilt- Shift lens. Check it out.

Tram by teppistella

By Randomruckus.com

Believe it or not, these are actual cars and people. The Tilt-Shift lens shoots with such a short depth of field that everything looks like a toy. Both the foreground and background are rendered out-of-focus and the true “sense of scale” is lost.

Check out this fascinating video created with a Tilt-Shift lens. This video was captured during Carnaval in 2011 by Keith Loutit and Jarbas Angelli.

Have you created any images or videos utilizing a Tilt-Shift lens? Send me your images and I will do a followup post showcasing your stuff!

Or even better if you use a Tilt-Shift lens and want to send me it for free…go right ahead

So tell me, what’s your favorite lens?

In this blog I will give an overview of what Pinterest is, and then give you a tutorial on how to use Pinterest so you can pin like a pro.

Overview

Pinterest is a fairly new Social Network that is now catching on like wildfire. Pinterest began its inception December 2009 and was launched as a closed beta March 2010. After which, they opened the website to people by invitation only (much like Google did with Google+). Now you can get an account by requesting one on the site and waiting for an email accepting you to the Pinterest club.

The site has now grown tremendously with over 10.4 million registered users (as of Feb 11th). In December 2011, the site entered the top 10 social networks, according to Hitwise data, with 11 million total visits per week. The following month, Pinterest drove more referral traffic to retailers than LinkedIn, YouTube, and Google+. The company was named the best new start up of 2011 by TechCrunch.

The basic idea is the same as all Social Network websites. To connect people who share interests and/or activities, creating an online community. Pinterest utilizes a pinboard-style wall that lets you “Pin” snippets of sites, photos, or videos that you find interesting. You can organize these by making different theme-based boards such as “Things I want”, “People I admire”, “Photography I love”, etc. You cannot message people or leave a comment on their wall like Facebook but instead they concentrate on the ability to comment on content or imagery. You can “Like” a pin, “repin” someone else’s to your own wall, or just leave a comment. The site’s mission statement is “to connect everyone in the world through the ‘things’ they find interesting. We think that a favorite book, toy, or recipe can reveal a common link between two people. With millions of new pins added every week, Pinterest is connecting people all over the world based on shared tastes and interests.”

Essentially it’s part Twitter, part Facebook. You’re communicating with short sentences or phrases, but you’re also using images and video to do so. You also have a main pin-board that shows all of your friends’ pins, this is kind of like your news-feed.

Here are some ideas for your own pinboards that Pinterest gives you on their website but are not limited to:

Redecorate your Home!
Joy uses Pinterest to save decorating ideas for her new home in LA. She saves patterns, furniture, and accessories that catch her eye.

Plan a Wedding!
Divya and Ben use Pinterest to plan their wedding. Their Moms can leave comments about the dresses, flowers, and ties they pin up.

Find your Style!
Tim uses Pinterest to share his personal style. He pins clothing, shoes and accessories he finds while browsing stores and fashion blogs.

Save your Inspirations!
Sha uses Pinterest to save design inspirations for his job. He can reference inspiring design work to share with his team at Trulia.

Save Your Recipes!
Jessica uses Pinterest to discover new gluten free recipes. She always has a collection of tasty appetizers and desserts she can cook when she’s hungry and looking for ideas.

I decided to give it a try myself, and when I first set it up I
thought: “I don’t think I am going to use this much, just seems like a lot of work and I already have Facebook.” To the contrary, I found myself “pinning” like a mad man last night. I starting creating my own pinboards such as, “Fitness”, “Design blogs I love”, “Things I want”, “Photography”, “Products I love”.   Then started quickly adding pins to my boards. I checked out the main wall and noticed other people’s pins and started repinning the ones I liked on my own board. It was all very addictive. I soon started to notice people giving my pins a thumbs up or re-pining mine as well.

Tattoo enthusiast pinboard

As a whole I like the site. It gives me a fun way to share interesting design trends, or great photos that I find on the web. I have a pinboard named “Things I want” and I’m creating a nice list of things that my friends and family can buy me for Christmas or my birthday.. ahhmmm hint hint..  Some people think that Pinterest is mainly used by women. This may have been true at first because a lot of the boards are about weddings, clothes, and recipes, but users are starting to catch on and finding ways to stretch the possibilities. Designers and Photographers are starting to share ideas and inspirational material. Gun enthusiasts can exchange their favorite weapon models. Fitness exercises or diets can be pinned and repinned.  I have seen tattoos shared a lot via pinboards. The possibilities are endless.

The real question is how long will I use this site? Am I just using it right now because it’s new or will this site keep my attention like Facebook has? I have asked this same question in my Google+ review. In that review, I discussed  how much I liked the interface and design. I was really enjoying the  site but after awhile I ended up abandoning Google+ and just sticking with Facebook. The real reason I stopped using Google+, I don’t really know. Maybe it was the fact that I already have my group of friends established on Facebook. I still love the design of Google+ and I really like the hangout feature, I just have not been using it. This may be the case with Pinterest, or maybe the features are different enough from Facebook to keep people using both. Time will tell.

Give Pinterest a try and let me know what you think of it in the comments below.

Okay so you now you know what Pinterest is, now it’s time to learn how to use it.

Let’s figure out how to use Pinterest!

Create an account

 Currently you have to request an account on Pinterest.

• Just click the Request an Invite button.
• Enter your email account

At this point it’s a waiting game. The peeps at Pinterest will look over your request and email when you are invited. Once you have been accepted, you will be sent an email:

You’re in!

I’m excited to invite you to join Pinterest, a social catalog. I can’t wait to have you join our little community………………………..

• click on the link in the email
• sign up using either your Facebook or Twitter account

Note: They say the reason they want  you to link to either of  these accounts is to stop spam. I think it’s really to help Pinterest grow. Everything you do on Pinterest is reflected on your Facebook timeline. You can turn this off in the settings.

(click the red 2 to continue reading)

1. Because she sounds adorable.

2. As a designer I can appreciate what colors and shapes can make a child feel as opposed to what adults see.

This is so interesting because we design logos with the intent to deliver a feeling or thought that will resonate with what the particular company is about in a memorable manner. Depending on what the demographic is for a company dictates how we deliver this message. Now put a child into play and you have a whole new playing field. This is because children have not yet been affected by society, giving their imaginations free reign.

Here is a really basic example: If we see a skull and bones we think danger or poison. A child may get a completely different thought from the skull. Maybe they will think it is Captain Hook’s boat from Peter Pan. Or Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean! Check out this cute video of this girl’s own interpretations.

I especially love her perception of the Olympics logo. This logo represents one of the biggest sporting events in the world. Where the best of the best compete, but to her it looks like the colored rings children play with….”baby toys” and yet she knows the Apple symbol!

Do you have any memories as a child where you thought a logo or place was different then the reality? Or even better, do you have stories of your own child? Leave a comment and tell us all about it!

One of the more important “rules” in photography is to make sure you shoot with a straight horizon.  This is especially the case with landscape photography. Of course like many “rules” in photography it should be viewed more as a guideline and not a law that should never be broken. Meaning, if you find that a particular shot would benefit creatively with a crooked horizon then go for it! But… in more cases than not you will want a straight horizon. In this blog I will show you how to easily accomplish your straight horizon.

You can achieve a straight horizon either while you’re shooting your photos or during post editing. I recommend trying your best to take your photos correctly in the first place rather than depending on Photoshop to fix this error. Reason being, in the process of straightening your photo in Photoshop, you will end up cropping out parts of your image.

Shooting with a straight horizon

Many tripods have a built-in bubble level that will show you whether or not the camera is straight. Even if the ground is rocky and angled, you can adjust the legs until the bubble indicates that you are shooting level.

Some DSLR (Digital single-lens reflex) cameras incorporate an Acceleration Sensor feature which quickly and accurately displays a graphic on the LCD to show the camera’s position relative to the actual horizon.

This is what the Sensor looks like on a Nikon and Canon. Other cameras such as Sony and Pentax may also have this feature depending on the camera model.

Fixing the horizon in Photoshop

In some cases you may find that some of your images were not shot with a straight horizon. This can happen to the best of us. Maybe we were just shooting away trying to capture as much as we could and forgot to check the horizon, or maybe we were just too busy to make adjustments on camera. In any case, this is when Photoshop can be your best friend. Hmm maybe I need to reasses my social life and find some more friends.

With Photoshop CS5 (Creative Suite 5) this can be relatively easy. We will only need to use one tool to straighten your horizon. Keep in mind that your image will end up being cropped a bit on the edges in order to accomplish the effect. The amount of cropping will depend on the severity of your horizon.

We are going to take this beach shot that has a terribly crooked horizon and fix it as if nothing was ever wrong.

You can download the beach image and follow along if you like.

DownloadBeach Image

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Step 1

Make sure that you have your rulers open on your image. If it is open you will see a vertical and horizontal measurement on the left and top of your image.

You can turn on your ruler by pressing Command R (Mac) or Control R (Windows).

The ruler will help us see if our horizon is straight or not. To do so click on the top ruler and drag down toward your horizon. You should see a horizontal guide. In this case our image is so bad that we do not need a guide to know wether or not our horizon is off. So let’s get to it!

Step 2

In your tools window click  and hold on the eye drop tool. This will open a submenu with four new tools to choose from. Click on the Ruler Tool. This is different from the Ruler we turned on in Step one. Step 1 was a Ruler guide, we are now using the Ruler Tool.

Once you have your tool selected, click and drag from the left side of the image to the right outlining the horizon. This will let Photoshop know what to view as the horizon line. If you have made your line and notice it is crooked just click on either side and you can drag the line up or down in order to accurately trace the horizon.

If you feel the need to start all over just click the clear button towards the top for the page. This will clear your ruler line and allow you to add a new one.

Once you are happy with your line, all you have to do is click on the Straighten button located to the left of the Clear button.

Now your horizon should be fixed!

If you find that your horizon is still crooked click control | option z a few times to go back 2 steps in your history and redraw your Ruler.

You will find that our image has been cropped quite a bit. This is because the image’s horizon was badly crooked. Photoshop had to turn the photo a lot to give us a straight line. In the end the cropping did not affect the image negatively and the straight horizon fixes our photo tremendously.

Thats all there is to it. You’re done! Please leave me a comment if you have any questions or any fun Photoshop tutorials of your own. If you would like a tutorial about something else Photoshop, or anything design related, please let me know in the comments section below.