How magazine - Thursday, July 16, 2009

I will custom make any word up to 7 letters. I can do more letters, but please contact me with your specific request. Perfect for a child's name or any word you may have a connection to. Each wooden sign is cut out of recycled plywood. The white paint is applied using a dry-brush method and then the entire sign is sanded to achieve an aged look. Measurements are typically 7" tall and the length will depend on the word chosen.

Posted by Megan

Gifts and Goodies | Typography

Thursday, July 16, 2009 6:55:48 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)

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Designer Digs

Legendary publication designer Roger Black offers a peek inside his vacation home, a series of shipping containers arranged in a stark landscape in West Texas.

“I don’t like the Hamptons because you hear the same gossip and have the same conversations as in New York,” said Roger Black, 60, squinting into the midday sun at Cinco Camp, his West Texas vacation home made of recycled shipping containers. “The whole reason of a weekend place is to get away.”

More images here.

via NYTimes.com

Posted by Bryn

Designers

Thursday, July 16, 2009 6:19:53 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)

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Logo Evolution

Designer Ty Mattson just launched a new website and blog for Mattson Creative. On the blog, there's a great post about how he developed the logo for Pocono Modern, a home builder.

Like every project, I begin by sketching concepts. This process is very freeform. The drawings are quick and loose, and all over the page. I try to generate a lot of ideas quickly, exploring as many different visual concepts as I can. I will play with shapes and forms in multiple configurations until something interesting takes place, or another idea emerges. It’s a difficult process to describe, but I think this may be my favorite part of logo development.

Posted by Megan

Designers

Thursday, July 16, 2009 1:06:46 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)

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Job Of The Day

Senior Interactive Designer
Odopod, San Francisco

The Senior Designer's main job is to create viable design schemes for presentation to the client.

• Inspire and collaborate your co-workers to produce inventive, thoughtful, relevant work for clients
• Work closely with your team to execute on the creative strategy for projects by creating viable design schemes
• Participate in all aspects of design and production for your team’s projects, focusing on innovation and quality
• Understand and work within project parameters: client goals and requirements, internal goals, usability, technical constraints, as well as budget and schedule
• Experiment with new tools and techniques to improve our work
• Cultivate an understanding of industry trends and share your insights with the studio

You
• 3+ years of experience designing rich interactive experiences for the web
• Present a portfolio that represents a range of design styles as well as a clear personal aesthetic
• Experience working on small to medium-sized teams
• Strong point of view on creative ideas and ability to contribute conceptual thinking and fresh design ideas
• An ability to be patient and focuses under tight deadlines
• Proficiency with Photoshop, Illustrator and Flash
• Proficiency with After Effects is a bonus
• Have strong personal organization skills and attention to detail

Posted by Megan

Industry News

Thursday, July 16, 2009 12:54:28 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)

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Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Four Design Challenges

David Sherwin is working on a book for HOW and is looking for a few more contributors to feature:

I'm almost done with the first draft of the 80 Works book—which includes design solutions for almost 80 challenges. I say almost because there are four challenges that have been attacked by a number of designers... but it has fought the majority of them to a dead standstill.
Can you help me solve these challenges? It would be a great help, as I'd really like to promote more of the amazing talents that are out there in the design community.
And thank you, in advance, if you'd like to participate. Contact me at dksherwin at msn dot com if you want to take one of the following design problems on and potentially get your solution into my upcoming book from HOW Design.

The deadline for completing the challenge is July 26, so don't wait!

Posted by Megan

Call for Entries | HOW Books

Tuesday, July 14, 2009 8:51:37 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)

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In Progress

Designer Jarred Elrod just posted a logo in progress on his blog (which usually concentrates on great poster design). He's creating the logo for two friends who are starting a photography partnership. I'm drawn to the second iteration, which positions the two D heads forehead to forehead in a way that says, "two heads are better than one."

Posted by Megan

Designers

Tuesday, July 14, 2009 6:32:27 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)

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Owl Screenprint

I adore this owl screenprint from Etsy seller beethings. It reminds me of Charley Harper's bird illustrations, but with a more modern feel.

Posted by Megan

Illustration

Tuesday, July 14, 2009 3:59:32 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)

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Job Of The Day

Senior Designer
Sullivan, New York City

Sullivan is a communications strategy and design firm that creates rich communications experiences through all media to help drive decision-making.

Who You Are:

You are the kind of designer who always has an idea and point of view, you get excited by challenges and are not afraid to push good ideas further. You have 8-10 years of experience serving large corporate clients and are comfortable working closely with them. You are also sure of yourself when directing and mentoring junior designers.

What You Do:

Your design concepts work hard to meet audience needs and client objectives. They function on many levels: to introduce and/or identify new companies, products, or programs; to change perceptions about brands, products, and services; and ultimately to create experiences that become memorable and help the audience make a decision.

At Sullivan, your responsibilities will include:

Supporting the Creative Director in concept development
Developing corporate identity systems
Designing printed marketing materials
Overseeing concept refinement and implementation
Directing designers, illustrators, and photographers
Managing printers and production artists

Posted by Megan

Industry News

Tuesday, July 14, 2009 2:37:41 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)

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Write Off Your Conference Expenses

Yeah, we know that taxes aren't? (isn't?) the super-sexiest topic. But if you're a freelancer, managing your tax burden is paramount to your financial health.

So this is big: Self-employed creatives can deduct many of their expenses related to professional development. In a new blog post, June Walker, author of Self Employed Tax Solutions explains how. Here's a snippet:

As a freelancer in these tough economic times your vacation has likely been put on hold. Any of your money that’s not going to living necessities is probably going toward a work search rather than airfare to an island destination.
Well, here’s a way to get a change of scenery and acquire more tools to expand your earning potential. Let Uncle Sam and his state taxing cousins foot the bill for about one-third the cost of the Creative Freelancer Conference in San Diego.
Yes, that’s right, as a self-employed person, the cost of the conference is a complete business expense deduction.

Why are we telling you this? Well, because the early registration deadline for this year's Creative Freelancer Conference is tomorrow. All told, the pricetag for the whole CFC experience, including hotel and airfare, is less than $1,000. (Summer airfare to San Diego is a steal right now.) What are you waiting for? Register now! This is one business decision you won't regret.

Posted by Bryn

Events | HOW Magazine

Tuesday, July 14, 2009 2:19:51 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)

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Monday, July 13, 2009

Type Technology

We just got an exciting announcement from type foundry Underware about their latest creation, Liza pro, which automatically chooses from many, many alternate character to give the text a very hand drawn feel.

Flirting, fashionable, provocative, emotional, casual, moderate, extremely sensible & beautiful - Liza Pro covers it all. Liza Pro, Underware’s new retail typeface, is a live-script typeface. Thanks to its extremely intelligent Open-Type architecture, she approaches human hand lettering as close as technically possible. Liza Pro deeply analyzes the text. Out of a stock of 4000 hand crafted characters, Liza creates the most optimal combination. All of this works automatically. All you need to do is typing your lettres d’amour, and Liza makes the text always look different.

Posted by Megan

Typography

Monday, July 13, 2009 8:42:49 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)

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