I have pointed to Michael Doret's typographic illustrations in an earlier post but I just became aware that Doret offers four comprehensive typefaces that you can use to build your own illustrations. Below is a link to the foundry (Alphabet Soup) followed by the instruction guides for each of the four typefaces.
Michael Doret's Alphabet Soup...
In the Ideabook Design Store: The Copywriter's Handbook...
This type of design grounds me. It reminds me that you can never go wrong by focusing on basics. To differentiate your product or service from your competitors you identify benefits, communicate your passion, demonstrate your uniqueness, and establish your style.
Bakemania does it all—it is clear, passionate, and beautifully stated...
In the Ideabook Design Store: The Copywriter's Handbook...
I recently was asked if "mining" ideas, color schemes, layouts, and so on is intellectual piracy. My effort to provide a lucid answer led me to, among others, a series of articles written by Linda Joy Kattwinkel, an artist and attorney for Oliver, Kattwinkel & Sabec. I particularly appreciate her perspective because she sees things from a graphic design perspective.
Is it intellectual piracy? Maybe, never, and always...
In the Ideabook Design Store: Creative Business CD-ROM...
If you have ever needed a detailed, accurate map for a project you know that, though there are maps galore on the web, finding and licensing one can be a complicated proposition. That's why I want to point to a recently launched rights-managed and royalty-free map resource from GeoNova Publishing, Inc.—StockMaps.com. They offer base maps for custom map creation and what they characterize as "market-ready maps for media, marketing, publishing and display." GeoNova Publishing is a Discovery Communications / HowStuffWorks company.
In the Ideabook Design Store: Brenner Pricing Tables...
I'm always on the lookout for interesting ways of navigating the screen. Johnson Banks uses a simple click and drag method to move around a big picture. To me, adds a sense of discovery to the process.
There are many other interesting ideas to explore at Johnson Banks...
In the Ideabook Design Store: Task Force Clip Art...
Spend fifteen minutes skimming this article from Computer Arts and I guarantee you will come away with at least one significant insight on the design process--probably three or four. To me, there is nothing more valuable than stepping back from the wall and watching another climber navigate the same challenge.
50 ways to become a better designer...
In the Ideabook Design Store: Art Parts Clip Art...
I don't know that I have seen anything quite like this before. It is so simple yet so compelling, it just stopped me in my tracks. The fact that you must read your way through it ensures you get the message. On top of all that, the idea of supporting folks around the world with micro loans is a wonderful idea that is proving to be an valuable way to communicate caring and sharing--love it. Thanks to Jesse Gardner at plasticmind.com for pointing to it.
In the Ideabook Design Store: Moleskine Notebooks...
Ree Drummond is a mother, wife, photographer, designer, and writer--a real Renaissance woman. She is also part pioneer. If you have not heard her story or enjoyed her clear, smart insights on photography and Photoshop (and those of her contributors), you're in for a treat.
The photography and Photoshop area of The Pioneer Woman...
In the Ideabook Design Store: FontHead Typefaces...
This is a wonderfully simple solution for creating a online portfolio using Flickr and PictoBrowser. You use Flickr to upload and organize your images and PictoBrowser to customize and automate the display of the images on your site.
If you don't already have a Flickr account, the first step is to sign up and upload your images. Then you configure PictoBrowser to match the size and shape of your page and copy and paste the code. That's all there is to it. If you already have a Flickr account, you'll be up and running in a matter of half an hour.
Thanks to Diego Bauducco, Carlos Gomez, and Maya Gorton for PictoBrowser--a truly elegant system and set of tools.
An example I created from a set of snapshots for a client...
Then you configure PictoBrowser and copy and paste the code...
New in the Ideabook Design Store: Creative Advertising...
If you're interested in ecommerce, you'll be interested in the Get Elastic Ecommerce Blog. It includes lots of in depth information on marketing, usability, design, and so on. Want to know how to minimize shopping cart abandonment? Or what to include in a comprehensive product description? Get Elastic is a good place to start.
Get Elastic, the ecommerce blog...
In the Ideabook Design Store: Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing & Ethical Guidelines...
I came across another valuable resource today (a new collection of images from the National Archives on Flickr) and couldn't help but pause to reflect on the exciting potential of our world. It was around this time 100 years ago that the first stable aircraft flights and radio broadcasts were taking place. It would be another twenty years before rudimentary television and roughly forty before the first practical computers. Simple infections took people's lives and average life expectancy in the United States was under 50.
Today, less than one hundred years later, a child with access to the World Wide Web can tap much of the cumulative knowledge of mankind. Can you imagine where such awareness could lead?
And access to graduate level university teaching...
And to much of the great literature of the age...
In the Ideabook Design Store: Getting It Printed...
On the cover of Adobe's Font page is an interesting collection of type plus motion. It demonstrates some theoretical uses and provides an abbreviated look at how you build an effect in programs such as InDesign and After Effects. I particularly like selection number five: DVD Menus.
Click “Step inside and be moved”...
In the Ideabook Design Store: Becoming a Graphic Designer
One way to improve your understanding of typography and to master proportion and placement is to study the relationship between characters and shapes in fine handwriting and calligraphy. And the ideal place to start is at the International Association of Master Penmen, Engrossers, and Teachers of Handwriting (IAMPETH).
A wonderful collection of out-of-print books on calligraphy and penmanship in PDF form...
In the Ideabook Design Store: Before & After: Graphics For Business...
It's been a long time since I've come across a large collection of black and white vector silhouettes. These remind me of the material offered by Ultimate Symbol. Both are worth a look.
Examples of Neubauladen vector illustrations (and fonts)...
An index of the Neubauladen images...
The Ultimate Symbol Collection...
In the Ideabook Design Store: Before & After: Page Design...