May 7
Reference
Every designer should be a student of copyright and trademark laws. These laws not only protect your work and mine, they protect the work of others—everyone from artists and designers to corporations and public institutions. Part of our job is to be certain that the illustrations and photographs we incorporate into our work do not infringe on existing copyrights or trademarks. Or, if they do, that they are properly recognized and documented.
It is not as simple as it looks. Here, for example, is a technical wiki for the royalty-free illustration and photography site istockphoto.com. It is designed to help the those who submit work for sale to understand what can and cannot be distributed under royalty-free guidelines. You might be surprised at the scope of the imagery that cannot be used without the permission of its owners.
The istockphoto wiki on copyright and trademark issues ...
Copyright basics...
Trademark basics...
In the Ideabook Design Store: Design-It-Yourself: Graphic Workshopa...
Apr 14
Reference
Guy Kawasaki makes it look easy. This time he, Will Mayall, and Kathryn Henkens (all principles of Nononia, Inc.) have birthed Alltop—a table of contents to “all the top” stories on the web.
What type of semantic computational algorithm could possibly make such a subjective judgment? The human brain. Yup, these industry innovators propose that what we need is not another regurgitation of every other machine-picked list, but a lineup selected by people.
“The bottom line,'” as they describe it, “is that we are trying to enhance your online reading by both displaying stories from the sites that you’re already visiting and helping you discover sites that you didn’t know existed. In this way, our goal is the 'cessation of Internet stagnation.'”
We are honored to be included on the Design page.
The home page with all the categories...
The Alltop.com Design Category—LOOK, there's pageplane.com next to the kid with the circle on his shirt...
In the Ideabook Design Store: FontHead Typefaces...
Feb 11
Reference
Designers Toolbox is a collection of resources worth a look. It provides quick reference to topics such as envelope, pocket folder, and DVD/CD cover and label dimensions, standard stock sizes, lists of HTML characters, proof reading marks, and so on. They also offer a variety of paid products and services. All nicely designed.
Designers Toolbox...
In the Ideabook Design Store: Templates for InDesign, QuarkXpress, or PageMaker...
Jun 4
Reference
None of us lives in a vacuum; we are all influenced by the sparks of concepts, imagery, color, configuration, and typography we see in the world around us. Early books on advertising and design are an excellent source of inspiration—they show the seeds of today's crop.
Optos Books is a rare and out-of-print bookstore that specializes in books on design and the decorative arts. Find something interesting? You'll also find a fair number of these titles on amazon.com—some reprints and some from other resellers under the “Used & new” option.
Here is the graphic design and typography category...
An example of a title on early 20th century signage (click to maximize the illustration)...
In the Ideabook Design Store: Moleskine Notebooks...
May 14
Reference
This site offers a free tool for mapping all the pages of a Web site (up to 500) and for exporting the map/list in several different formats. Why map a Web? It is another way to see how it is structured and to capture the URL of each page. It is also plays a role in optimizing a site for search engines.
Start mapping with XML-Sitemaps.com...
Nov 27
Reference
Every client, designer, photographer, illustrator, and writer should know the basics of copyright. If you're new to the subject, this is a good place to begin:
www.copyright.gov
Nov 22
Reference
Here's another amazing leap toward the virtual. Microsoft Live Local offers a bird's eye view of a the planet. What makes it so different is the growing number of areas photographed from low-flying airplanes in high-resolution. For example: a lighthouse on Gasparilla Island, in Florida:
local.live.com (Florida)
The home page...
And a companion site that points to many interesting destinations—www.birdseyetourist.com
Nov 8
Reference
The gethuman database offers toll-free phone numbers and keys to connecting with a human being at some of the world's largest organizations.
gethuman.com
Aug 7
Reference
Bartleby.com publishes the classics of literature, nonfiction, and reference free of charge. It began as a personal research experiment in 1993 and since its incorporation in 1999 has become the most comprehensive reference publisher on the Web.
The cover page.
http://www.bartleby.com/
Jul 10
Reference
I saved this for last because, if you're anything like me, you could spend half a day searching Google's groundbreaking new map application. Check this out:
Here's a map showing the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco...
Click on “Satellite” (upper right) and you get the same image in photographic detail!
Cross country
Then, try clicking on the page above and drag your mouse to move right. Unbelievable! You can actually travel across the United States (by map or satellite image) to the east coast!
Jun 23
Reference
If you are reading this (and I'm writing it), neither of us is attending TED this week in Monterey, California (we'll just have to ride it out). TED, an acronym for Technology, Entertainment, and Design, is an invitation only, four-day conference that presents an impressive roster of speakers including some of the most renowned creatives, innovators, entertainers, and provocateurs on the planet—everyone from Bill Gates to Billy Graham. Looks interesting. To get a taste, go...
http://ted.com/about/introduction/flash_page.cfm
Then select “Highlights.”
May 3
Reference
Postal Explorer is a virtual library of postal information designed for business mailers. Everything you ever need to know about designing mail pieces. For example, w Wondering exactly where to place the mailing indicia? Search “permit imprints.” Want to know what postcard dimensions qualify for first class card rate? Search “postcard dimensions.”
http://pe.usps.gov
Feb 15
Reference
Looking for a source of CD-ROM packaging? Paper coasters? Clear mailing tubes? Tin paint cans? Thomas Register is online (you've probably seen its big green books in the reference section of the library). It catalogs the names and contact information for over one hundred and fifty thousand manufacturers in the United States and Canada.
http://www.thomasregister.com/
Jan 13
Reference
One of my favorite things: every morning, more than 100 newspapers from around the world submit their front pages to newseum.org via the Internet. It is not only a great way to get the news, but a great source of newspaper design inspiration.
http://www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages/