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Some colors become huge successes early on and then fade off into obscurity… while other colors go the distance and become international icons. ColourLovers takes a look at 11 of the great color legends… Stop Sign Red, Horny Green M&Ms, Black Death, Blue Sky and more.
Why is red the international color for stop?
Why is red the international color for stop?
Learn more about the PDF/X-4 format in InDesign CS3
Learn more about the PDF/X-4 format in InDesign CS3
One of the many new additions to InDesign CS3 is the PDF/X-4 format in the export dialog box. There are several PDF formats, each with their own specific uses in the industry, and the latest version has it’s particular strong points as well. Steve Werner at InDesignSecrets.com has a great introductory article explaining the new PDF/X-4 format that is quite informative.
Paper: Going against the grain
Paper: Going against the grain
You don’t have to be familiar with every detail about paper and printing to be a good designer. But wouldn’t you like to know why a brochure fold is more ragged and bumpy than you planned, or why ink is cracking along the fold? Find out why grain direction matters and how to use that knowledge to improve your designs. Sabine Lenz has a quick article covering paper terms and what they mean for you as a designer.
Learning the language of typography
Learning the language of typography
If you would like to know more about typography, the meaning of terms used with regards to type (such as tracking, kerning, leading, x-height and more) and a little type history lesson thrown in for good measure, then check out Thinking With Type. For more in-depth discussion about type and some general “rules-of-thumb” you can check out Learn Typography and Page Layout. They have a great page that discusses some dos and don’ts of setting type.
Seven habits of highly effective junior designers
Seven habits of highly effective junior designers
Talent alone simply isn’t enough anymore. You have to be a well rounded person to be successful creative in today’s market. There are a lot of things you can do to help yourself on the way, and LifeClever: Tips for design and life has some tips to get you started in the article titled Talent isn’t everything: 7 habits of highly effective junior designers. The seven habits covered are:
- Work quickly, produce a lot
- Attend to details
- Be versatile
- Make an effort to learn
- Anticipate problems
- Set goals
- Display a positive attitude
Designers must write to be successful
Designers must write to be successful
Design is not solely visual. Those who believe it is, make an unconscious decision to confine themselves solely to craft. This limits these individuals from growing and taking on more complex and broad challenges.
No more true words have been spoken about what a designer really is in the advertising business. Production artists exist to be craftsman. People who know and understand the tools (software) like the back of their hand. Designers on the other hand must learn to be more than someone who can simply draw pretty pictures, they must learn to be communicators! Ideasonideas.com has a great article titled Designers must write. It’s a great read for the novice or pro designer.
File extensions: What app made that?
File extensions: What app made that?
Every once in a while, you get a file from a client or vendor and have no idea what app it was created in. It doesn’t open in Photoshop, Graphic Converter, Quark or InDesign, so what could it be? 
Well, you can always check over at FileInfo.net. FileInfo.net contains a searchable database of file extensions with detailed explanations of each file type. Every file extension entry contains information about the file format, a description of the file, and how to open the file. Programs for opening the files are listed for both the Macintosh and Windows platforms. The information can be browsed by file type:
- Text
- Data
- Image
- Audio
- Video
- Web
- Fonts
- Plugin
- System
- Executable
- Compressed
- Developer
- Backup
- Disk
- Game
- Misc.
Logo trends 2006
Logo trends 2006
LogoLounge has released their 2006 Logo Trends article, discussing (obviously) trends in logo design for the past year. I find it quite interesting commentary on how remarkably similar styles are used in the design of logos over the course of a year, particularly with regards to shape and color. You can also look back at the Logo Trends articles dating back to 2003 to see where we’ve been and hopefully get an idea where we’re going.