Daily designer news

Design deals of the week
5 ways to use your smartphone to capture inspiration
10 awesome t-shirts for designers
Cintiq tablet by Wacom
Paintings by Jonathan Saiz
Ceramics by Carl Richard Soderstrom
This week on Pinterest
Unusual words illustrated
Music cover designs by Invisible Creature
Design deals of the week

Posted: 12 Jul 2012 07:38 PM PDT

Every week, we'll give you an overview of the best deals for designers, make sure you don't miss any by subscribing to our deals feed.

Unlimited access to Adobe authorized training for 6 months

If you’ve been wanting to master some of Adobe’s awesome software, now is the time. Train simple offers you over 2400 video tutorials created by Adobe experts.

Classes can include between 20 and 120 videos, ranging between 1 hour and 10 hours each course. When you finish a course, you can print out a certificate of completion, proving you’ve been trained by an Adobe Authorized Training Provider.

$47 instead of $150 – Get it now!

The ultimate design bundle

Vector files, HTML5 templates, labels, patterns, textures, name it and it should be in that huge design bundle.

$49 instead of $1000 – Get it now!

5 ways to use your smartphone to capture inspiration

Posted: 12 Jul 2012 05:46 PM PDT

Photo by Chris O’Brien on Flickr.

For designers and all artists alike, inspiration is known to hit at the most inopportune times. When you are driving and see a funny license plate, in the shower, at a client meeting. The thing about inspiration is, no matter how great your memory, it is essential to record your ideas the minute you get them. Otherwise, they are likely to simply disappear.

Fortunately in this day and age, you no longer have to walk around with a little notebook in your breast pocket and pencil tucked behind your ear (although you are more than welcome to if that is your style). If you aren't looking to channel the Clark Kent style, then it's time to start using your smartphone for more than just checking Facebook and sending text messages.

Your smartphone = the cool way for the web designer to capture inspiration. Here are 5 ways to turn your smartphone into a recording muse to be used when you sit down to a blank screen and a project due in 12 hours.

Camera

Your phone's camera is the most obvious way to capture inspiration. With your phone, you never again have to worry about remembering your camera, making sure it has its memory card, and is charged. Instead, you just snap and go. However, this could easily leave you with a phone full of pictures that simply look like an accident. The key here is to use your phone to upload the photos (using an app) to somewhere like Pinterest, Flickr, or another source where you can add a quick comment. As an added benefit, this is a perfect way to keep your social media presence going.

Note Taking

OneNote (from Microsoft) and EverNote are both popular note taking programs which you can sync to your desktop, tablet, laptop, phone, and other devices. With one of these products, you will be able to take notes anywhere, and access these notes again from anywhere else (provided you are connected, which most designers always are). Notes are pretty straight forward – when you get an idea just write it down!

Doodles

This tip isn't necessarily about only capturing inspiration, but also for stimulating inspiration. If you have a touch screen smartphone, you can easily find an app that allows you to doodle pictures with your finger. This is a great way to pass the time while you are on the bus, waiting for your dentist, and other time-consuming but necessary activities where boredom is present. Use this time to tap into your own designs, not only work dictated by your clients, and save your favorites to pull up and expand upon later when you are at your work station.

MindMap

Similar to note taking, Mind Map software allows you to create bubble charts just like you learned to do for brainstorming when you were in grade school. This can be a much more visual stimulation for some people than simply a list of notes. Try downloading a Mind Map app so when inspiration hits when you are out and about, you can record it and start furthering the idea right there on the spot.

Calendar

This isn't the most fun tip, but probably the most practical. If you think of a project when you are away from your work space, open up your calendar/planner/task manager app and record a deadline for yourself. This way, there will be no excuses when you do find time to work later on.

About the author: Roy K works for Design Pax. The company provides web site design services in high quality all over the world.

10 awesome t-shirts for designers

Posted: 11 Jul 2012 08:18 PM PDT

I’ve been looking online to find some t-shirts that would make me look a bit cooler this summer, here are some that I found.

1. Do you want the moon?

A poetic t-shirt by Helmi Himawan.

2. Birdphabet

Learn about birds with this cool alphabet illustrated t-shirt.

3. Great artists steal

As a designer you probably already heard this quote: “Good artists copy, great artists steal”. This t-shirt is a visual take on the quote.

4. A book lover

The cutest reading giraffe you’ll ever see.

5. Moustacheville

In black and white, an elegant t-shirt full of… flying moustaches.

6. 8 Down, 1 to go

Yes, even 9 lives eventually come to an end.

7. Big trouble in little Japan

Drawn in the style of an ancient japanese woodblock print, this t-shirt turns popular video game characters into a real-life danger.

8. Hi 5

Cute t-shirt, I would wear if I had a sudden urge to socialize.

9. The Ocean of Story

Another t-shirt inspired by Japan and Hokusai’s great wave.

10. The Donor

A t-shirt that designers will like, but that will give headaches to anatomy experts.

Cintiq tablet by Wacom

Posted: 10 Jul 2012 08:00 PM PDT

I never really worked with Wacom’s products, or with tablets in general. I tried to get use to work with it when a friend borrowed me his old tablet, but I could not become familiar with that way of working. Additionally, I don’t do much drawing or retouching on my computer anymore, so there isn’t any point to get a graphic tablet for me.

This said, I’ve been quite impressed when I discovered the latest Cintiq tablet by Wacom and it almost makes me want to try it out again. The touch version will come out in August at $3699 (yes, it’s expensive), but there already some older versions for sale (about a thousand dollars cheaper).

Looking at the price, I think I will start by trying their Inkling pen.

Paintings by Jonathan Saiz

Posted: 10 Jul 2012 06:24 PM PDT

The paintings you can see on this post are part of the Alkahest series by artist Jonathan Saiz. On his site, the artist defines Alkahest as “the hypothetical universal solvent sought by the alchemist”.

Most paintings are oil on canvas, mixing geometric shapes and subtle colors with classical elements.

This article is written in partnership with PrintRunner, an online printing company which offers label printing services.

Ceramics by Carl Richard Soderstrom

Posted: 09 Jul 2012 06:50 PM PDT

Swedish sculptor Carl Richard Söderström has been creating stunning unglazed ceramics that look totally organic. Trips to Asian countries seduced him into investigating nature forms into his sculptures, the result is simply amazing. Via Lancia Trend Vision.

This article is written in partnership with PrintRunner, an online printing company.

This week on Pinterest

Posted: 08 Jul 2012 04:51 PM PDT

Pinterest has become a great source of inspiration for me. Each week I share my favorite pins of the week. If you don't want to miss any pin, make sure to follow me on Pinterest.

Poster-brochure of the « Rêver d'Edgar Allan Poe » (To dream of Edgar Allan Poe) festival organised by the Musée d'Orsay in May 2012. Via Good Memory.

Giro d’Italia poster. Via Cycling art.

Evolution of Type by Andreas Scheige. Via Hipstreet.

Cool photo of Martha Graham. Via The Library of Congress.

Vintage jazz poster. Via Words and Eggs.

Mr. Robot Block Print. Via Etsy.

Unusual words illustrated

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 07:29 PM PDT

Do you know what words like acersecomic, biblioclasm, or hamartia, mean? No? Me neither.

Don’t worry, the A-Z of unusual words is here to teach you some words that we don’t use enough by creating cool illustrations for words. Via Brain Pickings.

Music cover designs by Invisible Creature

Posted: 06 Jul 2012 06:57 PM PDT

Invisible Creature, Don & Ryan Clark’s studio, creates stunning music cover visuals for famous (and less famous) bands. Via Looks like good design.

Design deals of the week

Posted: 05 Jul 2012 06:04 PM PDT

Every week, we'll give you an overview of the best deals for designers, make sure you don't miss any by subscribing to our deals feed.

How to Make iPhone Apps

Always wanted to code your own iPhone app but didn’t take the time to learn, this online class will teach you how to create your iPhone app in 3 days.

$37 instead of $197 – Get it now!