*** From the Archives ***

This article is from April 18, 2014, and is no longer current.

The CreativePro Weekly Top 10, vol. 11

1. We begin the 11th edition of the CreativePro Top 10, with a nod to Mr. “These go to eleven,” Nigel Tufnel.

I was unable to locate a worthy approximation of the Spinal Tap font, but the amazing Typodermic fonts offers some great heavy metal fonts that are free for commercial use (along with many other free and commercial fonts of all kinds). Check out Squealer, Metal Lord, and Die Nasty when you need a design that’s “one louder.”

2. Well, this didn’t take long. In some quarters, folks are already tiring of flat design and calling for a return of skeuomorphic drop shadows, gradients, and the like—at least in moderation. Mmm, do I detect a whiff of rich Corinthian leather?

3. What do you get when you pair classic typefaces with iconic architecture? I dunno, “architypeture”? Whatever you call it, it’s très cool, and it’s the brainchild of Swedish engineer Per Nilsson, the man behind the brand POP. You can order his prints of Helvetica, Garamond, and Futura at Nordic Design Collective for about $60 a “pop.”

4. I loved this Photoshop video from Phlearn on enhancing an image with Shadow/Highlight and Apply Image. It is stuffed with great tips and shortcuts. It is also a bit on the intermediate/advanced side, but follow along with an image of your own and you’ll see how to rescue shadow detail and create convincing lighting effects with just a few minutes of work.

5. Looking to create or edit a font, but you don’t want to make a major investment? There are a few browser-based tools out there, including Glyphr Studio and FontArk. And soon those two will be joined by Prototypo, an open source font editor now being funded on Kickstarter. 

6. And while we’re Kickstarting, let’s also mention the ridiculously successful project by Ben Barrett-Forrest to create The Design Deck: a Playing-Card Guide to Graphic Design. Ben is the guy who did the super-cool History of Typography animated video. Each card will feature a curated nugget of useful design information, along with a visual example. Deal me in! And by the way if I ever start a band, I’m going to call it Curated Nuggets.

7. Quasith is a free (for personal use) font from Egidio Filippetti. Grab it and another free (for commercial use) font called Focus at his Behance page.

 

8. CMYK is a short film created by Vancouver-based filmmaker Marv Newland and animator Kunal Sen. Constructed from common symbols used in print production, and accompanied by music from the Quatuor Bozzini quartet, the film is described as an “unrestrained riot of colour and energy.” I do not disagree. Don’t watch it right before bedtime, or you might have nightmares about moiré patterns.

9. As both a connoisseur of burritos and a man with way too many gadget cords stuffed into plastic bags, I am feeling compelled to purchase a Cordito from Photojojo. Wonder if I can get one with extra jalapeños.

10. “Sexy” and “storage” are two concepts that don’t exactly go together, but the new Studio line of external hard drives by G-Technology are sexy and they know it. The Studio drives come in sleek black enclosures and feature multiple RAID options, removable 7,200 RPM drives, 20 Gbps Thunderbolt 2 interfaces, and up to 24 TB of storage.

Editor in Chief of CreativePro. Instructor at LinkedIn Learning with courses on InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, GIMP, Inkscape, and Affinity Publisher.
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