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Best of the Blogs: August 1, 2011

Editor in Chief — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 02:31:01 -0600

Don't have time to read scores of blogs every day? Don't worry, I've done it for you, and picked out the best posts you shouldn't miss.

Typography

Cutting-Edge Conference for Print and Digital Publishing

Editor in Chief — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 02:25:20 -0700

The lengthy session list at the 2012 PEPCON print and ePublishing conference could be boiled down into one sentence: Attend this event or fall behind.

Seriously, just look at these session titles (which are only a sampling of the full list):

• InDesign to iPad and Android Apps
• Making Your Folio Come Alive: Embedding HTML and RSS
• XML for Print and Digital Publishing
• Stay on the Cutting Edge: Five Tools to Learn Now

What's That Web Font?

Editor in Chief — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 02:56:43 -0700

Chengyin Liu, an undergrad in Computer Science at the University of Illinois, has developed a handy web browser add-on for people who want to identify webfonts in a jiffy. The add-on, called WhatFont, is compatible with Firefox 3.6 and later; Chrome 9 and later; Safari 4 and later; Internet Explorer 9; and, to a lesser extent, Internet Explorer 8.

Lights, Camera, Action, and InDesign!

Editor in Chief — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 02:28:29 -0700

Excerpted from InDesign Magazine, October/November 2011 (issue 44). Subscribe now!

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This Dress Code Will Inspire You

Editor in Chief — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 02:36:57 -0700

Andre Andreev and Dan Covert are the principles of Dress Code, a New York design agency. They began the company five years ago to "create work that wasn’t defined by a certain style or limited to any particular medium", and their subsequent projects certainly have been eclectic: motion graphics for MTV; a printed book for Macy's; websites for a fashion network and an organization addressing global poverty; and many others.

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Review: Adobe Proto

Editor in Chief — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 02:50:47 -0700

Pros: Adobe’s new Proto touch app wins points for being fun, easy to use, and for making you look cool and up on the latest trends when you’re with clients.

Cons: Although Proto is great for creating wireframes for small sites, it’s not going to replace more professional tools, such OmniGraffle or Microsoft Visio.

Rating: 7/10

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2011 Holiday Gift Guide

Editor in Chief — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 02:50:16 -0700

It's that time of year again, when we sally forth to search for interesting gifts for our colleagues, clients, friends, and family who work or play in design, photography, and other creative fields. Thanks to online marketplaces for individual artists and crafters, the gift options are plentiful, and I've included quirky one-of-a-kind pieces as well as mass-produced studio staples.

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Five Tips for Choosing the Best Webfonts

Editor in Chief — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 10:36:39 -0700

Web and print typography have a lot of obvious differences. Beyond resolution, variable medium sizes, user interface, and the fact that one medium reflects light while the other radiates it, the most frustrating historical difference has been the lack of fonts to choose from on the web side.

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What You Need to Know About Webfonts: Part 2

Editor in Chief — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 08:14:53 -0600

The best estimate I've come up with is that there are around 150,000 digital fonts, at least for print design. You might think that as long as you can convert them to the proper file formats, then you can use any of those fonts in your Web designs. However, there are actually only about 40,000 you can use legally in Web designs.

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Free For All: Design and Photography Freebies

Editor in Chief — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 02:19:31 -0600

InDesign Table Styles
Normally, the StockInDesign service sells InDesign templates and other InDesign-related resources. But to build their Twitter following, they've released a set of 10 free table styles you can use in InDesign CS4 and later. These styles are definitely worth adding to your toolbox, but...

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European Design Conference Comes to America

Editor in Chief — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 09:26:26 -0700

I've listened to people gush about the TYPO design conference for years, but since it was always in Europe, I could never manage the funds to attend. At last, conference organizer FontShop International has taken pity on its admirers across the pond. In April 2012, TYPO will take place in San Francisco.

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Best of the Blogs: November 4, 2011

Editor in Chief — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 02:18:39 -0700

Typography

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Photoshop Plug-in Adds Google Webfonts

Editor in Chief — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 02:50:59 -0700

Here's an excellent demonstration of the rapid rise of webfonts: In May 2010, Google Labs rolled out a beta with 18 typefaces you could use on websites. As of today, Google has 288 webfont families, all freely available for you to use on any site.

And that's great. But many Web designers begin their process in Photoshop, a fact that Extensis acknowledged a few months ago when it released the Web Font plug-in for Photoshop. This plug-in lets you use Extensis' WebINK webfonts in Photoshop comps without paying for them.

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View Source: Add a Content Slider To Your Website

Editor in Chief — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 02:25:39 -0600

Web designers always battle against information overload. As marketing, customer service, and the CEO request more and more content on the home page, designers fight to keep their designs legible. One of the most popular solutions is the "content slider" — a simple slideshow-like interface for displaying one picture or chunk of content at a time. Many information-heavy sites use sliders to show images, text, and links in bite-sized chunks that slide across the screen.

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TypeTalk: Smart Punctuation on the Web

IleneStrizver99 — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 03:43:04 -0600

TypeTalk is a regular blog on typography. Post your questions and comments by clicking on the Comments icon above.

Q. I see a lot of Web sites with dumb quotes and other type crimes I usually associate with print. Is this acceptable?

Q. A (type) crime is a (type) crime is a (type) crime — no excuses! Seriously though, you are correct in your observation that typographically correct punctuation is absent from many Web sites; it’s also overlooked in other non-print media, including motion graphics, movie titles and credits, and ebooks.

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