Then and Now
It's hard not to feel down when every possible medium is hammering us with bad economic news. But last week, the radio show "Here and Now" ran a story that, for me at least, puts our current plight in perspective.

The news piece was about the work of Dorothea Lange, an American photographer who lived from May 26, 1895, to October 11, 1965.

Lange originally made her living shooting portraits of wealthy people, but when she saw how the Great Depression was devastating the United States, she took her camera to the street and was hired to document migrant workers' life under FDR's New Deal.

Dorothea Lange's "Migrant Mother" is a classic. Lange’s original caption identified the subject of this photo as “Destitute peapickers in California; a 32 year old mother of seven children. February 1936.”

Yes, the stock market is hitting new lows every day, and many people are losing their jobs and their homes. And there's no doubt that some -- including those who work the very fields Lange photographed decades ago -- live in dire poverty. Yet most of us today are nowhere near the stark destitution Lange chronicled. Hold onto that thought when the next negative headline hits you.

To listen to the inspirational radio piece and see several of Lange's photos, go to the "Here and Now" Web site. For a full-blown exploration of her images, check out the Library of Congress archive.

Terri Stone - Editor in Chief

Design for Mobile Devices
Mobile devices are everywhere, so visual designers who want to increase their marketability should know the basics of creating for the mobile medium. In this chapter from the book Strategic Mobile Design by Joseph Cartman and Richard Ting, you'll learn about interaction design and the special concerns of designing for the small screen.

Related Reading: Cameron Moll says that there are four paths to mobile design and deployment.

Scanning Around With Gene: A Bridal Shower for Sophie
Gene Gable is on week three of his away-from-home, care-giving journey, but just for you loyal readers, he bought a new scanner. As fate would have it, the closest electronics store was a few doors down from a thrift store, where he found a 1936 scrapbook. Part of that scrapbook formed the basis for this week's installment.

Related Reading: In last week's Creativeprose, I mistakenly listed the wrong link for last week's installment on junk mail. Here's the correct link.

TypeTalk: The Best Way to Manage Fonts
Buying and learning another piece of software is the last thing you need, right? But a font manager is worth its weight in gold. It will speed up your computer and simplify the creative process. Ilene Strizver explains why font managers are good (especially if you're running Mac OS X), then tells you a bit about the main players and what they can do.

Related Reading: There are at least six Fonts folders in OS X. Read this and weep.

CreativePro.com Podcast
Jay Nelson and Jeff Gamet, our own daring duo, have delivered another super-useful podcast. Listen in to learn about everything from cool (and free!) census maps to how to control new document sizes in Photoshop.

Related Reading: Jay's often written for CreativePro. Have you missed his past articles?

Create a Searchlight in Photoshop
Colin Smith knows a lot about creating special effects using Photoshop. In this tutorial, he shows you how easy it can be to whip up a Hollywood-style spotlight effect with realistic-looking beams of light in Photoshop.

Related Reading: Here's a Colin oldie that's still a goodie.

Major Update to InDesign/InCopy Formatting Tool

New Canon Pro Photo Printers

New Lumix GH1 SLR Records in HD

Photoshop Lightroom 2.3 and Camera Raw 5.3 Updates Now Final

Useful Paper Facts in Free eBook

CreativePro.com Poll: What do you think of the recovery.org emblem?

This web site, which is all about photo booths, is a kick in the pants.

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