DesignNerd Blog

Humorous Vector Badges -for Designers

DesignNerd! — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 06:45:12 +0000

Ive noticed lately that all designers have the same thoughts, loves and pet hates about design. These are things that bring us together that other people (ie. non designers) just dont understand. So I decided I would create some cool vector based badges with quotes that only us designers will understand. They can be displayed on your websites/blogs to show your feelings.

There are six in this set and they can be downloaded in vector format at the end of the page.

Download Vector Badge Set here

DesignNerd featured on AiVault

DesignNerd! — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 07:19:16 +0000

About time I posted right? Yeh I have been pretty slow on the posting department lately. This is because Ive been busy designing for the PSDtuts contest. I’d really love to win a place so Ive been concentrating on that rather than my own site. Anyways…

Im really glad to say that DesignNerd has been featured on the killer vector site AiVault ! They have been very kind and have featured my Free Vector Grunge Splats and my Free Vector Grunge Elements . I just wanted to say a big thankyou to AiVault. If you havent already please go and check out their site today!

Stay tuned for more freebies coming soon!

Create your own free fonts online with FontStruct!

DesignNerd! — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 04:30:05 +0000

All designers love fonts, i mean, who doesnt?! Sometimes we just cant find that perfect font we are looking for. Well thats not a problem anymore! I recently came across this awesome new site called Fontstruct . It is brought to us by the amazing people at FontShop.com. Basically you create an account and you can design and download your own fonts. Not only that but you can then share your creations with other users! There are already tons of awesome creations available to download…and all free!

Visit FontStruct Now!

Free Vector Grunge Splats

DesignNerd! — Wed, 28 May 2008 05:14:40 +0000

Hey Guys, Bout time for another freebie…and we all know theres nothing better than a vector freebie! Here Ive made some really awesome Vector Grunge Splats! I was finding it hard to find any vector grunge so i decided to try and make some myself. They are all fully scalable and should be easy to use. They file format is Ai.

As always please credit and link back to DesignNerd when using.

Download Here

Inspiration: Designer Chuck Anderson

DesignNerd! — Wed, 21 May 2008 04:51:23 +0000

I recently came across the portfolio of a great designer by the name of Chuck Anderson. Chuck is a freelance graphic designer and photographer and also runs an online store where you can purchase his amazing art. His work includes some absolutely stunning pieces as he uses brilliant lighting effects in his designs. Chuck has an impressive list of clients, press interviews and appearances.

You can view Chucks portfolio at: www.nopattern.com

Abduzeedo Icon Contest

DesignNerd! — Mon, 12 May 2008 12:39:05 +0000

Im sure all of you know about the amazing design blog Abduzeedo .

Well Abduzeedo has just launched its very first design contest! The aim of the contest is to create an icon for the Abduzeedo Flickr Group. The theme is anything to do with space, abduction, alien abduction etc etc.

There are some great prizes to win so head on over and enter now!

Here is my entry below!

Leopard Aurora Borealis Photoshop Tutorial

DesignNerd! — Sun, 04 May 2008 07:32:42 +0000

Well after my blog showcasing my re-creation of Leopards Aurora Borealis desktop, I got a lot of feedback and many of you want a tutorial on how I did it. Well you are in luck…I finally decided to put together a brief tutorial. I must warn you this is my first tutorial so bear with me hehe. Anyways here goes

Step 1. Find any image of a space scene, I found this one on the NASA site and loved the colours. I dont know NASA’s copyright rules but Im not using this photo for commercial purposes so it should be ok.

Step 2. Open a new document and make the background black. Now drag your space image into the document, it should appear in a new layer.

Step 3. Make sure you are on the space image layer and go Filter - Blur - Radial Blur , and make your settings like mine below.

Your image should now look like this:

Step 4. Duplicate that layer that you just made your radial blur on and set it to Screen, Opacity 60%. This will just make the light effect more intense. Your image should now look like this:

Step 5. Now to add some more colour streaks and highlights to our work. To do this first add a new layer. Take a smallish hard brush and just scibble in different colours like i have below. I chose these colours but you can use anything you like.

Step 6. Now making sure you are still on your scribble layer, go Filter-Blur-Motion Blur and make your settings as: Angle 90 degrees, Amount 484 .

Step 7. Take your blurred scribble and go Edit - Transform - Free Transform and rotate it to your liking and place it so it looks like more streams of light are coming out of the center. Set it to either Screen or Softlight , whichever looks best for you. Here is mine:

Step 8. Repeat step 7 but make your highlights different sizes and colours and try a few different blending modes. Basically just play around until you come up with something you like. Here is mine with a few more light streams added.

Step 9. Now just add a starfield and some text and your done!

Free Vector Grunge Elements

DesignNerd! — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 02:47:04 +0000

So about time for another update…and what better than another freebie!

Ive been busy making some free Vector Grunge Elements for you to download. They are all fully scalable and should look great on your grungy designs. They are in black at the moment but you can colour and customize them how you want.

Please credit DesignNerd if you use. Enjoy!

DOWNLOAD HERE

Leopard Aurora Borealis Effect in Photoshop

DesignNerd! — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 00:41:19 +0000

Leopards Aurora Borealis desktop is in my opinion absolutely stunning. The first time i saw it i thought it was one of the most beautiful designs ever. I wondered if it would be possible to recreate it in photoshop so i set off to try. After hours and hours of playing around and experimenting i finally managed to come up with something that looked somewhat like it.

I thought i might post it up here to see what people thought. If I get a good response i may write a tutorial on how i did it. Anyways feedback would be great!

Free Vector 3D RSS Icons

DesignNerd! — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 05:07:53 +0000

Ok guys, first post and first set of freebies!

Here are a set of Glossy Vector 3d RSS icons for you to download. Ive made them in a range of colours from the standard orange to a retro hot pink. These are sure to brighten up any blog/website! They are in Ai format and easily resizable.

If you use these a link back to DesignNerd Blog would be much appreciated. You must NOT redistribute or claim as your own. Enjoy!

Download Here