Just Creative Design

30 Sweet Handpicked Designer Tshirts

Jacob Cass — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 13:00:48 +0000

I’ve posted about great designer tshirts twice before on JCD and due the popularity of the posts here is another installment of awesome designer tshirts. All of these shirts come in men and women’s sizes and are on sale from $19 at DesignByHumans by affiliate. Their quality & service is great - in fact, I own already own 8 shirts from them.

You may also be interested in how to prepare artwork for T-Shirt Printing or the great t-shirt resource: T-Shirt Designers Toolbox.

What is your favourite tshirt from the ones listed above?

9 SEO Tips You’ve Probably Forgot About

Jacob Cass — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 13:00:00 +0000

This is a guest article by David Walsh*.

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) has, as most of you probably know by now, become one of the most important elements when setting up a website. Still we notice that many website owners, for some reason, tend to neglect implementing it in their creative process. Jacob published an all important SEO rules for designers but there is always lots to learn. I thought that it was about time to write another nine tips on the topic.

1. Proper use of

and

Designer’s Favourite Fonts & Why

Jacob Cass — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 13:00:32 +0000

I sent out a tweet (follow me) asking my followers (and Facebook Friends) what their favourite font was and why - these were some of their replies… what about you?

For the record, at present, my favourite is Gill Sans as I find it so versatile, especially when working with other fonts.

Times. Simple, but not boring, and timeless.

Via @Carmabella

Franklin Gothic Medium and Verdana. Both are just so easy to read even at small sizes.

Via Adrian Lujan (Facebook)

Franklin Gothic Book Regular. Easy to read.

Via Dylan Lee Hodges (Facebook)

I really love the clean lines of Franklin Gothic family mixed up with classic letter forms of Adobe Caslon.

Via @BridieMacdonald

Gill Sans Light because is delicate.

Via Barbara Culinas (Facebook)

Other than Helvetica, it’s Gotham , because it’s clear, it stands out and modern… Applicable on small sizes too.

Via animate_me

Totally into GOTHAM right now. Clean, great bold-face, solid.

Chris Skinner (Facebook)

Gotham, purely because I’m Batman in disguise.

Via David Airey (Facebook)

Not THE - but A favourite: FF DIN - for clarity, the weights, more attitude but not to much character, reads in small sizes

Via @simikken

I would say Philosopher. It’s a stylish, modern font that is similar to common fonts so that it’s functional and elegant.

Via @bixtin

My favourite font is called “mutlu” because my finance has our daughter’s name tattooed across his chest in it…

Via @artbyjaz

Don’t know… for paragraphs I like Futura Lt BT, I guess because it looks clean and helps me fit all the text.

Via @edMaga

Futura, Neutraface, Garamond, Rockwell

Marcos Luis Hernández (via Facebook)

Big fan of Futura, it’s clean but has personality. I like its curves.

Sasha Endoh (via Facebook)

Futura, Verdana, and Myriad Pro I use the most.

Stan Perl (via Facebook)

Actually fond of Metroscript cause I’m on a big vintage graphic period!! Montreal is also a good sans serif one.

Via @MonsieurH

Americana is my favourite sans-serif, and Charcoal is currently my fave serif.

Lisa Du Plessis (via Facebook)

Adobe Jenson Pro.

TJ Governanti (via Facebook)

Trajan Pro, classy and elegant and I love the Q in it.

Tareq Alsamman(via Facebook)

SWISS 721 family….looks classy and elegant.

Mohamed Shinaz Saeed (via Facebook)

I’m torn, it’s either Papyrus or Comic Sans. Actually, my two favorites are Sketch Block and Geo Sans Light. I find it reads so well, and looks very clean and minimal.

Via Will Higgins (via Facebook)

Nobel-Light

Christine LeBlanc Payne (via Facebook)

Comic sans! Haha, no, seriously, I think is Trebuchet and Futura .

Diane Hernandez (via Facebook)

Trebuchet… because who doesn’t like saying “Tray-boo-shay”, and it has a sturdy, even thickness to its stroke which lends itself nicely to big bold headers for websites

Jayson Akers (via Facebook)

Helvetica, Frutiger, timeless.

Sanja Karic (via Facebook)

OK someone has to say it…Bleeding Cowboys !

Brian Nelson (via Facebook)

Myriad Pro (boring I know) & Boberia

Andrea Guevara Higham (via Facebook)

I like Century Gothic, its an easy to work with font.

Maikel Beckers (via Facebook)

Garamond - totally unfazed by time, style, and trend.

Shakun Harris (via Facebook)

Helvetica, and 2nd would have to be Helvetica, just pipping Helvetica. In all seriousness though, my vote goes to Helvetica.

Via @burdzelkrai

Helvetica - swiss design at its best.

Via @loveannon

Helvetica Neue for it’s incredible versatility-Letter spacing, size and the font variations can get you thousands of new fonts.

Via @baffleinc

Helvetica - classic and contemporary, timely and timeless, all rolled into one.

Via Rafael Armstrong

The Helvetica Neue family, it just gives so much choice in one family and looks clean and sharp on screen

Via @keanrichmond

Helvetica Neue. A more refined font compared to Helvetica, versatile & simply elegant

Via @zilch

Helvetica. Since it was the cleanest and most common beautiful font i’ve ever seen.. No font is close..

Via @thematrixuum

Got to be Helvetica family - so much range in a single font in terms of variety in weight and styles and so timeless!

Via @threemenoneshed

I like comic sans for fun & verdana for an elegant look

Via @beiruta

Comic sans, it makes everything patronising

Via Jon Hassall (Facebook)

No font list could be complete with out someone mentioning Comic Sans. On that note check out this short documentary on the typeface, it’s worth a watch. I loved the quote from the Comic Sans designer, Vincent Connare:

“If you love it, you don’t know much about typography, but if you hate it, you really don’t know much about typography either and you should get another hobby.”

Recommended Typography Resources

What is your favourite font and why?

Logo Design Book Recommendations (+Video)

Jacob Cass — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 07:04:24 +0000

I’ve recommended some of the best graphic design books before here on Just Creative Design however I have not recommended logo design books before.

In the video below, I give an insight into 4 highly recommended logo design books along with a flip through of what you will find in each book.

Click here to view the Logo Design Book Recommendations Video from Jacob Cass on Vimeo.

Recommended Logo Design Books

Below you will find the 4 recommended logo design books mentioned in the video.

Logo

An awesome showcase of the best logo designs, shown in black and white. A must for anyone that has to design logos or is interested in logo design. I also reviewed this book over on Logo Designer Blog.

Logo, Font & Lettering Bible

This book goes more in depth on how to create logos in Adobe Illustrator while sharing insight into the entire process of making logos & fonts.

Wolda 2008 Showcase

This is a logo design showcase book of the winners of the Wolda Logo Design Awards. The Just Creative Design logo of this blog was awarded the “Best of Continent ” & “Best of Australia” awards last year and is showcased in this book.

Wolda 2009 is currently calling for entries. Deadline for submissions is June 30th.

Logo Savvy: Top Brand Design Firms Share their Naming and Identity Strategies

This book walks through case studies of logo designs paying close attention to the design process & application of the logo across the whole corporate identity. Many helpful tips on branding, trademarks & corporate identity scattered along the way.

Other Top / Best Logo Design Books

Besides the books featured in the video, I also own (& have borrowed) a number of other great logo design books. Below are some of my other favourites.

Marks of Excellence

This book outlines some of the world’s best brands, logos & identities, walking through their history, psychology and methodology.

Logo Design Workbook

This books goes beyond inspiration and actually walks you through how to make an effective logo design. Very content focused and a must if you want to know how to design a logo.

Identity Crisis: 50 Redesigns That Transformed Stale Identities into Successful Brands

I think the title speaks for itself on this one. A great book from the Logo of the Day Judge, Jeff Fisher. You can also read an interview with Jeff Fisher right here on JCD.

Other’s Logo Book Recommendations

What is your favourite logo design book?

Guess The Logo Game

Jacob Cass — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 13:00:14 +0000

I recently watched a game show on TV and one of the mini games shown on the program was based around guessing logos. The host showed a small segment of a recognisable logo and the contestants had to guess what the logo was.

I was quite fascinated at how you could instantly recognise the logo by being shown only a small segment of it. I’ve tried to recreate the game here in this blog post. It just goes to show how crucial an effective & recognisable logo design is for your business - unlike like these bad logo designs.

There are 10 logos in total… please do leave your guesses / thoughts in the comments.

Logo 1.

Logo 2.

Logo 3.

Logo 4.

Logo 5.

Logo 6.

Logo 7.

Logo 8.

Logo 9.

Logo 10.

For those who need a helping hand, I’ve provided a big clue - a logo mashup of all the logos above. Only use it if you are truely stuck or want to check your answers. Click here for clue / answers (opens in new window).

Fake Logo Designs: Revisited

Jacob Cass — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 05:31:29 +0000

It was about 5 months ago when I brought up the topic of ‘fake logo designs‘. Basically the point was that many logo designers are placing ‘fake’ logos, for made up companies, in their portfolio.

It isn’t the fact that the logo is ‘fake’ but rather the company and whether that these fictional designs are actually a measure of the designers skill and /or experience.

I would like to quote Steve from Logo Factory on his view of fake logo designs as his opinion is exactly where I stand.

All in all, the idea of creating pretend company logos isn’t terribly offensive - all designers at the beginning of their careers have to indulge - but does it give an accurate representation of a designer’s ability to deal with real-world client demands and actual company requirements? I’d say no. I guess at the end of the day, sites like Logopond and Logosauce are great for visual eye-candy, they’re not particularly helpful in seeing how designers attack real branding and logo development issues, nor how a designer can problem solve some of the more mundane and banal design problems that are presented in the ‘real’ world.

But how can a client decide on a logo designer based on their portfolio? I believe Briana had a great reply:

Personally, I think that using fake logos and other types of fake work is fine for demonstrating creativity and technical skill. And it’s only fair that they’re disclosed as such in a portfolio.

But if they are used in a portfolio then the designer better have something else that backs up their business and communication sense because that’s what fake work lacks – the real world give and take relationship with a client.

Adding onto Briana’s quote of “something else that backs up their business”, here are some other values one should keep in mind when hiring a designer.

Experience & Proven Success
Testimonials
Their Design Process
Awards Won
Strength of Portfolio
Time Frame
Price
The Questions Asked
Professionalism
Communication

In regards to disclosing fake logo designs in portfolios, I would have to commend Logopond (a logo inspiration gallery) for putting in place a new system for differentiating fun and client work - which comes after many others speaking up about this topic of fake logos. If you notice on each LogoPond members showcase page, there are now new icons that help you differentiate what is client work or not.

Below you can see what each icon means along with a screenshot of where you can find these icons.

Take note of the red circles, highlighting where you can find each icon.

Below you will find a screenshot of the upload screen of where the designer can choose the “logo status”. At present, it seems that it is not compulsory to choose what the status is, however, I believe it should be, to ensure that the system actually works. I’d like to know what you think?

I also believe that this system should be put into use across other inspiration galleries and I will be doing so from now on for all new submissions on my own logo inspiration gallery, Logo of the Day.

Logo of the Day & Fictional Logos

And whilst on the topic of LOTD, many people have expressed their opinion on whether or not myself and Jeff Fisher should showcase fictional logo designs on the LOTD site.

Take August West’s response to a conceptual logo:

Not a fan of the “working backwards” logos.

It’s too simple to base an idea for a company around a logo. I find it much more difficult to base a logo around a company’s particular needs. I could come up with random, cute logos for companies that don’t exist all day long. Just my humble opinion.

Although I agree with August on most parts, the main point of the LOTD inspiration gallery, is to give exposure & inspiration to other designers. For this reason, we do showcase a conceptual logo from time to time.

By doing so it gives exposure to the designers, thus bringing in potential clients for them. And it works too… we’ve received numerous “thank you” emails from designers, stating that they have received paying clients from their exposure. The site has also brought in many clients & traffic for myself and book sales for Jeff Fisher whilst giving inspiration to other designers… so it really is beneficial for all involved.

The most recent success story coming out from Logo of the Day was the recent sale of the Logo of the Month logo, Coffee Cup (as seen above) that was sold via the ’stock logo’ IncSpring website.

Below you can see the purchaser’s comment left on LOTD:

Well, I just saw this logo last night here and thought about it all night. I fell in love with it immediately. I have been searching for a logo for my coffeehouse for about two years now and just bought it from the link above today. I, and those I asked today, thought it was evocative, trendy, elegant, and fun! I’m so happy I ran across this site and saw that logo on a whim!

I congratulated them on their new purchase, in which they wittily replied:

Thanks a Latte and all hail the Internets!

So yeah, I am all for fake logos… as long as they are rightly identified as so.

Instant Inspiration + Student Mobiles

Jacob Cass — Wed, 27 May 2009 13:06:17 +0000

In each issue of Layers Magazine they run a spot called Instant Inspiration which is where they “showcase an established commercial designer and pick their brain in an effort to gain insights on the creative process and inspiration in general.”

I was fortunate enough to be chosen for the May / June edition of the magazine and below you can find the short interview along with some quick pictures of the mag. You can also view a PDF version of the 3 page spread here.

At the bottom of this article you will find some student mobiles - curious?

What’s the “method to your madness?”

I have a 2.4-GHz Dual Core PC, dual monitor setup, cordless keyboard, Logitech MX Revolution mouse, and I use Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and Dreamweaver. I also do some 3D work in Cinema 4D and Xara3D. The rest is basically pen and paper.

What inspires you?

I never have just one source of inspiration. Every project has different needs so I go to different sources depending on what is needed. For example, for a Web Design I would look for inspiration online; however, if I were after some print design inspiration I would look offline. I also make use of the website www.delicious.com - a search engine that many designers use for bookmarking. I’ve also compiled a list of my own inspirational resources that I share on my blog.

On Layers magazine:

I think the diversification of Layers is what makes it stand out. It really does cater to everyone, which is needed these days. Designers need a large range of skills to be able to work across a variety of mediums.

What are you working on now?

At present, I am working on five logo designs, two websites, an environmentally friendly glass water bottle design, two vodka bottle designs, a liquor bottle design, a 60-page logo design ebook, and a comic book illustration (in collaboration). I am also constantly working on my three personal websites/blogs: Just Creative Design, Logo of the Day, and Logo Designer Blog .

What has been your crowning achievement so far?

I believe my blog Just Creative Design would have to be my biggest achievement. To have a subscriber base of over 16,000+ readers who want to read what I have to say is, to me, quite astonishing. I send out a big thank you to all of my readers — you really do inspire and drive me to learn more and more! Thank you again!

Any advice?

Don’t undervalue your work. Seek criticism, not praise. Always keep learning—do this by reading books, magazines, blogs, and by practising. Collect and share things. Teach others. Never give up. Keep practising. Again, keep practising!

Mugshot

My mugshot also appeared for a second time on their “Instant Inspiration” page which is a page near the back of the mag that gets people to subscribe to Layers mag.

In the same issue of Layers magazine, you will also find the tutorial How To Make Your Next Website Design POP that I posted about earlier this week. I also wrote the Layers cover article; Negative Space back in April.

Stay tuned for more because I will be appearing in the next two editions of Layers with some Illustrator tutorials.

Student Mobiles

Moving on from magazines to mobiles… not mobile phones - mobiles - the old fashioned ones. You know the ones you stared at for hours when you were a baby?

Well, first year design students at my University had to create a creative mobile based on the design process of a logo. I actually remember doing this assignment two years ago when I was in first year (in my final year now) so it was quite surreal to come back and see my own logos being used for the assignment.

In total there were three of my own logos being used for the assignment (2 of my JCD logo and 1 of the Ultimate Potential logo). I also noticed Chris Spooner’s Vivid Ways logo being used.

Below you can see a few amateur snaps from the the exhibition. The first picture is a shot of the exhibition with all of the student’s mobiles hanging from the roof.

Below you can see a student’s interpretation of my Just Creative Design logo design process.

Below you can see a close-up shot of how the student has depicted the design process (using icons).

Below you can see a student’s interpretation of Chris Spooner’s Vivid Ways Logo. Spooner’s logo was also awarded Logo Of The Day earlier this month.

Below you can see a student’s interpretation of my Ultimate Potential logo. It is made out of wooden boxes, which is a rather creative way of representing the process.

Below you can see a not-so-creative interpretation of the infamous I Heart NY Logo. The mobile doesn’t depict the process (ie. the purpose of the assignment) but anyway, thought it was worth showing.

Your comments are welcome, as always.

Beware of the Net Trademark Registration Scam

Jacob Cass — Mon, 25 May 2009 03:44:41 +0000

I have recently been contacted by a domain registration company (HK N R S) from Hong Kong who said that I would lose my domain name if I didn’t register it with their “net trademark” system.

At first I took this quite seriously however after a bit of googling I found that I am not the only one who has received an email like this. Anyway, I went along with their ploy to see how it would fold out and below you can see some of our email communication… thought I would share this with you guys so something like this does not happen to you.

You may also want to read about my experience of being banned from my own website or David Airey’s experience of being hacked via the Google Email Phishing Filter Scam.

Dear Just Creative Design,

HK N R S Ltd creates high-impact and professional services for intellectual property right of users. Our center protects company profile and their internet products information by protecting net trademark and domain name.

An organization submitted a formal application to our auditing department to apply for this word “justcreativedesign” as their net trademark on 14 May,2009.

According to the above facts, I send you this Attorney Letter to confirm the ownership rights for this net trademark. We checked that you are real trademark owner. This is why we inform you. You have a priority to register the net trademark. If you give it up, the applicant will get the registration and own it legally for ever. I request that you must make a confirmation in fifteen business days. Fifteen days are our auditing period from the day you receive this letter.

If you wish to gain further information about HK N R S Ltd, its activities and net trademark information, you may view web site at www.hkh.hk.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation about this matter.

Sincerely,

Schacter.ji
Schacter.ji@hkh.hk
www.hkh.hk
HK N R S Ltd

I then replied:

Hello Schacter.ji,

I confirm that justcreativedesign and the trademark is owned by me and I have the ownership rights to it.

Please do not sell or give ownership of this to anyone else. Can you please clarify what you mean by this phrase: “You have a priority to register the net trademark.”? Do I have to register it?

Thanks.

Regards,
Jacob Cass

Then they replied:

Dear Jacob,

Thanks for your reply.

We know you are the trademark owner, so you can register earlier than the applicant. Registering is good for you. Net trademark and trademark are different. Trademark is registered under the government’s check and ratify. If any organizations and individuals didn’t register, you can register. Net trademark can be registered and used openly in the world. First register first get.

In this situation, I offer two ways to deal with this matter:

1.use law to protect your own intellectual property rights. Start a lawsuit against applicant and pass the court’s rule. But it needs lots of time and money.

2.ask us to register for you to protect. You are the trademark owner, so you have the priority to register the net trademark.

Usually we suggest clients choose the second way. Thinking of time and money, the second way is the best.

In accordance with the regulation of our country, we are working for the protection of intellectual property with our clients. Net trademark is part of intellectual property rights, so I strongly suggest that you register to protect this net trademark. If you confirm to register, I will send an application form to you. If you have any questions or requirement, please contact me.

Best regards,

Schacter.ji

I then replied:

Hello,

Can you please send through this form and what country is this for?

And what actually are we registering, just the name “Just Creative Design?”

Regards,
Jacob Cass

They then replied:

Dear Jacob,

Now I send you the registration procedure and service fee.
The price is 1118USD/one/5years, 2000USD/one/10years, 3680USD/one/20years.

The registration process of net trademark as follows,
1, You confirm to register this net trademark. Then we will send an application form includes a remit account number to you.
2, Fill out application form and send it back to us by E-mail.
3, Once getting your payment, we would immediately repeal the third-party’s application and start your registration. The registration will be finished within 15 business days. After that, we send you net trademark registration certificate.
Please contact us if you have any questions.

PS:Sorry. I can’t offer the applicant’s information because you are not our customer now.

schacter.ji

I have not since replied. I will update this page if anything else comes from it.

Have you ever experienced something like this? Please do share.

Just Creative Design Goes Mobile

Jacob Cass — Fri, 22 May 2009 01:00:53 +0000

Thanks to the generosity and help from Mobify, Just Creative Design now has a mobile version. This means you can read JCD’s articles on your iPhone or mobile device while having the pages & images load up to 7 times faster. See some of the screenshots below if you haven’t got an internet enabled phone or use this site for a rough emulation (type http://m.justcreativedesign.com as the address).

It was really easy to set up the mobile version of JCD through Mobify’s dashboard… the interface behind the scenes of Mobify is quite easy to use and I had the mobile version of JCD customised within 20 minutes of signing in to their site.

The only real problem I had was trying to create my own domain name (http://m.justcreativedesign.com rather than http://jcd.mobify.com) as I had to change my DNS CNAME records which I had to contact my hosts for.

However in saying that, the support of Mobify was very helpful - in many cases I had a response to my questions within a few minutes or if not, a few hours.

Mobify also offer a variety of CMS plugins that automatically directs users on a phone / mobile device to the mobile version of the site rather than the full site which is pretty handy (if not essential).

Oh, and you get your own icon too which is useful if people want to create an icon shortcut to your website on their phone homescreen (see screenshot below). You can also track the mobile traffic stats through Google Analytics.

Anyway, the good news is that Mobify are currently offering this service for free, so maybe you want a mobile version for your site?

For those who want a do-it-yourself alternative, there are also a number free Wordpress plugins out there (that I haven’t tested) ie. Mobile Press & dotMobi (not associated with Mobify).

When I asked Mobify how they differed from plugins such as these, this was their reply:

Mobify is a universal mobile design environment… Plug-ins like this one aren’t bad, but they look very simple and make your site look like any other site with that plugin. Usually they only support the very basic functionality (posts, comments) so any 3rd party modules you have are unusable.

With Mobify our intention was to build a tool with the simplicity of Photoshop, that allows you to literally do anything for mobile. In the future we will see if we can migrate more of our features down into the plugin space, right now our plugin is for redirection only.

So yeah, we’re just a different approach to the mobile problem!

So yeah, up to you which route you go, but I recommend Mobify.

iPhone Screenshot

iPhone Homescreen Screenshot

(Thanks to @retinart for the screenshot below)

Blackberry Screenshot

Nokia Screenshot

Have you made your website mobile friendly? If so, how did you go about doing it?

How To Make Your Next Website Design Pop

Jacob Cass — Tue, 19 May 2009 05:00:23 +0000

Web design is one of those areas that when done right, you know it. It looks polished, refined and generally, just well done - it pops! There are a number of ways that you can achieve this and that is by ‘polishing’ off your design. Here we look at some of the ways to do just that.

1. Layout The Fundamentals

Before you go about making your website pop, you first must have your basic fundamentals in place. By this stage you would have done the research, laid out your website appropriately and done most of the basic design work… but you have not yet done ‘the polish’. In this tutorial we are looking at some techniques put in place for a chocolate delivery website; however, these techniques can be applied anywhere.

On another note, you may also like to read about the logo design process for the UKE logo you see below.

2. Check Alignment & Spacing

Alignment and spacing in web site design creates order, organises the page and groups parts of the website for easy navigation. In the screenshot below you can see the guidelines in place ensuring everything is aligned (the grid is from www.960.gs). Notice how the logo and all of the text is left aligned? Also, take note of the even spacing around the boxes and text. Use the guidelines in Photoshop to ensure all of your elements are aligned which can be done by dragging ‘rulers’ from your rulers tab. Press Ctrl+R to turn rulers on.

3. Apply Anti-Aliasing To Text

Something that is often over looked when designing for the web is the use of Anti-Aliasing in your text. For those who don’t know, anti-aliasing is the technique of minimising distortion artefacts. There are a few ways to minimise this distortion in your text but the best way is to make use of your ‘Character’ panel. You can choose between None, Sharp, Crisp, Strong and Smooth. The best way to see what works best is to experiment as different fonts and sizes will yield different results; however, the Sharp setting usually prevails.

4. Add a 1 Pixel Stroke

Something that really makes a difference in making a website pop is the use of 1 pixel stroked borders and lines. These stroked borders really add that extra crispness to the design as it gives extra contrast to the surrounding elements and gives the design more depth. Notice the zoomed-in screenshot below; see the inner purple lines that run alongside the inside of the boxes? You can add these 1 pixel borders by using your stroke option found in the ‘Blending Options’ panel. This technique also works great for large text.

5. Add Subtle Gradient Effects

Gradients are popping up everywhere in web design and for a reason - they add depth and real aesthetic to the design. Unlike print design where gradients seem flat, on the screen they make a design come alive. Notice the slight dark to light purple gradient in the screenshot below? Also take note of the slight transparency. These effects give the design a new dimension, making the image come off the screen so to speak. Use the ‘Blending Options’ in Photoshop to create these nice subtle (emphasis on subtle) effects.

6. Add Subtle Drop Shadows

Used in conjunction with the gradients and stroked borders is the use of subtle drop shadows. Once again, these shadows add a new depth and dimension to your design as it makes the different elements on the page play against each other so that they pop out at you. Notice in the screenshot below; the logo, text and boxes all have subtle drop shadows applied to them which break them away from the other elements. You can use the Photoshop ‘Blending Options’ to achieve these effects - but make sure you use them in moderation.

7. Have a Hierarchy & Call to Action

When someone first visits your website what is the first thing they are going to do? Is there a clear hierarchy of what to read or do first? What is the purpose of the site? These are all questions that you should have considered at the start of the project however now is a good time to go back and reflect on these decisions. Can you adjust the colours, size or position to achieve better results? Notice in the screenshot below that the call to action on the UKE website is the ‘Pick a Basket’ button which is placed conveniently after the main opening slogan.

8. Colour Correction & Sharpening

In web design, photos, icons and images are usually quite prominent so you should ensure that they are of the utmost highest quality. Check the color balance, sharpness and contrast of each image and make certain that it balances with the rest of the page and other images. A good way to do this is to make use of Photoshop’s ‘Levels’, ‘Unsharp Masking ‘ and ‘Curves’ functions.

9. Less Is More.

In web design, the old saying goes, “less is more” (in most cases). After completing your web site design, have a break and come back to it.

Is there anything that you can remove, fix, replace, move, change or edit?
Does one element take up to much space or draw too much attention?
Are there too many colours?
Does the site balance?
Is there consistency?
Can I make use of more white space?

10. Summary

Next time you set out to design your next website you can ask yourself these questions…

Have I got the basic fundamentals in place?
Can I improve my alignment or spacing?
Have I used the appropriate anti-aliasing?
Can I sharpen my images or text with strokes or borders?
Can I give more depth to the page by using gradients or drop shadows?
Is there a clear hierarchy with a call to action?
Are all of the images colours corrected, balanced and sharpened?
And last of all, ask yourself this… does the website pop?

11. Recommended Web Design Reading

and for lots more recommended web design reading, just search “web design” on Smashing Magazine or view the Interface section on PSD Tuts.

Pictures of Layers Magazine

This tutorial was originally written for Layer’s Magazine May / June edition. Below you can see a few quick snaps of the above article in Layers Magazine.

Have you got any other tips on how to make your next website design pop?

The Past, Present & The Future

Jacob Cass — Sun, 10 May 2009 09:21:57 +0000

This post is a general overview of what I have been up to, where I am at and where I am going in the short future.

agIdeas 2009

This past week I have been down in Melbourne for the 3 day design conference agIdeas and it was simply awesome… I learned so much and was awe inspired by the quality and passion behind all of the speakers who had so much knowledge & insight to share.

Unfortunately I didn’t take many notes over the three days so I can not give much of a review of what was said however I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience… from hearing the masters talk about their craft right through to the free beer, pizza and parties. My favourite talkers were Sean Cummings, Stefan Sagmeister, Tobias Frere-Jones, John Marsden, Étienne Minuer, Michale Persson and Stanley Wong.

For those interested in attending a similar design conference (I highly recommend it) here is a great article that lists many US and international design conferences.

Calling For Guest Posts

Would you be interested in writing an article for Just Creative Design? If so, please send me an email with what you have in mind. I need to have the completed article before 24th May. All topics are welcome.

Travel Plans

The reason I am calling for guest posts is because I am going to go travelling for 2 months and won’t have the time to write enough posts for my time away.

For those interested, I am heading to Japan for 10 days, Cambodia for 6, Vietnam for 16 and then I will have 1 week back in Australia and then will head over to New Zealand for 10 days for a snow boarding trip.

If you have read my about page, you may know that I love traveling and have shared my experiences many times here on JCD. This trip will be no different and I will share some of the photos when I return.

These are the other places I have been for those interested: Belgium, Canada (British Columbia, Whistler, Blackcomb, Big White), USA (California, Los Angeles, San Fransisco, Las Vagas, Florida), Denmark (Copenhagen), United Kingdom (London), Fiji (Nadi, Suva), Finland (Suomi), France (Paris, Bordeaux, Nice), New Caledonia, New Zealand, Norway (Oslo), Philippines, Solomon Islands, Sweden (Goteborg, Stockholm), Vanuatu, Spain (Pamplona, Barcelona), Monaco, Italy (Rome, Capri, Vienna, Venice, Florence, Sorrento), Vatican City, Greece (Corfu), Austria, Germany (Munich, Heidelberg), Liechtenstein, Switzerland (Jungfrau Mountain / Lauterbrunnen), Netherlands (Amsterdam), Norfolk Island, Hong Kong & Thailand (Phuket, Bangkok, Samui).

NYC Creative Studio Job Offer

A few weeks ago I was fortunate enough to be offered a job in New York City by a creative director at a new media marketing agency. I have put forward my interest in the job and am currently in talks with a few contacts over in NYC to see if we can make the move a reality, considering such things as payment, accomodation, visas, etc.

If everything works out I should be over there at the end of this year.

As for the future of JCD and my other blogs Logo of the Day and Logo Designer Blog… who knows? Things eventually have to come to an end but I don’t have plans for doing anything like that just yet… I think I will just have to post less frequently.

Other News

Bottle being manufactured in China

Above is a 3D mock-up for a sustainable, refillable glass water bottle that I designed for a Miami based water company a few months ago. The bottle is currently being manufactured in China and I am eagerly awaiting to see the final product in a few weeks. I am quite excited about this project and can’t wait to see the results which is why I am sharing the mock-up with you now.

I will write up about the design process (similar to my Vodka bottle design process) once I get the product in my hands and the professional photographs come through from the client in the US.

I will then proceed to complete their identity (website + promotional material) which I am also looking forward too.

Jobs I am currently working on

Below are some of the projects I am currently working on:

Liquor Bottle Design (for a Jamaican rum based liquor)
4 Identity Designs + Stationery
Logo Design eBook
Newcastle Fashion Week Identity + Promotional Material (Pro bono work)
Comic Strip (in collaboration with 3 others at University)
Vector Toy Character Illustration (University work)
Creativity Speech (University work)
Vero Website / Promotional Material (soon)

I am currently taking work for August.

Layers magazine 3 page spread

If you have a look in the latest issue of Layers Magazine (May/June) you will find a three page spread of me and my work (page 26). I give a shout out to you (my readers) so keep an eye out for that too.

I have a PDF copy of the spread here but I have not received the tangible copy just yet… once I do I will take some pics and post them up in a new blog post.

Sky diving

I should also mention that I am going Sky Diving this weekend… just incase I don’t come back. Eek. Update: Survived and the photos are on my Facebook page.

Identity Design Process for Butterfield Photography

Jacob Cass — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 23:30:24 +0000

I’ve recently finished designing the identity for ‘Butterfield Photography’, a photography duo based in Southern Arizona, USA. In this article I share with you a bit about the process & decisions made while working around the constraints of this particular project.

Butterfield Photography is run by Maria and Robert Butterfeild, who both focus on two different areas of photography - wedding / family photography and commerical / sport photography.

Below you can see the old and new Butterfield Photography logos.

Design Constraints

Without going into too much detail, these were the constraints I had to work within.

The logo design had to be elegant & sophisticated yet not too feminine (ie. had to be usable for both weddings, commercial & sport photography)
The logo had to portray a natural, warm, friendly yet sophisticated style.
The logo had to be be usable across a broad range of businesses (ie. the logo still could be usable for a construction business) and could have no association with photography.
The logo had to work in one colour only as the logo had to be able to be used across a variety of applications such as clothing, vehicles, cameras, etc.

Brainstorming

Below you can see the very first stage of my very messy creative process - that of mindmapping and brainstorming. There were many more pages of these sketches however I thought it best to save your eyes.

Design Decisions

Minimalism: To work around these constraints mentioned above I decided to go for a very minimalist approach to reflect both elegance and sophistication. This would allow for the identity to be versatile and reflect those values stated above. I used the typeface ‘Gill Sans Light‘ to support these values.

Colour: The particular orange colour used in the Butterfield identity is fresh & vibrant and evokes Maria and Robert’s style of photography… natural. The colour is not too bright, nor too dull which allows it to give off an aura of warmth and friendliness. Do you know your colour theory?

Concept: After many sketches, concepts and experimentations I came down to the concept of using a burst of lines radiating out from the initials BP. Although this is entirely up to the perspective of the viewer, one could see the mark as a sun, a flower, a camera flash, a face, a camera lens, a light, etc. but what ever way one sees it, in the end, the mark still communicates a feeling of warmth, radiance and friendliness.

Delivery

Pitching a minimalist design to a client is quite a hard task, so it is best to show the logo in context. This may mean you will have to mockup some examples of letterhead, websites, etc.

You can view the PDF file I sent to Maria & Robert when pitching this concept.

After sending through the first PDF, Robert replied:

“I really liked the logo from the first time I saw it, simple (which is exactly what I was looking for), easily reproduced for embossing, stamping, embroidering etc. You nailed it right out of the gate…. GREAT JOB!!!”

The hard work paid off and no more revisions were made. It is important to note that you should only pitch your best logo design concepts.

Below you can see the identity system in use.

Business Card

Letterhead

Website Mockup (used when presenting the logo)

Mockup of fictional business (shows adaptability of logo)

The logo was also applied to a racecar of which you can see some of the pictures below.

1st Attempt

2nd Attempt

To be honest I was a bit disappointed to see the logo at such a small size and also to see the grey colour of ‘Butterfield’ changed to a dark orange (see second picture above) as the text loses contrast against the blue, however thankfully the owner of the racecar also agreed about this and they removed the stickers and reapplied them at a much larger size (see the last picture above) which I think looks much better. Maria also told me that the car came first place too which was great news!

The logo will also be appearing on a variety of other products of which I will upload when I get the pictures.

Testimonial

Below you can find the official testimonial from Maria Butterfield. You can read more of my client’s testimonials here.

We hired Jacob to design our new business logo and were beyond pleased with his professionalism and creativity. He took our ideas and needs and transformed them into a logo that reflected all of our desires. We were particularly impressed with the thoroughness in the questions he asked us concerning our wants and needs. Jacob exceeded all of our expectations! We have no hesitation in recommending him to anyone looking for branding that will truly reflect who they are.

- Maria Butterfield

There has also been great feedback from the followers of Maria’s blog:

I’m loving your new look Maria! So clean and fresh. Looking good.

- Angela

I’m loving the new look! Very modern.

- Rachel

Very very nice - I love the new design!

- Cheryl

Comments from my readers are always appreciated too - thanks for reading!

“Jacob, Our Top Twit”

Jacob Cass — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 06:57:07 +0000

A journalist from The Herald (Newcastle’s local newspaper) contacted me earlier this week and asked me a few questions (find below) for an article based on Twitter (follow me). The next day a photographer came around and took a few snaps.

Two days later I went to the Newsagency to pick up the local newspaper to see if my article was out (they didn’t provide me a date) and I was more than surprised to see my mugshot on the front page, I really wasn’t expecting that.

The reason they chose me for the article was because of this Newcastle Top Twitter’s list put together by Gordon Whitehead however they probably should have had used Hugh Jackman as the Twitter poster boy - he has over 133,000 followers.

Anyway, you can see the image of the front page below and then below that, the article itself. There is also a slightly adjusted online version of the article on The Herald website.

Don’t you just love all the puns… “All-A-Twitter”, “Life’s Tweet”, “Finally, it’s OK to be a real twit”, “Jacob, our Top Twit”.

Twitter Interview Responses

Below are my original replies in response to the questions put forward by the journalist - you will find some great Twitter tips here. They only ended up using one quote from these replies but I thought it would be good to share my responses none the less.

Why did you join?

I originally joined Twitter back in June last year however I didn’t start using it properly until a few weeks after I joined as it took me a while to grasp onto the concept… it also took me a while to see the true benefit however I am 100% truly glad that I did, the benefits have been enormous.

For those just starting out with Twitter, I recommend this Ultimate Twitter Guide and this Twitter Resource Guide.

How often do you use Twitter?

Whenever I have something to valuable to share, say or promote which is probably about 5 times a day, maybe 4 days a week, give or take.

What do you use it for?

I use Twitter to find useful information shared by the other Twitter users. I also use Twitter to promote and share my own articles which in turn promotes my services (logo, branding, web and graphic design) thus bringing in potential clients.

How did you get so many followers?

I run three websites including quite a popular design & creativity blog called “Just Creative Design” which gets over 10,000 visits a day. I have built these websites up over the past 15 months which is where a lot of my followers come from, however it is not easy to keep followers…you must ensure that you do not spam, nor be too “me me me”, it’s all about sharing and being authentic and down to earth.

What’s some of the funniest / weirdest / common / uncommon things you’ve found on Twitter?

On Twitter there is a function that allows you to save your favourite tweets and I have got quite a few however rather than sharing all of them I will share the weirdest thing I have found… someone invented a Twitter device that you plug into the soil of a plant… the plant will then Twitter to you when it needs watering. Genius or just plain weird? You decide.

Do you see it having the potential to overtake Facebook or become yet another way to stay in touch?

Facebook and Twitter are both very different social networks originally built for different purposes however Facebook is implementing many changes to take on Twitter, but for now I think Twitter is still stronger in terms of networking, marketing & socialising. Facebook is more for keeping in touch with your “real” friends in my opinion but obviously this can vary from user to user. Twitter users seem to be much more tech savvy.

On a side note, a while back I also wrote an article called “Exposed: Facebook sends more traffic than Twitter” - it isn’t so true for me now but Facebook may work better for you in terms of Traffic.

Why should someone join Twitter..how will it change / enhance their life?

Everyone joins Twitter for different reasons, and before you go tweeting your life away you should establish what and why you are going to be using Twitter. Whatever your passion or interest, there is no doubt going to be someone else tweeting about it and you can join in too… Share your tips and resources and they will share theirs. You really have nothing to lose.

Being Newcastle’s top Twitter is a pretty good achievement, how do you attract your followers and how personal do you get with your posts. Are you worried about revealing too much about yourself to strangers?

I run three popular websites where I write articles mostly focused on design which in turn brings in visitors to my site where I have links to add me on Twitter (such as this). Most of my followers are those interested in design seeing though I am a designer myself but gaining followers all depends on your industry and how you use Twitter. I don’t get too personal with my Tweets as that is not what I am using it for, however I do share my achievements and current work and that is as personal as I get. eg. I may share an article that I am reading online but I don’t share what I am having for dinner.

Who do u follow on Twitter?

I follow over 11,000+ people so that would be quite a huge list, but I make use of the application called Tweetdeck (highly recommended) and in this application you can make “groups” so you can choose a select few that you really want to follow. This allows you to filter out the noise of the other 11,000+ people you are following.

Don’t forget to follow me. Also add yourself to this uber list of designers / creatives / geeks to follow on twitter if applicable.

How has Twitter enhanced your life?

My work exhibited at Melbourne Museum

Jacob Cass — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 09:07:40 +0000

Back in early April I announced that I would be attending two Australian design conferences, one called Semi Permanent (that I reviewed here) and another called agIdeas which is in May.

Well the agIdeas conference (sold out) also had a side design competition called agIdeas NewStar that allowed you to enter some of your previously designed work for judging to see if it would be worthy for exhibition at the Melbourne Museum. Well I entered, and have just got word that my work got short-listed and will be appearing at Melbourne Museum! (For those not familiar with Melbourne, it is Australia’s second largest city.)

The NewStar exhibition will be on at Melbourne University from 24 April to 24 May (10am to 5pm). I will also be in Melbourne from May 4th till May 7th so if you’re in the area and want to say hello, please do let me know!

More info about agIdeas 2009 NewStar

agIdeas NewStar is an awards program for design students and new graduates. The Collie Print Trust Award’s the winner with a 2 week international scholarship including flights, accommodation and 2 weeks work experience at one of the following studios: (Ahn Sang So Korea, Browns UK, Guerilla Games The Netherlands, OJ South Africa, Pentagram USA, Prologue USA, SeymourPowell UK). [Fingers crossed I win this]

agIdeas NewStar Exhibition is part of the Designed to Inspire program at Melbourne Museum. The program offers public recognition of the work of talented emerging and practicing designers. The role of the museum is to increase design literacy in the general public, to broaden national and international awareness of the quality and diversity of contemporary Australian design, and to enhance Victoria as a centre of design excellence.

Entered Pieces

You were allowed to submit as many entries as you wanted however each entry had to have 3 pieces in it. I only submitted one entry (with 3 pieces inside) and you can see them below. I assume all three pieces will be on display at the museum as I haven’t been told otherwise.

FITTUCI Custom Windows & Doors Logo Design

Description: FITTUCI Custom Windows & Doors is a comprehensive source for superior custom doors & windows. They specialise in luxury state of the art doors & windows. The logo depicts an illusion of either windows or doors.

I wrote about the design process of this logo in full here.

Wedgetail Premium Citrus Vodka Bottle & Packaging

Description: Brand and identity development, 3D rendering, packaging and photography for Wedgetail Distillery’s Premium Citrus Vodka Premix alco-pop marketed towards 18-25 year olds.

I wrote about the design process of this project in full here.

Photoshop For Right Brainers

Description: Book cover design for a book targeted towards creatives who wish to use Photoshop for photo manipulation. The illustration depicts a man’s right side of the brain and the vertical text forces the viewer to tilt their head to the right to read the name of the book (hence right side of the brain). The word Photoshop also depicts an exclamation mark.

I was approached by John Wiley & Sons (one the world’s largest book publishers) to design this book cover back in September last year.

Now fingers crossed I win the Collie Print Trust Award!

Welcome & Thank You Video

Jacob Cass — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 08:00:38 +0000

It’s taken a lot of nerves for me to do it, but here it is… my first video blog post on Just Creative Design. In the video I give a short introduction to the blog & myself as well as give a warm welcome & thank you to all of my readers - it’s you guys (and gals) that really keep me going!

For those reading via email or RSS you may need to click through to my blog to view the video.

I recorded the video with the Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000 and made the opening & ending credits with the free Windows Movie Maker (yes I am a PC user) and then uploaded it to YouTube.

Thanks for watching and if you have any recommedations, tips or suggestions for future video posts, please do let me know. (I hope this one wasn’t too bad!)

12 Design and Business Books I’ve Read & Recommend (Part 2)

Jacob Cass — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 16:30:08 +0000

In this two part series I outline some great design and business related books that I have read & highly recommend. I give a short insight of each book, along with suggestions on who it may be for and the official product description.

Find part one here.

The 4-Hour Workweek

by Tim Ferris

This book written by the well known Tim Ferris was an insightful read on how one can outsource ones life to live a 4 hour work week. Although I am still working longer than 4 hours a week there are many principles in this book that I still use today which allow me to have more time to travel & spend with family and friends. This book will certainly change your philosophy of working life. My utmost highest recommendation of reading.

Product description:

Whether you are an overworked employee or an entrepreneur trapped in your own business, this book is the compass for a new and revolutionary world. Join Tim Ferriss as he teaches you:

• How to outsource your life to overseas virtual assistants for $5 per hour and do whatever you want
• How blue-chip escape artists travel the world without quitting their jobs
• How to eliminate 50% of your work in 48 hours using the principles of a forgotten Italian economist
• How to trade a long-haul career for short work bursts and freuent “mini-retirements”
• What the crucial difference is between absolute and relative income
• How to train your boss to value performance over presence, or kill your job (or company) if it’s beyond repair
• What automated cash-flow “muses” are and how to create one in 2 to 4 weeks
• How to cultivate selective ignorance—and create time—with a low-information diet
• What the management secrets of Remote Control CEOs are
• How to get free housing worldwide and airfare at 50–80% off
• How to fill the void and create a meaningful life after removing work and the office

Non-Designers Type Book

by Robin Williams

This book is a must read for anyone starting out with design or anyone that has to deal with type on a regular or irregular basis - even if you are not a designer. The book teaches you the basics of typography in simple, easy to understand terms with examples on the way.

Product description:

This latest addition to Robin Williams’ Non-Designers line of books not only defines the principles governing type but explains the logic behind them so readers can understand and see what looks best and why. Armed with this knowledge, and putting into practice the secrets Robin reveals for making type readable and artistic, readers can then go on to create beautiful, sophisticated, professional-looking pages on their computers for output as hard copy or for use on Web pages.

Each short chapter explores a different type secret including use of evocative typography, tailoring typeface to project, working with spacing, punctuation marks, special characters, fonts, justification, and much more. It is written in the lively, engaging style that has made Williams one of the most popular computer authors today. And it uses numerous examples to illustrate the subtle details that make the difference between good and sophisticated use of type. The non-platform specific, non-software specific approach to the book makes this a must-have for any designer’s bookshelf - from type novices to more experienced graphic designers and typesetters.

Logo

by Michael Evamy

Although not technically a book that you can read (I think there is about 12 pages of text) it is an awesome showcase of the best logo designs, shown in black and white. A must for anyone that has to design logos or is interested in logo design.

Product description:

The logo bible - this book provides graphic designers with an indispensable reference source for contemporary logo design. More than 1300 logos are grouped according to their focal form, symbol and graphic associations into 75 categories such as crosses, stars, crowns, animals, people, handwritten, illustrative type, etc.

To emphasize the visual form of the logos, they are shown predominantly in black and white. Highlighted logos are shown in colour. Logos are also indexed alphabetically by name of company/designer and by industrial sector, making it easy to piece together a picture of the state of the identity art in any clients marketplace.

The Unlimited Freelancer*

by Mason Hipp & James Chartrand

The Unlimited Freelancer was a book that I reviewed here on Just Creative Design a few months back and it has had some great reviews since! The Unlimited Freelancer is a book teaching you how to enjoy more free time by doing what you love every day - it’s very to the point. This book is for freelancers who have been at it for a while and have some knowledge of the business of design.

Use the affiliate code “JCDReaders” to get 20% off - the first 10 buyers get the discount. Click here to read more / purchase the book .

Product description:

Overcome freelance limits and unleash your true business potential.

There are ways to overcome almost every difficulty that comes with freelancing, tactics that experienced freelancers and small business owners have been using for years.

In this book, we’ll teach you exactly how to implement them — and exactly how to take the next steps in growing your business.

Here are some things you’ll learn:

• How to completely avoid the typical freelance feast or famine cycle

• How to handle more clients, make more money, and work less

• How to grow and expand your business, or stay small and agile

• How to work with others to get more clients and improve your services

• How to build valuable assets that bring in money over the long-term

• And lots more…

Photoshop CS4 Quicksteps

by Carole Matthews, Gary David Bouton

The first and best design book I’ve ever owned. Back then it was only Photoshop CS (not CS4) however it was so easy to understand that it really helped me get a headstart on how to use the basics of Photoshop. A great book for those just starting out with design.

Product description:

Your full-color, fast reference to Photoshop CS4

In this thoroughly revised guide, full-color screenshots and brief instructions show you how to use the latest version of Photoshop quickly and easily. Learn how to edit and retouch photos, work with the drawing and painting tools, add text, use layers, create special effects, and prepare art for print or the Web.

Photoshop CS4 QuickSteps covers the latest photography-related tools and techniques, including RAW file formats, Bridge, special effects, and more. Screenshots with callouts show and explain exactly what you’ll see on your computer screen while you’re doing a task, and color-coded tabs make it easy to find just the information you need.

Computer Arts Magazine

Ok technically this isn’t a book but I thought I would add it here as this magazine is simply awesome… I’ve been subscribed to CA for over a year and a half now and it is by far my favourite magazine. Great articles, inspiration and tutorials!

And if you leave a comment on this post I will send out the latest issue (April 2009) plastic wrapped to you free of charge to one lucky person! I will contact the winner via email at the end of this week.

Product description:

Computer Arts is the one-stop shop for professional advice on creating digital art and illustrations.

Computer Arts, the world’s best-selling magazine for digital artists and designers, boasts a strong line-up of tutorials every issue, covering everything from manipulating photographs with Photoshop to creating amazing vector illustrations with Illustrator. You’ll also find tonnes of tips and tricks for web design, typography, 3D, animation, motion graphics and multimedia. It’s the one-stop shop for professional advice.

Each month, the magazine also reviews the latest hardware and software releases, gives creative tips and technical advice, and interviews the leading lights in the global design world.

Currently reading:

79 Short Essays on Design by Michael Bierut

Do you have any recommended graphic design books?

Inspiring Intimidation

Jacob Cass — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 07:16:11 +0000

I announced a few days ago that I was attending the two day Australian design conference, Semi Permanent… well this article is a semi review of it.

Inspiring Intimidation

Yes the conference was inspirational - very much so - yet it was also quite intimidating, which I suppose is just natural. For 6 hours each day, one listened to leading industry professionals talk about their design process, work, awards and in some cases, their income.

After hearing all of these leaders speak about their achievements there really was no other choice but to feel some form of intimidation which ironically, is quite uninspiring… It makes you think to yourself “am I actually any good?” which obviously can take a toll on your self confidence & motivation.

Anyway, here are some things to remember:

Everyone was a beginner at some stage
You improve over time
Luck can come your way at any time
With knowledge comes power
…but with power comes responsibility
Be comfortable of where you are at but know where you want to go
Explore, experiment and practice
Take risks but be aware of your limitations
Don’t compare yourself to others
Be aware of ‘fakers’

Intimidating Logo Design

To put this into perspective, I will put this into a scenario that I am most familiar with. Many of you may know that I specialise in logo and identity design however this was not always the case.

Before I was specialising in logo design, I was always fascinated by other professional logo designs and designers such as the many talented ones found over at LogoPond. Little did I know that many of these logo designs were actually fictional.

Designers create ‘exceptional’ logo designs, based on made up names / themes (ie. no real client) which are then blended to create a seemingly ‘perfect’ logo. Although this has been pointed out before, it can be extremely intimidating… you think to yourself “I could have never come up with a design like that”.

This relates back to the design conference where such mind blowing work was being shown off… you compare the awesome work to the skills you believe you currently have which then results in a sense of awe and in some cases, intimidation.

The point I am trying to make here is that while on the surface something may seem great and all inspiring, there is much more than to it that - much more. Don’t be uninspired by intimidating inspiration, just get out there and do your best, you’re time will come.

Australian Design Conferences

Jacob Cass — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 07:20:34 +0000

Below you will find a list of Australian design conferences, events, competitions & exhibitions.

If you know of any more, please do get in contact.

Semi Permanent

What is Semi Permanent?

Two days of inspiration and industry insight from leading industry professionals. I went last year (2008) and it was great, I even wrote a review about it here. For more information view the Semi Permanent website.

Where

Sydney, Brisbane and Auckland

When?

April-ish

2009 Cost:
Students: 1 day = $80 OR 2 days = $120
General: 1 day = $230 OR 2 days = $290

Video summary of last years 2008 Semi Permanent:

(If you can’t see the video below, click here to view on YouTube)

AGIdeas

What is AGIdeas?

“AGIdeas is the largest annual international design event held in Australia. Comprising of an international design conference, studio visits, workshops, competition, secondary school forum, business breakfast, gala dinner and a huge after party.”

Where & When?
This event is down in Melbourne and is a bit more expensive (especially when you have to cater in accommodation, airfares, etc) but it is worth it. It usually starts in May.

2008 Cost:
Students: $290 for 3 days
Lecturer: $360 for 3 days
Professional: $480 for 3 days

Review:

You can find a review of the agIdeas 2009 here.

Video summary of last years (2008) AGIdeas:
(If you can’t see the video below, click here to view on YouTube)

More Australian Design Conferences, Events & Competitions

Below you find a list of other design events happening around Australia courtesy of Design Droplet.

Adelaide Fringe 2009
Location: Adelaide, Australia
Dates: 27th February to 2nd March 2009

LISA Forum Asia 2009 - Global Design & Innovation.
Location - Taipei Taiwan
Dates: 6th to 9th April 2009
The 2009 LISA Forum Asia in Taipei features two days of presentations plus workshops and roundtables on the theme of Global Design & Innovation.

DesignEX 2009 -Revelations, Visitations, Inspirations.
Location - Melbourne Exhibition & Convention Center - Melbourne, Australia
Dates: 30th April to 2nd May 2009
Over 300 top design companies will congregate at DesignEX, Australia’s most comprehensive interior architecture and design event, to celebrate the very best in design innovation.

National Manufacturing Week - Australia’s Premier Manufacturing Technology Exhibition
Location - Melbourne Exhibition & Convention Center - Melbourne, Australia
Dates: 12th to 15th May 2009
National Manufacturing Week (NMW) provides a unique opportunity to source new products and technologies for Australia’s manufacturing industry.

State of Design 2009 - Victoria’s Design Festival
Location - Melbourne, Australia
Dates: 15th to 25th July 2009
The State of Design is Victoria’s peak design festival. This annual winter event covers cross-disciplinary design agendas relating to the design profession and the marketplace.

Furnitex 2009 -Furniture Trade Fair
Location - Melbourne Exhibition & Convention Center - Melbourne, Australia
Dates:16th to 19th July 2009
FURNITEX and the co-located DECORATION + DESIGN Melbourne return in 2009 with more than 600 key industry manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors and suppliers will display the latest and best of Australian furniture & furnishings.

Melbourne Fringe Festival 2009
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Dates: 23rd September to 11th October 2009

Singapore Design Festival 2009
Location: Singapore
Dates: 20th to 30th November
The Festival will also present the best of design in Singapore with the President’s Design Award 2009 Ceremony and Exhibition, Singapore Creative Circle Awards and more.

Design Difference: Redesigning the world - 2009 ICSID World Design Congress
Location: Singapore
Dates: 23rd to 25th of November 2009 (Congress), 26th to 27th of November 2009 (General Assembly)
“Design Difference” is a call to re-establish the relevance and value of design. It necessitates a review of design issues we strive to make a better world through pervasive design.

Why attend design events or conferences?

Design conferences & events are an excellent source of inspiration… the speakers are at the top of their respective fields and they share with us their experience and expertise that they have gained getting to that position - something that is invaluable as a young designer or professional for that matter. By seeing these presentations or attending these events it gives a valuable insight into the industry… showing you new styles and techniques that can push yourself and your work in new directions.

Have you been to any other conferences before? What were they like? Would love to hear your stories.

April Fools! (No more Comic Sans!)

Jacob Cass — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 05:00:00 +0000

Of course I would never swap Just Creative Design to Comic Sans (see original post here)! It was an April Fools Joke! Comic Sans is one of the world’s most hated (and loved) fonts of all time. Ensure you refresh again (press Ctrl+F5) to change back.

In case you are not aware, “April Fools” is a day celebrated in many westernised countries where you play practical jokes on each other… even Google takes part.

Anyway, it seems I did trick quite a few - here a few quotes from Twitter, Facebook & the original post.

“Comic Sans??? It is really over used. I love your site (and logos) but not a huge fan of the Comic Sans. :(”

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Don’t used the most killed font of all-time! This is SO elementary for such a knowledgeable guy like yourself. Please switch it.”

“What the f***!”

“Love your site, love your work. As for the font choice…it will have to grow on me. Keep thinking creatively and keep leading the field. I think you are one of the most talented designers out there right now.”

“Lmfao! Good one. I actually fell for it.”

“omg i was FREAKING OUT until i saw the comments and remembered its april fools. oh man, well done.”

“I was thinking in my head “Really, Comic Sans??! Has Jacob finally derailed? I thought Comic Sans was forbidden in the design community?!” LOL good thing I read the other comments! You got me.”

“Fell for it last year, not again!”
(hehe, yup I played the same joke twice! - I was tempted to do papyrus this year but couldn’t go past Comic Sans again!)

For those that missed it, you can see a lovely screen shot below.

Happy April Fools everyone and congrats to those who didn’t get fooled!

Just Creative Design Switches To Comic Sans

Jacob Cass — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 23:24:09 +0000

UPDATE: This was an April Fools Joke… see this post in case you missed it! I thought 6 hours was enough!

You may have noticed some small changes to Just Creative Design, we’ve swapped from using Helvetica as our main font, to the much loved Comic Sans. If you don’t see the changes press CTRL+F5 to refresh the page.

I feel that it gives the site a much friendlier, fun feel… do you like the new changes? Let me know your comments below.

On another note, there have been a lot of new subscribers of late (just passed 14,000 for the first time today) so I will take this time to welcome you to Just Creative Design. If you wish, you can read more about me here or add me on any of the social sites below…

FaceBook - Social community. I am very active here.
Join the Just Creative Design Facebook Group.
Twitter - A mini blog. I am very active here.
LinkedIn - A business networking website.
StumbleUpon - Things worthy of a thumbs up. I’m very active here.
Digg - Websites I find useful and great. I’m very active here.
Technorati - Favourite our blog on Technorati.

Thanks everyone, enjoy your week!

The Secret To Creativity…

Jacob Cass — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 00:12:41 +0000

Every designers’ dirty little secret is that they copy other designer’s work. They see work they like, and they imitate it. Rather cheekily, they call this inspiration.

~Aaron Russell

Or to put this into a slightly similar phrase…

“The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.”

~Albert Einstein

The latter quote by Einstein is the topic that myself and two others have to talk about, for 20 minutes, for a university project and I thought it would be great to get some responses from you guys…

Here are some questions to consider:

How true is this statement?
How does hiding your sources make you more creative?
When does inspiration become plagiarism? (Great discussion in Aaron’s article)
Have you ever copied someone’s work? Or parts of? (Be honest)
How much of someone else’s idea can we copy before it becomes a copy?
Is there such thing as an original idea?

Further Creativity Resources

Here are some high quality resources on creativity:

Creatitivity in Schools by Sir Ken Robinson
Great thought provoking video on education (highly recommended).
The Brain As A System & The PO Creative Tool
A great essay on Dr. Edward de Bono’s work.
How To Be Creative
Some great methods on how to be creative.
How To Boost Your Creativity
Some sure fire techniques to get your creative juices flowing.
Accidental Plagiarism
An article highlighting how we can accidentally plagiarise others.
Subliminal advertising
A video showing how subliminal messages communicate to us.
Is Lateral Thinking Necessary for Creativity?

Check me out in these magazines!

Jacob Cass — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 07:57:27 +0000

Back in January I wrote the cover article for Layers Magazine on the topic of ‘Negative Space’ and now I am back again, but this time in the form of a poster boy - well not that kind of poster boy.

If you have a quick look though the April/May edition of Layers Magazine you will find my little mugshot on one of their advertisements along with some of my CD artwork. See the image below.

You may also be interested to know you can test drive Layers magazine by grabbing a free copy over at their site or you could look through their last issue online.

Also, check me out in next months edition of the mag, I will be appearing in their “Instant Inspiration” section with an interview and a showcase of my work.

I will also be appearing in the Photoshop and Illustrator tutorial sections over the next few months of which I will post on here once they are available. Stay tuned!

Computer Arts Projects Magazine (Issue 122)

After posting this article, I was told by Chris Spooner (big thank you) that I’ve also been featured in Issue 122 of the Computer Arts Projects Magazine - three times!

A big thanks to Chris Spooner for sending me the pics below.

The front cover of the magazine.

The inspiration directory page.

Tips for marketing yourself page.

Personal recommendation from Paul Wyatt! Thank you!

DG Magazine Portfolio

Update #3 - Just got word that my logo got approved for the “DG Portfolio 8″ magazine. See the pics below!

Front Cover

The page that I am on.

Close up of my logo.

12 Design and Business Books I’ve Read & Recommend (Part 1)

Jacob Cass — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 04:39:00 +0000

Find part two here.

How To Think Like A Great Graphic Designer

By Debbie Millman

This is a book for any designer that wants to get into the heads of the leading industry professionals. An entertaining & thought provoking look on the world of design via the use of interviews. One topic that comes up quite a bit is that of design consumerism.

Product Description:

In a series of illuminating and entertaining conversations, twenty-one of today’s most influential and revered designers discuss, celebrate, and analyze their craft. Adeptly interviewed by brand consultant and talk show host Debbie Millman, these designers reveal their early influences, day-to-day rituals, enthusiasms, aspirations, and failures. For pop-culture enthusiasts as well as long time designers, students and those just starting their careers, this book will prove an invaluable guide to the history, controversies, milestones, and everyday foibles of working, living, and thinking as a graphic designer. How to Think Like a Great Graphic Designer includes interviews with:

Milton Glaser, Paula Scher, Peter Saville, Chip Kidd, Stefan Sagmeister, Michael Bierut, Carin Goldberg, Neville Brody, Emily Oberman & Bonnie Siegler, James Victore, John Maeda, Paul Sahre, Jessica Helfand, Seymour Chwast, Lucille Tenazas, Vaughan Oliver, Steff Geissbuhler, Stephen Doyle Abbott Miller, Massimo Vignelli

How To Be A Graphic Designer Without Losing Your Soul

By Adrian Shaughnessy

Anyone entering into the field of graphic design, either coming out of school or embarking on a career solo, should read this book. It doesn’t mess with what the best typefaces are, or any software tricks. Instead, it lets you in on how designers think, and how to be successful in your endeavors. A foreword written by Sagmeister himself, along with interviews with other “rock star” designers, make this book simply amazing. ~Ben Waxler

Product Description:

Designers are quick to tell us about their sources of inspiration, but they are much less willing to reveal such critical matters as how to find work, how much they charge, and what to do when a client rejects three weeks of work and refuses to pay the bill.

How to be a graphic designer without losing your soul addresses the concerns of young designers who want to earn a living by doing expressive and meaningful work, and who want to avoid becoming hired drones working on soulless projects.

Written by a designer for designers, it combines practical advice with philosophical guidance to help young professionals embark on their careers. How should designers manage the creative process? What’s the first step in the successful interpretation of a brief? How do you generate ideas when everything just seems blank? How to be a graphic designer offers clear, concise guidance for these questions, along with focused, no-nonsense strategies for setting up, running, and promoting a studio, finding work, and collaborating with clients.

The book also includes inspiring interviews with ten leading designers, including Rudy VanderLans (Emigre), John Warwicker (Tomato), Neville Brody (Research Studios), and Andy Cruz (House Industries). All told, How to be a graphic designer covers just about every aspect of the profession, and stands as an indispensable guide for any young designer.

How To Be A Rockstar Freelancer*

By Cyan & Collis Ta’eed

This book is for anyone that is wishing to be a great freelancer (not just a designer), either part or full time. It deals with everything from starting your business, finding your first clients, and even expansion. A must read for any freelancer in my opinion… it’s from the guys over at Envato. Ensure you have a notepad handy when you read it as you get many ideas while reading it! *Affiliate

Product Description:

This is a real nuts and bolts guide to building a career as a freelancer online, with subjects ranging from managing your budget and handling multiple clients to diversifying your interests. Written by Collis and Cyan Ta’eed of the FreelanceSwitch blog site, it won’t tell you how to make your millions but its practical, straightforward advice will give you a good start. ~Net Magazine

Graphic Design as a Second Language

By Bob Gill

This book is aimed mainly at students and teachers of design, and those that wish to improve their design solutions through a better design process. Gill shows us through simple methods, how one can redefine a “problem” to find a superior solution. A very quick and thought provoking read… many illustrations and not many words.

Product Description:

This publication is part of the Handson Graphics series - an exciting and unique collection exploring the work of respected and highly talented international designers. The books in this series are primarily aimed at students and teachers of design. However they also provide an invaluable resource for all those interested in graphic design. The content is international, collectable and accessible to all. Bob Gill’s Graphic Design as a Second Language is a practical and palatable educational resource, aimed at students of graphic design. It provides a comprehensive package of the fundamentals of design, offering an important insight into how to develop original work.

Losing My Virginity: Autobiography

By Sir Richard Branson

This book is for any entrepreneur that wants a look into one of the world’s most successful businessmen. Richard really lets it all go in this book, revealing his philosophy on business, branding and life. A great read for those that seek motivation in life and for those that want to see how he managed to succeed - it reads like a novel so it is a good book for the bedside table.

Product Description:

Losing My Virginity is the ultimate tale of personal and business survival from a man who combines the business prowess of Bill Gates and the promotional instincts of P. T. Barnum.

Logo Design Workbook: A Hands-On Guide

By Noreen Morioka, Terry Stone & Sean Adams

This is a must read for anyone that has to deal with logo designs on a regular or irregular basis. The book has many examples and case studies that help you become a better logo designer which is achieved by answering the question of “what makes a logo design work”. A very procise, easy to read and well laid out book.

Product Description:

Logo Design Workbook focuses on creating powerful logo designs and answers the question, “What makes a logo work?”

In the first half of this book, authors Sean Adams and Noreen Morioka walk readers step-by-step through the entire logo-development process. Topics include developing a concept that communicates the right message and is appropriate for both the client and the market; defining how the client’s long-term goals might affect the look and needs of the mark; choosing colors and typefaces; avoiding common mistakes; and deciphering why some logos are successful whereas others are not.

The second half of the book comprises in-depth case studies on logos designed for various industries. Each case study explores the design brief, the relationship with the client, the time frame, and the results.

Other Design Books:

What design / business books have you read & recommend?

Wolda 2008 Annual Arrives

Jacob Cass — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 10:17:08 +0000

Back in October 2008 I announced winning two major logo design awards - the ‘Best of Continent’ and ‘Best of Nation’ for my Just Creative Design logo (the logo you see at the top of this blog)…

and then in December I announced receieving the actual awards in the mail of which you can see below…

And just today, the actual book arrived in the mail… it is a great little publication and a real keeper! Below you can find photos of the book and my logo being showcased (got onto 3 pages which was great!)

Wolda is now accepting entries for the 2009 Wolda Annual so get in before the first deadline of June 31st.

Online Project Management Review: Liquid Planner

Jacob Cass — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 13:04:20 +0000

In this guest article Kris Rowlands gives a non-paid review based on her first hand personal experiences of using the free (now requires membership) online project management software, Liquid Planner. Kris Rowlands is the author and creator of Fresh Focus…On Productivity. She discusses GTD, organisation and productivity tips for your daily life.

Being a designer can be a hectic line of work. Clients with deadlines, last minute projects, and huge projects that make you wonder how you will ever get it all done! But you know what? You don’t have to do it alone. I’d like to introduce you to an online project management system that will knock your socks off!

LiquidPlanner is online project management software designed to manage uncertainty in project schedules so all your projects will succeed—just what every business owner wants. Every feature has been designed with that goal, and the way you work, in mind.

Very similar to Microsoft Project, time lines can be viewed as a Gantt chart which is an excellent way to see, at a glance, the status on all your projects at once. With this view, you can clearly see where you will run into delivery issues and what areas you can move forward in order to meet your deadlines.

Task Management is definitely something that any designer needs. LiquidPlanner handles this with ease and finesse, with an attractive interface to boot! I know that myself, if what I’m working in isn’t attractive, I’m less likely to use it and become proficient with it. But with LiquidPlanner, it is indeed useful and good looking!

Intuitive workspace allows easy and efficient organization and prioritization of tasks to help you get things done and delivered on time.

Two Distinct Task List Views. View, schedule, and update your work by project folder or prioritized tasklist. Switch between the two views with a single click.
Drag-and-Drop Prioritization. Change the order of your scheduled tasks in a snap by dragging and dropping items as priorities shift. This is a great tools that allows you to use this service much as you’d use an application on your own computer.
Global Priority Management. Set global priorities for your team or the entire organization.
Easy Task Entry. Add up to 20 new tasks, complete with owners and work estimates, in seconds.
Multi-level Organization. Create folders, subfolders, and sub-subfolders so you can view, filter, and zoom in on tasks at any level of detail, no matter how complex the project.
Task to Project Conversion. Quickly add subtasks and new levels of organization to items in your project plan.

LiquidPlanner is also fluent at Project Collaboration, too! If you sub-contract your work out to other designers, LiquidPlanner will handle this with ease. All you do as send them an invitation via email, and allow them to view that project. They can then keep you updated on their progress without you having to constantly check in on them, which allows you to concentrate on your own tasks-at-hand!

Personalized Dashboards make priorities clear.

With LiquidPlanner, you finally get to see things your way. View what’s on your plate, what’s happening in the project space, and see critical alerts – all at a single glance.

Action Items. See only the tasks assigned to you, in priority order, and jump directly to any of them in the project plan.
Easy Updates. Mark progress and re-estimate tasks right from your dashboard, so you can get back to work in a snap.
Workspace Activity Feed. View the latest updates, comments, alerts, and uploads to your items and to the entire project space.
New Item Assignments. Comments or discussions on tasks assigned to you are surfaced front and center.
Project Alerts. Readily see red flags, required updates, and other alerts. If any of them are yours, LiquidPlanner makes sure you know.
Email Notifications. Get changes to your items emailed to you in real time (or daily or weekly).

LiquidPlanner can handle teams of any size. From the single designer to a Fortune 500 design firm, LiquidPlanner can handle it all. They handle both large clients and small, and give all of them the same excellent customer support. Check out the graphic to see the logos of some of their customers!

“The dynamics of our team are constantly in flux with contractors and remote employees contributing to various projects. Collaboration isn’t an option, it’s a necessity. LiquidPlanner has fundamentally transformed the way our team members assign tasks, build their schedules and communicate with one another in a truly seamless manner.”

- Mark Snow, IPexpert Training, Inc.

“Before LiquidPlanner, our teams found it difficult to manage project resources, balance the workload within our organization, and provide accurate work estimates. By allowing our teams to collaborate, share key information, and efficiently manage projects, LiquidPlanner keeps everyone knowledgeable and engaged.”

- Eric Bowers, Butterball Farms, Inc.

“We have to constantly be ahead of the curve in terms of planning in the competitive real estate market. We didn’t have the time, interest or need to master any kind of elaborate project management tool yet we definitely needed something more than Excel. With LiquidPlanner we were up to speed and on top of dates and deadlines in no time.”

- Ben Nordlander, Coldwell Banker Bain

I bet that you are thinking that you can’t afford this. What I’d like to do is make you a bet on that! You know why? You most certainly can!

For small designer firms less than four members, you get all of this functionality for free! Yes, you heard me correctly, for FREE! For larger ones, you can either choose the monthly or yearly payment option. LiquidPlanner aims to please, so if you don’t see a plan that fits what you need, contact them and I’m sure that they will work with you to reach your end goals.

Now I know that all the pictures look so nice and shiny that you may feel intimidated by them and you don’t think you’ll ever figure out how to use use it. But I promise that you will! LiquidPlanner offers FREE (yes, there is that “free” word again) virtual online training. This course is well-planned and succinct, and the trainers always stays online and devote time for questions that didn’t get answered during the session.

But as a disclaimer, let me say this: I do not work for LiquidPlanner. I came here to tell you about it because I am a satisfied customer. I am a single business owner and don’t have to pay a dime to use LiquidPlanner. And they don’t hold back features like other project management sites, either. You get all the features whether you are a paying client or not.

In the past I have had the opportunity to speak with them via email regarding questions I have had and they are always pleasant and get you the answers that you need. I have also taken the virtual training. I recommend LiquidPlanner not only based on the plethora of features available, but all the price and training that you can get to go along with it. You really cannot find anything like this for this price. Trust me, I’ve looked. It’s just not out there in the quality and value that you will get from LiquidPlanner. Try them out – you won’t be disappointed!

Are you guilty of design consumerism?

Jacob Cass — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 11:44:54 +0000

Last week, on my other website (Logo Designer Blog), an article written by Chris Spooner was published and it was called 5 recent rebrands that caused the most upset and it really kicked up a stir amongst the community.

Many people vented their opinions of each of the 5 logos showcased however there were two comments that really stood out for me as it brought up a few questions and provoked thoughts I had never really thought about.

Daphne had this to say about the 5 logos:

“Don’t like any of them [the 5 logos posted]. Feels exactly like what we’re studying in class now… where the design does not adhere to the need of the consumer, rather it’s creating a style for the consumer to follow; one that will soon become a style used by all, making it obsolete…”

Kaalis had an interesting reply…

“I don’t want a world where design is created by the consumer, I prefer one where designers create trends, create evolution, changes. Designers need to educate the consumer visually. If all designers followed what consumers (and clients) wanted, design history would have been a lot more boring. That’s why I love and support Ollin’s work, it’s innovating and fresh. It doesn’t listen to what consumers want, it educates the consumer, surprises him, makes him think, react, share opinions - good & bad ones. We designers need to support these kind of designers… we’re not a bunch a lazy guys doing drawings, we develop concepts, strategies and give estethical answers. We’re not slaves of the consumers or our client. We decide, but at our own risk…”

So this made me a think… should a designer be adhering to the needs / wants of consumers & clients? Should designers be innovating & creating a style for consumers to follow? Where can and should we draw the line between the two? Should designers follow design trends for the needs & wants of consumers or should we be trying harder to educate the client? Should we be designing for social change?

Well, this topic has been up in the air for some time now .. in fact one of the most re known designers of our time, Milton Glaser (the designer behind the I Love New York logo), coined the term “Designism” which raises a similar question of “whether design can and should do good?”

“Designism is a movement that attempts (sometimes well, sometimes not) to connect design to politics. A less “loaded” definition would be “a movement that attempts to change the world through design.”

This Designism movement has been crafted via a number of lectures put together by the Art Directors Club although it doesn’t seem to be that popular, however, it has only been a movement 3 years in the making.

Be A Good Citizen - Milton Glaser

Furthering on this topic of Designism, in the book How To Think Like A Great Graphic Designer by Debbie Millman, (a great book I’ve recently finished) Milton Glaser had this to say:

“Being a designer is also about being a good citizen. What does it mean to be a good citizen? It means caring about what’s going on and taking a role. Designers have the unique opportunity to have a different role than an average person who doesn’t have access to production and manufacturing in the same way a designer does. So there is more opportunity and more responsibility.

The reality of being in the world and caring about that world is ultimately in our own self-interest. When you create a competitive and acrimonious environment, you suffer. If you play that game, then you have to pay the consequences on a personal level.”

Who cares?

Although not all are all in the same boat, Adrian Hanft of the blog Be A Design Group had these critiques about Designism after listening to one of the Designism lectures:

• It’s too liberal. A political movement should include multiple political opinions. Most people who attended the forum were liberal.
• Speak in a civil tone – change doesn’t come about by dropping the “F” bomb and saying you’re pissed.
• It’s insulting to other designers by implying that political design is more important than other forms of design.

Adrian also asks “hasn’t design always been about making the world a better place?”

You can read Adrian’s full crique here and read other’s opinions here: SpeakUp, Unbeige, Core 77, and many more.

So, who is the victim of design consumerism?

In my opinion, regardless of how designers instigate change, we simply can’t do nothing. What’s your opinion?

Donate & Win A Free Logo

Jacob Cass — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 08:04:00 +0000

Since the 7th of February 2009, more than 200 people have lost their lives and close to 2000 homes have been lost due to ferocious bushfires here in Australia. This is one of the worst natural disasters in Australian history.

I am trying to do my part for something that I feel very close about (we nearly lost our home in 1994 due to bush fires) and I thought I could do this by running a small competition here on Just Creative Design.

I am giving away a free logo design to one lucky winner who enters the competition. Entry into the competition will consist of a $10+ donation to the Australian Red Cross.

For those who do not want / need a logo, please leave a comment on this post and I will personally donate $0.50 per comment that is left over a 1 week period.

Or if you just want to donate, please donate directly to the Red Cross Victorian Bushfire Appeal however if you are wishing to enter the logo competition please read on as you will have to make payment to my PayPal account so I can track the entries. I have previously raised USD$1620 through this blog so your donation will be in safe hands - 100% of all proceeds will go to the Red Cross.

To enter the free logo design competition, please make a $10+ donation by clicking the donate button below. Leave a comment or email me telling me why you need / deserve the logo. On March 16th I will announce the winner.

Thank you in advance for your support!

Update: Thank you everyone who donated, the victims of this disaster will be extremely grateful! The winner of the free logo design was Adrian Belfast, who I have emailed. I also upped the original 50cents to 1 dollar for my part - thank you once again!

Below you will find a tribute video to the those affected by the Victorian Bushfires and below that, some images of the bush fires, courtesy of The Big Picture.

A fire truck moves away from out of control flames from a bushfire in the Bunyip Sate Forest near the township of Tonimbuk, 125 kilometers (78 miles) west of Melbourne, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2009. Walls of flame roared across southeastern Australia, razing scores of homes, forests and farmland in the sunburned country’s worst wildfire disaster in a quarter century. (AP Photo)

Flames and smoke rise from a bushfire in the Bunyip Sate Forest west of Melbourne, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2009. (AP Photo)

A Country Fire Authority (CFA) Sector Commander looks up at a giant fire raging in the Bunyip State Park near Labertouche, Australia, on February 7, 2009. More than 40 blazes raged across two states as a once-in-a-century heatwave pushed the mercury as high as 46 degrees Celsius (115 Fahrenheit) with fire bans in place across much of the south-east. (WILLIAM WEST/AFP/Getty Images).

A general view of the devastation from the Peats Ridge Valley bushfire on February 9, 2009 in Peats Ridge, Australia. (Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)

Small acreage is burned out in Kinglake, northeast of Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2009. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Craig Kidd looks at the melted metal of alloy wheels from his burnt out vehicles after a bushfire swept through his property on February 9, 2009 in Bendigo, 160 km from Melbourne, Australia. (Scott Barbour/Getty Images)

The burnt remains of a house are left standing in the aftermath of a bushfire on February 3, 2009 in Boolarra, approximately 200 kms southeast of Melbourne, Australia. (Luis Ascui/Getty Images)

The remains of properties destroyed by bushfires are seen in the town of Kinglake, 55km (34 miles) northeast of Melbourne February 8, 2009. (REUTERS/Mick Tsikas)

Family members react after learning that their parents Bill and Faye Walker and disabled brother Geoffrey were killed in wildfires in Marysville, north of Melbourne, Monday, Feb. 9, 2009. (AP Photo)

For more information please visit the Australian Red Cross Victorian Bushfire 2009 Appeal.

The Top 100 Best Fonts Of All Time

Jacob Cass — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 05:37:06 +0000

Based on a German website, these are the top 100 best fonts of all time.

To say the least, ranking fonts is an obviously hard task… how does one measure aesthetic quality, the benefit of an item, its value to humanity and so fourth?

Well, in this particular German publication, the judges ranked the fonts by their objective and various other weighted measurements:

FontShop Sales Figures: 40%
Historical Value/Meaning: 30%
Aesthetic Qualities: 30%

It is also worth noting that this evaluation consisted exclusively of licensed or commercial fonts only. Free fonts or operating system fonts were not considered, nor were fonts integral to standard software (i.e. Arial, Verdana, etc.). Font variations, which over the centuries have been individually interpreted by various Foundries, were uniquely evaluated as a class and the best variant was entered into the main judging process.

Below is a preview of the top 33 fonts and beneath this image you can find the full list of the 100 best fonts.

Top 100 Best Fonts Of All Time

Below you will find the full list of the best 100 fonts along with the designer & the year in which they were designed.

1. Helvetica [1957 - Max Miedinger]

2. Garamond [1530 - Claude Garamond]

3. Frutiger [1977 - Adrian Frutiger]

4. Bodoni [1790 - Giambattista Bodoni]

5. Futura [1927 - Paul Renner]

6. Times [1931 - Stanley Morison]

7. Akzidenz Grotesk [1966 - G nter Gerhard Lange]

8. Officina [1990 - Erik Spiekermann]

9. Gill Sans [1930 - Eric Gill]

10. Univers [1954 - Adrian Frutiger]

11. Optima [1954 - Hermann Zapf]

12. Franklin Gothic [1903 - Morris Fuller Benton]

13. Bembo [1496 - Francesco Griffo]

14. Interstate [1993 - Tobias Frere-Jones]

15. Thesis [1994 - Lucas de Groot]

16. Rockwell [1934 - Frank H. Pierpont]

17. Walbaum [1800 - Justus Walbaum]

18. Meta [1991 - Erik Spiekermann]

19. Trinit [1982 - Bram De Does]

20. Din [1926 - Ludwig Goller]

21. Matrix [1986 - Zuzana Licko]

22. OCR [1965 - American Type Founders]

23. Avant Garde [1968 - Herb Lubalin]

24. Lucida [1985 - Chris Holmes / Charles Bigelow]

25. Sabon [1964 - Jan Tschichold]

26. Zapfino [1998 - Hermann Zapf]

27. Letter Gothic [1956 - Roger Roberson]

28. Stone [1987 - Summer Stone]

29. Arnhem [1998 - Fred Smeijers]

30. Minion [1990 - Robert Slimbach]

31. Myriad [1992 - Twombly & Slimbach]

32. Rotis [1988 - Olt Aicher]

33. Eurostile [1962 - Aldo Novarese]

34. Scala [1991 - Martin Majoor]

35. Syntax [1968 - Hans Eduard Meier]

36. Joanna [1930 - Eric Gill]

37. Fleishmann [1997 - Erhard Kaiser]

38. Palatino [1950 - Hermann Zapf]

39. Baskerville [1754 - John Baskerville]

40. Fedra [2002 - Peter Bil'ak]

41. Gotham [2000 - Tobias Frere-Jones]

42. Lexicon [1992 - Bram De Does]

43. Hands [1991 - Letterror]

44. Metro [1929 - W. A. Dwiggins]

45. Didot [1799 - Firmin Didot]

46. Formata [1984 - Bernd M llenst dt]

47. Caslon [1725 - William Caslon]

48. Cooper Black [1920 - Oswald B. Cooper]

49. Peignot [1937 - A. M. Cassandre]

50. Bell Gothic [1938 - Chauncey H. Griffith]

51. Antique Olive [1962 - Roger Excoffon]

52. Wilhelm Klngspor Gotisch [1926 - Rudolf Koch]

53. Info [1996 - Erik Spiekermann]

54. Dax [1995 - Hans Reichel]

55. Proforma [1988 - Petr van Blokland]

56. Today Sans [1988 - Volker K ster]

57. Prokyon [2002 - Erhard Kaiser]

58. Trade Gothic [1948 - Jackson Burke]

59. Swift [1987 - Gerald Unger]

60. Copperplate Gothic [1901 - Frederic W. Goudy]

61. Blur [1992 - Neville Brody]

62. Base [1995 - Zuzana Licko]

63. Bell Centennial [1978 - Matthew Carter]

64. News Gothic [1908 - Morris Fuller Benton]

65. Avenir [1988 - Adrian Frutiger]

66. Bernhard Modern [1937 - Lucian Bernhard]

67. Amplitude [2003 - Christian Schwartz]

68. Trixie [1991 - Erik van Blokland]

69. Quadraat [1992 - Fred Smeijers]

70. Neutraface [2002 - Christian Schwartz]

71. Nobel [1929 - Sjoerd de Roos]

72. Industria [1990 - Neville Brody]

73. Bickham Script [1997 - Richard Lipton]

74. Bank Gothic [1930 - Morris Fuller Benton]

75. Corporate ASE [1989 - Kurt Weidemann]

76. Fago [2000 - Ole Schafer]

77. Trajan [1989 - Carol Twombly]

78. Kabel [1927 - Rudolf Koch]

79. House Gothic 23 [1995 - Tal Leming]

80. Kosmik [1993 - Letterror]

81. Caecilia [1990 - Peter Matthias Noordzij]

82. Mrs Eaves [1996 - Zuzana Licko]

83. Corpid [1997 - Lucas de Groot]

84. Miller [1997 - Matthew Carter]

85. Souvenir [1914 - Morris Fuller Benton]

86. Instant Types [1992 - Just van Rossum]

87. Clarendon [1845 - Benjamin Fox]

88. Triplex [1989 - Zuzana Licko]

89. Benguiat [1989 - Ed Benguiat]

90. Zapf Renaissance [1984 - Hermann Zapf]

91. Filosofia [1996 - Zuzana Licko]

92. Chalet [1996 - House Industries]

93. Quay Sans [1990 - David Quay]

94. C zanne [1995 - Michael Want, James Grieshaber]

95. Reporter [1938 - Carlos Winkow]

96. Legacy [1992 - Ronald Arnholm]

97. Agenda [1993 - Greg Thompson]

98. Bello [2004 - Underware]

99. Dalliance [2000 - Frank Heine]

100. Mistral [1953 - Roger Excoffon]

Further Resources:

100 Best Fonts PDF (In German)
The 100 Best Fonts Website (Translated via Yahoo)
30 Fonts All Designers Must Know & Should Own
How To Choose A Font
54 Typography Resources Every Designer Should Bookmark

So what other fonts should be included in this? What fonts shouldn’t be in this list? Vent your spleen below.

Logo Designer Blog Give Away Winners Announced

Jacob Cass — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 00:45:39 +0000

A big thank you to all the sponsors and those who have been promoting the new Logo Designer Blog. Here are the winners of the prizes from the competition. Congratulations!

I’ve contacted the winners & sponsors via email.

Winner: Josiah Jost
Prize: USD$50 credit at Think Geek, courtesy of the kind OfficeHax AND an awesome piece of artwork (11?x14?) done by the talented Darlene Lee, be sure to check out her work! Very inspiring! Darlene is also on LinkedIn.

Winner: Fabian
Prize: 1000 business cards courtesy of the kind Jeremey Duboys from AllBusinessCards, a quality online print shop!

Winner: Brandon Meier
Prize: Any tshirt from DesignByHumans*.

Winner: Bev&Catey
Prize: One free month advertising (125×125) on Logo Designer Blog.

Winner: Christhian Bedon
Prize: A caricature drawing of your wishing, courtesy of Ben Capozzi who is a very talented political cartoonist!

Winner: Francois
Prize: A CMYK clay pack from the kind Michel of BlackEye.

Thanks again everyone! Stay tuned for a great typography post coming up later tonight.

Smart Ass Marketing

Jacob Cass — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 11:04:39 +0000

When I was going through submissions for the Logo Of The Day website, the Design Encyclopedia logo was suggested and when I went to check out their website, I read the top three lines of their website and was pleasantly surprised that I could stay updated to their website “through their rss ass”. See the screenshot above or visit the website yourself.

Although this got a laugh out of me, I didn’t really think anything of it until I read that they were a division of Under Consideration and seeing though they know a thing or three about marketing I wondered if this little number was purely a mistake or a smart marketing move by the guys over at Under Consideration. Personally, I think it is a marketing ploy, and a clever one at that.

What makes me think so? The fact that there is a huge RSS watermark behind the text and the fact that the header hasn’t changed since 2006, however, I should note that on close inspection it does say RSS not ASS.

Update: Armin from Under Consideration had this to say:

I never noticed the ASS text until someone pointed it out literally after 30 minutes from when I uploaded that header image. Since then, every two or three months I get an e-mail from someone telling us about it. It takes five minutes to change the header but for some reason I now enjoy it being there. It’s like the arrow in the FedEx logo. Sort of.

Anyway, thought I would share this one with you and hey I guess the marketing ploy worked… I’ve written a blog post that has gone out to to 12 500+ subscribers and I’ve sent out a Twitter message to 6500+ followers which then got retweeted many, many times - Not bad, eh?

What’s your take? Smart? Dumb? Honest mistake? Vent your spleen.

Just Creative Design

30 Sweet Handpicked Designer Tshirts

9 SEO Tips You’ve Probably Forgot About

1. Proper use of

and

tags

2. Remove useless code

3. Internal linking

4. Footer links are to be kept at a minimum

5. Do not use images as links

6. Keep the URLs friendly

7. Use the noarchive and noindex tags

8. Social bookmarking

9. Do not overuse Ajax

Recommended SEO Resources

Designer’s Favourite Fonts & Why

Recommended Typography Resources

Logo Design Book Recommendations (+Video)

Recommended Logo Design Books

Other Top / Best Logo Design Books

Other’s Logo Book Recommendations

Guess The Logo Game

Fake Logo Designs: Revisited

Logo of the Day & Fictional Logos

Instant Inspiration + Student Mobiles

What’s the “method to your madness?”

What inspires you?

On Layers magazine:

What are you working on now?

What has been your crowning achievement so far?

Any advice?

Mugshot

Student Mobiles

Beware of the Net Trademark Registration Scam

Just Creative Design Goes Mobile

How To Make Your Next Website Design Pop

1. Layout The Fundamentals

2. Check Alignment & Spacing

3. Apply Anti-Aliasing To Text

4. Add a 1 Pixel Stroke

5. Add Subtle Gradient Effects

6. Add Subtle Drop Shadows

7. Have a Hierarchy & Call to Action

8. Colour Correction & Sharpening

9. Less Is More.

10. Summary

11. Recommended Web Design Reading

Pictures of Layers Magazine

The Past, Present & The Future

agIdeas 2009

Calling For Guest Posts

Travel Plans

NYC Creative Studio Job Offer

Other News

Identity Design Process for Butterfield Photography

Design Constraints

Brainstorming

Design Decisions

Delivery

Testimonial

“Jacob, Our Top Twit”

Twitter Interview Responses

My work exhibited at Melbourne Museum

Entered Pieces

FITTUCI Custom Windows & Doors Logo Design

Wedgetail Premium Citrus Vodka Bottle & Packaging

Photoshop For Right Brainers

Welcome & Thank You Video

12 Design and Business Books I’ve Read & Recommend (Part 2)

The Unlimited Freelancer*

Inspiring Intimidation

Inspiring Intimidation

Intimidating Logo Design

Australian Design Conferences

More Australian Design Conferences, Events & Competitions

Why attend design events or conferences?

April Fools! (No more Comic Sans!)

Just Creative Design Switches To Comic Sans

The Secret To Creativity…

Check me out in these magazines!