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Design tips, links, sites, books, guides, resources and tutorials

5 simple guidelines to better typography

NOTE: there are almost no "rules" in design, so these are not hard-and-fast must-follow-or-die "rules" - these are only proven guidelines to making readable type. if you are working with type in a more expressive as opposed to purely readable fashion, feel free to ignore these.

1. when using all capitals or small capitals, do not capitalize the first letter of a word - all letters should be the exact same size.

2. the width of a paragraph (also called the "measure") should ideally be around 66 characters (letters and spaced) in length.

3. do not stack text vertically; typography was not made to work this way; if you need it oriented this way, you are much better off to rotate it 90 degrees instead.

4. your line spacing (called "leading") should be larger the bigger your text size; i usually start at about 1.5 times the point size (so 10pt. type would have 15pt leading) and play with it from there. leading should be wide enough to avoid seeing rivers between text but not so wide you see text as stripes instead of as a whole block.

5. do not add character spacing (called "tracking") on lowercase text; do add tracking on all capitalized text; the larger the point size the more tracking needed.
 
20 designers to google when bored

have a few minutes? instead of checking facebook again, google some of these designers and get inspired.

Melle Hammer
Ralph Schraivogel
Armin Hoffman
Peter Saville
Tomato
Cyan
Niklaus Troxler
Skolos/Wedell
Lazlo Moholy-Nagy
Jan Tschichold
Phillipe Apeliog
Ahn-Sang Soo
Ed Fella
Bas Jacobs
Stenberg Brothers
Bruno Monguzzi
Why Not Associates
Vaughn Oliver
Makoto Saito
Wim Crouwel
 
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Logo Lounge - A very good resource for logo branding, great article and good concepts.

Also they have 4 books out LogoLounge 1, LogoLounge 2, LogoLounge 3 and LogoLounge 4 which are a very good resource for any branding or design person. (You can buy them off the web site via an Amazon link).
 
HOW design books by Jim Krause!

Color Index- an awesome with over a thousand combinations with their formulas (CMYK & RGB)

Layout Index- offers some tips to brochure, stationery, newsletter layouts, etc.

Idea Index- I haven't got this one yet, but if it's anywhere near as good as the other two, it should be a very helpful book as well. :D
 
BBC - Visual Language - Design Guidelines

A potentially useful resource for student designers, or perhaps those that aren't necessarily aware of the often inherent similarities between print & interaction design and the application of a grid system.

BBC - Visual Language Guidelines v1.0.6. (Link to PDF, 4.6MB)
 
Setting Up A Wacom Tablet Tutorial

http://guides.macrumors.com/Setting_Up_A_Wacom_Tablet_Tutorial

This link provides a basic tutorial that I created for someone that has just purchased a Wacom Tablet and could use some visual guidance as how to set it up and to help maximize it's functions and ease of use. Anyone that has experience using the different pen types such as the Airbrush or the 6D art pen please feel free to add your expertise to the tutorial so that anyone just starting out can take advantage of your knowledge and pass it along to others as well.
I hope everyone is able to enjoy and get something from this.

Could this link also be added to post number 2 above?
 
Digital Architect podcast - must see for architecture students
http://www.scottonstott.com/vodcast/
though it should be noted that this site hasn't been updated in a while, but very useful anyway

also, PODCASTS are a good source of video tutorials for design apps, as well as YouTube where some people have uploaded videos of their design works. Another (more useful, less time-wasting) use of popular sites.
 
Few tips for recognizing quality in the website

1.Website should be easy to download :If you website does not download within few seconds then web surfer may loose interest and skip towards other websites. So, keep downloading time as short as possible and let the visitors have amusing experiences in short possible time

2.Website should be easy to read: Check out color combination between text and background of the webpage. Perfect color combination makes it readable. In other words producing HTML text, background images, and the text in graphic images with the highest possible contrast.

3.Website should be easy to navigate: All of your hyperlinks should be clear to your visitors.It makes a pleasing web surfing experience.

4.Website should be easy to find :Web sites must be promoted online via search engines, directories, award sites, banner advertising, electronic magazines (e-zines) and links from other web sites. These entire activities enhance its visibility in search engines.

5.Web page layout and design should be consistent:Consistency and coherence have equal level of intensity in all forms of document, whether it be a report or a set of web pages, project a professional image.


Thanks
 
video tutorials

There are quite a few design based video tutorials around, but I've stumbled upon what I feel are some of the best for Adobe products:

http://www.designprovideo.com

I like the teaching style. A good balance between theory and practical examples. Not overwhelming the viewer with tons of information like some sites... it feels relevant and videos are bit sized chunks making it easy to learn and reference.

Excuse my enthusiasm... I have been bowled over by the quality of these training videos. I come from an academic background, so I appreciate the difference between someone who knows the software and simply talks at you, and a great educator who is able to stimulate learning and curiosity.
 
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