3.24.2006

Funny

Tom Wayman, Poems (an excerpt here - follow the link to read the rest)

Did I Miss Anything?
Question frequently asked by
students after missing a class

Nothing. When we realized you weren't here
we sat with our hands folded on our desks
in silence, for the full two hours

Everything. I gave an exam worth
40 per cent of the grade for this term
and assigned some reading due today
on which I'm about to hand out a quiz
worth 50 per cent...

Making Meaning

creativepro.com - Giving Design Meaning

The writers of this excerpt believe that design identifies and builds value based on a deep understanding of customer needs. This applies to decisions of appearance (such as color, typeface, material, and form), but also to levels of performance (such as process, workflow, interaction, and experience). And it applies at the business level, too, including corporate strategy, structure, process, and goals.

3.22.2006

Free Design magazine

GDUSA

Graphic Design USA is a monthly news and information magazine for and about the professional design community including graphic design firms, corporate and publishing inhouse departments, advertising agencies, institutions and non-profits, and other creative businesses and organizations.

3.20.2006

IDD400 Analysis Links

New sites for you to choose from for your Motion Graphic analysis this week:

Spark

Eyeball NYC

The Designer's Republic

3.19.2006

IDD480 Before you construct your site...

Read and work through this:

creativepro.com - Web Basics: What You Need to Succeed

Visual Web-design programs such as Dreamweaver and GoLive are wonderful tools. But unless you have a team of engineers who ask you only to prototype sites while cooling you with a palm frond and feeding you grapes, at some point you must grasp a few code basics to craft the best-possible Web site. Read this article and you'll understand XHTML: the most modern, flexible form of HTML, and the foundation of CSS.


And then this:

creativepro.com - Web Design How-To: Giggle Your Way to Code Mastery

You've read plenty of dry-but-worthy articles on designing Web sites. This is not one of them. You'll smile, you'll play games, and along the way, you'll learn how to use CSS to style sites that meet Web standards and work across many browsers and display devices.

3.13.2006

25 Best License-Free Quality Fonts

Vitaly Friedman | Blog: 25 Best License-Free Quality Fonts
Recently I’ve been browsing through the Net searching for the best license-free fonts which would fit as a serious heading for a serious online-presentation. Fortunately, I wasn’t the first web-developer, who was trying to find such fonts.

3.09.2006

Cool Typography Study

Perception of Fonts: Perceived Personality Traits and Uses

This study sought to determine if certain personalities and uses are associated with various fonts. Using an online survey, participants rated the personality of 20 fonts using 15 adjective pairs. In addition, participants viewed the same 20 fonts and selected which uses were most appropriate. Results suggested that personality traits are indeed attributed to fonts based on their design family (Serif, Sans-Serif, Modern, Monospace, Script/Funny) and are associated with appropriate uses. Implications of these results to the design of online materials and websites are discussed.

3.07.2006

IDD480 More on Self Promotion

Actually, lots more! I did a quick search on Creative Pro and came up with a slew of past articles on self promotion:

Search creativepro.com: Self Promotion

Just a glimpse from 188 results:

Three Faces of Self-Promotion Terri Stone May 27, 2005
A designer, a photographer, and an illustrator/printer/retailer share how they've become successful. This is not your usual promotion article....

Creative Fuel: Weaving a Self-Promotion Web Molly W. Joss May 26, 2005
Are you thinking about making a Web site to promote your business? Or are you dissatisfied with the site you already have? Molly Joss passes on some hard-earned wisdom on day 4 of Creatievpro.com's Self-Promotion Week....

The Art of Business: Low-Budget Self-Promotion Eric J. Adams May 23, 2005
It's Self-Promotion Week at Creativepro.com. No, we're not advertising our site -- we're helping you promote your business! To kick off the week, Eric J. Adams proves that it doesn't take a wad of cash to promote yourself -- just targeted and timely persistence, and more than a little gumption. ...

You're Hired! Cynthia L. Baron May 25, 2005
On day 3 of our Self-Promotion Week, you'll get the dirt on customizing portfolios. Once you've tailored your materials, the competition won't have a chance....

IDD480 Self Promotion

creativepro.com - Turn Potentials Into Paying Clients

Designers and photographers create self-promotional pieces to win new clients and lure past clients back. The best way to accomplish these goals depends on the individual creative professional; in fact, if your promotion looks like someone else's, you've lost your chance to distinguish yourself.


(Think of it as “Turn Potentials into Employers.“ Perfect timing on this little article.)

3.05.2006

IDD480 Job Search Sites

SimplyHired.com | Job Search Made Simple

But along with simplicity, we'll make it possible for you to see every opportunity out there. If your cousin is looking for a part-time job working the evening shift at a pickle factory 300 miles west of Texas, we'll help you locate that one-in-a-million job waiting for her in Albuquerque. Our tools will turn everyone into an expert at finding the needle in their own personal haystack.


Indeed | one search. all jobs.

Indeed is a search engine for jobs - with a radically different approach to job search. In one simple search, Indeed gives job seekers free access to millions of employment opportunities from thousands of websites. Indeed.com includes all the job listings from major job boards, newspapers, associations and company career pages - and we continue to add new sites every day.

3.03.2006

Writing Advice

Advice for students: Writing by hand - lifehack.org

A recent piece in Inside Higher Ed by Shari Wilson, “The Surprising Process of Writing,” jibes with my observations over the last few years: many students do better with in-class handwritten essays than with word-processed essays written outside of class. My evidence is only anecdotal, but it’s consistent enough to suggest that writing by hand may have several significant advantages for many student-writers.


Inside Higher Ed :: The Surprising Process of Writing

Amelia, a university sophomore, scores a 60 on her first academic paper. On her second she scores a 60 again. On her third paper, she pulls up to an 80 — mostly due to extensive rewrites. Yet on her midterm and final, she received an astounding 90 and 85. Not only was her paragraph structure and use of quotations significantly better, but her ability to sequence ideas and support claims had taken a leap. Even her mechanics (grammar, sentence structure and punctuation) had improved.

Creative Inspiration

creativepro.com - Fly the Creative Skies

Fasten your seatbelts low and tight across your laps, ladies and gentleman, because we've got a quietly powerful creativity boost for you. This article, which combines full-page photos with insights from a fellow creative pro, will give you wings.

3.02.2006

IDD480: Planning Flash Projects

creativepro.com - Web How-To: Planning Flash Projects

In this excerpt from the "Macromedia Flash MX 2004 Bible," you'll learn what questions to ask and what solutions to propose when creating a Flash project. Along the way you'll pick up tips on what makes a good user interface and how to use Flash's Project Panel.

3.01.2006