On April 4th, the New York Times posted a cover story on what author Sam Anderson calls “stupid games.” Yes, Sam Anderson has openly labeled Angry Birds, along with its posse of mobile games with similar simple and addictive experiences, as “stupid games.” He has even gone as far as to trace back the lineage of “stupid...
If you have worked as a graphic designer for any length of time, you may have heard a few terms thrown around by your clients as they critique your work. You have tried your best to present a well-executed and thoughtfully designed piece and your client says, “It looks nice, but it needs a more, pizzazz. Can you jazz...
When I was a design student, we'd take tours of design studios. At the end of the tour we were offered a question and answer period. One question was asked again and again, "Do you do things by hand or on the computer?" Why was this asked over and over? Why was the question phrased as if the two...
Yves Béhar is a visionary. Founder of fuseproject, a San Francisco based design agency, Béhar aims to break into new markets and disrupt old ones by bringing a humanistic approach to his work. You may remember him for the world’s first $100 laptop for the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) organization.
What can we expect from technology in 2012, beyond tablets and smartphones? We searched the Net for the coolest tech trends to look forward to. Here are our favorite five trends to watch for
Design trends ebb and flow just like fashion, literature, and the seasons. As designers, we have to stay aware of current trends to keep our work fresh and contemporary. We also have to stay aware of the trends to keep our work from being faddish, and strive to be timeless. So use your knowledge of trends wisely, because...
At the Baltimore, MD-based game development studio Firaxis Games, Sessions College animation instructor Greg Marlow spent his summer wrapping up work on Sid Meier’s Civilization 5. Civilization 5 is the latest version of an immensely popular turn-based strategy game pioneered by game guru Meier in 1991. Just like the original game, Civ 5 challenges players to “build an empire...
How do you revive an ad campaign to a loyal audience without abandoning or simply repeating a key character--and while still meeting expectations? Old Spice and advertising agency Wieden + Kennedy found themselves in this very situation in the fall of 2010. The viral and heavily followed campaign “The Man Your Man Could...
Accessing stock images has come a long way since the 80s. Thirty years ago, when stock houses began creating categorized collections of ready-to-use photographs, stock photography was considered a breakthrough for publishers. Unfortunately for designers of the time, though, using stock meant spending countless hours weeding through thousands of negatives in a physical collection, which kept the use of...
Below is Part 1 of an excerpt from an upcoming Graphic Artists Guild White Paper PDF about common copyright myths and misconceptions. Anyone working in the graphic arts industry needs to have a working knowledge of copyright and what it affords the graphic artist, but before discussing some of the most common myths and misconceptions, a few basic facts...
