I recently designed an email advertisement for Dick’s Sporting Goods which got a nifty bit of recognition on The Retail Email Blog, which is a blog that focuses on the trends of email marketing. Although the write up doesn’t specifically comment on the design itself, it does however, point out the importance of sharing fund-raising results with customers.  Although a number of other retailers were mentioned in this snippet, my design was the lucky one to be prominently featured within the post.

Granted, it’s no Academy award or a Grammy, but it’s nice to be noticed.   8^)

Excerpt from The Retail Email Blog

Click to view this Jan. 5, 2010 Dick’s Sporting Goods email full-sized

Dick’s Sporting Goods, 1/5 — Thank You for Helping Fight Childhood Cancer!‏
While cause marketing is very popular among retailers, you rarely hear about the end result of fund-raising efforts, which is a shame because it’s good brand-building and will likely get subscribers more excited the next time you use cause marketing. In this email, Dick’s Sporting Goods shares the impressive results of their efforts to raise money for St. Jude’s.

Other retailers who shared the results of their charity work: Lands’ End did a good job of updating subscribers on how many coats they collected as part of their BigWarmUp campaign (see Nov. 10 AM Inbox). Saks Fifth Avenue also updated subscribers on their efforts with St. Jude’s (see Feb. 11, 2008 AM Inbox), as did Ann Taylor (see Jan. 16, 2008 AM Inbox).

Read the full article, AM Inbox: The First Reference to Valentine’s Day.

©2010 Graphics Beast :: Creative design blog by Steven Till. All Rights Reserved.

I hope you have had a wonderful holiday season and are ready to take on the new year in style!  Be on the lookout for a brand new wallpaper series based off the new site design.  Clean, functional, and just downright nifty.

Cheers!

~Steven

©2010 Graphics Beast :: Creative design blog by Steven Till. All Rights Reserved.

If you have ever provided any graphic design service or freelancing, you more than likely have encountered a client (or many clients) who simply don’t understand what we as designers do, let alone why we do the things we do in regards to a project.  The folks over at Agency Fusion seem to have a tremendous grasp of ignorant clients.  They’ve put together an extremely funny video that pokes fun at our favorite client nightmare requests. If you’re currently a designer, or a design student, then this is a must see.  I guarantee you will laugh yourself silly!

The cream that does wonders!

©2010 Graphics Beast :: Creative design blog by Steven Till. All Rights Reserved.

Okay, so this is more like a helpful tip than a tutorial, since the technique is extremely easy and also very quick, but regardless, I hope you find this technique useful.

When used properly, glow effects can really enhance a design, to help draw focus to important aspects of a piece, or to help set an overall mood. There are countless ways to produce various types of glows, one of the easiest being Layer Effects. These effects can be invaluable for a designer, and if you’re anything like me, then you love to find new ways to utilize Layer Effects in your creations. This approach allows you to create an additional glow that will add some texture and additional back light to your object. To accomplish this, we’re going to use a Drop Shadow in a rather unorthodox way… by using a bright color, we’ll be casting light instead of darkness, plus using noise to grunge up the background a bit.

Basically, the process is easy, all you need to do is apply two (2) Layer Effects to the desired layer.

1. Apply an Outer Glow effect. This will create the main back light to your object. There aren’t any specific settings you need to follow, so make adjustments to your own liking.

Outer Glow settings.

Object layer with Outer Glow applied.

1. Next, apply a Drop Shadow to the layer. Change the color to match the color used in the Outer Glow. Add a bit of Noise to create some texture and depth. Here are the settings I used.

Settings used for the Drop Shadow

And that’s it!!  Of course, to enhance the awesomeness and creepiness of the subject, you can add an Inner Shadow to further accentuate the back lighting. Here is the finished piece with some minor tweaks to the Outer Glow and an Inner Shadow applied.

Ooooo... A nice, grungy, and scary beastie!

This technique can produce some very interesting results, depending on the color, blend mode, and background elements that you use. Experiment and see what other cool glow effects you can come up with!

©2010 Graphics Beast :: Creative design blog by Steven Till. All Rights Reserved.

Okay, so the title of this post might be a bit deceiving, as I would never imply that the fine folks out in Redmond, WA have decided to make an open source operating system. I will however, imply that Microsoft is finally starting to take some cues from their Linux-minded competitors.

With the official release of Windows 7, many PC users will now flock to upgrade to the latest incarnation of the Windows OS. Admittedly, I myself have obtained a copy of “7″ and am running it within my VirtualBox machine. I’ll be the first to concede that my initial impressions are favorable. Installation went smoothly and I was able to get set up without any issues. Having never made the upgrade to Vista, it was a big change for me, having worked with XP for so long. I was pretty surprised at the desktop upon my first boot up in the fresh new 7 install. I was amazed at how similar the Windows 7 desktop looks and behaves like the Linux desktop that I normally use.

Kubuntu 9.04 with KDE Desktop

The Windows 7 Desktop

It certainly looks like somebody at Microsoft looked at how many Linux distributions approached usability. The biggest similarities that I saw centered around the Start Menu and task bar. The new task bar of Windows 7 is more dynamic, allowing you to “pin” different types of shortcuts to it, allowing you to utilize the task bar as an application launcher. The Start Menu is also very similar to that found in Linux, allowing users to see favorite applications used, as well as expanding folders of Applications right in the menu, as opposed to expanding folders in fly-out windows as was the standard in the old XP model.

The system tray has also been cleaned up in Windows 7, having done away with many of the  unnecessary icons that used to be an annoyance to users. This prevents long strings of icons that usually ended up accumulating in the system tray as applications got added. Windows 7 now uses what it calls “Libraries” for personal folders such as My Documents, Music, Pictures, etc. I haven’t played in Windows 7 for very long, but it seems as though this works in much the same way as the Home folder works in Linux, organizing all of a user’s personal folders in one location.

I’ll still never use Windows as my go to operating system, mainly because it will never be as secure or stable as Linux, however; it’s nice to see Microsoft take some usability hints from outside sources. Perhaps they aren’t as closed minded as they seem?

©2010 Graphics Beast :: Creative design blog by Steven Till. All Rights Reserved.

All Free Logo

Click to Enlarge

A modest collection of logos to download, allfreelogo.com has most of the bigger companies listed. To get started downloading, you must register (for free) to be a member of the site.

Vector of the World

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With a few hundred logos available, Vector of the World does not require you to register in order to download it’s logo vectors, however; it does inundate you with some pop-ups every time you click a download link, plus it redirects you to whichever file sharing site the file is located. In my opinion, a pretty convoluted way to find the logo that you need, but still a decent resource.

Logotypes 101

Click to Enlarge

With over 81,000 vector logos, Logotypes 101 has a great selection to choose from. No registration is required to download, and there is no need to worry about pop-ups.

Brands of the World

Click to Enlarge

The best for last brings us to Brands of the World, one of my personal favorites. There is a huge selection of logos, as well as a modest selection of fonts. You do not need to register to dowload logos from BoW. I have used this site often and have found it an invaluable resource.

Hopefully these resources help you in your next corporate design project. It should be noted that although these websites offer free resources, there are terms and conditions that you should be aware of prior to using a logo that you download. In many instances, you simply need to cntact the logo’s author to request permission to use it.

©2010 Graphics Beast :: Creative design blog by Steven Till. All Rights Reserved.

Dreams – a Short Film from Kris Mortensen on Vimeo.

©2010 Graphics Beast :: Creative design blog by Steven Till. All Rights Reserved.

This wallpaper features the big green monster against a carbon fiber background. A nice clean, minimalistic design for those of you who like to keep a clean and tidy desktop.

This wallpaper is available in a variety of sizes, and is also available for iPhone. The download links can be found below the preview images.

Download Links

1920×1200
1680×1050
1440×900
1280×1024
1024×768
iPhone

Be on the lookout for more free wallpapers!!!

©2010 Graphics Beast :: Creative design blog by Steven Till. All Rights Reserved.

As many of my friends know, I am an avid Linux user, having made the switch from Windows about 8 months ago. Being that I am a graphic designer, many of my colleagues have scoffed at my new choice of operating system, citing the fact that Adobe doesn’t support the Linux platform for their industry-leading graphics software, Adobe Creative Suite. Well, read on my friends and I will share with you some insight as to why Linux is cool, and why I am proud to be a Linux user.

Yes it’s true, you can’t run Adobe products natively in Linux, but there are ways you can still utilize the software. I currently use Kubuntu 9.04 as my OS, which is a flavor of the very popular Ubuntu Linux distribution. It resides very nicely in my Dell Inspirion 1545 laptop, which has Pentium Dual Core processors, 4GB of RAM, and a modest 250GB hard drive. I will be the first to admit that as a creative type, I could never forego using Adobe for my design needs, so I needed to figure out a way to run Adobe software within my current configuration.

There are three options available for this; dual boot, virtualization, or emulation.  The first option is to install Windows as your OS, and then partition your hard drive and install Linux on a separate partition from your Windows partition. This allows you to select which operating system you want to boot in whenever you start up your computer. This option works, however, if you’re like me, you don’t want to reboot your computer every time you want to use your design software. So, for me, this option is out.

The second option is virtualization. For this, you create a virtual computer that runs within a piece of software inside your Linux OS. To create a virtual computer, you will need either VirtualBox (virtualbox.org) or VMWare (vmware.com) to setup your virtual machine. Once you set up your virtual hard drive, you can then install the Windows OS into it just as you would if you were to install it naitively on your computer. Once installed, you can then boot up your virtual Windows machine and then install all of your Adobe software onto it. You will see slightly lower performance with this option, due to the fact that your virtual Windows machine is running within your Linux OS, so you will need to make sure that you have enough RAM, since your memory resources will need to be able to run both the “host OS” (Linux) and the “guest OS” (Windows) at the same time.

The third option is emulation, where Linux tries to fake it a little and try to trick the software into thinking that it’s a Windows machine. Wine is a program used for this purpose, installing an emulation layer that utilizes some of the Windows binaries, allowing for EXE files to be launched within the Linux environment. In my experience, Adobe software is extremely tempermental with Wine and in fact the more recent versions of CS don’t even work with this option.

Personally, I utilize virtualization in my setup. I downloaded a copy of VirtualBox for free off their website (it’s open source) and installed it. Then I set up a virtual machine that runs Windows XP Professional as a guest OS. Apparently, 4GB of RAM is adequate, since I am able to use Adobe CS3 without any problems. In addition, there are Linux alternatives to the software found in Adobe CS, and although they aren’t as robust as Adobe, they can still produce some amazing designs. In fact, the majority of this website was built with open source software.

Here’s why I love Linux and why I will try to convert everyone I meet:

• Linux Is Free – Linux, no matter which distribution flavor you decide to use, is completely free. It’s Open Source software that is developed by a community of developers, artists, and users, who all contribute to it’s development and support. You simply can’t beat the price tag.

• No More Viruses – Linux is built on the UNIX platform, just like it’s Mac counterpart, which greatly reduces the risk of virus, malware, and spy ware infection. Now it is possible to get a virus with Linux, just as it is with a Mac, but I had read somewhere that the number of Linux viruses number in the dozens, whereas the number of various malicious software found in Windows machines are virtually countless. Malicious software found on the Web are predominantly executable EXE files, that are secretly downloaded to the hard drive and launched in some way, either automatically, on boot up, or by some unknown user interaction. Linux is inherently immune to all of these malicious files, because it simply doesn’t recognize the .exe file extension, therefore, the virus never gets launched. There are anti-virus programs that you can install in Linux that can ensure you are protected, but for the most part, you can surf the Web with confidence.

• Free Software – Virtually all the software made for Linux is open source, and completely free. Most Linux distributions come with a package manager which allow you to browse and install software packages easily and painlessly.

• Easy to Use – Linux does take a little to get used to if you’re coming from a Windows environment, but regardless, it’s extremely easy to get around in. If you’re familiar with the Macintosh environment, you’ll see many similarities between the Mac and Linux.

• Completely Customizable - No matter which flavor of Linux you get, you can customize the OS to fit your particular style and needs. It’s extremely flexible and can be tailored however you deem necessary.

Now, I’m not trying to get up on a soap box and guilt you into ditching Windows. I’m simply hoping to open some minds to the possibility of something new. Most everyone I know who has tried Linux has made the switch, so don’t be afraid. Give it a try… you just might like it!

©2010 Graphics Beast :: Creative design blog by Steven Till. All Rights Reserved.

Here is the first instalment of my wallpaper freebies! A simple, yet elegant wallpaper featuring the GraphicsBeast logotype, against a grungy background.

This wallpaper is available in a variety of sizes, and is also available for iPhone. The download links can be found below the preview images.

Download Links

1920×1200
1680×1050
1440×900
1280×1024
1024×768
iPhone

Be on the lookout for more free wallpapers!!!

©2010 Graphics Beast :: Creative design blog by Steven Till. All Rights Reserved.