August: Back to (Design) School
This month's topic is all about learning! And, as usual our readers have all joined in with some rather wonderful insights into the way they learn, favorite training resources, and keeping a sharply honed edge on graphic design and communication arts. August's winning designers on learning and education...
Design School? Training? Let's Go...
How do you like to learn? Books? CD-Videos? DVD? Or surfing the web? There are hundreds of ways to learn graphic design, Photoshop and other facets of the visual communications industry, and here we take a look at just a few ways to learn graphic arts
Deke McClelland's Total Training
Reviewer Joyce Evans shares a brief look inside some of the best video training on the planet... with Photoshop expert Deke McClelland and the product called Total Training
Editor's Choice: HTML Complete Course
Author, Donna L. Baker chats about her latest book: HTML Complete Course; part of the Wiley/Seybold Complete Course series -- and discusses key issues of using HTML to build web sites...
Web Critique: University of Utah
Reviewer Mike Swope observes that this well organized site could use a little strength in branding and clarity... WDR agrees and adds a diagramed example page with subtle CSS tweaks that add polish and purpose to the CEUU Website.
Publishing: Learning About Color
Color expert Mike Davis of Colorprep knows what to do when color goes wrong... and many times it's the photographer or designer's fault! So what do you do When Good Color Goes Bad
Web Design: 5 Steps
Tim Clukey has been teaching web design for over 6 years at the Plattsburgh State University Communications Department in Plattsburgh, NY. He shares som insights into web design ... when crafting messages for the web, it's the steak and not the sizzle that makes a difference. Follow along with his 5 Ways to Get Your Website to Stand Out
Learning About Photo Mosaics
Photo Mosaics are photographic images or pictures made up of many, usually hundreds, of smaller photographic images. Last month we asked the DTG readers about the topic and they flooded us with lots of help in learning all about Photo Mosaics
Web Design: Audience & Content
Author and designer Karen Dodds first wrote for DT&G back in 1995 after we discovered her considerable skills in identifying the true essence of design. Here are her views on Karen Dodds on: Audience & Content
Software: Digital Photo Show-Off
With all the great programs like iView and iPhoto for the Mac, Windows readers wonder what they can use... so, we turn to Scott Kilborn from ACE Camera Magazine, to share some details about ProShow Gold 2.0 slide show and presentation software
Web Design: discussions in the CAFE
This rather long piece is from the Design Cafe list (July, 2004) wherein a listee asks "how do you learn web design creativity?" ... the following thread sheds interesting light on new design attitudes from a diverse group of designers who practice web design
Web Design: Are they reading?
I've refreshed a talk I used to give back in the early 1990s which is still very valid today... web designers must remember how to learn, then how to put that knowledge to work... Designing Websites!
FALL FONTS FESTIVAL for SEPTEMBER
YES, it's that time of year again, when we celebrate all things about fonts, type and typography! You can WIN some of our valuable prizes, including the highly collectable "International Type Founders" fonts book by sharing with DT&G readers... we're turning to YOU to share your comments about type and typography! Just REGISTER FOR PRIZES here with your comments about:
- Favorite fonts, and where to download them
- Most thrilling typography layout
- Unique and creative use of type
- Pros and Cons of different type faces
- Typography that sucks... the Good, Bad and Ugly
Identity Theft: Bad people on the web...
There's a new style of "phishing" in your email box, alerting you that someone has inquired about you... beware of this New Email Threat
&ELSE News & Views
Of course if you subscribed, you got this newsletter in email yesterday. This month: The Spam Letters; Design School Fun...; Marry Illustrator to a Database; FUN Site of the Month; How are you ranked on the Web?; Mail: Where is it?; Mail: Navigating the Center; Mail: Speech device for the blind; News: Protect and remember passwords; News: Video Surveillance on your PC; Win: Organize your media files in style; Stuff: Sticky Notes for Windows; Stuff: Find a file on your PC?; Stuff: Presentation templates; Stuff: Nature stock photography; 200 Digital Photography Tips; Have a great August; and the address for the Publishers' Warehouse Loading Dock. See: August Newsletter: & Else!
PLUS: our new feature Designer of the Month . . . See: Fun Site of the Month
Got Photoshop Questions? Who do you call?
Last month we opened the doors of Photoshop 911's new blog. Now you can comment on posts, and even lend a helping hand where needed... who do you call? Photoshop 911
Recent Photoshop FAQs
- Fading Photos - Use Feathering or Layer Masks to accomplish this task
- Grid Patterns over Photos - Multi colored, grid over art - painstaking process - and no known plug-in
- Pen Tool in Photoshop CS - Why can't you draw an "Open" path using the Pen tool in Photoshop CS? You can, just be careful what kind of pen you use.
- Photoshop and Error 39 - Although this is not a Photoshop problem we answer it anyway
- Automating the Healing Brush - lots and lots of dust spots can spoil a photo. Automating the Healing Brush would seem logical... but it's not
- Burned Holes in Photoshop
- Help recall Filter Settings... Reapplying filter effects
- PS Bevels by hand
- PS helps Faded Photo two scans?
- Making round corner rectangles in Photoshop
- Hot spots in photo (Flash Burn)
- Adding Fill Flash in Photoshop
- Removing Date Stamps from Photos
- Mismatched resolution causes problems
- Making round corner rectangles in Photoshop
- Get Rid of White Backgrounds? Classic question!
- Aging Photos: What would they look like today?
- Custom Gradients? break out of the defaults
- Annoying Gray Boxes? Careful what you click
- Selecting Wrong Colors? Eyedropper Spread Trick
- White type for Web Pages? Various methods
- Printing Multiple Photos, Single Page?
- Retouch skin tones for Newspaper?
- Simulating Gel Buttons?
- Photoshop Balks on an iBook? Clean it up!
&Else News & Reviews
... including: watch for the newsletter next week, along with all the news and happenings in the wonderful world of graphic design, typography and graphics.
Previously:
- Feature: Patriotic Art & Design Survey
- Design: Airman Magazine Patriotic Design
- Editor's Choice: Deke McClelland One on One
- Photoshop Tutorial: Displacement Maps with the Photoshop Collector
- Designing Women: Designing Words
- Glitter Guru Suzette Troche on Beauty Retouching
- Editor's Choice: The Logo, Font & Lettering Bible
- 60-Seconds: #168 Ethics in Digital Photography
- & Photographic: Digital Photo Tips
- Freeware: Digital photo management program
- Commentary: Get A Design Buddy!
- Tutorial: Photoshop or Elements Feathering
- Designing Women: Carey Jones Balance of Design!
- Critique: Tomato Cages.com
- Digital Photography: living photography
- Community: Designers talk about "Getting Creative Ideas"
- Interview: Master Illustrator: Jon C. Lund
- 60 Second Window #167: Creative Juices
- Web Critique: An American Idol Web Site Gone Bad?
- Web Design: The Delicate Art of Web Design Critique
- Photography: A glass of water to quench your thirst...
- Software Review: The Proposal Kit
- Software Review: Wildform FX Pro
- Photoshop Tutorial: Quick, Easy Photo Montage
- Photoshop Tutorial: Photoshop Pixels to Pencil Drawings
- Shoot-out: Photoshop or Elements? Which is best?
- Web Design: Seven Steps to Return On Design
- Web Critique: Joyce Evans Sweetens Sweet Deco
- Web Critique: 9th Street Rag
- Web Critique: Doctors' Support Net
- Web Critique: Rolling Meadow Kennels & Canine Training
- Community: Designers talk about Color
- Photography: Bruce Duncan asks Why Black & White?
- Interview: Cynthia Baron, designing a digital portfolio
- Interview: Melissa Mason is Designless in Seattle
- Designing Women: Catherine Morley's Katz Design Group
- Designing Women: Sandy Wright, Lyric Marketing & Design
- Designing Women: Gina Geick, GAWD Productions
- Field Trip: Creative Latitude
- History Lesson: The Famous Names in Typography
- 60-Seconds: Avoiding New Spam Traps
- Bookshelf: Design: Best "Beginner" Design Books
- Cary Lu talks about Computing's Holy Wars
- James Redelfs: Personal Computer Software and Ethics
Photoshop 911 Call Reports
Here comes this month's batch of reports from the Photoshop 911 call line. The most interesting is how one user solves the problem of removing the background from multiple shots of a rotating product for a 3D video... there are seven others, and you'll want to read them all:In the Photoshop 911 FAQ department
Participate in your Design Center
Lots of fun and information for all... don't forget, any community is only as good as the participation of its members. We invite your tips, tricks, comments, suggestions and camaraderie.- Ask for the DT&G Monthly: to receive news about DT& headlines, happenings in the Design Center and regular columns like the "Mail Bag" and "Cool Sites"
- SUBSCRIBE : to the Designers' CAFE email list
- Link to this site, and then show us the link. We'll send you any of our current door prizes, just for your trouble.
- Help Support The Design Center: with your donation, we say thank you with free books, listings, and even links on the front page!
- Does your Web Site Suck?: Let the WDR Design Team give you a critique of your web site and get helpful advice on how to make it the best it can be!
Advertise your products or services among these pages! Call: 540-433-8402 for details.




