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The design department brings graphic design ideas, tips and tricks and concepts for design, printing, photography and publishing of all kinds. Everyone is welcome, beginners and pros alike. The best place to start is with the latest issue of the Newsletter

Featured Reviews

The Obsessive Images of Seymour Chwast

Seymour Chwast There are a few people left in the world who actually shaped the evolvement of graphic design and illustration, and Seymour Chwast is one of those people. I, for one, was greatly influenced by his works in the 1960s and early 1970s. Now you can learn and discover this remarkable visual communicator through The Obsessive Images of Seymour Chwast

Picasa & GraphicsConverter Photoshop Replacements

George Engel looks at Picasa and GraphicsConverter Photoshop Replacements So you think you cannot afford Photoshop? Well, George has some good news for you, as well as anyone trying to sneak into the image editing field. Both Picasa and GraphicsConverter are considered good replacements for Photoshop, and George shows you just a few reasons for Mac users to see Picasa & GraphicsConverter

Writing future history

Fred Showker talks about future history and notes a remarkable new publication called MEMOIR (AND) from a nonprofit literary organization dedicated to memoir in many forms - prose, poetry, narrative photography and graphic memoirs -- which in turn Writes Future History

Do Good Design

Do Good Design: How Designers Can Change the World here's a provocative book that explains why the largest crises we are facing today have design at their core. Author, David B. Berman says: Design Can Change is an initiative that helps designers make the environment a bigger priority while uncovering ways to combat climate change... so, Do Good Design

Green Graphic Design

Green  Graphic Design In today's world, the phrase "going green" has its own meaning to graphic designers, publicist, marketers, package designers, and publishers. Here is the most up-to-date training manual for every graphic designer who wants to be true to the client, the environment, and above all, themselves! Brian Dougherty presents Green Graphic Design

Photoshop Field Guide

Stephen Laskevitch Photoshop CS4 Photographer's Handbook a clear and effective workflow for editing photographs in Photoshop CS4. You'll get the help of Stephen Laskevitch, an expert on Photoshop and Adobe Certified Instructor ... Photoshop CS4 Photographer's Handbook

FotoMagico raises the bar for storytelling

create professional slideshowsFotoMagico 3 introduces many new features to create professional slideshows in pristine quality. FotoMagico 3 makes it easy to mix photos with HD movies as provided by many recent DSLRs. With support for multiple audio tracks and an integrated audio recorder, every show can be enhanced with soundtrack, audio effects and narration -- so you can End Boring Presentations

InPreflight Pro for InDesign

InPreflight Pro for InDesignHere's a quality control, packaging automation and file info reporting solution for Adobe InDesign. InPreflight quickly gathers extensive information about document fonts, colors and links and lets users instantly locate potential problems according to preflight presets. The new version allows system administrators to automatically serialize InPreflight Pro for large-scale distribution. Auto-serialization for InDesign

Get Framed for iPhone and iPod Touch

Get Framed for iPhone and iPod Touch here comes another great app for iPhone and iPod Touch where you crop, scale, enhance, and frame any photo in your Photo Gallery. You get 96 themed frames in twelve categories designed specifically to spice up your iPhone experience -- so Get Framed

Killer RapidWeaver Themes

Killer RapidWeaver ThemesIf you use RapidWeaver, check out TW002 r4, a new theme for RapidWeaver 4. This once limited theme into a versatile RapidWeaver template capable of fitting the needs of just about any industry. TW002 is ExtraContent enabled, featuring width options, split navigation, comprehensive color control, custom headers, header effects, font control, and RWmultitool ready -- it's the Ultimate Theme for RapidWeaver

Killer Keynote Themes

Killer themes for Keynote Who would have thought such elegance would come from Lithuania??? Keynote Zone has launched their new theme resource specifically for Apple's Keynote. With a passion for new possibilities, KZ designers combined their creative energy to come up with a package of professionally designed ready-to-use themes for Apple's Keynote application. Five new Keynote themes are now available for sale in standard or HD formats at brand new Keynote Zone site. Keynote's elegant new themes

Review: MacSnapper Creates Tutorials

MacSnapperMacSnapper was developed specifically for creating step-by-step tutorials, manuals, kiosks, user guides or even personal notes. MacSnapper will organize everything necessary to describe a project. Screenshots may be taken directly from the application, or images may be easily imported. MacSnapper Creates Tutorials

Scanning with a digital camera

Scanning with a digital camera If you can take a picture of something with your camera, you don't need to buy a scanner. Prizmo corrects lens distortion and perspective, it can scan documents of all sizes, including custom portrait and landscape documents indoor and outdoor photographs. This is a handy application -- especially for iPhone users who want to Scan with the camera

Getting control of Adobe InDesign Prepress

Zevrix Zevrix Solutions is back with powerful applications for Adobe InDesign. This time they present InPreflight, its quality control, packaging automation and preflight reporting solution for Adobe InDesign InPreflight Pro and Studio

The Nikon D90 Companion

digital cameras Here's a full-on photography class that covers everything including technical matters and exposure theory, composition theory, and how to find images and expand your visual sense. However, unlike a regular photography class, this book is built specifically around the D90, which means every concept is written about in terms of the D90's controls and features. The Nikon D90 Companion

Color Efex Pro for Lightroom

Color Efex Pro for Lightroom Color Efex Pro is now compatible with Adobe Photoshop Lightroom -- photographic filters for retouching and creative enhancements. The update is free to current owners of Color Efex Pro 3.0. (Site features some really helpful video training!) Color Efex Pro for Lightroom

Graffiti Feast

Graffiti - Bay Area Graffiti There's more ink in this book than there is paper -- every time I thumb through it I feel like I've gained weight! I've always admired the graffiti artist's works in and around the bay area -- now photographer Steve Rotman has captured the very essence of the San Francisco graffiti culture -- and I guarantee you will add a few thousand brain cells, but won't gain a single calorie from Bay Area Graffiti eye-candy feast

Nikon Creative Lighting

NikonNothing can ruin a good photograph faster than a rude flash exposure. Flash photography has become an art in itself and should be mastered by all aspiring photographers. Nikon owners, and those with cameras that can use the Nikon lighting components should get this book, study it, and improve your photography 100% Nikon Creative Lighting

Scanning Negatives and Slides

Scanning Negatives and Slides you will learn how to achieve the best possible digital image from a negative or slide, and how to build a workflow to make this process efficient, repeatable, and reliable Scanning Negatives and Slides

Sending invoices made easy

For the small business or consulting firm, Involer is a simple, easy to use invoicing application for Mac OS X where you can create, print, export and track the status of your invoices within a single, easy to use interface. With Involer, you can be up and running with your company in just a few seconds, and sending invoices in minutes. Easy invoicing for business

Media browsing from any program - FREE

Karelia Software has released version 1.1.3 of the Karelia iMedia Browser, a free utility that adds the familiar "media browser" experience to just about any Mac application. Version 1.1.3 enhances searching, now including searches of keywords and comments in iPhoto libraries, and fixes an issue with redundant search results from iTunes. Version 1.1.3 also supports much larger iPhoto libraries. Free iMedia Browser for Macs

Fonts in InDesign made Easy

One of the dreads of InDesign users is getting to their fonts. Chris Paveglio has possibly solved at least some of the woes with his new InDesign Font Catalog. InDesign users should check this out. Adobe InDesign Font Catalog

InDesign and QuarkXPress Catalog Automating

AutoPrice for Adobe InDesign CS4 and QuarkXPress on both the Macintosh and PC platforms is a powerful yet easy-to-use plug-in module that streamlines the updating of prices and similar information in InDesign and Quark documents. Adobe InDesign Auto pricing

Clean up those links in InDesign workflows...

LinkOptimizer is a workflow automation solution to optimize link size and resolution for Adobe InDesign. LinkOptimizer allows to reduce the size of InDesign jobs and increase the processing speed by eliminating excessive image data. Adobe InDesign LinkOptimizer

Screen captures in layers?

If you work much with screen captures or screen shots, you probably often wish they could already be in the format and layer you want. Layers 1.0 is a unique screen capturing utility for Mac OS X -- screenshots captured in Layers are Adobe PhotoShop compatible Layered Screen Captures

Photoshop CS4 Review

Adobe Photoshop CS4 George picks up the latest incarnation of Photoshop and shares some of its highs and lows. If you haven't upgraded yet, perhaps you should read this and see if it helps you make up your mind! George reviews Photoshop CS4

Photographers using Photoshop

Derrick Story Photoshop CS4 Companion The Photoshop CS4 Companion for Photographers, spotlights only the critical tools you'll need most often in one compact reference -- Derrick Story teaches you how to quickly and efficiently organize and edit your photos without compromising the originals. Photoshop CS4 Companion for Photographers

Deke it back... and even better

Deke McClelland goes One-on-One with InDesign CS4The One-To-One series is the best in the market for learning any of Adobe's Creative Suite. Read the lesson. Watch the video. Do the exercises, and you'll learn Adobe InDesign CS4 from expert and Adobe guru Deke McClelland. Deke McClelland goes One-on-One with InDesign CS4

PagePlus : power desktop publishing for Windows

George Engel reviews Serif PagePlus DTP software While Macintosh users have 'Pages' to rely on, PC people probably use Microsoft Publisher for a price of around $170 or so. PagePlus X3 beats the pants off of that! But let's join our reviewer George Engel and take a look at just a few of the great things you can do with Serif PagePlus Publishing Suite

NEW for the season: Olympus Digital Cameras

digital camerasJust in time, Olympus introduces several new products that deliver breakthrough innovations: a shockproof, waterproof and freezeproof camera with new Tap Control, a sleek ultra-slim shooter, a 20X optical zoom in a more compact body, new classy budget cams with features galore. We revisit the best cameras tested by the DTG labs, Olympus Digital Cameras

The Adobe Type Library Reference Book

George Engel book review George M Engel has always loved fonts... ever since the beginning of digital fonts. Now, he peeks inside the latest and greatest book for anyone who loves to see and use fonts of all kinds... and it's straight from the fonts people themselves: The Adobe Type Library Reference Book

Font & Type Fantasy

Serif Fairy THE SERIF FAIRY has lost her wing, keeping her from performing magic. This is an amazing book for type aficionados and their children created by Rene Siegfried using typography and letter forms exclusively to create the playful illustrations. Then we look at "Hand Job: A Catalog of Type" that focuses on hand lettered typography for those sick and tired of seeing computer type! Two books you'll really like Font & Type Fantasy

Make your photos FUN

Funtastic Funtastic Photos could possibly be the most fun and most capable photo editor to come along for the Mac. The 1-Click Styles function creates stunning effects that would take hours in Photoshop or Elements. More importantly it has at least two of the most asked-for image editing techniques: tile-photo-montages and multiple image print layouts. Funtastic Photos

TypeBook Creator: make cool font books

typebook Veenix sent in this little fonts utility for Mac users and we immediately started making type books. The TypeBook Creator allows you to create and print type specimen books of your entire font collection -- it even categorizes types according to styles -- then prints from an assortment of layouts. We think you're going to like TypeBook Creator

7 Point System for Adobe Photoshop CS3

George Engel is the Naked Serviceman George M Engel takes a look at Scott Kelby's 7-point system for working with digital photos. He says: "I would classify it in the Intermediate to Professional user level... a typical Scott Kelby Photoshop book: Great graphics; Extremely well put together; Comprehensive and well thought out. 7 Point System for Adobe Photoshop CS3

Worldwide Identity, Inspired Design from Forty Countries

World Identity, Inspired Design from Forty Countries There is more to being a designer than using tools to re-form and regurgitate our thoughts. There is more to design than balancing concept with execution. Maggie Macnab reviews a blockbuster book by Robert L. Peters that examins the very intent of design with regards to Worldwide Identity

Review: Cool Web 2-point-0 Clip Art

cool clip art It's zippy, flippy, hippie, and trippie... you'll like Jumsoft's new collection of clip art! They say it's for Apple's Pages... but you can use it anywhere! Here are just a few examples of Cool Clip Art from Jumsoft

Review: Zero-configuration CMS

Sky Blue Canvas I've had bad experience with Joomla... it's geek CMS for geeks -- not normal people. If you want a high-power CMS without the geek, get MovableType... I'm setting up a SkyBlue blog now! And I'm learning that if you want really easy, quick CMS, then you need to check out SkyBlueCanvas

Review: Got kids? Get Doozla

Doozla drawing for kids They say it's a full screen vector drawing application for kids -- but I'll bet adults will like it even more! Doozla features simple free-hand drawing and color tools, webcam & tablet support, entertaining color-in templates and inspiring background images. Doozla Drawing for Kids!

Decoding Design

George George Engel reviews Maggie Macnab's awesome new book all about symbols in graphic design -- he includes pictures and some links you're sure to enjoy! This is recommended for everyone Decoding Design: Understanding and Using Symbols in Visual Communication

Alternative Vector Drawing & Painting for Mac

Vector Drawing and Painting for the MacOnce there was only one drawing and one painting program for the Mac. This month we look at several newcomers that give Mac users some exciting choices:
* ZeusDraw is a vector drawing program with great brushes and a host of other features...
* DrawIt presents an impressive assortment of professional grade vector features...
* iMaginator and Create are two powerful new publishing tools from Stone Works' and
* DropFrame is a cross-platform application that allows you to easily add a picture frame to your images.

Photographic Image Processing for Leopard

Jade image processing Jade uses state-of-the-art algorithms to enhance color, contrast and dynamic range -- it's an easy-to-use image enhancement and batch processing tool that will automatically improve digital images ... powerful Image Processing for Leopard

Digital Cameras: Good, Bad, Ugly

I've been testing digital cameras for some time -- even destroyed a few! This year the quest was for a durable camera for video that would stand up to extreme sports, while giving good image qualaity. I tested a few really good ones, and a few real dogs. Hopefully I'll help you make a smart decision on purchasing your next Digital Camera

Viewsonic VX2235 LCD Display

George Next, George Engel shares his experiences in purchasing a new 22" display -- and points out several good criteria when shopping for displays. If Santa brought you some cash, and you've been wanting a new or second computer monitor, then read George's review of the Viewsonic VX2235 LCD Display

PhotoBooks make the ultimate gifts...

Photobook Here's a great gift idea for your entire list ... make a PhotoBook -- hardcover photo albums -- using the Unibind PhotoBook Creator thermal binding machine ... Make yourself a PhotoBook

Book Review: Non-Designer's Design & Type Books ~ Deluxe Edition

George Back in the Fall Fonts Festival you read George's insights into type and typography. Well now you get to discover one of George's most inspirational resources on type and design -- from one of our favorite authors of all times, Robin Williams! Non-Designer's Design & Type Books

Ultimate Patterns made easy...

Artlandia You'll never have to search for -- or fumble over -- patterns again -- this updated Adobe Photoshop plug-in makes the coolest patterns and textures so easy you wonder why someone didn't invent this before now. SymmetryShop is the tool that automates the creation of all types of surface designs Ultimate Patterns made easy...

CDFinder finds everything on CD

CD Finder I have used CDFinder for years -- since version 2 in fact. With dozens of CDs of client files and archives, dating back to the early 1990s, I can give you my personal endorsement that it works ... CDFinder finds everything on CD

High Quality Raytrace Renderer

MS Interiors Microspot Interiors provides interior space and modelling space in the same application with a shared library, Interiors Pro gives professionals the flexibility they need to be truly creative without the computer slowing them down. High Quality Raytrace Renderer

Software Review: Klix saved my Photos from doom

George How much are your digital photos worth to you? Priceless? An old favorite of George's is resurrected under a new name and new company -- with a Mac OS X version that actually saves your photos from corrupted digital camera media... Klix (Image Recovery)

Review: Marshall McLuhan ... Everyman's McLuhan

"McLuhan was right." said the Reporter, June 1976 -- You thought "Global Village" referred to the internet? Right? You thought "The Medium is the Message" referred to MySpace, or Google? Right? Maybe, maybe not. But you won't know for sure until you discover (or re-discover) Marshall McLuhan! I'm including this book review not just because it's a visual treat -- but because everyone should experience the thoughts and words of Everyman's McLuhan

2007 Reviews

Previous Reviews

Epson R260 Printer

George EngelA little wit and common sense as author and computer guru George Engel, asks:
      WHY WOULD A GRAPHICS-WISE GUY throw away a perfectly good Photo Printer that's getting 5740 x 1440 dpi pictures?
Well, you'll just have to read his review of the Epson R260 Printer

BEST Natural Media Plug-ins

Akvis vs Alien Skin Hardly a week goes buy without someone writing in for a quick, easy way of converting digital photos or Photoshop images into art. Most frequently they ask about pencil or pen and ink sketches. This year's BEST IMAGE EDITING software is a draw between Akvis and Alien Skin natural media plug-ins

Celedy Software CeledyDraw 2

CeledyDraw2 Can professional Windows users in the design field exist without Adobe Illustrator? Maybe not... probably not. However, most other Windows users can indeed exist nicely without Adobe Illustrator -- here's a robust, alternative for just about anyone... CeledyDraw 2

Thinking In Type

Alex White...Alex White is the leading authority on graphic design using typography. Thinking in Type, The Elements of Graphic Design, and Type In Use continue to be our top recommendation for learning and applying The Practical Philosophy Of Typography

Reviews: Movie Editing Made Easy...

Movie Edit So many people have written lamenting about the lack of movie-making products for Windows -- until the latest iteration of Movie Edit, from Magix, there wasn't. But now, Windows users, your time has come... get your hands on Movie Edit Pro

The Life and Deaths of the Printed Word

Paradigms LostWilliam J. Sonn traces the seismic societal shifts which followed each dramatic drop in the cost of written knowledge. What do current technological advances and "free information" via the Internet hold for the future? This is must reading for anyone involved in printing, typesetting or graphic design... Paradigms Lost

Building Colors on Uncoated Stock

TINTTintbooks Introduces Tintbook Uncoated -- Remember, we told you about Tintbooks last year... well, they've now completed the first comprehensive CMYK Graphic Design Tool for printing on Uncoated Paper. See the latest TINTBOOK...

InDesign CS2

GeorgeAuthor and Macintosh technical expert George M Engel -- a die-hard PageMaker user -- found Adobe's InDesign a bit of a pain to get used to... but now he's found some new features that he really likes in the new Adobe InDesign CS2

Stock Layouts for CorelDRAW

For graphic designers and business publishers who need to produce professional-looking brochures, newsletters, flyers, postcards, ads, business cards, letterheads and more. For CorelDRAW Graphics Suite versions 9 through 12

InDesign CS2 Classroom in a Book

GeorgeAuthor and Macintosh technical expert George M Engel takes a look at the latest Classroom in a book from Adobe; the experts in the tradecraft of image editing and layout design -- InDesign CS2 - Classroom in a Book

Babel Color Brings New Color

The BabelColor Company has rolled out the second version of "BabelColor", a color comparator and translator software designed for the Mac and Windows platforms. Babel Color Color Comparator

Building Colors on Uncoated Stock

TINTTintbooks Introduces Tintbook Uncoated -- Remember, we told you about Tintbooks last year... well, they've now completed the first comprehensive CMYK Graphic Design Tool for printing on Uncoated Paper. See the latest TINTBOOK...

Deke McClelland's Total Training

TOTAL 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

DigiEffects Web Euphoria

euphoriaHere's one of the BEST for 2004 - plug-ins from DigiEffects ... that easily and effectively create the most sought-after effects in the business... Web Euphoria

Interview: Leslie Cabarga

Leslie Cabarga Frequent questions about type, typography, fonts and lettering in email, the Design Cafe and classrooms prompted us to contact the logo, font and lettering wizard himself
... Leslie Cabarga

Editors Choice: Photoshop for Right Brainers

photoshopWant to expand beyond typical tips and techniques? Tired of those "hot" tricks without a reason or purpose? Al Ward's technical expertise gives you precision training and a creative jolt in the arm that won't quit... Photoshop for Right Brainers

Turbo Photo Library and Freebies

Graphic designers on a tight budget may appreciate the new Turbo Photo Library of CD-ROMs, hundreds of high resolution, royalty-free images at very inexpensive prices. Learn more and download samples this month in the Reviews Department

Software Solutions with Joyce Evans...

Joyce EvansThis month, noted author and frequent DTG contributor Joyce Evans puts her review pencil to software solutions for designers:
First, she needed a quick and easy way to write proposals without crunching her busy schedule. Here are her comments on The Proposal Kit
Next, Joyce found a super quick and easy way to produce Flash SWF animations with Wildform FX Pro

The Designing Business

Although this is part of our Business department, designers can learn a thing or two in How to Hire A Designer

Unique Design Layout...

One of the more popular layouts we've presented over the years is the Digital photo tent display

Using Color in Design

(From the Photoshop Department) Designers must always remember the powers of color. Sometimes you need a little help Using Color to Harmonize Photos

Sure-fire Techniques for Creative Thinking

Take this step-by-step tutorial and see if you don't get a real surge of Creative Thinking

Generating Creative Ideas

A frequent problem for graphic designers is falling into a creative slump. Here's a whole page to help you sharpen your creative edges

Making your graphics work

Of course creating graphics is only part of the challenge. Getting them to print requires a bit of output file wisdom

Unusual Design Layouts

If you need to stand out, then do something different... Design: Skinny Layout Templates.

 

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