Noupe » DESIGN

Piet Zwart: The Rebellious Type

Speider Schneider — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 09:00:51 +0000

“Among the few I have indicated, is there no dynamic man of action, the rebel who will help determine the aspect of the collective expression of tomorrow? Ponder this question and know that to make beautiful creations for the sake of their aesthetic value will have no social significance tomorrow, will be non-sensical self-gratification. Every era contains the conditions for providing a rebel.”

- Piet Zwart

Portrait of a Rebel

Personally, I admire the rebels, the forward thinkers, the people despised by society for being “different.” Zwart was, according to several sources, “not an easy man.” He was known for his “indiscretion” and many considered him “self-centered.” When have people like him ever been understood by the mediocre?

Others recall that he was driven to excel. He worked late into the night, usually until three in the morning, set high standards for himself that others thought were unattainable by any person. He was concerned about promoting himself and paranoid about others having the wrong impression of him. As he was named The Most Influential Designer of the Twentieth Century by the Association of Dutch Designers (although some articles on Zwart list it as the Professional Organization of Dutch Designers) in 2000, he obviously succeeded in making his mark, despite the rumors and innuendos from those around him.

Many, it seems in my research probably felt more out of jealousy from Zwart’s ideals of perfection and his insistence on being involved in articles and books about him. The Oxford Journal writes, ‘Yvonne Brentjens’s new monograph… charts his struggle to arrive at an objective, scientific and technically perfect design, hence the word Vormingenieur (engineer of form).’

Piet Zwart was born on May 28^th, 1885 in Zaandijk, North Holland (died in September 27^th, 1977 at the age of 92). From 1902 until 1907 he attended the School of Applied Arts in Amsterdam where it is said there was little division between several disciplines as drawing, painting, architecture and applied arts. Zwart and fellow students developed by themselves with little interference from above, as teachers weren’t always present. “A smashing school with no idea of a program,” as Zwart recalls.

It was this lack of formal classroom training that led him to approach his design, especially typography in a fresh and untraditional way. While the purely horizontal grid design of straightforward type and images was the norm, leading to the Swiss School of Design in the 1940s and 1950s (also read the Noupe article on Swiss School designer, Josef Müller-Brockmann), Zwart felt his designing from his gut.

As with most geniuses, there was a self-initiated method that broke the very same rules he had never learned, or, as I suspect, he cared nothing for and wanted to break. He also experimented in the use of photography incorporated into his designs, leading to photomontages. Still, with all the rule breaking and experimentation, Zwart was concerned with readability, feeling that typography should be clear and functional. If any influence must be assigned, he used the basic principles of constructivism and “De Stijl” in his commercial work.

One must put Zwart’s work into context of the time and design influences. His use of type and montage was incredibly ahead of his time. Even today, such work is inspiring, fresh and unique. His lack of training shows a gift and inner creativity that is individual and comes from deep within. One has to wonder if Zwart’s “difficult” personality, as nay-sayers put it, is a reaction to the misplaced and vociferous opinions of other contemporaries who couldn’t fathom Zwart’s designs.

While time has proved him to be a truly great creative, it must have been hard for him to put up with life as the target of harsh critiques from charlatans and mediocre talents. It’s a great lesson for designers to understand that one’s own creative vision is not fodder for other creatives to comment upon. In the long run, history will be the judge of great creativity and not the opinions of others in the field.

Zwart’s designs for a book for children on the Dutch Postal Telegraph and Telephone system. Sophisticated, fun and informative. It is an incredible visual, using his favorite bright palette and would be enjoyed by kids even today!

He started his career as an architect and he worked for Jan Wils and Berlage. As a designer, Zwart was well known because of his work for both the Nederlandse Kabelfabriek Delft (the Dutch Cable Factory in Delft) and the Dutch Postal Telegraph and Telephone. Today, a designer might look at these as boring jobs but he had great leeway over his creative output and that is yet another lesson he has for modern designers – you can take the most mundane item and make a beautiful design. Can you imagine a cable and wire company today allowing such design for their catalog of products? Perhaps Zwart’s work can be used as an example of the excitement that can be mixed with any product?

He ended up resigning from NKD in 1933 to become an interior, industrial and furniture designer. Perhaps it was his restless nature or perhaps just his desire to self-improve and his yearning to find something just out of his reach. Another lesson to us as we should always try to reach new heights with our design and never settle for the easy path but to keep searching our creative nature to improve ourselves and our design.

Zwart had been fired from the Rotterdam Academy of Fine Arts in 1933, after he had been quite explicit about the redevelopment of art education. Some say he was teaching communist ideals to his students and some say his progressive ideas had been closely linked to the innovative methods and objectives of the Bauhaus School in Dessau where he was asked to host a number of lessons in 1929.

Oddly enough, the very school that fired him was renamed after Zwart — The Piet Zwart Institute of the Willem de Kooning Academy Rotterdam. Times often change after it’s too late for the individual. It may have been these personal battles, his inner id being challenged by the industry as well as himself that led to a brilliant madness that drove incredible, ground breaking creativity.

The kitchen he designed for Bruynzeel in 1938 is a good example. It was highly progressive for its time. This was the first time that domestic appliances like a refrigerator and stove could be integrated in the design in a practical way. All the elements were designed with logical proportions, and customers could combine them as they wished. Handy details like glass containers, a pull out breadboard and storage racks made the kitchen a textbook example of comfort and efficiency.

His apple-green pressed glassware compact as tubular tea cups that sit in interlocking hexagonal saucers. ‘The emphasis on form rather than decoration,’ according to an article in New City Art, says, ‘ not only severs ties with the clutter of the Victorian past but identifies everyday items with the values—efficiency, durability, mass distribution—of emerging industrial and communications technologies.’

Early Ikea? Again, think about the time when this was designed. It was incredibly futuristic and set a standard that is still used today.

As with many who lived in the dark days of the Second World War, Zwart, along with 800 other prominent citizens were arrested and held by German soldiers. After the war, when he was released from captivity, he mainly focused on industrial design. One can only imagine what years of captivity did to him. He never spoke of those years. It is amazing he went back to creative work, albeit in another field.

One cannot have much introspection into a person’s private pain. The old saying is that an artist must suffer for their art. Zwart certainly suffered although it’s hard to tell how much of it was self-imposed. It is, however, his legacy of creativity that lives on and has lessons for the creatives of today. His drive and dedication to his vision is a great lesson. His work, if one thinks of the time and culture of his heyday, was such a departure – almost futuristic but he still managed to convince people that his vision was the best way to communicate the message.

As mentioned in this article, he was dedicated to creating a clear and vivid message for the end user. He succeeded on his own terms, despite a stumble in his career, here and there but that only propelled him farther into fame. Our lesson is that little stumbles or failures, if they can be called that and not life lessons, should always push us further into creativity while understanding the work is the most important factor. It is, after all, the legacy of our names that we will eventually leave behind.

(rb)

Awesome Free Texture Packs from 2011

Noupe Editorial — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 09:00:12 +0000

As the year draws to a close, we tend to take a look back over the year and take stock. This post is here to not only sort of serve that purpose, but to also stock up on some of the year’s top free texture packs from around the web. Knowing how much use the web design community gets from resources like these, we felt like it would close the year in style to showcase some of 2011′s freshest and most useful textures that were released throughout the year.

So get your virtual web design toolboxes ready for an extra healthy heaping of these awesome resources to be piled into the mix. Some of these you may have seen throughout 2011, and some may have slid under your radar and you are seeing them for the first time. Either way, we hope that they not only provide you with new resources, but also get you inspired to start a new project or implement them into an existing one. Enjoy!

Texture Packs

(rb)

Create a Business Icon from Scratch an Adobe Illustrator Tutorial

Jasmina Stanojevic — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 11:00:47 +0000

Business icons are one of the most poplar vector illustrations. As with all vectors in general, business icons are scalable which makes them perfect for use in web design. The best way to create an icon is to use one of the vector based programs, such as Adobe Illustrator, Corel Draw, etc. We are going to create an interesting business icon that consists of two arrows and a globe in this Adobe Illustrator tutorial. The techniques we are going to describe is applicable for creation other kinds of illustrations as well.

So, let’s get down to business.

This is what we will be creating.

Creating the Globe

Before we create the globe we need to prepare a grid of parallels and meridians. It means we have to prepare the symbol that we’ll apply to the globe. The Blend Tool will help us do that.

Grab the Line Tool (/) from the Tool Panel and create a vertical line. Now, select Add Anchor Point Tool (+) and add an anchor point exactly in the middle of the line.

Select the Direct Selection Tool (A) from the Tool Panel, grab that anchor point and drag it to the left (don’t forget to hold the Shift key on the keyboard for straight dragging).

This way we have created a sharp corner. We need to smooth it out. Grab the Convert Anchor Point Tool (Shift + C) from the Tool Panel, click on the anchor point and to drag it downwards (Shift for straight dragging).

Select the path and under Object select Transform > Reflect. Set the Axis to Vertical and hit the Copy button. It will create a mirror image of our path. Move the new path to the right (Shift for straight dragging).

Select both paths and under Object select Blend > Make. It will create more paths in the middle. To specify the exact number of the paths open Blend Options (Object > Blend > Blend Options). We’ll set the value for the Specified Steps to 17.

Grab the Line Tool (/) from the Tool Panel and create a horizontal line (Shift for straight dragging), as shown on the picture below.

Duplicate (Ctrl / Cmd + C, Ctrl / Cmd + F) the line and place it as pictured.

Select both horizontal lines and under the Object select Blend > Make. Set the value for Specified Steps to 9.

Select all the elements we’ve created so far and Group them (Ctrl / Cmd + G). Grab the group of elements and drag it to the Symbol Panel. Symbol Options window will pop up. Set the name to Grid, make sure to set the Type to Graphic and hit the OK button.

Now we have created a symbol which we’ll use to apply to our globe.

Creating the Globe

First of all, we have to create a circle. Grab the Ellipse Tool (L) from the Tool Panel and create a circle (don’t forget to hold the Shift key on the keyboard for the proper circle).

With the Direct Selection Tool (A) select the anchor on the left side and hit the Delete key on the keyboard to remove it. You should end up with something like this.

Under Effect select 3D > Revolve.

Under the 3D Revolve Options box make sure to set the Surface to Diffuse Shading and then hit the Map Art button. This is the where we are going to apply the symbol we created to our sphere.

In the Symbol drop down Menu select the symbol of the grid we have already made. Make sure to hit Scale to Fit button. It will apply the grid symbol properly.

You should end up with something like this.

Now we need to apply some nice color gradients. To be able to do that, first we have to turn our object into editable shapes. Under Object select Expand Appearance. Then we need to Ungroup (Shift + Ctrl/ Cmd + G) the object. Be ready to repeat that action a few times, until you “separate” the sphere from the grid. When you achieve that select the sphere (you’ll notice that it contains many concentric circles) and under the Pathfinder Panel hit the Unite button. This will turn the circles into a single one.

Set the Fill color for the grid to #61D4E0.

We are going to apply a nice blue radial gradient to the circle. It will turn our circle into a nice blue sphere.

There is one more thing we should add to the globe. Select the Rectangle Tool (M) from the Tool Panel and create the ellipse. Set its Fill color to white (#FFFFFF) and place it as it shown on the picture below.

Set the Opacity of the new ellipse to 26%.

Our globe is ready for some nice arrows. Before we create them don’t forget to Group (Ctrl / Cmd + G) all the elements of the globe together.

Creating the Arrows

To create nice 3D arrows we will be using 3D effect Revolve. It will help us to fold the arrow around the globe. So, lets get started. First we will create the shape of the arrow.

Grab the Rectangle Tool (M) and create a rectangle, as it’s shown on the picture below.

Now, grab the Star Tool from the Tool Panel and click on the Artboard. The Star Options window will pop up. Set the value for Points to 3 and hit the OK button.

It will create a triangle. Rotate it and place it as it show on the picture below. Align the shapes by using Vertical Align Center under the Align Panel.

When you are satisfied with the result under the Pathfinder Panel hit the Unite button. It will turn both shapes into the arrow shape.

Drag the arrow to the Symbol Panel and name it Arrow. Set the Type to Graphic. This way we are creating the symbol of the arrow which we’ll be using later.

Now, grab the Rectangle Tool (M) from the Tool Panel and create a rectangle, as pictured.

Under the Effects select 3D > Revolve. Check the Preview box in order to be able to see what are we doing. Under the Revolve Options box click on the Map Art button.

You will notice that the cylinder contains three sides. Upper ellipse, lower ellipse and the lateral side of the cylinder. Switch between sides, and when you select the lateral side of cylinder select the arrow in the drop down menu for Symbol. Also, make sure to check Invisible Geometry. It will remove the cylinder shape and only the arrow will be visible.

Feel free to play with the size and the rotation of the arrow, until you reach the right angle and position.

When you reach a desirable result hit the OK button. We can also change the rotation of the invisible cylinder in order to find the best position for our arrow by rotating the cube in the 3D Revolve Options box.

Now we have to turn our arrow into an editable shape. Select the shape with the arrow and under Object hit Expand Appearance. You should end up with something like this.

Lets Ungroup (Shift + Ctrl / Cmd + G) the new shape (we’ll have to do it more than once) and remove everything besides the arrow. This is what we should have by now (blue color is changed to be able to see the result clearly).

Take a good look at the arrow. See if there are any unnecessary anchor points and remove them.

Now we have to turn the arrow into a 3D shape. Select both parts of the arrow and duplicate them (Ctrl / Cmd + C, Ctrl / Cmd + F). Using the arrow keys on the keyboard nudge the copies a few pixels to the right and then downwards. You should end up with something like this.

We have to connect some shapes now. Grab the Add Anchor Point Tool (+) from the Tool Panel and add few anchor points.

With the Direct Selection Tool (A) grab the new anchor point and move it to the lower corner of the green shape.

Repeat this step for the other corners of the arrow as well.

To be able to create a glossy arrow with lots of reflected parts, we’ll have to divide some parts of the arrow. Select the Pen Tool (P) from the Tool Panel and create the path as it’s shown in the picture. We will use the path to divide the red part of the arrow. Just select them both (red shape and the green path) and under the Pathfinder Panel hit the Divide button. It will split the red shape exactly in half. Don’t forget to Ungroup it (Shift + Ctrl / Cmd + G).

And, now our arrow is ready to get some nice colors.

Applying the Color Gradients

In this part of the tutorial we will try to achieve a nice glossy look for the arrow.

To start we will apply some nice linear gradients.

Use a radial gradient for lateral side.

We can also divide the inner part of the arrow. Just create another path using the Pen Tool (P) and divide the inner side of the arrow. Apply a nice radial gradient to both sides.

We can also make some additional shapes that will help us to create the glossy look of the arrow. Select the right upper side of the arrow and under Object select Path > Offset Path. Set the value for Offset to -3 and hit the OK button.

With the Direct Selection Tool (A) move the upper side of the new shape. Just select the upper anchor points and move them upwards, as shown below.

Apply a nice linear gradient to the new shape.

We can do the same thing with the left side of the arrow. You should end up with something like this.

In order to create more light reflections we will divide some other parts of the arrow as well. Grab the Line Tool (/) from the Tool Panel and create a few random lines.

Use each of the lines to divide the surface underneath the line. Just select the line and the shape you want to divide and under the Pathfinder Panel hit the Divide button.

Apply a green radial gradient to the new shape, just make sure to create a sharp transition, just as it’s shown in the pictures below.

Repeat this step for the other shapes as well. It will create nice light reflections.

Some nice edge highlights will give our illustration a real glossy look.

The Final Touch

Now we will combine our globe with the arrows. To be able to set the two arrows in the right place we will have to learn to draw a Clipping Mask. A Clipping Mask is actually a random shape without the Fill and Stroke colors which allows us to hide some parts of the illustration.

Let’s get down to business.

Place the arrow on the top of the globe (as pictured). Duplicate (Ctrl / Cmd + C, Ctrl / Cmd + F) the arrow and send the copy behind the globe (Shift + Ctrl / Cmd + [). You should end up with something like this.

Grab the Pen Tool (P) from the Tool Panel and draw a shape similar to this.

When you are drawing the shape for the Clipping Mask keep in mind what parts of the arrows needs to be visible (everything inside the path will remain visible). Also make sure to follow the shape of the globe in order to avoid overlapping the globe and the part of the arrow that needs to be behind it.

When you are satisfied with the shape of the Clipping Mask remove the Stroke color, select the globe and the arrow and under the right click select Make Clipping Mask.

This action will hide all parts of the arrow outside the Clipping Mask. This way we have created the illusion that the arrow is "sitting" on the globe.

Duplicate (Ctrl / Cmd + C, Ctrl / Cmd + F) the green arrow behind the globe, Bring it to the Front (Shift + Ctrl / Cmd + ]) and change the color to red. Using the Reflection feature under Object > Transform > Reflect flip the arrow upside down by using reflection on a Horizontal and Vertical axis. You should end up with something like this.

Repeat the steps for creating the Clipping Mask and you should get something like this.

Feel free to create a few more shadows and some sparks…

…and we are done!

The Conclusion

Glad that you went through the entire tutorial. It will help you to create a really interesting web icon that can be used for different kinds of purposes (business, environment, communication, etc). Using this technique you can actually do other kinds of illustrations as well.

Just feel free to be creative and to explore the other possibilities. Hope you like this tutorial. Thank you for following along.

(rb)

40+ Great Examples of Facebook Fan Pages

Kevin Muldoon — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 11:00:33 +0000

Facebook has become an essential part of promoting a website or service online. Small blogs, discussion forums and huge commercial companies such as Coca-Cola and McDonalds are all using Facebook to promote their brand and interact with fans and customers.

Facebook fan pages are at the heart of any Facebook promotion campaign. A great fan page will not only encourage people to like their page; it will also effectively promote their brand and connect with readers on a regular basis so that fans don’t reach for the unlike button.

Today we will be showing you some examples of great Facebook fan pages. We hope that they will inspire you and give you some ideas for your own fan page.

The Showcase

1. McDonalds

The McDonalds fan page has a lot of different sections on it to promote their meals, deals and competitions. The main page changes frequently depending on their current promotion.

2. iTunes

A minimalist fan page that has the same look and feel as iTunes itself. Their Twitter account is promoted at the top of the page and top ten songs, apps, movies and tv shows are shown. You can also search for songs, albums, movies, apps and more directly through this area too.

All regional iTunes fan pages are shown at the left hand side of the page.

3. Livescribe

Videos, tutorials, apps and more that explain what the Livescribe smartpen is and what it can do for you. It’s a great example of how to promote an innovative product to the masses.

4. Chick-fil-A

The breakfast range is heavily promoted on the entry page. When a user clicks on a specific meal they are taken to the Chick-fil-A website for more information. Their Twitter profile and newsletter are also promoted on the entry page.

5. Baskin-Robbins

A fantastic example of how to encourage (read force!!) visitors to like your fan page. The content is faded on the fan page. In order to see the information in full, visitors have to become a fan.

6. Honda

The Honda fan page defaults to the ‘Like Our Models’ section. The design encourages people to like the page and displays a list of all of their current cars. Each car can be liked individually and clicking on the vehicle image will redirect you to the Honda website for more information. There is a useful resource area for Honda owners too.

7. Twilight

The latest trailer is given the most importance on the entry page though links to all social media profiles are shown underneath. Real time updates from fans are shown underneath as well. You can leave a comment there using YouTube, Facebook or Twitter.

8. Britney Spears

A great media fan page. Britney’s latest song can be played directly on the page and there is a link to download the song too. Information about upcoming gigs and the latest comments from fans via Twitter and Facebook are shown too.

9. Monopoly

A beautifully designed fan page that encourages visitors to like the page in order to join in the fun. There are links to the Hasbro website, their Twitter profile and another dedicated fan page for an exclusive Monopoly documentary.

10. VW

Features an owners section and information about their popular models. The entry page shows the current promotion. At the moment the promotion allows fans to upload their photo to appear in Times Square, New York.

11. Brendan’s Irish Pub and Restaurant

Brendan’s have incorporated their menu into their Facebook fan page. Visitors are encouraged to like the page in order to leave a comment underneath the menu.

12. Zappos

The main page has a large image that encourages visitors to like the page to view exclusive content. It also includes a catalogue and competitions.

13. Harley Davidson

Using a design that matches the brand styling, the Harley Davidson fan page directs visitors to visit their main website.

14. Budweiser

A simple fan page that encourages visitors to like Budweiser to support designated drivers. They also host competitions through Facebook regularly.

15. Skittles

One of the most colourful Facebook fan pages online, the Skittles page takes advantage of the 180×540 pixel allowance for the main profile picture and has links to their YouTube and Twitter profiles and their main website. Their advertisements can be watched directly through the fan page too.

16. NFL

Includes a welcome page that encourages visitors to subscribe, information about where you can watch NFL live in your area and a fun NFL Facebook game.

17. Red Mango

The frozen yogurt & fresh fruit smoothies maker encourages people to subscribe to their fan page by offering visitors a $2 discount off one of their products by liking their page.

18. Panda Express

Whilst Panda Express interacts with their fans regularly and offers a store locator option through their fan page, their entry page directs visitors to their main website. With over 1.5 million fans, Facebook no doubt contributes a large part of their website traffic. A great example of how you can use Facebook to push traffic to your main site.

19. BMW

The BMW fan page features videos of their cars and a global map which shows Global BMW Facebook news. Most features are hidden to non-fans. These pages heavily encourage visitors to like the page to see more.

20. Teesey Tees

The Teesy Tees fan page defaults to a tab called ‘Fan Discount!’. Visitors have to like the page in order to see it.

21. Guiness Ireland

Known for it’s effective use of offline and online marketing, Guiness offer their fans the latest news about their products and entry into exclusive competitions.

22. Gary Vaynerchuk

A fantastic fan page that explains who Gary is and what he does. The page links heavily to his personal blog and company website and highlights the fact he has over 840,000 Twitter followers.

23. Oreo

A fun fan page that showcases the latest commercial and encourages users to like the page. The recipe section lists lots of great recipes from the main website.

24. Get 10,000 Fans

A great example of how you can use Facebook to increase the number of people who subscribe to your newsletter. The entry page automatically loads a video that explains why you should subscribe to the fan page and newsletter.

25. Spongebob SquarePants

Spongebob Squarepants offers games and other exclusive content for those who like the page.

26. Red Hot Chili Peppers

Features a newsletter sign up on the entry page and a video app that lets you play the Chili Peppers greatest hits. Upcoming gigs are also noted.

27. Coca-Cola

Exclusive downloads, photos, videos and other goodies for people who like the Coca-Cola fan page.

28. The Doors

A beautiful fan page that allows visitors to play some of The Doors best songs through the embedded media player.

29. Stella & Dot

An elegant design that hosts exclusive competitions for their Facebook fans.

30. MysteryGuitarMan

Straight to the point, MysteryGuitarMan directs visitors to like the page before visiting the wall.

31. Nutella

A simple design that features a delicious jar of Nutella. Putting all the focus on the product.

32. Pulp Fiction

The Pulp Fiction fan page heavily advertises the cult films release on Blu-Ray. There’s a reviews section that allows fans to leave their own thoughts on the film too.

33. Benefit Cosmetics

A showcase of the new Benefit Cosmetics store in New York.

34. Ben & Jerry’s

Another great fan page that hides the content on the main entry page to encourage people to like it. Visitors are able to view and send a funny video sketch after they have subscribed.

35. Dell

Dell are one of the few commercial companies to offer direct support regarding orders and products directly through Facebook. The latest products are also linked from the main page.

36. Oxfam GB

One of the few pages that has added several important sections to their fan page instead of just linking to their main website. Fans can shop, donate money to Oxfam and find out more about the Oxfam cause directly on their fan page.

37. Realising Designs Website Design

A great example of how you can use Facebook to tell people more about your business. There are links to their social media profiles and details of their latest projects. There is also an exclusive discount that you can claim only if you become a fan.

38. Daddy Design

One of the most colourful fan pages online, Daddy Design showcases their latest designs from their portfolio and lists all of their social media profiles. Information about getting a free quote is also there.

39. NHL

The NHL encourages interactivity by letting fans create their own NHL profile using an app in Facebook.

40. Windows

The Windows fan page displays information in 4 boxes that mimic the design and colour of the iconic Windows logo.

41. DunkinDonuts

The Dunkin Donuts page illustrates how you can leverage the traffic from one fan page to promote another fan page or application on Facebook.

42. Adobe

Individual products from Adobe have their own fan pages and have a lot of subscribers, though their main fan page has less than 50,000 subscribers. This is probably because they have used their main fan page as a hub for connecting visitors to individual products.

Overview

We hope you have enjoyed this list of beautiful Facebook fan pages from across the web. People seem to be using their Facebook fan page for a variety of reasons. Some simply want to push traffic to their main website, others want to interact with fans and customers whilst others use it as a way of building up their newsletter list or increasing their other social media reaches.

What’s your Facebook fan page like? Feel free to talk about your Facebook promotion technique in the comment area.

(rb)

Collection of Classy and Clever iPhone Wallpapers

Noupe Editorial — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 11:00:18 +0000

With so much talk about the iPhone 5 making its way around the web, we figured that it was time that we put together a collection of iPhone wallpapers for our readers. Knowing how fond the design and development community is of decorating their devices, we turned to some of the finest iPhone wallpapers that the community currently has on offer to help them find a new gem for their iDevices. Below are the fruits of that search.

With so many awesome designers in the wallpaper making game, we decided that we would fix our focus on both the works of some specific designers and the works of a few popular design blogs and sites. This way we can not only feature some great wallpapers for our readers, but also some collections from a few truly gifted designers who have galleries of papers to peruse. If you cannot find a background for your iPhone in this collection of classy and clever designs, then you might need to look through once more. You more than likely overlooked a few.

Veerle’s Blog

Download

I Love Typography

Download

Vlad Studio

Download

Tylor Jerome Reimer

Download

Signal Noise

Download

Abduzeedo

Download

GleenzTees

Download

Poolga

Download

(rb)

Tips And Tricks: Increase The Realism Of Your Vector Images In Adobe Illustrator

Jasmina Stanojevic — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 11:00:44 +0000

Over the years, Adobe Illustrator has become one of the top applications for creating vector illustrations. There is almost nothing you can’t make in Illustrator. It is a powerful tool for creating vectors for all kind of logos, websites, icons, business cards, print materials, etc. One of the best features of the vector format is its ability to scale up or down to any size without any loss in quality (unlike raster illustrations).

But let’s not forget that Adobe Illustrator is complex software. Despite all of its advantages, Illustrator demands a lot of skill, work, time and patience. The software will not generate effects automatically; excellent effects are the result of trying and testing different settings. Trial and error is an effective method in achieving the desired result. Creating realistic vector illustrations in Adobe Illustrator can be fun, but it can also give you a headache if you can tell something’s missing from an illustration but don’t know how to get it.

Here is a list of things to consider when creating stunning vector illustrations:

Perspective,
Smooth lines,
Colors,
Edge highlights,
Reflections,
Shadows.

Stick To Perspective

When it comes to drawing realistic vector illustrations, perspective is paramount in importance. If you ignore perspective, the illustration will look flat and distorted and lack depth.

The most important aspects of perspective are size and distance. The farther away an object is, the smaller it will appear, and vice versa. By increasing and decreasing size in this way, you can achieve good depth in your illustrations.

There are a several methods of drawing perspective.

Perspective Grid

One very useful way is to use a perspective grid, which is a new feature in Illustrator CS5. Establishing a horizon and the vanishing point is part of this. The perspective grid in Illustrator is an editable tool, so it can be adapted to suit one’s purpose. You can change the perspective simply by dragging the corner nodes of the grid. You can make the vanishing point longer or shorter and change the number of boxes in the grid. Being able to adapt the working environment to your needs will make it easy for you to do advanced drawings.

Extrude and Bevel

Some people have trouble seeing and presenting perspective in the first place. In this case, I would recommend “Extrude and Bevel,” which is a convenient tool for creating 3-D objects. You can set a value for “Perspective” in the “Extrude and Bevel” options box (either type in a value or drag the slider over). Expanding an object will make it editable. Because the Extrude and Bevel effect gives you an object with many parts and anchor points, it is highly recommended that you use that object as the reference for tracing with the Pen tool (P). This way, you’ll create clean and simple vector illustrations without any unwanted parts or any anchor points that are an obstacle in the printing process.

If you have imagination and some skill, you will be able to draw an illustration based on an estimation of perspective. Of course, this method is not quite precise.

But adding perspective alone is obviously not enough to create stunning artwork.

Using The Pen Tool For Smoother Lines

Creating shapes in Illustrator shouldn’t be complicated. To draw paths and curves, either use the Pen tool (P) or simply combine objects with Pathfinder features such as “Unite,” “Minus Front,” “Subtract,” “Intersect,” etc. Because the paths contain numerous anchor points, you will have to adjust them to create smooth lines. Anchor points are highly editable and can be adjusted with a few excellent tools. You can change the position of the path just by editing one anchor point. This takes a lot of practice; you’ll need a steady hand and patience.

Live tracing is one effective way to create vector illustrations. Try to complete a drawing with as few anchor points as possible; avoid adding anchor points at shorter intervals just to maintain the smoothness. To get smooth lines, make sure that the handle of the anchor point forms a tangent on the curve (i.e. inner or outer tangent). You can always add or remove anchor points by going to the “Add Anchor Point” (+) and “Delete Anchor Point” tools (-).

“Convert Anchor Point” (Shift + C) allows you to make changes on the anchor points themselves. With this amazing tool, you will be able to change the angle of the handle, thus enabling you to change the path of the lines. Whereas adjusting just one side of the handle will result in an angular shape.

Coloring

This part of the creative process is quite fun, but still demanding. Choosing the right colors can be a challenge. First, you have to determine what style you want. Gentle and pastel colors might work for retro illustrations, which would be rather simple and two-dimensional.

If you want to get photo-realistic, you might want more vivid colors. Good contrast can make the artwork stunning. If you don’t know how to mix and match colors, Adobe has a great website with color swatches and beautiful combinations.

There is also a swatch library in Adobe Illustrator, where you can find a lot of useful swatches and even create your own and save for future projects.

Gradients

When it comes to coloring, applying linear and radial gradients is the best way to show light sources and to give depth to your artwork. Establishing the position and angle of the light source is the first step in the coloring process. Shadows and highlights should be added according to the source of the light. Dark colors will simulate shadows and shade, while light colors will create highlights.

Besides creating shadows and highlights, gradients are the great way to simulate shape. Using color, you can give volume to an object or character. Use as many colors as you’d like to build a gradient, but just blend them well; otherwise, you’ll end up with harsh color transitions. If you tend to blend colors effectively, then try out the different “Blending Modes,” such as “Multiply,” “Overlay,” “Screen” and “Light.”

Linear gradients are mostly used to present a plane. Radial gradients are suited to ovals and round shapes.

Transitions between colors in gradients can be smooth or sharp. Smooth transitions are convenient for representing shade, shapes and forms. Sharp transitions are good for simulating gold, steel, chrome and other metals (i.e. for representing the reflection of light on these metals).

Gradient Mesh Tool

Because gradients are limited to linear and radial shapes, we sometimes have to find ways to use gradients in unconventional ways. Creating a gradient for an irregular shape is complex, because it involves blending colors between uneven forms with the use of linear and radial gradients. This can be a lot of work, but the Gradient Mesh tool is handy for this purpose.

The Gradient Mesh tool is a powerful tool that enables you to split up any part of an object by adding editable points and applying solid colors to those points. This way, you are able to create a gradient that follows the actual shape of the illustration.

While gradients make illustrations more realistic, there is always room for improvement. A great illustration is made up of many well-integrated details. Mixing and matching colors and shapes is not easy, but it does lead to a beautiful result.

Highlighting The Edges

When you are done with the gradients, your illustration should be ready for some nice edges. There are a few ways to create them. If your illustration has straight edges, the best way to highlight them is with the Pen tool (P). This enables you to create simple shapes that can be blended (via gradients) with the rest of the illustration. Or you can create a sharp white edge and turn it into the reflection using a low-opacity setting. Either way, you will be emphasizing the shape of the object.

Creating a highlight for curves is not much different. The most important thing is to make the shape of the highlight follow the shape of the object. The Pathfinder panel has a lot of features for creating curved highlights; doing it with the Pen tool alone would be tricky.

Reflections

Besides edge highlights and shade, light sources can create many reflections and shadows. Take a good look around you and you’ll see all kinds of reflections: on glass, plastic, wood, metal, clay, even in liquid. Reflections come in various forms. The most important thing, again, is to follow the shape of the object. For those skilled with the Pen tool, curved highlights shouldn’t be a problem. If you are unsure how to draw highlights with the Pen tool, try combining different shapes in the Pathfinder panel.

Even though the most common color for reflections is white, with reduced opacity, try out different color combinations.

Highlights are useful for showing off the material of an object. With a careful color combination and reflections in the right places, you can simulate the look of a surface quite well. The result is a nice illustration with a glossy surface.

The Final Touch: Shadows

The main purpose of a shadow is to create an illusion of three-dimensionality. Without shadows, the illustration is not really complete. The shadow “defines” the illustration in a way. Like reflections, shadows are created by the influence of light sources. The intensity or softness of the shadow depends on the distance between the object and the light source. A light source above an object will cover almost the entire object. Uncovered parts of the object will cast shadows on surfaces below and on objects nearby.

You can create a shadow with a solid color (for a sharp shadow) or with a linear or radial gradient (for a soft shadow).

If your object is complex, the best way to create a shadow that follows the entire shape of the object is to use the Blending tool.

There is one rule about the Blending tool, and that is to create two objects or paths with the exact same number of anchor points. This way, you ensure that every anchor point on one object (or path) has a corresponding anchor point on the other object (or path). The result will be a shadow with nice color transition.

Summary

Although there are just six rules to follow, there is the danger of too much detail. Try not to exaggerate the details, or else the illustration could look messy and overcrowded.

Light is your greatest ally. It will lead you through the whole creation process, connecting the different parts of the illustration and making them come alive.

Just keep the illustration simple and clean to minimize mistakes.

(al)(rb)

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Stick To Perspective

Perspective Grid

Extrude and Bevel

Using The Pen Tool For Smoother Lines

Coloring

Gradients

Gradient Mesh Tool

Highlighting The Edges

Reflections

The Final Touch: Shadows

Summary