Happy Halloween
from Slate Video, a great multimedia news site.
31 October 2009
28 October 2009
Why it's tough to print stuff?
I'm doing a few graphic design jobs right now that involve getting things printed. There's a lot that goes in to preparing artwork or files for printing, and since I just got business cards printed I thought I'd explain the process a bit.
Anyone who's printed images straight from their computer knows that the pictures don't look exactly like they do on screen. Part of the reason has to do with light. On a monitor, or television, the colors are additive. If the red, green, and blue colors combine in pixels, they create white. But, when you look at inks printed on paper, you're seeing subtractive color - all the inks would combine to black - think two-year-old playing with water colors.
One easy way to remember additive/subtractive:
A screen when it's off, starts out black. You have to add light to get color.
A paper with no ink, starts out white. You have to subtract light to get color. (subtract light by adding ink).
Another difference between screens and printed materials, is how they generate colors. Screen combine varying degrees of red, green, and blue (RGB). Printers most commonly use four colors in varying degrees to create colors, called a four color process. Printers use cyan, magenta, yellow and black (CMYK). As you might imagine, colors made with RGB have to be replaced with CMYK colors before being printed, which is not always identical.
There's a ton more about reproducing colors in print and on displays - color management is a field of expertise - but these are some basics to think about.
Anyway, here's a look at my business cards - I really like how the blue color came out.
And here's a look at Gutenberg
Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg - Printing Press 1440's
Anyone who's printed images straight from their computer knows that the pictures don't look exactly like they do on screen. Part of the reason has to do with light. On a monitor, or television, the colors are additive. If the red, green, and blue colors combine in pixels, they create white. But, when you look at inks printed on paper, you're seeing subtractive color - all the inks would combine to black - think two-year-old playing with water colors.
One easy way to remember additive/subtractive:
A screen when it's off, starts out black. You have to add light to get color.
A paper with no ink, starts out white. You have to subtract light to get color. (subtract light by adding ink).
Another difference between screens and printed materials, is how they generate colors. Screen combine varying degrees of red, green, and blue (RGB). Printers most commonly use four colors in varying degrees to create colors, called a four color process. Printers use cyan, magenta, yellow and black (CMYK). As you might imagine, colors made with RGB have to be replaced with CMYK colors before being printed, which is not always identical.
There's a ton more about reproducing colors in print and on displays - color management is a field of expertise - but these are some basics to think about.
Anyway, here's a look at my business cards - I really like how the blue color came out.
And here's a look at Gutenberg
Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg - Printing Press 1440's
19 October 2009
Phone Pictures
There's been a ton of buzz about mobile phone pictures recently because of some cool applications available for phones these days. The two most recent (and useful) iPhone apps I've come across for taking and editing pictures are: TheBestCamera, and PS Mobile.
The Best Camera (is the one that's with you), is the brainchild of Chase Jarvis, who is always offering creativity tips and ways to make better images on his blog. I think he's a marketing genius - creating buzz for himself in a selfless way, by making and discussing ways to improve photography, creative projects, and collaboration. In the iPhone application, you can take a picture, or use and existing one, then easily apply or delete various filters - from warming/cooling or brighter/darker, to other more unique ones like "jewel," or "slate," which play with contrast, vingnette, and saturation. The coolest thing about the app is the ability to easily share photos to multiple outlets - twitter, facebook, email, and TheBestCamera gallery, which is constantly updating with a live feed from the application.
PS Mobile is from Adobe - a mini version of Photoshop, as well as a way to share images. Immediately, I wished I could send my photos to different outlets, instead of just the application's community page. Also, I didn't see a way to easily remove edits - for example, if you make a bunch of edits, you have to go back to the original image if you just want to remove the red tint you added. However, the finger motions to control the edits I found very intuitive, and I like the range of editing - instead of choosing "brighter," I can choose how much brighter I want to make the image by sliding my finger on the screen.
Here are some before/after images with PS Mobile:
So these apps are neat. What does that mean for pro photographers, designers, and creatives? Well, the best development is "accessibility." With a phone, you can take a picture, make a creative decision, then publish if for others to see and comment. This creates a community where hopefully, better ideas get shared faster. If I see someone's cool picture of X, maybe that gives me an idea of a picture of Y, which I show my friend who then creates Z, all from a little tool that most people always carry with them. A sort of creative "pay-it-forward" idea.
The Best Camera (is the one that's with you), is the brainchild of Chase Jarvis, who is always offering creativity tips and ways to make better images on his blog. I think he's a marketing genius - creating buzz for himself in a selfless way, by making and discussing ways to improve photography, creative projects, and collaboration. In the iPhone application, you can take a picture, or use and existing one, then easily apply or delete various filters - from warming/cooling or brighter/darker, to other more unique ones like "jewel," or "slate," which play with contrast, vingnette, and saturation. The coolest thing about the app is the ability to easily share photos to multiple outlets - twitter, facebook, email, and TheBestCamera gallery, which is constantly updating with a live feed from the application.
Here are some before/after images with TheBestCamera:
PS Mobile is from Adobe - a mini version of Photoshop, as well as a way to share images. Immediately, I wished I could send my photos to different outlets, instead of just the application's community page. Also, I didn't see a way to easily remove edits - for example, if you make a bunch of edits, you have to go back to the original image if you just want to remove the red tint you added. However, the finger motions to control the edits I found very intuitive, and I like the range of editing - instead of choosing "brighter," I can choose how much brighter I want to make the image by sliding my finger on the screen.
Here are some before/after images with PS Mobile:
So these apps are neat. What does that mean for pro photographers, designers, and creatives? Well, the best development is "accessibility." With a phone, you can take a picture, make a creative decision, then publish if for others to see and comment. This creates a community where hopefully, better ideas get shared faster. If I see someone's cool picture of X, maybe that gives me an idea of a picture of Y, which I show my friend who then creates Z, all from a little tool that most people always carry with them. A sort of creative "pay-it-forward" idea.
01 October 2009
Headed to Big Sky
Here's an image from somewhere in Indiana. It's actually three images merged for exposure using Photomatix (exposure blend, not HDR). Another cool thing that I believe is new in Photoshop CS4, is auto blend with images at different depth-of-fields. Translation = super in focus images at all distances to lens.
Leaving MN today, headed to Denver for the weekend.
28 September 2009
Camper Bike
After completing the first leg of my cross-country road-trip, as well as spending an afternoon people-watching in the Mall of America, it was nice to come across this eco-groovy travel alternative:
This camper bike is an idea from Kevin Cyr, a prototype and also the basis for some paintings. He's also working on a camping cart - a shopping cart with a pop up tent. There are some more pictures on his website, but no images of the interior. Definitely a far cry from my parents' awesome Airstream, nonetheless it looks like a fun way to get around, as long as you don't mind sweating a bit in the process.
25 September 2009
Digital Camera Capture
truck looks tilted because of how digital cameras make images - a sort
of scan from top to bottom (I don't think any capture horizontally).
This is from I-90, just outside of Chicago. About to go see the Cloud
Gate sculpture (the metal bean).
16 September 2009
9/11 Logos
I just found these logos on Brand New - A blog devoted to corporate brand identity. A few days late on this, but I can't decide which logo I like more. The before has such a unique viewpoint, yet is quiet and reserved. The newer one is much more accessible. I guess it will be the more public logo for the 9/11 Memorial Museum, which is supposed to open in 2011.
I love logos mostly for their simplicity in communication. It seems an impossible task for a designer to take all the weight of what the World Trade Center symbolizes, and translate it to a few words and simple graphics. When successful, logos I think are poignant - simple, but not easily forgotten.
I love logos mostly for their simplicity in communication. It seems an impossible task for a designer to take all the weight of what the World Trade Center symbolizes, and translate it to a few words and simple graphics. When successful, logos I think are poignant - simple, but not easily forgotten.
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