A Mouse is Loose
New Year’s Day. The day most of us still have (probably) not broken any New Year’s resolutions. A new calendar. A fresh start. And the day each year that a whole bunch of copyrights expire. This year’s treasure trove of works that have been protected since their origin way back in 1928 include Lady Chatterly’s […]
Copy That
Pretty much every illustrator worth their salt has what is euphemistically called a “swipe” file. A bunch of images torn out (swiped) from magazines or other printed material that can be used as reference when creating a new illustration. Need an image of a hand holding a mug—find something in your swipe file. A picture […]
Stop the Presses!
Stop the presses! No, really, stop them. Ohhh, never mind. Apparently, the presses have pretty much stopped already. As of February 2019, “printer” and “screen printer” are no longer official jobs listed by Labor Department according to this article from the Washington Post. “Printing support” jobs such as platemaking and prepress work have also been […]
Who Knew? A New Blue.
For most of human history, producing blue pigment was pretty much the Holy Grail for artists. It was a quest that was, more often than not, unsuccessful. From the beginning of time, a source of blue was either impossible to find or really, really expensive. So blue, when it was used at all, was used […]
And the Color of the Year is…
…Green. Pantone calls it “greenery.” Huffington Post says the experts are describing it as a “zesty yellow-green.” I would call it a sort of dingy chartreuse. Pantone claims that this will be the color that we will be seeing everywhere in 2017. Not sure if I agree. Pantone’s track record for picking colors of the […]
I Am Not a Robot
I am not a robot. No, really, I am not. And, hopefully, neither are you. Unfortunately, robots are pretty active on the Internet, and, for some reason, they really liked to send me emails. Lots of emails. Lots of emails from Russian girls looking for love. Emails with hot stock tips and cures for an […]
Play Nice with HTML
It was never my goal to be the next Web wiz kid. I still like print and paper and ink. But anymore, even dedicated print designers have to know a little basic HTML. I know a lot of CMSs claim that you can post to the Web (or produce a “professional” looking email announcement) without […]
Bill Gates Hates Me
Whenever a Microsoft product drives me crazy (which is quite often), I just repeat to myself “Bill Gates hates me, and he doesn’t want me to be happy.” It doesn’t make the problem go away, but it helps me put the issue into perspective and makes me feel better. Lots of things drive me crazy […]
The Color of Sludge
Picking just the right color for a job can be one of a graphic designer’s biggest challenges. The wrong color or shade can tank a project. Blue can be trustworthy or dull. Red? Is it energetic or aggressive? Green can be fresh and environmentally friendly, or it can remind consumers of bread mold. (Years ago, […]