Recently in Resources Category

Facebook mania

It's no secret that I'm a big fan (and user) of Facebook. I like the fact that almost everyone I know and work with in the magazine world--editors, art directors, illustrators, photographers--has a page on Facebook, and spends regular time on it (never during work, of course). It's an especially rich visual experience, with folks posting up videos, photographs, recent work, sources of inspiration, and links to all kinds of valuable resources. There are also a lot of visual people who are using Facebook "fan" pages in a variety of ways....for self-promotion, as mini-blogs, or as support for their websites. It's building an inter-connected community of visual messengers and commentators, and helping work to be seen by many more people than was ever possible before. The pages are free, and incredibly easy to access and update. Here are five people who are doing diverse and interesting things with their Facebook fan pages (self-promotional disclosure: one of them is me).… MORE

Ten Web Agencies

Expanding on a list started for Billboard.com for their 2009 redesign, here is a list of ten web agencies in no particular order:

 

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Online Newspaper and Magazine Archives

Ever wonder what Online newspapers are looking like in Santa Marta, Colombia? Want to get a glimpse of how an online newspaper is designed in Al Tariq, Iraq? Check out onlinenewspapers.com. This site is an outstanding resource for designers that want to compare best practices in online design across continents. The database is quite extensive and you can get exposed to both large and small publications.

Once your done trolling the archives take a gander at their sister site onlinemagazines to get a similar fix on the world of online magazines.
-- enjoy!

My Favorite Bookstore

Just beneath the shadow the the TransAmerica Pyramid, on Montgomery Street, lies one of San Francisco's hidden gems: William Stout Architectural Books. Just yesterday, I spent my lunch hour poring through the thousands of volumes, new and rare, and picked up a couple of gems, including this gorgeous 1967 El Lissitzky biography:… MORE

CS4 Video Tutorial Site

Adobe released CS4 this week and their how-to magazine site, Layersmagazine.com, also launched the Adobe Creative Suite 4 Learning Center with forty video tutorials. … MORE

Movie! Movie!

I don't know who this Steven Hill character is, but I think I'm in love. He's got a website of just movie titles--that's it. … MORE

In Search of the Perfect Notebook

As designers, we're extra-fussy about the little things that others just don't take the time to savor. I spend way too much time pecking away at endless e-mails, so when I do get to put pen to paper, I've become surprisingly particular about exactly what paper that is. I thought I'd found the perfect notebook in the Oh Boy line, with its heavy, lovely-patterned bookboard covers and thick, lined pages, but felt guilty about spending $10 every time around (I mean, it's a notebook). I figured since I don't spend that much time writing on real live paper anymore, I deserved something special. … MORE

Library Love

While researching typography for "a major motion picture," SpotCo art director Darren Cox unearthed a treasure trove of design goodness at the NY Public Library's Digital Archive. In this age of Google Images and big stock agencies, we often forget that the Library's one of the best (and cheapest) places to go--if you're willing to do a little leg work. Take a look at some of the great book covers Darren found--and we'll let you know if our poster sees the light of day....… MORE