Filtering by Category: Technology,IC Feature

Last year we received a call from our favorite software company, asking us if we'd like to preview the soon-to-be-released Illustrator CC. The one caveat was that we had to create whatever we wanted and document how we did it. Our answer? A resounding 'Awesome!' and "Uh-oh, what are we going to create?" There were no guidelines, save for a few key words: Modern, fearless and reborn. Adobe's theme for the new release.

Since we had just recently bought a farm outside of the city, we were in the thick of having our normal lives turned upside down - yet at the same time, we were having a blast with our new lifestyle. 'Reality. Reborn.' is inspired by that personal transition ... blended together nicely with the amazing new features of Illustrator CC and Adobe's willingness to give us carte blanche on creative direction.

We've been using Adobe's products for almost 20 years now and rely extensively on their tools to create our projects. Huge thanks to Terry Hemphill and the Adobe team for asking us to do this. We had a lot of fun with CC's great new features.

Without further ado, download Adobe's awesome iPad magazine, Inspire to check it all out - or read it online. And to top it all off, grab the mega-huge uber-limited 25" x 46" poster in our shop now.

Read about how we went from sketch phase to final color blocking ... and how our process always evolves as we work.

One of the coolest new features in CC is the Multiple File Place tool, allowing you to adjust the size of your file before dropping them on the artboard.

CC's new Touch Type tool is especially great as well, allowing you to manipulate and edit individual characters without creating outlines.

Those are just 2 of my favorite new features. Read about the rest. A few details below:

... and pick up the giant 25" x 46" poster in the shop now for only $40.

Is there still a role for designers in the music industry? We're honored to be amongst 7 studios interviewed and featured in IdN's Music Graphic issue.

Recorded music has always been packaged, from the very earliest days when wax cylinders came in cardboard tubes, and has therefore always involved designers. In the palmy days of vinyl LPs with sometimes stunning cover art and often erudite liner notes, the presentation was almost as important as the product.

But with the industry morphing so rapidly into the field of digital-download delivery, where do the graphics come in now? This is a burning question for all those working in the area of visually representing music. To see what their answers are, read this feature story, which solicits the views of seven specialist music designers.

Featuring: Telegramme Studio | Invisible Creature, Inc. | IWant Design | Daniel Reed | Matteo Meta | Leif Podhajsky | Giottographica

// Grab a copy here.

We're honored to be part of the fantastic new book Kern and Burn: Conversations With Design Entrepreneurs curated by Tim Hoover and Jessica Karle Heltzel. Featuring Aaron Draplin, Heads Of State, Arman Vit and many others.

'Kern and Burn: Conversations With Design Entrepreneurs' is a beautiful two-color book that features candid conversations with 30 leading designers who have founded startups, channeled personal passions into self-made careers and taken risks to do what they love. In this book they share their failures, successes, and perspectives. Our hope is that you can learn from them — not to follow in their footsteps, but to chart your own course in parallel, one that allows you to thrive, add value to the world and love what you do.

The entire Kern and Burn project was brought to life by a successful Kickstarter campaign, but here's where it all started. Tim and Jessica's spirit and passion for this book is an inspiration, pick up a copy if you can!

 

What happens when two ex-Altec Lansing guys, an architect/furniture designer and a liquor industry operational expert come together? Grain Audio. Check out the great video and bio over at their Kickstarter page to learn more. Better yet, pledge some of that hard-earned cash and make this dream a reality. The products are beautiful and they sound even better. We even designed a poster to help seal the deal. Go!

Well, we've been hard at work for over a year on this next project (and have many more months to go), but we are excited to preview the logo and name of our first interactive children's book The Uproar!, arriving on iPads everywhere via the Apple App store this fall. Lots of fun announcements coming in the first half of 2012, but for now - a quick synopsis:

"Journey into a world of sound and wonder in the interactive musical story The Uproar! Join a bizarre band of misfit monsters to explore a sprawling story from the mind of Invisible Creatureʼs Don Clark."

We are honored and proud to be working with our new favorite publisher + partner: Space Dog Books. Please do yourself a favor and download Space Dog's first chapter book Treasure Island, illustrated by the amazing Matthew Cruickshank.

It's going to be a fun year. Much more soon ...