Website Grid Systems

There are many different website grid systems offering a numerous amount of typographic, body copy, and gutter spaces utilizing bits of CSS and HTML to conform to different browser.

The typical grid system is 960. It does, however, run into problems with gutter space.  Check out the different solutions:



Different Web Grid Systems

Self Adjusting CSS 1140 pixel Grid System

Rosetta Installation File Download

This isn't related to design, but somehow, my Rosetta program, an optional installation on the OSX disk that enables the use of programs design for windows use got deleted. I didn't have the OSX disk I purchased with me at the time and had to hunt around for the installation file in order to run Fontlab.  I found it after a long time of searching. If your looking for the installer, you can download it here.

This is primarily for those who are not prompted for installation while running a program like fontlab or mac the ripper for some reason.

Hopefully this makes other people's lives easier for those who somehow misplaced the disk/deleted the file.

Happy New Year!

Forte

Excellent Beginner Cinema 4D tutorial

My renders using the tutorial.  It's very helpful for beginning/novice C4D users.

Check It

About 3D Abstract Art / Unity - 3D and Flash

There are a lot of amazing abstract 3D renders are out there, but 95% of them are from a single angle in an image.  Aren't successful 3D designs/sculptures made to carry visual interest from different perspectives?  Something is getting lost here.  Hopefully there will be new ways of displaying this work online besides a simple video.

I think the solution lies in Unity, a project working on integrating 3D with Flash.  Although I don't understand everything at the moment the potential of using Flash as a carrier for interactivity and game design in 3D holds tremendous potential with Flash already to widely integrated.  Unity also has a plugin specifically designated for flash.  You can download a free trial of Unity on their site currently: http://unity3d.com/

A lot of the content for added integration is available for purchase.  Check it out!

On Website Navigation Replicating

Just a thought: would it work to design a website that was modeled after facebook?  Users familiar with the facebook (hopefully the target demographic for the site) would feel at home navigating a portfolio page similar to Facebooks layout.  On the other hand, it might feel fake or like a knock off.  It might be something explore, as more and more internet users become deeply familiar with the social networking sites of today. 

How To Use Any Font on the Web

If you haven't seen this list of how to use non "web-safe" fonts on the web, please visit this link.  It's really helpful!

Check It!

BLACKOIL Font

More and more typefaces are utilizing 3D rendering and are more illustrative techniques instead of solid color.  Learning maya and having designed plenty of brushes, I find the balance behind usability and visual interest interesting.  A lot of these textures can be created through brushes on any font through texture packs and brushes.  Crafting a font to have the typeface work synergistically with the texture/rendering a larger challenge.

This is an example of an interesting typeface using rendering.

Check It

Amazing Fashion Inspired Typeface, Paris

This typeface really has some interesting solutions.  The serif are very different, but work elegantly and flow.  The variations and potential forms are numerous, and just look at these beautiful ligatures!

Please Check It!  Support the typographer on Behance.

Well known Logo Typefaces

Really helpful for distinguishing typefaces in well known logos.  Includes everything from Amazon to Zopa.

Check It

Websites and Unusual Navigation (continued)

(Some websites really present information and content in an interactive and fresh way.  Regardless, I think sometimes navigation be unnecessarily complicated and prevent a user from finding content easily.  I'm all for new and different navigation, but sometimes it can just get too gimmicky.)


Maybe part of the reason it's harder to find content is that we've established a norm of head/side bars.  People aren't used to more creative websites like this, and poor website design tends to be basic, but accesible.  In addition, a lot of the templates out there use a similar layout.

Maybe if more of these websites existed, people would feel more comfortable with them?

Websites and Unusual Navigation

Websites typically use a basic side, or head bar for clear navigation.  These websites get very creative and use some pretty interesting navigation.  While some may take little bit of thought to find what you want, they organize and display content is fresh ways with interactivity.

Check It Out

New Student Work

A quick page spread I finished recently.  It was just arranging preset content.

How To Use Any Font on the Web

A great post on using non "websafe" fonts.  Includes plenty of examples as well as an easy to read list of pros and cons for each solution including siFR, typeface.js, Cufun, and FLIR. 


Check It

Logo Design History

Pretty humorous/interesting post on logo development.

Check It.

Social Media

Social Media has skyrocketed upward to become one of the most relevant topics today.  Sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr are dominating the internet scene and provide a new way to market products, ideas, and media.

This report provides interesting statistics, demographics, and infographics about social media.

http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/social/

- Stay Curious, Forte

Interesting Logo Color Comparison Chart

Color and what it implies is huge.  This color wheel shows where successful logos fall on the color wheel.  Generally warm colors for excitement and cool ones for reliability.

Adobe Muse [Code Name]

Adobe recently released a beta of a new tool set focusing on web design. It's supposedly more powerful and less niche-based then Dreamweaver.

An interesting point is that good print design skill does not necessarily translate to good interactive design. It still doesn't let designers create pure code and it doesn't automatically allow developers to make great websites.

It's not going to phase out the need for web coding, but I expect it to be a relevant addition to designers arsenals for a faster web design workflows. Thoughts?

More on FastCoDesign.  There some interesting points being made in the comments section.

Download it here.

















Muse was created by the same developers as inDesign.  It's apparent in the interface.









 









Creation Screen

Great 360 Panorama's

This tutorial on 1x is pretty helpful for learning about 360 panoramas. In addition to being very in depth with his workflow, the photographer provides another article on 360 - 180 panoramas.

Check It


I have yet to stumble upon a website with more consistent work then 1x. I highly recommend it to those looking for some good critiques (they have a section for them after you provide three quality critiques of other people's works) or those just looking for some great inspiring photos.

Great article on set ups for low key photography with and without a studio.

Check It

Sweet Music Video With Visualizations Using Hundreds of on Camera Flashes.

Check It

Mini Planets

View this excellent and straightforward tutorial on creating miniworlds.

Modern Serif Display Typeface v0.1

Download Here

Visual/Audio Hierarchy

Visual hierarchy in design is similar to verses, drops, and choruses in tracks.  In the same way, whitespace and visual rest are parallel to silence and musical lulls.  Tension and harmony share similarities between dissonance and visual harmony.  Contrast, and likeness in a design composition works the same way as it does in a track.  The Gestalt Principle seems to apply to both music and design.  In music, the track timeline becomes the order people hear things in.  Amplitude, contrast, flow, and musical interest help determine the hierarchy or what we take away from a track.  In the same way, a typical design starts with visual hook to draw the viewer in.  From there, the composition determines visual interest and the order in which we view things, or hieratic scale.  Both have the listener/viewer traverse the composition and utilize hierarchy to convey a point. 

Fireworks!

Took a few interesting shots during the 4th of July!

View better quality versions here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fortelegy/

Creating a typeface

Recently, I have been more interested in typefaces and their creation.  I have started to design my own, modern serif typeface, and it's not easy.  Some people devote their entire careers to type design.  Below is a useful link to get you started if your interested in designing your own typeface.


Check it out.


More helpful inks:
http://www.typotheque.com/articles/my_type_design_philosophy
http://vectoralia.com/typephases/fontcreation1.html
http://www.typotheque.com/articles/essays
http://www.emigre.com/Editorial.php?sect=2&id=1

Solid Corperate Design Typefaces
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2007/08/08/80-beautiful-fonts-typefaces-for-professional-design/

Deadmau5 Head Design Contest

 House musician and production artist Deadmau5 is currently holding a competition to redesign his signature "Mouse Head" (Mau5 Head).  The top five win two tickets nearest to their location.  The grand prize winner meets Deadmau5 himself in LA, gets his/her design featured and worn by Deadmau5, and gets two tickets to the show (two nights expense covered).  Different templates can be downloaded from his site. 


Voting starts July 13.  Check out my Mau5head design and vote/support please!  

Visit here to enter.

Illustration Style

This guy has a pretty original anime-inspired illustrative style.  Check it out!


http://iwaisan.deviantart.com/gallery/?offset=0

Music

Most of my newer music is available for download here:

http://fortelegy.bandcamp.com/

Torley Music

I know this temporary design blog is a design blog (with design in the title and all), but I just needed to say how much I love this guys music.  He's a one of a kind electronic producer that creates huge electronic albums with probably the most eclectic mix of songs you will ever find.  Some of his tracks harbor an incredible amount of energy and freedom, others solemn ambient soundscapes, and still others  danceable beats.  Regardless, Torley is pure experimentation.  With all of his tracks comes some excitement and freshness you will rarely find in mainstream music. 

Sure his beats aren't sidechained, and he doesn't have the deepest bass or dirtiest synthlines, but all of that falls away in light of his innovation.  It's almost impossible to listen to the entire album at once, but it can be quite enjoyable in bursts.  Some song parts may be cheesy, but he still knows how to push the boundaries of his instruments and mix instruments you never would think could coexist in the same track. 

In addition, his albums filled with 50 or so tracks are completely free (although I recommend donating).  Torely recently released an 8-bit chiptune album that really rocks retro.  Very similar to the original Megaman and other games in the same category.  If you need composing ideas, or just want something different, I highly suggest you check his stuff out.  He's in it for the fun.

 http://music.torley.com/album/dream-journal-2

~ Stay Curious, Fortelegy.

Alchemy Shape Generator

I recently discovered a sweet program for quickly generating random vector or raster shapes.  Alchemy is a small shape generating program great producing abstract shapes or miscellaneous forms you might use for something like debris, sparks, or even scratches.  The ability to quickly generate shapes are great for large illustrative projects, overlays, and photoshop brushes.  Check it out!

http://al.chemy.org/

Dance Track in Progress

Fortelegy - Towards the Stars by Fortelegy

Just some more experimentation.  The sounds in this track are pretty stocky/typical, but it's the first track in this genre i've written so far. 

Tilt Shift Photography

A way to make wide angle aerial shots look as if they are tiny toy models with focusing.

This type of camera changes the depth of field and limits focusing to a single plane.  A faster way can be done with simple post production in Photoshop with basic blurring, masks, and curve adjustments.  



Tutorial

Another Example

What's After the Swiss/International Typography Style?

The clean, aligned, and concise International Typography style we commonly see today was developed in the 1950s.  ~60 years from then we still use similar designs.  A good explanation of the development and history of the International Style can be found here.

I am just curious as to what the next "style" will be?  Will there ever be a new one?  If we are thrown into a third world war or worldwide crisis, perhaps the International Style will morph into an even more straightforward, strictly legible/performance based style with all weight thrown on its use instead of aesthetic appeal.  If a country with a different type of language (ie right to left reading) comes to power, perhaps typography will flip to adhere to a different flow of reading.  I don't know.  It will be interesting to watch the typographic style we see change.

Pixel Art Tutorial

A great introduction to pixel art.  It's a time consuming process, but the results can be stunning.  Check it out.

http://www.drububu.com/tutorial/

Updated Link List

These are some really good design/photography blogs.  Great for staying updated in today's design world.

• http://thephotographypost.com/
• http://www.logodesignlove.com/
• http://www.dexigner.com/newsletter 
• http://www.graphic-exchange.com/home.html
• http://www.behance.net/
• http://www.swiss-miss.com/
• http://www.sharesomecandy.com/

Good vs. Great Designers

The topic of decent designers vs. the really great ones has been floating around in my head for awhile.  This seems to be the best post about it, and there are some really insightful posts/comments as well.  If your curious like I am, you should check this out.

http://www.graphicdesignblog.org/successful-graphic-designers-talent-versus-degrees/

Optimal Networking Site Data Flow

This guy made a pretty simple but sweet info graphic for the optimal flow of data from what site each one does best.  It's for restaurants, but it applies to most businesses in general.

Designers Role in the World and Culture

Designers are great at getting other people to stop and think.  We can fuse and juxapose stong emotions and reactions like no other through images and other work.  The real question is where we go from there.  Too many designers stop after handing out their conversational pie, the metaphore in this great article about our role in the world as designers.

http://cultureby.com/2011/01/making-culture-provoking-culture.html

Great Free Textures from Fuzzimo

If you need free paper textures for a project, this is a great resource.  The resources are free for personal and commercial use without need to credit.  The website specializes in paper, notebook esque, canvas, pencil, art-type vectors and textures.  They are high quality as well.  The website is easy to navigate and well designed. 

Check it out!

Free Fractal Generating Software for Windows

Check it out!