graphic design
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Wacom Cintiq 24HD images break cover, we start practicing our stick figures
We've been all giddy since the Cintiq 24HD waltzed through the FCC last month... and now, we have even more reason to be excited. Although unconfirmed, signs continue to point to a 24-inch HD display (1920 x 1200 supported) -- upon which Wacom has implemented a stand that appears to allow the user to customize their viewing angle based on the task at hand. According to CG Everything, the peripheral is said to boast 2048 levels of pressure sensors with a 60-degree tilt sensor, 92 percent Adobe RGB color saturation, 190 nits of brightness, 550:1 contrast ratio and a 13ms response time. We're still waiting on Wacom to corroborate all of this, but those who'd rather throw caution to the wind can indulge below. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] %Gallery-133268%
Wacom Cintiq 24HD approved by FCC, makes us wish we went to art school
Few devices make you reassess your career choices, but the Wacom Cintiq is one of them. The interactive pen display device makes us wish we'd gone to art school and learned how to draw (instead of listening to our parents and study law). This newest model, the Cintiq 24HD has just been approved by the FCC and, while the documents don't reveal much, we presume it's a 24-inch (and HD-resolution) follow up to last year's device. If you're struggling to comprehend the love for these things, you can go beyond the break to see a schematic or check out our hands-on with last year's Cintiq 21UX.
Keynotopia templates for rapid iPhone app prototyping
Ever have an awesome idea for an iPhone app but don't have the graphic design skills to build a good mockup to show off to potential partners? Well, put away your pencils and napkins and go check out Keynotopia.com. The site offers users templates consisting of thousands of vector user interface components that allow app developers to simply drag and drop components to form a mockup of their app. The templates are in Keynote and PowerPoint format and allow you to easily create user interfaces. They also allow you to add user interactions and animations by adding hyperlinks or slide animations to various UI elements. What's more, after you've designed your app in Keynote or PowerPoint, you can export the file as a clickable PDF document and load it onto your iPhone or iPad to see how it would work as a real app. Multiple templates are available across different platforms, and all templates sell for US$9, although you get discounts if you buy them in bundles. Besides iPhone and iPad templates, Keynotopia also makes templates for Windows, Mac OS X, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone 7 and Facebook apps. [via Swiss-Miss]
MIT Media Lab gets a multiplicitous new logo (video)
Logos can be surprisingly divisive things, so the MIT Media Lab has decided to cheat a little bit with its new identity: it won't have just one logo, it'll have 40,000. You heard / read / imagined that right, the new Media Lab logo will simply be the concept of three intersecting "spotlights," composed of three colors, straight lines, three black squares, and a few blending gradients. There's an algorithm behind it all, which is used to generate a unique logo for every new member of staff, meaning that although trademark claims may be a headache to enforce, originality will continue thriving in the Lab for a long time to come. Hit the source link to learn more or leap past the break for a nice video rundown.
The Noun Project: public domain pictograms for designers, the illiterate
OK, this might not be much to look at -- a page full of Dingbats, essentially -- but the premise behind the Noun Project is sound and, in this increasingly complex world, important: by creating a visual collection of downloadable public domain symbols representing things like escalators, fast food, and customs checkpoints, the website hopes to promote a visual language "that can be understood by all cultures and people." And since we're sticklers for good, clean design, projects like this are especially dear to us. Hit up the source link to see for yourself.
Modern technology sent through time vortex, redesigned for 1977
A brilliant homage to today's gadgets and yesterday's penchant for Sepia tones, graphic designer Alex Varanese has reimagined four modern-day gadgets and created a series of print ads for his ALT/1977 collection: Pocket Hi-Fi, LapTron 64, MobileVoxx, and Microcade 3000. We're smitten, but of course we'd be irresponsible not to point out the paradox here: should Varanese ever accomplish his mission of traveling back in time with modern gear, it'll expedite technology advancement up to the point where he originally left and create a recursion of infinite improvements... oh, just quit thinking and enjoy the pretty pictures already!
eBoy: an ode and introduction
I don't know where my love for eBoy springs from, but it definitely has something to do with a childhood of 8-bit video gaming and young adult years of raving till dawn. Regardless, if you haven't been introduced to the pixel art collective, then hopefully this will kick off your education. The designers -- Kai Vermehr, Steffen Sauerteig, and Svend Smital -- have been producing some of the most distinctive and nuanced modern art in the world since 1997. As you can tell by even a casual glance at the artist's pics (we've rounded up some in the gallery below), their work is incredibly vibrant -- almost information overload -- and filled with the kinds of minute details that make looking at eBoy images less of a passive activity and more like a scavenger hunt which rewards the dedicated viewer. The eBoy team have expanded their work to run the gamut from album covers, books, advertising, clothing and footwear, and even a forthcoming iPhone game. As masters of the micro, they've built what amounts to a mini-empire. Whenever I get a new device (typically when I'm reviewing something for the site), the first thing I do is tack eBoy images onto the wallpaper. Usually I have to crop them down or otherwise customize them for the platform at hand, and as a result I've ended up with a metric ton of tweets and emails asking where they come from. I figured as a public service I would .zip everything I could find on my hard drive to give to you, the reader. If you've been wondering where and how these came to life, wonder no more. Of course, it's eBoy's world -- we're just living in it. And yes, that's me up there. Thanks guys! Download: jt_eboy.zip %Gallery-93493%
TUAW First Look: Hippo High Jump
There are beautiful games on App Store and there are fun games on App Store, and there are some games that are cool just because of the story that goes along with them. Hippo High Jump [iTunes link] falls into the categories of strikingly beautiful, somewhat fun, and great back story. The story goes like this. Keith Shepherd and Natalia Luckyanova attended the 360iDev conference a few weeks back and joined in in the iPhone game jam. The jam offered an all-night coding marathon, where "people teamed up and had to build a fully working game in 1 night. We built the first version of Hippo High Dive from 8pm to around 6am the next day." You can see a video of the early prototype here. After polishing the game up with the help of their artist pal, Kiril, the pair submitted Hippo High Dive to App Store where it just recently went live. Costing just a dollar, Hippo High Dive does not offer a huge amount of play flexibility. You basically jump your hippo off a diving board and navigate her through burning hoops to a bucket of water below. I'll admit I have the attention span of a gnat with ADHD, but the game did not really keep my attention. The art on the other hand definitely did. The video above does not do justice to the beautiful look of the game. The artistry both retains the original hand-drawn "let's whip up a game" style while pushing it forward into gorgeous design. The layered three-d effects while "climbing" the ladder as a prelude to the dive took my breath away. So, in the end, it's a bit hard to rate the game. I found the actual gameplay a bit meh. My coordination skills are weak at best and this is not the kind of fine motion control I generally enjoy. At the same time, I absolutely adored the visual design. If you're a game developer, consider hiring that artist.
Google artist sneaks Triforce into logo, Google removes it [update]
Well that was quick! just as soon as the Internet caught The Legend of Zelda's Triforce in a handful of Google homepage logo designs, Google has altered said images, removing the easter egg. It appears as though the images were created for Google by artist Susie Sahim -- a woman whose personal blog contains a picture of her dressed up as LoZ's Link, might we add ... which is awesome. We've contacted both Ms. Sahim and Google for comment, but, well, it's Sunday. Sunday evening. People gotta rest sometimes. With any luck, we'll have any update for you early this week. For now, peep all the original images over on Blogoscoped.Update: Google got back to us about the existence, and subsequent disappearance, of the symbols, saying, "Our doodles aim to celebrate interesting events and anniversaries around the world that reflect Google's playful personality and love of innovation. As for our Triforce Easter egg, we're glad people discovered it and enjoyed it before it vanished back into the Zeldasphere. We appreciate people around the world looking into our artwork so closely!" Now, just to find that Zeldasphere ...[Thanks, Matt M.!]
Just announced: La Cie blue eye pro Monitor Calibrator Proof Edition
A lot of us might not care that the color on our screens doesn't precisely match reality, but for most designers color matching is a crucial part of their work. That's why they use monitor calibration systems like the new La Cie blue eye pro Proof Edition (US$429.99) to make sure that what they see on the screen is exactly what they'll see on a finished product.The blue eye pro Proof Edition is the blue puck that you see on the left side of the photo illustration at right. It supports monitor calibration and profiling and can provide UGRA (Swiss Center of Competence for Media and Printing Technology) soft proof testing and reporting.La Cie has announced immediate availability of the blue eye pro Proof Edition, which is compatible with the Adobe Creative Suite, QuarkXPress, Aperture and other design and photography applications. it requires Mac OS X 10.4.5 or later on Intel Macs, as well as a USB port for connectivity.
LittleBigPlanet dev wants to see your redesigned logo
Calling all graphic design enthusiasts: Media Molecule is looking for your ideas on a LittleBigPlanet logo. The aptly-titled LittleBigChallenge -- the first of many to come according to the new LBP community site -- is just for fun; there is nothing to win from this and we're fairly sure your creation has no chance of becoming the official LBP logo. You can use the (tragically small) 324 pixel-width template, or go ahead and make your own from scratch. Creations are asked to be added to Flickr with a LittleBigChallenge 001 tag (as of this writing, two images have already been uploaded). We'd like to see what the Joystiq Design Community is capable of, so be sure to show off your submissions in the comments below.
Joystiq interviews BioShock LE cover artist Adam Meyer
Impressed by the winning entry in 2K Games' BioShock Limited Edition cover art contest, we had a chat via online messenger with the winning artist Adam Meyer about his design and the process he took to get there, as well as a bit on his background.First of all, thanks again for doing those. Tell us a little bit about yourself.Well, I'm 27 I think, I live in the Orlando area with my beautiful wife. And I own my own freelance design business called Crystal Clear Art.How did you get involved with graphic design?I've always been interested in art. And once I graduated high school it became clear that if I wanted to make a career out of art, it was best to get into graphic design over the more traditional stuff. I went to community college but dropped out in favor of just getting right into the field. I got my first design job doing layout work for a small little print company and basically learned what I could from it and the left. I kept repeating this pattern for about 8 years. I'd work someplace, learn everything I could, then quit and find someplace that could teach me new things.After I worked my way up to art director at a local design company I decided it was time to get out on my own. And here I am.%Gallery-3343%
LaCie updates their 300 pro series of LCDs, adds 20-incher
If your future as a professional depends upon having those colors show up just right on your LCD, then LaCie is probably on your short list for display manufacturers. They've just updated their pro-line 300 series with some sexy 12-bit gamma correction, allowing for smoother color gradients and photophile bragging rights. They've also added a 20-inch model to their range of displays, the Lacie 319, 320 and 321. Despite the minor size differences, prices range from $879 to $1599, plus another $200 if you want LaCie's blue eye pro colorimeter for calibration. All that display dollar will get you, at least in the 320, a 1600 x 1200 resolution, CRT-grade color gamut, 700:1 contrast ratio, 280 cd/m2 luminance and of course that 12-bit gamma -- 4 times as accurate as the usually pro 10-bit spec. Not shabby at all, if you can swallow the pricetag. All three displays are available for order now from LaCie.[Via MacMinute]
