Word of Taymore

What makes a good logo?

2012-01-01T07:34:00.001-05:00

What makes a good logo? A good logo is distinctive, appropriate, practical, graphic, simple in form and conveys an intended message.

There are five principles that you should follow to ensure that this is so…

An effective logo is (in no particular order):

Simple
Memorable
Timeless
Versatile
Appropriate

The Hanging Judge Pumpkin Porter

2011-10-23T20:31:00.003-04:00

"Background: Ipso Facto was founded by lawyers, thus the legal theme throughout all of their brews. (Example: Wit of Habeus Corpus; Dissolution Pale Ale; Ambulance Chaser IPA, etc.). The brand always features a judge of some sort in the center, with package versioning done by judge, color, and support icons. In the case (heh) of the Pumpkin Porter, we opted to use a play on the classic headless horseman, done in Ipso Facto style. The jack-o-lantern serves as our "hanging judge" and dispenses fine quality hops, grains, and justice."

Jack-o-Latern

2011-10-21T07:47:00.000-04:00

Now this is ART .... I want a beer.

5 Essential Firefox Add-ons for Designers

2011-10-20T09:08:00.002-04:00

As a webdesigner (and technologically savvy user of the Internet), there is no excuse for you not to be using Firefox as your primary web browser. If you aren’t using Firefox yet, you need to go and download it right now. Not only does Firefox provide a top of the line Internet browsing experience, but it also provides an endless amount of functionality that you simply won’t find in any other Internet browser.

Because third parties can develop add-ons for Firefox, by downloading the best add-ons that are available, you can transform Firefox into a tool that dramatically increases your productivity and saves you a countless amount of time.   Since there are so many different add-ons available to download, it can be a little overwhelming to pick out which ones you should be using.

Therefore, I decided to do all of the legwork for you and compile a list of the six best Firefox add-ons for web designers.

Web Developer
Although it is called Web Developer, this Firefox add-on is absolutely invaluable for web designers. If you were only going to download and install one Firefox add-on, this is the one that I would recommend to you. The reason is that this add-on provides a variety of different useful features, and could be classified as the Swiss Army Knife of Firefox add-ons.

The first feature of this add-on that designers will find useful is the CSS menu. Features of this menu include the ability to disable styles, display CSS by media type, view CSS, view style information, add a custom user style sheet or directly edit CSS.

The next feature of interest for designers is the Image menu. In addition to allowing you to display ALT attributes, image dimensions, image file sizes and image paths, you can disable images, find broken images, outline images, replace images with ALT attributes and several additional functions.

Although I could devote several pages to all of the features that this add-on offers, I just want to touch on a few other functions that web designers will find especially useful. These include the ability to outline different elements (ranging from frames to block level elements), edit HTML and show hidden elements.

Firebug
While Web Developer is the first add-on I would recommend to any designer, Firebug runs a close second in terms of usefulness for designers.

With Firebug, you are instantly given the ability to edit, debug or monitor any web page. Firebug gives you full control over the CSS, HTML and JavaScript of any page that you choose. Best of all, every change that you make is done live and instantly, so you can quickly test out different changes and see the results of those changes instantly.

Like most of the best add-ons for Firefox, Firebug goes beyond its basic functionality and provides a wealth of options that make it easy for any user to completely customize their use of this add-on. Some of the additional features and options offered by Firebug include keystroke shortcuts, the ability to control how and where the Firebug editing area appears, visual guides for editing CSS, analysis of network activity and customizable logging for JavaScript.

ColorZilla
As a web designer, you never know when inspiration is going to strike you as you are surfing around the Internet. For example, you may be looking at a website and come across a color that you really like.

If you want a quick and efficient way to be able to find out the exact HSV and RGB value for that tool, you should install the ColorZilla add-on.

The ColorZilla add-on features an online eyedropper, which makes it quite simple to get the exact value of a specific color.   In addition to the online eyedropper, ColorZilla offers several additional features that most web designers will find useful such as a DOM color analyzer and online palette viewer. The DOM color analyzer allows you to locate elements on the page that correspond to a given color and find out the CSS rules that specify a certain color, while the online palette viewer allows you to bookmark and share color palettes that you like.

CSS Validator/HTML Validator
As a designer, you want to make sure that all of your hard work can easily be accessed by visitors and displayed to them properly. One of the easiest ways to ensure that both of these tasks are accomplished is by validating all of your code.

Although they are two separate add-ons, both the CSS Validator and HTML Validator should be installed in the browser of any web designer. Once the add-ons are installed, the CSS Validator can be accessed from the Tools menu, while the HTML Validator can be accessed from the Firefox status bar.

Each of the add-ons validates the code against the appropriate W3C standards.   While the CSS Validator simply does a standard validation of the code, the HTML Validator provides some additional functionality.

When using the HTML Validator, you can choose to validate directly in the browser (where any errors are shown as a status bar icon), show the source with explanations of errors after the validation or a validation with proposed solutions to any errors.

Browser Window Resizer
As someone who creates designs for the Internet, one of the most frustrating issues that you undoubtedly encounter is trying to create designs that work across a variety of screen sizes.

Because you don’t know whether a visitor is going to be viewing your work at 640×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1280×1024 or 1600×1200, it’s your responsibility to create designs that work at all of these resolutions.

While there are a variety of ways to view your work at different resolutions, I have found that the Browser Window Resizer add-on is the most efficient way to accomplish this task. Once you download and install this add-on, you will be able to instantly re-size your browser window to any of the standard resolution sizes listed above.

This will allow you to see if your design is going to look good to visitors who aren’t using the same resolution as you.   The best thing about this add-on is that if you are using it in conjunction with the other add-ons in this list (specifically Firebug), when you see that something isn’t displaying properly, you can instantly make adjustments to your code and see if that fixes the problem, all without ever leaving your current browser window.

Chase for The Sprint Cup

2011-10-19T06:38:00.002-04:00

How can you not like NASCAR? You might think it is easy but go to a track and tailgate, walk around the fan fest and watch the race while while wearing a TrackScan headset. Nothing Better. Period ... End of Story.

What about this commercial that was created for ESPN for the chase. The design and the music are perfect ... not like ESPN's so-so coverage of the sport. That's right Golden Tate it is a sport. Hey whatever happened to that guy?

4 Powerful Photo Apps for Your iPhone or Android

2011-10-15T11:57:00.001-04:00

Not everyone wants to post unedited photos online to their social networks. Then again, not many of us want to wait until we have time to edit them on our computers, either. It kind of defeats the purpose of being able to take photos and upload them instantly. Here are four apps to help you edit your photos right on your phone:

Photoshop Express

Photoshop Express is an absolutely essential app, free to both iPhone and Android users.

What the developers say: “Adobe Photoshop Express software lets you use simple gestures to quickly edit and share photos from your mobile device. Enjoy having your photo and video library right in your hand—without wasting your device’s valuable storage space.”

What the people say: This is a super light, free version of Photoshop. It’s great for beginners and does all the basic adjustments like Curves, Levels, and Saturation. Unlike the full desktop version of Photoshop, it doesn’t use layers and there aren’t any brush capabilities. It is a neat way to do basic adjustments to your photographs, however.

PhotoForge

PhotoForge is available for $0.99 in the App Store.

What the developers say: “PhotoForge is a highly optimized editing and painting application designed for the iPhone and iPod touch. It can be used for image manipulation, retouching, effects, and color correction, as well as a painter’s tool. It is indispensable for creating original artwork or editing photos on your mobile device”

What the people say: This is really an ideal tool for any graphic designer on the go. This has many more features than Photoshop Express, including more adjustments, as well as more control over filters. This application also has eight different brushes to experiment with, as well as a clone stamp. This is actually probably much closer to the desktop version of Photoshop than most applications. Worth every penny.

And apparently there is a PhotoForge 2, available for $1.99, that has full layer support.

Photogene

Photogene is compatible with the iPhone 4 as well as the iPad 2 for $1.99.

What the developers say: “Photogene is the ultimate editing tool for your iPhone photos. It allows you to:
Enhance photos with multiple color adjustment options and a sharpen filter.
Crop and straighten.
Add fun effects like text balloons, frames or special filters.”

What the people say: This application is a good medium between Photoshop Express and PhotoForger. There are a lot of things that can be customized, like your adjustments, and there are preset filters for photographs. The interface isn’t that great—it’s actually lacking aesthetically—but fortunately that doesn’t take away from the great functionality of this app. Photogene also allows you to add text “bubbles”…which I’d probably recommend skipping.

Magic Hour

MagicHour is available for both the iPhone and Android phones for $1.99.

What the developers say: “Magic Hour is an app that can transform your ordinary photos to extraordinary ones. It will give you a fun experience you’ve never had. “

What the people say: This is mainly just a photo editing application, but its power comes in its ability to create filters by adjusting curves, textures, saturation, and much more. There are preset filters that come with the app and there’s the capability for you to create your own custom filters and edit them later. There’s also a filter market, where you can download unlimited filters created by other users. A very nice app for photo retouching.

The Sox Meltdown

2011-10-15T06:44:00.004-04:00

Even Taiwan aniamators think the Red Sox collapse is funny.

Titletown Video

2011-10-14T13:20:00.004-04:00

It is definitely creative but does this help or hurt when it comes to the amount of pink / yahoo fans in the New England area? Another thing Ray Bourque and Peskey in the video .... don't remember them every winning a title in Boston. And when it comes to bars in Boston especially around the Garden what about Sullivan's Tap?

Either way, I could not put too words together. Very well done The SSP.

How Logo Design Impacts Social Media

2011-10-13T07:16:00.005-04:00

Whether you like it or not, social media gets many aspects of your business “out there” and visible to a wide audience. And your business’s logo has a strong impact on how your business is perceived in the market. It lets your customers know what you’re selling and can even help them remain loyal customers for years.

Here are some of the top ways your logo impacts social media marketing:

It can help increase followers, friends, and shares – A professional and attractive-looking logo on a webpage or blog post is more likely to be shared with friends than one that doesn’t look reliable or trustworthy.
It increases perception of your business size – Having an attractive logo and branding will make your business look professional and bigger than what it is – even if you’re a team of two or three that work in your pajamas.
It shows professionalism and increases trust – A well-designed logo shows that your company is professional and more importantly, can be trusted. Customers will get the sense that your company will be around for years to come.
It communicates your story – Your story can be communicated in many ways, from a meaningful picture to your font and color choice.
It helps you stand out from competitors – A logo that’s visually interesting and relates to your clients will help your business materials – from your website to all print materials – stand out from the competition.
It drives brand recognition across platforms – When a logo is used consistently over many platforms, customers will get several impressions of the logo, thus creating more memorability. Since many people are visual learners, they’ll remember your brand better when they see it, rather than hear or read about it.
It helps make your customers happy – An attractive and effective logo will appeal to your customers and make them happy to be associated with you. This includes everything from the logo’s colors and fonts to its overall image. The bottom line is that you want customers to get a good “feeling” from you.

When creating a logo for your social media campaign, keep in mind that a good one won’t necessarily work in every social media platform, but these tips can help you create a logo that gives you an attractive online presence.

Tribute to Steve Jobs (1955 – 2011)

2011-10-12T08:52:00.006-04:00

Steve Jobs was one of the key person bringing the true innovation to the world. He showed us how making the difference ca change the world; He changed the way we interact with gadgets and computers. And when he left, he left behind a great deal of legacy he created and improved. He just changed the world.

Today, with this post, I’d like to pay our tribute to the Steve Jobs, the hero who rocked the technology industry for years. Let us look into the life of this legendary visionary, and learn something from his never-regret journey.

1976: Apple Computer was born

Many believed Jobs was inspired by Atari’s founder Nolan Bushnell, and the inspiration got him started Apple Computer. In 1976, at the age of 21 years old, Steve Jobs founded Apple with his summer job’s co-worker at HP, Steve Wozniak, making them the first and second Apple employee.

1984: Jobs introduced Macintosh

The legend of Jobs’ innovation had just started. Jobs introduced the Macintosh to the world, and it became the first commercially successful small computer with a GUI (Graphical User Interface). The Mac’s development was later taken over by Jobs.

1986: Jobs founded Pixar

Jobs purchased the The Graphics Group with the price of $10 million, which is widely known as Pixar today. The company was initially producing the high-end graphic hardware, but as the business didn’t go well, the company then contracted with Disney to produce a number of computer-animated films, and the Toy Story 1 was one of its notable successes.

2007: Jobs Introduced iPhone

6 months after telling the George Bodenheimer of ESPN that the company’s new phone sucks, Jobs unveiled the plan of entering the mobile market with his new and revolutionary iDevice, named iPhone, which later not only dominated the U.S. market, but also changed the way people using the mobile phone, thus forcing mobile giants like Nokia to innovate at its best.

2010: Jobs Introduced iPad

Following the tremendous success of iPhone, Jobs took on the next risky step to introduce his last revolutionary product to the world – iPad. Once again Steve Jobs shocked the world by the device which can’t even be categorized into either computer or smartphone category, but its surprising success has once again proved the visionary power of the Jobs.

5th October 2011: The world goes Job-less

We know the time has come, but we didn’t expect it to come so soon, so suddenly. Today, Apple, by placing the portrait of Steve Jobs on Apple.com, announced that Steve Jobs, the former CEO of the company, has passed away. This marks the end of a legendary visionary’s journey. His family, in a statement, said Jobs “died peacefully today surrounded by his family.”

The State of The Sox

2011-10-12T08:08:00.005-04:00

Nice of Red Sox brass to reveal Tito's private issues (both medical & marital) to the Globe. Anonymously, of course. All class...

Well at least we have Tito managing ... well he on FOX now destined to go to Chicago to the White Sox or Cubs. No Manage.

At least we have the so called "boy wonder." Nope the gorilla suit and Theo are about to take a job for the Cubs so he can be closer with Eddie Vedder.

At least the "sellout streak" sponsored by ACE Ticket© is in tact.

Apple Logo

2011-10-08T08:45:00.000-04:00

This really shows how powerful graphic design can be ....

Boston Bruins

2011-10-07T18:24:00.007-04:00

I love the new Boston Bruins banners but especially this one. Why because first I was witness to this season. What I go to about 20 games or so. The ceremony was perfect ... well Jeremy Jacobs got some cheers. Guess we will let it slide. Now it is time to win guys as you are no 0 and 1.

Out Of Bounds Photos

2011-10-05T06:18:00.012-04:00

By combining the techniques of Photography and tools of Photoshop, you can create simply any illustration conceivable. As a graphic designer, I am always eager to learn new and innovative techniques in artwork and graphic design. Lately I stumbled upon a fascinating technique of processing photos called Out of Bounds (OOB) Photos.

Out of bounds (OOB) pictures are processed photos in which the contents are placed outside the edges of the frame. It gives a creative 3-D vision perspective to the picture. OOB photos can be created with a little basic Photoshop manipulation. The creation of an OOB photo depends mainly on the perspective and photo angle of the image.

Today, I present to you some of the most outstanding photos that exhibit the Out of Bounds (OOB) technique.

Hokeamania in Michigan

2011-10-01T16:13:00.002-04:00

Michigan absolutely killed Minnesota. It was not an interesting game. Michigan wasn't forced to punt until the third quarter. Maybe Minnesota needs fictional coach for Minnesota State, Hayden Fox. However Michigan has Brady Hoke and HOKEAMANIA is Runnin Wild!

The David Tosh Computer App

2011-09-25T19:01:00.001-04:00

Tosh.0

Tuesdays 10pm / 9c

Daniel's New Phone Hacking App

tosh.comedycentral.com

Tosh.0 Videos

Daniel Tosh

Web Redemption

Tony Stewart's Old Spice Car Designed ... No Photo

2011-09-21T19:30:00.004-04:00

With the Sylvania 300 less then a week away ... now this is some real great graphic design work.

5 Mind-Blowing Brandversations – Shuffling the Famous Logos

2011-09-20T07:33:00.000-04:00

Lately, I came across a project posted on the inspirational site behance.net termed “The Greatest Brandversations”. This incredibly creative assignment was completed by Stefan Asafti, a designer from Cluj-Napoca, Romania. The project visually portrays a sort of a brand war between famous brands. The designer has taken two top rivals from 5 different industries and switched the logo design of both rival companies to make a sort of visual confusion for the brand lovers.

The project revolves around the idea that the modern day brands have established a history among their customers. There have been several famous brand rivalries like the one between Coke and Pepsi. These brands used to visually communicate this rivalry through their creative and conceptual ads. Stefan, in his project, has shown this visual communication by showing how the logos of both rivals influence one another.

Stefan has successfully demonstrated that he is among the talented and creative graphic designers. I thoroughly enjoyed watching these mind-boggling brandversations of 5 famous brands and surely hope that you guys will also be amazed to watch them.

Tony Stewarts Wins in Chicago

2011-09-19T16:22:00.001-04:00

Fantastic win for Tony Stewart. He acknowledged this has not been his best year but he is right up there with a chance to win the Sprint Cup with 9 races left. It was good to see others run out of gas instead of Stewart.

Great Ad

2011-09-16T18:10:00.000-04:00

I thought that this as was rather clever. What are your thoughts on the ad? What is the actually message of this ad? That is what I am asking myself.