via zuhloo.de
Canadian Astronaut Chris Hadfield is currently living in space aboard the International Space Station as Flight Engineer on Expedition 34 and he has been tweeting absolutely stunning photographs of Earth.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Introducing The 'iPad Pro'
The new iPad, the one with a whopping 128 GB of storage, is only $70 cheaper than the cheapest Macbook.
To some people, that seems insane.
Macbooks, with their USB ports, keyboards, and mouses can do a lot more than an iPad.
Partly because of this tiny gap in price, Gizmodo says the new iPad is "Almost Definitely Not For You."
But smart New York tech startup scene guy Drew Breunig makes a smart point.
First he quotes Apple's release on the big iPad...
It's Samsung vs. BlackBerry in Battle of the Superphone Super Bowl Commercials
via allthingsd.com
It looks like BlackBerry won’t be alone in pitching its smartphone at the Super Bowl. Samsung said Thursday that, for the second year running, it, too, will be buying the pricey but coveted TV commercial time.
Photorealistic Paintings by Nathan Walsh
via trendland.com
By now you should know that we have a weakness for Photorealistic painters, and when we find a new one, we feel oblige to introduce it to you (especially when he paints our favorite city). Here is the amazing work American painter Nathan Walsh. His style is flawless and every paintings looks like a photograph. The reflections and shadows are beautifully executed and Walsh final painting are masterpiece. Enjoy some of our favorite below.
YouTube Considers Subscription Services for Premium Channels
via www.gadgetell.com">technologytell.com
According to unnamed sources from AdAge, YouTube may be looking to get into a paid channel service as early as this spring. Starting with approximately 25 channels, the website will offer them from anywhere between $1 to $5 per month.
And unlike other online video services, such as Netflix and Hulu Plus, which offer already existing TV shows, YouTube is looking to incorporate premium (paid) services into already existing, online-only channels the likes of Machinima and Maker Studios; these channels already bring in millions of views.
21 Examples of Clean Web Design
Minimalism in design isn’t a new trend, fad, or approach. But there is no doubt that it is an effective one. Because minimal design is fundamentally focus on simplicity and clarity, and more importantly a powerful concept that allow your message to be heard without any distraction. Today you will see some examples of websites that uses color, image, typography, and much more while incorporating a clean design. All, or none, of these things can find their way into a minimalist design, it all just depends on your approach.
U.S. Cyber Command To Recruit 4,000 new Cyber Soldiers
via readwrite.com
Over the next few years the U.S. Cyber Command, an army of 900 military personnel and civilians who monitor and defend against cyber attacks, is set to grow by 4,000 cyber soldiers. The command will expand its role in national defense by becoming a new kind of fighting force, one that protects the Internet safety of the entire country. As the expansion is implemented, Cybercom will be separated into three teams:
National Mission Forces
Combat Mission Forces
Cyber Protection Forces
Biggest Websites In The United States
You know Google is huge.
Facebook, too.
You probably remember Yahoo.
Amazon is massive, of course.
And oh yeah, eBay!
But we bet you can't name the other 15 biggest Internet Web sites … in order.
We can, thanks to ComScore, which provided us data on December 2012's most popular Web domains in the US.
Best Of Web And Design In January 2013
An exciting month packed with tons of design tutorials, and design articles to read through. This is a great roundup, which has captured all the best resources from online design community. I hope you enjoy the article round-up, and would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below.
6 Biggest challenges for Designers in 2013
via desizntech.info
With the economy sinking all over the place, it’s just as challenging for designers to stay afloat as it is for most other professionals. Designers, however, have even more to worry about today than most others because the design environment changes proportionate to web technologies, which really has a rapid rate of change. On top of that, there’s a force wall of competition that threatens every designer off the hinges.
So, what do designers have to protect themselves from? What are the possible ways designers and developers can thwart their own progress? Here are some of those challenges that designers have to face from 2013 onwards...
A designer’s guide to color and psychology
via techi.com
The digital devices and printing equipment of today are becoming masterful at presenting the world in full color. Retina displays make the colors pop. HD is being replaced with Super-HD (which will be replaced by Mega-HD, which will be replaced by Ultra-HD, which will…) and the magnificent presentations possible in the world of design have never been better.
Facebook Stores 240 Billion Photos And Adds 350 Million More A Day
Some 618 million people use Facebook every day, the company told investors today.
And that adds up to mind-boggling amount of data, especially photos.
Facebook stores more than 240 billion photos, with some 350 million new photos uploaded a day, reports Data Center Knowledge's Rich Miller.
To house those photos and all the other stuff, the company has built some of the most sophisticated data centers in the world, particularly its showpiece data center in Prineville, Ore.
40 Amazing Examples of Minimalist Photography
Minimalist photography is a technique in composing an image wherein the photographer uses a minimum amount of elements such as color, shape, line and texture. Basically, a minimalist photo is characterized by its simplicity but this does not necessarily mean it is a boring or uninteresting capture. On the contrary, a well-composed minimalist picture, can be dramatic and engaging to the audience. It has a potential to set ablaze the creative side of an individual encouraging him to form a subjective interpretation of the image before him. As a whole, the simplicity of a minimal photograph is what makes it a draw, and the striking setup, blending or interaction of one or two components makes it meaningful and artistic. Just like other minimalist artworks graphic designs and web designs, such as WordPress themes with minimal design, can be designed to fit into the popular phrase “less is more” in the hands of a skillfully captured minimalist photograph.
In this post, we are sharing with you some great examples of minimalist photography that you can enjoy or use as inspiration. Try to observe how the photographers of these images capture the subjects, and please do not forget to share with us your thoughts of these images. A social media share is of course encouraged and highly appreciated. Enjoy!
25 Best and Creative Typography Design examples for your inspiration
via webneel.com
Typography is one of the most fascinating elements of graphic design. If it’s web design, album art, posters, or any other type of graphic design, typographical inspiration can be a great resource for designers. Here we have added 28 most beautiful examples of typography designs for your inspiration.
How to Keep up with Evolving Web Technologies
Web technology is constantly changing and evolving over time. Just when we think we have mastered a new Web technology, it gets a version update to offer something better. For example, most of us would have put in a lot of effort to master HTML. By the time we got ready to put our HTML skills into practice, a new version called HTML5 came up. In order to remain competitive we have to stay aware of the latest technologies.
Do you feel it is hard to stay on top of recent developments? If so, you don’t have to worry about it anymore, at least not now when everything is a click away on the Internet! The development in today’s technological world makes it easy to stay abreast of the ever-changing Web technologies.
Logo Design Inspiration: 40+ New Creative Designs
via instantshift.com
A Logo is a graphical element that, together with its logotype (a uniquely set and arranged typeface) form a trademark or commercial brand. Typically, a logo’s design is for immediate recognition. The logo is one aspect of a company’s commercial brand, or economic or academic entity, and its shapes, colors, fonts, and images usually are different from others in a similar market. Logos are also used to identify organizations and other non-commercial entities.
HP Leaks Plans For Its First Google-Powered Chromebook
HP will be launching its first Chromebook in February, according to a leaked document found on the HP website.
Chromebooks are Google's name for laptops that run its stripped-down, Web-friendly Chrome operating system.
The document is no longer on the site but it revealed pretty detailed plans and specs for a device called the HP Pavilion Chromebook.
It will have a 1.1GHz Celeron processor, 2GB of RAM, a 16GB solid-state drive, and a 14-inch, 1366x768 display, reports Nathan Ingraham on The Verge.
Top 50 Sources for Designers to Download Free Fonts
via smashinghub.com
Be it designers or a common man, everyone has a few favorite fonts for sure. While preparing a word document, I prefer using ‘Archive’ only because it looks pleasing to my eye and is easily readable as well. When it comes to designers, you will always find two kinds of designers. One will have a list of few favorite fonts and will continue using that for almost every other project because it looks good. The other kind is very experimental and is open to different typefaces.They love to select a new font for every new project instead of sticking with the old ones.
Regardless of what designers’ think, there are a few fonts, which are loved by almost every other designer. Not only designers, these fonts are popular in print media and of course for big/small websites. In this article we will take a look at the most popular Download free fonts for designers. This will help a lot of new designers in selecting the correct font. These fonts are so likable that I believe they will stay with you for the rest of your designing career. So, let us take a look at the – all time classic and favorite fonts of designers.
YouTube shuts down its YouTube Create program for partner apps
via gigaom.com
YouTube is getting rid of a promotional platform that was meant to offer easy access to third-party video editing apps – and that step irks at least one of YouTube’s partners.
30 High Quality Icon Designs For Your Inspiration
via lava360.com
Mostly people think of icon design, the tiny little social media icons, or cliche iOS icons including different types of logos. But, nowadays, icons are used in so many applications and in many means, so icon designers have to be aware of details and potential large vs small sizes. In this post, you’ll find a selection of 30 High Quality Icon Designs For Your Inspiration, that will give you different ideas to make high quality icons. Check them out and enjoy.
25 Hyper Realistic Oil Portraits and Still Life Paintings by Nikolai Shurygin
via webneel.com
Nikolai Shurygin's works are in private collections, located in Russia, Italy, USA, Germany, Libya, Saudi Arabia and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky local museum (Russia). During 10 years the painter has been studying multilayered painting which secrets were lost in the beginning of XIX. This unique technique was used by flemish painters as well as russian painters such Kiprensky, Levitsky, Borovikovsky and many others. The uniqueness of the technique consists in the point that every layer of paint is visible through the layer above. Using this technique the artists achieved the incredible realism of depicted subject whether a human face or any texture - silver, gold, brocade, fur, glass, etc. The term of producing a portrait or a still-life in this technique is from 4 to 12 months. Due to the complicated process of the painting the artist's exhibition activity is not frequent.
How a Few Simple Tools & Techniques Can Help You Write Better and Grow Traffic
via inspiredm.com
One of the best things that any content writer can do is sit down and think. There are a couple of problems with thinking, though. First, you often lose track of time and your mind wanders off topic. Secondly, there is always the nagging thought about whether or not you can justify the amount of time that it takes to write great content for your client.
Unbelievable Imagination By Aaron Nace
via funofart.com
I want all of you to know about Aaron Nace, he is a talented photographer from North Carolina. And as you all may know Photography and Photoshop are two of my favorite things in the world, that it’s why when i first saw the work of this amazingly talented Photographer i fell in love right away with what he does. His imagination is just plain genius, and his photo manipulation abilities are out of this world.
New BlackBerry Z10 & Q10 Smartphones Gunning For Apple, Google
via readwrite.com
BlackBerry is back.
The company formerly known as Research In Motion Wednesday announced two new devices on its brand new BlackBerry 10 operating system at a keynote address in New York City.
10 Creative Ground Breaking Logo Design
Creative Logo Design, is always a very difficult task and needs special attention as far as creating a inspirational, Creative Ground Breaking Logo Design logo needs special focus, not on specific area of designing it needs special attention on color combination, designing, font and even the size of logo matters. Because the logo is company recognition, either for its commercial brand, economic or academic entity. And its shape, color and font is a successful attempt of inspiring. That’s why the logo designers, always looking for inspirational and Creative logos and for that reason they are looking for the extremely tremendous, marvelous, eye-opener logos which could help them to create a new logo.
BlackBerry 10 event roundup
via engadget.com
A lot of news came out of BlackBerry's camp this morning, and it's quite possible you may have missed a fair amount of it. Fear not, readers: we decided to bundle all of the news together into one convenient place so you can pick and choose what coverage you want to follow. Head below the break and you'll be greeted by a full listing of all things BlackBerry and BB10.
Stunning 3d Illustrations by Tiago Hoisel
via cruzine.com
Tiago Hoisel is an exceptionally talented illustrator coming from São Paulo, Brazil. We already featured several of his artworks in our daily inspirations series in the past. It’s time though to put together a post dedicated to this artist only. Below, you may see 35 stunning artworks … inspiration guaranteed. Enjoy!
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
5 Excellent Options for Creating Proposals
A major part of being able to secure clients for design projects is the ability to present proposals and communicate with clients who are trying to decide which designer to hire. Having a professional-looking proposal that provides the right details for clients will help to increase your conversion rates and to land more work.
There are a few different web apps that exist for the purpose of helping with the creation and the management of proposals. In this post we’ll take a look at the leading options, along with some templates for printed proposals.
How the Blackberry Z10 Stacks Up to the Competition
via gizmodo.com
The Q10's physical keyboard may be the most notable feature in the new lineup, but the Z10 is BlackBerry's best shot at taking a share of the more prominent (at least for now), touchscreen market. So can the Z10 measure up to some of the its biggest contenders?
Unsurprisingly, there's not a whole lot of variability under the hood of top phones. BlackBerry's playing catchup here, and so while they're hitting all the features we've come to expect in top of the line smartphones (e.g. LTE, 8 megapixel camera, high pixel density, NFC), they're not offering any real standout innovation. Of course, specs aren't going to tell the whole story, but here they are anyway—we're interested to hear what you think.
Really Cool Illustrations by Dan LuVisi
via denzomag.com
Dan LuVisi, also known as Adonihs, is a really bad ass artist that makes some seriously cool illustrations of fighters, vigilantes, and some cool chicks. If you are into this kind of art, then you’ll definitely love it!
Web Design Trends in 2013
The past few years have seen a tremendous shift in the way developers are building websites. More users have switched onto mobile platforms, along with newer browsers which support HTML5/CSS3 web standards. There are so many unique ideas flowing out of the design community – it seems like new thresholds are being replaced every few months!
In this article I would like to go over some of the most recent trends we have seen evolving. Many of these design ideas have been around for a long time. But I would argue that over 2012 and moving into 2013 these unique ideas will flourish. There are so many open source projects and user interfaces which are offered online completely free for download. This creates an environment where new designers can enter the field and pick up on trends very quickly.
Super Mario World – The Hardest Level Ever [Video]
via howtogeek.com
The ‘Pit of Death’ level is pure insanity…
Most Inspiring Locations on Earth
If you’re seeking inspiration in either art, love or life in general nothing works better than experiencing the beauty of nature at its best. This planet has many places one can find solace, serenity and a sense of balance in a way that no other thing but contemplation and personal experience can achieve.
There are breathtaking, gorgeous places out there waiting for you to visit – green valleys under your feet, crystal-clear lakes, mysterious caves, picturesque forests, scorching and desolate but beautiful deserts, serene oceans and so much more. The only negative about this whole conglomeration of beauty is our limited lifespan and resources – the life of an inspired individual is full of choices.
These choices are what determines whether we see the world as a dark place or something full of inspiration, beauty and love. This is a small list of some of the most unforgettable locations around the globe...
BlackBerry's Best Trick: Nailing Work-Life Balance
via gizmodo.com
Today BlackBerry demoed what it's calling BlackBerry Balance, a clever way of separating one's personal and work lives in one device. You don't see it as much these days but carrying two phones—one for business, one for pleasure—was commonplace not too long ago. I remember having a BlackBerry 6200 alongside my Sidekick 2; and I'm sure a lot of you remember those days as well.
But now that smartphones have been ingratiated into corporate IT infrastructures with beefed up security protocols, the need for work-issued BlackBerries has been on the decline. Not to mention the fact that it's cheaper for employers to just have you use your own phone and pay for it yourself. Now you can have both your work and personal lives live on one single device.
Eight Ways to Combine Typefaces
An otherwise-beautiful design can really suffer if the typography choices are wrong. But combining fonts beyond the basic serif/sans-serif pairing can be tricky and confusing to a lot of designers.
While a lot of what goes into good typography is subjective, there are some guidelines that can point you in the right direction. From there, it’s up to you to experiment and try out different things.
Don’t be afraid to try new things in your typography, but trust your eye and your instincts as a designer. Sometimes, even things that follow all the “rules” of typography can still look awful (and vice versa).
BlackBerry unveils BB10, and Z10 and Q10 smartphones: Can RIM beat out Microsoft for third place?
via extremetech.com
BlackBerry has taken the wraps off the BlackBerry 10 operating system, and the Z10 and Q10 smartphones. Yes, RIM is no more: the company is now called BlackBerry. The Z10, which is a full-bodied, 4.2-inch smartphone, will be available in the UK tomorrow, Canada on February 5, and the US sometime in March. The Q10, which has a hardware QWERTY keyboard and 3.1-inch square screen, doesn’t seem to have a launch schedule.
40 Beautiful Examples of One Page Websites
via flashuser.net
Probably the single page website design trend came up first from famous web designers that want to showcase their work in a simple yet creative manner. The one page portfolio website took a giant leap of creativity as years have passed and now this trend is present all over the web from fashion and app presentations to surveys animation and games.
One page design is quite easy to obtain but if you want a big hit make sure your project is suitable for this kind of execution (few pages with little content). Best thing to know when you start working on a single page website is to stay focused on the important content and get rid of annoying and distracting things. Include only your best achievements.
10 Cures For TechnoStress
via readwrite.com
It's true: several of us (make that all of us) at Remodelista live on our laptops. And when we're not blogging, we're texting, and when we're not texting, we're catching up with our reading on the iPad. Is it time for us to reassess our technology habits? Yes. (Oh, you too?) We asked our SF writer/mindfulness practitioner guru Jackie Ashton to weigh in on the subject and give us ideas for managing our technology consumption.
Frank Lloyd Wright said it best: “If it keeps up, man will atrophy all his limbs but the push-button finger." Technology permeates every corner of our universe: our homes, our cars, our sidewalk strolls, even our free time. Like any healthy relationship, our daily interaction with technology (particularly with our handheld devices) should be guided by moderation and balance. If we approach technology use mindfully, we can be more productive, think more clearly, and best of all—we can feel happier doing it. Here are my ten secrets to managing technology...
Reimagined Monochrome Logos
via blog.thaeger.com
“The pared-down logos found on vintage Japanese cameras inspired Istanbul-based design consultancy Antrepo to create conceptual minimal logos for web brands like Facebook, Google and YouTube.”
Mobile Frameworks To Develop Multi-Platform Apps - 26 Items
Since smartphones have been popular, the apps market has been growing significantly and a lot of developers turned their attention to it, making mobile app development quite profitable. At first, everyone was doing apps for iOS, but as soon as Android picked up the pace and became popular, developers started to create cross-platform mobile apps, not just for iOS.
With the rise of mobile apps development industry, the tools for building multi-platform mobile apps started to increase in numbers and there are at this moment powerful mobile frameworks with which you can build mobile apps easier.
In this article you will find 26 of these apps, each with various functions. Check them out and see which fits your needs best.
Deleting Yourself From The Internet
As the web infiltrates commerce and social life more each day, more consumers are becoming aware that their personal information is becoming less and less personal.
While some websites and applications have transparent sharing policies, stating exactly what information they will be using for advertising and other purposes, others aren’t so clear.
So what if one day you’re fed up?
Tired of the eerie advertisements that seem to cater perfectly to your personal history, hobbies and wants?
What if you want to erase your online identity with no strings attached, which brings us to the question...
Chief Game Designer Brian Reynolds Leaves Zynga
Another key member of Zynga’s team has left the beleaguered social game maker. This time it’s chief game designer Brian Reynolds, as first reported on Polygon. The company confirmed Reynolds’ departure, but did not offer any details about why Reynolds is leaving or his last day. In a statement, Steve Chiang, president of games, said:
“Brian has a long history in the game industry and has been a great partner to the creative leaders at Zynga. I want to thank him for his leadership of the Zynga Baltimore studio in the design and development of FrontierVille, which brought many innovations to social gaming. We appreciate Brian’s contribution and we’re proud of the deep bench of creative leaders who are leading the next wave of game innovation at Zynga. We wish Brian the best in his next chapter.”
35 HTML5 and CSS3 Tutorials For Designers
Fresh HTML5 and CSS3 tutorials for designers & developers. Today I selected best CSS3 tutorials and HTML5 tutorials which help you to understand basic and advance steps of web designing.
As we know 2013 is the Year of Responsive Web Design, and HTML5 and CSS3 are getting more popular in 2013, So here I have easy and effective different kinds of useful tutorials from all over the web. These tutorials are really helpful to create responsive web layout, Parallax Scrolling Technique, Custom Login Form, CSS3 and HTML5 Validation, 3D Effect and much more that help to create a great-looking content, making your design looks classy, strong, attractive, mysterious and very striking.
Successful Web Design Comes Down to the Details
via designmodo.com
The start of a great site design begins as a sketch but what it really comes down to is the details.
It’s the little things that can take a site design from average to extraordinary and neglecting the details can essentially ruin a site concept. Think about color and shading, text, icons and elements, and alignment and grids when outlining your next project. Consider how each of these parts will factor into the overall design.
Innovative Examples of Typography Ads
In this post of typography ads you will find innovative and best printing typography ad examples. When it comes to advertisement and marketing, the content becomes much less important than it is being delivered. Especially in print ads it is very important to make it attractive and eye catching enough for the views to at least read it once. Print Typography, however, plays an important role in Print ads, they should be used wisely and in accordance to your advertisement theme, to make mot of it.
These typography ads are gaining more popularity these days over others. Not only this if you are pro at Photoshop then you can do wonders with typography and make some really stunning, spectacular and astonishing Print ads, which will not be missed by anyone.
Aerial Photography by Robert B. Haas
Robert B. Haas is a great photographer and a special person. Since 2002, Haas has focused his artistic endeavors primarily on aerial photography, in an effort to capture the grandeur and mystique of Earth’s continents from this unique perspective. Throughout his photographic career, he has donated issues of his books and all royalties to schools, libraries, nonprofit foundations, and wildlife conservation organizations throughout the world. In 2002, Haas was recognized by the WILD Foundation and the United Nations Environment Programme for his contributions on behalf of endangered species and the environment.
Report: YouTube May Start Making You Pay For Content
via gizmodo.com
AdAge is reporting than in an effort to lure more content producers (along with the subsequent viewers and advertisers that follow) away from traditional television, YouTube is supposedly getting ready to launch paid subscription on specific channels.
The subscriptions won't be too pricey—at least for right now. Based on applications YouTube has reportedly asked a small group of unnamed channels to submit, the first group of paid channels will probably somewhere between $1 and $5 a month.
10 of the Most Unusual Buildings In The World
via hispotion.com
Dancing Building (Prague, Czech Republic). This office building was built in the mid-1990s. and since then is one of the most popular buildings of the Czech capital. The house consists of two cylindrical towers, symbolizing the dancing pair.
Yahoo Perks Up Amid Q4 Growth And Mayer's Plan To Right The Ship
via readwrite.com
Yesterday In its fourth quarter earnings call, Yahoo reported its first revenue growth spurt in four years. The company saw 2% year-over-year growth for the first time since 2008, with a net income of $272.3 million in the fourth quarter. The numbers beat out Wall Street estimates by 30%, with shares opening at $20.87 - the highest point Yahoo's stock had seen since its 2008 era highs.
All eyes are on CEO Marissa Mayer, former Google engineer and executive, who is widely credited with jump-starting Yahoo's stock into late 2012. Confidence in Mayer has inspired a much-needed morale boost for the company, which is still struggling to find its footing among massive, savvier competitors like Google and Facebook.
Realistic Videogame Sculptures
via blog.thaeger.com
A fun conceptual collection of what video game characters and creatures would like if they entered the "real world".
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