Category: General

Apple Car on September 9th?

Apple Car

Betteridge’s Law of Headlines most likely applies on an article titled “Will we see the Apple Electric Vehicle on September 9?” IF Apple is building a car, I would guess it’s years away from release. And no matter how secretive Apple is, there’s just no way to keep all the people involved in building a car quiet. There are just too many outside vendors to deal with. We would have hear lots of more specific rumors and details by now.

No. I’m sorry. That is just one analyst trying to come down off his cinnamon high.

Red, green, blue: the colors of app icons

App Icon Colors

Stuart Hall offers an interesting look at the colors of app icons on iOS and the Mac in this article. Blue, by far, is the most popular color; but if you want to stand out from the crowd, purple is probably the coolest color to go with! I’m actually surprised at how few apps use the pink/purple hues.

Does a logo design NEED to work in black & white?

Does a logo design NEED to work in black & white?

Great article! The days of a logo design NEEDING to work in black & white are long-gone. That being said, a great logo design WILL work in black & white—perhaps with a little modification. So if your logo doesn’t work in black and white, perhaps you should re-think it.

While the linked article goes against my advice on creating a logo you can live with and still get paid, I still stand behind what I wrote back in 2008.

About logo design

"A logo is a flag, a signature, an escutcheon, a street sign. A logo does not sell (directly), it identifies. A logo is rarely a description of a business. A logo derives meaning from the quality of the thing it symbolizes, not the other way around. A logo is less important that the product it signifies; what it represents is more important than what it looks like."

— Paul Rand

10 Photoshop alternatives

10 Photoshop alternatives

Affinity Photo is one of the few image editors outside of Photoshop that supports the CMYK color space, so it’s the only one of these apps that I would call a true Photoshop alternative for designers. The $49 price tag ain’t too shabby, either. Of course, if you’re a web designer or photo hobbiest, you have a ton of options—including the excellent Pixelmator.

Filed under: I’ll believe it when I see it

Filed under: I'll believe it when I see it

Epson has released the EcoTank series of printers, which claim to be able to run for nearly two years without having to replace ink cartridges (with an average run of 60 color and 30 b&w prints per week). The only catch being that you’re going to pay $400-$500 up front for the printer.

My problem has never been that Epson printers cost too much or don’t print ENOUGH. My problem has been that the cartridges clog or expire LONG before the ink cartridge runs out. EVERY. DAMN. TIME!

So file all this happy horseshit under “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

$5 logos: The sad state of design

$5 logo designs

Ever wonder how some “designers” can afford to sell logos for $5? Surely they spend hours upon hours concepting, and even more choosing the fonts, colors, etc., right? The image above, What kind of logo do you get for $5, should explain everything.

And that’s what you as a legitimate designer are up against. Some hack who buys a $1 piece of pre-made logo clip-art and sells them (probably to multiple companies) for $5 after what is probably 2-minutes of “design work.” When you look at it that way, you can see how these people actually do make money.

What I find sad is not the fact that someone would pull this type of money-making stunt, but that there are so many companies that fall for it. They willingly accept pre-made clip-art as the visual “face of their company.”

Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine

With just a little bit of searching about this movie, I saw quite a few sites pointing to the full length HD movie online. I haven’t watched it because it requires a (free) registration to a site which, let’s be honest, is not a legal movie site. The only reason I even share it is that I came across it searching for the trailer on YouTube and they have the link right there.

One of the many versions of the movie poster is below.

Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine

About The Graphic Mac

The Graphic Mac
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