Archive for February, 2010

The Graphic Mac welcomes: WorldAccent

The Graphic Mac welcomes: WorldAccent

Every once in a while I have the need to provide a design in a language other than English. With a global economy and the Internet, I suspect the need arises more often than it ever used to. In the past, local translation services generally yielded a Word file full of unformatted text, or an Illustrator file with the fonts converted to paths. Fortunately, document translation services have greatly improved and make for a powerful addition to your design arsenal.

I’m happy to announce The Graphic Mac’s latest advertiser, WorldAccent. If you need a document translated to another language, WorldAccent can surely help.

02/26/2010 Read More
Special symbols keyboard shortcut chart

Special symbols keyboard shortcut chart

Special Symbols Keyboard Shortcuts Chart

Download the Special Symbols Keyboard Shortcuts Chart in PDF format

Ever find yourself trying to remember the keyboard shortcut for a funky symbol like ‡ (dagger) or ∞ (infinity), or perhaps the elusive ¡ or ¿ for Spanish text? There are a ton of special characters included in many fonts that you can use if you could only remember the keyboard shortcut to access them.

Download the special symbols keyboard shortcut chart and print it out to keep near your computer for quick reference. The 600k PDF chart is 5 x 7 inches in size.

02/26/2010 Read More
Free Font: Ballpark

Free Font: Ballpark

Free font: Ballpark

Ballpark font for your sports-themed designs

Among the 600-plus fonts that FontSquirrel offers, free for commercial use, Ballpark is one of those fonts that you don’t use often, but you’re glad you have it when you need it.

FontSquirrel is one of my favorite font resource sites, and I highly recommend bookmarking it for future font searches.

02/25/2010 Read More
iPad GUI elements in a layered PSD file

iPad GUI elements in a layered PSD file

Apple iPad GUI Elements

Apple iPad GUI Elements in a layered Photoshop file

Teehan+lax has made available a layered Photoshop file containing all the iPad GUI elements you could possibly need. The file is built using vectors, so it’s all still fully editable. If you need to mock up something quickly for a client, this layered Photoshop file will certainly do the trick.

You can download the 24MB layered Photoshop file here.

And if you have the need for an iPhone version, grab the 9MB layered Photoshop file here.

02/24/2010 Read More
Tips for creating a better portfolio

Tips for creating a better portfolio

Portfolio adviceWhether you’re a graphic designer or photographer, your portfolio is your best sales tool; so it only makes sense to make your portfolio the very best it can be. In 20+ years of being in the design business, I’ve seen some really great portfolios that left a long-lasting impression, and enough bad ones to pave a freeway with.

There are no set rules to arrive at a successful portfolio, but here are some sure-fire ways to set it on the right path. These tips apply mostly to a Web-based portfolio, but most also apply to a print version as well.

02/22/2010 Read More
Free font: Jane Austen

Free font: Jane Austen

Jane Austen font

Jane Austen: A unique and readable calligraphic font


When you’re on the hunt for unique and readable fonts, one of the most difficult to find is calligraphic/script fonts. They’re usually too scripty, not scripty enough, or flat-out ugly. Jane Austen might be the answer to your prayers.

02/19/2010 Read More
Tutorial: Colored chrome text effect

Tutorial: Colored chrome text effect

Colored chrome text effect tutorial
You’ve probably seen quite a few Photoshop tutorials showing you how to create a chrome text effect. In this tutorial you’ll learn how to go a step further and create a colored chrome text effect. I’m not much for text effects in my own designs, but this does look fairly cool.

02/18/2010 Read More
Capture audio and video directly with Quicktime Player

Capture audio and video directly with Quicktime Player

If you regularly use iMovie or some other application to capture audio or video, or were wondering how to do it on the cheap, then you’ll love this handy little tip.

Video Capture with Quicktime Player

Video Capture with Quicktime Player

All you’ll need is a copy of Quicktime Pro 7 or later, or the latest version of Quicktime Player in Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard), and a Mac with an iSight camera, or a connected video camera or microphone.

02/17/2010 Read More
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