The Graphic Mac » James

A closer look at Yosemite’s icons

James — Tue, 15 Jul 2014 16:35:07 +0000

Top: Mavericks – Bottom: Yosemite

Nick Keppol takes a close look at the icons in the new Mac OS X Yosemite Developer Previews. Great observations! And for the record, I LOVE the new icon consistency.

Free cloud computing vector art: Part 2

James — Mon, 14 Jul 2014 16:30:56 +0000

Last week I shared two exclusive pieces of cloud computing vector art from Vecteezy. Today, I have two more exclusive free cloud computing vectors for you to add to your collection.

Vecteezy is one of my go-to sites for sourcing vector art for Keynote presentations, infographics and other design projects.

As with the first two pieces I shared, you are free to use this artwork in any personal or commercial project.

Here are the previews of the files in set two, but be sure to come back for another set in the next few days:

Click image to view larger size

You can download both files here. Be sure to bookmark Vecteezy for the next time you need to source some cool vector art!

Adobe wows photographers with quiet Photoshop Lightroom 5.5 policy

James — Fri, 11 Jul 2014 15:00:39 +0000

Wow. This is awesome news for photographers using Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5.5.

Free cloud computing vector art: Part 1

James — Thu, 10 Jul 2014 16:30:26 +0000

When I’m searching for a piece of vector artwork, one of the first places I start looking is Vecteezy. There are plenty of sources for vector art online, but Vecteezy is definitely one of the best. It offers a great mix of free and premium vector art you can download immediately and start using.

Today I offer the first set of exclusive cloud computing vectors from Vecteezy – perfect for use in infographics or any other cloud computing-related design.

You are free to use this artwork in any personal or commercial project.

Here are the previews of the first two files, but be sure to come back for more in the coming week:

Click the image to view larger size

You can download both files here. Be sure to bookmark Vecteezy for the next time you need to source some cool vector art!

Font management with Suitcase Fusion & Adobe Creative Cloud

James — Wed, 09 Jul 2014 16:30:31 +0000

A reader asked me if a downloadable version of the webcast was available for a recent font management webinar from Extensis.

At the time, I was not aware of one. Fortunately, Extensis has made that webinar available for viewing by everyone.

View this recorded webcast to learn proven techniques to help you focus on design rather than font management. You’ll learn how Suitcase Fusion 5 takes the work out of managing your fonts in Adobe Creative Cloud to improve your creativity.

Learn how to:

• Remove corrupt fonts from your workflow
• Dispel the dreaded “missing font” dialog box in Creative Cloud apps
• Efficiently organize your font collection
• Speed font prototyping
• Remove font duplicates
• Clean font caches
• And more…

Tips for working with images in Adobe InDesign

James — Mon, 07 Jul 2014 17:00:18 +0000

Adobe InDesign has always been great at handling images placed in documents. But many users aren’t aware of some of the great features available to them.

Creative Bloq has posted some smart ways to work with images in Indesign that touches on a few lesser-known features, such as the ability to turn on and off alpha channels in placed PSD files.

4th of July: By the numbers (infographic)

James — Fri, 04 Jul 2014 15:39:55 +0000

Click for full size infographic

Did you know that 80% of you (if you’re in the U.S.) will have a BBQ or picnic today, where you will help consume over 150 million hot dogs? Shocking. I mean, who eats hot dogs when they’re not at a sporting event?

Happy Independence Day!

Photoshop CC 2014′s blur on path among new features

James — Wed, 02 Jul 2014 16:30:12 +0000

You’ve probably heard about some of the features of the latest version of Photoshop CC 2014, but like my post about my favorite new InDesign features, it’s the little things that make upgrades worth having.

Rather than writing a repetitive post here, I’ll point you to an excellent look at a few of the new Photoshop CC 2014 features over at CreativePro.

I will note that I’ve not played with all the new features, but the ones I have are pretty cool. The new motion blur on path feature is nifty, and reminds me of the motion trail feature in Alien Skin’s excellent Eye Candy 7 plugin. That being said, I find the Eye Candy plugin much more flexible, and much easier to use.

The font rollover previews are extremely handy, as are the auto-updating comps and the new smart(er) guides. I have not tried the new Focus Mask feature, but I’m looking forward to putting it to good use.

In any case, if you haven’t upgraded yet, or aren’t aware of some of the smaller features in the new version, check out Steve Caplin’s excellent overview.

Logo design inspiration

James — Mon, 30 Jun 2014 16:30:50 +0000

170+ logo designs for your creative inspiration. Some of these are quite nice, others made me yawn because I’ve seen so many similar ones before. But all serve to inspire.

Free poster mockup

James — Fri, 27 Jun 2014 16:00:09 +0000

Grab this free poster mockup, perfect for presenting poster concepts to clients. The layered PSD file contains smart objects, including various lighting options, that make the entire effect easy.