WORD - CSS 3

Everyone now uses CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) when creating their websites.  Did you know that just like HTML, CSS has gone through many updates?  How do you keep up with all the changes, you might ask…  To stay abreast of changes in the industry, one really needs to keep up with new trends and ideas.  You should always be reading up on articles and tutorials online to discover what’s changing with everything that you might have already learned.  Just like Adobe keeps releasing new versions of their Creative Suite, programming languages also have routine changes that they go through.  Read up on CSS 3!  There are a few new functions and features to get excited about.

http://www.css3.info

WORD - Lynda.com

Have you ever heard of Lynda.com?  It’s a fantastic resource!  It’s a website that has thousands of video tutorials that cater to the design and development community.  If you’ve never checked it out before, do so right away.  This is an extremely valuable resource to have at your fingertips!

WORD - Acrobat.com

Do you use Adobe Acrobat?  Do you use Acrobat.com?  Did you know that you can set up a free Acrobat.com account and have the ability to create files (like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, PDF), edit them over a network, and share them with anyone you’d like?  You can use it as on online file storage option and even set up teleconferencing through this website where you can even share your own screen with other individuals.  Start your free account now!

WORD - FireFox

Do you use Firefox?  Firefox is a browser made by Mozilla.  It’s also a free browser that is open source.  If you haven’t yet installed it you should really consider doing so.  Firefox has a TON of add-ons that you’ll really want to explore.  Most web developers use add-ons like MeasureIT, FireBug, & ColorZilla to help make site development much easier.  This browser has the ability to add tools to it that will really streamline your workflow (especially for web development).  Check out the add-ons and start using FireFox today!

WORD - Blender

Have you ever been interested in 3D?  Just because it may not be your area of study doesn’t mean you shouldn’t check it out and play with it.  Did you know that there is other 3D software out there other than 3DMax and Maya?  BLENDER is an open source 3D package!  That means it’s FREE under the GNU General Public License and it’s available to download for all major operating systems.  Download it today and check out the world of 3D!

WORD - Camera RAW

Are you into digital photography?  Do you shoot all of your images in camera RAW format?  If not, you should.  Why?  Camera RAW has the ability to do much more than a typical JPG or TIFF image.  Read more about what the advantages are to using Camera RAW over your typical JPG or TIFF image.

http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/article_pages/why_use_raw.html

WORD - Vector vs Raster

Do you know the difference between vector and raster based images? 

Vector images are typically much smaller in size and can scale to any size without losing quality. 

Raster based images are made up of pixels (little squares) that have a numerical value for their color.

You can read much more about the differences at the following sites:

http://designwashere.com/design-battle-vector-vs-raster/

http://www.logodesignworks.com/blog/vector-graphics-and-raster-graphics-difference

http://www.graphicdesignforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=41

WORD - TokyoPlastic.com

 Do you think outside of the box?  When planning out an interface, do you consider breaking rules?  You should always experiment with your designs to create something fresh and new.  Check out the site called TOKYO PLASTIC!  Click on the “website” link.  The interface and animation on this page will really intrigue you. 

Much of this type of work needs to be planned out well before created.  I highly encourage you all to spend lots of pre-production time on any project you take on.  It will only save you time in the end.

WORD - Twitter

Did you know that today marks Twitter’s 5^th Birthday! 

Have you set your twitter account up yet?  If not, do so NOW!

“It’s officially been five years since the very first tweet was sent by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey. The message, which read simply “just setting up my twttr,” has since been followed by some 30 billion 140-character-or-less musings as Twitter has catapulted into the upper echelon of consumer web companies.” – Click here to read the entire article

Please Donate

Please donate money to the Japanese Red Cross:

http://www.jrc.or.jp/english/index.html

WORD - SXSW

Have you ever heard of the SXSW (South By SouthWest) Conference?  It’s an annual conference that focuses on Music, Film, and Interactive.  The conference starts today in Austin, TX.  You can follow along on everything that’s going on there through their website http://sxsw.com/.  As you grow as an artist, you’ll want to attend as many of these types of conferences as possible.  If you can’t attend, try keeping up with what’s going on through their website or follow them on Twitter / Facebook.

WORD - Mashable.com

Are you really into social media, or do you just use Facebook a lot?  Do you really know the full potential of social media?  Have you read up on what’s new and trending in this field?  If not, you should start reading the articles on MASHABLE.com.  It’s full of social media news and web tips!  It’s really a great social media guide. 

You can even download a cool Mashable APP for your phone that makes it easy to view the site on the go!  If you haven’t yet checked it out, do so now!

WORD - DEKE.com

Check out deke.com!!!!!  Click on the link below to see a VERY creative way of teaching you all 101 Photoshop tips in 5 minutes.  This video was done really well.  You may want to subscribe to the mailing list on the site.  The site provides lots of great info for you designers!

http://www.deke.com/content/101-photoshop-tips-5-minutes

WORD - Typography

Today’s WORD comes from Benjamin Weisbrodt.  I wanted to share some info about Typography.  Many students struggle when it comes to deciding which type of font to use in their designs.  I often struggle with it myself.  There are tons of resources online that can help you decide which font to use in your designs.  Ben shares the following list or resources with us:

http://fontsinuse.com/ Font Bureau: Font Bureau has a great collection of fonts for sale. Their Fonts In Use section shows great examples of their fonts used in many categories of projects.

http://ilovetypography.com/ Blog about all things typographic.

http://welovetypography.com/ Typographic eye candy.

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/ They should all be familiar with this site. Great articles and practical tips and techniques regarding graphics, layout, typography.

WORD - THEBESTDESIGNS.COM

Do you sometimes just feel like the creativity is gone?  It helps to look at other great work to get inspired.  Check out some of the great web designs showcased at thebestdesigns.com.  This site showcases work from some of the best designers in the world!  Use sites like this when you’re in need of something to spark your creativity.

WORD - W3SCHOOLS.COM

Do you know about w3schools.com?  It’s the world’s largest web development site.  It has TONS of free web tutorials on everything for beginners through experts.  Try to use resources like this to study and learn more outside of the classroom.  The site has a nifty “Try It Yourself” editor that tests HTML, CSS, XML, and JavaScript right in your own browser.  This is a great tool for learning more about the web!

WORD - tinyURL

Do you know what tinyURL is?  It’s a way to convert long links to short ones in case you are posting info on Twitter (140  Characters) or anything else that has a limit to the amount of characters you can type.  Many times, when you copy and paste URLs, they can look messy and long. 

Take for example a link to a book on Amazon.com:  http://www.amazon.com/Layers-Complete-Photoshops-Powerful-Feature/dp/0321749588/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1299169304&sr=1-2  ß That’s a link to a Photoshop book.  This link is 126 characters long.  It’s a bit too long to post if I were to try to share the link on Twitter. 

Instead, I can copy and paste the address into TinyURL.com and get the following:  http://tinyurl.com/65jl4fe ß This is a link to the exact same page, only much smaller (26 characters) and easier to share. 

Start using tinyURL!

WORD - 2Advanced.com

Have you ever heard of the website http://2advanced.com/?  If not, check it out.  It’s pushing the boundaries of what Flash based websites can actually do.  They are leading the world of flash web design with their fresh take on what the web is capable of.  Take a minute to check out the site and see what all the buzz is about.

WORD - Flash Catalyst

Do you know what Flash Catalyst is?  It’s a way to create highly interactive flash files without the stress of learning the code!  Catalyst is a way to put together your assets and add interactivity without the need for programming.  Do not think that this is an easy way out of learning ActionScript, but it is available for you to use and learn.  ActionScript is still a highly desired skill-set by most employers in this field.