This Is Locomotion - Design, Code, and News

Really liked this type design by remcovandermeer. The crinkled paper and 3d lettering is just exquisite.

Google recently redesigned the Google Apps homepage. While it certainly was (sort-of) a good step in the right direction, I must say that whenever I look at their design work it just looks like it was slapped together last minute.

They started off well with the nice drop shadows on the headings, but then completely lost it in the details. Their icon work in general lacks polish and the button stating “Begin Free Trial” lacks both a hover state and corners that are anti-aliased properly. The page layout is simple enough, but I just wish they could hire someone who actually has the capability of making buttons that just state “I’m a gorgeous, sophisticated, well developed button, click me.” I guess this is yet a continuation of what you get when you have engineering decisions driving design decisions.

In this day and age with the plethora of incredible Photoshop tutorials on creating polished button interactions this type of mistake demonstrates a sheer lack of attention to detail.

This week Ikea made the decision to switch it’s dominant typeface used in all it’s catalogs from gorgeous Futura to Verdana. I simply cannot understand why any designer in their right mind would make such a switch knowing that Verdana really pales in comparison as a typeface for headings. Moreover it is a Microsoft typeface. Sigh.

Take a closer look at this typography sample below and you’ll notice just how wrong Verdana is compared to Futura for their usage. The uppercase “i” in particular just irks me. I get that they wanted to keep their branding consistent between their online presence and their catalogs but with inventions like TypeKit on their way there really is no excuse for such a poor type choice. More to the point, Verdana isn’t even a Scandinavian typeface, at least Futura was created by German born Paul Renner so it is sort of in keeping with their Scandinavian stylings. Oh Ikea, what are you thinking!

iQ font – When driving becomes writing.

When two type designers, an interactive artist, and a professional race car driver got together… a font was born.

The creativity behind the creation of this typeface is really inspiring. It’s rare to get a glimpse at what goes into designing a typeface and I really enjoyed the documentary.

I love the classic style of these humorous and playful vertically designed posters by Omar Tehawkho outlining the keys to being a man. His works include Skills A Man Should Possess, 5 Step Plan For Making Your First Billion, 3+2 Things A Man Oughta Do in His Lifetime, Top 5 Male Occupations, and The 5 Key Steps of a Proper Shave.

Source: siljagoetz.com

Nothing reminds me more of the Caribbean or of South America than this ad for Havaianas sandals. The photo contains in my opinion the perfect colour combination for creating a kitchen that makes you smile every morning at breakfast. Of course it might not make you smile if you are not a morning person.

“By reflecting Brazil’s easygoing personality, its soul and culture, we’re building a unique identity. Transforming a simple rubber sandal into the first truly Brazilian global brand.” ~ AlmapBBDO

HP – invent from Tom and Matt on Vimeo.

An innovative short film shot by two Kingston University graduates in response to a callout from HP to “Present an idea which promotes HP workstations ability to bring to life anything the creative mind can conceive.” Not only is it a great advertising piece for HP but also a solid piece of portfolio work for the graduates. A win/win for both the individuals and the corporation.

Have you ever had the problem where you go to save a file for the web in photoshop and the preview doesn’t look the same as the original window? Well here are 5 simple steps to fixing the “Save for web & devices” issue:

1. View > Proof Setup > Macintosh RGB, or if you work on a PC and a Mac then Monitor RGB would be preferable (screenshot)
2. View > Proof Colours (Checked)
3. Edit > Color Settings > Set the Working Spaces to SRGB IEC61966-2.1 (screenshot)
4. Edit > Color Settings > Turn off Color Management Policies
5. File > Save for Web & Devices > Click the little button next to Preset > Convert to sRGB (screenshot)

Further learning:

• http://www.viget.com/inspire/the-mysterious-save-for-web-color-shift/
• http://northtemple.com/2009/06/10/color-proof-correction-in
• http://mezzoblue.com/archives/2009/05/19/profile_madn/