February: Love, Art, History
- February: Love, Art, History
- Did you plan your 'Design' year?
- Surfing for Valentine's
- Changing Colors in Photoshop Elements
- Communication Design Principles
- Photography 101
- Real Estate Web Site Done Well
- Designer & Photographer sites
- New Year (Financial) Resolutions
- March: SELLING WITH DESIGN
- DESIGNING WOMEN
- Reader Web Sites for Review
- Mac: iLife '05
- Mail Bag: Apple Products for Fun
- Mail Bag: LightMachine Photo Plug-Ins
- Mail Bag: Recording the Screen
- Big Brother is watching
- Music for Education
- Security: Google exposes web surveillance cams
- Retouchers take notice:
- Poor Man's CADD
- Love the One You're With
February: Black History
in honor of Black History Month, we thought it would be fun and educational to take a field trip to some prestigious educational institutions to see some wonderful visual art works by African American Artists & Designers.
February: Love, Art, History
This month we have a little something for everyone. From our Photoshop Elements tutorial to some new news items, to my annual Valentine's surf, we'll help ward off the winter doldrums. You really want to read the newsletter because in addition to some interesting news items, we've even got some humor. After the 14th, we'll open our Black History Month piece and share some of the most important visual artists of our times.Did you plan your 'Design' year?
During January, we asked DTG readers to write in and share their "design" planning for the year. From Updating Web Sites, to a Photographic Journey our readers are moving forward. There are some fun ones this month, Be sure to read the entry from Mark and check out the sound clips from the Violet Crown Radio Players in Mark's post! See them all in the Creative Networking CenterSurfing for Valentine's
Come along and see some cool things you can see and do for Valentine's -- neat crafts, art, and idea starters. You'll also see some not-so-cool places and more in Fred's annual Surf For Valentine's
Changing Colors in Photoshop Elements
People write in wanting to know how to change the color of everything from their cloths to their cars to their houses. Here, we'll show you how to change the color of any object you find, simply by using the Photoshop Elements "Replace Color" commandCommunication Design Principles
Someone requested that we publish an article on design principles. But you really can't portray the scope of the topic in a single aritcle -- at least one that people would read on the internet. The best advice is to pick up this month's Editor's Choice; Jorge Frascara's Communication Design Principles, Methods, and PracticesPhotography 101
Nature photographer Kelly Paal gives sage advice for those wishing to jump into photography... film photography that is! If you've never realized the thrill of capturing the image on film, perhaps you should. Follow along as our guest author clues you in ... in the PhotoGraphic departmentReal Estate Web Site Done Well
it's a pleasure to run across and nicely designed web site. This month we visit one that is done quite well, so all you realtors and real estate sites -- if you want to see a real estate site done right take a look at the DC Living Real Estate Portal CritiqueDesigner & Photographer sites
About a third of all sites requesting a review are design or photography sites. They almost always share some common characteristics that may not be to their best interest. In this student design site we point out some serious considerations for improving the Abyss Arts Design Studio CritiqueNew Year (Financial) Resolutions
to a Better Financial Future ... Rusbiz.com's Nowshade Kabir says: "This is a good time to set yearly goals and make resolutions -- on making money!" Follow along as he gives you some tips on Financial Resolutions.March: SELLING WITH DESIGN
When designers design, they're usually designing for a purpose. (Or, should be!) Most of the time that purpose is to sell something or to persuade someone to do something. Selling is the designer's challenge -- now share your tips, tricks and experiences SELLING WITH DESIGN... Designing to sell on eBay; Tips for designing headlines; Designing Yellow Pages Ads; direct mail; Using Color to Sell... or any of your favorite promotions and sales events. To be a winner you'll need to post your punchlist on our PRIZE REGISTRATION PAGEDESIGNING WOMEN
Don't forget our March and April issues feature "Designing Women" - If you're a woman in the design field we want to hear from you! Contact us.Reader Web Sites for Review
This month we have a selection of sites to review from business to personal... so go out there and critique some sites. They all need your help so get going. Web Design & ReviewMac: iLife '05
By now you've all heard Steve Jobs' rave new announcements from January's Macworld. Apple�s iLife suite gets all new new versions of iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, and GarageBand. Each program is refined and enhanced, and all four programs�along with iTunes� work together better than ever. Jim Heid's "iLife" book will also get an update but while you're waiting you can download this (PDF) FREE sneak previewMail Bag: Apple Products for Fun
One avid DTG reader sent along these images from Fark.com as humorous commentary on Macworld's announcements... Brian O'Blivion of ImageShack.us had this vision of the "Mini Mac" ... These two show-goers were super impressed with the new iDog. Two Peas in a Pod takes on new meaning with this new iPod ... and they finally came up with a good use for Dell computers.Mail Bag: LightMachine Photo Plug-Ins
Harald Heim sent me a flash on the new Photo retouching plug-in that combines shadow/highlight, virtual lighting and color-based correction tools for performing sophisticated corrections without the need for time-consuming selections and layer stacks. It lets you selectively correct photos taken under bad light conditions or with inadequate camera settings and achieve results that rival photos taken under the best circumstances. It's called the LightMachineMail Bag: Recording the Screen
Joe in Israel writes to ask: "Hi, I am looking for software that will record my cursor movements on a Mac, in order to create a demo. Do you have any idea where I could find such a thing?Sure, Joe... grab Snapz Pro from Ambrosia Software and you'll be able to capture everything! And, I do mean everything! www.AmbrosiaSW.com
Big Brother is watching
According to a CNet/ZDnet story, the CIA is quietly funding federal research into surveillance of Internet chatrooms as part of an effort to identify possible terrorists, newly released documents reveal. One of those projects is research at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., devoted to automated monitoring and profiling of the behaviour of chatroom users. Careful what you say. Read more. . .Music for Education
The Music_For_Education site offers lots of great "stock" music and sound tracks from the classics to today's hip-hop extravaganzas. At their site you can download some freebies in MP3 format as well... like: (Best with fast internet) Keys To The Beemer; St. Louis Woos; or Rock'n'Roll One Night To Give. Browse by category at: www.musicforeducation.comSecurity: Google exposes web surveillance cams
According to The Register's Kevin Poulsen, a pair of simple Google searches permits access to well over 1,000 unprotected surveillance cameras around the world - apparently without their owners' knowledge. www.theregister.co.ukRetouchers take notice:
If you have a lot of photo retouching jobs on an ongoing basis you might want to look into AKVIS Retoucher for photo restoration and automatic scratch and dust removal. Retoucher can be applied to remove dust, scratches, irrelevant objects, unwanted texts and dates from an image -- all with a mouse click. The Retoucher plugin is compatible with Adobe Photoshop, Corel PHOTO-PAINT, Jasc Paint Shop Pro and other photo editing software supporting plugins.AKVIS RetoucherPoor Man's CADD
There really isn't a CADD program for the Mac short of the multi-thousand dollar mega-programs. EazyDraw however could come close! This full-featured, vector-based drafting program has been updated and sports a lot of features and capabilities for $115. From architectural plans to engineering drawings to flow charts and maps EazyDraw offers a lot of bang for the buck. Check out all the goodies at their site where you can download a trial version. EazyDrawLove the One You're With
January came and went so fast I hardly had time to think. After spending 16 days trekking across Africa from Kampala, Uganda; through Tanzania and the Serengeti; to Zanzibar, it's been an incredible month. I hope to have some of the better photos and MPGs next month to share with you. So, there you have it for February! Don't forget the Publishers' Warehouse has some cool new Valentine's stuff, and don't forget to share your "Selling With Design" ideas and tips.
Until next time, have a great February... and don't forget to say "I LOVE YOU."
Thanks for reading... Love and happy new year to you all...
Editor / Publisher, DT&G Magazine
Parting words...
"Man will do many things to get himself loved;
he will do all things to get himself envied."
Mark Twain
Publishers' Warehouse keyword is "february" (after the URL slash!)
WHO IS Fred Showker?
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