D E C E M B E R
The Holidays are almost over...
01 Happy Holidays from Fred, DTG, and the Design Center
02 Winner: Jeni says "Startling" favorite font
03 Winner: Steve takes us down the "Blue Highway"
04 Special Presentation: inventing a place
05 Colorizing Black and White Images
06 Photoshop 911 Call Reports, Tips & Tricks
07 Fred's Gift Book Picks for 2002 Holiday Season
08 Limited-edition Indie Fonts book
09 Information Graphics - by Ronnie Lipton
10 Graphically Speaking
11 The Art of Design
12 The Encyclopedia of the Future
13 Holiday Field Trip: Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum
14 New web sites posted for your review...
15 Speaking of Reviews
16 Down at the Cafe
17 On we go, into the New Year
 
Happy Holidays from Fred, DTG, and the Design Center
Actually, you'll get this email, and the month will be nearly half over. Does everyone seem to be more busy this year than ever before? The time just seems to fly by and things that don't get done just don't get done.
      One thing I did get done was uploading our holiday gifts to you! I've put together a collection of all-time favorite resources for all our readers and posted them in the Holiday Gifts section of the Publishers' Warehouse.
  • More than 75 all new font downlaods in all topics -- plus ten new Holiday fonts;
  • A collection of free Photoshop Brushes from Robert Jamason and David Nagel, as well as Brushes Tutorials and techniques
  • An Extravaganza of holiday arts and crafts activities, tutorials, envelopes, calendars, crafts, creative software for home printing, greeting cards for self-publishing and even tutorials along with gift ideas for calendars (including templates) as well as tips and templates for personalized envelopes
  • Then there's the all new page of Holiday goodies links including the Photoshop Snowcaps and SnowScape and Snowflakes plugins from the Vander Lee web site.
Also find lots of Holiday Clip Art (Frosty's Hat, Stocking filled with goodies, and others), greeting cards and templates (from the Paper Zone) and a nice collection of traditional images from the "Country Clipart by Lisa" web site -- all in the Holiday Loading Dock.

There you'll also find all the seasonal gifts from past years dating back to 1990 -- some of which have become perianal favorites for people all over the world.
      Some of you will go there and enjoy the new entries -- having enjoyed all the goodies from the past. Others will be making their first visit into the Holiday department and get to sample all the good stuff for the first time.
      Which ever you are, we wish you all the best this holiday season, and a wonderful 2003. No tricks or jokes this month, just point your browser to the Loading Dock and take advantage of everything you'll find there.
http://www.graphic-design.com/greetings/  
Congratulations go out to our final two Winners from the Fall Fonts Festival. . .
[top]
Winner: Jeni says "Startling" favorite font
Jeni from Oakland, CA, signed in for our Fall Fonts Festival and shared with us her favorite font: Startling by Dave Bastian -- commenting: 
  > It's a great comic-book-superhero-pulp-fiction kind of font.
  > Most recently, I used it for hockey jerseys."
  > Honorable mention goes to Font Heads Design
  > It's not terribly practical, but I love the personality 
  > of these dingbats.
We agree, Jeni!
      Click here to see a sample of Startling, or download the full font for Mac or Windows
 
At Dave's web site we also found our favorite the "Noodle Script" font
Download the full Mac, or Windows version.
      You can see why we really liked Jeni's suggestions. The Designer's Online Type book is on its way to you Jeni! Thanks for writing.
Jeni's favorite font can be found at: http://www.davebastian.com/goodies/fonts/startling.html   [ top]
Winner: Steve takes us down the "Blue Highway"
Steve Teare from Palouse, WA entered the Fall Fonts Festival with: 
 > My favorite web font is available at www.myfonts.com
 > (and other places). It is a Larabie freeware font called 
 > "Blue Highway".  it is based on The D.O.T. standard 
 > "Highway Gothic" used for highway signage. It also has 
 > a pricy cousin, "Interstate" which has been a big 
 > hit as a "new" sans serif face.
Yes, we checked it out and that's a beneficial font for sure! Very good!
Here, take a look, or Download the Mac version, or the Windows version
 
      Check out Steve's favorite font haunt: http://www.myfonts.com/   [top]
sharon steuer on Photoshop Special Presentation: inventing a place
We are thrilled this month to bring you a special tutorial from WOW book author Sharon Steuer: "Compositing A Unique Place in Photoshop". It's a full exerpt, complete with pictures, from her wonderful book "Creative Thinking in Photoshop". The book is all about using Photoshop not as merely a photo editing program, but as a creative tool for thinking through concepts, for on-screen "brainstorming" and for generating completely new environments based on composites of existing ones. If you use any kind of image editing software at all, you'll want to read and print this full article.
Special thanks to Sharon Steuer and New Riders BooksSharon Steuer and New Riders Books for making this excerpt available to DTG readers! Photoshop
Go to: http://www.design-bookshelf/Steuer/   [ top]
Colorizing Black and White Images
This month's image editing seminar takes you into the depths of adding color to black and white images.
      First stop will be starting with a color image, converting it to grayscale, and then bringing color back in utilizing adjustment layers and layer controls.
      Then we'll take a look at a very direct approach to colorization using hue/saturation controls and targeting specific color, lightness and ranges.
      This issue is a direct answer to so many of the letters we receive asking how to do it. On asked specifically the 'easiest' way, so we actually investigate two approaches, with different capabilities and for different skill levels. It's in-depth, with step-by-step instructions accompanied by full-size pop-up diagrams. After this, you'll be able to colorize with the best of them! Enjoy.
http://www.graphic-design.com/Photoshop/Seminars/colorize/   [ top]
Photoshop 911 Call Reports, Tips & Tricks
This month we expand the Photoshop Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) with a bunch of new questions from readers. Aside from the usual 'problems' we'll also dig into one particular issue which has been one of the most frequently requested tutorials "Colorizing Black and White Images"
 
Others include:
Fred's Gift Book Picks for 2002 Holiday Season
Following are several books which I find believe embody the very best value as gift books for anyone interested in the visual, design or advertising arts. Rather than a single editor's choice -- this month I present five choices, each of which will reward the owner with hour upon hour of pleasurable learning. Additionally, all would be equally at home on the coffee table, or in the reception lounge of even the most prestigious graphic arts firm.
      Please enjoy this year's BEST holiday gift books for the visual arts practitioner:
  [ top]
Limited-edition Indie Fonts book
Indie Fonts, designed and co-edited by James Grieshaber of Typeco, brings together 18 independent font foundries from around the world creating an invaluable resource of over 2000 fonts for designers, art directors and typographers. This hard-bound book is divided up by foundry so that the user can get a feel for the work produced by each group. A visual font index is provided in the front for quick scanning, and there is a fully cross referenced index in the back of font names, designers, and original designers. The book beautiful to look at, feel and hold. Accompanying this book is a Bonus Fonts CD-ROM that contains 33 complimentary Indie fonts representing a sampling of the founders represented.
Thanks to James Grieshaber for sending this one in. Get the full story in the Typography Department of the Design Bookshelf http://www.design-bookshelf.com/Type/indie/index.html   (Typeco is selling a special limited-edition of Indie Fonts -- 100 copies -- signed by the designer and co-editor, James Grieshaber for $39.95, but you better hurry! E-mail at work@typeco.com) [ top]
Information Graphics - by Ronnie Lipton
For the advertising designer, or graphic artist, the latest book by Ronnie Lipton would be a wonderful gift to give -- or to own. It's a beautiful, oversized, hardbound book that provides insights into today's information graphics and shares the works and teachings of some of the industry's most successful designers. Information Graphics is really two books in one. It teaches, yet is also a visual treat for browsing and enjoying.
http://www.design-bookshelf.com/Design/info/index.html   [ top]
Graphically Speaking
This book, just published last month, is a wonderful learning tool and desk-side manual. Written as an "aid" to designers, the book outlines two dozen different project "types" or "personalities" and then gives samples, color selections, and even suggested fonts for each. But don't think it's all work -- from it's whimsical die-cut cover (hardbound) to lavish color on every single page, this is also a stunningly delightful visual extravaganza of samples and design ideas -- just for thumbing. In fact, every time I pick it up, I can hardly put it down!
http://www.design-bookshelf.com/Design/speaking/index.html   [ top]
The Art of Design
This book is truly an "art" book, printed oversized in a horizontal format -- spreads open to a spectacular panorama 24 inches wide! It follows the theme of discovering the inspiration behind some of the most well known designs and designers of our generation. Each gives insight into the "fine art" background that sparked new visions for visual expression. Yes, it's a beautiful 'picture' book, but the texts are also an important shot-in-the-arm for anyone who communicates visually.
www.design-bookshelf.com/Design/art/index.html   [ top]
The Encyclopedia of the Future
What a hoot! It's a little bit kitsch, and a little bit wow, a little bit cool, and LOT of intertainment! It shows you all the newest bleeding-edge inventions, concepts and prototypes that could turn into household words in the next decade. It's a Star Trek cross between Ripley's and Guiness. Glitzy silver foil embossed/die-cut cover, full four-color printing throughout! This book is a great gift for anyone -- not just visionaries and designers! I plan to give a few of these as gifts for sure.
http://www.design-bookshelf.com/gifts/tomorrow/   [ top]
Holiday Field Trip: Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum
A big holiday "Thank You" goes out to Heather West, Minneapolis, MN, who invites us to the Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum.

Traditional holiday decorations almost always include images of antique toys, gifts and greeting cards. The image of Saint Nick has been handed down through generation after generation in all forms of printed matter from packaging to greeting cards to magazine ads and billboards. The image of Norman Rockwell's "Santa" or the famous Coca-Cola Santa have become almost synonymous with the holiday itself. And with these images, always type. From the first Gutenburg printing press, to Benjamin Franklin's "Poor Richard" moveable wood type played a huge role in bringing the printed word to the 'new' world.
      It's fitting for our December newsletter to visit the Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum.

Operated by volunteers of the Two Rivers Historical Society, the Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum is the only museum dedicated to the preservation, study, production and printing of wood type. With 1.5 million pieces of wood type and more than 1,000 styles and sizes of patterns, Hamilton's collection is one of the premier wood type collections in the world.

In the web site, I'll post a full story with links, etc. And, we'll tell you about the commissioning of the first all new wood-carved font in 120 years -- both wood and digital!

Bill Moran, founder and principal of Blink Publishing is a third generation letterpress printer and graphic designer, working on equipment used by his grandfather, has been given the task of creating this new addition to Hamilton's lineage.
      "I initially sought to strike a balance between a re-issue -- cleaning up and reproducing an existing font -- and a revival -- taking an existing font and trying to evolve it," says Moran. "The solution came from a happy accident."
      At the web site we'll share Moran's explaination of his discovery. For now, go ahead and plan to visit the Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum, online at: http://woodtype.org/, or at 1619 Jefferson Street Two Rivers, Wisconsin
Hamilton (picture) Wood type samples. Be sure to take the Gallery tour
Thanks goes out to Heather West, Minneapolis, MN for letting us know about this very special resource. Typography Department, DTG http://woodtype.org/   [ top]
New web sites posted for your review...
Wow! Last month's rant must have gotten through because we have a good array of web sites to review this month!
  • ART sites abound this month from 2D Graphics with 3D Effects to the Arbitrary Design dot-com and Beneath Buddha's Eyes sites.
  • Business sites take us to yet another Bed & breakfast site, this one in Palmer, Alaska. We'll also visit the Agniaviation site and sample some Chestnuts Grown in the USA
  • Education sites go from serious Business Planning and Morguefile sites to "Pray-it Say-it" ... hmmmmmm.
  • While you're surfing, be sure to hit Ed's Asthma Track for Parents of Children with Asthma, and the ProofMaster "New generation of digital proofing" sites.
  • For a real Novelty try the Anime freak zone or "Siliconhell" where you sample "Life with a twist of madness" ... for the brave surfers try: Decoded Dreams.
  • Wrap up your surf with a healthy visit to The Greyhound Walking Club or the "Creating Good vibrations" site.
Of course, while you're there, share your comments, suggestions or critique of any of the sites. They all could use your help, and we'll all thank you for your contribution!
http://www.graphic-design.com/Web/Reviews/index.html   [ top]
Speaking of Reviews
Here are some interesting observations and suggestions about last month's sites for review:
  • The Jersey People site: meticulous planning and a lot of hard work
  • The Coffee site gets a thumbs up, called "tasty" well-written, presented with style"
  • The Wedding site is called grand, however this reviewer was left 'uninformed'
  • Log Home Store too busy ... too many sections, too many words, and finally,
  • The Tarot site brought this review: "it works - or - it doesn't -- needs color, type tweaks!"

Thank you all for your reviews, we're looking forward to the next round of reader critiques in Web Design & Review!
http://www.graphic-design.com/Web/Critique/index.html   [ top]
Down at the Cafe
Imagine your favorite, local corner cafe. You arrive to spend a little time with a favored cup of java, and perhaps meet up with some friends. You see some new faces among the familiar. A friend invites you to a seat. You enjoy some conversation and perhaps some new ideas.
That's the way it is in the Designer's Cafe!
      We recently got some criticism from a few Cafe subscribers that it had become too "chatty" -- not enough 'hard' design talk. Well, that's the way it goes in any Cafe. While the intended topic is "Design" you really never know what might turn up -- from discussions about good or bad web sites, to figuring out a problem in Quark XPress, the conversation can range from thoughtful to tutorial. But other topics pop up too: cold turkey sandwiches, shopping carts on the web, educational training sites, free fonts, client relations, new books, where to find this or that and just about anything else that might touch the life and times of someone in the field(s) of visual communications.
That's the way it is in the Designer's Cafe!

Keep a close watch on the Design Cafe at the end of the month because the Cafe owners will be leaving packages -- all gift wrapped -- for guests to pick up and take home! It's the Cafe's traditional holiday party and it runs the entire last week or so before the new year. We'll be looking forward to meeting you there!
http://www.graphic-design.com/subscribe.html   [ top]
On we go, into the New Year
In 1757, Benjamin Franklin wrote in his Poor Richard's Amanac:
      "A little neglect may breed mischief:
for want of a nail the shoe was lost;
for want of a shoe the horse was lost; and
for want of a horse the rider was lost."

Don't neglect the important things: health, family, country. And, don't neglect your fellow man. Ask yourself each day "What good can I do today?" and at the end of each day ask "What good did I do today?" If you follow that simple suggestion (also from Benjamin Franklin) you'll do well, and go far.

Go forth and be creative -- we look forward to 2003 and to continuing the fun and camaraderie of being part of our community here in the Design Center.
http://www.graphic-design.com/   [ top]
Well wishes and good times this holiday season
Send in your ideas!
      The holiday season is now officially open! Share your fonts and holiday graphics ideas. Sometimes we focus on self-promotion ideas, other times we look at cool holiday ideas for your design and publishing clients.
      We're looking for your seasonal greeting cards, event promotions or other creative ideas for decorating graphic design projects for the holidays.
      Let's see if we can showcase some of your creativity for everyone else to enjoy!

In the Designer's CAFE, we'll once again hold our Holiday card tour (similar to a web ring, but a lot better), and we'll also count down the last days of 2002 with daily prize drawings for CAFE readers and subscribers! Join us for those events.

Until next time, have a great day and a better week!
Fred
your loyal editor
http://www.graphic-design.com/news/index.html   [top]
 
Folks, we can't help you if you don't cooperate...
      Each month accesses (looking for that new EPS clip art disk) and prize registrations are denied in the Publishers'Warehouse.
      Why? Because the email address keyed into the Loading Dock request was incorrect, or no longer in use. I find it hard to believe that people would register for something and then drop the address.
      Remember: no spaces, correct spelling. Dozens of AOL users didn't put in "@aol.com" -- remember: name@aol.com, no spaces. (We assume they were AOL since they had no "@" indicator.)
      Remember too, that the loading dock changes locations each month. You'll find the clue you need to the new location in each issue of this column.
Don't forget to write.
... http://www.graphic-design.com/contact.html   [top]

Join us for discussions:
Here's an invitation to you all to join us in discussions about graphic arts, design, illustration, or just about whatever might be on your mind. You can take your pick of the Design Cafe, or the WebDesign Review list, or both. We'll be looking forward to meeting you there real soon...
* Go To:  http://www.graphic-design.com/subscribe.html   [top]
Help the community do something about spam...
Do you get spam? Do you wish you didn't?
      The Design Center is helping sponsor a SPAM SURVEY conducted by the Association of Apple Computer Users & Groups. The organization is chartered for community service, education and legislation advocacy for technology. SPAM is one of the big issues they hope to take to Washington D.C. this year, and they need YOUR help. Go there and fill out the simple, secure and safe SPAM SURVEY. It will help them gather data for their UCE Presentation.
* Go To:  http://www.user-groups.net/submit.html   [top]
Speaking of spam... read this:
Top Ten Signs You're About to be RIPPED OFF
      Fred tracks the illusive spammer! With the influx of thousands of new UCEs ('Unsolicited Commercial Email" -- aka: SPAM) hitting the Graphic Design Network servers, our spam-hunting team decided to track a few of these low-lifes down, and find out where it's all coming from.
      What we found was rather alarming, and out of more than 7,000 UCEs gathered since January 1st -- so far -- we haven't found but ONE honest person. But we've found hundreds of them who would sell their mother for a quarter, or stab you in the back for a nickel. Not a pretty sight.
* Go To:  http://www.60-Seconds.com/articles/130a.html   [top]
How to contact us?
http://www.graphic-design.com/contact.html
Post your web site for review
      http://www.graphic-design.com/Web/Reviews/Submit.html
Review a readers' web site
      http://www.graphic-design.com/Web/Reviews/index.html
Off-Line Seminars for visual communicators
      http://www.design-U.org/
The Designers'Bookshelf
      http://www.design-bookshelf.com/
Post your news & stuff
      http://www.news-serve.net/announce.html
60-Second Windows, Editorials
      http://www.60-Seconds.com
The User Group Network
      http://www.user-groups.net/
The Info Manager
      http://www.user-groups.net/InfoManager/
Mac Shareware
      http://www.user-groups.net/shareware/index.html
and of course, the Design Center News Page
* Go To:  http://www.graphic-design.com/news/   [top]
Folks, we can't help you if you don't cooperate...
Folks, we can't help you if you don't cooperate...
      Each month accesses (looking for that new EPS clip art disk) and prize registrations are denied in the Publishers'Warehouse.
      Why? Because the email address keyed into the Loading Dock request was incorrect, or no longer in use. I find it hard to believe that people would register for something and then drop the address.
      Remember: no spaces, correct spelling. Dozens of AOL users didn't put in "@aol.com" -- remember: name@aol.com, no spaces. (We assume they were AOL since they had no "@" indicator.)
      Remember too, that the loading dock changes locations each month. You'll find the clue you need to the new location in each issue of this column.
Don't forget to write.
* Go To:  http://www.graphic-design.com/contact.html   [top]

Thank you for visiting the Design & Publishing Center's online newsletter for DT&G. You are currently reading the Editor's column, where each month Editor and Chief Fred Showker writes, from the heart, about what's happening in the Design Center. Contents Copyright (c) 2002, Reproduction or reuse of parts or all of this manuscript without prior written permission is expressly forbidden. The Design & Publishing Center is the product and trade name for Showker, Inc., in Harrisonburg, Virginia, USA, trading as Showker Graphic Arts & Design -- a Virginia State Corporation since 1972. DT&G: The Online Journal of Design, Typography & Graphics has been distributed continuously each month since May of 1990, originally on the GEnie and CompuServe networks, then on America Online, and in 1993 on Apple Computer's "EWorld", migrating to the internet world wide web in 1994.