Some of the following designs are continuations of the kind of things some (un)creative designers were doing last year; others are totally new and could well see their popularity rise.

This year it seems that logo design will focus around unusual shapes, buttons and bubbles (as influenced by the Facebook and Digg buttons), a focus on gray instead of black, and a wide palette of earth colors as an attraction towards green design, environmentally friendly.

Midnight Sailing

Crew Care

Ice

Bob Johnson Ice Hockey School

Tofu

Bella Ro

Stinse

Hill Bikes

Be simple

It is the first and foremost important rule to follow when designing a logo, keep it simple and not complex. A complicated logo is difficult to reproduce and maintain but most importantly, it cannot be adored by the audience. An astounding logo is the vehicle that drives customers to your product. It should be simple, eye catching and provoke thought in the viewer.

Be Tricky

A logo is the best way to entertain and engage your audience with your product. Don’t divulge the message for the audience by making it too obvious. Be tricky and give your audience an opportunity to discover the meaning and intention of the logo. This should be a memorable and entertaining experience for your audience. Also try to avoid making your logo too abstract or you can risk making the logo obscure and the message and entertainment will be lost.

Keep It green

Maintaining a green lifestyle is the future, therefore your logo should be green. Durability and longevity of a logo is worth considering. Picture your company 20 years down the road, what services and products you are going to offer? Make your logo a perfect representative of your company that can stand the test of time. Make a logo that can even stand for all the changes you will make in the future. A textual logo like IBM’s works great in this respect.

Use Vector

Using 3D effects in a logo is always tempting however, clean; crisp lines with very limited colors will prove to stand the test of time. Vector-based logos provide the contrast and balance that is vitally important in logo design. Vector formats also allow the most variations that will play a key role if you modify your logo in the future.

Be Flexible

A great logo should always be flexible so it can represent every business situation. Don’t “pigeon hole” your target group-keep it open to all and any viewers. Literal and specific logos are hard to use when catering to varying markets whereas, textual logos are the most flexible. You can easily change the color of the logo to state the on time motto of the company. Google’s logo is the best example of the flexibility of a logo.

Be Relevant

Logos should be relevant to the product and services of the company. It should give the customers a clear picture about the products and services the company provides. World famous ice cream parlor chain, Baskin-Robbins’ logo is an ideal example of relevance. Customers immediately know from the company logo that the company is offering ice cream of 31 flavors.

Be Wise with Color

Color is one of the more important aspects of a logo as it speaks feeling and emotion to the viewer. The choice of color may vary depending on age, gender and cultural demographics. So choose color according to your target market. Colors like to follow trends. A bank often will follow conservative colors where as a newly launched company most likely will follow the current trends.
A great logo always makes a mark in the mind of people. It stands for the taste and sprit of the company. All the best brands in the world are as famous as their logos. A simple, memorable, timeless, versatile and appropriate logo is highly important for a company to reach their customers.

About Author:
Donald Bates is a website designer who is working for Tampa Web Design Company for last 3 years. He loves to help fellow designers and business owners sharing his knowledge and experience. He offers website design services via www.mdesignmedia.com

To resize your images, simply fire up ACDSee, and select the image you want to resize. Then go to the upper menu, select ‘Tools‘ – ‘Batch‘ – ‘Resize‘ or simply press (Command for MAC) Ctrl+R. You should select the radio button near the “Size in pixels“, and in the “Resize” option select “Enlarge or reduce“. Then check the “Preserve original aspect ratio” and near the “Fit within” option, select “Width only” and enter the width in pixels of the final image.

Click “Start Resize” and watch the magic happen.

If you want to rename more files at once, select them all either by clicking and dragging over all the images, or hold (Command MAC) Ctrl and left mouse click over the ones you want selected. Then go again to ‘Tools‘ – ‘Batch‘ – ‘Rename‘. Use the template as depicted in the video above to rename your images, and to assign them numbers, or letters.
You can also Insert custom metadata for each file when you rename the files.

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial! If you have suggestions or questions, please leave them below.

Thanks!

For each ring you make, create a new layer, this will help with adding effects individually later on. To get the best neon effect, set your foreground colour to white, and then select the pen tool, set the pen tool to paths at the top left hand side of the screen. Then create curves around your image. You can go as tight as you want, but here is my path that I have created.      

Once you are happy with the path you created, you need to select the brush tool then hit F5, this will bring up a selection of brushes. Select soft round, the pixel size will differ depending on the image you are using but in this instance I have used 21 pixels, remember that the pixel size you select will be the thickest part. Once your pixel size is selected, click onto shape dynamics and select control under size jitter as pen pressure. Go back to the pen tool and right click, select stroke path and a pop up box should be brought up. Select Brush and tick simulate pressure. Press enter and the brush pattern should appear, press enter again to get rid of the pen path. Here is what my image looks like:

Now our Rings have been added, but we want them to wrap around our image so they appear to wrap around. Create a clipping mask on the layer of the ring and then select the erase tool, use a soft edged brush, then slowly take away part of the spiral to create the effect of it wrapping around the model. Your image should look something like this after.

In this case the, white looks really good with this image, however I will show you how to change the neon glow. Double click on the layer and select outer glow, this is where you can choose the colour of your neon glow. For the brightest colours, drag the colour picker to the top right and select the colour via the slider on the right hand side. Once you have chosen your colour, change the opacity to 100% then the contour to half round. Once all of these settings have been chosen you should be left with something like this:

Conclusion

Neon Rings can be tough sometimes, but attention to detail and a steady hand will create the perfect neon glow to any image. Remember that a dark background is almost essential to create a glowing effect and that if you want the neon colour to really stand out, set the brush to white. This effect can really draw focus to your image, creating a futuristic and professional look to your work.

This article was written by Lewis Austin who is the social media marketer for SEO Positive and also Web Design Positive, for more information about them, follow their Twitter profile.

Hi, and thanks for dropping by to check out this short tutorial on Photoshop Action Scripts. I’ve been using this for a while, and I thought there might be some of you interested in this sort of things.

If you don’t know what Action Scripts are, then let me tell you: they are a series of actions that you would normally do manually, but they’ve been recorded by someone else, in order to ease your work. So for example if you want to change the brightness, the levels, and the contrast of an image, you’ll have to click your mouse a couple of times, whereas with action scripts you will have to push your mouse button once, and you would have the result you’ve wanted.

It might sound unreal, but believe me, this is one feature of Photoshop you don’t want to ignore.

Action scripts, can do so much more than just change a couple of things to your image, they can create 3D like images in mere seconds, and all you have to do is create the flat design, and the script will do everything else.

Here are a couple of images created with action scripts:

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

Get your 70+ set of action scripts today, and start your own small design business in seconds.

1) First, you need a simple image, obviously. You can create a reflection for any layers you might have, even if you’re working with smart objects. The steps are the same.

2) You need to create a copy of the layer that you want to reflect. To do that, hold Alt (Option key on MAC) on the keyboard and click and drag the original layer.

3) Now for the reflection, we need to flip the copy of the layer vertically to achieve the desired effect. You fill find the Flip Vertical option in the upper menu in the Edit section, then in the Transform menu it will appear like this:

4) With this new layer selected, you need to create a Layer Mask. Press the small icon under the layer list on the right hand side menu.

5) Having the layer mask of the reflected image selected, we will apply a gradient over it, in order to make it fade. Also you can add a transparency to this layer to get a more real reflection. Select the Gradient tool, and just hold Shift while dragging the mouse over the layer, until it looks like you want it to.

For a (hopefully) more detailed version of this tutorial, you can watch this video:

If you need help with Photoshop, or think there is something we can help you with, just leave a comment and say so. We don’t bite.

What This Training is About

If you’re a fan on our Facebook Page, you probably know that we just launched a new training for architects and designers on Photoshop Basics. We’re covering the most usual tools you will use in Photoshop, and we even have a case study where I’m showing you how to change the color of a house and how to add a different texture to a driveway. There is a ebook that you can download. It contains  the most usual commands, description of tools and the case study. We have video tutorials to guide you visually, and a lot of free resources for your personal libraries.

Why Photoshop ‘Basic’

It’s not that hard to work with Photoshop, and nowadays almost every respectable architect, or designer will tell you that working with this software is a skill you need to learn in order to be successful and to have good looking presentations.

The software may be intimidating, and it can give you a headache if you try to learn it by yourself. I know that, because I’ve been there a few years ago, and it’s pretty discouraging. What you need to know, is that it can be learned and that it will tremendously ease your life and surely your work.

So take a few minutes of your day, and signup for our FREE training.

You need to learn PHOTOSHOP today! Don’t get left behind.

Many graphic designers swear by Photoshop and consider it to be the pinnacle of perfection in image manipulation programs. The CS5 edition only enhances this reputation with a host of new features that are remarkably useful. Since the standard and extended editions have many features in common and the extended edition can cost a couple of hundred dollars more, many people may assume the standard edition is perfect for them. Is the extended edition worth the extra cost? That depends solely on what you want to accomplish with your designs.

Comparison

Both editions of Photoshop CS5 have fantastic new features including a host of new tools to create realistic painting effects. These improvements allow for on-canvas color blending at any level of wetness and realistic brush strokes to take your painting enhancements to new levels. Other great new features include enhanced HDR image creation, intelligent edge selection tools, mobile integration, and enhanced raw image processing that make it easier than ever to achieve your desired results. In addition to these upgrades, the new Photoshop also allows for puppet warp, which enables you to manipulate the position of any element in an image. Perhaps the most impressive, and likely most useful, of the new features is the content-aware fill. This powerful tool allows you to remove any portion of an image and fill in the space with lighting, tone, and noise matching so flawless that it looks like the missing image never existed.

Cross-platforms

Other less visible enhancements allow you to work with Photoshop more easily than ever. Cross-platform 64-bit support utilizes current hardware to the fullest advantage and Configurator 2.0 gives you the freedom to set up your toolbars any way you need them. Other simple but useful improvements include the ability to create a new layer simply by dragging and dropping an element, the ability to delete all empty layers with scripts, an option to set your ‘save as’ default to the last folder in which you saved an image, and the ability to move an object even when the active layer is hidden, and an overlay grid for cropping that allows you to trim more evenly without guessing. These improvements are just a sampling of the many new surprises available in this release of Photoshop.

New Tools

As impressive and useful as these features are, the extended edition delivers even more of a punch with its suite of 3D tools. With these tools, you can paint realistically on 3D objects and add 3D elements to your designs or create composites. You can also use an image-based light source to add natural-looking lighting to your objects and it even allows you to animate your objects or light source for extra effect. Repoussé lets you transform your 2D objects into 3D using the extrusion qualities of your choice. You can then pause and restart your renderings for added control. Finally, the shadow catcher feature allows you to effortlessly create realistic shadows for your objects.

So what’s best?

So which edition of Photoshop CS5 is right for you? Both will take your image manipulation and creation to previously unbelievable levels. Both will also make using the program more hassle-free than past editions. But, if you really want to make your web designs eye-popping, the 3D imaging tools in CS5 extended edition make this version well worth the added cost.

This guest post has been written by Dhruv Kapoor from Offshore Ally- a company of competent virtual assistants and link builders. He is passionate about designing and technology.

Chances are you know some of them, but I bet you don’t know them all.

This article is written in PC Photoshop format. If you are using a MAC, the following apply Ctrl = Cmd and Alt =  Opt

So without further ado, here we go:

1. Screen mode

Pressing F on the keyboard will toggle between Standard Screen Mode, Full Screen Mode With Menu Bar, and Full Screen Mode. This is useful especially when working with larger files, and you need to have a ensemble view of the image.

2. Pan or Hand Tool

Holding Space and Left Mouse Button at once when in Full Screen Mode, or in any other Screen mode when zoomed, will allow to move the image in any direction wanted.

3. Zooming

You can fast zoom in or out if you hold Alt while using the scroll wheel of your mouse.

4. Zoom to 100%

If you double click on the Zoom tool it will zoom the document to 100%.

5. Scale Font Size

Select the text you need to scale up or down, and then with Shift+Alt+< or > will scale the text down, or up. Also you can capitalize all characters in the selection if you press Shift+Alt+K.

6. Moving layers up or down in the hierarchy

Select the layer you want to bring to front or you want to sent to back, and hold Ctrl + [ or ]

7. Hide all layers but one

Hold Ctrl + Alt and click on the visibility icon of the layer you want to be seen, and all other layers will be hidden.

8. Tool Panels

Press TAB to toggle tool panels in and out of the screen.

9. Precise Mouse Cursor

Caps Lock will display the precise cursor.

10. Increase or decrease brush / pencil / eraser size

Press [ or ] to scale the size down or up. By pressing Shift + [ or ] will increase / decrease brush / eraser  hardness.

11. Opacity

You can increase / decrease a layer opacity by pressing one of the number keys (ie. 1 = 10%, 2 = 20%…). When you have the brush tool / eraser selected, pressing the number keys will adjust the brush / eraser opacity.

12. Duplicate layer

There are a few ways you can do this, but my favorite is Alt + Click and drag. This operation will create a new layer from the active layer / layers.

You can also duplicate the active layer by Alt + any of the arrow keys.

Ctrl + J will duplicate the active layer in the exact position.

13. Change Workspace background

You can change the default Photoshop grey workspace background color by following these steps:
1. select your desired color
2. select the Paint Bucket tool
3. Hold down Shift + click on the working area (outside of the document area)

14. Switch between opened images

Ctrl+ TAB will help you easy navigate through different opened windows in Photoshop.

15. Proportional Scaling

You can scale any layer by pressing Ctrl + T in order to activate the transformation operation, and then to scale it proportionally press Shift + click on any of the corners of the layer to scale it up or down. If you want the scaling to happen from the center of the layer press Shift + Alt + click on any of the corners of the layer.

Of course you can also consult the Keyboard Shortcuts and Menu option of Photoshop, where you can define your own shortcuts. Get to that menu with Ctrl + Alt +Shift + K.

Hope you enjoyed this short post, and if we missed something, or you think we can add to our collection, don’t hesitate to leave a comment with your thoughts.

Enjoy!

SAU – Semana de Arquitetura e Urbanismo

Arquitetura na Cidade

Architectural Spaces

Ateliér 3

goeast

Frine Wence Arquitectura

Archetype

Gianni Baretti Architects

Logo Revista Urbana

Arquides

Geco arquitectos asociados

Roof

Rodriguez-Frank arquitectos

CoMo Arquitetura

Mayara

Matrix Architecture

B Arquitectura