Books

Star Wars The Blueprints

I’m not a Star Wars fan myself, but I know a lot of you design geeks are so this could be the ideal gift for you. It’s very pricey for a book, starting from $500 but that is to be expected for a limited edition. It details all of the original blueprint drawings for the original movie plus more.

Idn magazine Logographic

A great little magazine that features the opinions of 17 leading designers on the art and practice of logo design. Comes with a bonus DVD.

Brand Identity Essentials

The fourth in a series of books that studies different disciplines of design, 100 Branding Essentials offers an in depth list of rules, tips and know-how during the branding process. A great read and well worth it for the price.

365 Habits of Successful Graphic Designers

This book would be perfect for a student or anyone who is looking to make a career of graphic design. Learn the habits of the pros with this hefty list of helpful tips.

Herb Lubalin: Art Director, Graphic Designer & Typographer

I cannot praise this man highly enough. Herb Lubalin is possibly my most favourite designer ever. I don’t have this book as it is no longer in production, but I have had the privilege of reading it in a library once. All I can say is, if you can get a used copy via Amazon or eBay, you won’t be disappointed.

Pictoplasma – The Character Encyclopedia

Also no longer in print but a beaut of a book. It’s very pricey now but you should be able to pick up a copy for under £200. Get one now and it could be worth even more than that at a later date. Or it might end up being a very expensive door stop.

Jon Burgerman – Pens are my friends

Jon Burgerman is a superb illustrator hailing from the United Kingdom. His artwork and this book is packed full of colour and creativity to help get those creative juices overflowing nicely.

Threadless – Ten years of t-shirts

It will probably make you feel old knowing that Threadless is over 10 years old. This book features some of their greatest submissions during that period.

Doyald Young – Logotypes & Letterforms

Sadly, one of the greatest typography masters, Doyald Young passed away this year. I strongly recommend his books, which are absolutely stunning and very insightful into the craft of drawing letters.

Typomag

Anyone who is passionate about typography should really get their hands (& eyes) on this beautiful book. Packed full of examples, this is typographical retina candy at its best.

Smashing Logo Design

A shameful plug I know, but this would be the ideal gift for anyone who has the slightest bit of interest in logo design.

Accessories

Pencil Sharpener Desk Tidy

It’s a giant pencil sharpener shaped pencil holder desk tidy thing. Need I say any more?

Pantone iPhone & iPad Case

Not a fan of Apple’s uncolourful products? Spice them up with some Pantone covers. Many colours available.

Drumstick Pencils

Anyone would love this gift, designer or not. Would be perfect for those video conference calls where you want to get yourself noticed or just annoy the hell out of your co-workers.

Lightbox

This may seem like a strange entry to some, and it’s understandable to assume that tracing is for copycats and plagiarists! Well, the design process can often involve a laborious revision process and so to save time it is often handy to have equipment that helps to easily refine your sketches. Say goodbye to windows and tape and pick up one of these little fellas.

Iron Ampersand

If you know someone who wants to add some weight to their typography collection then why not pick up (or try to!) this great object by the House Industries type foundry. Be wary of postage though, it weighs in at a hefty 8kg! Plus it ain’t cheap.

Dodo Case

Is it a book or an iPad? If you have a loved one who wants to take extra special care of their iPad then this is the case for them. The Dodo Case is dead good (pun intended).

Icon Watch by & Design

A very unique and understated watch design by ‘& design’ based in Japan. It would perfect for knowing when it is time to design, especially if you love retro memorabilia.

Logo – The Board Game

Christmas isn’t complete without a friendly argument over a board game. If you’re a designer, why not get one step ahead and purchase one completely dedicated to logos and brands! You’ll be surprised how much non-designers will love this game too.

DVDs

Helvetica

Love it or hate it, Helvetica is everywhere. You know a typeface has made a massive impact upon the world when a documentary has been made about it! Surprisingly, it is very very entertaining.

Objectifigied

If you’ve ever been curious about how every day objects are designed this is the perfect DVD for you.

Genius of Design

A lovely series that documents the history of design from the Industrial Revolution right up the present day.

Exit Through The Gift Shop

Any graffiti fan would love to own this documentary about the illusive graf artist, Banksy. The question is, is it real or not? Watch and make up your own mind.

Pirates of Silicon Valley

With the recent passing of Steve Jobs still fresh in the mind, why not give that Apple fan a great insight into the man himself. This lesser known title that delves into the relationship he had with his notorious competitor, Bill Gates.

I hope your wallet/credit card doesn’t hurt too much after reading this post. Fin

I recently stumbled upon this bounty full of beautiful images and just had to share it. Feast your eyes upon some of the amazing artwork and sculpture by Hiroshi created using skateboard materials.

http://oculoid.com/harvestskate-destroy-by-haroshi/

Anyway, I decided to do a post like this because it seems like logo inspiration websites are breeding with one another. They pretty much have the same content, the same logos and also the same featured designs. I thought it would be nice to throw some good old fashioned new eye candy into the mix in DWD fashion. Feast your eyes on these:

The Impeccable Pig Eatery Oink. designed by Splash Design

Rollersnakes designed by www.rollersnakes.co.uk

The Loose Box designed by Niche Design

Interislander designed by Clemenger Group

Bajaj Auto Limited designed by Elephant Design Limited

Nadezda Milenkovic designed by Aleksandra Prhal

Office Games designed by The Partners

10.40+ Beautiful Fish Inspired Logos by DESIGNRFIX

Fishy logo madness, take a dip into a wealth of inspiration.

9.How To Identify and Deal With Different Types Of Clients by Smashing Magazine

After all, being a designer is not just about design.

8.Creating Sustainable Competitive Advantage by Seth Godin

A must read for any business owner, regardless of field or industry.

7.How To Convert PSD to XHTML

6.The Logo Olympics by Brand New

A look at the rebrand of Olympic Airlines.

5.Perfect your kerning skills by Computer Arts

A great tutorial that shows you how to lay out type professionally.

4.Brand Strategy: What’s the Big Deal? by Branding Identity Guru

Perhaps the most important article I have read all year.

3.Minimizing Complexity in User Interfaces

A great read for tech-savvy web gurus.

2.A “thing’ as logo by Brand New

Breaking the rules of logo design, Burnley style.

1.27+ Beautiful Examples Of Infographics

10. Butterflies

They may be pretty nice to look at from time to time but these little critters seem to creep into illustrations everywhere. Often with no purpose or relevance, the beloved butterfly is thrown in as an after thought or maybe to fill up sacred white space of any collage. Stock butterflies are normally very basic & flat.

9. Beautiful Women

You are likely to find adorning a club flyer or poster, a beautiful female scantily clad with oversized body features. As far as I know this craze was started by the Hed Kandi albums back in the 90′s. It’s pretty obvious which ones are stock due to the lack of detail compared to the bespoke drawings.

8. Speakers

Another main feature of the “collage” trend is the vector speaker, which is more prominent in the music industry. Sometimes the speaker may be the centrepiece but it is more common for two or more to be placed symmetrically either side.

7. Sunburts

When creating a funky collage illustration you need a base, and the first port of call is to seek a sexy sunburst, right? I think this stems from summertime posters but now seems to feature all your round. What’s more worrying is that some designers are willing to pay for these considering how easy they are to make.

6. Drips/Splatters

Nothing says “urban & edgy” more than graffitti. Adding drips and splatters to your work (mainly typography) can achieve this feel but sadly this is one of the biggest cliches in design, and has been for some years. Try to only use in context if completely necessary. An alternative to buying stock is to create your own by using real spray paint on paper, scanning in and then tracing to vector. The results will probably look more realistic.

5. Swooshes

I think the first time I saw this kind of graphic element was back in the early 90′s when Microsoft slapped it all over their packaging (in some cases they still do). This can be seen mainly in use for website header images or presentation backgrounds. Over time the “futuristic” desired effect loses it’s appeal.

4. Ornates

Whenever I see these floral swirls I can’t help but think of the work of Si Scott, who in my opinion is the master of this technique. You will find this element applied to typography in the main but is also used as backgrounds for websites and in some cases for logo’s.

3. Skyline

Coupled with drips & splats the city skyline silhouhette completes the urban look. I have seen elements such as these used by corporate professionals on business cards and letterheads, which can look really cheap and tacky. I would suggest only use a silhouette of a city landscape when neccessary, eg. when drawing a nightlife illustration.

2. Team Silhouette

Some businesses seem to think that by using silhouettes of business professionals in quirky poses it makes them look “modern & hip” when it all does it show that the business is faceless. This not only lowers the element of trust but also makes your business look like thousands of competitors.

1. Globes

The beloved globe has a very special place in every chief executive’s heart. It’s meant to show that a business operates worldwide or is active on the “internet”. This is the most transparent stock illustration element that I can think of.

Can you think of any more stock vector cliches?

10.25 inspiring examples of sign up pages by Webdesigner Depot

CSS forms no longer need to be drab and dreary.

9.Fonts Used In Logos of Popular Websites by Build Internet

For all you typomaniacs who were ever curious..

8.12 Great Tutorials on Creating a New WordPress Theme by Reen Coded

Get your head around a little PHP, it’s definately worth it.

7.11 essential iPhone apps for designers by Designer Daily

More than worth a look, even if you’re not a proficient developer…

6.35 High-Quality Free Fonts For Your Designs by Instant Shift

Though, I would use them sooner rather than lately before everyone else does.

5.6 Reasons Freelance Designers Should Join Twitter by The Design Cubicle

This was written in June, but I didn’t find it until July, so it still counts, and serves a very good argument.

4.15 Stunningly Creative Business Cards/ by Swick

Taking the craft of business card design & manufacturer to new levels and beyond.

3.What to Include In Your Design Contracts by The Design Cubicle

Concise & very accurate, a must for any freelancer just starting out.

2.50 ways to become a better designer by Computer Arts

The bible of design mags serves up yet another tasty treat of design advice.

1.Elements of a Successful Brand 5: The Name by Pivotal Brands

A must read for anyone looking to start a new design venture.

10. The Telephone

Give us a call! Normally seen on the contact page as the easiest method of visual communicating that a business is available by phone. If you can find a photo of an old fashined phone then even worse.

9. The Huddle

Nothing says unity more than a group of people huddled in a circle, right? This image is used to try and show that a business is fun, friendly and approachable, unlike their competitors who just use the standard serious business team pose as shown in cliche number 3. Group Hug!

8. The Dollar

Money, money, money, after all that’s what every business is in the game for, well, almost. Non-designers think that by using images of money it shows that they can generate sales for customers, when in effect it can decrease the element of trust and makes the viewer question their ethics.

7. The Happy Family

“If you use our service we can make you this happy!” is the main message of this image. This one is easy spot a mile off, normally under the testimonials page or in extreme cases as the main header image.

6. The Staged Meeting

I have yet to see a photographer on standby in any meeting I’ve been involved with. This is tackiness at it’s best and should be avoided at all costs.

5. The Fingertips

Similar to cliche number 10, except this time the image shows that the business is so modern that it can actually be contacted not by just phone, but by the ground breaking technology of email. Drop us a line!

4. The Impressive Office

A photograph of state-of-the-art buildings may make your business look bigger than you actually are but when your customers visit your real premises you may have a little explaining to do.

3. The Business Team

We are powerful and serious, do not mess with us! Whilst this image is meant to make a business look approachable it can actually be deemed as quite intimidating.

2. The Pretty Call Centre Girl

Sexist, demeaning & predictable. Sex sells, so adding a bit of glamour to try and increase sales shouldn’t do any harm, when infact all it does is make the business in question look fake. Unfortunately, this kind of photograph is used on thousands of websites and reduces the element of trust between the viewer and the business.

1. The Almighty Handshake

This image is meant to scream trust & getting the deal done whilst at the same time maintaining that serious, corporate image. This is business. This is THE stock photography cliche of all time.

I hope you enjoyed this post and will agree with my choices. I’d be interested to know of any suggestions.

10.Take Your Design To The Next Level With CSS3 by Smashing Magazine

A great look at how the latest CSS elements can change the way you code websites forever

9.Interview With Nelson Balaban by PSD Tuts

The young talented designer Nelson Balaban offers a great insight into his creative career so far

8.60 Most Stunning Typography Inspiration Of All Time by The Design Inspiration

Typography taken to the next level, this list is a must look

7.25 Free Brilliant Fonts For Logo Design by Little Box Of Ideas

Sneh Roy takes you through a great selection of free fonts suitable for identity systems

6.The Master Of Light Effects Chuck Anderson by Abduzeedo

The designer commonly known as No Pattern asnwers some insightful questions

5.40 Photoshop Tutorials You Must See by Computer Arts

A creative guide to some fantastic Photoshop step-by-step tutorials

4.60 Rare and Unusual Vintage Signs by Smashing Magazine

A very interesting look at some graphic design from yesteryear

3.Aardman + Jam = Gavin Strange by Thunderchunky

Gavin Strange, an Aardman Animations employee answers some probing questions from the popular design portal

2.10 WordPress 2.8 Features To Look Out For by Net Tuts

Some clever tips on how the latest WordPress release can improve your blog

1.The Basic Of Clipping Paths And Opacity Masks by Vector Tuts

An invaluable article for any new or established Illustrator