среда, 14 февраля 2018 г.

What You Need to Know About Scaling Designs from Posters to Billboards

Readability is important when you want to reach people with words on flyers, posters, or billboards. Here is a guide for things to remember when scaling your designs from small to large formats.

Cover image mock-up via Who is Danny
In this guide, we take a look at how size and space affect large-scale design, like 11 x 17 in. posters up to billboards, and some things to think about during the design process. Typography elements, like Point sizetracking (character spacing), and leading (line spacing) are especially important to remember, as they depend upon their layout size and display environment.

1. Consider Message Hierarchy

Start by making sure that you have structured your messaging for impact by ordering the information.
On an event flyer, for example, set the event name at the top, in the largest type. Let’s call that Tier 1messaging. Support Tier 1 with Tier 2 messaging, e.g. the date and place of the event, in a smaller or lighter font, or placed in less dominant space.
This helps viewers know the What immediately, then they can find out the When and the Where upon closer inspection.
Tier 3 is comprised of any remaining information, such as contact info and website URLs.
What You Need to Know About Scaling Designs from Posters to Billboards – Message Hierarchy
Poster image by Denys Koltovskyi

2. Consider Viewing Distance

Design with the assumption that there will be distance between your poster and the viewing audience. If the event title allows, Tier 1 messaging should be readable from approximately across a large room, or about 15 feet away (with good eyesight).
Imagine your poster, or better yet, print it out and test the letter size from a distance. Can you clearly read the headline? Can anyone else?
Tier 2 messaging, such as dates and venue, are also important. Don’t make it nano-sized. If someone misses a show because they didn’t have their monocle in the breast pocket of their frock coat, that’s on you, but it doesn’t have to be viewable from as far away.
What You Need to Know About Scaling Designs from Posters to Billboards – Viewing Distance
Poster elements by Denys Koltovskyi

3. Create a Buffer

Make a larger border between the trim and the live area of your poster or flyer. This sets space and distance between your message and whatever is around it. In a visually noisy environment, like a decades-old bulletin board, this is especially important.

4. Use White Space

Just as you would create a buffer between your canvas and its external surroundings, use the space within your design so your message becomes larger and louder by boosting the inner dynamics with visual weight.

5. Use Contrast

As with using white space, use contrast in color or typefaces to increase hierarchical difference. For instance, a large but lightweight serif font pairs well with a bold yet smaller sans-serif font.
Though they differ in size, they appear to be of the same importance due to visual weight. That creates contrast through interesting juxtaposition, while maintaining equality in the hierarchy.
What You Need to Know About Scaling Designs from Posters to Billboards – Contrast
Background image by claudio zaccherini

Tips for Readable Flyers and Posters

Flyers (usually 8.5 x 11″ and smaller) and posters (usually over 8.5 x 11″) are often displayed among other visual noise that viewers pass by and ignore every day. However, when designed properly for this context, these mediums can stop a viewer in their tracks, cutting through the noise to get the message out.
You either want the message to cut through the general clutter of the world with focus and clarity, or you want the design to draw attention, creating curiosity. With either approach, legibility is key. In a nutshell, if you can’t read a flyer or poster, it’s pointless. The coolest looking and most conceptual concert posters don’t do their job if no one can read what they say.
In fine art, or design for design’s sake, you can obscure your message to the brink of oblivion. In most cases, though, you are designing a poster to advertise the art show itself.

What You Need to Know About Scaling Designs from Posters to Billboards – Tips for Flyers and Posters

Billboard mockup by Who is Danny

Tips for Billboard Design

The difference in environments of larger-scale work dictates that we try to solve for uncontrollable factors, such as visual noise and a viewer’s movement. We always want to strive for readability, so it’s important to mock up your work to anticipate the differences. Here is a good comparison guide to use for type size and distance.
The messaging is usually kept brief, perhaps the company name/logo, a sale announcement or slogan, and a telephone or website URL. Making mock-ups, in which the art is scaled to a photo of the environment, can help you understand how readable your artwork looks in a specific space.
Make a mockup of a billboard with your artwork, evaluate it, and adjust accordingly. Find some mock-ups here.
What You Need to Know About Scaling Designs from Posters to Billboards – Tips for Billboards
image via ImageFlow
Messages and wording can easily get lost if you fail to consider the environment and behavior of the viewer. Always think about the end product and its placement: how it sits in a place, what that place is, and how your message can interact with or stand out from that place.
You’ll know your design is successful when you can tell friends and family what you’ve been up to and they say, “Oh I drive by that every day! I hate you now.” Your message was noticed!

Want more design tips, tutorials, and insights from experts? Check out more of our content:

суббота, 10 февраля 2018 г.

Trends in the Wild: 2018’s Creative Trends Spotted in Culture and Design

Every year, we predict the hottest creative trends that will pop up in the mainstream. These are a few of 2018’s big trends already at work in pop culture. Get inspired!

Top image by NASA images
If you’ve seen our Creative Trends for 2018, you already know the trends that will be top players in the design world this year. These trends include fantasy, space, New Minimalism, and even some smaller contenders like natural luxury, ancient geometrics, and the humble cactus.
Only one month into 2018 and we’ve already noticed some of these trends making their way into popular culture and design. In this article we’ll explore some examples of these trends in movies, ads, and design from the past few months.

Annihilation

If you haven’t seen the trailer for Annihilation, you’ve got to check it out. This based-on-a-book science-fantasy-action hybrid film is a fresh narrative that contrasts the onslaught of sequels and remakes that dominate the silver screen these days. You can see many top trends at work in the Annihilation trailer.
The film looks to be full of fantasy elements that complement many of the story’s themes. A world where creatures can cross-breed with any other type of animal is sure to conjure up some fantastic beasts. This take on fantasy is a new one, contrary to the traditional take on medieval fantasy that dominates pop culture, like in Game of Thrones. Maybe this film will bring about a new wave of “neo-fantasy” narratives in film and TV.
One of the most noticeable visuals seen in the trailer is the looming holographic bubble that they call “The Shimmer” and that represents the border of a fantasy world. There’s something terrifying about a monolithic element like this that unrelentingly blankets a space with no explanation. You can see this type of device used in popular films such as The Mist and Arrival. The holographic bubble in Annihilation is a fresh take on this border/portal concept that singlehandedly sets the fantastical yet terrifying mood of the film.
As a standalone visual element, the holographic texture of The Shimmer is indicative of the Holographic Foil trend, our One to Watch for 2018. This nostalgic, sci-fi look is elemental to the cyberpunk aesthetic that’s sweeping TV and film.
If you would like to create a “Shimmer” for your own project, make sure to check out PremiumBeat’s tutorial on how to build one yourself.

Bright

Netflix’s first large-scale budget film, Bright, was released on their platform in late December and was met with less-than-favorable reviews. One thing that you can’t knock about the film is its fantasy world, which is fascinating and original. Taking the traditional fantasy device of magical creatures, such as orcs, fairies, and elves, and placing them in a modern landscape is something that hasn’t been done on this scale in any films in recent history.
Netflix is notorious for researching what their target demographics want before releasing content (or just releasing everything they can get their hands on until something sticks), and it seems they found that people are still craving fantasy, with a modern twist, in their films and shows.

iPhone X – Animoji

This commercial for the iPhone X’s Animoji feature incorporates a hefty amount of 2018 trends. The alien singing along with Childish Gambino’s “Redbone,” mimicking the cover art of the track’s album, makes an undeniable impression with just a couple of bright visual elements. This style is fundamental to the New Minimalist trend. You can also spot punchy pastels combined with fantasy in the unicorn background singers, which transition into a space sequence. With Apple’s attention to detail and of-the-moment marketing, there’s no doubt these styles – and this new form of communication – will take hold in pop culture.

Stay tuned for more Trends in the Wild coverage to see how artists, filmmakers, brands, and others are using 2018’s top trends in their creations. In the meantime, check out more articles, tutorials, and freebies inspired by 2018’s Creative Trends:

среда, 15 марта 2017 г.

День уходящего Солнца...


Иногда полоснет по нервам не пойми что... То ли трагедия котенки Маняни с разодранным глазом, то  ли столетие отречения Царя... Действо воспринятое миллионами как праздник и коготь жадной кошки  разодравший роговицу невинному котенку веком после... Мы люди народ мнительный, жалостливый и по  звериному жестокий. Вот Маняню жалко, а Николашку со всем семейством в расход... Сто лет прошло а люде те-же... А дайте тогда Милюкову ФЕЙСБУК, гранты и офшоры... даже представить страшно всю глубину народного гнева... Хотя может диванами все бы и ограничилось. Хотя хлебные бунты да и войну никто не отменил в феврале... Все ждали счастья... Вот раненой Маняне я счастье обеспечу... Она высокоинтеллектуальная котя в свои шесть месяцев... А раненному в мозг народу счастье обеспечить невозможно в течении пары поколений... Самое плохое, что сделать ничего нельзя... Карма... на несколько поколений... И многим опять не-до-жи-ть!

ПЫСЫ
А нравятся мне личности которые разбогатели делением общего на личное и теперь о дворянстве мечтають... и холопах вестимо...  Их судьба невинно убиенного святого мученика Николая II не пугает...?  Интересно так в День уходящего Солнца...

суббота, 4 марта 2017 г.

Смарт-часы No.1 F2, работающие год от одного заряда, теперь стоят менее $20

Смарт-часы No.1 F2, работающие год от одного заряда, теперь стоят менее $20

Смарт-часы No.1 F2, работающие год от одного заряда, теперь стоят менее $20

4.03.17Wadym72
35
Если вы хотите следить за своей физической активностью, то смарт-часы станут в этом деле незаменимым помощником. К сожалению, большинство представленных на рынке моделей нужно заряжать почти каждый вечер, что не совсем удобно. Как вариант, обратите внимание на спортивные смарт-часы F2 от компании No.1, которые от одного заряда способны проработать целый год. К тому же, часы имеют усиленный корпус и не боятся воды. Сейчас они временно подешевели, и аксессуар можно приобрести менее чем за $20.


No.1 F2 оснащены круглым 1,1-дюймовым монохромным дисплеем, отображающим время, пропущенные звонки и новые уведомления на подключённом iOS- или Android-смартфоне, а также показатели физической активности пользователя. Часы могут отслеживать количество пройденных шагов и сожжённых калорий, температуру, высоту и прочие данные. К тому же, их можно брать с собой в душ или бассейн, так как часы выполнены по стандарту IP68.
Источник: 4pda.ru

Эксклюзивная версия Apple iPhone 6 предложит 32 ГБ встроенного

Эксклюзивная версия Apple iPhone 6 предложит 32 ГБ встроенного накопителя

Эксклюзивная версия Apple iPhone 6 предложит 32 ГБ встроенного накопителя

Apple iPhone 6 стал первым смартфоном компании, который не вышел в версии с 32 ГБ встроенной памяти, однако теперь специальная версия гаджета с таким объёмом хранилища в золотой расцветке корпуса дебютировала в Китае и Тайване эксклюзивно для оператора Taiwan Mobile. Таким образом, при выборе доступного iPhone у пользователей появился выбор между обновлённой "шестёркой" и iPhone SE, который отличается более современными характеристиками, однако оборудован меньшим 4-дюймовым дисплеем.
Apple iPhone 6
Taiwan Mobile будет предлагать 32-гигабайтный iPhone 6 бесплатно при заключении контракта на 30 месяцев с ежемесячным платежом в размере $45. Приобрести устройство можно будет уже с 10 марта. Попадёт ли iPhone 6 с таким объёмом накопителя на другие рынки - пока неизвестно.
Источник: phonearena.com

понедельник, 27 февраля 2017 г.

6-дюймовый Oukitel U16 Max поставляется с Android 7.0


6-дюймовый Oukitel U16 Max поставляется с Android 7.0

27.02.17Wadym72
На выставке MWC 2017 в Барселоне компания Oukitel представила недорогой смартпэд U16 Max. Он оснащён 6-дюймовым дисплеем производства японской компании JDI. Аппарат выполнен в цельнометаллическом корпусе толщиной 9,15 мм. Внутри разместился аккумулятор ёмкостью 4 000 мАч, чего, по заверениям производителя, хватает на два дня стандартного использования смартфона. Также важно отметить, что Oukitel U16 Max поставляется с предустановленной операционной системой Android 7.0 Nougat.
Oukitel U16 Max
Экран Oukitel U16 Max обрамлён тонкими рамками, а в нижней части разместились три стандартные сенсорные кнопки. На обратной стороне расположился сканер отпечатков пальцев, срабатывающий за одну десятую секунды. Сканер также можно использовать для управления камерой и воспроизведением музыкой, ответа на входящие звонки и других задач. 
Технические характеристики Oukitel U16 Max:
  • 6-дюймовый дисплей с разрешением 1280х720 пикселей;
  • восьмиядерный процессор MediaTek 6753 с частотой 1,3 ГГц;
  • графический ускоритель Mali-T720;
  • 3 ГБ оперативной памяти;
  • 32 ГБ встроенной памяти;
  • поддержка карт памяти microSD объёмом до 32 ГБ;
  • 13-мегапиксельная основная камера;
  • 5-мегапиксельная фронтальная камера;
  • аккумулятор ёмкостью 4 000 мАч с поддержкой быстрой зарядки;
  • сканер отпечатков пальцев;
  • два слота для SIM-карт с поддержкой 4G LTE;
  • ОС: Android 7.0 Nougat;
  • габариты: 165,5 х 83,3 х 9,15 мм;
  • вес: 218 г.
Oukitel U16 Max будет стоить менее $150.
Источник: 4pda.ru

суббота, 18 февраля 2017 г.

HDR mode camera comparison: iPhone 7 vs Pixel vs Galaxy S7

HDR mode camera comparison: iPhone 7 vs Pixel vs Galaxy S7

Posted: , by Paul K.
HDR mode camera comparison: iPhone 7 vs Pixel vs Galaxy S7

Smartphone cameras have been developing so rapidly over the past few years and competition is so fierce that, nowadays, if you tried to buy a flagship handset with a bad camera, you'd be hard pressed to find one. And, of course, it's not just about using a quality physical sensor and lenses — manufacturers use software enhancements to offset the natural limitations that a small smartphone camera has.

That said, it's software we are going to be talking about today. And more specifically — HDR (high dynamic range) mode. It's a nice sunny day out here, so we grabbed the Galaxy S7iPhone 7, and Pixel for a quick comparison on how these three phones do in contrast-ridden scenarios.

Not sure what HDR is? Here's the gist of it:

What's HDR? A quick rundown


HDR is a technique, which was being employed with “real” DSLR cameras long before it arrived on smartphones. It's used when your composition has brightly lit spots and / or dark areas. As you probably know, in such a situation, you need to choose — either amp up the exposure to brighten the shadows (which blows out the bright areas and turns them white), or reduce exposure to make details in the light visible (but lose shadows to blackness).

What HDR does is, it takes a few photos at different exposures — one underexposed, one overexposed, and some more shots in between. Then, the software cuts out the best bits and pieces from each picture and mixes them together to give you a balanced final image — one that doesn't have black shadows or overblown highlights.

HDR mode camera comparison: iPhone 7 vs Pixel vs Galaxy S7


However, Google's HDR+ mode works slightly different than that — instead of taking photos at different exposures, it only captures a set of underexposed shots and merges them together to brighten them up. Check this article for a full rundown of how HDR+ works.

Operating the cameras


HDR mode camera comparison: iPhone 7 vs Pixel vs Galaxy S7
Now, before we delve into the sample images and their analysis, we'd like to take a short pause and talk about camera operation and more importantly — the viewfinder.

Anyone who has ever used a phone camera or a digital camera of any sort will say that being able to see “what you are going to get” on the viewfinder is a pretty big deal when setting up a shot. And, for the most part, smartphones do this pretty well — composition and exposures are well represented on the viewfinder before taking a photo, making the experience simpler and much less fiddly.

Now, since HDR is a bit more complicated than just taking a still and presenting it to the user, it's possible that the image you see on your viewfinder to be misleading. The Samsung Galaxy S5 was the first smartphone to offer a live HDR preview in real time, making it much easier to figure out how your shot is going to look after taking it. Of course, the Galaxy S7 still has the feature, and it's pretty spot on — HDR shots usually end up looking very similar or the same as they looked before you pressed the shutter key.

On the iPhone, we also seem to have a real time preview of HDR mode, despite the fact that Apple hasn't really boasted about the feature. Just like with the Galaxy S7, we get similar to same-ish photos, when compared to what was shown to us in the viewfinder.

The Pixel, however, will very often surprise you with an image that has nothing to do with what you were shown. We suppose this is because the HDR+ technique it uses can't stream a “previewable” shot, at least not yet. Often, the composition on your viewfinder will look like an overblown, white mess, and you are required to just trust the process and press that shutter button. To the Pixel's benefit, HDR+ does do an awesome job at balancing a dynamic shot, but it's worth mentioning that you may find yourself taking a photo and readjusting exposure a few times before you get that perfect picture.

iPhone 7 viewfinder preview vs final result
iPhone 7 viewfinder preview vs final result
Galaxy S7 viewfinder preview vs final result
Galaxy S7 viewfinder preview vs final result
Pixel viewfinder preview vs final result
Pixel viewfinder preview vs final result


It's also worth noting that all of these phones have three modes, when it comes to HDR that is — Off, Auto, and On. Obviously, if you don't really care all that much about control over your camera and just want to end up with an acceptable picture every time you press the shutter, leaving it on Auto is the best choice — the phone will analyze the situation and choose whether to engage HDR or not.

However, do note that Auto usually doesn't do as a dramatic a job as HDR On most of the time. This is true for many smartphones, the Galaxy S7 and Pixel included. An HDR Auto will give you a slightly balanced image, while a fully engaged HDR mode will squeeze some extra light and do extra subduing in a shot, but could also introduce a bit of shutter lag. We've seen this behavior in other brand smartphones, like Sony, so it's worth testing on whatever device you currently are on, too.

On to the images


So, we took the phones in questions for a spin both inside and outside and found a few scenes that would demand the use of HDR if you wanted all of the detail in them to be observable in the final photo. Let's check them out!

1 Tree trunk


Right off the bat, this is a pretty challenging shot. We are low to the ground, shooting the dark side of a tree trunk, with a sunny sky directly in the background. We put that red case there for some extra color. Here's how the phones fared:



By order of appearance, the iPhone 7 gave us the darkest shot here. Everything is still visible, and the sky still has a bit of blue in it.

The Pixel's shot gave us a similar result, but slightly more exposed. As a result, the sky is blown out, but we've got more detail on the ground and especially in the tree bark. The grass also has a warmer and more vivid color to it.

The Galaxy S7 went all out, amping up the picture's brightness. The sky is pretty much unsalvageable, but the shadows on the ground are nicely lit and everything is visible.

Each one of these has its benefits — if you just want to take a shot and instantly share it, we'd say the Galaxy S7 did the best here, as the photo is well-exposed and easy to view from the get-go. However, it definitely lacks in dynamics and feels a bit “fake”. We feel like you'd get a much better image if you grab a photo-editing app (like Snapseed) and tune up the Pixel's photograph. With its crisp detail and nice dynamics (check out the contrast between the sun spots and shades), you can get a more interesting final result.

The same can be said about the iPhone 7, but we just feel the Pixel captured a bit more detail here.

2 Bottle in a tree


What'chu doing up there, buddy? Looking upwards, we found this bottle, stuck in a tree. The sun is just over to the left and our phones are up for a second challenging shot. Let's see how they did.



The iPhone 7 definitely kept its cool. We didn't lose too much of the sky and the bottle is pretty visible — we expected at least its bottom to be lost to darkness.

At a glance, one might say the Pixel did an amazing job in this photo, but the longer we look at it, the less natural it looks. Shadows are boosted a bit too much, highlights are a bit too subdued, we can see HDR ghosting around the left edge of the tree, and the tree bark itself doesn't appear natural, probably due to HDR correcting it a bit too much.

The Galaxy S7 did an awesome job here, despite the sun showing a bit more in its photo than the other two phones. The sky is still balanced, and details in the tree are visible. There's some more to be said about its colors and oversharpening, but since we are only talking about HDR here, we'd say that the S7 and iPhone 7 are tied in this round, while the Pixel gets a frown.

3 Hot wheels


Crouching behind two cars that won't be going anywhere anytime soon, we've got the sun shining from the left. The natural shade between the vehicles and the details, hidden under their fenders, are the next trial for our cameras.



The iPhone 7 played it safe — the sky is perfectly blue and we lost a bit of details from the cars' undersides. However, when enhancing the photo in post, we can definitely see that the shaded areas are not entirely lost — something that can't be said about our next contestant.

The Pixel's photo looks very similar to the iPhone's, with the exception that we've got a smidgen more light in the bottom half of it. That made us think that we'll be able to squeeze out a bit more detail from the dark parts, but after enhancing the photo, we actually found that there is nothing there — despite looking darker, the iPhone photo actually holds some more information.

The Galaxy S7, again, is the brightest of the bunch. No details remain hidden for this camera, the sky still has some blue in it, and the cars' undersides are well captured. A couple of spots on the photo are burned out, and its overall balance is a bit too bright, in our opinion.

With that said, we give this round to the iPhone 7, thanks to its balanced performance, with the Galaxy S7 a very close second, thanks to the details it captured in the darkness, without overexposing the shot too much.

4 Fruit basket


Taking the phones inside and doing some shots against the brightly-lit windows, we truly push each phone's HDR to its limits. Like this fruit basket below, for example, which was, predictably, pretty hard on all three handsets.



The iPhone did its best to capture the trees outside the window and the dark front of the basket, but didn't do a good job at either. Most of the front is engulfed in shadow, and some details are visible outside, which is a commendable feat, but not as good as our next contestant.

The Pixel definitely did a great job here. The tree branches and unsightly cables outside the window are visible, with a blue sky behind them. In the meantime, the basket's front still shows detail — not super-fine, but still there!

The Galaxy S7 got the worst of both worlds — its highlights got blown out, its shadows are a black void.

A very obvious win for the Pixel here, with none of its competitors following anywhere close.

5 Flower under the sun


Last, we've got this beautiful red flower posted in front of our window. So, we've got the sun on the outside, and a shady area under the counter, just hanging out there at the bottom of our composition. How did the phones do?



The iPhone came up with the most natural shot, for sure, but it definitely suffers from being a bit underexposed. Some details under the counter and in the flower's leaves are lost for good.

In comes the Pixel with a very balanced shot — so balanced, that it, again, leaves a slight impression of being “fake”. Nonetheless, it's an amazing picture, especially considering the challenging conditions. Upon further inspection, however, we found that we've lost even more details in the leaves, despite the fact that the picture looks brighter than the iPhone's.

Finally, Sammy's HDR did a great job in this scene — striking a balance between details and keeping highlights at bay. Definitely our winning image for this round!

Conclusion


So, what does this all mean? We wouldn't go as far as to pick a favorite or point a winner in this test — each phone's HDR mode aims for a slightly different result, and each one takes good photos in its own way. Apple's iPhone will try to keep a natural look in the image, even if the photo turns out to be darker than you wished. Using tools to enhance the image later (such as iOS' excellent built-in photo editor) is possible and can help you make those darkened objects pop, if you are lucky. Google's Pixel does its best to balance light and shadow, and achieves some very, very impressive results. However, as a byproduct, the images sometimes just look cartoonish or heavily doctored — something that can't be removed with a simple photo edit. Samsung's Galaxy S7 favors boosting brightness and lighting up the dark spots, even if it happens to sacrifice details or proper colors around light sources. Again, this is sometimes extremely useful, but could at other times spoil your image a bit.

Obviously, which one you favor is an entirely personal choice, and we hope this comparison shed some light on the differences between the three phones... when it comes to HDR, that is. Which one did you like most?