Happy Friday Video: Homer buys a computer

We all get sucked into buying something at one point or another.

sample only

So you have to do some work for someone and they didn’t pay you yet. Or, let’s say that they only paid you half and you get the other half when you complete the project. Whatever the reason, in order for them to be happy (remember, the customer is always right!), they have to see what you’ve been up to.

If you don’t want your work stolen, use a watermark on the work you send them. This is done really easy with photoshop by creating a new file (165 x 73 pixels) and typing the word “sample”. Use a font size that can fit neatly in the center of the file. Do not use a background color, just have the text with a clear background.

Save it as a pattern (Edit>Define Pattern) and then fill in your new pattern in your flattened artwork (please use a copy, not the original!) using the layer effects. You can adjust the size and opacity in the fx panel. Put the opacity low (10-20) so that they can view your artwork. Once your happy, your almost done!

Make sure your artwork is 72 dip (dots per inch/resolution) by going to Image > Image Size. Save your work and send it! Now your work can’t be stolen because it says “sample” all over it. Not only that, the resolution is so low that it wouldn’t even be worth printing. Yay for designers!

debugging: 5 tips to keep you sane

Debugging sucks. It’s a painful process that every programmer has to face at some point. Unless your are using an application that lets you walk through your script line by line, then it can be a pain in the pocket protector to find your error. Here are 6 tips that can save your sanity while debugging.

If your script isn’t working, make sure to look out for the basics before you have a heart attack:

1. Declare your variables with descriptive names. This way at least you’ll know what your using and where/why it’s being used.
2. Check your opening and closing tags. Every script has their own. Make sure that they open and close when they need to. This can be especially tricky when it comes to loops, so keep your eyes sharp.
3. Make sure your passing the right arguments. Check out what’s being passed by printing the value on the screen. This way you are working with what you really think is really there.
4. Check your syntax for basic misspellings. This means double checking the name of your functions, all it takes is 1 character to mess up a script. Make sure your calling calculateData(), not calculteData().
5. Relax. If you can’t find your error, take a break and come back to it. There is no reason to get your panties in a bunch if you can’t find your bug. Unless of course your on a deadline, then you better get your ass to work and find your error.

If you still have script errors, search the net to see if anyone wrote code similar to yours. Better yet, check out Krugle.com. It’s code you can search. Check out their demo first so you can get started fast. Hopefully then your script will run nicely.
Happy programming!

CS3 is out!!

Something that I forgot to mention (in case you live under a rock), the new Adobe CS3 is out!! Holy crap, it’s out!! Tell the world!!

Happy Friday Video: now that’s old school

A tribute to art from the streets.

get your creative juices flowing

Sometimes when you trying to be creative for a project (web/print), nothing comes out. You can visit all kinds of websites and do all of the image searches you can think of to get some inspiration and still, nothing comes out. Here’s an idea that can get you back in the game and focused on the task at hand.

Pick an idea similar to your project and start free-styling. For example, lets say you are doing a logo for abc company. You have a few ideas in your head but everything you do simply sucks.

Create a company with a similar name, xyz, and start creating. Give yourself a limited amount of time to create your best logo. Try doing it in 5 minutes. Within that time, you have to create the best logo possible for xyz. Try it, I dare you.

Because your under time constraints, you’ll find yourself scrambling under the pressure to create the best logo possible. For extra fun, compete against a friend under the same guise. You’ll notice that your heart will beat a little faster and your eye will be a little sharper.

Like most projects, everything is due at a certain time. If your project just happens to have a limit of 5 minutes, then your pretty much ass-ed out. But, if you can spare the extra time to get creative, take it.

The great thing about this exercise is that you can do it with any design project; flier, banner, poster, web interface, whatever. Just use your time wisely to produce your best personal results.

Happy Friday Video: advanced computer troubleshooting

super quick tip: stop erasing, use a mask instead

When your trying to edit a picture with Photoshop, before doing anything, duplicate the layer to preserve the original copy. Then when your ready to edit the duplicate, use a mask:
found at the bottom of the layers palette to erase any unwanted pixels. This way while your adding your’re effects and whatnot’s, you’ll have the original as well as a copy that hasn’t been erased.

fun with photoshop: America’s sweetheart, Sanjaya Malakar

Here’s a new category that I call fun with photoshop where  I create original fun art.
Enjoy!

Caesar Cipher

The Caesar cipher is probably the first type of encryption technique that cryptanalysis learn. It’s a super easy algorithm that uses substitution on plain-text to encrypt a message.

Happy (good) Friday Video: JavaScript Hack!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNBWvaLKSYw

This will come in handy:

(Visual purposes only. An unbroken string must be used in order to work):

javascript:
R=0;
x1=.1; y1=.05;
x2=.25; y2=.24;
x3=1.6; y3=.24;
x4=300; y4=200;
x5=300; y5=200;
DI=document.images;
DIL=DI.length;function A(){
 for(i=0; i-DIL; i++){
  DIS=DI[i].style;
  DIS.position=’absolute’;     
  DIS.left=Math.sin(R*x1+i*x2+x3)*x4+x5;
  DIS.top=Math.cos(R*y1+i*y2+y3)*y4+y5;
 }
R++
}
setInterval(‘A()’,5);
void(0);

Experiment with variable values!

Google is on TV (?)

 

So it seems that our “not so evil” friend Google has their sight’s set on getting an ad on the boob-tube. Google is said to strike a deal with the dish network EchoStar. The search engine giant currently has some ads on the radio, so they figure why not grab a spot on the idiot box.Is Google on their way to global domination? Google cereal anyone?

tiny fonts are best with Verdana

People loooove having small fonts on their websites. Have you seen this? I still don’t understand the trend, but it’s everywhere. Not only do they love having these super tiny fonts, but they pick the most dreadful fonts to go with.

I think people think that it looks all super cool and stylish. “Oh, look at me; bust out my super fine font, how vogue of me”. Cut the crap.

I’m not against having small fonts, they are good when used properly (legal stuff, footer links, etc). But come on, if the main content is written in these god awful sizes, you can’t read a damn thing.

There are sites that, for instance, are displaying code within their article. That’s cool, but why make the font so impossible to read? I’m sure you’ve seen this:

<script language=”javascript”>
function thisFontSucks(){
alert(“Please stop using these tiny fonts.\nDo it for the children.”);
}
</script>

Maybe it looks good with your resolution, but with mine at 1280×1024, it can be annoying. If your going to go with a small font on your website, go with Verdana. It’s simple, clean, and legible. Compare the following standard web fonts and you be the judge:

Arial: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Nam semper, diam vitae rhoncus eleifend, dui ligula consectetuer nunc, sed faucibus velit leo in magna. Suspendisse sed eros. Proin eu elit ut libero suscipit sollicitudin. Mauris eu dolor pellentesque orci lacinia dapibus. Phasellus tempus purus tincidunt sapien. Nulla vitae massa vel elit gravida scelerisque. Integer nec sem. Vestibulum aliquam nunc vel nisl. In lacus libero, pharetra sed, volutpat vitae, ultricies et, velit. Suspendisse luctus ultricies augue. Curabitur imperdiet nisi vel neque. Nunc vel nisi. Donec hendrerit porttitor tortor.

Times New Roman: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Nam semper, diam vitae rhoncus eleifend, dui ligula consectetuer nunc, sed faucibus velit leo in magna. Suspendisse sed eros. Proin eu elit ut libero suscipit sollicitudin. Mauris eu dolor pellentesque orci lacinia dapibus. Phasellus tempus purus tincidunt sapien. Nulla vitae massa vel elit gravida scelerisque. Integer nec sem. Vestibulum aliquam nunc vel nisl. In lacus libero, pharetra sed, volutpat vitae, ultricies et, velit. Suspendisse luctus ultricies augue. Curabitur imperdiet nisi vel neque. Nunc vel nisi. Donec hendrerit porttitor tortor.

Courier New: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Nam semper, diam vitae rhoncus eleifend, dui ligula consectetuer nunc, sed faucibus velit leo in magna. Suspendisse sed eros. Proin eu elit ut libero suscipit sollicitudin. Mauris eu dolor pellentesque orci lacinia dapibus. Phasellus tempus purus tincidunt sapien. Nulla vitae massa vel elit gravida scelerisque. Integer nec sem. Vestibulum aliquam nunc vel nisl. In lacus libero, pharetra sed, volutpat vitae, ultricies et, velit. Suspendisse luctus ultricies augue. Curabitur imperdiet nisi vel neque. Nunc vel nisi. Donec hendrerit porttitor tortor.

Georgia: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Nam semper, diam vitae rhoncus eleifend, dui ligula consectetuer nunc, sed faucibus velit leo in magna. Suspendisse sed eros. Proin eu elit ut libero suscipit sollicitudin. Mauris eu dolor pellentesque orci lacinia dapibus. Phasellus tempus purus tincidunt sapien. Nulla vitae massa vel elit gravida scelerisque. Integer nec sem. Vestibulum aliquam nunc vel nisl. In lacus libero, pharetra sed, volutpat vitae, ultricies et, velit. Suspendisse luctus ultricies augue. Curabitur imperdiet nisi vel neque. Nunc vel nisi. Donec hendrerit porttitor tortor.

Verdana: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Nam semper, diam vitae rhoncus eleifend, dui ligula consectetuer nunc, sed faucibus velit leo in magna. Suspendisse sed eros. Proin eu elit ut libero suscipit sollicitudin. Mauris eu dolor pellentesque orci lacinia dapibus. Phasellus tempus purus tincidunt sapien. Nulla vitae massa vel elit gravida scelerisque. Integer nec sem. Vestibulum aliquam nunc vel nisl. In lacus libero, pharetra sed, volutpat vitae, ultricies et, velit. Suspendisse luctus ultricies augue. Curabitur imperdiet nisi vel neque. Nunc vel nisi. Donec hendrerit porttitor tortor.

Geneva: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Nam semper, diam vitae rhoncus eleifend, dui ligula consectetuer nunc, sed faucibus velit leo in magna. Suspendisse sed eros. Proin eu elit ut libero suscipit sollicitudin. Mauris eu dolor pellentesque orci lacinia dapibus. Phasellus tempus purus tincidunt sapien. Nulla vitae massa vel elit gravida scelerisque. Integer nec sem. Vestibulum aliquam nunc vel nisl. In lacus libero, pharetra sed, volutpat vitae, ultricies et, velit. Suspendisse luctus ultricies augue. Curabitur imperdiet nisi vel neque. Nunc vel nisi. Donec hendrerit porttitor tortor.

Geneva and Arial are also a good picks, but don’t you see how clearly Verdana stands out? If you want to follow the tiny font trend, be my guest. Just please do it with a legible font.

Now if you make the mistake of using a crappy small font and a horrible color scheme between text and background, then you are setting yourself up for design hell. Stay away from tiny fonts with serifs. Please, do it for the children.