Best Design

Within these pages, you'll find 80 creative challenges that will help you achieve a breadth of stronger design solutions, in various media, within any set time period. Just like today's real world of design, the tools freely cross boundaries between graphic, product and interaction design. David is currently an Interaction Design Director at frog, a global innovation firm, where he helps to guide the research, strategy and design of novel products and services for some of today's leading companies and nonprofit organizations. He has spoken and conducted workshops at events such as SxSW, Interaction 11, HOW Design Live, as well as at several design schools around the world.

In chapters such as You Don’t Have to Be a Genius ; Share Something Small Every Day ; and Stick Around , Kleon creates a user’s manual for embracing the communal nature of creativity— what he calls the “ecology of talent.” From broader life lessons about work (you can’t find your voice if you don’t use it) to the etiquette of sharing—and the dangers of oversharing—to the practicalities of Internet life (build a good domain name; give credit when credit is due), it’s an inspiring manifesto for succeeding as any kind of artist or entrepreneur in the digital age. His 10-step journey in this beginner’s guide to self-promotion emphasizes audience building and explains the how and why of such approaches as thinking about process rather than product, sharing something each day, teaching what you know, learning to take a punch, and developing staying power. Kleon’s use of artists’ quotes, photographs, and organizational diagrams enhances the text as he reminds readers of how interested people are in the creative process. --Whitney Scott "[Show Your Work is] timeless; readers can return to it repeatedly throughout life and still glean useful ideas and tips... In this creatively designed pocket-sized book, Kleon offers the latter group effective strategies that allow them to share their work without leaving their comfort zone . Fast Company Kleon addresses with equal parts humility, honesty, and humor one of the quintessential questions of the creative life: How do you get discovered ? In some ways, the book is the mirror-image of Kleon s debut rather than encouraging you to steal from others it offers a blueprint to making your work influential enough to be theft-worthy.

Masterfully weaving together pop science and history, Stoned breaks history into three categories—Want, Take, and Have—and explains what the diamond on your finger has to do with the GI Bill, why green-tinted jewelry has been exalted by so many cultures, why the glass beads that bought Manhattan for the Dutch were initially considered a fair trade, and how the French Revolution started over a coveted necklace. “Raden’s commentary on the often ugly side of human desire through the ages is consistently captivating, and her witty delivery makes the material shine.” (Publishers Weekly). What makes a stone a jewel? In this brilliant account of how eight jewels shaped the course of history, jeweler and scientist Aja Raden tells an original and often startling story about our unshakeable addiction to beauty and the darker side of human desire. With sharp wit and a light touch, Raden weaves together history, science, and economics to explore our enduring love affair with beautiful things, and shows us that just like their glittering surfaces, jewels have a singular power to reflect our desires back to us and show us who we really are.

Well, maybe you’re Writing and Publishing for the first time, or maybe you’ve done the hard part and you need to know how to get your Masterpiece out there and into the hands of a real audience? Where to find your first willing customers who'll kick-off your sales The importance of Reviews and how to get genuine customers to write them Using the right Keyword tactics to get your book onto Page 1 in Amazon's Category Search How to price, track, and promote your book, and when to write the next one Brand New Chapters on Kindle Unlimited, Countdown Deals, and Pre-Order, the powerful new Amazon Marketing Programs. Rick Smith is an independent Author and Publisher on Amazon, with multiple Top-Ten books in their categories, and numerous Best Seller badges. Rick Smith is an International Marketing Consultant and Self-Published Independent Author.

Discover the joys of upholstery and bring new life to your worn-out furniture. *Starred Review* It stands to reason that a big, heavily illustrated book of instructions on how to upholster furniture should be as attractive as the finished projects it presents. Amanda Brown from Spruce has been our resident upholstery expert for a while and we were thrilled when she told us she was working on a book. That gorgeous book, Spruce: A Step-by-Step Guide to Upholstery and Design , officially launched yesterday and is chock-full of beautiful (and helpful) upholstery instructions, illustrated by more than 900 step-by-step photographs. Upholstery has always been daunting to me, but Amanda is an excellent teacher and everything she’s shared in this book will help you master the techniques and skills you need to reupholster any piece of furniture to suit your own taste and style.

From basics to expert, it's two books in one, an efficient sewing machine guide and in-depth reference book that can stay with you for years to come. Both home machines and industrial machines are covered with sections dedicated to modern machines and vintage machines. From straight stitch machines to electronic machines over 100 of the most popular home and industrial machines are featured with insights on capabilities for each type of machine.

For all practical purposes making art can be examined in great detail without ever getting entangled in the very remote problems of genius." The book's co-authors, David Bayles and Ted Orland, are themselves both working artists, grappling daily with the problems of making art in the real world. Their insights and observations, drawn from personal experience, provide an incisive view into the world of art as it is expeienced by artmakers themselves. Art & Fear has attracted a remarkably diverse audience, ranging from beginning to accomplished artists in every medium, and including an exceptional concentration among students and teachers. David Bayles is an accomplished photographer, author, workshop leader, and conservationist.

How to Draw Cool Stuff shows simple step-by-step illustrations that make it easy for anyone to draw cool stuff with precision and confidence. It will be really useful during drawing sessions to guide students in a very practical and methodical way. Some of the ideas given are fun and unique and it is also a stress-free way of learning which makes it very useful guide for those who enjoy drawing and also for those who are trying to get into drawing."

Selected for their visual impact and usability by artist-collagist Jim Harter, these illustrations form one of the most extensive, copyright-free pictorial sourcebooks of animals ever assembled for the specific use of illustrators, graphic designers, craftspeople, decoupeurs, and collagists. Selected for their visual impact and usability by artist-collagist Jim Harter, these illustrations form one of the most extensive, copyright-free pictorial sourcebooks of animals ever assembled for the specific use of illustrators, graphic designers, craftspeople, decoupeurs, and collagists. Jim Harter is a successful artist and editor of several Dover Pictura CD-ROM Books, including Harter's Picture Archive for Collage and Illustration, Landscapes and Cityscapes for Artists and Craftspeople, Nautical Illustrations , and more.

Topics covered include: Technical illustration; Watercolour landscapes; Portraits; Painting scale models; Cake decorating; T-shirts and leather; Custom painting vehicles. This step-by-step guide to techniques and maintenance explains how to run and maintain an airbrush and gives step-by-step examples of a range of projects. The airbrush student has to learn significant new skills - to master not only colour and shade, but also air pressure, paint consistency and the diverse ways of masking and shading that can help to achieve such wonderful results.” —Professor Andy Penaluna.

For years, fans of Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra have burned with one question—what happened to Fire Lord Zuko's mother? He has since written and drawn a number of titles, including "Duncan s Kingdom", "The Rosary Comic Book", "Prime Baby" and "Animal Crackers".

From burlesque show to fashion runway, magazine cover to Internet video, fashion icon and “burlesque superheroine” ( Vanity Fair ) Dita Von Teese has undergone more strokes of red lipstick, bursts of hair spray, boxes of blue-black hair dye and pats of powder in a month than a drag queen could dream of in a lifetime. “When you stand next to Dita, it is hard not to wonder how such clarity and delicacy of beauty not only exists but is so consistent, so fresh—like a spring rose that is always blooming…We are all lucky to have some inside information on how to follow her regimen.” (Sharon Stone). Whether sitting front row at Dior or relaxing in a giant martini glass, Miss Von Teese is always the chic-est girl in the room.” (Simon Doonan). From burlesque show to fashion runway, magazine cover to Internet video, style icon and "burlesque superheroine" ( Vanity Fair ) Dita Von Teese has undergone more strokes of red lipstick, bursts of hair spray, boxes of blue-black hair dye, and pats of powder in a month than a drag queen could dream of in a lifetime. Whether she's dazzling audiences while swirling in a towering martini glass in Swarovski-crystal-covered pasties and stilettos or sparking camera flashes on the red carpet, one reality is constant: for this self-styled star, beauty is an art. Packed with sound nutrition and exercise guidance, skin care and scent insight, as well as accessible techniques for creating bombshell hairstyles and makeup looks and more, this inspiring resource shares the skills, history, and lessons you need to enhance your individual gifts and realize your own beauty mark.

While hand lettering can look intimidating, artist and blogger Amy Latta has a friendly and down-toearth approach that will give you the confidence to draw impressive designs with ease. With 46 unique workshops, each with a featured motivational design, you will gain enough proficiency to proudly share your lettered art on social media, make personalized gifts and even decorate your home. Her fun-loving word art coupled with whimsical line work is overflowing with personality―you can't help but want to join in the fun!”―Jen Goode, creativity adventurer at 100Directions.com. Amy Latta is an artist, hand lettering designer and the founder of the blog One Artsy Mama, where she shares honest inspiration for everyday life.

So how did he go from hapless office worker and serial failure to the creator of Dilbert , one of the world’s most famous syndicated comic strips, in just a few years? In How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big , Adams shares the game plan he’s followed since he was a teen: invite failure in, embrace it, then pick its pocket. As Adams explains, your best bet is to study the ways of others who made it big and try to glean some tricks and strategies that make sense for you. Adams pulls back the covers on his own unusual life and shares how he turned one failure after another—including his corporate career, his inventions, his investments, and his two restaurants—into something good and lasting. Adams’ own list of failures is—given his spectacular success as a cartoonist—surprisingly lengthy: a couple of unsuccessful restaurants as well as computer games, inventions, and online businesses that all tanked. --David Pitt “Adams has a funny, refreshingly considered set of ideas about how to find success—and what that success will look like when one gets there.”. — Kirkus Reviews “Scott Adams has drawn nearly 9,000 Dilbert cartoons since the strip began, in 1989, and his cynical take on management ideas, the effectiveness of bosses, and cubicle life has affected the worldview of millions.

In honor of the ten-year anniversary of The Heroin Diaries , Nikki Sixx’s definitive and bestselling memoir on drug addiction is reissued with exclusive new content. Joining him are Tommy Lee, Vince Neil, Mick Mars, Slash, Rick Nielsen, Bob Rock, and a host of ex-managers, ex-lovers, and more. International rock icon Nikki Sixx is one of the founding members of Mötley Crüe and Sixx:A.M., a two-time New York Times bestselling author of The Heroin Diaries and This Is Gonna Hurt , co-founder of rock couture fashion line Royal Underground, philanthropist, photographer, and host of the nationally syndicated radio show Sixx Sense, which airs on over 115 stations, and The Side Show Countdown. In addition to selling over 100 million albums with Mötley Crüe and Sixx:A.M., songs written by Sixx have been used in national commercials, his photographs have been published by the New York Post , and he’s raised several hundred thousand dollars through his Running Wild In The Night charity for Covenant House California. They haven't been crouched naked under a Christmas tree with a needle in their arm like an insane person in a mansion in Van Nuys. They're not out of their minds and writing in a diary and they're not watching their holiday spirit coagulating in a spoon. I didn't speak to a single person today...I thought of calling Bob Timmons, but why should I ruin his Christmas? So if I die, at least I leave a paper trail of my life (nice lil suicide note). BOB TIMMONS: By Christmas 1986, Nikki had been addicted to heroin and cocaine for at least a year, possibly longer. As a drug counselor, I first met Nikki when M?tley Cr?e's manager, Doc McGhee, called me in to work with the band's singer, Vince Neil. Over the years I have worked with platinum-selling artists from the Rolling Stones to the Red Hot Chili Peppers and all points in between, and let me make one thing clear from the start-M?tley Cr?e, more than anybody, wrote the book for decadence and partying. He came mooching in, with his greasy James Dean hair and his junkie eyes that are sunk so deep in his elongated face that he looks like he's wearing makeup, and he stood by the tree and asked me how my Christmas had been. Oh, she's nice enuff, but I know on the inside I'm just her meal ticket to an easier, softer life. Not just for the junk, they make enuff off me to maintain their cheap little habits, but she likes to decorate their little one-room rat's nest with the extra money they have left over. That's the real reason she demands he comes at my beck and call...she likes that extra cash for thrift shops and secondhand stores. I used to ride a Honda Shadow motorcycle around the Valleys with my shirt off, totally out of my mind. Yet as soon as I hit the pipe, within 30 seconds all hell breaks lose in my brain...and I keep on doing it and doing it and doing it and doing it, and I can't stop. Sixx and I, in particular, took a lot of narcotics, and he would always want to push things: "Hey, how about taking these two drugs together? Right now it seems impossible that cops are peering in from the trees outside or people are looking at me thru the peeohole at the front door. I would start out freebasing or mainlining anywhere in the house: the front room, the kitchen, the bathroom. I would huddle in there, surrounded by my drug paraphernalia and guns, convinced that people were in the house trying to get me, or a SWAT team was outside preparing to bust me. ROSS HALFIN: As a photographer I've shot M?tley Cr?e many times over the years for magazines and got particularly close to Nikki. I remember the first time I ever met him in LA we got on pretty well and decided to go for a drink that night.

40+ innovative pastel painting techniques : Feel inspired as you learn new approaches to using pastel to build up and reveal layers, incorporate monotypes as underpaintings, create texture that cannot be duplicated by drawing or painting, and more. Dawn's work is featured in Strokes of Genius and she has written numerous articles for Pastel Journal.

Get this Amazon best seller for just $3. Read on your PC, Mac, smart phone, tablet or Kindle device Tetra breeding Pearl Gourami Betta Aquarium Maintenance Protein Skimmer Tilapia breeding African cichlids Arulius barb Much, much, more!

And finally, 12 projects to show off your newfound skills: including a Winter Wonderland Snow Globe; a smartphone-themed birthday card to text friends and family; a one-of-a-kind party invitation to create, photograph, and mail; and a bake sale sign guaranteed to put everyone who sees it in the mood for a cupcake! Say It with Chalk In more than 60 lessons learn the art of hand-drawn chalk lettering from an Etsy superstar.

In chapters such as You Don’t Have to Be a Genius ; Share Something Small Every Day ; and Stick Around , Kleon creates a user’s manual for embracing the communal nature of creativity— what he calls the “ecology of talent.” From broader life lessons about work (you can’t find your voice if you don’t use it) to the etiquette of sharing—and the dangers of oversharing—to the practicalities of Internet life (build a good domain name; give credit when credit is due), it’s an inspiring manifesto for succeeding as any kind of artist or entrepreneur in the digital age. His 10-step journey in this beginner’s guide to self-promotion emphasizes audience building and explains the how and why of such approaches as thinking about process rather than product, sharing something each day, teaching what you know, learning to take a punch, and developing staying power. Kleon’s use of artists’ quotes, photographs, and organizational diagrams enhances the text as he reminds readers of how interested people are in the creative process. --Whitney Scott "[Show Your Work is] timeless; readers can return to it repeatedly throughout life and still glean useful ideas and tips... In this creatively designed pocket-sized book, Kleon offers the latter group effective strategies that allow them to share their work without leaving their comfort zone . Fast Company Kleon addresses with equal parts humility, honesty, and humor one of the quintessential questions of the creative life: How do you get discovered ? In some ways, the book is the mirror-image of Kleon s debut rather than encouraging you to steal from others it offers a blueprint to making your work influential enough to be theft-worthy.

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