Design is Fluid

Graphic Designers are no longer segmented into neat categories of print, web, typography, illustration, ect... Designers today, especially freelance and those who work at a small firm, are called to be more diverse and offer a variety of skill sets. It is impossible to know it all, but we can see some growing trends for young designers

UX: "user experience" This is a growing field for business and designers. It is crucial to understand how users will interact with your site or app to know how best to program and layout the program so that it works with the intended audience. This can help your specialty brand or business to tailor your enterprise directly for the needs of your customers.

Coding: Maybe its because we grew up with computers, but many young designers know at least a bit of code if not expanding their capabilities to create custom sites for themselves and their clients. If you don't know any coding and would like to learn more Treehouse.com and Lynda.com are great resources. Of course searching on google can provide you lots of great information on html, css, javascript, php, and any other programming you may need to use to create your next website or app.

Guitar Cards with thermographic printing

Print still leaves and will new technogologies come with new ways to interact with print. Because of technology advancement it can bring the cost of doing specialty effects down. Such as embossing, thermal ink, matte mixed with Aqueous gloss, die-cuts, and more. Obviously I am still a fan of the old techniques, such as letterpress. Most of these technqiues just take one additional pass through the printing press. Print can really do anything you can put your imagine

HTML Cheat Sheet

I have been doing quite a bit of coding lately, but since I do not do this everyday I have trouble remember coding I need for even simple code tidbits. So I created a sheet cheat for myself, so I thought I would share what I have been looking up constantly lately:

Dashes
em dash(—) —
en dash(–) –

Styles
<div style="font-size: 18px;
                    font-style:italic;
                    border-right: 1px #7c1120"></div>


Tables ( I have been working in word press and needed to use tables to create columns)

<table>
     <tr>
     <td></td>
     </tr>
</table>



Always check your closing tags </> is very important, and can mess up your code badly if you forget to do it.

QR Codes vs Microsoft Tag

I am just starting to use QR codes with my clients, but I have been seeing more and more about Microsoft Tag. It uses CMYK colors to create a code. These are high capacity color codes, that can hold more information than a QR code can, but the Microsoft Tag code reader is not as common as the QR scanner. QR scans can be used in BW (which is common for cheaper prints and newspaper ads). Microsoft Tag must have CMYK. Both can be branded with image. QR codes can be colorful as long as the contrast is high enough. Microsoft tag can do both black and white and any color of the rainbow; but, the Microsoft tag can be transformed into images and icons more easily than QR code without losing readability.

Microsoft tag is a great way to continue your brand, while being functional. Some people believe that Microsoft Tag will replace QR codes. I think it's more likely they will co-exist until they are replaced by something else. Currently simple Microsoft Tags are free, but the website states that they will charge in the future for anything more than the basic features. 

There are enhancements sites for QR codes as well, and they also charge. The original QR code has a license that is not be exercised by the creator. I doubt that would happen with Microsoft tag. You have to have an account with Microsoft tag (it is simple: just your hotmail or msn account), but something very beneficial about this type of coding is there are analytics that Microsoft manages for you for your code. Codes could be "temporary" in that they would exist within a pre-arranged time period, which creates a valid reason for Microsoft to limit who can create their type of coding. There could be too many codes interfering to make relaying information difficult. 

Enhancements to either code do not have to be done my expensive sites, but by you through Adobe Illustrator, but unless you are skilled in the program you would have a difficult time developing the image, while allowing the code to still connect to your information. Skills could save you some doe, but it can save effort if you want to use what Microsoft already has available.

This Microsoft Tag Code links to my website, but I limited its availability until the end of this month.

Quickly Responding (this month)

I had seen QR codes, but I had never used them. This past month it seems like all of our clients are requesting QR codes on brochures, posters, and ads. I have had to learn about these little codes for my clients. QR stands for Quick Response Code often linking from the code using a mobile app to connect to a website. Up to 7,089 characters can be encoded in these little squares, where as a traditional barcode is only 20. It carries information vertically and horizontally, which is how it can hold so much information. It even has error correction built in. Data can be restored if then is up to 30% of code words are damaged.

These codes are easiest to use if they are black and white, but as long as the contrast is high enough the code can be read in any color. But after experiencing a frustrating QR scan from the newspaper with 4 colors I would suggest keeping the code simple. It is great to have a pretty code, but if it doesn't function it is pointless. Since 30% of the data can be damaged you can take some risk in creating images within the code to give it an extra detail and design.

Shelby Montross of Meadowlark Creative.
I love the simplicity the QR code enables
this business card to have.

There are several sites out there that allow you to generate QR codes, and usually give you a choice of file type, size, and sometimes: color. QR codes can be great to put on business cards, to drive contacts to your portfolio or website. They are also good for  promotional pieces, such as posters where people can link to the event site or a location to buy tickets. It is most helpful on long/specific website addresses. If it is something short and easy  to remember: like apple.com, it is probably not worth the extra effort to develop a code.

There are a variety of mobile codes that you can use (but not all apps can read all codes). Some codes  to choose from are QR code, Color Code (microsoft tag), Shot Code, Maxi Code, Aztec Code, Tillcode, Semacode, and EZCode. QR codes were developed by DENSO Wave, and prominent in Japan and has taken longer to become popular in the United States. Has anyone else experienced an increased use of this QR code, particularly in your own work?

Some good resources to check out if you are interested in using QR codes in any marketing that you are doing:

• QR Code Resume: This QR code on his resume that led to a rich experience.
• 5 Mistakes to Avoid in a QR campaign.
• QR Code Generator.
• QR Codes are on the Rise, and I am not the only one who noticed!
  

Coding and Design

My boss sent me this link today http://www.ecnmag.com/news/2010/09/research/C++Code-images.aspx

It's about a professor who makes images using C++ coding. I think that is pretty amazing, and a lot of work has to go into that.

Henrik Wann Jensen must have a lot patience. Using artistic ability along with conventional in depth coding is an odd twist for the art world today. Maybe artists can pass the boundary and discover a relationship with coding.