News & Information for Creative Minds

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Matt Kloskowski the Education & Curriculum Developer for the National Association of Photoshop Professionals joins hosts Scott Sheppard and Gene Gable for some tips on how to get the most out of attending this year’s Photoshop World, held September 4-6, 2008 at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas, NV. Matt shares some of the highlights and also hints at Adobe’s technology previews planned at the event.

Photoshop World is filled with incredible instructors and many networking opportunities. Topics include how-to techniques on Photoshop, but also on the full range of Adobe Suite & Lightroom applications. Matt explains that photographers often double as designers, and of course designers are often faced being photographers for their clients. Gene asks to what level are attendees embracing working in a 3D space. Photoshop World is a place where you can learn, but as Matt discusses is also a great chance for the instructors to get interactive feedback and learn more aspects of the applications from their students.

For more information, and to register visit: http://www.photoshopworld.com

Design News of the Week with Jay Nelson

Jay Nelson joins us this week with an update on the exciting design oriented trade show and events planned in the next few months. Jay shares some highlights of the most popular including Print Buyer Certification Roadshows, Graph Expo for folks in commercial printing, Web 2.0 Expo in NYC, An Event Apart for Web developers, and many more. You can see a full list of events, courtesy of Design Tools Monthly, by visiting: http://www.design-tools.com/events

For more information about Jay and Design Tools visit: http://www.design-tools.com.

Rich Christianson, Founder, Featurific joins Inside Digital Design to explain his unique web flash gallery plug-in. Featurific, is an easy to use framework and Flash code available in two versions - an open Pro version that fits into any web site and a specialized free version built for Wordpress blogs. Rich explains that most web developers and marketers are challenged by gaining conversions on their website, grabbing a users attention and keeping them on their site. Featurific provides an interactive slideshow gallery that allows you to highlight stories and images that are sure to keep visitors on your site and coming back.

The Wordpress plug-in is easy to install and will automatically generate image gallery and headlines based on your blog entries. The Pro version supports various formats including added support for MP3 audio and FLV video! The system has many built-in templates but each is easy to customize without the need to know the code behind it.

For more information and to download a version today visit: http://www.featurific.com/

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Hugo Kristinsson, Founder, AbsoluteProof joins hosts Scott Sheppard and Gene Gable to discuss his new subscription model for high-end contract proofing. This system allows designers to setup their local or remote inkjet proofing printers with color matched profiles to match the colors of their preferred print shop’s presses or other output devices. AbsoluteProof is a high-end proofing RIP, similar to those that cost a few thousand dollars. Using their subscription model, which starts as low as $100 a month and includes full live technical support and setup.

For more information visit their site at: http://absolute-proof.com

Design News of the Week with Jay Nelson

Jay Nelson joins us this week with a lively discussion about converting Pantone colors to CMYK when setting up your print designs. Jay shares key tips and discovers a great tool that can provide a great reference for visualizing the color formulas via a CMYK Tint Book he found at http://www.tintbooks.com

For more information about Jay and Design Tools visit: http://www.design-tools.com.

Erik Arnesen, Creative Director & Owner, Aegir Productions joins Inside Digital Design to discuss his studio and the work they do reproducing high-end art catalogs and color managed workflow solutions for clients such as David Hockney. Erik, originally a photographer explains details on what it takes to to match colors on press and other remote locations including a studio in London, UK. Aegir is also an AbsoluteProof system user and provides some additional information on how this system has helped them acheive the wide gamut of colors required to match their client’s work.

For more information about Aegir Productions, visit their site at: http://www.aegirproductions.com/

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James Westbrooks, Owner, J2 Creative joins hosts Scott Sheppard andGene Gable to discuss how they take their designs to a range of mediums and some of the benefits of working in a small studio providing personalized services for their clients. J2 Creative studios consists primarily of James and his wife, who has a background in industrial design. J2 recently completed a project for Indiana Glass that allowed them to work on intricate designs for their product lines, James shares some tips and explains some of the workflow and other considerations when taking on such projects. James also discusses some of the factors to consider when working with your spouse and also the decision to work in a small firm vs. a larger agency.

To find out more about J2 Creative visit their site at: http://www.j2creative.us/

Design News of the Week with Jay Nelson

Jay Nelson joins us this week with an update on 2008 Adobe® Design Achievement Awards which is a global competition designed to showcase student work. Adobe brought the winners on an expense paid trip to New York City and even hosted tours of local design studios. Jay also shares some notes from AIGA|Aquent Survey of Design Salaries, which is done annually and provides some tools and great compensation information. Visit: http://www.designsalaries.com

For more information about Jay and Design Tools visit: http://www.design-tools.com.

Art Director, DJ Webb joins Inside Digital Design to share his experiences as a designer who recently left a large agency, DDB, and discusses some tips and ideas on the steps he is taking to make a mark as an independant freelance designer and art director. Leveraging his contacts within the agency space, DJ works with various clients expanding his portfolio mostly by word of mouth. DJ is a true creative who has had an interest in art and design since his early childhood. His passion and creativity now come through a broad range of projects including ideas for TV, interactive, radio, branding an alternative media (billboards, kiosk, bus shelters, etc) in addition to branding projects some local start-ups.

If you would like to connect with him about his work or experiences send him a note at: djwbrands at gmail dot com. You can see his gallery of work at: http://djwebbcreative.com/