Gary Brunelle, Director of Sales at Monotype Imaging Inc. joins hosts Scott Sheppard and Gene Gable for an overview of Monotype’s latest fonts and font management tools. Monotype Imaging represents the core type brand libraries of Monotype, Linotype, and ITC. Gary explains that each library releases an average of 15 new typefaces each quarter from a range of popular and new type designers.

One of the main issues designers face daily is font management, Gary explains how the latest versions of FontExplorer® X Pro and FontExplorer® X Server can address those challenges. Gary describes some of the features and details for managing and completing your type libraries. For designers or agencies requiring access to a range of font licenses, Monotype offers bundles and annual subscription programs for larger firms requiring 20+ license seats.

Gary shares some examples of font licensing issues and how FontExplorer X Server can help manage deployment and proper licensing. Monotype also offers a product called Fontwise which is a client/server font auditing tool that helps determine font usage and can help fill in any collections that might require additional license seats.

For more information and a free trial, visit: http://www.fontexplorerx.com/download or http://www.monotype.com.

Design News of the Week

Gene and Scott tackle the tough issue of copyright infringement, fair use, and derivative works this week discussing the recent arrests and legal suits filed between artist Shepard Fairey and the Associated Press. Fairey, whose celebrated “Hope” poster of Barack Obama seems to be based on a popular AP Photo taken by Mannie Garcia and claims Fairey is guilty of infringement. Fairey responded to the accusation by filing a suit against AP to affirm that his use of the image is protected by the fair use provision of the copyright law.

In a related discussion, Scott shares a site created by Paste Media Group “Obama Me” that allows you to upload an image and create your own version of the now infamous poster. Check it out at: http://www.obamiconme.com.

Ted Balderree, Industry Manager, Consumer Products, Autodesk Manufacturing Solutions joins hosts Scott Sheppard & Gene Gable to explain some tips about transitioning from 2D to 3D design. Ted discusses how Autodesk’s powerful digital prototyping tools can not only assist in final product and packaging development but also provide early images, renderings, and elements designers can use in marketing, brochures, web, and other promotional materials. Having access to “final” product images long before final production can have an enormous impact on shortening time to market for new product introductions.

AutoCAD has set the standard in 2D and 3D design software for the manufacturing, building and construction, and media and entertainment markets since 1982. Their aquisition of Alias and Maya have greatly expanded their portfolio of products enabling creative designers to access these powerful tools and integrate them within their workflow. Ted shares some tips on how designers can get training on these applications and 3D design techniques. Many colleges and universities offer classes on  AliasStudio and Maya, Autodesk Resellers offer local training classes around the world, or you can train yourself using their “Autodesk AliasStudio Personal Learning Edition“. The learning versions include interactive tips and guides within the applications while you are working on a project file.

Autodesk provides exceptional design tools for product development, manufacturing, architechture, video, entertainment, animation, gaming and more. You can download free trial versions of both AliasStudio (Windows only), or Maya (Mac/Win)

For more information on their full range of solutions visit: http://www.autodesk.com. They also have an Autodesk Gallery at One Market Street in San Francisco, CA showcasing over 20 exhibits featuring amazing work. 

Design News of the Week with Jay Nelson

Jay shares his thoughts and experiences this week on the “Death of Macworld“, which he feels is greatly exaggerated. Even without Apple’s booth presence, Macworld remains a great place for networking, seeing a full breadth of Mac related products, and learn valuable skills in a range of areas. Looking ahead to next year’s event, Jay explains that although the nature of the show will be different without the famous Steve Jobs Apple keynote there will be plenty of interactive and experiential hands-on sessions that encourage social learning. See details, join their network, and stay tuned for Macworld 2010 at: http://www.macworldexpo.com/

Jay shares a tip on a font management tool – Type DNA – which adds a great deal of functionality as a plug-in to your favorite design applications including Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and Microsoft Office. Type DNA can recognize typefaces, organize them, and even provide suggestions on finding the perfect, complementary typefaces for any project. Check it out at: http://www.typedna.com

Jay maintains a special industry calendar with more details, dates, locations, and links at: http://www.design-tools.com/events/

For more on Jay Nelson and his Design Tools topics visit: http://www.design-tools.com

Chad Siegel, Group Product Manager, Design Segment, Adobe Systems Inc. joins hosts Scott Sheppard, Gene Gable, and Jay Nelson to explain the latest features for designers in Adobe Creative Suite 4. Gene, an Adobe beta tester, feels strongly that this is Adobe’s most integrated application suite yet released since their acquisition of Macromedia in 2005. Chad confirms that this version is the most complete multi-media offering in terms of delivering a seamless, cohesive set of design tools for any creative professional.

Chad shares some anecdotes about the challenges Adobe faced in developing the integrated user interface and some of the benefits of now having an integrated UI across all components. Chad explains that their entire process from conceptualization, to testing in Adobe Labs, and final delivery have made most Adobe employees now feel like “kids in a candy store” with unlimited possibilities of integration and extensions among the platforms. A great example is Adobe Acrobat’s 9 integration of Flash technologies helping creatives develop interactive designs.

Some of the highlights include that the rendering and print engines have been integrated on the back end of the applications, what this means for designers is that now it’s easier to reliably export or output into a range of formats. Chad recently participated in the Adobe MAX 2008 North American Conference, held last week in San Francisco. He feels the key benefit of this conference was his ability to get live feedback and interact with users.

Chad also shares some tips on how the new 3D tools and overall video workflows within After Effects and Photoshop that can really open up some opportunities. Gene and Jay also open up discussions on how today’s economy can affect a designer’s ability to justify upgrading their software – Chad provides some key considerations that can expand a creatives capabilities which can not only bring them new business but open them up to new clients. Chad also explains that with the redesigned interface in Creative Suite 4, can also save time by requiring fewer keystrokes and with the tighter integration many fewer steps to accomplish the same tasks. Chad also shares a glimpse of some of Adobe’s future developments including the potential for a pay-as-you-go model currently being piloted in markets outside the U.S.

Find out more at: http://www.adobe.com, or see Adobe’s favorite social links by visiting: http://delicious.com/adobe/

For more on Jay Nelson and his Design Tools topics visit: http://www.design-tools.com

Fabrizio Scippa, Creative Director/Signor Dettaglio & Marc Aguilera, Color Management Director/Eclectic Technologist from Encompus, Inc. join hosts Scott Sheppard and Gene Gable for some hands-on tips about how they are using and have integrated color management tools into their design workflows. Encompus specializes in creating brands and identities for medium sized businesses and Fabrizio explains that color in the look of the brand is an extremely important element in their design philosophy. Since they often create brands for their clients across all mediums print to web, color consistancy is very important to them.

Fabrizio shares examples of how color has opened up many business opportunities for them. Growing up in Rome around a family business in interior design, Fabrizio has learned the impact of color in many forms. Marc, who has a photography background, works well with his team because he is able to accurately measure color elements in nature and successfuly are able replicate and communicate them for each project. Like many studios, Encompus sees color as being a top priority and Marc shares some details about their workflows and how they are able to maintain consistancy in their studio using standards such as GRACoL 7; share those color settings, calibrating their monitors and proofers. Marc shares that they provide each client with a document that “decodes” their brand colors within the various color spaces and is actively involved in color education speaking at seminars around the country.

Marc also shares some tips on how designers – who are often overwhelmed by the technology of color – can easily improve color consistancy in their designs with tips he’s presented in his discussions during the Color Control Freak seminars. His hands-on experience enable him to get the most of out available color tools from X-Rite, using their measurement and calibration devices in addition to relying on the Pantone Goe™ System and Pantone Matching System® swatches to acheive color they can rely on. Marc also explains how they use the EFI RIP designer edition to accurately match colors in their output.

Jay Nelson joins the chat with focused questions for Encompus about the Pantone Goe™ System and their ColorMunki. Marc shares a live client example where they were asked to match a terracotta tile color that after measuring it with the ColorMunki, found there was no exact match in the standard Pantone Matching System®. Fortunately for Encompus, when cross-referencing the color to the Goe system, they were able to identify an exact match that pleased the client and enabled them to

For more information about Encompus and examples of their work visit: http://www.encompus.com/

Design News of the Week with Jay Nelson

Jay shares a great tip for a retro-plugin that will definately spark up your next design called Permanent Press by Mister Retro at: http://www.misterretro.com. This unique plug-in lets you create professional quality vintage offset printing and ink effects with any design, photograph, type treatment or image. Jay’s hot topic of the week is whether or not the design industry is ready to adopt the Pantone Goe™ System. The bigger question is are the printers using the newly defined Pantone Goe™ System base inks or are they using their existing inventory with some other matching techniques? Overall, the new color system offers a larger range of colors, organized it into a manner that addresses some of the flaws inherent in the older, but widely adopted Pantone Matching System®.

For more on Jay Nelson and his Design Tools topics visit: http://www.design-tools.com

Andy Hussie, President & Andrew Hussie, CTO, Master Colors LLC join hosts Scott Sheppard and Gene Gable for an overview and discussion of their unique digital color selection tool, HVC Color Composer. Andy explains how his background as an artist/painter inspired him to find a better color selection tool. Using his son,Andrew’s talents in programming they were able to create a completely different way of composing color palettes that are able to predict complementary hues within a specified color range. Working as an enhanced color picker tool in both Photoshop and InDesign, this powerful plug-in expands not only the range of definable colors but allows designers to quickly arrange, organize, and select colors specifically for their project.

The HVC Color Composer accurately measures the contrast between colors, allowing it to create coherent “smart palettes” that work with various target colors chosen by the artist. The HVC Color Composer gives professional artists and designers complete control of their color compositions, and allows the user to create an unlimited number of color palette. Andrew explains some of the differences between using the HVC and other color spaces including RGB, Lab, CYMK and give some tips on how the HVC Color Composer analyzes and assigns colors in relation to these color areas.

The plug-ins are reasonably priced, under $100 and include a one-hour custom tutorial demo – by Andy or Andrew – on how to use the HVC color space to your best advantage allowing you to immediately begin mixing colors at a new level.

For more information, and to download a demo version visit: http://www.master-colors.com/

Design News of the Week with Jay Nelson

Jay Nelson joins us this week for an update on his recent trip to the Institute of Newspaper Technology Conference held October 9-11, in Knoxville, TN. Jay shares some of the details on their workflows and challenges. Most of the conference attendees represented local, mid-west newspapers whose constant pressure to reduce their operating costs have made it difficult for them to maintain their circulation. Jay also brings up the Orphan Works Bill which we will cover extensively in a future program. Jay, Gene, and Scott discuss the release of Apple’s updated MacBook and some possible issues around their decision to discontinue matte displays on Apple MacBooks.

For more on Jay Nelson and his Design Tools topics visit: http://www.design-tools.com

Gene and Scott round out the week with some tips on how to keep your creative business booming even when the current ecomomic conditions are not.

Dave Tabler, Portfolio Manager, The iSpot.com joins hosts Scott Sheppard and Gene Gable for some background and information on their popular illustrator portfolio site. Since 1996, The iSpot.com has held a place online for artists and illustrators to join forces and showcase their work for hire and stock. Formed to assist artist representatives to have a place for clients to locate and view a range of illustrations. Dave explains there are two areas The iSpot.com focuses on; one being portfolios and the other involves rights managed stock illustrations, not clipart.

Dave has worked closely with many artists, helping them properly identify and keyword tag their particular style so that art directors and creative shoppers can easily locate their work. The ability to properly tag and identify artist samples is critical in matching the right illustrator to the right project. Dave shares some insight on the work they’ve done to adjust and maintain popular tags. The iSpot.com has comprehensive tracking for each image viewed and will coach the artists on how to best showcase their most popular styles. Dave also explains their revenue model, and the costs associated in working with them. Althought the iSpot.com is one of the most renowned and popular websites dedicated to illustration, Dave explains that they continue to advertise and promote their services to ensure their artists get hired. They are a global site, representing artists from over 26 countries.

For more information on The iSpot.com visit their site at: http://www.theispot.com/

Design News of the Week with Jay Nelson

Jay Nelson joins us this week for an update on Adobe’s recent release of Creative Suite 4 addressing the pressing question – Should I upgrade? Jay explains that many times designers skip a version so Adobe may see more updates from CS2 to CS4 than from their current CS3 base. Gene explains that this jump might also require a significant hardware upgrade in order to take advantage of the new features. Jay shares some of his favorite new enhancements including a redesigned interface, better collaboration tools, new 3D effects, and keyboard shortcuts. For more information and details visit: http://www.adobe.com/products/creativesuite/

For more on Jay Nelson and his Design Tools topics visit: http://www.design-tools.com

Mark Dancey, Designer/Cartoonist/Illustrator, Illuminado joins Inside Digital Design for some information about his work and how he gains exposure and clients as a traditional illustrator. Mark’s work includes gallery exhibitions, album designs, cartoons and other organic media. Mark shares his experiences and insights on how he uses digital representations of his art on his website to promote to his clients but explains that although it provides instant access, maintaining the original artist intent from analog to digital can present compromises and challenges.

For more about his work visit: http://www.illuminado.com

Lonn Lorenz, Acrobat Product Manager, Adobe joins hosts Scott Sheppard & Gene Gable for some tips, insight anddetails for designers about Acrobat 9 Pro.Lonn highlights that two of the most exciting new features include the ability to create interactive portfolios which can showcase your multimedia work and include native Flash .swf files to interact within PDF documents. He also discusses the updated http://www.acrobat.com site which enables many interactive and online features of Acrobat 9, and provide a perfect place to store and share your new portfolio and work with your clients for free.

Acrobat is an integral part of any designer’s workflow, the new tools deliver an enhanced level of interactivity and collaboration with their new version. For more information visit: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/

Design News of the Week with Jay Nelson

Jay Nelson joins us this week to ask Lonn some questions about the inherent problems between design applications and workflow issues relevant to upgrading to Mac OS X 10.5. Leopard may be fine for most users, but it still isn’t ready for designers even with the most recent 10.5.4 update. Even with the long list of issues which have been addressed with each Leopard update, there are still problems that affect the graphic design community. Leopard’s printing architecture, for example, has problems that are preventing some users from accessing all of the options for their printers, which could be a show-stopper in some workflows. Lonn explains some resources available on Adobe.com that may help address these issues before upgrading.

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

Bob Levine, Adobe Certified Expert & “The InDesign Guy” Graphic Design & Consulting joins Inside Digital Design for some real-world examples of how designers can benefit from the new version of Acrobat 9. Bob has used Adobe tools since their inception and is truly an expert in their applied use with his clients. Bob shares some tips and insight on how the upgraded features have helped him not only in working with printers but also addressing the needs of his clients.

For more information about Bob’s work visit: http://www.theindesignguy.com/

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/

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/

Gene Gable shares some insightful tips about how to avoid burnout at work based Harris Interactive® study completed for CareerBuilder.com.The study concluded that over 78% of workers felt burned out at work. One of the most popular options employees choose is alternative work schedules, compressed work weeks, or working from home. Gene, who works from home, warns that these options are not always the best solutions for reducing stress and can in fact create more stress in balancing your home and work life. Gene also reminds us the value of saying the word “no”. To read more on the story visit: http://www.creativepro.com/article/seventy-eight-percent-workers-say-they-are-burned-out-work

Design News of the Week with Jay Nelson

Jeff Gamut fills in for Jay again this week with some news about a new monitor from Hewlett-Packard, the HP DreamColor LP2480zx Professional Display and discusses some unique tri-color LED backlight technologies that help to acheive billions of color and includes presets for the most popular large color spaces including Adobe RGB. This LCD is built for graphic and photo professionals, and in fact was developed in part with the work HP has done with Dreamworks Animation Studios.

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

Foster D. Coburn III, Author, Trainer, & Founder, Unleashed Productions, Inc. joins Inside Digital Design to share some insight and information about CorelDRAW products and users. Foster has written over 8 books and completed 45 training tapes teaching users how to make the most of CorelDRAW. Corel’s design tools offer an integrated graphics suite that are powerful but very easy to use at a very affordable price. Many people assume that most creative professionals use Adobe on a Mac as their primary design tool, however he explains there are many creative markets including fashion, sign making, embroidery and promotional products whose primary applications are Corel running on a Windows platform.

Foster describes some of the features and capabilities of the latest versions, which are also compatible with and available for the Mac OS. Foster has developed and is hosting a series of “Boot Camp” Training Seminars including a 7-day intensive vacation cruise session from Los Angeles to Mexico in January 2009.

To find out more about Foster’s books, training and other Corel resources visit: http://www.unleash.com

Scott and Gene round out the week with a productivity tip from David Allan’s “Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity” about making a list to acheive your goals.