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An Ex-Pixar Designer Creates Astounding Kids' Book On iPad

E-books are already a fraught subject for many readers, writers, publishers and designers, but children's e-books are even more so. Is it rotting their minds? Is it as good as good ol' paper? Is it too interactive for their own good? Obviously there are no practical answers to such questions, but at least one children's e-book/app/thingie (what do we call these things, again?) is doing it very, very right. Every page has some delightful, hidden feature embedded into it. Part of why the book works so well is its top-shelf creative pedigree: author William Joyce is also an accomplished illustrator and animator who's published New Yorker covers, won a bunch of Emmys, created character designs for some of Pixar's first animated classics, and worked on many others for Dreamworks and Disney. Designing interactive interfaces for kids is no mean feat, and the Moonbot team really made some great choices with "Morris Lessmore." [Buy "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr.

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Asus Eee Pad Transformer TF101 Tablet Review The Asus Eee Pad Transformer TF101 Tablet doesn't stand on its own. But when paired with its matching keyboard dock, the Transformer morphs into a tablet that strikes an admirable balance between productivity and entertainment. At $399 for the 16GB Wi-Fi model (or $499 for the 32GB Wi-Fi model, prices as of May 6, 2011), the Transformer is the least expensive Android 3.0 tablet to date; and the smaller-capacity version bests Apple's iPad 2 by $100. None of this is to say that the Transformer's implementation is perfect.

These Brands Allow Users To Design Them. How'd They Pull It Off? Branding continues to evolve at a gallop, spurred this time by advancing technology and the rise of social media. "The internet has challenged the conventions of branding,? says Simon Browning, a brand specialist at Tokyo creative agency EAT. The Ultimate Guide To Cloning In Photoshop - Smashing Magazine Advertisement Photoshop’s wide array of cloning tools is the cause of many of the absolute best and worst works created with the application. In a skilled and experienced hand, these tools lead to phenomenal results.

Extended Mass Layoffs Archived News Releases The Extended Mass Layoffs (quarterly) news release presents data from the Mass Layoff Statistics program. Caution Data in archived news releases may have been revised in subsequent releases. The latest data, including any revisions, may be obtained from the databases accessible on the program homepage: Mass Layoff Statistics: databases. On This Page Links to archive copies of Extended Mass Layoffs news releases Dim Sum Warriors: Comic Book Snacks that Talk Back in Two Languages The other day, I was in Chinatown in New York City, eating dim sum with Yen Yen Woo and Colin Goh. They’re a married couple, transplants from Singapore. For reasons that’ll soon become clear, I couldn’t help imagining that those little Chinese snacks we were eating were…alive. Now, some Asian food items really are alive when you put them in your mouth—but that’s a different story. The dishes we we’d ordered weren’t moving, except for the fact that I’d just viewed them in another form—walking, talking and fighting.

Do It Myself Blog – Glenda Watson Hyatt » Steve Jobs, Thank You for Contributing to My indePendence With the rest of the technologically innovative world, I am saddened by the passing, today, of Steve Jobs due to pancreatic cancer. Damn cancer. I have written many posts on how the iPad changed my life in a relatively short time; on how the iPad gave me an affordable, acceptable and cool communication device and how that has further opened the world and opportunities to me. But one intended post I didn’t write – partly because I didn’t know how to express my sentiments and partly because I thought I still had time – was a thank you to Steve Jobs for his innovative vision and to the Apple Development Team for turning his vision into reality. Steve, your iPad gave me something that no other device has: a way to communicate with those who are not familiar with my unique accent Glenda-ish.

ChangeOrder: How to Conduct Post-Mortem Project Evaluations This is an extensive rewrite of a previous ChangeOrder post for my next book Design Business from A to Z—so much so I'm reposting it! The website went live last week, and the entire staff is throwing a party to celebrate! The developers are huddled in the corner with some microbrews, plotting how they'll splice into the agency intranet to add a virtual dartboard. Designers are mingling with the copywriters and account people, clinking wineglasses and bonding over the ads they saw during The Office. Yes, the job went way over budget—and the last thing your team wants to think about is who needs to take responsibility for it. Pick the Right Typefaces for Your Project Sometimes the most daunting part of a new project can be the brainstorming phase. Thinking of color schemes and font selections can be inspiring in your head, but really tough when you start mixing and matching elements on paper or for your website. Understanding some of the history of fonts and typography can help make any project a little easier.

13 Must See Lead Generation Examples You Need…To Grow Your List This weekend I was trying to find a post about good examples of lead capturing , but I couldn’t find anything useful…I saw the opportunity and this is the result. I spent all Sunday looking for websites that I believed did a good job at using an email list form and applied well known practices in marketing. On all of the examples I marked the persuasion tactics most commonly used that you can apply to your business or blog/website.

20 Creative iPad Apps For Web Developers And Designers Now that the iPad has been released, web developers and designers alike want to know which apps are worthy of their fingerprints. To help make the search a bit easier, I’ve compiled a collection of 20 creative iPad apps that should prove quite useful for web designers, graphic designers and anyone with a creative mind. We’ll take a look at applications that will help you get your sketch on, interact with your sites, check stats, brainstorm and even a game or two. Adobe Ideas Adobe Ideas is your digital sketchbook, letting you capture and explore ideas anywhere you go. It’s an ideal companion for the professional design applications from Adobe, including Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop software.

Understand the Psychology of Design Excerpted from 100 Things Every Designer Should Know About People by Susan Weinschenk. Copyright © 2011. Used with permission of Pearson Education, Inc. and New Riders. To receive a 35% discount on this book, go to the Peachpit Press Online Store and enter the discount code 100T during the checkout process. This offer is valid through December 2012. 100 Best Illustrator Tutorials of All Time (From Newbie to Pro) Adobe Illustrator is the most powerful vector software on the planet, and whether you’re using it alone, or in a workflow with other tools such as a 3D program, Photoshop, InDesign, or something else, it can be a great asset to any designer’s arsenal. However, Illustrator is also one of the most daunting programs to learn how to use, with a vast array of tools and features at your fingertips. Some high quality tutorials will go a long way to easing the process, and get you up and going on your own vector creations.

The Psychology of Social Commerce [Infographic There are many social factors routed in psychology that make people want to part with their money, but how can you leverage them to make your landing pages convert? The infographic below explores the stats of psychological spending, looking at some common brain triggers. If you think you’ve been impervious to these subtle persuasions of the expert salesperson, then read on and learn how you’ve been coerced over the years without your brain even knowing it. Infographic by Tab Juice – Click for full size image. – Oli Gardner

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