Keyboard Shortcuts Collection
To make up for lost times, every day for 100 days I’ll be Twittering a keyboard shortcuts from a few Adobe products in hopes of helping you speed up your workflow. One shortcut per day at 11am PST time. Some you may know, some you may not, some you might find use full and some you may think why the hell would I use that.
Make sure you connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Like my page so you don’t miss any.
iPad Apps For Designers
If you’re like me you probably get most of your ideas when you’re away from your computer. In fact, I highly encourage you to step away when you’re having a hard time figuring something out, go for a walk, go have a cup of coffee, but do bring something to document your thoughts like your iPad.
Ok, I don’t have an iPad, but I do have an iPhone, and I make sure It’s loaded with useful apps that will be there when I need them. The iPad 2 is the latest great technology that no one leaves home without, so it’s important that you arm it with everything you need. Here is a list of must have apps for designers. No matter where you go or who you run into, you have stuff here to help you doodle ideas, practice techniques, and stay educated.
Font Game
You gotta know your fonts and what better way to learn them than by having fun with Font Game.
SketchBook Pro
You never know when an idea is going to spark and you should always keep your traditional drawing skills up to par, after all a computer is just a tool like a pencil or pen. SketchBook Pro is a great drawing program that goes well on iPad. I have the iPhone version and love it.
Photoshop Express
iPad 2 comes with a camera and just like sketching you never know when you’ll run into something that sparks an idea or inspiration. Capture it and tinker around with Photoshop Express, save it and open it later for reference or publish to Facebook or Flickr.
iMockup
You may need to take your idea further than a sketch. iMockup has a growing list of pre-built dynamic controls that will help you turn your ideas or proposals into full fledged interaction designs.
Every website, logo, etc. will have a color palette. This is a great color picker for discovering, converting, and managing colors and putting together palettes.
HTML
This a good reference to have. I actually helped a person with some code while sipping on some coffee at a starbucks. It’s a nice to have.
HTML Edit
An HTML editor will come handy when you’re on the go and may want to practice some coding. As designers we may not code that much so it’s important to practice otherwise you’ll forget. You may also decide to fix something or change something on your website. You never know so it’s good to have.
CSS Library
HTML is nothing without CSS, so this is definitely a must have.
Things
Last but not least, stay organized. Designers typically juggle multiple projects at ones and staying organized with deadlines, meetings, etc. is crucial.
Don’t have an iPad? You can get these in your iPhone as well. If you know or have suggestion of other apps, share them in your comment.
Hi-Fidelity User Interface Controls
For the love of designing user interfaces, I designed this t-shirt with a collection of common interface controls. I called it Hi-Fidelity because I’m working on a wireframe version. It was a fun project and I hope everyone likes it.
JUST PUSH send
I typically don’t write long posts (yes, this is long for me) but I feel this is an important one especially for all new designers trying to start their professional experience.
A 21st century transformation of Dan Wieden’s famous NIKE ad campaign “Just Do It”, I bring you ‘JUST PUSH SEND’.
Being in the design industry, I have seen a lot of wasted talent, lost to the fear of sharing ideas and portfolios. I also chat and email with new upcoming designers who express motivation but don’t move forward or execute their goals and ideas. Much of the time I get goose bumps listening to their excitement after creating something great, excitement that stays as just that but is never executed. People need to express their skills and present interest to opportunities in hopes of being discovered. Unfortunately the excitement of reaching a goal or becoming successful and making that dream come true can bring fear and bring everything to a halt. It’s happened to me and it happens to many others. You can spend hours and sometimes days writing that perfect email just to find it sitting in your Draft folder forever. You find yourself not being able to just push that send button. And because so much talent is lost to fear or failure, there is a definite need to JUST PUSH send.
Several of my friends in college who loved showing off their work to teachers and students are still doing just that. Is it because they’ve found a comfort zone? Or is it because they are scared of rejection? Or is it because after receiving such high recognition for great projects, are now scared of leaving the nest and possibly receiving negative feedback? They posses great portfolios, strong introductions and sale pitches, and each of them continue to compose emails which stay in dusty Draft folders. Let it be known, a rejection may not always be a bad thing. A rejection can actually make you stronger and more confident to go for that BIG dream and build that “thick skin”. Just push send and if nothing happens, again, JUST PUSH send. Continue to do so until the day you get a reply.
If you’ve had some experiences of not being able to JUST PUSH send, share them, or if you know someone who always talks about their dreams but can’t seem to move forward, perhaps you can help them to JUST PUSH send.
Oh, and posting this was also a JUST PUSH send moment. I’ve had this in my head for a while and been meaning to share it.
Urban Icons
Here’s a set of 30 free minimalist urban icons for download in .png format. Urban art has always been a great inspiration to me. I can never get enough of city street self expressed art and photography. A blog that I often peak at is www.urbanartcore.eu Take a look at the Top 5: Urban Art Photo-Contest Winners.
My Morning Schedule
My Morning Schedule from Tony Gil on Vimeo.
Just a simple video of how my typical weekend morning goes. I’m always curious to know how people start their day. I was also testing my Nikon D5000 video capabilities. For this video, I used my 50mm f1.4 lens. I was really happy with the overall results.
Christmas Cookie Icons
Bringing back some christmas cookie icons to give a holiday spirit to your desktop.
Android Robot Speed Design
In this video I have some fun designing the Android robot. Even though I don’t have the phone, I like the character. To make it exciting for you I turn it into a speed design and add some music. Turn up your speakers and enjoy.
Designing Android Robot Speed Design from Tony Gil on Vimeo.
Friday The 13th Jason
Here’s a friendlier note to all you superstitious people. A nice friendly Mac desktop icon that will add some spookiness. Enjoy!
I’m on Mac Life Magazine
Ok, maybe I sound a little too excited here but I was really happy when Mac Life Magazine contacted me to ask if they could use my No Flash lego for their August issue. I had completely forgot about it when I noticed the magazine at my local bookstore. There it was on page 14, and they included my name.
