The Equipped Creative

More free ways to store and share files online…

Joel Newcomer — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 20:27:20 +0000

I have been playing with different sites for quite a while trying to figure out the best way to store files online and to get files to friends and clients. Dropbox is one of my current favorites because it has a desktop client that meshes well with my workflow and also has an excellent web interface. Another one that is currently (as of Dec 31, 2008) undergoing some construction and has uploading disabled is Oosah…they provide 1TB yes, TB, not GB of free storage space but the catch is that you can only upload media files (photos, music or videos). divshare is another long-standing favorite of mine, but it seems to have gotten sluggish presumably because so many people use it. Anyways, that all said, there are many solutions for sharing files online and most likely one solution won’t meet all your needs…so I am providing links below to a few lists and a couple other sites that I didn’t mention above.

Smashing Apps - The 5 Best Free File Hosting Services To Store Your Files!

Smashing Downloads - 28 Free File Storage Hosting Websites

Orbitfiles - 6GB of free online storage, free file backup, free file sharing

fileai.com - Securely Share Files

Grab bag of excellent reading

Joel Newcomer — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:37:06 +0000

Every once in a while I come across an article that I agree wholeheartedly with…over the past months I have collected several that particularly stood out to me on various topics. All of these have the common theme of efficiency. So lets get to them….the first is called Meetings suck, but they don’t have to… this post gives some very good guidelines to have effective meetings. The second I would like to point you to is called Productivity 2.0 and it talks about how the rules of productivity are changing…I don’t agree 100% with everything in this article, but it definitely has some good advice. The third post is about creativity killers and ways to avoid them…be sure to read 5 Creativity Killers! And last, but definitely not least is an excellent post with tips on how to get your clients to pay punctually…I especially liked the tip about offering a 5% discount to clients who pay on time…read this excellent article here.

Great tool for getting client feedback

Joel Newcomer — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 18:07:40 +0000

I recently found a great tool for getting proofs to clients in a way that gives you a more professional appearance and allows the client to easily mark-up and provide feedback on your work. The name of the site if Backboard…they have a free account that limits the file size for each Backboard to 5MB, but they have pricing if you need more space or plan to continue to use the site for commercial purposes. Be sure to check it out!

Great online billing solution for freelancers

Joel Newcomer — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 17:29:49 +0000

Hey all, I haven’t done any freelance work lately, but one part of freelancing that can be a headache is the billing part. The website CurdBee seems to be a great solution to this problem…I have not yet tested it to see how well it works, but I wanted to share the information for anyone who may be looking for something like this. If you have used it or know anyone who has used it and liked it or had problems with it please comment below. Thanks!

Powerful online presentation tool

Joel Newcomer — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 02:29:10 +0000

More and more we are seeing online apps grow up to be as feature-rich as their traditional software predecessors. Many people still hesitate to switch to online apps for very good reasons such as the uncertainty of the stability and longevity of web apps that are here today and may or may not be here tomorrow. That is why I look for web apps that are flexible with their options of importing and exporting data so that I can easily back up information locally to protect myself in the worst case scenario. One such app is the presentation app called 280 slides…this tool could come in very handy for presenting anything, anywhere…be sure to check this great tool out!

Need a rhyming word?

Joel Newcomer — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 02:09:46 +0000

You don’t have to rhyme to draw attention to a particular design project, but every once in a while you might be working on a cute or clever design where a rhyme is very catchy and powerful. So when I came across a resource that helps you when you are stumped trying to create a rhyme, I had to share it. All you have to do is type the word you want to rhyme with, option-click the word and whallah! you are provided with a list of rhyming words…could be very useful sooner or later! Store this one away! It’s called Write rhymes.

The irony

Joel Newcomer — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 01:58:24 +0000

Well, life and work and everything else has finally slowed down enough for me to get back to writing on here. The irony is that my first post is a non-productive post that is just an opportunity to take a break from whatever you are doing and laugh. But in these days of uncertainty, stress and tension, it is good for morale and for your health to laugh every once in a while, so go check out this very funny video called What really happens when fonts get together. Enjoy!

Tutorials, tutorials and more tutorials…

Joel Newcomer — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 18:47:24 +0000

Over the past few months I have been collecting lists of tutorials and tutorial resources…I am just going to list them below, but I figured I would mention that my favorite one is listed first and it is my favorite because it includes .PSD files with each tutorial…if you want to make me happy with your tutorial, first do a video tutorial (which can easily be done using the free tools Jing and PiP) and secondly, include a .PSD file….but on to the tutorials…

50+ High Quality .PSD Files and Tutorials

Photoshop Tutorials A-Z

50+ Excellent Body Enhancement Photoshop Tutorials

Control a partner’s PC over the internet

Joel Newcomer — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 15:56:10 +0000

Every once in a while a client or a business partner may have technical questions or issues which can cause costly delays for projects…not to mention frustration for everyone involved. I have driven to a nearby town before to help a client who was having problems using our website. If I had only been able to see the client’s computer from my office then the trip would have been unncessary and I would have avoided the cost of time and money that was involved in the trip. I am happy to say that I have found an excellent solution to this problem. TeamViewer is completely free software that lets you remotely control another computer. The software is extremely easy to install and you can be up and running in a matter of minutes. In my experimenting with the software I was very impressed with the features and ease of use. So be sure to check TeamViewer if you have ever wished you had this sort of tool.

What is the future of news?

Joel Newcomer — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 00:03:16 +0000

Being a graphic designer for a premium-quality, full-color, weekly newspaper, I naturally have a very high interest in knowing what the future is going to be for news-related businesses. Unfortunately, the future of news companies is about as predictable as the stock market these days. Different people have different opinions and nobody really knows what the future holds. I actually feel like I have a pretty accurate idea of where news is headed—the unknown for me is the timetable. Digital media is slowly taking over all aspects of our lives…from music to communication and even TV and entertainment…10 years ago, nobody had any idea that the type of technology we have today would be available, such as MP3 players and smart phones, including the soon-to-be-released Google phone—so that all said, it seems logical to conclude that news will eventually follow the same trend that other media has followed. No matter what your opinion is, it is a fact that more and more people are getting their news from web sources every year. So, why this shift is taking place? I’m glad you asked! Below I have listed a few of the reasons for this shift.

The factors bringing change:

The internet generation is growing up.

Young professionals today are web-savvy and rely heavily on the internet for information.

The number of smart phones is increasing.

I believe one of the most significant factors is the the introduction of the iPhone at the beginning of 2007. Why pick up a newspaper when you can get breaking news on your phone? According to Pew Research Center, 15% of Americans own a smart phone and more than a third of them say they get news on their phone.

The dynamic capabilities of online media as opposed to static print media.

You can’t provide keyword searches, large photo galleries, or videos in printed products—not to mention many other advanced technologies such as targeting ads at readers who read particular news stories.

Web news sites have the ability to publish immediately.

Again, there is no way to get hot news stories to your readers faster than with the web.

The cost of paper and printing.

The initial development of a website may be costly, but once it is complete the cost of maintaining it is insignificant in comparison to the cost of paper and printing. In fact, the cost of newsprint paper has experienced a huge increase just in the past 6 months!

So when am I going to tell you the future?

I know that the title of my blog post includes the word “future” so I am sure you are expecting me to tell you what I saw in the crystal ball this afternoon…well, I am sorry, but I’ll never tell. Just kidding….here are my observations: First, I would be willing to bet on two things—online news will continue to grow (which logically means that newspaper read

ership will decrease) AND I expect the number of people who access news through smart phones and other hand-held devices to increase. I would encourage you to keep an eye on Amazon’s Kindle 2.0 and Plastic Logic’s amazing flexible, full-page ebook reader—I believe both of these pieces of technology have the potential to have a huge impact on the future of news.

A couple more excellent resources on the topic:

If you are in management at a newspaper and have started a website or are in the process of developing a website, The Future Buzz blog has an excellent blog post that I agree with 100% about what many newspapers are doing wrong on their websites. Read it here and avoid some potentialy fatal mistakes.

I referred to Pew Research Center a couple times in this post…be sure to read their very informative article entitled Key News Audiences Now Blend Online and Traditional Sources.

Just today, a key player in online news sites, Kevin Rose, the founder of digg.com gave a very interesting, slightly technical Future of News presentation at the Future of Web Apps conference in London…this is a very interesting look at the future of web news technologies.

THOSE clients: More trouble than they’re worth.

Joel Newcomer — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 19:52:51 +0000

If you have been a graphic designer for very long, you have inevitably come across the client who A) expects you to read their mind, B) is never happy, even if you do EXACTLY what they ask for and C) doesn’t want to pay for the hours of work you put into their project. I am not the wealthiest person around by a long shot, but my policy has always been to get rid of these clients ASAP…the stress they cause and the time they waste is typically not worth their money…I would rather be a happier person and put my energy into clients that have some respect for me and are pleasant to work with. This rant was initiated by an article that I read recently entitled 5 Reasons Why Arguing With Unruly Clients Will Get You Nowhere. Go check it out!

Some more killer tutorials

Joel Newcomer — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 11:27:34 +0000

I feel like I have been posting quite a few best-of tutorial collections, but here is yet another excellent collection put together by the Noupe blog. There is some great stuff here so be sure to check it out and be prepared to spend hours of time there!

Get RAW out of your less expensive point-and-shoot camera!

Joel Newcomer — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 23:51:47 +0000

For those of you out there with sub-pro-level, affordable Canon cameras who wish you had the power of RAW, your wish has been granted! The Lifehacker blog has provided easy-to-understand instructions on how to use CHDK (Canon Hacker’s Development Kit) to get RAW and a number of other additional advanced, useful features on your Canon camera…not to mention not-so-useful games! Quite a few camera models are supported. Read Lifehacker’s post here to get the details! Note: I have not tried this myself because I personally do not currently own a Canon point-and-shoot camera.

You are not alone!

Joel Newcomer — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 21:29:04 +0000

I think I have said it before, but I can never say it too much: “bittbox rocks!!” Not too long ago they posted a list called 25 MORE Reaons You Might Be Hardcore Graphic/Web Designer and I just have to say that if you have been a graphic designer for several years you will relate to just about all the items on this list…and if you are just starting out, be prepared to experience everything on this list, because if you remain a graphic designer for very long you WILL—not YOU MIGHT—you WILL be able to relate to everything in this list! Hopefully this will make you smile and give you a warm, fuzzy feeling inside—just knowing that there are graphic designers all around the world who suffer the same agony and experience the same feelings that you do!

Yet Another Great FREE Font Site

Joel Newcomer — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 21:11:30 +0000

The fontcubes website is yet another great resource for graphic designers. As of today, they have 9,550 free fonts. It has a nice clean interface, but it does lack categories for narrowing your search. But it is definitely worth a look…so skip on over to fontcubes and grab a few nice FREE fonts for your next design piece.

Speaking of video tutorials…

Joel Newcomer — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 00:09:20 +0000

I have to say that Smashing Magazine is definitely one of my favorite creative resources on the web. I just wrote a post about Planet Photoshop and their excellent video tutorials, but you will never lack for video tutorials if you just bookmark Smashing Magazines amazing compilation of the Best of Photoshop Video Tutorials. WARNING: You may spend the next 2 hours watching—no, not Warner Brother’s latest blockbuster—but something even better, videos that will make you a more creative graphic designer. So, as if my last two posts didn’t get your creative juices boiling, this post leaves you with no excuse. Go watch these videos and then show off for your clients tomorrow.

Planet Photoshop—one of the nicer tutorial sites on the planet

Joel Newcomer — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 23:53:32 +0000

My next post is going to be another quicky—it’s basically just a plug for the Planet Photoshop website. Planet Photoshop is very nicely designed website and has some great content. Many, if not all of the tutorials are videos which makes them much easier to follow and to understand how to achieve some really great effects. So be sure to visit Planet Photoshop today to top off your creative juice glass.

I’m back!

Joel Newcomer — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 23:25:05 +0000

Hey everyone, I hope I didn’t lose any of you due to my prolonged absence from posting to my blog. I also am aware that Google has labeled this site as harmful and I have been working to clear that and to find out which of my links is causing that. I hope to have that resolved soon.

My first post is going to be pretty short and sweet. I am going to link you to a post from Scott Kelby’s blog demonstrating the use of Camera RAW to create a nice gritty effect. But I always like to make things just a little more convenient than the average blogger, so I am also including a download of the preset that I saved in Camera RAW so you can just load these setting in and not bother with typing in a bunch of settings. So go check out Scott’s post and download the preset and add that extra cool effect to one of your award-winning ads. Also remember that if you have CS3 you can open JPGs in Camera RAW and apply this effect to them as well! Enjoy!

You can’t have too many options for hosting files…

Joel Newcomer — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 01:19:58 +0000

I hope I don’t write about free file hosting websites too often, but you never know when one service might meet your needs better than another one. EatLime and File Dropper are two more great services that I just had to write about…each one has points of differentiation and they are both extremely easy to use. EatLime’s strong point is the capability for the recipient to start downloading as soon as you start uploading…this functionality is a huge time-saver. The filesize limit on EatLime is 1GB which should meet most of your file hosting needs…and files are hosted as long as they continue to be downloaded. EatLime just recently switched to focusing on easy video sharing, but they still host any type of file. File Dropper is about as simple and easy to use as it gets…it sets itself apart by having the largest filesize limit of any free file hosting site out there—a whopping 5GB…I am not sure how many people would need to host a 5GB file, but hey, I’m sure it happens. File Dropper, like EatLime also hosts your files only as long as they continue to be downloaded. So go bookmark these two sites so you will have them when you need to get that large file to your client. компютри

Become a skilled digital plastic surgeon…

Joel Newcomer — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 00:12:27 +0000

If you have been a photographer or graphic designer for any amount of time, you have most likely been asked to remove some wrinkles or some extra pounds, etc. for a (vain) client. We all have our little tricks for fulfilling these requests, but most of the time we know there might be a better or quicker way to do what we are doing. Well, the best way to learn how to do something better is to share what you know with other designers and gather knowledge from others. That is exactly what many designers have been kind enough to do…and the PhotoshopTalent blog has put together a very nice collection of these tutorials that have been produced by various different graphic designers. So check out this list of “33 Awesome Body Enhancement Photoshop Tutorials”…you are likely to learn a very useful new trick to add to your bag.