Recent CS4 Updates

(this is a repost from John Nack at http://blogs.adobe.com/jnack/)

In case you've missed it, the CS4 versions of Flash, Fireworks, and InDesign have received updates in the last couple of weeks.

• Flash PM Richard Galvan lists the issues addressed in the Flash release, including performance problems & crashes.
• InDesign's 6.0.2 update (download for Mac, Win) includes the cumulative fixes from the 6.0.1 update (posted in February). For a list of fixes, check out its release notes (PDF), plus info on previous updates.
• Of the Fireworks update, newly minted Fireworks PM Bruce Bowman writes, "This updater fixes the most common bugs that we know about in Fireworks CS4, including numerous text shifting problems, stability issues on Mac and Windows, and bugs related to pasting text from Microsoft Office applications. The team would like to thank you for your patience as we developed this updater." Here are the full release notes (PDF).

Web Design for Print Designers Made Easy

Web design differs from print design in so many ways, yet employers and clients really expect that designers be able to manage both media with ease. The complexity of web standards, usability, accessibility and other best practices can make learning the web daunting...UNTIL NOW!

Really understand the process of designing for the web with this jargon-free introduction to the right way to make web pages. This one-day seminar provides a step-by-step introduction to the web design process. Originally designed to help print designers add web design to their skill set, this seminar will help anyone interested in how great web pages get built (with an emphasis on the best practices in the field).

Topics include: usability, accessibility, fright-free coding, process for developing goals for a web page, how to get a pixel perfect layout, and more!

Save the date to join Jim Conway, C2's lead instructor and web/Flash alpha geek on Tuesday, July 14 from 9 am to 4:30 pm. Lunch on your own from 12:00 pm to 1:15 pm. Registration opens June 1 for this $99.00 seminar.

Coming soon to C2!

C2's 100% fresh attitude will soon apply to the C2 web site, tagline and some fresh new marketing materials.

In June C2 will roll out the new site, designed to offer clients a better, more efficient experience for class registration and talent requests.

New C2 collateral designs crafted by C2 instructors Kevin Stohlmeyer and James Fritz will also be unveiled next month, all featuring the new tagline: C2, Your Shortcut to Success.

C2 strives to exceed client expectations through our training and talent placement services, and hope our new look and online interface do the same.

Apple Keynote Tips and Tricks

Shape Masks

You can use shapes created in Keynote to mask your image similar to a layer mask in Photoshop. First, create your shape, then using the Media Browser, drag the image onto the shape. You can then change the mask (scale, rotation, etc.) using the "Edit Mask" function. When finished, click outside your photo or on "Edit Mask" button to apply the mask.

Custom Keynote Themes

Online resources, such as keynoteuser.com, offer great custom themes for the beginner. Advanced users can create their own from scratch. Keep in mind that there is one trick. Never build your theme on a slide. Instead build your theme on a master slide. To see all your master slides, drag the divider down under the "Themes" window. This will reveal all the masters. Click one and go nuts. 

Importing Photoshop?

YES! In keynote, I am amazed at the diverse file formats that Keynote can accept, including layered, unflattened, wonderful Photoshop files. I use these to build my own custom theme backgrounds (see above). 

Audio files

One thing I am always asked when it comes to Keynote is how to create a continuous soundtrack for a presentation, or a looped track. Here's how:

In the Inspector panel, click the document inspector button, then choose "audio". Then either choose a track from itunes or drag an audio file from the finder into the audio panel. Here is the crux of the soundtrack - to make the audio file play through repeatedly while the presentation is running, choose "loop" from the pop-out drawer in the audio panel. 

The other issue to keep in mind is that this is a linked file, therefore it must go with your slideshow or it wont play. Here's a simple remedy - when saving your document, make sure to select “copy audio and movies into document” in the Save dialog box . This will embed your audio files and movies. 

We can't do it alone... C2 Partners, a love note

Every business has partners, sometimes known as business resources or valued vendors. I wanted to take a few minutes to both ENDORSE and thank our partners, our trusted and valued business resources. If you ever need support/advice/service in their area of expertise, don't hesitate to contact them directly or ask me to make an introduction.

In alphabetical order:

Big Shoes Network - need a job? an internship? a resource for marketing, advertising or design in the midwest? Look no further. Jeff and Martha Carrigan have created an on-line networking empire! We love that BIG Shoes Network!

Bill McGinnis - Bill is the guy who says NO! Until he says yes! He serves as C2's strategic & financial advisor. He facilitates meetings, advises on hiring, interviewing and on-going employee evaluation, compensation and professional development. He helps us budget (saying NO more frequently than yes, but that's why we're still here!), provides long-range strategic planning and short term crisis management as needed. He's our one-man board of advisors. Bill usually takes on bigger fish than C2, we're thrilled and lucky to have him on the team.

Burton & Mayer - Brett & Steve Waterhouse do an incredible job! From the start they've exceeded our expectations, getting jobs done on short notice or connecting us with clients. They're rock stars and I cannot say enough about the level of genuine care and over-the-top service they've provided to our business since our inception in 2004.

DigiCopy - Paul Otero owns the local branches of Digicopy. As a former Apple guru he trained his staff well. Martje and the crew at the Erie Street location really know the hardware and software needed to get short run jobs done FAST and right! If you need to hit a quick copy place, look no further!

Fairway Promotions - We love our green C2 pens, hopefully you have one on your desk right now! Dale Tegtmeier is our preferred purveyor of chatckes! We like to call him the Chatckes King of Milwaukee. If you can put a logo on it, he can make it happen!

K2PR - Kathryn Wellner serves as our public relations pro, getting us placement in local, regional and national publications. We have a stack of clippings attributed to her hard work. She reps clients that need TV and radio appearances, as well as trade show and other media placement. Even though we're small potatoes compared to some of her clients, she always makes us feel like we're her number ONE priority. She's responsive, talented and well connected.

Locatelli and Company - CPAs to the STARS, that's Jim Locatelli and his band of brainiacs. Jim, Sheri and Chris all make our life at C2 easier, helping us with budgets, taxes and guiding us through the fun challenges of business ownership. AND, they throw a heck of an after-tax party, reason enough to become a client! L & C serve several advertising, marketing and design firms, so they know our biz, our clients and are an invaluable resource to us.

MC Services - As one of the only purveyors of Apple Certified training, the pros at MC Services are both stellar trainers for Apple network support and FileMaker Pro training, they act as consultants in both areas as well. Duane Maas is an experienced technician and instructor, as well as a dedicated Brewer's fan! We're thrilled to have them on our roster of partners.

Park Bank - Jack Walden isn't just a banker, he and the people at Park Bank are supportive allies and friends. They really understand the needs of creative businesses and many of our clients are their clients. They've played an integral role in helping us grow!

Proven Direct - With brilliant new space on Canal Street, the team at Proven Direct has become an invaluable event partner for C2. They put incredible thought and care into their build-out, this 5S lean, green digital printing operation often hosts C2 and Adobe User Groups in their new auditorium on the 2nd level. They share both their space and expertise regularly and we appreciate them greatly! Thanks to Mike Limbach, Dave Hess and Rick Bauer for all the support.

Sells - James "Jimmy" Wamser and Robert Hammen know Adobe and Apple software at expert levels and we're thrilled to have them as a training partner. When it comes to network and pre-press technology they're the answer. The Wams (as we affectionately call him) is an Adobe Certified Instructor with certifications in Acrobat, Photoshop and InDesign, while Robert is positively certifiable, boasting several Apple certs: Apple Certified Help Desk Specialist, Apple Certified Technical Coordinator, Apple Certified Systems Administrator.

Stamm Business Technologies - Dave Stamm has put together an incredible team of Apple and PC network pros offering the best cross-platform, IT/network support available. They service several creative firms and the internal design/advertising/marketing departments of some of Milwaukee's top companies. They understand the unique challenges of font related technologies, RIPs, Adobe and Quark software, etc. We partner with them regularly, sending our clients to them with hardware and network challenges. Stamm's crew always gets RAVE reviews.

The Eisner - We love The Eisner...and we show it every year at their I LOVE THE EISNER event, also known as the XO (kiss hug). Join us at the XO every February and show this industry gem YOUR love, or just pop into see an exhibit or catch an industry speaker. We've used their amazing space for seminars, meetings, classes over the last 6 years, clients alway leave impressed. We appreciate the ever-evolving exhibits, Cori Coffman and Katie Sorenson's professionalism and dedication to both the museum and industry. The Eisner always needs volunteers...contact C2 or The Eisner for details!

C2 Gallery Night Returns - with Community High School!

The "Layers - Distilling Excellence" program is a collaborative effort with C2 Graphics and Community High School showcasing students work using Adobe Photoshop. The images explore both the internal and external forces that shape the “essence” of our self and represent how these influences have contributed to each student’s layers of memories, thoughts, dreams and opinions.

The exhibit is the result of a digital media/graphic design course provided by C2 Instructors James Fritz, Kevin Stohlmeyer, and Angelo Vasta with C2 talent Brad Krause and CHS Staff members Jason O'Brien and Roxanne Mayeur.

Each students art is unique both in their artistic expression, but also with the story that accompanies each piece. Students that would normally not have an opportunity to express themselves creatively in digital media really took to using Adobe Photoshop® and create spectacular works.

The exhibit is from 5-9 pm tonight (April 17) in the lobby of our offices at 222 E. Erie Street. All 21 Students are scheduled to be on hand to showcase their work, so please stop by and show your support to these young artists.

Shown below are some of the works from the show.

Adobe Photoshop 1.0

Before you hesitate upgrading to Adobe Photoshop CS4, take a look at this video and contemplate how far we've come in 19 years. (Yes Photoshop is 20 next year!) This is version 1.0 from 1990. The amazing advances from 1990 to today is one of the reasons I love what I do. (and you should too!). So sit back, take a relaxing breath and be happy that Adobe is coming out with better, faster, greater products for all of us to enjoy. Now go forth and upgrade.

Fireworks CS4 Tips and Tricks

This month, C2 Instructor Jake Stroh is sharing some great tips and tricks for Adobe Fireworks. Read up on this exciting addition to any designer's arsenal.

The key to profitability in web design and development is to build great prototypes for your clients, arrive together at a sign off point on the interface and then begin the build-out process.

This process can be further aided by demonstrating your prototype as a clickable PDF, where the navigation actually takes the user to the corresponding page of the prototype, or by exporting your Fireworks page layouts as a “demo” which produces a clickable flash slide show as a way to sell your design ideas to your clients.

Exporting a clickable PDF:

Once you have designed a navigation system that you like, it would be a good idea in an effort to save time, to create a Master page of this. To set your current page as a Master page, goto the PAGES palette and by using the palette pulldown menu, select “Set as master page”. Now when you create a new page all of your master page items will already be on the page.

Once all of your pages are prototyped you can then return to your master page, select the “Rectangle Hotspot tool” in the WEB section of the Tools palette. Drag a rectangular box across each navigation button. Once created you can select the cyan colored box and go to the inspector and select from the LINK pull down menu. This link menu will give you options to the names of each of your pages. If you took the time to name them (by clicking on the default names “01 PAGE” and typing in your own name), then it should not be all that hard to associate the named link with the proper Hotspot area.

With all of the hot spots LINKED to the proper pages, select FILE, EXPORT, Export as PDF. This will generate a multi-paged PDF that will jump to the proper page when the user clicks on the hotspot area.

Demo current document:

Another way to create an interactive slide show of your prototyped website, is to simply select COMMANDS, DEMO CURRENT DOCUMENT at any point during your design process. This will bring up a prompt that will give you the ability to CHECK which pages you wish to include in your presentation.

The benefits to this approach are: The presentation is viewed in a web browser and can be uploaded to a staging area for presentation on the we. A clickable thumbnail navigation appears when mousing over the bottom portion of your web browser and disappears when mousing off of the thumbnail navigation, which is a great non-intrusive way to present and navigate your designs.

Be mindful that this approach produces many files in order to work: Thumbnail and presentation images, HTML, XML, SWF and JS files produce this simply elegant way to present your ideas.

On a soapbox for public art

Day-to-day I represent professional artists: graphic designers, photographers, creative directors, production artists, copy writers and most related creative professions. Many of these professionals also paint, sing, dance, play instruments, write, sculpt, garden, weld, sew, bead, sketch, build furniture or otherwise immerse themselves in the arts to feed their souls. Lots of these creative-types and artists subscribe to this mailing list, as well as those of us who hire, train, educate, administrate and serve as vendors to these folks. Today I find myself on a soapbox talking to all of you about public art. I enjoy being surrounded by thoughtful architecture, colorful sculptures, paintings, photography and the energy of a city that appreciates art. Controversial as public art may be, it creates jobs, adds character to neighborhoods and promotes lively conversation.

I want our creative community to step up and support the already funded and art board-approved public arts project that the Milwaukee Common Council has yet to approve. This effort necessitates timely support, as deadlines for supplies needed by the artist fast approach. Please read the summary of the situation below and join me in supporting public art in Milwaukee!

From an email written by Christine Harris of the Cultural Alliance of Greater Milwaukee:
Many of you may be aware that a public art project, which had gone through the proper process of selection and approval, was taken to task by some of the City Council's Aldermen earlier this week at a Department of Public Works Committee meeting. The project was shelved at least until the next meeting and may be in jeopardy. The Cultural Alliance and many others in the cultural community believe this action has hurt the cause for public art in our community. We are asking you to communicate with the committee Aldermen in support of approving this public art project by Janet Zweig. For more background on the project, please go to Mary Louise Schumacher's blog site http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/entertainment/artcity.html.

The Cultural Alliance is taking the position that Bob Bryson and Alderman Bauman thought they had the votes to move this project forward and therefore didn't need to rally the troops. We believe we should be thanking Ald. Bob Bauman for his support. In addition, we will be working behind the scenes to help problem solve together with the Aldermen. Hopefully, the combination of grass roots impact and 'grass tops' communication will move this project forward. Both are needed.

In addition to your personal point of view, which is an important expression, here are some talking points:

This public art process was put in to place years ago and the project has been moving forward according to all of the guidelines. The money has already been approved.

The public art committee was comprised of people with the background and commitment of the public interest to make an artist choice that will serve our community well and meet the budgetary requirements.

The chosen artist, Janet Zweig, has committed to spend the $60,000 matching dollars being approved with local artists, thereby giving very valuable jobs to our city and helping to make the project community-relevant. Furthermore, she has a stellar international reputation for her work and a Milwaukee background.

We (the Cultural Alliance) believe that a well structured public art program is critical to having an interesting, culturally diverse community and that it not only adds to our quality of life but it helps to distinguish our region by reflecting our unique expression.

Please, please, please be respectful. We are not going to change attitudes or behaviors by beating people up - that only escalates negative visibility, as we can see by the opening comments being quoted in today's Stingl column. We have learned we still have much advocacy to do. I would like to share some comments from Brad Lichtenstein's well crafted letter to his Alderman.

"We can raise the entire cultural capital of Milwaukee in part by takings risks and supporting public art. You don't need to personally like every piece of public art that you vote on. Art is a matter of preference. You just need to like the idea of crafting a first-class city that can compete in these trying economic times. Art goes hand in hand with better transportation, business development and all of the other efforts to bolster our economy. I hope you'll reconsider your sentiments and support this project. Oh, and by the way, the part the city would pay for supports local artists by giving them jobs." Brad Lichtenstein

Contact information for the Aldermen is below. If you need to see which district you reside or work in so you can make the letter more personal, please go to: http://www.ci.mil.wi.us/router.asp?docid=304 . If you wish to contact YOUR Alderman in support of this project, please do so. Mail Address for all is City Hall, Room 205, 200 E. Wells, Milwaukee, WI 53202

Ald. 4th District Robert Bauman, Chair; rjbauma@milwaukee.gov voted in favor

Ald. 11th District Joe Dudzik, Vice Chair; jdudzi@milwaukee.gov

Ald. 7th District Willie C. Wade; wwade@milwaukee.gov

Ald. 8th District Robert G. Donovan; rdonov@milwaukee.gov

Ald. 9th District Robert W. Puente; rpuent@milwaukee.gov

We also believe that on the larger Common Council, Ald. Mike Murphy and Nic Kovac will likely be supportive.

Next Steps: Once we know the date of the next meeting where this project will be discussed we will get that information to you, along with a suggested strategy.

Thank you for being advocates for our furthering the reputation of our region by being a strong and mobilized creative community.

Photoshop 3D fix

Ok, I know a lot of you have not used the 3D feature in Photoshop, or have had issues with bringing in the really cool Collada files from Google 3D warehouse. If you are not aware, when you currently import a Collada file into a 3D layer, the surface opacities come in at 0%. This means it is invisible and you cannot see anything until you go through the significant struggle of changing all surfaces to 100% opacity (and guessing which ones should be less than 100% ie. glass, etc.)

Well a new script has surfaced thanks to John Nack at Adobe via his blog post today. Download this script file and load it into Photoshop. Run the script on your Collada file and BOOM! Corrected opacities! Righteous!

Here is the tech doc. 

Fooling Around with InDesign

Since April 1st is just around the corner, I thought it would be a good idea to show off a few different ways in which you can mess with a co-worker on April Fools day. Be warned, you may not be employed on April 2nd if you try these techniques on your boss. I don’t recommend doing all of these because it will be obvious that you did something. Just choose one or two and observe the results from a save distance, preferably behind bullet-proof glass.

Change all of your layers colors to white
This will make it impossible to for anyone to tell if they have anything selected. Bonus points. Edit the layer and uncheck print, now everything on this layer will be non-prining.

Change the keyboard shortcuts
Cmd(ctrl)+S changed to Quit
Cmd(ctrl)+Q changed to Save

Hiding Menu items.
Under the edit menu, you can choose menu’s at the bottom. In file menu, turn off save, save as, save a copy, place, print and package. Since you have changed the keyboard shortcuts, they will probably try the menus next, but they won’t be there!

Default Font
Change the default font in the basic paragraph style to something lovely like comic sans 72pt magenta 3pt leading.

Swatches
Rename the colors in the swatches panel. If you are clever (which I am not), you could create sentences with the names. For bonus points, change them all to spot LAB colors.

Preferences

• Change the tools tips to none (who needs reminders)
• Turn the thumbnail previews for placing off.
• Turn on auto collapse for panels (this will drive them mad)
• Change the ruler units to custom and put in 256 pt

• Change the snap zone for guides to 36. Now if you even get remotely close, everything will just get sucked over to the guide.
• Move the raster image view settings to the far left which will grey out every image.
• Change the Greek Type Below to 128 pt. Good luck editing

Misc
If you are looking for other non-InDesign related pranks I recommend my favorite subtle prank. Every morning go to a co-workers desk and remove all of the staples from their stapler before they get to their desk. Do this every day consistently. At first they may not notice, but eventually it may drive them mad.

Coolest.Technology.Ever.

While reading my weekly posts from around the design web, I ran across this amazing new tech called Augmented Reality. AR, as it is referred to in the industry, integrates 3D objects into live video, the video is digitally processed and “augmented” with the 3D components. In other words this digital processing mixes real and virtual worlds together, in real time.

So after researching this a bit and finding cool video snippets (see below), I actually was able to demo this myself using several websites (see further below). After playing around and showing this to the office, I can say that this is the coolest thing I have seen come out of technology in a long time. Leading the way with AR is Total Immersion.  They have even signed with Topps Baseball Card Co. who is jumping the shark and using AR in their 2009 lineup of specialty cards.

Video examples of AR:

2007 demonstration:



Mini Cooper Germany Demo:

Topps Baseball Cards Website. 

Demonstrations. In both cases, you must print out the marker PDF and have a webcam. 

Demo #1 (scroll past demo video to see directions)

Demo #2 

Take the next step...

In August 2008 the Creative Transitions Conference inspired participants to evolve into creative supergenuies in just 3 days. The CTC team knows professional development can't stop there, so we're bringing on the NEXT STEP in your evolution, the Creative Transitions Series '09!

We identified three hot industry topics that will help supercharge your skills:

* Web Skills for Print Professionals
* Best Practices in HTML Email and Social Media Marketing Implementation
* Advanced InDesign Skills to Enhance Workflow and Efficiency

Each $99 session provides participants six hours of expert instruction and, as take-aways, video tutorials and printed reference materials.

C2 Events plans to expand the series to provide year-round professional development opportunities for creatives in Madison and Milwaukee. Our April C2 NYCU newletter will provide more details about the Creative Transitions Series '09.

Why can't I just learn Dreamweaver?

Let's talk about web design for a minute.

In the print world, if you know how to use InDesign or Quark you essentially know how to create any document or page (with a couple caveats based on background knowledge like: placed images need the proper resolution, no accidental spot or RGB colors, etc). What you see is what you get.

Web design is different in that just knowing the Dreamweaver program does not allow you to make proper web pages. Or maybe a better way to put it is that there is much more required background knowledge before you will be able to build a professional, useful, successful web page. With that knowledge, Dreamweaver is a great tool for building websites but that background knowledge needs to come first.

What do you need to know before Dreamweaver is useful?

1 - You need to learn the rules for saving images for the web. Easy.

2 - HTML is how you get "stuff" on the page. You need to learn HTML and semantic markup (a fancy way of saying "tag things by their meaning, not their look"). It sounds like programming but it's really not, it's typing. You have to learn about 10 basic tags for HTML and then you're up and running. You can get a working knowledge of HTML in a couple hours. Fairly easy to learn.

3 - You need to learn CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). This is, admittedly, the difficult part of web design. Everything you think of as "Design" is CSS on the web - from font control to page layout. CSS has to be created by hand by typing text to create a set of rules - you can't use a tool like the frame tool InDesign to draw a box. This isn't as difficult as it may sound - you only use about 20 CSS properties on a regular basis so that's another 20 words to understand. But yes, CSS takes a while to learn because it's really more about judgement and problem solving than learning some "code words". And that's why when people ask me "Why isn't there a program where I put stuff where I want it then makes a web page for me?" I have to tell them there isn't a program like that because the act of laying out a web page involves creativity, judgement and problem solving and no program can do that for us (yet).

Acceptance that web design is not done the same way as print design is the first step.

We have 3 web related classes:

In our Standards-Based Web Design class we use Dreamweaver as we learn the 3 topics above and we create websites at the highest level of professionalism - what's known as "Standards Based web design" - This class has my strongest recommendation.

We do have a Dreamweaver specific class that teaches all the "parts" of Dreamweaver but it is for people who are part of a team that already uses Dreamweaver and that person is not responsible for creating pages but maybe updating them or doing a couple specific things using Dreamweaver. Recommended only for special cases.

We also have a class dedicated to Creating HTML Email - even though they may look the same, the rules are completely different for web pages and email HTML pages. This class uses a very specific subset of Dreamweaver's tools along with Photoshop.

Flash CS4 Tips and Tricks

Remember the new tweens live on the object, NOT the timeline, so select the object first then move the red playback head to the new frame and make your changes. The changes are "property changes" not "keyframes".

You want an object to finish its tween then stay in that state for an extended time? Shift-drag the last frame to the right (if you just drag, you extend the animation).

Be very careful with the scroll wheel on your mouse when you are over an editable field in the property or motion inspectors - most of the fields are active the moment your cursor is over them and scrolling the wheel changes values (handy if you're aware it's happening, annoying when you're trying to navigate).

BONUS TIP: If you are using the scroll wheel to change values, adding the SHIFT key changes the values by 10, COMMAND-Mac/Control-windows changes values by .1

Help Bring Back Bridge Home.

Having been a big advocate for Adobe Bridge over the years, I was shocked and sickened to discover this message when I started up my Bridge this morning. 

Adobe Bridge Home was one of the best assets available and a bragging point for Adobe Bridge. Having experienced the confusion and frustration trying to find information about my products via the Labyrinth that is Adobe.com, I was always pleased with the experience and ease-of-use from Adobe Bridge Home. Where else can you find one place that has tutorials, tips, product information, upcoming events related directly to your Adobe Products? Now you will have to search several pages in Adobe.com to find the same information housed in one source. 

Shame on you Adobe for abandoning something that your users 1. actually used and 2. worked great without the need for major updates. 

If you feel the same way I do, I encourage you to email bridgehome@adobe.com and let them know it. 

Hopefully we can bring back this very important asset to all Adobe Users. 

User Groups and Networking Overload!

As I am writing this, I am attending the first meeting of 2009 for the Milwaukee Adobe InDesign User Group. This made me think of the great opportunities for graphic designers, marketing gurus, and web heads to gather and share their creative mojo. 

In these troublesome times for employment and job hunting, marketing yourself and networking is a great way to keep yourself informed of the latest trends and opportunities. 

This can become a little overwhelming at times, I know firsthand with all the memberships I try to keep straight. For instance:

Tomorrow night (Wednesday) is the Milwaukee Adobe User Group meeting here at C2 as is our $5 Friday on Adobe Fireworks (held oddly enough on Friday). Also Friday is the I Love the Eisner Event (XOXO) which is the very fun and exciting fundraiser for the Eisner. 

Then there is also the Web414 group, Web Meetup, Graphic Design Meetup, Madison Adobe User Group, Adworkers, Ad2 and so many more. It can really make your head spin. 

Thats where C2 comes in. 

Check our C2 Pipeline for the latest meeting information for all of these groups. Think of it as your Networking Concierge. 

Do yourself a favor and bookmark it to your browser. If you haven't already, shame on you. 

Instructor Tips and Tricks

InDesign tips and Tricks:

Cmd+Opt+G will select all of the guides on any given page.

Cmd+click to select objects that are underneath other objects.

Shift-double clicking on the ruler will put a guide across the spread to the nearest tick mark.

Everyone knows that Cmd+A selects all, but few people know that Cmd+shift+A deselects all.

New in CS3 - Double-click to switch between the black and the white arrow.

New in CS3- If you are typing, hit ESC to "escape" out of a text box and select the box with the black arrow.

Duplicate and copy & paste is so last century. Opt+drag to drag a copy of whatever you are working on.

Are there any jobs out there?

Are there any jobs out there?
As the Placement Specialist at C2, clients and talent ask me this question daily. The answer is YES, of course! However, looking for a new position may take longer than it used to, and you may have to re-qualify yourself and look in different places. Employers have the advantage in this competitive market and Talent must stand out among their peers and shine above the rest! Increase demand for YOUR brand and make yourself more attractive by following these 6.5 steps:

1. Update Your Resume—Today!
Get your resume updated NOW! Ask several people to proof it. If you can’t do it yourself, find someone to assist you, or pay an expert copywriter or proofreader. Your resume reflects directly back to you. This includes getting your skills updated if you aren’t current for the market. Take some courses in the classroom or online to make it happen. Just as importantly, make sure your portfolio is current and doesn’t have dated, irrelevant material in it.

2. Keep in Touch!
Make sure that you are collecting contact information for friends and colleagues in case your company is “restructured.” Review your business cards and reconnect with anyone you haven’t communicated with in the past six months to say hello. You never know who can help you find your next opportunity.

3. Link In!!
Using LinkedIn is a great way to expand your network. Search for current and former colleagues or friends and link in. Use your completed resume (see #1 above) to start your profile on LinkedIn, and ask former associates for recommendations.

4. Why You?
Make sure you can succinctly tell someone who you are and what makes you stand out! Prepare a 30-second elevator speech and write it as if you were riding the elevator with a famous person you admire. Summarize what makes you unique, interesting and the best fit for a potential new position.

5. Network, Network, Network!
Attend events in your industry. Volunteer to help with these events or for nonprofit organizations in your neighborhood or religious organization. Donating your time helps the community and exposes you to new opportunities. Actively participate in organizations and associations that can benefit your career and your professional development. Use these events as opportunities to meet people who can give you advice (not a job!) and be a reference. Don’t bring your resume, asking, “Do you know anyone who’s hiring?” Being a good networker means being a resource – sharing your expertise and advice and asking people for the same.

6. “I’m Gumby, Dammit!”
The real Gumby was optimistic, flexible and friendly. He was resourceful and a great problem solver who never allowed obstacles to get in his way. Silly analogy maybe, but sometimes we allow salary, location, job title or some ego-threatening idea become an impediment to working for a great organization. Be open, be flexible and be friendly. You never know who will be impressed. Use resources like C2, the premier boutique staffing agency for contract and direct hire talent in the creative industry. Utilize our friends at Jobing.com and Big Shoes Network, and other niche job boards and resources out there for creatives.

6.5 Keep the faith!
If you follow these steps, what’s the worst that can happen? You’ll have a current resume, have expanded your skills and your professional development, updated your portfolio and met some wonderful new people and organizations along the way, enriching your life and helping you grow. Best-case scenario? You’ll be offered a new job!

Friday Good Stuff

Typolution

20/20 and John Stossel tackles Graphic Design

And just so that you are not screwed. Here is Paul Rand...

Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Mac

Believe it or not, the Apple Macintosh turns 25 this Saturday. Everyone give a collective cheer for the two geniuses responsible for saving our creative lives. 

Also, be sure to check the Apple website Saturday for a surprise. 

What is Adobe Fireworks?

A common dilemma when creating websites is the efficient interaction between the designer and the programmer. When the designer isn't happy, the design suffers. When the programmer isn't happy, the site suffers. Success is dependent on the compromises made between the two.

Adobe Fireworks is the middle ground between these individuals. Its environment caters to both the designers and the programmers. Fireworks supports native Photoshop and Illustrator files (which makes the designers happy) and it exports flawlessly to Dreamweaver (and the programmers rejoice).

Advantages for the Designer:
Fireworks is a pixel editor and a vector editor, which means it is a combination of Photoshop and Illustrator. It also supports multiple pages and paragraph styles just like InDesign. Since InDelutratorshop wasn't a very good name for a program, Fireworks had to do. Rollover buttons, hotspots and drop down menus can be designed without having to touch any code. Common elements like form elements and buttons are built into the program which makes laying out a webpage a breeze.

Advantages for the Programmer:
WYSIWYG features for the designer are great, but if they caused the programmer grief when they build the webpage, trouble might be brewing. Thankfully, image exporting for the web is fantastic. With the entire layout intact, you can choose exactly what pieces or area that you would like to export and fine tune the compression settings to the level that you require. Even form elements that the designer put in the layout can be exported into correct form tags in the HTML.

Exporting a click-through website is a hidden strength of Fireworks. Anyone can easily export the prototype of the website for a client to test drive. This is not a finished website by any means, but it will give your client an understanding of the functionality of the site. It can contain rollovers, drop-down menus and hyperlinks, all without the need for any programming. This is important because if the client changes their mind, you are still early enough in the design stage that you can accommodate the change without having to retool everything.

This is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg of Fireworks. Don't miss out on this month's $5 Friday and see Fireworks in action. When you are ready to learn more, contact Kate about our upcoming Fireworks classes.

Photoshop Goodies and Fun

Adobe Photoshop CS4 Goodies

Check out this great article by Derrick Story from Macworld.com. Some of the features are just mind blowing (bird's eye view) and others will really help push your workflow in a faster direction. 

Whats in Photoshop CS4?

Scott Kelby and the gang at Photoshop User TV have come out with a series (this is part 1 of 4) on what is so great about Photoshop CS4. A lot of good inside tips and tricks are revealed and some bad jokes as well.  

Keynote 09

As a designer, I use the Adobe Creative Suite on a daily basis, however there are some projects that require me to use other apps. One of those that come up more frequently than most is creating a presentation or slideshow. 

Now I know what you are thinking - PowerPoint right? Nope. Keynote. I actually used PP for years and still teach it from time to time, but ever since Apple launched iWork with Keynote, I haven't found a compelling reason to switch back.

At this year's MacWorld Conference Apple announced iWork 09. Now in the spirit of full disclosure, I don't use any of the other apps in iWork except Keynote. If you use Pages, stop reading, look to the left of your screen and take an InDesign Class. 

Here are some of the new features of Keynote:

Better Animations and Transitions. Apple has really ramped it up with Text Based Transitions, including Anagram, Slide In and improvements to Shimmer, Sparkle, among others. Slide transitions include the very cool Object Zoom, Object Push, Twist and many more. Even object animations are greatly improved with Magic Move. Click and record the movement for easy animations. 

Enhanced Themes. Not that I use themes a whole lot, but these are a very cool way to start a new presentation quickly and just modify for an original look. 

3D Charts and animations. This was an unexpected improvement. 3D Charts were around in previous versions, but now the animations are specific to Charts. Watch them pop up and enhance your graphs. 

Keynote Remote. This is still a big unknown with me. It has the potential to be cool if 1) you have a iphone and 2) you have a WiFi connection to run your presentation through. A less expensive alternative is to use your Apple Remote. 

The only draw backs that I have noticed and its really been an ongoing issue, is that with each new advance, Keynote becomes less and less compatible with PowerPoint. This is a critical issue in mixed usage workflows. You can create a cool preso on a Mac, but then when you export it for your client or coworker to work on in PP, all hope is lost for keeping your cool design. The other is I wish Apple would sell Keynote as a stand alone app, and not part of a package with other useless apps (anyone use Numbers instead of Excel?)

New Years Resolutions for Photoshoppers

After reading all the posts on the net about the "Year in Review", I thought it would be good to have a "Year in Preview" for Photoshop Users. This is my list of things to look forward to in 2009 and have the potential to make you geek out in a good way.

First is the advances in Photoshop CS4. We've all talked about it, posted about it, and shown you a lot of cool things, but I know people are slow to adopt. But when you do, watch out and be ready for a great time. CS4 makes Photoshop fun again (not that it really wasn't before...).

Second is Photoshop World Conferences. With Apple pulling out of MacWorld after this year, and Adobe following suit, this poises PSWorld to be the biggest Adobe related conference outside of the über expensive MAX.

Be sure to check out Photoshop User Magazine and subscribe here. PS User Magazine and its counterpart, Layers are the two best resources for Adobe Creative Suite applications that I have found. Plus, as they are the main sponsors of PS World and The Photoshop Tours, you get insider information and discounts to events hosted by them. The website alone is worth the subscription cost. Be sure to click the link posted here for a bonus DVD with your order. 

Next, I am really looking forward to the new Intel chips (dual-core nano processors, etc.) and what they can mean to both Mac and PC users. Im expecting a big ramp up on speed and in turn more Photoshop wow from Adobe. 

And lastly is something that I talk about from time to time – Adobe Labs. This is Adobe's cutting edge tech available for you to preview and read about before it is released to the masses. 

Adobe has released two really awesome applications/plug-ins for Photoshop in the past two months and they are really going to push the app into the new year.

First is Pixel Bender. If you haven't hear the gossip about this, Pixel Bender allows everyday users an interface to create their own complex filters using simple coding interfaces and a small number of tools that are sufficient to write complex image-processing algorithms (ie. Filters or Effects.

Next is Configurator. This Flex App allows you to create your own custom Photoshop panel with tools, menu options and information specific to your needs. Think of it as a way to simplify all the panels in Photoshop to fit your workflow. 

So that is my short list of what I think will be the big news for 09 with Adobe Photoshop. Id love to hear what geeks you out with your favorite app. 

Steve Jobs Responds to Rumors

Apple has published a letter today from Apple CEO Steve Jobs that addresses speculation surrounding his health. Steve Jobs reveals that he has been recovering from a hormone imbalance that has been causing an unhealthy weight loss.

Dear Apple Community,

For the first time in a decade, I'm getting to spend the holiday season with my family, rather than intensely preparing for a Macworld keynote.

Unfortunately, my decision to have Phil deliver the Macworld keynote set off another flurry of rumors about my health, with some even publishing stories of me on my deathbed.

I've decided to share something very personal with the Apple community so that we can all relax and enjoy the show tomorrow.

As many of you know, I have been losing weight throughout 2008. The reason has been a mystery to me and my doctors. A few weeks ago, I decided that getting to the root cause of this and reversing it needed to become my #1 priority.

Fortunately, after further testing, my doctors think they have found the cause - a hormone imbalance that has been "robbing" me of the proteins my body needs to be healthy. Sophisticated blood tests have confirmed this diagnosis.

The remedy for this nutritional problem is relatively simple and straightforward, and I've already begun treatment. But, just like I didn’t lose this much weight and body mass in a week or a month, my doctors expect it will take me until late this Spring to regain it. I will continue as Apple's CEO during my recovery.

I have given more than my all to Apple for the past 11 years now. I will be the first one to step up and tell our Board of Directors if I can no longer continue to fulfill my duties as Apple's CEO. I hope the Apple community will support me in my recovery and know that I will always put what is best for Apple first.

So now I've said more than I wanted to say, and all that I am going to say, about this.

Steve


Apple's board of directors also distributed the following statement:
It is widely recognized both inside and outside of Apple that Steve Jobs is one of the most talented and effective CEOs in the world.

As we have said before, if there ever comes a day when Steve wants to retire or for other reasons cannot continue to fulfill his duties as Apple's CEO, you will know it.

Apple is very lucky to have Steve as its leader and CEO, and he deserves our complete and unwavering support during his recuperation. He most certainly has that from Apple and its Board.