r's adventure

toolbox: 21

being a designer is part intuition, part skill, part practice. it's easy to become stuck in a rut or unwittlingly limit your creativity with gaps in your knowledge base. this is where skillshare comes in...

skillshare offers a variety of reasonably priced, online courses in design, illustration, crafting, business, the list goes on! it's invigorating to be back learning in a structured fashion and i love how when you take a chance to extend your skills, there's always something unexpected to be gained. i'm starting with 'Beyond the Logo. Crafting a Brand Identity' taught by courtney eliseo, founder of Design Work Life + Seamless Creative.

class starts monday and i hope to share my project as it evolves on my blog over the next few weeks.

toolbox is a weekly post offering a selection of websites or links that i've found inspirational or helpful as a designer in my 9 to 5 design day. to see the rest of the series please click here.

toolbox: 20

a simple cure for a case of the blahs?

new fonts. specifically, 125 free fonts (or for only a small donation to the hard-working typographer).

go forth, download and type! image and link via a pair of pears.

toolbox is a weekly post offering a selection of websites or links that i've found inspirational or helpful as a designer in my 9 to 5 design day. to see the rest of the series please click here.

toolbox: 19

take a look on pinterest and it's easy to see chalkboards are a huge trend. the effect is easy to recreate in photoshop with a little tweaking. i did some investigation onlne while working on my minted holiday card submissions and here's a couple of links to get you started!

this was the first and best link i found. and there is also a free chalkboard background to download.

or if you have a little more time on your hands, here's the steps to recreating the entire image and background in illustrator.

the image above was created by molly jacques, who is a hand-letterer extraordinaire! if you're looking for some tips on refining your lettering technique, this is a valuable resource and if at the end of this all, you'd rather go the traditional route and create on a real chalkboard, here is a helpful DIY.

toolbox is a weekly post offering a selection of websites or links that i've found inspirational or helpful as a designer in my 9 to 5 design day. to see the rest of the series please click here.

toolbox: 18

a nice infographic by bright bazaar, designed by amanda jane jones on building a bright and successful blogging brand. my favourite would have to be 'believe in your voice'. i'd love to say i have a plan for this blog, but really it's my flight of fancy - and i'm ok with that :)

toolbox is a weekly post offering a selection of websites or links that i've found inspirational or helpful as a designer in my 9 to 5 design day. to see the rest of the series please click here.

toolbox: 16

365 awesome designers is simply that.

a year of incredible visual inspiration. the perfect place to mull over a new project or experience a wealth of different visual styles. the sweet illustration above is by jay schaul.

toolbox is a weekly post offering a selection of websites or links that i've found inspirational or helpful as a designer in my 9 to 5 design day. to see the rest of the series please click here.

toolbox: 15

design thinking. described by zurb as, "The kind of thinking you need to do when you actually want to get something done." and when you visit zurb - check out pattern tap (the original reason i stumbled upon design thinking). pattern tap is a fantastic resource for web designers and developers, offering snippets of pattern or design that may be just the inspiration for your very own work or visual problem you're working through.

toolbox is a weekly post offering a selection of websites or links that i've found inspirational or helpful as a designer in my 9 to 5 design day. to see the rest of the series please click here.

toolbox: 14

a sneak peek at some internet shopping i did this morning while eating my toast and honey :) cylburn is the latest release from the lost type co-op and is a beautiful 'semi-connected script structurally based on Roundhand but written with a pointed brush and restrained tension that separate it from its traditional roots'. the lost type co-op is founded on the 'pay-what-you-want' model with 100% of the profits going to the font designer.

toolbox is a weekly post offering a selection of websites or links that i've found inspirational or helpful as a designer in my 9 to 5 design day. to see the rest of the series please click here.

EDITED: the photo below from dai (the cylburn designer) just arrived in my inbox! so cool! things like this make the internet feel like such a small place :)

toolbox: 13

overwhelmed by choosing fonts for your next project? fret no more wordmark.it has come to the rescue. simply type in your required copy and word mark will preview of all the fonts in your computers collection. plus you can easily switch between positive/negative and lower, sentence case or ALL CAPITALS. a handy little tool to get the creative process started!

image via here

toolbox is a weekly post offering a selection of websites or links that i've found inspirational or helpful as a designer in my 9 to 5 design day. to see the rest of the series please click here.

toolbox: 11

a short and sweet toolbox today...

is your website mobile friendly? gomo it! and while you're there check out google's tips for designing for mobile devices. it's hard to resist such super cute icons!

p.s. happy 700th post to me!

toolbox: 10

this weeks toolbox is on a subject near and dear to my heart, stationery. or more specifically lovely stationery. after a hiatus, the site is back up and showcasing inspiring printed collateral. one of the parts i enjoy is seeing unique applications and materials like the thermo sensitive design above.

p.s. happy valentines day!x

toolbox is a weekly post offering a selection of websites or links that i've found inspirational or helpful as a designer in my 9 to 5 design day. to see the rest of the series please click here.