Recommended Reading
- Be Solutionary, Not Revolutionary: Scott Belsky of 99% points out how some of the greatest advancements tend to be small. Creatives struggle with the baby steps, instead trying to think of the next big thing. Belsky offers some tips on how to focus on being creative in your solution without getting caught up in the need to create something entirely new.
- Young Smart Global Lansing: Lansing, Michigan has been taking steps to attract creatives, and the launch of Young Smart Global (YSG) Lansing this year is one way the city is encouraging cultural change. YSG Lansing attracts young talent and entrepreneurs, many from out of state, who want to keep their creativity alive and help change Lansing into a vibrant cultural community. The non-organization communicates the idea of being Young, Smart, and Global through education, civic engagement, messaging, and action.
- The Fight for Original Material: Graphic artists have a drive to create original artwork — a drive that creates competition while sometimes losing focus on brand communication. This is a great read for designers/creatives.
- A Writing Revolution: This analysis from two professors, Denis G. Pelli and Charles Bigelow, looks at how modern society’s characteristic of nearly universal literacy will be transformed into nearly universal authorship thanks to technology. The new normal of online writing is changing us from consumers (readers) to creators (authors).
Publishing Industry
- The Week That Changed Publishing: With the launch of more e-readers and an outbreak of price wars for bestselling hardcovers, this has been a big news week for the publishing industry. Literary agent Nathan Bransford gives a great overview of recent events and what it means for independent booksellers. As for the bestseller price wars, the American Booksellers Association has asked the Department of Justice to investigate the predatory pricing tactics being used by Amazon, WalMart, and Target.
- Charging for News: Newsday announced that they will begin charging for their online news later this month. The price tag for digital access? $5 a week, which amounts to about $260 a year, a higher subscription rate compared to the small number of other American papers that charge for online content.
Tools & Resources
- 10 Essential Skills Every Graphic Designer Should Have: Graphic designers already have artistic talent, but these 10 skills show how important it is to round out your skill set to become more valuable and viable in the job market. The list includes great takeaways for all professional writers, such as how one can promote and brand themselves using social media.
- Designing With Web Standards 3rd Edition: The updated edition of this fantastic resource hit bookstores this past week. Written by Jeffrey Zeldman with Ethan Marcotte, the 3rd Edition features more hands-on “how to” design explanations as well as new design technologies such as HTML 5 and web fonts.
- 7 Things Web Designers Hate Hearing from Clients: Six Revisions examines seven things that make the job of the web designer difficult, as well as how to deal with the clients making unreasonable demands. While aimed at web designers, these apply to other designers and writers as well.
- 19 Top Fonts in 19 Combinations: BonFX has put together a list of the 19 most popular fonts used by graphic designers and paired them in 19 serif + sans serif combinations. There is a PDF available as well, which makes for a handy reference for anyone designing on the web.
- Tips for Designing an Awesome Coming Soon Page: If you’re launching a new site or in the midst of a redesign, than a well-designed “Coming Soon” page is a great way to start your online brand and communicate with viewers. Line25 shares tips on how to do this, as well as great examples for inspiration.
Inspiration
- 12 Motion and Kinetic Typography Videos: If you are looking for some gorgeous typographical inspiration, check out this list of motion and kinetic typography based videos compiled by Circlebox. It’s great to see typography being creatively used for opening titles in movies and on television.
- Entrepreneurial Design: Turning a Passion into a Product: The Pentagram 365 Typography Calendar is in its tenth year, and originator Kit Hinrichs shares the inspiration behind the concept of a typographically rich calendar. Hinrichs also tells of how the calendar has evolved over the years to adapt to customer needs.
What is 140+ Tweet Feed? It’s where we share our top tweets every Friday — news, tips, resources, and articles about professional writing, editing, and design — in more than 140 characters. Let us know about other great links on Twitter or in the comments.
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