Arteliance

As Eden asked:

Have you managed to post something thought-provoking every day, or do you feel like you clogged up the Internet with less-than-satisfying content for the sake of endurance?

50/50: I wrote more of my own stuff this year (about half the time, and that is a big deal for me) but also filled in with link posts half the time.

What I learned: Writing every day is a good idea. Posting every day, not so much.

Opening a file in GIMP requires one to define the RGB working space for that image. The choices are to keep the embedded profile or convert to whatever option you have defined in your preferences. Gimp.org recommends using sRGB but my preference is for Adobe 1998. Of course none of these really mean that much without printed output but it is interesting to see the subtle display differences.

Bonus tip: When calibrating your monitor take off your glasses if you have lenses with anti-reflective coating as they make everything appear slightly green and you might set your display too magenta with them on.

1. Download the scripts you want to install (.scm files)
2. Put them into Home » Library » Application Support » Gimp » scripts (may have to create the scripts folder)
3. In GIMP: Filters » Script-Fu » Refresh Scripts

Spark | CBC Radio

Okay I must be the last person on the planet to figure these things out… just subscribe in iTunes and then remember to open iTunes and listen. Sheesh.

via: BPLUSD: 11 Stories about Canadian Design.

Blogging at a Snail’s Pace - NYTimes.com

Ms. Ganley, the blogger in Vermont, has a slogan that encapsulates the trend: “Blog to reflect, Tweet to connect.” Blogging, she said, “is that slow place.”

Sometimes I long to be good at reflection and find exactly the right words… But, alas, I am more likely to find just the right code for an ellipsis (…).

Every morning I open the same applications and rather than type each of them into Spotlight or open them one at a time from the dock I made an Automator application to do this for me. Automator comes with OS X and it is easy to create your own:

1. Open Applications » Automator

2. Choose Custom in the splash screen that pops up

   

3. Type launch into the search box in Automator

4. Drag Launch Application into the working area on the right

5. Use the pull-down menu to select the application you want

   

6. Repeat for all the applications you want to launch together

7. File » Save As » Application

Now you can just type a few letters into Spotlight to get started every morning or place it in your dock if you’re a dock user.

Two and a half weeks ago I posted some sketches entitled Blog Redesign: Background and Brainstorming. One of the little squiggles was this image:

Then this morning I see this which predates my sketch by several years:

Maybe I am onto something here? Articulating abstract concepts visually is the most difficult challenge of graphic design. Damien Newman has provided an elegant and wonderful example of how design and drawing can clarify communication and thinking in an instant.

via Design Sojourn | Strategic Industrial Design Blog » The Design Process Simplifed

Design by Fire • Santorini in black and white (scroll down to the The Rob Carr Color to B&W Conversion Technique).

While I was cleaning out Evernote I came across this method for converting photos to black and white and decided to try applying it using GIMP:

1. Convert to LAB colour: Colors » Components » Decompose… set Color model to LAB

2. Image mode will already be Grayscale

3. Highlight Lightness (L) Layer and switch to Channels tab. Ctrl-Click on thumbnail » Channel to Selection

4. Select » Invert

5. With the selection still active, convert the image to RGB color, using Image » Mode » RGB.

6. GIMP doesn’t have Adjustment Layers so what I did turn off the visibility of the A and B layers Ctrl-Click » Create New Layer from Visible

7. Edit » Fill with a rich, dark colour

8. Adjust the opacity, levels and/or curves as needed

The B&W iPhoto effect and convert to grayscale in GIMP both seem flat to my eye.