One of the simplest solutions to the problem of receiving spam email is to avoid posting your email address, in full, on your site, either as just text or as a link.

Instead, posting your contact details as you [at] yourwebsite.com.au is self-explanatory: your visitor who wishes to contact you will simply compose their email by substituting “@” for [at] and take out the spaces between the words.

Also, if you have a contact form, your email address is here: <FORM METHOD=”POST” ACTION=”mailto:your email address“> This also leaves you susceptible to receiving spam, even though your email address is not visible on your page.

Some hosts offer a control panel for managing the contact form and where the completed information is sent; alternatively, you could use a remotely-hosted CGI script thru sites such as Response-O-Matic.

Fonts. We need ‘em, they got ‘em. Some are free, some are for a fee, all have at least a few you’ll like.

• better fonts offers over 10,000 fonts with a cool feature that lets you select the font you’re interested in, then type in a word or phrase to see what it looks like;
• font paradise offers a good selection of decorative and headline fonts, but they also offer you the chance to download all 2,800 fonts in one Zip file for only $4.95; Read the rest of this entry »

In what is now the largest acquisition in the company’s history, Microsoft is following in the footsteps of rival juggernaut, Google, by purchasing aQuantive Inc., a leader in Internet ad services.

Google already offers a growing number of online services and applications; it would seem that their goal is to provide quick and easy access to virtually all information that can be found on any computer, anywhere, while allowing users to utilize tools online that once had to be bought in a box at the computer store. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve always liked Helvetica, and now the ubiquitous font now is coming to a theater (or film festival, or museum) near you.

Despite of the plethora of fonts available, there’s something reliable and solid about this strong, easy-to-read and instantly recognizable font. I think that, sometimes, the message of the design gets lost in the medium and is not clearly conveyed because it’s just “over-designed”. Most times, simplicity is the key to communication, and the readability depends on the reader’s familiarity with the typeface. A classic, sans serif face like Helvetica is always a winner (Franklin Gothic is a close second for me). Read the rest of this entry »

Part One of a series

I’ll be providing updated posts as I find more stuff that I think would be valuable to the creative/development community

There’s lots of software out there that’s free or available for a nominal fee that can increase your productivity and streamlining your production process. Here are a few that stand out (note: I am not responsible for broken links):

• Art Directors Toolkit offers a lot of great features, including:

1. View every character in a font;
2. Calculate point sizes;
3. Capture a color on-screen;
4. Translate RGB to Hex colors;
5. Convert Points to Picas or fractions to decimals;
6. Quickly search through industry-standard color libraries to obtain color information; calculate sizes for scaled images and more.

Move your mouse over the menu on the left to learn more about its features. Read the rest of this entry »

I have mixed feelings about Apple’s new focus on consumer products. While they still make the coolest-looking stuff around, their core business is (or was?) computers. With the announcement several weeks ago of the delay in shipping Leopard, there has been speculation that Apple will concentrate on producing and marketing more consumer goods, like iPhone and, presumably, future generations of iPods, more additions to the ITMS and more integration with your TV.

In spite of a rumor that caused Apple’s stock to plunge, the FCC’s approval of iPhone may bring it to the shelves by June.

The new site is now live, streamlined for easy navigation and includes a new section for industry and tech news.

Who? What? Why?
Edmund O’Reilly has been a graphic designer for over 17 years. His approach to designing and client relationships has been to act as a creative extension of the client’s business by providing friendly, personalised service with a commitment to being an integral part their company, helping them achieve their communication goals.

Additionally, he has been writing in a variety of formats (short screenplays, copywriting for ads, websites and brochures) and blogging for the past several years.