Tag Archives: graphic design

A new book release: Practical Font Design: FontLab 4.6

Skilled Workman Posted on by

A journey with an experienced font designer through the creation of a new OpenType font developed for release. This is also part of the training materials for the apprentices of the Hackberry Font Foundry. That’s the blurb on Lulu. This is the first limited release on my Practical Font Design book. It is limited because it’s done on FontLab 4.6 and FontLab 5 has been out for quite a while. As you know, Hackberry Fonts is a … Continue reading →

If you get involved in a large signage project, here’s help

Skilled Workman Posted on by

For some reason, I’ve gotten on mailing lists to look over books for publishers with the hope, on their part, that I’ll blog on their books. One of the books I received recently is another one from Princeton Architectural Press. At first glance it seems to have little to do with what we do here at Radiqx. But I think I should mention it, because I enjoyed reading it, and because you may need it at some … Continue reading →

Good design cares: book review

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I was sent David Barringer’s book There’s Nothing Funny About Design to review. It was an interesting read. First, let me say that if I hadn’t been asked to read it, I never would have done so. It’s for a world I do not inhabit. This is an intellectually stimulating, very entertaining read Of course it is. It won the 2008 Winterhouse Award for Design Writing. This is an award out of AIGA for writers about design … Continue reading →

It’s all vanity, so why bother?

Skilled Workman Posted on by

So, why do we do the things we do? I certainly hope that your answer is not “because I want to”. It would be nice to be able to assume that we are all doing what we do because of a higher level of motivation than that. But Solomon had it right… Again I am reminded of Oswald Chamber’s statement that you can always tell who the true believers are by the fact that they are sitting … Continue reading →

Who owns the internet & why do we care?

Skilled Workman Posted on by

Fred Showker in his latest monthly DT&G newsletter has an excellent article on internet ownership that we all need to read. Internet anarchy threatens civilization — and no I  do not think this is an overstatement. Now as a believer, I concede that this might be necessary to enable  the Antichrist to take control. But, even though I long for that day [so I can go home], that is not a reason to allow internet anarchy and … Continue reading →

Christian publishers: why we do what we do

Skilled Workman Posted on by

The basic question is simple: Why is so much so-called christian product so bad, boring, trite, brain-dead, and so on? I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but I believe I understand the basics problems. This so-called Christian stuff comes under several categories that believers need to be aware of. Let’s mention a few off the top of my head: Large companies covering their bases: Often these are so-called Christian companies who have left the realm … Continue reading →

The changes to print are still building

Skilled Workman Posted on by

This is an old draft I forgot to publish. I’m not sure the link even works. There is an excellent article by Dr. Joe Webb today in What They Think. It’s an analysis of the printing industry and the changes it faces. It a point of view that we as designers need to be aware of as we change from traditional printing to the on-demand model with research and fulfillment happening online. We need to be aware that many … Continue reading →

Careful! God is going on vacation

Skilled Workman Posted on by

One of the real surprises when we moved back here to Minnesota after 25 years in New Mexico was Summer. I had grown accustomed to the eight month summers of mid-New Mexico on the high plains south of Albuquerque. March to October I could expect heat and sun. I came to hate the sun. It made it impossible to work outside, and on & on. I was really looking forward to summers in Minnesota. I knew about … Continue reading →

So, how is it different for Christian designers?

Skilled Workman Posted on by

It is interesting to try and put this out there in words. First of all, what is a Christian designer? I am not talking about a decoupaged copy of Durer’s praying hands. In fact, I am not talking about so-called “Christian art” at all. What we are concerned with here are Christians whose calling is design or art. In other words, believers in Jesus who are convinced that their place in the world is a designer or artist. So, what does … Continue reading →