As Milan Design Week approaches, anticipation mounts as Diesel Living with Lodes prepares to introduce two new additions to its acclaimed lineup: Megaphone and Cross. These innovative designs epitomize the intersection of timeless elegance and modern functionality, offering captivating options for both residential and hospitality spaces.

Megaphone, a table lamp inspired by the iconic shape of 1950s megaphones, seamlessly blends vintage charm with contemporary flair. Its conical silhouette widens upwards, reminiscent of a poised instrument ready to emit sounds, yet instead, it bathes surroundings in soft, enveloping light. Crafted with meticulous attention to detail, Megaphone features a blown glass lampshade in gradient metallic finishes, exuding an air of mystery and sophistication. The lamp rests atop a sleek black steel base, housing an E27 filament bulb and boasting an adjustable dimmer switch for customizable lighting experiences. With its bold shapes and clean lines, Megaphone serves as a stunning accent piece, whether gracing a living room sideboard or illuminating a hospitality setting with its modern allure.

Meanwhile, the Cross pendant lamp embodies simplicity and elegance, reimagining pure triangular shapes into a functional design masterpiece. Its conical fabric diffuser is adorned with a distinctive ‘X’ detail at the top, not only lending visual interest but also providing structural support for stability. The lamp’s ivory-colored fabric shade exudes warmth, enhanced by subtle seams aligned with the cross detail. Like its counterpart, Cross features an E27 bulb connection and an adjustable dimmer switch, offering versatility in lighting intensity. Whether hung alone or in clusters, this pendant lamp infuses spaces with a soft, inviting glow, making it equally suitable for intimate residential settings or dynamic hospitality environments.

Both Megaphone and Cross will take center stage at Diesel Living’s Fuorisalone space in Brera from April 15 to 30, 2024, inviting visitors to experience firsthand the marriage of exquisite craftsmanship and contemporary design. With their striking aesthetics and functional versatility, these new additions are poised to captivate audiences and redefine the boundaries of modern lighting. As Milan Design Week unfolds, Diesel Living with Lodes continues to reaffirm its commitment to innovation, offering inspired solutions for discerning clientele seeking both style and substance in their interiors.

https://www.positive-magazine.com/diesel-living-with-lodes-unveils-two-striking-additions-for-milan-design-week/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=diesel-living-with-lodes-unveils-two-striking-additions-for-milan-design-week

Fellow Photographers,

I want to introduce myself. I’m Dan Harlacher, the VP of Products at ON1. You may recognize me from some ON1 announcement videos if you have been with us for a few years. My role at ON1 is guiding the design and development of ON1 Photo RAW and the rest of the photo editing software product line. I’ve been with ON1 since the beginning, eighteen years now. Only a few people in technology get to work most of their careers for the same company these days. For me, ON1 is more than my employer or company; it’s my team and family. Many of the original team members are still with us, and we have grown up and raised our kids together. It’s a fantastic place to work because of our passion for photography.  

I started photography in middle school, shooting film on a Canon FTb. I was the photo editor for my high school newspaper and yearbook. I went to college, quickly changed my major to photography, and started assisting a well-known commercial photographer to build my skills. In college, I was an early adopter of digital photography and was the first student to use ink prints for assignments. Remember, this was in 1996. After college, I started my portrait and wedding studio with a friend. However, the call for digital photography pulled me to the big city, where I integrated systems and trained professional photographers transitioning from film to digital in the early 2000s. Then, on a chance meeting on an airline flight, I made the move into software product management, and well, here I am. 

When it comes to photography, I have shot just about everything: Portraits, weddings, boudoir, pets, babies, special events, racing, airshows, sports, commercials, and even a live nuclear reactor core while standing on top of it. However, when it comes to what I love, it has always been landscapes and fine art. Photography is a great excuse for a hike, and I will take it whenever possible. 

What I love the most about my job is that I can combine my love and deep knowledge of all things photography with my problem-solving skills. I know first-hand where photographers struggle in post-processing. I know and use every tool out there, and it’s part of my job to understand the competition. Even though I have access to every app under the sun, I use Photo RAW daily for my photography. That’s as it should be; I designed it for photographers like me, so I know it can do everything I need well. If you have ever heard the old expression “eat your own dog food,” I firmly believe in using what you make. Sure, it isn’t perfect; no app is, but there are dedicated people like me listening to users like you to make it faster and better all the time. 

If you haven’t heard of ON1 or Photo RAW 2024, please give it a try. You can use it for a full 30 days without limitation, and it won’t watermark your photos in trial mode. We have made it a ton faster, and I know even more dramatic improvements are coming soon. The new user interface is much cleaner and easier to use. The new Brilliance AI is my new starting point whenever I open a photo to edit it. It gets me 90% done just by turning it on. I spend that last 10% using Super Select AI to fine-tune and mask the subject matter and apply the new on-trend presets with today’s styles.  

As the guy who designs it, we have some fantastic stuff up our sleeves that we are already working on. We will continue on our usability, performance, and stability mission and bring you new and improved features in the coming months and years. I hope to see you in the ON1 community soon! We have a ton of free training on using our apps, just like our friends here at KelbyOne. We appreciate your support and trust. 

https://layersmagazine.com/meet-dan-harlacher-vp-of-products-at-on1-passionate-photographer-discover-on1-photo-raw-2024.html

Disclosure: Our goal is to feature products and services that we think you’ll find interesting and useful. If you purchase them, Entrepreneur may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our commerce partners.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/growing-a-business/train-your-design-team-with-this-adobe-creative-cloud/471331

Shoop is the brainchild of Noam Oppenheimer, an Israeli architect with a burning passion to bring hot soup to the people of central London. Alongside chef Brem Gil, their mission is to serve up delicious soups (and sandwiches and salads) freshly made every day from seasonal ingredients.

With a site secured in Fitzrovia, the biggest challenge was to attract attention in an already saturated “casual dining” market, and attempt to lure office workers and tourists alike away from the multitude of tried and tested lunchtime chains.

With this in mind, Lizzie Frost wanted to create a logo that felt as warm and inviting as Shoop’s signature dish, and reflected Noam’s irreverent sense of humour – without becoming too cheesy or childish.

In Lizzie’s words, “The winking spoon and bowl felt perfect. Just crazy enough – or maybe I mean just subtle enough – to work. I kept the logo grounded by pairing it with clean modern typography; a carefully balanced combination of sans (Circular Std) and serif (Kings Caslon Typo).”

A lovely example of how the logo can be the star of the show (after the soup of course), and that not every business needs an elaborate design system.

Unfortunately the design shown on the website (pictured below) doesn’t have the visual balance seen in Lizzie’s work.

Still, the original’s great.

More from Madrid-based graphic designer Lizzie Frost.

https://www.logodesignlove.com/shoop

A new book by Steven Skaggs dropped through the letterbox, titled The Hidden Factor: Mark and Gesture in Visual Design (2023). It’s by no means logo-focused, but that’s good, because logos are, after all, pieced together using the same marks that make up all our visual surroundings, and it’s useful to step back once in a while and recognise that.

From the preface, “Artists usually think of their work as the making of an image; graphic designers think of design as communication through image and type. This book suggests that there is a third, hidden, factor at play in every visual work and image: the mark. When they are isolated by themselves, independent of pictures or words, we notice them, but when the three ingredients are combined, marks have a funny way of disappearing from our awareness.”

Steven kindly let me share the first of the book’s nine sections with you (excerpted below).

There is no visual entity without an edge.

We begin to see two edges, and when we do we begin to perceive one black line.

Those of us in the West see this line as “moving” from left to right. In Eastern cultures, people may see this line travelling from right to left. (But then they may have started reading this book from the other direction too!) If we see it moving from left to right, we see it diminishing, but if we see it moving from right to left, it seems to get thicker.

As the line gets thinner it eventually disappears. This place is called the “threshold of resolution.” The threshold is not a place that can be objectively pinpointed. In each viewing situation, the threshold will depend on a convergence of particular conditions, such as the precision of the reproduction process, viewing distance from the page, level of illumination, and a viewer’s eyesight.

Our ability to see a line is also affected by the kind of edge it has. If the smooth bottom edge is replaced with this jagged edge it becomes difficult to see it as a single black line. Now we start to see white objects sitting atop a black surface.

When the edges of the black form are in harmony, they reinforce directionality. Just as our ears hear two tones being “in tune,” our eye senses this harmonic relationship, and we are more likely to see the shape as a segment of a single line. We also sense a midline, or backbone, of the directional pathway.

(The graphic devices on these pages suffer discontinuities that are unavoidable in the making of a book. While our vision compensates for the slight bend of the paper, the breaking of continuity at the spine, where the book’s pages are bound together, is more disrupting.)

Meanwhile, although we’ve added just one more edge, this page looks much more complex than the preceding page. And it remains ambiguous as we struggle to settle on a single holistic object. Is this a white page with a black diagonal wedge above a curved black shape below? Or is it a white shape on a black background with a little bit of a white area “left over” at the top left?

Cropping and scaling can introduce another kind of ambiguity. Cut out a tiny portion of a gently curved shape, and the cropped edge suddenly loses its sense of curving and appears to be straight. The cropping drastically changes a visual form’s character, but as long as we retain an edge, visual form itself never goes away.

So different from language, where even slight cropping (editing) may drastically change the character of what is said, while a severe level of contraction not only changes the content but eventually eradicates verbal communication itself.

When edges conform and a line has harmony, with negative space clearly apportioned, the resulting figure appears somehow natural and whole. Why should it be so? It has been more than a century since such habits of perception were identified by psychologists Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka, and Wolfgang Köhler, and this is still one of the mysteries of consciousness. Certain visual tendencies that lead to wholeness and harmony are known as gestalt principles of perception.

This is certainly seen as a rectangular shape. This is just as surely seen as a short line. But do we see a black rectangle containing a white line? Black rectangle with a gap and then a black line? Two black rectangular shapes?

Dynamism also plays a part, and whether something exits a frame such as a page of a book, or contains something else (like this text) within.

Ultimately, there is no clear distinction between line and shape — the terms simply serve as rough descriptions of the appearance of visual objects. Calling something shape or line is merely a way of pointing to features of its form. Formalism is at the heart of the traditional “principles of art.”

“Skaggs explains the quotidian process of creating letters and images in the most enticing and inspiring ways. It is a must read primer for neophyte and veteran mark makers.”
— Steven Heller

“Steven Skaggs unearths the tactile joy buried in the formalizations of design. Bodies in motion make tangible marks on materials. Typefaces, logos, images, and patterns freeze gestures into crisp, coherent signifiers. Use this book to experience the haptic origins of communication.”
— Ellen Lupton

Quick mention for the minimal cover design that’s hidden behind the dust jacket (below).

Published by MIT Press, The Hidden Factor can also be picked up on Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk.

Previously featured is one of Steven’s earlier books, FireSigns.

https://www.logodesignlove.com/the-hidden-factor

Disclosure: Our goal is to feature products and services that we think you’ll find interesting and useful. If you purchase them, Entrepreneur may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our commerce partners.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/science-technology/create-visually-appealing-social-posts-ad-banners-and-more/470156

Logo Rhythm: Band Logos that Rocked the World (on Kickstarter) features more than 90 design stories behind iconic band logos from the 1960s to present day.

“Many of the band logo design trailblazers are no longer with us. Some of their stories have been lost in the mists of time. Logo Rhythm does its damnedest to put this right. To give credit where it’s due. To sing the praises of the unsung designer or guitarist or drummer’s girlfriend who came up with the idea.”

Written and edited by Jim K Davies of totalcontent, designed and co-written by Jamie Ellul of Supple Studio, the book includes contributions from luminaries of the design and music industries. There are two forewords, one by broadcaster and songwriter Tom Robinson, the other by graphics guru Malcolm Garrett.

It was a real pleasure to be asked to contribute, sharing a few thoughts on the Prodigy logo and the nostalgia it conjures.

“The Prodigy logo continues to resonate not because of its imposing, outline type loosely based on the Peignot display typeface, with its quirky ‘multi-case’ letters. But because of what was happening in my life at that particular time. In some ways, the wordmark could have been something entirely different, but still evoke the same personal meaning and memories.”

Other contributing designers include the likes of Jonathan Barnbrook, Kosh, John Pache, Michael Johnson, Mark Porter, Chris Bigg, and Craig Ward.

Contributing musicians include Mick Avory of The Kinks, Horace Panter of The Specials, Jim McCarty of The Yardbirds, Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand, Alan Gorrie of Average White Band, and more.

A lavish 440 pages will be printed in five colours on uncoated stock. The case-bound, foil-blocked cover has a split run of four different designs, due for delivery in August 2024.

Looks fantastic. Back the Kickstarter.

https://www.logodesignlove.com/logo-rhythm

How Do I Do That In Photoshop? 2nd Edition by Scott Kelby

Scott is back with a totally updated and revised new edition of his bestselling book. Here’s how this book works: When you need to know how to do a particular thing in Photoshop, you turn to the chapter where it would be found (Layers, Printing, Masking, Special Effects, etc.), find the thing you need to do (it’s easy; each page covers just one single topic), and Scott tells you exactly how to do it just like he was sitting there beside you, using the same casual style as if he were telling a friend. That way, you get back to editing your images fast! Order your print book or eBook today.

KelbyOne members: Remember, you can save 50% on ALL titles from Rocky Nook using their discount code found under Perks in your Dashboard!

https://layersmagazine.com/book-spotlight.html

Hey there, fellow photographers! Dan Harlacher here. I’m the VP of Product at ON1 and am thrilled to introduce you to the new ON1 Photo RAW 2024, the ultimate raw photo editor. At ON1, we understand that diving into a new app can be overwhelming, especially with one as robust as Photo RAW. I’m here to ensure you have the best possible experience. Our goal with ON1 Photo RAW was to give photographers creative freedom and allow them to take advantage of the latest AI technologies without replacing them. Our AI-driven features are designed to give you a more efficient workflow and the highest image quality. Now, let’s talk about ON1 Photo RAW 2024. If you like what you see, download our free 30-day trial and follow along in the video.

Organizing Your Photos

Organization is critical to a smooth and efficient photo editing workflow. With ON1 Photo RAW 2024, it’s incredibly easy to browse folders, use the filmstrip view, and even leverage star ratings to keep your photo library organized—no more hunting for that perfect shot. The new and powerful search capability will also quickly get you to the photos you need.

Editing Basics

The true power of Photo RAW lies in its editing capabilities. In the video, I guide you through the fundamental tabs in the Edit module, starting with Develop and moving on to Local Adjustments, Effects, Sky, and Portrait. You will get a great idea of what the app can do as I cover the basics first and then dive into advanced techniques to take your editing skills to the next level.

Advanced Editing Techniques

Some of the more advanced editing techniques are also included in Photo RAW. I suggest looking at the magic of the all-new Brilliance AI for automatic adjustments. From cropping to healing brush usage and targeted adjustments with Super Select AI, you’ll see how Photo RAW makes it ultra simple to enhance specific elements in your photos like never before.

Presets and Filters

Photo RAW 2024 comes packed with presets and filters to add that extra flair to your images so you can style them to your specific tastes. You can quickly apply presets, create your own, and use filters to achieve stunning effects. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced photographer, these tools will become your creative sidekicks.

Portrait Retouching

I also demonstrate how Photo RAW makes portrait retouching a breeze with AI-powered features, from smoothing skin to enhancing facial features and even replacing backgrounds. It’s one of the easiest tools for all your retouching needs.

Advanced Features: Layers and Resize AI

ON1 Photo RAW also has a layered workflow. Think of it as having Lightroom and Photoshop combined but for photographers. This empowers you to tackle tasks typically associated with advanced editing software like Photoshop. Plus, we’ll explore the Resize AI module, ensuring your photos maintain top-notch quality even when upscaled.

The Complete Ecosystem

But wait, there’s more! Photo RAW isn’t just a desktop application – it’s part of a complete ecosystem. The mobile app for iOS and Android and our cloud syncing service allow you to seamlessly work across all your devices and access your edited photos.

Learning Resources and Support

ON1 Photo RAW 2024 comes with a healthy amount of resources so you get the most out of your purchase. There is a detailed user guide, free video tutorials, or our exclusive education community–ON1 Plus, and you’ll find everything you need to master Photo RAW. A

Conclusion

As you embark on your photography adventures, I am grateful for you considering ON1. I can’t wait to see the incredible creations you’ll achieve with this powerful photo editing tool. Whether a hobbyist or a pro, ON1 Photo RAW has the tools and support to take your photography to new heights. Let’s capture those moments and create something extraordinary together!

Get your free 30-day trial of ON1 Photo RAW 2024!

https://layersmagazine.com/discover-on1-photo-raw-2024-amazing-photo-editing-software.html

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When The Verge launched its redesigned website last September, editor-in-chief Nilay Patel admitted that the effort was motivated, in part, by a desire to capture readership from Twitter users fleeing the platform.

One year later, the Twitter prediction has proven prescient, and thanks to new site features and ad products, people are coming back to The Verge more often.  

From January to September, The Verge saw its readership increase 15%, according to Patel. In the same timeframe, its loyal user base, which it defines as a reader who visits the site at least five times per month, increased 62%. (Twitter, now X, has lost 13% of its daily active users since Elon Musk bought the platform in October 2022, per Apptopia).

“Our total user base is growing, but specifically, the user base is shifting to loyal readers,” said Helen Havlak, the publisher of The Verge. “So, the site is doing a great job of converting fly-by readers into loyal readers.”

Despite these increases, in the months following the September 2022 redesign, The Verge saw year-over-year traffic decrease every month except for June 2023, according to Comscore. From September 2021 to August 2022, the publisher averaged 17.3 million visitors per month, per Comscore. From September 2022, when the redesign occurred, to August 2023, the site averaged 11 million monthly visitors.

The technology publisher is not alone in this drop-off; website traffic has been down across the industry, the result of fewer social and search referrals, among other factors. And even the most meticulous redesigns can result in short-term declines in traffic of between 10% and 15%, according to web design consultant Deborah Carver, founder of The Content Technologist.

Loyalty over fly-by scale

According to Havlak, the drop in overall traffic—or algorithmic audiences—is a less meaningful metric than loyal users. She also expects total traffic in Q4 to outpace total traffic from the same time period last year.

Some, like The Verge, will have an easier time focusing on loyalty over a fly-by scale. Its homepage is consistently the highest-trafficked single page across the entire Vox Media portfolio, according to Patel, and its strong brand identity and 11-year lifespan have helped it cultivate a devoted audience. 

“We have to make something that inspires people to pay us directly,” Patel said. “We have gotten drunk on cheap algorithmic traffic for too long, and all of those pipes are about to get flooded by bargain-bin content.”

Stickier site features boost loyalty

The Verge redesigned its website to resemble Twitter because social platforms have historically done a better job than publishers in building products that people come back to, said Patel.

To channel the spirit of a social interface, The Verge introduced its news feed feature. It also unveiled Storystream, a hybrid product that combines live blog and article formats to cover events that unfold over days or weeks, such as a trial. On average, readers spend four minutes longer on these “slow blogs” than traditional articles, said Havlak.

The new interface also led to an uptick in the clickthrough rate for content on the homepage, which has risen 25% on desktop and 48% on mobile, according to Havlak. 

Comments, too, which the new site has made more prominent, have increased in volume—total comments are up 90%, while comment rate is up 248%. The Verge views commenting as a proxy for engagement, although Carver is reluctant to do so.

Early success from more native ads

The facelift has also opened up opportunities for new ad products, according to Patel, though the publisher declined to provide specific revenue figures or performance metrics.

One, called Quick Posts, acts as a native ad that the publisher can use to promote in-house products like newsletters or product review guides.

In September, the publisher unveiled a proprietary ad product that appears in the news feed. The seamless fit and familiar user experience of the feature aims to increase ad performance, although the publisher said it was too soon to share success metrics.

The news feed product also uses the same dimensions as social creative, which could make it an easier buy for advertisers, said Paul DeJarnatt, vp and head of digital at Novus Media. 

“A redesign on its own doesn’t convince me to buy media from a website. We make decisions based on data,” DeJarnatt said. “But if the redesign encourages the reader to engage more with ads, then maybe.”

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