In this day and age of chain stores, multi-nationals and homogenized rubbish, Etsy is  there, providing an antithesis to all this bland conformity. Artists, designers and makers finally have a platform and a vehicle to sell their beautiful handmade wares to you and me.

I know that if you’re visiting this blog, chances are you’re a designer or artist, or else you have someone in your life who loves design and typography, well this list will help you out if you’re stuck for a gift or just feel like looking at pretty things.

My students are always asking me about my favourite resources, how do I make a php form? How can I choose colours for my design? etc, and so I’m sharing my top ten with you. They’re online, they’re free and they’re all incredibly awesome. I use these sites all the time and I hope you find them as useful as I do.

My students are always asking me how they can get better at Photoshop, and I always recommend that the best way is to do some online tutorials. Problem is, they then ask me what sites they should look at, so I decided to put together this list, rather than trying to remember them all. I don’t often get a chance to do tutorials, but I find them enjoyable when I do. The PSD Tuts+ site is one of my favourites, but the rest of this top 10 list are terrific as well. Please let me know if you find any other free Photoshop tutorial sites that belong on this list, and enjoy!

I get asked by a lot of people if I have any branding and corporate identity guidelines. What exactly is branding? How do I go about designing a corporate identity? etc…

Most people start with a logo, but don’t really know if it is suitable, how to apply it to all the different branding elements or why it’s not working. Designing a logo without an underlying strategy is kind of like driving to Sydney without a map. You might get there, but more by luck than design.

So how do I develop a branding strategy? Are there any branding and corporate identity guidelines?

The good news is: yes. Read on…

On April 8th, 2009, I went with a group of Griffith University students to the one day Semi-Permanent event in Brisbane. A few of us had been to the event held in 2008, so we knew what to expect, but every year, there are different speakers and the day is only as good as they are, so we were excited about what was in store. What follows is a review of this year’s event, along with photos, links and other good stuff.

A well designed logo is the cornerstone of all branding. It is the tangible identity of a company that distinguishes it from its competitors and makes a memorable impression in the market. It also has to work hard for the company, under a variety of circumstances and so there are certain guidelines, that if followed, take most of the guesswork out of designing an effective logo.

The iPhone is such a great productivity tool, but there are so many apps, it’s hard to know which ones to choose.

Here is a list of ones I use all the time. They’re a great help if you’re a designer, and best of all, they’re free!