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Latest Articles

- Comic Sans? Maybe.
  April 25, 2022Fonts / Tips & TricksThose “in the know” know one thing for sure: Don’t use Comic Sans. Don’t use it on your web site. Don’t use it on your sign. Don’t use it on your photocopied lost dog notice. Don’t use it on your comic. This could be overly dogmatic thinking. Comic Sans was created for a Microsoft app in order to give a more “human” dimension to the type. Unfortunately, due to overuse from rampant distribution, designers and others “in the know” have shunned it. Much has already been written on the subject. For instance, this post at Design for Hackers goes into a lot of typographic, historical and societal details about Comic Sans. Also, evidence exists that Comic Sans and other harder-to-read typefaces work well for readers with dyslexia. Still, it is sometimes hard to justify selecting a typeface with such a negative reputation. Comic Sans alternatives Perhaps you have a project which demands a casual hand-written look. In your font menu Comic Sans lurks, but a little online search should reveal some viable alternatives. Here are some I have come across: 1. Dolcissimo Script Fun and free-spirited with some strokes looping back on themselves. 2. Dyna Pro This one is a more stylish casual script with letters that look like they want to dance. 3. Soli Px O.K., here’s a cute one with a slight backward angle. 4. Tait Note And finally, our own Tait Note. It is somewhat similar to Soli, but more angular and quirky. This is based on Jamie Tait’s scrawlings on various mixed tapes from back in the day. So there we have it for now. Keep your antennas up for alternatives to overused typefaces and your project will have a more unique look. Stay tuned, I may post more casual handwriting fonts as I stumble across them.…
- Engage sporty kids in math!
  October 5, 2021Downloads / Education / KidsNow that everyone is back into the routine of work and school, we can take stock of things that might help us and our kids. One thing that we have been thinking about is engaging our kids in subjects that have a “dull” reputation — like math. According to a 2018 Stamford University study, a positive attitude toward math will result in better achievements in math classes in children. This is not a big surprise. “Having a positive attitude acts directly on your memory and learning system,” the lead author, Lang Chen, PhD, said about the findings. How to get positive Of course, the next question is: how do you cultivate that positive attitude? This, I’m sure, depends on the child in question. Success in math requires logic, organization and precision. Also, there exists a more subtle and qualitative aspect to mathematics. For instance: do the numbers have associations, emotions, or personalities? These associations will aid in memory. Sports as a memory aid My son is a big sports fan and has a very good memory for sports. Speaking to him about this, we realized there are some numbers he knows very well: Athletes’ jersey numbers. The number 99 belongs to one man: Wayne Gretzky. It is also 9 x 11. And so, for sporty kids, we developed a downloadable multiplication table using the jersey numbers of hockey players. We’re going to offer it free here on the site for a couple of months for now. We hope teachers and parents will find this helpful for young sports fans. Associating players with math facts may produce that positive attitude kids need. Perhaps “Orr times Coffie equals Giroux” is a first step for young math students to get to “4 x 7 = 28.” Printed and framed Jersey Number Multiplication Table. Thanks to Cade Askey for his ideas and research on this project. Check out his hockey card blog! So far, two sizes are available in the downloads section: an over-size poster 36 x 24 inches, and a tabloid-size 11 x 17 inches. Let us know what you think! Download 36x24 Download 11x17 Jersey Number Multiplication Table Close-up,…
- What are you listening to?
  May 11, 2021Askey Studio Activities / Media / MusicThe pandemic has changed a lot. Perhaps the amount and type of music you listen to. I have been through my collection fairly thoroughly, listening for lost gems and for reminders of memorable periods in life. Music has a way of conjuring those memories. However, discovering new music is a great way to establish a soundtrack for this new period. Sadly, forays into local record shops have been way down. Streaming services already had a stranglehold on recording distribution pre-pandemic. And of course, many of us are missing live concerts — badly. Discovering new musical mysteries Here, we’ve helped Isonaut Music set up a simple web site to feature tracks, mixes, and albums from their extensive catalog. If you’re into unearthing unique sounds, this is a destination for you. Isonaut Music “Central” Whether you enjoy indie pop rock, experimental beats or lush downtempo vibes, there is something to savour. The simple home page provides a good, updated sample of music to listen to right off the bat. From there you can explore further on linked music services (Soundcloud, Band Camp, and YouTube). Keep up the auditory adventures! Support the artists, and delight in those new sounds. …
- Three Short Videos To Get You Into Typography.
  March 12, 2021Education / Fonts / Graphic DesignEverybody consumes (or reads) type every day. You might also be using it every day to help get your messages out there. It’s one of those things most people take for granted. If you’re looking to look more deeply into this world, these videos are a good place to start. Typography Off Book / PBS (6m 58) Choosing fonts Flux (9m 41) Four Quick Tips To Improve Your Typography Futur Academy (6m 57)…
- Big List of Web Building Platforms
  December 3, 2020Graphic Design / Self-promo / WebFor several years, I have taught Portfolio classes and had a list of website building platforms suitable for creating portfolio sites. I went to do an update, and just decided to post it here, rather than creating a PDF. Students have had success with many of these. But, are there any I have missed? Have you had any experience with any of these? Wix – “Easy, free.”Weebly – “Easy to use + useful features.”Squarespace – “Flexible, stylish.”Voog – “Multilingual support.”Webs – “Good features.”Format – “Great for photo portfolios.”Portfolio Lounge – “User-friendly.”Dunked – “Super-easy”Portfolio Box – “Unique features”WordPress.com – “Strong blogging.”WordPress.org – “CMS: need web hosting, but extremely flexible.”Adobe Portfolio – “Build – free with Creative Cloud.” Cargo – “Put your projects on the web.”Webflow – “The modern way to build for the web.” Photo by Halacious on Unsplash…
- Self-Promotion Identity in the covid-19 Era
  August 6, 2020Askey Studio Activities / Branding / Creativity / GD-Courses-AStudio / Self-promoIt’s been a while since I have written a post here on the site. In that time, well, everything changed. I have been busy busy. A lot of teaching, remotely, of course. Today the subject of self-promotion identity came up – always a difficult activity at the best of times. I have begun thinking about how self-promo might be changing during the pandemic. In class, we looked at business cards, as best we could through the webcam. Are Business Cards Dead? Design Student Business Cards The usefulness of business cards may have been on its way down pre-COVID. Now, there are limited conferences and face-face meetings for the foreseeable future. The nails seem to be on their way into the coffin of the venerable name card. Self-Branding Process We may need alter how we deliver our brands’ identities to our contacts. Yet, the process of self-branding remains relevant, and largely unchanged. I first went through the process of designing my own identity ten to fifteen years ago. My style has evolved since then, but it was interesting to return to the origin of the process. Early Art Direction Option Process Sheet for Askey Studio. The first part of the process involves getting “introspective.” You need to look inside yourself and try to honestly synthesize “who you are.” Personality and values are important. This is because we live in a connected world and want to work with people and brands to which we can relate. From your introspection and synthesis, you develop a “theme,” which summarizes your deep self-analysis. Next, you use the theme to guide you as you gather visual components. These are options you may use in your designs. They can include colour schemes, fonts and typography, symbols / objects / inspirational images, patterns, textures, etc. All this can be difficult for many reasons. But, avoiding the tug of perfectionism is key: There is no perfect solution. Just start anywhere. Put these things on a page and see what sticks. Finally, you will have to narrow down your options. You will begin to create brand identity components and deliverables. These may include a logo, and graphic approaches to social media, your portfolio and website. Maybe even a business card for the sake of nostalgia. A Self-Promo Giveaway? So readers, I am thinking of putting together a Self-promo Template. This would get you started on your own self-branding process. Maybe you haven’t done it yet, or now is the time for a brand-refresh. Let me know if you are interested through the contact page, Facebook, or Instagram.…
- Download a Vector Maze
  November 12, 2019Downloads / Education / Graphic Design / IllustrationHere’s a tool for budding vector illustrators – or those out of practice and wanting to get back into it! Test your vector drawing capabilities. It’s a Pac Man shaped maze. You just know he has mazes on the brain! This one is more twisty than those we see in the video games. But that’s because I designed it to help students master the pen tool in vector drawing software – like Adobe Illustrator or Affinity Designer. The challenge is to complete the maze with as few anchor points (or nodes) as possible. Don’t go over the lines! I just did it with twelve. Can you beat that? Download the maze here ……
- Brand New: Downloads Page
  April 11, 2019Askey Studio Activities / Downloads / FontsIntroducing the new Downloads page on the site. So far we have our Tait Note font available, and more resources will be coming for you. Stay tuned!…
- Top 6 problems for new web development learners
  December 18, 2018Education / Tips & Tricks / WebIn graphic design, we are called on to perform all sorts of tasks. Some are artistic; others are technical. You may find yourself needing to learn web development basics. This falls on the “technical” end of the scale. For many students, this is a completely new way of thinking. Learning HTML, CSS, and code-editors seems pretty far removed from the end-product (websites). It is also quite different from the “What You See Is What You Get” applications you may have experienced to this point. Web development technically is not a part of Graphic Design, but designers work with developers. They do need to understand some of what goes on in that world. Here then are six ways learners go wrong when learning development. And, I’ll illustrate it with a minimum of code. Avoid these, and you might avoid a lot of the pain of learning this stuff. #6: Overlooking HTML structure basics Computers are picky. Your browser needs to understand the code you are giving it. This requires you to be precise. You will probably have to go back and check to make sure that your code follows the rules. We tend to “borrow” code here and there and paste it together into a finished page. But you need to be sure that you “close” tags and you are pasting things in the right place. Be methodical. Think about what order different elements need to be in, and what goes inside what. Use elements that make sense. You can find a very good summary semantic markup and HTML structure on HTML.com. #5: Using inline CSS Once you find out about the power of CSS, the last thing you want to do is format everything on the site locally. It is possible, but not practical. Work with an external style sheet and link it to all your pages. This will make editing so much easier. If you want to change the colour of all the main headings on the site, simply change one rule. This is much better than hunting through all your pages to make changes. It is more efficient and will result in a more consistent design. #4: Using absolute paths or links What is a site anyway? Well, it is a collection of interrelated files. When referencing those files in your code, find the shortest path to them. This will be the relative path. If you are on a page and want to put in an image located in the images folder in the same directory, write: <img src=”/images/my-image.jpg”> On the other hand, an absolute path takes you to an exact place in a network or individual computer. The problem is that you may not have control over these images. They may disappear at some point out of the blue. If you must link to external places (such as in the example below) then just know the risk. If your link is a long path within your own computer disk, something is definitely wrong. <img src=“https://i2.wp.com/pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/675021767384035329/tzxhzHS8_400x400.jpg?zoom=2&resize=400%2C400&ssl=1”> #3: Displaying distorted or pixellated images This usually results from poor planning. Plan out your layout. Know how big your images need to be. Adjust them – proportionally. Use image editing software (like Photoshop or Affinity Photo) before adding them to your layout. Learn to optimize images manually. Yes, you can adjust sizes using CSS, but be mindful if you do. #2: Not keeping your directory organized O.K., this one follows on from #4. More generally, you need to keep your site files organized. Don’t just pile everything haphazardly into one folder. Don’t keep your site materials and pages all over your local drives. This will help you when linking to the various files in your code. Follow proper naming conventions for files and folders (keep them lowercase). Start as a neat-freak, and your hard work will pay off with fewer headaches later. #1: Forgetting the <title>. This is by far the most common mistake by beginners. It might not seem like a big one, but users need the title of the page to bookmark it. You want people to bookmark it, don’t you? It is also used by search engines to display your site in search results. You want people to find your site, don’t you? It is easy to forget, because it is in the <head> section of your HTML document. Everyone wants to jump into building that website and making it look great in the browser window. Just make sure things are all set up there in the <head> before you get ahead of yourself! Conclusion So there you have it. There are many ways to go wrong when learning development. Most of the solution comes down to having the patience to plan, organize and check your work. If you can think of more examples or questions, feel free to discuss.…
- Summer Workshops for Kids
  June 24, 2018Education / KidsSummer reading writing & design workshops start July 4! Call for more info or contact us here.…

Featured Work

Graphics for indie pop band

Transparent Subtitles — design for subtle indie dream pop-rock band

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Geometric Pattern Pack 1

Geometric Pattern Pack 1