The Artistry of Internet Censorship

With CISPA (Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act) starting to make headlines in recent days I thought it only appropriate to take a look back at how well SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect IP Act) were received by the online community. Hundreds of websites including Google, Wikipedia and WordPress blacked out in creative ways in protest. SOPA and PIPA would have provided the government/Hollywood the ability to shut down foreign websites that they deem are "facilitating the commission" of copyright infringement. Those of us who prefer an open web saw this as an act of censorship and as much as I would like...

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The First Rule of Data Backups – Part Deux

Welcome back to Doc4 Design's backups for beginners, wherein we continue to break the First Rule of Backups by talking about backups! In part one, we discussed the need for, and benefits of, backing up your computers, along with the main types of backups and some simple backup schemes. In part two, we're going to briefly look at some tools to help make your backups as easy and automatic as possible. The first type of backup to think about is immediate, incremental backups. These are quick, local backups that are intended to let you easily restore previous versions of specific files. If you accidentally delete a file or save an...

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The first rule of data backups . . .

Backups are something that we all know are important, but sadly, we seldom spend much time on them, especially at home. For most of us data on our home systems isn't expensive or critical, but that doesn't mean it isn't important to us and worthy of protection. From financial records to photos to school papers, our data increasingly defines our lives. So isn't it worth spending a little bit of time to safe guard? The problem with backups is that they're a lot like Fight Club. The first rule of backups is...we don't talk about backups! Just like insurance, illness, and natural disasters, we don't like to talk about or prepare for...

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Animals in Modern Branding

Incorporating animals into identities is not a groundbreaking topic by any means but making the design work on a professional level isn't always an easy task. Making use of an artist's illustration skills with a well tuned imagination can push a design past the stock photography / college mascot crowd which is easy to get lost in. Here we have gathered thirty-nine professional and inspirational animal logo designs ranging from photography studios to aviation. If you're looking for a little inspiration this post should be able to help. From silhouettes to mystical beasts, animal identities are everywhere some obvious and some hidden.

Christmas Marketing at its Best

It's Christmas time, so I thought I would have a little fun with my article this month, not that I don't usually have fun. Since we are all designers, what better topic to discuss than holiday packaging, after all Christmas time is mass consumerism at its finest. If you ever want to check out brilliant and not so brilliant packaging, this is the time of year to do it. Although, I try to be weary of pretty red bows and snowmen dancing across a large pack of fudge dipped cookies I don't need, I am an easy target for holiday consumerism. I find myself in the checkout lane purchasing cookies I don't even like because the packaging is delightful....

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