tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-205551042024-02-07T09:14:04.993-08:00Visual DesignUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20555104.post-45990667503152614762007-08-15T11:18:00.000-07:002008-05-14T13:46:39.795-07:00Gimp Tutorial: Creating a Brushed-Metal ButtonThe following tutorial shows you how to create a push button with brushed-metal effect that can be used in both web-page and application interface design.The button.1) Start the Gimp and open a new document with 377 x 233 pixels dimensions. Fill the background with medium gray.2) Add a new layer and click the rectangle selection tool; in the tool options menu tick the Rounded corners check-box Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20555104.post-83717030240002026382007-08-06T18:50:00.000-07:002007-08-13T14:23:10.555-07:00Gimp Tutorial: Creating a Push ButtonPush buttons are widely used both web and interface designers. You can see all kinds of push buttons on the web varying in design and shape. In the following tutorial we are going to create one particular kind of push button that is attractive and easy to make even in the Gimp.This is what you are going to create:1) Start the Gimp and create a new document with white background. Add a new layer Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20555104.post-68144338372459901642007-07-21T19:30:00.000-07:002007-08-06T19:48:12.391-07:00Gimp Tutorial: Creating a Tab ElementTabs are button objects and are used both in web and interface design. The steps creating a tab is not unlike creating any other button. I wrote this tutorial because most instructions available on the web has been written for Photoshop users and expected to be familiar with the layer effects tools; but the Gimp lacks these tools. In the following tutorial we will create a tab button in the Gimp Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20555104.post-45845089871244354722007-07-18T14:44:00.000-07:002007-08-05T17:30:37.249-07:00Gimp Tutorial: Creating a Navigation ButtonNavigation buttons are essential features of both web pages and application interfaces. In the following tutorial, we create an attractive navigation button in a few simple steps that can be followed even with limited Gimp knowledge.The button you are going to create looks like this:1) First, let's create a basic button shape with rounded corners. The Gimp sucks when it comes to creating rounded Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20555104.post-42405554221536894402007-07-13T11:52:00.001-07:002007-08-05T17:50:18.726-07:00Gimp Tutorial: Creating Glassy ButtonsMost Photoshop techniques make heavy use of "layer effects" when it comes to creating glassy buttons. I modified one of those techniques so that it could be applied to the Gimp environment that lacks this feature. The following tutorial shows you how to create a glassy button in 5 easy steps.The result:1) First, open a new document in the Gimp and create a basic button shape on a new layer. One Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20555104.post-52920030437321169182007-04-27T09:18:00.000-07:002007-07-19T11:03:53.024-07:00Optimizing Xubuntu's user interfaceXubuntu targets slower older hardware with limited resources like my IBM Thinkpad with 1 Gig Intel processor 250 Mb memory, 30 Gig hard drive and 14 inch display size. Running Xubuntu on older hardware is a challenge in itself but in this article I focus exclusively on usability issues that might enhance older hardware functionality making xubuntu experience more enjoyable. When we interact with Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20555104.post-28311853421545862702007-03-30T18:44:00.000-07:002007-07-09T16:54:25.409-07:00Beautifying Debian EtchDebian is one of my favorite distros; but in terms of look, I hate it. At each release, I am hoping for visual improvements but each time I get disappointed. Etch is no different, the artworks are unpolished, the icon set (Rodent on the Xfce desktop) is prehistoric and in general, the desktop has a poor aesthetic appearance. These issues prompted me to redesign the entire desktop and create a Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20555104.post-2489505159506127802007-03-09T18:54:00.000-08:002007-03-15T19:11:45.897-07:00The Magic of Simultaneous ContrastThe purpose of this article is to introduce the reader to the idea of simultaneous contrast and to the amazing effects of color interactions. Color is the single most important tool that artists and designers used throughout the ages to beautify their environment. But to use color effectively one has to understand its basic functions, its psychological and visual impacts on the environment.Color Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20555104.post-31303522118838914882007-02-28T11:23:00.000-08:002007-07-09T17:05:13.512-07:00Studies in Illumination IIIn the second part of the article, I will discuss the interaction of light and environment in terms of colors.Ewald Hering, the German psychologist said, "Seeing is not a matter of looking at light waves as such, but of looking at external things mediated by these waves; the eye has to instruct us, not about the intensity and quality of the light coming from external objects at any one time, but Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20555104.post-51905304515199434492007-02-24T18:27:00.000-08:002007-07-09T17:05:55.165-07:00Studies in Illumination IThe following explorations in illumination effects have been based on Faber Birren's ground-breaking research in color theory. Birren summarized some of his findings in a book called Color Perception in Art that was an instant success among artists and designers all over the world.The study of the interaction of light and surfaces revealed a great deal of new information that was only intuitivelyUnknownnoreply@blogger.com1