Highest scored questions

343 votes

4 answers

1.5m views

Making the background of an image transparent in Gimp

I have some jpg images and I need for each of them to have a transparent background. I have GIMP as a graphic tool. I need to put them in a web page and I need to see just the main element and have ...

Viola

3,441

asked Jan 12, 2012 at 15:26

237 votes

4 answers

47k views

Is there a reason Hillary Clinton's logo has hidden notches?

This question is not political in the least! While looking at the SVG version of Hillary's logo found here, I noticed there were notches in the two vertical bars of the H. The arrow crossbar covers ...

I. J. Kennedy

2,391

asked Jun 18, 2016 at 21:04

221 votes

13 answers

103k views

What is wrong with Comic Sans?

There's a great TEDxExeter talk by a colleague of mine, Simon Peyton-Jones, about the recent advances in the English lower school 'computer science' curriculum. Like all of his slide decks he uses ...

dumbledad

3,129

asked Sep 5, 2014 at 13:22

205 votes

10 answers

1.0m views

How to copy layers from one Photoshop document to another?

Is there a way to copy layers from one Photoshop document to another? I was working on a project earlier on that required this but I didn't know how this could have been done. (Procedure not as ...

JFW

4,895

asked Apr 7, 2011 at 11:47

193 votes

15 answers

20k views

Tips and resources for beginning designers

Thanks to the internet, graphic design and programming are becoming increasingly overlapping fields. As a programmer, I constantly find myself needing basic knowledge of Graphic Design, but have ...

Andy Groff

2,033

asked Jan 4, 2011 at 21:55

177 votes

3 answers

708k views

Replacing whiteness with transparency in Photoshop

I want to replace the whiteness in pixels with transparency in the same way as described in this question - i.e. for lighter pixels to be made proportionally as transparent. All solutions found via ...

geotheory

1,897

asked Oct 3, 2013 at 14:51

142 votes

5 answers

338k views

Point vs Pixel: What is the difference?

What is the difference between points and pixels?

Atif

3,426

asked Jan 5, 2011 at 17:53

140 votes

25 answers

71k views

New generation of Save icon that is not a "disk"?

Currently, the save icon in almost all applications represents a 3.5-inch disk from the 20th century. An example from Microsoft Office 2010 is shown below: As we move towards more advanced technology,...

Gan

1,782

asked Jan 8, 2011 at 18:42

140 votes

4 answers

524k views

Batch export Photoshop layers to individual PNG files

I am a web dev and competent in Fireworks, but not so much in Photoshop. I have just received a layered PSD file to turn into a web page. Can anyone tell me the easiest way to export all layers to ...

user256888

1,511

asked May 10, 2011 at 17:05

137 votes

3 answers

155k views

Exporting an object as svg from inkscape

I know that Inkscape does not have the ability to export selected objects as svg, but is there a workaround that people have found that works?

broccoli_soup

3,239

asked May 18, 2013 at 23:46

135 votes

13 answers

23k views

How do I learn to be creative?

I've been a programmer my whole life, and now I've found that I really need to start designing my own stuff. I know how to use Photoshop in and out, but I just can't create anything nice. I often ...

Snowman

1,901

asked May 21, 2011 at 18:34

135 votes

5 answers

291k views

How to draw an arrow in inkscape

I would like to add an arrow to an Inkscape project. I read this question but it didn't tell how to actually make the arrow: Set the colour of arrows in inkscape

Suragch

3,947

asked Jun 5, 2015 at 1:56

126 votes

9 answers

21k views

Why do some logos look dated? How does design age?

What makes a design look old? How subjective is this? Who decides? Look at this Bell logo: It's from 1969. And boy, does it look that way. It's simple and minimal, but.. it looks old. Take a look ...

maligree

1,369

asked May 9, 2013 at 10:40

123 votes

3 answers

109k views

Getting rid of Whitespace in Inkscape

Is there a way in Inkscape to set the boundaries of the svg file the way they would be set if you export as a bitmap? I want that there's no whitespace above, beneath, right or left of the object ...

Christian

1,531

asked Oct 1, 2013 at 17:51

123 votes

7 answers

715k views

How to change the color of the artboard in Adobe Illustrator?

It is practically impossible to edit a white illustration on the default white artboard background. Hiding the artboard makes the whole work area receive the artboard's white color. So, is there a ...

kontur

3,628

asked May 11, 2014 at 12:04

109 votes

12 answers

392k views

Is there a free 'Helvetica Neue' alternative?

Does anyone know any other fonts similar to Helvetica Neue (free for commercial use)? I'm working on a big website project where 'Helvetica Neue' is used heavily. I need a font that looks almost the ...

drpelz

1,327

asked Jan 29, 2013 at 2:35

106 votes

5 answers

171k views

What does the size of the font translate to exactly?

I have a 40 pixel font that I'm trying to translate into custom images. I'm trying to match the size of the image exactly, but I'm having some problems getting exactly the right size. Basically, what ...

PearsonArtPhoto

4,487

asked Oct 8, 2011 at 3:28

105 votes

7 answers

104k views

Where can I find a large palette / set of contrasting colors for coloring many datasets on a plot?

I need large set (20 and more) of contrasted and easily visually-distinguishable colors for coloring different datasets on a scientific plot (the set of colors should not include white or black, and ...

Alexey Popkov

2,390

asked Sep 12, 2011 at 20:54

104 votes

8 answers

22k views

Who first discovered CMYK?

It has been used for colour printing for many, many years, but who (and when) first discovered that a bright pink colour (magenta), a light blue (cyan), yellow and black can be mixed to create almost ...

Digital Lightcraft

4,714

asked Jun 7, 2016 at 9:03

96 votes

5 answers

81k views

Why don't upper case numbers exist?

Capital letters add a lot to text in various ways, for names, brands, emphasis (although capitalisation for emphasis is frowned upon) Why then, are there no upper case numbers?

Digital Lightcraft

4,714

asked Jun 3, 2015 at 11:07

95 votes

8 answers

279k views

How to select more layers with GIMP?

In Adobe Photoshop I am able to select multiple layers at once with Shift+Click. How can I do that in GIMP?

p1100i

1,147

asked Oct 24, 2012 at 21:43

88 votes

6 answers

503k views

How to modify the corner radius on rounded rectangle in Illustrator?

I always ended up just creating a new rounded rectangle if the existing one don't work. Is there a way to modify the corner radius without having to create a new shape? I know I can modify the bezier ...

pixelfreak

1,495

asked Jan 13, 2012 at 18:59

85 votes

8 answers

169k views

Using the shape of an object to cut the object beneath it in Inkscape

I'm editing an svg in Inkscape and I have an object on top of another object. I'd like to use the shape of the top object to cut the object beneath it. For those who are familiar with GIMP, I'm ...

UserIsCorrupt

951

asked Aug 9, 2013 at 0:55

84 votes

2 answers

142k views

Difference between kerning vs letter spacing?

What is the difference between kerning vs. letter spacing?

chrisjlee

2,325

asked Jun 23, 2011 at 3:45

82 votes

6 answers

32k views

What is so good about Helvetica?

For as long as I have known, a majority of designers have been beyond enamoured with Helvetica. While I can see that it's a nice typeface, I really don't understand the hype. Some research into the ...

Vincent

25.1k

asked Dec 16, 2014 at 10:27

81 votes

2 answers

79k views

GIMP "color to alpha" is not selectable

Do I have to do something "special" to get the Color -> Color to alpha menu option to work in GIMP? I am trying to convert a background color on a GIF image to transparent by converting the background ...

NealB

913

asked Mar 7, 2014 at 2:56

79 votes

7 answers

32k views

What’s the right character for an apostrophe?

Many times I encounter the so called "typewriter apostrophe" (Unicode character U+0027 and HTML symbol ') to represent an apostrophe: But on the other hand, the "right single quotation mark" ...

elegent

1,845

asked Feb 10, 2016 at 20:55

79 votes

12 answers

166k views

What kind of black should I use when designing for CMYK print?

My question is what kind of black should I use when printing. At the moment I use this black (split into CMYK): C:0% M:0% Y:0% K:100% It looks fine in InDesign or Illustrator but if I save a PDF ...

Flavius Frantz

3,737

asked Jul 21, 2011 at 13:46

79 votes

1 answer

114k views

GIMP: Trying to move selected text layer but moves background layer

I have a background overlay on which I have three text layers on top. Now I want to move these text layers around on the overlay, but I can't get it to work. As soon as I click inside the text layer ...

AndroidHustle

2,306

asked Dec 14, 2012 at 9:39

78 votes

2 answers

404k views

What does the interlaced option in Photoshop do?

There is this options box shown when saving a PNG image from Adobe Photoshop. I always choose 'None'. What does the 'Interlaced' option do?

Lazer

919

asked Mar 24, 2012 at 16:00

77 votes

12 answers

534k views

How to open or save as ico in Photoshop CS6

This plugin to open and save as .ico in Photoshop has been around for a while, but I can't seem to make it work for CS6. According to this question in the Adobe Forums, the plug-in works if installed ...

Yisela

26.3k

asked Sep 10, 2012 at 1:51

76 votes

5 answers

211k views

What's the difference between OpenType vs. TrueType

I know very little about typography. What are the differences in terms of OpenType vs. TrueType? I do know that they are types of formats to render fonts (correct me if I'm wrong). Are there ...

chrisjlee

2,325

asked Jan 25, 2012 at 0:46

75 votes

13 answers

452k views

What resolution should a large format artwork for print be?

For wall-sized graphics and large banners (e.g. 3m × 5m), what is an acceptable PPI for print? As I understand it 300 ppi is the typical for 'small' artworks (esp. for clean text resolution). However, ...

Hemi

3,066

asked Jan 18, 2011 at 5:24

75 votes

8 answers

18k views

How to handle client requests to violate copyrights?

I know Google image search is not a free-for-all to grab any image needed. However, many, many, many clients don't grasp this concept and often request or send images they'd like to use in a design or ...

Scott

208k

asked Jan 31, 2014 at 16:08

75 votes

4 answers

355k views

Helvetica Neue equivalent on Google Fonts?

Does anybody know a font on Google Fonts that is very similar to Helvetica Neue?

amannnn

853

asked Aug 7, 2012 at 5:43

74 votes

10 answers

74k views

How to convert a square SVG to all-size ICO?

I've drawn an icon in InkScape and would like to export it to an ICO file that would include sprites for all the reasonable resolutions (16x16, 32x32, ... 256x256 etc). How can this be done (without ...

Ivan

1,025

asked Sep 11, 2016 at 19:09

73 votes

13 answers

308k views

What is the easiest way to export just the selected objects in Illustrator?

The title says it all, I want to know what the simplest way to export the selected objects. In Inkscape, there is a menu option called export selected which does just this. The aforementioned ...

BrianV

1,339

asked Apr 16, 2013 at 23:24

73 votes

7 answers

6k views

What are best practices for choosing and pairing fonts?

I've always found font selection to be a little bit of a mystery. What factors should be considered when choosing a font? How does one successfully incorporate two fonts into a design? I realize that ...

Virtuosi Media

5,234

asked Jan 4, 2011 at 21:09

72 votes

15 answers

8k views

Is there a good resource or tool to help build a palette/color scheme around colors I select?

No matter how nice the composition, flow, and lines of my design are, if I am not copying directly from nature, I have a very difficult time picking a decent color scheme. It either looks too drab, ...

Stewbob

1,470

asked Jan 9, 2011 at 20:51

72 votes

5 answers

239k views

Add transparency to an existing PNG

I'd like to use this image on a web site. What I need to do is change the background from black to transparent, so I can use the arrow on my site maintaining the page background. I used Gimp to ...

Paolo

823

asked Mar 8, 2012 at 14:05

72 votes

9 answers

93k views

How do I embed Google Web Fonts into an SVG?

I'm writing an article on my site about the advantages of new web technologies, among others HTML5, CSS3 and SVGs, one of the advantages of the latter being the ability to select text in what is ...

Jules

952

asked Dec 21, 2011 at 23:58

71 votes

17 answers

6k views

What is the single most influential book every designer should read?

Community wiki

2 revs, 2 users 100%
Darth

70 votes

19 answers

423k views

What are Google Webfonts or Typekit alternatives to Avenir Next Pro?

I'm looking for fonts, available from Google Webfonts (ideally) or Typekit, that would look similar to Avenir Next Pro, specifically, Bold and Demi: Any similar-looking fonts, with good cross-browser ...

julien_c

1,453

asked Feb 19, 2013 at 11:31

69 votes

5 answers

72k views

How does one generate a palette similar to the ones in Google's material design?

Google's material design specifications have sets of colour palettes: Starting with a base primary colour, which they designate as "500", they then have a range of incremental steps of shade, ...

Questioner

1,477

asked Aug 18, 2014 at 5:57

68 votes

13 answers

24k views

Where are some good places to find royalty free stock images?

I'm always on the hunt for free stock images to use while I design, what are some good resources for images that are under a a royalty free or creative commons licence?

Community wiki

5 revs, 4 users 67%
ninjasense

67 votes

7 answers

81k views

What is the difference between a font and a typeface?

Originally, the typeface is a particular design of type, while a font is a type in a particular size and weight. In short, a typeface usually gathers many fonts. Nowadays, with the digital design of ...

F'x

2,332

asked Nov 15, 2012 at 16:15

66 votes

10 answers

19k views

Is it okay to sacrifice exact country flag designs in favor of aesthetics?

The usage case is a freeware game with skill rankings, wherein each player is associated with their country and has their country's flag next to their name. The most noticeable discrepancy between ...

Poyo

779

asked Apr 16, 2018 at 15:43

66 votes

2 answers

116k views

Difference between None, Linear, Cubic and Sinc(Lanczos3) interpolation in image scaling?

While scaling images in GIMP in the Quality section I was prompted to choose one of the following interpolations: None Linear Cubic Sinc(Lanczos3) What is the difference between these and which one ...

Bleeding Fingers

771

asked Jan 17, 2014 at 21:53

65 votes

17 answers

327k views

Web Safe Alternative to Myriad Pro Font?

Are there any fonts that I can use in my font stack that are more or less similar to Myriad Pro and web safe?

Atif

3,426

asked Jan 9, 2011 at 18:01

64 votes

6 answers

18k views

Are "web-safe" colors still important?

Years ago, it was always strongly recommended that web designers should only use web-safe colors. Have studies been done to see if this is still the case? If so, what's the answer? Does anyone know ...

Dori

1,966

asked Jan 4, 2011 at 22:35

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