Saturday, November 30, 2019

Creating a logo in Adobe Illustrator


I am new to Illustrator and need some help. I am creating a logo that can be used for an outdoor business sign. This same logo will also be used on FB, Website, letterhead, business card etc...


I have created the logo using two different fonts:




  1. If I understand correctly I need to convert this to a vector to make it sizeable to any size such as going from a big outdoor business sign to a business card to website, etc, am I right?




  2. If this is correct do I need to do my touch up before converting or after converting to a vector?





  3. Once everything is completed, how do I save it to be transparent and what do I save it as: AI, FXG, PDF, EPS, AIT, SVG, OR SVGZ? And can I email it to my client like that? Or does it need to be saved differently?






How do you mix quantitative asset allocation with qualitative views?


Usually in asset allocation you have a quantitative approach (which can be from example mean-variance), but you (or you and your firm) also have a more qualitative approach given market-conditions, economic outlooks, or tactical indicators.


Hence, you will eventually come up with 2 allocations, the ones strictly dictated by the numbers $w^*$ which is the result of your quantitative algorithm and the one you have in mind from your personal expectations $\bar{w}$.


What are common the ways $f$ to mix them together such that $w=f(w^*,\bar{w})$ is your "final" allocation?



Answer



There are some cases where you can blend your portfolios using weights directly. One case involves corner portfolios. In this case a linear combination of weights is also efficient. Another case is where you can treat the two separate weights you have produced each as distinct portfolio under the assumption that the correlation between these portfolios is relatively stable. In this scenario, the problem reduces to a two-asset portfolio optimization problem (each asset is simply the linear combination of weights produced via your two methods).



The other class of methods involves blending via the expected returns.


If you arrived at the weights via a mean-variance utility optimization you can back-out the implied expected returns based on these weights and a risk aversion parameter. (Indeed, this is the approach Black-Litterman took to back-out the implied expected returns from a set of benchmark weights, and Jay Walters shows the simple linear algebra for this in the paper I cite below.)


The approaches below require that you blend views on expected returns rather than weights. This is more natural since weights are product of some optimization (one might be short a security for hedging purposes despite having a positive expected return view for the security). Two sets of portfolio weights may each be on the efficient frontier but a generic convex blend of these two sets may be inefficient.


To blend your qualitative scores with quantitative views in return space you can:


Convert qualitative factors into quantitative scores. Grinold & Kahn discuss various techniques in Active Portfolio Management, 2nd ed. Check out the section "Information Processing". One straightforward technique is if you have a rating system such as "Sell, Hold, Buy, Strong Buy" then associate each rating with a dummy variable and build a linear (or non-linear) factor model including your quantitative forecasts as other factors. (Note: There is a more general question of "signal weighting - how do I blend quantitative information efficiently?" which might be worthy of another post.)


OR


Express qualitative views in the form of confidences via Black-Litterman (i.e. MSFT will rise more than APPL with 20% confidence). A Black-Litterman model - specifically the Idzorek variation which uses % confidences - is a good way to do this. Jay Walters has a nice reference paper on Black-Litterman here. Also there is a package in R called BLCop that you can toy with.


The Black-Litterman model has been refined over the last several years. Read the papers from Wing Cheung (Nomura) on the "Augmented Black-Litterman model" if you want to see another explanation. His implementation is quite flexible as it supports generalized factor-view blending as well as other features.


OR


Yet a more general technique is Entropy-pooling. Whereas, Black-Litterman allows you to create views on expectations of asset performance (MSFT will return 8%), or relative views as in MSFT will-outperform APPL, you might have views on correlations, variance, views on the rankings of securities, or views on underlying risk-factors that are statistically related to your securities of interest. These views cannot be satisfied by the "Pick Matrix"/Omega construction in Black-Litterman. In this case Atillio Meucci's implementation of Entropy-Pooling is the way to go. He has MATLAB code demonstrating the approach here. The Entropy Pooling framework applies to parametric or non-parametric problems.



The non-parametric version of Entropy Pooling can handle scenarios which correspond to arbitrary probability distributions. Entropy pooling pooling will process a view with and update the probabilities for each scenario in a way that imposes the least amount of spurious structure on the original probabilities assigned to the scenarios. In this way Entropy pooling is perfectly Bayesian.


Essentially you have a prior -- JxN panel of data furnished from historical data, a reference model, or a monte carlo simulation (J = number of scenarios; N = asset returns or risk factors -- anything you could take a view on.). This JxN panel ties to a vector 'p' of probabilities where one probability corresponds to each scenario. (If you are using historical data, the vector of probabilities could simply be 1/length(data), or exponentially weighted.)


Then you can create a view which contains your current qualitative scores. These views are expressed as constraints on probabilities. So you can setup a constraint which is interpreted as "Buy implies the security is in the top quantile of returns". Or, perhaps you aren't sure exactly what the labels imply about expected returns but you believe it will be consistent with the prior. In this case you can assign the qualitative scores from the past to the historical empirical data (even if you only have partial coverage of the investment universe), and then create views consisting of your qualitative categorical assessments.


The Entropy pooling procedure will generate a revised set of probabilities for each of the scenarios. You can then take expectations (probability weighted average) with the new probabilities for expected portfolio returns, expected security returns, correlations, etc. You would then proceed to optimization with you revised expectations on returns and risk.


typefaces - What are the differences between Helvetica and Arial?


I've heard there are a number of slight differences between these two similar fonts, is one better than the other for different contexts?



Answer



As far as the difference goes, you are right. There are some character which are slightly different however the difference goes way beyond just the comparison of the character.



Here is some explanation on ilovetypography


Here is a site which shows you how to spot the difference on awayback Helvetica vs. Arial, and includes amongst other things this helpful chart (which they credit to Ragbag):


Arial & Helvetica


adobe illustrator - low poly wireframe



I am trying to create this look on an image but not sure what program was used to create it. I have illustrator and photoshop but not sure if there is a filter I could purchase to help start the process.enter image description here




equities - Correlation between S&P500 returns and 10y US Treasuries yields


I'd like to investigate the comovement of stock index returns with bond yields but I don't know which return's duration to use (1-year, 1-month or anything else) to get a better view of the relationship.
Other than that, I'm unsure which is the better rolling correlation's duration in order to have a clear understanding.


I've elaborated these 4 alternatives:


1-year rolling correlation with 1-month returns and 10y bond yield.
3-years rolling correlation with 1-month returns and 10y bond yield.


1-year rolling correlation with 1-year returns and 10y bond yield.
3-years rolling correlation with 1-year returns and 10y bond yield. Rolling correlation
If I use 1y returns then the correlation has a max of 1, otherwise with 1m returns the maximum correlation is 0.6.


Thank you in advance for all your thoughts.





batch processing - Mass export all images as individual JPEGs in InDesign?


I am new to Indesign. I have a file that contains images with Photoshop clipping paths. I want to export all the clipped images in a folder. I have tried doing the "Copy Links To" and it successfully exported the original images. However, I do not want the original images but the clipped images instead. Is there a way for me to export all the clipped images as JPEG or TIFF and not the original linked image? In short, I want to export the images without their background. I hope I'm making sense. I have about 800-1000 images so a batch processing method would be highly appreciated.


I actually found a way to export the images the way I want them to be. I just need to click the image container (not the image), go to File>Export and then export it as JPEG. In the pop up window, I choose export selection, maximum quality, and 2400 resolution. It exports the images the way I want them to be. But I have to do this one by one. I just have two concerns:




  1. Is there a way for me to do this by batch? Like select all the image containers and export them one by one automatically?





  2. Is there a way to automatically name the saved files according to the original image name?




Thank you for your help!


Update: I found this script from one of the posts here and modified it a bit to suit my needs. It appears to work in most of my INDD documents, but it fails in others. I wonder why. I sometimes get the error message that


Error string: null is not an object


Source: fileName = File ( rect.graphics[0].itemLink.filePath ).name;


I also noticed that it skips some objects and won't download all of the images. I guess it skips those that are not in rectangles.


test();

function test()
{
var myDoc = app.activeDocument,
apis = myDoc.allPageItems, rect, fileName;

while ( rect = apis.pop() )
{
if ( !(rect instanceof Rectangle) || !rect.graphics[0].isValid ){ continue;}



fileName = File ( rect.graphics[0].itemLink.filePath ).name;
fileName = fileName.replace( /\.[a-z]{2,4}$/i, '.jpg' );


app.jpegExportPreferences.exportResolution = 2400;
app.jpegExportPreferences.jpegQuality = JPEGOptionsQuality.MAXIMUM;


//give it a unique name
var myFile = new File ("C:/Users/RANFacistol-Mata/Desktop/Image Trial/"+ fileName);



rect.exportFile(ExportFormat.JPG, myFile);
}
}

Is there a way for me to modify this script such that instead of iterating through all the rectangles, I would iterate through all of the objects instead, much like clicking this next button


And then check if that object contains an image (jpg, tiff, psd, ai, eps). If it does, then I will export it as scripted above.


Thank you for your help!




non fiction - The art of clickbait captions


We all have seen at least one of these clickbaits (or some variation thereof):



"single mom discovers the meaning of life with a simple trick"



or




"billionaires don't want you to know this secret"



or



"the 10 things that only real survivors do"



or



"you could be sitting on a fortune"




At face value they just seem cheap psychological tricks. They place the reader in the position to wish to belong to a certain group, and they suggest that membership can be attained with the only effort of clicking somewhere.


As a test I wrote:



If you want to be really famous you only have to click here.



but it does not quite stand the comparison.


Am I being too strict in judging my own clickbait, or is there a deeper art to crafting it?



Answer



Clickbait isn't like news where you tell someone the headline so they'll click for more information.




Eggplant linked to lower cancer rates.



Clickbait is where they have to click just to find out the headline.



This one vegetable stops cancer!



There's no nuance in clickbait. Not like medical articles where you use caution about overselling things.


Never tell readers to "click here," because that should be what your headlines makes them think. If you have to tell them, you've lost.


Clickbait creates promises. Sometimes it is about making money, achieving fame, or curing disease. But other times it's a promise of great entertainment.




Whale thanks her rescuer with this incredible move.



The purpose of clickbait is eyeballs (getting the visitor counts up), not to inform, or even to sell. And you do this in part by teasing something someone can't find out via the regular news.


Put this all together and you get lines like:



7 secrets of fame celebrities don't want you to know.



What are the "success" and "failure" vibration patterns in Apple Watch, and iPhone 7 haptic?


I want to imitate the Apple Watch "success" and "failure" vibration patterns in my custom app.


Does anyone have the following information for the various user experiences



  • Intensity

  • Timing

  • Pattern


  • (direction?)

  • ???




Friday, November 29, 2019

user behavior - Do email placeholders affect anything, and which kind should I use?


I'm going to have a small box on my website where visitors can input their email address to subscribe to my website newsletter. It looks like this, and will have a light text placeholder in the box where users enter their email.


enter image description here


Does it make a difference what the placeholder is, as far as what the user does? Also, what placeholder should be used? Should it be a generic one like someone@domain.com, or should it be related to my domain name? Also, does using the term domain.com seem confusing for some users, and if it does, what should I use for a generic email address?



Answer



I would discourage you from using "technical" terms. Misusing placeholders can cause accessibility issues, confusion, and violate the HTML5 spec.


It's important to note that placeholders are not substitutes for labels.


I would encourage you to do 3 things.


1. Shorten the copy


"Sign up for news and updates" would do just fine. "Urgent" makes it seem scary, which isn't good unless you want to scare users into signing up.



2. Use you@example.com


Explicitly addressing users with "you" transfers ownership.


3. Explicitly label the field with email or email address


Hope that helps.


Design of login with multiple options


I am working on a design for a log in box and my case is a bit different than seen else where. Our members can either login with member number and zip code OR username and password. We have a usability issue here because some (not many hopefully :-)) would think that you could login with fx username and zip code which is not possible.
The challenge is that I would like to show this without over communicating through a simple design. I am thinking fx using two colours – one for each option thereby showing which options are tied together. Have anyone designed any solutions like this or could you elaborate on what is best practice in a case like this?




stochastic calculus - Using Black-Scholes to price a geometric average price call


Sorry if this is the wrong exchange for this question. It seems to be the most relevant, anyway.



I'm trying to learn and understand the Black-Scholes framework, with a focus on the stochastic differential equation approach (the exam I will be taking focuses on it). So I set out a challenge for myself. I'd like to price a special geometric average price call, where the average is taken on $S_0$ and $S_1$.


My intuition is that what I'm "really" trying to price is a European call, where the underlying is the geometric average of the stock price. I defined a process $G(t)$ by


\begin{equation*} G(t) = \left(S_0 S_t\right)^{\frac{1}{2}}. \end{equation*}


The intention is to apply Ito's lemma, so I took derivatives: \begin{align*} G_t &= 0 & G_S &= \frac{1}{2}S_0S_t^{-\frac{1}{2}} & G_{SS} = -\frac{1}{4}S_0^{-\frac{3}{2}}. \end{align*}


After applying Ito's lemma, I end up with the stochastic differential equation \begin{equation*} \frac{\mathrm{d}G(t)}{G(t)} = \frac{1}{2}\left[\left(\alpha - \delta - \frac{1}{4}\sigma^2\right) \mathrm{d}t + \sigma \mathrm{d} Z_t \right], \end{equation*} where $\alpha$ is the stock's expected rate of return.


So I see that $G(t)$ is a geometric Brownian motion. But this is where I become deeply confused, since it is a derivative of the stock $S_t$. So when I do risk-neutral pricing, do I have to assume that $S$ earns the risk-free rate (which amounts to setting $\alpha = r$, in the stochastic differential equation above), or do I assume that G earns the risk-free rate? Or something else?


My intuition is telling me that once I figure out which rates to use and where, I can just use the Black-Scholes formula for a call to get this claim price done. Am I on the right track?




logo - Objects do not align precisely in Illustrator CC



I am trying to make a logo with a pattern of varied transparencies since the client wants a transparent png logo. No matter what I try, I cannot get the squares to line up perfectly. It looked fine as a solid object, but when I added some opacity to the squares, a small line was visible where the squares overlap.


I have done a lot of research on this and found three different ways of doing what I want, but each time the result is the same, with the same slight overlap that is noticeable when saved as a pdf or png.


I have tried using the Split into Grid tool (with 0 inch gutter), manually snapping to point, and using the align tool to distribute spacing with 0 inches. I made sure the document was set up with "Align new objects to pixel grid" unchecked. There is no stroke applied to any of the boxes. Is there some really obvious thing I am missing, or is this a flaw with Illustrator?


In this example I have made all the boxes the same color and transparency:


Different Grid Methods




Thursday, November 28, 2019

layout - What is the best way to show my users that buttons in the same line have different functionality?


I have four buttons on my interface that all look the same but don't all act the same. They are laid out like the example below.


mockup


download bmml source – Wireframes created with Balsamiq Mockups


Button 1 and Button 2 are a modified toggle switch of sorts. If the user clicks Button 1, then it will become selected. The user then has two options. If they click on Button 2, Button 1 will be deselected and Button 2 will become selected. If they click on Button 1 again when it's selected, it will turn off. The same behavior happens for Button 2.


Button 3 and Button 4 are standard on/off toggle switches. Click once to turn it on. Click on the button again to turn it off.


The problem is that since the first two buttons do something different than the second two, I feel like they need to be visually separated. My problem lies in how to separate them since they are somewhat similar in their functionality.



Is there a best practice for laying out buttons with different functionality?



Answer



Checkboxes are often used instead...


For these kinds of togglable, mutually exclusive options. For example:


enter image description here


But if you prefer buttons...


A check mark inside the buttons provides a better toggle affordance, and is also more color-blind friendly:


enter image description here




Radio buttons can also be used here for the exclusive buttons, but they (a) require an additional 3rd choice in the UI ("neither") which may or may not be acceptable; and (b) do not meet the click-to-toggle behavior specified in the question.



If you're willing to relax these requirements then radio buttons are an alternative too.


Create an artboard automatically to the size of an image (Illustrator)


I am trying to figure out how to make an artboard automatically snap to the size of an image.


I know that you can draw a rectangle, then go to the Artboards window and choose "Convert to Artboards" from the flyout menu with the rectangle(s) selected. This does not work for images. The problem I have is that I have about 25 images that I've placed into an Illustrator document (buttons for the design of a site) and need to have them all be in their own artboards. Of course I could do this by hand but I was wondering, for future reference, if there is a way just select the image and have an artboard created to its dimensions.


I couldn't find an answer everywhere (all searches took me to how to make a rectangle an artboard, not an image).


Thanks!




Answer



Use the Artboard tool (Shift+O) and double-click the image, the artboard size will snap to the image dimensions.


Illustrator opens PDFs rotated 90 degrees. Why, and how do I deal with it?



As I open a PDF file in Illustrator CS6, it displays it rotated 90 degrees CW. If I rotate the artboard and content back to normal for editing and save it, Acrobat Reader displays the file rotated 90 degrees CCW. Where does this behaviour come from, and how do I deal with it?




creative writing - How to Write an Eldritch Abomination?


My trilogy features an otherworldly monstrosity called Fenrisúlfr as it's primary antagonist, whose characterisation takes cues from Nyarlathotep, Sauron, Showa!King Ghidorah, Sutekh, Makuta Teridax and the Gravemind. It is single-handedly responsible for every bad thing that happens in the series and the actions committed by several antagonists. Fenrisúlfr visits certain people in their dreams, as loved ones or religious deities to persuade them into finding ancient weapons called Divine Tools that form an interdimensional portal allowing Fenrisúlfr to escape from within a black hole, in exchange for granting their deepest desires. Throughout the series, Fenrisúlfr tries to goad the protagonist into gratifying his selfish desires and clinging to his nihilistic worldview, while appearing to him in the form of a monstrous dog.


Towards the end of the trilogy, it's revealed that Fenrisúlfr is responsible for the destruction of countless interstellar civilizations and aims to exterminate humanity out of hatred for organic life, which it likens to a plague that consumes everything in its wake. As such, it believes that the only way that it can prevent the universe's destruction is to eradicate all organic life in the universe. To this end, Fenrisúlfr took it upon itself to manipulate various historical and supposedly mythological figures in order to achieve its end goal of systematically destroying all life, while serving as the inspiration for monsters from various Indo-European and Afro-Asiatic Chaoskampf myths such as Tiamat, Kāliya, Ḫedammu, Leviathan, Apep, Typhon, Yamm, Illuyankas, Vritra, Aži Dahāka, Satan and, as its name suggests, Fenris.


Rather than writing Fenrisúlfr as a villain defined by it's desire to cause death and destruction, I want to portray it as a being that is simply so far beyond human comprehension that our concepts of good and evil cannot be applied to it.


How would I be able to achieve such a feat?



Answer



The problem here is that by giving him a clearly understandable (even if evil, misantropic) goal, you're making your Fenrisúlfr more human-like. Sure, we can say - by rough sketch - that it wants to eradicate life.


But to be truly "so far from human comprehension" we need to cut off any human understandable explanation from his actions.


Agent Smith from the movie


Your question reminded me of Agent Smith's speech in the Matrix about humans being infestant and nocive as viruses: a memorable scene, and surely a villain-nesque one. Smith is a villain and can be surely defined as evil from a standard ethic-point of view.



On the other hand, most Eldritch abominations in Lovercraft's lore are able to make humans go mad just by existing. C'htulu and his playmates can make you mad and transform your brain into pudding by lifting a finger, but it's ever unclear if they do that intentionally or it's just a side effect. Cosmic horror is given, in the end, by the terrible randomness of it all, that challenges and questions our innate sense of cause-effect.


By contrast, check this question on Worldbuilding's stackexchange about a somewhat good-willed abomination which tries to avoid human going mad: link


So, the point that I'm trying to make is that we may as well synthesize Fenrisúlfr's goal as "wanting to destroy life", but we should stop at that. Why does it wants that? How does he plan to achieve that? Ultimately, the less we know, the more uncomprehensible he will be.


The reader (and the characters) should ask themselves: yes, it appears it's trying to destroy life, but are we certain of it? Sometimes Fenrisúlfr's influence should produce inexplicable effects, or straight up conter-intuitive ones (like giving power to a good, untainted character, or partake in the defeat of a human villain, or destroying a dictator in the midst of a killing spree...).


That's because the way Fenrisúlfr perceives reality should be so alien from our own that we cannot possibly comprehend it. So, it may as well try to manipulate humans, but it must be done in a so subtle and a twisted way that it's not straight-up recognizable.


In western culture, we have the idea of the tempting devil - Satan popping up from smoke, promising to grant us wishes if we do bad - but that's the very thing we're trying to avoid. Satan, in most portrayals, is simple: we undestand him roughly and man, he does understand humans a lot. So we can deal with him, and sometimes trick him into failure.


But Fenrisúlfr? Its mind is so complicated that we can't grasp but a small portion of it.


And, while being generally more powerful and intelligent than humans, there's a good chance that he can't comprehend us in the same way we can't comprehend ants. Our minds are substantially different. That may be a good reason why sometimes, Fenrisúlfr's plans fail: it just cannot comprehend fully human behaviour (after all, we're alien to it).


So, in short, my suggestion is: remember that when writing Fenrisúlfr, if you apply human-like desires or intentions to it, they should be only gross approximations. Make it random. Make it fail, if need be. Make it unforeseeable.


adobe photoshop - How would I recreate this effect of text that seems to flow over a flight of stairs?


Is there nondestructive way of achieving the wavy type effect, found below?


http://i.imgur.com/C48dd9v.jpg



Answer



In Illustrator, you can use a Mesh Envelope distort to non-destructively warp text like this:


distorted wavy text


Select your text object, then use Object > Envelope Distort > Make With Mesh... and add however many rows and columns you need to get the desired effect. I used 16 rows and 1 column in my example.



time series - Why non-stationary data cannot be analyzed?


Searching online, i found out that non-stationary cannot be analyzed with traditional econometric techniques as in case of non-stationarity some basic model assupmtions are not met and correct reasoning on relationships between non-stationary time-series is impossible.


Is there anyone who can enlighten me what are the basic model assumptions and the correct reasoning on relationships?


Furthermore, how does techniques such as detrending, detrending, seasonal adjustment, and transformation test helps to make those non-stationary data into useful stationary data for analysis?


(My thinking is that for example if the non-stationary stock data are gibberish, no amount of effort would be able to make them useful for predicting the stock market.)




publishing - Software recommendations for magazine layout?


I use Word now but I would like to find a better software for laying out a magazine.


In this magazine, I would like to create columns (2 or 3 depending on the page), insert image on 1, 2 or 3 columns (like in a newspaper), independent frames on 1, 2 or 3 columns with text inside, a header and a footer different for the left or right page, etc.




Answer



Adobe InDesign or QuarkXPress. These are desktop publishing programs, which are designed to do exactly what you want to do (among many other things): lay out printed pieces like a magazine.


website design - Making parts of Illustrator logo transparent - rather than faking it with the background color



So a designer has given me some logos (for the web) which are white on a blue background. She has, however, added blue paths to the shape to make it match the background.


I would prefer to change these blue parts to be transparent.


One path is just a circle that should really be a circle cut out of the main image. The other path is a circle where the border only is blue. So the main image has a ring/"o" shape that should be cut out.


I don't know enough about Illustrator to figure this out. I've tried clipping mask but that's not what I want. Would there be an easier way to just take the image into Photoshop when I'm saving it for the web, and remove the color then? I don't want to have any fringes of color left if I go with that method.


Example: This image should have the teal parts be transparent. Right now they are just extra shapes on top of the white part



Answer




  • Select the icon

  • Choose Object > Expand Appearance (if available)

  • Choose Object > Expand (if available)


  • Click the Merge button on the Pathfinder Panel


The above turns all strokes into shapes, then removes any overlapping objects. This will essentially give you a set of perfectly aligned blue and white shapes with appropriate "holes" in any areas where you would expect them, like the camera lens and viewport in your sample. Now, it's simply a matter of selecting the blue and deleting those shapes leaving holes in the white.


I'm sure if you explained to the designer you need correct shapes, they would adjust for you.


designers - How to handle requests for revisions after final files have been submitted?



Recently I have a customer who keeps asking for revisions. The design has been finalized and the final files have all been submitted to them. Yet, after some time, they contacted me for revisions on the final files again.


How do you usually handle case like this? Do you apply an extra charge for the revision or do you willingly make the revisions for free? Any consideration?




adobe photoshop - Technique for finding the centerline of a curved object?



I'm curious to know if anyone knows of any effective techniques for finding the center line of a curved object.


In the screenshot below you'll see a crude version of what I mean.


Shape with a drawn centerline path


Is there any way to get that line to perfectly trace the center, or is it easiest to just eyeball it?


Photoshop or Illustrator techniques are acceptable.



Answer



If you are happy with just getting close, this works in Illustrator - especially for an image that has a consistent width like your example.




  1. Draw a circle that is the same width as your object's width





  2. Copy/paste the circle as many times as needed and distribute around the object. Use enough of them to follow the shape fairly closely




  3. Using the pen tool simply draw a line through the centerpoints of the circles you made. Just connect them straight, don't worry about curves.




  4. Use the smooth tool to curve the line you just made. (just follow the curve of the original with the smooth tool) If necessary you can make curve adjustments separately at the bezier points.





  5. Delete the circles




The picture below will demonstrate a little better.


Find the middle line


Wednesday, November 27, 2019

adobe illustrator - What color swatch to use for cut lines?


I'm designing some signage that will be printed and cut with a CNC machine. What would be the best color swatch to use for the lines that should be cut?



Answer



The industry standard for die-cut lines on laser cutting machines are as follows:




  • Red stroke: RGB (255,0,0)

  • Stroke weight: to 0.01mm / 0.25 pt


That being said, it's always a good idea to double check with the company you're planning on sending the vector files to just to make sure they use the same standards.


Sources:


File Setup GUIDELINES: CUT LINES - (red)


Drawing Resources: Adobe Illustrator CS® - Laser cutting lines


How to set a dieline (Keyline, die-cut) to spot colour?: FOLD/SCORE LINES


modal dialog - Is a cancel button necessary in a windows form?


After reading the question "Is a cancel button necessary for a web form?", I still ask myself, whether the same applies to a Windows form/dialog box.


Consider the following dialog box:


enter image description here


Compared to the following mockup:


enter image description here


Although I never did omit the Cancel button until now, I have the feeling, that the user might well enough know that the upper right red "X" is here to cancel any dialog.



So I'll effectively give him 2 identical options to cancel (red "X" and cancel button) whereas he only gets one option to store (the OK button).


My question is:


Do you think it is a good idea to remove the cancel button in order to simplify my dialog boxes?


Update 1


What about omitting the "X" instead?


enter image description here



Answer



The top "X" button closes the dialog (according to its tooltip), it doesn't cancel it (necessarily).


Microsoft's UX guidelines say:




Label a button Cancel if canceling returns the environment to its previous state (leaving no side effect); otherwise, label the button Close (if the operation is complete), or Stop (if the operation is in progress) to indicate that it leaves the current changed state intact.



The security that comes from a "Cancel" button is the assurance that there's no side-effect. This is especially true for a dialog whose value is optional, or one shown as part of a longer operation.


I understand that your motive for removing the "Cancel" button is to remove the visual cruft of unnecessary controls, but I think the best way to do so would be to set the OK button as the form's default button to both visually set it apart, and to do your best to prevent the user needing to target the button with the mouse.


Perhaps the most explicit instruction Microsoft provides is the following (from the dialog box UX guidelines):



Provide a Cancel button to let users explicitly abandon changes. Dialog boxes need a clear exit point. Don't depend on users finding the Close button on the title bar. Exception: Don't provide a Cancel button for dialog boxes without settings. The OK and Close buttons have the same effect as Cancel in this case.



website design - Have the attitude changed the last ten years on horizontal scrolling on web sites?


Often cited usability guru Jakob Nielsen wrote the article “Top Ten Web-Design Mistakes in 2002” and placed on no 3 Horizontal Scrolling as a Web Design mistake with the motivation:



Users hate scrolling left to right. Vertical scrolling seems to be okay, maybe because it's much more common.


Web pages that require horizontal scrolling in standard-sized windows, such as 800x600 pixels, are particularly annoying. For some reason, many websites seem to be optimized for 805-pixel-wide browser windows, even though this resolution is pretty rare and the extra five pixels offer little relative to the annoyance of horizontal scrolling (and the space consumed by the horizontal scrollbar).




Even though the mentioned screen size and preferred web page width is a historical retrospect and not valid on todays’ screen width or web site width, the essence of it could still be valid. I’ve made web sites (SharePoint) wider than 1900 pixel and as an effect the web site scrolls horizontally. It still annoys me, but I’ve been wrong before.


The other view of the horizontal scrolling would be Web Designer Ledgers article “40 of the Best Horizontal Scrolling Web Sites” where they take discuss the possible issues of usability like this:



But What About Usability?


Let’s face it. Usability is an extremely important part of web design and horizontal websites are not very user friendly– yet. However usability is not the most important part of the equation. Those who elevate usability above all often minimize the “design” part of web design. Yes, you can design a very stylized and usable website, but where’s the futuristic and imaginative thinking within a vertical rectangle? The future is a horizontal rectangle. Let’s not forget that there was a time on the internet when the JPEG was not welcomed in web design, because it caused slower loading times. Technology advanced, designers created and users adapted. One day, the same will happen with horizontal websites.


Usability aside, horizontal websites are here to stay. Here’s a look at some of the most inspiring, cutting edge, in-your-face-and-not-going-anywhere horizontal sites.



So here we are, caught in the middle again between history and convention telling us not to scroll horizontal – and the future where horizontal scrolling is here whether we like it or not. Am I just an old fart who doesn’t catch up with the trends? Or have the attitude changed the last ten years on horizontal scrolling on web sites?



Answer




In my view, horizontal scrolling as such is even less accepted today.


With responsiveness on the rise (RWD & A List Apart article from 2010), pages with regular horizontal scrolling appear to have "flawed designs" that force the browser to show horizontal scrollbars. This is even less acceptable as it was 5 to 10 years ago.


In addition to that, horizontal scrolling seems even more out of place especially as the web design community has adopted to views that horizontal scrolling provides a bad user experience. Using it today seems like a designer intentionally goes against convention, comparable to using web technologies like iframes or framesets that have in their own respect "matured" to being a major no-no.


However, there is also developments that refresh the appoach to horizontal scrolling. With RIA´s hainvg grown in importance over the last 5 to 10 years, there are types of websites that work more as interactive animations and thus can defy some of the old stigmas when it comes to horizontal scrolling. What is important to notice with those is that horizontal scrolling is rarely used "as is" by browser convention, but some sort of effect or animation navigation is coupled with it. (See for instance examples of parallax scrolling, where the visual animation effect has given justification to bring back horizontal scrolling as part of a well designed user experience.)


The other example of horizontal "scrolling", if you so will, concerns the latest developments in mobile user interface design, where operating systems and applications alike picked up horizontal scrolling between whole different views to leverage limited screen space. The side swipe as user interaction model brought back horizontal scrolling, of sorts.


All in all, I think there has been a limited scope rivival to horizontal scrolling by adapting to news contexts and usage scenarios. Plain old browser horizontal scrolling suffers from the same problematic it always did: Standard mouses still mostly feature only a vertical scrollwheel. Together with the fact that users have been reading long webpages vertically, there are only very specific scenarios that efficiently use horizontal scrolling and provide a positive user experience.


adobe illustrator - Easiest way to create vintage grane/corners/angles in Ai


I am looking for an easy way to create in Illustrator vintage style corners like on the picture provided.


I have some technical ideas, but they are time consuming, there should be an easier way I believe.


enter image description here




accessibility - Best way to link to PDFs/Word docs/etc?


I need to include links to PDFs, Word docs and other document types on a web page. A lot of sites display an icon for the file type, plus the file size. I'm inclined to remove both the icon and file size, on the basis that the icon complicates the page layout, and many web pages are larger than many PDFs, but they don't have a file size shown to the user.


Instead, my proposed default behaviour is to just have a regular link which opens the document type in a new window. The page copy could say "All documents are PDFs and open in a new window" or similar. Any thoughts on the merits/pitfalls of this approach, particularly in relation to mobile devices?




Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Can I do a GARCH model to forecast a time series?


I read this paper


https://research.aston.ac.uk/portal/files/240393/AURA_2_unmarked_Energy_demand_and_price_forecasting_using_wavelet_transform_and_adaptive_forecasting_models.pdf


the two authors forecasts one day ahead gas price using, between the others, a GARCH model. How does this model works? Isn't a GARCH model useful just to forecast volatility? thank you!



Answer




You are right - GARCH model models volatility. They write: " The GARCH [27] can be used to model changes in the variance of the errors as a function of time."


What people often do is to fit an ARIMA model (that can be used to forecast a time series) and apply a GARCH model to the errors (which gives you a feeling for the forecast error). See Hyndman and Athana­sopou­los for a good, free online book on forecasting.


adobe photoshop - How to make a series of rectangles follow a pen path


I am trying to get a series of shapes (rectangles) to follow a path (sine wave) that I made with the pen tool, but I have no clue how to do that or if it is possible.


I have tried warping a rectangle into the sine wave path, but it takes many different warped rectangles and it isn't smooth.


I thought this process might work for rectangles, but it only works for text.



Answer



If you have Adobe Illustrator and all you need are rectangles, you can simply use a dashed stroke with a large stroke weight....


dashed


If you need one rectangle, as AndroidHustle suggests, simply untick the "Dashed Line" option.


Then to edit the rectangles, choose Object > Expand. Then copy this in Illustrator, switch to Photoshop and Paste as a Shape Layer.



If you must do this with only Photoshop CS5, there is no easy method. Except to maybe set up a square brush shape and then draw a path with the Pen Tool, switch to the Pencil Tool and hit Shift+Return to stroke the path with the square brush.


enter image description here


copyright - Borrowing Characters


Would it be a violation of copyright and/or plagiarism to “borrow” a character from another novel?


For example, I have a short story and want to include as a side character Ender (of Ender’s Game). I would preserve Ender’s name, family, personality, etc. But Ender would only play a small part in the story.


It’s not the brightest idea, but I’m curious if it’s legal in the US.




How to improve usability of a form with lots of fields


I'm tasked with re-designing a HTML browser-based form which is completed by technicians as they complete various parts of a task. At various stages of the task they return to this form and fill in various fields. The form contains around 125 fields. Most are textboxes allowing freeform text entry, but there are a few combo boxes, and also some checkboxes and radio buttons. There are also accordion sections (only one can be expanded at a time) and within some of these accordions are multiple tabs!



Occasionally they need to add new options to the combo boxes too, and must navigate away from the form to do this.


They hate the form because it's so long and difficult to navigate.


Also, it's not currently mobile friendly, and they sometimes need to complete parts of the form using tablet devices.


Also, they will be revisiting the form later when they want to look up the entered information about the task.


I would be most appreciative of any suggestions/ideas on how to redesign this form in an easy-to-complete and navigable layout. I also have to ensure I clearly show the user any input errors when the form is submitted.


Some ideas that may or may not be good:



  • Use auto-complete combo boxes instead of text boxes, thus allowing the user to pick from previously entered values as well as add new values.

  • Use tabs instead of accordions.

  • Shortcut links or hotkeys?


  • A "wizard" format probably won't work, as they change various fields at various times during the task.

  • Allow the user to add fields only as needed, dynamically, instead of presenting a form with all fields having blank boxes?


Thanks for any suggestions or guidance!



Answer



Assuming we cannot split the form on multiple pages, here are some guidelines how to make it more usable:


1. Divide the web forms on sections


visual grouping of input form fields


Grouping related input fields and visually distinguising them will improve the discoverability of specific forms. You can use even different colors for the different groups.


2. Use inline validation



inline validation example


This makes the forms more usable if error occurs. With inline validation it is easier for the user to locate the exact erroneous field/s. Also, the user don't need to submit the form to find out that there is an error which saves time.


3. Display hints and examples


If the user does not understand something about certain field help hints will definitely be useful. The learnability of the form should be increased.


tooltip help hints


4. Use default values where possible


We may already know some information about certain fields or expect them to have a certain value. For example, when creating the form you may have date of creation. It will be wise to input todays date, rather than making the user do it.


5. Use visualizations to support working memory


20% of the human brain is wired for processing visual cues, therefore visual representation of objects (cars, machinery) are processed much faster than text only. For example, when the users report a car claim is much easier to point on image of a vehicle which parts exactly were damaged, rather than using the checkboxes only. Problems with naming conventions are also eliminated this way.


a image of a clickable car where you can click on the parts to select damaged parts



6. Support undo


Sometimes users might enter erroneous information and want to go back and undo their progress. It is vital to provide an undo option as it is listed in one of the Nielsen’s 10 usability heuristics.


7. Support for expert users


Expert users use the TAB keyboard button to move quickly between input form fields. Make sure that you provide sequential order of fields so that the users are not confused where their tabulation went. This way expert users will be able to fill the forms faster than manually selecting each field with the mouse.


Also, your UI should support submit on enter, or other keyboard shortcuts, that may help your expert users.


8. Highlighting the active form field


Because there are lots of form fields (125) users can easily lost which field they were looking at. This is why it is a good idea to highlight the active form field.


complex web form with the active input field having a grey background to contrast it against others


user behavior - Accessing secure content


Which of the permutations for accessing secure content do folks prefer? In this instance I'm referring to a saved quote and have usernames, email addresses and quote reference numbers available.


E.g:


Email/ Password


Username/ Password


Email/ Reference


Usename/ Reference



I guess the real issue is the choice between using a system generated reference number (that would have to be copied and pasted) or a user generated password (which is easier to remember but requires setting up).




workflow - Methods for improving color choice and combinations?


I often struggle choosing proper color combinations. I'm self-ware enough to realize that I'm most comfortable with, and often settle on, colors which could be seen as more corporate or retro - blues, burgundies, browns, greys, etc.



I'm aware of things like Adobe Kuler, and Colorschemer.
I am not seeking additional, similar tools. I can build palettes without an issue. However.....


These don't seem to really solve my issue. I can gain a palette from these tools, yet applications of the colors often fails for me.


I have a lot of practice using my "retro corporate-like" colors and have learned what works well as a background, what works well as text, etc. But when I move to a brighter or more vibrant palette I tend to lose sight of color application and eventually start desaturating and wind up shifting things back to my comfort zone.


How can I go about expanding my range of "comfortable" color use?


What are some best practices to broadening my own sense of color in design?


Note, I work primarily in print, so "testing" isn't much of an option beyond on-screen testing. I rarely work on projects that allow me the luxury of using one palette today and trying another one next week. I customarily have to settle on one and use that for that project until the project is no longer needed. This means a poor color choice can really be detrimental to a piece and its lifetime.




Clarification: I am not seeking methods to build color palettes. As stated I can do that. It is the implementation of a palette that I'm asking about. Say, you build a palette of 7 colors.




  • How do you determine what colors work well for what objects? (i.e. "bright red on a canary yellow is too bright for good readability", etc.)

  • At what level does color contrast become an issue?

  • Is it preferable to use color discords (complimentary colors)?

  • When is a color too vibrant to use for text?

  • What makes a piece "pop" via color use?

  • What types of colors combinations convey "liveliness", "security", "respect", "youthful", "vibrant"?


Is is this sort of input I was hoping for, not the "here's how to pick a palette". Seems I may have done a poor job of explaining my intent previously.



Answer



This might not answer your question completely, but as part of my workflow, I use this technique sometimes.



When trying to pick a colour palette (at the very beginning of the creative process), I try to recall from my memory an image or painting that fits the "mood" or "content" of the project. Then I take that image and, using Photoshop, I apply a Pixelate->Crystallize filter with quite a huge cell size. This simplifies the colours of the image to big flat swatches of colour.


For example, I have on my plans to create a self-originated poster for a cabaret performer. She tends to sing vintage music but somehow makes it sound fresh, her performance is quite risque, humorous, human and interactive. For some reason that reminds of this Toulouse Lautrec's sketch, which, every time I see, communicates to me those values or mood.


enter image description here


I use the filter on the image and end up with this.


enter image description here


I then use the big cells of flat colours to build a colour scheme. I end up with choices that would have never come out from my own brain, such as baby blue and mid brown together. After I create the colour scheme I stick to it as if there were no more colours in the Universe. The only possible choices I give myself are swapping or adding a colour from/to the scheme with one of the colours from the cells.


It is just an aid that helps me think about the colour, to visualize it and to gauge their interactions and their contribution to a specific image. It also helps me break free from my well tried formulas.


Some might argue this is quite similar to using Adobe Kuler, but I find this approach more hands-on and personal. I get to pick the colours, not an app. I somehow find it disturbing to let a tool make creative decisions for me. One day androids will rule the Earth and do it all by themselves but until then I prefer adding my two cents of "me" to the creative process.


Monday, November 25, 2019

adobe photoshop - How to extend the background of an image?


I have an image with a woman, and I need to make an ad (size 260mmx125mm). I want to put the woman to the left side, but then right side becomes empty. So, how I should solve the problem? I have picked the color from image, but it is definitely different than in the actual picture.


Should I use the Clone Stamp Tool in Photoshop, or there is a better way to do this?


By the way, it will be used in print, so I need a good quality.


enter image description here



Answer



A professional technique is to simply add a layer mask with a gradient on one side to soften the edge and duplicate the color or texture on a layer below it. See screenshot of layers below.



It's especially useful if you don't have much texture to copy from or when you need to expand a big part of the background. You can use this technique to duplicate small parts of texture and merge them together without any seam. It's recommended to avoid distorting pixels when possible, especially for print projects since printing often amplifies these distortions.


how to expand a background color or texture in Photoshop layer mask


image layers




This way, the image will:



  • Not have "stretched" or "deformed" pixels (see image below)

  • Will not have a straight cut between the 2 zones, which is not always obvious on screen but visible when printed or on big size projects


  • Can be used with textured backgrounds





  • Can be used for any length/width background without pixel distortion




why I can't use free transform to expand or stretch a background with color or texture in Adobe Photoshop


fiction - Need a bit of verse in my prose


I am an (aspiring) fiction writer. I write prose. However, every so often, I run into a need for poetry. I might need a prophecy, or a ritual blessing, or a character might be serenading another, or some piece of information should be hidden in an old song: I need verse. The plot demands it.


Trouble is, I'm not a poet. I find myself beating my head against RhymeZone, producing cringe-worthy manure. (Not that I specifically need rhyme. I am aware of alliteration, and other tools. I can't do anything useful with them either.)


Is there a solution? Do I write my way around the verse, change the plot so it isn't needed? That limits me considerably in the fantasy genre, particularly in High Fantasy. Do I pretend that the prophet/serenader was also a lame poet, and hope the readers can forgive the cringe-worthy small bit of verse if I give them good plot? Is there a way I could learn to write better poetry?



I should add that I read quite a lot of poetry, in English, French, Hebrew and Russian, and I can't write decent poetry in any language. At all. So apparently reading is not how you learn to write in this case. At least not how I learn.


And to clarify yet again, I'm not looking to become a poet. My passion is telling stories. It's just that sometimes the story calls for verse, and I can't seem to give it that.



Answer



Steal it!


For a ritual setting, the poetry is plausibly old stuff, so find some very old poetry in the public domain, and look for passages you can steal. You don't have to attribute it to anybody.


If you have studied enough, you can change some words, paying attention to rhythm and rhyme, and perhaps change a piece of old poetry to your own uses. Wedding vows might be lifted from many a love poem.


Tell, don't show: Fake it!


Or similarly, skip over the actual recitation, and describe the poetry, mentioning a few highlights of some poem you found, one that compared love to the cuddling of birds and the purity and sanctity of the white blossoms of orange trees.


But don't quote it, just describe what he said, and to be fair what your MC remembers of what was said, which may be just some poetic bits and pieces, not the whole thing verbatim. Perhaps the first and last lines verbatim, which is often what people remember from such addresses.


Sunday, November 24, 2019

export - How do I avoid lines at top and left borders of png files exported from Illustrator


When I export Illustrator artwork as a png file, I get a one pixel grey border at the top and left edges.


There is no background object, but I export (Save for Web and Devices) with matte white background and no transparency. I also tried with a white background object, with it snapped to the artboard and also larger than the artboard by 10 pixels in each direction. I still got the lines at the top and left of the exported image.


I also tried making a new file, with the artboard in pixel units, and selected the option to have objects snap to pixel grid, and then copying and pasting the artwork from the original file. I still got the lines.



Answer



After much tearing of hair the following works for me:




  1. Select View > Pixel Preview.

  2. View > Snap to Pixel should be ticked.

  3. You should use Artboards

  4. The Artboards should be laid out by Illustrator not by you, so if you've created, copied or positioned any: Objects > Artboards > Rearrange and choose a whole pixel value for spacing. This will lay the artboards out to exact pixels.

  5. Choose View > Pixel Preview and check the edges of the artwork for unwanted anti-aliasing. It sometimes helps to extend shapes beyond the edges of the artboard.

  6. When you're happy with how it looks, choose File > Export and tick Use Artboards

  7. Antialiasing type selection seems to have little effect on this issue but will effect the way your artwork looks.


probability - Arbitragefree Pricing: Q vs. P


I read that the Fundamental Theorem of Asset Pricing states, that a market is arbitrage-free if and only if there exists an equivalent martingale measure Q, under which the discounted asset price process becomes a martingale.


Why does the existence of Q matter for arbitragefree property, if we have the physical measure P under which there potentially actually is an arbitrage opportunity?


From my understanding, if the market is not arbitragefree under physical probability measure P, why would it be so just if there exists such theoretical measure Q?



Answer



In the derivatives context, "arbitrage free" means almost surely for the probability measure under consideration. This is in opposition with statistical arbitrage used at high frequencies for example.


More precisely the assumption is that there is no $T\geq 0$ and self-financed portfolio $V$ such that $V_0 = 0$, $P(V_T < 0) = 0$ and $P(V_T > 0) > 0$. This property remains true if we replace $P$ by any equivalent measure $Q$. Simply apply $P(A) = 0 \Leftrightarrow Q(A) = 0$ to $A = \{V_T < 0\}$ and $A = \{V_T > 0\}$.



If you have an equivalent martingale measure $Q$, then you can't have arbitrage. Let's prove this. Let $V$ be a self-financed portfolio such that $V_T \geq 0$ $Q$-almost surely and $Q(V_T > 0) > 0$. Write $\widetilde{V}_t = e^{-\int_0^t r_sds} V_t$ then we also have $\widetilde{V}_T \geq 0$ $Q$-almost surely and $Q(\widetilde{V}_T > 0) > 0$ (these properties are invariant under change of numeraire). Since the discounted value $\widetilde{V}$ is a $Q$-martingale, $V_0 = \widetilde{V}_0 = E^Q[\widetilde{V}_T] > 0$. This proves that you can't have an arbitrage strategy under $Q$ so you can't have one under $P$ either. This proves the easy half of the fundamental theorem of asset pricing.


Now you might and should wonder why bother with finding a martingale measure $Q$? The answer is that it is very useful because by definition discounted assets (and all self-financed portfolios) are martingales. So computations of derivatives prices are much easier since the expectation of a martingale at $T$ is equal to its initial value (observable at least in theory on the market). The difference with the real world (the $P$-world) is that you don't need to estimate the drift (return) of the underlying assets (predicting if a stock is going to go up or down on a given day is a very difficult thing to do for deep statistical reasons). If you set jumps aside, the value of an option will only depend on the volatility of the underlying. The difference between the real returns are already priced in the market risk premium $\lambda$ used to define the change from the historial to the risk neutral measure (cf. Girsanov's theorem: $\frac{dQ}{dP}|_{\mathcal{F}_t} = \exp( -\int_0^t \lambda_s dW_s - \frac{1}{2}\int_0^t |\lambda_s|^2 ds)$).


black scholes - Paradoxes in quantitative finance


Everyone seems to agree that the option prices predicted by the Black-Merton-Scholes model are inconsistent with what is observed in reality. Still, many people rely on the model by using "the wrong number in the wrong formula to get the right price".



Question. What are some of the most important contradictions that one encounters in quantitative finance? Are there any model-independent inconsistencies? Are some of these apparent paradoxes born more equal than the others (i.e. lead to better models)?



I would like to limit the scope of the question to the contradictions arising in quantitative finance (so the well-documented paradoxes of economics and probability theory such as the St. Petersburg paradox or Allais paradox are deliberately excluded).


Edit (to adress Shane's comment). Hopefully, this question is different in focus and has a slightly more narrow scope than the previous question concerning the most dangerous concepts in quantitative finance work. For instance, using VaR "naively" does not lead to immediate contradictions the way naive application of the BS model does. VaR may be considered inadequate because it seriously underestimates tail risks but it is not self-contradictory per se (please correct me if I'm wrong). Similarly, the EMH in its weaker forms may not be inconsistent with the market reality (at least the opposite has not been demonstrated decisively yet).




Saturday, November 23, 2019

Scaling a text box in Illustrator CS6 (without scaling text)


Ok, I have a fresh Illustrator document. Pasted some copied text into the "artboard" (the clipboard is severely broken, but that's for another day).


The textbox that gets pasted is one huge line that goes from here to Timbuktoo.


So I need to resize it to 1/3rd of the page. I presume, as happens in every other sensible tool in the world, the text would flow to the width I give the textbox. The text itself will NOT get resized.


However, this is not what happens. THe text gets scaled completely. No exceptions.


I've been googling for the last 2 hours. Nothing works.



  1. Some posts say I must "show bounding borders". Doesn't help at all.

  2. Other posts say some nonsense about main selection tool and direct selection tool. These tools do nothing. Both the arrow-icons, when used to drag the corners of the box, lead to the text getting resized anyway.


  3. Someone suggested that when I copied and pasted text from a text file into Illustrator, this became an object, not actually text. Well, in that case, how should we paste text? Not everyone working on an Illustrator document is always and forever expected to write all the text manually, is it?


Seriously, how does this work? Any preferences I need to change? I used to work with CS4 and I recall it was much easier.


Would appreciate any inputs. Thanks!



Answer



In Illustrator, there are two ways to control your basic block of text:



  1. Point Type object: Select the Type tool, click on the artboard, then press Paste.

  2. Area Type object: Select the Type tool, click and drag on the artboard to create a text box, and then paste the text into there.



You've been doing number one; number two should get the behavior that you want.


Are there any special design guidelines for big touch screens (30–50 inch)?


I'm about to develop an application for a large touch screen (around 40″). Now to my question, are there any special design guidelines for such a large screen? I have read Android/iOS/Windows RT design guidelines, but most of them focus on mobile and tablet screens (although some of them are mostly usable even on larger displays).


Unfortunately I haven't decided which language to implement my application in (maybe Python or HTML5 but who knows).


If you have any resources or other threads where this topic is covered it would be most welcome =)


Thanks in advance.



Answer



The same basic principles apply whether it is a tablet, smartphone or a touchscreen, they just translate differently.



Although your touchscreen may be massively larger than a smartphone, you aren't going to have it as close to you as you would a smartphone, so the relative visual size isn't as different as you may think.


I would personally follow the sizes and dimensions for a tablet, and then scale them up a little less than is proportional. So something on an 11 inch tablet that would be say 10mm, would be something like 30mm.


You need to keep in mind that your touch screen will likely have a comprable resolution to an iPad, but just be larger, so you need to translate guideline sizes into millimeters rather than pixels.


For example, the iOS HIG suggests that tappable items should be at least 44x44, and the Android design guidelines give 48x48. Both of these are based on the idea that the tappable area should at a minimum be about 8-12mm minimum on each side.


html - How should a website's title be structured?


Are there any best practices for choosing the title of web pages? There are a lot of resources online oriented toward SEO, but not toward users.


My impression is that most sites have something similar to Product - Page. But there are cases when switching this around is more useful. For example, if mail clients displayed the title like this:


Inbox (3) - Gmail


Instead of:


Gmail - Inbox (3)


You would be able to see the message count, even if the title was cut off. (I'm pretty sure Gmail used to do this).


I assume the title is mostly ignored by users except when:




  • using boorkmarks

  • finding the right tab in the browser


What are the considerations for users when choosing a web page title? Are there different considerations for the home page, pages behind a login, etc?



Answer



Aside from cases like the Gmail example you mentioned (where the title tag contains topical info) there's less of a gulf between user requirements and SEO requirements than your question suggests, but this presents a potential tradeoff situation.


If we're just talking about webpages (not web apps like Gmail), it's recognized and agreed that title tag (specifically the beginning of the tag) is the most important element for communicating the purpose or meaning of the page to search agents.


So we've ended up with title tags that, when optimized, look like:


Mens Oxford Shirts | Shirts.com



Dentist Portland OR | LocalDentistSite.com


These title tags communicate the page content to human readers just as readily as to search engine crawlers and this is corroborated by the fact that these keyphrases are based on what users are actually searching for most often.


This does have the unfortunate consequence that if you do want leverage the title tag as a granular navigational aid or a method for displaying system info, you run the risk of making your page less relevant to search queries that bring valuable organic traffic.


Of course, when your pages are behind logins (or not indexable) this is much less of a issue, and you have more freedom to play around.


On public facing pages at least, it boils down to a clash of (UX and SEO) goals, and the solution depends on which you deem to be more important for a given page or set of pages.


novel - How do I finish my projects?


I just want to make sure everyone knows, English is not my native language, so if there are any spelling errors or similar, that's the reason.


I'm a 20 year old student who writes novels during my free time, but I never end them. The problem is that I have an idea that I think sounds good so I start writing, then I get about 50 pages into the project a new idea. I then write down that idea so I do not forget it. The problem is that I usually just finish writing on the first text and bypassing the new idea, but when I'm about 50 pages I get another idea and so the cycle continues.


Any thoughts on what I should do? or does anyone have any ideas or simulated experiences that have some tips?




Friday, November 22, 2019

critique - Online radio logo feedback request


I'm working on a new logo concept for my online radio station and would like to receive feedback about the following:



  1. Is the kerning/spacing appropriate?


  2. Do you find the symbol appealing, unique and memorable?

  3. Do you find a heavy resemblance with the Beats logo?


Any other kind of feedback will be very appreciated. Many thanks!


Logotype concept



Answer



It's the Beat's by Dre logo


enter image description here


The logo isn't memorable and is frankly a rehash of every online radio site ever.





  • Headphone/mic? Check




  • Radio "waves" Check




  • Trendly smooth gradient? Check





I don't get anything "blur" about it and I don't see why I would be enticed to use your site. Is it fast? Faster than what's already out there?


Focus on an original shape or one that more accurately represents your name.


Derivation of the Black-Scholes formula



My understanding is that the Black-Scholes formula can be derived via the Capital Asset Pricing Model, I cannot find anything about this on the net. Could someone demonstrate this (in a hopefully not too technical way)?




adobe photoshop - Will layer effects affect how my Pantone design prints?


I have a project, which needs to be in Pantone, but I have never printed anything in Pantone before. I figured out how to use Pantone via internet searches, but I am worried that what I have might not print right.


I have a pattern with a lot of subtle textures, shades, and many layers. I selected the shape in each layer and brushed over each with a Pantone colour, which was set to 'colour' instead of normal. A lot of my layers are semi-transparent, which I am thinking might be a problem.


If I make a colour with a mishmash of different Pantone layers, will it work?


Also, I have used different effects on the layers; some normal, multiply, or screen. Will this print ok?


Merci!

Maddison




adobe photoshop - Desktop/iPad/iPhone PSD frames for screenshots workflow?


In the past, I've googled iPhone user interface elements and downloaded the PSD. 2. I deleted all layers except the frame 3. I took screenshots of my various web projects 4. Change dimensions and inserted various screenshots from other emulators or iPhone to show up in portfolio.



Maybe this is the "right way", although it is time-consuming and the pain the butt. It's not a problem, for it is easy enough to do just tedious. Has anyone found a simple workflow for this process? I feel like there's probably some tool out there that asked for screenshots and automatically exports PNG's for portfolios. Maybe I'm wrong.


Any tools or workflow recommendations?



Answer



I found this post from abduzeedo.com very helpful. http://abduzeedo.com/useful-design-mockups-your-portfolio some of the mockups even have a duplicated smart object right in the first layer. All you have to do is replace the content in that smart object and you're good to go.


Photoshop Background layer


The background layer is locked by default. When I unlock it, PS creates a new layer layer0 and deletes the background layer.


Is this a bad thing to do. Does the background layer have any special significance or properties that it shouldn't be deleted/replaced? Should I instead copy of the contents of the background to another layer and leave the background layer alone?



I noticed that when I open an image, PS automatically puts the image on the background layer. How do you handle opened images before working on them.




Thursday, November 21, 2019

path - How to change stroke width of line in Photoshop CS6?


I have drawn some lines with the line tool in Photoshop CS6.


The lines are vectors on a shape layer.


If I select the line with path selection tool I can change the stroke colour, in the options panel at the top, but not the stroke width (if I change the stroke width nothing happens).


Is there a way to change the stroke width?



Answer



I think the problem you have is that your lines are set to stroke 'inside' so no matter what the pt weight you wont see a result. You need to click the line style next to the pt weight > then more options > then where it says align, set to center or outside. Hope that helps.


Markexample



inkscape - Is it possible to "invert" an SVG file? Not the colours, but the actual areas/paths?



I have an SVG file, and I want to create the opposite of it. It's a monochrome icon, and I want a version where the logo is transparent and the rest of the rectangle is filled paths.


In theory it feels like it should be a common problem, and something like Inkscape should have an "Invert Paths" (or similar) function, but in practice I couldn't find any relevant help in Inkscape or Google?


Thanks!



Answer




  1. Make sure your design is entirely composed of paths. There can't be any groups or text objects, etc. Ok to have multiple path objects though.

  2. Draw a rectangle around the whole thing

  3. Select your design as well as the rectangle

  4. Choose "Path" > "Exclusion"



website design - slides usability - auto play or not?


Im talking about the mini-slideshow many websites have on their front pages, where the slides change automatically, but the user can navigate by clicking on small circles below the slide.


Problems with this design:



  • You are in the middle of reading and the slide auto changes = annoying

  • If the user actually uses the circles to check out next slide/previous slide should the script still auto play? Seems to me once the user takes the wheel he should be in control


  • No auto playing at all may defeat the purpose of the whole slide thing. Will an indication on when the slide will change make the experience better or make the user feel uncomfortable?


Such a time indicator can be found on sap.com.


So what to do? Auto play slides? Time indicator? No slides at all? Is the idea to stop autoplaying once the user clicks a circle a good idea or are there potential drawbacks?


Pls share your wisdom on this topic.



Answer



I feel your pain! I say just don't use one :)


This article explains why sliders are a bad idea with great details and examples.


Basically:




  1. Their movement distracts users away from your content

  2. People glaze over things that look like banners

  3. They have terrible usability--as you mention, they always seem to move just as you're trying to read something!


More highlights...



Q: "What do we suggest in that place? Carousels are everywhere!"


A: "I suggest replacing it with all the content users are actually coming to the site for that gets pushed down by the carousel."



and




"Rotating banners are absolutely evil and should be removed immediately."



Jakon Nielsen and Luke Wroblweski don't like them, either, apparently.


Where to find high-quality icon sets?


I'd like to change the style of our Windows Mobile application to follow the Modern UI style (as in Windows 8 or Windows Phone 7). While there are excellent guidelines for layout, fonts and sizes, I'm not able to find suitable icons to use in our toolbar (little images showing the state of the network or the battery). Those are the flaws of the icon packs I already found:



  • Usually there are just one or two battery icons, whereas I need several to indicate the different states

  • The icons get very blurry when resized to 16x16 pixels (even for vector graphics)


  • A lot of icon sets contain gradients, shadows or gray pixels

  • Most of the icon sets contain only a hundred to five hundred icons


If you have a look at the icons used by Windows Phone 7, they're very clear and sharp. I already know Syncfusion Metro Studio, but the icons get very blurry when resized to 16x16 pixels as well. Currently we're using the icons from IconExperience, but they don't provide suitable icons for Modern UI applications.


So my question is basically: Where can I find professional, high-quality icon packs with a lot of different icons (either PNG or vector graphics)? They don't have to be free, but must be allowed to be used for commercial applications. What are the major icons vendors and what platforms are available to obtain icon packs from?



Answer



Icon Finder is like Google image search for icon hunting.


Icon Factory has a lot of stock but they also provide custom services.


If you really want good stuff, pay someone to make them specifically for your app. A good UI designer goes a long way toward building a brand.


Your question got me digging around IconFinder for the first time in a while. I found this set which seems to answer your concerns.



usability - Character limits on textarea fields - pros and cons and best practices?


Some of our form fields have character limits. We're debating whether we should reflect the current size of data entry, or to simply hard-limit and inhibit data entry beyond that size.


In HTML, simple elements can have a maxlength attribute that inhibits further entry, but