http://www.magnetstudio.com/words Good ideas are a dime a dozen... it's execution that counts Mon, 02 Aug 2010 15:14:48 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/2010/gangrule-com http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/2010/gangrule-com#comments Mon, 02 Aug 2010 15:01:00 +0000 Jon Black http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/?p=2477 Gangrule.com has finally updated and been put onto wordpress to make it easier to navigate and update. If you’re only interested in the images, check out the mugshots. Gangrule is a historical look at the emergence of organized crime through 1890–1930. The database of historic events, family histories and photographs is based on research from [...]]]> http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/2010/gangrule-com/feed 0 http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/2010/le-mans-classic-photography http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/2010/le-mans-classic-photography#comments Tue, 20 Jul 2010 14:07:17 +0000 Jon Black http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/?p=2461 Photography of the 2010 Le Mans Classic by Laurent Nivalle. The Le Mans Classic is a biennial vintage sports car event held on the grounds of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It began in 2002 and runs every two years in July on the full 13.65 km circuit also used for the annual modern [...]]]> http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/2010/le-mans-classic-photography/feed 0 http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/2010/adobe-illustrator-scriptographer http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/2010/adobe-illustrator-scriptographer#comments Thu, 10 Jun 2010 12:02:09 +0000 Jon Black http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/?p=2414 Scriptographer is a scripting plugin for Adobe Illustrator™. It gives the user the possibility to extend Illustrator’s functionality by the use of JavaScript. The user is no longer limited to the same tools that are used by most designers. Scriptographer allows the creation of mouse controlled drawing-tools, effects that modify existing graphics and scripts that [...]]]> http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/2010/adobe-illustrator-scriptographer/feed 0 http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/2010/feltron-letterpress-annual-report http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/2010/feltron-letterpress-annual-report#comments Mon, 10 May 2010 12:20:19 +0000 Jon Black http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/?p=2398 Letterpress version of Feltron’s 2009 Annual Report printed by Swayspace in New York, designed by Nicholas Felton. The 8″ x 10″, 4-color, 16 page annual report is printed on 80 lbs. French Durotone cover stock.]]> http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/2010/feltron-letterpress-annual-report/feed 0 http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/2010/stop-motion-blending http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/2010/stop-motion-blending#comments Sun, 09 May 2010 15:24:41 +0000 Jon Black http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/?p=2386 Nice use of stop motion and frame blending in After Effects. Technically it’s not that hard to achieve, the real skill is in the subject you choose to photograph. Take a series of still images Import image sequence into AE Using motion stabilisation if the images are not aligned Layer > Frame Blending > Pixel [...]]]> http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/2010/stop-motion-blending/feed 0 http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/2010/up-there-documentary http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/2010/up-there-documentary#comments Sun, 09 May 2010 11:59:39 +0000 Jon Black http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/?p=2379 Shot high above the streets of New York, UP THERE reveals the dying craft of large-scale hand painted advertising and the untold story of the painters struggling to keep it alive. Capturing a trade that is equal parts artistic precision and gruelling labour, the film presents a painting tradition pre-dating modern advertising. A craft that [...]]]> http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/2010/up-there-documentary/feed 0 http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/2010/monotype-machine http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/2010/monotype-machine#comments Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:26:11 +0000 Jon Black http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/?p=2232 www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbHsZ3RrXB8 A short video showing the classic Monotype hot metal typesetting machine. The system shown here uses two separate units-a keyboard and a caster. The keyboard operator types the copy, each key punching holes in a roll of tape. This analogue record from the keyboard operator will later guide the caster which uses ‘hot metal’ [...]]]> http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/2010/monotype-machine/feed 0 http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/2010/opentype-guide http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/2010/opentype-guide#comments Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:10:04 +0000 Jon Black http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/?p=1998 OpenType (OT) is a cross-platform type format that includes expert layout features to provide richer linguistic support and advanced typographic control. Using OT technology you can substitute your characters for different glyphs1 using many different methods; Ligatures, Small Caps, Oldstyle Figures, Fractions, Superscript/Subscript, Ordinals, Alternates, Titling Characters and many more. This beginners guide will help [...]]]> http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/2010/opentype-guide/feed 14 http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/2010/title-sequence-typography http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/2010/title-sequence-typography#comments Mon, 22 Feb 2010 12:36:20 +0000 Jon Black http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/?p=1965 Since the late 1950s, film title sequences have often been a showcase for contemporary design and illustration. The title sequences of Saul Bass and Maurice Binder are among the best examples of this though they inspired many imitators both in cinema and on television. Christian Annyas has gathered a nice collection of title sequence graphics for us [...]]]> http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/2010/title-sequence-typography/feed 0 http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/2010/letterpress-printing http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/2010/letterpress-printing#comments Mon, 22 Feb 2010 00:42:10 +0000 Jon Black http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/?p=1945 Letterpress printing is a form of relief printing introduced to Europe in 1450 by Johannes Gutenberg. Although moveable type systems had been used previously, Gutenberg’s innovations removed the enormous amount of labour involved in manipulating individual characters. For centuries after Gutenberg’s invention hand-set metal type was the industry standard, but with the advent of the [...]]]> http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/2010/letterpress-printing/feed 0 http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/2010/stamps http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/2010/stamps#comments Thu, 11 Feb 2010 20:52:45 +0000 Jon Black http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/?p=1764 A stamp design includes several elements required for it to accomplish its purpose satisfactorily. Most important is the denomination indicating its monetary value, while international agreements require a country name on almost all types of stamps. The second required element, at least for stamps intended to be used on international mail, is the name of [...]]]> http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/2010/stamps/feed 0 http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/2010/mafia-photos-charts http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/2010/mafia-photos-charts#comments Fri, 05 Feb 2010 01:19:03 +0000 Jon Black http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/?p=1647 These are some of the more interesting images from a huge collection of mafia research that I used to create gangrule.com. They include the charts that were used in the nationally televised Kefauver hearings in 1950, the very same charts that were mimicked in the Godfather 2 film.]]> http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/2010/mafia-photos-charts/feed 1 http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/2009/maps http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/2009/maps#comments Mon, 21 Sep 2009 18:41:10 +0000 Jon Black http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/?p=1303 Cartography, or map-making is the study, and practice of crafting representations of the Earth upon a flat surface. Road maps are perhaps the most widely used maps today, and form a subset of navigational maps, which also include aeronautical and nautical charts, railroad network maps, and hiking and bicycling maps. In terms of quantity, the largest number [...]]]> http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/2009/maps/feed 0 http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/2009/homicides-in-ny http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/2009/homicides-in-ny#comments Sun, 23 Aug 2009 10:09:41 +0000 Jon Black http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/?p=1213 Each day, the New York Police Department announces major crimes, including most homicides, in the five boroughs. This data is compiled from those reports, in addition to news accounts, court records and additional reporting. The map will be updated as new information becomes available. http://projects.nytimes.com/crime/homicides/map (Via)]]> http://www.magnetstudio.com/words/2009/homicides-in-ny/feed 0