Infographic: The Darwinian Evolution of Photoshop by Tech King

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In 2000 Apple released the visual theme Aqua, a stunning leap forward in graphical user interface design. At the same time Apple published the Human Interface Guidelines (HIG), a tool for developers and designers that gives a detailed breakdown of the design philosophy behind Aqua. Apple recently updated their Human Interface Guidelines (HIG) to include the way the visual theme Aqua has evolved in Apple’s latest operating system, OS X 10.5 Leopard. This is the first update since 2006.

Let’s take a look at how this affects icon designers.

Aqua: Strive For Simplicity

“Gorgeous, artistic icons are an important part of the Mac OS user experience. Users expect beautiful icons that tell an application’s story in a clear and memorable way.”

To get really beautiful icons, Apple recommends that you let a professional designer create your icons. Despite all the eye candy and realism that is possible to apply to icons, less is more. Strive for a simple solution using one easily recognisable object. The basic shape or silhouette of your icon can help users to quickly identify it. If you aim for an international market, your symbols need to also be internationally recognizable providing Worldwide Compatibility.

To increase usability and avoid confusing users as to what is part of the Aqua interface and what belongs to an application looking great in the Aqua interface, avoid using Aqua interface elements in your icons, don’t use replicas of Apple hardware products and don’t reuse Mac OS×system icons in your icons. It can be confusing to users to see the same symbol used to mean slightly different things in multiple locations.

Light Source and Perspective in Aqua

Use a single light source with the light coming from above and slightly in front of the icon. This icon for Apple’s Address Book is a good example of the lighting in Mac OS X, Aqua.

Apple writes that “perspective and shadows are the most important components of making good icons“. The perspective for icons and the concept of icon genres and families remain the same in Leopard’s graphical user interface as in previous versions of Aqua.

Realism in Aqua

Aqua icons, such as this icon for Apple’s Pages, display a high level of realism and often show off glassy effects and transparency effects. This works best with concepts that can be described with a physical object. Icons that convey abstract concepts such as “music”, “checkout” or “download” are tricky to make photorealistic representations of.

For example, what would be a good way to symbolize the idea of music? A note? A photorealistic image of notes on paper? An instrument? Which instrument? And will using a harp or a sheet of classical music be too specific for anyone to feel that rap music or jazz could be represented by this imagery?

Not to mention how to make photorealistic representations of concepts like “Compute Value Added Tax” or “Restore Latest Backup”.

This application icon for Apple’s QuickTime Player has evolved over the years, with different variations whilst keeping its basic shape. It’s an example of an icon that Apple have chosen to make a symbolic icon for, rather than taking a photorealistic approach.

It is interesting to see how the icons in the iPhone and iPod interface have made a break from the photo-realism of Aqua and are designed more as symbols, which was the original idea behind the computer icon.

A handheld device is used in less than optimal conditions. There can be glaring light or low light, distractions, noise and so on. Using a more bold and simple visual theme makes a lot of sense for usability.

The icons in the iPhone and iPod interface display glossy effects and squares with rounded corners such as is commonly seen in the current “Web 2.0″ design.

The Dock in Leopard

If you think that users will want to display your icon in the Dock (and which developer doesn’t dream of that!), I suggest you give it a bare minimum of extra effects, as the Dock itself automatically adds several special effects including shadows as well as a reflection of the icon.

As far as I can tell there is no specific information on exactly what effects the Dock adds to icons in the latest version of Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines. I suggest simply adding a slight drop shadow of pure black to make the icon look at home in Aqua, both in the Dock and in other environments of the interface.

Leopard’s File Browser Cover Flow

You also need to be aware of how the Cover Flow view in Finder displays your application icon. In Cover Flow, icons are displayed against a black background, set on a highly reflective surface. Because of this, you may need to adjust the design of your icon.

If your icon includes a drop shadow, make sure the shadow is fully black. If your icon is very dark or has black edges, you can add a slight inner glow to make the icon stand out against the black background. This Spaces icon shown below, has a slight inner glow that makes it look at home in the Cover Flow environment.

Avoid giving important parts of your icon high alpha levels (that is, a lot of transparency), especially in the lower half of the icon. As areas with too much alpha can get clipped by Cover Flow. This icon for Apple’s Mail has a cancellation mark with high alpha levels and as we can see Cover Flow has clipped part of the postmark as shown below.

Personally, I think that icons set on an angle look awkward in Cover Flow, since Cover Flow tilts the icons it gets to be a bit too much. A straight-on view, such as the perspective for the Spaces icon is best for icons when displayed in Cover Flow.

Icon Sizes in Leopard

OS X 10.5 Leopard introduces a new larger size for icons, 512×512 pixels. A professionally created icon for Leopard should include the following sizes:

• 512×512 pixel image (for Finder icons in Mac OS X v10.5 and later)
• 128×128 pixel image (for Finder icons in all versions of Mac OS X)
• 32×32 pixel image (hint for Finder icons)
• 16×16 pixel image (hint for Finder icons)
• A mask that defines the image’s edges so that the operating system can determine which regions are clickable

Icons that display in the Finder are viewed at different sizes: they can be magnified in the Dock, they can be previewed at full size, and users can specify a preferred size. For the best-looking icons at all sizes, you should provide custom images (“hints”) at 32×32 pixels and 16×16 pixels. Although the Dock doesn’t use hints (it uses a sophisticated algorithm on the 128×128 pixel version), hints are important for preserving crucial details in Finder icons.

Always start with the largest icon and downscale that to the smaller sizes. The largest version of your icon should have the richest texture, more details and greater realism. The smaller sizes will in some cases need some retouching to have the same high quality as the original large sized design.

This mockup of the Front Row application icon illustrates that simply enlarging a small icon will not provide the sharpness and detail required in the large version of the icon.

Scaling Your Art Work So That The Smaller Versions Become Crisp and Clear

Setting up a grid and “using snap to grid” will help you keep each of the smaller icon versions crisp and reduce the amount of retouching and sharpening you need to do when you resize the art work.

Apple suggests that you set up the canvas for your master file to 1024×1024 pixels. In your image-editing application, set up an 8-pixel grid as you create the master file. This means that each block in the grid measures 8×8 pixels and represents one pixel in the 128×128 pixel icon.

Turn on “snap to grid” to reduce the half pixels and blurry details that can result when you scale it down. Although using an 8-pixel grid works well when you create 512×512 pixel icons, you may prefer the increased precision you get when you use a 2-pixel grid to create the master image.

If you aren’t satisfied with the results when you scale down your art work to the 32×32 pixel and 16 ×16 pixel sizes, you can redraw the image at these sizes instead. However, setting up the proper grid can still help reduce extra work if you decide to redraw the smaller versions. For example, using a 32-pixel grid with a 1024×1024 pixel master file works well for creating the 32×32 pixel size, and a 64-pixel grid works well for creating the 16×16 pixel size.

In general I think keeping the icons as simple as possible is a good idea, as both the Dock and the Cover Flow in Aqua Leopard add a lot of effects.

References

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1.
Start with a black background.
Now type in the text you like to add this effect to with white color.
Right click the text and press break apart one time to seperate the letters.

2.
Now right click each letter and convert them to seperate movie clips

3.
Select all the letters, right click and choose distrubute to layers.
Now in the layers panel delete the layer we started with, because its now empty.

4.
Make a new keyframe at frame 5 and at frame 30, for all the layers.

5.
In frame 30 move the text all the way to the right, out of the stage.
Between frame 5 and frame 30 for all layers, right click and create motion tween.

6.
Now for all letters seperatly click at frame 5 and go to the properties panel and adjust the easing, for some letters set the easing to -100 and the rest at 100 and maybe one or two at 0.

Now the letters will not move at the same speed.

7.
At frame 30 for each letter go to the properties panel and adjust the alpha to 20 percent.

And now we are done, I just added a rectangle shape with not fill color, converted it to a movie clip, animated it by scaling it and put down the alpha just a with the text effect.

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In this Flash tutorial I will show you how to make a simple but yet smart dice roll game. This tutorial will cover a lot of simple programming issues, the use of buttons, make your own functions, make use of movie clip properties through actionscript, using simple math and random function an much more. I hope you enjoy it.

Download the Game flash project file here.

First of we set up the scene, What you will need is a button, I just made a simple graphic with a gradient, then convert it to a button symbol by right clicking and choose convert to symbol. Give the button an instance name, we will need it when we have to do some action scripting. I called mine "roll".

Then we need a simple text box, place it center on the stage, and change its property to dynamic textbox, so its able to receive information through actionscripting.

Basically this is what we need to make things work, but to make the game a bit more interesting we also need some graphic for visual appeal. I just made 6 different view of a dice, I made it in Photoshop, (I could have done it in any graphic related environment.

Import your images to the stage, File -> Import -> Import to stage and locate your dice image files.

Now separately convert all images to movie clips and give them instance names like this dice_1, dice_2, dice_3, dice_4, dice_5 and dice_6.

I very important thing now is to place all dice movie clips exactly on top of each other, an easy way to do this is to type in the x and y coordinates for all movie clips.

Now to the fun part, the action scripting.

This function tells flash that when someone clicks on the button the textbox will show a random number between 1 and 6 using the Math function in flash, a very useful tool.

The next thing is to make a simple function that makes all our dice movie clips invisible, we will do this every time we need a new shuffle, then only show the dice with the same number of eyes as shown in the textbox (eg. random number 1 then dice_1._visible = true).

Now we will need to call this function every time the button is pressed so we have to add to the onpress part of our code.

We are almost done, this next part is the most annoying part to type, its not that complicated its an if condition with 5 else if's, this will control that if the number 1 comes up, then we will show dice movie clip one, if number 2 comes up, then we will show dice movie clip two and so on. This code also has to be added in the buttons onpress code so the final onpress code will look like this.

Just to clarify I will try to explain how this if and else if part works.

if number 1 comes up then show dice 1

else if number 2 comes up then show dice 2

else if number 3 comes up then show dice 3

And so on.

Here is the final code.

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Although Adobe Flash Player is one of the most widely distributed web clients available, there is still a group of people who are hesitant to use Adobe Flash content. They often describe Flash like this plhiwebsupport as a wonderful tool that can make a real contribution to a website's audiovisual appeal and interactivity. But they also warn others not to overdo things because entire websites designed in Flash would both be opaque to search engines and lock out a certain group of potential visitors.

In this article I explain that this doesn't necessarily have to be the case. It is merely a matter of execution of how a website is created. With some small extra effort, you can easily avoid these types of problems and create great Flash experiences that are optimized for search engine indexing and contain content that is accessible to the biggest target audience possible.

Progressive Enhancement is a web development strategy that ensures that even a visitor with the lowest common denominator web browser technology can navigate through a website and read its content. It uses basic markup—or (X)HTML—as its foundation to keep both content and navigation accessible for everyone, even people using text browsers and simple mobile devices. It utilizes semantic markup to add meaning to this content, which is the basis for search engine–friendly content.

The main philosophy behind progressive enhancement is that you enhance the "basic version" of your content with additional presentation or behavior by using technologies like CSS, JavaScript, and Flash. These should be served only when the required browser technology support is available.

Progressive enhancement applied to a Flash project could look something like the following:

• An HTML page that includes content that is optimized for web crawlers and low-tech browsers
• Style sheets to professionally lay out and style this basic version, aimed at visitors that use CSS-enabled browsers but don't have the required Flash plug-in
• JavaScript to add behavior and improve the usability of the basic version—again aimed at visitors who don't have the appropriate Flash support
• Flash content aimed at the biggest part of the target audience, for the full-blown user experience

Here's why you should use this approach: because its benefits often outweigh its cost. Search engine–friendly content enables good rankings on search engines, while accessible content locks no one out and avoids blank home pages or page sections. These topics are likely to be of high importance to some of your clients.

At Refunk we have included progressive enhancement in our standard offering because we see it as a small, extra effort—but a worthwhile one—to do things the right way. We think it is an approach worthy of investing in for any design studio specializing in Flash content.

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			Photoshop 7 The Healing Brush and the Patch tool are new with PS 7. Earlier we had the Clone Stamp tool - which is great too - but these two new features are just awesome! The Healing Brush works the same way as the Clone Stamp tool, but the healing brush tool also matches the texture, lighting, and shading of the sampled pixels to the source pixels. This means that the repaired pixels blend seamlessly into the rest of the image. And this is what makes this tool so incredible powerful when it comes to restoring and retouching pictures. It is really easy to learn this tool too - so get those pictures ready! We're gonna deduct ages from your family members - and having lots of fun while doing it! A tip along the way: Be sure you always keep a copy of the original file. Either do a "save as" before you start editing the picture - or just drag the original layer down to the Create a new layer tab to create a copy you can work on.
			Select the Healing Brush tool and adjust the brush size etc. so it will suit the areas you're going to work on. I started out working on the lines on the forehead using a brush with these settings. PS! Be sure you have marked the Sampled option to use pixels from the current image. After you've entered the brush values (or just picked one of the default ones) you have to pick a sampling point by positioning the pointer in an area of the image that has about the same qualities as the area you want to fix. Click Alt + left click the area you want as source and then click and drag the brush over the part you want healed. (You can check the Aligned option in the Healing Brush status bar to keep the current samling point. If deselected the sampled pixels are applied from the initial sampling point each time you stop and resume painting). If you're not happy with the outcome go back - select a new sampling area and drag the brush over the area you want healed all over again. Do this until the lines are gone and the skintones look realistic. Now - this is REALLY important. Be sure to create a snapshot of your work at this state. You'll soon understand why... The Create a new Snapshot is found on the History palette - to the left of the "trash can"/Delete current state button.
			Time to use the Patch tool . I wanted to get rid of the dark puffy areas below the eyes - and the Patch tool does this in a few seconds! Select the Patch tool and be sure the Source option is checked in the tool options bar. Then select the area you want to fix (left click and drag out the selection). (You can also use the Lasso tool to drag out the selection if you want - just remember to switch to the Patch tool when you're done...) (Don't find the Patch tool? Click here to see where it's located).
			Now drag the selection to an area that has about the same color and texture as the area you want to replace - and just release the mouse button.
			The original area below the eye is now automatically replaced! Deselect the selection and do the same process on the other eye. (Click here to see my selection below the right eye, here to see where I dragged the selection and here to see what the close up looked like after using the Patch tool). Deselect again.
			In step 6 you can see what my image looked like at this point. The wrinkles below the eyes are totally gone and the new "skin" blends perfectly. BUT - it really looks kind of fake. To make the retouch look more real we can use the History Brush tool to paint some of the old details below the eyes back on. And this is why I told you to Create a snapshot in step 2. Before you go any further be sure to create another snapshot. (I always take a lot of snapshots while doing photo retouch. Makes it so easy to go back and do things all over again if you're not happy with the outcome...).
			Select the History Brush tool . Then go to the History palette and check the box to the left of your first snapshot like shown below: (If you accidentally activate the Snapshot 1 state just click the Snapshot 2 state - or just go down in the History window and click on the latest action before you continue). Select a brush that suits the area you're going to work on. Click here to see what kind of brush settings I used for this area. As you can see I lowered the opacity to 21%. That's because I just wanted to paint some of the details back. Now use the brush below the eyes and carefully "paint" some of the details back! You see my result after using the History Brush tool to the left. And now you're on your own! By now you should be able to handle the healing brush and the patch tool to retouch the rest of your image. Good luck! And remember - practice makes perfect!
	Original picture This is how the picture looked right from the scanner. Before I started using healing brush tool I did and Image - Adjustments - Auto Color to get rid of the magenta color cast on the picture. Then did an Auto Brightness/Contrast and an Auto Levels. That did the trick for this particular picture. To sharpen the picture a little bit I used the Unsharp mask (Filter - Sharpen - Unsharp mask) with these settings. (Note that different pictures need different unsharp mask settings...). Then I added a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer and added just a little more color. The rest of the process editing this picture is described in the steps above.		Final image This is how my picture turned out in the end. I continued working on it just using the Healing Brush tool after the last step. Just working on small skin areas at the time to get rid of the irregularities of the skin. Making the skin look really smooth and flawless. When I finished working on the face I used the Blur tool to smoothen out the details in the background to make it blend with the rest of the image. I'm really happy about the final result though there's still some flaws that could be worked on some more :) Hope you got familiar with the Healing Brush tool and the Patch tool going through this tutorial. If you have any questions please post them in the forum.

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