Colorburned » Site News

Help Heidi Hastings Become the Full-Time Fabulous Fashion Blogger for the Sunglass Hut

Grant Friedman — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 13:00:57 +0000

Hey guys, my friend Heidi Hastings is in contention to become the next Full-Time Fabulous Fashion Blogger for the Sunglass Hut. If she wins, they will move her into a fully furnished New York City apartment, pay her loads of money, and give her a full-time blogging position. This is pretty much a life-changing opportunity and I was hoping that you guys could help her out.

All you need to do to help her out is visit her page, watch her video, and then vote. Voting is simple. There is no sign up involved and it only takes a second.

In addition to being a fashion blogger, Heidi is also a graphic designer. So she’s one of us. So please help her out, if you can. Thanks guys! And if you like, follow her on Twitter and wish her luck!

Buy My Book, Retro Style Graphics on iTunes for Just $2.99!

Grant Friedman — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 05:00:42 +0000

Hello everyone! Today, I’ve got some pretty big news to report. My book Retro Style Graphics is now available on iTunes for just $2.99 as an iPhone app! As you know, a couple months ago Retro Style Graphics was released in print and is currently available on Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, and just about all other major book stores. Sales are going well but we decided to develop an iPhone app to give those of you with a thirst for instant gratification a new way to purchase the book and gain instant access to all the items contained on the book’s CD. Please take some time to review some screenshots of the app in action below and thank you all for your support!

Buy Now

Click here to Purchase Retro Style Graphics on iTunes.

Screenshots

Below are some screenshots of the Retro Style Graphics iPhone App in action:

Retro Style Graphics: A New Book by Grant Friedman

Grant Friedman — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 05:00:04 +0000

Hello everyone! Today, I’ve got some exciting news! After nearly a year, I’m proud to say that I am now officially an author! Last year, I was approached by Angela Patchell of Angela Patchell Books about writing a book on retro design. At the time, Colorburned was just starting out and I had honestly never seriously thought about writing a book before. Even though I was a little nervous about the whole process, I enthusiastically agreed and started work.

The task of writing this book was quite daunting. The book was to be about 160 pages and I had to do just about all of it myself. That means that I wrote the text, designed the cover art, created most of the content, and laid out all 160 pages. In all, the book took me about 6-7 months to complete, and another 4-5 months of editing and waiting.

I did have a lot of help along the way. There were several designers, studios, and font foundries who contributed content. Without them, this book would not be possible and I truly owe a debt of thanks to everyone who lent a hand.

Retro Style Graphics is a collection of design elements inspired by the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. The purpose of this book is to provide the resources needed to reproduce the look of graphics created during these time periods. Inside this book you will find a free CD that includes retro inspired color palettes, professional quality vector graphics, vector patterns, retro styled Illustrator and Photoshop brushes, and high resolution textures.

This book also includes a reference guide to some of the best retro style fonts and a retro design gallery for inspiration. But because reproducing graphics in the retro style is more than just how you organize shapes, colors, patterns and fonts on a page, this book also includes an amazing list of retro design websites and tutorials to help put these design resources to use.

Purchase Retro Style Graphics

Retro Style Graphics is currently available in most major book stores. You can purchase it today from Amazon or Barnes and Noble it is also available on iTunes.

More Photos

Colorburned Featured in DigitalPhoto Photoshop Magazine

Grant Friedman — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 05:38:14 +0000

Back in April I was contacted by the guys from DigitalPhoto Photoshop Magazine; a German Magazine that focuses on digital photos and of course Photoshop. They wanted to know if I would be willing to submit a selection of my library of Photoshop Brushes. Today I finally received the April Edition in the mail so I thought I would share it with you. It wasn’t a huge mention and to be honest I’m not entirely sure what it says about me because I don’t actually speak German. Nonetheless, it’s an honor to be featured in such a nice-looking magazine.

Front-End Design Conference

Grant Friedman — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 19:31:19 +0000

Last weekend I had the opportunity to speak at the Front-End Design Conference. I was honored to be asked by Dan Denney (@webdesignfanboy) to participate in this event and I had a lot of fun showing the attendees how to create some of the resources that I produce on this website. If you missed it, you should really consider attending next year’s event. You can view my presentation below.

You may download all the files that I used in the presentation below. Included are several Photoshop files, Illustrator pattern swatches, and brushes for both Photoshop and Illustrator.

I really enjoyed getting to know many of the bloggers that I have known and respected for so long. Hopefully, videos of all the presentations will be made available soon. In the meantime, enjoy these files and remember that if you decide to make your own brushes please “don’t drink the paint.”

File type: .psd, .ai, .abr
Compatibility: Photoshop, Illustrator
Size: 138 MB

The Front-End Design Conference is Just 7 Days Away!

Grant Friedman — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 04:00:07 +0000

Looking for an excuse to get away one last time before summer is over? Well, the Front-End Design Conference is just 7 days away. The Front-End Design Conference will be held in sunny Tampa, Florida, July 31, at the Hilton Carillon and will be an excellent opportunity to soak up some last-minute summer rays and design information at the same time.

At the Front-End Design Conference you can expect to meet several popular designers and bloggers (including myself), and listen to some fantastic presentations. There is still plenty of time to register for this event so head on over to the Front-End Design Conference website and register today! It should be a lot of fun! See you there!

We Are Looking for Talented Artists, Designers, and Writers to Join the Colorburned Team!

Grant Friedman — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 04:00:45 +0000

It’s been just over a year since I launched this website. Since then, this website has gone through a number of changes. Originally, I launched Colorburned as a means to display and promote my portfolio. Over time, this site transitioned from a strictly portfolio site to what it is today. Since the beginning I have produced just about all the content on this site. In fact, guest authors have been posting on this site for only a brief amount of time. I’ve been holding off on making a big announcement regarding guest authors because I wanted to slowly transition into it but today I’m finally ready to announce the fact that I’m ready to accept guest authors.

What Types of Articles Are We Looking for?

We are open to your ideas but we would prefer Photoshop, Illustrator, Fireworks, InDesign, or Flash tutorials, best of the web roundups, inspirational articles, articles about freelancing or social media, design resources such as Photoshop brushes, Illustrator brushes, vectors, or textures, or whatever else you can think up. This is a fairly laid back website so we’re open to just about any idea as long as it is related to graphic design, art, inspiration, or social media.

How Can You Learn More?

For more information on how you can Join the Colorburned Team please visit our Write for Us page. Thank you and I look forward to working with you.

Meet Me in Tampa Florida for the Front-End Design Conference

Grant Friedman — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 04:00:58 +0000

Are you looking for an excuse to get away this summer? If so, meet me and several other popular bloggers in sunny Tampa, Florida, July 31, 2009 for the Front-End Design Conference. The Front-End Design Conference is a single-day event that is focused on content, presentation, and behavior.

Speakers at this year’s event will include; Myself (@Colorburned), Fabio Sasso (@abduzeedo), Chris Coyier (@chriscoyier), Jonathan Longnecker (@necker47), Andrew Maier (@andrewmaier), Kevin Hale (@wufoo), John Ashenden (@ashenden). The topics covered will be as varied as the speakers themselves.

Fabio Sasso from Abduzeedo will cover design inspiration and the influence of the Brazilian culture on his designs. Chris Coyier from CSS-Tricks will talk about using jQuery to pick up where CSS leaves off. Jonathan Longnecker from Forty Seven Media will explain why ExpressionEngine is great for designers. Andrew Maier from UX Booth will talk about affordances in modern web design. Kevin Hale from WUFOO will explain how to design web apps people love. John Ashenden from Groove Shark will explain customizing key elements in your designs. And I will explain best practices for creating and using design resources in your projects.

Early registration is now available until July 1st for just $99! This event is an exciting opportunity to meet some of the top design bloggers out there and maybe even get some sun at the same time. To learn more about the Front-End Design Conference visit their website or follow them on Twitter.

Go Media Releases the Entire Vector Set 15!

Grant Friedman — Wed, 13 May 2009 21:29:37 +0000

If you’re a reader of my website, chances are that you also follow our friends at Go Media. Go Media really is one of the best at what they do any today they have just announced the release of the entire Vector Set 15. Vector Set 15 includes a variety of awesome vectors including:

Arabesque
Graffiti
Op Art
Dee Jay
Ornate 2
Fashion

To sweeten the deal, Go Media is also offering a 20% discount to all of my readers. Just enter the discount code colorburned during checkout. The discount is only valid on Complete Set 15 and expires on May 27, 2009. So head over to Go Media’s site and check out Vector Set 15.

Win Some Amazing Prizes During Colorburned’s First Birthday Celebration!

Grant Friedman — Sun, 10 May 2009 04:00:18 +0000

In May of 2008 we started Colorburned as a means to showcase our portfolio, offer unique design resources, and even to discuss various design related topics. Since then, this website has grown beyond our wildest dreams. In this last year, this website has undergone numerous changes, the biggest of which was the redesign that occurred last month. We are both excited and humbled by the response that we have received from our readers and excited about the opportunities that this site has given us. That is why we have decided to celebrate out 1st birthday with a huge series of giveaways!

Beginning Monday, May 11 we plan to run 4-5 giveaways a week for 2 weeks! On this website we like to go BIG, so every item that we giveaway is going to be a big ticket item that you will really want to add to your design arsenal. So here’s the deal, each week we will give away 4-5 items, 1 item a day (Monday – Friday). Each contest will last 2 days to give everyone a chance to participate. That means contests will overlap, so don’t forget to make sure you’ve entered each contest to maximize your chances of winning. The rules for each contest will vary so make sure to read the rules very carefully.

So for the next couple of weeks, make sure that you visit this site every day so that you don’t miss out. Thank you so much for your continued support of this website. We truly could not do it without you. And remember, if you would like to join our team of talented designers and writers, we would love to have you!