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Graphic Design Articles

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Stop E-mail Spammers and their Web Bugs Sending Your Information to Companies

Hulu.com, an online television viewing website collectively owned by some of the television networks, is now offering a paid movie player service for iPhones. Normally these devices cannot play anything displayed with Flash, so this is a new feature. Reading more about it on their privacy statement (under what types of information they collect), I saw their use of “Pixel-Tags.” I thought I would share with you what that is… Here’s more info about Pixel-Tags from the Hulu.com privacy statement:

“We also may use services that collect data remotely by using so-called “pixel tags,” “web beacons,” “clear GIFs,” or similar means (collectively, “Pixel Tags”), which can be embedded on the Hulu Site, in an email message, or on a third party’s website or other platform. A Pixel Tag is a small string of code that provides a way for us to deliver a small graphic image (usually invisible) on a web page or in an email. Pixel Tags can recognize certain types of information on your browser, check whether you have viewed a particular web page or email message, and determine, among other things, the time and date on which you viewed the Pixel Tag and the IP address of the computer from which it was viewed…”

I thought this was an interesting piece of technology. I read more about Pixel-Bugs (more commonly called “web bugs”), and how to automatically block them, on this forum: The Joel on Software Discussion Group. Apparently it’s just a small image file, possible a clear image, that is stored on the company’s server. If you open the e-mail, the e-mail software downloads the images. The company then knows when you read the e-mail (if ever), and might then send some of your info with it. In the CNET.com article “How HP bugged E-mail,” Hewlett-Packard bugged an e-mail sent to a reporter, in the hope that the e-mail would be forwarded on to her source, a leak within HP itself. Each time the e-mail is read, the web bug image is loaded from the company’s server, detailing who last opened the message. (Digital breadcrumbs, if you will – ) In this case, the message was not forwarded to anyone, but HP was soon talking with U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee.

Wikipedia’s page about web bugs (read here) tells us that if you set your mail software to show all messages in HTML, you won’t download the Pixel-Bug image from the companys website. The authors of the Wikipedia article are more concerned privacy issues over web bugs in e-mail, and here’s an excerpt:

“Web bugs embedded in e-mails have greater privacy implications than bugs embedded in web pages. Through the use of unique identifiers contained in the URL of the web bugs, the sender of an e-mail containing a web bug is able to record the exact time that a message was read, as well as the IP address of the computer used to read the mail or the proxy server that the user went through. In this way, the sender can gather detailed information about when and where each particular recipient reads e-mail. Every subsequent time the e-mail message is displayed can also send information back to the sender.

Web bugs are used by e-mail marketers, spammers, and phishers to verify that e-mail addresses are valid, that the content of e-mails has made it past the spam filters, and that the e-mail is actually viewed by users. When the user reads the e-mail, the e-mail client requests the image, letting the sender know that the e-mail address is valid and that e-mail was viewed. The e-mail need not contain an advertisement or anything else related to the commercial activity of the sender. This makes detection of such e-mails harder for mail filters and users.[6]” Read more from Wikipedia’s page about Web Bugs

But the article goes on to tell you how to thwart e-mail marketers and spammers, simply by not loading the e-mail’s images (something that I often do…until now, that is-). It names which e-mail programs don’t automatically load images embedded in the e-mail messages. (Wikipedia also had some great citations at the bottom for further reading)

This article about Web Bugs from Richard M. Smith (written in 1999) states that they may also be used in newsgroup forums, and on Yahoo profiles. In the latter, the Yahoo profile loads the pixel image from another server, thus tracking that web page’s visitors.

In this CNET.com article about web bugs, author Stefanie Olson explains how your web-usage from visiting several websites may be shared through cookies on the same server:

Web bugs can “talk” to existing cookies on a computer if they are both from the same Web site or advertising company, such as DoubleClick, which uses bugs and dominates the online advertising market.

That means, for example, that if a person visited Johnson & Johnson’s YourBaby Web site, which uses DoubleClick Web bugs, the bug would read the visitor’s DoubleClick cookie ID number, which shows the past online behavior for that computer. The information would then go back to DoubleClick. Read more

Another CNET.com article “FBI Spyware Used to Nab Hackers, Extortionists,” details how the FBI used simple web bugs (among other more sophisticated means) to find out the identity of people possibly involved in crimes, like anonymous bomb threats.

The Fix: If you set your e-mail to not allow 3rd party cookies, it apparently gets the image from the company’s server, but cannot send any of your information with it (cite). Don’t allow cookies, and change your e-mail message software to not load the images. Delete your existing cookies, and get an aggressive spam filter.

Now you have some understanding of what a web bug is, how to avoid it, and how to have your internet viewing habits kept to yourself.

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New Graphic Design Technology Hits Home Sewing Enthusiasts

Sewing your own garments can seem like a daunting task – hours of work, sometimes resulting in garments that don’t even fit well.(!) Patterns are fit to standard sizes, with lines and dots to help you “fit” the pattern to your own issues, whatever they may be: sloped or square shoulders, high or low bust line, broad back, etc. Making these cryptic lines and dots work can be another matter. In addition, different pattern making companies build in certain amounts of roominess into each garment’s design. This “ease,” as it is called, can result in a finished garment that looks too big. This happened to me, when creating a blouse for a wedding. It looked two sizes too big!

It takes more advanced knowledge of the sewing craft to alter those paper patterns to fit each individual person. And thinking about garments in three dimensions can be difficult when sewing two flat pieces of fabric together.

Now there is new technology on the scene, ready to customize that fit, and make seamstresses everywhere shout for joy: custom pattern-making software. Companies like Pattern Maker Software, Garment Designer (from Cochenille), Pattern Master and Click & Sew (from WildGinger.com) all offer software to either customize an existing pattern for a skirt or jacket, for instance, or design a garment from scratch, customizing the sleeves, neckline, etc. This is a revolutionary thought to someone like me, who (although technically savvy) has trouble thinking about how the flat sewing at the machine results in the three-dimensional garment.

Click & Sew offers custom patterns for about $25 for a set of several different designs of each type (jackets, blouses, etc.). It has the ability to print new ones from the computer, too. From the Click & Sew website:

Like a commercial paper pattern, each Click&Sew programs contain a limited number of garments per pattern envelope. There are three collections, each containing a set of blouses and dresses, jackets, coats and vests or pants and skirts.
Unlike commerical paper patterns though, Click&Sew automatically creates custom fit fashion patterns for a wide variety of figure types drafted to your measurements.

Pattern Master costs $100-200, and you have an option to pick sets of clothes for women, men, or children. Here’s an excerpt from the Pattern Master website:

PatternMaster Boutique – Women’s Wardrobe
Boutique drafts patterns for blouses, dresses, jackets, coats, jumpsuits, pants, sheaths, and skirts for the adult female figure. Boutique offers options for dozens of styles, necklines, darts, sleeves, collars, pockets, and design settings

The Garment Designer website explains their product more fully:

The premise of the Garment Styler is that a user may choose a standard size to begin the design process. These include Women’s 2-50, Men’s 32-50, Children’s and Infant’s, sizes as well as several dolls and even some stuffed animals…Or, if one prefers, he/she may enter one’s own personal measurements and create a pattern that works with the shape of their body. Once you’ve chosen a style, you see a sloper of your body, in green on the screen. The pattern (in black) surrounds the sloper and with the grid feature tuned on, one can quickly see how much ease is allowed in any given style…To build a garment, you simply choose amongst the numerous menu items in each of the sub design groups; body style, neckline, armhole, shoulder, and sleeve. This mix and match approach provides hundreds of thousands of combinations for the user to explore. In addition, you may add bands or ribs to the garment and the software will understand to remove them when charting a pattern piece. …It also allows you to print the pattern pieces in full scale as well as half and quarter scale. These are helpful for those who want to draw on the pattern and then use a knit leader/radar to shape the garment and apply intarsia, etc.

Garment Styler costs $199 for Mac or PC versions. This might sound like a lot, but please consider that one Vogue pattern costs $5 on sale, with a usual price of $10-20 per pattern. And who wants ten blouses or skirts in the exactly same pattern?

Pattern Maker Software also allows you to customize a pattern to your own measurements, and print it out from any computer. It even comes with a free sewing pattern-making software trial. I requested a quote for pricing from the company, and it turns out there are three versions available:

They have a free, lightweight version called the “Basic Reader” that allows you to only print out pre-designed sewing patterns.

The Pattern Maker “Deluxe Editor” costs $99, and allows you to modify a pre-designed pattern. It does not allow you to design patterns from scratch. There is a free, 30 day software trial available.

The “Professional Studio” software from Pattern Master allows you to fully design sewing patterns, as well as modify their pre-designed software. The cost is $399, and there is a free, 30 day software trial available. Read pricing and features here.

Pattern Maker software can be run on a Mac using PC simulator software (like Parallels), or software called CrossOver Mac. Parallels requires a full copy of Windows operating software, and CrossOver Mac apparently does not.

This article was inspired first by my clothing making failures (which usually began in the pattern stage, before any cutting or sewing was started), and by an online search for a modern solution (from thinking “I can’t be the only one with this problem!). The online research resulted in my finding this wonderful online article from Threads Magazine, with readers (brief) thoughts on these custom pattern making software. The full reviews of sewing pattern-making software were published in the April/May 2003 issue of Threads Magazine, which may be ordered online.

Home seamstresses may now rejoice, with software to aid them in creating a garment that is guaranteed to at least fit. What you choose for fabric, now, is still up to you and your fashion sense.

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The Foodies Drop the Foie Gras, Grab the iPhone Shopping List!

Now foodies everywhere can organize their gourmet shopping extravaganzas with separate shopping lists for farmers’ markets, specialty shops, and normal grocery stores with an iPhone App called Grocery Gadget. The software publisher is Flixoft, Inc. There is a free “lite” version, and the full version now costs $4.99, which is a lot more than the usual $1. (View both on iTunes Store) There is a very good written review on blog.justfoodies.com, where you may read the article in depth for yourself. I’m going to have to get this one for myself. I am going to try the lite version, and let you know my thoughts.

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Choose Website Colors That Wow!

Designing website projects can sometimes be slow, if you have to stop and figure out the hex codes for website colors that might have been designed in another software program. Now there is a handy website tool that will help: you choose a color, and then the color is shown in a range from full saturation to “screens” of the color, with hex codes right there. (A screen is actually a printing term for a lighter version of the same color, i.e. a color could be printed at 30% or 70% of full saturated ink.)

On the website 0to255.com you click on the color, it copies the hex code, so it may be used in another program. See 0to255.com color picker (with hex codes) for more fun playing.

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Deciding, Then Acting On It

I thought this was an insightful article about decision-making from FreelanceCamp.org. It talked about how many of us cause stress in our lives from not acting upon decisions that we have already made long ago. This can cause paperwork to build up, or projects to drift on long after you have decided to move on.Read the full article here.

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Find the Best Illustrators Here

If you’re interested in a career in illustration, or in search of an illustrator for a project, you can find some of the best at the SCBWI website’s Gallery of Illustrators (SCBWI stands for Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, in longhand. You can see why most people abbreviate it!).

The artists have done work for magazines, products, children’s books, and so much more. It’s amazing to me to see the enormous range in design styles. They are all so different in character – serious, whimsical, realistic. It’s entertaining to look at them.

You could also review my illustration portfolio on this website. I work in Adobe Illustrator computer illustration, and color pencil hand illustration. Happy browsing.

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Geolocation – What the Heck Is It?

You already know about Facebook and Twitter, that let you tell your friends what you’re doing. Now there are websites that will mark your location using your cell phone or other wireless device. Twitter has added “geolocation” function to their website, and other large websites include GoWalla, FourSquare, Rummble, and Google’s Latitude and Buzz. Here’s a recent article about it from the London Telegraph. Apparently, if you check in enough times to FourSquare, you can own that location, and be named “mayor.” And I just read an article that talks about Facebook adding geolocation to their website. The article talks about Facebook protecting privacy and already having a large user base, which would benefit their installing geolocation and winning this new tech race. (Most average people may not have even heard of GoWalla, FourSquare, and Rummble.) However, I have to disagree with the writer here. In the past several months Facebook has had several privacy issues, including their beginning to sell user data to show targeted ads, and their switching their privacy setting from need to opt-in, to need to opt-out of this feature (with little warning to users). Its also really hard to find the setting at all. I even heard a 20-something complain about them directly, and talk about not using it anymore. Watch out, Facebook.

The most interesting thing to me is the possibility of geo-targeted ads. You could possibly target someone within a two mile radius of a shop, and get them to visit. And now proof that it geo-targeted ads work: our family was in Barnes & Noble, where the Nook e-book reader gets free wifi, and can browse the entire text of every book in the store. We were sitting at Starbucks, when my husband received a coupon for the very Starbucks he was sitting in.

We will also have to see how the technology pans out in another arena: privacy and public safety. A large portion of cell phone users are minors. If they post where they are, will people they don’t know be able to read their message too, or just the people who are signed up as “friends.” Time will tell.

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How To Find a Great Job, Using Google Ads

When looking for a job, we always get advice like “stand out,” “get noticed,” and “polish your resume.” Well, one man advertised himself on Google Adwords, and landed himself a senior copywriter job at a New York advertising firm. Alec Brownstein bid on the names of top advertising executives, and when they searched for themselves on Google, up came his name and domain, with the message to hire him. (I guess he was counting on their narcissism?)

I thought it was funny right off the bat,” Reichenthal says. “Then, maybe later, I thought, ‘Well, that is a little stalker-y.’ “>(source: NPR.org quote)

He bid on five names, was invited to four interviews, and received a job offer. He now works at Young & Rubicam Inc. in New York. Brilliant!! Here’s the YouTube Video of Alec Brownstein’s Google campaign, and here is an interview on the NPR.org public radio show “All Things Considered (in print and audio).” The total cost of his self-promotional campaign? – A whopping $6.

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Playing Games, Victorian Style

I just found the charming book “Victorian Board Games” by Olivia Bristol, who is with Christies Auction House. The book contains six board game layouts in a board book style (similar to the hard toddler books) from the Victorian and Edwardian periods. The original book even came with game pieces. (The book is now out of print, and only sold used.) This article by someone who owns the book shows some better photos of the inside pages. We just ordered it for a Victorian event at the local Fort Collins, Colorado, library. I can’t wait to peruse it. It will be interesting to see what colors and styles were used in the early board games. I hope it includes a little history of where they found these games, too.

Update: The book is really neat, and has instructions on each page for how to play the games. With some replacement game pieces, you can play the games of yesteryear today. I really like one that has paths that wander the board, with wizards lying in wait to attack players as they pass. One layout look a little dark, but others have quite vibrant colors, considering they are over a century old(!).

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Read Interviews with Women in Website Design

I found a very interesting page of interviews with women website designers. It’s interesting that some are self taught, with no formal training. That is how it often works. Formal education can take too long, cost too much, and is sometimes out of touch with the immediate need for training. Read the women website designers interviews here.