Corel released CorelDRAW X4 today, with over 50 new features for designers. We’re happy to say that CorelDRAWConceptShare integration is one of them, we even got a mention in the promo video about CorelDRAW X4. I guess that says both companies are pretty excited about bringing web based collaboration right into desktop software.

We’ll have more news soon about how the integration works. If you just can’t wait to see for yourself, take a spin with a 15 day full featured free trial of CorelDRAW X4.

We’re super proud of our partners at Corel for launching CorelDRAW X4. Having worked in the desktop software world myself at Flock, I know how many months of hard work that goes into each release. We web companies have it easy by comparison.

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Posted in ConceptShare, Design , Technology, Tools ~ 3 Comments
Written by Will Pate

I was added to someones ConceptShare workspace recently to consultant on some designs. I was one of the first few people in the workspace and was able to make a few, what i hope were useful comments. The admin later added 12 and it was amazing to see how quick the pace change as there were 4 people in the space at once then 8 and basically we came up with so many ideas and decisions were made in under 5 minutes. Comments and replies were flying. Debates were happening. People were really engaged. It still amazes me how much time was saved vs sending those designs via email alone. As they others joined they also had great feedback and the momentum continued while I worked on other things.

It reminded me of a basic principle of this type of collaboration. If you have 2 or 3 people I think it does work effectively but can take longer, the more people added seems to increase the pace and frequency of the conversation. Everything happens fast and then its over and then back to Photoshop to redo and then do it all over again. Adding more people gives you better feedback faster almost everytime. That is why we put NO LIMITS on the number of people you can invite. So if you are redesigning your corporate business cards why not bring in the front line workers, assitant, interns, clients and see what they think.

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Posted in ConceptShare, Design ~ No Comments
Written by Bernie

One of the most interesting design posts I’ve read in a good while was about how Apple design is inspired by 60’s Braun design. Apple’s Jonathan Ive has taken Dieter Rams‘ designs and updated them beautifully for everything from product to user interface design for Apple.

Braun T3 pocket radio and Apple iPod

Braun LE1 speaker and Apple iMac

What products have inspired you? I’ll never think the same way after seeing the the multitouch on the iPhone, and how it’s been adapted for the new Apple MacBook Air. Surely there must be more examples out there. Tell us what products have made you stop in your tracks and say “brilliant”.

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Posted in Creativity, Design , Product Design ~ No Comments
Written by Will Pate

There have been some recent changes to the My Workspaces module in the new ConceptShare UI. We have already received a lot of great feedback on this feature and have already made a few key improvements.

Our core goal was to maximize the number of workspaces you could see at one time as well as be able to perform key workspace actions quickly. While this may not seem like much of a productivity gain to the free users (1 free workspace), it is of great benefit to the paid subscribers of which some have over 200-500 active workspaces at any one time.

The workspaces that you belong to are represented by thumbnails. You can mouse over any workspace thumbnail to access its Workspace Actions menu. You quickly add people, concepts or edit the workspace as well as launch the workspace from this menu.

Newly added! is the ability for Account Managers to Disable and/or Delete a workspace from this menu as well. This feature was based on your user feedback and now you won’t have to enter the Edit menu to disable or delete your Workspace. As before Workspaces that are disabled do not count towards your package total. Workspaces must still be disabled before you can delete them. Disabled Workspaces can also be hidden from your main page.

Have fun!

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Posted in ConceptShare, Design , GUI ~ No Comments
Written by Bernie

This is a cool video. These guys have built a very cool tool. This is a very interesting video to check out if you have ever had to resize or crop an image to make it fit. This technology has made that a thing of the past.
[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=rnb_GdBHuak[/youtube]

This is pretty amazing. Thanks bryce for the heads up on it!

cheers

Scott

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Posted in Design ~ 4 Comments
Written by Scott

Ross Lovegrove is one of those designers that is truly free with his design ability. He has an eye for the organics of nature and translates them into incredible designs that are ultimately functional with what he terms as fat free design.His talk from is truly a inspiring look at the design mind. He gives a great 20 minute talk and discusses some of his ideas that are still in the future. Enjoy the talk it is a great inspirational design talk and it is open and free for you to watch and share. [flv]http://static.videoegg.com/ted/movies/ROSSLOVEGROVE_high.flv[/flv]He has been responsible for some beautiful designs. Some of my personal favorites are.

The Go Chair

The DNA Stair Case

Gather the design team together and watch the talk. His ideas might give you an idea that you need to solve a design problem you have been struggling with. Watch the video and talk about it.

CheersScott

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Posted in Design ~ No Comments
Written by Scott

I love fonts. I think that typeface choice is a lost art for the most part. People aren’t spending as much time trying to find the right font. I am not sure why this is. I know locally there is a firm that seems to rehash the same font across every campaign they do….I mean sure it is a nice font but they make all the thing look the same.1> Do designer’s get comfortable with a certain font and roll with it?2> Are there too many fonts out there to pick from?This article is great. Not only do they narrow the field down to a manageable 80 fonts they actually give examples of the fonts in the different states. This is a long list but if it helps just one designer try a new font it is worth it.I suggest taking a stop by the site and having a look for yourself. Who knows maybe you will be inspired and try a new font.CheersScott[Link]

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Posted in Design ~ No Comments
Written by Scott