CDisco Part 3: Cameras for Documentation

Having a camera is an essential tool to capture your design process, inspirations, and artifacts. But the camera market can be very confusing and reviews are not necessarily tailored to the type of work we do. I propose here a list of recommended cameras based on a thorough trade study of the current market. In general the cost, speed, image quality, and feature set are linear.

Enthusiast Point and Shoot (less than $500)

Canon S90: 10 MP, RAW, 28-105mm equivalent lens
Lumix LX5: 10 MP, HD video, 20mm equivalent Leica lens

Entry level DSLRs (less than $750)

Canon Digital Rebel T1i w/18-55mm lens: 15 MP, RAW, full HD video, live view
Nikon D3000 w/ 18-55mm lens: 10.2 MP, RAW, Nikon’s entry level SLR

Enthusiast DSLR (less than $1500)

Canon 50D: 15 MP, RAW, live view
Nikon D90: 12.3 MP, RAW, HD video, live view

Prosumer DSLR ($1500+)

Canon 7d: 18 MP, RAW, live view, full HD video, magnesium body
Nikon D300s: 12 MP, RAW, live view, HD video, magnesium body

For most students an entry or enthusiast DSLR will provide an appropriate level of features, speed, performance, and flexibility to enable you for years to come. Remember that megapixel count is not necessarily equal to increased quality. Go to your local camera store and get a feel for each model. In the end the best camera is the one you have with you, so spend some time researching before making a purchase. For more information dpreview has a good DSLR buying guide.

CDisco Part 2: Processing Design Project Images

After images, drawings, illustrations, et al. have been captured and backed up they need to be prepared in Photoshop. This tutorial aims to give the essential skills for processing images for entry into your portfolio.

Step 1: Image Size

Start by verifying that your image resolution is at least 150ppi, 300ppi is preferred. To do this in Photoshop select Image > Image Size. If your image is below 150ppi go back and photograph (model) or export (drawing) at 300ppi. In the photo process setting your camera to JPEG Fine will ensure a high quality image. When exporting drawings from Illustrator go to File > Export and select the filename and filetype and select Save. In the resulting dialog box select 300 dpi. Note that dpi, dots per inch, and ppi, pixels per inch, are often interchanged although they are not technically synonymous.

Pixel Dimensions: file size, width and height of the image
Document Size:print dimensions and image resolution in pixels per (ppi)
Scale Styles: layer styles are scaled when resizing or resampling the image
Constrain Proportions: original proportions of the image are maintained
Resample Image: pixel dimensions will be maintained

Step 2: Color Balance

Setting the white balance and hue matching your photos is possible by several methods in Photoshop. If your images have white whites and black blacks you can skip this step. But most of the time it is worth a few steps to bring them into line. I recommend first opening the image in Photoshop and go to Image > Adjustments > Levels. Double click on the balck eye dropper and make the color RGB: 8,8,8 and select OK. Next, select the black dropper icon and place it above the darkest spot on the image and click. The image is adjusted to pull that selection to black. Double click on the white eye dropper and make the color RGB: 244, 244, 244. Next, select the white dropper and place it above the lightest spot on that image and click. The image is further adjusted to pull that selection to white. The video below demonstrates this process on a slightly discolored photograph.

If you have a series of photos that all require the same modifications you can use a batch process to save yourself a lot of time. Batch processing has the advantage of editing a series of images exactly the same and can make a series of images visually congruent. Be careful, however, that all of the photos in a batch were shot in the same lighting conditions with the same settings before processing them in this method.

Additional methods of color correction can be done through the Curves, Hue/Saturation, and Color Balance dialog boxes. They are all found under Image > Adjustments and you can experiment with each to see which one works best.

Step 3: Saving With a Purpose

After the photo is color corrected and edited to your satisfaction it is a good idea to save two copies of the image. First save the 300ppi image for printing purposes then go to Image > Image Size change the resolution to 72ppi and click OK. Be sure to have the Resample Image box checked when changing the resolution. Finally, select File > Save As to save the 72ppi image for web and screen use. Be careful not to save over the original 300ppi image!

You image is now ready to import into InDesign, post on the web or insert into a presentation. If you need to change the size (resize) of the image for print use deselect Resample Image and change the dimensions or resolution to the desired values. For changing the size of the image for the web or screen (resample) select Resample Image and change the pixel dimensions to the desired values.

CDisco: Documenting a Design Project

Part 1 in a series on documentating design projects.

As the Career Discovery program draws to a close it seems useful to document a couple of lessons learned. Amongst my colleagues and the CD students there is often confusion regarding how design artifacts go from studio >> camera >> computer >> portfolio or web. Since a minority of people will never see your original models, prototypes, drawings, etc. the documentation will be the end representation of both your work and skill to the rest. This first part in a series of posts aims to give an overview of the documentation process.

Step 1: Design

Using good craft on your design deliverables will yield the best results in the documentation phase. It is difficult, if not impossible, to make great images of poorly conceived and/or executed projects. Build good models, make readable drawings, and your documentation will work for you.

Step 2: Capturing the Artifacts

At the GSD we have a simple photography studio setup that is great for taking photos of objects and models. If you do not have access to something similar do not fret! It is simple to get a working setup with minimal investment. The three keys to a successful photographic studio are lights, background, and camera. Up until last year I used a couple of desk lamps, a large sheet of paper and a Nikon D80 to document all of my work. Drawings, diagrams, and other digital representation are already captured, but require similar processing as photos for final output. A further post will detail setting up a studio and scanning documents in more detail.

Step 3: Photo Processing

Transfer the photos onto your computer and save a backup before processing them. Your models and drawings will never look as the day you shot them, things fall apart, so backups are essential. Open your most promising photographs, drawings, and diagrams in Photoshop and process them in preparation for the final steps. Tutorial for this step here.

Step 4: Portfolio Design

Having a printed version of your work is a good idea for designers. Most design jobs and graduate school programs require a portfolio for application so your documentation becomes the face of your skills as a designer. Physical portfolios are generally laid out in Indesign and require high resolution images for printing. For publishing on the web images can be lower resolution and require a different process for publishing.

Step 5: Web Portfolio

Maintaining a website for your portfolio is a great way to be able to quickly and easily display your work. While a printed portfolio is considered more formal, a personal website can be updated and shared more easily. There are several great systems available on the interweb for publishing portfolios including Indexhibit and WordPress.

Configuring a Treo for Mac

I tired of not finding a concise tutorial on how to make this work. If you have a Treo using Palm software bookmark this entry and you should never have trouble getting sync to work again.

1. From your Mac download and install the appropriate Palm Desktop.

2. Open iSync on your Mac and go to Devices -> Enable Palm OS Syncing… Follow the instructions and select OK to close the window. The instructions at the end of the process are confusing so just continue.

3. Go to your Mac’s hard drive and browse to Applications -> Palm -> HotSync Manager. In the HotSync manager go to HotSync -> Edit Users then click on the New User button. Enter your desired name for the Treo you want to sync and click OK.

4. Make sure that the HotSync window has the HotSync Enabled button selected.

5. Still in the HotSync Manager go to HotSync -> Conduit Settings… and double click on the item iSync Conduit. In the iSync Conduit window check the box Enable iSync for this Palm device and select OK.

6. Back in the Conduit Settings dialogue select each of the conduits and give them the desired functionality for your Treo / Mac synchronization. Once complete close the Conduit Settings and HotSync Manager windows.

7. Go back to iSync and you should see your device shown. Click on your device and the window will expand to give you options for syncing your Treo.

8. Configure your synchronization for iCal and Address Book as desired. Note: there is some bug in iSync that will not allow categories in Address Book – you MUST delete the categories in Address book for any iSync synchronization to work in Leopard. While this is lame, the Palm will not really utilize categories anyway, so they are of limited usefulness.

9. Connect your Palm to the your mac using the USB cable and press the sync button. HotSync should launch on the Mac and Treo and you should be synchronized!

I have no idea why this is so complicated, but I have an inkling that the iPhone is quite a lot simpler. Too bad I am locked in a contract with Sprint and the iPhone’s internet is so slow. Once they release a 3G capable iPhone, Treo goes bye bye.

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