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The Photoshop Blog offers the latest Photoshop news and software updates, Photoshop tips and tutorials, and random thoughts from graphic artist and Photoshop expert Jennifer Apple.
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Nuit Blanche - A Complete 3 Minute Film
February 08, 2010
From the Random Inspiration Department: Nuit Blanche explores a fleeting moment between two strangers, revealing their brief connection in a hyper real fantasy. After viewing, watch the making of Nuit Blanche.
Nuit Blanche from Spy Films on Vimeo.
Buy Directly From Adobe's Online Store
Find upgrade options and Creative Suite deals at the Adobe USA Store. See pricing in UK currency at the Adobe United Kingdom Store. Visit the Adobe Special Offers Page to find the latest offers. Get up to 80% off at the Adobe Education Store.
Photoshop CS5 Tutorials & CS5 Resources
See our Photoshop CS5 Resource Center for Free Photoshop CS5 Tutorials, and the upcoming Free Photoshop CS5 Trial Download (check for availability).
Photoshop CS4 Tutorials and Resources
See our Photoshop CS4 Resource Center for Free Photoshop CS4 Tutorials, the Free Photoshop CS4 Trial Download and Free Photoshop CS4 Training.
Adobe Creative Suite 4 Design Premium
Adobe Creative Suite 4 Design Premium combines Adobe InDesign CS4, Photoshop CS4 Extended, Illustrator CS4, Flash CS4 Professional, Dreamweaver CS4, Fireworks CS4, and Acrobat 9 Pro with additional tools and services. Download a free 30 day trial.
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Controlling Contrast And Detail With Curves And Levels - Photoshop Tutorial
February 08, 2010
Here is a very comprehensive tutorial that will guide you through how to use levels and curves to control contrast and detail in your digital photos.
Increasing contrast is one of the best ways to improve images, often dramatically. Images with good contrast can seem to “pop” off the page and appear to have more detail. There are a few things to beware of.
The main thing is to be careful not to over-lighten or overdarken any area to the point that your image loses detail in areas that are important to you or that need to be preserved for reproduction on its destination device.
For example, the lightest areas in images destined for print need to be a little darker than pure white and the darkest areas a little lighter than pure black to maintain print quality in a typical image. This is because of the limitations of the output device, such as a printing press or printer.
Limiting lights and darks is not as much of an issue when you are preparing images for Web, since monitors don’t usually have as many tonal limitations as printing devices. However, displays can vary significantly in how they display images. Read the full tutorial.
Adapted with permission from Photoshop CS4 Bible (Wiley Publishing) By Stacy Cates, Simon Abrams, Dan Moughamian.
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Photoshop CS5 Sneak Peek - Selection Tools In CS5 To Offer Better Edge Detection And Masking Results
February 06, 2010
Photoshop Product Manager Bryan O’Neil Hughes gives you a glimpse of new selection technology that offers better edge detection and masking results in less time — even with the trickiest images, like hair.
Buy Directly From Adobe's Online Store
Find upgrade options and Creative Suite deals at the Adobe USA Store. See pricing in UK currency at the Adobe United Kingdom Store. Visit the Adobe Special Offers Page to find the latest offers. Get up to 80% off at the Adobe Education Store.
Photoshop CS5 Tutorials & CS5 Resources
See our Photoshop CS5 Resource Center for Free Photoshop CS5 Tutorials, and the upcoming Free Photoshop CS5 Trial Download (check for availability).
Photoshop CS4 Tutorials and Resources
See our Photoshop CS4 Resource Center for Free Photoshop CS4 Tutorials, the Free Photoshop CS4 Trial Download and Free Photoshop CS4 Training.
Adobe Creative Suite 4 Design Premium
Adobe Creative Suite 4 Design Premium combines Adobe InDesign CS4, Photoshop CS4 Extended, Illustrator CS4, Flash CS4 Professional, Dreamweaver CS4, Fireworks CS4, and Acrobat 9 Pro with additional tools and services. Download a free 30 day trial.
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How To Create The Lomo Effect Using Photoshop - Lomo Vignette
February 05, 2010
Here's a tutorial by Frank Lazaro of istockphoto on how to achieve the popular Lomo effect using Photoshop. We'll start with a little background on the Lomo camera. From the Lomographic Society: "The whole Lomographic phenomenon began on a sunny St. Petersburg morning back in 1982. General Igor Petrowitsch Kornitzky, right-hand man to the USSR Minister of Defense and Industry, slammed a little Japanese mini-camera onto the ornate desk of his comrade Michail Panfilowitsch Panfiloff. Mr Panfiloff, Director of the powerful LOMO Russian Arms and Optical factory, examined the camera closely, noting its sharp glass lens, extremely high light sensitivity and robust casing.
"The two gentlemen, realizing the superior nature and extreme potential of this strange little item, gave immediate orders to copy and improve the design - with the ultimate goal of producing the largest quantity possible for the pleasure and glory of the Soviet population. It was decided - every respectable Communist should have a LOMO KOMPAKT AUTOMAT of their own; a unique and compact dynamo with the ability to adapt to all situations and provide full documentation of their lives and loves in the USSR. The LOMO LC-A was born, and millions of cameras were promptly produced and sold. The Soviets and their Socialist playmates in Vietnam, Cuba and East Germany snapped happily away throughout the nineteen eighties, fully documenting the last gasps of Communism, and the occasional beach vacation on the Black Sea."
Creating The Lomo Effect
When Marxism became scarce in Eastern Europe, so did the Lomo, as markets opened up and people suddenly had more than one camera option. But there were still people who prized the sturdy little machine from the LOMO Russian Arms company. The Minitar lens is dramatically wide, and the camera's auto-exposure capabilities let it work under just about any lighting conditions. The Lomographic Society was founded in 1992 and ever since the word has spread everywhere about the Russian camera with the crazy vignetting.
Once I learned all of this, I set out to find an LC-A and ended up buying two of these babies off eBay. After shooting with the Lomo, I wanted to find a way to duplicate the Lomo look and feel wtih photos from my Canon 20D. I searched and searched and after trying several different Photoshop methods, I finally came up with my own using a mix of different techniques I found on the internet. By all means, there are probably other ways to do this, included pre-built filters and actions, but this method has served me well and provides me with more control over the output.
Here is my step by step on how I take a digital photo and make it Lomoified. I do have one suggestion: create an action script once get this down, it will save you a ton of time.
READ THE FULL TUTORIAL...
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Reveal Image Details With Shadow/Highlight Adjustments In Photoshop - Photoshop CS4 Tutorial
February 04, 2010
The Shadow/Highlight adjustment is an excellent way to reveal subtle detail in the shadow and/or highlight areas of your images. Although you could theoretically produce similar results with sophisticated use of Curves, the Shadow/Highlight adjustment is far easier to use when you need to recover detail that has been lost in shadow or highlight areas because of excessive contrast. It’s similar to the Fill Light and Recovery sliders in ACR, but it has additional controls so you can fine-tune the results.
Note: Some photographers are tempted to try to use Shadow/Highlight to fix all their exposure problems. We don’t recommend that because the Shadow/Highlight adjustment works by reducing contrast. That’s fine for small tonal ranges, but it’s not usually a good idea to do throughout the entire image. We find it’s far more effective to limit the Shadow/Highlight tool to recovering detail in the deep shadows and recovering highlights in very light areas.
Although you can’t apply the Shadow/Highlight adjustment as an adjustment layer, in CS4 you can use it as a Smart Filter. A filter that’s applied as a Smart Filter behaves similarly to an adjustment layer. The advantage of using it as a Smart Filter is that you can tweak the settings as needed, and you can add a layer mask to it to target the effects to certain areas of your image. For example, perhaps you have a portrait of a dark animal against a dark background. You may want to reveal details in the shadows of the animal but not in the background.
READ FULL TUTORIAL...
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Topaz Releases Detail 2 Photoshop Plugin - Free Upgrade - 15% Discount Code For Full Version
February 03, 2010
Topaz Labs announces the release of Topaz Detail Photoshop plug-in, which features a user-requested speed boost, a totally redesigned user interface, and more detail enhancement tools and presets. Detail 2 brings a quicker and more effective detail enhancement workflow to photographers.
Topaz Detail’s underlying algorithm employs the most recent advances in detail enhancement technology. This new technology provides the unique ability to enhance detail and micro-contrast, with no over-sharpening, edge artifacts or halos, which often occur with other sharpening tools. Topaz Detail features three levels of detail control, high- quality image sharpening, natural feature enhancement and black and white conversion. (Watch a video tutorial that shows you how to use the Topaz Detail Photoshop plugin.)
Enter our exclusive discount coupon code PHOTOSHOPSUPPORT during the checkout process at Topaz Labs for an instant 15% discount on any Topaz product, including bundle deals and upgrades.
posted by Jennifer Apple | permalink | RSS feed | bookmark | comment | twitter
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Free Textures - Grunge Frames
February 02, 2010
From BittBox: Grunge Frames. After browsing Flickr for some texture ideas, I ran across a cool “grunge frame” image and thought I would give it a whirl myself. Each of these textures are 4-5 images stacked on top of one another layers with various blending modes. I then just erased the center of certain layers, which gives the frame effect. I hope you find a good use for them, they were a blast to make. Enjoy!
posted by Jennifer Apple | permalink | RSS feed | bookmark | comment | twitter
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Unified Color Technologies Launches Mac Version Of Its Acclaimed HDR Photostudio Software
February 01, 2010
Unified Color Technologies, the experts in high dynamic range imaging (HDR), today announced that its hallmark software application, HDR PhotoStudio, is now also available for Mac operating systems. Powered by Unified Color’s next-generation color model, Beyond RGBTM, HDR PhotoStudio is the only solution capable of creating realistic-looking HDR images that unlock the full range of color as perceived by human vision. Download the free trial.
HDR PhotoStudio provides photographers with complete control over the colors within an image and a comprehensive toolbox to address the effects of merging multiple exposures, while simultaneously improving workflow. Available for immediate download, the Mac version of HDR PhotoStudio is being offered for an introductory price of $99.00 throughout the month of February, which represents a savings of over $50.00.
posted by Jennifer Apple | permalink | RSS feed | bookmark | comment | twitter
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A Look Back At 20 Years Of Adobe Photoshop With John Knoll, One Of The Photoshop Founders
February 02, 2010
Here's an 18 minute video with John Knoll reminiscing about the origins and history of Photoshop. Click here to watch the John Knoll video interview.
Buy Directly From Adobe's Online Store
Find upgrade options and Creative Suite deals at the Adobe USA Store. See pricing in UK currency at the Adobe United Kingdom Store. Visit the Adobe Special Offers Page to find the latest offers. Get up to 80% off at the Adobe Education Store.
posted by Jennifer Apple | permalink | RSS feed | bookmark | comment | twitter
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Artbeats Offers $8,000 Worth Of Free HD Stock Footage Available For Download Every Month
February 02, 2010
Artbeats, a 20-year veteran in the stock footage industry, announced today that they are offering a free, downloadable HD clip every day at artbeats.com. In this "no strings attached" program, visitors to the Artbeats home page can access a different free clip every day simply by registering or logging-in to their online account. The clips, valued at up to $299 USD each, are pre-selected directly from the Artbeats and Artbeats FootageHub libraries and are available as a free download for 24 hours. Those who take full advantage of the Daily Free Clip program can quickly enhance and build their stock footage cache with over $8,000 USD in royalty-free HD content each month.
posted by Jennifer Apple | permalink | RSS feed | bookmark | comment | twitter
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Photoshop Video Tutorial - Opacity Mode and Blend Modes
February 02, 2010
Changing opacity is like mixing a cocktail with, say, 30% active layer and 70% all layers below. Assigning a blend mode is like shining a light or casting a shadow: The active layer infuses those behind it with life. In this week’s Photoshop Top 40 Countdown, Deke shows how to mix and blend layer opacities for best results. Click to see video in a new window.
posted by Jennifer Apple | permalink | RSS feed | bookmark | comment | twitter
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Photoshop CS5 Sneak Peek - PatchMatch - Image Editing Tool - Video Preview
February 02, 2010
Adobe researchers Eli Shechtman & Dan Goldman, working together with Prof. Adam Finkelstein from Princeton & PhD student Connelly Barnes, have introduced PatchMatch, "A Randomized Correspondence Algorithm for Structural Image Editing."
It's a content-aware spot healing fill tool. And it could show up in CS5, although Photoshop product manager John Nack says "As with all such sneak peeks, I have to be really clear in saying that this is just a demo, and as such it's not a promise that a technology will ship inside a particular version of Photoshop." Click here to see a video demo of the patchmatch tool in action.
posted by Jennifer Apple | permalink | RSS feed | bookmark | comment | twitter
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Adobe UK Store Special Offers And Deals
February 01, 2010
Here are the current special offers and deals from the Adobe UK Online Store.
Free shipping - Education purchases
Free shipping on all Education Store purchases. Ends 22 February 2010.* - *Valid for Education customers only.
Get 30% off Lightroom 2
Save on the purchase of a full or upgrade version of Adobe Photoshop® Lightroom® 2 software along with a full or upgrade version of Photoshop CS4, Photoshop CS4 Extended, or any Creative Suite 4 edition.* - *Valid for commercial customers
Save £13 on Photoshop Elements
Save £13 instantly with the purchase of Photoshop Elements 8 for Windows (full versions only) with the purchase of a full or upgrade copy of Acrobat 9 Pro Extended, Acrobat 9 Pro or Acrobat 9 Standard.*
- *Valid for commercial customers
Save up to 80% + free shipping
Save up to 80% on Adobe Student Editions with valid student ID** and get free shipping until 22 February 2010. **Valid for Education customers only
Get Flex Builder with Creative Suite
Buy a full or upgrade version of Web Premium or Master Collection and receive a copy of Flex Builder 3 Standard at no additional cost. Offer ends April 30, 2010
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Photoshop Video Tutorial - Camera Raw
February 01, 2010
Camera Raw is an independent application that lets you develop your raw photographs and exploit every byte of the vast information captured by your digital SLR camera. Not just powerful, it is a force unto itself. In this week’s Photoshop Top 40 Countdown, Deke shows us how to tap into its many features. Click to see video in a new window.
posted by Jennifer Apple | permalink | RSS feed | bookmark | comment | twitter
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Get $75 Off A Premium lynda.com Subscription And $50 Off An Annual lynda.com Subsrciption
February 01, 2010
Here's how you can get $75 off a Premium Subscription to lynda.com and $50 off an Annual Subscription. Follow this link, then choose one of the signup buttons, and fill out the first signup page.
On the second signup page, choose which subscription you want and under Credit Card Information, click on the area that says Promo Code - click to enter. For the $250 Annual Subscription, enter promo code MW10A and your total will change from $250 to $200. For the $375 Premium Subscription enter Promo Code MW10P and your total will change from $375 to $300. Happy learning!
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Free Valentine's Day Card Brushes - Lots Of Free Valentine's Brushes
February 01, 2010
The inspired and inspiring Kirsty of 500ml Brushes has created another exclusive brush set for us. This time our brush Diva has come up with a magnificent collection of love symbols and romantic gestures for you to use in your upcoming Valentine's Day cards.
And what exactly will you find to express your tender feelings? Sweet little ducklings, sublime rose pedals, "kiss me" and "be mine" hearts, magical swans, and drawings of Valentine cupids on a very secret mission. And for those of you who think Valentine's Day is just another narcissistic, consumer spending trick, there's a vintage hot air balloon dressed up with flowers and flags.
With 11 individual brushes to work with, you can create a beautiful love letter with subtle images floating in the background, or be bold and stamp a huge heart across the entire sheet, or print on only half of the page and then fold and deliver as a card. If you're leaning more toward Goth or grunge, splatter the page with a million little images and scrawl the details of your demented crush in giant letters. The possibilities are endless, just like love. Thanks Kirsty! Download the My Vintage Valentine Brush Set (zip/1.8 MB).
Ah, but you want more?
Here's a free Photoshop brush set from Stephanie, Valentine's Day Brushes: This brush set is a themed set for helping you wish that special someone a very happy Valentine's Day! Download the Valentine's Day Brushes!
**If you are using an earlier version of Photoshop than 7, you can download the images used to make up the Valentine's Day brushes. As a special bonus, I'm also making available this colored PNG of some scattered candy hearts. Enjoy, and have a very happy Valentine's Day!
Want More Free Photoshop Brushes?
We've collected the most recent of Stephanie's original brushes on a special Obsidian Dawn Photoshop Brushes Page, with big preview images to give you an idea of each set. For her high resolution brushes, you can find a special collection on our high res brush page. Also see our Free Photoshop brushes Page for other places to find brushes.
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Wacom Intuos 4 Wireless Pen Tablet - Bluetooth Pen Tablet
February 01, 2010
Today, Wacom announces the Intuos4 Wireless professional pen tablet, a highly-anticipated product featuring Bluetooth wireless technology. The new Intuos4 Wireless is expected to be warmly embraced by photographers, designers and artists who seek the freedom of wireless technology as well as the control and comfort benefits inherent in Wacom’s professional line of pen tablets.
posted by Jennifer Apple | permalink | RSS feed | bookmark | comment | twitter
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The Art Of Faking Black And White Film - Photoshop Tutorial
January 29, 2010
Here's a free tutorial, courtesy of iStockphoto.com: There is more to the artistic flair of black and white photography than merely grayscaling your photos. It is a world of grain, contrast & lighting. If you love the gritty look and are looking to show more emotion and dramatics with a hint of sexiness, but have found there's more that meets the eye in achieving this style, no fret.
READ FULL TUTORIAL...
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Get $50 Off An Annual Subscription To lynda.com
January 29, 2010
Here's how you can get $50 off an Annual Subscription. Follow this link, click on a signup button, and fill out the first signup page. On the second signup page, choose the $250 Annual Subscription and under Credit Card Information, click on the area that says Promo Code - click to enter. Enter promo code MW10A and your total will change from $250 to $200.
posted by Jennifer Apple | permalink | RSS feed | bookmark | comment | twitter
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The Photoshop Blog - Earlier Posts
The Photoshop Blog offers the latest Photoshop news and software updates, Photoshop tips and tutorials, and random thoughts from graphic artist and Photoshop expert Jennifer Apple.
PHOTOSHOP NEWS — January 2010
49- Get $50 Off An Annual Subscription To lynda.com
48- Planning Flash Pro CS5 Tutorials? Let Adobe Know
47- Apple Launches iPad Magical And Revolutionary Device
46- PhotographyBB - Free PDF Magazine - January 2010 Edition Online
45- Get Free Shipping On All UK Education Products
44- Free Font Tiza From Pablo Caro
43- Adobe Photoshop.com Mobile For iPhone Updated
42- Get A Free 20-page 8x8 Photo Book From Shutterfly – A $29.99 Value
41- Amazon Lightroom 2 Special Price - $188 - Save Big
40- ComparePSD - Adobe Photoshop Files Comparison Tool - Now Free
39- Share Your Screen Using Adobe Creative Suite 4 - Video Tutorial
38- Sample Chapter From Steve Krug Book Rocket Surgery Made Easy
37- Portrait Professional named ‘Best Imaging Innovation’
36- The Making Of Avatar And Creating The World Of Pandora
35- Free Textures - Dark Grunge Textures
34- Working With Photoshop's File Info- Video Tutorial
33- Download The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 Beta And Send Feedback
32- How To Create A Batch Action In Photoshop - Batch Action Tutorial
31- Free Fonts From Billy Argel
30- Machine Wash Deluxe Photoshop Filters Updated
29- Photoshop Actions Sets And Movies Sale Extended
28- Creating Effects With The Pixel Bender Toolkit, 10 Part Tutorial Series
27- New Browserlab Available, Allows To Save Locally
26- How To Add Colour To A Black-And-White Image In Photoshop
25- Get $75 Off A Premium Subscription To lynda.com, And $50 Off An Annual
24- Vintage Ad Browser And Cover Browser - Comic Book And Vintage Ad Galleries
23- Pixel Bender Tech Center, Cookbook Site, Forums, And Pixel Bender Exchange Center
22- Security Updates Available For Adobe Illustrator CS4 And CS3
21- Free Textures - More Concrete Textures
20- Working With Photoshop Gaussian Blur - Video Tutorial
19- Lightroom 3 - New Features In Photoshop Lightroom 3 - Video Tutorials
18- Photoshop CS5 New Features - Photoshop CS5 Sneak Peek Video
17- Making Of Avatar Video Shows How Adobe Creative Suite Was Used
16- Working With Layer Styles In Photoshop - Tutorial
15- New ColoRotate Plugin Shows Color In 3D Inside Photoshop
14- Free Online Dreamweaver CS4 Video Training Tutorials
13- Add A Copperplate Photo Effect Using Adjustment Layers In Photoshop
12- How To Create High Quality Metal 3D Text In Photoshop - Tutorial
11- Free Textures - Black And White Grunge
10- Working With Photoshop Alpha Channels - Video Tutorial
09- Floral Photoshop Brushes Collection - 1,000 Floral Brushes
08- Video Tutorial: Introducing The Import Dialog In Lightroom 3
07- Video Tutorial: Sharpening In Lightroom 2 vs. Lightroom 3
06- PhotoshopSupport.com January 2010 Newsletter
05- Free Online Video Training Tutorials For Photoshop CS4 From lynda.com
04- Discount On Viveza And Complete Collection Plugins Extended To January 15
03- Special $40 Off Fluid Mask Cutout Plugin Extended To January 15
02- AKVIS Magnifier 3.0 Enlarges Images To Higher Resolutions
01- Working With Photoshop Adjustment Layers - Video Tutorial
See Earlier Posts From The Photoshop Blog - January 2010.
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SiteGrinder Photoshop Plugin - Create Websites Instantly
There often seems to be a strict division of labor within the world of web design and development. Creative professionals tend to stick to the Photoshop domain, while those well-versed in scripting are left to the task of implementing their work. Indeed, the two realms are quite different from each other, to which any of us even vaguely familiar with either can easily attest.
Essentially, Photoshop is a no-holds-barred design studio, offering the artist a seemingly endless array of creative options. On the other hand, HTML, CSS, Java and the like follow strict rules of engagement, requiring the developer to take any number of esoteric concerns into consideration in order to ensure that designs are properly displayed on the web.
Turn Photoshop Into A Complete Web Design Tool
SiteGrinder seeks to bridge this gap between design and development. Basically, this program turns Photoshop into an easy-to-use and fully functional web design tool. With SiteGrinder, designers will now have the freedom to totally let their creativity loose and then, without skipping a beat, transfer their designs to the web. Bringing esthetic concerns together with more practical considerations, this program is an amazingly powerful tool that would make a fantastic addition to any web designer's bag of tricks.
Generate Your Web Pages Directly From Photoshop
By generating web pages directly from Photoshop, you'll be able to spend much more time on the creative end of the spectrum, since you'll know right off the bat how well particular designs will translate to the web. No more going back to the Photoshop drawing board after getting a phone call from your development team, telling you that what you had envisioned doesn't have a chance of being displayed on the web. You can immediately visually and interactively test your designs, which permits you to then make changes to either esthetics or functions while it's still relatively early on in the design process.
Pricing and Availability
Mac OS X and Windows versions of the SiteGrinder unlockable demo are available now via download. SiteGrinder can be ordered from Media Lab's online store.
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