Photoshop CS5 does have new features, but for those working with huge files, the 64-bit part is essential. It means that working with bigger files can be much faster, because operations can be performed in RAM.

The days of the scratch volume are over for Mac Pro users with adequate memory (excepting really monster jobs exceeding 60GB or so).

Memory usage

Memory in 32-bit CS5 is limited to 2100MB, nearly 1GB less than with Photoshop CS4 (3072MB vs 2100MB).

Problem is, many 32-bit plugins require 32-bit mode until new versions arrive. The only workaround seems to be run both CS4 and CS5 simultaneously.

The Cache Tile Size setting is a load of crap also. I mean… makes no sense!? The recommended default setting yields hugely impaired performance. And using a preset is well running blind. Adobe states “To quickly optimize these settings, click a preset…”. Rubbish!!! This is a careless decision (or maybe mistake). Something else should be done, perhaps maybe CS5 figuring it out automatically (self analysis).

Let’s just say that the performance levels were not to my liking. In fact, Photoshop CS5 performed worse than CS4. I was even more confused because Adobe touted the 64-bit nature of Phototshop CS5, which was supposed to bring all sorts of performance gains. I saw none of these, and in fact the opposite.

The Rotate View tool was sluggish and jumpy, brush resizing via the keyboard was jerky at times, zooming in and out was full of hiccups and lag.

Lest you think I’ve been holding on to some old outdated machine, I’m running a Mac Pro dual-quad 3.2 Ghz with 24 GB of RAM. And like I said, CS4 was blazingly fast for me. I was really disappointed in the upgrade. In fact, I was reverting back to using CS4 for my Photoshop needs.

Reaching the end of my rope, I finally did a Google search. I found the Mac Performance Guide article all about Optimizing Photoshop CS5 Performance.

The series of articles explains that most of the tips for CS4 were valid, but there were a few things specific to CS5 that could use a little work. In particular, the one tip that helped me was the Cache Tile Size tip. Seems this obscure little setting in the preferences has a huge impact on Photoshop CS5’s performance, and oddly it’s set by default to a number that kills Photoshop’s performance by up to 80% in some cases!

There’s also a Memory Allocation issue which — as the author suggests — is a bug and needs to be fixed by Adobe.

For general use, I’d probably use a history of 50 or so, because I like history then to these settings…

1024kb Cache   –   15 History   –   3 Cache levels
don’t even think about using 128K tiles with big files.

]]> http://slightlycurvedcube.co.uk/blog/more-free-wallpapers-to-download/feed 0 http://slightlycurvedcube.co.uk/blog/360 http://slightlycurvedcube.co.uk/blog/360#comments Thu, 24 Jun 2010 09:35:17 +0000 admin http://slightlycurvedcube.co.uk/blog/360

The first impression any potential customer will have of your brand is through the image it projects. We create logos for businesses that are solid, trustworthy and exude professionalism.

The logo is the face of any brand – a first impression – so the design is very important. When executed perfectly, ‘the logo’ is an extremely powerful asset to a client’s brand that should shine through with prowess. However, creating a brilliant visual representation of a brand requires much more than just graphic-design and a copy of Adobe Illustrator.

Slightly Curved Cube know that like any work that involves a set of specific skills, logo design requires plenty of practice and experience for it to be successful; knowledge is definitely power for any agency, and we have that knowledge.

You see – the whole point of creating a fantastic logo is to build your brand recognition. So, how do we go about doing this? Well, it varies from case to case but the goal with the logo is for the average person to instantly call the brand to mind. A few good examples of this are definitely the logos for Coca-Cola, Pepsi, McDonald’s, and Nike. Because just a glimpse of any of these logos is all you need to recognise the brand. The key to making a popular and recognisable logo is to combine size, style, colour, typography, and most importantly… originality.

Slightly Curved Cube never overlook any of these during the design process, as this would impair the quality of your final design.

Our process…

Our logo packages are concise and thorough. We carry out a fair bit of research before we design anything. We look at your competitors to see how you and your brand can be ‘different’ from your competitors and therefore shine through.

Slightly Curved Cube will sketch ideas on paper first to get a better understanding, as preliminary sketches are an important first step in designing a more effective logo. We will send you the sketched artwork via email before we commence ANY computer work.

From the initial sketches, we will initially supply our clients with 6 logo concepts as a PDF. Each will vary in style, but stay within the aesthetic qualities your target market. Then from the 6 logos delivered, we ask you to choose one and the chosen concept will be refined and tweaked with unlimited revisions until you receive the desired effect.

Our logos from £195 and full branding packages (POA), so why not contact us today? ]]> http://slightlycurvedcube.co.uk/blog/360/feed 0 http://slightlycurvedcube.co.uk/blog/free-wallpaper-2 http://slightlycurvedcube.co.uk/blog/free-wallpaper-2#comments Mon, 24 May 2010 15:09:24 +0000 admin http://slightlycurvedcube.co.uk/blog/?p=315 Free desktop wallpapers to brighten up even the dullest monitor. Download the full size versions (1680 x 1050) below:

Click to download

Click to download

Click to download

The image is an ‘Elite Bouncer’ (Big Daddy) from the popular video-game Bioshock.

The only Photoshop work is at the footer of the artwork and typed-name. Everything else is hand-rendered.

Avon, Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Borders, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Central, Cheshire, Cleveland, Clwyd, Cornwall, County Antrim, County Armagh, County Down, County Fermanagh, County Londonderry, County Tyrone, Cumbria, Derbyshire, Devon, Dorset, Dumfries and Galloway, Durham, Dyfed, East Sussex, Essex, Fife, Gloucestershire, Grampian, Greater Manchester, Gwent, Gwynedd County, Hampshire, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Highlands and Islands, Humberside, Isle of Wight, Kent, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Lothian, Merseyside, Mid Glamorgan, Norfolk, North Yorkshire, Northamptonshire, Northumberland, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Powys, Rutland, Shropshire, Somerset, South Glamorgan, South Yorkshire, Staffordshire, Strathclyde, Suffolk, Surrey, Tayside, Tyne and Wear, Warwickshire, West Glamorgan, West Midlands, West Sussex, West Yorkshire, Wiltshire, Worcestershire, Aberdeen, Armagh, Bangor, Bath, Belfast, Birmingham, Bradford, Brighton and Hove, Bristol, Cambridge, Canterbury, Cardiff, Carlisle, Chester, Chichester, City of London, Coventry, Derby, Dundee, Durham, Edinburgh, Ely, Exeter, Glasgow, Gloucester, Hereford, Inverness, Kingston upon Hull, Lancaster, Leeds, Leicester, Lichfield, Lincoln, Lisburn, Liverpool, Londonderry, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne, Newport, Newry, Norwich, Nottingham, Oxford, Peterborough, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Preston, Ripon, Salford, Salisbury, Sheffield, Southampton, St Albans, St Davids, Stirling, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland, Swansea, Truro, Wakefield, Wells, Westminster, Winchester, Wolverhampton, Worcester, York

Our team of professional graphic designers and web designers are ready to take on your next graphic design project.

We are a dynamic yet professional business for all your marketing and advertising needs. Specialising in graphic design, creative design and the delivery of marketing in an effective format, by utilising our diverse and extensive range of graphic design and web design services and expertise.

We only offer our design and web-knowledges at a high quality that is cost effective. With many a successful marketing campaign.

Working with companies of all sizes (large and small including start-ups) in the private and public sector.

So we bid you a happy Festive Period and a prosperous New Year!

If you ever need our services in 2010, do not hesitate to contact us.

From the SCC Team!

Design is not art
Every designer will tell you ‘we do not create for self-expression’, we use graphic design to evoke a service to solve communication problems within a B2B or B2C marketplace – this therefore helps market a product or service.

Graphic Design – The World’s most underrated profession
Clients always think graphic design is easy and will want us (designers) to work for nothing. Purchasing Adobe’s Creative Suite will not make you a designer, nor will it make you a better graphic designer. Most clients will not appreciate good design, marketing or advertising. What good designers do is lengthy and poised with problem solving – getting the end user to be evoked into a call-to-action is not easy.

Designers are always on the move as the world in which we live in is constantly changing and a designers role is to make peoples life easier, so a designer must move with the times to give clients what ‘they want’. A good graphic designer never stops learning, thinking, observing or improving and designers need to observe everything through everyones eyes to make design better.

Graphic design is not just placing images and text on a blank canvas and submitting that to the client. A huge amount of technique and knowledge is hidden in every design-piece, and a good designer will be able to extract this from an advert, poster, website or piece of marketing. Having to know every production technique from; printing, multimedia and web – then mixing that up with the years of training in software and hardware. Also having to know ’the rules’ of design along with all the psychology, economics, politics, sociology, linguistics, culture, aesthetics and many other fields to understand and utilise them to create a great design that suits every audience. All this makes graphic design a very specialised profession which should not be underrated.

Learn to walk before you can run
Of course, we all have this dream of breaking the rules, after all, rules are meant to be broken they say. However before you break the rules, you need to know what the rules are, what rules are you breaking, and you better have a heck good of a reason of why are you breaking it. Pleading “I want to go against the rules!” doesn’t work. Solid rationale does.

Form AND function makes good design
Form follows function, that’s the golden rule. If you make something very cool and neat and nobody knows how to use it, then why make it at all? If it’s not designed to make people’s life easier, then it’s not a good design. A design is a failure if it’s not functional. This idea has been brought down for hundred years and more since the Bauhaus movement.