DIY

What Is Packaging Design and Why It Is So Important Today

Discover the fundamental principles of packaging design Packaging was initially created as a utilitarian item–its sole function was to conserve a product as best as possible. However, soon the appearance of packaging also became crucial: packaging needed to attract buyers and drive sales. Today, these continue to be the two main ideas that all packaging designers work around. How did packaging come about? Packaging began to be developed at the same time that advances in technology and transport were being made, meaning food could be stored for longer and travel further. As more and more new products arrived, so did new types of packaging, printer technologies, and marketing techniques that set out to make products grab people’s attention. When it comes to graphic design, something similar happened. The art and culture trends can be seen reflected in packaging from different time periods. Memorable packaging Here are some examples of iconic packaging that show off the trends of the time. The Tiffany Box In 1887, Charles Lewis Tiffany, founder of the jewelry brand Tiffany & Co, chose the turquoise blue that would become emblematic of the Tiffany Box. The box has since become almost as iconic as the engagement ring inside. In 1998, the color “Tiffany Blue” was registered as a brand and listed in the Pantone color system.

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Photography Tutorial: Why You Should Have an Artist's Sketchbook

Learn the basics of creating an artist's sketchbook and awaken your visual curiosity with Dara Scully

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What Is a Fanzine?

Learn the history of fanzines and the main features of this type of self-publication

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Upcycling Tutorial: 5 Hacks to Transform your Clothes

Learn easy ways to upcycle and remake your wardrobe with Steel and Stitch Repurposing and revitalizing items in our wardrobe can save money, help the environment, and produce one-of-a-kind pieces. Crochet designer and author Emma Friedlander-Collins, also known as Steel and Stitch (@steelandstitch), specializes in upcycling and remaking objects. Here, she shares a few simple ways we can extend the life of our wardrobe by using simple techniques to create pieces that are original and full of personality.

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Free Download: Tutorial and Patterns to Create Colorful Bookmarks

Make your reading time a little extra special with these bookmark designs from Catalina Estrada

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How to Age Wooden Picture Frames

Want to give a new lease of life to your frames? Treat them like unique pieces full of personality, not just a support for your pictures and objects. Give them a vintage style in this quick and easy way. In the following video, designer and framer Coy Aballay of @elpezenmarcado shares her wood-aging technique in three steps.

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How to Decorate Your Notebook

Transform a boring notebook into a floral explosion with these simple steps Maya Hanisch (@mayahanisch) is a Chilean artist who works in editorial illustration for books. Her figurative art is strongly influenced by Latin American and European folklore. Her compositions are generated using layers of paint, which act as a solid gradient to give volume, contrast and intensity to various elements of nature.

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Make a Traditional Origami Tato

Learn about the art of origami and create paper objects with two tutorial videos

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Free Download: #StayAtHome Embroidery Template

Adriana Torres is giving away an embroidery template with the inscription ‘Stay at home’ in her signature botanical typography

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DIY Tutorial: How to Design Your Own Desk

Learn to sketch a DIY furniture design freehand to make the perfect workspace with Gema Casada Olea, founder of El Tarro de Ideas A workspace that let's us work comfortably is essential to letting our talents and creativity flow. An inadequate desk or seat, bad lighting, or cramped space is sometimes unavoidable but making an effort to improve this will help us be more efficient. Gema Casado Olea, founder and director of DIY agency El Tarro de Ideas (@eltarrodeideas), is an expert in the design and creation of homemade workspaces that adapt to the necessities of each and every creative. She runs us through the sketch and configuration process for creating a personalised desk from zero in the video below:

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Photography Tutorial: How to Make a Pinhole Camera at Home

Learn to make your own pinhole camera at home with Fotolateras Nowadays, almost everyone can take photos. Even if you don't have your own digital or analog camera, your cellphone should. But if you want to go that bit further and you're a fan of a more artisanal approach to your photography, we've got another option for you. Fotolateras share how to make a pinhole camera with simple materials: a metal box, black paint, black adhesive tape, aluminum adhesive tape, and a drill. Are you ready to step into the world of analog photography?

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Don’t Miss: BBC Culture in Quarantine

The BBC's Culture in Quarantine is delivering a new program of art and culture to Brits at home In challenging times, art and culture have the power to unite, inspire reflection, and offer solace. Since museums, theaters, cinemas and other cultural venues across Britain closed their doors in March as a result of the national lockdown, the BBC has been collaborating with organizations and individuals–from the Tate Modern and the Royal Shakespeare to writer Margaret Atwood and scholar Mary Beard–to deliver an eclectic mix of art and culture to the public at home. The BBC’s Culture in Quarantine Festival grants access to shuttered exhibitions and performances, festivals which have turned virtual, as well as new work, offering a rich program available to consume via the BBC: online, on television, or over the radio. "It’s important during this period that we maintain access not just to news and information, but to the arts and culture. For many people, they are a valuable part of their lives and a way of stimulating imagination, thought, and escapism. It’s a vital part of who we are as individuals and part of our identity as a nation,” said Director-General Tony Hall. Here, we pick some of the highlights from the program that are sure to not only entertain but inspire.

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5 Punch Needle Artists You Need to Know

Discover the amazing work of five textile artists who are experts with the magic embroidery pen

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10 Ceramic Artists That Will Inspire You

Ceramic designer Paula Casella shares the artisans who inspire her when creating her own pieces Pottery and ceramics have been experiencing a boom for some time now that has brought back traditional craftsmanship but, in many cases, with a modern and interesting twist. It’s a trend that has given ceramic objects new life and a place in our contemporary lifestyle. Argentinian artist Paula Casella Biase (@paulacasellabiase) is one of the leading examples in this renaissance of all things handmade.These are some of the potters who inspire her the most: Hand and Fire The hands that shape these pieces of white enameled black clay are those of Sage Cortez. Undoubtedly one of Casella's favorites, Cortez is an American ceramist who makes each object she creates unique by playing with textures and transparencies.

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What Is Fashion Upcycling?

Ximena Corcuera sheds some light on the current global trend of design sustainability Ximena Corcuera (@ximenacorcuera) is a fashion designer who, from an early age, has been interested in experimenting as a way of life. She is an expert in fashion, and in design that is sustainable and experimental. She is passionate about responsible fashion, so we decided to talk to her to find out more about the concept of upcycling, and how to embrace a trend that is gaining more and more strength in the design world. What is upcycling and what do you do with it? Upcycling is a recent term and it is used to describe the techniques that encompass the idea of transforming residues or refuse to create new items of value. It can be applied to all sorts of designing or manufacturing: furniture, garments, textiles, decorative objects. etc.

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OrigamiSimulator: The Simulator That Will Teach You to Become an Origami Master

This paper simulator allows you to follow, step by step, the procedure of creating any origami object When it originated in China in the first or second century, those who practiced it could never have imagined the heights this noble art would reach, much less how technology would help its development. We are not talking about types of folds, much less qualities of paper, something that, of course, will have changed a lot over time, but projects like OrigamiSimulator, a platform that, thanks to technology, is capable of becoming the most patient and meticulous teacher when teaching us to create all kinds of sculptures with paper, from the simplest to the most intricate.

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10 Tips for Creating a Collage

Hanoch Piven shares his top tips for reinventing the meaning of everyday objects through collage Mixed media artist Hanoch Piven (@piven) creates playful portraits that have appeared in Time, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, The Atlantic Monthly, The Times, Entertainment Weekly, and more. Known for his 3-dimensional collages, he reinvents the meaning and use of everyday objects–from clothes pegs and playing cards to fruit and bathroom products–to visually communicate personality and playfulness.

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Calligraphy Tutorial: how to make a calamus pen

Learn, step by step, how to make this old calligraphy tool, with Joaquín Seguí You may never have heard of calamos, but the truth is that they are one of the oldest handwriting tools in existence. In essence, a calamus is a hollow reed, cut obliquely at one end, which is used for writing thanks to its ability to accumulate ink and allow us to draw on the sheet. Its usefulness in calligraphic writing forms such as the uncial is key, as it allows us to generate compact but organic shapes on the sheet, and also using a callus will allow us to let our hand free if we want to get started in calligraphy. So, if you want to know how to build your own homemade calligraphy callus using just a handful of cheap materials, don't miss the following video tutorial by graphic designer specialized in calligraphy Joaquín Seguí (@joaquinsegui):

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Challenge: Hanoch Piven is Faced With an Improvised Collage

Hanoch Piven, mixed media visual artist and expert in collage, takes on the Domestika Challenge Hanoch Piven’s (@piven) work has featured in iconic magazines like Time, Rolling Stone and Der Speigel and won him the Society of Illustrators of New York's Gold Medal. He also publishes children’s books in which various textures and materials are woven together to build unexpected characters and universes. The mixed media artist is an expert in making faces through the collage of objects. But how will he fare when confronted with our mysterious box? Find out in the video below:

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Download Free: Star Wars Models for 3D Printing

Designer and maker Agustín "Flowalistik" Arroyo shares his models for 3D printing inspired by the Star Wars saga Designer Agustín Arroyo (@flowalistik),one of the millions of fans of the Star Wars saga, whose numbers seem to grow with every premiere, wants to share his 3D printing models inspired by Episode VII - The Force Awakens. Although he designed and shaped them some years ago as a treat for his friends–faithful followers of the saga like him–these models are timeless, just like the movies. This is a series of space toys for 3D printing, a fan art interpretation based on the characters of one of his favorite films in the series, that anyone can download and print to use as a decorative element. The files of these 3D figures inspired by the Star Wars saga can be downloaded for free and are ready to be printed, that is, they do not require any kind of support or postprocessing material. In Arroyo's own words: "These designs make the dream of pushing a button and let a machine manufacture your design come true, a vision so magical and at the same time one that seems so detached from reality."

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Download, Print and Fall in Love with Lunol’s Lettering

Discover a passion for lettering with this free postcard that designer Lunol shared with Domestika

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What is Screen-printing and What Materials Do I Need?

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Origami for Beginners: Materials and Basic Folding Techniques

Discover the basic materials and folds to get started in this ancient technique with endless possibilities This traditional and peaceful Japanese art is directly linked to the Japanese mentality regarding reconciliation between countries at the end of World War II. Origami is the art of folding paper without using scissors or glue to obtain figures of various shapes, many of which could be considered sculptures. “We associate origami with a children's game but it is also a contemporary design technique that inspires functional and decorative products in fashion, furniture, architecture or jewelry", explains Estela Moreno (@cartoncita), an artist that excels at giving modern touches to traditional artisanal techniques. Estela Moreno shares with Domestika some of the secrets that you should keep in mind when you start out in this ancient art: from the most appropriate materials to basic folding techniques that will help you start building complex creations in paper, like the great masters do.

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