The Machine Wash filters from Mister Retro really add some incredible aged and distressed effects on my Photoshop files. Deborah Mori, one of my favorite designers, asked if these can only be used in Photoshop. She has some Illustrator files that could use a good washing.

The Machine Wash filters from Mister Retro can be used in Illustrator with just a few extra steps. I open the PDF filter directly in Illustrator do a live trace using the “Black and White Logo” preset (often times I’ll increase the threshold to allow for more distressing to appear). Then, I’ll remove the white area and distress the vector image the remaining black section.

I have a few of these saved on my computer that I use fairly often.

Mister Retro offers a little more detail and a few more steps:

The Machine Wash filters can be used in Adobe Illustrator, but you’ll need to manually follow a simple step-by-step process that in the end will open up a whole new range of usability for distressing your vector artwork as described below…

FOR MACHINE WASH 2.0 - ‘PLUG-IN’ VERSION:

Step One: Choose the filter you’d like to apply to your vector artwork by using the Machine Wash Filters within Adobe Photoshop. This will serve as a visual reference for placement, etc, sort of like a mock-up for a client.

Step Two: Once you know what filter you plan to use, create a new greyscale document in Photoshop that is approx. an inch bigger on each side than your final Adobe Illustrator design size. Fill the background layer black, and create a new layer and fill that white. Apply your effect of choice to the white layer, effectively punching through to black. Flatten the image.

Step Three: Go to the Photoshop Menubar and choose Image > Mode > Bitmap. Set the output resolution up manually to 600dpi, and choose Diffusion Dither. Save the resulting file as a .TIF file.

Step Four: Open up your vector artwork in Adobe Illustrator, click File > Place > and locate the .TIF you just created and click ‘OK’. It will import as a Transparent Bitmap file, where only the black art in the placed file will be visible, and can now be colorized to white or any background dropout color you choose.

FOR MACHINE WASH 1.0 - ‘ACTIONS’ VERSION:

Step One: Choose the filter you’d like to apply to your vector artwork by using the Machine Wash Filters within Adobe Photoshop. This will serve as a visual reference for placement, etc, sort of like a mock-up for a client.

Step Two: Once you know what filter you plan to use, open up the .PDF filter file directly off the Machine Wash CD from the Filters folder inside Adobe Photoshop. Starting with the size of your final design in Illustrator, scale the 18″ x 18″ .PDF file proportionally to an inch larger than the final Adobe Illustrator design size.

Step Three: Go to the Photoshop Menubar and choose Image > Mode > Bitmap. Set the output resolution up manually to 600dpi, and choose Diffusion Dither. Save the resulting file as a .TIF file.

Step Four: Open up your vector artwork in Adobe Illustrator, click File > Place > and locate the .TIF you just created and click ‘OK’. It will import as a Transparent Bitmap file, where only the black art in the placed file will be visible, and can now be colorized to white or any background dropout color you choose.

IMPORTANT NOTES FOR EITHER METHOD:

Illustrator will likely show a kind of cruddy looking preview of the high resolution bitmap but if you run a test output, you’ll see the effect is indeed smooth. Outputting the .TIF as a bitmap from Photoshop at 600dpi like you did will create such a fine dither, it will mimic greyscale, but have the transparency you need to apply the effect in Illustrator. Prescaling your distress before outputting the bitmap will avoid possible moire or pixel bunching that could happen if you scale the bitmap after the fact in Illustrator.

In the end, make sure when you setup your seperations, or send the artwork to a seperator, that you make sure NOT to seperate whatever color you have chosen for the distress pattern that lays over the design.

This is a pretty cool map representing the www codes around the globe. Interesting infographic. I love when design and information mesh so well.

The Country Codes of the World map includes 245 country codes, which encompasses all United Nations countries as well as numerous islands and territories. Each two-digit code is aligned over the country it represents and is color coded with the legend below for quick and easy reference.

Here is an interesting conglomeration of infographics to satisfy both sides of your brain.

A catalog of products is displayed in this A+ Wine Design flier which just came back from the printer. Mike and Ruff were pleased. It turned out nicely, I think.

The lettering used for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Baily Circus logo was developed by a famous typographer and designer. He based a font on this signpainter lettering style. Can you name the font?

He also is responsible for the Rolling Stone Magazine logo (hint, hint).

The font I used for the Party City packaging I developed was Disturbance which can be purchased from MyFonts or fonts.com. Congratulations to Suzanne for naming the font.

On a totally unrelated note, from the image above, can you see where my mind is lately?

From typography.net:

Throughout the 20th Century various experiments have been carried out to simplify the structure of the alphabet, Herbert Bayer in 1925, Jan Tschichold in 1929, Sjoerd de Roos in 1938 and Wim Crouwel in 1966.

Bradbury Thompson experimented with his Alphabet 26 structure throughout the 1940s and 1950s. Thompson used Baskerville Roman and Small Capitals to create his alphabet. This mix of traditional letterforms had a more acceptable rhythm allowing for better legibility and readability.

Thanks to Alberto Jiménez for the beach image and Willi Heidelbach for the sign.

We just received approval on a new website for the longest running dance studio in the area. Site development is currently happening as our client needs the site up now! The entire structure of the site is driven by CSS and will feature some great photography of some very well-known celebrities. More to come!

Dr. Michael Salzhauer, a plastic surgeon, wrote this book to explain plastic surgery to children. This self-published book is illustrated by children’s book illustrator Victor Guiza. From Newsweek:

“My Beautiful Mommy” is aimed at kids ages four to seven and features a plastic surgeon named Dr. Michael (a musclebound superhero type) and a girl whose mother gets a tummy tuck, a nose job and breast implants. Before her surgery the mom explains that she is getting a smaller tummy: “You see, as I got older, my body stretched and I couldn’t fit into my clothes anymore. Dr. Michael is going to help fix that and make me feel better.” Mom comes home looking like a slightly bruised Barbie doll with demure bandages on her nose and around her waist.

The text doesn’t mention the breast augmentation, but the illustrations intentionally show Mom’s breasts to be fuller and higher. “I tried to skirt that issue in the text itself,” says Salzhauer. “The tummy lends itself to an easy explanation to the children: extra skin and can’t fit into your clothes. The breasts might be a stretch for a six-year-old.”

I’ve had my share of strange client requests over the last many years, from extreme edges of the spectrum. But now, I’m most content to say that I believe in the character of all my clients. And that has to continue for me to continue doing what I love.

Working in the print and web worlds, I’m always switching between the various unit preferences (i.e., inches, points, picas, percentages). Some time ago, I found two quick ways to switch measurement preferences on the fly.

The easiest way is to double-click on the visible ruler on the document window. The Units & Rulers preferences box pops up. No more clumsy menu commands!

The other quick way to change the measurement preferences is with the Info Palette. Click on the small triangle next to the cross in the lower left corner. This will bring up a pop-up list where changes can be made.

Can you name the font used for the product name in this mix-n-match costume and accessory packaging I developed for Party City? This will be easy for those that know me as this is one of my favorites.

The font used for the product name on Wal-Mart’s Princess and Pixie dress-up line I developed is Ed Benguiat Script from House Industries.

From House Industries:

After seeking endless inspiration from the work of Ed Benguiat over the years, we wanted to return the favor. What better way to show our appreciation than to collaborate with him for the release of these fonts. From svelte and sophisticated to loose and lively, the Ed Benguiat Fonts are a timeless ensemble of unique display typefaces.

House is one of the better type foundries, and one of the first to create such a strong niche for unique and stable fonts. From Wiki:

Ed Benguiat is an influential American typographer. He has crafted over 600 typefaces including Tiffany, Bookman, Panache, Edwardian Script, and the self-titled typefaces Benguiat and Benguiat Gothic. He also designed logotypes for The New York Times, Playboy, Sports Illustrated, the original Planet of the Apes movie, Superfly, and countless others.