London-based creative duo Joseph Lattimer and Caitlin Derer, founders of Collectable Cities art toy studio and veterans of the creative agency Fancy Lamp, have channeled their love for travel and storytelling into creating figures that celebrate iconic moments in pop culture. Their latest project is a vibrant tribute to The Beatles, featuring two collections inspired […]

The beginning of a new year is typically a time when we plan to find ways to make life a little better. The same applies to web designers who look for new and better ways to make their designs more engaging and productive. In this post we will look into 5 web design trends that […]

The post 5 Web Design Trends You Need to Be Aware of in 2023 appeared first on WebAppers.

There is a huge variety of free and premium web design tools and resources to choose from to help you create stunning websites. They range from complete website design platforms to design frameworks and wireframing tools to plugins featuring “must have” functionalities. And, a whole lot of things in between. These design tools and resources […]

The post The Best 13 Tools & Resources for Designers and Agencies for 2023 appeared first on WebAppers.

Some people may tell you that anything worth inventing has already been invented. That is not true, it probably never will be, and it certainly will not be the case for the website design world, which just keeps growing and improving. Website requirements keep becoming more and more demanding. Website design has to correspondingly follow […]

The post Discover 10 Best Multipurpose WordPress Themes to Use in 2023 appeared first on WebAppers.

Demi Moore is fantastic in director Coralie Fargeat’s “The Substance”—I guess? The actor has received tons of accolades for her…

The importance of mobile design really cannot be exaggerated these days. In 2014, 60 percent of web traffic came from a mobile device. That’s well over half, and more than enough reason to convince any sane person of the importance of mobile first design.But building a top smartphone app is tough. Contrary to what most […]

The post 6 main elements of beautifully designed smartphone apps first appeared on TECH Intelligence and is written by Drew Hendricks.

In the past few years, AI’s impact has increased daily. No industry that doesn’t involve AI technology in its business is left behind. Artificial intelligence certainly helps to make the job easy. Now, this revolution has also changed the marketing industry.  Nowadays, digital marketers can work smartly and effectively with AI. However, there are tons...

The post Best AI Marketing Tools 2024 – Let’s Boost Your Campaigns appeared first on noupe.

When it comes to choosing AI SEO tools, the sheer variety of options can be overwhelming. The popular ones may not always be the best fit for your specific SEO workflow and processes. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution for finding the perfect AI tool for SEO automation. The right choice depends on your unique objectives, budget,...

The post 8 Best SEO Tools for AI Automation appeared first on noupe.

If you have a profitable side hustle, you’ve probably considered taking your business full-time. However, before you take the leap and transition to life as a full-time entrepreneur, there are a few things you should do. Some tasks are simple, like opening a business bank account and setting concrete goals. Others, like building a professional...

The post 8 Things to Do Before Transitioning Your Small Business From a Side Hustle to Full-Time appeared first on noupe.

Heuristic evaluation is a powerful tool in UX design, offering a structured way to identify and address usability issues in interfaces. But what exactly does it entail, and how can designers use it to improve user experiences?

Tooltips are used to provide simple text hints for UI controls. Think of them as tips for tools. They’re basically little bubbles of text content that pop up when you hover over an unnamed control (like the bell icon in Stripe).

In this article I am going to present you one of the best CSS frameworks you can find. When starting a new project as a frontend developer you will always have to face the fact that you will have to write a lot of CSS just to achieve the basic structure of the site. Creating […]

You are searching for jQuery sliders? Search no more, here we have composed a list of the best slider that you can find on the internet. Some of them are free and very customizable and some of them are worth spending some money to achieve your goal. Rhinoslider This slider offers many different effects, you […]

How to Create a Gmail Account for Beginners: Step-by-step guide to set up, secure, and personalize your Gmail account with ease. Perfect for new users.

Ready to launch your online store but unsure where to start with the design? Finding […]

Ever found yourself stuck with an extra blank page in your Word document and wondering […]

Her, we’ll break down five practical choices you have, from simple workarounds to fresh upgrades, to keep your computer running safely and smoothly after the deadline.

In the 1970s, McDonald’s was at a pivotal point in its growth, and the fast-food giant sought to enhance its brand identity. To achieve this, McDonald’s engaged Unimark International, a prominent design firm, to explore a comprehensive redesign of its packaging and signage. This collaboration aimed to create a more cohesive and appealing visual identity […]

The post The McDonalds Redesign That Could Have Been appeared first on Designer Daily: graphic and web design blog.

Follow along with this Adobe Illustrator tutorial to create a colourful gradient logo design. I’ll show you how Illustrator’s shape builder tool makes it easy to construct the basic vector logo design, then we’ll apply a vibrant colour scheme using gradients. Subscribe to the Spoon Graphics YouTube Channel Source File Download with membership

The post Design a Modern Gradient Logo Using Adobe Illustrator’s Shape Builder Tool appeared first on Spoon Graphics.

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Female athletes are more susceptible to sport-related concussions (SRCs) and experience worse outcomes compared with male athletes. Although numerous studies on SRC have compared the outcomes of concussions in male and female athletes after injury, research pertaining to why female athletes have worse outcomes is limited.

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative tauopathy associated with repetitive head impacts. These findings implicate cumulative head impact intensity in CTE pathogenesis.

Children who sustain an mTBI are at increased risk for developing new affective or behavioral disorders over four-years post-injury.

Sometimes I think theme frameworks just aren’t a good thing for the end user. When it comes to the experience with the least friction, the most welcoming to a new user, and the least technically complex, I just don’t see anything beating a simple theme folder with a handful of template files and an image folder. […]

The post It’s hard to beat fourteen files and an image folder appeared first on WPCandy.

Nikki Jennings started cheering when she was 4 years old. She was small and flexible and became a flyer, a human baton spinning and twisting through the air before being caught by teammates. Until sometimes she wasn’t: She got her first concussion in the third grade.

A quick shake of the head after a hard hit could signal that a person has a concussion, a new study suggests, based on the experiences of young athletes. It’s an easily recognizable movement that could help significantly reduce the number of concussions that go undiagnosed if added to official evaluation guidelines, according to researchers from Mass General Brigham and the Concussion Legacy Foundation.

The American College of Surgeons (ACS) has announced the release of its revised Best Practices Guidelines in the Management of Traumatic Brain Injury, offering healthcare providers comprehensive strategies to improve the care and outcomes of patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI).

If professional athletes are meant to be real-life superheroes, Miami Dolphins star Tua Tagovailoa looked remarkably mortal on September 12. With his team down 31-10 in the third quarter against the Buffalo Bills, the quarterback spotted a gap at the line of scrimmage and decided to scramble for a first down. When he encountered Bills' defender Damar Hamlin, Tagovailoa lowered his head and ran straight into him. Tagovailoa stayed down injured after the play. He had suffered the third concussion of his NFL career, on top of the one he was diagnosed with during his time in the collegiate ranks.

The NHLPA will form an advisory committee to help hockey players better understand chronic traumatic encephalopathy and the damage that concussions can do to the brain. NHLPA president Marty Walsh said Friday night that the CTE committee was unanimously approved at a union board meeting this summer. The former Boston mayor made the announcement after receiving an award at the annual gala for the Concussion Legacy Foundation, which supports patients and families struggling with the symptoms of traumatic brain injuries.

Military service is difficult, dangerous, and demanding. But for some veterans, returning to civilian life can also be a challenge. Going from the structure of active duty—with its purpose-driven roles, full-throttle environment, and sense of camaraderie—to the relatively humdrum life of a civilian can be jarring, particularly for veterans who’ve experienced trauma during their service and may suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  Researchers at Boston University, including Dawne Vogt and Casey Taft—both professors of psychiatry in the Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine—are utilizing a variety of data-backed strategies to support veterans struggling to adapt to their new normal lives. 

A commentary, published in the Journal of Neurotrauma, calls for traumatic brain injury to be recognized as a chronic condition as are diabetes, asthma, depression and heart failure. To provide comprehensive care for traumatic brain injury throughout individuals' lifespans, the authors propose that coordinated care models they and others have developed, tested and applied to various populations—including older adults, individuals living with depression and post-intensive care unit survivors—be adapted to improve communication and integration between brain injury specialists—including physical medicine and rehabilitation clinicians—and primary care physicians, fostering better long-term patient care for traumatic brain injury survivors and more support for both patients and their families.

Are you looking for the best WooCommerce theme to help you build your online store, but are afraid of making a wrong choice? For starters, you want to select a WordPress WooCommerce theme since not all WordPress themes offer complete WooCommerce support. If a theme doesn’t support WooCommerce, it won’t support all the available addons […]

The WordPress directory has 50k+ free plugins that were developed so you can extend a WordPress website with functions and features far beyond your imagination. Additional thousands of WordPress plugins are available from various marketplaces. No matter how much you might have a need for a specialized plugin or two, would you really want to […]

More than imaging, diagnosis of TBI is still based on the initial symptoms at the time of the injury.

Solar eclipses are magical. What is more magical about solar eclipses are the different moments within them, including the Baily’s Beads. During a total solar...

The post Capturing Bailey’s Bead: top tips from an award-winning astrophotographer appeared first on DIY Photography.

NASA’s Juno spacecraft, which has orbited Jupiter since 2016, recently captured striking new images of the gas giant during its 66th close flyby. This solar-powered...

The post Juno’s latest flyby photos reveal Jupiter like never before appeared first on DIY Photography.

Today we release our first self-hosted Auphonic Speech Recognition Engine using the open-source Whisper model by OpenAI!
With Whisper, you can now integrate automatic speech recognition in 99 languages into your Auphonic audio post-production workflow, without creating an external account and without extra costs!

Whisper Speech Recognition in Auphonic

So far, Auphonic users had to choose one of our integrated external service providers (Wit.ai, Google Cloud Speech, Amazon Transcribe, Speechmatics) for speech recognition, so audio files were transferred to an external server, using external computing powers, that users had to pay for in their external accounts.

The new Auphonic Speech Recognition is using Whisper, which was published by OpenAI as an open-source project. Open-source means, the publicly shared GitHub repository contains a complete Whisper package including source code, examples, and research results.
However, automatic speech recognition is a very time and hardware-consuming process, that can be incredibly slow using a standard home computer without special GPUs. So we decided to integrate this service and offer you automatic speech recognition (ASR) by Whisper processed on our own hardware, just like any other Auphonic processing task, giving you quite some benefits:

• No external account is needed anymore to run ASR in Auphonic.
• Your data doesn't leave our Auphonic servers for ASR processing.
• No extra costs for external ASR services.
• Additional Auphonic pre- and post-processing for more accurate ASR, especially for Multitrack Productions.
• The quality of Whisper ASR is absolutely comparable to the “best” services in our comparison table.

How to use Whisper?

To use the Auphonic Whisper integration, you just have to create a production or preset as you are used to and select “Auphonic Whisper ASR” as “Service” in the section Speech Recognition.
This option will automatically appear for Beta and paying users. If you are a free user but want to try Whisper: please just ask for access!

When your Auphonic speech recognition is done, you can download your transcript in different formats and may edit or share your transcript with the Auphonic Transcript Editor.
For more details about all our integrated speech recognition services, please visit our Speech Recognition Help and watch this channel for Whisper updates – soon to come.

Why Beta?

We decided to launch Whisper for Beta and paying users only, as Whisper was just published end of September and there was not enough time to test every single use case sufficiently.
Another issue is the required computing power: for suitable scaling of the GPU infrastructure, we need a beta phase to test the service while we are monitoring the hardware usage, to make sure there are no server overloads.

Conclusion

Automatic speech recognition services are evolving very quickly, and we've seen major improvements over the past few years.
With Whisper, we can now perform speech recognition without extra costs on our own GPU hardware, no external services are required anymore.

Auphonic Whisper ASR is available for Beta and paying users now, free users can ask for Beta access.
You are very welcome to send us feedback (directly in the production interface or via email), whether you notice something that works particularly well or discover any problems.
Your feedback is a great help to improve the system!

In addition to our Leveler, Denoiser, and Adaptive 'Hi-Pass' Filter, we now release the missing equalization feature with the new Auphonic AutoEQ.
The AutoEQ automatically analyzes and optimizes the frequency spectrum of a voice recording, to remove sibilance (De-esser) and to create a clear, warm, and pleasant sound - listen to the audio examples below to get an idea about what it does.

Screenshot of manually adjusted example settings for the equalizer plug-in 'Pro-Q3' by fabfilter.

What is Equalization and why is it difficult?

Equalization (EQ) in audio recording and reproduction is the process of adjusting the volume of different frequency bands within a signal.
The following vocal EQ cheat sheet, published by Producer Hive, will give you a small impression, of what can be influenced by equalizing:

Vocal EQ Cheat Sheet by Producer Hive.

On the other hand, it is very easy to ruin a good voice recording with manual heavy-handed equalization, resulting in voices, that sound very sharp or muddy or even like the speaker had a blocked nose.
Besides the skill and experience of an audio engineer, manual adjustments of frequencies also require a very good and linear studio playback device. For example, performing manual equalization with strongly bass-heavy speakers would most likely lead to a very sharp, unpleasant listening experience using treble-heavy headphones.

For singletrack productions with more than one speaker, equalizing is also a very complex and time-consuming process, as every voice has its unique frequency spectrum and needs its own equalization. One could separate speakers with cuts or create a track envelope to fade from one speaker to another, however, any solution is a very tedious job, if you do it by hand.

That is where the Auphonic AutoEQ comes in! All those steps are now available in just one click!

How does the Auphonic AutoEQ work?

The Auphonic Web Service analyzes your audio content and classifies the audio file into small and meaningful segments like music, silence, different speakers, etc. to process every single segment with the best matching algorithms.
All our features like the Adaptive Leveler, Dynamic Denoising, Adaptive 'Hi-Pass' Filtering, and now the new AutoEQ filter option are built on top of this basic processing.

Using Auphonic AutoEQ, spectral EQ profiles are created for each speaker separately and permanently changing over time. The aim of those time-dependent EQ profiles is to create a constant, pleasant sound in the output file even if there are slightly changing voices in the record, for example, due to modified speaker-microphone positions.

Audio Examples

Here are two short audio examples, which demonstrate some features of our AutoEQ.
We recommend listening with headphones so you can hear all the details.

Example 1. Female Speaker with Background Music

In the following example (BCB: The Voices of Bainbridge Island) of a female narrator speaking while background music is playing, you can easily recognize quite sharp 'sss' sounds in the female voice. This sharpness in the female voice is removed by the so-called De-essing feature of the Auphonic AutoEQ, while the background music is not changed.

Example 2. Dialog of Male and Female Speakers

The next example (BCB: The Voices of Bainbridge Island) shows how the AutoEQ optimizes a singletrack record containing two speakers with different voice characteristics. Our AutoEQ algorithms analyze each voice separately and calculate the matching frequency adjustments to optimize the voice of every single speaker.

AutoEQ Beta Integration in the Auphonic Web Service

To use the Auphonic AutoEQ, you just have to create a production or preset as you are used to, toggle “Advanced Parameters” on the top right in the section “Audio Algorithms” and select “Voice AutoEQ” within “Filtering”:

For a first test period, the AutoEQ will only be available for Beta and paying users, to incorporate your feedback and finalize an optimized version.
If you are a free user but want to try Auphonic AutoEQ: please just ask for access!

Practical Tips

For best results using Auphonic AutoEQ, however, it is still necessary, that your audio content is of sufficiently good quality, as no equalizer can make up frequencies that are not there in the first place. Audio files with low bitrates often lack important frequencies, that cannot be recovered by equalizing. AutoEQ is just a feature to boost or cut individual frequency bands, not a bandwidth extension. For more information about required audio quality, see the former blog post: Audio File Formats and Bitrates for Podcasts.

Another important topic is the definition of the 'best result'. Equalizing is a very subjective task, that differs a lot depending on every personal opinion. So Auphonic AutoEQ is set up to follow quite conservative rules of equalizing and rather apply subtle tweaks and remove obvious problems, than support personal preferences. This also means, your record will experience no significant changes from Auphonic AutoEQ if it sounds reasonably OK or pretty good already.

Conclusion

Auphonic audio post production algorithms keep getting better and better in leaps and bounds lately, offering you new Beta Features: Beta Auphonic Denoiser, Beta Auphonic Speech Recognition, and Beta Auphonic AutoEQ.
Right now we are fine-tuning all our current Beta Features with high intensity to release a new upgraded version of our Auphonic Web Service as soon as possible.
Please watch this channel for further updates – soon to come.

If you have any feedback for us or want to become a Beta user, you are very welcome to comment directly in our production interface or to contact us via email!

There’s something magical about family beach photos. They capture the sun-kissed smiles, playful moments in white sands, and heartwarming family bonds against a backdrop of azure waters. But how do you shoot these stunning images?

I remember my first attempt – it was far from perfect. Harsh shadows obscured faces, squinting eyes ruined expressions, and don’t get me started on those tan lines! I knew I had to strive for improvement.

Over time, through trial and error (and some embarrassing outfit choices), I learned the art of beach photography. Mastering golden hour light for that dreamy glow in every shot…coordinating outfits for a cohesive look…choosing ideal locations with just enough privacy…

Let’s dive into what it takes to make your family beach photos memorable and appealing.

Basics of Family Beach Photography

Taking family beach photos is a delightful task that blends the beauty of nature with precious familial bonds. But it requires some essential knowledge to get right, from choosing the perfect location to dealing with different lighting conditions and capturing natural moments.

Choosing the Right Beach for Your Family Photo Session

Picking an ideal location can make or break your photo session.

We often think of creativity and meditation as separate practices – one active and expressive, the other quiet and introspective. But what if these two seemingly different pursuits are actually deeply interconnected, each enhancing and amplifying the other? This fascinating relationship between creativity and meditation was at the heart of my recent conversation with Henry Shukman, an award-winning poet, author, and Zen master. Henry’s unique background bridges the worlds of artistic expression and contemplative practice, giving him profound insights into how meditation can unlock our creative potential. The Creative Benefits of a Quiet Mind One of the core benefits of meditation is learning to quiet the constant chatter of our minds. As Henry explained, this mental stillness creates space for new ideas and inspirations to emerge: “When we meditate regularly, we’re training our minds to be less caught up in the constant stream of thoughts and worries. And in that spaciousness, creativity has room to flourish. Novel connections and insights can bubble up from our subconscious.” This aligns with what many great artists and innovators have reported – that their best ideas often come during moments of mental quiet and relaxation. By cultivating a meditation practice, we’re essentially preparing fertile...

The post The Deep Connection Between Creativity and Meditation first appeared on Chase Jarvis.

The post The Deep Connection Between Creativity and Meditation appeared first on Chase Jarvis.

Is AI replacing creativity or elevating it? Discover how artists can use AI to enhance their creative process while keeping human emotion at the core.

The post Is AI the End of Creativity or Just the Beginning? first appeared on Chase Jarvis.

The post Is AI the End of Creativity or Just the Beginning? appeared first on Chase Jarvis.

Seth Godin returns to talk strategy and why getting the direction right is way more crucial than just moving fast. We chat about how creatives and entrepreneurs often confuse tactics with strategy and how fixing that could transform careers. Seth shares stories, insights, and the tough decisions he’s made to get better results, like firing major clients to create bigger opportunities. It’s all about finding your path and making the right moves for long-term success. Some highlights we explore: Why most creatives mistake tactics for true strategy. How picking the right clients sets up your future. The role of empathy and tension in creating impactful work. Enjoy! FOLLOW SETH GODIN: instagram | facebook | twitter | website Listen to the Podcast Subscribe

The post Why Strategy Always Beats Talent first appeared on Chase Jarvis.

The post Why Strategy Always Beats Talent appeared first on Chase Jarvis.

OECD Regional Well-Being: A new site for the OECD, and once again with my great collaborator Dominikus Baur and some help from my friends over at Raureif. The site presents an exciting new perspective on more than 300 regions worldwide. As we all know, conditions inside a country can differ quite drastically, so going beyond […]

After many months — building your own sites is hard! — I am finally able to launch truth-and-beauty.net, my new portfolio site! It replaces the old moritz.stefaner.eu, which now lives at archive.stefaner.eu, as I was not able to (and probably won’t) migrate all old contents over. A few notes on technology – I knew I […]