WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg has sent the WP community into a frenzy with his latest antics. So what happened? In a surprise to just about everyone, Matt publicly targeted WPEngine, the largest hosting company in the WordPress ecosystem, by claiming [1] they are not contributing back to WordPress in a satisfactory manner and [2] demanding a $32-million […]

The Australian Government has recently announced new English language requirements for Student and Temporary Graduate visa applications. These changes are intended to ensure that international students and graduates have a solid command of the English language to successfully participate in academic and professional settings in Australia. New English Language Requirements Under the updated visa application […]

The post English language requirement tightened for Student and Temporary Graduate Visa Applicants appeared first on Australian Visa Experts.

One of the questions we are asked regularly when a client has a visa refused is – What are my chances of success if I appeal? Statistics would seem to indicate that the Department of Home Affairs (DoHA) often takes an unreasonable approach to their decision making. In the AAT Migration and Refugee Division caseload report […]

The post How to review a migration decision in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) appeared first on Australian Visa Experts.

The Australian government is making a significant update to the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT), reflecting its ongoing commitment to maintaining fair wages and conditions for skilled migrants. From 1 July 2024, the TSMIT will increase from $70,000 to $73,150. This change is part of the broader initiatives announced during the Jobs and Skills […]

The post Important Changes to the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) Effective from 1 July 2024 appeared first on Australian Visa Experts.

On Wednesday 12 June 2024, the Minister for Home Affairs the Hon. Clare O’Neil MP announced changes that will stop certain visa holders being able to make further visa applications onshore. These changes will come into effect on 1 July 2024. The focus of these changes rests on student and other temporary visa holders. As […]

The post Minister for Home Affairs announces changes to onshore visa applications to stop ‘visa hopping’ appeared first on Australian Visa Experts.

The Restaurant (premium dining) industry Labour Agreement, also commonly known as the Fine Dining Labour Agreement is a specific labour agreement available in Australia designed to address skills shortages in the fine dining sector. This agreement allows fine dining restaurants to sponsor overseas skilled workers for specific roles that are otherwise difficult to fill within […]

The post Restaurant (premium dining) industry Labour Agreement appeared first on Australian Visa Experts.

Fuji released their new flagship camera this month, the X-Pro2. It is the first X-series camera to feature a 24MP sensor (compared to 16MP before) and it has a very interesting hybrid optical & electronic view finder. When I first […]

Unsolicited redesigns are fun. They’re also always criticized for their superficial approach that only takes care of surface level problems. Developers at Raureif have done yet another redesign of Wikipedia, but with one big difference from all the other redesigns: they’ve actually created a real, working app.

Since Wikipedia has a permissive license, you can repackage (and even sell) its content if you so wish, so there is little stopping anyone from implementing a functional redesign of the site (besides all the hard work). The team at Raureif have seized this opportunity and created Das Referenz – an iOS Wikipedia app. Apart from seeing your ideas tested in the real world, this hands-on approach to redesign also gives you an opportunity to profit from them: if the new UI provides enough value, people will pay you for it through app sales or via ads (Das Referenz uses both ads and a pay-for option to remove ads). That’s how you do a Wikipedia redesign.

Co.Design asked Tobias Frere-Jones of Hoefler & Co. to give his thoughts on Apple’s choice of Helvetica as an interface typeface for the upcoming OS X Yosemite update:

Despite its grand reputation, Helvetica can’t do everything. It works well in big sizes, but it can be really weak in small sizes. Shapes like ‘C’ and ‘S’ curl back into themselves, leaving tight “apertures”–the channels of white between a letter’s interior and exterior. So each shape halts the eye again and again, rather than ushering it along the line. The lowercase ‘e,’ the most common letter in English and many other languages, takes an especially unobliging form. These and other letters can be a pixel away from being some other letter, and we’re left to deal with flickers of doubt as we read.

This reminds me of what Erik Spiekerman wrote about Helvetica:

[Helvetica] really wasn’t designed for small sizes on screens. Words like milliliter can be very difficult to decipher. If you ever had to read or write a password with 1, i, l or I, you know the problem.

Still, I wouldn’t keep Lucida Grande for HiDPI displays. With a 2× resolution jump (4× pixels) pixel fitting becomes less of an issue, and pixel optimized typefaces like Lucida Grande begin to look crude in comparison with typefaces made primarily for print. Legibility obviously still matters just as much, but the choice need no longer be bound to fonts optimized for low resolution displays.

Min Ming Lo analyzes the various designs of the share icon currently in use. He concludes:

The best icon is not the one that is the simplest, nor the one that makes the most sense. Instead, the best icon is one with which most users are already familiar. An effective icon is one that requires minimum effort for the user to translate that symbol to an action.

I think part of the problem with coming up with a good share icon is that the concept of sharing physical items doesn’t directly map onto the concept of sharing digital resources, which oftentimes simply involves posting a link on a public feed. The latter is closer to broadcasting a message rather than dividing up a resource or experiencing a thing simultaneously. Icons with more specificity – e.g. a tweet icon, a Facebook like icon – are unambiguous; they relate directly to a service and the kind of interaction that service allows. Trying to cover them all with an umbrella of “sharing” is difficult, if not impossible, to do clearly.

The problem doesn’t lie in the icon, but in the vagueness of what it represents. For this reason I think Apple’s icon resembling an upload action is probably the best choice because what it represents is not so much sharing but putting the content somewhere else. Whether the full file is uploaded or just the link is given doesn’t really matter, what matters is that the thing in question is transmitted somewhere. It’s also worth considering whether the fight for an icon-only button is worth it, and that it may not be easier and better to just use the words “share” to describe the action. There’s a reason why the stop sign just says “STOP” – you can represent it with something else, but the negative effect on clarity is just not worth it.

Joel Unger approaches the blurry, semi-transparent window aesthetic, recently introduced in iOS7 and now making its way to OS X Yosemite, from the standpoint of evolutionary biology. He argues that the reasons for this latest trend, as well as other trends, are: 1) the visual effect is relatively rare, and 2) the effect is expensive to achieve (in this case expensive in terms of graphics processing power). Both of these go hand in hand given that what is expensive to achieve is probably also going to be rare, at least for the period it still remains expensive. While these two things are initially the differentiator for the trendsetter, they will inevitably be mimicked by others, resulting in a design trend.

Paul Stamatiou on the role of motion in modern design:

Times are changing. Things like page transitions will still exist but involve more of the elements on each page. You’ll begin choreographing. In the next few years consideration for motion will be required to be a good citizen of your desktop/mobile/wearable/auto/couch platform. It will be an expected part of the design process just like people will begin to expect this level of activity and character in software.

Motion is becoming an essential component of design, and with the recent transition to a minimalist aesthetic across platforms animating the interface has become a whole lot simpler. With the advent of solid CSS animation support and speedy animation frameworks like Velocity.js I expect Web design to move in this direction as well.

Delphine Joly Pujol est l’âme poétique et inspirée qui se cache derrière OcciD Créations. Issue du milieu de la biologie, dont elle emprunte le vocabulaire pour intituler ses collections, l’artiste est passionnée de céramique depuis 15 ans. Fascinée par la naissance d’une pièce à partir des quatre éléments que sont l’eau, la terre, l’air et […]

Mademoiselle Salty est une marque née dans l’esprit de Marion Ferrari, lors d’une année de vie en Indonésie. L’équipe derrière elle, liée par une passion de l’océan, du surf, des voyages, des bijoux et de la culture indonésienne, propose des bagues, colliers ou encore des bracelets et accessoires fabriqués à la main. Ces derniers sont […]

Le court métrage “Moonlight Mojave” est un sublime timelapse pris dans le parc national de Joshua Tree, dans un paysage nocturne. Un ciel étoilé hypnotique se déploie au dessus du désert que la lune et les étoiles illuminent comme si c’était le jour. Le film fait partie du projet Skyglow, qui veut sensibiliser au problème […]

Depuis son plus jeune âge, Sami Bencheikh arpente le Sud-Ouest de la France. Interne de radiologie à l’hôpital de Bayonne, il a débuté la photographie au début de ses études de médecine. Motivé par de grands photographes comme Ben Thouard pour ne citer que lui, il a trouvé en l’océan un refuge au stress du […]

Le film Dune de Denis Villeneuve a remporté six statuettes le 24 mars à 94e cérémonie des Oscars. Un franc succès pour ce film monumental avec Timothée Chalamet et Zendaya à l’affiche. Adaptation du roman fleuve de Franck Herbert de 1965, le film de science-fiction remporte les prix du Meilleur montage, Meilleure musique originale, Meilleur son, […]

That title is a lot to digest, but as part of my (ongoing and never ending) journey to master effective leadership, it would be irresponsible not to cover the topic of autonomy. Human beings have an innate inner drive to be autonomous, self-determined, and connected to one another. And when that drive is liberated, people …

The post Autonomy, failure, and “pushing down”; what I’m learning about leadership appeared first on Nathan Rice.

I spent the better part of the twenty-teens working as a software developer/engineer. To be honest, I paid very little attention to intentional professional growth during most of that span. We were a relatively small company, and I lacked the confidence and experience to think ambitiously. Being a great software engineer can be satisfying and …

The post What does it take to be a great software engineer? appeared first on Nathan Rice.

The most vivid memory of second hand embarrassment I have is from my high school Spanish class. We were taking our exam, so we were all a little nervous. Because exams were more heavily weighted than regular tests or quizzes, this could make or break your grade for the semester. As our teacher, Mr. Wilson, …

The post Want to get ahead in your career? Cheat! (hear me out) appeared first on Nathan Rice.

John was an 18 year old who had recently gotten his real estate license. It was cheaper than a college degree, and he figured he’d give it a shot. The worst that could happen is that he’d be bad at selling houses and, after 6 months or so, he could reevaluate his plan an go …

The post I don’t write for you, dear reader appeared first on Nathan Rice.

I love a good quote. There’s just something about finding a sentence or phrase that speaks directly to the part of your brain that needed convincing. So when I see a good quote, something that speaks to me or illuminates a concept that I needed to see more clearly, I take notice and try to …

The post 12 thought provoking quotes to inspire gratitude and contentment appeared first on Nathan Rice.

Today, I am happy to announce version 6.0 of the Hybrid Core development framework. It has been a long time … Continue reading Hybrid Core 6.0 Now Live, ThemeHybrid.com Community Relaunch →

Video effects have revolutionized how we experience visual forms of entertainment. They're used in almost every type of show, commercial, or film available ...

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New realistic Marvel art brings characters to real life from the X-Men '97 TV show. 2024 marked a new beginning for the X-Men: The Animated Series, as the f ...

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Hey there, fellow design enthusiasts! I've got something super cool to share with you today. You know those grungy, vintage-looking textures that make your ...

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From a mere, individual concept idea discovered in a random online pic to an ordinary shot taken with a camera, there’s hardly anything that software like P ...

Technology today loves making stuff just for you, and it's changing the game in how we get our digital kicks. In an era where personalization is paramount, ...

WordPress job boards were never this easy. The JobEngine theme combines powerful customization tools with a simple user experience. You can sort your listings by location, job type and category. Refine your search criteria without reloading the page. Users can upload a CV and send applications directly from the site. Send automated messages to advertisers […]

Onward is perfect for a photoblog as well as showcasing visual creative work of any kind. It is super simple to use and the asymmetric grid design looks fantastic on any device. It has beautiful grid-like display to show all your posts, whether it be blog posts, portfolio work or anything else you like. Pricing: […]

Medium is a bold, blog-style WordPress theme featuring double sidebars, attention to typographic and design detail and plenty of white space. Use it as a personal blog or a minimal portfolio to show off your latest works. Medium is responsive, all the way down to mobile. Images, videos and text will scale down gracefully to […]

Daisho is a portfolio solution for creative professionals and companies looking for a minimal and professional look. Flexible and responsive presentation, smooth navigational flow and clutter-free approach. Put your works in focus. Powerful Typography Plugin included. The definitive portfolio solution for creative professionals available now. Pricing: $50 Requirements: WordPress Source: Buy it Now

Agera is a beautiful portfolio. Easy to setup, enhanced with Massive Panel and custom shortcode wizard which makes adding shortcodes extremely easy. The main goal of Agera is to let photographers and designers showcase their work easily and in a beautiful and simple way. If you are a creative person this theme is for you. […]

During 2012 there were many progressions in the world of web design, and one of the main success stories was the growth and popularity of responsive web design. It’s no wonder either, as we were in need of something like this, to give an ounce of flexibility to traditional design – which is exactly what […]