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Anne-Marie "HerGeekness" Concepcion
Anne-Marie, a design studio owner and busy software trainer, is the geek behind DesignGeek, a free monthly tips and tricks e-zine for digital designers that she's been publishing since 2003. She's also the co-host of the InDesignSecrets.com blog and podcast, with David Blatner.
Make Editable Arrows in Photoshop
How-Tos: Written by Anne-Marie "HerGeekness" Concepcion on June 4, 2008
Create vector arrows you can color, warp, resize, flip, shadow, emboss, and more.
Set Them Free!
Features: Written by Anne-Marie "HerGeekness" Concepcion on May 5, 2008
Find and use the free images and photos hidden in common applications.
HerGeekness Says: Convert Custom Letterhead to Microsoft Word Templates
How-Tos: Written by Anne-Marie "HerGeekness" Concepcion on April 2, 2008
Is your client insisting on a Word version of your letterhead design? Follow these conversion guidelines to cut down on your pain and maximize your profit.
HerGeekness Says: Screen-Share with Your Clients
Features: Written by Anne-Marie "HerGeekness" Concepcion on March 2, 2008
Letting far-flung clients see your screen makes online proofing as good as in-person proofs and online collaboration a cinch. Recent technology improvements free you from worrying about routers, firewalls, computer platforms, or browser compatibility.
Throw Photoshop's Crop Tool into Reverse
How-Tos: Written by Anne-Marie "HerGeekness" Concepcion on February 11, 2008
Normally, the Crop tool makes the canvas smaller. But it can also make the canvas bigger. And it gives you a preview and the flexibility to adjust size on the fly. Take that, Canvas Size!
Microsoft Word for Creative Pros
How-Tos: Written by Anne-Marie "HerGeekness" Concepcion on November 12, 2007
You're a designer, not a text jockey. But sometimes you're forced to work with Microsoft Word anyway, and when that happens, you'll be glad to have these tips.
I Bleed for You
How-Tos: Written by Anne-Marie "HerGeekness" Concepcion on August 6, 2007
If you're dealing with artwork that's missing a bleed allowance, you're not out of luck. Cleverly fake it in Illustrator and Photoshop.
The Search for Buried Treasure on Quark.com
Features: Written by Anne-Marie "HerGeekness" Concepcion on June 25, 2007
There's very valuable free information on Quark's Web site, but it's deeply hidden. Only Cap'n Concepcion can lead you to this treasure trove.
Search Faster in Large PDFs
Features: Written by Anne-Marie "HerGeekness" Concepcion on May 9, 2007
Just one simple command in Acrobat 8 makes it far easier for you -- and your clients -- to hunt through massive files.
Get Your Photoshop On -- Inside InDesign!
Features: Written by Pariah Burke Anne-Marie "HerGeekness" Concepcion on May 7, 2007
InDesign CS3's new Effects panel gives you unprecedented artistic options. Find out how to make the most of them, and get a special discount on InDesign Magazine.
Software and Services that Are Free -- and Not Scams
Features: Written by Anne-Marie "HerGeekness" Concepcion on April 9, 2007
From file transfers to audio editors, conference calls to color explorations, here are free services and programs you won't regret trying. And no, we're not getting kickbacks from these companies -- we just think this stuff is cool.
Tips for Managing Web Color in Photoshop
How-Tos: Written by Anne-Marie "HerGeekness" Concepcion on September 18, 2006
Do your images shift colors once you save for the Web and view in a browser? No more! Here's how to achieve a "no surprises" Photoshop-to-Web-image workflow.
Design HTML E-Mail Templates That Won't Fail
Features: Written by Anne-Marie "HerGeekness" Concepcion on June 28, 2006
Many clients are requesting well-designed templates for HTML e-mail campaigns. If designing for cross-browser compatibility is tough, designing for cross-e-mail compatibility can be a nightmare! Rest easy -- we've got the answers.
Type Tips for Print and Web, Mac and Windows
Features: Written by Anne-Marie "HerGeekness" Concepcion on May 29, 2006
Want to find fonts that look good onscreen? Or do you need to find specialty fonts fast? And what do you do when your old platform-specific fonts must work on today's Macs and PCs? We've got all the answers.
How-To: A Hidden Feature of QuarkXPress 7
How-Tos: Written by Anne-Marie "HerGeekness" Concepcion on April 19, 2006
The new version of XPress is still in beta, but that doesn't mean our experts aren't combing through every last inch of it. One fun discovery: You can make tritones from black-and-white and grayscale TIFFs.
Get Your Mitts on Illustrator's Free, High-Quality Templates, Clip Art, and More
How-Tos: Written by Anne-Marie "HerGeekness" Concepcion on March 27, 2006
Adobe bundles 320MB of templates, clip art, stock photos, and sample files with Illustrator CS2. The trick is to first find where those freebies live, then create a catalog for easy browsing and selection. Here's how.
Let Acrobat Organize You
Features: Written by Anne-Marie "HerGeekness" Concepcion on March 1, 2006
Most people who use Acrobat 7 don't realize that it comes with its own free file browser and manager, called the Organizer. It gives you quick access to files anywhere on your hard drive. It can track locations of any PDF you've viewed in the last 24 months, show you the date and time a file was modified, let you group aliases of PDFs into virtual collections, and a lot more.
Don't Be Editorial's Prisoner
Features: Written by Anne-Marie "HerGeekness" Concepcion on December 2, 2005
Are you fed up with entering endless rounds of editorial changes to page-layout files? One program may be the answer to your prayers.