Last.fm is a fantastic online service that monitors (scrobbles) the music you play through iTunes, and updates your profile with the latest song information. It then builds on this data by notifying you of trends - who you listen to most, what your favourite genres are etc. and goes a step further to suggest other artists you may like.

Last.fm itself, the website, has just been redesigned and lives up to a very high standard that could draw many similarities to Facebook. The desktop app is also very well designed, keeping the interface simple, only showing what is needed and nothing more. The desktop app also ensures that what is important - the song information - is clearly and prominently displayed.

That's why when the original Last.fm iPhone App was released, it had a lot to live up to. The original was good, but not amazing, with quite a few features missing, and a less than smooth interface.

However, almost all of the faults of the original have now been eliminated with the latest release of Last.fm for iPhone:

• Major improvements to the user interface all around (tap to zoom album art)
• Ability to tag songs
• Personal tag radio
• Calendar based events view
• Common artists when viewing a user profile
• Lots of other usability and back-end updates

Tag Songs

Probably the most requested feature of the original app was the ability to tag songs. You can now tag any song with as many tags as you wish, and are greeted with an instant search that autofills with suggestions for tags. You can also start a new "station" based on any tag you wish. This is brilliant - they have taken user requests seriously, and not just delivered on them, but have exceeded expectations.

Cover Art Zoom

A nice little UI feature has been added on the "Now Playing" screen - the ability to double tap and zoom in or out of the album art. Simple but sweet.

Beautiful Startup Screen

Normally, waiting for an app to start is an arduous task. However, with Last.fm, the start screen is truly attractive - black to dark grey gradient, with Last.fm prominently displayed in the centre in crisp white. There is also a subtle loading animation - the "as" of Last.fm (and AudioScrobbler) winds around to indicate the app is working. First impressions count, and this is probably the most understated attractive loading screen of any app I have used.

Calendar View

A new view for the Events screen is Calendar View. Essentially this is the same as month view in iCal, and it makes perfect sense to put it here. You can now easily see any upcoming events of the selected artist by simply browsing over a calendar view.

I hope you enjoyed this post, and highly recommend you try out Last.fm for iPhone. Best of all, it's free, so what excuse could you possibly have!

You could also read Last.fm's official release post here.

Download Last.fm from the App Store.

Courtesy of the always fabulous Joy of Tech.

Download the font, by Alex Emmer, here

In the mood for downloading? Try 77 Vector Buttons.

Ever wanted to type the copyright icon, or do an accent over an A without having to resort to some character palette? We have, and it takes time and is an effort. So we put together a series of help sheets that reference all of the characters that aren't listed on your keyboard, along with their shortcut keys to make your life easier.

Click on a preview image to view a full jpg.

Note: The "Alt" key on these sheets is the same as the "Option" key as some Mac users may put it. Why people were getting so upset about this I just don't know. Its not rocket science.

Get them all in one PDF [216kb]

Get the PDF [128kb]

There were so many, that to make the reference usable and readable we had to divide them into 3 sheets.

Get the PDF [116kb]

Last but not least, one more sheet.

Get the PDF [112kb]

We hope you find them useful.

Listen up Mac users. You may already know this, but I didn't until the other day, and it really comes in handy. Safari has a little tool called the Activity Window, which can be accessed by going to going to "Window > Activity" (shortcut: alt + apple + a). In here you can see every file that the website you are viewing is calling upon. The brilliant thing is that by double clicking any one of these files, it will download straight to your desktop.

Considering you would most likely want to download a file containing video or audio, look in the column on the right to see its size. By process of elimination you will see that the biggest file will be the one you want.

So if you happened to be on YouTube, you could download any video you wanted. Similarly, if you were on MySpace, and had no respect for copyright law, you could download anything you wanted.

This, if you didn't know it already, could save a lot of people a lot of time (and money).

You might also like 165 Vector Icons, 50 Ways to Become a Better Designer, 77 Vector Buttons

Read the rest of this entry »

You seemed to like our original set of 165 vector icons, so we thought you might like them again. In 4 more colours. So, I suppose that makes 825 icons. As always, they're free for you to use as you wish. Oh, and this time, as you asked nicely, we are giving away an svg as well. Hope you like 'em!

Here's the blue set, and to make life easier, you can download the jpg, svg, and ai as a zip.

Get the Adobe Illustrator CS2 File [1.9MB]

Get the jpeg here. [396KB]

Here's the green set, and to make life easier, you can download the jpg, svg, and ai as a zip.

Get the Adobe Illustrator CS2 File [2.4MB]

Get the jpeg here. [424KB]

Here's the red set, and to make life easier, you can download the jpg, svg, and ai as a zip.

Get the Adobe Illustrator CS2 File [1.9MB]

Get the jpeg here. [468KB]

Here's the white set, and to make life easier, you can download the jpg, svg, and ai as a zip.

Get the Adobe Illustrator CS2 File [1.9MB]

Get the jpeg here. [268KB]

And finally, here's the black set, and to make life easier, you can download the jpg, svg, and ai as a zip.

Get the Adobe Illustrator CS2 File [1.9MB]

Get the jpeg here. [256KB]

You might also like 77 Vector Buttons, 50 Ways to Become a Better Designer.

Being a successful creative has a lot to do with the way you work. Sure, you can't teach good design, but it never hurts to learn a few new tricks, or simply make the most of your talents. So without further adieu, here's 50 ways to be more successful as a designer. Take 'em or leave 'em.

Don't get stuck before you've started: get some good ideas.

1] Metaphors.

Great ideas can stem from using themes and metaphors. Basing a site design around the idea of a school, for example, can open up a whole avenue of ideas. A great design works because the theme houses and conveys the content seamlessly.

2] Don't take all day to brainstorm.

It always helps to throw ideas around with a colleague or friend (as long as he knows what he's doing). Try to have a couple of short sessions of brainstorming rather than one massive one as ideas can quickly go cold.

3] Get off that computer!

Sometimes it's best to just have a break. Leaving the computer can seem like going on holiday in rush hour, but it usually helps if you just take a 10 minute break and get some fresh air. If you can't do that, try listening to some music, or taking your jumper off.

4] Join a forum.

A lot of creatives work from home, but that doesn't mean they can't talk to anyone. There are a lot of really helpful and talented people out there willing to have a chat about design, you just need to find them. Here are some of my favorite forums:

Pixel 101 (Probably my favourite)
Illustrator Techniques
Designate Online
DevLounge (OK, it's not a forum, but it's a really decent site)

5] Think brand.

Try going to a few courses on branding, as brand thinking is vital to developing the way you think. Keep your ideas squeaky simple, and 9 times out 0f 10 they will work. Thinking in terms of branding means you can develop key words to stem your ideas from. Complexity just doesn't work.

6] Use a sketchbook.

I almost always start with ideas that I have scribbled down in my trusty sketchbook. Whenever I get an idea I just make sure I get it down on paper. This always helps as whenever you're stuck at a later date, you don't have to go out and buy another book, just refer to your own! Don't just keep it to ideas though, put URLs, book titles, words, and all the sketches down that you can. It will develop into your creative mind, on paper.

7] Get your specs straight.

Always ensure you know the media you're going to be using at the start of working on a project. Knowing that there's going to be photography involved means you may need to think about locating a shoot. 3D may mean getting some help to make it look that little bit better. Taking it to print in the last minute is also not advised: things never go to plan! Ensure you know the scale of production you're going to be dealing with, and research the printing processes you're going to use.

8] Draw a map.

I find it helps to visualise the brief. Highlight key words and phrases, and jot them down in your trusty sketchbook. Then see how these ideas could link up by drawing lines between them and branching out from those core ideas. Pretty soon you'll have enough on the page to sketch out some decent ideas.

9] Rough it out.

Once you have THE idea, and it's on paper, try putting it together at low res on the computer. This way you can see what you might need to rethink or improve to get the job done well. At this stage you don't need to worry about perfect dimensions or colours, just see how it goes.

10] Take a shower.

No, not because your odor is putting your colleagues off, but because (apparently) running water increases brain productivity. Try not bring the brief in with you, but spending time in a place that you feel really comfortable in can greatly help those ideas flow. Read the rest of this entry »

Can't be bothered with making buttons? Want some new ones to add to your collection? Need a little inspiration? We've put together a little set of 77 buttons that we hope will lend you a hand in your times of button making breakdown. There all here to download in Adobe Illustrator format, just like our icon set. Alternatively, if you're not a fan of Illustrator, you can get a JPEG or an SVG, just follow the link. We hope you like them!

Get the Adobe Illustrator CS2 File [1.9MB]

Don't have Illustrator?

Get the jpeg here. [264KB]

You might also like our Icons...

Here you go, the icon set by liquidicity. 165 hand drawn icons that you can use for whatever you like. Most probably your website. We have worked pretty hard to get these done, so we hope you like them.

Get the Adobe Illustrator CS2 File [1.9MB]

Don't have Illustrator?
Get the SVG here. [471KB]
Get the jpeg here. [256KB]

Oh, and here's a little preview:

Now available in 5 Colours!

See also: HTML Help Sheet