Around the Bloq: Olympics titles, typography tips, Penguin covers and more!

Expert typography tips

Designing a hot new typeface requires a lot of hard work and imagination. But what else? From developing legible fonts to creating custom lettering for logotypes, great type design requires a rather interesting (and somewhat conflicting) mix of qualities.

Animated BBC Olympics titles

The BBC has unveiled their title sequence and marketing trail for the 2012 London Olympic Games. At just over a minute long, the sequence sees athletes running through terraced streets; cyclists tackling the Scottish highlands and gymnasts somersaulting along the London bridge.

Older browsers don't need hacks

When a website is let out into the wild, there's a lot it has to survive. Here Jack Armley explains why not to resort to workarounds in to make your site look pixel-perfect in IE6 but instead try to understand what users need to achieve from it.

Create a 3D custom map in Illustrator

This hour-long tutorial explains how to create isometric icons in Illustrator using a grid and the 3D extrude tool. Once you get the hang of drawing the simplest shapes in this isometric style, you can draw just about anything.

20 inspirational Penguin book cover designs

Ever since Penguin published its first paperback in 1935, its covers have had a massive influence on British culture and design. Over the last 75 years Penguin has created some of the most iconic book covers in history. Check out this selection of 20 design classics.

iPads are work tools, too

Tablets are just toys on which to consume content, right? Wrong, says Andy Hawthorne. With a few carefully selected apps, your iPad can enable you to create on the move.

Expert tips for perfect CG portraits

Artist Francisco A Cortina has been involved in the 3D graphics industry since 1995 and has worked at the highest level on feature films, including Final Fantasy IX, Shark Tale and Aeon Flux. Here he shares five killer tips for improving your 3D portrait images.

The godfather of the graphic novel

An interview with Bill Sienkiewicz. A descendant of Nobel prize-winning novelist Henryk Sienkiewicz, Bill has made his own impact on literature through numerous comics projects since breaking into the industry.