HeyJaredThe Fake PNG
Professional graphic design knowledge you can apply immediately that covers branding, production, workflows, and the assets that help you create better work.
- Indexed issues, last 90 days
- 4
- Latest publication
- Sep 26, 2026
- Audience
- Checking…
- Earliest in this view
- Jul 28, 2026
Latest issues
What Print Production Taught me that Photoshop Didn’t (opens the original)
Read excerpt
Fall is here, and with the change in seasons, I’ve been taking some time to reflect on the past few months. What have I learned? What has changed the way I approach design? And what lessons are worth carrying forward?One of those lessons comes from print production. Although I’m no longer the person physically running the printers, I’m still very much involved in what happens between the design on screen and the finished piece that comes off the machine. (Hey, that rhymes!)That process has remin
Texture Should Be Felt, Not Always Seen (opens the original)
Read excerpt
Texture is one of those things that’s very easy to overdo.You add a some grain…then drop in a paper texture. Maybe some more noise even. Suddenly your clean design looks like a grungy, weathered graphic that has been exposed to the elements for years.But the problem usually isn’t the texture itself. It’s how we’re using it.With this in mind I thought I’d share some tips on my approach to adding texture to my work. <a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/f
Turning Real Paper Into Digital Textures (opens the original)
Read excerpt
At the start of this week I released a new digital asset titled Basic Folds. The idea was simple. I wanted something I can use in my work that wouldn’t overtake the design but instead add to it. Even if slightly. Folding paper is pretty much a habit of mine. We all do it. Wether it’s bills we get, important documents or just notes we take on the fly…we fold them, stuff them in our pocket and continue our day. For this one, I didn’t want it to be too worn so here’s what I did instead. I grabbed a
Your AI Art Probably Isn't Ready for Print (opens the original)
Read excerpt
Several times a week I get a call or an email from someone with AI generated artwork they want to have printed on apparel. To the untrained eye the prompted images look finished. When I open up the file however, you see the fuzzy edges, backgrounds and even misspelled words. One of the things AI is doing is creating an illusion that people think they’re getting print ready images. That’s far from the case. For us this has become an add-on charge due to the work the images require in order to be
Publishing over time
Last 90 days. Choose a month to open its work.
Recurring subjects
Named in the text we hold. One piece can cover several.
Audience
No verified audience measurement yet.
About this data
Counts cover the work we have indexed. Tone needs enough text and a confident classification. Excerpts and episode notes are not full articles or transcripts.
Identity or attribution wrong? Suggest a correction.