Entertainment

Indeed a list of harsh realities - a testament to the fact that design isn't created, but observed. And true designers exist in that space 24 hours a day!

After closing entries for Round 1 in our Photoshop contest, I think it is safe to say that it’s been the most successful first round ever with 600 entries. Here are a few highlights among the huge number of incredibly creative images.

As a designer, you’re probably familiar with all these gadgets that are available in various online stores – some are useful, some quite brilliant and a few downright indispensable.

And then there’s the opposite side of the spectrum. Let’s just say that the world's stupidest gadgets came in for review today.

Two trends you will have noticed over the last couple of years. The first, every other person you meet now has a digital camera. As a consequence, the second trend is at least half of these people want to learn more about their new-found photography passion.

Hundreds of websites and blogs are out there hoping to satisfy this demand but some stand out as shining beacons amongst the seas of recycled claptrap and copy and paste mediocrity.

In the last leg of the Crestock Photo Contest 2007 we received some truly amazing pictures among the well over 600 submissions. With emotions ranging from pure adrenaline, blinding speed and motion blur to more subtle interpretations of this round's theme, the photographers have certainly put some serious effort into this. Perhaps no wonder when the first prize was the awesome Canon EOS 1Ds Mark II?

'Feeling Sexy', the theme for round two of the Crestock Photo Contest 2007, resulted in the whole gammut of interpretations, ranging from the hilarious and self-deprecating through to the unquestionably sexy, with some fantastically unexpected and individual interpretations inbetween.

Just to clarify: this post has absolutely nothing to do with real eggs, nor the chocolate variety you buy in the shops. In this context, "Easter eggs" are the little surprises you can find hidden away in your software applications, if you know where to look...

Here at Crestock we have for some time had a Judge Ross section where we feature images that amaze and impress us, as well as photos that are either simply so technically poor, or so bizarre, that we cannot conceivably imagine a situation where someone would feel compelled to lay down hard cash for them.

If you happen to be based in the north of Scandinavia, or Canada, you're probably only too aware of how tricky it can be to trap a moose and bring it home as a pet, so how about channeling your creativity into creating your own?

The world of design can be a ruthless one; not only do you spend most of your time pondering and tweaking minute details that most people find insignificant – and most likely won't even notice – you also get lured into developing anti-social habits like font-spotting and source-code peeping.