*** From the Archives ***

This article is from June 28, 2010, and is no longer current.

Free For All: For You, No Charge!

Cubist Fonts
You probably don’t need cube-like letters and numbers often, but when you do, you’ll discover that they’re hard to find. So download the following three cubist fonts until they’re called for. You’ll thank me eventually. Click the image to visit the font’s download page.



Bokeh Backgrounds
“Bokeh” is the term for those aesthetically pleasing blurry bits that happen in a photo when points of light are out of focus. In recent years, bokeh-like textures and backgrounds have become popular in print and web design, too. Here’s a selection of free bokeh backgrounds. Click the image to go to the collection’s download page.
Bokeh Collection II (3 Images)

Bokeh Bubbles (24 Images)

Colourful (5 Images)

Out of Focus (30 Images)

Bokeh Collection I (3 Images)

Photo Effect Photoshop Actions
Too many perfect photos can be perfectly boring. You’ll add life to your layouts when some images are imperfect: too warm, too grainy, and so on. Use the Photoshop actions below to impart those imperfections.
Nothing but Memories (10 Effects, Plus Textures and Masks)

Actions – 13 (8 Effects)

Actions – 67 (11 Effects)

Sa-Cool Actions 2.08 Colors (17 Effects)

Polaroid Generator 2

Actions – 139 (8 Effects)

GO TO PAGE 2 for freebies that will help you design for the iPhone, iPad, and other mobile devices; and for a Web-based timeline creator.


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Pariah S. Burke is the author of many books and articles that empower, inform, and connect creative professionals.
  • Anonymous says:

    Thanks a millions

  • Anonymous says:

    Hi Pariah, always love the article, I would love to see more free stuff for Open Source programs GIMP, Quanta Plus, Scribus, Inkscape etc etc

  • Anonymous says:

    Yes, I agree with #2. I’d appreciate an articles/reviews looking at open source alternatives to the CS programs such as Scribus, GIMP, and Inkscape.

  • Anonymous says:

    The 2 cube fonts that lead (from fontfabric.com) are not fonts, but eps files. It might seem like a minor distinction, except that fonts are usable in any application, whereas an .eps file of this type is only useful in an application that can edit the vectors (like Illustrator).

  • Anonymous says:

    These all look strangely familiar. Are you, perhaps, recycling? :-)

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