I think it’s interesting how easily we take some technology for granted—as if it had always existed—and never bother to imagine (or remember) how things were before it. Take PDF, for example. It’s been around for 30 years, so there’s an entire generation of people who will never know what it was like when you couldn’t send a digital document to someone else and know exactly what it would look like on their computer. Thankfully, those days are long gone, thanks to PDF and Adobe Acrobat’s ability to reliably render fonts, photos, graphics, and more on any device.

To celebrate PDF’s 30th birthday, we got Colleen Gratzer to share her 20 favorite Acrobat tips for designers. If you’re like most folks, you’ve barely scratched the surface of what Acrobat allows you to do with PDFs. Colleen’s article is the remedy for that condition.

Next, Mike Parkinson shares his approach to designing advanced infographics in PowerPoint. Even if you’ve never made an infographic or even launched PowerPoint, this one’s still worth your time, as Mike describes his three-phase design process that can lead to success, regardless of subject matter or application.

Then, once your brain is full of new information, it’s time to pause and find your moment of zen. Jess Telmanik is your guide to keeping calm in the chaos as a freelancer. Again, many of the tips in this article apply to all of us working in this field.

Hannah Peterson brings us the story of The People’s Graphic Design Archive, where inspiration abounds and you can contribute to the fun.

Our Resource of the Month is the Sun & Sea Graphic Set, which comes packed with graphics, swatches, symbols, and patterns for making ocean, or beach-themed designs.

And, as always, we finish with cool content curated from CreativePro.com. This month, we have articles on designing a font with FontSelf, working with color fonts, a script to help with setting up spiral-bound books, and tips for easier selections in Illustrator. Enjoy!