Does the world need another browser? Google obviously thinks so, as do many users and developers, to judge from early reaction to Chrome. Although it should be noted up front that initially the new browser is available only to Windows users.

We all know the power of text hyperlinks, which form the heart of the web. But what if all images online were in some way also linked—autmatically—such that you could move between related images seamlessly, exploring places and subjects simply by clicking on an endless stream of photos?

If you're a Photos.com member and receive its monthly newsletter, you're familiar with the Photos.com Challenge that we run on our Graphics.com site. For those out of the loop, we'll explain: each month we provide a handful of thematically-related images from the collection, with a challenge to create an original image using at least part of several of them. At the end of each month, six entries are picked and receive Photos.com subscriptions of one or three months in duration. The concept is simple enough, yet after more than four years the Challenge is still running strong, with some amazingly creative entries to be viewed and commented on each round. But if you're familiar with the Photos.com Challenge, what about the AbleStock.com Design Brief?

A new release from the never-boring P22 type foundry lays claim to being the first time a font has been made available simultaneously in both digital and metal formats, a detail of which is shown above. RTF Stern takes its name from the late printer Christopher Stern, and is an upright italic intended for such uses as poetry settings.

In a May post I took a look at the work of Luc Grateau, an artist who paints portraits of Paris subway riders on actual tickets using a tiny portable paintbox and easel. But the practice of rendering portraits of fellow passengers is a global one, according to a recent piece in the Los Angeles Times covering the work of Ed Velandria.

There's a steady stream of books packed with the latest logos and it's invaluable to browse through these to keep on top of the latest design trends. But it's not always easy to decipher what made a logo worthy of inclusion, or how it could have been improved. Wouldn't it be great if you were sitting around with a bunch of talented designers, and together you picked the logos apart, examining what worked and what didn't? That's the thinking behind Really Good Logos Explained, a recent release from Rockport Publishers.

When you think of Porsche, your first thought is probably of sleek, precision-engineered, luxury sports cars, typically driven by middle-aged men with rich fantasy lives. Let's face it, if you're a male of driving age, you'd love to be zipping along in a Porsche at this very minute but the odds of this ever happening are pretty slim. However, thanks to the modern miracle of brand extension, you can at least partake in some small way of the world of the happy few, due to the work of Porsche Design.

Just when you thought there was nothing left to say about the landscape genre, along comes a young Netherlands-based artist who turns things on their head—or rather, on his head. Levi van Veluw's recent Landscape series is the latest in which he uses himself as the canvas for a series of explorations that have resulted in a remarkable run of exhibitions and awards.

The work of British illustrator Steven Wilson seems to be everywhere these days, with a client list that includes such heavyweights as Virgin Digital, MTV, Neiman Marcus, Levi's, Wallpaper, Pathe Films and most recently, Coca Cola. And no wonder, given the consistently fresh, colorful, energetic work that he's currently producing. But despite all these big-name clients, he harbors a soft spot for music albums, such as the illustration above for musician Sam Sparro.

Designers increasingly question the role they play in a consumer society that has pushed our planet to the brink of collapse. But love it or hate it, it's pretty hard not to admire the sheer talent that's required to come up with a fresh ad campaign to capture people's attention. At least that has been my reaction after first discovering the Ads of the World site almost a year ago, when it was purchased from founder Ivan Raszl by Jupitermedia, to become part of the Graphics.com Network.

We've covered German publisher Gestalten here before but not from the perspective of its typographic offerings. While it doesn't release a large number of fonts, those it does choose to add to its modest collection always provide a new typographic twist. Why we mention this now is that Gestalten has just made Jens Gehlhaar's Old Style Figures Black available as a free download in a limited character set version.

Most of us at one time or another, while idly watching an insect make its way in the world, have been struck by the mechanical nature of both its movements and its structure. It's as if this small creature was somehow a clockwork construction, in a class apart from other living things. The discovery of a dead beetle triggered a similar thought in Mike Libby, with the difference that he dissected it and outfitted it with old watch parts and gears. He soon made more with other found insects and has continued to explore this theme in a series of striking sculptures.

While freedom is a wonderful thing, sometimes the constraints of a medium or the circumstances in which work is created can serve as the springboard to something remarkable. Just think of Michaelangelo's frescos in the Sistine Chapel, one of the most demanding of media. While he had no choice but to work quickly on a large scale before the pigment-impregnated plaster dried, a contemporary French artist has chosen to paint tiny portraits within the space of a few minutes... on Paris subway tickets.

So you've been ogling the 3D capabilities of Photoshop CS3 Extended but there's no sign of an upgrade? In fact, you may be watching the 3D train leave the station with that helpless feeling of once again falling behind. You know you could extend the scope of the graphics and documents you're currently creating by adding 3D content. But how? The good news is that the cross-platform DAZ Studio provides a simple, free way to begin incorporating 3D into your Photoshop workflow.

The release of Adobe's new Media Player has made quite a splash this week but those in the creative community using the firm's design tools have received an extra treat, in the form of the simultaneously-launched Adobe TV site.