Message Center Enhancements!

A deviant's Message Center is his or her portal into the deviantART community. It's similar to a deviantART-specific inbox that pulls in various details and information deviants have 'subscribed' to in some manner -- through +watching other deviants, commenting on news articles or forum posts, getting alerted about special contests or events via Hot Topics, and so on. The Message Center is a one stop shop for news and updates and is often the very first page deviants check when visiting the site.

However, Super Deviants (like those who frequent #hq) might find it more difficult to manage their Message Center experiences. The longer someone has been a deviant and the more active he or she is in the community, the greater the chance that the deviant's Message Center has become bogged down with messages and notices that are less relevant. Kind of like getting junk mail in your inbox.

Until now!

Those crafty Devious Technology guys have developed a couple of simple tools that allow for better Message Center management.


1. Pick and choose what you'd like to be notified about.

Let's use $trowlandson (Tom) as an example. I like Tom. He's a good writer. He occasionally puts out interesting journals that I enjoy reading. His art, however, leaves much to be desired. I don't want to see it. It clogs up my Message Center and I'm tired of having to 'X' out of it. With the new Message Center enhancements, I can easily pick and choose which of Tom's updates I'd like to receive.

Yes to journals.
No to deviations.
Yes to critiques.
No to scraps.

Less chaos and more organization. Fine-tuning for the win!





2. Added control for more power.

Because of this extra control, you'll be able to +watch more deviants that are relevant to your interests. Ultimately, maximizing your deviantART experience -- which is what we all want. Plus, for those pesky friends (you know, like Tom) you can even choose to "remove all deviations by $trowlandson to keep things extra clean.





Get organized! Visit your Message Center now and look for the down arrow to get started!

~Heidi

P.S. - Tom is a good sport.

A bit of controversy for a controversial artist. But this is the joy of having Shepard among us here on deviantART. Josh Wattles, deviantART's Adviser in Chief, had the following to say in response to many of the comments in the Love Unites Contest Announcement Article, I thought I'd repeat it here for you, quoted from his comment found here. -- $spyed


You can hold whatever opinion you want about Shepard Fairey but the bottom line is that he is an extraordinarily accomplished graphic artist dedicated to political and social activism. His poster for Obama is one of the most extraordinary and dramatic contributions of graphic art as an agent for change and it was one of the engines that drove Obama's successful campaign to become the first African American President.

Artists are people, people make mistakes. Shepard Fairey may have made his share. His art is highly controversial just like Andy Warhol, and Roy Lichtenstein, Jeff Koons, etc. and make no mistake this is the caliber of artist we are talking about.

Shepard's art is in every major contemporary art museum in the United States. His portrait of Obama hangs in the National Portrait Gallery. His achievements in the arts are many.

I'm not saying he's right or wrong, or will win or lose his law suit; I am saying he is an artist of distinction. We are a great art community. And he should feel welcomed here.

I can also say that deviantART has been in touch with top copyright lawyers about the Shepard Fairey law suit involving the AP photo of Obama and an analysis of the law of copyright in that case strongly suggests that Shepard's use of the photograph is called "Fair Use." That doesn't mean he didn't use the photograph, but it does mean that copyright law permits that kind of use. He is now represented by the top copyright professor at Harvard University Law School which is the top law school in the United States. The professor is representing Shepard without charge. Presumably he believes he will win the case.

What does this mean for deviants who are deeply concerned about art theft?

It means you should pay very close attention to the Shepard Fairey
case and how it works its way through the courts, much like we will be.

- Josh ($makepictures)

-
Josh Wattles
Adviser in Chief
deviantART

So many prints at HQ! Photos inside!

There are few things that deviantART staffers realllllly, truly like. A good deal is one, awesome art is another, and taking photos around the office is something we just can't live without.

So naturally, the recent free shipping sale on prints created a perfect storm for all of the above and has lead to a parade of packages being delivered during the last few days.

"Pics for proof?" you say. It just so happens I have some right here in mah pocket!


$Heidi is yet another satisfied customer!












Modern Magic by =alexiuss - 24x36" Fine Art Print with a jet frame.
Hang in There, Baby by `Cyantre - 24x36" Fine Art Print with a jet frame.


$chris is the fifth Lego Beatle!



YELLOW LEGO SUBMARINE by =T4M32 - 36x36" Fine Art Print with a jet frame.


$mhalpert may have just stolen this print from someone's house!



modern.contrast.2 by =Goodfoot42 - 20x30" Matte Photo Print with a black frame.


$Waveswinger is auditioning for this video.



Los Angeles by ~ranjeetrajan - 24x36" Fine Art Print with a jet frame.


We need MOOOOOOAR (more + roar = moar)!

Thank you to everyone who has submitted photos of the prints you received during the free shipping sale. Here are a few that caught our eye.






Did we miss your awesome product shots? Link them in the comments and I'll edit this blog to include them!

Thanks,
Tom ($trowlandson)


P.S. - Starting Friday, November 13th, we'll be having a 30% off discount on all greeting cards, for all users! That's the biggest prints product discount we've offered to date.






Prints Man loves sales!

This is how you've made us feel...





FREE SHIPPING WRAP-UP!

We knew that our free shipping sale would be a big hit. I had an ambitious guess on what the impact on sales would be, $SGonzalez (financial wizard man) had an even crazier guess. The actual sales figure was more than both of our guesses combined. In 5 days we sold more prints and paid more royalties to artists than in the previous two months combined!

Our production took a major hit with the flood of orders, but we're happy to report that as of today everything is caught up and functioning as usual, and thousands upon thousands of prints and art gifts are making their way to homes and workplaces around the world.

This free shipping sale was in direct response to numerous requests from deviants to lower shipping costs. We heard your cries for more affordable shipping, and with the success of this sale we've heard you louder than ever before.

DeviantART is the best place on the internet to gain exposure for your artwork and build an audience, it's our mission in Prints to make it the best place on the Internet to sell prints of your artwork.

To that end, and in direct response to the success of this shipping sale you can expect changes in the weeks and months to come not only to how much it costs for your prints to be shipped to customers, but also to the cost of the actual products and the overall structure of the pricing and profits for artists.

Simply put, shipping should cost less, products should cost less, and with the resulting increased volume artists should earn more.

For up to date Prints news, stats, information on existing and new products, and to see and reach out to the team of people who work hard to make the prints program what is today and what it will be in the future check out and watch our new group #printscommunity.

To everyone who purchased a print, we're looking forward to seeing your prints product shots!


THANK YOU!

Tom ($trowlandson)

Calling all group administrators!

Please take note that in the very near future, Devious Technology will be disabling new posts to the Private Area blog. However, this functionality has been replaced with the new and uber-cool Conversations and Bulletins features. Previous blog entries won't be removed until they've been migrated to Bulletins. Migration will happen shortly after blog posting has been disabled.


Halloween is almost here!

With Halloween sneaking up around the corner, deviantART is in full-on spooktastic mode. For deviants who want to get into the ghostly holiday spirit, there are many community events, games, and contests to participate in. But hurry! With October coming to a close, some of these events end in the next few days!

Fella's Halloween Contest
Ghosts, ghouls, and goblins... oh my! With Halloween just around the corner, a favorite holiday for many deviants, Fella is preparing to eat a ton of candy, carve multiple jack-o-lanterns, and most importantly... decide on his Halloween costume. And that's where you come in!

daMonsters
The Fella Zombie King needs your help! He needs to grow an army of monsters in the Zombie Kingdom in preparation for Halloween night. Mummies, zombies, vampires, demons, and werewolves will all form their own armies and build up their numbers by biting and infecting human victims and turning them into monsters!

Randomtastic Deviation Contest
This Premium Member-only contest challenges deviants to take three random items (ketchup bottle, tape, and a piece of fruit) and using a Halloween theme, come up with the most creative and crafty deviation possible!

#CommunityRelations Halloween Party
The Community Relations department wants to celebrate Halloween with you! Drop by the chat #CommunityRelations on Saturday, October 31st and hang out. Random goodies will be given out and there will be fun games.


What did the zombie say to the vampire? You suck!

Vampires may suck, but this sweet deal doesn't. Save 50% on deviantWEAR's Zombie shirt until October 31st at 11:59 PM Pacific. But don't delay, supplies are limited!




Have a happy and safe Halloween, everyone!

~Heidi

P.S. - Is it just me, or is something following my cursor...