HOW's April Issue is packed full of inspiration, as it debuts the winners from our biggest competition—the 2009 International Design Annual—featuring 297 award-winning print and interactive designs. This year's Best of Show is unlike anything we've ever seen before! Plus, with tough times FEATURES International Design Awards After 3 days of judging fabulous design, judges Stefan Bucher, Shannon Carter and Lisa Sanger narrowed down the winners. Best of Show: Map-tastic! You've never seen a city map like this before, and it drew raves from our judges. Take a look at how lenticular technology takes a common object from 2D to 3D—and revolutionizes this wayfinding tool. Interactive Design Awards See the best that's on the web, from b2b and consumer websites, to self-promo and kiosks. Digital Book Smarts This year's Best of Show takes interactive design to new heights, for an engaging environment for visitors to the Library of Congress. COLUMNS Career: Hot Skills for Slow Times Recession-proof your design career by brushing up on these 7 in-demand creative skills that'll give you an edge over your colleagues and competitors. Web Exclusive: Hot Skills in Action. Read these surefire ways to jumpstart your career advancement. Creativity: Business Tripping We were so intrigued by startup design studio Hatch that we peeked inside their San Francisco workspace, too. Web Exclusive: Fashion Week Photo Gallery. View designers Chad Gordon and Jennifer Juan's photo gallery from Milan, Italy. Web Exclusive: Designer's Travel Guide Series. Find a little inspiration yourself! Business: Weathering the Storm Don't panic. Here are 10 business strategies to help your design firm survive a tough economy—and thrive in the long term Disciplines: Information Overload Designers are increasingly tapped to bring clarity to complex data. Here's what you need to know to create effective infographics in an oversaturated world. Technology: CS4—Should You Upgrade? Adobe's latest version of Creative Suite adds functionality to improve your workflow. Our technology guru tells you whether an upgrade is worth your dollars.
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