eb Design Resources for Web Designers. We include Photoshop Tutorials, WordPress Plugins, and Web Development tools. Download free icons, Photoshop brushes and tools for web and graphic designers.
Pinterest have just announced on their blog that they will be experimenting with a new look using a small group of people who sign up as testers. They are not moving away from the gridded style that so many have become familiar with — and so many have tried to emulate; instead they are looking [...]
WordPress is a powerful and popular CMS for nearly all types of websites. But what about content creation? Writing is one of the most important aspects of a website especially for freelancers, small business owners and individuals. WordPress is actively criticised for this part of the experience. Users frequently find themselves using other software to [...]
While typography is typically a two-dimensional proposition, the communication design students at the University of Applied Science in Dusseldorf have expanded the practice to 3-D. As an exercise in three-dimensional letterforms and their applications, the school’s budding designers crafted typographic furniture for each letter of the alphabet. The goal was clear: seek to combine artistic [...]
Still using desktop code editors? Web integrated development environments (IDEs) are a new way to build your web projects directly in the browser, often saving development time and making collaboration easier. The humble browser used to just serve up simple HTML documents, but it’s often now your first stop for just about any task. Think [...]
One of the most challenging briefs any designer can take on is to design for a cross-cultural organization that needs to appeal to disparate groups from diverse backgrounds. As designers we’re frequently reliant on communication through an informally agreed symbolism: green is a healthy color; slab-serifs are masculine. Except that when dealing with global audiences [...]
In order to be a great designer, you need to be on top of the trend before it becomes a trend. Being able to have this sense of what’s going to take off is key in creating a wonderful product. You’re recognized for being one of the ‘firsts’ and you’re also given props for your [...]
Whilst the trend for online business continues to grow, there is a significant increase in the number of consumers choosing not to do business online. The most oft-quoted reason is privacy. Six months ago, several thousand euros were charged to one of my cards. A criminal had somehow accessed my Amazon account and purchased hundreds [...]
Responsive web design has become a near ubiquitous buzzword on the web. Try searching for #rwd on Twitter to find equal parts content and Twitter spam. This is a common phase in the maturing of a new idea. I remember when AJAX was all the rage; the term got driven into the ground. Now, few [...]
Every week we tweet a lot of interesting stuff highlighting great content that we find on the web that can be of interest to web designers. The best way to keep track of our tweets is simply to follow us on Twitter, however, in case you missed some here’s a quick and useful compilation of [...]
Every week we feature a set of comics created exclusively for WDD. The content revolves around web design, blogging and funny situations that we encounter in our daily lives as designers. These great cartoons are created by Jerry King, an award-winning cartoonist who’s one of the most published, prolific and versatile cartoonists in the world [...]
Freelancers (and anyone else who works for him or herself) know that the tide of work ebbs and flows. There’s little question, then, that given the rather capricious nature of incoming projects, it’s critical to meet deadlines—after all, there’s no quicker way of losing future work than failing to deliver present work on time. Here [...]
With over 9 billion indexed sites on the web and counting, sites are having to do more to get noticed and encourage users to spend time on them. With more websites competing for users’ attention, color is becoming more and more important in making your page stand out. Here are some sites that do just [...]
I’m a huge fan of punk rock, particularly punk bands from the 70s and 80s. And I think it’s safe to say that most designers (myself definitely included) appreciate Swiss modernism, even if it’s not their own style preference. Designer Mike Joyce, of Stereotype Design in New York City, has started the Swissted project. It’s [...]
Are you trying to grow your freelance web development or design business? Do you want to spend more time designing websites and less time trying to figure out what the client really wants and needs? By finding the right web design niche, you can increase productivity and revenue and make your freelance business more profitable. [...]
A lot of us can never get enough WordPress themes. It’s not like we get a merit badge for having a couple hundred of them residing on our harddrive, “just in case”. That being said, it’s not like you can ever really having too many high-quality WordPress themes, either. After all, if you’ve got them [...]
For a while now, designers have been absolutely infatuated with all things subtle. We love subtle patterned backgrounds and intricate decorative elements; we are even into the muted color palettes. We forgot about going bold for a minute, but it seems like it’s back. With the use of smaller devices (such as tablets and mobile [...]
It seems that there has been a line drawn in the sand. A few brave design pioneers have all but denounced skeuomorphic design as yesterday’s news and have voted it off of the proverbial island. Are we witnessing the turning point of design as we know it, or are these champions simply jumping an imaginary [...]
The key to great user interface design is user confidence. But designing user confidence isn’t the easiest thing in the world. It requires more than correctly labeled buttons and interactions—although that does help. Confidence is important because you don’t want the user to get annoyed at all with the interactions in your websites or apps. [...]
What do you get when you cross an eccentric street artist, a traditional car manufacturer, and a trendy publication? You get extravagant, larger-than-life, mind-blowing art, of course. Commissioned by Cadillac and Vanity Fair, renowned street artist Barry McGee produced a whopping 96 x 67 foot mural at the Mark Morris Dance Center in Brooklyn, New [...]
The January edition of what’s new for web designers and developers includes new web apps, jQuery plugins, API tools, design tools, content creation resources, CSS and HTML frameworks, InDesign resources, web development tools, and some really great new fonts. Many of the resources below are free or very low cost, and are sure to be [...]
Every week we tweet a lot of interesting stuff highlighting great content that we find on the web that can be of interest to web designers. The best way to keep track of our tweets is simply to follow us on Twitter, however, in case you missed some here’s a quick and useful compilation of [...]
Every week we feature a set of comics created exclusively for WDD. The content revolves around web design, blogging and funny situations that we encounter in our daily lives as designers. These great cartoons are created by Jerry King, an award-winning cartoonist who’s one of the most published, prolific and versatile cartoonists in the world [...]
Pantone recently released its chosen color of the year, emerald green. But ask the advertising duo behind the new beer guide Beertone, and you might think golden yellow, amber red, or chocolate brown is the color du jour. Perfect for the savvy designer with a penchant for a cold one, Beertone features 200 different kinds [...]
While these stunning images may look like still shots from a J.R.R. Tolkien adaptation, they’re actually the handiwork of “amateur” French photographer David Keochkerian. David’s style of infrared photography is achieved by using a special camera or lens filter to block out all light but the infrared waves. The result is an other-worldly effect where [...]
Musicians and bands are frequently young, and usually working within a tight budget, often funding promotional material from their own pockets. As a result they’re one group of people who try their hardest to stay within a budget. Most times, this affects their web presence. Major and independent artists alike tend to go cheap on [...]
In our technologically driven society, it’s tempting to exclusively draw inspiration from electronic sources. A creative block hits and soon you’re surfing the web, checking out Pinterest, clicking from site to site—determined that a screen full of pixels holds the magic key. But maybe, from time to time, inspiration just might be found by stepping [...]
Email marketing is probably the oldest and the most successful form of marketing for the web. Broadly, email marketing involves sending specialized custom emails to generate leads, promote an offer, serve targeted advertisements or initiate deals. Email marketing increases your brand’s radius, allowing you, the marketer to build robust brand value around your product. But [...]
Of all the available New Year’s resolutions, going green in 2013 is certainly an admirable one. But if you’re not sure where to start, take a cue from British artist Nick Gentry, who specializes in recycling and reusing obsolete media — in this case, the floppy disk — to create the kind of art that’s [...]
Picture this: you’re a freelance designer just starting out. You don’t have much of a reputation yet, but you know what direction you want to go in and who to design for. Your budget is low to non-existent, and you want to start reeling in some clients—big clients even. What do you do? Where do [...]
If the thought of flying houses conjures up images of Dorothy, Toto, and ruby slippers in the wake of that famous Kansas tornado, then you’re in good company—but the wonderful Wizard of Oz has nothing on French photographer Laurent Chehere. Known for his work for such high profile clients as Nike and Audi, Chehere swapped [...]
In the first part of this series we looked at the failings that lead to the structural elements new to HTML5; in the second part of the series we looked in detail at the consequences of those failings; in this final part we’ll look for a way forward, and draw some conclusions about the current [...]
Every week we tweet a lot of interesting stuff highlighting great content that we find on the web that can be of interest to web designers. The best way to keep track of our tweets is simply to follow us on Twitter, however, in case you missed some here’s a quick and useful compilation of [...]
Every week we feature a set of comics created exclusively for WDD. The content revolves around web design, blogging and funny situations that we encounter in our daily lives as designers. These great cartoons are created by Jerry King, an award-winning cartoonist who’s one of the most published, prolific and versatile cartoonists in the world [...]
Design and development community Forrst is a great resource for designers and developers who want to share their work and get feedback from others in their field. They made news last year when they were purchased by Colourlovers, and now they’ve been purchased once more by Zurb. Forrst was founded by Kyle Bragger, and has [...]
Forty years ago this coming Sunday (January 13th 1973), the American Broadcast Company added to its lineup of Saturday morning cartoons a cool, musical, three-minute mini-episode that brainwashed American youth into learning… and enjoying it! In the usual Saturday TV worship ceremony followed by more kids than those who attended church on Sunday, kids eagerly [...]
Custom fonts are among the most potentially appealing aspects of CSS3 for designers. With the font-face rule, you can render any font you have online within your web page text, regardless of whether the user has it installed or not. As with most CSS3 techniques, the basic code is pretty simple, but the practical reality is a [...]
In the first part of this series we covered the failings that lead to HTML5′s structural elements, in this second part we’ll look in detail at the consequences of those failings. I’ve said several times that HTML5 introduces a new method of structuring a web page, and you’re probably wondering what that actually is. It’s [...]
Sometimes apps are just apps—but other times they’re cultural phenomena (think Angry Birds). And while the jury’s still out on what place in history the new app Foldify will assume, we may have something akin to the addictive Draw Something on our hands; only this time, the end product is something you can—quite literally—hold in [...]
Developing a good portfolio is an absolutely indispensable part of building a client base, or getting a good job for that matter. And developing a good portfolio can be a very difficult thing to do if you don’t know all the little tricks. Fortunately I know a few, and I am here to teach them [...]
Cards on the table: First and foremost, I’m a writer. And while I’ve worked with more than my share of design gurus, I’m not one myself. But that doesn’t mean we don’t share some commonality—namely, an affinity for the creative, and an aptitude for having that creativity blocked. Anyone who taps into the right brain—from [...]
HTML’s structural elements — article, section, nav and aside — are, at first glance, some of the easiest parts of the HTML5 specification to understand and implement. However, they’re actually some of the most poorly specified, poorly understood, and poorly implemented parts of HTML5. Created arbitrarily; they attempt to introduce a whole new way of [...]
Few things scream Americana more than Norman Rockwell’s iconic Saturday Evening Post covers. Inherently charming and idyllic, the 323 original illustrations remain heart-warming reminders of simpler times — so why not produce a semi-creepy tongue-in-cheek pastiche featuring The Dark Knight himself? Artist and cartoon aficionado Mark Dos Santos took up the challenge with a series [...]
I decided to sell my web design company when we were a top 3 agency within our province for medium-sized websites. We were profitable, had 17 employees and life was good. Naturally I believed I’d find a buyer easily, but I was wrong. Even though I eventually sold the company to a competitor, I could [...]
Every week we tweet a lot of interesting stuff highlighting great content that we find on the web that can be of interest to web designers. The best way to keep track of our tweets is simply to follow us on Twitter, however, in case you missed some here’s a quick and useful compilation of [...]
Every week we feature a set of comics created exclusively for WDD. The content revolves around web design, blogging and funny situations that we encounter in our daily lives as designers. These great cartoons are created by Jerry King, an award-winning cartoonist who’s one of the most published, prolific and versatile cartoonists in the world [...]
Every year the world of web design gets a new catch phrase that trends on just about every discussion platform there is. Some time ago, responsive web design was a blip on the radar that picked up a massive amount of steam recently. We all know why responsive web design is so important, with the influx [...]
There’s just something about vector illustrated websites; they’re fantastical and breathtaking; they’re exciting and bold. Designers are able to create worlds and people that only exist in dreams. If you’re a hardcore Photoshop junkie or HTML magician, it’s really hard not to be jealous of those with some Illustrator skills. Recently, I’ve had to use [...]
In the epic battle of Jedi vs. Sith, it never hurts to wield a trusty…business card? A tongue-in-cheek collection of Star Wars business cards has popped up on The Mary Sue, and according to one collector, they’re circa 1977 legit. If the campy fonts and lack of email or cell phone numbers are any indication, [...]
Techniques, technology and terminology change constantly in web design, and keeping up with them is crucial to your success in online design and development. Device-agnostic and responsive design are two of the current hot terms being bandied around in technology circles, and often in the same sentence. With the increasing use of a wide variety [...]
People build websites for many reasons: to reach a wider audience; to sell, promote, or express; to appease peer pressure. Novelty stopped being a reason circa 2001. In its place, we have of course: of course I have a website; of course you have to have a Facebook wall, Twitter account, LinkedIn profile, or Pinterest board; of course [...]