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Adobe has just announced new features in their Muse web design app. Muse launched just nine months ago, and in that time has had a few fairly substantial updates which make it a significantly more useful tool for professional designers. Muse, from the very beginning, has allowed designers to create unique, free-form designs without visual [...]
Most web design and/or development projects have some history behind them. Sometimes you have to re-design or re-develop a company’s existing website to update it and add new functionality. In most cases, there is some history to the website; its business goals have been identified, research has been carried out, and you are able to [...]
Mobile web traffic almost doubled in 2012, but that growth slowed dramatically in 2013 and mobile has even lost market share in February. Are we seeing the beginning of the end of mobile growth on the web or is this just a short hiccup in the inevitable rise of mobile browsing? By the numbers Mobile [...]
Not every designer gets the chance to work on a high-profile redesign. In fact, the vast majority will never have that chance. At least not officially. But that doesn’t mean they don’t have some amazing ideas about how sites like Facebook, Twitter, CNN, and other big-name sites should look. That’s why a lot of designers [...]
If there’s one thing every designer needs in their toolkit, it’s a workhorse font. A workhorse font is the typeface you turn to again and again; it’s your first stop; your default option. Your workhorse font is deeply entrenched in your personal style, it defines your portfolio even more than your client list. Not too [...]
The greatest sites out there are always notable for their attention to detail. One often underestimated detail is the existence of a useful and user-friendly 404-error page. WordPress provides an easy way to create and customise the 404-error page, but unfortunately, the simplicity in customization does not automatically mean effectiveness. The well-known WordPress SEO expert [...]
There are a number of options out there for WordPress e-commerce plugins, including both free and paid options. The user experience with many of these plugins though, can be somewhat lacking. That’s where the MarketPress ecommerce plugin comes in. It was designed specifically because the developers felt that the UX of WP-ecommerce was pretty awful, so they [...]
Who said that? Both parties often do. Both the client and the designer often accuse each other of ruining a web project. Why? What is it both parties expect that the other can’t or won’t fulfill. Is it a breakdown in communications, and if it is, what can be done to prevent it? You know [...]
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 [...]
When Marissa Mayer jumped ship at Google to take over the reigns at the web’s second biggest name in search, no one doubted she had a job on her hands. Interest was sparked worldwide by the fact that not only had Yahoo! appointed a woman (gasp!) as CEO, but that she was also pregnant (gasp!!). [...]
Anyone who’s up on technology has heard of mobile web design and content marketing—two terms used with increasing frequency in the online world. Can mobile design and a great content marketing strategy be combined without sacrificing either content or design elements? Or does the content of a website suffer because of the restrictions imposed by [...]
Good enterprise search services are a huge boon to productivity in large companies with a lot of data to manage and access. Google Mini or Search Appliance often come to mind when thinking about these kinds of solutions, but they’re not the only players in the industry. SearchBlox can index and search through more than [...]
Do you want your website to load blazing fast? This article will teach you how to make your website load faster than you ever thought possible. In order to understand why having a fast website is important, check out these statistics: the average smartphone user will leave a website if it does not load within [...]
The Rorschach test is the most widely used projective psychological test, designed to assess and identify personality structures. But while photographer Traci Griffin’s brilliant new series titled “Mirrors” bears some resemblance to an inkblot test, her aim is entirely different — namely, to show that exact symmetry cannot be found in nature. Starting from this [...]
I got my professional start in the world of design at a specialty magazine publisher. Magazine layout and design is, therefore, very close to my heart. A lot of principles of magazine design and layout are easily transferred to the world of web design. Some of these are pretty obvious, while you may have overlooked [...]
If Bill Shakespeare is to be believed, eyes are the windows to the soul. Designed to look outwards, looking into them reveals a person’s deepest emotions. The same might be said of windows. Built to provide light, and scenic views for the occupants of a building; they also allow us to look in, catching a [...]
We are very visual beings. We like to see it to believe it. And sometimes we don’t trust our brain as much as we trust our eyes. Making decisions is often easier when you see something rather than if you take in a bunch of information about that something. Could you imagine trying out a [...]
While Generation Y may be too young to remember, there was a time in the 70s and 80s when the coolest gadgetry was inevitably “Made in Japan” — especially a series of 35 mm SLR cameras that set the industry standard. When the design consultancy group Antrepo analyzed the logos and typography of these vintage [...]
The February edition of what’s new for web designers and developers includes new web apps, jQuery plugins and JavaScript resources, productivity and project management tools, CMS’s, CSS and HTML frameworks, 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 [...]
Sometimes we become so preoccupied with what can be animated, Photoshopped, and otherwise digitally produced that we lose sight of the fact that often the most awe-inspiring beauty is right in front of us. Or, in this case, right below us. French photographer Normann Szkop has captured the majesty of the Netherland’s beloved tulip fields [...]
It is never a bad time to have an idea for the web, and when it comes, the best thing to do is developing and creating as soon as possible before the idea fades away. That’s why freebies have become so important, they’re great time savers, giving you the items to build awesome projects, placing [...]
Recently, I had the ‘joy’ of attempting to book tickets with Ticketmaster.co.uk and, I knew exactly what I was in for — pages to trawl through, lengthy reservation queues and a security enigma that wouldn’t be out of place on ‘Mastermind’. But, thankfully I was able to breathe a sigh of relief when I found out [...]
I guess a more suitable title might be ‘is Photoshop still an appropriate tool for designing typography on the web?’ But that lacks the dramatic appeal of the above. Like many of you, I have always used Photoshop to create mock-up compositions of my designs. For as long as I can remember it has been [...]
Fonts can become synonymous with brands. Picture, for example, “Yahoo”, “Disney”, or the masthead for “The New York Times”; in each case, the brand and the typeface are virtually interchangeable. With this in mind, a team of designers isn’t just rebranding a company — they’re rebranding a city. In the 1940s, Chattanooga, Tennessee was hopping, [...]
Do you call yourself a freelance web designer? If so, you are only partially correct. The truth is that you also need to be a salesperson. If you can’t sell your own services, you likely won’t be a freelance web designer for long. A Google search of “freelance web designers” returns 82.2 million results, while [...]
Is there anything better than a font named after the Spanish word for cockroach? Maybe a font named after that combined with the word “future”? Futuracha is just that font. It’s a beautiful display font that’s great for things like logos or posters. Because of how stylized it is, it’s not suitable for body copy. [...]
It’s the trend that people are calling for this year. But it’s really a trend that’s been here for the past couple of years. Typography is a concept that’s been practiced for many centuries. And it’s one that’s going to stick around for years to come. What is it about typography that makes everyone go [...]
RequireJS is an effective way to improve the speed and quality of your JavaScript code additionally making it a lot more readable and easier to maintain. In this article I’ll introduce you to RequireJS and how you can begin using it. We will go through requiring files and defining a module and even touch on [...]
There was a time, not so long ago, when flying was considered a glamorous experience, something people aspire to do, a rite of passage, something you had to do before you die. The American Airlines brand has taken an active role in helping to shape this image since the company’s formation back in 1930, when [...]
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 [...]
If a company’s branding materials should seek to leave a mark, then Austrian design studio Bureau Rabensteiner has more than met the challenge with a recent client project. Using thermo-sensitive black ink, these visionary creatives have fashioned a dynamic stationery set for Vienna-based photo rep and producer Natalie Daniels. The black varnish color fades at [...]
As I put the phone down, I was still shaking quietly. It was one of the hardest phone calls I’ve had to make. I had just told the client that I was tired of him messing me around, that the way he worked was making it impossible for me to produce good work, and I [...]
Photoshop opens up such a huge range of possibilities for photography enthusiasts. And Photoshop actions make it easy for almost anyone to create amazing shots, regardless of your Photoshop proficiency. Our sister site, mightydeals.com, has an incredible deal on a set of more than 200 Photoshop Actions available, in 14 themed sets. Each set includes [...]
It’s a well known fact that a sport is not just pleasure: it’s a business (without a doubt a big business) that can bring fantastic fortunes to those who know the rules of the game. So as long as sport is business, every sport project, event, person or team needs an impressive website. Here you’ll [...]
We’ve all heard of the suffering artist, but photographer Kerry Skarbakka is taking the idea of suffering for one’s craft to a whole new level. In his death-defying series The Struggle to Right Oneself the 42-year-old visual artist acts as his own model, falling from buildings, bridges, trees, mountains, and more — all while capturing [...]
The most recent WordPress release, 3.5, has passed the 6 million download mark. It brought us a renewed media experience and various improvements in the dashboard. But life moves on, and the scope of the upcoming version 3.6 release has already been settled. There’s been much debate over what to expect, especially in terms of [...]
The concept of constraints in design can be defined as the practice of limiting user actions on a system. Constraints limit the actions that can be performed by the user, thus increasing the usability of the design and reducing the likelihood of operator error. There are two models of constraint: physical and psychological. Physical constraints [...]
Even the most creative mind needs a bit of left-brain order sometimes. While more work is what every freelancer and business wants because it means more earnings, it can also mean more stress, more admin and less time to spare. The answer is planning: making a list of everything you need to do, how long [...]
Big-budget music videos involve countless people, crazy costumes, and elaborate sets. But Japanese singer-songwriter Shugo Tokumaru’s song Katachi was brought to the screen in a completely different manner (although it could be argued the process was no less intricate). The talented Polish animation team of Katarzyna Kijek and Przemyslaw Adamski utilized approximately 2,000 silhouettes extracted [...]
Even if you haven’t seen the show, you’ve almost certainly heard of HBO’s hit Girls, created by and starring Lena Dunham. The show follows four 20-something women living in Brooklyn and all that that entails. Because it’s aired on premium cable, Girls doesn’t pull any punches, and has a lot of adult content. But at [...]
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 [...]
Parents who leave their kids alone with seemingly innocuous items like glue and sticky tape will certainly live to regret it, but professional photographer Wes Naman’s antics with adhesive have landed him in a pretty sweet spot. What began as a silly experiment born out of Christmas gift wrapping, turned into a full-fledged viral hit. [...]
Have you ever just finished a project and wondered: How can I do more for this client? or perhaps you were thinking: Oh darn, now I have to look for new clients. It doesn’t have to be that way. The most valuable clients are the ones that stay with you, not the ones that provide one-off projects. [...]