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Images are a vital component of any website, and using the right ones can enhance both your content and design. The problem lies in finding the right graphics without resorting to the same free stock images everyone else uses. If you really want to set your site apart, there’s an alternative to stock images – you can create your own. The best part is, you don’t need to be a designer to get it done. Nowadays, there are plenty of tools that can help you create stylish graphics with only a little practice, and they’re a great option if you don’t have the budget to hire a designer. In this article, we’ll talk about why images are so important for any website, then we’ll introduce you to three tools that can help you create your own custom graphics. Let’s get started!...
Looking for the perfect font for a branding or logo project? We’ve researched some of the very best fonts for tackling a new logo design – and complied them into a handy list for you to refer back to whenever you need.Whether you want an elegant serif, stunning slab, high-impact stencil or more, you’ll find a wealth of inspiration here. Scroll down for 15 of our favourite logo fonts...
In the 1970s, designers were treated as rock stars–album cover designers, that is.“You were regarded almost like the fifth member of the band,” says Aubrey Powell, whose studio Hipgnosis was responsible for the album cover designs for artists like Pink Floyd, Paul McCartney, Genesis, and Led Zeppelin. A new book, Vinyl. Album. Cover. Art, revives Hipgnosis’s complete catalogue, displaying 480 illustrations from the studio’s archive. It’s a glimpse into a pre-digital era when a single illustration could take months to complete. Hipgnosis got its start in 1968, when Aubrey Powell and his creative partner Storm Thorgerson were asked to do an album cover for their friends’ second album. Lucky for Powell and Thorgerson, their friends happened to be the members of Pink Floyd; lead singer and guitarist Syd Barrett was their roommate. At the time, Powell was sneaking into the darkrooms at the Royal College of Art in London, where Thorgerson was a student, and experimenting with infrared film....
Designing for the web, you must keep up-to-date with the latest trends and tools. For trends, it’s fairly easy to know what’s going on, but it can be hard to keep up with the latest tools. Let’s look at ten web design tools you can add to your toolbox.
Here's an inspiring collection of typeface and typography pairing resources for designers and bloggers.
Everyone, even non-designers, can agree that the smallest typographical change can make a world of difference (*cough* Warren Beatty *cough*). Elevating designs through typography is a skill every designer should have in their back pocket. Do you want to become a typography wiz—and, ultimately, an even better designer? We want that for you too! That’s why we’ve gathered a list of the best free typography resources—handpicked, just for you. Free typography education Check out these e-courses, e-books, and workshops to get started on your typographical journey....
One of the most important skills you can learn as a designer is how to choose type. This is because text is one of the primary ways designers can communicate with users. Typography can make or break a design. There’s a beauty and complexity to typography. Some people devote their entire careers to type. Thankfully, their work is well documented, so we have tons of online resources for typography. This article is designed to serve as a starting point for helping you learn how to choose type for your designs. It will encourage you to explore fonts and font combinations beyond those you’re familiar with....
2017 is the year we return to the organic roots and we will see a return to the natural. In terms of colors, the start has been given by Pantone (as every year, in fact), who has crowned the color for 2017 as Greenery, based on it’s meaning of new beginning, freshness and environmentalism. Manifesting as a “fresh and zesty yellow-green shade that evokes the first days of spring”, Greenery envelops the notion of breathing, reinvigorating and appreciating the great outdoors. That said, let’s take a closer look at the graphic design trends that define 2017. Most of them influence both print and web design, but some of them are just for the web....
Are you considering a new website or even a redesign in 2017? Need some facts and figures to help you form and execute your web strategy? We share 42 stats you need to know in this infographic....
Your label is one of the first thing people are going to notice about your bottle. And a label can tell you a lot about the wine inside: what kind of occasion it’s best for, whether it’s a red or a white (or a sparkling or a rose), what varietal it is, what type of flavor to expect… seriously, your customer is drawing a LOT of information from your label. And because they’re looking for your label to get all of that information, you want to make sure that your label is an accurate representation of who you are and what your customer can expect from your wine. It’s a big deal! Here’s a roundup of 30 of our favorite cool wine labels for inspiration...
One Page Love is a One Page website design gallery showcasing the best Single Page website designs from around the web.
Fresh, innovative, creative, minimalist award winning web design agencies websites for inspiration. Today we've selected 26 best web design agencies' websites. Beautiful examples of Web Design Agencies websites for inspiration. These agencies are are using the latest technologies “HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript” for their websites to create perfect and eye catching design. Let’s take a quick look at some amazing new web trends to keep in mind when designing your next website project.
It was recently announced that Instagram has doubled its monthly active user base since 2014, which means a lot more people are viewing and sharing photos. Plus, visual content is 40X more likely to get shared on social media than other types. In other words, people like to be shown, not told -- and in turn, they share. For that reason, it's important for marketers to know how to create compelling visuals for their business' social networks and blogs. And while it can be worth putting the investment of time and money into photo editing software on your computer, many of us are exclusively using our phones to take pictures and could stand to edit them without uploading them to a desktop. That's especially true when you're posting in real time, like at an event. Luckily, there are tons of great photo and video editing apps out there for mobile devices -- some of them even cost a few bucks. But which are the best, free or paid? Check out our shortlist below....
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While many imaging apps’ tools closely resemble those used by artists in the real world – such as brushes and pens – the color picker feels like a completely digital device. A new project from the folks at Adobe Research and University of Toronto reimagines it as a skeuomorphic palette that’s designed to be more natural and intuitive, while allowing for the creation of harmonious color schemes and works of art. Instead of forcing users to choose from colors from across the entire spectrum, Playful Palette presents you with an interface that’s more like how you’d mix paint in real life. Pick a bunch of colors represented as paint blobs, make a puddle with them, blend them with lighter and darker hues by pushing in different directions and get a gradient of colors to work with. Hit ‘play’ on the clip for a better idea of what I’m talking about:...
Talking about website builders, we have a plethora of options. But those that simply build a site as fast as 123 are few. Mobirise is the quickest builder I ever ran across. Most small businesses don’t aim at delivering the most innovative website ever. All they want is a digital representation of their business on the web. Sure it’s supposed to look quite decent and not as if it was born yesterday. But it doesn’t have to be cutting edge technology either. So what do these businesses or brands (which includes the many lone-wolf freelancers out there) really need? They need content, and they need a website that works across devices so that their content has the chance to get noticed. That’s about it.
If you want to get the job or freelance gig you’re looking for, your portfolio needs to impress. And web designers have a tougher time than other creatives, as it isn’t just the case studies people will judge you on, but the design of the site itself. In this post, we bring you 10 of the coolest web design portfolios we’ve seen emerge in 2017 so far. While some go to town on special effects, others just rely on the timeless values of good design. All, however, should provide ample inspiration for your own portfolio....
Working with color can be so much fun. Color can set the mood and tone of a design. Color can make a design appear clean or messy. Another thing we can use color for is to draw attention to a desired piece of content or element. In this post, we’ll go over the various way in which color can be manipulated to draw attention to something. Some of the examples will talk about repetitiveness, some about photography and others about how a lack of color can be a strategic thing too. Let’s get started in analyzing how to draw attention through color....
I launched Typewolf as a side project in June of 2013. Working as a designer, I was always frustrated by the lack of good resources for choosing fonts for design projects. Seeing type samples set in “the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” isn’t very useful when it comes to web design—seeing how real type performs on actual websites is much more helpful. I’ve also noticed that other typography sites tend to be written from a type designer’s perspective rather than from the perspective of someone who actually uses type in their day-to-day work. I’ve been a designer for 15 years, so everything on Typewolf is approached from a designer’s perspective....
Just like previous years, we've undertaken great efforts to look for, categorize, and create font previews of 100 typefaces that you can use to do almost anything. Regarding their licenses, you should pay attention to each one individually as, while the majority are completely free, some are for personal use only and others are not full families – this means that you’ll only be able to download regular or medium weights or condensed styles for free. Font Selection As you know, the selection has been made keeping the typical type classifications in mind to help you browse more efficiently: Serif, Sans Serif, Slab Serif, Rounded, Geometric, Decorative, Display, etc. Many of these fonts can also be downloaded as a web font kit so that you can use them in your online projects....
Color is such a fundamental part of the way we perceive the world that we often take it for granted. Think about it: From the youthful and vivid orange on someone’s attire to the gray and gloomy sky above us, colors have the power to mold our perceptions of others and even the circumstances we find ourselves in. This is why one of the most powerful tools in a designer’s arsenal is color. It can either make or break a design; it can be the determining factor in engaging viewers or sending them promptly on their way. As a non-designer, I often find it difficult to find just the right colors for my amateur projects. Whether I’m creating a simple image to support my content or more elaborate projects such as a slide deck or infographic, I frequently spend a good amount of time looking for the perfect color scheme. I ask myself questions like: Do I want my design to be inviting? Provocative and bold? Or intelligent and elegant? Unless you’re a seasoned designer, it takes time and effort to find a color combination that works, which is why the design team at Visme decided to provide our users with a handy list of beautiful color schemes from websites that have been recognized by Awwwards, the most prestigious award for Web designers and developers....
‘Crowded’ websites are difficult to read. Complexity often makes users uncomfortable. If we’ve overwhelmed them with lots of different information, all fighting for their attention, they will leave or not take the action we’d wanted them to do. It may be purchasing something on e-commerce website or reading the article on a blog. There is, however, a concept that helps graphic designers to create great web experiences, making the content appealing and easy to follow. It’s white space – the way of giving your layouts extra room, simply by avoiding unnecessary clutter and using the space between elements for their advantage....
While big businesses often have multiple decision makers with very specific ideas and guidelines to keep their existing brands consistent, smaller companies are usually more open to exploring new creative directions, and can move faster to implement them. If you need some more convincing that working with small businesses can result in some stunning creative work, we've put together a list of 15 small business branding examples to get you inspired for your next project...
Twibfy is an inspirational platform and marketplace for creative professionals. Discover and purchase high quality digital visual content curated by creatives for creatives and organize it in the Twibfy cloud. The marketplace offers an environment for talented people to showcase their work and instantly sell it through the platform.
This year, like a number of UX experts, I’m betting on AI-powered chatbots, VR, and immersive storytelling trends to leave a permanent mark on the industry. Undoubtedly, we will also see a lot of last year’s trends continue to shape and influence the web design space. Without further ado, let’s explore what design innovations can give your website a serious facelift in 2017....
As it turns out, posters aren't as old-school as we might think. In fact, they're still quite effective devices for promoting events. Making yours stand out, however, is the tricky part.Like so many other things in marketing, it requires a combination of creativity and formula. But what are the success factors? And what makes a poster look its best? You're in luck. Our friends at Venngage, who know a thing or two about creating compelling visuals, put together this infographic to guide you along your poster-making journey. It'll help you figure out what information is essential to include on your poster, and how to make it aesthetically appealing -- without overwhelming the viewer....
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Some people think they're stuck using stock images for their designs, but you can always learn how to create custom graphics for your website. Three tools reviewed are Canva, Pixlr and PicMonkey -- I recommend each highly.