Personal outsourcing isn’t quite the hot topic that it was two years ago. With virtual assistant firms available left and right, could-be assistants have become less of a unique work accessory and much more of a sustainable, ubiquitous business addition. What was once a quirky but useful tool for the digital age has become standard — [...]
The business of building websites is one of constant change, adaptation and strategy. The way designers and developers build websites is often informed by the methods of others and their own trial and error. In light of this, we can draw a number of parallels — some philosophical, to a certain extent — between Web professionals and one of the oldest and most popular board games of all time (counting traditional and digital games). This game is chess.
In this article, we’ll explore the relationship between the game of chess and the Web industry. We’ll learn fundamental lessons from the pawn, rook, knight, bishop, queen and king, and we’ll highlight the factors — both offline and online — that determine best practices. The game is beloved by many professionals, so it seems fitting to apply its great strategy and elegance to the digital age; certain practices might help you lead a more successful working life.
Well-designed ecommerce and shopping cart websites are regularly referred to for web design inspiration by creative and experienced web developers. They are also being featured on various CSS website galleries, and in fact there are more than a few gallery sites that are solely dedicated showcasing beautiful and standards compliant shopping cart and ecommerce websites.With [...]
It happens to every plugin author: you receive emails from people that your plugin isn't working. There are about 7 reasons that - for me - seem to be the root cause of up to 95% of these emails, and I thought I'd write them down and show you how I try to handle them.1. [...]
Tweet In this tutorial we are going to learn how to create a vector turtle character based on a vinyl toy named “Skuttle” from the “Little Trickers” series. We’re going to be using Adobe Illustrator CS3 for this tutorial, but the majority of old versions and the newer version will work perfectly fine. If you don’t want [...]
I’m going to start this discussion of by revealing a secret about my own design work: I don’t have a process. At least, I don’t have a rock solid, time tested step by step formula that I follow for all my projects. That’s not to say that I shoot from the hip or fly by [...]
One of the primary challenges that arises when dealing with CSS3 properties is the maintenance of the different proprietary prefixes. At least one solution has been offered to help prevent the so-called "forking" that results.I think there is another way to help maintain the various repetitive CSS3 properties. What I'm proposing here will prevent you [...]
If you were given a choice when first taking your “brick and mortar” business online to develop a website or set up a Page on Facebook, and you weren’t allowed to do the other which would you choose? Would you build a website and give up marketing through Facebook or would you set up a [...]
More and more designers are into creating their own blogs and websites either to showcase their works or to advertise. At this pace, it is quite important that as designers who are interested in blogging, one should learn the basics in PSD to HTML, turning Photoshop designs into HTML format. If you are equipped with [...]
We all have our spirit of imagination from our childhood — we give a shape to our thoughts by drawing image on school yard, on a piece of paper or on a digital tablet. Photoshop, Wacom and Illustrator are [...]
They say the first bite is taken with the eye. If so, these appetizing restaurant websites succeed in whetting our appetites, inviting us to a savoury next bite. In these designs, color scheme and introductory copy show vastly different aspects of the restaurant experience. Moody warm tones create atmosphere, vibrant greens underscore freshness, and earthy colors communicate a relaxed, friendly attitude.
Because customers are increasingly using mobile browsers to make decisions on the spot, restaurant websites are doing a better job of communicating core information quickly. Similarly, full Flash websites with no mobile alternatives are seeing some decline. Especially interesting is how these businesses are improving their online menus by replacing PDF-only downloads with Web-optimized alternatives that are more readable and easier to navigate.
The success of an e-commerce website is defined by sales, not by design. However, that doesn’t mean that design does not matter. In this post we’ll showcase 25 well-designed e-commerce sites from a wide variety of industries. For more on e-commerce sites please see these posts from the archives:50 Inspirational E-Commerce Website Designs 25 Inspirational E-Commerce [...]
Sometimes a site can be visually stunning not so much because of the content but because of the lack of content. Though often attractive, this is a tricky style to pull off correctly without just looking like you’ve got a boring page. Today we’ll look at 25 sites that we think got it right. First we’ll [...]
TextMate has become an essential part of my development arsenal over the last few years. When you first open up the application, you may be wondering what all the fuss is about- at first glance it looks like any other text editor. The true beauty of TextMate is the plethora of bundles, add-ons, keyboard shortcuts and tab [...]
It’s been months of hard work and many sleepless nights, but the day has finally arrived — The Client Machine on sale now! For the next 5 days we will be selling it at a 40% discount — so if you’ve been thinking about buying, now is probably the best time. As always, we are including [...]
The most obvious job for a web designer is working for a web design agency, but if you’ve never done that before… then how do you know what to expect? Is it even the right path for you?Setting foot in an agency for the first time can be daunting. It’s filled with people who [...]
Feb 7-9th 2011 Get ready for the best event you’ve ever experienced.Sign up to get notified when Early Bird tickets go on sale.
Want to increase your website’s conversion rate? Want more subscribers, opt-ins, members, customers? How about doing less work while you’re at it? Too good to be true? Nope. It’s possible if you apply the 80-20 rule: focus on the 20% that will bring you 80% of the results.By doing an 80-20 optimization of your website [...]
Want to increase your website’s conversion rate? Want more subscribers, opt-ins, members, customers? How about doing less work while you’re at it? Too good to be true? Nope. It’s possible if you apply the 80-20 rule: focus on the 20% that will bring you 80% of the results.By doing an 80-20 optimization of your website [...]
Over the years I have a saved a decent sized library of useful design and blogging related PDF ebooks, I love them. I have voraciously collected them, and all stored on my mobile for whenever the chance of quick read arises. In this post I would like to share my favorite 20 (freely available) ebooks [...]
I am currently speaking at a conference in Oslo, Norway. It has been a great conference and from what I can gather the first of its kind in the country. It is always so encouraging to see the web community coming together for an event like this. The conference organisers have done a great job, especially [...]
When it comes to adding JavaScript functionality to a website, jQuery has become the solution of choice for web designers and developers. With it’s ease of use and ever-growing selection of plugins, there’s really no point to look elsewhere. Awesome jQuery plugins are popping up everyday, and we’re always on the look out. So for [...]
Today we are glad to release iCandies Icon Set, a set with 60 high quality icons in 64×64px, 48×48px and 32×32px, available in .EPS, .AI and .PNG. The set is designed by the talented folks from IconEden on a sole purpose of giving your projects a sleek and geeky style or provide crisp, attractive icons for your modern and fashionable-looking interfaces. All the icons in this pack — 60 icons in total — are designed in Round Rectangle shape.
You can use the set for all of your projects for free and without any restrictions. You can freely use it for both your private and commercial projects, including software, online services, templates and themes. The set may not be resold, sublicensed or rented. Please link to this article if you want to spread the word.
One of the main problems with writing CSS3 code are the vendor prefixes. These are the -moz- or -webkit- you see before properties such as border-radius or text-shadow. They’re a necessary evil at worst and you’ll have to use them to get the most out of what CSS3 currently has to offer. So what’s the problem? [...]
In this video Jim looks at some of the tools that are essential in any JavaScript programmer’s toolkit. We also introduce some of the basic types in JavaScript, and how to create them.For more videos be sure to check out Think Vitamin Membership, new video tutorials are added daily.
In this video Nick gives you a brief introduction to web accessibility and talks about the organizations that set accessibility standards. You’ll also find out why accessibility is important to the health of the web.For more videos be sure to check out Think Vitamin Membership, new video tutorials are added daily.
Do films require video to be entertaining? Take away the people in a movie, and what left is there? Add in cleverly designed typography, and you’ve birthed life into something that was lifeless. Below are fifteen examples of stunning kinetic typography pieces timed to fifteen different popular films. Rocky BalboaKill BillPulp FictionFight ClubLock Stock and Two [...]
We love to spice up your desktop with nice wallpapers, and sometimes with nature photography. It all depends on your mood. In this post, we’ll be showcasing Beautiful Beach Wallpapers. You’ll get to see the detail, skill, and [...]
Punctuation marks are symbols that indicate the structure and organization of written language, as well as intonation and pauses to be observed when reading aloud. They are commonly used and observed in schools most especially in grammar subjects. Now, for designers, punctuation marks are also great concept in creating styles and design... Who said it [...]
There is a lot that you can do in Photoshop with just a few select tools. Today, we will demonstrate how to create a realistic iMac icon in Photoshop that includes a 27-inch screen, a keyboard, and a mouse. Let’s get started!Tutorial AssetsPhoto of iMac box (for reference) Black & Blue Icons Wallpaper (or any other you [...]
