A Few Items of Interest
Published October 9th, 2008 in Links - 2 Comments
I’ve recently been notified of a few items that I thought were worth mentioning. There are two design contests (with nice prizes) and a new site launch.
WooContest
The Future of Web Design Galleries
Published October 8th, 2008 in Galleries - 21 Comments
Web design galleries started out as a novel idea several years ago when the first few were launched to showcase excellent work of designers from all around the world, specifically those that were exemplary in their use of CSS. However, there are now literally hundreds of design galleries out there. Throughout the design community there are mixed reactions to design galleries. Many designers visit a few specific galleries on a daily or weekly basis to see what’s being added. Others get more annoyed each time a new gallery is launched.With a number of design galleries drawing significant traffic and advertising revenue, others who are wanting to run their own profitable websites are often drawn to the idea of a gallery. However, with so many established galleries out there already, the opportunities for new ones are rather limited in most cases. Still, some new galleries are finding ways to interest visitors through specialization in a specific niche. While niche galleries are unlikely to ever generate the traffic statistics of leading galleries like CSS Mania, they do offer something unique to visitors that can allow them to stand out from the hundreds of other galleries.
45+ Sources and Sets of Photoshop Custom Shapes
Published October 6th, 2008 in Design - 64 Comments
For graphic designers, working with custom shapes in Photoshop can be a big time-saver. While free brushes get a lot of attention, custom shapes probably get less. Here is a rundown of some of the best resources to download free custom shapes for your own work in Photoshop.
Photoshop Custom Shapes from the Adobe Exchange (370 sets)
The Adobe Exchange is a great place to find all kinds of resources, including custom shapes for Photoshop. There is plenty of variety and a huge amount of sets to choose from.
12 of the Best Sources of Premium Vectors
Published October 5th, 2008 in Design - 29 Comments
There are a number of resources online for finding free stock photography, vectors, custom shapes for Photoshop, and all kinds of other useful items for designers. However, sometimes the quality you need will not be there with free items, and you may also spend more time searching for something free than it’s worth. There are certainly times when it’s appropriate to pay for quality work.
With that in mind, I thought it would be appropriate to put together a small collection of the best sources for buying premium vectors. If you know of other good sources that have been excluded from the list, please leave a comment.
35 Photoshop Tutorials Inspired by Apple
Published October 1st, 2008 in Design, Photoshop Tutorials - 72 Comments
Apple and its innovative products and marketing are the focus of some excellent design tutorials for Photoshop. Since I kept seeing tutorials inspired by the iPhone and iPod, I decided to compile the best tutorials of this kind that I could uncover. Here are 35 for those of you who can’t get enough of Apple.
Create a Slick Black iMac in Photoshop
Thinking of Selling Premium Themes? Group Interview with Four Leaders in the Premium Theme Industry
Published September 29th, 2008 in Design - 36 Comments
You’ve probably seen a lot of information about premium themes, and maybe you are considering creating some of your own to sell. If so, I think you’ll be able to learn a lot from this brief interview with four leaders in the premium theme/template industry.When selling premium themes, you have a few different options. You can sell them at your existing blog or portfolio site, sell them through a larger marketplace, or create a new business around the theme sales. In this post you’ll hear from designers and business owners that have a variety of different approaches to the end result of selling themes.
The four participants are Cory Miller of iThemes, Collis Ta’eed of ThemeForest, Ben Harper of Templamatic, and Adriaan Pienaar of WooThemes.
Best of September: This Month in Web Design
Published September 28th, 2008 in Links - 12 Comments
As always, it’s been a busy month for design blogs. Here is my collection of the best articles and resources I’ve come across this month.
Web Design and Development:
How Do Cheaters Redesign and Still Win? – Pro Blog Design
Body Border 2: Fade in with Gradient – CSS-Tricks
75 Really Useful JavaScript Techniques – Smashing Magazine
30 More Must See Comment Designs for Blog Designers – Blog Design Blog
CSS Typography: Contrast Techniques, Tutorials and Best Practices – Noupe
2 Great Web-Based Alternatives to PHPMyAdmin – Primal Skill Blog
Issues Involved with Website Communication
Published September 24th, 2008 in Design Process - 12 Comments
Regardless of what type of website you’re developing (a blog, a portfolio site, an e-commerce site, etc.), the success of the site will hinge on being able to communicate effectively with visitors and readers. On the subject of communication, there are a number of potential issues that need to be considered:
30 Creative Website Headers
Published September 22nd, 2008 in Galleries - 186 Comments
One of the first things new visitors will notice upon arriving at your website is your header. Some sites are able to make an excellent first impression by featuring an artistic or creative header. This mini gallery post is a collection of some of the more inspiring headers out there.
Observing Major News Websites
Published September 21st, 2008 in Galleries - 17 Comments
Designers of news websites face significant challenges in trying to develop an attractive, usable site that gets all of the necessary items on the page with as little clutter as possible. Studying the layouts and design techniques used on news sites can be a beneficial experience even for designers who only work on smaller sites and blog design.
