A Beginner’s Guide to Zurb Foundation 3: The Grid
In the past, we’ve discussed Twitter Bootstrap quite a bit. Much more so than its most worthy competitor: Zurb’s Foundation. Now on its third iteration, Foundation is a robust and responsive front end framework used by hundreds of developers every day.
Over the course of several articles, we’re going to jump in and take a look at its various aspects from a complete beginner’s perspective. Today’s topic is my favorite part: the grid. Follow along to see how it works!
November 8th, 2012 Posted in CSS
6 Famous Logos That Leverage Inconsistent Design
One of the most powerful tools that you can use to improve any design is repetition. Repeating colors, shapes and other visual elements throughout a design increases consistency and familiarity so that the design feels more attractive.
But what about the flip side of this idea? Is it possible to wield inconsistency in such a way that it improves the quality of a design? It turns out that lots of well known logos use this very tactic. Read on to see what they are.
November 7th, 2012 Posted in Graphics
10 Easy Image Hover Effects You Can Copy and Paste
Hover effects are always a fun topic to explore. In the past, we’ve built some awesome examples of CSS hovers that were easy to copy and paste right into your code.
Today, we’re going to follow that up with ten new effects specifically built for use with images. Each example comes with an HTML and CSS snippet that you can steal and a live demo so you can see it in action.
November 5th, 2012 Posted in CSS
WebZap: Beautiful Photoshop Web Mockups at Light Speed
WebZap is an awesome Photoshop plugin for helping designers create high fidelity web design mockups faster than you ever thought possible. By combining simple one-click actions with robust customization options, this tool makes the entire layout process not only painless, but actually fun.
Follow along as we take a look at what WebZap does and put it through the paces to see how it performs. I promise, it’s the coolest Photoshop plugin that you’ve seen for web designers since GuideGuide.
November 1st, 2012 Posted in Software
The New Wendy’s Logo: What Went Right
Logo updates are a precarious business. One wrong move and you’ll have an angry mob calling for your head. This is especially true with brands that people have literally interacted with for the majority of their lives.
Today we’re going to take a look at just such a brand. Wendy’s, the self-proclaimed old fashioned hamburger joint, has a brand new logo. Spoiler alert: it’s great, especially when compared to the recent Arby’s update. So what went right here compared with what we saw with Arby’s? Let’s take a look.
October 30th, 2012 Posted in Inspiration
HTML5: Hype, Substance and Scrutiny
Today we have a special treat: an article from Luke Stevens, author of The Truth About HTML5, that takes a critical look at the past, present and future of HTML5.
What is HTML5, really? How did it come about? Should we really be blindly following what we’re told about it or is some critical thinking required? Read on to find out.
October 29th, 2012 Posted in HTML
Web Design Critique #90: MOO.Com
Every week we take a look at a new website and analyze the design. We’ll point out both the areas that are done well in addition to those that could use some work. Finally, we’ll finish by asking you to provide your own feedback.
Today’s site is Moo, an awesome service for printing business cards, postcards, greeting cards and more. Let’s jump in and see what we think!
October 26th, 2012 Posted in Critique
Meet Creative Market: A New Platform for Buying and Selling Creative Resources
The folks that brought you COLOURlovers have cooked up something new and exciting: Creative Market, a beautiful and simple way to buy and sell digital creative goods online.
Join us as we jump in to see what Creative Market is all about and how they’re uniquely positioning themselves in this market.
October 25th, 2012 Posted in Business
Breaking Design Principles on Purpose
Rules. They keep our designs clean, consistent, aligned, and focused. The core principles upon which good design is built are absolutely essential to the education of any designer.
The great thing about design rules though is that they can and should be broken, granted that you know what you’re doing. Read on to see some examples of effectively breaking design principles in order to improve a project.
October 24th, 2012 Posted in Graphics
8 Design Books You Should Own
Think back to when you first learned design. Where did you start? Likely it in some way was connected to a book, whether on your own or in a classroom. And you still need books today. Having a great stack of reference materials on hand as I work is a must.
Need a little inspiration? Grab a book. Looking for a color combo that you have not tried? Grab a book. Need a new way to present some information? Grab a book! Here are eight of my favorite resources – and items that I just could not work without.
October 23rd, 2012 Posted in Inspiration