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Customize Your Own MailChimp E-Mail Newsletter Signup Form

If you’ve ever signed up for an email subscription you should know about MailChimp. It’s a company which helps webmasters and marketers deliver newsletters and other similar campaigns. They provide some HTML templates to use for signup forms and confirmation pages, but these are so generic that most subscribers are bored of this same interface.

I’d like to demonstrate how to customize the MailChimp signup form into something more unique. Everything is based off the original MailChimp HTML/CSS code and the form submission will use Ajax. It sounds complicated but the whole process is simpler than you might expect. Take a look at my sample demo to get an idea of the full tutorial.

Design Dilemma: Is Freelance Design an Unprofitable Business?

An interesting but really disturbing question came up the other day. I can’t help but feel it was timed for maximum 2014, new year, hope and fresh major depression. It was more a postulation than question, but was one of those biting truths that haunt you for a while.

Most of those who have written in with a design dilemma keep in touch with me, especially if their dilemma was an ongoing problem. One past participant was really pouring her heart out to me the other day. End of the year blues, when most people look at their income and expenses and wonder or dread what the new year will bring. Join us as we delve into another Design Dilemma, helping to answer your questions, queries and concerns about the murky world of design…

Build a Sliding Client Testimonials Carousel With jQuery

Many portfolio websites include a list of previous clients to build trust from other potential customers. Reading what other people have said about a service or product is one way to garner support from visitors who have never heard about your company before. (Of course, this design technique only works if you have previous clients to draw from!)

In this tutorial I want to demonstrate two distinct styles of rotating carousels. The first is a testimonial box which includes a small quote talking about the services. Then I’ve constructed a long horizontal carousel that rotates through a list of company logos. These would normally be companies you have done business with – but may also include corporate partners or resources.

Why You Should Be Sketching (Even if You Can’t Draw)

The first part of any project, print or digital, should start on paper. Sketching can be an integral part of any design process — even if you can’t draw.

But who needs to sketch? Just artists and illustrators are required to put pen to paper, right? Wrong! Today we’ll take a look at why sketching can be an integral part of everyone’s design and brainstorming process.

Design Dilemma: What to Do When Your Ideas Aren’t Credited to You

There were several letters this month that asked about problems with retaining credit for ideas people had, that were ultimately taken by or given to others. It’s actually a huge problem, especially for those who are creative (the “crazy ones” as Steve Jobs referred to us) and formulate the ideas. Of course, there are ways to stamp your name on your brain babies.

So, how do you retain credit for your ideas? Join us as we delve into another Design Dilemma, helping to answer your questions, queries and concerns about the murky world of design…

The Startup Framework: Simple Web Mockups

Today we’re going to be taking a look at the Startup Framework from Designmodo — one of the most polished and professional component frameworks we’ve seen for a while.

It’s a set of graphics, blocks, and components that are designed to help you plan and conceptualise your design, without spending weeks on starting from scratch. We’ll take a look at what’s on offer in the framework, and share a few examples!

Creative VIP: Where We’ve Come in 2013

Creative VIP is a membership service we launched for designers and creatives in July. It’s been growing steadily, and I’d love to share some of the progress we made over the latter part of the year.

We’ve added plenty of new partners, a slew of design resources, and sent out dozens of lovely creative goodie bags to our members. So join us as we recap some of what’s now on offer for the lovely creative folk we’re proud to call members.

Animating Personal Skill Bars With CSS3 Keyframes

This design technique is commonly found on personal portfolios or design studio websites. Skill bars represent a level of knowledge related to certain tasks – web design, illustration, branding, character design, you name it! Adding some fancy animations to these skill bars will provide a quicker connection to the viewer.

In this tutorial I want to demonstrate how you can build CSS3 skill bars using keyframe animation. This is also completely possible to run using JavaScript, which would hold up stronger in older legacy web browsers. However CSS3 keyframes are growing in popularity with much wider support these days. Take a peek at my live demo to see the final product.

Design Dilemma: A Client That Wants a Contract?

Has the apocalypse come upon us? A client wants a contract and isn’t relying on the line, “you can trust me” … mostly because it’s a case of them not trusting you. Still, a contract is a contract.

Margaret A. writes: Hello, I have recently decided to start my own company. I had a whole load of ideas, but not the skills to put them to paper, so I am hiring an lllustrator. I am a very small business with no name and don’t know how copyright works. I was hoping that I could write out a contract stating that she cannot claim the designs are hers, how does this work?

Join us as we delve into another Design Dilemma, helping to answer your questions, queries and concerns about the murky world of design…

Why Does User Experience Matter?

User experience – notably poor user experience – has been a hot topic in recent months with the much-publicized launch of HealthCare.gov and its subsequent issues. User experience is a part of the design process that you don’t hear about unless something goes wrong. But it is something that should be an integral part of the design process, from early concepts to the final product.

So with this renewed – and very public – discussion about user experience, why does it matter to designers?