Design Shack - Design Articles, Inspiration & Guides

Business / 18 Apr 2018

10 Tips for a Perfect Facebook Cover Image

Almost every business and individual – from personal pages to freelance business pages – uses Facebook. It’s likely an integral part of your marketing strategy. It might even be your main professional website.

So it is important that you make the most of this platform to ensure that your social media profile is polished and professional. A sloppy image, bad crop, or text that scales improperly can give the wrong first impression. Here are 10 tips for creating a perfect Facebook cover image that people will want to click.

Inspiration / 17 Apr 2018

20+ Best iPhone 8 Mockups

Having a set of up-to-date iPhone mockups to use when presenting your designs to clients is a crucial part of being a professional designer. In this post, we bring you a set of iPhone 8 mockups to add to your ever-growing collection.

iPhone 8 was one of the most anticipated devices in the Apple’s lineup. However, the device didn’t receive as much attention as it should have when it was overshadowed by the iPhone X release. As a result, many designers also focused on crafting mockups for the iPhone X, making it tricky to find a decent iPhone 8 mockup.

To help you out, we surfed the web to make a collection of the best iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus mockups so you don’t have to spend hours searching for them.

Trends / 16 Apr 2018

8 Typography Trends for 2018

Bigger, bolder typography is the go-to type trend of 2018. Designers are opting for less elaborate typefaces and pairing them with bold color, cutouts, gradients, and even customizations to create lettering that stands out.

Each of these trendy type styles is moving away from the flatter, more conservative options that have been popular for a while. These more creative type options can be a little more difficult to execute and should be part of a planned design strategy, not just a cool technique to finish a project.

Here’s a look at the top typography trends for 2018.

Inspiration / 12 Apr 2018

20+ Best Social Media Kit Templates & Graphics

Are working on crafting a content plan to promote your brand and business on social media? Then these social media kits and templates will help you design amazing graphics for your social media campaigns like a pro.

Preparing content for your social media promotions is a time-consuming process that most social media managers and marketers have to deal with.

But don’t worry. You can use these social media kits and graphics templates designed by professionals to quickly edit and use with your own social media campaigns. The best part is you can easily edit and customize them all by yourself.

Business / 11 Apr 2018

7 Tips for Finding the Perfect PowerPoint Presentation Template

A great PowerPoint presentation template can wow audiences, and help you to build a slideshow quickly and easily. While you can create your own custom template, there’s a whole market of affordable PowerPoint templates that you can customize. But what should you be considering when deciding which one to choose?

PowerPoint templates are a great option for designers – or practically anyone – who wants to create a polished, professional-looking presentation that doesn’t take a lot of time to put together. Here’s what to look for to ensure that you are getting the perfect PowerPoint template for each specific presentation.

Inspiration / 10 Apr 2018

20+ Best Responsive Website & App Mockup Templates

Are you looking for the perfect mockup template to showcase your website or app in a professional way? Well, look no further. In this post, we’re bringing you a collection of responsive mockup templates that can beautifully showcase your website design.

Whether you’re building a portfolio, promoting a mobile app, a SaaS business, an online tool, or a services website, these website and app mockup templates will allow you to present different features of your websites and apps while grabbing everyone’s attention.

You can download all these mockup templates for a single price by joining Envato Elements. The platform gives you access to over 500,000 design elements with unlimited downloads for a monthly subscription.

Graphics / 9 Apr 2018

7 Tips for Using Background Textures in Web Design

This is not your typical roundup of textures to use for website backgrounds. If you are looking for a specific texture, we have those here. But what if you want to create your own? Or find a way to customize a texture to fit your project? That’s what we’ll focus on today.

While there are many ways to use textures in web design, you’ll get a lot more mileage out of those backgrounds if you take a modern approach, and follow a few simple rules. Here are seven tips to help you use background textures in web design well (and in-line with 2018 design patterns and trends).

Graphics / 6 Apr 2018

How to Install and Apply a Photoshop Action

If you aren’t taking advantage of Photoshop actions for editing and image effects, you’re missing out on one of Photoshop’s best features. Here, we’ll take you through how to install and apply a Photoshop action in seconds, and share a few of our favorite free actions to try!

Photoshop actions can save you time when it comes to repeated tasks, and condense entire paths of editing into a single click. (While it might sound too good to be true, Photoshop actions are a very real thing.)

Freebies / 5 Apr 2018

40+ Stunning Vintage Mockup Packs & Graphics

Vintage design is all about presentation. You may have spent hours designing a vintage logo or a layout for your client, but in order to fully reap the rewards of your hard work, you’ll want to present it in a vintage mockup template.

All of these examples help to showcase the design you’ve poured time and attention into. We’ve featured a huge collection of free and premium vintage mockup sets that match your design aesthetic, all with a classic, retro style!

Software / 4 Apr 2018

8 Best iPad Apps for Design & Illustration

When you want to work on the go, being able to keep a project moving along on an iPad can be a great solution. The device is more portable and a lot easier to travel with than a more bulky laptop. The challenge is finding the right apps and tools that help you make the most of your skills.

Thankfully, there are some great options out there that compare to and even exceed the usefulness of some desktop software. While all of these apps work on different iPad models, there’s increased functionality for most if you have an iPad Pro with an Apple Pencil. These are eight of our favorites (in no particular order).

Inspiration / 3 Apr 2018

20+ Best 3D Logo Mockup Templates

Choosing the right mockup template to showcase your logo design is a key way to impress your client. Choosing a logo template with depth, texture, and realism can really help set your design apart.

Clients want to see how your logo design will look on a finished product. Whether you’re working on a logo design for a coffee shop, corporate business, or for product packaging, you should try to find a suitable logo mockup to make your design concept more realistic.

We’ve handpicked some of the best logo mockups with realistic 3D designs for giving your presentation an extra special look.

Graphics / 2 Apr 2018

10 Design Tips for Wedding Cards & Invitations

Wedding season is here. Whether you’re planning to design invitations and cards for your own wedding, or for a client or a friend, there are several wedding card design tips that you’ll want to consider!

Wedding invitations present an opportunity to work with some beautiful elements and printing techniques to create a piece of art that isn’t part of the usual workflow. From scripts with long tails to foiling and amazing paper stocks, designing wedding cards and invitations can be a lot of fun (and a bit of a design challenge).

The big thing to keep in mind is that the invitation should evoke an emotional connection to the couple. It should reflect their personality and style.