Carrie Cousins

Instagram Templates / 18 Mar 2020

Instagram Story Design: 7 Pro Tips & Ideas

If you aren’t designing Instagram Stories, it might be time to start. More than 500 million people use the vertical format on the social media channel every day.

Stories are fun, they allow for creativity, and this is a place where you can really showcase your design skills to a social media audience.

It’s a little different from some of the other ways you’ve probably used social in the past. Here’s a guide to help you post Instagram Stories like a pro, with examples and ideas to help you see our advice in practice.

Graphics / 16 Mar 2020

What Is Storytelling in Design? 10 Tips & Examples

Storytelling. It’s one of those buzzwords that is connected to website design and marketing. It seems to be the linchpin that holds these efforts together.

But what does good storytelling in design look like? Why is storytelling such an important element of design projects?

Let’s take a look at some examples of amazing storytelling and how you can apply those concepts to your projects.

Trends / 11 Mar 2020

Design Trend: Neumorphism

Is the next big thing in website and app design neumorphism? It’s a design trend (named as a mashup of the words new and skeuomorphism) that’s growing in popularity. People seem to either love it or hate it, but it’s interesting enough that Cult of Mac recently pushed an article posing the question: “Is neumorphism the big new look for iOS 14?”

We won’t know the answer for a little while yet, but the trend is gaining traction, particularly on Dribbble, where we see many design trends launch.

Here’s a look a neumorphism to help you get an idea of what it is (and isn’t) so the trend doesn’t pass you by.

Trends / 4 Mar 2020

Design Trend: Liquid Animation in Web Design

Delightful design accents can be one of those things that creates an unexpected user experience that keeps visitors on your website.

A trending technique that does exactly this is the use of liquid animation in web design. What’s great about his trend is that you can use it in so many different ways to create an interface that works with your content.

Here, we’re going to look at various examples of this trend and how you can make it work for you. (Make sure to click through the examples to get a good feel for how each of these animations works.)

Trends / 26 Feb 2020

Design Trend: Designing for Dark Mode

Dark mode has been growing in popularity. Most phone and tablet interfaces have the option for users to switch to a dark, rather than the standard light default, color scheme.

Most users have a distinct preference as to whether to use dark or light user interfaces.

That’s why more designers are adding a dark mode option to their projects. And while it can be a little more work and a lot to think about, it can help create a stronger connection and element of personalization for users. Here’s more about this design trend.

Adobe XD Templates / 24 Feb 2020

15+ Adobe XD Tutorials (Beginner to Advanced)

Adobe XD is a Photoshop-to-prototype tool that’s part of the Creative Cloud Suite (and our Adobe XD 101 intro is a good place to start!). It’s a robust tool with a lot of functionality, but you might need some help learning how to use it. Today we’ve collected some of the best Adobe XD tutorials to help you get started.

Adobe XD can be a little intimidating at first glance. What are the best learning resources? We’ve picked best Adobe XD tutorials for everyone from beginners to advanced users (and we’ve sorted them, so you can jump in at the right place for your experience level).

Trends / 19 Feb 2020

Design Trend: Mixing Realism and Illustrations

There’s a trend afoot in website design that mixes real images with illustrations and art elements in interesting ways. And it’s quirky, unique, and beautiful!

It’s a mashup of visual elements that don’t seem like they go together at first, but when done well can create a stunning aesthetic that is highly engaging and delightful.

Here, we’re going to look at examples of this design trend and different ways of mixing realism and illustrations for maximum impact. Some of these sit within fairly corporate designs, and others are completely playful and entertaining. It’s a wide range of applications of a thoroughly unique and interesting trend.

Reviews / 19 Feb 2020

Jumpstart Your Logo Design With Tailor Brands

Branding can be one of the most intimidating parts of getting your small business off the ground. How do you create a brand that’s memorable and that you can use for logos, social media, and websites?

Enter Tailor Brands Logo Maker. The tool offers an automated logo maker and brand identity platform, that’s easy to use, customizable, and made with small business owners in mind.

Here, we’re going to take a look at Tailor Brands and tools that you can use to jumpstart your logo and brand design.

Navigation / 17 Feb 2020

10 Pros and Cons of Minimal Navigation in Web Design

There’s been a shift happening in website design for a while: navigation and menus are shrinking. Minimal navigation styles and elements are growing in popularity, despite arguments against the hamburger menu icon.

Although not all minimal navigation elements use this style, it’s certainly a visual style we’ve seen explode in use over the past few years.

But does it work? Should you consider using minimal navigation for projects? Here, we’re going to take a look at some pros and cons with examples of use. The answer might not be as simple as you think.

Reviews / 12 Jan 2020

Geocode and Embed Maps in Minutes With Positionstack

Mapping and geocoding can be a challenge when it comes to website and app development. But if you have the right tool, it’s a lot easier. That’s just what you get with positionstack, an accurate forward and reverse batch geocoding REST API that manages these tasks for you.

Forward geocoding is searching for a plain-text address or place name, and reverse geocoding uses latitude and longitude values.

Here’s a look at positionstack and how it can be useful for your projects.

Reviews / 5 Jan 2020

Aviationstack Provides Real-Time Flight Data

Never miss a flight again! Or at least help your website visitors ensure that they don’t. Aviationstck is a real-time flight status and global aviation data API that makes integrating airport information into your website or app a breeze.

This helpful API scrapes all the right data so that your website outsmarts the competition, and saves you a huge amount of work with queuing different datasets and locations.

Here’s a look at aviationstack and how you can make use of it in projects.

CSS / 3 Jan 2020

5 New CSS Techniques to Master in 2025

Web designers are fascinated with ways to try new CSS techniques and push the boundaries of what CSS can do. Well-planned CSS can control almost any aspect of a design, and contribute to better overall user experiences—with cleaner and more consistent code.

But what techniques are trending? What should you learn next? We have a few ideas for the latest developments to watch this year. Dive in, see what’s hot, and try some of these new CSS tips and techniques to give your next project an exciting edge.