Carrie Cousins

Reviews / 6 Aug 2020

Get More Done With a Remote Team and Taskade

Almost every team is adjusting to remote work and better workflows. Taskade can provide that boost for your team, whether you work across the hall or halfway around the world.

The tool looks like a simple to-do app, so it’s easy to use. But the reality is that Taskade is powered by a tree-structured database that will help you manage workflows into action items. It’s made for collaboration and comes with all the robust features you need to manage day to day activity.

Here’s a look at Taskade and how you can make it work for your design team.

Reviews / 22 Jul 2020

Userback: Get Immediate and Visual Feedback

We all know that collecting user feedback can make design projects better. But how many of us are actually using tools to gather and analyze that information to make better decisions?

If your stumbling block is finding the right tool, we have found it. Userback is a tool that helps you gather visual feedback for projects. You can see what users see when they look at a website with fast feedback and a robust set of tools to help you make smarter design choices.

The tool is designed to work with small projects all the way to multiple teams and clients, so it can grow with your business needs. And it works. Nothing beats real-time feedback for improving your website designs and user experiences. Let’s take a look at Userback and how it can work for you.

Premiere Pro Templates / 21 Jul 2020

Final Cut vs. Adobe Premiere Pro (Which to Choose? Pros & Cons)

Almost everyone is shooting video these days. From social media clips to full feature moving images for websites and more. But you have to do more than just take video, to get the right finish requires a solid video editing tool.

Two of the best options available are Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere Pro. These solid video editors are packed with features and can help you polish video clips for a more professional feel.

But which one is right for your projects? Here, we’re taking a look at each tool and key pros and cons to help you choose the video tool that’s best for your daily workflows (and budget).

Trends / 14 Jul 2020

Design Trend: Strong Hero Images With Subtle Text

This website design trend is all about contrast… or the lack thereof. More designs are popping up that have large and stunning hero image areas, but text elements are much more subtle. This is a shift from oversized hero area text that has been big (literally) for some time.

These designs make you look because of this difference. It establishes a sense of contrast with other websites, while maybe not creating so much contrast in the design itself.

Let’s take a look at websites with strong hero images and subtle text to help you generate inspiration for your next project.

Reviews / 13 Jul 2020

Get Real-Time Market Data With Marketstack

Do you need to get the same stock market data on your website as some of the major players, such as Uber, Amazon, and Credit Suisse. That must be super complicated, right? Turns out that it’s easy with the right tool, such as marketstack.

marketstack is a real-time, intraday, and historical stock market data API. It delivers market data to your website and users to create better online experiences.

Here’s a look at the tool, key features, and how it works.

Graphics / 13 Jul 2020

7 Common Website Design Problems (And How to Explain Them to Clients)

Sometimes designers and clients don’t quite speak the same language.

This barrier can be a real problem if a client expresses an issue and you can’t need to explain a solution in a way they understand. Sometimes, you have to step back from your knowledge and break it down in a simplified way.

That’s not always easy. Here, we’re going to look at some common website design problems and how to talk them through with clients that might not understand exactly how websites come together.

Instagram Templates / 8 Jul 2020

11 Tips to Boost Your Design Profile on Social Media (Without Looking Sleazy)

Most designers have no problem creating great visuals to share on social media. (That’s almost a no-brainer!) But how can you boost your profile on social media channels without looking sleazy?

There’s a fine line between fun, engaging content, and pushy or overwhelming. There’s a lot of value in showcasing your work online, and you want to do it the right way.

Here, we’re going to look at how to make the most of your design profile on social media. These tips work for personal and business accounts, and they help you walk the path of using social media in a genuine and helpful way.

Trends / 6 Jul 2020

Design Trend: A New Generation of Image Sliders

Website sliders are one of those design elements that we don’t love but have learned to live with. Generally, they don’t provide a lot of click value, but clients seem to love them.

A new design trend that features a new style of image sliders, fixes some of the functionality (and design boredom) issue of sliders. These aren’t your old-school image scrollers (and you won’t recreate these techniques with plugins).

Here’s a look at different design elements and ways of using this design trend so you can find renewed inspiration next time a slider is part of a project.

Trends / 1 Jul 2020

8+ Web Design Myths Busted: Old Ideas & Modern Best Practices

There are a few ideas about website design that seem to never fade away, even though they are not so true anymore. Some concepts haven’t stood the test of time, and it’s time to revisit whether we should be adopting them anymore.

Do people love sliders? Does simplicity = minimal design? Do you really need to include every page of your site in the navigation? There’s quite a bit to unpack!

Here, we’re going to look at a few web design myths and share modern best practices so you don’t fall into any of these old-school traps.

Business / 29 Jun 2020

SEO for Designers: A 101 Primer

Most designers don’t consider search when it comes to building a website. That’s a mistake. Optimizing for search is just as important as information architecture and should be part of the product design from start to finish.

This is true both for your own knowledge that the project stands the greatest chance of commercial success, and for your client too!

Whether you are starting a new project or redesigning your portfolio, working with search engine optimization in mind from the start is a smart idea.

Here, we’ll look at some of the most basic SEO tips to help you get started on the right path.

Trends / 24 Jun 2020

Design Trend: Geo Shapes & Patterns (With Animation)

Stylish geometry is a design trend that keeps coming back around. This time the new twist is that shapes and design elements include touches of animation to bring shapes and patterns to life. It’s easier than ever to implement animation on the web, in a simple and widely-supported way.

It’s also a nifty little design technique that can add visual interest to almost anything and works for all types of elements, from logos or icons to backgrounds to hero images.

Let’s take a look at this website design trend in action.

Business / 22 Jun 2020

How (And Why) to Design for Local Businesses

Designing for a local business can be one of the most rewarding projects that you take on. When done well, you create a relationship with someone in your community that helps them grown and succeed.

Whether you’re creating a website or designing menus or flyers, working with a small business can stretch your creative muscles but it will make you think about the process a little different. Small businesses can be quite different than some of your bigger clients. They have a lot more on the line when it comes to design services and return on investment, they may have more questions, and they need to know how design can help them grow.

When you take a small business client, your approach to design will likely be a little different. Here’s how to think about it.