Carrie Cousins

Reviews / 27 Nov 2019

The Best Black Friday Deal Yet: UX Design Education

There’s a trend this holiday season to opt-out of a lot of the chaos and consider alternative gifts that have more meaning or create greater experiences. To choose something that can benefit yourself, serve a bigger purpose, and not just be another gadget that’ll wind up in the trash six months from now.

The gift of a UX education fits perfectly for anyone with a design background. The Interaction Design Foundation is offering a stellar Black Friday deal with 25% off UX courses for Design Shack readers.

It’s the perfect way to choose to spend money on something meaningful, that will bring you long-term value.

Want to know more about what you can give (or get) with this deal? Read on.

Figma Templates / 20 Nov 2019

What Is Figma? a 101 Intro

Figma is a cloud-based design and prototyping tool for digital projects. It’s made so that users can collaborate on projects and work pretty much anywhere.

While this tool looks a lot like other prototyping options, the key differentiator is the ability to work with teams on projects. To date, Figma is probably the best-suited option available.

Here’s a look at Figma, and how this tool might be beneficial for your projects and workflows.

Font Collections / 18 Nov 2019

What Is an Icon Font? (And How to Use One)

Icon fonts are a popular solution to a common CSS problem; how to incorporate web icons into your website design in an efficient, fast-loading way.

With plenty of services available to make choosing and using an icon font easy, you don’t have to create your own from scratch. Icon fonts are all over the internet.

But what exactly is an icon font? And how do you use them? Here’s a guide to everything you need to know about icon fonts.

Brochure Templates / 13 Nov 2019

How to Make a Brochure on Microsoft Word (Using a Template)

Did you know you can make a brochure using a common tool such as Microsoft Word? It’s actually a really capable tool for brochure design, for creating a high-quality, professional outcome.

With a good template, you can turn a simple Word document into a carefully designed brochure that you can get printed or push as a PDF online.

Here, we’ll walk through the steps using a template that you can download from Envato Elements.

You can use what you learn for any type of brochure, using Microsoft Word – a tool you’re already familiar with! Whether you’re looking for a tri-fold, A5, or larger brochure, these steps will work for any type of design.

Adobe XD Templates / 13 Nov 2019

What Is Adobe XD? a 101 Intro

Adobe’s UX design tool seems to be picking up speed. Have you tried Adobe XD yet? The tool is part of the design giant’s suite of software. It meets a need that was being filled by other tools such as Sketch and Figma. But thanks to Adobe’s large customer base, XD is proving itself a viable option.

Here, we’ll look at what Adobe XD is – and isn’t – to help you figure out if this tool might be worth exploring.

Whether you’re already sold on Adobe XD and want to learn more, or you’re weighing it up against the pros and cons of other tools, we’ll give you a helpful introduction to make the decision easy.

Graphics / 11 Nov 2019

Favicon Examples, Best Practices and Techniques

Do you ever pay attention to those tiny icons at the tops of browser tabs? How about when you save a shortcut to a website or page online? Those tiny images, or favicons, are designed especially for that purpose.

There’s a pretty distinct difference between what makes for a good or bad tiny icon. You’d be forgiven for thinking that design decisions at the tiny scale matter less. But a poorly designed favicon can reflect badly on your brand.

Today we’re looking at what these icons are, basic design techniques for them, and the specs you’ll need to follow.

Reviews / 5 Nov 2019

Designers, Get Your Custom Domain at Hover

Looking for a way to make your design portfolio – or any other website, for that matter – stand out? A custom, top-level domain is the start.

Hover is a leading provider of domains and mailbox services for you or your small business.

You can snag a new domain or transfer an existing one to their platform.

Not sure how to get started? Here’s everything you need to know about Hover and the services and tools they provide for individuals and businesses.

Sketch Templates / 4 Nov 2019

Adobe XD vs. Sketch: Pros + Cons

Get a bunch of designers in one room and one of the biggest topics of conversation is tools. What are you using to create, mockup, and showcase your work?

Two of the most popular options for digital projects are Adobe XD and Sketch. While Sketch has been around for almost a decade, Adobe’s offering is newer to the market, but quickly gaining favor among designers.

Today, we’re going to look at both tools with a comparison of Adobe XD versus Sketch and the pros and cons of each.

Trends / 30 Oct 2019

What Is Modern UI Design? 10 Tips & Examples

Chances are that you might not be able to list the aesthetics of a modern user interface, but you sure know when you land on a website that doesn’t use one. It just feels dated.

Modern UI design helps establish credibility for your website or brand because it has a style that fits what most people to be a current visual aesthetic. This might include visual trends, adapting to usability standards and patterns, and using development techniques that are appropriate for today’s users.

Here, we’re going to look at elements that you’ll find in modern user interfaces. Hopefully, most of these examples seem pretty familiar, but if not, it might be time to plan a little web refresh.

Reviews / 28 Oct 2019

Serpstack: Search Result Data Made Easy

Collecting real-time and accurate search results just got a whole lot easier with the serpstack API. The lightning-fast JSON REST API pulls search data.

serpstack was built by parent company apilayer out of an in-house need to keep track of search engine positioning with ease. That grew into what is one of the most trusted SERP APIs on the market.

Here’s a look at the tool and how you can make it work for you?

Trends / 28 Oct 2019

The Art of Website UI Button Design: 10 Trends & Tips

Great button design is something that most website users never think about… because when it works well, it’s almost invisible. The best buttons are easy to click or tap, have an obvious function, and help users interact with the design without thinking.

It’s a fairly simple formula, but it can be hard to design if you leave it as an afterthought.

Today, we’re looking at trends in button design, plus a few tips to help you design a UI button that people click over and over again. Give your button design a boost with these tips, trends, and ideas to spark inspiration.

Business / 23 Oct 2019

Passive Income for Designers: 5 Tips to Get Started

Passive income is money that you keep earning on a product or service with little or no maintenance. While it takes some work to get started, a plan for generating passive income can be a great supplement to a designer’s revenue stream.

There are plenty of things you can do – create an e-book or t-shirt design; sell UI kits, themes, or design elements; develop an online course; join an affiliate program, or provide hosting services for website clients.

But how do you get started? Here are five tips to help you turn your passive income idea into a revenue-generating reality.