Carrie is a freelance writer with years of experience in web and graphic design. Sports fanatic. Information junkie. Designer. True-believer in karma.
Are you ready for the world to see your stellar photos? You need a portfolio website to help showcase your skills and attract new clients.
It couldn’t be easier than with Squarespace. The website building tool has everything you need to build a portfolio site that’s just as stunning as your images in no time. Here’s how you do it.
When was the last time you updated your resume? This is one of those things that freelancers often forget to do when they aren’t seeking a full-time employer.
It’s a lot easier to keep up with your resume all the time rather than rush to update it when the need arises. It’s even becoming more common that clients will ask to see a resume before hiring a freelancer for work. Potential clients will probably check you out online, and your resume needs to be fresh on your website or LinkedIn profile.
Don’t put it off any longer. Try these five tips to freshen up your resume so you can get an updated version ready to go this week!
Everywhere you look, there’s a cool new animated effect. If animation was the must-have design element of 2016, then innovated hover effects are the up and coming design trend of 2017.
Thanks in part to the popularity of Material Design and Apple’s animation guidelines with a focus on small movements, hover effects are making a comeback. But instead of the tacky, flashing, bouncing and spinning effects of the past, animations are simple, sharp and delightful. The best hover effects help the user and enhance the experience.
Hover effects can range from motion that has an impact on the entire screen to something as small as a directional cue or navigation element.
It’s crunch time, and a client wants to see their design as it would look on an iPhone or iPad. Don’t fret; there are a number of ready-to-use mockups on the market waiting for your customization.
Customizing a mockup is an easy way to show off a design project in a realistic environment that’s sure to impress clients. Using a mockup can help others better visualize how the design will actually look with some idea of scale. (Sometimes it’s easy to forget not everyone sees and imagines a project in the same way you do.)
If you’ve never customized a mockup, it can be a little intimidating at first, but we’ll walk through the process.
A goldfish has a longer attention span than you do. Let that sink in for a moment. Now, what are you going to do about it?
As a designer, it is your job to create something that people will stop and interact with. It takes a design and user experience that will hook visitors and keep them clicking and tapping. Combat short attention spans with smart design.
You only get one chance to make a first impression. When you apply for a job, that first impression is often in the form of a resume or CV. The document is a potential employer’s glimpse into your career, and can determine whether you become a viable candidate or not!
That’s a lot of pressure for a single document. It’s important that you have a resume that stands out and shows some of your best assets at a glance.
Here, we’ll walk through some resume-building best practices as well as how to customise a resume or CV template in no time.
Good design is readable design. Without a clear message, displayed in an easy-to-digest way, it’s easy to lose the meaning of any piece of design work. That’s why it’s so crucial that any design must be easy to read.
Designing for readability is a lesson in typography, but also in contrast. Contrast is the key to enhancing readability, and helping create a flow through the text in a logical manner so that users understand exactly what you want to say.
Designing an infographic is just like designing a website. It starts with a concept, goals and even a wireframe.
The big difference is that all the information for an infographic is contained in one unit, whereas a website has multiple pages and ways to engage users. You can almost think of an infographic as a flat, or static, mini-website. You can also design a one-page website as an infographic!
Here are five essential elements to help you make the most of your next infographic design.
Microinteractions are the “secret sauce” that make apps and websites shine for users. These tiny details make it easy to set an alarm, press a button or simply better understand how to work with a digital product.
The secret is that the best microinteractions are elements that the user probably doesn’t even think about. They happen in an instant – often with just one tap on a mobile screen. Despite the small nature of the interaction, hence “micro,” the value is immense to users as these engagements become more integrated with daily activity.
How do you design one-tap microinteractions that will delight users? Here are a few ideas.
Are you an ethical designer? Is that something you even think about when taking on projects? Design ethics come in many forms – from how you choose projects, to how you work with clients, to copyrights and legal protection.
These written and unwritten codes help shape the way graphic design professionals interact, communicate and do business. It’s something you probably do need to think about, because you know and understand the bigger rules. But any time you stop and ask “should I do this or that?” design ethics are part of the conversation.
Are you already over all those New Year’s resolutions? Now that we are a little further into the year, it’s time to pause and refresh in a way that will last longer than a fad diet or 30-day gym membership. You need to flex your creative muscles.
You might be surprised at the value of simple design workouts. They can help you forget problems you are actually working on (maybe helping you solve those design dilemmas), and even learn something new.
It only takes a few minutes a week to work through an exercise or two, and really stretch those creative muscles. Pick an exercise from our collection below – each one includes just three steps — and make a date to get in design shape!
Keep it simple, stupid. This concept dates to 1960 when the U.S. Navy implemented the KISS principle, which maintains that most systems work best if they are simple, rather than complicated. The same is true of pretty much any design project as well.
Most graphic designers learn about KISS early in their careers. So how can you do it? Creating a simple design is a little more complicated than you might think. Here are seven rules to design by, that help you cut away all the clutter and create a beautifully simple account.