Carrie Cousins

Trends / 23 Feb 2023

Design Trend: Text-Only Homepages

Where did all the images go? There’s a major trend right now, where designers are creating homepage hero areas that only include text, but with no images or video.

It’s an interesting aesthetic that puts a lot of focus on words and lettering. It can be elegant and beautiful or turn disastrous quickly. And it requires quite a bit of nuance and craft to get right.

As you notice more of these trending sites, you can decide how you feel about them. Personally? We think, when done well, they can be a beautiful example of design on the web.

Procreate Brushes / 20 Feb 2023

20+ Procreate Drawing Ideas (+ Procreate Ideas for Beginners)

Procreate is a popular drawing app for iPad and iPad Pro. With the Apple Pencil and the right set of brushes, this app can help you craft amazing digital drawings and paintings.

We have a feature on how to use it here, and the following Procreate drawing ideas will help you get started with using the tool. It can have a bit of a learning curve, but starting simple and following along with these tutorials will give you a leg up.

Plus, many of these Procreate ideas are perfect for beginners and each one includes a video so you can follow along.

Trends / 16 Feb 2023

Candy Pastels: A Soft and Soothing Graphic Trend

Softer colors, soothing palettes, and a lighter vibe are what the candy pastels design trend is all about. More projects are using this color scheme to create a subtle and softer feel for projects, a distinct shift from many of the bold, bright colors that have been popular for the last few years.

Usually featuring pastel shades of pink, blue, yellow, green, and purple, it’s a calm and comforting collection of colours. Inspired by sweets and confectionary of old, it’s dubbed “candy pastels”.

Here’s a look at the design trend and how you can make the most of it.

Trends / 13 Feb 2023

Design Trend: Experimental Typefaces & Fonts

One of the biggest trends in website design is experimental typefaces. These funky, unique, and always special fonts can serve as the backbone of a project or provide a special spark.

Experimental typefaces come in a variety of formats from handwriting styles to interesting serifs to color or animated fonts. There’s something for everyone with fonts that are a little bit different (or even customized).

Here’s a look at this design trend and how to make it work for you.

Font Collections / 9 Feb 2023

Font Psychology: How to Use It to Create Persuasive Designs

You’ve likely heard the phrase “a photo is worth a thousand words.” If that’s true, then so is a typeface.

Font selection can greatly impact what you say through design and how easy it is to read, as well as the emotion and human psychology attached to it.

Even though words are meant to be read, they are also looked at and establish a visual connection.

Today we’re diving into the idea of the psychology of fonts, and how to use them to impact what message your design conveys.

Trends / 6 Feb 2023

Tropicalism: A Design Trend Coming Back in 2023

Tropicalism is a design trend that we are already seeing quite a bit of in 2023. You’ll know it thanks to bright colors, fun illustrations, and a breezy feel that makes you think of summer (and maybe a cold drink).

It’s a trend that draws inspiration from tropical landscapes, flora, and fauna. It is characterized by bright, bold colors, patterns featuring tropical leaves and flowers, and imagery of exotic birds and animals. The trend often incorporates organic shapes, textures, and materials to create a lush and tropical atmosphere.

The design trend extends to all elements of design, including website, illustration, and printed materials. Here’s a look at the trend and how to make the most of it in your projects.

Typography / 31 Jan 2023

The 2023 Guide to Responsive Typography Sizing and Scales

The true responsiveness of your website design is more than a framework that scales to each device, it also requires that typography adjusts to optimum readability as well.

Responsive typography will adjust so that text elements also change size and scale on websites. While that’s the technical answer, there’s also a greater design approach that is equally important, because just changing the size of a text element isn’t always enough.

Let’s dive into responsive typography best practices, a few guidelines, and some tools to help you create great type at any size.

Software / 30 Jan 2023

10 Ideas for Using ChatGPT as a Web Designer

ChatGPT might be one of the most talked-about tools of 2023 so far. It has academics worried about cheating in classrooms, writers worried about their jobs, and everyone concerned about the authenticity of online interactions.

But it does have some value, even for web designers. We’ll take a look at how ChatGPT might be useful for you, ways it might not, and what an AI dialogue and writing tool can actually do for website designers and developers.

Let’s explore what this next stage in the AI revolution can mean for you, as a web designer.

Inspiration / 26 Jan 2023

What Is Modern Web Design in 2023? 20+ Stunning Examples

What are the characteristics of a modern website design? It’s a pretty common question.

From clients asking at the start of web projects to designers trying to figure out how to incorporate the newest and trendy elements, figuring out what modern web design looks like is one of our greatest challenges.

The reality is that it is easy to say what modern web design is not. You know an outdated design when you see it for sure. Here, we’ve collected 23 examples of modern web designs to help shape a better idea of what it looks like in 2023. Enjoy!

Brochure Templates / 19 Jan 2023

Brochure Design Ideas & Inspiration for 2023

Almost every designer has created a brochure at some point. And there’s a strong possibility you’ll be asked to design another! Whether it’s for a client or to promote your own business, there’s an art to designing a brochure.

And then there’s an added challenge: brochure design isn’t just for print anymore. Digital brochures are just as popular as hard-copy versions. It’s quite common for clients to request a printed brochure with a digital shareable file of the same design.

Don’t sweat this design challenge though. We’ve put together some classic and modern tips so you can create a brochure design that looks great, and is easy to read.

Business / 16 Jan 2023

How to Be a Freelance Graphic Designer in 2023: A 10 Step Plan

Do you have dreams of ditching your day job and becoming a full-time freelance graphic designer? Start putting your plan in motion.

Most freelancers start with graphic design as a side hustle, but with determination, business planning, and a solid work ethic, you can build as much business as you want to create a sustainable career.

Here are 10 steps to help you get started. (Trust me, I’ve tested them all in my decade as a freelancer!)

Reviews / 16 Jan 2023

Emailvalidation: Automate Processes With an Easy Email Validation API

Do you want to ensure that your email lists are clean and verified? emailvalidation is flexible and reliable API that can help to take that burden away from you (and do a great job of it at the same time!)

Whether you are trying to validate a single email address, or an excel file containing thousands of addresses, emailvalidation can help. It’s packed with integrations, and is fully GDPR complaint as well.

Here’s a look at the tool, and how it might work for you.