Carrie Cousins

Graphics / 13 Mar 2023

Pixel Art & Pixel Fonts: How to Work With This Timeless Design Trend

You may have noticed a lot of pixelation on the web lately. And it is by design.

Pixel art and pixel fonts – a design element that’s not necessarily new – are making a trending comeback. Pixel art and fonts often refer to some of the same elements – designs sometimes contain pixel type or design elements with non-pixel elements. The overall look has a “beginning of the web” feel.

Here’s a look at this website, font, and graphic design trend and how to use it in your projects.

Microsoft Word Templates / 1 Mar 2023

10+ Tips for Modern, Pro Page Layout Designs in Microsoft Word

If you are ready to amp up your designs in Microsoft Word, this is the right place. Here – with templates as examples – we are going to look at a variety of ways you can create more modern, professional-looking page layout designs using this common tool.

Microsoft Word is capable of so much more than you might expect with page layout. You can build modern, on-trend documents, and push the software further than ever before.

Forget the old days of Word Art and choosing between six fonts. Let’s take Microsoft Word into a new world of improved design and typography!

Trends / 27 Feb 2023

Are Grids Dead? Why Do So Many Websites Seem to Not Have Them?

Design elements just seem to be all over the place these days. They respond in a number of different ways, moving up and down, left to right, and even diagonally. Is anyone using a grid anymore?

All of these design schemes really got us thinking about grids and their use in modern website design. Is the grid dead? Why do so many projects look like they are designed off of a grid? And have there been any fundamental changes in the last few years?

It’s a pretty complicated topic (and one that doesn’t have a super clear-cut answer).

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 2024

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 2025 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.

AI Tools / 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 2025? 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!