David Appleyard

Reviews / 20 Aug 2015

How to Perform Real-Time User Testing With FullStory

Ever visited a website that was confusing, broken, or just plain hard to use? That site probably isn’t using FullStory.

There’s no doubt that user testing is incredibly important to create a website that’s easy to use, and performs well. But watching users in a testing environment can never compare to watching actual customer interactions, and looking at the stumbling blocks they face. Today we’re taking a look at how FullStory can help with just this, and give you a powerful insight into how your customers use your website.

Reviews / 13 Aug 2015

Get 7 Free Days of Downloads With GraphicStock

GraphicStock have a big collection of stock resources for designers — backgrounds, concepts, icons, patterns, textures, templates, photos and more.

Today we’re featuring a great deal, which gives you seven days of completely unrestricted access to the GraphicStock library. Read on to find out more about the site, how to redeem the deal, and see a collection of different assets and resources from the site!

Business / 6 Aug 2015

Adobe Stock: Shaking Up the Stock Content Market

Adobe Stock has introduced a stock content service that’s directly integrated into creative tools and workflows.

Approximately 85% of creatives who buy stock use Adobe tools, and over 90% of stock sellers use Adobe’s tools to create their images. Adobe is working with buyers and sellers to create a streamlined experience that makes the flow of content more efficient for buyers and increases the opportunities for sellers.

Competitions / 18 Jun 2015

Win a Retina 5k iMac With Design Shack Deals

The 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display features a breathtaking 14.7 million pixel display so text appears sharper than ever, videos are unbelievably lifelike, and you can see new levels of detail in your photos.

This week, we’re giving one of these fantastic computers away to one lucky winner through Design Shack Deals. Read on to find out how to enter!

Competitions / 26 May 2015

Win an Apple Thunderbolt Display With Design Shack Deals

The 27-inch Thunderbolt Display supersizes your view with an incredible 2560-by-1440 resolution. It features a universal MagSafe connector that charges your notebook, a Mini DisplayPort cable for easy connectivity, three USB ports, and lots more!

This week, we’re giving one of these brand new displays away to one lucky winner through Design Shack Deals. But don’t wait, because the competition ends in just over 24 hours. Read on to find out how to enter!

Graphics / 5 May 2015

How to Make a Budget Wedding Website With Tumblr

Having a wedding website or blog is all the rage, and it can be a great way to keep your friends and family up-to-date with your wedding planning for the special day.

There are lots of services out there to help, but many are quite expensive or complicated. Today we’re taking a look at how you can build your own wedding website in a few simple steps, using the Wedding Tumblr theme.

You’ll have a wedding website to be proud of, in no time at all (here’s an example). All for the price of a couple of wedding magazines!

Inspiration / 1 May 2015

Stay Up-to-Date With Webdesigner News

There are plenty of ways to stay across what’s happening in the design industry. Twitter, Facebook, your collection of RSS feeds, and a growing collection of newsletters and news aggregation sites.

Today we’re taking a look at the new Webdesigner News, to see how it fares, and explore how it can be a useful place to stay up-to-date with the latest news, announcements, releases, and sensations in the web design industry.

Inspiration / 29 Apr 2015

30 Premium Tumblr Themes With Beautiful, Minimal Design

There are thousands of Tumblr themes all over the web. To be perfectly frank, most of them aren’t great, and won’t do your creative work justice. Today we’ve collected thirty of our favourite premium Tumblr themes from across the web.

All of these cost a few dollars, but all of them will take your Tumblr blog to another level. From stylish, minimal Tumblr themes, through to those featuring big colours and bold images — we have a full selection. All of them are available to buy straight from Tumblr directly, and can be set up on your blog in a few minutes!

Business / 13 Apr 2015

Introducing Media Temple’s WordPress Hosting

We’ve hosted Design Shack with Media Temple for years. So we were very pleased when they came to us, and asked us to take a look at their new managed WordPress hosting solution.

Media Temple’s new full-featured WordPress hosting solution features four new, customizable and scalable plans. Whether you’re a photographer, web designer or creative agency, there’s a plan that should work for you. Today we’re taking a look at this new hosting product, to see how it stacks up!

Competitions / 9 Apr 2015

Win a New MacBook With Design Shack Deals

Apple’s new MacBook is the thinnest and lightest Mac ever, with every component meticulously redesigned to create a Mac that is just two pounds and 13.1 mm thin. It’s a gorgeous piece of industrial design, and a machine that’s very capable to use for graphic, or web design.

This month, we’re giving one of these brand new MacBooks away to one lucky winner through Design Shack Deals. It’s a great chance to get your hands on a beautiful new machine for your design work, packed with technological innovation. Read on to find out how to enter!

Freebies / 6 Apr 2015

Handy Graphic & Vector Freebies From 1001FreeDownloads

Today we’re featuring a collection of vector and design resources from 1001FreeDownloads. It’s a really handy place for finding new goodies to use in your projects — completely free of charge!

They have thousands of good quality, free images of various types available (which you can use for commercial purposes). No registrations, no fees — you can just pick what you’re after, and download it. Simple! Read on to see a few of the different items we’re featuring today, and find out more about how the site works.

Competitions / 24 Mar 2015

The Wacom Intuos Pro Pen & Touchpad Giveaway

When it comes to precision image editing, let’s face it – a trackpad/mouse just doesn’t cut it. In order to produce your best design work, you need all of the dexterity that your hands have to offer and the Intuos Pro Pen & Touchpad will give you exactly that.

With 2,048 levels of pen pressure sensitivity, this touchpad is nothing if not precise, and we’re confident that this along with dozens of other convenient features will help take your designs to the next level.This month, we’re giving one of these touchpads away to one lucky winner through Design Shack Deals.