Business - Page 21

Business / 25 Jan 2010

20+ Outstanding Mac Apps for Designers

Like every good designer, I’m a complete Mac addict.

Ok, that’s probably going to get me into trouble, not every good designer uses a Mac. But honestly, you should. The strong emphasis on beautiful design in Mac apps is hard to overlook and is in fact a necessity for anything that makes its way into my applications folder.

There is a never ending sea of amazing Mac applications available online. Here’s a list 20, undoubtedly incredible apps that will make your life as a designer a lot easier. When possible, I’ve included both high quality professional apps as well as their free alternatives.

Business / 21 Jan 2010

20 Gorgeous Examples of E-Commerce Done Right

E-commerce sites are notoriously busy and overcrowded.

Today we’ll be examining a ton of online stores that break this trend by being both functional and attractive. Each of the examples below has a unique lesson to teach us about good e-commerce design. Let’s get started!

Business / 20 Jan 2010

How to Make a Confident First Impression With Clients

When it comes to winning new clients, “confidence is key.”

Forgive the trite expression, but in this case it couldn’t be more true. Potential clients will judge the quality and professionalism of both you and your work based on their first contact. Screwing this up could mean spending months reshaping that individual’s image of you or even result in losing the client altogether.

Today we’ll go over some tips and techniques you can use to make a positive, lasting first impression with your clients.

Business / 18 Jan 2010

10 Pitfalls to Avoid When Using Stock Photography

Stock Photography is a tricky beast.

The presence or lack of good stock imagery can make or break a design. My best advice is to use custom photography/artwork whenever possible. However, I’m a big fan of stack art because there are tons of scenarios when it makes good sense to purchase someone else’s work over taking the time to create your own. To keep it classy, here are ten things to avoid when you’re working with stock images.

Business / 11 Jan 2010

17 Easy Ways to Backup Client Work

This article will showcase several ways to backup your irreplaceable client work using both offline and online solutions. Find the solution that fits your budget and workflow best and start backing up today.

Articles / 29 Dec 2009

5 Realistic Resolutions for Web Designers

It’s that time of year again, where we all have the chance to reflect on the past twelve months and plan ahead for the year to come. It always leaves me feeling fired up, and I’m already excited to what’s in store for 2010.

There’s always a danger of setting resolutions, or goals, that are slightly unrealistic and far fetched. Today I’ll be taking a look at various goals and projects you may want to consider as a web designer – ranging from starting up a personal side project, to spending a little more time out of the office!

Business / 10 Dec 2009

The Business of Selling WordPress Themes: Part 2

This is the second article in our series on making money selling WordPress themes. In this post we’ll look at what kind of features users look for in a professional WordPress theme.

Read through the list and use the comments below to let us know what features you think are most important in a WordPress theme.

Business / 8 Dec 2009

The Business of Selling WordPress Themes: Part 1

WordPress is to professional blogging what Photoshop is to design. Sure, there are widely used alternatives, but it’s definitely the standard to beat. This post will examine how to sell, price and promote your WordPress themes.

Business / 6 Nov 2009

Find Web Design Clients Free With Haystack

Today we’ll check out Haystack, a new web designer directory site from 37signals. We’ll go over what it’s all about, their pricing structure and how to get yourself listed!

Business / 3 Nov 2009

The Ultimate Guide to CSS Gallery Inclusion

Design Shack started out as a simple CSS gallery, featuring well designed websites that caught my eye. Tens of thousands of designs have been submitted over the past few years, and each one has been considered carefully for inclusion. The sad fact is that only around 5% of submissions stand out from the crowd.

This could be due to any number of factors; the site didn’t get the basics right, didn’t have anything remarkable to show, or (occasionally) was let down by content. This guide will walk you through how to make sure you stand a great chance of inclusion, avoiding all the pitfalls so commonly stumbled into by designers. At each stage, we’ll take a look at one great example, and one that’s not so good.

Articles / 17 Apr 2009

Defend Your Design

We all know that acute rush of adrenaline experienced before submitting a design for review or approval all too well. You click down on that “Send” button, take a deep breath and look at the design one more time before releasing your mouse. It’s gone.

You’ve sent your design out into a cruel, critical world. Will it succeed or will it fail? Perhaps that depends less on the design itself and more on whether or not you’ve set it up to succeed. As designers, we need to be advocates for the craft by explaining what we do and educating clients on our method.

Business / 11 Mar 2009

Good Design, Now What?

Here at Design Shack, we’ve built up a solid archive of the best designs the web has to offer. When browsing through the 3,000+ sites featured, it’s hard to fully grasp the amount of time and effort put into the design and development of each one.

That’s why it breaks my heart when I see a brilliant site screenshot taken the day it was launched, but when clicking to visit the live version, I find a shell of what it used to be.