Graphics - Page 24

Graphics / 20 May 2011

Judging Best Sellers by Their Covers: Does Good Design Sell Books?

I adore a good read. In a time where 90% of my life is spent staring at a digital screen, reading a physical book with real pages gives me an ephemeral illusion that life is simple again. To defy the age old adage, I will freely admit that I choose books to read based on their covers. I’m a designer, I simply can’t help it.

The question I’m exploring today is whether or not the rest of the world thinks like we designers do. Does everyone judge books by the quality of the cover design? If we take a look at the bestseller list, what will we find?

Graphics / 6 May 2011

55 T-Shirts Made Just for Designers

Everyone loves a good t-shirt. Today, we’ve got 55 of them that were specifically designed to appeal to graphic designers, web designer and coders.

We’ve scoured the web to find the coolest, funniest and most ridiculous designer-themed shirts and split them into five categories: Photoshop & Illustrator, Color, Typography, CSS & Code and Design. Enjoy!

Graphics / 28 Apr 2011

Dribbble, Philosophy and the Art vs. Design Debate

Always eager to jump into a debate, today I tackle the concept that artsy eye candy is currently too prevalent in design. Design inspiration galleries and communities are constantly critiqued for displaying art when their focus should be on design.

Can we cut through the biases and assumptions of the common rhetoric and discover the proper place for artistic talent in relation to functional design? Let’s find out.

Graphics / 20 Apr 2011

Designing a Web App Homepage: Examples, Tips and Peeves

The web is completely over-saturated with apps that help you connect with a social network, make grocery lists, manage large projects, decide who will make tea and every other crazy task you can imagine.

With all of this competition, how can you possibly convince visitors that your app is a the proverbial needle among the hay? Today we’ll look at some real examples to see if we can learn which strategies to mimic and which to avoid.

Graphics / 15 Apr 2011

Bringing Photoshop Comps to Life With Fireworks

Photoshop or Fireworks? It’s the question that has thrown all kinds of designers and developers into a heated debate. Today we’ll use both applications to create a simple web graphic.

This tutorial is aimed at all those designers who would never dream of giving up Photoshop and know almost nothing about Fireworks. I’ll show you how to take your Photoshop graphics and add in some interactive features via Fireworks.

Graphics / 7 Apr 2011

A Complete Beginner’s Guide to Masking in Photoshop

Several years ago a friend of mine asked me to teach him how masks work in Photoshop. This is my incredibly late response.

We’ll go over the basics of what masks are, what they’re used for and how wielding them properly will take your Photoshop skills to an entirely new level.

Graphics / 6 Apr 2011

Print Design Tips for Web Designers

I started my career in print almost a decade ago and gradually moved over to the web. This whole new medium brought several creative and technical hurdles that I had to learn to deal with and even embrace.

Today’s article is for a new generation of designers making the opposite jump. You’ve been designing for the digital world for some time and are ready to learn print design. We’ll help ease the transition with some dead simple and practical advice.

Graphics / 4 Apr 2011

The Benefits of Social Media Badges in Your Blog

There are far too many social networks to keep up with these days. This article will give a quick rundown of which networks offer significant benefits for blog owners looking to integrate social media.

Graphics / 30 Mar 2011

UI Design: Should We Really Be Afraid of the Uncanny Valley?

Realism in UI design is a hot topic right now. Every design blog worth anything is openly telling Apple that they are way off in their suggestion that iPad apps should mimic reality.

Join us as we add some life to the debate by tackling some of these notions head on. We’ll go over when realism is effective and when it is destructive and how you can wield it in your own designs without ruining your interface.

Graphics / 25 Mar 2011

50 Clever, Quirky and Beautiful Packaging Designs

This week has been all about branding and package design. We’ve gone over some tips for creating effective packaging and taken an in-depth view of the branding histories of Coca-Cola and Pepsi to see what we could learn about the power of a good brand.

Today we’ll finish off the week with a roundup of awesome packaging concepts from Behance and Packaging of the World.

Graphics / 24 Mar 2011

Pepsi vs Coke: The Power of a Brand

Today we’re going to jump into an age old rivalry between the two biggest soft drink companies on the planet and their flagship products: Pepsi and Coca-Cola.

The main theme will be brand evolution. We’ll take a look at how both brands have changed over the years and which seems to have the better strategy.

Graphics / 23 Mar 2011

Effective Package Design Does More Than Look Good on the Shelf

Package design is deceptively simple. Many designers wrongfully approach this task as merely a matter of aesthetics and give no thought to the fact that packaging has to succeed on many variables.

Today we’ll go over some basic principles to keep in mind the next time you’re designing either the package itself or merely the artwork. Along the way we’ll see a few amazing and not-so-great examples to learn from.