Inspiration - Page 53

Beautiful, inspiring examples of graphic design, mockups, presentation templates, websites, fonts, icons, and more.

Gift Guide for Designers – the 2013 Edition

Inspiration / 11 Dec 2013

Gift Guide for Designers – the 2013 Edition

What do you get for the designer who has it all this holiday season? The options are almost limitless with so many cool items out there for work and play.

From items under $10 to some rather pricey toys, Design Shack has the perfect gift ideas for every creative on your list this year. There are also plenty of digital options that are great if you have waited until the last minute to start shopping. (The hardest part will be not buying everything for yourself.) Happy holidays… and happy shopping!

The Design Process: How Do You Get Started?

Inspiration / 22 Oct 2013

The Design Process: How Do You Get Started?

Sometimes the toughest part of a new project is actually getting started. In fact, just this small step can be a process in itself.

As designers, we all have different processes and habits, but there are a few common things that everyone can do to make getting started that much easier (and hopefully result in more efficient use of time, and a better end result).

E-Commerce Website Design: 10 Interesting Examples

Inspiration / 8 Oct 2013

E-Commerce Website Design: 10 Interesting Examples

E-commerce design is one of the most common – and sometimes most overlooked – types of design project. Just think of how often you click “buy now” on a website.

But what makes it work? Of utmost importance in e-commerce design is user experience and the purchase flow, but more and more sites are also beginning to develop awesome design schemes as well. Here, we’ll look at ten e-commerce sites that function well, and also look fantastic.

10 Popular Trends in Modern Web Design Elements

Inspiration / 9 Sep 2013

10 Popular Trends in Modern Web Design Elements

Trends in web design can change and fade almost as quickly as they become fashionable. But so far in 2013, a handful of trends have really seemed to take web design by storm, and seem to be sticking.

Today, we’re going to examine ten trends in modern web elements and showcase some great examples of each — everything from vintage typography and circles, to vibrant colours and handy vCards. Even better for you is that all of the examples below are available for download (some free, some paid).

15+ Inspirational Portfolio Designs

Inspiration / 21 Aug 2013

15+ Inspirational Portfolio Designs

As creative folk and freelance designers, we often want to show off our work to others — whether that be to clients, family, friends, or colleagues. Your online portfolio says a lot about your style and approach to work, and it’s an important thing to spend time tweaking and perfecting.

In this article, we’ll walk through 18 creatively designed portfolios to give you a few ideas for your next portfolio refresh. Flick through, enjoy the inspiration, and feel free to share your own examples in the comments!

15 Delightful, Immersive Video Game Website Designs

Inspiration / 31 Jul 2013

15 Delightful, Immersive Video Game Website Designs

True gamers don’t just want to enjoy only the game’s experience; they want to know who makes the game, the video game company history, and the inspiration behind a video game. With the video game’s creativity and art comes an inspired art on it’s own: the video game website.

Video game websites are often unique and creative — rich with graphics, sliders, images, videos, leader boards and more. They also have to give the first impression for a game, as a video game website generally launches a while before the game is released. Let’s look at some of the best designed and developed video game websites created over the past couple of years.

10 Key Features of Popular WordPress Themes

Inspiration / 1 Jul 2013

10 Key Features of Popular WordPress Themes

WordPress is the framework behind many of the websites and blogs you visit every day, including this one. Latest numbers from WordPress attribute the framework as the backbone of 17 percent of the web.

The platform is simple to use, and thanks to plenty of theme builders it can be customized in a variety of ways for everything from blogs, to portfolio sites, to e-commerce. Themes are the element that take WordPress to the next level, giving almost anyone of any skill level the ability to create a site that doesn’t look like a basic template. There are a few key components that set the best themes aside from the rest. The most popular WordPress themes – both paid and free – tend to have 10 key features in common. Let’s take a look at them.

Pinterest for Designers: Using It to Your Advantage

Inspiration / 22 May 2013

Pinterest for Designers: Using It to Your Advantage

Design inspiration is all around us. And every day there are new tools popping up to help us collect and share that inspiration. One of those great tools is Pinterest. The image collection platform is a fantastic source of design inspiration, from typography to print, web or packaging design.

Newer additions to the service, such as boards for business and hidden boards make the tool even more useful. Haven’t gotten on board with Pinterest yet? Not sure how to make it work for you? Read on.

Trendy Design: Making Emerald Work for You

Inspiration / 8 May 2013

Trendy Design: Making Emerald Work for You

Emerald is picking up plenty of buzz this year. The green-blue hue works well in design projects, from backgrounds, to the base color in a palette, to serving as an accent. The color is gaining even more popularity in 2013 because of its designation as Pantone Color of the Year.

Not only are web and print designers jumping on the trend but so are designers in the fashion, beauty and home décor industries. Why? Because Emerald has an almost universal appeal. Here are some ways to make it work for you.

10 Things I Learned About Design From iPad Apps

Inspiration / 11 Mar 2013

10 Things I Learned About Design From iPad Apps

Good design is all around us. Not just in printed materials or on websites, but also in everyday items. What’s great is that you often don’t notice it — you just enjoy whatever item, tool or website you are using.

Nowhere is this more true than with mobile apps. Most of us use them every day, but do you ever stop to think how much they are shaping the way you approach design? Apps can be a great source of inspiration and also another reminder of time-tested design concepts. Here are ten of the great lessons I have learned (and re-learned) from iPad apps.

30 Brand New Creative VIP PSD & CSS Design Resources

Freebies / 12 Feb 2013

30 Brand New Creative VIP PSD & CSS Design Resources

Loads of new freebies and open source codes are placed online every day. Web & mobile designers can learn a lot by studying newer interface trends and design layouts. Creative VIP is one such website which publishes freebies and premium content. This is an excellent resource for designers who want to dig a bit deeper into constructing usable layouts for the web.

In this roundup I have put together 30 of the latest freebies from Creative VIP. You will find both PSDs and HTML/CSS codes mixed in with each other. Some resources actually offer both graphics and the code together! But no matter what items you’re looking for, this showcase is bound to have something cool.

20 Fresh Sites With Amazing Scrolling Effects

Inspiration / 30 Jan 2013

20 Fresh Sites With Amazing Scrolling Effects

Scrolling effects are becoming more and more popular as a means of increasing interaction and user interest. Through clever background positioning, animations and a little JavaScript, you can bring your page to life in ways that will surprise and grab your users’ attention.

There’s a wide variety of tactics that you can use to create a unique scrolling experience on your site. Join us as we take a look at twenty fresh sites and how they use scrolling effects in different ways.