Inspiration - Page 81

Inspiration / 8 Jul 2010

100 Must Read Design Blogs

In my daily search for design-related content I’ve come across tons of really stellar blogs. Recently I noticed that the list of sites I regularly check in on had far surpassed 100!

I know there’s no shortage of lists like this but I still wanted to share my discoveries with the Design Shack readers. Some of the blogs below are quite famous, others are fairly obscure. Most are specifically about design, others are more for supporting subjects like freelancing or photography. So without further adieu, here’s my list of over 100 must read (or watch for the video sites) design-related websites.

Inspiration / 2 Jul 2010

20 Websites With Carefully Crafted and Convincing Copy

Last week we discussed the importance of copywriting in web design and today we’re showcasing twenty sites that got it right.

Below you’ll find a number of tricks that you can use to create convincing copy for your website. We’ll discuss how to use everything from hyperbole to sarcasm to snag users and score more conversions.

Graphics / 4 Jun 2010

6 Apps for Collecting Digital Inspiration

The online design community is simply overflowing with inspiration. Every day countless blog posts are being published showcasing 30-100 amazing examples of “insert item here.” Further, CSS galleries like our own contain hundreds or even thousands of great site designs.

With all this inspiration being tossed at you all the time, you need a way to catalogue and store it. Today we’ll look at a few tools out there that do exceptionally well at this very thing.

Graphics / 25 May 2010

5 Fantastic Notebooks and Sketchbooks for Designers

This article will briefly examine 5 physical notebooks that are perfectly suited for a number of designer workflows.

Before we get started, let’s take a brief look at some reasons you should be using a notebook as an integral part of your design process.

Graphics / 22 May 2010

Funny Business and the Lack of Humor in Web Design

In a recent post on things that web designers can learn from print designers, I pointed out that professional web design seems awkwardly void of comedy while other forms of marketing seem to embrace it. I decided to explore this area further and make it into full-fledged post.

So today we’re going to look at the world of funny marketing and why you should add it to your arsenal of design tools.

Graphics / 7 May 2010

15 in-Depth Examples of Addictive User Experience

Today we are going to examine 15 bits of user interface and experience design that really heighten the experience of using a site or application.

Use these website, iPhone and desktop application examples as inspiration for creating your own uniquely addicting user experiences.

Inspiration / 27 Apr 2010

7 Lessons Web Designers Can Learn From Print

Looking outside of your area of focus is an excellent way to learn a thing or two about design. Today we’ll see what value thinking like a print designer can bring to your website building skills.

Whether you’ve ever engaged in print design or not, these tips will provide you with some great ideas, ready to be applied to your next design.

Graphics / 22 Apr 2010

40 Amazing Resources for Design Freebies

The web is a veritable wonderland of free design resources that can enrich and improve your designs. This post contains forty sites to bookmark and keep an eye on for a continual stream of amazingly useful resources.

Graphics / 13 Apr 2010

How to Avoid Sticking in a Design Rut

Design ruts are the commercial artist’s equivalent of writer’s block. Sometimes you just seem to reach the end of your creative rope and can’t imagine thinking of any more good ideas.

Fortunately, all hope is not lost in these situations as there is plenty that you can do to both prevent and/or recover from a design rut. Today we’ll look at some different ways your creativity could potentially become stagnant and what to do in response.

Inspiration / 4 Apr 2010

30+ Gorgeous Typography Based Sites

“No other design discipline requires so much learning and training as fontography, and by no other aspect can amateurs be so easily distinguished from professionals.” – Dmitry Kirsanov

To follow up our recent article, 8 Rules for Creating Effective Typography, this post contains over 30 sites either dedicated to or designed with beautiful typography.

Graphics / 30 Mar 2010

The Ins and Outs of Minimalist Design

Minimalism is a trend that will never die. No matter how many times we are left in awe by impressively intricate designs, there will always be something about simplicity that leaves us just as captured.

Today we’ll look at some of the key aspects of minimalism in web design along with some examples from designers who got it right.

Business / 28 Mar 2010

7 Reasons to Attend Design Conferences

If you’ve never been to a big design conference, you’re missing out. Aside from being a blast, they’re a great way to boost you out of professional stagnation or a design rut. Below we’ll take a look at seven reasons you should attend the occasional design conference. Along the way I’ll post a few images and links for upcoming conferences that you might find interesting.