Layouts - Page 11

Advice for crafting layouts and structure that can create a clear, original web design. Break the mould, and build a unique layout!

Layouts / 8 Nov 2011

How to Design a Tour Page: Examples and Best Practices

Tour pages are one of the most important components for websites advertising apps and/or services. The tour page is often where interested users will either make the firm decision to sign up or move on to something else.

Needless to say, there’s a lot of pressure as a designer to get this right! Fear not however, many talented designers have gone before you and we can learn a lot by looking at their examples. We’ll dive into tour pages from giants like Mozilla, 37Signals and Mint.com and see what common tricks they all use to win conversions.

Layouts / 7 Nov 2011

Design History: The Art of Playing Cards

Great design inspiration is all around us. Sometimes the best examples are so common that we see them all the time without a second thought. The cars we drive, the advertisements in our mailbox, the cover art on that new album you just downloaded, all of these are teaching their own little design lessons and if we would but listen, we just might learn something.

Today’s subject is playing cards. At least one pack can be found in almost every home in America, which means they’re a perfect example of ubiquitous design that we take for granted. We’ll take a fresh look at why they’re so perfectly designed and learn a little history along the way.

Layouts / 31 Oct 2011

Practical Design Considerations for Responsive Sites

Responsive design is our current best solution to the phenomenon of the ubiquitous web. The Internet is being accessed by people everywhere on countless incredibly varying devices and responsive pages provide an easy and functional way to account for these differences.

Today we’re going to take a step back from discussions of media queries and technical jargon and focus on the core aspects of how responsive techniques affect your design process. What major points do you need to keep in mind when approaching a responsive web design project? Read on to find out.

Layouts / 26 Oct 2011

Design Study Into Mac OS X App Websites

Apple has always demanded the highest calibre of work from its employees even since its founding in the late 1970s. Many designers have just recently moved into the OS X environment, and most fall in love at first sight. Mac OS X Lion offers so many features that you just can’t find elsewhere – most notably of which may be the App Store.

From here you gain access to a slew of applications both free and paid. These are all built for OS X Lion and can be downloaded directly into Launchpad. In this case study I’ll be looking into design trends for Mac app websites. These are specifically geared towards OS X and do not include iOS apps… the styles are very different. Along with these tips I have also compiled a small showcase gallery of my favourite Mac app sites to share a bit of inspiration.

Layouts / 3 Oct 2011

Doing More With Less: Tips for Designing With Limited Resources

Today we’re going to tackle some common issues that arrive not with having too much scattered content but with too little. How can you flesh out a design when your client has barely given you anything to work with?

We’ll go over some quick and easy tips for crafting gorgeous designs that don’t feel empty despite using very few resources.

Layouts / 13 Sep 2011

Is Content Always King? Thoughts on Real World Constraints in Design

Content should precede design. It’s a basic and essential piece of advice that you’ll hear from me as well as countless other designers. But what about the situations where this idea breaks down? We’d like to imagine that it’s never the case that design must take place before certainty about content can be reached, but in truth this simply isn’t the case.

What circumstances are there that force designers to proceed with a lack of content? How should you respond to such scenarios? Keep reading as we explore these ideas.

Layouts / 10 Aug 2011

The Ultimate Collection of 50+ Resources for Grid Lovers

If you love grid-based design, this article is for you. We’ve scoured the web and compiled every great grid resource we could find. We’ve got all the best frameworks, grid builders, how-to guides and more.

Commence browsing and bookmarking!

Layouts / 20 Jul 2011

Ditching the Grid: Alternative Layout Strategies and Tips

Are you tired of creating building websites using the same old grid-based layouts for every project? Have you been itching to break away from the norm and attempt something a little more organic?

Today we’ll take a look at a few sites that have done just that to see what we can learn about alternative layout methods and how they can be successfully implemented.

Inspiration / 30 May 2011

Creative Gallery of Parallax Website Designs

The limiting 2-dimensional aspect of computer monitors today constrain how websites are built. When designing parallax website layouts, these can bring effects and graphics into three-dimensional beauty right before your eyes! Often created with Adobe Flash or JavaScript libraries this effect is not often used but does offer a very unique feeling.

Below are some very creative examples I’ve put together for digital inspiration. Web designers from around the globe can gather ideas for parallax style websites. It’s not a very confusing topic, and once you’ve got a design style set in your mind it’s easy to bust out some graphics and code the whole thing together.

Layouts / 2 May 2011

iOS Usability Tips and Resources for iPhone and iPad Apps

The process required for designing mobile applications takes dedication and eye-numbing precision. Most graphics designers won’t spend their time in this area since pixel-perfect creation becomes tiresome quickly. And although mobile design isn’t for everyone it does hold a special place in the hearts of many.

For those out there interested to get started designing for mobile I’d recommend skimming a few of the ideas presented below. Previously we’ve discussed creative UI design techniques and offer solutions for iPhone and iPad designers.

Layouts / 18 Mar 2011

Drag and Drop WordPress Layout With Platform Pro

Building and even slightly altering WordPress themes can be a real hassle. You could buy a book or watch hours of video tutorials until you’re an expert on WordPress, but wouldn’t it be nice if you could skip all this and jump into building your own theme today?

Today we’re going to take a look at an impressively innovative product that allows you to use the simplicity of a drag and drop interface and basic forms to completely customize a WordPress site. The product is called Platform Pro and you’ve simply got to see it…

Layouts / 16 Mar 2011

10 Tips for Troubleshooting a Lackluster Design

One of the biggest problems that designers struggle with is how to improve a design that didn’t quite hit the mark. Sometimes we’re on our game and can bust out a beautiful design in minutes, other times we struggle to complete something that should be simple.

Today’s post is a checklist that you can bookmark and refer back to for those times when you need a fresh perspective. Browse through the list for inspiration on how to improve a design that’s lacking in an area that you can’t quite identify.