Articles - Page 119

Business / 24 Jul 2019

How to Find or Create Your Brand Personality

What is the personality of your brand? No, it’s not a trick question. Is your brand formal or spunky or socially conscious?

Identifying and defining the identity and personality of your brand is crucial.

Even if you don’t define it, some sort of personality (even of the multiple variety) will come through. So it’s best to think about it now. The last thing you want is anyone else getting any say in how exactly your brand is defined.

Who do you want your brand to be?

Mobile / 23 Jul 2019

Mobile First Design: Why It’s Great and Why It Sucks

Historically, most web designers and their clients have approached the desktop side of any project first, while leaving the mobile part as a secondary goal that gets accomplished later. Even with the rise of responsive design, many of us begin with the “full size” site and work our way down.

There’s a growing trend in the industry though to flip this workflow on its head and actually begin with mobile considerations and then work up to a larger desktop version.

Why would you ever approach a project this way? What are some of the pros and cons of this strategy? Read on to find out!

Graphics / 18 Jul 2019

50 Shades of Black: Effective Use of No Color

A few years ago, there was a debate stirring on the web about black. Ian Storm Taylor’s “Never Use Black” was shared and tweeted and read by designers all over the world.

You can debate whether you should use black or not all day long. But the reality is that you will use black. Every designer does – by choosing or not.

So it’s best to understand the color and how to use it properly in a variety of design projects.

CSS / 10 Jul 2019

Inner Shadows in CSS: Images, Text and Beyond

Shadows in CSS are quick and easy, whether you’re slapping on a box-shadow or a text-shadow. But how comfortable are you with inner shadows? Can you pull off an inset box-shadow? How do you do the same thing on some text?

Today we’re going to learn some really simple inset shadow techniques that you can pull off with just a few lines of code. I’ll walk you through both the box-shadow and text-shadow syntax and how to change them to pull off an inset shadows.

Google Slides Themes / 1 Jul 2019

5 Quick Google Slides Tips & Tricks

If you aren’t using it already, Google Slides might quickly become one of your favorite tools. For anyone with a Google account, the presentation software is included to use completely free of charge.

It’s packed with tools to help you make great presentations with ease, and it supports downloadable templates to help you get started fast.

Make the most of this presentation tool with these tips and tricks that make Google Slides that much more functional!

Google Slides Themes / 24 Jun 2019

How to Embed a YouTube Video in Google Slides

You know that video can add extra spark to a website design, but it can also spice up a presentation. The challenge is that embedded videos can sometimes result in presentation mishaps if they don’t play properly.

It can be pretty embarrassing to run into one of these mishaps, but they are totally preventable.

Today, we’re going to walk through how to embed a YouTube video in Google Slides so you can nail your presentation, embedded video and all!

Photoshop Actions / 19 Jun 2019

How to Create Actions in Photoshop in 5 Minutes

A Photoshop action can save time and effort when you perform some of the same edits and tasks repeatedly. You can record almost any command into an action that you can replay for later use on different files.

Here, we have step-by-step instructions so you can learn how to create actions in Photoshop. (It really only takes five minutes.)

In no time at all, you’ll have a helpful Photoshop action that can save you time every day!

PowerPoint Templates / 12 Jun 2019

How to Start and End a Presentation: 10 Unique Ideas

A good presentation leaves you wanting more. It engages your thirst for information. These presentations are a mix of killer content, striking visuals, a charismatic speaker and—crucially—a memorable start and end.

And with the right tools, almost anyone can give a great presentation. When every minute matters, how you start and end your presentation can have a huge impact on what people take away from the time you’re talking to them (and whether it makes a lasting impression!)

Today, we’re breaking from traditional visual design techniques to think about how to craft a dynamic presentation, with a memorable beginning and ending.

Tumblr Themes / 6 Jun 2019

15+ Best Free Tumblr Themes

If you’re setting up a new blog or a website on Tumblr and want to make your website look unique and stand out from the crowd with a creative theme, we’ve got you covered. In this post, we feature some of the best free Tumblr themes you can use to make a professional website on the microblogging platform.

Tumblr is one of the best platforms for making a blog. In addition to being completely free to use, Tumblr also offers highly customizable options that allow you to set up custom domains, custom theme designs, and more to personalize your website to your preference.

Since it’s a free platform, there are thousands of free and premium themes available on Tumblr. But it can be difficult to find the best, most effective, regularly updated, and properly functioning themes in this vast collection. That’s where we come in. Check out our curated collection to find a great free theme for your new Tumblr website.

UX Design / 5 Jun 2019

How to Design a Perfect Website Onboarding Process (With Examples)

Think about the last time you downloaded a new app or landed on a new website. Did you know exactly what to do? Did the design help you engage with the site in a meaningful way? A simple onboarding process can make all the difference.

It’s important to think about website and app design in terms of onboarding visitors to create the best experience possible. This can include anything from helping someone find an item in your online shop and understanding how to make a purchase, to playing a game, or signing up for an email.

Onboarding is the process of integrating any new user into the design flow so that they can have the best interaction possible with your website, app or digital product or service. Here’s how you design it (with examples for inspiration).

Trends / 5 Jun 2019

Isometric Design & Illustration: An Eye-Catching Trend

Icons form an integral part of any website design. From use in informational and navigational elements, to eye-catching parts of a larger design, icons and icon-based elements can be an attractive and interesting way to draw in users.

While icons have used a dramatically flat aesthetic for a while, more projects are shifting to isometric icon usage. This trend is appearing on websites and print projects across plenty of different industries.

It’s gaining popularity because isometric icons have a more realistic look while still using flat layers. It’s an almost perfect mix of flat and depth. Here’s a more in-depth look at this design trend and how you can make the most of it.

Inspiration / 15 May 2019

19 Best Photoshop Tutorials for Designing Posters + Flyers

What makes a great poster design? It’s often a mix of creativity and design elements that have a certain panache.

Poster and flyer design can be a lot of fun because you can often stretch your design muscles and try things you wouldn’t for other projects. It’s an opportunity to do something attention-grabbing and unique!

With that idea in mind, here are twenty different poster/flyer tutorials that you can try out. Plus, you’ll get a chance to try out some new design techniques along the way!