Articles - Page 123

Graphics / 13 Jul 2020

7 Common Website Design Problems (And How to Explain Them to Clients)

Sometimes designers and clients don’t quite speak the same language.

This barrier can be a real problem if a client expresses an issue and you can’t need to explain a solution in a way they understand. Sometimes, you have to step back from your knowledge and break it down in a simplified way.

That’s not always easy. Here, we’re going to look at some common website design problems and how to talk them through with clients that might not understand exactly how websites come together.

Lightroom Presets / 9 Jul 2020

25+ Best Lightroom Presets for Instagram

Instagram has a great selection of filters. But, let’s face it, they are terrible at making your photos look better. If you’re tired of using those same old filters, this collection of Lightroom presets for Instagram will help you stand out.

If you look at the Instagram channels of the professional photographers, you’ll notice that all their photos look incredibly beautiful without using any Instagram filters. This is done with the help of apps like Lightroom.

Lightroom is a great app for editing and post-processing photos. It’s also great for applying high-quality effects to photos with the help of presets.

In this post, we cover a collection of Lightroom presets you can use to optimize your photos for Instagram. Most of the presets will even work with Lightroom mobile, which is free to download. Start exploring the presets below.

Instagram Templates / 8 Jul 2020

11 Tips to Boost Your Design Profile on Social Media (Without Looking Sleazy)

Most designers have no problem creating great visuals to share on social media. (That’s almost a no-brainer!) But how can you boost your profile on social media channels without looking sleazy?

There’s a fine line between fun, engaging content, and pushy or overwhelming. There’s a lot of value in showcasing your work online, and you want to do it the right way.

Here, we’re going to look at how to make the most of your design profile on social media. These tips work for personal and business accounts, and they help you walk the path of using social media in a genuine and helpful way.

Mockup Templates / 7 Jul 2020

20+ Poster Mockup Templates (Free & Premium)

Whether you’re designing a poster to advertise a product, business or event, or as an aesthetic decor item, there’s no point in making a poster that doesn’t look great when it’s hanging in place, right? That’s why you need a poster mockup, to put your poster in real life settings and scenarios and ensure that it looks just as amazing when it’s hanging on a wall or in a frame, as it does in your design software.

This list of free and premium poster mockup templates includes the best purpose built mockup options for all kinds of poster designs, from huge billboard style displays to small, decorative pieces that look great on the living room wall.

Whatever your need, there’s a mockup template here that’s just waiting for your poster design!

Trends / 6 Jul 2020

Design Trend: A New Generation of Image Sliders

Website sliders are one of those design elements that we don’t love but have learned to live with. Generally, they don’t provide a lot of click value, but clients seem to love them.

A new design trend that features a new style of image sliders, fixes some of the functionality (and design boredom) issue of sliders. These aren’t your old-school image scrollers (and you won’t recreate these techniques with plugins).

Here’s a look at different design elements and ways of using this design trend so you can find renewed inspiration next time a slider is part of a project.

Mockup Templates / 3 Jul 2020

20+ Flyer Mockup Templates (Free & Premium)

Flyers are a classic marketing and advertising tool that allow you to promote your products and services to a huge audience, and raise awareness of your business or brand. But what looks good on the screen when you’re designing it may not translate perfectly into paper, so it’s a good idea to use a flyer mockup to ensure that your design has the desired effect.

Creating mockups from scratch is time-consuming and requires both time and expertise, so why not save yourself the time and effort and use one of the many flyer mockup templates available online?

We’ve even saved you all of the hard work, and rounded up some of the best free and premium mockup templates that are available for instant download, meaning you can be customizing your very own mockup in a matter of minutes.

Let’s take a look at some of the best flyer mockup templates that we’ve found.

Font Collections / 2 Jul 2020

25+ Free Brush, Script & Hand Lettering Fonts

Type is what meaning looks like, says Max Phillips the founder of Signal type foundry. This quote alone proves the importance of using proper typography in designs. And these free brush, script, and hand-lettering fonts will get you off to a great start.

Typography is not just about improving readability but also giving an identity and meaning to your titles, headings, and paragraphs. You can’t achieve that goal without a great-looking font.

Even if you can’t afford a high-quality premium font, try to at least get a free font that gives meaning and personality to each and every design you work on. Never settle for the default fonts.

You don’t have to spend hours scouring the web to find a great free font. In fact, we did the heavy lifting for you.

In this collection, we’re featuring some of the best free brush, script, and hand-lettering fonts you can download for free. Have a look.

Trends / 1 Jul 2020

8+ Web Design Myths Busted: Old Ideas & Modern Best Practices

There are a few ideas about website design that seem to never fade away, even though they are not so true anymore. Some concepts haven’t stood the test of time, and it’s time to revisit whether we should be adopting them anymore.

Do people love sliders? Does simplicity = minimal design? Do you really need to include every page of your site in the navigation? There’s quite a bit to unpack!

Here, we’re going to look at a few web design myths and share modern best practices so you don’t fall into any of these old-school traps.

Business / 29 Jun 2020

SEO for Designers: A 101 Primer

Most designers don’t consider search when it comes to building a website. That’s a mistake. Optimizing for search is just as important as information architecture and should be part of the product design from start to finish.

This is true both for your own knowledge that the project stands the greatest chance of commercial success, and for your client too!

Whether you are starting a new project or redesigning your portfolio, working with search engine optimization in mind from the start is a smart idea.

Here, we’ll look at some of the most basic SEO tips to help you get started on the right path.

Mockup Templates / 25 Jun 2020

20+ Stationery Mockup Templates (Free & Premium)

If you’ve recently designed a logo for your startup, or have rebranded and changed up your business aesthetic, you’ll no doubt be wanting to know how your branding will look in different contexts – on letterheads and business cards, or in email signatures, or on corporate swag such as coffee mugs and laptop stickers.

One of the key areas of merchandise that typically includes a business logo or branding element is stationery, and this can include anything from business cards and leaflets to notebooks and product labels. Trying out your logo on different stationery items is a great way to see how it looks in different settings and scenarios – and it’s also super helpful if you’re looking to get branded stationery printed for your business!

These fabulous stationery mockup templates will allow you to do just that, giving you an idea of how your branding will look on different stationery items without having to commit to printing or producing those items until you’re sure they’re perfect. Featuring a range of both free and premium options, you’re bound to find a suitable mockup for your purposes in the following list.

Trends / 24 Jun 2020

Design Trend: Geo Shapes & Patterns (With Animation)

Stylish geometry is a design trend that keeps coming back around. This time the new twist is that shapes and design elements include touches of animation to bring shapes and patterns to life. It’s easier than ever to implement animation on the web, in a simple and widely-supported way.

It’s also a nifty little design technique that can add visual interest to almost anything and works for all types of elements, from logos or icons to backgrounds to hero images.

Let’s take a look at this website design trend in action.

Business / 22 Jun 2020

How (And Why) to Design for Local Businesses

Designing for a local business can be one of the most rewarding projects that you take on. When done well, you create a relationship with someone in your community that helps them grown and succeed.

Whether you’re creating a website or designing menus or flyers, working with a small business can stretch your creative muscles but it will make you think about the process a little different. Small businesses can be quite different than some of your bigger clients. They have a lot more on the line when it comes to design services and return on investment, they may have more questions, and they need to know how design can help them grow.

When you take a small business client, your approach to design will likely be a little different. Here’s how to think about it.