Articles - Page 133

Graphics / 18 Oct 2017

The Greatest Print Campaigns of All Time: Volkswagen Think Small

You’re a web designer living large in the 21st century. Your job is defined by screens and software. What in the world could you possibly learn about design from a bunch of old dusty print ads? The answer of course, is “a ton.”

Today we’re examining one of the most famous print ad campaigns of all time. The Volkswagen “Think Small” campaign. How did a funny looking car that was named after a bug, known for being slow and manufactured in factories built by Nazis ever become iconic to a generation of post-war Americans? Great design and fantastic marketing.

Graphics / 16 Oct 2017

Design Trend: Vivid Rainbow Colors

If nothing else, 2017 has been a year of color in website design. Color trends have dominated the conversation about design, with brighter, bolder hues as a large part of the landscape.

There’s a new color trend that combines a lot of those bright options into bigger color palettes that you might now expect – rainbow color patterns. That’s right, more designers are taking a change with a lot of color and incorporating vivid rainbow, gradient colors into design projects. And it’s pretty cool!

Here’s a look at the trend and some ideas for how to use vivid color that aren’t garish.

Layouts / 11 Oct 2017

Coming Soon Landing Pages: Tips and Best Practices

What do you do when your website is under construction and you aren’t quite ready for launch?

Whether you’re generating buzz to release a new product or app, or just waiting for a new website project to be ready, a coming soon page can be the fix.

When used well, coming soon pages can help generate leads (with an email signup form) and drum up some interest for your website.

Graphics / 9 Oct 2017

Tips for Creating a Modern Monochrome Color Palette

A monochrome color scheme isn’t always the first idea that comes to mind when starting a new design project. But single-color design projects can have a lot of impact and give the opportunity to branch out and try some new techniques.

Monochromatic projects, which consist of a color palette with just one color, can be striking because they aren’t as commonly seen as projects with more color variances. This alone can make your project stand out.

Graphics / 4 Oct 2017

DPI vs. Pixels: What Do I Use?

You hear these phrases tossed around by everyone today – from amateur photographers, to the iPhone salesman, to some of the world’s most acknowledged visual creators and designers. But what do image size specs really mean? And what should you use?

Simply, it all depends on your project. Knowing what medium you are creating for and how your images will be used is key to sizing and picking the right number of pixels or DPI. Before you begin your next project, though, make sure you are familiar with all the image-quality jargon.

How to Design a Logo / 2 Oct 2017

5 Tips for Creating a Memorable Logo Design

A logo might be the single most important visual connection a brand makes with users. It identifies the company or organization and sets a basic tone for interactions with users.

From color to shape to words, every element in a logo design says something. (That’s why such a small element is so important to your brand.)

Logo design takes a lot of planning and thought and it is important to create a mark that represents your business and is something that users can identify and remember. It’s doubtful that you’ll develop the next Nike swoosh, but with the right approach you can create a memorable logo design.

Graphics / 28 Sep 2017

How & Why Faces Increase User Engagement

There’s a lot of science and psychology that goes into design. Even if you don’t consciously think about it, choices that you make when selecting imagery and user interface elements can establish a connection with users (or not) and even lead to higher engagement rates.

Using actual human faces in the design is one way to do this. Seeing a face can make people more likely to engage with a design because it makes the app/website/poster feel more human. It creates a more distinct emotional connection.

Here, we’re going to look at designs that use faces in different ways and how you can up user interaction with some of the same design techniques.

Graphics / 19 Sep 2017

10 Best Tools & Tips for Choosing a Website Color Scheme

Finding the perfect color combination for a website can be a challenging task, especially when you’re trying to make a particular design fit in with a client’s requirements. We’ve picked out a few great color scheme generating tools for you to easily create the perfect palette!

If you’re stuck trying to find the perfect color scheme for a website design, don’t feel bad. It’s OK if you’re not an expert on color palettes. You just need to find the right set of tools to do that job for you.

But, before you go crazy with the color tools, let’s figure out some of the things you need to consider when choosing the right color combination for a design.

Graphics / 18 Sep 2017

5 Tips for Designing the Perfect eBook Cover

People are going to judge your eBook by its cover. The cover is the first impression and first chance you have to hook a reader. It has to be visually appealing, include lettering that’s easy to read and entice users to download (and read) your book.

The perfect eBook cover stands out from all the other books available, communicates what the book is about and sells a benefit to readers for downloading.

That’s a pretty tall order for a design that users are likely to only see for a few seconds (if that) when deciding to make a purchase. But there are design elements you can use to help encourage downloads. Here are five tips to help you design the perfect eBook cover.

Business / 14 Sep 2017

5 Tips for Working With Squarespace as a Designer

Squarespace isn’t just for non-designers and small business owners. Regardless of your skill level, the platform can be a quick and easy way to get a site online in a hurry. The website builder is packed with tools and integrations so that everything you need is right there from the start.

But the biggest complaint from designers is that while the templates look good, there’s just not enough flexibility. You just have to dig a little deeper. Squarepsace offers options so that more advanced designers and developers can do even more with the tool.

Reviews / 7 Sep 2017

Free Photos, Vectors, Icons, Videos & Fonts From Stockio

There’s nothing like a good resource of stock images, vectors, icons and fonts to jumpstart your creative projects. Almost every designer needs a creative resource to fill image gaps from time to time.

Stockio is one of those resources. The site is packed with free image assets, including photos and video; vectors; icons and fonts that can be used for personal and commercial projects without attribution. Plus, all the resources are top-notch, high quality files.

What can you do with Stockio? We’ve got plenty of ideas to help spur a little creativity (and every example you see is from the Stockio database).

Instagram Templates / 6 Sep 2017

10 Simple Steps to Refresh Your Instagram Account

Taylor Swift did it. She deleted her Instagram account before re-emerging with a newly refreshed persona. The tactic was part of a campaign for her new album release, but shows a good point: sometimes your accounts just need a refresh.

You can learn more about how Swift did it, or take on a personal challenge to refresh your Instagram account. It’s easier than you might think. (Once you get over the mental block of changing the way you post photos, anyway.)

Here’s how you can refresh your Instagram account in 10 simple steps (and maybe even feel as diva as Taylor Swift in the process).