Articles - Page 170

Software / 18 Mar 2015

A First Look at Bloom: An Opt-in Plugin From Elegant Themes

Today, we’re excited to be taking a first look at a new product from Elegant Themes — Bloom. It’s a WordPress plugin that takes the headache out of growing your own email list using beautiful, customizable and easy-to-use forms that can be placed anywhere on your website.

The email inbox is a sacred place. Emails are not lost in the endless stream of chatter or filtered out by social algorithms. They are a direct line to your visitor’s ear, it’s an incredibly important medium. Talking to your customers is the fun bit, but building your list is the hard part, and that’s where Bloom comes in.

Layouts / 18 Mar 2015

The Complete Guide to an Effective Card-Style Interface Design

Card-style architecture is one of the biggest things in web design, and mobile design in particular. From apps to responsive websites, the card-style format is popping up everywhere.

And for good reason. Mobile card design looks nice, works well on a variety of devices and creates distinct organization and a method for content delivery. That’s why many large, well-known brands are using the card format and many smaller design and development groups are following suit.

Inspiration / 16 Mar 2015

Designing Without Images: Making Typography Work for You

You don’t need a great image for every design project. In fact, you can create a great design with no images at all. It’s a trend that is gaining a lot of momentum as typography-focused projects can be used to stand out against a crowded sea of hero images, video and animations.

All you have to do is think like a typographer. Designing without images takes focus, vision and a clear understanding of design and typography principles to create a piece of art that is totally comprised of text.

Graphics / 12 Mar 2015

10 Tips for Designing Icons That Don’t Suck

Almost every designer is thinking about app design these days. One of the smallest features of every app is the icon used to represent it on the screen of every mobile device and in the app stores. Designing a great icon is more than just putting a logo in a box. You need something that stands out among all the other app icons out there.

A good icon can be used in a variety of ways – for apps, social media and even on smaller printed projects or business cards. And all it takes is a little design and planning.

Design Dilemma / 5 Mar 2015

Design Dilemma: Buy One, Get Two More for Free?

I love giving back by helping designers with their questions and dilemmas. I’ve been successful at using my own dunder-headed mistakes as lessons not only for myself, but for others. There is one mistake, however, I never made — failing to speak up for myself. Yes, there were projects I walked away from because of the low fee, the client appeared to be too sleazy, or a gut feeling told me that the numerous red flags meant I was borrowing trouble, but I never wondered if I made the right choice.

When I hear about a designer who was too afraid to ask for a contract, assert themselves when scope creep started heading for the ridiculous, or they feel working for free will be that great opportunity the client promises, I wonder if this is not the reason the industry and creatives are seen as being weak and foolish. The following dilemma makes me frustrated at the weakness the designer displayed, but there has to be patience and forgiveness in the world, so, join us as we delve into another Design Dilemma, helping to answer your questions, queries and concerns about the human world of design.

Freelancing / 3 Mar 2015

Freelancing 101: How to Help People Understand Your Job

Just because you have a “home office”, it doesn’t mean you’re really working. How often have you gotten this response from friends or family? They just don’t always seem to get the life of a freelancer…

The hours are different for freelancers. The workplace may not look like an office at all, and can sometimes be the kitchen table. But that doesn’t mean you are not working. Chances are you are working exceptionally hard. Sometimes it just takes a little explaining to help everyone else better understand your job.

Layouts / 2 Mar 2015

How to Design an Email People Will Actually Read on Their Phones

Email marketing is one of the most popular ways to reach an audience. Wait, that’s probably not new information. But did you know what a majority of those views will be on a mobile device? So if you are not designing your emails for phones, this is the day to start.

Designing a mobile email takes planning and thought. Many third-party email software clients include responsive templates in their packages, but not every tool will automatically convert your message to the idea design. You need to think out how your email will look and make sure the message is focused. It might even be the perfect place to start with a mobile-first design strategy.

Design Dilemma / 26 Feb 2015

Design Dilemma: Can an Employer Claim Rights to Your “Style”?

Everyone has been fired from a job. It’s shocking, depressing and degrading but everyone goes through it. As business author, Harvey McKay pointed out in one of his books, “before you fire someone, ask yourself if you want that person working for your competitor.”

When I was let go from a large greeting card company, the exit interview included ten minutes of why the company had to let me go and fifty minutes of the HR person explaining why I wouldn’t want to go to work for their competitor. Eventually I did go to work for their competitor and, as I explained to the HR person, “unless you are going to kill me, you have no control over my career.”

Yes, there was a non-compete agreement for one year but beyond that, I was free to do anything I wanted to do. Some companies just can’t let go and want to stop you from continuing that career. So, join us as we delve into another Design Dilemma, helping to answer your questions, queries and concerns about the deadly world of design.

Mobile / 24 Feb 2015

Google Material Design: Everything You Need to Know

You probably keep hearing the phrase “material design” popping up in conversations. The concept is pretty new; it was introduced in the summer and references a new design language from the folks at Google.

But material design is more than just an idea; it is likely to cause designers to completely rethink web and app design processes. Sites are already beginning to role out design schemes using Google’s material design documentation. So now is the time to learn what it’s all about and if a material design framework is in your future.

Minimalist Graphic Design / 23 Feb 2015

Minimal Design: How to Design More With Less

Minimalism and the use of whitespace are big design trends right now. Mastery of these techniques might look easy at first glance, but it is actually quite difficult to design with so much open space and so few objects. It can be hard for clients to come to terms with because they often want as much information as possible on a canvas.

But many designers like the look of minimal styles and maximizing whitespace can be a fun challenge. It’s a technique that translates well across mediums and can be used in print, web design and on packaging. Here, we’ll look at the trend and how to design more with less.

Layouts / 17 Feb 2015

Understanding and Working With Aspect Ratio

Every image, every canvas, every frame has a shape. And often that shape is a rectangle. Even more common is a rectangle of a particular proportion based on medium.

From cameras to television to movies to computer screens, every medium has an almost distinct shape on to itself. That can be a challenge for designers, especially when you have to crop and convert content and information to fit a variety of mediums. Because of all these different shapes, understanding aspect ratios can help you easily move images and designs from one medium to another.

Graphics / 16 Feb 2015

6 Tips for Designing Signs and Billboards

Your next project assignment: designing a sign for an upcoming event. It will be displayed on billboards around town and printed on smaller yard signs as well. If you are already panicking at the idea, don’t worry — designing a sign is not much different than any other project.

The big difference is scale. It’s going to be a lot larger in size than what you might be used to. Other things to think about when designing signage are location, color, typography, contrast and material the sign will be printed on. Thinking about each of these factors in advance can make for a better sign design experience.