Design Shack — Web Design Gallery, Articles & Community

Business / 30 Jan 2017

What Are Design Ethics? (And Why Are They Important?)

Are you an ethical designer? Is that something you even think about when taking on projects? Design ethics come in many forms – from how you choose projects, to how you work with clients, to copyrights and legal protection.

These written and unwritten codes help shape the way graphic design professionals interact, communicate and do business. It’s something you probably do need to think about, because you know and understand the bigger rules. But any time you stop and ask “should I do this or that?” design ethics are part of the conversation.

Inspiration / 27 Jan 2017

30+ Best Keynote Templates of 2017

Even though Apple’s Keynote app gives you plenty of tools and options for creating beautiful presentations, it can be tricky to find the time to build a beautiful, custom design. Don’t worry — we’ve got you covered with this collection of the best Keynote templates!

With these templates, you don’t have to spend hours designing presentation slides. You can simply edit the slides that have already been crafted by professional designers, customize charts, change colors, and voila! You have your own beautiful, unique Keynote presentation.

We picked out a few of the most professional looking Keynote templates that’ll work perfectly for your next presentation!

Graphics / 25 Jan 2017

11 Handy Resources to Help Build a Website in 2017

Ready to finally tackle that website project you’ve been putting off? This is the year to get that site designed and published! Whether it’s a simple blog or something more complex, all you need to get started are a few great tools.

Here, we’ve rounded up a selection of new, innovative resources to help you get inspired, design and prototype, along with a few elements that will help you better work in WordPress – the most popular publishing platform. What are you waiting for? This is the day you start building a website in 2017!

Inspiration / 24 Jan 2017

50+ Best Lightroom Presets of 2017

It’s time to think about upgrading those old Lightroom presets you’ve been using for the past year with a new, more powerful collection! This selection of presets can enhance your photos in ways that you’ve never considered before.

We’ve lined up some of the best and the latest Lightroom presets on the web, all packed with functionality to create stunning effects. Add these to your photo editing workflow, and you’ll add a whole new level of professional look-and-feel to your images!

Business / 23 Jan 2017

Flex Your Design Muscles With These 10 Creative Exercises

Are you already over all those New Year’s resolutions? Now that we are a little further into the year, it’s time to pause and refresh in a way that will last longer than a fad diet or 30-day gym membership. You need to flex your creative muscles.

You might be surprised at the value of simple design workouts. They can help you forget problems you are actually working on (maybe helping you solve those design dilemmas), and even learn something new.

It only takes a few minutes a week to work through an exercise or two, and really stretch those creative muscles. Pick an exercise from our collection below – each one includes just three steps — and make a date to get in design shape!

Graphics / 18 Jan 2017

7 Rules for Creating a Simple Design

Keep it simple, stupid. This concept dates to 1960 when the U.S. Navy implemented the KISS principle, which maintains that most systems work best if they are simple, rather than complicated. The same is true of pretty much any design project as well.

Most graphic designers learn about KISS early in their careers. So how can you do it? Creating a simple design is a little more complicated than you might think. Here are seven rules to design by, that help you cut away all the clutter and create a beautifully simple account.

Reviews / 17 Jan 2017

Build a Website Today With Squarespace

There are a lot of ways to build a website. If you are new to creating and managing a website, a site building tool can be one of the best and easiest ways to get started.

The benefit of a site building tool is that you don’t have to know code to create a beautiful design that works seamlessly across devices. Squarespace is one such option. Squarespace is designed to help you get a professional-looking website online in a short time. It’s a great option for creative professionals with plenty of template options that can make your portfolio shine.

Here’s a look at Squarespace, plus a discount code if you want to give it a try!

Layouts / 16 Jan 2017

How to Break the Grid Without Making a Mess

A grid is the foundation of almost any website design. These invisible lines help create rhythmic space and visual flow, so each project carries a sense of organization and harmony.

But you don’t have to stick to the grid 100 percent of the time. You can even break the grid from time to time without making a total mess. Here’s how you do it, while still keeping a website that’s a pleasure to use!

Inspiration / 12 Jan 2017

15 Best Moodle Themes of 2017

Moodle is a powerful learning management system which is widely used by academics and students to build online course management and e-learning websites for universities and institutions around the world.

Moodle templates and themes let you quickly establish a great looking platform, without too much development time and resource. These templates are easy to implement and offer full customization. Some of these templates cover the corporate arena, while others focus more on education and learning. They’re a great starting point when developing your own platform!

Graphics / 11 Jan 2017

7 Tips for Effective Use of Icons in Design Projects

Designing icons can be a lot of fun. But once you have a good set, what do you do with them?

Icons are not just miniature links for Facebook or Instagram — they can be fully interactive cues that help lead users through a design and provide extra visual spark. Icons can be small or large, black and white or colored, flat or intricate. No matter what style appeals to you, effective use of icons can enhance usability and the aesthetic value of almost any design project.

Inspiration / 10 Jan 2017

100+ Beautiful, Modern Serif Fonts

It’s time to delve into a collection of beautiful, premium serif fonts. Serifs are ideal for printed literature, more detailed typography, or for creating a more formal effect. These typefaces really stand out from the crowd.

Today, we have gathered 100 amazing, modern and stylish serif fonts that you can easily buy and start using in your work. All of these cost a few dollars, but you’ll be amazed what a difference they can make to your design project. There’s nothing like a distinct serif typeface to really set your layout apart, and create something beautiful. We hope you like them!

Graphics / 9 Jan 2017

5 Modern Website Background Ideas for 2017

White, stark backgrounds are so 2016. It’s time to give your website a quick refresh with a new, more modern background treatment.

While many minimal styles are still in, the lack of color is not. Designers are opting for grays and bright colors instead. Background effects are also pushing more boundaries with cool geometry, asymmetrical patterns and abstract art. Today we’re delving into modern website background trends, packed with examples and inspiration!