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Graphics / 28 Jul 2020

What Is a Design System & Why Use Them + Examples

Design systems can be found everywhere and in almost everything. They are in the operating system running on your smartphone, the laptop you’re using for work, and even on the websites you visit.

But what is a design system anyway? What goes into a design system? Why use them? We’re going to answer these questions in this article while taking a closer look at design systems and their importance.

Design systems are not something exclusively used by big brands and design agencies. Even if you’re a freelance designer or a small business, a design system can go a long way to improve the quality of your work, designs, and products.

Let’s dive in and see how you can integrate design systems into your own design projects.

Reviews / 22 Jul 2020

Userback: Get Immediate and Visual Feedback

We all know that collecting user feedback can make design projects better. But how many of us are actually using tools to gather and analyze that information to make better decisions?

If your stumbling block is finding the right tool, we have found it. Userback is a tool that helps you gather visual feedback for projects. You can see what users see when they look at a website with fast feedback and a robust set of tools to help you make smarter design choices.

The tool is designed to work with small projects all the way to multiple teams and clients, so it can grow with your business needs. And it works. Nothing beats real-time feedback for improving your website designs and user experiences. Let’s take a look at Userback and how it can work for you.

Business / 26 May 2020

Design Psychology: 8 Strategies to Use in Your Projects

Psychology, the study of the human mind, is a very complex subject that even the scientists struggle with. In fact, scientists and researchers are still trying to figure out why we have dreams when we sleep.

However, thanks to many studies, years of research, and the dedication of brilliant minds like Sigmund Freud, we now have a general understanding of how the human mind works.

As it turns out, our minds are pre-programmed to respond and react to certain things in certain ways. There are also specific patterns of how our mind reacts and the way we think. In psychology, these patterns are called “schemas”. Researchers have also found strategies that could influence these patterns to control our reactions.

Everyone from magicians to big brand corporations and the mass media have been using and taking advantage of these strategies for generations. To influence our behavior and sell products.

In this guide, we look at how you can apply the same psychological strategies they use for the good of others. And make better and more effective designs.

Typography / 31 May 2017

Color Fonts: A Beginner’s Guide

So what in the heck is a color font? It’s a term that keeps popping up and is starting to gain traction, although use in large design projects is still in its infancy.

Vendors such as Adobe’s Typekit have started to release some color font options with browser support, so there’s some movement toward wider use. Some have even called color fonts “the next big thing in web design.”

Here, we’ll look at the trend and let you decide how big – or not – this concept will be.

Mobile / 17 Apr 2017

8 Design Tips for a Stellar Email on Small Screens

How many users are opening emails from you on a phone or tablet? It might be a higher percentage than you think. According to Litmus, which provides email tracking software, 54 percent of all emails were opened on a mobile device in 2016.

That means that most of your emails are being seen on a phone. Are you designing an email that makes the most of it? Here are tips to make your email design more mobile-friendly.

Business / 7 Sep 2016

14 Useful Tools & Websites for Designers

We thought we’d do something a bit different today, and feature a collection of some useful online tools and websites that we’ve recently found ourselves using more and more.

We’ll be looking at a design marketplace, a wire-framing tool, a HTML conversion service, and even a few lighter pieces, including a geeky comic. A broad range of different tools and services, but something for everyone. Hopefully you’ll stumble across something that you find useful in your next week at work!

Reviews / 24 Jun 2016

Bushel: A Better Way to Manage Your Apple Devices

Managing devices is one of those business problems that you don’t hear a lot about. But how do you keep up with all your Apple devices across your agency or business? Do you know which users have what equipment and apps?

Bushel is a tool that makes this inventory process that much simpler. It is a cloud-based Mobile Device Management solution for the iPads, iPhones and Macs in your workplace. Bushel makes device management accessible and affordable for everyone, so businesses can support their users without help from IT. Here’s a look at how it works.

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.

CSS / 28 Nov 2013

Building a Custom CSS3 Pagination User Interface

Website pagination is a crucial aspect to any layout with repeating content. Blogs are often a consideration, but also portfolio listings or related news/feed links or any other types of archive. Organizing a blog post into many pages helps to cut down on reading time – especially with particularly in-depth articles.

In this tutorial I want to demonstrate a collection of CSS techniques for designing pagination. Once you combine these designs with content systems like WordPress you can see how the interfaces really work in action. To get an idea of the final product take a look at my live sample demo below.

Business / 29 Apr 2013

Simple Tips for Designing a Newsletter Template That Stands Out

Almost every business has an email newsletter these days. From retailers promoting sales, to organizations showcasing information and events, the email newsletter is one of the most popular marketing tools out there. And for it to really be effective, it must look good.

An almost unlimited number of free email templates can make it easy to just download something and send out an email, but you should really take the time to create a custom template for communications that represents your business and who you are. Your newsletter represents your work just as much as a website or printed product. Although getting started can be intimidating, it’s fairly easy to create a newsletter template, choose software for distribution and send your first group email. It is important to keep in mind that most people get a lot of email every day, so you must work to make your newsletter stand out.

Business / 17 Apr 2013

The End of Keyboards: A Question of “When?”

On Wikipedia, the definition of a keyboard is a “typewriter-style device, which uses an arrangement of buttons or keys, to act as mechanical levers or electronic switches”. In an age where technology is seemingly magical in its state of advancement, our beloved peripheral is starting to feel more like a relic than a modern input device.

As attached as I am to keyboards, I have clear vision to the light at the end of the tunnel. With the prevalence of pen inputs, touch screens, voice commands and other new ways of using technology, its time for us all to admit; The keyboard era is coming to an end.

Business / 25 Mar 2013

5 Important Lessons I’ve Learned About Mobile App Interface Design

I have been designing for a living since 2009 and, in the past three years, I have been focusing my skills on both web and mobile user interface design. During this time I’ve experienced the good and bad of the industry. Good clients, bad clients. Good ideas, bad ideas. Good developers, bad developers. There have been app approvals and app rejections.

Sometimes it can be frustrating, and although these so-called “bad experiences” can suck, they’ve taught me some important lessons. These lessons not only speed up my day-to-day workflow but also help me design a better user experience for the target audience.