2010 | Webdesigner Depot

10 Dec
14 Essential Utilities for Managing Your Freelance Design Business
Business, Freelancing, Graphic Design
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While millions of people share the dream of working from home, very few understand its difficulties.
From online distractions to technical malfunctions, online entrepreneurs and freelancers face thousands of potential setbacks, each one threatening a decline in income or a pause in cash flow. We’re all familiar with this problem.
Yet the problem doesn’t affect every designer and developer. With so many tools available, anyone can optimize their work routine and increase productivity.
Becoming productive is about changing not only your behavior, but also your office environment, work style and software.
By using the right collection of software, online applications and utilities, changing your routine and managing your business can be fairly simple.
The following 14 applications are geared toward the design industry but would be effective in almost any online field. Read more
9 Dec
Generative Artwork with HTML5
Contest, Design, HTML 5
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It seems like we’re still just scratching the surface of what HTML5 is capable of, and different people and organizations come up with new uses and ideas all the time.
MIX Online teamed up with Joshua Davis, the well-known digital generative artist, to create an open source HTML5 Canvas-based JavaScript library called Okapi.
The technology behind the Okapi toolset was originally created for Endless Mural, an online art exhibition where users can create generative art.
The creators were working on some HTML5-based apps for the beta launch of Internet Explorer 9, and Okapi became part of that project.
The interface is slick and works really well, beautifully showcasing Okapi’s capabilities as well as the capabilities of HTML5′s canvas element. Read more
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8 Dec
The Fonts of Popular TV Shows
Compilation, Fonts, Typography
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In this post, we take a look at a few popular TV shows – some past and some current – and the fonts that were chosen for their titles.
It’s interesting to see the large number of the classics being used, but also some more modern typefaces and there are certainly a few surprising choices.
If someone from our audience was involved in these font selections, it would be great if they could share some insight as to the reason behind a font choice.
We used various methods to determine the fonts that were being used, however, it was not always possible to establish full accuracy and in such cases a close alternative was listed.
This post is by no means a collection of the best or worst TV shows, nor is it an endorsement of any potential presidential candidates Read more
7 Dec
7 Essential Red Flags to Watch Out for in New Clients
Business, Clients, Freelancing
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Working with clients is one of the most difficult parts of being a web designer.
It’s a challenge which we face each and every day, regardless of whether we work in-house, as freelancers, or as agency owners.
Some clients are great, while others leave us tearing our hair our and wondering why we felt the need to subject ourselves to this line of work.
While some problems with clients can be put down to poor communication by both parties, many times we can identify clients which are going to be difficult before we even start working with them.
Today we’ll take a look at seven ways to make sure you don’t end up as a regular contributor to ClientsFromHell.net. Read more
6 Dec
50 of the Best Photoshop Tutorials of 2010
Compilation, Photoshop, Tutorials
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Photoshop is probably one of the most indispensable pieces of software in a designer’s toolbox.
It can be used for everything from retouching photos to creating entire web layouts or original artwork.
And specific design tutorials are a great way to familiarize yourself with what Photoshop can do and how to do it.
Below are 50 of the best Photoshop tutorials from 2010. They cover everything from manipulating photos to creating icons to digital painting and text effects.
There are tutorials for all skill levels, whether you’re new to Photoshop or a seasoned pro. Read more
5 Dec
Our Favorite Tweets of the Week
Nov 28-Dec 5, 2010
Best Of, Compilation, Twitter
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Every week we tweet a lot of interesting stuff highlighting great content that we find on the web that can be of interest to web designers.
The best way to keep track of our tweets is simply to follow us on Twitter, however, in case you missed some here’s a quick and useful compilation of the best tweets that we sent out this past week.
Note that this is only a very small selection of the links that we tweeted about, so don’t miss out.
To keep up to date with all the cool links, simply follow us @DesignerDepot Read more
4 Dec
Comics of the Week #54
Comics, Funny, Humor
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Every week we feature a set of comics created exclusively for WDD.
The content revolves around web design, blogging and funny situations that we encounter in our daily lives as designers.
These great cartoons are created by Jerry King, an award-winning cartoonist who’s one of the most published, prolific and versatile cartoonists in the world today.
So for a few moments, take a break from your daily routine, have a laugh and enjoy these funny cartoons.
Feel free to leave your comments and suggestions below as well as any related stories of your own… Read more