2011 February | Webdesigner Depot

28 Feb
10 Iconic Fonts and Why You Should Never Use Them
Fonts, Typography
Tweet View Comments

We’ve got a lot to thank Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and the computing world’s other leaders for. They’re responsible for some of the greatest leaps forward in communications and business in the last 30 years-and many of the biggest innovations in design, too.
Without them, our industry wouldn’t be what it is today, and many of the world’s top designers wouldn’t have a platform for their work.
However, there is one reason to resent these giants: their choice of fonts. In releasing mega-popular suites and catering to a broad, design-illiterate audience, leading business applications such as Microsoft Word shocked us with the overused fonts that they include standard in their latest releases.
This isn’t a riff on the world’s worst fonts, but rather an invitation for amateur designers and business users to stop abusing some of the world’s best fonts.
Nothing is particularly wrong with Impact or Comic Sans as fonts per se, but there is a huge deal wrong with using them in every situation. The 10 fonts below are overused and patently annoying, and we give 10 good reasons to stop using all of them. Read more
27 Feb
Our Favorite Tweets of the Week
Feb 21-Feb 27, 2011
Best Of, Compilation, Twitter
Tweet View Comments

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
26 Feb
Comics of the Week #66
Comics, Funny, Humor
Tweet View Comments

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
25 Feb
An Outstanding Artist’s “One Wish to Change the World”
Art, Inspiration
Tweet View Comments

Back in October, talented French street artist “JR” was awarded the 2011 TED Prize.
For those unfamiliar with it, the TED Prize offers one winner $100,000 for a charity of their choice and, more importantly, “One Wish to Change the World.”
The “One Wish” is designed to leverage the TED community’s resources and talent to create projects with far-reaching impact. Previous winners have included Jamie Oliver, Dave Eggers, Bill Clinton, and Bono, among others.
JR will announce his “One Wish to Change the World” at the TED on March 2nd. Since JR’s identity remains unconfirmed, it will be interesting to see how he announces his “One Wish”.
Will he finally confirm his identity and appear in person? Considering that his anonymity lends a certain integrity to his work, it’s unlikely he’ll reveal who he really is. Read more
24 Feb
Creating Flash Websites with Wix
Flash, Web Design, Website Builder
Tweet View Comments

There are some definite downsides to building websites with Flash (key being the lack of support for Flash on iOS), but there are still plenty of sites out there that are built on Flash, and that’s unlikely to change any time soon.
And sometimes you’re going to have clients who are dead-set on having a Flash website.
But what if you don’t know how to use Flash? Do you spend hours trying to adapt a template, learning as you go? Or is there a better way?
Wix is a great option for anyone who wants to create a Flash website without learning Flash.
Unlike a lot of website creators, it lets you customize virtually every aspect of the sites you create, whether you start from scratch or build your site from a template. Read more
23 Feb
30 of the Best Font Foundries
Compilation, Fonts, Typography
Tweet View Comments
Typography is one of the most important parts of any design, whether it’s digital or in print. Good typography can take a mediocre design to new heights, while bad typography can make what would be a great design lackluster or even bad.
For web designers, typography choices have long been limited to web-safe fonts. But that’s changed in recent years, first with the advent of things like sIFR that let you replace standard web fonts with Flash for headlines or other small blocks of text, and now with @font-face and web services for embedding fonts.
Below we’ve collected thirty fantastic type foundries. The majority of these allow at least some kind of online, embedded use, either with Flash or with @font-face. But we’ve also included some other foundries with more restrictive licenses.
You can always use fonts from these in images or graphics, either online or off. Be sure to check the license for each font to determine exactly what uses are allowed. Read more
22 Feb
The Art of the Facebook Page Design
Facebook, Social Media, Web Design
Tweet View Comments

Everyday more and more businesses around the world are creating presences on Facebook.
Some companies opt to bring users directly to the page wall or other tabs (e.g. info, photos, RSS/blog, discussions and links) and use product images or company logos instead of more elaborate landing pages.
Regardless of where a user lands when they first arrive, something needs to capture their attention.
As we’ll see in the examples of pages from the 50 Top Facebook Pages of Brand’s Worldwide represented below, some pages may come right out and ask for the “like”, some may have a variation on the call to action with a contest, gift, upload, sign-up now, or shop now type message. Some may appeal to emotions. Some will be memorable. And some, quickly forgotten.
In truth, Facebook is about more than the ongoing interaction between businesses and users via status updates. We believe it’s also about the art and design of engagement and a vital new component to the corporate brand identity—the Facebook page design.
Read more
21 Feb
Common Design Styles Used in Album Artwork
Compilation, Inspiration, Tutorials
Tweet View Comments

Whether we’re on iTunes or Spotify, browsing stores (both online and off) or watching advertisements on TV or in magazines, it’s safe to say that admiring album cover art is a part of daily life for many of us.t
As long as music exists, the album design industry will thrive, regardless of how we listen to music.
In this post, we will look at over 70 examples of excellent album artwork.
The styles could be categorized as: painted, abstract/experimental, photographic, retro/vintage, minimalist and illustrated.
Scattered through this article, several mini-tutorials will teach you how to create certain effects. Read more
20 Feb
Our Favorite Tweets of the Week
Feb 14-Feb 20, 2011
Best Of, Compilation, Twitter
Tweet View Comments
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
19 Feb
Comics of the Week #65
Comics, Funny, Humor
Tweet View Comments

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
18 Feb
7 Elements of a Great Movie Poster Design
Graphic Design, How to, Posters
Tweet View Comments

Big movies are a huge business, as the recent success of films such as Avatar and The Dark Knight suggests.
Billion-dollar revenue figures aren’t all that uncommon today in cinema, placing many major movies alongside companies such as Facebook when it comes to revenue.
With so much riding on a film’s success, marketing one is a massive opportunity for creative designers.
We’ve looked at some of the most effective film marketing materials out there – the promo posters that have been used on modern releases and older movies – and established some key elements that have contributed to their success.
These aren’t just commercial successes either – everything from smaller cult movies to huge blockbusters benefits from these 7 simple movie poster design elements. Read more
17 Feb
Ethics in the Design Field
Business, Ethics, Web Designers
Tweet View Comments
Every profession has its own set of ethical guidelines most of its members adhere to.
And while the design industry’s code of ethics might not be as crucial as, say, the medical industry, there are still some important ethical considerations every design professional should think about.
Here are some of the most prominent ethical considerations designers deal with, mostly specific to the design industry and similar creative professions.
We’d love to hear your thoughts on them, and what other ethical dilemmas you feel designers face on a regular basis in the comments! Read more
16 Feb
New Threadless Book and Free Vouchers
Books, Contests
Tweet View Comments

Threadless is an amazing megastore for design T-shirts. Their community submits designs online which are then voted on, and the best ones are selected to be printed and sold through their store.
The designs are truly amazing. I’ve bought several of their T-shirts through their online store and they’re really great!
They recently released their 10th anniversary book. The book features 300 of the best designs year-by-year, with killer graphics from the likes of Si Scott, Olly Moss, Geoff, McFetridge and many others, as well as interviews with designers and lots of other juicy stuff about Threadless.
We’re partnering with Threadless to offer 10 vouchers worth $30 each which can be used to purchase any Threadless merchandise that you wish for, including their brand new book (which retails for $15 for the paperback version). Read more
15 Feb
75 Exceptional Moleskine Notebook Artworks
Art, Best Of, Compilation
Tweet View Comments

Moleskine notebooks are a favorite among many artists, designers and writers.
They come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and with many different kinds of paper. The elastic closure and pocket in the back of each one adds to their utility.
The popularity of Moleskines among the art community ensures that there are thousands of great examples of Moleskine art out there.
Flickr alone has a huge pool of Moleskine artists. One group, Moleskine: One Page at a Time, has nearly 4,000 members and more than 36,000 images in their pool.
Below are 75 fantastic Moleskine artworks, all collected from Flickr. Read more
14 Feb
The 80/20 Rule Applied to Web Design
Mobile, User Interface, Web Design
Tweet View Comments
Having recently started reading a little more on design principles, I came across an interesting principle called the 80/20 Rule, also referred to as the Pareto Principle, Juran’s Principle, the Vital Few and Trivial Many Rule, and the Principle of Factor Sparsity.
This principle, which I’ll refer to in this piece simply as the 80/20 rule, when considered in the context of website and web app design can have a profound effect on the user experience, and ultimately on the effectiveness of the content or functionality of your website or web app.
In this post, I’ll first provide a basic definition, then I’ll consider some specific examples of how the 80/20 rule proves beneficial, and then I’ll summarize some lessons that can be gleaned from having knowledge of this rule. Read more
13 Feb
Our Favorite Tweets of the Week
Feb 7-Feb 13, 2011
Best Of, Compilation, Twitter
Tweet View Comments

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
12 Feb
Comics of the Week #64
Comics, Funny, Humor
Tweet View Comments

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
11 Feb
How Old-Fashioned Marketing Can Supercharge Your Design Business
Business, How to, Marketing
Tweet View Comments

Search for any design-related term and you’ll be greeted by a wall of competition.
From invasive AdWords pitches to aggressively marketed websites, online competition in the web design world is rapidly approaching its breaking point.
Small freelance businesses are unable to market themselves without an ample budget and plenty of time.
Increasingly, freelancers are forced to turn to bidding websites in search of work. They compete for projects that offer little in the way of income and that entail a great deal of stress.
Thankfully, there are other ways to generate business. Many go against the “online only” marketing slogans that designers have been fed for years.
Read more
10 Feb
What’s New for Web Designers – Feb. 2011
Apps, Compilation, Web Design
Tweet View Comments

New apps and websites appear on an almost daily basis, but trying to find the good ones among them can be tough, especially considering how many are not that great.
That’s why every month we research and showcase some of the best and latest resources available for web designers.
Included below are twenty-five great ebooks, fonts, apps, resources, and other tools for web designers and other useful resources for designers from the past few weeks.
As always, if we’ve missed something, let us know in the comments. And if you know of an app you’d like included in the next roundup, please tweet it to @cameron_chapman.
Read more
9 Feb
The 7 Personality Types of Bloggers Today
Blogging, Blogs, Web Designers
Tweet View Comments

We have looked at the different types of designers, developers and clients in previous articles, but there is one viewpoint from which we still haven’t looked at ourselves.
We all have our designer, developer and client hats on as we surf blogs such as this one, but many of us are also bloggers. Anyone can be a blogger, but not every blogger improves the quality of content on the Internet.
A successful blog is the result of a lot of hard work by the blogger(s) who run it. The extent of its success depends on the blog’s style, its content, its focus on its core subject matter, as well as its marketing and publicity.
It is time to look at the 7 different types of bloggers who contribute to the quality of the web in the hope of creating an engaging and entertaining playground for all.
Read more
8 Feb
The Hunting Continues! Meet BundleHunt 3
Review, Software
Tweet View Comments

After creating two successful bundles for creatives, our friends at Bundle Hunt are back with their latest installment of popular design resources and applications packaged into one neat and powerful bundle.
This time, the bundle includes 20 great design items valued at over $1,200 and is now on sale for only $49.
The new bundle includes fantastic products such as the Pictos Icon Set, GoMedia Arsenal Ultimate Vector & Font Collections, WordPress themes from Press75, the newest Smashing Magazine eBook and a 3 month MultiSitePlan from WPEngine.
BundleHunt 3 was released yesterday and will be available for 14 days for $49 (regular price is $1,287). Read more
7 Feb
6 Time-Tested Applications for Freelance Web Designers
Apps, Freelancing, Web Designers
Tweet View Comments

If you work as a freelance web designer or developer, you probably rely on a number of applications to perform daily tasks. From crafting code and pushing pixels to productivity and business management, it’s usually safe to say, “There’s an app for that.”
Shiny new apps are popping up more than ever. You are well familiar with the routine: a hot new URL sporting early beta invites buzzes its way across Twitter, picks up a handful of users and eventually falls off the map, never to be heard of again. This pattern is particularly strong for productivity apps (a.k.a. “getting things done” apps) and web development tools.
Don’t get me wrong: some of these little gems find success in segments of the market. They add to a vast reservoir of quality solutions that can be found for every task. With so many apps to choose from, how does one decide which to try and which to ignore?
In this article I will highlight a few apps that I’ve relied on heavily over the course of my career as a freelance web designer.
Read more
6 Feb
Our Favorite Tweets of the Week
Jan 31-Feb 6, 2011
Best Of, Compilation, Twitter
Tweet View Comments
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
5 Feb
Comics of the Week #63
Comics, Funny, Humor
Tweet View Comments

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
4 Feb
8 Tips for Freelance Designers to Get Paid Faster
Business, Freelancing, Tips
Tweet View Comments

Cash flow is crucial for any business, but especially important for small businesses and freelancers.
When you think back to when you first started your freelance design career, you probably didn’t expect to spend so much time chasing down clients to pay their invoices. You started it to do what you love and get paid for it.
To help you do just that, here are 8 tips that you can implement into your business immediately to help you get paid faster.
If you have any other tips from your own experience, please share them with us in the comments. Read more
3 Feb
Win 7 WordPress Themes from Template Monster
Contests, WordPress
Tweet View Comments

WordPress themes continue to grow popular among designers needing to deploy websites effectively while looking always sharp and professional.
By now you’ve probably heard of Template Monster. It’s actually one of the longest standing companies offering website templates, and also WordPress Themes. They feature over 1000+ beautifully designed themes for the most popular blogging platform.
They have recently launched a nice campaign where you can now get all of their WP themes with an amazing 20% discount. This offer expires February 20th and is now available on their site for anyone to take advantage of.
Today, WDD is partnering with Template Monster to give away 7 WordPress Themes to 7 lucky WDD readers, that is one WordPress theme per winner. Read more
2 Feb
Eight Ways to Combine Typefaces
Fonts, How to, Typography
Tweet View Comments

Good typography is paramount to any good design.
An otherwise-beautiful design can really suffer if the typography choices are wrong. But combining fonts beyond the basic serif/sans-serif pairing can be tricky and confusing to a lot of designers.
While a lot of what goes into good typography is subjective, there are some guidelines that can point you in the right direction. From there, it’s up to you to experiment and try out different things.
Don’t be afraid to try new things in your typography, but trust your eye and your instincts as a designer. Sometimes, even things that follow all the “rules” of typography can still look awful (and vice versa). Read more
1 Feb
Introducing MightyDeals’ New Affiliate Program
Community, Marketing, News
Tweet View Comments

Since November last year, we’ve been running some truly amazing deals for designers at MightyDeals.com
As you’ve probably seen by now, the deals are really awesome and the discounts (sometimes up to 85%!) are simply out of this world!
What’s so great about MightyDeals is that it’s a win-win situation for everyone involved.
For you, our valued audience, you get to hear about new products and services, and a chance to buy them at a fraction of their regular price.
On the other hand, merchants get free publicity and great sales with no risk involved. And things are getting even hotter with our newly launched Affiliate Program!
Read more