Web designers and developers sacrifice countless hours and sleep sorting out clients’ objectives, audiences’ needs, brand continuity, page layouts, information architecture, navigation, functionality, cross-browser compatibility, accessibility — the list goes on. And then the web copy finally arrives.

If the content is good, it conveys the right messages, and helps boost online presence, traffic and conversion rates.

The client gets an attractive ROI, the designer is labeled a hero, and referrals flow.

If the content misses the mark, it can damage or even destroy the website, and all that time and effort (not to mention credibility) goes down the toilet.

So here’s an outline of common web copy culprits that kill websites, and how to spot and avoid them. Read more

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

The Brushes app for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad provides a unique environment for artists to create works of art by finger painting on touchscreen displays.

The app achieved notoriety in 2009 when artist, Jorge Colombo, created a cover for the New Yorker magazine with the tip of his finger.

Since then, artists all over the world have been using the Brushes App to create paintings of different styles and genres.

On Flickr, there are currently 713 groups where artists have been sharing the work they’ve created with the Brushes app. One group in particular, Just Brushes, has over 3200 members and showcases paintings created from scratch.

Below are some awe-inspiring examples of art collected from the Just Brushes group including amazing abstract paintings, portraits, landscapes and much more. Read more

In a highly competitive business environment, good communication is the engine of success.

As a designer, your grasp of the art and science of social bonding is just as important as your ability to put pixels together.

With social media so ubiquitous, much can be achieved… and overlooked. When sharing interests and experiences online is so easy, people put less effort into maintaining their relationships, thus shortening the average life of an interpersonal connection.

A close look at the problem reveals that minimal effort can turn contacts into veritable relationships. Basic practices such as attentiveness, courtesy and friendliness can make each of your connections more meaningful and valuable. The advantages may be apparent or hidden, and they lead to client loyalty, referrals and a healthy public image.

Here you’ll learn how to enhance your communication strategy and make the most of every connection by keeping a few simple principles in mind. Read more

Blogs have become an integral part of online culture.

Practically everyone reads blogs now, whether they’re “official” news blogs associated with traditional news media, topic-based blogs related to one’s work or hobbies, or blogs purely for entertainment, just about anyone you ask has at least one favorite blog.

But it wasn’t always so. Blogs have a relatively short history, even when compared with the history of the Internet itself.

And it’s only in the past five to ten years that they’ve really taken off and become an important part of the online landscape. Read more

The semantic web has brought on a new generation of Internet technology. As designers and developers work together to redefine the rules of the web, the number of open-source projects and third-party APIs continues to grow.

The opinions of web scholars differ on the use of grid systems. Many argue that setting grid points limits the creativity of designers. Others contend that a grid provides a scientific basis for a design to be perfected.

Both sides provide interesting arguments. These ideas have become part of a unique web culture characterized by influential design rules and open-source projects.

The grid isn’t a master key to perfect design. However, math has proven that certain design specifications provide the best ratios for page elements and layouts. If you’ve heard about any of this before, you may be familiar with the many options that grid-based layouts offer designers. Read more

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

Irina Werning is a photographer who loves to look at other peoples’ old photographs. Instead of just admiring the photos, she wonders how people would feel and look if they were to reenact the same photos today.

This project, titled Back To The Future features a collection of her photographs of individuals and groups of people reenacting a photograph that was taken in the past (usually many years ago).

The result is somewhat beautiful. You can tell just from one photo that a lot of work has been put into research, locations and props for each and every shoot – even time and money has been put towards finding the same (or similar) object in the background, such as wallpaper or curtains.

Irina Werning is a photographer from Buenos Aires, Argentina. If you like her unique style of portrait photography, be sure to check out her portfolio.

Read more