Designer’s block is no joke and it always seems to come around when a project’s deadline is quickly approaching.

You just can’t seem to create anything with enough power or spunk—heck, you may just be staring at your screen or sketchbook for hours straight.

It’s truly no fun at all to feel stuck and helpless, especially when your work seems to keep piling up. You feel like you’re stuck in a box, trying to figure a way out. You may try to do something, like step away for a few then come back, but what if that doesn’t work?

Relax and try not to stress. Take a look at these five simple ways you can help yourself remove the block and create some really amazing work before your deadline passes. Read more

Earlier this year, a London, Ontario-based mom noticed that her 5-month old son Emerson got really frightened when she blew her nose. She caught one of his petrified moments on video, and posted it on YouTube to share with a few friends.

Since the video was posted, it’s been viewed more than 20 million times — far exceeding her expectations. This has led to both baby and family receiving the proverbial “five minutes of fame” in both Canada and the U.S.

If you haven’t seen it yet, you’re really missing out. View the video below, and read on. I’d like to point out some things about this video that I feel enhance its side-splitting hilarity, and that can influence designers to continue to look for inspiration in things that have almost nothing to do with design. Read more

Symmetry is an age-old device of the visual artist. The word refers to two halves that perfectly mirror each other. In design, symmetry is closely tied to balance. A perfectly symmetrical design achieves balance and a sense of stability.

There is also asymmetrical design, where the two halves are balanced but do not mirror each other perfectly. The majority of websites have an asymmetrical layout.

Most often we find the logo in the top left, balanced by some navigational elements on the right. In the body, the side columns are usually balanced by either the main content or other columns.

While perfect symmetry is certainly not new to the web, it is gaining momentum. Expanding screen sizes and the proliferation of platforms and viewing options are making it a more attractive option. By mirroring the halves of a design, you not only get a greater sense of balance, but also improve the flow from top to bottom.

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Portuguese artist Alexandre Farto, also known as “Vhils” is an incredible sculptor and graffiti artist who is challenging assumptions by creating artwork using destructive methods.

He started out as a graffiti artist but got tired of illegally touching up walls. So, he turned his attention to billboards, painting them all white and then putting his own artwork on top, usually as a critique of consumerism and advertising.

During one of his “interventions,” he found that walls, metals and other hard material could be used to equally interesting effect.

The awesome videos below demonstrate part of his working process, including a video clip that he did in partnership with the Portuguese band Orelha Negra, with slow-motion scenes of his exploding artwork.

If you know of any other artists who do interesting work like this, please comment below…

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Annie Leibovitz is a celebrity photographer born in Waterbury, Connecticut.

There isn’t just one photograph that made Annie such a popular photographer. She started her career working as a staff photographer for the Rolling Stones (magazine).

She was soon on tour with The Rolling Stones as their band photographer. Before long she was photographing celebrities and band members all over the world, and has been ever since.

In 2008, Annie started a series for Disney called Dream Portraits, featuring a series of celebrities and actors/actresses re-enacting a scene from various Disney movies.

In 2011, Annie and Disney have worked together again to add more photographs to the series. This post features both the original and new shots – all of which are amazing pieces of work and incredibly detailed…

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Alex Eylar is an advanced LEGO scene creator from California, USA.

Alex is in his young twenties and has become very well known for his brilliant movie scenes that he creates out of LEGO pieces; his work has even been featured on the CNN and The Telegraph websites.

He says his love for both LEGO and movies come from his childhood, and is surprised that his scene recreations have gone down so well with the public.

He assumes that this is because most people are familiar with a lot of the films he depicts in his work.

Great photography and editing skills play a large part in these fantastic creations, allowing Alex to create a great depth of field and make his work more realistic.

You can view more of Alex’s LEGO experiments at his MOCpages profile, or on his Flickrstream, where he posts all of his projects, small and big.

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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

Take a look at these ‘flowers’... Are you sure you’re seeing flowers actually? Look closely and be ready to be amazed…

These are human bodies! Here is an unbelievable and out of this world compilation of “human flowers”.

These stunning illusions are created through the use of cleverly laid out bodies painted in different colors. You’ll find it hard not to be amazed and inspired by these images…

In spite of our best efforts, we weren’t able to locate the name of the author of these photographs. Since WDD has a large audience, we’re hoping that one of our readers can point us to the author and source of these so that we can credit them properly.

Enjoy this amazing collection and let us know what you think in the comments!

UPDATE: Many thanks to Jared for updating us about the name of the artist. Check her site, her name is Cecelia Webber Read more

When designing a website with a minimal number of pages and not a ton of content, a single-page design can be an innovative way to set the site apart.

Single-page websites often utilize JavaScript and Flash, along with HTML and CSS to fit more content on a page without substantially increasing load times.

Navigation has to be given some special consideration when it comes to single-page sites, to make sure visitors can get back to the home section of the page without issues, and navigate from any one section to any other section. This is often achieved through sticky headers or repeating navigation in each section.

The sites below are all excellent examples of single-page websites. They’re both usable and aesthetically-pleasing, and take full advantage of the single-page format. Read more

Illustrated additions to websites can lend even the plainest theme an extra level of visual interest and complexity.

Illustrations vary widely from one site to the next. Some look hand-drawn (whether they are or not) while others are obviously digitally rendered.

Below are more than thirty great website designs that feature illustrations.

Most common are illustrations in headers and backgrounds, often of site mascots or characters.

But illustrations are used in other ways, too. If you have a favorite illustrated site that isn’t mentioned here, please let us know in the comments. Read more

The World Cup is currently taking place in South Africa and people all over the world are glued to television sets at home, in bars and in town squares, to watch their country play.

The World Cup is actually everywhere one looks – all over TV, the Internet and even supermarket products.

A lot of interesting graphic design is coming out of the World Cup, so we’ve put together a compilation of some of the best designed World Cup 2010 websites. We’ve also included a few African websites for more inspiration.

Drop us a comment and let us know which of these websites you like the best, and if you know of any other inspirational World Cup sites ones that we may have missed. Read more

Purists will say that great design is timeless. Yes, in an ideal world, we should ignore trends.

Pragmatically speaking, though, there is a lot of value in monitoring and incorporating design trends, especially with regard to websites.

Let’s face it: the web changes at a rapid pace. Unlike in other media, design trends on the web are not just driven by aesthetics.

Technology is changing that can drastically alter the capabilities of the medium.

In 2010, we’re seeing designers continuing to push the boundaries of web design, setting the following clear trends… Read more

Partial color allows a designer to hone in on a particular part of an image and enhance it with color.

This makes the images really “pop” and this technique can be used for many purposes. For example, in advertising or corporate designs, features of a product can be highlighted that the eye may not normally be drawn to.

When used for artistic photography, non-focal points of the image can be colored in order to draw attention to them. Whatever the use, this fresh technique is popping up all over print design and on the web, and we’ve gathered some of the best examples here for you to enjoy.

This effect is easily achieved with most graphic software such as Photoshop. If you’re still wondering how to do it, check out this tutorial for a step-by-step on how to achieve partial color. Read more

Every city looks and feels unique. Regional culture, typography, dialect, local customs and many more factors play a part in defining a city’s differences.

Those differences determine how that city sees its citizens and how it wants to represent itself to others.

For each city with one, the metro plays a part in defining those differences. The metro maps in this post show the skeletons of these cities. Each map explores the paths taken by the residents of that city.

The design and style of the maps appears reflective of the particular place. They may be seen as not only maps, but individual expressions of a local identity.

Here’s a great compilation of metro maps from around the world… Read more

Camouflage has always been a wonder to us.

It allows animals and plants to remain indiscernible from the surrounding environment through deception.

Adopting this concept, a new wave of camouflage artists use special techniques for  their photographs that allow them to show people blended into their surroundings.

For each photo, the camouflage artist must meticulously design a new camouflage suit in order for the effect to work.

This article features the work of two prominent camouflage artists: Liu Bolin and Desiree Palmen. See if you can find the people in these photographs…

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Artists are usually ahead of the curve when it comes to being green.

The artists featured here exclusively use recycled and/or trash to make pieces of contemporary art. These artists practice the art of “upcycling”, or literally turning everyday trash into creative treasures.

While Andy Warhol may have made the idea popular with his famous Campbell’s soup can exhibit, today’s trash artists bring more of an eco street cred to their art.

Some create compositions from recycled plastic bag or themed works for art galleries, while others create entire theme parks with trash, and even furniture from recycled materials.

There seems to be no end to what kind of art you can create with the most cost-effective medium available; trash. Here are some stunning examples of trash art… Read more

Li Wei, a contemporary artist from Beijing China, has been taking self portraits to new heights… literally!

His gravity defying photos have been mesmerizing the world, capturing impossible looking moments of apparent extreme danger.

You’ll find Wei hanging on in dangerous situations, or crashing head on into sidewalks and cars.

Li Wei states that these images are not computer montages and that he works with the help of props such as mirrors, metal wires, scaffolding and acrobatics. He then removes the wires and scaffolding with Photoshop to create these seemingly impossible photos.

“My artistic language is universal and deals with themes about contemporary politics and society using symbols understood by everyone in every part of the world. I am fascinated by the unstable and dangerous sides of art…”

Here’s a collection of some of Wei’s most outstanding photos, in a unique combination of artistry and acrobatics that are sure to make you take a second look. Read more

Organic design is commonly applied to products such as chairs, electronic equipment, books and home décor.

Following the same principles, organic web design has recently emerged as a trend.

Professional designers and companies have taken a more natural approach to creating their websites, logos and packaging, leaving behind the overtly technological sheen of the early 2000s.

Yes, fellow designers, it is safe to say that the new age of organic design for websites and corporate logos has taken effect.

Whether overt or subtle, whether scanned elements or graphics that mimic nature, organic web design has taken on many forms. But what constitutes organic design? What makes it successful? Let’s find out… Read more

In the large scope of the design world, the term “Web 2.0″ is relatively a new one.

With it, comes its own set of standards, some strong, others not so strong, since Web 2.0 in itself is a very fickle, ever-evolving definition of design standards.

Countless examples of Web 2.0 sites have broken the rules of what was once considered strong design.

On the other hand, in many cases Web 2.0 has strengthened common design misnomers; it places a focus on usability, interface, and readability.

At its best, Web 2.0 stands as an equal to the traditional design rules practiced for centuries, though it is no doubt a reflection of our society in its current state of hustle and bustle.

Here’s a collection of 25 sites showcasing how Web 2.0 and traditional design practices can come together to form truly stunning websites. Read more

Media facades are relatively new concepts however, they have become increasingly popular in recent years.

These uncannily innovative ways of combining modern design and architecture, have proven to be a successful way for businesses looking to attract consumers, or to showcase a specific event.

In this article, we feature a collection of over 30 dazzling, and sometimes interactive, media facades from around the world.

Do you know of any other good examples? Please share them with us in the comments section below. Read more

Chairs have evolved tremendously for thousands of years, as they shifted from being a symbol of state and dignity, to an item of ordinary use.

Chair design considers intended usage, ergonomics (how comfortable it is for the occupant), as well as non-ergonomic functional requirements such as size, stackability, foldability, weight, durability, stain resistance and artistic design.

In this article, we’ll leave their function aside and take a look at chairs purely from an artistic point of view.

Here are 50 examples of great chair design, from the sleekest you’ll ever see, to the funkiest and the just plain weird. Read more

Vintage art reminds us of a time when we were dependent less on technology and more on skill and technique.

But we cannot compare the typography of 100 years ago to that of today, with the arrival of so many new typefaces, new ways to create fonts as well as new ways to get our artwork out into the world.

Even though the application of typography has evolved so much from a century ago until now, the most common use of typography continues to be for ads, store signs, and logos.

Below, you will find 50 typographic examples that exhibit a range of artistic styles from the last 100 years or so.

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Coffee or Latte art consists of the pouring of steamed milk into a shot of espresso generating a pattern or design on the surface.

The barista becomes a true designer and is able to create beautiful creations with the most common form being the “rosetta” pictured on the left.

Latte art is a hot topic and there are even several competitions around the world showcasing this unique form of art.

In this article, we’re showcasing 50 beautiful – and certainly delicious – coffee designs that will make you drool… Read more

Infrared photography produces some of the most amazing photographs on the planet.

In infrared photography, the film or image sensor used within a digital camera is sensitive to infrared lighting, which allows the camera to pick up any light that’s invisible to the human eye.

Objects that are normally bright in visible light look dark, while normally dark objects look especially bright.

In most cases, an infrared filter is used which lets the infrared light to pass through to the camera.

In this article, we’ll take a look at 100 inspirational examples of infrared photography that are sure to both inspire and amaze you. Read more

Photo manipulation is an ever evolving collaboration between photography and graphic design.

Combining certain elements to create a unique image, that can convince even the most experienced set of eyes, requires a very creative set of skills.

Because the manipulation of a photo gives a realistic view of an unreal picture, you should have an open mind when gathering ideas on how to get creative with your images.

Photo manipulations are a great source for inspiration, generally because designers are able to express their creativity through various aspects of design.

Several of the following images contain illustrative elements, while others display a more realistic approach.

So here are 40 of the most incredible examples of photo manipulation. Read more