• 3 Feb

    How to Grow as a Web Designer

    How to, Web Design, Web Designers

    76

    The field of web design is constantly changing and growing.

    Getting in a rut is often the result of not staying up to date with the latest trends and technologies in the industry. Even if we do stay up to date, many of us at one time or another feel anxious about whether we’re advancing.

    If you’re at a firm, you may be working towards a raise or promotion, or perhaps you’re thinking of jumping ship to a bigger and better company.

    For the freelancers out there, we of course determine our own destiny; but far too often our careers feel stagnant, too.

    This article goes over some ways to reignite your growth as a web designer. Read more

  • 29 Jan

    10 Tips for Better Print Style Sheets

    Code, Print, Web Design

    35

    Print style sheets have been somewhat forgotten, and yet they remain important all the same. Many people print out articles to read while traveling or when they have no access to the Internet.

    Print style sheets have definite benefits. For example, reading on paper is less tiring on the eyes than reading on screen.

    Also, following tutorials is easier if you have one next to you, with your code editor open on the screen; that way, you don’t have to switch windows every time to look something up.

    In this article we’ll point out 10 easy tips that will help you create better print style sheets.

    Read more

  • 26 Jan

    The Principle of Proximity in Web Design

    Design, How to, Web Design

    49

    Recently I picked up an old design book that I hadn’t touched in a while, and it reminded me of a design principle that many of us put into practice probably only subconsciously, if at all.

    The book deals with designing for print, but I thought it would make a great topic to discuss in the context of web design.

    The principle of proximity calls for related items to be grouped visually, creating less clutter and making for a more organized layout. Items unrelated to each other should be placed further apart, to emphasize their lack of relationship.

    I’ll discuss details and some ways in which this can be implemented effectively, but this definition should suffice for what we’ll discuss in this article.

    The correct use of proximity, in conjunction with other design principles, has a big impact on the user experience and, ultimately, a website’s overall success. Read more

  • 14 Jan

    40 Excellent Websites Showcasing Expression Engine

    Compilation, Expression Engine, Web Design

    73

    ExpressionEngine by EllisLab is a powerful, flexible content management system (CMS) that many designers (and their clients) love.

    Various modules exist to allow EE to be used for a number of different purposes, such as membership sites, ecommerce, blogs, wikis, and much more.

    Many of the most popular modules come with the personal ($99.95) and commercial ($249.95) licenses, and additional modules are available.

    The sites featured here show the flexibility of Expression Engine in their varying design and purpose.

    EE allows designers to have the freedom to create layouts without restrictions, which helps to it to be a productive CMS for so many different purposes, check it out. Read more

  • 11 Jan

    A World of Design Possibilities

    Design, Inspiration, Web Design

    39

    Many of today’s design styles derive from Swiss-style graphic design, now more commonly known today as “modern design.”

    The style is recognized for its unique and rather groundbreaking attention to typography. Needless to say, Switzerland’s design culture has taken the world by storm.

    Of course, the style has grown beyond the graphic design industry and made its way into web design.

    When we web designers search for inspiration, though, we tend to stick to this one culture.

    Though a great source of inspiration, let’s look at some graphic design styles from other parts of the world. Perhaps we could incorporate at least subtle elements from those other cultures into our current style. Read more

  • 5 Jan

    Drop-Shadows and Gradients: Be Consistent in Your Visual Metaphors

    Design, Photoshop, Web Design

    64

    Drop-shadows and gradients are two of the most common design elements on the web.

    You’ll find them accompanying many different styles. They’re handy effects for web designers because they’re attractive, useful and easy to create with any graphics program. But they have a dark side: they’re frequently abused.

    Using amateurish drop-shadows or gradients is almost as bad as affixing a scarlet letter to your shirt to let the world know you’re a beginner or a hack. Even subtle, barely noticeable mistakes can create tensions that undermine otherwise beautiful and effective designs.

    In this article, we’ll look at what drop-shadows and gradients do, we’ll talk about how to use them effectively and we’ll look at some examples of mistakes and how to fix them. Read more

  • 31 Dec

    Happy New Year!!!

    Design, Web Design

    34

    On behalf of myself and the entire WDD team, we’d like to wish you a very happy, healthy and successful 2010!!!

    Thanks for your support in 2009; we hope you learned a few good things here while having fun and getting inspired at the same time.

    The next year will be also full of great content and inspirational posts, and we’ll cover a bit more of the technical side of design as well.

    And there’s ‘one more thing’… we’ll be launching another website in early 2010… stay tuned to our RSS feed and follow our tweets @DesignerDepot to be the first to know.

    We wish you much success in your design career in the year ahead and all the best to you and your loved ones… Here’s to an awesome 2010…


  • 21 Dec

    How to Get a Professional Look With Color

    Color, Design, Web Design

    74

    What makes a design look coordinated, planned and professional? The answer is: ‘color’.

    Not every project needs bland corporate blue to look professional. Planning color means creating a framework that describes which colors to use and how to use them.

    Color is the slipperiest design element. “Good” color is so closely tied to elusive things like personal taste and intuition, as well as technical considerations such as contrast and monitor calibration.

    But color is vital to content. If you consider a website important enough to spend time refining, then readers will likely consider it important enough to spend time reading. Good color choices make that happen.

    In this article we’ll review some techniques to achieve beautiful color palletes for your web designs. Read more

  • 18 Dec

    24 Clever Website Designs That Combine jQuery and Illustration

    Illustrations, Web Design, jQuery

    36

    Thanks to the might of JavaScript, the words “dynamic” and “illustration” no longer apply exclusively to Flash-based websites.

    Now that dynamic HTML is a reality in most commonly used browsers and that a lot of fancy JavaScript libraries exist to make using it easy, CSS websites can take back some of the street cred held so tightly by Flash.

    Of these new JavaScript libraries, jQuery has become one of the most widely adopted because of its ease of use, breadth of features and initial focus on visual uniqueness.

    Here are 24 clever examples of website designs using jQuery and Illustration. Read more

  • 9 Dec

    When Minimalism Backfires: When Too Little Is Not Enough

    Creativity, Design, Web Design

    48

    As seen in our previous article on the subject and examples around the web, minimalism is quite the trend.

    When the theory behind it is well implemented, it makes for some beautiful, simple and yet modern designs.

    Because it is a trend, everyone wants to follow it. But can it be taken too far? And is it right for all types of websites?

    This article explores some of the potentially negative side-effects of minimalist designs and the consequences of implementing one incorrectly.

    Unlike our previous post, we’ll look at when minimalism is a bad idea, however inspiring it is supposed to be. Read more

  • 7 Dec

    Wikipedia Redesign: What’s in Store?

    Design, Usability, Web Design

    28

    Wikipedia is currently undergoing a much needed redesign to improve the user experience.

    Anyone can preview this redesign by creating an account, logging in and then clicking the “Try Beta” link at the top right of any page.

    The “Wikipedia Usability Initiative” has been divided into two phases. Phase 1 was the prototype phase, and it ended in the summer of 2009.

    The project team is currently in the second phase, which is the development and testing phase.

    The project has also been separated into four releases; as of the writing of this article, the second release (Babaco) is currently in development.

    In this article, we’ll discuss Wikipedia’s design changes and the reasons behind them.

    Read more

  • 4 Dec

    25 Funny T-Shirts for Designers and Developers

    Compilation, Humor, Web Design

    101

    Everyone loves an original and unique t-shirt.

    Fashion statements aside, they do give a slight insight into your personality, your current mood and sets you apart from the crowd.

    This article is not a collection of the best designed t-shirts by the best designers, this is a collection of t-shirts especially for designers and developers.

    Those poor suffering souls that have to endure the pain and distress of the questions from everyday Joe’s (“you work with a computer, do you? Will you fix mine?”) and have to work with the many pitfalls and perils that the web offers (IE6 and Flash intros).

    Yes, this collection is for you!

    Read more

  • 3 Dec

    Minimalist Web Design: When Less is More

    Creativity, Design, Web Design

    82

    As designers, we all know that a minimalist design can achieve beautiful results.

    Still, many designers have trouble creating one; either they have a hard time making a page with so few elements look good or the final result just doesn’t look “complete.”

    There are many articles on the Web about minimalism and this article aims to help you achieve a minimalist design that is beautiful but not bare.

    To top it off, we’ll present a small showcase of minimalist designs, so that you can analyze why some designs work and others don’t. Read more

  • 9 Nov

    A Guide to Creating Email Newsletters

    Information, Internet, Web Design

    41

    Email newsletters are hotter than ever.

    They’re a great extension to your business’ communication toolkit and offer you and your clients an excellent channel by which you can reach potential and existing customers.

    In this article, we’ll explore common design patterns of email newsletters and learn which approaches work well, so that you’ll be prepared to create one for yourself and your clients.

    We’ve also included a compilation and analysis of different newsletter designs so that you can learn from them as well as tips on what to do and what not to do.

    If you know of any other tips, please share them with us in the comments area. Read more

  • 5 Nov

    Best Practices for 6 Common User Interface Elements

    Usability, User Interface, Web Design

    35

    The appearance and usability of certain interface elements and functionality are crucial to the success any websites in today’s market.

    Studies have demonstrated that even a split-second delay in thinking on the user’s part will weaken their perception and interest in a website and ultimately lower the website’s conversion rate.

    In certain niches and industries, having UI elements that are not obvious in their use may be perfectly acceptable. The blogging and web development industry are perfect examples.

    But when we design user interfaces for non-tech-savvy audiences—which is usually the case with client work—we have to ensure that certain UI elements do not stray too far from what users are accustomed to.

    This article discusses some best practices and usability traits of six user interface elements and the conventions for each, so that developers can create user experiences that are both beautiful and simple. Read more

  • 2 Nov

    CNN’s New Website Design Deconstructed

    Usability, User Interface, Web Design

    80

    On Monday, October 26, CNN.com introduced a new website design, making a number of major changes to their information-heavy layout.

    The new design is beautiful, clean, organized and well-structured. It invites the eye to scan and find something interesting with the goal of clicking through to another page.

    The previous design was somewhat cluttered and not very inviting; the content looked liked it was being forced into an unstructured space. The new layout is very different and embraces a number of modern web design and usability best practices and trends.

    So, let’s look in more detail at not only the notable improvements, but some of the questionable design and usability decisions.

    Read more

  • 30 Oct

    Blog Headers: 20 Great Examples and Best Practices

    Blogs, How to, Web Design

    53

    The header is likely the first thing a new visitor sees on a blog, so it is the first impression — but why is a blog header so much more important, or at least different, than the header of a basic website?

    Blog headers need more functionality. Other web designs may differ in terms of their use and therefore, what’s included in the website header and how it’s presented can vary greatly.

    With a blog specifically, though, there are best practices that can help the reader navigate through the blog and become better involved.

    That’s exactly what this article will do. We’ll help you define what should be a part of a blog header and how to finally implement it, and then we’ll look at twenty awesome examples that do just that. Read more

  • 19 Oct

    Do’s and Don’ts of Photoshop Retouching

    Photography, Photoshop, Web Design

    44

    A photograph of a stunning model is sitting before you that has serious potential but several flaws.

    The shade of the female model’s hair is dull, her eye color just isn’t doing it for you, and she has several pimples across her otherwise flawless face.

    What do you do? Touch up the photo using Photoshop, of course!

    The number of options available for enhancement are now sky high, but what’s the best way to clean the photo up?

    To simplify the retouching process, we have highlighted the best and worst ways to create a clean, professional-looking photo in Photoshop. Read more

  • 16 Oct

    Preparing and Planning for a Redesign

    Tutorials, Usability, Web Design

    52

    So many businesses out there set up a website and then think, “There, that’s done with” and never bother to re-evaluate their website’s design or position in the marketplace.

    But looking at a website as a static, unchanging bit of advertising will put you at a disadvantage sooner or later.

    Trends in website design change over the years (and even months). What looked cutting edge in 2006 is going to look incredibly dated in 2009.

    Even things that were popular in 2008 are starting to look dated (glossy, Web 2.0-ish designs being one case-in-point).

    In this article we’ll review some of the most important aspects of site redesign, so you can use the information below as a guide for your next redesign. Read more

  • 5 Oct

    In Defense of The Jack of All Trades

    Freelancing, Web Design

    101

    “A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, design a building, conn a ship, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve an equation, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.” Robert A. Heinlein

    It seems that the topic of specialization has come into focus yet again in the web world and with it, the people who say being a “jack of all trades” is a useless thing to strive for.

    A lot of web professionals are pushing newcomers to specialize in a single area to make themselves more marketable and employable. Without a doubt, specialists will always be needed in any industry. But is it really so bad to be a web generalist? Read more

  • 28 Sep

    Interview with Web Usability Guru,
    Jakob Nielsen

    Interviews, Usability, Web Design

    47

    In this article, we’ll be focusing on web usability and more specifically, on the views of world renowned usability expert, Jakob Nielsen.

    He’s been called “the guru of Web page usability” by the New York Times and “the king of usability” by Internet Magazine.

    Through his Alertbox newsletter and useit.com website, he has been educating hundreds of thousands of web designers around the world since 1995.

    While his views can be controversial, especially for web designers, he remains the top leader in the usability field.

    I recently interviewed Jakob Nielsen exclusively for WDD and asked him a few questions that should be relevant to all web designers interested in creating user friendly websites.

    Read more

  • 21 Sep

    The Difference Between Art and Design

    Art, Design, Web Design

    187

    The subject of what separates art and design is convoluted and has been debated for a long time.

    Artists and designers both create visual compositions using a shared knowledge base, but their reasons for doing so are entirely different.

    Some designers consider themselves artists, but few artists consider themselves designers.

    So what exactly is the difference between art and design? In this post, we’ll examine and compare some of the core principles of each craft.

    This is a subject that people have strong opinions about, and I’m looking forward to reading the various points of view in the comments.

    This post isn’t a definitive guide, but rather the starting point for a conversation, so let’s be open-minded! Read more

  • 14 Sep

    How to Display Your Content on a Blog’s Front Page

    Blogging, How to, Web Design

    35

    The front page of a blog is obviously of great importance to the overall design.

    Up until a few years ago, most blogs simply showed posts in order of publication, the most recent at the top.

    Then excerpts became popular, and later magazine-style front pages.

    The purpose of the front page will, of course, vary a bit from one type to another; for example, a personal blog will be different from a professional multi-author blog.

    In this post, we will take a look at the options that bloggers and designers have for showing content on the front page, and some reasons for choosing each. Read more

  • 8 Sep

    35 Inspirational Fashion Website Designs

    Compilation, Inspiration, Web Design

    34

    Appearance is crucial for obvious reasons in the fashion industry. With that in mind, many fashion e-commerce sites can be an excellent source of design inspiration.

    Attractive design and photography can make the products more appealing to visitors and increase sales.

    There are a lot of different design styles and approaches that are used by online fashion shops, but generally photography and product/model images play a large role.

    Sometimes the design and layout is minimal, allowing for more empasis on the products. Others feature huge photos as the primary focal point of the page.

    In this post we’ll feature 35 inspirational fashion website designs that represent a variety of styles that are sure to inspire you. Read more

  • 3 Sep

    25 Examples of Web 2.0 and Traditional Design Rules Coming Together

    Compilation, Inspiration, Web Design

    70

    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

  • 31 Aug

    300+ Resources to Help You Become a Photoshop Expert

    Compilation, Photoshop, Web Design

    62

    Adobe Photoshop is arguably the most powerful graphics and photo manipulation software on the market.

    You can do virtually anything with Photoshop, from fantasy image collages to complete website designs, and everything in between.

    Although while Photoshop is incredibly powerful, it can also be incredibly complicated, especially when trying to perform advanced functions.

    Below are over 300 resources to get you on your way to Photoshop mastery.

    There’s everything from cheat sheets to brushes to tutorials to action scripts, as well as collections of even more resources and tools. With the resources below, you should be able to do just about anything possible with Photoshop. Read more

  • 24 Aug

    Creating the “Perfect” Portfolio

    How to, Portfolios, Web Design

    68

    Many articles are floating around that tell web professionals exactly how to build an online presence.

    Techniques, best practices and all the other “what to do’s” can be great motivation, but that is exactly what this post won’t do.

    Instead, we’ll go over how to create the “perfect” portfolio, one that suits your individual needs as a web professional and that gets optimal results.

    By creating a perfect portfolio, you can gain more clients and have a more successful and sustainable career.

    To start with, we have to differentiate between “perfect” and “the right way” to do something. There is no right way.

    Read more

  • 11 Aug

    17 Techniques for Creating Designs Inspired by Nature

    Inspiration, Nature, Web Design

    32

    Many great designers derive their inspiration from nature, and we can find tons of examples showcasing this type of inspiration online.

    Looking at the world we live in and finding a way to integrate it into a design requires seeing nature from a new and very different perspective.

    Here are 17 great techniques for creating original, beautiful, nature-inspired design.

    If you know of any other ways to draw inspiration from nature, please share them with us by leaving your tips and comments at the end of this article. Read more

  • 3 Aug

    The Do’s and Don’ts of Dark Web Design

    Color, Design, Web Design

    112

    Dark web designs are very popular and can have an elegant and creative appeal.

    They are also perfect for many types of client work however, they are not suitable for every website and should be used only when appropriate.

    In spite of the striking visual impact that these dark designs can have, many designers don’t know how to effectively pull them off without turning off the visitor.

    With a dark design comes less readability, less appeal for most readers and less opportunity for conventional design elements.

    In this post, we’ll discuss a few tips to make your next dark website design appeal to a broader audience, while letting you, the designer, express your creativity. Read more

  • 24 Jul

    25 Inspiring Examples of Sign-Up Pages

    Inspiration, Marketing, Web Design

    56

    A well developed and organized sign-up page has to relay a large quantity of data in a  small area and must be quick and easy to read and understand.

    Overly creative plan names are more likely to hurt your sign-up process instead of help, as they’ll take longer to understand.

    It’s better to save your creativity for the other pages which will be redirecting the user to the sign-up page.

    Start a trial and error phase to test out what your audience might specifically be attracted to as this will vary from site to site.

    Here are 25 creative examples of sign-up pages which you can use as a starting point for inspiration when designing your own. Read more

  • 14 Jul

    50 Creative and Inspiring 404 Pages

    Inspiration, Web Design

    125

    Whenever a user is trying to reach a website’s page that is non-existent or missing, they are usually directed to a page where they’re informed that that specific page cannot be recalled by the HTTP server; this is what is called a 404 error page.

    As designers, when we create a web site, normally we’d also include a 404 page.

    Depending on the site design, overall focus, and demographics, you’ll want to create a suitable page that will cut straight to the chase and also convey a bit of creativity at the same time.

    In this post you will find a showcase containing 50 of the most creative 404 pages that we found on the net. Read more

  • 9 Jul

    Using Wireframes to Streamline Your Development Process

    Design, Information, Web Design

    70

    Creating a wireframe is one of the first steps you should take before designing a website.

    A wireframe helps you organize and simplify the elements and content within a website and is an essential tool in the development process.

    A wireframe is basically a visual representation of content layout in a website design.

    The wireframe acts as a prototype that shows the placement of page features, such as header, footer, content, sidebars, and navigation.

    It also specifies the placement of the elements within these content areas. If you want to develop a site that accurately matches the client’s requirements and minimize project revisions, wireframing will keep you on track.

    Read more

  • 6 Jul

    Great Designers Steal?

    Design, Web Design, Web Designers

    66

    You often hear designers say, “Good designers copy. Great designers steal.”

    Well, anyone who says this is one of three types of designers:

    One who copies, one who steals or one who admits that not copying and stealing is hard but still tries not to anyway.

    For some reason, a lot of web designers believe that there’s nothing truly unique left to create and that there is no such thing as originality.

    I disagree, or at least I don’t want to accept that notion. You shouldn’t either. Read more

  • 17 Jun

    10 Web Design Rules That You Can Break

    Design, Inspiration, Web Design

    113

    As web design and design in general have evolved, rules have been established to ensure consistent and usable designs.

    Some of these rules were created simply because website creators abused certain principles without regard for their users.

    But these rules are not enforced by anyone and should be broken when necessary, especially when breaking them would lead to a stunning design.

    In this article, we present 10 rules that you can break if it suits your design needs. Read more

  • 15 Jun

    26 Examples of Online T-Shirt Shops

    Design, Inspiration, Web Design

    86

    Many e-commerce and shopping websites suffer from poor quality design.

    However, when it comes to online t-shirt shops, creativity is high and there are plenty of designs that are worthy of mention.

    Many of these sites target the artists who create t-shirt designs, so it seems natural that they would feature an attractive website design.

    As you browse through this gallery of online t-shirt shops, there are a few design trends that are worth pointing out … Read more

  • 18 May

    9 Tips For Brand Building With Web Design

    Branding, Web Design

    87

    First of all, what is a brand? A brand is a symbol. Symbols are designs which represent something else, and a brand is meant to package all of the associations, experiences and characteristics into an abstract construct.

    This construct can be evoked using consistent imagery, sounds, phrases and logos with which people come into contact.

    Brands are very important as they help you win customers and they also help you to keep them.

    They do this by awakening the associations and experiences you previously had with the brand, or have seen through advertising, when you come into contact with the brand at key stages. For example, when deciding what product to purchase out of a selection of similar items.

    Here are 9 tips to help you to build a brand with web design. Read more

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