Adobe

Que Publishing is a very established publisher with almost 30 years of experience providing information and books related to computing and technology.

We’ve partnered with this awesome publisher to bring you a super cool giveaway today, to ensure that you get the most out of your new Adobe CS5 products.

I’ve been using the CS5 On Demand book series for a while now and they really provide the answers in an quick and easy visual step-by-step format. They show you exactly what to do with lots of full color illustrations and easy-to-follow instructions.

One week from today, we’ll be giving away 5 books about CS5, from Photoshop CS5 to InDesign CS5… Read more after the jump and for a full description of all books.

Dave Brown says: As a designer in the early ages of practice, I find that reading and experimentation are the absolute best ways to learn. Sure,...
Fonts

It seems there are two camps among web designers: those who embrace web typography, experiment with it, and try new things in virtually all of their designs; and those who avoid it like the plague, opting to use standard, web-safe font stacks with little variation.

It also seems like a lot of the designers who fall into the second group wish they were more like the first.

The resources below can help you improve your web typography, regardless of which camp you fall into.

There are tools for creating unique typography, references and articles that can teach you typographic principles, and plenty of inspiration and news to keep you updated on the state of web typography.

Jarkko Sibenberg says: Thanks, that's a brilliant list of resources. Typography fun for hours. I wish I had known about some of those sites during my...
Data Visualization

Defined as ‘the structural design of shared information environments’, information architecture focuses on bringing the principles of architectural design to the online world.

Just like the blueprints of a dream home or the outline of a well-written article, good website structure organizes information in a way that enhances the user experience and delivers pertinent information as quickly as possible.

In fact, most website visitors only become aware of information architecture when it is poor and stops them from finding the information they require.

Read on for more details and a case study. As usual, you can leave us your feedback at the end of the post…

Louisa says: Great article - it's always good to be reminded of these things. However I also believe that a good web designer should be able...
Best Of

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

Web Designer Perth says: May I add this tweet that I saw today. Cracked me up - just change the last part to any url u like :) View any website like...
Comics

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…

Steve says: I never lost one of ur comics-of-the-week, they are all great, but today I have to thank you for all the months of loughing...
Books

We’re finally ready with the results of last week’s giveaway, where we’re giving away 5 copies of Radim Malinic’s new book called #Three.

As you probably know by now, Radim is the illustrator of the awesome graphics that you see in the header and footer of Webdesigner Depot.

The book features Radim’s designs from the past 18 months, both in detail and in real-world settings.

All winners were chosen at random and the results appear after the jump. Radim will contact all winners directly via email with details as to how to receive their prizes.

Did you make it this time? Check below to find out!

Stefan says: Just recieved it! Awesome work! I really recommend buying it, very good for inspiration
Web Developers

Kubrick, the default theme for WordPress since 2005, got many Web and open-source enthusiasts through some pretty tough times.

Developers have modified it, bloggers have learned HTML and CSS on it, and designers have made it their go-to template for designing blogs of all sizes for clients.

But let’s face it: five years on the Web is like a hundred years anywhere else, and Kubrick, even according to its creators, is due for an update.

Enter “Twenty Ten” the new default theme for WordPress 3.0, which is scheduled for an imminent release. Not only does it address general changes in Web standards and style guides, it takes into account the clamoring of designers who love WordPress but have had a hard time applying new principles to an older theme.

TekxY says: Nice post, Twenty Ten is a very clean theme, I just made myself a traslation to spanish, the traditional way, for every1 having...
How to

Forget the clone stamp, paint bucket and pattern presets. When it comes to creating patterns, the ability to duplicate a layer is one of Photoshop’s greatest features.

Semitransparent shapes can be very useful when creating repeated geometric “textures” of color and form.

They’re easy to create, fun to play with and best of all, they can be uniquely yours.

In searching for interesting patterns, designers sometimes pass over basic shapes in favor of more complex geometrics. But simpler is often better.

The trick is to pay attention more to how shapes interact than to how a shape looks on its own.

CG says: Great Tutorial! Thanks a lot! One thing is missing though. Scripting! (Yeah, I'm a geek!) I mean, duplicating all those layers...