What’s new for designers, May 2016

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May 09, 2016
What’s new for designers, May 2016.

In this month’s edition of what’s new for designers and developers, we’ve included website builders, new CMSs, CSS frameworks, pattern guides, color resources, email marketing collections, productivity tools, and much more. And as always, we’ve also included some awesome new free fonts! Almost everything on the list this month is free, with a few high-value paid apps and tools also included. They’re sure to be useful to designers and developers, from beginners to experts. If we’ve missed something that you think should have been on the list, let us know in the comments. And if you know of a new app or resource that should be featured next month, tweet it to [@cameron_chapman](http://​twitter​.com/​c​a​m​e​r​o​n​_​c​h​apman) to be considered!

StringBean

StringBean

is a featherweight CSS framework that comes in at just 4K. It uses a 24-point grid system rather than the more common 12-point. stringbean

Gutenberg

Gutenberg

is a starter kit that brings meaning and craftsmanship to web typography. It’s flexible and simple to use. gutenberg

Frend

Frend

is a collection of modern front-end components. They’re modest and dependency-free. frend

RichCSS

RichCSS

is a clean and reusable object oriented CSS framework. It allows for reusability of your CSS, versioning, and more. richcss

Microsoft Bot Framework

Microsoft Bot Framework

lets you build and connect intelligent bots that can interact with your users wherever they may be. bot framework

Min

Min

is a smarter” web browser. It uses DuckDuckGo for search, includes a calculator, and more. You can even jump to any site using fuzzy search and get suggestions before you start typing. min

Runner

Runner

helps you speed up your Sketch workflow. It gives you an intuitive interface that supercharges your daily workflow. runner

Flexbox Patterns

Flexbox Patterns

are a collection of user interface patterns for Flexbox. It includes examples and source code. flexbox patterns

Email Toolbox

Email Toolbox

is a collection of hand-picked resources for email marketers and designers. It includes links to people, courses, writings on email design, and more. email toolbox

Material Color

Material Color

is a material design color palette tool. You can view by code, hex value, or RGBmaterial color

Microsoft Flow

Microsoft Flow

is Microsoft’s version of IFTT. Create automated workflows between your favorite apps and services for notifications, data collection, and more. microsoft flow

Bookmark

Bookmark

is a drag and drop website builder that’s easy to use and creates beautiful, responsive websites. bookmark

MJML App

The MJML App lets you leverage the power of MJML directly from your desktop. You can import and manage templates, edit email with live rendering, and more. mjml app

Simplified JavaScript Jargon

Simplified JavaScript Jargon

is a community-sourced JavaScript buzzword glossary. simplified javascript jargon

UTM Builder

If you need to build UTM tags for your links, UTM Builder makes it easy. Just answer the step-by-step questionnaire and it generates your link for you. utm builder

Create

Create

is a powerful mobile creativity and graphic design app. It lets you use shapes, icons, typography, lines, photos, and more. create

Stashes​.io

Stashes​.io

lets you build your own collections of resources to refer back to or share. stashes.io

Showbox

Showbox

makes it super easy to create studio-quality videos right in your browser, in just minutes. showbox

Sympli

Sympli

is a collaboration platform that works with Xcode, Android Studio, Sketch, and Photoshop. Just design with Photoshop or Sketch, export to Sympli, and quickly implement your design. sympli

Fontea

Fontea

gives you access to all 700 Google fonts in Photoshop (and soon in Sketch). It’s a plugin, so it doesn’t interfere with your usual Photoshop workflow. fontea

Maki

Maki

is a set of icons for map designers. It includes 114 icons for things like parks, museums, and places of worship. Maki

FourZeroFour

FourZeroFour

is a gallery of the most awesome 404 pages from around the web. fourzerofour

Smartmockups

Smartmockups

is a collection of the best free product mockups, ready and waiting for your designs. smartmockups

Carrd

Carrd

makes it easy to create simple, free, fully responsive one-page sites for anything you want. Just choose a template to start from. carrd

Logo Foundry

Logo Foundry

is a logo maker app that works right on your phone. It includes over 6000 symbols, shapes, and icons to use. logo foundry

Flexbox Grid

Flexbox Grid

is a responsive grid system based on the flex display property. flexbox grid

Fwrdto​.me

Frwrdto​.me

is a little bookmarklet that lets you send web pages to your inbox with just one click. fwrdto.me

Pitch Card

Pitch Card

lets you pitch your idea in 200 characters or less and get quick feedback. Share with just your friends or with everyone via social media. pitch card

Sherbit

Sherbit

lets you analyze and understand the data your apps and devices collect about you. You can connect and visualize your data to find meaningful insights about yourself. sherbit

Pagekit

Pagekit

is a modern open source CMS that’s intuitive, modular, and flexible. It has a simple UI, built-in marketplace, and is built with Symfony components. pagekit

Worona

Worona

makes it simple to turn your WordPress site into a mobile app for iOS or Android. It lets users read your posts when they’re offline, sends push notifications, and more. worona

Homizio Nova

Homizio Nova

is a free sans-serif typeface that includes light, regular, and italic styles. homizio nova

Sweet Sorrow

Sweet Sorrow

is a vintage script font that’s perfect for things like signs, t‑shirts, logos, and other display uses. sweet sorrow

Ludicrous

Ludicrous

is a free handwriting font that includes ligatures and extras. ludicrous

Goldin

Goldin

is a rounded sans-serif typeface that’s perfect for branding and display use. It comes in regular and light weights. goldin

South Rose

South Rose

is a beautiful display typeface inspired by the South Rose window in the Notre Dame cathedral. south rose

Wadon

Wadon

is a modern typeface with accents reminiscent of ancient runes. wadon

Asteroid

Asteroid

is a super funky geometric font that looks straight out of a sci-fi movie and is perfect for branding. asteroid

Nighttime & After Midnight

Nighttime & After Midnight

are complimentary typefaces, one with slab-serif stroke terminations and the other with circle terminations. nighttime after midnight

Cameron Chapman

Cameron Chapman is a freelance writer and designer from New England. You can visit her site or follow her on Twitter.

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