Sometimes designs are of an acquired taste. That’s our theme for this month. Each of the projects and trends featured here are things that you’ll probably either love…or hate. But wait to judge these projects until you navigate through them; most of them seem to grow on you the more you dive into the content. Here’s what’s trending in design this month: Chaos by Design Have you ever looked at a design and wondered “what were they thinking?”...

We’re all about learning tools this month in our round of up new resources and tools for designers. From games to books to tutorials, there’s something new for everyone to learn and enjoy. 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 @carriecousins to be considered! CSSBattle Jump to the top of the CSSBattle...

Sometimes design trends take a little while to emerge and sneak up on you, others seem to pop out of the blue all at once. The latter is true of each of our web design trends this month. Animated image frames, gold metallics and obvious grids seem to be everywhere (and we are guessing you might be taking notice). Here’s what’s trending in design this month. Animated Image Frame Distortion The verdict on this trend is still out. Do you love it or...

This month we are all about tools that make life easier. And that’s exactly what you’ll find in this roundup of new things for designers – from color tools to workflow enhancers to code snippets to fonts that will make you smile, everything here can make your design life easier. 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...

Typography, color and distinct layouts are all elements that contribute to any design project. They are also elements of design that can trend over time. That’s exactly what we are seeing this month as bold design elements are just the things that are making certain website designs come to the forefront. Here’s what’s trending in design in this month. Bold Sans-Serifs Big, thick lettering can draw attention and tell a story. And that’s...

Get ready to create a new list of bookmarks! The new tools featured this month are perfect for saving; some of them you’ll want to come back to over and over, such as a security checklist, cool background maker and a season-specific typeface. 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 @carriecousins to...

This month, we are looking and some rather obvious visual trends in web design. While some trends are rooted more in the user experience or cool JavaScript, others are purely aesthetic. That’s what you’ll see on the list this month. From color to shapes to a style of photography, here’s a look at what’s trending this month. Black and White Black and white design patterns are timeless and classic. They have a feeling of sophistication...

New year, new design tools. As your start regrouping and reorganizing in 2019, why not make good on those resolutions and try a new design element or two. We’ve got plenty to choose from here. 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 @carriecousins to be considered! UI Bundle UI Bundle is a search tool...

New year, new design trends! While everyone is talking about big-picture trends such as designing for voice and virtual reality, there are more immediate design elements that you can see (and deploy) right now for a more on-trend website. From websites without images above the scroll, to ecommerce that disguises itself as content, to bright blue everything, here’s a look at what’s trending this month. 1. No “Art” Above the Scroll...

It’s going to happen at some point this year; you will face designer burnout. One of the reasons that burnout is so common for creatives is that it’s a never-ending process. (You can’t just stop having ideas because you are off the clock.) But there are things you can do to help make the burnout less bad and stay energized and focused more of the time. Here’s your checklist for the new year. (Seems like a great resolution, right?) 1. Get Away...

Happy holidays! This collection of new tools and resources is our gift to you this season. And there are plenty of holiday-themed elements sprinkled in. Enjoy! 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 @carriecousins to be considered! Humaaans Humaaans is a design kit packed with illustrations of people...

It can be hard to think about, and take on new design projects at this time of year. Maybe a little design inspiration is just the thing to pep you up and get you thinking about wrapping up those projects. There’s a continued shift toward designs with more complex visual effects and these trends are no different with stacked text elements, glitchy video effects and artistic imagery. Here’s what’s trending for the end of 2018: 1. Stacked...

Designers and developers are hard at work creating tons of new goodies to make work life easier. This month’s roundup of tools for designers includes a smorgasbord of resources that includes everything from productivity and collaboration tools to icon and design kits to fonts that you’ll love. 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...

A visual language is just like any other form of communication. Where “language” refers to spoken or written communication, visual language goes a step further to connect with a certain community. Elements from color to style to type of photos or illustrations establish what a brand or company is. These visual elements tie together a group in a structured and conventional way that people understand. A visual language includes both the...