Are you starting 2020 off on the right foot? How about keeping up with those resolutions to learn or try something new? Either way, you’re in luck. This roundup is packed with new tools to help you through projects or learn new tricks to enhance your skillset. Here’s what’s new for designers this month. Calcolor Calcolor is a color tool that provides deeper information and meaning for every color in your palette so you can make better color...

Designers are embracing big, bold concepts with oversized elements, bright color, and even a little rule-breaking. (The best part? Most of these trends seem to overlap somewhat.) Here’s what’s trending in design this month. Homepage Headline Heroes Homepage hero areas are shifting again from website entryways with plenty of text, CTAs, and options for users, to simple displays with big headlines (and maybe not much else). Use of oversized...

We typically start the month with a roundup of new tools and resources for designers, but with the start of a new year (and new decade), we thought a roundup of things to help you get more organized would be appropriate. Some of these tools have been around for a while with features you might not be using. Other tools are on the new side and offer great functionality. How many of these tools are part of your kit? Which ones will you resolve to use this...

As you are shopping this month for others, why not find a few goodies for yourself? Our roundup of new tools and resources is packed with usable items. And most are free, so there’s no shame in trying out something for yourself. Here’s what’s new for designers this month. CSS Background Generator CSS Background Generator gives you the tools – and code – to create an interesting animated background for digital projects. Demo 1 uses...

This month’s collection of design trends is a gift to behold. Each of the trends are highly usable options that are versatile, giving you plenty of room to play and make them your own. That’s the best kind of trend, right? Here’s what’s trending in design this month. Whimsical Illustrations It seems like whimsical illustrations are practically everywhere. Fun drawings that can be anything from line-style illustrations to full-color...

You’re sure to find some tools and resources that will help you save time as we enter what is often one of the most hectic seasons of the year. Here’s what’s new for designers this month. Screen Size Map Screen Size Map is a tool to showcase popular screen sizes and will even auto-detect yours. Map sizes by device type, usage, size, and popularity. This can really come in handy when thinking about viewports or breakpoints in design projects....

There’s always a balance between visual design and functional design. Many of the “rules” of design as we know them exist to make visuals more functional. That’s not exactly true of all of the techniques that are trending right now. But sometimes rules are made to be broken, right? You can take these trends in and decide whether they work for you or not. (There’s no right or wrong answer.) Here’s what’s trending in design this month....

It’s already time to start thinking about all the seasonal design elements that you will use for the rest of the year. That might be icons or illustrations or fonts. We have a few new elements this month that might fit the bill, as well as learning tools and inspiration. Here’s what new for designers this month. UIPrint UIPrint is a set of sketching templates for devices that you can print out to create with a pen (because some of us love to draw...

There’s a bonus trend in the roundup this month. (Four trends rather than three…but you’ll have to find it!) Our more obvious collection of trends are visual elements – skinny vertical design blocks, a shift to tiny logos and branding rather than the oversized center logos that have been popular for a while, and dark and moody design schemes. The extra trend is more interactive; you’ll have to click through the examples to find it....

While there aren’t as many new tools out there to play with right now, the ones available are a lot of fun. From tools to help speed up workflows and manage productivity, to creative gamification and funky typefaces, these new tools for designers will make you want to stick to your desk. Here’s what new for designers this month. Quark Quark might not be exactly what you are thinking if you have roots in print design. This Quark, in beta, is designed...

This month’s collection of design trends focuses on a bit of a slow burn – design techniques that appeal to millennials (maybe) and Generation Z. Gen-Zers are those born between 1997 and 2012, meaning part of this generation is in grade school. This generation is impacting design trends already because they are the most digital savvy generation yet. And they start using digital tools at even younger ages, making it no surprise that they...

Some of the new tools in this month’s roundup are designed for productivity and getting ahead, from a tool that converts text to speech to a font that’s made for the winter holidays. That’s the whole point of new tools – to make our design lives that much easier. Here’s what’s new for designers this month. Paaatterns Paaatterns is a collection of vector patterns for backgrounds, fills, and anywhere you want an interesting design...

For most designers – freelance or in-house – generating new business can be a dreaded part of the job. But it necessary to maintain and sustain growth and find new clients. When it comes to finding design work, is there a best way to find jobs? Do you pitch for new business or rely on other methods to find work? Reasons to Pitch for New Business There are so many places that freelance designers can pitch for new business, including job boards,...

Each of the design trends we are spotting this month have to deal with over-the-top techniques. It’s interesting because these big effects don’t always pop on the radar of what’s trending, but these concepts almost begged to be featured with a large number of projects showcasing these design elements. This type of trend is interested because designers either love them or hate them. Take a look and see if these are concepts you’ll use....