Community & Inspiration articles

It’s August, which means the rain is finally slowing down, and I have a chance to get my roof fixed. While I wait here under a literal tarp-fort that I hung up in my office, I thought I might as well compile some of the best recent portfolios for you all to look at. We have a mix of sites this month, both colorful and, shall we say, color-minimalist. We’ve got more than a few specimens of one-column layouts, and some superb CSS Grid-based affairs....

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....

The online community has been around since 2010 and is one of the top platforms where designers can share work, or shots, and get feedback. The invite-only community is a showcase of portfolio projects and personal artwork for digital graphics and user interface design, illustrations, animations, and pretty much any other design work you can think of. Dribbble Pros If you want to be inspired, Dribbble is the place for you. There’s so much...

And now it’s July. I’d just like to tell my American and Canadian friends to hydrate properly, and the hangover should be gone by October, just in time for the sugar crash. While you recover, we’ve got more portfolios. Lots of good, grid-based stuff this month. And lots of dark layouts. It’s like all the color got used up last month or something. Anyway, I hope you like minimalism! Enjoy. Note: I’m judging these sites by how good they...

This month we’re taking a close look at above-the-scroll presentation. It’s the first thing you see, and the first impression a user has when they type in your URL. So, it’s a logical place to spot trends in website design. Here’s what’s trending in design this month. 1. Text That’s Almost Hard to Read With so much focus on readability and accessibility, this trend might be a little surprising. Designers are experimenting with...

This month’s collection is all about being brave. Brave new ways to employ color, brave new ways to navigate UI, brave new ways to think of web sites. Highlights include cool Jazz, exciting new design agencies, and illustration everywhere. Enjoy! West Coast Tasmania This exceptional site for tourism in Western Tasmania gets everything right. The colors and illustrations are tone-perfect, while the enticing photography is alluring...

Hey WDD Readers, it’s June! Depending on where you live, you could either be heading out for a day of Summer fun, or curling up in your home at the bottom of Chile with a hot drink. And if you’re in Chile keeping warm, can I join you? This month, we got lucky enough to have lots and lots of pretty colorful designs in the mix, as well as a bit of classic minimalism and monochromatic goodness. Enjoy. Note: I’m judging these sites by how good they look...

We’re heading into the Summer season where traditionally everyone gets a little more lax about life. Even the website designs seem lighter with more whitespace and simple designs. That translates into a few trending elements as well. We’re seeing plenty of navigation elements with a new twist, circles and perfectly symmetrical grids seem to be making a comeback. Here’s what’s trending in design this month. 1. White Nav on a Color...

Welcome to our monthly roundup of the freshest web designs, released (or rereleased with significant updates) in the last four weeks. This month’s selection eschews popular trends in favor of intelligent design that supports brand identity. As always, scrolling plays a big role, but parallax is less dominant than it normally is. Across the board, designers are opting for the less obvious choice, which gives us a rich variety to indulge...

Hello all, as Justin Timberlake once predicted, it is now May. Now that I’ve subjected you to the latest and greatest in boy band jokes from the ‘90s, let’s check out this month’s portfolios. It should be noted that as I write this, I am working with Internet that I borrowed from my new neighbor (yes, I did ask) and the speed is fairly slow. That’s not a complaint; it’s a warning. It means I’m going to be a lot happier with portfolios...

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?”...

Welcome to our roundup of the best new sites to be launched (or relaunched with significant updates) in the last four weeks. After last month’s flirtation with monochrome, this month’s set of sites return to the overriding trend of 2019: color. Huge images are still popular, and parallax is still finding its way into our scrolling experiences. Enjoy! Middle Fork Rapid Transit Middle Fork Rapid Transit is an adventure vacation company...

Greetings, Readers! It’s April, so there will be no joke here. You’re welcome. This month, designers seem to have hit the minimalism button hard. There is a bit of variety in there, but if you like lots of white space, you’re in luck. A few Powerpoint-ish sites, too. Enjoy! Note: I’m judging these sites by how good they look to me. If they’re creative and original, or classic but really well-done, it’s all good to me. Sometimes, UX...

Wow. DeviantArt; there’s a blast from the past, where I’m concerned. I used to have an account where I posted my amateur web design, photography, and photomanipulation-based art. I actually remember making art and website mockups on my PC at home, writing the files to a rewritable CD, and taking them to the local Internet café to post them on DA for feedback. It was the site for all artists and designers, at every skill level. And now, it’s...