Each year brings new and continuing trends in web design. 2017 promises websites full of interaction and engagement. We’re checking out the layout trends that will be taking over the web in the next year. Video Background The use of high quality background images and illustrations has been on the upswing the past several years. That trend continues in 2017…
A few months back I implemented a method of organizing personal tasks I had to complete around the home using a Bullet Journal. This started with purchasing a regular notebook, listing tasks and events for each month, assigning each task to a week, then adding each task to a specific day. I could see on all the tasks I had…
Icons and graphics are the universal means of communicating an idea. When creating a design concept, we rely on images to convey our message. Graphic designers have unlimited resources when it comes to finding icons, photos and illustrations but every once in a while it becomes necessary to create our own. Newer versions of Adobe Illustrator offer powerful tools for…
Few things bring more frustration to a web designer than creating a design in Photoshop and not being able to translate it to the web. If you’re like me, you probably find yourself using Photoshop blending modes on images and text to create stunning effects but getting those effects to apply on your websites can be impossible without using large…
Every social media platform comes with it’s own dimensions for profile, cover, and shared photos. We’ve compiled a list of all the profile images you’ll need and the sizes they should be for your brand’s social media profiles. Facebook Images Facebook is one of the easier social media platforms to add your collateral to. The cover photo does not stretch…
Shooting your own photos is a great way to create authentic content for your website while showing off your work. You don’t always need a professional photographer or special equipment to take great photos, either. Knowing some photography basics can help you take high quality photos with a basic digital camera or even your phone. This is part one of…
Maps are great visual, web design tools that help users get the information they need quickly. Advances in geocoding have made it easy to create beautiful, custom location and geographic specific data maps. Here are some of my favorite examples of websites using awesome map designs right now. Websites Using Custom Markers PM Environmental PM Environmental’s location page uses a custom Google…
This tutorial will show you how to select an element in a photo and remove the background while preserving fine details like hair and feathers. In this example we’ll use a free photo from freeimages.com. You can download the same image we’re using in the tutorial here. First, we’re going to use the Refine Edge tool to separate the hairs…
MailChimp is a great tool for creating email campaigns that engage consumers and drive traffic to your website. It also has a powerful template designer that allows you to create a custom design starting with a basic template. Here are step-by-step instructions on how to turn a simple layout into a great-looking design. Step 1: Creating a New Template Once…
Design trends on the web are constantly changing and evolving. Websites that were created just a few years ago quickly start to look dated compared to newer ones today. Making a few changes to the aesthetic of your site can make it feel modern and updated without involving a total website overhaul. We’ve collected a few tips to simply and…