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Design Trends (Predictions) in 2010

Design Trends (Predictions) in 2010
As we are stepping in a new decade, I can foresee that web design in 2010 is going to be fun and filled with experimental works. With the new CSS3 and HTML5, designers and developers are trying to utilize the new features to create impressive designs. Sketchy and large background styles are fading out. Serif Fonts In the last decade, most web sites were designed in either Verdana or Arial (sans-serif fonts), but that is going to change in this new decade. Big Headings Big headings in header (as part of design interface) will gain more popularity in 2010. Custom Font Embedding As Typekit is expanding their font list and more free quality fonts are available (e.g. Texturized Background The big background trend is going to be gradually out-of-date and be replaced with subtle and texturized (particularly the light noise) background. Minimalist & Grid Minimalist and grid designs are not today's new. CSS3 New Features CSS3 Animation Rounded Borders and Box Shadows Text Shadow RGBA & Opacity Conclusion

Complex Repeating Patterns Part I Introduction Though there are multiple ways to get to the same result, for me the following method is the most accurate, detailed and versatile, and unlike other methods it allows unlimited future reworking of the pattern if needed… it’s also requires the most work, so be prepared. (*note: This tutorial assumes you know how to use the pen tool with a degree of proficiency.) Step 1 There are a myriad of excellent resources and inspiration for repeating patterns online and anytime I’m creating something this complex I like to at least have a piece of reference material to get me started. To get this swatch for yourself if you’re following along at home follow this link to reach the search page where I found my pattern. (*note: I’m using a 1000×1000 pixel document so that I can have plenty of room to work. Step 2 Next lets press Command-J (PC: Ctrl-J) to duplicate the new layer and move the copy to where the next tile in this repeating pattern should go. Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 Step 6 Step 7 Step 8

Web design focused articles and resources » Blog Archive » Smoother @font-face embedding in IE 7 & 8 Create an iPhone App Website in Photoshop In this tutorial you will learn how to create a simple, yet beautiful application page for your iPhone app. If you have any questions about this tutorial be sure to ask in the comments. Also, remember with all the tutorials, the psd is available for download. LusterForever.com – Cool silver charms and leather bracelets design! Final Result Tutorial Resources Lets Get Started 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. Check out our latest testking 70-293 videos and testking 156-215 tutorials to learn professional web designing. Related Articles

Cascading Style Sheets What is CSS? Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is a simple mechanism for adding style (e.g., fonts, colors, spacing) to Web documents. These pages contain information on how to learn and use CSS and on available software. They also contain news from the CSS working group. Soft­ware Nearly all browsers nowadays support CSS and many other applications do, too. Of course, all software has bugs, even after several updates. More » Learn­ing CSS For beginners, Starting with HTML + CSS teaches how to create a style sheet. Another page also has some books, mailing lists and similar fora, and links to other directories. The history of CSS is described in chapter 20 of the book Cascading Style Sheets, designing for the Web, by Håkon Wium Lie and Bert Bos (2nd ed., 1999, Addison Wesley, ISBN 0-201-59625-3) More »

Realism in UI Design The history of the visual design of user interfaces can be described as a gradual change towards more realism. As computers have become faster, designers have added increasingly realistic details such as color, 3D effects, shadows, translucency, and even simple physics. Some of these changes have helped usability. Shadows behind windows help us see which window is active. The physicality of the iPhone’s user interface makes the device more natural to use. In other areas, the improvements are questionable at best. Details and realism can distract from these concepts. The image on the left is a face of a specific person. At the same time, it’s obvious that some details are required. The circle on the left clearly shows a face. Let’s look at a symbol we actually see in user interfaces, the home button. The thing on the left is a house. The thing on the left is a home button. Let me explain this concept using an entirely unscientific graph: The button on the left is too realistic.

40 Absolutely Free Vector Pack Collections Resources February 23, 2010 As designers, we are all familiar with various resources that we use in our usual designs, images and creations. Resources such as brushes and textures are just a few examples of these resources that help improve the quality and artistry of every image. More and more websites are into providing high quality resources for the design community. By now, most of you may have numerous downloaded resources available in your computers. Amir Fura Vector Pack Set 1 View Source These Vector brush sets are perfect for simple design accents like band logos or even placement on a website border. Colorful Vector View Source These Colorful vector brushes are great for designing backgrounds and posters. Vector Stock Pack Number One View Source Assorted vector brush sets like this are good if you do a wide variety of designs. View Source Skull vectors are often resized for a variety of reasons. WG Funny Swirls Vol1 View Source Autumn View Source People Silhouette Vector View Source Tribal

Beautiful Curvy Brush Fonts for Design Brush fonts are hotter than ever and we are seeing them more often on professionally designed websites. Thick, bold and beautiful… their relaxed, casual feeling and sexy curves make them a perfect fit for designers who want to break the mold and steer away from the typical serif and sans serif font choices. Some of them crossover into the script font world, while retaining their thick lines and curves. These types of fonts are also now widely used for logo designs and packaging as they easily bring added interest and creativity. Here are 20 beautiful brush fonts that you may wish to use in your designs. Most of these fonts are not free, but may be worth the price for your project. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. Do you know of any other great examples?

50 Powerful Time-Savers For Web Designers - Smashing Magazine Being a web designer is not easy. Not only do we need to have a good understanding about visual design, typography, information architecture, psychology and a plethora of other disciplines; in our work, we need to take care of so many details, so that our job becomes more and more time-consuming, requiring dozens of tools, attention span and an effective workflow for beautiful, timely and functional results. And this is where small time-savers become handy. Be it a handy checklist, batch installer, dummy image generator or converter from Excel spreadsheet to HTML — all these things can save us a couple of minutes every day, making our work easier and more efficient. And this is why we keep collecting them for Smashing Magazine’s readers. You may want to subcribe to Smashing Magazine’s E-Mail Newsletter1 (32,600 subscribers) to keep updated about new useful tools, techniques and resources. Time-Savers For Web Designers Link Bounce11A fun and easy way to share ideas on a website.

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