Best 20 webfonts from Google Web Fonts and @font-face embedding At the moment there are several ways to use non-system fonts on a website. We will focus on the two least complicated, least expensive systems, Google Web Fonts and the @font-face rule. Fear not, we have not ruled out other paid methods such as Typekit, Fonts.com Web Fonts, Fontdeck, Webtype, WebINK or Fontspring for future posts as they certainly offer high quality typefaces and deserve to be considered. It’s important to be aware that web fonts can generate inadequate visualizations on operating systems which have subpixel rendering turned off in the case of Windows XP. They can also be represented differently depending on the browser used to visualize them. Basically, there are two implementation models: 1. 2. Web font embedding services Google Web Fonts (GWF) or Typekit are systems which allow the use of fonts hosted on their servers. Implementation It really is quick and simple: 1. 2. 3. Here you can consult a extended manual for styles, script subsets, and using multiple fonts. 1. 2.
Designing A Website from Scratch – Illustrator or Photoshop? - Graphic Design Beta - Stack Exchange I've got to disagree with DA01. The fact that a web document isn't a static image is irrelevant to the usefulness of a graphics editor for laying out and designing a website. Your design mockup doesn't need (and shouldn't) be a working prototype of your website. Just because a sheet of paper or whiteboard doesn't have all the minute qualities of a web document doesn't mean it can't be used to wireframe a website. Secondly, a piecemeal approach to design is not conducive to quality results. Lastly, it takes much longer to make design changes in code than it does to tweak a mockup image.
Planning And Implementing Website Navigation Advertisement The thing that makes navigation difficult to work with in Web design is that it can be so versatile. Navigation can be simple or complex: a few main pages or a multi-level architecture; one set of content for logged-in users and another for logged-out users; and so on. Because navigation can vary so much between websites, there are no set guidelines or how-to’s for organizing navigation. Designing navigation is an art in itself, and designers become better at it with experience. Organizing Navigation Structure Perhaps the most difficult part about navigation on the Web is organizing and designing it. Primary vs. Most websites, especially those with a lot of content or functionality, need navigation menus. 1SpeckyBoy2 You might assume that the primary and secondary navigations are marked in a wrong way on the image above, but I believe that this is not the case. Primary navigation stands for the content that most users are interested in. Information Architecture: Card Sorting
Tools for Managing Web Projects – Best Of With the ever-growing market of tech startups, Web apps and in-browser tools have become extremely popular among developers, designers, freelancers, and project managers. Over time these tools progressed and we now seen the release of desktop software, mobile apps, and even greater possibilities. For this article I have collected dozens of various online resources from different topics which are useful to creative professionals. You will find apps for e-mail marketing, task management, cloud IDEs, and so much more. Recommended Reading: Useful (Offline) Utensils and Toolkits for Designers Code Management In past releases of different open source projects the codes have been published on blogs and personal websites. Github Github and more specifically the Git version control system features an elegant way of managing project codes. One reason I highly recommend using Github for hosting your projects is because they have been doing it for so long. Beanstalk Bitbucket Task Management Trello Do
Lessons We Learned from Our Biggest UX and Design Mistakes We’ve finally hit the 500,000-user mark at Buffer, a product that helps you share on your social media networks more efficiently. About two years ago when we started on our path to building Buffer, we knew we’d be meeting obstacles and making mistakes along the way. One of the main things we’ve kept in mind is that making mistakes is unavoidable and that if we choose to learn from them, they’ll be helpful in giving us good guidance on how to move forward more effectively. And I believe that it’s partly because of these mistakes that we were able to get to where we are today. The Experience That Shaped How We Build Our Product Before I discuss the biggest lessons we learned from some of our UX and design mistakes, I want to talk about one of our primary product development principles: "Validate first, code later" Let me tell you how this came about. A few minutes into his coding session, he realized that that wasn’t the way to go. So he tried something else. This is how we learned this lesson.
50 Powerful Time-Savers For Web Designers - Smashing Magazine Advertisement There are tools that make our lives much easier. However, finding those obscure time-savers which would save time in every single project isn’t easy and requires a lot of time. At Smashing Magazine, we are regularly looking for such useful tools, gather them, review them and eventually prepare for a truly smashing round-up. Such posts are quite lengthy and extensive, but they are always worth checking out. In this post, you’ll find an overview of useful and handy tools that can help you increase your productivity and improve your workflow. Useful Time-Savers For Web Designers House of Buttons1A growing collection of various buttons spotted in the wild by Jason Long. Historious2 Historious makes bookmarking work the way you want it. Browser UI3 The Browser UI is an action that creates a browser window around any size Photoshop document you can throw at it. A/B Split Testing Calculator4 A/B Test Calculator shows you a comparison of several versions of a particular web page.
80 Creative Logo Designs For Your Inspiration They say a picture speaks a thousand words, and that is definitely true when it come logo design. A well-thought logo design can effectively use a simple icon to leave a deep enough impression for the public. Most logos communicate ideas to people, for instance the kind of quality services a company can provide for its customers. A memorable logo is always a plus if one wants to ensure first-time visitors to their websites will return in future. While there’s no easy answer as to what kind of logo design is the most effective and impressionable, it is probably intuitive to assume that creatively designed logos are more likely to stand out. Here is a compilation of 80 creative logos of different variety, all categorized under these groups: Wordmark, Symbolic, and Combined mark. Wordmarks As you shall see, these logos involve the creative arrangement and modification of words to enhance the name of the company they represent. Symbolic, Iconic & Combine Mark
website dimensions - exact pixels - live check This Summer's Best Logo Designs - 40 Logos Normally, summer is a time for vacation but somebody still has to work and that’s an opinion that some designers share with me. The proof for that lies in this article with 40 great logos, probably the best that appeared in these last months. Creation Rubens Nuts Jaguar Pale Ale enigma Nacho Macho Starr Gardens Macho grill Parallax Effects Soverinn Vital Imaging By Award Logohype Aqua Style Lion Bird Tort Silfver Creations Serenity Stingmaster Baby Online Ypsilon Royal theater 5R Construction hoo giraffeo Blue Mountain Electric DesignTent Lyric omniscient Northridge Homes Guitarshop Airtistic Bones Type Fetcher Browsera Xavier Fence artlovers Zerowork Daily Jazz You must check these past articles if you haven’t seen them already:
10 ways to build your coding knowledge Teaching yourself to code is easier than it ever has been before but as a group of trained programmers, we also recognise how difficult it is to master. Don't miss this! So for those of you thinking of brushing up on your coding knowledge, here is our 10 pieces of advice to help you on your journey. 01. Hobby versus profession Consider why you want to code. If coding is a hobby and you have some ideas of what you want to create then go ahead and create them. However, being able to program is a career booster and the professional advantages that come from it include good salary, the chance to travel the world, the opportunity to work for a major industry leader or even create your own start-up. Ultimately, it is up to you what you decide to do with your coding knowledge. 02. Many coding professionals will agree that there is no one ‘best’ language to learn and once you learn a new language, it’s a natural progression to learning the next. 03. Start with the basics and be patient. 04. 05. 06.
Developing an Effective Logo Design Brief This post was written with the client in mind, however may also prove to be a useful resource for other designers. To develop an effective brand identity for your business it is essential that you are proactively involved in the process from the start. A designer can’t possibly hope to design an effective logo without your input, which is why the very first step in a logo design process should always be the development of a detailed design brief. The risk of not completing a detailed brief is the possibility that your organisation ends up with a half-baked identity, that is not representative of who you are. While the brief does not completely mitigate that risk – it at least provides a solid platform to work from, and ensures that both you and the designer are on the same page. Inside the Design Brief Below I have outlined some of the questions you can expect to be included in a typical design brief, along with some advice to help you get prepared. Company Profile Related Sample Questions:
logo design Packages Our packages are specially designed, based on our client feedback. Please select from the packages below that best fits your needs. 6 logo design concepts 2 logo designers working on the project 48 hours turnaround. Full copyright ownership Unlimited redraws & revisions. 100% satisfaction guarantee. 100% money back guarantee. Full support for both web and print 9 logo design concepts 3 business card designs 3 logo designers working on the project 12 logo design concepts 3 letterheads designs 4 logo designers working on the project Below is a comparision of our logo design prices for you to compare between the features included in each packages and choose the package that best fits your needs. Click here for a comparision of our package features and prices with other various logo design firms in the web.