37 posts written by Christian Vasile
Christian Vasile is an enthuziastic Romanian web designer currently living in Denmark. He is passionate for writing about graphic and web design, social media, blogging and freelancing and features articles on 1stwebdesigner.com since early September 2011. You can follow him on Twitter at @christianvasile or visit his web portfolio by clicking on the link above.
What is the Trend for Web Design in 2012?
Christian VasileJust a month and a half has passed in 2012 and there are some patterns which are quite easy to notice in how people design. Sure, most of them are similar to the ones of 2011 - it seems 2011 and 2012 will not be too different, however there might be some small changes which I will talk about soon. There is no doubt that screen size is not an issue anymore and designing for all sizes is crucial - this is the stand point of web design trends in 2012. Why is responsive web design crucial? Because there are so many screen sizes out there, that designing a solution for each one of them is too costly and there is no real reason to do this. Responsive web design offers us the solution to designing for all screen sizes in the same time back in 2010 and since then it became a trend. Responsive web design is brilliant and the results are more than satisfying.
How to Overcome the Bad Moments of Your Career Like a Boss
There are lots of web design resources out there and learning all the skills you need is not a problem anymore - everybody can do it. But some of us (or better said, most of us) encounter the same logistical problems now and then during our freelance careers. Being able to create high quality websites is not enough anymore. Freelancing is a total challenge as you also need to be able to manage yourself, your work and your problems. Even if most people consider the motivational articles a waste of time, they actually offer solutions to problems more important than color theory, typography or web usability. The inner problems can stop freelancers from finding the right balance between work and personal life and, at some point in time, can even force them to retire or change careers.
Why Did You Become a Web Designer?
You are probably one of those who chose web design because you are passionate about it; or not. You may have chosen it because your father owned a design company and he wanted to integrate you into it. Or because you started off as a content writer and after writing on design topics for two years you decided to give it a try. Regardless of where you come from, pretty much all of us head the same way: either work for a company or freelance - there is not that much else out there.
How to Beat Designer’s Block Like a Kung Fu Master
If you have ever written articles for a blog or publication, you’ve definitely experienced what we call a writer’s block. By definition, this is an undetermined period during which a writer feels there is no inspiration for him anymore. Writer’s block can easily be a designer’s block and all of us can encounter a block at some point in time – if you done this for a long time, you have most probably already encountered it. This block is not something easy to get past and it can come around exactly when you need inspiration the most. It might be right before a deadline or just after you landed a huge project, most importantly is that if (more like when) it happens to you, you need to make an effort to get past it.
5 Tips to Improve Your Résumé
Have you ever thought that the reason behind you not getting any design jobs is not the amount of skills you have, but the résumé you send to companies? Think that when companies post job openings hundreds of applications come in day by day and the HR manager needs to sort the bad ones out first. What if your résumé, even if you are a great designer, fails to make the second round? The goal of the companies is to determine if you really are the person on your résumé, and they do this by first looking at your basic skills. Most of the hiring staff only want to contact applicants on the phone, because this is easier for them and more effective, so they will try to get you on the phone soon after your CV passes the initial basic requirements.
First Steps in Creating a Web Design Business
You don't like working for others and wish others worked for you? Are you also attracted to the idea of working with lots of people and multiple personalities? Then going for your own design company is something you might want to look into. Starting a web design business might seem something anybody can do, but is definitely a difficult task. Note that this discussion is purely theoretical, if you wish to read a real opinion, then find someone who owns such a company and ask him how it was in the beginning.
How To Charge More As a Freelancer
Most freelancers out there work as a freelancer either because they are in need of a job or they want to increase their skills and improve their portfolio. But have you ever thought about the fact that all of us do it for money too? Now some of you might disagree with me and I fully encourage you to do it. Then I also encourage you to go out there and work for free, while marketing yourself as a volunteer designer. After three months come back to me and I am sure you will agree that you freelance for money. If we wouldn't need money to survive, we would probably not work at all.
How to Properly Redesign a Website
Redesigning a website happens very often on the internet today. It can be thanks to the new technologies that appear one after another (and every one of us wants to stay in fashion) or because the rules change from month to month. Whatever the reason is, it is quite important to do it properly and to ensure the new design will bring you more advantages over your competitor than the old version. We don't redesign a website only for the sake of spending money. We do it because we feel that the site needs a visual revamp, we feel that our visitors want to see something new from a visual stand point. Considering the redesign is entirely for the users, it's them we should focus on when we think about creating a new identity for our blog, publication or whatever kind of webpage it is.
Guided Tour Through Web Design History
Web design has been with us for a bit longer than 20 years now and sure, it is easy to criticize poorly designed websites nowadays, but few people really know how and where it all started. Things when web design started were really different - actually so different than such a website would be a shame today: weird colors, cluttered information, tables all over the place, Vegas lights and so many other things that everybody despises today. It is never too late to know a bit more about the history of web design, so let's take a look at the most important changes throughout it. Twenty years ago nobody knew what they were doing when designing a website. It was all something new and you couldn't talk about strategies, research, laws, theories and typography. It was all chaotic. And it all started in 1989, when the first browser called World Wide Web was released, in the same time as the first website. However, it is not possible to see the first website ever, as there isn't much information about it, but a website looked pretty much like this one and was used to give out basic information.
Stand Out Among Freelancers by Communicating with Your Client
While the internet becomes more and more accessible to everyone, some freelancers rarely use these new technologies to improve their marketing or client relations. These incredible technologies allow us to communicate easier with people from all over the world and to even optimize the communication with someone who is living close to us. Throughout my short career I have learned that communicating with a client is crucial, because his directions might help you too. Moreover, if the product is not heading in the direction the client wants, communicating with him is going to make the product better and, let's be honest, this is what every freelancer is rated on - the quality of the projects they deliver.
