1WD’s Google+ Icon Set – Freebie!
Rean John UeharaWe have prepared a little gift for our loyal readers: Google+ Icon Set just for you! Download the PSD file now and learn how those popular G+ icons are created. This isn’t original work, just we are so big fans of Google+ that we wanted to recreate this icon set! Mainly it is created you to check that PSD and see how such simple icons are created and maybe come up with something better than they did on Google! Enjoy!
We have released this icon set almost a week ago through our newsletter, so if you want to get instantly updated whenever a freebie and amazing giveaway is hosted just subscribe to our newsletter!
The Power of Paper Prototyping (Includes a Giveaway)
Andreas WulfWhen planning the structure of a website or an app, I often begin by capturing my ideas on paper in the form of wireframes. I quickly sketch several possible layouts to see which form fits best: Should I use a two or three-column layout? What kind of navigation structure will the site have? How can I integrate a search bar? For exploring basic questions like these, nothing beats throwing together some quick-and-dirty paper prototypes. It’s a great way to get the creativity flowing, and when a sketch doesn’t work it’s always fun to crumple it up and play office basketball with the garbage can.
40+ Creative uses of Ribbons in Web Design
Jameel KhanYou must have noticed the increasing trend of using ribbons in web design. By using ribbons in web design you can make the noteworthy objects of your website more appealing and prominent. More often than not, a ribbon is used as background for navigation. Here is a beautiful and inspiring showcase of some visually appealing web designs that feature ribbons.
Why Does Google+ Bring More Business To People Than Facebook?
Christian VasileGoogle+, sometimes abbreviated as Google Plus or G+, is a social network developed and maintained by the tech giant Google. The network was released in beta to the public 9 months ago, by the end of June 2011. The full release came in September. While the network was supposed to be a strong opponent for Facebook, it was never even close to it. The fact that many people use it today is entirely based on curiosity and mostly on Google’s name and powerful brand and not because it brings something new to the business. Or is it…?
Google estimates the social network will have around 400 million users by the end of this year, while Facebook approaches a billion. Twitter only has around 100 million users while LinkedIn with 30 million users more than the micro-blogging platform.
7 Webmaster Tools That Will Make Your Job Easier
After we deliver a complete web design solution to clients, they might ask us to continue working for them for a few hours a week as a webmaster. While this job can be quite bumpy at times, its difficulty can be minimized with the help of different webmaster tools available on the Internet. If you are involved with such a client, this article is out here to help you speed up your workflow.
44 Websites to Help You Improve Your Knowledge of WordPress
Sufyan bin UzayrWe recently did a round-up of some of the leading design blogs that you need to follow in order to stay up to date with the latest trends in the design world. In this article we take a look at some blogs and websites that cover WordPress.
Most, if not all, design blogs have WordPress-related articles. However, these blogs deal specifically (and, in most cases, ONLY) with WordPress. Also, not all of the websites below are ‘blogs’ – some of them are feed aggregators, some are design showcases and wpMail.me is an email newsletter. However, they are all related to WordPress.
Grab Your Readers’ Attention with Notification Bars
TrevorPeople who visit your site have the attention span of a 5-year-old in a room full of puppies with a bagful of candy. You need to get their attention right away or you may lose them forever. To focus their attention on the right bit of information, try using a notification bar.
Hosted WordPress site owners have a lot of notification bar choices. Most are plugins, but some themes even come with this option. A notification bar is an attention getter, but not as annoying as pop up windows.
1stWebDesigner’s Life #6 – Social Media and a CD Portfolio
Rochester OliveiraThe Boss has finally decided to get into this social media thing. Well, you know that can’t be good for our superhero, Webster, right? Also, he’s been doing a great job on a portfolio for his company, do you think The Boss will like it?
Our cartoons were awesomely designed by Jamie Sale. If you need to hire a cartoonist, just call this guy, seriously. Also, if a friend of yours asks for an advice on cartoonists for hire, you know who you’ll recommend, right? Well, I think you got it :)
Beginner’s Guide to Wireframes and Tools to Create Them
Wireframing, or prototyping, while designing, costs almost nothing, but can give back so much. While many designers start with a sketch in their mind and then just put it into Photoshop or even code it right away, some others start on paper. Yes, paper, that (most of the time) white thing we write on with our hands. Sounds very 2000-ish, but even today the best designers out there use this technique to their advantage. Web prototyping saves lots of frustrations later on during the project development phase, as it makes sure there are no things to undo or redesign. If you prototype correctly, you can be sure about the fact that redesigning will never be something you will have to think of.
What wireframing basically means is putting your design ideas on paper – for each of the multiple pages of a website. All pages will probably share some elements, therefore the first one will be a bit more challenging to do, whereas the rest of them will be a bit less difficult as you already have a basic idea over the general design patterns.
Best Browser Features According to Users, Designers, and Developers
Salman SiddiquiThis ain’t another article on Browser Wars. The Internet has come a long way and so has the industry of Internet Browsers. If you have ever used the Internet in your life then you have spent some time with Internet Browsers. From the designer’s and developer’s perspective the browsers of today have been an important tool that shape the Internet. Henceforth, in between all the browser debates we, the average Joe, starts to long for that ultimate browsing experience which is a dream as of now. A browsing experience which is free of memory over utilization pit falls and incompatibility of code. This article will dig into the thoughts of users, designers and developers in order to understand what is the ultimate browser feature that completes a browser.
