Design inspiration can be found in many places and other forms of art like photography, architecture and even sidewalk chalk. Sidewalk chalk isn’t just for kids anymore, many of these pieces pictured below are gorgeous works of art that took a knowledgeable artist to compete. Inspiration is all around us as designers, look anywhere you can to find it.
Black hat SEO is unfortunately too common and too easy to get sucked into if you aren’t a well-informed consumer. Today we’ll discuss what it is and how to stay away from it. Black hat SEO is an unethical way of creating better search engine rankings through dirty methods that aren’t accepted by search engines. Oftentimes, these methods will help companies gain popularity within search engines very quickly, but it can also…
My new blog post for Six Revisions came out today: Take a look at some of the biggest sites out there today that are showcasing top-notch designs. It’s very likely they’ve used a grid of some sort. Grids enable stability and structure in a web layout, giving the designer a logical template to build the site on. Grids don’t mean you have to have a boring design. A good designer will apply…
It’s my birthday (shameless self promotion)! For a special birthday post (and not intended to be a gift request!), I thought I would compile a list of fun and functional gifts for the designer in your life. Most of these are just for fun but worthy of sporting around town or displaying in your office. Enjoy!
Teamwork: When we all work together, we all win together. Who doesn’t love these awesome motivational posters in classrooms and business offices that decorate the walls in an effort to promote positive energy? They usually have some fun photography shot with people holding hands or animals working together and then a large word like “Teamwork.” Then underneath that you find a priceless quote about working together. Although they may be cheesy and…
Finding the perfect image is a constant struggle for print and web designers and a necessary evil of designing professionally. Sometimes you can’t seem to find that perfect image you have in your head, the one that would make your design really pop. Mariano Pastor, a photographer in New York decided to offer an alternative to pricy photoshoots and stock photography. His story is included in the press release below.
An article I wrote on color theory in web design was published at Six Revisions today. Check it out: Unarguably one of the most important aspects of any design is its colors. Designers create the style of a site, as well as the movement it makes, the emotion it creates, and its purpose based largely upon the color choices they make. Colors are powerful tools and an important thing all designers should…
Someone asked me today, “What would my company get out of a new website design? I have to pay for a site that doesn’t directly sell anything so essentially the site doesn’t make me any money.” It’s a common argument I’ve heard, phrased differently each time, and I thought it would be a great question to address on here. Why would any existing company need to update or redesign their site if…
Color has been proven to be important in the look of your site and the feeling you give your visitors. Green in color theory not only symbolizes nature and growth, it can also be used to symbolize harmony and has healing powers. Green makes people feel safe. Websites that use this color can capitalize on these characteristics, giving users a sense of peace and safety on their site. Environmentally-friendly companies use the…