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GDC 2010: The secret to App Store success

admin — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 03:30:00 +0000

Barnes & Noble eReader for iPad coming soon

admin — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 02:30:00 +0000

The reader will give B&N customers access to more than a million eBooks, as well as selected newspapers and magazines.

The Barnes 7 Noble Nook, which competes with the Amazon Kindle, has only been out a short time, but if the iPad is a success a heck of… read more

Digital Signage Today

admin — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 01:44:04 +0000

Magazine advertisement visually describing how a company’s iPhone app can represent their mobile digital signage.

8 Simple Ways to Improve Typography In Your Designs

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 21:17:50 +0000

These details give the designer total control, allowing them to create beautiful and consistent typography in their designs. While these details can be applied across different types of media, in this articles we’re going to focus on how to apply them to web design using CSS. Here are 8 simple… read more

Barnes & Noble to Launch E-Reader App for iPad

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:45:25 +0000

Continuing with a very source agnostic digital book strategy, Barnes & Noble has announced it will soon be offering an e-reader app for the Apple iPad.

The app will be designed specifically for the iPad’s tablet form factor, and will join B&N’s existing e-reader app family already available for Mac,… read more

Showcase of 20 Mobile-Friendly Popular Design Blogs

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:03:00 +0000

Roughly 3-4% of our readers view this site via a mobile device and that percentage is growing week-to-week. They aren’t very high percentages but it was certainly high enough to prompt me into action – I started considering a mobile version of this site.

Let me start by saying that I… read more

Forms On Mobile Devices: Modern Solutions

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:58:05 +0000

Mobile forms tend to have significantly more constraints than their desktop cousins: screens are smaller; connections are slower; text entry is trickier; the list goes on. So, limiting the number of forms in your mobile applications and websites is generally a good idea. When you do want input from users… read more

50 Examples of Creative 404 – Page Not Found Pages

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:04:23 +0000

There are two ways you can go when designing a 404 page for your website – you could go the sensible route and make it usable and try to help the reader find exactly what they were looking for or, you could design a 404 page that not only defines… read more

Hack: The iPod serial library enables homebrew remote controls

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:00:00 +0000

On the Make: magazine blog, they recently posted a piece about the evolution of a project. It was an iPod remote from last year that has gone from a “start and stop” only device to a full featured remote. It is a lovely piece of tech, powered by Arduino hardware…. read more

Uncovering Toy Cameras and Polaroid Vintage Effects (With Photoshop Tutorials)

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:23:28 +0000

Since its emergence, the digital photography market has gradually supplanted the traditional one. APN and digital SLR cameras entered our lives, and some people announced the death of silver-based images. This is not all lie, and yet old-fashioned images have been particularly popular in the past few years. All we… read more

The Secret Behind Great Designs: A Young Web Designer’s View

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:19:33 +0000

To find a career to which you are adapted by nature, and then to work hard at it, is about as near to a formula for success and happiness as the world provides.

One of the fortunate aspects of this formula is that, granted the right career has been… read more

Win 1,000 Business Cards from Next Day Flyers

admin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:59:30 +0000

Next Day Flyers has offered to give 1,000 business cards and $25 of printing credit to a lucky reader of Designm.ag.

If you’re not familiar with Next Day Flyers they provide offset printing services and specialize in quick printing, mailing and finishing marketing materials. They are available to print business … read more

A look at the framework of Apple’s iPad ad

admin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:00:00 +0000

In making his case for the iPad, Apple CEO… read more

Architect Day: Octavio Mestre

admin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 09:57:41 +0000

Professor of architecture in Barcelona, Octavio Mestre, who has provided numerous services to the Catalan city, now has major projects in Spain and is already present in other European countries with homes and housing of high quality.

Photos from site octaviomestre.com.

Octavio Mestre graduated with honors from the Higher Technical School of… read more

This Weeks Twitter Design News Roundup N.27

admin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 07:59:55 +0000

This is our weekly Twitter Design News Round-Up, a collection of fresh design related resources that we have shared via Twitter in the past week.

Just in case you are not one of our Twitter followers, click here: twitter.com/speckyboy, and you’ll be kept up to date with loads of design news… read more

Entering The Wonderful World of Geo Location

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 23:56:29 +0000

I thought I could not be out-geeked. With a background in radio, and having dabbled in the demo scene on the Commodore 64 and hung out on BBSes and IRC for a long time and all the other things normal kids don’t quite get, I thought I was safe in… read more

Free Music Monday: 10 Free Tracks

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:03:54 +0000

Hey there, music fans! Thanks for joining us for Free Music Monday this week, where we offer you 10 free downloads for your eclectic listening pleasure. If you haven’t been with us before, we’re collating free and legal tracks in honor of the #musicmonday tradition on Twitter.

We happily accept… read more

Creative Use of Blur in Digital Photography

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:12:40 +0000

If you’d like to download the images used in this tutorial to practice these techniques, visit www.layersmagazine.com and navigate to the Magazine section. All files are for personal use only.

Sharpness is an important element in any photograph, but a creative use of blur—whether from shallow depth of field, motion blur,… read more

Common Questions About Design Professionalism

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 09:48:52 +0000

The design profession is full of happy folks, and understanding why so many designers enjoy their work is not hard. But not all are so happy. If you’re not careful, the joy of getting paid to pursue your passion can be tainted by the less joyous realities of the professional… read more

Foursquare and SPIN Magazine Turn SXSW Into Musical Scavenger Hunt

admin — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 17:37:51 +0000

For complete SXSW coverage, check out Mashable’s SXSW channel.

Popular music magazine SPIN is going geeky for South by Southwest’s music festival, integrating custom Foursquare badges into its event presence and rewarding the most adventurous users of the location-based game with free tickets to their annual music showcase at Stubb’s.

Festival… read more

Best of the Week #109

admin — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 15:10:20 +0000

It’s time for our best news of this week, the first one of 2010. We have a lot of graphic and web design, a bit of architecture, ads, tech news, awesome reads and other crazy stuff! So take a look at the links we’ve selected for your inspiration and to… read more

Handy Tools and Tips for E-Commerce Websites

admin — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 10:47:49 +0000

Running an e-commerce website is a never-ending task, from trying to squeeze that extra bit of conversion rate out of the check-out page to figuring out which referrers give you the best traffic. There’s also a plethora of tools out there to help you achieve your goals. But which ones… read more

Print Magazines for Web Designers, Digital Artists, and Photographers

admin — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:32:54 +0000

Although much valuable information for all sorts of web and print professionals can be found online, it is often difficult to weed through all the noise and find good quality content. I believe it’s vital that professionals in different creative fields supplement their online learning and research through well-edited and… read more

Apple Tops Google and Amazon on “Most Admired Company” List

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 22:55:59 +0000

In Fortune Magazine’s annual ranking of “most admired companies”, Apple has once again walked away with the top spot. Apple was voted #1 for the third year in a row in a poll of executives, industry analysts and company directors. This year, Apple actually took pole position by its… read more

Mashable’s Weekly Guide to Social Media & Web Development Jobs

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 19:50:06 +0000

If you’re seeking a job in social media, we’d like to help out. For starters, Mashable’s Job Lists section gathers together all our resource lists, how-tos and expert guides to help you get hired. In particular, you might want to see our articles on How to… read more

Create Photo Albums for Print with InDesign

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:46:02 +0000

Recently, I attended a seminar taught by wedding photographer David Ziser. While I learned a lot of good photography tips, one thing that caught my attention was an app David showed for laying out wedding albums. Typically, a wedding photographer has to narrow down his shoot to about 100 photos… read more

Dear John Makinson and Penguin, please don’t “reinvent” books

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 16:00:00 +0000

paidContent:UK has an article on a presentation by Penguin Books’ CEO John Makinson gave here in London on Tuesday. Makinson presented ideas on how publishers might approach Apple’s iPad and the iBookstore. Makinson revealed “We will be embedding audio, video and streaming in to everything we do. The .epub format,… read more

Beautiful Illustrator Artworks By Artists Around The World

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:10:02 +0000

Adobe Illustrator is a powerful software for illustrating that allows users to produce beautiful artwork, technical illustrations, and even graphics for both print and the web. Adobe Illustrator is a multipurpose vector illustration tool and its versatility makes it the most preferred choice among many professional artists and designers.

In the… read more

Falling Off the Wall Text Effect – Photoshop Tutorial

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 10:02:40 +0000

At some time or another we have all seen it – neighbourhood walls with old and deprecated graffiti or, just as common, you may have seen some flyers or posters that have been stuck for so long on these walls that they start to peel and hang on by their… read more

How to Kill the Design Community

admin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:37:42 +0000

Recently, the notion of killing the design community has come up on a few blogs (sometimes indirectly), creating many intense conversations on the direction the design community has taken over the past couple of years, and what can be done about it.

The possibility that such discussions… read more

How To Market Your Mobile Application

admin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 11:59:23 +0000

App Store is a competitive environment. Against more than 140,000 apps, all screaming for attention, how do you make sure your app gets its time in the spotlight? What does it take to get good media coverage? How do you get people to talk about your app—and, ideally, how do… read more

Designers: How to Search For, Hire, and Work With a Web-Developer

admin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 14:29:05 +0000

The market for freelance web design is huge. Being able to design a beautiful site in Photoshop is one thing. Programming a website is a whole other story.

So when clients come knocking at your door asking for web design services, what do you, the non-programmer but rockstar designer,… read more

Web Design Criticism: A How-To

admin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 13:56:23 +0000

Web design is a relatively young field. It’s youthful, growing and made up of people from all kinds of backgrounds, many of whom lack formal design training. We have learned, and still are learning, as we go.

I came into my first job as a Web designer for Boeing back in… read more

Architect Day: Murdock Young

admin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 13:00:56 +0000

Shea Murdock and Robert Young are the creators of office Murdock Young Architects. With a little more than 10 years behind them they have an interesting portfolio of work in the United States, with highlights on residential projects and art galleries.

Photos from site murdockyoung.com.

Founded in 1999 by Shea Murdock and… read more

This Weeks Twitter Design News Roundup N.26

admin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 08:11:17 +0000

This is my weekly Twitter Design News Round-Up, a collection of fresh design related resources that I have shared via Twitter in the past week.

Just in case you are not one of my Twitter followers, click here: twitter.com/speckyboy, and you’ll be kept up to date with loads of design news… read more

Digital Canvas: January/February 2010

admin — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 20:50:43 +0000

Showcasing the Design Work of Our Readers

Would you like to gain exposure by having your work featured in an international design magazine?  Of course you would!

The staff at Layers magazine appreciates the time and effort involved in the creative process, no matter how large or small the project. With… read more

The Future Of CSS Typography

admin — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:39:05 +0000

An excellent article by Inayaili de Leon for Smashing Magazine. There were a lot of new things that I learned in this article about web typography and CSS. You definitely need to read through this article. I guarantee, there will be little bits and tips that you will learn.

Best of AppStorm in February

admin — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 17:30:24 +0000

We’ve collected the top five reviews, roundups and how-to articles from across the AppStorm network in February. Whether you’re interested in Mac, iPhone, or Web apps, there’s bound to be something you didn’t spot over the course of the month.

Now would be a good time to explore a part of… read more

Condé Nast reveals initial list of iPad magazines

admin — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 17:00:00 +0000

Vanity Fair
Wired
Glamour
The New Yorker

Expect GQ to be the first one available, either at or directly after the iPad's launch. Vanity Fair and Wired should be available in June, while launch schedules for Glamour… read more

Creative Bookmarks: Best of February 2010

admin — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 14:00:57 +0000

February was a great month full of awesome tutorials, interesting articles and interviews, and stunning showcases for inspiration.

Quick Nav:

Photoshop TutorialsIllustrator TutorialsWeb/Blogging TutorialsFreebies, Inspiration, & ResourcesPhotoshop TutorialsSuper Easy Typographic Portrait in Photoshop

This tutorial, from Abduzeedo, will show you how to use the Displace filter and some Blend Modes to a great… read more

The Future Of CSS Typography

admin — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 10:20:05 +0000

There has been an increasing and sincere interest in typography on the web over the last few years. Most websites rely on text to convey their messages, so it’s not a surprise that text is treated with utmost care. In this article, we’ll look at some useful techniques and clever… read more

Top Condé Nast Magazines are Coming to iPad

admin — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 09:42:55 +0000

When the iPad was announced, some media partnerships were announced with it, but it wasn’t hard to guess that, in the period before the device actually comes to the market, we’ll see many more.

We already know that Condé Nast is working on an iPad version of Wired magazine,… read more

Daily Inspiration #444

admin — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 21:20:24 +0000

This post is part of our daily series of posts showing the most inspiring images selected by some of the Abduzeedo’s writers and users. If you want to participate and share your graphic design inspiration, just send us, via email, the image with the link from where you found it,… read more

Desktop Wallpaper Calendar: March 2010

admin — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 10:43:17 +0000

Desktop wallpapers can serve as an excellent source of inspiration. However, if you use some specific wallpaper for a long period of time, it becomes harder to draw inspiration out of it. That’s why we have decided to supply you with smashing wallpapers over 12 months. And to make them… read more

Wallpaper of the Week #89 – Saad Moosajee

admin — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 03:30:31 +0000

The wallpaper of this week is another super cool artwork from the young self taught freelance Illustrator and Art Director Saad Moosajee. We have already featured him in the past but he has some new works that are definitely worth checking them out.

Since Saadart.com was established in September 2008, Saad… read more

Interview with Jonathan Patterson

admin — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 18:59:34 +0000

Fans of Vectortuts+ are certainly familiar with the vector tutorials of Jonathan Patterson. He’s obviously a talented vector illustrator, there is however a wide variety of work he produces in addition to his vector artwork. Jonathan is a Michigan native working as a Senior Art Director at an advertising agency…. read more

88 Ultimate Round-Up of Photoshop Photo Manipulation Tutorials

admin — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 12:26:12 +0000

When it comes to Image editing or photo enhancement, Adobe Photoshop is usually the primary option to consider. However, the software package itself is a quite hard to learn — and extremely hard to master.

Display beautiful images is a potent element in web and graphic design, where there is less… read more

Free SEO Icons Set (16 Icons, Private Use Only)

admin — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 11:44:00 +0000

Today we are glad to release Free SEO Icons Set, a set with 16 original SEO-icons in .png (64×64px). This set was designed by Andrea Austoni and released for private use for Smashing Magazine and its readers.

Download the icon set for free!

You can use the set for your projects private… read more

Usability Review of Charity Websites Taking the Lead

admin — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 19:16:45 +0000

Over the years designers have pushed themselves to create unique and inspiring designs. Companies have yearned to have websites which are innovative and make them stand out against their competitors. Yet charity websites have not progressed along with trends and expectations — they seem to have been designed for launch… read more

Finding Inspiration in Uncommon Sources: 12 Places to Look

admin — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 08:31:46 +0000

Inspiration can be a fickle thing. Most designers, when lacking ideas, turn to design galleries to find ideas. But there are a few problems with that approach. The most obvious is that when taking inspiration from similar mediums, there’s a fine line between “inspired by” and “copied”. To some extent,… read more

Designing User Interfaces For Business Web Applications

admin — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 13:55:15 +0000

Business Web application design is too often neglected. I see a lot of applications that don’t meet the needs of either businesses or users and thus contribute to a loss of profit and poor user experience. It even happens that designers are not involved in the process of creating applications… read more

50 Amazing Personal Blog Web Designs

admin — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 13:18:57 +0000

The importance of a unique, memorable and well designed blog, especially within the design community, should not be underestimated – First impressions will always count and your blog gives you an opportunity to showcase your skills and highlight how professional and serious you are as a designer.

For most web… read more

The Wild and Tender Photography of Rodolphe Simeon

admin — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 07:20:36 +0000

Rodolphe Simeon is a french photographer living in Canada. And this is not the only thing mixing cultures in his life: he speaks French, English and German.

The first time I saw his pictures was in the brazilian magazine Zupi,which I recommend to read or at least to visit its site…. read more

36 Minutes of Creative Genius

admin — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 05:28:57 +0000

We all need a small spark to get going sometimes… What makes it easier to get going than some creative videography, editing & animation? Not much. Here are some creative videos some with mind blowing CG landscapes or an amazing look at what goes into a Macworld cover and some… read more

The AIDA Marketing Model in Web Design

admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 13:23:04 +0000

By Louis Lazaris

If you’ve been formally educated in marketing, more than likely you’ve learned about a marketing model called AIDA. AIDA is an acronym that represents the different steps involved in selling a product or service. Very often, the principles of AIDA are applied naturally when a useful product or… read more

Smashing Newsletter Challenge… And Giveaway!

admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 12:30:56 +0000

It’s time for something brand new and exciting on Smashing Magazine. Actually, we have quite a few things in the works, and today we are happy to reveal one of them. Over the years, we have published many lengthy articles, and now we want to write some shorter ones for… read more

Top 20 Free Fonts for Distinctive Headlines and Titles

admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 10:28:01 +0000

Whether you are reading a printed magazine or a web article it is very rarely the content that draws you in at first, the hook is always the title or the headline. A well written and thought out title or headline are fundamental, it has to not only describe with… read more

How the Resort Industry is Using Social Media

admin — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 19:21:34 +0000

A growing number of resort and spa destinations are spreading their wings and reaching a wider customer base via social media. With the help of social networking platforms and niche bloggers, vacation spots are broadening their branding efforts from the sand to the slopes, and connecting with potential… read more

Digital Canvas: November/December 2009

admin — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 16:50:56 +0000

Showcasing the Design Work of Our Readers

Would you like to gain exposure by having your work featured in an international design magazine?  Of course you would!

The staff at Layers magazine appreciates the time and effort involved in the creative process, no matter how large or small the project. With… read more

Shalom! Showcase Of Web Design In Israel

admin — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 13:53:10 +0000

Israel is a young country with an old heart. It has been quickly built up over the last 60 years as an independent democratic Jewish state and is shockingly cutting edge for a country so new.

It is a tiny surreal sliver of land smack dab in the middle of the… read more

Danish newspaper fakes iPad on front page

admin — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 18:30:00 +0000

The supporting article (translated into English here) details how local free newspapers are killing the paid competition, and makes the case for online distribution and micropayments. It’s an idea we’ve seen before, but it is still untested on a large scale.

As for consumers, interest in go-anywhere, read-anytime digital… read more

Did Rolling Stone Forget to Renew its Domain Name? [PIC]

admin — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 18:15:00 +0000

Someone wake up the domain name admin at Rolling Stone — their website is currently rendering a Network Solutions landing page indicating that the iconic music magazine’s website is “coming soon.”

Typically, this is the type of page you see when someone has registered a domain name but not yet… read more

Looking forward to Macworld Expo 2011, despite John Dvorak

admin — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 17:30:00 +0000

Longtime PC Magazine writer John Dvorak took the decidedly negative path in a recent post titled “Macworld Expo’s Iffy Future.” Based on a single quick walk through of the Expo captured on video, he concluded that the show is dead: “Last one? I think so.”

After spending a few… read more

20 Essential Tips for Graphic Design Blog Management

admin — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 14:15:22 +0000

Whether you work in some corporate office, small studio, or as a freelance designer, chances are you have a lot to do. As blog owners, we many times have multiple tasks to work on, content to manage, writers to handle, research to do, and more, to increase the productivity and… read more

The Seven Deadly Sins Of JavaScript Implementation

admin — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 12:45:40 +0000

Using JavaScript has become increasingly easy over the last few years. Whereas back in the day we needed to know the quirks of every browser, now many libraries such as jQuery, YUI, Dojo and MooTools allow someone who doesn’t even know JavaScript to spruce up boring HTML documents with impressive… read more

10 Tips for Creating a Photography Kit on a Budget

admin — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 20:14:46 +0000

As we continue to wait out the aftermath of one of history’s worst economic disasters, it can be prudent to continue to cut spending where possible. The digital medium does mean shooting costs are substantially lowered, but equipment and accessory costs can be still high. We’ve compiled a few simple… read more

Best in show: James White

admin — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 20:13:28 +0000

Name: James WhiteLocation: Halifax, Nova Scotia, CanadaField: Graphic DesignWebsite: signalnoise.com

With 11 years of experience, James has worked on an array of personal art projects and with clients including Toyota, Nike, Google, VH1, Armada Skis, Wired Magazine etc. and has been featured in Computer Arts, Computer Arts Projects and Advanced Photoshop… read more

Creative Illustrations by Leandro Lima

admin — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 16:59:01 +0000

Leandro Lima is a young brazilian Illustrator, Digital Artist and Interactive Art Director. Currently living in Milan, Italy, Leandro has done work for big clients such as Microsoft, Sony Ericsson, Braskem, Banco do Brasil, Arcor, Everlast, Capricho Magazine, BRAVO! Magazine, Época Negócios Magazine, Rmax Studio, GLOSS Magazine, Editora Positivo, Vespa… read more

Art Manifestos and Their Applications in Contemporary Design

admin — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 13:31:04 +0000

The way you express yourself with words is a crucial extension of your creative identity. Professional designers are usually busy focusing on the visual aspects of their craft, but visual arts and literary arts collide and coincide regularly. The two fields meet not just in typography, but also in press… read more

Free Dark and Clean WordPress Theme: Designpile

admin — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 21:02:27 +0000

In this post we are glad to release DesignPile WordPress Theme, a theme designed by Site 5 and released for Smashing Magazine and its readers. The theme comes with 3 color styles and a couple of jQuery-based goodies. It can be used for portfolios and blogs as well as corporate… read more

60+ Latest High-Quality Free WordPress Themes

admin — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 14:52:54 +0000

WordPress! is an award-winning CMS, which enables you to build Blogs, Web sites and powerful online applications. Many aspects, including its ease-of-use and extensibility, have made WordPress the most popular blog software available. Best of all, WordPress is an open source solution that is freely available to everyone.

There are… read more

Is John The Client Dense or Are You Failing Him?

admin — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 13:34:54 +0000

Meet John the client. John runs a reasonably large website. He is a marketer who considers himself smart, articulate and professional. That said, he doesn’t know much about Web design, and so he needs your help. John comes to you with a clear set of business objectives and asks for… read more

How Robbers Did Their Dirty Deeds Before Foursquare

admin — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 10:26:10 +0000

There’s a very easy way to find out if someone is home or not: you phone their fixed phone number. If no one answers, chances are the house is empty. If you really want to make sure, you can simply check if the lights are on.

And yes, robbers actually… read more

Can E-readers and Tablets Save the News?

admin — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 21:48:20 +0000

Sales are robust for e-readers and there is no shortage of tablets yet to launch, including the new Apple iPad. But will strong sales translate into a boost for the media industry?

If media organizations do it right, the potential could be there for e-readers and tablets to become… read more

4 Digital Photography Tips for the Year Ahead

admin — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 19:33:38 +0000

Once in awhile, we all need to step back and take stock of where we are and where we’re going. As readers of DPS, you probably do this periodically in pursuit of better photographic skills. Photography should be a fun, creative outlet and way to express yourself. Unfortunately it’s easy… read more

50 Useful Coding Techniques (CSS Layouts, Visual Effects and Forms)

admin — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 11:25:44 +0000

Although CSS is generally considered a simple and straightforward language, sometimes it requires creativity, skill and a bit of experimentation. The good news is that designers and developers worldwide often face similar problems and choose to share their insights and workarounds with the wider community.

This is where we come in…. read more

Blast from the Past: Vintage Technologies That We No Longer Use

admin — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 17:42:25 +0000

Most of the technologies that we have used in the past have been eclipsed by the remarkable technology that we use today.

Advances in their design have occurred in tandem with the advances in technology in this digital era, with many large products being redesigned and miniaturized into amazingly small sizes.

While… read more

Group Interview: Expert Advice For Students and Young Web Designers

admin — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 10:51:42 +0000

Our readers have requested that Smashing Magazine conduct an interview with industry leaders on issues that are relevant to students and those just starting off in their design career. With the help of our panel of 16 designers, we’ll dispense advice that should help new designers get their career off to… read more

How to Plan, Show and Promote a Photography Exhibit

admin — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 19:49:25 +0000

In this post Lisa Newton from Travelin’ Local shares some tips on planning, showing and promoting a photography exhibit.

I’m sure most, if not all of us, at one time or another have attended an art or other exhibit at a museum or art gallery that features photographs in an exhibition–artistic… read more

Wired Magazine Demos its iPad App [VIDEO]

admin — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 19:44:27 +0000

Most of us weren’t able to experience the firsthand look at Wired magazine on the iPad at TED last week. Video of the application (which is expected to launch this summer) in action has now hit the web, offering an inside look at Wired’s vision for the future of… read more

This Weeks Twitter Design News Roundup N.24

admin — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 18:48:44 +0000

This is our weekly Twitter Design News Round-Up, a collection of fresh design related resources that we have shared via Twitter in the past week.
Just in case you are not one of our Twitter followers, click here: twitter.com/speckyboy.
As always, if you have any cool links that you would… read more

What Consumers Will Pay for Online [STATS]

admin — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 16:35:00 +0000

Movies, music, and games top a new list from Nielsen of the content types that consumers are most willing to pay for online. The data, which comes from a survey of 27,000 consumers across 52 countries, also indicates that content created online – like blogs, podcasts, and video… read more

Smashing Network Update: Add Widget To Your Site and New Members

admin — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 10:30:28 +0000

In the last few months, you may have noticed some major changes happening on Smashing Magazine’s front page. Since November 2009, when we launched the Smashing Network, which features manually selected articles from the best design blogs, we’ve been working hard to improve the usability of our website and make… read more

Coming to an iBookstore near you: The authorized biography of Steve Jobs

admin — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 05:30:00 +0000

Jobs told Wiley & Sons to halt publication of the unauthorized biography. Wiley & Sons refused to back down so Steve punished them by pulling every book by Wiley & Sons from all Apple retail stores. Talk about hitting someone where it hurts; some of Wiley & Sons’ biggest selling… read more

Steve Jobs to Collaborate on Authorized Biography [RUMOR]

admin — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 04:45:34 +0000

Apple hasn’t officially commented yet, but according to the New York Times, Steve Jobs may finally cooperate on an authorized biography.

Other biographers have attempted to tell Mr. Jobs’s life story without his express involvement or even consent, prompting him to respond by yanking books by the same publishers from Apple… read more

Swede’s iMac takes a burnin’ and it’s still turnin’

admin — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 18:00:00 +0000

Norman’s experience (translated from Swedish) follows: “Unfortunately, the whole house and all things in there completely destroyed, so even the iMac. What’s funny is that it is still in operation. While damaged from smoke and dust and partially melted, but yet, however in operation.

After I plugged in… read more

40 Amazing Examples of African Digital Artworks

admin — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 14:46:15 +0000

African art represents one of the most diverse legacies on Earth. Though many casual observers tend to generalize “traditional” African art, the continent is full of peoples, societies, and civilizations, each with a unique visual special culture. Africa is well known for its wonderful art and culture that we are… read more

Email Newsletter Design: Guidelines And Examples

admin — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 13:59:31 +0000

The email newsletter is a powerful marketing and communication tool that has various useful functions. It reminds your users about you; it informs users about your products; it tells them what you have been up to; and it helps you build a unique relationship with them. Users like email newsletters… read more

Free Medical Icons Set (60 Icons)

admin — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 09:10:08 +0000

Today we are glad to release a Free Medical Icons Set, a set with 60 original medical icons in .png 32 bit in resolutions 32×32px and 128×128px. This set was designed by Thomas Immich and the design agency Centigrade and released exclusively for Smashing Magazine and its readers. The icons… read more

Makeup Artists – Why you Need One and How to get One for Free

admin — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 20:26:22 +0000

There is a debate about whether a makeup artist is a necessity or frivolity at a photo shoot. I know you can do amazing things with Photoshop, but c’mon people – no makeup artist?! Has the world gone insane? As a former professional makeup artist, I will tell you exactlywhy you… read more

50 Excellent Wordpress Themes For Starting an Online Magazine

admin — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 18:30:47 +0000

50 Excellent Wordpress Themes For Starting an Online Magazine

Macworld 2010: TypeDNA

admin — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Wired Magazine for iPad Will Launch By Summer

admin — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 23:51:25 +0000

Wired Magazine Editor-in-Chief Chris Anderson showed off the iPad edition of Wired at the TED conference yesterday. He says it will be available by the summer; the iPad itself is expected to launch in late March.

Back in November, Wired publisher Condé Naste announced that it would be working on an… read more

How the Fashion Industry is Embracing Social Media

admin — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 18:11:40 +0000

Hitha Prabhakar is a retail industry expert and principal of The Style File Group, a retail consulting firm based in New York City. She has also written about fashion for Forbes.com, Time magazine, People magazine, People.com, ELLE India, Metro Newspapers, and is a contributor on CNBC. Follow her on Twitter… read more

The Definitive Guide To Styling Web Links

admin — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 12:48:09 +0000

Hyperlinks (or links) connect Web pages. They are what make the Web work, enabling us to travel from one page to the next at the click of a button. As Web Standardistas put it, “without hypertext links the Web wouldn’t be the Web, it would simply be a collection of… read more

Friday Poll: TED Attendees Talk Top Technology Trends

admin — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 01:58:02 +0000

As you may know, each Friday we do an informal poll to find out what Mashable readers think of a particular topic du jour. This week, since we’re at TED with some of the best and brightest minds working hard to change the world, we thought we should take the… read more

Clicky: Free For Life Giveaway Winners

admin — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 16:00:35 +0000

We recently reviewed real-time analytics provider, Clicky; which had a very positive review and is quite an exciting service. Last week we announced the giveaway of three, free for life, Clicky Pro accounts. Read on to see who the winners are or if you were one of them.

Clicky?

Clicky is a… read more

Successful Strategies For Selling Ad Space On Low-Traffic Websites

admin — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 10:27:13 +0000

Upon first thinking about it, the idea of selling advertising on a website or blog with limited traffic seems a bit daft. After all, aren’t most advertisers interested in putting their product in front of the highest number of eyeballs possible? Approaching them with piddly visitor numbers seems like a… read more

Awesome Illustrations by Alex Dukal

admin — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 05:26:37 +0000

Alex Dukal is a graphic designer and illustrator based in Buenos Aieres, Argentina. He has done works for popular magazines in Argentina such as Fierro, Lápiz Japonés and others. Also he has contributed with his illustrations to some childeren’s books, which it’s his currently job.

In 2000 Alex traveled to… read more

The Life, Times (and Death?) of Internet Explorer 6 (Comic Strip)

admin — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 21:39:04 +0000

In recent years Internet Explorer 6 has become the browser web designers love to hate. Security issues, JavaScript errors and inexplicable CSS rendering quirks have made it the brunt of many jokes. With IE6 in its twilight and big companies like Google dropping support, it seems like a good time… read more

Macworld 2010: David Pogue hosts the keynote

admin — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 20:00:00 +0000

After a few jokes about how Macworld could now say anything they wanted to about Apple behind its back (digs at the hockey puck and AT&T service got cheers from the crowd), Pogue dived into a song parody with a backup band that included Paul Kent and a few other… read more

How to Geo-Tag your Photographs with Google Maps

admin — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 19:01:12 +0000

A Guest post from Lisa Newton by Lisa Newton Travelin’ Local

My business website is a hyper-local niche online lifestyle magazine, Travelin’ Local, where I features countless walking and bike riding maps, including a judicious quantity of photos to accompany my stories for the area that we specialize in, which includes… read more

50 Beautifully Crafted Corporate Ecommerce Web Designs

admin — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 13:18:36 +0000

Imagine a representative from a huge corporate company walking into your office and he drops on your lap a proposal for there new website, you read through the huge document and then you ask: “What is your proposed budget for this project?” – He gives you the answer, and… WOW!!!

The… read more

Better User Experience With Storytelling, Part 2

admin — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 12:37:14 +0000

In the first part of this Better User Experience With Storytelling series, we explored some of the basic structures and story patterns found in myths and religions. We saw how these patterns continued into modern stories such as The Matrix and Star Wars. We also explored some of the basics… read more

InDesign Front and Back Pages Face to Face

admin — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 21:04:13 +0000

Jeff Witchel explains a work around for situations where the front and back page of your document need to bleed across into one another.

This video requires Adobe Flash Player.

14 Fantastic Free WordPress Themes

admin — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 18:01:56 +0000

This series is supported by Rackspace, the better way to do hosting. Learn more about Rackspace’s hosting solutions here.

Whether you’re a web developer whose clients need a great look and feel for their blogs, or just someone eager to bring a fresh new look to your own web site, there… read more

Detroit Red Wings Make Game Programs Interactive With QR Codes

admin — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 15:05:02 +0000

The Detroit Red Wings are a socially savvy bunch. The NHL team recently started including QR codes in their in-arena distributed Red Wings Today program, and the effort is proving to be a big hit with fans in attendance.

After seeing Esquire’s use of augmented reality, the team decided to get… read more

Typography Mania #15

admin — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 15:04:20 +0000

Typography Mania is a weekly post series that comes around every Wednesday with the best of Typography work on the web, from videos to images everything is full of great design and inspiration. Check out this weeks Mania and comeback in 7 days for more.

Make sure to click on each… read more

Developing Sites With AJAX: Design Challenges and Common Issues

admin — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 14:59:14 +0000

Almost every movie has a scene in which a character pull the protagonist aside and says, “There’s something you should know about [insert another character's name here].” Most of the time, we find out some dark secret about a supposed friend of the protagonist or that the main ally is… read more

What’s your Bag? [A Quest for the Perfect Woman's Camera Bag]

admin — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 14:37:35 +0000

In this post Lisa Newton from Travelin’ Local shares a little of her quest for the perfect woman’s camera bag.

Many women want the option to have a camera bag that looks as great as it functions, so it can be part of our wardrobe. I’m certain that I’m not alone… read more

Design Evolution of 40 Famous Corporate Company Logos

admin — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 12:30:40 +0000

Do you know the reason why there is small cut in the Apple logo? Or did you ever wonder what the Microsoft logo looked 20 years back? Or perhaps you may have wondered the actual meaning behind BMWs logo? This article showcases 40 famous company logos and describes how each… read more

Photoshop Keyboard Shortcuts Cheat Sheet (PDF)

admin — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 09:40:09 +0000

Over the last months we released a variety of icon sets, tools and templates, but now we would like to release something a bit different for a change. In this post we are glad to release Photoshop Keyboard Shortcuts, a PDF-file with a handy overview of most useful keyboard shortcuts… read more

Interview: Pixmac

admin — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 07:13:01 +0000

Pixmac is a (great) growing fast microstock agency with more than 10.000.000 stock photos (that cover images from Fotolia and Dreamstime).
Few weeks ago i talked with Martin Vl?ko, their e-Marketing specialist and i decided to interview him about the secrets behind Pixmac.

Enjoy this interview ;)

First of all…. read more

Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Issue Delivers Video from Page to Phone

admin — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 22:08:24 +0000

Bummed because you don’t have the time to salivate in front of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition Ustream? Well, now you can get plenty of SI content sent directly to your cell: All you need is a physical issue of the mag and a camera phone.

Once you pick up… read more

Extensis Universal Type Server 2.1

admin — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:14:19 +0000

FONT MANAGEMENT GETS BETTER, STRONGER, AND FASTER

A year ago this past June, Extensis released version 1 of Universal Type Server (UTS)—and now version 2 is hot on its heels with some nice new features that are going to be of special interest to larger companies with many users. While… read more

9 Odd But Awesome Tumblr Blogs

admin — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:21:27 +0000

In honor of the grueling work days in the immediate future and Tom Selleck’s glorious ’stache, we thought it prudent to offer up a list of single-serving Tumblr blogs that are sure to provide you with a much-needed helping of entertainment.

This list is far from comprehensive, seeing as how… read more

Applying Mathematics To Web Design

admin — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:52:02 +0000

“Mathematics is beautiful.” This may sound absurd to people who wince at numbers and equations. But some of the most beautiful things in nature and our universe exhibit mathematical properties, from the smallest seashell to the biggest whirlpool galaxies. In fact, one of the greatest ancient philosophers, Aristotle, said: “The… read more

100+ Resources for WordPress Theme Developers

admin — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:25:01 +0000

One of the great things about working with WordPress and developing your own themes is the community and all of the resources that are available. If you’re not sure how to do something or looking to see what solutions other theme designers and developers are using, you… read more

iPad in the family: What it’ll take

admin — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:00:00 +0000

Color Theory for Designer, Part 3: Creating Your Own Color Palettes

admin — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 11:58:56 +0000

In the previous two parts of this series on color theory, we talked mostly about the meanings behind colors and color terminology. While this information is important, I’m sure a lot of people were wondering when we were going to get into the nitty-gritty of actually creating some color schemes.

Well,… read more

How to Drastically Improve Your Designs

admin — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 07:35:52 +0000

Design is everywhere. We see it in on billboards as we drive down the street. When we go to a restaurant and look at the menus, we see it. When we sit down on our couch and watch television, it’s visible on the commercials, advertisements, and even the movies and… read more

SimpleFolio: A Free Clean Portfolio WordPress Theme

admin — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 16:35:45 +0000

Today we are glad to release a beautiful, simple and clean portfolio WordPress theme — SimpleFolio, designed by Omar E. Corrales and released for Smashing Magazine and its readers. SimpleFolio is a portfolio theme that includes a blog and a very extensive option page, that allows you to exclude all… read more

The Internet Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

admin — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 21:42:10 +0000

The Internet has made the list of nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize this year, going up against a Chinese dissident and a Russian human rights activist among others.

The nomination was made after a petition by the Italian version of Wired Magazine, which cited the Internet’s contributions to “dialogue, debate… read more

Beautiful Motion Graphics Created With Programming: Showcase, Tools and Tutorials

admin — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 13:50:11 +0000

When you hear the word “creative”, what type of profession comes to mind? Maybe a graphic designer, painter, sculptor, illustrator, or writer? It’s unlikely that you would consider a “programmer” when thinking of creative fields of work. But programmers have the potential to be creative and come up with ideas… read more

Flying Magazine blogger wants an iPad in the cockpit

admin — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000

The iPhone has become a pilot’s toolkit since the App Store opened, with apps like Flight Plan – Pilot’s Toolbox [iTunes Link] and CoPilot – Flight Planning [iTunes Link] making it into the cockpit for private and commercial pilots alike.

Goyer loves the idea that the iPad will… read more

Vanity Fair releases Oscar predictions app

admin — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:00:00 +0000

Film fans everywhere will be sitting before their TVs on March 7th to catch the Academy Awards. Now, as with so many other things, there’s an app for that.

Vanity Fair Magazine has produced the free Oscars app called Vanity Fair Hollywood. Users can submit their predictions for winners,… read more

Blinksale Winners and a New Giveaway From Clicky

admin — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:30:18 +0000

It’s that time again and along with announcing the winners of our Blinksale Triple Account Giveaway, we have even more to give away today. If you missed our review of Blinksale, Easy Invoices with Blinksale, make sure to give that a read as well.

Read on to see if you are… read more

50 Free UI and Web Design Wireframing Kits, Resources and Source Files

admin — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:04:20 +0000

Planning and communication are two key elements in the development of any successful website or application. And that is exactly what the wireframing process offers: a quick and simple method to plan the layout and a cost-effective, time-saving tool to easily communicate your ideas to others. A wireframe typically has… read more

Real-Time Web Analytics with Clicky

admin — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:00:27 +0000

One of the most popular web analytics apps available right now is Google Analytics. While it has a powerful collection of features and capabilities, one of the features I wish it had most is live tracking. While I do care what happened yesterday, last week and during the month; I… read more

Free Grass Textured Social Bookmarking Icon Set

admin — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:24:10 +0000

The Grass Textured Social Icon Set has been created by Richie Thimmaiah, from RichWorks exclusively for Speckyboy Design Magazine readers and are free to use for both your personal and commercial projects but may not be modified, sold or redistributed.
The icons are packaged with 3 different sizes to suit… read more

The Art And Science Of The Email Signature

admin — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 14:33:11 +0000

Email signatures are so easy to do well, that it’s really a shame how often they’re done poorly. Many people want their signature to reflect their personality, provide pertinent information and more, but they can easily go overboard. Why are email signatures important? They may be boring and the last item on… read more

Interview with Ryan Putnam of Rype Arts

admin — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 22:58:11 +0000

Ryan Putnam is an amazingly talented designer and illustrator. Many of you are probably familiar with his popular Illustrator tutorials at Vectortuts and his own blog, Vectips. Ryan also provides services to clients through Rype Arts, and I recently had the opportunity to ask him some questions about design and… read more

How to Grow as a Web Designer

admin — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 17:40:01 +0000

The field of web design is constantly changing and growing.

Getting in a rut is often the result of not staying up to date with the latest trends and technologies in the industry. Even if we do stay up to date, many of us at one time or another… read more

11 Outstanding Online Resources for Web Developers

admin — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 17:36:17 +0000

This series is supported by Rackspace, the better way to do hosting. Learn more about Rackspace’s hosting solutions here.

If you’re a web developer, you’re almost certainly constantly looking for ways to improve your skills, expand your technology arsenal, and keep on top of the latest trends in development and design…. read more

Don’t Touch That Dial — Lessons Web Designers Can Learn From Television Broadcasts

admin — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 13:01:42 +0000

Each year, the battle for television ratings begins. Networks unveil their latest creations, jockeying for position in the ratings race, doing everything and anything within their means to gain and keep as many viewers as possible. Months, sometimes years of planning, preparation, marketing, shooting, and editing are laid bare on… read more

Why 4:3?

admin — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 22:30:00 +0000

Of course, taste plays a factor in there — I prefer to browse the Internet on a widescreen monitor, actually, and I think games, which I’ll be playing a lot of on my iPad when I eventually get one, tend to work better with a wider field of view. And… read more

5 Social Media Tips for Better Corporate Social Responsibility

admin — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 17:05:14 +0000

Ann Charles is Founder and CEO of BRANDfog, an NYC-based company offering Social Media Branding and Corporate Social Responsibility Strategies for C-Suite Executives.

In December, I read a story about social scientists who believe that humans have evolved to become more compassionate and collaborative in our quest to survive. This was… read more

Color Theory For Designers, Part 2: Understanding Concepts And Terminology

admin — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 13:51:18 +0000

If you’re going to use color effectively in your designs, you’ll need to know some color concepts and color theory terminology. A thorough working knowledge of concepts like chroma, value and saturation is key to creating your own awesome color schemes. In Part 1: The Meaning of Color of our… read more

Vector Valentines Inspiration, Filled with Love, and Warm Hearts

admin — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 13:19:10 +0000

Grab some vector Valentines inspiration to fill your winter days with a warmth and heart felt happiness. Rejoice in each moment of snow, frost, every breath of wind, the stars in the sky, and a lovers hand. Feast on this massive overload of lovely illustrations. Get inspired to create for… read more

Interview with Allrounder Alex Cornell

admin — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 05:10:02 +0000

Alex Cornell is a San Francisco based, musician, designer & blogger for the famous design blog ISO50. He has a very clean and simple, but powerful, style which often reminds me of posters from the 80’s. In this interview he will tell us a lot about how he became a… read more

The Informer Volume 1

admin — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 22:26:39 +0000

Design Informer is 3 Months Old
Incredible Growth in Just a Few Months

I have been an avid follower of blogs such as Smashing Magazine and Web Designer Depot for a long time. A little over 3 months ago, I decided that it was time that I also gave back to the… read more

20 Years of Adobe Photoshop

admin — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 17:58:03 +0000

Photoshop has been a part of every web designer’s life since they picked up their first mouse.

On February 10th, 2010, Photoshop turns twenty. To mark this anniversary, we’ve come up with an article that takes you through the evolution of Photoshop from its modest beginnings as a… read more

Creative Bookmarks: Best of January 2010

admin — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 14:00:51 +0000

Happy belated new year Creative Bookmarkers! We’re well on our way into twenty-ten, and have a handful of outstanding resources to share from January.

Quick Nav:

Photoshop TutorialsIllustrator TutorialsWeb/Blogging TutorialsFreebies, Inspiration, & ResourcesPhotoshop TutorialsCreate a Clean Blue Portfolio Design in Photoshop

There are a couple of nice photoshop layout tutorials from around the… read more

Microsoft’s Tag Links the Physical World To the Internet

admin — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 13:47:23 +0000

Paper publications have a problem: they want to link to the Internet, but in order to reach the destination, reader must type the link into his browser manually, which is slow and awkward.

Microsoft now offers a solution, called Tag. It’s essentially a barcode – an optical machine-readable representation of data… read more

An Explosion of Adobe Fireworks Resources

admin — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 13:37:12 +0000

An often overlooked member of the Adobe Creative Suite is Adobe Fireworks. This application software can be used to create vectors, design application interfaces, digital artwork, and create rapid prototypes of websites. Adobe Fireworks can also generate PDF’s, export CSS based layouts, and a variety of other features. However,… read more

50 Brilliant CSS3/JavaScript Coding Techniques

admin — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 13:26:37 +0000

CSS3 is coming. Although the browser support of CSS 3 is still very limited, many designers across the globe experiment with new powerful features of the language, using graceful degradation for users with older browsers and using the new possibilites of CSS3 for users with modern browsers. That’s a reasonable… read more

Where’s the iMag store?

admin — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 13:00:00 +0000

You know, at first I wasn’t so impressed with the iPad, but the more I thought about the ways in which you can use it, the more excited I got. As a piece of leisure technology – something you just have laying around your living room like a newspaper -… read more

iPad’s multifunction appeal and sub-$500 price point a formula for disruptive technology

admin — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 12:00:00 +0000

25 UI Inspiration and Design Pattern Resources

admin — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 10:42:13 +0000

Are your fresh design ideas no longer fresh or are you a designer who continually re-uses the same old and trusted design patterns that have followed you for many a year? Or, you might just be a UI designer that is stuck in a rut? If you are looking to… read more

Desktop Wallpaper Calendar: February 2010

admin — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 15:46:37 +0000

All about EPUB, the ebook standard for Apple’s iBookstore

admin — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 13:00:00 +0000

EPUB is the same format used by the popular Stanza [free, iTunes link] app for iPhone and iPod touch. It’s a free and open standard format created by the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF), and it’s designed for reflowable content that can be optimized to whatever device is being used… read more

5 Simple Tips for Improving Designer-Client Relationships

admin — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 14:10:29 +0000

By Aaron Griffith

Good business relationships rarely just happen. While a smitten designer and their starry-eyed client may start out well with a "honeymoon" of a successful initial project launch, things can get rocky fast. The once-anticipated phone calls requesting new designs that used to be welcomed are now dreaded, and… read more

Better User Experience Using Storytelling – Part One

admin — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 14:08:46 +0000

Stories have defined our world. They have been with us since the dawn of communication, from cave walls to the tall tales recounted around fires. They have continued to evolve with their purpose remaining the same; To entertain, to share common experiences, to teach, and to pass on traditions.

Today we… read more

Sites of the Week #87

admin — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 09:45:01 +0000

For this Sites of the Week we have selected some great sites such as the Tapmates and Design Instruct. Also we’re featuring the amazing Chirp Conference by Carsonified, and much, much more! As usual we would love to hear from you, keep sending your suggestions to us and we will… read more

Your Creative Drive

admin — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 09:03:40 +0000

As graphic designers we are asked day in and day out to be creative, be original, and be knowledgeable. Our ideas can go anywhere from impressing a few fellow classmates to greatly increasing the revenue of a local/national establishment. Yet, how… read more

So, When Do You Plan To Use the iPad?

admin — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:41:04 +0000

Yes, I know that iPad analysis abounds in abnormal amounts right now. But still, now that it’s out, now that we know what it can and cannot do, one cannot help but think about its future. Is it going to be a hit? Is it going to be a failure?… read more

Incredible Pencil and Watercolor Drawings by Esra Roise

admin — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 14:25:06 +0000

I’ve always been crazy about the careful combination of watercolor and pencil so you can only imagine my excitement when I came across Esra Roise. I can’t get over how perfectly she uses light and shadow to fully model her figures. Her depiction of hair is exquisite, all while maintaining… read more

Get Smashed: The Smashing Book Review

admin — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 12:30:53 +0000

When I first heard that the Smashing Magazine was putting together a book, I naturally wondered what it could possibly contain. Pages filled with 100 Outstanding Websites that are Yellow? 50 Really Cool Wine Websites?

Perhaps they were putting together an inspiration picture book?

For those that have been following Smashing Magazine… read more

Color Theory for Designers, Part 1: The Meaning of Color

admin — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 10:37:42 +0000

Color in design is very subjective. What evokes one reaction in one person may evoke a very different reaction in somone else. Sometimes this is due to personal preference, and other times due to cultural background. Color theory is a science in itself. Studying how colors affect different people, either… read more

What We Learned About Apple Yesterday

admin — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 09:25:16 +0000

When I woke up today, it took me about half an hour to get up to speed with the iPad (I’m in Croatia, so the bulk of the news came in overnight for me). After I’ve read a couple of articles, I already knew everything there was to know about… read more

4 Reasons the Kindle is Dead, 4 Reasons It’s Not

admin — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 22:44:45 +0000

“Uh-oh,” is the reaction we can imagine Amazon founder Jeff Bezos had when watching today’s unveiling of the eagerly awaited Apple iPad tablet. The new Apple device looks, at least upon first glance, like it will completely eat Amazon’s lunch. In fact, Steve Jobs even eulogized the Kindle… read more

Layers TV: Episode 122

admin — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:19:59 +0000

Corey has a How-To Hollywood effect tutorial. This time, Corey breaks down a stage curtain effect using Photoshop filters, blend modes and a gradient. RC compares InDesign paragraph styles with CSS stylesheets in Dreamweaver.

You can download each episode by subscribing to the podcast on iTunes.

Thank you… read more

Plugin’ in to the Creative Suite

admin — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 19:38:47 +0000

Since the beginning of time (or at least since the beginning of Adobe Systems Incorporated), photographers and designers have always wanted their applications to do more with less. Thus, the demand for plug-ins was created. Developers identify a need, create a solution, and then through the power of marketing, convince… read more

One path to magazines on the iPhone: Pixel Mags

admin — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 15:27:00 +0000

While publishers have delivered lots of custom single-title apps so far, not many of those apps provide the full printed content of the magazine in the original visual context, ads and all. If you want to see an interesting take on the possibilities for high-fidelity magazines on the iPhone today,… read more

Typography Mania #13

admin — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 14:46:46 +0000

Make sure to click on each… read more

play that beat.

admin — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 13:32:45 +0000

‘play that beat’

Hand drawn typography, vectored in illustrator and processed in photoshop.

www.samaustindesign.co.uk

The Smashing Book: Already Got Yours?

admin — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 11:42:14 +0000

Have you gotten your copy of The Smashing Book yet? If not, it may still be worth spending $29.90 for this printed book. The book shares technical tips and best practices on typography, usability, UI design, marketing and color usage. It contains interviews with high profile designers and developers. And… read more

How To Easily Edit PDFs using PDFpen

admin — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 10:50:41 +0000

PDFs are in part designed so that they cannot be edited. However, often you may need to change or correct something in a PDF document. PDFpen from SmileOnMyMac is a wonderful tool that lets you do just that.

Though important, the ability to edit text is only a small… read more

TUAW predicts tomorrow’s event

admin — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 03:00:00 +0000

Sang Tang

9.6 inch LED-backlit display
Wireless HDMI support (to output to TV)
Front facing camera

Erica Sadun

Tomorrow, we expect to see Apple finally launch the long awaited tablet. It will likely feature a 10.5-inch diagonal capacitive touch display and look and function much like a… read more

Fantastic Sci-Fi and Fantasy Movie Poster Inspiration, 1925 to 2010

admin — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 14:35:05 +0000

Science Fiction posters are quite often the most interesting – it gives designers great opportunities to experiment with things they don’t usually experiment with on a day-to-day basis, such as futuristic lighting and unusual compositions. This post showcases ninety-nine sci-fi movie posters in total, starting with The Lost World from… read more

Showcase Of Web Design In Germany

admin — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 12:36:49 +0000

Germany, which is situated in the heart of Europe and neighbors nine other countries, is not only the motherland of eminent philosophers, poets, composers, world-famous automobiles and great beer, but also a place where some of the most talented and highly ranked Web designers live.

German design is certainly worthy of… read more

20 Indispensable Browser Based Apps

admin — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 07:30:18 +0000

There’s nothing better than a good browser based app. Browser based apps require no downloading and no installation, so you can start using them whenever and wherever you like. What’s more, each one of these apps is accessible from any computer in the world, provided that it’s connected to the… read more

Design Makeover: Dental Clinic for Pets

admin — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 20:32:26 +0000

Client:
All Pets Dental Clinic www.dentalvet.com

The brochure has to convince the prospective client that All Pets offers great medicine and phenomenal customer service.

The All Pets Dental Clinic was founded about ten years ag ao by Dr. Jan Bellows, one of only about a hundred board-certified veterinary dentists in the… read more

The New Hotness: Using CSS3 Visual Effects

admin — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 13:48:16 +0000

Previously in this series on CSS3, we talked not only about how to create scalable and compelling buttons but about how to effectively use new CSS3 properties to speed up development and quickly create rich page elements. In this final article of the series, we’ll really get into it and… read more

Don’t Forget The Small Stuff This Year

admin — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 13:41:43 +0000

Whether a designer, developer, blogger, or freelancer, you surely have a to-do list on which certain items slowly inch their way down. These forgotten items add up fast! Think of all the items that you’ve discarded from your to-do list to save time. Even more frightening, what items might you… read more

Found Footage: Steve Ballmer signs student’s Mac

admin — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 19:30:00 +0000

Earlier this week, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer gave the keynote address to the Nashville Technology Council, which was held at Trevecca Nazarene University (TNU) in Nashville, TN. Steve, who is on a multi-city tour to promote Microsoft, joined other prominent technology professionals like Abbie Lundberg, editor-in-chief of CIO Magazine. read more

35 Beautiful and Effective E-Commerce Websites

admin — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:56:09 +0000

Despite any financial recession and economic stress, online purchasing continues to grow. Expansion of the market and evolving technology that simplifies our daily lives help to set the pace of e-commerce design. Customers want the shopping process to be quick and easy, and merchants want to increase sales by making… read more

Amazon reacts to not yet here Apple tablet with SDK for Kindle

admin — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 22:00:00 +0000

Content could be interactive books and magazines, cookbooks, travel planners that incorporate real time weather. Zagat, Electronics Arts and others say they are on board. Games like Chess and Othello would be a good fit. The possibilities are endless, just as they are on any computer platform or smartphone. What’s… read more

Layers TV: Episode 121

admin — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 20:37:53 +0000

RC has some tips to use with the Wacom tablet when designing in Photoshop. Adobe Design Evangelist Terry White joins the podcast via Adobe Connect and demonstrates how to prepare a video podcast using Premiere Pro CS4.

You can download each episode by subscribing to the podcast on iTunes.

Two-Color Printing with InDesign CS4

admin — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 20:27:13 +0000

With the cost-cutting mindset in today’s economy, many artists are being asked to do the best they can with two-color printing instead of four. This tutorial discusses the ins and outs of creating mixed ink swatches in InDesign—a feature that makes two colors look like so much more.

1 SET… read more

Find The Right JavaScript Solution With A 7-Step Test

admin — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 14:19:24 +0000

As Web developers and designers, we are spoilt for choice right now. To build a complex Web application or even just spice up a website with some highly interactive interface element, we have hundreds of pre-built solutions to choose from. Every library comes with widgets and solutions, and every developer… read more

Beautiful Photos by Pawel Fabjanski – The Factory

admin — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 11:36:55 +0000

We have already featured Pawel Fabjanski here on Abduzeedo. He is Poland based advertising and editorial photographer, it’s fantastic the way he takes an urban style into most of his work and merge it into awesome fashion photos. For this post we will show you some photos from his exhibition… read more

Be Interactive

admin — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 20:26:50 +0000

The Internet has been a heavily interactive medium since its inception. The terms, browsing and surfing, both used to describe people’s interaction with websites are two words that definitely imply a lot of interactivity. Traditional forms of Web interactivity include such things as clicking, dragging, and of course, typing. With… read more

CNN Gets Indie With Vice and Sub Pop Partnerships [VIDEO]

admin — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 16:52:05 +0000

Last night in Brooklyn’s consummate hipster ‘hood of Williamsburg, CNN.com announced partnerships with two rather odd (yet entirely awesome) bedfellows: Vice’s VBS.TV and Sub Pop Records. This media marriage will result in two new web-exclusive video series, “VBS.TV on CNN.com” and “Indie Asia: On Tour with Handsome Furs.”

Although… read more

Mastering Photoshop: Unknown Tricks and Time-Savers

admin — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 15:09:32 +0000

We all have shortcuts that are essential to our daily workflow. A majority of them are staples such as Copy (Command + C) and Paste (Command + V), but occasionally we stumble upon a shortcut we wish we’d learned years ago. Suddenly, this simple shortcut has streamlined our process and… read more

Anticipating Apple Tablet, Amazon Bumps Kindle Royalty Cut

admin — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 13:45:48 +0000

Amazon has announced a new program for its Kindle Digital Text Platform (DTP) which will let publishers earn a larger share of revenue for Kindle books they sell. Publishers enlisting with the new program will receive 70 percent of list price (net of delivery costs).

It could be that Amazon’s timing… read more

35 Truly Dramatic Examples of Animal Photography

admin — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 12:59:10 +0000

Sometimes we take wildlife pictures that we see in books and magazines for granted; seldom does it give you the impressions that they were taken easily. The truth is, photographing animals (especially in wildlife) is very involved, such a moment could only be told through some timely amazing shots. For… read more

Inspiration: 25 beautiful college websites

admin — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 20:10:47 +0000

University of Notre Dame

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

AddRan College of Liberal Arts

CEMP, Bournemouth University

The University of Chicago

The Ohio State University

Biola University

Rice University

The University of Texas – Office of communications

The College of William & Mary

Washtenaw Community College

Maryland Institute College of Arte

University of Virginia

Limkokwing University

Kaplan University

Bostonia: Alumni Magazine of Boston… read more

99 Brilliant Examples of Infrared Photography

admin — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 18:33:01 +0000

In Infrared Photography, the film or image sensor used is sensitive to infrared light. The part of the spectrum used is referred to as near-infrared to distinguish it from far-infrared, which is the domain of thermal imaging. Wavelengths used for photography range from about 700 nm to about 900 nm…. read more

Design And Build Email Newsletters Without Losing Your Mind (and Soul)

admin — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 12:34:33 +0000

“We really love this new website you’ve built! Now we’d like to send out an email to all of our customers, friends and anyone, and it should look exactly like the website except with a spinning mailbox at the bottom, and have my photo, and my cat’s photo…” Ever had… read more

Newspaper Designs

admin — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 11:00:56 +0000

As this is one of my first posts on Abduzeedo I decided to write a quite unconventional one. I’m a regular reader of Abduzeedo since about a half year – I’ll never regret – but articles about printed mediums are pretty rare on Abduzeedo. So, in this post I’ll show… read more

Powering Your Website With Social Media

admin — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 23:17:53 +0000

Social Media is “media designed to be disseminated through social interaction, created using highly accessible and scalable publishing techniques” (Wikipedia), and if that doesn’t make sense I don’t blame you.

Basically everyone these days is interacting through online groups on Facebook, real-time feeds on Twitter, real-time searching with One-Riot and… read more

25 New High Quality Free Fonts

admin — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 09:11:56 +0000

Every now and again we take a look around, select “fresh” high-quality free fonts and present them to you in a brief overview. The choice is enormous, so the time you need to find them is usually the time you should be investing in your current projects. We search for… read more

Weekend app reviews roundup: Turner Classic Movies, Emoti, Dragon goes north

admin — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 23:15:00 +0000

For all the movie buffs out there, here's TCM on your iPhone

The iPhone has been good for movie fans. There is the free IMBD, plus the Empire Magazine collection of reviews at $4.99, plus scads of apps that will… read more

New York Times Website May Charge: Will You Pay? [POLL]

admin — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 21:46:10 +0000

The New York Times is likely to announce a metered payment model for its website within weeks, according to a widely cited report from New York Magazine. If the report is correct, readers would be able to view a few pages before being prompted to subscribe.

The motivation is clear:… read more

18 Online Productivity Tools for Your Business

admin — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 19:09:25 +0000

This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business.

Small business owners may have more of a need than most to be able to access their chosen suite of productivity tools from more than one computer… read more

The Legacy Of Polish Poster Design

admin — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 09:41:10 +0000

Before the era of globalized entertainment made movie posters look the same in every country, Polish artists were creating their own versions for the internal market. What resulted was a whole school of artists trained in the art of the poster. This article presents a short historical look at how… read more

Interview with Chris Leavens

admin — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 14:13:37 +0000

Chris Leavens is a talented vector artist born and raised in Pennsylvania who now resides in Los Angeles. He graduated with a BA in film and video and initially worked in the film industry. Later Chris decided to take a break from the film biz and began working as an… read more

Best of the Week #102

admin — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 12:25:38 +0000

10 Foursquare Apps You Can Use Right Now

admin — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 21:30:35 +0000

The opening of Twitter’s API transformed the service from an interesting web site into the communications plumbing that serves homepages, newsrooms, and smartphones all over the world.

With the release of its own API, Foursquare is banking that it can do the same. Developers are now able to tap into… read more