Top Design Magazine

24 Inspiring Examples Of Vector Art

Alexandru — Sat, 18 May 2013 11:00:29 +0000

Unlike raster-based images, vector images are infinitely scalable. From the photo-realistic to the abstract, vector art is as varied as any other medium of expression. In this post you will find 24 exampels of vector illustrations that communicates a story to its viewers through creatively artistic means.

How To Make Your Usability Test An Engaging Experience

Bogdan — Fri, 17 May 2013 07:59:18 +0000

In my first usability test, I met a dear old woman who didn’t know how uses a mouse. She lifted it up and pointed it at the screen, encouraging the cursor in verbal tones! At the test’s conclusion I got completely nothing. But I quickly learned the importance of laying down very exact criteria for recruitment of participants.

If you have run such a usability test in the past, you know how tough it is to conduct. It may not be rocket science, but there are certain difficulties involved which make a huge difference. I will share some lessons that I learned, in this article, which ought to help you prevent your usability test from becoming an exasperating experience for both you and your test participant.

Learning through one’s mistakes they say is the finest way to realize things. But all of us don’t get that opportunity. I will discuss some guidelines that I learned in my career path which ought to assist you in quickly improving your usability testing talents and so avoid the occupational hazards.

Ask Specific Questions About Design Usability In Your Test Script

When you begin another test of usability, don’t suppose that all you require is to select the key website areas and ask users to finish those tasks. You could discover some helpful insights by using this technique. But it shouldn’t surprise you that when you present your findings to the project stakeholders you have to face a barrage of questions for which you have no answers.

In Short…

Talk to the folks you have to report to; ask them what are the key questions they have to research for answers. If you have a host of questions, line them up in priority before you work your way forward and answer them in the best way possible. If the questions are vague or if you are not sure why they have been asked, get some clarification. More you comprehend why the questions are being asked, the better prepared you will be in answering them.

Make Participants Behave Naturally

When participants appear for a test, they’re generally unsure about what to anticipate. They’re likely to be nervous as if a camera was poking into their faces and someone was looking searchingly at them. Don’t be amazed if they seek guidance at the start. If you exert too much control at the beginning, you’ll give them the feeling that they have to get your permission before doing anything.

In Short…

Persuade users to act naturally by starting the test with an expansive task that allows them to explore in any way they would like to. I normally make use of previously prepared test queries to reveal an actual hassle they face in the perspective of the test and then I allow them to answer in as natural a way as possible. I was once testing an online realty website. Thus, in the first assignment, I asked them to hunt for a residence in the place where they would like to purchase — with a fixed budget. This helped us to get a true scrutiny of how they use the website and also set the context for upcoming test tasks.

Give Users Freedom To Do The Task Their Way

In days gone by I used to give a task and when users began to go off the track I’d pull them in and tell them to make another attempt. I was very controlling and was at times losing my relationship with the participants.

In Short…

Always give your users room to roam freely about the website and even go off the track a bit before you haul them back to the task’s purpose. You could feel that you’re losing power or that the user has not understood the job. But resist the temptation for some time for it could be enthralling to watch where and why they go to.

Relax, Keep Quiet And Watch What Happens

It’s easy to be strict and only see what you require your users to do. When they produce unexpected, interesting things, it is very useful if you ask them what’s in their minds. But this must be done early and often or you will fail to correctly observe natural behavior.

In Short…

Don’t interrupt the flow of your participant’s thought processes. The more you butt in, the more likely they will lose the confidence to finish tasks without help. If you keep on ask them questions frequently, they will lose the flow and you will not see their natural behavior.

Prepare The Participants’ Tasks Openly

When you attempt a new task, you would like to have control of the variables and shut down the unfamiliar. Experience will teach you to let go of domination as you get more assured that you will be able to tackle everything that crops up.

I used to like writing out the precise scenario for a task. But I quickly learned that they do not engage in the same way when I give tasks that fit in with what they normally would do. I once asked a teenager to think that he was a mother of 3 children in order to finish a job. Not surprisingly, he stared at me in a strange manner and did not get really involved in the job, before giving it up and saying he could not find it.

In Short…

Set your users’ overall task but try to be nonspecific and then specify the situation to the participants. While this may not be possible always, there is great value in spending some time at the start of the test to learn who your participants are present and their use of the same kind of services/products. If you are able to use this scenario to form a test situation that matches the real problem they would like to resolve, you will be able to learn a lot more than a situation where a person only pretends to be in the picture.

Include Tasks On Websites of Peers/Competitors

If you spend an entire hour on one website it can bore both you as well as your participants. And boredom is not the only trouble! All your discoveries and scrutinies are based on a single, remote case. You don’t have a real awareness of the reason why that person all the time reaches out for the search box, or if he/she did it only on your website for the navigation options confused them. Looking at just one website will not give you a true picture of web usage by people.

In Short…

Make time to examine your competitor’s or peer’s websites, as a part of the test. Ask your participants at the beginning details of the websites that they are currently using; tell them to show it to you. Then introduce a competitor’s/peer’s website that they have never used. Now you will learn far more about their behavior patterns and why they selected this website and not that one. Importantly, you’ll get to know what functions well on websites other than your own, and why.

Don’t Tell Them Which Website You Plan To Test Immediately

I have erred in the past by making it clear to participants the website I was about to test. This may be difficult to evade, sometimes, but do it if it’s possible. The benefit from this action is that it becomes pretty hard for someone to be totally sincere about their website experience if he/she is working for the web company as either an employee or agent.

In Short…

It’s very beneficial to get participants test competitor’s websites and provide you sincere feedback, before going to the website that you will test. If you achieve this and not let them know which website you are going to test, you have a greater chance of getting honest feedback from them. When the test’s end is approaching this will be obvious for you would have gotten a fairly good perception of their sincere first feeling of your website.

Summing Up…

If you wish to better the technique of your usability testing, the best way is to have more tests. But, as I’ve pointed out here, you must attempt to be conscious of how you design your test tasks and how you interrelate with the participants. This can crucially affect the result of your research. If you design your test in such a way that it concentrates on essential research questions; if you are not too strict with your tasks, that’s a good starting position. Additionally, if you include rivals in the test procedure and encourage users to act naturally, you’ll get better results.

I hope you have liked this post. If you have any queries convey them by way of comments. I’ll try to answer them in the best way possible. Also, I’ll enlarge on this subject in future articles.

Author Bio:

Alan Smith is an avid tech blogger with vast experience in various IT domains, currently associated with SPINX Inc., which offers web development, internet marketing and Web Design Services in Santa Monica region. Follow Alan on Google + and Twitter.

14 Amazing Cloudscape Photos

Alexandru — Thu, 16 May 2013 11:00:47 +0000

If you’re into cloudscapes photography you sure know that a cloudy day is often the perfect time to pull out your camera. Whether they are whispy and light cirrus clouds or thick and smoky cumulus, clouds are very impressive.

Watch these amazing photos to get your inspiration .

Take The Interaction To Another Level Using Video Backgrounds In Web Design

Bogdan — Wed, 15 May 2013 12:29:58 +0000

There are so many types of websites that if you want to start creating one, you can spend days looking at them. The days when all the websites were made using a strict navigation type are long gone; now we can see some amazing designs which take the interaction to the highest level.

Sure, some of them are not so user friendly by hey…if they look good, they are good. One type of web design which recently caught my attention is the one which displays a full video on the background. This means that you are not longer greeted with a boring pseudo-wallpaper; now you can see the website in another perspective because a video clip can enhance your feelings and emotions.

If you haven’t seen any website with a video background, then you should definitively check out the showcase below.

Into The Arctic

Art Copy Code

The Art of Raw

Dromoland

Life of Pi

RCZ

Tweet Flight

Find Your Way to Oz

Engage Interactive

Iuqo

Magic City

Cacharel

My Provence

Clouds over Cuba

The Boom and The Arty

Who We Are

Media Boom

Spotify

Windward App

Matter

70 Extremely Well Made Vintage Logos

Alexandru — Tue, 14 May 2013 14:00:51 +0000

It’s time for a massive vintage logo collection. This time around we’ve sifted through thousands of great logos to find 70 that are very effective . Be sure that inspiration will come after this post. I really hope that you like this showcase because for me, a vintage logo design means a good attention to details.
Creating a retro logo requires a lot of work in order to perfectly reproduce the feeling of an aged branding. Back in the old days, designers were a lot more careful with a logo because they didn’t believed in simplicity.

Using Sharp Lines In Smartphone Interface Designs

Bogdan — Mon, 13 May 2013 07:43:42 +0000

Creating an user interface of a smartphone is extremely hard because the screen size is very limited. If you need to compress a lot of information in just a few inches then you need to make sure that the usability is not affected in any way. When you are planning an user interface of, let’s say an iPhone app you must be aware that on a touchscreen, everything is different: the users are looking for information in a different manner, the navigation is mostly from top to bottom, the focus is on images rather than text and the buttons must be extremely ergonomically.

On a smartphone display, the best user interface is the one with clear elements because this helps the information to be efficiently organized. In order to achieve a clean UI, the best approach is to use a sharp design because this will give a sense of minimalism and order. Using straight lines, 90 degrees corners and a good combination of colors means will greatly enhance the usability because it will make the user feel that he’s looking at a bigger screen.

If you combine this approach with a flat design, a good typography and a carefully designed set of buttons then you will have a happy user and probably a popular application. A good interactions on a smartphone device means details which guides the user and helps him to focus on the information displayed there. Sharp lines means a compact design and also an easier way to scroll through because it requires fewer hand gestures.

Therefore if you want to start an app design and you are looking for some examples, or you just want to see some cool interfaces then check out the gallery below. These 20 absolutely gorgeous examples with make you understand why it’s better to use the sharp line approach.

Starcount: Your Fan Charts

Nextr

Mobile Graphs

Tanto App

Tubalr Home Screen

College student task app

Jump Start

Wake Up

Restaurant App

Brokers Recommendations

Luggage E-Commerce Mobile

Speed

Nom Yourself Application

Match Stats UI

Consmr

Android App

Prismatic App

Prime App

Helllo Event Feed

Voguesta

20 Photos Of Celebrities As Teenagers

Alexandru — Sun, 12 May 2013 11:15:58 +0000

Can you tell who is in the article main photo ? Think that millions of people are using his devices. You are closer, aren’t you ? As the title says, in this post you will find 20 photos of celebrities as teenagers.

Madonna Aged 7

Ryan Seacrest Aged 13

Beyonce Aged 7

Jamie Foxx Aged 17

Eminem Aged 12

Bruce Willis Aged 22

Goldie Hawn Aged 19

Steve Jobs Aged 18

Drew Carrey Aged 22

Helen Mirren Aged 25

Charlize Theron Aged 14

Sean Connery Aged 23

Amy Winehouse Aged 8

Lady Gaga Aged 8

Angelina Jolie Aged 11

George Clooney Aged 15

Clint Eastwood Aged 26

Stephen Colbert Aged 22

Charlize Theron Aged 14

Britney Spears Aged 11

30 Top HTML5 Tutorials for All Skill Levels

Bogdan — Sat, 11 May 2013 14:07:28 +0000

HTML5 is the next evolution in website development so whether you’re a web developer or a serious game developer wanting to explore the web as a new platform, HTML5 has something for each of you.

With its collection of cutting-edge features, technologies and APIs, HTML5 allows you to create responsive, innovative, interactive, stunningly beautiful websites. Further more, you can also make complex applications that could previously only be created for desktop platforms.

So, if you want to learn or maybe improve your web design skills and make the most of the power features of HTML5 & CSS3 such as rounded corners, multi columns, amazing 3D graphics and special effects, rich audio APIs, new elements, new attributes, then we’ve got your covered.

We’ve done the hard work for your and put together a list of 30 fantastic HTML5 tutorials for those of you just getting started, coders with some experience and looking to learn more and advanced users who want the next power tips to follow. So, whether you’re just starting out or you’ve already got advanced skills but wouldn’t mind learning some new tricks, we’ve got just the perfect tutorials for you.

HTML5 Tutorials for Beginners

1. HTML5 Tutorials 4 U

Although a lot of you will be familiar with the basics, if you are new to coding Mentromob is a great place to start, offering detailed bite size chunks that newbies will love. You can even edit the code and see the resulting output.

2. Create a Drop-Down Navigation Menu with HTML5 and CSS3

Learn how to create a simple yet stylish drop-down menu that’s revealed on hover using the new HTML5 tags and the CSS3 styles.

3. Slick login form with HTML5 & CSS3

Create your own fancy and usable log in form using CSS3 and HTML5, without needing any JavaScript code whatsoever.

4. Simple and effective dropdown login box with HTML5, CSS3 and jQuery

Here’s another simple tutorial that can help you create a good looking dropdown login form using CSS3, HTML5 and a bit of jQuery.

5. How To Create a Cute Popup Bar With HTML5, CSS3 and jQuery

Follow the steps in this easy tutorial to build a bar that pops up at the top of the page. You can use it to display anything from news to your latest blog post.

6. How to create a cool and usable CSS3 search box

Learn how to create a cool and usable CSS3 search box using the HTML5 placeholder attribute.

7. Creating an Attractive Presentation with HTML5

This tutorial will teach you how to create a nice presentation using a couple of HTML5 tags such as nav, menu, section, aside, header and hgroup.

8. HTML5 Grayscale Image Hover

You’ve probably seen this effect on other sites. So, follow the steps in this tutorial to learn how to use HTML5 and jQuery to dynamically close colour images into grayscale.

9. HTML5 slideshow – canvas and jQuery

Find out how to create an elegant slideshow with transitioning effects.

10. Have a Field Day with HTML5 Forms

Learn how to style a nice looking HTML5 form using some CSS3 techniques.

HTML5 Tutorials for Intermediate Users

1. HTML5 game tutorial

Learn to make a basic 8-bit snake game in HTML5 Canvas as well as how to implement keyboard controls in games using basic jQuery.

2. Bouncing a Ball Around with HTML5 and JavaScript

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3. Coding An HTML 5 Layout From Scratch

Discover how to use “Graceful Degradation” and “Progressive Enhancement” techniques to achieve a fantastic, cross-browser HTML5 and CSS3 website.

4. Create an HTML5 Canvas Tile Swapping Puzzle

Learn how to work with the HTML5 canvas and JavaScript to create a dynamic tile swapping game. The result? A fun puzzle that works with any given image.

5. Create a Minimal Coming Soon Page using HTML5 and CSS3

Follow the steps in this tutorial to create a Coming Soon page with a minimalist style and light colours using HTML5 and CSS3.

6. Create An Elegant Website With HTML 5 And CSS3

Learn how to build a professional-looking blog or portfolio to showcase your work.

7. Create Your Portfolio Gallery Using HTML5 Canvas

Build a photo gallery and enhance it with HTML5 canvas and CSS3 transitions. If you have an image gallery on your site, you should definitely learn how to create this nice hover effect.

8. Creating a Minimal Blog Design Using HTML5, CSS3 and jQuery

These days, less is more in terms of web design. So, check out this tutorial to learn how to create a minimalistic layout for your blog using HTML5, CSS3 and jQuery.

9. How to create water Ripple effect using HTML5 canvas

Check out this tutorial to see how you can create some nice water drops when clicking on an image.

10. Rethinking Forms in HTML5

Transform how you enter, validate, process, and even display inputs. Learn how to create more usable forms with less code and less confusion.

HTML5 Tutorials for Advanced Users

1. Building a custom HTML5 video player with CSS3 and jQuery

Learn how to build your own custom HTML5 video player and packing the player as a jQuery plugin.

2. How to Make an HTML5 iPhone App

Another useful tutorial that’ll explain how to build an offline HTML5 iPhone application, more specifically a Tetris game.

3. Create a drawing app with HTML5 Canvas and JavaScript

Here’s a cool tutorial that’s going to teach you how to use the Canvas to create your own drawing app using various colours.

4. HTML5 Apps: Positioning with Geolocation

Discover the geolocation capabilities of HTML5 and the basic principles needed to take advantage of them in your next HTML5 app.

5. Fullscreen Slideshow with HTML5 Audio and jQuery

This is, by far, one of the coolest tutorials I’ve seen on the web. Learn how to create a fullscreen photo slideshow to illustrate a New York picture series. You’ll also learn how to add sounds with the HTML5 audio element in order to give life to the gallery and try to recreate the ambient of this vibrant city.

6. Create a page flip effect with HTML5 canvas

Learn how to create a very cool “Flash page flip” using HTML5′s canvas and JavaScript.

7. Toying with the HTML5 File System API

Check out this tutorial if you want to learn how to use and implement the file system API. This API allows web apps to access private local system files.

8. Creating a Mobile-First Responsive Web Design

Create an adaptive web experience that’s designed mobile-first and learn how to structure HTML in order to optimize performance and prioritize flexibility.

9. HTML’s New Template Tag

This tutorial will explain how to use the new template tag.

10. Typographic effects in Canvas

Canvas element is one of the hottest features of HTML5. With this tutorial you will learn how to create typographic effects in all its glory.

Any other useful HTML5 tutorials you’d add to this list? Go ahead and share them with us in comment below.

Article written by Rahul Mistry content creator for dedicated server providers, www.heartinternet.co.uk

The 9 Worthies Figurines Concept

Alexandru — Fri, 10 May 2013 11:00:37 +0000

Limited edition resin sculpture featuring a look composed by key pieces from the AW12 collections. Produced in a numbered series of 20, all sculpted, hand painted and signed by Salão Coboi.

The concept behind THE 9 WORTHIES revolves around the mysticism and symbology of number 9: The Nine Worthies are nine historical, or semi legendary figures who, in the Middle Ages, were believed to personify the ideals of chivalry. 9 marks the end of a stage in the spiritual development and the beginning of another, a superior stage. In such an apocalyptic scenario, Salão Coboi likes to imagine that these could be the 9 chosen ones, that represent the beginning of the superior stage.

20 Flawless Flat Icon Sets Which Works Perfectly On Any Modern Graphic Design Project

Bogdan — Thu, 09 May 2013 17:20:32 +0000

In case you haven’t heard, the flat design movement is the latest hype in the web development community. It is rumored that even Apple will use it in the next iOS iteration so you can see why many designers are trying to adapt to this new trend. I’m usually a skeptical person when it comes to extreme changes because there is a high probability that the user won’t be happy to get him out of his comfort zone.
Making a totally new design and a dramatic change in the user experience means resetting user’s learning curve.

Even if we can see some extremely interesting flat design examples in the wild, all it matters is the usability. Don’t take this design style into extreme because its minimal look can do more harm than good. Make sure that you have a good level of usability and keep your user focused on the main purpose your application. Remember that the greatest design is not the one that “scream” in the viewer’s eye but rather the one which works from the shadow. This means that every graphic element must work in a perfect harmony in order to support the functionality and to create the perfect environment for the user.

So, if you are interested in the flat design trend and you want to start playing with this concept, you need to begin by searching for graphic elements. Below you can see a collection of 20 flat icon sets which will help you create a fluent visual navigation. Also, these work perfect with some gorgeous flat design UI packs so go ahead to start creating your newest design.