Visual Swirl Design Resources

Desktop Wallpaper Calendars: February 2012

Chris Thurman — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 02:54:02 +0000

Here’s another great roundup of desktop wallpaper calendars for February 2012. I’ve collected a wide variety of styles and colors so that hopefully there’s a desktop wallpaper that’s perfect for you. If you’d like to contribute your own wallpaper calendar to be used in future roundups, please contact me. Otherwise, enjoy these free desktop wallpaper calendars for February 2012.

7 Beautiful February 2012 Desktop Wallpapers

Wallpaper by Randinordes

Wallpaper by Jolinnar

Wallpaper by Flatron751

Wallpaper by Kriegs

Wallpaper by Webgranth

Wallpaper by ibrandstudio

Wallpaper by LRS Web Solutions

25 Beautiful Examples of Illustration in Web Design

Chris Thurman — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:15:26 +0000

Examples of Illustration in Web Design can be found all over inspiration galleries and the trend towards colorfully illustrated websites has only grown with the widespread adoption of modern approaches that allow for richer images and faster-loading graphics. These illustrated designs are being used in a variety of industries, from E-commerce to mommy blogs. The techniques are being taught on sites like Vector Tuts+ and world-class illustrators are utilizing tools like Adobe Illustrator to bring sites to life. Character illustrations, full background illustrations and even animated HTML5 illustrations are popping up everywhere. I’ve gathered some of the best examples of illustration in the web design community for you to be inspired, critique, and learn from their techniques.

Showcase of Illustrated Websites

So without further adieu, let me present 25 creatively illustrated web design examples. Some are vibrant and colorful. Others are softer and simpler. All are creatively brilliant in their approach. Enjoy!

Pixelbacker

Loadup 2012

Solid Giant

iSee

OPResume

Stubble and Glasses

Mommy Blog

Festival Mundo

Occupy North Pole

Jibe Visuals

Navidad

Eric Barse

Lee Swain

Bear CSS

Games We Played

Uchitomi

Brosmind

Boo Bebe

Foundry Collective

Shady Acres

The Goodtime Gals

The Neighbourhood

Seamco

Bookish

Merrell

What’s Your Favorite Example of Illustration in Web Design?

With the vast array of illustration types presented, each site is unique and spirited. But what are your favorite techniques or examples? Use the comment section below to leave your response or feel free to add more examples!

Desktop Wallpaper Calendars: January 2012

Chris Thurman — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 13:03:08 +0000

Happy New Year! The first post of 2012 is dedicated to a roundup of desktop wallpaper calendars for January 2012. Continuing the tradition of last year, we’ll be bringing you a new roundup of fresh desktop calendar wallpapers every month in 2012. As always, if you’re interested in submitting a wallpaper, I’d be happy to consider including it in future roundups. Until then, enjoy these free desktop wallpaper calendars for December 2012.

6 Desktop Wallpaper Calendars for January 2012

Wallpaper by MonkeyMan504

Wallpaper by alphamin

Wallpaper by Precapice

Wallpaper by Jared Erickson

Wallpaper by ibrandstudio

Wallpaper by FlashScreen

12 Beautiful 2012 Desktop Wallpapers for New Years

Chris Thurman — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 21:21:36 +0000

New Years Day is fast approaching. Go ahead and make a resolution for a fresh desktop with a beautiful desktop wallpaper. I’ve selected 12 beautiful desktop wallpapers to help you make the transition to 2012 a nice one. Take a look and find the wallpaper that fits your resolutions (pun intended) for the New Year. Have a safe and Happy New Years!

Happy New Year 2012 Desktop Wallpapers!

Wallpaper by capiogwapo

Wallpaper by AnDyGaM3R

Wallpaper by ravirajcoomar

Wallpaper by cuberon

Wallpaper by cruckn

Wallpaper by SirCheck

Wallpaper by ravirajcoomar

Wallpaper by kyofanatic1

Wallpaper by ravirajcoomar

Wallpaper by el-general

Wallpaper by ravirajcoomar

Christmas Giveaway: 250 Custom Flyers from NextDayFlyers.com

Chris Thurman — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 21:11:48 +0000

The Prize

NextDayFlyers.com has offered to giveaway 250 custom printed 1/4 page (5.25 x 4.125in) flyers to one lucky reader of Visual Swirl. The flyers will be printed on 14PT card stock with full color printing on both sides.

How to Enter

The contest rules are simple:

Be sure you’re following @chriswthurman and @nextdayflyers on Twitter.
Leave a comment below with why you want to win the flyers. You must enter a valid email address to be eligible.
You can also double your chances by simply tweeting the following message:

I just entered to win 250 custom flyers from @nextdayflyers and @chriswthurman. Enter to win here: http://bit.ly/w29rq2 #swirlchristmas.

The contest will run through Sunday, December 25th at midnight EST. Winner will be drawn at random from all entries and will be contacted shortly after the contest concludes. We’ll also announce the winner on the blog. Also, be sure to visit Next Day Flyers for all of your flyer printing needs.

Winner

Congratulations to John Bunka. Thanks for everyone who participated. Keep reading Visual Swirl for more contests and giveaways.

20 Stunning Examples of Typography in Marketing

Tara Hornor — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 15:15:38 +0000

Stunning Typography Marketing Examples

One of the most interesting visual design elements is typography. After all, this is where the message is clarified and the entire visual piece’s purpose is driven home. But even more interesting is when typography is the centerpiece. Marketing initiatives have shown us many excellent examples of typography acting as the primary focus. Even so, this can be a serious challenge. Balancing the supporting graphics with the primary typographic elements is no easy task, whether the design is for brochures or a website.

This collection of 20 examples of typography demonstrate some incredible designs that either use typography alone or the typography elements are key to the design itself. This ranges from minimalist designs to intense 3D direction. Enjoy and don’t forget to tell the authors you appreciate their work!

Optimum Health – Never Eat More Than You Can Lift

Huawei – Finger Fun

Skittles – Enjoy Your Mind Now

Western Riverside – Recycle

Intelligence Squared – Debate

Bonux Ace – Chocolate

Gulf News – Second Thing in the Morning

US Preventive Medicine – Cobra

IKEA – Pimp

Bombay Red Cross – Martin Luther King

Jung von Matt – Anatomy of a Great Idea

Complot Creativity School – “H”

Toyota – Efficiency

Rogaine – Thinner

Cholayil Medimix Soap – Assembly Line

7 – Eleven – Slurpee: Summit

Mint Museum of Tays – Tin Toys

Friends 91.9 FM – Victoria

Zippo – Technology

US Preventive Medicine – Shark

So which of these designs worked? Did any of these designs fail to focus the viewer on the typographical elements with over-the-top graphics?

Crisp: Free Round Social Icon Set

Chris Thurman — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 13:15:38 +0000

Crisp is a brand new free social media icon set produced exclusively for the readers of Visual Swirl. It consists of 25 professionally designed round icons for social media sites. Also included are a few miscellaneous icons (mail, rss, and apple) that can be used to complete a sharing section on your blog or website. The package contains icons in PNG format in 3 convenient sizes: 128x128px, 64x64px, and 32x32px. A quick look at this free social icon set:

Check out the full list of icons included:

Apple
Blogger
Delicious
Design Float
deviantART
Digg
Dribbble
Evernote
Facebook
Flickr
Forrst
Google +
Last.fm
Linkedin
Mail
Picasa
RSS
Skype
Stumbleupon
Technorati
Twitter
Vimeo
WordPress
Yahoo!
Youtube

Licensing

The set can be used for any private or commercial project for free without restrictions. The set may not be resold, sub-licensed, rented, transferred or otherwise made available for use. Please link to this post if you would like to share this set.

Download

Crisp Social – Social Media Icon Set (ZIP)

Desktop Wallpaper Calendars: December 2011

Chris Thurman — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 05:05:48 +0000

The first of December brings goodies and gifts. I’ve gathered some fantastic desktop wallpaper calendars designed by several talented artists from around the design community. This will conclude the 2011 series of desktop calendar wallpapers but I hope to ring in 2012 with some even better designs. If you’re interested in submitting a wallpaper, I’d be happy to consider including it in future roundups. Until then, enjoy these free desktop wallpaper calendars for December 2011.

Wallpaper by Naya Designs

Wallpaper by Kriegs

iPhone Wallpaper by five-G

Wallpaper by LostSoul164

Wallpaper by MonkeyMan504

30 Examples of Parallax Scrolling Effects in Web Design

Chris Thurman — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 05:19:59 +0000

Parallax scrolling effects have become an increasingly popular trend in web design. The basic idea of parallax is having different elements scroll along different site lines. This often gives viewers an increased sense of depth in the design. Many web designs are incorporating such parallax elements to add visual interest and intrigue as users scroll down (or across a page). Some sites use it more obviously while others simply use it as a subtle compliment to the overall design. Either way, it’s quite an impressive effect and one that should continue to gain popularity as the web experiences become more vibrant and rich.

Showcase of the Parallax Scrolling Effect

Here are 30 amazing websites that utilize the parallax scrolling effect. At the bottom of the post, I’ve also linked to a few tutorials on how to achieve this effect in your own designs. Enjoy!

Mo’s and Bows

Eric Johansson

TedxPortland

Smokey Bones

Billy’s Downtown Diner

David Beckham

Cultural Solutions

Campaign Monitor

Appmiral

egopop

Beer Camp at SXSW

Kisko Labs

Kontakt & Impressum

Row the Pole

Atlantis World’s Fair

IWC Shaffhausen

Nike Better World

Improving Speed

The Beatles Rock Band

Head 2 Heart

XHTML Slicing

Johan Reinhold

Loopclick

Dezignus

Farmhouse Fare

Rastape

Jan Ploch

Cantilever Fish & Chips

Netlash bSeen

Sullivan NYC

Parallax Tutorials

The following resources will be helpful for those of you looking to achieve the parallax effect in your own designs. Feel free to add additional resources and questions in the comments section below.

Recreating the NikeBetterWorld.com Parallax Effect

Create a Parallax Website Header

How to Recreate Silverback’s Parallax Effect

100+ Cracked and Creviced Concrete Textures

Tara Hornor — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 13:15:03 +0000

Texture is everything. It can take a generic design and make it something special. Whether you design for the web or billboards, these concrete texture packs will work for you. With high-resolution graphics and more than 100 options in these downloads, your cracked and creviced concrete textures collection will be complete. These are organized by packs with the most textures to those with the least. Enjoy!

So which are your favorites? Any particular pack jump out as an outstanding set?

Visual Swirl Design Resources

Desktop Wallpaper Calendars: February 2012

7 Beautiful February 2012 Desktop Wallpapers

25 Beautiful Examples of Illustration in Web Design

Showcase of Illustrated Websites

What’s Your Favorite Example of Illustration in Web Design?

Desktop Wallpaper Calendars: January 2012

6 Desktop Wallpaper Calendars for January 2012

12 Beautiful 2012 Desktop Wallpapers for New Years

Happy New Year 2012 Desktop Wallpapers!

Christmas Giveaway: 250 Custom Flyers from NextDayFlyers.com

The Prize

How to Enter

Winner

20 Stunning Examples of Typography in Marketing

Stunning Typography Marketing Examples

Optimum Health – Never Eat More Than You Can Lift

Huawei – Finger Fun

Skittles – Enjoy Your Mind Now

Western Riverside – Recycle

Intelligence Squared – Debate

Bonux Ace – Chocolate

Gulf News – Second Thing in the Morning

US Preventive Medicine – Cobra

IKEA – Pimp

Bombay Red Cross – Martin Luther King

Jung von Matt – Anatomy of a Great Idea

Complot Creativity School – “H”

Toyota – Efficiency

Rogaine – Thinner

Cholayil Medimix Soap – Assembly Line

7 – Eleven – Slurpee: Summit

Mint Museum of Tays – Tin Toys

Friends 91.9 FM – Victoria

Zippo – Technology

US Preventive Medicine – Shark

Crisp: Free Round Social Icon Set

Licensing

Download

Desktop Wallpaper Calendars: December 2011

30 Examples of Parallax Scrolling Effects in Web Design

Showcase of the Parallax Scrolling Effect

Parallax Tutorials

100+ Cracked and Creviced Concrete Textures

25 Concrete Textures

25 Urban Wall Textures

13 Concrete Textures

12 Wall and Terrain Textures

10 New York Concrete Textures

7 Hi-res Concrete Textures

5 Concrete Textures

4 Cracked Concrete Textures

4 Concrete Wall Textures

4 Natural Concrete Textures