In this category you will find articles about web design, web development and related topics. Here we also feature inspirational collections, opinions and articles about best practices.
by Manoela Ilic
There are many creative ways of showing what a website is about: the use of images, videos, descriptions and more. Symbolic graphics and metaphorical pictures are a very interesting approach to convey a message and used in a website, they can help engage with the user and make him understand the meaning and purpose of a product or service almost instantly.
by Patrick Cox
In order to further demystify HTML5 and help these knuckle dragging designers and developers to jump on the bandwagon I’ve put together a top ten list of reasons why we should all be using HTML5 right now.
by Manoela Ilic
Centering elements in a web design is a very effective way of creating visual balance. Centered designs can also make responsiveness easier, a property that is becoming more and more desirable with the growth of the ‘mobile web’. Inspired by these two ideas I want to share a couple of centered designs with you. The collections consist of web designs that mainly have centered elements like headlines, images or content areas.
by Patrick Cox
Lines, lines, lines. Lines are everywhere in design, they are used to divide space, direct the user’s eye, create flow, create emphasis and organize all design elements into form. Generally, we don’t think about lines that much, but we make use of them quite often to visually communicate our objective to the user.
Typography is a very important part of design and choosing the right type for your design can be very challenging. From print to web layouts, typography is the center piece of a good design and today we gathered a few examples of beautiful typeface combinations in web design to inspire you. In web design, typography can be used in different forms, big bold headers, simple and clean menus, explanatory text and so on. Finding a good combination of typeface is more than only good taste, it’s an art.
Today we decided to gather a few examples of minimal sites using texture to add detail to their layout. From really subtle and delicate examples to complete textured backgrounds, you will be able to find a lot of inspiration to include texture on your next project, enjoy.
by Patrick Cox
For a lot of designers constraints are kryptonite or a barbed wire fence that is a prison for their design freedom. But design constraints shouldn’t be viewed as problems to be overcome, rather, constraints or restrictions are probably the best tool for creativity. Constraints are good: they give you direction and they challenge you to be better. Constraints force you to try new things and to experiment more.
by Patrick Cox
In the previous “Developing {blank} in Web Design” articles I’ve discussed Rhythm, Balance and Emphasis. But we are missing the last main principle of design — Unity. It’s a very important concept in design and one that is actually pretty easy to achieve. Unity is simply that, the unification of objects within a composition. Unity is the measure of how objects or elements fit together — or don’t for that matter. Its really just a matter of linking elements together to create harmony.
by Patrick Cox
Let’s make a real world comparison: buildings are very much like web sites. So are we (web designers and developers) essentially just architects? When you compare web design with any other major form of art, fine art, print design, music, sculpture, architecture, it almost directly compares itself to architecture. Web design, like architecture, is an art form that has many differing interests. Web sites and buildings have users, clients, companies, products, information, technology, structure and design.
Last week Patrick wrote a nice article about Developing Emphasis in Web Design, and today, based on that article, we decided to show you some examples of emphasis in web design. As explained in last week’s article, we will split the examples in three different perspectives: Proportion, Contrast and Physical Relationship
by Patrick Cox
Is it just me or is the popularity of mobile devices pushing a new minimalist movement in web design? Web design trends come and go from time to time: the dancing babies, suckerfish menus, rounded corners and ribbons have all graced the web with enthusiastic glee. But these are all more superficial things, style things. There is a movement growing in the web design community for a more minimal web, a user friendly web, a more semantic web where things have a purpose and reason for their existence. And the new mobile revolution is taking us there.
by Patrick Cox
Developing emphasis in web design can be tricky in that it all depends on what you want to accomplish with it. For the most part, whatever the product is, is what will be our focal point and in most cases it’s not the picture of the product but how to get the product that becomes the focal point – the call to action.
by Patrick Cox
Negative space is most commonly associated with logos or compositions where the empty space creates a unique shape or represents something – like the arrow in the FedEx logo. But negative space in web design may not be that cool or sexy, but its still very important to the over all design. Just remember that you don’t want your design to feel cramped or cluttered, you want your users to enjoy the experience. If anything, just add a little bit more padding.
by Patrick Cox
Your design should be inviting and allow your users to sit down, relax, hang out and maybe look around a bit and the best way to achieve this is through visual balance. Visual balance is basically just balancing design elements off of each other – as if your design elements are sitting on a teeter-totter.
by Patrick Cox
This article is about the importance of proper markup in a website. A great way to make sure your site works properly is to write your HTML first before you jump into the CSS and JS. This will allow you to focus on the content and the functions and test them before you start making everything pretty.
by Patrick Cox
A huge, gigantic, humongously important part of web design and development is usability – the ability for your users to actually use your web site. Just as chairs need four legs that make them sturdy, usable and successful, web sites also need four legs to make them sturdy, usable and successful
by Patrick Cox
In design, rhythm is created by simply repeating elements in predictable patterns. This repetition is a natural thing that occurs everywhere in our world. As people, we are driven everyday by predictable, timed events. The sun comes up every day and sets every day, the seasons cycle in predictable patterns every year, and we all know that the World Cup happens every four years. Rhythm in design is just re-creating that, re-creating these predictable timed patterns, creating a sub-conscience relationship with ourselves and creating comfort or familiarity.
by Manoela Ilic
Making a web design with contrasty colors will allow for a better focus on certain areas of a web site. With a minimal color scheme, more contrast can be achieved and with the right complementary color, a unique and impactful visual impression is given.