In my last post, I talked about a method of marketing many web designers, including myself, like to use: freebie marketing. It is an excellent method for marketing and gaining momentum for your work, but when it comes down to it — every designer still needs to get paid.

Marketing oneself is a task in itself, but when finally finding out where the jobs are, and even when jobs come to the designer, a whole new problem arises: is it still well or decently paid work? In this post we’ll go beyond marketing, and go into how to sort out the good from the bad job offers, and then furthermore, how to market oneself to get higher paying, well-deserved jobs. Read the rest of this entry »

With the web centered around social media, there is huge potential for developers and designers to easily share, collaborate and find useful information. There are many great tools that help you in web and software development. Whether you are starting with web development or designing advanced applications, these tools and resources will be of great help. Following are some of the prolific social media resources available to designers and developers.

Read the rest of this entry »

Any designer must constantly be marketing themselves and their services for a steady flow of work, but marketing in itself can be time consuming; only taking away from a work day. To combat this issue, we as web professionals must become smart business people as well, which of course comes with smart marketing techniques. The more efficient a marketing strategy, the more work that comes to a designer.

In this post we’re going to discuss just one form of marketing used by web designers: ‘freebie marketing.’ Freebie marketing is when a designer will give away a number of freebies, or works done for free given out to the community, and in return, will gain exposure to clients and paid work. In this post, we’ll discuss the pros and cons, and why it can be a good idea for your business and marketing strategy. Read the rest of this entry »

Though there are many ready-made blog and web site templates available on the web, you might want to build your own unique custom design. Having a basic structure might make it easier to build the template. Following is a list of some of the best tools which enable you to create a basic framework so that you can further customize the template according to your needs.

Read the rest of this entry »

When I was a copywriting student, we were told that award shows and the advertising annuals that housed the winners were the aspiration of every designer and copywriter. Whenever we were stuck in a creative rut, clumsily fumbling along for a fresh new idea, our teachers would state religiously: “Read the annuals.” Then we would show our half-baked portfolios to creative directors in the industry and they would say “read the annuals.” One of our school teachers said that when you look at award shows, it works like osmosis: you observe great ads and then you begin to create great ads. In a way he was right. The more you surround yourself with higher level thinking, the more you bring your own mind to that level of thinking. The annuals and award shows are filled with interesting pieces that can inspire, humble or motivate any designer. Read the rest of this entry »

He had said,“Don’t enter awards competitions. Just don’t. It’s not good for you”, and “Coffee breaks, cab rides, green rooms; real growth often happens outside of where we intend it to, in the interstitial spaces – what Dr. Seuss calls ‘the waiting place’.” I’m talking about Bruce Mau. If you are a designer, read about him. You’ll look at design and creativity in a whole new way. To Bruce Mau, design didn’t just provide a form of expression, but a philosophy on growing as human beings.

Like so many other talented designers, Bruce Mau attended the Ontario College of Art & Design. This school has spawned so much talent, and so many rivals. We used to hear about the OCAD students at Humber College, about how they’re twice as threatening because they are taught both design and copywriting excessively well. With an impressive education in check, Bruce Mau founded Bruce Mau Design in 1985. Over the years his studio has flourished, and Bruce has won many prestigious awards for his creative achievements. Read the rest of this entry »

While highlighting the features of a product or a service apart from writing perceptive content, screenshots do play a key role. The images and screenshots need to merge well with the content to give the web page a perfect blend. As part of this article, I wanted to share some useful tips and tools to take better screenshots.

Cropping: If you are blogger or a designer, you might have come across cases where-in you need to take the screenshot on the entire screen but, the dimensions of the image need to be curbed to fit the template of your site. Read the rest of this entry »

Being a designer means having to always have inspiration on hand to do great on projects, and to grow and develop as a creative. In the past I’ve written many articles on gaining inspiration in various ways, but many of the methods, while useful, are not always practical to keep up with every day.

For instance, going to a museum can be a great source of inspiration, or seeing something new and out of the ordinary. It is, of course, not practical to go to a museum every day, or to break one’s own routine every day. Sometimes we need to sit back and go with the daily grind, while still having to get our creative work done. In this post we’ll go over a few basic things one can do to keep a clear head, and find everyday inspiration, in an everyday type of lifestyle.

Read the rest of this entry »

Once upon a time, I was a student attending school for copywriting. I was excited about entering the world of advertising. I was full of inspiration and hope, itching to unleash my creative ideas and witty words onto the world. Unfortunately, there was this one pesky little thing that seemed to be getting in the way. It stopped my creative juices dead in their tracks, and transformed my witty thoughts into thoughts of confusion, frustration and acute anger. This pesky thing was Mac Apps class. At the time I was unsure of why a clever copywriter like me would ever have to deal with something as mundane as logo placement or the right typeface. I was even more unsure of what the hell I was doing. Luckily, there was a nifty thing that greatly helped out with the pesky thing. It was the tutorial. Read the rest of this entry »

People HATE ads. As a copywriter who makes a living writing ads, this is a very unfortunate fact to bear. Every copywriter, art director or person vaguely involved in the production of advertising is most likely hated for writing ads, and really hates to hear this. It means our days spent wading through the crappy clichés to find a burst of original creativity is a complete waste of time and effort. However, everyone loves a great website. Why you ask? Well because a website doesn’t invade your morning subway ride, or dice and slice your favourite TV drama into a Mr.Clean and Glade plug-in sandwich. Websites are a place that you visit on your very own, with a purpose. So, your web design better be damn good. Read the rest of this entry »

Are you an artist or photographer who wants to show his art works in the best possible blog or website? You can build your own website to feature your artworks, attracting potential clients as well.  Have your works with you and all you will need next is a web site host and an attractive template for your blog design. MyTemplateBox has a Photo Gallery Template which you can use to make the site eye-catching for viewers. It is completely free to download and modifiable to suit your art needs. This can also be used by simple art enthusiasts who just want to present their art using an attractive template that is sure to keep viewers coming back for updates. Read the rest of this entry »

Henrik Fiskar once said this quote, and while it isn’t always true, it is an excellent observation nonetheless. The freedom of art and creativity is exhilarating to say the least, but design is off in a separate tangent — one that solves business problems, and earns a hefty profit for doing so.

Still, though, many designers can have trouble making a profit for their business, unless somehow already notable or working for a large firm. In today’s post we’ll look at the two main lessons for increasing the profit of any design related business, and on how to create an unlimited profit in a sometimes seemingly low-income world.

Read the rest of this entry »

There’s this little pub in Union Station that I sometimes pass by called Commuters Lounge. On their sign, their name is written in a cursive white font over a red background. When I happened to walk by, was I thinking of commuters lounging? No. On the other hand, I WAS thinking of a tall glass of sweet, fizzy Coca-Cola.

This, my friends, is the power of design. Our reaction to those familiar designs, logos, colours, fonts that have been so engrained in our minds is physical, almost visceral. It is difficult to control, and futile to fight. I know that’s a pretty bleak statement to make. Who are these horrible rich corporations to use us as pawns in their money-making ventures? I am an interesting, intelligent, free-thinking person and I am not affected by something as common as a company’s design! Read the rest of this entry »

If you are a web developer or designer and are looking for a stunning 3D flash image slider for your site to impress your visitors at the first sight then, here is an effective flash component worth trying. To intrigue your further it sports 3D image transitions, horizontal and vertical cubing, auto play, description boxes and a lot more.

With CU3ER, a free 3D Flash image slider, you can create an image slider with fabulous image transitions and give your web site an elegant look and feel. Read the rest of this entry »

One of the most heated debates within the web design community is on the subject of speculative – or spec – work.

What happens is that a client seeking design work releases their proposal and invites interested parties to apply for the job by submitting a mock-up.

Basically, it involves the designer working for free in the hope that the client will chose their services above all others.

Websites that promote spec work are crowdSPRING and 99Designs.

In a highly competitive market, new designers and developers need avenues on which to build a client base and the strongest argument in favour of spec work is that it allows new entrants an avenue in to the industry. Read the rest of this entry »

The ever so daunting redesign of one’s own portfolio can be the trickiest project to come by. Despite us knowing ourselves best, and knowing the goals we have in mind for our careers or business, we as designers have the most trouble with only one client: ourselves.

Perhaps it’s the pressure of perfectionism, the ability to only get feedback from ourselves, or knowing that redesigns can equal changes in conversion rates, and changes in conversion rates equal changes in our income. In today’s post we’ll look over a simple plan structured for redesigning a personal portfolio, and how to get over some of the major fears involved with it. Read the rest of this entry »

One of the most important instruments a web or graphic designer can have in his tool belt is Photoshop. Then again, it’s hard to find an average computer user who hasn’t heard of Photoshop or seen what it can do. (Take for example, my 65 year old father who types one finger at a time and doesn’t know what a web address is. He has indeed heard of Photoshop). Adobe first officially released Photoshop’s Version 1 in 1990, and it sure has come a long way. 20 years later, this editing and image manipulation tool has established itself as the absolute industry standard with the high-quality output that companies worldwide put their trust in. Read the rest of this entry »

While it may happen more with freelancers than with firm workers, the feast or famine style still exists. When we can’t find clients, we cannot pay the bills, and perhaps may not be in a position to pick and choose our type of work. No matter how desperate, though, there are a number of times when web designers need to say no to clients.

Most clients aren’t perfect, and this is especially noticeable once we are in a position to take on the types we’d prefer not to work with. In this post we’ll look over the absolute top times a web designer needs to step back and refuse work, for the good of themselves and the business. Read the rest of this entry »

If you are looking for an adorable design for your personal blog, MyTemplateBox’s free Personal Blog template may be the right one for you. It has the appearance of an opened diary showing one’s thoughts and feelings. Not too long ago diaries were supposed to be kept from the public, but the innovation of blogs nowadays makes it possible for individuals to express their thoughts without having to pass their diary to their friends manually and have fear of secondhand information being wrong. Keeping true to the essence of a personal blog, this template contains all the elements one should have.

Read the rest of this entry »

Web design is about more than just making things look nice on screen — it’s about creating interfaces that are functional, easy to use, as well as aesthetically pleasing. There are a number of visual techniques that can be used in web design to create the correct hierarchy, tell the user where to click, and how to use an element of the page. Some of which include contrast, color, size, spacing, and more.

This is basic web design terminology, but it is only a good understanding of these techniques that can create beautiful design. While there are many different trends and styles in web design, one recent trend is the “slick and polished look.” In this article we’ll look over how accomplishing this look is all about the subtle details, and how to examine these extra bits of polish and use them in one’s own designs. Read the rest of this entry »