The footer, by definition, comes at the bottom of a web page, but it shouldn’t be bottom of your list of priorities when it comes to web design. Too many websites, even wonderfully designed ones, place little or no emphasis on the footer, leaving it an ugly, undervalued repository for copyright information, small print and little else.
Below, we take a look at 30 sites with super stylish footers that add real value to overall site design. Easy on the eye and highly original, all should serve as inspiration for your future web projects.
Read the full article at: http://www.denbagus.net/css-footers/
Nowadays, pretty much every company has its own Facebook page, which is hardly surprising, considering what a superb and absolutely free platform it is for brands to interact with, and get valuable information from, their customers and fans. What is surprising, however, is that very few organizations have gone beyond the standard Wall, Info, Discussions and Photos tabs to create a Facebook page that’s in any way out of the ordinary.
Facebook allows developers to create their own custom tabs, using either Flash or Facebook’s own markup language. Some more forward-thinking companies have now taken the opportunity to do this. They’re reaping the rewards by getting more fans and engaging with them to a greater extent. Below, we take a look at 20 of the most effective Facebook pages around, acknowledging pages with great custom tabs and others which reward fans in more traditional ways.
Read the full article at: http://dailyseotip.com/a-roundup-of-20-effective-branded-facebook-pages/842/
Thanks to CSS, we can now define a website’s appearance in a fraction of the time we used to, but why stop there? A good CSS editor can make the entire CSS process even faster, more accurate and…well… just more enjoyable. Most of us use Dreamweaver for all of our CSS editing needs, but it’s expensive and doesn’t offer some of the features you get from cheaper, often free alternatives.
First-rate CSS editors make writing CSS much easier, but that’s not all they’re good for. The vast majority will check your CSS for errors and let you delve into the code associated with your sites and the sites of others. With so many people now using these CSS editors, support it very easy to get hold of. There are loads of inexpensive editors available, so why not give a couple a try? You’ll find a review of the 10 best below.
Read the full article at: http://www.cssreflex.com/2010/05/10-best-css-editors.html
We’ve all thumbed through thousands of brochures in our lives and I’m sure the vast majority of them have been very similar- rectangular, book-like, wordy and, overall, pretty dull. This article aims to show that brochure design doesn’t have to be boring. In fact, it can be striking, stylish and extremely stimulating.
Don’t forget, your brochure will act as a first impression of your company for many. You need to make sure that it’s giving off the right message and reflecting the positive, forward-thinking brand image that you wish to promote. Feast your eyes on the superbly designed and printed brochures below. They’ll act as a source of inspiration for all your future printing endeavours.
Read the full article at: http://www.ourtuts.com/25-striking-brochure-designs/
Vacations represent all that’s good and bad about being a freelancer. On the one hand, you’re free to go away whenever you like, without asking the permission of a reluctant boss or desperately trying to squeeze a short break into the few days left of your allowance. On the other hand, you’re never completely free of your professional responsibilities, even when you’re on the other side of the world.
To avoid the risk of freelance burnout, it’s vital that you get away from it all on a regular basis. While some people advocate simply switching off your computer and ridding your mind of all work-related thoughts while you’re away, I vehemently disagree with this. As a freelancer, you need to maintain an air of professionalism at all times and suddenly disappearing for a fortnight is not the best way to gain the trust and respect of your clients.
Doing some work while you’re away is important, but you mustn’t lose sight of why you went on holiday in the first place: for a proper break (in case you’ve forgotten already). Follow the 15 tips below to keep your career ticking while on vacation, simultaneously maximizing your free time and making your trip a little bit more relaxing.
Read the full article at: http://freelancefolder.com/15-tips-to-keep-your-freelance-business-going-while-on-vacation/
The ecommerce marketplace is a very competitive one and a rival site is never more than a click away. If you want to attract and retain customers, you need to make sure that your site is as usable as possible. You could be selling the best products in the world, at unbelievably low prices, but if shoppers can’t find them or get confused along the way, you’re never going to reach your full potential in terms of sales.
Improving usability is all about making the buying process on your site as quick and easy as possible. The smallest of changes can have the most dramatic effect on conversion rates. The 10 steps explored below will all help to improve both sales and customer satisfaction. It’s not necessarily a case of employing all 10 of these steps on your site- some smaller merchants will find this nearly impossible. Pick the ones that you think will work best for you and don’t be afraid to try something new
Read the full article at: http://spyrestudios.com/usable-ecommerce-website/
If you’re looking for typographic inspiration, look no further than the posters hanging in your local movie theatre. Such posters can make or break movies. So central are they to promotion in the run up to major releases that everything about them has to be eye-catching, original and engaging. Other promotional products are generally useful, but hardly have the impact that the poster can.
Rather then rely solely on images, many designers bring typography centre stage when creating such posters. It is, after all, the movie name and release date which are the most important messages to convey. You’ll find typography at its most cutting-edge and stimulating in the 20 examples below. The movies themselves weren’t necessarily critical successes, but each poster is a classic.
Read the full article at: http://webexpedition18.com/articles/20-eye-catching-examples-of-typography-in-movie-posters/
Love them or hate them, business cards remain ever-present in the modern world. With letters, Post-It notes and other paper products slowly being replaced with electronic versions, it’s somewhat surprising that the business card has endured to such an extent. In fact, with so many people now designing themselves unique and quirky cards, you could argue that they’re more important today than ever before, especially if you work in the creative industries.
Your business card serves as a first impression of you and the work that you do, so make sure yours is saying something interesting about your personality and your output. Take a look at the 20 incredible business cards below, all of which are ingenious to my mind. You might not have the resources to produce something of the same standard, but you should feel inspired to make your card stand out from the pack.
Read the full article at: http://www.artfans.info/?p=1691
Every form of advertising is different. TV, radio, online, billboard, in-store and print ads all require a different approach to communicate most effectively with an audience. There are, however, a number of principles which are shared between them and much can be learnt from studying each one in turn. In this article, we look at how the knowledge gained from successful print advertising can be applied to marketing in general. Follow these 10 tips for guaranteed marketing success.
Read the full article at: http://www.webm.ag/2010/05/11/10-things-to-learn-from-print-ads-apply-to-your-marketing/
HTML5, the next major revision of HTML, the language of the internet, is set to revolutionize the way web developers and designers create websites and the way visitors use them. It’s being edited by Ian Hickson of Google and David Hyatt of Apple, two of the web’s greatest creative minds.
Besides enabling web developers/designers to use cleaner, simpler, more consistent code, HTML5 will help them break free from the confines of 3rd party proprietary plugins like Adobe Flash. For the first time, it will be possible to achieve consistency between video player interfaces and overall website design. Users will be able to rotate, move, resize and even detect motion in a video while its playing, using inbuilt video controls.
Through HTML5’s canvas element, users will be able to render graphics and images on the fly, again without the need for plugins. You can try rotating an HTML5 video here and using the canvas element here. Both feel truly amazing!
Besides demos and other online experiments, there are actually a number of working sites using HTML5 today, although few, if any, make the most of this language’s potential capabilities. We explore 25 of the best below, the vast majority of which belong to web developers and web development agencies keen to show off their HTML5 skills to potential clients. Take a look and explore the code for an insight into the future of the internet. Be warned, however, few display properly in Internet Explorer.
Read the full article at: http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/inspiration/ultra-modern-websites-html5/
