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Irresistible Websites Part Three: Textures
August 25, 2008
Since the early days of the web, designers have looked for ways to improve on the very flat nature of the medium. Textures are one way to create depth without a site becoming very graphics-heavy. The third part in this series on irresistible websites looks at the use of textures and layering as appealing design features.
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Irresistible Websites Part Two: Playful Sites
August 18, 2008
When it comes to web style, playful is very, very popular. Cartoonish vector landscapes, cuter-than-cute site mascots and retro typography are popping up all over the place. And it’s not only the designers who are having fun: Flash and Javascript, when used well, can also create an interactive space which compels you to keep clicking.
Irresistible Websites: Part One
August 13, 2008
What makes a website irresistible? In other words, what visual elements are most successful in enticing the viewer to take a closer look? This post begins a series looking at websites employing striking design techniques to attract visitors.
To better understand the factors at play in the range of sites featured, each post will focus on a particular style or theme. In the very first installment, the theme is Lush: websites which employ rich, detailed arrangements of graphics to showcase their content.
Beijing 2008 website
August 8, 2008
For the next two weeks this website can expect to get among the highest traffic numbers on the planet. It’s the official website for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
Competition schedules, results, video highlights will all be available here, as you’d expect from the online presence for a world-class sporting event (and this is the granddaddy of them all).
The challenge for a major sports website is to meet the demands for real-time information updates and multimedia platforms without breaking the bandwidth. The design must look dynamic and exciting, while accommodating a large amount of content in a limited (screen) space.
Making a bigger impact with your design skills
July 28, 2008
Recently I featured an interview with James West, the designer behind Fifty Designers’ Current Favourite Typefaces which raised money for UNICEF’s appeal for Burma. James’ idea resonated with a notion I’ve had for a little while now, to investigate what avenues exist for designers to use their skills for the greater good. I’ve compiled a list of resources which I hope will provide some inspiration (let me know if they do).
When RSS doesn’t play nice
July 22, 2008
In case it seems like my little corner of the RSS reader has gone quiet in recent times, I want to assure you that it’s not entirely true. My RSS feed is causing some problems; this appears to have been prompted by a new redirect from my RSS URL to Feedburner. I have raised the problem with Feedburner and I am waiting to see if they can offer a solution. Cancelling the redirection doesn’t appear to fix anything, either.
Interview: Fifty Designers’ Current Favourite Typefaces
July 22, 2008
James West is a UK designer who earlier this year produced the booklet Fifty Designers’ Current Favourite Typefaces to raise money for people left homeless and starving in Burma in the wake of a devastating cyclone. Fifty of the world’s biggest names in graphic design agreed to take part. To James’ complete surprise, the booklets quickly sold out. Since then, he has very generously given his time to talk to me about a simple idea which caught his imagination before really taking off.
Great drawing tutorial sites
July 9, 2008
The internet is a fantastic resource if you want to improve your Photoshop or Illustrator skills. These days there is a big range of quality sites devoted to tutorials for major graphics software. I thought it was time to look at what’s available online for people who want to get back to basics and brush up on their drawing technique.
10 seamless website designs
July 2, 2008
One of the challenges in designing websites is to create a layout which takes into account all the different screen sizes at which it may be viewed. Some websites use fluid layouts (where sections of content will automatically resize to fit the screen dimensions) to get around this. Not all designers want to work with fluid layouts, however. I have compiled a list of ten websites which are designed to work at small or medium screen sizes without using fluid CSS layouts, but which don’t look lost in a sea of blank space on a larger screen.
How Inexperience can teach you about Design
June 25, 2008
Can you remember your first-ever design job? Whether it was the first piece of work you got paid for, or the freebies you used to do for friends and which gave you the first inklings that a career in design was for you? Looking back is fun, but for me it’s also served as an interesting benchmark on how much things change, and how to change them for the better - even now.
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