Blog &bull Inspiration

Fundamentals of good design: Colour schemes

November 19, 2008

The importance of colour in design can never be overstated. Colour choices influence mood, emotion and tone; a carefully chosen colour scheme can clearly express a specific design style.
When I begin work on a new design project, I usually work at length on creating a good colour scheme. I will be going into more detail […]

Design blogs making an impact

September 15, 2008

Image by Mr. Kris
Recently I wrote a post about making a bigger impact with your design skills, which provides lots of ideas and avenues for designers to work with charities and non-profit organisations.
Since then I’ve been on the lookout for designers and bloggers who have come up with their own great ideas to generate awareness […]

Irresistible Websites Part Four: Energy

September 4, 2008

What gives a website design energy? The way I see it, a website displays energy if the design is not only well crafted but also generates its own atmosphere. The design elements may be simple (even minimalist) or bursting with detail, but with one aspect in common: they create an ambience based on a sense […]

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 […]

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 […]

Making a bigger impact with your design skills

July 28, 2008

Image by ElektraCute
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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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