35 Adobe InDesign Tutorials – Enhance your Print Medial Skills

February 4th, 2012
Link Twitter

35 Adobe InDesign Tutorials – Enhance your Print Medial Skills

read more

7 Tips for Planning a Wedding on Pinterest

February 3rd, 2012
Link Twitter
Mashable

1. Join

If you haven’t already, sign up for a Pinterest account. There’s a waiting list to join now… read more

How To Use Custom Post Types To Organize Online Marketing Campaigns

February 3rd, 2012
Link Twitter
Smashing Magazine

Custom post types add a level of flexibility to WordPress that makes this open-source Web development platform more useful on many levels. Whenever I have been faced with a Web-based task, especially one that involves organizing information, the first thing I do is examine WordPress to determine if it can… read more

Publish Magazines and eBooks Quickly with Calaméo

February 3rd, 2012
Link Twitter
Web App Storm

From Amazon’s runaway success with the Kindle platform to Apple’s new iBooks Author tool to help writers create interactive eBooks for their iPad iBooks store, eBooks are the story of the day for digital media. If you’ve ever considered writing a book or creating a new magazine, you’ll want to… read more

8 Things You Should Know Before Building a Mobile App

February 3rd, 2012
Link Twitter
Mashable

Seth Porges is a magazine editor and the creator of Cloth, an iOS fashion app for iPhone and iPod Touch. His Twitter handle is @sethporges.

App appeal is obvious. The barrier to entry? So low! The upshot of producing the next Angry Birds or beer-chug simulator? So high! Heck, with just… read more

Freebie: St. Valentine’s Day Icon Set (10 PNG/PSD Icons)

February 2nd, 2012
Link Twitter
Smashing Magazine

Every now and then, we release useful freebies for all of our highly valued readers. Today, it is our pleasure to present to you Cuberto‘s fantastic St. Valentine’s icon set  —  exclusively designed for Smashing Magazine and its loyal readers. The icons presented are available in transparent PNGs as well… read more

Quick Tip: Create a Highlighted Text Effect With Adobe InDesign

February 2nd, 2012
Link Twitter
Vector Tuts

Sometimes using a highlighted effect text gives a stronger emphasis and style to your design. In this quick tip we are going to achieve that effect by utilizing Paragraph Rules in Adobe InDesign. Let’s begin!

Step 1: Insert text

Create a new document at any size you want. Then insert… read more

Fair Wages for Freelance Writing

February 2nd, 2012
Link Twitter
Freelanceswitch

A recent story in The Australian caught my eye. The title of the piece is “Online magazine offers less than 2c a word to freelancers”. The name of the online magazine is Breathe Magazine Australia (BreatheMagazine.com) and it is scheduled to launch in April 2012.

The Australian journalists’ union, called… read more

Fashion Forward: Showcase of Fashion and Editorial Photography

February 2nd, 2012
Link Twitter
Noupe

As we have undoubtedly heard our entire lives, a picture speaks a thousand words. And while that may be true of most, there are those who seek to tell a bit of a story with their works. Editorial photography, and perhaps some would say to a lesser degree fashion photography,… read more

Categories: Graphic Design, Print

via: Noupe

Use Layer Comps in Photoshop to Improve Your InDesign Workflow

February 1st, 2012
Link Twitter
Psdtuts+

Layer comps are a great way to organize content inside Photoshop files. They allow you to save multiple design ideas in a single PSD while reducing the need to create duplicate layers. As you’ll see in this tutorial, layer comps can flow from Photoshop to InDesign making your workflow even… read more

Why Sleep is so Important for Freelancers

February 1st, 2012
Link Twitter
Freelanceswitch

I love sleeping. Always have, always will. I was the kid whose parents had to wake up on Christmas morning. If I don’t get enough sleep—watch out.

Admittedly, sometimes I feel ashamed at getting nine hours of sleep at night. But when I read this article in Inc.com about how… read more

Beautiful Editorial Illustrations by Luciano Lozano aka. Ilustrista

February 1st, 2012
Link Twitter
Abduzeedo

Luciano Lozano it’s a self-taught illustrator based on Barcelona, Spain working mainly with magazines and books. He got a quite distinctive style, since we cannot simply label it as retro as sometimes he works with traditional methods getting some really fresh results.

You can know more about Luciano at his Website.

About… read more

Martha Stewart Considering Web-Only TV Show

January 31st, 2012
Link Twitter
Mashable

Martha Stewart is looking into producing web-only video programming, the TV personality and business magnate suggested on stage at AllThingsD‘s media conference Tuesday.

Stewart’s company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, is looking for new outlets for Stewart’s daytime show now that her contract with the Hallmark Channel is coming to an end…. read more

Chris Sanders – Photographer Spotlight

January 31st, 2012
Link Twitter
Digital Photography School

This commercial photographer spotlight features Chris Sanders. Sander’s lifestyle and travel work developed out of a film background. His client list includes publications such as Vogue, Vanity Fair, Esquire and Conde Nast Traveler as well as companies such as Bank of America, Microsoft, Reebok and Starwood Hotels. He lives and works from… read more

Desktop Wallpaper Calendar: February 2012

January 31st, 2012
Link Twitter
Smashing Magazine

We always try our best to challenge your artistic abilities and produce some interesting, beautiful and creative artwork. And as designers we usually turn to different sources of inspiration. As a matter of fact, we’ve discovered the best one — desktop wallpapers that are a little more distinctive than the… read more

Ten Things To Think About When Designing Your iPad App

January 31st, 2012
Link Twitter
Smashing Magazine

Like most well-designed things, the magic of an iPad app comes from a union of usefulness, usability and meaning. Games aside, the app must be useful by solving a problem that people actually have through the right set of functionality at the right time. It must be easy to use… read more

Polling App Makes Blog Feedback Painless

January 31st, 2012
Link Twitter
Mashable

The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here.

Name: Quipol

Quick Pitch: Quipol is a web application that makes creating and embedding polls on blogs easy.

Genius… read more

Groupon is a Star in CBS Pilot — But in the Wrong City [VIDEO]

January 30th, 2012
Link Twitter

Working at Groupon is now cliche enough to work as the setting of a TV pilot.

CBS picked up a pilot for a new sitcom called Friend Me. The conceit is about two twenty-something best friends who move from Illinois to… read more

5 Ways for Photographers to use an iPad to Jumpstart their Business

January 30th, 2012
Link Twitter
Digital Photography School

1. Editing On-the-Go

The iPad is never going to replace a desktop computer for photo editing. However, it does come in handy when you are looking to quickly edit a few pictures. I recently traveled home for the holidays. My parents wanted a picture for their Christmas card. I was able to… read more

The Future Of Screen Typography Is In Your Hands

January 30th, 2012
Link Twitter
Smashing Magazine

We do more reading on the screen today than we did even a year ago. If we are ever to have a golden age of reading on the screen, this might be the start of it.

Tablets, Nooks and Kindles make buying a book or magazine for the screen almost unavoidable…. read more

45 Latest Photo Manipulation Tutorials for Photoshop

January 30th, 2012
Link Twitter
Specky Boy

When we talk about image editing or photo enhancement, Adobe Photoshop is the first thing that comes to our minds. The software itself is hard to learn and harder to master though. Thanks to the many tutorials available though, even novices can learn the tricky tecniques used by… read more

Sound Design: Audio Branding: Airela Case

January 28th, 2012
Link Twitter
Abduzeedo

What is audio branding?

“Audio branding describes the process of brand development and brand management by use of acoustic elements within the framework of brand communication. It is part of multi-sensory brand communication and holistic corporate design. Audio branding aims at building solidly a brand sound that represents the identity and… read more

Best of the Week #207

January 28th, 2012
Link Twitter
Abduzeedo

It’s time for our best news of this week. We have a lot of graphic and web design, a bit of architecture, ads, tech news, awesome reads and other crazy stuff! So take a look at the links we’ve selected for your inspiration and to keep you updated about what’s… read more

7 Lead Generation Trends For 2012 — What You Need to Do Right Now [SPONSORED]

January 27th, 2012
Link Twitter
Mashable

This post is brought to you by HubSpot, an inbound marketing software company based in Cambridge, MA, that makes a full platform of marketing software, including marketing automation tools. For more information on sponsored posts, read here.

You decide. Is this 2012 AD or is it 0008 FB — the eighth… read more

Limiting The Visibility Of WordPress Posts Via Usernames

January 27th, 2012
Link Twitter
Smashing Magazine

Controlling who is able to view a post is a simple task once the system is established. Limiting access to certain users has several applications, such as enabling a design studio to distribute artwork to its various clients, or enabling a small school to arrange for homework to be posted… read more

7 Ways to Follow ‘The Hunger Games’ Movie on Social Media

January 26th, 2012
Link Twitter
Mashable

1. Capitol Couture

The newly launched Capitol Couture blog is dedicated to the styles featured in the upcoming film…. read more

The UX Research Plan That Stakeholders Love

January 26th, 2012
Link Twitter
Smashing Magazine

UX practitioners, both consultants and in house, sometimes conduct research. Be it usability testing or user research with a generative goal, research requires planning. To make sure product managers, developers, marketers and executives (let’s call them stakeholders) act on UX research results, planning must be crystal clear, collaborative, fast and… read more

9 Steps to Starting Your Freelance Web Design Business

January 26th, 2012
Link Twitter
Freelanceswitch

So, you want to be a freelance web designer? Ah, the glamor of it all.

Your own boss, answering only to the call of your creative muse… get up, feel inspired, do some work, go for a walk, laugh knowingly with other freelancers who have also discovered The Secret… read more

Backup Plans for the Traveling Photographer

January 26th, 2012
Link Twitter

Backing up your files on the road can be a massive headache for many photographers. When you’re travelling, you have the compounded problem that you are probably shooting a lot, but you don’t want to take massive amounts of kit that will weigh you down.

Well, his is a response… read more

10 Designs Inspired by Microsoft’s Metro UI

January 26th, 2012
Link Twitter
Fuel Your Creativity

Advertise here via BSA

Since Microsoft first unveiled the Metro UI on Windows Phone 7, the rollout has been gradually taking place across every Microsoft product and website. It is the cornerstone of the Windows 8 interface and one of the most notable official uses of Metro UI available now is… read more

How To Deliver Exceptional Client Service

January 25th, 2012
Link Twitter
Smashing Magazine

We often hear companies, including Web agencies, boast about how they provide exceptional client service. But how do they define exceptional?

Consider this scenario. You are hired to design and develop a new website for a retail client. The client loves the design, and the pages you develop use the latest… read more

Get TV Coverage for Your Freelance Business

January 25th, 2012
Link Twitter
Freelanceswitch

Switched on freelancers know that publicity is good for business. Positive press coverage in newspapers, trade magazines and professional journals can raise awareness of your freelance business, create leads and even fill order books.

One way to reach a larger audience with public relations activity is to get television news… read more

A Showcase of Typography in Webdesign

January 25th, 2012
Link Twitter
Specky Boy

Functional web typography is, of course, key to the usabilty of any website. But functional does not mean boring.
Big, loud and attention grabbing typography does have the presence and magnificence to truly grab the attention of your visitors.
It does not quite shout at your… read more

3 Minutes with Photographer Sean McCormack

January 24th, 2012
Link Twitter
Digital Photography School

Fashion photography has always had a magical aura to it, as it accentuates the best of design and human form. In addition to the expected attention to lighting and shooting there is a great deal of artistry added to each shot with special care given to photo design and post-production… read more

What Successful Products Teach Us About Web Design

January 24th, 2012
Link Twitter
Smashing Magazine

Web design is a craft that is constantly evolving and yet also sometimes sabotaged. The moment a design is released, a new version is born. In the beginning, like a baby, it seems vulnerable and weak, but in time it grows up and becomes self-sufficient. Redesigning a website for its… read more

Consumers Want Online Video Ads No More Than 15 Seconds Long

January 23rd, 2012
Link Twitter
Mashable

Want to capture customer attention with online video ads? They’d better not be more than 15 seconds long, a new poll suggests.

According to a survey by Poll Position, about 54% of Americans think 15 seconds is the acceptable time to view an online video ad before seeing free content, from… read more

50 Beautiful Yet Free HTML5 And CSS3 Templates

January 23rd, 2012
Link Twitter
Smashing Apps

HTML5 templates are getting very popular these days because all professional HTML5 templates are compatible to all browsers with its functionality and features, and with the release of HTML5 / CSS3 it has become even more popular among designers because of the additional and great features.

At the moment, HTML5 and… read more

How Sites Like Contently Aim to Help Freelancers Find Work

January 23rd, 2012
Link Twitter
Freelanceswitch

I had never heard of the freelance-writing online marketplace Contently until I stumbled across this piece of info from the Wall Street Journal:

Freelance-writing marketplace Contently has raised a $2 million Series A round led by Lightbank. Co-founder Shane Snow said he started the company to help resolve some of… read more

Introduction To Linux Commands

January 23rd, 2012
Link Twitter
Smashing Magazine

At the heart of every modern Mac and Linux computer is the “terminal.” The terminal evolved from the text-based computer terminals of the 1960s and ’70s, which themselves replaced punch cards as the main way to interact with a computer. It’s also known as the command shell, or simply “shell.”… read more

50 Wonderful Black & White Photos with Partial Color Effects

January 23rd, 2012
Link Twitter
Specky Boy

Advertise here with BSA

Taking a black and white photograph and adding partial color to certain key points of the shot is one of the most popular techniques amongst professional photographers. You can understand its popularity when you look at the examples we have for you below. This technique… read more

11 Ways to get Free Marketing for Your Photography

January 22nd, 2012
Link Twitter

One of the challenges of charging for your photography is figuring out how to get clients. You’ve got the technical know-how, but what about the business and marketing side? Strapped for cash and looking for ways to generate buzz about your photography? No problem. Marketing doesn’t have to cost much… read more

Open Call For International Communities

January 21st, 2012
Link Twitter
Smashing Magazine

At Smashing Magazine, we are big proponents of diversity and sharing. We encourage designers and developers worldwide to step up and use Smashing Magazine as a platform to share their opinions, ideas or techniques. Our editorial process is quite evolved, yet we are very open to users’ suggestions. In fact,… read more

PSD2HTML.com Giveaway Results

January 21st, 2012
Link Twitter
Specky Boy

Advertise here with BSA

Last weeks PSD2HTML.com giveaway ended a couple of days ago, and it is now time to announce the winners.

Thanks to everybody for all the comments and thanks to PSD2HTML.com for their services.

The Winners

Our winners should have by now received their winner emails, if not please… read more

Best of the Week #206

January 21st, 2012
Link Twitter
Abduzeedo

It’s time for our best news of this week. We have a lot of graphic and web design, a bit of architecture, ads, tech news, awesome reads and other crazy stuff! So take a look at the links we’ve selected for your inspiration and to keep you updated about what’s… read more

Latoponis Magazine Free WordPress Theme

January 21st, 2012
Link Twitter

Latoponis Magazine Free WordPress Theme

read more

Categories: Print, Web Design

The Pixel Renaissance: Pixel Art’s Place in 21st Century Expression

January 20th, 2012
Link Twitter
Mashable

My first experience with pixels occurred in second grade. During the rainy months, our teacher allowed us to stay inside, where we replaced recess with video game tournaments. Huddled over old Apple II monitors, we maneuvered game hero Panama Joe through endless levels of Montezuma’s Revenge.

Panama Joe’s image featured an… read more

How Kodak Squandered Every Single Digital Opportunity It Had

January 20th, 2012
Link Twitter
Mashable

Kodak has finally formalized what had been expected for years — it’s gone bankrupt. In the past 15 years, digital technology changed photography dramatically, and Kodak, a former heavyweight in the analog film business, got left behind.

That’s the story of Kodak in the broadest of strokes, though it doesn’t capture… read more

FindTheBest Mobile Will Instantly Compare Anything

January 20th, 2012
Link Twitter
Mashable

Whether you’re looking for a daycare, ski resort or smartphone, comparison engine FindTheBest can provide the critical stats. On Friday, the startup will give you better access to this info while you’re on the go with the launch of a new mobile site.

Since going online in August 2010, FindTheBest has… read more

Extracting Logos Using Levels In Adobe Fireworks

January 20th, 2012
Link Twitter
Smashing Magazine

In all the years that I’ve been using Adobe Fireworks, I have always had to perform one task in every project: remove the background from a logo. Most of the time, it’s because the client doesn’t have the original raw file that their previous designer used to create their company’s… read more

How to Take Good Sports Photographs

January 20th, 2012
Link Twitter
InstantShift

Shooting sports pictures can be very exciting and fulfilling experience, provided you have patience and necessary skills. A fundamental knowledge of the game definitely helps in sports photography.

Browse a lot of sports magazines or photography websites to get an idea and feel of the game.

Things Which are Important
Camera

Camera can be… read more

Elton John’s Husband Apologizes to Madonna on Facebook for Golden Globes Gaffe

January 20th, 2012
Link Twitter
Mashable

Elton John’s husband has apologized to Madonna on Facebook, following comments he made that the Queen of Pop didn’t deserve the Golden Globe award she won on Sunday.

John’s husband and producer David Furnish was publically upset after Madonna took home the Best Song award for “Masterpiece,” a song written for… read more

Pinterest for Brands: 5 Hot Tips

January 20th, 2012
Link Twitter
Mashable

This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business.

We’ve all been hearing a lot about Pinterest lately, so you’re probably wondering whether you should take the plunge and create a profile for your company. We… read more

Time Magazine Cover Illustrator

January 20th, 2012
Link Twitter

Time Magazine Cover Illustrator

read more

Hands On: Apple’s iBooks Author App

January 19th, 2012
Link Twitter
Mashable

Apple is hoping its new iBooks Author app will turn educators into authors, the same way iMovie and Garageband turned amateurs into audio and video editors.

Apple launched the app at its education event in New York City in conjunction with the revamped iTunes U and partnerships with various textbook publishers…. read more

Mustaches Prevail on Gentlemint, the Pinterest Site for ‘Manly Men’

January 19th, 2012
Link Twitter
Mashable

What’s more manly than a mustache?

Not much, if you ask co-founders Glen Stansberry and Brian McKinney, co-founders of the recently launched Gentlemint.com — a Pinterest-inspired site for “manly men.”

“We wanted to add an old-school, ‘gentlemanly’ feel,” Stansberry says of the ‘stache logo. “Kind of like a Teddy Roosevelt… read more

How To Integrate Facebook, Twitter And Google+ In WordPress

January 19th, 2012
Link Twitter
Smashing Magazine

Integrating social media services in your website design is vital if you want to make it easy for readers to share your content. While some users are happy with the social media buttons that come built into their design template, the majority of WordPress users install a plugin to automatically… read more

20 WordPress Magazine Themes for Technology & Gadget Sites

January 19th, 2012
Link Twitter

Technology and gadget blogs are huge online, blogs such as Engadget and Gizmodo garner millions of eyeballs each month with breaking news and inside knowledge of the latest tech. Smaller sites run by one or a small group of bloggers are also flourishing and making a good living covering these… read more

5 SEO Trends Writers Should Target in 2012

January 19th, 2012
Link Twitter
Freelanceswitch

Freelance writers need to deal with web content all the time, as more and more of publishing goes online.

Although the basic principles of good writing don’t change in the online realm, there are certain differences that writers should be aware of. One of the most important aspects of online… read more

‘Inside Apple’ Extracts Published By Fortune Magazine

January 18th, 2012
Link Twitter
Mac App Storm

Its products are ubiquitous around the world and each announcement from the company generates huge press attention, frantic tweeting and unparalleled excitement. But up till now, hardly anything is known about what actually goes on inside Apple’s core and how the company functions. The company is known for being one… read more

Tips on Crafting The Perfect Press Release

January 18th, 2012
Link Twitter
Freelanceswitch

The magazine I run is holding a contest, and we’ve been working hard with our PR consultant on creating the best press releases possible to advertise our event. It’s not as easy as one might think to craft a good press release—even if you are a professional writer. I… read more

Working with Professional Typography in Adobe Illustrator

January 18th, 2012
Link Twitter
Vector Tuts

I would like to dedicate this tutorial to typography, which are the methods of processing printed text for better legibility and beauty. Typography is composed through the graphic design of printed text using the specifics for that languages rules. In this Basix tutorial will be apply the typography methods and… read more

Printed Web: Print Design Inspired Websites

January 18th, 2012
Link Twitter
Noupe

It seems things are changing for website design. The minimalist style adopted by many websites is slowly being evolved into something a little more engaging. One of the main sources of inspiration for this change in the way website content is displayed has been print design, particularly newspapers and magazines…. read more

6 Tips for Handling Breaking Crises on Twitter

January 18th, 2012
Link Twitter
Mashable

Dallas Lawrence is the chief global digital strategist for Burson-Marsteller, one of the world’s leading public relations and communications firms. He is a Mashable contributor on emerging media trends, online reputation management and digital issue advocacy. You can connect with him on Twitter @dallaslawrence.

If the past year has taught us… read more

Sacre Bleu! Upcoming French Apple Store Is Basically Naked

January 17th, 2012
Link Twitter
Mashable

Good luck finding the all-new Apple store planned for Aix en Provence, France; it’s going to be practically invisible.

The Apple store, to be finished later this year, will push the barely-there glass aesthetic common in most Apple stores — notably… read more

Designing The Well-Tempered Web

January 17th, 2012
Link Twitter
Smashing Magazine

As technology evolves, so does the art and craft of Web design. New technology creates new challenges, which require new solutions. Often we’re working in uncharted territory, where the solutions demanded really are new. Other times, we’re faced with problems of a more universal nature, problems that have a history.

Given… read more

21 Excellent Portfolios and Design Agency Websites

January 17th, 2012
Link Twitter
Web Design Ledger

Advertise here with BSA

It has been a while since we last showcased Design Related Websites here, so today we decided to check out how is it that design firms, designers, and other creative agencies are presenting their work. From design studios to brand firms and freelance designer’s portfolios, you… read more

Resolution Independence With SVG

January 16th, 2012
Link Twitter
Smashing Magazine

In this article, we’ll look at Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG), one of the most underused technologies in website development today.

Before diving into an example, let’s consider the state of the Web at present and where it is going. Website design has found new vigor in recent years, with the evolving technique… read more

20 Things You Didn’t Know About Pop Art & Graphic Design

January 16th, 2012
Link Twitter
Specky Boy

Advertise here with BSA

The advent of the Pop Art movement in the 50′s didn’t just impress the wealthy, it changed the culture. So iconic and profound were the inspirations and meanings behind this movement that it’s art is still featured, studied and produced to this day.

In this article,… read more

12 New WordPress Magazine Themes

January 15th, 2012
Link Twitter

12 New WordPress Magazine Themes

read more

Categories: Print, Web Design

Visual Stories ~ Behind The Lens with Vincent Laforet – Book Review

January 14th, 2012
Link Twitter
Digital Photography School

Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Vincent Laforet may not need an introduction, but his first book does.

In case you’ve never heard of Vince Laforet, he is considered to be one of the most accomplished story telling photographers of his generation. Laforet was commissioned by international publications such as the New York Times… read more

5 Strategies for Creating Magnetic Online Content

January 13th, 2012
Link Twitter
Mashable

Frank Marquardt is director of content strategy at The Barbarian Group, a digital services and creation company. Find him on Twitter @tralition.

Traditional advertising worked through distraction — an interruption to our sitcom, a page between magazine articles, a banner teasing our attention at the top of a webpage.

Then entertainment… read more

How Commercial Plugin Developers Are Using The WordPress Repository

January 13th, 2012
Link Twitter
Smashing Magazine

A few weeks ago I wrote about how you can put together a great readme.txt for the WordPress plugin directory. In addition to using a WordPress readme as a tool to help out your users, you can use it to promote your commercial products and services. While commercial theme developers… read more

Tips for Making Clients Read Your Emails

January 13th, 2012
Link Twitter
InstantShift

Email marketing is one of the in-vogue techniques in the online marketing world. Over time, it has turned out to be one of the best ways to interact with one’s audience, keep them informed and share updates. When people share their email addresses with you, a website administrator, they expect… read more

Using Mini Bridge with InDesign CS5

January 12th, 2012
Link Twitter

Jeff Witchel talks about the integration of Mini Bridge into InDesign CS5, which has made it much easier to use. Use Mini Bridge to open InDesign files, edit file names, show linked files, save snippets, and place images.

read more

Inclusive Design

January 12th, 2012
Link Twitter
Smashing Magazine

We’ve come a long way since the days of the first Macintosh and the introduction of graphical user interfaces, going from monochrome colors to millions, from estranged mice to intuitive touchscreens, from scroll bars to pinch, zoom, flick and pan. But while hardware, software and the people who use technology… read more

What Do I Do When My Client Will Not Pay Up?

January 12th, 2012
Link Twitter
Freelanceswitch

Speaking from experience, I have written for a number of sites over 22 years as a freelance contractor and can happily say 95 percent of those bosses paid me on time.

That being said, there is always that one individual or company that goes about hanging you out to dry,… read more

We have $700 worth of services from PSD2HTML.com to giveaway

January 12th, 2012
Link Twitter
Specky Boy

Advertise here with BSA

If you’re a busy web designer or web developer, this week’s competition is the perfect solution for your PSD to HTML slicing needs. PSD2HTML.com are giving away $400 worth of services for the winner and $300 for the runner-up.
All you have to do… read more

Apple’s Textbook Venture: What’s the Big Idea?

January 12th, 2012
Link Twitter
Mashable

The latest scuttlebutt on Apple’s big education announcement next week: the company is venturing into textbooks.

An industry insider confirmed to the New York Times that Apple will, in fact, be partnering with textbook publishers. No new devices will be shown, the source says, but Apple will discuss their new… read more

Why I Don’t Buy Books From Bookstores

January 11th, 2012
Link Twitter
Web App Storm

I want to make this crystal clear: I love bookstores. I love going to them and checking out the bookshelves and the magazine racks, and finding some good things to read. I discovered a bunch of books and magazine because of bookstores, including the .net Magazine, the best web development… read more

SPIN to Review Most Albums Via Twitter

January 11th, 2012
Link Twitter
Mashable

Long-winded music reviews are getting a tune up. SPIN announced on Wednesday that it will be squeezing the majority of its album reviews into 140-character tweets.

SPIN is pulling most of the reviews out of its print magazine and will be tweeting them instead under the handle @SPINreviews.

Senior editor Chris Weingarten… read more

10 Social Good Kickstarter Projects Seeking to Change the World

January 11th, 2012
Link Twitter
Mashable

Everyone wants to change the world, but the money to do so is rarely available. That’s where Kickstarter comes in.

Although Kickstarter is primarily a funding platform for entrepreneurs of all kinds, activists, humanitarians and other pioneers of social justice can tap this fundraising community to share their projects —… read more

It Works For “You”: A User-Centric Guideline To Product Pages

January 10th, 2012
Link Twitter
Smashing Magazine

Product pages for e-commerce websites are often rife with ambitious intentions: Recreate the brick-and-mortar shopping experience. Provide users with every last drop of product information. Build a brand persona. Establish a seamless checkout process.

As the “strong link in any conversion” (Richmond), product pages have so much potential. We can create… read more

A Tribute to The Dreamer – Martin Luther King Jr. Art

January 10th, 2012
Link Twitter
YouTheDesigner

The 1963 TIME Magazine Man of the Year and youngest ever awardee of the Nobel Peace Prize, Martin Luther King Jr. will forever be remembered as the voice that inspired much-needed changes in American society. The speech he delivered during the historical Washington March was widely regarded as one of the… read more

Everything You Need to Know About Travel Photography

January 10th, 2012
Link Twitter
InstantShift

Travel photography is inspirational and exciting by its very nature. The prime goal of travel photography is satisfaction and enjoyment one can get out of it.

For any worthwhile photography, a deliberate and conscious choice is a must. This choice can be of the right film, right shutter speed, right depth… read more

10 Full Magazine Layout Templates for InDesign and Photoshop

January 10th, 2012
Link Twitter

10 Full Magazine Layout Templates for InDesign and Photoshop

read more

How To Use Zoom Blur To Add Action In Your Photos

January 9th, 2012
Link Twitter
Digital Photography School

Most of us own a zoom lens of one type or another. While I have no specific stat, I’ll say 98% of us do. It seems like a good number and might even be low.

With nearly all of you armed with this type of lens, let’s take a look at… read more

Lampetoni Magazine Free WordPress Theme

January 8th, 2012
Link Twitter

Lampetoni Magazine Free WordPress Theme

read more

Categories: Print, Web Design

Wallpaper of the Week 185 by Perttu Murto

January 8th, 2012
Link Twitter
Abduzeedo

The wallpaper of this week is an image created by Perttu Murto, a 26-year-old graphic designer, art director and illustrator from Finland. Perttu has been involved in graphics for more than 8 years and his work has been featured in several prestigious design websites and magazines. In 2007 he was… read more

Be Ready When Someone Asks, “What Do You Do?”

January 6th, 2012
Link Twitter
Freelanceswitch

I really like the 60-Second Solutions videos on Entrepreneur.com. I thought that the recent video by communications coach Carmine Gallo on creating a 60 second strategy to tell your story was especially useful.

Sometimes it’s hard to explain to people what it is you really do. Many people hear the… read more

Focal Points In Design Layout

January 6th, 2012
Link Twitter
InstantShift

Why are magazines and books always laid out the same? Even with alternative design, there is a harmony in layout or the reader’s head will explode… or they will just stop reading and skip to the next page. Successful design in publishing, advertising, web design, illustration and anything else that… read more

Adventures In The Third Dimension: CSS 3D Transforms

January 6th, 2012
Link Twitter
Smashing Magazine

Back in 2009, the WebKit development team proposed a new extension to CSS that would allow Web page elements to be displayed and transformed on a three-dimensional plane. This proposal was called 3-D Transforms, and it was soon implemented in Safari for Mac and iOS. About a year later, support… read more

The Top 25 WordPress Themes Of 2011

January 6th, 2012
Link Twitter
Noupe

One could argue that every year the WordPress platform gets better and better, and 2011 was no different with the release of three major updates: WordPress 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3. We have seen the addition of post formats, advanced taxonomy and custom fields queries, an improved import and export system,… read more

Shorty Awards Opens Voting, Adds ‘Best Presidential Candidate’ Category

January 4th, 2012
Link Twitter
Mashable

The Shorty Awards, an annual crowdsourced contest that honors social media professionals, agencies and brands, launched its nomination phase Wednesday with improved campaign tools and new categories.

Among the new categories Shorty Awards producer Sawhorse Media added this year is “Best Presidential Candidate in Social Media.” As with all categories, people… read more

Stop Designing Pages And Start Designing Flows

January 4th, 2012
Link Twitter
Smashing Magazine

For designers, it’s easy to jump right into the design phase of a website before giving the user experience the consideration it deserves. Too often, we prematurely turn our focus to page design and information architecture, when we should focus on the user flows that need to be supported by… read more

Top 50 Graphic Design Photoshop Tutorials from 2011

January 4th, 2012
Link Twitter
Specky Boy

Advertise here with BSA

What a great year 2011 has been for the Photoshop community. With so many new tutorials being published daily it has never been easier to learn a new creative techniques that will help reduce your learning curve substantially.
In this yearly round-up we have… read more

Ten Alternatives to WordPress as a Blogging CMS

January 4th, 2012
Link Twitter
YouTheDesigner

We all know that WordPress is an awesome Content Management System cum Blogging Platform. In fact, it is also the most popular blogging tool all over the internet. Name any other CMS – WordPress eats them all out for lunch!

However, as a web designer/developer/enthusiast, being knowledgeable about an extra CMS… read more

Book Suggestion Illusive 2: Contemporary Illustration and Its Context

January 4th, 2012
Link Twitter
Abduzeedo

The book suggestion of this week is Illusive 2: Contemporary Illustration and Its Context. This book is really inspiring, there were some amazing illustrations and you can spend ours checking them out. Another amazing thing about this book is that you can always go back and there will always be… read more

GuideGuide: Free Plugin For Dealing With Grids In Photoshop

January 3rd, 2012
Link Twitter
Smashing Magazine

This article is the fourth in our new series that introduces the latest, useful and freely available tools and techniques, developed and released by active members of the Web design community. The first article covered PrefixFree; the second introduced Foundation, a responsive framework; the third presented Sisyphus.js, a library for… read more

5 Simple Ways to Get Your Work Out There

January 3rd, 2012
Link Twitter
YouTheDesigner

One of the hardest things to do when starting out as a designer is to get your name and work out into the world. It can be an intimidating feat, as more designers are popping up all over the globe, but here are a few things you can do to… read more

6 Tips For Building a High Quality Blog Following

January 2nd, 2012
Link Twitter
Mashable

Shane Snow is a New York-based tech journalist and co-founder of Contently.com, a marketplace for brand publishers and journalists.

In 2010, New York City startup, Birchbox launched a blog about beauty products before it had any customers. The beauty sample delivery service – and its blog – exploded in popularity.

Today, to… read more