- Twelve very creative home wallpapers for your viewing pleasure.
If pixelated wallpaper isn't your thing there are ton of other interesting designs listed over on the other side of the click. The color palette/wallpaper idea sounds like a fun weekend project as Home Depot sure doesn't seem to mind the taking of those free swatch colors (you may need multiple trips to get away with it though).
- Forty-seven amazing CSS3 demonstrations for your viewing pleasure.
Behold the mighty power of CSS3 which can take on some powerful animation techniques (thus negating the need for Flash or intense JavaScript). You'll need a webkit compliant browser (Safari, Chrome) to enjoy said demos though.
- A list of thirty-five web design mistakes you should try to avoid.
Are you an aspiring web designer? Thinking of making a name for yourself on the big world wide web? Then follow this well put together guide and you'll be on your way to web success in no time.
- The golden rules of site redesign as told by Some Random Dude.
A good read for my fellow webnerds out there that might be thinking and/or planning about a potential redesign. Be it for work or for personal use, this is a good starting point before you actually get started.
- Five branding basics that every logo designer should know about.
When Coca-Cola briefly changed their formula in 1985, people flipped over sabotaged history. Can you imagine their reaction if Coca-Cola changed their name to Sanscoca Fizzola? Exactly.
- Fifty useful design tools for beautiful web typography.
Another quality post from Smashing Magazine covering everything you could possibly need to know about how to make decent looking web typography. Post features a number of great online utilities you can use as well as some handy techniques. Happy fonting.
- Twelve unusual scarf designs for you to gawk at.
Posted mostly because of the biting cold that happened to have a direct effect on my morning New York City commute. While a typography-based scarf sounds cool in theory, in practice it probably wouldn't provide much warmth.
- Fifteen well-designed posters that happen to be about design.
Looking for a bit of design inspiration? Have a look at this gallery of design-centric posters about design (recursive post is vaguely trying to be recursive), print some out and hang them in your office or cubicle. Voila, instant inspiration.
- A list of the best and worst identities of the 2009 calendar year.
Only five months later Kraft Foods unveiled a revised logo that was supposed to be an improvement. You know the expression “Putting lipstick on a pig”? This is like switching the lipstick from the pig’s mouth to the pig’s you-know-what.
- Twenty-five awesome gift ideas for designers and developers.
Yes, I'll take any one or more of these fabulous gift ideas. Honestly, who wouldn't want a brand new MacBook Pro? So in closing, please send your charitable contribution gifts to me via overnight via FedEx, thanks. Merry Christmas.
- Reuters decides to give their website a complete facelift.
Although the source article is about the redesign itself, you can try out the brand new Reuters website design on their brand new website. Very clean and gives emphasis properly to what a news site is supposed to give emphasis to, the news. CNN, please study this.
- AOL trying out new look now that split from Time Warner is official.
Say goodbye to the that blue triangle you've grown so familiar with over the years. Say hello to various works of clipart instead... with the letters A O L (and don't forget the period) draped over them.
- Smashing Magazine would like you to know that classic blog posts are boring.
A lof of valid points in this writeup along with some great examples of web designers who are pushing the envelope in this area. I'm loving the deviation from their normal layout just to push the article's main concept.
- Twenty brand new high quality free fonts just for you.
Need some new fonts for your design arsenal? Smashing Magazine is here to the recue to perk up your library. They encourage you to read up license agreements before using these fonts - just in case.
- A collection of the best free fonts of 2009 thus far.
Need some inspiration by way of lettering? These fonts are a great addition to any designer's arsenal of fonts. The fact that they are free is also good. I like free and I'm gueeing you will too.
- Microsoft decides to give the MSN homepage a bit of a facelift.
The new home page is tightly integrated with Bing, which should help boost the search engine's market share from its current ten percent or so. It also includes Twitter and Facebook feeds, so that users don't need to leave the page to update status or post a tweet.
- Fifteen awesome ultramodern fireplaces for you to gawk at.
Yes, it's quite possible to have a mini fire pit to go along with your coffee table. And by go along with, I actually mean inside your coffee table. Who wants smores?
- The essential characteristics of modern CSS layouts.
Another quality post from the folks at Smashing Magazine that covers said characteristics ranging from progressive enhancements to rich typography.
- Seven key principles that happen to make a web design look good.
...anyone should be able to create a visually pleasing design and take one step closer to fame. Okay, it’s not that simple, and talent and experience do matter, but anyone can turn their home page into something prettier within mere minutes.
- Ten essential skills that every graphic designer should probably have.
One of the more underrated design skills today is typography, however in truth, typography is one of the key things top advertising firms review in a design portfolio. It is usually the difference between a good and excellent designer.
- A collection of iPhone design trends for your viewing pleasure.
Smashing Magazine takes an in-depth look at successful (and perhaps the not so successful) design trends and patterns of the mobile sensation that is iPhone. Big pretty buttons, don't fail me now.
- Burger King to be the home of the newly renovated Whopper by end of 2010.
These sleek design changes will occur in 12,000 Burger King locations worldwide. The photos look suspiciously like when Marty visits Cafe Eighties from Back to the Future II.
- A collection of the world's ugliest buildings for you to gawk at.
Call me crazy, but I think the hand basket building is actually kind of cool rather than ugly as the article suggests. They make hand baskets after all - so the architecture works on a functional level.
- Fourteen cool designs inspired by R2-D2. Beep bop boop.
Coolest beanie ever, although the fish tank comes in at a close second for me.
- Fifteen designs inspired by Tetris just for you.
I'm still looking to get my hands on some of those Tetris ice cube trays. Now where is my thin piece so can clear this four-liner? Thin piece, FTW.
- Twenty-five colorful advertisements that will grab your attention.
Why not end your day with a little dose of color? Go on, taste the rainbow.
- Ten useful usability findings and guidlines from the folks over at Smashing Magazine.
Elements such as layout, consistency, typography, color and style all affect how users perceive your website and what kind of image you project. Your website should project not only a good image but also the right one for your audience.
- Fifteen of the worst user experience design mistakes ever.
Read up and learn my fellow designers, don't be that guy (or girl).
- Twitter pulls the curtain back on homepage redesign.
There's a big Twitter Search button to 'see what people are saying about' a given topic, putting the service's utility front and center. Then there is a roster of trending topics by the hour, day, and week.
- Yahoo to pull the curtain back on a redesigned homepage tomorrow.
Screen shots of the redesign, which have been widely circulating on the Internet, show a customizable toolbar on the left of the page, which allows users to choose from their favorite third-party applications.










































































































































