//
I find that when I am looking for inspiration on a color scheme and I know the primary color that will be used, it helps to browse other sites of the same color. So today we’ll be showcasing blue websites, and hopefully this can serve as a source of inspiration for your own work. In the future we will be publishing other similar showcases featuring other colors. Blue is one of the more popular colors in web design, so there is no shortage of inspiration available.
In the past we’ve featured photography showcases of all kinds, including action photos. Today in this showcase we’re going in a different direction, showcasing still life photos. Still life photography can be quite amazing because of the photographer’s ability to turn an ordinary object into a beautiful photograph. The composition, lighting, and colors can serve as excellent sources of design inspiration.
Here is a look at 30 still life photos from various photographers.
Photo credit: Jack Ambridge
There is no shortage of content available on the topic of blogging, but many who are interested in the subject still have misconceptions about making money through a blog. This is in part due to the fact that so many people are publishing content about blogging and a lot of those people have different views and opinions. Also, it’s often difficult to determine how much credibility should be given to the source.
In this article I’d like to present 8 myths that are commonly associated with blogging. If you have blogging experience of your own you’ve probably already disproved several of these myths. If you don’t have experience blogging, maybe this information will be helpful to see things in a different light.
Many people see articles or hear stories of others making money through blogging and they assume that it’s easy to do. They assume that within a matter of a few months they should be able to earn a significant income and then it is just smooth sailing from there. The vast majority of people who have believed this myth and have decided to start their own blog as a result have quickly realized that it is in fact just a myth.
The truth is that making money from a blog involves a lot of work, just like having any other type of job or running another type of business. There are plenty of success stories out there, and some of the bloggers who have managed to do very well with their blogs are able to work fewer hours than they would with another type of job. However, for every person like this there are hundreds who have tried and given up without success.
Using a hand-drawn style of design is one way to create an interesting web design that visitors will remember. There are a lot of different approaches to using doodles and sketches, and in this post we’ll showcase examples for your own inspiration.
Some designers use hand-drawn elements like arrows and lines, while others use the hand-drawn style on text or even the background of the website. As you browse through the sites showcased here you’ll see a lot of creativity in how the doodles and sketches are used.
If you browse around many websites, especially design galleries, you’ve probably noticed the trends of using elements like ribbons, badges, and banners in web design. Ribbons with a 3D look are especially popular right now. In this post we’ll showcase 30 websites using these types of elements.
Character design and illustration is a skill that many designers attempt to master. If you’re working to improve your own skills in this area it can be helpful to gain inspiration from the work of others. In this post we’ll showcase 30 character illustrations from various designers. You may also be interested in this post from the archives, 30 Tutorials for Designing Fun and Creative Characters.
Skylines and cityscapes are a common subject for photographs, and they are even frequently mimicked in web and graphic design (see Web Design Trends: Skylines and Cityscapes). Each city has it’s own unique characteristics, and in this post we’ll showcase 30 photographs of various skylines. This showcase includes HDR photos, night photos, water reflection photos, and more.
The most significant challenge that bloggers face is attracting visitors. For new bloggers nothing can be more frustrating than trying to figure out how to get people to see the content that you’ve spent time preparing.
Getting visitors to your blog is possible and quite realistic if you’re willing to put in some effort to get the exposure that you need. If you’re spending hours on blog posts and you feel like that work is being wasted because not enough people are seeing the posts, we’ll take a look at some things that you can do to get the right exposure.
Here are some things that you can do to get your blog posts in front of more people and to get more impact from each post.
Patterns can be used in web design as a visual focal point, or they can be used subtly to add character to a design. The use of subtle patterns is very popular at the moment. In many cases subtle patterns are used on backgrounds instead of a flat, solid color or a heavy texture that might dominate the design.
In this post we’ll showcase more than 25 websites that make use of visual patterns in their design. You’ll notice that subtle grids in particular are very common, and the sites in this gallery use them effectively.
Although Fireworks doesn’t get as much attention as Photoshop, for web designers it can be as good or a better tool for many tasks as compared to Photoshop. One of the challenges of working with Fireworks is that most of us simply feel more comfortable in Photoshop because of having more experience with it. In the absence of experience, quality tutorials can become a very valuable resource to help with the learning curve.
In this post we’ll link to 50 tutorials that will help designers to learn more about Fireworks and what can be accomplished with it.
The Abduzeetles Rockband Website in Fireworks
Ecommerce websites can be one of the more challenging types of websites for designers. There is a lot that needs to be considered (see 9 Characteristics of Well-Designed Ecommerce Websites) and the design decisions can have a significant impact on the effectiveness of the website at converting visitors to customers.
In this post we’ll showcase 25 ecommerce websites that feature an attractive visual design. They should serve as an excellent source of inspiration when working on ecommerce projects of your own.
In this past we have showcased examples of landscape photography, which includes photos of mountains, valleys, plains, lakes, coast lines, and a variety of other types of landscapes. Deserts may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of subjects for landscape photography, but even a barren desert provides opportunities for photographers.
In this post we’ll showcase 30 outstanding examples of desert photography from a variety of different photographers. Hopefully it will serve as inspiration for you in your own work.
Photo credit: alfzecat
Some of the most interesting photos are those that show the world from a different point of view. Aerial photography can take certain subjects that we’re used to seeing in a certain way and present it in a much more interesting and intriguing manner.
In this post we’ll showcase 30 beautiful aerial photos. They feature a variety of different subjects including landscapes like mountains and coastlines, plus other types of subjects like buildings and cities.
Photo credit: Rafal Rudomina
Restaurants that use their websites effectively are able to have a significant impact on their business. Whether it is allowing customers to view menus and specials, find a location, make reservations, sign up for a mailing list, or place an order online, there are a lot of ways that restaurants can benefit from a website.
National chains and small, local restaurants both have the potential for impact with their website, and in this post we’ll showcase 25 well-designed websites for your inspiration. You’ll see a lot of sites that make use of vibrant colors, and of course photos of temping food. At the end of the post we’ll also list a few options for creating a restaurant website, including some of the best templates and themes.
Buttons are an extremely common design element that are used by almost every website. Web buttons are critical for usability and navigation, and they can also be used to help direct the action of the user as you encourage them to add a product to a shopping cart, take a tour, get more information, or contact you.
Creating new buttons while keeping the same style can be very simple by using Photoshop’s layer styles. In this post we’ll take a quick look at how you can create your own button layer styles to save yourself some time.
You may have had situations in the past where you found yourself creating multiple buttons for a mockup and adding the same layer styles over and over again. Or you may have wanted to create a new button that matches the style of an existing button, but you can’t remember the details of the layer effects that were used. Both of these situations could be made much easier if the button effects were saved as a layer style that could be re-used at any time.
Layer styles are a preset in Photoshop, like brushes, patterns, and custom shapes. Layer styles can be saved as an .asl file and then can be loaded at any time, or distributed with others working on the project.
Let’s start by creating a basic button in Photoshop.
Set the foreground color to #166ecc and the background color to #4495ee. Select the rounded rectangle tool with a radius of 10 pixels and draw a rectangle that is 250 pixels wide and 40 pixels high.
Navigation menus are a critical part of web design because of their importance for usability and creating a position user experience. Websites with poor navigational structure or a lack of clarity in navigation will frustrate visitors and result in people leaving the site without finding the right pages and content.
Aside from the usability aspect, navigation menus also provide designers with the opportunity to create something attractive. In this post we’ll showcase 25 websites that have beautiful menus. You’ll see a variety of different styles, which should help with providing inspiration for your own designs.
The things that can be accomplished with Photoshop are quite amazing. Designers who are skilled at photo manipulation can use their creativity to produce stunning results. In this post we’ll feature 35 pieces of work from various designers, for your inspiration.
If you want to learn more about how to create your own photo manipulations please see:
Credit: Roberto Gamito
Photoshop users can save a lot of time and create beautiful designs by using patterns. Photoshop’s presets (like brushes, styles, patterns, custom shapes, and gradients) are highly-powerful tools when used effectively.
Whether you are creating your own custom patterns or using pre-made patterns that you have downloaded for free or purchased, having an arsenal of patterns at your disposal will allow you to quickly create high-quality work.
In this post we’ll showcase 50 sets of free Photoshop patterns for your own use. You may also be interested in our recent post, Ultimate Collection of Free Photoshop Styles.
Most of us visit several different blogs every day. While the greatest factor in a blog being successful and useful is the content, having a memorable and attractive design can certainly help. With so many blogs using the same or similar themes, a unique design can have a positive impact on first time visitors and can improve the visitor’s experience on the blog.
In this post we’ll showcase 25 blogs with beautiful designs. Hopefully these examples will prove to be useful for your own design inspiration.
There are many different challenges that bloggers face. Continually growing, adapting, and improving your blog is a significant on-going challenge. While all blogs attempt to provide useful content and to connect with readers, sometimes there is a desire and a need to go further. The motivation could be to provide more for readers, to help standout from other blogs in the industry, to bring in more money, or simply for a new learning experience.
In this post we’ll look at 10 different things you can do to extend your blog. Of course, you won’t want to attempt all of them with your blog, but see which ones fit best with your goals and with your audience.
Blogging and email newsletters have a lot in common. In both cases you’re providing content on a consistent basis to subscribers, and trying to increase your reach by offering content that is interesting and helpful for those reading. It may seem like having an email newsletter is overkill if you’re already blogging, but building a newsletter list can be a great way to extend your blog.
The newsletter will give you another method of staying in touch with your audience and you’ll be able to include content that you want to be accessible only to your subscribers. If you already have the traffic coming to your blog and an established reputation with your audience, building a newsletter list can be much easier than it would be without the blog.
We recently started our own newsletter, and so far it has been a great way for us to reach those who read our blog and want more, and we’re able to include brief announcements, news, and links that we aren’t able to post on our blog each week.
For managing a mailing list we use and recommend MailChimp. It includes all the necessary features (and more) and it’s free for lists with less than 2,000 subscribers. AWeber, Get Response, and iContact are other popular options.
In terms of monetization possibilities, email newsletter present many of the same opportunities as blogs, including selling ad space, promoting affiliate products, and selling your own products.