Articles by Smashing Magazine from May 2016

Design patterns often have a bad reputation. They are often considered to be quick, lazy, off-the-shelf solutions that are applied blindly without consideration of the context of a problem. Solutions ...

  Design patterns often have a bad reputation. They are often considered to be quick, lazy, off-the-shelf solutions that are applied blindly without consideration of the context of a problem...

Finding our passion is a big challenge for all of us as human beings. At some point in life, we try to figure out what our purpose in this world is, what our future will look like. And for some of us,...

Do you remember when you could run a fast WordPress website with just an Apache server and PHP? Yeah, those were the days! Things were a lot less complicated back then.Now, everything has to load ligh...

  Finding our passion is a big challenge for all of us as human beings. At some point in life, we try to figure out what our purpose in this world is, what our future will look like. And for...

  Finding our passion is a big challenge for all of us as human beings. At some point in life, we try to figure out what our purpose in this world is, what our future will look like. And for...

  Editor's Note: Today marks a special day for WordPress. Powering many websites (and yes, Smashing Magazine is one of them), it celebrates its 13th birthday today. Happy birthday, dear Word...

If youre a footloose creative soul searching for a more affordable and friendly space than a typical rented or home office, coworking could work for you.Coworking spaces are popping up in cities all a...

  If youre a footloose creative soul searching for a more affordable and friendly space than a typical rented or home office, coworking could work for you.Coworking spaces are popping up in ...

Personal side projects are a cornerstone of creative growth and discovery. While they might not always result in financial gain, the long-term benefits are often much more useful. Benefits such as per...

Everyone wants a clean, consistent code base, no matter the language. Developers are accustomed to setting up linters in programming languages such as JavaScript and Python, but they rarely use a lint...

  Personal side projects are a cornerstone of creative growth and discovery. While they might not always result in financial gain, the long-term benefits are often much more useful. Benefits...

  Everyone wants a clean, consistent code base, no matter the language. Developers are accustomed to setting up linters in programming languages such as JavaScript and Python, but they rarel...

After months of hard work, Ive finally gotten my side project, Melody Jams, into the App Store. Its been quite the adventure, and Im thrilled to see it in the store. Seeing it live makes me reflect on...

  After months of hard work, Ive finally gotten my side project, Melody Jams, into the App Store. Its been quite the adventure, and Im thrilled to see it in the store. Seeing it live makes m...

Im sure youve heard the proverb, A chain is only as strong as its weakest link, probably many times. Its written origin dates back to the 18th century, but I wouldnt be surprised if it was much, much ...

Creating an effective web design is like putting a puzzle together, with the various parts coming together to tame the chaos and form a whole, well-organized design. At the foundation of this organiza...

  Im sure youve heard the proverb, A chain is only as strong as its weakest link, probably many times. Its written origin dates back to the 18th century, but I wouldnt be surprised if it was...

  Creating an effective web design is like putting a puzzle together, with the various parts coming together to tame the chaos and form a whole, well-organized design. At the foundation of t...

The World Wide Web Consortium uses a particular syntax to define the possible values that can be used for all CSS properties. You may have seen this syntax in action if you have ever looked at a CSS s...

From time to time you need to recalibrate your brain by experimenting with new technologies, by tracing down the performance of a certain feature or by reconsidering the environment of your project. W...

  The World Wide Web Consortium uses a particular syntax to define the possible values that can be used for all CSS properties. You may have seen this syntax in action if you have ever looke...

  From time to time you need to recalibrate your brain by experimenting with new technologies, by tracing down the performance of a certain feature or by reconsidering the environment of you...

As browsers constantly improve their graphical rendering abilities, the ability to truly design within them is becoming more of a reality. A few lines of code can now have quick and dramatic visual im...

Change is difficult in large corporations. But sometimes it is possible. In fact, we published Inside Microsofts New Rendering Engine For The Project Spartan when the new browser was just announced. A...

  Change is difficult in large corporations. But sometimes it is possible. In fact, we published Inside Microsofts New Rendering Engine For The Project Spartan when the new browser was just ...

Update (19.05.2016): The bug was just fixed by Antti Koivisto and has landed in the current update of iOS (9.3.2) and Safari for OS X 9.1.1 (11601.6.17). When a user visits a site using a SVG sprite i...

  As browsers constantly improve their graphical rendering abilities, the ability to truly design within them is becoming more of a reality. A few lines of code can now have quick and dramat...

  Change is difficult in large corporations. But sometimes it is possible. In fact, we published Inside Microsofts New Rendering Engine For The Project Spartan when the new browser was just ...

  Using external SVG sprite maps to deliver lossless scalable vector images is widely used in responsive web design today and well-supported by tools like svg4everybody.At German newspaper Z...

  Update (19.05.2016): The bug was just fixed by Antti Koivisto and has landed in the current update of iOS (9.3.2) and Safari for OS X 9.1.1 (11601.6.17). When a user visits a site using a ...

Varnish Cache is an open-source HTTP accelerator that is used to speed up content delivery on some of the worlds top content-heavy dynamic websites. However, the performance or speed that a newcomer t...

Development and design working together makes better products for our users. Design and usability decisions have a big impact on the developers who implement them, and, ultimately, on the experience o...

  Varnish Cache is an open source HTTP accelerator that is used for speeding up the content delivery of the world’s top content-heavy dynamic websites. However, the performance or spee...

  Development and design working together makes better products for our users. Design and usability decisions have a big impact on the developers who implement them, and, ultimately, on the ...

Some well-established web design basics: minimize the number of choices that someone has to make; create self-explanatory navigation tools; help people get to what they’re looking for as quickly...

  Some well-established web design basics: minimize the number of choices that someone has to make; create self-explanatory navigation tools; help people get to what they're looking for as q...

Living style guides are an important tool for web development today, especially in large, complex web applications. They help document styles and patterns, keep designers and developers in sync, and g...

  Living style guides are an important tool for web development today, especially in large, complex web applications. They help document styles and patterns, keep designers and developers in...

This week reminded me again of how refreshing attending a conference can be. As mentioned, I was at beyondtellerrand and, apart from meeting new people, I mostly enjoyed the inspiration I got from lis...

  This week reminded me again of how refreshing attending a conference can be. As mentioned, I was at the beyond tellerrand conference and, apart from meeting new people, I mostly enjoyed th...

  This week reminded me again of how refreshing attending a conference can be. As mentioned, I was at the beyond tellerrand conference and, apart from meeting new people, I mostly enjoyed th...

  This week reminded me again of how refreshing attending a conference can be. As mentioned, I was at the beyond tellerrand conference and, apart from meeting new people, I mostly enjoyed th...

We’ve featured a lot of different icon sets in the past, but we still haven’t had one dedicated to rockets, satellites and solar systems (well, don’t forget supernatural aliens as we...

  We've featured a lot of different icon sets in the past, but we still haven't had one dedicated to rockets, satellites and solar systems (well, don't forget supernatural aliens as well). T...

This article discusses a set of design guidelines in six steps. The steps follow the basics of sound icon design, including consistency, legibility and clarity. The principles of effective icon design...

Content is the core commodity of the digital economy. It is the gold we fashion into luxury experience, the diamond we encase in loyalty programs and upsells. Yet, as designers, we often plug it in af...

  Icon and vector marketplaces like Iconfinder (where I work) are making well-designed vector icons an inexpensive and readily available resource for web and print designers. Thousands of hi...

  Icon and vector marketplaces like Iconfinder (where I work) are making well-designed vector icons an inexpensive and readily available resource for web and print designers. Thousands of hi...

  Content is the core commodity of the digital economy. It is the gold we fashion into luxury experience, the diamond we encase in loyalty programs and upsells. Yet, as designers, we often p...

Have you ever wondered how elements come together to create successful designs? Its no accident that compelling design just seems to work. What most of these designs have in common is the use of gesta...

Embracing fluid typography might be easier than you think. It has wide browser support, is simple to implement and can be achieved without losing control over many important aspects of design. Unlike ...

  Have you ever wondered how elements come together to create successful designs? Its no accident that compelling design just seems to work. What most of these designs have in common is the ...

  Embracing fluid typography might be easier than you think. It has wide browser support, is simple to implement and can be achieved without losing control over many important aspects of des...

  Embracing fluid typography might be easier than you think. It has wide browser support, is simple to implement and can be achieved without losing control over many important aspects of des...

Today we’ll be looking at eye candy that will undoubtedly help you start the new week with your creativity freshly nurtured. Grab your cup of coffee or tea, and let these designs shine on you wi...

  Today we'll be looking at eye candy that will undoubtedly help you start the new week with your creativity freshly nurtured. Grab your cup of coffee or tea, and let these designs shine on ...

  Today we'll be looking at eye candy that will undoubtedly help you start the new week with your creativity freshly nurtured. Grab your cup of coffee or tea, and let these designs shine on ...

The past week showed yet again how fractured opinions in our industry can be and that to some problems theres definitely more than just one answer, or we still have to figure out what the proper way ...

  The past week showed yet again how fractured opinions in our industry can be and that to some problems theres definitely more than just one answer, or we still have to figure out what the...

So how do you sell a design system to the client? How do you establish a shared commitment within the company to put a pattern library on the roadmap? As designers and developers, we often know and se...

  So how do you sell a design system to the client? How do you establish a shared commitment within the company to put a pattern library on the roadmap? As designers and developers, we often...

Music plays an important part in all cultures and comes in many forms. It’s a great way to stimulate our thinking and our creativity, and music instruments often even support therapy and healing...

  Music plays an important part in all cultures and comes in many forms. It's a great way to stimulate our thinking and our creativity, and music instruments often even support therapy and h...

If youve ever written an iOS app beyond a trivial “Hello world” app with just one screen and a few views, then you might have noticed that a lot of code seems to “naturally” go...

Vintage design is an endless source of inspiration. Seeing how fellow designers tackled their job decades ago, with a limited set of tools, and how timeless, even classic, some of the pieces are still...

  If youve ever written an iOS app beyond a trivial "Hello world" app with just one screen and a few views, then you might have noticed that a lot of code seems to "naturally" go into view c...

  Vintage design is an endless source of inspiration. Seeing how fellow designers tackled their job decades ago, with a limited set of tools, and how timeless, even classic, some of the piec...

The perceptual process enables us to perceive the world through our senses of sight, smell, sound, taste and touch. In particular, our visual system processes vast amounts of information in its enviro...

In my early days of web design, I had to learn things the hard way: trial and error. There was no Smashing Magazine, Can I Use, CodePen or any of the other amazing tools at our disposal today. Having ...

  The perceptual process enables us to perceive the world through our senses of sight, smell, sound, taste and touch. In particular, our visual system processes vast amounts of information i...

  Hola a todos! (Hello, everyone!) In my early days of web design, I had to learn things the hard way: trial and error. There was no Smashing Magazine, Can I Use, CodePen or any of the other...

Robots are great for cleaning the floor and are perfect for exploring the moon. Theyre just not that great at customer support. The last thing your customers want is another We received your message e...

  Robots are great for cleaning the floor and are perfect for exploring the moon. Theyre just not that great at customer support. The last thing your customers want is another We received yo...

We always try to challenge your artistic abilities and create some interesting and inspiring artwork. As a matter of fact, we discovered the best source for inspiration: desktop wallpapers that are a ...

  We always try to challenge your artistic abilities and create some interesting and inspiring artwork. As a matter of fact, we discovered the best source for inspiration: desktop wallpapers...