Articles by Web Designer Depot from January 2013

While typography is typically a two-dimensional proposition, the communication design students at the University of Applied Science in Dusseldorf have expanded the practice to 3-D. As an exercise in t...

Still using desktop code editors? Web integrated development environments (IDEs) are a new way to build your web projects directly in the browser, often saving development time and making collaboratio...

One of the most challenging briefs any designer can take on is to design for a cross-cultural organization that needs to appeal to disparate groups from diverse backgrounds. As designers we’re f...

In order to be a great designer, you need to be on top of the trend before it becomes a trend. Being able to have this sense of what’s going to take off is key in creating a wonderful product. Y...

Whilst the trend for online business continues to grow, there is a significant increase in the number of consumers choosing not to do business online. The most oft-quoted reason is privacy. Six months...

Responsive web design has become a near ubiquitous buzzword on the web. Try searching for #rwd on Twitter to find equal parts content and Twitter spam. This is a common phase in the maturing of a new ...

Every week we tweet a lot of interesting stuff highlighting great content that we find on the web that can be of interest to web designers. The best way to keep track of our tweets is simply to follow...

Every week we feature a set of comics created exclusively for WDD. The content revolves around web design, blogging and funny situations that we encounter in our daily lives as designers. These great ...

Freelancers (and anyone else who works for him or herself) know that the tide of work ebbs and flows. Theres little question, then, that given the rather capricious nature of incoming projects, its cr...

With over 9 billion indexed sites on the web and counting, sites are having to do more to get noticed and encourage users to spend time on them. With more websites competing for users’ attention...

I’m a huge fan of punk rock, particularly punk bands from the 70s and 80s. And I think it’s safe to say that most designers (myself definitely included) appreciate Swiss modernism, even if...

Are you trying to grow your freelance web development or design business? Do you want to spend more time designing websites and less time trying to figure out what the client really wants and needs? B...

A lot of us can never get enough WordPress themes. It’s not like we get a merit badge for having a couple hundred of them residing on our harddrive, “just in case”. That being said, ...

For a while now, designers have been absolutely infatuated with all things subtle. We love subtle patterned backgrounds and intricate decorative elements; we are even into the muted color palettes. We...

It seems that there has been a line drawn in the sand. A few brave design pioneers have all but denounced skeuomorphic design as yesterdays news and have voted it off of the proverbial island. Are we ...

The key to great user interface design is user confidence. But designing user confidence isnt the easiest thing in the world. It requires more than correctly labeled buttons and interactionsalthough t...

What do you get when you cross an eccentric street artist, a traditional car manufacturer, and a trendy publication? You get extravagant, larger-than-life, mind-blowing art, of course. Commissioned by...

The January edition of what’s new for web designers and developers includes new web apps, jQuery plugins, API tools, design tools, content creation resources, CSS and HTML frameworks, InDesign r...

Every week we tweet a lot of interesting stuff highlighting great content that we find on the web that can be of interest to web designers. The best way to keep track of our tweets is simply to follow...

Every week we feature a set of comics created exclusively for WDD. The content revolves around web design, blogging and funny situations that we encounter in our daily lives as designers. These great ...

Pantone recently released its chosen color of the year, emerald green. But ask the advertising duo behind the new beer guide Beertone, and you might think golden yellow, amber red, or chocolate brown ...

Blogs and forums often have threaded comment replies built into their network. Popular social networksRedditandHacker Newsboth support threaded comments, which allows users to directly reply inline wi...

While these stunning images may look like still shots from a J.R.R. Tolkien adaptation, theyre actually the handiwork of amateur French photographer David Keochkerian. Davids style of infrared photogr...

Musicians and bands are frequently young, and usually working within a tight budget, often funding promotional material from their own pockets. As a result they’re one group of people who try th...

In our technologically driven society, its tempting to exclusively draw inspiration from electronic sources. A creative block hits and soon youre surfing the web, checking out Pinterest, clicking from...

Email marketing is probably the oldest and the most successful form of marketing for the web. Broadly, email marketing involves sending specialized custom emails to generate leads, promote an offer, s...

Of all the available New Years resolutions, going green in 2013 is certainly an admirable one. But if youre not sure where to start, take a cue from British artist Nick Gentry, who specializes in recy...

Picture this: youre a freelance designer just starting out. You dont have much of a reputation yet, but you know what direction you want to go in and who to design for. Your budget is low to non-exist...

If the thought of flying houses conjures up images of Dorothy, Toto, and ruby slippers in the wake of that famous Kansas tornado, then youre in good companybut the wonderful Wizard of Oz has nothing o...

In the first part of this series we looked at the failings that lead to the structural elements new to HTML5; in the second part of the series we looked in detail at the consequences of those failings...

Every week we tweet a lot of interesting stuff highlighting great content that we find on the web that can be of interest to web designers. The best way to keep track of our tweets is simply to follow...

Every week we feature a set of comics created exclusively for WDD. The content revolves around web design, blogging and funny situations that we encounter in our daily lives as designers. These great ...

Design and development community Forrst is a great resource for designers and developers who want to share their work and get feedback from others in their field. They made news last year when they we...

Forty years ago this coming Sunday (January 13th 1973), the American Broadcast Company added to its lineup of Saturday morning cartoons a cool, musical, three-minute mini-episode that brainwashed Amer...

Custom fonts are among the most potentially appealing aspects of CSS3 for designers. With thefont-facerule, you can render any font you have online within your web page text, regardless of whether the...

In the first part of this series we covered the failings that lead to HTML5′s structural elements, in this second part we’ll look in detail at the consequences of those failings. Ive said ...

Sometimes apps are just appsbut other times theyre cultural phenomena (think Angry Birds). And while the jurys still out on what place in history the new app Foldify will assume, we may have something...

Developing a good portfolio is an absolutely indispensable part of building a client base, or getting a good job for that matter. And developing a good portfolio can be a very difficult thing to do if...

Cards on the table: First and foremost, Im a writer. And while Ive worked with more than my share of design gurus, Im not one myself. But that doesnt mean we dont share some commonalitynamely, an affi...

HTMLs structural elements article, section, nav and aside are, at first glance, some of the easiest parts of the HTML5 specification to understand and implement. However, theyre actually some of the...

Few things scream Americana more than Norman Rockwells iconic Saturday Evening Post covers. Inherently charming and idyllic, the 323 original illustrations remain heart-warming reminders of simpler ti...

I decided to sell my web design company when we were a top 3 agency within our province for medium-sized websites. We were profitable, had 17 employees and life was good. Naturally I believed I’...

Every week we tweet a lot of interesting stuff highlighting great content that we find on the web that can be of interest to web designers. The best way to keep track of our tweets is simply to follow...

Every week we feature a set of comics created exclusively for WDD. The content revolves around web design, blogging and funny situations that we encounter in our daily lives as designers. These great ...

Every year the world of web design gets a new catch phrase that trends on just about every discussion platform there is.Some time ago, responsive web design was a blip on the radar that picked up a ma...

There’s just something about vector illustrated websites; they’re fantastical and breathtaking; they’re exciting and bold. Designers are able to create worlds and people that only ex...

In the epic battle of Jedi vs. Sith, it never hurts to wield a trustybusiness card? A tongue-in-cheek collection of Star Wars business cards has popped up on The Mary Sue, and according to one collect...

Techniques, technology and terminology change constantly in web design, and keeping up with them is crucial to your success in online design and development. Device-agnostic and responsive design are ...

People build websites for many reasons: to reach a wider audience; to sell, promote, or express; to appease peer pressure.Noveltystopped being a reason circa 2001. In its place, we haveof course: of c...

Another year has passed, which means its time for our annual instalment of design predictions for the coming year. In technology, one year can make a world of difference, and the changes can shape the...

Good typography is an art: choosing the best type to complement the meaning of the content, balancing sizes and spacing for optimum readbility, and not drawing attention to itself in the process. But ...

It’s hard to believe that 2012 is coming to a close. We lived through the Mayan “apocalypse”. And we’re now looking at the start of another year. It’s traditional to make...