Thank You So Much for this Set !

I enjoy the freebies, but at the same time I think I would prefer less freebies, and an increase in quality articles that have relevance to design or web development which allow me to learn something new.

I love the freebies, you can never have enough stuff in your resource library. My only problem is that I try not to use them in my artwork when they are noticeable. But I enjoy having then and a lot of times I will start with them as a base and will modify them beyond recognition. I am mainly referring to brushes/shapes etc.

tutorials and freebies are the only reason that I check this site daily.

I’m fairly indifferent towards the freebies myself, though I tend to look to this site for tools that aid creation (icons, brushes, fonts) rather than things already created (themes, plug-ins).

Love the freebies, though nice to balance with how-to stuff.

I am in agreement with David’s comment.. Perhaps reduce the amount of freebies and start including some more high quality web dev articles that offer plenty of valuable info. Freebies can technically be a dime a dosen (ok, perhaps not the higher caliber ones). Thus it is very easy to over-populate the freebies section. Smashing Magazine is supposed to be about ’smashing you with information that makes your life easier’.. not ’smashing you with freebies that make your life easier’. The occasional high quality freebies are indeed very nice to have, but I think the term ‘information’ in your slogan refers to general article-dirven information. Those who check here only for the freebies should not be who this site is geared towards.

More freebies and less useful, well written articles degrades the site IMO.

I love your site it provides me with great inspiration and enjoyment. I like what you do now with the freebies. keep it up. Merry Xmas and an inspiring 2009,

I love the freebies. I can’t get enough of them. Please kept them up!

More articles, freebies once in a while and No templates!

Maybe like your Monday Inspirations you do a Friday Freebie - containing one font, one brush set, one vector, and/or one theme. Make each original, unique and possibly show links to how one of your previous freebies has been used - a Freebie Followup. That along with several quality articles will make you Smashing once again.

I like Peanutgnome’s suggestion. Freebie Friday.

As usual - great stuff.

Please don’t be discouraged by some negative comments… I never responded before, but would like to take the opportunity to thank you for all your articles, beautiful pictures AND freebies. I’ve learned a lot since I bookmarked SM and have been inspired many times, so thank you very much for that and please keep up the good work!

Link [milian-web.deviantart.com] <- i think thats the best ever

I’m in general agreement with most here. I love ’some’ of the freebies, but generally place highest value on fonts and other ‘general purpose’ freebies like brushes/icons etc rather than specific ‘themes’ (although I’m sure they have their place too). I have to admit I haven’t had chance to even contemplate using some of the more recent ones as they have been coming a bit thick and fast :)

I come to the site to find techniques and resources I’ve not come across in my day to day work that will compliment my existing skills and you deliver that in large quantities - so I know I can come back and find something later.

I think with v slighly more emphasis back on articles the balance would be just right for me. Keep up the great work!

To the people that are complaining:
Not everyone who reads this site is an expert on these offerings. This site helps us as well. In fact, I think there should be some easier instructions for those of us who need it. Is there anyplace that states this site is only for pros?

more freebies please. :)

i realy like this on

Link [www.3dand2dmag.wordpress.com]

Wow I can’t believe how many people want themes and templates, obviously more programmers lurking here than I expected.

Listen to some of you for goodness sakes. In real life do any of you complain about getting anything for free? I doubt it, but somehow SM gets you wowsers that complain that you are getting too much for free. Pleeeaaassseee. It seems im one of the few who enjoys SM for its diverse content. Not all of it applies to my taste but if it doesnt I dont write in and complain about it, instead I just wait for the next high quality article or ‘gasp’ freebie to come along. SM could never cater for everyone but it does a ’smashing’ job at catering for the massively diverse range of people that visit its site. More freebies, possibly not, less freebies definitely not. As far as im concerned it pretty much balanced.

Now, can anyone give me a free pc ?

this one is great dude!

Some of the freebies are good, this one is nice but a lot of what is posted is too recognizable and therefore unusable. Things like cartoony animal icons and those alien invader photoshop brushes, while cute, could never be used in any decent design because the source is instantly recognizable. Unless I was building a site about those animal icons or the brush set I couldn’t use them.

Love the freebies, from themes to fonts (although without full character sets the free fonts have limited usefulness). I especially like free vector clip art.

thank you very much, i need it, you’re no1

Bubba (24), define decent design ?

Just because its recognizable DOESNT make it unusable. To you and your tastes (and mine) maybe, but I can guarantee that a number of people will find it extreemly useful.

Really like this set

great collections

Your freebies are always high quality, so yes, we want more of them! :-D

Thank you for the Light Blurs brush set. I look forward to using them.

I’m glad to see that I, like most of your readers, think that your freebies are great as they are. Even if they are included elsewhere on the net, who cares? There’s more than enough to inspire you on this site, and I’d rather have one point of reference than a long list of favourites to trawl through. Obviously there’ll be good articles and fillers, that’s life!

Keep up the good work.

Hey Ben, It seems your light blur set has been decidely overpowered by the comments on the freebies situtation. A wicked set of brushes and will be definitely trying to squeeze them into some upcoming projects. Thanks alot. Keep it up!

Another Good collection of freebies !!

Thanks

DKumar M.
Link [www.instantshift.com]

Karl - Yeh I was just thinking the same thing….not to worry, I’m stoked to have my set featured on such a great site. Send my through a copy of your designs if you ever end up using them! Thanks for the props

Yeah- the brushes are great. Thanks. About the freebie posts: yes. It is handy that you guys are trawling for all this stuff and collecting it up, and with usually great quality control. It means I don’t have to. I like that. So thank you, unreservedly.

Please keep it going. But other articles! Yes! That would also be nice. So fine. Both. hahahahaha

Who doesn’t love freebies? Searching for freebies is how I stumbled across Smashing Mag to begin with! And with you guys compiling big groups of them for us, I just bookmark the page until I need them. Thanks so much!

“if it aint broke, don’t fix it!”
keep on rockin’ SM!
:)

smashing magazine is ace for all design resources. keep up the good work guys

I love this place. Every since I stumbled across it, I check it every day for helpful hints on EVERYTHING. I teach so any and all freebies are a godsend. It saves me time from searching the internet for things. Keep up the amazing work!

freebies are why i’m here. Your articles are good too tho. i liked the one about adverts on pages,

freebies rock. very helpful indeed. keep it up :)

I am a UX designer and find the articles very helpful.

Great set, Ben — thanks!

To Everyone: Please don’t be afraid to voice your true opinions. We all love Smashing Magazine — or else we wouldn’t be here — nevertheless, there is always room for improvement. A little constructive criticism can only help Smashing become even greater! Let’s have more suggestions and less @ss-kissing, please ;)

As for myself, I enjoy seeing the freebies — it puts a smile on my face to see so many talented creatives given more exposure — but I never use them. Call it Designer’s Pride or whatever, but I want everything I create to come from my own hands. Still, the freebies have sometimes come in handy for sparking an idea or two when I get stuck, so I do find them helpful.

What I would like to see more of: Articles about problem-solving or how the writer got from Point A to Point B. I enjoy these types of articles immensely and find them really stimulating.

I would especially like to see the longer series articles show how the writer completed a project, like a website, from start to finish. The writer should go in depth on his/her process and preliminary sketchings should be included if they help to illustrate a point.

The “Roundups” are wonderful, but I feel they are most beneficial when one skilled person or a group of talented people write more in-depth commentaries with instructive critiques about why such-and-such “works” or “doesn’t work” rather than simply “here’s a collection of beautiful ____”.

The in-depth critiques and essays make Smashing Magazine stand head and shoulders above other websites; the reader feels as if s/he is investing time in truly learning something new, as when reading a real (print) magazine or book. More please!

And keep on Smashing!

Hello from Link [www.originar.com.br] - Rio de Janeiro

Nice Freebies !!!!
I would find the following topic: Working with color (meaning, theory, …)
Keep On SM !!!!!!

Those decoration brushes are amazing!!! Thanks, SM! Also, i would like to see some quality free fonts released. Thanks again.

Nice and cool ….

I come to this website at least once a day. Pretty cool set.

For the most part the freebies are great, but I would never want to sacrafice quality articles, tutorials or inspiration for the sake of an icon set I will download and never use. In summary, love the freebies, but I don’t want them to take over the site and lose any valuable content.

I just discovered your site and I love these freebies that you give away! You rule!

thanks for the brushes, great design!

People complaining about freebies is the most retarded thing I’ve ever heard. Just because SM posts it, doesn’t mean you have to download or use it! But most of us do appreciate the effort that goes into finding these resources and making them available to us. Thank you SM, you do a wonderful service and have a great magazine. I am grateful, and the web would suck without you.

pls can some one help with new photoshop i need the software mine stop working …send it to otodol77 at yahoo. com

Hi there! Thanks for all that you do for designers, both newbies and those who have been designing forever, and for everyone that stumbles upon your smashing site. I am de-lurking just to let you know that your site rocks as it is. It doesn’t stick its nose up in the air to pretend it’s high-brow; instead, it gives so much and so generously to such a wide range of people (us) who come here to get our fill of inspiration and information and, yes, even the freebies. ;) (It’s not easy to find high quality freebies that are ok for personal *and* commercial use).

I agree that openness to change is always good, and I admire you for asking for feedback from us. One can only improve in this way. Having said that, I tend to agree with “ian”. Once upon a time long ago, Coke changed its original formula when they learned that Pepsi was leading in the taste tests–it was a bad decision that had such dire results that they quickly went back to reinstating their original formula. Lesson learned? There’s a lot of wisdom in the saying “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” :D

I think your site is awesome as it is… and trust that whatever you decide, it will be best. Happy New Year! :D

I don’t understand why anyone would suggest NOT having freebies! I think they are great, and in addition to the articles they are extremely helpful! A special thanks to Smashing Magazine for constantly delivering relevant design material… I literally check this site every single day. You guys are great, keep up the nice work!

wow, thanks i dont speak english but this web is great

I love you site very much, I useful thanks

Wow That was great.
i have a question please. How can i load Vectors to my PS??

Thank you so much.
I will use the brushes on my web site that I’m creating.
I’m a student at Madison Media Institute working getting my Associate Degree.
silverlinedesigns.net

freebies-Thank you so much for you great help. I hope you have more to share your
experience together.