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Articles by Topic: How-To

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  Where Do You Draw Inspiration From?

  Getting creative is part of our job. Whatever project we are working on, at some point we need to come up with some nice starting point — some fresh idea which we could explore further, build upon and refine until we have a polished, perfect result.... More... 33 Comments

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  Professional Web Design Forums

  Web design-related forums are a place where you interact with other designers, exchange ideas or discuss your first drafts. When you have a problem, you can post the issue, and then receive feedback on possible design or coding solutions from community members.... More... 87 Comments

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  Five More Principles Of Effective Web Design

  Web design has significantly improved over the last years. It's more user-friendly and more appealing today — and there is a good reason behind it: over the years we've found out that design with focus on usability and user experience is just more... More... 64 Comments

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  5 Principles And Ideas Of Setting Type On The Web

  There are some basic approaches, guidelines and goals to consider when working with type on the Web. Overall, the medium of Web typography involves readability, accessibility, usability, and brandability. On the Web, these aspects function together to accomplish... More... 50 Comments

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  Getting Creative With Transparency in Web Design

  Arm yourself with the knowledge of how different file types of images can be used to achieve transparency on web-pages. It's important to first understand these basics. Then learn how to push the limitations of browser support. Take a look at what others are... More... 63 Comments

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  Mac OS X Leopard: Designer’s Guide to Icons

  In 2000 Apple released the visual theme Aqua, a stunning leap forward in graphical user interface design. At the same time Apple published the Human Interface Guidelines (HIG), a tool for developers and designers that gives a detailed breakdown of the design... More... 44 Comments

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  Grid-Based Design: Six Creative Column Techniques

  Grid systems bring visual structure and balance to site design. As a tool grids are useful for organizing and presenting information. Used properly, they can enhance the user experience by creating predictable patterns for users to follow. From designer's point... More... 68 Comments

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  Creating A Successful Online Portfolio

  Your portfolio is the showcase of your work, your skills and your potential for your future employers. The more time and effort you dedicate for a usable and nice-looking design, the higher are your chances for getting better account balance in the end of the... More... 101 Comments

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  10 Principles Of Effective Web Design

  Usability and the utility, not the visual design, determine the success or failure of a web-site. Since the visitor of the page is the only person who clicks the mouse and therefore decides everything, user-centric design has established as a standard approach... More... 335 Comments

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  Usability and Interface Design Books

  Usability and interaction design are fields that are becoming important for every website design. They consider the interactions between the user and every system, nowadays most commonly applied to websites. A product has more chances to be successful if... More... 77 Comments

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  Evolve Your User Interface To Educate Your Users

  The Web has changed. This isn’t your neighbor’s nerdy kid’s internet anymore. Now the Web is home to your mom, your grandma and your technophobe sister. With computers as common a household appliance as televisions now, who might be using... More... 51 Comments

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  Premium WordPress Themes: Are They Here To Stay?

  Over the last few years WordPress managed to become the dominating weblog engine out there. The main reasons behind its overwhelming success aren't that astonishing: WordPress is extremely easy to use, it's absolutely free and it has a huge community. But what... More... 103 Comments

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  Screen Resolutions and Better User Experience

  In order to work well, designs have to be optimized for simplicity, transparency and, consequently, optimal user experience. The user experience itself is, however, in many cases just an elegant term employed with false intentions and wrong approaches. ... More... 56 Comments

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  Best Practices For Bulletproof E-Mail Delivery

  Have your e-mails already been flagged as spam, although you've sent a seemingly legitimate proposal to your client? Have you ever wondered why the efficiency of your newsletter campaigns suddenly dropped down? In both cases you deal with a problem which is... More... 47 Comments

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  30 Usability Issues To Be Aware Of

  You don't have to agree upon everything. As a professional web developer you are the advocate of your visitors' interests and needs; you have to protect your understanding of good user experience and make sure the visitors will find their way through (possibly)... More... 193 Comments