June 29, 2015 — Balancing a composition involves arranging both positive elements and negative space in such a way that no one area of the design overpowers other areas. Everything works together and fits together in a seamless whole. The individual parts contribute to their sum but don’t try to become the sum. An unbalanced composition can lead to tension. In some projects, unbalanced might be right for the message you’re trying to communicate, but generally you want balanced compositions. However, design principles aren’t hard and fast rules. They’re guidelines. There’s no one right way to communicate that two elements are similar or different, for example. You don’t need to follow any of these principles, although you should understand them and have a reason for breaking them. Read more…

June 26, 2015 — Prototyping makes a project better suited to users, elevates user experience, increases the quality of your final code, and keeps clients happy. The problem is that developers often see prototyping as a waste of time. In this article, Daniel Pataki will show you that by using WordPress, highly interactive prototypes with great visuals are not at all that difficult to make. While all this seems complex, beginners should be able to follow along easily, including the “create your own server” section, which is a cinch! Read more…

June 25, 2015 — Responsive images have been keeping us on our toes for quite some time, and now that they are getting traction in browsers, they come with a scary problem: the need to efficiently resize all our image assets. As designers and developers, we have an enormous amount of power to shape how the web works. One of the biggest impacts we can have is to make our websites more performant, which will improve our users’ experiences and even make our content available to whole new markets. Cutting image weight is a relatively simple and hugely impactful way to increase performance, and I hope the information outlined above helps you make a difference to your users. Read more…

June 23, 2015 — A handful of simple shapes have been used throughout time in the art of all cultures: the circle, intersecting lines, the triangle, the square and the spiral. Each fundamental shape never varies in its basic function because each unifies purpose with form. Don’t let the simplicity of these forms fool you. It is because they are so simple that they have the ability to scale consistently and are used as the building blocks of nature and the man-made world. They also provide consistent messaging for a logo. In this third part of the series, Maggie Macnab will talk about how geometry influences logo design. Read more…

June 22, 2015 — The number of Flux implementations available can feel overwhelming, but overall Jim Cowart finds it an encouraging development. Solid and successful patterns like Flux will, by their very nature, encourage multiple implementations. In this article, Jim will take a look at some of the key lessons he has learned about React and Flux. Whether you’re new to React and Flux, or going as far as building your own Flux implementation, Jim thinks you’ll not only enjoy this journey, but find some thought-provoking questions and wisdom you can apply in your own endeavors. Read more…

June 19, 2015 — As a WordPress user it is only natural to want more and more control over your website. To crave custom design, custom functionality, custom everything. Luckily, WordPress is built for exactly that. Its flexible structure and compartmentalized architecture allows anyone to change practically anything on their site. On your way to mastering WordPress, learning to use page templates is an important step. They can make customizing your website very, very easy and allow you to assign unique functionality and design to as many or few pages as you wish. If you want to know how WordPress page templates can help you achieve that, read on! Read more…

June 19, 2015 — Even though Photoshop is still a long way off from being able to create the high-end and cinematic animations of such programs as After Effects, it still has enough power to create complex animation. In this article, Stephen Petrany will share advanced techniques to help you create complex animations. He’ll look at the Timeline panel and the different properties that can be animated, and explore the roles that adjustment layers, filters and smart objects can have in animation. Because the topics and techniques in this article are advanced, a moderate level of Photoshop knowledge is expected. Read more…

June 17, 2015 — There are various ways to approach responsive typography and consistent vertical rhythm, and they are not limited to my suggestion. However, Jonathan Suh finds that this works for him more times than not. Managing consistent, typographic rhythm isn’t easy, but when the type is responsive, things get even more difficult. Fortunately, Sass maps make responsive typography much more manageable. This is where Sass maps and loops are powerful: They’ve helped him manage z-index values, colors and, as you’ll see in this article, font sizes. Read more…

June 14, 2015 — Today, we’re happy to release a free set of 40 sports icons in four styles and six formats. Each icon in this set comes in four styles: flat colored, glyph, Google material palette, and line strokes. All icons are included in six formats: AI, PSD, SVG, PNG, CSH and Sketch. Additionally, the line icons morph into four responsive sizes, comprising a unique icon at every breakpoint. That way, details adjust according to size while preserving the icons’ style and identity. The set is still in its infancy with plenty more icons currently in production. It’s licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Read more…

June 12, 2015 — The essential property of a pattern is repetition. Because they are continuous, they read like a story. The periodic migration of herds, the transit of constellations across the sky and the distinct features of different terrains are all examples of patterns that create expectations upon which we depend. Designers use patterns based on nature because they are reliable. This three-part series explores fundamental creative strategies for designing effective logos. The first part showed how to use symbols, metaphors and the power of intuition. In this part, Maggie Macnab shows you how to use nature’s patterns in logo design. Read more…