September 8, 2015 — We’ve hidden secret keys in different (physical) locations across the world. To move from one level to another, you’ll have to find a hidden print-out in all (four) locations. Watch out for GIF file names. Below you’ll find the first animated GIF that contains a location clue. Identify the location, go there and find a hidden print-out. Once you’ve reached the last level (you’ll know when), just tweet out all the keys in one single hashtag to @smashingmag on Twitter! Alright, let’s get down to business. Are you ready? Action! Read more…

September 5, 2015 — Creating your own field is actually a pretty simple matter. In this article Daniel Pataki will show you how you can extend ACF by adding your own controls to tailor the experience to your needs. If you want to add elaborate JavaScript to make things as user-friendly as possible, that’s all up to you – ACF supports it nicely. You can use a bunch of methods to play around with values and fields and much more. Browse through the template file for more information. Read more…

September 4, 2015 — Chrome introduces custom tabs and smooth transitions, allowing apps to preload specific URLs in the in-app browser for a faster user experience. Facebook released a complete rewrite of their React developer tools, now available for Firefox as well. Our dear friend Anselm Hannemann is keeping track of everything in the web development reading list so you don’t have to. The result is a carefully collected list of articles that popped up over the last week and which might interest you. Read more…

September 4, 2015 — In this article, Mikołaj Stolarski & Tomasz Grajewski would like to present a few ideas of how to implement different visual effects in -based HTML5 games. These examples will be based on effects they made in their game, Skytte. They will explain the basic ideas supporting them and provide the effects used in our work. You will take a look at the patterns that are commonly used to make games and game effects and also explore the theory and some code examples supporting these patterns. Read more…

September 2, 2015 — There is no such thing as a project that goes off well without some level of planning. You’re just not the one doing it. You can keep complaining, or you can change it. You’re a designer, which means you’re capable of imagining a better version of the world than the one you’re living in. And yet there you are, stuck at the back. In this article, Robert Hoekman Jr. will share some of the reasons it happens. And how to stop being an afterthought. Read more…

September 1, 2015 — There are three different scenarios for UI multiplatform adaptation: retaining brand consistency; aligning with the conventions specific to the platform; and seeking a balance between the two. We decided to analyze these three approaches by looking at the most popular apps out there so that you get some insight into what method might work best for you. When we design apps, we should always remember that we do it for real people to use on real devices in the real world. In fact, it’s not a brand, or a platform, or even your creativity that’s important. The only thing that matters is users. Read more…

August 31, 2015 — We embarked on a special creativity mission seven years ago: to provide you with inspiring and unique desktop wallpapers every month. This post features their artwork for September 2015, and we are very thankful to all artists and designers who have contributed and are still diligently contributing to this mission, who challenge their artistic abilities each month anew to keep the steady stream of wallpapers flowing. This post features their artwork for September 2015. Both versions with and without a calendar can be downloaded for free. It’s time to freshen up your desktop! Read more…

August 28, 2015 — Welcome back to the Web Development Reading List (WDRL) for this week! Our dear friend Anselm Hannemann is keeping track of everything in the web development reading list so you don’t have to. The reaction on the first post last week was quite overwhelming. Instead of the previously announced biweekly schedule here on Smashing Magazine, Anselm will post it in sync with the original WDRL; so, expect content to appear weekly here from now on. Read more…

August 27, 2015 — Alex Komarov wanted to make dealing with time zone differences less painful. So he started playing around with an iWatch app idea. Yeah, you read that right — 2014 and iWatch, before a watch had ever been announced. When you are trying to bring something new to life, there are risks and uncertainties associated with it. It’s a part of the game. Alex was aware of these risks and decided to take a shot anyway. He doesn’t regret it. History shows that Apple products become more open over time. Read more…

August 25, 2015 — So far, most of the responsive design thinking has revolved around covering the range of experiences from mobile to desktop. Yet little attention has been paid to the opportunities for expanding that range beyond the standard desktop screen, to create an experience optimized for modern large-scale displays. In this article, Christian Holst will explore how e-commerce designers could use responsive upscaling to craft a tailored experience for users with big screens. He’ll cover one core principle, along with 11 ideas for upscaling different parts of the e-commerce experience to deal with the various usability challenges observed during our e-commerce usability studies. Read more…