CategoryInspiration

April 24, 2012 — The Web font revolution that started around two years ago has brought up a topic that many of us had merrily ignored for many years: font rendering. The newfound freedom Web fonts are giving us brings along new challenges. Read more…

March 21, 2012 — It has been said that “we read best what we read most”. This quote was used as a type specimen in Emigre magazine in the late 1980’s by Zuzana Licko. It was written in defense of her typefaces, whose elemental shapes—designed with the strictures of the early HP laser printer in mind—challenged the commonly held notions of what made typefaces legible. Read more…

March 8, 2012 — In 2011 we saw the rise in popularity of two relatively new trends: responsive Web design and the use of HTML’s canvas. While some websites had experimented with both, in the last 12 months we’ve seen these trends move from the fringes firmly into the mainstream. Read more…

March 6, 2012 — As a Japanese person living in Europe, I’m sometimes asked: “Japanese is a difficult language, isn’t it?”. Those asking are often surprised when my answer is a simple: “No, actually, it’s not.”. Read more…

February 20, 2012 — The work of Chip Kidd spans design, writing and, most recently, rock ’n’ roll. He definitely has the charisma to get ahead in that third field. He is best known for his unconventional book jackets, but he has published two novels of his own: The Learners and Τhe Cheese Monkeys. Read more…

February 9, 2012 — Before the very first page of a book has been read, you’ve already analyzed it in countless ways without even noticing. The paper stock, the thickness of the binding, the aroma, the color of the type and even the texture of the cover; the very character of the book is being dissected by the hand and eye at every moment. Read more…

December 10, 2011 — Do you know what makes a design good? Is it merely an opinion, or is there something more to it? Breaking design down seems like such an abstract thing. Even the designers who are able to create thought-provoking work seem purely talented and have natural abilities that can’t really be nailed down to a process. But what if there were principles that captured why design and art worked the way that they do? Read more…

September 1, 2011 — Discover some strategies to make your launch page more intriguing and shareable to grow your user numbers. In this article, Simon Schmid outlines some best practices and examples of successful viral launch pages. Read more…

July 29, 2011 — Efforts to keep reggae popular on the world stage have led to a narrow conformist definition of the genre’s visual brand. Dan Mayer goes through the impressions left behind on Jamaica’s album covers to analyze the multitude of contradictions in the postcolonial experience. Read more…

July 28, 2011 — Web Icons Set designed this set with the purpose to be used in e-commerce websites. Exclusively released for Smashing Magazine and its readers, the set includes icons such as Empty Basket, Full Basket, Credit Cards, Delivery, and more. Read more…