Interaction designers create wireframes in tools such as Adobe Illustrator, OmniGraffle and Microsoft Visio. Originally, these wireframes were primitive shapes drawn to represent various UI elements. Many of us cannot imagine life without them. There are, however, reasons to consider moving to the cloud to do interaction design. In short, today’s cloud-based tools are: Optimized for collaboration, Editable anywhere, Interactive, Published in real time, Self-maintaing (the user doesn’t need to update software), Payable monthly, Emailing your old static designs...

   Poster design is a true art form. Often the best posters will be bold, eye catching and visually intense, yet minimal and elegant at the same time. As with logo design, often a great poster will be great for what it omits, as well as what it features. Really the effectiveness of a poster’s design depends upon it’s purpose. Whilst some posters require a basic typographic treatment, others may suit an elaborate visual design. When designing your own posters always try to bear in mind the poster’s audience, and what you are representing. Often poster...

   Using watercolor in web design is not a new thing that designers are implementing, by any means. In fact, it has been used in web design for years. In no small part due to the fact that digital watercolor effects are inspiring and attention-grabbing, and on top of that, easy to achieve. In this collection, we have put together some beautiful examples of watercolor effects in web design for your inspiration. All of the sites and tutorials have been hand-picked, and demonstrate the allure and beauty that this wonderful effect can add to the web. So, let us take a...

   What if someone came to you and said, “I’ve designed this great website, but people don’t stay on it. Why?” How would you respond? Would you ask them whether they have done extensive A/B testing? Would you recommend testing the usability of the website? People like to test a number of metrics to see why people are not staying on a website. I think sometimes we spend so much time focusing on analytics that we throw common sense out the window. Don’t get me wrong—analytics are a powerful tool for improving a website. But often the problem...

   When creating websites you have to consider a great deal of aspects such as usability, visual-appeal, the technical side, and last but not least, brand building. Many successful and profitable businesses have been tackled this brand building with user-centric website design. They do this for different reasons, but the one that tends to draw most brands in this direction, is the way it often helps build a relationship with their users. There are several ways that one can go about building user relationships and trust through web design, and putting a face with the...

   Many artists, whether digital or traditional find much inspiration in music. It often serves as a great mind opener for large amounts of creativity and style to be ushered in. Some artists believe music helps them to see shapes and colors, and often offers up feelings and emotions to help them execute their work more proficiently. Which is why it’s best to try to listen to music that you know will get your mind going. Sometimes this inspiration becomes the work. Music based design projects can be extremely fun and creative projects. Whether you are dealing...

   Developing a website can sometimes be a dry process, but that doesn’t mean the finished site can’t make a splash. As the lead designer at a studio called “The Deep End”, it’s always interesting to see what others have done with the underwater web design theme, and it turns out there are quite a few sites out there. Pay close attention to the different styles that are utilized, as there are many different ways to bring the allure of the sea to the web. Below is a showcase of beautiful websites that have used the underwater landscape and...

   As smartphones have advanced, and the display and photo capture technologies have improved, many have desired the ability to design and to edit images on their mobile phones. In fact, today hundreds of design applications exist on Google Play (previously known as Android Market). So in order to help you sift through the noise to find the ideal one for your needs, we decided to take a look at our top twenty designer apps for Android. 1. Adobe Photoshop Express Photoshop express is an application based around the hugely successful computer program of the same name,...