Layouts

Graphics / 23 May 2022

Brutalism: A New Trend in Web Design

Some designs aren’t polished and clean. They are rough, jarring and ragged. Yet they still work and communicate effectively. This class of websites makes up the raw trend called brutalism.

While it is somewhat new to web concepts, it’s been around for decades as a popular technique for posters and art in the 1950s, 60s and 70s. Today’s brutalism is starkly different from what you are used to seeing … and that’s why it’s likely to catch your attention. Let’s take a look at what it is (and I’ll share why I’m already over it!)

Layouts / 4 Apr 2022

10 Rock Solid Website Layout Examples

Layout can both be one of the easiest and one of the trickiest facets of web design. Sometimes a designer can bust out an amazing layout in minutes and sometimes that same designer can struggle for the better part of day with the same task.

Each project is unique and calls for a unique solution, but I’ve found it helpful to keep a few rock solid and incredibly versatile alignments in mind that I can bust out when I get stuck.

The ten layouts below should be enough to get you through even the worst cases of designer’s block when you can’t figure out the best way to arrange the content on your page.

Layouts / 25 Mar 2022

15 Tips for Creating a Great Website Footer

One of the most important locations on your website is the footer. Yes, seriously. It may not be the area of the greatest design or most impressive content but it is a place where users frequently look for information. So it is vitally important that you don’t neglect this area when planning a web design project.

But what elements should you include? How can you keep the footer organized and in line with your overall aesthetic without being obtrusive? You’ve come to the right place. Here we’ll look at tips for creating a great footer with examples of some websites that are doing it well.

Layouts / 6 Dec 2021

How Many Wireframes Do You Need? (Guide to Effective Wireframing)

Too often new website design projects start with a little wireframe overload.

Creating dozens of wireframes to show a client at the start of the project doesn’t necessarily create better understanding; it can be downright overwhelming.

Like with many other aspects of design, wireframing is an art where, in many cases, less is more.

Here’s a look at how to wireframe more effectively and a guide to how many wireframes you actually need (plus, some ideas on which ones are the most important, and which you can probably miss!)

How to Design a Logo / 22 Oct 2021

What’s a Logo Grid, and Why Should You Use One?

So you need to design a logo. Where do you start? Shapes? Typography? A grid?

A logo grid or construction guide is a popular starting point for many designers looking to create a logo. The use of a grid system, especially for a design that might often render at extreme sizes – very large or small – can help you create something that has visual harmony, an organized aesthetic and purposeful design.

Are you in the middle of a logo design project? Learn about logo grids, typography, logo types and more in our in-depth guide on how to design a logo!

Graphics / 11 Oct 2021

7 Ways to Design for the Unexpected

What just happened? Why doesn’t that work? Does this look funny to you?

These are all questions you don’t want users to ask when interacting with your website design. But inevitably, they will. The unexpected happens all the time online. From users changing settings on their devices to slow browsing speeds, your role is to expect these unexpected challenges and offer a design solution… before they happen!

From dark mode to people taking an unexpected path through your website or app, we’re exploring lots of unexpected scenarios so you can plan for them in advance!

Layouts / 19 Aug 2021

7 Reasons You Need to Be Using Landing Pages

You’ve come across them everywhere: Landing pages that take you to a website but aren’t the homepage.

It’s a great strategy that helps get visitors directly to the information they want to see from a marketing source – social media, advertising, etc. – and is generally designed for a specific goal.

If using landing pages isn’t already part of your website strategy, it’s time to consider them. Here, we’ll look at seven reasons you need to be using landing pages to help drive the right kind of conversions on your website.

Layouts / 9 Jul 2021

10 Crucial Elements for Any Website Design

While every designer may have a different plan when it comes to building a website, they do have a common checklist. No matter how you try to avoid it, there are a few elements every website should (and usually does!) include.

From plenty of whitespace and great images, to search functionality and clear calls-to-action, these common elements are the things that users expect when it comes to using a site with ease. Today we’re taking a look at ten elements you should prioritise on your website, perfectly designed examples of each, and tips on how to use each in your next website design project. As the saying goes, “the devil is in the details.”

Layouts / 17 Jun 2021

How to Design a Captivating Web Questionnaire

We’ve all run across them – web questionnaires or surveys that were so simple and delightful that they were actually fun to fill out.

Sadly, that’s the exception to the rule. More often than, surveys are clunky and cumbersome.

You can design a captivating web questionnaire with the right thought process. It’s a mix of question planning with visual elements and cues to make the process user-friendly and somewhat seamless.

Here’s how you do it.

Layouts / 28 May 2021

The Golden Ratio in Design: Examples & Tips

This might feel like a math lesson but hang in there. The golden ratio combines a little bit of math, a little bit of nature, and a lot of practical application for designers. Let’s take a look at what the golden ratio means for design, and a few tips for using it in your design projects.

The golden ratio has been used throughout history to create design elements that have an ideal visual appeal. Because the shape is rooted in nature and mathematics, it’s the perfect combination of balance and harmony. And it’s a superb tool to have up your sleeve as a designer.

Graphics / 22 Mar 2021

How Do You Turn a Digital Design Into Print? 7 Useful Tips

It’s probably happened more times than you’d like to think about: You finish a presentation or website design and the client asks you to make it into a brochure or poster.

Wait… what?

Turning a digital design into something for print can be a challenge for sure. But there are a few things you can do to tweak your workflows to account for this “unexpected request” and make it a little more seamless.

Layouts / 1 Sep 2020

Rethinking Table Design for Mobile

There might be a problem with that table on your website. It doesn’t look or function well on my phone. It sounds like a simple problem (that should have a simple solution), but might not be quite as simple as you’d think.

There are a variety of reasons that could contribute to this issue – lack of responsiveness, creating tables as images, odd data formatting that makes a mess – but there are also viable design solutions.

Let’s walk through ways to rethink table design so that your data and information looks just as amazing on a phone as it does on any other larger device.