Icons have come along way in the world of web design and they can add that special flare that might be missing from your website. Lucky for all of us Six Revisions has a metric ton of free icons that might be overwhelming at first sight. There are some very cool looking icons from various sites, but make sure you read the terms of use for each of the icon packs first before using them. Have fun.
I like Photoshop brushes–don’t get me wrong, but illustrator’s where my heart’s at. It’s one of the most forgiving programs in the Suite that can save you time when changes are submitted for your designs. Have a tiny icon, and you want to enlarge it into the header? Time flies if you started with vectors. (more…)
We’ve been going through some changes over here at Frye / Wiles recently - refocusing on our core businesses, trimming the fat, etc. As part of our reorganization, we decided it was time to redo the ever-changing staff section, so without further ado, enjoy!
Over at Webdesignerwall they have a number of examples of a trend using large image backgrounds for websites. It’s definitely another cool way of sprucing up a website and could take it to the next level. With the availability of large monitors with higher resolutions and faster internet speed, this trend is becoming a weapon of choice for designers looking for a way out from the tiled background look. There’s a total of 80 examples on the site, so just sit back and start clicking.
Do you like change? I know I do! And on that note we just did an upgrade to the Frye / Wiles site. The sections that were overhauled were the Product and Services sections of the site. Vibrant, clean and color coded is what we were going for. We all felt the Frye / Wiles site was looking a little on the dark side and muted in color. With this new lighter look, the colors on the white background pops and grabs the attention of the viewer. It’s definitely a nice change.
What’s the deal with web desingers and their messy desks? We all know that most designers aren’t exactly the neatest desk keepers around, but apparently this environment has started to manifest itself in their websites. In honor of this unusual turn of events, I have compiled a gallery for your viewing pleasure.
With a modicum of fanfare, Google yesterday released its very own web browser, dubbed Chrome. Among other things, that means that we web developers now have to test on yet another browser, bringing the unofficial list to - Internet Explorer 5.5, Internet Explorer 6, Internet Explorer 7, Internet Explorer 8, Firefox 2 and 3 (for both Mac and PC), Safari for Mac and PC, Opera for Mac and PC, and now Chrome. Add in the occasional Internet Explorer 5 and mobile platform test and you have, well, a lot of testing (especially on the various IEs). Anyone wanting to know why good web development is expensive, look no further.
On the plus side, Chrome is based on Apple’s open-source WebKit architecture, which also runs Safari, and is fairly standards-compliant. Our limited experience with Chrome so far has been very good - it runs pretty much everything that runs in Safari and Firefox (and Opera). A few minor render issues, but not bad for a first beta release.
Short answer: probably not. But there have been some rumblings out in the wide world of the Internet, where Google’s can-do-no-wrong status is being challenged. This is nothing new of course. The reasons range from frivolous to somewhat substantive, but one thing is certain; nothing lasts forever. Even a well-known and storied online superpower can fall out of favor with the masses if they attempt to change what made them great and so well loved in the first place.
Lots of names, same basic technology. These days, we see a high level of awareness among our clients of the potential of HTML Mass Email - you know, those nice looking emails you get when you sign up for something (see the image above for a nice example from Circuit City). A lot of our customers want to integrate HTML emails into their marketing plans, but many are unaware of how to do it, and especially how not to do it.
HTML email is very powerful, and can be a great way to communicate with your customers - send them special offers, product updates, news… the list goes on. Generally your customers like to stay in the loop, especially if yours is the kind of business that has repeat sales. However, any sort of email marketing walks a very fine line - you have to make sure that people want your email, that they can get your email, and that they will read your email, and that if they no longer want your email, they can opt out. So how do you do that?
Note: I’m not talking about spam here - for this article, we are discussing legitimate email.
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If you ever wanted to know about SEO ( Search Engine Optimization ), but were afraid to ask, or you just didn’t think it mattered, Web Designer Wall has an article about SEO. It’s more like a guide, so you and I can get more familiar with using good SEO practices in our web development. The guide goes through the reasons for SEO, the basics of how a search engine works, the top mistakes a designer or developer would make in dealing with SEO, and of course the do’s and don’ts of SEO. It’s a well written article and has been Julian approved! Now you know you have to read it.
