Our sister site, ThemeLabs, opened a new affiliates system and is offering a generous and high commissions of 50% over any purchase made by any user referred by you. This kind of sites usually gives low commissions but since our expenses are low we want to share with everyone half of our incomes. It’s free to participate in this affiliates program. Just register and start referring people.

ThemeLabs will be adding several new premium wordpress themes this year. All you need is a PayPal account to receive your money. ThemeLabs pays on 15th of each month doesn’t matter the amount.

DeviantArt receives 100,000 new artwork uploads per day from over 13 million registered users – and if that number sounds impressive, bear in mind that there are 35 million unique visitors per month. If you could get even a fraction of that traffic to notice you, you could easily promote your online portfolio. Here is how to get noticed.

Register

First, join the DeviantArt community by creating a free account. This grants you access to several useful features:

• Unlimited gallery space to upload your work
• Journals (a blog on your page)
• Ability to comment on others’ work and add it to your favorites
• Ability to view mature-rated work if you are over age 18

If you plan to promote your portfolio on DeviantArt for a long time, consider becoming a paid Premium Member. The subscription fee is small ($4.95 per month), and membership gives you access to several new networking features: polls, critiques and skins.

Be Active

If you want people to notice you in an online community, you need to complete just a few simple steps:

• Create something worth noticing. Upload your finest work to your DeviantArt gallery. Create a journal on your front page welcoming visitors. Add an avatar icon to your account, as blank icons give the impression you’re very new or that you don’t know how to upload one. For great examples of DeviantArt pages that visitors love, visit the pages of BlackMago and SiSero.
• Find your audience. DeviantArt covers a wide variety of artistic styles and mediums, and it stands to reason that the people who are most likely to check out your gallery are ones whose work is in similar mediums to yours.
• Grab their attention. Comment on, critique (a subscription-only feature), and add other people’s works to your favorites and collections. Mention somewhere in your comments that you do this kind of artwork as well. There is no quicker way to get attention than to go out and give some attention – it gives a positive impression, and makes people more likely to visit you.
• Keep in touch. If somebody comments on your work, reply back – it’s a great way to make lasting connections and get watchers who will come back to your work again and again.

Go Beyond Your Gallery

Display your work with DeviantArt’s other options:

• Portfolios. DeviantArt provides this with Premium Members’ accounts. Create a professional portfolio with no DeviantArt branding and host it at your own URL if you like. An example of a great DeviantArt portfolio is model RockstarVanity‘s.
• Groups. DeviantArt’s Groups, accounts designed to be clubs with members and shared a gallery, are an amazingly effective way to get your work seen. There are Groups about just about any subject – join some about work in your medium and submit your work to their gallery for 10,000+ members to see instantly.

What Are You Waiting For?

The most important thing to remember when promoting your work on DeviantArt, or anywhere online, is that you have to be entirely self-motivated. Don’t wait for people to find you – go get their attention!

When you ask what is memorable about a site, few people mention the footer. Since viewers don’t regard the footer with much importance, neither do designers – “end of site, out of mind,” so to speak – but this kind of thinking is old-fashioned. Your website’s footer can be both eye catching and functional, and with a little work it can become an essential part of the design.

Why Include a Footer at All?

Traditionally, the footer is the place to put copyright information, your email address and sometimes your mailing address. Contact information is typically also included in a contact section of a website, though, and you could probably work the copyright into a different spot if necessary. Short of giving your pages a distinct end, why should you really even include a footer?

Footers have several advantages over any other section of the site:

• Like the navigation bar, they repeat on every page of the site;
• Unlike the navigation bar, they are not required to contain only navigation links; and
• They’re at the bottom of the page, where users naturally end up after scrolling down to read each page

How to Make a Footer Useful

In a nutshell, your footer should contain only things that you want the user to be able to access instantly, no matter what page of your site they are viewing. This isn’t the place for witty text (trust me, even the best joke in the world gets dull after you read it 10 times) or heaps of pictures (remember, they have to reload each time the user visits a different page, even though they look exactly the same!)

Things commonly found in website footers:

• Contact information (email address, mailing address);
• Simple contact form;
• Link to the site map;
• Copyright information;
• Links to other sites the user may enjoy; and
• A link back to the top of the page

In essence, give the user something to do or somewhere to go in the footer, and you can hardly go wrong.

Clean Design Is Key

Clean, high-contrast text with large headlines makes your footer easy to scan, which is perfect for the viewer who has just finished reading the current page and needs to know where to go next. Another tried-and-true technique is to divide the footer into several columns to provide more white space. White space makes the text easier to read at a glance, and looks nice and clean, too.

Put the “Fun” in “Function”

Now that your footer is easy to read and provides useful information and links, you’re free to get flashy with the design. Another advantage of footer design is that it’s actually encouraged to make the footer mismatched from the rest of the site.

Ways to make your footer more eye catching:

• Easy-to-read fonts;
• Colors contrasting with the rest of the site layout; and
• Content more interesting than a copyright notice

In Conclusion

Great information with bad presentation or a gorgeous design with useless content are equally ineffective. Aim to catch viewer’s attention, then give them something worth paying attention to, and you’ve succeeded at designing a useful footer.

Web design showcases are many and they’re a very popular way of getting new inspiration when you’re trying to be creative with your own work. This time we’ve once again looked through hundreds of designs to find some of the best dark ones. These succeed using dark palettes to capture the viewers attention. As you’ll see these darker designs can work really well with some stronger highlight colors or stand alone well. When having a dark website, the content many times stands out as much stronger and easy to focus at. As always we’d love to hear your feedback in the comment. Which one is your favorite?

Let’s have a look!

Pound & Grain

Antoine Wette

Leaflet

Physical Productions

Xhtml-lab

Notio Web Design

Fluxar Studios

Jose Luis Merino Parra

Marko Cvetkovic

Tunnel Bravo

Chuan Film

Born with Design

Private Grave

Phobiahz

Qube

Kode Hurts My Brain

Almosh82

Diego Huerta

Otterball

Akufen

Element gallery

Hinton Group

Psynai Design

Kapone

DonQ Rum

Abstraktion

David Fooks

Westbrook Brewing

Jesse Dodds

Blue Collar Interactive

Dead Pixel Studio

Okimok

Future of Web Design

The Toke

Corking Design

Jet Cooper

Mediasoldier

Efingo

Jordy Joel

Natalie Sklobovskaya

Wrkborn

Foobi

Blake Allen Design

Leah Haggar

Black Estate

Soiree Studios

The Old State Blog

Dallas Web Design

Build

Postmachina

Most of the time, it is easier to learn a new skill when you can watch someone in action. That is why it may seem so much easier to learn from Photoshop video tutorials. No fumbling around trying to find the tool the tutorial requires; instead, you see exactly where the tool is located and also exactly how best to use it. Video tutorials are a great way to learn valuable techniques while having a good time, so check out the following below and learn some new advanced Photoshop skills.

Cool Dark Night Tutorial

Learn to use techniques and brushes in Photoshop to create a cool dark night.

Mystical Moonlight Tutorial

Watch this tutorial to learn how to make a moonlit sky background.

Motion Tutorial

This tutorial will teach you how to separate layers in a Photoshop file to create an animation.

Basic DVD Cover

Learn how to create cover art for a DVD (Harry Potter) in Photoshop.

Ice Age Disaster

Use this tutorial when you need to turn an ordinary landscape or cityscape into a snow and ice covered wasteland.

Fairy Dust in Photoshop Tutorial

By watching this video tutorial, you can learn how to add fairy dust to any picture.

Line Art Demonstration

Learn how to turn a photograph into line art by watching this Photoshop demonstration. Although not really a tutorial, this video shows the finer points of drawing lines to create an illustration.

Grunge Effect Tutorial

Using layers of texture, you can change any picture into a fabulous grunge image.

Smoke Tutorial

Learn how to create digital smoke with ease in both Photoshop and Illustrator.

iPhone Tutorial

Ever wanted to make your own iPhone? This video tutorial will show you exactly how to make your own digital iPhone.

Frilly Fonts Tutorial

Watch this tutorial to learn how to make super cool frilly typography.

Satin Tutorial for Photoshop

Watching this tutorial will teach you the simple and fun technique for creating a rumpled satin cloth effect.

Burnt Treasure Map Tutorial

This video tutorial will show you how to create a burnt treasure map effect. Perfect for your pirate needs!

Lava Planet Photoshop Video Tutorial

Whenever you need a lava planet graphic, check out this Photoshop video tutorial. Or simply learn some new advanced Photoshop skills!

Converting a Photoshop Mockup

Learn how to convert a Photoshop mock up to HTML/CSS for your website.

You may want to take the time to watch and even follow along most of these incredible tutorials. After all, graphic design is a continual learning process, and watching the talent of others in motion is one of the best ways to learn.

Design: The Most Important Element for Websites

Design is the big thing these days, both on the web and in multi-media. Of course, down through the ages, design has always been important, whether one is speaking of the Sistine Chapel or Ford’s Model T or even film posters.

In today’s world, we are inundated with good and bad design through many different avenues, including the aforementioned movie posters, billboards, television and most recently, the Internet. Most of it we take for granted, yet design is a key factor in the making or breaking of any product or event.

For a professional and attractive web presence, excellent design is crucial. If you want your website to be taken seriously then good design is the key element on which to concentrate your efforts. So, whether you are a professional designer or an amateur developing your own website, there some great resources in the Internet world, that you definitely should become acquainted with.

Design Resources

When the Internet was younger, quality design tools were not only mind-blowing, they were also pretty expensive. Many of the staples of design are still at our fingertips and although they have been around a while, they have stood the test of time and are certainly great products. Obviously, one of the most well-known and useful tools for design is Photoshop. This incredible and popular design tool is famous for great image editing capabilities. Of course, Adobe Illustrator is always a fantastic design tool and is especially useful when using or creating vector illustrations.

Free Resources

Nowadays, one can still buy these renowned design tools but luckily there are also some open source alternatives that are free, And if you are willing to work through any free alternative’s digital process, which can sometimes be a little less user friendly, they may be just what you are looking for. One popular free program, similar to Photoshop, is Gimp. Inkscape is a program that is similar to Adobe Illustrator and is also a free alternative that is excellent for creating vector illustrations.

Speaking of vector illustrations, Dezignus is another resource for free (that’s right FREE) vector illustrations. The site has an incredibly large selection available for downloads and is continually increasing its available inventory.

You Want Color? You Got Color!

If you are looking for great color, and support in making your site’s colors work, then the best choice is Colourlovers.com. This site will provide the help you need to make your site color scheme attractive. Another superb source for design tools to complement the color is deviantART.

Don’t Forget the Fonts

And of course, the use of typography and the various fonts should be your No. one concern when planning your website, so do not neglect this important aspect of design. Dafont.com is a font resource website that has an incredible array of free and easily accessible fonts. This site is a must for all designers.

So, there is your list of some great design resources on the net. Now you have no excuse to not create a fabulous site!

Sonia Mansfield is the content editor for PsPrint and editor of PsPrint Blog

SmashingShare looks at print artwork by talented Josh and Colby from Jolby.

After meeting in design school at the Art Institutes, Josh Kenyon and Colby Nichols began their design careers in their hometown of San Diego. As their lives and careers progressed they found themselves in two very separate cities: Josh in Chicago and Colby in Portland. Though it would seem the distance would end their creative alliance, the two found new ways to co-produce, proving they may possibly share the same brain. Jolby combines their talents through Colby’s artistic obsession with creatures and shapes and Josh’s creative love for pattern and texture. In 2009, Josh moved to Portland, OR bringing the two artists together to collaborate in the same city for the first time.

Customers often don’t purchase products based solely on their quality. Rather, a customer typically purchases a product from among its vast competitors for the feelings associated with that item, or for its brand identity.

As such, as a company executive, if your sales have been slumping lately or you feel the company’s image is outdated, it may be time to redesign your logo. Here are three indicators that the time has arrived to hire a professional designer and redefine your brand identity.

1. Think About the Current Logo

One way to determine if a redesign is in order is to consider the image portrayed by the current logo. Think about how many years the logo has been in use and who originally designed it. Many new company owners ask friends or family members to design their logos to save on business start-up costs. While that decision can help save money, it often results in an ineffective corporate identity.

Another option is to ask frequent customers for their input on the company’s current identity. This could involve asking the customers directly or sending out a survey asking for feedback on the current logo and how it could be updated. The responses will likely contain useful information and tips you may not have previously considered.

2. Research the Competition

Researching the logos of your competition can provide insight into the effectiveness of their corporate identities. While you certainly don’t want to copy their branding techniques, researching their marketing materials can provide valuable information on if you are ahead or behind their marketing efforts.

3. Consider the Future

One main reason many company owners redesign their logos is because their companies are moving in new directions. If you are currently taking the business in a new direction, this can be the perfect time to develop a new logo. By doing so, you will be ensuring a unified mission from the products and services you sell to the marketing image you portray.

Develop an Action Plan

If, after the research phase, you discover that a new logo is needed, the next step is developing an action plan. If you aren’t a professional graphic designer, then it’s best to hire one for the redesign project. This will ensure a professional product is developed that will match your new corporate identity.

When you are considering a few available graphic designers, ask for examples of their previous designs and for reference information. Viewing their previous work and contacting references are two necessary steps to ensure you hire a professional with the experience needed to update your corporate image. The last thing you want is to pay top dollar for a designer, only then to receive a subpar product.

Your corporate identity provides the first impression for potential customers. As such, by initiating a redevelopment of that identity to make it reflect the company’s current mission, you will be more likely to attract new customers and retain current ones. In today’s competitive market, the only way to beat out the competition is to provide a desirable brand and identity.

Fellow passionate designers all over the world,
You have a gift. Use it! You are a special bread of people because you never go with the flow. With every design you create, you are making your own mark and showing the world your individuality and uniqueness as a designer.

Now let me ask you a thought-provoking question: Do you think that renowned designers made it this far over night? I doubt it! We only see their great work but in order to reach greatness, they probably invested so many hours in order to “perfectionize” their craft. Similar to you, me, and all designers, these famous ones probably have some hidden work that they wouldn’t dare to share with anyone. You know why? Because it sucks!
Judging creative work is always controversial and very subjective as different people tend have radically different tastes. So, expecting that everyone will love your work is the most self-defeating lie of all!

“The greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure.” Sven Goran Eriksson

The ones who actually made it big time in the fiercely competitive design world were the ones who had unshakeable belief that they will. It always starts with believing in yourself so if you show some of your work to some idiot and he made a mockery out of you, your self-confidence will be your savior and who knows, you might be today’s mockery and tomorrow’s legend!
But in order to make it his far, you must fail a lot in order to succeed. Here are 5 reasons why failure is very healthy for creative designers in particular.

Reason 1: Enjoy Creative Exploration

If you want to become a sought after designer someday, you must be authentic and your work must reflect who you are. In other words, you can’t get their by mimicking someone else blindly. Your work must your personal brand. In order to figure out who you are design wise, you will need to experiment for a while. Don’t rush your natural evolvement process. Screw up, make mistakes, learn, explore, enjoy!

Reason 2: Remember that Route to the Hall of Fame Starts From the Hall of Shame!

What if you came 10th place in a design competition of 10 contestants?! Does that mean you have failed? Hell no! You have won because you took the risk. You have won because you saw what the top winners did right to learn from them. You won because your aesthetically suicidal design is your ticket to amazing designs to come.

Reason 3: Listen to Your Inner Voice

Receiving criticism from others can be very tricky sometimes. Some people take whatever others throw at them for granted. They never question it! Their self-confidence is at the mercy of what others say or do! On the other end of the spectrum you will find the over-confident folks who believe that every crappy design they did is a masterpiece and would readily kill anyone who begs to differ!

Smart people, on the other hand, let their intuition guide them when they listen to other people’s criticism. If what they said resonates with you, then you probably received constructive criticism. The biggest sign of constructive criticism is that your critic offers you exact advises on how to work on your deficiencies but if s/he just pointed out your flaws in a demeaning way, then probably s/ he is not worth listening to. It would be a great loss to overlook a sincere advice and also much greater loss to buy into some crap of some criticism freaks. How could you tell who is who? Just follow your heart.

Reason 4: Ready, Set, Grow!

Are your ready to leave the audience seat and get in the game? Are you going to roll up your sleeves and start filling huge stockpiles of files with drawings, sketches, designs that you wouldn’t dare to show to anyone? Are you willing to embrace what you see as pure ugly work that feels like a mismatch made in hell and love it only because it is yours? And here comes the most important question of all: do you realize that with every crappy design is your milestone to a great design? If you get that, you will make it big time.

Reason 5: Break the Rules and enjoy it!

The word “create” means making up something from scratch or bringing an idea or a product that never existed before into existence. I for instance, launched a marketplace where marketeers can buy unique content. When few centuries someone came and said we can fly, he was a laughing stock because he broke the rules. Break the rules and enjoy doing it since that’s the only way you can embrace the creativity within.

“No Pain no gain” and when you fail miserably before you succeed, you will experience the real taste of success. There is no sense of accomplishment when things come to you handy without any effort on your behalf. Now I will leave with the most important lessons you can take away from this article:

• Without believing in yourself and your unique talents and gifts, success will be impossible
• Creativity is controversial. Do NOT expect the whole world to give you a standing ovation
• Be authentic and true to who you are

What else would you add to this list? I can’t wait to find out. Thanks in advance for you contribution.

One thing that most designers and creative minds have in common is the ability to feel inspired by looking at other people’s work. Many different types of design even interact with each other and use similar styles. This time we’re going to have a look at something that for many is a great inspirational source: Typography. Typography is a wide term that includes everything from the layout of old printed books, signs, ads and even digital art.

Where typography in the past was something used to front content it has today grown into an art-form of it’s own. Sometimes typography has a clear message and many times designers use strong words or quotes accompanied by a certain type of letters. Other times the word(s) included are more or less random and the strong use of different effects is the meaning behind it.

The showcase we’ve out together here is one with a lot of colors included. These great pieces will show you the great diversity of typographic art, with lots of colors and different techniques.

Get ready to have a look at some truly inspiring colorful typography.

Enjoy!

Instant

Life type

Typo-graphic dope

Colorful peace

Duplex

Day Dreamer

Be happy

I love art

Desire

Great work works

Joy

Green

Share design

Smile

Creativity typo

3D typo effect

Cosmique

CMYK

Deja vu

TypoGraphy

Addiction

720

Wander

Freedom

Kick it

Colors

The good old days

.CMYK

Art

Angelpunkt

Maxon

Easy drive

Just do it

Love is gonna tear us apart

Paint

Summer

Dance for ever

First sun

Disco labamba

Cmyk

Those were our picks of 40 amazing and inspiring colorful typography pieces. We hope you’ve been inspired!

We’d also love to hear your comments. Which piece is your favorite? Do you have any typographic art you’d like to share with us?

Thanks!

Want to Use Flickr to Promote Your Design Business?

In the design world, Flickr has become the place to network and to promote your particular kind of design talent and professionalism. The interesting thing about this is that Flickr does not allow its members to promote their products or sell any kind of artwork or photography, which seems like the antitheses of good business.

However, the network community is so strong that using Flickr properly can be a great way to generate interest in your particular expertise while also connecting with other like-minded individuals and professionals.

If you are not already using Flickr, here are a few steps to help you get started:

Have a Professional Screen Name

Don’t be cutsey.

Make your screen name professional and easy to remember. Whenever a member is searching for groups or member pages, your screen name will pop up. Someone searching for specifics with a professional flair, will be much more attracted to “georgebrownwebdesign.com” than “hottie_geo.com”.

Make Your Web Address Clear and Clean

Short and simple is the rule. Using this rull will ensure that you are easy to find and it will not be hard to copy your address. In addition, using your screen name is always a plus.

The Buddy Icon

This is the icon that is shown whenever someone is searching for like-minded members. Make this either a decent headshot or one of your favorite designs. Don’t go with anything silly or in the “sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll” vein. This will kill your professional possibilities with Flickr members.

Your Profile

Make sure you write a good profile. Think of it as a casual resume, explaining you and your talents. You want it well written but, at the same time, catchy and easy to read. Don’t forget links to websites, blogs and so on. Include your best design work on your page, so that your profile looks like a stellar portfolio. Never include unprofessional work or silly snapshots. Make sure that you include a concise description of every design you include.

Tag Time

Include “tags” that help search engines find you. These can include your name, screen name, location and specific keywords that will drive people to your site. If you are a web designer, then use words that are specific to that medium. Don’t underestimate the importance of keywords and their ability to help you gain visitors.

Promotion, Promotion, Promotion

Once you have established a beautiful profile page then it is time to promote yourself and your talents. Make sure you link your Flickr page on your website or any blogs you have. Utilize other social networks to link back to your Flickr page. Join in on the Flickr fun and find other groups where you can network.

Flickr is well known for its design and photo communities so find them and begin to ease into those group memberships. Groups are usually either private or by invitation only, but as you promote yourself, you will begin to find acceptance.

And the last thing? Keep promoting and never give up!

Sonia Mansfield is the content editor for PsPrint and editor of PsPrint Blog.

Today SmashingShare looks at DepositPhotos, a resource for royalty free photographs and vectors. As a loyal client of Deposit Photo, SmashingShare knows the importance of a reliable, quality source for images and today we present a sample of images from DepositPhotos.com.

DepositPhotos.com is your #1 resource for buying and selling Royalty-free photographs and vector images. The vast library of imagestock coupled with our wide variety of flexible purchase options makes it the most convenient and profitable tool for designers, artists and photographers.

People react to different colors based on their culture, religion, upbringing, and/or personality. But there’s one most powerful color which could work for all of us independent of our nationality and background.

Researchers suggest that this magic color is red.

Red Color: General Findings

Red Color Physics

Recognized as a powerful stimulant, red is the hottest of the warm colors. Red activates our pituitary gland and increases our heart rate. Red also stimulates metabolism and increases appetite. It thus accounts for such feelings as hunger, excitement, determination, desire and courage.

Red is also a perfect attention grabber.

Red is the first color you lose sight of at twilight.

Red Color (Cultural) Associations

In most countries, color red is associated with the rich and powerful:

• In China, red, the color of fire, symbolizes good fortune and joy.
• Red symbolizes feast days in the Catholic church.
• Is Russia, red represents beauty and power.
• In India, a red mark on the forehead is believed to bring good luck.

It has also been found that red is the color of both female and male attraction. It is equally seductive for both the genders. Both culturally and biologically, females and males are viewed more attractive when dressed in red:

Red Color and Impulse Buying

If a good color sells, the right color sells better. According to various research results, color can account for 55% -60% of the acceptance or rejection of a product or service.

Red color is well-known for its impact on impulse shoppers. Research shows, that the two most powerful tools to make impulse shoppers act is to make a bright package and offer coupon codes.

Red is the most efficient color when it comes to encouraging an impulse shopper to buy something:

• Impulse shoppers are much more likely to buy something unplanned if they are distracted while shopping <- Red is the most effective attention grabber and distractor.
• Impulse shoppers have been found to react to bright colors and high-contrast colors <- Red is the best color to create a bright palette.

Red can’t be overdone though because too much of this color would make the interface or interior too cluttered and distracting.

Red Color in Web Design

Red color is a powerful design tool but it should be used with caution. It can attract attention, stick in mind and prompt the user to act – but when overdone, this color could make the interface or interior too cluttered and distracting.

In web design, red is almost idea for logo design. Red logos are almost impossible to forget which makes them perfect tool for branding.

Here are a few collections of red in logo design for your inspiration:

• 25 red logos;
• 50 examples of red logo designs.

Do you like red? Or do you think it’s a too dangerous color to play with? Let’s discuss!

In part three of a series featured by SmashingShare in association with Recave, we look at Martin Ansin’s awesome Star Wars illustrations.

Martin Ansin is a professional illustrator based in Montevideo, Uruguay — where the summer is not too hot, the winter not too cold, and the people not that many. With a background as a sequential artist and advertising art director for over a decade, his work reflects his enthusiasm for striking images as a means to tell an engaging story.

Follow Martin: twitter, linkedin, flickr

In part two of a series featured by SmashingShare in association with Recave, we look at Martin Ansin’s awesome Star Trek, Phantom of the Opera and Archer illustrations.

Martin Ansin is a professional illustrator based in Montevideo, Uruguay — where the summer is not too hot, the winter not too cold, and the people not that many. With a background as a sequential artist and advertising art director for over a decade, his work reflects his enthusiasm for striking images as a means to tell an engaging story.

Follow Martin: twitter, linkedin, flickr

Star Trek, The Original Series: Space Seed

The Phantom Of The Opera

Archer

In part one of a series featured by SmashingShare in association with Recave, we look at Martin Ansin, a very talented illustrator.

Martin Ansin is a professional illustrator based in Montevideo, Uruguay — where the summer is not too hot, the winter not too cold, and the people not that many. With a background as a sequential artist and advertising art director for over a decade, his work reflects his enthusiasm for striking images as a means to tell an engaging story.

Clients include Publicis, JWT, Young & Rubicam, BBDO Paris, Fox Networks, Pepsico, Nestlé, Honda Motor Company, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Playboy Magazine and The Globe and Mail, among others.

Follow Martin: twitter, linkedin, flickr

Johnny Depp

Katy Perry

Jay-Z

Beyoncé

Charlie Sheen

Reese Witherspoon

All Images Copyright to Martin Ansin

Creating a web design with unique characteristics requires creativity and talent. Today we look at some unique website designs which  utilize the use of cartoons and illustrations.

Enjoy!

countercultureapp.com

formee.org

hutchhouse.com

easypeasee.com

contoplanet.com

vuvuzela.heyindy.com

virushka.cz

felixblanco.net

webdesignbe.com

phuketprivateparty.com

toasteddigital.com

zombiefarmgame.com

mcmillerssweetsemporium.co.uk

If you’re a first time website designer, you need to be extra watchful as there are some common mistakes that keep on occurring with first time web designers. The purpose of creating a website is to serve your visitors with the information that they need and thereby transforming them from visitors to customers. This is the reason why most designers seek the help of SEO consulting services so that they can increase the visibility of their website by professional techniques. Listed below are the most common mistakes committed by those designers who are new to the field of website designing. Read them and educate yourself so that you don’t end up committing the same mistakes.

1. Using excessive graphics:

Most amateur website designers commit the mistake of incorporating too many eye-attracting graphics. If you pt GIFs, loud wallpapers and bright photos, all at the same time, the readers will very easily get distracted from the information in your website. Thus, excessive usage of banner ads and photos alienate a visitor from your website.

2. Cluttered links and information:

The visitors t o your website will mostly expect easy access to your website. If you use too many links, big navigation bars, a number of tabs and sub tabs, you will needlessly wear out the visitor. A large number of dropdown menus opening up on more, will surely bore your reader.

3. Too much of advertising:

Another mistake made by new website designers is that they tend to put in too many ads and pop-ups for the purpose of revenue. But it is often seen that when glaring advertisements makes the content of your website vague, it hurts the user’s experience.

4. Putting too much information:

Most first time web designers make this mistake of putting too much of information together. They think that more information will attract more consumers. But the fact is that providing more information that what is needed can have an adverse effect on your website.

5. Putting complicated URLs:

There is a habit by most web designers to put complicated URLs in the page. This also has a negative impact on the readers as almost all of them look out for something simple on the web. If you want to gather more information on how you can increase the visibility of your website, you can consult SEO consulting services.

6. Putting PDF files for reading:

Most users hate coming across PDF files as it is very time consuming downloading them and reading them. It is also very hard to navigate, thus it is best if a first time web designer does not upload any PDF files for reference in the website.

If you’re designing your website for the first time and you have no knowledge on internet marketing, seek the help of SEO consulting services to get better results. Try to avoid the mistakes mentioned above so that you outshine as a website designer.

Author

This is a guest post by Marc who prefers to write on different aspects of search engine marketing, seo tips etc.

Website designing is not a difficult task especially when lots of e-books and information is already available over the internet regarding website designing. But still, what you have to think before getting on with the website designing, most of the people are unaware of these points. In this article, I will tell you some areas of consideration what you must work on before designing a website in order to be successful with the website. You have to think of these points if you want to build a good and profitable website

Proper Planning

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First and foremost important thing is to plan that what purpose you are making and designing this website? There are many purposes of the web designing and developing like if you are running your online business then it is mandatory for you to develop a website. Here, I have to clear this thing that development is different task than designing. Just think for a second, if you just only develop a website with only codes and haven’t designed it like putting on colors and pictures and other related stuff then will the visitors will see your website and are you expecting lots of traffic over your website. I think the inner side of your own tells you the answer that is absolutely not. Yes, designing is necessary for attracting visitors but before designing, you have to sit on and think that for what purpose, you have developed this website. The most obvious reasons for developing a website may include whether you are selling a product, providing customer services, providing general or product specific information, mark your presence on the web, want to earn more money, or any other reason? This will help you while designing the website as you will be able to acknowledge the nature of the website and hence if the reason of the development of the website is clear in your mind then it will be easy for you to design it good and attractive. Here, you have to think and plan about the real goals that you want to achieve from the site.

Marketing Plan of Website

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The marketing plan is also very key factor to be considered before designing a website. What manner you want the site to be placed on web decides on you and that too relates with the designing of the website. The manner that you may place the website according to the marketing plan include unusual, innovative, educational, informative, supportive etc. here, you have to decide that whether you will take the help of some graphic designer or you may be able to add the graphics like images, themes, colors, flash stuff by yourself. Here, consider the end user that is visitor of your website.

Useful resources

10 Useful Marketing Tools For Freelancers

9 Tips for Establishing Your Own Marketing Method as a Freelancer

27 proven freelance marketing tips

Website Update  Methods

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You also have to plan the methods by which you will be able top keep the website updated. As you also know the fact that the visitors always to get the latest and up-to-date information and if you are failure in this then you may not be able to get the heavy traffic on your website. Apart, the time allocation from your side is necessary to the website in order to update it from time to time. In this correspondence, you may also hire or ask some volunteers to create fresh content and update it. If you are owner of an interactive site, then you have to plan the people who are going to answer emails and phone calls.

Useful resources :

6 Quick ways to update your website content

How To: Update Your Web Site’s Content

Starting Out Organized: Website Content Planning The Right Way

Financial Budget

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You also have to think of the financial budget as it is among the foremost and primary considerations before starting any project. The web designing is also bit costly stuff to do as it requires some graphics, sometimes the hired professional for designing in order to keep the quality of the website design good and attractive. Well, her I have some suggestion that if you are less with your budget then it is better to try the web designing yourself with the help of the experts or information available online.

Useful resources :

20 Budgeting, Planning, and Management Applications

Top 10 Best Free Online Project Management Application Services

15 Useful Project Management Tools

Analyzing the Competition

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If you are done with your keywords search then it is time for analyzing the competition and planning for the content writing for your website. Keep this important point in your mind that content writing is also part of the website designing so you can not get tout of this hard and time consuming task. The key in this prospect is writing the content that is much friendly with the search engines and this can be better done by the professional who knows the inner side of the search engine optimization.

Useful resources :

3 Steps for Optimizing Content for Long Tail Keywords

SEO Techniques: 4 Golden Rules For Keywords Optimization

SEO In 10 Minutes: Search Engine Optimization  Tips For Beginners

Getting an Appropriate Domain Name for Website

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Getting the domain is also very primary consideration for the website designing. This is because you have to plan first that what kind of design you would give to your website which can be held on by the domain server. Here, the key is to find the domain that can help you in building more backlinks. Well, the domain hosting choice must rest with the owner of the website along with some professional guys who can give the right opinion in this regard. The website designer must invest his energies in areas such as competitor analysis, keyword research and content strategy. The domain name can also be better chosen by you considering your keywords.

Useful resources :

10 Tools For Finding, Registering And Managing Domain Names

Appropriate Keywords to Target Over Your Website

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Well, the competition is very high in the filed of designing of the website. So you have to consider the keyword of your won and compete it with the other websites that are approaching the same keywords. This will help you in order to design the website in some good manner and get yourself forward than others. This purpose can be achieved best with the help of the search engine optimization.

Useful resources :

A Guide to Google Analytics and Useful Tools

7 Ways to Use Keyword Analytics to Your Advantage

50+ Advanced Web Analytics Tools for Business Use

Uniqueness of Website Design

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The copy or the plagiarism is not allowed in the website designing. You have to come up with your won creative and unique ideas to make the website design better than others.  The design must be consistently developed, dynamic and interactive in order to attract the visitor otherwise if the visitors find it same as they already saw somewhere; they will not come again on your website.

Useful resources:

20 Websites With Unique Layouts

9 Unique Web Design Galleries

27 Trendy And Unique Website Header Designs

Search Engine Optimization

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Search engine optimization issue has to be kept well before in mind in order to succeed with your website. This can be better done by the right selection of the keyword and correct use of the content along with the consideration of the user tastes. You are at the stage where you have to think of the user first than yourself because it can prove paramount for your website and business.

Useful resources :

Best 140 SEO Tools

Top 60 Amazing Seo Tools

20 Best SEO Tools Roundup

Alloted Time Frame for Designing Website

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Time is the key factor that must be kept in mind from very beginning of the website designing. You must think of the time allocation form your side to the website and then start designing the website because it is not he end of the work when you design it for the first time but you continuously have to work on it in order to keep it updated and continuing with attracting heavy traffic outside traffic.

Useful resources :

20 Time-Saving Tips to Improve Designer’s Workflow

15 Awesome Time Management Tools and Apps

Top 7 Productivity and Time Management Apps For The iPhone

So, above mentioned are 10 important areas to consider before designing your website. I am sure that if you had already designed your website then you must already have an idea about some of these areas of consideration. However, if you are aware of some more then feel free to share your thoughts as your thoughts will come handy for the ones who are not aware about some of the areas which needs to be considered before designing a website.

There are almost 7 billion different people currently living on earth. Most of those won’t be potential users of the site you are developing, but identifying the user groups plays an important part in creating a usable website.

Creating user personas is one way in which web designers can come to develop a better understanding of their target users, as each persona represents a different kind of consumer.

Unfortunately due to the vast, ever-changing nature of humanity, there are no simple sets of personas that can be followed right out of the box. Instead it falls to each individual developer and website owner to identify the persona related to their specific niche and product type.

User Persona Conceptualization

The first step is to consider your websites target audience. Start by asking yourself (or the web site owner) a few basic questions about the characters of the people you want to attract to your site:

• What sex are they?
• What age are they?
• What part of the world do they come from?
• What level of education have they received?
• What is their background?
• Are they employed?
• How much money do they make?
• What interests do they have?

It can be very easy to generalize when it comes to answering these questions. However, try to be as specific as possible. For example, it may well be that you are trying to attract both men and women between the ages of  16 and 35, but within that broad range of people there are some much more specific targets you could be presenting to yourself.

Instead you should try to answer each question in turn, applied to a single small group, repeating as many times as necessary until you are confident you have identified them all.

It is a common (and very useful) practice to use pictures and names to help better visualize the process. Once your done you should have something that looks like this:

	Marge is a thirty something housewife, she juggles looking after her children and keeping the home with trying to lead an active social life. College educated she worked full time until the birth of her second child, now her husband earns enough to support the family, though boredom is causing Lynda to go stir crazy. She has some disposal income and would be happy to invest it to get more.
	Mark is a teenager living in the US. He attends high school and lives at home with his parents. He has a part time minimum wage job and likes to spend his money on video games.
…	…More personas go here.

For most sites you will probably end up with anywhere from 3 to 10 or even more different persona’s. Once you’ve etched out the details, try to simplify them into categories that represent the persona’s most basic form. So for example, I would label the above persona’s into the user categories of Student Gamer Mark and Motivated Housewife Marge.

Conceptualization vs. Reality

Of course, its not enough to just conceptualize who you think your target audiences may be. It is also vital that you have a firm understanding of who your actual visitors are. Most modern websites try to manage this by installing comment or review sections, though the truth is that the vocal minority don’t normally give an accurate picture of all the different kinds of people that happen to pass by.

To get a real idea of viewers on-site browsing habits (like what pages they visited, how long for etc), most webmasters install analytic tools that allow for the accurate tracking of visitors.  Software like Google Analytics lets you know how people connect to your site, where they came from before visiting you, what part of the world they are from, what browsers they are using, and much more. All pieces of a puzzle that can be put together to better understand the needs of your core audience.

Knowing where your visitors come from and how they read your site is only half of the information you need from them. That still doesn’t tell you much about the people behind your hits, their likes, dislikes and so on.

Using a call to action you can encourage your viewers to tell you more about themselves. Polls, Quizzes and Survey’s are all great ways to delve deeper into the psyche’s of your sites audience. Using incentives (such as humor or prizes) to convince people to leave this kind of feedback is often the best way to go, after all your goal should be to get as large a sample as possible from your captive audience, so as to see what is and isn’t working on them.

There are various third party quiz and survey sites available on the web, most of which can be embedded on other sites with no trouble. ProProfs is one such site, which has free and paid membership options, allowing users to create online tests with pictures and videos, as well as giving them the ability to view detailed analytical stats relating to people who have taken their tests.

By using the website analytic tools combined with the successful implementation of various personality quizzes and site surveys, you should now have a solid idea of who exactly your target market is.

Practicing User-Centric Web Design

So finally you have this great information about your consumers, now its time to put it to good use. Some of the things you should definitely  consider using the collected data for are:

• Utilizing more appealing persona driven  web design
• Personas: Matching a Design to the Users’ Goals: By closely adhering to the goals of a specific persona, the designers satisfy the needs of the many users who have goals similar to those of the persona.
• Web Design Personas: This article explains approaches to develop a web design personas to create a more customer-centric web site.