In Inspiration

A Showcase of Vintage Apple Advertisements

Posted by on Jan 15, 2010 | 27 Comments

In the mid 80′s we bought our first computer. It was an Apple IIc. I have very fond memories of playing games, writing basic programs, and creating graphics while staring at it’s small green monochrome monitor. Even though I was very young at the time, I believe our Apple helped send me down the path to becoming a web designer. So if you were and Apple owner in the early days, here’s a showcase of vintage Apple ads from that time period that will take you back. It’s amazing how much the Apple product line and technology in general has evolved in such a relatively short period of time. (more…)

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In Expired Premium

WDL Premium: Linework Vector Pack from Go Media

Posted by on Jan 14, 2010 | One Comment

Here’s another high quality vector pack for our WDL Premium Members from the talented people at Go Media. Linework is a vector set full of abstract lines, both freeform and technical. Both clean and dirty. A lot of vintage inspired designs use random linework and shapes like these in their designs. (more…)

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In Freebies

20 Super Clean Fonts Perfect for Minimal Style Design

Posted by on Jan 13, 2010 | 32 Comments

Finding the right typeface or font for a design can be a tricky process. So it’s good to have a nice selection of fonts at your disposal. With this article, we’re tying to help you out with that and give you some typographic enjoyment. Here are 20 free fonts that are super clean and would be great to use in your next minimal style design. (more…)

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In Tips

Whitespace: The Underutilized Design Element

Posted by on Jan 12, 2010 | 40 Comments

There are a number of elements that make up a great web design, but probably one of the most overlooked and underutilized is whitespace. Every design has whitespace, but the problem is that not every design has enough. This could be due to the fact that inexperienced designers and their clients see whitespace as empty space and therefore a waste of valuable screen real estate. The truth is, whitespace might be one of the most valuable parts of your design. (more…)

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In Freebies

80+ Photoshop Actions for Giving Your Pictures a Vintage Look

Posted by on Jan 11, 2010 | 22 Comments

Photoshop actions are great. If you’re not familiar with actions, they are simply prerecorded adjustments made to a Photoshop file that can be saved and applied to other projects. The concept is simple, but the process to create some actions can be very complicated. That’s why using actions can be a huge time saver. With just a click of a button you can apply a complicated effect to a Photoshop file instantly. In this article, I’ve rounded up over eighty Photoshop actions that will add very cool vintage or retro effects to your photos. (more…)

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In Premium

Republica: Premium WordPress Theme

Posted by on Jan 8, 2010 | 6 Comments

Today we’re releasing a premium WordPress theme by Viva Themes for our premium members. If you’re not yet a member, you should sign up to download this and dozens of other files. Republica is a theme that can be used easily for your blog or company site and even a portal. It has a big slideshow on the home page, below that a widgetized bar and your latest posts. It comes with an advanced options panel, so you can configure it without touching a bit of code. Be sure and check out other great themes by Viva Themes. (more…)

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In Inspiration

A Showcase of Clean White Web Designs

Posted by on Jan 8, 2010 | 49 Comments

When it comes to web design, white is always a symbol of elegance, minimalism and style. You can use white to create space, to keep it simple, to drive the attention to other elements at your page and also to maintain your site with a clean and minimal look. Several websites use white as their main color, and this is what we will show here. You probably have seen some of these sites before, but they are such a great example that I had to mention them again. And in case you want to share a “clean white website”, the comments are open! (more…)

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In Freebies

100+ Seamless Patterns Great for Creating Website Backgrounds

Posted by on Jan 7, 2010 | 75 Comments

Seamless patterns are a great way to add interest and detail to a web design background. In this post we’ve rounded up over one hundred seamless patterns. You’ll find a wide variety of styles such as vintage, florals, and stripes. All of these are of very high quality so you can use them as is or use them as a foundation for your own background. (more…)

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In Inspiration

30 Examples of Latte Art Too Beautiful to Drink

Posted by on Jan 6, 2010 | 15 Comments

It’s probably fair to say that coffee is the drink of choice of many web designers. So I thought it would be fun to showcase some awesome examples of coffee/latte art. If you’ve never seen this done before, it’s created by pouring steamed milk into espresso and then swirling or drawing in the top surface. Here are 30 examples of this that look so amazing that you would hate to drink it and mess up the design. (more…)

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In Tips

Seven Useful Web Development Tips & Tools for Cross-Compatibility

Posted by on Jan 6, 2010 | 19 Comments

As a web designer, you would think that the major Internet browsers would’ve come to some sort of agreement on standards and best practices after all this time. In reality, browser compatibility is a minefield of confusing conflicts and picky platforms that refuse to play nice with each other. Here are some useful tools and tips for riding out the waves: (more…)

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