Opinion

Get out of a Creative Slump

By Andrew Faulkner on June 23rd, 2008.

We’ve all been there. We’re creative people but suddenly the creative juices have stopped flowing. We want to work and output some killer material but it just isn’t coming.
(Graphic) Design
Probably the hardest part of the process if you’re lacking in creativity. The worst thing to do is to just plough …

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Getting Design Approval: The Single Mockup Theory

By Darren Hoyt on May 26th, 2008.

For years, my employer has included this line in their standard contract: “We will propose 2-3 homepage mockups and a single secondary page mockup”.

There are variations on this throughout the industry, but overall it’s pretty standard, the assumption being that clients should see multiple concepts before choosing a direction for …

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Best of the tutorial sites

By Andrew Faulkner on April 24th, 2008.

A ‘does exactly what it says on the tin‘ post.

Want some tuts on how to create a glossy button? Maybe some Web2.0 menu bars? Nah. Me neither. There are a lot of tutorial sites out there, most with the same regurgitated posts out there. But I’ve come …

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Awesome HOT TIPS for YOUR WEBSITE in 2008

By Andrew Faulkner on April 1st, 2008.

It’s the start of the new financial year (at least in the UK) and what better way to start than create a list of what’s going to be hot in web design over the next 12 months? After all, now you’ve got some fresh budget to play around with.

At Fadtastic, …

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25 Ways To Improve Your Site In 5 Minutes

By Andrew Faulkner on February 12th, 2008.

A while back I wrote 25 Ways To Improve Your Site Today. Many people thought it was useful. I’m trying again now with a twist. I’m offering you, dear reader, tips to improve your site in various ways - each one only taking approximately 5 minutes.

This is starting to …

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Calls To Action - Click Here!

By Matt Davies on February 7th, 2008.

As we go about our online lives we are all exposed to “Calls To Action” on a day by day, and sometimes minute to minute, basis . This article examines what a Call To Action is and how you can make yours stronger than the competition.

What Is A Call To …

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Accessible can be Beautiful

By Andrew Faulkner on January 15th, 2008.

I may be preaching to the choir in this post, but one can always use it as a reference to clients or colleagues.

Accessibility is one of my favourite aspects of web design. It’s also got a lot of hangups and myths associated with it. For …

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The Life and Times of Cool

By Ron Scott on January 2nd, 2008.

2007 has been an interesting year for the internet, and for web design in particular. We have seen the rise and fall of Web 2.0, the increase of lobbying for web standards, and the growth of interest in CSS3 and HTML5. And these three things are just a few out …

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Best of the ‘Wooden Look’

By Andrew Faulkner on December 10th, 2007.

The ‘wood look.’ It’s been around since the late 90s. It always used to look tacky and forced. You’d guess right if you suggested I wasn’t a fan. But over the last couple of months I’ve noticed real gems of design with a wood effect used to frame the site …

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Where Are The Female Designers?

By Matt Davies on November 19th, 2007.

It is a fact that there are less women in the design industry then men. What the precise ratio of men to women actually is, one cannot be sure. However, as some indication, the guys at A List Apart recently undertook a web design survey in which, in their …

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The rise of Wordpress for ‘Non-Blogs’

By Andrew Faulkner on October 31st, 2007.

And by non-blogs I mean portfolios, magazines, communities - essentially anything that doesn’t tend to come under the banner of a blog. You get the idea. I aim to showcase some of my favourite Wordpress powered sites that don’t follow the traditional layout. And following that, I’ll explore why these sites have deviated from the mean.
Straight to the juice…
I wouldn’t want to keep you waiting for some examples, would I?

Jen Gordon’s portfolio oozes character and flair. Her Wordpress install powers the portfolio, page hierarchy and her blog.

ComplementaryDuo mixes portfolio and blog effortlessly.

Darren Hoyt shows off his brilliant design talent. Definitely not ‘just another Wordpress blog.’

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Beautiful sites with no (or very few) images

By Andrew Faulkner on October 25th, 2007.

Catchy title, I know.

In stark contrast to my last post about intricate backgrounds, I’ve decided to examine (by example) the characteristics of sites that are aesthetically pleasing even though no (OK - maybe one or two) images have been used. In essence, this could also be a testament to …

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