CategoryGraphic Design

March 2, 2020 — How do we use blend modes to add depth to our designs, vertical text for impact and clipping paths to bring in character and energy to a design? In this article, we’ll explore just that. Read more…

December 9, 2019 — Brand illustrations are an adaptable and effective way to build a company’s visual brand. In this article, Yihui Liu outlines her process for developing a strong brand illustration system. Read more…

October 3, 2019 — In this fifth installment of Inspired Design Decisions, Andy Clarke will teach you about Bea Feitler, who directed Harper’s Bazaar throughout the 1960s and has been described as “the pioneering female art director you’ve never heard of.” Andy will teach you about Feitler’s confident work and show you how to apply some of her design techniques to the work you make for the web. In this article, you’ll learn how to emphasize scale and maintain its contrast on even the smallest screens. Andy will teach you how to make confident color choices, and how to use pattern and texture to add depth to your designs. Read more…

September 5, 2019 — In this fourth instalment of Inspired Design Decisions, Andy Clarke will teach you how scattering images will fill your designs with movement. Learn how to mirror pictures and text, and how to carve text into shapes using CSS Shapes. Read more…

August 8, 2019 — In this third instalment of Inspired Design Decisions, Andy Clarke will teach you how to use frameworks to create layouts as engaging as in the well-known Ernest Journal. All it takes is an understanding of layout design and imagination. Read more…

July 11, 2019 — In this second installment of Inspired Design Decisions, Andy Clarke will teach you how to expand your repertoire of layouts by combining more than one grid into a compound grid. This article will change the way you think about designing with grids. Read more…

June 13, 2019 — This is the first edition of Inspired Design Decisions in which Andy Clarke explains how to design and implement skinny columns using meaningful markup and efficient CSS. Read more…

April 24, 2019 — Art direction has been part of advertising and print design for over 100 years, but on the web art direction is rare, and there have been few meaningful conversations about it. “Art Direction for the Web” by Andy Clarke changes that and explains art direction, what it means, why it matters, and who can do it. Read more…

April 22, 2019 — A lead capture page greatly differs from a traditional web page in a number of ways. Put that lead generating page on mobile and you’ll see those differences expand and even test the limits of what you thought was possible for mobile. Today, we’re going to look at some tips for utilizing those differences to improve how well your lead capture pages convert on mobile. Read more…

April 11, 2019 — Last year, Rachel Andrew wrote “Take A New Look At CSS Shapes” where she reintroduced readers to the basics of using CSS Shapes. In this new tutorial, Andy Clarke expands on the topic of “Art Direction for the Web” with CSS Shapes to create exciting and inspired new design ideas. Read more…