If you’ re looking to create high-quality photos that resemble big-budget films, you may find the process of manually producing these looks within Photoshop to be both time-consuming and challenging. Fortunately, Photoshop actions offer a simple and efficient solution to achieving these cinematic effects. To help you get started, …
Specky Boy
Weekly News for Designers № 718
What Removing Object Properties Tells Us About JavaScript Removing properties in JavaScript might not sound thrilling, yet various methods exist to accomplish this task. Protomaps Open-Source World Map A new, free, open source map of the world, deployable as a single static file on cloud storage. Ideas for…
Weekly News for Designers № 718
What Removing Object Properties Tells Us About JavaScript Removing properties in JavaScript might not sound thrilling, yet various methods exist to accomplish this task. Protomaps Open-Source World Map A new, free, open source map of the world, deployable as a single static file on cloud storage. Ideas for…
20+ Best Free T-Shirt Mockup Templates for Photoshop in 2023
Is there anything more iconic than a T-shirt? Worn by anyone from James Dean posing as a rebel and a heartbreaker to streetwear fashion influencers like Olivia Palermo, T-shirts are one of the most impactful pieces of clothing today. So the next time you’ re preparing a design for…
20+ Best Free T-Shirt Mockup Templates for Photoshop in 2023
Is there anything more iconic than a T-shirt? Worn by anyone from James Dean posing as a rebel and a heartbreaker to streetwear fashion influencers like Olivia Palermo, T-shirts are one of the most impactful pieces of clothing today. So the next time you’ re preparing a design for…
Weekly News for Designers № 717
Being Picky about a CSS Reset for Fun & Pleasure Chris Coyier discusses the Andy Bell’ s recently revamped CSS reset. Best Practices for an Intuitive Mobile Dashboard UI Tips for navigation, tables and charts, button UX, and interactivity to create a smooth mobile dashboard experience. Get into the…
The Grumpy Designer Ponders What It Means To ‘Learn’ AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) is just starting to impact society. But that hasn’ t stopped people from making bold proclamations. I’ m particularly fond of the Doomsday scenarios. You know, the very darkest of sci-fi fantasies. The possibility of working for a machine sounds modern. I wonder how well it pays?…
20+ Best Photographer Logo Templates in 2023
Capture their interest before you even capture a photo! Berenice Abbott once said that photography helps people to see. However, if you’ re a photographer (or if you’ re working with a photographer), then you know that it’ s your logo that convinces new clients to come and take a look…
20+ Best Photographer Logo Templates in 2023
Capture their interest before you even capture a photo! Berenice Abbott once said that photography helps people to see. However, if you’ re a photographer (or if you’ re working with a photographer), then you know that it’ s your logo that convinces new clients to come and take a look…
Weekly News for Designers № 716
The Ultimate Low-Quality Image Placeholder Technique Harry Roberts discusses whether Low-Quality Image Placeholders and LCP play nicely together? The Problem With WordPress Is Positioning, Not Plugins Geoff Graham explores a divide between WordPress.org and WordPress.com, shedding light on the blurred lines between open-source ideals and commercial interests. Animating…
The Unpredictable Life of a Freelance Web Designer
I’ ve been a freelance web designer since 1999. And I know where I’ ll be most days. I’ m usually here at my desk, plugging away at projects. But that’ s where the predictability ends. That’ s because my to-do list is subject to change. One request from a client can disrupt…
Where Does Dreamweaver Fit in Modern Web Design?
Dreamweaver has long been a staple for web designers. The trailblazing tool was first released back in 1997 by Macromedia. I’ ve been a user since 1999. I had a contracting gig. The client insisted that I use Dreamweaver. I wasn’ t thrilled about this as I had come to…
Weekly News for Designers № 715
Animated Background Videos – A free collection of looping 4K background files for your next video project. CC0 licensed. Fullscreen Image Slideshow Animations – A collection of ideas for designing slideshow animations on fullscreen images from Codrops. Lightroom Mobile Presets – A collection of free presets for Lightroom…
How to Build a 404 Page with the WordPress Site Editor
A great website has many ingredients. But some tend to fly under the radar. The venerable 404 page is a prime example. Web designers spend hours perfecting a site’ s layout, functionality, and content. However, we don’ t always pay attention to the 404. Why is that? It’ s easy to…
The Impossible Question: How Long Does It Take to Build a Website?
Web designers get asked all sorts of questions. We’ re queried for advice on aesthetics, marketing, technology, and more. Being an endless fountain of knowledge is just part of the job. Our answers come from experience (or a quick search). Yet, there is one question that seems impossible to…
Here’s What It Was like to Build a Website in the 90s
I’ m still fascinated by all aspects of the 1990s. Coming of age during the decade is a big reason why. But there’ s more to the story. The 90s were also a golden age for technology as well. The personal computer made its way into the mainstream. And so…
Weekly News for Designers № 714
A (More) Modern CSS Reset – Here’ s a CSS reset that considers current browsers. The Next Generation of Web Layouts – The future of layouts may be text-focused. Why Use React in 2023 – Explore the magic of React from a designer’ s perspective. 8 CSS & JavaScript Snippets…
The Difference Between Cheap & Budget Clients
Web designers don’ t always have the luxury of working on big projects. We usually start small. That’ s OK because it provides a path for learning and growth. But “ small” is a relative term. A project can be small in terms of profit. Yet that doesn’ t mean that…
Is the ‘Fast & Cheap’ Website Still Realistic?
Freelance web designers exist to serve clients. We build and maintain websites for a variety of organizations. But you soon realize that some clients have high expectations and a low budget. What do they want? The traditional “ fast and cheap” website, of course. These clients expect us…
8 Essential Free & Premium WordPress Plugins for 2023
WordPress is a content management system built so that anyone from small business owners to professional web designers can easily learn to work with and use it. Its core code is a powerful framework that provides essential elements and features for creating any type of website. You’ ll often…