A designer is supposed to be always on the top of any professional new wave and that’s why these conferences are supposed to have importance for all of us. These conferences join the best members of our profession to argue about their professional experience – they might be available at some workshops as well, so different processes and techniques may become very useful and exciting when you’re trying to do what the “Master” is trying to teach You.

The Web Design community literally takes that old Nokia slogan “Connecting People” and makes it happen. Everyday, literally thousands of talks take place via social networks connecting more and more designers with the same interest and views.

There are hundreds of amazing portfolios, top quality blogs, rich showcase websites, etc. where you can certainly loose endless hours looking, getting inspiration and tips…and that’s a good thing right? Well it certainly is if you can manage your time and focus well, otherwise, trust me, it can be a real problem.

Recently, the notion of killing the design community has come up on a few blogs (sometimes indirectly), creating many intense conversations on the direction the design community has taken over the past couple of years, and what can be done about it.

The possibility that such discussions are going to improve the design community is quite troubling.

In the interests of taking advantage of this recent trend (namely, writing about “killing the community”), I felt it would be necessary to address this issue by describing some easy-to-learn and practical tips that will help all of us do our part in killing the community.

As the first thing visitors see, home pages and headers often steal the design spotlight.

But above-the-fold thinking neglects the natural flow of vertical page layout. What happens when people reach the end of a page?

You can bet that a simple copyright statement won’t hold visitors’ attention, but many pages are designed with the expectation that people will find their way… or so we assume.

The bottom of a page is not the end of a website. An informative, compelling footer is the natural place to lead people to more information within the site rather than wandering aimlessly.

Read more about the trends and innovations that follow page content and answer the unspoken question, where to from here?

Design is everywhere. We see it in on billboards as we drive down the street. When we go to a restaurant and look at the menus, we see it. When we sit down on our couch and watch television, it’s visible on the commercials, advertisements, and even the movies and TV shows.

It is all around us and it stimulates and motivates much of our decisions subconsciously every day. The encyclopedia refers to graphic design as,

There are probably dozens and dozens of ways for approaching the initial stages of creating a website. You could sketch out the entire concept on paper, use Photoshop to create a beautifully rendered visual representation of what the site will look like, or cut your teeth right away on some nice HTML and CSS coding. I’ve used all of these different techniques to varying degrees in the past, and they have all proven useful in their own ways.

What is a “die cut”? We have been asked several times this week about this since we have been posting examples of different types ofbusiness cards, including die cut business cards and UV coated business cards. This is the main reason why we decided to come up with a layman explanation of these terms that are commonly used in business card printing. Knowing and understanding these terms are very important especially if you are a designer. Before you could submit your design for printing to a commercial printer, you are normally asked what stock to use, is your file print-ready and in CMYK? Is there a bleed? Would you like to put spot UV, so on and so forth.  So here are some of the common terms that could help you understand the different processes and materials used inbusiness card printing. Since this is a glossary-style listing, the terms or words are arranged alphabetically.

In a sense, they’re meant to be that way. A good table communicates a lot of information in a concise, easy to understand way. Because the emphasis really should be on the information, over-designing a table can kill the effectiveness. However, in the right hands, clever design can not only make a table more attractive, but can actually increase readability.

Today we’ll take a look at several ways you can improve the functionality and aesthetics of your tables. One of the most common places we currently find tables online is on a web app’s pricing page so most of our examples will take this form, just keep in mind that these principles can apply to any type of informative grid.

Do you want to spend this year doing the same things you did last year – stuck in the same schedule, the same income bracket, facing the same problems? Of course not!

Everybody needs to take some time now and then to refresh, look at how they’ve been doing things, and then figure out how to climb a bit higher. Here’s a list of 15 ideas to help you break out of the rut and expand your horizons – some thoughts to inspire you and get you started.

Stories have defined our world. They have been with us since the dawn of communication, from cave walls to the tall tales recounted around fires. They have continued to evolve with their purpose remaining the same; To entertain, to share common experiences, to teach, and to pass on traditions.

Today we communicate a bit differently. Our information is fragmented across various mass-media channels and delivered through ever-changing technology. It has become watered down, cloned, and is churned out quickly in 140-character blurbs. We’ve lost that personal touch where we find an emotional connection that makes us care.