Have you ever wondered if your design should just be on a page instead of in a modal overlay? Here’s a framework to help you decide....
I’ve implemented so many modals over the years but never really stopped to think about why. This when to use a modal flowchart is pretty interesting.
A few months ago, I started trying to do a little design cleanup on this site and it prompted me to finally do something I probably should’ve done way back at the beginning: create a brand board. Even though it’s a little late in the game, it still turned out to be a pretty useful task. It helped weed out some patterns and colors that didn’t quite mesh with the rest of the site. It inspired some new approaches. I’ve also started doing a stripped down version for creating promo assets for my fonts.
I started out with the free template from Nesha Woolery’s great post How to create a brand board but made some changes based on my own quirks and preferences. I found it easier to use Smart Objects for patterns, wanted a more widely available font for labels, didn’t need an extra section for alternative logos, etc. Since that original template was so useful as a starting point for me, I thought I should pay it forward and offer up my version for download.
The file is available as a PSD created with Adobe Photoshop CC 2018 and you can take a look at the layout below.
These free Stipple Shading Photoshop Brushes are an awesome freebie from Spoon Graphics. I really love this effect but it’s always seemed so hard to do.
Creative Market is offering another great weekly freebie. Texture Card Builder by Uniyok is an awesome vector brush set that you can download now (week of 05/20/19).
This gorgeous set of watercolor leaves is free right now (week of 02/18/19) on Design Cuts. All of the options are so pretty!
Go download them now.
A game where your attention to details earns you a lot of coins. WARNING: Once you see the difference between the images, you won't be able to unsee it...
This game is fun and frustrating. Play it against all your designer friends.
Later this week I’ll be releasing my first attempt at a color font so it seems like a good time to look at some of the awesome examples that are already out there.
If you need a quick overview of color fonts - how they work, where you can use them, etc. - colorfonts.wtf and Adobe Typekit have helpful primers. Unfortunately, support on the web (Firefox and Microsoft Edge only) isn’t great just yet but these fonts are still worth checking out now.
Bungee by David Jonathan Ross
Not only is this font great, this page is a great example of horizontal scroll page design.
Color Tube by Ivan Filipov
Playbox by Matt Lyon
Olcino by Igor Petrovic
Memphis by Anugraha Design
Bouquet by bloomxxvi
All the reasons you might not need to use a modal!...
This page lured me in with the complaining about modals but the best part is really the awesome 8-bit design.
Creative Market has some pretty great stuff going on right now.
First, the Dreamy Watercolors and Summer Vibes illustrations pictured above are free goods this week.
Second, as is maybe obvious just looking at this blog, I’m very into this article on Abstract Illustrations in Web Design and the accompanying products.
So go visit!
