MyInkBlog » Articles

7 Ways to Avoid Scary Web Design – Halloween Themed Infographic

Spencer Belkofer — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 16:14:10 +0000

Dreadful Halloween to all MyInkBlog readers!

Guest contributor Spencer Belkofer designed the following Halloween themed infographic to showcase 7 ways to avoid scary web design.

Ribbons in Web Design: A Showcase

Janna Hagan — Mon, 16 May 2011 10:30:59 +0000

Ribbons have become a recurring trend in web design. Although this trend probably won’t die for a while, I think it’s more obvious to designers than normal internet users that the trend is becoming more wide-spread. Simply searching “ribbon” on Dribbble brings up 840 results! In the following compilation, I collected some of the best examples of ribbons in design:

Do you think this trend is being overused?

Parallax Scrolling in Web Design: Hot New Trend with Examples

Janna Hagan — Mon, 09 May 2011 12:24:31 +0000

Parallax scrolling in web design is a design trend that is going to be huge this year. In my original blog post about Parallax Scrolling I wrote back in April, I listed some tools and tutorials to help you achieve this effect in your web designs:

Now I am going to show a few more awesome examples of parallax scrolling. Many of these websites use parallax scrolling to provide the illusion of a 3-dimensional effect, which adds a great subtle effect for visitors. Below is a compilation of some of the best websites that use parallax scrolling in a way that is amazingly inspiring. Enjoy!

Have some examples of parallax scrolling to share? Did you use this technique on your own website?

Typography in Design: 100 Brilliant Examples

James Vincent — Mon, 02 May 2011 11:00:09 +0000

Title image “Sexy Mashup” by Pete Harrison.

Beautiful art comes in many forms. We’re used to seeing amazing website designs and print designs, but we rarely take the time out of our day to look at items from other areas of design. So today we’re going to showcase 100 brilliant examples of typography in design.

When you look these images over, you can see how good typography can transcend through the web, print and everywhere in between. I hope you enjoy these examples and get inspired to create something amazing today!

Antena 3 Films

Blackout Poster

Australia Post Hug

After 10pm

You Blow Me Away

Dream

The Future

Sometimes…

Imagine

Typography by Fabianohikaru

Crush Typography

Vintage Typography

The Grid Typography Inspired by Tron Legacy

Behind the Black Sky

Reality Typography

Type Two

Balance

Creative

Full Spectrum Dominance

UU Theory

Inner Beauty Can’t Shine Through

100 Words

Highway of Endless Dreams

Modern Western Wedding Invitations

Stay Green

Anorexia

High Five

ECO

Green

More Green

Fresh

Seed

Bloom

Work + Play

Special

Waste Not

GK

Explosive Typography

Excessive

Cover Girl

Dolce & Gabbana Typography

Kings of Leon

Broken Stars

Sweet Typography

Dustin

Mighty Typography

Portfolio

Open House

Flow

Fresh

Under the Sea

Typography Soap

Typography by Nominuss

Beautiful

Typography Tree

Ink and Water Don’t Mix

Changing Actions

Type as Image by Petar Pavlov

Instant

On Us

Swing City

Go Play

Time for a Fresh Start

A tribute to Yulia Brodskaya

Anakost Typography

Play

Write a Bike

Impact Bold

Musa Typography

One Million Dollar Drawing

Walk in the open sky

You’re Paranoid

Space

Typography

Envy

BLOK

Type Two Typography

Omega

Drum & Bass

Start your own studio

MTV Bloom

Night Facilities

FFFF

Giel Just Love Daphne

Frothy Monologues

Green is the New Gold

CMYK

Day of the Dead

Type

B.A.

Chewing Gum

Graphic Design

Hell Yeah

Inspire Wallpaper

It Is What It Is

Illustrated Type

Inspiration

Typographic Illustration by Alex Beltechi

Tribute to the Dalai Lama

A Man of his Word

Typo

Share Your Thoughts

I hope you enjoyed all these awesome examples of brilliant typography in design. I had a lot of fun putting this list together and would love to hear which design is your favorite, or if you have some other great typography designs to share. Leave a comment!

Don’t Limit Your Design Inspiration to Behind the Computer Screen

Janna Hagan — Sun, 01 May 2011 11:30:36 +0000

CSS galleries seem to be gaining popularity among the web design community for obvious reasons. They can be a great source of inspiration when designing certain elements of a website. Although these sites are great (and sometimes overused), it’s always a good idea to take a break and step back from the computer screen. As designers, we have all been stuck in a rut where ideas just aren’t flowing. I’m the type of designer that will actively seek inspiration when I’m presented with a project. Usually, ideas don’t pop into my head instantly. Inspiration is more about discovering it naturally, rather than forcing it.

Travel

There is an abundance of culture, lifestyle and art to be discovered when you travel. The discoveries you encounter may not always be available to you where you live and can help you escape the rut of everyday work. These types of discoveries can be awe-inspiring in a way that is mentally stimulating. Don’t forget to take pictures of your journey to reflect upon later.

Nature

Nature is the prefect way to recharge your soul and ease your mind, allowing you a fresh perspective on design. An important part of getting inspiration from nature is not to just view it. Look at the textures and colours of the leaves, grass and water. Paying more attention to the environment around you can help you incorporate new elements into your designs. Getting inspiration from nature is also a good way of making sure you avoid taking too much inspiration from other sources. Below are two examples of awesome websites inspired by the beauty of nature.

Study Different Design Mediums

Fashion

Fashion is very much artwork in itself. The colours, structure and textures used in fashion can be applied the same way in web design. Specific styles and eras of fashion design can resonate with your personal style, making it easier to discover a new found source of inspiration. The Free People website is a perfect example of a design that reflects the style of the clothes they sell – flowy, natural and girly.

Architecture

How many times do we mindless pass by architecture in large cities? Studying the line, shape and form of these beautiful buildings is a great way to stir up ideas. The shapes and patterns in modern architecture share the same principles as design elements on the web. There’s a awe-factor in the creativity of structural design that encompasses personality, variety and colour that is sure to inspire. The Material Group and Cappen websites both use beautiful circular structural elements to create a sense of depth and shape.

Photography

Photography is one of the best ways to capture human emotions and feelings. As a web designer, this is one of the most important aspects of creating and designing an effective website – we must appeal to our visitors and create an emotional reaction. Photography often allows our minds to wander through various emotions and personal memories creating a new realm of inspiration.

Discover Your Neighbourhood

Visit an art gallery, record store, coffe shop, vintage clothing store or wander through a park. Go to a foreign grocery store and study the packaging designs. These designs aren’t restricted by factors like HTML and CSS and can remind us how to think outside the box when it comes to webpage layout. View architecture and street art – nothing can be more stimulating than discovering your own city, especially areas you have never visited before. Many of these places have a wealth of undiscovered artwork that can be used as inspiration.

How do you combat limited inspiration?

How to Link to a Single Tweet on Twitter

James Vincent — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 05:51:16 +0000

We have been running some giveaways and contests here on MyInkBlog lately where we are asking you to mention the contest on twitter and then post a comment here on our blog with a link to your tweet. A lot of people have asked how to post a direct link to a single tweet, so here is how it is done.

In your twitter feed or on your twitter profile after you have made the tweet you want to link to, just click on the time stamp just underneath the tweet:

Click this time stamp, where it says “10 seconds ago” or “less than a minute ago” – this will bring you to twitter’s cache of the single tweet. You can then copy the URL from your browser and paste it in your comment to enter our giveaway or contest. Alternately you can simply right-click the timestamp and copy it right from your twitter feed.

35 Black and White Flash Portfolios – Colorblind Fashion

Ann Davlin — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 14:10:44 +0000

The black and white palette is considered to be the favorite art motif of many creative people, especially for their portfolios. Since glossy magazines and fashion shows started popularizing vibrant color schemes, black and white artwork has become associated with something classic and stylish.

Many designers use monochrome solutions to showcase their work, even with flash based designs. Black and white portfolio websites have won the hearts of millions with simple and austere style, so they are in fashion year after year.

Adding a dash of the right color brings a zest to these designs and draws’ attention to significant elements (e.g. logos, photos, schemes, navigation buttons).

So, if you are a web designer, photographer or a creative online project manager and are looking for some ideas about how to decorate your portfolio and distinguish it from the masses, then you are in the right place! Now we’re going to show you a list of 35 black and white Flash portfolios which will undoubtedly inspire you for experiments with monochrome colors. So, make yourself comfortable and enjoy the art of black and white Flash portfolios!

Szymon Brod

Toshiyuki Nagashima

Kurylowicz & Associates

Ad Vlemmix

Pianofuzz

Martin Anderie

Cellules

Studio Ten and a Half

Leah Haggar

Contrast

Ion Drimba Filho

Jessica Stivenson (template)

Model Management

Marcin Kaneiwski

Jean Malek

Your Magesty

Uli Heckmann photography

Carlos Alonso

Artworking Digital Design

Ana Juan

Interior (template)

Shauntan

The Old State

Pierrick Calvez

thetoke

Alastaire Allday

Simon J Hunter

Toby Powell

Cole Thompson photography

AFGN

Brian Hoff

XQS

Kardo Ayoub

Roland Olbeter

C-designer

Pretty in Pink: 35 Fabulous Pink Website Designs

James Vincent — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 11:00:40 +0000

When someone says Pretty in Pink, you’ll no longer have to picture the movie, because today we’re going to showcase 35 awesome sites that all utilize Pink in their color scheme. You’ll notice that when looking through the list of websites, there are some that utilize Pink as their main color of choice and really drive it to you, while others choose a more subtle approach and sprinkle the pink around along with another main choice of color (ie: blue, black, etc).

Design Code Play

Licorn Publishing

Vestibular Agendado 2011

Bakerella

Are You Ready?

Bog Standard

Pixelista

La Dinette Des Grandes

Geekletics

Ingenjörsvägen

MustGetACard.com

Cupcakes Canada

Motherhood

Econeve

Ungarbage

Solid Giant

Odopod

Keens Interiors

You Know Who

Yum Creative

Love Hunt

Krista Ganelon

OUOU

Sarah & Simon

Little White Umbrella

Pink Turkey

The Pink Mitten Campaign

Solid Pink

Pink Petrol

MommaCounts

NonSense

Aaron Moody

DISEÑÍSTICAMENTE

Cash Pony

Cup Cup

Have an awesome pink website to share? Post a comment we would love to see it!

100 Incredibly Kick Ass Freelance Designer Portfolios

James Vincent — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 11:00:05 +0000

As freelancers who design, code, write and illustrate, we tend to spend extra time on our portfolios to make sure everything is completely perfect. This makes for an amazing post of 100 kick ass portfolio designs. The extra time spent is well worth it because all of these portfolios are stunning.

Of course not all freelance portfolios are this great. Some of us are guilty of spending all our time working on client’s designs and we forget to take care of our own portfolio websites. If this sounds like you, take note of some of these top freelance portfolio websites and give your lackluster site a makeover. You may be surprised how well it pays to keep the public face of your brand up to snuff with the competition.

Ready to get inspired?

Mathieu Langlois

Hugo Rodrigues

Scribble and Tweak

Colorful Visuals

Carsonified

Lilac Creative

Kyle Bebeau

Pixel Criativo

Crssrd

Mike Precious

Nineteen82

Ketch Studio

Mike Curry

Ashfall

Bright Labs

Electric Pulp

ARTEYE

NuvoDev

Diseño Gráfico y Diseño Web en Costa Rica l IGD

Kaus

Corvus

Good Bytes

Maxlabs

Jessica Kripp

Mathieu Langlois

Yvan Rodic

Adam Scott

The True Illusion

Lee Munroe

Geek Zoo

Sven Creative

Deren Keskin

Josh Collie

Anderson de Paulo

The Coder

Guerrilla

Shawn Graham

Mario Contreras

Chris Heinrich

Afgn

MetaLab

Outstander

Andrea Macdonald

Mark Sousa

Olive Design Company

King Lucky

Chriswi

Bärnt & Ärnst

David Hellmann

Enzo Li Volti

Fred Yates

The Pat Johnson

Punching Pixels

Infografixlab

James Whitesmith

Goldenboy Media

Lindsey Grande

Julian Laval

Ralph Millard

Tobias Persson

Stephane Blancard

Daniel Büttner

Rytis Gasparavicius

Man on the Moon

Dilshan de Silva

Myself DSK

Sebastian Mrazek

Celavi

The Visual Click

André Petrini

Wesbos

MAY

Jorge Riera

Design By Nick

Chandu4u

Gauged2

Ja, mein Kind?!

Martin Karasek

Design Official

Found Colour

Wouter de Bres

ndesigns

Ray Cheung

In the Lost & Found

Mizko

Brad Langdon

The Funky Monk

Amber Miro

Design Intellection

Janko at Warp Speed

Paul Mitchell Kelly

dan123

I wanna be a designer

Niklas Baversten

Jess King

Tom Pain

ATWA

Gonzo Graphic

Phillip Bartz

Colin McKinney

Vinu Mammen

Tyler Herman

Andy Smart

Jose Alonso

Jan Vašek

30 Amazing Design Blogs for Inspiration and Resources

James Vincent — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 13:00:58 +0000

Inspiration strikes whenever we put ourselves in the proper place at the proper time. So, as designers, we should be placing our eyes in front of some of the best design inspiration & resource blogs on the web – and today, that’s exactly what we’ll be doing. I’ve put together a list featuring 30 of the best design blogs that will fit your daily inspiration and resource gathering.

What are your favorite design blogs?

If you’ve got a favorite design blog that’s not currently on the list, drop a comment and let us know.