The pros for using @fontface for icons far outweigh the cons. First of all, there are the obvious benefits of being infinitely scalable and being able to style them dynamically using any CSS property (color, gradients, shadow…). Secondly, its much easier to manage one single font file as opposed to juggling lots of individual images or having to create sprites. Thirdly, a single font file will only need a single HTTP Request for all the icons you use. And finally, [...]

Content sites, such as blogs, article directories, image galleries, video galleries, etc. are a major category of sites and if you haven’t designed such a site until now, you can be sure that sooner or later you will. Designing a content site is in many aspects easier than designing a corporate site but it has its specifics. Most of the usability rules for content sites might seem obvious but if you have designed mainly corporate sites, the switch might be [...]

This is our weekly selection of our favorite web designs from the past week, thanks to everybody for their recommendations. Feel free to comment and let us know what you think.

We have another fantastic book giveaway for you this week. Packt have given us two copies of the paperback book Google Plus First Look, written by Ralph Roberts, to giveaway to two lucky readers. All you have to do for a chance of winning one of these books is leave a comment below telling us why you would like this book. Please Note: This competition is only open to readers from the US and Europe. About the Book: Google Plus [...]

In this post, we’ll be sharing with you a collection of useful tutorials that will help you to to use Adobe Illustrator in a variety of new ways. Whether you are a pro or a budding novice, you are bound to find something that will help you. Below we present a collection of some of the latest, most useful and highly creative tutorials for Adobe Illustrator. Realistic, Vector Bubbles In this tutorial you’ll learn how to create colorful, realistic bubbles. [...]

With the galloping development of modern technologies the screen size margin of your readership can be anything in-between a 30″ desktop monitor and the iPhone’s 3.5″ screen. Responsive design techniques kills two birds with a single stone by helping improve user experience by displaying a screen sized optimized version of your website. You can help your WordPress website become more mobile-friendly, and here is a list of the most useful WordPress plugins that would help you in that. You’ll find [...]

This is our weekly column were we share our favorite design related articles, resources and cool tidbits from the past week. Enjoy :) If you would like to receive our daily updates and keep up to date with the latest and greatest articles and resources from the design community, you can follow us on Twitter, on Facebookor by subscribing to our RSS feed.

The newest version of Xcode comes packaged with a few noticeable interface changes. For beginners and intermediate users it can be difficult figuring out even the most basic functionality. And although Apple’s online documentation is well-written, it’s certainly not friendly for the average user. So in this guide I’d like to put together some basic steps for building any iOS app. I’ll be focusing exclusively on iPhone & iPod Touch devices since iPad opens up a whole new chapter of [...]

When it’s working, we call it developing a distinctive style. When it’s not, we call it falling into a rut. Formulaic, trend-based design might help you get the bills paid on time, but it won’t win you any design awards — and let’s face it, what’s most scary about that feeling is the idea that your artistic side might be slipping as you behave more like a manufacturer. While this is a common feeling shared by all designers at some [...]

This is our weekly selection of our favorite web designs from the past week, thanks to everybody for their recommendations. Feel free to comment and let us know what you think.

When you enter the world of web hosting, you will find yourself inundated with options. Choosing a hosting company is only the beginning. Even after you have a domain, hosting account, and all of the preliminary tasks out of the way, you still have to build a website. Many options out there are proprietary, sold by commercial vendors and private developers, but in some situations, it is much better for your website and your business to use free and open [...]

Freelancing offers you maximum flexibility to choose the projects that best compliment your skills, passions and interests. Without doubt, this is one of the most obvious advantages in becoming a freelancer. However, in this economic climate the ability to only choose the projects that most attract you must take a back seat, and you should rather spend your efforts on presenting yourself professionally to all clients and projects that come your way in order to ensure that you maintain a [...]

I have been a freelancer for almost a decade now and in the course of these years, I have had dozens of clients and hundreds of projects. While no two clients are the same, I have noticed some common things many of my clients hate. For truth’s sake, I try to avoid these things, especially when I really value the client but sometimes the items on the list below are unavoidable. Here are the Top 5 of things (my) clients [...]