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PixelCraft: A New Premium Web Template

MakeDesign — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 06:08:35 +0000

PixelCraft HTML has been specifically designed as a premium website template for businesses, photographers, designers, and bloggers. It includes 6 core page templates and 5 color variations, and the possibilities for customization are nearly limitless! This homepage allows you to showcase as many “feature” articles as you’d like, complete with images, title, and descriptions. What’s more? You can link directly to a lightbox or any page on your site.

The fonts you use for your website are an important decision, as they will often reflect your site’s tone and affect its visual impact.

When I was just getting started in design, I asked one of my favorite designers what single thing I could do to improve and expand my capabilities as a designer. His answer: “Read. Read everything you can get your hands on, empty your bank account, then read some more”. Looking back on 7 years of designing, I’d have to say that was the single greatest bit of advice I ever received. So, without further ado, here’s my list of recommendations.

Universal Principles of Design: 100 Ways to Enhance Usability, Influence Perception, Increase Appeal, Make Better Design Decisions, and Teach Through Design by William Lidwell, Kritina Holden, and Jill Butler. Out of every book on my shelf, this is the one I find myself returning to time and again. This is an amazing little hardcover that breaks the entire world of design into 100 distinct, easy to follow concepts that will focus the way you think about anything that’s been designed (and that could be everything, but I’m not here to debate religion). If you’re to buy one book on this list, this is the one. Useful, practical, easy to read.

Soak, Wash, Rinse, Spin by Tolleson Design. This was one of my first design books, and still one of my favorites. Chalk full of useful information about the process behind successful design projects.

Screen: Essays on Graphic Design, New Media, and Visual Culture by Jessica Helfand and John Maeda. For anyone who’s ever complained that there isn’t enough relevant, contemporary, erudite writing about modern design dillemas, I submit exhibit A. As one reviewer on amazon put it: “Things we all were thinking… only worded much better”. This tiny book packs a whallop of mind-bending analysis.

Noise Four by Attik. Often called the “big white book” or “the design bible” (although I would disagree), this 5lb book is a visual feast of experimental design pieces. Great resource if you’re seeking a quick entry into modern experimental graphic design or just some inspiration to break up the monotony of cut and paste projects.

Visual Creativity by Mario Pricken. Great analysis of the mental processes behind “visual imagination”. This book systematically breaks down different types of visual imagination and provides lots of great excercises that one can practice to enhance their own capacity to blow people’s minds. Oh, and it catagloues some of the greatest pieces of advertising in the last couple years on high quality glossy paper. Perfect coffee table fodder for the budding graphic artist.

Typography 27 by the Type Directors Club. Really, any book from this series is worth its weight in gold. If you’re going to follow one series of design annuals, this is it… phenomenal from every aspect.

Grid Systems in Graphic Design by Josef Muller-Brockmann. THE definitive guide on grid systems in graphic design. A fantastic guide for solving just about any design problem with a grid. If you haven’t cracked into grid systems yet, this is the book; if you’ve backslidden in your ways, now’s the time to reaffirm your faith.

I’ll be adding lots more in the future… I pride myself on a library of great design books and magazines. For any budding designer looking for a way to go beyond the standard textbooks, books are a great way to get started (and I would argue that these are perhaps a better, more robust form of education than the textbook variety).YouWorkForThem.com and Amazon are great places to pick them up on the cheap too.

p on the cheap too.

Packaged with a Fully Functional Contact Form!

MakeDesign — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 06:02:50 +0000

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PixelCraft Loves Images!

MakeDesign — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 06:02:04 +0000

Everyone knows the simplest way to draw instant attention from visitors is to dish out big, juicy images. Whether you want to use PixelCraft as a blog template, portfolio site, or a business website, you’ll be equipped with everything you need to make your next site nothing short of beautiful. Heck, it even comes with a full-blown image gallery that can be used as a portfolio or a simple place to show off product thumbnails, photographs, or recent portfolio pieces.

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PixelCraft is Customizable!

MakeDesign — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 05:34:48 +0000

This is an example of a WordPress page, you could edit this to put information about yourself or your site so readers know where you are coming from. You can create as many pages like this one or sub-pages as you like and manage all of your content inside of WordPress. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nulla neque ipsum, rhoncus eu euismod sed, ullamcorper a urna. Aenean ut nibh odio, vitae mollis odio. Maecenas faucibus auctor interdum. Nam commodo vehicula sapien sit amet aliquam. Nam eu diam ac dolor volutpat consequat vitae at neque. Ut at tortor nisi. Aliquam sit amet sapien nibh. Vivamus quis tellus id eros volutpat condimentum sed ac ante. In vel tortor ac nibh sagittis pellentesque eu a est. Phasellus at libero massa, non mollis mauris.

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Pre-Designed Advertising and Promotional Spaces

MakeDesign — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 01:33:22 +0000

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