BlogmyQuery – BMQ

There are a lot of advantages to freelancing. You will have more flexibility over the hours you work, you won’t have to commute to work any more and best of all, you are your own boss. It can be hard work landing a job. Not to mention making sure a project is completed successfully can mean working unsocial hours from time to time, however most people who leave their 9 to 5 jobs are happy with the freedom freelancing offers.

You can’t just sit at home waiting for the work to come to you though (unless you are an established freelancer with years of experience). You need to be proactive and go out and find work every month. The two most common methods of doing this are job boards and freelancing websites.

With job boards, the website owner or company posts details of the job or project that they need completed. It is then up to applicants to contact them with details of themselves, their experience online and why they are suitable for a project. Freelancing websites are a little more competitive, with many freelancers privately or publicly bidding for work from employers. Due to this, good feedback from previous clients can be an important factor on whether you are successful in a bid or not.

Today we would like to show you 18 websites perfect for finding design and programming jobs. The first 9 are on this page, and the others are on the next. Just follow the link at the bottom of the post to continue on with this hopefully useful resource.

Help Wanted Websites

1. Freelance Switch

A great freelance job board that’s updated regularly. It publishes online jobs where location isn’t an issue and location based contracts from around the world. Design, development, writing, illustration and flash positions are all listed.

2. Smashing Jobs

Used by top digital companies such as Google, Apple and Linked In; Smashing Jobs lists full time and freelance design and programming jobs.

3. Sensational Jobs

It’s not updated frequently however there are still good design and developer jobs published on Sensational Jobs every month.

4. WP Hired

A good place to find theme and plugin development work for the WordPress platform. Freelance and full time positions are advertised and you can also upload your resume so that employers contact you for work.

5. WordPress Jobs

A job board from the makers of WordPress, WordPress Jobs lists designer, programmer and blogging positions. There are also employers who simply need their WordPress installation upgraded.

6. Authentic Jobs

Online since 2005, Authentic Jobs lists positions from companies such as Facebook, Skype, Sony and Electronic Arts. Full time, contract, freelance and internship positions are available for design and development projects.

7. Coroflot

A design website that features jobs for a range of different design jobs from large well respected companies. Users can upload their portfolios so that employers can contact them directly.

8. WooJobs

Another WordPress jobs board that is actively updated. A range of WordPress design, development and support positions are advertised here.

9. Krop

A creative job board for designers, directors and freelancers. Users can create a portfolio and resume so that companies can contact them directly.

Don’t give up yet! That perfect freelancing design or programming job may still be lingering right around the corner. There are still more opportunities on the rest of the job boards and websites we have left. Read more here.

CSS is a beautiful language but it can also be frustrating at times. Certain CSS solutions don’t work on certain browsers (cough Internet Explorer cough) and much of your time can be spent debugging code.

Thankfully there are lots of great CSS snippets available online that fix common problems and design issues. In this article we have listed 30 CSS snippets that we think you will find very useful.

The Code

1. Chris Poteet’s CSS Browser Reset

Resetting your CSS style allows you to stop cross browser differences. Chris Proteet’s reset code doesn’t work in IE6 however this shouldn’t be a concern any more with use of the browser dropping below 1% in the USA.

/*

Reset Default Browser Styles
- Place first in the listing of external style sheets for cascading.
- Be sure to explicitly set margin/padding styles.
- Styles are not reset that have to do with display (block, inline) are not reset.

By: Chris Poteet & various influences

*/

* {
vertical-align: baseline;
font-family: inherit;
font-style: inherit;
font-size: 100%;
border: none;
padding: 0;
margin: 0;
}
body {
padding: 5px;
}
h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6, p, pre, blockquote, form, ul, ol, dl {
margin: 20px 0;
}
li, dd, blockquote {
margin-left: 40px;
}
dt {
font-weight: bold;
}
table {
border-collapse: collapse;
border-spacing: 0;
}

2. Eric Meyer’s CSS Reset

Eric Meyer’s CSS code resets is one of the most popular CSS snippets. It even found it’s way into the Blueprint CSS Framework.

/* http://meyerweb.com/eric/tools/css/reset/
   v2.0 | 20110126
   License: none (public domain)
*/

html, body, div, span, applet, object, iframe,
h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6, p, blockquote, pre,
a, abbr, acronym, address, big, cite, code,
del, dfn, em, img, ins, kbd, q, s, samp,
small, strike, strong, sub, sup, tt, var,
b, u, i, center,
dl, dt, dd, ol, ul, li,
fieldset, form, label, legend,
table, caption, tbody, tfoot, thead, tr, th, td,
article, aside, canvas, details, embed,
figure, figcaption, footer, header, hgroup,
menu, nav, output, ruby, section, summary,
time, mark, audio, video {
	margin: 0;
	padding: 0;
	border: 0;
	font-size: 100%;
	font: inherit;
	vertical-align: baseline;
}
/* HTML5 display-role reset for older browsers */
article, aside, details, figcaption, figure,
footer, header, hgroup, menu, nav, section {
	display: block;
}
body {
	line-height: 1;
}
ol, ul {
	list-style: none;
}
blockquote, q {
	quotes: none;
}
blockquote:before, blockquote:after,
q:before, q:after {
	content: '';
	content: none;
}
table {
	border-collapse: collapse;
	border-spacing: 0;
}

3. How to Create Multiple Borders in CSS3

A cool technique using the box-shadow property that allows you to create multiple borders around an object.

box-shadow:
    0 0 0 2px #000,
    0 0 0 3px #999,
    0 0 0 9px #fa0,
    0 0 0 10px #666,
    0 0 0 16px #fd0,
    0 0 0 18px #000;

4. Tucked Corners

This CSS code will give you the cool ‘tucked corners’ effect that is used on the Gravatar home page.

div.tucked-corners {
	    background: #f6f6f6;
	    height: 380px;
	    margin: 50px auto;
	    padding: 10px;
	    position: relative;
	    width: 580px;
	    -webkit-box-shadow: 0 1px 7px hsla(0,0%,0%,.2);
	       -moz-box-shadow: 0 1px 7px hsla(0,0%,0%,.2);
	            box-shadow: 0 1px 7px hsla(0,0%,0%,.2);
	}
	span.tucked-corners {
	    background: #c4453c;
	    display: block;
	    height: 380px;
	    position: relative;
	    width: 580px;
	    -webkit-box-shadow: inset 0 0 10px hsla(0,0%,0%,.25);
	       -moz-box-shadow: inset 0 0 10px hsla(0,0%,0%,.25);
	            box-shadow: inset 0 0 10px hsla(0,0%,0%,.25);
	}

	/* Top Corner Effect */

	.top-corners:after,
	.top-corners:before {
	    background: #e6e6e6;
	    content: '';
	    height: 50px;
	    position: absolute;
	    top: -25px;
	    width: 100px;
	    z-index: 10;
	    -webkit-box-shadow: 0 6px 9px -8px hsla(0,0%,0%,.5);
	       -moz-box-shadow: 0 6px 9px -8px hsla(0,0%,0%,.5);
	            box-shadow: 0 6px 9px -8px hsla(0,0%,0%,.5);
	}
	.top-corners:after {
	    left: -50px;
	    -webkit-transform: rotate(-45deg);
	       -moz-transform: rotate(-45deg);
	        -ms-transform: rotate(-45deg);
	         -o-transform: rotate(-45deg);
	            transform: rotate(-45deg);
	}
	.top-corners:before {
	    right: -50px;
	    -webkit-transform: rotate(45deg);
	       -moz-transform: rotate(45deg);
	        -ms-transform: rotate(45deg);
	         -o-transform: rotate(45deg);
	            transform: rotate(45deg);
	}

	/* Bottom Corner Effect */

	.bottom-corners:after,
	.bottom-corners:before {
	    background: #e6e6e6;
	    content: '';
	    height: 50px;
	    position: absolute;
	    bottom: -25px;
	    width: 100px;
	    -webkit-box-shadow: 0 6px 9px -8px hsla(0,0%,0%,.5);
	       -moz-box-shadow: 0 6px 9px -8px hsla(0,0%,0%,.5);
	            box-shadow: 0 6px 9px -8px hsla(0,0%,0%,.5);
	}
	.bottom-corners:after {
	    left: -50px;
	    -webkit-transform: rotate(-135deg);
	       -moz-transform: rotate(-135deg);
	        -ms-transform: rotate(-135deg);
	         -o-transform: rotate(-135deg);
	            transform: rotate(-135deg);
	}
	.bottom-corners:before {
	    right: -50px;
	    -webkit-transform: rotate(135deg);
	       -moz-transform: rotate(135deg);
	        -ms-transform: rotate(135deg);
	         -o-transform: rotate(135deg);
	            transform: rotate(135deg);
	}

5. iPad-Specific CSS

Change the general layout of ipad screens and portrait and landscape modes.

@media only screen and (device-width: 768px) {
  /* For general iPad layouts */
}

@media only screen and (min-device-width: 481px) and (max-device-width: 1024px) and (orientation:portrait) {
  /* For portrait layouts only */
}

@media only screen and (min-device-width: 481px) and (max-device-width: 1024px) and (orientation:landscape) {
  /* For landscape layouts only */
}

6. Style links depending on file format

A short CSS snippet that changes the styling of external links, email links and links to pdf documents.

	/* external links */
a[href^="http://"]{
    padding-right: 20px;
    background: url(external.gif) no-repeat center right;
}

/* emails */

a[href^="mailto:"]{
padding-right: 20px;

background: url(email.png) no-repeat center right;

}

/* pdfs */

a[href$=".pdf"]{
padding-right: 20px;
background: url(pdf.png) no-repeat center right;

7. Drop Caps

A great cross-browser snippet that lets you make the first letter of a paragraph stand out.

.firstcharacter { float: left; color: #903; font-size: 75px; line-height: 60px; padding-top: 4px; padding-right: 8px; padding-left: 3px; font-family: Georgia; }

This can also be achieved using CSS3 however it doesn’t work on IE9.

p:first-child:first-letter { float: left; color: #903; font-size: 75px; line-height: 60px; padding-top: 4px; padding-right: 8px; padding-left: 3px; font-family: Georgia; }

8. CSS Sticky Footer

Create a sticky footer for your page. The solution works on all major browsers including Google Chrome and IE8.

CSS

/*
Sticky Footer Solution
by Steve Hatcher 

http://stever.ca

http://www.cssstickyfooter.com

*/

* {margin:0;padding:0;} 

/* must declare 0 margins on everything, also for main layout components use padding, not
vertical margins (top and bottom) to add spacing, else those margins get added to total height
and your footer gets pushed down a bit more, creating vertical scroll bars in the browser */

html, body {height: 100%;}

#wrap {min-height: 100%;}

#main {overflow:auto;
	padding-bottom: 150px;}  /* must be same height as the footer */

#footer {position: relative;
	margin-top: -150px; /* negative value of footer height */
	height: 150px;
	clear:both;} 

/*Opera Fix*/
body:before {/* thanks to Maleika (Kohoutec)*/
content:"";
height:100%;
float:left;
width:0;
margin-top:-32767px;/* thank you Erik J - negate effect of float*/
}

/* IMPORTANT

You also need to include this conditional style in the  of your HTML file to feed this style to IE 6 and lower and 8 and higher.



*/

HTML

<div id="wrap">

	<div id="main">

	</div>

</div>


<div id="footer">

</div>

9. Image Replacement Technique

A handy way of replacing a text page element with an image. The snippet addresses a problem from another solution in which Firefox users noticed a dotted border that goes to the left of the screen.

a.replacement
{
  background: url(dotted-border.png) no-repeat;
  height: 44px;
  width: 316px;
  display: block;
  text-indent: -9999px;
  overflow: hidden;  /*Add this line to the image replacement method*/
}

10. Set body font-size to 62.5% for Easier em Conversion

If you want to have a more flexible layout, you should use em instead of pixels or points. By setting your font size at 62.5% you can easily set your font using em as the value will be a tenth of pixel value.

body {
  font-size: 62.5%; /* font-size 1em = 10px */
}
p {
  font-size: 1.2em; /* 1.2em = 12px */
}

11. Vertically Align Text

If you set the line-height of your paragraph as the same size as it’s parent division you can easily center the text vertically.

div { width:100px; height:100px; }
div p { line-height:100px; }

12. How to Create 3D Text With CSS3

Using the text-shadow property, this snippet will help you create 3D text using CSS only.

p.threeD
{
	text-shadow:
		-1px 1px 0 #ddd,
		-2px 2px 0 #c8c8c8,
		-3px 3px 0 #ccc,
		-4px 4px 0 #b8b8b8,
		-4px 4px 0 #bbb,
		0px 1px 1px rgba(0,0,0,.4),
		0px 2px 2px rgba(0,0,0,.3),
		-1px 3px 3px rgba(0,0,0,.2),
		-1px 5px 5px rgba(0,0,0,.1),
		-2px 8px 8px rgba(0,0,0,.1),
		-2px 13px 13px rgba(0,0,0,.1)
		;
}

13. Wrapping Long URLs and Text Content with CSS

This snippet will stop long lines of text extending over the content area by making sure the content wraps to fit the content width.

pre {
	white-space: pre;           /* CSS 2.0 */
	white-space: pre-wrap;      /* CSS 2.1 */
	white-space: pre-line;      /* CSS 3.0 */
	white-space: -pre-wrap;     /* Opera 4-6 */
	white-space: -o-pre-wrap;   /* Opera 7 */
	white-space: -moz-pre-wrap; /* Mozilla */
	white-space: -hp-pre-wrap;  /* HP Printers */
	word-wrap: break-word;      /* IE 5+ */
	}

14. Fancy Ampersand

Make your ampersands stand out using this short snippet. Simply change the font-family to suit your preference.

.amp {
font-family: Baskerville, 'Goudy Old Style', Palatino, 'Book Antiqua', serif;
font-style: italic;
font-weight: normal;
}

15. Pull Quotes for Improved Reading

Make your quotes stand out more by floating them to the right or left hand side of your content and wrapping content around it.

.pullquote {
width: 300px;
float: right;
margin: 5px;
font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif;
font: italic bold #ff0000 ; }

16. Rounded Borders Around Images

With CSS3 you can easily place rounded borders around your images using this snippet.

img {
-webkit-border-radius: 25px;
-moz-border-radius: 25px;
border-radius: 25px;
}

17. Image Preloader

Load a small gif in the background of an image first so that it is showed before the main image loads.

img
{
    background: url(img/preloader.gif) no-repeat 50% 50%;
}

18. CSS3 Opacity

By using the opacity property, which lets you see through an element, you can create a layered textured background.

div.L1 { background:#036; opacity:0.2; height:20px; }
div.L2 { background:#036; opacity:0.4; height:20px; }
div.L3 { background:#036; opacity:0.6; height:20px; }
div.L4 { background:#036; opacity:0.8; height:20px; }
div.L5 { background:#036; opacity:1.0; height:20px; }

19. Highlight links that open in a new window

This snippet allows you to easily distinguish links that open in new browser/tab windows by styling them different from other links.

a[target="_blank"]:before,
a[target="new"]:before {
margin:0 5px 0 0;
padding:1px;
outline:1px solid #333;
color:#333;
background:#ff9;
font:12px "Zapf Dingbats";
content: "\279C";
 }

20. The New Bulletproof @Font-Face Syntax

A cross-browser CSS snippet that lets you define your font faces.

@font-face {
	font-family: 'MyFontFamily';
	src: url('myfont-webfont.eot?#iefix') format('embedded-opentype'),
	     url('myfont-webfont.woff') format('woff'),
	     url('myfont-webfont.ttf')  format('truetype'),
	     url('myfont-webfont.svg#svgFontName') format('svg');
	}

21. Flip an Image

A CSS snippet that lets you flip an image. This is particularly useful if you want to flip icons such as arrows.

img {
        -moz-transform: scaleX(-1);
        -o-transform: scaleX(-1);
        -webkit-transform: scaleX(-1);
        transform: scaleX(-1);
        filter: FlipH;
        -ms-filter: "FlipH";
}

22. Email Link With An Image

A quick way of automatically adding a mail image to all of your email links.

a[href^="mailto:"] {
     background: url(images/email.png) no-repeat right top;
     padding-right:10px;
}

23. Beautiful Blockquotes

A neat way of styling your blockquotes to add a bit more punch to them.

blockquote {
     background:#f9f9f9;
     border-left:10px solid #ccc;
     margin:1.5em 10px;
     padding:.5em 10px;
     quotes:"\201C""\201D""\2018""\2019";
}
blockquote:before {
     color:#ccc;
     content:open-quote;
     font-size:4em;
     line-height:.1em;
     margin-right:.25em;
     vertical-align:-.4em;
}
blockquote p {
     display:inline;
}

24. Browser CSS hacks

A large list of browser hacks to make sure your website looks consistent across all browsers.

/***** Selector Hacks ******/

/* IE6 and below */
* html #uno  { color: red }

/* IE7 */
*:first-child+html #dos { color: red } 

/* IE7, FF, Saf, Opera  */
html>body #tres { color: red }

/* IE8, FF, Saf, Opera (Everything but IE 6,7) */
html>/**/body #cuatro { color: red }

/* Opera 9.27 and below, safari 2 */
html:first-child #cinco { color: red }

/* Safari 2-3 */
html[xmlns*=""] body:last-child #seis { color: red }

/* safari 3+, chrome 1+, opera9+, ff 3.5+ */
body:nth-of-type(1) #siete { color: red }

/* safari 3+, chrome 1+, opera9+, ff 3.5+ */
body:first-of-type #ocho {  color: red }

/* saf3+, chrome1+ */
@media screen and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio:0) {
 #diez  { color: red  }
}

/* iPhone / mobile webkit */
@media screen and (max-device-width: 480px) {
 #veintiseis { color: red  }
}

/* Safari 2 - 3.1 */
html[xmlns*=""]:root #trece  { color: red  }

/* Safari 2 - 3.1, Opera 9.25 */
*|html[xmlns*=""] #catorce { color: red  }

/* Everything but IE6-8 */
:root *> #quince { color: red  }

/* IE7 */
*+html #dieciocho {  color: red }

/* Firefox only. 1+ */
#veinticuatro,  x:-moz-any-link  { color: red }

/* Firefox 3.0+ */
#veinticinco,  x:-moz-any-link, x:default  { color: red  }

/* FF 3.5+ */
body:not(:-moz-handler-blocked) #cuarenta { color: red; }

/***** Attribute Hacks ******/

/* IE6 */
#once { _color: blue }

/* IE6, IE7 */
#doce { *color: blue; /* or #color: blue */ }

/* Everything but IE6 */
#diecisiete { color/**/: blue }

/* IE6, IE7, IE8 */
#diecinueve { color: blue\9; }

/* IE7, IE8 */
#veinte { color/*\**/: blue\9; }

/* IE6, IE7 -- acts as an !important */
#veintesiete { color: blue !ie; } /* string after ! can be anything */

/* IE8, IE9 */
#anotherone  {color: blue\0/;} /* must go at the END of all rules */

25. How To Change The Default Text Selection Color on your Blog

Change the color of highlighted text by adding this little CSS snippet to your stylesheet.

::selection {
   background: #ffb7b7; /* Safari */
        color: #ffffff;
   }
::-moz-selection {
   background: #ffb7b7; /* Firefox */
        color: #ffffff;
   }

26. Clearfix

Clear floated elements easily by creating a CSS clear class.

.clearfix:after {
	visibility: hidden;
	display: block;
	font-size: 0;
	content: " ";
	clear: both;
	height: 0;
}

.clearfix { display: inline-block; }

/* start commented backslash hack \*/
* html .clearfix { height: 1%; }
.clearfix { display: block; }
/* close commented backslash hack */

27. Hide Logo Text With Text Indent

Make your logo is SEO friendly by using this snippet for your h1 tag. The snippet ensures that the logo text is not displayed on the page.

h1 {
        text-indent:-9999px;
        margin:0 auto;
        width:400px;
        height:100px;
        background:transparent url("images/logo.jpg") no-repeat scroll;
}

28. Reset all Text Colors and Background Colors

Reset all text and background colours. The snippet sets everything back to black text on a white background though you can change these colours accordingly.

* {
     color: black !important;
     background-color: white !important;
     background-image: none !important;
}

29. Multiple Background Images

Use multiple background images with this useful CSS3 snippet.

#multiple-images {
   background: url(image_1.png) top left no-repeat,
   url(image_2.png) bottom left no-repeat,
   url(image_3.png) bottom right no-repeat;
}

30. Linear Gradient

This CSS code will allow you to create a linear gradient in the background of an element. This works on all major browsers however some older browsers don’t display it properly (particularly older versions of IE).

background-image: -webkit-linear-gradient(top, #F0ECE8 0%, #D8D3C8 100%);
background-image: -moz-linear-gradient( top, #F0ECE8 0%, #D8D3C8 100%);
background-image: -o-linear-gradient( top, #F0ECE8 0%, #D8D3C8 100%);
background-image: linear-gradient( top, #F0ECE8 0%, #D8D3C8 100%);
background-image: -webkit-gradient(linear, left top, left bottom, color-stop(0, #F0ECE8), color-stop(1, #D8D3C8) );
filter: progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.gradient( startColorstr=’#F0ECE8?, endColorstr=’#D8D3C8?,GradientType=0 );

We hope that you enjoyed the post and found it as useful as we’d hoped. If you know of any other useful CSS snippets that you keep handy that we neglected, please share them with us in the comment area.

(rb)

Using illustration in web design has become quite trendy these days. People love to see beautifully designed illustration based websites because they stand out from the rest. Not only because of the beautiful illustrative art work and carefully crafted web designs but also because of the perfect balance struck between these two important components.

Today, we want to dig into some creative ways you can work beautiful illustrations into your web design projects. We hope that this compilation will inspire some new ideas. You can see in the examples where designers have captured a certain illustrative style and wonderfully integrated it into website design in various ways. These unique illustrative styles make a website more memorable. Enjoy!

The Showcase

Plavacek.net
Plavacek.net takes a unique and gorgeous approach with its design that certainly looks great and attention grabbing. The designer imaginatively presents the underwater and above water scenes in a single frame brilliantly.

Meomi
In this web design, although the mascot is not the only bit of illustration and character work present it does add a lot of personality. The overall illustrations and style of the site make it a less formal presentation.

The Last March
This is another illustration driven web design that demonstrates the different levels of playfulness and whimsy these types of illustrated elements can add beyond pure decoration.

Pampaneo
Pampaneo’s lively use of yellow and green with idiosyncratic characters creates a bold look with depth and balance.

The Pixel
This is another site with a very stylish design, but with a much busier layout. The blue-tone gives a very strong impression.

Pojeta
With this web design, the designer conveyed his own personal and unique style with a single illustration against a vast amount of whitespace. This makes the design look hugely impactful and very beautiful.

YODAA
This website successfully manages to be unique in its own way by highlighting the illustration with carefully positioned content; and since this is accomplished effectively, the result is quite spectacular.

Aussie BBQ Legends
What makes this website stand out is not only the stunning illustrative art work or the vigilantly crafted design; rather it is the beautiful balance between these two components like was mentioned in the opening.

Ufo.lt
This website demonstrates a beautiful submersion in illustration. You can see how creatively the designer makes use of their illo skills.

Pieoneers
The illustration presented in this website although it is very colorful and has some depth, it still maintains a bit of a simplistic feel. The muted tones used for the rest of the site really make the splash of color in the pie very pleasing to the eyes.

Html5 Lab
Html5 Lab has a bold site, using large 2D illustrations and some light embellishments coupled with a sharp color scheme of grey and red with little traces of white and black to pull the design together.

Pigeon and Pigeonette
The uncharacteristic layout and quirky, vibrant illustration make Pigeon and Pigeonette worthy of exploring.

Teamnomad
Teamnomad’s header reinforces its own theme simply and in an understated way, though it is still extremely apparent, creating a strong brand connection quickly. The rest of the page leaves enough room to breathe, so viewers aren’t overwhelmed.

Iwit
A large stream of character illustration is paired with an otherwise simple website design, creating a very attention-grabbing result. There truly isn’t much here that could use improving.

Rays-lab
Here the design uses a rich, vibrant illustration that provides a stunning foundation for the design to work off of.

Coopers kids
Coopers kids’ illustration doesn’t carry on all through the page, but it works wonderfully with the peaceful color scheme creating a look that is both simple and effective.

Ericsteuten
Although very eventful, with lots of movement to draw the eye, the design here is still balanced well. This balance seems so simply struck that it makes the whole process look easy.

Attack of the web
Attack of the web mostly confines the use of exceptional illustrative elements to the over-sized header of the single page site. This is a great example of a functionality driven site with a strong use of illustration.

Cubeclub-chemnitz
This web design has a strong letterpress print feel, with bold text and original icons. The repeated texture pattern is a nice touch.

Dedoce
In this design, the underwater scene possesses loads of grunge and texture which keep it from looking like just another vector built website.

Cool Brush Design
Cool Brush Design’s site throws restraint out the window yet still manages to pull off sophistication with ease. The majority of the illustration serves both ornamental and functional purposes.

Arbel Designs
The illustration work in Arbel Designs’ site is extremely attractive and attention grabbing, however the way the tabs adjust when they are clicked is somewhat distracting; but the overall design is still extraordinary.

Toris Eye
In this web design, illustrations are put to work to create an overall theme that looks visually alluring and appealing.

Racket
Here the thematic illustrations are used establish a very surreal tone or theme for the site, and they certainly grab the attention of the users.

Get my boss to North Cape
This web design whimsically repeats its fundamental mission statement through the illustration which comically recreates the site title whilst simultaneously establishing a theme.

Egopop
This is another site with an atypical layout in this collection. The illustrations in the design let you know about the individual this site represents as well as break the normal web mindset a visitor may have.

Duirwaign Studios
Duirwaign Studios makes use of illustration in a very beautiful and breathtaking manner. It also provides some life and movement to the design putting a memorable face to it.

Mellow Mushroom
In this case, the interactive illustrative elements provide much more than mere decoration, adding an edge which smartens the design in a way that only interactive illustration can.

The Great Bearded Reef.com
The Great Bearded Reef makes use of creative illustration to create this playful masterpiece. This is a distinctively fun, tongue-in-cheek design which fits and serves its purpose well.

Moshi Monsters
Here, the illustrations are relatively strange yet tempting owing to their inimitability and innovation. The big and bold typography definitely is the first thing that gets noticed, and compliments the rest of the design well.

The Alamo Basement
The background texture of this website provides it an extraordinarily captivating and personal feel. The visual explosion of characters and colors is great for getting the reader’s attention.

Florida Flourish
This is an enormously stunning illustration full of interactive elements which comes with an unmatched style that captivates the visitors.

Webbli World
This website illustration instills a sense of enjoyment and wonder that engages the visitors with its appealing design.

Old Loft
Old Loft brings into play an artistic and inventive illustration that makes this website both unforgettable and exceptional.

Visit Cascadia
The overall style of this website feels like an illustration, and still, it doesn’t have the characteristic humanistic elements.

Veerle
Here the illustration lends more backup support, with many brilliant background elements in play. Some of these are more corporeal than others, although in general they are more about visual support than anything else.

Tea Round App
This is an ideal example of illustrated design. The style is tremendously stunning, totally unique, and very appealing.

Pixel Baecker
The hand rendered design here showcases the designer’s talent. It demonstrates that they creates artwork with their hands that connects flawlessly to their animation skills.

Chernobyl heart
In this web design, the illustrated text is far more subtle than most. Rather than driving the whole direction of the design, it merely plays along nicely.

Instant Ad Legend
The somewhat singular style of this design delightfully incorporates the large illustrative elements which play several roles in the overall design.

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With the ever-changing landscape that is the internet, web designers and developers are constantly tasked with redesigning some part of the web. Whether it be for our own sites or for those of a client, redesigning is a big part of working in the field right now. For whatever reasons, be it the growth and popular new directions of the web, or even a desire to keep your brand fresh, the web these days seems to be in a constant state of redesign.

The world wide web is littered with sites undergoing reconstruction. Image by Joshua Rothhaas

So today we are going to take a look at some of the new rules that govern these project undertakings, in the wake of the new web that has taken shape over the last few years. As the various technologies steer and redirect the course of the industry’s future, we have to adapt the rules by which we play this game. So below are a few guidelines that will hopefully keep the redesign on track, and not end up with more costs than purely financial ones.

Let Necessity Be Your Guide…Still

For the most part, redesigning tends to stem from some sort of necessity; a need for an update. For example rebranding to keep your companies identity fresh and evolving, or because your business direction is changing and your brand needs to reflect that change. You may also feel the need to update because your current web design is not completely inline and up to date with your brand, or your site may not be up to date and fully functional.

There are many valid reasons that your design’s time may have come, and a redesign becomes necessary. But do not lose sight of what needs to be done as you begin looking at all that you want to have done. Necessity should still be guiding the refashioning of your website. Naturally there are going to be times when we decide to redesign, not out of necessity, but more out of desire to try something new and different. Which is completely reasonable.

Though, as many ascribe to the ‘if isn’t broke, don’t fix it’ mantra, we have to remember that action without purpose tends to feel hollow and unjust. If we do not have reasons for the redesign, beyond just a desire to see a new face on the site, then we have to ask ourselves is the move to redesign completely justified? And while many of us believe that we do not owe any explanations to anyone else for our decisions to update our site’s appearance, we must remember that our audience will have a reaction.

And while we may believe the changes are maybe too minute to really have much impact on our users, we have to keep the user’s exposure time in mind. Users interact with the site often much, much less than we do as the designers or webmasters, and as such, any change can register as a major slight on their radar when they return and things are different. Not like or where they expect them to be. So we need to bare this in mind when we redesign, and where possible, try and keep some level of familiarity. Even if it is just in small ways like placement of navigation, things like that.

And once again, while we may not feel we owe anyone an explanation for our choices, our users are more than likely going to want them anyway. So if we do not have necessity in our corners for the changes we made, then selling the redesign to our regular audience may be a bit of a difficult task. But when we have solid reasons behind the decisions that we made, and can share them with our users, not only does it re-enforce the redesign, but it can further strengthen your relationship with your users.

Accessibility Grows or Remains Unchanged

With the explosive growth of the mobile market, and the ever-growing number of internet browsing capable devices the web design and development community has their sites set on this new direction for the web. However, we cannot get so wrapped up in looking forward that we forget to be thinking back. If we push our sites forward, breaking into new territory that is all good, but we should not be leaving users unnecessarily behind.

As we seek to grow our reach, cutting access off tends to counteract our efforts.

You cannot suddenly exclude a portion of your users who have been able to access your site regularly; or rather you shouldn’t. Yes, IE6 is a bane and a pain, but is it really sound practice to close the door on any portion of our regular user base? Especially when we can at least still guarantee those users some level of access. So as we redesign, especially trying to reach new users, perhaps we should not be so quick to trade one group for another with regards to our site’s accessibility.

The Metrics Exception

Now that we have stated the accessibility rule, let us take a moment and look at the exception to it. There is one forgivable reason that we can redesign without regard to a section of our audience, effectively leaving them behind, and that is when the site metrics tell us that some cuts can be made without much cost. When we get reports telling us that a certain audience is already on the decline, or that certain areas of our site are not getting any sort of attention, then we can take a look at the scales and see which way they tip.

Naturally if it takes more effort on our part to keep that access going than the stats are telling us it is worth, then we can feel free to play into the exception and less into the rule. Though we may want to get more in depth reports than a look at basic site analytics before we go making these cuts or deeming them worthwhile.

Emulation Only Takes Testing So Far

As the web expands into new territories, the design and development community not only have to learn to design for these new devices and directions, but we have to realize that in order to fully test our website designs for say mobile devices we need to gain access to some of these devices. Often times this is the only way that we can get a completely accurate test of the full function of the site. There are many who rely on emulators to allow them to test on these various devices, but those results tend toward the aesthetics more than anything else.

And while making sure the design doesn’t break when it lands on one of these devices is important, it is only half the equation. Especially with the touch screen nature of many of the leading mobile browsing devices, emulators cannot give you the full simulation needed to see what all is going to be impacted and might need tweaking from these various environments. This can be tricky, as budgetary constraints can often impede on our ability to access each device we wish to test on.

This is an area where the helpful nature of the design and development community can come in handy. We can often turn to our colleagues via the the various social media networks we tend to inhabit for assistance in testing on these devices we lack access to. So if emulators are all you have at your disposal, remember that the community is there and often willing to lend a hand as well.

Address Possible Content Cuts

With the number of websites dedicated to creating new content, redesigns open the door to an evaluation of that content; in particular how much of it needs to transfer over and survive the make-over. Content can sometimes have a shelf life. A fact that is often not given much thought until these plans for redesigning begin to rear their heads. So when this process gets started we need to consider that some possible cuts in the content may be in order.

It is never a pleasant subject to discuss, but some content needs to be axed! Image by Martin Cathrae.

If you are working for a client, this is not always an element that we have control over, but that does not mean it is not a topic we should broach with our clients. Naturally we want the design to be as successful as possible, and as such we want to give it as many chances to do so as we can. So addressing this with the clients and letting them know that this is a consideration they should make is not completely out of line.

And given the fact that we generally are having to control how that content is presented and accessed, bringing this up with clients is relevant to our work. If we see a problem that needs to be addressed, why ignore it?

Function Wins More Fans Than Form

Bottom line, the look of your redesign, no matter how well crafted and thought out is not going to land with every one of your users. There really is no way around that. So instead of putting so much effort into finding a way to please every one through the new appearance of the site, be sure to focus that energy into finding ways to please them all with the new functionality of the site. As long as the functionality is tight and flowing well, users will forgive the form that they are not a fan of.

However, the reverse of that statement is hardly true. Even if you have the most original design the web has ever seen, if it is functionally glitchy users will be turned off, and often will not return. We have to realize that the look may draw some users in sure, and as such, it is not like it should go unconsidered. But allowing the look to be the top priority in your redesign efforts does not always lead to successful launches.

If all of the new tricks your redesign has to offer are completely visual, then the shine is sure to wear off much quicker. Not to mention, if the new look is not appealing to some of your existing users, and you have no new functionality to accompany it to help win them over, then your redesign can fall far short of its potential. So keep the functionality aspect in mind when you begin planning the update. Have some tricks up your sleeve beyond the aesthetic to deliver to your users. In the end, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

In Conclusion

Like virtually every aspect of design and development work, redesigning has rules that should be kept in mind as we set out on this type of project. This is not to say that success cannot be found without them used to guide you, just that they can offer us assistance and perspective when we may need it. What redesign rules do you tend to design and develop by? Are there any you would add to this list or amend from the list? Feel free to fill us in using the comment section below.

(rb)

In the Stone Age of computers and digital storage, there were little “floppy disks� that promised holding an entire megabyte of space… although it was really only 978 kilobytes. AOL would send these little plastic disks to every household each and every month, hoping computer users would sign up for that now antiquated and laughable hook up to the internet. They made great drink coasters or building blocks for the kids.

Syquest made these huge, lumbering disks that held 70 megabytes but if they got bumped or shaken like an Etch-a-Sketch, the information would be lost. They were bloody expensive and environmentally hazardous with their hideous plastic cases that matched VCR tape covers for flimsy ugliness.

The Zip disk was a boon to storage with a huge 100 megabytes of storage and computers started including Zip drives along side the slots for the floppy disks. It was heaven! When the Jazz drive was introduced with a gigabyte of storage, orgasms flooded over the digital industry.

And so, eventually the CD-ROM… with external readers/burners, were introduced and the dinosaurs died out and fire was discovered. The Iron Age brought the  multi-gigabyte DVD and the rest is history.

What’s New?

I’ll never forget my first USB drive. I bought a set of four that looked like little medicine pills and held a whopping 256 megabytes each! How would I ever fill that much space? I could hook one or more to my key ring and take them anywhere I wanted to go! I could go on vacation and take my entire hard drive with me if I needed to use a computer wherever I landed. My laptop was the size of a cinder block and weighed twice as much… and was top of the line but there were no USB ports.

I was just given a crappy 8MB USB drive by a local Chinese restaurant I frequent several times a week. It has a dragon and the name and number of the restaurant printed on it. I threw it in the box of several dozen drives I have by my desk. The good drives have a shelf and a place of honor in my studio.

We all love gadgets and fun toys, so why not enjoy both? Can’t get enough Star Wars in your life? Well, that’s your personal problem but you can keep your C3PO from having his memory wiped with a handy USB Drive all your own! From donuts to sushi, from thumb-shaped thumb drives to Simpsons figures, you can take the fun with you.

Showcase of USB Drives

The force is with you and a dozen or so manufacturers with all the Star Wars drives out there. If you’re a fan of the Lucas trilogy of great films… and three Jar-Jarring bad ones, then you’ll Obi-want one of these!

Maybe you still want storage space… the final frontier but only want to embarrass yourself with one of these Star Trek rank badges with a secret drive. Pretty sure there are also figures of your favorite character available. Right now, guessing George Takei is ripping the head off a Captain Kirk drive – not to store files – just because Shatner treated him like crap!

A fan of steam punk? Well, get with reality because the Victorian Age didn’t have brass and copper jet packs! But if you truly insist on living in a dream world, then these cool drives will keep you happy at work while coworkers snicker behind your spats-wearing, woolen outfits.

Lots of files you want to keep with you? Then “Back Up To The Future� with your own Delorean drive. Marty and Doc not included.

If ninjas are invisible, then you’ll never find these colorful rubber drives on your desk or in your messenger bag. Still they’re just too cool not to buy!

Domo arigato Mr. storage roboto! It will compute if you love these mechanical men with the ability to carry your deep, dark secrets.

It was only a matter of time before the Swiss Army Knife had a jump drive in the place of a blade. Yet another needed piece of survival gear when surviving in the wilderness – like the tweezers for eyebrow plucking and the toothpick for cleaning corn nibblets from between the enemy’s teeth.

If carrying a USB drive on your keychain is just too… “techy� for you, then go for the “Bling� drive. Watches, necklaces, glasses, lighters and more. Bling is the king-thing when you’ve got storage bore-age!

There’s so many food-item drives on the market, we just couldn’t stomach including them all. Pies, cookies, cakes, candy, donuts, and… yuck… vegetables and fruit. Guess your choice depends on your taste!?

Stupor hero is how you’ll feel when you’re trying to decide on one of the hundreds of drives available. You’ll just marvel at the amount on the market. The choices will drive you batty! Almost as much as these horrible puns.

Transform your files into these cool Transformer drives. You’ll be Optimus-Primed and ready for business with this ultra-nerdy collection that offers storage and play value, too!

While Betty Boop’s severed head is a bit creepy, “I pity da fool!” who could pass up a Mr. T doing sit ups when plugged it (plugged into a tower, he’ll keep bonking his head against the computer!) or dogs that hump your laptop. And when it comes to thumb drives, why not have an actual thumb?

Choose your weapon and protect your files with these killer drives. Probably not the best choice when traveling on any major airline or entering government buildings… or in an office… or public.

Here’s another cool but dangerous drive made by a studio as a promotional piece. It’s “da bomb!� I only hope there’s contact info printed on the back.

Creating your own USB drive is easy with a little imagination and hot glue. This one certainly has a touching sentimentality for the files and digits you want to keep at your fingertips!

Aside from my favorite Chinese restaurant, lots of promotional drives are being given out all over the place. Even business cards now have built in USB drives (great for loading samples of your work in slideshow format!). Think of some cool ideas for your business and what drive you would create.

If you have a huge mailing list, there are manufacturers with pre-designed drives for promotional pieces and they will print your logo and info, too! Just Google “USB Drive� and you’ll find sources for promotional drives.

Once you have a numerous collection of drives, you’ll need more USB ports then your computer provides, That’s when it’s time to think of a USB hub. Here are a few cool ones on the market – minus the bad puns!

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