I’ve been thinking a lot about speech for the last few years. In fact, it’s been a major focus in several of my talks of late, including my well-received Smashing Conference talk “Designing the Conversation.” As such, I’ve been keenly interested in the development of the Web Speech API.
If you’re unfamiliar, this API gives you (the developer) the ability to voice-enable your website in two directions: listening to your users via the SpeechRecognition interface and talking back to them via the SpeechSynthesis interface. All of this is done via a JavaScript API, making it easy to test for support. This testability makes it an excellent candidate for progressive enhancement, but more on that in a moment.
Color is one of the key elements in any design system. On websites or in apps, color can be used in a variety of ways: sometimes color can be used to create a focal point through contrast or through limiting the color to a selected spot; color can also help establish hierarchy and therefore influence where a user looks.
In this article, we’ll talk about how to use color strategically.
1. Creating a focus point through proportions
A good example of color proportions is the design of Viporte. As you scroll down on their home page, each section is decorated with a large letter in the center. The letter is filled with a beautiful color before the sections’ animations kick in. The color of the different images which animate in are related to the color of the letters. The focal point is most certainly on the center of the sections thanks in part to the focused use of color. Proportions vary—sometimes there is a little color and sometimes there is a lot of it. Either way, proportions are used to draw attention into a focal point. If the color was more evident all over the place within each section, the focal point wouldn’t be as clear.
2. Catching attention through contrast
Another thing that color can manipulate is contrast. When the colors of the overall design are calm or mellow, adding a contrasting color will draw a lot of attention to the images.
That’s exactly what’s happening within the design of Thinx. On the homepage, the overall color scheme of the interface is actually black and white. Yet, the design relies heavily on numerous photos. Especially at the top of the home page, the photos of the underwear feature a dark red background. Compared to everything else on the page, that’s pretty bold. Without a doubt, the thing that stands out here is the dark red. The red has a much higher contrast against the black and white color scheme. I like using Thinx as an example because it goes to show that bright and neon colors are not the only ones suitable for drawing someone’s attention through contrast. It really is just a balancing act of two colors which will let one of them really stand out.
3. Using color to create UX patterns
The best way to create visual patterns is through consistency. Patterns, in turn, create relationships a user can get used to having. It’s the same way users are used to certina icons being related to certain actions, i.e a trash can means delete. Colors are a lot more subjective because every website or app can make their own meaning for colors.
Let’s take the relationship with the color blue on Underbelly’s portfolio website. It’s a simple example and it’s perfect to make my point. Anything clickable on Underbelly’s website is blue. Having used the website for a few seconds, it becomes clear quickly that their links are blue. And that’s how you create patterns through color. Patterns are good because they allow users and visitors to easily recognize something. The easier recognition becomes, the less people think and by now we all know how happy that makes Steve Krug.
4. Creating hierarchy through color
Another thing color can be good for is setting up a hierarchy. On Skore’s product page, just about every section has an elements of green to it. Not only is the green repetitive—which creates a recognizable pattern—it also helps distinguish the important parts of any given section. Often times it’s easy to explain hierarchy through size such font size. But the intensity of a color, as well as mount a color in use can be great in setting a hierarchy as well.
In the example of Skore, the green has good contrast with the gray text and the white background. It stands out. Additionally, their color scheme does not rely on other accent colors making the green primary. All of that contributes to each section’s way to displaying hierarchy. Therefore, the green color helps guide user’s eyes towards the important elements providing a nice hierarchy within each section. The green elements tell a user where to look first.
5. Utilizing similarities of color
Off all the different things we do with color as designers, we mostly use it and reuse it in order to keep consistency in place within the design. Let’s take a look at InVision’s End of the Year landing page. At the top of the page there is a pink and violet gradient used as a background image. Further down the page the pink and violet are used for the button colors too. Additionally, the landing page reuses white over the pink and purple colored backgrounds. It also reuses the black and gray text color over the white backgrounds. If the colors were different each time, it would not look as great.
Let’s take a look at another example, specifically Co-motion. On their homepage, the creative studio uses a few different colors. But they are all similar enough in theirs tone to provide a cohesive flow. In this example, there is nothing that stands out specifically which can also be a good aim. In this case, the emphasis with color is made on a good and cohesive flow of the page, where you are trying to keep the user engaged and scrolling.
Conclusion
Color can be a great tool in helping to achieve various design goals. Color can help to define and establish a hierarchy and to provide a focus point. Color emphasis comes in various forms. Either way, working with color can be a whole lot of fun. Influencing where a visitor’s or user’s eyes are going can be easier with the help of a strategic color scheme.
The sharing spirit in the design community is remarkable. Designers spend countless hours on side projects and without asking for anything in return, they share their creations freely with the community. Just to give something back, to inspire and to support fellow folks in their work.
When working on a project yourself, freebies like these can come to the rescue when you have to get along on a tight budget, but, more often that that, they simply are the missing piece that’ll make your design complete.
This is not new to all of us. Here at Noupe, we’ve already published a couple of cartoons on the topic. Internationally, hashtags like #nospecwork represent the battle against the exploitation of creative work. A new study from the United Kingdom displays a level of this plague that I didn’t know of.
The operators of the rather new design collaboration tool Approve.io from Manchester commissioned a study that was supposed to figure out the numbers to the spec work problem. During November and December of 2016, more than 1,000 freelancers in creative jobs were polled. They were asked to state how often they get asked for free work, and how often they actually agree to this proposal.
The final results showed that, on average, 7 out of 10 creative workers have already been asked for free work, and one of these ten people has actually worked for free.
The summary already sounds very dramatic, but it gets even worse when looking at individual professions. About 9 of 10 photographers were already asked to work for free.
Which Job Categories are Asked For Free Work Especially Often?
Occupation
% of the surveyed people that were asked to work for free
% of the surveyed people that actually worked for free
Photographers
87%
16%
Graphic Designers
85%
9%
Copywriters
83%
14%
Illustrators
81%
8%
Journalists
78%
6%
Filmmakers
75%
7%
Frontend Developers
74%
5%
Backend Developers
71%
4%
Average
70%
9%
The shown average consists of all occupation groups included in the survey, so it also contains some that are not on the list above. The attentive reader will have noticed that the average of the named groups can’t be 70%. (Source: Approve.io)
Going deeper into the details of the study, the image differentiates even further. Apparently, the potential “commissioners” are driven by two assumptions. According to those assumptions, it is okay to demand free work from women, and people that are younger than 25. While the share of women is significantly higher than the percentage of men, the share of people under 25 is twice as high.
According to the study creators, the reason for the rapid progress of creative exploitation seems to be social media. They have created a meaningful infographic on this, showing how blatant sales billionaires try to reinterpret other people’s work for their benefit.
The offered “rewards” were the usual classics. A bottle of champagne if the story gets published. “Exposure” to the large brand’s followers, and the vague promise to be considered for paid commissions, if you prove yourself for free.
As always, and often, Noupe recommends: Stay away from free, or heavily discounted work. Once a price has been broken, you won’t get it fixed again.
I wondered if I could come up with an easy formula to create a “squircle” type curve with SVG bezier curves. It wouldn’t be the exact shape, but it could be close. The idea:
The “end points” of the curve segments are the mid-points of each side of the rectangle, where everything should be perfectly straight. The control points then stretch out along the edges until the curvature at the corners is about right.
For all y’all that want to understand the potential attacks, and potential defenses, of front-end web development.
It’s pretty wild. The dangers are big, real, and many. But the tools we have to fight back are up to the job, we just need to know about them and use them.
Need to put a form on a website? I’ve been using Wufoo to do that for a decade. It’s so simple. Just drag and drop the fields you need and select the options you want. Even things that could be complex aren’t, like adding logic (e.g. if they select this, show that) or pagination. Never worry about spam. Never worry about losing data, since it’s all stored right in Wufoo itself (with API access!).
There are too many features to explain right here (OK two more: payments! reports!). One of my favorites, though, which might appeal to all y’all CSS people: you have complete CSS control over the forms you build. Let’s take a look at how that works.
There are themes in Wufoo. You create them any then apply to as many different forms as you like. There are lots of options in here for things like changing fonts, colors, borders, etc.
There is even a good amount of custom fonts available. But here on CSS-Tricks, right now we’re using Source Sans Pro from Google Fonts, and that doesn’t happen to be one of the options.
No big deal though! Since we have complete CSS control, we’ll just link up some CSS that can set that font throughout the form.
Under Advanced, I just put a URL to a CSS file that links up my custom CSS. I can do that super quickly, easily, and for free on CodePen. By appending “.css” to any Pen URL, I can link directly to that CSS:
With the correct selector and rules applied there, I’ve just changed the font!
That’s what I mean by total CSS control. The stylesheet we linked up is added inside the form no matter where you use the Wufoo form, directly on wufoo.com or embedded elsewhere. It’s linked up after Wufoo’s own stylesheets, so it’s easy to override existing styling. Go wild!
The colors you choose while designing a website, poster or any other type of image will have a huge impact on whether or not the overall design is successful. After all, there is a lot of psychology behind the colors that people are attracted to, and designers need to incorporate this into everything they do.
Color contrast plays a very valuable role, but it is often overlooked, undervalued and misunderstood. To avoid this problem, you must learn more about color contrast, including how and why you should use it. Once you go beyond the basics of knowing that red and orange aren’t good colors to create contrast but black and white are, you can begin to develop an enhanced aesthetic that will please clients and viewers.
Why is Color Contrast So Useful?
Color contrast, in a nutshell, provides visual intrigue and keeps viewers interested. Consider for a moment how boring it would be if an entire poster was made from one color or only included shades from the same color family. Although there are some instances when this does work from an artistic perspective, it’s not an approach that is likely to grab someone’s attention when they’re perusing store shelves, looking at movie posters or surfing the web. Therefore, it’s wise to use contrasting colors whenever appropriate.
For example, think about the classic Coca-Cola can. If the entire thing was red, it wouldn’t stand out nearly as much as it does. The white writing truly pops off of the red background, which grabs attention and is instantly recognizable. This contrast is visually stunning, and it stands out from its competitors.
How to Best Use Color Contrast
The color choices you make must depend largely on the format that you’re using. The Coca-Cola can provides a great way to explain this process. In a physical product such as a can of soda, the red background works. It also stands out well in print advertising, on TV commercials and much more. But what if you were to attempt to design a website with these same colors?
To put it as bluntly as possible, a solid red website page background with white text on top would be atrocious. A full red background will work, though, if you put a text box on top of it that has a lighter color such as white or tan. From there, you’d most likely want to use black text in the text box to create another layer of contrast. Not only will this approach be more eye-catching but it will also enable people to read the text. Remember: black text on red is very difficult to read.
Other examples of contrasting color combinations that won’t work well on the web and may also be almost indecipherable in other formats include light green on medium green, green on red and red on blue. Instead, consider using white on green and yellow or white on blue. If you must put text on a solid red background, it’s best to use white just like Coca-Cola.
Of course, color contrast isn’t always used to call attention to text. If you’re looking to put two different contrasting colors together to draw the eye to something specific on the page, you can choose between dramatically different colors and the more subtle contrast that is caused by changes in shade, tint and saturation.
Trip Advisor does a nice job of using contrasting colors and white space to direct each user’s eyes to the most important aspects of their search results. The mixture of green and yellow is pleasing to the eye, and they kept the classic blue hyperlink color to make it easy for people to know where to click to learn more. Even better, they chose a bold yellow with black text for their “show prices” button, which stands out so much that people are virtually certain to engage with this call-to-action.
Color-Blindness: What Every Designer Needs to Know
Approximately 8 percent of men worldwide suffer from some form of color-blindness. This condition is much rarer in women, but 1 out of every 17 people with color-blindness is female. In total, 4.5 percent of the world’s population does not see all colors as the rest of the world does.
This may seem like a small enough percentage that you wouldn’t cater to their needs. However, the reality is that in the U.K. alone, 2.7 million people are colorblind. This is something designers really need to consider, especially if they’re creating something that is targeted at men.
Red/green blindness is the most common version of color-blindness. What this means is that the red and green elements of any color will not have their true appearance to these individuals. For instance, a person with red/green blindness will perceive purple as blue. This happens because they’re unable to see the red tone that helps differentiate purple from blue.
As you can imagine, this makes the process of choosing the perfect color contrast even more difficult. If you were to choose green as your primary background color or even as a font color, 4.5 percent of your intended viewing audience may not be able to accurately see everything. They may not even be able to read the words very well depending on the hue you chose and how severe their color-blindness is.
The Bottom Line
Ultimately, a color contrast should make both elements stand out, but especially the element that is most important. In other words, if you’re putting text on a colorful background or image, make sure that the words are easy to see and read. Keep your audience in mind and try to steer clear of color combinations that would make the final result difficult for people with color-blindness.
As always, take the time to check your designs from different browsers and devices. Additionally, don’t hesitate to ask a friend, colleague or family member to look at your work with fresh eyes and provide feedback.
For some color contrast inspiration, check out this list of beatifully designed landign pages.
https://webdesignledger.com/19-best-designed-app-landing-pages/
How often have you seen a “completed” site that still has lorem ipsum text lurking in the quiet corners? While we often strive for perfection in our designs and code, I am reminded every time I stumble across a garbled bit of lorem ipsum that not all aspects of web development process are given the attention they deserve.
Developing a complete and detailed suite of typographic elements is an often-overlooked aspect of the process. While not always as prominent or exciting as other graphic elements, typography is an essential part of every site and does most of the heavy lifting to fulfill each page’s purpose: transferring information.
While I can’t do anything about lazy lorem ipsum use, I’ve been working on a tool that helps develop beautiful and robust online typography.
Why I Care So Much About Typography
A little bit about me will help set the scene. I’m a full-stack developer working alongside designers in a digital agency. I studied graphic design before moving into development, so I understand layout and typography. Although I started out in design, I want to stress that I do not consider myself a designer. For this reason, this post will not explain how to design a type system. I will talk about how to implement one in development.
Throughout my career as a developer, I have frequently noticed sites that miss the finer details of typography. Although not glaring problems, these little mistakes whittle away at the overall user experience.
I’m not entirely sure why typographic mistakes happen so often. Perhaps it’s due to time constraints, oversights during development, or something completely different.
I’ve been on a mission to solve this issue, which has lead me to writing this article and also the development of my current side project: Type Nugget. It’s a tool that I hope allows users to easily create robust type systems.
Screenshot of the Type Nugget Dashboard
Why You Should Care About Typography, Too
The benefits of having a robust type system in place are many. It ensures consistency across your project and allows you to write less code. Most importantly, though, a robust type system makes sure the content communicates what it’s supposed to.
A workmate recently sent me an article on Pitchfork. As soon as I landed on the page I fell in love with their type system and structure. Reading the copy was smooth; an absolute pleasure. Their typographic system is simple and beautiful. I’ll be making references to this website as I continue talking about type systems!
Screenshot of a Pitchfork article
(Look at that drop cap ?)
One of the most important requirements of a type system in today’s web climate is that it works perfectly across all possible existing viewports. We never know what’s going to come next in the world of devices! This is doable, but first, let’s get into the world of responsive units.
Looking at Responsive Units with Heart Eyes ?
In my opinion, you can’t master web typography until you understand responsive units. Wrapping your brain around responsive units takes a little bit of math, but it really changes your world once you’ve figured it out. Soon, the sight of px will make you cringe!
There are already articles on this particular topic, so I won’t delve too deep, but here’s a brief explanation of the units I tend to use with type:
em: Relative to the current (inherited) font-size. If I set an element inside this article to font-size:2em, it would be twice the font-size of the rest of the article.
rem: Relative to the font-size of the root element (which is a fancy way of saying the html element). If I added another element inside of the element used in the previous example, and then set it to font-size:1rem, it would now be the original size, regardless of it’s parent being set in ems (I set up a pen here that shows how ems and rems work together).
vw & vh: Relative to 1% of the viewport width & height, respectively. So 5vw means the font-size is 5% of the browser width, and 5vh is 5% of the browser height.
I tend to set a pxfont-size on the root element of the document, and set the rest of the typographical elements using ems for font-size and rems for margins to keep a consistent type grid. I often like to set headings in vw (or even on occasion, vh) and use a media query to transition them to an em size after a certain viewport max-width has been reached. This avoids blown out headings on even the smallest of mobile devices. There’s a great Sass mixin by Eduardo Bouças here for making viewport relative text with minimum and maximum sizes.
Responsive Units in Action
Let’s take a look at how Pitchfork has used responsive units.
The font-size on their html and body elements is set to 10px. They then have a .contents div that wraps all of their article content. It’s set to 1.8rem and changes to 1.6rem once the viewport is less than 992px wide (I would have done this mobile-first instead of desktop-first, but I think that’s just a matter of preference). This means that the main content font-size is 18px on desktop and 16px on smaller devices (10px * 1.8 = 18px, 10px * 1.6 = 16px), both very comfortable font sizes for the given viewports.
The headings styles vary appropriately depending on what kind of article you are reading, but seem to scale in a similar way. The h1 on a Features page starts at 4.8rem, scales to 4rem when the viewport is less than 992px wide, then 3rem when the viewport is less than 767px wide (48px,40px & 30px respectively). The .contents div also always prevents the copy from exceeding the optimal measure (line length) of the text which, as a general rule of typography, is somewhere between 40 and 80 characters long depending on context.
Pitchfork have done well, but this is really the bare minimum required for a great type system to flourish.
Building on that minimum, it’s important to realize that typography is more than just text. There is a whole suite of elements (h1-h6, p, span, em, strong, a, ul, ol, li, blockquote, caption, and a whole bunch more) that contribute to the typographical flow and appearance of content. It’s important that they’re not forgotten, especially when working on content heavy websites like blogs or news sites. Using a CSS reset like Normalize.css or a framework like Bootstrap normally means you have this covered already. However, it’s always a nice touch to stray a little from the default. I often find it helpful to set a global margin on all of these elements within a content context that is equal to the main line-height. This maintains a nice, consistent grid. For example, if my main copy within .content is 1em with a line-height of 1.6em, then the top and bottom margins on all my headings, paragraphs and other elements within .content are also set to 1.6em. This is not a strict rule, just a good starting point.
As a side note, while the above elements are fantastic for dictating the visual aspect of a website, they’re also incredibly important for making sure a website is accessible. Using semantic HTML elements makes sure your website makes sense to machines, such as screen readers for the visually impaired, or web crawlers like Google.
I was trawling through Pitchfork trying to find examples of some of these elements. When I couldn’t find an example of a list, I entered one into the page through dev tools out of curiosity. Sure enough, they were styled nicely even though I couldn’t find examples of where/if they were used on the site. ??
Screenshot of pretty Pitchfork ul & ol styles
While not technically falling directly under the umbrella of typography, I believe states and transitions are a big deal for the overall feel of a website. Unfortunately, they too are often forgotten. I assume the first thing that comes to many developers’ minds when I say “states and transitions” are link styles. That’s not all of it though and it’s not all hover styles either. Hover styles are important for links, but focus is also important.
Have you ever tried navigating through a website using tab and shift+tab? I certainly have, and on some websites it’s almost impossible. The browser has a default method of displaying this but I’ve often seen this removed because it’s not aesthetically pleasing. Please, if you’re going to remove it, replace it with something prettier!
Form inputs can also be greatly enhanced by :focus styles and really add that extra something to your site. Another thing I’ve noticed on this topic is either a lack of transitions or transitions with odd timing, both of which makes moving between different states feel really jerky or unnatural. In my experience, I’ve found transitions between 1.5s-2.5s plenty. Anything more than that makes me uncomfortable (again this is a general rule that can be broken when necessary).
While we’re talking about transitions, try to avoid transitioning all properties of an element. This will probably come to bite you either performance-wise, or down the line when trying to style a child element.
Additional Reading on Architecture
Here’s a few things that I’ve learned that have made my development life significantly better:
Avoid specificity issues by staying clear of unnecessary styling directly on elements e.g. styling .nav a when you could have styled .nav__item. I found this most crucial when styling headings. I used to style the h1-h6 tags directly, until I realized that h1-h6 are semantic elements that mark different stages of a document. Not all h1 tags need to look the same! I now style headings using classes such as .heading--xl, .heading--sm.
Use global text modifier classes instead of adding random CSS to change small parts of a project. e.g. I use classes like .text--xl, .text--sm.
Avoid unnecessary nesting of selectors e.g..nav > .nav__item when you could have just styled .nav__item. This avoids specificity issues and can also improve performance as the browser doesn’t have to do as many lookups on elements. Take a look at this article about Modular CSS for more information on why this is good to avoid.
Adopt a CSS “architecture”. It doesn’t need to be an existing one. Make one up if you wish. Just have one. I use something very similar to BEM coupled with the methodology in the Modular CSS article linked above. Here’s a great list of some different architectures (and various other great things). A great CSS-Tricks article was written on this very recently, also. Go give that a read if you’re interested!
Check Out Type Nugget
The agency I work for has an innovation program that gives us time to work on our own products and ideas. I’ve gathered a small team that shares my passion for these topics. For the last few months we’ve been building Type Nugget.
Screenshot of the Type Nugget homepage
Type Nugget is a tool that makes it easier for developers to build a solid type system based off the principles I’ve discussed. It still has a fair way to go before it’s where I want it to be, but we have eyes on it becoming the go-to app for setting up web type systems, as well as building a great community for web type enthusiasts.
We’re super excited to make it a reality, so check it out and let us know what features you’d love to see!
Wrapping Up
The internet is all about content. As web developers, our job is to make sure users can understand that content. To me, that’s a good enough reason for any web dev to know type systems inside and out. The case gets even stronger when responsive units are added to the mix. So take an hour or two to brush up on these integral elements of web development. Or, take the easy way out and use Type Nugget ?
Everywhere you look there are new releases, and new tools popping up, but how do you know which elements are worth your time? In our monthly roundup we present the latest resources that you’ll want to add to your toolbox.
Almost everything on the list this month is free, with a few high-value paid apps and tools. They’re sure to be useful to designers and developers, from beginners to experts.
If we’ve missed something that you think should have been on the list, let us know in the comments. And if you know of a new app or resource that should be featured next month, tweet it to @carriecousins to be considered!
Apple iOS 10 Design Resources
Apple released a new set of design resources that includes Adobe Photoshop and Sketch templates and other UI materials for quickly designing iOS apps. Per Apple: “The included resources are comprehensive and accurately depict the full range of UIKit controls, views and glyphs available to developers using the iOS SDK. They make it easier to understand how iOS apps are constructed and how to design apps that match the iOS design language. Included icon and glyph production files have been preconfigured to automate asset production using Sketch slices or Adobe Generator for Photoshop CC.”
Adobe Project Felix
Adobe’s new Project Felix allows designers to create high-quality photorealistic images by using composite 2D and 3D assets. You can build product shots, scene visualizations and abstract art with a set of tools that already feels comfortable. The beta release is out now for Mac and Windows, and the tool does all the heavy lifting – even if you don’t have 3D visualization experience.
Lunacy: Sketch Viewer for Windows
Icons8 just released Lunacy, a tool that allows you to open Sketch files in Windows. The free tool allows users to export images, generate CSS for layers and work offline. It also inspects layers, measurements, styles, fonts and colors so you can work with Sketch files away from a Mac.
Lottie
Lottie is an iOS, Android, and React Native library that renders After Effects animations in real time. The tool from Airbnb allows apps to use animations as easily as static images with small file sizes.
Nachos UI Kit
The Nachos UI Kit for React includes a great base stack of pre-coded UI components to help you create an app with ease. All you have to do to access the component is install, import and use the parts you like. This is a community driven project so anyone can contribute and help it grow.
Uppy
Uppy is a JavaScript file uploader that fetches files from almost any location, such as Dropbox, Instagram, a local machine, or remote URL. The open source code has a plugin-based architecture and support for resumable uploads. It’s still in the early stages, but has a great deal of potential.
Commit Print
How cool would it be to have a printed piece of artwork that shows your footprint on GitHub? While this is a total geek scenario, you can get your own custom print from Commit Print. Just plug in your username to see what your print looks like and order one for your wall. (This could make a great gift.)
IconJar
Not sure how to manage all your icons? IconJar is a tool to help you organize and manage all those files. Preview, export and drag and drop icons into the tool. It works with anything, even apps that don’t natively support SVG files. While you can try it for free, this Mac app is $19.99.
Datedropper
Datedropper is one of the smallest jQuery UI date pickers you will find and it is quite powerful. The new 3.0 version includes touch interactions, a large mode and redesigned scripts.
CSS Peeper
CSS Peeper is a smart CSS viewer for designers that helps you access styles with a Google Chrome extension. Install the tool and you can immediately see the line height, font or button size on any website. (It’s a tool for designers who just want to know what everyone else is doing!)
Designer Flat Icon Pack
The Designer Flat Icon Pack includes plenty of bright, line elements for projects. They can be used in icon sizes or as larger buttons or elements thanks to the vector format. Each element is fully editable as well, and comes in EPS, AI, SVG, and transparent PNG formats.
CSS Grid Layout Terminology
CSS Grid Layout is a set of grid vocabulary terms sitting on the grid, thanks to this great bit of code. If working on a grid give you fits, this is a good place to start.
Auto Layout for Sketch
Auto Layout is a Sketch plugin that allows designers to define and view a project on different screen sizes, not just iPhone 7. (There are plenty of users without the latest Apple device.) The coolest feature might be the ability to generate and see artboards for all selected screen sizes at one time.
Revision History in Elementor
Are you an Elementor user? Then you will love the new Revision History feature. It logs a revision every time you save to make it easy to go back and forth between page designs and create all the backups you need along the way.
Business PowerPoint Template
PowerPoint templates might not be the first thing that come to mind when you think web design, but how do you showcase and sell projects to clients? A great template can ensure that your presentations look as good as your web designs, and you won’t have to spend a lot of time creating them.
Vecteezy Editor
Vecteezy is a free SVG editor that allows you to create vector elements with ease. The Chrome, Chromium or Opera plugin allows users to edit or create vector designs in-browser, a great time-saver for small elements and tasks.
UX Process and Documentation Kit
Does the idea of starting a new project stress you out? The new guide from UX Pin provides a step-by-step process to help you design a lean UX process and helps templatizes UX activities to streamline your workflow.
Maqpie
Maqpie, which is still in private beta, helps you increase user retention and growth by letting users talk to each other in your SaaS app. It’s a real-time solution that works like Slack, only inside your app so users can communicate with ease.
Tessarray
Tessarry is an easy to use implementation of a Flickr-style justified layout. The open source code is functional and easy to use.
Minimalista Free Logo Pack
This kit helps you create a simple ready to-to-go logotype in minutes. The modern options are good for a quick bit of logo inspiration, particularly for designers who hate working with logos.
Bungee
Bungee is a bold, thick display typeface with a fun feel. What’s especially nice is that unlike many other typefaces this lettering set is highly usable horizontally or vertically.
Zappat
Zappat is an uppercase condense typeface that’s designed for display. Each letter contains bold strokes with neat edges.
BW Glenn
BW Glenn is one of the few paid new releases on this list, but the typeface is so nice (and affordable) that it’s hard to resist. With slab and sans styles, the readable typeface is highly usable for display or body text and is a lot of fun.
Uni Neue
Uni Neue is a redesigned version of Uni Sans and has a bold feel with bubble-ish letter forms. It is friendly, professional and easy to read as a display option.
Black Animal
The free version of Black Animal includes plenty of swashes in a brush style handwriting typeface. It is highly readable and a great display option. For even more letter styles, there’s also a full version available.
