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Beating The End Of The Year Rush (December 2019 Wallpapers Edition)

November 30th, 2019 No comments
Dear Moon, Merry Christmas

Beating The End Of The Year Rush (December 2019 Wallpapers Edition)

Beating The End Of The Year Rush (December 2019 Wallpapers Edition)

Cosima Mielke

2019-11-30T11:15:00+00:002019-12-01T11:07:58+00:00

As the year is coming to a close, many of us feel rushed, trying to meet deadlines, finishing off projects, and preparing for the holidays. Do you remember what December felt like when you were little? It was a time of wonder and expectation, a time to slow down and enjoy the small things: watching the first snowflakes fall, drinking hot chocolate, and admiring the Christmas decorations in your neighborhood, for example.

This month’s wallpapers post is a little reminder to treat yourself to some quiet moments like these in the midst of this end of the year rush. To refuel your batteries and gather some fresh inspiration. The wallpapers in this collection might be a good start.

As every month since more than nine years already, the wallpapers were designed by artists and designers from across the globe, and each one of them is available with and without a calendar for December 2019. For some extra variety, we also added a selection of wallpaper favorites from past editions at the end of this post. We wish you happy holidays and a lovely, and hopefully not too stressful, December!

Please note that:

  • All images can be clicked on and lead to the preview of the wallpaper,
  • We respect and carefully consider the ideas and motivation behind each and every artist’s work. This is why we give all artists the full freedom to explore their creativity and express emotions and experience through their works. This is also why the themes of the wallpapers weren’t anyhow influenced by us but rather designed from scratch by the artists themselves.

Submit your wallpaper

Do you have an idea for a wallpaper to welcome 2020? We are always looking for creative talent to be featured in our wallpapers posts. Don’t be shy, join in! ?

Dear Moon, Merry Christmas

“Please visit Vladstudio website if you like my works!” — Designed by Vlad Gerasimov from Russia.

Christmas Mood

Designed by MasterBundles from the United States.

The Month of Winter Songs

“Here comes the finale of a dazzling year. The month of snow with a tinge of warmth from the carols in the wind. All made merrier with the mistletoe, cakes and gifts. Let’s welcome the winter of our lives as spring is not far away now.” — Designed by Odoo Apps from India.

The Month of Winter Songs

The Camels Wish You A Merry Christmas!

“The year is coming to an end and we say good-bye with a very christmassy animal, the camel. We wish you a merry christmas and a happy new year.” — Designed by Veronica Valenzuela from Spain.

The Camels Wish You A Merry Christmas!

Hanukkah Candles

“Hanukkah is a joyous celebration of all that is important in life; family, freedom, and light. So we wanted to make a calendar that celebrated this Jewish holiday and what better way than by featuring the beautiful Hanukkiyah. Happy Hanukkah everyone!” — Designed by Ever Increasing Circles from the United Kingdom.

Hanukkah Candles

Happy Holidays!

Designed by Ricardo Gimenes from Sweden.

Happy Holidays!

Reindeers Go Rah-Rah!

“Reindeers go rah-rah when the season of snow is on the way. Let’s get excited as our beloved Santa comes with gifts for the tiny tots and fill the air with nothing but cheer! It’s Christmas time, y’all!” — Designed by Riddlebook from London.

Reindeers Go Rah-Rah!

Oldies But Goodies

Since the beginning of our monthly challenge, December and the holiday season have inspired so many designers to create a wallpaper. Below we collected some favorites from our archives that are just too good to be forgotten. Enjoy! (Please note that these designs don’t come with a calendar.)

Silver Winter

Designed by Violeta Dabija from Moldova.

Smashing Wallpaper - January 2011

Cardinals In Snowfall

“During Christmas season, in the cold, colorless days of winter, Cardinal birds are seen as symbols of faith and warmth! In the part of America I live in, there is snowfall every December. While the snow is falling, I can see gorgeous Cardinals flying in and out of my patio. The intriguing color palette of the bright red of the Cardinals, the white of the flurries and the brown/black of dry twigs and fallen leaves on the snow-laden ground, fascinates me a lot, and inspired me to create this quaint and sweet, hand-illustrated surface pattern design as I wait for the snowfall in my town!” — Designed by Gyaneshwari Dave from the United States.

Cardinals In Snowfall

Sweet Snowy Tenderness

“You know that warm feeling when you get to spend cold winter days in a snug, homey, relaxed atmosphere? Oh, yes, we love it too! It is the sentiment we set our hearts on for the holiday season, and this sweet snowy tenderness is for all of us who adore watching the snowfall from our windows. Isn’t it romantic?” — Designed by PopArt Studio from Serbia.

Sweet Snowy Tenderness

‘Tis The Season Of Snow

“The tiny flakes of snow have just begun to shower and we know it’s the start of the merry hour! Someone is all set to cram his sleigh with boxes of love as kids wait for their dear Santa to show up! Rightly said, ’tis the season of snow, surprise and lots and lots of fun! Merry Christmas!” — Designed by Sweans Technologies from London.

'Tis The Season Of Snow

Abstract Winter

“Winter is cold and dark up here in the north.” Designed by Terese Brännström from Sweden.

Abstract winter

All That Belongs To The Past

“Sometimes new beginnings make us revisit our favorite places or people from the past. We don’t visit them often because they remind us of the past but enjoy the brief reunion. Cheers to new beginnings in the new year!” Designed by Dorvan Davoudi from Canada.

All That Belongs To The Past

All Of Them Lights

“I created this design in honor of the 9th of December, the day of lights.” — Designed by Mathias Geerts from Belgium.

All Of Them Lights

Tongue Stuck On Lamppost

Designed by Josh Cleland from the United States.

Smashing Wallpaper - december 11

Christmas Wreath

“Everyone is in the mood for Christmas when December starts. Therefore I made this Christmas wreath inspired wallpaper. Enjoy December and Merry Christmas to all!” — Designed by Melissa Bogemans from Belgium.

Christmas Wreath

Winter Garphee

“Garphee’s flufiness glowing in the snow.” Designed by Razvan Garofeanu from Romania.

Smashing Wallpaper - December 2012

Ice Flowers

“I took some photos during a very frosty and cold week before Christmas.” Designed by Anca Varsandan from Romania.

Smashing Wallpaper - january 10

Winter Morning

“Early walks in the fields when the owls still sit on the fences and stare funny at you.” — Designed by Bo Dockx from Belgium.

Winter Morning

Celebration Galore Is Here Again

“Christmas bells are swinging above the snow fields, we hear sweet voices ringing from lands of long ago… It’s time to count your blessings, sing your Christmas carols, open your gifts, and make a wish under the Christmas tree!” — Designed by Norjimm Pvt Ltd from India.

Celebration Galore Is Here Again

Surprise

“Surprise is the greatest gift which life can grant us.” — Designed by PlusCharts from India.

Surprise

Enchanted Blizzard

“A seemingly forgotten world under the shade of winter glaze hides a moment where architecture meets fashion and change encounters steadiness.” — Designed by Ana Masnikosa from Belgrade, Serbia.

Enchanted Blizzard

Expectation

“Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.” — Designed by StarAdmin from India.

Expectation

Winter

“The winter solstice has always been special to me as a barren darkness that gives birth to a verdant future beyond imagination, a time of pain and withdrawal that produces something joyfully inconceivable, like a monarch butterfly masterfully extracting itself from the confines of its cocoon, bursting forth into unexpected glory. (Gary Zukav)” — Designed by Dipanjan Karmakar from India.

Winter

Merry Christmas

Designed by Delphine Pagès from France.

Christmas Wallpaper — Merry Christmas

Season Of Joy

Designed by Antun Hirsman from Croatia.

Season Of Joy

Christmas Fail

Designed by Doud – Elise Vanoorbeek from Belgium.

Christmas Wallpaper — Christmas Fail

The Matterhorn

“Christmas is always such a magical time of year so we created this wallpaper to blend the majestry of the mountains with a little bit of magic.” — Designed by Dominic Leonard from the United Kingdom.

Christmas Wallpaper — The Matterhorn

Season’s Greetings From Australia!

Designed by Tazi Designs from Australia.

Christmas Wallpaper — Season's Greetings From Australia!

December Deer

“I love the simplicity of the deer head silhouette trend with just a touch of hand-drawn detail. Happy December my dears!” — Designed by Jordan Thoma from the United States.

December deer

Father Frost

Designed by Cheloveche.ru from Russia.

Smashing Wallpaper - december 11

Winter Solstice

“In December there’s a winter solstice; which means that the longest night of the year falls in December. I wanted to create the feeling of solitude of the long night into this wallpaper.” — Designed by Alex Hermans from Belgium.

Winter Solstice

Have A Minimal Christmas

“My brother-in-law has been on a design buzzword kick where he calls everything minimal, to the point where he wishes people, “Have a minimal day!” I made this graphic as a poster for him.” — Designed by Danny Gugger from Madison, Wisconsin, USA.

Have a Minimal Christmas

Delicate Frost

“Don’t let Jack Frost nip too much at your nose but do let him decorate your windows!” Designed by Tirelessweaver from Canada.

Smashing Desktop Wallpapers - January 2012

The Deer In My Garden

“Every year at the onset of winter, a deer appears in my garden looking for food. I usually catch it early in the morning and we’ll be exchanging glances through the patio doors.” — Designed by Andrea Ludszeweit from Germany.

The deer in my garden

Don’t Stop

“It’s been such an incredible year for space; I wanted to celebrate that with a simple wallpaper to keep everyone inspired this month. The year isn’t over yet — don’t stop pushing yourself!” — Designed by Shawna Armstrong from the United States.

Don't Stop

The Twelve Days Of Christmas

“This wallpaper celebrates the classic carol ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’. Each day is represented with a cheerful illustration representing gifts.” — Designed by Daphne Firos from Cleveland.

The 12 Days of Christmas

It’s In The Little Things

Designed by Thaïs Lenglez from Belgium.

It's in the little things

Decemberist

“‘December is plowing yet. When the smoke-clouds break, high in the sky shines a field as wide as the world. There he toils for the Kingdom of Heaven’s sake. Ah, he is taller than clouds of the little earth. Only the congress of planets is over him, and the arching path where new sweet stars have birth. Wearing his peasant dress, his head bent low, December, that angel of Peace, is plowing yet; Forward, across the field, his horses go.’ (Based on Chinese Nightingale, 1917).” Designed by Dynomite from Germany.

Smashing Wallpaper - December 2012

Best Friends

“Best friends posing for a photo.” Designed by Nenad S. Lazich from Serbia.

Smashing Wallpaper - December 2012

Catch Your Perfect Snowflake

“This time of year people tend to dream big and expect miracles. Let your dreams come true!” Designed by Igor Izhik from Canada.

Catch Your Perfect Snowflake

Cool Winter

“Wanted to showcase the cool, crisp colors and give an overall feeling of winter. Designed by Matt Noa from the United States.

Cool Winter

Robin Bird

“I have chosen this little bird in honor of my grandfather, who passed away. He was fascinated by nature, especially birds. Because of him, I also have a fascination with birds. When I think of winter, I think of the birds, flying around searching for food. And why a robin? Because it is a cute little bird, who is also very recognizable.” — Designed by Engin Seline from Belgium.

Robin Bird

Join In Next Month!

Thank you to all designers for their participation. Join in next month!

Categories: Others Tags:

Simplified Fluid Typography

November 29th, 2019 No comments

Fluid typography is the idea that font-size (and perhaps other attributes of type, like line-height) change depending on the screen size (or perhaps container queries if we had them).

The core trickery comes from viewport units. You can literally set type in viewport units (e.g. font-size: 4vw), but the fluctuations in size are so extreme that it’s usually undesirable. That’s tampered by doing something like font-size: calc(16px + 1vw). But while we’re getting fancy with calculations anyway, the most common implementation ended up being an equation to calculate plain English:

I want the type to go between being 16px on a 320px screen to 22px on a 1000px screen.

Which ended up like this:

html {
  font-size: 16px;
}
@media screen and (min-width: 320px) {
  html {
    font-size: calc(16px + 6 * ((100vw - 320px) / 680));
  }
}
@media screen and (min-width: 1000px) {
  html {
    font-size: 22px;
  }
}

That’s essentially setting a minimum and maximum font size so the type won’t shrink or grow to anything too extreme. “CSS locks” was a term coined by Tim Brown.

Minimum and maximum you say?! Well it so happens that functions for these have made their way into the CSS spec in the form of min() and max().

So we can simplify our fancy setup above with a one-liner and maintain the locks:

html {
  font-size: min(max(16px, 4vw), 22px);
}

We actually might want to stop there because even though both Safari (11.1+) and Chrome (79+) support this at the current moment, that’s as wide as support will get today. Speaking of which, you’d probably want to slip a font-size declaration before this to set an acceptable fallback value with no fancy functions.

But as long as we’re pushing the limits, there is another function to simplify things even more: clamp()! Clamp takes three values, a min, max, and a flexible unit (or calculation or whatever) in the middle that it will use in case the value is between the min and max. So, our one-liner gets even smaller:

body {
  font-size: clamp(16px, 4vw, 22px);
}

That’ll be Chrome 79+ (which doesn’t hasn’t even dropped to stable but will very soon).

Uncle Dave is very happy that FitText is now a few bytes instead of all-of-jQuery plus 40 more lines. Here is us chucking CSS custom properties at it:

See the Pen
FitText in CSS with clamp() by Dave Rupert (@davatron5000)
on CodePen.

The post Simplified Fluid Typography appeared first on CSS-Tricks.

Categories: Designing, Others Tags:

Testing React Hooks With Enzyme and React Testing Library

November 29th, 2019 No comments

As you begin to make use of React hooks in your applications, you’ll want to be certain the code you write is nothing short of solid. There’s nothing like shipping buggy code. One way to be certain your code is bug-free is to write tests. And testing React hooks is not much different from how React applications are tested in general.

In this tutorial, we will look at how to do that by making use of a to-do application built with hooks. We’ll cover writing of tests using Ezyme and React Testing Library, both of which are able to do just that. If you’re new to Enzyme, we actually posted about it a little while back showing how it can be used with Jest in React applications. It’s not a bad idea to check that as we dig into testing React hooks.

Here’s what we want to test

A pretty standard to-do component looks something like this:

import React, { useState, useRef } from "react";
const Todo = () => {
  const [todos, setTodos] = useState([
    { id: 1, item: "Fix bugs" },
    { id: 2, item: "Take out the trash" }
  ]);
  const todoRef = useRef();
  const removeTodo = id => {
    setTodos(todos.filter(todo => todo.id !== id));
  };
  const addTodo = data => {
    let id = todos.length + 1;
    setTodos([
      ...todos,
      {
        id,
        item: data
      }
    ]);
  };
  const handleNewTodo = e => {
    e.preventDefault();
    const item = todoRef.current;
    addTodo(item.value);
    item.value = "";
  };
  return (
    <div className="container">
      <div className="row">
        <div className="col-md-6">
          <h2>Add Todo</h2>
        </div>
      </div>
      <form>
        <div className="row">
          <div className="col-md-6">
            <input
              type="text"
              autoFocus
              ref={todoRef}
              placeholder="Enter a task"
              className="form-control"
              data-testid="input"
            />
          </div>
        </div>
        <div className="row">
          <div className="col-md-6">
            <button
              type="submit"
              onClick={handleNewTodo}
              className="btn btn-primary"
            >
              Add Task
            </button>
          </div>
        </div>
      </form>
      <div className="row todo-list">
        <div className="col-md-6">
          <h3>Lists</h3>
          {!todos.length ? (
            <div className="no-task">No task!</div>
          ) : (
            <ul data-testid="todos">
              {todos.map(todo => {
                return (
                  <li key={todo.id}>
                    <div>
                      <span>{todo.item}</span>
                      <button
                        className="btn btn-danger"
                        data-testid="delete-button"
                        onClick={() => removeTodo(todo.id)}
                      >
                        X
                      </button>
                    </div>
                  </li>
                );
              })}
            </ul>
          )}
        </div>
      </div>
    </div>
  );
};
export default Todo;

Testing with Enzyme

We need to install the packages before we can start testing. Time to fire up the terminal!

npm install --save-dev enzyme enzyme-adapter-16

Inside the src directory, create a file called setupTests.js. This is what we’ll use to configure Enzyme’s adapter.

import Enzyme from "enzyme";
import Adapter from "enzyme-adapter-react-16";
Enzyme.configure({ adapter: new Adapter() });

Now we can start writing our tests! We want to test four things:

  1. That the component renders
  2. That the initial to-dos get displayed when it renders
  3. That we can create a new to-do and get back three others
  4. That we can delete one of the initial to-dos and have only one to-do left

In your src directory, create a folder called __tests__ and create the file where you’ll write your Todo component’s tests in it. Let’s call that file Todo.test.js.

With that done, we can import the packages we need and create a describe block where we’ll fill in our tests.

import React from "react";
import { shallow, mount } from "enzyme";
import Todo from "../Todo";

describe("Todo", () => {
  // Tests will go here using `it` blocks
});

Test 1: The component renders

For this, we’ll make use of shallow render. Shallow rendering allows us to check if the render method of the component gets called — that’s what we want to confirm here because that’s the proof we need that the component renders.

it("renders", () => {
  shallow(<Todo />);
});

Test 2: Initial to-dos get displayed

Here is where we’ll make use of the mount method, which allows us to go deeper than what shallow gives us. That way, we can check the length of the to-do items.

it("displays initial to-dos", () => {
  const wrapper = mount(<Todo />);
  expect(wrapper.find("li")).toHaveLength(2);
});

Test 3: We can create a new to-do and get back three others

Let’s think about the process involved in creating a new to-do:

  1. The user enters a value into the input field.
  2. The user clicks the submit button.
  3. We get a total of three to-do items, where the third is the newly created one.
it("adds a new item", () => {
  const wrapper = mount(<Todo />);
  wrapper.find("input").instance().value = "Fix failing test";
  expect(wrapper.find("input").instance().value).toEqual("Fix failing test");
  wrapper.find('[type="submit"]').simulate("click");
  expect(wrapper.find("li")).toHaveLength(3);
  expect(
    wrapper
      .find("li div span")
      .last()
      .text()
  ).toEqual("Fix failing test");
});

We mount the component then we make use of find() and instance() methods to set the value of the input field. We assert that the value of the input field is set to “Fix failing test” before going further to simulate a click event, which should add the new item to the to-do list.

We finally assert that we have three items on the list and that the third item is equal to the one we created.

Test 4: We can delete one of the initial to-dos and have only one to-do left

it("removes an item", () => {
  const wrapper = mount(<Todo />);
  wrapper
    .find("li button")
    .first()
    .simulate("click");
  expect(wrapper.find("li")).toHaveLength(1);
  expect(wrapper.find("li span").map(item => item.text())).toEqual([
    "Take out the trash"
  ]);
});

In this scenario, we return the to-do with a simulated click event on the first item. It’s expected that this will call the removeTodo() method, which should delete the item that was clicked. Then we’re checking the numbers of items we have, and the value of the one that gets returned.

The source code for these four tests are here on GitHub for you to check out.

Testing With react-testing-library

We’ll write three tests for this:

  1. That the initial to-do renders
  2. That we can add a new to-do
  3. That we can delete a to-do

Let’s start by installing the packages we need:

npm install --save-dev @testing-library/jest-dom @testing-library/react

Next, we can import the packages and files:

import React from "react";
import { render, fireEvent } from "@testing-library/react";
import Todo from "../Todo";
import "@testing-library/jest-dom/extend-expect";

test("Todo", () => {
  // Tests go here
}

Test 1: The initial to-do renders

We’ll write our tests in a test block. The first test will look like this:

it("displays initial to-dos", () => {
  const { getByTestId } = render(<Todo />);
  const todos = getByTestId("todos");
  expect(todos.children.length).toBe(2);
});

What’s happening here? We’re making use of getTestId to return the node of the element where data-testid matches the one that was passed to the method. That’s the

    element in this case. Then, we’re checking that it has a total of two children (each child being a

  • element inside the unordered list). This will pass as the initial to-do is equal to two.

    Test 2: We can add a new to-do

    We’re also making use of getTestById here to return the node that matches the argument we’re passing in.

    it("adds a new to-do", () => {
  const { getByTestId, getByText } = render(<Todo />);
  const input = getByTestId("input");
  const todos = getByTestId("todos");
  input.value = "Fix failing tests";
  fireEvent.click(getByText("Add Task"));
  expect(todos.children.length).toBe(3);
});

    We use getByTestId to return the input field and the ul element like we did before. To simulate a click event that adds a new to-do item, we’re using fireEvent.click() and passing in the getByText() method, which returns the node whose text matches the argument we passed. From there, we can then check to see the length of the to-dos by checking the length of the children array.

    Test 3: We can delete a to-do

    This will look a little like what we did a little earlier:

    it("deletes a to-do", () => {
  const { getAllByTestId, getByTestId } = render(<Todo />);
  const todos = getByTestId("todos");
  const deleteButton = getAllByTestId("delete-button");
  const first = deleteButton[0];
  fireEvent.click(first);
  expect(todos.children.length).toBe(1);
});

    We’re making use of getAllByTestId to return the nodes of the delete button. Since we only want to delete one item, we fire a click event on the first item in the collection, which should delete the first to-do. This should then make the length of todos children equal to one.

    These tests are also available on GitHub.

    Linting

    There are two lint rules to abide by when working with hooks:

    Rule 1: Call hooks at the top level

    …as opposed to inside conditionals, loops or nested functions.

    // Don't do this!
if (Math.random() > 0.5) {
  const [invalid, updateInvalid] = useState(false);
}

    This goes against the first rule. According to the official documentation, React depends on the order in which hooks are called to associate state and the corresponding useState call. This code breaks the order as the hook will only be called if the conditions are true.

    This also applies to useEffect and other hooks. Check out the documentation for more details.

    Rule 2: Call hooks from React functional components

    Hooks are meant to be used in React functional components — not in React’s class component or a JavaScript function.

    We’ve basically covered what not to do when it comes to linting. We can avoid these missteps with an npm package that specifically enforces these rules.

    npm install eslint-plugin-react-hooks --save-dev

    Here’s what we add to the package’s configuration file to make it do its thing:

    {
  "plugins": [
    // ...
    "react-hooks"
  ],
  "rules": {
    // ...
    "react-hooks/rules-of-hooks": "error",
    "react-hooks/exhaustive-deps": "warn"
  }
}

    If you are making use of Create React App, then you should know that the package supports the lint plugin out of the box as of v3.0.0.

    Go forth and write solid React code!

    React hooks are equally prone to error as anything else in your application and you’re gonna want to ensure that you use them well. As we just saw, there’s a couple of ways we can go about it. Whether you use Enzyme or You can either make use of enzyme or React Testing Library to write tests is totally up to you. Either way, try making use of linting as you go, and no doubt, you’ll be glad you did.

    The post Testing React Hooks With Enzyme and React Testing Library appeared first on CSS-Tricks.

Categories: Designing, Others Tags:

Black Friday 2019: Support Indie Makers

November 29th, 2019 No comments
Oddly Amazing Animals

Black Friday 2019: Support Indie Makers

Black Friday 2019: Support Indie Makers

Rachel Andrew

2019-11-29T15:00:00+00:002019-12-01T11:07:58+00:00

Every time I have checked my email over the last two weeks, it has been full of Black Friday deals. We will get a short respite before the New Year offers start to roll in. I like a bargain as much as anyone, however, I think that plenty of sites will be covering the best offers on electronics and tech.

I thought we would do something different this year at Smashing. I’ve launched a number of independent products over the years — downloadable software, software as a service, self-published books, and a course. I know how difficult it can be to get the word out about your products when self-funding, so I thought we could give a boost to all the indie makers out there and feature some of their products.

We asked the Smashing community for their suggestions, and so here is a list covering pretty much every kind of product you can imagine. I hope you can find something you need in these, and help support these hard-working folks.

Search by category:

  1. Books
  2. Gifts, Artwork, And Posters
  3. Printed Magazines
  4. Courses And Training
  5. Software And Tools
  6. Other

Books

A collection of independently published books, and small publishers, with a shoutout to a very special project.

Oddly Amazing Animals

A book project started by the talented Cindy Li, who was a friend to many of us in the web community. After Cindy passed away, her friends got together to finish the book, and all proceeds will go to Cindy’s two young sons.

The Power Of Digital Policy

You don’t need an army of consultants to help you protect your organization from brand degradation and reputational threats. This practical guide by Kristina Podnar will guide you in minimizing risks and maximizing opportunities.

The Game Engine Black Book

The Game Engine Black BookThis book details techniques such as raycasting, compiled scalers, deferred rendition, VGA Mode-Y, linear feedback shift register, fixed point arithmetic, and many others tricks. Fabien Sanglar also went into much detail to describe the hardware of 1991, and has released the source code under GPL license.

404 Ink

404 InkFounded by two publishing freelancers, Heather McDaid and Laura Jones, this publisher has one goal: supporting careers of new and emerging writers — and making as much noise as possible about each.

A Book Apart

A Book ApartBooks available in two formats (Standards and Briefs) on topics ranging from technical to theory: responsive web design, Git, and JavaScript to content strategy, design principles, management, and more. For people who design, write, and code.

Smashing Books

Smashing BooksOur very own Smashing books aim to deliver in-depth knowledge and expertise shared by experts and practitioners from the industry. Our most recent one, Inclusive Components, explores bulletproof solutions for building accessible interfaces.

Gifts, Artwork, And Posters

If you are finding gifts for friends and family for the holidays, why not support these independent makers.

DoodleCats

DoodleCatsTopple the cat approves of this website of cat-themed products! Created by artist Beth Wilson, you’ll find a wide range of cute cat-themed greetings cards, gifts and accessories.

Seb Lester

Seb LesterMost of us have already heard of Seb Lester, but you’ll be thrilled to know that his beautiful hand-lettered work is also available to call your own.

Jessica Hische

Jessica HischeJessica is a lettering artist who has been creating custom lettering artwork for established brands, classic books and postage stamps for over the past ten years. You’ll find a wonderful collection of prints, cards and pins on her site.

Draplin Design Co. Merch

Draplin Design Co. MerchAaron James Draplin is the founder of the Draplin Design Co., based in Portland, Oregon. You’ll find a range of fun items on his site.

HeyShop

HeyShopThe graphic design and illustration studio Hey launched an online shop back in 2014. Since then, they’ve been sharing their personal creations with the public.

Print Workers Barcelona

Print Workers BarcelonaA nice and lovely graphic shop that focuses on handmade, limited, signed, numbered and self-published production. Artists who mainly use screen printing without forgetting other techniques such as risograph printing or letterpress. Graphic work of more than 100 international and local artists. All at affordable and real prices.

The Oh No Shop

The Oh No ShopBrought to life by Alex Norris, we’re sure that you’ll be all smiles when you check out his prints, pins and more.

Levens

LevensIf you’re a fan of jewels, check out these beautifully handmade ones done in ceramic, silver and gold. Designed by Mar del Hoyo from Barcelona, Spain.

Cristina Junquero

Cristina JunqueroInspired by Andalusian religious imaginary and classical jewellery, the work of Cristina Junquero revisits tradition to bring something new. Her studio is set in Barcelona.

Casa Atlántica

Casa AtlánticaSince 2014, Casa Atlântica works to give value to trades that are gradually being lost: their objects are born in villages of Galicia and Portugal from the hands of artisans who, with materials such as ceramics, wicker or wood, give life to their designs.

Après Ski

Après SkiEstablished in 2009, this accessories and objects studio creates designs that are inspired from the observation of different cultures and traditions — seeking people and places authenticity through books and travels.

Pimoroni

PimoroniFounded in 2012 by Jon Williamson and Paul Beech, Pimoroni makes tech treasure for tinkerers.

Varianto:25

Varianto:25A small startup based in Bulgaria that create fun and innovative products for developers worldwide.

Ysolda

YsoldaAn online store for knitters, based in Edinburgh.

Printed Magazines

As I know from launching our own print magazine here at Smashing Magazine this year, creating a print magazine requires a huge amount of work. Here are some of your favorites.

Offscreen Magazine

Offscreen MagazineOffscreen is an independent print magazine that examines how we shape technology and how technology shapes us. Offscreen Magazine is a favorite of many Smashing readers. Also check out the Dense Discovery email newsletter (I always find something new there).

Bubblesort Zines

Bubblesort ZinesZines about computer science, for ages 8-100! Each zine focuses on one concept and is filled with comics, diagrams, stories, examples, and exercises.

WizardZines

WizardZinesZines by Julia Evans that are aimed at working programmers who want to know how to use grep / tcpdump / strace in a fun way. (A lot of them are focused on systems/Linux concepts.)

Like The Wind

Like The WindThis running magazine is a favorite of mine. Beautifully printed, with inspiring stories from the world of runners and running.

Courses And Training

3D Fundamentals

3D Fundamentals3D is a creative playground for designers, yet still uncharted territory for most of us. 3D Fundamentals teaches you shape, form, lighting, color, and animation in a beginner-friendly course.

Every Layout

Every LayoutIf you find yourself wrestling with CSS layout, Every Layout is for you. Through a series of simple, composable layouts, you will learn how to better harness the built-in algorithms that power browsers and CSS.

Terminal Training

Terminal TrainingWorking with Terminal can be daunting. This video course wants to cure you from any fear of the terminal. For designers, new developers, UX, UI, product owners, and anyone who’s been asked to “just open the terminal”.

Universal JavaScript with Next.js

Universal JavaScript with Next.jsIf you’re tired of configuration, build tools, spagetti code and want to focus on building amazing web apps with the latest features, this complete video course will get you fit for building web apps with Next.js for React.

The CSS Workshop

The CSS WorkshopLearn CSS layout through a series of video tutorials. Straightforward and practical examples help you banish layout confusion for good.

Software And Tools

A whole selection of interesting products and tools. Many of these have free plans. If you love one of these products, however, do consider signing up for the paid version if you can. Bootstrapped products need sales, or they go away!

Better Blocker

Better BlockerA privacy tool for Safari on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Launched by Aral Balkan and Laura Kalbag, the aim is to protect users from behavioural ads and companies that track and profile folks on the web.

Polypane

PolypaneBuilt for designers and developers, the browser Polypane lets you create sites and apps that work for everyone. Features include multiple synced viewports for responsive design, visual impairment simulators, built-in accessibility testing tools, live refreshing, layout debugging and screenshotting.

Common Ninja

Common NinjaThe Common Ninja team creates plugins with the purpose to help web designers, developers, and site owners to upgrade and color their website with zero effort, time, and knowledge.

Helperbird

HelperbirdThe browser extension wants to bring the benefits of accessbility and customization to everyone, with features such as dyslexia fonts, changing the font and background color, text to speech, overlays, dyslexia rulers and more to make the web accessible to your needs.

Lunch Money

Lunch MoneyNo matter where you are in the world, Lunch Money keeps track of every dollar, euro, and yen spent. At the end of the day, they add it all up in your currency of choice so that you stay on top of your spendings without doing the maths.

Timemator

TimematorTimemator automatically captures everything you do on your Mac. You define the rules, and once you open your working file or application, Timemator will start the timer for you automatically.

Exist

ExistBy combining data from services you already use, Exist can help you understand what makes you more happy, productive, and active. Bring your activity from your phone or fitness tracker and add other services like your calendar for greater context on what you’re up to.

Proxyman

ProxymanProxyman is a native, high-performance macOS application, which enables developers to observe and manipulate HTTP/HTTPS requests. Intuitive and friendly.

Standard Notes

Standard NotesSometimes all you need is a reliable and fuss-free tool to jot down your thoughts and ideas. Standard Notes is just that, a free, open-source, and completely encrypted notes app.

Leave Me Alone

Leave Me AloneUnsubscribing from the emails you don’t want to receive any longer can be time-consuming. Leave Me Alone shows you all of your subscription emails in one place so that you can unsubscribe from them with a single click.

Readermode

ReadermodeYou’re getting distracted easily when you read? Reader Mode instantly removes clutter, ads, and distractions from any article. Dyslexia support is built in, too.

Fathom

FathomStop scrolling through pages of reports and collecting gobs of personal data about your visitors, both of which you probably don’t need. Fathom is a simple and private website analytics platform that lets you focus on what’s important: your business.

Buttondown

ButtondownButtondown is a small elegant tool for producing newsletters. The minimalist interface makes it easy to write great emails; the automation acts like the editorial assistant you wish you had; and the portable subscription widget helps grow your audience from anywhere.

Carrd.co

Carrd.coNo matter if it’s a personal profile, a landing page to capture emails, or something a bit more elaborate, Carrd lets you create simple and responsive one-page sites for pretty much anything.

Placid

PlacidFacebook, Twitter, Pinterest — all of them have different requirements when it comes to social share images. To save you time, Placid creates your social share images automatically. You define a template once, the tool does the rest.

Calibre

CalibreCalibre helps you monitor and audit web performance and make meaningful improvements where it matters. You can simulate real-world conditions to understand what your audience is experiencing, see the impact of third-party code, receive monthly reports on crucial metrics without having to spend hours on distilling performance data, and much more.

Transistor

TransistorHave you ever considered starting your own podcast? Transistor helps you with the rather boring part, storing your MP3 files, generating your RSS feed, hosting your podcast’s website, and distributing your show to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more.

Kirby

KirbyKirby is a file-based CMS for building your own ideal interface. Combine forms, galleries, articles, spreadsheets and more into an amazing editing experience.

Perch

PerchThe Really Little CMS. Used by thousands of happy customers around the world, Perch does not dictate your front-end code but lets you bring your own code to your project.

Statamic

StatamicStatamic cuts out the database and creates a faster, more productive way for you to build, manage, and version control beautifully creative, bespoke websites.

Other Things

A bunch of things that didn’t really fit into any other category.

rooki.design

rooki.designAn online magazine for design students and free design awards, Rookie was born out of the frustration in finding good, free resources for design students. Now, you can find everything you need in one single place.

Femtech Insider

Femtech InsiderStay up-to-date and read about the latest industry trends, while you learn more about founders, companies, organizations and investors at the intersection of tech and women’s health.

Rapscallion Soda

Rapscallion Soda“We are living in a world today where lemonade is made from artificial flavours & furniture polish is made with real lemons.” The handmade, bootstrapped soda company from Glasgow wants to change that.

Tech ladies

Tech ladiesTech Ladies connects you with the best jobs and opportunities in tech. Join the community or post to their job board if you are looking for employees.

Front-End Challenges Club

Front-End Challenges ClubDo you want to put your front-end skills to the test? The Front-End Challenges Club gives you a new fun challenge to master every two weeks.

Diversify Tech

Diversify TechDiversify Tech connects underrepresented people in tech. Once a week, they’ll send you scholarships, events, job opportunities, and more.

With Jack

With JackWith Jack is all about insurance for freelance creatives, giving designers, developers, illustrators, and other web professionals the insurance they need. No endless features or stale service but one solid policy and the personal touch.

Find Support If You Are An Indie Maker

There are some excellent communities that seek to support bootstrapped businesses, sole founders and small teams. Check these out to find interesting products — or to get help in shipping your own.

  • IndieHackers: Work together to build profitable online businesses.
  • Makerlog: A collaborative task log that helps over 3000+ creators get things done.
  • WIP: Maker Community.

Add Your Favorites To The Comments!

Did we miss one of your favorite independent products? If so, please add a link in the comments, and don’t forget to let us know what it is and why you love it, too!

Smashing Editorial(il, cm)
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Inspirational Designer of The Week – Meet Gal Shir

November 29th, 2019 No comments

Welcome to this edition of Web Design Ledger’s Inspirational Designer of the Week!

And now, I’d like to welcome Gal Shir to the scene, our pick for the most inspirational designer of the week.

Gal Shir is a graphic designer, illustrator and motion designer who has been designing from age 13.

The aspiring, self-taught designer at just age 13 got his first version of photoshop and started designing away.

[source]

He says that in school, his teachers liked him because he didn’t cause many problems, but he was always drawing during class or designing on his laptop.

What started out as a passion and doing small projects for friends, families, and small businesses, led to his long-term passion and career.

He had a special talent when it came to designing, and when he realized someone would actually pay for what he’s passionate about doing, he was ecstatic.

He once used to design wedding invitations for friends, but now he’s working alongside start-up businesses to help them better embody the aesthetic they’re looking for and the message they want to spread through UX.

When asked where he gets his inspiration from, he says, “I think inspiration is all around, sometimes even a bit too much.

For a designer, almost every daily-use objects are something to learn from.

Each one of those was designed, good or bad.

I love to get to know new tech products, gadgets, applications, and websites.

[source]

My favorite website for inspiration is the one and only Dribbble, which has the most variety [in] design fields, up-to-date trends and hourly-updated feed of design works made by talented people.”

And speaking of Dribbble, he posts lots of inspirational and quality content for his 100,000+ followers.

And if you thought that was impressive, take a look at his Instagram numbers: 699k followers!

After a long day of work, he says he likes to clear his mind by being on social media.

You can see all the amazing videos of him drawing on his Instagram page.

So how does the creative process start?

Gal says that his creative process all starts from a concept in his mind.

He tries to think of a scenario that he would like to freeze in time and try to create an image out of it.

When he works together with a client, he tries to portray and represent the company’s goal and product through his art.

How can an aspiring designer enhance their design skills?

Gal shir says, “I believe that any skill is achievable, and that persistence is a key to enhancement. I found out that having a daily routine of a small drawing a day can be very effective.”

He advises all aspiring designers to surround themselves with content and other designers that inspire them.

Find people on social media that inspire you to do better and start from there.

So what does a typical day look like for Gal Shir?

He says he wakes up around 9 am and then starts his morning off with a brisk 20-minute walk to the office where he is currently working.

His workdays consist of meetings, brainstorming, designing, illustrating, working with product developers.

And after work, Gal Shir says that creating these flawless drawing videos that we all love so much, is meditative for him.

Besides drawing and creating being his job, it’s also how he escapes from the real world for a bit to recharge.

And I know I speak for all of us when I say, we’re glad this is the way you relax because as meditative as it is for him, it is as well for all of us.

Gal Shir is truly an inspiration for and to all and we were honored to represent him on this week’s edition of inspirational designers.

Let us know who your favorite designer is in the comment below for a chance to have them featured on next week’s piece about inspirational designers!

Until next time,

Stay creative!

Read More at Inspirational Designer of The Week – Meet Gal Shir

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Cloudways Offers 40% OFF for 3 Months on All Plans

November 29th, 2019 No comments

Cloudways is a managed WordPress hosting platform for individuals and businesses. It lets you host or migrate your websites to the industry-leading IaaS providers such as DigitalOcean, Linode, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Linode. Your websites hosted on Cloudways Platform get platform-level firewalls, real-time monitoring, advanced security, staging URLs, automated backups, PHP 7-ready servers, and much more.

Store Name: Cloudways
Offer: 40% OFF for 3 Months on All Plans
Promo Code: BFCM40
Validity: Starts from November 14th till December 4th, 2019.

Performance

  • Multiple cloud providers
  • Global data centers
  • CloudwaysCDN
  • Server scaling, based on bandwidth, hard disk space, processor and RAM
  • Vertical Server Scaling
  • Redis Support
  • Built-in Advanced Caches
  • PHP 7 Ready Servers
  • Auto-Healing Managed Cloud Servers
  • Built-in Advanced Cache
  • Free WordPress Cache Plugin
  • Multiple PHP Versions
  • PHP-FPM
  • Breeze plugin

Security

  • Platform-level firewalls
  • Free SSL Certificates
  • Automatic Backups
  • Dedicated Environment
  • Two-Factor Authentication
  • Regular Security Patching
  • IP Whitelisting
  • SSH/SFTP access

Support

  • CloudwaysBot
  • 24/7 live chat
  • 24/7 Ticketing
  • 24/7 Email
  • Knowledgebase
  • Community forum
  • WordPress blog

Features

  • One-Click Application Installs (WordPress, WooCommerce, Magento, Drupal, Joomla, Prestashop, support for all php based applications and frameworks)
  • Team Collaboration feature to add your team and work on projects together
  • WordPress Migrator plugin
  • Server Addons (Email, DNS settings)
  • Dedicated IP
  • Staging Area & URLs
  • SFTP connection
  • Dedicated MySQL Database
  • Application and Server Cloning
  • Git Integration and Deployment via Git
  • Cloudways API

Pricing

  • Free trial
  • Billing on an hourly basis
  • Pay as you go model
  • No contract
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10 Popular Design Trends It’s Time to Let Die

November 29th, 2019 No comments

If you’ve ever moved from one home to another, you know how difficult it can be to get rid of things you’ve owned for years. While digging through your closet, you find an old pair of pants you used to wear all the time despite the growing holes in the knees. But you tell yourself, “Maybe I’ll wear them around the house when it gets warmer” or “I bet the grunge look will come back in style”.

It’s easy to make these kinds of justifications in web design and development, too. You think:

“I’ve used the keyword meta tag for as long as I can remember. What can it hurt to keep doing so?”

Similar to how your clothes may become outdated or your appliances obsolete over time, the same thing happens with design and development trends. Rather than hold onto techniques that no longer serve you and only add more to your workload, it’s a much better idea to clear them out and make way for modern trends that’ll have a greater impact.

10 Popular Design Trends It’s Time to Let Die

When we talk about outdated web design trends, we’re not just talking about ones that have been obsolete for years. We’re also referring to trends and techniques that we know for a fact compromise the user experience and need to go away ASAP.

1. Cheesy Stock Photos

There’s nothing inherently bad about using stock photos. Many clients don’t have the budgets or wherewithal to create their own company photos and stock photos are a viable alternative.

That said, there was a time when “bad” (i.e. super cheesy and unrealistic) stock photos were all the rage. Even today, you’ll find websites that use these kinds of photos because there’s still an assumption that two people shaking hands in a well-lit conference room signals trust. (It doesn’t.)

Image via DepositPhotos.

2. Hero Sliders

Image slider technology was pretty great in its heyday. It allowed web designers to conserve space while displaying a number of promotional offers at once. In addition to sliders often slowing down page speeds, they also have a tendency to slow users down as they distract them from moving onto other parts of a website.

Verizon Wireless, for instance, has a great example of a strong but simple hero image design in 2019:

This is vastly different from the image slider it used back in 2013:

For the most part, we’ve learned to be more efficient with this space, though there are still some websites that can’t make up their minds about which offer to show above the fold… which only makes it more difficult for visitors to decide next steps. Take the initiative and do it for them with a single hero banner.

3. Autoplay

It’s not common to find websites with background audio, let alone autoplay audio, these days. That said, what you do occasionally find are websites that automatically play videos or ads with audio. Needless to say, this needs to stop. If your video (or audio) players don’t allow your visitors to take control of when they start, change that up now.

4. The 3-Click Rule

Over the years, web designers have looked for ways to decrease friction in the user experience. The three-click rule was meant to be one of the ways to do this. However, according to a recent report from the Nielsen Norman Group, there’s never been any data to back up this claim:

“In fact, a study by Joshua Porter has debunked it; the study showed that user dropoff does not increase when the task involves more than 3 clicks, nor does satisfaction decrease. Limiting interaction cost is indeed important, but the picture is more complicated than simply counting clicks and having a rule of thumb for the maximum number allowed.”

Rather than minimize for minimization’s sake, consider the complexity of the task or funnel you’re designing when determining quantity of steps.

5. (External) Links That Open in the Same Tab

There are a number of reasons to add links to your content: for navigational purposes, promotional purposes, and referential purposes. But when you add a hyperlink to your text, consider the following: Is it okay if the link directs visitors to a page in this same browser tab?

External links, for instance, should always open in a new browser tab. Your goal in designing a website is to get more visitors to convert. Letting an external link replace your website in the open tab will only decrease the chances of that happening. In some cases, internal links shouldn’t be opened in the same tab either. So, be sure to think about this the next time you add a link to your site.

6. Non-Traditional Scrolling

Although we’ve become accustomed to swipe gestures in mobile apps, horizontal and other non-traditional scrolling isn’t something that’s caught on with websites. While it’s definitely a design trend that helped many businesses set themselves apart from the pack a few years back, it’s just too gimmicky to use these days.

Robby Leonardi‘s interactive resume website was one of the first I remember seeing and it was a brilliant way to capture attention — especially from those of us who grew up with Mario.

But today? Any sort of non-traditional scrolling is just impractical and unnecessary. Even Robby’s current website has broken up this side-scrolling design and turned it into a vertical-scrolling page:

If you want to keep visitors engaged with your website in this day and age, don’t make them figure out how to scroll through your website.

7. Keyword Meta Tag

For years (we’re talking nearly a decade), the keyword meta tag has not been supported by popular search engines. Despite knowing that the meta tag is useless, some designers still take the time to add it in. But why bother if it’s an extra step that gets you nothing in return?

8. Bad Pop-ups

Although pop-ups have undergone an evolution over the years — from the super-annoying pop-up ads that appeared outside the browser to the ever-present privacy notices we now see thanks to GDPR. While there is certainly some value in using pop-ups on a website, there are just too many kinds of bad pop-ups that need to disappear.

“Bad” pop-ups are ones that:

  • Show up too early on a website (like the second someone enters it);
  • Appear too many times during a single or return visit;
  • Send users to Facebook Messenger to collect their lead magnet and then bombard them with messages there;
  • Contain two buttons. Users that accept the offer, get a friendly message. Those that don’t are served up aggressive or shame-inducing language;
  • Repeat an offer that’s already designed into the website as a promotional banner.

9. Slow-Loading Websites

Mobile websites are notoriously difficult to optimize for speed when compared to their desktop counterparts. Unlike in years past where you could’ve rationalized away speed optimizations for mobile, today, it needs to be a priority with Google’s mobile-first indexing. PWAs are one way to give your mobile site an instant speed boost.

On a related note, by designing a PWA instead of a mobile-responsive website, you’d be able to cater to users with poor or no wi-fi connectivity — a segment that’s often been overlooked in web design.

10. Flash

I cannot believe I’m having to include this last one in 2019, but it seems there are still websites using the Flash Player.

Adobe has already told us that it would be cutting support for Flash next year. Web browsers are starting to remove their support for Flash players as well. And good riddance. Flash has long had issues with security flaws and usability issues.

If you’re trying to hold out on this (or your clients are dragging their feet), keep in mind that this is what visitors will see on many browsers in 2020 and beyond:

Bottom line: If the creator of Flash is pulling support, you need to do the same for any of your websites that still use it.

Wrap-Up

It’s easy to get wrapped up in what the next big thing is in web design — AR tech, typography trends, color gradients, etc. But what about all of those trends and techniques that have become a habit over the years?

Rather than hold onto outdated design strategies that will only hinder your progress as a web designer and hold your clients’ websites back, start shedding these obsolete (or soon-to-be obsolete) practices now.

Source

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How 5G Network can Change Your Life and the Future

November 29th, 2019 No comments

No matter what it is we do, we want it done fast without waiting. The latest technological advancements provide us the speed we seek and add convenience to our lives. The 5G Network takes things one step further with its super-fast internet connectivity, transfer of data to globally connected devices, and more.

5G will see the rise of IoT, AR/VR, faster video streaming, file sharing, and more. Mobile app development and other digital products, services, business models, and industries will be reborn with the next evolution.

5G technology has the potential to revolutionize the world! Let’s dive in and explore the changes it will create in our lives and its impact on the future:

5 Ways 5G Will Change Our Lives

Since the start of time, Man has thought beyond the boundaries of society to improve our reality. The technological evolution, since the first wheel to today, has always brought convenience to our lives; 5G is no different!

5G will influence the lives of every individual. From consumers to business, every industry will benefit from its super-fast transfer of data, stable internet connection, and no lag. Here is how 5G will impact our lives:

1. Self-Driving Cars

Tesla, Google, and Uber are tech giants already leveraging the best technologies to create their autonomous cars. The problem, however, is that self-driving cars need to have a quick response time. The current networks 2G, 3G, or 4G, are not sufficient with their speed and create a lag between responses.

5G is not just an improvement of the previous networks. Instead, it’s an entirely new network architecture. Its promise of improved speed and zero latency ensure no delays in response time, the primary feature needed for autonomous cars to function. So, it’s not that far-fetched to say self-driving cars might be the new normal.

2. Health Sector

5G will be the solution for a situation where a few seconds, minutes, or hours are the difference between life and death. The low-latency and HD-quality, the wireless network will enable doctors and other healthcare professionals to tend to their patients virtually.

Additionally, with wearables and implanted devices recording and transmitting vital health signs, doctors can detect strokes, heart attacks, and other life-threatening concerns early.

Telesurgery will also be a reality! Surgeons and specialists thousands of miles away will have the chance to save lives and perform complicated operations via specialized robots.

3. Life in the Offices with 5G

AI and machine learning solutions will advance with 5G networks. It will enable automated machines to take over small and repetitive tasks in offices such as accounting and data processing. Fewer officials will be appointed to sort through files and for data entry positions.

It doesn’t mean technology will replace manual labor. Instead, workers will have more time for challenging tasks. Workers with high cognitive, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills, who can collaborate with the machines, will be in high demand.

4. Smart Cities

Smart technology is already a part of our lives; with 5G, we’ll see the evolution of smart cities too. We’ve seen small glimpses into what that could mean: smart parking lots, street lights, and more. So far, we had worked with 4G networks, and the connection was slow and lagged which made it difficult for smart technology to ensure consistent improvement in our lives.

5G will remove the lag and provide high data transfer speed. It is the only network with speed to support several connected devices.

Multiple device connectivity will also pave the way for smart homes. Your refrigerator, for example, will know what it contains. Connected with your health monitor, it will also suggest the best meals for your health.

5. Factories will have Robot Workers

It’s not just cities and homes turning smart; 5G will enable factories to witness increased productivity in all departments. From manufacturing to distribution, the entire processes will be linked. Designers will receive customer feedback in real-time, and the inventory that you see online will match the in-store collections.

Additionally, the use of robots will increase in factories. AI and machine learning solutions will help robots make decisions and take over dangerous tasks.

The Impact of 5G on the Future

5G will change the world as we know it! Here are some things that will dominate the tech market in the future:

1. Internet of Things

IoT essentially means an interconnected system of computing devices, transferring data without human interference. 5G promises faster speed, low-latency, and the ability to connect multiple devices across the globe without lagging.

The possibility of smart homes, factories, and cities will be a collaborative work of 5G and IoT.

2. Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality

AR and VR technologies are on the rise, but the lack of a fast internet connection makes them relatively unexplored areas in the tech world. 5G network’s zero latency guarantees a life-like, smooth, and reliable AR and VR experience.

Healthcare, military, and education are some of the areas of life that will see the benefits of mixed realities. The entertainment sector has already leveraged the two technologies for a superior gaming experience. But, 5G’s super-fast data transfer speed will enhance the experience for players around the world.

3. Wireless Broadband Internet Connection

5G eliminates the need for wires and cables physically connecting homes and offices to the internet. Now, you can skip the buffering and watch HD-quality movies anywhere and anytime.

Live television, online gaming on mobile phones and tablets, and enhanced communication across the globe will be the norm.

4. Edge Commuting

Moving past cloud storage, we enter the era of edge computing. Edge computing allows faster data processing as it is closer to the source than cloud storage. Additionally, cloud storage can’t be relied on to hold the abundance of information coming in from the IoT. It presents security issues, latency, and multi-cloud environments.

The high-speed internet connection, low-latency, and high-speed data transfer of 5G will fully showcase the potential of edge computing in a vast array of applications.

The 5G Revolution is Around the Corner!

According to reports by the year 2025, we’ll be living in a world of high-speed, reliable internet!

The use of the 5G network is still not widespread, but many countries have dipped into the golden pot and created innovations featuring its fast speed and low-latency.

It will be the Fourth Industrial Revolution with technologies like IoT, AR/VR, AI, and machine learning becoming accessible to all. The technology is still new but holds the potential to change the world.

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12 Free Christmas Fonts for You to Use to Spread Christmas Cheer

November 28th, 2019 No comments
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Thanksgiving has come and gone, and now it’s time to start preparing for Christmas designs if you haven’t already!

We provided you with what we believe to be the ultimate list of free Christmas design resources a few weeks ago, but I saved the best for last.

Free Christmas fonts!

I found an abundance of free Christmas fonts to help you spread cheer this year through your designs, but I picked my absolute favorites for this list.

12 Free Christmas Fonts for You to Use

Prepare to be “sleighed” by this amazing list of free Christmas fonts!

1. Grinched

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Did somebody call my childhood and ask them to show up in this picture?

Everyone will recognize this font as the one from The Grinch book and movie. It’s perfect for you to use this Christmas and it’s free to use for personal use, and for commercial use, you’ll need to get in touch with the owner.

I think this font will forever be my favorite Christmas font.

Download here: https://www.1001fonts.com/grinched-font.html

2. Beyond Wonderland

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beyond-wonderland-font-3-big

This font screams wintertime. Within the font itself, it looks like it’s snowing!

This handwritten font is free for personal use, and you can contact the owner for commercial use.

Download here: https://www.1001fonts.com/beyond-wonderland-font.html

3. The Gingerbread House

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Next up, we have this curly, handwritten Christmas font called The Gingerbread House.

Handwritten fonts for Christmas are a must. It brings back some sort of nostalgia and everyone, even people with absolutely no design skills, can recognize that this font is Christmassy.

This font is free for personal use.

Download here: https://www.1001fonts.com/the-gingerbread-house-font.html

4. Candy Time

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Candy Time looks absolutely delicious.

This Christmas candy cane font would go perfect with any type of cooking project or a project for a game for children, or really anything you put your creativity and mind to.

This font is very versatile and perfect for the season.

Download here: https://www.1001fonts.com/candytime-font.html

5. Frosty

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Frosty the snowman! I mean… frost the font.

This font is so magical and is the perfect embodiment of winter.

The font is full of character and literally has little snowflakes floating around amongst the letters.

This font is perfect for the Christmas season.

This font is also free for personal and commercial use.

Download here: https://www.1001fonts.com/frosty-font.html

6. Cane Letters

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Another scrumptious free Christ font for you to use.

This font gives off a 3D effect due to the canes shadowing the letters.

Very festive, cute, and Christmassy.

Download here: https://www.1001fonts.com/kr-cane-letters-font.html

7. Oh Christmas Tree

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Oh Christmas Treeeeeee, oh Christmas Tree!

This font makes me hear my crazy aunt singing in the living room at the top of her lungs.

This decorative font is perfect for spreading Christmas cheer.

Download here: https://www.1001fonts.com/kr-oh-christmas-tree-font.html

8. Cartoon Blocks

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This playful Christmas font is free for you to use on any of your upcoming personal Christmas projects.

Contact the owner for a commercial license to use it.

This 3D Christmas font is jolly and perfect for the season!

Download here: https://www.1001fonts.com/cartoon-blocks-christmas-font.html

9. Christbaumkugeln

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Just have a look at this festive font.

The font inside of the ornaments is so festive, it hurts.

This font is calling your name. Use the link below to download it!

Download here: https://www.1001fonts.com/christbaumkugeln-font.html

10. Christmas Cookies

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Check out this 3D Christmas font.

Can you just smell the Christmas cookies by looking at it?

Because I know I can.

Download here: https://www.1001fonts.com/christmas-cookies-font.html

11. Christmas Time

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Our second-to-last Christmas font looks like a classic.

It could be on the cover of any classic Christmas book.

This beautiful, cursive, handwritten font is free and available for personal use.

Download here: https://www.1001fonts.com/christmas-time-personal-use-font.html

12. Mountains of Christmas

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And finally, we’ve come to our final Christmas font.

This gorgeous handwritten font is just waiting for you to use on your next design project!

So what are you waiting for?

Download it here: https://www.1001fonts.com/mountains-of-christmas-font.html

“Wrapping” up

We hope you enjoyed our list of free Christmas fonts for you to use this jolly season.

We wish you all the most magical holidays!

Read More at 12 Free Christmas Fonts for You to Use to Spread Christmas Cheer

Categories: Designing, Others Tags:

Web Scraping Made Simple With Zenscrape

November 28th, 2019 No comments

Web scraping has always been taken care of by actual developers, since a lot of coding, proxy management and CAPTCHA-solving is involved. However, the scraped data is very often needed by people that are non-coders: Marketers, Analysts, Business Developers etc.

Zenscrape is an easy-to-use web scraping tool that allows people to scrape websites without having to code.

Let’s run through a quick example together:

Select the data you need

The setup wizard guides you through the process of setting up your data extractor. It allows you to select the information you want to scrape visually. Click on the desired piece of content and specify what type of element you have. Depending on the package you have bought (they also offer a free plan), you can select up to 30 data elements per page.

The scraper is also capable of handling element lists.

Schedule your extractor

Perhaps, you want to scrape the selected data at a specific time interval. Depending on your plan, you can choose any time span between one minute to one hour. Also, decide what is supposed to happen with the scraped data after it has been gathered.

Use your data

In this example, we have chosen the .csv-export method and have selected a 10 minute scraping interval. Our first set of data should be ready by now. Let’s take a look:

Success! Our data is ready for us to be downloaded. We can now access all individual data sets or download all previously gathered data at once, in one file.

Need more flexibility?

Zenscrape also offers a web scraping API that returns the HTML markup of any website. This is especially useful for complicated scraping projects, that require the scraped content to be integrated into a software application for further processing.

Just like the web scraping suite, the API does not forward failed requests and takes care of proxy management, Capotcha-solving and all other maintenance tasks that are usually involved with DIY web scrapers.

Since the API returns the full HTML markup of the related website, you have full flexibility in terms of data selection and further processing.

Try Zenscrape

The post Web Scraping Made Simple With Zenscrape appeared first on CSS-Tricks.

Categories: Designing, Others Tags: