Brand and brand positioning has always been elusive to the average business owner. Brand positioning is a very delicate idea with far-reaching consequences for businesses. And as an entrepreneur, you must understand that the results of your actions can either build and reinforce your brand’s image or shatter it. 

Your brand is the personality your business communicates through its name, logo, tone, and several other elements. This personality sets the stage for your brand’s relationship with its customers and its relationship with other brands. 

But then, since your business’s brand doesn’t exist as a physical construct—like a building—but only exists in the minds of your audience, there’s a great need for your brand to be positioned properly. 

A consistent brand is more important to customers than anything else since it helps them understand your business’ identity and personality.  

And to guide you on how to position your brand effectively, we’ll be taking a simple look at:

The Impact of Branding and Brand Positioning on Businesses

Branding is the act of creating a system that allows your consumers to recognize your products and services easily. Brand positioning, on the other hand, is the value buyers place on your firm that separates it from competitors.

Consider the following data:

• According to Fundera’s research, 89% of people trust and remain loyal to businesses that reflect their beliefs, and 61% are more likely to purchase from companies that create unique content.
• According to Demand Metric, consistent brands are 3.5 times more renowned than inconsistent ones.
• Consumer Thermometer shows that 68% of men and 64% of women have an emotional attachment to their favorite brand.
• According to Gensler’s survey, 94% of consumers are more likely to recommend firms they like to their friends.

The Successful Brand Positioning of Apple

Apple, one of the largest businesses globally, has a long-term vision that allowed it to stand tall as a dominant player in the market. Apple’s success has been built on its solid brand position. And they did so by meticulously developing their:

• Core ideas: Pursuing technological innovation, next-gen design, and creativity.
• Brand strategy: Creating a valuable experience for customers that appeals to and integrates them into the Apple ecosystem.
• Position: Developing a strong track record as a luxury brand.
• Emotional marketing: Boosting consumer loyalty and trust.
• Customer segmentation:  Interacting with customers based on certain criteria like age, gender, income, and location.

Now that you know what brand positioning is and how it can make or break your company’s success, it’s vital to understand that properly positioning your firm will not be easy. 

So, to assist you, we evaluated various brand positioning techniques to discover how customers react to companies that take traditional positions against those that take a modern position.

So What was the Goal of This Research?

This research aimed to determine which brands audiences are fascinated by and how this varies by demographics.

The information we gathered will assist business owners who are starting or rebranding their small, midsize, or large firms in making fast, well-informed changes that will benefit them when position or finding the best business name ideas.

So, to help us fulfill the survey’s objectives, we asked Americans if they would prefer to work with a known and reputable company or a fresh and innovative one. 

Why Did We Feel Compelled to Ask?

It’s crucial to remember that establishing a tone is among the most vital and far-reaching branding decisions you’ll make when starting or rebranding your company.

Founders, marketing teams, and management executives need the correct tone since it allows them to establish their brand image and how others perceive them.

Consider how the world might be different now if: 

• Instead of Amazon, Jeff Bezos had chosen Cadabra.
• Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs had named their firm Executex rather than Apple.
• Phil Knight hadn’t changed Blue Ribbon Sports to Nike.
• Larry and Sergey chose Backrub as the brand name of their company. 

Your company’s entire identity, as well as client expectations, are influenced by your brand tone. When dealing with branding, your tone is vital, and you can’t afford to disregard it when building your company.

And the purpose of our study was to see which clients would prefer modern businesses over traditional ones. We picked this path because deciding whether to position one’s brand as a fresh or vintage one is perhaps the most important decision an entrepreneur must make.

What the Research Revealed About Positioning

Even though the study’s findings were not earth-shattering, the responses we received were pretty interesting. Here’s a quick breakdown of what we discovered from the 301 people that took part: 

• Customers in their 20s and 30s were drawn to new enterprises, with more than half of those polled preferring new and developing businesses to well-known and respected ones.

• Young brands are preferred by 35 to 45-year-olds over established brands. But, this age group was evenly split between the two options.

• Audiences aged 45–54 and 55–65 were more interested in traditional and established brands.

• Traditional and respected businesses appeal to all those between the ages of 55 to 65.

• The data we received showed that men had no inclination either for modern or traditional companies. 

• Contrary to men, women prefer traditional and trusted brands to be modern and innovative ones.

• 153 of the 301 participants favored well-known and dependable businesses, while 148 selected fresh and innovative businesses. According to the survey, any company can take any stance they choose as long as it is in accordance with their intended audience.

What All of This Means

According to the findings, millennials prefer new, modern, inventive, and disruptive companies, whereas Boomers and Gen Xers prefer traditional brands.

If you want to appeal to a younger demographic, make sure your company has a distinct, current, and unique brand identity. If you’re reaching an older customer base then make sure your company has a strong traditional identity.

The post What Every Entrepreneur Must Know About Brand Positioning appeared first on noupe.

Todoist is a to-do list app that 25 million people rely on every day to keep their lives organized. As part of the Doist design team’s goals for 2021, we aimed to redesign the Todoist Android app to take advantage of the latest Google Material Design guidelines.

In this post, we cover the design decisions and processes behind redesigning the Todoist Android app for Material Design. We explore the Design and Android team’s collaboration practices that brought the app update to life, which resulted in winning the Material Design Award 2021 in the large screen category. Let’s get started!

Opportunity

When we started the project, our design implementation on Android was ready for a major overhaul. The last milestone redesign on Android was initiated after the release of the first Material Design guidelines in 2016. Since then the team successfully worked on continuous improvements to the Android app, but we saw the opportunity to improve Todoist on Android on a more holistic level.

We set out to clean up instances of older UI components, colors, and text styles and update them with the latest Material Design components. We observed that some interactions and navigational patterns had become inconsistent with what users were expecting on newer Android devices and were eager to modernize this experience. With new hardware and software changes in mind, we set out to make the experience on larger phones and tablets even better, so Todoist could take full advantage of the latest generation of devices. Material 2 and 3 provided an incredible new framework to rethink the current app experience. With this in mind, we set out to challenge what a modern Android app should look like and innovate on top of the default user experience.

Solution

The team set itself the goal of redesigning our Todoist Android app and aspiring to make it the best-designed productivity app on Android. The project was ambitious and scheduled to take several months to complete. We set ourselves the following targets while working on the project:

• Review the current implementation and older design specs.
• Study the latest Material Design Guidelines and assess what is relevant for our project.
• Research great Material Design apps and case studies and learn from their execution.
• Define the new Todoist Android app design language and document the changes.
• Design and development work together to assess the proposed solution and implementation.
• Test an early version of the new app internally to gather feedback and make adjustments.
• Invite beta testers to the new app to gather feedback and make adjustments.
• Refine the app and address core issues before launching to the public.

Review

The project was kicked off by reviewing the current Todoist Android app implementation, noting down what areas needed to be fixed and what was up to date. While reviewing, we took screenshots of the app implementation for reference. This way we could easily see the current state of the app and compare it to the new design proposals that would be created. Once the review process was finalized, we had a comprehensive overview of the current state of the app and the layout, component, and styling changes we wanted to make.

Study

We continued the project by studying the latest Material Design Guidelines, assessing the components and practices that were most relevant to Todoist.

When the project kicked off in February 2021, Material 2 was the most recent version of their design system. Since Material 2 had already been released for quite some time, we anticipated that design changes to Material would be announced soon at the Google I/O event in May 2021. Rather than wait, because we expected the changes to be iterative, we pushed ahead with our work.

We identified 25 components and UI patterns that we wanted to change across the app. The changes included buttons, forms, menus, sheets, navigation drawer, app bar, system bars, text and color styles, and more. We started by creating a table view in a Dropbox Paper document with the component changes and references links to Google’s Material Design Guidelines.

This components list was a starting point for discussion to plan the scope and complexity of the changes. Close async discussions between the design and development team in Twist and Dropbox Paper comments helped us make decisions about scope and complexity early on and set a solid foundation for the project.

Research

In the initial Material Design study, we also researched inspiring Material Design apps, Material studies, Play Store apps, and Google Workspace apps to learn from their execution.

We started out by studying the Material Design Award Winners 2020 and tested out the products that were showcased. The showcased winners struck a good balance between implementing the Material Design Guidelines while maintaining their own product’s brand within the system. This balance between Google’s guidelines and the Todoist brand was also key for us to get right and so we strived to find this mix across the work we created and implemented in the project.

Along with the MDA winners, we researched the Material Studies that Google produced to showcase what apps could look like with branding and Material Design guidelines applied. It was a great reference to see how far components could be customized while maintaining the core platform principles. The Reply case study in particular offered valuable insight to us as its content type and layout came closest to Todoist. It showcased how components like the app bar, navigation drawer, and large screen layouts worked while being customized.

We continued our research by searching the Google Play store for inspiring app examples. Google Tasks, Press, Periodic Table, and Kayak stood out to us as the level of polish and quality of the apps were on par with the experience we were aspiring to create.

Sometime later in the project when Material You was released (more on that later), we stumbled upon the Google Workspace apps blog post which previewed Material 3 changes that Google was introducing to their own products. It offered a great glimpse at what was to come before the Material 3 Design Guidelines were officially released. This post sparked new internal discussions and further design explorations that we considered for future Todoist Android updates.

Design Spec

As we started to define the new Todoist Android app design language and document the changes, we opted to create a design framework, focusing on creating components rather than designing every screen in the app. This allowed us to consistently apply the design system in the app. We did so by using the previously defined component list that we created during the review and study process.

Core screens from different areas of the app were chosen to demonstrate how the components could be applied. We chose to mock up the Todoist project view, navigation drawer menu, project view edit screen, settings, and project detail view, among others. These screens gave us a good overview of how buttons, forms, drawers, lists, and other components would work together and in different states; selected, pressed, disabled, etc.

During the project, we were transitioning our Doist design system to Figma and started creating our first components in the new Doist Product Android Library. We started by using some components from the Material Design UI kit – Components library from the official Google Figma resource file and added them to our Doist design system. We then continued to build up the Product Android Library file with our Todoist-specific components such as task list & board views, detail views, sheets, colors, typography, etc.

We continued by documenting color and typography changes that were based on the Material Design guidelines. The design team opted to implement a new Design Token framework that would share the same values between our design system and the development implementation. The development team would output the values they had in the current implementation and the design team would analyze which values were needed and which could be merged, changed, or deleted. This informed the new Design Token color and typography system which we then documented and discussed with the team to implement. Later in the project, we were happy to see a similar token system introduced by Material 3 in the latest guidelines which validated our thinking and principles behind the new design system.

The design documentation expanded to hold other edge-case mockups that could sit alongside the design system. We documented different responsive screen experiences between phones and tablets against the previous implementation. Additional sections were created to document the motion that should be used for certain components and screens by referencing existing Material Design guidelines examples or prototyping custom motion in Principle and After Effects. The design spec also touched on haptic feedback that should appear on touch targets, how dark mode should work across the new components, documenting Todoist themes within the new design language, and more.

Design Implementation

At Doist, the benefit of the squad is that cross-team collaboration is built into the make-up of the team. Designers, developers, support, and product managers work together in a squad to deliver the project. This close collaboration from the start is key to bridging the gap between scope, estimations, design, development, and delivery. The squad discussed their findings on a daily basis and came up with the best plan of action together.

Designers started by creating components in Figma and shared them with developers in Dropbox Paper. We used screenshots to document the current implementation next to the new designs and linked to the default Google Material Design components. This allowed the team to compare all references in one place. Developers shared their feedback, adjustments would be brainstormed together as the designs were iterated.

Designers on the project would share their work in progress on a weekly basis with the rest of the design team in a design review Twist thread. Here details about the designs were discussed, alternatives mocked up and bigger picture plans made. Design reviews brought up topics like FAB (Floating Action Button) placement, theme options, accent color usage on components, consistency with other platforms, navigation options, and shadow elevation. After thorough discussions and alternative mockups were presented, the design team aimed to find the right balance between Material Design and Todoist brand guidelines. The development team, also part of the design reviews, gave their feedback on the solution and raised technical complexities early on.

Eventually, the design was stabilized and consistencies updated across components and mockups. The design spec was kept up to date so the development team could always review the latest designs in Figma.

Testing

As soon as the development process started, the Android team provided early screenshots and videos in Twist threads while they were implementing the design spec. This practice allowed us to review the app implementation early and often. Designers could review the development work and share feedback in Twist, which resulted in getting the implementation to a high quality. Alongside Twist discussions, the team set up a Todoist project to track ongoing issues and fix bugs. Designers logged new issues, developers would solve them and share the new implementation for designers to review.

When the team had the first stable version of the Android app, we shared it internally at Doist to get more insight and feedback. Other Doisters could access the redesign via a feature flag that could be turned on in the app settings and test the new version for however long they wanted. The feature flag system allowed people to give us early feedback on the design decisions we made and report bugs. Feedback was submitted by the wider team through a dedicated Twist thread and designers and developers could discuss how best to address the feedback during the active project implementation.

After we refined the app implementation further and addressed early feedback we opened up the app update to our beta users. Here users had access to the new Android redesign and were able to give us feedback. Our support team gathered feedback and shared it with us in a dedicated Twist thread. The squad aimed to analyze every comment and looked for patterns where we could make tweaks and improvements to the user experience.

As part of these tweaks, we made changes to how the bottom bar and navigation drawer worked. Some users reported frustrations with the way the new bottom navigation and menu drawer worked. In its first implementation, the drawer was half raised when opened and had to be swiped up to be raised again to see the full content list. This was an issue for some users as it was slower to get to the content below the list. So we decided to fully raise the drawer by default when opening. We also made it easier to open the navigation drawer by sliding up from the bottom app bar. This was a small shortcut but it enabled users to get to their content faster.

Material You

While we were in the testing phase and about to wrap up the project, Google unveiled Material You, and sometime later the Material 3 Guidelines were published. With the newly announced resources, we went back to study the latest guidelines and references we could find to see where the Todoist Android app redesign fits in and which adjustments we might need to make now or in the future.

Dynamic Color was a big new feature that was announced as part of the Material You update. As Todoist supports many different themes the Material You Dynamic Color feature seemed like a good fit for our product. We decided to prioritize this feature and implement Dynamic Color light and dark themes as part of our Todoist theme settings options.

To implement Dynamic Color, the development team started off by creating a demo prototype that utilized the Dynamic Color system and showcased how we could select from a range of color choices that the system defined based on the wallpaper choice. From there, we tried to incorporate system behavior in our design mockups. We designed a range of different color mockups and components to see which ones could fit with which components. We then came up with a color system that worked for the Todoist app and the new themes. These new Dynamic Color themes would sit alongside our current theme options in the Todoist app settings. From here users could choose between Dynamic Color Light and Dark themes.

Along with Dynamic Color, the team also created a customizable bottom app bar, allowing users to set up the app in a way that’s most convenient to their workflow. The location of the Dynamic Add Button can be changed to the center, left, or right corner of the screen. The order of the Menu, Search, and Notification buttons can be rearranged to best fit the ergonomics of the user’s dominant (left or right) hand and optimize their navigation patterns.

Launch

As critical beta feedback was addressed and stability tweaks were made, the squad felt ready to release the new Todoist Android app to the public. The team logged the issues that could not immediately be addressed for future reviews and updates.

The design and marketing team readied the launch by creating What’s New banner artwork and copy that are displayed within the app when launching the update. The Doist marketing team also created release notes and shared the app update announcements on our social channels. The brand and product design team worked together to create custom image assets and copy that summarised the project work in a simple and beautiful way.

What’s Next: Material 3

After a successful launch of the redesigned Todoist for Android app, Google contacted Doist to announce that Todoist was selected as the Material Design Award 2021 winner in the Large Screen category. The team was excited to be recognized for their hard work and it felt like we achieved the goal we had set out to accomplish.

Internally, designers and developers continued to study and discuss the Material 3 updates. The design team started exploring mockups and design changes inspired by Material 3 and Google’s Workspace app updates. Some of our current Todoist explorations include changing the FAB styling, updating the app bar, further removing elevation shadows, and more. Here is a preview of what a future Todoist update could look like.

We hope these insights into Doist’s design process and collaboration practices have sparked your interest. Thank you for reading and stay tuned for future design updates!

Takeaways

• Study the Material guidelines, Material Design winners, Material studies, and Google Workspace apps to make informed design decisions when designing your next product or app update.
• Evaluate which Material Design components and practices are right for you and implement them into your product.
• Carefully balance the Material Design guidelines with your brand guidelines to create a unique and consistent experience between your product and the platform it lives on.
• Collaborate with your Android developers early and often to ship app updates efficiently and increase the design implementation quality.
• Use design components and build a design system along with practical mockups to create an efficient design spec.
• Consider how the latest Android features fit into your product and which have the most impact on your users before deciding to implement them.
• Test and review builds with your internal team and external beta users to get valuable feedback and make adjustments before releasing them to the public.
• Create announcement artwork to showcase your latest app or feature update along with a clear description to share in-app and on social media.

Source

The post Case Study: Redesigning Todoist for Android first appeared on Webdesigner Depot.

I’m a big fan of movies by J.J. Abrams. I enjoy their tight plots, quippy dialog, and of course: anamorphic lens flares. Filmmakers like Abrams use lens flare to add a dash of ‘homemade’ realism to their movies, a technique we can easily recreate in tools like Photoshop, then add to our sites as raster images.

But what if we wanted to apply the same lens flare look without the use of photo editing tools? We can create a CSS lens flare to add a cinematic touch to our gallery images, background photos, or user profiles.

There are different types of flares in photography. The one we’re working with is known as artifacts, as they leave behind little blotches of light that take the shape of a camera’s aperture where the light enters and reflects off the surface of the lens.

Here’s a good example of the sort of lens flare we’re going to make, pulled straight from a J.J. Abrams movie still, naturally:

There are a few parts to the lens flare above. Let’s list them out so we know what we’re aiming for:

1. The center light source appears as a glowing ball of light.
2. There are some horizontal elliptical light streaks — rays of light that are distorted and blurred, resulting in elongated ellipses.
3. Random rays of light shoot off from the center light source at various angles.

We start with the HTML elements below that map to our flare components. There is a central light source and two off-diagonal circular flares, three horizontal lens flares, and three conical ray-like flares.

<div class="lens-center"></div>
    <div class="circle-1"></div>
    <div class="circle-2"></div>
    <div class="left-flare horizontal-flare"></div>
    <div class="right-flare horizontal-flare"></div>
    <div class="full-flare horizontal-flare"></div>
    <div class="conic-1"></div>
    <div class="conic-2"></div>
    <div class="conic-3"></div>
</div>

Lastly, in order for our lens flare to be believably superimposed on an image, its center light source has to be adjustable. This way, we can place it over a believable existing light source on a picture and not overlap with any faces.

The background and light source of a CSS lens flare

Let’s start with a black background and central light source for our CSS lens flare. Most gradients on the web are linear gradients with solid-color transitions, but we can apply alpha channels to them which is actually a nice way to produce a glowing effect. A circular-shaped radial gradient with multiple layers of semi-transparent colors gives us a good camera center effect.

background: radial-gradient(
  closest-side circle at center,
  hsl(4 5% 100% / 100%) 0%,
  hsl(4 5% 100% / 100%) 15%,
  hsl(4 10% 70% / 70%) 30%,
  hsl(4 0% 50% / 30%) 55%,
  hsl(4 0% 10% / 5%) 75%,
  transparent 99
);
filter: blur(4px);

Curious about that HSL syntax? It’s new and appears to be the future direction of defining alpha transparency in all CSS color functions.

Notice we’re using a CSS blur filter in there to make the gradients look a bit closer to layers of diffused light.

Now that we know how to add circular flares, we will also add a larger, diffused flare behind the light source, as well as three additional flares at a 45deg angle from the center, to give the effect a more realistic look.

Setting up horizontal light streaks

Let’s start with horizontal flares. There are a few options we can take, a very elongated ellipse gradient would be the simplest approach. However, I’ve noticed that horizontal lens flares are usually less symmetrical than the ones in my reference photos, so I wanted to make mine a little less symmetrical as well.

Luckily, radial gradients have an optional location argument in CSS. We can create two slightly differently-sized left and right portions of the same horizontal flare, and with slightly different colors. We can also add an opacity filter to make the area where the horizontal flares join the center to make the flare less jarring.

background: radial-gradient(
  closest-side circle at center,
  transparent 50%,
  hsl(4 10% 70% / 40%) 90%,
  transparent 100%
);
filter: blur(5px);

While we are at it, let’s also add a single full elongated elliptical bottom flare three-quarters of the way down the viewport for another touch of “realism.”

Creating the diffused rays of light

With both the radial and horizontal flares in place, all we have left are the angled rays of light shooting off from the light source. We could add additional elliptical radial gradients then skew and translate the container to get a close approximation. But we also have a CSS gradient that’s already made for the job, the conic gradient. Below is an example that gives us a 7deg conic gradient at a 5deg offset from its container’s bottom-right corner.

background: conic-gradient(
  from 5deg at 0% 100%,
  transparent 0deg,
  hsl(4 10% 70% / 30%) 7deg,
  transparent 15deg
);
transform-origin: bottom left;
transform: rotate(-45deg);

We’ll add a few conic gradients centered at our flare center, with various gradient angles of semi-transparent colors. Because conic gradients can show the corner of its container div, we will rotationally transform them using our light source as its origin, resulting in an offset diffused ray filter effect.

Using CSS custom properties for a more flexible lens flare

So far, we’ve created a responsive, but statically-positioned, lens flare effect at a fixed location. It would be difficult to adjust the center of the lens flare without also breaking the horizontal and conic flares around it.

To make the CSS lens flare both adjustable and less brittle, we’ll expose the light source flare’s position, size, and hue via a set of custom properties.

:root {
  --hue: 4;
  --lens-center-size: 40%;
  --lens-spread-size: 80%;
  --lens-left: 55%;
  --lens-top: 15%;
}

While we are at it, we are also going to adjust the flare hue and the size of the horizontal flare height. For horizontal flare width, we use CSS variable overloading to make them adjustable on their own; otherwise, we fall back to the light source flare center or the image center.

.left-flare {
  width: var(--left-flare-width, var(--lens-left, 50%));
}

This is what the completed CSS lens flare effect looks like with a photo background and the lens flare moved up so the light source location looks believable. Go ahead, add your own photo to see how it works in different contexts!

Other CSS and non-CSS lens flare examples

This is just one way to create a CSS lens flare, of course. I like this approach because it’s flexible in terms of the color, size, and positioning of the flare and its parts. That makes it more of a reusable component that can be used in many contexts.

Here’s one by Keith Grant that uses a linear gradient as well as CSS custom properties. Then it sprinkles some JavaScript in there to randomize the HSLA values.

Nicholas Guest has another CSS lens flare that applies a box shadow on the ::before and ::after pseudo-elements of a .flare element to get the effect, plus a smidge of jQuery that makes the flare follow the mouse on hover.

This one is made with Canvas and is neat in how the light source follows the mouse on hover while showing how the lens flare artifacts change position as the light source position changes.

The same sort of idea here:

And a fun one that uses GSAP, Canvas, and a library called JS.LensFlare:

How would you approach a CSS lens flare effect? Share in the comments!

---

Add a CSS Lens Flare to Photos for a Bright Touch originally published on CSS-Tricks. You should get the newsletter.

Bored with the same old design tools? There are plenty of new toys to experiment with, from fun divots to functional design tools that could become your new go-to’s.

Here’s what is new for designers this month…

Kosmo

Kosmo is a new project management and invoicing system designed just for freelancers. Designers and developers will love it because the interface is sleek and modern. The tool lets you send invoices, track time, manage projects, send proposals and contracts, and manage billing. You can customize everything from your brand to colors so that your invoices reflect your business style. The platform has a free option as well, making it easy to have the tools you need to run your business. (Plus, there’s a very affordable premium plan if you want more features.)

STUDIO

STUDIO lets designers layout and publish responsive websites, including the ability to connect to backend data, all with a low learning-curve GUI and no coding knowledge prerequisites. You can publish to a free URL with free hosting on the cloud. The free version also includes forms. STUDIO also has premium plans if you like the tool for websites of all sizes and bandwidth needs.

NFT.js

NFT.JS allows you to deploy an ERC721 contract that can perform all the required functions without writing a single line of code. Interact with the contract by calling functions and sending transactions to the contract with a couple of lines of NFT.JS. Provide the input file into the metadata object, and NFT.JS uploads all the files provided in the metadata to IPFS as well as uploads the metadata.json file to IPFS and mints the NFT.

Color Morph

Color Morph is a fun little tool to help you generate mesh gradients in SVG format, or generate CSS, that you can snag and use in projects. The patterns are trendy and fun to use.

Scripts Organizer

Scripts Organizer is an advanced code editor for WordPress. This premium tool helps you make workflow scripts work for you with scheduling, advanced functionality, live previews, safe mode, SCSS partials, code injections, import and export, and more.

Texture

Texture is a fun web project that creates generative art that you can use for backgrounds or pretty much anything else. Preview the textures, pull the JavaScript or CSS or even edit and continue to play with them on CodePen.

Avvvatars

Avvvatars are a set of unique placeholder avatars that are free. The tool is easy to use, includes 40 colors, is accessible and lightweight, comes with 60 shapes, and is customizable. You can grab it on GitHub or as a Figma file.

Epic Ruler

Epic Ruler is a premium design utility tool that measures distance, dimensions, position, pick colors, test contrast, and align on-screen elements anywhere on your screen. You can also create alignments, and it comes with a great color picker that helps you pinpoint hues down to the pixel.

Jotform Apps

Jotform Apps is a new set of app tools from the company you may know for form-building tools. The free no-code app builder lets you add forms, links, widgets, and branding to one fully customized app that can be downloaded onto any smartphone, tablet, or computer. Get started with a template to jumpstart projects.

Spruce

Spruce is an open-source, lightweight CSS design system that’s built on Sass. The tool, which is in beta, is designed to help you start with a solid foundation for projects. It includes structure and code, typography, tables, and buttons.

Yaade

Yaade is an open-source, self-hosted, collaborative API development environment. It’s made for those who want self-hosting in security – if you don’t know the password, there’s no way in! You can import OpenAPI v3 files, there’s data import and export, and a dark mode default.

Agnostic UI

Agnostic UI is one stylesheet that works with multiple frameworks. The user interface components work in React, Vue 3, Svelte, and Angular. It includes semantic and accessible HTML with unprocessed CSS so you can code on the platform to get ahead of web standards.

Turbulent Buttons

Turbulent Buttons is a button-and-hover animation that goes the extra mile. This is a fun button and animation that is anything but boring.

Never Install

Never Install is a cloud platform that allows you to run any application from the browser without installing it on your device. It is an alternative to traditional desktop application usage and enables people to stream applications over the web. The developers are working on a next-generation cloud platform to bring any GUI application regardless of the operating system, device, and system requirements to the browser. The tool is free to use.

Photoinsight

Photoinsight is a tool (free and paid) to manage digital assets, including photos, videos, and 3D elements, in one place. You can search, filter, and group views based on your preferences. Plus, there are tools such as batch renaming and statistics and trends to help you manage files.

Formspector

Formspector answers that nagging question – are my forms working? Use the tool to set automated tests that will notify you if anything stops working, from newsletter signups to contact forms to support requests.

Wikifox.js

Wikifox.js is a lightweight, powerful, and restful JavaScript library that connects to the Wikipedia API. This library can be used to get content from Wikipedia.

Lightning Builder

Lightning Builder is a free browser-based drag and drop website builder. You can design a mockup in minutes so that you can show developers or writers what you are thinking when you are planning a new design or website project. Use it to ease communication for teams with new project builds.

Waaard

Waaard is a tiny tool with a lot of practical applications. Use it to create a protected link or file that only people you want to access it can open. With plenty of verification methods, you’ll know your links are safe.

Doodle Ipsum

Doodle Ipsum is the lorem ipsum of illustrations. Customize doodles, grab the code, and use them on web prototypes, landing pages, or no-code tools.

FF Din Stencil

FF Din Stencil is a fun display typeface for just the right application with a distinct style. It comes in a variety of weights and styles and is part of a greater FF Din family.

Fontanella

Fontanella is a typeface designed by Coto Mendoza, which emerged from calligraphy and manual drawing exploring the skeleton and classic proportions of Roman capital letters. It has an easy-to-read style with interesting sans serif characters.

Sarlotte

Sarlotte is a statuesque typeface with long tails, swashes, and flourishes. From the type designer: It seduces your eyes with its curves yet still manages to maintain its classy serenity, it’s perfect for branding, logos, invitations, and more.

Source

The post Exciting New Tools For Designers, April 2022 first appeared on Webdesigner Depot.

Every day design fans submit incredible industry stories to our sister-site, Webdesigner News. Our colleagues sift through it, selecting the very best stories from the design, UX, tech, and development worlds and posting them live on the site.
The best way to keep up with the most important stories for web professionals is to subscribe to Webdesigner News or check out the site regularly. However, in case you missed a day this week, here’s a handy compilation of the top curated stories from the last seven days. Enjoy!”

10 Modern UX Design Techniques You Should Know About

Killed by Apple, Google and Microsoft

Homepage Examples: 8 Inspiring Ideas for your Next Web Design Project

Refactoring HTML and CSS

Killed by Microsoft

20 Best New Sites, April 2022

A Complete SEO Checklist for Website Owners

Comic Helvetic, an Unholy Combo of Comic Sans and Helvetica

5 Social Media Trends to Definitely Pay Attention to in 2022

How to Simplify Your Web Design Business

The 3 Major Programming Paradigms You Should Know

10 Excellent Design Blogs to Follow for Endless Inspiration

Source

The post Popular Design News of the Week: April 4, 2022 – April 10, 2022 first appeared on Webdesigner Depot.

Whether you are a CSS expert or a front-end beginner, using the right CSS framework is crucial for your daily tasks. There are numerous frameworks whose ultimate goal is the same: helping developers target multiple screens, in the simplest possible way.

This is why Bootstrap is by far the most popular framework on the market. All developers have heard of Bootstrap, and more than 80% of them say they are happy using it.

But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t some great alternatives if you’re willing to shop around. Bootstrap won’t be top dog forever, and there are numerous new lightweight and powerful CSS frameworks.

If you are bored of coding with Bootstrap and Foundation and tired of using complex CSS rules, this list is for you. 

From frameworks that take a pure CSS approach to minimalist frameworks with fully customizable themes, nothing is left out. Let’s get started…

1. Bulma

Bulma is one of the most popular alternatives to Bootstrap and Foundation. It is an entirely free, open-source CSS framework that does not have a steep learning curve. No prior CSS knowledge is required to use Bulma.

When you add the variety of colors, responsiveness, and clean flexbox-based grid it offers, it’s no wonder Bulma is becoming more popular every day. Bulma is a well-documented framework that you should definitely try out.

2. UIkit

If you’re looking for a lightweight yet powerful CSS framework that can be wired with HTML and JS, Ulkit is for you. It fully supports right to left languages and has one of the best icon libraries out there.

Keep in mind that Ulkit is also easy to use. All in all, Ulkit is an excellent Bootstrap alternative that is perfect for designing web layouts for desktop and mobile screens.

3. HTML5 Boilerplate

Even though Bootstrap is relatively easy to learn, it is much more than just a front-end template. So what if you need a fully compatible JavaScript, CSS3, and HTML5 template? In this case, HTML5 Boilerplate is a good choice.

Of course, since it’s a template, this framework does not include layouts and component modules. However, if you need a reliable CSS template that offers extensive documentation, HTML5 Boilerplate is a great solution.

4. Metro UI

Metro UI is one of the most flexible CSS frameworks on the market. This front-end framework can be easily combined with JavaScript-based frameworks like Angular, React, etc.

We found Metro UI to be an excellent open-source CSS framework and a great alternative to Foundation during our testing.

5. Skeleton

As a two-in-one solution, Skeleton quickly made it on our list. This is both a boilerplate and a comprehensive CSS framework. We enjoyed customizing its 12-column grid during our testing, and we found out that it has virtually no learning curve. 

The automatic width resizing works like a charm, and the syntax is fully responsive. This is why we consider Skeleton to be an excellent Bootstrap alternative.

6. Bootflat

If you are looking for a quick way to create a web app, Bootflat is the framework you need. Bootflat’s components are built with CSS3 and HTML5, and the framework offers a comprehensive panel of color schemes for you to choose from. 

Bootflat looks and acts like a simplified version of Bootstrap. However, that doesn’t mean that this CSS framework isn’t scalable and robust. On the contrary, you can fully manipulate the size and performance of the web designs you create. 

7. Semantic UI

If you exclude the fact that Semantic UI doesn’t have the utility classes Bootstrap offers, it is a comprehensive CSS framework that you should try. The best Semantic feature allows you to write HTML code without using BEM methodologies. 

So, if you need a framework that will help you write readable codes in minutes, Semantic is the one for you. 

8. Susy

We know that most developers nowadays use flexbox and native CSS grids. Still, there’s nothing better than Susy if you need a grid system that supports legacy browsers. Although Susy is no longer maintained, it is one of the most flexible old-school grid systems. 

9. Materialize

Like most CSS frameworks on this list, Materialize is built with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. 

It’s specifically designed to help you develop faster using a standard template and customizable components. As the name suggests, Materialize is based on the basic principles of Material Design.

10. Kickstart

If you need a lightweight alternative to Bootstrap, Kickstart is the CSS library for you. A great thing about Kickstart is that it doesn’t require jQuery which makes it very small. 

Of course, like a pruned version of Bootstrap, this CSS framework isn’t as robust. Still, this is an excellent choice for those who need a UI framework and a comprehensive boilerplate library. 

11. Tailwind CSS

With a fast styling process and the ultimate freedom it provides, Tailwind is extremely popular among some developers. This is a utility-first, front-end framework that is fully responsive and stable. 

Unfortunately, Tailwind CSS requires some time to learn, and it is not the most flexible choice when it comes to revising CSS rules.

12. Pure CSS

Yahoo specially developed Pure CSS to help developers create fully responsive web pages. 

We consider Pure a minimalist alternative to Bootstrap that offers every module a beginner needs (navigation menu, grid, tables, etc.).

13. PowertoCSS

PowertoCSS is on this list for a good reason. This is an ultimately responsive CSS framework that you can use to create grids and scale web apps on any platform. 

PowertoCSS is based on Modular Architecture and Scalable when it comes to design.

Unlike other CSS frameworks, PowertoCSS is very lightweight, beginner-friendly, and comes with detailed documentation. 

The coding process is simple, and we found the learning curve to be shallow.

14. Spectre

Spectre is one of the most flexible and lightweight CSS frameworks we tested for this article. 

It has a modern (flexbox) layout system; it is fully customizable and allows you to get quick, attractive results. 

15. Primer

Our last suggestion is Primer, a great open-source CSS framework. 

To be precise, Primer is more of a design system that lets you use a BEM CSS framework and create your projects quickly and efficiently.

So, even though Primer is not a CSS framework in the strict sense, it will help you use React and Figma components, icons, and advanced documentation to unify all of that.

Wrap Up

Choosing the right CSS framework is not easy. It all depends on your personal needs and preferences as a front-end developer. 

Although Bootstrap and Foundation are still the most popular frameworks, many of the alternatives presented above will continue to gain popularity for good reasons.

Source

The post 15 Best CSS Frameworks: Professional Bootstrap and Foundation Alternatives first appeared on Webdesigner Depot.

Big Data Analytics, Cloud Computing, and IoT (Internet of Things) are different technology domains with overlapping uses. 

Each of these three technologies has its benefits. However, combining all three can generate a golden opportunity for businesses to achieve the desired advantages. 

This magical combination has the potential to create technological magic that ultimately leads to innovation if architected, implemented, operated, and designed accordingly. After all, we are living in a world of web development trends.

Big Data Analytics, Cloud Computing, and IoT 

This article will explain the relationship between Big Data Analytics, Cloud Computing, and IoT. It will help your business climb the stairs of success.

The IoT and Big Data Relationship

IoT can be understood as the main input and primary source of data for many Big Data and Analytics solutions. Big Data comprises so many kinds of data sets. But, IoT data is vital to create new insights, new opportunities for business, and innovations. 

For Big Data, IoT is an enriching factor that will help your business grow with enormous success.

Cloud Computing and Big Data Relationship

On the other hand, Cloud Computing provides empowering capabilities for the IoT-generated Big Data being a hosting platform. It also offers advanced-level data analytics in a reliable, economic, agile, and scalable manner. Thus, it is an empowering medium and must be adopted by companies looking to expand their business and take it to another level. 

The Big Data

Big Data can get unprecedented outcomes for improving the existing business and creating and growing the new ones with the influential contributions from Cloud and IoT. 

It is because solutions for Big Data Analytics generated from IoT can be costly without the help of Cloud Computing and complicated too. 

Thus, the combination of all three technologies makes up for a magical technological guide for existing and new business.

It is due to the requirements of upfront infrastructure for storage, analytics, and process. The enormous volume of Big Data based on IoT makes it a little complex. 

The other essential characteristics like different data sources, velocity, and veracity all combine to make it a complex situation.

Manyika et al. in 2011 predicted that Big Data has the potential to improve 60% of existing businesses and, at the same time, will foster numerous new businesses in the years to come. 

In short, Big Data truly ushers in beautiful opportunities in the arena of the digital world on how we think, work, and live. 

For example, let it be personalized medicine, customized recommendations for all types of products, or maybe travel options. 

In the past few years, we have witnessed a remarkable transformation from the idea to reality with the help of several technological innovations like Uber and Ola, to name a few.

The Relationship Between Big Data, Cloud Computing, and IoT

Cloud computing aids in the storage and analysis of massive amounts of information each second. It assists enterprises in making the most out of their Web of Things technology. 

Cloud computing additionally enables data transfer as well as storage using the Internet via direct connectivity. 

It permits the uninterrupted transmission of information between apps as well as devices within the cloud.

Because of the massive volumes of data created by IoT, many cloud providers give the choice of transferring the data through the Internet. 

This makes it easier to navigate through information. Big Data, Cloud Computing, plus IoT have a synergistic dependency that gives your company accessibility to fresh usable insights, productivity statistics, and analytics. 

The key advantage of cloud technology plus big data, as well as IoT for businesses, would be that this provides scalable and fairly dependable solutions.

The combination of IoT, information analysis, plus cloud computing must have steadily evolved into a technological center that facilitates a wide range of software packages and assists you within your web design trends. 

This includes improved customer service, improved supply chain control, and more accurate forecasting of business development. 

These would be the three biggest important technical developments influencing large corporations throughout the world.

The major concentration of IoT creation firms is on programmers who create software apps and systems that allow businesses to manage their produced information and IoT equipment. Big Data analytical tools collect unstructured data such as traffic movements, IoT device statistics, and home effectiveness and organize it into appropriate data groups that tell organizations about optimizing their operations and procedures.

The Web of Things gadgets creates a considerable quantity of digital information that can be used to create user insights, plus Cloud platforms, as well as Big Data analysis tools, can quickly access those data to offer practical, trustworthy, and relevant customer insight. 

When data must be retrieved for study, that makes absolutely no sense for those enterprises to abandon the IoT, which is a great source of data.

For enterprises that collect and analyze data, the Internet of Things serves as one-of-a-kind and a great source of this vital information. 

Cloud computing additionally makes it easier to store data from several sensors inside the IoT. This also employs the necessary rules and analytical algorithms to give the desired results. 

Simply defined, both IoT original data plus big data represent data analytics systems, as well as cloud computing, which would be where storage, scalability, and accessibility speed are located.

Combining all of these solutions will significantly aid in the transformation of corporate IT and apps. 

Advancements within those technologies will address the difficulties while also promoting larger Web of Things deployments. 

Their merger does have the potential to provide new and exciting opportunities inside a sector where faster processing and increased productivity affect sales as well as business success.

Even whether you are one of the best mobile app development company like Arka Softwares or perhaps a software programmer, this is the era of game-changing technologies such as Big Data, the Internet – of – things, plus Cloud Computing. 

As a result, it is still the latest craze. Today’s innovations are becoming increasingly integrated than ever prior in this aspect. 

Big Data seems to be the technique of collecting and analyzing increasing amounts of electronic data in order to acquire important answers from the expanding number of monitors and linked devices that exchange a wide variety of data.

It eventually leads to an increase in digital information. The incredible quantity of IoT equipment combined with the information points acquired within near-real-time assist IoT in becoming another of the greatest significant factors to the adoption of this big data. 

Approximately 7 billion connected gadgets and sensors comprising the Internet of Things, for instance, add efficiently to the obtained data volume.

Conclusion

It does not take much actual infrastructure to maintain Big Data, Cloud, plus IoT operating. As a result, they are highly advised for all enterprises. It implies lower expenditures, and you may concentrate on increasing your analytics skills without having to worry about extra maintenance as well as support fees.

The post A Complete Overview of IoT, Big Data, Cloud Computing appeared first on noupe.

Training and development are critical in all businesses, regardless of size. Trained staff result in improved performance, which results in increased profit.

Since training is critical for all businesses, it is essential to have software that automates this process. That is why all companies must establish an automated company training management system for their employees.

What is LMS?

Learning Management System, or LMS, is a type of software application used to aid learning by various businesses, organizations, and institutions. A learning management system enables teachers and trainers to monitor, identify, and assess an organization’s learning objectives. It allows tracking of student development and data presentation to the supervisory committee. 

Top LMS software solutions have become an integral part of developing eLearning content, particularly if the company has many trainers but few or no coaches. Thus, it is necessary to use LMS to simplify business tasks and improve the learning process.

There are various types of learning management systems for multiple settings, including onboarding new employees, classroom instruction, and even the corporate sector. By using an LMS, you can quickly launch leadership webinars for managers and skills training, such as ways to improve webinar content for your employees.

If you’re unsure whether your company needs an LMS or not, this article will explain the pros and advantages of these systems and how they might complement your aging learning systems.

Advantages of LMS for Corporate Training

A learning management system HR is a learning platform that enables businesses to store and monitor online training content to improve the efficiency of learning experiences for both managers and employees. All data, such as exam scores or training time spent, is easily accessible to assist and motivate learners enrolled in their company’s training program.

Not only do top LMS software solutions enable learners to organize and access potentially massive amounts of knowledge in a centralized location, but they also assist managers in confidently supervising and monitoring their teams. It’s a critical tool for when you’re ready to go on an enriching learning and skill development path with your staff.

According to ShareKnowledge, 83% of businesses now use an LMS. By 2023, the worldwide LMS market is projected to be worth $23.21 billion.

Here are some important points why you need to introduce LMS to your corporate training.

1. Accessible and adaptable to everyone

Top LMS software solutions are remarkably adaptable in that they enable users to access information from any location and at any time via mobile or desktop. This is highly beneficial for firms that seek to give constant, high-quality material to all employees, including those working remotely.

Improvements in the eLearning business are accelerating, owing to millions of tech-savvy persons’ growing demand for more convenient online learning software. Companies and institutions are beginning to recognize the importance of eLearning and the advantages that an LMS can provide when used for corporate training.

Employees want flexibility in today’s workplace, which is precisely what LMS provides. LMS encourages blended learning, which combines in-person, online, and mobile training. Due to this unique mix, a staff can miss a scheduled training session and still not fall behind, as they will have access to the training materials wherever and whenever they choose.

This strategy ensures that all employees have an equal opportunity to benefit from available training while managing their time while working remotely. 

According to the LinkedIn Learning survey, 58% of those surveyed like to train and study at their own pace. This is more convenient for all parties involved, but it also enhances the likelihood that staff will enjoy and benefit from training.

2. Streamlined approach to training

Even if your organization is too tiny to have a distinct learning and development team, top LMS software solutions can help you integrate your training courses, saving you time and money throughout the organization.

There is no conventional method for organizing or distributing training courses without an LMS. Rather than that, many businesses build a fragmented structure in which each department develops its courses. There is no way to ensure that everyone obtains the same information or standardized processes across departments.

Since each department operates differently, the corporation may invest in various training materials, which can instantly add up. Additionally, the learning experience may be fragmented or disjointed due to the piecemeal approach.

By consolidating your training materials under a single online course platform, you can improve cost-effectiveness, streamline the learner experience, and eliminate redundant training activities. When employees require a particular form of training, they will know precisely where to look.

Remember that integrating your learning programs does not require you to confine all of your training efforts to the learning and development team. Specific learning management platforms enable you to execute decentralized training courses while maintaining internal reliability with your training tools and policies.

3. Reliable and scalable content delivery

Due to the centralization of all training materials, development goals, resources, and assessment results on a single platform, disseminating study content becomes simple. This is important as the rate of new skills required in the workplace continues to accelerate throughout the years to keep up with the growing demands. Companies need to be as innovative and proactive as they can to keep up and empower their employees. Hence, scalability is crucial for any organization’s long-term growth and success.

All users receive notifications of content modifications and additions, and the number of users can be readily increased to meet the program’s requirements. Individuals from different regions can access course materials on a well-implemented LMS without compromising the quality or uniformity of training.

Some of the things you would need to look for in terms of scalability are:

• Number of users
• Amount of data
• Administrative access
• Integrations
• Automation

4. Constantly enhance the value of your training

Investing in the best LMS systems for corporate training provides you with a learning solution that can boost and adapt along with your business. By utilizing a range of available technologies, you may track the effectiveness of your training program in real-time, allowing for critical improvement.

Top LMS software solutions enable you to collect feedback from your employees following each session and course. These assessments assist you in determining the overall success of your instruction and compiling helpful notes on areas for improvement. By establishing training approaches in this manner, you may boost employee engagement and retention.

5. Increased employee retention and satisfaction

LMS is part of a must-have management systems list that can assist you in developing more sophisticated training and development opportunities that attract and keep top people in your business.

Employees are progressively willing to abandon their employer in search of better opportunities. At least one in four people quit their job this year, according to data from the Work Institute Retention Report 2021. 

While such statistics are frightening, there is a straightforward solution for businesses to minimize employee turnover: by providing adequate opportunities for learning and growth. The primary reason individuals reported shifting employment was to pursue additional career chances. Effective learning and development programs have been linked to increased staff retention.

Top LMS software solutions can assist you in developing these more complex learning programs for staff. You can build learning paths for employees to improve their skills and enhance their careers.

6. Monitor and assess employee growth

Measuring employee progress through corporate training might be challenging in a company with hundreds of employees. This task is simplified with top LMS software solutions. The platform monitors and assesses each trainee’s progress to determine whether they meet course objectives. At the same time, the system identifies the strengths and weaknesses of the class. The top LMS software solutions then compile this data into actual, downloadable reports made available to enterprise management.

7. Optimize new hire orientation

Onboarding new employees can be costly, time-consuming and complicated. No proper planning renders orientation ineffective and demotivates new hires in adjusting to their new jobs. But there are ways for you to make this process smooth with LMS.

How does that work?

First off, it helps you build corporate culture by providing all information about your policies, goals, rules, and details. This minimizes orientation meetings. You can also provide prior knowledge for the new hire so they can equip themselves with knowledge beforehand, even before their first day. 

LMS also makes targeted learning easier. You can assign different courses for different employees with different roles and seniority. 

Level up your Corporate Training through an Effective LMS

While learning management systems are available at various price points, you’ll want to select one that includes the capabilities necessary to accomplish your learning and development objectives. While top LMS software solutions may involve an initial investment in time and money, these systems can ultimately save you thousands, if not millions, of dollars by assisting you in growing and strengthening your learning and development programs.

Developing comprehensive online training programs will become critical to creating a dynamic and flexible business as we move toward a more collaborative, connected future of work. This is practically hard to accomplish without the appropriate top LMS software solutions.

The post 7 Reasons for Introducing LMS Software to Corporate Training appeared first on noupe.

If you don’t keep in touch with your customer base, it can become easy for them to drift away. Newsletters are an affordable and effective way to check in with your audience occasionally.

However, you will need to craft well-designed newsletters to have the desired impact. Your newsletters should include engaging content, including images and written content. They should look highly professional and aesthetically appealing, so people are encouraged to read them. Another thing to consider is the method you want to send the newsletters. Picking the right platform can save you time and energy, especially if you have a large readership. 

The good news is that there are a variety of available platforms that can help you make great-looking emails. These services can also make it easier for you to send newsletters.

Let’s take a look at some of the best newsletter platforms available:

1. HubSpot

This is a name that needs no introduction among digital marketers. HubSpot offers several powerful marketing platforms with valuable tools and features to help any marketing campaign succeed.

HubSpot’s email marketing tool includes easy drag-and-drop tools that make it simple even for novices to write killer newsletters.

When you choose HubSpot’s email marketing tool, you will also have access to its powerful customer relationship management (CRM) platform. HubSpot’s CRM platform includes various email automation tools like follow-up email tools and helps you personalize your newsletters.

HubSpot’s marketing tool includes a free plan that provides access to some of the platform’s powerful email marketing features. The free plan limits users to sending 2,000 emails/month, and paid plans start from $50/month.

2. Mailchimp

Here’s another name that is well known among marketers – particularly concentrated marketers that focus on email campaigns. Mailchimp uses a drag-and-drop email editor that helps just about anybody create professional-looking newsletters and emails.

Mailchimp also has A/B testing tools to help you fine-tune your campaigns and cross-device tools that ensure your newsletters look great on any platform.

The platform offers a selection of newsletter templates to help you get started and make it easy to manage your contact list. The platform allows you to automatically resend newsletters using different subject lines if the recipient didn’t open previous emails.  

Mailchimp offers a free plan that manages up to 2,000 contacts and sends up to 12,000 emails/month with limited access to other features. Paid plans start at just $11/month per 500 contacts with access to more services. Other plans range from $17/month per 500 users to $299/month per 500 users, increasing access to Mailchimp’s tools.

3. AWeber

AWeber is a popular choice because it is so easy to use. It’s another platform that uses drag-and-drop design technology that requires no coding knowledge. The software allows users to add carousels for a truly professional look.

The platform also includes tools that simplify list management and segmentation. AWeber features 6,000 royalty-free stock photos, and it can be integrated with other platforms, including WordPress.

Some people might find that AWeber isn’t as advanced as other options and doesn’t have some of the features they need. However, the platform is ideal for smaller companies and people just getting started with newsletter software applications.

AWeber offers a free plan that lets you add up to 500 contacts. Paid plans start from $16.15/month, and other pricing plans are available to users who need to manage more contacts.

4. Sendinblue

With an expansive template gallery and efficient drag-and-drop design technology, Sendinblue is another platform that helps people create professional, aesthetically pleasing newsletters. It lets users select display conditions that determine which content recipients see.

The software offers a range of features that help automate sending numerous newsletters, including the ability to send according to the recipients’ time zones. It also provides analytical tools to show how well your newsletters are performing.

Sendinblue offers a free plan that allows you to send up to 300 emails/day. Paid plans start from $25/month for the Lite plan and $65/month for the Premium plan with 20,000 emails/month. Each tier gives you access to more features, and prices increase if you want to send more emails.

5. GetResponse

GetResponse has been around for longer than most other newsletter options, so they’ve had plenty of time to get it right. With the platform’s fluid design features, it’s easy to create impressive newsletters and emails that look professional. 

Other features from GetResponse include segmentation and lead scoring features, autoresponders, and automation workflows. In addition, you can have your newsletters sent at optimal times and take advantage of A/B testing tools.

The platform’s free plan lets you manage up to 500 contacts with unlimited newsletters.

GetResponse also provides a Basic plan from $12.30/month, a Plus plan from $40.18/month, and a Professional plan from $81.18/month, each of which lets you have up to 1,000 contacts. Each plan gives access to more features than the other, and you can pay more to manage more contacts.

Start Sending Professional Newsletters Today

Choosing the best newsletter software for you depends on various factors. These factors include which tools you need from the software, your technical ability, and how much you can afford to spend.

As with any product, it’s a good idea to shop around before making any decisions. Most platforms offer free plans, allowing you to try them out first without paying a penny. If you need more advanced features or hope to scale up at some point in the future, it’s probably best to look at platforms that can do more for you.

 

Featured image via Pexels.

Source

The post 5 Best Newsletter Platforms for Startups in 2022 first appeared on Webdesigner Depot.

It’s nearly 2022, and with the passing of time it seems that Covid-19 may be here to stay. But there are also reports that business operations have started coming back to pre-Covid levels in terms of physical supply chains. And with that, there are also going to be shifts in the digital entertainment industry. However, there are also going to be a few things that came as a result of Covid-19 that are possibly sticking around for the foreseeable future. 

One of those things has to do with the way businesses and individuals convey information to their respective audiences in an ever-changing and evolving digital environment. We’re talking about video content. Especially animated video content, which has helped literally millions of people either understand or explain concepts and tell very interesting stories during and before Covid-19. 

But another reason that video content is being used in the 21^st century is to promote products, both online and offline through physical video displays. From brands like Red bull to startups that you’ve never heard of, all of them rely on video content to a certain extent. And the reason for this reliance is that video content is much more effective and less time-consuming as compared to text or image content.

Promoting products calls for a large war chest with ample devices and items to help you gain more customers with maximum efficiency. One of the best weapons in your marketing war chest is going to be Animated video content, as it is both engaging and time-efficient in getting people to either watch or listen. But video content hasn’t just come around during the Covid outbreak. It’s been here since the dawn of media in forms such as television broadcasts and TV Ads. Of course, there are always different innovations that cause the video animation company and the video production industry to evolve at unprecedented speeds. And today, we’re going to talk about the latest trends in video animation practices during 2022. 

Most Prominent Video Animation Trends in 2022

Currently, there are a number of different trends that can be identified as both effective and popular methods of creating a great video animation. This includes the combination of two different trends and the creation of new innovative methods of illustrating characters and storylines. Below are just a few different trends that we have found after scouring both the internet and the minds of veteran animators who have excelled in their fields. 

1. Mixed 2D & 3D Video Animations

Creating a combined animation that uses 2D and 3D figures has recently become a trend in both the large-scale advertisement industry as well as the small-scale digital marketing industry. This has created an opportunity for amateur and experienced video animators to showcase their talents by creating never-before-seen transitions in their video content. 

This has also allowed digital marketing agencies and clients alike to enter a much more competitive hiring market in search of the best animators. This is because not all video animators can make smooth or sensible transitions that are both original and yet classically entertaining. 

Because of this, the race is now on to see who can hire a great video animator that can help get a certain brand to the top of the food chain. Nearly everyone from Coca-Cola to Nike, to the brick and mortar store at the end of your neighborhood, are all partaking in hiring video animators, either as freelancers or as complete digital marketing agencies who can cater to the diverse needs of multiple clients. 

2. Thin Line Animations

Creating fine art requires a fair bit of skill, and that can be in any way, shape, or form that conforms to the artistic vision which is ultimately decided in the presence of marketing teams and veteran artists. One very highly recommended method of creating high quality and low budget movies, which can be based on both line-art imagery and stick-figure characters. By creating thin-line animations, an artist can capture the raw essence of any story while letting human imagination take over the colors and similar aspects of a great video.

Unlike regular animations, thin line art is very distinct. It can even be used to create animated icons for your next website, or it can be added to create simplistic illustrations in animated explainer videos that are used to educate audiences about complicated topics. In such videos, there aren’t just simple designs but also complicated diagrams involved when the explainer video’s topic calls for it. Thin line animations are currently growing to become one of the most popular design trends in the video animation world for the versatile applications this art form has on the digital entertainment and animated video industry. 

3. Themed color selection

Another popular trend in video animation is the use of a themed color selection which allows artists to play around with their art, with only one exception; they can use only a few specific colors. Usually limited to three colors, themed color selection helps create animated videos for ads and explainer videos that are meant for creating light-hearted videos with non-human characters who could be anything from animals to abstract shapes speaking as characters. 

Themed color selection can also be combined with another great trend known as liquid motion animations. These animations allow fluid transitions above everything else, and when combined with a specific color pallet, it can be used to create awe-inspiring and memorable animations that can at the very least keep the message of the brand in a viewer’s mind for longer than a run-of-the-mill ad created with live cameras and people. 

4. Liquid Motion and Morphing Animation

As mentioned before, there is one trend that outranks all others when it comes to creating captivating transitions in an Animated Video. Liquid Motion, or Morphing Animation is made by taking ordinary objects and manipulating the outlines of their shapes and turning them into an almost liquid animation that used fluid-like motions from point A to point B in such a way that it can possibly even engulf the entire screen of the video. 

Liquid motion or morphing allows brands to take control of the narrative despite whatever topic they are covering, and on top of that, it is a great low-budget method of improving your online presence as there is always at least one person on YouTube or Instagram that will respond positively after being captivated by the best liquid motion or morphing videos because of the smooth movements of your animations and the way they can cut through a lot of yellow tape that comes as part of marketing a product with live video content. 

5. Vector Animation

Although vector animation can be extensively useful in Web Design which requires the window or webpage to be displayed according to mathematical ratios and formulae rather than a simple layout. Hence, creating vector animations for web design may be a great way to make responsive websites with website turbix that alter themselves automatically regardless of the size of the window or display. Compared to Vector Animation, Liquid animation can sometimes come off as uninteresting, and that is exactly the reason why vector animations are better than liquid animation or morphing when it comes to overall performance. 

However, there is a silver lining to using liquid morphing; the price. For the creation of vector animations, a skilled animator or programmer is required who can complete some highly complicated calculations which control the ratios in which the vector animation is sized or how they respond to a change in size or orientation. 

Conclusion

The global video animation market has experienced unprecedented growth due to the limitations placed on Live video content due to Covid-19 restrictions. And although the live video market has contracted, the subsequent result has been growth and innovation in the animated videos market. Currently, experts believe that the video animation market will experience more growth at an annual rate of up to 11.5% between the years 2021 and 2026. Currently, this market holds a value of USD 25.46 Billion which is estimated to reach USD 48.03 Billion by the year 2028. 

However, there are both internal and external factors that could affect the growth rate of this industry. One such factor is the amount of work being done in the Live Video Content industry. As it is an alternative to video animation, it can be safe to say that a large innovative leap forward in Live Videos could result in a slight contraction in the Video Animation Industry. 

Although it may be difficult to predict with 100% accuracy whether the video animation industry will grow or contract, it can be safe to say that eventually there shall be a time when virtual reality may play a significant role in the integration of video animation into the Live Video Content market. And with that integration, there are bound to be even better innovations in both industries that may bring the world closer to web 3.0. 

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