Webmasters Gallery

The digital landscape is evolving rapidly. With the advent of AI, every sector is witnessing a revolution, including web design.

Remember the “mobile first” mantra? The idea was born out of the early days of responsive web design. Rather than design and build for the “desktop” up front, a “mobile-first” approach treats small screens as first-class citizens. There’s a reduced amount of real estate, certainly less than the number of pixels we get from the viewport of Firefox expanded fullscreen on a 27-inch studio monitor.

The constraint is a challenge to make sure that whatever is sent to mobile devices is directly relevant to what users should need; nothing more, nothing less. Anything more additive to the UI can be reserved for wider screens where we’re allowed to stretch out and make more liberal use of space.

/* A sample CSS snippet for a responsive main content */

/* Base Styles */
.main-content {
  container: main / inline-size;
}

.gallery {
  display: grid;
  gap: 1rem;
}

/* Container is wider than or equal to 700px */
@container main (width >= 700px) {
  .gallery {
    grid-template-columns: 1fr 1fr;
  }
}

/* Container is wider than or equal to 1200px */
@container main (width >= 1200px) {
  .gallery {
    grid-template-columns: repeat(4, 1fr);
  }
}

Now, I’m not here to admonish anyone who isn’t using a mobile-first approach when designing and building web interfaces. If anything, the last five or so years have shown us just how unpredictable of a medium the web is, including what sort of device is displaying our work all the way down to a user’s individual preferences.

Even so, there are things that any designer and developer should consider when working with mobile interfaces. Now that we’re nearly 15 years into responsive web design as a practice and craft, users are beginning to form opinions about what to expect when trying to do certain things in a mobile interface. I know that I have expectations. I am sure you have them as well.

I’ve been keeping track of the mobile interfaces I use and have started finding common patterns that feel mobile in nature but are more desktop-focused in practice. While keeping track of the mobile interfaces I use, I’ve found common patterns that are unsuitable for small screens and thus could use some updates. Here are some reworked features that are worth considering for mobile interfaces.

Economically-Sized Forms

There are myriad problems that come up while completing mobile forms — e.g., small tap targets, lack of offline support, and incorrect virtual keyboards, to name a few — but it’s how a mobile form interacts with the device’s virtual keyboard that draws my ire the most.

The keyboard obscures the form more times than not. You tap a form field, and the keyboard slides up, and — poof! — it’s as though half the form is chopped out of view. If you’re thinking, Meh, all that means is a little extra scrolling, consider that scrolling isn’t always a choice. If the page is a short one with only the form on it, it’s highly possible what you see on the screen is what you get.

A more delightful user experience for mobile forms is to take a “less is more” approach. Display one form field at a time for an economical layout that allows the field and virtual keyboard to co-exist in harmony without any visual obstructions. Focusing the design on the top half of the viewport with room for navigation controls and microcopy creates a seamless flow from one form input to the next.

More Room For Searching

Search presents a dichotomy: It is incredibly useful, yet is treated as an afterthought, likely tucked in the upper-right corner of a global header, out of view and often further buried by hiding the form input until the user clicks some icon, typically a magnifying glass. (It’s ironic we minimize the UI with a magnifying glass, isn’t it?)

The problem with burying search in a mobile context is two-fold:

1. The feature is less apparent, and
2. The space to enter a search query, add any filters, and display results is minimized.

That may very well be acceptable if the site has only a handful of pages to navigate. However, if the search allows a user to surface relevant content and freely move about an app, then you’re going to want to give it higher prominence.

Any service-oriented mobile app can improve user experience by providing a search box that’s immediately recognizable and with enough breathing room for tapping a virtual keyboard.

Some sites even have search forms that occupy the full screen without surrounding components, offering a “distraction-free” interface for typing queries.

No Drop-Downs, If Possible

The element can negatively impact mobile UX in two glaring ways:

1. An expanding with so many options that it produces excessive scrolling.
2. Scrolling excessively, particularly on long pages, produces an awkward situation where the page continues scrolling after already scrolling through the list of s.

I’ll come across these situations, stare at my phone, and ask:

Do I really need a populated with one hundred years to submit my birthdate?

Seems like an awful lot of trouble to sort through one hundred years compared to manually typing in a four-digit value myself.

A better pattern for making list selections, if absolutely needed, in a space-constrained mobile layout could be something closer to the ones used by iOS and Android devices by default. Sure, there’s scrolling involved, but within a confined space that leaves the rest of the UI alone.

A Restrained Overview

A dashboard overview in a mobile app is something that displays key data to users right off the bat, surfacing common information that the user would otherwise have to seek out. There are great use cases for dashboards, many of which you likely interact with daily, like your banking app, a project management system, or even a page showing today’s baseball scores. The WordPress dashboard is a perfect example, showing site activity, security checks, traffic, and more.

Dashboards are just fine. But the sensitive information they might contain is what worries me when I’m viewing a dashboard on a mobile device.

Let’s say I’m having dinner with friends at a restaurant. We split the check. To pay my fair share, I take out my phone and log into my banking app, and… the home screen displays my bank balance in big, bold numbers to the friends sitting right next to me, one of whom is the gossipiest of the bunch. There goes a bit of my pride.

That’s an extreme illustration because not all apps convey that level of sensitive information. But many do, and the care we put into protecting a user’s information from peeping eyeballs is only becoming more important as entire industries, like health care and education, lean more heavily into online experiences.

My advice: Hide sensitive information until prompted by the user to display it.

It’s generally a good practice to obscure sensitive information and have a liberal definition of what constitutes sensitive information.

Shortcuts Provided In The Login Flow

There’s a natural order to things, particularly when logging into a web app. We log in, see a welcome message, and are taken to a dashboard before we tap on some item that triggers some sort of action to perform. In other words, it takes a few steps and walking through a couple of doors to get to accomplish what we came to do.

What if we put actions earlier in the login flow? As in, they are displayed right along with the login form. This is what we call a shortcut.

Let’s take the same restaurant example from earlier, where I’m back at dinner and ready to pay. This time, however, I will open a different bank app. This one has shortcuts next to the login form, one of which is a “Scan to Pay” option. I tap it, log in, and am taken straight to the scanning feature that opens the camera on my device, completely bypassing any superfluous welcome messaging or dashboard. This spares the user both time and effort (and prevents sensitive information from leaking into view to boot).

Mobile operating systems also provide options for shortcuts when long-pressing an app’s icon on the home screen, which also can be used to an app’s advantage.

The Right Keyboard Configuration

All modern mobile operating systems are smart enough to tailor the virtual keyboard for specialized form inputs. A form field markup with type="email", for instance, triggers an onscreen keyboard that shows the “@” key in the primary view, preventing users from having to tap Shift to reveal it in a subsequent view. The same is true with URLs, where a “.com” key surfaces for inputs with type="url".

The right keyboard saves the effort of hunting down relevant special characters and numbers for specific fields. All we need to do is to use the right attributes and semantics for those fields, like, type=email, type=url, type=tel, and such.

<!-- Input Types for Virtual Keyboards -->
<input type="text">   <!-- default -->
<input type="tel">    <!-- numeric keyboard -->
<input type="number"> <!-- numeric keyboard -->
<input type="email">  <!-- displays @ key -->
<input type="url">    <!-- displays .com key -->
<input type="search"> <!-- displays search button -->
<input type="date">   <!-- displays date picker or wheel controls -->

Bigger Fonts With Higher Contrast

This may have been one of the first things that came to your mind when reading the article title. That’s because small text is prevalent in mobile interfaces. It’s not wrong to scale text in response to smaller screens, but where you set the lower end of the range may be too small for many users, even those with great vision.

The default size of body text is 16px on the web. That’s thanks to user agent styling that’s consistent across all browsers, including those on mobile platforms. But what exactly is the ideal size for mobile? The answer is not entirely clear. For example, Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines do not specify exact font sizes but rather focus on the use of Dynamic Text that adjusts the size of content to the user’s device-level preferences. Google’s Material Design guidelines are more concrete but are based on three scales: small, medium, and large. The following table shows the minimum font sizes for each scale based on the system’s typography tokens.

The real standard we ought to be looking at is the current WCAG 2.2, and here’s what it says on the topic:

“When using text without specifying the font size, the smallest font size used on major browsers for unspecified text would be a reasonable size to assume for the font.”

So, bottom line is that the bottom end of a font’s scale matches the web’s default 16px if we accept Android’s “Small” defaults. But even then, there are caveats because WCAG is more focused on contrast than size. Like, if the font in use is thin by default, WCAG suggests bumping up the font size to produce a higher contrast ratio between the text and the background it sits against.

There are many, many articles that can give you summaries of various typographical guidelines and how to adhere to them for optimal font sizing. The best advice I’ve seen, however, is Eric Bailey rallying us to “beat the “Reader Mode” button. Eric is talking more specifically about preventing clutter in an interface, but the same holds for font sizing. If the text is tiny or thin, I’m going to bash that button on your site with no hesitation.

Wrapping Up

Everything we’ve covered here in this article is personal irritations I feel when interacting with different mobile interfaces. I’m sure you have your own set of annoyances, and if you do, I’d love to read them in the comments if you’re willing to share. And someone else is likely to have even more examples.

The point is that we’re in some kind of “post-responsive” era of web design, one that looks beyond how elements stack in response to the viewport to consider user preferences, privacy, and providing optimal experiences at any breakpoint regardless of whatever device is used.

With its ability to reach diverse audiences at the same time, TikTok can propel your branding game using various TikTok audience engagement strategies. 

It’s a savior of many small businesses, creators, and daily vlog makers.  According to a report, it has around one million active users. In the US, the majority of them are 18-19 years of age and middle-aged adults constitute 56%. 

In fact, It’s becoming the marketer’s dream platform in 2024 but why? Let’s find it out here in this blog. 

Key Features Making TikTok Ideal for Marketers

If you are wondering why Tiktok is becoming the ideal platform for marketers, take a look over some of its features:

Short-form Video Content

The inception of short-form video content has changed the way a brand connects with its audience. It’s very convenient to use and share your art and talent with this world. 

Due to the busyness and franticness of life, the level of individuals’ attention span has diminished. They tend to prefer short videos because they are easily accessible. Meanwhile, various social media networks have also adopted this approach; for example, Instagram introduced reels as an alternative, and YouTube added shorts.

User Engagement

TikTok has the highest user base in comparison to other social media platforms. When it comes to Android device users, the majority of them spend 95 minutes on an average per day on TikTok, following YouTube with 74 minutes, and then Instagram with 51 minutes. 

With such a huge user base, it’s not difficult to market your brand and find the right people to connect with. At the same time, the freedom to post and create trend-driven marketing content makes TikTok a wonderful choice for marketing. 

Creative Tools

“If it doesn’t sell, it isn’t creative” – David Ogilvy 

The beauty of TikTok is that you do not require many resources to build your content; it already has a lot of video creation tools. By emotionally charging content and merging it with music, marketers can generate interactive media to high standards.

Ultimately, it helps to attain your goal of boosting your brand’s visibility by fostering community participation and uniquely engaging with the audience. 

Hashtag Challenges

The inclusion of hashtag challenges in TikTok enables you to promote your brand most conveniently. Being a creator, all you need to do is set up a particular hashtag and ask others to post videos using the same hashtag. This works as a trendsetter where other TikTok users can generate their content and endorse your brand in their videos. 

Doing so can provide a rapid boost to brand awareness and visibility. This is a brilliant TikTok audience targeting strategy to drive user engagement and spark others’ interest in your brand. Another positive effect of a successful hashtag challenge is the ability to go viral. This is also a brilliant way to get your brand noticed by prospects. 

Influencer Marketing 

There are plenty of influencers on TikTok who can promote your brand at some nominal charge. Either you can target multiple nano-influencers working on the same niche as you or find a trustworthy and popular one but be prepared to pay a large sum of money for him. 

Brand Effects

Brand effects are customized effects sponsored by brands that comprise various brand elements to meet your particular needs. This feature has served the purpose of brand awareness and pushing promotional activities on TikTok. 

Beyond the Buzz: Why TikTok is a Marketer’s Dream

For a marketer, choosing the right branding strategy and tool is as much as important as having the appropriate content. That’s when TikTok comes into play! 

It serves as a strong foundation for marketers while saving their time and resources. Now, forget about using video maker tools and spending hours on them to create content. TikTok can do it for you within a few minutes by blending creativity and putting the right elements in place. 

Positive ROI for marketers

Marketing is gambling! Because You never know if your potential customers will love your products or services. 

Like, if we take the data of 2023, 78% of small businesses got a positive ROI. Among them, 75% of them received the return within six months. Thus, don’t take TikTok lightly as it can serve as a go-to resource for your marketing needs.

Get deep Insights with TikTok Analytics

TikTok simplifies the process of measuring the performance of your brand without putting any additional burden on your pocket. It provides some significant information about the audience like their demographics, age, gender, and a lot more. Knowing these metrics aids in personalizing the content. 

Once you become aware of who is following you or what kind of content they like and hate, it becomes easier to come up with data-driven engaging content. This gives a push to your TikTok page and allows you to expand your reach to a wider audience. 

Advertise Yourself or Your Brand

TikTok for business has eased the task of promoting and growing your brand. Now, you can create ads and share them with 885 million people. Yes, you heard it right! TikTok ads are capable of reaching such a huge number of people in a very limited period. 

If your content is powerful and captivating to the eyes of the audiences, you can expect the reach of 1.9 billion users with TikTok ads as claimed by the Global Digital Report from Kepios. 

Have a check on the image below to see the current trend of the amount earned by TikTok with ad spending. It indicates how businesses have kept relying on TikTok ads in the past 5 years to grow their brands.

Source

Conclusion

No doubt, why marketers around the world are fond of TikTok and its unparalleled capabilities. It can help your brand to accomplish your goals and attain positive TikTok ROI for marketers. 

Considering the current inclination of people over short video content and the user base of TikTok, choosing it for your branding needs can pay off in the long run. 

In the end, you can use various TikTok viral video tactics to promote your content. Remember, anything can go viral on it so just be consistent and keep tracking the performance of your page. If the growth slows down, you should start a little bit of experimenting with your content. 

Let us know your views about TikTok in the comments or share your experiences. Feel free to drop your queries too as we would love to assist you further.

Featured image by Solen Feyissa on Unsplash

The post Why TikTok Has Become the Dream Platform for Marketers in 2024? appeared first on noupe.

Everyone knows that the continuous advancement in Artificial Intelligence has taken over numerous fields of human life, and business is one of those fields. 

With the advanced capabilities, AI has not only streamlined the routine tasks for employees but also provided companies with the opportunity to quickly grow online. 

In this blog, we are going to explain some of the major ways through which Artificial Intelligence is transforming modern businesses. Along with this, we will also discuss some useful AI-powered tools that brands can consider using.   

Ways in Which Artificial Intelligence in Transforming Businesses

Below we have discussed several ways through which AI is transforming businesses all around the globe. 

By Automating Routine Tasks:

No matter if it is a small or large business, it will definitely have some routine tasks. 

For instance, performing data extraction from invoices, or any documents and then updating the information in the company’s database is a routine task. Additionally, creating valuable content to promote business online is also a regular task.

And performing those tasks manually with humans will not require a good amount of time, but also contains a chance of error. 

Fortunately, AI has solved this problem. Several AI-based data extraction and content creation tools will automatically get the job done within seconds without compromising on accuracy and quality. 

By Providing Assistance in Decision Making

Decision-making is highly crucial for any business, a single decision can either result in significant growth/profit or a sudden loss. Due to this reason, you may have seen organizations spending a good amount of time on decision-making. Some companies even hire expensive professionals to make critical decisions. 

Thankfully, after the recent advancements in Artificial Intelligence, that’s not the case now. The AI-based tools or solutions are allowing organizations to quickly make informed decisions with ease. Let us explain how AI contributes to decision-making. 

Artificial Intelligence tools have the ability to quickly scan large amounts of data to predict future trends and provide a plan of action. This will eliminate the need for businesses to hire special professionals or spend time and effort to make accurate decisions. 

24/7 Customer Support

Providing top-notch customer service is one of the main priorities of every business out there. To fulfill this requirement, companies have to be available 24/7 to address customer’s queries, questions, or problems. For this, companies have to hire representatives for both day and night shifts, this will definitely increase the overall cost. 

Apart from this, there are also chances that the representatives may be on leave, affecting the overall customer service flow. 

The good news is AI can also help in this regard. There are numerous AI-powered chatbots available online that businesses can consider integrating with their website, or any other platform. The chatbots will provide responses to customer’s queries in a human manner 24/7. 

So, now there is no need for businesses to hire additional customer service representatives, saving overall costs and allowing them to focus on other necessary tasks.    

Increasing the Overall Productivity & Efficiency

Productivity and working efficiency are considered essential for organization employees. Both these play a key role in the success of a company.  

When most of the routine tasks are automatically performed with AI, this will not only result in saving a significant amount of time and effort but also maximum accuracy. Moreover, saving time and effort will encourage the employees to work at their full potential and concentration. 

This will then result in a perfect working environment as well as maximum company growth – which are the main objectives of every business out there.   

Interview Scheduling

Finally, organizations often have to hire employees to scale up. Obviously, during the recruitment process, they have to both schedule and keep track of applicant’s interviews. 

Performing both these tasks by a real person will definitely require a lot of time but also increases the overall chances of mismanagement. However, this issue can be easily avoided by utilizing Artificial intelligence tools. 

There are numerous AI-powered scheduling tools available that will automatically schedule and monitor the applications of candidates, streamlining the overall recruitment process. 

After going through all these ways, we think you may have an efficient idea of how AI is transforming modern businesses. 

Best AI-powered Tools That Businesses Should Use

Below are some of the best AI-based tools businesses can consider using.

1. ChatGPT

ChatGPT is a widely known AI-based tool. This tool can assist online brands in several ways. For instance, it can help in creating personalized marketing strategies for the targeted audience and in the creation of any type of content (blogs, emails, newsletters, e-books, etc.) in no time. 

This will eliminate the need for businesses to spend valuable money on hiring professional content writers. Apart from these, there are several other ways as well.

To use this AI tool, companies just need to provide instructions about the task they want the tool to perform. To demonstrate this, check out the attachment below.

Additionally, it has the ability to understand and respond in almost any language, this ability makes it highly suitable for worldwide companies. 

2. Bing AI Image Generator

We all know, online brands often have to create high-quality visuals either for their products or for the content they are creating. In the old days, organizations had to higher professional graphics designers for the creation of high-quality visuals for them.

But that’s not the case now, all thanks to Bing AI Image Generator. The tool is a product of Microsoft and operates on advanced technologies that allow it to create high-resolution images within a matter of seconds. 

To explain, we asked it to create an image of the leather jacket. The output we got can be seen in the attachment below. 

As you can see, the tool has generated high-resolution pictures according to our input. Unlike ChatGPT, this AI image generator is completely free to use, which means companies can make use of its unlimited times without facing any usage restrictions. 

3. AI Summarizer

Creating short product descriptions, emails, or summaries of marketing content is also a routine task. And this AI-powered summarizing tool will help them to quickly and accurately get the job done. 

The tool operates on advanced Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Machine Learning (ML) algorithms. These first efficiently understand and identify the main points or sentences in the given text and then generate a concise version.  

One notable feature is that the tool offers an adjustable summary length feature through which companies can create summaries or descriptions of their desired length. The less length you select in terms of percentage, the more concise the output tool will generate. 

To demonstrate this, we condensed some marketing content with this tool, the results can be seen in the attachment below. 

So, the tool automatically shortens the given content without causing any harm to its original meaning and quality. Moreover, this AI summarizer has the ability to perform summarization in seven different languages. 

4. Authentic AI

This is an AI-based decision-making tool. It quickly analyzes large amounts of data using Natural Language Processing (NLP) and provides useful insights about it within seconds. Along with this, it also provides future trends and recommends approaches or strategies that companies should follow. All these will then assist the organizations in making informed decisions. 

It offers solutions for product-based analysis, marketing analytics, ERP reporting, and WooCommerce analytics. 

Moreover, this tool supports integration with a variety of data sources including WooCommerce plugins, SQL databases, files & sheets, data warehouses, and many more. 

The good thing is that it is available in both and paid versions. The paid version includes multiple plans (starter, Pro, & Enterprise) to serve users with different budget requirements. 

Final Words

The advancements in Artificial Intelligence have completely changed the field of business in many ways such as automation of routine tasks, 24/7 customer support, and many more. In this article, we have explained the major ways in detail, along with this we also discussed some useful AI-based tools that businesses can consider using.

The post How AI is Transforming Business appeared first on noupe.

If you are someone who is trying to generate more and more leads and wants to quickly convert them into paying clients, you are not alone. There are many of us doing the same. So what makes you different from the others? 

Well, the simple answer for this would be quality of work.

But now the question comes that if you cannot convert their lead into a client, how can they then show them the work quality?

Well, it is through their smooth pre-sale process aka lead pipeline process.

With the right tool and strategy, you should streamline the process from initial lead contact till the time they close the deal. 

In this blog, I’ll share just the same thing on how Jotform, an online form builder, can quicken your lead-to-client turnaround time through simple step-by-step automation.

Understanding the Lead Pipeline

Before we dive into the specifics of automation, I will first briefly outline the four stages of the lead pipeline. It begins with:

1. Lead Generation aka Appointment Scheduling: This is where your leads find your offer and fill in their project requirements. On websites, this could be the lead generation form for appointment scheduling.

2. Proposal Creation and Signing: After your first discovery call, you prepare a custom proposal for the lead, showing them your product or service and how you can help solve their problems.

3. Invoicing and Payment: This step comes after the lead accepts and signs your proposal and now wants to pay you to begin the work.

4. Questionnaire for Project Kickoff: This is the time to get started! After getting paid, you send clients a questionnaire to gather project details and get them onboarded.

5. Follow up after Project Kickoff Meeting – This step comes after the project kickoff call to ensure the client has everything they will need for the project duration.

It’s important to understand that these steps can vary from one business to another. 

Initially, we all handle these tasks manually. However, as we grow and aim to expand our businesses, automating these processes becomes essential. Doing so not only saves time but also creates a smooth project experience for our leads, ultimately enhancing their trust in our services.

Automating the Lead Pipeline 

Now comes the fun part – How you can automate the lead pipeline process by simply using a single tool called, Jotform.

1. Lead Generation aka Appointment Scheduling

The first step in nurturing leads is scheduling a discovery meeting where we try to understand their project requirement. 

Jotform simplifies this process by allowing you to create customized scheduling forms using the Appointment element inside Form Builder. These forms can be embedded on your website, enabling leads to select convenient meeting times from your available slots. What’s more is that it integrates with Google Calendar and this way you can avoid double booking at all times.

Thereby eliminating the back-and-forth of scheduling emails and saving time. 

Automate

Meeting Reminders – To reduce the likelihood of no-shows and missed opportunities, set up automated reminders to be sent to both parties before the meeting. Pro-tip – Choose multiple reminder emails if the meeting is scheduled weeks in advance.

2. Proposal Creation and Signing

After you conduct the discovery call wherein the client conveys their project requirement to you, the next step is to create a proposal offering them solutions on how your product or service can help in solving their problem. 

With Jotform, you can create professional-looking proposals and customize them to include your branding and relevant details. But here’s the best part, you can also get digital signatures on them and keep it locked using their signature element in Form Builder. 

Thereby saving clients time by not downloading the PDF, signing, scanning, and uploading the proposal.

Automate

1. Automated Email – After the client signs the proposal, schedule an email showing your excitement. This will make sure they feel welcomed.

2. Invoicing and Payment – To go one step ahead, you can set up automation redirecting the clients from the proposal acceptance form to the invoice and payment form (covered in the next point) once they have signed it. This makes sure everything moves along smoothly from saying “yes” to actually clearing the invoice.

3. Invoicing and Payment

Once the proposal is accepted, it’s time for ‘cha-ching’!

With Jotform’s integration with leading payment gateways such as PayPal, Stripe etc, your clients can easily make payments for the services in one go. What’s more is that if you work on monthly retainers, you can even set up subscriptions, ensuring you get the payment right on time without any need for reminders.

This simplifies the entire invoicing and payment process, ensuring convenience for both you and your clients. 

Automate

1. Automated Email – After you receive the payment, schedule the payment confirmation email to your clients with the invoice attached.

2. Questionnaire for Project Kickoff – Automate the project questionnaire to be filled (covered in the next point) before the project kickoff meeting to be sent a day after receiving the payment.

4. Questionnaire for Project Kickoff

The next step after you receive the payment is to get the project kick-off questionnaire filled out and schedule the meeting. 

With Jotform, you can create custom questionnaires that capture important details about the project and send them to the client using a link. Once the client clicks on this link and starts filling up the form, their responses are automatically recorded along with additional PDFs or images they may want to upload.

Automate 

1. Set up the questionnaire deadline – To ensure the project kicks off on schedule, set a time limit to the questionnaire beyond which the questionnaire link will get closed.

2. Automated Email – After the questionnaire is filled, schedule an email with the appointment scheduler link to book the project kickoff meeting time with you.

5. Follow up after Project Kickoff Meeting

Maintaining client communication after meetings is crucial for building rapport and fostering long-term relationships. 

Jotform enables you to schedule automated follow-up emails after client meetings which can include additional resources or links to important information they may require throughout the project. 

This ensures your client stays engaged with you at every step of the way.

Conclusion

By automating tasks like Appointment Scheduling, Proposal Creation and Signing, Invoicing and Payment, Questionnaire for Project Kickoff, and Follow-up after Project Kickoff Meeting, you can not only streamline your workflow and save time but also enhance credibility and improve the client experience.

Whether you’re a freelancer or a large enterprise, Jotform‘s features and user-friendly interface make it an invaluable tool for optimizing and fastening your lead pipeline.
Need my assistance along the way? Feel free to schedule a time to connect with me here.

Featured image by Jotform

The post How to Automate your Lead Pipeline using Jotform: A Step-by-Step Guide appeared first on noupe.

As a real estate agent, you’re in control of your own business. You’re the captain of a starship in which you’re the only crew member. That means everything from sales to content to marketing all falls on your shoulders.

Marketing can often burden real estate agents as they fight for a limited market with dozens of rivals. That’s why you need to know what you’re doing from a marketing standpoint to succeed as a real estate agent in 2024. 

We’ve created this list of real estate marketing tips and tricks that will help put you on the right path, creating opportunities for you that will ultimately drive traffic to your listings and create a thriving business for you for years to come. 

Put effort into your content

This one might seem fairly obvious, but if you want to draw people into your real estate listings, you must create compelling content that draws them in and paints a picture. After all, what’s the point in driving prospective buyers to a listing page with lackluster write-ups and incomplete information? 

When creating your content, consider what you’re promoting and what you want to achieve. Having a beautiful or creative aesthetic is useless if there is no content. The image impacts the consumer, but without quality content, there’s no compelling reason to buy. Let’s say you want to promote the rental collection of your listing creatively. In that case, the collection’s general information has to be your base, and from there, look for a way to inject creativity, urgency, and value.

That means you’ll have to get your creative writing juices flowing. If writing isn’t your forte, you can look up various writing tips to help you craft better content. 

(Image Source)

Of course, if this is entirely outside your comfort zone and you have some budget available, consider hiring a copywriter to do the work for you. There are many online resource boards where you can list freelance writing jobs and find the right fit for your organization. 

We’re referring to more than just text when we talk about content. Your images can tell a full story, so they must be striking. Consider using Upscale API to improve your photo quality and optimize the sizing of your images when they’re uploaded. This will keep your images beautiful and prevent them from slowing down your site.  

Use the right tools

While creative marketing ideas are essential to your success as a real estate agent, you’ll also want to ensure that you have the best marketing tools to help make this arduous one-person task more manageable. 

When promoting, you need to drive traffic to your real estate listings. But you should also use the information prospective customers enter into your lead capture form to generate concrete actions like follow-ups. A marketing automation tool will help you with this process, immediately processing all of this information and setting up tasks for you to accomplish that will move them further into the sales funnel. Once in the sales funnel, it is crucial that you manage the contract efficiently and effectively. This can be done by using contract lifecycle management software (CLM software).

It‘s also critical to track your KPIs efficiently to achieve better results. Plus is a quality tool that will help you stay on top of these KPI metrics. This tool allows you to take a screenshot of your social media analytics page, paste it into another application, and automatically refresh it with the most recent data daily or even hourly.

Invest in SEO

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is essential to your marketing success in the real estate world. By making a series of content tweaks and engaging in link-building efforts, you can make your listings more appealing to the real estate industry’s key terms in your target area. 

(Image Source)

Just imagine someone typing “buy a house” in your area, and your listings are the first to pop up. That can be a reality with SEO. But this is a costly process that takes time. It should only be performed by an SEO agency or individual intimately familiar with Google and its algorithm changes over the years. 

It’s an investment, but one that pays off in the end. Real Estate online businesses are one of the most commonly sold online businesses. If you eventually decide to sell your online store, having a solid SEO strategy in place will be the cornerstone of the valuation of your business.

Create a blog and podcast

You can appeal to your target audience by creating informative, entertaining content, like a blog or a podcast discussing the real estate industry. 

This isn’t a direct sales platform. It’s an opportunity to show off your expertise. 

You can establish trust with your audience, drawing in buyers and sellers alike. If you take this route, you’ll need to be consistent, entertaining, and creative in your approach. 

Make your personality and knowledge shine through, and you’ll create a fanbase filled with people who want to buy houses from you. 

Engage on social media

Post regularly on social media and boost those posts, targeting them to your ideal audience on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. 

When people interact with these posts, engage with them. Answer questions, start conversations, and let your personality come to the forefront of the exchange. 

Analyze your results

Your marketing efforts will become more effective if you constantly analyze your results and make changes based on what you find. You’ll have to sift through a lot of data or use an AI-powered tool to do the grunt work. 

(Image Source)

ELT can take unstructured data from your real estate marketing campaign and convert it into definite metrics that will help you understand whether the marketing campaign is on track and contributes to larger organizational goals. 

Conclusion

As a real estate agent in the modern world, you have a lot of marketing challenges to meet. By following the tips and tricks highlighted above, you’ll be able to rise above the competition and create a strong foothold in your chosen area.

Featured Image by Andrew Neel on Unsplash

The post 6 Creative Real Estate Marketing Ideas to Boost Traffic To Your Listings appeared first on noupe.

We all have an inherent tendency to like aesthetic and approachable things. That’s why any designer strives to deliver an intuitive and comprehensive design. And any designer knows it’s a pain in the neck, particularly when it comes to complex projects with lots of pages of design, components, and prototypes. As someone who has already traveled that road and learned quite a few valuable lessons, I have some wisdom to share with you.

Granted, tons of articles have been written about design systems, their complexity, and all the ways they can benefit a project. So, I’m not going to waste too many words on the matter. Instead, in this article, I want to dig deeper into iconography as part of a design system. Besides, I’ll share with you doable tips that will turn icon creation and maintenance into an enjoyable — or at least bearable — process. Shall we?

Design Systems: From Chaos To Order

Design Systems 101

Before we actually dive into the alluring and frightening world of iconography, I want to take some time to introduce you to the concept of a design system, as well as share my thoughts and rules that I follow while working with them.

If I were to call a design the way your interface speaks with your user, then — building on the metaphor — it would be fair to view a design system as a language.

Simply put, a design system is a functional set of defined technical standards, best user behavior practices, and navigational patterns that are used to build a pixel-perfect digital product.

It is a powerful designer tool that helps you make sure that you will end up with a coherent product and not a pathetic mess.

It seems that nowadays, designers are obliged to try their hand at creating or at least adopting a design system. So what exactly makes it an all-around beneficial thing for the designer lot? Let’s have a look:

• The design system makes for the only source of truth since all the components are under one roof and are easily referable.
• It hosts all the guidelines on how to implement existing components. And following the very same guidelines, designers can easily create new ones that match the former.
• In the case of a two- (or more) designer team, a design system allows for visual consistency (which is crucial if your project is major and fast-evolving).
• You can either use ready-made design components or alter them swiftly and in accordance with the guideline if any need arises.
• You have access to a library of surefire design patterns, which greatly reduces the strain of coming up with new solutions.

That sounds like a treat, right? Still, creating a design system is generally viewed as an exceptionally time- and effort-consuming endeavor. If you do want to develop a design system, there is a way to make the process a bit easier. Enter the atomic design approach.

Atomic Design Approach

It’s been over six years since I first introduced the atomic approach into my workflow, and let me tell you, it was a game-changer for me as a designer. This methodology is a blessing if you work on a big project with a team of fellow designers.

If you know the pain of trying to track the changes in components throughout the projects, especially if these components are minor, then you’ll see why I’m so enthusiastic about the atomic approach. It allows for smooth and well-coordinated teamwork where every designer is aware of what component they are creating and how to make it consistent with the rest of the system.

The atomic design approach was pioneered by Brad Frost (a chemist of all occupations). It implies building your system brick-by-brick, starting with the smallest items and going all the way up while sustaining hierarchy. There are five stages to the process.

• Atoms
  In a nutshell, these are basic HTML elements.

• Molecules
  They are single-pattern components that do one thing.

• Organisms
  They are composed of groups of molecules, or/and atoms, or/and other organisms.

• Templates
  They provide a context for using molecules and organisms and focus on the page’s underlying content structure. In other words, templates are the guidelines.

• Pages
  They show what a UI looks like with proper content.

What exactly makes this approach a thing designers gravitate towards? Here are my two cents on the matter:

• Creating a design system resembles playing with a construction set. You begin with the smallest components and progress in size, which means you are eating the elephant a bite at a time and don’t get overwhelmed.
• Altering a component in one place will cause updates wherever a certain atom, molecule, or organism is applied. This eliminates any need for manual tweaking of components.
• This approach provides designers with design patterns, meaning that you no longer need to create new ones and worry about their consistency.

That’s clearly not all the advantages of this methodology, so if you are interested, go ahead and read more about it in Brad Frost’s book.

What I’m really willing to focus on is our job as designers in creating and maintaining those fabled design systems, both atomic and regular. More specifically, on iconography. And even more specifically, on the pitfalls we have a nasty habit of falling into when dealing with icons as the atoms of our systems. Off we go.

Iconography In Design Systems: Maladies and Remedies

Common Problems

Since I’m relying on my own experience when it comes to design systems, it would only be fair if I shared the biggest issues that I personally have with iconography in the context of design systems and how I solve them. I’ll share with you surefire tips on how to keep your iconography consistent and ensure its smooth integration into design environments.

If we regard a single icon from the atomic design standpoint, we would consider it an atom — the smallest but essential element, just like the color palette or typography. If we continue with our language analogy, I will take the liberty of calling icons a design’s vocabulary. So, it’s fairly clear that icons are the actual core of your design.

As any designer knows, users heavily rely on icons as an interactional element of an interface. Despite being the smallest of components, icons might prove to be a major pain in the neck in terms of creation. This is the lesson I have learned during my tenure as a UX designer.

Tip 1: Since an atom is not just an autonomous element, you have to think beforehand about how it will behave as part of a larger component, like a molecule, an organism, or a template.

These are the variables you have to keep in mind when developing an icon:

• Is your icon scalable?
• Does it have color variations?
• Do you classify your icon according to meaning, group, style, or location?
• Is there an option to change the icon’s meaning or style?
• How can you easily introduce a new icon into an existing roster?
• How should you navigate a situation when different designers develop icons separately?
• How can you make locating a certain icon within your design system easier?

Here are some challenges that I personally face while developing iconography for a design system:

• How should I keep track of icon updates and maintain their consistency?
• How should I develop icon creation guidelines?
• What should I do if current icons happen to be inconsistent?
• How should I inform my design team of any changes?

It might be hard to wrap your head around so many questions, but worry not. I’ll try my best to cover all these issues as we go on.

Rules Of Thumb

An icon isn’t just a little pictogram with a certain meaning behind it. An icon is a symbol of action, an interactive element of a digital interface that helps users navigate through the system.

In other words, it is a tool, and the process of building a tool implies following rules. I found out firsthand that if you master the basic icon rules, then you’ll be able to build both stand-alone icons and those that are part of a larger environment with equal efficiency. Besides, you’ll enhance your ability to create icon sets and various icon types within a single project, all while maintaining their readability and accessibility.

Tip 2: Keep consistency by establishing the basic icon rules before building your icon library.

The following are the rules that I abide by:

Grid

I use the classic 24px grid for standard icons and a 44px grid for larger icons. Each grid consists of the padding area (marked in red, 2 px) and the live area (marked in blue, 20 px). The live area is the space that your icon content stays inside. Its shape depends on the icon’s body and could be circular, square, vertical-rectangular, or horizontal-rectangular.

Before you sit down to draw your icon, decide how much space your icon’s body will occupy in order to come up with the proper shape.

Size

Each icon within a design system has to have a primary size, which is the size that up to 90% of all icons share. I consider the 24px icon size suggested by Google’s Material Design to be the golden standard. This size works well both for desktop and mobile devices.

Still, there is room for exceptions in this rule when an icon needs to be smaller or larger. In this case, I employ a 4-pixel step rule. I increase or decrease the icon’s size by 4 pixels at a time (e.g., I go from 24 to 20, then 16, then 12 px, or 28, 32 px, and so on). I would still personally prefer the golden standard of 24 pixels since I find smaller sizes less readable or larger sizes too visually domineering.

Weight

Another key property to consider is the outline weight of your icon if you opt for this type. If you are building an icon library from scratch, it would be wise to test several outline weight values before you make a decision. This is especially crucial for icons that contain fine details.

Granted, you can assign different weight values to different types of icons, but you might struggle to write clear guidelines for your fellow designers. I usually make a conscious decision to go with a unified outline weight for all the icons, namely, 2 points.

Fill

A solid icon variant might considerably enhance the accessibility and readability of an interface icon. It’s really handy to have both solid and outline icon types. But not all your icons should have two options. If you choose to draw a solid option, determine what parts of your icon you want to make solid.

Design principles

As I’ve mentioned before, an icon is an essential interface element. This means that an icon should be simplistic, bold, and — what’s even more important in the context of design systems — created according to the unified rules.

I have a little trick I use to see how well a new icon fits the standard. I simply integrate the new icon into the interface populated by already existing elements. This helps determine if the new icon matches the rest.

Anatomy

Such aspects as corner, counterstroke, and stroke terminal provide the much-desired visual consistency. Obviously, all these elements should be unified for all the icons within a design system. A comprehensive guide to icon anatomy is available at Material Design.

Icon Consistency: Surefire Tips

Before I actually share my tips on how to deal with icons within a design system efficiently, here’s a little backstory to how I came up with them. It all started when I joined a project that already had an established host of icons. There were over a hundred of them. And the number grew because the project was a fast-evolving thing. So, the design system, like any other, was like a living being, constantly in a state of change.

The icon library was a mishmash of different icon types, creating quite a noise. The majority of icons differed in style, size, and application. Another problem I had was the fact that most of the icons did not have the source file. So, there was no way to quickly tweak an icon to match the rest.

The first and most important thing I did was to establish the basic rules for icon creation (that’s something we’ve already covered). This step was supposed to keep the design team from creating inconsistent icons.

Tip 3: Put all your icons on one layout. This way, you’ll get a full visual understanding of your icons and determine repetitive design patterns.

Now, here comes the juicy stuff. Here is my guide on how to sustain iconography in the context of a design system.

• Divide your icons into subcategories.
  This rule works wonders when you have an array of inconsistent icons on your hands. There is no rule on what subcategories there should be. It all depends on your design system and the number of existing icons.
  In my case, I established three groups divided by size and icon style, which resulted in three subcategories: regular icons, detailed icons, and illustrations. Once you divide your icons in the same manner, it’ll be easier to apply the same rules to each group. Besides, this approach allows for a more structured storage of these icons within your design system.

• Determine guidelines for each icon type.
  The next step is as wise as it is hard to pull off. You need to assign certain icon creation rules for each of the icon types (provided you have more than one). This is the basis upon which all your other attempts at achieving visual consistency will be built. To tame all the mismatched icons, I used the basic icon rules we’ve covered above. To keep track, I created a page in Figma for each of the icon types and used the basic size as the file name.

• Group your icons wisely.
  When naming icons, I opt for the semantic section approach. Generally, you can divide all your icons into groups based on their meaning or application in the interface. Look at the example below; we have three distinct semantic sections: Transport, Services, and Warnings. Depending on their meaning, icons should be assigned to the corresponding sections. Then, those sections are, in turn, divided into subsections. For instance, the Transport section has Ground Transport and Air Transport. The main idea you should stick to is to keep your icons in separate sections.

• Stick to clear names and descriptions.
  I have to admit that dividing icons into semantic sections does have a massive disadvantage: this division could be quite subjective. This is why it is crucial to add a detailed description to each of the icons. This will simplify icon search within a design system and will give a clear understanding of an icon’s application. This is how I create a description:
  • Tags: reference words that facilitate searching for an icon within the system.
  • Usage: a brief description of an icon’s application.
  • Group Name: the name of the group an icon belongs to. This helps with locating an icon right within the library.
  • Designs: an incredibly nifty tool that allows you to insert a link to the design and documentation that features the icon in question. This way, you’ll know the context in which the icon is applied.

• Use color coding and symbols while updating icon design.
  This trick works best when you are not yet done with the icon library, but you need to communicate to your team which icons are ready to use and which still need a bit of enhancement. For instance, I mark the names of finished icons with a green symbol. An orange symbol marks those icons that need to be improved. And in case I need an icon deleted or drawn anew, I use a red cross.

• Keep non-rasterised versions of icons.
  It can be handy to have a non-rasterised version of an icon at arm’s length. There’ve been cases when I was asked to create a similar icon or an icon that could use the same graphic forms as the existing ones. Should this happen again, I can simply take the original file and easily draw an icon. I store all the non-rasterised icons on a separate page in the file following the defined hierarchy.

• Rasterise the icon vector.
  Be sure to apply the Outline Stroke feature before you create the icon component. This will allow for easy color change (more on this in the next tip) and scaling.

• Mind the colors of your icons.
  I suggest keeping icons in the primary, most commonly used color by default. Another worthwhile thing to do is to name all icon colors according to their intended use and the interactions they perform. In order to do that, you need to equip your color library with a separate set of colors for all icon states, like primary, hover, and disabled. Make sure to name each set properly.

• Assign a designer to maintain icons in the system.
  This is a seemingly trivial tip that, however, will save you trouble maintaining style and categorization consistency. I’ve personally had edge cases when the established rules failed. Having a designated designer who knew their way around the system helped to find a quick solution.

Real Example Of Guidelines Applied

To wrap up this whole lecture and actually see all these rules in action, take a look at the following template file.

Final Thoughts: Is It Worth It?

No matter how sick you might be dealing with unending visual inconsistency, design systems are still challenging. They can scare any designer regardless of their experience. Still, if you want to bring order to chaos, introducing a design system into your workflow is worth the trouble, especially when it comes to maintaining iconography.

After all, iconography is the most volatile part of a design system in terms of visual variety. That’s why iconography was the biggest challenge I had to face in my tenure as a designer. And that’s exactly why I am genuinely proud that I’ve tamed that beast and can now share my hacks with you.

Resources

• Atomic Design Methodology, book by Brad Frost

Public design systems:

• Nord
• Ant
• Atlassian
• Microsoft

Design systems resources:

• “Design Systems 101,” Therese Fessenden
• Design Systems (PDF), book by Alla Kholmatova

Icons resources:

• “Optimizing UI Icons For Faster Recognition,” Alla Kholmatova
• IBM icons guidelines
• Apple icons guidelines
• Material design guide
• “Icon Usability,” Aurora Harley

Creativity and innovation are being dramatically reshaped by the incredible advancements in generative AI. The integration of artificial intelligence in creative fields is now a vivid reality, transforming how art, music, literature, and design are conceived, created, and consumed. This evolution is not just altering the toolkit available to creators but is also redefining the boundaries of creativity itself.

In recent years, the emergence of AI as a partner in the creative process has been both exhilarating and thought-provoking. From AI-generated art that rivals human creativity to algorithmically composed music that stirs the soul, the capabilities of generative AI are pushing us to reconsider what it means to be a creator in the digital age.

In this article, we’ll explore the current state of generative AI in creative fields in 2024, highlighting groundbreaking projects, the evolving role of the artist, and the societal implications of this technological leap forward. 

What is Generative AI?

Generative AI refers to algorithms and models that can generate new content, be it text, images, music, or even ideas, that haven’t been explicitly programmed into them. Unlike traditional AI, which might predict the next word in a sentence based on its training, generative AI can create entire paragraphs, artwork, or melodies from scratch, often with minimal input. It’s like having a muse that not only inspires but also participates in the creative process, offering outputs that can sometimes astonish even the most seasoned creators.

How does generative AI work?

The magic behind generative AI lies in its intricate networks and algorithms, particularly in models known as Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) and Variational Autoencoders (VAEs). These models are trained on vast datasets, learning patterns, styles, and structures inherent in the data. 

GANs, for instance, work through a fascinating process of push and pull between two neural networks—the generator, which creates new content, and the discriminator, which evaluates this content against the training data. This iterative competition drives the generator to produce increasingly sophisticated and realistic outputs.

How Generative AI Is Changing Creative Work?

The impact of generative AI on creative work is profound and multifaceted. For artists and creators, it opens up new vistas of expression and experimentation. Lots of artists collaborate with AI to produce stunning visual art that merges human emotion with algorithmic precision, creating pieces that resonate on a deeply personal level yet carry an unmistakably unique signature.

In writing, generative AI tools have become collaborators, helping authors overcome writer’s block, generate ideas, or even co-write stories. This partnership between humans and machines is redefining the very act of storytelling, making it a more inclusive and expansive endeavor.

Moreover, generative AI is democratizing creativity, making tools and techniques available to a broader audience. Individuals without formal training in art or music can now explore their creative impulses, guided and aided by AI. This democratization is not just about making creation easier; it’s about unlocking the creative potential within each of us, challenging the notion that creativity belongs only to the traditionally trained or innately talented.

Applications of Generative AI

Every application, from art to scientific research, underscores the transformative power of Generative AI technology. It’s a reminder of how generative AI is not just a tool for creating and discovering but a lens through which we can glimpse the future of human creativity and innovation. Here are the most common areas of application:

1. Art and Design

One of the most visually striking applications of generative AI lies in the fields of art and design. Artists and designers are leveraging these tools to create stunning visuals, patterns, and artworks that might take a human counterpart weeks or months to produce. 

It’s not just about speed; it’s about introducing a new form of collaboration between human and machine intelligence. This synergy enables the creation of pieces that are not only beautiful but also carry a depth of complexity and novelty that’s genuinely breathtaking.

2. Music and Sound Production

In music, generative AI is hitting all the right notes, transforming the way melodies are composed and produced. As someone who dabbles in music, witnessing AI algorithms compose pieces that resonate with human emotions is utterly fascinating. 

These AI systems can generate music in various styles and genres, offering artists and producers a bottomless well of inspiration and a new set of tools for experimentation and expression.

3. Writing and Content Creation

Generative AI has also made significant strides in writing and content creation. From drafting articles to composing poetry, AI tools are now capable of producing written content that’s increasingly difficult to distinguish from that written by humans. 

This doesn’t mean AI is replacing human writers, but rather, it’s offering a new way to overcome writer’s block, generate ideas, or even draft initial content that writers can then refine and imbue with their unique voice and perspective.

4. Gaming and Interactive Media

In the gaming world, generative AI is revolutionizing how environments, narratives, and characters are developed. Game designers are using AI to create dynamic, evolving worlds that respond to player actions in ways previously unimaginable. 

This not only enhances the gaming experience but also opens up new avenues for storytelling and player engagement.

5. Scientific Research and Innovation

Beyond the realms of creativity and entertainment, generative AI is playing a pivotal role in scientific research and innovation. It’s being used to model complex systems, simulate experiments, and predict outcomes, accelerating the pace of discovery in fields ranging from pharmaceuticals to environmental science. 

The ability of AI to sift through vast datasets and identify patterns and connections that might elude human researchers is a game-changer, paving the way for breakthroughs that could reshape our world.

Benefits and Challenges of Generative AI

The potential of generative AI to enrich our lives and solve complex problems is immense, but it requires a concerted effort to harness its power responsibly. As we move forward, our goal should be to create a future where generative AI serves as a force for good, amplifying human creativity and ingenuity while safeguarding against its potential pitfalls.

Benefits of Generative AI

Unleashing Creativity

One of the most exhilarating benefits of generative AI is its ability to unlock new dimensions of creativity. It serves as a muse and a collaborator, offering creators a palette of possibilities that were previously unimaginable. This technology empowers artists, musicians, writers, and designers to push the boundaries of their craft, blending human intuition with AI’s capability to generate novel ideas and patterns.

Accelerating Innovation

Generative AI is a catalyst for innovation, dramatically accelerating the process of ideation, experimentation, and discovery. In fields like drug development and environmental science, it can sift through vast datasets to identify patterns and predict outcomes, leading to breakthroughs at a pace that would be impossible for humans alone. This acceleration is not just about speed; it’s about the capacity to explore a broader set of possibilities and solutions to complex problems.

Enhancing Productivity

The efficiency and productivity gains offered by generative AI are undeniable. Whether it’s drafting content, creating prototypes, or generating code, AI tools can perform tasks in seconds that might take humans hours or days. This efficiency allows creative and professional individuals to focus on the more nuanced aspects of their work, where human insight and empathy are irreplaceable.

Challenges of Generative AI

Ethical and Moral Considerations

The rise of generative AI has ignited a flurry of ethical and moral questions. Issues of copyright, authenticity, and the potential for creating misleading or harmful content are at the forefront of the discourse. Navigating these waters requires a thoughtful approach, balancing the benefits of generative AI with the need to protect intellectual property and prevent misuse.

Impact on Employment and Skills

There’s a palpable concern about the impact of generative AI on employment, particularly in creative fields. As AI becomes more capable, there’s fear that it might replace human roles. However, my perspective is more optimistic; I see generative AI as augmenting human capabilities rather than replacing them. The challenge lies in adapting our skills and education systems to prepare for a future where AI is a tool, not a competitor.

Technical and Security Issues

With the adoption of generative AI, technical and security challenges abound. Ensuring the integrity of the data used to train these models, protecting against biases, and safeguarding against malicious use are critical issues that must be addressed. These challenges underscore the importance of robust, transparent AI governance and the development of secure, ethical AI systems.

Conclusion

This 2024, it’s evident that we’re at the dawn of a transformative era, where the convergence of artificial intelligence and human ingenuity is unlocking unprecedented opportunities for creativity and expression. The integration of generative AI into the arts has not only revolutionized traditional practices but also democratized creativity, making it more accessible to diverse voices worldwide. 

Despite the challenges and ethical considerations that accompany its adoption, the potential for positive impact is immense. As we continue to explore this dynamic technology, the collaboration between creators and AI promises to redefine our understanding of creativity, fostering a future where technology amplifies human potential, paving the way for innovations that we have yet to imagine.

Featured image by ilgmyzin on Unsplash

The post Generative AI in Creative Fields in 2024 appeared first on noupe.

User Experience (UX) is one of the most important fields of design, so it should come as no surprise that there are a multitude of tools available to help UX designers succeed.

New month, new wallpapers! To cater for a fresh dose of colorful inspiration on a regular basis, we embarked on our monthly wallpapers journey more than 13 years ago. It’s the perfect occasion for creatives to put their artistic skills to the test, indulge in a little project just for fun, or tell the story they’ve always wanted to tell. Of course, it wasn’t any different this time around.

In this post, you’ll find beautiful, unique, and inspiring wallpapers for April 2024. Created with love by artists and designers from across the globe, they come in versions with and without a calendar and can be downloaded for free. As a little bonus goodie, we also added some April favorites from our wallpapers archives to the collection — maybe you’ll rediscover one of your almost-forgotten favorites in here, too? A big thank you to everyone who shared their designs with us this month! Happy April!

• You can click on every image to see a larger preview,
• 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 a wallpaper!
  Did you know that you could get featured in our next wallpapers post, too? We are always looking for creative talent.

Oceanic Wonders

“Celebrate National Dolphin Day on April 14th by acknowledging the captivating beauty and importance of dolphins in our oceans!” — Designed by PopArt Studio from Serbia.

• preview
• with calendar: 320×480, 640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440
• without calendar: 320×480, 640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440

Don’t Give Up

Designed by Ricardo Gimenes from Sweden.

• preview
• with calendar: 640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440, 3840×2160
• without calendar: 640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440, 3840×2160

Dung Beetle

Designed by Ricardo Gimenes from Sweden.

• preview
• with calendar: 640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440, 3840×2160
• without calendar: 640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440, 3840×2160

Live Life To The Fullest

“Live life to the fullest by daring to dream big, seizing every moment with purpose, and embracing challenges as opportunities for growth. Cultivate meaningful relationships, savoring shared experiences and creating lasting memories. Find joy in the ordinary, appreciate the beauty of the world around you, and always strive to make a positive impact, leaving a legacy of fulfillment and happiness.” — Designed by Hitesh Puri from Delhi, India.

• preview
• with calendar: 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440
• without calendar: 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440

Sow Smiles, Reap Joy

“Through this design, I aim to capture the essence of Baisakhi, a celebration of gratitude, unity, and the bountiful blessings of nature. In creating my Baisakhi artwork, I was inspired by the timeless imagery of wheat fields and dancing figures. The golden grains symbolize abundance and prosperity, while the lively dancers represent the joyous spirit of the harvest season.” — Designed by Cronix Web from the United States.

• preview
• with calendar: 800×480, 800×600, 1024×600, 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1440×960, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440, 2560×1600, 2880×1800, 3072×1920, 3840×2160, 5120×2880
• without calendar: 800×480, 800×600, 1024×600, 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1440×960, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440, 2560×1600, 2880×1800, 3072×1920, 3840×2160, 5120×2880

Warmest Eid Greetings

“Inspired by the timeless tradition of giving and sharing during Eid, my wallpaper design depicts the happiness of being together with family, the soft light of the Eid moon, and the cheerful feeling of celebration.” — Designed by Cronix Web from the United States.

• preview
• with calendar: 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1440×1050, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1400, 2500×1400
• without calendar: 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1440×1050, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1400, 2500×1400

Swing Into Spring

“Our April calendar needs not mark any special occasion — April itself is a reason to celebrate. It was a breeze creating this minimal, pastel-colored calendar design with a custom lettering font and plant pattern, for the ultimate spring feel.” — Designed by PopArt Studio from Serbia.

• preview
• 320×480, 640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440

Spring Awakens

“Despite the threat that has befallen us all, we all look forward to the awakening of a life that spreads its wings after every dormant winter and opens its petals to greet us. Long live spring, long live life.” — Designed by LibraFire from Serbia.

• preview
• without calendar: 320×480, 640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440

The Loneliest House In The World

“March 26 was Solitude Day. To celebrate it, here is the picture about the loneliest house in the world. It is a real house, I found it on Youtube.” — Designed by Vlad Gerasimov from Georgia.

• preview
• without calendar: 800×480, 800×600, 1024×600, 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1440×960, 1600×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440, 2560×1600, 2880×1800, 3072×1920, 3840×2160, 5120×2880

Dreaming

“The moment when you just walk and your imagination fills up your mind with thoughts.” — Designed by Gal Shir from Israel.

• preview
• 340×480, 640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440

Coffee Morning

Designed by Ricardo Gimenes from Sweden.

• preview
• 640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440, 3840×2160

Clover Field

Designed by Nathalie Ouederni from France.

• preview
• 1024×768, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1200, 1920×1200, 2560×1440

Rainy Day

Designed by Xenia Latii from Berlin, Germany.

• preview
• 320×480, 640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440

The Perpetual Circle

“Inspired by the Black Forest, which is beginning right behind our office windows, so we can watch the perpetual circle of nature, when we take a look outside.” — Designed by Nils Kunath from Germany.

• preview
• 320×480, 640×480, 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440

Inspiring Blossom

“‘Sweet spring is your time is my time is our time for springtime is lovetime and viva sweet love,’ wrote E. E. Cummings. And we have a question for you. Is there anything more refreshing, reviving, and recharging than nature in blossom? Let it inspire us all to rise up, hold our heads high, and show the world what we are made of.” — Designed by PopArt Studio from Serbia.

• preview
• 320×480, 640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440

A Time For Reflection

“‘We’re all equal before a wave.’ (Laird Hamilton)” — Designed by Shawna Armstrong from the United States.

• preview
• 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440

Purple Rain

“This month is International Guitar Month! Time to get out your guitar and play. As a graphic designer/illustrator seeing all the variations of guitar shapes begs to be used for a fun design. Search the guitar shapes represented and see if you see one similar to yours, or see if you can identify some of the different styles that some famous guitarists have played (BTW, Prince’s guitar is in there and purple is just a cool color).” — Designed by Karen Frolo from the United States.

• preview
• without calendar: 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440

Sakura

“Spring is finally here with its sweet Sakura’s flowers, which remind me of my trip to Japan.” — Designed by Laurence Vagner from France.

• preview
• without calendar: 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440

Wildest Dreams

“We love the art direction, story, and overall cinematography of the ‘Wildest Dreams’ music video by Taylor Swift. It inspired us to create this illustration. Hope it will look good on your desktops.” — Designed by Kasra Design from Malaysia.

• preview
• 320×480, 640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440

Good Day

“Some pretty flowers and spring time always make for a good day.” — Designed by Amalia Van Bloom from the United States.

• preview
• without calendar: 640×1136, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1920×1200, 2560×1440

Springing

“It’s spring already, my favorite season! You can smell it, you can see it, you can feel it in the air. Trees blossom, the grass is smiling at the sun, everything is so eager to show itself.” — Designed by Vane Kosturanov from Macedonia.

• preview
• without calendar: 640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440

I “Love” My Dog

Designed by Ricardo Gimenes from Sweden.

• preview
• without calendar: 640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440, 3840×2160

April Showers

“April Showers bring hedgehogs under flowers!” — Designed by Danaé Drews from the United States.

• preview
• without calendar: 320×480, 640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440

Fresh Kicks

“Spring time means the nicer weather is rolling in, so that means the nice shoes roll out as well.” — Designed by Alex Shields from the United States.

• preview
• without calendar: 320×480, 640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440

April Fox

Designed by MasterBundles from the United States.

• preview
• without calendar: 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440

Flying On A Rainy Day

“April is the month of spring or autumn depending where you live on the globe! It’s also the second rainiest month of the year. I was inspired by one simple motif to illustrate rain, birds, and flowers. So whether you witness rainy days or colorful ones… enjoy April!” — Designed by Rana Kadry from Egypt.

• preview
• 320×480, 640×480, 640×960, 800×600, 1024×768, 1280×720, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1400×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440

Fairytale

“A tribute to Hans Christian Andersen. Happy Birthday!” — Designed by Roxi Nastase from Romania.

• preview
• 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440

Spring Serenity

“My inspiration was the arrival of spring that transmits a sense of calmness and happiness through its beautiful colors.” — Designed by Margarida Granchinho from Portugal.

• preview
• without calendar: 1600×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1440

Ice Scream

Designed by Ricardo Gimenes from Sweden.

• preview
• without calendar: 640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440, 3840×2160

Puddle Splash

“I designed this playful and fun wallpaper inspired by nature that is present during the early spring.” — Designed by Marla Gambucci from the United States.

• preview
• without calendar: 320×480, 640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×1024, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440

Take Our Daughters And Sons To Work Day

“The day revolves around parents taking their children to work to expose them to future job possibilities and the value of education. It’s been an annual event since 1992 and helps expose children to the possibilities of careers at a young age.” — Designed by Ever Increasing Circles from the United Kingdom.

• preview
• without calendar: 320×480, 640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1440