Hope everyone’s had a good week and isn’t suffering too much from TGIF syndrome! It’s been a productive week here at fog of eternity, with work going well and some significant improvements made to this site (check out the portfolio in particular!). I’ve still had time to find some great content online though, so here’s a selection of some of the best articles I’ve discovered over the course of this week.
Design Technique
How Famous Web Designers Present Their Portfolio – Webitect
Presenting web design, instead of static graphic design, in a portfolio can be difficult. The web is an interactive medium and it can be tough to get that across with a series of images. This is a pretty cool article that showcases some well known web designers and how they present their work.
Create A Cool Wet Ink Typography Effect – Blog.SpoonGraphics
Very nice Photoshop tutorial. Effective use of typography can always make a design stand out, and this is a pretty original style to take. Taking inspiration from a t-shirt (see, offline design genuinely does provide inspiration for digital art!), this is a clear and understandable guide to creating a wet/blurred ink style for text.
The Allure Of Drop Caps In Typography – Little Box Of Ideas
The use of illustrated initials goes back to around 400 AD, so there’s probably something in the idea! Drop caps are the modern equivalent, highlighting the first letter of a paragraph to give a strong visual impact. They’re increasingly popular online, and this article highlights some particularly good uses as well as links to articles on how to achieve the effect.
Social Media
30 Quality Websites To Share Your Design Articles – The Roxor
We all want people to read the articles that we write in our blogs. For designers there’s a wide range of dedicated social media sites that we can submit articles to. Here’s a quick summary of thirty of them, including a number that I hadn’t heard of.
Is Anyone Really Listening? Social Media Marketing – Freelance Switch
This blog, like every other, has links to networking sites, social media submission buttons, and a LinkedIn profile. As a freelancer I’m convinced of the value of social media in benefitting my business. But it’s fair to say that the benefits of social media can be tough to measure. This is a great article on how to judge your activity, and some worthwhile methods to use to maximise your social media value.
Freelancing
How To Make A Positive First Impression With Clients – DesignM.ag
Like the adage that all politics is local, I think it’s arguable that all business is personal. Without creating a good impression with a potential client, it’s very tough to win a contract, however good your work is. First impressions can be crucial, and impact the whole business relationship. So here’s eleven important factors to consider in order to ensure that clients come away from a meeting with you impressed and enthusiastic.
Opinion
Lies, Damned Lies And Adobe’s Statistics For Flash – Bombay Crow
Everyone’s got Flash on their computer, right? So we can use it for web design. Adobe’s latest figures claim over 99% penetration in “mature markets”. This article closely examines their methodology and points out some flaws, which might suggest that Flash isn’t as prevalent as Adobe suggests. It’s important to test *your* user base, not just make assumptions based on surveys and statistics, so you can target your work correctly.
Why Not Try It All? – The Art Of Non-Conformity
Nothing technical here, more a rule of life to try living by. Reverse the trend of saying no to things, and if you can’t decide on your passions then say yes to everything. You’ll not only find out what your true interests are, you’ll probably experience a whole lot more while doing so!
In addition to all the web pages linked to here, I’m choosing one of my favourite Flickr images from the past week available under Creative Commons. This week’s original image is by Flickr user Photomish Dan.
