Once again it’s that season where we round up the best graphic design blogs of the year! And per usual, there are some perennial favorites, and really not much in the way of surprises.
If you are new to the graphic design community on the web, you will find this list instructive. You’ll quickly find your favorites among them, and become devoted fans for sure.
And speaking of favorites, we’d like to give a shout out to David Airey for helping us get going on blogging way back in 2009, and for being an example of what focusing on a niche looks like both theory and practice.
BONUS! Be sure to check out David’s logo-focused blog, Logo Design Love — always a treat!
And without any further delay…the list! … [Read More]
Web design is always on the flux, the shape of the web changing as leading companies have major redesigns or new toolsets like Bootstrap make web development more accessible.
In 2016, we’ve got faster connections and more variety in screen sizes than ever before. More users are browsing on the go, but still expecting media-rich, tailored experiences.
The following ten web design trends are all either making an explosive rise to popularity, or the technology has finally solidified and become advanced enough for them to be in full swing this year. You probably will recognize a number of these features from the websites you use every day.
1. Background Video
How many times have you found yourself scrolling through your Facebook newsfeed just to stop at a quick video?
Video draws attention. This is important in today’s Internet of short attention spans. Having a background video playing on your home page draws the attention of the user and makes them stay on your website.
Background video is also very effective at quickly establishing a mood. For example, a background video going through shots of your employees collaborating, hard at work, and then relaxing after work over a couple beers gives off the vibe of a fun office that works hard and plays hard.
When you go to IUQO’s website, you are immediately greeted with an enchanting background video of the sky. The video is high quality, interesting and immediately establishes a peaceful atmosphere. … [Read More]
While there are hundreds of sub-categories, almost every typeface falls into one of these four primary buckets. Understanding the difference is the first step in good design.
1. Serif Fonts
The Traditional Choice. Serif fonts have small “feet” or decorative lines at the ends of their strokes. They are widely used in long-form print (books, newspapers) because these feet guide the eye horizontally, improving readability.
Vibe: Trustworthy, classic, formal, established.
Famous Examples: Times New Roman, Garamond, Baskerville.
2. Sans Serif Fonts
The Modern Choice. “Sans” means “without.” These fonts lack the decorative feet, offering clean, straight lines. They dominate the web and digital screens because their simple shapes remain clear even at low resolutions.
Vibe: Modern, clean, minimal, approachable.
Famous Examples: Helvetica, Arial, Futura, Open Sans.
3. Script Fonts
The Elegant Choice. Script fonts mimic handwriting, calligraphy, or cursive styles. They range from formal flourishes to casual messy markers. Use them sparingly—typically for headlines or invitations—never for body text.
Vibe: Elegant, personal, creative, fancy.
Famous Examples: Pacifico, Great Vibes, Allura.
4. Decorative (Display) Fonts
The Attention-Grabber. This catch-all category includes fonts designed purely to be looked at, not read through. They might look like graffiti, horror movie titles, or bubble letters. Perfect for logos and posters; terrible for paragraphs.
Vibe: Unique, loud, thematic, bold.
Famous Examples: Lobster, Bangers, Monoton.
Now Let’s Take a Closer Look…
Those are the “Big Four,” but the world of typography gets much more granular. Below, we’ve broken down 17 specific categories—from Slab Serifs to Grunge—that professional designers use to set exactly the right tone. Let’s dive in.
1) Serif
Serif fonts are typefaces composed of lines with their ends embellished with small marks or strokes making them easy to read. Serifs originated in the Latin Alphabet. An example of classic serif fonts are Times Roman, New Century Gothic, and Palatino.
… [Read More]
“Graphics Sifu” – Everything you need from a squeeze page templates package
Every now and then I come across a crazy deal as owner of this design blog. I don’t know how people make money on some of these packages they put together, but this one is LOADED to capacity! Let’s not ask how they make money, but rather, how can we take advantage of their hard work to put this together.
If you are like me, you are tired of wasting time 1) searching for the right product and 2) discovering you bought the wrong one.
The best product for something like putting together squeeze pages is one that has EVERYTHING you need in it, and it shows you in a transparent way. Fonts, graphics, templates, HTML snippets, buttons, dividers, text-effects, ribbons, etc. In short, all the standard items you know you have seen on squeeze pages (that YOU yourself have bought things through!) are right here and you can “see what’s in the box” before purchasing! Boom! Transparency works for you in this case.
Look at all the value they packed in this deal! If you need all the pieces to slap together a squeeze page template or a landing page template, this one dinky purchase will save you a ridiculous amount of time. Here is a list of what it contains. It’s too long to read so just skim it. Basically, it’s in there:
And look at these previews! Yep, it’s all there and then some. Click below to see them all:
So, take a look at this deal up close. You can download all this for HOW MUCH? How can this be possible? Click through for the price (we hid it because you have to see it to believe it…and you’ve read this far!).
P.S.: Remember, in the time it took you to even READ this article, much less read another, what, 20 more, you can download this sucker and start playing with it. Don’t waste any more time: this is the squeeze page templates and landing page templates package you were looking for 🙂
P.S.S.: Click the “instant access button” and stop looking for “better” free ones. You haven’t even seen the price yet! Once you see it, you’ll regret having wasted time looking in other places. Click above!
FontShop sold a typeface collection called “100 Best Fonts” for a limited time in Germany a little while back. The website for this special promotion generously listed the names of all 100 best typefaces for graphic design with background information in German. When the typeface collection was no longer available, the promotional site itself retained a life of its own, serving as a go-to reference for graphic designers looking for inspiration. The PDF on the promotional website is a beautiful piece of design work, a nice visual resource, and just plain fun to look at even if you don’t read German. (NOTE: You can click the typeface names for more info)
How could this great list be improved? I was interested into what categories and classifications these classic fonts were placed, what foundries they were from, and what interesting insights might avail themselves if I could see all the data in one place. I also wanted one place to see examples of all these great typefaces, so I put those together too. Enjoy, and leave a comment! … [Read More]
Douglas Bonneville has been a graphic designer since 1992 and has written about type here since 2009. BonFX is a blog about typography and design, and the books that came out of it.
