Sweet Tweets is a weekend feature to The Design Cubicle highlighting some of my favorite, and other Twitterer’s design-related links discovered via Twitter throughout the work week – because having resources and staying up-to-date is important in growth and development.
Week of 9-28-09:
Inspirational Tips and Tools from a Designer
“I’d like to share with you some of the tools, ideas and resources that I use as a designer whenever I need some design inspiration. Some of the resources and ideas in this article may be things that you already know, and some may be new to you that you can try. Whatever the case, I hope you enjoy it!”
Inspirational Showcase of ‘Business Card’ Websites
“The term ‘business card website’ has become widely associated with the popular style of website that has cropped up on the personal domains of designers and developers. The site is essentially a simple, single page design that displays personal information, contact details and links through to other social profiles, much like a traditional tactile business card is used to display basic information.”
Simple Ways to Instantly Boost Your Inspiration
“Inspiration. That strange thing that boosts our brains, lifts our spirits and seems to automagically conduct our hands on the drawing board. Or on the computer keyboard. Or on the rock we’re transforming into a beautiful sculpture. That’s a fantastic feeling to feel. A fantastic place to be in. And fantastic state of your body.”
Approaches to Showcasing Work in Your Portfolio Site
“The examples in the post show a variety of different ways to show off your best work. Many are using JavaScript, jQuery sliders are especially popular right now. Others will make use of Flash, and some will use only CSS and HTML.”
10 Things I Don’t Miss About my Old 9-to-5
“Any people dreaming of going freelance, I always suggest to them that they get their feet wet out in the industry first, you learn such valuable things about team work and client relations that you don’t get in school and that will lay a good foundation for managing your business once you go freelance.”
Best Online Typography Tools for Web Designers
“Since typography is one of the most challenging and important aspects of web design, it’s important to have useful tools that can make things easier. Here’s a list of tools that will be a big help in making your typography beautiful, and you won’t even have to leave your browser.“
Inspiring Blog Comment Form Designs
“Usually forms are pretty classic with standard fields, submit buttons – nothing more, nothing less. But still even little change of field background, border style, font, rounded corners, small icons can make huge difference.”
Making Unforgettable Logos
“Yes, I mean to ask if anyone knows exactly that which feature of a logo design makes it successfully memorable….it’s simplicity, icon, tagline, colors, repeated branding? Every logo designer works with a different approach to make a logo design successful. Today, let’s share with each other, that which type of logos become “hard to forget“”
The Art of Branding Yourself and Your Freelance Business
“In this article, we’ll take a closer look at ways to define a brand for something as unique as a freelancing business, and what one needs to do to get started on the right track to a successful brand.”
Copyright and Creative Commons Primer
“If you’re starting out on your own, or just wondering exactly how and where your independent work is covered by copyright, the Freelance Switch blog has a meaty, explanatory post on the ins and outs of copyright that’s well worth the (long) read. Intrigued by the Creative Commons realm, but not sure how it would work for your solo gig? That’s touched on, too.”
Setting Headlines
“Headlines can become more than just the biggest piece of text on the page. The way you set the type can become a defining element of your layout or even the entire campaign. Here are different headline styles you may want to explore or build upon in your next design.”
AIGA Case Study: The Store at Grant Design Collaborative
“Our objective was to establish a “street-level,” retail-based arm of our design firm, Grant Design Collaborative. A storefront space became available in the same building as our studio, located in Canton, Georgia (about 40 miles north of Atlanta), and we saw it as a perfect opportunity to interface with the public in a more direct way—an opportunity to introduce ourselves, our services, our products (and design in general) in a more tangible way.”
