Steven Snell on February 12th, 2009

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Photoshop users can save themselves a great deal of time and end up with better results by taking advantage of readily available freebies, such as brushes, patterns and shapes. With the wide variety and (often) high quality of resources available, whatever you need or are looking for is in most cases already available somewhere. The only problem is that the vast quantity of freebies can make it difficult to track down what you need. Hopefully this collection of excellent Photoshop patterns will help.

Photoshop pattern

The resources featured here are all available as downloads in PAT format, which can be placed in Photoshop. In addition to this format, there is also a number of quality resources online for creating or using patterns in other formats that can be used by any program, not just Photoshop. As with any type of freebie, always be sure to check the license or requirements set by the creator.

Continue reading about The Ultimate Collection Of Free Photoshop Patterns

Steven Snell on February 10th, 2009

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It can be an interesting experience looking around at websites in particular industries to identify trends and see how they differ from those in other industries. In this article, we’ll take a look at the websites of major motion pictures to see what types of websites are being created. Movies are a big part of the entertainment industry, and in recent years their websites have become increasingly critical to their overall success.

Paul Blart Splash Page

The purpose of movie websites. Before getting into the details of specific movie websites and discussing current trends, it’s important first to consider the primary purpose of movie websites. Obviously, in order for a movie to be financially successful, it needs to do well at the box office, and today many moviegoers use the Internet to find movies to see and to buy tickets. Having things like trailers and other video clips helps to engage visitors and encourages them to find show times and buy tickets online.

Movies are made to entertain audiences, and movie websites are much the same. In order to get visitors’ attention and encourage them to see the movie, a website needs to give them what they are looking for and provide some entertainment at the same time. Today’s movie websites make it easy to take a couple minutes and watch a few trailers before deciding which movie to see.

Continue reading about Movie Website Designs: Examples And Current Practices

Steven Snell on February 6th, 2009

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Use of texture in Web design is extremely common. Part of the reason textures are so useful to designers is the relative ease of the integrating one into a design if a high-quality textured image already exists, not to mention the endless possibilities. Fortunately, plenty of photographers and designers are willing to share their work with the rest of us so that we can use them in a number of different ways.

Modern Texture

In this post, we’ll look at 100 different textures in a wide variety of different categories. Of course, each image is linked to the source where it can be downloaded. As with any type of freebie, be sure to read the terms and conditions or stipulations by the owner before using it in your work.

For more on textures see:

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Steven Snell on February 3rd, 2009

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Communication is one of the foundational elements of a good website. It is essential for a positive user experience and for a successful website that truly benefits its owners. All types of websites are affected by the need for good communication in one way or another. Regardless of whether the website in question is an e-commerce website, a blog, a portfolio website, an information website for a service company, a government website or any other type of website, there is a significant need to communicate effectively with visitors.

Because of the significance of communication with visitors, it is an essential consideration for every designer and website owner and the responsibility of both. Unfortunately, communication is sometimes overlooked and takes a backseat to the visual attractiveness of a website. Ideally, the design and other elements that do the communicating work together to create a clear, unified message to visitors.

Umbrella Today?

In this article, we’ll take a broad look at the subject of clear communication in Web design. We’ll start with a discussion of the primary methods of communication for websites and typical challenges that designers face. From there, we’ll move on to look at what specifically should be communicated to visitors and tips for implementing this in your own work. At the end, we’ll look at some of the goals that should be established in terms of communication when developing websites, as well as some of the results of having a website that communicates effectively.

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Steven Snell on January 29th, 2009