30 December 2015

Featured Designer: Alberto Revuelta – Unleashing Fantasy

Today’s featured designer is freelance illustrator and visual artist Alberto Revuelta of Mexico City. For anyone who digs fantasy art as much as we do, read on.

Growing up on a steady consumption of comics, cartoons, posters, and fantasy art by Boris Vallejo during the 90s, it was only natural for us to fall crazy in love with Alberto’s work. His style borders street art and surrealism, resulting in a myriad of colors, playfulness, form and cultural exhibits of Mexicania.

Alberto’s art is also exploratory and experimental, with each piece defined in detail with intricate strokes. As illustrators, we love that.

The pieces below are just some of our favorites, to see more of Alberto’s work, head over to his portfolio on Tumblr.

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29 December 2015

Freebie: WONDER – Premium App Design UI Kit (10 Screens)

Today’s freebie comes from an author faheemiya from Graphicsfuel. This crazy complete set of app UI kit uses clean design for your next app project.

The WONDER app UI kit contains a pack of 10 premium quality screens to make your app design prototyping fast and super easy. All PSD files are neatly organized and screens are categorized.

From sign-in and sign-up, walkthrough, news, categories, profiles, friends, and menu, each screen is fully editable and customizable, duly named, retina-ready and well-oganized in PSD format.

Volume 1 uses a free font called Montserrat with free images (CC0) from Unsplash, Pexels, Pixabay and Gratisography. Head over to GraphicsFuel to download this awesome PSD right after the jump below!

wonder-app-ui-kit-fullview

Wondering?

 

28 December 2015

Featured Work: Me & My Other Me by Fulvio Obregon

Today’s featured work is from Colombian graphic designer, illustrator and character designer Fulvio Obregon. He’s created a series of fascinating  illustrations of celebrities we all know and love.

The project title “Me & My Other Me” is an inspiring work that illustrates celebrities now and then. “Each character has some detail of what has been essentially along their respective career, life or profession.” says Fulvio.

From Michael Jackson to Bill Gates to Al Pacino, it’s awesome to see their younger self hanging out with their older self. Here’s a few of the celebrities I love, for more just head over to Fulvio’s Behance page after the jump!

Me & My Other Me Me & My Other Me Me & My Other Me Me & My Other Me Me & My Other Me

see me

25 December 2015

Featured Designer: UI/UX + Motion Designer Dion Pramadhan

Today’s featured designer comes all the way from Bandung, Indonesia. Dion is a UI/UX and motion designer who codes and illustrates!

His skills are defined by clean and functional designs that are well structured and intuitive. With a flair for minimalism, Dion’s interactive style makes his designs truly engaging. Each wireframe comes with detailed execution and brings the concept to life!

For more of Dion’s work, head over to his Dribbble page. For UI designers, you might want to grab his first freebie (link below) – Flowchart Kit made with Sketchapp, and say thanks personally.

Dion Pramadhan Dion Pramadhan Dion Pramadhan

Flowchart freebie

Dion Pramadhan

22 December 2015

The 4-Step Guideline to Designing Flawless Apps for Wearables

Wearable technology is at the forefront of cutting-edge innovations happening in world of smart technology.

There are any number of gadgets out there that cater to a variety of needs from geo tracking to communicating with a bunch of friends through interconnected devices.

Though Fitbit, Nike+Fuelband and Samsung Gear were the earliest players in the wearable market a lot many new names have also entered the space competing for extremely limited ‘body real estate’.

http://ift.tt/1J5p4s8

http://ift.tt/1J5p4s8

Wearables have a tough task of combining aesthetics with functionality, and the latest research says that women can be the biggest consumers if designers spend enough time studying their preferences. Users are also increasingly sensitive about how safe their personal data will be on the new gadgets adorning their wrists, necks or ankles. It’s high time that tech companies focus more on safety features.

Apps designed for wearable smart devices need to be simple and useful. Native apps designed for wearables should address the limitations that a gadget strapped onto a body part presents.

Here are few things you need to keep in mind if you design apps for wearables.

1) Design for Wearables!

Wearable devices often get relegated to the back of the wardrobe within a few months of purchase. A survey has recently shown that most consumers stop using their wearable fitness gadgets within a few months of use. You need to ensure that you build something that provides a unique advantage, is easy to use, aesthetic and non-intrusive.

UX gains should definitely outweigh UX costs. If using an app is going to interrupt the direct task a user is performing at the moment then that app and its functions score low on the user’s usability list.

Voice user interface is highly suitable for apps designed for wearables. Voice control is used in Android Wear watches, Pebble Time Apps, Samsung Gear and a host of other smart gadgets, and fitness and health trackers. Voice-based digital assistant Siri carries out a wide range of activities on Apple Watch.

Deeper integration of other functions like NFC-enabled actions, GPRS and other advanced sensors can make wearables powerful and independent smart gadgets, not just secondary accessories to phone, tablet or laptop.

2) Make Micro-Interactions Exciting

Designing an app for wearable devices is not easy because the devices primarily support micro-interactions, and the app has to make these short intuitive actions interesting.

If you have a social networking app that provides an advanced user-experience journey then translating the UX into a small screen strapped on the wrist would be impossible. You can allow the core functions and notifications, but if the user wants to edit his profile or share videos then he will need to use his phone.

Force Touch trackpad and haptic feedback technology in Apple Watch is a highly powerful sensing capability that allows usual gestures like scroll, tap and swipe. In addition to that, a deep press will open sub-menus that help navigate deeper actions in an app, access additional controls on message or select different watch faces.

You will have to design apps that provide a seamless, useful and interesting UX to users where they can accomplish the most important functions and address notifications.

3) Design to Be Minimalistic

Minimal, simple and clean designs work best for wearables.

The best wearable devices like Apple Watch, Fitbit and Garmin are designed for simplicity and strive to make it as easy as possible for users to get information they want and quickly act on it.

Do not create a crowded user interface. Wearable tech is still in its first or second generation and is learning from early adopters and streamlining its design.

Clean and user-friendly design will help apps belong in the limited screen space of wearable gadgets. Do away with unnecessary bells and whistles and focus on what’s important to your user.

Also decide how notifications or alerts are to be presented to the user. Close to 80% of the UX of an app on a wearable comprises of alerts. Vibrations and blinking of the screen are usually used for alerts, but if you overdo them then they can be a source of irritation to the user.

With pressure-sensitive display you can allow user to set notifications to his preference. A single tap can alert to him to an important message or mail, or the screen can light up when there is an incoming call. Suitably designing micro-interactions will be the biggest step towards creating a functional app that works well on wearable devices.

Short and crisp actions will enable better use of app and you have to make sure that users would not have to fiddle with their devices to accomplish important tasks. Wearables are all set to disappear in 2016 and with the advent of native apps, you need to ensure that you provide as seamless and effortless an experience as possible.

4) The Less Clutter, the Better the App

When your app gives out a notification or alert, it will take up about half the screen space of a wearable. Ensure that there will be minimal information on the screen and do not junk the space with unnecessary calls to action. A couple of action items are all that is necessary for a notification. Also as technology advances the user will have the option to opt for more.

App designers need to keep in mind that user will spend little time analyzing an alert or notification and that speed is a critical factor determining an app’s success.

Cards, live tiles or glances are most used for presenting notifications. They are static views on the home screen that feature updates and alerts. The phone’s host app (e.g. Google Now) works in tandem with the app server to provide rich notifications or updated static views whenever user accesses the app.

Contextual services are important for wearable apps because wearable devices are more intimate than smartphones and users expect a far more customized and personal experience from them. It is for this very same reason that the first wearables to taste success were health and activity trackers which provided contextual micro moments to users.

Conclusion

Wearables are all set to go mainstream in the coming year. Smart bras, smart bags and smart bathing suits to mind reading tech, there is no limit to where wearable tech can reach. Wearable apps will soon become ubiquitous with customized-marketing and cutting edge technology, and no company can afford to oversee the immense opportunities the channel presents. So keep in mind the designing basics and stick to the best UX principles to win the battle for your user’s glance or tap.

Author Bio:

Jaykishan Panchal is a content marketer at MoveoApps, an apple watch app development company. He enjoys writing about Technology, marketing & industry trends. He is tech enthusiast and love to explore new stuff. You can follow him on Twitter @jaypanchal8.

16 December 2015

CLD Exclusive Freebie: Pack of 27 Modern Flat Christmas Badges 2015

It’s that time again when reindeers, snowmen, Freepik, and Santa get together to celebrate the most joyful time of the year!

In the ‘nick’ of time, our good friends are giving away some xmas cheer in the form of Christmas badges! This pack of 27 unique insignias will go great on your gifts and presents this year! Make sure you bring some merry joy to someone close as we’ve done for you! Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

Download after the hop!

CLD Exclusive Freebie Christmas Labels

Merry badges

How Pre-built Websites can Help You Create Websites Faster

The use of pre-built websites has several advantages over other website-creating approaches. Wireframing, online website builders, and outsourcing all have drawbacks that are not to be found in a pre-built website approach.

  • Wireframing is popular. It can however be a time consuming technique.
  • Pre-built websites either come with pre-built layouts or you can easily adjust the layout to your needs.
  • While some online website builders will provide you with a decent performance, subscription plans are not always cost effective.
  • The quality pre-built websites deliver is uniformly good, and the cost is usually significantly less in the long run than the cost of subscription plans.
  • Outsourcing work to a reliable designer/developer can make sense when important customization is required. On the other hand, it is usually the most expensive approach.
  • Superior quality is achieved when using pre-built websites, and at a fraction of

Five Pre-built Website Examples

Digital

How Pre-built Websites can Help You Create Websites Faster

Typo

How Pre-built Websites can Help You Create Websites Faster

Xmas

How Pre-built Websites can Help You Create Websites Faster

Media

How Pre-built Websites can Help You Create Websites Faster

Burger

How Pre-built Websites can Help You Create Websites Faster

How to Install and Edit a Be Theme Pre-Built Website – 1 Click at a Time

You could select one of these 5 samples, or any of BeTheme’s more than 155 customizable pre-built websites (and the number is growing), install it with a single click, and start editing with Muffin Builder 3. Editing is easy, any you can build page after page in no time at all.

The video shows just how easy it is, and how you can create a website in hours instead of days. You may think the action shown in the video is rather fast and furious. You will soon find however that you can perform your page-building tasks at whatever rate you are comfortable with – super-fast or at your leisure.

You will also note that using a pre-built website is significantly faster and easier than wireframing. Website complexity is not an issue, and unlike outsourcing, you have control over your project every step of the way. About all you need to have with you is a concept of what you want in your website and its individual pages to look like. Then it’s simply a matter of giving BeTheme one-click-at-a-time instructions and letting the software do the heavy lifting.

You can use any pre-built website to get a project underway, but once you have looked them over, you will find at least one or two that will get you off to a fantastic start.

Why BeTheme Makes an Excellent Choice

BeTheme is proof that at times, bigger is definitely better. Its 155+ pre-built websites are game changers, particularly when Be’s 40 core features are brought into play. Be’s 23,000 sales figure says a lot too.

How Pre-built Websites can Help You Create Websites Faster

  • 119 of the pre-built websites are multipage, and 8 new ones are released every month.
  • If you want to start from scratch with a blank screen, you can do so. The tools you need are at your fingertips, including Muffin Builder 3. Its newly streamlined interface makes it easier than ever to work with, while its search feature allows you to quickly find the design elements you need.
  • If you are a dyed-in-the-wool Visual Composer user, no problem; you can use either VC or Muffin Builder, or both.

How Pre-built Websites can Help You Create Websites Faster

  • Whether you start from scratch, or with a pre-built website, you can create an attention-grabbing website in a relatively short time without having to rely on coding whatsoever.
  • Building a complex website will never be a problem. This includes the often product-laden, multipage eCommerce sites. The WooCommerce plugin takes less than a minute to install.
  • Take your pick from 20 customizable Header Styles. Upload you own logos, set fonts, colors, and sizes and more; and you can use different menus on different website pages if you wish.
  • One of the reasons coding is not necessary resides in the Muffin Options Panel. This powerful admin panel manages the use of the many options included in the theme, so you never have to worry about writing a line of code.
  • Whether you are creating a one-page website (Be makes it easy) or a multipage one, the results can be awesome looking when you put Be’s smooth Parallax Effect and/or Video Background into play. Unlimited color choices, advanced typography, and 6-column support features play important roles as well.

Testimonials 

Be is fast, easy to use, and offers great flexibility, as its users will attest to. Code quality, features, customizability, you name it; you’ll find all of these raved about when you see what Be’s users have to say. This small sampling illustrates what users like best about BeTheme. As you can see, they are more than satisfied with what this WordPress theme can accomplish.

How Pre-built Websites can Help You Create Websites Faster

How Pre-built Websites can Help You Create Websites Faster

The Importance of Excellent Customer Support

When the reasons for Be being the biggest WordPress theme of all were spelled out, an important reason was left out – Customer Support. Without the level of support Be’s world class team provides day in and day out, the sales figures would not be nearly so high. Without Customer Support’s assistance, Be’s powerful core features and pre-built websites would not necessarily be the game changers they are. As these example illustrate, you can always expect prompt and detailed solutions to whatever questions or issues you might have.

How Pre-built Websites can Help You Create Websites FasterHow Pre-built Websites can Help You Create Websites FasterHow Pre-built Websites can Help You Create Websites Faster

Now that you have had a chance to see why basing a project around pre-built websites makes so much sense, why not visit BeTheme’s website, where you will find out even more. You’ll be impressed when you see each and every one of the 155+ game changing pre-built websites. You can also study Be’s core features in detail and see how they will help you work smarter and faster. When you’re done, we hope you’ll join Be’s throng of happy and satisfied users.

How Pre-built Websites can Help You Create Websites Faster