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Exciting New Tools for Designers, May 2022

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The underlying theme of this month’s collection of new tools and resources is development. Almost every tool here makes dev a little easier, quicker, or plain fun. There are a few great tutorials in the mix to help you get into the spirit of trying new things and techniques.

Here’s what is new for designers this month…

Cryptofonts

Cryptofonts is a huge open-source library of icons that represent cryptocurrencies. There are more than 1,500 CSS and SVG elements in the collection. Cryptofonts includes all scalable vector icons that you can customize by size, color, shadow, or practically anything else. They work with Sketch, Photoshop, Illustrator, Adobe XD, Figma, and Invision Studio, and there’s no JavaScript.

 

Reasonable Colors

Reasonable Colors is an open-source color system for building accessible and beautiful color palettes. Colors are built using a coded chart. Each color comes in six numbered shades. The difference between their shade numbers can infer the contrast between any two shades. The differences correspond to WCAG contrast ratios to help you create an accessible palette. This is a smart project and a valuable tool if you work on projects where color contrast and accessibility are essential (which is all of them).

 

Chalk.ist

Chalk.ist is a fun tool to make your code snippets look amazing. Add your code (there’s a vast language selector), pick some colors and backgrounds, and then download it as a shareable image. Your code has never looked so beautiful!

 

WeekToDo

WeekToDo is a free minimalist weekly planner. Improve productivity by defining and managing your week and life easily and intuitively. Plus, this tool is focused on privacy with data that is stored on your computer (in your web browser or the application). The only person who has access to it is you.

 

Bio.Link

Bio.Link is a tool that collects all your links – from social media to blog posts to any other kind of link you want to share. It’s free to use, includes 15 design themes, visitor stats, and is super fast.

 

Spacers

Spacers are a set of three-dimensional space characters that you can use in projects. Characters are in multiple poses and ultra high-def formats to play with.

11ty

11ty is a super simple, static website generator. Try it for small projects and read the documentation to see everything you can do with this tool.

Scrollex

Scrollex is a react library that lets you build beautiful scroll experiences using minimal code. You can create scroll animations in all kinds of combinations – vertical, horizontal, almost anything you want to try. The documentation is fun and easy to understand if you’re going to see how it works.

GetCam

GetCam is an app that lets you turn your smartphone into a webcam for your computer. It works with any iPhone and a Mac or Windows computer. It works with most video conference and streaming tools as well as browser-based apps.

Flatfile

Flatfile is a data onboarding platform that intuitively makes sense of the jumbled data customers import and transforms it into the format you rely on. You won’t have any more messy spreadsheets or have to build a custom tool.

Loaders

Loaders is a collection of free loaders and spinners for web projects. They are built with HTML, CSS, and SVG and are available for React and copypasta.

Lexical

Lexical is an extensible JavaScript web text-editor framework emphasizing reliability, accessibility, and performance. It’s made for developers, so you can easily prototype and build features with confidence. Combined with a highly extensible architecture, Lexical allows developers to create unique text editing experiences that scale in size and functionality.

Picture Perfect Images with the Modern img Element

This tutorial is a primer on why the img element is such a powerful tool in your development box. Images are so prominent that they are part of the most important content in over 70% of pages on both mobile and desktop, according to the largest contentful paint metric. This post takes you through how to better optimize and improve core web vitals simultaneously.

Building a Combined CSS-Aspect-Ratio-Grid

Building a Combined CSS-Aspect-Ratio-Grid provides two solutions for creating the title effect. You can define an aspect ratio for the row or use Flexbox with a little flex grow magic. Learn how to try it both ways.

QIndR

QIndR is a QR code generator made for events and appointments. The form is designed to capture your event information so you can quickly build and use a QR code for listings and even allow users to add it to their calendars! It’s super quick and easy to use.

On-Scroll Text Repetition Animation

On-Scroll Text Repetition Animation shows you how to create an on-scroll animation that shows repeated fragments of a big text element. This is a fun and easy lesson that you can use right away.

Eight Colors

Eight Colors won’t do anything for your productivity, but it is a fun game that you may not be able to stop playing. It is a block-shifting game with the goal to shift circular blocks to reach the target given.

Creative Vintage

Creative Vintage is a pair of typefaces including a thin script and vintage slab serif (with rough and smooth styles). The pair is designed to work together for various uses or can be used independently.

Hardbop

Hardbop is a vintage-style typeface with a lot of personality. It would work great for display, and the family includes seven full-style character sets.

Kocha

Kocha is a funky ligature-style typeface perfect for lighter design elements, including logos or packaging. It includes clean and rough versions.

Magnify

Magnify is a large font family with 16 styles and plenty of fun alternates. You can use it straight or with the more funky styles that create less traditional character forms.

Stacker

Stacker is a fun and futuristic style font with a triple outline style. Use it for display when you really want to make an impression.

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When UX Goes Bad (and How to Fix It)

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Designing for user experiences is what all designers do. UX is often thought of as the preserve of app or web designers; however, even a print designer laying out a magazine anticipates reader reaction to the scale of type, the placement of adverts, and the art direction of successive stories.

Because all designers design user experiences, the role of UX Designer has come to mean someone focused on creating a product or service utilizing research and testing to guide decision-making.

To research and test anything, you need metrics: a baseline and a target against which to measure. No one set of metrics is suitable for all projects, but because UX tends to be for financial profit, the Pirate Metrics Framework — Acquisition, Activation, Retention, Referral, Revenue — is a good starting place.

You might seek out very different metrics in some cases. For instance, a museum might measure the success of its education program based on how many students go on to study paleontology. However, those types of metrics are notoriously difficult to quantify. Excepting a few niche cases, successful UX increases user productivity, decreases errors, reduces the cost of support, and increases sales.

So if it’s as easy as counting dollars, why does UX go bad?

UX vs. Design Principles

To understand what UX is, you need to understand what UX is not.

One of the most straightforward design principles to understand is hierarchy: bigger is more important, i.e., a heading is visually stronger than a sub-heading, a sub-heading is visually stronger than the body text.

Design principles stem from one thing: human-centered design. At the most basic level, bigger is more important because the bigger a saber-toothed tiger appears, the more likely it intends to eat me.

The evolution of human beings is so slow that had a smartphone existed at the time, a neanderthal would have been able to tap a button with the same level of precision as me. Prehistoric man shares the same minimum button size as modern man: 48 x 48px. Design principles don’t change, don’t require research, and don’t need verifying with tests.

On the other hand, a neanderthal would not have understood a smartphone, let alone an app. You only need to step back by a single generation to find perfectly intelligent people baffled by a commonly employed design pattern.

Unlike design principles, user experience is a house built on sand. When the sand shifts, the walls crack. The bricks are still solid, but the rain gets in.

Because effective UX is temporary, so is the ROI.

Technology Breaks UX

Technology unfolds at a rapid pace. As technology develops, the user experience defined by that technology changes.

The classic example is the mobile revolution, but technological change does not necessarily mean hardware. One of the most significant shifts in UXD (User Experience Design) in my career has been the popularisation of AJAX — the process of using JavaScript to load new data without refreshing the page. This seamlessness has been around since the early 2000s, but it’s only in the last ten years, as the code to achieve it has simplified, that it’s been widely used.

Jakob’s Law states that users spend most of their time on other sites and, as a result, prefer your site to function like other sites by following familiar design patterns.

Even if your UX is rigorously tested and optimized, when other sites and services carry out their own research, they are testing against the background of younger technology, and the “other sites” Jakob Nielsen refers to begin to change. As a result, the UX of your site is gradually eroded.

The consequence of continual technological change is that user research is constantly invalidated. The UX of an app, site, or service begins to degrade as soon as it is created.

User-Experience Lifecycle

Human beings have two deep-seated motivations: survival and procreation. The most important, survival, depends on discovery — new food sources, new routes through dangerous territory, new ways to skin a mammoth. We are biologically programmed to seek out the new.

A typical user passes through three phases of a relationship with a site, app, or service: discovery > comfort > boredom. Churn, or drop-off, tends to occur in the discovery phase (if the comfort phase is too slow in developing) or the boredom phase. The sweet spot is the comfort phase. That’s the part of the business-customer relationship in which the customer requires minimal support and is least likely to drop off.

The most effective form of UX — meaning the one that satisfies most metrics — rapidly moves a user from discovery to comfort and then continually eases the user back to the start of the comfort phase without tipping back into discovery.

This can be achieved with numerous micro-discoveries, tiny chunks of new experience, from simple functionality tweaks to style revisions.

Summary

All UXD, regardless of the quality, level of investment, and skill of the practitioner, begins to degrade the moment it is created.

Design principles like simplicity are good indicators of successful UID (User Interface Design) and are timeless; comprehensive design systems, brand assets, and content offer good ROI.

The most effective UX is broadly familiar and continually refreshed in small ways, allowing users to enjoy the comfort of the familiar while also experiencing the excitement of discovery again and again.

 

Featured image uses photos by Wolfgang Hasselmann & Shainee Fernando.

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15 Best CSS Frameworks: Professional Bootstrap and Foundation Alternatives

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Whether you are a CSS expert or a front-end beginner, using the right CSS framework is crucial for your daily tasks. There are numerous frameworks whose ultimate goal is the same: helping developers target multiple screens, in the simplest possible way.

This is why Bootstrap is by far the most popular framework on the market. All developers have heard of Bootstrap, and more than 80% of them say they are happy using it.

But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t some great alternatives if you’re willing to shop around. Bootstrap won’t be top dog forever, and there are numerous new lightweight and powerful CSS frameworks.

If you are bored of coding with Bootstrap and Foundation and tired of using complex CSS rules, this list is for you. 

From frameworks that take a pure CSS approach to minimalist frameworks with fully customizable themes, nothing is left out. Let’s get started…

1. Bulma

Bulma is one of the most popular alternatives to Bootstrap and Foundation. It is an entirely free, open-source CSS framework that does not have a steep learning curve. No prior CSS knowledge is required to use Bulma.

When you add the variety of colors, responsiveness, and clean flexbox-based grid it offers, it’s no wonder Bulma is becoming more popular every day. Bulma is a well-documented framework that you should definitely try out.

2. UIkit

If you’re looking for a lightweight yet powerful CSS framework that can be wired with HTML and JS, Ulkit is for you. It fully supports right to left languages and has one of the best icon libraries out there.

Keep in mind that Ulkit is also easy to use. All in all, Ulkit is an excellent Bootstrap alternative that is perfect for designing web layouts for desktop and mobile screens.

3. HTML5 Boilerplate

Even though Bootstrap is relatively easy to learn, it is much more than just a front-end template. So what if you need a fully compatible JavaScript, CSS3, and HTML5 template? In this case, HTML5 Boilerplate is a good choice.

Of course, since it’s a template, this framework does not include layouts and component modules. However, if you need a reliable CSS template that offers extensive documentation, HTML5 Boilerplate is a great solution.

4. Metro UI

Metro UI is one of the most flexible CSS frameworks on the market. This front-end framework can be easily combined with JavaScript-based frameworks like Angular, React, etc.

We found Metro UI to be an excellent open-source CSS framework and a great alternative to Foundation during our testing.

5. Skeleton

As a two-in-one solution, Skeleton quickly made it on our list. This is both a boilerplate and a comprehensive CSS framework. We enjoyed customizing its 12-column grid during our testing, and we found out that it has virtually no learning curve. 

The automatic width resizing works like a charm, and the syntax is fully responsive. This is why we consider Skeleton to be an excellent Bootstrap alternative.

6. Bootflat

If you are looking for a quick way to create a web app, Bootflat is the framework you need. Bootflat’s components are built with CSS3 and HTML5, and the framework offers a comprehensive panel of color schemes for you to choose from. 

Bootflat looks and acts like a simplified version of Bootstrap. However, that doesn’t mean that this CSS framework isn’t scalable and robust. On the contrary, you can fully manipulate the size and performance of the web designs you create. 

7. Semantic UI

If you exclude the fact that Semantic UI doesn’t have the utility classes Bootstrap offers, it is a comprehensive CSS framework that you should try. The best Semantic feature allows you to write HTML code without using BEM methodologies. 

So, if you need a framework that will help you write readable codes in minutes, Semantic is the one for you. 

8. Susy

We know that most developers nowadays use flexbox and native CSS grids. Still, there’s nothing better than Susy if you need a grid system that supports legacy browsers. Although Susy is no longer maintained, it is one of the most flexible old-school grid systems. 

9. Materialize

Like most CSS frameworks on this list, Materialize is built with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. 

It’s specifically designed to help you develop faster using a standard template and customizable components. As the name suggests, Materialize is based on the basic principles of Material Design.

10. Kickstart

If you need a lightweight alternative to Bootstrap, Kickstart is the CSS library for you. A great thing about Kickstart is that it doesn’t require jQuery which makes it very small. 

Of course, like a pruned version of Bootstrap, this CSS framework isn’t as robust. Still, this is an excellent choice for those who need a UI framework and a comprehensive boilerplate library. 

11. Tailwind CSS

With a fast styling process and the ultimate freedom it provides, Tailwind is extremely popular among some developers. This is a utility-first, front-end framework that is fully responsive and stable. 

Unfortunately, Tailwind CSS requires some time to learn, and it is not the most flexible choice when it comes to revising CSS rules.

12. Pure CSS

Yahoo specially developed Pure CSS to help developers create fully responsive web pages. 

We consider Pure a minimalist alternative to Bootstrap that offers every module a beginner needs (navigation menu, grid, tables, etc.).

13. PowertoCSS

PowertoCSS is on this list for a good reason. This is an ultimately responsive CSS framework that you can use to create grids and scale web apps on any platform. 

PowertoCSS is based on Modular Architecture and Scalable when it comes to design.

Unlike other CSS frameworks, PowertoCSS is very lightweight, beginner-friendly, and comes with detailed documentation. 

The coding process is simple, and we found the learning curve to be shallow.

14. Spectre

Spectre is one of the most flexible and lightweight CSS frameworks we tested for this article. 

It has a modern (flexbox) layout system; it is fully customizable and allows you to get quick, attractive results. 

15. Primer

Our last suggestion is Primer, a great open-source CSS framework. 

To be precise, Primer is more of a design system that lets you use a BEM CSS framework and create your projects quickly and efficiently.

So, even though Primer is not a CSS framework in the strict sense, it will help you use React and Figma components, icons, and advanced documentation to unify all of that.

Wrap Up

Choosing the right CSS framework is not easy. It all depends on your personal needs and preferences as a front-end developer. 

Although Bootstrap and Foundation are still the most popular frameworks, many of the alternatives presented above will continue to gain popularity for good reasons.

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5 Best Newsletter Platforms for Startups in 2022

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If you don’t keep in touch with your customer base, it can become easy for them to drift away. Newsletters are an affordable and effective way to check in with your audience occasionally.

However, you will need to craft well-designed newsletters to have the desired impact. Your newsletters should include engaging content, including images and written content. They should look highly professional and aesthetically appealing, so people are encouraged to read them. Another thing to consider is the method you want to send the newsletters. Picking the right platform can save you time and energy, especially if you have a large readership. 

The good news is that there are a variety of available platforms that can help you make great-looking emails. These services can also make it easier for you to send newsletters.

Let’s take a look at some of the best newsletter platforms available:

1. HubSpot

This is a name that needs no introduction among digital marketers. HubSpot offers several powerful marketing platforms with valuable tools and features to help any marketing campaign succeed.

HubSpot’s email marketing tool includes easy drag-and-drop tools that make it simple even for novices to write killer newsletters.

When you choose HubSpot’s email marketing tool, you will also have access to its powerful customer relationship management (CRM) platform. HubSpot’s CRM platform includes various email automation tools like follow-up email tools and helps you personalize your newsletters.

HubSpot’s marketing tool includes a free plan that provides access to some of the platform’s powerful email marketing features. The free plan limits users to sending 2,000 emails/month, and paid plans start from $50/month.

2. Mailchimp

Here’s another name that is well known among marketers – particularly concentrated marketers that focus on email campaigns. Mailchimp uses a drag-and-drop email editor that helps just about anybody create professional-looking newsletters and emails.

Mailchimp also has A/B testing tools to help you fine-tune your campaigns and cross-device tools that ensure your newsletters look great on any platform.

The platform offers a selection of newsletter templates to help you get started and make it easy to manage your contact list. The platform allows you to automatically resend newsletters using different subject lines if the recipient didn’t open previous emails.  

Mailchimp offers a free plan that manages up to 2,000 contacts and sends up to 12,000 emails/month with limited access to other features. Paid plans start at just $11/month per 500 contacts with access to more services. Other plans range from $17/month per 500 users to $299/month per 500 users, increasing access to Mailchimp’s tools.

3. AWeber

AWeber is a popular choice because it is so easy to use. It’s another platform that uses drag-and-drop design technology that requires no coding knowledge. The software allows users to add carousels for a truly professional look.

The platform also includes tools that simplify list management and segmentation. AWeber features 6,000 royalty-free stock photos, and it can be integrated with other platforms, including WordPress.

Some people might find that AWeber isn’t as advanced as other options and doesn’t have some of the features they need. However, the platform is ideal for smaller companies and people just getting started with newsletter software applications.

AWeber offers a free plan that lets you add up to 500 contacts. Paid plans start from $16.15/month, and other pricing plans are available to users who need to manage more contacts.

4. Sendinblue

With an expansive template gallery and efficient drag-and-drop design technology, Sendinblue is another platform that helps people create professional, aesthetically pleasing newsletters. It lets users select display conditions that determine which content recipients see.

The software offers a range of features that help automate sending numerous newsletters, including the ability to send according to the recipients’ time zones. It also provides analytical tools to show how well your newsletters are performing.

Sendinblue offers a free plan that allows you to send up to 300 emails/day. Paid plans start from $25/month for the Lite plan and $65/month for the Premium plan with 20,000 emails/month. Each tier gives you access to more features, and prices increase if you want to send more emails.

5. GetResponse

GetResponse has been around for longer than most other newsletter options, so they’ve had plenty of time to get it right. With the platform’s fluid design features, it’s easy to create impressive newsletters and emails that look professional. 

Other features from GetResponse include segmentation and lead scoring features, autoresponders, and automation workflows. In addition, you can have your newsletters sent at optimal times and take advantage of A/B testing tools.

The platform’s free plan lets you manage up to 500 contacts with unlimited newsletters.

GetResponse also provides a Basic plan from $12.30/month, a Plus plan from $40.18/month, and a Professional plan from $81.18/month, each of which lets you have up to 1,000 contacts. Each plan gives access to more features than the other, and you can pay more to manage more contacts.

Start Sending Professional Newsletters Today

Choosing the best newsletter software for you depends on various factors. These factors include which tools you need from the software, your technical ability, and how much you can afford to spend.

As with any product, it’s a good idea to shop around before making any decisions. Most platforms offer free plans, allowing you to try them out first without paying a penny. If you need more advanced features or hope to scale up at some point in the future, it’s probably best to look at platforms that can do more for you.

 

Featured image via Pexels.

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Atos bascule son ERP SAP S/4HANA vers le Cloud avec l’offre RISE with SAP

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Le cœur du système d’information d’Atos, comprenant 42 systèmes et 500 interfaces, a été basculé vers le cloud Microsoft Azure, au travers de l’offre RISE with SAP. Un projet mené en seulement 9 mois par les équipes d’Atos.

Atos est un des leaders mondiaux des entreprises de services du numérique, avec une présence dans 71 pays et un effectif de 105.000 collaborateurs, pour un chiffre d’affaires annuel de près de 11 milliards d’euros. Atos est un acteur engagé : partenaire des Jeux olympiques et paralympiques depuis 2001, le groupe met également en œuvre une stratégie net-zéro visant à la fois à atteindre la neutralité carbone en interne, mais aussi à proposer des services et produits décarbonés à ses clients.

Jusqu’alors, Atos hébergeait son système d’information dans ses propres datacenters, dont l’ERP Nessie. Une offre basée sur des solutions SAP, ayant basculé en 2020 vers l’ERP Intelligent SAP S/4HANA. Fin 2020, l’entreprise a décidé de migrer Nessie vers le cloud.

« Plusieurs raisons ont mené à ce choix, explique Frédéric Aubrière, DSI groupe d’Atos. Chaque changement opéré sur un SI on-premise se traduit par des dépenses d’investissement (CAPEX), qu’il faut valider auprès de la direction financière. Avec le cloud, la discussion peut se recentrer sur les seules dépenses d’exploitation (OPEX), ce qui participe à lever certains verrous. En déléguant la gestion des infrastructures à un hyperscaleur, nous libérons également des ressources IT internes, qui peuvent se concentrer sur leur cœur de métier. Enfin, la crise sanitaire a démontré que la flexibilité apportée par le cloud était un atout pour les entreprises. »

Un des arguments mis en avant par Atos est que le cloud est devenu suffisamment mature pour supporter des workloads critiques. « Pendant longtemps, le cloud a été réservé à des systèmes connexes, l’ERP restant hébergé sur site. Aujourd’hui, le cœur du SI n’est plus un terrain interdit au cloud. J’estime qu’il peut et doit basculer vers le cloud. » En migrant le cœur de son système d’information vers le cloud, Atos entend lancer un message fort en direction des entreprises qui hésiteraient encore à adopter ce modèle de déploiement. Le projet est donc particulièrement stratégique pour le groupe. « Ce que nous avons réalisé avec notre SI, nous pouvons le faire pour celui de nos clients », confirme Frédéric Aubrière.

Un projet mené à bien en seulement 9 mois

Atos a mis en œuvre tout son savoir-faire – et la force de frappe de ses nombreux experts – pour réaliser cette migration en un temps record. Le choix s’est porté sur l’offre RISE with SAP, avec un déploiement effectué sur les infrastructures Microsoft Azure de Francfort. Un choix stratégique là encore, les serveurs utilisés dans ce datacenter Microsoft étant des Bull Sequana S. Du matériel conçu par Bull, filiale d’Atos, et certifié SAP, avec des instances pouvant atteindre les 12 To en scale up (et plus d’une centaine de téraoctets en scale out).

Le projet a démarré fin 2020. Dès avril 2021, le système de test basculait en live, suivi par les instances de développement et de qualité. L’instance de production est entrée en fonction le 13 septembre 2021, soit environ 9 mois après le début du projet. Un tour de force de la part d’Atos. Si l’ERP a été migré sans modifications majeures, le périmètre du projet reste en effet particulièrement important. « Nous avons migré notre ERP vers le cloud, mais aussi l’ensemble des systèmes connexes gravitant autour de lui », explique Frédéric Aubrière. Au total, 42 systèmes ont été migrés et 500 interfaces. 5000 tests ont été effectués afin de couvrir un large spectre de cas d’utilisation.

« Hormis quelques ajustements dans les paramètres de connexion, la bascule a été transparente pour les utilisateurs. Le portail MyAtos est toujours accessible de la même façon et permet toujours d’accéder aux mêmes services. Notre SI est par ailleurs toujours aussi stable et performant. » Les performances des infrastructures correspondent jusqu’à maintenant au cahier des charges d’Atos, avec un SLA de 99,7% et un RPO très proche de zéro (30 minutes). « Nous allons exécuter un dry run du DRP dans les prochains mois, afin de mesurer le délai de reprise d’activité de notre SI », confie le DSI d’Atos.

SAP BTP et décarbonisation en ligne de mire

Avec son contrat unique, l’offre RISE with SAP est un facteur de simplification lors du passage au cloud. « Avoir un unique contrat, signé en direct avec SAP, nous permet de nous affranchir de la complexité de la tarification des hyperscaleurs, confirme Frédéric Aubrière. C’est une forme de contrat plus confortable pour les clients et apportant une meilleure prédictibilité sur les coûts. RISE with SAP nous permet également de conserver notre code et nos applications. Il permet de basculer vers le cloud de façon non violente, en respectant les processus et spécificités du groupe. »

Une fois le SI stabilisé et les processus calés entre SAP et Atos, l’entreprise compte travailler sur la prochaine génération de son ERP. Au menu, un nettoyage du code spécifique et son adaptation à la SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP). En parallèle, une connexion avec certains services Microsoft Azure sera mise en place. Autre tâche confiée à la DSI d’Atos, la décarbonation du fonctionnement de sa nouvelle plate-forme cloud. L’élasticité propre aux infrastructures cloud devrait permettre au groupe d’ajuster les ressources au plus près des besoins. L’objectif d’Atos est d’atteindre la neutralité carbone d’ici 2028.

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3 Essential Design Trends, March 2022

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This month all of our web design trends have a common theme – imagery. Whether it’s seasonal or just coincidence, there’s a shift in the styles and types of images on many designs right now. One thing that might push these design trends is a relaxation of COVID-spurred rules worldwide or even fatigue from the pandemic.

Here’s what’s trending in design this month.

1. Little Images Everywhere

The jury is still out on whether we love or hate this design trend – tiny images (and videos) everywhere.

The thing that’s nice is there is a lot to see and interact with. The thing that’s challenging is that these designs can feel a bit unbalanced and all over the place.

Most of these designs feature four or more images or videos at a time. That can be a lot for a user to digest when we are accustomed to having just one thing to look at in the hero area.

Those four or more images then include all of the other user interface elements that you would expect on the page – navigation, large headline, secondary text, scroll, or engagement interaction. It can be a lot to decipher.

Tokyu Garden City does it with a mix of still and moving images with sliders and other animations. The images are always changing and moving, and there’s constantly something new to look at with movement at the top and bottom of the screen.

Buro Jantzen takes the tiny image idea to an extreme with ten images on the homepage. And every one is smaller than a postage stamp. There is a cool effect that happens with each image though. On hover, the small image pops into the large black box at a size where you can really see the photo.

Oliver Guy uses a combination of video images on his website, which makes perfect sense for his industry of drone photography. There’s some interesting hover animation happening that allows you to see additional video clips without leaving the homepage. The contrast of small video on the white background makes this design easy to understand.

 

 

2. Big Detail Photography

Photographic details in all their glory. Images and elements that are so in your face that you can see every detail. That’s majorly trending in website design.

Big detail photography and videography is one of those image trends that can be so visually interesting that you can’t look away. It has other benefits, too, such as facilitating decision-making for e-commerce or helping someone better understand what an item is or the overall messaging.

Each of these examples shows something larger than life-size.

Karak creates ceramic tiles. The primary background image is so big and with such detail that it almost only serves as texture for the design. But it is paired with a smaller image and video that pull everything together for a complete understanding. The big detail image is beautiful and exciting and provides an extra layer of information.

Wuillemin Fleuristes features an off-balanced hero image with a large floral detail. What’s interesting about this design choice for a detail image is that it is the only image on the screen and partially obscured by a tinted box and text element. The overall design draws the eye but may leave the user wanting to see a little more of the image.

Horage pushes its watch in your face with motion in a video that zooms the product closer and closer into view. The combination of detailed video with very little text is a bold choice for e-commerce and might work because this item is still in the preorder phase. Detailed imaging is designed to help create a desire for the product.

 

 

3. Big Faces are Back

After two years of not having that many faces in design projects, designers are going big and bold and showing people again.

One of the reasons we haven’t seen as many faces in design projects is because there was concern over how to show people – masked or maskless, alone or in crowds – and it caused more concern than was worth just going another way.

But projects with big faces are back in a major way. And it’s refreshing to make virtual eye contact again.

There are plenty of ways to do it, as outlined in each of these examples.

Glassbox Media uses a full-screen oversized video on the homepage. You can see the subject’s eyes and feel engaged with the person on the screen. She seems happy, and the size and scale of the face make you feel almost like you are in a room with her, ready to have a conversation.

Reamarie uses smaller still images with tight crops to bring you into the faces on the screen. There are more, bigger faces throughout the scroll as well so that the user feels connected to the people and product. Even if an image isn’t super large, a tight crop can make it feel bigger and create the same level of engagement as something that has more size on the screen.

Recruit Holdings Co. uses a trio of people together, happy and smiling, to establish a connection with website visitors. The entire design features similar images throughout and makes you feel like you want to be a part of what they are offering. Note that the people are close together and without masks; that’s a culture shift we are starting to see in a lot of imagery.

 

 

Conclusion

Photography, videography, and image trends can be driving factors for website design projects. The types of images selected can set the tone for projects, relate to brand identity, and help engage users.

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6 Simple Steps to a Career in Web Design

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No one likes talking about money. Most of us got into web design because we loved it. But the fact is, we’ve all got bills to pay.

If you’re a half-decent designer or a relatively competent developer, then there’s no reason you can’t make a living as a web designer. Here are six simple steps towards earning a living using the skills you already have.

Step 1. Freelance Work

Many individual bloggers and small company owners require websites to reach a larger audience. You might exploit this opportunity to begin a side business as a freelancer.

One of the most efficient ways to start is to look through employment networks and online classifieds. Eventually though, you’re going to need a portfolio. Building your freelancing company website could be your first opportunity to demonstrate your web development talents. As you embark on new projects, this website can display client testimonials that demonstrate your expertise. Ensure that it’s up to date, relevant, and follows current design trends. Also, make sure your website is linked to your social media profiles. 

Even though you are responsible for finding clients, you have a great deal of flexibility: you can choose your working hours and exercise more freedom and creativity. However, you’d still be accountable for your work and have to execute assignments on time to keep your clients satisfied.

It’s also important to remember that you’ll have to keep track of your taxes and other financial paperwork. Furthermore, you would not have a standard employer who will provide you with health insurance and other perks.

Step 2. Specialize

Today’s market offers a wide choice of web design services most suited to our needs. From designing and building custom websites to creating social media websites to managing SEO and PPCs, web design services offer various services. And while it is beneficial to have a general understanding of what all these services entail, it is always good to identify and refine your expertise. Becoming proficient in one aspect of web design will give you more confidence and direction regarding the kind of work you would like to do.

Allowing yourself to land repeat clients specializing in one type of service will make it easier for you to create processes in your business to complete work accurately and quickly. These processes will also help you build a team should you need one.  

Step 3. Networking Effectively

You should leverage social networking sites such as LinkedIn, practical tools for engaging with colleagues and potential customers. Ensure your profile is updated with all the services offered and all talents you deliver. Make sure you include links to any past projects you’ve worked on. There’s also a career board on LinkedIn that can help you avail yourself of many freelance projects. Registering and engaging with relevant organizations can allow you to acquire more visibility.

Freelancers are generally matched with modest design/development assignments through these websites. Although some developers heavily vouch for them, getting work from these websites when you’re just starting may be exceedingly challenging, considering most of your time will be exhausted in securing billable employment. 

Step 4. Start Your Own Blog or Podcast

Blogs and podcasts are an excellent way to organically acquire fresh customers and other relevant parties. A well-written blog is a terrific source of amusement and knowledge for potential clients. Aside from showcasing your services, a blog may be used to earn money in various ways. Once the blog grows large enough, you can incorporate backlinks, ads, or author-sponsored content. Many popular blogs eventually grow into fully-fledged businesses.

When you start a blog from scratch, it can take a long time to see a return on investment. Consider producing freelance articles for a blog with a constant stream of traffic to help you get started. This will enable you to demonstrate your skills while also getting compensated for them. 

Step 5. Work at a Design Agency

Working at a design agency or in-house could be an ideal option if you desire a more traditional job title. It also helps you build your portfolio with larger and more recognizable clients than those you can secure as a freelancer.

Instead of stressing about the management side of things, you can focus on serving clients and constructing websites with this approach. You wouldn’t have to look for new clients, and you’ll get all of the paid benefits that regular employees get. However, you’d have to work under strict supervision and have less creative control over your projects. There will also be harsh deadlines looming over your shoulder. And this procedure will also set a wage ceiling for you. On the other hand, obtaining employee insurance and securing a source of income can be very reassuring.

Step 6. Start Your Own Agency

Once you feel you have enough relevant experience and are confident in your abilities to perform and manage things well, you can start your own agency. It’s like freelance work, but on a much larger scale. The flexibility to employ others to do your work is the fundamental advantage of having your own agency. You can recruit additional designers and eventually recruiters to help you secure clients.

Having your own agency allows you to do the work you want and how you desire. As a general rule, start as a freelancer and gradually create the foundations for your agency as you gain expertise. You can eventually automate the entire process with hard effort and an innovative business plan.

You must actively network with other people in your business and reach out to new clients in addition to working on your skills. If you can create a solid customer base and take measured chances with your chosen projects, you can procure meatier projects and become prominent in the corporate sector.

 

Featured image via Unsplash.

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How to Scale Your Design Process and Improve Handoff

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It’s something every design team dreams about – a better design process and handoff procedure. Your design team is not alone if you are looking for a better solution.

Imagine what your workflow would look like if you could forgo the struggles of image-based technology, design and handoff with accurate components that have interactive features. Projects in the design phase will look more like final products and, most importantly, interact like final products. 

Let’s imagine a new design process together.

Challenges of an Image-Based Design Process

Here’s what we all know – image-based design tools provide pictures of components in the visual form but lack the interactivity and conditions that exist in the end-product. There’s not a high level of functional fidelity there, and it can cause confusion among design teams and rework.

These tools require you to redraw the fundamental components and design with boxes and rectangles, which takes too much time and can create a disconnect between the design and development teams. 

Further, you don’t fully maximize the potential of a design system because of inconsistencies between code-powered systems that developers use and these image-based systems for designers. There’s an innate gap between maintaining the environments and creating consistency in components. 

The final and maybe most difficult challenge with an image-based design process is in usability testing. You just can’t test an image the way you can working components. If the prototype is not interactive enough, you lose valuable feedback in the testing process. Functional fidelity is a must-have design and development tool in 2022. 

Iress, market-leading financial software, had many of these same problems in its design system process. You can probably relate to its story, which includes a designer and engineer who aren’t entirely on the same page, hit the deadline and have to deliver, and then get customer feedback. The result was a lot of extra headaches and work. 

But there is a better way: Import all user interface components into a code-powered design system in sync with a design tool so that your team can work in harmony to build, scale, and handoff projects with ease. 

Scale Design With Accurate Components

Here’s what most design and development teams want en route to building products: Accurate components with built-in interactivity, states, and conditions. No redrawing boxes and rectangles; no trying to figure out what states and interaction should be.

And if you can do it with ten times the speed and agility? Now you’re really in business. 

“It used to take us two to three months just to do the design. Now, with UXPin Merge, teams can design, test, and deliver products in the same timeframe,” said Erica Rider, Senior Manager for UX at PayPal. “Faster time to market is one of the most significant changes we’ve experienced using Merge.”

The time and workflow savings come from the ability to maintain only one environment as a product team. Rather than image-based tools, a code-powered design system that will push updates to components as the design evolves is the modern way to work. This workflow can also eliminate duplicate documentation so that your team has a single source of truth for whole product teams. 

Now you can be more agile in the design process and scale. And as Rider hinted at, there is a solution already available in UXPin Merge. 

Scalability with accurate design components has other benefits as well. 

Teams can onboard people faster because the design system is in the design tool. There’s less searching for answers with drag and drop-ready building blocks. New team members will find more success and be more valuable to the team quicker due to fewer inconsistencies and errors. 

Testing also gets a boost as you scale with a single source of truth. You can actually create better usability tests with a high-fidelity, functional version of the prototype, allowing users to leave more valuable and detailed feedback that can improve your product in the early stages. 

Better Handoffs Start Here

As you imagine a better design process, take it one step further. Better handoffs are a goal for most teams. 

An interactive component-based design tool can eliminate the need for multiple iterations of the same meeting to explain how a prototype works. Everyone can see and interact with it for themselves with accurate, true components that ensure the prototype works the same as the product. 

Designers will feel more like their vision is making it into the final product, and developers have a better idea of how to work. Everyone has the exact same components written in code. Thanks to the single source of truth, devs can speed up as they build the product because they start with components that include production-ready code.

A typical design to developer handoff might have multiple steps: Create vector design elements, create a model for interactions, and then send the prototype with documentation. Not to mention the meetings that are required to make sure everyone is on the same page.

In a model with interactive component elements, the developer handoff is fast and easy; they create a prototype with true components and all the built-in properties. The developer copies the JSX code and pastes it into his tool to build the final product. All the component properties and their coded interactions already exist in the source code. This is possible because the source of truth is the code itself, the source code.

Quick Tool Solution and Technical Use

This solution to this common challenge is not somewhere in the future; it’s already here.

UXPin, a code-based design tool, has Merge technology, which allows you to bring all interactive components into UXPin. Then you can use your own, or the open-source library with the ready-made building blocks to get products ready faster.

Here are just a few of the things you can do with Merge by UXPin:

  • Integrate your developer’s storybook to use it as a single source of truth (works for all frameworks)
  • Import design system components from a dev’s Git repository, such as GitHub, Bitbucket, GitLab, or others (works with React)
  • Work with the built-in MUI library
  • Add the npm component package to UXPin on your own (no developer required)
  • Design with the confidence that your work can be ideally reflected by developers
  • Create and share a library of interactive components

Summary 

Say bye-bye to redrawing rectangles – build more accurate prototypes easier and end-products faster with Merge by UXPin.

Now is the time to solve one of your biggest design challenges while upgrading and scaling the design process and improving handoffs. 

Merge by UXPin is user-friendly and made for scalable projects of almost any size. The line between design and development blurs with quicker product release and a fully-interactive solution. Request access today.

 

[– This is a sponsored post on behalf of UXPin –]

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Exciting New Tools For Designers, March 2022

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We’re going to have some fun this month. There are so many new tools and resources out there for designers that make life easier, and others are simply enjoyable.

Here’s what is new for designers this month …

Polka Dot Generator

Polka Dot Generator is exactly what you think. Adjust colors, dot size, shadow, and fuzziness, and then export the CSS for use in your projects. This could make for fun effects or backgrounds.

Design Memes

Design Memes is just a lot of fun. It’s a collection of memes based on design culture updated daily. It’s a little silly and a little reflective. Yes, it’s completely ok to laugh at yourself.

Pppointed

Pppointed is an SVG arrow-making tool that helps you create cool pointers without a lot of effort. Just pick a color, shape, and style, and you are ready to go. Save your custom arrows as SVG files or copy the code and use them on the web whenever you want to point at things visually.

Open Source Color System

Open Source Color System is a set of palettes that include carefully picked colors to help you overcome interface challenges. For example, it is one of the only color tools out there that includes palettes for light and dark modes. It’s also designed with accessibility in mind to help you create a complete and usable system.

Cowsay

Cowsay is a nifty little web interface of the same name made with Svelte and HTML Canvas. Play with it and then copy your art as ASCII or an image.

Minze

Minze is a simple JavaScript framework for native web components. It’s tiny and fast, modern, shareable, framework agnostic, and uses TypeScript to scale your component library. Plus, you can get started with it right away.

Tally

Tally is a simple – and free – online form builder. You can use it without coding, and it works like a document file, so there’s no learning curve. You can create unlimited forms, integrate with other tools, set logic, collect payments, and more. There’s a pro version as well if you need even more features.

Hue.Tools

Hue.Tools is another color tool to help you maximize effort when creating palettes. Generate a color you like, see specs and values in all the different color spaces, inspiration from design sites, and colors that work with it. It’s fun and functional.

Sturdy

Sturdy is a low overhead code collaboration platform for fast-moving teams. With Sturdy, you work in the open with your team. Discover and interact with draft code as it is written. Those team drafts are like live pull requests (Figma or Google Docs) but using your local editor.

Mage

Mage is a tool that transforms your data into predictions. Build, train, and deploy predictive models in minutes with no AI experience required. This is a premium tool, but you can try it for free.

Huemint

Huemint is a machine-learning-based color scheme generator for websites, graphics, and branding. There are many options to play with, and you can generate some pretty interesting combinations that ordinarily you might not think of.

CSSUI

CSSUI is another tool you’ll love because it includes pure CSS interactive components without any JavaScript. It’s easy to customize, uses standard HTML, is easy for all levels to use, is tiny and fast, and supports pretty much all modern browsers. It’s an open-source tool that you can download and use immediately.

UI Icons Line – Free

UI Icons Line – Free is a set of 1,000 free vectors for use in your projects. Who doesn’t need a robust set of icons?

Skill Icons

Skill Icons is a set of icons to help you showcase your design and development skills on your resume or GitHub. They all look great and match.

Ambient Design

Ambient Design is a mobile app design market where you can get mobile UI kits for Figma. Purchase kits separately, or buy quarterly or yearly plans to access all current and future UI kits.

TextFrame

TextFrame lets you create animated tutorials for your users to get the help they need. It integrates directly with WordPress or any other website with just a couple of lines of code and includes plenty of customizable options to make it easy for you to help others understand how to use the website. The tool is free for one site and just a few bucks per month for additional sites.

Booqsi

Booqsi is a fun new social media network for book lovers. The platform is still in beta and lets you save and share books, create shelves for reading, and doesn’t force a connection to Amazon. It’s just all about the books. And there’s a bonus: every link from the site goes back to bookshop.org to help you find and support local bookstores.

Stylo

Stylo is an open-source WYSIWYG interactive editor for JavaScript. It is made to bring great user experience and interactivity to the web, for everyone, with no dependencies. It has an interactive design, is customizable, and is future-proof.

Tutorial: How to Favicon in 2022

How to Favicon in 2022 is an excellent lesson on the five icon files every website needs (plus one JSON file). If you are creating more than that, this is a must-read.

Tutorial: Creating Generative SVG Grids

Creating Generative SVG Grids is an in-depth, step-by-step tutorial for anyone who wants to create a more artistic SVG. It uses a handful of tools, including SVG.js, Generative Utils, TinyColor, and GSAP.

Fromage

Fromage is a new and beautiful premium typeface family from Adam Ladd. It includes 14 styles with an interesting serif and alternative sans option. The high-contrast design is great for a variety of projects.

HD Colton

HD Colton is a premium super sans serif typeface with a whopping 91 styles and family package options. It would make a bold statement as a display option.

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Generating Simulated Streaming Data

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For demos, system tests, and other purposes, it is good to have a way to easily produce realistic data at scale utilizing a schema of our own choice.

Fortunately, there is a great library for Python called Faker that lets us build synthetic data for tests. With a simple loop and a Pulsar produce call, we can send messages to topics at scale.

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