But in the last few years – and especially the last five or so – there are some design trends that are everywhere. This is generally because they are actually very good and easy to adapt to other changes in the marketing world. They are also able to be included in plenty of other more unique or new looks, which makes them basic style staples.

The problem is that this means they are overused. In particular, there are seven design basics that you will see all over the place, and you might want to keep an eye on if you want to try to use them yourself. Mainly because you run the risk of creating something that looks like any other logo or design that you will come across on the web. Who wants that? No one hoping to set their skills (or personal businesses and sites) apart from the pack, that is for sure.

Below are these seven trends that you have to be very careful if you decide to use them yourself.

1. Badges and Buttons

It used to be that you would see badges or buttons all over the web, and that wasn’t a surprise. It is a much more attractive way of presenting a gateway than an average link, especially with the dull, active and inactive text settings of the days or yore. You can also stack, line or place them in locations that are more pleasing to the eye, rather than just laying it out list a list or burying it in text.

Most commonly you will see these badges presented as bright, glittery boxes. They seem to shine thanks to the often-blended white gradient layers along with the block lettering and creative logo use. Since they appear to glow at you from the screen they can be really appealing.

But have you noticed who is using these the most? Companies such as Apple or social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook have more or less monopolized the use of badges in the last couple of years. Need proof? Look at app download pages or the share buttons on blogs all over the web. It is almost a shock to see them used for anything else anymore.

This overuse added to brand association spells death to the badge and button as a multi-purpose design option for others.

2. Speech Bubbles and Megaphones

Social media and networking has presented a new way of communicating to people all over the world. Since that is its primary function on a user to user level (even marketing is within this line of usage), it stands to reason that speech bubbles and megaphones would be used in logos and banners.

After all, those are direct visual representations of what these sites have sought out to do.

But the idea of showing it to be a "talking" logo has become old and stale. I have lost count of how many companies use this now, and they all seem to look the same. It isn’t that a visual showing talking and listening can’t be utilized, but perhaps something a bit more creative than the now overdone comic-era speech bubble?

3. Fun With Opacity!

I think all designers have had their fair share of fun with the lovely Multiply and Overlay features in  Photoshop? By changing the opacity of any layer you can create a really cool effect with next to no effort on your part. It can change the entire look of a logo in an instant, and might make the difference between something standard and boring and something elegant and well designed.

Possibly the most recent example of how this old technique is being utilized is in the Microsoft Silverlight logo, which was a beautifully done one that is immediately recognizable to even those who only occasionally use Internet Explorer as their browser.

Since it is so versatile and is a tool of design rather than a method, this once doesn’t have the same problem of becoming boring like some others on this list.  But it is still easy to use the wrong blend of colors or shapes, which will be less than appealing.

4. Kawaii Illustration

I keep seeing these logos all over the place, especially when it comes to apps such as Seesmic and GitHub, two very adult, industry-oriented tools for power users looking for marketing opportunities on the web.

It is not something you would expect to see advertised by adorable, fluffy, giant eyed woodland creatures.

But lately they appear to be everywhere, and that in itself shows the popularity of the trend. No one seems to know what started it, but it doesn’t look like it will be going away.

The problem with using it is that if you are not very specific about how you are presenting it, the brand you are marketing might get lost in the cuteness that is the adorable animal.

Make sure to be clear about what it is attached to, and watch to make sure it is not too similar to those used by other companies and web apps.

5. Scripts, Slabs and Other Cool Fonts

I am going to take a wild guess and say you have used Archer more than once in a logo design. I don’t think there is a single designer among us who hasn’t, or used one very similar to the point of being almost indistinguishable. Since it was probably the most popular font of the last three years it would be silly to scold you for it.

But I will tell you to step away from the Archer now. Slab serif fonts are still a great tool, but keep in mind how often they are used and the way they have a tendency to make logos all look very similar.

Instead, try to go with a more unique, lesser used alternative to the old boys. If it is something you haven’t really seen before, use it! Try building a logo to fit the font rather than the other way around. This will give an immediate creative boost and set you apart with next to no additional effort.

6. Verdant and Plant-Inspired

In this case I am not going to say "be careful when using" this design choice. I am going to say to ‘be careful not using it’, because it a really ignored look. That is unfortunate because flora and fauna are great ways to present a natural and pleasant looking logo.

Depictions of nature give people a sense of ease, and even a plant related silhouette will seem warmer and inviting than many more modern and bare looking designs that have become the norm online.

But too much of flora is still no good.

7. Quadrangles

What are these things? Seriously, they are lopsided and fit no actual shape known to man. They are somewhere between a rectangle and a trapezoid, and they are everywhere these days. Which is interesting, because symmetry was once considered a great ally to the designer, especially for logos.

The problem here is that quadrangles can appear so uneven that it gives an off-putting look to the entire logo. You have to balance it just right, and without proper color schemes, font and placement it just looks wrong. I have never personally liked one I have seen, though I can see why those who like fun and modern designs might get into it.

Tell Us Your Own!

There are so many trends out there we can’t keep up with them all. Which do you see that could be used correctly, and what ones are a flop? Let us know in the comments.

There are many resources online to reference when beginning website design. Novice and expert alike can find plenty of new information using Google’s powerful resources. Trends have been developing over time and we are finally starting to see the huge explosion of design talent in our current-day Internet.

Why Google?

The reason behind Google’s major success lies in their business strategy. Initially launched as a search engine the company was able to attract some of the brightest engineers who were very passionate about their job. Google has since broken into application development, analytics, maps data, business and social networking tools.

Though privacy has been a concern to many in the past, the company still stands today as the #1 trafficked website. Since their purchase of YouTube the company has been able to expand into Google Video, Picasa Photos, and more recently Google Docs.

Innovation is the key to success for larger Internet-based software companies. Google has seriously stepped things up and shown us just how futuristic our current society is.

Checking for Blog Articles

One of the best resources Google can offer is refined search results. There are hundreds of web design blogs on the Internet and it would take weeks to sort through them all. Google offers results based on page rank, which basically means most of the articles you’ll get are from high-quality domains.

One of the newer features Google offers is a blog directory search. Instead of going through Google’s main search function you are able to pull results from a large database of blogs. Most of these are running through WordPress or Blogger and ping Google with updates on their latest posts.

In order to save time you may consider keeping a blog feed which can be checked daily. Google Reader offers this functionality for free – all you need is a Google Account (also free).

The most popular web design blogs will offer RSS feeds. These can be collected and fed into Google Reader which will update your dashboard with the latest posts. You can save hours of time every week by removing the constant distraction of checking 10-20 different blogs. With feed readers you have all of the latest content organized and listed neatly, updated automatically!

Google for Web Developers

One of the greatest additions to Google’s apps is their code database. Located at Code’s Homepage you can see dozens of open-source projects available to work on. Among the most common is Android development and Google’s App Engine.

However you do not only need to work on open source projects. With your Google Account you are able to set up code repositories to house bits of your code. Each account is allocated a small amount of server space which Google is constantly increasing.

There are also chat forums, tools and plenty of APIs to mess around in. One of the best examples is the code playground where you can find demos for each Google product API. These include YouTube, Blogger, Google Friend Connect, and so many more.

Google Webmaster’s Tools

Located at Webmaster’s Central are all the tools any web designer/developer would need. You can gather analytics data and compare graphs with many of your own websites. This also applies to services tied into Google’s roster such as AdSense and Feedburner.

More interesting is the help section and discussion boards for members. Webmasters from all over the world gather to use Google’s powerful tools. There is a lot of information to learn from professionals, and there’s no easier way to connect!

You may also consider researching into some Blogger accounts. Many web developers will share code snippits and tutorials on their blogs. Google has a detailed search for Blogger profiles and posts related to keywords. Check out this webmaster essentials FAQ for more details.

Communication and Beyond

GMail is the most well-known e-mail application, and for good reason. In comparison to Yahoo! Mail and AOL it seems like webmail has reached an entirely new plateau. Google has added a lot of ideas into Google Mail which have pushed the boundaries in digital communication.

Now Google offers so much more that it could be considered a communication medium. Along with your GMail account you are also granted a GTalk username. This allows you to invite others using GTalk to hold IM chats, audio VoIP and even video conferences!

Most recently Google has updated the GMail interface to include all of these features naturally. This provides huge benefits to Mac OSX and Linux users who are unable to run Google Talk’s client software (though there are alternatives).

Combine this with Google Voice and you’ve got an entire medium to connect with your contacts, all tied into a single account. With any current mobile or land-line telephone you can tether a second phone number through Google Voice. This means you can give others your GV number and whenever they call it will ring whatever phone is tied in – truly an unbelievably useful service.

Google has only just begun to show it’s true agenda. With the development of Google Docs we are now seeing mockups and wireframes uploaded and shared around the world, hosted courteously via Google. As these tools become more detailed the advances in modern web design culture will follow.

The one true supporting fact for web designers is to stay passionate. There is plenty of time to practice the trade and learn modern web design trends. And with so many resources available, there’s never been a better time in history to learn. Attempt reaching out to other graphics designers as well. Many will be happy to serve as a resource and can provide constructive criticism during the learning process.

When it comes to web design, minimalism tends to be one of the most difficult styles to pull off for a lot of the online populous, though still an extremely popular one. Several among our ranks have admitted to being stumped by this approach on more than one occasion. So below, for the benefit of those tripped up on this path, are a few of the fundamentals that make this style come together effectively. That way, on your next project, you can try this approach once more with hopefully more successful results.

Nearly everyone knows the old saying less is more, but knowing it and putting it into practice are two completely different things. This is not to say that you should not be keeping this old phrase in mind as you work, just saying that even though this approach appears stylistically simple, it still requires some finesse to conquer. This should never be taken for granted.

Fundy 1: White Space

…and plenty of it. This is the first because it is the one that most people know and fall back on as the key to minimalist design. Which, for the most part, it is. White space is essential in making this style come together, but it isn’t a magic element that guarantees success. It still has to be employed in harmony with the other elements that you include in your project.

Quick Tip: Breaking Down Borders – In web design especially, we tend to box things in, throwing borders around them to cement this separation. When working for a minimal approach, you can keep your boxes, but try losing the borders around them. This helps to add to that open feeling, allowing the white space to flow through the design.

Fundy 2: Typography

Naturally you are going to want as much of a bare bones design as possible, which is going to put a bulk of the responsibility of the piece on the typography. So take steps to use extremely clean and clear fonts in your design. Ensure that the lines are sharp with no pixelation whatsoever. Scripts are also fine, as long as they are completely legible. Given the weight the type is carrying, the slightest compromise in its readability is too much.

Quick Tip: The Kerning Curve – Given that the white space is vital, keep the kerning and spacing of all of your type in mind as you put the project together. You may have to make adjustments to these typographical elements in order to maintain the uncluttered feel flowing through the design.

Fundy 3: Subtle Effects

Now with white space being a usual target for this approach many believe that this restricts them from including any other stylish elements, especially in the background. This is completely untrue. Textures, gradients, etc. are all more than welcome to enter this minimalist playing field but you want to keep them not only down to a small number, but you also want to only use them with subtlety.

Quick Tip: Mind the Balance – Anytime we design, we know that there is a balance of elements that we must maintain. However, when working in a minimalist fashion, this balance needs to be adjusted, heavily favoring the less is more mentality mentioned before. Always opt to keep it simple and down to as few added effects as possible.

Fundy 4: Clear Hierarchy

Like the typography, another area of your design that is going to have more of the brunt to bare than usual when working in minimalist arenas is the hierarchy. You need a completely clear hierarchy to be established since overall the content will be scaled down to only the most important elements. You do not want your users to suffer, and lose their way due to your approach of choice. Speaking of which, making sure that your navigation is clean and clearly visibly will assist with this.

Quick Tip: Big, Bold Headlines – To help tackle this issue, you can easily turn to the headlines used in the design. Through the use of large, commanding headers, you can visually guide your users throughout the project. Hierarchy handled.

Fundy 5: Grid Use

Now minimalism can alter some of the basic design rules, but one that remains completely unfettered is the use of the grid. The grid system is very important for minimalist design to ensure the comfort of the user. The content is already going to be out there flowing freely in ways that the users are not always used to and visually comfortable with. So do what you can to keep that comfort level in check. Employing the grid system can help.

Quick Tip: Feel Free to Think Outside the Box – Just because you are employing the grid system does not mean that you have to allow the design to still be ‘boxed in’. Get creative with the layout as much as you would like to, but for the sake of your users, keep the grid in place.

Fundy 6: Image Inclusion

Images are another element that some designers believe they have to remove from their pool of potential add-ins with this approach, but once again, this could not be further from the truth. Do not be afraid to use images to balance out the abundance of typography at all. You just have to be a bit more discerning with your choice of images. Not to mention that you need to be sure to use them sparingly.

Quick Tip: Don’t Break with the Theme – Be sure that whatever images you use, especially if they are photographs, you keep with the established minimal theme. Use images that are lightly filled and not overly cluttered in any way. Negative space based imagery works well in these instances.

The Fine Print

With those fundamentals covered and out of the way, there are still a few more pearls of minimalism wisdom left to impart. Do not mistake them as unimportant to this approach because they are not broken up into their own categories, these tips are still ones you should take away with you.

The Devil is in the Details – Detail is extremely important, all the way down to the individual pixels. When there is less clutter, any and every stray pixel stands out even more, catching the eye and distracting it from what is really important.

Necessity is the Mother of All Inclusions – Ask yourself the question, ‘is this element absolutely necessary?’, and only include those that are. It is all about serving the design, not flashing your skills. Besides, some would say it takes more skill to pull off a minimal design than it does your standard, fully loaded creation.

The Color Code – Use colors sparingly, not to mention extremely carefully. With less in the design communicating to the viewer, color tends to speak out more. So keep those associations in mind even more so than you usually would.

The Icon Connection – Do not ruin a nice minimalist design with the wrong choice of icons. Sometimes the icons that we use in our projects can almost feel like afterthoughts, as they tend to not fit as good as the rest of the elements included. Do not let that happen here. Use only clean and minimalist icons to match your design.

That is a Wrap

That tops off the discussion from this end on what to look out for as you head towards a minimalist web design project. Hopefully the post has proved helpful for any members of the community that have not had the best of luck with this approach and could not quite suss out why. Perhaps there was a point or two covered that you could put your finger on as the problem you ran into. Have you ever run into issues trying to pull off this style? What fundamentals would you have highlighted in this post?

Invoicera

Invoicera is a complete online invoicing and billing application which offers services ranging right from creating invoices to project time tracking and expense management. The application is available with a wide spectrum of features which extends its usability advantage and flexibility to the end users. There is free plan available to test the application while the basic plan starts at as low as $9.95 per month. The other two plans are priced at $19.95 and $49.95 and all plans come with a 30 day money back guarantee.

Zoho Invoice

Zoho Invoice is an easy-to-use online invoicing software that helps you send invoices for your projects and customer expenses, receive payments and track the overall health of your business. It does not offer integrated time tracking capabilities, but makes invoicing and following-up easy. Free plan is available to send 5 invoices, while paid plans are available at $8, $15, $25 and $35.

FreshBooks

FreshBooks creates and manages invoices and reports. It also keeps a track on your time and expenses. You can start FreshBooks with a free or limited account or you also have a choice to choose from a number of different options to cater your needs. As far as pricing is concerned then you can manage up to 25 active clients at $19.95 per month which is quite reasonable.

PayPal

PayPal has a simple invoicing system that e-mails your invoices to the clients. Since this system involves no monthly fees, it is apt for freelancers. It only takes a small amount of money that you receive. The PayPal account is linked to your checking account so that you can conveniently transfer the balance from PayPal account to your bank. Usually people prefer to use PayPal for freelance blogging.

PaySimple

PaySimple is used for creating and managing invoices by allowing ACH payments, online payments, recurring billing and credit card processing. Its prices begin at $34.95 per month with no for set-up fee.

Blinksale

Blinksale offers you to manage endless clients but the numbers of invoices that you can send are restricted. For instance, you can send up to 6 invoices per month for $6 or pay $12 per month for upgrading 50 invoices. The biggest package is at $99 per month for 1500 invoices.

Billing Manager

Billing Manager is useful for creating and managing your invoices online. It is also helpful to keep your invoices in different folders so that you can keep a track about what has been paid and unpaid and also tracks over dues. Billing Manager is offered by the makers of QuickBooks, Quicken and Turbo Tax as a free invoicing system.

Less Accounting

It is a simple accounting solution that is beneficiary in creating and managing invoices. Less accounting is aimed towards small business owners by proffering them simple software that provides the requisites to small businesses without any complicated systems. It would cost you $12 per month and the first 30 days are free.

Worketc

Worketc has a broad range of functions which include contact management, email marketing, project management, calendars and invoice management. It comes with a 14 day guarantee and monthly subscription fee of $44.95 which includes access of two employees along with $10 per month as additional employees.

Bill My Clients

Bill My Clients has different solutions and options for businesses of different sizes. For instance, for freelancers the invoicing and time tracking service is at $11.99 per month while for small businesses A/R management is also included in the service at $11.99 per month.

Billing Orchard

Billing Orchard looks after hourly time billing including flat fee and recurring billing. The basic system with automated invoicing would cost you $14.95 per month but from there prices shoot-up to $69.95. Billing Orchard is apt for web developers, web hosts and hosting sellers.

Invotrak

It is a free system to create and track invoice, in this you can enter clients and manage invoices accordingly. However, you would find no advanced options like receiving online payments and for a paid service you would need to pay $9 for basic plan.

The Case Study

As web designers, presentation is a major part of what we do, so there are times when we cannot help but see things from that perspective. We look at the world through a different lens than some, it is just a habit of the trade. It was with that eye that I looked up from the sidewalk and took in the site before me. The decades old building and surrounding property showed the same time tattered look as the cracked sidewalk that lay in front of it. Seemingly barely being held together by the faded yellow curb that keeps it from spilling out into the street. The pool was surrounded by a wrought iron fence with highlights of rust, which really accentuated the black tarp cover that spread across the surface of the pool sinking down about a foot to reach the top of the water. Overall, a very unappealing presentation, aged to far shy of perfection.

But then there was the other hotel, the brand new chain, and I was struck by the complete separation from these two side by side structures. All the way down to the curb. The new hotel, as previously mentioned, had gone so far as to have the curb, sidewalk, all the way up through the parking lot completely rebuilt. Drawing the eye up to the large flawless structure that was so much more inviting than its elderly neighbor. Reflecting the same sharp presentation from the curb to the counter, and I began to wonder if there was a lesson that the we as web designers could take away from this brick and mortar presentational model. Given the commitment to detail and the level of scope that they took in constructing this hotel and the property attached to it, and that is when I landed on this post. Because every element matters to the presentation of our web design and need to be considered as critical as they are.

The Brick & Mortar Model

Essentially what we have in this case is a brick and mortar hotel versus a website design. Perhaps versus is the wrong word, because this is in no way a competition, but more a comparison model that we can learn from. Especially when it comes to presentation. Because a hotel that focuses that heavily on their visual draw is working in the same vicinity as we are when we craft a website. The externals of the hotel are all fashioned with one underlying purpose, to appeal to the masses passing by, and win them over with the allure established through this visual presentation.

As web designers, when we are building a website, we have a similar mission in mind, and the elemental build that all adds up to our own visual presentation should all be working together with this singular purpose in mind. Each of these inclusions has to be mindfully tucked into the design, and in no way can be left up to the afterthought mindset that can actually work against your design instead of for it. Be proactive in your web creations to consider all these areas and elements and how they feed that idea, and steer the online masses into the site. The hotel is trying to win you over visually to get you to stay in their rooms, while web designers, we are trying to get you passed the landing page of the site and into our other posts and pages.

So there are a number of parallels that we can draw between these models, and below is an examination of those crossover presentational ideas so that we can perhaps improve the way we approach our own projects. Each area of the hotel’s visual approach will be dissected in relation to the elements of our website designs that we should never let be relegated to a place of cohesive unimportance.

Curb Check

As I first mentioned, this hotel had gone so far as to redo the sidewalk and curb, replacing the rundown faded yellow concrete structure with a clean unpainted, unspoiled one. Which when you think about it, the sidewalk and curb are a bit like the links leading into your site. Though we do not always have as much control over these links as the hotel obviously did with the curb, we do have some ability to keep them in check. Doing so is important to maintaining the professional presentation that we tend to be aiming for when we construct a site.

We are often given notice of incoming links to our site, and that gives us an opportunity to steer the situation in this respect. Be sure that you keep your linked to content fresh and active, and also keep your site up to date so that the initial impression leading in will effectively set up the proper expectations for the user. If they follow a broken link into your site, there is not much that you can do beyond supplying a helpful 404 page that can guide them along their way and through the site. Otherwise, do your best to honor those incoming links by keeping the content in place and relevant.

Veerles Blog is a good example of a helpful 404 page.

Product Planner is another fine example of a good 404 page.

Park Place

Next up on our lessons via the hotel model comes from the place where you park your cars, attached the sidewalk and curb that we just left. The parking lot of the building can be looked at a lot like a splash or landing page that proceeds the users entry into some of the sites out there. Much like a less than friendly parking area can be a detractor to potential visitors, having an entry point to your site that is not setup with the user in mind might send them surfing on to their next location. So when employing this element into your project be sure that you keep it simple.

You want the landing to be smooth, so overwhelming the user is not necessarily the way to go. Like with the lot, you want to just lead them into the site, so choose a subtle approach when you can. Point them directly towards their goal. Most parking lots have one way in and one way out, keep your landing page along those same lines. Do not distract the user once they get there, so be sure that your design is strictly set to serve its purpose. If you use some sort of Flash presentation that must play out before the user can move on, keep the length in mind. Not just for one play either, because some users may not know to bookmark your index to allow them to skip passed this intro on returning visits.

Atutiplen has a wonderful splash page to look at for an example.

On!Production is another site that has a good splash page to check out.

Planter Placement

In this particular example, using the hotel as the model, I have to point out that they had a series of bushes planted around the sidewalk and parking area, all perfectly aligned and trimmed, neatly guiding the eye around the property. Nothing seemed to be out of place, the plants all fit into the pattern and lead the visitors where they need to go. The alignment in all of our web design projects should work in this same way. Helping us to visually lead the user through and to the relevant areas of the website.

Many of us are accustomed to being led through areas visually, and that transfers over to the web as well. So when we are crafting our website designs we need to be aware of the alignment of every piece of the proverbial puzzle. Especially when we are putting together our main pages, we want to keep this mind, but as we move to the deeper pages we can experiment with breaking the alignment. It is easier for novices and first time visitors to navigate back to where they were once they have moved into the site, than it is for them to necessarily find their way initially. So use your alignment to help when and where you can in your visual presentation.

New Adventures Conference has wonderful alignment on their site.

Moonbeam Illustrations is another fantastic site to check out for their alignment.

The Welcome Center

In this comparison model, we now move inside the hotel, the direction that everything has been steering us, and we enter into the virtual visitor welcome center, the lobby. A warm and welcoming environment that is spacious, with great lengths being taken to keep it comfortable and clean. Now the homepage is the comparable location for our web design, when we look at the lobby of the hotel. The homepage is our welcome center, and the same rules apply that we find employed in the hotel lobby for our site.

You want to ensure that you keep the homepage spacious and visually comfortable for the sake of your users. Allowing for any kind of clutter on the homepage can inadvertently work against the design and success of the site. If the content feels squeezed together, without the proper room to breath so to speak, or if the numerous elements feel too crammed in, then it can visually rub some users the wrong way, and they may not go beyond the homepage. From here the visitors should also have no question at all where to proceed. The design should easily guide them around the page without unnecessarily confusing the issue for the sake of flexing our design prowess.

Creative Payne has a very welcoming home page.

Literary Bohemian also stands a shining example in the home page respect.

Signs, Signs, Everywhere There’s Signs

The hotel, like nearly every hotel I have ever been in, is either a really big fan of the song Signs or they just have a vested interest in making navigating the grounds as easy as possible for their guests. I’m more thinking it’s the latter. They do this with the inclusion of as many signs as they can work in to the place to provide guidance throughout. This is important, because if people cannot easily make their way around, then sticking around, not going to really be a high priority. It doesn’t really do much for repeat business. We need to understand that the navigation of our websites should be considered in the exact same way. While still maintaining that spacious, uncluttered feel.

It might seem contradictory to the last point covered, but we all know that navigation is generally not a cumbersome element in our designs. Unless that is the approach that was opted for, the navigation tends to be easily managed without being visually obtrusive. Using clearly recognizable links throughout the site to easily allow the user to delve deeper and deeper into your content is not always a must, but it surely has its benefits. The more accessible we make the site for the user, the more apt they are to stick around, and make return visits. So make your website the Tesla way. With plenty of signposts along the rabbit hole to take them to the depths of your virtual Wonderland.

Shawn Johnston has a great site to look at as an example of good navigation.

Red Tiki is another website that handles their navigation well.

Calling the Front Desk

Before we leave the lobby behind completely, there is another example that we can take from this area to learn a basic lesson for our website work, and that is from the front desk. Or rather the attendant covering this station. The front desk attendant is someone on call, so to speak, that visitors know they can contact, giving them a sense of comfort should something go awry, or should they need something more from the hotel. Having a contact form or some sort of contact information on your site can help impart this same sense to your visitors.

Not only does this contact information give your users a lifeline like help desk to your site should they encounter any trouble, but this can also convey that the ideas, feedback, and so-forth from your visitors matters to you. Hopefully it does, and you would want to give them this reach. Well, this is an easy way to do so. While it does tend to open up the proverbial floodgates for you to get spammed, that is not always going to be the end result. It can also often open the door to collaborative efforts or other opportunities to stem from the site by having some point of contact on the site somewhere.

Joyent is a good place to go when you are looking for a great example of how to tackle the contact info.

hm-andrei is another great example of handling the contact aspect of a site.

Code of Uniformity

Now in this final step of the comparison model I have to admit that I did not go so far as to get a room at the hotel for the sake of the follow through, so this last section is based on supposition that is supported from years of travels and staying in other hotels. But throughout most hotels, especially in the rooms, we see a uniformity among the various elements. All fitting neatly into their place to serve the overall presentation. We need to be aware of this very thing as we build our website. Every element should adhere to this code of uniformity in our ‘rooms’ or deeper pages.

Now this is not to say that every page that goes beyond the homepage have to look alike. Far from it. In fact, there are many sites that have a unique design for each page of the site and it works fantastically. What I am saying here is that every element that we have that uniformly run through each page should still be recognizable as such each time it makes an appearance. Nothing more. Variation can be good, but we still need to keep certain elements from changing too much page to page for the sake of the less than savvy user. For example, if throughout the rest of the site, the only thing underlined at all are links, do not suddenly alter that in deeper pages, suddenly possibly confusing the issue.

Wawa Coffeetopia wonderfully employs this code of uniformity throughout their site.

Amazee Labs also subscribes to the code, and exemplifies how well this idea can be enacted.

In Conclusion

This hotel comparison yields a few lessons that we can take away from it. Overall, from curb to counter and beyond they employ a strict, cohesive visual idea that none of the elements stray from in any way. We should strive for this same presentational output for our designs as well. Are there any other areas or ideas that you think we could take away from this brick and mortar model? How important would you say this sort of visual cohesiveness is?

1. Nature Inspired Painted Background in Photoshop

User interface background just grabs and pulls the reader right in. In this tutorial, designer will you show his own technique for creating this type of background.

2. High-End Web Design from Scratch

In this tutorial, we’ll put together a high-end Web design using a crisp, thin font, gorgeous background images, and clever use of space and layout. You can easily use the technique to create your own unique designs.

3. Graphic Design Studio Web Layout

A simple and professional design studio layout tutorial.

4. Grunge Web Design in Photoshop

Photoshop is often the right tool for web design, especially if you’re creating a design using numerous images and brush effects. In this tutorial, designer show you how to create a complete grunge home page design. He will design the header, sidebar, body, footer, and style everything to work together in a heavily textured and worn design.

5. Grungy / Textured Layout Tutorial

In this photoshop tutorial you will learn how to design grungy/textured layout.

6. Create a Professional Web 2.0 Layout

In this Photoshop tutorial you are going to learn how to create a web 2.0 layout

7. Create a Grungy, Translucent Web Portfolio Design

This tutorial will show you how to create a translucence effect, while combining it with other popular web trends.

8. Design a Beautiful Website From Scratch

Through this tutorial, designer will point out some tiny details which make a website design look beautiful. Fire up Photoshop and let’s get going!

9. Old paper layout – Great portfolio layout

In this tutorial designer will show you how easy is to create a great layout with a simple old paper texture image.

10. Website Gallery Layout Design

In this tutorial you will learn how to make a layout for a css website gallery using Photoshop.

11. Wooden Grunge Portfolio Web Layout in Photoshop

In this beginner-level web design tutorial, designer will show you how to construct a portfolio web layout that has a fixed wooden background with Photoshop.

12. Cartoon Grunge Web site Layout

Learn how to add a worn look that works well with cartoon-style graphics. Different flavors of grunge styles are popular all over the Web right now. Learn a unique approach to wear and tear that you can incorporate into your next Web site design.

13. Design an Awesome Band Website Template

In this intermediate Photoshop tutorial, deisgner is going to teach you how to make a really wicked, grungy-style band website template.

14. Design a Sleek Textured Blue Portfolio

Learn how to design a sleek and textured portfolio web design from scratch, including guide techniques, sketching/drawing tips and content placement.

15. Create a Clean and Classy Web Design in Photoshop

In this web design tutorial, you will learn how to create an elegant and professional web layout that can be used as a web portfolio site.

16. Beautiful Music Streaming Website Design

In this tutorial you will learn how to create a beautiful and clean music streaming website in Photoshop.

17. Light and Colorful Grunge Portfolio Layout

In this tutorial you will learn how to create a light and colorful grungy portfolio layout in Photoshop.

18. How To Create a Rockin’ Website Layout

In this Photoshop tutorial you are going to create a chocolate-looking website layout.

19. Portfolio website in Photoshop

This tutorial will explain only how to design portfolio layout in Photoshop.

20. Design a Photolog Theme For WordPress

In this tutorial you will learn to create a Photolog design theme for WordPress.

21. Clean Blue Portfolio Design in Photoshop

Have you ever wanted to create clean and nice portfolio design? In this tutorial designer will show you how to design clean blue portfolio layout.

22. Green & Sleek Web Layout in Photoshop

In this web design tutorial, you’ll learn how to create a beautiful, green, and sleek layout in Photoshop. You’ll learn popular design techniques such as creating a 3D ribbon and professional-looking color gradient effects.

23. Portfolio Web Layout

In this tutorial designer will show you how to create a colorful yet elegant portfolio layout.

24. Gnarly Snowboarding Themed Web Design

Photoshop manipulation to create a concept web design for a fictional brand named ‘Snow Candy’.

25. Beautiful Music Streaming Website Design in Photoshop

Please note that in this tutorial designer will explain only how to design this layout in Photoshop but he will not cover the conversion PSD to XHTML.

Whether you are just starting out in the design business, or you have been around awhile but few people have ever heard of you, there are potentially great benefits to growing your reputation and establishing yourself as an authority in your field. The global design community is an amazing network that is becoming increasingly accessible thanks to modern technology and social media. It behooves every designer, no matter what specific focus or skills they have, to plant both feet as firmly as possible in the midst of this community, for reasons that include learning and sharing among peers, client referrals, and more. In this post I will share some of the things I have done that have helped me to transition from an unknown freelance web and graphic designer to a relatively respected and known member of the design community in less than a year.

Before we start, here are the disclaimers:

• I am no expert, nor am I claiming to have discovered any secrets, but my experience over the past year has changed my life for the better and I believe it can change yours. Your results, however, will definitely vary because each of us is a unique individual with a variety of strengths and weaknesses.
• Establishing your reputation and authority does not make you a better designer. I will be the first to admit that there are plenty of designers with more talent, more authority and stronger reputations than mine. Still, growing my own reputation and authority has helped me improve as a designer while simultaneously expanding my business. I believe it can do the same for anyone.
• It is important to remember that this is a process. It takes time, a bit of work and patience. It also may stretch you outside of your comfort zone. But if you make the investment and your results are anything like mine, you will be glad you did.

Webster’s defines an authority as “an individual cited or appealed to as an expert”. While there are an abundance of people claiming to be experts in various fields, one of the surefire ways you can drive other designers and potential clients away rather than toward you is to start calling yourself an expert. I once heard someone say, “If you have to walk around telling everyone you’re ‘the man’, you’re probably not ‘the man’!” I believe a far better approach to building your authority is to establish credibility and relationships among your peers and in your circle of influence, allowing their word of mouth to form the foundation and expansion of your reputation.

Begin With Blogging

If you don’t already have one, why not? Sure there is an overabundance of design blogs, but there is a reason: they are successful in many different ways, from advertising revenue to the purpose we’re discussing. A blog is an excellent way for others to get to know more about you, your skills, your interests, your experience and more, and it can provide much more of a vehicle for this than the status updates and brief interactions of social media channels.

I started my blog specifically because I enjoy writing as a creative expression, and I’ve found that it is an excellent way to share more about who I am, my professional and personal insights, and to strengthen my authority as a designer, writer and social media explorer.

The key to creating and filling a blog with content that will build your authority is to identify those topics that will demonstrate your unique strengths. What are your passions, skills and interests that you can share with others? Rather than creating another design blog and filling it with roundups of the latest fonts or top designers to follow on Twitter, find your own unique contribution and build your blog around it. In my case, my blog has evolved into a place where I talk about my experiences in social media, my thoughts on certain hot topics, my personal inquiries and examinations of design philosophies, and things of that nature. This has connected me with other designers and social media personalities that I quite possibly would have never otherwise communicated with. It has also provided another forum that I can share and learn from others as they comment and discuss these topics with me. The benefits have been immeasurable!

Cultivate With Comments

This is another easy way to get yourself, your brand, your personality and your input out there as much as possible. The more others see your name, face, icon, logo, etc. the more you will become a familiar and even expected part of the design community landscape. Take some time each day to go through design blogs and comment on those that speak to you, inspire you, challenge you, or spark some other type of response. This will allow others to hear and see your thoughts about various issues as well as potentially get them to check out your own blog or social media channels.

I’m not suggesting randomly commenting on every design post you can find. I’m just saying that you should contribute to discussions where your own experience, skills and insight could be valuable to others. The more you can do this, the more others will begin to recognize you and your strengths, building upon your reputation as an authority in your niche.

Saturate With Social Media

One of the primary resources you can and should use in your quest to build your authority is social media. Whatever your favorite tool or network(s), there is a design community on it. I started using Twitter and quickly found it to be a fantastic tool to connect with other designers. Even more interesting was how I learned to use it to establish my reputation as a resource for the latest news. This may not be your bag, and that’s okay. But use whatever social network(s) you’re comfortable with to begin getting your name, thoughts, ideas, latest work, blog posts, portfolio and whatever else you can think of out there. Be sure not to simply become a broadcast channel, the equivalent of standing in the middle of a mall with a sandwich board and a megaphone telling everyone to pay attention to what you have to say. Instead use social media to find and form relationships with other designers, share and discover resources, and make other valuable connections. One thing I’ve learned is to be open and accepting to any and all possibilities and people – you never know how that connection may benefit you in the future, or how you may be of assistance to them.

I highly recommend utilizing Facebook and Twitter, at the very least. Set up your accounts and get busy finding other designers to follow and friend. There are tools to make this easier, such as WeFollow.com and Mr. Tweet for Twitter, where directories of members of the design community are ready and waiting for you to sift through and befriend your peers. Visit your favorite design blogs and connect with their social network accounts – most will have links to theirs easily accessible on the front page specifically for this purpose. Don’t be afraid that you’re not worthy or that these better known designers will laugh when they receive your friend request. The truth is that most are extremely friendly, down to earth people just like you and I, and they would balk at the thought that they are anything ‘special’. Social media has somewhat leveled the playing field and made it much easier for the unknown to strike up a conversation with the most popular. The distance between the two is diminishing every day, which makes social media a primary tool for building and growing your reputation and authority.

Tend With Time

No matter what you do to build your authority and reputation as a designer, it will take time. There is no way around this, and the more time you invest, it stands to reason the less time will have to pass before you see results. Looking for shortcuts or quitting before waiting long enough will usually end up in lesser results than just doing what needs to be done in the time allotted. Start out knowing that you will have to be patient, and rather than anxiously looking for immediate results, enjoy the journey. The contacts, relationships, education and other benefits of the process may even become more valuable to you than the end result, so don’t make the mistake of missing out on them by looking too far ahead.

What are some ways that you have built you reputation and authority as a designer? Have you had successes or failed attempts with some of the ideas presented here? Please be sure to share your comments, thoughts, questions and experiences. Most of all, for those of you who are just getting started or in the early stages, I wish you the best of luck. Please let me know if I can assist you in any way. And don’t forget to connect with me on Twitter, Facebook or anywhere else you can find me!

Image Source: ShuterStock

Ready to make your own toolbox?. Okay! Here is the list of 25 web design tools.

1. HTML Entity Character Lookup

This lookup allows you to quickly find the entity based on how it looks, e.g. like an < or the letter c.

HTML Entity Character Lookup

2. Blueprint CSS framework

It gives you a solid foundation to build your project on top of, with an easy-to-use grid, sensible typography, useful plugins, and even a stylesheet for printing.

Blueprint CSS framework

3. Typetester

The Typetester is an online application for comparison of the fonts for the screen. Its primary role is to make web designer’s life easier.

Compare Fonts For Web Design

4. Em Calculator

Em Calculator is a small JavaScript tool which helps making scalable and accessible CSS design.

Making Scalable and Accessible CSS Design

5. Web Developer Toolbar

Adds a menu and a toolbar with various web developer tools.

Web Developer

6. MeasureIt

Draw out a ruler to get the pixel width and height of any elements on a webpage.

Draw Out A Ruler

7. ColorZilla

Advanced Eyedropper, ColorPicker, Page Zoomer and other colorful goodies.

Advanced Eyedropper and ColorPicker

8. Firebug

Firebug integrates with Firefox to put a wealth of web development tools at your fingertips while you browse. You can edit, debug, and monitor CSS, HTML, and JavaScript live in any web page.

Firebug

9. Designers Toolbox

All kind of print and web documents sizes.

Designers Toolbox

10. What the Font?

Submit an image to WhatTheFont to find the closest matches in our database.

What the Font?

11. Easy Web Form Builder

FormSpring gives businesses and organizations an easy way to build any type of online form, integrate it with their website and begin collecting data.

Easy Web From Builder

12. Browser Shots

Test your site in different browsers.

Check Browser Compatibility

13. Icon Finder

An Icon search engine.

Icon Search Engine

14. Button Browser

Its a button gallery and button maker.

Button Gallery and Button Maker

15. Rounded Corner

This generates a basic box with rounded corners. It will create four image files and the necessary HTML and CSS code for you to put rounded corners around your content.

Generate Rounded Corners

16. BlogFlux Button Maker

You see those 80×15 buttons everywhere. Our Button Maker lets you make some yourself. Fiddling around with Photoshop or any other graphics editor can be a pain. Make 80×15 or 88×13 buttons with a few clicks.

Button Maker

17. Vecteezy

Get free vector graphics.

Get Free Icons

18. Background Image Maker

Nice application to create background images.

Background Image Maker

19. Photoshop Brushes

Cool Photoshop brushes available for download.

Photoshop Brushes

20. Tartan Maker

Tartan Maker – the new trendsetting application for cool designers.

Tartan Maker

21. Color Schemer

ColorSchemer Studio 2 is a professional color matching application for anyone from hobbyists to advanced professionals.

Color Scheme Gallery

22. Webs

Create your own website for FREE!

Web Site For Free

23. Sampa

Make a Free Website: Every day, thousands of people just like you use Sampa to create their own personal website, family website or baby website.

Make a Free Website

24. Format Pixel

Create your own online magazines, fanzines, brochures, catalogues, portfolios and more.

Online Publishing Tool

25. Weebox

Flash-based website creator.

Flash-Based Website Creator

There are thousands of web designers trying to show their creativity. I tried to list those portfolio web sites which are more creative and unique. Here are 60 amazing portfolio web sites.

Please note that these are not listed in any particular order.

1. Jay Hafling

Jay Hafling is a designer from Ukraine having experience of 6 years.

2. Alex Buga

A flash portfolio web site.

3. Emotions Live

Portfolio of Mike, a freelance web graphic designer.

4. Digital Mash

Portfolio of Rob Morris, an Australian graphic designer.

5. Taufiq Ridha

Web and Graphic Designer who lives in Jakarta.

6. Pojeta

An illustrator’s portfolio.

7. Brad Colbow

Brad Colbow is a web designer, illustrator and cartoonist.

8. Kulturbanause

Kulturbanause, the private blog & portfolio of Jonas Hellwig, Düsseldorf (Germany) based Webdesigner.

9. Alexandru Cohaniuc

Alexandru Cohaniuc, a web designer from Chisinau, Moldova.

10. Design Disease

Design Disease provides cost-effective Web design services focused on usability, accessibility and Web standards.

11. Adaptd

AdaptD is a small web design and development firm based in Bucharest, Romania.

12. Veboo Labs

Veboo Labs is an experienced team of web designers and developers focused on providing highest quality.

13. Dawghouse Design Studio

This is a personal website, visual playground and testing ground of Jan.

14. Freshivore

Designer is specialize in delivering effective, long-lasting, good-quality Web sites that meet my clients’ goals.

15. Dizzain

Dizzain Inc. is a New York Web Design Company focusing on custom web solutions, logo design and WordPress themes.

16. Web Design Beach

Web Design Beach is based out of San Diego, California and Amsterdam, Holland.

17. Patagonia Creative

Simple solutions for complex projects – Web Design & Graphics.

18. Monofactor

Portfolio of Onur Oztaskiran, currently located in Turkey.

19. James Lai Creative

Developing dynamic and beautiful sites for nearly 10 years.

20. Galan Design

Portfolio of Ramiro Galan having experience in a variety of areas from strategic user centered design to brand design and development.

21. Pikaboo

Brussels based motion graphic studio.

22. Jeffrey Sarmiento

Jeffrey Sarmiento is a web designer living in Toronto, Canada.

23. Marc Dahmen

An interactive flash portfolio.

24. Dean Oakley

Portfolio of Dean Oakley, a web designer and developer from Gold Coast, Australia.

25. Bcandullo

Online portfolio of Brad Candullo. Interactive Designer / Developer.

26. 13 Creative

Portfolio of Jen, founder of 13 Creative.

27. We Bleed Design

This is the portfolio site of Bryan Katzel.

28. Nile Inside

Online showcase and portfolio of Nile Studio.

29. Okay Dave

An interactive portfolio of Dave Werner.

30. Thibaud

Thibaud’s portfolio, a freelance CG artist from Belgium.

31. In Trozo

Personal portfolio of Eduardo Valdivieso.

32. Foxie

A full team of professionals, performing all kinds of works, from idea to prepress, from design layout to programming.

33. Kino

Open Space and portfolio of kino aka Andrea Banchini.

34. Ed Peixoto

A self-taught Brazilian art director/designer.

35. Hello Karl

Hellokarl is Charles Kalpakian’s portoflio. Young french designer based in Paris.

36. Keithar

Design portfolio of Sebastian Witman, a Young web designer based in Tartaczna.

37. Studio E-Space

Online portfolio and personal WEB space of Studio E-Space.

38. Seb Design

“sebdesign.eu” can’t be defined with one word. From functional design to abstract illustrations, bold shapes to fine details, colourful palette, using imagination and hard work.

39. B.N.Weiss

Online portfolio & personal WEB space of NYC Designer Benjamin Weiss.

40. New Concept

Portfolio of Szabolcs Bakos, a web and graphic designer from Salgotarjan, Hungary.

41. Sprawsm

Online portfolio of Superawesome, a small and affordable design firm specialized in visual design for the modern Web.

42. Jek2k

Online Work Space and portfolio of Nicolò Volpato.

43. Nine Lion Design

The Design Portfolio of Chikezie Ejiasi.

44. David Hellmann

Portfolio of David Hellmann, a 24 year old young web designer from cologne, Germany.

45. Rockatee

Rockatee is a tiny design studio led by a single German web and front-end designer & developer.

46. Octwelve

Personal blog of web designer,Luc Melgar.

47. Tvrdek

Personal effective portfolio of Jiri Tvrdek, a 26 year old freemind freelance graphic designer based in Prague.

48. Osvaldas

Web designer and developer based in Vilnius, a capital of a brave country – Lithuania.

49. Big Sweater Design

Big Sweater Design was born around the fourth quarter of 2005. It’s a one-man show, run by me, Vincent Maglione.

50. Toby Powell

Web design, identity and 3D visualisation. Built according to the latest web standards.

51. Tony Geer

Portfolio of Tony Geer, a web designer.

52. Leigh Taylor

Online showcase of selected works of Leigh Taylor.

53. Matt Dempsey

Online Portfolio of Matt Dempsey.

54. Mediocore

Portfolio of David Arazim, a Graphic Designer from Czech Republic.

55. Thuiven

Portfolio and Work Space of Thuiven, an Israeli company specializing in giving web design and development services.

56. Mcjdj

Texturing and modelling portfolio of Carolina Jesus, A UK based young female Environment Artist.

57. Injection Design

Portfolio of Chan Karunamuni, founder of Injection Design – a design consultancy.

58. Colour Pixel

Portfolio of Nag, a designer from Hyderabad.

59. Kailoon

Portfolio of Kailoon, a web designer from Malaysia.

60. CodingMonkeys

Web design and branding solutions.

I am sorry if i missed your portfolio . But if you think you are more creative tell me i will include your site in list too.