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40 Spectacular Free Web Design Tutorials in Photoshop

Beau — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 09:00:09 +0000

There are tons of free tutorials online these days that it makes it hard to pursue formal education when it comes to web design. Many of the best designers showcase their efforts in providing free value to their readers. I’ve listed 40 web layout tutorials that you can follow along with Photoshop.

1. How To Create a”Worn Paper” Web Layout Using Photoshop

2. Create a Sleek, High-End Web Design From Scratch

3. Create a Stylish Business Layout in Photoshop

4. How To Create a Clean and Colorful Web Layout

5. Create a Web Design Company Layout in Photoshop

6. Create an Apple Inspired Web Layout in Photoshop

7. Design Lab TV Styled Layout in Photoshop

8. Learn How to Make a White Notebook Style For Web Site Design

9. Dark Style Web Template in Photoshop

10. Create a Modern Blog Layout

11. Create an Amazing Layout Using Textures

12. Design a Trendy Business & Finance Layout

13. Web Layout For Italian Restaurant

14. 1st Photoshop Web Design Professional Layout Tutorial

15. Photography Portfolio in Photoshop

16. Create a Stylish Portfolio Layout

17. Making the Clean Grunge Blog Design

18. How to Make a Creative Blog Layout

19. How a Simple Layout Can Be Mixed ‘n’Matched with Patterns, Photos and Backgrounds

20. Design a Clean Business Layout

21. Design a Creative Design Studio Layout

22. Website Gallery Layout in Photoshop

23. Create a Dark and Sleek Web Layout Using Photoshop

24. Create WordPress Themes in Adobe Photoshop

25. Design a Clean and Colorful Portfolio in Photoshop

26. Photoshop a Paper Texture From Scratch then Create a Grungy Web Design with it!

27. Softblue Template Tutorial

28. Create a Grunge WordPress Theme in Photoshop

29. Create a Portfolio Layout with Wooden Background in Photoshop

30. Create a Nature Inspired Painted Background in Photoshop

31. Create an Interior Design Layout in Photoshop

32. Design a Dark, Contrasted Layout in Photoshop

33. Portfolio Web Layout in Photoshop

34. Design a Cartoon Grunge Web Site Layout

35. Portfolio Gallery Layout in Photoshop

36. Create a Hand Drawn Blog Layout in Photoshop

37. Tutorial Site Blog Design in Photoshop

38. Full Photoshop Web Design – Journal

39. Create a Promotional iPhone Apps Site in Photoshop

40. Design a Sleek and Modern Hosting Layout

Top 25 Car Related Website Designs

Beau — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 19:14:50 +0000

In today’s collection I’ve compiled a list of the top car make website designs. These are from the big names and handle large budgets for their online presence. Although there weren’t hundreds to choose from, these are great designs nonetheless.

1. Lincoln

2. Acura

3. Nissan

4. Cadillac

5. Dodge

6. Buick

7. Kia

8. Mercedes Benz

9. Bugatti

10. Lexus

11. Honda

12. Infiniti

13. Mitsubishi

14. Jaguar

15. Chevrolet

16. Audi

17. Ford

18. BMW

19. Volkswagon

20. Ferrari

21. Suburu

22. Hyundai

23. Chrysler

24. Toyota

25. Scion

15 Artistic Infographic Designs

Beau — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 09:00:34 +0000

Informational Graphics are graph visual representations of data or knowledge. It’s a nice way of looking at information without having to analyze each piece of data. In this collection I’ve scoured the internet for some cool and fun infographics that have both great info and a unique visual appeal.

1. The Browser Wars

2. Coffee Drinks Illustrated

3. Facebook vs. Twitter

4. Burning Fuel: The average car vs. the average human

5. You Are What You Eat: Japanese Bloodtyping

6. Student Budget

7. History Lesson: The Story of Beer

8. Google Pagerank Explained

9. Visualizing Alcohol Use

10. On Driving

11. Piggy Trouble

12. Building a Company With Social Media

13. Who’s Buying What?

14. Are We Over the Worst?

15. The Magic Bean Shop // The Fries That Bind Us

15 Timeless Photoshop Fails

Beau — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 09:00:52 +0000

The best way to learn sometimes is to see a mistake. Photoshop is a powerful design tool but without attention to detail, you can destroy a print ad, webpage, sign, etc. Below are 15 great examples of Photoshop mistakes that you can learn from. Let me note that these aren’t created by a 13 y/o newbie sitting in his mom’s basement; large corporations are making these mistakes!

1. She’s so smokin’ that she only needs one leg to grab attention.

2. Did he fall off?

3. Should have hit the undue button after using the eraser tool too much.

4. I know Lindsay Lohan has lost her mind but at least throw her a belly button!

6. Microsoft is trying to be more diverse.

7. I wonder if he would of dunked it if the guy on the chair had a head!

8. Holy Crap! Get Off Me!

8. Am I more shocked that this magazine used the guy twice or am I more amazed that someone actually caught this mistake?

9. I think they need to move a couple layers so that the children are inside the bounce house. Nice job Walmart!

10. Another mistake by Walmart. Your loves the magic wand tool a bit too much (look at how fake the plant looks).

11. Must be a pricey home when you have 2 views of the sunset.

12. Nintendo couldn’t afford to purchase the iStock photo.

13. Did he rob the house or something? Why is he trying to get from zero to 90 mph in zero seconds?

14. Um? Some designer had a brain fart.

15. Is she 186 pounds with or without the leg?

20 Most Creative Logos Found On Galleries

Beau — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 09:00:00 +0000

If you’re like me, you search sites like LogoPond and LogoFaves for logo design inspiration. These sites are great because they showcase the best of the best by some kick-ass designers. In searching for something to spark my creative brain, I came across 20 logos that had the combination of creativity and purpose.

1. Mr. Cutts

2. Bridges Pub & Eatery

3. Anti Particle

4. Freedom

5. Steps

6. Twins Communications

7. Unplugged

8. FoldIt

9. Code Fish

10. Swing Studios

11. Cyber Cafe

12. Illusion

13. Wine Searcher

14. Antisocial Network

15. Blue Elephant Media

16. Fish

17. Wife-i

18. Spartan Golf Club

19. Get Wired

20. Elastic Digital

Sources:

29 Incredible WordPress Premium Themes

Beau — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 09:00:48 +0000

Today I’m introducing the best WordPress themes on the market! These are the best of the best. If you are powered by WordPress, I highly suggest look into one of these templates for your existing or upcoming project. I’ve compiled the list with categories including personal, business, portfolio, gallery, product and miscellaneous themes.

Blog / Personal Themes

Notes of Life: A clean, WP 3.0 compatible theme with 4 different color schemes, ad ready, PSD files included, smooth tableless design and more.

{Click here for demo or purchase}

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Canvas Theme: A very highly customizable theme. These template let’s you change the design, layout, typography exactly how you want it.

{Click here for demo or purchase}

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Filthy Theme: Comes with 2 shades of filth (brown and black). This personal theme is WP 3.0 compatible, flexible logo space, ad ready, links to social networks and more.

{Click here for demo or purchase}

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Myweblog Theme: This modern and funky theme has 5 color schemes to choose from, has color coded categories, integrated lifestream and more.

{Click here for demo or purchase}

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Portfolio Theme

Sleex Theme: 10 unique skins, 2 homepage styles, 3 slideshow styles, 7 heading fonts, ajaxed contact form and more.

{Click here for demo or purchase}

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Shiny Theme: Interactive Image reflections, unique portfolio slideshow, 6 color variations, lots of backend options and more.

{Click here for demo or purchase}

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Sophisticatedfolio: 10 stylish color schemes, Custom Woo widgets, sperate custom category, unique homepage layout and more.

{Click here for demo or purchase}

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Centizero Theme: jQuery featured slider, image hover feature, 3 color variations with 3 different font styles to pick plus more.

{Click here for demo or purchase}

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Transparency Theme: Highly customizable through the admin area, PSD included, unique font setup, 4 types of homepage sliders and more.

{Click here for demo or purchase}

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Galeria Theme: Single page, dark and light versions, 9 transitional effects, grid based design and more.

{Click here for demo or purchase}

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WordFolio Theme: Vertical Showcase slider, freelance status box, dark layout, widget ready, 2 columns and more.

{Click here for demo or purchase}

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Corporate Themes

inFocus Theme: jQuery slider and staging effects, 27 shortcodes, 10 color variations, Ajax contact form and more.

{Click here for demo or purchase}

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Minimal Theme: 2 unique color schemes, smooth tableless design, auto thumb resizer, theme options panel and more.

{Click here for demo or purchase}

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RT-Theme 9: 5 color options, product showcase area, 2 homepage styles, lots of backend options and more.

{Click here for demo or purchase}

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OnTheGo Theme: 4 unique color schemes, epanel theme options, thumbnail resizer, optional bl0g-style structure and more.

{Click here for demo or purchase}

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The Architect Theme: Multiple page layouts, jQuery fancybox, dynamic pages and tables and more.

{Click here for demo or purchase}

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QualiFire Theme: 3D sliders, SEO optimized, 9 color schemes, 960 grid, unique typography and more.

{Click here for demo or purchase}

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Showtime Theme: 6 slider types, 6 color skins, custom widgets, menu manager, 3 portfolio templates, FreshPanel and more.

{Click here for demo or purchase}

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istudio Theme: Clean and minimalistic theme with a unique slideshow, cufon font replacement, social profile ready and more.

{Click here for demo or purchase}

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Gallery Themes

eGallery Theme: 3 unique color schemes, post rating integration, built-in lightbox and more.

{Click here for demo or purchase}

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Expose Gallery Theme: 3 skins to choose from, jQuery display switch, video support, WP shortcodes and more.

{Click here for demo or purchase}

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ProPhoto Theme: 2 column tableless layout, jQuery Lightbox, custom admin panel, (4) PSD’s included and more.

{Click here for demo or download}

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Product Themes

MyApp Theme: 4 unique color schemes, optional blog structure, auto image resizer, ad management feature and more.

{Click here for demo or purchase}

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Inspire Theme: Feature area powered by jQuery, custom homepage with mini featueres, portolio page template, custom widgets and more.

{Click here for demo or purchase}

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Miscellaneous Themes

E-Store Theme (e-commerce): 5 unique color schemes, e-commerce integration, smooth tableless design and more.

{Click here for demo or purchase}

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MyResume Theme (resume): 5 unique color schemes, custom portfolioand social media integration.

{Click here for demo or purchase}

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Estate Theme (real estate): Advanced search feature, featured slider, custom post types, multiple layouts, “on show” properties and Google Maps.

{Click here for demo or purchase}

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Instant Q&ATheme (question and answer): Turnkey Q&A website solution with 3 color schemes, customer login, member profile pages, custom as a question form, star rating system and more.

{Click here for demo or purchase}

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WordPress Wiki: 6 color variations, jQuery live search, Ajax star rating, quick links to add post and Faqs and more.

{Click here for demo or purchase}

Why Your Blog Is a Virtual Business

Beau — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 09:00:18 +0000

A blog is essentially your own business. Think about it, you provide value (content) for your customers (readers) and in turn you are compensated (income, gratification, etc.). Along the way you are providing a lifelong asset (your site) that you can either work to grow or sell one day. You are the boss, you have complete control of what direction you want to steer in or you can let it die with all of the other blogs out there. In order to achieve success you have to market, interact with your customers, provide real value, monetize and consistently move forward. Your blog is a virtual business controlled by you, the CEO.

Working for yourself can be one of the most rewarding and most desirable things you could ever do. After you have grown your blog into full time revenue stream, you can benefit from the wonders of owning a virtual business. You can work from anywhere, no deadlines, success lies in you, you don’t have to answer to anyone, and you have freedom to do what you want. It’s a no brainer that many people would love to own a success blog compared to working for “the man” in a 3 wall cubicle.

How hard is it to grow the business? Well, here’s the kicker…it won’t happen overnight or even weeks and it’s not easy! You need to ignore the “gurus” who tell you that all you need to do is create a blog, slap some Google Adsense above the fold, spam forums, and watch the money roll in. It’s not like that, not even close. If you think it’s going to be easy, you need to switch your mindset. Building a business is hard but rewarding work. You might need to work 16 hour days to even get it off the ground and build a solid readership. You need to grind it out each and every minute and leave nothing to chance.

I’ll leave you with some takeaways for improving your blog as a business;

Connect: Connect with your audience, especially in the beginning. Your customers won’t find you unless you find them. Go on social networks and connect with people in your niche. Answer questions on forums (include a signature to your site on your profile). Offer a service to them.
Provide quality over quantity: You need to really believe your content is a product for your customer. Nobody wants a cheap product so offer them quality, in depth articles they have never seen before.
Set goals: I highly suggest you make day to day goals (to-do’s), monthly and yearly goals. Day to day goals of what you are going to accomplish that day is very important to keep productive. Monthly goals are a great way to track the daily goals. Yearly goals are a good estimate of how your blog is doing as a business.
Treat it like your baby: Be proud of your blog. When company owners are out at an event or dinner, they rave about how their business works and such. You need to brag about your blog to your friends, co-workers and anyone you come in contact with; you never know who will spread the word.
Always build up the asset: Everyday you should be moving forward with new content, pages and features for your blog. Every time you do, you are increasing the value of your website.
Don’t afraid to make money: A business exists to make money so don’t be afraid to put up ads on your site. Don’t spam your site with ads, instead strategically place relevant ads that could bring your customers more value.

25 Delicious Food and Drink Vector Icons and Sets

Beau — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 08:00:29 +0000

Today’s collection is a roundup of the best vector icons in the food and drink industry. You can use to spice up your blog, graphics, ads and more.

Food Icons

Chocolate Chip Cookie Icon

Drink Icons

Food & Drink Icon Sets

Yummy! Free Food and Cakes Icon Set via Smashing Mag

Chocolate Icon Set by Manda-pie

Sushi Icon Set

Sweets Set

Food and Cooking Icon Set

Drink! Icon Set

Food and Drink Lovely Vectors

Glass Set

50 Designers You Should Follow On Twitter

Beau — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 07:00:09 +0000

Twitter is a great place to connect with people in your industry. The design community is blessed with creative and inspiring artists who love to share their work with others. Below are 50 web designers / sites that provide the best articles, tweets and design work on Twitter.

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Follow Theme Today on Twitter!

My apologies to the great designers not on this list. I’m sure I didn’t leave you out on purpose, you were just overlooked

30 Free “Going Green” Nature Brushes For Photoshop

Beau — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 14:03:51 +0000

Going green is the new fad these days, at least in the U.S. With the eco friendly industry booming, there will be no shortage for designers in this field. I’ve collected the best nature brushes for Photoshop free for you to download. These brushes are useful for websites, brochures, graphics and more!