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Desktop Wallpaper Calendar: March 2010

On February 28, 2010, In SEO, Web Design Tips, by Smashing Editorial

Smashing-magazine-advertisement in Desktop Wallpaper Calendar: March 2010

in Desktop Wallpaper Calendar: March 2010

Desktop wallpapers can serve as an excellent source of inspiration. However, if you use some specific wallpaper for a long period of time, it becomes harder to draw inspiration out of it. That’s why we have decided to supply you with smashing wallpapers over 12 months. And to make them a little bit more distinctive from the usual crowd, we’ve decided to embed calendars for the upcoming month. So if you need to look up some date, isn’t it better to show off a nice wallpaper with a nice calendar instead of launching some default time application?

This post features 45 free desktop wallpapers, created by designers across the globe. Both versions with a calendar and without a calendar can be downloaded for free.

Please notice:

all images can be clicked and lead to the preview of the wallpaper;
you can feature your work in our magazine by taking part in our desktop wallpaper calendar series. We are regularly looking for creative designers and artists to be featured on Smashing Magazine. Are you one of them?

So what wallpapers have we received for March 2010?

[Offtopic: by the way, did you know that Smashing Magazine has one of the most influential and popular Twitter accounts? Join our discussions and get updates about useful tools and resources — follow us on Twitter!]

Super Mario bros 1985

"My 25th anniversary tribute to Super Mario bros." Designed by Davide Vicariotto from Italy.

preview
with calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
without calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Haiku on Hanami

"And the wind says swish, swish…" Designed by April Joy E. Jasmin from Philippines.

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with calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
without calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Butterfly

"The bright colours of March." Designed by Ellen Xue from Canada.

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with calendar: 1024×640, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
without calendar: 1024×640, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Spring Time

Designed by Indeziner from Romania.

preview
with calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1650×1080
without calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1650×1080

Sticks and Stones

"Was daydreaming and listening to Sticks and Stones by The Pierces over and over againand came up with this idea for the March Calendar." Designed by Kathlyn Marie Salazar from Philippines.

preview
with calendar: 1024×640, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200, 2560×1600
without calendar: 1024×640, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050

Searching for spring

Designed by Andrei Verner from Russia.

preview
with calendar: 800×600, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
without calendar: 800×600, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Goes in like a lion and out like a lamb

"Just an illustration for march :)" Designed by Jennifer Herd from Canada.

preview
with calendar: 800×480, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
without calendar: 800×480, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Soom

"This is a color-work done 100% with Adobe illustrator CS4, its all about messing with gradients, transparency and a lot of blend tool. “Soom” means breath, this represents the breathing of universal time. the time of the stars." Designed by David Fernandes / Random Spirals from Portugal.

preview
with calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
without calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Up

"Fun spring wallpaper." Designed by Anca Varsandan from Romania.

preview
with calendar: 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200
without calendar: 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200

Even Cupcakes Have Bad Days

Designed by Valerie Morgan from USA.

preview
with calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1600
without calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1600

Ghost Stories

"Background picture by Esa Wendelin" Designed by Marta Miazek from Poland.

preview
with calendar: 640×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×960, 1400×1050, 1600×1200
without calendar: 640×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×960, 1400×1050, 1600×1200

Gummy March

Designed by Monica Corduneanu from Romania.

preview
with calendar: 640×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1600
without calendar: 640×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1600

A New Day

"It’s the start of a brand new day." Designed by Stephanie Lam from Australia.

preview
with calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
without calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Lucky Shamrocks

"Despite the three-leaved clover being synonymous with St. Patrick’s Day, I decided that a four-leaved clover would bring more luck to all the readers. Despite the three-leaved clover being synonymous with St. Patrick’s Day, I decided that a four-leaved clover would bring more luck to all the readers. Cheers!" Designed by Crystal Ng from Malaysia.

preview
with calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1900×1200
without calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1900×1200

Fractal

"Inspired by last months article about Mathematics…" Designed by Zhongde Liu from Germany/China.

preview
with calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1680×1050, 1920×1200, 2560×1600
without calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1680×1050, 1920×1200, 2560×1600

Telephones

"The telephone has had a bit of an impact over the last century on the way we communicate, so I thought a telephone-themed wallpaper would be appropriate for the month of its patent." Designed by Dan Sweet from USA.

preview
with calendar: 320×480, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
without calendar: 320×480, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Midnight Sun

"The midnight sun sets on the party in the trees." Designed by Chris Alexander (Yipori) from England.

preview
with calendar: 800×600, 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200, 1920×1440
without calendar: 800×600, 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200, 1920×1440

Romanian Tradition Martisorul

Designed by Alexandra Ipate from Romania.

preview
with calendar: 800×600, 1024×640, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
without calendar: 800×600, 1024×640, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Ladybug

"If I would be a ladybug…" Designed by Christine Schirbel from Germany.

preview
with calendar: 1024×640, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050
without calendar: 1024×640, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050

Daisy

Designed by Pietje Precies from The Netherlands.

preview
with calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
without calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Popephoenix

"This what we do. This is how we live. This is how we evolve. All for the sake of art." Designed by Popephoenix from USA.

preview
with calendar: 1024×768, 1280×720, 1900×1200
without calendar: 1024×768, 1280×720, 1900×1200

No Smoking

"Millions of people die every year because of Smoking but yet millions of people still smoke. I Designed this wallpaper just to Celebrate the NO SMOKING Day and raise our voices against this habit that Kills." Designed by Vanshika Wadhwani from Bahrain.

preview
with calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050
without calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050

Women as nature

"Women have long been associated with nature – metaphorically, as in ‘mother Earth’,for instance.International Womens Day is celebrated as the first spring holiday in the Northern Hemisphere, March is considered as the month which brings spring season with Nature Dressed in Green, to Greet the season of spring." Designed by Neelam Asrani from India.

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with calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050
without calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050

Spring is coming

"The vision of spring by m-mstudio. Now the nature is awakening!" Designed by m-mstudio from Italy.

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with calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Luminance

Designed by Jordan Scott from Canada.

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with calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
without calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Are you doing all you can?

"Are you doing all you can to become the person you want to be?" Designed by Valerie Morgan from USA.

preview
with calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200, 1920×1440, 2560×1600

Bright Summer

"In America, March is the month of American Red Cross. In India people celebrate Holi – the festival of colors in March. And in history it is the month in which Brutus assassinated Julius Caesar. Moreover, it is the starting of summer with the hot air, in southern Asia. In human color psychology, red is associated with bravery, purity, happiness, good luck, heat/fire, energy, and blood, and emotions that “stir the blood”, including anger, passion, love, pain, and sacrifice." Designed by Ramesh V R from India.

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with calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1440×1050, 1680×1050, 1920×1200, 2560×1600
without calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1440×1050, 1680×1050, 1920×1200, 2560×1600

Ballerine

"The letters with drips represent the cold winter and the ballerine is spring." Designed by Axenis from France.

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with calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
without calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Birthday Month

Designed by Ammar Ceker from Turkey.

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with calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

March Sentense

"Just motivating sentence for March :)" Designed by Temeshi from Poland.

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with calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
without calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Winter’s Almost Over

"Winters are long and slushy in Buffalo, NY. March is both the ugliest and most hopeful month, because spring is just around the corner." Designed by Palmer Louise from USA.

preview
with calendar: 320×480, 1024×640, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050
without calendar: 320×480, 1024×640, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050

New Beginnings

"I graduated college approximately 2 years ago, and since that time have worked as an IT consultant/auditor for a large accounting firm. I realized early on that I had made a mistake and would never be content until I got back into the world of design and development, which is where my passion truly lies. I have been working for the past year building a portfolio in the hopes to do this. This design is a direct byproduct of this and a hope that with Spring comes a new life and a new beginning." Designed by Noah Jablonski from USA.

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with calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
without calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Lucky Me

Designed by Valerie Morgan from USA.

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with calendar: 1280×800, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200, 2560×1600
without calendar: 1280×800, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1680×1050, 1920×1200, 2560×1600

Colourfull

"I am presenting a colourfull march." Designed by Sandhya Banshal from India.

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with calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
without calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Spring Bloom

"March marks the beginning of a new season and is the time of year when plants begin the grow.The beauty of the month is depicted in this wallpaper." Designed by Ellen Xue from Canada.

preview
with calendar: 1024×640, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
without calendar: 1024×640, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Escaping Winter

"I took this photo of Wharariki Beach while on holiday last month in New Zealand. I hope it brings some good weather this side of the world in March." Designed by Adam Foster from England.

preview
with calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1600×1200, 1680×1050
without calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1600×1200, 1680×1050

Why March

"Nothing like a good ol’ anti-war statement. For the record, I am not against the troops. I am against war. Thanks!" Designed by Kris K. from United States.

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with calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
without calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Feeling Sheepish

"A visual interpretation of the month that most importantly connects winter with summer, it just sometimes feels a bit sheepish." Designed by Jordan Scott from Canada.

preview
with calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
without calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Chuck misses a tooth

"Was kinda bored and looking for some fun. So, came up with Mr. Chuck who just lost a tooth!" Designed by Abdus Salam from Pakistan.

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with calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1920×1200
without calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1600×1200, 1920×1200

Spring Is The Season

"Spring is the season of new, young and vibrant colors. My idea behind this creation is to leave behind the darkness of failure, tears, pain and broken hearts. Brighten yourself with new colors, hopes and thoughts like these flowers." Designed by Upasana Jain from India.

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with calendar: 1024×640, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200, 2560×1600
without calendar: 1024×640, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200, 2560×1600

Ultimate Sophistication

"I’m keeping the description simple to. The motivation behind this design was reading the Leonardo DaVinci quote online, liking it and wanting to do something to illustrate it." Designed by H??vard Bergersen from Norway.

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with calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
without calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Sploosh

"Bring in March with a sploosh." Designed by Ryan McLeod from Scotland.

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with calendar: 800×600, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900

Stripy

"Be simple and bold this march :)" Designed by Akash Chandrayan from India.

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with calendar: 320×480, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
without calendar: 320×480, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200

Standing Tall

"Like any designer, I derive inspiration from nature. And animals are my favourite. Still I remember the tall, majestic Giraffes that I saw in my school excursion. Have a beautiful month." Designed by Ganesh k Swaminaathan from India.

preview
with calendar: 320×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1600×1200, 1680×1050
without calendar: 320×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1600×1200, 1680×1050

Olympic Mania

"Desktop Wallpaper for March, 2010, Inspired by Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter games." Designed by Sagar from Bangladesh.

preview
with calendar: 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×1050, 1600×1200
without calendar: 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×1050, 1600×1200

Join in next month!

Please notice that we respect the ideas and motivation behind artists’ work which is why we’ve given artists full freedom to explore their creativity and express emotions and experience through their works. And this is also why the themes of the wallpapers weren’t anyhow influenced by us, but designed from scratch by the artists themselves.

Thanks to all designers for participation. Join in next month!

What’s your favorite?

What’s your favourite theme or wallpaper for this month? Please let us know in the comments! And have a smashing March, folks!

http://www.smashingmagazine.com

Art Manifestos and Their Applications in Contemporary Design

On February 21, 2010, In SEO, Web Design Tips, by Dan Redding

The way you express yourself with words is a crucial extension of your creative identity. Professional designers are usually busy focusing on the visual aspects of their craft, but visual arts and literary arts collide and coincide regularly. The two fields meet not just in typography, but also in press releases, social networking communication, slogans, promotional materials, ‘About Me’ pages, marketing strategies, and every single pitch, contract, and email you’ve ever sent to a client.

What might happen if you injected some of those materials with a healthy dose of poetry, humor, or bravado? Obviously, doing so will not be appropriate in some forums, but when it is, this may be a good way to express yourself and differentiate your brand from the crowd.

Some of the most electrifying examples of writing about art and design come in the form of the manifesto. The manifesto has played a pivotal role in some of the most important creative movements of the previous century: Futurism, Surrealism, and Cubism among them. Most graphic designers working today will probably not require their own manifesto, but it can be helpful to write a mission statement or expression of your creative goals. Likewise, most of us probably don’t intend to launch a full-scale ‘movement,’ but this genre of writing may inspire you to reconsider the literary content of your creative work and its public representation.

Smashing-magazine-advertisement in Art Manifestos and Their Applications in Contemporary Design

in Art Manifestos and Their Applications in Contemporary Design

The way you express yourself with words is a crucial extension of your creative identity. Professional designers are usually busy focusing on the visual aspects of their craft, but visual arts and literary arts collide and coincide regularly. The two fields meet not just in typography, but also in press releases, social networking communication, slogans, promotional materials, ‘About Me’ pages, marketing strategies, and every single pitch, contract, and email you’ve ever sent to a client.

What might happen if you injected some of those materials with a healthy dose of poetry, humor, or bravado? Obviously, doing so will not be appropriate in some forums, but when it is, this may be a good way to express yourself and differentiate your brand from the crowd.

Some of the most electrifying examples of writing about art and design come in the form of the manifesto. The manifesto has played a pivotal role in some of the most important creative movements of the previous century: Futurism, Surrealism, and Cubism among them. Most graphic designers working today will probably not require their own manifesto, but it can be helpful to write a mission statement or expression of your creative goals. Likewise, most of us probably don’t intend to launch a full-scale ‘movement,’ but this genre of writing may inspire you to reconsider the literary content of your creative work and its public representation.

What is a manifesto?

The 1963 Fluxus manifesto by George Maciunas includes rousing proclamations in the form of both handwriting and typewriter copy.

The artists’ manifesto is a “document of an ideology, crafted to convince and convert” (Mary Ann Caws, Manifesto: a Century of isms). The word ‘manifesto’ contains elements of the Latin terms ‘manus’ (hand) and ‘festus,’ which may be derived from the root ‘fendere,’ as in ‘offendere.’ In other words, the manifesto is a personal or even handwritten statement intending to shock, inspire, or offend. Most of the artists in this selection lived in times that they felt desperately required change, and their solution was revolution.

Artists’ manifestos were being written as early as 1886, but the genre developed into a “new literary sport” after the publication of Italian artist/provocateur F.T. Marinetti’s first Futurist manifesto in 1909 (Marjorie Perloff, The Futurist Moment). Marinetti’s writing had mythmaking qualities; this ringleader of the Futurists “became a public figure as a result of, not prior to the publication” of his manifesto.

Here are four artists’ manifestos, beginning with that of Futurism – the lunatic grandaddy of all artists’ manifestos. A review of each manifesto is accompanied by historical context, images of relevant artwork, and inspiration for contemporary applications of the ideas within.

[Offtopic: by the way, did you know that Smashing Magazine has one of the most influential and popular Twitter accounts? Join our discussions and get updates about useful tools and resources — follow us on Twitter!]

Futurism

An Overview

“Everything of any value is theatrical.” –F.T. Marinetti

Futurism originated in Italy in 1909 as an avant-garde movement that glorified technology, modernity, and even war. In their artwork, the Futurists strove to capture the speed and ‘force lines’ of motion and progress. This ideology pushed their work towards abstraction, and Futurism helped fuel the invention of Cubism.

Highlights from the Manifestos

F.T. Marinetti’s Futurist manifesto was first published in French newspaper Le Figaro in 1909. The manifesto text is preceded by a disclaimer about the author’s “singularly audacious ideas.”

“We have been up all night, my friends and I, beneath mosque lamps whose brass cupolas are bright as our souls, because like them they were illuminated by the internal glow of electric hearts… we have been discussing right up to the limits of logic and scrawling the paper with demented writing.”

So begins F.T. Marinetti’s Futurist manifesto, which is full of “demented writing” and poetic language (”celestial bivouacs,” “rogue locomotives”) intended to rouse and mesmerize. The concept of the “internal glow of electric hearts” is an example of Marinetti’s glorification of industrial machinery and his desire to emulate it. This fascination with technology is a familiar notion in this current gadget age we live in today.

Perhaps even more than most artistic movements, the Futurists were obsessed with demolishing the ideals that preceded them. In his Manifesto of Futurist Painters (1910), Italian artist Umberto Boccioni declared, “We will fight with all our might the fanatical, senseless and snobbish religion of the past, a religion encouraged by the vicious existence of museums. We rebel against that spineless worshipping of old canvases, old statues and old bric-a-brac, against everything which is filthy and worm-ridden and corroded by time. We consider the habitual contempt for everything which is young, new and burning with life to be unjust and even criminal. ”

“We want no part of it, the past”, Marinetti wrote, “we the young and strong Futurists!”

Futurist Work Samples

Fortunato Depero’s book Depero Futurista, 1927.

The Futurists excelled at experimental typography, and there’s no greater example than Fortunato Depero’s book Depero Futurista, boldly bound with two metal bolts. Once again, the Futurists are seizing the opportunity to incorporate industrial machinery into their work. This also must’ve made the book annoyingly difficult to shelve, which probably had them brimming with mischievous glee.

Two internal pages from Depero Futurista.

Depero’s page layouts reveal the force of his bold compositional strength. View the designer’s advertisments for Campari for further evidence of his typographic and compositional muscle.

Umberto Boccioni, The City Rises, 1910.

Boccioni exalts the colossal energy of the massive horses in this scene of urban labor. The horses test the limits of their harnesses while men direct the explosive equestrian strength. Man and horse appear almost as one. The artist could not have compressed more dynamism onto the canvas.

Contemporary Applications

Is your business a brand or a bland?

The Futurists excelled at drama. Say what you will about their work (the paintings are somewhat repetitive and occasionally, well, ugly), but they were never boring. It is a movement that never murmured, preferring to shout, sing, or scream.

Futurism shares a major quality with the contemporary web design community and that is a passion for progressive technology. The Futurists were intensely devoted to smashing the past while realizing the future. Web designers are always pushing the boundaries of what we’re capable of achieving, whether we’re developing new uses for content management systems or discussing the future potential of CSS (see the Surrealism section of this article for some distant future ideas). The lesson here is Always Evolve.

Another lesson is to keep it personal. Marinetti’s manifesto obsesses over machines, but it does so with intense emotion, which is a fundamentally human quality. In other words, don’t let your professional writing grow too cold. Those who excel in social networking excel at this aspect. Especially if your business identity is stark and pristine, a human touch goes a long way.

Dada

An Overview

To the Dadaists, logic was a pestilence. They believed that logic had led to a culturally and morally deficient society. These artists were so appalled by World War I that they violently rejected existing notions of culture, aesthetics, and even reason. Their work was anti-war, anti-bourgeois, and anti-conformity. Freedom was the goal; Dada sought to liberate a variety of media and its meanings from the shackles of the past. The Dadaists’ most powerful tools were biting satire and brazen provocation. Their ideology laid the foundation for Surrealism and their delight in anarchy makes them a cultural precursor to the punk movement that was born half a century later.

One of the most widely recognized symbols of the Dada movement is Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain (1917). The artist turned a urinal on its back, scrawled the absurd pseudonym ‘R. Mutt’ on its side, and declared it art. It was a lewd gesture towards the notion of contemporary art itself, which Duchamp criticized as being too ‘retinal’ in nature – mere aesthetic decoration. He succeeded with his ‘readymades’ at putting art “in the service of the mind” (hence, the constant labeling of his work as ‘conceptual’). The piece is emblematic of “the vehemently untraditional and bitingly critical nature of the Dada movement” (Marcel Duchamp 1887-1968, an essay by Nan Rosenthal). Dadaism assaulted the traditional values of fine art; Duchamp’s work succeeded in redefining the conception of what belongs in a museum setting, and therefore, the conception of what is considered art.

Highlights from the Manifestos

The Dadaists published many polemical manifestoes designed to provoke their critics and un-define their work. They insisted that the word ‘Dada’ was nonsense and that they were not a ‘movement.’ Each manifesto does its best to shatter any conventional thought on the matter. One such manifesto concludes, “Long live Dadaism in word and image! … To be against this manifesto is to be a Dadaist!”

Dadaist poet Tristan Tzara’s 1918 Dada Manifesto is a blustering rant. It is full of sound and fury, signifying nada. “DADA DOES NOT MEAN ANYTHING,” it demands. Intoxicated with energy, Tzara delivers stream-of-consciousness poetry that reels from social commentary to dream-drunk nonsense. “I destroy the drawers of the brain, and those of social organisation: to sow demoralisation everywhere, and throw heaven’s hand into hell, hell’s eyes into heaven.”

“Publicity and business are also poetic elements,” Tzara writes, foreshadowing Warhol’s claim that “business art is the best art.”

Work Samples

This gorgeous cover design for Le Coeur à Barbe: Journal Transparent (1922) is attributed to the writer and artist Iliazd (also known as Ilia Zdanevich). Publication of this esoteric, single-issue journal was prompted by a feud between Dada leaders Francis Picabia and Tristan Tzara. The cover is regarded as an important example of early Twentieth-century avant-garde page layout.

Photomontage by Raoul Hausmann

Photomontage and collage developed into two of Dada’s most effective tools of artistic communication. The reappropriation of images from the mass media allowed for deft social commentary. Dissonant combinations of photos, advertisements and text seemed to capture the jolts of modern reality.

Contemporary Applications

Dadaism was a revolt, an “attack on the culture of a bankrupt society,” which “brought about a violent renewal of meanings” (The Dada Movement 1915-1923, by Marc Dachy).

Those of us who achieve notoriety as designers face a unique opportunity: the opportunity to be heard. Can you use that power to take a stand for your beliefs, to bring about change through good design and positive values? We make a statement – actively or passively – by every professional association we make, every client we choose to represent, and every product we validate by inclusion in our portfolio. Here in America, our designs exist in a culture fractured by deep ethical fissures. It is a culture where gun violence rears its hideous head in the headlines regularly – recently, on a daily basis. It is a culture where so desperate is the desire for fame that people are willing to infiltrate a White House party or stage a hoax involving the life of a child – all in the hopes of achieving reality television stardom. If the Dadaists realized a desire to shift their problematic cultural values, so should we, no matter what nationality we are. We do not require a ‘movement’ to do so. Cultural change is also affected by the simple choices of intelligent individuals. You do not need a soapbox. But look down; you may be standing on one.

If the best thing we designers have to get upset about are the font choices in Ikea brochures, our priorities are unbalanced. There are plenty of better things to rebell against – namely war, climate change, and the filmography of Nicolas Cage.

Surrealism

An Overview

René Magritte’s work is known for clever twists of visual logic.

Surrealism is a weird dream. This dream can be a vivid exploration of personal identity (Frida Kahlo) or a startling hallucination fraught with Freudian fears (Salvador Dalí). Oh, and there’s often weird fruit involved (think pomegranates or an orange in a doorway).

In short, Surrealism sought to explore the unconcious in order to break creative ground. Their artwork rejects rational thought in favor of absurdity and illogicality, suggesting that these qualities may offer more accurate representations of modern life’s disturbing complexities.

Highlights from the Manifesto

“We are still living under the reign of logic,” begins André Breton’s Le Manifeste du Surréalisme (1924). Breton rails against the supremacy of logic, and credits the work of Sigmund Freud for unleashing a “current of opinion” on the subjects of dreams and the subconscious. “Perhaps the imagination is on the verge of recovering its rights,” says Breton. “If the depths of our minds conceal strange forces capable of augmenting or conquering those on the surface, it is in our greatest interest to capture them.”

Ironically, Breton’s is the most sober and rationally argued manifesto in this selection. He is laying the philosophical groundwork for the artwork that will be built upon these ideals. The wildest language he uses is employed in this assessment of the dream state: “The mind of the dreaming man is fully satisfied with whatever happens to it. The agonizing question of possibility does not arise. Kill, plunder more quickly, love as much as you wish. And if you die, are you not sure of being roused from the dead? Let yourself be led.”

Work Samples

A razor is drawn towards a woman’s eye in this still from the film Un Chien Andalou by Salvador Dalí and Luis Buñuel, 1928.

Un Chien Andalou is a piece of Surrealist film that has had a profound and lasting impact on cinema. It can be seen as an example of Dalí’s skill with “the usual paralyzing tricks of eye-fooling.” The film has been thoroughly absorbed by pop culture; the rock band Pixies famously refer to it in the song ‘Debaser’ when Frank Black wails, “Got me a movie / I want you to know / Slicin’ up eyeballs!”

Max Ernst, The Temptation of St. Anthony, 1945.

Goblins and gremlins galore! Ernst’s take on this classic painter’s narrative is visual feast of nightmares, but its monsters are also a bit cartoony with their grinning jowls and muppet eyes. St. Anthony is being overtaken and physically invaded by transforming plant creatures. Ernst described St. Anthony’s plight thusly: “Shrieking for help and light across the stagnant water of his dark, sick mind, St. Anthony receives as an answer an echo of his fear: the laughter of the monsters created by his visions.”

Corresponding visual sensibilities might be found in the work of contemporary filmmakers Tim Burton and Joe Dante (director of Gremlins and a memorable segment of Twilight Zone: The Movie). For another Surrealist take on the tale of St. Anthony, view Dalí’s composition of the same title.

Contemporary Applications

In many aspects of graphic design and marketing, the idea reigns supreme. A clever concept can be the key to a unique logo design; a startling idea can distinguish an advertisement from the crowd. Surrealists like Dalí and Magritte were idea men. View any of Magritte’s major works and you are looking at a stroke of conceptual brilliance that would humble the cleverest contemporary illustrator.

The conceptual strength shows in their words as well. Consider this choice quote from Dalí: “I consider perversion and vice to be the most revolutionary forms of thought and activity, just as I consider love to be the only attitude worthy of the life of a man.”

Dalí’s most famous painting is The Persistence of Memory, with its melting clocks, which have become the most recognized symbol of Surrealism. The theme of that painting is time, and the multiple melting clocks imply the simultaneous existence of various temporalities. What if we allowed ourselves similar freedoms with our imagination? What will CSS look like in ten years, or fifty (assuming CSS and civilization are still in existence)? What if there were a ‘Time’ property in CSS, and what would it do beyond mere animation? Perhaps CSS of the future will have a variety of temporal qualities, and perhaps it will go 3D as well. Could tomorrow’s cascading style sheets create a holographic effect? Could the cascade apply to past, present, and future?

Fluxus

An Overview

Like a cloud, Fluxus tends to appear in a different shape from one moment to the next. Their goal of ‘intermedia’ creativity blurred the boundaries of visual art, music, publishing, graphic design, and performance art. An international movement that began in the early 1960’s, the Fluxus artists entertained the absurdly paradoxical notion of becoming an “anti-art art movement.” Much like their ideological predecessors in Dadaism, this meant that they would attack the reigning notions of what art could or could not be. It also reveals their predilection for the absurd.

Highlights from the Manifesto

ABOVE: A portion of George Maciunas’ Fluxus Manifesto.

Like Fluxus itself, George Maciunas’ manifesto is a wild mongrel of a thing. According to Fluxus scholar Simon Anderson, Fluxus “deliberately experimented with, ignored, and tore down so many of the barriers and heirarchies of contemporary culture that no analogy suffices: [Fluxus] defies description, a condition that is perhaps its most potent source of strength.” (In the Spirit of Fluxus, Janet Jenkins, ed.)

Maciunas’ manifesto – which includes collaged literary definitions juxtaposed with his ranting handwritten voice – directly reflects the nature of his movement. It’s a good reminder: does the literary content of your design business accurately reflect the voice of your visual content?

Maciunas asked Fluxus artists to ‘purge’ their work of “bourgeois sickness” and “professional & commercialized culture.” A professional demeanor in the design industry is of utmost importance. However, if you’ve ever met a branding professional whose entire personality has been crafted into an ‘elevator pitch,’ you know how creepy and cold that can be. Speak to people like friends when you can. Never speak to them like just another potential sale. That’s rude and it makes you seem robotic.

Fluxus Work Samples

Fluxkit, 1969, various Fluxus artists.

Fluxus was a graphic designer’s dream: typographic freedom, multimedia publishing, visual puns galore, audacious self-promotion. Looking for inspiration for your next promotional mailer? The Fluxus artists packed dozens of clever ideas into the diverse contents of their witty, mass-produced ‘Fluxkits’ and ‘Fluxboxes.’ Make absolutely sure to view the dense, inspiring collection in the Fluxus room at the Tate Modern the next time you’re in London.

Ben Vautier, Fluxbox containing God, 1961.

Fluxus was conceived as a publishing enterprise specializing in pamphlets, flyers, games, and various unpredictable objets d’art. The spirit of publishing remained central to its nature even though Fluxus artists eventually tried their hands at every other medium under the sun.

Contemporary Applications

“Too bad he died before its advent,” wrote the Village Voice, “(Fluxus founder George Maciunas) would’ve loved the internet.” If the internet is a playground, then take time to play between professional projects. Many of us draw for fun often, but when’s the last time you built a website for fun? Build a site for your own amusement. Build a humorous site that raises money for charity. Build a site in a day.

Fluxus artists spent a lot of time probing the concept of ‘intermedia’ art and performances. What applications or intersections of your media haven’t you considered yet? The Fluxus artists were fond of puzzles and games; what if you built a website that had a logic puzzle built into the code, with clues hidden in the ‘target’ function so that users could hunt for them by rolling their cursor over areas of text?

Or what if we plundered the online trends of other industries for ideas we can implement in design projects? The first bullet listed in these online media predictions in the publishing industry has ‘viral gold’ written all over it. Who will exploit ‘intermedia’ opportunities like these?

Web designers work in one of the only thriving, pivotal industries of this extraordinarily progressive era. Almost all prominent cultural industries have been thrown into upheaval due to the evolutionary progress of the web and a variety of other twenty-first century factors. Cultural monoliths are falling to their knees all around us – the record industry, the publishing industry, and the automobile industry among them. How can we learn from them? And more importantly, how can we help each other evolve?

Web design in the twenty-first century means much more than the unfolding potential of CSS and the dead, discarded shells of old browser versions. It means that we will be central to social, cultural, and political revolutions worldwide. It means opportunity – the opportunity to expand and assist the progress of global cultures.

In Conclusion

Build your business into a brilliant brand, not a boring bland. Seek new and unusual intersections of media. Look at the big picture. What’s going on in your neighbor’s industry today that will affect yours tomorrow?

Go to a museum. Put more art in your design. Always evolve. Be witty and unpredictable. Just remember, as illustrator Sergio Baradat once said, “It’s okay to pull a rabbit out of your hat, but sometimes a rabbit out of a hat is not what’s called for.”

Promote positive change in the world around you when you can. Support a charitable cause. Use your voice. Don’t waste words. Make them sing and dance.

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The Definitive Guide To Styling Web Links

On February 13, 2010, In SEO, Web Design Tips, by Lee Munroe

Hyperlinks (or links) connect Web pages. They are what make the Web work, enabling us to travel from one page to the next at the click of a button. As Web Standardistas put it, “without hypertext links the Web wouldn’t be the Web, it would simply be a collection of separate, unconnected pages.”. So without links, we’d be lost. We look for them on the page when we want to venture further. Sure, we pause to read a bit, but inevitably we end up clicking a link of some sort.

When you style links, remember that users don’t read; they scan. You’ve heard that before, and it’s true. So, make sure your links are obvious. They should also indicate where they will take the user. Let’s start by looking at CSS selectors and pseudo-classes.

Smashing-magazine-advertisement in The Definitive Guide To Styling Web Links

in The Definitive Guide To Styling Web Links

Hyperlinks (or links) connect Web pages. They are what make the Web work, enabling us to travel from one page to the next at the click of a button. As Web Standardistas put it, “without hypertext links the Web wouldn’t be the Web, it would simply be a collection of separate, unconnected pages.”. So without links, we’d be lost. We look for them on the page when we want to venture further. Sure, we pause to read a bit, but inevitably we end up clicking a link of some sort.

[Offtopic: By the way, did you know that Smashing Magazine has a mobile version? Try it out if you have an iPhone, Blackberry or another capable device.]

Styling Links

When you style links, remember that users don’t read; they scan. You’ve heard that before, and it’s true. So, make sure your links are obvious. They should also indicate where they will take the user.

Let’s start by looking at CSS selectors and pseudo-classes:

a:link { }
Unvisited link.
a:visited { }
Visited links.
a:hover { }
The user mouses over a link.
a:focus { }
The user clicks on a link.
a:active { }
The user has clicked a link.

The TLC uses not only plaint text links, but also icons to communicate the corresponding file types.

Ensure Contrast

Links should stand out not only from the background but from the surrounding text. If the font color is black and the link color is black, you have a problem. Make your links stand out by using one or more than one of the following techniques.

text-decortation: underline;
Underline.
font-weight: bold;
Bold.
font-size: 1.4em;
Enlarge.
color: #ed490a;
Color.
background-color: #c0c0c0;
Background.
border-bottom: 2px solid #a959c3;
Border.

If you decide to make links blue, then make sure no other text (including headings) is blue, because users will expect it to be a link, too.

Also, don’t underline text that isn’t linked because users expect underlined text to be a link. And keep in mind users with poor sight. Red won’t stand out to someone who is color blind, so consider underlining or bolding links, in addition to changing the color.

A helpful technique that I always use is to slightly blur the focus. Links with good contrast should still stand out when you look at the page.

Don’t Forget About Visited Links

Visited links are often overlooked, but they are very helpful, especially on larger websites. Knowing where they’ve been before is helpful for users, whether because they want to avoid pages they’ve visited or to make a point of visiting them again.

Give visited links a darker shade of color, so that they stand out but aren’t as obvious as unvisited links.

Use the Title Attribute

The title attribute is usually overlooked, but it’s a convenient way to add descriptions to your links and can be especially useful for those who rely on screen readers.

<a href="example.com" title="This is an example link">Example</a>

Use Button Styles

To make really important links stand out—say, a call to action or a “More info” link at the bottom—use a button style. And you can reuse the style again and again without having to edit any graphics.

For more information, check out “Super-Awesome Buttons With CSS3 and RGBA” and “Call to Action Buttons.”

Hover State

Offering feedback to users that they’re hovering over a link is good practice. The best way to do this is to change the background color, change the text color or remove the underline.

a:hover { text-decoration:none;
text-shadow: 0 0 2px #999;
}

The mouse pointer usually turns from an arrow into a hand when the user hovers over a link. But this functionality is sometimes lost; for example, in IE when the link contains a span element, or on “Submit” buttons. Fix this by adding the cursor type via CSS.

a:hover span { cursor: pointer }

Active State

Provide visual feedback to the user to indicate that they have clicked a link, so that they know to wait. One nice effect is to move the link down one or two pixels, which gives the link the appearance of being pressed.

a:active { padding-top: 2px; }

Apply Padding

Here is a good usability tip. Add padding to your links. This way, the user doesn’t have to hover over the exact point of the text. Instead, they can hover in proximity and still be able to click. This works well for navigation links.

a { padding: 5px; }

Use Icons for File Types

If your links point to files in various formats, inform the user of as much using icons. This prepares them for the file type they are about to open, whether it’s PDF or JPEG, for example.

For some great resources, check out “Fam Fam Fam Silk Icons” and “Social Media Mini Icon Pack.”

Use Icons for Recognition

Just as you would use icons for file types, use icons to identify where links go or what they do. This user can more quickly absorb a visual icon than text.

Make Anchor Text Descriptive

Use meaningful text, not “Click here.” The problem with the latter is that it forces the user to read around the link to understand why they should “Click here.” Anchor text such as “See Britney on a beach” speaks for itself. It’s also more SEO-friendly.

Link Your Logo

Always link your logo to the home page. Most users expect this convention across the Web. That said, don’t assume that users know this. Regular surfers expect it, but a number of users still look for the “Home” link.

<h1><a href="/" title="Homepage">Site name</a></h1>

h1 a {
background: url(images/logo.gif) no-repeat top left;
display: block;
text-indent: -9999px;
width: 200px;
height: 60px;
}

Don’t Open New Windows

Just don’t do it. Let the user decide when and where to open a new tab or window. Users expect links to open in the same window. If you really must do it, at least add an icon to show that this will happen. There are exceptions; for example, it you don’t want to break the flow of a check-out process.

Micro-Formats

As the Web becomes more semantic, consider incorporating micro-formats into your link structures, to help machines understand how a link fits into a page and its relationship to other pages. For example, the following…

<a href="http://myfriend.example.com" rel="friend met">My Friend</a>

tells search bots that this text links to a friend who I’ve met, which is useful for discovering connections between links. You can also read more about micro-formats.

Showcase Of Links In Web Design

Color Theory for Designers, Part 1: The Meaning of Color

On January 28, 2010, In SEO, Web Design Tips, by Cameron Chapman

Color in design is very subjective. What evokes one reaction in one person may evoke a very different reaction in somone else. Sometimes this is due to personal preference, and other times due to cultural background. Color theory is a science in itself. Studying how colors affect different people, either individually or as a group, is something some people build their careers on. And there’s a lot to it. Something as simple as changing the exact hue or saturation of a color can evoke a completely different feeling. Cultural differences mean that something that’s happy and uplifting in one country can be depressing in another.

This is the first in a three-part series on color theory. Here we’ll discuss the meanings behind the different color families, and give some examples of how these colors are used (with a bit of analysis for each). In Part 2 we’ll talk about how hue, chroma, value, saturation, tones, tints and shades affect the way we perceive colors. And in Part 3 we’ll discuss how to create effective color palettes for your own designs.

Smashing-magazine-advertisement in Color Theory for Designers, Part 1: The Meaning of Color

in Color Theory for Designers, Part 1: The Meaning of Color

Color in design is very subjective. What evokes one reaction in one person may evoke a very different reaction in somone else. Sometimes this is due to personal preference, and other times due to cultural background. Color theory is a science in itself. Studying how colors affect different people, either individually or as a group, is something some people build their careers on. And there’s a lot to it. Something as simple as changing the exact hue or saturation of a color can evoke a completely different feeling. Cultural differences mean that something that’s happy and uplifting in one country can be depressing in another.

This is the first in a three-part series on color theory. Here we’ll discuss the meanings behind the different color families, and give some examples of how these colors are used (with a bit of analysis for each). In Part 2 we’ll talk about how hue, chroma, value, saturation, tones, tints and shades affect the way we perceive colors. And in Part 3 we’ll discuss how to create effective color palettes for your own designs.

Warm Colors

Warm colors include red, orange, and yellow, and variations of those three colors. These are the colors of fire, of fall leaves, and of sunsets and sunrises, and are generally energizing, passionate, and positive.

Red and yellow are both primary colors, with orange falling in the middle, which means warm colors are all truly warm and aren’t created by combining a warm color with a cool color. Use warm colors in your designs to reflect passion, happiness, enthusiasm, and energy.

Red (Primary Color)

Red is a very hot color. It’s associated with fire, violence, and warfare. It’s also associated with love and passion. In history, it’s been associated with both the Devil and Cupid. Red can actually have a physical effect on people, raising blood pressure and respiration rates. It’s been shown to enhance human metabolism, too.

Red can be associated with anger, but is also associated with importance (think of the red carpet at awards shows and celebrity events). Red also indicates danger (the reason stop lights and signs are red, and that most warning labels are red).

Outside the western world, red has different associations. For example, in China, red is the color of prosperity and happiness. It can also be used to attract good luck. In other eastern cultures, red is worn by brides on their wedding days. In South Africa, however, red is the color of mourning. Red is also associated with communism. Red has become the color associated with AIDS awareness in Africa due to the popularity of the [RED] campaign.

In design, red can be a powerful accent color. It can have an overwhelming effect if it’s used too much in designs, especially in its purest form. It’s a great color to use when power or passion want to be portrayed in the design. Red can be very versatile, though, with brighter versions being more energetic and darker shades being more powerful and elegant.

Examples

The dark shades of red in this design give a powerful and elegant feel to the site.

The true red accents stand out against the dark red background, and give a powerful and high-end feeling to the site.

The very bright red accents on this site give a sense of energy and movement.

The dark red on this site, because it’s combined with grunge elements, seems more like the color of blood.

Dark red, when combined with white and gray, gives a very elegant and professional impression.

Orange (Secondary Color)

Orange is a very vibrant and energetic color. In its muted forms, it can be associated with the earth and with autumn. Because of its association with the changing seasons, orange can represent change and movement in general.

Because orange is associated with the fruit of the same name, it can be associated with health and vitality. In designs, orange commands attention without being as overpowering as red. It’s often considered more friendly and inviting, and less in-your-face.

Examples

The bright orange box draws attention to its contents, even with the other bright red elements on the page.

Orange is used here in its most obvious incarnation, to represent fire.

The dark orange, when set against the lime green, almost acts as a neutral and grounding color here.

Orange is used here to give a friendly and inviting impression.

The orange accents here add a lot of visual interest and bring attention to the call to action.

Yellow (Primary Color)

Yellow is often considered the brightest and most energizing of the warm colors. It’s associated with happiness and sunshine. Yellow can also be associated with deceit and cowardice, though (calling someone yellow is calling them a coward).

Yellow is also associated with hope, as can be seen in some countries when yellow ribbons are displayed by families who have loved ones at war. Yellow is also associated with danger, though not as strongly as red.

In some countries, yellow has very different connotations. In Egypt, for example, yellow is for mourning. In Japan, it represents courage, and in India it’s a color for merchants.

In your designs, bright yellow can lend a sense of happiness and cheerfulness. Softer yellows are commonly used as a gender-neutral color for babies (rather than blue or pink) and young children. Light yellows also give a more calm feeling of happiness than bright yellows. Dark yellows and gold-hued yellows can sometimes look antique and be used in designs where a sense of permanence is desired.

Examples

The bright yellow header and graphics used throughout this site give a sense of energy and positivity.

The light yellow is used almost as a neutral in the header here, and combined with the hand-drawn illustrations gives a very cheerful impresison.

The bright yellow accents bring attention to the most important parts of this site.

The bright yellow sunflower reminds visitors of summer on this site, and combined with the antique-yellow background, it gives a homey and established feeling.

The bright yellow header here adds a bit of extra energy to this design.

Cool Colors

Cool colors include green, blue, and purple, are often more subdued than warm colors. They are the colors of night, of water, of nature, and are usually calming, relaxing, and somewhat reserved.

Blue is the only primary color within the cool spectrum, which means the other colors are created by combining blue with a warm color (yellow for green and red for purple). Greens take on some of the attributes of yellow, and purple takes on some of the attributes of red. Use cool colors in your designs to give a sense of calm or professionalism.

Green (Secondary Color)

Green is a very down-to-earth color. It can represent new beginnings and growth. It also signifies renewal and abundance. Alternatively, green can also represent envy or jealousy, and a lack of experience.

Green has many of the same calming attributes that blue has, but it also incorporates some of the energy of yellow. In design, green can have a balancing and harmonizing effect, and is very stable. It’s appropriate for designs related to wealth, stability, renewal, and nature. Brighter greens are more energizing and vibrant, while olive greens are more representative of the natural world. Dark greens are the most stable and representative of affluence.

Examples

The extremely muted greens of this site give it a very down-to-earth and natural feeling.

The bright green header of this site mixed with the leaf motif gives it a very natural and vibrant feeling.

The more olive-toned green of this site gives it a natural feeling, which is very appropriate for the content.

The brighter, more retro-looking greens of this site give it a very fresh, energized feeling.

Another olive green site with a very natural feeling.

Blue (Primary Color)

Blue is often associated with sadness in the English language. Blue is also used extensively to represent calmness and responsibility. Light blues can be refreshing and friendly. Dark blues are more strong and reliable. Blue is also associated with peace, and has spiritual and religious connotations in many cultures and traditions (for example, the Virgin Mary is generally depicted wearing blue robes).

The meaning of blue is widely affected depending on the exact shade and hue. In design, the exact shade of blue you select will have a huge impact on how your designs are perceived. Light blues are often relaxed and calming. Bright blues can be energizing and refreshing. Dark blues are excellent for corporate sites or designs where strength and reliability are important.

Examples

The dark blues give this a feeling of reliability, while the brighter and lighter blues keep it from feeling staid.

The dark blue gives this a site a professional feeling, especially when combined with the white background. But the lighter blue accents add a bit more interest.

The bright, sky blue of this site gives it a young and hip feeling, which is emphasized by the reddish accents.

This site combines a range of blues, which gives it a refreshing feeling overall.

The light, muted blue of this site gives a very relaxed and calm impression.

Purple (Secondary Color)

Purple was long associated with royalty. It’s a combination of red and blue, and takes on some attributes of both. It’s associated with creativity and imagination, too.

In Thailand, purple is the color of mourning for widows. Dark purples are traditionally associated with wealth and royalty, while lighter purples (like lavendar) are considered more romantic.

In design, dark purples can give a sense wealth and luxury. Light purples are softer and are associated with spring and romance.

The dark shade used here evokes the royal heritage of purple, which is very appropriate for the Asprey luxury goods brand.

The light and medium purples here work well to convey a sense of creativity.

The brighter, more reddish purple of this site gives it both a rich and energetic look.

The dark purple background here adds to the creative feeling of the overall site.

The dark purple accents on this site give a sense of luxury and refinement.

Neutrals

Neutral colors often serve as the backdrop in design. They’re commonly combined with brighter accent colors. But they can also be used on their own in designs, and can create very sophisticated layouts. The meanings and impressions of neutral colors are much more affected by the colors that surround them than are warm and cool colors.

Black

Black is the strongest of the neutral colors. On the positive side, it’s commonly associated with power, elegance, and formality. On the negative side, it can be associated with evil, death, and mystery. Black is the traditional color of mourning in many Western countries. It’s also associated with rebellion in some cultures, and is associated with Halloween and the occult.

Black is commonly used in edgier designs, as well as in very elegant designs. It can be either conservative or modern, traditional or unconventional, depending on the colors it’s combined with. In design, black is commonly used for typography and other functional parts, because of it’s neutrality. Black can make it easier to convey a sense of sophistication and mystery in a design.

Examples

The black accents, mixed with the brighter colors and very dark brown background add an edgier look to the overall design.

Black, when mixed with icy blues, looks colder.

The black here, mixed with dark grays and lime green, and an overall grungy theme, adds to the edginess of the design.

The black accents here add an extra layer of sophistication and modernity to the site.

The strong black accents on this site add to the overall sophistication of the design.

White

White is at the opposite end of the spectrum from black, but like black, it can work well with just about any other color. White is often associated with purity, cleanliness, and virtue. In the West, white is commonly worn by brides on their wedding day. It’s also associated with the health care industry, especially with doctors, nurses and dentists. White is associated with goodness, and angels are often depicted in white.

In design, white is generally considered a neutral backdrop that lets other colors in a design have a larger voice. It can help to convey cleanliness and simplicity, though, and is popular in minimalist designs. White in designs can also portray either winter or summer, depending on the other design motifs and colors that surround it.

Examples

The white on the Fuelhaus site is used to contrast against the electric blue.

White backgrounds are very popular on minimalistic sites, and provide great contrast to black typography.

Here, white is used as an accent color, which lightens the overall effect of the site.

White combined with gray gives a soft and clean feeling to this design.

Again, white used as a background lightens the whole design.

Gray

Gray is a neutral color, generally considered on the cool end of the color spectrum. It can sometimes be considered moody or depressing. Light grays can be used in place of white in some designs, and dark grays can be used in place of black.

Gray is generally conservative and formal, but can also be modern. It is sometimes considered a color of mourning. It’s commonly used in corporate designs, where formality and professionalism are key. It can be a very sophisticated color. Pure grays are shades of black, though other grays may have blue or brown hues mixed in. In design, gray backgrounds are very common, as is gray typography.

Examples

Light gray gives a very subdued and quiet feeling to this design.

The light gray background here adds to the modern feeling created by the typography.

The cooler gray on this site gives a modern, sophisticated feel to the site.

The dark gray backround and lighter gray typography lend a decidedly modern look to this design.

The wide spectrum of gray shades used in this design combine to give a sophisticated and professional look to the site.

Brown

Brown is associated with the earth, wood, and stone. It’s a completely natural color and a warm neutral. Brown can be associated with dependability and reliability, with steadfastness, and with earthiness. It can also be considered dull.

In design, brown is commonly used as a background color. It’s also seen in wood textures and sometimes in stone textures. It helps bring a feeling of warmth and wholesomeness to designs. It’s sometimes used in it’s darkest forms as a replacement for black, either in backgrounds or typography.

Examples

The grayish-brown here lends a sense of responsibility and dependability.

The orangish-brown here gives a very earthy and dependable feeling.

The dark brown used in the background here lends an earthy and steadfast look to the overall layout, and lets the brigher colors in the design really get to stand out.

Woodgrain is a popular use of brown, and in this case the warm brown adds some friendliness to an otherwise minimalist site.

The grayish-brown background here lends a feeling of stability and down-to-earthness.

Beige and Tan

Beige is somewhat unique in the color spectrum, as it can take on cool or warm tones depending on the colors surrounding it. It has the warmth of brown and the coolness of white, and, like brown, is sometimes seen as dull. It’s a conservative color in most instances, and is usually reserved for backgrounds. It can also symbolize piety.

Beige in design is generally used in backgrounds, and is commonly seen in backgrounds with a paper texture. It will take on the characteristics of colors around it, meaning it has little effect in itself on the final impression a design gives when used with other colors.

Examples

The light tan background here feels young and fresh because of the bright colors around it.

The light tan background here lends a more conservative and elegant feeling to the overall design.

The yellowish tan background is made even warmer by the orange and brown accents throughout this site’s design.

Tan is popularly used as a paper-bag texture, and in its more grayish form as a concrete or stone texture.

The beige header background and other accents on the site lend a refined and traditional feeling to the overall design.

Cream and Ivory

Ivory and cream are sophisticated colors, with some of the warmth of brown and a lot of the coolness of white. They’re generally quiet, and can often evoke a sense of history. Ivory is a calm color, with some of the pureness associated with white, though it’s a bit warmer.

In design, ivory can lend a sense of elegance and calm to a site. When combined with earthy colors like peach or brown, it can take on an earthy quality. It can also be used to lighten darker colors, without the stark contrast of using white.

Examples

The ivory background here has a warm quality that’s tempered by some of the cooler colors on the site.

The grayish-cream background here is made warmer by the orangish-brown accents.

The cream background adds a sense of understated elegance this site would otherwise be lacking.

The cream background here reinforces the antique theme that runs throughout the design’s graphics.

The ivory combined with other light colors and jewely tones makes this site have a very elegant overall appearance.

In Brief…

While the information contained here might seem just a bit overwhelming, color theory is as much about the feeling a particular shade evokes than anything else. But here’s a quick reference guide for the common meanings of the colors discussed above:

Red: Passion, Love, Anger
Orange: Energy, Happiness, Vitality
Yellow: Happiness, Hope, Deceit
Green: New Beginnings, Abundance, Nature
Blue: Calm, Responsible, Sadness
Purple: Creativity, Royalty, Wealth
Black: Mystery, Elegance, Evil
Gray: Moody, Conservative, Formality
White: Purity, Cleanliness, Virtue
Brown: Nature, Wholesomeness, Dependability
Tan or Beige: Conservative, Piety, Dull
Cream or Ivory: Calm, Elegant, Purity

Further Resources

Color Meanings
A very thorough guide from About.com on color meanings.
Color Wheel Pro: Color Meaning
Another excellent guide to color meanings.
Color
Wikipedia’s entry on color.

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The Smashing Book: Already Got Yours?

On January 27, 2010, In SEO, Web Design Tips, by Smashing Editorial

Have you gotten your copy of The Smashing Book yet? If not, it may still be worth spending $29.90 for this printed book. The book shares technical tips and best practices on typography, usability, UI design, marketing and color usage. It contains interviews with high profile designers and developers. And you will also get a peek behind the curtains of Smashing Magazine. You can buy the book now, it is available and can be shipped right away! And you can also check more details about the book.

Also, in this post we are giving away 35 exclusive Smashing Book Posters (folded, limited edition), and if you want to win one, just leave a comment on this post and tell us what you would do with it! So, let’s find out who are Smashing Magazine’s biggest fans? And we also have a new book chapter available for free download as PDF to serve as an appetizer.

Smashing-magazine-advertisement in The Smashing Book: Already Got Yours?

in The Smashing Book: Already Got Yours?

Have you gotten your copy of The Smashing Book yet? If not, it may still be worth spending $29.90 for this printed book. The book shares technical tips and best practices on typography, usability, UI design, marketing and color usage. It contains interviews with high profile designers and developers. And you will also get a peek behind the curtains of Smashing Magazine. You can buy the book now, it is available and can be shipped right away! And you can also check more details about the book.

Also, in this post we are giving away 35 exclusive Smashing Book Posters (folded, limited edition), and if you want to win one, just leave a comment on this post and tell us what you would do with it! So, let’s find out who are Smashing Magazine’s biggest fans?

Bonus: New Free Chapter Of The Book

Need an appetizer? Here are two free chapters of the Smashing Book (Chapter 1 was released a couple of months ago). You can download them as a PDF:

Smashing Book Around The World

Many things have been happening with and around The Smashing Book in recent weeks. You must have read or heard that it would fall apart immediately upon being opened (okay, that’s a bit of an exaggeration). In fact, the pages loosened quickly, and the reading experience was anything but ideal (the adhesive binding was the culprit). The verdict from many users was thus: brilliant content, very poor binding. And yes, let’s face facts: we indeed did a poor job in our first attempt at offline publishing, but we are willing to learn from our experience and do it better the next time. In fact, the next time has already come.

We have thoroughly monitored the feedback and heard your complaints, which is why we have produced a Corrected Edition of the book, with stable, high-quality stitched binding. Nothing will fall apart here… guaranteed. And the price remains the same.

The release of the Smashing Book has been very exciting. We’ve seen many photos, videos and even unboxing galleries. We have even seen the books being explored by cats, pancakes, cactuses and babies!

Photo by Remworks

Photo by Eddie Ebeling.

Photo by Julien Bob (the cat’s name is Monsieurbleu).

Photo by Danielle Wu.

A Word On The Shipping

We are of course not a postal service, and because we are located in Germany, we had to rely on the German postal service (Deutsche Post) to deliver the books to you. This usually works fairly well, but the first weeks in December certainly weren’t our preferred shipping time. Logistics companies were already busy with the Christmas season, and so delivery of our books went very slowly. And because we have been shipping the books worldwide, delivery times have varied significantly. No wonder it took as long as a couple of weeks for the books to be delivered, slowed down as they were by the holidays.

It’s truly astonishing what can happen to books when you ship a large number of them. There are hundreds of stories: the labels got messed up, damaged, loosened or stuck together; the book was delivered but is sitting in the apartment of a neighbor who has gone on vacation; the mail carrier delivered the book to the wrong house or misread the label; the label has a printing error; my address has changed; the book was left sitting in a delivery container; the postal service sent the book to the wrong state and is in the process of rerouting it; the book is being held up in customs. The list goes on and on. Every day we learn of a number of such cases. If you purchased your book a long while ago but still haven’t received it, please send your order details to our support team at orders@smashingmagazine.com. We’ll be in touch right away and will investigate.

Was It Worth The Wait?

Well, we can’t answer that question because we are obviously biased. But our readers and book reviewers can answer that question for us. Many book reviews are out there, sharing both positive and negative impressions. In our forum, murphyslaw has published a long, very detailed review of every chapter of the book. What do other readers say? Here are a few snippets:

“The advice is pitched at what I would call intermediate-to-advanced level. It’s aimed at web designers, doesn’t include any coding details, and focuses on notions of good practice. Elegant solutions for common problems are offered on almost every page. The book has also been written by a group of professional designers – so they know what they’re talking about.” — Roy Johnson
“The Smashing Book is a great, really great book for everybody who is interested in design and web-development. Especially the typography and learning from the experts chapters where inspirational resources to me. The content is great but I believe the layout of the pages should be as a book. Support the Smashing Magazine Book by ordering your copy and I hope SM will continue the concept of bringing the content by book.” — Sander Baumann, Designworkplan
“The book is basically all of SM’s best articles condensed into a book. This is what you’d expect, as it would be hard to top what they have on the website already. The content is very detailed, perhaps even too much in some cases, but it is like a ‘bible of web design’ covering all the things you should know.” — Lee Munroe
“I think the Smashing Book is a perfect book for web designers and developers of all levels, and I am excited that it lives up to the hype. It provides very comprehensive information that is both useful and essential for designers and developers who want to make the quailty of their websites improve.” — admixweb
“I think the book is a great buy for the price. For all you people still waiting for it to be delivered, it’s worth it!” — ThatDeadPixel
“Overall, this is a great effort from the Smashing Team and all the authors. The book features good web design theory and many practical techniques backed up by real world examples in the form of colourful screenshots. This book will not become obsolete in the short term, and should be placed in everyone’s library. Overall score: 8.5/10 – A Smashing Book!” — Hixdesign

Please note that all errors and inaccuracies are being collected in the Errata, which can be found through our Smashing List of Links (only a few errors have been found so far).

Buy The Book Now!

The Smashing Book is a printed book about best practices in modern Web design. The book shares technical tips and best practices on coding, usability and optimization and explores how to create successful user interfaces and apply marketing principles to increase conversion rates. It also shows how to get the most out of typography, color and branding so that you end up with intuitive and effective Web designs. And lastly, you will also get a peek behind the curtains of Smashing Magazine.

It’s a paperback: 313 pages, full-color images on coated paper, available worldwide. Free shipping to the US and Germany, and reduced shipping costs to other countries. 30-day 100% money-back guarantee. You can find more details about the book in the post Smashing Book: It’s Out Now!

(al)

http://www.smashingmagazine.com

Showcase Of Web Design In Germany

On January 26, 2010, In SEO, Web Design Tips, by Aygul Zagidullina

Germany, which is situated in the heart of Europe and neighbors nine other countries, is not only the motherland of eminent philosophers, poets, composers, world-famous automobiles and great beer, but also a place where some of the most talented and highly ranked Web designers live.

German design is certainly worthy of respect and a delight to the eye of anyone who takes the time to observe it. For years, we have accumulated knowledge, upheld eternal principles of style, simplicity and accessibility, adopted best practices and kept up with the latest global trends. I’m proud to present here a showcase and discussion of world-class German Web design.

Smashing-magazine-advertisement in Showcase Of Web Design In Germany

Germany, which is situated in the heart of Europe and neighbors nine other countries, is not only the motherland of eminent philosophers, poets, composers, world-famous automobiles and great beer, but also a place where some of the most talented and highly ranked Web designers live.

German design is certainly worthy of respect and a delight to the eye of anyone who takes the time to observe it. For years, we have accumulated knowledge, upheld eternal principles of style, simplicity and accessibility, adopted best practices and kept up with the latest global trends. I’m proud to present here a showcase and discussion of world-class German Web design.

German Web Design: jung von matt

State Of Things

The creative industry in Germany is extremely competitive and consists of thousands of freelancers, studios and agencies. We have the pleasure here of presenting a brief interview with several German design gurus to lend some insight into the local design scene. As talented creative professionals, blog and book authors and freelancers, they are passionate about sharing their knowledge with others. Our participants are:

Prof. Fons Matthias Hickmann, graphic designer, typographer, Professor of communication design at the University of the Arts Berlin, Director of Fons Hickmann m23 design studio, author of “Beyond Graphic Design” and “Touch Me There” books;
Mike John Otto, founder and Creative Director of blackbeltmonkey design studio;
Kai Becker, Creative Director at Elephant Seven agency;
Christian Bartsch, Associate Creative Director at Neue Digitale / Razorfish agency;
Dirk Ollmann, freelance Creative Director;
Markus Angermeier, design freelancer;
Björn Seibert, Web designer, information architect, founder of the Webzeugkoffer blog, and author of the book “Professionelles Webdesign mit (X)HTML und CSS”;
Dirk Behlau, graphic designer and photographer.

creative style agentur

Question: Could you please describe the current state of the German design market. What is the life of a freelancer, developer or designer in Germany like? How much do designers earn?

Prof. Fons Matthias Hickmann: Working with interesting and open-minded people is not something you can take for granted. And earning money by doing what you love involves luck.

Mike John Otto: The current situation for good designers, developers and especially freelancers is surprisingly good. That strange year 2009 wasn’t as bad as many thought it would be, and there was a big demand for good creatives with experience to help realize projects at agencies. As many bigger agencies reduced their team sizes, freelancers were highly welcome, and I honestly think that shrinking in such a “crisis” always benefits the quality of creative projects, because people try harder to prove themselves with good work instead of just doing their job.

Kai Becker: I think 2009 has been a hard year for designers. Although we had a lot of work (compared to conventional advertising agencies), many clients cut their budgets, which often meant less time for the design process. I also missed jobs in which the design or idea played a leading role. Briefings were very conservative or half-hearted and often came with a very reduced budget. A screen designer earns around €2000 to 2800; from there on you’d be an Art Director. Most of them earn €2900 to 4000, but a few earn a bit higher. Freelance screen designers earn in the range of €150 to 250 per day, Freelance art directors get from €300 to 500. Because conventional agencies had to sack quite a few designers, a lot more freelancers have been available in 2009, and as far as I know they have had a hard time.

Armin Morbach

Christian Bartsch: I think we have the perfect market right now for small studios and freelancers. All the big agencies tried to build up knowledge of digital services in the past five years to be more integrated. Those that failed now have to to work with specialists and independent freelance networks to be competitive. Clients want their 360° communication, and you need professionals for that. A lot of these professionals, including myself, can be found on Design made in Germany, a platform for German designers. Money-wise, I would say it is the same as everywhere else. If you are good, you’ll be booked.

Dirk Ollmann: The financial crisis had a strong impact on the freelance market. I know a lot of them were starving and sleeping under the bridges in Hamburg. Just joking. Life is not that bad, but agencies tried to manage all of their work with their own staff, and so hiring freelancers was a no-go for the last two years. Now the market is rising again, and the fact that agencies were very cautious and kept their staff counts low will now help freelancers. An art director can earn between €300 and 500 a day, depending on his skills, quality and speed.

Björn Seibert: Web designers and developers are working — surprise, surprise — as freelancers and employees. Freelancers work more on interdisciplinary projects and teams. The employees work in small specialized agencies, in bigger full-service agencies and large industry enterprises. I would guess the majority work for small to mid-sized businesses. But overall, I don’t think that this is particular to the German market.

Working as a Web designer or developer is rarely a 9:00 to 5:00 job. Your income depends of whether you work as a freelancer or employee. Secondly, it depends on whether you work for a small agency or large enterprise. It may also depend on education. Employees can earn from €35,000 up to 50,000 or even more. As a freelancer, it depends on your market, target groups and customers. As a freelancer, you can and should ask for an hourly rate of at least €50 and up.

sven kils – graphic studios

Dirk Behlau: Hmm… I have been working as a freelance graphic designer and photographer for ten years now, and I have been lucky enough to develop Pixeleye Interactive (my business) from year to year. I mainly work for international lifestyle, car and custom-bike magazines and top brands. For example, I was in Mexico with the Finnish rock band Leningrad Cowboys in the fall of 2009; we will produce a photo book and DVD documentary together. All I mean to say with this example is that I am not sitting in my office every day from 9:00 to 5:00. I travel a lot, meet cool people and a lot of new things happen. So no day is like another, which keeps me motivated. How much do designers earn? That depends on how “established” you are in the business… I have all I want and can make a good living out of it.

Question: Are there any patterns of usability or rules of thumb that are typical of German design? Are the standards of Web design in Germany changing?

Prof. Fons Matthias Hickmann: Although the Web is completely different from print or anything else we thought we knew, you can still apply your principles and tastes to Web design. At the moment, almost anything is possible, and that makes it exciting.

Mike John Otto: Well historically, German design has always been really clear and straightforward. On the one hand, everything produced in Germany, including the design, is usually very precise and content-driven. On the other hand, I see a new trend of more experimental designs that try to break out of grids and usability patterns. As globalization hits every one of us, and with one click anyone can see what is highly rated in other countries, German designers are trying to develop something new, a new German design language, as happened on the German music scene before.

A new German aesthetic language that still hasn’t quite developed but will hopefully soon be as strong as the German music and art scene is today. The most creative areas in Germany currently are Berlin, Hamburg and the Frankfurt am Main area. A lot of smaller German design and digital studios pop up and do remarkable work far away from daily advertising work, even if the big networks still play a bigger role in the German creative scene than they do in, for example, the UK or Sweden.

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Kai Becker: I wouldn’t say so. This is a difficult point, but I can’t see anything explicitly “German” in Web design from here. Standards are always changing, but I think that affects Web designers and developers worldwide.

Christian Bartsch: The design culture in Germany is still very young. With the rise of Berlin as one of the hot spots in Europe, German design has taken a big step. We had and still have a lot of influence from Spain and France. If we speak of Web design, Germany always has been competitive in the global market. You will find a lot of German projects on The FWA.

Dirk Ollmann: For me, as a creative director who has worked on a lot on big brands in the car and consumer goods industries, the financial crisis has had a huge effect on marketing strategy and the process and technology of the Web designer. It turns out that the short-term “return on investment” is more important than long-term brand building.

Today, analytics is the driving force in Germany. But what effect has this had on Web design? The trend is “back from Flash to HTML.” This is the technology that works best with Google’s search engine. Actually, the new BMW website design is based on HTML. Last year’s Web designers were expected to have a lot of skill in Flash and inventing new navigation concepts and visualizations. Now, we’re going back to the roots of Internet, keeping it very simple, do everything that Google wants and trying to sell the product with a few clicks. That’s it.

bellyshades

Björn Seibert: First of all, I don’t think there should be a special rule set for a specific national market. We and others are working hard for a common understanding of Web standards, usability and accessibility around the world. There could be derivative or special requirements for special markets or target groups. But there is foremost a strong demand for international and widespread standards by which every designer and developer can build websites and applications of high quality and a high level of user experience.

Spurred by the Web standards movement in the US, and led by “General” Zeldman and his combatants, the Web standards movement accelerated very quickly in Germany as well. Many of us in Germany started thinking about those standards and proposed best practices. In 2005, Jens Grochtdreis founded the Webkrauts. The Webkrauts are working hard on doing awareness training for Web standards and best practices in Web design and development. Their publications help to educate others and point to obstacles.

colibri – contactlinse & brille

Question: How important is professional education in the design industry, and do you feel that the education available in Germany is adequate to develop world-class designers?

Prof. Fons Matthias Hickmann: Professional education is very important, and more open-minded and sensible young talents are out there than ever before. I am anxious for them to take over soon.

Mike John Otto: I truly believe that all world-class designers have an innate feel for design but have also learned and shaped their skills at art school and by working in agencies. So yes, a professional education is not only important but essential, and a few very good ones not only teach students creative and software techniques but open their eyes to art, design history, common trends and design rules as well as things like film, theater and marketing. Nowadays, design students who are looking for jobs have to know much more than they did a couple of years ago: about film, conceptual thinking, advertising rules, digital trends such as social media and online campaigns, to name just a few.

These so-called “digital natives” have a much wider range of techniques and hardware to mix into their daily work than I had when starting out in the business in 2000. This is a big opportunity and a big pain at the same time. Every good school has to prepare to students to meet this wide new range of market needs.

figurenschneider puppenbau norman schneider, bielefeld

Kai Becker: For advertising agencies, your portfolio matters the most. I judge designers by the work they have done already, not if they have studied the right thing. And yet Burg Giebichenstein in Halle, Germany, is the place that develops world-class online designers. If you can make it there, you’ll make it anywhere.

Christian Bartsch: I think professional education shapes your style and keeps you focused. I experienced big differences in quality at German design schools. After four years, I transferred because I was unsatisfied with the conditions at my school. Design is evolving. Multi-touch and augmented reality offer new ways to approach content. Interfaces are becoming more and more complex. Some schools still think in paper.

Dirk Ollmann: Of course, a professional education is essential. It speeds up your talent. But learning your craft is only one aspect. You should also use your university or design school to meet people and network. World-class designers? Of course there is enough room for them in Germany. Have a look at the biggest multi-touch wall made by Sensory Minds!

MWP Online

Björn Seibert: This topic was the subject of my latest article for the German “Webstandards Magazin” (Issue 4/2009). And yes, I think there is a need for more professionalism in terms of education and orientation for job starters in the field of Web design and development. Indeed, we are seeing a bit of action with apprenticeship; people who study digital media and design have the opportunity to do some specialization. But so far, there is no special degree course or job training that fully concentrates on educating Web designers and developers. In my opinion, there is still a lot of work to do in offering more professional education and better safeguards to hopeful professionals — safeguard that would keep people from thinking that any Web design job could easily be done by their neighbor’s son.

Dirk Behlau: Nowadays, getting a good education is becoming more and more important for someone to be successful in the design field. There are a lot of good people out there. I started 15 years ago as a full auto-didact, developing my own style and look. Designers coming from university are often very impractical in normal “office life.” They may have learned how to use programs like Photoshop, but they don’t have the experience to be successful in their business. Self-marketing and self-promotion are very important, and these are not taught very well in universities.

Question: Where do you get inspiration from? How do you stay informed about the latest design trends? What books and magazines do you read?

Prof. Fons Matthias Hickmann: Like almost everybody I speak to about inspiration, I feel overwhelmed by the amount of information we process every day from the Web. A few websites are clever and thoughtful, giving insight into the creation and process of design, rather than just showing random pictures. Where do I get my inspiration from? From every form of culture. And from daily life. The Web now plays a part in both.

Mike John Otto: I get my inspiration from a mixture of influences: Hamburg and Berlin’s night scenes, youth culture and their dress and music codes, travelling, music magazines and my daily work with colleagues and students from my class. Of course, I check out design websites such as The FWA, High Floater and Digital Arts, as well as magazines such as PAGE and IdN, but I don’t get inspired by checking out other design work. True inspiration comes from fields such as music, theatre and story-telling. Sometimes new ideas are born of these influences, and sometimes one kind of recycles all of this stuff and creates something new from it.

visualorgasm

Dirk Ollmann: Before you design, you need an idea. I think this is the most difficult thing. A lot of designers use the Internet to try to come up with a unique idea, but that’s the last place to find it. I try to keep my eyes open for things that happen in real life… keep my eyes open and record. After a while, you have a database of ideas waiting for implementation. Stop working, get inspired! Ideas will come by doing something completely different. Try something! I use to pet my cat, kite-surf, play bass, etc. Nevertheless, there are some websites I check regularly: Behance for random searching (those are some cool guys from Eastern Europe); for style, The Cool Hunter is one of my favourite websites; and The FWA for state-of-the-art Flash design.

Björn Seibert: A normal day starts with Google Reader and the Twitter timeline. These are my main sources of information for keeping up to date on Web design trends and issues. Actually, I’m subscribed to about 230 feeds, mostly covering design, Web design and development, usability and user experience topics. Further, I’m subscribed to some Posterous blogs. I love to discover small new unknown blogs with good and relevant copywriting. For me, inspiration is nothing you go out looking for. It starts with good content, smart insight into Web design issues and smart solutions to common problems. I read a lot of Web design-related books. Lately: Sexy Web Design, Designing with Web Standards, Integrierte Informationsarchitektur. At the moment, there is only one magazine I’m willing to pay for, the quarterly Webstandards Magazin.

iconwerk

Dirk Behlau: I travel a lot, meet new artists and exchange ideas with them. And I do read a lot of magazines and check websites, blogs, social network websites, etc. So, I do look everywhere, and I’m interested in a wide range of themes from movies, music, video games, travel, lifestyle, hot-rodding, custom culture, skateboarding, custom bikes, graffiti, tattoos, to name just a few. I do get a lot of magazines from around the world every month, covering everything from cars to tattoos to music. I love the Juxtapoz and IdN magazines.

Question: Are there any other issues unique to German Web design? Do you see any remarkable differences in comparing it to creative industries worldwide?

Prof. Fons Matthias Hickmann: One obvious difference is the language. English is omnipresent on the Web, German is big as well. How should we deal with that? Is translation a good method, or an alternative? How will our culture change? What can we do as designers?

Mike John Otto: Not really. British, US and Swedish influences are big in Germany, and so the product is becoming more and more similar. A German design and Web design language is being formulated more and more but is still not strong enough. Most of the German work seen at award shows and in magazines is still mainstream from a handful of very well-known German agencies. Although German ads and design are winning more and more at award shows: Germany was in the top five in quite a few rankings this year. I hope a remarkable difference will show itself in German design sometime soon.

Moargh

Kai Becker: There may be slight differences between European, Asian and American Web design, but I would not say they are remarkable. Perhaps German Web design is typically straight, clean, simple and tidy. Kind of what you would expect from a German, wouldn’t you? :)

Christian Bartsch: Right now, Flash development is particularly good in Germany. Small studios such as blackbeltmonkeys, Less Rain and Artificial Duck are pushing the limits.

Dirk Ollmann: Germans are often seen as “number crunchers” — that’s absolutely true. The big brands always want to know what the results will be before we do anything, and we try to avoid any mistakes. The result is that we miss a lot of opportunities that the Internet provides. But maybe this is a worldwide problem as well. Styles and trends? I hope German Web designers will kill glossy 3-D buttons, wet-floor shadows and those ’80s trend next year. Website design will evolve into big clear typography, short copy, only a few themes per page, big easy buttons and a lot of video content.

Making videos will become increasingly easy, and we’ll turn away from the high-end glossy advertising grease. Even big brands will host their videos on YouTube or Google Video to allow users to embed. “Sharing” will be the driving force of content and Web design in the coming years. The biggest task of brands will be to conquer social networks like Facebook, MySpace, etc. But most brands have no idea how to achieve this. For me, this is one of the most interesting fields in advertising today.

das leben ist wie eine schachtel pralinen

Björn Seibert: I generally have a more global point of view. But what must be emphasized is that a line of German Web design has emerged. There are a bunch of very talented Web designers, and the Web standards movement is upon us, in no small part thanks to the Webkrauts initiative. There is also a highly recommended Web-standards podcast Technikwürze that covers the latest Web design trends and features the best from the Web in Germany. But I think that sometimes we should be more self-confident and share with each other our thoughts about modern Web design and current issues.

Dirk Behlau: That’s difficult to answer because I work for international clients that demand my particular style. Sometimes I think European and American clients are more experimental.

What’s Going On In Germany?

Events

A number of design and tech-related events happen in Germany on regular basis. Some worth mentioning are Forum Mediendesign; Designers’ Open; webinale ; WebTech, DesignCamp (January 24-25, 2009 in Cologne). A famous international arts festival, “Illustrative,” was held this year in Berlin.

Awards

Among the most prestigious awards in the German design industry are the red dot design award, iF communication design award, Designpreis, Gute Gestaltung, Deutscher Multimedia Award (DMMA), BIENE-Award and LeadAward.

Showcase Of Web Design In Germany

In this showcase, we bring you a selection of the most inspiring and well-designed websites in Germany, either personal experimental or corporate.

friseur hamburg – rolf & bernd

Junopilot

pisto – magazin über web und die welt

erfolgreiche webseiten und marketing-kampagnen aus hamburg

Kaiserschnitt Hair-Styling

bieh.de

tanner + tailor

oliver twardowski, addicted to coffee

dinge geregelt kriegen – ohne einen funken selbstdisziplin

Michael Heinsen

artcore-illustrations

flaek footwear

Bianca Elmer

kinderspiele, malvorlagen, kindergeburtstag

stefan velthuys – web & frontend-designer

stilvolles webdesign, printdesign, illustration und animation

noel nieto – strassenfussballer

high quality writing instruments

bauer konzept & gestaltung

andreas mühe

visionpixel mediendesign

Julius Brink & Jonas Reckermann

Irrland

Lukas Lindemann Rosinski

photocase – kreative stockfotos

misfall – t-shirt

habitat seven – very flexible

cape arcona type foundry

vier für texas *ideenwerk

wm team – showtime for your brand

xplicit ffm / grafik – und webdesign aus frankfurt

Showcase Of Design Agencies

The design sector in Germany is dominated by a number of highly professional creative agencies that have earned international public attention and many prestigious awards: among them the red dot design award, iF communication design award and Designpreis.

Scholz & Volkmer
Clients: Mercedes-Benz, Adidas, Samsung, Coca-Cola

recom
Clients: Adidas, American Express, Audi, BASF, BMW, Bosch, Braun, Canon, Chevrolet, Citroen,Douglas, Ehrmann, Fiat, Ford, Gerry Weber

Mutabor
Clients: Adidas, Audi, BMW, Breuninger, L’Oreal, Nivea, T-Mobile, Volkswagen

Tilt Design Studio
Clients: Audi, Belmondo

Saint Elmo’s
Clients: BWM, Lufthansa, AxelSpringer

GNC Design
Clients: HTC Deutschland, Ford Deutschland, Renault Nissan Deutschland

Toca Me
Clients: Amway, BMW, Burda, Compaq, Fujitsu Siemens, Henkel, L’Oreal, Mc Donalds, Microsoft, MINI, Müller Milch, Novartis, Red Bull, RitterSport, Sony BMG, Vodafone, Xbox

hauser lacour
Clients: Bayer, Berlin Chemie, Commerzbank, Lufthansa

urbn;
Clients: McDonalds, Adidas, Sarotti, Hasseröder, hohes-C, L’Oreal

blackbeltmonkey
Clients: Mitsubishi, Edeka, FC Bayern, Chelsea FC

Taobot
Clients: Beck’s, Coca-Cola, Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, GfK Group, Jay-Z, Leica Camera, Mercedes Benz, Metro Group, o2 Deutschland, Smirnoff, Swarovski, ThyssenKrupp, Toblerone

Moccu
Clients: L’Oreal, Garnier, Volkswagen, Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone, Dior, Maybelline, WWF, Canon

Goldener Westen
Clients: Axel Springer, Coca-Cola, Edeka, ZKM Karlsruhe

MetaDesign
Clients: Volkswagen, OTTO, Conrad, Audi, Klett Verlag, Lufthansa, Nici, eBay

Aperto
Clients: Audi, Bayer, BenQ, Coca-Cola, F.A.Z., Siemens, Sony, Triumph, Volkswagen

Loved
Clients: Adidas, Audi, Comdirect, Görtz, s.Oliver

Antwerpes
Clients: Aral, Bayer

Are We Designer
Clients: BASF, Burda, Deutsche Telecom, Vodafone

Marctropolis
Clients: ARD, Beate Uhse, Bild, BMG, Burger King, Chupa Chups, Procter & Gamble, Red Bull, RTL, Siemens, Skoda, Universal Music, ZDF

Parasol Island
Clients: MTV, IKEA, Sony Ericsson

Fiftyeight
Clients: DHL, Mazda, Milka, Lacoste, Jaguar, RTL, Nintendo Deutschland, Disney, Procter & Gamble, Ferrero Deutschland, Karlsberg, Nike, Renault Germany, Warner Music Germany, Sparkasse, Opel, MTV

Showcase Of Web Design Freelancers

Besides the professional creative agencies, we find a lot of freelancers working in the industry.

United States of Design
Clients: Adidas, Audi, Bacardi, Berliner Sparkasse, Bertelsmann, Coca-Cola, Deutsche Bank, Mini, MTV, Mozilla, Plazes, Sprite, Siemens, Sony, Sony Ericsson, TDK, Volkswagen

Martin Anderle
Clients: Adidas, BMW, Sony Ericcson, Volvo, ZDF

kosmar
Clients: Stiftung Warentest, Daimler, SPD Berlin, Plazes

Dirk Schütze
Clients: Leibniz, Konica Minolta, Deutsche Post

Radekal
Clients: Gillette, IKEA

mediziehm
Clients: Peugeot, Ford, Jaguar

Round-Up Of German Design Resources

To stay competitive and successful on the creative scene, we have to know what’s happening in the fields of Web design, Web development, graphic design and typography and know what trends are set to become the next big things in the design world.

The round-up below of over 70 design-related resources should give you an overview of German blogs, Web design galleries (both CSS and Flash), communities, social networks and magazines (both online offline). You would be well advised to read or at least occasionally look through these to catch up on the latest design trends and get a daily dose of inspiration and encouragement. I invite you to discover some of these unique and enjoyable resources!

Blogs

Web Design Galleries (CSS and Flash)

Magazines

Your Opinion Is Welcome!

What is your opinion of the German Web design scene? In case we’ve missed any exceptional websites, please share them, and your thoughts, in the comments section. We always look forward to your feedback and support!

Stay Tuned And Get In Touch!

This article is the fourth in our new Global Web Design series. Over the next months, we’ll be covering various continents, featuring Web developers and designs from different countries and looking closely at what is happening on the Web design scene worldwide.

If you”d like to prepare an article for this series, please contact us, and we’ll discuss details.

(al)

http://www.smashingmagazine.com

The New Hotness: Using CSS3 Visual Effects

On January 25, 2010, In SEO, Web Design Tips, by ZURB

Previously in this series on CSS3, we talked not only about how to create scalable and compelling buttons but about how to effectively use new CSS3 properties to speed up development and quickly create rich page elements. In this final article of the series, we’ll really get into it and use CSS3 visual effects to push the envelope.

Not everything in this article is practical, or even bug-free, but it’s a fun primer on what’s in the pipeline for Web design. To get the most from these examples, you’ll have to use Safari 4 or Chrome. (Firefox 3.5 can handle most of it, but not everything: WebKit is further along than Gecko in its tentative CSS support.) We’ll show you how to create impressive image galleries, build animated music players and overlay images like a pro. All set? Let’s rock.

Smashing-magazine-advertisement in The New Hotness: Using CSS3 Visual Effects

in The New Hotness: Using CSS3 Visual Effects

Previously in this series on CSS3, we talked not only about how to create scalable and compelling buttons but about how to effectively use new CSS3 properties to speed up development and quickly create rich page elements. In this final article of the series, we’ll really get into it and use CSS3 visual effects to push the envelope.

Not everything in this article is practical, or even bug-free, but it’s a fun primer on what’s in the pipeline for Web design. To get the most from these examples, you’ll have to use Safari 4 or Chrome. (Firefox 3.5 can handle most of it, but not everything: WebKit is further along than Gecko in its tentative CSS support.) We’ll show you how to create impressive image galleries, build animated music players and overlay images like a pro. All set? Let’s rock.

Create A Polaroid Image Gallery

We always try to stay pretty active with our Flickr feed; our chief instigator Bryan does a great job of capturing the day-to-day and special events and even some of our old work. We wanted a great way to show off these photos, so we turned to CSS3 to create a compelling, fun image gallery. The Polaroid style is pretty common, but we wanted not only to make it dead-simple to create the gallery in the markup but also to add styles that would have required Javascript just a year or two ago.

The Polaroid Gallery Markup

First off, we created very simple markup for the gallery, something that would be easy to generate automatically using the Flickr API. The markup for the entire gallery looks like this:

<ul class="polaroids">
	<li>
	   <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/zurbinc/3971679981/" title="Roeland!">
	   	<img src="image-01.jpg" width="250" height="200" alt="Roeland!" />
	   </a>
	</li>
	<li>
	   <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/zurbinc/3985295842/" title="Discussion">
	   	<img src="image-02.jpg" width="250" height="200" alt="Discussion" />
	   </a>
	</li>
</ul>

We’ll be using the title element in a minute.

The Base Style and Labels

Our next step was to create the simple Polaroid look. We placed our image inside an anchor with a white background and scaled the image container. This gave us space for the image labels, which we created using little-known CSS tricks: :after and content: attr.

ul.polaroids a:after {
	content: attr(title);
}

What we’re doing here is telling the browser that after it renders the given anchor content, add another piece of content. We then generate that piece of content with the content: attr(title) element, which pulls a specific attribute from the element, in this case the title attribute. Using alt would make more sense, but neither Safari nor Firefox has implemented it for the content element.

The snippet above tells the browser to take the title attribute and render it immediately after the content. Note that the title attribute will be rendered within the anchor, which is exactly what we want. We would have liked to have used the alt attribute, but Safari and Firefox do not support the use of content with it.

Our styling of the anchor element takes care of the formatting of the title attribute as well, and we’ve now placed the image title attribute below it so that we don’t have to replicate that content in the markup.

Scattering the Pictures

A handful of Polaroids would never be in a perfect grid; they’d be scattered over the table. We compromised by messing up the grid a little bit for each image: a little rotation here, some displacement there. However, we did not want to have to manage that scattering on a per-image basis, so we used another new pseudo-class: nth-child.

/* By default, we tilt all images by -2 degrees */
ul.polaroids a {
	-webkit-transform: rotate(-2deg);
	-moz-transform: rotate(-2deg);
}

/* Rotate all even images 2 degrees */
ul.polaroids li:nth-child(even) a {
	-webkit-transform: rotate(2deg);
	-moz-transform: rotate(2deg);
}

/* Don't rotate every third image, but offset its position */
ul.polaroids li:nth-child(3n) a {
	-webkit-transform: none;
	-moz-transform: none;
	position: relative;
	top: -5px;
}

These are only a few of the declarations we used; we actually added them for everything up to 11n, but you get the idea. As you can see, nth-child supports a few different arguments, including even, odd and Xn (where X can be any integer). The even and odd declarations are self-explanatory. Xn takes every Xth element and applies a particular style; in this example, every 3rd. Combining this with odd, even and some more Xn declarations means that even though the style won’t really be random, it will appear random enough to the average user. You can see the entire set of styles on our demo page.

We’re using a new CSS3 property here as well: the CSS transform (shown as -webkit- and -moz-transform). The transform property can take a number of arguments for different kinds of transformations; in this example, we’ll be using rotate and scale. You can see the complete (tentative) list in the Safari Visual Effects Guide.

Some Final Animation

Our last touch was to give the image focus on hover; in this case, to enlarge and straighten out. We accomplish this using a -webkit-transition that is activated by the :hover pseudo-class. Check it out:

ul.polaroids a:hover {
	-webkit-transform: scale(1.25);
	-moz-transform: scale(1.25);
	-webkit-transition: -webkit-transform .15s linear;
	position: relative;
	z-index: 5;
}

What’s happening here is that we’re overriding the existing -webkit-transform to simply scale the image (this eliminates the rotation). The -webkit-transition tells Webkit-based browsers to animate the transform so that the move from one to another is smooth. -webkit-transition is actually extremely versatile, because it can just as easily support color, position (top, right, etc.) and most any other property.

That’s how we created our Polaroid gallery. Once you know these new tricks, putting them together is actually pretty easy, and the markup is dead simple.

Polaroid-images-th in The New Hotness: Using CSS3 Visual Effects

See the Live Demo »

We’ve created a live demo page for this gallery in our Playground, a place for us ZURBians to create small side projects and samples of cool toys. We’ll be linking to the Playground examples throughout this article.

Sliding Vinyl Albums With CSS Gradients

This example began as a simple experiment with CSS gradients and grew into a pretty detailed investigation not just of gradients but of new background properties and animation. We’ll show you how to create advanced gradients with no images and use layered backgrounds for some cool effects.

Writing the Markup

What we’ve created here is a simple unordered list of albums with slide-out album controls. You could use something like this to present your band’s albums or to showcase a series of podcasts or any other kind of audio (or potentially video) media. Each item in the list is an album, with some fairly simple markup:

<div class="album">
	<a href=""><img src="/playground/sliding-vinyl/muse-the-resistance.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Muse: The Resistance" /></a>
	<span class="vinyl">
		<div></div>
	</span>
	<ul class="actions">
		<li class="play-pause"><a href=""></a></li>
		<li class="info"><a href=""></a></li>
	</ul>
	<div>
		<h5>Muse</h5>
		<small>The Resistance</small>
	</div>
	<span class="gloss"></span>
</div>

It might look like a few extraneous elements are in there, but we’ll be using all of them to render our slide-out record and controller buttons.

Creating the Record

The real trick here was the album. We challenged ourselves to create the album without using any images at all (we ended up cheating a bit, but we’ll get to that). When it slides out, the album looks like the figure on the left: standard black vinyl with a slight shine to it and a couple of control buttons.

You’ll notice that the inside edge of the album is a little jagged, and that’s because the album isn’t an image but rather two layered gradients generated by the browser and set as the background of the same object. This required not only a bit of messing around with the new gradient objects in CSS3 but also another CSS3 trick: multiple backgrounds. Check out the CSS for the record:

ul.tunes li div.album span.vinyl div {
	display: block;
	border: solid 1px black;
	width: 112px;
	height: 112px;
	-webkit-border-radius: 59px;
	-moz-border-radius: 59px;
	-webkit-box-shadow: 0 0 6px rgba(0,0,0,.5);
	-webkit-transition: all .25s linear;
	background:
		-webkit-gradient(
			linear, left top, left bottom,
			from(transparent),
			color-stop(0.1, transparent),
			color-stop(0.5, rgba(255,255,255,0.25)),
			color-stop(0.9, transparent),
			to(transparent)),
		-webkit-gradient(
			radial, 56 56, 10, 56 56, 112,
			from(transparent),
			color-stop(0.01, transparent),
			color-stop(0.021, rgba(0,0,0,1)),
			color-stop(0.09, rgba(0,0,0,1)),
			color-stop(0.1, rgba(28,28,28,1)),
			to(rgba(28,28,28,1)));
	border-top: 1px solid rgba(255,255,255,.25);
}

We’ve omitted some of the positioning and other boring CSS pieces (check out the live demo for the complete markup). We want to focus here on the pieces that are critical to creating the album visually: border-radius and -webkit-gradient.

The simplest part was creating a round object: by setting the border radius to exactly half of the height and width of the object, the browser masks the object to a perfect circle. Watch out, though: unlike in Photoshop, if the border radius is higher than half the object’s height or width, the browser might simply ignore the declaration. That said, rounding the object is the easy part; the tricky part is controlling the gradients.

Two gradients are at work on the object: one creates the album itself (complete with the hole in the middle), and the other casts a light across it. We’ll start with the shine:

ul.tunes li div.album span.vinyl div {
	...
	background:
		-webkit-gradient(
			linear, left top, left bottom,
			from(transparent),
			color-stop(0.1, transparent),
			color-stop(0.5, rgba(255,255,255,0.25)),
			color-stop(0.9, transparent),
			to(transparent)),
			...
}

The shine gradient is a linear gradient from the top-left to bottom-left. We start with transparent so that the gradient fades in, then we shift the gradient to white at the 50% mark (halfway across the album), with 25% opacity. We’re using RGBa colors because they allow us to control both the color and opacity in the same declaration.

The album itself is more complicated, and it suffers a bit from early implementation of the radial gradient.

ul.tunes li div.album span.vinyl div {
	...
	background:
		...,
		-webkit-gradient(
			radial, 56 56, 10, 56 56, 112,
			from(transparent),
			color-stop(0.01, transparent),
			color-stop(0.021, rgba(0,0,0,1)),
			color-stop(0.09, rgba(0,0,0,1)),
			color-stop(0.1, rgba(28,28,28,1)),
			to(rgba(28,28,28,1)));
	...
}

Radial gradients are just as they sound, and just what you’d expect from gradients in Photoshop. They begin at the center of the object and track across the object in concentric circles. In our case, we wanted to start with transparency, then switch to a solid black, and end up with a very dark gray.

Perhaps the most difficult part of the gradient is declaring its size and position: radial, 56 56, 10, 56 56, 112. We have five pieces of data here: type, starting center, starting diameter, ending center and ending diameter. Here’s how they work:

Radial is, of course, where we define this as a circular gradient rather than straight (linear) gradient.
We begin at 56 56, which is exactly half the height and width of our 112-pixel-tall object. We want the gradient to end with the same center, so we repeat 56 56.
The gradient begins with a diameter of 10 pixel.
The ending center (56 56) ensures that this is a concentric gradient.
112 is our final diameter, the same width as the object.

The radial implementation was still a bit rough around the edges, so we played around with these values and the color-stop elements to get the effect we wanted. In the future, a more polished implementation won’t be quite so trial and error.

From there, similar to the linear gradient, we created a series of color-stops to go from transparent to black to dark gray. The result of these two backgrounds (separated by a comma—thanks, CSS3) is our shiny record. Again, you’ll notice the center is a bit rough, but we’re sure future implementations of this new element will be cleaner.

The button controls are simply rounded anchors (using border-radius), with a couple of image glyphs (we told you we cheated a bit). The final touch was to add the animation so that the album would roll out of the sleeve on hover.

Adding in the Final Animation

To achieve the rolling effect, we paired up a position shift and a rotation effect so that, as the object moves to the right, it rotates just the right amount to appear as if it’s rolling. Here’s what we did:

ul.tunes li div.album span.vinyl {
	-webkit-transition: all .25s linear;
}

ul.tunes li div.album:hover span.vinyl {
	-webkit-transform: translateX(60px);
}

ul.tunes li div.album:hover span.vinyl div {
	-webkit-transform: rotate(120deg);
}

We’re using two transforms, translateX and rotate, on two objects. We use the translate instead of standard positioning because transforms don’t impact the DOM—from a layout perspective, the object never really moves, and so we don’t have to worry about floats going awry or objects pushing each other around. Transitions also work better on translation transforms than on actual position (left: 20px, etc.) changes.

Gradients have a ways to go, but there are already some cool uses for generated gradients. You can even control them at runtime using transitions or JavaScript, which opens up yet more possibilities.

Sliding-vinyl-th in The New Hotness: Using CSS3 Visual Effects

See the Live Demo »

We’ve created a live demo page for this gallery in our Playground, so you can see it in action and delve deeper into the source code. Enjoy!

Sweet Overlays With Border-Image

This last part is perhaps the most practical. We use it in our feedback tool Notable every day. The border-image property is new but has some really interesting applications. We’ll explain how it works and how we’re using it in our flagship application.

The Overlay Markup

Overlays in Notable have two parts: the frame and the actual glass overlay. The markup for the overlay is pretty simple, consisting of two sibling DIVs:

<div class="note" id="note1">
	<div class="border"></div>
	<div class="overlay"></div>
	<span class="black circle note">1<span class="wrap"></span></span>
</div>

When we created these overlays, we had a few goals:

They shouldn’t overly obscure the content beneath them.
They shouldn’t affect the hue of the content beneath them.
They must look awesome.

To that end, we devised an overlay that would appear as a glass overlay, with a slight shine and a nice, fairly bold frame. For the purposes of this article, we’ll focus on the frame, which we created using the new border-image property.

Using Border-Image

The new border-image property is a strange beast: very versatile, but takes a little getting used to. Here’s what the border-image declaration for our frame looks like in the CSS:

div.note div.border {
	border: 5px solid #feb515;
	-webkit-border-radius: 3px;
	-moz-border-radius: 3px;
	-webkit-border-image:
		url(/playground/awesome-overlays/border-image.png) 5 5 5 5 stretch;
	-moz-border-image:
		url(/playground/awesome-overlays/border-image.png) 5 5 5 5 stretch;
}

Let’s get the easy stuff out of the way. The border element is both required and a fallback: older browsers will still render a usable border for the overlay, but border-image requires a defined border width. While we’ve been fairly unconcerned with backwards-compatibility in our articles, in this case we needed it (Notable has to work in more than just cutting-edge browsers). This is one of many examples of progressive enhancement (or graceful degradation, if you prefer): older browsers render something usable, just less pretty. The first progressive piece in here is the border-radius, which we’ve already discussed at length.

The border-image is what we’re interested in. Check out the figure to the right; notice the gradient on the frame that goes from top to bottom? It’s a simple touch, but adding it to an object that has to scale to many different sizes required that we use this new property. And we’re glad we did; learning how to use it opened up new possibilities in our coding repertoire. Let’s look at just the border-image code again:

	url(/playground/awesome-overlays/border-image.png) 5 5 5 5 stretch;

The syntax is the same for WebKit and Gecko(Mox) browsers. The actual declaration is simple. What takes some effort is understanding how to create the image file itself.

Border image takes a single image and slices it into nine pieces, which it then stretches over the object. We’ve sketched a diagram to explain how this works, and we’ve blown up the actual border image file for you to compare. Check it out:

The browser takes the top-left corner and uses it for the top-left border, and then it stretches the top-middle to cover the entire top of the object, and so on around the image.

We created an image with transparent center, because border-image will stretch the center quadrant across the entire object (which seems counterintuitive for a “border” image, but it does make the style a bit more versatile). You’ll notice that the actual gradient is present only in quadrants 4 and 6, because those are the only pieces that will be stretched enough for us to see a gradient. The browser actually does a good job of stretching the image as long as it’s not too complex, so artifacts aren’t really an issue.

The last pieces of the border-image declaration are the size and style: 5 5 5 5 stretch. The repeated 5s determine the size on each side of the object; because we wanted a 5-pixel border, we created an image that was 15 x 15. If we had used a smaller image, the browser would have had to scale the corners as well, and no doubt it would have looked messier. The last property, stretch, dictates how the browser actually handles the pieces of the image. A great (and amusing) intro to the different styles can be found at lrbabe.

Putting It Together

Combining the frame with the glass overlay center (which is a semi-transparent PNG) gives us our frame. Using different border images, we actually created classes for our different colors (red, blue, etc.), while older browsers still get a usable frame without the gradient-edged niceties. This isn’t an incredibly complex example, but you can see how useful border-image can be, especially using an alpha-mapped image format such as PNG.

Awesome-overlays-th in The New Hotness: Using CSS3 Visual Effects

See the Live Demo »

We’ve created a live demo page for this gallery in our Playground so that you can see it in action and delve deeper into the source code. You can also read up on why we created this overlay in our two-part Notable Behind the Scenes blog post: part 1 and part 2.

CSS 3 Is Totally Bad Ass

Right? We hope you’ve enjoyed this primer on what we can look forward to in the final CSS3 specification. Familiarize yourself with the properties and start using them—just be sure to account for browsers that, sadly, will never support all of these fun new tricks. You can see how we use CSS3 in our work for clients as well as in our own product, Notable. Found a super-awesome way to use these new properties? We’d love to hear about it in the comments!

References and Resources

(al)

http://www.smashingmagazine.com

The New Hotness: Using CSS3 Visual Effects

On January 25, 2010, In SEO, Web Design Tips, by ZURB

Previously in this series on CSS3, we talked not only about how to create scalable and compelling buttons but about how to effectively use new CSS3 properties to speed up development and quickly create rich page elements. In this final article of the series, we’ll really get into it and use CSS3 visual effects to push the envelope.

Not everything in this article is practical, or even bug-free, but it’s a fun primer on what’s in the pipeline for Web design. To get the most from these examples, you’ll have to use Safari 4 or Chrome. (Firefox 3.5 can handle most of it, but not everything: WebKit is further along than Gecko in its tentative CSS support.) We’ll show you how to create impressive image galleries, build animated music players and overlay images like a pro. All set? Let’s rock.

Previously in this series on CSS3, we talked not only about how to create scalable and compelling buttons but about how to effectively use new CSS3 properties to speed up development and quickly create rich page elements. In this final article of the series, we’ll really get into it and use CSS3 visual effects to push the envelope.

Not everything in this article is practical, or even bug-free, but it’s a fun primer on what’s in the pipeline for Web design. To get the most from these examples, you’ll have to use Safari 4 or Chrome. (Firefox 3.5 can handle most of it, but not everything: WebKit is further along than Gecko in its tentative CSS support.) We’ll show you how to create impressive image galleries, build animated music players and overlay images like a pro. All set? Let’s rock.

[Offtopic: By the way, did you know that Smashing Magazine has a mobile version? Try it out if you have an iPhone, Blackberry or another capable device.]

Create A Polaroid Image Gallery

We always try to stay pretty active with our Flickr feed; our chief instigator Bryan does a great job of capturing the day-to-day and special events and even some of our old work. We wanted a great way to show off these photos, so we turned to CSS3 to create a compelling, fun image gallery. The Polaroid style is pretty common, but we wanted not only to make it dead-simple to create the gallery in the markup but also to add styles that would have required Javascript just a year or two ago.

The Polaroid Gallery Markup

First off, we created very simple markup for the gallery, something that would be easy to generate automatically using the Flickr API. The markup for the entire gallery looks like this:

<ul class="polaroids">
	<li>
	   <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/zurbinc/3971679981/" title="Roeland!">
	   	<img src="image-01.jpg" width="250" height="200" alt="Roeland!" />
	   </a>
	</li>
	<li>
	   <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/zurbinc/3985295842/" title="Discussion">
	   	<img src="image-02.jpg" width="250" height="200" alt="Discussion" />
	   </a>
	</li>
</ul>

We’ll be using the title element in a minute.

The Base Style and Labels

Our next step was to create the simple Polaroid look. We placed our image inside an anchor with a white background and scaled the image container. This gave us space for the image labels, which we created using little-known CSS tricks: :after and content: attr.

ul.polaroids a:after {
	content: attr(title);
}

What we’re doing here is telling the browser that after it renders the given anchor content, add another piece of content. We then generate that piece of content with the content: attr(title) element, which pulls a specific attribute from the element, in this case the title attribute. Using alt would make more sense, but neither Safari nor Firefox has implemented it for the content element.

The snippet above tells the browser to take the title attribute and render it immediately after the content. Note that the title attribute will be rendered within the anchor, which is exactly what we want. We would have liked to have used the alt attribute, but Safari and Firefox do not support the use of content with it.

Our styling of the anchor element takes care of the formatting of the title attribute as well, and we’ve now placed the image title attribute below it so that we don’t have to replicate that content in the markup.

Scattering the Pictures

A handful of Polaroids would never be in a perfect grid; they’d be scattered over the table. We compromised by messing up the grid a little bit for each image: a little rotation here, some displacement there. However, we did not want to have to manage that scattering on a per-image basis, so we used another new pseudo-class: nth-child.

/* By default, we tilt all images by -2 degrees */
ul.polaroids a {
	-webkit-transform: rotate(-2deg);
	-moz-transform: rotate(-2deg);
}

/* Rotate all even images 2 degrees */
ul.polaroids li:nth-child(even) a {
	-webkit-transform: rotate(2deg);
	-moz-transform: rotate(2deg);
}

/* Don't rotate every third image, but offset its position */
ul.polaroids li:nth-child(3n) a {
	-webkit-transform: none;
	-moz-transform: none;
	position: relative;
	top: -5px;
}

These are only a few of the declarations we used; we actually added them for everything up to 11n, but you get the idea. As you can see, nth-child supports a few different arguments, including even, odd and Xn (where X can be any integer). The even and odd declarations are self-explanatory. Xn takes every Xth element and applies a particular style; in this example, every 3rd. Combining this with odd, even and some more Xn declarations means that even though the style won’t really be random, it will appear random enough to the average user. You can see the entire set of styles on our demo page.

We’re using a new CSS3 property here as well: the CSS transform (shown as -webkit- and -moz-transform). The transform property can take a number of arguments for different kinds of transformations; in this example, we’ll be using rotate and scale. You can see the complete (tentative) list in the Safari Visual Effects Guide.

Some Final Animation

Our last touch was to give the image focus on hover; in this case, to enlarge and straighten out. We accomplish this using a -webkit-transition that is activated by the :hover pseudo-class. Check it out:

ul.polaroids a:hover {
	-webkit-transform: scale(1.25);
	-moz-transform: scale(1.25);
	-webkit-transition: -webkit-transform .15s linear;
	position: relative;
	z-index: 5;
}

What’s happening here is that we’re overriding the existing -webkit-transform to simply scale the image (this eliminates the rotation). The -webkit-transition tells Webkit-based browsers to animate the transform so that the move from one to another is smooth. -webkit-transition is actually extremely versatile, because it can just as easily support color, position (top, right, etc.) and most any other property.

That’s how we created our Polaroid gallery. Once you know these new tricks, putting them together is actually pretty easy, and the markup is dead simple.

See the Live Demo »

We’ve created a live demo page for this gallery in our Playground, a place for us ZURBians to create small side projects and samples of cool toys. We’ll be linking to the Playground examples throughout this article.

Sliding Vinyl Albums With CSS Gradients

This example began as a simple experiment with CSS gradients and grew into a pretty detailed investigation not just of gradients but of new background properties and animation. We’ll show you how to create advanced gradients with no images and use layered backgrounds for some cool effects.

Writing the Markup

What we’ve created here is a simple unordered list of albums with slide-out album controls. You could use something like this to present your band’s albums or to showcase a series of podcasts or any other kind of audio (or potentially video) media. Each item in the list is an album, with some fairly simple markup:

<div class="album">
	<a href=""><img src="/playground/sliding-vinyl/muse-the-resistance.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Muse: The Resistance" /></a>
	<span class="vinyl">
		<div></div>
	</span>
	<ul class="actions">
		<li class="play-pause"><a href=""></a></li>
		<li class="info"><a href=""></a></li>
	</ul>
	<div>
		<h5>Muse</h5>
		<small>The Resistance</small>
	</div>
	<span class="gloss"></span>
</div>

It might look like a few extraneous elements are in there, but we’ll be using all of them to render our slide-out record and controller buttons.

Creating the Record

The real trick here was the album. We challenged ourselves to create the album without using any images at all (we ended up cheating a bit, but we’ll get to that). When it slides out, the album looks like the figure on the left: standard black vinyl with a slight shine to it and a couple of control buttons.

You’ll notice that the inside edge of the album is a little jagged, and that’s because the album isn’t an image but rather two layered gradients generated by the browser and set as the background of the same object. This required not only a bit of messing around with the new gradient objects in CSS3 but also another CSS3 trick: multiple backgrounds. Check out the CSS for the record:

ul.tunes li div.album span.vinyl div {
	display: block;
	border: solid 1px black;
	width: 112px;
	height: 112px;
	-webkit-border-radius: 59px;
	-moz-border-radius: 59px;
	-webkit-box-shadow: 0 0 6px rgba(0,0,0,.5);
	-webkit-transition: all .25s linear;
	background:
		-webkit-gradient(
			linear, left top, left bottom,
			from(transparent),
			color-stop(0.1, transparent),
			color-stop(0.5, rgba(255,255,255,0.25)),
			color-stop(0.9, transparent),
			to(transparent)),
		-webkit-gradient(
			radial, 56 56, 10, 56 56, 112,
			from(transparent),
			color-stop(0.01, transparent),
			color-stop(0.021, rgba(0,0,0,1)),
			color-stop(0.09, rgba(0,0,0,1)),
			color-stop(0.1, rgba(28,28,28,1)),
			to(rgba(28,28,28,1)));
	border-top: 1px solid rgba(255,255,255,.25);
}

We’ve omitted some of the positioning and other boring CSS pieces (check out the live demo for the complete markup). We want to focus here on the pieces that are critical to creating the album visually: border-radius and -webkit-gradient.

The simplest part was creating a round object: by setting the border radius to exactly half of the height and width of the object, the browser masks the object to a perfect circle. Watch out, though: unlike in Photoshop, if the border radius is higher than half the object’s height or width, the browser might simply ignore the declaration. That said, rounding the object is the easy part; the tricky part is controlling the gradients.

Two gradients are at work on the object: one creates the album itself (complete with the hole in the middle), and the other casts a light across it. We’ll start with the shine:

ul.tunes li div.album span.vinyl div {
	...
	background:
		-webkit-gradient(
			linear, left top, left bottom,
			from(transparent),
			color-stop(0.1, transparent),
			color-stop(0.5, rgba(255,255,255,0.25)),
			color-stop(0.9, transparent),
			to(transparent)),
			...
}

The shine gradient is a linear gradient from the top-left to bottom-left. We start with transparent so that the gradient fades in, then we shift the gradient to white at the 50% mark (halfway across the album), with 25% opacity. We’re using RGBa colors because they allow us to control both the color and opacity in the same declaration.

The album itself is more complicated, and it suffers a bit from early implementation of the radial gradient.

ul.tunes li div.album span.vinyl div {
	...
	background:
		...,
		-webkit-gradient(
			radial, 56 56, 10, 56 56, 112,
			from(transparent),
			color-stop(0.01, transparent),
			color-stop(0.021, rgba(0,0,0,1)),
			color-stop(0.09, rgba(0,0,0,1)),
			color-stop(0.1, rgba(28,28,28,1)),
			to(rgba(28,28,28,1)));
	...
}

Radial gradients are just as they sound, and just what you’d expect from gradients in Photoshop. They begin at the center of the object and track across the object in concentric circles. In our case, we wanted to start with transparency, then switch to a solid black, and end up with a very dark gray.

Perhaps the most difficult part of the gradient is declaring its size and position: radial, 56 56, 10, 56 56, 112. We have five pieces of data here: type, starting center, starting diameter, ending center and ending diameter. Here’s how they work:

Radial is, of course, where we define this as a circular gradient rather than straight (linear) gradient.
We begin at 56 56, which is exactly half the height and width of our 112-pixel-tall object. We want the gradient to end with the same center, so we repeat 56 56.
The gradient begins with a diameter of 10 pixel.
The ending center (56 56) ensures that this is a concentric gradient.
112 is our final diameter, the same width as the object.

The radial implementation was still a bit rough around the edges, so we played around with these values and the color-stop elements to get the effect we wanted. In the future, a more polished implementation won’t be quite so trial and error.

From there, similar to the linear gradient, we created a series of color-stops to go from transparent to black to dark gray. The result of these two backgrounds (separated by a comma—thanks, CSS3) is our shiny record. Again, you’ll notice the center is a bit rough, but we’re sure future implementations of this new element will be cleaner.

The button controls are simply rounded anchors (using border-radius), with a couple of image glyphs (we told you we cheated a bit). The final touch was to add the animation so that the album would roll out of the sleeve on hover.

Adding in the Final Animation

To achieve the rolling effect, we paired up a position shift and a rotation effect so that, as the object moves to the right, it rotates just the right amount to appear as if it’s rolling. Here’s what we did:

ul.tunes li div.album span.vinyl {
	-webkit-transition: all .25s linear;
}

ul.tunes li div.album:hover span.vinyl {
	-webkit-transform: translateX(60px);
}

ul.tunes li div.album:hover span.vinyl div {
	-webkit-transform: rotate(120deg);
}

We’re using two transforms, translateX and rotate, on two objects. We use the translate instead of standard positioning because transforms don’t impact the DOM—from a layout perspective, the object never really moves, and so we don’t have to worry about floats going awry or objects pushing each other around. Transitions also work better on translation transforms than on actual position (left: 20px, etc.) changes.

Gradients have a ways to go, but there are already some cool uses for generated gradients. You can even control them at runtime using transitions or JavaScript, which opens up yet more possibilities.

See the Live Demo »

We’ve created a live demo page for this gallery in our Playground, so you can see it in action and delve deeper into the source code. Enjoy!

Sweet Overlays With Border-Image

This last part is perhaps the most practical. We use it in our feedback tool Notable every day. The border-image property is new but has some really interesting applications. We’ll explain how it works and how we’re using it in our flagship application.

The Overlay Markup

Overlays in Notable have two parts: the frame and the actual glass overlay. The markup for the overlay is pretty simple, consisting of two sibling DIVs:

<div class="note" id="note1">
	<div class="border"></div>
	<div class="overlay"></div>
	<span class="black circle note">1<span class="wrap"></span></span>
</div>

When we created these overlays, we had a few goals:

They shouldn’t overly obscure the content beneath them.
They shouldn’t affect the hue of the content beneath them.
They must look awesome.

To that end, we devised an overlay that would appear as a glass overlay, with a slight shine and a nice, fairly bold frame. For the purposes of this article, we’ll focus on the frame, which we created using the new border-image property.

Using Border-Image

The new border-image property is a strange beast: very versatile, but takes a little getting used to. Here’s what the border-image declaration for our frame looks like in the CSS:

div.note div.border {
	border: 5px solid #feb515;
	-webkit-border-radius: 3px;
	-moz-border-radius: 3px;
	-webkit-border-image:
		url(/playground/awesome-overlays/border-image.png) 5 5 5 5 stretch;
	-moz-border-image:
		url(/playground/awesome-overlays/border-image.png) 5 5 5 5 stretch;
}

Let’s get the easy stuff out of the way. The border element is both required and a fallback: older browsers will still render a usable border for the overlay, but border-image requires a defined border width. While we’ve been fairly unconcerned with backwards-compatibility in our articles, in this case we needed it (Notable has to work in more than just cutting-edge browsers). This is one of many examples of progressive enhancement (or graceful degradation, if you prefer): older browsers render something usable, just less pretty. The first progressive piece in here is the border-radius, which we’ve already discussed at length.

The border-image is what we’re interested in. Check out the figure to the right; notice the gradient on the frame that goes from top to bottom? It’s a simple touch, but adding it to an object that has to scale to many different sizes required that we use this new property. And we’re glad we did; learning how to use it opened up new possibilities in our coding repertoire. Let’s look at just the border-image code again:

	url(/playground/awesome-overlays/border-image.png) 5 5 5 5 stretch;

The syntax is the same for WebKit and Gecko(Mox) browsers. The actual declaration is simple. What takes some effort is understanding how to create the image file itself.

Border image takes a single image and slices it into nine pieces, which it then stretches over the object. We’ve sketched a diagram to explain how this works, and we’ve blown up the actual border image file for you to compare. Check it out:

The browser takes the top-left corner and uses it for the top-left border, and then it stretches the top-middle to cover the entire top of the object, and so on around the image.

We created an image with transparent center, because border-image will stretch the center quadrant across the entire object (which seems counterintuitive for a “border” image, but it does make the style a bit more versatile). You’ll notice that the actual gradient is present only in quadrants 4 and 6, because those are the only pieces that will be stretched enough for us to see a gradient. The browser actually does a good job of stretching the image as long as it’s not too complex, so artifacts aren’t really an issue.

The last pieces of the border-image declaration are the size and style: 5 5 5 5 stretch. The repeated 5s determine the size on each side of the object; because we wanted a 5-pixel border, we created an image that was 15 x 15. If we had used a smaller image, the browser would have had to scale the corners as well, and no doubt it would have looked messier. The last property, stretch, dictates how the browser actually handles the pieces of the image. A great (and amusing) intro to the different styles can be found at lrbabe.

Putting It Together

Combining the frame with the glass overlay center (which is a semi-transparent PNG) gives us our frame. Using different border images, we actually created classes for our different colors (red, blue, etc.), while older browsers still get a usable frame without the gradient-edged niceties. This isn’t an incredibly complex example, but you can see how useful border-image can be, especially using an alpha-mapped image format such as PNG.

See the Live Demo »

We’ve created a live demo page for this gallery in our Playground so that you can see it in action and delve deeper into the source code. You can also read up on why we created this overlay in our two-part Notable Behind the Scenes blog post: part 1 and part 2.

CSS 3 Is Totally Bad Ass

Right? We hope you’ve enjoyed this primer on what we can look forward to in the final CSS3 specification. Familiarize yourself with the properties and start using them—just be sure to account for browsers that, sadly, will never support all of these fun new tricks. You can see how we use CSS3 in our work for clients as well as in our own product, Notable. Found a super-awesome way to use these new properties? We’d love to hear about it in the comments!

References and Resources

(al)

http://www.smashingmagazine.com

The New Hotness: Using CSS3 Visual Effects

On January 25, 2010, In SEO, Web Design Tips, by ZURB

Previously in this series on CSS3, we talked not only about how to create scalable and compelling buttons but about how to effectively use new CSS3 properties to speed up development and quickly create rich page elements. In this final article of the series, we’ll really get into it and use CSS3 visual effects to push the envelope.

Not everything in this article is practical, or even bug-free, but it’s a fun primer on what’s in the pipeline for Web design. To get the most from these examples, you’ll have to use Safari 4 or Chrome. (Firefox 3.5 can handle most of it, but not everything: WebKit is further along than Gecko in its tentative CSS support.) We’ll show you how to create impressive image galleries, build animated music players and overlay images like a pro. All set? Let’s rock.

Previously in this series on CSS3, we talked not only about how to create scalable and compelling buttons but about how to effectively use new CSS3 properties to speed up development and quickly create rich page elements. In this final article of the series, we’ll really get into it and use CSS3 visual effects to push the envelope.

Not everything in this article is practical, or even bug-free, but it’s a fun primer on what’s in the pipeline for Web design. To get the most from these examples, you’ll have to use Safari 4 or Chrome. (Firefox 3.5 can handle most of it, but not everything: WebKit is further along than Gecko in its tentative CSS support.) We’ll show you how to create impressive image galleries, build animated music players and overlay images like a pro. All set? Let’s rock.

[Offtopic: By the way, did you know that Smashing Magazine has a mobile version? Try it out if you have an iPhone, Blackberry or another capable device.]

Create A Polaroid Image Gallery

We always try to stay pretty active with our Flickr feed; our chief instigator Bryan does a great job of capturing the day-to-day and special events and even some of our old work. We wanted a great way to show off these photos, so we turned to CSS3 to create a compelling, fun image gallery. The Polaroid style is pretty common, but we wanted not only to make it dead-simple to create the gallery in the markup but also to add styles that would have required Javascript just a year or two ago.

The Polaroid Gallery Markup

First off, we created very simple markup for the gallery, something that would be easy to generate automatically using the Flickr API. The markup for the entire gallery looks like this:

<ul class="polaroids">
	<li>
	   <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/zurbinc/3971679981/" title="Roeland!">
	   	<img src="image-01.jpg" width="250" height="200" alt="Roeland!" />
	   </a>
	</li>
	<li>
	   <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/zurbinc/3985295842/" title="Discussion">
	   	<img src="image-02.jpg" width="250" height="200" alt="Discussion" />
	   </a>
	</li>
</ul>

We’ll be using the title element in a minute.

The Base Style and Labels

Our next step was to create the simple Polaroid look. We placed our image inside an anchor with a white background and scaled the image container. This gave us space for the image labels, which we created using little-known CSS tricks: :after and content: attr.

ul.polaroids a:after {
	content: attr(title);
}

What we’re doing here is telling the browser that after it renders the given anchor content, add another piece of content. We then generate that piece of content with the content: attr(title) element, which pulls a specific attribute from the element, in this case the title attribute. Using alt would make more sense, but neither Safari nor Firefox has implemented it for the content element.

The snippet above tells the browser to take the title attribute and render it immediately after the content. Note that the title attribute will be rendered within the anchor, which is exactly what we want. We would have liked to have used the alt attribute, but Safari and Firefox do not support the use of content with it.

Our styling of the anchor element takes care of the formatting of the title attribute as well, and we’ve now placed the image title attribute below it so that we don’t have to replicate that content in the markup.

Scattering the Pictures

A handful of Polaroids would never be in a perfect grid; they’d be scattered over the table. We compromised by messing up the grid a little bit for each image: a little rotation here, some displacement there. However, we did not want to have to manage that scattering on a per-image basis, so we used another new pseudo-class: nth-child.

/* By default, we tilt all images by -2 degrees */
ul.polaroids a {
	-webkit-transform: rotate(-2deg);
	-moz-transform: rotate(-2deg);
}

/* Rotate all even images 2 degrees */
ul.polaroids li:nth-child(even) a {
	-webkit-transform: rotate(2deg);
	-moz-transform: rotate(2deg);
}

/* Don't rotate every third image, but offset its position */
ul.polaroids li:nth-child(3n) a {
	-webkit-transform: none;
	-moz-transform: none;
	position: relative;
	top: -5px;
}

These are only a few of the declarations we used; we actually added them for everything up to 11n, but you get the idea. As you can see, nth-child supports a few different arguments, including even, odd and Xn (where X can be any integer). The even and odd declarations are self-explanatory. Xn takes every Xth element and applies a particular style; in this example, every 3rd. Combining this with odd, even and some more Xn declarations means that even though the style won’t really be random, it will appear random enough to the average user. You can see the entire set of styles on our demo page.

We’re using a new CSS3 property here as well: the CSS transform (shown as -webkit- and -moz-transform). The transform property can take a number of arguments for different kinds of transformations; in this example, we’ll be using rotate and scale. You can see the complete (tentative) list in the Safari Visual Effects Guide.

Some Final Animation

Our last touch was to give the image focus on hover; in this case, to enlarge and straighten out. We accomplish this using a -webkit-transition that is activated by the :hover pseudo-class. Check it out:

ul.polaroids a:hover {
	-webkit-transform: scale(1.25);
	-moz-transform: scale(1.25);
	-webkit-transition: -webkit-transform .15s linear;
	position: relative;
	z-index: 5;
}

What’s happening here is that we’re overriding the existing -webkit-transform to simply scale the image (this eliminates the rotation). The -webkit-transition tells Webkit-based browsers to animate the transform so that the move from one to another is smooth. -webkit-transition is actually extremely versatile, because it can just as easily support color, position (top, right, etc.) and most any other property.

That’s how we created our Polaroid gallery. Once you know these new tricks, putting them together is actually pretty easy, and the markup is dead simple.

See the Live Demo »

We’ve created a live demo page for this gallery in our Playground, a place for us ZURBians to create small side projects and samples of cool toys. We’ll be linking to the Playground examples throughout this article.

Sliding Vinyl Albums With CSS Gradients

This example began as a simple experiment with CSS gradients and grew into a pretty detailed investigation not just of gradients but of new background properties and animation. We’ll show you how to create advanced gradients with no images and use layered backgrounds for some cool effects.

Writing the Markup

What we’ve created here is a simple unordered list of albums with slide-out album controls. You could use something like this to present your band’s albums or to showcase a series of podcasts or any other kind of audio (or potentially video) media. Each item in the list is an album, with some fairly simple markup:

<div class="album">
	<a href=""><img src="/playground/sliding-vinyl/muse-the-resistance.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Muse: The Resistance" /></a>
	<span class="vinyl">
		<div></div>
	</span>
	<ul class="actions">
		<li class="play-pause"><a href=""></a></li>
		<li class="info"><a href=""></a></li>
	</ul>
	<div>
		<h5>Muse</h5>
		<small>The Resistance</small>
	</div>
	<span class="gloss"></span>
</div>

It might look like a few extraneous elements are in there, but we’ll be using all of them to render our slide-out record and controller buttons.

Creating the Record

The real trick here was the album. We challenged ourselves to create the album without using any images at all (we ended up cheating a bit, but we’ll get to that). When it slides out, the album looks like the figure on the left: standard black vinyl with a slight shine to it and a couple of control buttons.

You’ll notice that the inside edge of the album is a little jagged, and that’s because the album isn’t an image but rather two layered gradients generated by the browser and set as the background of the same object. This required not only a bit of messing around with the new gradient objects in CSS3 but also another CSS3 trick: multiple backgrounds. Check out the CSS for the record:

ul.tunes li div.album span.vinyl div {
	display: block;
	border: solid 1px black;
	width: 112px;
	height: 112px;
	-webkit-border-radius: 59px;
	-moz-border-radius: 59px;
	-webkit-box-shadow: 0 0 6px rgba(0,0,0,.5);
	-webkit-transition: all .25s linear;
	background:
		-webkit-gradient(
			linear, left top, left bottom,
			from(transparent),
			color-stop(0.1, transparent),
			color-stop(0.5, rgba(255,255,255,0.25)),
			color-stop(0.9, transparent),
			to(transparent)),
		-webkit-gradient(
			radial, 56 56, 10, 56 56, 112,
			from(transparent),
			color-stop(0.01, transparent),
			color-stop(0.021, rgba(0,0,0,1)),
			color-stop(0.09, rgba(0,0,0,1)),
			color-stop(0.1, rgba(28,28,28,1)),
			to(rgba(28,28,28,1)));
	border-top: 1px solid rgba(255,255,255,.25);
}

We’ve omitted some of the positioning and other boring CSS pieces (check out the live demo for the complete markup). We want to focus here on the pieces that are critical to creating the album visually: border-radius and -webkit-gradient.

The simplest part was creating a round object: by setting the border radius to exactly half of the height and width of the object, the browser masks the object to a perfect circle. Watch out, though: unlike in Photoshop, if the border radius is higher than half the object’s height or width, the browser might simply ignore the declaration. That said, rounding the object is the easy part; the tricky part is controlling the gradients.

Two gradients are at work on the object: one creates the album itself (complete with the hole in the middle), and the other casts a light across it. We’ll start with the shine:

ul.tunes li div.album span.vinyl div {
	...
	background:
		-webkit-gradient(
			linear, left top, left bottom,
			from(transparent),
			color-stop(0.1, transparent),
			color-stop(0.5, rgba(255,255,255,0.25)),
			color-stop(0.9, transparent),
			to(transparent)),
			...
}

The shine gradient is a linear gradient from the top-left to bottom-left. We start with transparent so that the gradient fades in, then we shift the gradient to white at the 50% mark (halfway across the album), with 25% opacity. We’re using RGBa colors because they allow us to control both the color and opacity in the same declaration.

The album itself is more complicated, and it suffers a bit from early implementation of the radial gradient.

ul.tunes li div.album span.vinyl div {
	...
	background:
		...,
		-webkit-gradient(
			radial, 56 56, 10, 56 56, 112,
			from(transparent),
			color-stop(0.01, transparent),
			color-stop(0.021, rgba(0,0,0,1)),
			color-stop(0.09, rgba(0,0,0,1)),
			color-stop(0.1, rgba(28,28,28,1)),
			to(rgba(28,28,28,1)));
	...
}

Radial gradients are just as they sound, and just what you’d expect from gradients in Photoshop. They begin at the center of the object and track across the object in concentric circles. In our case, we wanted to start with transparency, then switch to a solid black, and end up with a very dark gray.

Perhaps the most difficult part of the gradient is declaring its size and position: radial, 56 56, 10, 56 56, 112. We have five pieces of data here: type, starting center, starting diameter, ending center and ending diameter. Here’s how they work:

Radial is, of course, where we define this as a circular gradient rather than straight (linear) gradient.
We begin at 56 56, which is exactly half the height and width of our 112-pixel-tall object. We want the gradient to end with the same center, so we repeat 56 56.
The gradient begins with a diameter of 10 pixel.
The ending center (56 56) ensures that this is a concentric gradient.
112 is our final diameter, the same width as the object.

The radial implementation was still a bit rough around the edges, so we played around with these values and the color-stop elements to get the effect we wanted. In the future, a more polished implementation won’t be quite so trial and error.

From there, similar to the linear gradient, we created a series of color-stops to go from transparent to black to dark gray. The result of these two backgrounds (separated by a comma—thanks, CSS3) is our shiny record. Again, you’ll notice the center is a bit rough, but we’re sure future implementations of this new element will be cleaner.

The button controls are simply rounded anchors (using border-radius), with a couple of image glyphs (we told you we cheated a bit). The final touch was to add the animation so that the album would roll out of the sleeve on hover.

Adding in the Final Animation

To achieve the rolling effect, we paired up a position shift and a rotation effect so that, as the object moves to the right, it rotates just the right amount to appear as if it’s rolling. Here’s what we did:

ul.tunes li div.album span.vinyl {
	-webkit-transition: all .25s linear;
}

ul.tunes li div.album:hover span.vinyl {
	-webkit-transform: translateX(60px);
}

ul.tunes li div.album:hover span.vinyl div {
	-webkit-transform: rotate(120deg);
}

We’re using two transforms, translateX and rotate, on two objects. We use the translate instead of standard positioning because transforms don’t impact the DOM—from a layout perspective, the object never really moves, and so we don’t have to worry about floats going awry or objects pushing each other around. Transitions also work better on translation transforms than on actual position (left: 20px, etc.) changes.

Gradients have a ways to go, but there are already some cool uses for generated gradients. You can even control them at runtime using transitions or JavaScript, which opens up yet more possibilities.

See the Live Demo »

We’ve created a live demo page for this gallery in our Playground, so you can see it in action and delve deeper into the source code. Enjoy!

Sweet Overlays With Border-Image

This last part is perhaps the most practical. We use it in our feedback tool Notable every day. The border-image property is new but has some really interesting applications. We’ll explain how it works and how we’re using it in our flagship application.

The Overlay Markup

Overlays in Notable have two parts: the frame and the actual glass overlay. The markup for the overlay is pretty simple, consisting of two sibling DIVs:

<div class="note" id="note1">
	<div class="border"></div>
	<div class="overlay"></div>
	<span class="black circle note">1<span class="wrap"></span></span>
</div>

When we created these overlays, we had a few goals:

They shouldn’t overly obscure the content beneath them.
They shouldn’t affect the hue of the content beneath them.
They must look awesome.

To that end, we devised an overlay that would appear as a glass overlay, with a slight shine and a nice, fairly bold frame. For the purposes of this article, we’ll focus on the frame, which we created using the new border-image property.

Using Border-Image

The new border-image property is a strange beast: very versatile, but takes a little getting used to. Here’s what the border-image declaration for our frame looks like in the CSS:

div.note div.border {
	border: 5px solid #feb515;
	-webkit-border-radius: 3px;
	-moz-border-radius: 3px;
	-webkit-border-image:
		url(/playground/awesome-overlays/border-image.png) 5 5 5 5 stretch;
	-moz-border-image:
		url(/playground/awesome-overlays/border-image.png) 5 5 5 5 stretch;
}

Let’s get the easy stuff out of the way. The border element is both required and a fallback: older browsers will still render a usable border for the overlay, but border-image requires a defined border width. While we’ve been fairly unconcerned with backwards-compatibility in our articles, in this case we needed it (Notable has to work in more than just cutting-edge browsers). This is one of many examples of progressive enhancement (or graceful degradation, if you prefer): older browsers render something usable, just less pretty. The first progressive piece in here is the border-radius, which we’ve already discussed at length.

The border-image is what we’re interested in. Check out the figure to the right; notice the gradient on the frame that goes from top to bottom? It’s a simple touch, but adding it to an object that has to scale to many different sizes required that we use this new property. And we’re glad we did; learning how to use it opened up new possibilities in our coding repertoire. Let’s look at just the border-image code again:

	url(/playground/awesome-overlays/border-image.png) 5 5 5 5 stretch;

The syntax is the same for WebKit and Gecko(Mox) browsers. The actual declaration is simple. What takes some effort is understanding how to create the image file itself.

Border image takes a single image and slices it into nine pieces, which it then stretches over the object. We’ve sketched a diagram to explain how this works, and we’ve blown up the actual border image file for you to compare. Check it out:

The browser takes the top-left corner and uses it for the top-left border, and then it stretches the top-middle to cover the entire top of the object, and so on around the image.

We created an image with transparent center, because border-image will stretch the center quadrant across the entire object (which seems counterintuitive for a “border” image, but it does make the style a bit more versatile). You’ll notice that the actual gradient is present only in quadrants 4 and 6, because those are the only pieces that will be stretched enough for us to see a gradient. The browser actually does a good job of stretching the image as long as it’s not too complex, so artifacts aren’t really an issue.

The last pieces of the border-image declaration are the size and style: 5 5 5 5 stretch. The repeated 5s determine the size on each side of the object; because we wanted a 5-pixel border, we created an image that was 15 x 15. If we had used a smaller image, the browser would have had to scale the corners as well, and no doubt it would have looked messier. The last property, stretch, dictates how the browser actually handles the pieces of the image. A great (and amusing) intro to the different styles can be found at lrbabe.

Putting It Together

Combining the frame with the glass overlay center (which is a semi-transparent PNG) gives us our frame. Using different border images, we actually created classes for our different colors (red, blue, etc.), while older browsers still get a usable frame without the gradient-edged niceties. This isn’t an incredibly complex example, but you can see how useful border-image can be, especially using an alpha-mapped image format such as PNG.

See the Live Demo »

We’ve created a live demo page for this gallery in our Playground so that you can see it in action and delve deeper into the source code. You can also read up on why we created this overlay in our two-part Notable Behind the Scenes blog post: part 1 and part 2.

CSS 3 Is Totally Bad Ass

Right? We hope you’ve enjoyed this primer on what we can look forward to in the final CSS3 specification. Familiarize yourself with the properties and start using them—just be sure to account for browsers that, sadly, will never support all of these fun new tricks. You can see how we use CSS3 in our work for clients as well as in our own product, Notable. Found a super-awesome way to use these new properties? We’d love to hear about it in the comments!

References and Resources

(al)

http://www.smashingmagazine.com

The New Hotness: Using CSS3 Visual Effects

On January 25, 2010, In SEO, Web Design Tips, by ZURB

Previously in this series on CSS3, we talked not only about how to create scalable and compelling buttons but about how to effectively use new CSS3 properties to speed up development and quickly create rich page elements. In this final article of the series, we’ll really get into it and use CSS3 visual effects to push the envelope.

Not everything in this article is practical, or even bug-free, but it’s a fun primer on what’s in the pipeline for Web design. To get the most from these examples, you’ll have to use Safari 4 or Chrome. (Firefox 3.5 can handle most of it, but not everything: WebKit is further along than Gecko in its tentative CSS support.) We’ll show you how to create impressive image galleries, build animated music players and overlay images like a pro. All set? Let’s rock.

Super Mario bros 1985

Haiku on Hanami

Butterfly

Spring Time

Sticks and Stones

Searching for spring

Goes in like a lion and out like a lamb

Soom

Up

Even Cupcakes Have Bad Days

Ghost Stories

Gummy March

A New Day

Lucky Shamrocks

Fractal

Telephones

Midnight Sun

Romanian Tradition Martisorul

Ladybug

Daisy

Popephoenix

No Smoking

Women as nature

Spring is coming

Luminance

Are you doing all you can?

Bright Summer

Ballerine

Birthday Month

March Sentense

Winter’s Almost Over

New Beginnings

Lucky Me

Colourfull

Spring Bloom

Escaping Winter

Why March

Feeling Sheepish

Chuck misses a tooth

Spring Is The Season

Ultimate Sophistication

Sploosh

Stripy

Standing Tall

Olympic Mania

Join in next month!

What’s your favorite?

What is a manifesto?

Futurism

An Overview

Highlights from the Manifestos

Futurist Work Samples

Contemporary Applications

Dada

An Overview

Highlights from the Manifestos

Work Samples

Contemporary Applications

Surrealism

An Overview

Highlights from the Manifesto

Work Samples

Contemporary Applications

Fluxus

An Overview

Highlights from the Manifesto

Fluxus Work Samples

Contemporary Applications

In Conclusion

Further Reading

Would you like to see more similar posts on Smashing Magazine?

Styling Links

Ensure Contrast

Don’t Forget About Visited Links

Use the Title Attribute

Use Button Styles

Hover State

Active State

Apply Padding

Use Icons for File Types