The Evolution of Apple Ads

Apple first started advertising their products in the late 1970s with text-heavy ads, and have slowly evolved through the 80’s, 90’s and peeking with todays modern and sleek style of advertising. This post gives you a great insight into how advertising has changed in only 30 years.

The Evolution of Apple Ads

Cool Beer Ads #2 – Brahma

The great thing about the beer industry is that they sell a “fun” and “enjoyable” product, so they] take advantage of that to unleash their imagination to produce some awesome ads. In this post they focus on Brahma beer.

Cool Beer Ads #2 – Brahma

39 Creative and Sometimes Controversial Examples of Playstation Advertising

Recent Playstation advertising has been described, in some circles, as being creative, effective and memorable. By others, down right controversial. What do you think?

39 Creative and Sometimes Controversial Examples of Playstation Advertising

By Paul Andrew (Speckyboy and speckyboy@twitter).

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1. Subtly Made

Demo – Download

2. Magasin

Demo – Download

3. Phyto

Demo – Download

4. Bright White

Demo – Download

5. Pure Magazine

Demo – Download

6. WP Premium Theme

Demo – Download

7. Freemium

Demo – Download

8. Agregado

Demo – Download

9. KeKo

Demo – Download

10. DynaBlue

Demo – Download

11. Grid Focus

Demo – Download

12. ZinePress

Demo – Download

13. Marangual

Demo – Download

14. The Morning After

Demo – Download

15. Mimbo

Demo – Download

16. Monotech

Demo – Download

17. NewsOne

Demo – Download

18. Mainstream

Demo – Download

19. Zinmag Futura

Demo – Download

20. Statement

Demo – Download

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40 Super-Neat JavaScript Plugins

With the right combination of JavaScript plugins you can turn a simple website into a fantastic one. In this post from net.tutsplus.com, they have reviewed forty of the most popular javscript plugins that are freely available. The plugins are not limited to only jquery, which is normally the case, but also offer plugins from the other major frameworks (well, MooTools anyway). You would be hard pressed to find a better all round selection.

40 Super-Neat JavaScript Plugins

<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.catswhocode.com/blog/10-incredible-jquery-navigation-menus”>10 Incredible jquery Navigation Menus

<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.catswhocode.com/blog/10-incredible-jquery-navigation-menus”><img src="http://modernui.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-o-matic/cache/4e41f_javascript3.jpg" alt="10 incredible jquery navigation menus” width=”480″ />

<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.catswhocode.com/blog/10-incredible-jquery-navigation-menus”><img src="http://modernui.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-o-matic/cache/4a901_javascript4.jpg" alt="10 incredible jquery navigation menus” width=”480″ />

In this post, the author has showcased 10 cool jquery navigation techniques. Remember, not all nav systems need to be mixed with Javascript or jquery, sometimes the simpler the better. But when jquery is mixed with the proper ingredients the effect can be very impressive.

<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.catswhocode.com/blog/10-incredible-jquery-navigation-menus”>10 Incredible jquery Navigation Menus

<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.webdesignbooth.com/15-great-jquery-plugins-for-better-table-manipulation/”>15 Great jquery Plugins For Better Table Manipulation

<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.webdesignbooth.com/15-great-jquery-plugins-for-better-table-manipulation/”><img src="http://modernui.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-o-matic/cache/4a901_javascript5.jpg" alt="15 Great jquery Plugins For Better Table Manipulation” width=”480″ />

<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.webdesignbooth.com/15-great-jquery-plugins-for-better-table-manipulation/”><img src="http://modernui.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-o-matic/cache/b14af_javascript6.jpg" alt="15 Great jquery Plugins For Better Table Manipulation” width=”480″ />

<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.webdesignbooth.com/15-great-jquery-plugins-for-better-table-manipulation/”><img src="http://modernui.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-o-matic/cache/b14af_javascript7.jpg" alt="15 Great jquery Plugins For Better Table Manipulation” width=”480″ />

When talking about tables within web design we are, thankfully, not talking about an “ancient” layout system that should have died with the dinosaurs. We are, of course, talking about dynamic and sortable data tables. With the popularity of jquery the volume of plugins available for displaying tabular data has greatly increased, and this post has a great round-up of the best.

<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.webdesignbooth.com/15-great-jquery-plugins-for-better-table-manipulation/”>15 Great jquery Plugins For Better Table Manipulation

By Paul Andrew (Speckyboy and speckyboy@twitter).

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How 20 popular websites looked when they launched

Remember the days when the word Google was not interchangeable with internet? Or when every site seemed to have a Netscape icon on it? Or when Flash was still something you cleaned your floor with? Then you were clearly using the web in the mid to late 1990s when pages were rudimentary affairs containing lists of links and information. This post is a nostalgic look at web design trends gone by, thank god they have gone by!!!

How 20 popular websites looked when they launched

25 Examples of Web 2.0 and Traditional Design Rules Coming Together

At its best, Web 2.0 stands as an equal to the traditional design rules practiced for centuries, though it is no doubt a reflection of our society in its current state of hustle and bustle.
In this post you will find a collection of 25 sites showcasing how Web 2.0 and traditional design practices can come together to form truly stunning websites.

How 20 popular websites looked when they launched

50 Websites (and More) for Your Design Inspiration

50 Websites (and More) for Your Design Inspiration20 of the Worst Designed Websites In the World

By Paul Andrew from Speckyboy Design Magazine, you can follow him on Twitter

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1. Build yourself a solid portfolio

You are not going to convince anyone to work with you if your prospects can’t see what you are capable of. Of course if you are starting out right after design school you may not have so much real-life work to show, in that case don’t be afraid to put your school and personal projects in the portfolio. Also don’t forget that the portfolio design itself can be what convinces the client to work with you.

Jason Reed’s website is a great example of portfolio design.

2. Get some marketing material

Start by getting some nice business cards, it’s quite cheap and still a good way to leave your contact info to someone you have just met.Having a brochure introducing your services will also help.

Photo by bargainmoose.

3. Let people know that you are freelancing

Sounds too obvious right? You’d be surprised by how many people don’t even contact their family and friends to let them know about their newly started freelancing career. This is also a good time to start spreading your marketing material.

4. Start networking

If you don’t already have a wide network don’t worry, it’s not too late! Join some local groups and associations, attend industry-related events or the local chamber of commerce. The most important thing is to be out there and meet people in real-life when you’re a freelancer.

5. Build yourself a strong onine presence

The web as it is now makes building an online network quite easy, but it can also make it confusing so you should make sure that you are branding yourself consistently across social media sites. Start your own blog, tweet, apply to LinkedIn or be on design-related social networks, every little step will help.

6. Learn to stay disciplined

When freelancing, you will get periods with big pressure, thight deadlines and 15 hours working days. The rest of the time, it will be harder to motivate yourself to work, which is not as easy as it looks. The best way to handle that issue is definitly to stay disciplined, get up on time and start working without playing around. Setting regular working hours will help you to set up such a routine.

Photo by Szift.

7. Get a good insurance

Since this article can be read anywhere, I won’t go into details about insurance plans or companies. However you must know that you will be at risk without insurance. In case of sickness or accident, you still have to pay the bills. Being insured against theft for your working material is also a good idea.

Photo by Miss Rogue.

8. Manage your office work on a regular basis

I’ll have to pledge guilty of not following my own advice on this one, I don’t do my accounting regularly enough and waist a lot of time on that when tax time comes. Get yourself some good accounting software, some client-management and invoicing program. Office management can be quite boring and time-wasting, mastering this will hugely help your freelancing career.

A screenshot of Freshbook’s admin.

9. Try your best to stabilize your income

There is two ways to achieve that: getting loyal customers or building a passive income. No matter what, you should try to make your customers loyal, if you don’t do it you will spend way too much time hunting for new gigs. The simplest way to keep those clients is probably to work well and be trustworthy. On the other hand, building a passive income requires a big initial effort, but it can become very interesting on the long term. FreelanceSwitch has published a sweet little guide to achieve that.

10. Keep learning

In the early days it is quite easy to keep on learning new skills, you are new in the freelance universe and want to prove that you can innovate. When you’ve been around for a while, it becomes harder, especially if you get less time on your hands. Try to pick up the habit of setting some time aside for your self-education since your early freelancing days, it will make it easy in the future.

Photo by jm3.

About the author: Mirko Humbert is a freelance designer from Switzerland. He shares his thoughts about his passion on his design blog. To connect with Mirko, you can follow him on Twitter. Header picture by Teo.

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20 of the Worst Designed Websites In the World

We all come across some seriously bad websites in our day-to-day lives on the Internet. It’s just an unavoidable fact of life, like coming across monsters on the way to the market in video games. When you come across these things, you should approach them with a modicum of fear, for it is something you don’t know, after all. But, more than that, you need to be brave, and you need to relish the experience with full sense of humor employed. These are the 20 worst websites that the author of this post could find from across the world. Scary stuff!

20 of the Worst Designed Websites In the World

48 Trendy And Fresh Web Interfaces From Deviantart

This post is a showcase of interface designs all from Deviantart. They are all relatively new designs and this reflects in the modern and stylish interfaces showcased, a good indication of current web design trends.

48 Trendy And Fresh Web Interfaces From Deviantart

By Paul Andrew from Speckyboy Design Magazine, you can follow him on Twitter

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Fast forward three years and today we get a comment from Tessie asking:

I am currently designing a pattern library for my company. Can you recommend any pattern library systems which we can purchase which is easy to update and features a commenting system?

I didn’t know the answer, so I pinged Nathan Curtis, who is our go-to-guy on building pattern libraries these days. Here’s what he wrote back:

Good question. In my experience, I’ve not come across a pre-fab application for documenting patterns, components, or other libraries of reusable design assets that have the types of attributes (e.g., Use When) and other specific features. Instead, I’ve seen that teams have gone one of four routes to publish library documentation:

1. Home-grown systems: This is expensive and time-consuming, but ultimately the most advanced and tailored solution for an organization. Yahoo has written (on boxesandarrows.com) and subsequently spoken extensively about the challenges and roadmap they’ve traversed. Sun Microsystems has also use a custom website as the cornerstone of their efforts; lucky for us, they expose it to the community too at sun.com/webdesign/.
2. Collaboration tools: One team effectively used Jive Software’s Clearspace tool that includes a well suited three-prong feature set: wiki (articles per pattern & component, including editing permissions for team & individual, commenting and ratings), discussion boards (new requests, general discussions), and blog (publish ongoing notifications and articles about the overall library).
3. Basic tools: Other teams have set up a wiki or tried to transform a basic collaborative tool to publish patterns. This may be a good short term fix, but isn’t really a tenable long term solution unless you can really start to customize it.
4. Documents: For better or worse, some teams don’t have access to web-based solutions for publishing a library, and this really hamstrings their efforts. That said, they’ve gone to great lengths to compose documents (like a “Component Guide”, “User Experience Guide”, or “Pattern Library”) that become a versioned document managed over time. Additionally, with a modular documentation system, they can architect their guides in such a way that pages can be linked to project-specific documents as appendices or even key pages to scale changes or overlay annotations.

Hope this helps!

I think it does! What do you think?

[You may have heard: Nathan will be presenting his full-day workshop, Achieving Reuse with Patterns and Libraries at the UIE Web App Summit. Check it out!]

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