Anthony Zinni shows you how to give warmth and dimension to your web design projects by creatively layering textures

One of the hardest things to master as a web designer is getting past the stark coldness presented by plain HTML.

Many projects require a warm or natural aesthetic that HTML alone just cannot portray. Often the best solution to this problem is to use a range of textures and patterns to create a natural and rugged appearance.

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(Source:noupe)

Learning CSS and how to use it effectively can be a reasonably easy thing to do for a beginning web developer. In the hands of a seasoned professional, CSS can be stretched and pushed it to its limits where it can seem complicated and yet perfect at the same time.

Being able to adapt to new ideas and different techniques, as well as seeking new solutions to old problems is part and parcel of being a web designer.


And with the speed at which CSS development is constantly moving, keeping up with new developments can be challenging.

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This Free Icon Pack is for use in your personal and commercial projects, and can be used without attribution. It may not be redistributed.

Today we share a free icon pack by the designers over at IconShock inspired by Fall and Thanksgiving: 5 Icons in total including a Turkey, Pumpkin, Pilgrims, and the changing color of leaves.

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After one look at Matteus’s portfolio anyone would think this is the work of a veteran with a lot of skill, but most of you would be surprised to find out that he is only 17. With an amazing style of that integrates 2D and 3D graphic, age isn’t a factor for him. Matteus gives some great advice in this interview. He also talks about going to design school next year, how he creates his 3D work, and much much more. There is a lot to be learned in this interview, so lets get into it!

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When choosing one product over another, the design of the packaging probably influences your decision far more than you realize.

Effective packaging design breaks away from the standard rules and conventions that we are accustomed to, giving the product a unique edge to stand out from the rest.

The packaging should appeal to your target market. It’s also vital to ensure that you’re conveying the necessary information about the contents and quality of the product, while triggering the desired emotion in your customer.

Here are 50 beautifully designed packages that you can draw inspiration from.

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In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to create a realistic IES (photometric) lighting effect. We’ll be using Photoshop CS4 as well as some free plugins and software. Let’s get started!Tutorial Preparation
In order to complete this tutorial you’ll need the following software:

• Photoshop CS4
• Karbaras’s IES Generator 3 (Download)
• Richard Rosenman’s Grid Generator 1.7 Plug-in
• Cybia AlphaWorks Plug-in (Download)
• 1589835-nice.IES Profile (Download)

Prior to beginning the tutorial, make sure you have installed the Grid Generator and the AlphaWorks Photoshop plug-ins, and that you’ve downloaded Karbaras’s IES Generator (a standalone app) and the 1589835-nice.IES profile.

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Mozilla Firefox is a very popular browser, especially among web designers and developers. These days, with such a crowded field, staying at the top of the browser heap takes a lot of work. One of the factors that make Firefox so well-liked is the huge library of great extensions that enhance your browsing experience. Among the massive list of add-ons, many are vital to web designers and developers. If used, it will make your workflow quicker and more productive.

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(Source:psdvibe)

There are legions of stock images websites on the web. Some are paid stock images, some are free but boring (You have to register, etc) and some are 100% free. You just have to go to the website, select a few images, and download it. That’s simple as that.

In my opinion, that’s how all free stock images websites should be. As an example of this, let’s talk about a website I recently discover, named FreePixels.com.

Freepixels is very simple to use: Just go on their site and search for stock images. If you don’t need to find something specific, you can also browse the site to see what images can be used in your designs.
All freepixels.com images are categorized, which makes things a lot easier when you have to browse. I browsed a few categories while writing this post, and I must admit that I spent a long time on the site, browsing, watching images, thinking about how I can use them…

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