BuzzWeb

Design Trends

As these types of websites are becoming more common, I thought it was about time I referenced a few of the best. Sites like Design Meltdown and Welie are resources devoted to showing the best and most functional ways webbie stuff has been done (i.e. navigation structures, search results etc).

Design Meltdown is probably one of the best original sites of this kind. It has a main focus on colour and aesthetics. For instance, you can see how websites work in pink, in a sketchy style or with a minimalist feel. Great if you're lacking inspiration with one of your clients' horrible colours!!

Welie on the other hand focusses mainly on structure, how results are presented, navigation etc. A good inspiration source when considering re-inventing something linked with back-end development!

Use these two, and you'll never go wrong!

Icon Inspiration

Today I came across IconWerk.de - which is by far the most impressive collection of icons I have ever seen on the web! An absolute must see!

Nice to see something other than typical Web 2.0/Apple Aqua icons for a change!

Eden Creative Communities

More and more recently I'm noticing these guys - Eden Creative Communities.

Amongst other things, they appear to be using the web to promote change. For example, they're behind 'Blog Action Day' - keep your eyes open for these guys, I've got a feeling we're going to see a fair bit of them in the future!

Stripe Generator

If, like me, you LOVE stripes on your website - then you'll probably love Stripe Generator! An AJAX tool that will let you create those repeating stripes that you'll see everywhere!

Lightbox

I've always been a secret fan of Huddle Together's 'Lightbox' - it just doesn't look too professional on corporate sites. But recently, since Apple started using a variation of it (have a look) - my interest is increasing!

Have a look at 'Light Window' by Stickman Labs - which showcases some cool variations on this Javascript beauty.

Flickr Tags

It's getting more and more apparent now that if want to get noticed - Flickr is a good place to start! But a Flickr presence isn't worth anything unless you're tagging correctly! Why? Check this out...

Fly through famous landscapes, linked in Flickr through tags!

Great Firewall of China

I didn't believe this at first, but aparently the Chinese government have strict usage restrictions on the internet (filtering out blogs etc). Read about it here.

Check your own website with this (forbidden in China!) website! Visit

Analytics for Facebook?

I had a meeting yesterday with someone from Techlightenment about Facebook Applications. Long story short, they showed me something called 'Socialistics' - which gathers all the information about your friends (or users of your appication) in an easy to use analytic-esque view.

See Socialistics it in action!

Curb your Facebook addiction!

Facebook is addictive, no doubt. Before long you'll find yourself logging in 10 times a day just to see if you've been Poked. Now you don't have to suffer the disappointment of not having any activity with this handy little tool...

FMenu sits quietly in your toolbar and simply notifies you whenever something happens - meaning you only visit FaceBook only when you 'need' to. It doesn't make it any less addictive, it'll just make your day slightly less counter-productive!

IconFinder

I find this site awesome for finding little arrows etc that are time consuming to draw from scratch!

http://www.iconfinder.net/

Black Google

Blackle was created by Heap Media to remind us all of the need to take small steps in our everyday lives to save energy. Blackle searches are powered by Google Custom Search.

A black version of Google - to help save energy! http://www.blackle.com/about/

Embed your type!

SIFR (Scalable Inman Flash Replacement) allows your client to use their own custom typeface without any platform issues. I noticed Waitrose had done this with their new website.

SIFR Wiki Documentation

Another blog is born

The world doesn't need another blog - of that I'm sure. But in my defense, I feel like I'll be providing something useful - and not just opinions about my day.

My name is Pete, and I'm a Digital Graphic Designer working in Central London. Although I am not a developer, I feel that concept and designs of all web designers can be greatly improved by having a thorough and up to date knowledge of the internet and media. That's why I wanted to create this resource, and an ideal to which I will try and stick to;

I will post relevant and important information that will help people (who are not necessarily web developers) to design more functional and modern websites.