In our earlier post, we discussed the importance of professional networking. In this post, we offer you useful tips that will help you to strengthen your relationship with other designers and developers. Here are few suggestions that you can consider.
 
1. Simplify the process of contacting you

The main purpose of networking is staying in regular touch with each other. For this reason, you should make it easier for others to get in touch with you. If you have created a profile in any professional networking site, clearly mentioning your contact number, address, and email ID is important.

2. Take advantage of mutual benefits

A networking relationship works well when both parties enjoy some advantages. Mutual benefit encourages both parties to stay in touch with each other and maintain a strong relationship. It also opens up interesting opportunities and allows people to collaborate with each other. Therefore, if you come across situations that offer mutual benefits, do not hesitate to utilize it.

3. Exhibit a practical attitude

A relationship flourishes when two people show a genuine interest in each other. The same rule applies for professional networking. For enjoying the advantages of networking, you should exhibit a practical attitude. Do not wait for others to offer you a job or project. Rather, take an active role in the discussions. Talk with people, express your opinions. If you attend any seminar, show an interest in works of other designers.

4. Figure out your goals

Before you start networking, figure out your goals. This will help you to pick out the right person and modify your networking strategies accordingly.

Let us assume that you are a fresh graduate who wants an entry-level job in a reputed web design company. Since you are already aware of your goal, it is easier for you to connect with people associated with design companies. This saves time and energy, because you develop relationship with the right person.

5. Do not be selfish

While networking with others, do not look for your benefit in every situation. If someone faces a problematic situation, offer as much help as possible. Networking for the sake of your benefits always will create a negative impression about you.

6. Do not let networking affect your productivity

Networking is important. However, it should not affect your productivity. Set aside a fixed period (say 30 minutes) everyday for connecting with people. Avoid checking social networking sites and your emails every five minutes.

7. Do not reject invitation from a person with a different background

Networking with people related to your industry is beneficial. As a website designer, connecting with other designers is always beneficial. However, you can also connect with people from a different background.  It will help you to learn about other industries and receive a fresh perspective about your creations.

Happy networking!

Many people think that creating intriguing web designs is the exclusive task of a website designer. However, this idea is not completely right. Of course, developing designs is the most critical responsibility of a designer. However, at the same time, he/she needs to develop strong professional connections as well.

Professional networking refers to developing relationships and contacting people from various professions and backgrounds. Web designers can maintain contacts with designers, developers, and people from other backgrounds. Today, we will discuss how professional networking can benefit a website designer:

1.  Makes people aware of your presence

If you want to acquire a good job, marketing yourself well is critical. Professional networking provides you with this opportunity. With professional networking, you can connect with others and inform them about your creations, skills, and degree. This in turn, will allow you to find jobs more easily.
For a freelancer, networking is a good way to connect with clients and highlight his/her talents.

2.  Recommendation

Active networking can help you to earn recommendation from experts. This in turn, can increase value of your resume and professional image. Recommendation is critical for freelancers as well. If a potential client views an expert’s recommendation about you, he/she is more likely to trust you.

3.  Solves various problems

As a web designing professional, you may face various problems. Networking gives you the opportunity to contact experts and request them for suggestions. Alternatively, you can help other designers, in case of any problem.

4.  Offers you good information

Professional networking sites allow you to participate in various discussions. This stimulates your mind and enhances your knowledge. You can learn various things and even improve your communication skills.

5.  Simplifies teamwork

If you are an independent designer and want to collaborate with others, networking can offer you various benefits. You can study creations of other designers and understand their styles. This in turn, will simplify the process of working with others.
Today, we discussed the benefits of professional networking. In our next post, we will offer you few simple networking tips.

In recent times, 3D animation has become quite popular amongst the audience. Flash animation artists are also benefitting from 3D technologies. Earlier, they had to create the same image many times. Furthermore, they had to draw every frame by hand. All these required investment of several hours. Fortunately, the introduction of 3D technologies has simplified the process of creating sketches. It saves time as well.

Has Technology Taken Over Creativity?

Introduction of eye-catching technologies may convince you that creativity is no longer necessary in Flash design and animation. However, this is a wrong concept. Though modern technologies have simplified the animation process, they cannot think creatively. Creativity is the most critical skill of an animator and no amount of advanced technologies can replace it.

With technologies, you can overcome the limitations of creativity. However, you would always require creative ideas.

The Future of 3D Animators

To become a 3D animator, you require an in-depth understanding of various computer programs. In general, you need to know the following.

• Adobe Photoshop
• Autodesk Maya
• Apple Final Cut Pro
• Adobe After Effects
• Apple Soundtrack Pro

In the 21st century, animation artists are in great demand. They can work in movies, television programs, video games, instructional video, and commercials. They can even take up jobs in various NGOs and private sector. Currently, plenty of opportunities exist for 3D animation artists. Even in the future, they can avail various interesting opportunities.

3D animation offers various benefits:

1.    As compared to traditional animation, 3D animation is more engaging. Furthermore, with 3D animation, you can provide characters and scenes with a realistic feeling. Since 3D animation appears more realistic, it is used actively in interior design sketches and medical instructional videos.

2.    Watching 3D animation can be fun. At the same time, it offers useful features. With an attractive mix of style and functionality, 3D animation has earned popularity amongst a global audience.

3.    The major advantage of 3D animation is that it appeals to the aesthetics of the viewers and is functional as well.

With such tremendous potential, it is natural that 3D animation will earn more popularity in the future.

Is Flash Lost?

The answer is: NO. 3D animation is here to stay, but a large number of companies will continue to use Flash design for their websites, ads, banners, presentations. 95% general websites do not need using 3D animation, except if they want to go that extra mile and put-up online presentations using 3D. Even so, the huge load time is usually a problem and most companies do not take that risk.

Also, 3D animation is a specific skill. Not many companies have need for it, unless they are high-end animation studios. So, the demand for Flash is not dead and there’s hope.

Incorporating educational video content in your website can be an innovative way of increasing traffic. Posting traditional videos, however, is a time-consuming and expensive affair. In such a situation, website owners can opt for Skype recording software to prepare intriguing video content.

In today’s post, we will offer a brief description of Skype video interview and explain its benefits. Thereafter, we will discuss whom you should interview for creating Skype videos.

What are Skype videos?

Skype is a reliable software application that allows users to make video and voice chat and calls over the Internet. With the help of this application, you can conduct interviews of experts and record them. Thereafter, you can incorporate them in your website to attract attention of target visitors.

Benefits of Skype videos

You may wonder why you should incorporate Skype videos suddenly in your website. To answer your query, we have pointed out the major benefits of using Skype video interviews in your site.

• With Skype video interviews, you can add a unique touch to the traditional presentation of content. Users may find this presentation refreshing.

• This strategy guarantees return visitors. This is because of the fact that people who have checked your previous videos may feel curious to know whether you have posted any fresh video. This in turn, will compel them to visit your website regularly.

• Apart from creating a powerful buzz amongst your target audience, creating Skype videos can help you to connect with eminent personalities of your industry. You may ask them valuable suggestions. Additionally, you can request them to write a guest post for your site.

• Implementing this strategy will help you to create a positive image of yourself. People may consider you as an innovative personality who is willing to implement fresh ideas.

Whom should you interview?

We have mentioned earlier that you can record interviews of eminent personalities, related to your industry. However, apart from famous personalities, you can also interview other persons. These can include-

• Existing customers- You can arrange an interview with an existing customer, where he/she mentions how your product/services benefited him/her. This will encourage potential customers to trust your company.

• Rivals- Many people may not like the idea of interviewing one’s rivals. However, if you market this video properly, it would stimulate curiosity of the people. Chances are high that they will check the video to find out your rival’s opinion about your company.

• Writer- If someone has written a book about the topic that your site highlights (for example, website design), interviewing him/her can be a great idea. Visitors would definitely want to know what a writer has to say about your website design company.

With Skype videos, possibilities are endless. You can record and upload interviews within a short time. This will save you money and time. However, you need to market these videos properly. For example, you can inform visitors about the publishing date of your videos via newsletters, emails or social networking sites.

You can also create a video library, which would be a useful resource for people looking for data about your subject matter.

Accessibility of a site indicates how far it is easy to use. Accessibility is crucial, because it simplifies the process of exploring a website. If users find it difficult to explore various sections of the site, chances are high that they will leave it within few minutes.

Apart from making a site usable to general visitors, one also needs to make it user-friendly for people with various physical disabilities. Web developers often face the challenge of making a site accessible. Today, we will offer few tips that will help you to make your site accessible to every visitor.

1. Opt for a table-less web design

Many people, while developing a website design, choose tables for layout. This is not wise because tables interfere with accessibility of a website. More specifically, screen reader, a device that blind people or those with low vision use for exploring a site, cannot navigate a table-based website.

Opting for CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), on the other hand, can make your site usable for disabled persons and general visitors.

2. Use simple language

Most of us are aware of the importance of simplicity in web design and content writing industry. If people fail to understand your designs or articles, chances are high that they will not return to the site.

Simplicity is especially important, when you want to make your site accessible for every visitor, including the disabled. Interpreting a text can be more difficult when you are hearing it and not reading it. Therefore, for people with visual difficulties who are hearing a narration of your article, language of the text is critical.

For this reason, opt for simple language, while writing the text of your site. Do not forget to break down long sentences into short ones. Avoid technical words or those that are difficult to understand.

3. Pay attention to navigation

Blind people cannot interpret navigation of a page visually. For this reason, you need to take extra care to ensure that the device they use can interpret the navigation path easily. Pay attention to the name and structure of every navigation link. Avoid too many drop-down menus.

For best results, research about the topics that visitors search in your site. Thereafter, simplify the navigation process to ensure that visitors reach their desired sections within a short time.

4. Site map is critical

When it comes to making your site accessible, site map is a critical tool. Site map allows disabled persons to understand the site layout quickly and thus, simplifies the process of navigation. This is also true for general users.

5. Avoid using links that contain useless information

To make visually impaired people understand contents of a site, screen reader usually reads out links of a web page. If a certain link includes only a vague term, such as ‘click here’, the disabled person will not be able to understand its functions properly. For this reason, always include necessary information in the links.

We have highlighted few tips that you can use to make your site usable to any visitor. However, you should consider the fact that with advanced technologies, the way disabled people interpret websites is changing. Therefore, you need to stay updated with latest technological trends and modify your site accordingly. This will allow every person to explore your site properly.

If you are confused about designing your site following the above points, you can hire the services of a professional website design company for the purpose.

Recent technological advancements have prompted some people to think that pencil drawings have become obsolete. Others believe that designers can incorporate pencil drawings only in printed materials. However, both these concepts are wrong.

The reality is that despite recent technological explosion, pencil drawings have retained their popularity. Apart from incorporating them in printed materials, you also use them for designing a website. We discuss the importance of pencil drawings in web designing.

1. Provides warmth to serious websites

Many people find serious sites boring and a little cold. To make your site more ‘humane’, you can opt for pencil drawings. With the help of creative pencil drawings, you can add warmth and informality to your site.

Some people may reject this idea because they believe that using pencil drawings indicates an unprofessional approach. However, this is not true. Eye-catching pencil drawings can add a unique appeal to your site, while maintaining its professional attitude.

Of course, you should consider the fact that design is a partial aspect of a website. Along with designs, you need to pay attention to the content as well.

2. Perfect for children’s site

When it comes to children’s sites, one can happily use pencil sketches. Pencil drawings in children’s websites can easily attract attention of the target audience (children, their parents, and teachers in this case). Furthermore, these drawings can convey your message to them in a simple manner. To make the site even more effective, opt for a powerful layout.

3. Makes the site appear playful

Users visit sites to find good information. Using pencil drawings cleverly can allow you to fulfill this requirement of users. If you manage to tell a story or offer information through pencil drawings, it will create a positive impression on the minds of your target audience.

4. Spices up the header

Header is a critical aspect of the site because it highlights the website theme in brief. Incorporating pencil drawings in headers can be an innovative idea. They can perk up overall look of the site.

5. Suitable for sites with any color scheme, even grey ones!

Another advantage of pencil drawings is that these are suitable for sites with any color scheme. Even if you have opted for grey color scheme for your site, you can use pencil drawings without any hesitation.

Many dislike using pencil drawings because they are mostly in black and white. They think that using pencil drawings in web designs will make a site appear boring. However, the truth is that when used correctly, pencil sketches can look good even in colorful sites. In fact, using pencil drawings in a colorful site prevents it from appearing overwhelming.

In web design, using everything in moderation is a good idea. The rule applies to pencil drawings as well. Incorporating excessive pencil drawings in websites can have a damaging impact. Rather, stick to necessary and minimal usage.

The main advantage of using pencil drawings in website design is that it adds a personal touch to the site. It lends the site a distinct personality, making users feel that they are talking to a fellow human being. For best results, opt for minimal usage of pencil drawings.

In large-scale corporations, the process of offering and receiving feedback is formal and systematic. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the web design industry. Website designers usually have to seek feedback on their own. Moreover, providing designers with feedback depends on the attitude of users. This further complicates the issue.

Despite the problems associated with offering and receiving feedback in the website design industry, its importance cannot be discounted. We explain why feedback is important and how to make the most of it.

Importance of Feedback

Website designing is a creative activity. However, web designs are usually used to fulfill practical goals. These can include increasing visitors, enhancing conversation rate, and fulfilling business targets of a company. To meet these goals successfully, website designs should be able to connect with the audience and fulfill their requirements. Herein lies the importance of feedback.

Receiving feedback regularly sharpens your skills and helps you to polish your craft. Furthermore, it helps you to understand pulse of the audience and thus, modify your designs accordingly. Feedback is somewhat similar to the trial and error method. It helps you to realize your weak areas, work on them, and finally, improve.

How You Can Use Feedback Constructively ?

Receiving feedback is not enough. You have to understand the point of view of the users who have provided you with feedback, evaluate it, and select the right suggestions. In brief, you should take informed decisions.

Here are few tips that will help you to use feedback constructively and improve your skills.

• Start early

Many web designers ask for feedback, only after they are completely done with website designing. If you opt for this method, changing anything in the website (at a later stage) will be a more tedious process. For this reason, you should request for feedback, soon after you start the work. Consider feedback a critical part of the web development process.

• Be open towards feedback

Web designing is a creative job. Therefore, it is natural that some will love your designs, while others will hate it. Even if you receive a negative comment, do not take it personally. Remember that visitors do not have any personal grudge against you. Understand the fact that negative feedback will help you to realize your weaknesses and grow.

• Do not ask feedback from experts, always

Many people may find the above suggestion surprising. After all, most of us look for experts’ opinions about web designs. Despite the craze for suggestions from experts, fact remains is that common people can offer you a fresh and interesting viewpoint about your designs. Remember that, when it comes to feedback, honest suggestions always score high.

• Approach directly

While asking for feedback, adopt a direct approach. Avoid wasting time of the respondents. State your objective clearly and keep the questions short.

• Understand that it is an ongoing process

To grow as a designer, you need to ask and evaluate the feedback regularly. This will help you learn new things and stay in touch with the latest trends. Consider the fact that receiving and evaluating feedback is a continuous process.

Feedback helps you to understand weak areas of your designs and improve them. While asking for feedback, keep your questions brief. Do not target only the experts as your respondents. Rather, ask for feedback from people who may not possess an in-depth knowledge about website designing.

Studies reveal that visitors usually take half a second to judge a website and decide whether to leave it or explore it further. This means that if you do not help the visitor to understand purposes of your site, they would feel confused and leave it within a short time.

Many websites place a short text in their home page for highlighting its purposes to the visitors. A crisp and well-written introductory content can help the users to understand whether they are in the correct place or not. In this article, we will first state few goals of the introductory text. Thereafter, we will provide you with some web content writing tips that will help you grab attention of the visitors.

Introductory Content – What Does It Aim At?

• To provide information about purposes of the website

• To encourage visitors to explore various sections of the site

• To offer information regarding what visitors can expect, if they decide to explore the site

Writing Interesting Introductory Content

1.    Studies reveal that web users have short attention span. They usually prefer short text and skip long paragraphs and articles. Therefore, placing brief text in the site would encourage the user to read it. The introductory text should be short and brief; 2-3 sentences are enough. If you can manage to express your ideas in few words, that would work well.

2.    Apart from paying attention to the text length, you should carefully scrutinize the information that you put in the introductory text. Avoid bragging about your company. Rather, highlight your specialized areas. Opt for a Direct Approach.

3.    Stating the benefits you are offering to your customers in the introductory text can be a great idea. This is termed as value proposition. Along with the benefits, you can also mention the unique features of your company.

4.    To ensure that visitors read the text, opt for few simple typography techniques.

• Most of us are aware of the fact that bigger objects capture attention. Additionally, if you place a bigger object against a background of smaller objects, it would definitely be successful in grabbing attention of the visitors. In other words, bold headlines stating the purpose of content are useful.

• Using text font intelligently can also encourage visitors to read the content. For instance, you should avoid styles like Bank Gothic on a baby product’s website, or Monotype Corsiva on a car seller’s website. Additionally, if you place the content against a contrasting background, like black letters against white background, that would also work well, but avoid striking contrasts like red letters against a green background.

5.    The ultimate goal of any website is to increase the conversation rate. To fulfill this purpose, placing the introductory text near the call-to-action statement (or vice-versa) can be a great idea. This technique will help visitors to understand the actions they should take, after reading the introductory text.

6.    To ensure that visitors read the message, you can modify the surrounding visual elements, like an image before or after a call-to-action statement, colored text boxes for a special piece of information, or even a small Flash animation to grab attention. This technique will automatically direct the eye towards the message.

Along with the website design, the introductory text plays an important role in attracting attention of your target audience. To encourage them to read the content, keep it short and brief. You can also mention unique features of your company.

In the 21st century, mobile gaming has become the ‘IT’ thing in most countries. According to a survey conducted by Geekaphone, (a company that provides users information about mobile phones) value of the mobile gaming industry will reach $54 billion within 4 years.

Considering the popularity of mobile gaming, designers are coming up with interesting and user-friendly games. We provide you with some useful tips about developing Flash Lite games.

1. These days, mobile phones are available in different resolutions and screen sizes. To simplify things, select the base build and thereafter, port the game. ‘Base build’ and ‘porting’ are technical terms and therefore, we will explain their meaning.

Base build refers to the specification that the industry follows, while launching a product. Porting indicates the process of modifying the game, according to the requirements of a particular platform.

Why Should You Consider the Base Build and Port the Game?

• The importance of selecting the base build lies in the fact that it will enable you to cover a greater range of handsets. Additionally, it will make porting the game easier.

• Many believe that porting is unnecessary because vector images automatically scale for a larger screen. However, automatic scaling can result in several problems. These can include distortion and pixilation.

2.  If you have created Flash designs in the past, you must already be aware of the fact that user interaction is an important aspect of website design. This is true, in case of mobile gaming as well.

When people press a key on the phone, while playing games, it performs a particular action. People adjust themselves to this particular pattern and therefore, look forward to standard rules of joystick manipulation and key presses. For this reason, providing them with unusual patterns may not be a great idea. Rather, opt for popular navigation systems, while creating mobile games.

3.  If you are associated with a Flash design company in India and have been asked to design a level-based game, you should know the fact that providing users with incentives is critical. This is important because users love to track their progress regularly. Additionally, they prefer to compare their scores against that of other players. Scoreboard is a crucial aspect of mobile gaming because it challenges the user and provides him/her with a sense of achievement.

You can place the scoring system locally on the phone or store it on the global system. If you are creating games for versions above Flash Lite 1.1, opt for shared objects to fulfill this goal. Shared objects maintain scores and track progress, even in the midst of multiple game sessions.

4.  Pixel fonts are perfect for mobile phones. This is because of the fact that as compared to laptops or PCs, mobile screens have limited resolution and color. Since pixel fonts are smaller, they adapt themselves beautifully on mobile phone screens. Furthermore, if you use them in Flash Lite games, they will take up limited space.

If you are planning to choose pixel fonts, consider the following suggestions.

• Do not set the pixel font to the bold style

• Choose Bitmap text as the font rendering procedure.

• Keep the content aligned to the left.

5.  Testing the game is critical. This strategy will ensure that your game does not fall prey to bugs. If possible, test the game on target devices. Of course, a person cannot own every handset of targeted devices. In such a situation, share the content with your family or friends and evaluate the feedback.

If you are already familiar with Flash website designs, you may find the process of creating Flash Lite games easier. Still, you should consider these tips for making your game interesting.

Most website designers will agree that working with clients involves various difficulties and challenges. All website designers, at some point of their lives, have faced clients who refuse to respect their work and pay money.

However, in this article, we will not focus on these issues. Rather, we will discuss about certain things you should request from your client (asking for money is obvious, so we are leaving that out).

1. Complete Contact Details

Obtaining complete contact information of your client and displaying it on your site is important. The reason is that, it will help you to earn credibility and trust of your future clients.

Many times, people want to contact previous clients of a company or a freelance designer to know about their experiences. This is why, displaying contact information of your past or current clients can help you to avail greater number of projects.

Additionally, acquiring the contact details will help you to stay in touch with your clients. Maintaining a warm relationship with all your clients is important. It can help you to receive more projects and enhance your business revenue, especially when things are moving slowly.

2.  Testimonials

Similar to contact details, testimonials provided by your past clients can enhance your reputation amongst potential ones. Put them in important locations, such as in the home page of your site. If space is an issue, use a ‘read more’ link and encourage your visitors to refer to more testimonials.

Request your client to write a short testimonial, highlighting your positive aspects. Remember that, incorporating a lengthy client testimonial in your website can create the impression that you are trying too hard.

3.  Request for Design Credit

Website designers who are involved with print works can request clients to provide them with web design credits. Remember that if you manage to avail a credit somehow, it will have a positive impact on your business.

However, availing this credit may not be an easy task. Most large-scale clients are not willing to provide web designers with credit. If you are working with start-ups or small businesses, things may be a bit easier. In exchange for the credit, you can offer them a reduced price.

4.  Referrals

Referrals can be a good way of creating awareness about you and your experience in the web designing field. If your client is satisfied with your work, you can request him/her for referrals. To motivate people further, you can offer them a finder’s fee.

Working hard and sharpening your skills is critical for your success. However, to avail projects, you should convince people that you excel in your field. Client testimonials, contact details, and design credit can help you to fulfill your endeavor.