Most people are aware of the fact that content is a crucial aspect of any website design. Good content adds value to the site and retains interest of users. Unfortunately, most ignore the fact that apart from quality of the content, its presentation is also important.

For presenting the content in an attractive manner, paying attention to paragraph is important. Here, we will highlight some typesetting conventions and provide you with tips that will help you to adapt them for screens and devices.

The Typeface

Before discussing typeface issues, we would like to clear a myth. Most people associated with any website design company believe that one should exclusively use sans-serif font for body text. However, this is not true for every situation. In certain situations, you can opt for serif fonts. If modified properly, certain serif fonts can be legible and attractive.

Breadth of the font family should be the most important criterion, for selecting a Web font. Check whether the font includes italic and bold styles. Choosing such a font will ensure that you can place greater importance (by using italics/bold styles) to certain aspects of the paragraph.

The second issue related to typeface is rendering. Experienced web design professionals usually opt for embedded and system fonts (example, Verdana) for headings and body text respectively. The main reason why Verdana is popular is because it renders well at small sizes.

In case, you do not want to use Verdana, checking on-page demonstrations of selected fonts can be a great idea. To save time, avoid  experimentation with fonts containing the words ‘narrow’ or ‘thin’.

Font Size

Most of us are aware of the fact that all web browsers render content at 16 pixels automatically. This highlights the fact that 16 pixels is the general standard.

In our CSS style sheets, we write 16 pixels as 100%. This is a good idea, because it is similar to what the web browser would have selected for us. In case you want the paragraph content to be more than 16 pixels, edit the value. Opt for a percentage value that is equal to ‘whole pixel’.

Leading

Leading refers to the space between two consecutive lines of information. Leading affects readability, because it highlights rows of glyphs that one should cross from left to right. The main problem with leading is that if it is not used correctly.

If you put in excessive space between lines, the whole text will appear fragmented. On the other hand,
if you avoid using space, the paragraphs will appear cluttered.

Final Touches

We have discussed issues related to typeface, font size, and leading of paragraph text. We understand the fact that in certain situations, you may wish to modify certain paragraphs. Taking the help of special  combinators and selectors, you can target particular paragraphs and modify them.

Let us discuss indentation as an example. In web design, indenting the initial line of every paragraphs is the most popular way of dividing paragraphs into sections of information. However, the first paragraph does not require any indentation.

Therefore, you need to exclude this particular paragraph from CSS rule. Opt for the adjacent sibling combinator to target only those paragraphs that have a preceding paragraph.

Add a stylish touch to your content with the help of these tips.

In the website design industry, creative ideas will provide you with an extra edge. However, to stay ahead of others, you cannot solely depend on creativity. You need to follow certain techniques as well. Implementation of these techniques will impress the clients and bring you projects, thus guaranteeing you regular income.

Today, in this article, we will highlight few strategies that will help you get projects.

Adopt a Friendly Approach - Arranging a meeting with the client is the first step to acquire projects. While meeting with the client, opt for a friendly and yet, professional approach. Show a genuine interest in the project. This will convince the client that you are interested in investing your time and effort in the project.

Research About the Company - To impress the client, research about his/her company. Additionally, find out about the target audience  of your client’s company and its competitors.

Invest Time for Writing an Executive Summary - Executive summary refers to a brief description of the project. While meeting the client, carrying  this executive summary can be a great idea.

Keep this summary brief-one page is sufficient. Do not forget to include vital points in the summary. Use the summary to convince the client that you have understood the goals and nature of the project. Additionally, highlight the fact that as a web design professional, you possess the requisite skills to take up the project.

Show Your Work - To convince clients about your talent, show them samples of your work. This will help them to trust you and convince them that you can handle this project effectively.

Ask About Goals of the Project - This step is important. Unless you are aware of the goals of the project, it is impossible to work on it devotedly. Therefore, ask your client about the project goals.

Find Out About Your Competitors - Gathering information about your competitors will help you to understand their strengths and weaknesses. This in turn, will allow you to modify your strategies accordingly and stay ahead of the race.

Inquire About the Current Situation - To make sure that the client does not cancel the project suddenly, try to find out about the company’s current situation. Of course, this strategy will not be effective in every situation. Still, it would help you to stay on the safe side.

Prepare a Creative Strategy - Develop a creative strategy beforehand to impress the clients. For a stronger impression, justify the reasons behind choosing these strategies. If any technical requirements exist, explain them as well.

Highlight the Various Steps of the Project - To create a positive impression on minds of the client, explain the different aspects of the project. This will justify your stated deadline and fees that you are charging.

Discuss About the Budget - Divide the project into logical sections and note down the prices of each section. This will validate your prices.

Justify the Deadline - Discuss deadline of the project with your clients. Ask for a deadline that will allow you to finish the work comfortably. For best results, explain the reasons behind the stated deadline to your clients.

State the Resources - To convince the client about your credibility, state the things that you are planning to use for handling the project. If you require anything from the client, state that as well. This will allow clients to have faith in you.

Give your Contact Information - To simplify the process of getting in touch with you, offer clients your detailed contact information. State your mobile number, physical address, and office address so that it is easier for clients to contact you.

Finally, do not forget to follow-up. This will reflect your interest in the project and create a good impression.

Have you ever considered animal habits as your source of inspiration? It could be a good idea because each animal can teach us different lessons. Adopting certain habits and instincts of animals can help one to improve his/her productivity and work quality.

In this article, we will discuss typical habits of certain animals. Furthermore, we will explain how adopting these qualities can help you to enhance quality of your work.

Lion

Lions love challenges. They are brave, powerful, and willing to hunt down every animal in the jungle. Likewise, a web design professional should be interested in taking up challenging projects. He/she should be brave because it will help him/her to come up with innovative ideas.

Lions are highly competitive and desire to remain ahead in the race. Similar to them, people associated with the website design industry should also try to stay ahead of their competitors.

Tiger

Tigers prefer a solitary lifestyle and look forward to challenging situations. Faster than lions, tigers can smoothly leap 10 meters or even more. While hunting an animal, tigers prefer to implement a strategic plan.

Tigers can inspire you to take up projects that are interesting and challenging. Similar to tigers, you should opt for regular breaks to create innovative designs. Additionally, to complete a project within a deadline, you can follow a strategic plan. This will help you to meet the deadline in a hassle-free manner.

Giraffe

As compared to other animals, giraffes possess several advantages. They are tall and can reach out to trees, thus consuming more nutrients. Another interesting fact is that giraffes can survive by sleeping 4.5-4.6 hours on average per 24 hours.

Similar to giraffes, website designers should grab more projects and enjoy the advantages. They must observe projects from another perspective and deal with them in a new way. To complete crucial projects, designers should learn to survive by sleeping 4-5 hours at night.

Turtle

Turtles possess the special ability to hide from predators. They do so by retreating into their shells and hiding in water. Turtles can adapt themselves with any environment quickly.

Similar to turtles, designers should possess the ability to retreat into themselves for creative thought. Furthermore, they should adjust with any situation within a short time.

Whale

A unique fact about the whale is that it never sleeps consciously. Otherwise, it will drown. For this reason, a part of its brain always keeps working for keeping it afloat.

Similar to whales, a designer’s creative juices should always flow. Web designers should stay alert in any situation and quickly select sources that can inspire them. In brief, as a designer, you should stay conscious in any situation.

Dolphin

Cute and lovable, dolphins are intelligent as well. Possessing a complex brain, they have the ability to hear things from a far distance. Dolphins are highly social and love interacting with people. They also love communicating via various mediums that can include whistles and clicks.

Similar to dolphins, a designer should listen to client requirements carefully. Furthermore, they must interact with clients to form a long-term relationship. This in turn, will help one to acquire repeat clients.

Camel

Camels are known for their strength and resilience. They can survive extreme temperatures and lack of water.

Adopting habits of camels would mean surviving long hours of work. Additionally, it would also mean adapting oneself to tough situations.

Cheetah

As one of the fastest animals in the world, a cheetah can run at a speed of 70-75 miles every hour. However, in-between running, a cheetah needs to rest. Similar to the cheetah, a designer should grab and complete a project fast. Additionally, they should not overwork, because this may lead to burn out.

Owl

Owls have powerful camouflaging abilities. Their hunting strategy usually includes an element of surprise. Similar to owls, designers should incorporate a surprise element in their design. Furthermore, they should try to adjust with any situation.

Opt for these powerful animal habits to improve quality of your designs.

A website can have different audiences. These can include curious visitors, past and prospective customers, and referral partners. Every audience has different requirements and may look for unique things in a site. To create an all-rounded web design, paying attention to needs of various audiences is critical.

You can achieve this by balancing crucial elements of a site. These elements can include content, graphic design, Flash animation, navigation style, coding, and call-to-action statements, etc. Ensuring that these elements complement each other will help you to develop a site that fulfills requirement of various audiences.

1.  Do not opt for an Extreme Strategy

Many website designers believe that implementing excessive elements can spice up a site. In fact, too many elements can make a site complicated. This in turn, can interfere with the desire of a visitor to find an element quickly. For this reason, using selective elements is critical.

We agree that this is a good strategy to simplify the site. However, this does not mean that you should stick to a single element. We discuss more about this topic in the next point.

2.  Avoid Over-emphasizing Requirements of a Particular Audience

If you use a single element and focus on requirements of a particular audience, others may feel deprived. Let us assume that you own a website design company. If you emphasize on including web design samples and avoid incorporating any useful information, it may satisfy your past clients (since they are already aware of your services). However, such a strategy can deprive prospective clients and people who have reached your site via search engines. Since they will not get any information about your company, they will not feel compelled to opt for your services.

In this particular scenario, the ideal strategy would be to include both design samples and relevant information.

3.  Questions you should ask

We discussed the importance of creating a site that considers requirements of various audiences. Now, the question arises, how you can balance these elements?

The best way to maintain a refined balance between different elements is by asking yourself certain questions. Honest answers to these questions will help you to understand how you should balance these elements. We highlight these questions.

• How are people finding your site?

This is the most critical question. Find out how people are coming across your site. Did they find your site via search engines? Did someone refer your site? Did they come to know about you at networking events? Finding out the source through which people came to know about you can offer you information about psychology of the visitors and their different requirements.

• What is their aim?

Every visitor has a different requirement. A past client may want to know whether you can take up a new project. Potential clients may want to acquire information about you. Curious visitors may simply explore your site.

Understanding aims of different audiences is critical. It will help you to create a site that gives equal importance to all audiences.

• What is the goal of your site?

For best results, considering goals of your site is also important. A site may want to attract new clients or acquire the topmost rank in search engines. Alternatively, you may want to connect with people. Understanding aims of your site will help you to fulfill your business goals.

• Is anything contrary in your site?

While designing a website, ensure that you do not put in contradictory elements by mistake. Remember that if contradictory elements exist in your site, it may confuse your visitors. For this reason, make sure that all the elements complement each other.

Considering these 4 questions will allow you to create a site that pays attention to requirement of various audiences.

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.

Web designers opt for background patterns to create interesting websites and draw attention of users. Earlier, patterns were mostly limited to lines, flowers, and swirls. However, these days, designers are experimenting with various types of patterns to create a powerful effect. If you are interested to know how you can utilize background patterns to create a sizzling effect, read on.

• Find out your target audience

In the web designing industry, the golden rule is to develop designs that match preferences of your target audience. If you create website designs ‘just like that’, there are high chances that people won’t even bother to view them. For this reason, before you start designing, always figure out your target audience.

Once you have figured out your target audience, develop designs that will arouse their curiosity. If you have a website that specializes in online delivery of flowers, use flower as your background pattern.

• Ensure that visitors can read the content

People usually visit sites for acquiring good information. Of course, beautiful graphic designs are critical for attracting their attention. However, after a certain point of time, they will start looking for information.

If the background patterns overpower content of the site, chances are high that visitors will leave it after few moments. For this reason, ensuring that content is visible is a great idea. Maintain a refined balance between background patterns and text of the site.

• Do not fill up the whole site with patterns

With the help of right patterns, you can add a classy touch to the site. However, some designers end up using patterns just for the sake of it. This in turn, can create a negative impression.

Remember that if you fill up the whole site with patterns, visitors may find it a bit overwhelming. Therefore, implement patterns only in selected areas.

• Ensure that the pattern matches theme of your site

If the pattern of your site differs from that of its theme, it will confuse the viewers. If you have a site that sells honey, for example, you can use honeycombs as the background pattern of your site. This will help viewers to understand purposes of your site quickly.

• Lighter patterns are perfect for simpler web designs

If your web design is simple, using lighter background patterns can be a great idea. Light lines and colors can make the site appear neat, professional and yet, classy.

• Use patterns intelligently

Apart from increasing overall appeal of the site, patterns can direct the user’s eyes to the content. For fulfilling this goal, you have to use patterns cleverly. You can use it as either a background or a border. This way, it would enable visitors’ eyes to identify the content easily.

Many people think that corporate sites cannot use background patterns. However, this is a wrong concept. Using right patterns can add a professional touch to any site and enhance its overall appeal. Try it now!

Many young people these days are willing to become graphic designers. Benefits of being a graphic designer can include good money, creative satisfaction, and flexible timings (you can work as an employee or a freelance graphic designer).

Since graphic designing is a lucrative career option, many youngsters are willing to know about the skills that are necessary to break into this field. Of course, an exact definition of a perfect graphic designer does not exist. Still, we have pointed out few traits that a good graphic designer should possess.

1.   Latest technological expertise

It may sound harsh to some, but fact remains that mere sketching and pencil-drawing skills will not help you to acquire a good job in the graphic designing industry. Recent technological advances have altered the concept of graphic design. Today, even a small-scale firm opts for computers to create and modify designs.

For these reasons, to become a graphic designer, you must possess a basic knowledge of using computers. More specifically, you should be aware of graphic software, such as Corel Draw, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, and Freehand.

If you are planning to become a designer but yet to know graphic software, start gathering information about it. Remember that searching for graphic designer jobs, without possessing the essential skills, would result in a futile search.

2.   Print production knowledge

Graphic design has a strong association with printing. In most cases, clients ask designers to print their creations. For this reason, many companies these days hire only those candidates who possess at least fundamental printing knowledge.

To master print design, you need to understand print layout software, such as Quark Express, and Adobe. Additionally, you should have an in-depth knowledge of concepts, such as master pages, grid layout, and color separations.

3.   Creativity

Surveys reveal that while hiring graphic designers, employers look for people with strong creative and aesthetic sense.

A designing industry thrives mainly on creativity. Unless you are creative and possess the ability to come up with unique designs, you will not succeed as a graphic designer. Graphic and logo design industry is a fiercely competitive field, where creativity will help you to gain an additional edge over your rivals.

4.   Educational background

Educational background plays an important role in the designing field. All those who are looking for entry-level graphic design jobs should possess a bachelor’s degree. However, if you want to work as an assistant graphic designer, a diploma certificate would be sufficient.

5.   Good communication skills

Most jobs these days require candidates to possess good communication skills. This is also important in graphic designing field, because here you need to communicate with clients regularly.

Apart from verbal skills, strong writing skills are crucial. The reason is that many times clients ask designers to write a tag line or brief description of their products.

6.   Portfolio presentation

A well-made portfolio is a valuable resource available to a person, who is seeking a job. Surprisingly, many choose to ignore it. They believe that a person who has an experience of more than 10 years in the designing field should create a portfolio. However, this is a wrong concept.

Your portfolio acts as your representative, highlights your personal and professional accomplishments, and points out your values. Remember that a well-made portfolio can create a strong impression on minds of your prospective employers.

Apart from all these skills, knowledge about web designing can act as an extra advantage. Upgrading your skills regularly is equally important.

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.

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.

Adobe has been in spotlights in recent times owing to its product launches at much awaited annual Max Conference 2011. Not only it has announced of its upcoming Cloud service, but Adobe has also made designers excited by unveiling a number of tablet based apps. Incidentally, these Touch apps are meant to be used in sync with its Cloud service.

Among six design apps targeted at Honeycomb Android tablet users, Photoshop Touch App has garnered maximum interest and spotlight at Max 2011 Conference. This is natural given Photoshop’s huge user base and unmatched popularity among graphic design professionals.

Like other 5 Touch Apps, Photoshop Touch also costs $10 and this will make it accessible for most tablet users. Initially people using Honeycomb 3.1 tablets will be able to use this app and later Adobe will release a version made for iPad 2. Photoshop Touch app may not serve as a replacement for Photoshop CS 5, which is used by millions of graphic and web design professionals worldwide but it will act as a complementary tool.

Even though Photoshop Touch was shown at this conference on a prototype tablet made by Samsung, chances are there it will run smoothly on other tablets with Honeycomb. It responds to both finger and stylus inputs nicely, which is a boon for designers. It has a nice layout with Layers palette placed at right side and tool palette appearing at left of tablet screen. There are icons on screen’s top with menus to edit and manage images. Image adjustment options offered in this app are nowhere close to a full – fledged PC based image editor but a step ahead of Photoshop Express, available for Apple users.

To aid users, this app comes with a built-in tutorial set. Images can be accessed using this app from various sources. Images stored in a tablet can be opened. Users can also import images from Facebook and Google searches easily into this app. Adobe’s Creative Cloud is also a source for importing images into Photoshop Touch. As expected, pinch and zoom works smoothly for resizing images on tablet screen. Adobe has made all tools in this app intuitive and user friendly, making it ideal for web development as well.

Scribble selection tool in this app resembles Photoshop CS’s Magic wand it works with amazing accuracy. Even selecting complicated edges like human hair is not tough with this tool. Making gradients is easy with finger swipes and users can define gradient directions as well. Some users may find operating familiar Photoshop tools without a mouse a bit daunting but designers using stylus will love these. Stylus can be used with this app for making drawings with varied strokes.

With an app like Photoshop Touch and Cloud service, Adobe wants to turn tablets into content creation devices that aid designers in streamlining workflow and sharing content on the move.

There are some limitations of Photoshop Touch that designers will have to put up with. It converts any text element to vectors and so it cannot be edited as text. Photoshop Touch does not support any third party plug-in, as of now.