If you’ve been assigned to design or provide the architecture for a large e-commerce project or other information-heavy website whose success depends on content findability, it is vital that the design and layout of the search functionality for that website is considered carefully.
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Over the last couple of years, mobile devices have managed to gain mainstream popularity. With iPhone, making mobile Web applications finally usable by broad masses, web design can now be applied to mobile applications as well. In this post we are focusing on designs that are specifically optimized for mobile devices, in particular iPhone.
Though iPhone’s Safari browser is able to render any website just like you would see it on a desktop browser, the available screen area is much smaller than in common “classic” displays. This poses a new challenge for designers and developers who now can reach millions of users that use mobile Web. Websites that are specifically optimized for the iPhone utilize the screen to the fullest extent, and use less bandwidth (which is necessary, because the connectivity is not always optimal).
The iPhone browsing experience is quite different than the regular browsing experience. The buttons and hyperlinks have to be bigger because our fingers are not as sharp as the mouse pointer. Optimizing a website for iPhone is not rocket science. It’s the same HTML, CSS and JavaScript that you already know. The only major difference is the screen size.
In the showcase below we present some of the interesting, interactive and beautiful designs that are optimized for the iPhone. You will also learn about some handy iPhone development tools and resources that will help you optimize your website for the iPhone.
Also consider our previous articles:
* How to Create Your First iPhone Application
* iPhone Apps Design Mistakes: Over-Blown Visuals
* 100 (Really) Beautiful iPhone Wallpapers Beautiful iPhone Wallpapers”)
[](https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/01/06/100-really-beautiful-iphone-wallpapers/ “100 (Really) Beautiful iPhone Wallpapers”)
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When you hear the word ‘kinetic’ for the first time, probably the first thing that comes to your mind is motion. Kinetic Photography, also known as ‘camera tossing’, is a technique of shooting photos with the actual physical movement of the camera. However, it does not necessarily involve tossing of the camera — you can also shake, bounce, swing or spin it; the goal of the technique is to obtain unpredictable results which are sometimes fascinating, always abstract and rarely boring.
The main rule of kinetic photography is simple: do not hold your camera stationary! Obviously, it is a quite uncommon and bizarre technique that involves risk of damaging your camera. The concept is extremely simple and really fun to use. Though the outcome is uncertain, kinetic photography sometimes produces beautiful abstract, random and motion blurred images. The results often look like a computer generated graphics.
Below we present beautiful examples of kinetic photography for your inspiration. All images are linked to photographer’s web sites. You can explore further works of the photographers we’ve featured below by clicking on the images presented in this showcase. And feel free to add links to some beautiful works in the comments to this post!
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Everyone would agree that usability is an important aspect of Web design. Whether you’re working on a portfolio website, online store or Web app, making your pages easy and enjoyable for your visitors to use is key. Many studies have been done over the years on various aspects of Web and interface design, and the findings are valuable in helping us improve our work.
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Learning is a process which continues throughout the life of an artist, graphic designer, and illustrator. Along the way, designers find the task of mastering Adobe Illustrator a large obstacle which requires practice and experience in using the vector-based application. Practice comes in the form of tutorials, which offer tips, tricks, and artistic styles from other designers who have mastered certain techniques based on their experience.
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CSS Font stacks are one of those things that elude a lot of designers. Many stick to the basic stacks tools auto-recommend or go even more basic by just specifying a single web-safe font. But doing either of those things means you’re missing out on some great typography options. Font stacks can make it possible to show at least some of your visitors your site’s typography exactly the way you intend without showing everyone else a default font.
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Though many computer applications and operating systems make use of real-world metaphors like the desktop, most software interface design has little to do with how we actually experience the real world. In lots of cases, there are great reasons not to directly mimic reality. Not doing so allows us to create interfaces that enable people to be more productive, communicate in new ways, or manage an increasing amount of information. In other words, to do things we can’t otherwise do in real life.
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Portfolio websites are critical for designers who want to get exposure for their work and attract new clients. While all portfolio sites will showcase the work of the designer, some have chosen to provide additional information about the project through case studies.
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Photoshop and Illustrator, as we’ve all come to realize, have revolutionized contemporary design and illustration, unleashing the creative potential of artists the world over. Through this tutorial, we’ll take you through process and technique, from sketch to Photoshop to Illustrator, so that you can learn skills to complement your ample creativity! [Updated May/02/2017]
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Smashing Magazine has been on Twitter for about a year now (@smashingmag), and it turned out to be a great medium to communicate with our audience, build connections, discuss design-related topics and give away some nice prizes. However, even a year later, we still don’t have a Twitter background page and now is a good time to change that. So because we decided to create our own Twitter page, we wanted to first find out how other designers do it and what tips and techniques they use to create a truly outstanding, beautiful Twitter page.
Your profile page is the only place on Twitter where you get opportunity to showcase your visual brand and possibly communicate additional information that can last longer than a tweet. You can customize your profile page by changing background, text and link colors. It’s as simple as changing the skin, but ability to change background image has allowed designers to create really unique profile pages.
Primary focus of this article is to explore various techniques to create unique, memorable and effective Twitter profile pages. However, before proceeding to the list, it is important to briefly discuss the structure of the Twitter profile page.
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