CategoryDesign

June 26, 2014 — The reason why app store reviews aren’t as effective as they could be is that they’re a one-way conversation, asking the user to say something positive to everyone else. There should be something better, something more conversational. In this article, Joshua Mauldin will investigate the various tactics of prompting for app reviews and ratings and how to make them better. He’ll also talk about how to ask users for feedback in a way that benefits everyone. Getting feedback on your app is important. How else can people tell you that your app is doing well or poorly? Read more…

May 16, 2014 — Design is an arrangement of both shapes and space. Learn to see the shapes that space forms and how space communicates. This is second part of a series on design principles for beginners. The first part covered an introduction to gestalt; today Steven Bradley will build on those gestalt principles and show you how many of the fundamental principles you work with as designers have their origin there. Make an effort to spend time observing how space is used in design! Read more…

May 2, 2014 — Originally released in 2007, the BBC’s Programmes website now has pages for over 1.6 million episodes, but that’s barely half of the story. Surrounding those episodes is a wealth of content, including clips, galleries, character profiles and much more, plus Programme’s newly responsive home pages. This article is a case study of the responsive rebuild of the BBC’s Programmes pages, and it actually begins back in 2007, at the conception of the project. Read more…

April 4, 2014 — Khajag Apelian not only is a talented type and graphic designer, unsurprisingly, but also counts Disney as a client, as well as a number of local and not-for-profit organizations throughout the Middle East. Designing a quality typeface is a daunting task when it’s only in the Latin alphabet. Khajag goes deeper still, having designed a Latin-Armenian dual-script typeface in four weights, named “Arek”, as well as an Arabic adaptation of Typotheque’s Fedra Display. Read more…

March 31, 2014 — At SmashingMag, we cherish the idea of lasting traditions—be it monthly desktop wallpapers, editorial newsletters or those weird mystery riddles. So in the spirit of tradition, the riddle had to be based on animated GIFs. During an intensive, unscheduled, battery-recharge brainstorming session, we came up with a number of interesting ideas, all thoroughly written down, tagged and ready for use. Read more…

March 29, 2014 — Gestalt principles are important to understand. They sit at the foundation of everything we do visually as designers. They describe how everyone visually perceives objects. This article is part of a new series about design principles that can serve both as a refresher for seasoned designers and reference for newcomers to the industry. Hopefully, the content covered here isn’t too obvious and self-explanatory, but it’s always great to have a nice quick refresher every now and again, isn’t it? Read more…

March 27, 2014 — The Mystery continues! To celebrate the launch of Paul Boag’s Digital Adaptation book, we’ve prepared a new riddle, and this time it’s a bit different and a bit easier. Below you’ll find three animated GIFs that contain a hidden message. Once you’ve resolved the mystery, please tweet the full sentence @smashingmag using the hashtag #smashing. Read more…

March 14, 2014 — Writing a book is a scary experience. And when it is published, you can be certain of only one thing: You will be criticized. Paul Boag’s book Digital Adaptation will soon be officially released, and he knows a lot of people are going to disagree with what he has written. They are going to argue that he focuses too much on digital and its characteristics and its impact on business, when ultimately digital is just a tool. But… is it just a tool? Read more…

February 7, 2014 — As graphic designers, you’ll often have to work with off-the-shelf material created by others. Also, you’ll often have to follow the branding already developed by someone else, and that’s ok because it’s part of the job. But the part of a project that almost every graphic designer likes and is proud of the most is something that you can do from scratch. That’s why Anna Shuvalova loves illustration projects so much. Read more…

January 28, 2014 — The Mystery continues! To celebrate the launch of the SmashingConf NYC, we’ve prepared a new riddle, and this time it’s not going to be any easier, but the reward is worth the effort. In this piece, you’ll find an animated GIF that contains a hidden message. Once you’ve resolved the mystery, you’ll see a Twitter hashtag displayed in plain text. Read more…