Creative Design Tools for Non-Designers

Face it; you’re not a Web designer. You may try your digital best, but hey, you’ve never been trained in the art of virtual aesthetics. But that’s okay, because we can’t all be Web Van Gogh’s. 

However, for those of us that run websites and don’t have a dedicated design team to allocate work to, it’s still necessary to participate in the design process, from wireframing to reviewing, and all those little tweaks along the way.

Luckily, there are plenty of great creative design tools available on the Web that are easy enough that any non-designer can use them. Check out the list below to see if there’s something that can help you look like you play a designer on the Web.

deviantART muro

muro, by deviantART, is a browser-based HTML5 drawing application for the site’s members that allows them to create images from scratch, featuring over 20 brushes, multiple filters and the ability to add layers to an image.

Fluid UI

This is a mobile app prototyping tool that lets users quickly and easily create interactive mockups and wireframes of mobile applications for Android, iOS and Windows 8.

Label59

Ever had a great image to share that just needs a little explanation to make sense? Have you been looking for a better way to engage your audience with photos? Well, Label59 is for you, as this Web app provides an intuitive toolset that lets users label photos and even create an interactive presentation in minutes.

Sumopaint

Sumopaint offers a fast and simple graphics editor application for Web browsers, PCs or iPads that works in 22 different languages, and includes a basic version that is always free for everyone.

Actual Reports Designer

While Actual Reports Designer is really a multi-faceted tool for creating simple designs, it is particularly useful for non-designers that want to generate QR codes to market their services, products or content. The tool includes a library of over 500 industry standard signs and symbols to choose from, as well as a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface.

WeVideo

One of the more popular online video editors available, WeVideo includes three distinct editing modes (Storyboard, Timeline and Advanced) to allow users to edit videos however they’d like. In addition, it integrates with YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, Instagram, Dropbox, Box and many other websites.

Balsamiq Mockups

This is another wireframing tool that basically lets users feel like they’re “drawing” an early version of their websites, while allowing for various tweaks and rearrangements at any time. Plus, it is collaboration friendly, so teams can create a design and modify it in real time during a meeting.

MindMeister

MindMeister is a mind mapping software with a particular focus on collaboration that has been used by everyone from EA to CNN to Oracle to help users visualize their thinking.

Pixlr

In the wake of Picnik, a number of free image editing services emerged, but none of them are as efficient and user-friendly as Pixlr, which is why it is now the Web’s most popular online photo editor.

Magisto

Turn everyday videos into memorable movies with Magisto, the automated online video editor the selects the best parts of a user’s video, adds the music, themes and effects they select, and the puts it all together to create ‘beautiful” films that can be easily shared with others.

Clue

This simple online application makes it easy (and kind of fun) to test what people remember on a website. Simply enter the URL into the empty bar to create a test, and then see what users report to be the most impactful elements of the page.

Bounce

Like Clue, this app was created by the folks at ZURB and makes it easy to share ideas on a website. Again, just enter a URL, and then users can highlight specific areas on a page and leave feedback for the website owner.

Moqups

It always helps to have a roadmap, so that’s why services like Moqups are so nice. This Web-based HTML5 application lets users create wireframes, mockups and prototypes of their websites with an incredibly intuitive interface.

IcoMoon

IcoMoon was the Web’s first custom icon font builder, meaning it allows users to choose specific icons that they need and turn them into a unique font to improve compatibility we various screen readers.

Sketchfab

Users can publish, embed and share interactive 3D models with Sketchfab. The tool supports 27 different native 3D formats with no plugin required and unlimited uploads.

HTML Banner Maker

Create banners that work across all devices using HTML5 with this Web app that requires no prior coding knowledge.

NodeFire

NodeFire is an HTML5-based interactive animation create that lets users quickly and easily design banners, advertisements, text effects, drop-down menus, scrolling items, marquees, buttons, mini games and much more.

TweenUI

With TweenUI, it takes no time at all to create sleek looking HTML5 banner ads that look great across mobile devices and tablets.

Mugeda

And if you’re looking to create rich media HTML5 ads just for mobile devices, you can turn to Mugeda, the cloud-based solution that can be easily integrated into a publisher’s existing ad platform.

article source
image source

Photoshop CS6 vastly improved interface & features

Photoshop CS6 vastly improved interface & features
Under the hood you’ll find a new Mercury Graphics Engine that relies heavily on your computer’s graphics processing unit (GPU), making Photoshop CS6 run noticeably faster.
5/9/2012 4:15:00 PM By: Lesa Snider

Software upgrades come and go but the newest version of Adobe’s flagship image editor, Photoshop CS6, makes you sit up and take notice. This release sports a darker interface (its first new paint job in more than 20 years), a noticeably faster graphics engine, and some amazing new features that promise to improve the productivity of professional designers and photographers alike.

Intro to WordPress (YouTube Video)

http://foundwithprofound.com WP Dashboard Overview Tutorial. This video will give a basic overview of the WordPress dashboard including how to do a post and a page as well as plugins.

What’s new in Adobe Photoshop CS5.5?

What’s New in Pho­to­shop (Extended) CS5.1 — Is there a new Pho­to­shop CS5.5?

Actu­ally, Photoshop’s revi­sion offi­cially remains at “CS5″ for this release, but under the hood it gets a minor upgrade to CS5.1 (ver­sion 12.0.4) and comes with CS 5.5 suites…

Adobe has updated its inter­nal script­ing engine to open the door for appli­ca­tions and devices like iPad, Android, and other com­put­ers to drive and com­mu­ni­cate with the desk­top ver­sion of Pho­to­shop CS5. A new cross-platform Pho­to­shop Touch SDK (Soft­ware Devel­op­ment Kit) will enable devel­op­ers to take advan­tage of these func­tions. Learn more about the Adobe Pho­to­shop Touch SDK.

This new capa­bil­ity pro­vides a direct link between Pho­to­shop CS5.1 and mobile devices and tablets, allow­ing the cre­ation of com­pan­ion apps. Some exam­ple apps: cre­at­ing paint­ings and sketches (Adobe Eazel) or mix­ing col­ors (Adobe Color Lava) and see­ing these results back in Pho­to­shop, con­trol­ling Photoshop’s tools using the iPad as a new input sur­face (Adobe Nav), and so on. This expand­abil­ity lets you work directly with your iPad to boost your in-the-moment cre­ativ­ity and inspire your best work. Read more + watch a demo. For a big­ger upgrade to Pho­to­shop we’ll look to when CS6 is released. Note that CS5.5 will have no impact on the Cam­era Raw plugin

No change in Illustrator …

source: http://prodesigntools.com/adobe-cs5-5-upgrade-overview-whats-new-each-product.html#Photoshop.

digitalmediarts

Smartphone Market Grows 79.7% Year Over Year In 1st Quarter Of 2011

The worldwide smartphone market has grown 79.7% year-over-year with smartphone vendors shipping a total of 99.6 million units in in the first quarter of 2011,  market research firm IDC reports and Nokia is still the world’s biggest smartphone manufacturer market share, its decline has been amazingly fast.Samsung shipments rise 350 percent and has more than quadrupled its output to 10.8 million shipments in the quarter.The other big gainer is Apple, with 10 million more iPhones shipped, but the truth is that all the top five vendors are showing double-digit growth and IDC has also released data for Western Europe that shows Nokia has lost the top spot both in terms of smartphones, to Apple, and in terms of overall mobile phone shipments, to Samsung.

The worldwide smartphone market grew 79.7% year over year in the first quarter of 2011 (1Q11), driven by a combination of vendors releasing highly anticipated models, widespread availability of older smartphones at lower prices, and sustained end-user demand. According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, smartphone vendors shipped a total of 99.6 million units in 1Q11, nearly double from the 55.4 million units in the first quarter of 2010.“Conditions in the smartphone market are creating a perfect storm for sustained smartphone growth,” says Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst with IDC’s Mobile Phone Technology and Trends team. “First, vendors are increasingly emphasizing smartphones as the key to their own growth. Second, selection has proliferated from mostly high-end devices to include more mid-range and entry-level offerings. Third, pricing has become increasingly competitive, with even high-end devices available at low price points. Finally, users continue to seek greater utility from their mobile phone beyond voice, and smartphones have been the ideal solution. Altogether, these add up to continued smartphone growth throughout the year.”

The strong demand for smartphones also means the market will remain highly competitive and fragmented. “The rise of Android as a prominent mobile operating system has allowed several suppliers to gain share quickly,” adds Kevin Restivo, senior research analyst with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker. “Also, the relatively nascent state of smartphone adoption globally means there is ample room for several suppliers to comfortably co-exist, at least for the short term.”Top Five Smartphone Vendors:

• Nokia, despite announcing its intentions to move from Symbian to Windows Phone as its primary smartphone operating system, maintained its leadership position in the smartphone market. Demand for Symbian-powered smartphones remained strong within its traditionally strongest markets of EMEA and Asia/Pacific, and the company continues to announce more devices running on Symbian, including the E6 and the X7. Still, as Nokia transitions from Symbian to Windows Phone, it may find itself in danger of ceding market share as the competition ramps up smartphone production.
• Apple reached a new record shipment volume in a single quarter, and inched closer to market leader Nokia with fewer than six million units separating the two companies. The company posted market-beating year-over-year growth and recorded triple-digit growth in two key markets: the United States, with the release of its CDMA-enabled iPhone, and Greater China. Additionally, the company enlisted South Korean Telecom and Saudi Telecom as carrier providers of the iPhone.
• Research In Motion remained solidly in third place from the previous quarter, as the company grew its presence outside of its home territory of North America. RIM has launched several 3G devices to the market, and recently announced two new BlackBerry smartphones running on its new BlackBerry 7 OS. Still, the majority of RIM’s shipment volumes have been comprised of older, lower-cost devices. The company expects this trend to continue into the following quarter.
• Samsung posted the largest year-over-year gain of any other vendor on the list. With a multiple operating system strategy in place, Samsung has been able to grow its smartphone portfolio to meet the needs of a diverse market. Accounting for the majority of its smartphones and driving shipment volumes higher was the continued success of its Android-based smartphones, including the high-end Galaxy S devices and mass-market Galaxy Ace and Galaxy mini devices. Meanwhile, its bada-powered Wave devices and Windows Phone 7 devices continued to gain traction.
• HTC posted yet another record shipment volume, nearly surpassing the ten million unit mark for the first time. Like other vendors, HTC announced multiple new devices, including the Facebook-optimized Salsa and ChaCha. In addition, the company launched several new devices, including its Inspire 4G, WiMAX-enabled EVO Shift 4G, and LTE-enabled Thunderbolt. These, along with its investment and developments on hardware, displays, and its HTC Sense layer have helped HTC differentiate itself further in an increasingly crowded market.

sources:
http://thetechjournal.com/tech-news/industry-news/smartphone-market-grows-79-7-year-over-year-in-first-quarter-of-2011.xhtml

http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUK22816311

smartphones photo : http://magazine.jfaonline.net/?p=12869

4 Valuable Blogging Tips

A member of the judging panel for ComputerWorld Canada’s annual blogging contest “Blogging Idol” this year is Maggie Fox, CEO and founder of Toronto-based Social Media Group.

Fox, who has been blogging for the past six years, shares some valuable advice for those new to blogging or who are intimidated by it.

1. Keep it short

Given that bloggers often have to keep up with a content production schedule that might mean two to three blog entries per week, it helps to keep blog posts nice and short. “You don’t need to blog more than a couple of hundred words to get your point across,” said Fox.

2. The open-ended question

If a topic is of interest, then summarize it in a blog entry and pose a question about it to readers. “It’s a great way to encourage discussion and engagement with the content,” said Fox.

3. Lists

A blogger may come across five to 10 things of interest, in the course of a week, that can be shared in a blog entry. It’s very acceptable to post a series of links accompanied by a few words about what the blogger thinks. “You don’t have to write a novel every time you write a blog post. And, in fact, it’s best if you don’t,” said Fox.

4. Rich media.

Images and videos are a great way to spice up a blog entry, said Fox, especially because readers find that sort of content very engaging and it increases the stickiness of the site.

excerpts from: http://www.itworldcanada.com/news/bloggin-idol-returns/142898

Pixels to Ems – online PX to EM convertor calc

http://pxtoem.com/

7 Really Great WordPress Plugins For Fonts

Fonts are a very important part of web design. There are different ways web designers can use fonts to unleash the greatness of their web design. They can either use images, which has always been the case used for a long time now, but another way is through the use of the new embedded font technology. We have sIFR and FLIR which offer better advantages than using images; they can be detected by search engines and load faster.

1. All in One Cufon

2. Font Burner Control Panel

3. Typekit Fonts for WordPress

4. TextImage

5. WP-Cufon

6. FLIR, Facelift Image Replacement

7. WP sIFR

Source: 7 Really Great WordPress Plugins For Fonts

8 Lorem Ipsum and Random Text Generators

Looking for some Lorem Ipsum or Random Text to kick your web design going? Well here we have compiled a list of 8 Lorem Ipsum and Random Text generators for your use. These text generators are handy when you want to insert text into web design or development project to get things going.

You don’t have to waste time trying to thing of something to write for sample text, all you need is generate the text you want and you are good to go.

1. Lorem Ipsum Generator

2. adhesiontext

3. HTML-Ipsum

4. Lipsum Generator

5. Text Generator

6. Blind Text Generator

7. Dummy Text Generator

8. Random Text Generator

Source: 8 Lorem Ipsum And Random Text Generators

5 memorable Twitter moments as service turns five

“At 4:50 p.m. on March 21, 2006, Jack Dorsey wrote “just setting up my twttr.” Five years later, Dorsey and his fellow Twitter co-founders Biz Stone and Evan Williams have transformed a neat idea conceived during a daylong brainstorming session into a worldwide phenomenon. Twitter is now valued at more than $10 billion and has gone from zero to 1 billion tweets per week.

But not all tweets are created equal.
Here’s a countdown of five historic moments, brought to you by Twitter…”

Full article HERE