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Drawar

A web design and development community for people with a thirst for knowledge. Follow the Community on Twitter right here.

You Probably Hit A Bad Link

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Do We Waste Time With Web Fonts?

There are great, bu they just aren't there yet and if they ever get to be where we want them to be will they be worth it in the end? Do online users even care about pretty fonts when they are clicking away?

Shortcuts

We all fall into the trap of using shortcuts just to get something out the door. Sometimes we just use shortcuts because we are lazy and want to accomplish what is only needed without going above and beyond. Because of this though we lack the intrinsic satisfaction that might bring us happiness.

Redesign

Why do designers have a constant need to redesign everything they touch? It's as if everything is a scientific experiment and we simply want to see if things can be done better or a bit differently. Of course they can and we want to be the one to mold it with our hands.

The Boyfriend Experience

Whenever someone comes across something you have designed they aren't sure if they want to enter into a relationship with you or not. You have to sell them on it because it's not their job to see you for what you really are. Hopefully you provide a better boyfriend/girlfriend experience than you did that poor kid in 5th grade.

The Undesign

Everything that is done on a website is design. If they can do it then they won't see why you can do it. If they can change it just as easily and tweak it they will want to know why they need to bring you in. To them there is no undesign and there might not even be design. To them it might just be trial and error and people will go to their site anyways so it doesn't matter. Good luck beating that mentality in the future.

Design The Experience: Expectations

A first impression can't be done twice. We all know this and yet how often do we forget the little details that set the expectations of our users. From a simple annoying popup when they first hit the screen to a bad signup form experience the expectations that we set are the ones that will be hard to erase.

The Rich Freelancer Isn't A Designer

Being a freelancer is hard, not only in acquiring money, but acquiring enough to help you live the lifestyle you want. Fortunately there are easy ways to make a passive income that freelancers overlook. It's time to stop overlooking and time to start making some money. Be a business man.

The Science Of Creativity

The web has changed a lot in the past 15 years (basically it's whole existence, not the Internet, the WWW), but sometimes our patience, or lack thereof, makes it seem like things haven't changed that much at all.

Hire A Designer For Your Site

I know the concept might seem foreign, but it might be a good idea to hire another designer to design your site. What?! That's like hiring someone to cook our food...wait a minute. Okay it's like hiring someone to mow your lawn...wait a minute.

Designer Sheep And Invisible Platypus

This article stems from feedback I got on Twitter asking for two words to help build an article. This is the result and it's interesting. I never even knew I could come up with a concept like this, but that is the life of an invisible platypus.

Design The Experience: Voice

We study design. We learn about color theory and typography. We understand how the grid applies to structure. However, do you understand the value of voice in your design? Something that seems so trivial often gets so overlooked and yet might be the most important aspect of your design.

Design The Experience

Your site looks good but is it fun to use? Do people walk away remembering the color of your background or the fact that they had trouble logging in? The experience of your site can be designed and yet we just want to make things work. Try making the experience work even better.

The Frustration of Design and Development

Design and development can be very frustrating and at times it makes us all want to quit and become crossing guards. Okay, maybe not crossing guards, but at least something that doesn't require us to chase people down just to get paid.

The Case Against Responsive Web Design

Is using one design that can work and flex its way around any device really the best option? Maybe there are times we need unique designs for devices to truly offer the best browsing experience for our users. Why the future of web design might still be a way off.

The Best Designs of Q2 2010

The best designs of the second quarter in 2010 as selected by the Community and Drawar.

Beauty And Science

The world would be a better place if we could all agree on what is pretty, but unfortunately it doesn't work that way. However, it does get easier if we come away with the understanding that everyone has their personal preferences and with a bit of research we can meet in the middle to come up with a wonderful design.

Be Better Than Yesterday

One second at a time, that is how we improve. There is no fast forward approach to improving our skill set, but if we focus on how we can improve for a couple of seconds we will find that we are better today than we were yesterday.

The 4 Differences Between In-House Designers And Freelance Designers

When you are an in-house designer you look with envy at freelancers. When you freelance you look with envy at in-house designers. Are we ever satisfied? Probably not, but at least we can appreciate the differences.

Inspiration After Sex And Creativity Is For Nutjobs

Maybe we overvalue creativity and inspiration. We treat them as some magical elements that are hard to attain when they are right in front of our faces daily. To find them you just have to think and act a little bit differently.

Want To Get Better? Start Copying

It's hard to develop your skills in a bottle so what you should do is copy. Copy?! Yes, copy others so that you can steal their lifeblood to improve your own. This article isn't as diabolic as that though.

Two Choices For Rates And Cheap Isn't One Of Them

It isn't easy knowing the right rate to charge for work, but undercharging is the complete wrong way to g. It's better to just offer your services for free if you wish to maintain both your sanity and happiness.

Leave Something Great

It's great to take things away from a design so that it focuses on the essentials, but there is no point of removing if you aren't going to leave something great.

A Designer's Curiosity

Maybe it's a fear of criticism, but if you learn to repress your curiosity as a designer you stop being a designer. Let it free and explore whatever comes across your mind, you might find a better solution than you thought even existed.

Endor.se the Circle Jerk

With the release of Endor.se it seems that the design community has the wrong idea of how we should handle projects launched by our peers. Instead of being down on them embrace them because one day you might be in the same situation.

The Secret Foundation of Web Design

We might spend years trying to understand what makes a web design special when the answer is right in front of our eyes. We focus too much on colors, gradients and shadows and need to put more focus somewhere else.

Separation of Design Classes

This article needs a summary and reformatting. It shall be done shortly.

Minimum Viable Design

The word minimalism seems to denote a design that is bare. Instead of looking at it that way let's see how we can create a minimum viable design that helps us get to the essence of the problem we are trying to solve.

Never as Complicated as the Human Body

This article needs a summary and reformatting. It shall be done shortly.

What Holds You Back From Being Great

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Dinosaur Design vs. Cockroach Design

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On Successful Design and Designer Feelings

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Dear Microsoft, Please Use WebKit

This article needs a summary and reformatting. It shall be done shortly.

What Makes Your Web App Great

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2 Reasons Why Your Portfolio Site Sucks

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Don't be a Design Packrat

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Every Site a Mobile Site

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F**k Deadlines

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Understand the Foundation Before Learning the Tools

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The Differences Between Good Designers and Great Designers

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The State of Design Education

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Choose One: Easier or Better? Sorry, You Already Decided

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Stop Inspiration Hunting When Designing

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The Super Freaking Amazing Future Trend of Blogs

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Artist, Designer, or Hack?

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The Best Designs of Q1 2010

Drawar's selection of the best designs in the Gallery for the first quarter of 2010 along with the Community's selections.

Make It Easy to Buy Your Stuff

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Can a Web Design Be Timeless?

This article needs a summary and reformatting. It shall be done shortly.

Self-Promotion in the Age of Annoyance

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Why Content Sites Need Clutter

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Your Kid is an Idiot, Stop Dressing Him

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Letting Things Die

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Attract the Passionate Ones

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They Do That Because You Designed It That Way

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Escaping Your Comfort Zone and Advancing Your Knowledge

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No Problem Mr. Client, I Just Need To Do a Couple of Things First

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Doesn't Matter, I Hate It

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Web Design? Screw Aesthetics

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We Don't Need You to Design Anymore

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X Somethings Y Should Have

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The Message of Design

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Designer Ethics

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Your Logo Is Not Your Brand

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The Principles of Great Design

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The Designer's Survival Guide

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Looks Matter Because We All Have Feelings

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World Wide Web For Dummies, Not Us

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Why I Hate Your Web App

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The Ups and Downs of Web Development

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Building Your Knowledge Portfolio

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Coding Craftsmanship

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What Is Design?

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Are Homepages Dead Or Are We Missing The Boat?

This article needs a summary and reformatting. It shall be done shortly.

Learn Some Business

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Doing It Different Might Be Doing It Right

This article needs a summary and reformatting. It shall be done shortly.

Designs of the Year: 2009

The best designs of the year with some analysis.

Don't Let Ads Kill Your Site

I understand the need to have advertising on a site so this isn't a blast against sites that make top dollar with advertising. This is a plea asking them to take a step back and look at their sites to see if advertising has become the dominant content on their site.

You Are Not A Designer And I Am Not A Musician

This article needs a summary and reformatting. It shall be done shortly.

Minimalism is Mandatory

I think the idea that many people have of minimalism is that there is nothing on a site, but some text. Maybe there is an image or two, but what you get is usually a black & white site that offers a nice, clean grid structure which pleases the eye. It's more than that of course.

Old News: News Sites

News sites have a problem and for some reason they think it's everyone but themselves. Taking just a quick glance at a news site should alert you to their problems, but let's see if we can bring to light what these issues are for them.

The Web Standards Mafia

Sure Web Standards are great, but you wouldn't know about them if it weren't for the hard work of a group of people. These pioneers took the web on their back and carried us to where we are now. Straight gangsta style.

Smashing Magazine Killed The Community (Or Maybe It Was Me)

The web design community is better than the sites filled with nothing but lists. The community should be about the exploration of design. We need to dig into the why's and how's. There is a place for inspiration, but what is inspiration without knowledge?