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Minimalist Design: Top 10 Free Google Fonts

In the field of design, simplicity can often eclipse complexity. Minimalist design principles echo across varied creative fields — from architecture to product design, and notably, typography. Our overview takes you on a journey through the landscape of fonts, highlighting ten free Google Fonts that encapsulate minimalist design principles. Featuring both trusted favorites and potential new go-to’s, these fonts can enhance your designs with their clean lines, clear visuals, excellent readability, and contemporary appeal.

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Understanding Minimalist Typography

At its core, minimalist typography embraces simplicity. It drops unnecessary decorations, focusing on visual appeal and functional design that boosts readability. Sans-serif typefaces, appreciated for their clean lines and generous white space, are a frequent choice in minimalist typography. This focus on functionality and elegance ensures the design’s core message and content shines through, unhindered and dominant.

Now, let’s take a closer look at our top 10 minimalist font recommendations.

Roboto

Roboto, a font you’ve likely encountered on the web or in apps, combines mechanical and geometric forms. Its 12 distinct styles make it a versatile choice for an array of minimalist designs, from website headers to the UIs of mobile applications. Its universal appeal and wide language support make Roboto a popular choice for digital design.

Open Sans

Open Sans, another ubiquitous font, stands out with upright stress and open forms, conveying a friendly yet neutral demeanor. Its extensive character set enhances readability at small sizes, cementing its status as a reliable choice for body text in minimalist designs.

Lato

Lato, with semi-rounded details in its letters, communicates warmth without losing its professional essence. The font family’s ten styles offer designers flexibility to meet various design needs, from commanding headlines to nuanced captions.

Montserrat

Inspired by the geometric sans-serif style, Montserrat offers modern, clean character designs. With 18 styles, from thin to black, it caters to a broad spectrum of minimalist designs, be it unobtrusive body text or bold headlines.

Raleway

Raleway’s elegance and sophistication are accentuated by its distinctive ‘w’ and ‘k’ characters, adding visual interest without compromising readability. With nine weights, this font is especially well-suited for headers and large text in minimalist designs.

Arimo

Designed by Steve Matteson, Arimo is a breath of fresh air with its crisp sans-serif design. It stands out with enhanced on-screen readability characteristics, making it an excellent choice for cross-platform document portability.

Poppins

With its geometric sans-serif design, Poppins exudes a clean, modern aesthetic. Its balanced letterforms, available in nine weights, support high readability at both large and small sizes, making it a versatile addition to any minimalist design toolkit.

Oswald

By reinterpreting the classic gothic type style for the digital age, Oswald’s condensed letterforms create a versatile typeface. Offering six weights, Oswald lends itself to a variety of minimalist design applications, from dense body text to airy headers.

Fira Sans

Designed for Mozilla, Fira Sans is a humanist sans-serif typeface. It boasts excellent readability across sizes, thanks to its generous x-height and open apertures. Its broad range of weights make it adaptable for diverse design needs.

Noto Sans

Noto Sans, a part of Google’s mission to support all languages with a harmonious typeface, impresses with its clean, simple forms. Available in regular and bold weights, its unfussy design is a perfect fit for minimalist aesthetics.

While these fonts are free and ready for download on Google Fonts, making them accessible for designers on any budget, they offer significant advantages. They are open-source, web-optimized, and incredibly versatile, catering to an extensive array of design needs and platforms.

Final Thoughts

Typography underpins minimalist design, and your font selections can significantly influence the viewer’s perception.

As a designer, you should consider factors like UX, the overarching design system, font pairing, and hierarchy when selecting fonts for your minimalist design. Fonts that integrate seamlessly into your design system, adhere to UX principles, and respect font hierarchy can result in visually coherent, minimalist aesthetics.

In addition, the process of testing and finalizing fonts can be iterative, requiring you to test different font combinations, review them in various contexts (like different browsers or screen sizes), and gather user feedback. Analytical tools, usability tests, or A/B testing can provide invaluable insights into how your typography choices impact user engagement and accessibility.

Minimalist design is not about restrictions but about thoughtful reduction and focus. Your choice of typography should reflect that ethos.

Bonus💡: 11 Typography Styles to Consider for Your Next Design

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18 Creative Custom Cursors

A cursor/pointer is a position indicator that helps the user enter text, numbers, or symbols. The default cursor is a symbol that is easily recognized by tons of people around the world. Without the cursor, user integration would not be as easy as it is now. Cursors have saved many people the trouble of memorizing keyboard shortcuts required to navigate a page.

Creative custom cursors are basically unique customized pointers. Throughout the years, the cursor has been modified to assume different shapes and characters. These customized pointers can boost a site’s interaction and traffic. Many websites have adopted custom cursors because they help them stand out and attract more customers.

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Benefits of Creative Custom Cursors

Though they’re not going to make a massive difference in how your website is received by visitors, custom cursors can make an impact, including:

  • Help maintain the theme of the website.
  • Can attract more customers.
  • Build website aesthetics.
  • Are easy to make.

How to Choose a Custom Cursor

Here are some factors to consider when looking for a custom cursor for your next website project.

Suitability

Getting a custom cursor that suits your website can offer great user interaction. If your site targets young users, having a quirky cursor can enhance engagement with your website. Whereas if your target market is older, having a custom cursor might not get you the same results.

Formal websites should use default cursors and stay away from custom ones. This helps to maintain the site’s formal tone.

Functionality

Some custom cursors don’t work well with older browsers. If a user opens a website using an old browser that doesn’t support custom cursors, the pointer will assume its default design.

This means features that work with the custom cursor will not be as effective when using the default cursor, which in turn affects user experience. This is something to heavily consider.

Speed

Your site’s loading speed is an important factor if you want to rank well on Google and attract more visitors. Minor site upgrades such as a custom cursor will not typically affect your site’s speed.

18 Examples of Creative Custom Cursors

And now, the part you’ve been waiting for: on to the list of creative and eye-catching custom cursors worthy of your consideration.

1. Custom Cursor by Simon Busborg

See the Pen
custom cursor by Simon Busborg (@simonbusborg)
on CodePen.light

2. Custom Cursor Navigation Effect by Mark Mead

See the Pen
Custom Cursor Navigation Effect by Mark Mead (@markmead)
on CodePen.light

3. Custom Cursor Inverting Color by Uwe Chardon

See the Pen
custom cursor inverting color by Uwe Chardon (@uchardon)
on CodePen.light

4. Custom Cursor by Ivan Di Stasio

See the Pen
Custom cursor by Ivan Di Stasio (@IvanDiStasio)
on CodePen.light

5. Custom Cursor With Mixed-Blend-Mode by Victor Hripko

See the Pen
Custom cursor with mix-blend-mode by Victor Hripko (@victorhripko)
on CodePen.light

6. Custom Cursor Effect by Ivan Grozdic

See the Pen
Custom Cursor Effect by Ivan Grozdic (@ig_design)
on CodePen.light

7. Custom Cursor by Tim Jackleus

See the Pen
Custom cursor by Tim Jackleus (@timjackleus)
on CodePen.light

8. Custom Cursor With CSS Variables by Tobias Reich

See the Pen
Custom cursor with CSS variables by Tobias Reich (@electerious)
on CodePen.light

9. Circle Cursors by Chris Heuberger

See the Pen
Circle Cursors by Chris Heuberger (@ChrisBup)
on CodePen.light

10. Magnetic Hover Interaction by Sikriti Dakua

See the Pen
Magnetic Hover Interaction by Sikriti Dakua (@dev_loop)
on CodePen.light

11. Interactive Custom Cursor by hb nguyen

See the Pen
Interactive Custom Cursor by hb nguyen (@hbthen3rd)
on CodePen.light

12. Custom Cursor With GSAP TweenMax and CSS by Karlo Videk

See the Pen
Custom cursor with GSAP TweenMax and CSS by Karlo Videk (@karlovidek)
on CodePen.light

13. Custom Cursor- Circle Follows The Mouse Pointer by Cojea Gabriel

See the Pen
Custom Cursor – Circle Follows The Mouse Pointer by Cojea Gabriel (@gabrielcojea)
on CodePen.light

14. Creating Custom Cursors by designcourse

See the Pen
Creating Custom Cursors by designcourse (@designcourse)
on CodePen.light

15. Circle Cursor With Blend Mode by Clement Girault

See the Pen
Circle cursor with blend mode by Clement Girault (@clementGir)
on CodePen.light

16. Custom Dot Cursor by Kyle Brumm

See the Pen
Custom Dot Cursor by Kyle Brumm (@kjbrum)
on CodePen.light

17. Custom Cursor Using Data-Uri by Sten Hougaard

See the Pen
Custom cursors using data-uri by Sten Hougaard (@netsi1964)
on CodePen.light

18. Mutant Cursor by Rafael Gonzalez

See the Pen
Mutant Cursor by Rafael González (@rgg)
on CodePen.light

Conclusion

A unique custom cursor is a great way to make sure that users don’t — if you’ll pardon the pun — lose the point. Websites that use creative custom cursors that fit their aesthetic or theme create a more branded look and that is synonymous with increased traffic.

If you’re looking for the best custom cursor for your website, we hope this article will help to that end. Good luck to you!

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10 Creative Hamburger Menus + Tips & Tricks

When browsing through websites, you’ve most likely come across three horizontal lines on the top right corner of the webpage. While not present on every site, these lines are commonly referred to as “hamburger menus” by UI designers.

What is a Hamburger Menu?

A hamburger menu is a navigation tool that opens up to a side menu and is used for both mobile apps and websites. The role of these navigation bars is to help you easily maneuver anywhere on a website in a user-friendly manner and without having to scroll up to hunt for navigation.

Hamburger menus were first introduced more than three decades ago by a man named Norm Cox. He made the burger icon for Xerox Star, which was the world’s first graphical user interface. The purpose of the triple bar icon was to let users know that the button contained a list of items. However, despite it being around for quite some time, it wasn’t widely used until 2009 and has gotten a lot of criticism over the years.

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Pros and Cons of Hamburger Menus

Before we get into the examples, let’s first explore the pros and cons of using hamburger menus.

Pros

  • It provides quick secondary access: Users can quickly access desired pages without having to scroll through pages.
  • Recognized by many users worldwide: The sign is common and can be found everywhere from mobile games to web pages to apps.
  • Makes the webpage appear organized: The hamburger menu helps with maintaining focus on the important web features you’d like users to see. It also keeps the web page clean.

Cons

  • Lower engagement: When users can’t easily access a web page, they’re less likely to click on it.
  • Makes pages seem less important: Because all the important information is accessed on the first page it’s less likely for users to navigate through the menu.
  • Hard to reach: Hamburger menus can be hard to reach or press in some mobile designs.

Tips for Making a Good Hamburger Menu

Here are a few quick tips for ensuring your hamburger menu is identifiable and effective:

1. Use Animation

A hamburger menu without an animation that turns the three horizontal lines into another shape is rarely seen. Put it to good use.

2. Use a Custom Icon

It’s important that the menu remains recognizable to ensure a great user experience. Using a custom icon helps many users identify it.

3. Responsiveness

Mobile users prefer the vertical sliding or the horizontal navigation bar while computer users prefer a more detailed menu with tabs of content, rows, and vertical links. Designing your hamburger menus to be responsive will ensure users are presented with the ideal menu option regardless of the device they’re using.

10 Worthy Examples of Hamburger Menus

What follows are 10 high-quality options of hamburger menus currently available on Codepen to choose from. Why start from scratch when you don’t have to?

Menu Toggle by Tamino Martinius

See the Pen
🍔 <-> ❌ (version 1) by Tamino Martinius (@Zaku)
on CodePen.light

Drawn Hamburger Transition by Jesse Couch

See the Pen
Drawn Hamburger Transition by Jesse Couch (@designcouch)
on CodePen.light

Hamburger Menu with Cheese by Michael Smart

See the Pen
Hamburger Menu (with cheese) by Michael Smart (@mikedevelops)
on CodePen.light

Atomic Menu by Alex Coven

See the Pen
Atomic Hamburger Menu CSS by Alex Coven (@alcoven)
on CodePen.light

Pure CSS Fullscreen Navigation Menu by Brenden Palmer

See the Pen
Pure CSS Fullscreen Navigation Menu by Brenden Palmer (@brenden)
on CodePen.light

Animated Hamburger by Steven Fabre

See the Pen
Hamburger Animated Icon by Steven Fabre (@stevenfabre)
on CodePen.light

Open Close by Vineeth TR

See the Pen
Open Close by Vineeth.TR (@vineethtrv)
on CodePen.light

Morphing Hamburger by Sergio

See the Pen
Hamburger icon with Morphing Menu by Sergio Andrade (@sergioandrade)
on CodePen.light

Animated Hamburger Menu by Mathew Ladner

See the Pen
Animated Hamburger Menu by Matthew Ladner (@netfuel)
on CodePen.light

CSS3 Only Hamburger by David Krajewski

See the Pen
Hamburger Icon CSS3 ONLY Animation by Dawid Krajewski (@DawidKrajewski)
on CodePen.light

Hamburger Menu Alternatives to Consider

If hamburger menus aren’t speaking to you, there are some alternative options worth taking a look at.

1. Scrollable Navigation

This type of navigation tool is normally used for longer lists. Making the list scrollable allows users to easily move side-to-side. For example, it’s mostly used for news websites when users are expected to scroll through news categories, and also works well for online stores and music apps.

2. Tab Bar

Tab bars are considered to be the simplest navigation option with the main navigation options easily visible. For example, if you have an app that has a limited number of web pages/features then this is definitely the way to go.

Some things to consider with this navigation include:

  • The home page has to be in the first tab and the rest should follow according to the level of importance.
  • The tab bar allows no more than five navigation options.
  • It’s important for at least one of the options to be highlighted and active.
  • Use icons with labels unless for actions that are common and easily recognizable.

3. More Option Tab Bar

The ‘more’ option tab bar is most suitable if you have more than five top-level destinations.

The extra option can work well as a dropdown menu. To improve navigation you’ll need to correctly prioritize the options for users to have at least four to five on the screen at all times.

4. The Progressively Collapsing Menu

This type of menu fits on the whole screen and shows as much of the navigation as possible. Everything else is put under the “More” button. This provides a better user experience than the tab bar design.

5. Full Screen Navigation

The full screen navigation solution takes up the whole homepage for navigation purposes. Users then swipe to access additional menu options as they scroll up or down.

This type of navigation helps designers organize huge amounts of information without overwhelming the user.

Conclusion

When picking out a hamburger menu, make sure you pick one that’s most suitable for your website or app. Making navigation within an app seamless and user-friendly will encourage users to engage with it more than once and even attract new users. Just make sure you test the speed and efficiency before implementing. But then you should be good to set your visitors browsing. Good luck!

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Pagination: 10 Clever & Unique Examples

Whether it’s a list of blog posts, a photo or video gallery, an image slider, or anything else on a website that has multiple pages, they all have something in common: pagination, or a way to navigate from page to page. While many websites use relatively common layouts and styles for page navigation, this is an area where designers and developers can add some creativity to enhance the user experience. In this post we have compiled 10 CodePen examples of creative page navigation for your inspiration. We hope these will inspire you to try out some new tricks of your own.

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Responsive Flexbox Pagination

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Responsive Flexbox Pagination by William H. (@iamjustaman)
on CodePen.0

Swiper

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Swiper custom pagination by Pavel Zakharoff (@ncer)
on CodePen.0

Pacman

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Pacman pagination by Mikael Ainalem (@ainalem)
on CodePen.0

Yeti Hand

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Yeti Hand by Darin (@dsenneff)
on CodePen.0

Gooey

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Gooey by Lucas Bebber (@lbebber)
on CodePen.0

Pure CSS3 Responsive Pagination

See the Pen
Pure CSS3 Responsive Pagination by Béla Varga (@netzzwerg)
on CodePen.0

Pagination Buttons

See the Pen
Pagination Buttons by Himalaya Singh (@himalayasingh)
on CodePen.0

AngularJS – Example with logic like Google

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AngularJS – Example with logic like Google by Jason Watmore (@cornflourblue)
on CodePen.0

Flexing arrows

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Flexing arrows by Hakim El Hattab (@hakimel)
on CodePen.0

Infinite

See the Pen
Infinite by Mariusz Dabrowski (@MarioD)
on CodePen.0

 

How Will You Spice Up Your Pagination?

Did these examples of page navigation give you some ideas? Did they spark your creativity and inspire you to try something different in your next project? Sure, you can stick with the basic, plain old page numbers, but why not kick it up a notch? Let us know if you try something new next time, and be sure to check out some of our other collections of code snippets while you’re at it.

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Free Vector Tech Illustrations You Can Download, Edit, & Use

Today we are sharing five free vector tech illustrations that you can download and use in your commercial or personal projects without any limitations. Included in the download is an Adobe Illustrator file that you can use to customize colors, add your own elements, or edit in any other way you desire. High resolution exported JPG files are also included.

These vector tech illustrations were created specifically for 1stWebDesigner readers and cannot be found anywhere else, so you can use them knowing that you will be among a select number of designers who have access to them. We always enjoy giving something back to all of our loyal followers and readers, so we created these free vector tech illustrations just for you!

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Envato Elements - Procreate Brushes

Smartwatch

Free Vector Tech Illustrations - Smartwatch

First in our collection of free vector tech illustrations is a pair of hands using a messaging app on a smartwatch. You’ll notice the recurring theme throughout, with the background reflecting what is on the screen in the foreground.

Cell Phone

Free Vector Tech Illustrations - Cell Phone

Next is a familiar scene – “liking” something on an app on a mobile phone. Has anyone ever not done this?

Tablet

Free Vector Tech Illustrations - Tablet

Who hasn’t used a tablet to submit a thumbs up? Here’s a colorful representation of this oft-used action.

 

Laptop

Free Vector Tech Illustrations - Laptop

In this illustration, the user is checking statistics of some type on a laptop. You could use this to represent almost any type of stat-checking setting.

 

Desktop Computer

Free Vector Tech Illustrations - Desktop Computer

Our fifth and final illustration depicts a pie chart being viewed on a desktop computer.

Ready To Download & Use These 5 Free Vector Tech Illustrations?

Go for it! We hope you have fun with and enjoy utilizing these illustrations in your projects. Keep following 1stWebDesigner so you don’t miss out on future freebies, along with everything else we have to offer.

Download Illustrations

 

 

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10+ Favorite Figma Plugins

Figma is a super effective interface design app that is browser-based and offers a wide range of features to explore. It’s useful for a number of different situations but really shines for use in any sort of collaborative design project setting. With Figma, you can manage every aspect of a project from start to finish by utilizing its included vector tools. With these tools, you can create illustrations, prototypes, code, and more. And though Figma comes “pre-stocked” with many features, there are tons of Figma plugins you can use to add on even more features and functionality options.

Here, we’ll explore over 10 of our favorite Figma plugin finds so you can approach your next project with greater ease.

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Master

The Master Figma plugin is a fantastic option for those looking to create a component out of a set of objects. You can add any number of objects you want, too.

Figma Plugins - Master

Avatars

Avatars is a fun addition. It works by allowing you to add random user avatars to your designs quickly and easily. The avatars are all aggregated from various sources, so you’ll have plenty of variety in the results as well.

Figma Plugins - Avatars

Random Name Generator

Another great option is the Random Name Generator plugin. This one allows you to select layers and then run the plugin to populate them with names that have been randomly generated. You can select from first name, last name, full name, and gender options as well.

Figma Plugins - Random Name Generator

Unsplash

Unsplash is another great Figma plugin. As its name would suggest, it allows you to insert images directly from Unsplash, the stock photo website, without having to leave Figma to do so.

Figma Plugins - Unsplash

Google Sheets Sync

Though not officially associated with Google, this Figma plugin allows you to sync information and content from Google Sheets directly into your Figma projects.

Figma Plugins - Google Sheets Sync

Content Reel

You might also want to check out Content Reel, which makes it super easy to add content to any layout you create. With it, you can pull text strings, icons, and avatars straight into your designs.

Figma Plugins - Content Reel

Design Lint

Design Lint is another plugin option. This one allows you to find and fix errors in designs quickly. It works by identifying missing styles with just a single click. It applies to all layers, too.

Design Lint

Charts

Charts is another Figma plugin worth checking out. It makes it easy to create charts that you can add to your Figma files. You can select from many different chart styles, including area, pie, line, scatter, bar, and doughnut.

Charts

Color Blind

Color Blind is still another plugin worth taking a look at. This one is ideal for testing your designs for accessibility. With a click, you can view any design you create as those with eight different types of color vision deficiencies would view them. This makes it much easier to identify problems and correct them.

Color Blind

SPELLL

SPELLL is a Figma plugin that adds spell checking capabilities to this tool. It checks your file in real-time and identifies spelling errors readily.

SPELLL

SmoothShadow

SmoothShadow is super simple but that’s what makes it so great. With it, you can add shadows to elements within your files with just a few clicks. You can tweak the settings for greater curves, blur, offset, and more.

SmoothShadow

Similayer

Last on our list is the Similayer plugin. This one wins with the built-in “Select all with…” command by allowing you to select similar layers within an expanded range of properties like text styles, fill color, and more.

Similayer

Use These Figma Plugins and Improve Your Workflow

Before you work on your next Figma project, it might be a good idea to check out some of the plugins available to see if any might simplify your workflow. That’s the intention of this list, anyway. Hopefully at least one of these Figma plugins suits your needs and will help to improve your projects in the future. Best of luck!

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Free Vector Illustrations For You To Download, Edit & Use

We have some cool, 100% absolutely FREE vector illustrations to offer you that you can download, edit, and use any way you’d like in your personal or commercial projects without any limitations! These Adobe Illustrator files were created specifically for 1stWebDesigner readers and cannot be found anywhere else, so you can use them confident in the knowledge that you will be among a select number of designers who have access to them. We wanted to give something back to all of our loyal followers and readers, so we created these free vector illustrations just for you!

If you have skills in Adobe Illustrator, you can change the colors, remove elements, or add to the image any way you’d like. Or, if not, you can just use them as is. A high-resolution PNG and SVG of each file is included in the download. You can also grab your own copy of Adobe Illustrator here, if you don’t already own it.

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Woman In Airport On Cellphone

woman in airport on cellphone - free vector illustrations

First up in our collection of free vector illustrations is a woman sitting in an airport talking on her cellphone. This could be used in a multitude of ways. For instance, you could easily change the airport setting by removing the airplane and suitcase.

Cat and Character With Plant On The Stairs

cat and person on stairs - free vector illustrations

Next up is a side-smiling character with a cat wandering down the stairs. Again, you could do any number of things to modify this illustration, such as moving the person the top of the stairs so that it looks like the cat is running away from them.

Windowsill Woman With A Tablet In Winter

winter windowsill woman - free vector illustrations

Our final offering is a woman sitting on a window seat with a tablet while snowflakes fall outside. Take this serene setting and adjust it to fit your needs in books, flyers, web sites – however you see fit!

Download Your Free Vector Illustrations Now!

We hope you have fun with and enjoy utilizing these illustrations in your projects. Keep following 1stWebDesigner so you don’t miss out on future freebies, along with everything else we have to offer.

DOWNLOAD ILLUSTRATIONS

 

 

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10 Online Courses To Become A Better Web Designer

Whether you’re first entering the world of web design or own a well-established agency, one thing applies to all: you can always learn more. That’s what makes online courses so fabulous. You can learn at your own pace and pick and choose the topics you want to delve deeper into.

Instead of having to hunt around for great web design courses to take, we’ve put together a list of some of our favorite online courses. Each of the following will help you to become a more solid web designer, expand your skill set, and/or improve your business direction.

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UX & Web Design Master Course: Strategy, Design, Development

UX & Web Design Master Course: Strategy, Design, Development - online courses

Become a real expert in web design by taking this master course on Udemy. Instructor Joe Natoli walks you through UX principles for creating better web designs that work for visitors and customers.

Ultimate Web Designer & Developer Course: Build 23 Projects!

Ultimate Web Designer & Developer Course: Build 23 Projects! - online courses

Here’s another great course on Udemy. The instructor this time is Brad Hussey and he breaks down all the details of what it takes to become a full-stack developer. This covers it all from front-end design to back-end programming.

Web Design for Beginners: Real World Coding in HTML & CSS

Web Design for Beginners: Real World Coding in HTML & CSS - online courses

If you’re new to the world of web design, you’ll greatly benefit from this web design for beginners course by Brad Schiff. It shows you how to create HTML5, CSS3, and responsive design in real-world examples.

Grow Your Web Design Skills

Grow Your Web Design Skills - online courses

This fantastic online course on Pluralsight is an obvious choice for expanding your web design skills.

User Experience for Web Design

User Experience for Web Design - online courses

Another course you might want to consider is this breakdown of user experience in web design put together by Chris Nodder. It’s just under two hours long and aimed at beginners, but even pros could use a refresher now and then.

Introduction to Web Design and Development

Introduction to Web Design and Development - online courses

Here’s another beginner-level course, this time a full intro to web design and development. It consists of about three and a half hours of instruction that offer in-depth exploration of topics you need to know to advance your skills.

Web Design: Efficient Workflow

Web Design: Efficient Workflow

For creating a better workflow for running a web design agency or business, this mini-course is a sure bet.

Creating a Responsive Web Design: Advanced Techniques

Creating a Responsive Web Design: Advanced Techniques

Responsive design is a must nowadays. Learn more than just the basics here in this just-over-an-hour long advanced course.

Careers in Web Design and Development

Careers in Web Design and Development

If you’re interested in the business side of things, you won’t want to miss this course all about careers in web design and development.

Treehouse: Front End Web Development

Treehouse: Front End Web Development

The last course on this list is one from Treehouse. It focuses exclusively on front-end web development and covers HTML, CSS, Javascript, and more.

Expand Your Web Design Education

Hopefully you now have the tools at your disposal to further your web design education. Completing the above ten online courses will further your skills and help you take the next step in your career. Be sure to also check out our extensive library of tutorials to add to your toolbox. Best of luck in the effort!

Cover photo courtesy of ShotStash

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Inspiring Examples of Designer Workspaces

Designer workspaces are an ever-popular source of inspiration. Creatives often enjoy looking at the computer and equipment a designer uses, their often-minimalist desk and furniture, or even the prints or art they have on their wall.

There’s plenty to be inspired by and draw from when putting together or rearranging your own workspace setup.

In this article, we’re going to round up a selection of the most beautiful and inspiring designer workspaces from the past year.

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Workspace

designer workspace

Beautifully spacious, this minimalist workspace combines the simplicity of Apple products and white furniture, with some creative chairs and a bright red bean bag.

My Workstation

designer workspace

Eddie’s workspace shows off his wonderfully customized MacBook lid, covered with some beautiful stickers. He uses a Wacom tablet and curved widescreen monitor.

My Workplace!

designer workspace

A little messy, but nonetheless inspiring, Svetlana’s workspace is filled with cards, prints, coloring pens and pen tablets. The iPad Pro is also used for illustration.

Workstation

designer workspace Workstation

This futuristic example is beautifully themed with purple throughout. The lighting is atmospheric and reminiscent of a gamer setup.

Workspace 2017

designer workspace 2017

This workspace includes a beautiful colorful print, action figures, and a limited PS4 games console. It’s simple but playful and offers a balance between minimalist and maximalist.

Workstation

designer workspace

Very minimal in its setup, this workspace uses an abundance of white, with a beautifully curved seat and fancy lighting, walls and an unorthodox pencil pot.

Workspace

designer workspace

Similarly minimalist, this setup uses a glossy white desk with a signed photo, simple clock, and small cactus plant.

Home Workspace Setup

designer workspace

Using a wall-mounted monitor, this setup is extremely colorful against the teal wall behind. The desk looks high quality and has been carefully themed with lighting and items like the clock and lamp.