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Learn the fundamental principles of design, including color theory, visual hierarchy, and more. Then use them to create effective and beautiful web designs.

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Design Theory

13 Podcasts All Web Designers Should Subscribe To

Tutorial • Beginner

Podcasts can be an engaging way of learning new techniques or staying up to date with what other designers have to say. Today, we'll look at a bunch of...

Connor Turnbull • 14 Sep 2011
Design Theory

Designing for a Responsive Web

Tutorial • Beginner

The web as we know it is changing. In the past, designers and developers only had to concern themselves with one medium: the computer screen. In recent...

Max Luzuriaga • 9 Aug 2011
Design Theory

Setting Web Type to a Baseline Grid

Tutorial • Beginner

Web design is essentially just an evolution of the principles and theories created during the evolution of print. The design industry brought a lot of...

Connor Turnbull • 28 Jul 2011
Design Theory

Designing For, and As, a Color-Blind Person

Tutorial • Beginner

Color blindness is a mild disability through which the affected experience a decreased ability to distinguish colors from others. This can be a real drawback...

Connor Turnbull • 22 Jul 2011
Design Theory

Using White Space (or Negative Space) in Your Designs

Tutorial • Beginner

Space is a fundamental parameter in web design, but also one of the most underrated. If we grasp control of white space, we can control a subtle, but...

Connor Turnbull • 19 Jul 2011
Design Theory

Unity in Web Design

Tutorial • Beginner

Today we're going to take a look at a design principle that plays a major role in the success of a web design: Unity. As with many designed elements in the...

Connor Turnbull • 14 Jul 2011
Design Theory

The Web Designer’s Theory of Relativity

Tutorial • Beginner

Relativism is the concept that points of view have no absolute truth or validity. For web designers, this has monumental implications. What is beautiful?...

Ahmed Hussam • 6 Jun 2011
Design Theory

Analyzing Groupon's Design: Why So Many Buy In

Tutorial • Beginner

Sites like Groupon and LivingSocial have gained some serious traction in recent times with some raising nearly a billion US dollars in a single investment...

Connor Turnbull • 28 Apr 2011
Design Theory

Ordering Disorder: Grid Principles for Web Design

Tutorial • Beginner

Today I've got a special treat for all of you grid lovers out there! Khoi Vinh (one of the leading authorities on typographic grid systems in web design) and...

Brandon Jones • 4 Apr 2011
Design Theory

Concept and Inspiration: Design Theory for Web Designers

Tutorial • Beginner

Developing a meaningful concept is a crucial step in any design project... but it's a skill that few people really take the time to understand and...

Ahmed Hussam • 8 Feb 2011
Design Theory

Designing for the New Fold: Web Design Post Monitorism

Tutorial • Beginner

Designing for the 'fold' has long been a priority for many Web Designers, but with so many devices capable of displaying your website, how on earth do you...

Shaun Cronin • 25 Jan 2011
Design Theory

Errors: Bad Decisions or Bad Design?

Tutorial • Beginner

Let’s face it: errors happen all the time. Most errors are caused by what we call human error and they seem unavoidable, but I’m going to make the argument...

Brandon Jones • 20 Jan 2011