WDI

This One is Definitely a Favorite

Have I said before how much I enjoy earth tones? Ha…just kidding, of course I’ve said it once, or twice…maybe three times. Well, it’s true.

The Bright Creative website is wonderful. I look at it and I just say, “ahh…that’s so nice.” Warm color combinations, smooth transitions, classy background textures all make it pleasing to my eyes. There isn’t anything harsh or abrupt about the design anywhere. Everything is subtle and smooth. Thank you Dave Shea for making such a great looking website. I appreciate it!

Popularity: 50%

Posted in Artsy, Colors, Design, Web Designers | No Comments »

40 Lighting Effects Photoshop Tutorials

Vandelay Design posted this collection of 40 Photoshop Tutorials for Lighting and Abstract Effects that I found awesome and am filing it here on WDI for later use.

I hope you can use it too and remember to come back here to find it.

Popularity: 50%

Posted in Images, Photoshop, Tutorials, effects | 1 Comment »

Attention Grabbing Color Combinations

As I’ve said in previous posts, I like earthy colors. Browns, greens, subtle blues are great in my opinion. However, those colors aren’t always the best choices for grabbing people’s attention on the Internet. Bright colors done correctly are the best choices. The key words in that last sentence are “done correctly.” Shocking, harsh, pupil-killing methods are not what I’m referring to here when I say “done correctly.” You can use bright colors in a way that doesn’t melt the viewer’s retinas.

A good example is Fold-Your-Shirt.com. I wanted to feature this site for two reasons:

1. Its “done correctly” usage of bright colors.

2. Has anyone tried to fold their shirt this way?!?! I want to know! I haven’t tried it yet. I know that when I start trying this, I won’t stop until I’m successful. So, I want to know if anyone else has succeeded first!

Their use of the two different colors of green isn’t overwhelming. It’s attention grabbing, yes. But, it isn’t overdone. Again, this is coming from a guy who likes earth tones, so for me to say they used bright colors well truly is a compliment (in my humble opinion).

Any thoughts on how to properly use bright colors in a website design? Do you have any examples of someone using bright colors in a very bad way? Send the links to us! We’d like to check them out (as long as I’m wearing my polarized Ray Bans!).

Popularity: 46%

Posted in Colors | 1 Comment »

Comcast’s 10 Million Pixel Display

Last month Comcast opened up the doors of their new skyscraper in downtown Philadelphia to the public. In just one month’s time, their new video wall has become a major tourist attraction for the city. The 10 million pixel display covers over 2,100 square feet of wall space (83.3ft x 25.4ft) using four-millimeter LED lights. The images and video played on this super screen have a resolution that is five times  greater than that of HDTV. Its clarity is 30% greater than IMAX screens too. Comcast ended up paying Barco $22 million for the wall display and accompanying automated control room, which handles about 27,000 gigabytes of information.

For some great pictures of this wall and some video clips of it in action, check out DVICE.com’s write up on Comcast’s newest toy.

You can also check out Barco’s website for more information about the system too (they are the ones who built it for Comcast).

Popularity: 44%

Posted in Amazing Stuff | No Comments »

Apple iPhone G3 Reviews, Is It Worth It?

So, the new iPhone G3. Is this one worth the money? Many Apple fans are asking this question and want to know if this new, G3 version/upgrade is going to run circles around the original iPhone.

Here are the reviews from Wall Street Journal, New York Times and USA Today.

Walt Mossberg, of Wall Street Journal, have been testing and using the new iPhone for a few weeks and wrote a detailed review that you can read here.

“If you’ve been waiting to buy an iPhone until it dropped in price, or ran on faster cell networks, you might want to take the plunge, if you can live with the higher service costs and the weaker battery life. The same goes for those with existing iPhones who love the device but crave faster cellular data speeds. But if you already own an iPhone, and can usually use Wi-Fi for data, you probably should hold off and get the free software upgrade before deciding whether it’s worth getting the new hardware.” Read more.

David Pogue, of New York Times, writes a nice detailed review of the phone, the applications and the services. Does not look like he had one in his posession but did a bunch of research on it. Read his review here.

“So the iPhone 3G is a nice upgrade. It more than keeps pace with advancing technology, and new buyers will generally be delighted….But it’s not so much better that it turns all those original iPhones into has-beens. Indeed, the really big deal is the iPhone 2.0 software and the App Store, neither of which requires buying a new iPhone. That twist may come as a refreshing surprise to planned-obsolescence conspiracy theorists — and everyone who stood in line last year.” Read more.

Edward C. Baig, of USA Today, has been testing and using the G3 over two weeks and did a nice detailed review. It does not look like he is too impressed with this version of the phone, just like he was of the original one, he wrote “iPhone isn’t perfect, or even the most ideal smartphone for every user.” Read his review here.

“Extra, extra: iPhone 3G: The Sequel, is worth the wait….It’s cheaper, faster and a lot friendlier for business. Apple’s blockbuster smartphone already had nifty features such as visual voicemail, a splendid built-in video iPod and the best mobile Web browser I’ve ever used. With GPS newly added to the mix, this handheld marvel has no equal among consumer-oriented smartphones.” Read more.

So I don’t know, seems with the price on the phone going down to $199 this Friday, maybe it is worth trying the all amazing iPhone, but personally, I will just stick with my Sony Walkman phone for a while.

Popularity: 100%

Posted in Gadgets, Reviews | No Comments »

Tutorial on Creating a Lightning effect in Photoshop CS3

This is a simple way of creating a Lightning effect in Photoshop CS3. It could also easily be done in any version of Photoshop.

After I got done editing and publishing this video I desided to also create a Photoshop Action to make the lightning effect by just playing the Action. So here you can download the Photoshop CS3 Lightning Effect Action:

Download: Photoshop CS3 Lightning Effect Action

To use this Action, with Photoshop closed, download and unZIP the file.

Move the unZIPPED file to the following folder: 
C:\Documents and Settings\YOUR_USER_NAME\Application Data\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CS3\Presets\Actions\*

Start Photoshop and open a new file.

Open your Actions pallet and click lightning action folder and click the lightning action, like you see in the picture below.

When ready, click the play button (looks like a triangle on it’s side) at the bottom of the pallet.

This will create a lightning bolt. You can apply additional effects that you saw in the video to this to layer more lightning bolts on top or to colorize it.

Enjoy!

Popularity: 30%

Posted in Graphic Design, Photoshop, Photoshop Actions, Tutorials | No Comments »

Get Listed in WDI’s New Outsourcing Directory

Have you noticed the fancy little graphic at the top of our site announcing our new directory? Web Design Ideas is pleased to offer our Outsourcing Directory to graphic designers, writers, programmers, advertising/marketing specialists, and web designers. 

Over time, we want to create a fantastic directory that is full of people and companies who excel in their particular field. We are hoping that this directory will become a great resource to all of us. List your services here with us! There are already some fantastic listings in our directory right now. Feel free to check them all out.

Why list your company on our site? Here are several great reasons:

• Right now it’s free. Free is a good price for advertising. As the popularity of our site and this directory continues to grow, we will be creating a fee system to place ads in the directory. Get it now and you’ll never be charged for your listing!

• Outsourcing various aspects of a project just makes sense these days. It’s the best way to get a project done with the help of highly skilled people who can increase your effectiveness while at the same time giving your customer the best results for their investment. We highlighted this topic in some detail with our article discussing the need for web designers to use good, quality writers to create the necessary content for them. Check out the article. http://www.wbdesignideas.com/2008/03/07/finding-a-great-writer-for-your-content/

• It just makes sense to take us up on an offer to provide a great, high quality link to promote your own website and services. Rest assured, we will not bombard you will senseless emails or pass/sell your contact information on to spammers. We simply want to create a great resource with our directory.

So, if you are interested in taking advantage of our offer, please click here to apply!

Popularity: 18%

Posted in Developers, Freelancing, Marketing, Web Designers | 2 Comments »

Another Great Compilation of FREE Icons

Smashing Magazine has put together another great set of resources for some excellent FREE icons. There are some really good ones in this set. My favorites? The Shield Icon Set by basstar. Great colors and excellent shield design! What are your favorites?

Popularity: 12%

Posted in Icons | No Comments »

Clever and Creative “Money” Pictures

This collections of images that I found at Toxel.com isn’t completely related to the realm of web design or logo design. However, it is clever and creative, which are two great qualities that all great designers desire to constantly refine in their own right. So, enjoy these funny money pictures!

Popularity: 12%

Posted in Design, Off Topic | No Comments »

Have You Heard About This? Running Car On Water?

Have you heard about
running your car on water?
Click here to read the reviews of 3 systems.

This is off the web design subject but I just wanted to share this.

Eleven water fuel kits got reviewed and only 3 made the cut. They save fuel, fast and easy to setup and not too costly (well under $100).

Check it out. Pretty interresting stuff.

Source: http://www.mirru.com/run-car-on-water/

Popularity: 10%

Posted in Off Topic | No Comments »