The start of a new business venture is an exciting and busy time, as well as a labor of love. All successful businesses begin as just an idea, but it takes the right mix of dedication and execution to bring them into the world. If you have an idea for a new business, following these 5 steps will help bring it to life.
1. Put the Concept on Paper Some might call this creating a “business plan” but that term can feel a bit off putting. I prefer to think of it as a big note taking session where you’ll list off all of your ideas for your new business and how you potentially see them coming to life. Seeing your idea spelled out on paper can give you a deeper sense of whether the timing is right or not, and if you are truly willing to put in the hard work required. Be sure to list off all the ideas you have, including the roles everyone involved will play, and who will be responsible for what. When we started Wholesome Chow, my business partner and I never wrote a business plan. We thought we knew what we wanted to offer, but after trial and error our business went on a completely new path then the one we had originally started on. This cost us a lot of time and wasted resources (buying a ton of equipment that we never ended up using - yikes!). If we had really thought through our business before investing so much we would have saved ourselves quite the hassle. 2. Research the Market Market research is the most important step when starting a business. How will you know what your potential customers will want or need if you don't get out there and start asking? If your business has a physical location or storefront, scope out the potential competition, customers, and traffic in the area. If your business is solely online, research the same basics through Google. Be sure to ask your friends, family, and acquaintances if they would use your service or product. Knowing why they would or would not, and how they would make any modifications, will help to guide you. If you research your competition and find there are many other businesses offering what you want to offer, consider modifying your plan to specialize in something more specific to your area of expertise. 3. Invest More Time, Not Money Money is a valuable resource when starting a business. Be sure to make purchases wisely and with thorough research before you pull out your wallet. It’s best to tap into all of your resources which do not require you to spend money before investing actual funds into your business idea. Once your concept has legs, and you feel confident in your idea, then invest finances into equipment, etc. Throwing money at a business does not guarantee success. Time, energy, and research are more sustainable resources for a long lasting and lucrative business. 4. Start with a Small Test Market Test your idea in a small market, preferably in your local area. This will help you work out any kinks before you commit to bigger endeavors. If your test market falters, consider modifying your plan and thinking outside the box to see where you could improve. Before expanding to other regions, it’s best to have a secure presence in a smaller market. Wholesome Chow started off by selling gourmet, organic food at several of our local farmer’s markets. It was at these markets where we noticed our Organic Gluten Free & Vegan Chocolate Cake was a big hit. Customers came weekly to grab a slice and it was here that we realized there was a big need for gluten free products, especially baked goods and baking mixes. Our entire baking mix line was created because of this accidental market research, which cost us nothing! 5. Work as Often as Possible The best time to start a business is when you are ready to fully commit to it. You are the only person who can make your business dreams come true -- no one will do it for you. Get out there and make it happen! Tell the world about your business, brand yourself and make your business one of your top priorities. The first few years after starting Wholesome Chow, my partner and I worked about 8-12 hours almost every single day to get our brand off the ground. This included website development, product research, sales calls, answering emails, finding new customers, talking to store managers, mixing and packaging products, and much, much more. Had we not put in this crucial time and energy, Wholesome Chow would not be as successful as it is today.
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If we are starting to go crazy in typography style, then let’s continue with typographic and smart logo designs, shall we? Here you’ll find 10 beautiful logos created by talented designers. This showcase just proves the point how much can one/two words, icons tell using correctly white, negative, positive spacing, colors, accents creating interesting associations.
Explore and get creative as I did! 1. The Codedesign Much like a photograph, architectural designs record details of specific moments in time. But unlike an photograph, physical structures go on to have a life of their own, becoming a central and functional part of countless people's lives for hundreds, if not thousands of years after they were built. Here we have picked 20 of the most famous building designs from around the world which you can find inspiration simply by visiting them and discovering their historical background. 01. One World Trade Center, New York The latest addition to New York's skyline, the One World Trade Center, is the tallest skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere. Construction began in April 2006 and the final component of the building's spire installed five years later in 2013, making it the fourth tallest skyscraper in the world. The One World Trade Center's design is no coincidence, standing at a symbolic height of 1,776 feet (541m) in a direct nod to the year of the US Declaration of Independence. Designed by David M Childs of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the 104-story glass tower raises from a cube base before transforming from the 20th floor into eight sleek isoceles triangles. Stood adjacent to the city's beautiful 9/11 memorial, the One World Trade Center is a shining beacon for the city. 02. St Paul's Cathedral, London London's most iconic building St Paul's Cathedral was designed by English architect Sir Christopher Wren. Sitting at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, its famous dome is one of the world's largest, measuring nearly 112 metres high. The original church on the site was founded in the year 604AD. Work on the present English Baroque church began in the 17th Century by Christopher Wren as part of a major rebuilding program after the Great Fire of London. Wren started working on St Paul's in 1668, his designs for the cathedral taking a decade to complete and the actual construction taking a further 40 years. St Paul's has played an integral part of London life ever since - as a domineering element in the city's skyline, as a centre for tourism and religious worship, and most recently as a focal point for anticapitalist protests. 03. Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur Standing at 170 metres above ground, the Petronas Towers are twin skyscrapers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The buildings, which held the titled of tallest in the world between 1998-2004, are an iconic landmark of the capital city. The distinctive postmodern style was created by architectsCesar Pelli and Achmad Murdijat, engineer Deejay Cerico and designer Dominic Saibo under the consultancy of JC Guinto. 04. The White House, Washington Irish architect James Hoban was the man behind the design of the White House. In 1792 Hoban submitted a plan for the presidential mansion and subsequently got the commission to build the White House. Constructed began in 1793 through to completion in 1801. The mansion, which has been home to every US leader since the country's second president John Adams, is made from white-painted Aquia sandstone. 05. Leaning Tower of Pisa The Leaning Tower of Pisa is one of the most remarkable architectural structures in Europe. Most famous for its tilt, the tower began to lean during construction after soft ground on one side was unable to properly support the structure's weight. Building work on the tower began in 1173 and went on for over a whopping 300 years. There has been much controversy surrounding the true identity of the architect behind the tower – the design originally attributed to artist Bonnano Pisano but studies have also implicated architect Diotisalvi. 06. The Shard, London Also referred to as the shard of glass, The Shard is an 87-storey skyscraper, which sits in the heart of London. Construction began in 2009 and was completed three years later in 2012, making it Western Europe's tallest building. Designed by architect Renzo Piano, The Shard is the second tallest free standing structure in the UK. It's exterior boasts 11,000 glass panels – that's equivalent in area to eight football pitches or two-and-a-half Trafalgar Squares. The building was developed to have multiple uses, described on the website as a 'vertical city where people can live, work and relax'. This motto was clearly taken on board by a fox, nicknamed Romeo, that was found on the 72nd floor towards the end of construction. 07. St Basil's Cathedral, Moscow No, we haven't included a piece of Disneyland architecture on our list, although you'd be forgiven for thinking so. This garish, candy coloured cathedral is in fact Moscow's most visited tourist attraction. The famous landmark, shaped to resemble the flame of a bonfire rising into the sky, is located just outside the Kremlin gates and marks the geometric centre of the city. Built between 1554 and 1560, the cathedral was erected during the reign of Ivan IV (Ivan the Terrible). Little is known about the building's architect Postnik Yakovlev, but he was clearly a fan of onion domes, sharp spikes and polygonal towers. 08. Empire State Building, NYC We couldn't put together a list of world-famous buildings without including this grand Art Deco skyscraper. Once the tallest building in the world, construction began on the Empire State building on St Patrick's Day 1930 and was completed just 410 days later. The building was designed by William F Lamb of architectural firm Shreve, Lamb and Harmon. It was declared by the American Society of Civil Engineers to be one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World and is known around the world as an icon of New York City. 09. Lloyds Building, London This futuristic building looks like it belongs in a sci-fi movie rather than Lime Street in London. The award-winning Lloyds building (also known as the Inside-Out building) is an iconic architectural landmark and one of the most recognisable constructions on the London skyline. Architect Richard Rogers was the brains behind the innovative design, which has its services – including water pipes and staircases – on the outside. Built between 1978 and 1986, the building also features 12 exterior lifts, which were the first of their kind in the UK. 10. Colosseum, Rome This elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of Rome is considered as one of the greatest architectural feats achieved by the Ancient Romans. The stadium was capable of seating 50,000 spectators and used mainly for gladiatorial games. Built from concrete and stone, construction began on the Colosseum began around 72AD and finished in 80AD. The design and shape of the Colosseum has been the inspiration for many modern day stadiums. Today it is one of Rome's most popular tourist attractions, attracting thousands of visitors each year. 11. Taj Mahal, India Recognised as 'the jewel of Muslim art in India', the Taj Mahal was built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. Often mistaken as a palace, this famous landmark was actually built as a tomb for the Emperor's wife after she died giving birth to their 14th child. The Taj Mahal is regarded as one of the finest examples ofMughal architecture – an amalgamation of Persian, Turkish and Indian styles. Construction on the mausoleum began in 1632 and was completed in 1648. The surrounding buildings and gardens took a further five years to finish. 12. Chrysler Building, NYC In the early part of the 20th Century, people everywhere were in a race to build the tallest building. At the time, this gorgeous Art Deco skyscraper was almost outdone by the Bank of Manhattan but its spire (which was constructed in secret) enabled it to take the title of 'tallest building in the world' in 1930. It didn't last long though. Just a year later the Empire State Building was erected. Designed by architect William Van Alen, the skyscraper was commissioned by car manufacturer Walter P Chrysler, hence its name. 13. Sydney Opera House Sydney Opera House is widely regarded as one of the greatest architectural works of the 20th century. The innovative design came from architect Jørn Utzon, who was relatively unknown until January 29, 1957 when his entry to the 'International competition for a national opera house at Bennelong Point, Sydney' was announced the winner. The beautiful building comprises of three groups of interlocking shells, which roof two main performance halls and a restaurant. A masterpiece of modern architecture, the opera house has become an iconic symbol of both Sydney and the Australian nation. 14. Space Needle, Seattle The futuristic Space Needle in Seattle, Washington was built for the 1962 World's fair. The famous landmark stands at 184m high and 42m wide at its widest point. The design was a collaborative effort between architects Edward E Carlson and John Graham. Not only is the architecture a marvel to look at but the building's impressive design can survive wind velocities of 200mph and can escape serious structural damage during earthquakes of up to 9.1 magnitudes. 15. Hagia Sophia, Istanbul Once a church, later a mosque, and now a museum, Hagia Sophia is a architectural masterpiece. A perfect example of Byzantine architecture, Hagia Sophia is located in Instanbul, Turkey. The building was built for the first time by the emperor Constantine the Great (306-337). However, due to many factors, including being burned down in riots and earthquakes, the ancient cathedral has been rebuilt many times since. Despite this, Hagia Sophia is widely recognised as one of the great buildings of the world. And if that wasn't cool enough, the building also features in the opening scenes of the Bond film, Skyfall. 16. Buckingham Palace, London Originally known as Buckingham House, George III bought the property in 1735 when the mansion was little more than a red brick house. Since then, various architects have worked on the building to make it what it is today, including John Nash, Edmund Blore and Sir Aston Webb. The palace also had to undergo extensive work after being bombed no less than nine times during World War II. However, still very much in operation, it's one of the few working royal palaces remaining in the world today. 17. Fallingwater Designed by famous American architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1934, Fallingwater is quite possibly the most famous private residence in the world. But why? Well, the unique design makes it look like the house stretches out over a 30ft waterfall, with no solid ground beneath it. This isn't the case, obviously, but the innovative design captured everyone's attention when it was finalised in 1939. It became famous instantly and is now a natural historic landmark. It's so cool you can even get a Lego version of the architectural masterpiece! 18. Pantheon, Rome Rome is home to many amazing buildings, and the Pantheon is no exception. And, like the city itself, it was not built in a day. Destroyed twice and rebuilt each time, the building started as a rectangular structure, which, over time, evolved into the gorgeous dome building seen today. An inspiration to architects all over the world over the last 2,000 years, the Pantheon roof remains the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome. There is much debate between historians over which emperor and architects were responsible for the Pantheon's design although it is known that this 'Temple of the Gods' was built around 126AD. 19. Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao The Guggenheim museum Bilbao is one of the most admired works of contemporary architecture. California-based Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry created the unique concept after winning an architectural competition to design the building. Since the museum doors opened in 1997, it has been hailed one of the most important buildings of the 20th century. Now with over a decade of success, the museum has homed over a hundred exhibitions and has welcomed more than 10 million visitors. 20. Flatiron building, New York The eye-catching Flatiron building in Manhattan was designed by Chicago architect Daniel Burnham and built in 1902. The distinctive triangular shape allowed the building to fill the space located at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Broadway. Another of New York's skyscrapers, it was never the tallest but remains one of the most memorable and has been a source of inspiration for artists and architects for over a century now. 21. Villa Savoye, France Designed by Swiss architects Le Corbusier and his cousin, Pierre Jeanneret, Villa Savoye is an early and classic example of the International style – a major architectural style that emerged in the 1920s and '30s. The property was built in 1928 and, after surviving several demolition plans, was designated as an official French historical monument in 1965. 22. Burj Khalifa, Dubai Last on our list – but by no means the least – is the world's tallest building Burj Khalifa. The mammoth skyscraper and magnificent centerpiece of Downtown Dubai stands at a whopping 828.9 metres high.
Construction began on the 160-floor building in 2004 with its doors opening six years later in 2010. The task of creating the world's tallest manmade structure was awarded to the Chicago office of American architectural and engineering firm Skidmore, Owings and Merril LLP. Which of these architectural designs inspires you the most? Have we missed any famous buildings off the list? Tell us in the comments box below... Learning the basics of graphic design will help you create stand-out posts for your Facebook page, spread the word with engaging blog graphics and generate pinnable content. There are a few fundamental rules which will help you to create professional looking designs. These five simple tips will have you creating amazing blog graphics, social media posts and marketing materials in no time. Design tip #1: Use contrast to help your designs stand out The best designs stand out. One of the simplest ways to make your design jump off the page is using contrast. Choose colors that contrast well. If you have a light colored background then use a dark font. Design tip #2: Choose your font palette Does your company have a standard brand font? Choosing a consistent font palette is a fantastic way to ensure consistency and to build familiarity with your customers. Try choosing a heading font, subtitle font and body text font. Pick a bold font that stands out for your heading, and simpler subtitle and body fonts. Design tip #3: Pick a color scheme Next step when it comes to design, is to choose your color scheme. Is your brand fun and fresh, or established and trustworthy? Choose colors that reflect this 'brand personality'. Start with 2-3 main colors and build from there. Use these colors consistently. Design tip #4: No naked images Images are a key part of graphic design. It's actually very simple to get a professional look. The key? Use grids or frames wherever possible. By adding some order to your images, your designs will be looking better in no time at all. This is a simple trick which will give your design a professional edge. There are hundreds of grids to choose from in Canva. Design tip #5: Keep it simple Lastly, it can be easy to get carried away with so many great images, graphics and fonts to choose from. Simple is always best when it comes to graphic design.
Reducing clutter means you're more likely to get your message across! Make sure you have a reason to use every design element, and keep the number of fonts, colors, shapes and frames to a minimum. The HTML5 versus Flash debate has been a hot topic among Web developers for years – and even more so since Steve Jobs published his now infamous 2010 letter touting HTML5 as the future and Flash as “no longer necessary.” But whether you side with Flash or HTML5, there’s no denying that the implications of HTML5 on video and the Web are real. For online video, HTML5 offers two things Flash does not: mobile capabilities and semantic markup. The growth of mobile engagement; the rise of Interactive Video for entertainment, advertising and shopping; and HTML5’s open structure all combine to create the future of an HTML5-based Web, leaving Flash to eventually shuffle into its place in the Retired Tech Hall of Fame (make some room Windows XP, Palm Treo). Mobile killed the Flash star Since HTML5’s introduction, mobile has been touted as one of the publishing language’s largest advantages. And since iOS and many Android devices don’t support Flash, Flash is bound to PCs – a market which, according to Gartner, saw a 10 percent decline in shipments in 2013 from 2012. According to IAB.net, nearly half of the U.S. population has a mobile phone with Internet access, and one in five page views on the Web happen on a mobile device. Those numbers will continue to grow each month, and companies making Flash-based Interactive Videos are missing out on a huge audience by not enabling their videos to run on mobile devices. Mobile killed the Flash starSince HTML5’s introduction, mobile has been touted as one of the publishing language’s largest advantages. And since iOS and many Android devices don’t support Flash, Flash is bound to PCs – a market which, according to Gartner, saw a 10 percent decline in shipments in 2013 from 2012. According to IAB.net, nearly half of the U.S. population has a mobile phone with Internet access, and one in five page views on the Web happen on a mobile device. Those numbers will continue to grow each month, and companies making Flash-based Interactive Videos are missing out on a huge audience by not enabling their videos to run on mobile devices. A digital shift A recent Forrester report entitled “Improving Enterprise Mobility: Meeting Next-Generation Demands of Development, Delivery, and Engagement,” says building apps in HTML5 takes more time than planned 59 percent of the time. That’s largely due to testing and fixing issues in non-native responsive frameworks. HTML5 isn’t perfect; it’s still in its early years. Fortunately, talented companies are focusing on solving those problems for you – doing the work with a SaaS platform so you can just concentrate on the creative. However, that’s not stopping enterprise and game developers. In a recent report from Sencha, a provider of open-source Web application frameworks, more than 60 percent of business application developers have converted to HTML5 and hybrid development of their key projects, and more than 70 percent of HTML5/hybrid developers are using HTML5 more this year than last. Mobile video isn’t the only culprit In the gaming industry, HTML5-based games are on the rise. Holland-based Spil Games is just one publisher taking the HTML5 path. The company plans to publish more than 1,000 HTML5 games by the end of the year. Spil Games already has 5,000 Flash games published on the Web, but that’s 5,000 games in its library that won’t work on tablets or phones. According to Digital Buzz Blog, 32 percent of time spent on iOS and Android devices is spent playing games. With HTML5, developers can create games that can work on all devices. Just look at some of the awesome stuff Google created with its Google Chrome Experiments (all built in HTML5 and JavaScript using open Web technologies such as Canvas, WebGL and WebRTC). And the nail in the Flash coffin award goes to… SEO While mobile is the most obvious advantage of HTML5 over Flash, there’s a feature that lies in semantic structure that’s just as important and especially powerful for Interactive Videos based on HTML5. Web crawlers and search engines can’t see inside of Flash, which is a completely closed container, and they’ll never be able to. Why does that matter? With the semantic structure of Interactive Video, you can build projects using HTML5 that have multiple interrelated pieces that Web crawlers know how to understand. But with Flash, you’re getting a black box that, when crawled, shows up as just a Flash video without any extra information. Let’s take a look at another recent interactive music video, the 24-hour-long, HTML5-based project for Pharrell Williams’ “Happy.” The video, which allows viewers to interact and jump between 24 hours worth of footage of happy dancers lip-synching to Pharrell’s song, is a beautiful example of the powerful and immersive projects you can create with HTML5.
There’s a new dancer or group of dancers every four minutes, totaling 360 clips – 24 of which include Pharrell himself. In addition to Pharrell’s appearances, there are also cameos by the likes of Steve Carell, Jamie Foxx, Magic Johnson, Kelly Osborne and more. The video is really impressive, but it missed an opportunity by not building on a semantic structure. Had it been built correctly, each of the 360 videos would refer to that single Web page, making it possible for viewers to do things like search on Google for the clip of Jamie Foxx and his family. Without watching the entire video, you might not find these “Easter eggs” without knowing their exact time stamps. Building the video on a semantic structure would’ve allowed Web bots to crawl each distinctive video clip as its own page. The video could have title tags and all the information you’d expect from a standard Web page (H1 tags, meta info, etc.), which would allow bots to read the single video as 360 individual Web pages with discrete content, resulting in higher-ranking search results. Content creators who aren’t building HTML5 videos are already behind, and they’ll soon be left completely in the dust if they don’t implement the HTML5 Web publishing language soon. However, the good news for brands and content creators is that there are companies focused on delivering all the benefits of HTML5 without any of the technical challenge or complication. Those who still think Flash is the way to go for online video will likely be changing their tune in the near future as mobile usage continues to skyrocket and HTML5 gets closer to becoming the universal format for creating mobile-ready creative projects. In this article I want to share 20 growing trends I hope to see blossom over the course of 2014. Many have already been set in motion while others are just beginning to dawn. New trends are fun to check out and see how long they stick around. When browsing websites in 2014 keep your eyes peeled for any of these UI/UX trends in action. Recommended Reading: 40 Web Design Conferences To Look Forward To In 2014 1. Grid-Style Layouts My first mainstream recognition of the grid design was on Pinterest. Social news feeds have always been in a streamlined fashion such as Twitter or Tumblr. Nowadays even many Facebook pages scatter timeline updates to appear like a grid. This isn’t something you can force into any old website. There needs to be a purpose, the user experience always comes first. In situations using thumbnail images or text updates the grid layoutcondenses everything into an easy-to-read format. Everything is skimmable yet still coherent and it doesn’t require much space on the page. 2. Crafty Image Captions In the past we covered some unique CSS3 image caption effects. Many websites use image galleries to showcase portfolio items, photographs, article thumbnails, etc. Using a text caption helps the visitor connect more information to the image. And with CSS3 you can rely on natural browser resources without any JavaScript effects. Each website should have its own design to provide benefit to the reader. Another tutorial I enjoy from Codrops is figure numbering with CSS3. You can build caption-style labels which automatically append to the images (or figures) on each page. 3. Extended Form Elements Most front-end developers are familiar with the purpose of jQuery. It helps you write smoother JavaScript code with fewer lines and much less clutter. Free open source jQuery plugins have taken on their own market — and they’re currently in high demand. There is a particular enthusiasm surrounding jQuery form plugins which enhance the user experience. These effects could include floating labels, input validation, guided tooltips, almost anything you might imagine. Take a peek at the Unheap form gallery which catalogs open source jQuery plugins that you can download and test in new projects. 4. Deeply-Focused Landing Pages I remember when the iOS App Store was launched and developers were clamoring to release their next great idea. Fast-forward some years and we have millions of apps for Android + iOS devices. Many of these applications even have their own companion website. Software developers often purchase a domain name and launch a website as a marketing tool. This idea has since expanded to encapsulate mobile games, open source scripts, smartphone apps, really any digital product you can imagine. These landing pages are basically essential to encourage prospective customers into learning more about a product before buying. 5. HTML5 Video Players I remember back in 2004 teaching myself basic ActionScript to create a custom video player for my website. It took months of work and the best playback solution was an FLV video. Thankfully times are quickly changing with HTML5 media and emerging JavaScript libraries. Flash still has a purpose when necessary, but most web developers would agree that the future of Internet video is HTML5. Two scripts I would highly recommend are Video.js and MediaElement.js. The first is much simpler but also limited with basic functionality. Media Element provides some default skins and greater documentation for building your own player designs. You can also try building a music/audio player out of the same codes. Both scripts provide documentation along with an API and they’re both fantastic libraries. Keep these in mind when you need self-hosted videos on any future projects. 6. 3D Transition Effects I’ve been finding a number of creative 3D animations in more websites over this past year. These are often built into the page for animated image galleries, navigation menus, and elements. The 3D effects can be created using jQuery although CSS3 has been catching up. Naturally the animations aren’t fully supported in all browsers, and designers should be wary of using too many animations on one page. But if you like to try new things I’d highly recommend scouring the web for 3D animated code examples to play around with. 7. Flat Design Elements How could I discuss web design trends without mentioning the widespread use of flat UI elements. CSS3 allowed designers to create much flatter buttons using natural box shadows, text shadows, or rounded corners. This flat UI pattern transcended into form inputs and even navigation menus. But I feel there is more we can expect in the near future. Flat icon sets and GUI kits have been released for free on dozens of websites. In my guide to flat web design you can find heaps of free downloadable PSD/AI graphics. Metro-style layouts have also grown in popularity from Microsoft’s Windows OS and the Windows Mobile Phone. 8. Personal Portraits Simple portfolio websites are often my favorite. You want to convey a bit about yourself, where you’ve been, and showcase your work samples. But to keep people truly interested you need to form a human connection. One of the best ways to accomplish this would be including a sample photograph of yourself somewhere on the page. Andrea Mann uses a photo which encapsulates much of the homepage. This is also blended into the darker background and recolored to shades of B&W. It looks fantastic, although you don’t need to use large background portraits on your website. Even a small photograph in your homepage or about page offers visitors a glimpse into who you are. 9. SVG Images & Icons Vector-based graphics aren’t built around pixels, but lines and coordinates. Individual shapes are organized by mathematical equations and this allows you to stretch vectors to any size. SVG images are like vectors in the sense they can be manipulated easily without much quality loss. The biggest problem is support for these images within all web browsers. Many people are still using older versions of Internet Explorer and other legacy titles. It’s a huge trend that will be sweeping the Internet in years to come (if it hasn’t already). If you really want to get started might I recommend Codepen, an open community-driven IDE for developers to share their work online. You’d be surprised at the quality. Snap.svg is a JavaScript library devoted to support in multiple browsers with natural SVG images. This is a somewhat detailed topic but if you’re curious, it is worth delving into. 10. Unique Web Copy One of the coolest new features in web development is the @font-face declaration. You can import font files hosted locally or externally on another server. These fonts are defined within CSS and you can write them into font-family properties to style your webpage text. This has grown to include font-based icons where flexible icons are rendered on the page as text. These icons aren’t as well-designed in comparison to real graphics, which can incorporate a multitude of different colors. Yet simply having the ability to customize any font on the page is a powerful technique to help your website stand apart from the crowd. 11. Lazy-Loading Animations When browsing ThemeForest one day I came across many WordPress themes which had transition effects applied onto elements, but they only animate when you scroll them into view. These elements behave similar to lazy-loading images except they’re already loaded in the page and hidden from sight. Using JavaScript it’s easy to detect when the element(s) are in view, and then use CSS3 transitions or JavaScript to animate. If you scroll down the page on Chart.js you will see blocks of content + images begin to slowly fade into view. This trend probably doesn’t save on bandwidth unless you purposefully wait to load the content. It’s more about page aesthetics and providing a sleek interface for your visitors. 12. Customized Image Galleries The growing integration of JavaScript and CSS has allowed developers to produce exceptional new projects. Image galleries are one trend that have been around for decades. Going into 2014 we might expect to see even greater solutions to dynamic carousels and image lightboxes. To provide a small example, take a look at this recent gallery tutorial on Codrops which uses anelastic dragging effect to switch between photos. This is somewhat experimental but you can see how developers are willing to push the boundaries and see what’s possible. If you like this concept why not take a peek at some jQuery gallery plugins? This would be a quicker strategy to begin learning and over time you may even construct your own gallery plugin. 13. Mega-Navigation Menus All kinds of new fancy navigations have been tested and adopted in recent years. The mobile responsive web is a big piece to this, along with the HTML5/CSS3 specifications. I have noticed a small yet growing trend of mega navigation menus which expand to hold large blocks of content and links. These are most common on websites that publish lots of unique content in high volumes. Online magazines or web forums immediately come to mind. It does take up a bit of space on the page, but it also gives readers a broader choice to navigate your site. I stumbled onto a related article on Smashing Magazine talking all about navigation menus for mega-sites. The concepts are similar and the examples provided may be a good starting point for anyone interested in this trend. 14. Expanding Search Bars Looking back I’m not completely sure when this concept picked up steam. But there is a growing popularity for building semi-hidden or expanding search bars into your layout. The user clicks a magnifying glass icon or clicks into the form itself, and then it expands wider to allow for more text input. Codrops wrote an outstanding tutorial about this topic and it’s a great read for any developer. Primarily the hidden search field is used to save room on the page. You might even hide the form at the very top and toggle it up/down like a navigation menu. This technique is prominent with responsive layouts, but even larger & more completed designs are incorporating these adaptable search fields. 15. Featured Detail Lists Recently I put together a design showcase of featured detail lists to be found on website homepages. These are list-oriented details explaining information about a company or product. Oftentimes the details are coupled with some icons to help illustrate the points in a more concise manner. I’ve noticed these detail lists have become a staple for many homepages. A collection of information about any product or service provides visitors a reason to stick around. It gives some insight towards what you provide to customers and how it all works. Icons are like the frosting to catch people’s attention when scrolling by quickly. 16. Mobile-First Design A book called Mobile First by Luke Wroblewski gave me this idea some time ago. When browsing a website it’s not easily possible to differentiate how the design process worked out. But the idea is to first mock-up how your website should look as a responsive layout on mobile screens. Eliminate all the excess fluff and keep only the bare essentials. From this standpoint it’s much easier to scale up your design to wider screens. Navigation menus become wider, content is lengthened along with a possible sidebar. Mobile-first design places a higher priority on the mobile experience which then becomes a baseline for the entire layout. I love the concept, and I hope designers will try implementing this to see how it can affect workflow and the final outcome. 17. HTML5 Canvas There is a lot to be said about the canvas element and it’s quite a topic of study. Using JavaScript, it’s possible to create games or drawing applications right inside HTML5. I’ve even seen the canvas element used to collect signatures with the mouse. The example above is from a simple Codepen entry. Someone posted a glossy loading circle onto Dribbble and this pen is a replication using the canvas element. Another example is this small horizontal loading bar built on HTML5 canvas and JavaScript. The possibilities are growing rapidly and personally I’m excited to see what canvas will be like 2-3 years down the road. 18. Pixel Sprites & Browser Games Much like classic video players, browser games used to be exclusively produced in Adobe Flash. But JavaScript has gotten a foothold into the community and many developers are happy to release open source codes for these types of projects. A little while back I wrote an article detailing pixel-centric websites that could also use animation. These designs aren’t common but they do catch your attention. It takes a lot of design talent to create such exquisite pixel artwork. So building your own in-browser sprite game would be an even larger challenge. One of the best resources for getting started can be found on HTML5 Game Engine. The site lists many free JavaScript libraries for creating your own browser games. There is a lot to learn about the process, but thankfully you can find hundreds of tutorials online within Google. 19. Quick User Registration There are an increasing number of brand new startups and web applications that allow for user registration. In fact, many services require you to signup before you can start using the website. Long detailed registration forms are tremendously off-putting in this fast-paced world. Try to keep all registration forms quick and to the point. Many newer webapps include the signup form right on their homepage to capture as many visitors as possible. This happens when a new visitor is curious about your product, sees the form only has 2-4 fields and decides to go for it. You may be shocked at how well this strategy works for capturing new users. 20. CSS3 Animated Keyframes Since the early millenium JavaScript has been the primary choice for browser animation. Only recently has CSS3 become adopted into the mainstream where developers can build their own animation effects using @keyframe. here is another way to animate using the transition property, although this only has one state for animation whereas keyframes behave much like Adobe Flash. You setup a frame percentage value from 0% – 100% and define properties which change over time. The latest CSS3 spec provides enough tools for you to animate elements in practically any style you like.
Closing Smaller interface concepts aren’t something we think about everyday. But it is these smaller accents that bring life into a clever website layout. I hope this article can shed light onto a handful of design trends we’ll prominently notice in future projects. Also if you have ideas for 2014 design trends I may have forgotten, feel free to share with us in the comments area below. |