MyBackgrounds Blog

Stop it. Just stop.

kristen — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 20:59:32 +0000

WebpagesThatSuck.com has 2008 contenders up for you to view. My goodness. Are people still keyword stuffing, using blink tags, not resizing images from their digital camera and putting red text on blue backgrounds? Yes. Don’t be like that.

Get Abducted by Creativity

kristen — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 20:50:31 +0000

Abduzeedo.com (Abducted by Design) is a blog by Fabio Sasso, a Brazilian designer. The name is a take on the Portuguese word for abducted - abduzido. Fabio has put together a great resource for design inspiration. If you’re in a slump, check out posts like gutter art. If artists can make a street gutter look awesome, surely you can get back on track with web and graphic design!

Let’s Have Some Laughs

kristen — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 20:16:03 +0000

If you’re a web developer, check out Small talk with a web designer. Hilarious! I can give a lengthy, technical description of what I do, but usually I have to boil it down to, “I work on computers.”

For tech support folks, you must watch The Website is Down. Warning: this video contains some potty mouth words and slightly naughty configurations of desktop icons. It’s probably best watched at home when you can laugh until your head hurts and scream, “It’s true! It’s so true!”

Generate WordPress Themes in Minutes

kristen — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 01:02:56 +0000

The WordPress Theme Generator just plain rocks. Customize a WordPress theme with a few clicks, get the code and bring it over to your WordPress blog for further tweaking. Thanks to Christian for sharing something that helps me be lazy in a productive way!

Fun Photoshop Text Effects

kristen — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 23:50:55 +0000

The Best 80 Photoshop Text Effects on the Web is a fun list of text effects to try. While I have no use for it just yet, the cactus text effect is really unique.

Icon Do’s and Don’ts

mybackgrounds — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:46:20 +0000

Icons are everywhere these days, and Denis Kortunov’s 10 Mistakes in Icon Design is a great reference for what not to do when you’re designing icons.

Cheers and Jeers for Web Design Trends

kristen — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:10:25 +0000

Fadtastic.net is a web design trends blog with contributions from many authors. If you’re looking for inspiration you’ll find many unique opinions (good and bad) on trends we see in websites today.

Photoshop Tutorials that Make Sense!

kristen — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 12:46:05 +0000

PSDTUTS.com introduces many exciting Photoshop techniques in easy-to-follow tutorials. While many sites offer Photoshop tutorials, the PDSTUTS tutorials break down every step with clear screen shots. You can contribute your tutorials too! The Old World Look tutorial creates spectacular, scholarly looking backgrounds and is on my list try!

Jaw-dropping Designs at CSS Beauty

kristen — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 15:51:17 +0000

Are you looking for some design inspiration? CSS Beauty will knock your socks off. CSS Beauty showcases amazing CSS designs and offers tutorials and tips to make your site stand out. Examples like www.CottonseedOilTour.com make you stand back and say “Wow!”

Send Your Photos on a Trip Through Time

kristen — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 23:50:19 +0000

VectorPortraits.com is an extensive tutorial that teaches you how to convert a photo into a slick web 2.0 portrait. It takes some patience but the effort is worth it to create this futuristic look.

If your preference is old fashioned hand-colored photos, the Colorizing B&W Photographs in PhotoShop tutorial shows you how.